Chapter II: Part 2

We proceeded on our way, and were driven by a squall into Milford Haven, at which place we had to lie during the time the ship was undergoing a thorough repair, ready for sea again. We had about 300 soldiers of different regiments--all discharged men--a greater portion of us were single men. The captain of the ship asked us, as the ship would be a long time under repairs, whether any of us would be willing to travel overland--150 miles down to Newport. We all expressed our willingness. He said he would write to the Mayor of the town to forward us through the country, so that we could get billeted on our way in the different towns as invalid soldiers. As the snow was very severe, it prevented us from travelling any more than thirty miles per day. In various parts of the country the snow lay knee deep on the ground. When we could not reach a town we were obliged to put up with the inconveniences of staying at some farm house for the night. It took us fifteen days to reach Newport. We went from there to Bristol in fishing smacks. We went to the recruiting depot and remained there for about three days. We were paid up all our back pay and marching pay through Wales, and two pence per mile to the place of attestment on joining the British army. I was attested at Hythe, in Kent--186 miles from Bristol. After receiving all money due to me, I was at liberty to go where I pleased, being once more my own master. I went home to Frome, in Somersetshire--twenty-four miles from Bristol--and there I remained with my friends during the greater part of the winter. In the Spring following I left my friends and proceeded to London. I got employment there as a bricklayers’ laborer, and at various times as a stonemasons’ laborer. I engaged with a gentleman of the name of Broadhead, who resided in Cadogan Place, Sloane Street, Chelsea, with whom I stayed for some considerable time. Buckingham Palace, where his royal highness the Duke of York resided, I assisted in making the alterations--in taking down a wall, and putting up iron palisadings, which extended from the gate of St. James’s Park up to the Duke of Leinster’s. After that work was completed I went to Windsor Castle--twenty-one miles from London--and also worked at the Castle, which, at that time, was undergoing repairs. During the winter season, his majesty would reside in the Park. He used to drive into the Castle at various times, generally before our dinner-time, to inspect the works going on the Castle. Our employment was not very severe; our wages were very low, being only thirteen shillings per week for laboring men; tradesmen of different descriptions at twenty-four shillings per week. After the alterations, which lasted about twelve months, I returned to London, and got into employment with my old employer. I proceeded to St. Catherine’s docks, and was working there as a navvy; I was one of the first six employed in taking in the leaden gutters from the roof of St. Catherine’s Church; where the church formerly stood is, now, as near as I can say, the centre part of the Company’s docks. Mr. Burgess was the first contractor, and after his failure, Mr. Robert Banks, of Blackwall, took up the contract. At various times I used to leave the work in order to attain better employment, if possible. I went to the London Bridge pile-driving before a stone was laid; we worked shifts six hours per day, and six hours per night; the night-work was very severe, and we had to be very careful not to touch any drink, on account of the danger of the work, especially in the lower dams. We generally used to drive one pile every six hours, each pile being twenty-three feet long, for which we got paid at the rate of one shilling and three half-pennies per foot; that had to be divided amongst four of us, who worked at the crane. It was very dangerous working in the lower dams, as we had only two nine-inch planks to walk upon, and about every ten feet there was an upright, with a rope attached to it, to enable us to descend to the bottom in safety. During the time of my working there I saw many men meet with their deaths by falling over.

I began to grow tired owing to the disagreeable employment. I went one hundred and fifty miles from London to Stonehouse, near Plymouth, were there was a new reservoir to be excavated. I got employment there. I worked at it until it was completed, which was in about six months. I then returned to London, where I got employed by Mr. Grundy, stonemason, Horseferry-road, he having a contract under Government for some stone work at the New Parliament Houses. I worked for him up to the year 1826. His Royal Highness the Duke of York died in the month of December in that year, and lay in state for three weeks at Buckingham Palace. The public were admitted to see the remains. He was taken in January, 1827, to Windsor Castle to be interred with the rest of the Royal Family. The funeral _cortege_ extended 10 miles from Hyde Park corner to Hounslow. The corpse was moved on as follows to Stanford Bridge, three miles from Hounslow. I witnessed the Life Guards, cloaked up, standing holding their horses under the bridge, waiting for orders to take possession of the corpse from the Oxford Blues. The corpse remained two hours owing to the severity of the weather, it snowing heavily all the time they were proceeding from London. After the two hours had elapsed they pushed forward eight miles further to Windsor. I did not witness anything more, but returned to London; during that day going and returning in all 26 miles.

