Chapter XXVI: Appendix: No. III (6)

[256] When Downie’s brigade betrayed a dangerous indecision, and declined to go forward, “there happened to be present an officer of the 43rd regiment, named Haverlock, who being attached to General Alten’s staff, was sent to ascertain Giron’s progress. His fiery temper could not brook the check. He took off his hat, he called upon the Spaniards to follow him, and putting spurs to his horse, at one bound cleared the abbatis and went headlong amongst the enemy. Then the soldiers, shouting for ‘_El chico blanco_,’ _the fair boy_,--so they called him, for he was very young and had light hair--with one shock broke through the French, and this at the very moment when their centre was flying under the fire of Kemp’s skirmishers from the Puerto-de-Vera.”-- _Napier._

[257] In October, the garrison were put upon an allowance of four ounces of horseflesh each man. In a week that too failed; every domestic animal had been consumed; rats were eagerly sought for, and weeds supplied the place of vegetables. A feeble sally was made upon the 10th, but it was repulsed with a loss of eighty men. Disease generally accompanies famine--scurvy broke out--a thousand men were reported to be in the hospital, as many were wounded, and death and desertion had lessened the garrison by six hundred. In these desperate circumstances, Cassan, the governor, sent out to offer a surrender, provided he was allowed to retire into France with six pieces of artillery. A peremptory rejection of this condition was followed by a proposition that the soldiers should not serve for a year. This, too, being refused, it was intimated to the Spanish general, that after blowing up the works, Cassan would imitate Brennier, and trust to fortune and gallantry for the deliverance of his exhausted garrison. This proceeding on the part of the French governor was so repugnant to the rules of war, that a letter was conveyed to his advanced post, denouncing the attempt as inhuman, involving in a desperate experiment the destruction of unfortunate beings who had already borne the horrors of a siege, with an assurance that, should it be attempted, the governor and officers would be shot, and the private soldiers decimated. Most probably the threat of mining the city had been merely used to obtain more favourable terms, and neither the abominable experiment was made, nor the terrible retaliation which would have followed was required. On the 31st the garrison surrendered, and the finest fortress on the Peninsula became thus a bloodless conquest.

[258] “The cattle brought for the consumption of the troops through a great part of Spain, arrived in a jaded and lean condition--those who lived to reach the place of slaughter--for the roads along which they had been driven might easily be traced by their numerous carcasses, lying half-buried or unburied by the way-side--sad proofs of the wasteful inhumanity of war! The weather had been more stormy than was usual even on that coast and at that season. The transports at Passages were moored stem and stem in rows, and strongly confined by their moorings; yet they were considered in danger even in that land-locked harbour: some were driven forward by the rising of the swell, while others, close alongside, were forced backwards by its fall, so that the bowsprits of some were entangled in the mizen-chains of others. The cold on the mountains was so intense, that several men perished. A picket in the neighbourhood of Roncesvalles was snowed up: the parties who were sent to rescue it drove bullocks before them as some precaution against the danger of falling into chasms, and the men were brought off; but the guns could not be removed, and were buried under the snow in the ditch of the redoubt.”--_Southey._

[259] “The successful result of the battle was owing in no inconsiderable degree to the able direction of the artillery under Colonel Dickson. Guns were brought to bear on the French fortifications from situations which they considered totally inaccessible to that arm.

“Mountain guns on swivel carriages, harnessed on the backs of mules purposely trained for that service, ascended the rugged ridges of the mountains, and showered destruction on the intrenchments below. The foot and horse-artillery displayed a facility of movement which must have astonished the French, the artillerymen dragging the guns with ropes up steep precipices, or lowering them down to positions from whence they could with more certain aim pour forth their fatal volleys against the enemy.”--_Batty._

[260] During the short term of inaction which the inclemency of the weather had occasioned, one of those periods of conventional civility which not unfrequently occurred during the Peninsular campaigns, took place between the French and allied outposts. “A disposition,” says Quartermaster Surtees, “had for some time been gaining ground with both armies, to mitigate the miseries of warfare, as much as was consistent with each doing their duty to their country; and it had by this time proceeded to such an extent, as to allow us to place that confidence in them that they would not molest us, even if we passed their outposts.”

Lord Wellington, however, discountenanced those friendly relations, where the arrangements were so perfectly amicable, that the parties not only took charge of love letters, but even “plundered in perfect harmony.”

“Before this order was issued, the most unbounded confidence subsisted between us, and which it was a pity to put a stop to, except for such weighty reasons. They used to get us such things as we wanted from Bayonne, particularly brandy, which was cheap and plentiful; and we in return gave them occasionally a little tea, of which some of them had learned to be fond. Some of them also, who had been prisoners of war in England, sent letters through our army-post to their sweethearts in England, our people receiving the letters and forwarding them.”

“The next day, there being no firing between us and those in our front, three French officers, seemingly anxious to prove how far politeness and good breeding could be carried between the two nations, when war did not compel them to be unfriendly, took a table and some chairs out of a house which was immediately in our front, and one which we had lately occupied as a barrack; and bringing them down into the middle of the field which separated the advance of the two armies, sat down within a hundred yards of our picket, and drank wine, holding up their glasses, as much as to say, ‘Your health,’ every time they drank. Of course we did not molest them, but allowed them to have their frolic out.

