Passing through Portugal by a rapid march, the troops traversed four hundred miles in a short time, and were soon engaged in operations in Spain; but the Spaniards, who were to have co-operated, had in the mean time been defeated and dispersed; and the little British army was eventually obliged to retire before the superior numbers of the enemy. The Fifth Regiment took its full share in the disasters and privations of the retreat from Sahagun to Corunna, as well as in the glories of the 16th of January, 1809, when the steady firmness of the British army, by repulsing at all points an assailant, superior in numbers and artillery, and commanded by one of the ablest generals[39] that France could boast, proved to the world that even a forced retreat of two hundred and fifty miles, made under circumstances the most disheartening, and accompanied by privations the most appalling, though it might wear the sinews and exhaust the physical strength of the British soldier, had no power to shake his resolution or daunt his courage.

In the battle of Corunna, Colonel Mackenzie particularly distinguished himself: after having one horse shot under him, he remounted another, and was at length mortally wounded, whereupon the command of the battalion devolved on Major Emes, who received a medal for this service, while the regiment itself acquired another honorary inscription for its colours, 'Corunna' being by royal permission borne upon them. The number of killed and wounded of the first battalion of the Fifth, in the battle of Corunna, has never been exactly ascertained; but on mustering after its return to England, one serjeant, two corporals, three drummers, and one hundred and twenty-six rank and file were found to be missing.

The first battalion landed in February, 1809, at Ramsgate, and after a halt of a few days at Margate, was ordered to Steyning, in Sussex, where it was fully equipped and completed to upwards of one thousand rank and file, and embarked in July following at Portsmouth, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Pratt, to form part of the expedition under the Earl of Chatham designed to effect the destruction of the enemy's shipping and arsenal on the Scheldt.

During the siege of Flushing, on the Island of Walcheren, the first battalion of the Fifth was very actively employed, and although bivouacked without tents during the whole time (with the exception of one week that it was in garrison in Flushing, after its surrender) had very few sick; but on being embarked to proceed up the Scheldt for the projected attack upon Antwerp, the Walcheren fever broke out in its ranks with dreadful violence, attacking about six hundred men. In the active operations it lost one captain (Talbot) killed, and Captain M. Hamilton and Lieutenant Galbraith were wounded, the former losing a leg: its loss from disease was much more severe, for before its return to England, in December following, two captains (Philips and William Hamilton), and three lieutenants (Brown, MacDonough, and Cary) and many men had been carried off by the fever. On its return to England, the battalion was stationed at Bexhill.

In the mean time a detachment of the regiment left in Portugal, when the first battalion advanced into Spain, had been added to a battalion of detachments under Lieutenant-Colonel Copson of the Fifth, and warmly engaged at the battle of Talavera, on the 27th and 28th of July, for which Lieutenant-Colonel Copson received a medal.

The second battalion had been removed from Fermoy, in April of this year, to Coloony in the King's County, and from thence in June to Cork, and, embarking at Cove, landed on the 4th of July at Lisbon; and on the 3rd of August marched, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel the Honourable Henry King, to join the army in the field under Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Wellesley, and take its share in the subsequent operations of the campaign. About the end of September it was reinforced by nearly one hundred men of the first battalion, who had been left behind as before stated, and it passed the winter in quarters near the Portuguese frontiers.

1810

The immense preparations of the enemy for the ensuing campaign induced Lord Wellington[40] to limit his operations in 1810 to the defence of Portugal. The second battalion of the Fifth formed part of Major-General Lightburn's brigade of the third (Sir Thomas Picton's) division of the army, and was stationed for some time behind the Mondego river, from whence it advanced to Pinhel behind the Coa to support the light division; and was afterwards employed in a series of operations to retard the advance of the overpowering numbers of the enemy. At length Lord Wellington made a stand on the rocks of Busaco; and the third division had its post on the heights near the village of St. Antonio de Cantara. Here the second battalion of the Fifth was first under fire, and its light company, under Lieutenant Shadwell Clerke, was thrown out to repulse the advancing skirmishers of the enemy, a service which it most promptly and gallantly performed.

The French, after astonishing efforts, gave way before the superior valour and tactics of the British troops. For this victory, Lieutenant-Colonel the Honourable Henry King, commanding the battalion, received a medal, and the word "Busaco" was authorized, on the 31st of December, 1825, to be inscribed upon the colours of the regiment. Its loss in the battle of Busaco was one killed and seven wounded.

After the battle, the French having made a flank movement, Lord Wellington retired to the celebrated lines of Torres Vedras, where he posed an insurmountable barrier to the further progress of the enemy; and the second battalion of the Fifth passed the remainder of the year in these stupendous works.