Four companies of our 2d battalion embark. Sail to Cork, and join an
expedition. Its destination. Boating excursions. The expedition
sails. We anchor in Mondego Bay. Brigadier-general Fane’s brigade.
The army disembarks in Portugal. Monks, friars, padres, and
Portuguese females. March to Lavaos. Joined by troops under General
Spencer. A present from the Portuguese junta. A Dutch concert. The
army advances. Features of the country. Reach Lyria. Swiss
deserters. Affair with the French near Obidos. Battle of Roleia. A
close shave and a narrow escape. Lieutenant Cockrane. March to
Lourinha. Reinforcements join the army from England. Battle of
Vimiera. Sir H. Burrard arrives to take the command. A flag of
truce. Convention of Cintra. Reflections thereon. Sir John Moore
arrives. The British army encamps near Lisbon. Amity between the
French and English soldiers in Lisbon. Lisbon. Its opera, &c. &c. An
eccentric Highland chieftain. Fevers and agues; and by what means a
person so afflicted may be rendered still more miserable.
In the spring following (1808), four companies of our battalion, of
which my own was one, embarked at Dover and sailed to Cork, the grand
rendezvous appointed for an expedition, to be commanded by Sir Arthur
Wellesley; but of its destination we knew nothing certain. The general
opinion was, that South America was the point against which the
expedition was to be directed. Indeed, we provided sea-stock for a long
voyage. During the four or five weeks which we remained in the Cove of
Cork, waiting the arrival of Sir A. Wellesley from England, we amused
ourselves with boating parties to Glanmyre, and other places of
considerable beauty on the river, and in frequent trips to the city.
About the second week in July the expedition sailed, and at the
expiration of a fortnight we were off the coast of Portugal, near
Oporto, whence we steered to Mondego bay and anchored. Although the
weather was perfectly calm, I never remember to have experienced more
motion in a gale of wind, than we felt during the six days spent at this
anchorage. The long and heavy swell made the yards of the ship at times
almost touch the water, as she rolled from side to side, which caused
some awful breakages amongst our wine-glasses and crockery-ware.
On the 1st of August, Brigadier-general Fane’s brigade, consisting of
the 45th regiment, the 5th battalion of the 60th (German riflemen), and
our own four companies, disembarked at the mouth of the Mondego river.
The disembarkation of the whole army followed as rapidly as the boats
could accomplish it; and the process of passing the bar of sand, on
which there is, even in the finest weather, a dangerous surf running,
was effected, I believe, without any thing more serious than some wet
jackets. Whilst we were drawing up our men near the landing-place, and
waiting for further orders, we were beset with a host of padres, friars,
and monks, of all ages, each carrying a huge umbrella of the most gaudy
colour imaginable; intended, no doubt, to protect their complexions,
which vied with those of chimney sweeps. These gentry welcomed us with
_vivas_, and protested that, with our assistance, every Frenchman in
Portugal should speedily be annihilated. Our visitors were not confined
to the male sex; for some olive beauties, with sparkling eyes and jet
black hair, were induced to take a peep at us; and, before we parted,
some of the more favoured of us were presented with flowers and fruit
from the hands of these damsels.
Keeping our right towards the sea, we marched several miles over an
uninterrupted plain of white sand, hot enough almost to have dressed a
beef-steak, into which we sunk ankle deep at every step. The troops
having been on board ship so many weeks, were much fatigued with this
their first day’s march. We encamped near the village of Lavaos, where
the whole of the army assembled as soon as the disembarkation was
effected. Here we remained upwards of a week, during which several
regiments, that had been some time before embarked, under General
Spencer’s command, landed and joined us.
The Portuguese Junta, at the head of which, I believe, was the Bishop of
Oporto, or of Coimbra, sent a present to our army, consisting of pigs,
sheep, poultry, cart-loads of fruit, vegetables, and wine, the arrival
of which at camp was highly acceptable; but the squeaking of pigs—the
bleating of sheep—the various and discordant notes of geese, ducks,
fowls, and turkeys—with the diabolical groaning of the carts, the wheels
of which are never greased in Portugal, created such a concert of vocal
and instrumental music, as no description could do justice to. The first
week after our disembarkation was employed in landing provisions,
ammunition, and stores, and in making the necessary preparations for our
advance on Lisbon, which was occupied by General Junot, the Duke of
Abrantes, with the main body of the French army.
