Chapter XXXVIII: Introduction: Military character of the Highlands (5)

The battle was begun by the enemy, who, after a discharge of artillery, advanced upon the British in four columns. Two of these moved towards General Baird’s wing, a third advanced upon the centre, and a fourth against the left. The enemy kept a fifth column as a reserve in the rear. On the approach of the French the British advanced to meet them. The 50th regiment, under Majors Napier and Stanhope, two young officers who had been trained up under the general’s own eye, passing over an enclosure in front, charged and drove the enemy out of the village of Elvina, with great loss. General Moore, who was at the post occupied by Lord William Bentinck’s brigade, directing every movement, on observing the brave conduct of the regiment, exclaimed, “Well done the 50th--well done my majors!” Then proceeding to the 42d, he cried out, “Highlanders, remember Egypt.” They thereupon rushed forward, accompanied by the general, and drove back the enemy in all directions. He now ordered up a battalion of the Guards to the left flank of the Highlanders. The light company, conceiving, as their ammunition was spent, that the Guards were to relieve them, began to fall back; but Sir John discovering their mistake, said to them, “My brave 42d, join your comrades,--ammunition is coming,--you have your bayonets.” This was enough.

Sir David Baird about this time was forced to leave the field, in consequence of his arm being shattered by a musket ball, and immediately thereafter a cannon ball struck Sir John Moore in the left shoulder and beat him to the ground. “He raised himself and sat up with an unaltered countenance, looking intensely at the Highlanders, who were warmly engaged. Captain Hardinge threw himself from his horse and took him by the hand; then observing his anxiety, he told him the 42d were advancing, upon which his countenance immediately brightened up.”

After the general and Sir David Baird had been carried off the field, the command of the army devolved upon Lieutenant-General Hope, who, at the close of the battle, addressed a letter to Sir David, from which the following is an extract:--“The first effort of the enemy was met by the commander of the forces and by yourself, at the head of the 42d regiment, and the brigade under Lord William Bentinck. The village on your right became an object of obstinate contest. I lament to say, that, after the severe wound which deprived the army of your services, Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore, who had just directed the most able disposition, fell by a cannon-shot. The troops, though not unacquainted with the irreparable loss they had sustained, were not dismayed, but, by the most determined bravery, not only repelled every attempt of the enemy to gain ground, but actually forced him to retire, although he had brought up fresh troops in support of those originally engaged. The enemy finding himself foiled in every attempt to force the right of the position, endeavoured by numbers to turn it. A judicious and well-timed movement which was made by Major-General Paget with the reserve, which corps had moved out of its cantonments to support the right of the army, by a vigorous attack defeated this intention. The major-general having pushed forward the 95th (Rifle corps) and the first battalion of the 52d regiment, drove the enemy before him, and in his rapid and judicious advance threatened the left of the enemy’s position. This circumstance, with the position of Lieutenant-General Fraser’s division (calculated to give still farther security to the right of the line), induced the enemy to relax his efforts in that quarter. They were, however, more forcibly directed towards the centre, when they were again successfully resisted by the brigade under Major-General Manningham, forming the left of your division, and a part of that under Major-General Leith, forming the right of that under my orders. Upon the left the enemy at first contented himself with an attack upon our picquets, which, however, in general maintained their ground. Finding, however, his efforts unavailing on the right and centre, he seemed determined to render the attack upon the left more serious, and had succeeded in obtaining possession of the village through which the great road to Madrid passes, and which was situated in front of that part of the line. From this post, however, he was soon expelled, with a considerable loss, by a gallant attack of some companies of the second battalion of the 14th regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel Nicholls. Before five in the evening, we had not only successfully repelled every attack made upon the position, but had gained ground, in almost all points, and occupied a more forward line than at the commencement of the action; whilst the enemy confined his operations to a cannonade, and the fire of his light troops, with a view to draw off his other corps. At six the firing ceased.”

The loss of the British was 800 men killed and wounded. The 42d had 1 sergeant and 36 rank and file killed; and 6 officers, viz., Captains Duncan Campbell, John Fraser, and Maxwell Grant, and Lieutenants Alexander Anderson, William Middleton, and Thomas MacInnes, 1 sergeant, and 104 rank and file wounded. The enemy lost upwards of 3000 men,--a remarkable disproportion, when it is considered that the British troops fought under many disadvantages.

In general orders issued on the 18th of January, Lieutenant-General Hope congratulated the army on the victory, and added,--“On no occasion has the undaunted valour of British troops been more manifest. At the termination of a severe and harassing march, rendered necessary by the superiority which the enemy had acquired, and which had materially impaired the efficiency of the troops, many disadvantages were to be encountered.

“These have all been surmounted by the conduct of the troops themselves; and the enemy has been taught, that whatever advantages of position or numbers he may employ, there is inherent, in British officers and soldiers, a bravery that knows not how to yield,--that no circumstances can appal,--and that will ensure victory when it is to be obtained by the exertion of any human means.

“The lieutenant-general has the greatest satisfaction in distinguishing such meritorious services as came within his observation, or have been brought to his knowledge.

“His acknowledgments are in a peculiar manner due to Lieutenant-General Lord William Bentinck, and _the brigade under his command, consisting of the Fourth_, FORTY-SECOND, _and Fiftieth Regiments, which sustained the weight of the attack_.”

