♦Anglo-Sicilian army.♦
The pride of the French too had been at this time abated on the eastern coast, where Suchet had hitherto boasted of success in all his undertakings. Major-General William Clinton arrived at Alicante in November to take the command from which his health had compelled General Maitland to retire; and notwithstanding the difficulties which were opposed by a false point of honour, by a jealousy as ill-founded as it was ill-timed, and perhaps by treasonable intentions, he succeeded in obtaining consent to garrison the castle with British troops. In December a reinforcement of 4000 men, British and foreign, arrived from Palermo, under Major-General James Campbell, who by seniority superseded General Clinton in the command, which he was to hold till the then hourly expected arrival of Lord William Bentinck from Sicily. But Lord William was detained by political circumstances in that island, where the hopeless attempt had been undertaken of improving a government before any improvement has been effected either in those who are to govern or be governed; and, ♦Sir John Murray takes the command.♦ as no end could be seen to this delay, Lieutenant-General Sir John Murray was sent out from England to command the allied forces in that part of Spain. Feeble as that allied force was, and inert as its feebleness had compelled it to be, it had yet employed Suchet’s attention during the autumn and winter.
That general had his head-quarters for the most part at San Felippe, between Alicante and Valencia, and about three leagues from the Xucar. Some trivial affairs were all that occurred, till Sir John Murray soon after his arrival took the army out of its cantonments, apparently with the view of making the French marshal fall back and concentrate his forces on that river. After an unsuccessful attempt at surprising an enemy’s detachment in the populous village of Alcoy, he moved forward and took up a position near the town of Castalla, where in the preceding summer Don Joseph O’Donnell had sustained a severe defeat. While Sir John made ♦Defeat of Elio’s corps.♦ this movement on the right, General Elio with a separate Spanish corps of 12,000 men moved on the left to Yecla, Villena, and the flat country in that direction. There was an old castle in Villena, and Elio garrisoned it with 800 of his best troops. Suchet was not a man to lose any opportunity which was presented him: he saw that one of Elio’s divisions had taken post at Yecla, within reach of Fuente-la-Higuera, where his own advance was placed, and too far from that of the allies which was at Villena, 25 miles distant. During the night he collected the flower of his army at Fuente-la-Higuera, and marched with one division, the cavalry and the reserve, upon Villena, while, with the other part of his force, General Harispe proceeded rapidly to Yecla, ♦April 12.♦ unseen by the Spaniards. At break of day he came in sight of them; they retreated from one position to another, but were out-manœuvred and beaten, and after losing some four or five hundred men, 1200 laid down their arms.
♦Suchet marches against the Anglo-Sicilian army.♦
On the afternoon of the same day, Suchet was seen advancing within a few miles of Villena, which is about two leagues to the westward of Castalla. Sir John Murray immediately withdrew the Majorcan division from Alcoy, and concentrating his force, occupied the strong position of Castalla. His left, consisting of that division, was placed on the rocky and almost inaccessible hills south of the town, ... the range terminating there. Major-General Mackenzie’s division, and the 58th regiment from Lieutenant-General Clinton’s occupied the town, and the ground to the right; here and in front of the castle some redoubts and batteries had been constructed. The remainder of the position was covered by a strong ravine which rendered it almost inaccessible on that side; and there Lieutenant-General Clinton was stationed, supported by three battalions of General Roche’s division as a column of reserve. The position was well taken. The second battalion of the 27th foot, the 1st Italian regiment, and the Calabrian free corps, had on the first alarm been pushed forward beyond Villena, under Colonel Adam, and with them a detachment of cavalry commanded by Colonel Lord Frederick Bentinck. The object of this movement was to observe the enemy’s motions: it brought on a cannonade, and the French endeavoured to break in upon our troops, and enter Villena pell-mell with them; but Colonel Adam, following his instructions, fell back upon Biar without loss. Sir John, being now assured that Suchet meditated a serious movement, urged General Elio to withdraw his 800 men from Villena, where the castle, in its imperfect state of defence, was not tenable against such an enemy; but the Spanish general was not to be persuaded. The French entered Villena that evening, pushing their light troops beyond ♦April 12.♦ it towards Biar; and on the morrow the commandant surrendered at the first summons, and he and his battalion were made prisoners of war.
In the afternoon, Suchet advanced in force towards Biar; which village is situated at the entrance of a strong pass, in a range of hills running nearly parallel with the position of the allies. About four o’clock he commenced a serious attack upon Colonel Adam’s detachment. That officer’s orders were to fall back upon Castalla, but to dispute the pass; and this he did for five hours against a very superior force, with the utmost gallantry and skill; till being overpowered by numbers, and having both flanks turned, he retreated then to the pass, and took the place which had been allotted to him in the position, on the high ground to the left of Castalla, having in this unequal conflict both inflicted and sustained very considerable loss. Two mountain guns fell into the enemy’s hands; they could not be brought off, because they were disabled; Colonel Adam therefore directed Captain Arabin to fight them to the last, and then abandon them. Before day closed, the French were seen in great force on the road to Biar, and on the hills opposite the position; but darkness prevented any farther operations for ♦Battle of Castalla. April 13.♦ the night. At daybreak they were perceived in great numbers along the defile of Biar, and in the plain ground which separates it from the hills near Castalla; and in the course of the morning they posted several large masses of infantry, as if in preparation for a decided attack. Their success against Elio’s corps had increased their confidence; and they had accustomed themselves to speak of this army as composed of the rabble of the allied nations, and to talk of driving them into the sea.