I went a few miles from London, as I heard that there were men wanted at Old Forge-cut, Stratford, to form a basis for barges to come in and unload from the Thames. I worked in and there about as a general laborer at anything I could turn my hand to up to the year 1830, when I heard there were men wanted at Chatham to go out to the Brazils; but when I reached Chatham, I went to the parties who were enquiring for men. When I entered the room, I asked particulars as to what we might be required for. They told me that I was to go out to the Brazils or elsewhere. I told them it was to fight for Donna Maria, the young Queen of Portugal. They observed that I had been in the British army, and they told me that it was correct what I had stated; they said they would allow me more pay, but I was to keep my own counsel; they also told me that if I could obtain any men for them they would make me an allowance of so much for each man. The men whom I engaged I used to tell that they would all be made officers and gentlemen of. After we had mustered about 200 men, we were despatched off to London, in which place we took our residence on the Isle of Dogs, opposite to the Greenwich Hospital, where we lay for further orders. We understood there was a troop barque ship fitting up in the river in order to take us out to Portugal. We had first rate rations served out to us daily, and the balance of our pay paid to us every afternoon. We amused ourselves daily by walking up and down the river side like half-pay officers. After laying there for about a month, the Government learned that we were there for the purpose of going out to Portugal, we were given to understand that we had a good many deserters from the British Army who had deserted on purpose to join us, as our pay was more than they were getting in the British service by sixpence a day. We were not attested men, as we were going out as volunteers. The Government sent the police down to despatch us from the Isle of Dogs, so we were all sent about our business. I was going about London some few weeks; as the winter was approaching I could not get any employment. I was several nights that I had no shelter, having to walk the streets all night, and sometimes nothing whatever in the shape of food. Sometimes I heard there was a place erected for the poor to shelter themselves from the inclemency of the weather. I went to one of these places, where I obtained shelter as well as some food, consisting of a bit of bread and cheese, with a half-pint of cold ale to drink with it. It reminded me something of a rendezvous, with a bit of straw to lay on, and an old covering to keep you warm. I had several times a mind to return back again to Frome to my friends, but I took a second consideration on the subject as the winter was approaching I thought I would take pot luck for it to remain in London till something might turn up. One day I was going over Westminster Bridge to go to some of my old employers in Westminster to see if I could get any work. In passing over the bridge I met with two gentlemen; they made hold to stop me. They asked me if I was not one of the men that was going out to Portugal. I told them that I was one of them, he gave me a half-crown, and told me to meet him at the same place on the following day. Accordingly I proceeded on after wishing them good bye. I went into a leg of beef soup shop to get a feed, and I took a famous good tightener. I had enough left out of my half-crown to pay for my bed and my breakfast in the morning. I thought I was once more all right. According to the orders I had received from the two gentlemen I met them on the bridge according to appointment. They told me that they were going to erect another establishment in Great Windmill street, at the top of the Haymarket, and would I come to get my name enrolled. I told them I would. Accordingly they gave me another half-crown, so I then considered I was a made up gentleman. All at once I went at the time appointed to Great Windmill street. There I found that I had been correctly informed by the gentlemen. I went into the apartment where several gentlemen were. They took my name down, and told me they were very glad to see me as I was a Waterloo man. I had my pay given out to me at the rate of 1s. 6d. per day, and to attend each day at eleven o’clock in the forenoon. In the course of a fortnight we collected about 200 men. On going there the last day to receive our pay as usual, when we had orders to attend all hands at 4 o’clock in the evening. About dusk after we all mustered we were drafted off in different parties under the care of a steady man to each party to convey us down to Vauxhall. There we were put in different barges to float down during the night to Gravesend. On our way down there was bread and cheese served out, but as I had taken a good feed throughout, I thought I did not require any as I had a comfortable seat on the starboard side of the boat I thought if I got up to look after bread and cheese I should not find my seat again. We arrived off Gravesend at 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning, when we were all put on board of a troop barque. We had orders to all keep below in the day time and to come up at night when we could walk about all night if we chose. We lay there 2 days and part of 2 nights, when we weighed anchor and made for the downs.

