A little before sun-rise on the 26th December, the whole of the troops quartered in Portalegre bade a temporary adieu to that friendly town, and in the evening our brigade occupied Codeceira. Next day we moved to Albuquerque, and on the 28th quitted that city for Merida. Two leagues from the former we passed to the right of the Castle of Zagala, beautifully situated on the summit of a hill, from which there is a delightful view of the surrounding country. Three leagues farther we passed through the miserable village of La Rocka, and on the western slope of an eminence, a few hundred yards in front of it, we went into bivouac. General Dombrousky being in possession of Merida, with a mixed force of 1500 men, General Hill requested commanding-officers of corps to have their fires as much under the hill as possible, in order to favour the design he then meditated of taking the Pole napping. The object, though not expressed, was so obvious to every one, that the order was readily and most cheerfully obeyed.
Next morning at day-break we quitted our bivouac, and under cover of a dense fog, moved towards the point of attraction. General Hill not being aware that the enemy had, the previous evening, pushed forward a party of 150 cavalry, and 300 infantry, to the village of La Nava, about half-way between our bivouac and Merida, the cavalry, under General Long, were permitted to precede the infantry some miles. This movement turned out unfortunately; for General Long being also in ignorance of the proximity of this body to his own, came bump upon one of the enemy's videttes close to La Nava, and made him prisoner, but not till by discharging his carabine he had made his friends aware of the danger that threatened them. The density of the fog at the time rendering it impossible for either party to ascertain the other's real numerical strength, the French troops rushed to arms, and in a few minutes were formed ready for action, on an eminence in rear of the village; but the British cavalry halted so long, that before General Long finally resolved to attack, the favourable moment had fled—never to return.
The fog soon after this first collision began to disperse, which enabled our advanced guard to get a peep of their opponents. Continuing to clear away, General Long was at length enabled to draw near to the enemy without any fear of being surprised. Although formed in square, the General resolved to attack, and if possible compel them to surrender; but the little band of French infantry received his charge with firmness, and finally beat him off. This success gave the enemy some idea of their own strength, for they instantly commenced a retrograde movement towards Merida, fully convinced, no doubt, that they could effect their escape, should no other opponents take part in the deadly feud. Charge succeeded charge,—but from each our cavalry were forced to retire with loss, and without making the least impression on the little column. These repeated assaults proving ruinous to us, the dragoons were ordered to hang on the flanks of the retiring foe, and take advantage of any opening that might occur, either from the inequality of the ground over which he had to retire, or the fire of two pieces of artillery, which latterly joined in the pursuit. Accordingly, a gap no sooner appeared, than our cavalry instantly prepared to renew the assault; but before any advantage could be taken of it, some other brave spirits had stepped forward and filled it up. Not one of the enemy's infantry ever once appeared to shrink from the terrible conflict; on the contrary, the whole party, individually and collectively, exhibited throughout the action a degree of coolness and firmness which none but the truly brave can possess in the hour of danger. In the manner now described the parties traversed several miles, till the French being reinforced from Merida, our cavalry gave over the pursuit, more than satisfied that a body of well-disciplined infantry, when under the guidance of an officer of courage, experience, and prudence, has nothing to fear from a body of cavalry of double their numerical strength. In the evening our corps closed up, and bivouacked in front of La Nava, and next morning moved forward to Merida, which the enemy had precipitately evacuated during the night, leaving behind them a considerable quantity of corn.
The conduct of the French captain and his little band at La Nava, affords to all officers and soldiers one of the noblest examples for imitation on record. It is when placed in situations such as this, that the prudence of an officer, and the courage of himself and soldiers, is put to the severest trial. It is on occasions of a similar kind that the soldier who combats for honour and glory, possesses such decided advantages over him whose mercenary propensities lead him to look upon honour and military renown as secondary objects. Bear this then in remembrance, my brave fellow-countrymen, that it is when duty calls you to defend a post against great numerical superiority, that your courage is put to the severest trial; but never forget, that it is also on those occasions you may expect to reap the richest harvest of military renown.
When honour does the soldier call
To some unequal fight,
Resolved to conquer or to fall,
Before his general's sight.
Advanced—the happy hero lives,
Or, if ill-fate denies,
The noble rashness heaven forgives,
And gloriously he dies.
The 31st was a day of rest; but at day-break on the 1st of January 1812, the whole corps crossed the Guadiana, and moved towards Almendralejo, where we expected our arrival would be announced by a royal salute from the field artillery of the Count D'Erlon. For a league and a-half our route led us over a very barren heath, then across a large, rich, but partially cultivated plain. As the road between these two places rises with a gentle acclivity for at least five miles from the banks of the river, the leading battalions enjoyed a delightful view of the long and party-coloured columns, as they winded along the heath towards their destination; and I have no doubt but the spectacle would have appeared still more gratifying, could we have banished from our recollection the object of our movement—the destruction of our fellow-creatures. But notwithstanding this, shall I say, almost only draw-back to a military life, we enjoyed the interesting scene while it lasted; and when deprived of that, we jogged along the plain as cheerily and merrily, as the fatiguing nature of the march would permit us, till our proximity to the enemy told us to prepare for battle.
