A troop of one of our light cavalry regiments being on out-post duty one morning during our stay at Albuera, one of the horses bestrode by an honest Hibernian became so restive, that the rider was ordered to fall out to the rear, and make it quiet. Pat being more anxious for a trip in another direction, requested permission to take the horse to the front. Leave being granted, Pat, on leaving the ranks, said to his comrades, "Now, by J——, lads, I will shew you something you never saw before." Every eye was instantly fixed upon the son of Erin, while he belaboured the head and sides of the poor horse in the most unmerciful manner. Neither the smart reproofs of his officers, nor the coarse jokes of his comrades, had any effect in lessening the punishment of the animal. In defiance of every thing, Pat kept whipping, spurring, and swearing, till he had gained a hundred yards from the troop, when, conceiving himself out of danger, he turned the head of his horse towards the enemy, gave him the reins, and the spurs at the same time, and at full speed gained the French lines, before any of his companions could overtake him.
For ten days the enemy gave us very little trouble, but in the morning of the 30th, a body of their cavalry approached our advanced posts, apparently with an intention to give us a meeting. Our brigade being busily employed in preparing their breakfast when the alarm was given, the camp-kettles were instantly emptied, and away we went to dispute with the enemy the passage through the forest. After waiting two hours for them, we were informed they had retired, and at the same time received permission to follow their example.
On returning to our camp, we put our culinary articles again in requisition, but most unfortunately, just as the kettles were about being removed from the fire, a second alarm called us again to the front, when as before, we were forced to leave our dinners behind us—the soup to fertilize the soil, and the beef to feed the carrion crow. This movement was equally unproductive of incident as the former, as far as we were concerned. The Spanish cavalry were less fortunate however, for in addition to the loss of breakfast and dinner, not a few of them lost their lives in an engagement with a body of the enemy's dragoons. In the early part of the action, the Spaniards were successful, but having advanced farther than prudence warranted, they at length fell into an ambuscade, and suffered severely. On this occasion the Conde-de-Penne-Villamur and his cavalry, fought in very good style.
Finding that the enemy were only amusing him until he could draw off the main body of his army, Sir Rowland Hill abandoned the defensive and assumed the offensive on the 1st of July. Moving in one column, we arrived in the afternoon at Santa Martha, and encamped. On the following day, the corps advanced in two columns. The left, consisting of General Long's brigade of British, and Colonel Campbell's brigade of Portuguese cavalry, one brigade of artillery, the first brigade of British, and Brigadier-General Campbell's brigade of Portuguese infantry, was placed under the orders of Sir William Erskine, and moved against the enemy at Villa-Alba. The remaining brigades of artillery, cavalry, and infantry, advanced along the high road to Zafra, under the command of Lieutenant-General Tilson Chowne.
The whole moved from Santa Martha, about nine o'clock, A.M. The German hussars, who led the advance to Villa-Alba, hearing that the French were quite unprepared for a visit, dashed into the village, cut down a number of them before they mounted their chargers, and would have taken or destroyed the greater part of them, had the Portuguese cavalry behaved equally well. But unfortunately, neither the threats nor promises of Colonel Campbell and his officers, could induce their men to take part in the fray, till the favourable moment had for ever fled. Attacked at length by a superior force, the hussars were compelled to retire, until the light dragoons advanced to their assistance, when they once more became the assailants, and drove the enemy from the village to a height a short distance from it, where the whole skirmished very beautifully for some time after our brigade arrived at Villa-Alba. When the enemy finally retired, we crossed the Guadacia, moved a few miles up its right bank, then re-crossed the river, and lay down under arms. Towards evening, we were moving from the banks of the Guadacia to encamp, when the enemy brought forward a few pieces of artillery, and cannonaded us from an opposite height. Our artillery returned the fire of the enemy from a rising ground, close to the river, across which the 71st light infantry were thrown, to take possession of a height half-way between us and our opponents. After a mutual interchange of civilities, the affair was brought to a close by the French withdrawing their artillery, and leaving us to bind up the wounds of a few of our artillerymen, and some Portuguese infantry, in peace and quietness.
In the engagement at Villa-Alba, one of the second German hussars was assaulted by a powerful French dragoon. Both being dexterous swordsmen, it was sometime before either could claim an advantage. Another Frenchman conceiving his friend in danger, flew to his aid, but when he arrived, his companion was heaving his last convulsive throe at the feet of his conqueror. The fatal result of this rencounter did not however deter the second antagonist from making an attempt to revenge the fall of his friend. To it they went gallantly. Cut succeeded cut, and thrust succeeded thrust, till both were considerably weakened. At length a third opponent approached the scene of action, and in seconding his friend, buried his sword in the body of the German hero, just as the sabre of the latter had performed a similar favour to his antagonist.
In the afternoon of the 3rd of July, we quitted the banks of the Guadacia, marched two leagues through a close country, and bivouacked on the left of the road from Santa Martha to Zafra. Next morning we advanced to Los Santos and bivouacked, and at sun-set the same day resumed our march, and at sun-rise on the 5th, entered Benveneida. Quitting the latter on the 6th, we marched into Llerena the same afternoon. As we passed the windows of a convent in the suburbs of the city, the fair inmates cheered us through the gratings of their miserable cells, and continued to wave their white handkerchiefs, till every red-coat was lost in the distance. The joy of the nuns may have been sincere, but if the tittle-tattle of the neighbouring towns could be credited, the inhabitants of Llerena had very little regard for us.
CHAPTER XII.
The enemy having shewn an unwillingness to retire from Berlenga, Sir Rowland Hill, at the head of his whole corps, marched from Llerena on the 8th of July to dislodge them. The infantry, preceded by the Spanish cavalry under the Conde-de-Penne-Villamur, moved direct upon Berlenga, but the British cavalry moved by a more circuitous route to the left, with the view of making a dash at the right wing of the French force in front of the town.
Six miles from Llerena, the Spaniards came up with the enemy's advanced piquets, which they attacked and drove in, in rather good style. The ground being favourable for cavalry, the French retired at extended order, followed by their opponents, who skirmished with them very prettily, till the enemy rejoined a portion of their friends on a height in front of Berlenga. The force of the two parties being now more upon an equality, the Spaniards proceeded with greater caution. The infantry however continued to advance at the usual pace, in order to arrive at a given point at the hour fixed for the British cavalry to make the attack. As we approached the height on which the main body of the French cavalry in front of Berlenga were posted, the latter retired, crossed a deep ravine, and took post on an opposite ridge. The town of Berlenga, which lay between these two eminences, and a little to our left, was still in the hands of the enemy, but was evacuated immediately by them on seeing their companions on the left retiring across the valley. To annoy them a little, and retard their retrograde movement till our cavalry should arrive, the artillery were ordered to play upon the two columns, and the infantry to close up in rear of the artillery. On the infantry taking up their ground, the French artillery saluted each battalion in succession,—a mark of attention for which our artillery shewed themselves sufficiently grateful. The effect produced by this mutual interchange of civilities would have been much finer, could we have induced the enemy to make it more general. In this object, however, we were completely foiled by the non-appearance of our cavalry, until the enemy had withdrawn almost beyond the reach of pursuit. Such was the issue of our movement on Berlenga, which in the morning promised so brilliant a result. At the close of the business the troops were thrown into Berlenga, but at sun-set we quitted the town, and bivouacked in the vicinity.