end of a silk handkerchief some odd morning is to me astonishing, but
here I am, living and loving still as fondly as ever. Prudence at this
moment whispers that I have said enough for the present, for if I go
on making love so fiercely thus early in the day, I shall be forced
to marry the whole sex and bring my book to a premature conclusion,
for which posterity would never forgive me. I must therefore for the
present take a most reluctant leave, with a promise of renewing my
courtship from time to time as opportunities offer, if they will but
good-naturedly follow me through the various scenes into which I am
about to conduct them; and while I do my best to amuse them by the
way, should I unintentionally dive so deeply into the pathetic as to
beguile them of a tear, let me recommend them to wipe it away, for it
is only their smiles I court.
While on the way to join the light division on the northern frontier,
I shall take the opportunity of introducing the reader to their
celebrated commander, the late Major-General Robert Crawfurd, an
officer who, for a length of time, was better known than liked, but
like many a gem of purer ray his value was scarcely known until lost.
CHAP. IV.
Shewing how generals may descend upon particulars with a
cat-o'-nine tails. Some extra Tales added. Historical, Comical,
and Warlike all.
Crawfurd was no common character. He, like a gallant cotemporary
of his, was not born to be a great general, but he certainly was a
distinguished one,--the history of his division and the position
which he held beyond the Coa in 1810, attest the fact. He had neither
judgement, temper, nor discretion to fit him for a chief, and as a
subordinate he required to be held with a tight rein, but his talents
as a general of division were nevertheless of the first order. He
received the three British regiments under his command, finished by
the hands of a master in the art, Sir John Moore, and, as regiments,
they were faultless; but to Crawfurd belonged the chief merit of making
them the war brigade which they became, alike the admiration of their
friends and foes. How he made them so I am about to show, but how such
another is to be made now that his system has fallen into disrepute,
will be for futurity to determine.
I think I see a regiment of those writers who are just now taking
the cat by the tail, parading for a day's march under that immortal
chief--that he furnishes them with an ink-bottle for a canteen, fills
their knapsacks with foolscap, their mouths with mouldy biscuit, and
starts them off with sloped pens. They go along with the buoyancy of
a corps of reporters reconnoitring for a memorandum, and they very
quickly catch one and a Tartar to the bargain, for the monotony of the
road is relieved by the crossing of a fine broad stream, and over the
stream is a very fine plank to preserve the polish of Warren's jet on
the feet of the pedestrian--they all jump gaily towards the plank, but
they are pulled up by a grim gentleman with a drawn sword, who, with a
voice of thunder, desires them to keep their ranks and march through
the stream. Well! this is all mighty pleasant, but now that they are up
to their middles in the water, there surely can be no harm in stopping
half a minute to lave a few handfuls of it into their parched mouths.
I think I see the astonishment of their editorial nerves when they
find a dozen lashes well bestowed _a posteriori_ upon each, by way of
their further refreshment and clearing off scores for that portion of
the day's work (for the General was a man who gave no credit on those
occasions). He had borrowed a leaf from the history of the land-crabs,
and suffered neither mire nor water to disturb the order of his march
with impunity.
Now I daresay he would have had to flog an editor a dozen times before
he had satisfied him that it was to his advantage; but a soldier is
open to conviction, and such was the manner of making one of the finest
and most effective divisions that that or any other army ever saw.
Where soldiers are to be ruled, there is more logic in nine tails of a
cat than in the mouths of a hundred orators; it requires very little
argument to prove, and I'll defy the most eloquent preacher, (with the
unknown tongue to boot,) to persuade a regiment to ford a river where
there is a bridge to conduct them over dry-shod, or to prevent them
drinking when they are in that river if they happen to feel thirsty,
let him promise them what he will as a reward for their obedience. It
is like preaching to his own flock on the subject of their eternal
welfare (and I make the comparison with all due reverence); they
would all gladly arrive at the end he aims at, but at the same time
how few will take the necessary steps to do so, and how many prefer
their momentary present enjoyment? So it was with the soldiers, but
with this difference, that Crawfurd's cat forced them to take the
right road whether they would or no, and the experiment once made
carried conviction with it, that the comfort of every individual
in the division materially depended on the rigid exaction of his
orders, for he shewed that on every ordinary march he made it a rule
to halt for a few minutes every third or fourth mile, (dependent on
the vicinity of water,) that every soldier carried a canteen capable
of containing two quarts, and that if he only took the trouble to
fill it before starting, and again, if necessary, at every halt, it
contained more than he would or ought to drink in the interim; and that
therefore every pause he made in a river for the purpose of drinking
was disorderly, because a man stopping to drink delayed the one behind
him proportionately longer, and so on progressively to the rear of the
column.