We passed through the Downs with the whole of his Majesty (George IV.’s) fleet present that day in the Deal Downs, in two nights and one day. Owing to the weather being very severe, we came in sight of Spithead. We dropped anchor, and lay till further orders. After lying there two days, we weighed anchor and proceeded on our destination. On the 20th November we set sail, and arrived off Flushing on the 23rd December. We lay in Brest, part of the township of Flushing; took Christmas dinner on the 25th; and, on the 26th, we had a grand “spree”--“Sheevo,” we call it; we had lots of fiddling and dancing. On the 27th we weighed anchor to depart from that place. As we were about making our way, there were two Dutch gunboats placed alongside of us to prevent our landing or moving without leave, as they believed we were spies. The Belgians were at war at this time (1830). There was a letter sent from the captain of the ship to the commandant of the town, to inform him that we were British subjects going out to fight for the young Queen Donna Maria, Queen of Portugal. An answer came from the commandant to the captain of the said Edward, barque, troop-ship, that we might go out of the river, which we did, and put round to the bay of Belle Isle, in the South of France, where the whole of the squadron lay at anchorage. The admiral, on the quarter-deck, called out, “Ship a-hoy;” on the third day after our coming out of the river he wished to know what ship it was; the reply was given that it was the Edward, barque, troop-ship. He asked how many men on board; the reply was, 199. He said, “Why not bring another man to make up 200?” We shortly afterwards heaved up alongside the Reine de Portugal, which was the Admiral’s ship. We went on board, fifty of us, to do duty as marines; fifty went on board of the Congress, man-of-war; fifty on board of the Donna Maria, and forty-nine on the Juno. We lay at anchor in the Bay of Belle Isle, as did the whole of the squadron, brigs, schooners and corvettes, all sorts of twenty-gun brigs, &c. Our paymaster came out from home to pay us some back money due to us, and, when we got our two months’ pay, all our British subjects of blue jackets and marines had leave for forty-eight hours to go on shore. Five of my mess-mates and myself went into a brandy shop to “wet our whistles,” where we drank half-a-dozen bottles of brandy; and then proceeded up the town to see what was going on. We called in to take a little drop more, as we fancied we stood very much in need of it, when the _gens d’armes_, discovering us rolling about, rolled up towards us; thought of taking us into custody, but, as we were not so easily frightened, we set on them and knocked them both up and down; and down it was with many a one. They called a French regiment out of barracks to quiet us, but we set to and beat them back into the barracks. The Commandant of the town sent a letter to the Admiral of the ship for them to bring the marines and seamen on board; but the Admiral would not hear of any such thing; he said he had given them leave for forty-eight hours to spend their money, and they were not to be molested either by the soldiers or the _gens d’armes_, unless they were outrageous to the inhabitants of the town; and, if he did not like that, he would call them all in and pour a broadside on the town. After that they let us alone, and we were masters of the town. When our leave was up we went to the different boats to put off to our respective ships. Major Lanson was on the gangway, looking over into the boats, when I was coming up the side; he called out, “What kind of a spree, soldier, had you on shore?” I said, “A pretty gone one, sir. We should have had a better one if we had not been molested by the _gens d’armes_ and the soldiers.” He said, “It was all fair to get rid of your money; you will have another one by-and-bye.” I replied, “Yes, sir; and you along with me on the field of battle.” After a few days we cruised off the Island of Madeira. We fell in company one day with a man-of-war up to the starboard side of the vessel, and a twenty-gun brig on the larboard. The Admiral called out to the gunner, “Get the Salamanders ready.” They were accordingly put into the blacksmith’s hands to put them into the fire, and get them ready for action. Accordingly we sailed in midships, the twenty gun brig on the larboard and a man-of-war on the starboard. The drum beat to arms. For my own part I was not fond of going aloft; I got into the long boat over the main hatch, and there I remained till further orders. The Admiral called out to the gunner to fire No. 6 gun on the starboard side of the man-of-war, but she never returned a shot. A shot from No. 6 gun was fired at the brig from the larboard quarter, but she did not return the compliment. The two boats were lowered, the pinnace and the long boat, and a portion of blue jackets and marines jumped into it, under the instructions of an officer of each boat, and went off to the man-of-war and to the gun brig. The man-of-war on the starboard was a French vessel, and, we were not at war with France at this time; so we let her go, as we were bound down to keep the peace twenty-one years after the battle of Waterloo, and only fifteen years had elapsed. But the brig on the larboard was a prize, loaded with arms and ammunition going out to Don Miguel’s party; she was brought in and towed aft of the Admiral’s ship; the men were brought on board and put into irons, and also the captain of the ship, whom I witnessed on his knees on the quarter-deck, praying forgiveness; he agreed to do duty on board the Reine de Portugal, the Admiral’s ship; the seamen were allowed to work on board the Reine, according to their respective abilities. They were well contented to go into the Queen’s service under the control of Admiral Sartonis. Some time after, while cruising off the Island of Madeira, we fell in company with a privateer, and gave chase to her: for part of two nights and a day we just kept in sight of her, until the sea rose, and in the storm, on the evening of the third day, we lost sight of her. At this time I was mixing the grog with my brother, who was a non-commissioned officer. As the grog was issued out a very heavy squall came over, and, the ports being all open, we shipped water very fast. Before the guns could be got in and the ports shut we were shipping water at the rate of a ton per minute. The carpenter being down in the hold, called out that the water was gaining on us; the Portuguese pilot on board told the Admiral that he had better lighten the ship by throwing over some of the guns, as there was every probability of the ship sinking before morning. The Admiral was very angry with the pilot for saying so, and told him that we were all British subjects on board, and in no way frightened.

