In the afternoon of the 22d, the second division moved from its bivouac
in front of Vittoria, passed through Salvateira, and towards the "wee
short hour ayont the twal," encamped in a wood a few miles in front
of it. During the march we were every moment presented with numerous
evidences, animate and inanimate, of the total wreck of King Joseph's
royal fortunes. Around, and on every side of us, lay men and horses,
dead and dying, waggons of all descriptions, some overturned and
emptied of their contents, others on their wheels, and filled with
letters unopened and unheeded, although written to please the taste
of every one in the army, being addressed to officers and soldiers of
all ranks, from Jourdan down to the youngest drum-boy, on subjects
grave, gay, and voluptuous. On passing a tremendous pile of letters, I
presented a handful of them for acceptance to the Marquis of Almeida;
but after a long tirade against Bonaparte, he politely declared that
he would not _soil his fingers with them_. The Marquis' hatred to the
French was only equalled by that of Prince Blucher.
On passing Salvateira, our men were repeatedly invited by a dragoon,
dressed in the uniform of a hussar, to join him in a full-flowing can,
and he would "pay the piper." Our lads having expressed some doubts
as to their new friend's ability to perform his promise, the latter
instantly pulled from his boot a doubloon, and holding it up, told the
sceptics that his boots were filled with similar pieces. How the cash
came into the possession of the hussar it is for him to say; but I
think we may infer that he obtained it without running any great hazard
of losing a life, which, as a soldier, was worth nothing.
From the earliest period to the present, the armies of every nation
have contained men who, unless narrowly looked after in action, are
more apt to make war against the _effects_ than the _persons_ of their
enemies. To people of this stamp no leniency should at any time be
shown, for in whatever light we may view a military plunderer, he must
invariably appear to us dressed in the despicable garb of a traitor to
his friends, his sovereign, and his country.
If soldiers would reflect on the ignominy which attaches to the name
of a plunderer, and permit themselves to contrast his character with
that of a soldier who retires from the service covered with honour, no
man, possessing the feelings of a _real soldier_, would for a moment
hesitate what course to pursue. The soldier who has discharged his
duties faithfully and honourably, plods his way towards home with a
breast swelling high with native pride, and when relating to a group
of admiring relations and friends around the domestic hearth, his
hair-breadth 'scapes by flood and field, receives their congratulations
on his safe return, and hears their murmurs of applause, without the
smallest blush on his cheek, being conscious that he has done his
duty, and that none can upbraid him with one dishonourable act. Widely
different indeed must the situation of the military plunderer be on
arriving at his native place. There the bitter cup of self-conviction
will invariably rise to his lips, and choak his utterance as often as
he attempts to impose upon his friends with tales of war, in which he
wishes them to believe he acted an honourable part. There he will spend
a life of unceasing misery and extreme wretchedness; for although he
may be removed far from any of those companions whose evidence could
rise up in public against him, still the never-dying conscience will
hourly remind him of the humiliating fact, that he had forfeited all
pretensions to the designation of a soldier. Soldiers, therefore, would
do well to bear these facts in constant remembrance, and unmindful of
every thing _save their honour_, conduct themselves at all times, and
under all circumstances, in such a manner, that, on retiring from the
busy scenes of a military life, they may have it in their power to say,
"The wars are o'er, and I'm returned,
My hands unstained with plunder."
Sir Thomas Graham having been ordered to advance towards the French
frontier, by the high road leading from Vittoria to Irun, came up
with a French corps at Tolosa, which he attacked and defeated with
considerable loss. After this rencounter, he continued his route, drove
the enemy across the Bidassoa, and invested San Sebastian.
It being nearly four o'clock in the morning of the 23rd before our
baggage arrived in camp, we had just thrown aside our wet clothes, and
gone to rest, when those pests of every soldier's nocturnal repose--the
bugles--again called us to arms. Although our sleep was short, yet a
rather comfortable, but hurried repast, enabled us to strut away as
gay as larks. But our gaiety unfortunately was short-lived, for in
half-an-hour the rain again descended in torrents, and for five hours
pelted us severely. Had we been moving, the rain would have given us
little trouble. But by some unexplained mistake we were kept nearly
five hours under arms, half-a-mile from where we started, when we ought
to have been under cover of our canvass. Such mistakes should never
escape censure, for the health of an army is of paramount importance to
a general, and it must be injured by a few hours unnecessary exposure
to a deluge of rain. Resuming our march, we drew two leagues nearer to
Pampluna and encamped.
