THE RETREAT TO CORUNNA.
Fate of the stragglers--A Spanish welcome--Scenes upon the line of
march--The English ships in sight--The embarkation and arrival of the
troops in England.
Whilst we lay exhausted in the road, the rear guard, which was now
endeavouring to drive on the stragglers, approached, and a sergeant of
the Rifles came up, and stopped to look at us. He addressed himself
to me, and ordered me to rise; but I told him it was useless for him
to trouble himself about me, as I was unable to move a step further.
Whilst he was urging me to endeavour to rise up, the officer in
command of the rear guard also stepped up. The name of this officer was
Lieutenant Cox; he was a brave and good man, and observing that the
sergeant was rough in his language and manner towards me, he silenced
him, and bade the guard proceed, and leave me. "Let him die quietly,
Hicks," he said to the sergeant. "I know him well; he's not the man to
lie here if he could get on.--I am sorry, Harris," he said, "to see you
reduced to this, for I fear there is no help to be had now." He then
moved on after his men, and left me to my fate.
After lying still for awhile, I felt somewhat restored, and sat up to
look about me. The sight was by no means cheering. On the road behind
me I saw men, women, mules, and horses, lying at intervals, both dead
and dying; whilst far away in front I could just discern the enfeebled
army crawling out of sight, the women[6] huddled together in its rear,
trying their best to get forward amongst those of the sick soldiery,
who were now unable to keep up with the main body. After awhile, I
found that my companion, the sergeant, who lay beside me, had also
recovered a little, and I tried to cheer him up. I told him that
opposite to where we were lying there was a lane, down which we might
possibly find some place of shelter, if we could muster strength to
explore it. The sergeant consented to make the effort, but after two
or three attempts to rise, gave it up. I myself was more fortunate:
with the aid of my rifle I got upon my legs, and seeing death in my
companion's face, I resolved to try and save myself, since it was quite
evident to me that I could render him no assistance.
After hobbling some distance down the lane, to my great joy I espied
a small hut or cabin, with a little garden in its front; I therefore
opened the small door of the hovel, and was about to enter, when I
considered that most likely I should be immediately knocked on the head
by the inmates if I did so. The rain, I remember, was coming down in
torrents at this time, and, reflecting that to remain outside was but
to die, I resolved at all events to try my luck within. I had not much
strength left; but I resolved to sell myself as dearly as I could. I
therefore brought up my rifle, and stepped across the threshold. As
soon as I had done so, I observed an old woman seated beside a small
fire upon the hearth. She turned her head as I entered, and immediately
upon seeing a strange soldier, she arose, and filled the hovel with her
screams. As I drew back within the doorway, an elderly man, followed by
two, who were apparently his sons, rushed from a room in the interior.
They immediately approached me; but I brought up my rifle again, and
cocked it, bidding them keep their distance.
After I had thus brought them to a parley, I got together what little
Spanish I was master of, and begged for shelter for the night and a
morsel of food, at the same time lifting my feet and displaying them
a mass of bleeding sores. It was not, however, till they had held a
tolerably long conversation among themselves that they consented to
afford me shelter; and then only upon the condition that I left by
daylight on the following morning. I accepted the conditions with joy.
Had they refused me, I should indeed not have been here to tell the
tale. Knowing the treachery of the Spanish character, I however refused
to relinquish possession of my rifle, and my right hand was ready in an
instant to unsheath my bayonet, as they sat and stared at me whilst I
devoured the food they offered.
All they gave me was some coarse black bread, and a pitcher of sour
wine. It was, however, acceptable to a half-famished man; and I felt
greatly revived by it. Whilst I supped, the old hag, who sat close
beside the hearth, stirred up the embers, that they might have a
better view of their guest, and the party meanwhile overwhelmed me
with questions, which I could neither comprehend nor had strength to
answer. I soon made signs to them that I was unable to maintain the
conversation, and begged of them, as well as I could, to shew me some
place where I might lay my wearied limbs till dawn.
Notwithstanding the weariness which pervaded my whole body, I was
unable for some time to sleep except by fitful snatches, such was the
fear I entertained of having my throat cut by the savage-looking
wretches still seated before the fire. Besides which, the place they
had permitted me to crawl into was more like an oven than anything
else, and being merely a sort of berth scooped out of the wall, was so
filled with fleas and other vermin, that I was stung and tormented most
miserably all night long.
Bad as they had been, however, I felt somewhat restored by my lodging
and supper, and with the dawn I crawled out of my lair, left the hut,
retraced my steps along the lane, and once more emerged upon the
high-road, where I found my companion, the sergeant, dead, and lying
where I had left him the night before.
I now made the best of my way along the road in the direction in which
I had last seen our army retreating the night before. A solitary
individual, I seemed left behind amongst those who had perished. It
was still raining, I remember, on this morning, and the very dead
looked comfortless in their last sleep, as I passed them occasionally
lying on the line of march.
