History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery Vol. 2 / Compiled from the Original Records

by Francis Duncan

“E” BATTERY, 9th BRIGADE, R.A.

Names of Captains who commanded it down to 1842.	Names of Stations on which it served down to 1842.
1806 Captain J. Chamberlayne.	1806 Woolwich.
1810 Captain R. Douglas.	1808 Chatham.
1814 Captain G. Turner.	1809 Walcheren.
1820 Captain A. Bredin.	1809 Chatham.
1823 Captain W. Clibborn.	1810 Woolwich.
1834 Captain A. B. Rawnsley.	1810 Exeter.
1837 Captain A. O. W. Schalch.	1811 Plymouth.
1841 Captain R. R. Drew.	1812 Peninsula and France.
1842 Captain W. L. Kaye.	1814 Canada.
	1824 Woolwich.
	1827 Ireland.
	1831 West Indies.
	1837 Woolwich.
	1842 Ireland.

CHAPTER X.
The Siege of Copenhagen.

The decree of the French Emperor, dated 20th November, 1806, forbidding all commerce and correspondence between the countries under his influence, and Great Britain, received an alarming force from his subsequent rapid successes, culminating in the Treaty of Tilsit.

After that date it was evident that, in addition to injuring the commercial marine of England, Napoleon was resolved to make a great effort to overthrow her yet unquestionable naval supremacy. This he hoped to effect by a union of his own fleet with those of his allies and subjects; and one of the most powerful which he hoped to secure for his purpose was the Danish fleet.

The English Government resolved on a bold step, in order to defeat Napoleon’s aim. They decided to request the Danish Government to hand over their fleet to England for safe keeping, and they supported their petition by the presence of a large naval and military force. This determination was arrived at on the 19th July, 1807; and before the 29th the whole force was ready to sail. The fleet Cust. consisted of 17 ships of the line, between 30 and 40 frigates, and other smaller ships of war, counting 90 pendants; together with 300 transports, having on board 20,000 troops, a number subsequently increased to 27,000. The Official MS. Returns, R. A. Record Office. Artillery force was as follows: Royal Artillery, 989; Royal Artillery drivers, 525; German Legion Artillery—horse, 182, and foot, 512.

The command of this large Artillery force was given to Major-General Thomas Blomefield on the 28th July, 1807, in the following terms.

“Woolwich, 28 July, 1807.

“Sir,

“The Master-General has directed me to notify officially an order for your embarking upon the present expedition with the command of the Artillery, and that you place yourself under the orders of Lieutenant-General Burrard, or the General commanding the troops.

“I have the honour to be, Sir,
Your most obedient humble Servant,
J. Macleod,
D.-A.-General.”

“P.S.—My dear General,

“Having performed the ex officio part, let me wish you every success and every happiness, and a safe return to Shooter’s Hill, where we shall talk over all your performances. The ordnance is all embarked, but not a ship arrived as yet for the officers and men.

“Believe me
Very truly yours,
J. Macleod.”

General Thomas Blomefield, who joined the Regiment on 1st January, 1759, had seen active service at the Havannah, in the West Indies, and during the American War. He had been severely wounded during the last-mentioned campaign. In 1780 he was made Inspector of Ordnance at Woolwich; and for many years held this appointment in a manner most advantageous to the country. He was a good mathematician, an excellent chemist, and most laborious in experiments in gunnery. His private character is thus described Family MSS. by one who knew him intimately:—“There was no display of his merits shown in his manner; all his duties and improvements were silently and unassumingly carried on, with a natural reserve and undeviating correctness, so that it was only the close observer who could duly appreciate his value. His being generally and greatly esteemed arose as much from his being the perfect gentleman as from the ingenuous turn of his mind, for there was no glare or obtrusive view, but rather a strong desire to improve the service with as little parade as possible.” The marked improvement in English ordnance while he was Inspector, was tested at the very siege over which he was to preside, and is thus alluded to by the same writer. “The late sieges of Copenhagen and in the Peninsula, where the mode of battering assumed a rapidity of firing unknown on former occasions, strongly marked the confidence his gallant brother officers had in the weapons placed in their hands, and surprised the enemy, who were known to declare that they could not have put their iron ordnance of this description to such a severe test. The complete success of these objects of his most serious and careful pursuit will be duly appreciated by those capable of judging of their merits. To such as are not, it may be allowed to suggest that many gallant lives have been saved to their country and families by the constant and most anxious endeavours he at all times pursued to put safe and perfect machines into the hands of the brave defenders of His Majesty’s dominions.”

The following is a nominal list of the officers of the Royal Artillery who accompanied General Blomefield to Copenhagen:—

Lieutenant-Colonels Harding, Cookson, and Robe; Captains May, Cockburn, Franklin, Newhouse, Fyers, P. Drummond, Brome, and Meadows; 2nd Captains Bolton, J. P. Adye, Paterson, Unett, Whinyates, Sandham, Holcroft, and Kettlewell; 1st Lieutenants Darby, Stewart, Collyer, Orlebar, Molesworth, Cubitt, Campbell, Sinclair, Coxwell, Dyneley, Macbean, Rayner, Cavines, Hunt, Somerville, and Lord; 2nd Lieutenants Wright, Swabey, Lyon, Wilson, Thomson, Fuller, Forster, and Maling.

Captain Fyers acted as Aide-de-Camp to General Blomefield, and Captains Drummond and Whinyates were on his Brigade Staff.

No less than 185 pieces of ordnance accompanied the Expedition. Of these, 84 were field guns, including 6, 9, and 12-pounders, and 5½ and 8-inch howitzers. The last-named, although included among the field-guns, were evidently for use in the trenches. The guns taken for siege purposes were as follows:—

General Blomefield’s MS. Returns.

20	24-pounders.
5	10-inch howitzers.
6	68-pounder carronades.
70	mortars, of 5½, 8, 10, and 13-inch calibre.

The number of rounds of ammunition sent was 61,472; but only 11,378 were expended when the city surrendered. There was considerable difficulty in getting transports at so short a notice for the Artillery and their horses. When writing on the 28th July, the Deputy-Adjutant-General had heard of no ships at all for the purpose; but at 2.30 A.M. on the 29th, an express reached him from Gravesend, informing him of their arrival, and that the embarkation was required to take place immediately. Collecting all the boats he could find, he embarked the men at Woolwich, and sent them down to Gravesend with the tide. In writing subsequently to the Master-General, he said: “It is but fair to the officers and men to say that, without previous notice, they were all assembled at 9, and at the waterside by 10, in complete order, and with all their baggage.”

The main part of the Expedition sailed from Yarmouth, and General Blomefield embarked there, on board the ‘Valiant,’ on the 2nd August. Lord Cathcart, who was to command the whole of the land forces, did not join until Cust. their arrival in the road of Elsineur.

The British Infantry numbered 15,351, and was commanded by General Burrard. The 1st Division was commanded by Sir George Ludlow, assisted by Major-General Finch and Brigadier Warde; the 2nd Division by Sir David Baird, assisted by Major-Generals Grosvenor and Spencer and Brigadier Macfarlane. The Reserve was under the command of Major-General Sir Arthur Wellesley, and included Blomefield MSS. ten companies of the 95th, or Rifle Corps, besides three other battalions. The King’s German Legion, under the command of the Earl of Rosslyn, numbered 9951 of all ranks.

At 5 A.M. on the morning of the 16th August, 1807, the Reserve of the army, under Sir A. Wellesley, landed at Webeck, about twelve miles from Copenhagen. Captain Newhouse’s and Captain Brome’s Light Brigades of Artillery, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Cookson, were attached to the Reserve. No opposition was made to the landing. The remainder of the army, with the exception of General Spencer’s Brigade, landed at the same place, and in the Blomefield MSS. afternoon the whole moved forward in three columns towards Charlotte-lund, about five miles from Copenhagen, off which place the transports, convoyed by the fleet, anchored the same evening. On the following morning, General Spencer’s Brigade landed at Charlotte-lund, and marched to the left of Sir David Baird’s head-quarters, where, on the 20th, it was joined by Captain May’s Brigade of 6-pounders. Captain Unett’s Brigade of 6-pounders was attached to Sir David Baird’s Division, and Captain Paterson’s, of 9-pounders, was placed on the left of the line. The city of Copenhagen was now completely invested by the army, and the landing of guns and stores for the siege commenced. The difficulties which seem to have been inseparable from our campaigns in those days, as far as supply of stores, &c., was concerned, Lieut.-Col. Harding to Colonel Macleod. were present on this occasion. “We should have been greatly distressed in the horse department if Colonel Robe had not taken it. No Captain-Commissary or Veterinary Surgeon has arrived. We are in great distress for horses; I am obliged to send the two brigades preparing, without cars. We shall want ammunition for the 9 and 6-pounders; there are only 300 rounds per gun, and a considerable quantity is already gone. Pray get some more sent, and a greater supply of Shrapnel’s shells: there is a great call for them, and we have with us only 27 per gun.... Pray send us a few extra subalterns; we work day and night at unloading. Lieut.-Colonel Cookson is advanced with the four first brigades; Lieut.-Colonel Robe encamps the horses and carriages, which is full employ; and I attend unloading and supplying demands. General Blomefield is at head-quarters. We are distressed by so many different things being put in the store ships; the things at bottom are required first, in many instances, and we half unload the ship to get at them.”

The operations in which the expenditure of ammunition took place—alluded to by Colonel Harding—were prior to the investment of Copenhagen, and were conducted by Sir A. Wellesley with complete success. During their progress, a very gallant Artillery officer, Lieutenant Lyons, was killed by a 3-pounder shot, from a gun which had been placed by the enemy on the Copenhagen road. On account of the facilities offered by the coast, and a continuance of fine weather, the Danish gun-boats took part in these operations. The conduct of the Royal Artillery was thus mentioned by Sir A. Wellesley to Lord Cathcart, Kioge, 29 Aug. 1807. Sir Arthur Wellesley:—“I cannot close this letter without expressing to your Lordship my sense of the good conduct of the troops. All conducted themselves with the utmost steadiness; but I cannot avoid to mention particularly the British Artillery under the command of Captain Newhouse.”

From the 21st August to the 1st September, the Artillerymen were employed in making and arming the batteries necessary for the bombardment. The distribution of these batteries when the bombardment commenced, on the 2nd September, was as follows:—

MS. Official Returns, and Gen. Blomefield’s Diary.

	No. of Guns.	Nature.
Gun battery on the right	6	24-prs.
On its left, and advanced	4	10-inch mortars.
Still farther advanced	4	8-inch mortars.
In the road, on the left of the battery	2	8-inch howitzers.
Right mortar battery	2	13-inch mortars.
	8	10-inch mortars.
Centre mortar battery	2	13-inch mortars.
	8	10-inch mortars.
On its left, and advanced	2	10-inch howitzers.
	2	8-inch howitzers.
Left mortar battery	2	13-inch mortars.
	8	10-inch mortars.
Windmill battery	11	24-pr. guns.
	1	8-inch howitzer.
On its right, and advanced	2	10-inch mortars.
Flèche	3	24-pr. guns.
	1	8-inch howitzer.
Making a total of 20 guns, 40 mortars, and 8 howitzers.

The erection of the batteries was not carried on without molestation from the enemy; but on the 1st September they were so near completion, that the city was summoned to capitulate, prior to the commencement of the bombardment. The summons having been refused, the batteries opened at 7.30 P.M. on the 2nd, and the fire continued, with but little reply, for twelve hours. The city was set on fire by the first flight of shells (not rockets, as stated by Sir E. Cust, which would appear to have been used as a siege weapon for the first time, subsequently, at Flushing), and continued burning all night. During the afternoon of this day, another battery of eight 24-pounders had been armed by the Royal Artillery.

The expenditure of ammunition during the first night having been considered excessive, orders were given that no more than one shell per hour should be fired from each battery during the day, but that at 7 P.M. on the 3rd September, firing should commence at the rate of one shell in every three minutes, from each battery, for the space of sixteen hours. The same orders were obeyed on the night of the 4th, the city suffering terribly from fires in all parts, and no fewer than 1500 of the inhabitants having been killed. Towards 4 A.M. on the 5th, the principal steeple in the city fell, and at 8 P.M. on that day, a flag of truce was sent out, and the bombardment was suspended. On the 6th, two additional batteries were armed, and sailors were landed from the fleet to man them; but a second flag of truce having been sent from the city, Sir A. Wellesley, Sir H. Popham, and Colonel Murray went in the evening into the town, having received directions to order a continuation of the bombardment on their return, should their proposals not be accepted. They did not return until next morning, bringing, however, the intelligence that the terms of the capitulation had been agreed to. These included the unconditional surrender of the Danish fleet. During the evening of the 7th the citadel was taken possession of by the Grenadiers, accompanied by a detachment of the German Rifle Corps, a troop of Dragoons, and a brigade of Artillery. On the same evening the following General Order was published:—

Headquarters, Hellerup, 7 Sept. 1807.

“The Commander of the Forces cannot delay expressing his warmest thanks to all the General Officers and Staff for the great and able assistance he has received from all of them, in their several ranks and stations. And he feels himself, in like manner, obliged to all the officers commanding brigades or regiments, and the officers and soldiers under their command.

“He must, however, be allowed, in a particular manner, to express his thanks to Major-General Blomefield and Colonel D’Arcy, and the officers and corps of the Royal Artillery and Engineers, whose laborious science and success, collectively and individually, have been most remarkable, and reflect great honour on that branch of His Majesty’s service.”

The naval stores captured were very valuable, and their weight exceeded 20,000 tons. No fewer than 3500 pieces of ordnance were also taken. By the 20th October the whole army had re-embarked, and reached England without loss. One cannot but regret that the object of the Expedition could not have been attained in a different manner; and that the means employed were not as justifiable as they were successful.

There are various points of interest connected with the services of the Artillery during the siege, which seem worthy of mention. The following extracts from General Blomefield’s letters to Lord Chatham speak for themselves: Dated 9 Sept. 1807. ... It is with great satisfaction that I have to congratulate your Lordship on the fortunate issue of our Expedition, and on the distinguished share which fell to the lot of our corps in accomplishing so desirable an event; and I should do them great injustice were I not to mention their exertions in the strongest manner, as well in the laborious task of landing and transporting the Artillery and stores to the batteries, from four to eight miles distance, as in the active and intelligent use of them when employed.... I believe there are very few instances of so powerful an effect being produced in so short a time, and with so little loss of lives. Six thousand shells and carcases were thrown into the town (which is very spacious), from mortars, howitzers, and guns, during the short period of two nights and one day.”

Dated 12 Sept. 1807.

Again: “I cannot sufficiently commend the conduct of the officers and men under my command. Your Lordship will observe by the enclosed sketch of the batteries, how formidable the attack must have been under those three excellent officers, Lieut.-Colonels Harding, Robe, and Cookson; and nothing could resist so heavy a fire.”

The satisfaction of the Master-General may be gathered from his reply:—

Lord Chatham to General Blomefield, Sept. 19, 1807.

“I received your letter of the 7th inst., and rejoiced most truly in the prosperous issue of the Expedition to Zealand. The satisfaction I derived from this event was, I assure you, much increased from the very highly honourable and distinguished part borne in this enterprise by the Corps of Royal Artillery under your command, and whose exertions are the theme of general admiration. I am sincerely happy in communicating to you that His Majesty has announced his gracious intentions of conferring upon you the dignity of a Baronet, as a testimony of the sense entertained of your eminent services on this occasion.... What a sad contrast is the miserable business of Buenos Ayres!”

On the 28th September, Lord Cathcart received a despatch from Lord Castlereagh, expressing His Majesty’s high approbation of the army’s performance; and this was communicated to the troops on the same evening. Lord Cathcart Gen^l Order, 28 Sept. 1807. took the opportunity of thanking them again “for the patience, discipline, and exertions of all regiments, corps, and departments, to which, under the blessing of Providence, he was indebted for the complete success of the Expedition, and for the most gracious approbation which His Majesty has been pleased to declare of the whole service.” Military science has advanced, and may continue to advance, with prodigious strides; but success will never be possible without the same weapons as those to which Copenhagen surrendered—patience, discipline, and exertion.

A long-standing right was claimed for his corps by General Letter dated 12 Sept. 1807. Blomefield, from Lord Cathcart, after the siege. “It being an invariable custom in our service, whenever a place capitulates after a siege, to allow the officer commanding the Royal Artillery a claim of the bells in the town, and its dependencies, or a compensation in lieu of them,—which has twice occurred upon services in which I have been employed, viz. the sieges of the Havannah, and Fort Royal in Martinique,—I conceive it to be my duty which I owe to my brother officers, as well as myself, to express my hope that in the present instance it will not be dispensed with.”

On the 3rd November, 1807, General Blomefield was created a Baronet; and the story of the Expedition concludes with the thanks of the Houses of Parliament being voted to the army and the fleet which had been engaged. This was communicated by Sir Thomas Blomefield—now at Woolwich—to the officers and men who had served under him, both belonging to his own corps and to the Artillery of the King’s German Legion. In the language used by him in addressing the former, may be detected the strength in his bosom of that Regimental feeling which it is the main object of this work to strengthen. “It therefore only remains with the General,” he wrote, “to add his sincere thanks for their highly meritorious conduct, by which they have acquitted themselves no less to their own credit than to that of the corps in which they have the honour to serve.”

---

Note.—It may have been merely accidental, but it is worthy of note that while the Master-General corresponded directly with General Blomefield during this service, the Deputy Adjutant-General corresponded with the Lieutenant-Colonels employed on the Expedition.

CHAPTER XI.
Monte Video and Buenos Ayres.

In a letter from Lord Chatham, quoted in the last chapter, allusion is made to a campaign in South America which contrasted unfavourably with the successful siege of Copenhagen. The plan of this work requires that the reader should now turn to this unsuccessful Expedition, and see how bravely English troops endeavoured to compensate by their exertions for want of generalship in their leaders. To the Artilleryman this chapter will have a special interest,—from the fact that two of the officers who took a prominent part in the campaign were destined to become very eminent in their corps and profession—Sir Augustus Frazer, and Sir Alexander Dickson.

Letter to D. A. Gen. 12 Jan. 1806.

On the 12th January, 1806, Major Spicer, who commanded the Artillery with Sir David Baird’s Expedition to the Cape of Good Hope, reported that, two days previously, Cape Town had fallen into their hands. During the operations which resulted in this important capture, the officers and men under his command behaved in a “persevering, cool, and steady manner.” The heavy surf prevented him from landing more than six 6-pounders and two 5½-inch howitzers, the whole of which were in action and did good service, although outnumbered, three to one, by the artillery of the enemy. Captains Turner and Ogilvie received special mention for their conduct on the occasion.

In the beginning of April, Major Spicer went on a tour of inspection round the outposts, leaving Captain Ogilvie—his Brigade-Major—sick at Cape Town. He had barely started, when the Admiral, Sir Home Popham, resolved—on his own responsibility, and entirely without the knowledge of the English Government—to proceed with a naval and military force to South America, for the purpose of attacking the Spanish settlements, and securing the trade of the country for England. General Beresford was put in command of the military part of the Expedition; and the detachment of the Royal Artillery, which was at first ordered to accompany it, consisted of Lieutenant A. Macdonald, 1 bombardier, 1 lance-bombardier, 18 gunners, 1 conductor, 1 wheeler, 1 collar-maker, 1 corporal and 9 men of the Gunner-driver Corps, and 18 horses. Captain Ogilvie having offered to resign his staff appointment if allowed to accompany the force, his offer was accepted; and in a letter which he wrote from St. Helena, en route, he was able to announce that the detachment under his command had been augmented by an officer and 100 gunners of the St. Helena Artillery. The fleet consisted of 5 men-of-war, and the military force, in addition to the Artillery, was composed of a detachment of the 20th Light Dragoons, a few Engineers, and the 71st Regiment. The Expedition reached a point about twelve miles distant from Buenos Ayres, and on the 25th June, 1806, a landing was effected. Advancing boldly, and driving the Spanish troops before them, the English reached the city, and on the 28th June summoned the Governor to surrender—a summons to which he immediately yielded. So small, however, was the force under General Beresford’s command, that he could not hold the city; and in a very short time the English troops had actually to surrender as prisoners of war. Sir Home Popham continued to blockade the river for some time; but was soon ordered home to be tried by court-martial for his unauthorized proceedings. Thus ended the first act of this unfortunate drama.

The English Government, although disapproving of the original Expedition, was compelled to take some steps to avenge the disaster to Beresford’s force. The fleet, now under the command of Admiral Sterling, had already been Captain Watson to D. A. Gen. 8 Oct. 1806. considerably increased; and reinforcements from the Cape of Good Hope had arrived, including a few Artillerymen under Captain A. Watson, four troops of the 20th,—and two of the 21st, Light Dragoons, the 38th, 47th, and a detachment of the 54th Regiment. A further force of 3000 men under the command of Sir S. Auchmuty was ordered to the River La Plata, and arrived on the 5th January, 1807; the Artillery being under the command of Captain Dickson. Captain Watson shortly after this date returned to the Cape of Good Hope, and the command of the Royal Artillery devolved for the time on Captain Dickson. Prior, however, to this taking place, Sir S. Auchmuty decided on an attempt on Monte Video, and took the place by assault on the 3rd February, 1807. The conduct of the Artillery on this occasion may be ascertained from the following extract from the General Order, which was published immediately after the capture of ‘London Gazette,’ 13 April, 1807. the town:—“The established reputation of the Royal Artillery has been firmly supported by the company under my orders; and I consider myself much indebted to Captains Watson, Dickson, Carmichael, and Wilgress, for their zealous and able exertions.” On this occasion Captain Wilgress, who acted as Adjutant to the Artillery, was wounded.

On the 2nd June, an additional force of 4200 men, under General Craufurd, arrived at Monte Video from England; and the command of the whole army devolved upon a most incapable officer, General Whitelocke. With this last reinforcement came a troop of Horse Artillery, now C Battery, B Brigade, under Captain A. Frazer, who, being senior to Captain Dickson, now assumed command of the Artillery, and retained it until the active operations were over, when he was relieved by Lieut.-Colonel Schalch, who reached Monte Video on the 26th July, 1807.

General Beresford’s force still remained prisoners of war—some remaining at Buenos Ayres, the others divided in small detachments among the various villages in the neighbourhood. General Linières, the French commander of the Spanish forces, was most kind and courteous to the prisoners, and did all he could to promote their comfort. But the feeling of the people, more especially of the Roman Catholic clergy, was very bitter against the English, and led to a painful occurrence. On the 14th January, Captain Ogilvie, while riding with Colonel Pack of the 71st Regiment—who was also a prisoner of war—was assassinated; and his companion with difficulty escaped. Captain Ogilvie had been severely wounded at the first attack on Buenos Ayres, and his loss was deeply regretted. The command of the captive Artillery now devolved upon Lieutenant Alexander Macdonald, who had received two wounds in the attack on Buenos Ayres, and who had been recommended by Captain Ogilvie as a most deserving and zealous young officer.

General Whitelocke decided on a second assault on Buenos Ayres; having first, and unsuccessfully, attempted to persuade General Linières to release his prisoners. The failure of his attempt on the city will, perhaps, be more readily understood, if a few words of description of Buenos Ayres, as it was in 1807, precede the narrative.

Major Nicolls’ 45 Regiment, MS. Journal in R. A. Record Office.

The city extended for nearly three miles along the banks of the Rio de la Plata, and its breadth at the widest point was about a mile and a half. The population, including the suburban villas or quintas, was about 70,000. Like most modern cities in the United States and Canada, it had been Captain Frazer’s and Capt. Dickson’s Letters to D. A. Gen. built on a fixed plan, not left to the distorted tastes of individual proprietors—as is not unfrequently the case in England. Its streets and squares were large, broad, and convenient; and although the individual houses did not always harmonise, and were rarely impressive, they did little injury to the general effect. Most of them were two-storeyed, and built in Moorish fashion, in the form of a square, with one large entry, the different apartments on the ground floor opening into the square, and the roof flat, and occasionally terraced. The Fort, or Citadel, was a miserable work, with a parapet of little more than two feet in height. In many places it was incapable of resisting artillery fire, and, at the best, was of little use save in overawing a mob, or as a receptacle for the city treasure and the public records. The most important public buildings were the Cathedral, and the churches of St. Francisco, St. Domingo, St. Michael, and the Jesuits—all imposing enough externally, but with gaudy interiors, which offended the sober taste of English travellers. There was also a large civic hall, known as the Cabildos; and the Plaza de Toros, where the passion of the inhabitants for bull-fighting was gratified, was a very striking place. The Custom-house, Arsenal, and theatres were small and unimposing.

For many reasons Buenos Ayres was admirably adapted for defence against an enemy whose attack should develop itself in the form of street fighting. The barracks were scattered over the city in low, retired squares, and the houses were like so many small fortifications. Their shape rendered each perfectly distinct, and not easily assailable save from a neighbouring roof. This one weak point led to the passing of a law, which might have led at times to embarrassing results, under which the proprietor of one house was permitted to fire at any stranger whom he might detect on the roof of an adjoining one. The gates and doors of the houses were very strong, made of wood several inches thick, and heavily bolted and barred; the windows had strong iron railings outside, and heavy wooden shutters with iron fastenings within; and the flat roofs were very useful, both for offence and defence. Altogether, it was as awkward a city to take in the way unhappily chosen by General Whitelocke, as can be imagined.

In most of the squares enclosed by the larger houses there were wells; but the water was brackish, and the inhabitants preferred the water from the river, which was sold in the streets, and which, although somewhat muddy, became clear when allowed to stand, and, with the addition of a little alum, was believed to have peculiar virtues for clearing and strengthening the voice. The river, between Buenos Ayres and Colonia, was about thirty miles in breadth; and it should be mentioned that the latter place had already surrendered to a force of 800 English troops, under Colonel Pack of the 71st, who had made his escape from Buenos Ayres shortly after the assassination of Captain Ogilvie. The Artillery with this force was commanded by Captain Wilgress, who had recovered from the wound he received at Monte Video, only to receive a second and more severe injury at Colonia. His detachment manned two light 6-pounders and two light 3-pounders; and he had in addition eight Spanish 16-pounders, with which it was intended to arm the defensive works proposed to be erected at Colonia. Had these last-mentioned guns, and the siege ordnance left at the village of Reduccion and at Monte Video, been brought against Buenos Ayres, with a view to its bombardment, there is no doubt that the city, whose streets proved a tomb to the attacking forces, would have been their prize.

The country round Buenos Ayres was well wooded, and the land in the immediate vicinity rich and singularly productive. Thanks to the inquiring minds of General Beresford’s force, it was ascertained that beef, mutton, fowls, and river fish, were cheap and abundant, bread excellent, and the markets filled daily soon after sunrise with wild-fowl, quails, and partridges in abundance. The last-named birds must have resembled the Canadian tree partridge, as they were caught with ease, even in the immediate suburbs, by means of a noose at the end of a stick. There was abundance of larger game in the country, both four-footed and winged, and Major Nicolls’ Diary. vulltures and birds of that class, luckily, very common too, otherwise the air would be infected by the quantity of carrion left after the men, dogs, and pigs had been satisfied.... Bullocks are here what the cocoa-trees are in India. They turn them to the following uses: food, fuel, shoes, ropes, trunks, sacks, covering for houses, beds, bridles, saddles, bird-cages, drinking-cups, &c...·· Their horses are the accidental breed of the country, descended from those originally brought by the Spaniards. They are undersized, but show some blood, are very tractable, and hardy. Each proprietor affixes his mark on his droves, makes geldings of them, and they run wild till required for use or sale. They are driven in now and then for inspection. The King of Spain is a proprietor; his mark is the tip of the left ear cut off. They are of very trifling value in the drove—not more than half a dollar each. It is not uncommon for a traveller whose horse is jaded to catch another and leave his own. The Peons, or country people, who have more Indian than Spanish blood in them, are very expert horsemen. They tame a wild horse in a few hours, but by severe treatment. Their bridles are those used by the Mamelukes, and they use stick and spur without reluctance.”

The chief exports from Buenos Ayres were hides, tallow, skins of valuable animals, bark, coffee, and spices; the imports were cloths, wearing apparel, glass, earthenware, cutlery, &c. So extensive was the trade of the place, and so keen were the inhabitants for its development, that it is not to be wondered at that, in the first flush of short-lived conquest, the English commanders dwelt on its possible advantage to Great Britain in terms, which the hope of justifying an unauthorized expedition may possibly have made somewhat fervent.

The moral aspect of Buenos Ayres in 1807 seems to have been very uninviting. Immorality of the grossest description prevailed in both sexes and in all classes; indolence and intemperance characterized the lower orders, and the whole community was priest-ridden to an intolerable extent. The Bishop, in particular, tyrannized over all ranks and classes; and when he went anywhere in state every one knelt to him, the guards even presenting arms to him kneeling. During the short time that General Beresford commanded, the Bishop demanded the same ceremony from the English troops; but it was refused, and he never forgave it. He was a very crafty man, and to the last he affected good-will to the English; but by his orders every pulpit was used for fulminating threats against them, and for inventing and exaggerating tales of English atrocity. To such an extent was this carried, that the better class of the inhabitants did not dare to make any advances to the English officers, or show them open kindness, although they always welcomed them to their houses if they came uninvited. The revenue of the Bishop was very great, and included a fourth part of all sums paid as fees at births, marriages, and funerals, the amount of which varied with the will and ability of the parties concerned, or their friends. Another fourth went to the King, and the remainder to the canons of the church in which the necessary ceremony was performed. The priests of Buenos Ayres were very numerous, and their private life was said to be most immoral. As regarded the people generally, Major Nicolls wrote: “With respect to religion, they appear to attend pretty regularly to its exterior forms, especially the women, who attend mass daily, in which, however, the men do not show so much zeal. Since, however, vice of every description follows, it does not appear likely that forms of this nature would be very useful, either in this world or as a preparation for that to come. On General Beresford’s taking the city many thousands of indulgences and remissions of all kinds were found, which have ever proved a source of revenue and power to the Roman Catholic clergy, and are here made the tools of Government.[13] The Bishop amuses the high and low every week with some pompous procession or ceremony to make the great remember that there is such a thing as religion. To the sick he holds out forty days’ plenary indulgence for going to mass and giving alms; and the poor are governed by a promise that their sins shall be forgiven. On our landing, the Bishop induced the people to swear they would defend the place to the last, for which their sins should be forgiven.”

