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At ten o'clock at night a large party of French, following some wagons, again endeavoured to pass the piquets and gallop down to the bridge; that failing, a few dismounted, and exterding to the right and left, commenced a skirmishing fire, while others remained ready to charge, if the position of the troops, which they expected to ascertain by this scheme, should offer an opportunity. The event did not answer their expectations, and this anxiety to interrupt the work induced General Crawfurd to destroy two arches of the bridge, and to blow up the connecting buttress; yet the masonry was so solid and difficult to pierce, that it was not until twelve o'clock in the night of the 28th that all the preparations were completed. The troops then descended the heights on the left bank, and passing with the greatest silence, by single files, over planks laid across the broken arches, gained the other side without loss; an instance of singular good fortune, for the night was dark and tempestuous, the river rising rapidly with a roaring noise, was threatening to burst over the planks, and the enemy was close at hand. To have resisted an attack in such an awkward situation would have been impossible, but happily the retreat of the troops was undiscovered, and the mine was sprung with good effect.

Crawfurd marched to Benavente, where the cavalry and the reserve still remained. Here several thousand infantry slept in the upper part of an immense convent built round a square, and a frightful catastrophe was impending; for the lower galleries were so thickly stowed with the horses of the cavalry, that it was scarcely possible to pass them, there was but one entrance, and two officers of the forty-third, returning from the bridge, on entering the convent, perceived that a large window-shutter was on fire, that in a few moments the straw under the horses would ignite, and six thousand men and animals must inevitably perish in the flames. One of these officers, Captain Lloyd, a man of great strength, activity, and of a presence of mind which never failed, made a sign of silence to his companion, and then springing on to the nearest horse, ran along the backs of the others, until he reached the blazing shutter, which he tore off its hinges and cast out of the window, and then awakening a few men, cleared the passage without any alarm, which in such a case would have been as destructive as the fire.

Two days' rest had been gained at Benavente, but as very little could be done to remove the stores, the greatest part were destroyed. The army was, and had been from the first, without sufficient means of transport, the general had no money to procure it, and the ill-will of the Spaniards, and the shuffling conduct of the juntas added infinitely to their difficulties. But time pressed. Hope and Frazer marched by La Baneza, and reached Astorga the 29th, where Baird joined them from Valencia de San Juan; on the same day the reserve and Crawfurd's brigade quitted Benavente. The cavalry remained in the town, having parties to watch the fords of the Esla. In this state of affairs General Lefebvre-Desnouettes, seeing only a few cavalry posts on the great plain, rather hastily concluded that there was nothing to support them, and crossing the river at daybreak, by ford a little way above the bridge, with six hundred horsemen of the imperial guard, advanced into the plain. The piquets under Major Loftus Otway retired fighting, and being joined by a part of the third German hussars, even charged the leading French squadrons with some effect. General C. Stewart then took the command, and the ground was obstinately disputed, but the enemy advanced. At this mo

ment the plain was covered with stragglers, baggage-mules, and followers of the army, the town was filled with tumult, the distant piquets and videttes were seen galloping in from the right and left, the French were pressing forward boldly, and every appearance indicated that the enemy's whole army was coming up and passing the river.

Lord Paget ordered the tenth hussars to mount and form under the cover of some houses at the edge of the town, for he desired to draw the enemy, whose real situation he had detected at once, well into the plain before he attacked; in half an hour, every thing was ready, and he gave the signal. Then the tenth hussars galloped forward, the piquets that were already engaged closed together, and the whole charged. The scene changed instantly; the enemy were seen flying at full speed towards the river, the British following close at their heels, until the French squadrons, without breaking their ranks, plunged into the stream, and gained the opposite heights, where, like experienced soldiers, they wheeled instantly, and seemed inclined to come forward a second time, but a battery of two guns opened upon them, and after a few rounds they retired. During the pursuit in the plain, an officer was observed sepa rating himself from the main body, and making towards another part of the river; being followed, and refusing to stop, he was wounded and brought in a prisoner. It was General Lefebvre-Desnouettes.

Although the imperial guards were outnumbered in the end, they were very superior at the commencement of this action, which was stiffly fought on both sides, for the British lost fifty men, and the French left fifty-five killed and wounded on the field, besides the general and other officers; according to Baron Larrey,* seventy of those who recrossed the river were also wounded, making a total loss of above two hundred excellent soldiers. Lord Paget maintained his posts on the Esla, under an occa sional cannonade, until the evening, and then withdrew to La Baneza ; and while these things were passing, Napoleon arrived at Valderas, Ney at Villaton, and Lapisse at Toro. The French troops were worn down with fatigue, yet the emperor still urged them on. The Duke of Dalmatia, he said, would intercept the English at Astorga, and their labours would be finally rewarded. Nevertheless, the destruction of the bridge of Castro Gonzalo was so well accomplished, that twenty-four hours were required to repair it, the fords were now impassable, and it was the 30th before Bessières could cross the Esla, but on that day he passed through Benavente with nine thousand cavalry, and bent his course towards La Baneza ; the same day Franceschi carried the bridge of Mansilla de las Mulas by a single charge of his light horsemen, and captured the artillery and one half of the Spanish division left to protect it. Romana immediately abandoned Leon and many stores, and the 31st the Duke of Dalmatia entered that town without firing a shot, while the Duke of Istria, with his cavalry, took possession of La Baneza; the advanced posts were then pushed forward to the Puente d'Orvigo on one side, and the Puente de Valembre on the other. The rear of the English army was still in Astorga, the head-quarters having arrived there only the day before.