During the watch from eight to twelve I could scarcely keep my legs to go round and put the men on sentry. There was one man who gave me a great deal of trouble to put him into the nettings to keep a look-out for ships for one hour. I was keenly running after him on the main deck, when my foot struck against a ring bolt, which had the effect of precipitating me into the gun-deck, a distance of nearly ten feet. I was very much hurt; I was taken up, and had sixteen ounces of blood let from me. But I was not fit for duty for three or four days. However, as soon as I was on my first night watch, I caught the man who caused my misfortune, and had the satisfaction of giving him four hours in the nettings. At twelve o’clock the watch accompanied me round the decks again, when we released the man in the nettings, and the watch went below. Shortly after I got below there was an order for Corporal Knight to appear on deck, to which I immediately responded. The officer of the watch asked me why I kept the man for four hours in the nettings. I replied that I preferred that way of punishing him to reporting him and perhaps getting him flogged; also that I considered him the cause of my getting hurt by falling down the hatchway. He objected, and said that I ought at once to have reported the disobedience. He asked me how I came to put him there for four hours. I told him I had put him there for my own pleasure, as he was the cause of my having the fall. I said, “Sir, I did not wish to make a report to the Admiral, to cause him to be brought on the gratings. I would not have the ill-will of the ship’s company to say I was the cause of a man’s being flogged.” “Put him four hours more for my pleasure,” said he; “and give him the early watch from 12 p.m. till 4 a.m.”

After we had cruised for some time about the Island of Terceira, we put in at Nangaros, a seaport town, and landed the marines on shore. We marched to Prior, three leagues (nine miles), and took up our position in a convent, and did duty till further orders. We usually turned out at half-past four in the morning, before the great heat of the day came on, and marched on to the common, where we used to go through our discipline. We drilled the awkward hands of the recruits about two hours each morning, and generally returned about seven for breakfast. We had nothing to do until the following morning. Our parading duty was very moderate.

Our rations were “Buckelow salt fish,” and cob corn bread. But we did not understand this kind of food; so the men lifted up the windows and threw the provisions in the road: they had got into a rebellious state. The colonel, being informed of it, came down to the Convent, and ordered the bugler of the guard to sound, “Turn out the whole.” We formed companies; the colonel ordered the captains of companies to form a solid square, the colonel being inside. He said that owing to our rude character he would punish us. As soon as the word had passed by him, the men called out, one and all, that “they were not men sworn in like British subjects, but that they came out as volunteers to fight for the Queen of Portugal, and expected they should be treated like soldiers.” All through the battalion, one and all shouted, “Hear, hear.” The colonel replied, “Well, my men, I consider you are loyal subjects;” and intimated that it was no wish of his that the men should live in that way; and if we would put up with it for a few days he would write to the Admiral to send us ship rations, as there was nothing on the island that we could discover. In a short time, beef, pork, and biscuits were sent from the squadron, so then we lived very well. There was plenty of wine on the island, of which each man had a pint a day, and a gill of aquadent. We used to follow on then with a good heart to parade, as usual, and go through our discipline. We carried that on for two months, when Don Pedro came on the island, with a portion of his staff, to view the British battalion. When we went through our movements on a field-day he was quite delighted. Soon after, we had orders to march back to the respective Convents where we lay. The colonel ordered the battalion to get an extra allowance that day.

