Immediately after the battle of Nivelle, Lord Wellington determined to
advance his whole line on to French ground. The right, under his own
command, pushed on towards Orthes, whilst the left, under the command
of Sir John Hope, proceeded in the direction of Bayonne. We (the
Guards) were incorporated in the latter corps d'armee.
Whilst these operations were going on, Soult was organizing his
discouraged army, in order to make, as early as possible, another
convenient stand. The enemy fell back on Orthes, and there took up a
strong position; Soult was, nevertheless, destined to be beaten again
at Orthes. It so happened that, for the first time since the battle of
Vittoria, our cavalry were engaged: the nature of the ground at Nive
and Nivelle was such as to prevent the possibility of employing the
mounted soldier.
I must here record an incident which created a considerable sensation
in military circles in connection with the battle of Orthes. The 10th
Hussars, officered exclusively by men belonging to the noblest families
of Great Britain, showed a desire to take a more active part in the
contest than their colonel (Quintin) thought prudent. They pressed hard
to be permitted to charge the French cavalry on more than one occasion,
but in vain. This so disgusted every officer in the regiment, that
they eventually signed a round robin, by which they agreed never again
to speak to their colonel. When the regiment returned to England, a
court of inquiry was held, which resulted, through the protection of
the Prince Regent, in the colonel's exoneration from all blame, and at
the same time the exchange of the rebellious officers into other
regiments.
It was at the battle of Orthes that the late Duke of Richmond was shot
through the body, gallantly fighting with the 7th Fusiliers. Lord
Wellington had determined to cross the Adour, and Sir John Hope was
intrusted with a corps d'armee, which was the first to perform this
difficult operation. It was necessary to provide Sir John Hope with a
number of small boats; these were accordingly brought on the backs of
mules from various Spanish ports, it being impossible, on account of
the surf at the entrance of the Adour, as well as the command which the
French held of that river, for Lord Wellington to avail himself of
water carriage. Soult had given orders for the forces under General
Thevenot to dispute the passage.
The first operations of our corps were to throw over the 3rd Guards,
under the command of the gallant Colonel Stopford; this was not
accomplished without much difficulty: but it was imperatively
necessary, in order to protect the point where the construction of the
bridge of boats would terminate. They had not been long on the French
side of the river before a considerable body of men were seen issuing
from Bayonne. Sir John Hope ordered our artillery, and rockets, then
for the first time employed, to support our small band. Three or four
regiments of French infantry were approaching rapidly, when a
well-directed fire of rockets fell amongst them. The consternation of
the Frenchmen was such, when these hissing, serpent-like projectiles
descended, that a panic ensued, and they retreated upon Bayonne. The
next day the bridge of boats was completed, and the whole army crossed.
Bayonne was eventually invested after a contest, in which it was
supposed our loss exceeded 500 or 600 men. Here we remained in camp
about six weeks, expecting to besiege the citadel; but this event never
came off: we, however, met with a severe disaster and a reverse. The
enemy made an unexpected sortie, and surrounded General Sir John Hope,
when he and the whole of his staff were taken prisoners. The French
killed and wounded about 1,000 men on this occasion.
The hardly-contested battle of Toulouse was fought about this period,
but the Guards were not present to share the honours of a contest which
closed the eventful war of the Spanish Peninsula.