The siege of Tarragona, a seaport of Catalonia, situate on a hill near the mouth of the river Francoli, having been resolved upon, the Tenth left Castalla on the 29th of May, embarked at Alicant on the 31st, and landed on the 3rd of June in the vicinity of Tarragona. Marshal Suchet advancing with an army of superior numbers, the siege was raised, and the troops were re-embarked, on the 8th of June, on which day the regiment had a man killed by a cannon-ball. On the following day the regiment landed at Balaguer, and remained a short time in Catalonia; it afterwards sailed for Alicant. During the voyage a violent tempest drove fourteen sail of transports on the sands off the mouth of the Ebro, and the "Alfred" transport, having two companies of the Tenth on board, was wrecked. After landing at Alicant, the regiment went into cantonments at Palermo.
Lieutenant-General Lord William Bentinck assumed the command of the army in the east of Spain, in succession to Lieutenant-General Sir John Murray, on the 18th June, 1813. The following General Order was issued by His Lordship, dated Alicant, 25th June, 1813:—
"The Commander of the Forces sees with the utmost gratification the military spirit, and the determination to conquer, which pervades the whole army. We are engaged in a glorious cause,—the cause of universal liberty! It is the cause of us all; of those who are free, and those who are not. To-day the contest is fought in Spain and Germany, to-morrow it will be in Italy. Brave Italians, once so great, once masters of the world, but now, though brave and enlightened as ever, the unwilling slaves of a French tyrant, it is for the interest of the whole, that the efforts should be made where the enemy is the weakest. Success in Spain is success in Germany, in England, and in Italy! We form a great brotherhood; we must emulate each other in affection, union, and courage, and Providence, in whose hands is victory, will bless our cause!"
Lieutenant-General Lord William Bentinck continued in command of this division of the army until the 23rd September, 1813, when his Lordship issued the following General Order, dated Tarragona, 23rd September, 1813:—
"The Commander of the Forces deeply laments that he is compelled to leave the army. It is a pleasing part of his duty to express his perfect satisfaction with the subordination and perseverance displayed by the troops upon all occasions.
"He only regrets that the part assigned to this army in the plan of the campaign has not permitted the troops to partake in those brilliant triumphs, which would have been the just recompense of their valour and discipline."
Lieutenant-General William Clinton succeeded Lord William Bentinck in the command of this division of the army on the 23rd September, 1813.
The battle of Vittoria, on the 21st June, gained by the army under the Marquis of Wellington, changed the aspect of affairs in Spain, and the French troops in Murcia made some retrograde movements. The Anglo-Sicilian army advanced; the Tenth left their cantonments on the 5th of July, and, advancing into Catalonia, they once more appeared before the fortress of Tarragona, which was again invested. While before Tarragona, Assistant-Surgeon Rolston lost a leg, and a private soldier lost both feet from cannon-shot. The opposing armies in Catalonia made several movements, and the regiment withdrew from before Tarragona and proceeded to Balaguer.
On the 22nd of August, five hundred men of the Tenth were sent into the interior to cut wood for the use of the army; during their absence a fire was accidentally kindled to the windward of the bivouac ground, and communicating rapidly to the dry grass and shrubs, the ground occupied by the Tenth regiment was soon enveloped in flame. The exertions of the few men of the regiment left in the lines were impeded by the explosions of the cartridges, and few of the arms and appointments of the corps were saved: four hundred stand of arms, and about the same number of sets of accoutrements, knapsacks, and suits of clothing were destroyed. By this accident the regiment was rendered unfit for the field; it embarked for Salo, and on arriving there, all the tailors and other mechanics were employed to refit it. Arms were also procured, and it was so speedily re-equipped, that it returned to the seat of war in the beginning of September: having landed at Villa Nova on the 5th of that month, it went into cantonments at Villa Franca.