The Story of a Peninsular Veteran / Sergeant in the Forty-Third Light Infantry, during the Peninsular War

by Anonymous

On the 1st of October our outposts were attacked; but the French, on entering the plain of Coimbra, suffered some loss from a cannonade; and the British cavalry were drawn up in line, but with no serious intention of fighting, and were soon after withdrawn across the Mondego. The light division then marched hastily to gain the defiles of Condeixa, which commences at the end of the bridge. At this juncture all the inhabitants of the place rushed simultaneously out, who had not before quitted the place, each with what could be caught up in the hand, and driving before them a number of animals loaded with sick people or children. At the entrance to the bridge the press was so great that the troops halted for a few moments, just under the prison. The jailer had fled with the keys; the prisoners, crowding to the windows, were endeavouring to tear down the bars with their hands, and even with their teeth; some were shouting in the most frantic manner, while the bitter lamentations of the multitude increased, and the pistol-shots of the cavalry, engaged at the fords below, were distinctly heard. Captain William Campbell burst the prison doors, and released the wretched inmates, while the troops forced their way over the bridge; yet at the other end, the uphill road, passing between high rocks, was so crowded, that no effort, even of the artillery, could make way. At last some of the infantry opened a passage on the right flank, and by great exertions the road was cleared for the guns; but it was not until after dusk that the division reached Condeixa, although the distance was less than eight miles. Hitherto the marches had been easy, the weather fine, and provisions abundant; nevertheless, the usual mischievous disorders of a retreat had shown themselves. In Coimbra, a quantity of harness and intrenching tools lay scattered in the streets; at Leiria, the magazines were plundered by the troops and camp followers; and at Condeixa a magazine of tents, shoes, spirits, and salt meat was destroyed or abandoned to the enemy; and the streets were flowing ankle-deep with wasted rum, while the Portuguese division, only a quarter of a mile distant, could receive only half the usual supply of liquor.

It is with some regret I reflect, that at this period, though exposed to dangers so imminent, I was carried away in some degree with the torrent of prevailing dissipation. Not that during any period of my active service I ever suffered the pleasure of conviviality, so called, to interfere with my duty. I was indeed often astonished to notice the reckless gaiety of my companions in arms, many of whom would crowd around the evening card-table, though aware that by dawn of day they might be engaged in mortal combat. In the midst of examples so contaminating, certain principles of morality, aided perhaps by a little natural gravity, were never totally subverted; and, under the blessing of God, preserved me from the grosser vices. Had I been favoured with an able and enlightened Christian teacher, it is probable, even then, that my mind might have received the light of Gospel truth. Insensible and ungrateful indeed I must have been not to have perceived and felt the mercies of Divine Providence; for during the entire period of my active service, though exposed to perils almost unnumbered, I was, not only preserved alive, but had been exempted from sickness, and therefore able, without a single exception, to maintain my place in the division.

Masséna resumed his march on the 4th. Leaving his sick and wounded with a slender guard at Coimbra, amounting altogether to four thousand seven hundred men, he resumed his march by Condeixa and Leiria. His hospital was established at the convent of Santa Clara, on the left bank of the river; and all the inhabitants who were unable to reach the lines came down from their hiding-places in the mountains. But scarcely had the prince left the city, when Trant, Miller, and Wilson, with nearly ten thousand militia, closed upon his rear, occupying the sierras on both sides the Mondego, and cutting off all communication with Almeida. The English army retreated; the right by Thomar and Santarem, the centre by Batalha and Rio Mayor, the left by Olobaca and Obidos; and at the same time a native force under Colonel Blunt was thrown into Peniché. Masséna followed in one column, by the way of Rio Mayor; but meanwhile a capital exploit, performed by a partisan officer, convicted the prince of bad generalship, and shook his plan of invasion to the base. Colonel Trant reached Milheada, and, believing that his arrival was unknown at Coimbra, he resolved to attack the French in that city. Having surprised a small post at Fornos, early in the morning of the 7th he sent his cavalry at full gallop through the streets of Coimbra, with orders to pass the bridge and cut off all communications with the French army. Meantime, his infantry penetrated at different points into the principal parts of the town; and the enemy, astounded, made little or no resistance. The convent of St. Clara surrendered at discretion; and thus, on the third day after the Prince of Essling had quitted the Mondego, his depôts and hospitals, with nearly five thousand prisoners, wounded and unwounded, among which there was a company of the marines of the Imperial Guard, fell into the hands of a small militia force.

