The Author, from a mistake, loses his Servants for a few
days--A Feast of Death--A Feast of Life--Fighting near St
Sebastian--Singular instance of Spanish Bravery--St Sebastian
is captured, but no Details given, the Author not having been
present--Attack of the Pass of Vera.
We remained at rest here for some time, during which I, as acting
paymaster, had several trips to Tolosa, a considerable town on the great
road from Bayonne to Madrid, where the paymaster-general had taken up
his residence with the military chest. In one of them I went and had a
peep at St Sebastian, the siege of which was then going on. While here,
I received directions from General Sir William Stewart to attend him at
Villaba, where he lay wounded, he having received two balls in the late
actions. I set off, directing my servants with my baggage to follow
close after me: by some means they were delayed a few minutes, and,
supposing I was going again to the paymaster-general at Tolosa, went off
in that direction, without asking any questions. I imagined they knew
very well where I was going, and still went on slowly, every now and
then looking back to see if I could descry them coming; but although
there was no appearance of them, I simply enough continued my route till
I reached St Estevan; and here I put up for the night, thinking, of
course, they would come by and by. In the morning, I was fully convinced
they must have gone some other road, and as all my books, &c., from
which I wanted information, were in my baggage, I thought it useless to
proceed any farther. In retracing my steps, which I did leisurely, I had
an opportunity of seeing the great number of bodies which the French had
thrown into the river, the road running close by its brink nearly all
the way. It was really shocking to behold such numerous wrecks of
mortality, with the disgusting appearance which most of them had
assumed; many of them were half eaten by the fish, and of others the
flesh was hanging in rags, and bleaching in the stream. Of course I
returned home, but did not see my servants again for several days, as it
took three or four to accomplish the journey to Tolosa and back, and
they had waited there a day for me.
On the day that I was absent, all the officers of my corps had had a
sumptuous and splendid entertainment, it being the 25th August, the
anniversary of the regiment's first formation. They had dug a ditch in
an oblong shape in the middle of a field, the centre of which served for
a table, while they sat with their feet in the ditch. I am told the
French, who were just above, and overlooked them from the heights behind
the town, assembled and viewed them, as if in astonishment to see them
regaling themselves with so much glee in the midst of the wild Pyrenean
mountains. No doubt the wine went merrily round, and many were the
toasts which were drunk with three-times-three.
During this interval, I often amused myself with fishing in the
Bidassoa, in which there were many excellent trout, and I was pretty
successful, for I had got some tackle from one of our captains, which he
had brought from England. On one of these occasions, while I was wading
in a pool, I spied a fine salmon laying just below me; I threw in and
brought my flies right over him, at which he instantly rose, but I
missed him. I tried again, and hooked him, but in a moment he plunged
right across the river, carrying with him all my flies and part of my
line, for I had no reel. I might have calculated upon this, if I had
thought for a moment; but the opportunity was so tempting, that I could
not resist it.
At length the 31st of August arrived, the day on which St Sebastian was
to be stormed. We knew this, for we had furnished a number of
volunteers, both officers and men, to take part in the assault; many of
our higher officers had gone to witness the glorious spectacle. But
early in the morning, we were all astonished at the bugle sounding
through the camp the alarm, or assembly, and instantly orders were given
for the tents to be struck, the baggage to be packed, and to set off
with it to the rear without a moment's delay, for the French were
advancing; of course all this was done in as short a time as possible,
and the troops were ordered to move on to a hill just over the bridge of
Vera. A detachment of ours had joined the evening before, and it cannot
easily be conceived the strange effect this sudden alarm had on some of
them. One of them, a lieutenant, was all in a bustle getting his pistols
put in fighting order, and came to me begging I would take some money to
keep for him. I told him that it was likely to be in as much danger with
me as with himself, and of course declined. The old hands, on the
contrary, were as cool and quiet about it as if it was an everyday
occurrence. We moved to the height before mentioned, and saw a cloud of
fellows with white caps coming down to the left of the town, and of
course prepared to give them the best reception we could. I was sent
with orders to my commanding-officer from the General, 'that he was,
when pressed, to retire till he got on the ridge just over his house,
(which was on the road a little to the rear of where we then were,) and
that he was to stand there as long as it was possible.' I thought
something very warm was going to occur, seeing such a cloud of Frenchmen
were then approaching us, but we were all disappointed; they went
quickly to their right after descending from the heights, and forded the
river below the town, setting their faces towards St Sebastian. All this
was effected under a cannonade from the heights.
