PENINSULAR WAR RESUMED.--PASSAGE OF THE DOURO, AND TALAVERA.
“The deliverance of the Peninsula was never due to the foresight
and perseverance of the English ministers, but to the firmness and
skill of the British Generals, and to the courage of troops whom
no dangers could daunt and no hardships dishearten, while they
remedied the eternal errors of the Cabinet.”--NAPIER.
In resuming the story of the Peninsular War, it will be seen that the
narrative has to go back to an earlier date than that of the expedition
described in the last chapter,--Sir Arthur Wellesley having returned
from England to Lisbon, to take command of the army, so early as the
22nd April, 1809. But it has been thought better to clear the ground, so
to speak, of the Walcheren Expedition, and thus to enable the reader to
follow uninterruptedly the story of the operations, which terminated in
the glorious victory of Talavera, and the subsequent withdrawal of the
English troops from Spain to Portugal.
The British Government still resolved that the English army in Spain
should be merely an auxiliary one, and remained still undeceived as to
the real state of the Spanish forces. Perhaps it was as well, therefore,
that the army entrusted to Sir Arthur Wellesley was not a larger one;
for the difficulty he encountered in obtaining provisions and transport
from the Spaniards would have been insurmountable, had the forces under
his command been more numerous. [Sidenote: Merida, 25 Aug. 1809.] “I do
not think,” wrote Sir Arthur to Lord Castlereagh, “that matters would
have been much better if you had sent your large expedition to Spain
instead of to the Scheldt. You could not have equipped it in Galicia, or
anywhere in the north of Spain. If we had had 60,000 men instead of
20,000, in all probability we should not have got to Talavera to fight
the battle, for want of means and provisions. But if we had got to
Talavera, we could not have gone farther, and the armies would probably
have separated for want of means of subsistence, probably without a
battle, but certainly afterwards.” The campaign of 1809, from beginning
to end, was marked by obstinacy on the part of Spanish Generals, and
faithlessness on the part of the Spanish Government; by inadequate
supplies of money from England, and by difficulties with the Portuguese
troops, not the less annoying because they were often petty; as well as
by hardships which tried the discipline of the English troops quite as
much as the retreat to Corunna, and which drew from [Sidenote: To Lord
Castlereagh, dated Abrantes, 17 June, 1809.] Sir Arthur Wellesley the
bitter words: “We are an excellent army on parade, an excellent one to
fight; but we are worse than an enemy in a country; and, take my word
for it, that either defeat or success would dissolve us.” The success
which he almost dreaded came: the 27th and 28th July witnessed as
gallant an exhibition of English courage as has ever been seen; but in a
few days Sir Arthur wrote: “A starving army is actually worse than none.
The soldiers [Sidenote: To Marquis Wellesley, dated Deleytosa, 8 August,
1809.] lose their discipline and spirit; they plunder even in presence
of their officers. The officers are discontented, and are almost as bad
as the men; and, with an army which a fortnight ago beat double their
numbers, I should now hesitate to meet a French corps of half their
strength.” The administration which has so often marked our campaigns
with passages like this, cannot be too distinctly held up to view as a
perpetual warning. No troops, as Sir Arthur wrote, can serve to any good
purpose unless they are regularly fed; and yet it is in this very
point--the question of supply--that our military history abounds with
failures.
The army which had landed in England from Corunna was speedily
organized, and sent back to Portugal. Sir J. Cradock commanded the
troops at Lisbon, some 14,000 in number; Marshal Beresford had been
appointed to the command of the Portuguese forces, and was assisted in
his task of organizing them by several British officers. All
arrangements were made for taking the field; and this was done
immediately on the arrival of Sir Arthur Wellesley, who was appointed
Marshal-General of the united armies. Colonel Kobe had remained in
command of the Artillery in Portugal during the interval between Corunna
and Sir Arthur’s arrival; but he was now superseded by
Brigadier-General--afterwards Sir E.--Howorth. The number of troops and
companies in the Peninsula in 1809 was only seven. There were, in
addition, five at Gibraltar, five in Italy, and three in Malta.
The Artillery officers first appointed for duty with Marshal Beresford
were Captain--afterwards Sir J.--May and Captain Elliot, of the Royal
Artillery, and also Captain Arentschild, of the King’s German Artillery.
Lieutenant Charles was attached to the Portuguese force raised by Sir
Robert Wilson; and Captain P. Campbell and Lieutenant Wills were
employed with the Spanish troops at Seville and Cadiz respectively.