About the 9th or 10th of August the army moved forward, the advance
guard being formed by some squadrons of the 20th Light Dragoons and
General Fane’s brigade. Large pine woods, growing on an arid, white,
sandy soil, occasionally varied by uncultivated heaths, with here and
there a vineyard, constituted the chief features of the country through
which we passed, in our march of two or three days, from the camp of
Lavaos to Lyria. We remained in bivouac a day near this city, which had,
a short time before, been visited by a considerable French force,
detached from Lisbon to levy contributions on the different towns. Here
they were guilty of atrocities which exceeded belief. The town bore
every mark of recent depredation, plunder, and excess of all kinds. The
walls of a convent, into which I went with some other officers, were
covered with blood and brains in many places; damning proofs of the
scenes which had been recently acted there, in spite of the attempts
made by some persons to exculpate the French, and to prove the
assertions of the Portuguese exaggerated. What unprejudiced person, who
has served in the Peninsular war, will say, that an exaggeration of
facts is necessary to rouse feelings of indignation against the French
for their countless acts of merciless cruelty towards the people of
Spain and Portugal?
Leaving Lyria, we marched in the direction of Lisbon, our advanced guard
being in constant expectation of coming up with detached parts of the
enemy, who were known to be falling back gradually as we advanced. As
yet, the only specimens of the French army which we had seen, were five
Swiss deserters, from their infantry, clothed in scarlet, and remarkably
fine-looking men. The time, however, was at hand, when we were to see
and to have a brush with them.
On the 15th of August, after a long march, a party of French cavalry and
infantry were found near the town of Obidos, where there is a Moorish
castle. Four companies of ours and of the 60th regiment instantly
attacked and obliged them to retire. In the ardour of pursuit, our
people pushed on a considerable distance from any support, and were met
by a very superior body of the enemy, sent forward to support their
advanced party. A sharp skirmish ensued, in which we lost some few in
killed, wounded, and missing. The Honourable Captain Pakenham, of our
regiment, was wounded, and Lieutenant Bunbury killed, the first British
officer who fell in the Peninsular wars. He was much regretted by us
all. Our companies, with some of the 60th, occupied during the night, as
an advanced post, an extensive knoll near the road by which the enemy
had retired. We remained on the _qui vive_ until daybreak, when we
prepared to extract as much comfort, by way of toilet and breakfast,
from our havresacks, as their narrow compass would admit. We carried
every thing on our own shoulders, so that we were by no means
superabundantly supplied with necessaries or luxuries. Our baggage
remained on board the transports.
We halted on the 16th at Obidos, and on the 17th the army advanced to
attack General Delaborde, who was in a position with six thousand men,
near the village of Roleia.
BATTLE OF ROLEIA
After a march of two or three hours, we found the enemy occupying a
formidable position, with a plain in his front, where his cavalry, to
the amount of about five hundred, were drawn up; and in his rear was
Roleia, behind which village were several passes through the mountains,
by which was his line of retreat, if defeated. The British army was
formed into several distinct columns of attack, each brigade having a
portion of work cut out for itself. We were very soon warmly engaged
with the French light troops, who contested the rough and mountainous
ground in which we attacked them, with great obstinacy; and it was not
without many severe struggles, and a considerable loss, that we
succeeded in dislodging and driving them from mountain to mountain, and
in rooting them out from amongst the thick brushwood and high heath,
from which they kept up an invisible and destructive fire as we
advanced. Whilst our brigade was thus engaged, the others were not idle.
The 9th and 29th regiments, in attacking some passes in the mountains on
our right, encountered difficulties, from the nature of the ground, and
the gallant resistance made by the enemy, which the most determined
resolution and valour only could have surmounted. The Honourable Colonel
Lake of the 29th, and Colonel Stewart of the 9th, fell at the head of
their regiments.
