Thus passed nearly four weeks, the weather varying, as at this season
it is everywhere liable to do, from wet to dry, and from storm to calm.
The troops worked sedulously at the redoubts, till seven-and-thirty,
commanding and flanking all the most assailable points between
Fontarabia and the Foundry, were completed. For my own part, I pursued
my ordinary routine, shooting or fishing all day long, whenever leisure
was afforded, or rambling about amid scenery grand beyond all power
of language to describe. In one of these excursions I stumbled upon
another cave, similar in all respects to those which I had before been
hindered from exploring. Determined not to be disappointed this time,
I returned immediately to the camp, where, providing myself with a
dark lantern, and taking a drawn sword in my hand, I hastened back to
the spot. As I drew near, the thought that very possibly it might be
a harbour for wolves came across me, and half tempted me to stifle
my curiosity; but curiosity overpowered caution, and I entered. Like
most adventures of the kind, mine was wholly without danger. The cave
proved, as I suspected it would be, a deserted mine, extending several
hundred feet under ground, and ending in a heap of rubbish, as if the
roof had given way, and choked up farther progress. I found in it only
an old iron three-legged pot, which I brought away with me, as a trophy
of my hardihood.
It was now the 5th of October, and, in spite of repeated rumours of a
move, the army still remained quiet. Marshal Soult, however, appeared
fully to expect our advance, for he caused a number of hand-bills to
be scattered through the camp by the market people, most of whom were
in his pay, warning us that Gascony had risen _en masse_; and that, if
we dared to violate the sacred soil, every man who ventured beyond the
camp would be murdered. These hand-bills were printed in French and
Spanish; and they came in, in increased quantities, about the time that
intelligence of Buonaparte's disastrous campaign in Russia reached us.
Of course we paid to them no attention whatever; nor had they the most
remote effect in determining the plans of our leader, who probably knew
as well as the French general how affairs really stood.
I shall not soon forget the 5th, the 6th, or the 7th of October. The
first of these days I had spent among the woods, and returned to my
tent in the evening with a tolerably well-stored game-bag; but, though
fagged with my morning's exercise, I could not sleep. After tossing
about upon my blanket till near midnight, I rose, and, pulling on
my clothes, walked out. The moon was shining in cloudless majesty,
and lighted up a scene such as I never looked upon before, and shall
probably never look upon again. I had admired the situation of our
camp during the day, as it well became me to do; but when I viewed it
by moonlight--the tents moist with dew, and glittering in the silver
rays which fell upon them, with a grove of dwarf oaks partly shading
them, and the stupendous cliffs distinctly visible in the background--I
thought, and I think now, that the eye of man never beheld a scene
more exquisitely beautiful. There was just breeze enough to produce a
slight waving of the branches, which, joined to the unceasing roar of
a little waterfall at no great distance, and the occasional voice of a
sentinel, who challenged as any one approached his post, produced an
effect altogether too powerful for me to portray, at this distance of
time, even to myself. I walked about for two hours in a state of high
excitement and delight, which might be sobered, but was not broken, by
the thought that thousands who slept securely under that moon's rays,
would sleep far more soundly under another.
I returned to my couch of fern about two in the morning, and slept,
or rather dozed, till daybreak; when, having waited the usual time
under arms with the men, I set off again, with my dog and gun, to the
mountains. But I was weary with last night's watching, and a friend, in
something of my own mood of mind, overtaking me, we sat down to bask in
the sun upon a lofty rock which overlooked the camp. There we remained
till gathering clouds warned us of a storm; when, hurrying home, the
information so long expected was communicated to us--namely, that we
were to cross the river and attack the heights above it on the morrow.
I am no fire-eater, nor ever professed to be one; but I confess that
the news produced in me very pleasurable sensations. We had been
stationary in our present position so long, that all the objects
round were become familiar; and variety is everything in the life of
a soldier. Besides, there was the idea of invading France--an idea
which, a few years previously, would have been scouted as visionary:
this added much to the pleasurable excitement which the prospect of
a move created. Not that I was thoughtless of what might be my own
fate; on the contrary, I never yet went into action without making
up my mind beforehand for the worst. But you become so familiarised
with death, after you have spent a few months amid such scenes as I
had lately witnessed, that the thought loses most of its terrors, and
is considered only as a blank in the lottery of which you may have
purchased a ticket. It may come; and if so, why, there is no help for
it; but you may escape, and then there are new scenes to be witnessed,
and new adventures to be encountered.
