The next morning, before daylight, we were again under arms, and moved towards Salamanca, to occupy that town with the first division and some Spaniards. Every morning we assembled an hour before daybreak, without its walls, waiting the approach of the enemy. I noticed the Spanish officers invariably covering their mouths, before the sun had risen, with their cloaks, and blowing the smoke of their cigars through their noses.
The Duke of Dalmatia moved slowly and with great caution, and evidently wishing, if possible, to force us to retire without coming to blows. His army had been collected at vast trouble, and by enormous marching; many of his troops had marched, within the last three months and a half, over seven or eight hundred miles of ground. On the 10th, the enemy made a strong reconnoissance in front of Alba de Tormes, but, after a heavy firing of artillery, they drew off at finding they could make no impression. On the 12th, some musketry was distinctly heard in the direction of the position of San Christoval. Our division had been dismissed as usual early in the morning, but was again formed, and ordered to crown those heights, where we remained the whole day, the alarm having been occasioned by a few Spanish guerillas firing at the French cavalry.
On the 14th, we all left Salamanca, and moved by the left bank of the Tormes, on the road towards Alba de Tormes, the enemy having crossed the river by some fords, two leagues above that town. As soon as this movement was ascertained by the General-in-chief, he made a reconnoissance under a fire of cannon, and found the enemy strongly posted on the left of the Tormes, at Mozarbes; the second division remained near Alba. In the evening our advance fell back, and the whole army was collected in the neighbourhood of the Arapiles, and showed front in the same direction as at the previous battle; it was supposed during the night by every one, that a great action would be fought on the following day. The country was illuminated for miles around from the quantity of fires, which marked the line of our bivouac. All hands caroused until nearly midnight, being fully determined to make themselves happy previously to the supposed approaching struggle; then, stretching themselves under the trees or around the fires, they tranquilly slept until an hour before daybreak, when we formed and stood to our arms, and were again dismissed.
At noon the baggage animals were ordered to the rear, and soon after we observed great masses of our army, moving in dense columns from the right by echelon of divisions towards the great forest. The enemy had laboured hard to strengthen Mozarbes, as a point d'appui, under cover of which they continued to extend their left at a distance, to outflank our right, and to threaten our communications with Ciudad Rodrigo. At about two o'clock in the afternoon, our division followed the movements of the army. The rain had begun at mid-day, and now fell in torrents, and we passed a miserable night under the trees. As soon as the road was distinguishable in the morning, we were again on the march, ankle-deep in mud, which tore the shoes from off the soldiers' feet; in this manner we trudged along the whole day; towards evening we saw the enemy on our left[43] flank, when a little cannonading took place. One hour after nightfall, we drew up under the trees, hungry, and in the most miserable plight; the fires were kindled with difficulty, and while roasting on one side, we were shivering and perishing on the other, the rain still pouring down most unmercifully, as if the very flood-gates of the heavens had opened on us; for we were literally flooded.
On the morning of the 17th, not having received any orders to move, we were in groups roasting acorns to satisfy the cravings of hunger, when an officer, who had ridden a short way to the left, came unexpectedly on the French heavy horse, who were stealing through the wood, and would have made a prisoner of him, had it not been for the speed of his English horse, which was at full gallop as he passed us, calling out, "The enemy's cavalry!" "Fall in!" "Join the ranks!" The division were only waiting for orders to move off, and instantly seized their arms and debouched from the wood, and formed contiguous columns, with our horse-artillery filling up the intervals. A few of the enemy's horse, with polished helmets, and covered with white cloaks, appeared moving backwards and forwards amongst the trees, looking at us. Two officers of infantry, mounted on English horses, went to reconnoitre them, when the enemy tried to decoy them into the thicket. A troop of light horse were formed on our left flank, with sloped swords, but they did not throw out any skirmishers to feel the enemy in front. After a short time, the division retired, and crossed a narrow rivulet, and re-formed. One company of our regiment was left amongst some old houses on the margin of the stream, when some French dragoons slowly came forward to look at us; one in particular went to our right, as if he intended to cross the stream, when a German hussar, (I believe an orderly,) went towards him, and challenged the Frenchman to single combat, provided he would cross the water. The Frenchman laughed, and made a similar proposal to him, as he approached quite close to the edge of the water: thereupon the German advanced, but instead of fighting they entered into a jocular conversation, and parted very good friends. Our division again went to the right about, and moved off to the rear; fortunately the road continued very wide, which enabled us to march in column of quarter distance, with screwed bayonets, and ready to form squares. The soldiers of the division bore the wet and privation with unexampled fortitude; nor did they lose their organization. At three o'clock in the afternoon, things began to look black; we heard that all the baggage had been captured, and that Lieut.-Gen. Sir E. Paget was taken prisoner; all this having occurred on the very road which it was absolutely necessary for us to traverse.