Though the victory was gained, General Hope did not consider it advisable, under existing circumstances, to risk another battle, and therefore issued orders for the immediate embarkation of the army. By the great exertions of the naval officers and seamen, the whole, with the exception of the rear guard, were on board before the morning; and the rear guard, with the sick and wounded, were all embarked the following day.

General Moore did not long survive the action. When he fell he was removed, with the assistance of a soldier of the 42d, a few yards behind the shelter of a wall. He was afterwards carried to the rear in a blanket by six soldiers of the 42d and Guards. When borne off the field his aide-de-camp, Captain Hardinge, observing the resolution and composure of his features, expressed his hopes that the wound was not mortal, and that he would still be spared to the army. Turning his head round, and looking steadfastly at the wound for a few seconds, the dying commander said, “No, Hardinge; I feel that to be impossible.” A sergeant of the 42d and two spare files, in case of accident, were ordered to conduct their brave general to Corunna. Whilst being carried along slowly, he made the soldiers turn frequently round, that he might view the field of battle and listen to the firing. As the sound grew fainter, an indication that the enemy were retiring, his countenance evinced the satisfaction he felt. In a few hours he was numbered with the dead.

Thus died, in the prime of life, one of the most accomplished and bravest soldiers that ever adorned the British army. From his youth he embraced the profession with the sentiments and feelings of a soldier. He felt that a perfect knowledge and an exact performance of the humble but important duties of a subaltern officer are the best foundation for subsequent military fame. In the school of regimental duty, he obtained that correct knowledge of his profession, so essential to the proper direction of the gallant spirit of the soldier; and was enabled to establish a characteristic order and regularity of conduct, because the troops found in their leader a striking example of the discipline which he enforced on others. In a military character, obtained amidst the dangers of climate, the privations incident to service, and the sufferings of repeated wounds, it is difficult to select any point as a preferable subject for praise. The life of Sir John Moore was spent among his troops. During the season of repose, his time was devoted to the care and instruction of the officer and soldier; in war, he courted service in every quarter of the globe. Regardless of personal considerations, he esteemed that to which his country called him, the post of honour; and, by his undaunted spirit and unconquerable perseverance, he pointed the way to victory.[325]

General Moore had been often heard to express a wish that he might die in battle like a soldier; and, like a soldier, he was interred in his full uniform in a bastion in the garrison of Corunna.[326]

When the embarkation of the army was completed it sailed for England. One division, in which the 42d was, landed at Portsmouth; another disembarked at Plymouth.

The regiment was now brigaded at Shorncliffe with the rifle corps, under the command of Major-General Sir Thomas Graham. As the second battalion, which had been in Ireland since 1805, was about to embark for Portugal, they could obtain no draughts from it to supply the casualties which they had suffered in the late retreat and loss at Corunna, but these were speedily made up otherwise.

The 42d was next employed in the disastrous expedition to Walcheren, and returned to Dover in September 1809, having only 204 men fit for duty out of 758, who, about six weeks before, had left the shores of England. The regiment marched to Canterbury on the 11th of September, where it remained till July 1810, when it was removed to Scotland, and quartered in Musselburgh. The men had recovered very slowly from the Walcheren fever, and many of them still suffered under its influence. During their stay at Musselburgh, the men unfortunately indulged themselves to excess in the use of ardent spirits, a practice which would have destroyed their health, had not a change of duty put an end to this baneful practice.

IV.

1811-1816.

Return of the 42d to England--Embarks a second time for
Portugal in 1812--Consolidation of the first and second
battalions--Spain--Battle of Salamanca--Madrid--Siege of
Burgos--Retreat into Portugal--Campaign of 1813--Battle
of Vittoria--Siege of St Sebastian--Pyrenees--Succession
of battles--Fall of St Sebastian--Allied army enters France
--Crosses the Nivelle--Passage of the Nive--Series of actions
--Bayonne--Battles of Orthés and Ayre--Bordeaux--Tarbes--Battle
of Toulouse--Peace of 1814--War of 1815--Quatre Bras--Waterloo
--Return of the 42d to Scotland--Edinburgh.

In August 1811 the regiment sailed for England, and after remaining some time in Lewis barracks, embarked in April of the following year for Portugal. The ardour for recruiting had now ceased, and the consequence was that the regiment obtained few recruits while in Scotland. Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Blantyre, the commander of the second battalion, had experienced the growing indifference of the Highlanders for the army, having been obliged, before his departure for Portugal, to enlist 150 men from the Irish militia. The first battalion joined the army, under Lord Wellington, after the capture of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, and meeting with the second battalion, they were both consolidated.

“The second battalion had continued with the allied army in Portugal, and was engaged in the operations by which the English commander endeavoured to retard the advance of the superior numbers of the enemy, under Marshal Massena, who boasted he would drive the British into the sea, and plant the eagles of France on the towers of Lisbon. As the French army advanced in full confidence of success, suddenly the rocks of Busaco were seen bristling with bayonets and streaming with British colours. The Royal Highlanders were in position on the mountains when that formidable post was attacked by the enemy on the 27th of September, and when the valour of the British troops repulsed the furious onsets of the French veterans, who were driven back with severe loss. The loss of the Forty-Second was limited to 2 sergeants, 1 drummer, and 3 rank and file wounded. Major Robert Henry Dick received a medal for this battle.