Against this city General Whitelocke resolved to move the greater part of his force, leaving small garrisons in Monte Video and Colonia. Before describing the Expedition, an anecdote is worthy of mention, as showing, what has so frequently been shown already, the evil effects of the dual government of the Artillery which existed in the days of the Board of Ordnance. There is deposited in the Royal Dated Monte Video, 6 June, 1807. Artillery Record Office the original order to Captain Frazer, signed by General Whitelocke, desiring him, as commanding officer of Artillery and representing the Ordnance Department, “to pay the sum of forty pounds sterling for every field-piece that may be captured from the enemy during the approaching service at Buenos Ayres, according to the established usage of the service in such cases.”

In the same office is a correspondence in which Captain Frazer is forbidden by the Board to make any such payment. The question for consideration is not whether the General or the Board was right in the interpretation of the Regulations. The error of the system was that the officer who received an order from the General, under whom he was immediately serving, was made the channel for conveying to that General an intimation that his order was wrong, and was not to be obeyed. The marvel is that, under such a system, harmony was ever possible between the commanding officer of Artillery and his General; and, certainly, if tact could have been imparted to a cadet at the Academy, along with his mathematics, he would probably have found it the more useful accomplishment of the two in his after career.

The arrangements made by Captain Frazer for the transport and service of the Artillery were admirable and exhaustive. In General Whitelocke’s report of the subsequent operations, he used the following terms of commendation:—“I ‘London Gazette’ extraordinary, 13 Sept. 1807. cannot sufficiently bring to notice the uncommon exertions of Captain Frazer, commanding the Royal Artillery, the fertility of whose mind, zeal, and animation, in all cases left difficulties behind.” That Captain Frazer was staunchly supported by the officers and men under his command is apparent from his letters. Captain Dickson, whom he had superseded, and under whom, singularly enough, he was destined to serve in the Peninsula, was most loyal in his Captain Frazer to D. A. Gen. 21 June, 1807. exertions, and earned the following acknowledgment:—“I have met with so much assistance from Captain Dickson, whom I found in command of the Artillery on my arrival, that it is at once my duty and my inclination to report to you the sense I entertain of his valuable assistance. But it is unnecessary for me to mention more than the name of a brother-officer who is at once so highly and so deservedly valued.” And again, after the conclusion of the campaign: “If, in my several letters to you, I have not mentioned Captains Hawker and Dickson, you will, I trust, impute this to the real cause—a delicacy in venturing to express an opinion of officers of equal standing in the Regiment with myself, and with whom, in many cases, I should feel myself flattered to be compared.”

Captain Frazer had urged the propriety of heavy artillery accompanying the army, with a view to a bombardment of the city, prior to an assault; and in answer to an argument employed—that Monte Video would be left unprotected—he drew out a detailed statement showing that no less than 145 guns, mortars, and howitzers would be left mounted in that city, besides 270 dismounted. He further showed that there was an abundance of ammunition for these guns; and he detailed three officers to remain behind, of whom he was Captain Frazer to D. A. G. R. A. afterwards able to say: “Colonel Brown, Commandant of the Garrison of Monte Video, has expressed to me his high sense of the exertions of Captain Durnford and Lieutenants England and Stopford, whose exertions were unremitting during our temporary absence.” But his appeal was to no purpose. General Whitelocke had determined to land at a place about thirty miles from Buenos Ayres, called Enfinada de Barragon, and thence march over the swamps which intervened, and which would have made the movement of heavy artillery very difficult. With great difficulty, Captain Frazer obtained permission to take three 24-pounders, two 12-inch Spanish mortars, and two 5½-inch howitzers as a reserve, in addition to his field guns; but these, which would have been so useful in the subsequent attack, were not allowed to proceed farther than the village of Reduccion, where the first encounter with the enemy took place. The following was the detail of the Royal Artillery which actually took part in the attack on Buenos Ayres, on the 5th July, 1807:—

MS. Returns in R. A. Record Office.

1st Brigade—	Captain A. S. Frazer.	98	N.C. officers and men.
	2nd Captain W. D. Nicolls.	4	6-pounder guns.
	Lieutenant Lloyd Down.	2	3-pounder guns.
2nd Brigade—	Captain James Hawker.	100	N.C. officers and men.
	2nd Captain Henry Lane.	5	4-pounder guns.
	Lieutenant Thomas Trotter.	1	5½-inch howitzer.
3rd Brigade—	Captain Alexander Dickson.	100	N.C. officers and men.
	Lieutenant J. Mackonochie.	3	12-pounder guns.
	Lieutenant Falkner Hope.	4	6-pounder guns.
		2	5½-inch howitzers.

Captain Frazer erred rather in being too minute in his arrangements, than the reverse; he wrote his orders with his own hand, and knowing the nature of the country which the men would have to traverse after disembarkation, he issued the most detailed instructions before leaving Monte Video, as to dress, diet, horses, &c. These are too long for reproduction, but some are quaintly amusing, and one suggests a new use for foot-straps to a gunner dismounted. “The men will land with one great coat and blanket each, with a flannel waistcoat, brush, comb, razor, and shaving-brush rolled up in the blanket; and with such proportion of cooked provisions as may be directed. Every man to have shoe-straps tied round his shoes to keep them on in boggy ground; the men’s hair to be plaited up behind, not tied in a queue; the great coats and blankets to be rolled up so as to leave them as much as possible the full and free use of their limbs.”

To each Brigade of guns was attached a cart containing long troughs, which were laid over very swampy ground or across ditches, and in which the gun-wheels were made to travel, which otherwise would have sunk to the axletrees. In fact everything which ingenuity could devise to lighten the difficulties of the operation was thought of by Captain Frazer. That he was rewarded by success is apparent by Captain Frazer, R.H.A., to D. A. Gen. the following extract:—“During the advance the Artillery exerted themselves to the admiration of the whole army; the Artillerymen pulling at the drag-ropes up to their waists in water.... In the most difficult ground they were continually obliged to restrain their zeal, lest they should outmarch the army, whose repeated intimations of ‘Easy the Artillery!’ were most gratifying.” Of the services of his own troop of Horse Artillery, Captain Frazer wrote: “The conduct of the officers and men was admirable, yet it were better that the praise due to Quartermaster-Sergeant Hay and the men of the Horse Artillery should come from any other pen than mine; but their gallantry and intelligence have ensured the respect of the whole army. It would be injustice not to mention in terms of the most unequivocal commendation Quartermaster-Sergeant Hay, in whom the valuable qualities of clear arrangements and undaunted courage are joined to the greatest zeal; this man is cast in no ordinary mould.”

On arrival at Buenos Ayres, after two engagements at Reduccion and Passo Chico, in which the English were successful, General Whitelocke completely invested the city. The plan of attack on which he decided was to enter the place in separate columns by totally different entrances ‘Gazette,’ 13 Sept. 1807. and streets; each column to march “along the street directly in its front, till it arrived at the last square of houses next the River La Plata, of which it was to possess itself, forming on the flat roofs, and there wait for further orders. No firing was to be permitted until the columns had reached their final points and formed.” The reader, who has already been informed of the size of Buenos Ayres, and the style of the houses, will at once see the madness of such a method of attack; but the extraordinary thing to be noted is that General Whitelocke employed, as an argument for the course he adopted, the very circumstance which should have forbidden him to hazard his troops in the dangerous and unsatisfactory occupation of street fighting. “The knowledge,” he wrote, “that the enemy meant to occupy the flat roofs of the houses gave rise to the plan of attack.”

The guns accompanied the columns; but “the detachments of the Horse Artillery were not mounted, and of the Cavalry only two squadrons had their horses.” The attack took place on the 5th July, and if endurance and courage among the troops could have redeemed their General’s blunder, this would have been done. At the end of the day no fewer than 2500 men were killed, wounded, or prisoners. The battle was just what might have been foreseen. In General Whitelocke’s own words, “The nature of the fire to which the troops were exposed was violent in the extreme. Grape shot at the corners of all the streets, musketry, hand grenades, bricks, and stones from the tops of all the houses; every householder with his negroes defended his dwelling, each of which was in itself a fortress, and it is not, perhaps, too much to say that the whole male population of Buenos Ayres was employed in its defence.” General Whitelocke’s subsequent conviction by court-martial for incapacity might have been assured on his own testimony.

The only real gain to the English army at the end of the day was the possession of the Plaza de Toros: and its situation was such, that, if fortified, it would have commanded the town, and perhaps compelled the inhabitants to insist on a surrender. Captain Frazer urged this without success: he pointed out that with some guns captured that day from the Spaniards he could construct a battery of 26 guns, immediately serviceable, and strengthen it by unspiking 10 other pieces of ordnance which had been for a time rendered unserviceable by the enemy, prior to their capture: he assured the General that there were not less than 600 barrels of powder, captured that day in the Arsenal of Buenos Ayres, and an apparent abundance of every requisite for the service of a battery; and he reminded him that each gun which they had brought from Monte Video was provided with 200 rounds: but all was to no purpose. A loop-hole for an escape without utter disgrace, as he thought, was opened to General Whitelocke, of which he availed himself, and which he thus described in his official report:—“On the morning of the 6th inst. General Linières addressed a letter to me, offering to give up all his prisoners taken in the late affair, together with the 71st Regiment and others taken with General Beresford, if I desisted from any other attack on the town, and withdrew His Majesty’s forces from the River Plata, intimating at the same time, from the exasperated state of the populace, he could not answer for the safety of the prisoners, if I persisted in offensive measures. Influenced by this consideration (which I knew from better authority to be founded on fact), and reflecting of how little advantage would be the possession of a country, the inhabitants of which were so absolutely hostile, I resolved to forego the advantages which the bravery of the troops had obtained, and acceded to the annexed Treaty, which I trust will meet the approbation of His Majesty.”

It may be here mentioned that the Treaty was carried out; the English army returning to Monte Video, and MS. Narratives of Captains Hawker and Nicolls, and Lieut. Trotter, relative to attack on Buenos Ayres. thence to England. But as, fortunately, an immense number of private and unpublished papers on this subject had been accumulated by Sir A. Frazer, and ultimately reached the Royal Artillery Record Office with a view to embodiment in some such work as this, it seems desirable to analyze the conduct of General Whitelocke at this crisis, and to ascertain, as far as is practicable, whether any other course would have been successful.

Major Nicoll’s Diary, and Official Report. Captain Frazer’s Diary, &c.

First, the threat of murdering the prisoners should have been dismissed from General Whitelocke’s mind at once. With his powers of retaliating after any such atrocity,—being, as he was, in possession of part of the town,—the threat was an empty one; and between civilized communities most unlikely of execution, even if the control of the General had been weak. But, as a matter of fact, General Linières’ power and popularity among the inhabitants at the time were very great;—a rumour of his having fallen during the day produced a profound depression, which made the reaction of joy the more intense when it was found that he was uninjured. That such a crime against humanity would have been allowed by one who was admitted by all to be chivalrous in the extreme, is utterly improbable; and the use of the threat merely showed that he found it necessary to make use of every argument, real and unreal, to secure his purpose;—that his position was not sufficiently strong to dictate terms to an enemy, even in the first hour of his discomfiture;—and, possibly, that he measured the man with whom he had to deal, and acted accordingly.

Secondly, the very eagerness of General Linières to let the troops go, and his ready permission to let them take all the guns, &c., which they had captured, should have suggested to General Whitelocke that these were not the characteristics of a General confident in his own strength, and in his enemy’s inferiority.

And, thirdly, were the inhabitants so bitterly hostile to the English, as General Whitelocke assumed? Doubtless they were not likely to evince much amiability while having to fight for their lives and homes; but, had a different mode of attack been adopted—blockade with a threatened bombardment, followed by the occupation in force of one or two commanding points—would it not have been possible so to foster English trade with the inhabitants as to ensure a thoroughly friendly feeling? This was evidently believed by those whose written opinions are extant—opinions formed in the city, and after careful inquiry. They said that had the Bishop been strictly watched, and warned that he would be sent to Europe, should he be detected in any political conspiracy, or countenancing any irregularity;—had all the Spanish officers and regular troops been sent to England immediately, and all the arms and ammunition of the inhabitants removed;—had the chief public officers been removed, but no injury done to the private inhabitants, and had honesty and uprightness been displayed in the English administration, the country might have been easily retained as a very useful appendage to Great Britain. The presence of an English army would have raised the price of nearly every commodity, and at the same time the system of ready-money payment would have benefited the local trade, and would have given the stock-owners a very strong interest in the presence of the English. The people of all ranks in Buenos Ayres were fond of copying English fashions in dress and furniture, and the facilities for comparing these would have been favourable to the invaders. The people born in the country, who were despised by the Spaniards, would have been raised to a degree of consideration unknown to them previously; and it would have been politic to place many of them in the situations of which the Castilians had been deprived. As for the Indians, the gain to them would have been immense, for their skins would have met with a ready sale at an increased price. Commercial intercourse between England and Buenos Ayres once established, every vessel that sailed between their ports would have spun another thread in the web which bound them together, until what at first might have been a mere commercial alliance, would have ended in a firm friendship and union.

All these possibilities were frustrated by the ignorance of a General. His landing so far from the city was one great blunder: his sub-division of his army, leaving part at Reduccion and part at Colonia, was another: his dispensing with siege artillery was a fatal error; and his crowning folly was the employment of a trained soldiery in street fighting, thus depriving them of the opportunity of exercising the qualities which a disciplined army possesses, and compelling them to meet an enemy under the very circumstances which that enemy would himself have chosen. General Whitelocke had sufficient troops to prevent the entry of supplies into the city if he had chosen;—or he might have entered Buenos Ayres two days before, when there was nothing but the wildest confusion within;—or he might have confined the attack to the side of the Ritoro, and approached the Citadel by regular parallels, using the streets to a great extent for that purpose, and ending by an assault which would have certainly been successful.

But he took the very course which was certain to be fatal; and the army he commanded, after performing useless prodigies of valour, had to succumb to terms which were openly talked of at Monte Video, while the army was awaiting embarkation for England, as disgraceful.

And with this irritating consciousness of failure, there came among the troops, when at Monte Video, not a little demoralization. Crime was general; desertions frequent; insubordination not unknown; and capital punishment was resorted to to enforce discipline. It is with pride that the Artilleryman learns from Captain Frazer’s letters, that not a single desertion occurred from the ranks of the Royal Artillery.

The possible consequences of a General’s incapacity ought to stir every officer to a determination to master his profession. The thought that his ignorance may some day be the cause of unnecessary slaughter, or may neutralise the bravest efforts of his men, and tarnish his country’s honour, ought to make a man afraid of being found wanting when called upon. In the success of a great General, the officer who loves his profession traces means and maxims which he himself may study; and in the failures of an incapable commander, he searches for blunders which he may avoid. The study of both will be found useful to the man who may some day have to lead others, and would fain lead them to victory.

The last letter written by Captain Frazer from Monte Video was one imploring that he and his troop might be attached to any portion of the army which might be on active service. He seemed eager to drown the recollection of failure in the excitement of successes under some more able leader. And, as this history will show, he was not disappointed. The time was near when England was to draw the sword on behalf of suffering Spain, nor to sheathe it again until the invader had been driven from Spanish soil, albeit at a terrible cost to herself of life and treasure. But with all their attendant sufferings and cost, those were days to gloat over; now, alas! is it not too often found that—

Rossetti.

“... Man is parcelled out in men
Even thus:—because for any wrongful blow
No man not stricken asks, ‘I would be told
Why dost thou strike:’ but his heart whispers then,
‘He is he, I am I!’ By this we know
That the earth falls asunder, being old.”

CHAPTER XII.
The Old Tenth Battalion.

It is necessary to distinguish this battalion as above, because it was reduced after Waterloo, and another 10th Battalion added to the Regiment subsequently, in 1846. As, however, there was no connection between the two in any way, not even a battalion head-quarters, or a company cadre, however small, left of the old 10th, this chapter differs from all the preceding histories of the battalions, in being merely a sketch of a part of the Regiment, whose traditions can be handed down to no lineal descendant, and are the property of the Corps at large.

In the year 1807 the Regiment consisted of 12 troops of Horse Artillery, 90 marching companies, and 12 companies of invalids, besides the Riding-house establishment, the last-named of which had been formed in 1806. There were also 10 companies of the Driver Corps. The Board of Ordnance decided on augmenting the Regiment by another battalion of 10 companies; and this was the last augmentation of this description which took place during the great wars with France. The second 10th Battalion, as has been stated above, was not formed until 1846; and the others as follows: 11th and 12th Battalions in 1848; 13th Battalion in 1854; and 14th Battalion in 1855. All the augmentations which took place between the formation of the old 10th and the Battle of Waterloo, were in the form of additional numbers to the ranks of the existing troops and companies.

Colonel Macleod to R. H. Crew, Esq., B. of Ordnance.

The receipt in Woolwich, in the winter of 1807, of 1000 stand of arms, was followed in February 1808 by the formation of a new battalion of 10 companies, in every respect like those already existing. The staff of the brigade was as follows.

MSS. R. A. Record Office.

Colonel-Commandant	Robert Lawson.
Colonels	John Schalch.
	Henry Hutton.
Lieutenant-Colonels	G. A. Wood.
	R. Dickenson.
	Thomas Charlton.
Major	William Dixon.
Adjutant	1st Lieutenant William Wylde.
Quartermaster	Samuel Barnes.

The officers appointed to the various companies on their formation were as follows:—

	Captains.	Second Captains.	First Lieutenants.
No. 1 Company	J. Maclachlan.	Wm. Butts.	E. Sheppard. G. M. Graham.
No. 2 Company	W. J. Lloyd.	H. Scott.	F. Wells. F. Strangways.
No. 3 Company	J. Addams.	W. Green.	G. Mathias. J. T. Ellison.
No. 4 Company	R. Dyas.	R. Cairnes.	E. Seward. H. Wyatt.
No. 5 Company	W. Shenley.	J. Mallett.	R. Godby. S. Wyatt.
No. 6 Company	W. Roberts.	Hon. H. Gardner.	W. Dunn. E. C. Vinicombe.
No. 7 Company	J. Fead.	J. Marlow.	W. H. Hill. J. F. Frere.
No. 8 Company	R. H. Birch.	L. Carmichael.	A. W. Hope. W. A. Gordon.
No. 9 Company	B. T. Walsh.	F. Bedingfeld.	G. M. Baynes. D. Patullo.
No. 10 Company	W. M. Leake.	W. Millar.	G. F. Roberts. J. O. Burton.

There were no 2nd Lieutenants appointed to the companies on their first formation.

The following changes took place among the Captains during the short but eventful existence of the battalion:—

No. 2 Company,	Brevet Lieut.-Col. Power,	vice Lloyd:	29th July, 1815.
No. 4 Company,	Captain (Sir A.) Dickson,	vice Dyas:	1st June, 1808.
No. 4 Company,	Captain (Sir A.) Taylor,	vice Dickson:	1st April, 1815.
No. 4 Company,	Brevet-Major Bredin,	vice Taylor:	1st June, 1815.
No. 5 Company,	Captain Chester,	vice Shinley:	6th Oct., 1813.
No. 9 Company,	Brevet Lt.-Col. Thornhill,	vice Walsh:	1st Jan., 1810.
No. 9 Company,	Captain Gilmore,	vice Thornhill:	6th June, 1815.
No.10 Company,	Captain Cobbe,	vice Leake:	1st May, 1815.

The history of each company may be shortly stated.

No. 1 Company.—This company formed part of the Expedition to Walcheren in 1809, returning the same year. Its next foreign service was during the second American Captain J. Maclachlan. 2nd Capt. J. Mackonochie. 1st Lieut. Shippard. 1st Lieut. G. Hunter. 2nd Lieut. R. Tomkyns. War. It embarked at Plymouth in March 1814, and landed at Quebec on the 3rd June, accompanied by the whole of its officers. On the 5th June it left Quebec, in boats, and arrived at Fort George, on the Niagara River, in the end of the month. On the 3rd July the Americans crossed the river into Canada; and on the 5th, part of the company, with Captain Mackonochie and Lieutenants Shipperd and Hunter, was in action with the enemy at Chippewa. For his conduct on this occasion, Captain Mackonochie was mentioned ‘Annual Register,’ 1814. in despatches by General Riall. On the 10th July, part of the company, with two field guns, under Lieutenant Tomkyns, was engaged with the enemy near Fort George; and was thanked in General Orders. On the 25th July, the whole company was engaged with the Americans near Niagara Falls, and Captain Maclachlan was severely Ibid. wounded, losing the use of his right arm. He, Captain Mackonochie, and Lieutenant Tomkyns were specially General Drummond’s Despatches, 27 July, 1814. mentioned by General Drummond in his despatches. On the 13th and 14th August, the company, with its three subaltern officers, was engaged in the batteries at Fort Erie; and on the 15th August, at the assault on the same place. From the 16th August to 16th September, they Ibid. 15 Aug. 1814. were engaged in the batteries at Fort Erie; and on the Ibid. 17 Sept. 1814. 17th September, assisted in repulsing a sortie made from the Fort by 5000 Americans. On the 30th September, the company, with its subaltern officers (both Captains being sick in hospital), was engaged in repulsing a general attack on the British lines on the Chippewa; after which the Americans, having completely failed in obtaining possession of Upper Canada, recrossed the Niagara River into the United States. In October the company took part in fresh operations at Fort George and Fort Niagara; and Lieutenant Tomkyns, with two 6-pounders, was attached to the 37th Regiment, when sent to drive a strong party of Americans out of the country, who had remained on the British side, plundering the inhabitants in the neighbourhood of Turkey Point, on Lake Erie. In the spring of 1815, the company was sent to Amherstburg; on the 23rd July, 1817, it returned to England; and on the 31st of the same month it ceased to exist.

No. 2 Company.—This company, under Captain Lloyd, and with 2nd Captain Marlow, 1st Lieutenants Baker and Wells, and 2nd Lieutenant Manners, took part in the Expedition to Walcheren in 1809. Its next foreign service was very important. It embarked at Plymouth on 14th January, 1815, and sailed for Cork to join the fleet destined for the American Coast: after remaining there ten weeks it proceeded to sea; but the second day after doing so, it received counter orders to proceed to Ostend, where it arrived in the end of April.

The company, with Captains Lloyd and Rudyerd, and Lieutenants Wells, Phelps, and Harvey, was engaged against the French on the 16th, 17th, and 18th June, commencing at Quatre Bras and ending at Waterloo. During these engagements, Captain Lloyd was mortally wounded, and died at Brussels on the 29th July following; and Lieutenant Harvey lost his right arm. To any one familiar with the story of the Artillery at Waterloo, the subsequent reduction of this gallant company seems almost a crime. It accompanied the army into France, where it remained until March 1816; returning then to England, it disembarked at Ramsgate, and proceeded to Woolwich, where, on the 28th April, 1817, it fell a victim to the reductions which economy rendered necessary, but which the Artilleryman must always bitterly regret.

No. 3 Company.—This company, with Captain Adams, 1st Lieutenants Otway and Moore, and 2nd Lieutenant Weston, took part in the Expedition to Walcheren in 1809.

On the 16th March, 1814, the company, with Captains Adams and King, 1st Lieutenant Day, and 2nd Lieutenant Pickard, embarked at Portsmouth for North America, and disembarked at Quebec on the 30th May. In the July following Captain King and Lieutenant Pickard, with part of the company, were ordered to march to Chambly, where they were attached to a battery of 6-pounder field guns, for duty with that part of the army serving under Major-General De Rottenburg. In the beginning of August, this detachment, with two 6-pounders, and one 5½-inch howitzer, was ordered to the frontier to act with the army under the command of General De Watterville; and on the 4th September it moved forward with the army commanded by Lieut.-General Sir George Prevost to Plattsburg, at which place it was removed from its field guns, and posted to a battery of two 8-inch mortars, for service against the American lines and gun-boats. From this place the army retreated on the 11th September. No part of the company was engaged subsequent to this date; and the head-quarters remained at Montreal, under Captain Adams. On the 17th June, 1817, it embarked at Quebec for England, landing at Woolwich on the 23rd July. On the 31st of the same month, the company was reduced.

No. 4 Company.—If regret is unavoidable when one reads of the reduction of the companies already mentioned, a much stronger feeling inspires the Artilleryman—a feeling of righteous indignation,—when he finds that this, Sir Alexander Dickson’s own company, shared the same fate. Just as its Captain—in his position of confidential adviser to the Duke of Wellington—raised the position of an Artillery commander on service, so did the company, under its gallant 2nd Captain, Cairnes—who was killed afterwards at Waterloo—contribute no mean share to the meed of glory, and work well done, which attached to the representatives of the Corps in the Peninsular campaigns. What battery is there now in existence, but would give a great price to be able to say that the following records of No. 4 Company, 10th Battalion, were its own property by right of uninterrupted descent? And yet, perhaps, it is well that praise, earned in such words as recognized the labours of Sir Alexander Dickson’s company, should be viewed as a regimental, instead of a battery inheritance. Let the record be briefly stated.

In February 1810, the company embarked at Woolwich on board the troop ship ‘Alert,’ and disembarked at Cadiz on the 1st April. The officers of the company present with it were Lieutenants Woolcombe, Raynes, and Talbot; 2nd Captain Cairnes joined it in June 1810, and Lieutenant Bridges in September 1811. It was stationed at the Isla de Leon during the siege of Cadiz, taking its tour of duty in the advanced batteries. The blockade continued from April 1810 to August 1812. In the beginning of 1811, 30 non-commissioned officers and gunners, with small arms, were told off under Lieutenant Mainwaring, Acting Quartermaster, as an escort to the ammunition accompanying the expedition under Lieut.-General Graham, which resulted in the battle of Barossa, on 5th March, 1811. This detachment was present at that battle, as were also Captain Cairnes and Lieutenant Raynes, who were attached to Major Roberts’ brigade of guns; and Lieutenant Woolcombe, who acted as Adjutant to Major Duncan, who commanded the Artillery. Lieutenant Woolcombe was mortally wounded, and died on the following day.

In the month of September 1812, Colonel Skerrett was ordered to join Lord Wellington’s army with 4000 men of the Cadiz division. Captain Cairnes with the whole of the company marched from the Isla de Leon on the 12th September, and on their arrival at Seville they were posted to a brigade of 9-pounders. Captain Cairnes, having been severely wounded by the explosion of a powder-mill near Seville a few days previously to the march of the division, was left behind. The brigade, under the command of Lieutenant Raynes, marched from Seville on the 30th September, and joined the army under Lieut.-General Hill at Val de Moros. On 30th October it was present at the affair of Puente Largo, near Aranjuez, but was not engaged. At the close of this year’s campaign, the brigade was stationed at Val de la Mula, on the Portuguese frontier. Here it was rejoined by Captain Cairnes, and shortly afterwards moved to Pena ma Cor.

On the 6th June, 1813, the brigade joined the 7th Division of the army at Villalba, the following officers being present with it: Captain Cairnes, Lieutenants Raynes, Bridges, Talbot, and James, and Assist.-Surgeon Kenny. It was present at the battle of Vittoria, and received the following mention in orders:—

Extract from Division Orders by the Earl of Dalhousie.

“Camp in front of Vittoria,
22 June, 1813.

“The Lieut.-General desires to express his high admiration of the conduct of the 1st Brigade, and of Captain Cairnes’ brigade of guns yesterday. Nothing could surpass the steadiness and bravery of the men and officers. To Captain Cairnes, the officers, and men of the brigade of guns, the Lieut.-General offers his warmest acknowledgments for the steadiness and excellence of their fire at the different points where Captain Cairnes brought it to bear during the day.

(Signed) “F. D’Oyley, A.-A.-G.”

The brigade was afterwards employed in the blockade of Pampeluna in conjunction with the Spanish troops. On the 27th July, the right wing being driven back from Roncesvalles, after a series of actions commencing on the 25th, Captain Cairnes’ brigade was ordered to take up a position on the heights near the village of Oracain, commanding the high road to Pampeluna. On the 28th July, the Artillery of the 6th Division not having arrived, Lieutenants Raynes and James were detached with two guns to the support of that division; and during the action Lieutenant Talbot joined with another gun. General Packe, who commanded the division, stood near the guns, and afterwards was pleased to say: “The guns were brought up at a most critical moment, and served with all that gallantry for which the Corps is remarkable.” On the 29th July, this detachment rejoined Captain Cairnes, who was ordered to take up a fresh position, and on the following day an action commenced at daybreak. The enemy had previously endeavoured to surprise the advanced posts, but was soon driven back. The brigade was heavily engaged from daybreak till noon, when the enemy, driven back at all points, retreated. These two actions of the 28th and 30th July formed part of what are known as the “Battles of the Pyrenees.” The brigade remained in the neighbourhood of Pampeluna until the 1st November, when the place surrendered.

On the 10th November, the brigade was present at the battle of Nivelle—held in reserve. On the 20th of the same month, it was ordered to the rear and cantoned near Fuenterabia, where it remained during the winter. In consequence of a deficiency of horses for the pontoon train, those belonging to the brigade were given up for that service.

On the 11th February, 1814, Captain Cairnes having been appointed to the Royal Horse Artillery, the command of the company fell to Lieutenant Raynes. On the 19th February, it marched to St. Jean de Luz, to take charge of rockets to be given over to Captain Lane.

On the 22nd February, Lieutenant Raynes received the following order:—

“Lieutenant Raynes with three non-commissioned officers and 4 gunners, with spikes, will cross with the first party, and spike the guns of the battery at the mouth of the Adour; which being accomplished, Lieutenant Raynes will return to the left bank of the Adour, and take charge of the rocket detachments on that side, which will have been previously told off as follows, viz.:

“One half to be employed against the ‘Sappho’ frigate: for this duty, Lieutenant Bridges.

