blockade it; having appointed the corps for that purpose, and
distributed the rest of his army in cantonments, he went to the
Alemtejo, to visit the army commanded by Marshal Beresford. This force
had arrived at Campo Mayor on the 25th of March; the town had, two days
before, after a spirited resistance, surrendered to the enemy, but the
wretched state of its defences obliged Marshal Mortier to abandon it on
the approach of the allies. The advanced guard, composed of the 13th
Light Dragoons, and some Portuguese cavalry, came up with the enemy’s
convoy, protected by a corps of cavalry, three battalions of infantry,
and a brigade of artillery, as it was retiring to Badajos; Colonel Head
charged the French cavalry, defeated it, and drove it to the gates of
Badajos; from the walls of which place the 13th Light Dragoons suffered
some loss, having, in the ardour of the pursuit, exposed themselves to
the fire from them.
The heavy brigade of British cavalry, composed of the 3d Dragoon Guards,
and the 4th Dragoons, came up to the French infantry soon after this
charge had taken place; but at the moment of attacking it, were halted
by Marshal Beresford, who, in doubt of the event of the charge made by
the 13th, did not venture to expose the rest of his cavalry to any risk.
This infantry therefore was allowed to move off without molestation; and
in the night the French were enabled to carry into Badajos a great part
of the guns, stores, and ammunition, which, in the charge of the 13th
Dragoons, had been taken in the morning. The result of this affair,
after so brilliant a commencement, was unfortunate; the return of the
infantry was a considerable reinforcement to a garrison we were about,
to attack; and the artillery, stores, and provisions were objects of the
first necessity to its defence.
The French having thus been driven over the Guadiana, Marshal Beresford
sought as early as possible to pass that river, to invest Badajos,
according to the instructions he had received. He was delayed, however,
by the state of the river, and his unwillingness to risk its passage,
without having previously secured his after communications across it; so
that he did not effectually establish himself on the left bank, till the
6th and 7th of April, by which time the enemy had provisioned and
repaired the place, and Marshal Mortier (leaving it in a state of
defence,) had retired with his corps towards Seville.
The blockade of Badajos was immediately established; and
Lieutenant-General Cole was directed to conduct the siege of Olivenza,
which, having only a garrison of 370 men, was surrendered at discretion
on the 15th.
Immediately after this event, and while Marshal Beresford was preparing
for the attack of Badajos, Lord Wellington arrived. He was strongly
impressed with the importance of this fortress to his future plans, in
the new system of warfare which the late events had laid open to him.
Snatched from him at the moment all his other calculations had
triumphed, it had already been most detrimental to his general success.
By the large detachment he had been obliged to make from his army, in
consequence of its fall, it had prevented his more vigorous pursuit of
Massena, and had destroyed his hope of undertaking the blockade of
Ciudad Rodrigo (as well as that of Almeida,) before it could be
re-victualled, and placed in a state of defence; and it still menaced,
as long as it remained in the hands of the French, to curb all his
offensive movements into Spain, by protecting their positions in the
south of the country, and by enabling them at all times to threaten the
southern provinces of Portugal.
Lord Wellington found the army of Marshal Beresford in possession of the
whole of Estremadura; an affair of cavalry which had taken place at
Usagre, in which the 3d Dragoon Guards had most gallantly charged and
defeated the French, had, terminated their attempt to maintain
themselves within it. Lord Wellington immediately reconnoitred Badajos
with two battalions of infantry, and some Portuguese cavalry; a sharp
affair was engaged by these troops with part of the garrison, but he
effected his purpose, and decided to besiege the place, and fixed upon
such points to attack as he hoped would lead to the capture of the
fortress within fourteen or sixteen days. He had neither the means nor
the time to undertake a regular siege; besieging artillery, stores, and
ammunition could all be but very inefficiently supplied from Elvas, the
only depôt from whence they could be drawn; and it was evident that
Soult would make every effort to prevent the capture of the place, and
that he would, in about three weeks, be able to collect an army strong
enough to attempt its relief.
