CHAPTER XXXI.
I MAKE MY BOW.
Disappointed in all my well-founded hopes, for such I thought them, I departed to rejoin my regiment at Malta. Landing at Calais, I proceeded to Paris and thence continued my route to Marseilles. On the day we arrived at Avignon, where a large garrison was stationed, it happened that the commandant dined at the _table d’hôte_. I sat opposite to him, conversing with a young Spanish nobleman attached to the Spanish Embassy at the British Court, who took this route to return to Spain. Having met him in the diligence, I had soon discovered him to be a Spaniard, and in his language our discourse was maintained. During dinner the Peninsular campaigns became the topic of general conversation, in which I joined with the commandant, whom I soon recognised as an old opponent. He did not recognise me. Nine years had elapsed since our last meeting; he saw me walking lame into the room; and I was in mailcoach trim. Having with apparent carelessness asked him if he knew the Prince Prosper d’Arenberg, he answered in the affirmative, and that they were particular friends. He added that they were both taken prisoners in the same action. He then asked if I had been in Spain during the period of the campaigns. I said yes, when he remarked that perhaps I was in the Spanish Service. I told him that then, as well as now, I served in the British army. He asked if I were an Englishman; and when I said yes, he remarked in that complimentary strain peculiar to well-bred Frenchmen, that one rarely meets an individual speaking the languages of three different nations and with such exactness as to pass for a native of each. The Spanish _attaché_, not to be second in courtesy, attested the justice of the assertion so far as it related to Spanish, declaring that until that moment he took me for his countryman. The commandant then broke into the Spanish language, which, to say the truth, he spoke far from well; nor did I ever meet a Frenchman who could speak it without causing a smile from his auditors. Continuing his broken and ill-pronounced Spanish, at which the _attaché_ smiled and looked at me, the commandant said that he spoke in that language because he had taken me for a Spaniard, on which I replied that for a similar reason I spoke to him in French. He instantly fixed his eye on my countenance; he was beginning to recognise me. He then quickly asked me if I knew Lord Hill; and where I first became acquainted with Prince Prosper. I told him that I had the honour of knowing his lordship, and that my first acquaintance with the prince was at Arroyo Molinos in Spain. His eyes now opened wide and with apparent emotion he asked if he might take the liberty of asking my name, which I had no sooner mentioned than, starting from his chair and striding round to where I sat, to the no small astonishment of all present, he embraced me warmly, saying that he would not kiss me, for he had not forgotten Lisbon. He now presented me to the whole company, which was numerous, as the British officer who made him prisoner, and whom he had so often mentioned as a “grand petit diable.” He went on to tell how he was made prisoner; but this I decline to repeat, as it was rather too florid in description and too flattering to me. I will put it briefly and in plainer words.
[Sidenote: MY FORMER PRISONER.]
It may be remembered that in the action of Arroyo Molinos, on October 28th, 1811, I jumped over the wall, through a breach in which the head of the French column had passed and the rest were following. Before my leap I had noticed a martial figure nobly mounted, evidently the chief of a corps, leading on the French 40th Regiment of the line. He was not more than five or six paces from the breach, while I was from ten to twelve yards from it. Perceiving that he must pass through before I could come up, wild with excitement and conscious also that the commanding general was looking on, I rode at the wall, and having cleared it instantly turned round to the breach into which Colonel Voirol had just entered and was passing through. We met face to face and instantly commenced a martial duet. We were both superbly mounted, but the rocky nature of the ground was such that our horses were totally unmanageable. We soon fell, or rather dragged each other to the ground, when, true to the immutable laws of nature, I as the lighter and more trivial remained uppermost. On falling, I must instantly have been forked to death by the many Frenchmen around me; but all were too intent on flight to look to others, and immediately after Voirol and I came to the ground the most advanced soldiers of the 28th and 34th Light Companies charged through the opening in the wall, as I have before described. General Howard (now Lord Howard of Effingham) coming up, I said, “General, here is a colonel for you; take him in charge. I cannot stop; I must go on with the light bobs.” In the encounter I had received a blow on the head, which knocked off my cap and set it rolling down the rocks. I pushed on bareheaded till I picked up a French foraging cap. After we returned in the evening from the pursuit of the fugitives, I found both my horse and cap. This was the scuffle which I mentioned in describing the battle; and I now detail the circumstances, because my captive now supported my story, which critics might pronounce absurd, of an individual scuffling with a whole column.
The commandant, Colonel Voirol, was as fine, upright and soldierlike a person as could be seen, measuring upwards of six feet in height and proportionally well built in every respect. His antagonist of Arroyo Molinos, besides being of slight figure, was beneath the colonel in stature by some inches; therefore it was perhaps that during his description of the manner in which he was made prisoner, he was scanned with dubious glance by all. The natives of France look with a very jealous eye upon any foreigner whose martial prowess is put in competition with that of the “Grande Nation Militaire.” This feeling was still more apparent among the ladies, of whom there were many present; for the women of France feel if possible more enthusiastic for military greatness than even the men; and comparing battles with what they read of tournaments in romances, fancy that tall and robust figures must be invulnerable against any of slighter mould. But Voirol’s gallantry was too well established in the French Army to suffer from the misconception of _table d’hôte_ critics.
