MEMOIRS
OF
THE LATE WAR.
VOL. II.
The United Service Journal
AND
NAVAL AND MILITARY MAGAZINE.
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MEMOIRS
OF
THE LATE WAR:
COMPRISING
THE PERSONAL NARRATIVE OF
CAPTAIN COOKE,
OF THE 43rd REGIMENT LIGHT INFANTRY;
THE HISTORY OF THE CAMPAIGN OF 1809
IN PORTUGAL,
BY THE EARL OF MUNSTER;
AND A NARRATIVE OF
THE CAMPAIGN OF 1814 IN HOLLAND,
BY LIEUT. T. W. D. MOODIE, H. P. 21ST FUSILEERS.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
LONDON:
HENRY COLBURN AND RICHARD BENTLEY,
NEW BURLINGTON STREET.
1831.
CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME.
CONCLUSION OF CAPTAIN COOKE'S NARRATIVE.
CHAPTER I.
Page
Dwellings and habits of the farming classes in Navarre—Military
quarters—The Author obtains leave to proceed to St. Sebastian
as a spectator of the assault—Situation of that city,
and appearance of the breaches—Groups collected from the
neighbouring parts to witness the storming—Advance of the
"forlorn hope," and death of Lieut. Mac Guire—Critical situation
of the attacking troops—Seasonable measure adopted by General
Graham—Effect produced by the heavy artillery—Destructive
explosion among the French—Capture of the city after continued
difficulties. 1
CHAPTER II.
The Duke of Dalmatia crosses the Bidassoa—Sharp contest at
the heights of St. Marzial and the Bridge of Bera—Touching
scene witnessed by the Author on his way to rejoin his division
at Santa Barbara—A present from England—Passage of the
Bidassoa by the English troops on the 6th of October—Active
fighting—The French driven over the mountains into their
own territory—Delights of good quarters after hard
work—Reconnoitring—Habits and condition of the Spanish
soldiery—A mock fight—Military pastimes—Preparations for the
invasion of France. 16
CHAPTER III.
Advance of the light division—Singular nocturnal
orgies—Skirmishing preliminary to the battle of the
Nivelle—Details of that battle—British head-quarters
established at St. Jean de Luz—More skirmishing, and a slight
reverse—Combative anecdotes—Advance of the British line of
picquets. 40
CHAPTER IV.
Tolerable quarters—Beguiling of time on picquet duty—The
army again in motion—A critical position—French cunning,
and occasional politeness—Skirmishing affairs preceding the
battle of the Nive—Details of that engagement—Its advantageous
consequences to our army—Acts of complaisance between the
vanguards of the opposed forces—Christmas festivities. 56
CHAPTER V.
An unproductive alarm—The Duke d'Angoulême visits the British
army—Orders received by the Duke of Dalmatia—General position
of Napoleon's affairs—The author visits Bera on leave of
absence—Remarks on the mischiefs committed by camp followers—A
scene for contemplation—The author's friends at Bera—Love
inimical to harmony—Return to quarters—Movement for penetrating
into the interior of France—The author's regiment enters St.
Palais, crosses the Gave, and passes through Sauveterre to
Orthes. 75
CHAPTER VI.
A wrong direction—An affair with the enemy's cavalry—Bivouac
in a wood—A ludicrous mistake in the dark—Arrival at St.
Sever—Welcome supply of bread—The Duke of Dalmatia leaves
Bordeaux unprotected, to preserve the communication with
Toulouse—Reception of the English at Mont de Marsan—A dancing
scene and other amusements at the village of Brinquet—The
disappointed purveyors—The author regains his corps—Adventure
gained over the enemy by General Hill—Gascon peasantry—Various
movements of the opposed armies—The French driven through the
town of Vic Bigorre—An agreeable march. 91
CHAPTER VII.
Advance towards Tarbes—Sharp and successful encounter of
the riflemen with the French, who are forced to retire from
Tarbes—A beautiful coup-d'œil—Retreating movement of the enemy
towards Toulouse—The little French cobbler and his daughter—A
burdensome benefactor—Inconveniences of a miry march—The
author's adventure at a farm-house—The conscious hosts—A true
French château—Approach of the troops towards Toulouse—Critical
situation of the author and another officer. 106
CHAPTER VIII.
