I have just heard from Coimbra, that one Court-martial is broken up by a division of cavalry moving down to Oporto. I do not quite understand this, but conclude that they will pass the river somewhere below, and so march through the Tras os Montes, and join us again on the other side of the Douro, and have a good untouched country to advance through—otherwise this does not look like a march. No one knows, however, and probably I know as much as the Adjutant-General. I must now write to Lord Wellington; this movement at Coimbra has disturbed two of my Coimbra cases very much.
The new Mutiny Act has been sent out to me. There are several changes, one I see which I suggested; but the business is very much bungled. The Mutiny Act and Articles of War are now at variance, as the latter have not been altered with the former. By the first, an officer may be tried here by a Court of seven members; by the articles, there must be thirteen.
Some of the fifth division have, I hear, moved across the Douro at Lamego. This confirms the opinion I have given above, especially as D’Urban’s Portuguese cavalry are all north of the Mondego, and have been some time there. This will disturb another of my Courts. Lord Wellington says, that the witnesses must follow and try and catch the Court; but I am no hunter, and shall try to remove the case to another place. I dine with Lord Wellington.
Head-Quarters, Frenada, Saturday May 1st, 1813.—This last week I have again been very busy, and shall remain so, no doubt, until we move. This will probably be in a week or so, for our wings are in motion. The cavalry round by Oporto, as I mentioned before, and some Portuguese infantry, under Colonel Hamilton, are advancing to Alcantara from near Portalegre and Eloss. We shall soon be drawing together, but head-quarters, I have very little doubt, will be the last to move. We have just got the “Spanish Gazette,” of Seville, with Elio’s letter, stating the victory gained by General Murray near Alicant, and his driving Suchet back with loss, through Bejar and Villana to Fuente Higuera. I conclude you will have heard this in England before this reaches you. We have no English account, but Lord Wellington seems to consider it very good news. He came running into the Military Secretary’s room, where I was yesterday, to communicate this, saying, “Murray has beat Suchet, Fitzroy.” I always expected the fighting would begin in that quarter this campaign. We got also yesterday from Lisbon the almost incredible good news that Austria had agreed to join the Allies with eighty thousand men in Germany, and one hundred thousand in Italy, and that Davoust and Grenier had been again defeated. Lord Wellington seems rather to give credit to all this. Poor Bony will go mad if it should prove all to be true.
A few days since at dinner at Lord Wellington’s, he got upon the subject of “Vetus.” He said, “He thought he knew the author, and that he had been in India—not Mackintosh, as reported here.” He then went on to say, “he did not think much of Vetus’s letters:[3] that many of his facts as to this country were quite without foundation; that neither Vetus, nor the O. P.’s, nor Lord Wellesley, knew anything about the war here, and what could or could not be done; that he fully believed Government had done all they could; that the men who did come could not have been here sooner, and perhaps had better have come still later; that more cavalry he could not have employed, had he had them at Lisbon, for want of transport for food; that when he advanced formerly to Talavera, he left several thousand men at Lisbon, because he could not supply them had they been with the army; that even now he could not have brought up the Hussar brigade into the field, unless by draughting home the three regiments whose men he lately had sent back, and thus setting at liberty their transport; that the Guards, Life and Blues, he knew of some time since, and sent five months ago to Estremadura to collect mules for their supply; that every two dragoons employed a mule to feed the men and horses, and that all this difficulty in the detail was quite unknown at home. In short, he said, Lord Wellesley knew nothing about the matter, and he had no reason to be dissatisfied with Government at home.” All this made several of us stare. I am told that Lord Wellington was very angry with Lord Wellesley for his resignation, and hardly spoke to any one for some days after he had heard the fact. Lord Paget has just sent up here two of the Hussars, a corporal and a private, to wait as orderlies on my lord the peer; two very fine fellows. This was done out of compliment. They will only be ruined at head-quarters, which is a terrible place for soldiers and servants; over-pay, great idleness, and every third house a vine-house.
I have just read Mrs. M. A. Clark and the Messrs. Fitzgerald’s, &c., which Lord Fitzroy Somerset sent me by desire of Lord Wellington. It is a curious production, and very ingenious as I understand it, merely as a punishment on the Chancellor of the Exchequer for not letting her profit by the Treasury, and, at the same time, a strong inducement to all others in her favour, held over their heads in terrorem, not to be guilty of equal ingratitude; that is, not to neglect making up her deficiencies in cash when a hint has been given them of the necessity.
May 2nd.—Lord Wellington, I hear is to go to-day to General Cole’s division, the fourth, near the Figuiera, above Castello Rodrigo, and near Eschalo. He sends his hounds over the six leagues to-day: they hunt there to-morrow. On Tuesday he is to review the fourth division, and return here to dinner at Frenada afterwards. Lord Wellington said, some days since, he would move on the 5th of May: some of the army may, and will, I have no doubt; but I do not think we shall before the 10th. Ho one knows, however; and I dare say no one will know until the day before, when all will be in a bustle. I hope we shall not set out in this weather, however, which continues constant cold, rain, and wind. By watching sharp, I can generally get an hour’s ride dry; but it will be rather dismal work to start on a long march in this wet, and it would, from the state of the roads, knock up the mules too much at first, when I take it they will have far enough to go.
If the news from Austria be true, and General Murray has really beaten Suchet in an English and not merely in a Spanish fashion, the French, when they hear we have crossed the Douro, will probably go at once behind the Ebro, carrying all they can with them that is moveable and worth carriage. At present, however, their plan seems to be, to try to make a stand on the Douro first. They are evidently receding gradually from Madrid.
Later.—I have just heard that part of my gossip of head-quarters is not correct. Lord Wellington has got a cold, and has determined not to go to General Cole to-day, though the weather has now cleared up.
May 3rd, Monday.—Lord Wellington is rather worse to-day, I hear, and does not leave Frenada. I hope his review will be quite put off. He has, I believe, only a bad cold. We have still no further news from Alicant: at Cadiz they had only seen the same account that we have. Mr. Wellesley says that the people were in high spirits about it there, though I suspect that some of the Spaniards did not behave well. The allied loss is reported to be nine hundred, that of the French at two thousand. If we could kill off at this rate, and make the Spaniards bear a fair share, this would do very well. I have since heard from Colonel C—— that it is supposed Elio’s troops behaved ill, and threw away their arms. Elio’s corps had received orders not to fight, but to unite with General Murray: he was just about to do so, and part of his corps was on his left, but too far distant, and gave way when attacked. The orders were, for all the corps, Elio’s, Del Parque’s, &c., to unite with General Murray without a battle. General Murray will scarcely be able to do much (if he has beat Suchet) with his small force, if he cannot trust the Spaniards. I hope, however, Whittingham’s corps has behaved well.