The paymaster came from out from home to pay us some back money that was owing to us, so that there was a captain of each company to go down to the paymaster’s residence to give in the strength of the company; and I being very intimate with the captain, whose name was Shaw, he told me to bring two men with me up to the captain’s quarters, and from there we removed off to the paymaster’s residence. The captain had orders from the paymaster to take one bag of dollars--out of ten. Our pay at this time was two pounds five shillings per month; he ordered me to name the men to pack up the dollars, and bring them on with them; I named one of the men to lift them, who said they were so heavy he could not get them on his shoulder; I said to the next man, “You try them,” and he could not lift them. The captain said, “Hey, mon, what, canna twa strong able men like you lift them small bags of dollars up?” He then said, “Knight, you try them;” I caught hold of them, and had very great difficulty in getting them on my shoulder, so the captain told me to proceed with them. I carried them about two hundred yards, and put them on a wall off my shoulder. “Now,” I said, “you carry them in your turns, each of you, but mind and put them so as another can get them.” So they brought them into the captain’s quarters, and, by the captain’s orders, put them off their shoulders in the captain’s apartment, when he said, “That will do, you can go to your convent.” I was going along with them, and he said, “Stop, Knight;” so I stopped with the captain, and fell into some conversation with him about the British service of Waterloo, etc. He belonged to the same brigade with me; I did not know him at the time; I formerly belonged to the ninety-fifth rifles, and he was in the fifty-second light infantry. After some short time, I asked him when he was going to serve the companies’ money out; he replied not before Monday, as it was Saturday when he got the money from the paymaster; he said, if he was to serve the money out, he should not have a soldier of his company out on parade, as the colonel used to read the service on Sundays at the drum head. I said, “Very well, sir,” and was about making my departure when he called me back, and said, “Here are two dollars for you, keep your own counsel; if the sergeant of the company should ask you any questions as to when the captain was going to serve out the pay, tell them on Monday, for, if he served it out to-day, he would not get any man to attend church parade.”

As I was going through the town, after leaving the captain’s residence, I called into a wine shop and drank a glass of wine; when I arrived at the convent, the sergeant of the companies came about me to know when the captain was going to serve out the pay; I said he had given me instructions to inform them it would be on Monday; so they rested in quiet and contentment. In the afternoon the bugler sounded the non-commissioned officers’ call, and the sergeants of companies had orders to go to the quarter-master’s stores, and to bring the ornaments from the stores to the different companies. The sergeant of the company I belonged to, which was the light company, brought green wings to put on the jackets, and also the grenadiers with white wings, and the other eight battalion companies brought small brass plates, of a horseshoe shape; I did not know much about wings in those days, although belonging to the rifles, but we all had to appear on church parade with our different ornaments on the shoulders of our jackets, so the tailors of the different companies were ordered to get them on as quickly as they could, or any handy men that could use their needle. I had not been used to any such thing in the rifles, and I said to a man in the grenadiers, that if he would comb my wings out, and dress them nicely, I would pay him well for it. As I knew him I took him down into the town and gave him a glass of wine; we seldom had a glass of wine without having the full measure, which was a pint, for three halfpence--he was very thankful. I said, “I will give you a quarter of a dollar if you will dress them nicely.” He replied that he would; I remarked, I “may as well pay you while I am here.” I expected to have found my jacket in the morning in the place where I usually hang it up, on a peg over my bed, but when I took my jacket down in the morning to clean it to go on parade, I found the wings as rough as they were when they were served out. The scamp had got drunk, and neglected combing my wings out, and the only part of my dress looking bad on account of the wings being rough and not combed out; I thought I would have two or three extra guards given me that day, as the colonel used to inspect the battalion when the line had to be formed, for the rear rank to step back two paces for inspection order by the colonel. At the very last minute or two, in turning out, I wetted a brush to lay the nap down, and went on parade; I was the right hand man in the light company. The captain came on parade to inspect the company; he looked at my wings, but said nothing. The colonel came on parade, and he called out for the battalion to form line; after we had formed line, he called out for rear rank inspection order, and then came over to inspect the light company. He looked very hard at me at the time, I was alarmed about my wings looking so ill; I said to myself, “I will get two or three extra guards.” The colonel asked the captain, “What kind of a soldier is this on the right of your company?” The captain gave me an excellent character, and the colonel replied that he had often witnessed me coming through the town, and that I had paid him all military honours. He added, “I appoint him as corporal;” so, in the room of getting two or three extra guards, as I thought I should, I was lucky enough to get made full corporal. On church parade, after the services had been preached by the colonel, he dismissed the battalion, and we went into our respective quarters. In the afternoon, the companies’ call was sounded for sergeants of each company to go to the order room to receive orders. In bringing the orders from the orderly room, the sergeant came into my room and said to his brother sergeant, “Who do you think is made corporal of our company to-day?” he could not tell; the other said, “Thomas Knight.” “Well,” he said, “a man very well fitted for it, and well disciplined in the service, and also bears a good name and excellent character.” I went to the tailor’s shop to get the stripes on, it was the Monday morning following--after I had got my stripes on, I went to parade as usual. Shortly after that, we had orders to march to Nangaros, a seaport town in the Western Islands, and to embark on board of a squadron. All the soldiers, according to the different positions they were in, took up their former position under the care of their officers. Captain Charles Shaw, of my company, acquainted me that we were expecting to land at St. Michael’s, to go through a field-day along with the other regiments. Accordingly, we all landed, and went through a field-day there. The British were very much noticed that day by the inhabitants of the town.

