CHAPTER III.

THE SIKH CAMPAIGNS.[338]

State of the Punjaub.--Sir Henry Hardinge appointed governor.--

Strength and organization of the Sikh army.--Moodkee.--

Ferozepore.--Defeat of the Sikhs.--Battle of Aliwal.--Its

consequences.--Sobraon.--Conclusion.

The fatal _dénouement_ of the retreat from Cabool was still in vivid

colouring before the British public, when tidings from the East

announced that it might be considered only as the forerunner of

still more alarming demonstrations, and these from a power fully as

unfriendly, and far mere formidable to English interests than the

Ghiljies and fanatic tribes of Affghanistan. The Punjaub[339] for years

had been internally convulsed. The musnud in turn was occupied by women

whose debaucheries were disgusting, and men who had reached it by the

foulest murders. The country was frightfully disorganized--one bond

of union alone existed among the Sikhs--and that was the most deadly

hostility to the British.

The state of things beyond the Sutlej alarmed the Indian government,

and Lord Ellenborough acted with energy and good judgment--Scinde

and Gwalior must be deprived of the power of being mischievous--and

while the former was annexed in form to the possessions of the Company,

Gwalior was being prepared for undergoing a similar change. To give

effect to these important measures, an army of observation marched

upon the Sutlej--but long before any results from his policy could

be developed, Lord Ellenborough was recalled, and Sir Henry Hardinge

appointed to succeed him. In the spring of 1844, the new governor

reached Calcutta.

The Cabool disasters had rendered the very thought of Eastern war most

unpopular at home--and Sir Henry assumed the chief command, with a

full determination to avoid a rupture with the Sikhs--could such be

avoidable; but that, as events proved, was impossible--and pacific

policy was tried and found wanting.

“The summer of 1845 was marked by frightful excesses in Lahore. Murder

and debauchery went hand-in-hand together; and the Ranee herself, as

well as her chief adviser, Jowar Singh, no longer disguised their

purpose of coming to blows with the English. On the part of Jowar

Singh, this was but the prosecution of a policy which had long been in

favour with him; and as he was heartily detested by the rest of the

sirdars, they made it a pretext for conspiring against him and putting

him to death. But the Ranee was swayed by different motives. From day

to day her army became more unmanageable; and she desired, above all

things, to get rid of the nuisance, even if her deliverance should

come with a victorious British force to Lahore. Accordingly, after

having long withstood the clamours of her officers, she gave a hearty,

yet a reluctant, consent to the proposed invasion of the protected

states; and a plan of operations was drawn up, which indicated no

slight knowledge of the art of war on the part of those from whom it

emanated.”[340]

As yet Sir Henry had avoided every appearance of angry demonstration.

Loodiana and Ferozepore were well garrisoned. The former place was

weak--the latter better calculated for resistance. A magazine to

supply both places had been judiciously established where the Umballa

road touches that of Kurnaul--for Busseean was equally accessible to

the garrisons which were threatened.

Coming events had not been disregarded by the chief in command--and

in June, Sir Henry in person proceeded to the western provinces.

Approaching hostilities had in the autumn become too evident--the

Sikhs were advancing to the Sutlej--and instead of having, as formerly

reported, 15,000 men in and about Lahore, they had actually seven

divisions, which might fairly average, each with the other, 8,000 men.

One of these was to remain to garrison the capital--the remainder were

disposable--and, as it was believed, destined to attack Loodiana,

Kurrachee, Ferozepore, Scinde, and Attock.

Before the subsequent transactions are described, a detail of the

strength, organization, and _matériel_ of the Sikh army will be

interesting--and an officer,[341] whose brief but lucid account of

the Punjaub, is admirably perspicuous and judiciously condensed, thus

pictures the construction of a military force, whose local position and

efficiency rendered the repression of its formidable power imperative

upon the Indian executive.

“This force, consisting of about 110,000 men, is divided into regulars

and irregulars; the former of whom, about 70,000 strong, are drilled

and appointed according to the European system. The cavalry branch of

the disciplined force amounts to nearly 13,000, and the infantry and

artillery to 60,000 more. The irregulars, variously armed and equipped,

are nearly 40,000 strong, of which number upwards of 20,000 are

cavalry, the remainder consisting of infantry and matchlock-men, while

the contingents, which the sirdars or chiefs are obliged to parade on

the requisition of the sovereign, amount to considerably above 30,000

more. The artillery consisted in Runjeet’s time of 376 guns, and 370

swivels mounted on camels or on light carriages adapted to their size.

There is no distinct corps of artillery as in other services, but there

are 4,000 or 5,000 men, under a daroga, trained to the duty of gunners,

and these are distributed with the ordnance throughout the regular

army. The costume of the regular infantry is scarlet, with different

coloured facings, to distinguish regiments, as in the British service.

The trousers are of blue linen; the head-dress is a blue turban, with

one end loose, and spread so as to entirely cover the head, back of the

neck, and shoulders; the belts are of black leather; the arms a musket

and bayonet, the manufacture of Lahore. The cavalry wear helmets or

steel caps, round which shawls or scarfs are folded. The _irregulars_,

in their dress and appointments, fully justify the appellation which

their habits and mode of making war obtained for them. Cotton, silk,

or broad cloth tunics of various colours, with the addition of shawls,

cloaks, breastplates, or coats of mail, with turban or helmets, _ad

libitum_, impart to them a motley but picturesque appearance. They are

all badly mounted, and, indeed, little can be said even of the regular

cavalry in this respect. The Punjaub breed of horses is far from good,

and they do not import stock from other countries to improve their

own cattle. The pay of the sepoys of the regular army of the Punjaub

is higher than that of the same class in the army of the East-India

Company, each common soldier receiving ten rupees per mensem. The

troops of the irregulars receive twenty-five rupees each, out of which

they provide their arms and clothing, and feed their horse, putting the

government to no other expense whatever for their services.

“Enlistment in the regular army of the Punjaub is quite voluntary, and

the service is so popular that the army could upon an emergency be

increased to almost any amount. The soldiery are exceedingly apt in

acquiring a knowledge of their military duties; but they are so averse

to control that instances of insubordination are common; latterly,

indeed, open mutiny has frequently characterized the relations of

officer and soldier. Insubordination is punished--when punishment is

practicable--with confinement, loss of pay, or extra duty. But in

the present state of military disorganization no means of chastising

rebellion are available.

“No pensions were, or are, assigned to the soldiery for long service,

nor is there any provision for the widows and families of those who

die, or are killed in the service of the state. Promotions, instead

of being the right of the good soldier in order of seniority, or the

reward of merit in the various grades, is frequently effected by

bribery. In the higher ranks, advancement is obtained by the judicious

application of _douceurs_ to the palm of the favourites at court, or

the military chieftains about the person of the sovereign. In the

event of the government of the Punjaub falling into the hands of the

British, some time would probably elapse before the dissolute rabble

which now composes the army could be brought under a state of as

perfect discipline as that which exists in the Anglo-Indian army; but

there is no doubt that ultimately the result of a system, strict and

severe from the commencement, when supported by a stern and absolute

monarchy, would display itself, and render the Sikh troops as devoted a

body as the regular native army of Hindostan. Only twenty-three years

have elapsed since the military force in the Punjaub consisted of a

large and undisciplined horde. In 1822, the first European officers

presented themselves (according to Prinsep) at Runjeet Singh’s durbar,

seeking military service and entertainment. These were Messrs. Allard

and Ventura, who had served in the French army until the annihilation

of Napoleon Buonaparte deprived them of employment. At first, Runjeet

Singh, with the suspicion common to a native Indian prince, received

them coldly; and his distrust of their purposes was heightened by the

Punjaubee chieftains, who were naturally jealous of the introduction

of Europeans into the military service; but a submissive and judicious

letter from these officers removed the apprehensions of the Maharajah,

and he, with the spirit and originality of a man of genius, admitted

them into his service; appointing them instructors of his troops

in the European system of drill and warfare. The good conduct and

wise management of these gentlemen speedily removed Runjeet Singh’s

prejudices against Europeans; and the door to employment being thrown

open, several military men entered the service of the Maharajah, and

at the close of his reign there were not less than a dozen receiving

his pay, and, to use an Indian expression, ‘eating his salt.’ The

successors of Runjeet Singh, however, did not look with an eye

of favour upon men who were not to be bought, and whose sense of

personal dignity revolted at the treatment to which the unbridled Sikh

chieftains were inclined to subject them. The greater part accordingly

resigned their commissions; some of them retiring with ample fortunes,

and others seeking honourable employment elsewhere.

“The Sikh army, until lately, was considered by many British officers,

who had the opportunity of seeing it, to have been in a fair state

of discipline. They form very correct lines, but in manœuvring their

movements are too slow, and they would, in consequence, be in danger,

from a body of British cavalry, of being successfully charged during a

change of position. They would also run the risk of having their flanks

turned by their inability to follow the motion of an European enemy

with equal rapidity.[342]

“The arms, that is to say, the muskets, are of very inferior stamp,

incapable of throwing a ball to any distance, and on quick and repeated

discharges liable to burst. Their firing is bad, owing to the very

small quantity of practice ammunition allowed by the government; not

more than ten balls out of a hundred, at the distance of as many paces,

would probably tell upon an enemy’s ranks. They still preserve the old

system of three ranks, the front one kneeling when firing and then

rising to load, a method in action liable to create confusion.

“In person, the infantry soldiers are tall and thin, with good features

and full beards; their superior height is owing to the extraordinary

length of their lower limbs. They are capable of enduring the fatigue

of long marches for several days in succession (the author having on

one occasion marched with his regiment a distance of 300 miles within

twelve days), and are, generally speaking, so hardy that exposure to

oppressive heats or heavy rains has little effect upon them. In a great

measure this is the result of custom. Excepting in the vicinity of

Lahore and Peshawur, there are few regular quarters or cantonments; the

men occupy small tents or caravanserais.

“The drum and fife and bugle are in general use in the Sikh infantry

regiments, and in some of the favourite royal corps of Runjeet Singh an

attempt was made to introduce a band of music, but a graft of European

melody upon Punjaubee discord did not produce, as may be imagined, a

very harmonious result.

“The cavalry of the Sikh army is very inferior in every respect to the

infantry. While the latter are carefully picked from large bodies of

candidates for service, the former are composed of men of all sorts and

sizes and ages, who get appointed solely through the interests of the

different sirdars. They are mean-looking, ill-dressed, and, as already

stated, wretchedly mounted. Their horse trappings are of leather of the

worst quality, and their saddles are of the same miserable material,

and badly constructed. When the horse is in motion, the legs and arms

of the rider wave backwards and forwards, right and left, by way, as

it were, of keeping time with the pace of the animal bestridden. The

horses are small, meagre, and ill-shaped, with the aquiline nose which

so peculiarly proclaims inferiority of breed. In the field, the conduct

of Sikh cavalry has generally corresponded with their appearance and

efficiency. They are totally deficient of firmness in the hour of

struggle, and only charge the foe when a vast superiority of numerical

force gives them a sort of warranty of success.”

Undeceived touching the supposed weakness of the Sikh army, Sir Henry

Hardinge, in conjunction with his gallant superior in command, Sir

Hugh Gough, concentrated his troops, called for reinforcements from

the interior, added largely to his commissariate--and what in Eastern

warfare is altogether indispensable, largely increased his beasts of

burden and means of transport. Then taking a central position, he

waited calmly and prudently until the Sikh designs should be more

clearly developed.

November came--the storm had been gathering--remonstrances from the

governor-general had failed--and on the 4th, the Sikh vakeel was

formally dismissed. Still immediate hostilities were not anticipated--

when suddenly, news arrived on the 13th, that the enemy had crossed

the Sutlej, and Ferozepore was invested. The British commander hurried

by forced marches to its relief--and on the 18th, after a seven

leagues’ march, at noon the Anglo-Indian array reached the village of

Moodkee.[343] A movement of twenty miles under an eastern sun is most

distressing--and the wearied troops having bivouacked, ignorant of the

proximity of an enemy, cut wood, lighted fires, and commenced cooking.

Strange as it may appear, although in the immediate presence of the

Sikh army, no vidette had seen it, and the booming of the enemy’s guns

first gave note of preparation.