In like manner the filing past dirty or marshy parts of the road in
place of marching boldly through them or filing over a plank or narrow
bridge in place of taking the river with the full front of their column
in march, he proved to demonstration on true mathematical principles,
that with the numbers of those obstacles usually encountered on a
day's march, it made a difference of several hours in their arrival at
their bivouac for the night. That in indulging by the way, they were
that much longer labouring under their load of arms, ammunition, and
necessaries, besides bringing them to their bivouac in darkness and
discomfort; it very likely, too, got them thoroughly drenched with
rain, when the sole cause of their delay had been to avoid a partial
wetting, which would have been long since dried while seated at ease
around their camp-fires; and if this does not redeem Crawfurd and his
cat, I give it up.
The general and his divisional code, as already hinted at, was at first
much disliked; probably, he enforced it, in the first instance, with
unnecessary severity, and it was long before those under him could rid
themselves of that feeling of oppression which it had inculcated upon
their minds. It is due, however, to the memory of the gallant general
to say that punishment for those disorders was rarely necessary after
the first campaign; for the system, once established, went on like
clock-work, and the soldiers latterly became devotedly attached to him;
for while he exacted from them the most rigid obedience, he was, on
his own part, keenly alive to every thing they had a right to expect
from him in return, and woe befel the commissary who failed to give a
satisfactory reason for any deficiencies in his issues. It is stated
that one of them went to the commander-in-chief to complain that he had
been unable to procure bread for the light division, and that General
Crawfurd had threatened that if they were not supplied within a given
time, he would put him in the guard-house. "Did he?" said his lordship;
"then I would recommend you to find the bread, for if he said so, by
----, he'll do it!"
Having in this chapter flogged every man who had any shadow of claim to
such a distinction, I shall now proceed and place myself along with my
regiment to see that they prove themselves worthy of the _pains_ taken
in their instruction.
From the position which the light division then held, their commander
must have been fully satisfied in his own mind that their military
education had not been neglected, for _certes_ it required every man
to be furnished with a clear head, a bold heart, and a clean pair of
heels--all three being liable to be put in requisition at any hour by
day or night. It was no place for reefing topsails and making all snug,
but one which required the crew to be constantly at quarters; for,
unlike their nautical brethren, the nearer a soldier's shoulders are to
the rocks the less liable he is to be wrecked--and there they had more
than enough of play in occupying a front of twenty-five miles with that
small division and some cavalry. The chief of the 1st German hussars
meeting our commandant one morning, "Well, Colonel," says the gallant
German in broken English, "how you do?" "O, tolerably well, thank you,
considering that I am obliged to sleep with one eye open." "By Gott,"
says the other, "I never sleeps at all."
Colonel Beckwith at this time held the pass of Barba del Puerco with
four companies of the Rifles, and very soon experienced the advantage
of having an eye alive, for he had some active neighbours on the
opposite side of the river who had determined to beat up his quarters
by way of ascertaining the fact.
The _Padrè_ of the village, it appeared, was a sort of vicar of Bray,
who gave information to both sides so long as accounts remained pretty
equally balanced between them, but when the advance of the French
army for the subjugation of Portugal became a matter of certainty, he
immediately chose that which seemed to be the strongest, and it was not
ours.
The _Padrè_ was a famous hand over a glass of grog, and where
amusements were so scarce, it was good fun for our youngsters to make a
_Padrè_ glorious, which they took every opportunity of doing; and as is
not unusual with persons in that state, (laymen as well as _Padrès_,)
he invariably fancied himself the only sober man of the party, so that
the report was conscientiously given when he went over to the French
General Ferey, who commanded the division opposite, and staked his
reputation as a _Padrè_, that the English officers in his village were
in the habit of getting blind drunk every night, and that he had only
to march over at midnight to secure them almost without resistance.
Ferey was a bold enterprising soldier, (I saw his body in death after
the battle of Salamanca); he knew to a man the force of the English
in the village, and probably did not look upon the attempt as very
desperate were they even at their posts ready to receive him; but
as the chances seemed to be in favour of every enemy's head being
"nailed to his pillow," the opportunity was not to be resisted, and
accordingly, at midnight on the 19th of March, he assembled his force
silently at the end of the bridge. The shadows of the rocks which
the rising moon had just cast over the place prevented their being
seen, and the continuous roar of the mountain torrent, which divided
them, prevented their being heard even by our double sentry posted
at the other end of the bridge within a few yards of them. Leaving a
powerful support to cover his retreat in the event of a reverse, Ferey
at the head of six hundred chosen grenadiers burst forth so silently
and suddenly, that, of our double sentry on the bridge, the one was
taken and the other bayonetted without being able to fire off their
pieces. A sergeant's party higher up among the rocks had just time to
fire off as an alarm, and even the remainder of the company on picquet
under O'Hare had barely time to jump up and snatch their rifles when
the enemy were among them. O'Hare's men, however, though borne back
and unable to stop them for an instant, behaved nobly, retiring in
a continued hand-to-hand personal encounter with their foes to the
top of the pass, when the remaining companies under Sidney Beckwith
having just started from their sleep, rushed forward to their support,
and with a thundering discharge, tumbled the attacking column into
the ravine below, where, passing the bridge under cover of the fire
of their supporting body, they resumed their former position, minus
a considerable number of their best and bravest. The colonel, while
urging the fight, observed a Frenchman within a yard or two, taking
deliberate aim at his head. Stooping suddenly down and picking up a
stone, he immediately shyed it at him, calling him at the same time
a "scoundrel, to get out of that." It so far distracted the fellow's
attention that while the gallant Beckwith's cap was blown to atoms, the
head remained untouched.