Flank movement to the right—Method of feeding cattle in
Gascony—Catching a goose—Halt at St. Simon—Cross the Garonne
and advance on Toulouse—The French take up a position to the
east of that town—The Spaniards attack the heights of La
Pugade—Their terrible slaughter and precipitate retreat—The
enemy advance against the fourth and sixth divisions—The sixth
division carry the front of the enemy's position—Retreat of the
French from Toulouse towards Carcassonne. 120
AN ACCOUNT OF THE BRITISH CAMPAIGN OF 1809, under Sir Arthur
Wellesley, in Portugal and Spain. By the EARL OF MUNSTER. 137
NARRATIVE OF THE CAMPAIGN IN HOLLAND IN 1814, with details of the
attack on Bergen-op-Zoom. 257
MEMOIRS
OF
CAPTAIN COOKE.
CHAPTER I.
Dwellings and habits of the farming classes in Navarre—Military
quarters—The Author obtains leave to proceed to St. Sebastian as
a spectator of the assault—Situation of that city, and appearance
of the breaches—Groups collected from the neighbouring parts
to witness the storming—Advance of the "forlorn hope," and
death of Lieut. Mac Guire—Critical situation of the attacking
troops—Seasonable measure adopted by General Graham—Effect
produced by the heavy artillery—Destructive explosion among the
French—Capture of the city after continued difficulties.
In Navarre the _quintas_ are constructed with projecting roofs, and are
two stories high: the second floors are encircled by wooden galleries,
adorned with creeping vines, hanging over in festoons, which give
these dwellings a most picturesque appearance. The numerous fertile
valleys produce wheat, rye, barley, maize, pulse, and apples which make
very tolerable cider.
When on picquet, we passed whole days in the houses of the small
farmers, (who speak the Basque language;) and although these dwellings
lay between the hostile armies, they were not damaged, nor the corn or
orchards cut down; yet, for leagues in every other direction, all the
small fields of Indian corn had been torn up by the very roots, and
carried off.
Owing to this latter circumstance, many of the peasantry became
impoverished, and were obliged to content themselves with very scanty
fare; their bread was made of Indian corn, which they mixed up into
a cake, an inch thick, and then put it into a frying pan, which was
repeatedly turned, until its contents were about half baked; this
operation being completed, the whole family formed a circle; the cake
was then broken into pieces, and handed to each individual, so hot
that they would shift it from hand to hand, making all sorts of wry
faces; this frugal supper being concluded, a large brass cauldron was
filled with tepid water, in which the elder of the family first bathed
his feet, and then the others, according to seniority, until all, in
rotation, performed the same cleanly ablution, which was never omitted
before retiring to rest.
While on the position of Santa Barbara, or whenever in the vicinity
of the enemy, it was customary to turn out an hour before daybreak,
and for the troops to stand to their arms until objects at a short
distance became visible. On these mountains we were terribly annoyed by
the toads. Many officers possessed mattresses or covers, (the latter
being usually stuffed with dried fern,) but if they happened to be left
in the tent two or three days without removing, or taken out to dry,
which was often the case, owing to heavy rains or dense fogs, we were
sure to find one or two bloated speckled toads under them, as large in
circumference as a small dessert plate.
Towards the end of the month, we could distinctly hear the heavy
thundering of the battery cannon at St. Sebastian, and an order was
issued for the first, fourth, and light divisions to send a certain
number of volunteers, to assist the fifth division in storming
the breaches at that place, as soon as they should be considered
practicable.
By some mistake, we were informed that two officers were to proceed from
our regiment with the volunteers; accordingly Lieut. John O'Connell and
myself offered our services, and marched off and formed with the rest of
the volunteers of the division, in front of General Alten's quarters,
which was about a league in rear of our encampment; but as more officers
had proffered their services than the proper quota, I, amongst the rest,
made a surplus, and Lieut. O'Connell, being my senior, remained. This
officer had formed one of the storming party at Ciudad Rodrigo, and at
Badajoz, where he was badly wounded, a ball having passed in at the top
of his shoulder and came out at the elbow joint: he was ultimately
killed on the sanguinary breach of St. Sebastian. Lieut.-Col. Hunt, of
the 52nd, took the command of the volunteers of the division. Major W.