“The army was in a state of great exhaustion, principally from the want

of water, which was not procurable on the road, when about three P. M.,

information was received that the Sikh army was advancing; and the

troops had scarcely time to get under arms and move to their positions,

when that fact was ascertained.

“I immediately,” says Lord Gough, “pushed forward the horse artillery

and cavalry, directing the infantry, accompanied by the field

batteries, to move forward in support. We had not proceeded beyond two

miles, when we found the enemy in position. They were said to consist

of from 15,000 to 20,000 infantry, about the same force of cavalry, and

forty guns. They evidently had either just taken up this position, or

were advancing in order of battle against us.

“To resist their attack, and to cover the formation of the infantry,

I advanced the cavalry under Brigadiers White, Gough, and Mactier,

rapidly to the front, in columns of squadrons, and occupied the plain.

They were speedily followed by the five troops of horse artillery,

under Brigadier Brooke, who took up a forward position, having the

cavalry then on his flanks.

“The country is a dead flat, covered at short intervals with a low, but

in some places, thick jhow jungle and dotted with sandy hillocks. The

enemy screened their infantry and artillery behind this jungle and such

undulations as the ground afforded; and, whilst our twelve battalions

formed from echellon of brigade into line, opened a very severe

cannonade upon our advancing troops, which was vigorously replied to by

the battery of horse artillery under Brigadier Brooke, which was soon

joined by the two light field batteries. The rapid and well-directed

fire of our artillery appeared soon to paralyze that of the enemy;

and, as it was necessary to complete our infantry dispositions without

advancing the artillery too near to the jungle, I directed the cavalry

under Brigadiers White and Gough to make a flank movement on the

enemy’s left, with a view of threatening and turning that flank, if

possible. With praiseworthy gallantry, the 3rd light dragoons, with

the 2nd brigade of cavalry, consisting of the body-guard and fifth

light cavalry, with a portion of the 4th lancers, turned the left of

the Sikh army, and, sweeping along the whole rear of its infantry and

guns, silenced for a time the latter, and put their numerous cavalry to

flight. Whilst this movement was taking place on the enemy’s left, I

directed the remainder of the 4th lancers, the 9th irregular cavalry,

under Brigadier Mactier, with a light field battery, to threaten their

right. This manœuvre was also successful. Had not the infantry and guns

of the enemy been screened by the jungle, these brilliant charges of

the cavalry would have been productive of greater effect.

“When the infantry advanced to the attack. Brigadier Brooke rapidly

pushed on his horse artillery close to the jungle, and the cannonade

was resumed on both sides. The infantry, under Major-Generals Sir

Harry Smith, Gilbert, and Sir John M’Caskill, attacked in echellon of

lines the enemy’s infantry, almost invisible amongst the wood and the

approaching darkness of night. The opposition of the enemy was such as

might have been expected from troops who had every thing at stake, and

who had long vaunted of being irresistible. Their ample and extended

line, from their great superiority of numbers, far outflanked ours;

but this was counteracted by the flank movements of our cavalry. The

attack of the infantry now commenced; and the roll of fire from this

powerful arm soon convinced the Sikh army that they had met with a foe

they little expected; and their whole force was driven from position

after position with great slaughter, and the loss of seventeen pieces

of artillery, some of them of heavy calibre; our infantry using that

never-failing weapon, the bayonet, whenever the enemy stood. Night only

saved them from worse disaster, for this stout conflict was maintained

during an hour and a half of dim starlight, amidst a cloud of dust from

the sandy plain, which yet more obscured every object.

“I regret to say, this gallant and successful attack was attended with

considerable loss; the force bivouacked upon the field for some hours,

and only returned to its encampment after ascertaining that it had no

enemy before it, and that night prevented the possibility of a regular

advance in pursuit.”[344]

In this brilliant and sanguinary battle, the British loss was

necessarily heavy. Sir Robert Sale, and Sir John M’Caskill were

killed--and Brigadiers Bolton and Mactier, with Colonels Byrne and

Bunbury, wounded. The total casualties amounted to 872 of all arms.

Nothing could have been more fortunate than the _prestige_ which

Moodkee gave to the campaign. One damning fault of the Spanish generals

on the Peninsula, was that they literally overmarched their troops

until they came to a dead stand-still--and this the British commanders

most judiciously avoided.[345] A little delay in active operations was,

under circumstances, particularly politic--for while the Sikhs were

shaken in confidence, and marvelling at their discomfiture, the British

lion was gathering strength to make another and a deadlier spring.

On the morning of the 21st, the Anglo-Indian army again took the

offensive, and marched against the intrenched position of the enemy--

and the details of the succeeding events of that bloody and glorious

day are thus lucidly and modestly given.

“Instead of advancing to the direct attack of their formidable works,

our force manœuvred to their right; the second and fourth divisions

of infantry, in front, supported by the first division and cavalry

in second line, continued to defile for some time out of cannon-shot

between the Sikhs and Ferozepore. The desired effect was not long

delayed, a cloud of dust was seen on our left, and according to the

instructions sent him on the preceding evening, Major-General Sir

John Littler, with his division, availing himself of the offered

opportunity, was discovered in full march to unite his force with

mine. The junction was soon effected, and thus was accomplished one of

the great objects of all our harassing marches and privations, in the

relief of this division of our army from the blockade of the numerous

forces by which it was surrounded.

“Dispositions were now made for a united attack on the enemy’s

intrenched camp. We found it to be a parallelogram of about a mile in

length and half a mile in breadth, including within its area the strong

village of Ferozeshah; the shorter sides looking towards the Sutlej and

Moodkee, and the longer towards Ferozepore and the open country. We

moved against the last-named face, the ground in front of which was,

like the Sikh position in Moodkee, covered with low jungle.

“The divisions of Major-General Sir John Littler, Brigadier Wallace

(who had succeeded Major-General Sir John M’Caskill), and Major-General

Gilbert, deployed into line, having in the centre our whole force of

artillery, with the exception of three troops of horse artillery, one

on either flank, and one in support, to be moved as occasion required.

Major-General Sir Harry Smith’s division, and our small cavalry force,

moved in second line, having a brigade in reserve to cover each wing.

“I should here observe, that I committed the charge and direction of

the left wing to Lieut.-Gen. Sir Henry Hardinge, while I personally

conducted the right.

“A very heavy cannonade was opened by the enemy, who had dispersed

over their position upwards of 100 guns, more than 40 of which were

of battering calibre; these kept up a heavy and well-directed fire,

which the practice of our far less numerous artillery, of much lighter

metal, checked in some degree, but could not silence; finally, in the

face of a storm of shot and shell, our infantry advanced and carried

these formidable intrenchments; they threw themselves upon the guns,

and with matchless gallantry wrested them from the enemy; but, when the

batteries were partially within our grasp, our soldiery had to face

such a fire of musketry from the Sikh infantry, arrayed behind their

guns, that, in spite of the most heroic efforts, a portion only of

the intrenchment could be carried. Night fell while the conflict was

everywhere raging.

“Although I now brought up Major-General Sir Harry Smith’s division,

and he captured and long retained another point of the position,

and her Majesty’s 3rd light dragoons charged and took some of the

most formidable batteries, yet the enemy remained in possession of

a considerable portion of the great quadrangle, whilst our troops,

intermingled with theirs, kept possession of the remainder, and finally

bivouacked upon it, exhausted by their gallant efforts, greatly reduced

in numbers, and suffering extremely from thirst, yet animated by an

indomitable spirit. In this state of things the long night wore away.

“Near the middle of it one of their heavy guns was advanced, and

played with deadly effect upon our troops. Lieutenant-General Sir

Henry Hardinge immediately formed her Majesty’s 80th foot and the

1st European light infantry. They were led to the attack by their

commanding officers, and animated in their exertions by Lieut.-Colonel

Wood (aide-de-camp to the lieut.-general), who was wounded in the

onset. The 80th captured the gun, and the enemy, dismayed by this

counter-check, did not venture to press on further. During the whole

night, however, they continued to harass our troops by fire of

artillery, wherever moonlight discovered our position.

“But with daylight of the 22nd came retribution. Our infantry formed

line, supported on both flanks by horse artillery, whilst a fire was

opened from our centre by such of our heavy guns as remained effective,

aided by a flight of rockets. A masked battery played with great effect

upon this point, dismounting our pieces, and blowing up our tumbrils.

At this moment, Lieut.-General Sir Henry Hardinge placed himself at the

head of the left, whilst I rode at the head of the right wing.

“Our line advanced, and, unchecked by the enemy’s fire, drove them

rapidly out of the village of Ferozeshah and their encampment; then,

changing front to its left, on its centre, our force continued to

sweep the camp, bearing down all opposition, and dislodged the enemy

from their whole position. The line then halted, as if on a day of

manœuvre, receiving its two leaders as they rode along its front with a

gratifying cheer, and displaying the captured standards of the Khalsa

army. We had taken upwards of seventy-three pieces of cannon, and were

masters of the whole field.

“The force assumed a position on the ground which it had won, but

even here its labours were not to cease. In the course of two hours,

Sirdar Tej Singh, who had commanded in the last great battle, brought

up from the vicinity of Ferozepore fresh battalions and a large field

of artillery, supported by 30,000 Ghorepurras, hitherto encamped

near the river.[346] He drove in our cavalry parties, and made

strenuous efforts to regain the position at Ferozeshah; this attempt

was defeated; but its failure had scarcely become manifest, when the

sirdar renewed the contest with more troops and a large artillery. He

commenced by a combination against our left flank; and when this was

frustrated, made such a demonstration against the captured villages as

compelled us to change our whole front to the right. His guns during

this manœuvre maintained an incessant fire, whilst our artillery

ammunition being completely expended in these protracted combats, we

were unable to answer him with a single shot.

“I now directed our almost exhausted cavalry to threaten both flanks at

once, preparing the infantry to advance in support, which apparently

caused him suddenly to cease his fire, and abandon the field.

“For twenty-four hours not a Sikh has appeared in our front. The

remains of the Khalsa army are said to be in full retreat across the

Sutlej, at Nuggurputhur and Tella, or marching up its left bank towards

Hurreekeeputhur, in the greatest confusion and dismay. Of their chiefs,

Bahadur Singh is killed; Lal Singh said to be wounded; Mehtab Singh,

Adjoodhia Pershad, and Tej Singh, the late governor of Peshawur, have

fled with precipitation. Their camp is the scene of the most awful

carnage, and they have abandoned large stores of grain, camp equipage,

and ammunition.

“Thus has apparently terminated this unprovoked and criminal invasion

of the peaceful provinces under British protection.

“On the conclusion of such a narrative as I have given, it is surely

superfluous in me to say, that I am, and shall be to the last moment

of my existence, proud of the army which I had to command on the 21st

and 22nd instant. To their gallant exertions I owe the satisfaction of

seeing such a victory achieved, and the glory of having my own name

associated with it.

“The loss of this army has been heavy;[347] how could a hope be

formed that it should be otherwise? Within thirty hours this force

stormed an intrenched camp, fought a general action, and sustained

two considerable combats with the enemy. Within four days it has

dislodged from their positions, on the left bank of the Sutlej, 60,000

Sikh soldiers, supported by upwards of 150 pieces of cannon, 108 of

which the enemy acknowledge to have lost, and 91 of which are in our

possession.

“In addition to our losses in the battle, the captured camp

was found to be everywhere protected by charged mines, by the

successive springing of which many brave officers and men have been

destroyed.”[348]

These glorious battles were within a month followed up by that of

Aliwal--as sanguinary an affair as either of its predecessors, and,

in a military point of view, decidedly more scientific in arrangement

and execution. In one operation, it seemed a pendant to the beautiful

movement on the retreat from Burgos, when Wellington carried his army

bodily round Souham’s, and placed the French general in the afternoon,

in the same unfavourable position in which he, Wellington, had found

himself that morning. The action had not been expected--for the

service required had been effected without resistance.

