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Sidenotes are shown in UPPER-CASE and enclosed in ♦DIAMOND SYMBOLS♦;
italic text is enclosed in _underscores_. Other notes will be found at
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HISTORY
OF THE
PENINSULAR WAR.
“Unto thee
“Let thine own times as an old story be.”
DONNE.
BY ROBERT SOUTHEY, ESQ. LL.D.
POET LAUREATE,
HONORARY MEMBER OF THE ROYAL SPANISH ACADEMY, OF THE
ROYAL SPANISH ACADEMY OF HISTORY, OF THE ROYAL
INSTITUTE OF THE NETHERLANDS, OF THE
CYMMRODORION, OF THE MASSACHUSETTS
HISTORICAL SOCIETY, ETC.
A NEW EDITION.
_IN SIX VOLUMES._
VOL. V.
LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE-STREET.
MDCCCXXXVII.
Ἱστορίας γὰρ ἐὰν ἀφέλῃ τις τὸ διὰ τί, καὶ πῶς, καὶ τίνος χάριν ἐπράχθη,
καὶ τὸ πραχθὲν πότερα εὔλογον ἔσχε τὸ τέλος, τὸ καταλειπόμενον αὐτῆς
ἀγώνισμα μὲν, μάθημα δὲ οὐ γίγνεται· καὶ παραυτίκα μὲν τέρπει, πρὸς δὲ
τὸ μέλλον οὐδὲν ὠφελεῖ τὸ παράπαν.
POLYBIUS, lib. iii. sect. 31.
CONTENTS OF THE FIFTH VOLUME.
Page
CHAPTER XXXIII.
Marshal Macdonald succeeds Augereau in Catalonia 1
Siege of Mequinenza 2
Mequinenza taken 4
Lili appointed to the command in Tortosa 4
Tortosa 5
Preparations for the siege of that city 6
The enemy appear before it 7
O’Donell visits the city 8
Macdonald enters the plain of Tarragona 9
Affair near Tarragona 10
Macdonald retires 10
O’Donell surprises the enemy at La Bisbal 11
The enemy’s batteries on the coast destroyed 15
Captured provisions purchased for the French in Barcelona 15
Lili’s preparations for defence 16
Ferdinand’s birthday celebrated in Tortosa 17
Conduct of the French general concerning Marshal Soult’s decree 18
Successes of Eroles 20
Edict against the Junta of Aragon 22
Molina de Aragon burnt by the French 23
Bassecourt takes the command in Valencia 24
Defeat of the Valencians at Ulldecona 25
Captain Fane taken at Palamos 26
Trenches opened before Tortosa 27
O’Donell’s plan for relieving it 28
Tortosa surrendered 29
Sentence on the governor for surrendering it 29
Col de Balaguer surrendered 30
Commodore Mends destroys the batteries on the north coast of
Spain 31
Expedition under Renovales to Santona 32
Wreck of the Spanish vessels 34
Expedition under Lord Blayney 35
Mountains of Ronda 35
Ortiz de Zarate 35
Lord Blayney sails from Gibraltar 38
He lands near the castle of Frangerola 38
Failure of the expedition 39
Lord Blayney and the British troops taken 41
Defeat of general Blake 41
Irregular war 42
State of the guerrilla warfare 48
Andalusia 48
Mountains of Ronda 49
Extremadura 51
D. Toribio Bustamente 51
D. Francisco Abad, el Chaleco 52
Ciria, the Nero of La Mancha 53
New Castille 54
D. Ventura Ximenez 54
Guerrilla banditti 55
Crimes of Pedrazuela and his wife 56
Alcalde of Brihuega 57
Joseph’s escape from the Empecinado 57
Desertion of the Juramentados 58
Junta of Guadalaxara 59
The Medico 59
Fourscore French burnt in a chapel 60
Cruelties and retaliations 60
Old Castille 61
The Cura 61
Aragon 62
The Canterero 63
Alcalde of Mondragon 64
Asturias 64
Porlier 64
D. José Duran 65
Xavier Mina 66
His capture 67
Espoz y Mina elected to succeed him 67
CHAPTER XXXIV.
Schemes of the instrusive government 73
The Cortes 74
Mode of election 75
Regulations proposed by the Central Junta 81
The Regency delays the convocation 81
Cortes convoked 83
Commencement of their proceedings 84
Oath required from the Regents 86
The Bishop of Orense scruples to take the oath 87
First measures of the Cortes 90
The Duke of Orleans offers his services 91
Second Regency 92
Marquis of Palacio refuses to take the oath 93
Tyrannical conduct of the Cortes towards him 94
Self-denying ordinance 95
Liberty of the press 96
State of the press 100
El Robespierre Español 102
Debates concerning Ferdinand 102
Decree concerning him 104
Character of the Cortes 106
CHAPTER XXXV.
Expectations of the French 109
Gardanne enters Portugal, and marches back again 110
Drouet enters with 10,000 men 111
Rash operations of Silveira 113
Conduct of Drouet’s corps 113
The French army left to subsist upon the country 114
Conduct of that army towards the inhabitants 115
Skill of the marauders 118
Massena perseveres in remaining against Ney’s advice 121
State of the people within the lines 122
False statements in France 124
Opinions of the opposition in England 125
Schemes of co-operation with Soult 126
Olivença taken by the French 127
Badajoz invested 128
Death of Romana 128
Destruction of his army 130
Governor of Badajoz killed 131
Imaz appointed to succeed him 131
Massena begins his retreat 134
Badajoz surrendered 135
Skill and barbarity of the French in their retreat 140
Havoc at Alcobaça 142
And at Batalha 144
Direction of the enemy’s retreat 144
Affair before Pombal 145
Before Redinha 146
They appear before Coimbra 147
Montbrun fears to enter it 147
Distress of the enemy 149
Affair on the Ceyra 152
Resistance made by the peasantry 154
Guarda 156
The Coa 157
Sabugal 157
Action before Sabugal 158
The French repass the frontier 161
Opinions of the Whigs at this time 162
Mr. Ponsonby 162
Mr. Freemantle 162
General Tarleton 163
Lord Grenville 164
CHAPTER XXXVI.
Expedition from Cadiz 165
Lieutenant-General Graham 165
Apprehensions of the enemy 166
The troops land at Algeciras 167
They pass the Puerto de Facinas 167
Lapeña’s proclamation 168
Advance against Veger 169
Junction of the troops from St. Roques 170
The French attack Zayas, and are repulsed 171
Passage of the Lake of Janda 172
Position of the enemy 173
Communication with the Isle of Leon opened 174
Heights of Barrosa 175
General Graham marches back to the heights 176
Battle of Barrosa 177
Diversion on the coast 179
The Cortes demand an enquiry 180
Outcry in England against Lapeña 180
Mr. Ward’s speech 181
Mr. Perceval 182
Mr. Whitbread 182
Remarks on the failure of the expedition 184
Death of Alburquerque 187
His epitaph by Mr. Frere 189
CHAPTER XXXVII.