The Marquis of Wellington having pushed forward with the third, fourth,
and light divisions towards Pampluna, the second and sixth divisions,
and General Hamilton's division of Portuguese followed their friends
at an early hour on the 24th. In the afternoon we were visited by a
tremendous thunder storm. The lightning appeared before, behind, and
on every side of us, in every shape which the electric fluid can be
exhibited to the eye of man. The lightning flashed, and the thunder
in terrific peals rolled over our heads in a manner so grand, yet
appalling, that language is insufficient to convey to those who did
not witness it, even a faint idea of the awfully sublime spectacle. At
times the thunder growled for a few moments in a threatening manner,
and then burst so suddenly upon our ears, that it was no uncommon thing
to see numbers bending their heads, while the artillery of heaven was
expending its wrath. About the time that the storm was at its height,
Lieutenant Masterman of the 34th regiment was killed by the lightning,
as was the mule on which he was mounted. Nine men of the same corps
were also knocked down, but the most of them were but slightly injured.
His watch was melted, and his sword belt was cut into as neat little
square pieces, as the most expert tradesman could have performed a
similar operation with a knife or scissors.
We continued our movement upon Pampluna on the 25th, 26th, and 27th,
without meeting with any thing worthy of notice, save the smoking ruins
of a few houses which the enemy had burned in their retreat, and _one_
of the _two_ pieces of artillery which Joseph Bonaparte carried with
him from the fatal field of Vittoria, and which had been dismounted by
some of the artillery brigades attached to the leading divisions two
days before. In the evening of the 27th, we encamped in the vicinity of
Pampluna.
As Sir Rowland Hill approached Pampluna, the Marquis of Wellington
gradually withdrew a portion of the other divisions from before that
fortress, and with the Spanish corps of General Mina, proceeded on the
27th to attempt the capture of General Clausel, who being too late to
take part in the battle of Vittoria, was endeavouring to effect his
escape into France, by a road to the eastward of Pampluna. Informed of
the Marquis' intentions, Clausel wheeled to the right, and directed his
march upon Saragosa. There being no visible prospect of bringing the
enemy to action, the Marquis returned to Pampluna, and resigned the
pursuit of the fugitives into the hands of the indefatigable Guerilla
chief.
The French army was so much in want of provisions when it arrived under
the walls of Pampluna, that Joseph was compelled to draw largely on
the stores of the garrison to satisfy the cravings of his half-starved
followers. This was a most egregious blunder on Jourdan's part, for it
deprived the Governor of the means of prolonging the defence of the
place beyond a very limited period.
On quitting Pampluna, the French army retired towards their own country
in two columns, the principal part of it by the pass of Roncesvalles,
the other by that of Maya. Conceiving that Jourdan would attempt to
fortify the heights at both of those places, Lord Wellington pushed
forward the third and fourth divisions, second brigade of the second
division, and some Spanish and Portuguese troops towards the former;
and the remaining brigades of the second division, and a brigade of
General Hamilton's Portuguese division were ordered to proceed against
the enemy at Maya.
Accordingly, about seven o'clock in the morning of the 2nd of July,
the first, third, and fourth brigades of the second division, one
brigade Portuguese infantry, a few pieces of artillery and some
cavalry, moved from their encampment in front of Pampluna, and in the
afternoon encamped near La-Zarza. Next morning we plodded our way
under torrents of rain, to a bleak mountain a little in front of the
village of Lanz and encamped. Early on the 4th we again moved forward,
and about one o'clock arrived at Almandos, after a disagreeable tramp
across the dreary pass of Lanz. A little in rear of the village, our
columns closed up preparatory to an attack upon the enemy's position at
Barrueta, three miles farther in advance.
About two o'clock, the first brigade led by General Steuart in person,
entered Almandos, and on arriving at the centre of it, made a sharp
turn to the right, filed through several fields by a narrow foot-path,
descended the left bank of a deep ravine, crossed a small stream,
and then scrambled up the right bank, for as the whole face of it
was covered with round trundling stones, the operation was rather
a difficult one. We at length, however, gained the summit, and on
taking a view of the obstacles we had surmounted, we were not a little
surprised that the enemy should have permitted us to obtain a footing
in that quarter, without making an attempt to confine our operations
within a more limited sphere. A few hundred men judiciously posted,
might have accomplished this, at least, for some little time. On
perceiving us fairly established on the left of the enemy's chain of
advanced posts, Sir Rowland Hill gave orders for the other brigades to
move through Almandos, thence along the high road towards Barrueta,
and attack the French posts in front of that town. On being attacked,
the latter retired across a ravine which runs in front of the village,
and joined their main body, the left of which rested on the summit
of a high and very steep mountain, the centre occupied the village
of Barrueta, and the right extended to the Bidassoa, the right bank
of which they occupied with a few light troops. On retiring behind
the ravine, the enemy lined the right bank, the Portuguese the left.