“Though the treaty which held the English and Sikh governments

in amity provided that the Sikhs should send no troops across the

Sutlej, they were permitted to retain certain jaghires, or feudal

possessions, on the left bank, one of which comprised the town and fort

of Dheerrumcote. Here the enemy had established a magazine of grain;

and a small garrison, consisting of mercenaries, chiefly Rohillas and

Affghans, were thrown into the place for its protection. But besides

that the grain was needed in the British lines, the presence of a

hostile garrison on his own side of the stream was an eyesore and an

annoyance to the British general,--and Major-General Sir Harry Smith

was directed, with a brigade of infantry and a few guns, to reduce

it. He accomplished the service on the 18th of January without loss,

or, indeed, sustaining a serious resistance; and was on his way back

to camp, when tidings reached the commander-in-chief of a nature not

to be dealt lightly with, far less neglected. It was ascertained that

the enemy had detached 20,000 men from their camp at Sobraon against

Loodiana. Their objects were represented to be, not only the seizure

of that place, but the interruption of the British communications with

the rear, and, perhaps, the capture of the battering train, which was

advancing by Busseean; and Sir Harry Smith, being reinforced to the

amount of 8,000 men, received instructions to counterwork the project.

His business was to form a junction with Colonel Godby, who, with one

regiment of cavalry and four of infantry, occupied Loodiana; and then,

and not till then, to push the Sikhs, and drive them, if possible, back

upon their own country.”[349]

Here, again, the school in which he had been taught his trade was

evidenced in the conduct of the commander, who proved in his hour of

trial that Peninsular instruction had not been thrown away. The Sikhs

had already shut the garrison of Loodiana in--burned a new barrack,

and ravaged the surrounding country--a creeping commander now would

have been found wanting--but Smith was a man of different metal--and,

pushing rapidly on, a clean march brought him within twenty-five miles

of Loodiana--and with the _réveil_--he resumed his movement next

morning.

At Buddewal the enemy shewed himself, occupying a connected line of

villages in front, and covered by a powerful artillery. To gain his

object, and reach Loodiana, it was necessary for Sir Harry Smith to

change his order of march--and while the Sikhs, who had already

outflanked him, opened a fire of forty guns on the advancing columns,

Smith massed his weak artillery, and under its concentrated and

well-directed cannonade, broke into _échelons_, and threatened the

Sikh front, the while making a flank movement by his right, protected

_en échelon_ by the cavalry. Nothing could be more beautifully and

successfully executed than this delicate manœuvre. Sir Harry carried

his guns and baggage round the enemy--a small portion only of the

latter passing into the temporary possession of the Sikhs.

“Colonel Godby, who commanded the invested garrison, having seen the

cloud of dust, moved from Loodiana; and marching parallel to the

direction which it seemed to take, found himself in due time connected

by his patrols with Smith’s advanced guard. Both corps upon this placed

themselves with Loodiana in their rear, and the enemy before them; the

latter being so circumstanced, that the British army lay, as it were,

upon one of its flanks. But Smith, though he had thus relieved the

town, was unwilling to strike a blow till he could make it decisive.

He, therefore, encamped in an attitude of watchfulness, waiting till

another brigade should arrive, which, under the command of Colonel

Wheeler, was marching from head-quarters to reinforce him.”

Colonel Wheeler’s march seems to have been conducted with equal

diligence and care. He heard of the encounter of the 21st, and of

its results; whereupon he abandoned the direct road to Loodiana, and

following a circuitous route, went round the enemy’s position, without

once coming under fire. He reached Sir Harry Smith’s camp in safety;

and, on the 26th, Smith made his preparations to fight a great battle.

But it was found, ere the columns were put in motion, that the enemy

had abandoned their position at Buddewal, and were withdrawn to an

intrenched camp nearer to the river, of which the village of Aliwal was

the key, covering the ford by which they had crossed, and on which they

depended, in the event of a reverse, as a line of retreat. Operations

were accordingly suspended, and such further arrangements set going as

the altered state of affairs seemed to require.

On the 27th, Runjoor Singh having been reinforced by Avitabile’s

brigade, 4,000 Sikh regulars, some cavalry and twelve guns, found

himself, as he had reason to believe, in a condition to deliver

battle--and to intercept the Anglo-Indian communications, he advanced

towards Ingraon--where early on the 28th, Sir Harry Smith found

him in position. His right rested on a height, his left on a field

intrenchment, while his centre held ground in the immediate front of

the village of Aliwal (or Ulleéwal). The Anglo-Indian army amounted

to some 12,000 men of all arms--the Sikhs doubled them in numerical

strength, and that too was composed of the flower of their army.

The subsequent details of this glorious action may be rapidly

described. Smith boldly advanced against the Sikh position, under a

heavy cannonade, while the right brigades were getting into line. The

advance was splendid--the British cavalry driving the Sikh horsemen

on their infantry, forced the left back, capturing several guns, while

on the left of the British line, the Ayeen brigade (Avitabile’s) were

deforced--and the village of Bhoondi, where the right of the Sikhs

endeavoured to make a stand, was carried with the bayonet. A general

rout ensued--the enemy pressing in confused masses towards the ford,

while every attempt they made to rally was anticipated by a charge, and

the destruction of the flower of the Sikh army was completed.

“The firing began about ten in the morning; by one o’clock in the day

the Sikh army was broken and routed, the ground covered with its wreck,

and the Sutlej choked with the dead and the dying. The whole of the

artillery, fifty-seven guns, fell into the hands of the victors, and

the booty was immense; but the victors had neither time nor inclination

to dwell upon their triumphs. There was no further danger to be

apprehended here. Of the 24,000 men who, in the morning, threatened

Loodiana, scarcely as many hundreds held together; and these, after a

brief show of rally on the opposite bank, melted away and disappeared

entirely. Having bivouacked that night, therefore, on the field which

he had won, and sent in the wounded, with the captured guns, under

sufficient escort, to Loodiana, Sir Harry Smith, with the bulk of his

division, took the road to head-quarters; and, in the afternoon of the

8th of February, came into position on the right of the main army,

which was his established post.”[350]

In this most glorious battle, the Anglo-Indian army had 151 men killed,

413 wounded, and 25 missing,--a loss comparatively small.

The immediate consequences of the victory of Aliwal, was the evacuation

of the left bank of the Sutlej by the enemy. The Sikhs had sustained

three terrible defeats; they had lost an enormous quantity of military

_matériel_, 150 guns, and none could presume to estimate the number of

their best and bravest troops who had been placed _hors de combat_.

In hundreds, the slaughtered and drowned victims at Aliwal floated to

Sobraon with the stream; but still with a _tête de pont_ to secure

their bridge-communications with the right bank and the reserve there,

formidable intrenchments, armed with seventy heavy guns, and 30,000 of

their best troops (the Khalsa), they determined to defend them, boldly

held their ground, and dared another battle.

On being rejoined by Sir Harry Smith’s division, and having

received his siege-train and a supply of ammunition from Delhi, the

commander-in-chief and the governor-general determined to force the

Sikh position. Unopposed, they gained possession of Little Sobraon

and Kodeewalla--and both the field batteries and heavy guns were

planted to throw a concentrated fire upon the intrenchments occupied

by the enemy. Close to the river bank, Dick’s division was stationed

to assault the Sikh right--while another brigade was held in reserve

behind the village of Kodeewalla. In the centre, Gilbert’s division

was formed, either for attack or support, its right flank _appuied_

on the village of Little Sobraon. Smith’s division took ground near

the village of Guttah, with its right inclining towards the Sutlej--

Cureton’s brigade observed the ford at Hurree, and held Lai Singh’s

horsemen in check--the remainder of the cavalry, under Major-General

Thackwell, acting in reserve. The British batteries opened a lively

cannonade soon after sunrise--but guns, in field position, have

little chance of silencing artillery covered by strong redoubts. At

nine, the attack commenced by Stacy’s brigade of Dick’s division,

advancing against the enemy’s intrenchments. The crushing fire of

the Sikh guns would have arrested the advance of any but most daring

regiments--but the brigadier pressed gallantly on--and while the

British bayonet met the Mussulman sabre, the camp was carried. The

sappers broke openings in the intrenching mounds, through which,

although in single files, the cavalry pushed, reformed, and charged.

The Sikh gunners were sabred in their batteries--while the entire

of the infantry, and every disposal gun--were promptly brought into

action by Sir Hugh Gough. The Sikh fire became more feeble--their

best battalions unsteady--and the British pressed boldly on. Wavering

troops rarely withstand a struggle, when the bayonet comes into play--

and the Khalsas broke entirely, and hurried from the field to the river

and bridge. But the hour of retributive vengeance had arrived--and

the waters of the Sutlej offered small protection to the fugitives.

The stream had risen--the fords were unsafe--and flying from the

fire of the horse-artillery, which had opened on the mobbed fugitives

with grape shot, hundreds fell under this murderous cannonade, while

thousands found a grave in the no longer friendly waters of their

native river--until it almost excited the compassion of an irritated

enemy.[351]

At Sobraon, the final blow which extinguished the military power of

the Sikhs, was delivered. Sixty-seven pieces of artillery, two hundred

camel-guns, standards, tumbrils, ammunition, camp equipage--in a

word, all that forms the _matériel_ of an army in the field, fell into

the hands of the victors. In native armies, no regular returns of the

killed and wounded are made out--but the Sikh losses were computed at

8,000 men--and the amount was not exaggerated.

On the bloody height of Sobraon, the Sikh war virtually terminated--

for, on that evening, the Anglo-Indian army commenced their march

upon Lahore. Frightfully defeated, and humbled to the dust, the once

haughty chiefs sent vakeels to implore mercy from the conqueror. The

ambassadors, however, were refused an audience--and it was intimated

that the British generals would condescend to treat with none except

the maha-rajah in person. Trembling for his capital, which nothing but

abject submission now could save, the youthful monarch, attended by

Rajah Goolab Singh, repaired to the British camp. Stringent terms were

most justly exacted--and while the rich district between the Sutlej

and the Beeas, and what were termed “the Protected States,” were ceded

for ever to Britain, a million and a half sterling was agreed to by the

Sikh durbar, as compensation for the expenditure of the war, while the

Punjaub should remain in military occupation, until the full amount

should be discharged.

Even the Peninsular campaigns did not open under gloomier auspices and

close more gloriously, than that beyond the Indus--and Maienee, Dubba,

Moodkee, Ferozepore, Aliwal, and Sobraon, were destined to close for

the present the glorious roll of--BRITISH VICTORIES.

APPENDIX.

No. I.

STORMING OF SAN SEBASTIAN.

The engineer officer[352] who led the column to assault the breach was

badly wounded; and after witnessing the retreat of the assailants, thus

describes the subsequent events:--

“My attention,” he says, “a short time afterwards, was aroused by

an exclamation from the soldier lying next to me,--‘Oh, they are

murdering us all!’ Upon looking up, I perceived a number of French

grenadiers, under a heavy fire of grape, sword in hand, stepping over

the dead, and stabbing the wounded; my companion was treated in the

same manner; the sword withdrawn from his body, and reeking with his

blood, was raised to give me the _coup de grace_, when fortunately

the uplifted arm was arrested by a smart little man, a serjeant, who

cried out, ‘_Oh, mon Colonel, êtes-vous blessé!_’ and immediately

ordered some of his men to remove me into the town. They raised me in

their arms, and carried me, without the slightest difficulty, up the

breach on to the ramparts of the right flanking tower; here we were

stopped by a captain of the grenadiers, who asked some questions,

then kissed me, and desired the party to proceed to the hospital. On

passing the embrasures of the high curtain, we were exposed to a very

sharp musketry fire from the trenches; and here it was that we met the

governor and his staff in full-dress uniforms, hurrying to the breach.

He asked me if I was badly wounded, and directed that proper care

should be taken of me.”

A fortunate mistake thus saved the gallant subaltern,--and a blue

uniform and gold bullion epaulette, indirectly became the means of his

preservation.

Treated coarsely by a drunken officer, who tore his sword and belt

away, Colonel Jones was carried to the hospital. A French soldier was

instantly turned out of bed to accommodate the prisoner. He was dressed

skilfully by the surgeons, visited by the governor, and received

generally the kindest treatment. His wounds were speedily convalescent,

and in a few days he was enabled to move into the gallery running round

the court-yard of the hospital, which was a house of considerable size,

built in the usual Spanish style, having a court-yard in the centre,

with a large entrance-door from the street--galleries from each story

running round it, into which all the doors and windows of the rooms

respectively opened, excepting on the side of the street.

From the height of the buildings the prospect was almost limited to

the sky,--while within, the convalescent had scenes presented which

generally are not obtruded on those who have themselves been sufferers.

