Lawrence transferred into the Grenadier company -- The regiment
embarks at Cadiz for Lisbon again in consequence of Sir John
Moore's defeat at Corunna -- Hospitality of an English merchant
-- March to join Sir Arthur Wellesley at Castello Branco -- The
Spanish troops reviewed -- Lawrence's opinion of them -- Battle
of Talavera -- Lawrence's opinion of the Spaniards justified --
Severe fighting on the second day of the battle -- Friendliness
between the wounded -- Final attack and repulse of the French --
Horrible fate of some of the wounded -- Advance to Oropesa -- The
Spanish General Cuesta deserts the wounded at Talavera -- March
towards Badajoz -- Privations on the road -- Fresh supply of
clothes at Badajoz -- Lawrence invalided to Elvas -- Is cured
chiefly by reflecting on his manner of burial -- Returns to
Badajoz -- Sir Arthur Wellesley made Viscount Wellington -- End
of 1809.
I remained in hospital about three weeks, and on coming out I was
transferred from the Light into the Grenadier company.
As I before said, on leaving Seville, which I did in a pretty well
marked state, of which I bear the remembrances on my back to this day
upwards of fifty years since, we marched to Cadiz and encamped there,
intending to embark for Lisbon, Sir John Moore's army having been by
that time repulsed by sheer force of numbers, and himself killed at
Corunna. On that night an English wine-merchant asked permission to
give each man in our regiment a pint of wine and each woman half that
quantity, with a pound of bread apiece; and accordingly we were all
drawn up in line, and marched into a tremendous cellar, big enough,
had they been so disposed, to have admitted the whole regiment, with
two doors one at each end, at one of which we entered to receive our
share, and went out by the other. He likewise invited the officers to
dine with him; and so that night, after drinking the merchant's little
kindness, as we most of us did to pretty quick time, we slept a good
deal sounder.
Next day we embarked for Lisbon, and after landing there we proceeded
some miles up the country to join Sir Arthur's army in Castello
Branco, making up altogether about twenty thousand English and sixty
or eighty thousand Allies.
We then advanced across a fine plain, which I should think was more
famed for hares than anything else, for I never saw any place that
swarmed so with that kind of game. They were running in all
directions, and often even right into our lines, for they are stupid
animals when frightened, as they then were by the noise our men made;
and I managed to kill one with the muzzle of my musket, and sold it to
the captain of my company for a dollar.
The bands played each before its own regiment as we crossed the plain,
and Sir Arthur Wellesley took the opportunity of reviewing the Spanish
troops as they passed. They looked a fine enough set of men, but they
were fit for scarcely anything except to fall into disorder and
confusion, as we had already found when we had taken the field against
some of them at Monte Video, Colonia, and Buenos Ayres, the smell of
powder often seeming to cause them to be missing when wanted, either
from not having been properly disciplined, or else because they had
not good officers to command them; this, of course, now bringing the
brunt of most of the battles on us.
We often passed marks of the enemy's encampments, and even encamped at
or near the same places ourselves, as close as possible to some river
or large supply of water, a small quantity being of little use for the
purposes of a large body of men like our army, accompanied as it was,
too, by horses and wagons and such things. We never caught sight of
the enemy, however, till we got to Talavera, where we came to an
engagement with the French on the 27th and 28th of July, 1809. The
whole of our line there extended for about two miles, and at times the
whole of it was joining in the general engagement, which came more hot
upon us for the reason before described; a great number of the
Spaniards even throwing down their arms and fleeing, for which conduct
their general, Cuesta, ordered them to be decimated; but eventually,
on the entreaty of Sir Arthur Wellesley, only about forty of them were
killed. General Cuesta, however, really wanted quite as much leading
on as his men, as he was often very obstinate, and refused to fight
when called upon by Sir Arthur Wellesley.
After the first day's battle we encamped on the ground we then
occupied, but the French made another and unexpected attack on us at
night, and at one time had almost gained the heights; but we repulsed
them at last, though after that we had to lie on our arms, expecting
every minute to be again attacked. Some little altercation occurred
with the Spaniards very early in the morning, but it only lasted a
short time; however, about five or six o'clock the French columns were
seen in motion towards our left, and very soon afterwards they
ascended the height to attack us, and were only driven back by the
heavy fire of our musketry, leaving the ground strewn with their dead.
