1813
After halting a short period at the capital of Portugal, the regiment marched up the country to join the allied army; and taking the field in May, 1813, had the honour of serving in one of the most brilliant campaigns on record, in which the legions of Buonaparte were overthrown in a pitched battle, the barrier of the Pyrenees was forced, and the victorious British soldiers trod the soil of France in triumph. The Sixth, with a provisional battalion (formed of the second battalions of the Twenty-fourth and Fifty-eighth regiments), and the light infantry of the Brunswick Oels, composed the brigade of Major-General Edward Barnes, in the seventh division commanded by Lieut.-General the Earl of Dalhousie.
The Marquis of Wellington appeared at the head of a magnificent and well-appointed army, and, after passing the frontiers of Portugal, the tide of war, directed by the comprehensive mind of so able a commander, flowed onwards with majestic violence: formidable positions were turned; the rivers Esla, Tormes, Carion, Pisuerga, Arlanzan, and Ebro, were crossed in succession; and the obstructions of rocks, mountains, and deep ravines were overcome with a facility which bespoke the ability of the commander and the excellent quality of the troops serving under his directions. As the allied army advanced, the enemy fell back in tumult and disorder, evacuating strong posts without firing a shot, destroying defensive works, and calling in detachments with precipitation, until his forces were concentrated in the valley of Vittoria, where he prepared to make a resolute stand.
On the morning of the memorable 21st of June, 1813, the Sixth moved from their camp on the river Bayas, and traversed the mountains in the direction of Vittoria, to engage in the attack of the enemy's formidable position; but so rugged was the country, and the tracts along the hills so difficult, that the battle was raging with great violence when the division, led by the Earl of Dalhousie, arrived at their appointed station. They were, however, in time to take part in forcing the passage of the Zadora; and the seventh division, with one brigade of the third, having passed the river, formed the left of the British line, and were engaged with the French right in front of the villages of Margarita and Hermandad. Finally a complete and most decisive victory was gained. The conduct of the Earl of Dalhousie and his division was commended in the public despatch; the commanding officer of the Sixth, Lieut.-Colonel Archibald Campbell, was presented with a gold medal, and the gallantry of the regiment was rewarded with the honour of bearing the word "Vittoria" inscribed on its colours.
The Sixth moved forward in pursuit of the wreck of the French army in the direction of Pampeluna; but were subsequently detached against a division of the enemy under General Clausel, who was not at the battle, and had taken post at Logroño, from whence he made a precipitate retreat to Saragossa, and effected his escape by the pass of Jaca.
After returning from this enterprise the regiment penetrated the Pyrenean mountains; and the light and seventh divisions occupied the heights of Santa Barbara, the town of Vera, and the Puerto de Echalar, and communicated with the troops in the valley of Bastan. The French army, having been re-organised under Marshal Soult, attacked the British posts on the 25th of July. The Sixth, with the remainder of their brigade, moved forward to support two brigades of the second division which had been forced from their ground at the head of the valley of Bastan, and the enemy was driven back with loss. But the brigades in Roncesvalles having been obliged to retire, the troops in the valley of Bastan also fell back to a very strong post in the mountains behind Irueta. The regiment lost several men on this occasion, and had Major Gomm and Ensign Radcliff wounded. Its conduct, with that of the other corps engaged, was commended by the Marquis of Wellington, who observed in his despatch:—"Notwithstanding the enemy's superiority of numbers, they acquired but little advantage over these brave troops during the seven hours they were engaged. All the regiments charged with the bayonet."
From Irueta the Sixth retired with their division to the Lizasso, and on the 29th of July took post in the mountains near Marcolain, to connect the operations of the main body of the army with Lieut.-General Sir Rowland Hill's corps. Some sharp fighting took place in the mountains on the following day. The Sixth were engaged in carrying the height which separated the enemy's right flank, and had Lieutenant Sandys and several men wounded.
When Marshal Soult found himself frustrated in his attempt to relieve Pampeluna, and retired with the main body of his army, leaving a strong corps in an excellent position in the pass of Donna Maria, the Sixth moved forward in pursuit, and, with the remainder of the seventh division and Sir Rowland Hill's corps, ascended the two flanks of the mountain on the 31st of July, and dislodged the enemy in gallant style.
The army continued to press on the rear of the French, and the fourth and seventh divisions proceeded by the valley of the Bidassoa towards the frontiers of France. The Sixth, with the remainder of the Earl of Dalhousie's division, marched on the morning of the 2nd of August a distance of ten miles over mountains and ridges, along paths frequented only by shepherds and wild goats, from Sumbilla towards the Puerto de Echalar, where two French divisions were found in a formidable position on the height, with nearly the whole of their army posted behind the Puerto. The division was in advance, and the enemy appeared in force. But military ardour, with confidence in the prowess of the officers and men, occasioned the prudential caution of waiting the arrival of additional troops to be disregarded, and Major-General Barnes formed his brigade for the attack. The Sixth composed more than half the brigade: having received drafts regularly from the second battalion on home service, they appeared a fine and gallant body of men, all eager to engage their opponents. The provisional battalion and Brunswickers forming the remainder of the brigade, though inferior in numbers, were animated with the same spirit as the Sixth, and the gallant Major-General Barnes led the three battalions up a ridge which it appeared almost madness to have attacked. The officers and men, ascending the heights with cheerful alacrity, confronted, with firm and steady ranks, their numerous opponents, and advanced to the charge with that determined resolution for which Britons have been celebrated, and which occasioned a distinguished officer to say, "Barnes set at the French as if every man had been a bull-dog, and himself the best bred of all." It was a moment of trial: the innate bravery of the officers and men was put to the test; but by a powerful effort, in which the national character was eminently displayed, they forced the two divisions of the enemy from these formidable heights, and were pursuing their victorious career, when orders were received to halt. The Marquis of Wellington witnessed this brilliant achievement with feelings of exultation, and expressed his admiration in terms which occasioned the following order to be issued immediately.