Opinions of the opposition writers at this time 190
Address of the Portugueze government to the people 193
Lord Wellington asks relief for the suffering Portugueze 195
Parliamentary grant for the relief of the Portugueze 196
Earl Grosvenor demurs at it 196
Marquis of Lansdowne 197
Mr. Ponsonby 197
Public subscription 198
Honourable acknowledgement of this relief by the Prince of Brazil 198
Distribution of the grant 198
Children famished at Santarem 199
State in which the French left the country they had occupied 199
Pombal 200
Santarem 200
Leyria 201
Political effect of this distribution 203
Marshal Beresford goes to Alentejo 205
Valencia de Alcantara, Alburquerque, and Campo Mayor taken by the
French 206
Beresford arrives on the frontier 206
Affair near Campo Mayor 207
Measures concerted with the Spaniards 209
Bridge constructed at Jurumenha 210
Passage of the Guadiana 211
Olivença retaken 212
Claim of the Portugueze to that place 213
The French retire from Extremadura 215
Siege of Badajoz undertaken 216
Bridge at Jurumenha swept away 217
Lord Wellington recalled to Beira 218
Inactivity of the Spanish commander in Galicia 218
Country between the Agueda and Coa 219
Massena’s address to his army 220
Battle of Fuentes d’Onoro 220
The French retire 227
Escape of the garrison from Almeida 228
Marmont succeeds Massena in the command 230
Lord Wellington recalled to Alentejo 231
Badajoz besieged 231
Interruption of the siege 232
Arrangement between Lord Wellington and Castaños concerning the
command 233
Reasons for giving battle 234
The allies assemble at Albuhera 234
Battle of Albuhera 236
Siege of Badajoz resumed 244
Unsuccessful attempts upon Fort Christoval 245
The siege raised 246
Junction of Soult and Marmont 247
The allies take a position within the Portugueze frontier 248
Soult boasts of his success 249
Blake’s movements 250
He fails at Niebla and returns to Cadiz 251
The French armies separate 252
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Plans of the French in Catalonia 253
The Pyrenean provinces administered in Buonaparte’s name 254
State of Aragon 255
System of the French commander 255
Good effect of paying the troops regularly 257
British goods burnt at Zaragoza 257
Preparations for besieging Zaragoza 258
Manresa burnt by Macdonald 260
Scheme for the recovery of Barcelona frustrated 262
Figueras 263
Attempt upon that place 264
It is taken by surprise 265
Rovira rewarded with preferment in the church 267
Suchet refuses to send the troops which Macdonald required from
him 269
Eroles introduces troops into Figueras 270
The French blockade it 270
Attempts to destroy Mina 272
Tarragona 291
Siege of that city 295
Campoverde enters it after a defeat 296
Fort Olivo betrayed 297
Contreras appointed to command in the city 298
Campoverde goes out to act in the field 298
Fort Francoli abandoned 300
Troops sent to reinforce the garrison, and landed elsewhere 301
The lower town taken 303
Suchet’s threat 303
The mole at Tarragona 303
Campoverde’s inactivity 304
Ill behaviour of the Spanish frigates 305
Colonel Skerrett arrives with British troops from Cadiz 305
Tarragona taken by assault 306
Massacre there 308
Campoverde resolves to abandon Catalonia 310
Eroles refuses to leave it 311
General Lacy arrives to take the command 311
Montserrate taken by the French 312
Fall of Figueras 313
Base usage of the prisoners taken there 314
Manso 314
Conduct of the Junta of Catalonia 316
Lacy’s proclamation 316
Retreat of the cavalry from Catalonia to Murcia 317
State of the enemy in Catalonia 319
Las Medas recovered by the Spaniards 320
Successful enterprises of Lacy and Eroles 322
Corregidor of Cervera taken and punished 324
Eroles enters France and levies contributions 324
CHAPTER XXXIX.
State of Portugal 327
Expectation of peace 328
Disposition of the continental powers to resist Buonaparte 329
Plans of Soult and Marmont 330
Dorsenne enters Galicia 331
Abadia retreats 331
Lord Wellington observes Ciudad Rodrigo 332
Dorsenne recalled from Galicia 333
Movements of the French to throw supplies into Ciudad Rodrigo 333
The allies fall back 335
The French retire 338
Marmont boasts of his success 338
Girard in Extremadura 339
General Hill moves against him 340
Arroyo Molinos 341
The French surprised and routed there 342
Marques del Palacio appointed to the command in Valencia 345
His proclamation 345
He is superseded by Blake 347
Murviedro 349
Suchet takes possession of the town 350
The French repulsed in an assault 351
Oropesa taken by the enemy 352
A second assault repelled 353
Guerrilla movements in aid of Murviedro 353
Dispersion of the Empecinado’s troops 355
His subsequent successes in conjunction with Duran 355
A price set upon the heads of Mina and his officers 356
Mina’s success at Ayerbe 357
Cruchaga carries off the enemy’s stores from Tafalla 359
Mina’s object in soliciting for military rank 360
His decree for reprisals 361
Duran and the Empecinado separate 363
Battle of Murviedro 364
Murviedro surrendered 367
Valencia 369
Suchet summons the city 371
He establishes himself in the suburb and in the port 371
The army endeavours to escape 374
Xativa surrendered 374
Blake abandons the lines and retires into the city 375
The city a second time summoned 376
Suchet expects a desperate resistance 377
He bombards the city 378
Blake surrenders the city to the army 379
CHAPTER XL.
Attempt on Alicante 381
Dénia surrendered 382
Peniscola betrayed by Garcia Navarro 382
Carrera killed in Murcia 382
New constitution 383
Change of Regency 383
Ballasteros retreats to the lines of St. Roque 384
Tarifa attempted by the French 385
Tarifa 387
Tarifa re-garrisoned by the English 388
Colonel Skerrett and Copons arrive there 389
The French invest the town 390
Doubts whether it could be defended 391
The garrison summoned 393
The French repulsed in an assault 394
Effects of a storm on both parties 395
Siege raised 396
General Hill occupies Merida 398
Attempt to carry off Soult 398
Colonel Grant rescued by the Guerrillas 399
State of feeling at Madrid 399
State of the country 401
The Intruder goes to France 403
Distress both of the Intrusive and Legitimate Governments 404
Schemes for strengthening the Spanish government 406
Cardinal Bourbon 407
The Infante Don Carlos 407
Princess of Brazil 407
State of the Portugueze government 408
Marquis Wellesley’s views 410
Lord Wellington prepares for the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo 411
Ciudad Rodrigo 415
A redoubt carried 416
Convent of Santa Cruz taken 418
Captain Ross killed 418
St. Francisco’s and the suburbs taken 419
The place taken by assault 421
Craufurd mortally wounded 422
Mackinnon killed 423
General Craufurd 424
General Mackinnon 425
Marmont’s movements during the siege 427
Lord Wellington made Duque de Ciudad Rodrigo 428
Speeches of Sir Francis Burdett and Mr. Whitbread 428
Lord Wellington created an Earl 429
Preparations for the siege of Badajoz 429
Preparations for its defence 431
Siege and capture of that city 433
Soult advances to relieve the place, and retreats 448
Marmont enters Beira 449
Arrangement for the defence of that frontier 449
Marmont deterred by a feint from assaulting Almeida 450
Advance of the French to Castello Branco, and their retreat 452
Marmont attempts to surprise the Portugueze at Guarda 452
Flight of the Portugueze militia by the Mondego 453
Marmont retreats 454
Lord Wellington retires to Beira 455
CHAPTER XLI.
Marquis Wellesley resigns office 457
Restrictions on the Regency expire 457
Communication from the Prince Regent to the leaders of opposition 458
Reply of Lords Grey and Grenville 459
Lord Boringdon’s motion 460
Speech of Earl Grey 461
Overture from the French government 462
Lord Castlereagh’s reply 465
Mr. Perceval murdered 466
Conduct of the populace 467
Overtures from the Ministers to Marquis Wellesley and Mr. Canning 468
Marquis Wellesley’s reasons for declining them 470
Mr. Canning’s 471
Marquis Wellesley’s statement 472
Mr. Stuart Wortley’s motion 473
Marquis Wellesley charged to form an administration 473
The ministers refuse to act with him 474
Lords Grey and Grenville also decline 474
Marquis Wellesley receives fuller powers 476
The two lords persist in their reply 477
Earl Moira’s letter to Earl Grey 478
Marquis Wellesley resigns his commission 480
Negotiation with Earl Moira 480
The old Ministry is re-established 483
Marquis Wellesley’s explanation 483
Earl Grey’s 485
Earl Moira’s reply 485
Mr. Stuart Wortley’s second motion 487
Lord Yarmouth’s statement 487
Lord Castlereagh’s speech 488
Pecuniary assistance to the Spaniards 492
Proposal concerning Spanish troops 493
Plan of a diversion from Sicily 493
HISTORY
OF THE
PENINSULAR WAR.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
CATALONIA. MEQUINENZA AND TORTOSA TAKEN. EXPEDITIONS ON THE COASTS OF
BISCAY AND OF ANDALUSIA. GUERRILLAS.
♦1810.♦
While Lord Wellington detained in Portugal the most numerous of the
French armies, defied their strength and baffled their combinations,
events of great importance, both military and civil, were taking place
in Spain.
♦MARSHAL MACDONALD SUCCEEDS AUGEREAU.♦
The command in Catalonia had devolved upon Camp-Marshal Juan Manuel
de Villena, during the time that O’Donell was invalided by his wound.
He had to oppose in Marshal Macdonald a general of higher reputation
and of a better stamp than Augereau. Augereau had passed through the
revolutionary war without obtaining any worse character than that of
rapacity; but in Catalonia he manifested a ferocious and cruel temper,
of which he had not before been suspected. Every armed Catalan who
fell alive into his hand was sent to the gibbet: the people were not
slow at reprisals, and war became truly dreadful when cruelty appeared
on both sides to be only the exercise of vindictive justice: it was
made so hateful to the better part of the German soldiers, and to
the younger French also, whose hearts had not yet been seared, that
they sought eagerly for every opportunity of fighting, in the hope of
receiving wounds ♦VON STAFF, 296.♦ which should entitle them to their
dismission, or, at the worst, of speedily terminating a life which was
rendered odious by the service wherein they were engaged.