General Howorth, on his arrival in Lisbon in the beginning of April,
arranged, with Colonel Robe’s assistance, the equipment of five brigades
of guns, to take the field with the army, viz., one brigade of heavy
6-pounders, three of light 6-pounders, and one of 3-pounders. These were
all he could equip; and, notwithstanding the opportune arrival, from
Ireland, of 170 drivers and 298 excellent horses, he yet complained of
the want of mobility from which they suffered, mixed as they were with
the horses of the country, mules, and oxen. However, like Colonel
Harding, he took a cheerful view of matters, and pronounced the mules to
be very fine [Sidenote: To D.-A.-G. Lisbon, 8 April, 1809.] animals, and
“the oxen, though slow, a steady, good draught.” The development of the
Field Artillery during the Peninsular War, from the wretched batteries
employed at its commencement to those which attracted such admiration at
its close, will appear in the course of this work. Suffice it, at
present, to remind the Artilleryman, by way of contrast, while the
picture of the batteries of 1809 is yet fresh in his recollection, that
before the conclusion of the Peninsular War, it was admitted by the
artillerymen of the country with which England was engaged in
hostilities, [Sidenote: ‘Le passé et l’avenir de l’Artillerie,’ tom. v.
p. 64.] that “the English _matériel_ might have been taken as a model by
any nation in Europe;”--that, shortly before Waterloo, Marshal Marmont
remarked that the equipment of the English Field Artillery was in every
respect very superior to anything he had ever seen; and that the French
Committee appointed in 1818 to compare the Artillery of [Sidenote:
Hime.] the various countries represented in the review held that year in
Paris, expressed unqualified delight with that of England.
On Sir Arthur Wellesley’s arrival in Lisbon, he found that Soult was in
possession of Oporto, and Victor in Estremadura. He promptly resolved to
attack them in detail; and, making Lisbon the base of his operations, he
requested the Spanish General, Cuesta, to watch Victor’s movements,
while he himself should march to the north against Soult. The moral
effect of driving the French out of Portugal would, he felt, be very
great--all the more so as his arrival had produced a sudden hopefulness
among the Portuguese, which it was desirable not to disappoint.
Accordingly, on the 1st May, he moved his head-quarters to Pombal and
Coimbra, and found himself in command of an army which, after deducting
the sick and absent, numbered [Sidenote: Napier.] 20,653 rank and file,
with 30 guns. On the 9th he left Coimbra with the main body, and arrived
on the Douro, opposite Oporto, on the 12th, after a march of eighty
miles [Sidenote: To D.-A.-G. Oporto, 14 May, 1809.] over infamous roads.
“But,” wrote General Howorth, “neither difficulty nor danger impedes Sir
Arthur: he is all fire, and establishes confidence in the troops.”
On the 10th, the left column of the army, which marched from Aveiro,
fell in with the enemy at Algabaria Nova. A slight affair ensued, in
which the Artillery and Cavalry were chiefly engaged; and the enemy was
repulsed with the loss of a gun. On the 11th, the right column, which
marched on the Vouga, came up with the French between Algabaria Nova and
Grijon, and an engagement followed which lasted two hours, ending in the
retreat of the enemy. On the arrival of the English at Villa Nova,
opposite Oporto, it was found that the French had destroyed the bridge
across the Douro, and removed every available boat to their own side of
the river. It was of the utmost importance that the English troops
should cross, so as to co-operate with Marshal Beresford, who, having
crossed the river higher up, was now menacing the left and the rear of
Soult’s army. The crossing was effected in a gallant, and yet singular
and romantic way, whose details, too long for reproduction here, render
the passage of the Douro one of the most interesting episodes in the
Peninsular War. Wellesley saw a building on the other side of the
river--here three hundred yards wide--called the Seminary, surrounded by
a walled yard, capable of containing two battalions. Close to where he
himself stood was a rock, called Serra, from which artillery would well
command the passage of the river, and where he therefore desired General
Howorth to place eighteen guns. The guards on the other side seemed few
and negligent. Soult expected no danger on the part of the river above
the town, and had posted himself to the westward; if, therefore, boats
could but be obtained, Wellesley resolved to cross. A small skiff was
found, and Colonel Waters, a staff officer, crossed, and found three
large barges, which he towed back to the Villa Nova side of the river.
