Captain Rainsford’s company (now No. 7 Battery, 17th Brigade) having arrived from Lisbon, the Artillerymen were divided as follows:—
Attack Against the Castle.
Major Dickson commanding.
| Officers’ Names. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Royal Artillery | 55 | officers and men. | Captain Rainsford. |
| 1st Reg. Portuguese Artillery | 100 | officers and men. | Captain Latham. |
| 2nd Reg. Portuguese Artillery | 100 | officers and men. | Lieut. Saunders. |
| 3rd Reg. Portuguese Artillery | 50 | officers and men. | Lieut. Willis. |
| Total | 305 | ||
| Attack Against San Cristoval. | |||
| Captain Cleeves, (K.G.A.), commanding under Major Dickson. | |||
| Royal Artillery | 55 | officers and men. | Lieut. Hawker. |
| 3rd Reg. Portuguese Artillery | 250 | officers and men. | Lieut. Connel. |
| Total | 305 | ||
Lord Wellington to the Earl of Liverpool, dated 13 June, 1811.
This gave but a very small relief; and Lord Wellington remarked, after the raising of the siege, that some of the Royal Artillery were indefatigable, and had never quitted their batteries.
Captain Latham was the 2nd Captain of Captain Hawker’s Field Brigade, and was lent for the service of the siege train. To D.-A.-G. dated 13 June, 1811. Of him Major Dickson afterwards said: “I assure you the assistance I derived from his professional knowledge and activity can never be forgotten by me.” Instances like this, and others hereafter to be mentioned, when even Horse Artillerymen served in the trenches, are arguments against the necessity of any complete divorce between the Field and Garrison branches of the Artillery service. Of Captain Rainsford’s company—now 7 Battery, 17th Brigade—Major Ibid. Dickson wrote: “It was of wonderful assistance; it is an uncommon fine one.”
To D.-A.-G. 20 June, 1811.
On the 1st June the batteries on both sides were in a very forward state, and two on the north side received their armament. On the south side several guns were brought into the parallel, ready for mounting on the following night, when the batteries should be prepared for them. By half-past 8 o’clock on the morning of the 3rd everything was ready; and on the south side a fire was commenced with fourteen guns against the point which it was intended to breach. The fire was most vigorous, and, although well replied to, gave considerable hopes of success. Two of the guns became disabled from the effects of their own fire,—a casualty whose recurrence during the siege was most monotonous. On the north side No. 1 Battery was partly employed to breach San Cristoval, and partly to enfilade the Castle front; No. 2 to breach San Cristoval; No. 3 against the defences of the same fort; and No. 4 to keep in check the tête de pont and enfilade the bridge. The breach in San Cristoval was begun in the shoulder to the right of the work, where it formed a dead angle; and in firing at this from a battery on the north side, a gun, on the very first night, became disabled by muzzle-drooping. These incidents will prepare the reader for the verdict of condemnation which was unanimously passed on the armament of the Allied siege trains in the earlier Peninsular sieges.
The howitzers were used as mortars, by taking the wheels off the carriages and inventing means of elevating them. Major Dickson had carefully tested what was the extreme elevation at which they could be used with safety, and found the maximum was an angle of 30°. Righteous, therefore, was his indignation when he learnt that, in spite of his own and Captain Cleeves’ positive orders, an officer on duty on the north side, whom he tersely stigmatised as “a brute of a Portuguese Captain,” had thought proper to elevate them to 40° or 42°, with a charge of 2½ lbs. to 3 lbs., the result being that both carriages were rendered entirely unserviceable, without any means of replacing them.
On the 4th June, the fire from the south side continued, but with less effect, the shot entering the wall without bringing down any part of it worthy of mention. On this day another gun was disabled at the vent by the effect of its own fire; and one was rendered unserviceable by that of the enemy. On the 4th very considerable progress was made in the breach at San Cristoval. During the night a new battery was opened in the south attack, and the guns from No. 1 Battery removed to it.