Great was the relief officers and men experienced by rest, and by being able to change their clothes, which they had not done since they left Salamanca, a week before. So swollen were the feet, and so hard the boots from constant moisture, that some officers and men had to cut them from their feet.
On the 25th the 1st Battalion moved to Villa de Puerco, and on the next day to Alameda, while the 3rd Battalion were cantoned at Espeja. These villages on the Agueda, so often occupied by them, had come to be looked upon as a home by the Riflemen (at least by those of the 1st Battalion); and in these cantonments they continued during the winter.
Thus closed the campaign of 1812, in which the Regiment had taken part in the storm of two fortresses; in one general action; in three combats, and in many skirmishes and affairs of outposts.
A good deal of sickness, the unfailing consequence of exposure, want and fatigue, prevailed among the Riflemen on their going into winter quarters. And the Record of the 1st Battalion makes special mention of ‘the indefatigable exertions of Surgeon Burke’ during this time. Many of the men, and some of the officers, suffered from a numbness in the limbs and extremities, which was said to result from the change from exposure to comfort, and from want to plenty.
Soon after their entering their cantonments a circular was issued by Lord Wellington to Officers Commanding Divisions and Brigades[119] commenting in very strong terms on the bad conduct of the men, and the neglect of duty of the officers, during the late retreat. This caused great dissatisfaction and regret in the Regiment, for it was felt to be undeserved. That many irregularities took place, and much duty was neglected in some divisions and corps, may be as freely admitted, as that armies become disorganised in retreats. But in the Light Division Craufurd’s strict orders were still observed. ‘Being dead he yet spoke:’ and in the Regiment, Manningham and Stewart’s standing orders so strictly defining the duties of company officers were still observed; and Beckwith’s and Barnard’s admirable system prevailed; and among them no such irregularities took place. The circular also stated that the army had ‘suffered no privations which but trifling attention on the part of the officers could not have prevented,’ and had ‘not suffered any hardships but those resulting from the inclemencies of the weather.’ Yet anyone who reads the last few pages, compiled from Journals of Riflemen who were present, may think the sufferings of the troops are under-estimated by their great Leader. Still less did the sweeping accusations of want of discipline and neglect of duty seem deserved. Both Leach and Kincaid state that not a man of the Regiment (nor, as they believe, of the Division) was left behind, except those too badly wounded at San Munoz, or too utterly exhausted and moribund from hunger or fatigue, to be brought over the Huebra. Had the great Commander, like Moore, exempted from censure those who deserved praise, he would not have wounded the feelings and the esprit de corps of men who had so bravely fought and suffered, and were yet to fight and suffer, under his eye and at his side.
While on the subject of discipline I may perhaps mention an incident which occurred while the Regiment was in these cantonments, as well because it shows the confidence of the officer in the right judgment of the men, as because it evinces the opinion of the soldier concerning deserved punishment.
A man of the 1st Battalion, a vaurien, had robbed his comrades and deserted. He was intercepted and brought back by some guerillas; and having been tried by a regimental Court-Martial was sentenced to receive 150 lashes. As soon as the Adjutant had read the proceedings of the court, Colonel Cameron, who then commanded the Battalion, observing on the infrequency of corporal punishment in it (Costello says that not more than six men were punished in the six years they were in the Peninsula), said that he would forgive the culprit if the Battalion would be answerable for his good behaviour. After a pause, during which not a man spoke or made a sign, Cameron ordered him to strip, and he received twenty-five lashes. Before the next bugler began, Cameron again addressed the men: ‘If,’ said he, ‘this man’s company will speak for him, he shall be no further punished.’ Still not a word was said, nor a man moved; and twenty-five more lashes were inflicted. A third bugler was about to begin, when Cameron again spoke, and said that if one man of the Battalion would come forward in his behalf he would forgive him. No one answered, and the bugler laid on three or four strokes, when a man called out: ‘Forgive him, sir;’ and, being ordered, stepped out of the ranks. ‘Is it you, Robinson?’ said Cameron; ‘I thought as much; a man no better than himself. But I will keep my word. Take him down.’ When the prisoner had been released, Cameron spoke again: ‘Your bravery in the field, men,’ he said, ‘is known to me and to the army. Your moral worth I know now. I am glad that not a man of the Battalion would come forward for that prisoner, except one; and what he is you know as well as I do.’
At Alameda the officers of the 1st Battalion, for the first time for some years, resumed their Battalion mess. A large barn formed the mess-room, in which they constructed two fire-places and chimneys; and dishes, plates, platters, and cups, which had been used by the different company messes in the field, brought into common stock, formed a sufficient if not a very magnificent service.
About this time a number of Spaniards joined the Regiment as recruits. An order had been issued in the May preceding[120] to enlist 100 Spaniards in each Battalion, and Surtees had been sent into the country about to endeavour to obtain these recruits. But unsuccessfully; for though many gave their names, and promised to come in and be attested, yet none appeared. But now it seems they were obtained. They told Costello that they were compelled by their government to serve, and that they preferred enlisting with us. They were divided among the different companies, furnishing about ten or twelve to each company. They made excellent Riflemen, and were distinguished for their bravery, degenerating often into ferocity, prompted by revenge for the injuries they and their families had suffered from the French. Some of them were made corporals; and all these men, according to the terms of their enlistment, were discharged when the Regiment passed the Spanish frontier in 1813.
Great exertions were made to equip the Regiment for the ensuing campaign. The clothing was got up from Abrantes; not before needed; for the Regiment had become, during the campaign and after the retreat, ‘a thing of shreds and patches.’