_Salamanca_, and the French commander making a faulty movement,
the British general ordered his divisions forward and commenced
the battle. For some time the SIXTY-FIRST were formed, with
their division, behind the village of Arapiles, to support the
fourth division, which was engaged upon a rising ground beyond
the village; the regiment was exposed to a heavy cannonade; and
the village was soon in flames from the bursting of shells. The
fourth division being pressed by very superior numbers, the sixth
division advanced at a running pace to its support, and on passing
the village of Arapiles the SIXTY-FIRST opened their fire; but
the French soldiers were so mingled with the men of the fourth
division, that the regiment ceased firing for fear of destroying
friends as well as enemies. The French carried the hill, and,
elated with success, rushed forward with great impetuosity; but
the Eleventh and SIXTY-FIRST gave three cheers, fired a volley, and
charged with bayonets with so much resolution that the torrent of
battle was arrested, and, after a desperate effort, the French were
overpowered, and the hill was re-captured. Lieut.-Colonel Barlow,
Major Downing, eight other officers, and about a hundred soldiers
had fallen; but the survivors pressed upon their opponents with
the bayonet until ordered to halt on the low ground beyond the
hill. The French rallied under a cloud of skirmishers, and appeared
intent on attempting to recover the hill. At this moment the
regiment was exposed to the fire of a number of sharpshooters, and
a numerous artillery, it was threatened with a charge of infantry,
and a hostile body of cavalry was manœuvring on its left, yet it
was as steady as on an ordinary parade; the surviving officers and
soldiers formed four divisions two deep, and prepared to charge
with their gallant associates of the Eleventh Regiment. Colonel
Napier states, in his _History of the Peninsular War_,--“The
struggle was no slight one. The men of General Hulse’s brigade,
which was on the left, went down by hundreds, and the SIXTY-FIRST
and Eleventh Regiments won their way desperately, and through such
a fire as British soldiers only can sustain.” The southern ridge
was regained, and “the reserve of Boyer’s dragoons coming on at a
canter, were met and broken by the fire of Hulse’s noble brigade.
Then the changing current of the fight once more set for the
British.” In this second advance the Eleventh and SIXTY-FIRST drove
the enemy before them a considerable distance. The two regiments
then halted, and being within range of the enemy’s artillery,
Major-General Hulse directed the men to sit down; but the French
fire occasioned many casualties, and the major-general called the
commanding officers of regiments forward and directed them to
acquaint their men with his intention of attacking the heights
in front. This was answered by three cheers from the surviving
officers and men, and an immediate advance, under a destructive
fire from the French artillery and skirmishers; but the brigade
pressed gallantly forward and speedily gained the summit. The
French formed column. The Eleventh and SIXTY-FIRST changed front,
and opening their fire, soon forced the enemy to retire. The
officers and serjeants with the colours of the SIXTY-FIRST fell
under the enemy’s fire, when the colours were seized by Privates
_William Crawford_ and _Nicholas Coulson_, who carried them to
the top of the hill. Crawford was instantly promoted to serjeant;
the same rank was offered to Coulson, but he answered that he was
over-rewarded already by the cheers and thanks of his comrades, and
the approbation of his officers. Serjeant Crawford fell a sacrifice
to his gallantry in a subsequent engagement.
Lieutenants Wolfe and Armstrong took charge of the colours, and
the regiment continued to advance. The sixth division was engaged
towards the close of the action, in forcing the French from the
last height on which they ventured to make a stand: and when
darkness put an end to the fight, the British were victorious at
every part of the field; at the same time the broken remains of the
French army were hurrying from the scene of disaster in confusion.
The loss of the SIXTY-FIRST on this occasion was very
severe,--Lieut.-Colonel Barlow, Captains Stubbs, Horton, and
Favell, Lieutenants Chawner and Parker, Ensign Bere, three
serjeants, one drummer, and thirty-five rank and file, killed;
Major Downing, Captains Oke, McLeod, and Greene, Lieutenants
Falkner, Daniel, Chapman, Chipchase, Furnace, Gloster, Collis,
Wolfe, Brackenbury, Royal, and Toole, Ensigns White and Singleton,
twenty-two serjeants, one drummer, and two hundred and eighty rank
and file, wounded. Major Downing died of his wounds[5].
Captain Annesley, who commanded the regiment at the close of
the action, received a gold medal; and the word “SALAMANCA” was
inscribed on the colours, by royal authority, to commemorate its
distinguished gallantry on this memorable occasion.