After seven hours under a broiling sun, and the field-day was over, we had an excellent allowance served out to us; and then we returned on board our respective ships. In the evening, after we had joined our ships, we went out in search of the enemy’s squadron, as we had heard the Don Juan was not many leagues from us; and, having a good fine wind, the Admiral ordered all sail to be extended, so we went about thirteen knots an hour. After we had been running about sixteen hours, we had as foul a wind as we had had fair, and never got sight of her during the period I was on board. We put back into our old position, beat up and down the coast, and came into Vigo Bay on Sunday, the 8th of July, 1831. The Admiral gave orders for the Union Jack to be placed on shore, to see if anyone would meddle with it. It was on the beach, and the wind blowing it to its full extent, during the whole of Sunday; but no one came to meddle with it.

On Monday, the 9th, we landed from the Squadron 12,000 men. Captain Shaw, of the Light Company of the British Battalion, learned that the Admiral had to keep us on board to do duty as marines; he gave orders to the company for all to be ready to jump into the boats when they lowered; once into the boat, they would be obliged to let us go on shore. So we all jumped into the different boats to land. There was plenty of swearing, roaring, and laughing, on our landing, coming off to the beach side, as there was, at this time, a very rough surf on the sea. As the boats were running in, one man, standing forward on the gunwale of the boat, was afraid to jump; I pushed him aside, telling him to let me pass. I waited my opportunity for the boats going up on the beach, gave a jump, and cleared it very well, about knee deep in water. The man just behind me, whom I had before put aside, jumped immediately after me, and in he went right up to his chin; he spluttered out mightily, “Arrah, man, I am drowned!” I was standing on the beach, laughing at him. “Come on, man, you’re not half drowned.”

During the time of our landing, the cavalry of the enemy came out of the wood, and rode down on the beach to cut off our landing. When they were within about a hundred and fifty yards from the beach, coming down over the rocks, the ships fired a few rounds over our heads, and sent the cavalry to the rightabout. A portion of them retired back into the wood. As our battalion formed on the top of the rocks, convenient to the wood, Colonel Hodges called out, “I will give eight dollars to whoever can get me a mule.” But no mule was to be found, till we saw one that a countryman was riding up a lane; we seized him and his mule, and gave the mule to the Colonel.

The whole of our army lay extended along the top of the rocks, some distance up abreast of the wood, where the General gave orders to the troops to remain till further orders. When the British battalion was ordered to take the advanced post and proceed into the wood, the Light Company had orders to take the advance of the battalion about four or five hundred yards, and there to lay during the night to keep a sharp look-out. I was called upon to take six men in advance of the company about three or four hundred yards, to take up a good position, and place a sentinel on each side of the road. I was fortunate enough in the position, and stood so that I could discover a small paddock dividing the two woods, in which I placed one man behind a tree. I told him to keep a sharp look-out, and if anyone was seen advancing towards him, to let him come just near enough to make sure of a shot, and then return to where I was lying with the other four men. I placed another man on the left of the road, and gave him proper notice. The man on the right was very timorous; and as I was leaning my elbow on a wall, watching his movements, he was turning his head in every direction as if the devil was alongside of him. I discovered him coming away from his post, so I cocked my musket as he advanced towards me, and I had twenty minds to shoot him. I asked him what was the matter with him. He said, “There is a man in the wood.” “Why not shoot him?” I asked. “I did not like until I saw you,” he replied. So, with musket cocked, I accompanied him back to his post, and said, “Now, you stand there until your time is up; if you offer to run away any more, I will put a ball through you.” “Will you?” he exclaimed. “You may depend on it,” I answered; “because you put all our lives in danger by leaving your post exposed.” Poor fellow! it was a new kind of work to him; and before two hours elapsed he was turning his head in every direction again, as if the devil was still alongside of him. I went over to the man on the left side of the road, who was a staunch one; he called out three times, “Hold! Who comes there?” “Corporal,” I answered. “Advance, Corporal, and all’s well!” cried he. “Have you seen anything to-night since you have been on sentry?;” His name was Witney. “I have seen nothing,” he replied; “I want a shot so bad, I would fire at an old woman if she came in my way.” Shortly after I came back to where my other four men were lying, I warned two men--the next for duty--to go down and relieve those two men. I went over to the right, as usual, to relieve the soldier and to put another in his place; he stood behind a tree, and made no reply as to who was coming. I brought him with me to go over to relieve Witney, and we came back into the road where I had taken up my position.