The whole concern was but the affair of a few minutes, but we
nevertheless looked upon it as no inconsiderable addition to our
regimental feather, for the appointed alarm post of one of the
companies had carried it to a place where it happened that they were
not wanted, so that there were but three companies actually engaged;
and therefore with something less than half their numbers they had
beaten off six hundred of the _élite_ of the French army. But our chief
pride arose from its being the first and last night-attempt which the
enemy ever made to surprise a British post in that army.
Of the worthy pastor I never heard more--I know not whether the bold
Ferey paid the price of the information he had brought, in gold, or
with an ounce of lead; but certain it is that his flock were without
ghostly consolation during the remainder of our sojourn--not that it
was much sought after at that particular time, for the village damsels
had already begun running up a score of _peccadillos_, and it was of
little use attempting to wipe it out until the final departure of their
heretical visitors.
Among the wounded who were left on the field by the enemy, there was a
French sergeant whom I have often heard our officers speak of with much
admiration--he was a fine handsome young fellow, alike romantic in his
bravery, and in devotion to his emperor and his country--he had come
on with the determination to conquer or to die, and having failed in
the first, he seemed resolved not to be balked in the other, which a
ball through a bad part of the thigh had placed him in the high road
for, and he, therefore, resisted every attempt to save him, with the
utmost indignation, claiming it as a matter of right to be allowed to
die on the field where he had fallen. Our good, honest, rough diamonds,
however, who were employed in collecting the wounded, were equally
determined that the point in dispute should only be settled between him
and the doctor in the proper place, and accordingly they shouldered him
off to the hospital whether he would or no. But even there he continued
as untameable as a hyena--his limb was in such a state that nothing but
amputation could save his life--yet nothing would induce him to consent
to it--he had courage to endure any thing, but nothing could reconcile
him to receive any thing but blows from his enemies. I forget how, or
in what way, the amputation of the limb was at length accomplished. To
the best of my recollection death had already laid a hand upon him,
and it was done while he was in a state of insensibility. But be that
as it may, it was done, and the danger and the fit of heroics having
travelled with the departed limb, he lived to thank his preservers
for the brotherly kindness he had experienced at their hands, and
took a grateful and affectionate farewell of them when his health was
sufficiently restored to permit his being removed to the care of his
countrymen.
Shortly after this affair at Barba del Puerco the French army under
Massena came down upon Ciudad Rodrigo, preparatory to the invasion of
Portugal, and obliged the light division to take up a more concentrated
position.
It is not my intention to take notice of the movements of the army
further than is necessary to illustrate the anecdotes I relate; but
I cannot, on this occasion, resist borrowing a leaf out of Napier's
admirable work, to shew the remarkable state of discipline which those
troops had been brought to--for while I have no small portion of
personal vanity to gratify in recording the fact of my having been for
many years after an associate in all the enterprises of that gallant
band, I consider it more particularly a duty which every military
writer owes to posterity, (be his pretensions great or humble,) to shew
what may be effected in that profession by diligence and perseverance.
The light division, and the cavalry attached to it, was at this period
so far in advance of every other part of the army that their safety
depended on themselves alone, for they were altogether beyond the reach
of human aid--their force consisted of about four thousand infantry,
twelve hundred cavalry, and a brigade of horse artillery--and yet
with this small force did Crawfurd, trusting to his own admirable
arrangements, and the surprising discipline of his troops, maintain
a position which was no position, for three months, within an hour's
march of six thousand horsemen, and two hours' march from sixty
thousand infantry, of a brave, experienced, and enterprising enemy, who
was advancing in the confidence of certain victory.
Napier says, "His situation demanded a quickness and intelligence in
the troops, the like of which has seldom been known. Seven minutes
sufficed for the division to get under arms in the middle of the
night, and a quarter of an hour, night or day, to bring it in order of
battle to the alarm posts, with the baggage loaded and assembled at a
convenient distance in the rear. And this not upon a concerted signal,
or as a trial, but at all times, and certain!"
