Where all behaved so well, distinctions are unnecessary, and may appear invidious. Perhaps, however, I may be allowed to claim at least an equal share of the honours of a successful campaign for the division of the British army under the command of General Crauford, in which was included the 43rd regiment. Without attempting to institute any comparison between him and the commander-in-chief, the comprehensiveness and strength of whose capacity in the direction of extensive movements was unrivalled, it may be safely averred, that for zeal, intrepidity of spirit, and personal prowess Crauford was not inferior to any general of division in the forces. His men partook in a great measure of the qualities of their leader. Inured to almost every species of warlike toil, they were formidable either for assault or defence; and never were the energies of fighting men more thoroughly tested than those of this very corps in the course of the few succeeding months.
In the midst of March, Crauford lined the banks of the Agueda with his hussars for a distance of twenty-five miles, following the course of the river. The infantry were disposed in small parties in the villages between Almeida and the lower Agueda. Two battalions of Portuguese cacadores (riflemen) soon afterwards arriving, made a total of four thousand men and six guns. While, therefore, the hussars kept a good watch at the two distant bridges, the troops could always concentrate under Almeida before the enemy could reach them on that side; and on the side of Barba del Puerco the ravine was so profound that a few companies of the 95th were considered capable of opposing any numbers. This arrangement was suitable while the Agueda was swollen; but that river was capricious, often falling many feet in a night without visible cause. When it was fordable, Crauford always withdrew his outposts, and concentrated his division; and his situation demanded a quickness and intelligence in his troops, the like of which has never been surpassed. Seven minutes sufficed for the division to get under arms in the middle of the night; and a quarter of an hour, night or day, to bring it in order of battle to the alarm-posts, with the baggage loaded and assembled at a convenient distance in the rear, and this not upon a concerted signal or as a trial, but at all times, and to a certainty.
Our condition at that season was no unapt epitome of what the Christian ought to be. With a foe so vigilant as his spiritual adversary, the godly man should be all eye and ear, ready to gather himself up for action every moment, both by night and day; not by way of experiment and trial, but as matter of constant and universal practice. The waters of carnal security are sadly deceptive; the enemy may find some fordable spot when least expected. If the heaven-bound pilgrim cast behind his worldly load, and place it in the rear, as we did our baggage, he would find himself so much the more free to give and take manfully. This is a digression; but men have souls to save though they wear red coats, and an occasional halt to look at eternal things through the vista of temporalities may not, after all, produce much loss of time.
But to return. We soon found that our caution was called for. On the 19th of March General Ferey, a bold officer, attempted to surprise us, for which purpose he collected six hundred Grenadiers close to the bridge of San Felices, and just as the moon rising behind him cast long shadows from the rocks, and rendered the bottom of the chasm dark, he silently passed the bridge, and, with incredible speed ascending the opposite side, bayoneted the sentries, and fell upon the piquet so fiercely that friends and enemies went fighting into the village of Barba del Puerco, while the first shout was still echoing in the gulf below. So sudden was the attack, and so great the confusion, that the British companies could not form, but each soldier encountering the nearest enemy, fought hand to hand; and their colonel, Sydney Beckwith, conspicuous by his lofty stature and daring actions, a man capable of rallying a whole army in flight, urged the contest with such vigour, that in a quarter of an hour the French column was borne back, and pushed over the edge of the descent. Soon after this the whole army was distressed for money; and Crauford, notwithstanding his prodigious activity, being unable to procure food for the division, gave the reins to his fiery temper, and seized some church plate, with a view to the purchase of corn. For this impolitic act he was immediately rebuked, and such redress granted that no mischief ensued. The proceeding itself was not, however, altogether useless, as it convinced the priests that our distress was real.
Nothing could be more critical than our position. From the Agueda to the Coa the whole country, although studded with woods and scooped into hollows, was free for cavalry and artillery, and there were at least six thousand horsemen and fifty guns within an hour’s march of our position; and yet, trusting to his own admirable arrangements, and to the surprising discipline of his troops, Crauford still maintained his dangerous position, thus encouraging the garrison of Ciudad Rodrigo, and protecting the villages in the plain. The fall of that fortress was, however, soon announced. A Spaniard, eluding the French posts, brought a note from old Herrasti, the governor, claiming assistance. It contained these words: ‘O ven luégo! luégo! á socorrer esta plaza,’ (O come now, now, to the succour of this place!) But the gallant old man could not be relieved.
