The various parts of the grand military machine being prepared, an
order from the great master to have the whole put together, and in
readiness to move by the middle of May, at length appeared. The crisis
now approached which was either to bind Spain in eternal chains, or
rescue her from the grasp of her powerful neighbour. All eyes in Spain
and in England were consequently directed towards the scene of active
operations, and with a never-ceasing anxiety, followed the movements of
Lord Wellington throughout the whole of the following campaign.
On the 15th of May, Sir Thomas Graham crossed the Douro, near
Miranda-del-Douro, with the left wing of the allied army, ascended
the right bank to the Esla, which he crossed, and then advanced upon
Zamora, from which, at his approach, the enemy retired towards Toro.
The second division assembled in a plain a few miles in front of Bejer,
on the 20th of May. On the 23d we were reviewed by Sir Rowland Hill.
Lieutenant-General, the Honourable William Stewart, appeared at our
head, for the first time, on this occasion. On the following morning we
advanced to Robeira, next day to Mattella, and on the 26th we continued
our route towards Salamanca, then in possession of a small corps of the
enemy under General Villate.
Lord Wellington having formed a junction with Sir Rowland Hill,
advanced with a portion of the cavalry to a height on the left bank of
the Tormes, immediately opposite to Salamanca, and, after reconnoitring
the enemy, ordered the cavalry and some horse-artillery to cross the
river, some by the bridge of Salamanca, and the rest by a ford a little
above it, and attack Villate, who was just leaving the city. The order
was obeyed with cheerfulness, and success crowned the efforts of the
assailants. After a pretty smart affair, the French were defeated, with
the loss of 300 killed, wounded, and prisoners. Of the latter there
were 140.
The infantry having subsequently crossed the Tormes, and encamped in
a plain about half-a-mile above Salamanca, our encampment was visited
in the afternoon by a great many respectable people from the city. The
ladies exhibited a considerable portion of curiosity on the occasion,
many of them pulling aside the folds of our tents, without the smallest
ceremony, to have a full view of "Los Angleses." At first we were a
good deal put about by the conduct of our fair friends, for at the
time, we were attired in any thing but drawing-room costume.
Early in the morning of the 27th, commanding-officers were requested
to have their battalions in as high order as they possibly could, in
order to pass the Marquis of Wellington in review on the march. About
seven o'clock the head of the column moved from the encampment towards
Salamanca, the walls of which we kept on our left hand, till we arrived
at the northern gate, when, touching the road leading to Toro, we made
a quarter-wheel to the right, and proceeded towards the latter.
On a height, about four or five miles from Salamanca, the Marquis
took post with his numerous staff. Every battalion, as it approached
the reviewing-general, halted a few moments to dress the companies,
and then moved past in ordinary time. The morning being extremely
beautiful,--not a cloud to be seen,--the appearance of the troops was
truly magnificent. As each corps passed, the Marquis paid them some
flattering compliment; and as the last company saluted, he turned
round and said, "Sir Rowland, I will take the gloss off your corps
this campaign." How far the Marquis kept his promise the sequel will
shew. Continuing our route, we arrived at Orbada in the afternoon, and
encamped.
The regiments composing the second division having been so widely
detached during the winter and spring months, that brigade drill
could not be enforced, without subjecting various corps to manifest
inconvenience, officers in command of brigades embraced the opportunity
which a few day's rest at Orbada afforded them, of putting the troops
through a few field manœuvres almost every morning. Some of them
afterwards promoted games for the amusement of their officers and
soldiers, and did not hesitate to take part in the sports of the day.
Every officer of proper feeling must always be anxious to acquire and
enjoy a high reputation amongst his brother officers. The love of
praise, when an officer endeavours to obtain it by the performance of
some meritorious exploit, is highly commendable; for it has frequently
led soldiers to the performance of heroic exploits, when all other
motives have been found insufficient to carry them through the
hazardous enterprise. But if an officer attempts to obtain praise by
a very different method,--that of _courting popularity with the men_,
his efforts to secure a good name can no longer be commendable, but
derogatory to his character. To be familiar with the men is to lose all
command over them,--to be harsh to them, the issue will be nearly the
same. But to be kind to them, without being familiar,--to attend to
their comforts, and inquire into their grievances,--to shew them by his
every act that he has their welfare sincerely at heart,--are the only
true modes by which an officer can honourably obtain that popularity to
which alone he should ever aspire.
We broke up from our encampment at Orbada on the 3rd of June, and that
evening reposed on the left bank of the Quarena. Here two hundred
French prisoners passed us on their way to England, the whole being
the lawful capture of the hussar brigade, and Don Julian Sanchez. Two
arches of the bridge of Toro having been destroyed in 1812, these, by
great exertion, were repaired with wood by day-light on the 4th, but
so temporarily, that on passing over it that forenoon, not more than
one man could pass at a time. The boards were so elastic, that but for
General Stewart who remained on the north side of the broken arches
till all the infantry had passed, I would inevitably have fallen into
the river and been drowned. On perceiving me reeling to the left side,
and quite close to the edge of the temporary erection, the General
sprang forward and caught my hand just as I found myself on the eve
of tumbling head foremost into the river. The staff and baggage
animals found their way to the right bank by a ford a little above the
bridge; some of the smallest kinds were swimming. After the whole of
the division had crossed, we moved forward five miles on the road to
Valladolid and encamped.