“Being unable to force the position, the French commander turned it by a flank movement; and the allied army fell back to the lines of Torres Vedras, where a series of works of vast extent, connected with ranges of rocks and mountains, covered the approach to Lisbon, and formed a barrier to the progress of the enemy, which could not be overcome. The Forty-Second were posted in the lines.

“The French commander, despairing to accomplish his threat against the English, fell back to Santarem.

“For three months the opposing armies confronted each other a few stages from Lisbon; the enemy’s numbers became seriously reduced by sickness, and other causes, his resources were exhausted, and during the night of the 5th of March 1811 he commenced his retreat towards the frontiers. The British moved forward in pursuit, and in numerous encounters with the enemy’s rearguard gained signal advantages.

“The French army crossed the confines of Portugal; the British took up a position near the frontiers, and blockaded Almeida. The French advanced to relieve the blockaded fortress; and on the 3d of May they attacked the post of Fuentes d’Onor. The Royal Highlanders had 2 soldiers killed on this occasion; Captain M’Donald, 1 sergeant, and 5 rank and file wounded. On the 5th of May the enemy made another attack on the British position, but was repulsed. On this occasion the Forty-Second, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Blantyre, were charged by a body of French cavalry, which they defeated with signal gallantry. Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Blantyre received a gold medal; and the word ‘Fuentes d’Onor,’ displayed, by royal authority, on the regimental colour, commemorates the steady valour of the second battalion on this occasion. Its loss was 1 sergeant and 1 private soldier killed; 1 sergeant and 22 rank and file wounded. Major R. H. Dick received a medal for the battle of Fuentes d’Onor, where he commanded a flank battalion.

“In the subsequent operations of this campaign, the second battalion took an active part; but was not brought into close contact with the enemy.”[327]

On the consolidation of the two battalions, the officers and staff of the second were ordered to England, leaving the first upwards of 1160 rank and file fit for service. These were placed in the division under Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Graham. The allied army now amounted to 58,000 men, being larger than any single division of the enemy, whose whole force exceeded 160,000 men.

After a successful attack on Almarez by a division of the army under General Hill, Lord Wellington moved forward and occupied Salamanca, which the French evacuated on his approach, leaving 800 men behind to garrison the fort, and retain possession of two redoubts formed from the walls and ruins of some convents and colleges. After a gallant defence of some days, the fort and redoubts surrendered on the 27th of June 1812.

Whilst the siege was proceeding, Marshal Marmont manœuvred in the neighbourhood, but not being yet prepared for a general action, he retired across the Douro, and took up a position on the 22d from La Seca to Pollos. By the accession of a reinforcement from the Asturias, and another from the army of the centre, the marshal’s force was increased to nearly 60,000 men. Judging himself now able to cope with the allied army, he resolved either to bring Lord Wellington to action, or force him to retire towards Portugal, by threatening his communication with that country. By combining with Marshal Soult from the south, he expected to be able to intercept his retreat and cut him off. Marmont did not, however, venture to recross the Douro, but commenced a series of masterly manœuvres, with the view of ensnaring his adversary. Alluding to this display of tactics, the _Moniteur_ remarked that “there were seen those grand French military combinations which command victory, and decide the fate of empires; that noble audacity which no reverse can shake, and which commands events.” These movements were met with corresponding skill on the part of the British general, who baffled all the designs of his skilful opponent. Several accidental encounters took place in the various changes of positions, in which both sides suffered considerably.

Tired of these evolutions, Lord Wellington crossed the Guarena on the night of the 19th of July, and on the morning of the 20th drew up his army in order of battle on the plains of Valise; but Marmont declined the challenge, and crossing the river, encamped with his left at Babila Fuentes, and his right at Villameda. This manœuvre was met by a corresponding movement on the part of the allies, who marched to their right in columns along the plain, in a direction parallel to the enemy, who were on the heights of Cabeca Vilhosa. In this and the other movements of the British, the sagacity of the commander-in-chief appeared so strange to a plain Highlander, who had paid particular attention to them, that he swore Lord Wellington must be gifted with the second sight, as he saw and was prepared to meet Marmont’s intended changes of position before he commenced his movements.

The allied army were now on the same ground they had occupied near Salamanca when reducing the forts the preceding month; but in consequence of the enemy crossing the Tormes at Alba de Tormes, and appearing to threaten Ciudad Rodrigo, Lord Wellington made a corresponding movement, and on the 21st of July halted his army on the heights on the left bank. During the night the enemy possessed themselves of the village of Calvarasa de Ariba, and the heights of Nuestra Senora de la Pena. In the course of this night Lord Wellington received intelligence that General Clausel had reached Pollos with a large body of cavalry, and would certainly join Marmont on the 23d or 24th.

The morning of the 22d, a day memorable in the annals of the Peninsular war, was ushered in with a violent tempest, and a dreadful storm of thunder and lightning. The operations of the day commenced soon after seven o’clock, when the outposts of both armies attempted to get possession of two hills, Los Arapiles, on the right of the allies. The enemy, by his numerical superiority, succeeded in possessing himself of the most distant of these hills, and thus greatly strengthened his position. With his accustomed skill, Marmont manœuvred until two o’clock, when imagining that he had succeeded in drawing the allies into a snare, he opened a general fire from his artillery along his whole line, and threw out numerous bodies of sharpshooters, both in front and flank, as a feint to cover an attempt he meditated to turn the position of the British. This _ruse_ was thrown away on Lord Wellington, who, acting on the defensive only, to become, in his turn the assailant with the more effect, and perceiving at once the grand error of his antagonist in extending his line to the left, without strengthening his centre, which had now no second line to support it, made immediate preparations for a general attack; and with his characteristic determination of purpose, took advantage of that unfortunate moment, which, as the French commander observed, “destroyed the result of six weeks of wise combinations of methodical movements, the issue of which had hitherto appeared certain, and which everything appeared to presage to us that we should enjoy the fruit of.”[328]

