BOOK IV. 1808. Appendix, No. 14. the conqueror was surprising. It was a great event and full of promise. The situation of the army was likewise improved; general Hope's junction was accomplished, and as the attention of the French was turned toward Madrid, there was no reason to doubt that Baird's junction could likewise be effected. On the other hand, there was no certainty, that the capital would remain firm when danger pressed, none that it would be able to resist, none that the example would spread; yet without it did so, nothing was gained, because it was only by an union of heart and hand throughout the whole country, that the great power of the French could be successfully resisted. In a matter so balanced, sir John Moore, as might be expected from an enterprising general, adopted the boldest and most generous side. He ordered sir David Baird to concentrate his troops at Astorga, and he himself prepared for an advance; but as he remained without any further information of the fate of Madrid, he sent colonel Graham to obtain intelligence of what was passing, and to carry his answer to Morla. This resolution being taken, he wrote to Mr. Frere, calmly explaining the reasons for his past conduct, and those which actuated him in forming a fresh plan of operation. "I wish anxiously," said this noble-minded man in conclusion, "I wish anxiously, as the king's minister, to continue upon the most confidential footing with you, and I hope as we have but one interest, the public welfare, though we occasionally see it in different aspects, that this will not disturb the harmony which should subsist between us. Fully impressed as I am with these sentiments, I shall abstain from any remarks upon the two letters from you delivered to me last night and this morning by colonel Charmilly, or on the message which accompanied them. I certainly at first did feel and expressed much indignation at a person like him being made the channel of a communication of that sort from you to me. Those feelings are at an end, and I dare say they never will be created towards you again." The plan of operations now occupied his mind. The Somosierra and the Guadarama were both in possession of the enemy, no direct movement could therefore be made towards Madrid; besides, the rear of Baird's troops was still several marches behind Astorga, and a general movement on the side of the capital could not commence before the 12th of the month. Zaragoza, the general knew, was determined to stand a second siege, and he had the guarantee of the first that it would be an obstinate stand. He had received from the junta of Toledo a formal assurance of their resolution to bury themselves under the ruins of the town sooner than submit; and he was informed from several quarters that the southern provinces were forwarding crowds of fresh levies. Romana at this time also was in correspondence with him, and with the usual exaggeration of a Spaniard, declared his ability to aid him with an army of twenty thousand men. Upon this data sir John Moore formed a plan, bearing the stamp of genuine talent and enterprise, whether it be examined as a political or a military measure. He supposed the French emperor to be more anxious to strike a heavy blow against the English, and to shut them out of Spain, than to overrun any particular province, or get possession of any town in the Peninsula. He resolved, therefore, to throw himself upon the communications of the French army, CHAP. III. 1808. IV. 1808. BOOK hoping, if fortune was favourable, to inflict a severe loss upon the troops which guarded them before aid could arrive. If Napoleon, suspending his operations against the south, should detach largely, Madrid would thereby be succoured; if he did not detach largely, the British could hold their ground. Sir John Moore knew well that a great commander would in such a case be more likely to unite his whole army, and fall upon the troops which thus ventured to place themselves on his line of operations. But, to relieve the Spaniards at a critical moment, and to give time for the southern provinces to organise their defence and recover courage, he was willing thus to draw the whole of the enemy upon himself. He felt that in doing so, Appendix, he compromised the safety of his own army, that he No. 14. must glide along the edge of a precipice, that he must cross a gulf on a rotten plank; but he also knew the martial qualities of his soldiers, he had confidence in his own genius; and the occasion being worthy of a great deed, he dared essay it even against Napoleon. Colonel Graham returned on the 9th, bringing the first intimation of the capitulation of the capital. He had been able to proceed no further than Talavera, where he encountered two members of the supreme junta. By them he was told that the French, being from twenty to thirty thousand strong, possessed the Retiro, but that the people retained their arms, and that La-Peña, with thirty thousand men of the army of the centre, was at Guadalaxara; that fourteen thousand of St. Juan's and Heredia's forces were assembled at Almaraz, and that Romana, with whom they anxiously desired that sir John Moore would unite, had likewise an army of thirty thousand fighting men: III. Finally, they assured colonel Graham that the most CHAP. energetic measures were in activity wherever the enemy's presence did not control the patriots. Mortifying as it was to find that Madrid, after so much boasting, should have held out but one day, the event itself did not destroy the ground of sir John Moore's resolution to advance. Undoubtedly it was so much lost; it diminished the hope of arousing the nation, and it increased the danger of the British army by letting loose a greater number of the enemy's troops; but as a diversion for the south it might still succeed; and as long as there was any hope, the resolution of the English general was fixed, to prove that he would not abandon the cause even when the Spaniards were abandoning it themselves. 1808. VOL. I. GG BOOK IV. 1808. CHAPTER IV. THE forward movement of the British army commenced on the 11th of December. Sir John Moore's first intention was to march with his own and Hope's division to Valladolid, with a view to cover the advance of his stores and to protect the junction of sir David Baird's troops, the rear of which was still several marches behind Astorga. The preparations for a retreat upon Portugal were, however, continued, and sir David was ordered to form magazines at Benevente, Astorga, Villa Franca, and Lugo. This arrangement secured two lines of operation, and permitted a greater freedom of action. Two The 13th, head-quarters were at Alaejos. brigades, and the cavalry under lord Paget at Toro. General Hope was at Torrecilla. The cavalry under brigadier-general Charles Stewart, was at Rueda; having the night before surprised a French post of fifty infantry and thirty dragoons, killing or taking almost the whole number. The prisoners declared that in the French army it was believed that the English were retreating to Portugal. At Alaejos an intercepted despatch of the prince of Neufchatel was brought to head-quarters; the contents were important enough to change the direction of the march. It was addressed to the duke of Dalmatia. Madrid was said to be perfectly tranquil, the shops opened, and the public amusements going forward as in a time of profound peace. The fourth corps of the army was at Talavera, on its way to |