Napier had also volunteered, but not being required on this occasion,
both he and myself returned to camp.
On the following day, myself and three other officers obtained
permission to proceed across the mountain to be _spectators_ of the
assault. The weather was extremely fine, and we enjoyed a tranquil ride
over the mountains, many of which were entirely covered with oak trees,
aromatic plants, fern, and evergreens. For more than two leagues there
was scarcely a house to be seen. The day being far advanced before we
left our camp, darkness overtook us, and, on making enquiries at a
cottage, we were informed, by a peasant, that there was an encampment
at a short distance, which we soon discovered to the right of the
road, and found it to be the 85th light infantry, just arrived from
England. We received a hearty welcome, besides _aguardiénte y vino
tinto_, and then wrapping our cloaks around about us, we enjoyed a few
hours repose in Major Ferguson's tent.
At daybreak we went on our way through an open, hilly, and sandy
country, towards St. Sebastian, and in a few hours took post in the
trenches cut through the sand banks, on the right bank of the river
Urumea, and within six hundred yards of the town, which stands near the
river, or rather on a small peninsula, between two arms of the sea.
The place consisted of twenty streets, besides churches, convents, and
monasteries; and is enclosed on three sides by ramparts, bastions,
and half-moons. The castle is built on the top of a bare rock, and
overlooking the sea; the entrance of the harbour, on the west side, is
between two moles, and is capable of containing a few small vessels.
During our stay in the trenches, just below a mortar battery, the
enemy hardly fired a shot from the fortress, in the walls of which
were two breaches eighty yards asunder. The principal and wide-mouthed
breach had crumbled into a vast mound of sand, rubbish, and broken
masonry. A breach is indeed an awful mound of dilapidation to
look on, or rather a heap of disagreeable rubbish, particles of
which sparkle brightly in the sun beams, while the whole seems to
the amateur easy of ascent, but the wary veteran knows it to be a
deceitful slope, re-entrenched from behind, and most probably cut off
from all communication with the interior of the town. Well may it be
called "the deadly breach:" all fighting is bad enough, but when the
valiant soldier sees insurmountable obstacles before him, and finds
all his efforts unavailing, and death jostling him on every side,
his foot, perhaps, planted on the body of an expiring comrade, whose
bleeding mouth is filled with dust, and whose trampled uniform at last
becomes identified with the rubbish, and the human form no longer
distinguishable; and every instant the heap of the slain accumulating,
without any possibility of carrying the place,—then, indeed, comes the
"tug of war;" for, as a distinguished officer very justly observed, "A
breach may be made the strongest part of a fortification, since every
combustible, and power of defence, are brought to a known focus."
Having remained in the trenches a considerable time, we made for the
small town of Renteria, where we put up, with two convalescent officers
of our own corps, until the next day.
On the 31st the morning broke hazy. Meanwhile before starting for St.
Sebastian, we were introduced to Lieutenant Folliet, a young officer
of our regiment, who had just come from England for the first time;
he expressed much regret at not being able to witness the assault,
as he very properly considered it incorrect to leave his detachment,
which was ordered to march that morning for Bera. This circumstance I
mention, owing to the premature death of this officer.
At half-past ten o'clock, A. M., we took post within cannon range
of the ramparts of St. Sebastian, immediately overlooking the river
Urumea. The troops of the fifth division were already formed in the
trenches cut across the isthmus, within a short distance of the body
of the place, ready to move forward as soon as the tide should be
sufficiently low to admit of a passage. It was so well known that the
assault was to take place, that numerous inhabitants had flocked from
the adjacent towns and villages, dressed in their holiday attire, and
were already seated on the hill which commanded a panoramic view of the
town. Many of the women were clothed in dresses of English calico, and
in fact composed a motley group and mixture in dress and appearance,
such as I had never before seen in Spain. Two pretty Spanish girls
were seated on the slope of the hill, and offered us some of their
sugar drops, whereupon we thought we might as well place ourselves
beside them as elsewhere. A few minutes before the troops moved to the
assault, all within the town seemed tranquil; no noise issued from its
walls, nor was a single French soldier visible on the ramparts.