Shortly after the battle of Salamanca the command of a brigade in
the fifth division was conferred on Major-General Hulse, who took
leave of the brigade he had previously commanded in the following
orders:--“His Excellency the Commander of the Forces having been
pleased to remove Major-General Hulse to the command of a brigade
in the fifth division, the major-general cannot leave the officers
and soldiers of the brigade he had the honor and happiness to
command for nearly two years, without assuring them how fully
satisfied he has ever been with their excellent conduct, both in
quarters and in the field, during that period. The major-general
wishes, most pointedly, to express how much he feels indebted to
them for their steadiness and determined courage displayed in the
action of the 22nd instant. It will ever be to him a source of
the greatest pride to have had the honor to command them on that
glorious day. Never did British troops acquit themselves in a more
gallant style! and Major-General Hulse hopes all will accept his
best thanks for their exemplary conduct, and his warmest wishes for
their future welfare.”
After pursuing the broken remains of the French army to Valladolid,
the British General marched to Madrid, leaving the SIXTY-FIRST,
and a few other corps, at the town of Cuellar, situate on the
declivity of a hill in the province of Segovia. The French army
being reinforced, advanced down the Pisuerga valley, when the
British infantry removed to Arevalo, and the French took possession
of Valladolid. Lord Wellington returning from Madrid, the French
again retreated, and the British advanced up the beautiful Pisuerga
and Arlanzan valley to _Burgos_, and commenced the siege of the
castle, in which service the SIXTY-FIRST were engaged; many of the
officers and soldiers having recovered of their wounds, were again
at the post of honor, and the regiment mustered about two hundred
men, under Captains Sparrow, Greene, and Annesley, Lieutenants
McLean, Furnace, Wolfe, Armstrong, and Harris. Lieutenant Stuart
was attached to the engineer department, and was severely wounded.
For a short time the regiment was encamped about a mile from the
fortress, but afterwards removed to the Hopital del Rey. Captain
Annesley and a party of the regiment distinguished themselves at
the storming of the outworks on the 4th of October, for which they
were thanked in orders by Colonel Bingham, the field officer on
duty in the trenches at the time. The distinguished gallantry of
Private Edmonstone, on this occasion, was rewarded with the rank of
serjeant.
On one occasion, the post occupied by a small piquet, under
Lieutenant Armstrong, was destroyed by a mine, which killed and
wounded two-thirds of the piquet; the enemy at the same time
making a sortie. The lieutenant was thrown some distance by the
explosion, but was not seriously injured; and he took possession,
with the surviving men, of some houses, and by a steady fire forced
the French to retire within their works;--Lieutenant Armstrong
humorously observing, “My cloak is on the post, and the French
shall not even possess that as a trophy.” On another occasion,
Lieutenant Harris and a party of the regiment evinced great
intrepidity on the glacis.
The concentration of the enemy’s numerous forces rendered it
necessary for the British to raise the siege of Burgos Castle and
retire, and the SIXTY-FIRST shared in the fatigues and privations
of this retrograde movement. On one occasion the light company,
under Lieutenant Wolfe, was employed in retarding the passage of a
river by the enemy; and the regiment also aided in the destruction
of one of the bridges across the Douro. The regiment arrived
at the frontiers of Portugal, without losing more than one man
during the retreat. It proceeded into quarters under the orders of
Lieut.-Colonel Coghlan; and was joined by a strong detachment from
the second battalion during the winter.
[Sidenote: 1813]
The progress of military organization in Portugal and Spain, with
the arrival of reinforcements from England, enabled the British
commander to take the field in May, 1813, with a formidable army.
He drove the French from Salamanca, turned their positions on the
Douro, and forced them back in disorder upon Burgos, when they
destroyed the castle and retreated to the Ebro, the passage of
which river they were prepared to defend; but he turned their
position by a flank march, and obliged them to fall back upon
Vittoria, where they formed for battle. The sixth division was left
behind at Medina de Pomar, to cover the march of the magazines,
and the SIXTY-FIRST were thus prevented sharing in the victory at
Vittoria on the 21st of June. They were sufficiently near to hear
the firing, and arrived at the field of battle on the following
day, to take charge of the captured artillery and stores.