As near as I could say, the time of night was about twelve o’clock, when the captain of my company advanced towards me “privately.” I challenged him in the usual practice in the British army; he answered the challenge. I said, “Advance, all’s well.” He asked, “Corporal, have you seen anything in the wood?” I answered, “No, I have not seen anything worse than myself.” “I have had an interview with the colonel,” he said, “who said he heard that the army was going to advance.” Shortly after, we heard the enemy was very strong, and had taken up their position in a village in front of us, something about four miles. The army advanced and the British battalion took the lead of the brigades; I was ordered to take the advance with the six men for that distance, viz., four miles. We came into the village, and found it was a false report. There was no enemy whatever there.

We lay neutral until the day approached. I thought to myself I would try to get something to drink, and also some provisions for my haversack; so as to enable me to be strong and long-winded. I got into a house and I thought I heard a noise. I kept my musket ready cocked to shoot the first that might oppose me. Some time after, I found it was some of my own fellows on the same errand as myself, coming up to see what they could lay hands on. I saw an old Portuguese person, about eighty years of age; and I asked him could he fill my canteen (in the Portuguese language) with good wine, and he complied with my request. After I had got my canteen filled, I was fortunate enough to fall in with half a loaf of bread. I went through into a garden, and I shook off a few figs from a tree. In coming back into the yard belonging to the house, I discovered three Portuguese cavalry in the yard. They called out to me, in broken English, “Englishman, Englishman, love wine!” I asked, “Would they have any?” “No, get from old man.” I accordingly went out of the yard and proceeded up the road, and I discovered, over a middling high wall, two very beautiful young ladies; they spoke to me in a little broken English, saying that we were going to fight with Don Miguel’s army to-morrow. They asked me if I would accept of a drop of wine; I replied that I had enough, but was very much obliged to them. They then asked me if I would take any grapes; I answered that I would, so they gave me a few very large bunches of grapes. I kindly thanked them, and wished them good-bye. We shortly afterwards had daylight sufficiently clear to see what we were about.

The army advanced at the dawn of the day to storm the town of Oporto; the British were kept back that day, to bring up all stragglers over brooks, hills, rivers, &c. We were under a broiling sun; it was on Tuesday, the 10th of July, 1831, when we came up in sight of Oporto. The signal was made from the squadron that went round the bay and over the bar, and passed the falls of Lordella, close to the river Doura. When the shipping came up abreast of the township, there was very little to oppose them; the army pushed forward, and took the town without exchanging a shot. We then marched through the town with colours flying, and instruments of the different regiments playing gaily; we came down to the Arsenal Square, and there we formed close columns, and lay there till further orders. I said to my next man, “I will have a glass of wine, as we have taken Oporto.” Captain Shaw coming round, and seeing me drinking, said, I was showing a bad example to the men, but, notwithstanding, I went through my degrees of finishing what I had in the glass (which was a pint one). In the course of the afternoon, about four o’clock, as we had been in close column about four hours, the British had orders to proceed to the convent of St. Lazarus, and there to remain till further orders. We occupied one part of the convent, and the old invalids of the monks (about two hundred of them) occupied the other part; they were supposed to be all in number previous to the time of our taking the town about one thousand one hundred of them, of which about nine hundred disappeared to fight in Don Miguel’s service. We occupied the apartments in the convent in which they had formerly lived; the French regiment occupied another place, at the top part of a street, called Rutendemoza, at the opposite side of the town; and the regiments of the line in and out round about Oporto--the Tachedores lay in another part of the town. There were five regiments of them; as riflemen, they had the skull and marrow bone on their shakos; they were called “Death or Glory,” and were very intimate with the British subjects.

