Chapter III: The Hillside at Toulouse

Anton attempts a more ambitious account of the battle of Toulouse than of any other fight in which he was engaged; and there is some reason for this. It was a cluster of Scottish regiments--the 42nd conspicuous amongst them--which, by mere invincible and all-enduring valour, saved Wellington from failure in that great fight. Soult, it will be remembered, knew Toulouse almost with the familiarity of a native. A strong place by nature, he had made it almost impregnable by the energy and skill with which he had multiplied its defences during the long pause before the British advanced.

Wellington delivered his attack at three points. Hill assailed the west front of the city; Picton the north; Beresford the east. The first two attacks were, perhaps, not seriously meant, and certainly failed. Freire, with his Spaniards, whose task it was to carry the northern shoulder of Mont Rave, fell on gallantly, but was smitten into utter rout, extorting from Wellington the grim comment, "Well, ---- me, if ever I saw ten thousand men run a race before!" Beresford's task was perilous in the highest degree; to any other troops than those he led, it might well have proved impossible. He had to toil for two miles along a road which was little better than a strip of marsh, past the flank of Mont Rave, strongly held by the French. On his left was the river Ers. The road was so difficult that the guns were left behind. There was deadly peril at every step that the French might overwhelm the toiling column with a flank attack; or break through betwixt it and the main body of the British army.

But Beresford--who had fought Albuera--was exactly the man for a task which required blind and desperate valour. His men splashed doggedly on their way; on their right the foe, tormenting their flank with his fire; the fordless river to their left; their guns left behind them. When they had reached the southern extremity of the ridge, the regiments brought up their left shoulder, and proceeded to carry the hill. It was seamed with trenches, and bristled with guns. Soult, who saw that this was the one point of peril to his battle-line, had brought up two divisions to the threatened point, and the French, gallantly led, and confident in their numbers, in their advantage of position, and in their success at the other attacked points, came boldly down the hill to crush Beresford's slender and extended line.

Nothing, however--not the slippery hill-slope, the cruel fire of the French guns, nor the onfall of the solid French battalions--could stay Beresford's men. Soult's columns were smashed with rolling musketry volleys. The batteries were carried with the bayonet, and the hill was won. The 42nd played a most gallant part in this great fight, and endured dreadful losses. Anton came through it all untouched, and tells the whole story in a spirited fashion. He sees nothing, however, and describes nothing, but what takes place immediately about himself:--

"We broke up camp a little after midnight, on the morning of Easter
Sunday, April 10, and marched towards Toulouse. The moon shone bright
in the unclouded heavens, and reflected a stream of light from the
muskets of our advanced columns, for our arms had not then received
the brown varnish that now 'dims their shine.'

"General Pack's brigade was formed in contiguous columns of regiments
to the left of the road leading to Toulouse. At this time the
Spaniards, who were in advance and ascending the heights, were
attacked with such fury that they gave way in all directions. It
was apprehended that the enemy would have borne down upon us in
the impetuosity of the movement, and we deployed into lines. The
79th Regiment was at this time in front of the 42nd, and General
Pack, anticipating a charge from the enemy's victorious and elated
infantry, after thus scattering the Spaniards, gave orders to the
79th to receive them with a volley, immediately form four deep, face
about, and pass through the ranks of the 42nd. The latter received
orders to form four deep, as soon as the former had given its fire;
let the line pass through, then form up, give a volley, and charge.
This was providing against what might have taken place, but did not,
for the enemy was recalled, and the Spaniards were afterwards rallied.

"We now moved off to our left, along a green embankment, a small
lake or large pond [really a flooded river] on our left, and a wet
ditch and marshy meadow on the right. The shot and shell were flying
over our heads into the lake, but the range was too elevated to
hurt us, and we ran along the bank until we came to a place where
we could leap the ditch and form on the swampy ground beyond it. We
had scarcely formed, when a strong column of the enemy, with drums
beating a march, descended the hill in our front, and thinking from
the nature of the ground that we should be neither able to advance
nor retreat, rushed down confident of success. For us to retire would
have been scarcely practicable; the bank from which we had leaped
down and over the ditch was too high in several places for us to
leap back from such uncertain footing, for we were sinking to the
ankles, and sometimes deeper at every step; to advance was the only
alternative, and it was taken.

