In consequence of the breaches being so furiously attacked, the French Governor, Phillipon, drew nearly the whole of the garrison to defend them, or the 3rd Division must have suffered infinitely more, as the walls were very high and the place difficult to enter.
The castle being taken, the town was commanded. A heavy gun was dragged to the gate connected with the town and fired through it, which blew it open. The enemy now finding the castle in our possession, and also finding the British entering another part of the town by escalade, were obliged to oppose them with a greater part of their force. I was lying upon the grass by my comrades, having the most gloomy thoughts of the termination of this sad affair, when a staff officer rode up and said, "Lord Wellington orders the Light Division to return immediately and attack the breaches." We moved back to this bloody work as if nothing had happened. Never were braver men congregated together for such a purpose. We entered the ditches, and passed over the bodies of our brave fellows who had fallen and dashed forward to the breaches. Only a few random shots were now fired, and we entered without opposition. Firing was now going on in several parts of the town, and we were not long in chiming in with the rest of them. The prisoners were secured and the place was given up to be plundered and pillaged. I am sorry to say our soldiers were now become nearly as great adepts as any Continental soldiers in this work of destruction.
I went into a genteel house. The Spaniard told me the French Quartermaster-General had lived with him. He showed me the officer's room. I found a bottle of wine and two glasses upon the table. There was a piece of paper upon which he had made a rough sketch of the two breaches, and had represented the way our columns would move to the attack. He also had marked where the ladders would be placed to avoid some water in the ditch, and which latter was the only place where their shot could not have effect. I suppose the water had been turned into the ditch for this purpose. The Spaniard said that the two officers went out in great alarm. I sat down and drank the bottle of wine and got some eggs and bacon fried. When the day dawned I went to see the breaches. I found a breast-work of sand-bags upon them, constructed for the enemy to fire over a strong chevaux de frise. Placed in front and across the breaches here and there were large beams studded with long spikes irregularly thrown about to impede our advance. Behind these breast-works the ground was cut and intersected with deep trenches and covered with planks, to enable the enemy to get to the breaches and ramparts. In the bottom of these trenches were placed swords and bayonets fixed upon pieces of wood to wound those who fell upon them. Holes were made in the ramparts big enough for a man to sit in, with a deep groove to lay his musket in and fire. In short, the Governor had done everything in his power to make the place as defensible as possible, and displayed a great deal of ability and judgment in his masterly arrangements. The ramparts were lined with live shells and barrels of powder, cart wheels, and lumps of wood and iron, ready to be thrown into the ditch.
I saw my poor friend Major O'Hare lying dead upon the breach. Two or three musket balls had passed through his breast. A gallant fellow, Sergeant Flemming, was also dead by his side, a man who had always been with him. I called to remembrance poor O'Hare's last words just before he marched off to lead the advance. He shook me by the hand saying, "A Lieutenant-Colonel or cold meat in a few hours." I was now gazing upon his body lying stretched and naked amongst thousands more. Our loss was very severe, but principally fell upon the young officers. Capt. Diggle, Lieuts. Hovenden, Cary, Stokes, Affix, Croudace, killed. Lieut. Freer (wounded in the trenches upon the day of the sortie), Capts. Crampton, Balvaird, M'Diarmid, wounded. Lieuts. Manners, Johnstone, MacDonnel, Macpherson, Stewart, Foster, Gardiner, Fitzmaurice, and Farmer wounded (two died a few days after). The 43rd and 52nd Light Infantry lost about the same number as ourselves. I am only astonished how any one escaped, but I was not touched in any part of me. I went away from the town to the camp as soon as possible. The 2nd Division was stationed near Talavera Real, about three leagues from Badajoz, to watch the movements of Soult, who was collecting an army to attempt to raise the siege of Badajoz. My two brothers were with that Division, and they were looking towards Badajoz from their encampment with great anxiety, as they distinctly heard the continued peals of cannon, and saw the sky over the town illuminated from time to time, which gave them a pretty good idea that rough work was going on there. I had only just got into my tent and thrown myself down upon my blanket when my brother Maud entered. I sprang upon my legs and seized him by the hand. He was so affected that he was obliged to sit down. He burst into tears. I observed, "Why, this is woman's work. My brave fellow, you ought to laugh. I am sound and untouched." He observed, "I entered your encampment with an aching heart. I was some time before I durst ask for you. At last I summoned up resolution to do so, and asked a man, who told me you were killed, 'but that is his tent,' he added. I was so agitated that I rushed towards it scarcely knowing what I did, when you jumped up and shook hands with me." He lay down for some time to compose himself. In the afternoon I walked over to Talavera Real and met my brother Joseph. We spent a pleasant day together.
8th
I returned to camp and found the soldiers in possession of all sorts of things brought from the town, and crowds of country people bartering with them for clothes and other articles. These two sieges had demoralised the men very much, and coercion was necessary on many occasions (with men that had never behaved ill before), and obliged to be resorted to. The men were made to throw away a quantity of things, and to prevent them secreting any of the articles, their packs were examined, and the plunder that had not been made away with was collected into heaps and burnt. A garrison of Spaniards were put into Badajoz and the place was put in order. Marched to Campo Mayor.
12th
Marched in front of Arronches. Bivouacked in a wood.
13th
Marched to Portalegre, 14th to Niza, 15th to Sarnadas, 16th to Castello Branco, 17th halted, 18th to Escalos de Cima and Louza, 19th halted.