During our stay in Oporto, when at various times we had a combat with the enemy, we went on the Velonga, in the Cassemere road, under an expectation to fall in with the enemy at three leagues distance, but when we came there they retreated to Pennyfields. We were fortunate enough in the morning to fall in with fifty mules loaded with bread to take into the town of Oporto. We proceeded on to Pennyfields, and in the three days’ march towards that place, under a broiling sun, and everything poisoned before us by the enemy, we came into a village two days’ march from Velonga, a distance of ten leagues (thirty miles). On the third day I was appointed to guard the colours, along with my brother non-commission officers; the ensign fell from fatigue, and the oldest sergeant in the regiment took the colours, and so on, according to the period of their service. I was appointed (being the oldest corporal) to take the colours, and carried them about a quarter of a mile; I was getting over a low wall and fell across the wall with the colours, my head on one side and my feet on the other. I lay for some time quite exhausted, never expecting to get up any more. After lying there for some considerable time, I tried to rise. I got up on my knees and fell back again; however, I recovered myself after a short period, and saw an old Portuguese _Paysanne_, or peasant. I called out to him in Portuguese, as well as I could, and asked him to get me a canteen of water; he did so, and I thanked him in the Portuguese language. I took a hearty good drink of it, and was very much revived, and able to get upon my legs. I went about three hundred yards and discovered another corporal; I called out to him, but he made no reply. I went over to see what was the matter with him, and found he was lying in the same position I had been; I gave him a good drink of water, and he recovered. I got him on his legs, and we both went along together, almost reeling from weakness. I discovered about two hundred yards to the right, a great quantity of soldiers dressed in scarlet; I went over to them to see what they were, and found them to be a portion of our battalion lying dead on the ground, forty-four in number. I could not tell or discover who they were, from their being so much distorted by the poison they had drunk in the water. Some of them I could see were belonging to my own company, and some were grenadiers and battalion companies. I came over to my brother corporal and acquainted him with what I had witnessed; he asked, “Don’t you know any of their names?” I replied that I did not, for they were so much disfigured; he said, “Go back again, and the first man you come to, look at his haversack.” This was done that one man should not rob another; the first man I came to was a man of my own company, he was lying on his back. I turned him on his face and discovered on his haversack, “Richard Ovenden, light company;” “Poor Dick! you’ll never play the fiddle any more!” He used to amuse us at Oporto by playing the fiddle of an evening; I came back to my brother corporal, and told him that Richard Ovenden, of the light company, was the first man I discovered. We went on together, and I observed a sergeant a short distance from the road, leaning up against a wall, with his fusee on his arm; I found he was quite dead and stiff, and the wall supporting him; I took hold of him and put him under the wall. We advanced a little further, and I saw two tailors belonging to the battalion company, one by the name of Pearce, and the other name was Robinson--they had died together, hand in hand; we went on a little further, and I discovered a great number of men of all regiments lying round big waterholes, all poisoned--as many as two or three hundred. It was a very shocking and sickening sight to see so many brave men sent to their long account in such a dreadful manner. Our troops at the time had captured the town, and we got into it more dead than alive. The first gentleman I saw was Captain Shaw, captain of my company (light company); he came up to me and shook hands with me, he was very glad to see me; he heard I was dead under the hill, and I said, “I heard you were dead, too, captain.” There were orders issued for the men not to take too much wine or provisions, as, from being without food some time, it was feared it might have a bad effect. The cavalry had orders to keep their horses closely fastened, so that they might be ready at any moment, as we were laying during the night under expectation of the enemy reinforcing troops from Lisbon. They came up early on the following morning with a reinforcement; our spies came galloping into town, and acquainted the general that commanded the whole of the army (Soldano, a gentleman of Oporto), that they were about twenty-seven thousand strong, and we at the same time were from seven thousand to eight thousand. We were ordered to retire back to Oporto, and as fast as possible we occupied a hill in front, and the enemy in the rear, coming up about a league distance, where we arrived on the second evening. They brought all their reinforcements up to the town of Oporto, and were determined to take the town, if possible; and as they came on the hard roads and across the fields, the orders were that the officer of the outlying duty was to touch the train in order to blow up the road, and the enemy with it. It was reported that there were as many as three thousand blown up by the trains. The guns from the batteries commenced full play on the enemy’s columns, supposed to be about three hours’ engagement. When it came to nightfall the enemy had lost about seven thousand troops; they beat the retreat during the night, so that we heard no more of them. We marched back to the convent, the British battalion at Oporto, and lay there till further orders.

On the 22nd of July we proceeded out on the Cashmere Road, to Velonga. About three days after marching to the left of the Velonga Road (from four in the morning till about twelve), the great heat had completely knocked us up. But I, not quite so bad as the rest, had to draw the companies’ rations of bread and beef; after placing them under a hedge, I told the men to fall to. They said, “Too tired, corporal; could not eat a bit.” “As you please about that; but if you don’t, I’ll make free with your share.” I then cut off a thumping beef steak, thinking I might have some hard work in the course of the day; I cooked it nicely, with the gravy in it, to make me strong and long-winded. But I might have saved myself the trouble; we soon had orders to retire back to Oporto.