The men were ordered to embark, and, in the face of an army of ten
thousand men, the passage was effected. Very few, however, had crossed
ere the alarm was given, and the French troops poured down upon the
Seminary. The alarm acted in one respect favourably to the English; for
some of the citizens hastened to unmoor some boats, and cross to Villa
Nova, thus facilitating the embarkation and passage of the troops. All
this time the fire of the Royal Artillery from the Serra told with great
effect; and, as it completely swept one side of the Seminary, it soon
limited the attack to the other. The gallantry of the Infantry was
unrivalled. General Sherbrooke had crossed the river a little lower
down, and was now in possession of the town of Oporto, and pressing,
with the Guards and 29th Regiment, on the rear of the French troops as
they poured out towards the Seminary. The Buffs and their comrades in
the enclosure rained showers of bullets on the disorganized French; and
in a short time they were [Sidenote: Napier.] in full retreat, “the
artillery, from the Serra, still searching [Sidenote: To D.-A.-G. 14
May, 1809.] the enemy’s columns as they hurried along.” General Howorth,
in describing the battle, said that he never saw anything like the
gallantry of the English troops. Their firmness was irresistible; nor
could the French make any impression; and, from the position which he
occupied, he was able to form a good opinion, as he could see
everything. [Sidenote: To Lord Castlereagh, dated Oporto, 12 May, 1809.]
Sir Arthur, in his despatch announcing the victory, after enumerating
the various officers who had especially distinguished themselves, said,
in describing the services of the regiments engaged: “I had every reason
to be satisfied with the Artillery.” That his satisfaction was also
extended to the previous operations and to the severe march of eighty
miles over most difficult country, may be gathered from General
Howorth’s words. “I have reason,” he wrote, “to believe that Sir Arthur
is perfectly satisfied with the Artillery; and, it must be owned, never
was Artillery put to such trial.” The French ordnance captured at the
recovery of Oporto included 56 brass guns and 3 brass howitzers. A
considerable supply of ammunition was also taken.
The pursuit of Soult’s army was undertaken by Sir A. Wellesley with as
little delay as possible, although not with sufficient promptness to
satisfy the demands of certain military critics, who are ready to find
fault, but slow to acknowledge difficulties in the way of armies. That
it was sufficiently prompt to ensure the success of the English
General’s purpose, may be gathered from the fact that on the 18th May
Soult and his army crossed the frontier into Spain, having been driven
out of Portugal with the loss of artillery, stores, and baggage, and of
no fewer than 6000 men; while of those who remained, many were without
arms [Sidenote: Napier.] and accoutrements, the majority without shoes,
and all utterly exhausted and miserable; and, further, that the English
army did not delay in the pursuit from any effeminate ideas of comfort
or luxury, may be gathered from the following letter from General
Howorth: “The extraordinary [Sidenote: To General Macleod, dated
Oporto, 24 May, 1809.] rapidity of events in this country, which have
been accompanied by a succession of the most triumphant operations
against the enemy, left me no leisure to communicate them as they
occurred. However, I am at last returned here, after passing eight days
in continued marches over the worst roads I ever saw, through incessant
rain, a depopulated country, quartered in uninhabited houses, and with
no supplies whatever, but what was scantily provided by the Commissariat
Department. During the greater part of this march the luxury of a bed,
or a change of clothes, which were always wet, was unknown to me.... We
pursued to Montalagree, where the enemy turned short to the left, over
the mountains, and took the shortest way into Galicia.”
During the pursuit, the English overtook Soult at Salamonde, and his
rear-guard being in a confined space, some guns were brought to bear on
them with fearful effect. [Sidenote: Napier.] “Man and horse, crushed
together, went over into the gulf; and the bridge, rocks, and the defile
beyond were strewed with mangled bodies.” The furious peasantry also
turned on the French troops, and rendered their retreat--which has been
compared with that of the English on Corunna--infinitely more horrible.
[Sidenote: Wellington Despatches.]
As Soult sacrificed artillery and baggage in order to move more rapidly,
it was but natural that he should outmarch an army which had not so
disencumbered itself. But this pursuit has an importance to the
Artilleryman in being a text on which much useful argument was hung by
General Howorth and others, in favour of greater mobility than had yet
attended the brigades of Field Artillery employed in the Peninsula. The
3-pounder brigade was the only one which was able to march with the army
during its more [Sidenote: Dated Oporto, 24 May, 1809.] rapid movements;
and therefore General Howorth made a demand for additional brigades of
that nature, suggesting, with the assistance of Colonel Robe, various
improvements in the equipment. Among other changes, he recommended
double instead of single draught, both for guns and waggons; and that
the brigades should be of four guns instead of six, the howitzers being
dispensed with, and a liberal supply of spherical case being issued for
the guns. Another very suggestive recommendation was made by him: “to
have a small forge with each brigade of four guns; the forge to be
placed on the frame of a small limber waggon; _it can then follow the
brigade, which is not the case with the present one_.” The absence of a
forge on the line of march must at times have sadly crippled the
batteries. He also suggested that the span of the wheels should be
narrowed to 4½ feet, and (to prevent liability to upset from this cause)
that the gun should be lowered on its carriage by adopting _a bare iron
axletree_. His next recommendation reveals a starvation of equipment
which would account for almost any shortcomings on the line of march. He
urged the authorities “to have spare shafts, wheels, axles, spokes,
felloes, and pintails supplied, _none having been sent with the present
brigades_, and now much needed.” He also made suggestions which would
ensure greater mobility to the heavier brigades of 6-pounders. The
Artilleryman may therefore date to the campaign of the Douro some of the
most valuable lessons taught in the Peninsular War, and can trace to it
that change in the opinions and experience of the military authorities,
which resulted in so extended a use of Horse Artillery in the Peninsula,
and in so marked an improvement in the brigades of Field Artillery
before the conclusion of the war.