As the captain of a company, with abundance of work on my own hands at
the time, I pretend not to detail the particular feats of each brigade
and regiment. That six thousand veteran French troops, commanded by a
brave and experienced general, were driven successively from one
formidable position to another by an inferior number of British, the
majority of whom had never before seen gunpowder burnt in earnest, few
will deny to have been an exploit of which the army had reason to be
proud. True it is, that the British far outnumbered the French; but the
numbers _actually engaged_ fell short of those of our opponents. Neither
before nor since do I remember to have felt more intense and suffocating
heat than we experienced in climbing the mountains to the attack; every
mouthful of air was such as is inhaled when looking into an oven.
Having driven the enemy from one of the highest mountains, and in the
act of collecting our men on its summit to renew the attack on a second
position, to which they had retired, one of my brother-officers, whilst
holding his canteen to my mouth to give me some wine, _well mulled by
the sun_, received a musket shot through his hand, and through the
canteen, which latter it split, splashed my face thoroughly with wine,
spoiled my draught, gave me a sharp blow, which cut my mouth, and spun
me round like a top. For a few moments I concluded that I was wounded;
but the mystery was soon explained by seeing my friend on the ground,
bleeding profusely, and the broken canteen at his side. I sent a soldier
with him to the rear; and, notwithstanding that his wound was for a
length of time afterwards painful and troublesome, we had the pleasure
to see him rejoin us in a few weeks. A more gallant soldier, sincere
friend, or a more independent, straight-forward, manly fellow than
Cockrane, never wore His Majesty’s uniform. In proof of the high
estimation in which he was held by his corps, suffice it to say, that
his brother-officers erected a monument to his memory in Ireland, where
he died a few years after the termination of the war in the Peninsula
and Waterloo, in both of which he was actively engaged. An egotist being
a character for which I never had a predilection, this trifling anecdote
should not have found a place in my memoranda of occurrences, if its
narration tended to place a feather in my cap; but as it was within an
ace of lowering me five feet seven inches, I have ventured to note it in
my log-book.
The French, being much superior to us in cavalry, were enabled to effect
their retreat in good order, as the plains beyond the mountains were
favourable for that arm. This success was not gained without a heavy
loss on our side. The French left three pieces of artillery in our
possession, and a considerable number of wounded, which, from the nature
of the ground and the rapidity of our advance, they could not carry off.
Their loss must have been severe. We bivouacked this night on the plains
beyond the mountainous position from which the enemy had been expelled.
On the 18th the army bivouacked near Lourinha. About this time the 50th
regiment was appointed to our brigade, in place of the 45th, which was
moved to General Catline Crawford’s.
On the 20th, several regiments which had arrived on the coast from
England, under Brigadier-generals Ackland and Anstruther, landed at
Maceira bay and joined the army, which was in position near the village
of Vimeira. Amongst the newly arrived regiments were the 2d battalion
9th; 2d battalion 43d Light Infantry; 2d battalion 52d Light Infantry;
the 97th, or Queen’s Germans; and two companies of the 1st battalion
95th Riflemen.
BATTLE OF VIMEIRA
Our brigade, under General Fane, composing the advanced guard of the
army, occupied a hill of no considerable height above the valley in
which Vimiera is situated. We had several pieces of artillery at this
point. On our right were the 97th in line. Some squadrons of the 20th
Light Dragoons, drawn up at the back of the hill, were ready to support
us, and to take advantage of any favourable opportunity which might
offer. The 2d battalions of the 9th and 43d were likewise in reserve at
or near this point, in column, if I mistake not, fronting the village of
Vimeira. This, I believe, to have been nearly the disposition of the
troops on our part of the position on the morning of the 21st of August,
when the cavalry of General Junot’s advanced guard appeared in force,
particularly towards the left of our position, which the brigades of
Generals Ferguson and Nightingale were destined to defend.