Our 1st brigade (except my battalion) was then ordered to cross the
river by the Lezacca bridge a little behind us, and to move parallel to
the enemy along the ridge above that town, which had all along been Lord
Wellington's head-quarters. As soon as they got across, they sent a body
of troops to the bridge of Vera, close to which some of our people were
stationed, and from thence they kept firing on us all day from some
small mountain guns, which they had brought down with them, and
occasionally with musketry. We were now somewhat curiously situated. The
French position was on the side we occupied, while the other side of the
bridge had been fortified by the Spanish General Longa, to protect
himself during the last excursion of the French towards Pamplona; but
now they occupied the side on which the intrenchments had been thrown
up, and turned them against us of course; they did little execution by
their fire. Lord Wellington, seeing the intention of the enemy,
assembled all the British troops he could easily collect, and brought
them in rear of a corps of Spaniards, which met the French in this
direction; and finding this a fair opportunity of seeing what the Don
could do, withheld the British, and let the Spaniards attack them by
themselves. They had now the best chance of showing their valour that
ever had or might present itself; they had the high ground, and the
enemy had to climb up on their hands and knees to get at them; besides,
they had behind them backers that would not see them get foul play. So
away they set at them, and indeed they did tumble the French down in
good style, upsetting them in all directions; so that our English
division had nothing to do but to look on. This was the only time I ever
knew the Spaniards act in a body like good soldiers.
The enemy, being beaten, were obliged of course to retrograde; but it
came on one of the bitterest nights I have almost ever witnessed; the
rain fell in torrents, and the lightning was very vivid. The French
endeavoured to retrace their steps during the night, fording the river
where they had crossed it in the morning; but the heavy rain had so
swoln the river by midnight, that they could not continue any longer to
wade it. A considerable number of them still remained on the other side,
and no way presented itself of extricating themselves, but by forcing
their passage across the bridge, near which a company of our 2d
battalion, under Captain Cadoux, was posted, with one of ours, a short
distance in the rear, to support him. Captain Cadoux's people were
stationed in houses about thirty yards from the bridge, and had a double
sentry on the bridge. The enemy's column approached very quietly, and
then made a rush; but the rain having wet the priming of the sentries'
rifles, they could not get them to go off to give the necessary alarm,
and were in a moment driven from their post. The French then, seeing
they had effected a passage, set up a shout, and rushed towards the
houses where Cadoux's people were, who turned out at once, and with the
supporting company, opened a deadly fire upon the enemy's column; but
poor Cadoux fell instantly almost, as he had imprudently mounted his
horse on the first alarm; his lieutenant also was severely wounded. The
firing of course soon brought the whole brigade to the spot, which kept
up a constant and well-directed fire during the whole of their progress
along the little plain towards Vera.
The enemy suffered dreadfully on this occasion, leaving the ground
literally strewed with their dead, who, like the others before
mentioned, were next morning thrown into the river; so that the fish had
ample feeding for some time after. Some people afterwards reflected upon
General Skerrott, who commanded here, for not posting a stronger force
at the bridge, and for not blocking it up with an abbatis; the former he
might and ought to have done; but the latter was impracticable, from the
enemy holding the breastwork at the other end of the bridge, which was
not more than about thirty yards long. Had a battalion been posted
there, it is probable the French, who were compelled to have recourse to
this daring attempt, might have been induced to surrender; but I believe
the General never imagined they had need to make such an attempt. Our
loss on this occasion was rather severe also. A great many of Captain
Cadoux's men fell; Lieutenant Travers, who commanded the company of my
battalion, was wounded, and a considerable number of men were killed and
wounded; among the former, some of the poor fellows who had joined from
England only the day before.
