The army under Sir John Moore leaves Lisbon. Marches to Salamanca. Sir
John Hope joins Sir John Moore near Salamanca. Sir David Baird lands
at Corunna. The whole army is concentrated. Affairs of cavalry. The
army moves to attack Marshal Soult. Suddenly countermanded.
Distribution of our first and second battalions. Gallant affair of
cavalry near Mayorca. General Crawford’s light brigade destroys a
bridge. The French endeavour to interrupt them in their work.
General Crawford marches to Benavente. Brilliant action of cavalry
near Benavente. Two light brigades under General Crawford sent to
Vigo. Their march thither, and embarkation. Cursory view of Sir John
Moore’s retreat to Corunna, and his death. The army returns to
England. Our third battalion is formed.
The British army under Sir John Moore marched from Lisbon in the
direction of Salamanca, towards the end of October. The roads northward
of the Tagus having been reported impracticable for artillery, Sir John
Hope proceeded with the cavalry, artillery, and several regiments of
infantry, through Alemtejo to Talavera de la Reina, and from thence to
the Escurial. The other brigades of the army marched by Abrantes and
Coimbra to Almeida, a fortress on the northern frontier of Portugal, and
from thence by Ciudad Rodrigo to Salamanca, where they arrived about the
middle of November.
Sir John Hope having passed the Guadaramma mountains, which divide New
from Old Castile, joined Sir John Moore early in December, in the
neighbourhood of Salamanca, and shortly afterwards the army advanced
towards the Douro. The cavalry, under the command of Lord Paget,
occupied some towns and villages on that river. Sir David Baird had
arrived from England at Corunna, and landed there with several thousand
troops; and having formed a junction with Sir John Moore, the whole army
was concentrated near Mayorca about the third week in December.
The weather was exceedingly severe, and deep snow was on the ground. The
cavalry under Lord Paget and Brigadier-general Stewart surprised several
of the enemy’s out-posts in the open country, near Valladolid. Our
hussars had a brilliant affair near Sahagun, which ended in the defeat
and dispersion of a superior force of the enemy’s cavalry, and in our
taking a number of prisoners.
Marshal Soult being in position behind the river Carrion, Sir John Moore
made every arrangement to attack him. The army was put in motion for
that purpose on the night of the 23d of December, which had a most
exhilarating effect on the spirits of the soldiers, who had become
impatient to meet their antagonists; but Sir John Moore having received
positive intelligence that numerous French columns were in full march
against him, from various points, with a view of cutting off his retreat
from the coast, the attack was immediately countermanded, and not a
moment was lost in withdrawing the army across the Esla.
The four companies of our 2d battalion, which sailed from Cork the
preceding summer with Sir Arthur Wellesley, and were with him at the
battles of Roleia and Vimeira, were joined by the remainder of the
battalion, which came out with Sir D. Baird to Corunna; and the whole
were placed in Brigadier-general Robert Crawford’s light brigade. Our
first battalion was in the reserve, commanded by Sir E. Paget. General
Crawford’s light brigade was left in a position on the left bank of the
Esla, to protect the passage of the bridge of Castro Gonzalo. Some
troops of our hussars, near Mayorca, attacked a superior body of French
cavalry, which were advantageously posted, and beat them in gallant
style, taking many prisoners.
The light cavalry of the enemy hovered about General Crawford’s brigade,
and used every endeavour to interrupt it whilst employed in the
destruction of the bridge of Castro Gonzalo. It was not an idle moment;
for whilst a certain portion of the brigade was busied in demolishing
the arches of the bridge, in a tempestuous night of snow and rain, the
remainder kept watch, and covered the working parties, which, as already
stated, were close to the enemy’s advanced pickets, who were in force,
and by whom repeated attempts were made to interrupt them in a work so
important to the whole army. Planks having been laid across some arches
of the bridge which had been broken, General Crawford’s brigade retired
over them, on the night of the 28th, to the opposite bank, unperceived
by the French; and then, springing a mine, dismantled the bridge. The
brigade then marched to Benavente, a good town situated on the Esla,
where the cavalry and the reserve were stationed.