Between them a smart fire of musketry was kept up with considerable
animation for some time, during which the 50th regiment made an effort
to carry the village. The latter went up to their antagonists in their
usual gallant style, but the French brought forward a very superior
force, and drove them back. To support the 50th in this operation, the
left wing of the 92nd was pushed towards the village, and the right
wing and 71st regiment kept in reserve. The services of the 92nd left
wing, however, were not required, for before they reached the scene of
action, the 50th had received orders to retire, Sir Rowland Hill not
deeming it prudent to bring on a more general affair that evening.
The enemy being in the same position, the troops cooked early next
morning, and on the arrival of the Marquis of Wellington about noon,
resumed their arms, and moved against the enemy. Forming the right
of our little army, the first brigade was ordered to ascend a high,
steep, and extremely slippery mountain on our right, in order to
throw itself in rear of the enemy's left wing. The operation was a
fatiguing one; but on arriving at the summit of the hill, a peep of
the French territory, and of the ocean, which the soldiers aptly
enough called the high road to England, banished in an instant every
trace of fatigue, as the spontaneous and deafening cheers of our poor
fellows sufficiently testified. Previous to this, the left column of
the enemy paid but little attention to our demonstration against their
extreme left, but the boisterous expression of feeling just alluded
to, which the enemy had attributed to a cause very different from the
real one, made them bestir themselves. Conceiving it to be General
Gazan's intention to give us battle, we detached our light companies
towards his left flank, and supported the movement with the rest of the
brigade. The enemy's centre and right wing were attacked about the same
time by our friends in the centre, and in a short time forced to retire
from Barrueta. Gazan seeing his left wing turned, and his right wing
and centre about to be driven from their stronghold behind the village,
gave orders to those immediately opposed to us, to follow the example
of their friends, and retire towards Elizonda.
There being but one road by which the enemy could retire, and that
one too narrow for the rapid retreat of 7000 men, part of the French
troops moved through corn fields between the road and the Bidassoa,
and two or three battalions were thrown across the river, whither they
were pursued by some Portuguese infantry. From the time Gazan began to
retreat, he never attempted to make a stand, but occasionally turned
round, and after peppering us for a few minutes from behind a wall,
hedge, or from the windows of a house, again took to his heels. Some of
our light troops on those occasions conceiving it imprudent to attack
the enemy in their strongholds, flanked them by moving into the fields,
so that the former were always ready to pour a few vollies of musketry
on the latter, the moment they retired from their temporary forts. In
this manner the retreat and pursuit were conducted till both parties
arrived at Elizonda. To prevent a surprise, the enemy had previously
run a wall round the town, from behind which, they annoyed our light
troops as they closed upon them. The French being forced at length to
yield possession of the southern entrance, we walked on, pursued the
fugitives through the various streets amidst the loud acclamations of
the inhabitants, who, before the enemy had finally relinquished their
hold of the northern gate, were ringing a merry peal in honour of their
deliverance. This spontaneous effusion of loyalty was so grating to the
ears of the French soldiers, that, on taking leave of the town, they
swore to be revenged on it the first time they returned.
On being driven from his position in the valley of Bastan, General
Gazan retired with the main body of his corps to a high ridge at
the head of the valley, and with his left foot in France, and his
right foot in Spain, prepared to give us another meeting before he
relinquished his hold of the last position he could now lay claim to in
Spain. This position was reconnoitred by the Marquis of Wellington on
the 6th, and again on the morning of the 7th. At the close of the last
reconnoissance, preparations were made for an immediate attack, with
the view of ridding this part of the Peninsula of the presence of the
invaders.
The right of General Gazan's corps occupied a high and very steep
mountain, called the Rock of Maya. His centre columns were posted on
two heights considerably lower than the other, and about a mile, and
mile and half distant; and the left rested on another height still
farther to the left. In front of the left centre there was a ridge
which ran all the way to the village of Maya,--nearly two miles. On
this ridge the enemy had placed some light troops, and again, a mile in
front of Maya, another body to watch our motions.