My gallant old friend cordially pressed me to remain with him for at least a few days; but as I was travelling by diligence and my leave already expired, I felt compelled to decline his hospitality; and I determined to depart after dinner, not having time even to visit the hallowed shrine where Petrarch mourned in pathetic numbers his incredible love for the wrinkled old wife of another. But poetry must have some object, real or ideal, in view to keep excitement continually on the stretch. The hour of departure being announced by the _conducteur_, the commandant accompanied me to the door of the diligence, and again cordially shaking hands I departed for Marseilles, where I embarked for that military hotbed, Malta.
Some time after my arrival I was visited by a most severe attack of ophthalmia. My right eye became more like a ball of fire than an organ of vision; the dreadful pain in my head entirely banished sleep for so long a period that I dread to mention it. I heard the clock of St. John’s Church strike every hour and half hour, day and night, for a period of two months. I was bled, blistered and physicked to the last extremity, and bathed in warm baths until I often fainted from weakness; in addition to this, I had one hundred and ninety-five leeches applied inside and outside the eyelids. However, through a strong natural constitution I recovered; and by the unremitting care of Staff-surgeon Lindsay and Assistant Staff-surgeon Kennedy, who attended me, the ball of the eye was preserved, but its vision was lost. In consequence of this loss His Majesty was graciously pleased to grant me a pension.
[Sidenote: A PENSION GRANTED AND WITHDRAWN.]
In 1822 the regiment was removed to the Ionian Islands; having remained there until 1826 we were ordered home; and on arriving in England we moved into Lancashire. Soon after this the regiment was ordered to Ireland, and landed at Dublin, where we did garrison duty for some time.
At this time I was directed to appear before the General Medical Board, to have, as I supposed, the pension granted me for the loss of vision confirmed; but to my utter surprise it was discontinued, although the Medical Board, as also the certificate of Doctor Guthrie, the medical gentleman employed by Government in similar cases, attested the loss of useful vision. Upon my waiting on the Secretary of War, I was given to understand that the Government had decided that no pensions should henceforth be granted for the loss of limb or other injury, except for actual wounds in the field. It is true that I had received neither a bayonet wound nor musket-ball in the eye; but as a proof of the correctness of Doctor Guthrie’s testimony, to this day (fourteen years since the injury took place) I am obliged, to enable me to see clearly with the left or sound eye, to close the defective one. But the Secretary of War may have fallen into error in giving his reasons for depriving me of the pension; for persons were indicated to me who continued to receive pensions for injuries, though they were never wounded in their lives. However, I would not quote names, lest in so doing, for the purpose of strengthening my own claims, I might endanger the interests of others.
The withdrawal of the pension disconcerted me much; for fully relying on the royal grant being as permanent as the injury for which it was made, I had married a Venetian lady of the famous family of Balbi. The pension I had looked upon as some remuneration for my long and arduous services.
Besides what I considered the injustice shown towards me throughout, there were other considerations which powerfully wrought on my feelings and rendered my position extremely irksome. I mounted the castle guard in Dublin as lieutenant in 1805; and now in 1828, after three and twenty years, I mounted the same guard as captain only. This was known and remarked by many friends and acquaintances; it was known too that in the brilliant campaigns which took place in the interim I had been present and serving in two distinguished corps; and I discovered, or fancied I discovered, something bordering on doubt as to my military character in the countenances of all who regarded me. To account for my non-advancement, or remove the doubts consequently entertained, was out of my power. Decorum prevented my entering into detail of my own services. To speak frankly, I was ashamed of my slender rank after such a length of service; yet in conscience I could not accuse myself as the cause.
[Sidenote: A VETERAN AT THE GOOSE-STEP.]