“One day, whilst sitting in the gallery, I observed a table placed

in the one below me, and on the opposite side of the court-yard;

immediately afterwards, an unfortunate French gunner was laid upon it,

and both his arms amputated, his hands having been blown off by an

accident in one of the batteries. In the course of the morning, whilst

conversing with the surgeon who had performed the operation, he told

me that he acted contrary to his instructions, which were, never to

amputate, but to cure if possible. And upon asking the reason for such

an inhuman order having been issued, his reply was the emperor did not

wish that numbers of mutilated men should be sent back to France, as

it would make a bad impression upon the people. I replied, ‘You must

be a bold man to act in opposition to this order.’ He said, ‘Affairs

are beginning to change, and, moreover, circumstances make it necessary

that the soldiers should know they will be taken proper care of in the

event of being wounded, and not left to die like dogs; we send as many

as we can at night to Bayonne by the boats--thus we clear out the

hospitals, and are relieved from a great deal of labour.’”

In the course of Colonel Jones’s conversation with French officers,

many facts which transpired shewed the terrific outrages on moral

principle involved in Napoleon’s theory of making “war support war.”

One example illustrates the practice.

“In discoursing about the expeditions that detachments of their troops

frequently made from the great stations, for a period of eighteen or

twenty days, I inquired how they managed to provision them for so long

a time. The answer was, ‘Our biscuits are made with a hole in the

centre, and each biscuit is the ration for a day; sometimes twenty are

delivered to each individual, who is given to understand that he has no

claims upon the commissariat for the number of days corresponding with

the number of biscuits he receives.’ I observed it was not possible for

the soldier to carry them. ‘We know that very well; but then he has no

claim upon the government for that period, and we do not inquire how he

lives in the interim!’”

Now mark the consequences of this infernal system, as it was gathered

from the same authorities. “They detailed acts committed by their

soldiers in Spain, so revolting to human nature, that I dare not commit

them to paper; the reader would be disgusted with the recital, and my

veracity impeached; and equally incredulous should I have been, had not

the narrators declared they had witnessed the scenes which they had

described.”

It is certain that during the conduct of the Peninsular campaign,

the espionage employed on both sides was most extensive,--and like

melo-dramatic farce, occasionally diversified the more serious

business of the piece enacting. In the humblest individuals the most

effective agents were sometimes found. A barber and a priest enabled

Lord Wellington to cross the Douro; and as humble an individual might

have opened the entrance into San Sebastian, sealed as it was against

a victorious army and means never exceeded by any general who had

ever sat down before a fortress,--had fortune only permitted another

barber’s agency to have been carried into effect. “From my first

entrance into the hospital, I had been attended by a Spanish barber,

in whose house a French officer was billeted. As I could speak Spanish

fluently, we had a great deal of conversation. He used to communicate

to me all he heard and saw of what was passing both inside and outside

the fortress. When he learnt that I was an engineer, he offered to

bring me a plan of all the under-ground drains and aqueducts for

bringing water into the town. Monsieur Joliffe, our attendant, although

a good-natured man, kept a sharp eye on the barber; and in consequence,

it was difficult for him to give me any thing without being detected.

At last, one morning, when preparing for the operation of shaving me,

he succeeded in shoving a plan under the bedclothes. I anxiously seized

the earliest opportunity of examining it; and, from the knowledge I

had previously acquired of the place, soon became acquainted with the

directions of the drains, &c. From that moment my whole attention was

fixed on the means of making my escape. I knew that the hospital was

situated in the principal street, the ends of which terminated upon

the fortifications bounding the harbour or the sea. If once I could

gain the street, I had only to turn to the right or left to gain the

ramparts, and to make my escape from the town in the best manner I

could. One evening just at dusk, when the medical men took leave of us

for the night, one of them left his cocked hat on my bed. As soon as I

made the discovery, I put it on my head, hurried down stairs, and made

direct for the great door. I found it so completely blocked up by the

guard, that unless by pushing them aside, it was not possible to pass

without being discovered; I therefore retreated up stairs in despair,

and threw the hat down on the bed. Scarcely had I done so, when in

rushed the doctor, inquiring for his lost _chapeau_.”

As I have alluded to the unscrupulous means resorted to to obtain

information, I may apprize you here, that it was a matter of surprise

to all who were not aware of the extensive espionage employed on both

sides, how accurately Lord Wellington and the French marshals to whom

he was opposed were acquainted with the objects and the capabilities

of each other. At Lisbon, many persons in immediate connection with

the Regency were more than suspected of holding a correspondence

with the French; and their treachery was encouraged by the culpable

misconduct of the Portuguese government in not punishing criminals

whose treasons had been established beyond a question. The English

newspapers were regularly transmitted from Paris by Napoleon; and

they teemed with intelligence mischievously correct, and that too,

from the head-quarters of the Allied army;--and though a circumstance

of rare occurrence--if an intimation of what he intended to attempt

escaped from Lord Wellington’s lips to the Spaniards with whom he was

in communication, through the indiscretion of these individuals it was

sure to reach the enemy. He says, writing to his brother,--“I apprized

---- of my intention and plan for attacking Ciudad Rodrigo, and him

alone, the success of which depends principally upon the length of time

during which I can keep it concealed from the enemy. Some Spanish women

at Portalegre were apprized of the plan by him, and it must reach the

enemy!!! Yet ---- is one of the best of them.”

Through the correspondence intercepted by the guerillas, Lord

Wellington constantly obtained the most valuable information. This was

generally contained in letters from the French generals themselves,

intended to direct the movements of their colleagues. Although their

despatches were written in cipher, the Allied leader generally

contrived to find out the key which unveiled their contents; and his

own secret espionage was even more extensive than the enemy’s. “He had

a number of spies amongst the Spaniards who were living within the

French lines; a British officer in disguise constantly visited the

French armies in the field; a Spanish state-counsellor, living at the

head-quarters of the first corps, gave intelligence from that side;

and a guitar-player of celebrity, named Fuentes, repeatedly making his

way to Madrid, brought advice from thence. Mr. Stuart, under cover

of vessels licensed to fetch corn from France, kept _chasse-marées_

constantly plying along the Biscay coast, by which he not only acquired

direct information, but facilitated the transmission of intelligence

from the land spies, amongst whom the most remarkable was a cobbler,

living in a little hutch at the end of the bridge of Irun. This man,

while plying his trade, continued for years, without being suspected,

to count every French soldier that passed in or out of Spain by that

passage, and transmitted their numbers by the _chasse-marées_ to

Lisbon.”[353]

But to return to Colonel Jones’s interesting recollections:--

“It appeared that there was a very great difference in the accuracy of

firing by the troops in the trenches. The chief of the staff, Monsieur

Songeon, inquired what description of troops we had that fired so well.

He said, ‘Some days I can look over the parapets without the slightest

molestation; on other days it is not possible to shew my nose, without

the certainty of being shot.’”

The extensive preparations for opening the Allied fire upon the place

naturally caused much uneasiness to the garrison.

“One morning, a captain of artillery, whom I had never before seen,

came into the ward, and commenced conversing about the siege,

addressing himself particularly to me; he observed that the whole

second parallel was one entire battery; and if there were as many guns

as there were embrasures, he said, ‘we shall be terribly mauled.’ My

reply was, ‘Most assuredly you will; depend upon it there are as many

guns as embrasures, it is not our fashion to make batteries, and stick

logs of wood into them in the hopes of frightening an enemy. He made a

grimace, and with a shrug of his shoulders walked out of the ward. The

following morning the surgeon came, as usual, to dress our wounds; this

was about half-past seven; all was still, and he joyously exclaimed,

as he entered, ‘So we have another day’s reprieve!’ In about half an

hour afterwards, and whilst I was under his hands, the first salvo from

the breaching batteries was fired; several shots rattled through the

hospital, and disturbed the tranquillity of the inmates; the instrument

dropped from the surgeon’s hands, and he exclaimed, _Le jeu sera

bientôt fini!_ and then very composedly went on with his work.

“After the breaching batteries had opened their fire, I was asked by

a French officer whether I thought that the prisoners would remain

quiet when an assault of the breach should take place; and he added,

if they were to make any attempts, they would all be shot. I replied,

‘You may depend upon it that, if any opportunity offers, they will not

be backward in taking advantage of it; do not fancy you have a flock

of sheep penned within these walls; and happen what may, shoot us or

not, you will be required to give a satisfactory account of us when the

castle is taken.’” On the morning of the storm (the 21st of August),

the roll of musketry announced that the trial had begun,--and the

intermediate space of time, until the fall of San Sebastian had been

ascertained, was one of painful solicitude to the prisoners in the keep.

“From the commencement of the assault, until the rush into the castle

upon the capture of the town, not the slightest information could

we obtain as to the state of affairs at the breach. The period that

intervened was one of the most anxious and painful suspense: at last

the tale was told, and who can describe the spectacle the interior

of the hospital presented. In an instant the ward was crowded with

the wounded and maimed; the amputation-table again brought into play;

and until nearly daylight the following morning, the surgeons were

unceasingly at work. To have such a scene passing at the foot of my

bed, was sufficiently painful; added to this, the agonizing shrieks

and groans, and the appearance of the grenadiers and sappers, who had

been blown up by the explosion of the breach--their uniforms nearly

burnt off, and their skins blackened and scorched by gunpowder--

was truly appalling, the recollection of which can never be effaced

from the memories of those whose ill fate compelled them to witness

it. The appearance of these men resembled anything but human beings:

death soon put an end to their sufferings, and relieved us from these

most distressing sights. Of all wounds, whether of fractured limbs or

otherwise, those occasioned by burns from gunpowder appeared to be

accompanied with the most excruciating pain and constant suffering.”

Nor did the sufferings of the wounded end with their removal from the

breach; for one sad visitation of war followed fast upon the other.

“After the capture of the town, a heavy bombardment of the castle took

place, by salvos of shells from upwards of sixty pieces of artillery;

the short interval of time which elapsed between the report of the

discharge of the guns and mortars, and the noise of the descent of the

shells, was that of a few seconds only. The effect of these salvos

by day, terrific and destructive as they proved, was little heeded

in comparison with the nightly discharges. Those of the wounded and

mutilated who were fortunate enough to have found temporary relief

from their sufferings by sleep, were awakened to all the horrors and

misery of their situation by the crash of ten or a dozen shells falling

upon and around the building, and whose fuzes threw a lurid light

into the interior of the ward; the silence within, unbroken save by

the hissing of the burning composition; the agonizing feelings of the

wounded during these few moments of suspense are not to be described.

No one could feel assured of escaping the destruction which was a

certain attendant upon the explosion, to be immediately succeeded by

the cries and groans of those who were again wounded.

“Many an unfortunate soldier was brought to the amputation-table to

undergo a second operation; and in the discharge of this painful duty

the medical men were engaged nearly the entire night. As to rest,

none could be obtained or expected with such scenes passing around a

person’s bed. The legs and arms, as soon as amputated, were carried

out, and thrown away on the rocks. It was a novel, and by no means an

agreeable sight, but one which I was daily compelled to witness.”

The tremendous effects produced by the British projectiles are vividly

described, and it is hard to decide whether the shrapnel or common

shell was most destructive.

“The effects of the vertical fire in the interior of the castle

immediately after the capture of the town were so destructive and

annoying, that, had it been continued six hours longer, the garrison,

I have no doubt, would have surrendered at discretion. The officers

were loud in their complaints at the obstinacy of the governor, as they

said, in uselessly sacrificing the lives of the soldiers. They had lost

all hope, or nearly so, that Soult could make any successful attempt

for their relief. During this period everybody sought shelter where

best he could among the rocks; still no nook or corner appeared to be a

protection from the shrapnel-shells. A sergeant of the Royals, standing

at the foot of my bedstead, was killed by a ball from a shrapnel-shell,

and fell dead upon me. An Italian soldier, who had been appointed to

attend upon the wounded prisoners, whilst endeavouring, close to the

hospital door, to prepare some _bouillon_ for our dinner, was, with his

_marmite_, blown into the air; and so ended, for the day, all hopes

of obtaining a little nourishment. Life and bustle had disappeared;

scarcely an individual was to be seen moving about.

* * * * *

“The shriek of the bullets from the shrapnel-shell is very different

from the whistle of a musket-ball; and oft repeated was the

exclamation, _Ah! ces sacrés boulets creux!_

“It may not be unworthy of remark, that the bullets discharged from a

shrapnel-shell assume the form of a polygonal prism. A French officer

showed me one that had just been extracted from a wounded man; he

anxiously inquired whether they were of that form when put into the

shell. I afterwards observed the same in many others, which, at my

request, were handed to me by the operating surgeons.