“The other half against the enemy’s vessels, should any attempt to come down the river: for this post, Lieutenant Elgee.

“The parties under Lieutenants Bridges and Elgee to accompany the 18-pounders on their march. Lieutenant Raynes to accompany the pontoons.

(Signed) “A. G. Frazer, Lieut.-Colonel.

“22 February, 1814.”

On the 23rd February, the passage of the Adour took place. The company remained before Bayonne until 8th March, when it was ordered to Reuterix (Spain) to assist in preparing the battering-train for the proposed siege of Bayonne.

On the 11th June Captain Close joined and took command of the company; and on the 20th of the same month it embarked for England,—disembarking on 12th July at Woolwich, and proceeding to Chatham.

It should have been mentioned that when the company was not actively employed, its officers often volunteered for other services. For example, from October 1811 to February 1812, Lieutenant Raynes was employed with another company at the siege of Tarifa. Lieutenants Bridges and Talbot, also, took part in the Expedition to Carthagena.

The company went from Chatham to Ireland, and was reduced, while serving in that country, on the 31st May, 1817.

No. 5 Company.—This company embarked at Woolwich on 28th February, 1810, for Cadiz, and landed at that place on the 1st April. The officers who accompanied it were Captain Shenley, 2nd Captain Mallett, 1st Lieutenants Maitland and Godby, and 2nd Lieutenant Cator. The company was employed in the batteries and lines in the defence of Cadiz until June 1812, when the French abandoned the siege. On the 16th August, 1814, it embarked at Cadiz for England, and landed at Woolwich on 27th September, 1814. On the 28th February, 1818, it ceased to exist.

No. 6 Company.—This company embarked at Gravesend on 28th February, 1810, for Cadiz, and landed there on 1st April. The company was employed in the batteries and lines in the defence of Cadiz until the abandonment of the siege by the French in June 1812. The officers with the company were Captain Roberts, 1st Lieutenants Dundas and Cozens. During the siege Lieutenant Cozens lost a leg. Part of the company, under Captain Roberts, was detached in February 1811 on an expedition to Algaziras, and afterwards was present at the battle of Barossa. Second Captain Gardiner joined the company in 1811, but exchanged shortly afterwards.

On the 9th August, 1812, part of the company, under Captain Roberts, with Lieutenants Raynes, Maitland, and Brett attached, embarked at Cadiz with a brigade of 6-pounders under the command of Colonel Skerritt, and was present at the taking of Seville on the 27th of the same month. Here Lieutenant Brett was killed, and Lieutenant Maitland so severely wounded that he died a few weeks after. From Seville the detachment returned to Cadiz, where on the 16th August, 1814, they embarked for England with the whole company, arriving at Woolwich on the 27th September, 1814. The company was reduced after Waterloo on the 31st March, 1817.

No. 7 Company.—This company served in Gibraltar from March 1810 to April 1817. On its return to Woolwich, it was reduced,—on 31st May, 1817. Its reduction dislocated no traditions.

No. 8 Company.—The history of this company tallies, even to the dates of embarkation, with that of No. 7.

No. 9 Company.—This company served at the Cape of Good Hope from March 1811 to August 1817. It was reduced at Woolwich on 31st December, 1817.

No. 10 Company.—This company served in Malta from December 1810 to March 1817. It was reduced while in Malta, the men being transferred to the 1st Battalion, to a company which is now called A Battery, 11th Brigade, Royal Artillery.

The battalion head-quarters and Adjutant’s detachment were reduced on 28th February, 1818.

This summary of the history of the old 10th Battalion companies should be read in connection with, and in amplification of, the chapters on the Peninsular and Second American Wars.

CHAPTER XIII.
Peninsular War—Roliça, Vimiera, Corunna.

“Saw
Time, like a pulse, beat fierce
Through all the worlds.”
Rossetti.

The history of the Regiment between 1808 and 1814 is concentrated in the Peninsular campaigns,—with the one exception of the Expedition to Walcheren. As the war in Spain drew to a close, the Second American War, which had in the meantime arisen, increased in importance, reaching its culminating point in 1814.

It is proposed in this chapter to treat of that section of the wars in the Peninsula, which terminated in the sad but glorious victory of Corunna. After a diversion on the subject of the Walcheren Expedition, the Peninsular narrative will be resumed, and be continued uninterruptedly to its close.

The reader will doubtless remember that in the spring of 1808 the Spaniards rose as one man to resist the schemes of Napoleon, who had placed his brother Joseph on the throne of Spain. The English Government, always ready to assist any country which defied the French emperor, placed a force of 9000 men under the command of Sir Arthur Wellesley, who sailed for Portugal on the 12th July, to co-operate with the Spanish forces. This force was subsequently increased to nearly 30,000; but the conflicting instructions given by Government, and the utter ignorance of the real state of affairs in Spain, prevented the possibility of harmony of action among the English forces, and had ultimately much to do with the abrupt and mistaken Convention of Cintra. Portugal had recently suffered dismemberment at the hands of Napoleon as a penalty for its friendship with England; the English expedition had therefore a double motive,—the delivery of Portugal, and co-operation with the Spaniards. How terrible the errors of the English Government were in organizing this Expedition can only be Napier, vol. i., book i., chapter iii. realised by a study of the celebrated and standard history of the war; and such a study is necessary to enable one fully to realise the marvellous genius of Wellington, and his determined vigour. It is sufficient for the purpose of this work to show that, if the Royal Artillery shared the glories of Wellington, they also from the very first shared his difficulties—which were certainly not lessened in their treatment by the Ordnance. The conflicting instructions given by Government to Sir Arthur Wellesley were matched by the total absence of any information from the Board to Colonel Robe, who had been appointed to command the Artillery of the Expedition. A man full of zeal—one of the best practical Artillerymen whom the Regiment has ever produced—he naturally sought by every means in his power to ensure the completeness in every respect of the equipment of the force under his control. How completely he was foiled by the masterly silence of the Board will be seen by the following letters written by him after his arrival in Portugal. That, in spite of all his difficulties, he succeeded in earning the warm commendations of a chief, who was rarely guilty of many words of praise, is merely another instance of the truth ‘Times,’ 13 Jan. 1873. of the saying of a recent writer: “The student who reads the history of the Royal Artillery can hardly fail to be struck by proof after proof that the progress of the Regiment has been due to the energy and manly courage of individual officers within its ranks in spite of the withering cold of officialism.... So it must be, and ever will be. Boards and clerks will bind chains in peace round the men of talent, who will either break them when a crisis comes, or die in the effort to do so.”

The correspondence was as follows.

“‘Kingston’ Transport,
Mondego Bay,
July 30, 1808.

Lieut.-Col. Robe to Brig.-Gen. Macleod.

“... I shall therefore take the liberty of mentioning to you some points which it may be essential should on future occasions be put right on the embarkation of Artillery.... It appears to me necessary that the officer appointed to command Artillery on any expedition should know something more of the nature of the service intended than I did, and that he should not be made to take upon trust that everything necessary for his service will be found on board his ships. Our equipment is not yet arrived at the state of perfection to render such a mode efficient; and if it is practised, the commanding officer of Artillery will find, as I have, that his brigades will be wanting in articles extremely necessary, and be very short indeed in stores intended for repair or for keeping them in good order. He will perhaps find also, as I have, that intrenching tools, and even platforms, are sent with the Engineer’s department for a species of service for which he has not a gun, nor a mortar, nor a round of ammunition. I do not make this a matter of complaint to you. I complain not of anything, because I can go no further than use to the best of my ability the means put into my power; but I confess it would have been much more satisfactory to me had I been permitted an opportunity of stating before I embarked what might have been sent with me for the real benefit of the service, and I don’t think it would have occasioned an hour’s delay to the embarkation, or have added a shilling of expense to the country, because the essential articles, if not supplied, must be purchased. I have so often mentioned horses that I ought perhaps to apologise for again recurring to that subject; and perhaps it may be said that I have no reason to mention them, having the horses of the Irish Commissariat ordered to be turned over to me on landing. Fortunate, indeed, I think myself to have even them. I know not what figure we should have cut without them; but when you learn that they are acknowledged to be cast horses from the Cavalry turned over to the Commissariat, you will readily think that we are not likely to make a very capital figure with them. I have been also fortunate enough to obtain with them a promise of shoes from that branch, sufficient, with the one hundred sets supplied to me, to shoe them on first going off. Future service must be supplied as it can, and I shall not let it go unsupplied.” ...

This letter was written by Colonel Robe before he had realised the whole of his wants, and how admirably the Honourable Board had succeeded in proving their ability “How not to do it.” The truth dawned on him very soon, and his language of remonstrance became stronger. His next letter is dated the 7th August, 1808, from the camp above Lavos, Mondego Bay, and contains the following passages:—

Lieut.-Col. Robe to Brig.-Gen. Macleod.

“I now deem it my duty (which were I to neglect I should be highly culpable) to point out to you in the strongest manner the impolicy of sending Artillery to a foreign country without horses. Even the horses we have now, old, blind, and casts from the Cavalry as they are, we find superior to what we can obtain from the country. The latter are good of their kind, but small, and not of sufficient weight for our carriages. Three hundred good horses would have cost the country no more for transport than as many bad ones, and what we shall do for the brigade now to be landed remains to be decided.... I must also mention the proportion of general stores which you, sir, know Artillery cannot do without, and which ought to be sent out with every embarkation. Had I been made acquainted with what was to have been embarked, I should not have gone on board ship till the proper proportion had been furnished. I did everything in my power to obtain the information from the Board, and was referred to Mr. ——, who himself at the time was not furnished with any information. I did at hazard request Mr. Spencer to put on board one hundred sets of horse-shoes and some nails, thinking them an addition to what would be provided for us. These are all I have had for the horses of three brigades; and had I not obtained some more from the Commissary-General, belonging to the horses delivered to us, the horses must have taken the field barefoot. I have made demands for some, and for such things as are most immediately required, and what may be wanted in the meantime must be purchased here.

“I write this to you officially, and must not be considered as individually complaining or making difficulties. My people of all classes exert themselves, and I am determined to get on; but I know that, engaged in a department where much is expected, I am doing my country greater service by pointing out what may render that department as complete as it is supposed to be, than if I were to remain for ever silent on the subject.”

---

Then followed the battles of Roliça and Vimiera, to be alluded to hereafter, and merely mentioned here to show that before the date of his next letter Colonel Robe had been able to form a very practical opinion of the Board’s shortcomings. Writing after Vimiera, on the night of the Lieut.-Col. Robe to Brigadier Macleod. 21st August, 1808, he says: “My men are staunch, and the admiration of the army; and had they been properly supplied with horses and with stores, as artillery should have embarked from England, Europe would not have produced a more efficient artillery. I shall have occasion to write to you and to the Board on the latter subjects, as soon as I can obtain time; but give me leave to say now that never more will I leave England taking my provision of Artillery upon trust, and coming upon an army burthened with cast horses, or no horses at all, or with brigades unsupplied with any one store to make repair, and scarce a shoe to put on horses when I could beg them. This may be strong; but I have reason to use the expressions after suffering the inconveniences occasioned by the want of these supplies.”

Lieut.-Col. Robe to Colonel Harding.

On the 1st September, 1808, Colonel Robe pointed out to Colonel Harding, who had arrived to take command of the Artillery in Portugal, that “not less than two hundred and fifty horses would be required to render that Artillery efficient for taking the field for a length of service. Those received originally from the Irish Commissariat were old cast horses of Cavalry, and many of them blind. They now fall off very fast.”

---

The reader will be eager to see how the Board explained its shortcomings, and what reparation it proposed to make to the brave officer, who had gained honour for his Corps in spite of official blunders. For calm, cool assumption, perhaps, Board of Ordnance to Lieut.-Col. Robe. the reply sent by the Board is unsurpassed. It bears date the 6th October, 1808, after the news of the English successes, and the gallantry of the Artillery under Colonel Robe, had reached England, and after Colonel Robe had been twice specially mentioned by Sir A. Wellesley in his despatches. It was written, let the reader remember, on behalf of a Board whose errors were not confined to those quoted above; which had actually sent guns without their ammunition, and ammunition which would have been useless, had not Colonel Robe succeeded in borrowing suitable guns from the navy. It was addressed to an officer who had been straining every nerve, night and day, to remedy the defects due to official ignorance, or to what is much the same, official affectation of omniscience;—to an officer who, in spite of the remonstrances which had been extorted from him by his discovery of the Board’s incapacity, had never attempted to shelter himself behind the faults of others, but had, instead, toiled to remedy them. Let the reader bear these facts in mind, as he attempts to realise the feelings with which Colonel Robe must have perused the following lines:—“In reply to the parts of your public correspondence in which you have so very warmly complained of some omissions and deficiencies, particularly in the Light Brigade of Artillery shipped at Plymouth, I am to say that his Lordship has, upon inquiry, ascertained that there were some irregularities in the embarkation, and that he has, in consequence, expressed his displeasure through the Board to the parties concerned, in a manner to make a lasting impression. His Lordship has, besides, issued such orders, and made such regulations, as must effectually preclude every plea or excuse for irregularity or omission in future.

“The Master-General, in desiring me to give you the above information, has directed me to add that, although he is willing to ascribe much of the style and many of the expressions in the letters to your known zeal for the service, and the anxiety attending an officer during the moments of preparation for the field, yet his Lordship cannot but regret that, instead of forwarding a complaint, which it would be the wish and the interest of the Ordnance to attend to, you should have allowed yourself to arraign, with such improper and unmerited asperity, the conduct of the Ordnance Department in general.”

The old, old story! Officialism, on being detected in error, hurriedly, and with attempts at dignity, assumes an air of injured innocence, and neither forgives nor forgets the unhappy soldier who is the means of revealing its shortcomings. What a contrast does Colonel Robe’s dignified and soldierlike acknowledgment of this reprimand present! Having first acknowledged the congratulations of the Master-General on the conduct of the Artillery at Roliça and Vimiera, which he had caused to be read to the men on parade, and entered in all the order-books, thereby, as he wrote, “awakening every joyful feeling that could arise in the breasts of Lisbon, 7 Jan. 1809. soldiers,” he proceeded as follows:—“The latter part of your letter is indeed a great source of grief to me, and has hurt me more than I can express. I had hoped to have obtained for my whole conduct the approbation of his Lordship the Master-General and the Board of Ordnance. I set out with the most earnest desire to fulfil, to the extent of my abilities, every duty I might be honoured with, and to abide in the strictest manner by their orders, for which purpose I applied for instructions and such information as the very limited time prior to my departure would admit. The shortness of that time, our expected destination (which, as you know, we had reason to believe was far more distant than it proved afterwards to be[14]) certainly produced in me an anxiety that the branch of service entrusted to me should be supplied in the manner most conducive to the end for which it was sent out. This anxiety may have caused a warmth of expression not deemed advisable in public correspondence, however good the intention. And that an unfavourable impression has been received in His Lordship’s mind I, with pain, perceive, and submit in the most respectful manner to the animadversion you have received His Lordship’s commands to make.... Whatever the warmth of my feelings might have been which impelled me to the remarks that have caused His Lordship’s displeasure, I entreat that they may be ascribed to the peculiar situation in which I was placed. My letter to you was written on the ground of, and almost during, the action, and, consequently, that degree of coolness was not attended to which ought to have been manifested.”

The difficulties of the campaign of August 1808 were increased by the insincerity and disunion of the Spaniards, the feebleness of the Portuguese support, and the extraordinary conduct of the English Government in sending General after General with conflicting instructions. The supersession of Sir Arthur Wellesley at a critical moment, uncalled for and undeserved, would have paralysed a less determined commander. To his resolution, his singleness of purpose, and his tact in dealing with the Portuguese authorities, is the fact due that, brief as the campaign was, it was marked by two brilliant engagements, and established already the military reputation of the English troops. The British army in Portugal, in 1808, was gathered from the four winds of heaven, without harmony either in instructions or management, and destitute of adequate equipment or supplies. The main body, which sailed from Cork, had been intended for South America; the contingent brought by Sir John Moore had been sent in the first instance to Sweden, on an errand rendered fruitless by the obstinacy of the Swedish monarch; and the rest of the army was gathered in instalments from Gibraltar, Madeira, and various parts of England. The annexed table, prepared from the embarkation returns, shows the method in which the Artillery portion of the army was collected:—at first destitute of horses, and, later, embarked with so much precipitation, that in many instances the horses died from long confinement on board ship; and in others it was found that animals had been hurriedly purchased, and embarked afflicted with fatal and infectious diseases, which spread rapidly among those which were healthy. The horses which were purchased in the country were small, and unfitted for Artillery work. The roads round Lisbon, and in the district traversed by Sir A. Wellesley’s force, were of the worst description; and Colonel Robe and his successor, Colonel Harding, wrote to the Board, expressing their thankfulness that, for the three brigades engaged at Roliça and Vimiera they had been able to procure oxen to draw the guns, with horses as leaders! The remonstrances of Colonel Robe and his successors succeeded in procuring from England, as the annexed table will show, a suitable supply of horses as the year advanced; but the honours gained by the Corps had been earned before these arrived ([see p. 204]).

Now 3 Battery, 2 Brigade, and 7 Battery, 17 Brigade.

In addition to the companies (Captain Geary’s and Captain Raynsford’s) which embarked with Colonel Robe to form part of Sir A. Wellesley’s force, 161 of the King’s German Artillery were also detailed. The services of this Corps during the Peninsular and Waterloo campaigns were of the highest order. The head-quarters of the Corps were at this time at Porchester, and the strength in 1808 was as follows:—

Muster-Rolls of K. G. Artillery, 1808.

Field officers, 4; staff officers, 6; staff sergeants, 3. Two troops of Horse Artillery, consisting in all of 372 officers and men, and 186 horses.

Return of the Officers and Men of the Royal Artillery, and of Officers’ or Draught Horses, or others under the Ordnance, which were sent from various Stations to Spain or Portugal during the Year 1808, with the Dates of their respective Embarkations.

INDEX.

A.	Officers.	B.	N. C. Officers.	C.	Gunners.
D.	Drummers.	E.	Total.	F.	Officers.
G.	N. C. Officers.	H.	Drivers.	I.	Trumpeters.
J.	Artificers.	K.	Total.	L.	General Total.
M.	Horses.

—	Date of Embarkation.	Royal Artillery.					R. A. Driver Corps.
		A.	B.	C.	D.	E.	F.	G.	H.	I.	J.	K.	L.	M.
Embarked with Sir A. Wellesley	June, 1808	10	27	204	4	245	2	18	143	2	10	175	420	··
Embarked with General Spencer from Gibraltar for Cadiz	June 13, 1808	3	6	53	1	63	··	1	13	··	··	14	77	··
Embarked with Sir J. Moore for Sweden, and then for Spain	April 30, 1808	24	62	406	8	500	3	18	276	2	30	329	829	360
Embarked with Generals Ackland and Anstruther	July 23, 1808	10	29	187	4	230	3	13	178	2	14	210	440	309
Embarked from Gibraltar by order of Sir H. Dalrymple	Aug. 13, 1808	8	27	186	3	224	··	··	··	··	··	··	224	··
Embarked from Madeira for Portugal with General Beresford	Aug. 17, 1808	3	14	94	2	113	··	··	··	··	··	··	113	··
Embarked with Sir D. Baird from Cork	Sept. 23, 1808	8	26	205	3	242	2	20	181	2	16	221	463	300
Embarked with Sir D. Baird from Woolwich	Sept. 22, 1808	10	26	200	2	238	2	20	181	1	15	219	457	300
Embarked from Woolwich: Horse Artillery	Oct. 5, 1808	12	28	100	··	200	··	··	109	2	14	125	325	296
Embarked from Portsmouth: Horse Artillery	Nov. 18, 1808	10	26	161	.	197			108	2	14	124	321	304
Embarked from Portsmouth	Dec. 8, 1808	2	··	1	··	3	4	28	213	3	19	267	270	600
Total embarked for Portugal or Spain in the year 1808	··	100	271	1857	27	2255	16	118	1402	16	132	1684	3939	2469

N.B. The return given by Napier in vol. 1. p. 590, of his ‘History,’ neither includes the R. A. drivers, nor the officers and N. C. officers of the R. A. of several of the detachments mentioned above, but merely the gunners. It, however, does include the King’s German Artillery, which is not shown in this purely regimental return.

Four marching companies, in all 714 officers and men—with 67 horses.

One of these companies was stationed in the Mediterranean.

An addition to Colonel Robe’s force of a doubtful value was received from Gibraltar. Lieut.-Colonel George Ramsey was ordered from Gibraltar with three companies to meet the Artillery expected from England, and a car brigade of guns, as it was termed, was issued from the Ordnance stores, for the service. Two of the companies, and Colonel Ramsey, were sent back to Gibraltar immediately on their arrival in Cadiz:—only one, Captain Morison’s[15] being allowed to proceed in charge of the guns. Colonel Ramsey, however, had time to inspect the car brigade which had been issued to him, and his official report on it was not complimentary to To D. A. G. from Cadiz, 21 July, 1808. the store-keepers. A similar brigade, it would appear, had been sent to Sicily, a few weeks before; and the clerk of stores had hopelessly confused the two. The shafts for the howitzers had been sent with the 6-pounders; seven gun-wheels had been put on board for use with the waggons,—although not interchangeable,—and one waggon was entirely useless. The stores were inadequate and unsuitable; and there was neither a commissary, nor an artificer, with the detachment. A little further vacillation on the part of the authorities led to two companies leaving Gibraltar for Portugal immediately after the return of those under Colonel Now 1 Battery, 6 Brigade. Ramsey; and one of these, Captain Skyring’s, had the good fortune to join Colonel Robe in time for the battle of Vimiera.

Colonel Robe’s force anchored in Mondego Bay on 28th July; and on the following day Sir Arthur Wellesley, who had preceded the army, and had been engaged in diplomatic as well as military duties, arrived, and gave orders for the disembarkation. The French withdrew from the coast, and the inhabitants showed symptoms of co-operation with the English, which were, however, sadly neutralised by the conduct of their rulers; while Sir A. Wellesley pressed forward, on the 9th August, to Leiria, hoping to cover the disembarkation of the additional troops which he now knew were on their way from England, and perhaps at the same time to strike an effective blow, as near to Lisbon as possible, with the force under his command. This would have the effect of inspiring the Portuguese with courage; of asserting the right of the English to control the military operations of the Allies; and of disarranging the plans of the French. The English army was augmented at Lavos on the 6th August by General Spencer’s contingent; and was divided into six brigades, under Generals Hill, Nightingale, Crawford, G. O. dated Lavos, 7 Aug. 1808. Bowes, Ferguson, and Fane. A demi-battery of Artillery was attached to each brigade; howitzers being attached to the 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 6th Brigades, and the 9-pounders being kept in reserve. On the line of march, the Artillery always moved in front of the brigades to which they were attached, and the Artillery of the reserve followed the Infantry.

The advance of Sir Arthur Wellesley was perfectly successful; he succeeded in cutting the line of communication between Generals Loison and Laborde, and in inducing the French Commander-in-Chief, Junot, to quit Lisbon, and take the field with the reserve. The cowardice and self-interest of the Portuguese leaders robbed him, however, at a critical moment, of several thousand troops; so that in his first engagement with the enemy he had the assistance of no more than 1650 Portuguese. That engagement was the one known as the combat of Roliça—fought on the 17th August, with superior numbers on the side of the English, but against a General, Laborde, who was not only very able, but also occupied a position of great natural strength.

The attack of the English, who, with the Portuguese, numbered 14,000, was made in three columns, the left commanded by General Ferguson,—the right composed of the Portuguese,—and the centre, consisting of three brigades, commanded by Sir Arthur in person. The Royal Artillery had 18 guns, one half of which came into action to cover the advance of the Infantry. So determined was that advance, and so critical did General Laborde’s position become, as the left column, under General Ferguson, closed in upon his right, that he fell back to a new and parallel position, on the heights of Zambugeira. The steep heights, and dense brushwood, which had to be traversed in the advance of the English, rendered the attack of this new position a more difficult and costly one, and the losses of the 9th, 29th, and 82nd Regiments were especially heavy. The ardour of the troops was, however, irresistible; and Laborde again fell back, handling his troops with the utmost skill. In a very short time, after one or two attempts to make a stand, the Napier. French were in full retreat—“leaving three guns on the field of battle, and the road to Torres Vedras open to the victors.”

The loss of the French was admitted by themselves to be Wellington Supplementary Despatches, vol. vi. p. 116. 600 killed and wounded; but it was probably much greater. Sir Arthur Wellesley, writing on the following day, said the loss had been reported to be 1500; and Colonel Robe, in his despatch to the Ordnance, said that the loss of the French far exceeded that of the English, which amounted to 479 killed and wounded. The loss of the Royal Artillery on this occasion was, as Colonel Robe wrote, irreparable. Captain Henry Geary, an officer of great promise and experience, Col. Robe to D. A. Gen., R.A. 18 August, 1808. was killed. “He was, by his own desire, and as senior Captain, in charge of guns with the Light Brigade, and was killed while pointing his gun within one or two hundred yards of the enemy. I regret him as an officer, for he was invaluable; and as a friend and old fellow-campaigner, by no means less. His loss to his family cannot be appreciated; but it will always be a comfort that he died as he had lived, in the very act of doing his Napier, vol i. p. 591. duty to his country, and a true Christian.” The force of Artillery under Colonel Robe’s command at Roliça numbered 660 of all ranks.

The next engagement between the French and English forces took place under singular circumstances. Sir Arthur Wellesley had been reinforced by the brigades under Generals Ackland and Anstruther,—thus bringing his force up to 16,000 men, besides 660 Artillery, and 240 Cavalry,—exclusive of the Portuguese under Colonel Trant. The greatest number which Junot could bring against this army could—it was known—hardly exceed 14,000. Further English reinforcements being known to be on the way, Sir A. Wellesley decided on assuming the offensive. Unfortunately, Sir H. Burrard, one of the three Generals sent out by the English Government to assume the command, arrived on the night of the 20th August, and Sir A. Wellesley was obliged to wait on him for orders. No arguments that he could employ could persuade Sir H. Burrard to attack before the arrival of the expected reinforcements; and Sir Arthur parted from him with feelings of the most bitter disappointment. Fortunately for him, and for the army, Junot, who by this time had reached Torres Vedras, resolved himself to assume the offensive; and to attack the English in their position near the village of Vimiera. The battle commenced at seven o’clock on the morning of the 21st August, and deserves a special mention in this work. For at Vimiera, for the first time, as Napier and Oust show, did the French realise the difference between the English forces and those with whom they had hitherto been contending;—for the first time did they appreciate those qualities with which they were so soon to be familiar: “the stolid firmness and resolute thrust of the Infantry, and the wonderful skill and precision of the Artillery.” No chronicler of this battle fails to speak of the “murderous fire of Robe’s Artillery;”—a fire which told with admirable effect at the most critical periods of the engagement. The number of guns present was small,—only 18, as at Roliça; but on this occasion all were engaged,—the reserve as well as the divisional Artillery being brought into play.

The right wing of the English army consisted of the 1st Brigade, under General Hill; the centre, of the 6th and 7th, under Generals Fane and Anstruther; the left, of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 8th, under Generals Ferguson, Nightingale, Bowes, and Ackland; and the reserve was composed of the 5th Brigade, under General Crawford.

The attack of the French was made with great gallantry, in spite of many difficulties caused by the broken and wooded nature of the ground, and was directed against the English centre in the first instance, and mainly against General Fane’s brigade. That officer, wisely availing himself of a discretionary power granted him, and seeing that the position was a favourable one for the employment of his Artillery against the advancing columns, brought up the guns of the reserve at once, and with those of his own division formed Cust. a battery, which played on the advancing foe with “such a shower of shell and grape as might have been sufficient to stop any troops;” and although the French troops did reach the summit of the hill on which the English stood, they were, as Napier writes, so “shattered by the terrible fire of Robe’s Artillery,” that they fell an easy prey to the gallant charges of the 50th Regiment. At another part of the line, where skirmishing between Anstruther’s brigade and the French was going on, the Artillery played an equally important part. A column of Grenadiers had been sent forward by Kellermann to share in this part of the battle, Napier. and “coming at a brisk pace, these choice soldiers beat back the advanced companies of the 43rd Regiment; but to avoid Robe’s artillery, which ransacked their left, they dipped a little into the ravine on the right, and were immediately taken on the other flank by the guns of the 4th and 8th Brigades; then, when the narrowness of the way, and the sweep of the round shot, were crushing and disordering their ranks, the 43rd, rallying in one mass, went down upon the very head of the column, and with a short but fierce struggle, drove it back in confusion.” Yet again: in the attack upon General Ferguson’s brigade made by Solignac, who expected to find a weak force on the left to oppose him,—but found it strengthened with the same forethought and skill as marked, in days coming on, the tactics of Wellington at Waterloo,—we read of the “powerful artillery which swept away their foremost ranks.” As the reader finishes the account of this battle, and reads of the French retreating in confusion, leaving thirteen of their guns on the field, he can scarcely realise that the whole Artillery force of Sir A. Wellesley was little more than the captured guns represented. How much of the effect of this force, small as it was, was due to the individual exertions of all ranks may be gathered from the following extract from Colonel Robe’s despatch to the Ordnance:—“Never Col. Robe to D. A. Gen. Vimiera, 21 Aug. 1808. was man better supported by his officers and soldiers than I have been. I would not change one of them, from the Major to the youngest subaltern, for anything in the world; and only regret my son was not with me. My men are staunch and the admiration of the army.” It may interest the professional reader to know that great part of Colonel Robe’s report after Vimiera was occupied with praises of Shrapnel’s spherical case, of which he begged large additional supplies. He concludes with a sentence which proves the entente cordiale which existed between himself and his superiors. “Nothing but the unexampled assistance and attention of Sir A. Wellesley, and the general officers, could have brought this artillery into the field in an efficient manner; and I am proud to say they have never yet stopped an hour for us.”