Soon after this I had the misfortune to fall into bad hands. Having had occasion to visit a neighbouring village on regimental business, and to make some small purchases for one of the officers, I was detained rather late in the evening, and on attempting on my return to cross a mountainous district without a guide, I lost my way. After wandering in various directions among rocks and low brushwood, two large dogs, singularly fierce and powerful, used by the Spaniards to protect their cattle from wolves, suddenly appeared in the attitude of springing at me. Putting on a bold front, I stepped back, and drew my bayonet, when, to my surprise, they seemed to dislike my appearance, and recoiled. Concluding that some human abode was nigh, I followed the track of the dogs, and presently arrived at an open space, where a few glowing embers indicated that a fire had recently been there. While gazing on the spot my attention was arrested by a rushing noise quite close to my ear, and in almost the same instant, three men darted through an adjoining copse, and were on me with incredible violence. One of them, who was armed with a halbert, made a desperate plunge with his formidable weapon; and had I not parried it, that moment would have ended my life. The others joined in this unmanly and unaccountable attack; but though roughly used, I escaped without mortal injury. I at first imagined that the fellows were part of a banditti, living by rapine and plunder, and that, disappointed of booty, they had wreaked their resentment by violent usage. I found afterwards that they were cattle owners; and what aggravated their conduct, a report was spread through their agency that I had a design upon their property, than which nothing was further from my thought. The outrage being reported to our commander, Major M’Leod, a sergeant with his piquet of men was sent to investigate the truth. On arriving at the place, there they found me, unable to move from the ill treatment I had received. I stated exactly what had taken place, and requested that the men might be secured, and taken to quarters, so that I might confront them before the major. This was acceded to, and being permitted to answer for myself, I produced the proper pass, still in my possession, and soon convinced the board that I had been within the line of duty, was the only injured party, and deserved some compensation for the treatment I had received. This was immediately granted; so that with the exception of a few bruises, which grew better under the agreeable remedy just glanced at, I came off with flying colours, while the dons paid for the entertainment.
At the beginning of July, the enemy began to appear in numbers; but, obstinate in maintaining every inch of ground, our division remained firm. The troops were marched in succession slowly, and within sight of the French, hoping that they would imagine the whole British army was come up. By this manœuvre two days were gained, but on the 4th a strong body of the enemy assembled at Marialva; and a squadron of horse, crossing the ford below that bridge, pushed at full force towards Gallegos, driving back the piquets. The enemy then passed the river, and the British retired, skirmishing upon Almeida, leaving two guns, a troop of British and one of German Hussars, to cover the movement. This rearguard drew up on a hill, half cannon-shot from a streamlet with marshy banks, which crossed the road to Almeida. In a few moments a column of French horsemen was observed coming on at a charging pace, diminishing its front as it approached the bridge, but resolute to pass, and preserving the most perfect order in spite of some well-directed shots from the guns. Captain Krauchenberg, of the Hussars, proposed to charge: the English officer did not conceive his order warranted it; but the gallant captain rode full speed against the head of the advanced column with his single troop, and with such a shock that he killed the leading officer, overthrew the front ranks, and drove the whole back.
This skirmish was followed by another on the 11th. On this occasion two French parties were observed, the one of infantry near Villa de Puerco, the other of cavalry at Barquillo. An open country on the right would have enabled the six squadrons to get between the infantry in Villa de Puerco and their point of retreat; this was circuitous, and Crauford preferred pushing straight through a stone enclosure as the shortest road. The enclosure proved difficult, the squadrons were separated, and the French, two hundred strong, had time to draw up in a square on a rather steep rise of land; yet so far from the edge as not to be seen till the ascent was gained. The two squadrons which first arrived galloped in upon them; and the charge was rough and pushed home, but failed. The troopers received the fire of the square in front and on both sides, and in passing saw and heard the French captain, Gauche, and his sergeant-major, exhorting the men to shoot carefully. Meanwhile Colonel Talbot, mounting the hill with four squadrons of the 14th Dragoons, bore gallantly in upon Captain Gauche; but the latter again opened such a fire that Talbot himself and fourteen men went down close to the bayonets, and the stout Frenchman made good his retreat. Crauford fell back to Almeida, apparently disposed to cross the Coa; yet nothing was further from his thoughts. Braving the whole French army, he had kept, with a weak division, for three months within two hours’ march of sixty thousand men, appropriating the resources of the plains entirely to himself. Had he been satisfied with this feat, it would have shown him to be master of some prudence; but forgetting that his stay beyond the Coa was a matter of sufferance rather than real strength, he resolved, with ambition not easily excusable, in defiance of reason and the repeated order of his general, to fight again on the right bank,—a piece of rashness for which we dearly paid.
Upon a calm review of the circumstances under which this engagement took place, I consider it little short of a miracle that a single British soldier survived to describe it. The troops we had to oppose were those of a well-disciplined army, they were commanded by officers of approved talent and courage, and outnumbered us at least in the proportion of four to one. Nor, mingled as I was among the most furious combatants, can I conceive how it happened that I escaped unhurt; to be sure, this is talking as if God and His providence were banished from the earth. Danger and death were undoubtedly averted by the unperceived but almighty agency of the Divine protection; that delivered my soul from perdition, my eyes from tears, and my feet from falling, in order that in future my days, so singularly lengthened, should be devoted to His service. He gave His angels charge concerning me: such, at least, is my conviction. Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth, both when we wake and when we sleep: these are all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to those who are the heirs of salvation; and as I humbly raise my claim for a share therein, why should it be thought a thing incredible that the Almighty was my special defence,
‘And turned aside the fatal blow,