[665] To Lord Bathurst, August 13. Dispatches, ix. 355.
[666] The second eagle is in error described in Wellington’s dispatch as that of the 13th—which was in Russia at the time.
[667] For the ‘siege’ of the Retiro see (besides the official sources) Burgoyne’s Diary, i. pp. 208-9, and the narratives of Green of the 68th and Wheeler of the 51st. For the use of the French uniforms see the Dickson Papers, ed. Major Leslie, ii. pp. 738-9.
[668] Grattan’s With the Connaught Rangers, p. 275.
[669] Wellington to Henry Wellesley at Cadiz, Dispatches, ix. p. 169, same to same of June 1, Dispatches, ix. p. 197, Wellington to Hill (June 6th), Dispatches, ix. p. 215, and more especially the last paragraph of Wellington to Henry Wellesley of June 7th, Dispatches, ix. p. 219, and same to same of June 10th, Dispatches, ix. p. 224.
[670] To quote Wellington’s own rather heavy but quite explicit phrases: ‘I am certain that the enemy will move into Estremadura upon Hill, as soon as it is known that I have moved: and I hope everything will then be done by Ballasteros, and the Army of Murcia, and the troops in Cadiz, to divert the enemy from their intentions upon Hill.’ And, on the other hand, in a letter differing in date from that first cited by three days, ‘The Spanish government have desired that in case of a movement by Marshal Soult on General Ballasteros, General Hill should make a movement to divert his attention from Ballasteros. I have directed this movement, in the notion that the Conde de Villemur [the Spanish commander in Estremadura] will also co-operate in it.’ The see-saw of alternate distractions is clearly laid down—but Ballasteros (as usual) proved a difficult factor to manage.
[671] 9th Léger, 96th Ligne, a battalion of the 16th Léger, and the 5th Chasseurs.
[672] Figures in Los Ejércitos españoles, p. 128.
[673] Possibly more—the casualty list of officers in Martinien’s admirable tables is very heavy—9 officers hit in the 9th Léger, 13 in the 96th Ligne, 3 in the 16th Léger, 5 in the 5th Chasseurs à cheval. Thirty officers hit might very probably (but not certainly) mean 600 casualties in all.
[674] See vol. iv. pp. 187 and 437.