The second brigade of the second division being encamped on the right
bank of the Bidassoa, was pitched upon to attack the rock, while the
other brigades should endeavour to drive the enemy from the other
points of their position. Accordingly, the former got under arms
about 11 o'clock, A.M. on the 7th of July, and ascended a mountain on
their left, over which a narrow foot-path led to the rock, five miles
distant. When the second brigade marched from its ground the sky was
clear, but fortunately for our friends, a dense fog crowned the conical
summit of the rock, just as they were about to cross an adjoining
eminence, so much lower than the other, that but for this the enemy
would have been able to form a correct estimate of the numerical
strength of the attacking column. With the able assistance of this
potent ally, the second brigade approached the enemy undiscovered,
till they had arrived within a very short distance of the summit of
the rock. They were no sooner perceived, however, than their opponents
poured down on them showers of bullets; but the action, though severe,
was very short, for, making use of the bayonet, the second brigade soon
rid the summit of the mountain of the presence of the enemy.
In order to deceive the French General in regard to our real
intentions, the other brigades remained quiet in their camp for nearly
two hours after their companions had quitted theirs. By this little
manœuvre the French were lulled into a fatal security, for, until they
saw us fairly under arms, they fancied themselves reposing in perfect
safety. On moving from our camp a little in front of Elizonda, we
directed our steps towards Errazu, behind which the most advanced of
the enemy's troops were stationed. As we approached them, they retired
towards the village of Maya. At first they retired slowly, but the
firing on the rock caused them latterly to accelerate their motion. The
same cause made us imitate them, in order that we might be at hand to
render our friends assistance should Gazan attempt to regain by force
his lost possession.
The first brigade, followed by Colonel Ashworth's Portuguese, advanced
rapidly up the valley, passed Maya at a trot, and then, with the
6th Caçadores on our left, moved towards the enemy, with whom our
light companies soon came in contact. The firing at this point was
kept up with considerable vivacity for some time, but with little
loss to either party. Pending these operations of the light troops,
the 6th Caçadores had advanced close to the enemy scattered over
the northern slope of the rock, with the intention of preventing
us communicating directly with the second brigade. A smart running
fire was the consequence of this collision, which lasted with little
intermission till night. Having succeeded in driving back the enemy,
and establishing themselves in this post, the 50th regiment was ordered
to a height upon their right, close and immediately opposite to the
enemy's right columns. These various movements at length brought a
considerable number of the combatants into close quarters. The shots
at first were as usual rather long, but as the afternoon advanced they
became shorter, till the 50th and the enemy were more than once on the
point of crossing bayonets. Being rather hard pressed, the 92d regiment
moved to their assistance, but the "old half-hundred" had in its usual
off-hand manner repelled the assault previous to the arrival of their
Highland brethren.
General Gazan heartily ashamed of having so gamely yielded up the
possession of a post which he should have held while he had a man
remaining, made many desperate attempts to regain it, but in all of
them he was beat back with considerable loss. During the whole of the
operations on the rock, nothing could exceed the conduct of the second
brigade, 28th, 34th, and 39th regiments, all of whom had made up their
minds to give their bodies to the eagles that hovered over their heads,
rather than permit the enemy to lodge on the summit of the mountain
that night. The 71st light infantry rendered us good and efficient
service on our right, till night's sable mantle wrapt every earthly
object in impenetrable darkness.
The fog being extremely dense, the night dark, and the French little
more than two hundred yards from our advanced posts, we lay under
arms the whole of the night. So very dark was it indeed, that on the
skirmishers being called in, many of them did not really know which
way to move to rejoin their battalions. In front, and on our left
rank, numbers were, for hours after the action had ceased, bawling,
some Français, others Portuguese. So completely were the poor devils
at fault regarding the situations of their respective friends, that
two French soldiers actually passed one of our piquets, and were made
prisoners before they discovered their mistake.
At day-break on the following day, General Gazan made another attempt
to regain the key of his position, but failing as before, he kept up a
loose irregular firing till about seven o'clock, when, seeing he could
make no impression in that quarter, he took advantage of the fog to
retire with his corps into his own territory. Colonel Ashworth followed
him some distance, and skirmished with his rear-guard till evening.
