Advance to the Pyrenees -- Capture and destruction of a
provision train -- Unpleasant episode during Sunday service --
The regiment takes up its position on the heights of Villebar --
The enemy's attempts to dislodge them all successfully repulsed
-- Sad death of a straggler -- Lawrence goes to get a watch-chain
and has a narrow escape -- Exchange of wounded prisoners -- The
French finally driven off the mountains -- The captain of the
regiment presented with a testimonial at the French expense.
On the day after the adventure of the dough-boys we were again ordered
to march, and advanced towards Pampeluna; but that town being
garrisoned by the French, we passed it on our left, and proceeding for
some distance further west, encamped near some hills with strong
fortifications on their summit. There we lay a few days, and thence
arrived on the heights of Villebar in the Pyrenees in the latter part
of July, where we took up our position. Lord Wellington had extended
his army in a line along the Pyrenees which must have exceeded thirty
miles from the extreme left to the extreme right, and which would
owing to the difficulties of the mountain barriers have made it very
hard to combine in case of an attack in force by the enemy on any
particular part of our line. Thus in warfare such as has now to be
described we ran more risk than the French, who being able to form in
their own country and drive their body on any part of our line, had a
considerable advantage over us.
Our division, with a brigade of the Second and another division of the
Spanish, occupied the extreme right, covering Pampeluna. Very shortly
after our arrival the action commenced on our left; and meanwhile
suspicions were entertained that Soult intended to attack, so as to
reinforce and throw supplies into Pampeluna, which was being blockaded
by the Allies and in danger of capitulating owing to shortness of
provisions. Lord Wellington accordingly sent our division to a
particular pass of the mountains in search of the said supplies, and
after marching over hills, mountains, and valleys for at least thirty
miles, we at length fell in with about three hundred carts laden with
provisions and ammunition. They were guarded, however, by a strong
body of the enemy, who soon attacked us; but they met with a strong
reception, and after a severe altercation on both sides we succeeded
in capturing the booty.
Owing, however, to the difficulty of the country, and our not having
proper means of transportation, we were obliged to set fire to the
bread, of which there was a great quantity, although it was the very
substance of which we were so much in need. It went very much against
our will, but that being the order it had to be attended to; not,
however, before some of our men had stocked themselves with a portion
that could reasonably be moved. Then having placed the ammunition
together and extended a long train so that at any time it might be
easily blown up, we retired some distance and waited for the
reappearance of the enemy, who, most likely thinking we had abandoned
some of the carts, were not long before they came back in strong
force; and on their nearing the fatal machine the train was fired and
a great number of them were soon launched into the air. We retreated
after that as quickly as possible to Pampeluna out of reach of the
enemy, falling back that day at least twenty miles; a hard day's work
indeed, but not thought much of in those times, when equally hard days
were so often passed through, especially in a hasty retreat or on a
well-fought battlefield.
We again encamped for nearly a week, during which time we amused
ourselves in throwing up huts for officers' quarters, cooking-houses,
and the like; and we had settled down so nicely that we had almost
begun to think we were to be stationed there for at least six months.
But on the very next Sunday we found that we were mistaken and that
our hopes were to be disappointed. A square had been formed into which
a parson entered to read prayers and preach, and a drum being placed
for his books and a knapsack for him to kneel on, he had proceeded
with the service for some little time, when all of a sudden up he
jumped with his traps and made a bolt, before any one had hardly time
to see the cause, amid the applause and laughter of the whole of the
troops at his running, which was as fast as his legs could carry him,
and looked then as if the poor man might be going on even till now.
They used to say that the three scarcest things to be seen in an army
were a dead parson, drum-major, or a woman: the explanation of this
was to be found in the fact that they were none of them often to be
seen on a battlefield; and I think in this case our parson must have
told and frightened all the others in the kingdom, for never after
that did we have any service in the field.
But the cause of the sudden flight on the part of the parson proved
not to be one entirely of enjoyment, for a large body of the enemy
appearing, we likewise found ourselves running about pretty smartly
and preparing for immediate action. The affair lasted hotly till dusk,
our division losing some four or five hundred men. When night fell we
were obliged to retreat still further towards Pampeluna, leaving the
wounded, with the exception of two grenadiers who had been shot in the
thighs, and whom we took turns to carry in two blankets, in the
enemy's hands.
We had to get through a very thick wood of quite three or four miles
in extent, which took us the whole night to accomplish; and in the
morning when we were finally through, we lay down like so many loaded
donkeys; still obliged, however, to remain in readiness, as we
expected to be pursued. And soon enough we found we were, for we had
not lain down very long before the enemy came up and charged us hotly,
again forcing us to follow up our retreat, without even thinking this
time of our two wounded burdens, who were left to the mercy of the
enemy. In a few hours, however, we again joined the main army, or
rather got into its line; and pleased enough we all were to get back.
We were then posted in a strong position on the heights of Villebar
with the Spanish troops on our right. The French soon made their
appearance and attacked the Spanish corps, who fired at them long
before they came within bounds of shot, not having proper officers to
guide them; those that ought to have been leading them on having
instead placed themselves out of the way, leaving their men to do the
dirty work; and of course these latter soon decamped too. Our
regiment, however, was soon on the scene; and hastening in that
direction, we managed to get there before the enemy had gained the
summit of this important ridge. Orders had been issued by our officers
not to fire till we could do good work; but this soon came to pass,
for the French quickly sallied up and fired first, and we returned it
in less than a minute. I never saw a single volley do so much
execution in all my campaigning days, almost every man of their two
first ranks falling; and then we instantly charged and chased them
down the mountain, doing still further and more fearful havoc. When we
had done we returned to our old summit again, where the captain
cheered and praised us for our gallantry, saying that he had never
seen a braver set of men, and that he hoped we would always succeed in
preserving our ground equally well. Our likewise brave enemy tried
again two hours later to shift us and take possession of our ground;
but they were again received as before and again sent down the hill.