Resuming our march next morning, we advanced five leagues and encamped.
Here we could neither get _wood_ nor _long grass_, nor any kind of
substitute for them to boil our kettles. We were consequently compelled
to apply to the chief magistrate of a town adjoining our camp, to
hand over to us for a suitable compensation, two or three houses to
supply us with fuel. On the 6th, we moved first upon Valladolid, but
when within a few miles of it, we brought up our right shoulders, and
marched to Cigales. Resuming the pursuit of the flying host on the 7th,
we advanced to Duennas, and encamped. Here we were presented with a
most appalling spectacle, the dead bodies of two French soldiers lying
on a dunghill, not placed there by the Spaniards, but by their own
friends, and what is more revolting, one of them _before he was dead_.
The dunghill was immediately under the window of a house which they
used as an hospital. Conduct such as this is quite unpardonable.
On the 8th we advanced to Torquemada. During the night the wind blew a
hurricane, and the rain poured down upon us plenteously. Next day and
the one following, we plodded our way towards Burgos up to the knees
in mud; and after crossing the Arlanzon, on the afternoon of the 10th,
encamped on a height about a league from its left bank. On the 11th
we moved forward one league to Los-Valbasas and encamped, and on the
following day we drew five leagues nearer to Burgos, where we expected
to have warm work. Just as our division had taken up its ground for the
night, as we thought, the sound of artillery in our front called us
to arms. In a few minutes we were on the road to the scene of action,
but had not advanced above a mile, when we were stopped at a little
deep stream, the bridge over which the enemy had destroyed. On this
obstacle being surmounted, we crossed, and after advancing two miles
farther, halted; and in half-an-hour thereafter, were ordered to return
to the same ground on which we had originally pitched our tents. We
accordingly retraced our steps, both wet and weary. This unseasonable
little affair between our light troops, horse artillery, and the
enemy's rear-guard, ended in favour of the former, who succeeded in
driving back the latter with the loss of some killed and wounded, and
one piece of artillery.
At five o'clock in the morning of the 13th of June, Joseph Bonaparte,
in a fit of temporary insanity unquestionably, blew up the castle
of Burgos. This unexpected act of the enemy afforded a key to his
future intentions, for it intimated as plainly as language could
have done, that he had no intention of giving us battle south of the
Ebro. The destruction of this fortress was the first fruits of the
British General's admirable plan of operations. Seeing that it was
Joseph Bonaparte's intention to defend the passage of the Douro, Lord
Wellington caused Sir Thomas Graham to cross the Douro, as before
noticed, and subsequently to hang on the enemy's right flank, in order
to turn him out of every position he might occupy. The first part
of his operations being attended with success, the hero of Barossa
continued to manœuvre in a similar manner all the way to the Ebro,
which he crossed on the 14th at Arenas, and, by turning the enemy out
of their position in the line of the Ebro, opened a passage for the
centre division on the 15th, and Sir Rowland Hill's corps on the day
following.
Descending into the vale of the Ebro, the road leads first down a deep
ravine, then in a zig-zag form down the face of the mountain, which
is high and rugged. From the summit of the latter, the bands of the
different battalions played some favourite airs all the way down, the
rocks on each side re-echoing the shrill sounds of the trumpet, the
sweeter notes of the clarion, and the wild murmuring sounds of the
bag-pipe, with very beautiful effect. Bonaparte having decreed all the
country north of the Ebro to be annexed to his dear France, the band
of each battalion on crossing the bridge, struck up the "Downfall of
Paris," which, added to the cheers of the soldiers, made the hills and
the valleys ring, till from a thousand places, the latter re-echoed the
glad acclamations of the happy band of British soldiers.
After crossing the Ebro, we threaded our way up the left bank, the
road on each side being hounded by the river on the left, and a rugged
and inaccessible mountain on the right. In several places, the road
has not only been cut out of the rock, but the rock actually overhangs
the road, and part of the water in more places than one. To retire
from such strong ground without making some shew of defending the
line of the Ebro, was rather astonishing. However, we were not at all
displeased with them for doing so. Having kept close to the river for
two or three miles, we turned to the right, and after a farther march
of a league, halted, and encamped.
On the 17th we proceeded towards Vittoria, and after a movement of
three leagues, encamped in a plain, in which we discovered a few of
our companions in a distant corner, busily engaged like ourselves in
preparing some scalding soup. On the 18th and 19th we continued moving
in the direction of Vittoria, and, on the evening of the latter,
encamped on a height which overlooks Miranda-del-Ebro.
On the 18th the light division came in contact with a body of the enemy
in charge of stores, which they attacked, and handled roughly. The same
division was engaged in a similar employment on the day following.
On the 20th the whole closed up to within three or four leagues of
Vittoria, in front of which Joseph had taken up a position on the
preceding day, with the intention of giving us battle.