“During the day, also, we saw soldiers of the three nations, viz. English, Portuguese, and French, all plundering at the same time in one unfortunate house, where our pie, our pig, and wine had been left. It stood about 150 or 200 yards below the church, on a sort of neutral ground between the two armies; hence the assemblage at the same moment of such a group of these motley marauders. _They plundered in perfect harmony, no one disturbing the other on account of his nation or colour._”

[261] “The mist hung heavily; and the French masses, at one moment quite shrouded in vapour, at another dimly seen, or looming sudden and large and dark at different points, appeared like thunder-clouds gathering before the storm. At half-past eight, Soult pushed back the British pickets in the centre; the sun burst out at that moment, the sparkling fire of the light troops spread wide in the valley, and crept up the hills on either flank, while the bellowing of forty pieces of artillery shook the banks of the Nive and the Adour. Darricau, marching on the French right, was directed against General Pringle. D’Armagnac, moving on their left and taking Old Monguerre as the point of direction, was ordered to force Byng’s right. Abbé assailed the centre at St. Pierre, where General Stewart commanded; for Sir Rowland Hill had taken his station on a commanding mount in the rear, from whence he could see the whole battle and direct the movements.”--_Napier._

[262] “This glorious battle was fought and won by Sir Rowland Hill with his own corps, alone and unassisted. Lord Wellington could not reach the field till the victory was achieved, and as he rode up to his successful general, he shook him heartily by the hand, with the frank remark, ‘Hill, the day’s your own.’ He was exceedingly delighted with Sir Rowland’s calm and beautiful conduct of this action, and with the intrepid and resolute behaviour of the troops.”--_Sherer._

[263] “A Frankfort officer now made his way to the outposts of our fourth division in the centre of the allies, and announced the intended defection, requiring a general officer’s word of honour that they should be well-received and sent to Germany: no general being on the spot, Colonel Bradford gave his word; means were immediately taken to apprise the battalions, and they came over in a body, thirteen hundred men, the French not discovering their intention till just when it was too late to frustrate it.”

[264] “During this period of mutual repose, the French officers and ours soon became intimate: we used to meet at a narrow part of the river, and talk over the campaign. They would never believe (or pretended not to believe) the reverse of Napoleon in Germany; and when we received the news of the Orange Boven affair in Holland, they said that it was impossible to convince them. One of our officers took _The Star_ newspaper, rolled a stone up in it, and attempted to throw it across the river; unfortunately the stone went through it, and it fell into the water: the French officer very quietly said, in tolerably good English, “Your good news is very soon damped!“--_Batty._

* * * * *

“During the campaign, we had often experienced the most gentlemanlike conduct from the French officers. A day or two before the battle, when we were upon our alarm-post, at break of day, a fine hare was seen playing in a corn-field between the outposts; a brace of greyhounds were very soon unslipped, when, after an excellent course, poor puss was killed within the French lines. The officer to whom the dogs belonged, bowing to the French officer, called off the dogs, but the Frenchman politely sent the hare, with a message and his compliments, saying, that we required it more than they did.”

* * * * *

“A daring fellow, an Irishman, named Tom Patten, performed a singular feat. At the barrier there was a rivulet, along which our lines of sentries were posted. To the right was a thick, low wood, and during the cessation of hostilities our officers had again become intimate with those of the French, and the soldiers had actually established a traffic in tobacco and brandy in the following ingenious manner. A large stone was placed in that part of the rivulet screened by the wood, opposite to the French sentry, on which our people used to put a canteen with a quarter-dollar, for which it was very soon filled with brandy. One afternoon about dusk, Patten had put down his canteen with the usual money in it, and retired, but, though he returned several times, no canteen was there. He waited till the moon rose, but still he found nothing on the stone. When it was near morning, Tom thought he saw the same sentry who was there when he put his canteen down; so he sprang across the stream, seized the unfortunate Frenchman, wrested his firelock from him, and actually shaking him out of his accoutrements, recrossed, vowing he would keep them until he got his canteen of brandy, and brought them to the picket-house. Two or three hours afterwards, just as we were about to fall in, an hour before daybreak, the sergeant came to say that a flag of truce was at the barrier: I instantly went down, when I found the officer of the French picket in a state of great alarm, saying, that a most extraordinary circumstance had occurred (relating the adventure), and stating, that if the sentry’s arms and accoutrements were not given back, his own commission would be forfeited, as well as the life of the poor sentry. A sergeant was instantly sent to see if they were in the picket-house; when Patten came up scratching his head, saying “He had them in pawn for a canteen of brandy and a quarter-dollar and told us the story in his way; whereupon the things were immediately given over to the French captain, who, stepping behind, put two five-franc pieces into Patten’s hand. Tom, however, was not to be bribed by an enemy, but generously handed the money to his officer, requesting that he would insist on the French captain taking the money back.

“The Frenchman was delighted to get the firelock and accoutrements back, and the joy of the poor fellow who was stripped of them may be conceived, as, if it had been reported, he would certainly have been shot, by sentence of court-martial, in less than forty-eight hours.”-- _Cadell._

[265] This general statement must unfortunately be qualified--for never was a commander more sadly perplexed for want of money. “We are just as bad as the Spaniards. _I yesterday wanted to send off a courier to General W. Clinton in Catalonia, and the money for his expenses was borrowed from those who happened to have a little to lend._”

[266] The Adour, like the Gave, is a name common to many rivers in the Pyrenees, both simply meaning water in some of those primeval languages, the remains of which are still widely preserved in the appellations of rivers and mountains. The greater and noted stream, into which the others are received, has its sources in the county of Bigorre, under the Pics du Midi and d’Espade, two of the highest mountains in the chain; it passes by Campan, Bagnères, Montgaillard, and Tarbes, and begins to be navigable near Grenade, a small town in the little county of Marsan. Having been joined by the Douze on the right below Tartas, it inclines to the south-west from its junction, passes Acqs, and then holds an almost southerly course to meet the Gave de Pau, which brings with its own waters those of the Gave d’Oleron, into which the Gave de Mauleon has been received. The Adour is then joined by the Bidouse, and lastly by the Nive.

