Letters from the peninsula, 1808-1812

by Sir William Warre

After the Convention of Cintra, the French evacuated Portugal, though slowly. It was not until the second week of October that the last of them were embarked. The exasperation of the Portuguese against them, as well as against the Convention, was great, and it was with difficulty in some cases that they were protected from the fury of the populace in Lisbon and in Oporto.

In the month of October, Sir John Moore took over the command of the British army. He found to his hand a fine body of troops, but an absolute want of organisation as regards transport and commissariat. It was a full month before he was able to move, and even then want of knowledge of the roads led to the sending round of the Artillery with Sir John Hope by a circuitous route, causing many days’ delay. During the whole of this time, great pressure was brought to bear on him, urging him to advance towards Madrid to the support of the patriot armies in Spain. On 11th November he entered Spain, and reached Salamanca on the 13th, but it was not till 23rd November that his army was concentrated. A force under Sir David Baird, which had been landed at Corunna, was ordered to move through Galicia and to effect a junction with him, which, however, owing to counter orders which were in turn countermanded, did not take place till nearly a month later.

Meanwhile, Napoleon, set free for the moment from complications in Central Europe by the Treaty of Erfurth, was pouring reinforcements amounting to 200,000 men into the Peninsula.

The Spaniards, defeated utterly at Burgos (10th November), at Espinosa (11th November), and at Tudela (23rd November), were now practically without any organised force in the field, and it seemed as if Sir John Moore would find himself in the presence of overwhelming French forces.

Fortunately for the British army, Napoleon, who arrived at Madrid on 4th December, was unaware of the position of Moore at Salamanca, and believed that the English were in full retreat for Lisbon.

On 13th December, an intercepted dispatch revealed to Moore the distribution of the French forces, and more especially the isolated position of Soult with 16,000 men at Saldaña. Accordingly, he determined to move north to Mayorga, where on 20th December he was joined by Baird. On 21st December, the combat of Sahagun occurred, the most brilliant exploit on the part of the British cavalry during the whole war.[11]

On the evening of 23rd December, when the army was just starting to attack Soult at Saldaña, Moore received the news that Napoleon had turned north from Madrid and was hastening with all his forces to overwhelm him.

The letter of William Warre dated 23rd December, 5.30 P.M., is singular in noting the exact time at which the orders were given to march against Soult at Saldaña. Among the letters it is unique in its tone, as if the writer was oppressed with a presentiment that he was marching to his death. It reflects in some measure the feeling which had been current in the army owing to the period of uncertainty and disappointment through which it had been passing. Within half an hour of the time at which the letter was written, Moore had received the news of Napoleon’s advance. The columns which had marched to attack Soult were ordered to return to Sahagun, and within twelve hours the celebrated retreat on Corunna had begun. The next letter belongs to 1809.

The new year saw the army of Sir John Moore toiling through the snows of the highlands of Galicia on its disastrous retreat to Corunna, of the miseries of which a glimpse is given in Letter of 4th January 1809 from near Lugo.

Then came the battle of Corunna, and the tragic death of the Commander of the army in the moment of victory. General Beresford’s Brigade covered the embarkation. The General and his A.D.C. were the last men to get into the boats.