“Sir John Moore, whilst earnestly watching the result of the fight about
the village of Elvino, was struck on the left breast by a cannon-shot.
The shock threw him from his horse with violence, but he rose again in a
sitting posture, his countenance unchanged, and his stedfast eye still
fixed upon the regiments engaged in his front, no sign betraying a
sensation of pain. In a few moments, when he was satisfied that the
troops were gaining ground, his countenance brightened, and he suffered
himself to be taken to the rear. Being placed in a blanket for removal,
an entanglement of the belt caused the hilt of his sword to enter the
wound, and Captain Hardinge attempted to take it away altogether, but
with martial pride the stricken man forbade the alleviation,—he would
not part with his sword[32] in the field.”
Wrapped in a military cloak the warrior’s remains were consigned to
their resting-place, by the officers of his staff, in the citadel of
Corunna. The guns of the enemy paid his funeral honours, and Marshal
Soult evinced the respect he bore to departed valour, by chivalrously
raising a monument to his memory. It may be added that the soldiers of
the 9th. Foot dug his grave on the rampart, and the well-known lines by
the Rev. Charles Wolfe are as truthful as they are poetic. The several
regiments, and their commanding officers, composing the army under
Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore at Corunna, were as follows:—
7th. Light Dragoons, Lieutenant-Colonel Vivian; 10th. Light Dragoons,
Lieutenant-Colonel Leigh; 15th. Light Dragoons, Lieutenant-Colonel
Grant; 18th. Light Dragoons, Lieutenant-Colonel Jones; 3rd. Light
Dragoons, (King’s German Legion,) Major Burgwesel; Artillery, Colonel
Harding; Engineers, Major Fletcher; Waggon Train Detachment,
Lieutenant-Colonel Langley; 1st. Foot Guards, first battalion,
Lieutenant-Colonel Cocks, third battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Wheatley;
1st. Foot, third battalion, Major Muller; 2nd.,[33] first battalion,
Lieutenant-Colonel Iremonger; 4th., first battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel
Wynch; 5th., first battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Mackenzie; 6th., first
battalion, Major Gordon; 9th., first battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel
Cameron; 14th., second battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Nicolls; 20th.,
Lieutenant-Colonel Ross; 23rd., second battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel
Wyatt; 26th., first battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Maxwell; 28th., first
battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Belson; 32nd., first battalion,
Lieutenant-Colonel Hinde; 36th., first battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel
Burn; 38th., first battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel the Honourable Charles
Greville; 42nd., first battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Stirling; 43rd.,
first battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Gifford, second battalion,
Lieutenant-Colonel Hull; 50th., first battalion, Major Charles James
Napier;[34] 51st., Lieutenant-Colonel Darling; 52nd., first battalion,
Lieutenant-Colonel Barclay, second battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel John
Ross; 59th., second battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Fane; 60th., second
battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Codd, fifth battalion, Major Davy; 71st.,
first battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Denis Pack; 76th., first battalion,
Lieutenant-Colonel Symes; 79th., first battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel
Cameron; 81st., second battalion, Major Williams; 82nd., Major M‘Donald;
91st., first battalion, Major Douglas; 92nd, first battalion,
Lieutenant-Colonel Alexander Napier; 95th., (rifle regiment,) first
battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Beckwith, second battalion,
Lieutenant-Colonel Wade; Staff Corps Detachment, Lieutenant-Colonel
Nicolay; first light battalion King’s German Legion, Lieutenant-Colonel
Leonhart, second battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Halkett.[35]
BATTLE OF TALAVERA DE LA REYNA.
27TH. AND 28TH. JULY, 1809.
When the British Forces had returned to England, Corunna, Bilboa, and
all the most important places on the northern coast of Spain, fell under
the French sway. Saragossa was besieged a second time, and after a
defence unequalled perhaps in modern military history, was compelled to
capitulate. Marshal Soult quitted Gallicia, entered Portugal, and
obtained an entrance into Oporto. In April, Lieutentant-General Sir
Arthur Wellesley, with another British army, disembarked at Lisbon, and
advanced on Oporto.