“The excellence of the British artillery is well known. Nothing could

surpass the precision with which the shells were thrown, and the

accuracy with which the fuzes were cut. It is only those who have had

the opportunity of witnessing their fire, and comparing it with that

of the French, that can speak of its superiority. During the siege,

we little heeded the lazy French shells thrown into the batteries or

trenches. From the length of the fuzes, sufficient time was almost

always allowed, before bursting, to put ourselves under cover; and,

when they did burst, the splinters flew lazily around. On the contrary,

when the sound of an English shell was heard in the castle, or when the

man stationed in the donjon cried, _Garde la bombe_, everybody was on

the alert. The velocity of its flight far exceeded that of the French.

Touching the ground and bursting were almost simultaneous; and then the

havoc and destruction caused by the splinters were tremendous.

“None but those who have been exposed to the effects of shrapnel-shells

can fully appreciate the advantages of possessing such a terrific and

destructive missile. It appeared to be of little avail where a man

placed himself for protection. No place was secure from them; and many

a soldier was wounded without having been aware that any shell had

exploded in his neighbourhood.”

With an episode in which the fair sex are introduced, and where French

gallantry does not appear advantageously, I shall close my observations

on the sieges--

“There were,” says Colonel Jones, “three French ladies in the

garrison--the widow and two daughters of a French commissary-general

who had died in Spain: they were on their way to France when the

investment took place. These ladies were permitted to enter the

hospital, and were allowed a small place at one end of the wooden

bedstead, where they remained for several days and nights; the only

water they could obtain to wash since the island of Santa Clare had

been in the possession of the besiegers, was the same that we had,--

sea-water, which the attendants contrived to procure by descending the

rocks at the back of the castle. The small quantity of fresh water

obtained from the tank during the night was reserved for cookery or

drinking, which was greatly needed by the troops during the fatigue

and heat to which they were exposed at this very hot season of the

year. As the number of the wounded increased, so the accommodation

in the hospital became more restricted. Some of the officers who

were lying upon the floor were loud in their complaints, that Madame

and her daughters were occupying the space which properly belonged

to them; they succeeded in getting the ladies turned out to find

shelter from shot and shell where they best could! The day the castle

capitulated, I went in search of my fair companions, and found them

nearly smoke-dried, under a small projecting rock. One of the young

ladies was extremely pretty, and shortly after the siege was married to

the English commissary appointed to attend on the garrison until they

embarked for England. The change from the hospital to the naked rock,

however, relieved them from witnessing many a painful scene, as the

amputating-table was placed at the bottom of the bedstead in that part

of the room allotted to their use.”

APPENDIX

No. II.

NARRATIVE OF NAPOLEON’S ADVENTURES, FROM HIS ESCAPE FROM ELBA UNTIL

HIS ARRIVAL AT THE TUILLERIES.

(Abridged from the _Moniteur_ of the 26th of March, 1815.)

On the 26th of February, at five in the evening, he embarked on board a

brig, carrying 26 guns, with 400 men of his guard. Three other vessels

which happened to be in the port, and which were seized, received 200

infantry, 100 Polish light horse, and the battalion of flankers of 200

men. The wind was south, and appeared favourable; Captain Chaubard

was in hopes that before break of day the isle of Capraia would be

doubled, and that he should be out of the track of the French and

English cruisers who watched the coast. This hope was disappointed.

He had scarcely doubled Cape St. Andre, in the isle of Elba, when the

wind fell, and the sea became calm; at break of day he had only made

six leagues, and was still between the isle of Capraia and the isle

of Elba, in sight of the cruisers.--The peril appeared imminent;

several of the mariners were for returning to Porto Ferrajo. The

Emperor ordered the voyage to be continued, having for a resource, in

the last resort, to seize the French cruisers. They consisted of two

frigates and a brig, but all that was known of the attachment of the

crews to the national glory would not admit of a doubt that they would

have hoisted the tri-coloured flag and ranged themselves on our side.

Towards noon the wind freshened a little. At four in the afternoon we

were off the heights of Leghorn; a frigate appeared five leagues to

windward, another was on the coast of Corsica, and farther off a vessel

of war was coming right before the wind, in the track of the brig. At

six o’clock in the evening, the brig, which had on board the Emperor,

met with a brig which was recognised to be Le Zéphir, commanded by

Captain Andrieux, an officer distinguished as much by his talents as by

his true patriotism. It was proposed to speak the brig, and cause it to

hoist the tri-coloured flag. The Emperor, however, gave orders to the

soldiers of the guard to take off their caps, and conceal themselves on

the deck, preferring to pass the brig without being recognised, and

reserving to himself the measure of causing the flag to be changed,

if obliged to have recourse to it. The two brigs passed side by side.

The Lieutenant de Vaisseau Taillade, an officer of the French marine,

was well acquainted with Captain Andrieux, and from this circumstance

was disposed to speak him. He asked Captain Andrieux if he had any

commissions for Genoa; some pleasantries were exchanged, and the two

brigs going contrary ways, were soon out of sight of each other,

without Captain Andrieux having the least knowledge of who was on board

this frail vessel.

During the night between the 27th and 28th, the wind continued fresh.

At break of day we observed a 74-gun ship, which seemed to be making

for Saint Florent or Sardinia. We did not fail to perceive that this

vessel took no notice of the brig.

The 28th, at seven in the morning, we discovered the coast of Noli;

at noon, Antibes; at three on the 1st of March we entered the Gulf of

Juan. The Emperor ordered that a captain of the guard, with twenty-five

men, should disembark before the troops in the brig, to secure the

battery on the coast, if any one was there. This captain took into his

head the idea of causing to be changed the cockade of the battalion

which was at Antibes. He imprudently threw himself into the place; the

officer who commanded for the king caused the drawbridges to be drawn

up, and shut the gates; his troops took arms, but they respected these

old soldiers, and the cockade which they cherished. The operation,

however, of the captain failed, and his men remained prisoners at

Antibes. At five in the afternoon the disembarkation in the Gulf of

Juan was effected. We established a bivouac on the seashore until the

moon rose.

At eleven at night the Emperor placed himself at the head of his

handful of brave men, to whose fate were attached such high destinies.

He proceeded to Cannes, from thence to Grasse, and by Saint Vallier;

he arrived on the evening of the 2nd at the village of Cerenon, having

advanced twenty leagues in the course of the first day. The people

of Cannes received the Emperor with sentiments which were the first

presage of the success of the enterprise.

The 3rd the Emperor slept at Bareme; the 4th he dined at Digue. From

Castellane to Digue, and throughout the department of the Lower Alps,

the peasants, informed of the march of the Emperor, assembled from all

sides on the route, and manifested their sentiments with an energy

that left no longer any doubt. The 5th, General Cambronne, with an

advanced guard of forty grenadiers, seized the bridge and the fortress

of Sisteron. The same day, the Emperor slept at Gap, with ten men on

horseback and forty grenadiers. The enthusiasm which the presence of

the Emperor inspired amongst the inhabitants of the Lower Alps, the

hatred which they evinced to the noblesse, sufficiently proved what

was the general wish of the province of Dauphine.--At two in the

afternoon of the 6th the Emperor set out from Gap, accompanied by the

whole population of the town. At Saint Bonnet the inhabitants, seeing

the small number of his troop, had fears, and proposed to the Emperor

to sound the tocsin to assemble the villages, and accompany him _en

masse_:--“No,” said the Emperor, “your sentiments convince me that

I am not deceived. They are to me a sure guarantee of the sentiments

of my soldiers. Those whom I shall meet will range themselves on my

side; the more there is of them the more my success will be secured.

Remain, therefore, tranquil at home.”--At Gap were printed several

thousand proclamations, addressed by the Emperor to the army and to the

people, and from the soldiers of the Guards to their comrades. These

proclamations were spread with the rapidity of lightning throughout

Dauphine.

The same day the Emperor came to sleep at Gorp. The forty men of the

advanced guard of General Cambronne went to sleep at Mure. They fell in

with the advanced guard of a division of 6,000 men, troops of the line,

who had come from Grenoble to arrest their march. General Cambronne

wished to speak with the advanced posts. He was answered that they were

prohibited from communicating with him. This advanced guard, however,

of the division of Grenoble, fell back three leagues, and took a

position between the lakes at the village of ----.

The Emperor, being informed of this circumstance, went to the place,

and found there a battalion of the 5th of the line; a company of

sappers, a company of miners; in all from seven to eight hundred men.

He sent an officer of ordnance, the chef d’escadron Roul, to make known

to these troops the intelligence of his arrival; but that officer could

not obtain a hearing, the prohibition being still urged against having

any communication. The Emperor alighted and went to the right of the

battalion, followed by the guard with their arms reversed. He made

himself known, and said that the first soldier who wished to kill his

Emperor might do it: an unanimous cry of _Vive l’Empereur_ was their

answer. This brave regiment had been under the orders of the Emperor

from his first campaign in Italy. The guard and the soldiers embraced.

The soldiers of the 5th immediately tore off their cockade, and

requested, with enthusiasm and tears in their eyes, the tri-coloured

cockade. When they were arranged in order of battle, the Emperor said

to them--“I come with a handful of brave men, because I reckon on

the people and on you--the throne of the Bourbons is illegitimate,

because it has not been raised by the nation; it is contrary to the

national will, because it is contrary to the interests of our country,

and exists only for the interests of a few families. Ask your fathers,

ask all the inhabitants who arrive here from the environs, and you will

learn from their own mouths the true situation of affairs; they are

menaced with the return of tithes, of privileges, of feudal rights,

and of all the abuses from which your successes had delivered them. Is

it not true, peasants?”--“Yes, Sire,” answered all of them with an

unanimous cry, “they wish to chain us to the soil--you come as the

angel of the Lord to save us!”

The brave soldiers of the battalion of the 5th demanded to march the

foremost in the division that covered Grenoble. They commenced their

march in the midst of a crowd of inhabitants, which augmented every

moment. Vizille distinguished itself by its enthusiasm. “It was here

that the Revolution was born,” said these brave people. “It was we

who were the first that ventured to claim the privileges of men; it

is again here that French liberty is resuscitated, and that France

recovers her honour and her independence.”

Fatigued as the Emperor was, he wished to enter Grenoble the same

evening. Between Vizille and Grenoble, the young adjutant-major of

the 7th of the line, came to announce that Colonel Labedoyere, deeply

disgusted with the dishonour which covered France, and actuated by the

noblest sentiments, had detached himself from the division of Grenoble,

and had come with the regiment, by a forced march, to meet the Emperor.

Half an hour afterwards this brave regiment doubled the force of the

imperial troops. At nine o’clock in the evening, the Emperor made his

entry into the Faubourg de----.

The troops had re-entered Grenoble, and the gates of the city were

shut. The ramparts which defended the city were covered by the 3rd

regiment of engineers; consisting of 2,000 sappers, all old soldiers

covered with honourable wounds; by the 4th of artillery of the line,

the same regiment in which, twenty-five years before, the Emperor had

been a captain; by the two other battalions of the 5th of the line,

by the 11th of the line, and the faithful hussars of the 4th.--The

national guard and the whole population of Grenoble were placed in the

rear of the garrison, and made all the air ring with shouts of _Vive

l’Empereur_. They opened the gates, and at ten at night the Emperor

entered Grenoble, in the midst of an army and a people animated by the

most lively enthusiasm.

The next day the Emperor was addressed by the municipality and all

the departmental authorities. The military chiefs and the magistrates

were unanimous in their sentiments. All said that princes imposed

by a foreign force were not legitimate princes, and that they were

not bound by any engagement to princes for whom the nation had no

wish. At two the Emperor reviewed the troops, in the midst of the

population of the whole department, shouting _A bas les Bourbons! A bas

les ennemis du peuple! Vive l’Empereur, et un gouvernement de notre

choix._ The garrison of Grenoble immediately afterwards put itself

in a forced march to advance upon Lyons. It is a remark that has not

escaped observers, that every one of these 6,000 men were provided

with a national cockade, and each with an old and used cockade, for,

in discontinuing their tri-coloured cockade, they had hidden it at the

bottom of their knapsacks; not one was purchased, at least in Grenoble.