The regiment was subsequently employed in attempting to intercept
the French division under General Clausel, and when this force
had escaped to France, the regiment proceeded to Pampeluna, to
take part in the blockade of that fortress, from which duty it was
relieved by a Spanish corps, on the 14th of July, and advanced into
the Pyrenean Mountains to San Estevan, situated in a beautiful
valley, where it halted. Thus, after marching nearly six hundred
miles in seven weeks, passing six great rivers, gaining one
decisive battle, and investing the two fortresses of Pampeluna
and San Sebastian, the allied army stood triumphant on the lofty
Pyrenees, and the officers and soldiers panted for opportunities to
acquire additional honors.
The French army having been reinforced, and reorganized,
advanced under Marshal Soult, and attacked the British posts in
the mountains, when the allied army fell back to a position in
front of Pampeluna. The sixth division, to which the SIXTY-FIRST
continued to belong, quitted San Estevan to support the troops
first attacked; but when advancing, Lord Wellington rode up to
the division, and ordered it to halt for the night. It afterwards
retired through the mountain passes, and bivouacked, during the
night of the 27th of July, in a pine-wood. At daybreak on the
following morning it resumed its march, and joining the army in
position in the mountains, formed for battle across the valley
in the rear of the left of the fourth division, its right on the
village of Oricain, and its left on some heights.
Soon after the regiment had taken its post, columns of attack
were seen in motion to commence the battle of the _Pyrenees_,
where the SIXTY-FIRST had another opportunity of distinguishing
themselves. A body of French troops moved along the valley of Lanz
towards the mountain at its extremity, and the SIXTY-FIRST, with
two other British corps, were ordered to move at a running pace
and occupy the mountain. The SIXTY-FIRST hastened up the hill on
one side, as the French skirmishers ascended on the other; but
the British gained the summit first, and opened their fire with
terrible effect. The French were encompassed in the valley; two
brigades smote them from the left, the Portuguese smote them from
the right, and the sixth division forced them back with a terrible
carnage. The enemy retreated behind the village of Sauroren. The
SIXTY-FIRST, and two other regiments, advanced to a post near the
village, and the fire of small-arms was kept up until dark.
No serious fighting occurred on the 29th of July; but on the
morning of the 30th the British batteries opened from the heights,
and a cloud of skirmishers advanced against Sauroren. The firing
at this point afterwards subsided; but was eventually renewed,
and the SIXTY-FIRST had the honor to participate in storming the
village and heights of Sauroren, and in forcing the French from a
position, which, from its natural strength and advantages, appeared
almost impregnable. The pursuit was continued until night, and many
prisoners were taken.
The regiment had seventy men killed and wounded; Captains Charleton
and McLean, Lieutenants Wolfe and O’Kearney, and Volunteer Leebody,
were wounded.
Lieut.-Colonel Coghlan received a gold medal; and the word
“PYRENEES” was placed upon the colours of the regiment, as a mark
of royal approbation of its gallant conduct.
Continuing the pursuit of the enemy to the extremity of the
Pyrenees, the regiment ascended the summit of one of the highest
mountains on the 2nd of August, and as the soldiers beheld the
beautiful plains of France, which Napoleon had often declared to
be inviolable, spread in rich landscape scenery before them, they
experienced emotions of exultation in the anticipation of future
conquests. In the afternoon the regiment encamped on a piece of
high ground, surrounded by inaccessible rock, the only entrance to
which was through a chasm; a beautiful stream ran along the hollow
below, with a cannon foundry on its banks. Two days afterwards it
marched to the vale of Los Alduides: and afterwards penetrated
France some distance; but withdrew towards Maya, and relieved the
second division on the heights commanding the pass of Maya, where
the soldiers threw up breastworks. The prospect from these heights
was particularly interesting: on the left was seen the sea, and
the fortress of Bayonne; on the right the thickly wooded plains
of Gascony, interspersed with towns and villages; in front was
the French army; and in the rear of the right and left, the lofty
Pyrenees crowned with the tents of the British army.
On the 1st of September the division drove the enemy from two
heights in its front; and on the 9th of October, it again attacked
the French, to favour the operations of the British troops which
had passed the Bidassoa. Three companies of the SIXTY-FIRST were
engaged on this occasion.
Invigorated by the mountain air, and impatient to win the fair
plains of France before them, the soldiers received with joyful
anticipations the orders to advance, and attack the enemy’s
positions on the _Nivelle_. The SIXTY-FIRST descended from the
mountains by moonlight on the night of the 9th of November, and lay
concealed near the enemy’s piquets until the following morning.