Sir H. Burrard, with the chivalrous courtesy which has so often been repeated in the annals of the English army, did not interfere with Sir A. Wellesley’s command during the battle, but at its termination he declined to accede to the proposal of the latter to undertake an energetic pursuit, which would doubtless have ended in an unconditional surrender of the French troops. Of Sir Arthur’s bitter disappointment,—of the further complication caused by the arrival of yet another General to supersede Sir H. Burrard—Sir Hew Dalrymple,—of the singular Convention of Cintra, which while it certainly succeeded in procuring the evacuation of Portugal by the French, did so on terms which were very disproportionate to the success of the English arms,—and of the indignation in England which followed the news of this marvellous treaty,—it is beyond the province of this work to treat. The state of affairs in Portugal—the absence of Wellington Supplementary Despatches, &c., vol. vi. p. 129. all harmony of plan or action, was such as to call from Sir Arthur Wellesley the expression, “Considering the way in which things are likely to be carried on here, I shall not be sorry to go away.”

The recall of Sir Hew Dalrymple, Sir H. Burrard, and Sir A. Wellesley to England, on account of the Court of Enquiry ordered to investigate the circumstances under which the Convention had been agreed to, left the command of the English forces in Portugal with Sir John Moore. An army of 28,000 men was concentrated at Lisbon under that General. The command of the Artillery, which had been considerably reinforced, had been given to Colonel Harding, who endorsed every complaint which had been made by Colonel Robe, but who seems to have been somewhat more of an optimist than that officer; for in one of his letters, describing his field artillery, he wrote that “four oxen and two horses bring along a gun famously.” On his arrival at Lisbon, he found that he had to arrange for the proper equipment not merely of his own batteries, but also of the artillery of a force of 4000 Spaniards at Lisbon, whom the Convention had set free, and who, when armed and equipped, marched for Catalonia. Sir John Moore decided on taking the field in October 1808, but being misinformed as to the state of the roads, he decided on breaking up his army, so as to march by different roads, and to unite at Salamanca with another army under Sir David Baird, which had landed at Corunna. The Artillery was ordered to march through the Alemtejo and by Badajos to Talavera, Colonel Harding to D.-A.-Gen. and was arranged by Colonel Harding as follows. He himself, Lieut.-Colonel Wood, Major Viney, with the following companies, Thornhill’s, Drummond’s, Wilmot’s, Raynsford’s, Crawford’s, Carthew’s, and Skyring’s, went with the army; the guns being four brigades of light 6-pounders, and one of 9-pounders. He was unable to take a brigade for each company, for lack of horses. Colonel Robe was left in command at Lisbon, with Major Hartmann and three companies of the King’s German Artillery, Captain Bredin’s company of the Royal Artillery, and half a company of the same under Captain Lawson. The guns to which these were attached consisted of a 12-pounder brigade, three brigades of light 6-pounders, a few howitzers, and the car brigade of 3-pounders from Gibraltar, mentioned above. The force of Artillery with Sir David Baird’s army, which had landed at Corunna, was commanded by Colonel Sheldrake, and consisted of four companies and a proportion of drivers. The guns used by this force, and by the Horse Artillery under Colonel George Cookson, which arrived—also at Corunna—on the 8th November, 1808, were as follows:—One 9-pounder brigade and three brigades of light 6-pounders, which moved on to Betanjos: one 9-pounder brigade, and one of light 6-pounders, which remained at Colonel Cookson to D.-A.-Gen. Corunna, 9 Nov. 1808. Corunna; and one light 6-pounder brigade, and a brigade of mountain artillery, for service with the Cavalry, as soon as horses and mules could be obtained.

Of all the difficulties encountered in the winter campaign of 1808 by the Royal Artillery, the scarcity of horses was the greatest. The table given in a former part of this chapter shows that after the first gross omission in the case of Colonel Robe’s force, the Ordnance Department endeavoured, as far as numbers were concerned, to send an adequate supply of horses to ensure that mobility without which field artillery is a sham. But that the simplest precautions as to quality and soundness were overlooked is too evident from the monotonous protests of all the officers who found themselves in a position of responsibility. Colonel Harding, writing from Lisbon, reported that he had obtained permission to sell the Artillery horses he had received from England, as useless and worn out, and to purchase those of the French army, which was then embarking under the provisions of the Convention of Cintra. Colonel Cookson had not reached the Downs ere he had to report the appearance of glanders among the horses entrusted to him; and Colonel Robe had to report the death, immediately after landing, of 75 out of 300 horses—more than half occasioned by the same complaint. The officer in charge of the drivers attached to the Artillery under the command of Colonel Sheldrake, reported that “all his horses were in dreadful order when they embarked, that he had lost many, and that he attributed it in a great measure to the horses being a great many very old.” Mules were difficult to obtain—the horses of the country were few and of small size; and in spite of the plaintive appeals from successive officers that “it cost no more to the country to keep a good horse than a bad one,” shipload of cripples from England followed shipload, and nothing but superhuman exertions on the part of all on the spot enabled the Artillery to move at all. The desperate state of affairs may be gathered from a report of Colonel Robe’s, in which he described the means left to him for horsing the brigades in his charge, after Colonel Harding’s force had left Lisbon with Sir John Moore. With 52 field guns, liable to be demanded at any moment by Colonel Harding, he had only 500 men; but this number was lavish compared with that Col. Robe to D.-A.-Gen. 1 Nov. 1808. of his horses. “The following,” he wrote, “is a state of the horses left with me on the departure of the army for Spain:—

	Horses.	Mules.
Effective	15	3
Sick or lame	49	4
	64	7
Since died of general decay, or destroyed for glanders	7	1
Remaining	57	6

The sick of these are reported to be in a very bad condition; and nearly the whole of them to be at present unserviceable, from lameness, age, and sore backs.”

So great was the scarcity of horses, that when the Horse Artillery landed at Corunna, the officers’ horses were taken on repayment—without their consent, and they were left to purchase any animals they could find in the country. That Colonel Robe had good reason to fear a demand being made on his small depôt may be seen from the following account of the number of horses, which the state of the roads between Lisbon and Spain had rendered absolutely necessary Official Return to Sir H. Burrard, Nov. 1, 1808. for the brigades which had marched with Colonel Harding. Every artillery carriage, of whatever description, had 6 horses; the long 6-pounder gun had 8, and the 12-pounder had 10. Besides this, horses were required for the officers, non-commissioned officers, and for park duties; and the ammunition waggons, for conveyance of such as could not be carried on the limbers, were drawn by a motley collection of horses, mules, and oxen. Six days after this return was Colonel Robe to D.-A.-Gen. 6 Nov. 1808. prepared, Colonel Robe’s supply had decreased to 40, and the demands from the front were such that he declared no less than a reserve of 600 horses would be required to meet them.

There is a danger, in perusing the noble story of the Peninsular War, lest all the reader’s admiration should be given to the courage and endurance of the men, or the skill of the leaders. But there were men who would infinitely rather have endured bodily suffering, than the charge which neglect or ignorance at home had thrust upon them. To feel in all its terrible reality the starvation of equipment, without which no adequate results can be expected either from skill or courage;—to know that if that equipment is not in some way forthcoming, the disgrace of failure or consequent disaster will be transferred from those to whom it is due, and will be visited on themselves;—and at the same time to be certain that any responsibility which they may assume is at their own peril, and can only be exercised with a halter round their neck of possible disallowances, reprimands, and suspicion,—all these produce in men a state of mind, beside which danger or bodily hardship seems almost repose. And it was in such a condition that many of England’s best soldiers had to live during the war in Spain—enduring more than has formed the theme of song and story—and yet bearing it without sympathy, without acknowledgment.

No one can thoroughly understand Sir John Moore’s campaign in Spain without bearing in mind the boasting and lying of the Spanish Generals, with whom it was intended that he should co-operate, and the yet more extravagant falsehoods of the Spanish Government. Deluded by these, Sir John Moore, even after he had heard of the surrender of Madrid to Napoleon, pressed on to Majorga in the hope of effecting a junction with the Marquis Romana, and of receiving Sir David Baird’s reinforcement from Corunna. With an English army of 25,000 men he pressed still farther on to Sahagan, where for the first time he heard the whole truth, and realised the strength of the French armies which were being directed against him, under Napoleon himself. With every Spanish General already beaten in detail, Madrid in the hands of the enemy, and greatly superior forces hurrying to meet him, he commenced a retreat which has become famous,—the first step of which is thus described Colonel Harding to D.-A.-Gen. Majorga, 25/12/1808. by Colonel Harding:—“We fully expected to have engaged the enemy on the 23rd, about five leagues from Sahagan; the army was in full march at 8 o’clock on the night of the 23rd, and hoped to have fallen in with them early in the morning of the 24th. An intense hard frost, and the whole of the roads one sheet of ice from the snow thawing during the day, was much against the march of Artillery, as we had not time to rough all the horses. The march of the troops was stopped an hour after they marched off; some of the troops, particularly Downman’s troop, were out till 2 in the morning. The General received some information immediately after the troops marched off, which caused their sudden return. We now seem to be pointing towards Corunna, and forming depôts that way. Our movements have lately been so intricate and unexpected, that if I had had time to write to you, I could give you little information.... Lieutenant-Colonel Cookson has the command of the three brigades on the right of the line, Evelegh’s, Bean’s, and Wilmot’s. Lieutenant-Colonel Wood has charge of those on the left of the line, Downman’s, Drummond’s, and Carthew’s. Four reserve brigades with the park are Raynsford’s (9-pounders), Crawford’s, Brandreth’s, and Wall’s (light 6-pounders) brigades. The park, stores, and ammunition are under Major Thornhill. The depôts advanced are under Captain Skyring. There is a brigade of mountain guns somewhere, which I hope will not join us, but return to Corunna. We have lately received 59 prize horses, which, although not good, are a great help to us, from our great loss.”

English troops are apt to become demoralized during a retreat; and in the retreat to Corunna, irregularity was increased by the intense cold, suffering, and hardship which the men had to endure. The conduct of the rear-guard and of the Cavalry was, however, beyond all praise; and was due in a great degree to the constant presence of Sir John Moore himself, whose skill, firmness, and powers of persuasion never shone more clearly than at this time. But, even when irregularity was greatest, it vanished when an engagement appeared probable: it was at such times as these, that perfect discipline prevailed. The Artilleryman reads with pleasure that while 2627 men strayed from the English army during the retreat, not one belonged to his corps; and Cadell. that Sir John Moore himself was so struck by this fact and by their general conduct, that he wrote, “The Artillery consists of particularly well-behaved men.” These words are the more gratifying as the strength of the Artillery was considerable—eleven brigades of guns,—and the duties of the men were very arduous.

Several affairs of small importance took place between the two armies, but the English came in sight of Corunna without any general engagement. The dismay which seized every one on learning that the transports had not yet arrived may be imagined; fortunately it was short-lived, as they soon made their appearance.

The story of the Artillery at the end of the retreat, and during the battle of Corunna, may be summarised from Colonel Harding’s reports. On the 11th January the army took up a position about five miles from Corunna; but on the 14th, being unable, with their reduced numbers, sufficiently to occupy this ground without danger of being outflanked, they withdrew to a position about three miles nearer the town, leaving their original ground to be occupied by Soult, before the battle. On the 12th all the Artillery, except the brigades required for outpost and rearguard duties, was ordered by Sir John Moore to be embarked; and at the same time a magazine containing 12,000 barrels of powder, situated about four miles from Corunna, was blown up with great skill, under the supervision of Colonel Cookson. This was not done, however, until some 400 barrels had been carried for the use of the Artillery, along dreadful roads, for a distance of four miles, on the shoulders of the Artillerymen; while at the same time serviceable arms were issued from the stores to all the troops, in exchange for those which had become useless during the retreat. A supply of ammunition at the rate of 70 rounds per man was also given out. These measures had the double effect of destroying valuable stores which must have inevitably fallen into the hands of the enemy, and of giving an advantage to the English army in the battle which ensued, which was denied to their opponents, whose arms and ammunition had suffered greatly during the harassing marches of the preceding days.

All the Artillerymen, who could be spared from the embarkation of guns and stores on the 14th and 15th, were employed in the destruction of the guns and mortars on the sea front of Corunna (which would otherwise have been used against the English fleet, on the occupation of the town by the French), and also of those mounted on a small island in the bay. Upwards of 50 heavy guns and 20 mortars were dismounted, spiked, and thrown over the precipice, and their carriages and beds destroyed. In this the men were assisted cheerfully by the inhabitants, although, as Napier points out, they were aware that the English army would ultimately embark, and that they would incur the enemy’s anger for having taken part in any military operations. This conduct, so inconsistent with the insufficient defence made by the Spaniards as a nation, drew forth from the historian a remark, which the events of 1873 have strangely justified: “Of proverbially vivid imagination and quick resentments, the Spaniards feel and act individually, rather than nationally.”

Official MS. Return, signed by Colonel Harding.

The Artillery of the outposts, on which the brunt of the action of the 16th fell, was commanded by Major Viney, and consisted of 145 officers and men of the Royal Artillery, and 94 officers and men of the Royal Artillery Drivers. The guns employed were seven light 6-pounders, one 5½-inch howitzer, and four Spanish 8-pounders.

The names of the officers serving under Major Viney’s command were as follows: Captains Truscott, Wilmot,[16] Godby, and Greatley; Lieutenants Sinclair and King; and Assistant-Surgeons Price and Hutchison. The officers of the Royal Artillery Drivers were Lieutenants Abercromby and Read.

A slight affair of picquets took place on the 15th; but even as late as noon on the 16th, Sir John Moore told Colonel Harding that he did not think the enemy meant to attack, and therefore he continued the embarkation. Most of the horses and appointments belonging to Downman’s and Evelegh’s troops of Horse Artillery had been lost during the retreat; and their guns, and those of several of the other brigades, had been placed on board ship; so that many of the Artillerymen, who had been present during the retreat, and were under fire on the 16th, were without their guns on that day, and were employed in bringing up ammunition for the army. The Artillery of the outposts, although lightly armed, did good service; but the ground was not calculated for the manœuvring of guns, either on the side of the French or of the English.

On Monday the 16th, at 3 P.M., Soult advanced with all his army in three columns, his cavalry and artillery remaining on the heights to cover his formations. Two divisions of the English army, under General Hope and Sir David Baird, occupied the most advanced ground on their side, with their left to the Bay of Corunna; a third division, under General Frazer, was posted on some heights to the right—more retired—commanding the approaches to Corunna from the To D.-A.-G. 23 June, 1809. N.B. Capt. Gardiner was Brigade-Major to the R. A. Vigo Road. Captain Gardiner wrote: “The action became general about 3 o’clock, and an uninterrupted fire of cannon and musketry was kept up till one hour after dark. They evidently pushed for our right, which was our weakest point, but the firmness of our line was in no way to be shaken. At one time I feared they would outflank us from their numbers; but this was prevented by the movements of the reserve under General Paget. At a little after 6 o’clock Soult retired, leaving us masters of the field, and in possession of a village he occupied in the morning.” This village, Elvina, had been to the battle of Corunna what Hougomont and La Haye Sainte were afterwards to that of Waterloo. The battle, at various periods of the day, raged fiercely round it. Here Sir David Baird received the wound which compelled him to leave the field; and it was when watching the attack by the English reserve on the French troops in possession of this village late in the day, that Sir John Moore received the wound which proved fatal. Its retention by the English at the close of the day was therefore a distinct proof of victory.

Despatch to Sir D. Baird.

But it was not a victory, as General Hope well said, which could be attended by any very brilliant consequences to Great Britain. The utmost that could be hoped for was the embarkation of the army without molestation. Thanks to the defeat of the French, their want of ammunition, and the friendly courage of the inhabitants of Corunna, the whole army, with the exception of the rear-guard, was embarked with perfect order during the night of the 16th. The incessant rumble of wheels over the field denoted the gathering of the wounded, and their conveyance in the artillery carts and waggons to the beach. The guns which had been engaged during the day were taken for embarkation to a sandy bay, south-west of Corunna, but, as Colonel Harding wrote, “The weather would not permit it: the guns were spiked; the carriages destroyed; and the whole thrown over a precipice into deep water.”

The rear-guard had been detailed by Sir John Moore himself, to assist the Spaniards in manning the guns on the land front of Corunna,—to keep possession of the small island in the bay,—and to cover the embarkation of the troops from the citadel. The Artillery attached to it was commanded by Major Beevor, assisted by Major Thornhill, Captains Truscott, Beane, Brandreth, and Greatley, and Lieutenants Maling, Wright, and Darby. There were 36 non-commissioned officers and 253 men. The whole of the rear-guard was embarked, but with difficulty, on the evening of the 18th and morning of the 19th. The voyage to England was tempestuous in the extreme. Many officers and men died on the passage; many others, including Colonel Harding himself, only survived their hardships a few months. The whole army landed in England at various ports in such a state of destitution, that the whole nation was shocked, and could not believe it possible that the story of the final success was true. These skeleton regiments, starved and half-clothed, had not the appearance of an army fresh from victory; and for many years the skill displayed in the retreat upon Corunna, and the subsequent success, received little, if any, credit from the people.

So ended Sir John Moore’s campaign in Spain;—and with it—his life. A type of the same individuality of which the Duke of Wellington was the perfection,—in which a sense of duty rises above every other feeling,—he yet possessed charms of character, denied to his great comrade, which won for him the love, as well as the confidence, of his troops. A disciplinarian, indeed, he was—what leader can be great who is not?—but, with all his strictness, there was something so winning in his disposition, that even after a lapse of fifty years, the writer of these pages has seen tears in the eyes of a man who had served under him, at the mere mention of his name.

The many letters from the various officers, whose correspondence with the Ordnance is extant, tell in simple Colonel Harding to D. A. Gen. words the worth of the leader who fell at Corunna. “You have heard,” writes one, “of our terrible loss: we could Captain (afterwards Sir R.) Gardiner to D. A. Gen. not believe he was dead.” Another writes: “General Hope’s despatches will acquaint you with our affecting loss. You will imagine how severely I felt it. I saw him after he received the wound, but he was talking with such firmness, that I did not apprehend the danger he was in.” General Hope’s words cannot be too frequently read. “The Despatch to Sir D. Baird, 18 Jan. 1809. fall of Sir John Moore has deprived me of a valuable friend, to whom long experience of his worth had sincerely attached me. But it is chiefly on public grounds that I must lament the blow. It will be the consolation of every one who loved or respected his manly character, that after conducting the army through an arduous retreat with consummate firmness, he has terminated a career of distinguished honour by a death that has given the enemy additional reason to respect the name of a British soldier. Like the immortal Wolfe, he is snatched from his country at an early period of a life spent in her service: like Wolfe, his last moments were gilded by the prospect of success, and cheered by the acclamation of victory: like Wolfe, also, his memory will for ever remain sacred in that country which he sincerely loved, and which he had so faithfully served.”

There is a pathos about these words, which is not surpassed even in the lines which have given an eternal place in English verse to the battle which has just been described. But all the regret of friends, all the eloquence of admirers, all the hymns of poets, fade into nothing beside the simple words of the dying chief,—who uttered with his last breath no appeals for praise, no boastings of difficulties overcome, no chidings against those who had disappointed or deceived him, but the quiet, confident expression of a soldier whose duty is done: “I hope that my country will do me justice.”

The following return shows the strength of the Royal Artillery left in Portugal, after the evacuation of Spain by Sir John Moore’s army. It also shows the number who had returned at various times from the Peninsula, prior to 27th February, 1809, having proceeded thither with the various contingents detailed in the preceding table. (See next page.)

Table showing the Number of Officers, Non-commmissioned Officers, Gunners, and Drummers of the Royal Artillery; and also of the Officers, Non-commissioned Officers, Drivers, Trumpeters, Artificers, and Horses belonging to the Royal Artillery Drivers, relanded from Spain or Portugal before the 27th February, 1809.

INDEX.

A	Officers.	B.	N. C. Officers.	C.	Gunners.
D.	Drummers.	E.	Total.	F.	Officers.
G.	N. C. Officers.	H.	Drivers.	I.	Trumpeters.
J.	Artificers.	K.	Total.	L.	General Total.
M.	Horses.

—	Royal Artillery.						Royal Artillery Drivers.
	A.	B.	C.	D.	E.	F.	G.	H.	I.	J.	K.	L.	M.
Relanded in Great Britain and Ireland, fit for service	64	178	1,215	16	1,473	14	105	1,116	14	97	1,346	2,819	764
In Portugal, per return of 1st January	31	84	556	11	682	2	7	219	2	28	258	940	··
Total	95	262	1,771	27	2,155	16	112	1,335	16	125	1,604	3,759	764

N.B. There had been purchased, or otherwise obtained, in Portugal, and still remained effective, 146 horses and 78 mules; but as they had not been sent from England they are not included in the above table.

CHAPTER XIV.
Walcheren.

An expedition has now to be described, to whose conception and partial execution justice has not been done by historians. Remembered, if at all, for its miserable termination, it is not unfrequently classed among the military operations which an Englishman had better forget. And yet there was a strategic value in the idea, which was proved even by its incomplete realisation; and there was a determination, and an uncomplaining suffering among the English troops, worthy of note in military story, which have been ill repaid by the nameless graves which crowd the island of Walcheren, and by the national forgetfulness of the expedition.

To an Artilleryman the Walcheren Expedition has an interest which well repays him for turning his eyes and thoughts from the Peninsula to this strange island in the Northern Sea. Here no less than seventeen troops and companies of his Corps were present; and so important was their duty considered, that the Master-General, Lord Chatham, who was also Commander-in-Chief of the forces employed, requested the Deputy-Adjutant-General, Brigadier Macleod, himself to accompany the army in command of the Artillery. And on this island, so baneful to our troops, and yet so beautiful, a singular historical question connected with the Regiment was settled, which will receive detailed notice in this chapter.

Forming the right bank of the West Scheldt at its mouth, the islands of South Beveland and Walcheren, now united by a railway embankment, present to the traveller the most singular appearance. Rich and fertile beyond measure, they are yet only saved from submersion by the sea by means of costly dykes, kept efficient by incessant labour. In most places the island of Walcheren, especially, is many feet below the level of the sea; and even its highest points, the towns of Middleburg and Flushing, have frequently suffered great injury from the inroads of the ocean. One such inundation had occurred in 1808, and tended to make the autumn of 1809 exceptionally unhealthy. Dykes now not merely surround the island itself, but also the individual villages and farmhouses on its surface, giving a curious fortified appearance to the whole.

Flushing and Antwerp, in the hands of Napoleon, strongly fortified, and offering protection and anchorage to his fleets, were a strong and perpetual menace to England, and gave an appearance of probability to his threats of invasion, both in the eyes of the English people and their Government. One of the strongest arguments against the Walcheren Expedition has always been that it was a dissipation of England’s military resources, which, if concentrated on the Peninsular campaign, would have produced infinitely greater results. But it is easy to argue thus with the wisdom which follows the fact. The danger which was involved in the fortifications of Antwerp and Flushing was very present to the English people; and immunity in that respect seemed then more desirable than victory at a distance, even although that victory might, in the end, have been a more serious blow at Napoleon’s power. And the importance of Flushing, armed as it was, may be now better realised by imagining it in the hands of a powerful Continental dynasty,—not dismantled and disarmed, as it has been since the siege to be treated of in this chapter,—but with batteries sufficiently strong to protect the anchorage in front, and with a fleet riding there, within a few hours of the English coast. Were such a thing ever to occur again—and it is by no means impossible—Englishmen would perhaps confess that there was more wisdom in the Expedition of 1809, which rendered Flushing harmless, than has generally been allowed.[17]

Much of the unpopularity attending it, and all the incompleteness of execution, were due to a want of harmony between the naval and military commanders, which has never yet been satisfactorily explained, but which undoubtedly was the main cause of the first part of the scheme—the capture of Flushing—being the only part that was executed. Lord Chatham would appear to have been much to blame in the matter; but there has been a mystery connected with it all, which cannot be cleared up. Of that nobleman’s military incapacity there is, however, no doubt; nor is the reader surprised to find that his name disappeared, soon after this Expedition, from the list of the Masters-General of the Ordnance.

The troop of Horse Artillery which accompanied the force was that commanded by Captain A. Macdonald, and is now D Battery, A Brigade. The sixteen companies will be found enumerated in the various tables of the battalions. General Macleod took Captain—afterwards Sir Robert—Gardiner as his Brigade-Major; and it is from the private diaries of these officers that the main Regimental incidents connected Sir J. T. Jones’s ‘Sieges.’ with this Expedition have been obtained. Captain Drummond was the General’s Aide-de-camp. The field officers who accompanied the Artillery were Colonel Terrot, Lieut.-Colonels Dixon, Franklin, Cookson, and Wood, and Majors Griffiths, Dixon, and Waller. The immense battering train included 70 guns and 74 mortars; and we learn that not merely was a large supply of Congreve’s rockets taken for A.-A.-Gen. to Colonel Neville, 18 July, 1809. employment as siege weapons, but also that every man in the Regiment who had been trained to the use of rockets was ordered to embark with the army.

The name of nearly every Artillery officer with the Expedition will appear in the course of the narrative. In the meantime the following numerical return of the force under General Macleod’s command will be found worthy of perusal. (See opposite page.)

The Second Division of the army, which General Macleod accompanied, sailed from the Downs on Saturday, the 29th July, 1809, and anchored the same evening in the Stein Diep. On the following day they weighed anchor, and moved into the Room Pot, where they found the First Division, and where orders were at once given for the troops to land in light marching order. At 4 P.M. the first six battalions landed, without opposition, at the Bree Zand, and during the night the remainder of the troops, under the command of Sir Eyre Coote, continued to disembark, with the several brigades of Artillery attached to them,—the last named being under the command of Colonel Terrot. The following detail shows the Artillery attached to this part of the army:—

Captain	Marsh’s Light 6-pr.	Brigade,	attached to	Lieut-Gen. Frazer.
”	Webber Smith’s	”	”	Major-Gen. Graham.
”	Massey’s	”	”	Lieut.-Gen. Lord Paget.

There was also a Heavy Brigade under Captain S. Adye.

About 3 P.M. the reserve, under Sir John Hope, proceeded to South Beveland (immediately adjoining Walcheren), accompanied by Captain Wilmot’s Light 6-pounder Brigade.

On Monday, the 31st July, Ter Veer, a village at the opposite end of the island of Walcheren from Flushing, was invested, two guns of Captain Macdonald’s troop and two 8-inch mortars having been landed to assist; and it surrendered the following day. Until the fall of Flushing, Ter Veer was employed as a landing-place and depôt for ordnance stores,—the Balaclava of the Walcheren Expedition. The army then advanced across the island, and proceeded to invest Flushing. During the siege, frequent reinforcements of the French garrison took place, their troops being transported by sea from Cadsand, and the weather being such as to render it very difficult for the English fleet to intercept them. The defence made by the French was very gallant, although the wretched inhabitants were the main sufferers during the bombardment. By Napoleon’s positive order, and notwithstanding the remonstrances of the French Commandant, one of the dykes near Flushing was partly cut, and the sea poured into the English trenches to a considerable extent, increasing the discomfort and difficulties which the heavy and almost incessant rains had already produced.

A.	Field Officers.	B.	Captians.	C.	Subalterns.
D.	Surgeons.	E.	N. C. Officers.	F.	Gunners.
G.	Drummers.	H.	Total.	I.	Officers.
J.	N. C. Officers.	K.	Drivers.	L.	Artificers and Trumpeters.
M.	Total.	N.	General Total.	O.	Horses.

Artillery Embarked for the Scheldt Expedition, under the Earl of Chatham, in 1809.

Number of Troops and Companies, with Drivers attached; also Ports of Embarkation.	Royal Artillery.								Royal Artillery Drivers.
	A.	B.	C.	D.	E.	F.	G.	H.	I.	J.	K.	L.	M.	N.	O.
Portsmouth.
Eight companies	4	16	24	4	104	800	16	968	2	10	90	8	110	1,078	150
River Thames.
One troop: Royal Horse Artillery (now D Batt., A Brigade)	··	2	3	1	13	··	··	100	··	··	54	8	62	162	162
Eight companies	4	16	24	4	104	800	16	968	7	41	308	37	393	1,361	515
With the battering train	··	··	··	··	··	··	··	··	7	54	500	42	603	608	1,000
Total	8	34	51	9	221	1,681	32	2,036	16	105	952	95	1,168	3,204	1,827

N. B. A few casualties occurred prior to the sailing of the Expedition. About 50 additional horses were embarked, and rather more than 100 men were left behind sick, and for other causes; but these are the numbers prepared from the official returns, both in Record Office and United Service Institution.

The English army was drawn up against Flushing as follows: General Graham’s division on the right, General Grosvenor’s next; then Lord Paget’s at West Zouberg, and General Houston’s at Oust Zouberg. Six batteries were formed, five of which were manned by the Royal Artillery, and one by seamen. The former were numbered and armed as follows:—

No. 1 Battery.—[18]1200 yards from the town.
13 24-prs.	This was evidently No. 5 Battery, accordingto the numbering of the Engineers;vide Jones’s ‘Sieges.’
2 8-in. howitzers
6 8-in. mortars
No. 3 Battery.—2200 yards from the town.
6 10 in. mortars	This was evidently No. 1 Battery in the Engineers’ catalogue.
No. 4 Battery.—1600 yards from the town.
4 10-in. mortars.
10 24-pounders.
No. 5 Battery.—1600 yards from the town.
2 10-in. howitzers.	This was evidently No. 7 Battery in theEngineers’ catalogue.
No. 6 Battery.—1760 yards from the town.
3 24-pounders.
4 10 in. howitzers.

N.B.—Two additional batteries, Nos. 7 and 8, were afterwards armed: No. 7 with 2 10-inch mortars, No. 8 with 6 24-pounders.

