In the early part of this day about five hundred French gained possession of a village in front of the fourth division, and Captain John Crowder advanced with two companies of the Royal Fusiliers to dislodge them, which service was performed with such distinguished firmness and resolution, that Lord Wellington, who witnessed the affair, requested to know the name of the officer, and Captain Crowder was rewarded with the rank of major in the army.
During the day, as the enemy attempted to gain the road leading to Ciudad Rodrigo, his left wing was separated, during a complicated manœuvre, from the remainder of his army; Lord Wellington was watching the movements of his opponents from the summit of a rock, and, detecting the fault, ordered his divisions to attack. Thus the two armies came in contact under circumstances which proved the superior abilities of the British commander; the Royal Fusiliers, under Major John Walwin Beatty, were soon hotly engaged, and they steadily gained ground on the French forces opposed to them, driving their opponents from one height to another. Eventually a numerous body of French made a determined stand against the fourth division; but after a severe contest they were obliged to give way. An eminence in the centre of the enemy's position, on which he had planted thirty pieces of artillery, was carried by the Fusilier Brigade with the most distinguished gallantry. Finally the French were overthrown and driven from the field with great loss; and they were indebted to the darkness of the night, the advantage of a thick wood, and other circumstances, for the safety of those who escaped the field of battle.
List of Officers of the Royal Fusiliers at the Battle of Salamanca.
| Major | J. W. Beatty. | Lieutenant | R. Nantes, wounded. |
| " | Geo. King. | " | H. R. Wallace, wounded. |
| Captain | Jno. Crowder. | " | J. Hutchinson, wounded. |
| " | Geo. Prescott, killed. | " | D. Cameron. |
| " | H. English. | " | R. Knowles, wounded. |
| " | W. M. Hamerton, wounded. | " | E. W. Bell. |
| Lieutenant | A. Baldwin. | Adjutant James Hay, wounded. | |
| " | Jas. Anderson. | Surgeon J. Williamson. | |
| " | G. Henry, wounded. | Assistant Surgeon M. Mahony. | |
| " | P. Hannam, wounded. | " | W. Williams. |
| " | Johnson, wounded. | ||
| " | T. Hartley, wounded. | ||
| Officers. | Serjeants. | Drummers. | Rank & File. | Total. | |
| Killed | 1 | 2 | .. | 17 | 20 |
| Wounded | 11 | 6 | .. | 162 | 179 |
| —— | —— | —— | —— | —— | |
| Total | 12 | 8 | .. | 179 | 199 |
The distinguished bravery of the regiment on this occasion was subsequently rewarded with the royal authority to bear the word "Salamanca" inscribed on its colours; and Major Beatty was presented with a gold medal.
Following up the advantages gained on the plains of Salamanca, the army advanced boldly into the heart of Spain, and the French were driven from Madrid, at which city Lord Wellington arrived on the 12th of August amidst the joyful acclamations of the people. The Royal Fusiliers were stationed at Madrid, and afterwards occupied quarters for about eight weeks at the fine palace of the Escurial, about twenty-two miles from Madrid, from whence they were removed in the early part of October to Val de Moro and Campo; meanwhile the siege of Burgos had been undertaken by the main body of the allied army. The concentration of the enemy's forces having given him so great a superiority of numbers that a retrograde movement was necessary on the part of the British commander, the Royal Fusiliers quitted Val de Moro and Campo, and the troops retired on Salamanca. The army went into position; but on the enemy menacing the communication with Ciudad Rodrigo, the allies withdrew to the Agueda, the soldiers suffering extreme hardship from the want of food and inclement weather. The fourth division moved to St. Joā de Pisquiera, where the Royal Fusiliers remained until the beginning of the following year.[22]
1813
On the 1st of January, 1813, the battalion mustered upwards of twelve hundred men, including about three hundred in hospital from wounds, &c. On the 3rd of that month sixteen serjeants and three hundred and eleven rank and file joined from England; on the 7th the battalion moved to Arvidiza, and in February to Castello Melhor on the right bank of the Coa, where it remained until the army took the field in May.
Advancing from the banks of the Coa towards the interior of Spain, the Royal Fusiliers once more confronted the legions of Napoleon; the battalion was strong in numbers, bringing into the field a fine body of men on whose natural strength and valour the qualities of order, subordination, and discipline had been engrafted, which rendered them fit for any service.