[267] “A halberd was set up, with a handkerchief fixed to it, and upon this point the chasse-marées boldly stood in for the river. Mr. Bloye, the master’s mate of the Lyra, led the passage. His boat was lost, and the whole of the crew drowned: several others shared the same fate. Captain Elliot, of the Martial, with the surgeon of that vessel and four seamen, and two belonging to the Porcupine, were amongst those who perished. Three transport-boats, with their crews, were also lost. All eyes were turned to witness the vessels plunging through the huge waves that rolled over the bar. A Spanish chasse-marée had nearly struggled through the surf, when an enormous wave was seen gradually nearing the vessel; and, just before it reached it, raising its curling ridge high above the deck, with one fatal sweep bore it down to the bottom. A moment after parts of the shattered vessel rose to the surface, and exhibited the wretched mariners clinging to its fragments: some were drifted till they actually got footing on the shore, and, as it was flood-tide, hopes were entertained of saving them by means of ropes thrown to them; but another tremendous wave rolling majestically on to the beach, in a moment bore them away for ever.”--_Batty._

[268] It consisted of six-and-twenty chasse-marées, lashed to each other, and moored by the bow and stem to resist the current that changed at ebb and flow. Heavy guns were occasionally substituted for anchors; and cables were strained by capstans across the centre of the decks, with strong oak planks laid transversely, and sufficiently secured to form a platform, at the same time pliant and substantial-- calculated to rise or fall with the tide--and strong enough to support the weight of artillery. Immense stone piers had been erected by the French to contract the channel of the stream, and, by an artificial current, prevent the sand from accumulating on the bar. These, from their breadth, formed an admirable causeway, while they lessened the space of water to be bridged to an extent of two hundred and seventy yards. It was supposed by French engineers impracticable to secure pontoons so as to resist the ocean swells and mountain floods to which the Adour was so constantly exposed; but a fortunate shifting of a sand-bank formed an excellent breakwater; while a boom was laid above the bridge to arrest fire-ships or floating timber, which it might have been expected the enemy would employ for its destruction.

[269] “A few rocket-men were hastily sent across the river, and posted on the sandhills to aid in repelling the enemy; and two guns of the troops of horse-artillery were so placed on the left bank of the river, as to be able to flank by their fire the troops coming on to attack the front of the guards.

“The enemy came on a little before dusk of evening with drums beating the _pas-de-charge_, and driving before him the pickets sent out by General Stopford to reconnoitre. The guards awaited the approach of the French columns till within a short distance of their front, and then commenced a well-directed fire; the guns on the left bank began to cannonade them, and the rockets on the sandhills were discharged with terrific effect, piercing the enemy’s column, killing several men, and blazing through it with the greatest violence. The result was the almost immediate rout of the French, who, terror-struck at the unusual appearance, and at the effect of the rockets, and the immovable firmness of the little corps, made the best of their retreat back towards the citadel, leaving a number of killed and wounded on the ground. This gallant little combat closed the events of the day.”-- _Batty._

[270] “There was a prejudice in the army against this weapon, which had hitherto not been used in the field; the opinion seems to have been, that if it had been an efficient means of destruction, it would sooner have been borrowed from the East Indian nations. Lord Wellington, however, was willing that they should be tried; and some experiments which were made at Fontarabia gave reason for supposing that they might be found useful on the Adour. The direction of this new arm was assigned to Sir Augustus Fraser, but the trial was to be made under all the disadvantages of inexperience; for the corps was composed of men hastily brought together, and entirely ignorant of the arm they were to use; and the rockets themselves were equipped in five different ways, and consequently liable to as many failures.”--_Southey._

A twelve-pounder rocket laid on the ground, and discharged without a tube, by simply applying a match to the vent, will run along the ground four or five hundred yards, seldom rising higher than a man’s head; and then, alternately rising and falling, will continue its course with such effect, as, after ranging 1200 yards, to pierce through twenty feet of turf, and explode on the other side, scattering the seventy-two carbine balls, with which it was loaded, in all directions. No barricade could for an instant retard its force; and should it by any accident strike against a stone, or any obstacle which it cannot pierce or overturn, it will bound off, and continue its terrible course.

They are of various dimensions, as well in length as in calibre, and are differently armed, according as they are intended for the field or for bombardment,--carrying, in the first instance, either shells or case-shot, which may be exploded at any part of their flight, spreading death and destruction among the columns of the enemy; and in the second, where they are intended for the destruction of buildings, shipping, stores, &c. they are armed with a peculiar species of composition which never fails of destroying every combustible material with which it comes in contact: the latter are called carcass-rockets.

The powers of this weapon are now established upon the best of all testimonies--that of the enemy; a striking instance of which occurred at the siege of Flushing, where General Monnet, the French commandant, made a formal remonstrance to Lord Chatham respecting the use of them in that bombardment.

The form of all the different kinds of these rockets is cylindrical, and they are composed of strong metallic cases, armed, as before stated, either with carcass composition for bombardment and conflagration, or with shells and case-shot for field-service. They are, however, of various weights and dimensions, from the eight-inch carcass, or explosion-rocket, weighing nearly three hundredweight, to the six-pound shell-rocket, which is the smallest size used in the field. The sticks which are employed for regulating their flight are also of different lengths, according to the size and service of the rocket, and which, for the convenience of carriage, are stowed apart from the rocket, and so contrived as to consist of two or more parts, which are connected to it, and to each other when requisite, with the utmost expedition.

