THE RETREAT TO CORUNNA.
The wind and the shorn lamb--General Craufurd, and his treatment of
the mutineers--An officer unmanned--Craufurd's inflexibility and
endurance.
Many trivial things which happened during the retreat to Corunna, and
which on any other occasion might have entirely passed from my memory,
have been, as it were, branded into my remembrance, and I recollect
the most trifling incidents which occurred from day to day during that
march. I remember, amongst other matters, that we were joined, if I may
so term it, by a young recruit, when such an addition was anything
but wished for during the disasters of the hour. One of the men's
wives (who was struggling forward in the ranks with us, presenting a
ghastly picture of illness, misery, and fatigue,) being very large in
the family-way, towards evening stepped from amongst the crowd, and
lay herself down amidst the snow, a little out of the main road. Her
husband remained with her; and I heard one or two hasty observations
amongst our men, that they had taken possession of their last
resting-place. The enemy were, indeed, not far behind at this time, the
night was coming down, and their chance seemed in truth but a bad one.
To remain behind the column of march in such weather was to perish, and
we accordingly soon forgot all about them. To my surprise, however,
I, some little time afterwards (being myself then in the rear of our
party), again saw the woman. She was hurrying, with her husband, after
us, and in her arms she carried the babe she had just given birth to.
Her husband and herself, between them, managed to carry that infant to
the end of the retreat, where we embarked. God tempers the wind, it
is said, to the shorn lamb; and many years afterwards I saw that boy,
a strong and healthy lad. The woman's name was M'Guire, a sturdy and
hardy Irishwoman; and lucky was it for herself and babe that she was
so, as that night of cold and sleet was in itself sufficient to try
the constitution of most females. I lost sight of her, I recollect, on
this night, when the darkness came upon us; but with the dawn, to my
surprise, she was still amongst us.
The shoes and boots of our party were now mostly either destroyed or
useless to us, from foul roads and long miles, and many of the men were
entirely barefooted, with knapsacks and accoutrements altogether in a
dilapidated state. The officers were also, for the most part, in as
miserable a plight. They were pallid, way-worn, their feet bleeding,
and their faces overgrown with beards of many days' growth. What a
contrast did our corps display, even at this period of the retreat,
to my remembrance of them on the morning their dashing appearance
captivated my fancy in Ireland! Many of the poor fellows, now near
sinking with fatigue, reeled as if in a state of drunkenness, and
altogether I thought we looked the ghosts of our former selves; still
we held on resolutely: our officers behaved nobly; and Craufurd was
not to be daunted by long miles, fatigue, or fine weather. Many a man
in that retreat caught courage from his stern eye and gallant bearing.
Indeed, I do not think the world ever saw a more perfect soldier than
General Craufurd. It might be on the night following the disaster
I have just narrated, that we came to a halt for about a couple of
hours in a small village, and together with several others, I sought
shelter in the stable of a sort of farm-house, the first roof I saw
near. Here, however, we found nothing to refresh ourselves with, by
way of food, but some raw potatoes lying in a heap in one of the empty
stalls, and which, for want of better rations, we made a meal of,
before we threw ourselves down upon the stones with which the place
was paved. Meanwhile, others of the men, together with two or three
of our officers, more fortunate than ourselves, had possession of the
rooms of the adjoining building, where they found at least a fire to
warm themselves. Lieutenant Hill had a black servant with him in this
retreat, a youth he had brought with him from Monte Video, where,
I heard, the Rifles had found him tied to a gun they had captured
there. This lad came and aroused me as I lay in the mule-stable, and
desired me to speak with his master in the adjoining room. I found the
lieutenant seated in a chair by the fire when I entered. He was one
of the few amongst us who rejoiced in the possession of a tolerably
decent pair of boots, and he had sent for me to put a few stitches in
them; in order to keep them from flying to pieces. I was so utterly
wearied, that I at first refused to have anything to do with them; but
the officer, taking off his boots, insisted upon my getting out my
wax threads and mending them; and himself and servant, thrusting me
into the chair he arose from, put the boots into my hands, got out my
shoe-making implements, and held me up as I attempted to cobble up the
boots. It was, however, in vain that I tried to do my best towards the
lieutenant's boots. After a few stitches, I fell asleep as I worked,
the awl and wax-ends falling to the ground. I remember there were two
other officers present at the time, Lieutenants Molloy and Keppel,
the latter of whom soon afterwards fell dead from fatigue during this
retreat. At the present time, however, they all saw it was in vain to
urge me to mend Lieutenant Hill's boots. He therefore put them on again
with a woeful face and a curse, and dismissed me to my repose. Our rest
was not, however, of long duration. The French were upon our trail, and
before long we were up and hurrying onwards again.