As the attack was to be made at an early hour, the troops were ordered
to lie down as soon after dark as possible, in order that they might be
fresh and in good spirits for the work of to-morrow. In the meanwhile,
the clouds continued to collect over the whole face of the sky, and
the extreme sultriness of the atmosphere indicated an approaching
thunderstorm. The sun went down lowering and ominously; but it was
not till the first night-relief had been set--that is, about eight
or nine o'clock in the evening--that the storm burst upon us. Then,
indeed, it came, and with a degree of sublimity which accompanies such
a storm only amid such scenery. The lightning was very vivid; and the
peals of thunder, echoed back as they were by the rocks and mountains
near, sounded more like one continued rending of the elements than the
intermitted discharges of an electric cloud. Happily, little or no rain
fell, at least for a time; by which means I was enabled to sit at the
door of my tent and watch the storm; nor have I been frequently more
delighted than with its progress.
Immediately opposite to where I sat was a valley or glen, beautifully
wooded, at the bottom of which flowed a little rivulet, which came from
the waterfall already alluded to. This was completely laid open to me
at every flash, as well as the whole side of the mountain beyond; near
the summit of which a body of Spanish soldiers were posted in a lonely
cottage. It was exceedingly curious to catch sight of this hut, with
warlike figures moving about it, and arms piled beside it; of the bold
heights around, with the stream tumbling from its rocky bed, and the
thick groves and the white tents--and then to have the whole hidden
from you in a moment. I sat and feasted my eyes till the rain began
to descend; when the storm gradually abating, I stretched myself on
the ground, and, without undressing, wrapt myself in my cloak and fell
asleep.
It was, as nearly as I can now recollect, about four o'clock next
morning when I was roused from my slumber by the orderly sergeant of
the company. By this time the storm had completely passed away, and the
stars were shining in a sky perfectly cloudless. The moon had, however,
gone down; and the red glare from decaying fires, which, for want of
fuel, were fast dying out, was the only light that helped us to find
our proper places. The effect of this dull light, as it fell upon the
soldiers mustering in solemn silence, was, however, exceedingly fine.
You could not distinguish either the uniform or the faces of the men;
you saw only groups collecting together, with arms in their hands;
which there needed but a slight stretch of imagination, amid this wild
forest scenery, to mistake for banditti, instead of regular troops.
I started to my feet at the first summons; and, having buckled on my
sabre, stowed away some cold meat, biscuit, and rum in a haversack, and
placed it, with my cloak, across the back of my horse, I swallowed a
cup or two of coffee, and felt myself ready and willing for any kind of
service whatever.
In little more than a quarter of an hour the corps was under arms, each
man in his place. We had already been joined by two other battalions,
forming a brigade of about fifteen hundred men; and an hour before
sunrise, just as the first streaks of dawn were appearing in the east,
the word was given to march. Our tents were not on this occasion
struck: they were left standing, with the baggage and mules, under
the protection of a guard, for the purpose of deceiving the enemy's
pickets, in whose view they were exposed, into the belief that nothing
was going forward. And the measure was the more judicious that the
state of the tide promised not to admit of our fording the river
till past seven o'clock; long before which hour broad daylight would
have set in. The object of our early movement was, therefore, to gain
unobserved a sort of hollow, close to the left bank of the Bidassoa,
from which, as soon as the stream should be passable, we might emerge.
As we moved in profound silence, we reached our place of ambuscade
without creating the smallest alarm. There we laid ourselves down
upon the ground, for the double purpose of more effectually avoiding
a display, and of taking as much rest as possible. Whilst lying here,
we listened, with eager curiosity, to the distant tread of feet, which
marked the coming up of other divisions, and to the lumbering sound
of artillery, as it rolled along the highroad. The latter increased
upon us every moment, till at length three ponderous eighteen-pounders
reached the hollow, and began to ascend the rising ground immediately
in front of us. These were placed in battery, so as to command the
ford, across which a stone bridge, now in ruins, was thrown; and by
which we knew, from the position which we occupied, that we were
destined to proceed. From what infatuation it arose that all these
preparations excited no suspicion among the enemy, whose sentinels were
scarce half musket-shot distant, I know not; but the event proved that
they expected this morning anything rather than an attack.