These batteries were opened on the 13th August, at 1 P.M. At early morning on the 15th August Flushing surrendered. Including the ammunition expended by the sailors from No. 2 Battery, which was armed with six 24-pounders, and opened on Sunday, the 14th August, the following was the expenditure of ammunition, other than rockets, during the short siege:—

		Rounds.
24-pr.	guns	6582
10-in.	mortar	1743
8-in.	mortars	1020
10-in.	howitzers	269
8-in.	howitzers	380
Total		9994

N.B.—Sir R. Gardiner’s MS. agrees exactly in this particular with Sir J. T. Jones’s ‘Sieges.’

Rockets had been used before the opening of the batteries, and continued to be employed in great profusion, and with fatal effect. Great part of the city, including the Hôtel de Ville, was burnt to the ground, and hundreds of the inhabitants were killed. To this day shot may be seen in the walls of many of the houses,—handing down from one generation to another the traditions of the siege.

The chief labour and hardship, however, to the English troops preceded the opening of the batteries. It was during their construction that the energies of officers and men were most severely tried. The roads between Ter Veer and the trenches became almost impassable with constant traffic and rain; the landing of the guns and stores was attended with great difficulty; it was impossible to procure cattle in sufficient quantities for purposes of draught; and many of the horses intended for the later operations had to be landed at Walcheren to draw the stores from Ter Veer. As for the trenches themselves, a few extracts from Sir R. Gardiner’s diary will enable the reader to realise the conditions under which the Artillerymen worked:—

“August 10th. Ascertained, by the saltness of the water, that the dyke had been cut.... The water making great progress in the communication from the right to West Zouberg. The cross-roads very deep and bad; great difficulty in drawing the guns from the park to the several batteries.

“August 11th. A violent thunder-storm and incessant rains during the night precluded all work the greatest part of it. The water rose in the gun-battery on the left about six inches.

“August 12. The roads much worse, and the water rose very high in the trenches. The water-gauge showed the rising of the water to be 4 inches. The magazine of No. 1 Battery on the right was filled with water during the night from the heavy rains, and it was feared would not be ready to receive the ammunition. The exertions of the men, however, overcame every obstacle.”

Three companies, commanded by Captains Drummond, Campbell, and Fyers, had landed at Ter Veer on the 8th August, and proved of great service in the batteries at Oust Zouberg; but the Artillery before Flushing had been weakened the previous day by the removal of the detachments of Captains Buckner’s and Brome’s companies, with Captains Adye and Light, under the command of Colonel Cookson, to join the force in South Beveland, in consequence of a letter received from Sir John Hope. There was considerable anxiety in South Beveland. The forts had, certainly, been occupied by the English; and Captain Wilmot had succeeded in unspiking and rendering serviceable almost all the guns which they found; but there were many reasons for disquiet. Provisions were not so easily obtained as had been expected in such a country; the inhabitants, without exhibiting actual hostility, were decidedly cool and unfriendly; rumours were spread, which magnified every hour, announcing large reinforcements, not merely to Antwerp, but to every Dutch garrison, and describing swarms of French troops being pushed forward in waggons and boats to form a large army at Bergen-op-Zoom, or some such place, with a view to assuming the offensive; the drains made on their resources by the army in Walcheren alarmed the military chiefs; and the disagreement between the Admiral and Lord Chatham as to the method of conducting future operations had already ceased to be secret. It does not, therefore, surprise the reader to find that when, after the fall of Flushing, all the troops and horses which had been originally intended for the second operation, as the design on Antwerp was termed, were about to return to South Beveland, a decided hesitation manifested itself among the authorities, which ended in a suspense from further action. Before the end of August, the whole of the Horse Artillery, Cavalry, and all the horses of the battering train had returned to England;—Captains Wilmot’s, Buckner’s, and Brome’s companies were ordered to follow, after dismantling the forts in South Beveland;—on the 2nd September, Lord Chatham’s head-quarters were moved to Middleburg, in Walcheren;—on the 3rd, the embarkation of much of the ordnance, stores, &c., for England commenced;—on the 10th, Lord Chatham announced that he had received the King’s commands to return home; and on the 14th, accompanied by his staff, including General Macleod, he sailed from Flushing.

The much-vaunted Expedition was therefore at an end; and with the exception of the garrison of Walcheren, the army returned home by instalments. But in the successful part of the campaign,—the capture of Flushing, there is more than a crumb of comfort for the Artilleryman who is in search of incidents creditable to his corps. The words penned after the siege by Lord Chatham, who was observant, although incapable, are worthy of a high place in the Regimental records. “It is impossible,” he wrote, Lord Chatham’s Despatch announcing the surrender of Flushing. “for me to do sufficient justice to the distinguished conduct of the officers and men of the Royal Artillery, under the able direction and animating example of Brigadier-General Macleod.” And in a letter presently to be quoted, the reader will see that in the duller work of dismantling the works, under circumstances of great difficulty and sickness, the men of the Royal Artillery earned noble words of commendation.

Walcheren has been remembered for the sickness which scourged the English army in 1809, when it has been forgotten as to everything else;—and the sickness certainly was fearful; although perhaps due more to exposure, injudicious diet, and inefficient hospital arrangements, than to any local influences, such as were conceived by superstition and fear. The former, it is known, did exist; and their results have been seen in later days, during the first winter of the war in the Crimea, much as they were in Walcheren. But the latter,—the mysterious local fevers, which were believed to be indigenous to this island,—seem to have marvellously disappeared, or to be innocuous, as far as the healthy, contented, and long-lived inhabitants of its beautiful villages are concerned. Be that, however, as it may; the sickness among the English troops in 1809 was very great. On the 30th August there were 5000 sick; on the 3rd September the number increased to 5745; on the 5th September it rose to 8000; and on the 8th it was no less than 10,948, with fresh cases occurring every hour. The sickness in the Artillery may be gathered from a return which is extant. On the 27th September there had been left in Walcheren a total strength of 1089 officers and men belonging to the Royal Artillery and Royal Artillery Driver Corps. Before the 16th October,—in less than three weeks,—255 had been sent sick to England, 396 were sick at Walcheren, and 109 were in their graves. From a return of the officers who were invalided to England, we find the names of many not yet mentioned, including Captains Oliver, Monro, Parker, Wallace, Greene, and Scott; and Lieutenants J. Evans, Parker, Dalton, Pringle, Grant, Chapman, and Drawbridge. The names of others, who remained to the date of the evacuation of the island, will be mentioned presently.

After Lord Chatham’s departure, it was intended at first to strengthen the island for defence in the event of a French attack. Napoleon being, however, as he said, perfectly satisfied that the English should die in Zealand without any assistance from him, and the continued sickness appalling the authorities, it was decided to dismantle the newly-armed batteries with a view to the evacuation of the place. This was done under the control and supervision of Major William Dixon, R.A., assisted by the remnants of the twelve companies, left as part of the garrison of the island. On his arrival in Woolwich, with these companies, he made a report to the Deputy Adjutant-General, which cannot fail to be interesting. “It would be of no use now, Major Dixon to D.-A.-Gen., 3 Jan. 1810. sir,” he wrote, “to enter into a detailed account of the state of defence in which Walcheren was placed at the moment the order came to withdraw; but, in justice to the officers and men I had the good fortune to command, you will permit me to state that, up to the 15th November, every possible exertion was made to withstand an attack in the field, or a siege in the fortified places. All the Dutch mortars and many of the guns were exchanged for English; the extra foreign ammunition sent off to England; Flushing, Veer, and Rammekens completed; the coast strengthened by batteries mounted with heavy ordnance; the field brigades distributed to the different corps of the army; and depôts of ammunition established throughout. These labours were effected without any assistance from the troops of the Line, and under circumstances peculiarly trying;—the companies diminished by sickness to one-third of their original strength, and even then jaded and worn by an oppression and feeling from climate, which I cannot describe, but which actually did not amount to disease. Yet, sir, notwithstanding this, I am happy to say they performed every part of their duty without a murmur, and obeyed every order with zeal and alacrity.

“It will be plain to you, sir, that as we had risen to this state of defence, so in proportion were our labours increased when we came to dismantle. All that was done had to be undone; and every article of guns, ammunition, and stores throughout the island, to be embarked in the least possible time. The same diligence was continued, and within the given period not a trace remained in the works of the ordnance with which they had been defended.... Without meaning to take at all from the general report of the good conduct of the officers and men employed in the island of Walcheren, but as you are aware that, from various causes, there are degrees even in excellence itself, I hope I shall not be considered as acting inconsistently when I recommend the following officers as more particularly deserving your approbation. To Captains Maitland and Light I am greatly indebted for their activity and zeal in completing the defences of Walcheren. To Captain Adye I owe everything for the assistance he gave in dismantling the works, and embarking the guns, ammunition, and stores; and to his name, which, in every respect, deservedly stands first, I beg leave to add those of Captains Rawlinson, Maitland, and Macartney, in the same undertaking. The whole of the subalterns went through every part of the duties imposed on them with zeal and goodwill, even in serving on board the shutes with parties of gunners to load and unload these vessels. I could place no reliance on the Dutch who navigated them, but was thus compelled to ensure their services by guarding against their escape. The navy, I presume, could not (for they certainly would not) grant us any assistance. Nautical skill we were not supposed to possess, but necessity, at length, helped us to find it. I shall conclude, sir, by recommending to your favour Lieutenant Anderson, the acting Adjutant, whose zeal and activity neither sickness nor fatigue could arrest, and I cannot hesitate in pronouncing him one of the finest young men I ever met in my life.”

The amount of ordnance and stores captured in the islands of South Beveland and Walcheren, and either sent to England or destroyed, was very considerable. Summarised, according to date of capture, the following is a list of the guns and mortars which were taken.[19]

List of Captured Ordnance.

Date.	Place.	Guns.	Howitzers.	Mortars.
Aug. 1, 1809	Action on landing	4 6-prs.	··	··
		1 3-pr.	··	··
Aug. 1809	Fort Haak
		4 24-prs.	··	3 coehorn.
		3 12-prs.	··
Aug. 1, 1809	Camp Veere	5 18-prs (iron)	3 7½-in. howitzers	··
		2-prs (brass)	1 5½-in. howitzer	··
		9 24-prs.	··	··
		6 12-prs.	··	··
		14 6-prs.	··	··
Aug. 1809	Camp Veere Arsenal	3 brass wallpieces	1 8¼-in. howitzer	8
		2 swivel guns	··	··
		1 18-pr. guns	··	··
		4 8-pr. guns	··	··
		4 6-pr. guns	··	··
Aug. 4, 1809.	Fort Rammekens	4 18-pr. guns	··	1
		6 12-pr. guns	··	··
		3 6-pr. guns	··	··
		3 2-pr. guns	··	··
Aug. 1, 1809	Coast Batteries, Walcheren	12 26-prs. guns	··	7
Aug. 1809	Fort Bathz, S. Beveland	15 24-prs. guns	3 8-inch	4
			8 6-inch
Aug. 1809	Waarden Battery, S. Beveland	12 24-prs. guns	··	··
	West Borselin Battery	12 24-prs.	··	··
	East Borselin Battery	8 24-prs.	··	··
	Barland Battery	12 24-prs.	··	··
	Ounderskirk Battery	6 24-prs.	··	··
Aug. 16, 1809	Flushing	96 brass guns	howrs. (brass)	56 mortars (brass)
		70 iron guns	··	··
		122 iron carronades	··	··

There were, in addition to the ordnance mentioned above, very large supplies of ammunition and stores of every description, of which the islands were denuded on their evacuation by the English.

The embarkation of the troops from Walcheren was conducted under circumstances of great difficulty. The weather was unfavourable, and for many days after the men were on board, the wind was so adverse as to prevent the ships from sailing. A rear-guard had been left on shore to guard against any attack from the enemy, whose vessels had been accumulating for some weeks in the neighbourhood; and the troops on board the English ships were held in readiness for immediate disembarkation, should the expected attack take place. Some reinforcements which reached the island from England during the embarkation, including two companies of Artillery under Lieut.-Colonel Gold and Major Carncross, were not required to land, but their arrival had a moral effect in ensuring a peaceable evacuation of the place. From Colonel Gold, who landed for a few hours, a graphic description of the state of Walcheren was forwarded to General Macleod in Woolwich. Major Dixon had previously boasted of the thoroughness of his measures in destroying Major Dixon to D.-A.-Gen., 4 Dec. 1809. the fortifications. “I am most happy,” he wrote, “to say that not an article in point of honour or value will be found in the island when the enemy again takes possession: never was there a clearer sweep (I mean in a military point of view); and I am satisfied that he will not for years be enabled to use the Bason for the purposes of the navy. All the parapets are also thrown down, and not a vestige is to be seen of gun, ammunition, or store throughout the island.” This picture was confirmed and completed by Colonel Gold to D.-A.-Gen., 10 Dec. 1809. Colonel Gold, who wrote as follows: “I arrived just in time to witness the destruction of the Arsenal, which is completely effected; the entrance to the Bason, in which the French navy were sheltered last winter, is entirely choked up by blowing up the pieces of the flood-gates. Never was a scene of greater public mischief. On putting foot on shore I found Macartney in the midst of a wreck of carriages, and, at Flushing, Pilkington and Dixon surrounded by their own conflagrations; while Middleburg presented the most pacific appearance, and even at a church in Flushing, immediately opposite to the scene of destruction, divine service going on as if nothing unusual had occurred.... I have been across the island to-day, and although, from the many good descriptions I had heard, I was fully prepared, I could not have conceived any country so intolerably bad for military operations; and that you (General Macleod) made your batteries and got your guns into them is surprising.”

From these extracts, it will be seen that the first object of this much-abused Expedition was completely effected, and Walcheren rendered innocuous, as a means of menacing England. That this was mainly owing to the energy and perseverance of the troops has, it is hoped, also been made apparent. Alas! that the story of this Expedition, as of so many others from England, would be incomplete without the mention of failures in the supply departments of the army. Three months after the fall of Flushing, the troops were Dated Flushing, 14 Nov. 1809. still suffering from want of necessary comforts. “It will be doing us a very great favour,” wrote Major Dixon, “if you can by any means expedite the arrival of the bedding. It is now miserably cold, and I am convinced that much of our indisposition arises from the want of necessary accommodation and comfort. By a letter from the Honourable Board (two packets ago) I expected bedding for the whole of the Ordnance Department, but nothing of the kind has yet appeared.” From complaints like these the reader cannot fail to suspect that much of the exaggerated abuse of the climate of Walcheren was employed to shield those departments, whose members, in this as in other wars, have evinced a belief that the army exists for them, not they for the army.

It only remains to tell the singular story, whose conclusion has affected the regimental privileges of the Royal Artillery from the fall of Flushing to this day. Mention has been made several times in this work of a custom, which placed the bells of a captured city, or an equivalent, at the disposal of the commanding officer of the Artillery of the besieging force. The privilege—as the reader will remember—had been exercised so recently as at the siege of Copenhagen. After the surrender of Flushing, General Macleod preferred Lieut.-Col. Mosheim to Lieut.-Colonel Wood, 4/9/1809. the usual claim. The Mayor and Corporation replied through the Commandant that they acknowledged with due respect a right established by custom immemorial that the bells belonged to the commanding officer of the Royal Artillery, if he thought proper to enforce his claim, but that they were persuaded he would grant consideration to their already sufficiently distressed condition, and not deprive the unfortunate town of its bells, which they would be as incapable of replacing, as they felt unable to tender any compensation for them. On the following day, General Macleod replied that, in consideration of the destruction brought upon the town of Flushing by the system of defence which the French General had thought proper to adopt, he had no wish to add to the misery of the inhabitants by seizing the bells, or by demanding a strict compensation to the full amount of their value. In consenting, however, to sacrifice to a great extent his own rights and pretensions, he could not, he said, in any degree compromise those of the Corps. He must, therefore, demand a modified sum in order specifically to mark the transaction, and to enable him at the same time to contribute to the comforts of the officers and men who had partaken in the artillery duties of the siege.

Valuing the bells at 2000l., General Macleod expressed his readiness to accept 500l. This offer was communicated M. Becker to Lieut.-Colonel Mosheim, 6 Sept, 1809. by the French commandant to the Mayor of Flushing, but was received with indignation:[20] “On nous a rapporté,” wrote the Mayor, “que Messieurs les officiers de l’Artillerie Royale persistoient dans leur demande à ce que la ville de Flussingen leur offrit un compromis en indemnité des cloches, qui—suivant une ancienne coûtume Anglaise—leur reviendroient, comme une récompense de leur service contre une place assiégée, qui s’étoit rendue par capitulation aux troupes de sa Majesté Britannique, et qu’ayant supposé les dites cloches à 2000l. sterling ils avoient fait grâce à la ville, en considération de son malheur, des trois quarts de cette somme, et se contentoient par conséquent d’un quart, montant à 500l. sterling. Vivement pénétré du sentiment de la situation malheureuse à laquelle la ville de Flussingen et ses pauvres bourgeois sont réduits, nous ne cessons cependant pas d’être nés descendans des anciens Hollandais, et tous les désastres que nous avons éprouvés ne nous ont pas tellement enlevé cet esprit franc et sincère, qui caractérise notre nation, et qui rivalise en ce point avec la nation Anglaise, que nous ne sentirions pas l’offense qui nous est faite, et que nous n’oserions l’exprimer. Oui, Monsieur! malgré tout ce qui puisse nous en arriver, nous ne pouvons que regretter l’offre qui nous est faite.... Nous avons de la peine à nous persuader que la demande qu’on nous a faite a été autorisée par le Commandant en chef. Comment, Monsieur? La ville de Flussingen, ses malheureux habitans qui excitent la compassion de tout le monde, qui sont ruinés, sans ressource, qui n’ont pas de quoi pouvoir dans leur propres besoins; cette ville de Flussingen, ces habitans, qui à plus d’un titre méritent la considération particulière du Gouvernement Anglais, et qui, nous n’en doutons pas, deviendroient les objets de sa moralité! Cette ville, et ces habitans, disons-nous, seroient-ils, après avoir passé par tous ces malheurs, réduits à cette extrémité de voir laisser enlevé ses cloches, faute de moyen de représenter la valeur supposée? Non, Monsieur, il est impossible que le Gouvernement Anglais autorise une pareille demande envers la ville de Flussingen, et nous sommes fermement résolus de lui emporter nos plaintes, en cas que Messieurs les Officiers de l’Artillerie persistent dans leur demande contraire à l’équité et à la capitulation; et nous ne doutons pas que l’âme généreuse de sa Majesté Britannique n’y fasse droit. Vous-même, Monsieur, qui connaissez la situation de Flussingen, qui savez qu’une somme de 5500f. de Hollande est au-dessus de nos forces, et qui avez déjà montré compassion à nos maux, ne manquerez pas—nous nous en flattons—d’employer vos efforts auprès de Messieurs les Officiers de l’Artillerie pour qu’ils désistent de leurs prétentions. Nous prenons la liberté de vous adresser un double de notre lettre, vous priant de l’adresser à son Excellence My Lord Chatham, et d’appuyer auprès de son Excellence nos réclamations raisonnables.”

Dated Middleburg, 8 Sept. 1809.

This appeal was answered by General Macleod to the effect that he could not, under any consideration, relinquish the rights of his Corps: that he persisted in his claim, which had received the perfect approbation of Lord Chatham; but that, in consideration of the representations made by the magistrates, he again renounced the idea of deriving emolument to himself at the expense of the distresses of the inhabitants, but would persist in the right of his Corps, unless the magistrates should consent to pay the still further reduced sum of one hundred guineas in establishment of the right;—“to be disposed of in charity to the soldiers’ wives and widows of the Royal Artillery, as may be thought proper hereafter.”

As General Macleod was on the eve of leaving Walcheren for England, he transferred the correspondence to Colonel Terrot, with the intimation that he himself would have no objection to an appeal to the English Legislature, should Dated Middleburg, 9 Sept. 1809. the magistrates of Flushing insist on it; but “in that case,” he wrote, “it is to be understood that the appeal is for the whole of the bells, or for the full amount of their value. The appeal leaves no room for generosity on either side.”

The magistrates were obstinate, and the appeal was forwarded to England. On the 12th November intimation was sent to Major Dixon, in Walcheren, now in command of the Artillery, that the decision was unfavourable to the claims Dated Doctors’ Commons, 26 October, 1809. of the Corps. The following extract from the decision, addressed by Sir Charles Robinson to the Earl of Liverpool, explains the grounds on which it was based. “With respect to the bells of the church, the demands of the Artillery are, I conceive, altogether unsustainable. It is apparently not supported on the part of the Prize Commissioners, since they do not advert to this claim in their letter of the 4th of October. Anciently, there prevailed a law of pillage, which assigned to different corps and to different individuals a privileged claim to particular articles. Whether this was a privilege of the Artillery under the ancient custom of England, as described in the Petition, I am not informed; but in the modern usage of respecting property and public edifices, and more particularly those set apart for divine worship, such a demand cannot, I conceive, be sustained. What the custom may be,—whether deserving of any compensation in the division of what is properly prize, or from any other quarter,—may be a subject of consideration according to circumstances. But I am of opinion that the demand ought not to be enforced against the town.”

From subsequent correspondence which is extant, and which passed between General Macleod and Sir Anthony Farrington, it is evident that the former felt much regret that an old Regimental privilege should have disappeared during operations in which he had occupied so prominent a place; but the reader will admit that no one could have conducted the cause of the Corps in a more unselfish, chivalrous, and yet resolute manner.

N.B.—The comments of an officer of the sister corps, on the conduct of the Artillery at the siege of Flushing, were very favourable. Two extracts from Sir J. Jones’s work may be given.

“The guns of the batteries on the right of the attack were more particularly directed to enfilade and take en écharpe the rampart of the western sea-line, in order to silence the fire of its artillery on the fleet, now preparing to force the passage of the Scheldt. This they accomplished very effectually, by disabling or very severely wounding many of the traversing platforms and their carriages, and much injuring the guns themselves.”

Again:

“Discharges of carcasses and shells from the mortar batteries, with powerful flights of rockets intermixed, were kept up throughout the night on the devoted town, and frequently large portions of it burned with fury.”—Jones’s ‘Sieges,’ vol. ii. pp. 269-271.

CHAPTER XV.
Peninsular War resumed.—Passage of the Douro, and Talavera.

“The deliverance of the Peninsula was never due to the foresight and perseverance of the English ministers, but to the firmness and skill of the British Generals, and to the courage of troops whom no dangers could daunt and no hardships dishearten, while they remedied the eternal errors of the Cabinet.”—Napier.

In resuming the story of the Peninsular War, it will be seen that the narrative has to go back to an earlier date than that of the expedition described in the last chapter,—Sir Arthur Wellesley having returned from England to Lisbon, to take command of the army, so early as the 22nd April, 1809. But it has been thought better to clear the ground, so to speak, of the Walcheren Expedition, and thus to enable the reader to follow uninterruptedly the story of the operations, which terminated in the glorious victory of Talavera, and the subsequent withdrawal of the English troops from Spain to Portugal.

The British Government still resolved that the English army in Spain should be merely an auxiliary one, and remained still undeceived as to the real state of the Spanish forces. Perhaps it was as well, therefore, that the army entrusted to Sir Arthur Wellesley was not a larger one; for the difficulty he encountered in obtaining provisions and transport from the Spaniards would have been insurmountable, had the forces under his command been more numerous. Merida, 25 Aug. 1809. “I do not think,” wrote Sir Arthur to Lord Castlereagh, Cthat matters would have been much better if you had sent your large expedition to Spain instead of to the Scheldt. You could not have equipped it in Galicia, or anywhere in the north of Spain. If we had had 60,000 men instead of 20,000, in all probability we should not have got to Talavera to fight the battle, for want of means and provisions. But if we had got to Talavera, we could not have gone farther, and the armies would probably have separated for want of means of subsistence, probably without a battle, but certainly afterwards.” The campaign of 1809, from beginning to end, was marked by obstinacy on the part of Spanish Generals, and faithlessness on the part of the Spanish Government; by inadequate supplies of money from England, and by difficulties with the Portuguese troops, not the less annoying because they were often petty; as well as by hardships which tried the discipline of the English troops quite as much as the retreat to Corunna, and which drew from To Lord Castlereagh, dated Abrantes, 17 June, 1809. Sir Arthur Wellesley the bitter words: “We are an excellent army on parade, an excellent one to fight; but we are worse than an enemy in a country; and, take my word for it, that either defeat or success would dissolve us.” The success which he almost dreaded came: the 27th and 28th July witnessed as gallant an exhibition of English courage as has ever been seen; but in a few days Sir Arthur wrote: “A starving army is actually worse than none. The soldiers To Marquis Wellesley, dated Deleytosa, 8 August, 1809. lose their discipline and spirit; they plunder even in presence of their officers. The officers are discontented, and are almost as bad as the men; and, with an army which a fortnight ago beat double their numbers, I should now hesitate to meet a French corps of half their strength.” The administration which has so often marked our campaigns with passages like this, cannot be too distinctly held up to view as a perpetual warning. No troops, as Sir Arthur wrote, can serve to any good purpose unless they are regularly fed; and yet it is in this very point—the question of supply—that our military history abounds with failures.

The army which had landed in England from Corunna was speedily organized, and sent back to Portugal. Sir J. Cradock commanded the troops at Lisbon, some 14,000 in number; Marshal Beresford had been appointed to the command of the Portuguese forces, and was assisted in his task of organizing them by several British officers. All arrangements were made for taking the field; and this was done immediately on the arrival of Sir Arthur Wellesley, who was appointed Marshal-General of the united armies. Colonel Kobe had remained in command of the Artillery in Portugal during the interval between Corunna and Sir Arthur’s arrival; but he was now superseded by Brigadier-General—afterwards Sir E.—Howorth. The number of troops and companies in the Peninsula in 1809 was only seven. There were, in addition, five at Gibraltar, five in Italy, and three in Malta.

The Artillery officers first appointed for duty with Marshal Beresford were Captain—afterwards Sir J.—May and Captain Elliot, of the Royal Artillery, and also Captain Arentschild, of the King’s German Artillery. Lieutenant Charles was attached to the Portuguese force raised by Sir Robert Wilson; and Captain P. Campbell and Lieutenant Wills were employed with the Spanish troops at Seville and Cadiz respectively.

General Howorth, on his arrival in Lisbon in the beginning of April, arranged, with Colonel Robe’s assistance, the equipment of five brigades of guns, to take the field with the army, viz., one brigade of heavy 6-pounders, three of light 6-pounders, and one of 3-pounders. These were all he could equip; and, notwithstanding the opportune arrival, from Ireland, of 170 drivers and 298 excellent horses, he yet complained of the want of mobility from which they suffered, mixed as they were with the horses of the country, mules, and oxen. However, like Colonel Harding, he took a cheerful view of matters, and pronounced the mules to be very fine To D.-A.-G. Lisbon, 8 April, 1809. animals, and “the oxen, though slow, a steady, good draught.” The development of the Field Artillery during the Peninsular War, from the wretched batteries employed at its commencement to those which attracted such admiration at its close, will appear in the course of this work. Suffice it, at present, to remind the Artilleryman, by way of contrast, while the picture of the batteries of 1809 is yet fresh in his recollection, that before the conclusion of the Peninsular War, it was admitted by the artillerymen of the country with which England was engaged in hostilities, ‘Le passé et l’avenir de l’Artillerie,’ tom. v. p. 64. that “the English matériel might have been taken as a model by any nation in Europe;”—that, shortly before Waterloo, Marshal Marmont remarked that the equipment of the English Field Artillery was in every respect very superior to anything he had ever seen; and that the French Committee appointed in 1818 to compare the Artillery of Hime. the various countries represented in the review held that year in Paris, expressed unqualified delight with that of England.

On Sir Arthur Wellesley’s arrival in Lisbon, he found that Soult was in possession of Oporto, and Victor in Estremadura. He promptly resolved to attack them in detail; and, making Lisbon the base of his operations, he requested the Spanish General, Cuesta, to watch Victor’s movements, while he himself should march to the north against Soult. The moral effect of driving the French out of Portugal would, he felt, be very great—all the more so as his arrival had produced a sudden hopefulness among the Portuguese, which it was desirable not to disappoint.

Accordingly, on the 1st May, he moved his head-quarters to Pombal and Coimbra, and found himself in command of an army which, after deducting the sick and absent, numbered Napier. 20,653 rank and file, with 30 guns. On the 9th he left Coimbra with the main body, and arrived on the Douro, opposite Oporto, on the 12th, after a march of eighty miles To D.-A.-G. Oporto, 14 May, 1809. over infamous roads. “But,” wrote General Howorth, “neither difficulty nor danger impedes Sir Arthur: he is all fire, and establishes confidence in the troops.”