The day broke with great splendour, and as the first rays of
light gilded the summits of the mountains, three guns gave the
signal for the attack, and the French beheld with astonishment the
allied army rise from its concealment, and rush to battle with an
impetuosity they were not prepared to withstand. The SIXTY-FIRST
passed the Nivelle river, and marched through a rugged country
towards the bridge of Amotz, to attack the works at that place;
the skirmishers of the regiment were in front under Lieutenant
Harris. Advancing up a difficult ascent, covered with bushes,
under a sharp fire, the regiment drove a body of French troops
from a semicircular breastwork; several officers of the regiment
outran the men, who had knapsacks to carry, and first jumped into
the works:--Captain William Henry Furnace, who had repeatedly
distinguished himself, fell a sacrifice to his gallantry; and
Lieutenant Christopher Kellet was killed about the same time. The
regiment pressed resolutely forward to storm a redoubt at the top
of the hill; its commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Coghlan,
received a shot through the cap, which grazed the top of his
head,--several officers and men fell, but the regiment continued
its rapid advance, and Lieutenant Harris jumped across the ditch
of the redoubt, when the French fled in dismay, and many of them
were intercepted in the rear of the redoubt. Lieutenant-General
Sir Rowland Hill came up to the regiment, and thanked the officers
and soldiers repeatedly for the very gallant manner in which they
had ascended under the enemy’s fire. A second redoubt was captured
at this part of the enemy’s line, and afterwards a third. The
SIXTY-FIRST penetrated the enemy’s camp, which had been abandoned
and set on fire. The light company of the regiment was detached
on this occasion, and distinguished itself. A decisive victory
was gained, and the British army established itself in the French
territory. Captains James Horton, Marcus Annesley, and Hugh Eccles,
Lieutenants Robert Belton, and Archer Toole, were all severely
wounded.
Lieutenant-Colonel Coghlan received an honorary distinction; Major
Oke was promoted to the rank of lieut.-colonel; and the gallantry
displayed by the regiment on this occasion, was rewarded with the
word “NIVELLE” on its colours.
After this success, the regiment occupied quarters at Ustaritz,
which was found an agreeable change; the bleak summits of the
mountains, on which it had been long stationed, having become
extremely cold. The moral and physical energies of the men were
in full power, and nothing could have withstood their conquering
progress had the weather been favourable.
Early in December a forward movement was ordered; and on the
morning of the 9th of that month a beacon lighted on the heights
above Cambo gave the signal for the attack, when the passage of the
river _Nive_ was forced, and the enemy driven back towards Bayonne.
The sixth division passed the river on floating bridges. The
advanced-guard (in which was the light company of the SIXTY-FIRST,
formed in a light battalion under Captain Greene, of the regiment,)
evinced great gallantry, and surprised the first French piquet,
which fled in dismay. Some sharp fighting occurred; Captain Greene
was wounded, and Captain Charleton was sent from the regiment to
take command of the light battalion. The swampy nature of the
country retarded the advance of the division, and gave time for the
French troops to effect their retreat towards Bayonne. The enemy
advanced and attacked the British troops on the three following
days, but were repulsed.
At the passage of the “NIVE” the regiment earned another honorary
inscription for its colours; and Captain Greene received a medal.
Its loss was limited to Captains Greene and Charleton wounded, and
a few private soldiers killed and wounded.
[Sidenote: 1814]
The regiment was stationed at Ville-Franque from the middle of
November until the 22nd of February, 1814, assisting in the
blockade of _Bayonne_. On one occasion, when the regiment had gone
out for field exercise, leaving the officers, bât-men, pioneers,
and the quartermaster-serjeant in quarters, a heavy fall of rain
so swelled the stream of the Nive, that the pontoon-bridge of
communication was detached from its moorings, and was seen floating
down the stream. Quartermaster-Serjeant Rose (who distinguished
himself at Talavera) and Private Thomas Dawson got hold of the
bridge, and, at the hazard of their lives, succeeded in securing
it, by which much inconvenience to the service was prevented. The
quartermaster-serjeant was rewarded with a commission, and a sum of
money was given to Private Dawson.
