The communication thus opened, it was found that Duhesme, pressed by the Migueletes without, was also extremely fearful of conspiracies within the St. Cyr. walls: that his fears, and the villainous conduct of his police, had at last excited the inhabitants to attempt that which their enemies seemed so much to dread; and in March, an insurrection being planned in concert with the Migueletes and with the English squadron, the latter came close in and cannonaded the town on the 10th, expecting that Wimpfen, the Milans, and Claros would have assaulted the gates, which was to have been the signal for the insurrection within.
The inhabitants were the more sanguine of success, because there were above two thousand Spanish prisoners in the city; and outside the walls there were two tercios secretly recruited and maintained by the citizens: these men being without uniforms, constantly passed in and out of the town, and Duhesme was never able to discover or to prevent them. This curious circumstance is illustrative of the peculiar genius of the Spaniards, which in all matters of surprise and stratagem is unrivalled. The project was, however, baffled by Chabran’s action at Molino del Rey, on the 14th, which dispersed the partizan corps outside the walls; and the British squadron being exposed to a heavy gale, and disappointed in the co-operation from the land, sailed away on the 11th.
St. Cyr intended to commence his retrograde movement on the 18th; but on the 17th a cannonade was heard on the side of Momblanch, which was ascertained to proceed from a detachment of six hundred men, with two guns, under the command of Colonel Briche. This officer being sent by Mortier to open the communication with St. Cyr, after the fall of Zaragoza, had forced his way through the Spanish partizan corps. To favour his return the army halted two days; but the enterprize, after a trial, appeared so dangerous, that he relinquished it, and attached himself to the seventh corps.
The inactivity that succeeded the battle of Valls, and the timidity displayed by Chabran in the subsequent skirmishes, having depressed the spirits of the troops, they contemplated the approaching retreat with great uneasiness; and many officers, infected with panic doubt, advised the general to hide his movements from the enemy: but he, anxious to restore their confidence, took the part of giving the Spaniards a formal notice of his intentions; and desired of Reding that he would send proper officers to take over the hospitals which had been fitted up at Valls, as well as some of the French, wounded, that could not be moved. This done, the army commencing its retreat, reached Villa Franca the 21st of March; and the 22d passed the Llobregat, followed, but not molested, by some feeble Spanish detachments.
The 23d, general Pino attacked and defeated Wimpfen, who having rallied the corps of Claros and the Milans, after the affair on the 24th, had taken a position at Tarrasa. Pino pursued him to the vicinity of Manresa, foraged that country, and returned with sufficient provisions to feed the army, without drawing on the magazines of Barcelona.
During these proceedings, Reding died in Tarragona of his wounds. He had been received there with great dissatisfaction after the battle of Valls, and the interference of the British consul was necessary to save him from the first fury of the populace, who were always ready to attribute a defeat to the treachery of the general. His military conduct was, by his own officers, generally and justly condemned; but although his skill in war was slight, his courage and honesty were unquestionable; and he was of distinguished humanity; for, at this unhappy period, when the French prisoners in every part of Spain were tortured with the most savage cruelty; when to refrain from such deeds was to incur suspicion, Reding had the manliness, not only to repress all St. Cyr. barbarities within the range of his command, but even to conclude a convention with St. Cyr, under which the wounded men on both sides were to receive decent treatment, and to be exchanged as soon as their hurts were cured.
In his last moments Reding complained that he had been ill-served as a general; that the Somatenes had not supported him; that his orders were neglected; his plans disclosed to the enemy; and that he could never get true intelligence; complaints which the experience of Moore, Baird, Cradock, Murray, and, above all, of Wellington, proved to be applicable to every part of Spain, and every period of the war.
Coupigny succeeded Reding, but he was soon superseded by general Blake, who, for reasons hereafter to be mentioned, was appointed captain-general of the “Coronilla,” or Little Crown, a title given to the three provinces of Valencia, Aragon, and Catalonia, when united; and, as the warfare in Aragon thus became immediately connected with that in Catalonia, I shall here give a short account of what was passing in the former province.
When Zaragoza fell, marshal Lasnes was recalled to France; Mortier, who succeeded him in the command, sent detachments against Jaca and Monzon; and threatened Mequinenza and Lerida. The Fort of Monzon, commanding a passage over the Cinca river, was abandoned by the Spaniards, and the town and citadel of Jaca surrendered: whereby the French opened a new and important communication with France. But, Lerida being fruitlessly summoned, and some slight demonstrations made against Mequinenza having failed, Mortier cantoned his troops on both sides of the Ebro, from Barbastro to Alcanitz, and despatched colonel Briche, as we have seen, to open a communication with the seventh corps; but, in April, the fifth corps marched for Castile, and general Junot was left with a part only of the third corps to maintain Aragon.