The heights of St. Christobal, on the right of the Guadiana, seemed to
offer a favourable _emplacement_ for the establishment of batteries to
protect an attack on the old castle; it was therefore decided to carry,
if possible, the fort which occupied them, and afterwards, from that
position, to endeavour to destroy the defences of the castle, while its
walls should be breached from the batteries in the plain below, and on
the left of the river. Preparations were immediately made to carry this
plan into effect, which Lord Wellington hoped would be in operation on
the 24th. The movements of Massena recalled him to the north; he
therefore left the prosecution of the siege to Marshal Beresford,
recommending, if the enemy attempted to disturb him, to fight a battle,
rather than be driven from his object.
The commencement of the siege was most unfortunately delayed by the
swelling of the Guadiana on the 24th, and the consequent destruction of
the bridge across it, till the 8th of May, when Major-General Lumley
completed the investment on the right of that river, Major-General Sir
W. Stewart having previously effected it on the left. The means provided
for the siege were found very unequal to the undertaking; before any
progress could be made, Marshal Soult had collected his army as had been
anticipated; on the night of the 15th, the attack of the place was
discontinued, and the troops marched to Albuhera, where, on the 16th,
Marshal Beresford obtained a signal victory over the French army.
Lord Wellington returned to his head-quarters at Villa Formoso on the
28th of April. Massena had collected his army at Ciudad Rodrigo; it
consisted of the 2d, 6th, 8th, and 9th corps, with the cavalry and
artillery which belonged to them, and of 1,500 cavalry of the Imperial
Guard, commanded by the Duke of Istria. The whole force amounted to
40,000 men, the remnant of the army of Portugal, which, six months
before, had counted above 90,000 rank and file.
Lord Wellington saw the approach of the enemy without dismay; the French
force was superior to his own,—its object, the relief of Almeida. To
thwart this attempt it was necessary to accept a battle; and, from the
situation of Almeida, on the right of the Coa, the position to defend
the approach to it must necessarily be taken up in front of the town,
thus having the river in rear of the allied army. The banks of the Coa
are extremely steep; there are few fords at which it can be passed, none
in the part of it near Almeida serviceable for an army: the bridge over
it, under the guns of that fortress, is extremely narrow, and at the
time was nearly impassable. The bridge at Castel de Bom was also a most
difficult communication. From Ciudad Rodrigo a road leads to Sabugal,
where there is another bridge over the Coa, which, in case of defeat,
might have served the allied army to retire over. Lord Wellington
(though not entirely from his own conviction) determined to take up a
defensive position, covering both the approach to Almeida, and the road
to Sabugal. He perceived, from the beginning, that this double object
was more than the forces he had with him might be able to maintain; the
extension to the road above mentioned weakened his position; whereas, he
was persuaded that, by confining himself to the protection of Almeida
alone, he could bid defiance to the enemy. The object, however, of
defending the entry by Sabugal into Portugal, and of securing a second
road to retire upon, was not without mature consideration to be given
up; and Lord Wellington felt convinced, that if the necessity of so
doing should arise, he could always withdraw his army to the more
concentrated position.
With these views Lord Wellington took up the ground along the Duas
Casas. He placed the fifth division on his extreme left, near the fort
of La Conception, to defend the great road to Almeida, which crosses the
river at a ford immediately in front of that fortification. The light
and sixth divisions he placed opposite to the village of Almada; the
first, third, and seventh, were placed in rear of Fuentes d’Honor, with
the light infantry of the third division and of the brigades of
Major-Generals Nightingale and Howard occupying the village, supported
by a battalion of the German Legion, the 2d battalion of the 83d, and
the 71st and 79th Regiments. A Spanish corps, under Don Julian Sanches,
was posted on the extreme right, at Nava d’Aver. Brigadier-General Pack,
with a brigade of Portuguese infantry and the 2d British or Queen’s
Regiment, blockaded Almeida.