Quitting Ville-Franque, the regiment advanced up the country, and
passing the river near Bereux, by a pontoon-bridge, on the morning
of the 27th of February, it afterwards ascended by a narrow way
between high rocks to the great road to Peyrehorade, which brought
it into the presence of the French army, under Marshal Soult, in
position near _Orthes_. The action commenced in the forenoon. The
third and sixth divisions won, without difficulty, the lower part
of the ridges opposed to them, and endeavoured to extend their left
along the French front with a sharp fire of musketry. On the other
flank the French defended their post with more resolution. During
the early part of the day, the skirmishers only of the SIXTY-FIRST
were engaged, and the regiment was in reserve; when the French army
gave way, two fine battalions were seen attempting to cover the
retreat, and Lieut.-Colonel Coghlan led the SIXTY-FIRST Regiment
against them at a running pace. The two battalions fired a volley
and retreated, pursued by the British light cavalry.
Lieut.-Colonel Coghlan received another honorary distinction for
this battle; and the word “ORTHES,” on the colours, commemorates
the gallant bearing of the regiment on this occasion. Its loss was
limited to one serjeant and ten men, killed and wounded.
Pursuing the retreating enemy on the following day, the regiment
took some prisoners, and, being in advance, discovered part of
the French army on an eminence near St. Sever; the enemy again
retreated after dark, and was followed on the succeeding days.
On one occasion the regiment lost a serjeant and seven men in a
skirmish; and Lieutenant Furnace, of the light company, had a
narrow escape, a ball having passed through the collar of his coat.
The regiment again came up with the enemy on the 16th of March,
near Tarbes, and had a few men wounded. The weather was fine, the
soldiers healthy, vigorous, and animated with their uninterrupted
career of success, so that they were ready for any service; but
the French continued their retreat without hazarding a serious
engagement.
Marshal Soult concentrated the French troops under his command in a
fortified position at _Toulouse_; and on the morning of the 10th of
April, the SIXTY-FIRST Regiment was in motion with the fourth and
sixth divisions, under Marshal Beresford, to turn the enemy’s right
flank. The regiment being halted beyond the river Ers, while Lord
Wellington and his staff reconnoitred the enemy, Lieut.-Colonel
Coghlan took that opportunity to address the officers and men in
a short and animated speech, which made a great impression on
their minds. Immediately afterwards the regiment advanced; it
crossed the river Ers, and marched along the left bank exposed
to the enemy’s cannonade. On arriving at its destined point, the
brigade was wheeled into line by Major-General Lambert, who
led it forward to attack a formidable height occupied by French
troops. The enemy descended with loud shouts to meet the advancing
line, and opened a heavy fire of musketry; the SIXTY-FIRST rushed
forward without firing a shot, the officers animating the men by
their example, and answering the French shouts with a loud and
confident huzza! They carried the height with fixed bayonets, but
sustained severe loss. Many of the officers having outrun their
men, who were retarded by the weight of their knapsacks, entered
a French redoubt at the moment the defenders were quitting it,
when a number of French soldiers turned round and fired with fatal
effect: of the SIXTY-FIRST, Lieut.-Colonel Oke, Captain Charleton
(who was calling to the enemy to surrender), and Lieutenant Arden,
were wounded,--the latter mortally. The regiment advanced along
the height until it was ordered to halt under an earthen fence,
which partially sheltered it from the enemy’s guns. Early in the
action its gallant commanding officer, Lieut.-Colonel Coghlan, was
mortally wounded[6]. In the afternoon the regiment, much reduced
in numbers, supported the attack of the Scots brigade on a range
of redoubts, from which the enemy was driven with loss: and the
SIXTY-FIRST were directed to occupy one of the captured redoubts.
The French advanced to recover the redoubts; when Major-General
Lambert directed a division of the SIXTY-FIRST to cross the road,
which was commanded by the enemy’s fire, and reinforce the troops
in another redoubt. This was a perilous movement; but Captain
CHARLETON, whose wound was dressed in the field in time to enable
him to rejoin and command the regiment in its second attack,
placed himself in front of the division, exclaiming, “I will show
the way!” Serjeant _Fraser_ stepped to follow his captain, and,
encouraged by this example, the division made the movement at a
running pace; several officers and soldiers were, however, hit by
the French marksmen. The regiment defended the post committed to
its charge, and the French were driven from their works, and forced
to take refuge in the suburbs of the city of Toulouse. At the
termination of the action, the surviving men of the regiment were
brought out of the field by Adjutant Bace, assisted by two ensigns
and Serjeant Robert Hogg, whose name merits notice from his zealous
exertions during the action.
The SIXTY-FIRST was included, in Lord Wellington’s despatch,
among the corps which had sustained severe loss, and were highly
distinguished throughout the day.