Before I proceed to describe the circumstances of the battle, I must
endeavour to convey to the minds of my non-military readers something
like a clear notion of the nature of the position occupied by the right
of the French army. I have already said that its extreme flank rested
upon the sea. Its more central brigades occupied a chain of heights,
not, indeed, deserving of the name of mountains, but still sufficiently
steep to check the progress of an advancing force, and full of natural
inequalities, well adapted to cover the defenders from the fire of the
assailants. Along the face of these heights is built the straggling
village of Handaye; and immediately in front of them runs the frith
or mouth of the Bidassoa, fordable only at two points, one opposite
Fontarabia, and the other in the direction of the main road. Close
to the French bank of the river is a grove or strip of willows, with
several vineyards and other enclosures, admirably calculated for
skirmishers; while the ford beside the ruined bridge--the only one by
which artillery could pass--was completely commanded by a fortified
house, or _tête-de-pont_, filled with infantry. The main road, on the
French side of the river, winds among overhanging precipices, not,
indeed, so rugged as those in the pass of Irun, but sufficiently bold
to place troops which might occupy them in comparative security, and
to render a hundred resolute men more than a match for a thousand
who might attack them. Yet these were the most assailable points
in the whole position, all beyond the road being little else than
perpendicular cliffs, shaggy with pine and ash trees.
Such was the nature of the ground which we were commanded to carry. As
day dawned, I could distinctly see that the old town of Fontarabia was
filled with British soldiers. The fifth division, which had borne the
brunt of the late siege, and which, since the issue of their labours,
had been permitted to rest somewhat in the rear, had been moved up
on the preceding evening; and reaching Fontarabia a little before
midnight, had spent some hours in the streets. Immediately in rear of
ourselves, and in the streets of Irun, about eight thousand of the
Guards and of the German Legion were reposing. A brigade of cavalry
just showed its leading files at a turning in the main road, and a
couple of nine-pounders stood close beside them. It was altogether a
beautiful and an animating sight, not fewer than fifteen or twenty
thousand British and Portuguese troops being distinguishable at a
glance.
Away to our right, and on the tops of San Marcial, the Spanish
divisions took their stations; nor could I avoid drawing something
like an invidious comparison between them and their gallant allies.
Half clothed, and badly fed, though sufficiently armed, their
appearance certainly promised no more than their actions for the
most part verified. Not that the Spanish peasantry are deficient
in personal courage (and their soldiers were, generally speaking,
merely peasants with muskets in their hands), but their corps were so
wretchedly officered, and their commissariat so miserably supplied,
that the chief matter of surprise is, how they came to fight at all.
Even at this period of the war, when their country might be said to be
completely freed from the invader, the subsistence of the Spanish army
depended mainly on the heads of Indian corn, which the men gathered for
themselves in the fields, and cooked by roasting them over their fires.
It will readily be imagined that we watched the gradual fall of
the river with intense anxiety, turning our glasses, from time to
time, towards the French lines, throughout which all remained most
unaccountably quiet. At length a movement could be distinguished among
the troops which occupied Fontarabia. Their skirmishers began to emerge
from under cover of the houses, and to approach the river, and then in
a moment the three eighteen-pounders opened from the heights above us.
This was the signal for a general advance. Our column likewise threw
out its skirmishers, which, hastening towards the ford, were saluted
by a sharp fire of musketry from the enemy's pickets, and from the
garrison of the _tête-de-pont_. But the latter was speedily abandoned
as our people pressed through the stream, and our artillery kept up an
incessant discharge of round and grape shot upon it.
The French pickets were driven in, and our troops established on
the opposite bank, with hardly any loss on our side, though those
who crossed by Fontarabia were obliged to hold their firelocks and
cartouch-boxes above their heads, to keep them dry; and the water
beside the bridge reached considerably above the knee. The alarm had,
however, been communicated to the columns in rear, which hastily formed
upon the heights, and endeavoured, but in vain, to keep possession of
Handaye. That village was carried in gallant style by a brigade of
the fifth division; whilst the first, moving steadily along the road,
dislodged from their post the garrison of the hills which commanded
it, and crowned the heights almost without opposition. A general panic
seemed to have seized the enemy. Instead of charging us, as we moved
forward in column, they fired their pieces, and fled without pausing to
reload them; nor was anything like a determined stand attempted, till
all their works had fallen into our hands, and much of their artillery
was taken. It was one of the most perfect and yet extraordinary
surprises I ever saw!
