[16] Lieutenant Gurwood took the governor of the fortress prisoner.
[17] He died in excruciating agony.
CHAPTER VIII.
March from Elvas to Badajoz—Defences of that city—The investment—A sortie—Operations of the batteries—Capture of fort Picurina—Preparations for the grand assault—Advance of the "forlorn hope"—Desperate encounter at the breaches—Loss of life experienced by the British—The mode of attack changed to escalade with success—The city sacked by the British troops—Reflections respecting the conduct of the siege—Incidental anecdotes.
On the morning of the 17th of March we formed contiguous columns, outside the walls of Elvas, and entering a spacious plain, passed the river Guadiana by a pontoon bridge, a few miles below Badajoz, which was garrisoned by nearly five thousand French soldiers. It is situated on the margin of the left bank of the Guadiana, in the province of Estremadura, in Spain, and encompassed by an open country, without a tree, a shrub, or even a hut to be seen without its walls. The ramparts are about two miles in circumference, and were protected by the forts San Cristoval, Napoleon, and the Tête de Pont, at the head of the fine stone bridge, which communicates with the right bank of the Guadiana.
The fort Picurina, the outworks of Pardalaras, and the lunette of Saint Roque, constituted the general outworks of the city, on the left bank of the river.
As we drew near the ramparts of the fortress, we saw the flag of three colours majestically waving on the top of the great lofty square tower, in the centre of the old castle, which stands on the summit of a hill, whose frowning battlements overhang the town, and overlook the adjacent plains for a considerable distance.
The third, fourth, and light divisions invested the city on the left bank of the Guadiana[18].