They are divided into three classes, heavy, medium, and light,-- the former including all those of above forty-two pounds, which are denominated according to their calibre, as eight-inch, seven-inch, six-inch, &c. rockets; the medium include all those from the forty-two pound to the twenty-four pound rocket; and the light, from the eighteen-pounder to the six-pounder, inclusive. The carcass-rockets are armed with strong iron conical heads, containing a composition as hard and solid as iron itself, and which, when once inflamed, bids defiance to any human effort to extinguish it, and, consequently, involves in an inextinguishable flame every combustible material with which it comes in contact. The forty-two pounder and thirty-two pounder carcass-rockets are those which have hitherto been chiefly employed in bombardments. The penetration of the thirty-two pound carcass-rocket, in common ground, is nine feet,--and in some instances where they have been employed, have been known to pierce through several floors, and through the sides of houses: this is the smallest rocket used in bombardment, and the largest employed in the field,--the more usual size for the latter service being the twenty-four, eighteen, twelve, and six-pounders. The ranges of the eight-inch, seven-inch, and six-inch rockets, are from 2,000 to 2,500 yards; and the quantity of combustible matter, or bursting powder, from twenty-five to fifty pounds; and from their weight, combined with less diameter, they possess a greater power of penetration than the heaviest shells, and are therefore equally efficient for the destruction of bomb-proofs, or the demolition of strong buildings.

The largest rocket that has yet been constructed has not, we believe, weighed more than three hundred-weight.

The forty-two and thirty-two pounders are those which have hitherto been principally used in bombardment, and which, for the general purposes of that service, are found quite sufficient, as they will convey from seven pounds to ten pounds of combustible matter each, and have a range of upwards of three thousand yards. The thirty-two pounder rocket may be considered as the medium rocket, being the smallest used in bombardment as a carcass or explosion rocket, and the largest used with shot or shell in the field; but as the twenty-four pounder is very nearly equal to it in all its applications in the latter service, being quite equal to the propelling of the Cohorn shell, or twelve-pounder shot, it is, from the saving in weight, generally preferred to the thirty-two pounder. The eighteen-pounder, which is the first of the light nature of rockets, is armed with a nine-pound shot or shell; the twelve pounder with a six-pound ditto; the nine-pounder with a grenade; and the six-pounder with a three-pound shot or shell. From the twenty-four pounder to the nine-pounder rocket, inclusive, a description of case-shot rocket is formed of each nature, armed with a quantity of musket or carbine balls put into the top of the cylinder of the rocket.

[271] The citadel of Bayonne is a truly formidable work, standing on a commanding hill upon the right bank of the Adour, and greatly elevated above all the other defences of the city, nearly fronting the mouth of the Nive. It is almost a perfect square, with strongly-built oreillon bastions at the four angles. A double range of barracks and magazines inclose a quadrangular space in the centre called the _place d’armes_, the sides of which are parallel with the curtains of the citadel.

The north-east, north-west, and south-west bastions are surmounted by cavaliers which appear to be well armed with cannon mounted _en barbette_.

[272] The allied loss in this spirited affair was only twenty killed, one hundred and thirty-six wounded and two missing.

[273] “They were not aware that a rather deep ravine separated them from the enemy’s works; however, on they pushed, in a very disorderly manner, till they reached the point the French intended they should reach, when a fire was opened out upon them, such as they had never witnessed before. Few troops would have remained unshaken by such a reception, but to the Spaniards it was intolerable; consequently they broke into a thousand parties, and, turning tail, it was who should be first away from such unpleasant doings. I am told that Lord Wellington at this moment ‘wondered whether the Pyrenees would bring them up again, they seemed to have got such a fright.’ He did not indeed depend on their valour, or he would have made a bad winding up of his Peninsular campaign. The moment they left the height, every man took the way that seemed to him best, and they soon after literally covered the whole plain, and set to work with all expedition to plunder.”-- _Surtees._

[274] Return of the killed, wounded, and missing, of the army under the command of Field-Marshal the Marquis of Wellington, K. B., at the battle of Toulouse, April 10, 1814.

Officers. Sergeants. Rank and File. Total Loss.
Killed 31 21 543 595
Wounded 248 123 3675 4046
Missing 3 0 15 18

The above loss as under:

Killed. Wounded. Missing.
British 312 1795 17
Spanish 205 1722 1
Portuguese 78 539 0
Horses 62 59 2

_Wellington’s Despatches._

[275] What, let it be simply asked, were the relative objects of Soult and Wellington? Was it not with one to hold a city that the other was as anxious to obtain? And what were the results? Soult, after his defeat at Tarbes, had made forced marches to complete the defences of Toulouse, and garrison a place to which he attached such value. His opponent advanced more leisurely; for, as the end was great, so also were the means limited and the difficulties many. Were they not surmounted? “He desired to pass the Garonne, and he did pass it; he desired to win the position and works of Mont Rave, and he did win them; he desired to enter Toulouse, and he did enter it as a conqueror at the head of his troops.”--_Napier._

[276] The allied loss, according to official reports, was five hundred and ninety-five killed, four thousand and forty-six wounded, and eighteen missing.