Thus was Soult's second attempt frustrated, and St Sebastian fell into
our hands. As I was not present at that glorious exhibition of British
valour and prowess, I cannot take upon me to give any account of its
capture. The volunteers who went from our division to assist in the
storm or assault, sustained their full share in the casualties attendant
thereon. The field-officer, Colonel Hunt of the 52d, was severely
wounded; a lieutenant of the 43d, brother to Mr O'Connell, the famous
Roman Catholic advocate, was killed; two lieutenants of our first
battalion, named Percival and Hamilton, were severely wounded. The
latter, I believe, was a volunteer on the occasion, not being entitled,
from his standing, to take it as a tour of duty. He was conspicuously
brave, and received two severe wounds, from which it would scarcely be
imagined possible any one could recover.
A few days after the surrender of St Sebastian, I had again occasion to
go to Tolosa for money, and took the road by Passages, the port where we
now received all our supplies from England; and also to see the ruins of
that late formidable fortress. When I reached it, the houses were still
on fire, and not I believe half-a-dozen in the whole town that remained
habitable, or the inhabitants had quite deserted it. I went up to the
citadel and examined it, and I believe this, with proper casemates or
bomb-proofs, might be rendered one of the strongest places in Spain,
next to Gibraltar; but the French had suffered dreadfully from our
shells, which had literally ploughed the ground on the top of this
naturally strong height, and from which cause they had been compelled to
surrender.
St Sebastian was indeed a melancholy spectacle at this time. I returned
from Tolosa by a part of the road which we had traversed in our late
retreat and advance again, as I now began to hope I might perhaps
recover my little horse, for I suspected from some cause that my
servant, instead of having been obliged to abandon him, because of his
lameness, as he told me, had sold him at that time; and this I actually
found had been the case. I compelled him to tell me where he had
disposed of him, and, with my broken Spanish, traced him from thence for
near twenty miles farther into the mountains, where I found him in a
village, the name of which I do not recollect, but where a squadron of
our German hussars were quartered. I of course claimed and took
possession of the horse, giving the person the amount he had paid for
him; but he being still lame, the commanding-officer of the hussars
kindly permitted me to leave him with his farrier till he got well. He
afterwards sent him to me, and would not even allow the farrier to
receive any remuneration for his trouble, so kindly and politely did he
behave.
September passed away without any thing remarkable occurring. My friend
Captain (now Major) Perceval had been obliged to return to England, and
Captain Balvaird succeeded him as senior captain of my battalion. I
still continued in that company's mess. At length it was determined to
attack the Puerta, or Pass of Vera, which the enemy had rendered
exceedingly strong. The left of our army, under Sir Thomas Graham, were
ordered to attack in their front, and force the passage of the Bidassoa,
and establish themselves in France. We were merely to drive them from
the heights above the town of Vera, taking possession of all the strong
ground between that and France. The fourth division was brought up to
support our attack, and formed immediately in rear of the town. One of
the captains who formed the Committee of Paymastership, and who, it may
be remembered, were held responsible for my accounts, and the due
appropriation of all public money which might come into my hands, took
a fancy that I exposed myself too much, and requested the
commanding-officer, Colonel Ross, to prohibit my again entering into
action, except for the purpose of bringing ammunition, &c., when my duty
required me; in consequence of which the adjutant was sent to me this
morning, previous to the operations commencing, with an order for me not
to accompany the battalion. It may seem to the reader perhaps like
affectation when I tell him I felt hurt at this order, and determined
not very strictly to comply with it, for I believed that my respected
commanding-officer had no objection that I should accompany him, did not
this untoward circumstance interfere with my so doing. Accordingly I
remained a looker-on among the fourth division. My battalion was
destined to commence this attack by driving the enemy from a high and
rugged hill on the right of the Pass, which was a necessary operation
before the Pass itself could be attacked. Accordingly he extended the
battalion, and encircled its base on the side next to Vera; and I
believe, without firing a shot almost, he marched right up to the top of
the hill, notwithstanding the sturdy resistance made by the enemy, and
in a very short space of time completely cleared this formidable height.