Soon after eleven o'clock, the "forlorn hope," headed by Lieut. Mac
Guire of the 4th regiment, sprang out of the trenches, followed by
the storming party, and a brigade of the fifth division;[1] but,
owing to the difficulty of extricating themselves from the trenches,
and to their _extreme_ ardour, they ran towards the _great breach_,
discharging their fire arms to the left, to keep down the musketry of
the enemy, who galled them by a terrible flanking fire from a bastion
which projected nearly parallel, and enfiladed their left flank while
moving towards the breach.
Lieut. Mac Guire wore a cocked-hat, with a _long white feather_, to
make himself conspicuous. He was a remarkably handsome young man,
active of limb, well-made, and possessing a robust frame. He ran
forward, amid projectiles and a shower of bullets, with such speed that
only _two_ soldiers could manage to keep within five or six yards
behind him; and he actually jumped over the broken masonry, at the
foot of the breach, before he fell. In a moment afterwards he was hid
from our view by the column bounding over his body,[2] to climb the
breach. They had no sooner gained the crest of the breach, than they
found the enemy strongly entrenched at each flank of the TERRE-PLEIN of
the rampart and the interior slope, composed of a scarped wall, nearly
thirty feet deep, so that the brave soldiers who mounted the breach
fell a sacrifice to their valour, by an overwhelming cross-fire.
The enemy had cleared away the rubbish some feet from a _round tower_,
nearly in the centre, and on the crest of the great breach, which they
maintained, and it was from this apparently trifling and _unbreached
spot_ that the troops sustained their principal loss—standing up to
their knees in rubbish, and losing their lives without any probability
of success. As the French, however, could not well fire on their left
flank without hanging over the parapet, our soldiers were enabled to
keep their station on the slope of the breach, at the expense of a
great number of officers and men. Had the enemy been able to flank
the slope of the breach, all the troops must have been annihilated.
The slaughter, however, was so great, as to cause the most serious
apprehension, and the wounded and dying were suffering dreadfully, and
languishing in the most horrible torments, for want of water, without
being again able to regain the trenches, owing to the cross-fire of
musketry through which they had to run the gauntlet while advancing
to the assault. With the exception of the guns in the castle, the
enemy hardly fired any artillery from the walls, either from their
being principally dismounted, or that they were unable to depress them
sufficiently to do much execution. At this time hardly a word escaped
the lips of the astonished spectators; and many of the women were
drowned in tears at so doleful a spectacle.
At twelve o'clock General Graham, seeing affairs in this desperate
state, ordered the guns from the batteries to open, to oblige the
enemy to keep down, and to shield the troops for a short time, from
their fatal bullets, and to give them a little breathing time, so as
to enable the wounded who could yet walk to regain the trenches. The
fire from the batteries was terrific, and the troops retired four or
five yards down the slope of the breach, while the heavy shot passed
over their heads, skimming the round tower, the ramparts and the crest
of the breach with a precision truly astonishing, so that the enemy
could not show their heads, or discharge a single firelock. Never
was artillery better served, or opened at a more seasonable moment;
and without doubt this was one of the principal causes of carrying
the day; for indeed, had it not been for this seasonable relief, the
troops must have been inevitably sacrificed by piecemeal. The volumes
of smoke arose in dense clouds, and the reverberation was amazing.
The iron balls rattled into the devoted town, unroofing the houses,
knocking up the dust and rubbish, and thundering against the walls with
a tremendous crash, as if the ramparts were cracking and every stone
broken, and the whole tumbling into a mass of ruins. All the edifices
seemed tottering to the very foundations, and it was as though every
living creature within were about to be swallowed up in the vortex and
buried amid the utter desolation.
When first the assault took place, the sun shone forth brilliantly; it
was now twelve o'clock, and the clouds blackened and gathered together,
foreboding the coming storm.
