MICKEY FREE’S ADVENTURE.
When I returned to the camp, I found the greatest excitement prevailing on
all sides. Each day brought in fresh rumors that Marmont was advancing
in force; that sixty thousand Frenchmen were in full march upon Ciudad
Rodrigo, to raise the blockade, and renew the invasion of Portugal.
Intercepted letters corroborated these reports; and the Guerillas who
joined us spoke of large convoys which they had seen upon the roads from
Salamanca and Tamanes.
Except the light division, which, under the command of Crawfurd, were
posted upon the right of the Aguada, the whole of our army occupied the
country from El Bodon to Gallegos; the Fourth Division being stationed at
Fuente Guenaldo, where some intrenchments had been hastily thrown up.
To this position Lord Wellington resolved upon retreating, as affording
points of greater strength and more capability of defence than the other
line of road, which led by Almeida upon the Coa. Of the enemy’s intentions
we were not long to remain in doubt; for on the morning of the 24th, a
strong body were seen descending from the pass above Ciudad Rodrigo, and
cautiously reconnoitring the banks of the Aguada. Far in the distance a
countless train of wagons, bullock-cars, and loaded mules were seen winding
their slow length along, accompanied by several squadrons of dragoons.
Their progress was slow, but as evening fell they entered the gates of
the fortress; and the cheering of the garrison mixing with the strains
of martial music, faint from distance, reached us where we lay upon the
far-off heights of El Bodon. So long as the light lasted, we could perceive
fresh troops arriving; and even when the darkness came on, we could detect
the position of the reinforcing columns by the bright watch-fires which
gleamed along the plain.
By daybreak we were under arms, anxiously watching for the intentions of
our enemy, which soon became no longer dubious. Twenty-five squadrons of
cavalry, supported by a whole division of infantry, were seen to defile
along the great road from Ciudad Rodrigo to Guenaldo. Another column,
equally numerous, marched straight upon Espeja; nothing could be more
beautiful, nothing more martial, than their appearance: emerging from a
close mountain gorge, they wound along the narrow road and appeared upon
the bridge of the Aguada just as the morning sun was bursting forth,
its bright beams tipping the polished cuirassiers and their glittering
equipments, they shone in their panoply like the gay troop of some ancient
tournament. The lancers of Berg, distinguished by their scarlet dolmans
and gorgeous trappings, were followed by the Cuirassiers of the Guard,
who again were succeeded by the _chasseurs à cheval_, their bright steel
helmets and light-blue uniforms, their floating plumes and dappled
chargers, looking the very _beau idéal_ of light horsemen; behind, the dark
masses of the infantry pressed forward and deployed into the plain; while,
bringing up the rear, the rolling din, like distant thunder, announced the
“dread artillery.”
On they came, the seemingly interminable line converging on to that one
spot upon whose summit now we assembled a force of scarcely ten thousand
bayonets.
While this brilliant panorama was passing before our eyes, we ourselves
were not idle. Orders had been sent to Picton to come up from the left with
his division. Alten’s cavalry and a brigade of artillery were sent to the
front, and every preparation which the nature of the ground admitted was
made to resist the advance of the enemy. While these movements on either
side occupied some hours, the scene was every moment increasing in
interest. The large body of cavalry was now seen forming into columns of
attack. Nine battalions of infantry moved up to their support, and forming
into columns, echelons, and squares, performed before us all the manoeuvres
of a review with the most admirable precision and rapidity; but from these
our attention was soon taken by a brilliant display upon our left. Here,
emerging from the wood which flanked the Aguada, were now to be seen the
gorgeous staff of Marmont himself. Advancing at a walk, they came forward
amidst the _vivas_ of the assembled thousands, burning with ardor and
thirsting for victory. For a moment, as I looked, I could detect the
marshal himself, as, holding his plumed hat above his head, he returned the
salute of a lancer regiment, who proudly waved their banners as he passed;
but, hark, what are those clanging sounds which, rising high above the
rest, seem like the war-cry of a warrior?