It had pleased Heaven to give me an iron constitution, or I must
have failed, I think, on this day, for the solitary journey, and the
miserable spectacles I beheld, rather damped my spirits.
After progressing some miles, I came up with a cluster of poor devils
who were still alive, but apparently, both men and women, unable to
proceed. They were sitting huddled together in the road, their heads
drooping forward, and apparently patiently awaiting their end.
Soon after passing these unfortunates, I overtook a party who were
being urged forward under charge of an officer of the 42nd Highlanders.
He was pushing them along pretty much as a drover would keep together a
tired flock of sheep. They presented a curious example of a retreating
force. Many of them had thrown away their weapons, and were linked
together arm-in-arm, in order to support each other, like a party of
drunkards. They were, I saw, composed of various regiments; many were
bare-headed, and without shoes; and some with their heads tied up in
old rags and fragments of handkerchiefs.
I marched in company with this party for some time, but as I felt after
my night's lodging and refreshment in better condition I ventured to
push forwards, in the hope of rejoining the main body, and which I once
more came up with in the street of a village.
On falling in with the Rifles, I again found Brooks, who was surprised
at seeing me still alive; and we both entered a house, and begged for
something to drink. I remember that I had a shirt upon my back at this
time, which I had purchased of a drummer of the Ninth regiment before
the commencement of the retreat. It was the only good one I had; I
stripped, with the assistance of Brooks, and took it off, and exchanged
it with a Spanish woman for a loaf of bread, which Brooks, myself, and
two other men, shared amongst us.
I remember to have again remarked Craufurd at this period of the
retreat. He was no whit altered in his desire to keep the force
together, I thought; but still active and vigilant as ever, he seemed
to keep his eye upon those who were now most likely to hold out. I
myself marched during many hours close beside him this day. He looked
stern and pale; but the very picture of a warrior. I shall never forget
Craufurd if I live to a hundred years, I think. He was in everything a
soldier.
Slowly and dejectedly crawled our army along. Their spirit of endurance
was now considerably worn out, and judging from my own sensations, I
felt confident that if the sea was much further from us, we must be
content to come to a halt at last without gaining it. I felt something
like the approach of death as I proceeded--a sort of horror, mixed up
with my sense of illness--a reeling I have never experienced before or
since. Still I held on; but with all my efforts, the main body again
left me behind. Had the enemy's cavalry come up at this time I think
they would have had little else to do but ride us down without striking
a blow.
It is, however, indeed astonishing how man clings to life. I am certain
that had I lain down at this period, I should have found my last billet
on the spot I sank upon. Suddenly I heard a shout in front, which was
prolonged in a sort of hubbub. Even the stragglers whom I saw dotting
the road in front of me seemed to have caught at something like
hope; and as the poor fellows now reached the top of a hill we were
ascending, I heard an occasional exclamation of joy--the first note of
the sort I had heard for many days. When I reached the top of the hill
the thing spoke for itself. There, far away in our front, the English
shipping lay in sight.[7]
Its view had indeed acted like a restorative to our force, and the
men, at the prospect of a termination to the march, had plucked up
spirit for a last effort. Fellows who, like myself, seemed to have
hardly strength in their legs to creep up the ascent, seemed now to
have picked up a fresh pair to get down with. Such is hope to us poor
mortals!
There was, I recollect, a man of the name of Bell, of the Rifles, who
had been during this day holding a sort of creeping race with me,--we
had passed and repassed each other, as our strength served. Bell was
rather a discontented fellow at the best of times; but during this
retreat he had given full scope to his ill-temper, cursing the hour he
was born, and wishing his mother had strangled him when he came into
the world, in order to have saved him from his present toil. He had not
now spoken for some time, and the sight of the English shipping had
apparently a very beneficial effect upon him. He burst into tears as he
stood and looked at it.
"Harris," he said, "if it pleases God to let me reach those ships, I
swear never to utter a bad or discontented word again."
As we proceeded down the hill we now met with the first symptoms of
good feeling from the inhabitants, it was our fortune to experience
during our retreat. A number of old women stood on either side the
road, and occasionally handed us fragments of bread as we passed
them. It was on this day, and whilst I looked anxiously upon the
English shipping in the distance, that I first began to find my
eyesight failing, and it appeared to me that I was fast growing blind.
The thought was alarming; and I made desperate efforts to get on.
Bell, however, won the race this time. He was a very athletic and
strong-built fellow, and left me far behind, so that I believe at that
time I was the very last of the retreating force that reached the
beach, though doubtless many stragglers came dropping up after the
ships had sailed, and were left behind.
As it was, when I did manage to gain the sea-shore, it was only by the
aid of my rifle that I could stand, and my eyes were now so dim and
heavy that with difficulty I made out a boat which seemed the last that
had put off.