There were not, however, wanting many brave fellows among the French
officers, who exerted themselves to rally their terrified comrades, and
to restore the battle. Among these I remarked one in particular. He
was on horseback; and, riding among a flying battalion, he used every
means, both of threat and entreaty, to stop them; and he succeeded.
The battalion paused, its example was followed by others, and in five
minutes a well-formed line occupied what looked like the last of a
range of green hills, on the other side of a valley into which we were
descending.
This sudden movement on the part of the enemy was met by a
corresponding formation on ours; we wheeled into line and advanced. Not
a word was spoken, nor a shot fired, till our troops had reached about
half-way across the little hollow, when the French, raising one of
their discordant yells--a sort of shout, in which every man halloos for
himself, without regard to the tone or time of those about him--fired
a volley. It was well directed, and did considerable execution; but it
checked not our approach for a moment. Our men replied to it with a
hearty British cheer, and, giving them back their fire, rushed on to
the charge.
In this they were met with great spirit by the enemy. I remarked the
same individual who had first stopped their flight ride along the
front of his men, and animate them to their duty; nor was it without
considerable difficulty, and after having exchanged with them several
volleys, that we succeeded in getting within charging distance. Then,
indeed, another cheer was given, and the French, without waiting for
the rush, once more broke their ranks and fled. Their leader was still
as active as before. He rode among the men, reproached, exhorted, and
even struck those near him with his sword; and it seemed as if he were
about once more to rally them, when he fell. In an instant, however, he
rose again, and mounted another horse; but he had hardly done so when a
ball took effect in his neck, and he dropped dead. The fall of that man
decided the day upon the heights of Handaye. The French troops lost all
order and discipline, and making their way to the rear, each by himself
as he best could, they left us in undisputed possession of the field.
Meanwhile, on the right of our army, and the extreme left of the enemy,
a much more determined struggle was going forward. There Soult had
added to the natural strength of his position by throwing up redoubts
and batteries upon every commanding point; and hence it was not without
suffering considerable loss that the light division succeeded in
turning it. All attempts, indeed, to carry the Hermitage failed, though
they were renewed with the most daring resolution till a late hour in
the night. But of the operations of the army in these quarters I could
see nothing, and therefore I will not attempt to describe them.
The day was far spent when our troops, wearied as much with the pursuit
as with fighting, were commanded to halt, and to lie down in brigades
and divisions along the heights which the enemy had abandoned. With us
all became in a short time perfectly quiet; but the roar of musketry
and the thunder of cannon still sounded on our right. As the darkness
set in, too, the flashes became every moment more and more conspicuous,
and produced, on account of the great unevenness of the ground, a
remarkably beautiful effect. Repeated assaults being still made upon
the Hermitage rock, the whole side of that conical hill seemed in a
blaze; whilst every valley and eminence around it sparkled from time
to time like the hills and valleys of a tropical climate when the
fire-flies are out in millions. Nor were other and stronger lights
wanting. Our troops, in the hurry of the battle, had set fire to the
huts of the French soldiers, which now burst forth, and cast a strong
glare over the entire extent of the field. On the whole, it was a
glorious scene, and tended much to keep up the degree of excitement
which had pervaded our minds during the day.
Our loss--I mean the loss of the corps to which I was attached--chanced
to be trifling. No particular companion, or intimate acquaintance, of
mine at least, had fallen, consequently there was nothing to destroy
the feeling of pure delight which the meanest individual in an army
experiences when that army has triumphed; nor do I recollect many
happier moments of my life than when I stretched myself this evening
beside a fire, near my friend Grey, to chat over the occurrences of the
day. The quartermaster coming up soon after with a supply of provisions
and rum, added indeed not a little to my satisfaction; for the stock
which I had provided in the morning was long ago disposed of among
those who had been less provident; and my meal was followed by a sleep
such as kings might envy, though the heavens were my canopy and the
green turf was my bed.