♦Battle of Busaco. Sept.
27.♦
About two on the following morning the French army was in motion. Ney’s corps formed in close column on the right, at the foot of the hill, and on the road which leads to the convent; Regnier’s on the left, upon the southern road which passes by S. Antonio do Cantaro; Junot’s was in the centre, and in reserve; the cavalry was in the rear, the ground not permitting it to act. The allied British and Portugueze army was posted along the ridge of the Serra, forming the segment of a circle, the extreme points of which embraced every part of the enemy’s position, and from whence every movement on their part could be immediately observed. The troops had bivouacked that night in position, as they stood: Lord Wellington in the wood near the centre, the general officers at the heads of their divisions and brigades. The orders were that all should stand to their arms before daylight; and the whole army were in high spirits, deeming themselves sure of an action, and of success. Before daybreak the rattling of the enemy’s carriages was heard, and a few of their guns were brought to fire upon a smaller number of British ones which had been placed to command the road. At dawn the action began on the right, and after some firing by the light troops in advance of the position, the enemy attacked a village which was in front of the light division, and which, though its possession was of advantage to the French, Lord Wellington chose rather to let them occupy, than suffer an action to be brought on upon less favourable ground than that which he had chosen, and where he was sure of success. The nature of the ground, upon which this assurance was founded, facilitated the enemy’s movements to a certain degree, but no farther; its steepness and its inequalities covered their ascent, and they gained the summit with little loss. Regnier’s corps was the first that was seriously engaged: it ascended at a part where there were only a few light troops; and being thus enabled to deploy without opposition, the French possessed themselves for a moment, in considerable strength, of a point within the line. Their first column was received by the 88th regiment alone, part of Major-General Mackinnon’s brigade, which was presently reinforced by half the 45th, and soon afterwards by the 8th Portugueze: their second found the 74th, with the 9th and 21st Portugueze, ready to receive them on the right. Being repulsed there, they tried the centre with no better fortune; the remainder of Major-General Picton’s division coming up, he charged them with the bayonet, and dislodged them, greatly superior in numbers as they were, from the strong ground which they had gained; at the same time, Major-General Leith arriving with a brigade on their flank, joined in the charge, and they were driven down the hill with great slaughter, leaving 700 dead upon the ground. Few prisoners were taken.
Marshal Ney meantime was not more fortunate with his division. Part of it he formed in column of mass, and ordered it to ascend upon the right of the village which he had occupied. They came up in the best possible order, though not without suffering considerably from the light infantry; the ground, however, covered them in part by its steepness. Major-General Craufurd, who commanded on that side, judiciously made his troops withdraw just behind the crest of the ridge whereon they were formed: he himself remained in front, on horseback, observing the enemy. No sooner had they reached the summit than the guns of his division opened a destructive fire upon them; and the men appearing suddenly at a distance only of some twenty paces, advanced and charged. Instantly the French were broken: the foremost regiments of the column were almost destroyed, and those who escaped fled down the steep declivity, running, sliding, or rolling, as they could. General Simon, who commanded the column, was wounded and taken. Massena was now convinced that the attack could not succeed, and therefore halted the support at the foot of the hill. He endeavoured to decoy Lord Wellington out of a position which had been proved impregnable; but the British commander persisted in the sure system on which he had resolved, and the remainder of the day was employed in skirmishing between the light troops. They were directed to retire when pressed, and give the enemy an opportunity of repeating the attack. But the enemy had received too severe a lesson to venture upon a repetition, and as night approached they were drawn off to some distance, near the ground where Junot and the reserve were stationed. The village which they had been allowed to occupy in the morning still remained in their possession. Major-General Craufurd sent to the officer who commanded there, saying it was necessary for his corps, and requiring him to abandon it. The reply was, that he would die in defence of the post with which he was intrusted. This tone ♦Memoirs of the Early Campaigns, 171.♦ was neither called for by the occasion nor justified by the event. Six guns were immediately opened upon him; some companies of the 43d and of the Rifle Corps were ordered to charge the village; the French were instantly driven out, and the advanced post of the light division resumed possession.
♦Behaviour of the Portugueze troops.♦
Victories of greater result at the time have been gained in Portugal, but never was a battle fought there of more eventual importance to the Portugueze nation; for the Portugueze troops, whom the French despised, whom the enemies of the ministry in England reviled, and whom perhaps many of the British army till then mistrusted, established that day their character both for courage[17] and for discipline, and proved, that however the government and the institutions of that kingdom had been perverted and debased, the people had not degenerated. Lord Wellington bore testimony to their deserts: he declared that he had never seen a more gallant attack than that which they made upon the enemy who had reached the ridge of the Serra; they were worthy, he said, of contending in the same ranks with the British troops in that good cause, which they afforded the best hopes of saving. Marshal Beresford bestowed high and deserved praise upon them in general orders; and the opportunity was taken of granting a free pardon to all who were under arrest for military offences, that they might rejoin their regiments, and emulate their comrades, to whose good conduct they were indebted for this forgiveness; but persons who had been apprehended for robbery or murder were excepted from the amnesty, for these, it was properly observed, were not to be considered merely as military crimes. After this battle, the knighthood of the Bath was conferred on Marshal Beresford, in consideration of those exertions by which the Portugueze troops had been qualified to bear their part in it so honourably[18].