Massena advanced from Ciudad Rodrigo on the 2d of May; and our troops
having retired from the Agueda, he arrived, on the 3d, opposite to the
position occupied by the allied army. In the evening he made a desperate
attempt to carry the village of Fuentes d’Honor; but after a severe
contest, most gallantly maintained, his troops were totally repulsed.
Defeated with considerable loss in his first attempt, he spent the whole
of the 4th in reconnoitring our position. Lord Wellington penetrated his
intention of attacking the right of the allied army, and in the night
moved the seventh division to Porco Velho, the only ford at which the
enemy could cross the Duas Casas, and where the banks of that river
opposed but a trifling obstacle to his advance.
On the morning of the 5th, the eighth corps was discovered opposite to
this village, and preparing to attack it; Lord Wellington moved the
light division to support the seventh, while he directed the first and
third divisions to occupy some high ground between the Turon and Duas
Casas rivers; thus observing the sixth and ninth corps of the French
army, which had made a movement to their left, and had approached the
ground occupied by the eighth corps.
Massena began the action of this day by an attack on the advanced guard
of the seventh division; which, overpowered by numbers, was obliged to
retire, giving up the village of Porco Velho. The French cavalry, under
General Montbrun, (which had already driven Don Julian Sanches from Nava
d’Aver) charged with a very superior force the cavalry of the allies,
and though (in the first rencontre) its advance was driven back, yet it
afterwards succeeded in penetrating to the infantry, which, supported in
the most gallant manner by the artillery, received the French cavalry
and repulsed it with considerable loss. At this moment Lord Wellington
decided to withdraw his army into the more concentrated position, to
which from the beginning he had felt inclined to confine himself.
He directed the light and seventh divisions, supported by the cavalry,
to retire and to take up the ground extending from the Duas Casas
towards Frenada, on the Coa. This movement, as bold as it was decisive,
was executed with the greatest precision; the enemy could make no
impression on the allied columns while on their march, and the new
position, at right angles with the old one, was taken up with perfect
regularity. Massena declined making any attempt on the troops now formed
on their new alignement; he confined his efforts for the remainder of
the day to successive attacks, made by the sixth corps, upon Fuentes
d’Honor; the contest was most severe in this quarter, and lasted till
night, when, with great loss on both sides, the allied troops, having
completely repulsed the enemy, retained possession of this most
obstinately disputed village.
So terminated this memorable action, the only one throughout the whole
war in which the enemy had to boast of a momentary success against the
allies; the ground at Porco Velho, from which the advance of the seventh
division was obliged to retire, afforded no decisive position, and if
the French infantry had been attacking at the moment of the charge of
cavalry under General Montbrun, our loss in the retreat to the new
alignement might have been considerably greater. Not such, however, as
the French officers assert; the novelty of an advantage to them was so
great, that on our change of position they predicted the entire
destruction of the allied army; and although these hopes were so
blasted, that they dared not afterwards make a single movement in attack
upon us, yet they still persuaded themselves, that if the proper moment
had been seized, we were in total confusion, and must inevitably have
been defeated.
The British army can seldom be calculated upon to verify such
predictions; if the French had attempted to pursue, they would, as on
other occasions of the same nature, have had more to repent than to
boast of[4]. The message of General Foy to Buonaparte, before the action
of Waterloo, “that in the whole war in the Peninsula, the French had
never once beaten the British infantry,” would have been as true in its
application to any attack made at the moment above alluded to, as it
proved to be in the tremendous battle of Mont Saint Jean.
Footnote 4:
See Book the 5th, Chapter 1st of Sir Walter Raleigh’s _History of the
World_, “where, in deciding this controversie, whether the Macedonian
or the Roman were the best warriors,” he answers, “the Englishman,”
and quotes the French historian, who says, “The English comes with a
conquering bravery, as he that was accustomed to gain every where
without any stay.”
