April 3d, 1811.
Early this morning our division moved still farther to its right, and
our brigade led the way across a ford, which took us up to the middle;
while the balls from the enemy's advanced posts were hissing in the
water around us, we drove in their light troops and commenced a
furious assault upon their main body. Thus far all was right; but a
thick drizzling rain now came on, in consequence of which the third
division, which was to have made a simultaneous attack to our left,
missed their way, and a brigade of dragoons under Sir William Erskine,
who were to have covered our right, went the Lord knows where, but
certainly not into the fight, although they started at the same time
that we did, and had the _music_ of our rifles to guide them; and,
even the second brigade of our own division could not afford us any
support, for nearly an hour, so that we were thus unconsciously left
with about fifteen hundred men, in the very impertinent attempt to
carry a formidable position, on which stood as many thousands.
The weather, which had deprived us of the aid of our friends, favoured
us so far as to prevent the enemy from seeing the amount of our paltry
force; and the conduct of our gallant fellows, led on by Sir Sidney
Beckwith, was so truly heroic, that, incredible as it may seem, we had
the best of the fight throughout. Our first attack was met by such
overwhelming numbers, that we were forced back and followed by three
heavy columns, before which we retired slowly, and keeping up a
destructive fire, to the nearest rising ground, where we re-formed and
instantly charged their advancing masses, sending them flying at the
point of the bayonet, and entering their position along with them,
where we were assailed by fresh forces. Three times did the very same
thing occur. In our third attempt we got possession of one of their
howitzers, for which a desperate struggle was making, when we were at
the same moment charged by infantry in front and cavalry on the right,
and again compelled to fall back; but, fortunately, at this moment we
were reinforced by the arrival of the second brigade, and, with their
aid, we once more stormed their position and secured the well-earned
howitzer, while the third division came at the same time upon their
flank, and they were driven from the field in the greatest disorder.
Lord Wellington's despatch on this occasion did ample justice to Sir
Sidney Beckwith and his brave brigade. Never were troops more
judiciously or more gallantly led. Never was a leader more devotedly
followed.
In the course of the action a man of the name of Knight fell dead at
my feet, and though I heard a musket ball strike him, I could neither
find blood nor wound.
There was a little spaniel belonging to one of our officers running
about the whole time, barking at the balls, and I saw him once
smelling at a live shell, which exploded in his face without hurting
him.
The strife had scarcely ended among mortals, when it was taken up by
the elements with terrific violence. The _Scotch mist_ of the morning
had now increased to torrents, enough to cool the fever of our late
excitement, and accompanied by thunder and lightning. As a compliment
for our exertions in the fight, we were sent into the town, and had
the advantage of whatever cover its dilapidated state afforded. While
those who had not had the chance of getting broken skins, had now the
benefit of sleeping in wet ones.
On the 5th of April we entered the frontiers of Spain, and slept in a
bed for the first time since I left the ship. Passing from the
Portuguese to the Spanish frontier is about equal to taking one step
from the coal-hole into the parlour, for the cottages on the former
are reared with filth, furnished with ditto, and peopled accordingly;
whereas, those of Spain, even within the same mile, are neatly
whitewashed, both without and within, and the poorest of them can
furnish a good bed, with clean linen, and the pillow-cases neatly
adorned with pink and sky-blue ribbons, while their dear little girls
look smiling and neat as their pillow-cases.
After the action at Sabugal, the enemy retired to the neighbourhood of
Ciudad Rodrigo, without our getting another look at them, and we took
up the line of the Agueda and Axava rivers, for the blockade of the
fortress of Almeida, in which they had left a garrison indifferently
provisioned.
The garrison had no means of providing for their cattle, but by
turning them out to graze upon the glacis; and we sent a few of our
rifles to practice against them, which very soon reduced them to salt
provisions.
Towards the end of April the French army began to assemble on the
opposite bank of the Agueda to attempt the relief of the garrison, while
ours began to assemble in position at Fuentes D'Onor to dispute it.
Our division still continued to hold the same line of outposts, and
had several sharp affairs between the piquets at the bridge of
Marialva.
As a general action seemed now to be inevitable, we anxiously longed
for the return of Lord Wellington, who had been suddenly called to the
corps of the army under Marshal Beresford, near Badajos, as we would
rather see his long nose in the fight than a reinforcement of ten
thousand men any day. Indeed, there was a charm not only about himself
but all connected with him, for which no odds could compensate. The
known abilities of Sir George Murray, the gallant bearing of the
lamented Pakenham, of Lord Fitzroy Somerset, of the present Duke of
Richmond, Sir Colin Campbell, with others, the flower of our young
nobility and gentry, who, under the auspices of such a chief, seemed
always a group attendant on victory; and I'll venture to say that
there was not a bosom in that army that did not beat more lightly,
when we heard the joyful news of his arrival, the day before the
enemy's advance.
He had ordered us not to dispute the passage of the river, so that
when the French army advanced, on the morning of the 3d of May, we
retired slowly before them, across the plains of Espeja, and drew into
the position, where the whole army was now assembled. Our division
took post in reserve, in the left centre. Towards evening, the enemy
made a fierce attack on the Village of Fuentes, but were repulsed with
loss.
On the 4th, both armies looked at each other all day without
exchanging shots.