BETWEEN ST. EUFEMIA AND MONTE LEONE,
_July 6, 1806_.
MY DEAREST FATHER--In the first place I give you joy of a most
complete victory gained by a body of English troops over a French
force very superior in number, another proof that the extraordinary
bravery of our countrymen is not solely to be attributed to salt
provisions and sea air. This army had been reviled as fugitive in
consequence of the wise retreat of Sir J. Craig from Naples.
General Regnier, the old calumniator of British troops, had
threatened a speedy invasion of Sicily.
It was generally believed that the Calabrians, a ferocious race,
held the French in abhorrence, and Sir J. Stuart’s plan, as far as
I have been able to make out, was to raise the country--arm it--and
then give the people a lesson in the art of war by beating the
French. It was presumed that the effect of this would be to render
the country uninhabitable to the French, and finally to deliver the
territory from the general scourge of continental tranquillity.
Sir John left Messina on the night of the 30th of June, in
pursuance of his object, which was then unknown.
At about midnight of the 1st of July the transports were collected
in the Bay of St. Eufemia. Orders were then given for the landing
at two o’clock. It was not expected that there was any enemy
at hand, but upon the Light Infantry running forward, a firing
commenced, which continued in bush-fighting the greater part of
the morning, the enemy consisting of about three hundred Poles,
scattered about in a very thick brushwood, they retiring and the
Light Infantry pursuing.... They ran at the enemy like lions, and
the event of the day was--about twenty of the enemy wounded (some
badly), two officers, and about one hundred prisoners.
We had only one man wounded.
The army then took a position, one flank upon the town of Nicastro,
and the other below the village of Eufemia. Until the 2nd, the
reports concerning the enemy were various.... On the 2nd the
enemy was discovered on the heights above the plain of Maida. He
exhibited lights at night, and it was reported that he intended
battle. In the course of the next day some information was
obtained, and the enemy then was supposed to consist of between two
and three thousand men. On the night of the 3rd the order of march
was given to commence at two o’clock.
The enemy still continuing his lights, some time after daylight it
was suspected that he had withdrawn. His position, however, was
at right angles with the beach, and so far from it as to admit of
operations on his left flank, which was weak from the nature of the
ground. This the enemy could not avoid, from our being masters of
the water, upon which was Sir Sidney Smith with a line-of-battle
ship and three frigates. The British marched with their flanks
in line and centre in column, the right flank on the sea, the
left exposed, so that in the approach the corresponding flank
of each force was exposed to the operations of the other. The
Frenchman, seeing his left threatened, changed his position with
admirable order, and formed on the Englishman’s left, on which the
French cavalry charged. The 20th regiment, having just landed,
immediately advanced in support of this flank to meet the cavalry
with fixed bayonets, which forced them to retire, the Artillery
playing upon their retreat. The French Light Infantry now charged
ours, which advanced to meet it. The two regiments were point to
point, when at this anxious moment the enemy to a man fled in the
utmost confusion, we pursuing. The slaughter of this regiment was
dreadful. Other regiments now charged and volleyed, as is usual
in battles, and, as I hope will always be the case, the victory
fell on us, the enemy flying with the utmost precipitation, and we
having no cavalry, he escaped. The slaughter on the side of the
French was immense and almost incredible when compared to ours. In
killed, wounded, and taken, it has been estimated at 3000, while
ours exactly amounts to so many hundreds. If I were a Frenchman I
would tell you what I think of the British troops, but the modesty
of an Englishman imposes silence when the merits of his countrymen
are the subject. Fighting appears their delight, and they seek
the enemy with the ardour of sportsmen; let him, however, drop
his arms, and he is safe; let him be wounded, he is pitied and
assisted--in short, upon my honour, I think the lion and the lamb
are here most strikingly united.
I could recite several interesting anecdotes, such as battles
generally give rise to, but I am much hurried. We only lost one
officer and forty men killed. The officer’s servant had one leg
shattered and the other badly wounded, yet his own misery he did
not think of. “But my poor master was killed,” said he. “I hope,
however, the day was ours. Well, then, I die content.” “Here” (said
a Highlander) “is this ---- brute that has been firing at me and
wounded me in so many places.” “Water! water!” cried the wretch.
The Highlander revenged himself immediately with his canteen!
A general officer was among the prisoners, severely wounded, and
the Commander-in-Chief was also severely wounded. The French force,
from returns taken, is considered to have amounted to upwards of
7,000; ours was 4,500, so that considering the vast superiority
and other circumstances in favour of the enemy, the victory was
as brilliant as one could wish.... An extraordinary coincidence
with respect to the armies was observed. General Sir J. Stuart
was opposed to General Regnier, a man of acknowledged military
eminence, who had called Sir John _a man of no talents_. The two
Light Infantries were immediately opposed, as were two regiments
of Watteville in the different services. Our Highland Regiment was
opposed to their 42nd (to cover embarkation), our 31st to theirs.
After having advanced some miles after the enemy our army marched
back to the position it had left in the morning. The action began
at half-past eight and the firing ceased at 11 on the 4th of July.
On the 5th the army marched to this place near the sea, and about a
mile from the field of battle.
I am now sitting on the ground sheltered by a round tent....
I write this on my hat. Adieu, my dearest father.--Your ever
affectionate and dutiful son,