Clinton now resumed his former ground, yet his embarrassments increased, and though he transferred two of Whittingham’s regiments to Copons and sent Roche’s battalions back to Valencia, the country was so exhausted that the enduring constancy of the Spanish soldiers under privations alone enabled Sarzfield to remain in the field: more than once, that general, a man of undoubted firmness and courage, was upon the point of re-crossing the Ebro to save his soldiers from perishing of famine. Here as in other parts, the Spanish government not only starved their troops but would not even provide a piece of ordnance or any stores for the defence of Taragona, now, by the exertions of the English general, rendered defensible. Nay! when admiral Hallowell in conjunction with Quesada the Spanish commodore at Port Mahon, brought some ship-guns from that place to the fortress, the minister of war, O’Donoju, expressed his disapprobation, observing with a sneer that the English might provide the guns wanting from the Spanish ordnance moved into Gibraltar by general Campbell when he destroyed the lines of San Roque!
The 9th Suchet pushed a small corps by Bejer between the Ordal and Sitjes, and on the 10th surprised at the Ostel of Ordal an officer and thirty men of the Anglo-Sicilian cavalry. This disaster was the result of negligence. The detachment after patroling to the front had dismounted without examining the buildings of the inn, and some French troopers who were concealed within immediately seized the horses and captured the whole party.
On the 17th, French troops appeared at Martorel, the Ordal, and Bejer, with a view to mask the march of a large convoy coming from Upper Catalonia to Barcelona; they then resumed their former positions, and at the same time Soult’s and lord Wellington’s respective letters announcing the defection of the Nassau battalions in front of Bayonne arrived. Lord Wellington’s came first, and enclosed a communication from colonel Kruse to his countryman, colonel Meder, who was serving in Barcelona and as Kruse supposed willing to abandon the French. But when Clinton by the aid of Manso transmitted the letter to Meder, that officer handed it to general Habert who had succeeded Maurice Mathieu in the command of the city. All the German regiments, principally cavalry, were immediately disarmed and sent to France. Severoli’s Italians were at the same time recalled to Italy and a number of French soldiers, selected to fill the wasted ranks of the imperial guards, marched with them; two thousand officers and soldiers were likewise detached to the depôts of the interior to organize the conscripts of the new levy destined to reinforce the army of Catalonia. Besides these drafts a thousand gensd’armes hitherto employed on the Spanish frontier in aid of the regular troops were withdrawn; Suchet thus lost seven thousand veterans, yet he had still an overwhelming power compared to the allies.
It was in this state of affairs that the duke of San Carlos, bearing the treaty of Valençay, arrived secretly at the French head-quarters on his way to Madrid. Copons knew this, and it seems certain was only deterred from openly acceding to the views of the French emperor and concluding a military convention, by the decided conduct of the Cortez, and the ascendancy which lord Wellington had obtained over him in common with the other Spanish officers: an ascendancy which had not escaped Soult’s sagacity, for he early warned the French minister that nothing could be expected from them while under the powerful spell of the English general. Meanwhile Clinton, getting information that the French troops were diminished in numbers, especially in front of Barcelona and on the Llobregat, proposed to pass that river and invest Barcelona if Copons, who was in the mountains, would undertake to provision Sarzfield’s division and keep the French troops between Barcelona and Gerona in check. For this purpose he offered him the aid of a Spanish regiment of cavalry which Elio had lent for the operations in Catalonia; but Copons, whether influenced by San Carlos’ mission and his secret wishes for its success, or knowing that the enemy were really stronger than Clinton imagined, declared that he was unable to hold the French troops between Gerona and Barcelona in check, and that he could not provision either Sarzfield’s division or the regiment of cavalry. He suggested instead of Clinton’s plan, a combined attack upon some of Suchet’s posts on the Llobregat, promising to send Manso to Villafranca to confer upon the execution. Clinton’s proposal was made early in January yet it was the middle of that month before Copons replied, and then he only sent Manso to offer the aid of his brigade in a combined attack upon two thousand French who were at Molino del Rey. It was however at last arranged that Manso should at day-break on the 16th seize the high ground above Molino, on the left of the Llobregat, to intercept the enemy’s retreat upon Barcelona, while the Anglo-Sicilians fell upon them from the right bank.