"In peace love tunes the shepherd's reed;
In war he mounts the warrior's steed."
And thus, in humble imitation of her master-man, did Mother Coleman,
one fine morning, mount her donkey, and join her French lover to war
against her lord.
While the troops of the light division, as already noticed, were
strutting about with the consciousness of surpassing excellence,
menacing and insulting a foe for which their persons' knapsacks and all
would barely have sufficed for a luncheon--a dish of mortification was
served up for those of our corps, by the hands of their better half,
which was not easy of digestion. To speak of the wife of a regiment
is so very unusual as to imply that she must have been some very
great personage--and without depriving her of the advantage of such a
magnificent idea, I shall only say that she was the only wife they had
got--for they landed at Lisbon with eleven hundred men and only one
woman.
By what particular virtues she had attained such a dignified position
among them, I never clearly made out, further than that she had arrived
at years of discretion, was what is commonly called a useful woman, and
had seen some service. She was the wife of a sturdy German, who plyed
in the art of shoemaking, whenever his duties in the field permitted
him to resort to that species of amusement, so that it appeared that
she had beauty enough to captivate a cobbler, she had money enough
to command the services of a jackass, and finally she proved she
had wit enough to sell us all, which she did the first favourable
opportunity--for, after plying for some months at the tail of her
donkey at the tail of the regiment, and fishing in all the loose
dollars which were floating about in gentlemen's pockets, (by those
winning ways which ladies know so well how to use when such favourable
opportunities offer,) she finally bolted off to the enemy, bag and
baggage, carrying away old Coleman's all and awl.
It was one of those French leave-takings which man is heir to, but we
eventually got over it, under the deepest obligation all the time for
the sympathy manifested by our friends of the 43d and 52d.
The movements of the enemy were at length unshackled by the fall of
Ciudad Rodrigo, after a desperate defence, which gave immortal glory to
its old governor Herrasti, and his brave Spanish garrison--and although
it may appear that I am saying one word in honour of the Spaniards
for the purpose of giving two to the British, yet my feelings are too
national to permit me to pass over a fact which redounds so much to
the glory of our military history--namely, that in this, the year
1810, the French were six weeks in wresting from the Spaniards the same
fortress which we, in the year 1812, carried, with fire and sword, out
of the hands of the French in eleven days!
Now that the enemy's movements were unshackled, the cloud, which for
months had been gathering over Portugal, began to burst--and, sharp as
Crawfurd and his division looked before, it now behoved them to look
somewhat sharper. Had he acted in conformity with his instructions,
he had long ere this been behind the Coa, but deeply enamoured of his
separate command as ever youth was of his mistress, he seemed resolved
that nothing but force should part them; and having gradually given
ground, as necessity compelled, the 23d of July found him with his
back on the river, and his left resting on the fortress of Almeida,
determined to abide a battle, with about five thousand men of all arms
to oppose the whole French army.
I shall leave to abler pens the description of the action that
followed, and which (as might have been foreseen, while it was highly
honourable to the officers and troops engaged) ended in their being
driven across the Coa with a severe loss. My business is with a youth
who had the day before joined the division. The history of his next
day's adventure has beguiled me of many a hearty laugh, and although
I despair of being able to communicate it to my readers with any
thing like the humour with which I received it from an amiable and
gallant friend, yet I cannot resist giving it such as it rests on my
remembrance.
Mr. Rogers, as already stated, had, the day before, arrived from
England, as an officer of one of the civil departments attached to the
light division, and as might be expected on finding himself all at
once up with the outposts of the army, he was full of curiosity and
excitement. Equipped in a huge cocked hat, and a hermaphrodite sort
of scarlet coat, half military and half civil, he was dancing about
with his budget of inquiries, when chance threw him in the way of the
gallant and lamented Jock Mac Culloch, at the time a lieutenant in the
Rifles, and who was in the act of marching off a company to relieve one
of the picquets for the night.
Mac Culloch, full of humour, seeing the curiosity of the fresh arrival,
said, "Come, Rogers, my boy, come along with me, you shall share my
beefsteak, you shall share my boat-cloak, and it will go hard with me
but you shall see a Frenchman, too, before we part in the morning."
The invitation was not to be resisted, and away went Rogers on the spur
of the moment.
The night turned out a regular Tam o'Shanter's night, or, if the reader
pleases, a Wellington night, for it is a singular fact that almost
every one of his battles was preceded by such a night;--the thunder
rolled, the lightning flashed, and all the fire-engines in the world
seemed playing upon the lightning, and the devoted heads of those
exposed to it. It was a sort of night that was well calculated to be
a damper to a bolder spirit than the one whose story I am relating;
but he, nevertheless, sheltered himself as he best could, under the
veteran's cloak, and put as good a face upon it as circumstances would
permit.