About one, they pushed forward a large column of cavalry to the village of Onil, about two miles in front of Castalla, and this movement was continued parallel to the front of the allies, until nearly opposite the right of the position. Sir John Murray had foreseen this: the ground was unfavourable for cavalry, and no notice was taken of the movement. Three masses of infantry at the same time moved rapidly from their right, crossed the plain ground in front of the pass, and with a gallantry, which, in the words of the British general, entitled them to the highest praise, commenced an attack on the centre and the left. The left had been weakened; for about an hour before the attack, General Whittingham had been ordered, with the three regiments which he had in position there, to make a reconnoissance upon the enemy’s right flank; but this was the key of the position; and the consequence of thus weakening it might have been disastrous if Colonel D. Julian Romero had not opportunely arrived there with two regiments from Alcoy. Upon this point, from whence more than half its force had been withdrawn, the main attack was made; and notwithstanding the difficult approach to it, the assailants gained ground. The Spaniards, who had expended all their cartridges, were observed to be retiring, and the enemy moving in considerable force to the left of our centre. The moment was critical. Just as the assailants had gained the summit, Colonel Adam, whom they were proceeding to attack in front, prevented them, and giving them no time to recover breath after the exertion of such an ascent, charged and overthrew their column, killing, wounding, or taking prisoner, during the pursuit, almost every man opposed to his brigade. The Spaniards resumed their ground. Whittingham too had no sooner apprehended the intention of the enemy, than he returned with all speed, and arrived in time to take part in the action, in which, and in the pursuit, the Spaniards distinguished themselves. The total failure of the enemy here seemed to be felt along their whole line of attack; they retreated every where. The cavalry, which had now advanced toward the front of the allies, fell rapidly back on perceiving this unexpected reverse, and entered the defile in such confusion, that had the advantage been vigorously pursued, a signal victory might, in all likelihood, have been obtained. Suchet, having united his broken battalions with those which he kept in reserve, took up a hasty position at the entrance of the defile. Sir John Murray, still retaining the height, moved a considerable part of his army into the plain, and formed it in front of the enemy, within cannon-shot, his right flank covered with the cavalry, his left resting on the hills. In this state, Marshal Suchet thought that the English did not choose to make an attack, and Sir John Murray, that the French did not choose to wait for one; ... for the line of the allies was scarcely formed when the enemy began their retreat, and continued it through the night, the action terminating at dusk with a distant cannonade.
The French had 18,000 infantry in the field, and 1600 cavalry: the allies were not much inferior in infantry; but greatly so in horse. The loss of the allies was 670 killed, wounded, and missing, the greater number of the killed being Spaniards: 800 of the enemy were left dead in front of the line which they had attacked: no prisoners were taken except such as were wounded; but Suchet sent 2000 of Elio’s soldiers prisoners to Tortosa on their way to France, and represented that his success on the one part of the operations balanced his failure on the other. If this had been the case numerically, which it was not, it was far otherwise in reputation. He had suffered a mortifying defeat; but what must most have tended to console him for it was, his satisfaction at perceiving that there was no intention on the part of the allies to pursue their victory. He retreated that night to Villena through Biar, where he left many dead and dying. Sir John, on the following day, marched his army in two columns to Alcoy, hoping (though with little confidence in that hope) that he might force the strong pass of Albayda, and reach the intrenched position of the enemy at S. Felippe before they could; this he thought better than a direct pursuit, because the road which the French had taken was favourable for cavalry, and he was greatly inferior in that arm. In the vicinity of Alcoy he remained till the 17th, and then advanced with the whole army into the open country, to the foot of the Albayda pass, about a league in front of Alcoy. But this being a lateral movement, made after the enemy had so far the start as to have passed all that was perilous for him, and got into a strong country, with his forces collected and restored to order, was an unimportant demonstration which had no effect; and he returned after it to his position at Castalla.
Marshal Suchet had not been more successful in machinations of another kind. Before the battle of Castalla, an Italian regiment in the Anglo-Sicilian army had been corrupted, and would have betrayed its post in an attack concerted with that view, if a timely discovery had not been made. A scheme also had been formed for delivering Alicante into his hands; but this also was detected, and three of his emissaries suffered death for it at Alcoy. Frey Assensio Nebot, known as a Guerrilla chief, by the name of El Frayle, the Friar, had more than any other partizan annoyed the French in Valencia. His party was well organized, and provided with a regularity which was seldom to be found in the regular Spanish armies: so rigorous were the measures employed against him, that women were put to death for supplying him with means and intelligence; and at length it was affirmed, that three criminals who had been condemned to capital punishment obtained their lives, and the promise of a good reward, on condition of presenting themselves to the Friar as volunteers, and taking an opportunity to assassinate him. Mr. Tupper, who had been the British consul at Valencia, and whose zealous services were never wanting to the common cause, obtained information of this villany, and the Friar was thus put upon his guard.
♦Lord Wellington opens the campaign.♦