It is the same, said they in passing before the Emperor, it is the

same that we wore at Austerlitz. This, said the others, we had at

Marengo.

The 9th the Emperor slept at Bourgoin. The crowd, and the enthusiasm

with it, if possible increased. “We have expected you a long time,”

said these brave people to the Emperor; “you have at length arrived

to deliver France from the insolence of the noblesse, the pretensions

of the priests, and the shame of a foreign yoke.” From Grenoble to

Lyons the march of the Emperor was nothing but a triumph. The Emperor,

fatigued, was in his carriage, going at a slow pace, surrounded by a

crowd of peasants, singing songs which expressed to all the noblesse

the sentiments of the brave Dauphinois. “Ah,” said the Emperor, “I find

here the sentiments which for twenty years induced me to greet France

with the name of the Grand Nation; yes, you are still the Grand Nation,

and you shall always be so.”

The Count d’Artois, the Duc d’Orléans, and several marshals, had

arrived at Lyons. Money had been distributed to the troops, and

promises to the officers. They wished to break down the bridge de

la Guillotière and the bridge Moraud. The Emperor smiled at these

ridiculous preparations. He could have no doubt of the disposition of

the Lyonnois, still less of the disposition of the soldiers. He gave

orders, however, to General Bertrand to assemble the boats at Misbel,

with the intention of passing in the night, and intercepting the roads

of Moulins and of Macon to the prince who wished to prevent him from

passing the Rhone. At four a reconnaissance of the 4th hussars arrived

at la Guillotière, and were received with shouts of _Vive l’Empereur!_

by the immense population of a faubourg which is still distinguished by

its attachment to the country. The passage of Misbel was countermanded,

and the Emperor advanced at a gallop upon Lyons, at the head of the

troops which were to have defended it against him. The Count d’Artois

had done everything to secure the troops. He was ignorant that nothing

is possible in France to an agent of a foreign power, and one who

is not on the side of national honour and the cause of the people.

Passing in front of the 13th regiment of dragoons, he said to a brave

soldier covered with scars, and decorated with three chevrons, “Let

us march, comrade; shout, therefore, _Vive le Roi!_” “No, monsieur,”

replied this brave dragoon, “no soldier will fight against his father.

I can only answer you by crying _Vive l’Empereur!_” The Count d’Artois

mounted his carriage and quitted Lyons, escorted by a single gendarme.

At nine o’clock at night the Emperor traversed the Guillotière almost

alone, but surrounded by an immense population.

The following day, the 11th, he reviewed the whole division of Lyons,

and the brave General Brayer, at their head, put them in march to

advance upon the capital. The sentiments which the inhabitants of

this great city and the peasants of the vicinity, during the space

of two hours, evinced towards the Emperor, so touched him, that it

was impossible for him to express his feelings otherwise than by

saying, “People of Lyons, I love you.” This was the second time that

the acclamations of this city had been the presage of new destinies

reserved for France.

On the 13th, at three in the afternoon, the Emperor arrived at

Villefranche, a little town of 4,000 souls, which included at that

moment more than 60,000. He stopped at the _hôtel de ville_. A great

number of wounded soldiers were presented to him. He entered Macon at

seven o’clock in the evening, always surrounded by the people of the

neighbouring districts. He expressed his astonishment to the natives

of Macon at the slight efforts they made in the last war to defend

themselves against the enemy, and support the honour of Burgundy.--

“Sire, why did you appoint a bad mayor?”

At Tournies the Emperor had only praises to bestow upon the

inhabitants, for their excellent behaviour and patriotism, which under

the same circumstances have distinguished Tournies, Chalons, and St.

Jean-de-Lone. At Chalons, which during forty days resisted the force

of the enemy, and defended the passage of the Saone, the Emperor took

notice of all the instances of valour; and not being able to visit St.

Jean-de-Lone, he sent the decoration of the Legion of Honour to the

worthy mayor of that city. On that occasion the Emperor exclaimed, “It

is for you, brave people, that I have instituted the Legion of Honour,

and not for emigrants pensioned by our enemies.”

The Emperor received at Chalons the deputation of the town of

Dijon, who came to drive from among them the prefect and the wicked

mayor, who, during the last campaign, had dishonoured Dijon and its

inhabitants. The Emperor removed this mayor and appointed another,

confiding the command of the division to the brave General Devaux.

On the 15th the Emperor slept at Autun, and from Autun he went to

Avallon, and slept there on the night of the 16th. He found upon

this road the same sentiments as among the mountains of Dauphiny.

He re-established in their office all the functionaries who had

been deprived for having united to defend their country against

foreigners. The inhabitants of Chiffey had been peculiarly the object

of persecution by an upstart sub-prefect at Semur, for having taken up

arms against the enemies of our country. The Emperor gave orders to a

brigadier of gendarmerie to arrest this sub-prefect, and to conduct him

to the prison of Avallon.

On the 17th, the Emperor breakfasted at Vermanton, and went to Auxerre,

where the prefect remained faithful to his post. The noble 14th had

trampled under foot the white cockade. The Emperor likewise heard that

the 6th regiment of lancers had likewise mounted the tri-coloured

cockade, and was gone to Montereau to protect that point against a

detachment of the body-guard who wished to pass it. The young men of

this body-guard, unaccustomed to the effects of lancers, took flight

on the first appearance of this corps, which made two prisoners. At

Auxerre, Count Bertrand, major-general, gave orders to collect all the

boats to embark the army, which was already four divisions strong, and

to convey them the same night to Fossard, so that they would be able to

arrive at one o’clock in the morning at Fontainbleau. Before he left

Auxerre the Emperor was rejoined by the Prince of Moskwa. This marshal

had mounted the tri-coloured cockade among all the troops under his

command.

The Emperor reached Fontainbleau on the 20th, at four o’clock in the

morning. At seven o’clock he learned that the Bourbons had left Paris,

and that the capital was free. He immediately set off thither, and at

nine o’clock at night he entered the Tuilleries, at the moment when he

was least expected.

APPENDIX

No. III.

GENERAL FOY’S OBSERVATIONS ON THE CHARACTER AND COMPOSITION OF THE

FRENCH, BRITISH, AND SPANISH ARMIES.

War, considered as a technical science, has made constant but slow

advances, from the first employment of gunpowder to the revival of the

equal step in marching, and to the improved system of firing of the

Prussian armies. It will now, probably, remain stationary till some

capital discovery shall produce a revolution in the arts. In fact,

twenty-four years of battles fought by the French with nearly the whole

world, have not suggested any alteration in the principal weapon of the

moderns,--the musket provided with the bayonet; and the science of

tactics has not materially advanced beyond the combinations devised by

the great Frederick.

The Imperial army of France was more scientifically regulated, more

plentifully supplied with money, clothing, arms, and ammunition, than

the armies of the Republic had ever been.

After the Revolution the general officers of the French army exchanged

the vague denomination of lieutenant-general, and maréchal de camp, for

those of general of division and general of brigade, as more precise

and significant. Bodies of infantry, consisting of three battalions,

were then called demi-brigades; but Napoleon afterwards restored the

name of regiment, and gave the rank of colonel to its chief. A regiment

usually consisted of three battalions (though in the Peninsular war

they were formed into five battalions of six companies each), and

possessed but one eagle, which usually accompanied the first battalion.

The battalion of infantry consisted of nine companies, including one

of grenadiers. Napoleon subsequently added a picked company called

_voltigeurs_, composed of men of small stature, but intelligent and

active.

These _voltigeurs_ constituted the light infantry of the French

armies, and habitually performed the service of _tirailleurs_. An

action always commenced with swarms of tirailleurs on foot and on

horseback: this species of fighting favoured the development of

individual faculties, and was eminently suited to the restless spirit

and courage in attack peculiar to the French. This mode of combat was

an innovation upon the old system of tactics, and foreigners ascribed

the first successes of the French armies to the prodigal use of light

troops. The tirailleurs harassed the enemy, escaped from his masses

by their velocity, and from his artillery by their dispersion. No

army has its flanks wholly impregnable; there will always be found

gaps that favour the assailant--into these the tirailleurs rushed by

inspiration; a weak point once discovered, all vied in their efforts

against it. The flying artillery--another innovation upon the old

school, dashed up at a gallop, and discharged their pieces in the

very teeth of the enemy. The main army moved in the direction thus

pointed out to it; the infantry in columns; the cavalry interposed by

regiments or in squadrons, ready for every emergency that the battle

might present. To withstand the shock of French troops thus brought

into action, the German armies, apathetic in the cause for which

they were contending, and commanded by sexagenarian generals, were

manifestly inefficient. It satisfied their ideas of the art of war

if the flanks were turned: or merely passed; their cumbrous masses,

drawn up laboriously in right lines, then quickly broke. The French

foot-soldiers of five feet high brought in the giants of Germany and

Croatia as prisoners by hundreds; the horse-chasseurs made themselves

masters of the enemies’ guns and their ill-appointed trains; and the

fugitives owed their safety to the firmness of their heavy cavalry,

which was at first superior to the French. The regulations for

the infantry manœuvres were constantly varied in their practical

application by the most intelligent commanders, to suit the exigencies

of modern warfare. In this manner was adopted the practice of facing

and fighting with the third rank as well as the first; movements were

also frequently made upon two ranks to shew that the third is only

a reserve intended to support the other two; the square, which the

Arabs had taught the French to adopt in Egypt, became a fundamental

formation for infantry. The successive firing by ranks was found the

most suitable to employ against cavalry, from its not having the

defenceless intervals of the battalion fire, and also from its not

interfering so much with the use of the bayonet.

Cavalry cannot be organized upon the same plan of uniformity as

infantry; it requires different arms, equipments, and horses, according

to the peculiar purposes for which they are required. Napoleon

endeavoured to render the varied character of the cavalry more

distinct. The heavy cavalry (cuirassiers) was reduced to the number

indispensable for its employment in pitched battles. The dragoons,

an amphibious creation of an age when fire-arms were not brought to

perfection, were nearly disorganized preparatory to the intended

expedition to England: part of them were dismounted; this change

furnished, instead of good cavalry, a small increase of indifferent and

expensive infantry. When afterwards remounted, they supplied almost

exclusively the whole service of the cavalry in the Peninsular war.

During the latter years of the Imperial Government, several regiments

of dragoons were converted into lancers. Montecuculli calls the lance,

“_la reine des armes blanches_:” this weapon, from its reaching farther

than any other, is indeed the most formidable employed by cavalry.

The horse-chasseurs and the hussars, who differ only in certain

modifications of their uniform, were the easiest to mount, recruit,

and train, and were found to be of the most service in war; Napoleon,

accordingly, increased their number. The cavalry of the line consisted,

in 1807, of two regiments of carabineers, twelve of cuirassiers, thirty

of dragoons, twenty-four of chasseurs, and ten of hussars, making a

total of seventy-eight regiments.

The cavalry retained the monarchical physiognomy longer than the

infantry. The Revolution had not improved their quality; during the

first campaigns they could, therefore, scarcely cope with the German

cuirassiers, the Walloon dragoons, and the Hungarian hussars. Large

bodies of French cavalry were then seldom employed together, and when

brought into the field in masses were most frequently worsted. The

French are not naturally good horsemen, a great part of the soil being

cultivated with the aid of oxen; and, from the restless vivacity of the

national character, they find it difficult to identify themselves with

the horse.

With these defects, it was to be apprehended that the cavalry would

decline. The contrary happened eventually, and may be partly accounted

for by the facilities that conquest afforded in furnishing remounts,

and in introducing finer breeds of horses. The horse-soldiers,

moreover, sustained less loss than the infantry, and the old regiments,

by means of provisional augmentation, constantly adding to their force,

acquired an abundance of veteran soldiers. Young men of family, mostly

impatient of the austere discipline of the infantry, readily furnished

active, ardent, and well-mounted horsemen. The principal cause of

the unhoped-for improvement in the French cavalry, however, must be

ascribed to the system adopted by Napoleon for the conduct of that arm

in war.

It was no sooner better instructed and better mounted than it became

more terrible to its adversaries, and its employment was not confined,

as it used to be, to the completion of the victory. It entered the

lists against unbroken masses of infantry and cavalry, and its ardour

sometimes decided the fate of battles.

