SECTION 1.—CIUDAD RODRIGO.
A.
“The duke of Wellington, standing on the top of some ruins of the convent of Francisco, pointed out to colonel Colborne and to major Napier,[2] commanding the storming-party of the light division, the spot where the small breach was. Having done this, he said, ‘Now do you understand exactly the way you are to take so as to arrive at the breach without noise or confusion?’ He was answered, ‘Yes, perfectly.’ Some one of the staff then said to major Napier, ‘Why don’t you load?’ He answered, ‘No, if we can’t do the business without loading we shall not do it at all.’ The duke of Wellington immediately said, ‘Leave him alone.’
————“The caçadores under colonel Elder were to carry hay-bags to throw into the ditch, but the signal of attack having been given, and the fire commencing at the great breach, the stormers would not wait for the hay-bags, which, from some confusion in the orders delivered, had not yet arrived; but from no fault of colonel Elder or his gallant regiment; they were always ready for and equal to any thing they were ordered to do.
“The troops jumped into the ditch; the ‘fausse braye’ was faced with stone, so as to form a perpendicular wall about the centre of the ditch; it was scaled, and the foot of the breach was attained. Lieutenant Gurwood had gone too far to his left with the forlorn hope, and missed the entrance of the breach; he was struck down with a wound on the head, but sprang up again, and joined major Napier, captain Jones 52d regt., Mitchell 95th, Ferguson 43d, and some other officers, who at the head of the stormers were all going up the breach together.”
————“Colonel Colborne, although very badly wounded in the shoulder, formed the fifty-second on the top of the rampart, and led them against the enemy.”
“The great breach was so strongly barricaded, so fiercely defended, that the third division had not carried it, and were still bravely exerting every effort to force their way through the obstacles when colonel M‘Leod of the forty-third poured a heavy flank fire upon the enemy defending it.”
FOOTNOTE:
[2] Brother to the author of this work.
B.
“The third division having commenced firing, we were obliged to hurry to the attack. The forlorn hope led, we advanced rapidly across the glacis and descended into the ditch near the ravelin, under a heavy fire. We found the forlorn hope placing ladders against the face of the work, and our party turned towards them, when the engineer officer called out, ‘You are wrong, this is the way to the breach, or the fausse braye which leads to the breach you are to attack.’”