But my severest ordeal was yet to come; and to support this all my philosophy and long-tried patience were insufficient. After remaining some time in Dublin the regiment was ordered to Mullingar; and here, as it would appear, my second childhood commenced. I was compelled to fall in with a squad composed of young officers, who for the most part entered the Service many years after H.R.H. the Commander-in-chief had noted my name for a majority, and with soldiers who knew not yet how to shoulder their firelocks. In this respectable company I was condemned to be taught how to march--a branch of military tuition from which I had considered myself emancipated at least twenty years before. In this ordeal I was chased through the barrack square by an ignorant disciple of Euclid, commonly called a dress sergeant, armed with a colossal pair of widely yawning compasses. This scrutiny of my steps after I had carried a musket-ball in my leg for fourteen years; after I had marched as a boy in one of the most distinguished regiments in the Service from Lisbon to Corunna, under the best drill and strictest disciplinarian in the army, Sir John Moore; after I had crossed and re-crossed Spain and Portugal in different directions without the mathematical precision of my paces having ever been found fault with;--after all this, and after twenty-four years’ service, to be brought up by a pair of compasses in the barrack square of Mullingar was an indignity which I imagine that human nature in its most subservient state could not, nay, should not willingly submit to. Disgusted by this Mullingar ordeal, which might be repeated again and again _for the good of the Service_, I formed the determination of immediately retiring from that Service. Add to this contemptuous treatment of old officers the suppression of the old-established institutions of the corps; the celebration of such martial _fêtes_ as the anniversary of the battles of Salamanca, Nivelle and Toulouse. Those were days upon which it was the custom of the regiment that all the men should wear the laurel, all the officers, whether married or single, should dine at the mess-table and guests be invited, thus giving an opportunity for those tales of war which transmit a noble martial feeling into the glowing breast of the aspiring young warrior who burns to prove the temper of his steel. Sentiments such as these glowed in the breasts of the young boys who joined the 28th Regiment in 1803, 1804, and 1805, while with suppressed breathing we rapturously listened to the old officers who lately returned from Egypt told of the gallant feats of arms they witnessed and shared, and so inspired us that our heated imaginations pictured soldiers in fight as of more than mortal size, and we longed “to follow to the field some warlike chief” to lead the way to glory.
[Sidenote: OLD DAYS OF GLORY.]
In the 28th Regiment the anniversaries of the battles in which the corps had served were strictly observed as days of jubilee and proud recollection. The month of March in particular was one of revelry in commemorating the battles fought in Egypt on the 8th, 13th and 21st. The 17th, the Feast of St. Patrick, was not forgotten; and to these was subsequently added the 5th, the anniversary of the celebrated battle of Barossa; so that in March we had five days of celebration, which filled our hearts with joy and on the following day our head with aches. The inspiring war-cry, “Remember Egypt!” was after the return from that country always used when leading into action. The regiment may now use the names of many other places wherein they fought and distinguished themselves; but I doubt if the mention of any subsequent battle will act so powerfully on the minds of the men as the soul-stirring words, “Remember Egypt!” and “The backplates!”
Why this war against old officers and long-established institutions? On the return of the victorious army from the Peninsula and later from France, a crowd of Green Park martinets rushed into the Service, who, looking upon any distinction gained by others as a reflection on themselves, seemed to be stimulated by sentiments like those of the Chinese emperor, who destroyed all existing records in the hope that he might be considered as the first who had reigned.
On the return of the regiment to Dublin, I, in pursuance of my determination to retire, procured twelve months’ leave of absence to proceed to the Island of Corfu; but previous to leaving England I made a last effort at the Horse Guards. In an interview with Lord Hill, finding there was no prospect of promotion, I took the liberty of telling his lordship that it was not my intention ever again to return to perform the duties of captain. His lordship remarked that he did not see how that could be, as officers on procuring leave of absence were required to sign a declaration that they would neither exchange nor resign before rejoining their regiments. I told his lordship that I should find out a remedy; and on an explanation being demanded, I said that I should forego my year’s leave and send in my resignation immediately. Upon this, his lordship with that kindness and feeling which endeared him to all, and which gained him the title of “Our father” from every soldier in the 2nd Division of Lord Wellington’s army, a title more honourable than all the well-earned brilliant stars which decorated his breast, recommended me not to be too precipitate. I could not avoid remarking that his lordship could hardly accuse me of precipitancy when I had waited for promotion which had been put off from time to time for fourteen years, and at the expiration even of that extraordinary length of time His Royal Highness’s pledge still remained unredeemed. Lord Hill declared that he could never pay the Duke of York’s legacies. I told his lordship that I resigned all claim to the legacy, and rested my claims on their own merits, upon which the General-in-chief desired me to write to him, and he would see what he could do for me. In consequence of this favourable omen I wrote to his lordship, enclosing a copy of my memorial presented to the Duke of York in 1814, together with the testimonials which accompanied it. To this letter I received a renewal of the old statement, that I was still noted for promotion on a favourable opportunity; and so I became fully convinced of the truth that deep scars, fractured bones and the strongest testimonials were of no avail unless bolstered by other support. I hesitated no longer; and although senior captain of my regiment I renounced my year’s leave of absence and immediately forwarded my resignation.
[Sidenote: UNEQUAL FORTUNE.]