"The light companies of the division were by this time in our front,
and without any hesitation dashed forward; we followed fast, and
the opposing column reascended the hill, and left us the undisputed
masters of the valley. We now ascended at double quick time, and the
whole of the division crowned the eastern summit of the heights.
Here we were exposed to a destructive fire of round shot, shell,
grape, and musketry, while we had not as yet got up one gun, owing
to the numerous obstructions that lay in the way. The ground we
occupied sloped towards one of the main roads that run over the hill
to the city, and the fields on the opposite side of the road were in
possession of the enemy, and extremely broken and intersected by deep
cross-roads, breastworks, and redoubts, but could, from our present
position, have been commanded by artillery, had it been practicable
to bring a few guns forward; but this required some time, and
indefatigable labour.

"The light companies of the division advanced beyond the road, and
maintained a very unequal skirmish with the enemy, who lay securely
posted behind their breastworks and batteries, and in their redoubts,
from all of which they took the most deadly aim. The 61st Regiment
was ordered forward to support the skirmishers, and became the marked
object of the enemy's batteries, from which incessant showers of
grape cut down that corps by sections, while Soult was, perhaps, not
losing a man, being so safely sheltered from our musketry; it was,
therefore, seen necessary to withdraw the skeleton of that regiment
to the road, on which we had taken post after its advance. It was now
warmly welcomed back, for its retreat was no defeat, and its loss was
scarcely equalled by any corps in the field. Not a subaltern left the
field without a wound, and the honour of the colours was assigned to
sergeants.

"The enemy, emboldened by this momentary success, on his part, began
to advance towards the road, and our regiment was ordered to advance
by wings and storm one of the redoubts.

"Our colonel was a brave man, but there are moments when a well-timed
manœuvre is of more advantage than courage. The regiment stood on
the road with its front exactly to the enemy, and if the left wing
had been ordered forward, it could have sprung up the bank in line
and dashed forward on the enemy at once. Instead of this, the colonel
faced the right wing to its right, countermarched in rear of the
left, and when the leading rank cleared the left flank it was made
to file up the bank, and as soon as it made its appearance the shot,
shell, and musketry poured in with deadly destruction; and in this
exposed position we had to make a second countermarch, on purpose to
bring our front to the enemy. These movements consumed much time, and
by this unnecessary exposure exasperated the men to madness.

"The word 'Forward--double quick!' dispelled the gloom, and forward
we drove, in the face of apparent destruction. The field had been
lately rough ploughed or under fallow, and when a man fell he tripped
the one behind, thus the ranks were opening as we approached the
point whence all this hostile vengeance proceeded; but the rush
forward had received an impulse from desperation, 'the spring of
the men's patience had been strained until ready to snap, and when
left to the freedom of its own extension, ceased not to act until
the point to which it was directed was attained.' In a minute
every obstacle was surmounted; the enemy fled as we leaped over
the trenches and mounds like a pack of noisy hounds in pursuit,
frightening them more by our wild hurrahs than actually hurting them
by ball or bayonet.

"The redoubt thus obtained consisted of an old country farm cottage,
the lower part of its walls stone, the upper part mud or clay. It
stood in the corner of what had been a garden, having one door to a
road or broad lane, and another to the garden; the whole forming a
square which had been lately fortified on three sides by a deep but
dry trench, from which the earth had been cast inwards, and formed a
considerable bank, sloping inwards, but presenting a perpendicular
face of layers of green turf outwards. The cottage served as a
temporary magazine, and the mound or embankment as a cover to the
enemy from the fire of our troops; and from this place our men had
been dreadfully cut down.

