[653] Leslie, p. 147. The other occasion on which Hill used strong language was at the battle of St. Pierre in 1814, when Wellington remarked: ‘If Hill is beginning to swear we had better get out of the way.’
[654] Ruffin had 5,200 men, minus about 300 lost on the previous night, while Hill had 3,853, minus 138 lost in that same battle in the dark.
[655] This operation is described in the narrative of the K. G. L. officer, printed by Beamish (p. 212). The narrator, however, mistakes the French regiment’s number, and says twenty-six for ninety-six.
[656] These losses can be accurately ascertained. Ruffin’s whole loss in the two days of fighting was 1,632, of whom 300 of the 9th Léger had fallen on the night of July 27. He was not seriously engaged during the rest of the day, so must have lost 1,300 in this fight. Hill’s total loss on July 28 was 835, but much of it was suffered in the afternoon, when (though not attacked by infantry) his division was under a heavy shell fire.
[657] See Jourdan’s Mémoires, p. 260.
[658] Their order from left to right was as follows: Frankfort-Hesse (two batts.), Baden (two batts.), Holland (two batts.), Nassau (two batts.).
[659] There is a legend which occurs in all French narratives of Talavera—starting with the contemporary accounts, and including Desprez’s and Jourdan’s Mémoires. It is to the effect that Leval’s division, in its first advance, came upon an English battalion, which several writers call the 45th, lying in front of the rest of the allied line. It is alleged that the Nassau regiment surrounded and almost captured it—that they would have taken it prisoner indeed en masse, if the troops on their left (Holland and Baden) had held firm. But at least ‘on lui prit une centaine d’hommes, le major, le lieutenant-colonel, et le colonel—ce dernier mourut de ses blessures’ (Jourdan). No such incident can have occurred, for (1) no English regiment lost more than twenty-one ‘missing’ on this side of the field. (2) No English officer of higher rank than a captain was taken prisoner in the battle. (3) Only one officer was killed in the whole of Campbell’s division, and he was a lieutenant of the 7th Fusiliers. (4) The 45th was not engaged with Leval’s men, but lay to the left and supported the Guards in resisting Sebastiani: it lost one officer (a captain) and twelve men missing, but this was in the great mêlée in the centre, at the end of the day’s fighting: it had no officer killed. I am driven to conclude that the whole is some gross exaggeration of the surprise of Campbell’s pickets in the vineyards, and that instead of a ‘battalion’ we should read the light companies of the division. Cooper of the 7th Fusiliers, who was in the skirmishing line, says that the Germans got close among them by calling out ‘Españoles’ and pretending to be Spaniards. A few prisoners (twenty-six in all) were lost in this way.
[660] This was the Myers who fell in storming the famous hill of Albuera in 1811. See Cooper (of the 7th), p. 22.
[661] ‘Another lull in the storm, and fresh formation. “Here they come again” said many voices: so they did, but we were ready and gave them such a warm reception that they speedily went to the right-about. As in their first attack they now left behind several pieces of cannon, which we secured as before. After these two attacks and sharp repulses we were not troubled with their company any more.’ Cooper, p. 23.
[662] There can be no rational doubt that the total number of guns taken was seventeen, as set forth in Charles Stewart’s report to Wellesley, as Adjutant-general, viz. ‘four eight-pounders, four six-pounders, one four-pounder, one six-inch howitzer, taken by Brigadier-general A. Campbell’s brigade, with one six-inch howitzer and six other guns left by the enemy and found in the woods’ of which four were in the hands of the Spaniards. Wellesley, in his dispatch, made the error of stating that twenty guns had been taken, being under the impression that the Spaniards had captured seven pieces, while they themselves only claim four—a Captain Piñero was mentioned in Eguia’s dispatch for causing them to be brought back to the Spanish line. The British took thirteen guns: three days after the battle Wellesley made them over to his allies. He writes to O’Donoju [Talavera, Aug. 1]: ‘We have got thirteen pieces of French artillery, which I wish to give over to the Spanish army—the other seven [four] you have already got. I shall be obliged if you will urge General Cuesta to desire the commanding officer of his artillery to receive charge of them from the officer commanding the British artillery.’ This is surely conclusive as to the numbers.