♦SIEGE OF MEQUINENZA.♦
The force under Macdonald’s command consisted of 21,000 men, including
2000 cavalry, and of 16,500 employed in garrisons and in the points of
communication; the army of Aragon also, which Suchet commanded, was
under his direction. They could not in Catalonia, as they had done in
other parts of Spain, press forward, and leave defensible towns behind
them: it was necessary to take every place that could be defended by
a resolute people, and to secure it when taken. After Lerida had been
villanously betrayed by Garcia Conde, Tortosa became the next point
of importance for the French to gain, for while that city was held by
the Spaniards, the communication between Valencia and Catalonia could
not be cut off. Tarragona and Valencia were then successively to be
attacked, but Mequinenza was to be taken before Tortosa was besieged.
This town, which was called Octogesa when the Romans became masters of
Spain, which by the corrupted name of Ictosa was the seat of a bishop’s
see under the Wisigoths, and which obtained its present appellation
from the Moors, was at the present juncture a point of considerable
importance, because it commanded the navigation of the Ebro, being
situated where that river receives the Segre. It was now a decayed
town with a fortified castle: the works never had been strong, and
since the Succession-war had received only such hasty repairs as had
been made, at the urgent representations of General Doyle, during the
second siege of Zaragoza. These preparations had enabled it to repulse
the enemy in three several attempts after the fall of that city. It
had now, by Doyle s exertions, been well supplied with provisions, but
every thing else was wanting; the garrison consisted of 700 men, upon
whose discipline or subordination the commander, D. Manuel Carbon,
could but ill rely. He himself was disposed to do his duty, and was
well supported by some of his officers.
♦MAY 18.♦
Six days after the betrayal of Lerida the French Colonel Robert was
sent with three battalions to commence operations against this poor
fortress; he tried to force the passage of a bridge over the Cinca,
which was so well defended, that it cost him 400 men. Between that
river and the Ebro, Mousnier’s division approached so as to straiten
the place, and a bridge of boats was thrown across the Ebro, and a
tête-du-pont constructed to cut off the besieged from succour on that
side. The operations were conducted with little skill or success, till
at the expiration of a fortnight Colonel Rogniat came to direct them.
Carbon then found it necessary to abandon the place, and retire into
the Castle; to this he was compelled less by the efforts of the enemy
than by distrust of his own men, who now becoming hopeless of relief,
took every opportunity of deserting. His only armourer had fled, so had
his masons, his carpenters, and his medical staff, the latter taking
with them their stores. Four of the iron guns had burst, ... two brazen
ones were rendered useless; and the Castle, which the people looked
upon as impregnable, was not only weak in itself, but incapable of
long resistance, had it been stronger, for want of water: there was
none within the works; it was to be brought from a distance, and by a
difficult ♦JUNE.♦ road. The governor represented to the captain-general
that his situation was truly miserable; that the best thing he could
do, were it possible, would be to bring off the remains of the
garrison; but they were between the Ebro and the Segre, and the banks
of both rivers were occupied by the enemy. A force of at least 3000 men
would be required to relieve him ... whereas 500 might have sufficed if
they had been sent from Tortosa in time.
♦MEQUINENZA TAKEN.♦
This dispatch was brought to Villena by a peasant who succeeded in
swimming the Segre with it; and an attempt accordingly was made to
relieve the Castle, but it was made too late. General Doyle, whom the
Junta of Tortosa had addressed entreating him to continue his services
to Mequinenza, asked and obtained the command of the succours, and was
on the way with them, when they were met by tidings that the garrison
♦JUNE 8.♦ had surrendered. The course of the Ebro from Zaragoza was now
open to the enemy, and they prepared immediately to besiege Tortosa. If
Suchet had known the state of the city at this time, he might have won
it by a coup-de-main. The suspicions of the people had been re-inflamed
by the betrayal of Lerida; the fall of Mequinenza excited their fears;
♦LILI APPOINTED TO THE COMMAND IN TORTOSA. VOL. I. 731–735.♦ and an
insurrection was apprehended, to prevent which Villena requested Doyle
to hasten thither, and act as governor till the Conde de Alache, D.
Miguel de Lili y Idiaquez, should arrive. This nobleman had displayed
such skill and enterprise in the painful but fortunate retreat which
he made with a handful of men after the wreck of the central army
at Tudela, that it was thought no man could be more adequate to the
important service for which he was now chosen.
♦TORTOSA.♦
Tortosa stands upon the left bank of the Ebro, about four leagues
from the sea; it is on the high road by which Catalonia communicates
with the south of Spain. Before the Roman conquest the Ilercaones
had their chief settlement here, and the place was called after the
tribe Ilercaonia; Dartosa was its Roman name, which either under the
Goths or Moors passed into the present appellation. It was taken from
the Moors[1] by Louis le Debonnaire, during the life of his father
Charlemagne, after a remarkable siege, in which all the military
engines of that age seem to have been employed. The governor whom he
left there revolted, called in the Moors to his support, and they took
it for themselves. It was conquered from them by Ramon Berenguer,
Count of Barcelona, in the middle of the twelfth century; and in the
year following was saved from the Moors by the women, who took arms
when the men were almost overpowered, rallied them, and animated them
so that they repulsed the entering enemy: in honour of this event a
military order was instituted, and it was enacted that the women of
Tortosa should have precedence of the men in all public ceremonies.
During that revolt of the Catalans which was one of the many and great
evils brought upon Spain by the iniquitous administration of Olivares,
Tortosa declared early for the provincial cause; but it was reduced to
obedience soon and without violence, and the city, which then contained
2000 inhabitants, was secured against any sudden attack. Marshal de la
Mothe besieged it in 1642, and effected a breach in its weak works:
he was repulsed in an assault with considerable loss, and deemed it
necessary to raise the siege. Six years afterwards the French, with
Schomberg for their general, took it by storm, ... the bishop and
most of the clergy falling in the breach. It was retaken in 1650. In
the Succession-war this place was gladly given up to the allies by
the people, as soon as the capture of Barcelona by Lord Peterborough
enabled them to declare their sentiments. The Duke of Orleans took
it in 1708 by a vigorous siege, and through the want of firmness in
the governor; had it held out two days longer, the besieging army
must have retired for want of supplies. Staremberg almost succeeded
in recovering it by surprise a few months afterwards; and in 1711 he
failed in a second attempt. From that time the city had flourished
during nearly an hundred years of internal peace; the population had
increased to 16,000; the chief export was potash; the chief trade in
wheat, which was either imported hither or exported hence, according as
the harvest had proved in the two provinces of Catalonia and Aragon.
But during this long interval of tranquillity, while the city and its
neighbourhood partook the prosperity of the most industrious province
in Spain, the fortifications, like every thing upon which the strength
and security of the state depended, had been neglected, and were
falling to decay.
♦PREPARATIONS FOR THE SIEGE OF THAT CITY.♦
This place, which could only have opposed a tumultuous resistance if
the French had immediately pursued their success, was soon secured
against any sudden attack by Doyle’s exertions. He had given up his pay
in the Spanish service to the use of this province, and the confidence
which was placed in him by the people and the local authorities, as
well as by the generals, gave him influence and authority wherever
he went. Every effort was made for storing and strengthening the
city, while the enemy on their part made preparations for besieging
it in form. Mequinenza was their depôt for the siege: from thence
the artillery was conveyed to Xerta, a little town two leagues above
Tortosa on the Ebro, which they fortified, and where they established a
tête-du-pont: another was formed at Mora, half way between Mequinenza
and Tortosa; the navigation of the river was thus secured. The roads
upon either bank being only mountain paths, which were practicable but
for beasts of burthen, a military road was constructed from Caspe,
following in many parts the line of that which the Duke of Orleans
had formed in the preceding century. A corps of 5000 infantry and 500
horse was to invest the city on the right bank, while another corps
of the same strength watched the movements of the Catalan army. One
division Suchet had left in Aragon, where the regular force opposed
to it had almost disappeared in the incapable hands of D. Francisco
Palafox. He had as little to apprehend on the side of Valencia; neither
men nor means were wanting in that populous and wealthy province,
but there prevailed a narrow provincial spirit, and General Caro
remained inactive when an opportunity was presented of compelling the
French, who were on the right bank, to retire, or of cutting them
off. The other part of the besieging army was not left in like manner
unmolested, for O’Donell had by this time recovered from his wound, and
resumed the command.