This operation was the admiration of the whole fourth division, (for it
was clearly observable by every one,) and they were most lavish of their
praises for such a workmanlike movement. When my people approached the
top of the hill, I felt alarmed for their safety and their honour, for
the French commander closed all his force to one point, and, forming
them into line, made them fix bayonets, apparently with a determination
to charge them down the hill again; and I saw that my people, for they
could not perceive what the French were doing, were likely to be taken
by surprise. Whether the Frenchman's heart failed him I know not, but
when Colonel Ross reached the top of the hill, the enemy went to the
right about, and instantly retired.
I felt proud of belonging to that corps, and happy at such a termination
of this dangerous operation, and feeling a desire I could no longer
resist, I set off to join them. By the time I reached the height just
mentioned, the attack of the Puerta was going on, and a most arduous
undertaking it was. My brigade attacked the right or strongest pass,
which they carried in fine style, without much loss, although the enemy
had a breastwork at every available point of ground. Our 2d brigade did
not attack the left Pass quite so soon as the other, and when they had
got about half way up they encountered the most formidable opposition.
A redoubt which the enemy possessed was filled with men, who waited till
our battalion came within a few yards of them, and then poured in the
most destructive fire imaginable, making the battalion recoil, and
leaving one-third of its numbers on the ensanguined ground. But the 52d
regiment being close behind, promptly supported them when rushing on
together to the charge, and the French, after some hard fighting, were
finally driven from this stronghold. After this they never made any
obstinate stand, although there was occasional fighting all the way from
the Pass down into the plain below, where some of our people followed
them; but it not being intended to quit for the present this high and
formidable barrier, they were afterwards recalled. The boundary lines
passed along this ridge.
We lost a few men on ascending the first hill, and a few in skirmishing
afterwards, but our loss was not severe. But that of the 2d battalion,
before noticed, was awful; several of that battalion who fell in this
action had only a few days before joined from England, and this was
their first action. On looking at the ground on which this affair took
place, one would imagine it almost impossible that any army could force
a passage through such innumerable difficulties. The hill itself was
nearly impassable, and with the numerous redoubts and breastworks, with
which it was literally covered, no troops in the world, I think, but
British, would have dared to attempt it.
We found that the French, who occupied this station, had rendered
themselves extremely comfortable, considering the kind of country and
ground where they were posted. They had been at great pains in building
very convenient and substantial huts in lines and streets, the same as
an encampment, and which were indeed remarkably clean and neat. They had
even built arm-racks at the end of each line, where their arms were
stowed away most securely, and where they were preserved from the
effects of the bad weather. Indeed, from the pains they had taken to
render themselves comfortable here, it would appear as if they had not
expected to be driven from it so soon.
The left of our army, under Sir Thomas Graham, also established
themselves within the French territory. A corps of Spaniards on our
left, between us and Sir Thomas, had likewise made a forward movement
corresponding with the British. Some Spaniards were on the right of our
division also, and were destined to drive the French from La Rhune, an
exceeding high rock, which overlooks all the other mountains, as well as
the plain below. This they failed to accomplish, the enemy keeping
possession all that night, and the skirmishing between the two forces
continuing till after dark.
My battalion was sent on the outpost duty in the evening down into the
French plain below, and relieved the Spanish General Longa, whose corps,
with our 2d brigade, were ordered to assist in the morning in dislodging
the enemy from La Rhune. I will not say whether the sight of the
red-coats coming against them the next morning had the effect of
alarming them, but they certainly evacuated that exceedingly strong post
without much farther opposition, and established themselves on a similar
rock, but lower, on the French side, and called by them Petit or Little
Rhune. But the possession of this lofty peak gave us the power of
overlooking all their movements for miles around us, as well as of
surveying La Belle France as far as the eye could see, and indeed,
compared with the bleak and barren mountains in which we had so long
been residing, it did appear a beautiful country, although, in reality,
it is far from being such. But we gazed upon it with strange and mingled
emotions, hardly believing it possible that we had now reached and
entered the territory of that once formidable nation whose victorious
armies had penetrated to the farthest confines of Europe, who had
overrun and subdued some of the most warlike nations of the continent,
and who had so often threatened, and as often alarmed, the inhabitants
of England with the invasion of that sacred soil, on which never yet a
Frenchman has dared, in hostile array, to set his foot since the days of
the Norman William, but who met there either with a prison or a grave.