The arrangements were these. Major-General Pakenham, with the third division, was ordered to turn the left of the enemy, whilst he was to be attacked in front by the divisions of Generals Leith, Cole, Bradford, and Cotton,--those of Generals Clinton, Hope, and Don Carlos de Espana, acting as a reserve. The divisions under Generals Alexander Campbell and Alten were to form the left of the line. Whilst this formation was in progress, the enemy did not alter his previous position, but made an unsuccessful attempt to get possession of the village of Arapiles, held by a detachment of the guards.

About four o’clock in the afternoon, the attack commenced. General Pakenham, supported by the Portuguese cavalry, and some squadrons of the 14th Dragoons under Colonel Harvey, carried all their respective points of attack. The divisions in the centre were equally successful, driving the enemy from one height to another. They, however, received a momentary check from a body of troops from the heights of Arapiles. A most obstinate struggle took place at this post. Having descended from the heights which they occupied, the British dashed across the intervening valley and ascended a hill, on which they found the enemy most advantageously posted, formed in solid squares, the front ranks kneeling, and supported by twenty pieces of cannon. On the approach of the British, the enemy opened a fire from their cannon and musketry, but this, instead of retarding, seemed to accelerate the progress of the assailants. Gaining the brow of the hill, they instantly charged, and drove the enemy before them; a body of them attempting to rally, were thrown into utter confusion by a second charge with the bayonet. A general rout now took place, and night alone saved the French army from utter annihilation.

There fell into the hands of the victors 7000 prisoners and 11 pieces of cannon, but the loss of the enemy in killed and wounded was not ascertained. General Marmont himself was wounded, and many of his officers were killed or disabled. The loss of the allies was 624 killed, and about 4000 wounded.

Among other important results to which this victory led, not the least was the appointment of Lord Wellington as generalissimo of the Spanish armies, by which he was enabled to direct and control the operations of the whole Spanish forces, which had hitherto acted as independent corps.

The allied army pushed forward to Madrid, and, after various movements and skirmishes, entered that city on the 12th of August amid the acclamations of the inhabitants. Learning that General Clausel, who had succeeded Marshal Marmont in the command, had organised an army, and threatened some of the British positions on the Douro, Lord Wellington left Madrid on the 1st of September, and marching northward, entered Valladolid on the 7th, the enemy retiring as he advanced. Being joined by Castanos, the Spanish general, with an army of 12,000 foot, he took up a position close to Burgos, in which the enemy had left a garrison of 2500 men. The castle was in ruins, but the strong thick wall of the ancient keep was equal to the best casemates, and it was strengthened by a horn-work which had been erected on Mount St Michael. A church had also been converted into a fort, and the whole enclosed within three lines, so connected that each could defend the other. Preliminary to an attack on the castle, the possession of the horn-work was necessary. Accordingly, on the evening of the 19th of September, the light infantry of General Stirling’s brigade having driven in the outposts, took possession of the outworks close to the mount. When dark it was attacked by the same troops, supported by the 42d, and carried by assault.

On the 29th an unsuccessful attempt was made to spring a mine under the enemy’s works, but on the 4th of October another mine was exploded with better effect. The second battalion of the 24th regiment established themselves within the exterior line of the castle, but were soon obliged to retire. The enemy made two vigorous sorties on the 8th, drove back the covering parties, and damaged the works of the besiegers, who sustained considerable loss. A third mine was exploded on the 13th, when the troops attempted an assault, but without success. The last attack, a most desperate one, was made on the 19th, but with as little success; two days after which, Lord Wellington, on the 21st, to the great disappointment of the besiegers, ordered the siege, which had lasted thirty days, to be raised, in consequence of the expected advance of a French army of 80,000 men. The loss sustained by the 42d in this siege was 3 officers, 2 sergeants, and 44 rank and file killed and 6 officers, 11 sergeants, 1 drummer, and 230 rank and file wounded. The officers killed; were Lieutenants R. Ferguson and P. Milne, and Ensign David Cullen; those wounded were Captains Donald Williamson (who died of his wounds), Archibald Menzies, and George Davidson, Lieutenants Hugh Angus Fraser, James Stewart, and Robert Mackinnon.[329]

Whilst Lord Wellington was besieging Burgos, the enemy had been concentrating their forces, and on the 20th of October his lordship received intelligence of the advance of the French army. Joseph Buonaparte, newly raised by his brother to the throne of Spain, was, with one division, to cut off Lord Wellington’s communication with General Hill’s division between Aranjuez and Toledo, and another, commanded by General Souham, was to raise the siege of Burgos. After the abandonment of the siege, on the 21st of October, the allied army retired after night-fall, unperceived by General Souham, who followed with a superior force, but did not overtake them till the evening of the twenty-third.

During the retrograde movement, the troops suffered greatly from the inclemency of the weather, from bad roads, but still more from the want of a regular supply of provisions; and the same irregularities and disorganisation prevailed among them as in the retreat to Corunna.