♦THE ENEMY APPEAR BEFORE THE PLACE.♦
On the 4th of July the enemy appeared on the right bank, and occupied
the suburbs of Jesus and Las Roquetas; they took possession also
of the country-houses which were near the city on that side, but
not without resistance. On the 8th they attacked the tête-du-pont,
expecting to carry it by a sudden and vigorous attempt; they were
repulsed, renewed the attempt at midnight, were again repulsed, and
a few hours afterwards failed in a third attack. They were now
satisfied that Tortosa was not to be won without the time and labour
of a regular siege. They had seen also a manifestation of that same
spirit which had been so virtuously displayed at Zaragoza and Gerona.
For the Tortosan women had passed and repassed the bridge during the
heat of action, regardless of danger, bearing refreshments and stores
to the soldiers; two who were wounded in this service were rewarded
with medals and with a pension. They enrolled themselves in companies
to attend upon the wounded, whether in the hospitals or in private
houses. There was one woman who during the whole siege carried water
and cordials to the troops at the points of attack, and frequently
went out with them in their sallies; the people called her La Titaya,
and she was made a serjeant for her services. The men also formed
themselves into companies, and it was evident what might be expected
from the inhabitants, if their governor should prove worthy of the
charge committed to him. Velasco, who held the command till the Conde
de Alache should arrive, was incapacitated by illness for any exertion.
The garrison, encouraged by their success in repelling the enemy, made
a sally on the 10th with more courage than prudence, and lost about 100
men; the next day the French began their regular approaches.
♦O’DONELL VISITS THE CITY.♦
O’Donell’s first care upon resuming the command of the army was to
strengthen Tortosa and provide it against the siege, which if he could
not prevent he would use every exertion to impede and frustrate. Lili
arrived there in the middle of July, and a convoy of provisions with
him: Velasco then left the place, and retired to Tarragona, broken in
health. Stores and men were introduced till the magazines were fully
replenished, and the garrison amounted to 8000 effective men. On the
night of the 21st the enemy made another attack upon the tête-du-pont,
as unsuccessfully as before. Some days afterwards O’Donell came there
to inspect the place; he thanked the inhabitants for the good-will
which they were manifesting, and the readiness with which they had cut
down their fruit-trees and demolished their villas in the adjoining
country, sacrificing every thing cheerfully to the national cause. He
directed also a sally, which was made with good effect, ♦AUG. 3.♦ some
of the enemy’s works being destroyed: Lili was present in this affair,
and was wounded. Having seen that every thing was in order here, and
promised well, the general returned to his army.
But O’Donell deriving no support from either of the neighbouring
provinces, had on the one hand to impede Suchet’s operations, and on
the other to act against Macdonald. Before that Marshal could take
any measures in aid of the besieging army, he had to introduce a
convoy ♦MACDONALD ENTERS THE PLAINS OF TARRAGONA.♦ into Barcelona.
Having effected this object, and baffled the force which endeavoured
to prevent it, he moved upon the Ebro; by this movement O’Donell was
compelled to withdraw the division which kept in check the French corps
upon the left bank; and Suchet, seizing the opportunity, passed that
corps across the river, and advanced against the Valencian army, with
which Caro had at last taken the field, ... only to make a precipitate
retreat when it was thus attacked, and leave the enemy without any
interruption from that side. Macdonald meantime easily overcoming
the little resistance that could be interposed entered the plain of
Tarragona, and took a position at Reus, with his whole disposable
force, raising contributions in money and every kind of stores upon
that unhappy town, while his troops pillaged the surrounding country.
Tarragona was at this time but weakly garrisoned, and some apprehension
was entertained that it might be his intention to lay siege to it.
Campoverde’s division, therefore, was immediately removed thither from
Falset, and O’Donell himself entered the place, and occupied the height
of Oliva and the village of La Canonja, endeavouring by activity and
display to make the most of his insufficient force. Before daybreak
this latter post was attacked by the French in ♦AUG. 21. AFFAIR NEAR
TARRAGONA.♦ strength, ... the Spaniards fell back till O’Donell came
to their support; he supposed the enemy’s object was to reconnoitre
the place, and this he was desirous to prevent. Captain Buller, in the
Volontaire frigate, was near enough distinctly to hear and see the
firing; immediately he sent his launch and barge with some carronades
in shore, and anchored the ship with springs in four fathoms water, to
support the boats, and act as circumstances might require. These boats
acted with great effect upon the right flank of the French; and the
frigate bringing its guns to bear upon the enemy’s cavalry, which was
forming upon a rising ground, dislodged them; so that they retreated
to their position with the loss of about an hundred and fifty men. On
the same day Captain Fane, in the Cambrian frigate, and some Spanish
boats, performed a like service at Salou, driving from thence, with the
loss of some forty men, a detachment of the enemy who had gone thither
to plunder the place. ♦MACDONALD RETIRES. AUG. 25.♦ On the fourth day
after this affair the French retreated, leaving 700 sick and wounded in
the hospital at Reus, and 200 at Valls. Their rearguard was overtaken
in the town of Momblanch, and the plunder which they had collected
there was recovered: but a Spanish general was put under arrest for not
having improved the advantage which he had gained. They suffered also a
considerable loss by desertion. Nearly 300 Italians deserted from Reus,
and 400 more during the expedition.
Suchet with 3000 men had moved down upon Momblanch, to cover a retreat
which was not made without danger. This movement left Tortosa for a
while free of access, and large supplies were promptly introduced.
Macdonald now took a position near Cervera, as a central point, from
whence he could cover the besieging army before Tortosa, and threaten
the rear of the Spaniards upon the Llobregat, and where he could occupy
an extent of country capable of supplying him with provisions. But
♦O’DONNELL SURPRISES THE ENEMY AT LA BISBAL.♦ this afforded opportunity
to O’Donell for renewing that system of warfare which he had carried
on successfully against Augereau. He embarked a small detachment at
Tarragona, provided with artillery, which sailed under convoy of a
small Spanish squadron and of the Cambrian frigate. On the 6th of
September he put himself at the head of a division at Villafranca,
having directed the movements of his troops so as to make the French
infer that it was his intention to interpose between them and
♦SEPTEMBER.♦ Barcelona. Leaving Campoverde to throw up works near La
Baguda, and secure that pass, he proceeded to Esparraguera: from thence
he reconnoitred El Bruch and Casamasanes, and leaving Eroles to guard
that position, ordered Brigadier Georget to take post at Mombuy, close
by Igualada, and Camp-Marshal Obispo to advance by a forced march from
Momblanch, and place himself upon the heights to the right and left of
Martorell. This was on the 9th: that same night he ordered Campoverde
to march the following morning and join him at S. Culgat del Valles,
sending a battalion to reinforce Georget, but letting no one know his
destination. The whole division reached Mataro on the 10th, Pineda on
the following day; from thence a party under the Colonel of Engineers,
D. Honorato de Fleyres, was dispatched to take post at the _Ermida_ of
S. Grau, while O’Donell proceeded to Tordera. Before he left Pineda he
received intelligence that the squadron had commenced its operations
auspiciously. Doyle had landed at Bagur, taken forty-two prisoners
there, and with the assistance of the Cambrian’s boats destroyed the
battery and carried off the guns. Being now about to leave the garrison
of Hostalrich in his rear, O’Donell sent off a detachment towards
that fort, and another toward Gerona, that they might lead the French
in both places to suppose he was reconnoitring with a view to invest
them. On the 13th he reached the village of Vidreras, falling in on the
way thither with an howitzer and a field-piece which had been landed
for him at Calella. At Vidreras the two last detachments which he
had sent off rejoined him, having performed their service with great
success, the one party bringing off nine prisoners from the suburbs of
Hostalrich, whom they had taken in the houses there, the other eleven
from under the walls of Gerona.
This long movement had been undertaken in the hope of cutting off
the French who occupied S. Feliu de Guixols, Palamos, and La Bisbal.