On the 10th, the left column of the army, which marched from Aveiro, fell in with the enemy at Algabaria Nova. A slight affair ensued, in which the Artillery and Cavalry were chiefly engaged; and the enemy was repulsed with the loss of a gun. On the 11th, the right column, which marched on the Vouga, came up with the French between Algabaria Nova and Grijon, and an engagement followed which lasted two hours, ending in the retreat of the enemy. On the arrival of the English at Villa Nova, opposite Oporto, it was found that the French had destroyed the bridge across the Douro, and removed every available boat to their own side of the river. It was of the utmost importance that the English troops should cross, so as to co-operate with Marshal Beresford, who, having crossed the river higher up, was now menacing the left and the rear of Soult’s army. The crossing was effected in a gallant, and yet singular and romantic way, whose details, too long for reproduction here, render the passage of the Douro one of the most interesting episodes in the Peninsular War. Wellesley saw a building on the other side of the river—here three hundred yards wide—called the Seminary, surrounded by a walled yard, capable of containing two battalions. Close to where he himself stood was a rock, called Serra, from which artillery would well command the passage of the river, and where he therefore desired General Howorth to place eighteen guns. The guards on the other side seemed few and negligent. Soult expected no danger on the part of the river above the town, and had posted himself to the westward; if, therefore, boats could but be obtained, Wellesley resolved to cross. A small skiff was found, and Colonel Waters, a staff officer, crossed, and found three large barges, which he towed back to the Villa Nova side of the river. The men were ordered to embark, and, in the face of an army of ten thousand men, the passage was effected. Very few, however, had crossed ere the alarm was given, and the French troops poured down upon the Seminary. The alarm acted in one respect favourably to the English; for some of the citizens hastened to unmoor some boats, and cross to Villa Nova, thus facilitating the embarkation and passage of the troops. All this time the fire of the Royal Artillery from the Serra told with great effect; and, as it completely swept one side of the Seminary, it soon limited the attack to the other. The gallantry of the Infantry was unrivalled. General Sherbrooke had crossed the river a little lower down, and was now in possession of the town of Oporto, and pressing, with the Guards and 29th Regiment, on the rear of the French troops as they poured out towards the Seminary. The Buffs and their comrades in the enclosure rained showers of bullets on the disorganized French; and in a short time they were Napier. in full retreat, “the artillery, from the Serra, still searching To D.-A.-G. 14 May, 1809. the enemy’s columns as they hurried along.” General Howorth, in describing the battle, said that he never saw anything like the gallantry of the English troops. Their firmness was irresistible; nor could the French make any impression; and, from the position which he occupied, he was able to form a good opinion, as he could see everything. To Lord Castlereagh, dated Oporto, 12 May, 1809. Sir Arthur, in his despatch announcing the victory, after enumerating the various officers who had especially distinguished themselves, said, in describing the services of the regiments engaged: “I had every reason to be satisfied with the Artillery.” That his satisfaction was also extended to the previous operations and to the severe march of eighty miles over most difficult country, may be gathered from General Howorth’s words. “I have reason,” he wrote, “to believe that Sir Arthur is perfectly satisfied with the Artillery; and, it must be owned, never was Artillery put to such trial.” The French ordnance captured at the recovery of Oporto included 56 brass guns and 3 brass howitzers. A considerable supply of ammunition was also taken.

The pursuit of Soult’s army was undertaken by Sir A. Wellesley with as little delay as possible, although not with sufficient promptness to satisfy the demands of certain military critics, who are ready to find fault, but slow to acknowledge difficulties in the way of armies. That it was sufficiently prompt to ensure the success of the English General’s purpose, may be gathered from the fact that on the 18th May Soult and his army crossed the frontier into Spain, having been driven out of Portugal with the loss of artillery, stores, and baggage, and of no fewer than 6000 men; while of those who remained, many were without arms Napier. and accoutrements, the majority without shoes, and all utterly exhausted and miserable; and, further, that the English army did not delay in the pursuit from any effeminate ideas of comfort or luxury, may be gathered from the following letter from General Howorth: “The extraordinary To General Macleod, dated Oporto, 24 May, 1809. rapidity of events in this country, which have been accompanied by a succession of the most triumphant operations against the enemy, left me no leisure to communicate them as they occurred. However, I am at last returned here, after passing eight days in continued marches over the worst roads I ever saw, through incessant rain, a depopulated country, quartered in uninhabited houses, and with no supplies whatever, but what was scantily provided by the Commissariat Department. During the greater part of this march the luxury of a bed, or a change of clothes, which were always wet, was unknown to me.... We pursued to Montalagree, where the enemy turned short to the left, over the mountains, and took the shortest way into Galicia.”

During the pursuit, the English overtook Soult at Salamonde, and his rear-guard being in a confined space, some guns were brought to bear on them with fearful effect. Napier. “Man and horse, crushed together, went over into the gulf; and the bridge, rocks, and the defile beyond were strewed with mangled bodies.” The furious peasantry also turned on the French troops, and rendered their retreat—which has been compared with that of the English on Corunna—infinitely more horrible.

Wellington Despatches.

As Soult sacrificed artillery and baggage in order to move more rapidly, it was but natural that he should outmarch an army which had not so disencumbered itself. But this pursuit has an importance to the Artilleryman in being a text on which much useful argument was hung by General Howorth and others, in favour of greater mobility than had yet attended the brigades of Field Artillery employed in the Peninsula. The 3-pounder brigade was the only one which was able to march with the army during its more Dated Oporto, 24 May, 1809. rapid movements; and therefore General Howorth made a demand for additional brigades of that nature, suggesting, with the assistance of Colonel Robe, various improvements in the equipment. Among other changes, he recommended double instead of single draught, both for guns and waggons; and that the brigades should be of four guns instead of six, the howitzers being dispensed with, and a liberal supply of spherical case being issued for the guns. Another very suggestive recommendation was made by him: “to have a small forge with each brigade of four guns; the forge to be placed on the frame of a small limber waggon; it can then follow the brigade, which is not the case with the present one.” The absence of a forge on the line of march must at times have sadly crippled the batteries. He also suggested that the span of the wheels should be narrowed to 4½ feet, and (to prevent liability to upset from this cause) that the gun should be lowered on its carriage by adopting a bare iron axletree. His next recommendation reveals a starvation of equipment which would account for almost any shortcomings on the line of march. He urged the authorities “to have spare shafts, wheels, axles, spokes, felloes, and pintails supplied, none having been sent with the present brigades, and now much needed.” He also made suggestions which would ensure greater mobility to the heavier brigades of 6-pounders. The Artilleryman may therefore date to the campaign of the Douro some of the most valuable lessons taught in the Peninsular War, and can trace to it that change in the opinions and experience of the military authorities, which resulted in so extended a use of Horse Artillery in the Peninsula, and in so marked an improvement in the brigades of Field Artillery before the conclusion of the war.

Marshal Victor, on hearing of the disastrous termination of Soult’s operations, fell back on Almaraz and Torremocha; so that Sir A. Wellesley, who had commenced his southward march through Traz-oz-Montes, resolved to halt at Abrantes, and to commence a thorough reorganization of his army, Wellington Despatches and Supplementary Despatches. now sadly undisciplined. The correspondence of Sir Arthur at this time reveals what one is apt to forget in reflecting on the glories of the Peninsular campaigns. The military genius of the Duke of Wellington and the courage of English soldiers are too often considered to have been the only necessary causes of success; but a study of the appeals made by him at Abrantes to officers and men,—of the strict orders, on even the smallest matters, which he found it necessary to issue,—and of the letters to ministers and friends, in which he never failed to tell the truth about the army, however unpalatable,—reveals another most necessary element in the success which attended him in all his operations. As the first thought in his own mind always was duty, so the first and last thing which he held before his troops, as that without which they would be worse than useless, was discipline. The arguments he used have a value for all time, and a special value for England at a time when she possesses an armed force of Volunteers, who might possibly consider that drill, instead of discipline, is the chief end of a soldier’s life; but whose discipline, on the other hand, if thorough, would be nobler than that of regular troops, in being more self-imposed, and less dependent on a penal code. As for the Duke of Wellington’s remarks on the discipline of the Spanish troops, they apply in a singularly exact way to the To Lord Castlereagh, dated 25 Aug. 1809. armies of Spain in the anarchy of 1873. “In Spain,” he wrote, “the business of an army is little understood. They are really children in the art of war; and I cannot say that they do anything as it ought to be done, with the exception of running away and assembling again in a state of nature.... The Government have attempted to govern the kingdom in a state of revolution by an adherence to old rules and systems, and with the aid of what is called enthusiasm; and this last is, in fact, no aid to accomplish anything, and is only an excuse for the irregularity with which everything is done, and for the want of discipline and subordination of the armies. People are very apt to believe that enthusiasm carried the French through their Revolution, and was the parent of those exertions which have nearly conquered the world; but if the subject is nicely examined, it will be found that enthusiasm was the name only, but that force was the instrument which brought forward those great resources, under the system of terror, which first stopped the Allies.” In his correspondence with Marshal Beresford, who found great difficulty in organizing the Portuguese troops, he laid down Dated Badajoz, 8 Sept. 1809. what may be considered a military creed. “They want the habits,” he wrote, “and the spirit of soldiers,—the habits of command on one side, and of obedience on the other—mutual confidence between officers and men: and, above all, a determination in the superiors to obey the spirit of the orders they receive, let what will be the consequence; and the spirit to tell the true cause, if they do not.” Poor Marshal Beresford had, indeed, need of support and sympathy Supplementary Despatches of Duke of Wellington, vol. vi. p. 362. in his task. Long habits of disregard to duty, and of consequent laziness, made it impossible for the senior officers to pay any regular or continued attention to the duties of their situations, and neither reward nor punishment would induce them to bear up against fatigue. By replacing these by younger officers, or English officers detached from the various regiments, he ultimately succeeded in making the Portuguese contingent a most valuable force; but this was only done by impressing on them the necessity of discipline and unhesitating obedience. More than sixty years have passed away, and the same lesson, though more difficult to learn, is not the less vitally necessary. The spirit of criticism spreads with the growth of education, and considerably out of proportion with it. The reasoning obedience which a soldier should yield is, perhaps, confused with an obedience which requires to know the reason of an order, instead of that which is readily yielded in the belief that what may be unintelligible in detail is necessary for the general plan. That such obedience is not easy always to give may be true enough. The possession, with a strong will, of but pigmy power, is undoubtedly trying; but the self-denial which is demanded stands among the highest of all military virtues, as it is the very alphabet of all military training. He only is fit to rule who has first learned to obey.

Reference has been made to the association of English officers with the Portuguese forces. The appointment of Captain—afterwards Sir Alexander—Dickson, to the Portuguese Artillery, which took place after the Douro campaign, was productive of so important results, that it deserves detailed notice. As Captain Dickson, he had acted as Brigade-Major to General Howorth during the recent operations. He had, however, come to Portugal with the intention of obtaining employment in a higher local rank with the Portuguese Artillery, and had only been deterred by difficulties which had arisen as to the status and pay of officers so attached. On the 4th June, he quitted Oporto with General Howorth, who had been indisposed for some time, and proceeded to Abrantes to join the army, and also to speak to Marshal Beresford on the subject of employment Captain Dickson to D. A. Gen. 3 July, 1809. with the Portuguese troops. Fortunately, on his arrival, he found that Captain May, then in command of a division of Portuguese Field Artillery, was on the point of resigning, in accordance with instructions from England; and Marshal Beresford readily appointed Captain Dickson as his successor,—Captain May, in exchange, assuming the duties of Major of Brigade. So far all was well; but Captain Dickson soon found that he had no pleasing position. The local rank of Major, which had been conferred on his junior officer, Captain Arentschild of the King’s German Artillery, was refused to him by Marshal Beresford, who had been irritated by contradictory orders from the English and Portuguese Governments; so that he found himself under the orders of his junior. The Portuguese officers were also very jealous of their English comrades; and the seniors, without incurring any risk themselves, made every difficulty in their power, when any suggestion was made which they disliked. Letters from the British to the Portuguese officers on official matters, and all applications for supplies, were left unanswered; and yet “these same men,” wrote Captain Dickson indignantly, “are embracing you as often as they meet!” He would gladly have given up his new appointment, had he not felt bound by his promise to Lord Chatham to retain it; so he set to work, in a true soldierlike spirit, to perfect the two 6-pounder Portuguese batteries which had been placed under his charge, and of which, even at the beginning, he was able to write in terms of the warmest approbation. As this narrative will show, he was rewarded for remaining at his post. The local rank was given to him ultimately; and by its means he found himself commanding many brother officers, much senior to himself regimentally, and ultimately at the head of the Artillery of the armies of the Duke of Wellington, while only a Captain in his own Corps.

It is now necessary to follow the movements of Sir Arthur Wellesley. The English Government continued to overrate the value of the Spanish armies; and the pressure brought to bear upon the English General was such as he could not resist. He therefore proposed to the Spanish General, Cuesta, to co-operate with his army against Victor’s forces, and ultimately against Madrid. Cuesta, whose treatment of Sir Arthur Wellesley was, on all occasions, of the most obstinate and boorish description, had an army of 33,000 men. Napier. Sir Arthur’s army, when he quitted Abrantes, numbered 20,997 men of all arms, with 30 guns. The advance of the united armies against Madrid by the valley of the Tagus had been foreseen by Napoleon, and he had ordered Soult, at the head of a powerful army, to concentrate his forces in such a manner that, on the advance of Wellesley, he could pass by his left rear, and cut him off from the base of his operations,—Lisbon and its surrounding country. The English General was far from correctly informed either of the strength or position of Soult’s army; he was urged by the English representative, Mr. Frere, and by his own Government, to take the offensive; the vacillation of Joseph Buonaparte tempted him to march on Madrid before further union could be effected among the French armies; he was further assured of the courage of the Spanish armies, the enthusiasm of the peasantry, and the abundance of supplies. On the 27th June, therefore, he broke up his camp at Abrantes, and marched towards Oropesa, to effect a junction with Cuesta. The farther he advanced, the more doubtful did he become of the sincerity of the Spaniards—a doubt which exhibited itself in the pertinacity with which he demanded from Cuesta and the Junta solemn promises to keep the English army supplied, during any farther advance, with the requisite transport and supplies. The reader does not require to be reminded how shamefully these promises were broken;—how thwarted Wellesley was, alike by the intrigues of the Junta and the conceited obstinacy of Cuesta;—nor how faithful he was, amid all his difficulties, to the duty which England had imposed upon him. Standing beside Cuesta like a better angel,—and receiving the treatment not unfrequently bestowed on such,—calm under insult, his judgment never heated by an indignation which would have been righteous,—he ultimately succeeded in placing the united armies in the very position in front of Talavera which he had selected, when he saw that a general action with the combined forces of Victor and Sebastiani was inevitable, if not, indeed, desirable. But not until the morning of the 27th July, nor until Cuesta’s folly and rashness had courted and received, at Alcabon, a well-deserved defeat, did the English General succeed in placing the Spanish forces in Gurwood’s Despatches: Selections, p. 278. the position he had chosen. The quiet irony of the memorandum of Sir Arthur Wellesley on the battle of Talavera cannot be seen without remembering the defeat just mentioned, and a disgraceful panic which seized on the Spanish troops at the appearance of some French cavalry, on the afternoon of the 27th, when 10,000 Infantry and all their Artillery fled, terror-stricken, to the rear. Part of these were recovered before the following day; but the Spanish contingent was weaker by the greater part of its Artillery, and 6000 of its Infantry. With such troops as allies, no wonder that Sir Arthur wrote: “The position of Talavera was well calculated for the troops that were to occupy it. The ground in front of the British army was open; that in front of the Spanish army was covered with olive-trees, intersected by roads, ditches, &c.” In other words, the offensive part of the battle was to fall on the British, while a masterly and imposing inactivity was reserved for the Spaniards.

The battle of Talavera was fought on the 27th and 28th July. The loss of the Spanish Artillery in the panic mentioned above was very serious, as the English had only 30 guns, very badly horsed and of small calibre, to oppose to 80 guns, admirably served by the enemy. Fortunately, the few guns of the Spanish Artillery, which were brought into action, were gallantly fought; and of those of the Royal and King’s German Artillery, both the officers present and all military historians speak in the highest terms. At the defeat of the 4th French Corps by Campbell’s division, the British Artillery, as Napier wrote, played vehemently upon their masses:—at the critical moment, later in the day, when the English centre was almost broken on account of the injudicious advance of the Guards, and of the confusion which seized the King’s German Legion, the marvellous effect which followed the arrival of the 48th Regiment, moving, amid all the confusion, with the steadiness, of a parade, was greatly heightened by the conduct of the Artillery, which, as the same historian says, “battered the enemy’s flanks without intermission.” Sir Arthur Wellesley, in addition to an expression of his satisfaction with the Corps in the General Order after the battle, made use of the following expression in his despatch to Lord Castlereagh: “The Artillery, under Brigadier-General Howorth, was also, throughout these days, of the greatest service.”

Compared with the loss of the other arms, that of the Artillery was but small. On the 27th, only two men were wounded; on the 28th, the loss was as follows:—

Royal Artillery.—1 officer and 7 men killed; 3 officers and 21 men wounded.
King’s German Artillery.—1 sergeant and 2 men killed; 3 sergeants and 27 men wounded.

The officer who was killed was Lieutenant Wyatt; those who were wounded were Lieut.-Colonel Framingham, and Captains Baines and Taylor. In reporting the severe wound of Colonel Framingham, and applying for a pension, General Howorth said: “If it were possible that any testimony or To D.-A.-G. Dated Badajoz, 20 Oct. 1809. praise of mine could add to the weight of this application, or to the merit and brilliancy of Lieut.-Colonel Framingham’s gallant conduct in the action of the 28th July, at Talavera, I should most freely have bestowed it; but, as he distinguished himself on that occasion by a most skilful discharge of his duty, I have only to wish him sincerely a reward equal to his merits.” On the retreat of the army from Talavera, Captain Taylor, whose wound prevented his removal, fell into the hands of the French, and remained a prisoner to the end of the war.

There are several points connected with the battle of Talavera which stand out prominently, and seize the attention of the student at once. The weakness of King Joseph in playing into the hands of the English General, and allowing him to fight under the terms most advantageous to himself;—the hard, honest fighting, as Napier calls it, of the English troops, who, for hours, were closely engaged with a force of double their own numbers;—the watchful tactics of Sir A. Wellesley, who never missed a point during the whole engagement, and was always ready at critical moments with the necessary remedies; and the heavy losses on both sides—over 6000 being killed and wounded on the side of the English, and more than 7000 on that of the French;—these are points which cannot escape the most superficial reader. But to the soldier there are several precious instances of steadiness and discipline among particular regiments, which Wellington Despatches. shed a glow over this well-fought field,—the 45th and 5th Battalion of the 60th being conspicuous for these qualities on the 27th, and the “stubborn old 48th” on the 28th. Napier’s pages glow with the enthusiasm of a soldier as he describes the movements of the last-mentioned regiment on the occasion referred to above. “At first,” he writes, “it seemed as if this regiment must be carried away by the retiring crowds; but, wheeling back by companies, it let them pass through the intervals, and then, resuming its proud and beautiful line, marched against the right of the pursuing columns, and plied them with such a destructive musketry, and closed upon them with such a firm and regular pace, that their forward movement was checked.”

The changes which have become necessary in the art of war, owing to the improvement in fire-arms, may have forbidden the use in battle of the line which the gallant 48th showed at Talavera; but, in whatever form troops may be called upon to fight, the qualities which animated that regiment will still, if present, entitle their possessors to the same epithet, and the perfection of their drill and discipline will still claim the words, “proud and beautiful.”

The horrors of a battle-field, when the deadly encounter is over, were aggravated at Talavera by a fire, which caught the dry grass, and which licked the ground where the dead and wounded were lying, adding a new agony to the sufferings of the latter, and hideously scorching the bodies of those whose pain was for ever at an end. This incident gives a ghastly element to the recollection of a field, on which English courage was so ably proved.

INDEX.

A.	Captain.	B.	Second Captain.	C.	Lieutenants.
D.	Assistant Surgeon.	E.	N.-C. Officers.	F.	Trumpeters.
G.	Artificers.	H.	Gunners.	I.	Drivers.
J.	Total.	K.	Women.	L.	Children.
M.	Officers’.	N.	Troop.	O.	Total.
P.	6-pounders.	Q.	5½ in. Howitzers.	R.	Ammunition Wagons.
S.	Baggage Wagons.	T.	Wheel Carriage.	U.	Forge Cart.
V.	Baggage Cart.	W.	Total.

Embarkation Return of a Troop of Royal Horse Artillery, commanded by Captain H. D. Ross.

Ships’ Names and Masters.													Horses.			Ordnance and Carriages.
	A.	B.	C.	D.	E.	F.	G.	H.	I.	J.	K.	L.	M.	N.	O.	P.	Q.	R.	S.	T.	U.	V.	W.
‘Rodney’—G. Bowes	1	··	1	1	3	1	3	19	8	37	··	··	7	26	33	··	··	··	··	··	··	··	··
‘Phœnix’—R. Oswell	··	1	2	··	3	··	2	15	9	32	2	··	7	24	31	··	··	··	··	··	··	··	··
‘Amphitrite’—R. Stevenson	··	··	··	··	2	··	··	10	13	25	··	··	··	32	32	··	··	··	··	··	··	··	··
‘Jane’—J. Jackson	··	··	··	··	2	··	1	15	10	28	··	··	··	30	30	··	··	··	··	··	··	··	··
‘Ruby’—S. Chapman	··	··	··	··	2	··	1	13	12	28	··	··	··	34	34	··	··	··	··	··	··	··	··
‘Ganges’—J. Nisbett	··	··	··	··	··	··	··	2	2	4	··	··	··	2	2	··	··	··	··	··	··	··	··
‘Blessing’—R. Armstrong	··	··	··	··	1	··	··	7	··	8	1	··	··	··	··	5	1	6	3	1	1	1	18
Total	1	1	3	1	13	1	7	81	54	162	3	··	14	148	162	5	1	6	3	1	1	1	18

Ramsgate, 8th June, 1809. (Signed) H. D. Ross, Captain Commanding R. H. A.

On the 29th, Wellesley’s army was strengthened by the arrival of Crawford’s brigade, consisting of the 43rd, 52nd, and 95th Regiments, with Captain Ross’s, “The Chestnut,” troop of Horse Artillery,[21] which, in their eagerness to reach the field of battle, and undeterred by the lies of the flying Spaniards, had marched no less than sixty-two miles in twenty-six hours, in the hottest season of the year, and in heavy marching order. But news reached the English General which determined him to fall back, and to have done with the assistance of Spanish troops, whose worthlessness he had now thoroughly tested. Hearing that Soult was pressing on by rapid marches, and with increased forces,—had already gained possession of one of his most important communications with Portugal, and was threatening the others,—he resolved to leave his wounded at Talavera, and to fall back into Portugal. He did so by means of rapid marches; but he still conducted them so as to show no appearance of flight, such as would have injured the reputation of his army in the eyes of the Spaniards—a most important To D. A. G. Dated Badajoz, 26 Oct. 1809. consideration. General Howorth, in alluding to the retreat from Talavera, emphasises this point. “We made a retrograde movement,” he wrote, “with a dignified deliberation perfectly suitable to the gravity of Spanish deportment.” The whole of his brigades of Artillery returned from Talavera complete, with the exception of one 6-pounder gun which had been damaged in the battle of the 28th, and which, the General wrote, had been privately buried, perhaps out of consideration for Spanish deportment also. But all the spare ammunition and stores had to be abandoned, as the carts were required to carry the sick. No less than 150 carts were so employed; for the sickness during the retreat, and even after the troops went into cantonments at Merida, was very great. The well-known sickness in the Chestnut Troop, which so nearly led to its return to England, took place at Merida after the retreat. So severely did it suffer, that, in sending in his returns of available Artillery force at this time, General Howorth wrote: “I have one troop of Horse Artillery, Bull’s,[22] and half a one, Ross’s. The latter has suffered severely by sickness and death of men and horses.” The sickness was aggravated by a dearth of medical officers; and the unfortunate Chestnut Troop, which required medical assistance to an extraordinary extent, was robbed of its own surgeon in an inglorious manner. “Poor Doctor O’Brien,” wrote General Howorth, “of Ross’s troop, died last night, owing to his servant’s getting drunk, and giving him too strong a dose of opium, which destroyed him.” Ere many weeks passed, the attempt to cope with the havoc made in the troop was almost abandoned. Two guns and their waggons were sent into store, from want of men and horses to work them; and orders were given that, on the arrival of another troop (Lefebure’s) from England, the surviving men and horses of the Chestnut Troop should be handed over to it, and Captain Ross and his officers return to England to organize a new troop. Luckily for him, Captain Lefebure’s troop suffered so much from a storm on its way to the Peninsula that, on its arrival, it was little more efficient than the one it was Memoir of Sir H. D. Ross. meant to relieve; so, to Captain Ross’s delight, he had his vacancies completed from the new arrivals, and Captain Lefebure had, instead, the duty of rebuilding his troop.

The head-quarters of the English General, on whom the title of Lord Wellington was bestowed after Talavera, were at Badajoz until the end of 1809. He devoted himself to the strengthening of his position, with the double motive of ensuring to himself the possession of Lisbon and the Tagus, and of securing the unmolested embarkation of his troops, should reverses render it necessary. The lines of Torres Vedras, which were to play so important a part in the campaign of 1810, were matured in the winter of 1809. Lord Wellington had given up all hope of succeeding by means of the Spaniards; but he by no means despaired of offering an effectual resistance to the most powerful French attacks by means of the combined English and Portuguese army under his command. He felt confidence in his troops. As Lord Wellington to Colonel Malcolm, Badajoz, 3 Dec. 1809. he boasted to a correspondent, “I command an unanimous army.” Supplies in Portugal were better arranged than in Spain; and, with the remembrance fresh in his mind of Talavera, which he himself pronounced “the hardest-fought battle of modern days, and the most glorious in its results to the English troops,” he looked forward to the next campaign with quiet confidence, and displayed during the winter an industry in strengthening his position which, at all events, deserved success.

Note.—Although the Peninsular War eclipses in point of interest any other operations in which the Royal Artillery was engaged in 1809, it would be a great omission, were no allusion made to the services of the Corps, in the beginning of 1809, during the operations in the West Indies under General Beckwith and Sir George Prevost, which resulted in the capture of the French colonies of Cayenne and Martinique. Over 500 officers and men of the Royal Artillery were present under the command of Brigadier-General Stehelin, and the value of their services may be ascertained from the following extract from the General Order issued at the termination of the campaign:—

G. O. Dated 8 March, 1809.

“To Brigadier-General Stehelin, commanding the Royal Artillery, for his regularity in all interior arrangements, and especially for that order and system established in this distinguished Corps, which led to those eminent services rendered by them during the bombardment, and which brought the siege to an early and glorious termination ... the Commander of the Forces is anxious to renew all those assurances of public and individual consideration, to which from their distinguished services they are fully entitled, and he requests, as an old soldier, that he may live in their remembrance and friendship.”

B. G. Stehelin to D.-A.-Gen. 23 March, 1809.

The officers of the Royal Artillery who were present during these operations were—in addition to Brigadier-General Stehelin—Captains Blaney Walsh, Unett, Phillott, St. Clair, Cleeve, Story, Du Bourdieu, Clibborn, Butts, and Rollo; and Lieutenants Spellen, Bell, Gordon, Lewis, Mathias, Tucker, Turner, Heron, Scriven, Simmons, and F. Arabin.

CHAPTER XVI.
Busaco and Torres Vedras.

It may not be uninteresting to the reader, before resuming the consideration of the Peninsular War, to study some statistics connected with the Regiment in the year 1810, the period to be treated of in this chapter. The number of troops and companies remained as before, 112—exclusive of the invalid battalion. They were distributed as follows:—16 Kane’s List. in the Peninsula, 5 in Italy and Sicily, 56 on home stations, 4 in Canada, 3 at the Cape of Good Hope, 3 in Ceylon, where they had been engaged on active service during the previous year, 6 in Gibraltar, 4 in Jamaica and 6 in the rest of the West Indies (these ten companies being actively engaged in the defence of the colonies), 1 in Madeira, 4 in Malta, 1 in Newfoundland, and 3 in Nova Scotia and Cape Breton.

The following tables show the strength of the battalions, and the proportions of the various ranks. They also show the pay of the various ranks, less the charges for agency, which are not deducted in the pay tables published in Kane’s List. But, in addition to the strength of the Royal Artillery, the reader will find detailed statements of the other corps which swelled the total Artillery force of Great Britain. It is hoped that, by publishing these tables in this form, reference will be easier, and lengthy description may be dispensed with. It cannot be too often repeated that the services in the Peninsula of the King’s German Artillery, the detail of which is given in the annexed tables, were of the most gallant description, unsurpassed by those of the corps to which they were attached. The active service of the corps, named the Royal Foreign Artillery, was chiefly in the West Indies.

From MS. Returns in Library of the Royal United Service Institution.

Statement of the Artillery Forces of Great Britain in the year 1810—according to the establishment laid down in the King’s Warrant—with the various rates of pay, less agency charges.