The allied army retired upon Salamanca, and afterwards to Frenada and Corea, on the frontier of Portugal, where they took up their winter quarters. The enemy apparently unable to advance, unwilling to retire, and renouncing the hope of victory, followed the example thus set. Subsequent events proved that this opinion, expressed at the time was correct, “for every movement of the enemy after the campaign of 1812 was retrograde, every battle a defeat.”

Having obtained a reinforcement of troops and abundant military supplies from England, Lord Wellington opened the campaign of 1813 by moving on Salamanca, of which, for the third time, the British troops took possession on the 24th of May. The division of Sir R. Hill was stationed between Tormes and the Douro, and the left wing, under Sir Thomas Graham, took post at Miranda de Douro. The enemy, who gave way as the allies advanced, evacuated Valladolid on the 4th of June, and General Hill having, on the 12th attacked and defeated a division of the French army under General Reille, the enemy hastened their retreat, and blew up the works of the castle of Burgos, on which they had expended much labour the preceding year.

The enemy fell back on Vittoria, followed by Lord Wellington, who drew up his army on the river Bayas, separated by some high grounds from Vittoria. His men were in the highest spirits, and the cheerfulness and alacrity with which they performed this long march, more than 250 miles, formed a favourable contrast with their conduct when retreating the previous year. The French army, under the command of Joseph Buonaparte and Marshal Jourdan, made a stand near Vittoria, for the purpose of defending the passage of the river Zadorra, having that town on their right, the centre on a height, commanding the valley of that stream, and the left resting on the heights between Arunez and Puebla de Arlanzon. The hostile armies were about 70,000 men each.

On the morning of the 21st of June, the allied army moved forward in three columns to take possession of the heights in the front of Vittoria. The right wing was commanded by General Hill, the centre by General Cole, and the left wing by General Graham. The operations of the day commenced by General Hill attacking and carrying the heights of Puebla, on which the enemy’s left rested. They made a violent attempt to regain possession, but they were driven back at all points, and pursued across the Zadorra. Sir Rowland Hill passing over the bridge of La Puebla, attacked and carried the village of Sabijana de Alava, of which he kept possession, notwithstanding repeated attempts of the enemy to regain it. The fourth and light divisions now crossed the Zadorra at different points, while almost at the same instant of time, the column under Lord Dalhousie reached Mendoza; and the third, under Sir T. Picton, followed by the seventh division, crossed a bridge higher up. These four divisions, forming the centre of the army, were destined to attack the right of the enemy’s centre on the heights, whilst General Hill pushed forward from Alava to attack the left. The enemy dreading the consequences of an attack on his centre, which he had weakened to strengthen his posts on the heights, abandoned his position, and commenced a rapid retreat to Vittoria.

Whilst these combined movements of the right and centre were in progress, the left wing, under Sir Thomas Graham, drove the enemy’s right from the hills above Abechuco and Gamarra. To preserve their communication with Bayonne, which was nearly cut off by this movement, the enemy had occupied the villages of Gamarra, Mayor, and Menor, near which the great road touches the banks of the Zadorra. They were, however, driven from these positions by a Spanish division under Colonel Longa, and another of Portuguese under General Pack, supported by General Anson’s cavalry brigade and the fifth division of infantry under General Oswald. General Graham, at the same time, attacked and obtained possession of the village of Abechuco.

Thus cut off from retreat by the great road to France, the enemy, as soon as the centre of the allies had penetrated to Vittoria, retreated with great precipitation towards Pampluna, the only other road left open, and on which they had no fortified positions to cover their retrograde movement. The enemy left behind them all their stores and baggage, and out of 152 pieces of cannon, they carried off only one howitzer. General Hill, with his division, continued to pursue the panic-stricken French from one position to another till the 7th of July, when he took post on the summit of the pass of Maya, beyond the Pyrenees, “those lofty heights which,” as Marshal Soult lamented, in a proclamation he issued, “enabled him proudly to survey our fertile valleys.”

With the exception of Pampluna and St Sebastian, the whole of this part of the north of Spain was now cleared of the enemy. To reduce these places was the next object. It was resolved to blockade the former and lay siege to the latter, which last-mentioned service was intrusted to General Graham. This was a most arduous task, as St Sebastian was, in point of strength, next to Gibraltar.

After an unsuccessful assault, however, the attention of the commander-in-chief being directed to the movements of Marshal Soult, who was advancing with a large army, the siege of St Sebastian was suspended for a time.

At this time the allied army occupied a range of mountain passes between the valley of Roncesvalles, celebrated as the field of Charlemagne’s defeat, and St Sebastian, but as the distance between these stations was sixty miles, it was found impossible so to guard all these passes as to prevent the entrance of an army. The passes occupied by the allies were defended by the following troops:--Major General Byng’s brigade and a division of Spanish infantry held the valley of Roncesvalles, to support which General Cole’s division was posted at Piscarret, with General Picton’s in reserve at Olaque; the valley of Bastan and the pass of Maya was occupied by Sir Rowland Hill, with Lieutenant-general William Stewart’s and Silviera’s Portuguese divisions, and the Spanish corps under the Conde de Amaran; the Portuguese brigade of Brigadier-general Archibald Campbell was detached to Los Alduidos; the heights of St Barbara, the town of Pera, and the Puerto de Echelar, were protected by Lord Dalhousie and Baron Alten’s light division, Brigadier-general Pack’s being in reserve at Estevan. The communication between Lord Dalhousie and General Graham was kept up by General Longa’s Spanish division; and the Conde de Abisbal blockaded Pampluna.