The larger force was at La Bisbal under General Schwartz; and that
he might have no opportunity to reinforce the two weaker points,
it was O’Donell’s intention to attack him there, at the same time
that Fleyres, dividing his detachment, should attack both the other
garrisons. From Vidreras to La Bisbal is a distance which in that
country, where distances are measured by time, is computed at eight
hours, the foot-pace of an able-bodied man averaging usually four
miles in the hour; but at this time much depended on celerity. At
daybreak on the 14th he renewed his march with the cavalry regiment
of Numancia, sixty hussars, and an hundred volunteer infantry, who
thought themselves capable of keeping up with the horse. The regiment
of Iliberia followed at a less exhausting pace; and the rest of the
division, under Campoverde, went by way of Llagostera to post itself
in the valley of Aro, as a body of reserve, and cut off the enemy in
case they should retire from the points which they occupied. O’Donell
proceeded so rapidly that he performed the usual journey of eight hours
in little more than four, the infantry keeping up with the horse at a
brisk trot the whole time. As soon as they reached La Bisbal, Brigadier
Sanjuan, with the cavalry, occupied all the avenues of the town, to
prevent the enemy, who upon their appearance had retired into an old
castle, from escaping; some cuirassiers who were patrolling were made
prisoners; the Spanish infantry took possession of the houses near the
castle, and from thence and from the church tower fired upon it. They
rung the Somaten, and the peasants who were within hearing came to join
them. O’Donell perceiving that musketry was of little avail, and that
Schwartz did not surrender at his summons, resolved to set fire to the
gates; but in reconnoitring the castle with this object, he received
a musket-ball in the leg, the sixteenth which had struck him in the
course of this war. Just at this time a detachment of an hundred foot,
with two-and-thirty cuirassiers, came from the side of Torruella to aid
the garrison. Sanjuan charged them with his reserve; the cuirassiers
fled toward Gerona, all the infantry were taken, and a convoy of
provisions with its escort fell into the hands of the Spaniards. The
regiment of Iliberia, quickening its march when it heard the firing,
now came up; at nightfall the enemy were a second time summoned, and
Schwartz, seeing no means of escape, was then glad to have the honours
of war granted him, upon surrendering with his whole party, consisting
of 650 men and 42 officers.
Fleyres meantime leaving S. Grau at two on the morning of the same
day, divided his force, and directed Lieutenant-Colonel D. Tadeo
Aldea, with 300 foot and 20 horse, against Palamos, while he with
the same number of horse and 250 foot proceeded against S. Feliu de
Guixols; 150 men being left as a reserve for both parties upon the
heights on the road to Zeroles. Both were successful. The Spaniards
were not discovered as they approached S. Feliu till they were within
pistol-shot of the sentinel; and the enemy, after a brisk but short
resistance, surrendered when they were offered honourable treatment in
O’Donell’s name. Thirty-six were killed and wounded here; 270 men and
eight officers laid down their arms. At Palamos the enemy had batteries
which they defended; but there the squadron co-operated, and after
the loss of threescore men, 255, with seven officers, surrendered.
Seventy more were taken on the following day in the Castle of Calonge.
The result of this well-planned, and singularly fortunate expedition,
which succeeded in its full extent at every point, was the capture of
one general, two colonels, threescore inferior officers, more than
1200 men, seventeen pieces of artillery, magazines and stores, and
the destruction of every battery, fort, or house which the enemy had
fortified upon the coast as far as the Bay of Rosas. The British seamen
and marines had exerted themselves with their characteristic activity
and good-will on this occasion; and Captain Fane, though suffering
under severe indisposition at the time, had landed with Doyle, and put
himself forwards wherever most was to be done. O’Donell, to mark the
sense which was entertained of their services, ordered a medal to be
struck for the officers and crew, with appropriate[2] inscriptions.
The Spaniards had only ten men killed and twenty-three wounded; but
O’Donell was disabled by his wound, and a General who had displayed
so much ability, and in whose fortune the soldiers had acquired
confidence could ill be spared. The system of maritime enterprise
which had been thus well commenced ♦THE ENEMY’S BATTERIES ON THE COAST
DESTROYED.♦ was actively pursued. Upon General Doyle’s representation
it was resolved to attack the batteries which the enemy had erected
upon the coast between Barcelona and Tarragona, and by means of which,
with few men, they kept the maritime towns in subjection; they were
placed always in commanding situations, ... boats with supplies lay
at anchor under them all day, in safety from the cruisers, and under
cover of the night crept along shore toward their destination. Doyle
embarked for this service, and with the aid of Captain Buller, in the
Volontaire, effectually performed it, destroying every battery, and
carrying off the artillery and stores. The same service was performed
a second time upon the coast between Mataro and Rosas, where the
enemy had re-occupied stations; the batteries were again destroyed,
their coasters taken, and the Spanish Lieutenant-Colonel O’Ronan,
who embarked in the Volontaire with authority from the provincial
government, collected the imposts and levied contributions upon
those persons who traded with France, or were known partizans of the
♦OCTOBER.♦ French. He had the boldness to enter the town of Figueras
with twenty-five men, and draw rations for them in sight of the enemy’s
garrison; but in this cruise the Volontaire suffered so much in a gale
of wind, that it was necessary to make for Port Mahon.
♦CAPTURED PROVISIONS PURCHASED FOR THE FRENCH IN BARCELONA.♦
The British ships rendered essential service to the Catalans at this
time, and were at all times useful in keeping up their hopes, and
rendering it more difficult for the enemy to obtain supplies. The
spirit of the people was invincible; and under such leaders as Manso,
and Rovira, and Eroles, they were so successful in desultory warfare,
that a land convoy for Barcelona required an army for its escort, and
the French government was informed, that precarious as the supply by
sea was, they must mainly trust to it. Indeed no inconsiderable part
of the provisions which were sent by sea found its way to Barcelona
after it had fallen into the hands of the British squadron. The cargoes
were sold by the captors at Villa Nova, where there were persons ready
to purchase them at any[3] price: ... these persons were agents for
the enemy; and when the magazines were full, a detachment came from
Barcelona and convoyed the stores safely to that city, which is not
twenty miles distant. The indulgence also which was intended for the
Spaniards in Barcelona, in allowing their fishing-boats to come without
the mole, was turned to the advantage of the garrison. There were about
150 of these boats, and upon every opportunity they received provisions
and stores[4], which they carried in for some time without being
suspected.
♦LILI’S PREPARATIONS FOR DEFENCE.♦
Suchet meantime could make no progress in the siege of Tortosa; though
the Valencians left him undisturbed on their side, he could undertake
no serious operations till the other part of his army could be brought
down to complete the investment of the place, and till Macdonald should
be in a situation to cover the besieging force, which that General
could not do till he received reinforcements, his strength being wasted
by the losses which he was continually suffering in detail, and by the
numerous desertions which took place. Doyle’s address to the foreigners
in the French service, in their respective languages, had produced no
inconsiderable effect; copies of it were fired from the town in shells,
and by that means scattered among the ♦SEPT. 7.♦ besiegers. As soon as
it was known that the enemy’s heavy guns had arrived at Xerta, Lili
issued a proclamation to the inhabitants, requesting that all who were
not able to take arms and bear an active part in its defence would
withdraw, while a way was yet open: the place, he said, had no shelter
for them when it should be bombarded, nor could provisions be afforded
them. But the invaders, he added, deceived themselves if they supposed
that his constancy was to be shaken by the fears and lamentations of
old men and children and of a few women, or if they expected to find
another Lerida in Catalonia; for he and his garrison had sworn, and he
now repeated the vow, that Tortosa should not be yielded up till it had
surpassed, if that were possible, the measure of resistance at Zaragoza
and Gerona. He issued an order also that as soon as the first gun
should be discharged against the place, the door of every house should
be open day and night, and vessels of water kept there in readiness for
extinguishing fires, ... and lights during the night.
♦FERDINAND’S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATED IN TORTOSA.
OCT. 14.♦
Buonaparte’s birthday recurred about this time, and the French general
sent a letter into the city, informing the governor that it would be
celebrated in due form with a discharge of cannon. Lili corresponded
to this courtesy by sending a similar communication on the eve of
Ferdinand’s anniversary; at the same time he sent the official notice
which had reached him, that the yellow fever had broken out in certain
ports of the Mediterranean, and that some ships were infected with
it: this information, he said, was given as humanity required, in
order that the enemy might take all possible precautions against
the contagion in those parts of the country which were occupied by
their troops. The holiday was observed with its usual solemnities and
pageants, as if there had been no hostile encampment without the walls:
in the morning there was service in the churches; in the afternoon
the holy girdle, a relic of which Tortosa boasted, was carried in
procession, a masque of giants going before it, accompanied by persons
performing a provincial sword-dance, and followed by all the corporate
bodies, civil and ecclesiastical, and by the military, with music, and
banners displayed. Bull-fights with young animals who were neither
tortured with fireworks (as is the manner in the serious exhibitions of
that execrable sport) nor slaughtered, were held in the streets, and
the day concluded with a ball, a banquet, and an illumination.