Defeated in all his projects, Massena, on the morning of the 6th,
withdrew his troops from the front of the allied position, and, having
given up all hope of forcing his way to Almeida, confined his views to a
simple communication with the place, directing General Brenier to
evacuate and destroy it. The French army remained in a position opposite
the allies till the 10th, when it retired to Ciudad Rodrigo. Lord
Wellington had employed the time since the battle of the 5th, in
entrenching his new position, and had rendered it so strong that the
enemy did not make any attempt against it. Marshal Marmont arrived on
the 7th, and soon after superseded Marshal Massena in his command.
As soon as the French army had retired, Lord Wellington made
arrangements to secure Almeida; aware of the distressed situation of
that place, he detached General Campbell, on the 10th, to resume the
blockade, and to relieve Brigadier-General Pack. In the night of the
same day, however, at 11 o’clock, General Brenier, having previously
destroyed the defences of the place, marched out at the head of his
garrison, and, taking the road to Barba del Puerco, forced his way
through the pickets of the allies, and with the loss of not more than
200 men escaped to the French army. There were a variety of
circumstances which favoured this undertaking. The order for the march
of the 4th Regiment upon Almeida had been delayed by Sir W. Erskine; the
2d queen’s Regiment, not believing the enemy had escaped, remained on
their position; the orderly drummer of the 36th Regiment was not at
General Campbell’s quarters to give the alarm, and this regiment did
not, in consequence, overtake the enemy so soon as it otherwise might
have done. Brigadier General Pack, having been relieved by General
Campbell, had gone from his quarters, and, during his absence, Colonel
Campbell had marched his brigade to more distant villages; when
Brigadier General Pack returned, he found General Campbell in possession
of the house he had occupied, but as it was 9 o’clock he remained there
for the night; he joined the pickets of his brigade, which were still on
duty, on the first alarm, and at the point where the enemy had forced
the chain. He immediately pursued with from 30 to 40 men, but this force
was totally insufficient to give any serious disturbance to the enemy.
The 4th and 36th Regiments did not arrive at Barba del Puerco till
day-light: at this moment Brenier was passing the bridge, and
immediately afterwards joined the French corps which was stationed there
to receive him.
By this event the operations in Portugal were brought to a close; that
country was delivered from the enemy, and was freed for ever after from
his odious oppression.
The glorious and transcendent services of Lord Wellington were duly
appreciated throughout the kingdom; his name was blest, and to the
latest posterity will be handed down in that country with grateful
recollection. He was hailed as one to whom a whole people owed their
emancipation. The governors vied with the governed in expressing to him
their admiration of the exalted achievements which had immortalized his
name, and which had sustained the honour of the combined armies.
Lord Wellington, immediately after the capture of Almeida, detached two
divisions to the southern army, and soon after proceeded himself to join
Marshal Beresford.
He arrived at his head-quarters after the battle of Albuhera had been
fought, and as soon as the means could be collected, commenced a second
time the siege of Badajos.
The detail of these events which followed the deliverance of Portugal,
does not, however, belong to the present work. To describe the capture
of the important fortresses of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajos, in the face
of superior armies, and the destruction of that of Almaraz, by which the
armies of Marmont and Soult were connected; to follow Lord Wellington
through the brilliant operations which led to the battle of Salamanca,
and to the re-conquest of Madrid and all the southern provinces of
Spain; to trace the execution of that magnificent movement, by which,
all the French defences in the northern provinces of Spain being turned
without a blow, their armies were completely overthrown, with the loss
of all their cannon and baggage, at the battle of Vittoria, and Spain,
like Portugal, was delivered from foreign rule—these glorious
transactions must be left to others to record. They will be handed down,
with the rest of those great events which have distinguished the
triumphant career of Lord Wellington, as a beacon to guide hereafter all
military men in the pursuit of fame, combined with justice, with
moderation, and with virtue.
THE END.
London: Printed by W. CLOWES,
Northumberland-court.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOVEMBER, 1827.
VALUABLE
STANDARD WORKS,
PRINTED FOR
LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN, LONDON.
_VOYAGES AND TRAVELS._
TRAVELS
IN THE
INTERIOR OF SOUTHERN AFRICA.