Such were the positions of the allied army when Marshal Soult, who had been lately appointed to the command of a numerous French army, recently collected, having formed a plan of operations for a general attack on the allied army, advanced on the 25th of July at the head of a division of 36,000 men against Roncesvalles, whilst General Count d’Erlon, with another division of 13,000 men, moved towards the pass of Maya. Pressed by this overwhelming force, General Byng was obliged, though supported by part of Sir Lowry Cole’s division, to descend from the heights that commanded the pass, in order to preserve his communication, in which situation he was attacked by Soult and driven back to the top of the mountain, whilst the troops on the ridge of Arola, part of Cole’s division, were forced to retire with considerable loss, and to take up a position in the rear. General Cole was again obliged to retire, and fell back on Lizoain. Next day General Picton moved forward to support General Cole, but both were obliged to retire in consequence of Soult’s advance.

Meanwhile Count d’Erlon forced the battalions occupying the narrow ridges near the pass of Maya to give way; but these being quickly supported by Brigadier-general Barnes’s brigade, a series of spirited actions ensued, and the advance of the enemy was arrested. General Hill hearing of the retrograde movement from Roncesvalles, retired behind the Irurita, and took up a strong position. On the 27th Sir Thomas Picton resumed his retreat. The troops were greatly dejected at this temporary reverse; but the arrival of Lord Wellington, who had been with the army before St Sebastian, revived their drooping spirits. Immediately on his arrival he directed the troops in reserve to move forward to support the division opposed to the enemy; formed General Picton’s division on a ridge on the left bank of the Argua, and General Cole’s on the high grounds between that river and the Lanz. To support the positions in front, General Hill was posted behind the Lizasso; but, on the arrival of General Pakenham on the 28th, he took post on the left of General Cole, facing the village of Sourarom; but before the British divisions had fully occupied the ground, they were vigorously attacked by the enemy from the village. The enemy were, however, driven back with great loss.

Soult next brought forward a strong column, and advancing up the hill against the centre of the allies, on the left of General Cole’s line, obtained possession of that post, but he was almost immediately driven back at the point of the bayonet by the Fusiliers. The French renewed the attack, but were again quickly repulsed. About the same time another attack was made on the right of the centre, where a Spanish brigade, supported by the 40th, was posted. The Spaniards gave way, the 40th not only keeping their ground, but driving the enemy down the hill with great loss.

The enemy pushing forward in separate bodies with great vigour, the battle now became general along the whole front of the heights occupied by the fourth division, but they were repulsed at all points, except one occupied by a Portuguese battalion, which was overpowered and obliged to give way. The occupation of this post by the enemy exposed the flank of Major-General Ross’s brigade, immediately on the right, to a destructive fire, which forced him to retire. The enemy were, however, soon dispossessed of this post by Colonel John Maclean, who, advancing with the 27th and 48th regiments, charged and drove them from it, and immediately afterwards attacked and charged another body of the enemy who were advancing from the left. The enemy persevered in his attacks several times, but was as often repulsed, principally by the bayonet. Several regiments charged four different times.

After various successful attacks, the enemy, on the 30th, to use the words of Lord Wellington, “abandoned a position which is one of the strongest and most difficult of access that I have yet seen occupied by troops.” The enemy were now pursued beyond Olaque, in the vicinity of which General Hill, who had been engaged the whole day, had repulsed all the attacks of Count d’Erlon.

The enemy endeavoured to rally in their retreat, but were driven from one position to another till the 2d of August, when the allies had regained all the posts they had occupied on the 25th of July, when Soult made his first attack. As the 92d or Gordon Highlanders was the Highland regiment which had the good fortune to be engaged in these brilliant attacks, in which they particularly distinguished themselves, the account of these operations might have been deferred till we come to give an account of the services of that excellent regiment; but as the omission of these details in this place would have broken the continuity of the narrative, it was deemed proper to insert them here.

After this second expulsion of the French beyond the Pyrenees, the siege of St Sebastian was resumed with redoubled energy. A continued fire was kept up from eighty pieces of cannon, which the enemy withstood with surprising courage and perseverance. At length a practicable breach was made, and on the morning of the 31st of August the troops advanced to the assault. The breach was extensive, but there was only one point at which it was possible to enter, and this could only be done by single files. All the inside of the wall to the height of the curtain formed a perpendicular scarp of twenty feet. The troops made the most persevering exertions to force the breach, and everything that bravery could attempt was repeatedly tried by the men, who were brought forward in succession from the trenches; but each time, on attaining the summit, all who attempted to remain were destroyed by a heavy fire from the entrenched ruins within, so that “no man outlived the attempt to gain the ridge.”[330] The moment was critical; but General Graham, with great presence of mind, directed his artillery to play against the curtain, so as to pass a few feet over the heads of the troops in the breach. The fire was directed with admirable precision, and the troops advanced with perfect confidence. They struggled unremittingly for two hours to force the breach, and, taking advantage of some confusion occasioned by an explosion of ammunition within the ramparts, they redoubled their efforts, and by assisting each other got over the walls and ruins. After struggling about an hour among their works, the French retreated with great loss to the castle, leaving the town, which was now reduced to a heap of ruins, in the possession of the assailants. This success was dearly purchased,--the loss of the allies, in killed and wounded, being upwards of 2000 men. Soult made an attempt to raise the siege, by crossing the Bidassoa on the very day the assault was made with a force of nearly 40,000 men; but he was obliged, after repeated attacks, to repass the river.