We now pitched our camps by battalions, each occupying a post more or
less important, and the enemy began again to construct their huts, and
make themselves as comfortable as their circumstances would admit;
Soult, no doubt, being mightily chagrined that we had now fairly beat
them out of Spain, when he (as we now learnt) had promised his followers
that he would soon lead them again to the plains of Vittoria, where
they might again retrieve their lost honours, and at which city they
would celebrate the Emperor's birthday. He thus boasted, and no doubt
would have effected his purpose, had he not been so promptly met near
Pamplona by his never-to-be outmanoeuvred antagonist.
We now began to suffer greatly from the severity of the weather. It
became exceedingly wet and stormy; and not infrequently the tents were
blown away from over our heads, or the pole was forced up through the
top, letting the wet canvass fall comfortably down about our ears while
we were perhaps in a sound sleep. I had two streams flowing past my
head, one went round the trench outside my tent, while the other I was
fain to let pass through it; their murmurs lulled me to sleep, and I do
not remember that ever I slept sounder than I did here, having made my
couch comfortable by gathering dry fern, and spreading my mattress upon
it.
Whilst we remained here, a few officers were appointed to watch the
motions of the enemy from an old work which we understood had been
constructed by the Spaniards and emigrant French against their
revolutionary neighbours, whom they endeavoured to keep from entering
Spain; and, of course, this was the daily lounge of those who had no
better employment, not only that they might themselves see, but hear
also from others what of importance was passing. On one of these
occasions, a vessel was descried (for the sea was not more than five or
six miles from us) making for the harbour of Bayonne, or St Jean de Luz,
with a small schooner following her in chase, and every now and then
giving her a shot. The vessel, (which turned out to be a French brig
going with provisions for the few Frenchmen who still retained the
castle of Santona,) seeing she could not get clear of her unwelcome
neighbours, her crew set her on fire, and taking to their boats,
abandoned her, and escaped on shore--she soon after blew up with a
tremendous explosion.
On the 31st of this month Pamplona surrendered, the garrison, consisting
of 4000 men, under Major-general Cassan, the governor, becoming
prisoners of war. They had been compelled to adopt this measure from
sheer starvation, of which they, I understand, had suffered dreadfully.
I happened to be at Passages on the day they reached that port, where
they embarked, on their way to England. The General was a stout,
handsome, and intelligent-looking man, and such a one as I should
imagine would make a noble officer. The soldiers seemed quite
unconcerned about their fate; whether from the change being actually an
improvement of their condition, or from the lightness and gaiety of
their natural temper, I know not, but they were jesting and making as
merry as if nothing had happened.
During the time we lay on these mountains, I regret to state my gallant
and respected commanding-officer, Colonel Ross, suffered so much from
rheumatism, that he was compelled to leave the regiment, and take up his
abode at Rentaria, a village near to Passages.
It was reported that Lord Wellington intended attacking the enemy along
his whole line, early in November, but the weather having rendered the
roads impassable, it was postponed. On the day previous to the intended
attack, the commanding-officers had been taken up to La Rhune, and the
post that each corps had to occupy, with the movements they were
intended to make, were clearly pointed out to them; an excellent plan,
when practicable, as it leaves no one any excuse for mistakes or
blunders during the action.