1.—ROYAL ARTILLERY.
a. Staff.
Rank.			Pay per diem.
			£.	s.	d.
1	Master-General	No pay on the establishment.
1	Lieutenant-General
10	Colonels-Commandant	each	2	14	4
20	Colonels	”	1	6	0
30	Lieutenant-Colonels	”	0	17	11
10	Majors	”	0	16	9
1	Deputy-Adjutant-General	··	1	0	0
10	Adjutants	each	0	8	6
10	Quartermasters	”	0	7	10
1	Chaplain	··	0	9	11
10	Sergeant-Majors	each	0	3	7¼
10	Quartermaster-Sergeants	”	0	3	7¼
b. Company of Gentlemen Cadets.
1	Captain	··	1	4	7¾
1	Second Captain	··	0	13	0
2	First Lieutenants	each	0	6	10
1	Second Lieutenant	··	0	6	10
200	Gentlemen Cadets	each	0	2	0
1	Drum-Major	··	0	2	4
1	Fife-Major	··	0	2	4
c. Ten Battalions, consisting each of
10	Captains	each	0	11	0
10	Second Captains	”	0	11	0
20	First Lieutenants	”	0	6	10
10	Second Lieutenants	”	0	5	7
40	Sergeants	”	0	2	5¼
40	Corporals	”	0	2	3¾
90	Bombardiers	”	0	2	1¾
1240	Gunners	”	0	1	5¾
30	Drummers	”	0	1	5¾
1490	being the total for each battalion, andtherefore 14,900 for the ten.
d. Invalids.
1	Colonel-Commandant	··	2	14	4
2	Second Colonels	each	1	0	0
2	Lieutenant-Colonels	”	0	19	9
3	Second Lieutenant-Colonels	”	0	17	11
1	Major	··	0	16	9
1	Adjutant	··	0	9	0
1	Quartermaster	··	0	7	10
2	Staff Sergeants	each	0	3	7¼
12	Captains	”	0	11	0
12	First Lieutenants	”	0	7	10
12	Second Lieutenants	”	0	5	7
48	Sergeants	”	0	2	5¼
48	Corporals	”	0	2	3¾
108	Bombardiers	”	0	2	1¾
100	First Gunners	”	0	1	9¾
620	Second Gunners	”	0	1	5¾
12	Drummers	”	0	1	5¾
48	Non-effectives	”	0	1	5¾
e. Royal Horse Artillery.
1	Colonel-Commandant	··	2	19	3
2	Colonels	each	1	12	0
3	Lieutenant-Colonels	”	1	6	9
1	Major	··	1	2	8
1	Adjutant	··	0	16	6
1	Quartermaster	··	0	10	9
1	Regimental Staff Sergeant	··	0	3	9¼
1	Regimental Sergeant (for Staff)	··	0	2	7¼
2	Farriers and Carriage Smiths	each	0	3	5¼
1	Collar-maker	··	0	3	5¼
1	Trumpet-Major	··	0	2	3¾
12	Captains	each	0	15	11
12	Second Captains	”	0	15	11
36	First Lieutenants	”	0	9	10
24	Troop Staff Sergeants	”	0	3	9¼
36	Sergeants	”	0	2	7¼
36	Corporals	”	0	2	3¾
72	Bombardiers	”	0	2	1¾
480	Gunners mounted	”	0	1	5¾
628	Gunners dismounted	”	0	1	5¾
720	Drivers	”	0	1	5¾
12	Farriers and Shoeing Smiths	”	0	3	5¼
12	Carriage Smiths	”	0	3	5¼
24	Shoeing Smiths	each	0	2	3¾
24	Collar-makers	”	0	2	1¼
12	Wheelwrights	”	0	2	1¼
12	Trumpeters	”	0	2	1¾
f. Riding-House Troop.
1	Captain	··	0	15	0
1	Lieutenant, at	··	0	15	0
1	Lieutenant, at	··	0	13	0
1	Lieutenant, at	··	0	11	0
1	Quartermaster	··	0	7	10
2	Staff Sergeants	each	0	3	2
3	Sergeants	”	0	2	2
3	First Corporals	”	0	2	0
3	Second Corporals	”	0	1	10¼
1	Trumpeter	··	0	1	11¼
1	Farrier	··	0	3	2¾
1	Collar-maker	··	0	1	10¾
44	Riders	each	0	1	3¼

II.-FIELD TRAIN.
1	Chief Commissary.
5	Commissaries.
24	Assistant Commissaries.
113	Clerks of Stores.
115	Conductors.
13	Military Conductors.
1	Foreman.
7	Smiths.
6	Collar-makers.
7	Wheelers.
2	Carpenters.
1	Painter.

III.-ROYAL ARTILLERY DRIVERS.
Rank.			Pay per diem.
			£.	s.	d.
1	Major	··	1	1	0
2	Adjutants	each	0	10	0
8	Veterinary Surgeons	”	0	8	0
11	Captain-Commissaries	”	0	15	0
55	First Lieutenants	”	0	9	0
11	Second Lieutenants	”	0	8	0
55	Staff Sergeants	”	0	3	2
165	Sergeants	”	0	2	2
165	First Corporals	”	0	2	0¼
165	Second Corporals	”	0	1	10¼
22	Rough-riders	each	0	1	3¼
55	Farriers	”	0	3	2¾
165	Shoeing Smiths	”	0	2	1¼
110	Collar-makers	”	0	1	10¾
110	Wheelers	”	0	1	10¾
55	Trumpeters	”	0	1	11¼
4950	Drivers	”	0	1	3¼

IV.—ROYAL FOREIGN ARTILLERY.
1	Major.
4	Captains.
4	Second Captains.
12	Lieutenants.
6	Sergeants.
4	Corporals.
17	Bombardiers.
124	Gunners.
8	Drummers.
V.—ARTILLERY OF THE KING’S GERMAN LEGION.
Officers.
1	Colonel Commandant.
1	Lieutenant-Colonel.
2	Majors.
8	Captains.
8	Second Captains.
16	First Lieutenants.
16	Second Lieutenants.
1	Captain Commissary.
1	Paymaster.
1	Adjutant.
1	Quartermaster.
1	Surgeon.
3	Assistant Surgeons.
1	Veterinary Surgeon.

Sergeants and Rank and File.	Horse Artillery.	Foot Artillery.
Staff Sergeants	4	3
Sergeants	6	14
Corporals	8	18
Bombardiers	14	23
Trumpeters	8
Farriers	2
Smiths	6
Collar-makers	4
Wheelers	2
Gunners	186	372
Drivers	116
Drummers		9

Driver Corps.
Sergeants and Rank and File.
4	Sergeants.
8	Corporals.
4	Farriers.
9	Smiths.
8	Collar-makers.
5	Wheelers.
189	Drivers.

MS. ‘Wear and Tear’ Returns for 1809, to B. of Ordnance.

The recruiting for the Regiment during the year 1809 had been successful, no fewer than 1820 gunners and 868 drivers having been enlisted. The establishment just given was nearly maintained, and even occasionally exceeded, during 1810; and the usual decrease, caused by the discharge of men by purchase, did not occur during that year, all such discharges being forbidden. A falling off in the strength of the Regiment became apparent, however, in the winter of 1810.

The “wear and tear” among the horses of the Royal Horse Artillery and the Royal Artillery Driver Corps had been excessive during the year 1809, owing to the Peninsular Campaigns and the Scheldt Expedition. No fewer than 2786 had either died or been destroyed; and 3367 had to be purchased to compensate for these losses, and to meet the ever-increasing demand. Very large numbers were sent to Portugal during the year 1810; and, owing to the consequent D.-A.-Gen. to Gen. Howorth, 28 Oct. 1816. increase in the numbers of the Driver Corps attached to Lord Wellington’s armies, it was decided to appoint a field officer to command them. This duty, with cavalry pay, was given to Colonel Robe.

The numerical force of Artillery, serving under General Howorth in the Peninsula, in the end of 1809, was as follows.

MS. Returns, compiled from the Monthly Returns, dated Woolwich, 17 Dec. 1809.

Royal Horse Artillery	187 of all ranks, besides a contingent of drivers attached to the Troops, numbering 106.
Foot Artillery	627 of all ranks, with 545 drivers.
King’s German Artillery	322 of all ranks, with 160 drivers.

The total being 1957, of whom 821 belonged to the Driver Corps. Of this number 357 were returned as sick; and there were in addition 39 prisoners of war.

The number of horses attached to the Artillery in the Peninsula was 951, of which 256 were returned as sick; and there were 132 mules, chiefly attached to the brigades of field and King’s German Artillery.

MS. Returns, Dated Woolwich, 11 Sept. 1810.

The following tables will show that before a year had elapsed a very considerable increase to this force had taken place; and are also useful, as showing the companies which were present, and the names of the senior officers. (See opposite page.)

It is difficult, without a study of the correspondence of this period, to realise the energy with which General Macleod endeavoured to meet the wants of the Regiment abroad. Unfortunately, there was not similar energy in the other public departments. Large reinforcements, both of men and horses, were ready early in the summer of 1810; but no ships could be found for their conveyance until the end of December. From the nature of these drafts, and from various remarks in General Macleod’s letters, it was clear that the remonstrances made by the various officers concerned on the subject of the want of mobility of the field brigades had produced their effect, and the rapid increase in the force of Horse Artillery in the Peninsula which took place between 1810 and 1814 was the consequence. Anticipating that Lord Wellington would prefer a complete troop of Horse Artillery to more of the sluggish field brigades, General Macleod suggested that the remnant of Captain Lefebure’s troop, which was under orders for England, should remain in Portugal; and he despatched men and horses to complete it in that country. At the same time he did everything in his power to improve the field brigades in the point of mobility, by sending out large numbers of horses. No fewer than 500 were embarked in the first week of January 1811.

INDEX.

A.	Colonels.	B.	Field Officers.	C.	Captains.
D.	Subalterns.	E.	Surgeons and Asst.-Surgs.	F.	N.C. Officers.
G.	Gunners.	H.	Drivers.	I.	Artificers.
J.	Drummers & Trumpeters.	K.	Total.	L.	Horses.
M.	Mules.

Stations.	Data of Last Returns.	Colonels, Field Officers, and Captains of Companies.	Battalions and Corps.	A.	B.	C.	D.	E.	F.	G.	H.	I.	J.	K.	L.	M.
Portugal.	1st July, 1810.	Brig.-Gen. Howorth	H.B.	1	··	··	··	5	··	··	··	··	··	9	··	··
		Lieut.-Col. Framingham	1	··	1
		Lieut.-Col. Robe	3	··	1
		Lieut.-Col. Fisher	10	··	1
		Major Hartmann	K.G.A.	··	1	··	··	2	··	··	··	··	··	3	··	··
		Captain Bull	H.B.	··	··	2	3	1	12	81	73	7	1	180	157	··
		Captain Lefebure	H.B.	··	··	2	3	1	13	45	10	5	1	80	70	··
		Captain Ross	H.B.	··	··	2	3	1	13	81	75	8	1	184	156	··
		Captain May	1	··	··	2	3	··	14	107	··	··	1	127	··	··
		Captain Glubb	5	··	··	2	3	··	14	109	··	··	2	130	··	··
		Captain Thompson	7	··	··	2	3	··	14	105	··	··	1	125	··	··
		Captain Bredin	8	··	··	2	3	··	13	99	··	··	1	118	··	··
		Captain Lawson	8	··	··	2	4	··	13	117	··	··	2	137	··	··
		Detachmt. of British Art.	··	··	··	2	4	··	6	26	··	··	1	39	··	··
		Captain Heise	K.G.A.	··	··	1	4	··	14	80	53	6	1	159	60	57
		Captain Gesenius	K.G.A.	··	··	2	4	··	13	80	30	5	2	136	7	··
		Captain Arentschild	K.G.A.	··	··	2	4	··	13	80	37	6	2	144	107	7
		Captain Purner	R.A.D.	··	··	1	3	1	31	··	221	25	4	286	218	50
		Captain Lane	R.A.D.	··	··	1	4	··	35	··	318	33	4	395	330	72
		Total in Portugal	··	1	4	25	47	11	218	1010	817	95	24	2252	1105	186
Cadiz.	1st July, 1810.	Major Duncan	6	··	1	··	··	3	··	··	··	··	··	4	··	··
		Captain Campbell	2	··	··	1	3	··	7	53	··	··	··	64	··	··
		Captain Owen	5	··	··	2	3	··	14	98	··	··	2	119	··	··
		Captain Hughes	9	··	··	2	3	··	13	100	··	··	1	119	··	··
		Captain Dickson	10	··	··	2	3	··	13	98	··	··	2	118	··	··
		Captain Shenley	10	··	··	2	3	··	12	99	··	··	1	117	··	··
		Captain Roberts	10	··	··	2	3	··	12	97	··	··	1	116	··	··
		Lieutenant Wilkinson	R.A.D.	··	··	··	2	··	12	··	134	10	1	159	218	··
		Total in Cadiz	··	··	1	11	20	3	84	545	134	10	8	816	218	··

MS. Returns, Dated Woolwich, 19 Nov. 1810.

The numerical division of the Regiment for home and foreign service in the year 1810 was as follows:—

	At Home. All ranks.	Abroad. All ranks.
Horse Brigade (including drivers)	1499	433
Marching Battalions	8235	5940
Invalid Battalions	822	39[23]

MS. Returns, Dated Woolwich, 11 Sept. 1870.

The force in the Mediterranean garrisons, which was considered available in event of sudden demands from the Peninsula, appears in the following tables (see pp. 271 and 272), which also show the names of the senior officers. With these the statistics for the year to be treated in this chapter will terminate, and the consideration of the campaign be resumed.

The campaign of 1810 in the Peninsula was, in one sense, the least active of any during the war. Napoleon certainly made a great effort to completely subdue the country, and to expel the English armies. For this purpose, Marshal Massena was placed in command of the French troops; but the duty proved to be beyond his powers. It is doubtful if in any period of the Duke of Wellington’s military career he displayed more ability, more patience, more foresight, than he showed during the first nine months of the year 1810. Not merely had he to contend with local influences, but he failed to secure the requisite support from the English Government. There was at home a fear of losing power, which led English statesmen to commit unworthy actions, and to display a nervousness in administration, which demoralized such of their agents as were not above the ordinary standard. The wisdom of publishing the private letters of a great man is certainly questionable; but once published, they become the historian’s legitimate property. From the letters of the Duke of Wellington we have a Gurwood’s Despatches of the Duke of Wellington. graphic picture of the Government in 1810. “What,” he wrote to Admiral Berkeley, “can be expected from men who are beaten in the House of Commons three times a week? A great deal might be done now, if there existed in England less party, and more public sentiment—and if there was any Government.” Again, in pleading his inability to carry out certain operations, he urged, in a letter to the Right Hon. H. Wellesley, that he would have been able to do so, “if the Government possessed any strength, or Gurwood’s Despatches of the Duke of Wellington. desire to have anything done but what is safe and cheap.” The same hands that applauded the conqueror at Talavera strove, in timorous anxiety, to drag him back from any further operations. The terror of the French armies, which had obtained possession of the Portuguese Government and people, seems to have reached London. The Government despatches to Lord Wellington breathed nothing but advice to guide him when he should be expelled from Portugal. While he was ensuring in a masterly manner the safety of Lisbon, they were urging on him the claims of Cadiz. Their letters and the tone of the public press swelled the despondency, the presence of which in Portugal Lord Wellington lamented; and his protests, assuring the Government that he had left nothing undone,—whether the event should be defeat or victory,—were treated as idle words, or as the heated expression of a mere soldier’s hopes. Had Wellington been a weaker man, the lines of Torres Vedras had been got ready in vain, the battle of Busaco had never been fought, and the unpaid arrears of the French troops would have been liquidated by the plundering of Lisbon and Oporto.

INDEX.

A.	Battalions and Corps.	B.	Colonels.	C.	Field Officers.
D.	Captains.	E.	Subalterns.	F.	Surgeons and Asst.-Surgs.
G.	N.C. Officers.	H.	Gunners.	I.	Drivers.
J.	Artificers.	K.	Drummers & Trumpeters.	L.	Total.
M.	Horses.	N.	Mules.

Stations.	Data of Last Returns.	Colonels, Field Officers, and Captains of Companies.	A.	B.	C.	D.	E.	F.	G.	H.	I.	J.	K.	L.	M.	N.	Remarks.
Gibraltar.	1st July, 1810.	Major-General Smith	3	1	··	··	··	2	··	··	··	··	··	5	··	··	N.B. At Ceuta,1 captain, 1 subaltern,3 N.-C. officers,and 11 gunners.
		Lieut.-Colonel Ramsay	2	··	1
		Lieut.-Colonel Wright	5	··	1
		Captain Godby	1	··	··	1	3	··	14	87	··	··	2	107	··	··
		Captain Dodd	2	··	··	1	2	··	17	117	··	··	4	141	··	··
		Captain Smyth	4	··	··	2	2	··	11	81	··	··	2	100	··	··	At Tarifa, 1 subaltern,6 N.-C. officers, and61 gunners included inthe general total.
		Captain Morrison	8	··	··	2	3	··	13	86	··	··	2	105	··	··
		Captain Birch	10	··	··	2	3	··	13	102	··	··	2	120	··	··
		Captain Fead	10	··	··	2	3	··	13	101	··	··	1	120	··	··
		Total in Gibraltar.	··	1	2	8	15	2	81	576	··	··	13	698	··	··
Malta.	1st June, 1810.	Colonel Bentham	7	1	1	··	··	1	··	··	··	··	··	8	··	··	A detachment of 1 subaltern,2 N.-C. officers, and25 gunners belonging tothese companies servingin Sicily, and not included thegeneral total.
		Lieut.-Colonel Harris	2	··	1
		Captain Vivion	2	··	··	2	3	··	13	93	··	··	2	113	··	··
		Captain Reynell	5	··	··	2	3	··	13	88	··	··	2	108	··	··
		Captain Carey	8	··	··	2	2	··	10	71	··	··	1	86	··	··
		Total in Malta	··	1	1	6	8	1	36	252	··	··	5	310	··	··
Sicily.	1st May, 1810.	Lieut.-Colonel Lemoine	5	··	1	··	··	4	··	··	··	··	··	6	··	··	At Zante,2 captains,2 surgeons,13 N.-C. officersand 80 gunnersincluded in thegeneral total.
		Lieut-Colonel Dickinson	10	··	1
		Captain Gamble	6	··	··	1	2	··	13	99	··	··	1	116	··	··
		Captain Williamson	8	··	··	2	3	··	14	98	··	··	2	119	··	··
		Captain Fraser	8	··	··	2	3	··	14	98	··	··	2	119	··	··
		Captain Pym	8	··	··	2	2	··	13	99	··	··	1	117	··	··
		Captain Hickman	8	··	··	2	2	··	14	99	··	··	1	118	··	··
		Detachment of Artillery from Malta	··	··	··	··	1	··	2	25	··	··	··	28	··	··
		Captain Bussman	K.G.A.	··	··	2	2	1	16	105	39	6	2	175	··	··
		Lieut. G. Smith	R.A.D.	··	··	··	1	··	5	··	32	2	··	40	109	45
		Total in Sicily.	··	··	2	11	18	5	91	623	71	8	9	838	109	45

But his difficulties were not confined to the chilling advice of the Government. At a time when he required the best men in the army to aid him, the exercise of home patronage inflicted on him the most incapable assistants. Not merely did he suffer from useless subordinate staff officers, but even his general officers were not always what he wished. Supplementary Despatches, vol. vi. p. 582. “Really,” he wrote to Colonel Torrens, “when I reflect upon the characters and attainments of some of the general officers of this army, and consider that these are the persons on whom I am to rely to lead columns against the French Generals, and who are to carry my instructions into execution, I tremble; and, as Lord Chesterfield said of the Generals of his day, ‘I only hope that when the enemy reads the list of their names, he trembles as I do.’” And at the very time that these men were being sent out to him, he was debarred from offering reward, in the shape of promotion, to any one under his command whose gallantry might seem to him to have earned it. No subject is more frequently alluded to in his letters than this. The Government would gladly make political capital out of his successes,—would greedily gather votes by making appointments to his army, but declined to strengthen him by trusting his military knowledge, or increasing his legitimate authority.

But the aggravation to which he had to submit in 1810 did not cease here. While the French were advancing into Portugal, and the English Government as little realised the strength of the lines which Wellington had prepared for his troops as Massena himself, the cry was always to embark,—to quit Lisbon,—to devote his energies to Cadiz; yet when strategical reasons and absolute necessity compelled him to leave Ciudad Rodrigo to its fate, the same voices, in querulous terror, remonstrated with him on his inaction. When he gained the victory of Busaco, the first idea with the Government was, not recognition of his merits, but political capital. And when, after a fruitless and self-destructive residence before the lines of Torres Vedras, Massena was obliged to retire from Portugal, who so loud in their cries for pursuit as the very men who had scoffed at the bare possibility of offering resistance to the French invaders?

The year 1810 was, however, not merely a year which tested the marvellous ability and patience of Wellington;—it was also the year which placed on the Portuguese troops the seal of ability to face their dreaded French enemies. At Busaco, the courage of the Portuguese, under English discipline, was nobly manifested,—and the value of this discovery Supplementary Despatches, vol. vi. p. 606. was beyond expression at that most critical time. As Lord Wellington said, the battle had the best effect in inspiring confidence in the Portuguese troops; it removed an impression, which had been general, that the English intended to fight no more, but to retire to their ships; and it gave the Portuguese a taste for an amusement to which they were not before accustomed, and which they would not have acquired in a position less strong than that of Busaco. Had the battle been productive of no other gain than this, it ought to have found favour with a Government, whose members desired that their successes might be “cheap.”

When the campaign commenced, the head-quarters of the English army were at Celorico; and Almeida and Ciudad Rodrigo were organized for defence. The latter city, which was defended by Spaniards, capitulated on the 10th July, after a month’s siege; and Almeida, a small place with a Portuguese garrison, followed suit on the 28th August. During the siege of the latter place, the combat of the Coa, as it was termed, took place; and, as the Chestnut Troop took part in it, it deserves some notice. Crawford, who commanded the Light Division, and had the outpost duties to perform, had retired before the French, after the fall of Ciudad Rodrigo, under the walls of Almeida. The position which he took up was very dangerous. The river Coa, crossed by a single bridge, was in his rear, and an open country in front. He had been ordered to cross this river on the approach of the French, but had foolishly remained—with a small force of 5000 men and one battery of Artillery, the Chestnut Troop—awaiting the arrival of Ney’s force, of more than three times the number. Regardless of the fire from the guns of Almeida, Ney availed himself of Crawford’s blunder, and attacked him with vehemence. The crossing of the bridge, now absolutely necessary, was most difficult, and could not have been effected but for the gallantry of the regiments, and the precision of the fire of the Chestnut Troop, which had been sent across the bridge early in the affair to occupy some rising ground, and to cover the retreat of the other troops. The bridge was crowded by the retiring columns of the English, so as to be almost impassable; and when, ultimately, the whole had succeeded in crossing, the pursuing columns of the French blocked the passage in a similar manner, and, under a heavy fire, were reduced into heaps of killed and wounded, level with the parapet of the bridge. A Cust. tremendous storm of rain, which set in, flooded the pans of the French muskets, and put an end to the engagement, which, in point of losses, had been on both sides very severe. Of the Artillery on this occasion, Napier wrote that it played on both sides across the river and ravine, the sounds repeated by numberless echoes, and the smoke, slowly rising, resolving itself into an immense arch, spanning the whole chasm and sparkling with the whirling fuzes of the flying shells. Cust, in his ‘Annals of the Wars,’ describes the Chestnut Troop, from the high ground, sending well-directed shot over the heads of the skirmishers. The gallant officer who ‘Memoirs of Sir H. Ross,’ pp. 11, 12. commanded the troop wrote as follows: “General Crawford ordered a retreat. Lieutenant Bourchier, of the Artillery, brought me the order to retire, as rapidly as in my power, across the bridge, and to get my guns into position on the opposite heights. At this time we had five guns in action.... Our fire was excellent, and broke them two or three times.” Captain Ross’s brother, an officer of Engineers, who was serving with the army, writes of this combat of the 24th July: “Hew’s guns did their duty.” The loss on the English side during this engagement was over three hundred killed and wounded; that of the French was over a thousand.

But a battle on a larger scale has now to be mentioned. Lord Wellington retreated towards Coimbra, followed by Marshal Massena on the north hank of the Mondego. The English General resolved to make a stand on the Sierra de Busaco, a high ridge which extends from the Mondego in a northerly direction about eight miles. In the battle which followed, Lord Wellington displayed an ignorance of Artillery tactics, from the results of which he was happily saved by the intelligence and gallantry of the representatives of that arm. This want of knowledge, which he never overcame, was the cause of a not unfrequent irritation against Artillery Capt. T. B, Strange, R.A., on Practical Artillery. as an arm, and a tendency to depreciate its value. At Busaco, instead of massing his Artillery in reserve until the attack should develop itself, the guns were placed, as a rule, in the easiest parts of the position, where it was supposed the French would attack; and they were massed in these positions so as to form an excellent mark for the enemy’s fire. This was more especially the case with Major Arentschild’s 6-pounder and 9-pounder brigades of Portuguese Artillery. Fortunately, the Artillery was well served, and, ‘Life of Sir J. Burgoyne,’ vol. 1. as Sir John Burgoyne wrote, “the guns had great effect.” Captain Thompson’s company of the 7th Battalion—now D Battery, 11th Brigade, Royal Artillery, was of essential service, although it was broken up into divisions during the MS. Letter among Cleaveland’s MSS. battle. Captain Lane, who was 2nd Captain of the company, thus describes the conduct of one division: “My men did their duty. Lieutenant F. Bayley’s conduct was admirable. It was the first time he had been in action, and no old soldier could have acted better. The French Voltigeurs (37th Regiment) came close to the guns; and one was killed only eight paces off. An immense column showing themselves in the ravine, we, with three cheers, gave them a few rounds of case and round-shot together, at about seventy paces distance, which drove them back.” The same officer, who was quoted above as alluding to the services of his brother’s troop at the Coa, wrote of Busaco: ‘Memoirs of Sir H. D. Ross.’ “I will venture to assert that the greatest loss the enemy sustained was by our Artillery; and the guns that had the most duty, and, I believe I might say, that were best placed for effect—even if nothing is said of the admirable manner in which the guns were fought—were those of Hew’s troop.... Several officers who remained on the field the day after the retreat, among others General Crawford himself, were convinced, more than those who only looked on it from the heights, of the immense slaughter the enemy sustained from the Shrapnel shells thrown from my brother’s guns, aided for a short time by those of Captain Bull’s troop.” This opinion, which, coming from a brother, might perhaps be considered more indulgent than just, was confirmed by the great historian of the war. In the resistance offered to the attack of Loison’s division, Napier says that Ross’s guns were worked with incredible quickness, and their shot swept through the advancing columns. The attack having failed, Crawford’s Artillery, with which was the gallant Chestnut Troop, was equally useful against the attack of Marchaud’s division, which followed. “It heavily smote,” writes Napier, “the flank of Marchaud’s people in the pine-wood; and Ney, who was there in person, after sustaining this murderous cannonade for an hour, relinquished that attack also.” Lord Wellington to Lord Liverpool, dated Coimbra, 30 Sept. 1810. Well might Lord Wellington say, “I am particularly indebted to ... Brigadier-General Howorth and the Artillery.”

The force under Lord Wellington’s command on this occasion did not exceed 50,000, and extended over a distance of eight to ten miles. The French are estimated by Napier to have been 65,000 in number; but Wellington considered that Ibid. dated Pero Negro, 3 Nov. 1810. they exceeded that number by 5000 men. The French loss amounted to 4500 killed and wounded, while that of the Allies was under 1300, the English having lost 631, and the Portuguese 622. The absence of Artillery on the side of the French, who overrated the difficulties of the ground, and the great activity shown in the use and service of the guns of the Allies, accounted for the great difference in the number of casualties. Much of the efficacy of the fire of the Royal Artillery was due to the use of Shrapnel’s spherical case-shot,—a projectile which was daily increasing in favour,—with no one more than with Lord Wellington himself. Dated Sabugal, 23 Feb 1812. “At the battle of Busaco,” wrote Major May to Colonel Shrapnel, “your shells were of the utmost use, and their destruction plainly perceived from the heights.”

Marshal Massena, finding it impossible to cross the Sierra de Busaco by either of the two direct roads, while such an enemy lined the heights, but being resolved to press on to Coimbra, turned the position by its left flank,—Wellington continuing the retreat which he had varied by so noble an episode. Massena reached Coimbra just as the English rear-guard quitted it; and his troops were there guilty of the grossest licence. The English army continued slowly to retire to the lines which its prudent commander had prepared for it; and when Massena came up he found it in a position which was almost impregnable, while his own communications were interrupted, and his flanks and rear annoyed by levies of Portuguese Militia. The lines of Torres Vedras were an emblem of military sagacity and of engineering skill. Seated behind them the Allied Army received a training which proved fruitful in the campaign of the following year; the Portuguese contingent was made more efficient; and the folly of the Portuguese Government received repeated rebukes from the mouth of a General whose prudence and determination were never more clearly shown than in the history of Torres Vedras and Busaco. Croakers, as he wrote, might include the latter among useless battles; but an encounter, which made each Portuguese soldier feel himself a match for a Frenchman, was the best assistance which fortune could throw in Lord Wellington’s way. Having realised the value of this beforehand, his next task was to ensure it independently of fortune.

CHAPTER XVII.
Barossa, Badajoz, and Albuera.

Leaving Massena in front of Torres Vedras, the reader is requested to turn towards Cadiz. Here Spanish pride had long resisted offers of English assistance, hoping without foreign aid to raise the siege of the city; but here the English Government thought it very desirable that some demonstration should be made. In 1810 the presence of a British contingent was at length tolerated; and the Artillery Vide page 269. element has been detailed in the preceding chapter. Major Duncan and the companies under his command had originally embarked for Gibraltar; but the opening in Cadiz General Macleod to Major Duncan, dated 23 April, 1810, and 8 May, 1810. led to their proceeding to that city instead. Their arrival having been reported, steps were immediately taken by General Macleod to equip them for service in the field; and with this view, three batteries of six guns each, with the necessary equipment, were despatched from England, and a small supply of horses, seventy-four in number,—to form a nucleus of a larger establishment.

D.-A.-Gen. to Major Duncan, 13 May, 1810.

It had been intended that Colonel Framingham should be the officer to command the Artillery at Cadiz, as soon as the Spaniards should deign to admit any. Fortunately for Major Duncan, it was found impossible to spare that officer from the head-quarters of the army; and at the urgent request of General Graham, who commanded the English troops at Cadiz, the command of the Artillery with his force was left in Major Duncan’s hands, and remained so until 1812, when he was accidentally killed by the explosion of a powder-mill at Seville.