The night before the battle I belonged to a picket of about two hundred
riflemen, of our own regiment and the 60th, under the command of Major
Hill, of the 50th regiment. We were posted in a large pine wood, to the
right and front of General Fane’s brigade. About eight or nine o’clock
in the morning of the 21st, a cloud of light troops, supported by a
heavy column of infantry, entered the wood, and assailing the pickets
with great impetuosity, obliged us to fall back for support on the 97th
regiment. In our retrograde movement, Major Hill, who commanded the
pickets, was severely wounded. As soon as we had got clear of the front
of the 97th, and passed round its right flank, that regiment poured in
such a well-directed fire, that it staggered the resolution of the
hostile column, which declined to close and measure its strength with
them. About the same time the 2d battalion of the 52d, advancing through
the wood, took the French in flank, and drove them before them in
confusion. On the pickets being driven in, I joined my own brigade,
which was on the left of the 97th. Here the business was beginning to
assume a serious aspect. Some heavy masses of infantry, preceded by a
swarm of light troops, were advancing with great resolution, and with
loud cries of “Vive l’Empereur!” “En avant!” &c. against the hill on
which our brigade was posted. In spite of the deadly fire which several
hundred riflemen kept up on them, they continued to press forward with
great determination, until the old 50th regiment received them with a
destructive volley, following it instantly with a most brilliant and
decisive charge with the bayonet, which broke and sent back, in utter
dismay and confusion, and with great loss, this column, which a short
time before was all confidence and exultation.
In this charge the enemy lost seven pieces of artillery and a number of
prisoners. The road by which this column moved on to the attack was
choked with killed and wounded, the greater part of whom lay in a small
compass. I have understood that the first trial of Shrapnell shells in
the field took place on that day, and that they answered every
expectation which had been formed of their efficacy.
The French column, when broken and turned back by the quick and accurate
fire of our artillery, which was never better or more gallantly served,
and by the fire and charge of General Fane’s brigade, was assailed in
its retreat by the 20th Light Dragoons, who dashed gallantly in amongst
the fugitives, and, in the ardour of the moment, following them to a
distance from any support, encountered a very superior body of French
cavalry, which obliged the 20th to fall back with some loss.
Lieutenant-colonel Taylor fell, whilst gallantly leading on his regiment
in this charge.
During the attack on our brigade, the French, in some force, got round
the left flank of the 50th regiment, and endeavoured to penetrate into
the village of Vimeira; but the 2d battalion 43d being let loose at
them, a desperate conflict ensued in and near the road which leads into
the village. The 43d highly distinguished itself, and repulsed the
enemy; but there were many broken heads on each side. The particulars
which I have endeavoured to detail, relate to what took place on our
part of the position.
On the left, the troops under Generals Ferguson and Nightingale were
assailed with similar impetuosity; but the discipline and bravery of the
different regiments at that point baffled the veterans of France, and
took from them six pieces of artillery, and a great number of prisoners,
leaving the ground covered with their killed and wounded. The 36th,
40th, 71st, and 82d regiments were principally engaged at this point.
It is but justice to our opponents to admit, that no troops could have
advanced with greater determination and valour to the attack, or have
sustained with greater courage the deadly fire to which they were
exposed.
Our loss, although much inferior to that of the French, was severe; but
not more so, perhaps, than might be expected, where so complete a
victory was gained. Thirteen pieces of artillery were taken; six by the
brigades of Generals Ferguson and Nightingale, and seven by our own,
besides a number of ammunition-waggons, powder, &c. &c. When it is
remembered that scarcely one-half of the British army drew their
triggers, and that every corps in the French army had, in the course of
the action, been engaged, it will not be denied that this battle shed
additional lustre on the British arms.
Lieut.-general Sir H. Burrard, who had been sent from England to
supersede Sir A. Wellesley in command of the army, landed after the
action had commenced; and, with feelings highly honourable, did not
interfere in the command, but allowed Sir Arthur to conduct matters, and
to bring the battle to a favourable termination. Sir H. Burrard did not
approve of our instantly following up the discomfited troops of the
French, as was recommended by Sir A. Wellesley in the strongest terms,
it being the opinion of the former that it would be more prudent to
remain in our position at Vimiera until some reinforcements, which were
hourly expected from England, should arrive.
On the 22d, a flag of truce came in from the French, which General
Kellerman accompanied, who was authorised to treat for the evacuation of
Portugal by the French. It is needless to add, that this overture led to
the convention of Cintra, on which pages and volumes having been
written, little remains for me to say on the subject.