♦CONDUCT OF THE FRENCH GENERAL CONCERNING MARSHAL SOULT’S DECREE. SEE
VOL. II.♦
The next communication of Lili to the French general was not received
so courteously by Harispe, who at that time was left in command of the
besieging army. The Spaniards sent him copies of the decree issued
by the Regency in consequence of Soult’s infamous edict against the
Spanish armies, both edicts being printed on one sheet, in parallel
columns; Lili sent them with a flag of truce, saying it was his duty
to put the French general and his commander-in-chief in possession
of this royal decree. Harispe replied, that he should always receive
the Spanish commander’s messengers with pleasure, when they were
the bearers of decent and useful communications; but in the present
instance he must detain them prisoners of war, inasmuch as they seemed
to have no other object than that of scattering satirical writings.
If this reply had not been accompanied by an act in violation of the
laws of war, it would have been satisfactory to the Spaniards; for
the French general could not more plainly have shown the opinion
which he entertained of Marshal Soult’s decree, than by thus affecting
to believe that it was spurious. The besieging army, however, had
given some examples of that merciless system upon which the intrusive
government required its generals to act; ... for the bodies of some
peasants were taken out of the river, with many bayonet wounds about
them, and their hands tied: they were interred in the city, where
the circumstance and the solemnity made a strong impression upon the
people. There was a Piemontese, who, having resided more than twenty
years in Tortosa, went over to the French, and rendered them all the
service which his knowledge of the place and the country enabled him to
perform. This treason on the part of a naturalized foreigner excited
a strong desire for vengeance; some peasants watched his movements,
laid wait for him, surprised him, and carried him prisoner into the
city, where he was tried, and condemned to be shot in the back, under
the gallows; that mode and place of death being chosen as the most
ignominious, there being no hangman there. The besieged were gratified
by another act of vengeance. An officer in the French army, before
the serious business of the siege began, amused[5] himself, from a
favourable station, with bringing down such individuals as came within
reach of his gun. At length a deserter gave information that this
unseen marksman’s stand was in a house called _la Casilla Blanca_, upon
which the commandant of artillery, D. Francisco Arnau, went with his
piece to a good station on the bank of the river, and getting aim at
him while he was engaged in his murderous sport, had the satisfaction
of seeing him fall.
Though the enemy had established two bridges with a tete-du-pont
to each between Mequinenza and Tortosa, they had not been able to
render the passage of the river secure. Their boats were sometimes
intercepted and sometimes sunk; and everywhere a system of war was
carried on by which the armies of Macdonald and Suchet were so
harassed, that the operations of the siege were impeded during five
months. ♦SUCCESSES OF EROLES.♦ Some brilliant achievements were
performed in the Ampurdan by Baron Eroles, an officer who rendered
himself so obnoxious to the enemy by the activity and success with
which he discharged his duty to his country, that there was an order
in the French army to hang him as soon as he should fall into their
hands. The German troops in Catalonia had at this time been reduced
by deaths, captures, and desertions, to such a state of inefficiency,
that the few survivors were permitted to leave Spain, and stationed on
the South coast of France; there in the enjoyment of rest and a benign
climate, to recruit their broken health, before they returned to their
respective countries. Some troops only were left in the garrisons of
Lerida and Barcelona, ... the remainder, a few hundreds only of as many
thousands, gladly departed from a country in which they had committed
and suffered so many evils. Their place in the Ampurdan was supplied
by a reinforcement of 5000 French, under General Clement; the new
general, to signalize his entrance, entered Olot with 3000 men, and got
possession of the stores which were deposited there, with which, and
with the spoils of the town, he departed early on the ♦DEC. 6.♦ second
day, having thus far successfully effected his purpose. Eroles was at
Tornadis at this time, where he had collected his troops; and they
were receiving their rations when intelligence was brought him that
the enemy had left Olot, and were on their way to Castellfullit. A cry
arose from the Catalans that they did not want their bread and their
brandy then; what they wanted was cartridges, and to kill the French.
The men knew their commander, and he knew his people, for what kind of
service they were fit, and how surely they might be relied on in that
service. The enemy had had two hours’ start, but they were impeded
with artillery and plunder, and apprehending no danger, had made no
speed: the Catalans had the desire of vengeance to quicken them, and
performing in less than an hour and a half what is estimated at a three
hours’ journey, they came up with the rearguard at Castellfullit,
attacked and routed it. The French rallied, took a position on the
plain of Polligé, where they were protected by the cavalry and their
guns, and thus awaited for Eroles to attack them. His dispositions,
however, as soon as he had reconnoitred the ground, were made for
turning both their flanks; and when to prevent this they attacked his
centre, their cavalry were repulsed, the attempt wholly failed, and
they retreated to another position near S. Jayme. From thence they
were driven, and fell back upon a battalion which had now formed in
the plain of Argalaguer, and were protected by the buildings in that
village; but supposing the few horse which Eroles then brought forward
to be part of a greater force, Clement withdrew his men to a near wood,
on the other side of a stream. Encouraged by success, the Catalans
attacked them there also, drove them successively from thence and from
Besalu, and did not give up the pursuit till night closed. In this
affair Clement lost more than a thousand men, the Spaniards twenty-five
killed and fifty wounded: scarcely any prisoners were taken; the French
were persuaded that no quarter would be given, and in that persuasion
some had run upon the bayonets of the Spaniards, and some had thrown
themselves down a precipice near Castellfullit. The whole detachment
would have been destroyed if Eroles had had his cavalry, but they had
been detached before he knew of the enemy’s movements, and the utmost
exertions did not suffice to bring them up in time. The Baron observed
with satisfaction, in his dispatches, that they had been favoured with
this victory by the patroness of Spain, on the[6]festival of whose
conception it had been won.
Such, indeed, was the spirit which the French found in Catalonia, and
such the exasperated temper on their part which this unexpected and
brave resistance had occasioned, that they said it would be necessary
to exterminate one-half the Catalans in order to intimidate the other.
They found a similar spirit in Aragon; but there the country had not
the same natural strength, nor was there a single fortress to afford
protection to the people. The army, however, under D. Joze Maria
Carvajal, was again in activity; and though, owing to the incapacity of
their commanders in the first years of the war, and the want of means
in the utter destitution wherein it was afterwards left, it was never
fortunate enough to perform any splendid or signal service, it deserved
this praise, that for patience and constancy under the most trying
circumstances, this of all the Spanish armies was that which during
the contest deserved most highly of its country. The severest means
were used to intimidate the Aragonese, but in vain. ♦EDICT AGAINST
THE JUNTA OF ARAGON.♦ Suchet, as governor-general of that kingdom for
the intrusive government, published a decree, saying, it had come to
his knowledge that a set of senseless men, who had the ridiculous
audacity to style themselves the Junta of Aragon, had fixed themselves
in the village of Manzanera, from whence they endeavoured to disturb
the tranquillity of the Aragonese, by their incendiary libels, and
despotically took possession of the public revenues and stores: he
gave orders, therefore, that they should be pursued, delivered over to
a military tribunal, and be sentenced within twenty-four hours: that
the people of Manzanera, or of any other place to which they might
betake themselves, should drive them out, or, failing so to do, receive
an exemplary punishment, the Ayuntamiento and the parochial priest
being responsible in their goods and persons for the behaviour of the
inhabitants in this point: every place which received them was to be
punished irremissibly, and the authorities to suffer ignominious death
by the gallows. The Junta of Aragon, to show how they regarded this
decree, printed it in their own Gazette, well knowing that nothing
could contribute more to keep up that feeling in the nation which
it was their duty to encourage and to direct. They called attention
also to the important circumstance, that this decree was issued not
in the name of Joseph the Intruder, but in that of the emperor of
the French, King of Italy, and Protector of the Confederation of the
Rhine, of whose intention to include Spain, if he could, among the
states subjected to him, no equivocal indication was here afforded. The
intrusive government, however deceitful in its promises, was always
sincere in its threats. Of this every province had abundant proofs, and
none more than ♦MOLINA DE ARAGON BURNT BY THE FRENCH.♦ that in which
Suchet commanded. The city of Molina de Aragon in an especial manner
provoked the vengeance of the invaders by the disposition which the
inhabitants manifested, who, as often as the French entered it, took
refuge in the woods ♦NOV. 1.♦ and mountains: the enemy at length set
fire to it on all sides, and three parts of the city were consumed.
But acts of this kind, which proved the intention of the invaders
to reduce Spain to a desert rather than leave it unsubdued, served
only to confirm the Spaniards in that resolution which rendered their
subjugation impossible.
♦BASSECOURT TAKES THE COMMAND IN VALENCIA.♦
While Carvajal impeded Suchet’s operations from the side of Aragon,
some efforts were made from Valencia; a province where, with ample
means, little exertion had been found, and less ability to direct it.