The Marquis of Wellington at this time joined us, and continued riding on the left flank, and quite close to our column, for he could not well join the main body of his army, as the enemy's horse scoured the road, and all our cavalry had retired. It was one of the chances of war, and could not be wondered at in a forest of such an amazing extent, that the army was three days passing through it. The French heavy horse continued to accompany us on each flank amongst the trees, and frequently spoke to the soldiers in the ranks. We made two halts, to keep the men fresh, and in good order to engage, and then resumed a quick march, but not so rapid as to cause any soldiers to be left behind. The column preserved a profound silence; not a shot was discharged, for, had we begun to fire, the noise would have brought from all quarters the enemy, who could not be aware otherwise of our isolated march.
Just before we reached a break in the forest, at four o'clock, it was absolutely necessary to detach a few skirmishers to prevent the audacious French horse from almost mixing in our ranks. The enemy's infantry were now coming up, mixed with their cavalry. Owing to the reverberation in the wood and dense atmosphere, the report of each musket sounded as loud as a three-pound mountain gun. The Marquis of Wellington made a sweep round the column, to examine for the best fighting ground, while a lively firing of musketry took place close on the left, and in rear of our column, intermixed with the shouting of our assailants and the whizzing of bullets. As we emerged from the forest, to our surprise we were saluted on the left by a number of the enemy's cannon, posted on a high hill just above San Muñoz. The division broke into double time across the plain, about half a mile, and made for the ford of the river Helebra. The second brigade branched off to the right to cross elsewhere, to extend a line of defence behind its banks. The seventh division was already formed in close columns on the other side of the river, near San Muñoz, and suffering terribly from the effect of the round shot.
Two squadrons of our heavy dragoons came forward to protect us over the valley. We had no sooner reached the river, than we plunged in up to our middles in water, (under a sharp fire of artillery,) and we were obliged to scramble up the steep bank, (having missed the ford,) by which the troops were thrown into a momentary malformation. While we were forming up in a hurried manner behind the horse-artillery, who were drawn up to protect the ford, the Marquis of Wellington rode up in front of the left of number one company, and looked placidly at them, saying, "The enemy must not cross here." At this moment a round-shot carried away one of our officer's legs, and knocked a German hussar from his horse, leaving his hands hanging by a few shreds or sinews, notwithstanding which he got up and walked off, with an agonized countenance, and his head bent forward, resting on his breast.
The three companies of our regiment who had been left in the opposite wood, now issued out at full speed, pursued by the enemy, and were obliged to run the gauntlet across the plain, with the round shot of both armies flying over their heads. The second brigade, which had already formed on our left, were keeping up a sharp fire of musketry, to oppose the French crossing the river. A Portuguese regiment was stationary, in close column, two hundred yards behind us. I saw three cannon-balls strike in precisely the same spot, carrying away a number of men each time. The firing of artillery and musketry continued until after dark, and then gradually died away, when the soldiers of the contending armies approached the river for water, and amicably chatted to each other in their different languages.