Officers of cavalry, like the Neys and the Richepanses, were thinly

strewed in the armies of the Republic. But at the head of the

Imperial squadrons were seen Murat, Lasalle, Kellermann, Montbrun,

and other men, who excelled in the art of regulating and directing

vast “hurricanes of cavalry.” The decision so requisite in a

commander-in-chief should also be possessed by the general of cavalry.

With a _coup d’œil_, as rapid as lightning, he must combine the vigour

of youth, a powerful voice, and the agility and address of a centaur.

Above all, it is requisite that he should be prodigally endowed with

that precious faculty which no other can replace, and which is more

rare than is generally supposed,--unflinching bravery.

The French artillery, previously to the Revolution, had the reputation

of being the first in Europe. It was in the regiment of La Fère, the

first of that arm, that Buonaparte commenced his military career. The

artillery participated in the enthusiasm of the Revolution, but its

discipline scarcely suffered. It took an active part in the defence of

the country, and in the offensive movements of the armies in 1792 and

1793. At that time great numbers of cannon were employed in battle. The

four-pounders were attached to battalions of infantry; the howitzers,

the eight, the twelve, and even the sixteen-pounders, particularly

appropriated to sieges, then formed batteries of six to twelve

guns, called batteries of position. An improvement suited to French

impetuosity had recently been borrowed from the Prussians, for the

field-service. It consisted in mounting on horseback a certain number

of gunners, who, by that means, arrived on the ground as quickly as the

best-horsed pieces, were always at hand to work them, and could readily

avoid being attacked. This kind of artillery kept up the cannonade

longer and closer. The horse artillery was composed, on its first

formation, of the nimblest artillery-men, and was afterwards recruited

with the _élite_ of the grenadiers, and performed prodigies of valour

and service. In the campaigns in Germany, mere captains of that arm

were seen to acquire the reputation of generals. It was not long before

the generals would not have any other artillery, as from being more

moveable and more efficient, less of it was required, and the columns

of the train were lightened in proportion.

It was frequently proposed to Napoleon to unite the artillery and

the engineers; he had not the imprudence to try the experiment, but

he collected the pupils of both arms in an institution, to which the

Polytechnic School served as a nursery. This school, after having been

a focus of light to France and Europe, was re-constructed on a narrower

and less liberal plan. The profession of arms took the preference of

all others in the mind of Napoleon. He transformed a nursery of savans

into a seminary for warriors.

In the rear of the _corps d’armée_ of Napoleon marched a reserve, which

never had its equal. The Imperial Guard represented the glory of the

army, and the majesty of the empire. Its officers and men were selected

from among those whom the brave had designated as the bravest; all of

them were covered with scars. Bred amid dangers, they had lived much in

a few years; and the name of THE OLD GUARD was appropriately given to

a corps, the oldest members of which had not reached the age of forty.

Though loaded with favours by the Emperor, yet their recompense was

always inferior to their service. Carried to fields of battle on foot

by forced marches, in boats, or in carriages, the news of their arrival

on the scene of action always struck terror into the hearts of their

enemies. By successive augmentations the Emperor raised the effective

of his guard to sixty-eight battalions, thirty-one squadrons, and

eighty pieces of artillery. In the days of his prosperity he employed

it only in detached portions; fifteen years it remained standing amidst

the vicissitudes of the empire, solid as a _pillar of granite_. One

day it succumbed: on the tombs of these heroes our descendants will

inscribe these words, which were uttered during the heat of that fatal

conflict:--“The Guards may perish, but will never surrender!”

* * * * *

The English were looked upon by the French as sea-wolves, unskilful,

perplexed, and powerless, the moment they set their foot on land. If

their national pride appealed to the victories of Cressy, Poitiers,

and Agincourt, they were reminded that the armies of Edward III. and

of Henry V. were composed of Normans, of the people of Poitou, and

of Gascons. There were, for all that, among the conquerors, a goodly

number of native Englishmen, and certainly, the blows which they dealt

were not the weakest. The Black Prince and Talbot were born in Albion.

Nearer our own times, Marlborough and his twelve thousand soldiers were

not the least formidable enemies of Louis XIV. The celebrated column

of British infantry at Fontenoy had suggested to a second Bossuet the

image of a tower repairing its own breaches.

Even since the _éclat_ of French glory had thrown into shade both

ancient and modern history, there had been remarked in the British

troops employed in Flanders, and in Holland, though feebly commanded,

repeated instances of vigour and audacity. The French soldiers, who had

returned from Egypt, talked to their comrades of the indomitable valour

of the English; moreover, it was easy to suppose that enterprise,

capacity, and courage render the possessors fit for other purposes than

the duties of the sea service. Their skill and intrepidity in braving

the dangers of the ocean have always been unrivalled. Their restless

disposition, and fondness for travelling fit them for the wandering

life of the soldier; and they possess that most valuable of all

qualities in the field of battle--coolness in their strife.

The glory of the British army is based principally upon its excellent

discipline, and upon the cool and sturdy courage of the people. Indeed

we know of no other troops so well disciplined. The principal cause of

their pre-eminence in this respect, would, if applied to the French

army, most likely produce an effect diametrically opposite. Varieties

of character and condition, require the employment of different means

to obtain the same end.

The English non-commissioned officers are excellent; but their courage

and their talent are not encouraged by promotion to higher grades. They

are nominated by the commander of the regiment, and cannot be broke

but by the sentence of a court-martial. Their authority is extensive,

comprehending the minute details of inspection, of discipline, and

of daily instruction,--duties which, in other armies, would not be

committed to them.

In the British army will not be found either the strong sympathy

between the leaders and the soldiers, the paternal care of the

captains, the simple manners of the subalterns, nor the affectionate

fellow-feeling in danger and suffering which constituted the strength

of the revolutionary armies of France; but unshaken patriotism, and

tried and steady bravery, are to be met with everywhere amongst them.

The infantry, when in active service, is distributed into brigades

of two, three, and even four regiments, according to the number and

strength of the battalions. The grenadiers are not distinguished among

the other soldiers for the _éclat_ and pre-eminence so striking in

the French and Hungarian grenadiers; and it is not customary to unite

them into separate corps, in order to attempt bold strokes. The light

companies of different regiments are sometimes formed into provisional

battalions,--a practice directly in opposition to the purpose for

which that species of troops was originally instituted.

Several regiments of the line, such as the forty-third, the

fifty-first, the fifty-second &c., are called _light infantry

regiments_. These corps, as well as the light companies of the

battalions, have nothing light about them but the name; for they

are armed, and, with the exception of some slight change in the

decorations, clothed like the rest of the infantry. It was considered

that the English soldier did not possess sufficient intelligence and

address to combine with the regular duty of the line the service of

inspiration of the sharp-shooter. When the necessity of a special light

infantry began to be felt, the best marksmen of different corps were

at first selected; but it was afterwards found expedient to devote

exclusively to the office of sharpshooters the eight battalions of the

sixtieth, the three of the ninety-fifth, and some of the foreign corps.

These troops are armed with the rifle. During the last war, companies

of these riflemen were always attached to the different brigades. The

echoing sound of their horns answered the twofold purpose, of directing

their own movements, and of communicating such manœuvres of the enemy

as would otherwise be unobserved by the general in command.

The English, the Scotch, and the Irish are usually mixed together in

the regiments. Ireland supplies more soldiers, in proportion to its

population, than the other two kingdoms. It might be supposed that

the general character which we have attributed to the English troops

would be altered by this mixture; but the English discipline is like

the bed of Procrustes to all who come within its sphere,--the minds

as well as the bodies of their fellow-subjects obey their law as the

ruling people. Four Highland regiments, consisting of nine battalions,

are, however, recruited almost exclusively from the mountains of

Scotland, and their officers are selected in preference from natives

of that country. The Highlanders wear their national _kilt_ instead

of smallclothes; this neither harmonizes with the rest of their dress

nor is it convenient for war; but this is of little moment compared

with the moral advantages gained by adopting the national costume;

a distinction which has its source in popular feeling and custom,

generally imposes the performance of additional duty: there are no

troops in the British service more steady in battle than the Scotch

regiments.

The infantry is the best portion of the British army. It is the _robur

peditum_,--the expression applied by the Romans to the _triarii_

of their legions. The English do not scale mountains, or scour the

plain, with the suppleness and rapidity of the French; but they are

more silent, more orderly, and more obedient, and for these reasons

their fire is better directed, and more destructive. Though not so

resigned under a heavy fire as the Russians, they draw together with

less confusion, and preserve their original formation better. Their

composition exhibits something of the German mechanism, combined with

more activity and energy. The system of manœuvres which they have

adopted since the year 1798, is borrowed from the Prussians. The

infantry, although on system formed three deep, like the other armies

of Europe, is more frequently drawn up in two ranks; but when making or

receiving a charge, it is frequently formed four deep. Sometimes it has

made offensive movements, and even charged columns, when in open order.

In a retreat it stands firm, and commences its fire by volleys from the

battalions, followed by a well-supported file-firing. It turns round

coolly to check the enemy hanging on its rear; and while marching, it

fires without separating.

The English infantry does not hesitate to charge with the bayonet;

the leader, however, who would wish to employ British infantry to

advantage, should move it seldom and cautiously, and reckon more upon

its fire than upon its manœuvres.

The pains bestowed by the English on their horses, and the superior

qualities of their native breeds, at first gave a more favourable idea

of their cavalry than the experience of war has justified. The horses

are badly trained for fighting. They have narrow shoulders and a hard

mouth, and neither know how to turn or to halt. Cropping their tails is

a serious inconvenience in hot climates. The luxurious attentions which

are lavished upon them, render them quite unfit to support fatigue,

scarcity of food, or the exposure of the bivouac. The men are, however,

excellent grooms.

The heaviest English cavalry is far from possessing the uniformity

and the firm seat of the French and Austrian cuirassiers; and their

light-horse is still more inferior in intelligence and activity to the

Hungarian hussar and the Cossack. They have no idea of the artifices

of partisan warfare, and they know as little how to charge _en

masse_. When the fray commences, you see them equally vulnerable and

offensive, cutting instead of thrusting, and chopping with more fury

than effect at the faces of their enemies.

During the war in the Peninsula, the French soldiers were so struck

with the elegant dresses of the light dragoons, their shining helmets,

and the graceful shapes of the men and horses, that they gave them

the name of _Lindors_. In 1813, this dress, which was peculiar to the

British troops, was exchanged for the head-dress and jacket of the

German light cavalry. The Polish lances at Albuera, and the French

cuirasses at Waterloo, have induced the English to add these modes of

arming and equipment to their cavalry.

In cavalry service it is not sufficient for the soldiers to be brave,

and the horses good; there must also be science and unity. More than

once, in the Peninsular war, weak detachments of British cavalry have

charged French battalions through and through, but in disorder; the

squadrons could not be again re-formed; there were no others at hand to

finish the work; thus the bold stroke passed away, without producing

any advantage.

The artillery holds the first rank in the army; it is better paid, its

recruits are more carefully selected, and its period of enlistment

is limited to twelve years. The gunners are distinguished from other

soldiers by their excellent spirit. In battle they display judicious

activity, a perfect _coup d’œil_, and stoical bravery.

The English got the start of the French in the formation of the

artillery-train: the first trials of it were made in 1793, under the

auspices of the Duke of Richmond, then Master-general of the Ordnance.

The corps of _Royal Artillery Drivers_ is organized as soldiers. Very

high prices are paid for the horses employed to draw the guns, and they

are, consequently, extremely good. The harness is as good as that used

in French carriages. No nation can rival the English in the equipments

and the speed of their conveyances.

English troops take few pieces into the field with them; the most that

Lord Wellington ever had in the Peninsula, barely amounted to two for

every thousand men. Frames, caissons, barrels, and bullets, powder,

and every part of the equipage, are remarkable for the goodness of the

materials, as well as excellent workmanship. In battles, the artillery

made most copious and effective use of a kind of hollow bullet, called

_Shrapnell’s spherical case-shot_, from the name of the inventor.

In conclusion it may be said, that the English army surpasses other

armies in discipline, and in some particulars of internal management;

it proceeds slowly in the career of improvement, but it never

retrogrades; and no limits can be affixed to the power of organization

to which a free and intelligent people may attain.