Marshal Victor, on hearing of the disastrous termination of Soult’s
operations, fell back on Almaraz and Torremocha; so that Sir A.
Wellesley, who had commenced his southward march through Traz-oz-Montes,
resolved to halt at Abrantes, and to commence a thorough reorganization
of his army, [Sidenote: Wellington Despatches and Supplementary
Despatches.] now sadly undisciplined. The correspondence of Sir Arthur
at this time reveals what one is apt to forget in reflecting on the
glories of the Peninsular campaigns. The military genius of the Duke of
Wellington and the courage of English soldiers are too often considered
to have been the only necessary causes of success; but a study of the
appeals made by him at Abrantes to officers and men,--of the strict
orders, on even the smallest matters, which he found it necessary to
issue,--and of the letters to ministers and friends, in which he never
failed to tell the truth about the army, however unpalatable,--reveals
another most necessary element in the success which attended him in all
his operations. As the first thought in his own mind always was _duty_,
so the first and last thing which he held before his troops, as that
without which they would be worse than useless, was _discipline_. The
arguments he used have a value for all time, and a special value for
England at a time when she possesses an armed force of Volunteers, who
might possibly consider that drill, instead of discipline, is the chief
end of a soldier’s life; but whose discipline, on the other hand, if
thorough, would be nobler than that of regular troops, in being more
self-imposed, and less dependent on a penal code. As for the Duke of
Wellington’s remarks on the discipline of the Spanish troops, they apply
in a singularly exact way to the [Sidenote: To Lord Castlereagh, dated
25 Aug. 1809.] armies of Spain in the anarchy of 1873. “In Spain,” he
wrote, “the business of an army is little understood. They are really
children in the art of war; and I cannot say that they do anything as it
ought to be done, with the exception of running away and assembling
again in a state of nature.... The Government have attempted to govern
the kingdom in a state of revolution by an adherence to old rules and
systems, and with the aid of what is called _enthusiasm_; and this last
is, in fact, no aid to accomplish anything, and is only an excuse for
the irregularity with which everything is done, and for the want of
discipline and subordination of the armies. People are very apt to
believe that enthusiasm carried the French through their Revolution, and
was the parent of those exertions which have nearly conquered the world;
but if the subject is nicely examined, it will be found that enthusiasm
was the _name_ only, but that _force_ was the instrument which brought
forward those great resources, under the system of _terror_, which first
stopped the Allies.” In his correspondence with Marshal Beresford, who
found great difficulty in organizing the Portuguese troops, he laid
down [Sidenote: Dated Badajoz, 8 Sept. 1809.] what may be considered a
military creed. “They want the habits,” he wrote, “and the spirit of
soldiers,--the habits of command on one side, and of obedience on the
other--mutual confidence between officers and men: and, above all, a
determination in the superiors to obey the spirit of the orders they
receive, let what will be the consequence; and the spirit to tell the
true cause, if they do not.” Poor Marshal Beresford had, indeed, need of
support and sympathy [Sidenote: Supplementary Despatches of Duke of
Wellington, vol. vi. p. 362.] in his task. Long habits of disregard to
duty, and of consequent laziness, made it impossible for the senior
officers to pay any regular or continued attention to the duties of
their situations, and neither reward nor punishment would induce them to
bear up against fatigue. By replacing these by younger officers, or
English officers detached from the various regiments, he ultimately
succeeded in making the Portuguese contingent a most valuable force; but
this was only done by impressing on them the necessity of discipline and
unhesitating obedience. More than sixty years have passed away, and the
same lesson, though more difficult to learn, is not the less vitally
necessary. The spirit of criticism spreads with the growth of education,
and considerably out of proportion with it. The reasoning obedience
which a soldier should yield is, perhaps, confused with an obedience
which requires to know the reason of an order, instead of that which is
readily yielded in the belief that what may be unintelligible in detail
is necessary for the general plan. That such obedience is not easy
always to give may be true enough. The possession, with a strong will,
of but pigmy power, is undoubtedly trying; but the self-denial which is
demanded stands among the highest of all military virtues, as it is the
very alphabet of all military training. He only is fit to rule who has
first learned to obey.