Thus the author of these Memoirs left the Army. He served at the siege and capture of Copenhagen; he was for twelve days in constant fight during Sir John Moore’s retreat to Corunna, and at the end of this campaign he fought at the battle of Corunna in that division of the army who drove the whole of the enemy’s cavalry off the field and turned his left wing; he was for more than twelve months at Tarifa continually engaged with the enemy’s foraging detachments, and he was in both attacks on the strong post of Casa Vieja; he served in the ever memorable battle of Barossa in that flank battalion (to use the words of Lord Lynedoch) “which so greatly distinguished itself in the action”; he served in the action of Arroyo Molinos, and he was present at the siege and storming of Badajoz, where valour’s self might stand appalled; he served through the Pyrenees as a volunteer, where more continued hard fighting occurred than elsewhere throughout the whole Peninsula campaigns, and finally fought in the great battle of the Nivelle, in which he had a leg shattered. Innumerable skirmishes in which he was engaged and in which light companies are so frequently employed need not be mentioned. Of his conduct in these many actions the testimonials of commanding officers and colonels of regiments are a sufficient witness. And yet after serving for a quarter of a century, with feelings harassed by neglect and petty vexations, he felt himself driven to retire, and that without the slightest badge or mark of military service save those indelibly imprinted by the searching weapons of the more considerate foe. Whether he has been dealt with as might be expected from a liberal, just and great nation is a question humbly submitted to his Sovereign and his country.
INDEX.
Abbot, a stingy, 41
Abercrombie, Lieut.-Col., 213, 214, 222, 223, 232, 239, 258
Abrantes, 244
Adams, Drummer, 192, 193
Ainhoa, redoubts of, 317
Alaejos, 31
Alba de Tormes, 30
Albuera, 258; losses of the 28th Regiment at, 214.
Albuquerque, 215, 239, 255
Alcalá de los Gazules, 153, 157, 164
Alcuescar, 216, 221; fidelity of the Spaniards at, 235
Alemtejo, 30, 213
Alexander, the Emperor, 338
Algesiras, 135, 137, 141, 169
Aliseda, 215
Allen, Capt., 145
Almanza Creek, 198
Almeida, 279
Almendralejo, 256
Andalusia, 152
Anderson, Col., 122
Anderson, Lieut., 205
Andrée, Col., 231
Anglona, the Prince of, 177
Anstruther, Gen., 31
Antwerp, Fouché throws an army into, 131
Army, a partial remodelling of the 31
Arnot, Major, 286, 287
Arroyo de Puerco, 215
Arroyo Molinos, 216, 233, 360, 361; battle of, 224-232; fidelity of the Spaniards at, 235, 236
Ashurst, Lieut.-Col., 225
Astorga, 43; march into, 44; departure from, 47; report that Napoleon had entered, 64, 65
Atchison, Mrs., 333, 334
Ayamonte, 245
Aylmer, Lord, 307; his brigade, 308
Badajoz, 259; the Duke of Dalmatia ordered to reduce, 152; siege of, 260-280; horrors of the storming, 272-276; a trophy from, 277; losses of the British at, 278
Bailey, Lieut., 216, 217
Baird, Gen. Sir David, wounded, 122; at Nogales, 61; at Corunna, 113, 115, 116; his corps, 32, 37, 49, 65
Balbi, Signorina, 364
Ballesteros, defeat of, 244
Bandon, 330
Bantry Bay, 329
Barbate, the River, 154, 156, 158, 166
Barnard, Lieut.-Col., 193, 262
Barossa, 35; battle of, 42, 189-200; critical position of the British troops at, 202, 203
Barossa Hill, 187, 209; tower and ridge of, 183
Bastan, 315
Bath, Lieut.-Col., 193
Bathurst, Lord, 144
Batz, Fort, captured by the British, 131
Bayonne, arrival of the Duke of Dalmatia at, 296
Beguines, Gen., 163, 167, 183, 184, 196, 197; ordered to attack Medina Sidonia, 153; captures Medina, 159; retires from it, 164
Belcher, Lieut., 135, 136
Belem, 252, 281
Belnevis, Col., 286, 287
Belson, Col., 150, 169, 171, 194, 205, 214, 258
Bembibre, 48, 49
Benevente, 37, 39; confusion in, 40; evacuated by the rearguard of the reserve, 44; degrading scenes at, 49, 50
Bennet, Capt., 68
Bennet, Lieut., 204, 205
Berasin, the Heights of, 300