In the preceding month large stores had been gradually brought up to this town by Sir David Baird, and as there were no means of transport to remove them, orders were given, after supplying the immediate wants of the army, to destroy them; but Romana, who would neither defend Leon

* Larrey's Surgical Campaign. † Bulletin.

S.: Journal of Operations, MS.

nor Mansilla, had, contrary to his promises, preoccupied Astorga with his fugitive army, and when the English divisions marched in, such a tumult and confusion arose, that no orders could be executed with regularity, no distribution made, nor the destruction of the stores be effected. The disorder thus unexpectedly produced was very detrimental to the discipline of the troops, which the unwearied efforts of the general had partly restored; the resources which he had depended on for the support of his soldiers became mischievous, and contributed to disorganize instead of nourishing them. And he had the further vexation to hear Romana, the principal cause of this misfortune, proposing, with troops unable to resist a thousand light infantry, to recommence offensive operations on a plan, in comparison with which the visions of Don Quixote were wisdom.

On the 31st, the flank brigades separated from the army at Bonillas, and bent their course by cross roads towards Orense and Vigo, being detached to lessen the pressure on the commissariat, and to cover the flanks of the army; Frazer's and Hope's divisions entered Villa Franca, and Baird's division was at Bembibre; the reserve, with the head-quarters, halted at Cambarros, a village six miles from Astorga, until the cavalry fell back in the night to the same place, and then the reserve marched to Bembibre. The Marquis of Romana, after doing so much mischief by crossing the line of march, left his infantry to wander as they pleased, and retired with his cavalry and some guns to the valley of the Minho, and the rest of his artillery mixed with the British army, but most of it was captured before reaching Lugo.

Upon the first of January the emperor took possession of Astorga, where seventy thousand French infantry, ten thousand cavalry, and two hundred pieces of artillery, after many days of incessant marching, were now united. The congregation of this mighty force, while it evinced the power and energy of the French monarch, attested also the genius of the English general, who, with a handful of men, had found the means to arrest the course of the conqueror, and to draw him, with the flower of his army, to this remote and unimportant part of the Peninsula, at the moment when Portugal, and the fairest provinces of Spain, were prostrate beneath the strength of his hand. That Spain, being in her extremity, Sir John Moore succoured her, and in the hour of weakness intercepted the blow, which was descending to crush her, no man of candour and honesty can deny. For what troops, what preparations, what courage, what capacity was there in the south to have resisted, even for an instant, the progress of a man, who, in ten days, and in the depth of winter, crossing the snowy ridge of the Carpentinos, had traversed two hundred miles of hostile country, and transported fifty thousand men from Madrid to Astorga in a shorter time than a Spanish courier would have taken to travel the same distance?

This stupendous march was rendered fruitless by the quickness of his adversary; but Napoleon, though he had failed to destroy the English army, resolved, nevertheless, to cast it forth of the Peninsula, and being himself recalled to France by tidings that the Austrian storm was ready to burst, had fixed upon the Duke of Dalmatia to continue the pursuit. For this purpose three divisions of cavalry, and three of infantry were added to his former command; but of these last, the two commanded by Generals Loison and Heudelet were several marches in the rear, and General Bonnet's remained always in the Montaña de St. Ander. Hence the whole number bearing arms which the duke led immediately to the

pursuit, was about twenty-five thousand men, of which four thousand two hundred were cavalry, composing the divisions of Lorges, La Houssaye, and Franceschi.* Fifty-four guns were with the columns, Loison's and Heudelet's divisions followed by forced marches, and Soult was supported by Ney with the sixth corps, wanting its third division, but mustering above sixteen thousand men under arms, the flower of the French army, together with thirty-seven pieces of artillery. Thus including Laborde, Heudelet, and Loison's division, nearly sixty thousand men and ninetyone guns were put on the track of the English army. Meanwhile the emperor returned to Valladolid, where he received the addresses of the notables and deputies from Madrid and other great towns, and strove, by promises and other means, to win the good opinion of the public. Appointing Joseph to be his lieutenant-general, he allotted separate provinces for each "corps d'armée," and directing the imperial guard to return to France, after three days' delay he departed himself with scarcely any escort, but with an astonishing speed that frustrated the designs which the Spaniards had, as some say, formed against his person.