Although no medal was granted for the passage of the Douro, on the 12th.
of May, 1809, the exploit was a highly brilliant one. The British
commander was desirous of passing the river to drive the French from
Oporto; but the stream was deep, rapid, and more than three hundred
yards in width, and ten thousand French veterans guarded the opposite
shore. The passage was however effected in the following manner. A
Portuguese barber had crossed the river in a skiff, and a British staff
officer (Colonel Waters) aided by the barber and the prior of Amarante,
traversed the stream and returned in half an hour with three large
barges. Between ten and eleven o’clock an officer and twenty-five
soldiers of the 3rd. Foot entered the first boat, crossed the stream
unobserved, and took post in a large unfinished building on the banks of
the river, designated the seminary, which was surrounded by a wall
extending to the water on each side of it. In this manner a lodgment was
made in the midst of the enemy’s army without being noticed. A second
and a third boat followed, but scarcely had the men from the latter
reached the shore, when a sudden burst of alarm was heard amidst the
French troops, and a furious attack was made by their cavalry, infantry,
and artillery, upon the seminary. The 3rd. Foot stood their ground
bravely, and singly resisted the French legions until supported by the
48th. and 66th. British and 16th. Portuguese regiments. Meanwhile
Lieutenant-General the Honourable Edward Paget had fallen dangerously
wounded, and Major-General Hill commanded in the seminary. A fierce
conflict of musketry was maintained, the French artillery played on the
building, the British guns on the other side of the river opened their
fire, and the struggle soon became violent. Meanwhile some citizens
crossed the river with several large boats, additional forces were
enabled to pass over, and ultimately the French were driven from Oporto
with the loss of five hundred men killed and wounded, in addition to
about seven hundred left in the hospitals.
The British commander subsequently pursued Marshal Soult’s army through
the wild and mountainous districts of Portugal, but, in consequence of
Marshal Victor having defeated General Cuesta, was compelled to resist
from following Marshal Soult; and having formed a junction with the
Spanish general, the combined forces proceeded along the valley of the
Tagus, and took up a strong position at Talavera. The enemy, in the
course of the 24th., 25th., and 26th., collected all his forces between
Torrijos and Toledo, leaving but a small corps of two thousand men in
that place. The united army consisted of the corps of Marshal Victor, of
that of General Sebastiani, and of seven or eight thousand men, the
guards of Joseph Bonaparte, and the garrison of Madrid; and it was
commanded by him, aided by Marshals Jourdan and Victor, and General
Sebastiani.
It became obvious that the enemy intended to try the result of a general
action, for which the best position appeared to be in the neighbourhood
of Talavera; and General Cuesta having taken up this position on the
morning of the 27th., Lieutenant-General Sherbrooke was directed to
retire with his corps to its station in the line, leaving Major-General
M‘Kenzie with a division of infantry and a brigade of cavalry, as an
advanced post in a wood on the right of the Alberche, which covered the
left flank of the British.
The position taken up by the troops at Talavera extended rather more
than two miles; the ground was open upon the left where the British army
was stationed, and it was commanded by a height, on which was, in
_echellon_ and in second line, a division of infantry, under the orders
of Major-General Hill. Between this height and a range of mountains
still further upon the left, there was a valley, which was not at first
occupied, and it was commanded by the height before mentioned, whilst
the mountain range appeared too distant to have any influence upon the
expected action.
Spanish troops composed the right, which extended immediately in front
of the town of Talavera down to the Tagus. This part of the ground was
covered by olive trees, and was much intersected by banks and ditches.
The high road leading from the bridge over the Alberche, was defended by
a heavy battery in front of a church, which was occupied by Spanish
infantry. All the avenues to the town were defended in a similar manner;
the town was occupied, and the remainder of the Spanish infantry were
formed in two lines behind the banks on the roads which led from the
town and the right, to the left of the British position. In the centre,
between the two armies, there was a commanding spot, on which a redoubt
had been commenced, with some open ground in the rear. Here
Brigadier-General Campbell was posted with a division of infantry,
supported in his rear by Major-General Cotton’s brigade of dragoons, and
some Spanish cavalry.
At about two o’clock on the 27th. of July the enemy appeared in strength
on the left bank of the Alberche, and manifested an intention to attack
Major-General M‘Kenzie’s division. The attack was made before they could
be withdrawn, but the troops, consisting of Major-General M‘Kenzie’s and
Colonel Donkin’s brigades, with Major-General Anson’s brigade of
cavalry, and supported by Lieutenant-General Payne with the other four
regiments of cavalry, in the plain between Talavera and the wood,
withdrew in good order, but with some loss, particularly by the second
battalion of the 87th., and the second battalion of the 31st. regiment
in the wood.