“I can’t mistake those tones,” said a bronzed old veteran beside me; “those
are the brass bands of the Imperial Guard. Can Napoleon be there? See,
there they come!” As he spoke, the head of a column emerged from the wood,
and deploying as they came, poured into the plain. For above an hour that
mighty tide flowed on, and before noon a force of sixty thousand men was
collected in the space beneath us.
I was not long to remain an unoccupied spectator of this brilliant display,
for I soon received orders to move down with my squadron to the support of
the Eleventh Light Dragoons, who were posted at the base of the hill. The
order at the moment was anything but agreeable, for I was mounted upon a
hack pony, on which I had ridden over from Crawfurd’s Division early in the
morning, and suspecting that there might be some hot work during the day,
had ordered Mike to follow with my horse. There was no time, however, for
hesitation, and I moved my men down the slope in the direction of the
skirmishers.
The position we occupied was singularly favorable,--our flanks defended on
either side by brushwood, we could only be assailed in front; and here,
notwithstanding our vast inferiority of force, we steadily awaited the
attack. As I rode from out the thick wood, I could not help feeling
surprised at the sounds which greeted me. Instead of the usual low and
murmuring tones, the muttered sentences which precede a cavalry advance,--a
roar of laughter shook the entire division, while exclamations burst from
every side around me: “Look at him now!” “They have him, by heavens, they
have him!” “Well done, well done!” “How the fellow rides!” “He’s hit, he’s
hit!” “No, no!” “Is he down?” “He’s down!”
A loud cheer rent the air at this moment, and I reached the front in time
to learn, the reason of all this excitement. In the wide plain before me a
horseman was seen, having passed the ford of the Aguada, to advance at
the top of his speed towards the British lines. As he came nearer, it was
perceived that he was accompanied by a led horse, and apparently with total
disregard of the presence of an enemy, rode boldly and carelessly forward.
Behind him rode three lancers, their lances couched, their horses at speed;
the pace was tremendous, and the excitement intense: for sometimes, as the
leading horseman of the pursuit neared the fugitive, he would bend suddenly
upon the saddle, and swerving to the right or the left, totally evade him,
while again at others, with a loud cry of bold defiance, rising in his
stirrups, he would press on, and with a shake of his bridle that bespoke
the jockey, almost distance the enemy.
“That must be your fellow, O’Malley; that must be your Irish groom!” cried
a brother officer. There could be no doubt of it. It was Mike himself.
“I’ll be hanged, if he’s not playing with them!” said Baker. “Look at the
villain! He’s holding in; that’s more than the Frenchmen are doing. Look!
look at the fellow on the gray horse! He has flung his trumpet to his back,
and drawn his sabre.”
A loud cheer burst from the French lines; the trumpeter was gaining at
every stride. Mike had got into deep ground, and the horses would not keep
together. “Let the brown horse go! Let him go, man!” shouted the dragoons,
while I re-echoed the cry with my utmost might. But not so, Mike held
firmly on, and spurring madly, he lifted his horse at each stride, turning
from time to time a glance at his pursuer. A shout of triumph rose from the
French side; tin; trumpeter was beside him; his arm was uplifted; the sabre
above his head. A yell broke from the British, and with difficulty could
the squadron be restrained. For above a minute the horses went side by
side, but the Frenchman delayed his stroke until he could get a little in
the front. My excitement had rendered me speechless; if a word could have
saved my poor fellow, I could not have spoken. A mist seemed to gather
across my eyes, and the whole plain and its peopled thousands danced before
my vision.
“He’s down!” “He’s down, by heavens!” “No! no, no!” “Look there! Nobly
done!” “Gallant fellow!” “He has him! he has him, by ----!” A cheer that
rent the very air above us broke from the squadrons, and Mike galloped in
among us, holding the Frenchman by the throat with one hand; the bridle of
his horse he firmly grasped with his own in the other.