By WILLIAM J. BURCHELL, Esq.
With an entirely new Map, and numerous other Engravings
from the Author’s own Drawings. In 4to.
_Nearly ready._
Mr. Burchell’s Researches in the Interior of Africa, during five years,
over 4,500 miles of ground, besides numberless lateral excursions, have
produced a multitude of discoveries and observations which have never
yet been laid before the public.
TRAVELS IN PALESTINE,
Through the Countries of Bashan and Gilead, East of the River Jordan:
including a Visit to the Cities of Geraza and Gamala, in the Decapolis.
By J. S. BUCKINGHAM, Esq.
Member of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta; and of the Literary Societies
of Madras and Bombay.
1 Vol. 4to. with Maps, Plates, & Vignettes. 3_l._ 13_s._ 6_d._ Bds.
A VOYAGE TO AFRICA,
INCLUDING
A PARTICULAR NARRATIVE OF AN EMBASSY TO ONE OF THE INTERIOR KINGDOMS, IN
THE YEAR 1820.
By WILLIAM HUTTON,
Late Acting Consul for Ashantee, and an Officer in the African Company’s
Service.
In 1 Vol. 8vo. with Maps and Plates.
A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY
INTO THE
SOUTH SEA AND BEERING’S STRAITS,
For the Purpose of finding out a North-East Passage, undertaken in the
Years 1815, 16, 17, and 18, at the Expence of his Highness the
Chancellor of the Empire, COUNT ROMANZOFF, in the Ship Ruric, under the
Command of the Lieutenant In the Russian Imperial Navy,
OTTO VON KOTZEBUE.
In 3 Vols. 8vo. with Plates and Maps. 2_l._ 5_s._
TRAVELS
IN
GEORGIA, PERSIA, ARMENIA, ANCIENT BABYLONIA, &c. &c.
During the Years 1817, 1818, 1819, 1820.
By SIR ROBERT KER PORTER, &c. &c.
Vol. II. which completes the Work, in 4to. with numerous Engravings of
Portraits, Costumes, Antiquities, &c. &c. _Nearly ready._
_Also may be had_, Vol. I. Price 4_l._ 14_s._ 6_d._ Bds.
SKETCHES
OF
MANNERS, SCENERY, &c.
IN THE FRENCH PROVINCES;
_WITH AN ESSAY ON FRENCH LITERATURE_.
By the late JOHN SCOTT, Esq.
Author of the “Visit to Paris,” &c.
Second Edit. In 8vo. 14_s._
_By the same Author_,
A VISIT to PARIS in 1814, 4th Edit. 8vo. 12_s._ Bds.
PARIS REVISITED in 1815, 3d Edit. 8vo. 12_s._ Bds.
AN ACCOUNT OF CEYLON,
WITH TRAVELS IN THE INTERIOR OF THE ISLAND.
By JOHN DAVY, M.D. F.R.S.
In 4to. with a new Map and other Engravings, 3_l._ 13_s._ 6_d._ Bds.
VIEWS OF AMERICA,
In a Series of Letters from that Country to a Friend in
England, during 1818–19–20.
BY AN ENGLISHWOMAN.
In 1 Vol. 8vo. 13_s._
_The last Voyage to the Arctic Regions._
A JOURNAL
OF
A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY,
TO THE
Arctic Regions,
In His Majesty’s Ships Hecla and Griper, under the Command of Captain
Parry.
By ALEXANDER FISHER, Esq., Surgeon.
Fourth Edit. In 1 Vol. 8vo. with Maps, &c. 12_s._
SKETCHES OF INDIA.
By A TRAVELLER.
FOR FIRE-SIDE TRAVELLERS AT HOME.
In 8vo. Price 10_s._ 6_d._ Bds.
THE THREE VOYAGES
OF
CAPTAIN JAMES COOK,
Round the World.
Printed Verbatim from the Original Editions, with Engravings.