On the following day, the reserve and General Crawford’s brigade retired
from Benavente, following the march of the army, and leaving Lord Paget
with the cavalry to guard the passage of the Esla, which was fordable at
different points. A most brilliant action took place in the plain near
Benavente, between our hussars and several hundred cavalry of the
Imperial Guard, under the command of General Lefebre, and (it has been
asserted) within view of Napoleon himself, who, from the heights
opposite, directed that general “to cross the Esla, and to bring him
those English cavalry prisoners.” General Lefebre passed the river at a
ford, and obliged the pickets of the British cavalry to fall back; but
being reinforced, they became the assailants in turn, and in a short
space of time sent back the enemy across the Esla, at a much more rapid
pace than they had advanced.
General Lefebre was wounded and made prisoner, with many other officers
and soldiers; in addition to which, the French suffered considerably in
killed and wounded. This gallant action was not gained without the loss
of about fifty of our own cavalry. It was a salutary lesson to the
imperial gentry; and if their emperor witnessed their defeat, so much
the better. The artillery, which was attached to the cavalry, cannonaded
the French as they re-formed on the opposite bank of the Esla, and
obliged them to retire. General Crawford’s light brigade, and that
likewise which was composed of the light battalions of the German
Legion, under Brigadier-general Alten (which was also placed under
Crawford’s command), were ordered to separate from the main body of the
army, and to proceed, on the 31st of December, by cross roads to Vigo;
whilst the remainder continued their retreat towards Corunna.
The brigades under General Crawford were not harassed by the enemy,
after their separation from the army, in their long and dreary retreat
to Vigo; but they suffered, nevertheless, severely from constant
marching, in snow and rain, through the worst of roads, from want of
rest, and other privations and hardships inseparable from all retreats,
and particularly when made during such an inclement season. Finally they
reached Vigo, the men and officers mostly without shoes to their feet;
and embarking on board transports, arrived in England in the latter end
of January, 1809.
Volumes have already been written on the subject of the retreat to
Corunna, which shew that the sufferings experienced by the British army
were exceedingly great. Constant marching through snow and over
miserable roads, by day and night; the uncertain and irregular supply of
provisions; the enemy’s advanced guard constantly galling the rear guard
of the British; and the feelings of irritation naturally produced in the
soldier when retreating before an exulting foe, were causes sure to
bring with them irregularities to a certain extent. That the retreat
from the Esla to Corunna was rendered indispensably necessary for the
preservation of the British army, and that it was most ably conducted,
the prejudiced, and those ignorant of such matters, only will deny. In
the various actions in which our cavalry and infantry were engaged
during this long and arduous retreat, their superiority over their
opponents was incontestably proved. I trust I shall be exculpated from
the charge of trumpeting the fame of my own corps, if I observe that our
first battalion, which was in the reserve under Sir E. Paget, always
forming the rear guard of the infantry, and constantly engaged with the
French advanced guard, acquitted itself much to the satisfaction of Sir
John Moore, who was an eye-witness of its conduct in the various trying
actions in which it was engaged, and who repeatedly eulogised it.
In spite of the hardships and sufferings which beset the British army in
the retreat, its discipline, which in many instances had become
exceedingly impaired, was in great measure suddenly restored when drawn
up to offer battle to the enemy at Lugo, and subsequently at Corunna. In
the hardly contested battle of Corunna, although fighting under manifold
disadvantages, the army gained a glorious victory; and proved to the
world that, in the day of trial, it was an overmatch for the veteran
troops which had overrun and paralysed the whole continent of Europe. On
this occasion the army lost its brightest ornament, by the fall of its
gallant leader, Sir John Moore, who died in the arms of victory. He was
buried on the ramparts of Corunna. Sir David Baird lost an arm in the
battle; and the command of the army devolved on Sir John Hope.
The night after the battle the army was embarked; and towards the end of
January 1809, the whole of the troops from Vigo and Corunna reached
different ports in England. The two battalions of our corps went into
barracks in Kent.
I have attempted to give merely the outline of the operations of our
army, from the time of its departure from Lisbon to its embarkation at
Corunna and Vigo.
Early in the spring of 1809, we received orders to form a third
battalion to our corps, by volunteers from the militia. This was
effected in a very short space of time; and had not the order from Sir
David Dundas (at that time commander-in-chief) arrived for us to
discontinue receiving more men from the militia, we could easily have
raised a fourth battalion.
The formation of a 3d battalion causing some trifling promotion in the
corps, I became effective in the 1st battalion, and joined it from the
2d.