Beresford, Marshal, 246
Bermeja Castle, 181, 183, 184, 186
Bernadotte declines to surrender the French fleet, 131
Berri, the Duc de, 336
Betanzos, 90, 93, 96, 98; crossing the bridge of, 94; occupied by the French, 99
Beverley, Lord, 253
Bidassoa, the Lower, 308, 311; Soult’s positions on, carried, 309
Biscay, a privateer in the Bay of, 286, 287
Blakeney of Abbert, Mrs., 277
Blakeney, Robert, appointed to an ensigncy in the 28th Regiment, 1; promoted, 2; ordered to Exeter, 2; at Colchester and Harwich, 6; serves in the Danish campaign, 6-13; ordered to Sweden, 14; sails for the Peninsula, 17; has a narrow escape, 97; chased by a French patrol, 134; his share of salvage-money, 139; thanked in public orders, 140; employed in carrying despatches, 141, 144, 146, 167; Col. Browne promises to present him to Gen. Graham, 201; wounded, 204; recommended to Gen. Graham, 206; goes to Cadiz, 206; appointed to the command of a battalion company, 214; ordered to take Prince d’Arenberg to Lisbon, 233; joins his regiment at Albuquerque, 255; gazetted to a company in the 36th Regiment, 255; bids adieu to the 28th Regiment, 258; goes to Lisbon, 281; joins his regiment at Lewes, 285; transferred to the battalion in the Peninsula, 286; wounded at the battle of the Nivelle, 319; travels in a hearse, 329, 330; waits on Sir Henry Torrens, 331; sets out for Paris, 333; applies for a staff appointment in the army of Belgium, 336; visits Brussels, 345; copies of recommendations in his favour, 353-356; has ophthalmia at Malta, 363; married, 364; retires from the army, 367, 368; his services, 368, 369
Blakeney, Sir Edward, 243
Blood, Serg., 300
Bowes, Gen., 147, 148, 259; wounded at Badajoz, 266
Bowles, Capt., 154, 164; his company, 163
Bradby, Capt., 109
Bradley, Capt., 204
Bristol Channel, wrecks in the, 4
_Britannia_, the brig, 2
Browne, Major (afterwards Col.), 86, 129, 133, 135-137, 140, 146, 150, 151, 154-156, 158, 159, 167, 170, 206, 240, 258, 331; appointed Lieut.-Gov. of Tarifa, 144; employs the Tarifa Volunteers, 145; ordered to attack Casa Vieja, 153; ordered back to Tarifa, 160; to occupy the western point of Barossa, 183-188; at the battle of Barossa, 189-202
Bryan, Capt., 330
Buchan, Col., 244
Bunbury, Mr., 4.
Burke, Sir John, of Glenesk, 333
Burrard, Sir Harry, 20
Burrows, Capt., 2; his incapacity, 3
Bury, Lord, 333-336
Busshe, Major, 226
Caceres, 215, 236
Cadell, Ensign Charles (afterwards Lieut.-Col.), 2, 84, 205
Cadiz, 152, 163, 167; sortie from, 168, 169
Cadoval, Palace of the Duc de, 244
Calcabellos, 49, 51, 52, 54, 57; encounter at, 58, 59
Calvert, Capt. (afterwards Lieut.-Col.), 42, 186, 191, 206
Cambarros, 47
Cameron, Capt., 103, 104; his company, 102
Cameron, Col., 311
Campbell, Gen., 133, 137, 147, 149, 153, 169, 299
Campbell, Sir Guy, 150
Car, Dr., 326
Carlos d’Espana, Don, 297
Carrion, the, 33, 34, 35
Casa di Santillana, 215
Casa Vieja, Col. Browne to attack, 153, 154; La Peña’s move towards, 177
Castanos, Gen., 235
Castello Branco, 279
Castletown, 329
Castro Gonzolo, destruction of the bridge of, 37, 41
Castro Nuevo, headquarters at, 32
Cathcart, Lord, 2, 8
Cattegat, capture of a Danish frigate in the, 7
Cerro de Puerco Ridge, the, 182, 183
Ceuta, 208
Charles V. and the Spanish language, 28
Charles XII. of Sweden, 8
Chatham, the Earl of, 127; returns from Holland, 131
Chiclana, 163, 180, 182, 198; Marshal Victor’s advance from, 184, 186
Chiclana wood, the, 193
Cintra, the Convention of, 20
Ciudad Rodrigo, 28, 279
Clarke, Mrs., 330
Clauzel’s Division, 298
Clinton, Sir H., 316, 323
Colbert, Gen., 59; failure of his charge, 61
Colchester, 6, 14, 127, 128, 133
Coldstream Guards, the, 130; defend Fort Batz, 131
Cole, Gen., 296, 297, 298
Colthurst, Capt., 341
Colville, Maj.-Gen., the Hon. C., 262, 307
Combemartin, 3, 4, 5
_Comus_, H.M.S., 7
Cone, Capt., 330
“Confidential Reports,” 240-242
Congreve rockets, 10
Connaught Rangers, the, 268
Constantino, 81, 82
Coote, Sir Eyre, 1
Copenhagen, fall of, 11, 12, 13