In the records already given of the services of the companies of the 10th Battalion, reference has been made to the duties of the Royal Artillery at Cadiz. In this chapter it is proposed to describe a battle which was fought by General Graham’s force, and in which,—it has been said, the Artillery General Graham to Lord Liverpool, 6 March, 1811. covered themselves with glory. The gallant General stated that Artillery had never been better served; but it may be added that it had never been better handled than by him. His contingent was but small—ten guns—but it was never idle, and always in the right place. The circumstances which led to the battle of Barossa may be summarised as follows:—An attempt had been resolved upon by the Anglo-Spanish leaders in Cadiz to raise the French siege, the opportunity being favourable, as the besieging force did not at the time exceed 12,000 men. The English had 4200, and the Spaniards nearly 10,000. To facilitate matters, General Graham consented to serve under the Spanish General La Pena, although the event proved that there never was a man less fitted to hold a command. The plan of action was to transport the allied force to Tarifa, disembark there, and effect a junction with another Spanish force; and then countermarch the whole on the rear of the besieging force at Chichlana. Inclement weather prevented the first part of the scheme from being carried out; and the Cust’s Annals. landing was effected, not at Tarifa, but at Algesiras. The whole army, however, effected a junction at the former place on the 28th February, 1811, and, driving the French before them, reached a place known as the Vigia de la Barrosa, or Barossa, at noon on the 5th March. Here they were encountered by the French Marshal, Victor, who had been warned of the expedition, and who promptly availed himself of the numerous openings which the blunders and incompetency of the Spanish General offered. The tale of these is too long to reproduce in a merely Regimental history; suffice it to say that, owing to them, General Graham found himself in an extraordinary and embarrassing position. Having been ordered to march from the height of Barossa, which was the key of the whole position, and to proceed to Bermeja through a difficult pine-wood, he obeyed, but with regret. Assuming that the important point he had just quitted would be occupied by the Spaniards, he left his baggage with a small guard. To his amazement, he soon learned that no such precaution had been taken; that the French Marshal, detecting the omission, was already ascending the height; and that his own baggage-guard was in extreme and imminent danger. Retracing his steps as rapidly as the nature of the wood would admit of, he arrived in time to see the enemy in complete possession of the height,—himself face to face with the French, and utterly unsupported by the Spaniards. By what has been called by Napier an inspiration—but such an inspiration as never comes to the short-sighted or ignorant—he realised that retreat would be folly, and that his only hope of success lay in immediately assuming the offensive. Massing his Artillery, he desired Major Duncan to keep up a powerful fire, while he organized his force into divisions for the attack. Of this fire Napier writes that it ravaged the French ranks. As soon as the Infantry had formed, General Graham advanced his Artillery to a more favourable position, whence, as he afterwards wrote, it kept up a most destructive fire on the French columns now advancing. The right division of the English, under General Dilkes, and the left, under Colonel Wheatley, encountered respectively the French divisions under Generals Ruffin and Laval. The Infantry regiments engaged were the Guards, 28th, 7th, 67th, and 87th,—the flank companies of the 1st Battalion 9th Foot, 2nd Battalion 47th, and 2nd Battalion 82nd, besides part of the 20th Portuguese Regiment. Where all behaved with gallantry, it may seem invidious to select any particular regiment for notice; but, at a most critical moment, the defeat of General Laval’s division was completed by a magnificent advance of the 87th Regiment. Both the French divisions were borne backwards from the hill; and, uniting, attempted to reform and make another attack. But their attempt was frustrated by the fire of the Artillery, which from being terrific, as Napier termed it, became now Napier, vol. iii. p. 446. “close, rapid, and murderous, and rendered the attempt vain.” Marshal Victor, therefore, withdrew his troops from the field, and the English, having been twenty-four hours under arms and without food, were too exhausted to pursue.

In this battle, which only lasted one hour and a half, over 1200 were killed and wounded on the side of the English, and more than 2000 on the side of the French. Six guns and 400 prisoners also fell into the hands of the conquerors. Of the conduct of his troops generally, General Graham wrote to Lord Liverpool that nothing less than the almost unparalleled exertions of every officer, the invincible bravery of every soldier, and the most determined devotion to the honour of His Majesty’s arms in all, could have achieved this brilliant success, against such a formidable enemy so To Admiral Sir C. Cotton, dated Cadiz, 7 March, 1811. posted. Sir Richard Keats, the Admiral on the station, who had superintended the transport of the troops to Algesiras, wrote that the British troops, led by their gallant and able commander,—forgetting, on the sight of the enemy, their own fatigue and privations, and regardless of advantage in the numbers and situation of the enemy,—gained by their determined valour a victory uneclipsed by any of the brave achievements of the British army.

The special expressions used by General Graham in his despatch with reference to the services of the Royal Artillery on this occasion are well worthy of a place in the records of the Corps. “I owe too much,” he wrote, “to Major Duncan and the officers and corps of the Royal Artillery, not to mention them in terms of the highest approbation: never was artillery better served.” He recommended Major Duncan for promotion, and the brevet rank of Lieutenant-Colonel was accordingly conferred upon him.

The losses of the Artillery at Barossa were as follows:—

Died of his wounds, Lieutenant Woolcombe.

Wounded: Captains Hughes and Cator,—Lieutenants Mitchell, Brereton, Manners, Maitland, and Pester.

Three rank and file killed, and 32 wounded: besides of the Royal Artillery Drivers, 1 sergeant, 2 rank and file, and 18 horses killed: 1 sergeant, 7 rank and file, and 22 horses wounded.

The ordnance captured from the French was as follows:—

Major Duncan to General Graham.

Two 7-inch howitzers, 3 heavy 8-pounders, 1 4-pounder,—with their ammunition waggons, and a proportion of horses.

The fruits of the battle of Barossa might have been very considerable, had the Spanish General been capable of understanding even the rudiments of his profession. As he was at once ignorant and proud, General Graham found it necessary to return with his force to Cadiz; the object of the expedition had failed, for the siege was not raised,—but Marshal Victor had received a check which alarmed him considerably, and which led to eager demands for reinforcements. In his conduct, both in the action of the 5th March, and in his withdrawal to Isla de Leon on the following day, when he separated from the Spaniards, General Graham received the warmest support from Lord Wellington, to whose movements the reader is now invited to return.

After an inactivity of five months before the lines of Torres Vedras, Massena commenced to evacuate Portugal. He had no siege artillery with which to attack the fortifications behind which his enemy was securely sheltered; and his supplies were becoming every day more difficult to obtain; he therefore had no other alternative. As he retired, he was closely followed by the English army, and many smart affairs took place between the advanced guards of the latter and the rear-guard of the French army, in which the Royal Horse Artillery did good service. The limits of the largest work and the patience of the most enduring reader would be exhausted were these minor actions given in detail. Suffice it to say, that the Artillery engaged on these occasions included the troops commanded by Captain Ross and Captain Bull,—that the names of the various actions are given in the first volume of this history at pages 396 and 401, and that the way in which they performed their duty may be gathered, in the first place, from Lord Wellington’s despatches, and, in the second, from the exhaustive narrative of Napier. In writing of the actions of the 11th, 12th, and 13th March, 1811, at Pombal, Redinha, and Cazal Nova, To Lord Liverpool, dated 14 March, 1811. Lord Wellington said that the troops of Horse Artillery under Captains Ross and Bull particularly distinguished themselves. At the affair of Foz d’Arouce, on the 15th March, he also wrote that the Horse Artillery, under Captains Ibid. dated 16 March, 1811. Ross and Bull, distinguished themselves. Later, in the affair which took place on the 7th April, during a reconnaissance, in which the English, under Sir W. Erskine, drove a division of the French army before them across the Ibid. dated 9 April, 1811. Turones and Dos Casas, Lord Wellington wrote that “Captain’s Bull’s troop of Horse Artillery did great execution on this occasion.”

Vol. ii. chap. ii.

At the celebrated engagement of Fuentes d’Onor,[24] the dashing affair mentioned in an early part of this work took place, in which Captain Norman Ramsay, of Bull’s troop, so greatly distinguished himself. On this occasion the losses of the Artillery were as follows:—

Royal Horse Artillery—1 rank and file and 3 horses killed: 1 rank and file, and 3 horses wounded.

Royal Foot Artillery—1 sergeant, 4 rank and file, and 9 horses killed; 1 captain, 2 subalterns, 18 rank and file, and 21 horses wounded.

The officers wounded were Captain Thompson,—whose brigade did as good service as it had done at Busaco, and the practice made by which attracted universal admiration,—Lieutenant Martin, and a subaltern of the same name as the officer who fell at Barossa, Lieutenant Woolcombe. The total casualties on the side of the Allies amounted to 1786: those of the French to 2665. The battle resulted in the evacuation of Portugal by Massena, and the capture of Almeida by the English, although, unfortunately, not until the garrison had made its escape.

During these continued successes, Lord Wellington was afflicted by a want of adequate supplies and money,—and by discouraging letters from England. With a temerity such as few commanders would have displayed, he did not hesitate to point out to the Government how weak and mistaken their vacillating, timorous policy was. Still undeceived as to the worthlessness of Spanish promises, the English rulers urged upon Wellington to make Spain the theatre of his operations, and yet declined to make him independent of the Spanish authorities. His protestations, also, in favour of Portugal as a base of operations fell on doubting and unwilling ears. English statesmen seemed to live in a fools’ paradise: and from their dreams it seemed impossible to To Lord Liverpool, dated Santa Marinha, 23 March, 1811. wake them. On the 23rd March, 1811, Lord Wellington had actually to write, beseeching the Government to forego an intention which appeared to have been formed of withdrawing the troops from Portugal on account of the expense of the war. He had already urged on them the folly of starving an expedition in the hope of securing popularity for their party; and he now boldly asserted that if they carried out their intention, and freed the French from the pressure of military operations in the Continent, they must prepare to meet a French army in England. “Then,” he wrote, “would commence an expensive contest;—then would His Majesty’s subjects discover what are the miseries of war, of which, by the blessing of God, they have hitherto had no knowledge.” It was a difficult task which Lord Wellington had to perform,—not merely to fight his country’s battles under difficulties and discouragement,—not merely to be exasperated by advice, the folly of which was glaring,—but also in his few moments of leisure to have to take up his pen, and teach her senators wisdom. The superiority of England’s greatest General cannot be realised without a careful study, not merely of his campaigns, but also of his correspondence.

It is necessary now to turn to Marshal Beresford’s force, with which was Major Dickson, now serving in command of the Portuguese Artillery. It had been hoped that this army would reach Badajoz in sufficient time to raise the French siege of that city; but a slight delay in Beresford’s movements, combined with undoubted treachery on the part of the garrison, frustrated this hope, and rendered it necessary to prepare for a siege of the city with its now French garrison. From this time, the reader will enjoy an advantage which cannot be overrated, and which appears now for the first time in any narrative of the Peninsular War.

Sir Alexander Dickson was not merely a great Artilleryman, but also a most methodical and industrious collector and registrar of details which came under his notice. During the various sieges in the Peninsula which were conducted by him, he kept diaries mentioning even the most trifling facts: and on his return to England he procured from General Macleod the whole of the long series of letters which he had written to him between 1811 and 1814. The mass of information which he thus possessed was arranged, and at his death the whole passed into the hands of his son, Sir Collingwood Dickson. In the hope that the papers of the most prominent Artilleryman of the Duke of Wellington’s armies would be useful in framing a history of the Corps in which he spent his life, Sir Collingwood kindly placed them at the disposal of the author of this history. Priceless under any circumstances, they are even more so from the fact that several of the letter-books of the Deputy-Adjutant-General’s department during the Peninsular War have been mislaid;—and these refer chiefly to the periods covered by the manuscripts of Sir Alexander Dickson. On the latter, therefore, the narrative of the period between 1811 and 1814 will be chiefly based: and it is hoped that the reproduction of the opinions and statements of one, so able to express the former with confidence and the latter with authority, will be a welcome addition to the literature of England’s wars in the Peninsula.[25]

On the 9th April, 1811, Marshal Beresford advanced from the Guadiana and invested Olivença. When he reconnoitred the place, Major Dickson pointed out an inclosed lunette in front of the gate of San Francisco, from which he knew, by a former visit to Olivença, that the curtain could be battered in breach. Approving of the suggestion, Marshal Beresford despatched Major Dickson to Elvas that night to bring up the siege artillery. This consisted of six heavy brass 24-pounders, each provided with all necessary stores, and with ammunition at the rate of 300 rounds per gun. To move this battery and equipment from Elvas to Olivença 104 pairs of bullocks were required, and a company of Portuguese Artillery attended as escort. On the 13th April the guns arrived at the camp before Olivença, and immediately proceeded to the neighbourhood of the point of attack. The breaching battery for four 24-pounders had been got in complete readiness, and an attempt was accordingly made at once to put the guns in battery. It was found, however, impossible to effect this on that day, on account of the dreadful state of the roads, and the circuit which the guns were obliged to take. By the night of the 14th, the communications had been made practicable, and four guns were placed in the battery, with ammunition and stores, in readiness to open fire at dawn. Two field batteries of the King’s German Artillery were also placed so as to keep the enemy’s fire in check. The field-pieces employed by these were five 6-pounders and one 5½-inch howitzer.

The breaching battery did not open fire until 8 A.M., on the 15th, the point aimed at being the curtain to the left of the San Francisco gate, and the distance being about 340 yards. At 11 A.M. the enemy showed a flag of truce, which occasioned a cessation of fire; but nothing definite resulting, it was resumed, and after a few more rounds the enemy surrendered at discretion. Major Dickson was much pleased with the practice made by the young Portuguese Artillerymen under his command. Only 320 rounds had been fired in the four hours, and yet the breach was almost practicable. A brisk fire from five or six guns had been kept up by the enemy against the breaching battery, and had inflicted some slight loss; but the field guns of the German Artillery did much to moderate it, firing about sixty rounds a gun.

Sir. A. Dickson’s MSS.

On taking Olivença the following ordnance was secured:—Mounted. Brass, one 8-pounder and two 4-pounders; iron, five 12-pounders, two 8-pounders, and two 6-pounders. Dismounted. Brass, one 8-pounder; iron, two 12-pounders.

On the 17th April, Major Dickson waited on Marshal Beresford at Zafra, and received orders to proceed to Elvas to make preparations for the siege of Badajoz. On the 20th Lord Wellington arrived at Elvas, and issued instructions for the carrying on of the siege to Marshal Beresford, Colonel Fletcher of the Engineers, and Major Dickson, the last-named officer being appointed to direct the Artillery department of the operation. From the 21st April to the 10th May, the greatest exertions were made, both at Elvas and around Badajoz, to prepare the necessary ordnance and stores for the siege, transport them, and make and arm the batteries. The following shows, in a tabulated form, the nature and distribution of the ordnance employed:—

Prepared from various returns among Sir A. Dickson’s MSS.

TABLE A.[26]
First Siege of Badajoz.

April 23, 1811.—Ordnance selected for the Siege:—

Sixteen brass 24-pounder guns.

Eight brass 16-pounder guns.

Two 10-inch brass howitzers.

Six 8-inch brass howitzers.

The ammunition to be at the rate of 800 rounds per gun, and 400 rounds per howitzer.

The following distribution of ordnance was determined on for the first operations of the siege, on the 8th May, 1811:—

1. For the attack of St. Cristoval:

24-pounders	3	5
8-inch howitzers	2

2. For the false attack on Pardaleras:

24-pounders	3	4
8-inch howitzer	1

3. For the false attack on Picurina:

24-pounders	3	4
8-inch howitzer	1

On the 9th May, the following additional ordnance was sent from Elvas for the St. Cristoval attack, viz.:

24-pounders	2	3
8-inch howitzer	1

Four brass 12-pounders were at the same time ordered from Elvas to enfilade the bridge of Badajoz. Four guns for the attack of St. Cristoval were replaced on the 11th May—having been damaged—by three heavy 12-pounders and a field howitzer.

On the 12th May, four 24-pounders were sent from the great park to the Cristoval attack.

Sixteen brass 24-pounder guns.

Eight brass 16-pounder guns.

Two 10-inch brass howitzers.

Six 8-inch brass howitzers.

24-pounders	3	5
8-inch howitzers	2

24-pounders	3	4
8-inch howitzer	1

24-pounders	3	4
8-inch howitzer	1

24-pounders	2	3
8-inch howitzer	1

On the 13th May the siege was ordered to be raised, as will hereafter be shown.

---

Badajoz was invested on the right bank on the 8th May, and on the morning of the 11th the breaching battery against San Cristoval opened. Being, however, totally unsupported, and having to resist a very heavy fire from that fort and the Castle, the young Portuguese Artillerymen proved unequal to the contest. Their practice, after a few rounds, became very uncertain; and in the course of the morning the battery was silenced, all the pieces being disabled except one howitzer.

On the night of the 11th, the battery intended to enfilade the bridge was armed, and the disabled ordnance in the breaching battery exchanged. Captain Hawker, commanding a 9-pounder field brigade of the Royal Artillery, lately arrived from Lisbon, was directed to place himself under the orders of Major Dickson, although regimentally senior to that officer, and was placed in charge of the Artillery operations against San Cristoval.

The commencement of the siege was very disheartening. On the day before the solitary battery opened fire, the Allies had met with a severe loss during a sally made by the garrison; and now, in a few hours their one battery was silenced. Beresford was also disquieted by rumours which reached him that Soult was on his way to raise the siege, and that he would certainly arrive before the city could be taken. He therefore sent for Major Dickson late on the night of the 11th, and desired him not to bring forward any more ammunition or stores from Elvas, and to be in readiness to remove at the shortest notice what had already arrived. Colonel Fletcher also was ordered not to break ground that night against the Castle. In event, however, of the operations proceeding, it was arranged that four 24-pounders should be moved from the south attacks to that of San Cristoval, and that they should be replaced by six additional guns of the same calibre from Elvas.

On the morning of the 12th intelligence reached Beresford which led him to doubt the accuracy of the reports which had reached him on the previous day, and he ordered active operations to recommence at once. Additional guns were therefore sent forward from the park at Elvas, and at night ground was broken for the batteries against the Castle. The new activity, however, was but short-lived; for positive information was received at midnight as to the enemy’s movements. On the morning of the 13th the siege was ordered to be raised, and Major Dickson directed to send the heavy ordnance, ammunition and stores back to Elvas. This duty was admirably performed. As many pieces of ordnance were at once despatched, as the means of conveyance would permit; and in the first instance it was thought sufficient to take the pieces across the flying bridge, and to park them in a situation not visible from Badajoz. On the Cristoval side the guns were removed from the battery on the night of the 13th; and at the same time the battery in the false attack against Picurina was dismantled. The 14th May was spent in carrying away the ordnance and stores in such a way as to conceal from the enemy the fact that the siege was being raised; and by noon on the 15th the whole of the besieging artillery and ammunition from the great park had been sent across the river, and the flying bridge removed, while the park of the Cristoval attack had been taken back to the vicinity of Elvas.

The investing troops on the south bank were then withdrawn; but a corps remained on the north bank to cover the removal of the heavy artillery to Elvas. Of the duty performed by Major Dickson on this occasion, under Marshal Beresford’s orders, Napier writes that “the arrangements for carrying off the stores were admirably executed; ... and that the transactions were so well masked by the 4th Division, which, in concert with the Spaniards, continued to maintain the investment, that it was only by a sally on the rear-guard, in which the Portuguese piquets of the 4th Division were very roughly treated, that the French knew the siege was raised.”

The same author visits the failure of this siege, and the heavy losses attending all the subsequent sieges carried on by the British in Spain, on the absence of any properly-equipped corps of Sappers and Miners to assist the officers of Engineers. The want of such a corps, with the necessary implements, rendered, according to Napier, the British sieges a mere succession of butcheries. But Sir Alexander Dickson was ready to accept part of the responsibility of this failure for his own department. In his diary of the first siege of Sir A. Dickson’s MSS. Badajoz he wrote: “Every praise was due to the Portuguese Artillery for the activity, zeal, and willingness they displayed in this service. Indeed, nothing could exceed their personal exertions; but, from their professional inexperience, Major Dickson has great doubts whether a satisfactory result would have been obtained without the assistance of a proportion Dated Elvas, 22 May, 1811. of better-trained Artillerymen.” At the same time, however, he distinctly stated, in a letter to General Macleod, that his wish was not to begin the fire from any one battery until the whole attack should be more advanced, and that the Cristoval attack should be supported from other points. He added that the battery against the Picurina, although well placed as an auxiliary for general attack, afforded no support to that against San Cristoval. In these points, he wrote, “my opinions coincide entirely with those of Colonel Fletcher (R.E.), with whom it is a pleasure to serve.”

Marshal Beresford was brave, but was better as an administrator in peace than as a General in war. No praise can exceed his deserts in reference to the organization and training of the Portuguese army, or his fidelity to Wellington; but his abilities as a commander in the field were feeble, and the success of his troops in the battle which followed the raising of the siege of Badajoz was won in spite of, rather than by him. Albuera was one of the fiercest battles of the Peninsula; with it the name of Beresford will always be associated; but its chronicler will always have to register with the stories of its gallantry that of his incapacity. The policy of fighting the battle at all—a question which lies with a General alone—was more than doubtful; but, even admitting that it was wise, his tactics were extremely faulty, and the errors were expiated only by the courage and losses of his men. With a General like Soult against him, the arrangement of his army on the morning of the 16th May revealed a childlike innocence, which, in a General charged with the lives of men, was criminal. Part of his army was still at Badajoz, and could not possibly reach his position in time for the battle;—part had barely succeeded in doing so on the eventful morning;—he had, on the previous day, allowed the French to occupy a wood on the other side of the Albuera River, where they could conceal their intentions;—and, with marvellous blindness, he had allowed them to secure a hill in the immediate front of his own right, behind which they organized the famous attack, which so nearly proved fatal.

On the afternoon of the 15th, Major Dickson, having completed his duties at Badajoz, proceeded to Albuera, where the army had taken up its position, and resumed the command of his two brigades of Portuguese Field Artillery. About the same hour on the morning of the 16th as that on which General Cole’s division happily succeeded in joining Beresford’s army, the enemy showed himself in force. The first appearance was the advance of seven or eight squadrons of cavalry, some light infantry, and a troop of horse artillery, from the wood towards the bridge of Albuera by the Seville road. This was a feint, but not immediately recognized as such by Marshal Beresford. They drove in the English piquets, and formed in the plain, where they opened an artillery fire towards the village of Albuera, a small place, which, with the exception of its church, was almost in ruins, and which was without inhabitants. This fire was answered by some of Major Dickson’s and of the German Artillery, which directed their practice against the cavalry. At first Major Dickson thought it was merely a reconnoissance; but it was soon seen that the real attack was intended against the right, which was composed of Blake’s Spanish troops. Beresford sent orders to Blake to throw back the right at right angles to the line; but the command was not obeyed until he went in person to enforce it, by which time the French were upon them, harassing them, as they wheeled, with a murderous fire. From the position occupied by Major Dickson near the bridge, which was opposite the centre of the line, he first saw a column of infantry advancing to the bridge by the same road as had been taken by the cavalry, on which a brigade of General Stewart’s division was at once sent to the village to support Baron Alten, who commanded there. Very soon afterwards, however, he saw another column moving through the wood in the direction of the Allied right, and as, at the same time, the column approaching the bridge first halted, and then commenced to retire, it was evident that the real French effort would be made against the right. Stewart’s British brigade, therefore, at once marched from the village to the right, followed by the rest of the division, and Cole’s division formed up in support.

By this time a heavy shower of rain had commenced, which greatly favoured the approach of the French columns against the Spaniards on the right, and during which they passed the river, and advanced upon and came round the height which the latter occupied, and on which they were then, in great confusion, wheeling into a new position. In describing the conduct of the Spanish troops at Albuera, Major Dickson, referring to this particular episode in the To D.-A.-G. dated 22 May, 1811. battle, wrote to General Macleod as follows: “The fact is, the Spaniards, once in line, could not be moved—I mean, could not manœuvre—and the Marshal was obliged to use the British, that knew how to move, or else our flank must have been completely turned.”

This quite corroborates Napier’s account of the battle. It was on the hill occupied by the Spanish that the contest was decided; it was there that the gallantry of the French Cavalry and the heroism of the English Infantry were manifested; there a murderous artillery fire of grape at close range was maintained incessantly on both sides; and it was there that the grand final episode took place which was Napier. described with poetic fervour by the great historian. “The Fusileer battalions of Cole’s division advanced in gallant line, but, struck by the iron tempest, reeled and staggered like sinking ships. But, suddenly and sternly recovering, they closed on their terrible enemies; and then was seen with what a strength and majesty the British soldier fights.... Nothing could stop that astonishing infantry. No sudden burst of undisciplined valour, no nervous enthusiasm, weakened the stability of their order; their flashing eyes were bent on the dark columns in their front, their measured tread shook the ground, their dreadful volleys swept away the head of every formation, their deafening shouts overpowered the dissonant cries that broke from all parts of the tumultuous crowd, as, slowly and with a horrid carnage, it was pushed by the incessant vigour of the attack to the farthest edge of the height.... At last the mighty mass gave way, and, like a loosened cliff, went headlong down the steep. The rain flowed after in streams discoloured with blood; and eighteen hundred unwounded men, the remnant of six thousand unconquerable British soldiers, stood triumphant on the fatal hill!” Before this final charge took place, Beresford thought the battle was lost, and commenced arrangements for a retreat. He ordered the withdrawal of Alten’s Germans and Major Dickson’s guns from Albuera bridge. This was strongly asserted by Napier, although denied by one of his critics; and it is confirmed To D.-A.-G. 22 May, 1811. by a passage in one of Major Dickson’s letters. “The Marshal himself, for a moment, thought he was defeated, as I received an order to retreat, with my Artillery, towards Valverde, and Baron Alten absolutely, by order, quitted the village for a moment. All this was, however, soon countermanded and rectified.” To Colonel Hardinge was due the credit of ordering the final and successful advance.

The Artillery force at Albuera, on the side of the Allies, comprised:—

Sir A. Dickson to General Napier, dated 16 Dec. 1830, and to Lord Beresford, dated 19 March, 1831, in correction of the former.

Captain Lefebure’s Troop of Royal Horse Artillery, consisting of 4 6-pounders.
Captain Hawker’s Brigade of Royal Artillery, now No. 4 Battery, 7 Brigade, R.A., consisting of 4 9-pounders.
Captain Cleeve’s Brigade, King’s German Artillery, consisting of 5 6-pounders and 1 5½-inch howitzer.
Captain Sympher’s Brigade, King’s German Artillery, consisting of 5 6-pounders and 1 5½-inch howitzer.
Captain Braun’s Brigade, Portuguese Artillery, consisting of 6 9-pounders.
Captain Arriaga’s Brigade, Portuguese Artillery, consisting of 6 6-pounders.
Spanish Artillery, consisting of 6 6-pounders.

No explanation is given in any of the Regimental records why Captain Lefebure had only four guns; it may, however, be assumed that his troop had not yet recovered the drain on its resources which was made on its arrival in the Peninsula, when it was called upon to fill up the vacancies in the Chestnut Troop.

A detailed statement of the services of the Artillery at Albuera was forwarded by Major Dickson to General Howorth, for transmission to England, but, unfortunately, was lost. The student has, therefore, merely a private letter from Major Dickson to General Macleod to rely upon, whose details are, of course, less ample than could be wished. In it he mentioned that the cannonade on both sides was tremendous during the whole battle, and that probably on few such occasions had there been more casualties from artillery fire. Major Hartmann was in command of the British and German Artillery; Major Dickson of the Portuguese. These latter behaved admirably. Captain Lefebure’s troop also distinguished itself, one gun having been, for a short time, taken, but afterwards recovered. Captain Hawker’s brigade, from Major Dickson’s personal observation, did great execution. General Cole spoke in the highest terms of Captain Sympher’s brigade; and Captain Cleeve’s guns went through a number of vicissitudes. Being placed on the hill, where the great attack was made, the whole of them fell into the enemy’s hands, but were afterwards recovered, with the exception of one howitzer. They were admirably served until the French were actually amongst them; and then retreat was impossible, the enemy’s cavalry having swept round the hill, and taken them in rear.

Modern battles may dwarf those of the Peninsula in point of the numbers engaged; but it is questionable if the British courage displayed at Albuera, and the proportionate losses to the number engaged, have ever been surpassed.

The severe fighting lasted about four hours; and in that time nearly 7000 of the Allies, and over 8000 French, were killed or wounded. On the side of the Allies, over 4000 of the casualties were among the British troops, only 1800 of the total number engaged being untouched. Major Dickson, in describing the scene, said that every one declared they had never seen such a field; that on the hill where the great struggle had been, in the space of from 1000 to 1200 yards, there were certainly not less than 6000 lying dead or wounded. Napier’s description of the field after the battle is characteristically graphic, and leaves an indelible impression on the reader’s mind. Such was the crippled and famished state of the Allies, that, had the French attacked again on the 17th, resistance would have been impossible. Fortunately, Soult resolved to retire; and Lord Wellington, reaching Albuera on the 19th, sent Beresford to watch his movements, while he himself proceeded to reinvest Badajoz. The order issued by Marshal Beresford, after the battle, included the following paragraph:—“To Major Hartmann and Major Dickson, and to the officers and soldiers of the British, German, and Portuguese Artillery, the greatest praise is due, and the Marshal returns them his best thanks.” In To D.-A.-G. dated Elvas, 29 May, 1811. forwarding to the Ordnance a copy of this order, Major Dickson, with soldierlike generosity, added: “The Marshal’s orders are not strong enough in favour of the Fusileer Brigade, who really saved the day.” In Lord Wellington’s letter to Admiral Berkeley, dated 20th May, 1811, he said that he considered the battle of Albuera one of the most glorious and honourable to the character of the troops of any that had been fought during the war. In Marshal Beresford’s report to Lord Wellington, dated 18th May, 1811, he said: “I have every reason to speak favourably of the manner in which our Artillery was served and fought. Captain Lefebure’s troop of Horse Artillery did great execution.”

On the 19th May, 1811, Lord Wellington, Colonel Fletcher, and Major Dickson arrived at Elvas, from Albuera, to make preparations for resuming the siege of Badajoz. Colonel Framingham had joined at head-quarters, and assumed command of the Royal and other Artillery; but Lord Wellington expressed a wish that Major Dickson should continue to direct all the arrangements for the siege, and communicate directly with himself. This distinction caused no jealousy in Colonel Framingham’s mind; on the other hand, that officer spoke of Major Dickson to Lord Wellington in the highest terms, and during the siege assisted him in every way. This was the beginning of a confidence between Lord Wellington and Major Dickson, which only increased as the war went on; and it is interesting to find, even thus early, the latter officer speak of his great chief as follows: To D.-A.-G. dated Elvas, 29 May, 1811. “I have transacted business with many Generals, but never such an one as Lord Wellington, both for general knowledge, and attention to reason and suggestion.”

The story of the second unsuccessful siege of Badajoz, as of the first, may be prefaced by showing in a tabular form some of the more important Artillery statistics connected with it. These have been extracted from the voluminous diary and almost daily correspondence of Major Dickson, on which the summary, given afterwards in the form of narrative, is also based.