[277] “The enemy erected a tall mast on the cavalier of the south-west bastion, supporting a sort of round top, boarded at the sides, for the purpose of placing there a sentinel, who was thus enabled to overlook the positions of the allies all round. This was a subject of great jealousy to our soldiers, who were anxious to see the first cannon directed against so dangerous an overseer, whom they always designated by the name of ‘Jack in the box.’ Many of them amused themselves in drawing rude sketches on the garden walls and sides of the houses with burnt sticks, apparently consoling themselves by representing ‘Jack in his box,’ with outstretched arms, in the moment of expiring from a cannon-shot, which was duly depicted: their animosity was, in fact, very particularly directed against this, as they called it, unfair advantage.”--_Batty._

“At Bayonne, occasional instances occurred which shewed the extreme accuracy of the French artillery-men in pointing their cannon, and afforded the most convincing proofs of the absolute necessity of keeping our sentinels in places where they could not be discovered, and where, through holes pierced for that purpose in the garden walls, or through the hedges, they could observe the enemy’s movements without necessary exposure. A soldier of the German Legion had been posted at the angle of a large house, with directions to look round the corner from time to time, but on no account to remain exposed. Unfortunately he placed one leg beyond the angle of the building, and in a moment afterwards it was carried off by a cannon-shot. This might have been accidental, but a second and third instance immediately following served to convince us it was not so. A soldier of the light infantry, belonging to those stationed at St. Bernard under the command of Lord Saltoun, was posted behind a breastwork dug across the road which leads from the suburb of St. Etienne towards Bouraut, not far from the bank of the Adour. This road was looked down upon from the citadel, and was guarded with extreme jealousy by the enemy. The soldier was desired occasionally to look over the breastwork, but always to conceal himself again as quickly as possible; he, however, had the rashness to stand boldly upright on it, and was instantaneously killed by a cannon-ball, which literally cut him in two.

“A similar instance of their accuracy in firing occurred on the 23rd of February, when Colonel Maitland’s brigade took shelter behind the sandhills on the borders of the marsh in front of the intrenched camp. A drummer in the 3rd battalion of the first Guards had got upon the summit of the sandhill, but had not been there many moments before a cannon-shot, fired from a battery of the intrenched camp nearest to the Adour, pierced the ground directly underneath his feet, and brought down the frightened drummer headlong amongst his comrades below, who were much amused on discovering that he had not sustained the slightest injury.”

[278] “It appeared that the French were only able to extricate Sir John Hope by drawing his leg out of the boot, which was afterwards found under the horse’s side.”--_Batty._

[279] “When the enemy were driven out of St. Etienne, a field-piece was brought to bear on the retreating columns, and no less than thirteen rounds of grape and canister shot were fired at them with effect as they retreated down the great road to St. Esprit. The slaughter at this point was terrific.”--_Batty._

[280] A shell by daylight is occasionally visible. “The twenty-four inch mortar fired at intervals during the day. The shell was distinctly seen making its curve, and alighting with great precision. In the air it had the appearance of a huge cricket-ball, and had, apparently, little velocity.”--_Siege of Antwerp._

[281] “At the close of the action, the dead and wounded, along the high road and on the ground adjoining it, were lying thicker than perhaps, in an equal extent, on any field of battle which took place during the war, not excepting Waterloo, although the latter continued eight hours, whilst this was over in three. Lord Wellington, in riding over the ground, remarked, that he had never observed so large a number of killed in so small a compass.”

* * * * *

Return of the killed, wounded, and missing, in the operation of the army, under the command of Field-Marshal the Marquis of Wellington, K. G., in a sortie made by the garrison of Bayonne, on the morning of the 14th of April, 1814.

Officers. Sergeants. Rank and File. Total. Horses.
Killed 8 3 139 150 0
Wounded 36 28 393 457 1
Missing 6 7 223 236 0

_Wellington’s Despatches._

[282] “After the engagement was over, the outposts and their officers freely met each other,--when the British expressed a becoming regret at the unnecessary loss of life the night affair had so uselessly occasioned. The French treated it with a levity that by no means raised them in English estimation. ‘It was merely a light affair--nothing but a _petite promenade militaire_;’ and not the slightest expression of regret was uttered for the many of their comrades who were lying thick upon the field.”--_Batty._

[283] Field-Marshal the Marquis of Wellington and the Marshals the Duke of Dalmatia and the Duke of Albufera being desirous of concluding a suspension of hostilities between the armies under their respective orders, and of agreeing upon a line of demarcation, have named the undermentioned officers for that purpose; viz. on the part of the Marquis of Wellington, Major-General Sir George Murray, and Major-General Don Luis Wimpffen; and, on the part of the Duke of Dalmatia and of the Duke of Albufera, the General of Division Count Gazin.

These officers having exchanged their full powers have agreed upon the following articles:--

Art. I.--From the date of the present convention there shall be a suspension of hostilities between the allied armies under the orders of Field-Marshal the Marquis of Wellington, and the armies of France under the orders of Marshal the Duke of Dalmatia and of Marshal the Duke of Albufera.

Art. II.--Hostilities shall not be recommenced on either part without a previous notice being given of five days.

Art. III.--The limits of the department of the Haute Garonne, with the departments of Arriege, Aude, and Tarn, shall be the line of demarcation between the armies as far as the town of Buzet, on the river Tarn. The line will then follow the course of the Tarn to its junction with the Garonne, making a circuit, however, on the left bank of the Tarn opposite Montauban, to the distance of three-quarters of a league from the bridge of Montauban. From the mouth of the river Tarn, the line of demarcation will follow the right bank of the Garonne, as far as the limits of the department of the Lot and Garonne, with the department of La Gironde. It will then pass by La Reole, Sanveterre, and Rauzan, to the Dordogne, and will follow the right bank of that river, and of the Gironde, to the sea. In the event, however, of a different line of demarcation having been already determined by Lieutenant-General the Earl of Dalhousie and General Decden, the line fixed upon by those officers shall be adhered to.