The Regency relied upon the unexhausted resources which existed there,
believing that if the Valencian force were well employed, even though
it should not undertake any grand operations, Tortosa could not be
taken by less than 30,000 men. But when Bassecourt arrived to take
the command there, he found the army in a miserable condition both
as to equipments and discipline, which might have made him hopeless
of success in any other warfare than that desultory one, wherein
inexperienced troops may be trusted, and in which nothing is lost if
they find or fancy it necessary to disperse and provide every man for
his own safety. Some field-pieces had been sent from Valencia to the
army of Aragon: the French obtained intelligence of this, and a strong
detachment ♦OCT. 31.♦ under the Polish General Chlopisky entered Teruel
to intercept this artillery, when General Villacampa, for whom it
was intended, was at Alfambra, six hours distant: ... the officer in
charge of the guns endeavoured to retreat with them, but was pursued
and overtaken at Alventosa, and the whole fell into the enemy’s hands.
After this success Chlopisky sought to inflict another blow upon
Villacampa’s division, and an affair took place between Villel and
La Fuensanta, which the Spaniards considered as a victory on their
part, because, though compelled to retire from the ground, they had
not been pursued, nor had any dispersion taken place. Somewhat better
fortune attended ♦NOV. 12.♦ a maritime expedition from Peñiscola,
which was planned by General Doyle and executed by his aide-de-camp,
Lieutenant-Colonel San Martin; by this force the strong tower of S.
Juan, which commanded the Puerto de los Alfaques, was surprised, and
immediately garrisoned and stored; and thus the enemy were deprived
of a port in which their corsairs and coasters found protection. A
land expedition, undertaken at the same time in the hope of cutting
off a French detachment at Trayguera, failed altogether; the French
had withdrawn in time, and receiving a timely reinforcement, compelled
the Spaniards ♦DEFEAT OF THE VALENCIANS AT ULLDECONA.♦ in their turn
to retreat. No loss was sustained in this attempt. General Bassecourt
was less fortunate in an enterprise of greater moment; he projected
an attack upon Suchet’s army, which if it succeeded, should have
the effect of breaking up the siege; ... this general had not yet
learnt how little either his men or officers were to be relied on in
any combined or extensive operations; in full expectation[7] that
every thing would be executed as exactly as ♦NOV. 26.♦ it had been
planned, he left Peñiscola at night, put himself at the head of his
central division, and reaching the bridge over the Servol, beyond
Vinaroz, halted there to give time for the movements of his right,
under Brigadier Porta, which took the road of Alcanar. Having, as he
supposed, allowed a sufficient interval for this, he proceeded towards
Ulldecona, and halted a little before five in the morning at a place
called Hereu. Here he inspected his troops, and promised them a speedy
triumph, when a messenger arrived from Porta, requesting that the
signal for attack might be delayed, inasmuch as his division had not
been able to get forward with the speed which they had calculated on.
Bassecourt waited impatiently a full hour till day began to break;
then, as success depended in great measure upon surprising the enemy,
he sent his advanced parties forward to attack the French outposts, and
directed his cavalry to gallop into the town as soon as the gun should
be fired and the rocket discharged that were the signal for attack.
General Musnier’s division was quartered here; Bassecourt’s made three
attempts to force its position, but not hearing any firing either to
the right or left, he perceived that on both sides his combinations
had failed, and deemed it therefore necessary to retreat. He succeeded
in reaching Vinaroz, ... there Porta joined him with the right column;
there he halted to give the harassed troops some rest, and to obtain
some intelligence of his left; ... and there the enemy surprised him.
The men instantly took to flight, and all that his personal exertions
could effect, was to keep a few of the better soldiers together, and,
under protection of his cavalry, reach Peñiscola with them.
♦CAPTAIN FANE TAKEN AT PALAMOS.♦
The disgrace of this affair was greater than the loss, which the
French estimated at 3000 men. They were more elated by an advantage
which they obtained shortly afterwards against an enemy over whom it
was seldom that they had any real success to boast. The boats of the
English squadron ♦DEC. 13.♦ attacked a convoy of eleven vessels laden
with provisions for Barcelona, and lying in Palamos Bay, the French
having re-occupied that town. The batteries which protected them were
destroyed, the magazines blown up, two of the vessels brought out,
and the rest burnt, ... and our men, having completely effected their
object, were retiring carelessly, when two Dutchmen, who were in
the British service, went over to the enemy, and told them that the
sailors had but three rounds of ammunition left. The French were at
this time joined by a party from S. Feliu, and the English, instead
of retreating to the beach, where the ships might have covered their
embarkation, took their way toward the mole, through the town, not
knowing that it had been re-occupied. The boats made instantly to
their assistance, and suffered severely in bringing them off, the loss
amounting to thirty-three killed, eighty-nine wounded, and eighty-six
prisoners, Captain Fane among the latter. The enemy behaved with great
inhumanity in this affair; they butchered some poor fellows who had
stopped in the town and made themselves defenceless by drunkenness; ...
and they continued to fire upon a boat after all its oars were shot
away, in which a midshipman was hoisting a white handkerchief upon his
sword, as the only signal that could be made of surrendering, till of
one-and-twenty persons who could neither fight[8] nor fly, all but two
were wounded, ... when another boat came to their assistance, and towed
them off.
♦TRENCHES OPENED BEFORE TORTOSA.
DEC. 15.♦
Macdonald now, whose army had been reinforced, took a position at
Perillo and at Mora, to cover the siege against any interruption on
the side of Tarragona, the only quarter from whence an effort in aid
of Tortosa could be apprehended; and Suchet, secure from all farther
attempts either from Valencia or Aragon, passed twelve battalions
across the river at Xerta to the left bank, and in one day completed
the investment of the place. The besiegers had great difficulties to
overcome, the soil being everywhere rocky, ... so that the engineers
were obliged to form parapets and sacks of earth, and in many places
to work their way in the trenches by means of gunpowder. The trenches
were opened on the night of December 20; and the siege from that hour
was carried on with an alacrity and skill in which the French are never
wanting. On the twelfth night the enemy had established themselves at
the bottom of the ditch; they had then bombarded the city for four
days, ... two days they had been engaged in mining, and there were
three breaches in the body of the place: but there were nearly 8000
troops within the walls; there was a brave and willing people, and
there were the examples of Zaragoza and Gerona. They were in no danger
of famine, for the place had been abundantly provided; there was no
want of military stores, and the besieging army did not exceed 10,000
men.
♦O’DONELL’S PLAN FOR RELIEVING THE PLACE.♦
Meantime O’Donell had concerted a bold and hopeful enterprise for its
relief. He knew that there were provisions and ammunition sufficient
for two months’ consumption in the city; he had full reliance upon the
disposition of the people, and the whole conduct both of the garrison
and the governor from the time that the enemy appeared before the walls
had given him reason to confide in both. With his own force he was
aware that nothing could be done against the besieging army, covered
as it was by Macdonald; but he proposed that Bassecourt should supply
3000 foot and 500 horse from the Valencian army; that the central army
should detach 4000 foot and 200 horse; that these should unite under
Carvajal with such forces as Aragon could furnish, make demonstration
upon the Ebro as if their intention was to succour Tortosa, but there
turn off from the most convenient point, and by forced marches proceed
to Zaragoza, whither O’Donell would at the same time detach 4000 foot
and 400 horse by way of Barbastro. It was believed that the French
at this juncture had not more than 4000 men in the whole of Aragon,
and the garrison of Zaragoza consisted almost wholly of convalescents
and invalids. Bassecourt assented heartily to this well-devised plan;
from the central army a refusal was returned, ... perhaps it could
not then have mustered even the small force that was required from
it; but upon receiving this reply Bassecourt dispatched an officer to
the Empecinado, and that intrepid and excellent partisan cheerfully
engaged to co-operate. Carvajal held himself in readiness; and at no
moment during the war was it so probable that a great success might
be obtained with little hazard. For it was not doubted that Suchet
would precipitately break up the siege of Tortosa, rather than allow
the Spaniards time to strengthen themselves in Zaragoza; that they
could enter it was certain, ... and no other possible event could have
diffused such joy throughout all Spain. All arrangements having been
concluded between the Empecinado, Carvajal, and Bassecourt, O’Donell’s
aid-de-camp, who waited for this at Valencia, set off instantly for
♦TORTOSA SURRENDERED. 1811. JAN. 2.♦ Tarragona by sea; contrary winds
delayed him a little while on the passage, ... and he arrived a few
hours after the commander-in-chief had received intelligence that Lili
had surrendered at discretion.