Reference has been made to the association of English officers with the
Portuguese forces. The appointment of Captain--afterwards Sir
Alexander--Dickson, to the Portuguese Artillery, which took place after
the Douro campaign, was productive of so important results, that it
deserves detailed notice. As Captain Dickson, he had acted as
Brigade-Major to General Howorth during the recent operations. He had,
however, come to Portugal with the intention of obtaining employment in
a higher local rank with the Portuguese Artillery, and had only been
deterred by difficulties which had arisen as to the _status_ and pay of
officers so attached. On the 4th June, he quitted Oporto with General
Howorth, who had been indisposed for some time, and proceeded to
Abrantes to join the army, and also to speak to Marshal Beresford on the
subject of employment [Sidenote: Captain Dickson to D. A. Gen. 3 July,
1809.] with the Portuguese troops. Fortunately, on his arrival, he found
that Captain May, then in command of a division of Portuguese Field
Artillery, was on the point of resigning, in accordance with
instructions from England; and Marshal Beresford readily appointed
Captain Dickson as his successor,--Captain May, in exchange, assuming
the duties of Major of Brigade. So far all was well; but Captain Dickson
soon found that he had no pleasing position. The local rank of Major,
which had been conferred on his junior officer, Captain Arentschild of
the King’s German Artillery, was refused to him by Marshal Beresford,
who had been irritated by contradictory orders from the English and
Portuguese Governments; so that he found himself under the orders of his
junior. The Portuguese officers were also very jealous of their English
comrades; and the seniors, without incurring any risk themselves, made
every difficulty in their power, when any suggestion was made which they
disliked. Letters from the British to the Portuguese officers on
official matters, and all applications for supplies, were left
unanswered; and yet “these same men,” wrote Captain Dickson indignantly,
“are embracing you as often as they meet!” He would gladly have given up
his new appointment, had he not felt bound by his promise to Lord
Chatham to retain it; so he set to work, in a true soldierlike spirit,
to perfect the two 6-pounder Portuguese batteries which had been placed
under his charge, and of which, even at the beginning, he was able to
write in terms of the warmest approbation. As this narrative will show,
he was rewarded for remaining at his post. The local rank was given to
him ultimately; and by its means he found himself commanding many
brother officers, much senior to himself regimentally, and ultimately at
the head of the Artillery of the armies of the Duke of Wellington, while
only a Captain in his own Corps.
It is now necessary to follow the movements of Sir Arthur Wellesley. The
English Government continued to overrate the value of the Spanish
armies; and the pressure brought to bear upon the English General was
such as he could not resist. He therefore proposed to the Spanish
General, Cuesta, to co-operate with his army against Victor’s forces,
and ultimately against Madrid. Cuesta, whose treatment of Sir Arthur
Wellesley was, on all occasions, of the most obstinate and boorish
description, had an army of 33,000 men. [Sidenote: Napier.] Sir Arthur’s
army, when he quitted Abrantes, numbered 20,997 men of all arms, with 30
guns. The advance of the united armies against Madrid by the valley of
the Tagus had been foreseen by Napoleon, and he had ordered Soult, at
the head of a powerful army, to concentrate his forces in such a manner
that, on the advance of Wellesley, he could pass by his left rear, and
cut him off from the base of his operations,--Lisbon and its surrounding
country. The English General was far from correctly informed either of
the strength or position of Soult’s army; he was urged by the English
representative, Mr. Frere, and by his own Government, to take the
offensive; the vacillation of Joseph Buonaparte tempted him to march on
Madrid before further union could be effected among the French armies;
he was further assured of the courage of the Spanish armies, the
enthusiasm of the peasantry, and the abundance of supplies. On the 27th
June, therefore, he broke up his camp at Abrantes, and marched towards
Oropesa, to effect a junction with Cuesta. The farther he advanced, the
more doubtful did he become of the sincerity of the Spaniards--a doubt
which exhibited itself in the pertinacity with which he demanded from
Cuesta and the Junta solemn promises to keep the English army supplied,
during any farther advance, with the requisite transport and supplies.
