[869] Wachholz, p. 322.
[870] Tovey fortunately wrote a narrative of this little affair, which may be found in the history of the 20th, p. 408. He says: ‘The enemy’s light troops opened so galling a fire that Major-General Ross called out for a company to go to the front. Without waiting for orders I pushed out with mine, and in close order and double-quick cleared away the skirmishers from a sort of plateau. They did not wait for us: on reaching its opposite side we came so suddenly on the head of the enemy’s infantry column, which had just gained a footing on the summit of the hill, that the men of my company absolutely paused in astonishment, for we were face to face with them. The French officer called to us to throw down our arms: I replied “bayonet away,” and rushing on them we turned them back down the descent. Such was the panic and confusion caused by the sudden onset, that our small party (for such it was compared to the French column) had time to regain the regiment, but my military readers may rest assured that it required to be done double quick.’
[871] This ditch had been cut by the Spaniards in 1793 as an outer protection to their redoubt on the Linduz.
[872] Wachholz, p. 324.
[873] The 6th Léger, 69th (2 battalions), 76th, and 36th show casualties, the rear regiments (39th and 65th) none. Nor does Maucune’s division. Similarly on the British side none of Anson’s or Stubbs’s battalions contribute to the list.
[874] As we have seen already, Clausel puts his loss at the Leiçaratheca at 160, to Byng’s and Morillo’s 120. At the other end of the line Ross’s brigade had lost 216 men—139 of them in the 20th, 31 in the 7th, 42 in the 23rd, 4 in the Brunswick company. [I know not where Napier got his strange statement that this company lost 42 men: their captain, Wachholz, reports 2 killed and 2 wounded.] Foy’s six front battalions had lost 10 officers and 361 men. The total Allied loss was about 350, there having been a few casualties among Campbell’s Portuguese and among the Spaniards at Orbaiceta. The total French loss was not less than 530. Both figures are very moderate. Cole estimated the French casualties at 2,000 men! Soult wrote that he had almost exterminated the 20th, whose total loss had been 139.
[875] Cole to Wellington, Supplementary Dispatches, viii. p. 127.
[876] Wellington to Liverpool, Dispatches, x. p. 596.
[877] See vol. iv. pp. 389-90.
[878] Cole to Murray, Linzoain, July 26th. Wrongly dated July 27th in Supplementary Dispatches, viii. p. 124.