History of the Peninsular War, Volume 3 (of 6)

by Robert Southey

After some skirmishing for two days, Silveira, understanding that a division of the enemy was moving from Guimaraens to take him in the rear, and place him thus between two fires, gave orders for retiring to Amarante, and there defending the passage of the bridge. Antiquaries have maintained that this bridge was the work of Trajan; but a tradition too long established, and too fondly believed to be shaken by any historical arguments, has ascribed its foundation to St. Gonçalo de Amarante, a Saint, who, having taken up his abode there in a hermitage, and commiserating the numerous accidents which happened in passing the river, determined to build a bridge. The alms which he obtained would have fallen short of the necessary charges for feeding his workmen, if the Saint had had no other resources; he, however, by making a cross upon the water, drew as many fish to his hand as he pleased to take, and then supplied his labourers with a fountain of oil from the rock for the purpose of dressing them, and another of wine, that their hearts might be gladdened, as well as their countenances made cheerful. The bridge consists of three arches, the middle one being so large as to appear very disproportionate; but through this the Saint is believed to have guided with his staff a huge oak which the flood was bringing down, and which, if it had struck the pier, must have demolished it, ... a miracle so necessary, that he rose from his grave to perform it. Portugal has never been ungrateful to such benefactors: near as Compostella is, the shrine of St. Gonçalo was preferred by the Portugueze to that of Santiago; whole parishes went thither in procession, and not a day passed in which some joyous party of devotees was not to be met on every road leading to Amarante, travelling with music, and increasing their noisy mirth by firing off sky-rockets in the face of the sun. It is the custom for every pilgrim to offer a small wax taper, and these tapers have amounted to more than twelve hundred weight on the day of his annual festival, at which sometimes more than 30,000 persons have assembled from all parts.

♦Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick killed in defending it.♦

The town, which contained about five hundred families, stands on the right bank, consisting chiefly of one long and narrow street, leading down a steep descent to the bridge. Hither the Portugueze retreated: a retrograde movement, in the presence of an active and adventurous enemy, tries the best troops; to the ill or the undisciplined it is usually fatal. Silveira’s rear-guard fell back in disorder, ... the confusion spread, and the enemy, when they entered Amarante pell-mell with their despised and broken opponents, thought themselves sure of winning the passage, and destroying a force upon which they were eager to wreak their vengeance. This expectation might probably have been fulfilled, if Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick, a British officer who had come out with Beresford, had not been present. Short as the time was which he had been with the Portugueze, it had been long enough for him to become acquainted with their character; and rallying a handful of men, who required only such a leader to be fit for any service, he posted himself at the head of the bridge. The example became as contagious as the previous disorder, and the Portugueze, who, despairing to maintain the passage, had begun to withdraw toward Mezam-frio, rallied and re-formed. The enemy persisted in the attack, knowing the importance of the passage; but the defendants stood their ground, and actually entrenched themselves in the street with the dead bodies of their enemies; they occupied the houses also, and the Convent of St. Gonçalo, one of the finest which the Dominicans possessed in that kingdom; and from thence they kept up a most destructive fire, till the enemy were driven out of the town with considerable loss. But Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick received several wounds, was carried off exhausted with loss of blood, and died within a few days, after having performed a service for which it is to be hoped a monument will one day be erected to his memory on the spot.

♦The French endeavour to throw a bridge over the river.♦

The French set fire to the town before they abandoned it. On the following day, having been joined by Lahoussaye’s division, they won the Convent, after a brave resistance: they were now masters of the town; but the suburb of Villa Real, on the other side the river, was occupied by the Portugueze, who had barricadoed the bridge, and planted batteries which commanded the approach to it. They kept up a fire also from some houses in the suburb upon those who approached to reconnoitre, and killed, among many others, Loison’s aide-de-camp, and his chief officer of engineers. The loss was so severe in these attempts, that Laborde despaired of forcing the passage, and gave directions for forming a wooden bridge some quarter of a mile from the town. When the materials were prepared, the best swimmers from the different regiments were ordered to be upon the spot at midnight, as soon as the moon had gone down; but they found the water so deep, that no diver could touch the bottom in the mid stream, and so rapid, that no one could reach the opposite shore; this project, therefore, was abandoned.

♦Repeated attempts to effect the passage.♦

Captain Bouchard, of the engineers, who was present at this attempt, had been sent by Marshal Soult to form an opinion upon the spot concerning difficulties which both Laborde and Loison represented as of the most formidable kind. In reconnoitring the Portugueze works of defence from the church tower, which was close to the bridge, he discovered a string so placed as to leave no doubt in his mind that it was fastened to a trigger, which was to fire a mine and blow up the farther arch in case the entrenchments should be forced: at the same time he was convinced that there was no other possible means of effecting the passage than by forcing them. Ten days had been occupied in vain attempts, which had discouraged not only the men, but their commanders; more ammunition and artillery had been sent them from Porto, and another division was placed at Laborde’s disposal, and positive orders given that the passage must be attempted and won, and the opposite bank cleared of the enemy. A plan of Bouchard’s was then tried, against the opinion of the Generals, and the troops were held in readiness to act in case of its success: this plan was to demolish the entrenchments on the bridge by four barrels of powder placed against them under cover of the night.

♦Plan for demolishing the Portugueze entrenchments.♦

To call off the attention of the Portugueze guard, some twenty men were stationed to keep up a fire upon the entrenchments, so directed as not to endanger the sappers who had volunteered for the real service of the hour. It was a service so hopeful and hazardous as to excite the liveliest solicitude for its success. The barrel was covered with a gray cloak, that it might neither be heard nor seen, and the man who undertook to deposit it in its place wore a cloak of the same colour. The clear moonlight was favourable to the adventure, by the blackness of the shadow which the parapet on one side produced. In that line of darkness the sapper crept along at full length, pushing the barrel before him with his head, and guiding it with his hands. His instructions were to stop if he heard the slightest movement on the Portugueze side; and a string was fastened to one of his feet, by which the French were enabled to know how far he had advanced, and to communicate with him. Having placed the barrel, ♦1809.
May.♦ and uncovered that part where it was to be kindled, he returned with the same caution. Four barrels, one after the other, were thus arranged without alarming the Portugueze. The fourth adventurer had not the same command of himself as his predecessors had evinced. Possessed either with fear, or with premature exultation, as soon as he had deposited the barrel in its place, instead of making his way back slowly and silently along the line of shadow, he rose and ran along the middle of the bridge in the moonlight. He was seen, fired at, and shot in the thigh. But the Portugueze did not take the alarm as they ought to have done; ... they kept up a fire upon the entrance of the bridge, and made no attempt to discover for what purpose their entrenchments had been approached so closely.

♦The French win the bridge.