Having determined to carry the war into France, Lord Wellington crossed the Bidassoa at low water, near its mouth, on the 7th of October. After a series of successful operations, the allied army was established in the French territories; but as Pampluna still held out, the commander-in-chief delayed his advance for a time. Pampluna surrendered on the 31st of October, after a blockade of four months. Lord Wellington having now the whole allied force, amounting to upwards of 85,000 men, at his disposal, resolved to commence operations.

Since the battle of the Pyrenees, the French had occupied a position with their right towards the sea, at a short distance from St Jean de Luz, their centre on a village in Sare, and on the heights behind it, with their left resting on a stony height in the rear of Ainhoe. This position, strong by nature, had been rendered still stronger by art. The attack on the French lines was to be made in columns of divisions. In consequence of heavy falls of snow and rain, Lord Wellington was obliged to defer his attack till the 10th of November, on the morning of which day the allies moved forward against the enemy.

The attack was begun by General Cole’s division, which attacked and carried the principal redoubt in front of Sare with such rapidity, that several of the enemy were taken in it before it could be evacuated. Another redoubt on the left was carried in the same rapid manner by Lord Dalhousie’s division, commanded in his absence by Colonel Le Cor. General Cole’s division thereupon took possession of the village. General Alten having carried La Petite Rhune, the whole centre divisions united, and made a joint attack on the enemy’s principal position behind the village. Sir Thomas Picton’s division (now commanded in his absence by General Colville), and that of Le Cor, carried the redoubt on the left of the enemy’s centre. The light division advancing from La Petite Rhune, attacked the works in their front, supported by the 52d regiment, which, crossing with great rapidity a narrow neck of land, was here exposed to the fire of two flanking batteries, rushed up the hill with such impetuosity, that the enemy grew alarmed, and fled with precipitation.

Meanwhile the right, under General Hill, attacked the heights of Ainhoe. The attack was led by General Clinton’s division, which, marching on the left of five redoubts, forded the Nivelle, the banks of which were steep and difficult, and attacked the troops in front of the works. These were immediately driven back with loss, and General Hamilton joining in the attack on the other redoubt, the enemy hastily retired. The brigade of General Stewart’s division, under General Pringle, drove in the enemy’s picquets in front of Ainhoe, whilst General Byng’s brigade attacked and drove the enemy from the entrenchments, and from a redoubt farther to the left.

The enemy at length seeing further resistance hopeless, abandoned all their positions and works in front of St Jean de Luz and retired upon Bidart, after destroying all the bridges on the Lower Nivelle. In these successful and complicated movements, the allies had 21 officers and 244 soldiers killed, and 120 officers and 1657 soldiers wounded. Of the 42d regiment, Captain Mungo Macpherson and Lieutenant Kenneth Macdougall were wounded, one private only killed, and 2 sergeants and 23 rank and file wounded. The French lost 31 pieces of cannon, 1300 prisoners, and had a proportional number killed and wounded.

In consequence of the heavy rains and the destruction of the bridges, the allies were prevented from pursuing the enemy, who retired to an entrenched camp near Bayonne. The allied troops were cantoned between the Nivelle and the sea, and made preparations for dislodging the French from their new position; but the incessant rains, which continued till December, put an entire stop to all active movements. Having thrown bridges over the Nive in the beginning of December, Lord Wellington commenced operations on the 9th for the passage of that river. As the position of the enemy was considered too strong to be attacked in front, the commander-in-chief determined to make a movement to the right, and by thus threatening Soult’s rear, he hoped to induce him to abandon his position. Accordingly the allied army crossed the Nive at different points on the 9th. General Hope met with little opposition, and General Hill, who crossed by the ford of Cambo, was scarcely opposed. In danger of being intercepted by General Clinton’s division, which had crossed at Ustariz, the enemy retired in great haste, and assembled in considerable numbers at Villefranche, but they were driven from this post by the light infantry and two Portuguese regiments, under Colonels Douglas and Browne. General Hill next day took up a position with his division, with his left on Villefranche and his right on the Adour, in consequence of which he cut off the communication between Bayonne and St Jean Pied de Port. In this situation the French troops stationed at the latter place were forced to retire on St Palais.

Leaving a force to keep General Hill in check, Marshal Soult left his entrenched camp on the morning of the 10th, and making an impetuous attack on the light division of General Hope’s wing, drove back his outposts. Then establishing himself on a ridge between the corps of Baron Alten and Major-General Andrew Hay’s fifth division, he turned upon the latter, and attacked it with a determined bravery which it was almost impossible to withstand; but after an arduous struggle the enemy were repulsed by Brigadier-general Robinson’s brigade of the fifth division, and Brigadier-general Archibald Campbell’s Portuguese brigade. The enemy, no way discouraged by these repulses, renewed the attack about three o’clock, but with the same want of success.

During the night, Soult made dispositions for attacking the light division at Arcangues; but Sir John Hope perceiving his intention, moved towards the threatened point. Anticipated in this movement, the experienced Marshal again changed his dispositions to the left, but General Hope, equally on the alert, met him also in that direction. With the exception of some partial skirmishing between the outposts, no occurrence of any importance took place on the following day; but on the 12th the enemy renewed the attack on the left without success.