"It cannot be for an instant supposed that all this could have been
effected without very much deranging our ranks, and as the enemy had
still a powerful force, and other works commanding this, time would
not permit of particularity, and a brisk independent fire was kept
up with more noise than good effect by our small groups upon our not
yet defeated enemy. Our muskets were getting useless by the frequent
discharges, and several of the men were having recourse to the French
pieces that lay scattered about, but they had been as freely used
as our own, and were equally unserviceable. Our number of effective
hands was also decreasing, and that of the again approaching foe
seemed irresistible.

"Two officers (Captain Campbell and Lieutenant Young) and about sixty
of inferior rank were all that now remained without a wound of the
right wing of the regiment that entered the field in the morning.
The flag was hanging in tatters, and stained with the blood of
those who had fallen over it. The standard cut in two, had been
successively placed in the hands of three officers, who fell as we
advanced; it was now borne by a sergeant, while the few remaining
soldiers who rallied around it, defiled with mire, sweat, smoke, and
blood, stood ready to oppose with the bayonet the advancing column,
the front files of which were pouring in destructive showers of
musketry among our confused ranks. To have disputed the post with
such overwhelming numbers, would have been the hazarding the loss of
our colours, and could serve no general interest to our army, as we
stood between the front of our advancing support and the enemy; we
were therefore ordered to retire. The greater number passed through
the cottage, now filled with wounded and dying, and leaped from the
door that was over the road into the trench of the redoubt, among the
killed and wounded.

"We were now between two fires of musketry, the enemy to our left
and rear, the 79th and left wing of our own regiment in our front.
Fortunately, the intermediate space did not exceed a hundred paces,
and our safe retreat depended upon the speed with which we could
perform it. We rushed along like a crowd of boys pursuing the
bounding ball to its distant limit, and in an instant plunged into a
trench that had been cut across the road; the balls were whistling
amongst us and over us; while those in front were struggling to get
out, those behind were holding them fast for assistance, and we
became firmly wedged together, until a horse without a rider came
plunging down on the heads and bayonets of those in his way; they on
whom he fell were drowned or smothered, and the gap thus made gave
way for the rest to get out.

"The right wing of the regiment, thus broken down and in
disorder, was rallied by Captain Campbell (afterwards brevet
lieutenant-colonel) and the adjutant (Lieutenant Young) on a narrow
road, the steep banks of which served as a cover from the showers of
grape that swept over our heads.

"In this contest, besides our colonel, who was wounded as he gave the
word of command, 'Forward,' the regiment lost, in killed and wounded,
twenty officers, one sergeant-major, and four hundred and thirty-six
of inferior rank.

"Meantime the Portuguese brigade was ordered to take possession of
the evacuated redoubt, which was accomplished with little loss, for
the enemy had been backward of entering, lest we might have been
drawing them into an ambush, or had an intention of blowing up the
cottage, in which a considerable quantity of loose cartridges had
been left near a large fire by themselves when they were driven out,
and most likely intended for that purpose against us, but we had
removed the whole to a place of less danger.

"Thus far the left flank of our army was secured; the Spaniards,
farther to the right, were making good their advances, our artillery
was about getting posted on commanding eminences, while only one
battery remained on the western summit in the enemy's possession, and
before sunset it was stormed also, and all the heights overlooking
Toulouse remained in our possession."

As soon as the fight is over Anton proceeds to mount the pulpit and deliver himself of a homily on the night-scene after a battle, which may be usefully abridged:--

"Night after battle is always glorious to the undisputed victors, and
whatever the loss may have been, the idea of it seems to be banished
from our thoughtless minds. Here, however, by the first early dawning
of the morning, let us more seriously cast our eye over this scene
of slaughter, where the blood of the commander and the commanded mix
indiscriminately together over the field.

"Here lies many a gallant soldier, whose name or fame will never pass
to another generation; yet the annals of our country will do justice
to the general merit of the whole; from my feeble pen no lasting fame
can be expected; time blots it out as I write; and even were I to
attempt to pass an eulogy it might be considered contemptible from so
humble an individual, by those who survive and witnessed the action.