The wisdom and propriety of the government in sending out Sir H. Burrard
to supersede Sir A. Wellesley, and immediately afterwards ordering Sir
Hew Dalrymple to supersede Sir H. Burrard, is a question which I shall
leave others to decide. My own opinion on the business has long since
been formed. The old and homely adage, that “too many cooks spoil the
broth,” I conceive to have been verified on this occasion. Much having
been said as to the propriety and consistency of Sir A. Wellesley having
ever consented, as far as he was concerned, to the convention of Cintra,
the simple question appears to be this,—Had Sir A. Wellesley retained
the command of the army after the battle, and followed up, as he
unquestionably would, with a certain number of his brigades, the French
army, without allowing it time to rally and re-form, whilst, with the
remainder of his force, he had pushed on with all haste by another
route, and thereby gained possession of the passes leading to Lisbon
before Junot’s army could reach them, _would the convention of Cintra
have taken place_?
That Sir Arthur was sanguine in his expectation of reaching the passes
before the French, is, I fancy, well known; and the nicety and exactness
of his calculations, in a variety of marches and military movements,
during a succession of brilliant campaigns, can leave but little doubt
on unbiassed minds, that, in the present instance also, he would not
have miscalculated. It must be borne in mind, that every minute, nay,
every second, was of the last importance to us, if the enemy was to be
followed up after his defeat, and the passes gained before he could
reach them. The aspect, therefore, of affairs was totally changed on the
22d, when the flag of truce came in. The enemy then had possession of
all the defensible positions between us and Lisbon, independent of the
citadel and different forts near the capital. This would have enabled
General Junot to protract the contest for a length of time; whilst the
game of the British clearly was to root out their opponents with as
little delay as possible, and to gain possession of the capital; not
only on account of the lateness of the season, but because the presence
of our army would be desirable in Spain.
Soon after the cessation of hostilities between Junot’s army and our
own, Sir John Moore arrived from Sweden with the troops which composed
the expedition to that country. The British army closed towards Lisbon
about the end of September, and encamped near it before the French army
had embarked, which, agreeably to the convention, was to be conveyed to
Bourdeaux in British ships. The best possible understanding existed
between the soldiers of the two armies, who were to be seen drinking,
carousing, shaking hands, and walking arm in arm about Lisbon.
The French infantry were encamped in the squares of the city whilst the
transports were preparing for their reception. At length, when the
embarkation was completed, and the national flag of Portugal once again
waved on the citadel and forts in place of the tri-coloured, there was
such a combination of _vivas_, sky-rockets, ringing of bells, singing,
dancing, screeching, crying, laughing, old and young embracing in the
streets, added to the curses and execrations uttered by the populace
against their late masters, as must render every attempt at description
hopeless.
Of Lisbon, suffice it to say that it is a city which swarms with monks,
friars, and ecclesiastics of all ages, sorts, and kinds, and is filled
with every species of filth and dirt, in spite of the measures taken by
the French to prevent it. The opera, which was thronged every night with
British officers, had lost the claim to which it at one time pretended,
of being the first in Europe. Soon after our arrival at Lisbon, the four
companies of our regiment were moved to another brigade, which was
composed of a certain Highland regiment and ourselves. The colonel of
the Highlanders commanded this brigade, having been appointed a
brigadier-general a few weeks before. On hearing that our four companies
were to be under his command, this gallant but eccentric old chieftain
declared, “he did not want a _parcel of riflemen_, as he already
commanded a thousand Highlanders, who would face the devil.” Had our
corps been raised _northward of the Tweed_, it is more than probable
that our brigadier would have set a higher value on us; but we were
removed to another brigade before he had an opportunity of judging of
the merits or demerits of the _Southerns_ in the field.
The army began to feel the effects to which all troops are liable at the
close of a burning summer’s campaign, in a climate to which they are not
seasoned. Fevers and agues were extremely prevalent, and I was one of
the many so attacked, which confined me to my bed many weeks, and
reduced me to a mere skeleton; so that it was more than probable I
should find my grave in Lisbon. The intolerable stench of the small fish
called Sardinias, frying in villanously bad oil under the windows of the
hotel where I lingered some weeks in a sad plight, called forth
maledictions on the miscreants so employed which need not be committed
to paper, but which will be fully understood by those whose olfactory
nerves have been put to a similar test, by inhaling that detestable
odour whilst on the bed of sickness.[A]
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Footnote A:
From the memoranda of my brother-officers, I give an outline of what
took place during my short absence from the regiment, which the
sickness alluded to rendered unavoidable.
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