Fearful of being left half blind in the lurch, I took off my cap, and
placed it on the muzzle of my rifle as a signal, for I was totally
unable to call out. Luckily, Lieutenant Cox, who was aboard the boat,
saw me, and ordered the men to return, and, making one more effort,
I walked into the water, and a sailor stretching his body over the
gunwale, seized me as if I had been an infant, and hauled me on board.
His words were characteristic of the English sailor, I thought.
"Hollo there, you lazy lubber!" he said, as he grasped hold of me, "who
the h-ll do you think is to stay humbugging all day for such a fellow
as you?"
The boat, I found, was crowded with our exhausted men, who lay
helplessly at the bottom, the heavy sea every moment drenching them
to the skin. As soon as we reached the vessel's side, the sailors
immediately aided us to get on board, which in our exhausted state
was not a very easy matter, as they were obliged to place ropes in
our hands, and heave us up by setting their shoulders under us, and
hoisting away as if they had been pushing bales of goods on board.
"Heave away!" cried one of the boat's crew, as I clung to a rope, quite
unable to pull myself up, "heave away, you lubber!"
The tar placed his shoulder beneath me as he spoke, and hoisted me up
against the ship's side; I lost my grasp of the rope and should have
fallen into the sea, had it not been for two of the crew. These men
grasped me as I was falling, and drew me into the port-hole like a
bundle of foul clothes, tearing away my belt and bayonet in the effort,
which fell into the sea.
It was not very many minutes after I was on board, for I lay where the
sailors had first placed me after dragging me through the port-hole,
ere I was sound asleep. I slept long and heavily, and it was only
the terrible noise and bustle on board consequent upon a gale having
sprung up, that at length awoke me. The wind increased as the night
came on, and soon we had to experience all the horrors of a storm at
sea. The pumps were set to work; the sails were torn to shreds; the
coppers were overset; and we appeared in a fair way, I thought, of
going to the bottom. Meanwhile, the pumps were kept at work night and
day incessantly till they were choked; and the gale growing worse and
worse, all the soldiery were ordered below, and the hatches closed;
soon after which the vessel turned over on one side, and lay a helpless
log upon the water. In this situation an officer was placed over us,
with his sword drawn in one hand, and a lantern in the other, in order
to keep us on the side which was upper-most, so as to give the vessel
a chance of righting herself in the roaring tide. The officer's task
was not an easy one, as the heaving waves frequently sent us sprawling
from the part we clung to, over to the lower-most part of the hold,
where he stood, and he was obliged every minute to drive us back.
We remained in this painful situation for, I should think, five or
six hours, expecting every instant to be our last, when, to our great
joy, the sea suddenly grew calm, the wind abated, the vessel righted
herself, and we were once more released from our prison, having tasted
nothing in the shape of food for at least forty-eight hours. Soon after
this we arrived in sight of Spithead, where we saw nine of our convoy,
laden with troops, which had been driven on shore in the gale. After
remaining off Spithead for about five or six days, one fine morning
we received orders to disembark, and our poor bare feet once more
touched English ground. The inhabitants flocked down to the beach to
see us as we did so, and they must have been a good deal surprised at
the spectacle we presented. Our beards were long and ragged; almost
all were without shoes and stockings; many had their clothes and
accoutrements in fragments, with their heads swathed in old rags, and
our weapons were covered with rust; whilst not a few had now, from toil
and fatigue, become quite blind.
Let not the reader, however, think, that even now we were to be
despised as soldiers. Long marches, inclement weather, and want of
food, had done their work upon us; but we were perhaps better than we
appeared, as the sequel shewed. Under the gallant Craufurd we had made
some tremendous marches, and even galled our enemies severely, making
good our retreat by the way of Vigo. But our comrades in adversity, and
who had retired by the other road to Corunna, under General Moore,
turned to bay there, and shewed the enemy that the English soldier is
not to be beaten even under the most adverse circumstances.
The field of death and slaughter, the march, the bivouac, and the
retreat, are no bad places in which to judge of men. I have had some
opportunities of judging them in all these situations, and I should
say, that the British are amongst the most splendid soldiers in the
world. Give them fair play, and they are unconquerable. For my own
part, I can only say, that I enjoyed life more whilst on active
service, than I have ever done since; and as I sit at work in my
shop in Richmond Street, Soho, I look back upon that portion of my
time spent in the fields of the Peninsula as the only part worthy of
remembrance. It is at such times that scenes long passed come back upon
my mind as if they had taken place but yesterday. I remember even the
very appearance of some of the regiments engaged; and comrades, long
mouldered to dust, I see again performing the acts of heroes.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 6: Some of these poor wretches cut a ludicrous figure,
having the men's great-coats buttoned over their heads, whilst their
clothing being extremely ragged and scanty, their naked legs were very
conspicuous. They looked a tribe of travelling beggars.]
[Footnote 7: Our division, under Craufurd, in this retreat, as I have
before mentioned, made for Vigo.]