The reader does not require to be reminded how shamefully these promises
were broken;--how thwarted Wellesley was, alike by the intrigues of the
Junta and the conceited obstinacy of Cuesta;--nor how faithful he was,
amid all his difficulties, to the duty which England had imposed upon
him. Standing beside Cuesta like a better angel,--and receiving the
treatment not unfrequently bestowed on such,--calm under insult, his
judgment never heated by an indignation which would have been
righteous,--he ultimately succeeded in placing the united armies in the
very position in front of Talavera which he had selected, when he saw
that a general action with the combined forces of Victor and Sebastiani
was inevitable, if not, indeed, desirable. But not until the morning of
the 27th July, nor until Cuesta’s folly and rashness had courted and
received, at Alcabon, a well-deserved defeat, did the English General
succeed in placing the Spanish forces in [Sidenote: Gurwood’s
Despatches: Selections, p. 278.] the position he had chosen. The quiet
irony of the memorandum of Sir Arthur Wellesley on the battle of
Talavera cannot be seen without remembering the defeat just mentioned,
and a disgraceful panic which seized on the Spanish troops at the
appearance of some French cavalry, on the afternoon of the 27th, when
10,000 Infantry and all their Artillery fled, terror-stricken, to the
rear. Part of these were recovered before the following day; but the
Spanish contingent was weaker by the greater part of its Artillery, and
6000 of its Infantry. With such troops as allies, no wonder that Sir
Arthur wrote: “The position of Talavera was well calculated for the
troops that were to occupy it. The ground in front of the British army
was open; that in front of the Spanish army was covered with
olive-trees, intersected by roads, ditches, &c.” In other words, the
offensive part of the battle was to fall on the British, while a
masterly and imposing inactivity was reserved for the Spaniards.
The battle of Talavera was fought on the 27th and 28th July. The loss of
the Spanish Artillery in the panic mentioned above was very serious, as
the English had only 30 guns, very badly horsed and of small calibre,
to oppose to 80 guns, admirably served by the enemy. Fortunately, the
few guns of the Spanish Artillery, which _were_ brought into action,
were gallantly fought; and of those of the Royal and King’s German
Artillery, both the officers present and all military historians speak
in the highest terms. At the defeat of the 4th French Corps by
Campbell’s division, the British Artillery, as Napier wrote, played
vehemently upon their masses:--at the critical moment, later in the day,
when the English centre was almost broken on account of the injudicious
advance of the Guards, and of the confusion which seized the King’s
German Legion, the marvellous effect which followed the arrival of the
48th Regiment, moving, amid all the confusion, with the steadiness, of a
parade, was greatly heightened by the conduct of the Artillery, which,
as the same historian says, “battered the enemy’s flanks without
intermission.” Sir Arthur Wellesley, in addition to an expression of his
satisfaction with the Corps in the General Order after the battle, made
use of the following expression in his despatch to Lord Castlereagh:
“The Artillery, under Brigadier-General Howorth, was also, throughout
these days, of the greatest service.”
Compared with the loss of the other arms, that of the Artillery was but
small. On the 27th, only two men were wounded; on the 28th, the loss was
as follows:--
Royal Artillery.--1 officer and 7 men killed; 3 officers and 21
men wounded.
King’s German Artillery.--1 sergeant and 2 men killed; 3 sergeants
and 27 men wounded.
The officer who was killed was Lieutenant Wyatt; those who were wounded
were Lieut.-Colonel Framingham, and Captains Baines and Taylor. In
reporting the severe wound of Colonel Framingham, and applying for a
pension, General Howorth said: “If it were possible that any testimony
or [Sidenote: To D.-A.-G. Dated Badajoz, 20 Oct. 1809.] praise of mine
could add to the weight of this application, or to the merit and
brilliancy of Lieut.-Colonel Framingham’s gallant conduct in the action
of the 28th July, at Talavera, I should most freely have bestowed it;
but, as he distinguished himself on that occasion by a most skilful
discharge of his duty, I have only to wish him sincerely a reward equal
to his merits.” On the retreat of the army from Talavera, Captain
Taylor, whose wound prevented his removal, fell into the hands of the
French, and remained a prisoner to the end of the war.
There are several points connected with the battle of Talavera which
stand out prominently, and seize the attention of the student at once.
The weakness of King Joseph in playing into the hands of the English
General, and allowing him to fight under the terms most advantageous to
himself;--the hard, honest fighting, as Napier calls it, of the English
troops, who, for hours, were closely engaged with a force of double
their own numbers;--the watchful tactics of Sir A. Wellesley, who never
missed a point during the whole engagement, and was always ready at
critical moments with the necessary remedies; and the heavy losses on
both sides--over 6000 being killed and wounded on the side of the
English, and more than 7000 on that of the French;--these are points
which cannot escape the most superficial reader. But to the soldier
there are several precious instances of steadiness and discipline among
particular regiments, which [Sidenote: Wellington Despatches.] shed a
glow over this well-fought field,--the 45th and 5th Battalion of the
60th being conspicuous for these qualities on the 27th, and the
“stubborn old 48th” on the 28th. Napier’s pages glow with the enthusiasm
of a soldier as he describes the movements of the last-mentioned
regiment on the occasion referred to above. “At first,” he writes, “it
seemed as if this regiment must be carried away by the retiring crowds;
but, wheeling back by companies, it let them pass through the intervals,
and then, resuming its proud and beautiful line, marched against the
right of the pursuing columns, and plied them with such a destructive
musketry, and closed upon them with such a firm and regular pace, that
their forward movement was checked.”
