Advance to Orthes -- Lawrence moralizes again on the vicissitudes
of war -- Losses of his own regiment during the campaign --
Proclamation by Lord Wellington against plunder -- Passage of the
Adour -- Battle of Toulouse -- Casualties in Lawrence's company
-- Sad death of a Frenchman in sight of his home -- The French
evacuate Toulouse -- News arrives of the fall of Napoleon --
Lawrence on ambition -- The army ordered to Bordeaux to ship for
England.
After remaining inactive for the most part during the rest of 1813
and until the February of the next year, we again made an attack on
the French, who were lying near a village of which I do not remember
the name, and drove them behind a river. There they took up a fresh
position, but retained it only two or three days, again shifting and
opening a way for us to proceed on our way to Orthes.
And so after nearly six years of deadly fighting, we had got clear out
of Spain and Portugal and carried the war into our enemy's very
kingdom. Portugal and Spain had long had to contain the deadly
destroyers, but now the tide was changed, and it was the inhabitants
of the south of France who were for a time to be subjected to the
hateful inconveniences of war. They had little expected this turn in
their fortunes: Napoleon had even at one time had the ambitious idea
of driving us out of the Peninsula, but he now found us forcing his
own army into its own country: he had at one time thought that he
would subdue Europe, but had while labouring under that error been
subdued himself.
And all this was very much to our gratification, for we had long been
looking forward to this result, being entirely sick of Spain. As for
those places which had become so famous through us, we could not help
thinking and referring back to the many comrades we had left there in
their cold graves. Since our regiment had left for Ireland on this
expedition nine hundred strong, fifty-one hundred men had joined us
from our depot, but at the time of our march to Orthes we did not in
spite of this number more than seven hundred. I do not mean to say
that we lost all these in battle, though I can safely say we did the
greater part, either killed or badly wounded: but of course many must
be reckoned who fell by disease, or as some did from their own
drunkenness or gluttony, assisted by the inclemency of the climate;
nor must those skulkers, of whom there must have been so many through
the whole campaign, be forgotten.
Lord Wellington had watched with hatred the many excesses committed by
the enemy on the Portuguese and Spanish inhabitants during the late
campaign, and had determined, now he had carried the war into France,
to set them for the future a better example; and accordingly he issued
a proclamation that no plundering was to be carried on, on pain of
death, which was much to the credit of our noble commander.
We arrived in France at a wrong time of the year to see its beauties,
but from what I could then judge it abounded in elegancies and
varieties of taste, such as vineyards, oranges, pomegranates, figs,
and olive-trees to any extent, not altogether unlike the productions
of Spain.
On nearing Orthes, we found the French had taken up a very strong
position on a range of fine heights stretching from Orthes to St.
Boes, and we were ordered in conjunction with the Seventh division to
cross a river and attack the latter place, which had one of the
heights occupied by the enemy at the back of it, giving them a
commanding view of the place. Some delay was occasioned at the river,
for there being no bridge, a pontoon was obliged to be thrown across;
but this being accomplished, our divisions were soon over it, and
being joined by a brigade of cavalry and artillery, we formed line and
marched on St. Boes. The village was stoutly defended by the enemy,
who on our nearing them fired briskly at us, for a long time standing
their ground and trying hard to retain their charge; but they soon
found they had sharp taskmasters to deal with, for our troops of the
Fourth division under General Cole poured in on them like lions, and
forced them after a violent resistance to start out of the place and
take refuge on their strong heights.
We followed them up, but found that there they were for a long time
more than a match for us, as they had such an advantage in the ground.
We rushed up the formidable heights, but were again and again driven
back by the fearful play of the enemy's artillery, the position being
only accessible in a few places, and those so narrow that only a small
body could move on them at once. But even with these disadvantages and
the enemy's cannon playing on them our men, after receiving fresh and
strong reinforcements, carried the heights; and not only this, but the
whole of the army having been similarly engaged on the right, had
meanwhile succeeded in driving the enemy from their lines there,
capturing a great number of prisoners in their retreat, the cavalry
pursuing them closely; and some field-pieces were likewise taken.
The enemy then fell back on the River Adour, the allied army soon
following and engaging them in slight attacks in various parts of the
line, till at last the French again took up a position on the heights
near the town of Tarbes, on the said river; but they did not stay long
there, being soon driven away by the Allies and retreating towards St.
Gaudens. Thence they were again driven with great loss to themselves
and a very trifling one to the Allies, this time to Toulouse on the
Garonne, where they stood on the defensive on some more heights on the
right bank of the river with every assailable part strongly fortified.
Some difficulty was met with in our march, owing to the chief of the
bridges being destroyed and having to be replaced by pontoons, and
those that were not destroyed being strongly fortified. One of these
was guarded by some French cavalry, whom we annoyed very considerably
by our fire as we approached them, having in case of their making an
attack on us a fine artificial ditch to fall back into where it was
next to impossible that they could get at us; our fire was made more
daring by our knowing there was a body of hussars waiting out of their
sight, ready to fall on them if they moved on us. We soon enticed out
a body of about three hundred, who crossed the bridge under our
retreating and destructive fire, and on their near approach we fell
into our ditch, while at the same time our cavalry came up, and some
close shaving ensued, a large quantity of spare heads, arms, legs, as
well as many horses being soon strewn about the ground.
But this was not the worst part of our day's work, for after they had
been tumbled back over the bridge, our division came up and we
followed them right up towards their heights, keeping Toulouse some
distance to our right. Before we reached the heights, however, we had
to attack and carry a small village they were occupying. This was the
commencement of the action of that bloody day which cost the armies on
both sides numbers of their best men. It was fought on the Easter
Sunday of 1814.