We were again praised by our commander, who said, "I think they have
got enough of it by this time, and won't make a third attack in a
hurry;" but we were mistaken, for four hours had not passed before
they were up again with fresh reinforcements. Some of our men then
seemed to despair, for I heard them even say to the officers who were
so bravely leading us on, "We shall have to be off this time." "Never
mind," replied the officers, "keep your ground if possible, and don't
let yourselves be beaten;" which we did like bricks, for on their
arrival and trying to outflank us, so that we were obliged to wheel
round to the left, the right flank opened fire as they were close upon
us, and instantly charged right into them with the bayonet, forcing
them to retreat.
They again fell up to support their other companies, who were
attacking our other flank; but we reloaded and were then ready to meet
them, again pouring another of our deadly volleys into their ranks and
then going at them again with our bayonets like enraged bulldogs. The
fight that ensued was most sanguinary, but we succeeded again in
driving them down the mountain at last. I should think they must have
numbered five to our one; in fact the whole of our fourth division was
attacked, but all assisted equally bravely in retaining our position
on the heights and earned great praise from our commanders. I do not
myself think, however, that we could ever have routed so large a
number of the French had it not been for our advantageous ground. Some
Portuguese troops likewise behaved very well, but as for the
Spaniards, I can safely affirm that after their first retreat I did
not see any more of them again that day.
We encamped that night on the same ground that we had so well
defended. Our captain, who was as nice a man as ever commanded in the
Peninsula, always seeming to share everything with the men and bear
the blunt as well as the smooth, and the losses as well as the
profits, now said, "Come, my brave men, turn to and cook yourselves
something to eat, for you have earned it well;" an order which we soon
set about to obey. A quantity of rum had been sent up for us, so we
were able to sit down tired as we were and enjoy ourselves as if
nothing extraordinary had occurred that day. We then sent out a picket
and prepared to take our rest for the night, the French not seeming
inclined to sally up any more to engage us on those heights.
When the returns were called off the list, we found our killed and
wounded amounted to seventy-four, but one more of our number was soon
to be added to the sum total. A comrade of my own company went in
search of sticks to liven up our fire: I told him to be careful and
not get in sight of the enemy's picket, or they might have a pop at
him, and he replied never fear, he would be careful; but the foolish
fellow had been gone but a few minutes, when he was shot through the
neck. Instead of keeping his own side of the hill, he had diverged on
to the other close enough to be observed by one of the enemy's
riflemen, who shot him as I have described. I happened to hear the
shot, and found that it had been at him, so I went and dragged him
back, pretty quickly as may be supposed, for I was fearful lest I
should be shot likewise myself. The poor fellow was not dead, but
exclaimed, "O corporal, I am a dead man!" When I had got him out of
the enemy's reach and near our own lines, I took his stock from off
his neck and he expired directly; so I had to leave him and rejoin our
company with the news that another of us was gone, making seventy-five
in all.
On the following morning I happened to observe an officer of the
French army moving at some distance in front of our lines, having
hanging from his pocket a fine watch-guard, which particularly took my
attention and which I thought at the time would look very well on me;
and being more daring than wise, I crawled towards him with my musket
loaded, and when near enough as I thought to him, I fired; but it did
him no mischief and only made him take himself off at once. I nearly
got into a scrape through it, however, for I was fired at myself in
return, the bullet fortunately only taking the butt end off my musket.
I turned to run off, and another shot hit the knapsack on my back, but
I soon got out of reach of their shot again, luckily, as it happened,
without any injury; but it must have been a near thing, for when I
next opened my knapsack, I found the ball had gone through the leather
and my thickly-folded blanket and had at last been stopped by the sole
of a shoe, and was lying there as flat as a halfpenny and about the
same size.
The same day we were joined by the Fifty-third regiment Lord
Wellington having sent it on to relieve us in case of another attack
from the enemy. They offered to occupy our heights, so that we might
fall back to the rear, but our captain would not consent to that;
"For," as he said, "my men have fought well to defend their position,
and I think they will be strong enough to keep it." He proposed,
however, that they should keep out an outlying picket, so that we
could take our rest, which would be the best way of relieving us, and
their commander readily agreed to do so.
Thus we passed two or three days, both armies remaining inactive. Then
one day a French officer was seen coming up the mountain, having laid
down his sword, so our captain sent a lieutenant who could talk good
French to meet him and see what he wanted. He found that he wished to
know if we would allow him to send for their wounded, so an agreement
was entered into that we should take all their killed and wounded
halfway down the mountain, and that they should meet us there with
ours in return. This plan was soon carried out; and when we had buried
our dead, the wounded were conveyed to hospitals appropriated to them
at the nearest convenient place.
All was still quiet on the following morning, but later in the day the
whole body of our line appeared in motion, and we were ordered in
company with the Fifty-third regiment to attack the enemy's post near
us, acting in conjunction with the other front of our line; and this
being done, we soon drove them right off the mountains. The Portuguese
troops in our division fought well in this action. We followed up the
retreating French to a village situated in a valley of the Pyrenees,
where they were delayed owing to having to cross a river. General Cole
immediately ordered our regiment up to stop them if possible; so off
we went in quick time to the river, and on their seeing they were so
quickly pursued and that there was no hope of escaping, they threw
down their arms and gave themselves up prisoners to the number of
about seven hundred.
We took a gold-mounted sword from their commander, and a gold plate
out of his cap with an eagle engraved on it, which were given to our
captain by the regiment as a present, as he was a universal favourite
for his behaviour to the men in general.
The prisoners were then sent to St. Jean de Luz to be put on board
ship, and so conveyed to England.