Cork, arrival at, 331
Corunna, a movement to decided upon, 36; retreat to, 31-100; arrival at, 102; the reserve falls into position with the army at, 110; arrival of transports at, 111; conduct of the inhabitants of, 112; preparations for embarkation at, 114; battle of, 114-123; embarkation of the British army at, 118, 124
Creçy, 343
Craufurd, Gen. Robert, 37, 39
Croix des Bouquets, the, 311
Cross, Col., 331
Cuesta, Gen., incapacity of, 168
Curragh of Kildare, the, 2; an episode at, 148, 149
Curry, Capt. and Mrs., 214
Curry, Col., 227
Dacres, Doctor, 91
Dalmatia, the Duke of, 31; ordered to Estremadura, 152; in command of the French army in Spain, 296. (_See also_ Soult)
Dalrymple, Sir Hugh, 20
Danish Campaign, the, 7
Danish frigate, capture of a, 7
D’Arenberg, Col. Prince, 231, 333, 345; conducted to Lisbon, 233, 244-253
D’Arenberg, Prince Pierre, 238, 244
D’Arenberg, the Duke, 345-351
Deal, 128
Debelle, Gen., 32
D’Echiparre, Don Martin, 327, 328
Denmark, the Royal Princesses of, 9
D’Erlon, Count, 298, 299, 310; his corps in the Pyrenees, 307; reviewed by Soult, 309
Desnouettes, Gen. Lefèbre, 43, 44
Diego, Don, 220
Dikes’ Brigade, Gen., 191
Dikes, Gen., 193, 194
Disney, Gen., 31, 105
Douglas, Col. Sir James, 286, 287, 289, 309, 310
Dover, 128
Downy, Mr. Commissary, 226
D’Oyly, Capt., 105
Drunkenness, prevalence of, 54
Duncan, Major, 193, 196, 197
Dunmanway, 330
Durque, Don Favian, 205
Ebro, the, 294
Echallar, 300
8th French Regiment, the, 193
18th Dragoons, the, 32
82nd Regiment, the, 170, 179, 305
87th Regiment, the, 193
El-Burgo, arrival of the reserve at, 101; ordered to evacuate, 105
El-Burgo, bridge of, 99; destruction of, 101; repaired by the enemy, 110
Elliot, Sir William, 333
Elopement, a projected, 291
Elsinore Castle, 6
Elvina, 115, 118, 120, 121; death of Sir John Moore at, 116
Enghien, 346, 347, 348
English, Lieut., 109
Erskine, Sir William, 225
Esla, the River, 37, 38; forded by the enemy’s cavalry, 43
Espeletta, 309
Estremadura, 30, 214
Exeter, two Spaniards at, 125, 126
Farrel, Serg., 171
Fascinas, 154, 164
5th Regiment, the, 24
15th Hussars, the, 32, 33
50th Regiment, the, charge of at Elvina, 121; at Arroyo Molinos, 224, 225
52nd Regiment, the, 31; at Benevente, 41; at Calcabellos, 56, 57, 59, 60, 61, 62; on the retreat to Corunna, 100; at Corunna, 115, 117
Figueira, landing at, 17
Fitzroy, Lord Charles, 257
Florinda, 207
Flushing, siege of, 130; capitulation of, 131
Fontarabia, 308
Fontebro, 293
41st Regiment, the, 133
42nd Regiment, the, at Elvina 121
47th Regiment, the, 137
Fouché throws an army into Antwerp, 131
4th Regiment. (_See_ King’s Own)
14th Regiment, the, 115, 118
Foy’s division, 306
Franceschi, Gen., 32; his light cavalry, 94; at Corunna, 113, 115
Francis, the Emperor, 338
Franklin, Dr., 326
Fraser, Gen., advance of his division on Astorga, 43; position of at Corunna, 113, 115, 117
Frederiksborg, 10
French 5th Corps, the, 214
Fuentes de Oñoro, march into, 26, 28
_Fury Bomb_, the ship, 14
Gallegos, 80
Gambier, Admiral, 8
General Medical Board, the, 326, 363
Gerard, Gen., 214, 216, 228, 229, 230, 236; loss of his corps at Arroyo Molinos, 231
German Hussars, the, 177, 178, 197, 226
Gibraltar, 133,205; Lieut. Blakeney sent to, with despatches, 141, 144, 146, 167
Gibson, Capt., 15
Girlston, Capt., 330
Giron, Gen., 217, 312
Godwin, Capt., 146
Gomm, Capt., 96
Gonzolo Bridge, the, destruction of the, 37, 41
Gore, Capt., 226
Gottenborg harbour, 15
Gough, Major, 193
Gozzo, the Island of, 216
Graham, Gen., 177, 178, 179; in command of the British troops at Cadiz, 152; directs operations from Tarifa, 153, 160; advocates a sortie from Cadiz, 167; gives up the command to his ally, 168; sails from Cadiz, 169; at Tarifa, 170-172; his advice disregarded by Gen. La Peña, 180; his preparations for the battle of Barossa, 183-188; at the battle, 189-200; his orders after the battle, 202
Graham, Surg., 325
Grajal del Campo, 33, 34, 35, 36
Grenadiers, the, 77, 97, 98
Grimelle, the Marquis de, 350