At length, on the 10th of that month, I believe, it was settled to take
place; but on the 9th I was ordered to set off with the mules of the
battalion, to fetch corn from Passages, a distance of about thirty
miles. I suspected this was a scheme of the captain I before mentioned,
as one of the committee of paymastership, in order the more effectually
to keep me out of danger, for certainly had any thing serious happened
me, they would have had some difficulty in rendering their accounts. It
was not quite certain the attack was to take place next day, although it
had been so rumoured; however, I was determined to try and reach the
division as early as possible on that day. I accordingly got my business
done in Passages as early as I could get the commissary to work; and
having got the corn, and come on to Rentaria, which I reached about
mid-day, I took the liberty of leaving the animals in the charge of the
non-commissioned officer who had accompanied me; and calling on Colonel
Ross, obtained his permission to let the sergeant proceed in charge of
them to the regiment, while I might, if I chose, push on at a quicker
rate. I had heard by this time, that the action had commenced by
daylight that morning. I accordingly set off at as quick a pace as my
starved animal could carry me; and passing Irun, and crossing the
Bidassoa, and keeping along the great road for a considerable distance,
I then inclined to my right, and skirted the Pyrenees along the whole
plain. I had thus an opportunity of witnessing the conflict carrying on
by the left wing of our army, as I passed along towards La Rhune, but
with every exertion of myself and my poor jaded horse, night closed in
upon me before I had nearly reached the station of the light division. I
was compelled to work my way through a country which I had not hitherto
passed, and which having been the scene of a sanguinary combat,
presented no very pleasing aspect. At last I heard some strange and
foreign voices before me, for it was now quite dark, on which I turned
into a field, and waited till they passed, by which I learned they were
Spaniards. I was apprehensive I might have kept too far to the left, and
had got into the French lines, which would not have been so comfortable;
but after finding them to be men of General Frere's Spanish division, I
then had hopes of shortly meeting with my own people. Directed by those
good Spaniards, I at last reached Petit La Rhune, the late formidable
position of the enemy, on which the blazes from a thousand of their huts
were rising to the clouds, and enlightening the atmosphere around. But
it being now ten o'clock, I found myself incapable of proceeding
farther, more particularly as the Portuguese, among whom I now found
myself, could not give me any certain directions which way my division
had gone. I was fain therefore to take up my abode, and gladly did so,
in a cottage with Colonel St Clair and several other officers of the
sixth Cacadores. Let it not be supposed that a fighting disposition
induced me to use so much exertion to reach my division on this
occasion--no; but as I considered that a sort of trick had been played
off upon me, I did what I could to render it nugatory; no man liking, as
I imagine, to be the dupe of any other party's manoeuvres, with whatever
friendly intention these may have been put in operation. I arose next
morning early, and hastened to the point where I expected to meet my
brave comrades, anxious to learn the fate of all I loved amongst them. I
saw them and the third division at a considerable distance, each on a
height in front, appearing like flocks of sheep huddled together as
close as possible. I soon reached them, and learned with sorrow, that
the brave Colonel Barnard was, as they supposed, mortally wounded, the
ball having passed through the chest, and that little Lieutenant Doyle
was killed.
This was a most stupendous action; the scene of operations extending
from right to left, embracing, I imagine, not less than thirty miles of
country. The centre had fallen to the share of my division, which, in
the eyes of the best judges, was the strongest part of the enemy's line,
for it had been fortified with the most consummate skill, and no labour
had been spared to render it impregnable, as the enemy had been busily
employed in the construction of forts, redoubts, and other field-works
of every denomination, from the day we drove them from the Pass of Vera;
one in particular, a stone built fort, in the shape of a star, was
exceedingly strong, and which was attacked and carried in the finest
style possible, I understand, by the 43d regiment; the 52d also
surrounded a fort in which the French 88th regiment was posted, the
brave commander of which not having received any orders to evacuate it,
remained till the retreat of the French left him no other alternative
than to surrender at discretion. The part my battalion had to play, was
to cross the valley separating the two La Rhunes in double quick time,
and attack the French rock by a gorge, which allowed a passage from that
valley into their position. This was to be in conjunction with the
attack of the Star Fort by the 43d, as it in some measure took that work
in reverse. In short, every corps in the division, and I believe in the
army, had a most arduous duty to perform, and most nobly did they
execute it. The left of our army, under Sir Thomas Graham, did not
succeed in driving the enemy from his innumerable works which covered St
Jean de Luz, and which he retained possession of till the next morning;
when the centre, that is the 3d and light divisions, together with the
Spaniards on our right and left centre, made a movement in advance, and
crossed the Nivelle river, from which this action derives its name. Our
movement, which threatened to separate the wings of the French army,
caused the enemy to abandon his strong position in front of St Jean de
Luz, as well as that town, on which occasion he attempted, and partly
succeeded in destroying the bridge over the Nivelle at that place; but
it being soon after repaired, Sir Thomas Graham's corps took up their
quarters in the town.