Art. IV.--Hostilities shall cease also on both sides in regard to the places of Bayonne, St. Jean de Pied de Port, Navarreins, Blaye, and the castle of Lourdes.

The governors of these places shall be allowed to provide for the daily subsistence of the garrisons in the adjacent country, the garrison of Bayonne with a circuit of eight leagues from Bayonne, and the garrisons of the other places named within a circuit of three leagues round each place.

Officers shall be sent to the garrisons of the above places to communicate to them the terms of the present convention.

Art. V.--The town and forts of Santona shall be evacuated by the French troops, and made over to the Spanish forces. The French garrison will remove with it all that properly belongs to it, together with such arms, artillery, and other military effects as have not been the property originally of the Spanish government.

The Marquis of Wellington will determine whether the French garrison of Santona shall return to France by land or by sea, and, in either case, the passage of the garrison shall be secured, and it will be directed upon one of the places or ports most contiguous to the army of the Duke of Dalmatia.

The ships of war or other vessels now in the harbour of Santona, belonging to France, shall be allowed to proceed to Rochfort with passports for that purpose.

The Duke of Dalmatia will send an officer to communicate to the French general commanding in Santona the terms of the present convention, and cause them to be complied with.

Art. VI.--The fort of Venasque shall be made over as soon as possible to the Spanish troops, and the French garrison shall proceed by the most direct route to the head-quarters of the French army: the garrison will remove with it the arms and ammunition which are originally French.

Art. VII.--The line of demarcation between the allied armies and the army of Marshal Suchet, shall be the line of the frontier of Spain and France, from the Mediterranean to the limits of the department of the Haute Garonne.

Art. VIII.--The garrison of all the places which are occupied by the troops of the army of the Duke of Albufera shall be allowed to return without delay into France. These garrisons shall remove with them all that properly belongs to them, as also the arms and artillery which are originally French.

The garrison of Murviedro and of Peniscola shall join the garrison of Tortosa, and these troops will then proceed together by the great road, and enter France by Perpignan. The day of the arrival of these garrisons at Gerona, the fortresses of Figueras and of Rosas shall be made over to the Spanish troops, and the French garrisons of these places shall proceed to Perpignan.

As soon as information is received of the French garrisons of Murviedro, Peniscola, and Tortosa, having passed the French frontier, the place and forts of Barcelona shall be made over to the Spanish troops, and the French garrisons shall march immediately for Perpignan. The Spanish authorities will provide for the necessary means of transport being supplied to the French garrisons on their march to the frontier.

The sick or wounded of any of the French garrisons who are not in a state to move with the troops, shall remain and be cured in the hospitals where they are, and will be sent into France as soon as they have recovered.

Art. IX.--From the date of the ratifications of the present convention, there shall not be removed from Peniscola, Murviedro, Tortosa, Barcelona, or any of the other places, any artillery, arms, ammunition, or any other military effects belonging to the Spanish government. And the provisions remaining at the evacuation of these places shall be made over to the Spanish authorities.

Art. X.--The roads shall be free for the passage of couriers through the cantonments of both armies, provided they are furnished with regular passports.

Art. XI.--During the continuance of the present convention, deserters from either army shall be arrested, and shall be delivered up if demanded.

Art. XII.--The navigation of the Garonne shall be free from Toulouse to the sea, and all boats in the service of either army, employed in the river, shall be allowed to pass unmolested.

Art. XIII.--The cantonments of the troops shall be arranged so as to leave a space of two leagues at least between the quarters of the different armies.

Art. XIV.--The movements of the troops for the establishment of their cantonments, shall commence immediately after the ratification of the present convention.

The ratification is to take place within twenty-four hours for the army of the Duke of Dalmatia, and within forty-eight hours for the army of the Duke of Albufera.

Done in triplicate at Toulouse on the 18th of April, 1814.[E]

(Signed)
G. MURRAY,
M. G. & Q. M. G.

(Signed)
LUIS WIMPFFEN,
Gefe de E. M. G.
De Campaña de los
Exercitos Españoles.

(Signed)
DE GAZAN,
Le Lieut. Général.

(Approuvé)
Le M. DUC D’ALBUFERA.

(Confirmed)
WELLINGTON.

(Approuvé)
M. DUC DE DALMATIA.

[E] Jones’s Account of the War in Spain and Portugal, page 433.

[284] It would appear, that to some unaccountable fatality that sanguinary affair must be attributed. Rumours had already reached the outposts, that Napoleon had abdicated--and although from these reports the vigilance of the blockading army might have been naturally expected to abate, the besieged should have remained merely on the defensive, and Thouvenot’s sortie was unwarrantable. The result was not to his advantage. His casualties were admitted to reach nine hundred men, and the allied were nearly equal--both losing a general. The siege had not commenced--for neither stores nor artillery had been brought forward-- hence, there was no immediate cause for apprehension; and, though nothing was known certainly, it was generally believed that Napoleon was either dead or dethroned. The operation, therefore, appears rather designed to gratify bad passions than attain any military object. It seemed to have been purely a work of slaughter--and to gain no end, men were unnecessarily lost. “On both sides the troops, broken into small bodies by the inclosures, and unable to recover their order, came dashing together in the darkness, fighting often with the bayonet, and sometimes friends encountered, sometimes foes: all was tumult and horror. The guns of the citadel, vaguely guided by the flashes of the musketry, sent their shot and shells booming at random through the lines of fight; and the gun-boats, dropping down the river, opened their fire upon the flank of the supporting columns, which being put in motion by Sir John Hope, on the first alarm, were now coming up from the side of Boucaut. Thus nearly one hundred pieces of artillery were in full play at once; and the shells having set fire to the fascine depôts and to several houses, the flames cast a horrid glare over the striving masses.”--_Napier._

At best it was a sanguinary experiment. No object was gained or could be gained--much blood was idly wasted--Thouvenot, in a few hours, was as closely inclosed, as he had been before his sally--his loss exceeded that inflicted on his enemy--and many of his casualties were caused by the indiscriminating fire of his own guns.