Thus foiled in all his attempts, Soult resolved to change entirely his plan of operations, and accordingly, during the night of the 12th, he drew his army through Bayonne, and on the morning of the 13th attempted to force his way between the centre and right of the British position, at the head of 30,000 men. Advancing with great vigour and celerity, he might have succeeded, had not General Hill, with his usual promptitude and decision, ordered his troops on the flanks to support the centre. The enemy, after a violent struggle, were repulsed with great loss, and retired with such precipitation that they were out of reach before the arrival of the sixth division, which had been ordered up to support General Hill.

Whilst this contest was going on, General Byng’s brigade, supported by the Portuguese brigade under General Buchan, carried an important height, from which the enemy made several attempts to dislodge them, but being unsuccessful at all points, they at length retired to their entrenchments, whither they were followed by General Hill, who took up a parallel position. At the passage of the Nive the 42d had Captain George Stewart and Lieutenant James Stewart killed, and 11 rank and file wounded.

The inclemency of the weather, and a succession of heavy rains which had swelled the rivers and destroyed the roads, rendering farther movements impracticable for a time, Marshal Soult availed himself of the interruption thus given to the progress of the allied army to strengthen his position. The weather becoming favourable about the middle of February 1814, Lord Wellington began a series of movements with the view of inducing Soult to withdraw from his strong position, or, should he decline, to cut off his communication with France, by marching the allied army into the heart of that country. By these movements the British general obtained the command of the Adour, which obliged Soult, who obtained his supplies down that river from the interior, to withdraw from Bayonne in the direction of Daxe. He left, however, a strong garrison in the place.

Leaving General Hope to blockade Bayonne, Lord Wellington made a general movement with the right and centre of the army on the 24th of February. Next day they marched forward to dislodge the enemy from a position they had taken up on the Gave de Pau at Orthés. Between the extreme points of this position ran a chain of heights receding in a line, bending inwards, the centre of which was so retired as to be protected by the guns of both wings. On his left, Soult was supported in this strong position by the town and the river; his right rested on a commanding height in rear of the village of St Bois; whilst the centre, accommodating itself to the incurvation of the heights, described a horizontal reversed segment of a circle protected by the strong position of both wings.

In a short time every point was carried, but the enemy retired in a very orderly manner, firing by echelons of divisions, each covering the other as they retreated. Observing General Hill, who had just crossed the river, advancing upon their left flank, on the road from Orthés to St Sever, the enemy became at once apprehensive that they would be intercepted, and, instead of continuing their masterly retreat, they ran off at full speed, followed by their pursuers. The latter continued the chase for nearly three miles at a full trot, and the French at length breaking their lines, threw away their arms, and fled in all directions. The pursuit was continued however as far as Sault de Navailles, on reaching which the remains even of an army were no longer to be seen. The loss of the enemy was estimated at 8000 men in killed, wounded, and prisoners. The loss of the allies in killed and wounded amounted to about 1600. Of the 42d, Lieutenant John Innes was the only officer killed, besides 1 sergeant, and 3 rank and file. Major William Cowell, Captain James Walker, Lieutenants Duncan Stewart and James Brander, 5 sergeants, and 85 rank and file were wounded.

The French army, lately so formidable, was now broken and dispersed, and many of the soldiers, dispirited by their reverses, returned to their homes; others, for the first time, abandoned their standards, and went over to the allies. Soult, however, undismayed by these difficulties, collected the remains of that part of his army which still remained faithful, and exerted all his energies to arrest the progress of the victors, but his efforts were unavailing; and after sustaining a defeat at Ayre, where he attempted to cover the removal of considerable magazines, he retreated to Tarbes. All the western part of Gascony being thus left exposed to the operations of the allied army, Lord Wellington detached Marshal Beresford and Lord Dalhousie, with three divisions, to Bordeaux, which they entered amidst the acclamations of the inhabitants.

Having obtained reinforcements from Spain and England, Lord Wellington, after leaving 4000 men at Bordeaux under Lord Dalhousie, again put his army in motion. Soult attempted to make a stand at Vicq with two divisions, but he was driven from this position by General Picton with the third division, and forced to retire beyond Tarbes. With the apparent intention of disputing the farther advance of the allies, the Marshal concentrated his whole force at this point, but he was dislodged from this position by a series of combined movements. It was now discovered that the enemy were drawn up on two hills running parallel to those from which their advance had been driven, and it was farther ascertained that this commanding position could not be gained by an advance in front without a great sacrifice of men, reinforced as it had been by the troops driven from the heights in front. It was therefore determined to attack it on flank, but, before the necessary arrangements could be completed, night came on, and Soult taking advantage of the darkness, moved off towards Toulouse, whither he was followed next morning by the allies, who reached the banks of the Garonne on the 27th of March.

This river was much swollen by recent rains and the melting of the snow on the Pyrenees. There being only one bridge at Toulouse, and that being in possession of the enemy, it became necessary to procure pontoons to enable the army to pass. Whilst the necessary preparations were going on for this purpose, Marshal Soult made the most extraordinary exertions to put himself in a proper posture of defence. He was not even yet without hopes of success, and although it is generally believed that he was now aware of the abdication of Buonaparte, an event which, he must have known, would put an immediate end to the war, he was unwilling to let slip the only opportunity he now had of wiping off the disgrace of his recent defeats.