♦SENTENCE ON THE GOVERNOR FOR SURRENDERING IT.♦
There was no treason here, as there had been at Lerida, but there was
a want of honour, of principle, and of virtue. Seven thousand eight
hundred men, not pressed by famine, not debilitated by disease, with a
brave and willing population to have supported them, laid down their
arms and surrendered at discretion to ten thousand French. The enemy
indeed affirmed that the garrison could not have continued the defence
an hour longer without being put to the sword: the people of Spain
thought otherwise; they remembered Palafox and Alvarez; they remembered
that at Gerona a French army, not inferior to this of Suchet’s in
number, lay ten whole weeks in sight of an open breach which they did
not venture to assault a second time, though it was defended only by
half-starved men, who would have come from the hospitals to take their
stand there. They remembered this, and therefore they thought that the
governor who under such circumstances had hung out the white flag,
ought himself to have been hung over the walls. Accordingly sentence
of death was pronounced in Tarragona against the Conde de Alache for
having, it was said, infamously surrendered a city which he ought to
have defended to the last extremity; and his effigy was beheaded there
in the market-place.
♦COL DE BALAGUER SURRENDERED.♦
The fortress at Col de Balaguer, which commanded a strong pass about
half-way between Tortosa and Tarragona, was yielded a few days after
Lili’s surrender, by the treachery or cowardice of the men entrusted
with its defence. Tarragona was now the only strong place that remained
to the Catalans; it had been the seat of government since the fall
of Mequinenza, the Provincial Congress, which was to have assembled
at Solsona, having then been summoned thither, as the only place of
safety; now its land communication with Valencia and the rest of Spain
was cut off; and Suchet immediately prepared to follow up his success
by investing it, with less apprehension of any obstruction from the
Catalan army, because the wound which O’Donell had received at La
Bisbal compelled him at this time to retire to Majorca. The Marquis de
Campoverde, being second in command, succeeded him. In O’Donell the
Catalans lost a commander who had raised himself by his services, and
whose conduct had justified the public opinion, in deference to which
he had been promoted. But the spirit of the people was not shaken: they
relied upon the strength of their country, even though the fortresses
were lost, ... upon their cause, and their own invincible resolution;
and they lived in continual hope that some effectual assistance would
be afforded by England to a province which so well deserved it. The
little which had been given had been gratefully received, and it had
shown also how much might and ought to have been done.
♦COMMODORE MENDS DESTROYS THE BATTERIES ON THE NORTH COAST.♦
Maritime co-operation of a similar kind had been carried into effect
on the northern coast of Spain. About midsummer Commodore Mends
of the Arethusa frigate consulted with the Junta of Asturias, who
engaged to put what they called the armies of that province, and of
the Montañas de Santander, in motion, if he would take Porlier and
500 men on board his squadron and beat up the enemy’s sea-quarters.
This it was deemed would draw the French troops towards the ports in
their possession, calling them from the frontiers of Galicia, which
they were then threatening, give the mountaineers opportunity to act
with advantage, and favour the Guerrillas in Castille, whom the French
were endeavouring to hunt down. The Commodore had no instructions for
an expedition of this kind, but he saw that it offered a reasonable
prospect of advantage; for if the Junta should fail in their part
of the undertaking, or be disappointed in their hopes, he might
nevertheless destroy the enemy’s sea-defences, and cut off the supplies
which they received coast-ways. Accordingly Porlier with his men
embarked, and the squadron sailed from Ribadeo. The wind serving for
Santona, they landed on the beach to the westward of that place. The
garrison there, some 120 in number, retired with the loss of about
thirty men; and the French commander at S. Sebastian feared that it was
their intention to establish themselves there, in a post which might
easily have been rendered defensible, and would afford good anchorage
during the prevalence of the westerly gales upon that coast: the utmost
efforts therefore were made to prevent this; and on the second day
after the landing, from seven to eight hundred French attacked them
on the isthmus. This body was repulsed with considerable loss; but
finding that the enemy were collecting in greater force, the Commodore
re-embarked his men on the following day, having destroyed the
fortifications. Pursuing his object, he demolished all the batteries
upon the coast between S. Sebastian’s and Santander (those at Castro
alone excepted), carried off or threw into the sea above a hundred
pieces of heavy cannon, and laid that whole extent of coast bare of
defence, without the loss of a single man; and having made about two
hundred prisoners and taken on board three hundred volunteers, all for
whom room could be found, the squadron returned to Coruña.
♦EXPEDITION TO SANTONA UNDER RENOVALES.♦
The injury which had thus been done to the enemy was not easily
remedied, because artillery could be carried only by sea to these
places, the roads being so bad, and the country so mountainous, as to
render the land carriage of heavy guns almost impossible. The people
of the country were encouraged by the sight of their allies, and by
hearing of a success which was reported everywhere, and everywhere
exaggerated: and to profit by their disposition Porlier, who was one
of the ablest partisans that this wild species of warfare produced,
was again landed from the British squadron. The bay of Cuevas, between
Llanes and Rivadesella, was chosen for the disembarkation, and arms
and stores were landed with him, in large supply, and safely deposited,
before he entered upon his operations. While this true Spaniard moved
with rapidity from place to place, disappointing all the efforts of
Bonnet to overpower him, surprising the enemy where they were weak, and
eluding them where they were strong, it was determined by the Spanish
government to avail themselves once more of the British squadron, and
occupy Santona; and Renovales, who had now the rank of Camp-Marshal,
was sent from Cadiz to Coruña, to command the force appointed for this
service. It consisted of 1200 Spanish and 800 English troops, four
English frigates and one Spanish, three smaller ships of war, with
twenty-eight transports of all sizes. Part of the plan was, that he
should co-operate with Porlier in an attack upon the French at Gijon,
600 in number. Porlier and Brigadier ♦OCT. 16.♦ Castañon collected
their forces at Cezoso, and were on the heights in sight of Gijon when
the squadron appeared; the enemy, after some skirmishing, withdrew from
the town when they saw that Renovales was disembarking; the plunder
which they endeavoured to carry with them was taken in their flight,
the stores from the arsenal were put on board the Spanish transports,
and the guns thrown into the sea. Before General Bonnet could collect
a force to bring against the Spaniards the object had been effected;
and when he arrived, and thought to have surprised Porlier by a night
attack, the Asturians had retreated to Cezoso, and he found only the
fires which they had kindled in their encampment for the purpose of
deceiving him.
The weather which had delayed the ships on their way to Gijon became
more unfavourable after their departure from that place; and though
they reached Santona, and remained five days at anchor there, it was
impossible to land; the Spanish gun-boats suffered so much that
it was necessary to take out the crews and destroy the vessels. To
remain there was impossible, and it was ♦NOV. 2.♦ deemed a fortunate
deliverance when the expedition got into the port of Vivero. While they
were laying there the wind recommenced, a heavy sea from the N.N.E.
drove right into this insecure harbour, and in the violence of the
storm the Spanish frigate parted from its cable and driving on board
the Narcissus frigate completely dismasted it. The masts of the Spanish
ship were left standing, so that it was driven clear; otherwise both
must have perished, not having any other anchors to let go. Owing to
the darkness and the tempest, it was impossible to afford any relief:
the Spanish frigate was thrown upon the sand at the head of the
harbour; when day broke, the beach appeared strewed with the wreck, and
of nearly 500 souls on ♦THE MAGDALENA WRECKED.♦ board, there were but
two survivors. This was the fate of the Magdalena: the Spanish brig
Palomo was wrecked at the same time, only the captain and nine men
escaped out of two hundred; and some of the other vessels also were
lost during the same dreadful night. The Estrago gun-boat had parted
some little time before from an English brig which had taken it in tow,
and with great difficulty made the coast of Bermeo. Seeing that the
French were there, the Commander, Lieutenant Aguiar y Mella, preferred
all hazards to the evil of falling into their hands, and proceeded
along the coast to Mundaca, where a like danger awaited him. Standing
off again, he took a desperate course, among shoals and islets; and
escaping from shipwreck in a manner which excited his own wonder,
anchored in the bay of Lanchove; where one of the crew swam to shore,
and brought off a little boat, by means of which the men were just
landed before their vessel went to pieces. Not knowing which way to
bend their course, they passed the night upon the mountains; and on the
morrow, having been directed by a peasant, when they reached Sornoza,
they learnt that forty of the enemy’s cavalry were in pursuit of them.
They kept together, however, and, choosing the most unfrequented
ways, travelled by night, in that inclement season, by Uncaya and
the mountains of Leon, Santander, and Burgos; till, at the end of
five weeks, the Lieutenant brought his whole party safe to Ferrol,
and presented himself, with them, to the Commandant of the marine;
giving thus an example of fidelity and resolution, for which they were
rewarded with a gratuity by the Government, and an honourable mention
in the Regency Gazette.