[285] On the question of Peninsular distinctions now tardily conceded, we will not touch, inasmuch as we fear that we could not do it temperately. The subjoined is a record of the corps refused a medal. “Well, if the breast be bare, thank God, they can proudly point to their glorious colours!”

A list of regiments which served in the Peninsula _that were not present at Waterloo_, with the number of honorary distinctions they are permitted to bear on their colours for their services in that country and the South of France:--3rd Dragoon Guards, 4; 5th, 4; 3rd Light Dragoons, 4; 4th, 6; 14th, 6; 9th Lancers, 1; 2nd Foot, 8; 3rd. 7; 5th, 12; 6th, 8; 7th, 9; 9th, 9; 10th, 1; 11th, 7; 20th, 5; 24th, 8; 26th, 7; 29th, 5; 31st, 7; 34th, 7; 36th, 10; 37th, 1; 38th, 10; 39th, 7; 43rd, 12; 45th, 14; 47th, 4; 48th, 11; 50th, 8; 53rd, 7; 57th, 6; 58th, 6; 59th, 5; 60th, 16; 61st, 8; 62nd, 1; 66th, 9; 67th, 2; 68th, 6; 74th, 11; 76th, 3; 81st, 2; 82nd, 7; 83rd, 11; 84th, 2; 85th, 3; 87th, 7; 88th, 11; 91st, 9.

To the above may be added the 94th and 97th regiments--with others disbanded before permission to assume the badges was conceded, but equally deserving of distinction with those on whom they were conferred.

[286]

“Adjutant-General’s Office,
Bordeaux, 14th June, 1814.

“The Commander of the Forces, being upon the point of returning to England, takes this opportunity of congratulating the army upon the recent events which have restored peace to their country and to the world.

“The share which the British army has had in producing these events, and the high character with which the army will quit this country, must be equally satisfactory to every individual belonging to it, as they are to the Commander of the Forces, and he trusts that the troops will continue the same good conduct to the last.

“The Commander of the Forces once more requests the army to accept his thanks.

“Although circumstances may alter the relations in which he has stood towards them for some years, so much to his satisfaction, he assures them he will never cease to feel the warmest interest in their welfare and honour; and that he will at all times be happy to be of any service to those to whose conduct, discipline, and gallantry, their country is so much indebted.

(Signed) “E. M. PAKENHAM, A. G.”

[287] It was a strange coincidence, that on that day twelve months, the duke was employed in issuing orders for the concentration of his army, to crush the second and last effort of him who, for so many years, had swayed the destinies of empires.

[288] Appendix, No. 2.

[289] “‘I had,’ resumed the emperor, ‘combined a bold manœuvre, with a view of preventing the junction of the hostile armies. I had combined my cavalry into a single corps of twenty thousand men, and appointed it to rush into the midst of the Prussian cantonments. This bold attack, which was to be executed on the 14th with the rapidity of lightning, seemed likely to decide the fate of the campaign. French troops never calculate the number of an enemy’s force: they care not how they shed their blood in success: they are invincible in prosperity. But I was compelled to change my plan. Instead of making an unexpected attack, I found myself obliged to engage in a regular battle, having opposed to me two combined armies, supported by immense reserves. The enemy’s forces quadrupled the number of ours. I had calculated all the disadvantages of a regular battle. The infamous desertion of Bourmont forced me to change all my arrangements. To pass over to the enemy on the eve of a battle!--atrocious! The blood of his fellow-countrymen be on his head! The malediction of France will pursue him!’”--_Voice from St. Helena._

[290] “Stories of Waterloo.”

[291] “Paul’s Letters.”

[292] “To the left wing, under Marshal Ney, was assigned the dangerous honour of encountering the British. The words ‘_Nous marchons contre les Anglais_’ passed uncheered along the column, when its destination became known. The ill-omened sounds checked not indeed the spirits of the brave, but it was associated with too many fatal recollections, to elicit even a single shout of anticipated triumph from the most sanguine of that enthusiastic host.”--_Campaign of Waterloo._

[293] “And here we come to the first accusation preferred by Napoleon against Marshal Ney. The exile of St. Helena charges that gallant and intrepid officer with having lost many hours of valuable time by delaying the attack on Quatre Bras till three o’clock in the afternoon, though Napoleon himself, whose army had a shorter distance to traverse, only began the attack upon Ligny at the same hour.”--_Campaign of Waterloo._

[294] Stories of Waterloo.

[295] “The undismayed gallantry of the Guards was the more remarkable, as they were composed chiefly of young soldiers and volunteers from the militia, who had never been in action.”--_Mudford._

[296] Stories of Waterloo.

[297] From its immediate connexion with the battles of Quatre-Brass and Waterloo, a brief sketch of the sanguinary engagement at Ligny will be given.