In his despatch, Lieutenant-General the Right Honourable Sir Arthur
Wellesley, K.B., stated, “Upon this occasion the steadiness and
discipline of the 45th. regiment, and of the fifth battalion of the
60th., were conspicuous; and I had particular reason for being satisfied
with the manner in which Major-General M‘Kenzie withdrew his advanced
guard.”
As the day advanced, the French appeared in larger numbers on the right
of the Alberche, and it was apparent that they were advancing to a
general attack upon the combined army. Major-General M‘Kenzie continued
to fall back gradually upon the left, where he was placed in the second
line, in the rear of the guards, Colonel Donkin being posted in the same
situation further upon the left, in the rear of the King’s German
Legion.
The enemy immediately commenced his attack in the dusk of the evening,
by a cannonade upon the left of the allied position, and by an attempt
with his cavalry to overthrow the Spanish infantry, posted, as before
stated, on the right. This attempt entirely failed. Early in the night
he pushed a division along the valley on the left of the height occupied
by Major-General Hill, of which a momentary possession was obtained, but
it was instantly regained by an attack with the bayonet. Another attempt
was repeated during the night, but failed, and again at daylight in the
morning of the 28th. of July, by two divisions of infantry, which was
repulsed by Major-General Hill. In these different affairs the 29th.,
and the first battalion of the 48th. regiment, gained especial notice.
Many brave officers and soldiers were lost in the defence of this
important point, and Major-General Hill was slightly wounded.
A general attack by the enemy’s whole force was made about noon, upon
the whole of that part of the position occupied by the British army. Sir
Arthur, in consequence of the repeated attempts upon the height on his
left by the valley, had placed there two brigades of British cavalry,
supported in the rear by the Duc d’Albuquerque’s division of Spanish
cavalry. The enemy then placed light infantry in the range of mountains
on the left of the valley, which were opposed by a division of Spanish
infantry, under Lieutenant-General De Bassecourt. The general attack
began by the march of several columns of infantry into the valley, with
a view to attack the height occupied by Major-General Hill. These
columns were immediately charged by the 1st. German Light Dragoons and
23rd. Dragoons, under the command of Major-General Anson, directed by
Lieutenant-General Payne, and supported by Brigadier-General Fane’s
brigade of heavy cavalry; and although the 23rd. Dragoons suffered
considerable loss, the charge had the effect of preventing the execution
of that part of the enemy’s plan. At the same time he directed an attack
upon Brigadier-General Alexander Campbell’s position in the centre of
the combined armies, and on the right of the British. This attack was
most successfully repulsed by Brigadier-General Campbell, supported by
the king’s regiment of Spanish cavalry and two battalions Spanish
infantry: the enemy’s cannon being taken by the Brigadier-General, who
mentioned particularly the conduct of the 97th., the second battalion of
the 7th., and the second battalion of the 53rd. regiment.
An attack was also made at the same time upon Lieutenant-General
Sherbrooke’s division, which was on the left and centre of the first
line of the British army. This attack was most gallantly repulsed by a
charge with bayonets by the whole division; but the brigade of guards,
on the right, having advanced too far, they were exposed on their left
flank to the fire of the enemy’s battery, and of their retiring columns.
The division was obliged to retire towards the original position, under
cover of the second line of Major-General Cotton’s brigade of cavalry,
which had been moved from the centre, and of the first battalion of the
48th. regiment. This regiment had also been moved from its original
position on the heights, as soon as the advance of the guards was
observed, and it was formed on the plain and advanced upon the enemy,
covering the formation of Lieutenant-General Sherbrooke’s division.
Shortly after the repulse of this general attack, in which apparently
all the enemy’s troops were employed, he commenced his retreat across
the Alberche, which was conducted in the most regular order, and was
effected during the night, leaving in the hands of the British twenty
pieces of cannon, ammunition, tumbrils, and some prisoners.
The attacks were principally if not entirely directed against the
British troops. The Spanish commander-in-chief, his officers, and
troops, manifested every disposition to render assistance to their
allies, and those of them who were engaged did their duty; but the
ground which they occupied was so important, and its front at the same
time so difficult, that Sir Arthur Wellesley did not think it proper to
urge them to make any movement on the left of the enemy, while he was
engaged with the troops more immediately under his command.
Such a prolonged action against more than double the number of the
British could not be sustained without great loss of valuable officers
and soldiers, but the casualties of the enemy were much larger. Entire
brigades of French infantry were destroyed, and the battalions that
retreated were much reduced in number. The French loss was estimated at
ten thousand men. Generals Lapisse and Morlot were killed; Generals
Sebastiani and Boulet were wounded.