Guadiana, the, 214, 256, 261, 271
Guarda, 22, 24, 26
Guards, the Brigade of, 86, 121, 190, 191, 194, 195, 197, 307
Guia, the River, 56, 57, 61
Gustavus of Sweden, 16
Guthrie, Dr., 364
Halket’s Light Germans, 311
Hamilton, Gen., 216, 217, 323; his division at Badajoz, 261
Harwich, 6, 14
Havelock, Lieut., 312
Herrerias, 64, 66, 68, 69
Hill, Capt. Clement, 221
Hill, Gen. Lord, 215, 216, 217, 221, 227, 229, 233, 255, 256, 257, 298, 299, 300, 367, 368; his corps, 302
Hill, Lieut., 104
Hill, Sir Rowland, 315
Holland, expedition to, 129; mortality of the British troops in, 132
Hope, Capt., 196
Hope, Gen. Sir John, 30, 37, 119, 214; advance of his division on Astorga, 43; position of his division at Corunna, 113, 115; commands the expedition to Holland, 129, 130
Howard, Gen. (afterwards Lord Howard of Effingham), 361
Howard’s Brigade, Maj.-Gen., 224
Huarte, 297, 298
Huddleston, Lieut., 220, 259, 275, 276
Huelva, the River, 29
Hughes, Corporal, 233
Humlebek, 8
Hunt, Capt. A., R.A., 181
Ilfracombe, 3, 5
Isla de Leon, 181; Gen. Graham proposes a sortie from, 153; Gen. Beginnes’ anxiety about, 159; the sortie postponed, 160; entrance of the British General into, after Barossa, 200
Johnson, Assist.-Surg., 161, 162
Johnson, Col., 150, 151
Johnson, Robert, 2; killed, 266
Joseph Bonaparte, 296
Julian, Count, 207
Keats, Sir Richard, 128, 129, 130, 140, 153, 160
Kemp’s Brigade, Gen., 312
Kennedy, Surg., 363
Kent, H.R.H. the Duke of, 253, 351, 356
_King Charles_, the, 8
King’s Own Regiment, the, 18, 81, 115; Sir John Moore’s approval of their action at Corunna, 120; embark for Gibraltar, 133; at Ceuta, 208
Kinsale, 1
Labaneza, 44
Laborde, Gen., 112; his division join main French army off Corunna, 111; at Corunna, 115
Lacy, Adj.-Gen., 183
Lallemande, the Generals, 335
Lamartiniere’s division, Gen., 305
Lanz, valley of, 297, 298
La Peña, Gen., 169, 177, 181, 198, 199; sluggishness of, 152, 153; obstinacy of, 168; arrives off Tarifa, 175; distrusted by the British, 179; disregards Gen. Graham’s advice, 180, 183; his retreat from Medina, 182
Lardizabal, Gen., 177, 182
Laval, Gen., 193, 194
Lavens, Surg., 326
_Lavinia_ frigate, the, 129, 130, 131
Le Brun, Gen., 231, 248-252
Leggatt, Major (afterwards Col.), 286, 287, 309
Leith, Maj.-Gen., Sir James, 245, 246, 262, 269
Leon, 36
L’Estrange, Lieut., 319, 322
Lewes, 333
Light, Lieut., 161, 204, 205
Lindsay, Surg., 363
Lisbon, 208, 209, 233, 244-253, 281; an amusing scene at, 282, 290
Lizasso, 300
Llerena, arrival of Soult at, 279
Lloyd, Col., 317
Loftus, Capt., 147
Long, Gen., 257
Lorge’s Dragoons, 115
Los Ayres, 114, 115
“Louis XIV.” Mountain, 306
Louis XVIII., 342, 343
Love, Lieut., 41, 42
Lugo, march to, 85; the British army in position at, 86; retreat from, 88
Lundy Island, 2
Lynedoch, Lord, 239, 240. (_See also_ General Graham.)
McDonald, Col., 196, 197, 200, 206
M’Kenzie, Lieut.-Col., 112
McPherson, Colour Ensign, 318
Maitland, Sir Thomas, 242
Mallow, 2
Malpartida, 215
Malta, 363; “Confidential Reports” at, 241
Mancilla, 36
Marmont, Gen., in the north of Portugal, 279; retires, _ib._; his jealousy of Soult, _ib._
Matthews, Staff-Surg., 325, 326
Maya Pass, the, 296, 302, 306, 315
Mayorga, 33, 37
Meacham, Capt., 144, 166
“Meacham’s Blind Nuts,” 144, 145, 157
Medina Sidonia, 153, 155, 158, 179, 181; captured by Gen. Beguines, 159; captured by the French, 164; La Peña’s retreat from, 182
Merida, 215, 225, 256, 258; the affair of, 257
Merle, Gen., 62; loss sustained by his division, 64
Mero, the, 101, 113, 118
Mitchell, Lieut., 137, 154, 165
Mole, Col., 147
Mon Cœur redoubt, the, 262
Mondego, the, 17
Monkstown, 2
Monte Orgullo, 305
Montgomery, Ensign, 318, 322
Moore, Lieut., 204