It was now one o'clock, and a dense fog so enveloped every surrounding object, that it was quite impossible to discover any thing beyond a few paces from where we stood. As this unfavourable state of the atmosphere prevented General Hill from ascertaining whether the enemy held possession of Almendralejo, with FIVE hundred, or twice as many thousands; the cavalry, a few pieces of artillery, and the 1st brigade, moved towards the town in order of battle. We had not proceeded far, when the cavalry came into contact with the French piquets, which were instantly attacked and driven in. To be prepared for whatever might occur, the rear brigades quickly moved up on our left, and occupied the stations assigned them. When the first collision took place, the French troops in Almendralejo were busily engaged in preparing their dinners, and consequently had their thoughts rivetted on something more palatable than either gun-powder, bullets, or bayonets. Part of them instantly moved to the support of the piquets, and the remainder retreated to a rising ground in rear of the town. The former, on receiving a few shots from our artillery, wheeled also to the right about, and in a few minutes were alongside of their friends. On the re-union of the two bodies, the whole retired towards a height a considerable distance from the town, over which runs the roads to Villa-Franca, and Fuente-del-Maestre. Our light troops pursued the fugitives closely, skirmishing with them all the way, and we followed, in hopes that the Count would make his appearance at the head of his corps, ready to receive us. In this, however, we were disappointed, for on the fog clearing away, we were sorry to find that he had withdrawn to Zafra with the main body, leaving behind him a strong rear-guard only to cover his retreat.
As the fog died away, the rain which began to fall about one o'clock, continued to increase in violence, till about three, when one would actually have supposed that it was falling from buckets. Under these circumstances, night approaching, and there being no chance of bringing the enemy to close quarter, General Hill gave orders for strong piquets to be posted on all the roads around Almendralejo, and the rest of the troops to march into the town—which were obeyed with the greater cheerfulness, that not one of them had a dry jacket or shirt on their backs.
On taking possession of the quarters allotted to another officer and myself, the poor people instantly pointed to the dinners of seven Frenchmen, which in their hurry, they had found it necessary to leave behind in a stew-pan by the fire. Preferring, however, a little tea, to a mess of beef, pork, beans, garlic, and oil, we desired the family to make use of it themselves. Permission was no sooner granted, than the contents of the stew-pan was emptied into a large stone bason, into which, sixty fingers and thumbs were instantly plunged, and then, grasping a piece of the delicious morsel, carried to the mouth, streaming with grease, like as many candles receiving a polishing touch at the hands of their maker. The scene was a laughable one, but very short, for in two or three minutes not a vestige of any part of the dinner was visible.
The enemy shewing a reluctance to retire from Villa-Franca and Fuente-del-Maestre, two detachments were despatched from Almendralejo on the 3rd of January to dislodge them. The one which moved against Villa-Franca, consisted of the 9th and 13th light dragoons, two pieces of artillery, the 50th, 71st, and 92nd regiments, and 60th rifle company, and was commanded by Major-General Howard. The other which was under the command of the Honourable Lieutenant-Colonel Abercromby, 28th regiment, was composed of the 2nd hussars, king's German legion, the 4th and 10th Portuguese cavalry, and 28th British regiment of infantry. Both detachments moved from Almendralejo, at twelve o'clock. On a height about half way between the latter place and Villa-Franca, we first obtained a view of the enemy, drawn up on a commanding piece of ground, a few hundred yards from the town, on the road to Los-Santos. Soon after this, the detachment was formed into two columns, the right composed of the 92nd regiment, 60th rifle company, and one piece of artillery, was placed under Colonel Cameron; and the left, which consisted of the remainder of the detachment, was led by Major-General Howard in person. The left column moved direct upon the town, in order to attack their right flank and centre, while the right was to co-operate with the right battalion of the left column, in its assault on the centre, if it could not throw itself in rear of the left wing. The enemy not only appeared prepared for a visit from us, but for some time gave most unequivocal indications that they would pepper us well before they retired. Indeed so satisfied were we all of this, that we looked forward to a tight little affair with them. But appearances on this, as on many former occasions, proved deceitful;—for just as we had approached that point from which we intended to apply those means, by which British soldiers are accustomed to remove every obstacle which attempts to arrest their progress, the French chief considering it imprudent to stake the fate of his little corps on the issue of a brush with us, faced about, and walked off towards Los-Santos, pursued by our cavalry.