Although burning to commence his attack upon his old and formidable antagonist, the bad roads and inclement weather that delayed Bulow’s march, prevented the completion of Napoleon’s dispositions until the day was far advanced. Blucher’s[F] position embraced the heights between Bry and Sombref, with the villages of Ligny and St. Amand. The ground was well adapted for defence,[G] the surface being undulated and broken, and covered with farm-yards and orchards. The villages were naturally strong, standing on the crest of a ravine skirted by trees and copse-wood.

At three o’clock Napoleon’s order of battle was completed, and Vandamme’s corps commenced the engagement by attacking the village of St. Amand.

The French leader’s judgment was correct in selecting the right of the Prussians for his first effort. It was the more assailable, because Blucher, anxious to secure his centre at Ligny, had concentrated his best troops there; and from the Prussian position being considerably in advance of Quatre Bras, had Napoleon effected his object, and turned the right flank, he must certainly have succeeded in cutting off the communication between the allied commanders, as he would have possessed the great road from Namur to Nivelles. Napoleon’s calculations were just; and the Prussian centre was materially weakened by sending succours to the right.

At first the impetuosity of the French attack was successful, and Petit Amand was carried by Lefol’s brigade with the bayonet. Blucher in person re-attacked the village, and in turn the French were expelled. These varying successes led to a murderous conflict. Girard’s[H] division came to Vandamme’s support, and succeeded in gaining the churchyard, while Blucher held the heights above the village in such force as rendered any forward movement of the French impracticable.

From this conflict on the right the battle gradually extended, until the opposing armies were generally engaged: Ligny was furiously assaulted, while Grouchy endeavoured to turn the Prussian left at Sombref.

Nothing could equal the fury with which every part of the position was assailed but the obstinacy with which it was defended. Every orchard and enclosure was only to be carried after a sanguinary encounter. The villages were furiously contested; the combatants fought hand-to-hand; regiment met regiment with the bayonet; and Ligny, within the space of five hours, was six times won and lost. This seemed the chosen field of slaughter; the streets were heaped with dead; reserves, coming from either armies as battalions, one after another were annihilated. Two hundred pieces of cannon poured their torrents of round and grape upon the village. The French columns at last gained ground: the Prussian charge of cavalry failed in repulsing them; and in attempting to repel the cuirassiers, Blucher was dismounted, and escaped death or captivity by a miracle.[I]

Evening came,--the battle raged with unabated fury--both armies fighting with desperate fierceness, and as yet no decisive advantage gained. The French were masters of the burning village; the mill of Bussey and heights commanding Ligny were still occupied by the Prussians.

These Napoleon determined to carry by a grand effort, and the Imperial Guard, the reserve of the fourth corps, and a brigade of cuirassiers, under a storm of artillery, traversed the village and assailed the mill and heights; a desperate encounter ensued. The Imperial Guard attacked the Prussian squares with the bayonet, while at the same moment the rival cavalry were charging. Neither party would yield ground; the ground was heaped with corpses, blood flowed in torrents, and still the battle raged. Darkness, however, favoured the advance of a French division, which had made a circuitous movement from the village, the Prussians found their flank turned and the enemy on the point of attacking their rear. Without a reserve, for that had been already detached to strengthen the right, and having ascertained that Wellington could hardly maintain himself at Quatre Bras, and that Bulow could not get up in time, Blucher determined to retreat on Tilly and unite himself with the fourth corps. At ten o’clock the order to fall back was given, and the centre and right retrograded in perfect order. Forming again within a quarter of a league of the field of battle, they recommenced their retreat; and, unmolested by the enemy, retired upon Wavre, while the French occupied the ground the Prussians had abandoned, and bivouacked on the heights.

Zeithen, who commanded the right of the Prussians, evaded Vandamme’s attempts to detain him, and fell back, keeping his communications with the centre unbroken, while Theilman repulsed Grouchy’s attack upon Sombref, and after holding the village of Bire during the night, retreated at daylight and formed a junction with Bulow at Gemblaux.

“Blucher’s retreat was most judicious. He calculated that the English commander must fall back from Quatre Bras, and accordingly by retiring upon Wavre, his line of retreat was parallel with that of Wellington upon Waterloo.

“It may be anticipated that the loss sustained in this long and desperate conflict was on both sides tremendous. Buonaparte stated his killed and wounded at three thousand men; but it has been clearly ascertained that it amounted to double that number. The Prussians suffered dreadfully. They left fifteen thousand men upon the field-- and they may be stated as having perished; for the unrelenting ferocity with which both sides fought, prevented quarter from being asked or given. Fifteen pieces of cannon, which Blucher had abandoned, comprised the trophies of the victory, if a battle gained under such circumstances, and unattended with a single important result, deserves that title.”

[F] Blucher’s earlier career was in the service of the Prussian
monarch. He left it on his own solicitation, and his
discharge is curious and characteristic. Frederick wrote the
following note, and addressed it to the commandant of his
regiment:

“Captain Von Blucher has leave to resign, and may go to the
devil as soon as he pleases. “FREDERICK.”

[G] The entire position measured about four miles from right to
left, and was occupied by nearly 70,000 infantry and 9,000
cavalry, with 252 pieces of artillery: of nearly similar
strength were the forces of the assailants.

[H] From the similarity of sound, the names of Gerard and Girard
have been frequently confused. The latter commanded a
division of the reserve (2nd corps) under Vandamme; Gerard
had the 4th corps, or army of the Moselle. Girard was killed
in the attack on St. Amand: Gerard survived the campaign, and
subsequently was general _en chef_ at the siege of Antwerp.