The blazing of the heavy artillery lasted more than half an hour,
during which time General Graham let loose the volunteers and the
reserve of the fifth division against the large breach and _adamantine
round tower_. The Spanish girls near us ejaculated (while shedding a
few pearly tears, and unfolding the little papers containing their
sugar-drops,) "_pobre Sebastiano! pobre Sebastiano!_" We asked them
why they did not say, _poor soldiers_,—"_Oh si, si_," answered they,
"_pobres soldados tambien!_"
As soon as the fire of the heavy calibre had ceased, fresh efforts were
made against the breach, and the sharp fire of the deadly small arms
was resumed. At half past twelve o'clock a Portuguese regiment led on
by Lieutenant Colonel Snodgrass[3] moved along the sands and began to
ford the river Urumea, the water at low tide being at this spot about
two hundred yards in width. As soon as they reached the middle of the
stream, a gun from an embrasure exactly opposite to them discharged
a round of grape shot, which fell into the middle of the column, and
knocked the men down in every direction: some of them sank to rise no
more, others floundered in the water, and called out for help in the
most pitiable manner. The enemy fired a second discharge before the
Portuguese could extricate themselves from the stream, (which reached
up to the hips), and again inflicted dreadful havoc in their ranks.
The smoke of the last round created considerable surprise among us,
as it was of a reddish colour, as if red ochre had been mixed up with
the powder. The excellent and steady conduct of the 13th regiment of
Portuguese was beyond all praise. Having cleared the river they closed
up, moved forward and ascended the small breach, eighty yards from the
larger one.
At this time we also observed part of the 85th regiment a short
distance out at sea (in large boats) apparently threatening the back
of the rock, on which stands the Castle of La Motta, but this threat
of escalading the rocks was relinquished owing to the impracticability
of such an enterprise; the troops in the breaches became fixtures as
before, and no further progress towards the capturing of the fortress
appeared to be made. At last I saw several soldiers quitting the large
breach and running to the right to assist the Portuguese at the small
one; and a brave bugler sounded the advance several times. Confused
cries of assembled voices echoed from the ramparts at that point, and
we could hear sounds like the battering of firelocks against doors or
barricades, intermingled with occasional firing of musketry. Still, no
very serious impression was visible to us.
At one o'clock a violent explosion took place on the rampart behind
the French traverse to the right of the large breach, and, before the
fragments blown into the air had fallen, or the smoke cleared away,
the troops nobly pushed forward, and, at the same time, the crowd of
spectators on the hill rose simultaneously with joy beaming on every
countenance; and when the hollow sounds of the firing were heard
within the interior of the town, we became satisfied that the place
was taken.—The explosion was supposed to be caused by accidental
sparks, or loose cartridge paper falling on the train. Probably no one
living knows the real cause. However, all the French soldiers near the
spot were blown into the air, and fell singed and blackened in all
directions; and the dead soldiers lay so thick on the slope of the
breach that it looked, to the naked eye, as if the mass of troops were
still stationary.
Soon after, we saw the French issuing from the town, and firing down
upon the British troops from behind some old walls running in zig
zags up the castle hill. There cannot be a shadow of doubt that the
place would not have been carried, had it not been for the decision
of General Graham, who, persisting in a constant attack to the last,
kept the troops in that honorable post to take advantage of any
contingencies that might chance to throw open the door to victory.
The enemy lost seven hundred men, prisoners taken in the town, who were
unable to reach the castle. The fifth division and the volunteers from
the British army lost two thousand men and officers killed and wounded;
amongst the latter Generals Leith, Oswald and Robinson were wounded,
and Colonel Fletcher commanding the engineers was killed by a musket
ball, just before the assault took place.
At half past one P.M. a heavy mist began to fall, which caused us to
bend our course towards Renteria, and, before we reached half a league,
the rain descended in torrents; but none had fallen during the storming
of the breaches.
[Footnote 1: The fifth division led the attack, _not the volunteers
from the army_.]
[Footnote 2: He was killed. I knew him intimately; he possessed
naturally gentle manners, with a soldier-like deportment.]
[Footnote 3: The Portuguese troops forded the river Urumea directly
after the firing of the cannon ceased from the English batteries; and
the great explosion to the right of the large breach, (to the left of
the breach as we looked towards it,) did not happen until half an hour
after this event. It cannot, therefore, be said that our artillery
caused that explosion.]