But Crauford, who had reached Alemguer on the 9th, was still there at three o’clock on the afternoon of the 10th. The weather being stormy, we were placed under cover, and no indication of marching was given. The cavalry had already filed into the lines; yet no guards were posted, no patrols sent forward, nor any precautions taken against surprise, although the town, situated in a deep ravine, was peculiarly favourable for such an attempt. It was clear to me and others that our officers were uneasy at this posture of affairs; the height in front was anxiously watched, and about four o’clock some French dragoons on the summit were observed. The alarm was given, and the regiments got under arms; but the posts of assembly had been marked on an open space very much exposed, and from whence the road led through an ancient gateway to the top of the mountain behind. The enemy’s numbers increased every moment, and they endeavoured to create a belief that their artillery was come up: this feint was easily seen through, but the general desired the regiments to break, and reform on the other side of the archway, out of gun-range; and immediately all was disorder. The baggage animals were still loading, the streets were crowded with the followers of the division, and the whole in one confused mass rushed or were driven headlong to the archway. Several were crushed, and with worse troops general panic must have ensued; but the greater number of the soldiers, ashamed of the order, stood firm in their ranks until the confusion abated. Nevertheless the mischief was sufficiently great; and the enemy’s infantry, descending the heights, endeavoured, some to turn the town on the left, while others pushed directly through the streets in pursuit; and thus, with our front in disorder and our rear skirmishing, the retreat was commenced. The weather was, however, so boisterous that the firing soon ceased, and a few wounded, with the loss of some baggage, was all the hurt sustained. I was on this occasion on the verge of considerable personal danger. Having been ordered by an officer to procure forage for his horse, I incautiously ventured too near the enemy; and being further tempted by some clusters of fine grapes, accidentally noticed, I remained some little time to discuss them. On a sudden I found that the last column of the British was out of sight, while imperceptibly to myself the advanced horsemen of the French had nearly hemmed me in. Fully aware of my danger, which I felt conscious had been increased by my agreeable but untimely repast, I was aroused to instant exertion, and was happy enough to elude the surrounding scouts and reach my division. Having, however, exceeded my commission, by taking care of myself as well as the horse, and exposed both to extreme jeopardy, I was glad to resign the animal to its owner, and resume my musket and place in the ranks without notice; and had no objection to perceive that my error had been unnoticed both by foes and friends.

The captain of the company in whose service I had engaged myself, like many others, had not much time to spare. When an alarm was given of the enemy’s approach, we were preparing for dinner. Three or four officers messed together; and on that day another or two were expected, by way of a small party. Culinary preparations on a moderate scale were going on, and I had just opened the captain’s trunk, and taken out some table-linen, when, lo! the well-known bugle sounded to arms. Aware that something unexpected had happened, I ran upstairs, and on looking out at a back window I saw the enemy on the brow of a mountain, a column of whom were rapidly descending into the town. Coming down in haste, I found the dinner ready; but there is many a slip between the cup and the lip; and, reaching across the table, which was ready garnished, I swept the whole—utensils, food, and all—into the orifice of a large travelling-bag, and made my way with it into the street. Confusion and disorder are terms too weak to describe the condition of the public thoroughfare. This time, thought I, we shall be surely taken. The captain clamoured for his horse; I was as urgent for a mule to carry the baggage; every minute of delay seemed an hour. At length, by uncommon effort, we cleared the town, and though the roads were bad, reached a small village within the lines before midnight. I was billeted, with several officers, in a gentleman’s house. It was well furnished; but I regret to add, that in a few days most of the moveables were destroyed. The proprietor, it would appear, had a presentiment of approaching injury; for previous to our actual entrance on the premises, he and his family had decamped.

I have already made some allusion to the lines of Torres Vedras, thrown up for the defence of Lisbon by Lord Wellington. These lines consisted of three distinct ranges of defence. The first, extending from Alhandra on the Tagus to the mouth of the Zizandre on the sea-coast, was, following the inflections of the hills, twenty-nine miles long. The second, traced at a distance varying from six to ten miles in rear of the first, stretched from Quintella, on the Tagus, to the mouth of the St. Lorenzo, being twenty-four miles in length. The third, intended to cover a forced embarkation, should it become necessary, extended from Passo d’Arcos, on the Tagus, to the tower of Junquera, on the coast. Here an outer line, constructed on an opening of three thousand yards, enclosed an entrenched camp, designed to cover the embarkation with fewer troops, should the operation be delayed by bad weather; and within this second camp, Fort St. Julian’s, whose high ramparts and deep ditches defied an escalade, was armed and strengthened to enable a rearguard to protect both itself and the army. Of these stupendous lines, the second, whether regarded for its strength or importance, was the principal, and the others only appendages; the one as a final place of refuge, the other as an advanced work to stem the violence of the enemy, and to enable the army to take up its ground on the second line without hurry or pressure. The aim and scope of all the works were to bar those passes, and to strengthen the favourable fighting positions between them, without impeding the movements of the army. The fortifications extended to the space of fifty miles; there were one hundred and fifty forts, and not fewer than six hundred pieces of artillery mounted within them, while the river was protected by gunboats manned with British marines.