[Illustration: MIKE CAPTURING THE TRUMPETER.]
“How was it? How did he do it?”
“He broke his sword-arm with a blow, and the Frenchman’s sabre fell to the
earth.”
“Here he is, Mister Charles; and musha, but it’s trouble he gave me to
catch him! And I hope your honor won’t be displeased at me losing the brown
horse. I was obliged to let him go when the thief closed on me; but sure,
there he is! May I never, if he’s not galloping into the lines by himself!”
As he spoke, my brown charger came cantering up to the squadrons, and took
his place in the line with the rest.
I had scarcely time to mount my horse, amidst a buzz of congratulations,
when our squadron was ordered to the front. Mixed up with detachments from
the Eleventh and Sixteenth, we continued to resist the enemy for about two
hours.
Our charges were quick, sharp, and successive, pouring in our numbers
wherever the enemy appeared for a moment to be broken, and then retreating
under cover of our infantry when the opposing cavalry came down upon us in
overwhelming numbers.
Nothing could be more perfect than the manner in which the different troops
relieved each other during this part of the day. When the French squadrons
advanced, ours met them as boldly. When the ground became no longer
tenable, we broke and fell back, and the bayonets of the infantry arrested
their progress. If the cavalry pressed heavily upon the squares, ours came
up to the relief, and as they were beaten back, the artillery opened upon
them with an avalanche of grape-shot.
I have seen many battles of greater duration and more important in result;
many there have been in which more tactic was displayed, and greater
combinations called forth,--but never did I witness a more desperate
hand-to-hand conflict than on the heights of El Bodon.
Baffled by our resistance, Montbrun advanced with the Cuirassiers of the
Guard. Riding down our advanced squadrons, they poured upon us like some
mighty river, overwhelming all before it, and charged, cheering, up the
heights. Our brave troopers were thrown back upon the artillery, and many
of them cut down beside the guns. The artillerymen and the drivers shared
the same fate, and the cannon were captured. A cheer of exultation burst
from the French, and their _vivas_ rent the air. Their exultation was
short-lived, and that cheer their death-cry; for the Fifth Foot, who had
hitherto lain concealed in the grass, sprang madly to their feet, their
gallant Major Ridge at their head. With a yell of vengeance they rushed
upon the foe; the glistening bayonets glanced amidst the cavalry of the
French; the troops pressed hotly home; and while the cuirassiers were
driven down the hill, the guns were recaptured, limbered up, and brought
away. This brilliant charge was the first recorded instance of cavalry
being assailed by infantry in line.
But the hill could no longer be held; the French were advancing on either
flank; overwhelming numbers pressed upon the front, and retreat was
unavoidable. The cavalry were ordered to the rear, and Picton’s Division,
throwing themselves into squares, covered the retreating movement.
The French dragoons bore down upon every face of those devoted battalions;
the shouts of triumph cheered them as the earth trembled beneath their
charge,--but the British infantry, reserving their fire until the sabres
clanked with the bayonet, poured in a shattering volley, and the cry of the
wounded and the groans of the dying rose from the smoke around them.
Again and again the French came on; and the same fate ever awaited then.
The only movement in the British squares was closing up the spaces as their
comrades fell or sank wounded to the earth.
At last reinforcements came up from the left; the whole retreated across
the plain, until as they approached Guenaldo, our cavalry, having
re-formed, came to their aid with one crushing charge, which closed the
day.
That same night Lord Wellington fell back, and concentrating his troops
within a narrow loop of land bounded on either flank by the Coa, awaited
the arrival of the light division, which joined us at three in the morning.
The following day Marmont again made a demonstration of his force, but no
attack followed. The position was too formidable to be easily assailed, and
the experience of the preceding day had taught him that, however inferior
in numbers, the troops he was opposed to were as valiant as they were ably
commanded.
Soon after this, Marmont retired on the valley of the Tagus. Dorsenne also
fell back, and for the present at least, no further effort was made to
prosecute the invasion of Portugal.