From the village we proceeded over some difficult ground to attack
their right under a brisk fire from their artillery, so brisk, indeed,
that one of General Cole's orderlies had his horse shot under him; and
then we formed line and dashed up the hill, which was defended by some
thousands of the French, nearly half of whom were cavalry. We soon
returned their fire, which at that time was a perfect storm of grape
and canister, and directly we got near we charged them, but in vain,
as owing to the sudden appearance of some of their cavalry we had to
halt and form square: and indeed we must have been routed altogether
by their combined infantry and cavalry, had not our Rocket Brigade
stepped forward and played fearful havoc among their cavalry, driving
them back. I had never before seen this rocket charge and have never
either since; by all appearance it was most successful in this case,
for it soon turned them to the right-about, and made them retreat.
The Spaniards were chiefly engaged on our right, and I never saw them
fight better, for they seemed on this occasion as determined as the
British: and indeed of the two they suffered most, as the French,
knowing them to be cowards, thought they would be certain of some
success in that quarter, but they stood their ground well, only a few
of their number getting into confusion.
When once we had gained this advantage and taken a part of their
heights, our artillery joined us, and their play together with our
action soon made the French fall back on their works at Toulouse,
whilst we remained on our newly won height overlooking Toulouse and
there encamped. I remember well the loss of a man in my company in
this action, who had entered the army during the war for a period of
seven years at first, and this period having expired for some time, he
was mad to be out of these constant scenes of bloodshed and conflicts,
but owing to the continuation of the war he had not been allowed to
depart. He was not the only one in this plight, for there were
thousands of others like him in the army, and several in my own
company alone. Sixteen guineas had been offered to each for their
services for life, and many had accepted, while many had refused, and
of course amongst the latter was the man of whom I am speaking. His
name was William Marsh, and he was a native of Bath in Somerset. He
was by trade a tailor, and earned many a shilling at his trade in the
army from various of his comrades who employed him. As I said, the
poor man was sick of war, and before entering this very action had
been wishing he could have both his legs shot off, so that he might be
out of the affair altogether; little expecting that it might really be
the case, or nearly as bad, for he had not been in action long before
his wish was accomplished, as he was shot through the calves of both
his legs by a musket-ball which took him sideways and pierced right
through. Poor Marsh did begin to sing out most heartily, and I
couldn't help saying, "Hullo there, Marsh, you are satisfied now your
wish is fulfilled, I hope." He begged and prayed me to move him out of
the thick of the fight, so I dragged him under a bank and there left
him, and from that time till now I never saw or heard anything more of
him. He was far, however, from being mortally wounded, though perhaps
from neglect it may have turned to something fatal.
Another of our comrades in the front of our line had his foot
completely smashed by a cannon-ball pitching right on to it, yet he
managed to hobble to the rear in that state on his heel. I felt quite
hurt for this poor fellow, who was a brave soldier, and seemed to be
enduring great agonies.
Night having drawn in, all firing ceased, and the men set to examine
the ground they had gained, chiefly to find firewood. I happened to be
about when I came across a Frenchman who had been badly wounded and
had crawled under a bank: I went up to him and asked him if I could do
anything for him. He had been shot in the stomach, and when he asked
for water and I gave him some out of my canteen, which was nearly
full, of which he drank heartily, in a very short time it only fell
out again through his wound. But the most astonishing thing was that
he pointed me out his father's house, which was as far as I could
judge about half a mile off, and said that he had not seen his parents
for six years, for since he had come back to this place, he had not
been able to fall out to go and see them. He begged me to take him so
that he might die there in the presence of his parents, but I told him
I could not do that, as there were a quantity of French there.
However, I got an old blanket and wrapped it round him, making him as
comfortable as I could under the circumstances, and seemingly much
better resigned to his fearful fate, and then I left him and returned
to my own place of repose, and after eating my supper and drinking my
allowance of grog, I wrapped my own blanket round me, lay down, and
was soon unconscious in sleep. I woke early in the morning, and having
nothing particular to do, I crept out of my blanket and put all things
straight; and then, more out of curiosity than from any other motive,
proceeded to the poor Frenchman to ascertain if he was yet living;
but his death must have taken place some hours before, as he was quite
cold and stiff.
The loss of the Allies in this conflict was over four thousand in
killed and wounded, more than two thousand being of the British,
whilst that of the enemy was upwards of three thousand. But then there
must be considered the advantageous ground they fought on, and the
fearful havoc they made in our ranks before we were able to return a
shot.
Lord Wellington now finding that Toulouse would not surrender, ordered
fortifications to be thrown up for the reduction of that place, but
they proved to be unneeded, for in the dead of the night the French
disappeared from the place and retreated in a south-easterly direction
towards Villefranche. We were soon following them up, and part of our
army had slight skirmishes with them, but we never again saw their
main body in that part of their country, for a day or two after our
move from Toulouse the news came of Buonaparte's overthrow and the
proclamation of peace, Buonaparte himself having been sent to the
island of Elba. This was indeed good news for most of our troops:
certainly for the young officers it took away many chances of
promotion, though it made death less likely as well; but ambition
sometimes leads a man a long way out of his course, and very often
adds tenfold to his sorrow. After the arrival of this welcome news, we
encamped for three or four days longer to give our commander time to
form his next plans. We were then ordered to Bordeaux to ship for our
isles, the Spaniards and Portuguese being sent to their own country.