At eleven or twelve o'clock in the day the firing ceased, and a period
of truce was allowed for both armies to collect their wounded, and
convey them to the rear, where, as they lay often intermixed, a
friendly intercourse sprang up between them, the Allies and French
often going so far as to shake hands with each other.
At one or two o'clock the enemy again advanced and recommenced with a
heavy cannonade and an attack on the whole British lines, but after
some very brisk fighting on both sides we repulsed them for the third
time, and obliged them to retreat with a loss of some thousands and a
few pieces of cannon, the British loss being about a thousand killed
and three or four thousand wounded. A very dreadful occurrence
happened after the battle, for the long dry grass in which many of the
wounded were lying caught fire, and many were scorched to death before
assistance could be brought to convey them to hospital in Talavera. We
lay that night in much the same state as on that previous, expecting
to see our noble enemy again, but we were mistaken, for most of them
took themselves off during the night, and in the morning only their
rear-guard could be seen.
Next month commenced by Sir Arthur Wellesley leaving the Spanish
general Cuesta in charge of Talavera and the wounded, while on the
3rd he proceeded to Oropesa, where he expected to come up with and
engage Soult's army. But he had not been there long before he found
the obstinate Cuesta, upon hearing that the enemy was on his flank,
had abandoned Talavera, thus leaving nearly the whole of the British
wounded unprotected. The conduct of Cuesta in thus retreating and
abandoning the position and the charge entrusted to him, was almost
too much for Sir Arthur to bear, particularly as it was afterwards
found that there was no need for it, as the enemy was at some distance
off, and not in the least interfering with the Spanish army's
movements. So in this case we would have been much better without his
services altogether.
From Oropesa we advanced through a country abounding with
difficulties, the army suffering much during this march from the heat
of the weather, the long exposure, insufficient food, and bad roads,
and illness being very prevalent. Our provisions rarely exceeded two
pounds of meat a day; and sometimes a pint of wheat took the place of
one of the pounds of meat, with occasionally, but very rarely, a
little flour. Our way of cooking the wheat was to boil it like rice,
or sometimes, if convenient, we would crack the kernel between two
flat stones and then boil it, making a kind of thick paste out of it.
This having so little bread or other vegetable substance to eat with
our meat was one of the great causes of illness.
We halted at or near Val de la Casa as our next stage for Oropesa,
and two days after that at Deleitosa; and from there we were marched
to Xaracego, whence, through lack of provisions, we were obliged to
proceed to Badajoz, arriving there after being about a fortnight on
the road. On leaving Talavera our clothes had been completely
threadbare, and now, through having no change for so long we were
smothered with vermin. When we had been a little while in Badajoz,
however, we were supplied with new clothes, linen, blankets, and great
coats, our old ones being burnt; and more live stock was destroyed in
the process than there were troops in the country at the time.
Whilst we were staying at Badajoz, numbers of us fell sick daily, and
amongst them was unfortunately myself. We were conveyed to a
Portuguese town some four leagues from Badajoz, called Elvas, which
was the strongest fortified town in Portugal, being very little more
than two leagues from the frontier of Spain. It was situated at the
summit of a lofty hill, and at the other side of a valley was a still
higher hill, on the top of which was built another strong fort, the
two together being called Elvas. We invalids occupied the convents of
the town.
Our loss here through the sickness, which was some kind of fever, and
was increased through the want of doctors and medicine, was very
great, cartloads of the dead being carried out of the town every day
for interment in the ground kept for the purpose outside the
fortifications. I recovered sufficiently after about six weeks to be
able to get out a little on the ramparts, and there a fearful
spectacle often met my gaze, for the dead were brought out of the
convents completely naked, and after they had been pitched into carts
like so many pieces of wood, were carried out and put into holes
scarcely large enough to admit of such a number. This unpleasant
office of burying the dead fell chiefly on the Portuguese convicts,
and it was surprising to see with what readiness these men went to
work. They carried one body at a time, having the legs over their
shoulders, and the head dangling down behind them, and when they came
to the graves, on account of the piece of ground appropriated for the
burials being so small, they had to pack their burdens with the
greatest nicety. This sight soon cured me, as I thought what a narrow
escape I had had of being handled by these same men; and I was glad to
get back to my regiment at Badajoz as soon as possible.
Thus ended the proceedings of 1809. Sir Arthur Wellesley was, after
the battle of Talavera, raised to the rank of Viscount Wellington.