The changes which have become necessary in the art of war, owing to the
improvement in fire-arms, may have forbidden the use in battle of the
line which the gallant 48th showed at Talavera; but, in whatever form
troops may be called upon to fight, the qualities which animated that
regiment will still, if present, entitle their possessors to the same
epithet, and the perfection of their drill and discipline will still
claim the words, “proud and beautiful.”
The horrors of a battle-field, when the deadly encounter is over, were
aggravated at Talavera by a fire, which caught the dry grass, and which
licked the ground where the dead and wounded were lying, adding a new
agony to the sufferings of the latter, and hideously scorching the
bodies of those whose pain was for ever at an end. This incident gives a
ghastly element to the recollection of a field, on which English courage
was so ably proved.
INDEX.
A. Captain.
B. Second Captain.
C. Lieutenants.
D. Assistant Surgeon.
E. N.-C. Officers.
F. Trumpeters.
G. Artificers.
H. Gunners.
I. Drivers.
J. Total.
K. Women.
L. Children.
M. Officers’.
N. Troop.
O. Total.
P. 6-pounders.
Q. 5½ in. Howitzers.
R. Ammunition Wagons.
S. Baggage Wagons.
T. Wheel Carriage.
U. Forge Cart.
V. Baggage Cart.
W. Total.
EMBARKATION RETURN of a TROOP of ROYAL HORSE ARTILLERY, commanded by
Captain H. D. Ross.
--------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+---+---+-----------------+---------------------------+
| | | | | | | | | | | | | HORSES. | ORDNANCE AND CARRIAGES. |
| | | | | | | | | | | | +---+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
Ships’ Names | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
and | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Masters. | A.| B.| C.| D.| E.| F.| G.| H.| I.| J.| K.| L.| M.| N.| O.| P.| Q.| R.| S.| T.| U.| V.| W.|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
--------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+---+---+---+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
‘Rodney’-- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
G. Bowes | 1| ..| 1| 1| 3| 1| 3| 19| 8| 37| ..| ..| 7| 26| 33| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
‘Phœnix’-- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
R. Oswell | ..| 1| 2| ..| 3| ..| 2| 15| 9| 32| 2| ..| 7| 24| 31| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
‘Amphitrite’--| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
R. Stevenson | ..| ..| ..| ..| 2| ..| ..| 10| 13| 25| ..| ..| ..| 32| 32| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
‘Jane’-- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
J. Jackson | ..| ..| ..| ..| 2| ..| 1| 15| 10| 28| ..| ..| ..| 30| 30| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
‘Ruby’-- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
S. Chapman | ..| ..| ..| ..| 2| ..| 1| 13| 12| 28| ..| ..| ..| 34| 34| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
‘Ganges’-- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
J. Nisbett | ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| 2| 2| 4| ..| ..| ..| 2| 2| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
‘Blessing’-- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
R. Armstrong | ..| ..| ..| ..| 1| ..| ..| 7| ..| 8| 1| ..| ..| ..| ..| 5| 1| 6| 3| 1| 1| 1| 18|
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+---+---+---+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
Total | 1| 1| 3| 1| 13| 1| 7| 81| 54| 162| 3| ..| 14| 148| 162| 5| 1| 6| 3| 1| 1| 1| 18|
--------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----+---+---+---+----+----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
_Ramsgate, 8th June, 1809._ (Signed) H. D. Ross, _Captain Commanding R. H. A._
On the 29th, Wellesley’s army was strengthened by the arrival of
Crawford’s brigade, consisting of the 43rd, 52nd, and 95th Regiments,
with Captain Ross’s, “The Chestnut,” troop of Horse Artillery,[21]
which, in their eagerness to reach the field of battle, and undeterred
by the lies of the flying Spaniards, had marched no less than sixty-two
miles in twenty-six hours, in the hottest season of the year, and in
heavy marching order. But news reached the English General which
determined him to fall back, and to have done with the assistance of
Spanish troops, whose worthlessness he had now thoroughly tested.
Hearing that Soult was pressing on by rapid marches, and with increased
forces,--had already gained possession of one of his most important
communications with Portugal, and was threatening the others,--he
resolved to leave his wounded at Talavera, and to fall back into
Portugal. He did so by means of rapid marches; but he still conducted
them so as to show no appearance of flight, such as would have injured
the reputation of his army in the eyes of the Spaniards--a most
important [Sidenote: To D. A. G. Dated Badajoz, 26 Oct. 1809.]
consideration. General Howorth, in alluding to the retreat from
Talavera, emphasises this point. “We made a retrograde movement,” he
wrote, “with a dignified deliberation perfectly suitable to the gravity
of Spanish deportment.” The whole of his brigades of Artillery returned
from Talavera complete, with the exception of one 6-pounder gun which
had been damaged in the battle of the 28th, and which, the General
wrote, had been _privately buried_, perhaps out of consideration for
Spanish deportment also. But all the spare ammunition and stores had to
be abandoned, as the carts were required to carry the sick. No less than
150 carts were so employed; for the sickness during the retreat, and
even after the troops went into cantonments at Merida, was very great.