A New Edition. In Seven Volumes, 8vo. 3_l._ 13_s._ 6_d._
LETTERS
Written during a TOUR through NORMANDY, BRITTANY, and other Parts of
FRANCE, in 1818; including Local and Historical Descriptions, with
Remarks on the Manners and Character of the People.
By Mrs. CHARLES STOTHARD.
With numerous Engravings, after Drawings by CHARLES STOTHARD, F.S.A.
In 4to. Price 2_l._ 12_s._ 6_d._ Bds.
A SECOND JOURNEY
THROUGH
PERSIA TO CONSTANTINOPLE,
Between the Years 1810 and 1816. With an Account of the Proceedings of
his Majesty’s Embassy, under his Excellency Sir Gore Ousley, Bart.
K.S.L.
By JAMES MORIER, Esq.
In Royal 4to. with Maps and coloured Plates, 3_l._ 13_s._ 6_d._ Bds.
TRAVELS
IN THE IONIAN ISLES,
IN ALBANIA, THESSALY, AND GREECE,
In 1812 and 1813.
By HENRY HOLLAND, M.D. F.R.S. &c. &c.
In 2 vols. 8vo. illustrated by a Map and Twelve Engravings, Price 1_l._
15_s._ Bds. The 2d Edition.
_A few Copies may be had in 4to. Price 3l. 3s. Boards._
TRAVELS IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES OF THE EAST;
Being a Continuation of Memoirs relating to European and Asiatic Turkey,
&c.
Edited by ROBERT WALPOLE, M.A.
4to. Price 3_l._ 3_s._
MEMOIRS ON EUROPEAN AND ASIATIC TURKEY,
From the Manuscript Journals of Modern Travellers in those Countries.
Edited by ROBERT WALPOLE, A.M.
Second Edition. In 1 Vol. 4to. with Plates. 3_l._ 3_s._ Bds.
THE PERSONAL NARRATIVE
OF
M. DE HUMBOLDT’S TRAVELS TO THE EQUINOCTIAL REGIONS OF THE NEW
CONTINENT,
_During the Years_ 1799–1804.
TRANSLATED BY HELEN MARIA WILLIAMS,
Under the immediate Inspection of the Author. Vol. 5, in 2 Parts, 8vo.
Price 1_l._ 4_s._ Bds. Also Vols. 1 to 4, 8vo. Price 2_l._ 17_s._ Bds.
_By the same Author_,
RESEARCHES on the INSTITUTIONS and MONUMENTS of the ANCIENT
INHABITANTS of AMERICA. A New Edit, in 2 Vols. 8vo. 1_l._ 11_s._
6_d._ Bds.
AN ACCOUNT OF
TIMBUCTOO AND HOUSA,
Territories in the Interior of Africa.
By EL HAGE ABD SALUM SHABEENIE,
To which are added, LETTERS descriptive of various JOURNEYS through West
and South Barbary, and across the Mountains of Atlas.
By JAMES GREY JACKSON, Esq.
In 8vo. Price 14_s._ Bds.
AN ACCOUNT OF
THE KINGDOM OF CAUBUL,
AND ITS DEPENDENCIES, IN PERSIA, TARTARY, AND INDIA;
Comprising a View of the Afghaun Nation, and a History of the Dooraunee
Monarchy.
By the Hon. MOUNTSTUART ELPHINSTONE,
The 2d Edit, in 2 Vols. 8vo. with a Map and 14 Plates. Price 2_l._
2_s._ Bds. A few Copies of the first Edit, in 1 Vol. 4to. with
Plates, Price 3_l._ 13_s._ 6_d._ Bds.
TRAVELS
TO
DISCOVER THE SOURCE OF THE NILE,
In the Years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773.
By JAMES BRUCE, of KINNAIRD, Esq. F.R.S.
The Third Edition. In 7 Vols. 8vo. with an eighth Volume, in royal 4to.
consisting of Engravings, chiefly by Heath, Price 6_l._ 6_s._ in Boards.
_HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY._
THE PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL CORRESPONDENCE
OF
CHARLES TALBOT,
_Duke of Shrewsbury_,