When General Gazan retired from the heights of Maya, General Stewart
proceeded to look out for suitable ground for our brigade. In doing
so, he spent fully two hours, there being no convenient spot but
what had previously been occupied by the enemy. Before the General
returned from his tour of inspection, a number had begun to grumble at
the delay in placing us in camp. In this number was Captain H----s,
of the 92d regiment, who would not give credit to the stories in
circulation, relative to the not very praise-worthy habits of the
French soldiery. Seeing that the Captain was not to be convinced, one
of his brother-officers said to him in mere jest, "H----s, perhaps at
this moment some of the gallopers may have already taken a fancy to
you;" and then bending forward as if to examine whether such was not
the case, he, to his own surprise, was able to convince the Captain of
the fact by ocular demonstration. The Captain instantly sprung from the
ground, and bounded along the heath like a deer for several hundred
yards, stopping only twice to try whether an extraordinary shake of
his polluted ankle would not assist him in getting rid of such vile
intruders.
In the action of the 7th July, three Spanish peasants, inhabitants
of Maya, joined our light troops, advanced into the very heat of the
conflict, and fought with the most determined bravery, till one of them
being killed, and another wounded, the third reluctantly quitted the
scene of action to convey his friend back to his native village. Had
the armies of Spain been composed of such men as these, the Peninsular
contest would have been short indeed.
During the early French revolutionary wars, an opinion prevailed in the
British army, that the French used poisoned balls. That this opinion
still prevailed at the time of which I write, is evidenced by the fact,
that on the evening of the 7th, I heard one of the 50th call out, as he
passed us on his way to the rear, "I know I am a dead man, I have been
wounded by a poisoned ball."
Conceiving it to be the duty of every officer in charge of a company
to record every little anecdote, which can tend to illustrate the
character or the men under their command, I cannot forbear to notice an
act of coolness on the part of a young lad named M'Ewen, which cannot
be too much admired. In the action of the 7th, a musket ball grazed his
bonnet a little above the ear. Instead of alarming him, however, M'Ewen
very coolly turned round his head to mark the progress of the bullet,
and on seeing it bury itself in the earth a few yards in his rear,
shook his head, and said, "O ye coaxing rascal."
Until we took possession of the heights of Maya, we really knew but
little of the real discomforts of a camp. We had occasionally suffered
severely from sleet, rain, and cold stiff gales, but such a thing
as a hurricane was a total stranger to us. At Maya, however, our
position was so exposed to the four wind's of heaven, that blow from
whatever quarter it might, the wind always found us at its mercy. One
evening, after we had retired to rest, our encampment was visited by a
tremendous storm of wind and rain. The former howled, and the latter
battered the slender sides of our tents with such fury, that many of
them were blown down. Every precaution was instantly taken to keep
the tent-poles and cords from snapping, but in many cases our efforts
proved fruitless, for the wind continuing to increase for some time
after, down came one tent, then another, and another, till more than
a half of the whole were level with the ground. I had just fallen
asleep, and was enjoying a very comfortable nap, when "Cast away, cast
away!" from a well-known voice, rung in my ears, and roused me from
my slumbers. I instantly started up, and fancying what had happened,
pulled the strings of my tent, and gave the cast-away wanderer a hearty
welcome. But scarcely had my friend recited his hair-breadth 'scape
from suffocation, when appearances boded nothing favourable to the
little vessel in which we were. Our servants did all in their power
to keep the pole upright, but seeing that to be impossible, I ordered
them to haul it down, and then, in company with my brother-sufferer,
proceeded on a voyage of discovery.
We proceeded, in the first instance, to the tent of three friends,
which being more favourably situated than ours, we hoped would afford
us shelter. On arriving there, however, all was desolation. We made
two or three other unsuccessful attempts to obtain a temporary shelter
from the surly blast; but despairing of finding it, and the night being
extremely dark, we finally resolved to seek protection under the brow
of the hill, and wait with patience the coming of the morning light.
Pursuing our way, without a light or a guide, we had considerable
difficulty in reaching a spot, where, protected, we might sit and hear
the storm expend its fury over our heads. At length we got under cover,
but had not been half-an-hour in our new berth, when our feet became so
benumbed with cold, that we found it necessary to move about to bring
them again to their natural heat. Wrapt in our cloaks, and with the
rain battering in our faces, we were jogging along towards our arms,
when all at once we came upon a tent which had withstood the fury of
the storm. We were desired to walk in, and accept of what accommodation
the inmates had to spare. We did so, but finding the tent pretty well
filled with others similarly situated with ourselves, I left my friend
Captain H---- under cover, and after a little more trouble I found out
the residence of an old friend, where I remained during the remainder
of the storm.
When day dawned, nothing but desolation was to be seen in our camp.
Out of fifty tents, few were standing, more than the half of them were
complete wrecks, and a number of the others were seriously injured. The
men's arms and accoutrements were greatly damaged, and a considerable
portion of our ammunition was destroyed.