As the day began to dawn, we passed through another village--a long,
straggling place. The houses were all closed at this early hour, and
the inhabitants mostly buried in sleep, and, I dare say, unconscious of
the armed thousands who were pouring through their silent streets. When
about a couple of miles from this village, Craufurd again halted us
for about a quarter of an hour. It appeared to me that, with returning
daylight, he wished to have a good look at us this morning, for he
mingled amongst the men as we stood leaning upon our rifles, gazing
earnestly in our faces as he passed, in order to judge of our plight
by our countenances. He himself appeared anxious, but full of fire and
spirit, occasionally giving directions to the different officers, and
then speaking words of encouragement to the men. It is my pride now
to remember that General Craufurd seldom omitted a word in passing to
myself. On this occasion, he stopped in the midst, and addressed a few
words to me, and glancing down at my feet, observed:
"What! no shoes, Harris, I see, eh?"
"None, sir," I replied; "they have been gone many days back." He
smiled, and passing on, spoke to another man, and so on through the
whole body.
Craufurd was, I remember, terribly severe, during this retreat, if he
caught anything like pilfering amongst the men. As we stood, however,
during this short halt, a very tempting turnip-field was close on the
side of us, and several of the men were so ravenous, that although
he was in our very ranks, they stepped into the field and helped
themselves to the turnips, devouring them like famishing wolves. He
either did not or would not observe the delinquency this time, and soon
afterwards gave the word, and we moved on once more.
About this period I remember another sight, which I shall not to
my dying day forget; and it causes me a sore heart, even now, as I
remember it. Soon after our halt beside the turnip-field the screams
of a child near me caught my ear, and drew my attention to one of
our women, who was endeavouring to drag along a little boy of about
seven or eight years of age. The poor child was apparently completely
exhausted, and his legs failing under him. The mother had occasionally,
up to this time, been assisted by some of the men, taking it in turn
to help the little fellow on; but now all further appeal was vain. No
man had more strength than was necessary for the support of his own
carcass, and the mother could no longer raise the child in her arms, as
her reeling pace too plainly shewed. Still, however, she continued to
drag the child along with her. It was a pitiable sight, and wonderful
to behold the efforts the poor woman made to keep the boy amongst us.
At last the little fellow had not even strength to cry, but, with mouth
wide open, stumbled onwards, until both sank down to rise no more. The
poor woman herself had, for some time, looked a moving corpse; and
when the shades of evening came down, they were far behind amongst the
dead or dying in the road. This was not the only scene of the sort I
witnessed amongst the women and children during that retreat. Poor
creatures! they must have bitterly regretted not having accepted the
offer which was made to them to embark at Lisbon for England, instead
of accompanying their husbands into Spain. The women, however, I have
often observed, are most persevering in such cases, and are not to be
persuaded that their presence is often a source of anxiety to the corps
they belong to.
I do not think I ever admired any man who wore the British uniform more
than I did General Craufurd.
I could fill a book with descriptions of him; for I frequently had my
eye upon him in the hurry of action. It was gratifying to me, too,
to think he did not altogether think ill of me, since he has often
addressed me kindly when, from adverse circumstances, you might have
thought that he had scarcely spirits to cheer up the men under him. The
Rifles liked him, but they also feared him; for he could be terrible
when insubordination shewed itself in the ranks. "You think, because
you are Riflemen, you may do whatever you think proper," said he, one
day, to the miserable and savage-looking crew around him, in the
retreat to Corunna; "but I'll teach you the difference before I have
done with you." I remember one evening, during the retreat, he detected
two men straying away from the main body: it was in the early stage
of that disastrous flight, and Craufurd knew well that he must do his
utmost to keep the division together. He halted the brigade with a
voice of thunder, ordered a drum-head court-martial on the instant,
and they were sentenced to a hundred a-piece. Whilst this hasty trial
was taking place, Craufurd dismounting from his horse, stood in the
midst, looking stern and angry as a worried bull-dog. He did not like
retreating at all, that man.