Success depended upon Clinton’s remaining quiet1814. January. until the moment of execution, wherefore he could only use the troops immediately in hand about Villafranca, in all six thousand men with three pieces of artillery; but with these he made a night march of eighteen miles, and was close to the ford of San Vicente about two miles below the fortified bridge of Molino del Rey before daylight. The French were tranquil and unsuspicious, and he anxiously but vainly awaited the signal of Manso’s arrival. When the day broke, the French piquets at San Vicente descrying his troops commenced a skirmish, and at the same time a column with a piece of artillery, coming from Molino, advanced to attack him thinking there was only a patroling detachment to deal with, for he had concealed his main body. Thus pressed he opened his guns per force and crippled the French piece, whereupon the reinforcements retired hastily to the entrenchments at Molino; he could then easily have forced the passage at the ford and attacked the enemy’s works in the rear, but this would not have ensured the capture of their troops, wherefore he still awaited Manso’s arrival relying on that partizan’s zeal and knowledge of the country. He appeared at last, not, as agreed upon, at St. Filieu, between Molino and Barcelona, but at Papiol above Molino, and the French immediately retreated by San Filieu. Sarzfield, and the cavalry, which Clinton now detached across the Llobregat, followed them hard, but the country was difficult, the distance short, and they soon gained a second entrenched camp above San Filieu. A small garrison remained in the masonry-works at Molino, general Clinton endeavoured to reduce them but his guns were not of a calibre to break the walls and the enemy was strongly reinforced towards evening from Barcelona; whereupon Manso went off to the mountains, and Clinton returned to Villafranca having killed and wounded about one hundred and eighty French, and lost only sixty-four men, all Spaniards.
Manso’s failure surprized the English general, because that officer, unlike the generality of his countrymen, was zealous, skilful, vigilant, modest, and humane, and a sincere co-operator with the British officers. He however soon cleared himself of blame, assuring Clinton that Copons, contrary to his previous declarations, had joined him with four thousand men, and taking the controul of his troops not only commenced the march two hours too late, but without any reason halted for three hours on the way. Nor did that general offer any excuse or explanation of his conduct, merely observing, that the plan having failed nothing more could be done and he must return to his mountainous asylum about Vich. A man of any other nation would have been accused of treachery, but with the Spaniards there is no limit to absurdity, and from their actions no conclusion can be drawn as to their motives.
The great events of the general war were now beginning to affect the struggle in Catalonia. Suchet finding that Copons dared not agree to the military convention dependent upon the treaty of Valençay, resigned all thoughts of carrying off his garrisons beyond the Ebro, and secretly instructed the governor of Tortoza, that when his provisions, calculated to last until April, were exhausted, he should march upon Mequinenza and Lerida, unite the garrisons there to his own, and make way by Venasque into France. Meanwhile he increased the garrison of Barcelona to eight thousand men and prepared to take the line of the Fluvia; for the allied sovereigns were in France and Napoleon had recalled more of his cavalry and infantry, in all ten thousand men with eighty pieces of artillery, from Catalonia, desiring that they should march as soon as the results expected from the mission of San Carlos were felt by the allies. Suchet prepared the troops but proposed that instead of waiting for the uncertain result of San Carlos’ mission, Ferdinand should himself be sent to Spain through Catalonia and be trusted on his faith to restore the garrisons in Valencia. Then he said he could march with his whole army to Lyons which would be more efficacious than sending detachments. The restoration of Ferdinand was the Emperor’s great object, but this plausible proposition can only be viewed as a colourable counter-project to Soult’s plan for a junction of the two armies in Bearn, since the Emperor was undoubtedly the best judge of what was required for the warfare immediately under his own direction.
It was in the midst of these operations that Clinton attacked Molino del Rey and as we have seen would but for the interference of Copons have stricken a great blow, which was however soon inflicted in another manner.
There was at this time in the French service a Spaniard of Flemish descent called Van Halen. This man, of fair complexion, handsome person, and a natural genius for desperate treasons, appearsMemoir by Sir Wm. Clinton, MSS. to have been at first attached to Joseph’s court. After that monarch’s retreat from Spain he was placed by the duke de Feltre on Suchet’s staff; but the French party was now a failing one and Van Halen only sought by some notable treachery to make his peace with his country. Through the medium of a young widow, who followed him without suffering their connection to appear, he informed Eroles of his object. He transmitted through the same channel regular returns of Suchet’s force and other matters of interest, and at last having secretly opened Suchet’s portfolio he copied the key of his cypher, and transmitted that also, with an intimation that he would now soon pass over and endeavour to perform some other service at the same time. The opportunity soon offered. Suchet went to Gerona to meet the duke of San Carlos, leaving Van Halen at Barcelona, and the latter immediately taking an escort of three hussars went to Granollers where the cuirassiers were quartered. Using the marshal’s name he ordered them to escort him to the Spanish outposts, which being in the mountains could only be approached by a long and narrow pass where cavalry would be helpless. In this pass he ordered the troops to bivouac for the night, and when their colonel expressed his uneasiness, Van Halen quieted him and made a solitary mill their common quarters. He had before this, however, sent the widow to give Eroles information of the situation into which he would bring the troops and now with anxiety awaited his attack; but the Spanish general failed to come and at daybreak Van Halen, still pretending he carried a flag of truce from Suchet, rode off with his first escort of hussars and a trumpeter to the Spanish lines. There he ascertained that the widow had been detained by the outposts and immediately delivered over his escort to their enemies, giving notice also of the situation of the cuirassiers with a view to their destruction, but they escaped the danger.