Talavera.—In the spring of 1809, Sir Arthur Wellesley left England to take command of the Anglo-Portuguese army, and, landing at Lisbon on April 22nd, placed himself at the head of 25,000 British and Portuguese, crossed the Douro, drove Marshal Soult out of Oporto, advanced into Spain, and giving battle to the French at Talavera, defeated them after a long-drawn conflict lasting over the 27th and 28th July. The French were commanded by the intrusive King Joseph Bonaparte, assisted by Marshal Victor. The French losses in the first day's fighting were about 1,000 officers and men, the British losing about 800. For the two days the French had a total of 7,394 placed hors de combat, including Generals Lapisse and Morlot killed, and Generals Sebastiani and Boulet wounded; the killed numbered 944, and the wounded 6,274, while 150 were taken prisoners. The British losses amounted to 6,268; Generals Mackenzie and Langewith, 857 officers and men being killed; 3 generals, 192 officers, and 3,718 men wounded, 9 officers and 643 men missing. The Spaniards gave their losses as 1,200 killed and wounded. This battle, the victory in which was claimed for both sides, gained for the victorious General the titles of Baron Douro of Wellesley and Viscount Wellington of Talavera, with a pension of £2,000 per annum.
The following regiments were engaged in the battle of Talavera, those marked with an asterisk being specially mentioned in dispatches. 1st Batt. Coldstream Guards; 1st and 3rd Batts. Scots Guards; 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 2nd Batt. 7th Regiment,* 2nd Batt. 24th, 1st Batt. 29th,* 2nd Batt. 31st,* 1st Batt. 40th, 1st Batt. 45th,* 1st and 2nd Batts. 48th, 2nd Batt. 53rd,* 5th Batt. 60th,* 1st Batt. 61st, 2nd Batt. 66th, 71st, 79th, 82nd, 2nd Batt. 83rd, 2nd Batt. 87th, 1st Batt. 88th, 91st, 92nd, 1st Batt. 97th,* and the Rifle Brigade. 3rd Dragoon Guards, 4th Dragoons, 14th (now Hussars), 16th (now Lancers), and 23rd Light Dragoons; Royal Artillery, Engineers, and Staff Corps; 1st and 2nd Light Battalions, 1st Light Dragoons, and 1st, 2nd, 5th, 7th Line Battalions of the King's German Legion.
Peninsular Gold Medals.—Following this brilliant victory it was notified in the London Gazette , September 9th, 1810, that a gold medal would be granted to commemorate the battles of Roleria, Vimiera, Coruña, and Talavera. It was, however, only given to officers who had taken part in these engagements, or who had participated in any brilliant cavalry affair. It was also decided that the medal to which an officer would have been entitled, had he survived, should be given to his next of kin. The medals vary in size, but are all of the same design. The larger size was conferred upon General Officers, and the smaller ones upon colonels and senior officers. The medal was only given to those who were actually in command during an engagement, or succeeded thereto owing to the commander being killed or placed hors de combat.
The gold medal bears on the obverse the figure of Britannia, wearing a rather squat Roman-looking helmet, seated upon a globe, and bearing in her extended right hand a laurel wreath and in her left a palm branch, which rests upon an oval shield bearing the Union Jack; to Britannia's right is the British lion. On the reverse is a simple wreath of laurel, with the name of the battle and the date engraved in Roman capitals. The medal is attached to the ribbon by a simple suspender, and a gold buckle was frequently worn in the middle of the ribbon. General and Commanding Officers were ordered to wear the medal suspended from the neck by means of a red ribbon with blue edges—familiarly known as the Peninsular ribbon—and below the rank of lieutenant-general by the same ribbon from a button-hole of their coat. The senior officers complained that it was very inconvenient to wear a medal dangling from the neck while on horseback, and they were supported in their plea by Wellington. This medal is generally found glazed, to prevent its surface being damaged, the name and rank of the officer being engraved upon the edge of the medal itself.
PORTUGUESE OFFICER'S CROSS FOR THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGN.
Awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Brunton.
Guadaloupe.—General Beckwith, who had captured Martinique, attacked the West Indian Island of Guadaloupe, and captured it on February 6th, 1810. The French, who lost nearly 600 men, were commanded by General Ernouf (see Martinique for regiments engaged).
Busaco.—Wellesley's Spanish allies had failed him, as Sir John Moore with his sorry experience had predicted, and so after the battle of Talavera de la Regna he retired into Portugal, whither Napoleon sent Marshal Masséna to "drive the English Leopards into the sea," but the "Sepoy General," as Napoleon had dubbed Wellesley, was alive to the possibilities of the situation, and in face of the overwhelming numbers of the French, decided to prepare the impregnable lines of Torres Vedras, stretching from the Tagus to the sea; but before he could entrench himself he was compelled to check the pursuit of Masséna on the Busaco Sierra on September 27th, 1810, where his army of British and Portuguese resisted all attempts to dislodge them. In this battle both the British and Portuguese troops fought with daring determination, so that it would appear invidious to single out special regiments for notice, but the 38th, 45th, and the 8th Portuguese Regiments were mentioned in dispatches. The 88th Connaught Rangers repulsed a division of French infantry, while the 74th Highlanders did a like service. General Simon, who had bravely led his brigade up the mountain side, was captured by two men of the 52nd Regiment, and the French losses amounted to 2,000 killed and as many wounded. The British losses were 197 killed and 1,072 wounded. Marshals Ney, Masséna, and Regnier commanded the French, the English and Portuguese being under Wellington.