"I trust I shall not be considered egotistical in saying that I had
some narrow escapes this day; but what soldier entered the field and
came safe out of it had not narrow escapes? A musket-ball struck my
halberd in line with my cheek, another passed between my arm and my
side, and lodged in my knapsack, another struck the handle of my
sword, and a fourth passed through my bonnet and knocked it off my
head; had the ball been two inches lower, or I that much higher, the
reader would have been saved the trouble of perusing this narrative.
The company in which I was doing duty lost four officers, three
sergeants, and forty-seven rank and file, in killed and wounded. The
officers were:--Lieutenant D. M'Kenzie severely wounded, Lieutenants
Farquharson and Watson mortally wounded, and Ensign Latta killed.

"There was one officer of the regiment taken prisoner this day: he
had lately joined us from the 1st Royals, in which he had been cadet,
and had not the uniform of the regiment; but his deficiency of the
uniform betrayed no lack of personal courage; the charm of the bonnet
and plume, though wanting, did not make him less the soldier; he
fell, wounded, near to Lieutenant Farquharson, at the side of the
redoubt, as we entered it, and when we fell back he was made prisoner.

"I have already mentioned that before the regiment advanced to storm
the redoubt, we were posted on the main road that passes over the
heights. During the short time we were in that position we had orders
not to raise our heads above the bank, nor let the enemy see where
we were posted. Notwithstanding this prohibition, our sergeant-major,
as brave a man as ever entered a field, was despatched from the
right flank to warn those on the left to comply with this order,
for several were rising up occasionally and sending a bullet at the
enemy, and thus, perhaps, defeating the intention of the order. He
went, but though cautioned to stoop as he proceeded, he considered
this unmanly, and never did he walk with a more upright dauntless
carriage of the body or a firmer step: it was his last march; a
bullet pierced his brain and stretched him lifeless, without a sigh.

"There was a man of the name of Wighton in the regiment, a grumbling,
discontented, disaffected sort of a character. He was one of the
men attached to the tent placed under my charge on joining the
regiment. Some men take all for the best; not so with Wighton, he
took everything for the worst; indeed, his very countenance indicated
something malignant, misanthropical, and even sottish in his
disposition. He was a low, thick, squat fellow, with a dark yellowish
swarthy complexion, and his broad face bore a strong resemblance to
that of a Calmuc Tartar. As he rushed along the field his front-rank
man exclaimed, 'God Almighty preserve us, this is dreadful!' 'You be
d--d,' Wighton replied, 'you have been importuning God Almighty this
half-dozen of years, and it would be no wonder although He were to
knock you down at last for troubling him so often; as for myself,
I do not believe there is one; if there were, He would never have
brought us here!' The last word hung unfinished on his tongue; the
messenger of death sealed his lips in everlasting silence.

"The contest that raged upwards of an hour around the redoubt, of
which we had gained possession, was maintained without much regard
to order or strict discipline; in short, it was rather tumultuary.
Every man was sensible of the necessity of having order restored,
but thought himself the only orderly man of all the rest, and his
voice was heard over that of his commander calling out 'Form up.' In
the meantime, his own attention was more engaged in keeping in the
crowd, to load his piece, and afterwards pushing forward, to send a
bullet to the enemy as often as he possibly could load and discharge,
than attending to formation.

"A Grenadier of the 79th Regiment, for both regiments (the 42nd
and 79th) were somewhat intermixed, rushed forward, discharged his
piece with effect, and suddenly turning the musket so as to grasp
the muzzle, dealt deadly blows around him; he fell, grasping one of
the enemy in one hand, and the broken firelock in the other. Another
sprung up on the top of the bank, called on his comrades to follow,
and with a loud cheer, in which many joined that did not follow, he
rushed forward in the same manner as his brave companion had done,
and like him shared a similar fate.

"It is only in this disorganised kind of conflict that individual
courage may best act and best be seen. In united, orderly movements,
the whole acquires the praise; and in this each individual is
comprised, and proud of contributing his part to the honour of his
corps, does his duty without attempting those feats of romantic
daring which ancient historians record, but which modern tactics
render nugatory or almost useless. Individual daring is lost in
orderly movements."