CONTENTS
| Introduction | Page [xi] |
| Commencement of the Peninsular War. Campaign of 1808 | [1] |
| Campaign of 1809 | [2] |
| CHAPTER I | |
| Letter No. I., To his Parents, from Hythe and Dover, dated 21st May 1809—Journal, May-July 1809—Letter No. II., To his Parents, from Castello Branco, dated 18th July 1809 | [4] |
| CHAPTER II | |
| Journal, July-December 1809—Letter No. III., To his Parents, from Campo Mayor, dated September 1809—Letter No. IV., To his Parents, from Campo Mayor, dated 29th October 1809—Journal, December 1809 | [19] |
| Campaign of 1810 | [43] |
| CHAPTER III | |
| Journal, 1st January-27th February 1810—Letter No. V., To his Parents, from Villar Torpin, dated 28th February 1810—Journal, 4th March-30th April 1810—Letter No. VI., To his Father, from Villar de Ciérvos, dated 30th April 1810 | [44] |
| CHAPTER IV | |
| Journal, 7th May-8th August 1810—Letter No. VII., To his Parents, from Lisbon, dated 10th August 1810 | [66] |
| CHAPTER V | |
| Journal, August-September 1810—Letter No. VIII., To his Parents, from Pedroso, Lisbon, dated 30th September 1810—Journal, October-December 1810—Letter No. IX., To his Parents, from Lisbon, dated 16th December 1810 | [98] |
| Campaign of 1811 | [127] |
| CHAPTER VI | |
| Letter No. X., To his Parents, from Lisbon, dated 11th January 1811—Journal, January-25th March 1811—Letter No. XI., To his Parents, from Mello, dated 26th March 1811 | [129] |
| CHAPTER VII | |
| Journal, 26th March-26th May 1811—Letter No. XII., To his Parents, from Espeja, dated 18th May 1811 | [158] |
| CHAPTER VIII | |
| Journal, 26th May-21st August 1811—Letter No. XIII., To his Parents, from Martiago, dated 26th August 1811—Journal, 29th August-30th September 1811—Letter No. XIV., To Lieutenant Maud Simmons, 34th Regiment, 2nd Division, Portugal, from Aldea Velha, Portugal, dated 1st October 1811—Journal, 1st October-20th December 1811—Letter No. XV., To his Parents, from Atalaya, Spain, dated 8th December 1811 | [185] |
| Campaign of 1812 | [213] |
| CHAPTER IX | |
| Journal, 4th January-30th July 1812 | [216] |
| CHAPTER X | |
| Journal, 1st-31st August 1812—Letter No. XVI., To his Parents, from Madrid, dated 8th September 1812—Journal, 1st September-31st December 1812—Letter No. XVII., To his Parents, from Alameda, Spain, dated 12th December 1812—Letter No. XVIII., To his Father, from Alameda, Spain, dated 29th December 1812 | [245] |
| Campaign of 1813 | [273] |
| CHAPTER XI | |
| Letter No. XIX., To his Father, from Alameda, dated 30th April 1813—Letter No. XX., From Lieutenant Joseph Simmons to his Parents, from Alameda, dated 5th May 1813 (Postscript by George Simmons)—Journal, 1st May-30th August 1813 | [275] |
| CHAPTER XII | |
| Letter No. XXI., To his Parents, from Vera, Pyrenees, dated 30th August 1813—Postscript, dated 4th September 1813—Journal, 31st August-31st December 1813—Letter No. XXII., To his Parents, from St. Jean-de-Luz, France, dated 7th December 1813, and Postscript | [302] |
| Campaign of 1814 | [331] |
| CHAPTER XIII | |
| Journal, 12th January-21st March 1814—Battle of Orthez—The Action of Tarbes—Letter No. XXIII., To his Parents, from Tarbes, France, dated 27th March 1814 (finished by Maud Simmons)—Journal, 13th April-23rd July 1814 | [333] |
| Campaign of 1815 | [354] |
| CHAPTER XIV | |
| Journal, 25th April-June 1815—Letter No. XXIV., To his Parents, from Brussels, dated 19th May 1815—Journal, 15th-18th June 1815—Letter No. XXV., To his Parents, from Brussels, undated, but bearing a postmark of 1st July 1815—Letter No. XXVI., To his Parents, from Brussels, dated 21st July 1815—Letter No. XXVII., To his Parents, from Brussels, dated 18th September 1815 | [355] |
| Conclusion | [378] |
| Appendix I., Letter from General Sir Harry Smith, 1846, after Aliwal | [381] |
| Appendix II., Medical Certificates | [384] |
INTRODUCTION
George Simmons, the writer of the following letters and journals, was born on 2nd May 1785. His parents resided at Beverley, in Yorkshire. The family consisted of nine sons and three daughters.
Since some of their names constantly recur in Simmons's letters, a brief account of them will be useful. Maud, the second son, obtained a commission in the 34th Foot in 1809. The third, Joseph, after beginning life as an attorney's clerk, joined his eldest brother's corps, the 95th Rifles, as a Volunteer in 1812, and shortly afterwards was granted a commission in it. All three brothers served in the Peninsular War. The fourth brother, John, appears to have been a source of some trouble to his parents, and eventually ran away from home and entered the Mercantile Marine. His career at sea was a brief one. His ship was very soon attacked and captured by a French privateer, and he was killed in the engagement. The daughters, especially the second, Ann, "My dear Ann" of many a letter, were the object of constant solicitude to George, and of much good advice and many anxious forebodings. These details of the family are rendered necessary by the fact that for some cause or other the eldest brother appears to have constituted himself as the adviser and protector, and to some extent the supporter, of his parents. His father seems to have been in extremely straitened circumstances, and to have lacked the capability of looking after his family. George was evidently a very steady young fellow, and, realising that his father was unable to fight the battle of life, he set to work and studied medicine with a view to being able to support his parents. In 1805, when Napoleon's threatened invasion had caused all the manhood of England to enrol themselves for the defence of the country, George was given a commission as Assistant-Surgeon in the Royal South Lincolnshire Militia, commanded by Colonel Waldo-Sibthorp, M.P. In this corps he served for nearly four years, and during that time gained the friendship of his Colonel, who subsequently assisted him in various ways.
The Lincoln Militia were quartered in Hythe Barracks in the spring of 1809, as were both Battalions of the 95th Rifles. The latter were in a very shattered condition, having only recently returned from the disastrous campaign of Coruña. In order to fill up their depleted ranks, volunteers were called for from the Militia, and every Militia officer who could induce a hundred men to join the service was granted a commission. No difficulty, however, was experienced in obtaining recruits for "The Rifles," as they were styled. Although a very "young" regiment, having been raised only nine years previously, the peculiar nature of their arm—the rifle—and their exceptionally active employment, coupled with the fact that they had already made their name at Copenhagen under Lord Nelson, at Monte Video, and only recently at Roliça, Vimeiro, and Coruña, caused many more to volunteer for service in their ranks than could be taken.
In the words of Sir William Cope, the historian of the Rifle Brigade:—
The regiment had already became so famous and popular, that not only were the deficiencies filled up in a very short time, but more than a thousand volunteers presented themselves beyond the numbers required. It was therefore resolved by the Authorities to add a 3rd Battalion to the regiment.