We encamped for the night in front of the village of Serres, or Sarre,
or Zarre. It had rained hard all the day of the 11th, and it continued
almost without intermission till our camp was literally swimming. I
remember perfectly that the water in my tent was several inches deep;
and when I awoke in the morning, I found a Portuguese boy (who had
followed us, and had attached himself to our mess as a sort of servant)
was sitting holding by the tent-pole, that being the only place where he
could find rest for the sole of his foot. In short, we were as wet,
clothes and beds and all, as if we had been dragged through a river. The
evening before, I well remember, we had been highly amused by my Scotch
quartermaster-sergeant and his friends, who had taken up their abode
close by, singing, till they rather grew tiresome,
"We are nae fou', we're nae that fou',
But just a drappie in our e'e."
This of course was done to drive away dull care, and to make the best of
an uncomfortable situation.
The next day towards afternoon, a considerable firing was heard on our
right, which had continued but a short while, till our gallant and
unwearied Chief came galloping up, with some few of his staff following,
who could with difficulty keep pace with him, and asking most anxiously
whereabouts and what the firing was. We could only point out the
direction in which we heard it, but could give him no account as to its
cause. Away he galloped in the direction we pointed out, and no doubt
soon reached the spot.
I forgot to mention, that a man of the Brunswick Oels corps had been
hung the day before for plundering by the Provost Marshal, no doubt in
compliance with superior orders. It was necessary thus to give the army
an example of severity, in order to deter them from committing those
acts to which all armies are but too prone. We found indeed very little
to plunder, had we been so inclined; for the greater part of the
inhabitants had left their houses, taking every thing portable with
them. This they had been induced to do from the false statements which
Soult had set forth in some proclamations he issued about this time, in
which he described the English as savages, nay, even as cannibals, who
would not scruple to commit the most monstrous atrocities; so ignorant
were the generality of these poor peasants, that many of them implicitly
believed his representations. This, no doubt, was done with the view of
raising the whole population in arms against us, in order to defend
their homes against such a set of wretches as he made it appear we were;
but, although many of the natives joined the French army at this time,
with which they were incorporated and led to battle, the result of his
famous proclamations was not equal to his expectations; for a great part
of them declined warlike proceedings, and retired into the interior of
the country with their families, leaving only a very small proportion
indeed who remained in their houses. As might be expected, the empty
houses suffered dreadfully; every piece of furniture almost being
destroyed, either for fire-wood, or in seeking for valuables; while the
houses of those who remained in general escaped.
General Harispe, being a Basque himself, had the organizing of the new
levies now raised; indeed, many of these had taken a part in the
irruption into Spain on the 25th July for the relief of Pamplona, and
many of them fell on that occasion. We were not so fully aware of the
extent of the misrepresentation to which Soult had gone in these
proclamations, till some time after we had entered France, and had
penetrated considerably into the interior, when some of our officers,
either during or after a march, entered the cottage of a peasant who had
not left his home, to get a little milk. The poor woman was remarkably
civil, offering them any thing the house afforded. They got some milk,
for which they offered her money, but which she declined. Her child was
running about the house at this time, which, coming near one of the
officers, he took it between his knees, and patted it on the head, with
which the child seemed very well pleased; but the poor mother, standing
at a little distance, and eyeing most intently every motion of the
officer, was like to swoon with fear and agitation. But as the mother
had declined receiving any thing for the milk, the officer who had the
child gave it some small coin, and letting it go, it ran to its mother,
who snatched it up into her arms with the utmost joy, and altering her
look, began to say, she thought they had been deceived; for that they
had been led to believe from the proclamations of Soult, that we were
such barbarians that we would not scruple to kill and eat their
children, and which was the cause of her late fear and anxiety, as she
expected the officer had taken the child for that purpose; but now she
found we were not such people as she had been led to believe. Of course
the officer laughed most heartily at having been suspected of a
man-eating propensity, and soon convinced the poor woman that the
English were not quite such barbarians as that, whatever she might have
heard to the contrary.