The three men nearest him, as he stood, were Jagger, Dan Howans, and
myself. All were worn, dejected, and savage, though nothing to what we
were after a few days more of the retreat. The whole brigade were in
a grumbling and discontented mood; and Craufurd, doubtless, felt ill
pleased with the aspect of affairs altogether.
"D--n his eyes!" muttered Howans, "he had much better try to get us
something to eat and drink, than harass us in this way."
No sooner had Howans disburdened his conscience of this growl, than
Craufurd, who had overheard it, turning sharply round, seized the rifle
out of Jagger's hand, and felled him to the earth with the butt-end.
"It was not I who spoke," said Jagger, getting up, and shaking his
head. "You shouldn't knock me about."
"I heard you, sir," said Craufurd; "and I will bring you also to a
court-martial."
"I am the man who spoke," said Howans. "Ben Jagger never said a word."
"Very well," returned Craufurd, "then I'll try you, sir."
And, accordingly, when the other affair was disposed of, Howans' case
came on. By the time the three men were tried, it was too dark to
inflict the punishment. Howans, however, had got the complement of
three hundred promised to him; so Craufurd gave the word to the brigade
to move on. He marched all that night on foot; and when the morning
dawned, I remember that, like the rest of us, his hair, beard, and
eye-brows, were covered with the frost, as if he had grown white with
age. We were, indeed, all of us in the same condition. Scarcely had
I time to notice the appearance of morning before the general once
more called a halt--we were then on the hills. Ordering a square to be
formed, he spoke to the brigade, as well as I can remember, in these
words, after having ordered the three before-named men of the 95th to
be brought into the square:--
"Although," said he, "I should obtain the good-will neither of the
officers nor the men of the brigade here by so doing, I am resolved to
punish these three men, according to the sentence awarded, even though
the French are at our heels. Begin with Daniel Howans."
This was indeed no time to be lax in discipline, and the general knew
it. The men, as I said, were, some of them, becoming careless and
ruffianly in their demeanour; whilst others, again, I saw with the
tears falling down their cheeks from the agony of their bleeding feet,
and many were ill with dysentery from the effects of the bad food they
had got hold of and devoured on the road. Our knapsacks, too, were a
bitter enemy on this prolonged march. Many a man died, I am convinced,
who would have borne up well to the end of the retreat, but for the
infernal load we carried on our backs. My own knapsack was my bitterest
enemy; I felt it press me to the earth almost at times, and more than
once felt as if I should die under its deadly embrace. The knapsacks,
in my opinion, should have been abandoned at the very commencement of
the retrograde movement, as it would have been better to have lost them
altogether, if, by such loss, we could have saved the poor fellows who,
as it was, died strapped to them on the road.
There was some difficulty in finding a place to tie Howans up, as the
light brigade carried no halberts. However, they led him to a slender
ash tree which grew near at hand.
"Don't trouble yourselves about tying _me_ up," said Howans, folding
his arms; "I'll take my punishment like a man!"
He did so without a murmur, receiving the whole three hundred. His
wife, who was present with us, I remember, was a strong, hardy
Irishwoman. When it was over, she stepped up and covered Howans with
his grey great-coat. The general then gave the word to move on. I
rather think he knew the enemy was too near to punish the other two
delinquents just then; so we proceeded out of the corn-field in which
we had been halted, and toiled away upon the hills once more, Howans'
wife carrying the jacket, knapsack, and pouch, which the lacerated
state of the man's back would not permit him to bear.
It could not have been, I should think, more than an hour after the
punishment had been inflicted upon Howans, when the general again
gave the word for the brigade to halt, and once more formed them into
square. We had begun to suppose that he intended to allow the other two
delinquents to escape, under the present difficulties and hardships of
the retreat. He was not, however, one of the forgetful sort, when the
discipline of the army under him made severity necessary.
"Bring out the two other men of the 95th," said he, "who were tried
last night."
The men were brought forth accordingly, and their lieutenant-colonel,
Hamilton Wade, at the same time stepped forth. He walked up to the
general, and lowering his sword, requested that he would forgive these
men, as they were both of them good soldiers, and had fought in all the
battles of Portugal.
"I order _you_, sir," said the general, "to do your duty. These men
shall be punished."
The lieutenant-colonel, therefore, recovering his sword, turned about,
and fell back to the front of the Rifles. One of the men, upon this (I
think it was Armstrong), immediately began to unstrap his knapsack,
and prepare for the lash. Craufurd had turned about meanwhile, and
walked up to one side of the square. Apparently he suddenly relented
a little, and, again turning sharp round, returned towards the two
prisoners. "Stop," said he. "In consequence of the intercession of your
lieutenant-colonel, I will allow you thus much: you shall draw lots,
and the winner shall escape; but one of the two I am determined to make
an example of."