Major-General M‘Kenzie, who had distinguished himself on the 27th.,
Brigadier-General Langwerth, of the King’s German Legion, and
Brigade-Major Beckett, of the Coldstream Guards, were killed.
During a pause in the second day’s fight both armies went to the banks
of the small stream, a tributary of the Tagus, for water, which flowed
through a part of the battle-ground. The men approached each other and
conversed like old acquaintances, even exchanging their canteens and
wine-flasks. In the words of the author of “The Bivouac” (the Rev. W. H.
Maxwell, Prebendary of Balla):—“All asperity of feeling seemed
forgotten. To a stranger they would have appeared more like an allied
force than men hot from a ferocious conflict, and only gathering
strength and energy to re-commence it anew. But a still nobler rivalry
for the time existed; the interval was employed in carrying off the
wounded, who lay intermixed upon the hard-contested field; and, to the
honour of both be it told, that each endeavoured to extricate the common
sufferers, and remove their unfortunate friends and enemies without
distinction. Suddenly the bugles sounded, the drums beat to arms; many
of the rival soldiery shook hands and parted with expressions of mutual
esteem, and in ten minutes’ after they were again at the bayonet’s
point.”
The following regiments were specially noticed in the despatch:—The
cavalry, particularly Major-General Anson’s brigade; the 29th regiment;
first battalion of the 48th.; the second battalions of the 7th. and
53rd. regiments; the 97th.; the first battalion of detachments; the
second battalion of the 31st.; the 45th.; and fifth battalion of the
60th. The advance of the brigade of guards was also highly commended.
This victory gained over the French army, commanded by Joseph Buonaparte
in person, occasioned great joy in England, and Lieutenant-General Sir
Arthur Wellesley was raised to the peerage, by the title of Viscount
Wellington.
The following regiments were engaged at the battle of Talavera de la
Reyna, on the 27th. and 28th. July, 1809:—
3rd. Dragoon Guards, Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Granby Calcraft; 4th.
Dragoons, Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Edward Somerset; 14th. Light Dragoons,
Colonel Samuel Hawker; 16th. Light Dragoons, Major the Honourable
Lincoln Stanhope; 23rd. Light Dragoons, Lieutenant-Colonel Seymour; 1st.
Light Dragoons, King’s German Legion, Lieutenant-Colonel Arentschild;
Royal British Artillery, Lieutenant-Colonel Framingham, Royal German
Artillery, Major Hartineau; the whole artillery being under
Brigadier-General Howorth, Royal Engineers, Lieutenant-Colonel Fletcher;
Royal Staff Corps, Major Dundas; Coldstream Guards, first battalion,
Lieutenant-Colonel Hulse; 3rd. Guards, first battalion, Colonel the
Honourable Edward Stopford; 3rd. Foot, Lieutenant-Colonel Muter; 7th,
second battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel, Sir William Myers, Bart.; 24th.,
second battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Drummond; 29th., first battalion,
Lieutenant-Colonel White; 31st., second battalion, Major Watson; 40th.,
first battalion, Major Thornton; 45th., first battalion,
Lieutenant-Colonel Guard; 48th., first battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel
Donellan, second battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Duckworth; 53rd., second
battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Bingham; 60th., fifth battalion, Major
Davy; 61st, first battalion, Colonel Saunders; 66th, second battalion,
Captain Kelly; 83rd, second battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon; 87th.,
second battalion, Major Gough; 88th., first battalion, Major Vandeleur;
97th., first battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Lyon; first battalion of
Detachments,[36] Lieutenant-Colonel Bunbury, 3rd. Foot; second battalion
of Detachments, Lieutenant-Colonel Copson, 5th., Foot; first and second
light and first line battalions King’s German Legion, Major Bodecker;
second line battalion, Lieutenant-Colonel Brauns; fifth line battalion,
Captain Humelberg; seventh line battalion, Major Burger.
After this defeat the enemy continued to keep a rear-guard of ten
thousand men on the heights on the left of the Alberche; the extreme
fatigue of the troops, the want of provisions, and the number of wounded
to be taken care of, prevented Viscount Wellington moving from this
position. Brigadier-General Craufurd arrived with his brigade (first
battalions of the 43rd., 52nd., and 95th,.)[37] on the 29th. of July,
early in the morning, having marched fifty-two miles in twenty-six
hours, a wonderful proof of the energy of British soldiers.
[Illustration:
The Talavera Medal.
]