CHAPTER V.

Sir John Moore retreats towards Vigo; is closely pursued-Miserable scene at BembibreExcesses at Villa Franca-Combat at Calcabellos-Death of General Colbert-March to Nogales-Line of retreat changed from Vigo to Coruña-Skilful passage of the bridge of Constantino; skirmish there-The army halts at Lugo-Sir John Moore offers battle; it is not accepted; he makes a forced march to Betanzos; loses many stragglers; rallies the army; reaches Coruña-The army takes a position-Two large stores of powder exploded-Fleet arrives in the harbour; army commences embarking-Battle of CoruñaDeath of Sir John Moore-His character.

THE Duke of Dalmatia, a general, who, if the emperor be excepted, was nowise inferior to any of his nation, commenced his pursuit of the English army with a vigour that marked his eager desire to finish the campaign in a manner suitable to the brilliant opening at Gamonal. The main body of his troops followed the route of Foncevadon and Ponteferrada; a second column took the road of Cambarros and Bembibre; Franceschi entered the valley of the Syl, and moving up that river, turned the position of Villa Franca del Bierzo.†

Thus Sir John Moore, after having twice baffled the emperor's combinations, was still pressed in his retreat with a fury that seemed to increase every moment. The separation of his light brigades, a measure which he reluctantly adopted by the advice of his quartermaster-general, had weakened the army by three thousand men ; yet he still possessed nineteen thousand of all arms, good soldiers to fight, and strong to march, although shaken in discipline by the disorders at Valderas and Astorga; for the general's exertions to restore order and regularity were by many officers slightly seconded, and by some with scandalous levity disregarded. There was no choice but to retreat. The astonishing rapidity with which the emperor had brought up his overbearing numbers, and thrust the English army into Gallicia, had rendered the natural strength of that

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country unavailing; the resources were few, even for an army in winter quarters, and for a campaign in that season, there were none at all. All the draught cattle that could be procured would scarcely have supplied the means to transport ammunition for two battles; whereas the French, sweeping the rich plains of Castile with their powerful cavalry, might have formed magazines at Astorga and Leon, and from thence have been supplied in abundance, while the English were starving.

Before he advanced from Salamanca, Moore, foreseeing that his movement must sooner or later end in a retreat, had sent officers to examine the roads of Gallicia and the harbours which offered the greatest advantages for embarkation; by the reports of those officers, which arrived from day to day, and by the state of the magazines which he had directed to be formed, his measures were constantly regulated.* The magazines of Astorga, Benavente, and La Baneza, were, by untoward circumstances, and the deficiency of transport, rendered, as we have seen, of no avail beyond the momentary supply they afforded, and part of their contents falling into the enemy's hands, gave him some cause of triumph; but those at Villa Franca and Lugo contained about fourteen days' consumption, and there were other small magazines formed on the line of Orense and Vigo.

More than this could not have been accomplished. It was now only the fifteenth day since Sir John Moore had left Salamanca, and already the torrent of war, diverted from the south, was foaming among the rocks of Gallicia. Nineteen thousand British troops, posted in strong ground, might have offered battle to very superior numbers, but where was the use of merely fighting an enemy who had three hundred thousand men in Spain.† Nothing could be gained by such a display of courage, and the English general, by a quick retreat, might reach his ships unmolested, embark, and carrying his army from the narrow corner in which it was cooped to the southern provinces, establish there a good base of operations, and renew the war under favourable circumstances. It was by this combination of a fleet and army, that the greatest assistance could be given to Spain, and the strength of England become most formidable. A few days' sailing would carry the troops to Cadiz, but six weeks' constant marching would not bring the French army from Gallicia to that neighbourhood. The northern provinces were broken, subdued in spirit, and possessed few resources; the southern provinces had scarcely seen an enemy, were rich and fertile, and there also was the seat of government. Sir John Moore reasoning thus, resolved to fall down to the coast and embark, with as little loss or delay as might be; but Vigo, Coruña, and Ferrol were the principal harbours, and their relative advantages could not be determined except by the reports of the engineers, none of which, so rapidly had the crisis of affairs come on, were yet received; and as those reports could only be obtained from day to day, the line of retreat became of necessity subject to daily change.

When the Duke of Dalmatia took the command of the pursuing army, Hope's and Frazer's divisions were, as I have said, at Villa Franca, Baird's at Bembibre, the reserve and cavalry at Cambarros, six miles from Astorga. Behind Cambarros the mountains of Gallicia rose abruptly, but there was no position, because, after the first rise at the village of Rodri

Appendix, No. XIII, ii. and iii.-Sir John Moore's Papers, MSS. + Appendix, No. XXVIII., § iii.

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