* * * * *

The military profession is quite in accordance with the contemplative

character and innate indolence of the Spaniards; yet they manifested

an extreme repugnance to military service, and especially to that of

the infantry. Voluntary enlistment was almost entirely confined to

the towns, and was supplied from the vicious and reckless portion of

society. A long peace, the insulated position of the country, and the

lethargy of the Government, had almost extinguished the old warlike

spirit of Spain. While the din of arms resounded throughout the rest

of Europe, even the shadow of war was rarely to be seen in Spain. The

sovereign never appeared in the garb of a soldier; the nobility had

forgotten at what price their grandeur and titles had been purchased

by their ancestors; arms had scarcely the dignity of a profession.

There were no camps for the performance of manœuvres, none of those

large garrisons, in which regiments learn to know each other and to

act together. In the neglected state of the Spanish army, even the

sacredness of the point of honour had fallen into a state of relaxation.

Nature has endowed the Spaniard with most of the qualities required to

form a good soldier. He is religious, calm, and attached to order and

justice, he is naturally disposed to subordination, and is capable of

great devotion to an able leader. His patience is inexhaustible, he is

always sober, and so temperate that he can live upon a pilchard, or

a bit of bread rubbed with garlic; a bed is a superfluity to him, as

he is accustomed to sleep in the open air. Next to the French, the

Spaniards are the best for long marches, and climbing mountains. The

Spanish soldier is less intelligent than the French, but more so than

the German and English soldier. He ardently loves his country, and has

but one anti-military fault, a disregard of cleanliness, and indolent

habits,--a frequent source of disease and inefficiency. The Spanish

army was deficient in discipline; its non-commissioned officers were

but little respected; one-third of the officers were taken from among

them: the remaining two-thirds were filled up from the cadets.

The Spanish infantry consisted of thirty-nine regiments, of three

battalions each, including four foreign regiments. Several of these

corps were established prior to the accession of the Bourbons; some of

them were even raised by Charles V.; the oldest of all bore the name of

Immemorial del Rey, from the remote antiquity of its creation. Twelve

battalions of light infantry, armed like the infantry of the line,

differed from it only in the colour of the jacket, which was blue,

while that of the national infantry was white. Most of these battalions

were raised subsequently to the French Revolution. Each regiment of

infantry of the line had a colonel, a lieutenant-colonel, a commandant,

with the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and a major (_sarjento-mayor_).

Each battalion of light infantry had only two superior officers, a

commandant, and a major. The battalions of the line were of four

companies, two companies of the first battalion being grenadiers.

In war time, forty-two regiments of militia formed a body of infantry,

more national, more brave, more calculated for great things than the

regular infantry. The State armed, clothed, and equipped them, and

allowed pay to the officers. In time of peace they were called out

only for one month in the year, when they received pay. These militia

regiments consisted of only one battalion, commanded by a colonel,--

a man of consideration in the country, and a major--generally a

superior officer of the regular army. There were but two companies in

the battalion, one of grenadiers, and one of chasseurs. In war time,

the companies of grenadiers and of chasseurs of the same province, were

united. In this manner were formed the four divisions of provincial

grenadiers of old and new Castile, Andalusia, and Galicia--the best

soldiers in the nation, preferable even to the household regiments.

History has consecrated the plains of Rocroi as the grave of the

Spanish infantry.

The cavalry preserved its ancient renown till the close of the war of

the Succession; it has lost it since then. Spain, which in the time

of Charles V. could supply a hundred thousand horses for war, now has

breeding establishments in only one of her provinces. The Andalusian

horses, though mettlesome, docile, and finely-formed, have something

of the rodomontade of that province, which is the Gascony of Spain.

They want the bottom, and the muscular power which are requisite for

the charging shock of heavy cavalry, and have not the robustness and

capacity for enduring fatigue, which is necessary for the light cavalry

service. The multiplication of mules has probably caused the degeneracy

of the Spanish horses.

The whole cavalry of Spain amounted to twelve thousand men,

in twenty-four regiments, each of five squadrons, which were

never complete. Each regiment is commanded by a colonel, a

lieutenant-colonel, and a major. The cavalry was composed of dragoons,

chasseurs, and hussars; but distinguished from each other rather by the

colour of their uniform than by the mode in which they were armed and

equipped. The carabineers, which formed part of the King’s household,

consisted of six squadrons, four of heavy, and two of light horse, and

numbered about six hundred men. They were recruited from the whole of

the cavalry, among the old soldiers, and those of the best character;

they enlisted for life, and renounced marriage: this was the finest

body of horse in Spain. The Spanish cavalry was badly trained, and was

very inferior to the infantry.

Philip V. employed La Valliere, the most distinguished French officer

of artillery of his time, to organize the Spanish artillery on the

same footing as that of Louis XIV. It has since followed the changes

and improvements adopted by the French. Its force consisted of four

regiments, of ten companies each; out of these forty companies,

six were of horse artillery. Besides these, there were sixty-four

companies of militia cannoneers without officers or serjeants,

being merely supplementary to the regular artillery. There was no

artillery train organized in a military manner; in time of war, it

was supplied by contracts with the muleteers, or by requisitions of

oxen. Godoy organized the engineer corps in 1803, on a similar plan to

the artillery, based upon the regulations of the French service, and

instituted a school of engineering at Alcala de Henares.

INDEX.

A.

Abercrombie, Sir Ralph, lands at Aboukir, 34;

mortally wounded, 41;

his death, 44, 46.

Aboukir, landing of the British troops there, 33.

Abrantes, Duke of, see Junot.

Adour, passage of, 370, 380.

Affghanistan, campaigns in, 461.

Albuera, battle of, 208.

Alexandria, battle of, 38.

Aliwal, battle of, 486.

Almarez, bridge and works destroyed by Sir Rowland Hill, 265.

Almeida, taken by the French, 161;

invested by Wellington, 194;

blockaded by General Campbell, 200;

escape of Brennier, the governor, 201.

Amarante, taken by the French, 117.

Amirs, their position at Miani, 467.

Anglesea, Lord, defeats the French cavalry, 427;

his charge at Waterloo, 437.

Arapiles, taking of, 293.

Assaye, 20;

battle of, 25.

B.

Badajoz, taken by the French, 186;

invested by Beresford, 203;

besieged by Wellington, 218;

siege raised, 220;

besieged by Lord Wellington, 248;

sack of, 258.

Bailey, his surrender, 464;

his death, 466.

Baird, General, commands the storming party at Seringapatam, 9;

despatched to Egypt, 21: commands the expedition to the Cape of

Good Hope, 47;

defeats the Dutch, 51;

joins Sir John Moore, 80;

wounded at Corunna, 96.

Barosa, battle of, 190.

Bayonne, invested by Sir John Hope, 386;

sortie of, 396.

Beckwith, Colonel, 182.

Berar, Rajah of, defeated, 27.

Beresford, Marshal, 101, 120;

invests Badajoz, 188;

his endeavours to reduce it, 203;

his forces, 207;

his conduct at Albuera, 208, 214.

Bidassao, passage of, 362.

Biluchis, campaign against the, 467.

Blake, defeated by Soult, 234;

by Suchet, 235.

Blucher, his despatches to Wellington, 412, 413;

defeated at Ligny, 422;

advances to Waterloo, 441.

Bonnet’s division defeated by Clinton at Salamanca, 289.

Bourbons, their restoration, 405, 451.

Brennier, escapes from Almeida, 201;

his ability, 203.

Britain, condition of, after the battle of Waterloo, 455.

Bulow at Waterloo, 442, 444.

Buonaparte, Napoleon, 84;

reinforces his Peninsular army, 150;

hears the news of Joseph’s defeat, 341;

abdicates, 395;

retires to Elba, 405;

returns to France, 409, 503;

re-organizes the army, 410;

advances, 412;

defeats Blucher at Ligny, 423;

reaches Frasnes, 427;

his position at Waterloo, 432;

expects Grouchy, 441;

orders up the Imperial Guard, 442;

loses the battle, 445;

his retreat, 446;

his death at St. Helena, 451.

Buonaparte, Joseph, defeated at Talavera, 133;

defeats Venegas, 147;

retreats on Aranguez, 298;

retires before Wellington, 323;

appearance of his army, _ib._ abandons Burgos, 326;

enters Vitoria, 329;

concentrates his army in front of the city, 330;

battle of Vitoria, 333;

narrow escape, 337;

retreats to France, 341.

Buonaparte, Jerome, advances against Hougomont, 433.

Burgos, fortifications of, 303;

siege of, by the British, 304;

siege raised, 307;

retreat from, 309.

Burnes, his death, 466.

Burrard, Sir Harry, his opposition to Sir Arthur Wellesley, 73, 77;

resigns the command, 80.

Busaco, battle of, 163.

C.

Cabool disasters, 465.

Calabria, campaign there, 56.

Campbell, General, blockades Almeida, 200;

escape of the garrison, 201.

Cape of Good Hope, expedition to, 47;

defeat of the Dutch, 51;

advance on Cape Town, 52;

ceded to the British, 53.

Carrion, crossing of the, 310.

Chatillon, conference at, 390.

Cintra, treaty of, 79.

Ciudad Rodrigo, siege of, 151;

invested by Lord Wellington, 236;

taken, 243.

Clausel, takes the place of Marmont after the battle of Salamanca, 293;

falls back on Burgos, 297;

retreats, 302;

retires to France, 340.

Clinton defeats Bonnet’s division at Salamanca, 289.

Coa, action of, 156.

Cocks, General, death of, 306.

Corunna, battle of, 94;

surrendered to the French, 100.

Craufurd, General, unfortunate attempt by, 154;

retreats from Coa, 159;

his conduct at Busaco, 167;

his death, 241.

Cuesta, joined by Sir Arthur Wellesley, 127;

character of, 129;

attacked by Victor, 131.

D.

Delaborde, General of the French, defeated at Rolica, 68;

at Vimiero, 73.

Dennie, defeats Dost Mohammed, 464;

his death, 466.

Dhoondia, his defeat and death, 21.

Dost Mohammed, surrenders to Sir William MacNaughten, 464.

Douro, passage of, 120;

Wellington’s brilliant advance from, 325.

Dubreton, General, governor of Burgos, 303;

his conduct during the siege, 305, 306.

E.

Egypt, expedition to, 29;

landing at Aboukir, 33.

El Bodon, affair of, 222.

Ellenborough, Lord, 472.

Elley, Colonel, 141.

Esla, passing of, 84.

F.

Ferozepore, battle of, 482.

Foy, General, his observations on the French, British, and Spanish

armies, 511.

France, condition of, after the battle of Waterloo, 455.

Friere, General, murder of, 112.

Fuentes d’Onoro, battle of, 195.

G.

Gaeta, surrendered to the French, 61.

Garonne, passage of, 391.

Gerona, fall of, 148.

Ghuznee, reduction of, 462.

Girard, defeated by General Hill, 228.

Gottingen, expedition to, 64.

Gough, Sir Hugh, concentrates his troops, 478;

battle of Moodkee, _ib._;

Ferozepore, 482;

Aliwal, 436;

Sobraon, 490.

Graham, General, gains the battle of Barosa, 191;

besieges San Sebastian, 351.

Grouchy, false report of his approach at Waterloo, 441;

his movements after the battle, 450.

Guerillas, memoir of, 101.

H.

Harris, General, commands the army of the Carnatic, 3;

attacks Tippoo, 5.

Hardinge, Colonel, at Albuera, 210.

Hardinge, Sir Henry, appointed Governor of India, 473;

concentrates his troops, 478;

battle of Moodkee, 478;

Ferozepore, 482;

Aliwal, 486;

Sobraon, 490.

Harmoza, affair at, 310.

Head, Colonel, his gallantry, 187.

Hill, Sir Rowland, at Talavera, 132;

defeats Girard, 228;

destroys the bridge at Almarez, 264;

takes Fort Ragusa, 265;

joins Wellington, 312;

invests Pamplona, 341;

defeats Soult, 374, 387, 388.

Hope, Sir John, his gallantry at St. Jean de Luz, 373;

invests Bayonne, 386;

sortie of the garrison, 396;

wounded and taken prisoner, 398.

Hostalrich, fall of, 149.

Hougomont, description of, 433;

attacked by Jerome Buonaparte, _ib._

Huebra, affair at, 313.

J.

Janssens, General of the Dutch, defeated, 51,53

Jourdan, Marshal, 298, 328; his position at Vitoria, 330.