Masséna was astonished at the extent and strength of works, the existence of which had only become known to him five days before he came upon them. He employed several days in examining their nature, and was as much at a loss at the end of his inspection as at the beginning. The heights of Alhandra he judged unattackable; but the valleys of Calandrix and Aruda attracted his attention. There were here frequent skirmishes with the light division to oblige Crauford to show his force; but by making Aruda an advanced post, he rendered it impossible to discover his true position without a serious affair; and in a short time the division, with prodigious labour, secured the position in a manner which was spoken of with admiration. Across the ravine on the left, a loose stone wall, sixteen feet thick and forty feet high, was raised, and across the great valley of Aruda a double line of abattis was drawn; not composed, as is usual, of the limbs of trees, but of full-grown oaks and chestnuts, dug up with all their roots and branches, dragged by main force for several hundred yards, and then reset and crossed, so that no human strength could break through. Breastworks at convenient distances to defend this line of trees were then cast up; and along the summit of the mountain, for the space of nearly three miles, including the salient points, other stone walls, six feet high and four in thickness, with banquettes, were built, so that a good defence might have been made against the attacks of twenty thousand men.

The increased strength of the works in general soon convinced Masséna that it was impracticable to force the lines without great reinforcements; and towards the end of October the hospitals, stores, and other encumbrances of the French army were removed to Santarem. On the 31st of the month two thousand men forded the Zezere above Punheta, to cover the construction of a bridge; and a remarkable exploit was performed by a sergeant of the 16th Dragoons, named Baxter. This man, having only five troopers, came suddenly upon a piquet of fifty men, who were cooking. The Frenchmen ran to their arms, and killed one of the dragoons; but the rest broke in amongst them so strongly, that Baxter with the assistance of some countrymen made forty-two captives. On the 19th the light division entered the plain between the Rio Mayor and the Tagus, and advanced against the heights by a sedgy marsh. The columns on our side were formed for attack, and the skirmishers of the light division were exchanging shots with the enemy, when it was found that the guns belonging to Pack’s brigade had not arrived; and Lord Wellington, not quite satisfied with the appearance of his adversary’s force after three hours’ demonstrations, ordered the troops to retire to their former ground. It was indeed evident that the French were resolved to maintain their position. Every advantageous spot of ground was fully occupied, the most advanced sentinels boldly returned the fire of the skirmishers, large bodies of reserve were descried, some in arms, others cooking; the strokes of the hatchet and the fall of trees resounded from the woods upon the hills; and the commencement of a triple line of abattis, and the fresh earth of entrenchments, were discernible in many places. Our active light division was, however, again in motion. General Crauford thought that the hostile troops who had shown themselves amounted merely to a rearguard of the enemy. His eager spirit could not bear to be restrained; and seizing a musket, he advanced in the night along the causeway, followed only by a sergeant, and commenced a personal skirmish with the French piquets, from whose fire he escaped by miracle, convinced at last that the enemy were not in flight.

Lord Wellington judged it best to remain on the defensive, and strengthen the lines. With this view the light division, supported by a brigade of cavalry, occupied Valle and the heights overlooking the marsh and inundation; the bridge at the end of the causeway was mined; a sugarloaf shaped hill, looking straight down the approach, was crowned with embrasures for artillery, and laced in front with a zig-zag covered way, capable of containing five hundred infantry. Thus the causeway being blocked, the French could not, while the inundation was maintained, make any sudden irruption from Santarem. About this period a column of French, six thousand strong, scoured all the country beyond the Zezere, and contrived to secrete a quantity of food near Pedragoa, while other detachments arriving on the Mondego, below Coimbra, even passed that river, and carried off four hundred oxen and two thousand sheep intended for the allies. These excursions gave rise to horrible excesses, which broke down the discipline of the French army, and were not always executed with impunity. The British cavalry at various times redeemed many cattle, and brought in a considerable number of prisoners.

Finding the drudgery of servitude, when added to my customary military duty, greater than I could well sustain, I requested permission to resign my situation with the captain; and we parted, mutually satisfied with past acquaintance, and on the fairest terms. While in the vicinity of Santarem, the unarmed French and English soldiers, while procuring wine for the respective forces, were frequently intermingled in the same cellar, when there seemed to exist a tacit understanding that all animosity was suspended. The liquor was, however, sometimes too powerful; and one of our men, who had been a good soldier, after a sad debauch relapsed into a fit of despondency. The inordinate cup was then resorted to, but, as usual, it lifted him up only to throw him into lower depths of misery. He then deserted; and when taken, seized an opportunity of placing the muzzle of a musket to his mouth, and setting his foot upon the trigger, blew his head to atoms.