The square was formed in a stubble-field, and the sergeant-major of
the Rifles, immediately stooping down, plucked up two straws, and the
men, coming forward, drew. I cannot be quite certain, but I think it
was Armstrong who drew the longest straw, and won the safety of his
hide; and his fellow gamester was in quick time tied to a tree; and the
punishment commenced. A hundred was the sentence; but when the bugler
had counted seventy-five, the general granted him a further indulgence,
and ordered him to be taken down, and to join his company. The general
calling for his horse, now mounted for the first time for many hours;
for he had not ridden all night, not, indeed, since the drum-head
court-martial had taken place. Before he put the brigade in motion
again, he gave us another short specimen of his eloquence, pretty
much, I remember, after this style:--
"I give you all notice," said he, "that I will halt the brigade again
the very first moment I perceive any man disobeying my orders, and try
him by court-martial on the spot." He then gave us the word, and we
resumed our march.
Many who read this, especially in these peaceful times, may suppose
this was a cruel and unnecessary severity under the dreadful and
harassing circumstances of that retreat; but I, who was there, and
was, besides, a common soldier of the very regiment to which these
men belonged, say _it was quite necessary_. No man but one formed of
stuff like General Craufurd could have saved the brigade from perishing
altogether; and, if he flogged two, he saved hundreds from death by
his management. I detest the sight of the lash; but I am convinced the
British army can never go on without it. Late events have taught us
the necessity of such measures.
It was perhaps a couple of days after this had taken place that we came
to a river. It was tolerably wide, but not very deep, which was just as
well for us; for, had it been deep as the dark regions, we must have
somehow or other got through. The avenger was behind us, and Craufurd
was along with us, and the two together kept us moving, whatever was
in the road. Accordingly, into the stream went the light brigade, and
Craufurd, as busy as a shepherd with his flock, riding in and out of
the water, to keep his wearied band from being drowned as they crossed
over. Presently he spied an officer who, to save himself from being
wet through, I suppose, and wearing a damp pair of breeches for the
remainder of the day, had mounted on the back of one of his men. The
sight of such a piece of effeminacy was enough to raise the choler of
the general, and in a very short time he was plunging and splashing
through the water after them both.
"Put him down, sir! put him down! I desire you to put that officer down
instantly!" And the soldier in an instant, I dare say nothing loth,
dropping his burden, like a hot potatoe, into the stream, continued his
progress through. "Return back, sir," said Craufurd to the officer,
"and go through the water like the others. I will not allow my officers
to ride upon the men's backs through the rivers: all must take their
share alike here."
Wearied as we were, this affair caused all who saw it to shout almost
with laughter, and was never forgotten by those who survived the
retreat.
General Craufurd was, indeed, one of the few men who was apparently
created for command during such dreadful scenes as we were familiar
with in this retreat. He seemed an iron man; nothing daunted
him--nothing turned him from his purpose. War was his very element, and
toil and danger seemed to call forth only an increasing determination
to surmount them. I was sometimes amused with his appearance, and that
of the men around us; for, the Rifles being always at his heels, he
seemed to think them his familiars. If he stopped his horse, and halted
to deliver one of his stern reprimands, you would see half-a-dozen
lean, unshaven, shoeless, and savage Riflemen, standing for the moment
leaning upon their weapons, and scowling up in his face as he scolded;
and when he dashed the spurs into his reeking horse, they would throw
up their rifles upon their shoulders, and hobble after him again. He
was sometimes to be seen in the front, then in the rear, and then you
would fall in with him again in the midst, dismounted, and marching
on foot, that the men might see he took an equal share in the toils
which they were enduring. He had a mortal dislike, I remember, to a
commissary. Many a time have I heard him storming at the neglect of
those gentry, when the men were starving for rations, and nothing but
excuses forthcoming.
"Send the commissary to me!" he would roar. "D--n him! I will hang him
if the provisions are not up this night!"
Twice I remember he was in command of the light brigade. The second
time he joined them he made, I heard, something like these remarks,
after they had been some little time in Spain:--
"When I commanded you before," he said, "I know full well that you
disliked me, for you thought me severe. _This time I am glad to find
there is a change in yourselves._"