The well-known sickness in the Chestnut Troop, which so nearly led to
its return to England, took place at Merida after the retreat. So
severely did it suffer, that, in sending in his returns of available
Artillery force at this time, General Howorth wrote: “I have one troop
of Horse Artillery, Bull’s,[22] and half a one, Ross’s. The latter has
suffered severely by sickness and death of men and horses.” The sickness
was aggravated by a dearth of medical officers; and the unfortunate
Chestnut Troop, which required medical assistance to an extraordinary
extent, was robbed of its own surgeon in an inglorious manner. “Poor
Doctor O’Brien,” wrote General Howorth, “of Ross’s troop, died last
night, owing to his servant’s getting drunk, and giving him too strong a
dose of opium, which destroyed him.” Ere many weeks passed, the attempt
to cope with the havoc made in the troop was almost abandoned. Two guns
and their waggons were sent into store, from want of men and horses to
work them; and orders were given that, on the arrival of another troop
(Lefebure’s) from England, the surviving men and horses of the Chestnut
Troop should be handed over to it, and Captain Ross and his officers
return to England to organize a new troop. Luckily for him, Captain
Lefebure’s troop suffered so much from a storm on its way to the
Peninsula that, on its arrival, it was little more efficient than the
one it was [Sidenote: Memoir of Sir H. D. Ross.] meant to relieve; so,
to Captain Ross’s delight, he had his vacancies completed from the new
arrivals, and Captain Lefebure had, instead, the duty of rebuilding his
troop.
The head-quarters of the English General, on whom the title of Lord
Wellington was bestowed after Talavera, were at Badajoz until the end of
1809. He devoted himself to the strengthening of his position, with the
double motive of ensuring to himself the possession of Lisbon and the
Tagus, and of securing the unmolested embarkation of his troops, should
reverses render it necessary. The lines of Torres Vedras, which were to
play so important a part in the campaign of 1810, were matured in the
winter of 1809. Lord Wellington had given up all hope of succeeding by
means of the Spaniards; but he by no means despaired of offering an
effectual resistance to the most powerful French attacks by means of the
combined English and Portuguese army under his command. He felt
confidence in his troops. As [Sidenote: Lord Wellington to Colonel
Malcolm, Badajoz, 3 Dec. 1809.] he boasted to a correspondent, “I
command an unanimous army.” Supplies in Portugal were better arranged
than in Spain; and, with the remembrance fresh in his mind of Talavera,
which he himself pronounced “the hardest-fought battle of modern days,
and the most glorious in its results to the English troops,” he looked
forward to the next campaign with quiet confidence, and displayed during
the winter an industry in strengthening his position which, at all
events, deserved success.
NOTE.--Although the Peninsular War eclipses in point of interest
any other operations in which the Royal Artillery was engaged in
1809, it would be a great omission, were no allusion made to the
services of the Corps, in the beginning of 1809, during the
operations in the West Indies under General Beckwith and Sir
George Prevost, which resulted in the capture of the French
colonies of Cayenne and Martinique. Over 500 officers and men of
the Royal Artillery were present under the command of
Brigadier-General Stehelin, and the value of their services may be
ascertained from the following extract from the General Order
issued at the termination of the campaign:--
[Sidenote: G. O. Dated 8 March, 1809.]
“To Brigadier-General Stehelin, commanding the Royal Artillery,
for his regularity in all interior arrangements, and especially
for that order and system established in this distinguished Corps,
which led to those eminent services rendered by them during the
bombardment, and which brought the siege to an early and glorious
termination ... the Commander of the Forces is anxious to renew
all those assurances of public and individual consideration, to
which from their distinguished services they are fully entitled,
and he requests, as an old soldier, that he may live in their
remembrance and friendship.”
[Sidenote: B. G. Stehelin to D.-A.-Gen. 23 March, 1809.]
The officers of the Royal Artillery who were present during these
operations were--in addition to Brigadier-General
Stehelin--Captains Blaney Walsh, Unett, Phillott, St. Clair,
Cleeve, Story, Du Bourdieu, Clibborn, Butts, and Rollo; and
Lieutenants Spellen, Bell, Gordon, Lewis, Mathias, Tucker, Turner,
Heron, Scriven, Simmons, and F. Arabin.