The loss of the British in this memorable action amounted to 107 killed, 493 wounded, and thirty-one taken; that of the Portugueze to 90 killed, 512 wounded, and twenty taken. One French general, three colonels, thirty-three officers, and 250 men were made prisoners; 2000 were left dead on the field; the number was ascertained, because Massena sent a flag of truce requesting permission to bury them; it was not thought proper to comply with the request, and they were buried by the conquerors. Most of their wounded, who were very numerous[19], were left to the mercy of the peasants; General Craufurd, whose division was the last that withdrew from the Serra, saved as many as he could from their hands, and lodged them in the convent. Unground maize was found in the knapsacks of the French.
♦Massena marches into the Porto road.♦
Massena having in person directed the operations of the day, had purchased at some cost the conviction that his boast was not here to be realized. He consulted with Ney, Regnier, Junot, and Freirion; and they called in the Portugueze traitors to inquire of them by what course a position might be turned, which they found themselves unable to force. None of these unworthy men happened to be acquainted with that part of the country; the French commander turned from them in evident displeasure, as if they ought to have possessed the information of which he stood in need, and he ordered General Montbrun out with a strong detachment to explore the ways, telling him to send Generals St. Croix and Lamotte in different directions on the same service. On the following day two peasants were brought in; promises could draw nothing from them, but they yielded to threats of torture and death, and informed the enemy that there was a pass[20] over the Serra de Caramula, communicating with the great road between Porto and Coimbra, and coming into it near Sardam. By this course Massena immediately determined to proceed. There had been skirmishing throughout the morning between the light troops; the better to conceal their movements, the French set fire to the woods; but the summit of Busaco commands a most extensive prospect over the whole country[21]: early in the afternoon a large body of their horse and foot was observed in motion from the left of their centre to the rear, and from thence their cavalry were seen in march along the road leading from Mortagoa, over the mountain, toward Porto. Lord Wellington at once apprehended their purpose, and perceived that it was now too late to prevent or to impede it.
♦Colonel Trant’s movements.♦
Orders had been dispatched from the Ponte de Murcella on the 19th to Colonel Trant, who was then acting as Brigadier with some Portugueze militia, that he should occupy the villages of Sardam and Aguada. The division which he commanded formed part of the force under General Bacellar, who was then at Moimenta da Beira, and whose instructions were to consider the defence of the Douro, and more especially of Porto as his principal object. The orders were that Trant should march by S. Pedro do Sul, which was the nearest line, but the worst road, and through a country exhausted of provisions, in consequence of the passage of the enemy by Viseu, and the abandonment of the intermediate district by its inhabitants. Partly for these considerations General Bacellar directed him to make a circuit by Porto, but chiefly because he had ascertained that a French detachment of 1500 men had entered S. Pedro; and because he considered it his main business to provide for the protection of Porto, which he also supposed to be Lord Wellington’s object in ordering this movement. Trant proposed to attack the enemy at S. Pedro, and force his way, if possible; Bacellar would not permit him to make the attempt, because he thought it too hazardous for troops like his; and Trant in consequence took the circuitous route. He left his men near the points which he had been instructed ♦Sept. 28.♦ to occupy, early on the morning after the battle, and proceeded to the head-quarters at Busaco, where he arrived before eleven in the forenoon, and was then first apprized that it had been intended he should occupy the village of Boyalva, and defend the pass over the Serra de Caramula. He offered instantly to return and occupy the intended ground; and there was time for doing it, but the offer was declined. Lord Wellington had not detached any part of his own army to these passes, because in case of failure, the troops must have been cut off from the main body; whereas the Portugueze, if compelled to retire, might fall back upon Porto, according to their destination. Had the ground been stronger than it was, it was not to be supposed that 1500 militia could maintain it against Massena’s army; for to that number Trant’s force was reduced, the men having marched 190 miles in nine successive days, and many, while traversing the district in which they were raised, had absented themselves, without leave, to revisit their families. They might possibly have held it long enough to bring on a general action, if Lord Wellington had thought it advisable again to venture one; but the same motives which withheld him from giving battle for the relief of Ciudad Rodrigo, or Almeida, influenced him still: he had indeed more confidence in the Portugueze troops, but the other reasons existed in their full strength: adhering to his long concerted plans, which were laid for sure though slow success, he determined upon committing nothing to the mere fortune of war; Trant therefore returned to Sardam, to act as ♦The allies withdraw from Busaco.♦ opportunity might offer, and Lord Wellington during the night withdrew his army from Busaco. General Hill recrossed the Mondego, retiring toward Santarem by way of Thomar, and Lord Wellington marched on Coimbra, leaving Craufurd with a few piquets on the Serra, where he performed the humane office of providing for the wounded French, who had been abandoned by their countrymen, for want of means to remove them.