Moore, Sir John, 14, 115; placed under arrest by the King of Sweden, 16; reaches the British fleet, 16; receives news of Sir A. Wellesley’s victory at Rolica, 17; appointed commander of the forces, 20; his address to his officers and men, 21; relations with his officers, 25, 26; true cause of his retreat, 36; complains of the want of discipline, 52; his views on Gen. Paget’s position at Calcabellos, 60, 61; retires before Soult, 87; issues an order censuring the want of discipline, 87; directing operations in person, 101; at Corunna, 111, 112, 116; death of, 116; effect of his death, 119; character and bearing, 120; circumstances of his death, 121-123; outcry against in England, 125; his knowledge of the Spanish character, 169
Moors, the, 207
Morillo, Gen., 231, 300
Morillo’s Spanish Infantry, 224
Mullingar, 365, 366
Mullins, Capt., 204
Murgeon, Gen. Cruz, 183, 184; his part in the battle of Barossa, 199, 200
Napier, Major, 121
Napoleon, marching from Madrid, 36; celerity of his movements, 38; his dictum at Waterloo, 63; reported to have entered Astorga, 64, 65; his idea of zeal, 245; news of his escape and return to Paris, 334
Neufchâtel, Prince of, an intercepted despatch from the, 31
Ney, Marshal, execution of, 341, 342
Nichols, Col., recaptures Palavia Abaxo, 115
9th Dragoons, the, 226
9th Regiment, the, 133, 170, 191, 203, 204, 311; marched into Badajoz, 277
91st Regiment, the, 31, 100
92nd Regiment, the, 224, 225
95th (Rifles) Regiment, the, 31, 53, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 69, 82, 83, 84, 100, 102, 103, 115, 117
Nivelle, crossing the, 317; battle of, 318-321; French losses at, 322
Nogales, 61, 67; arrival at, 70, 75
Northcote, Major, 196
Oats, Private, 97, 98
O’Brien, Serg., 172
O’Callaghan, Maj.-Gen. Sir William, 337
O’Donnel, Gen., 297, 298
O’Donoghue, Capt., 137
Officers, claims of, 332
Olivenza, the Duke of Dalmatia ordered to reduce, 152
Oricain, 297
Paget, Gen., 31, 35, 76, 77, 80, 91, 95, 100, 101; censures the conduct of the troops, 53, 54, 55, 56; his position at Calcabellos, 57, 60; his encounter with a paymaster, 78, 79; strict orders of, 88; orders the reserve to evacuate El-Burgo, 106, 107; his connection with the 28th Regiment, 109, 110; at Corunna, 115, 116; Sir John Moore’s testimonial to his character, 123; his services unnoticed in England, 125
Paget, Lord, 32, 33, 37, 43, 48
Palavia Abaxo, skirmish at, 112; taken by Gen. Laborde, 115; retaken by Col. Nichols, _ib._, 118
Pampeluna, 295, 296, 303, 314; sortie from, 297; surrender of, 315
Panniers, battle of the, 91
Pardaleras, the, 262
Paris, the Grand Review in, 337-341
Parsonstown, 2
Patten, Capt., 286
Patterson, Col., 258
Peniche, the roadstead of, 18
Peninsula, the first day’s march in the, 19
Percy, Capt., 253
Phillipon at Badajoz, 260; surrenders, 271
Picton, Gen., 259, 262, 263, 267, 268, 269, 297; his retreat at Pampeluna, 302
Picurina redoubt, capture of the, 261
Plunder, articles of, 92
Plymouth, 124
Ponsonby, Col., 197, 199, 206
Portalegre, 214, 215, 238, 244
Portsmouth, 14, 124, 133, 344
Portugal, rainy season in, 24
Portuguese and Spanish, contrast between, 27
Portuguese sharpers, 209
Potter, Lieut., 229
Powder, a great explosion of, 111
Power, Brig.-Gen., 262
Power, Capt., 147
Prussia, the King of, 338
Puebla, arrival of the reserve at, 32
Puerto, 300, 312
Pyrenees, fighting in the, 296-307; losses in, 301
Queluz, the plains of, 19; break up of the British camp at, 22, 26
Queues, abolition of, 17
Reille, Gen., 305
Reserve, formation of a corps of, 31
Reynosa, 293
Rhine Mountain, the, 308
Richelieu, the Duc de, 342
Rifles, the, 196, 224, 225
Roach, “Gentleman,” 72
Roderick, the last of the Visigoth monarchs, 207
Rolica, victory of Sir A. Wellesley at, 17
Romana, the Marquis of, 35, 36, 44; his troops, 313
Roncesvalles, 295, 296, 302, 309
Ronda, 153
Rook, Col., 233
Ross, Col. (afterwards Gen.), 51, 243
Rousseau, Gen., 188; his grenadiers, 188, 191, 194, 195, 197
Royal City Regiment (of Spain) the, 177, 183
Rueda, surprise of the enemy’s outpost at, 32
Rufin, Gen., 188, 189, 202; his division, 191, 193, 194, 195
Sahagun, 32; headquarters at, 33
S. Antonio, 216, 217
S. Cristoval, Fort, 262, 271
S. Helens, 17
S. Jean de Luz, 328, 329
_S. Juan_, H.M.S., 139, 140, 141
S. Lucia, 118
S. Marcial, 305, 309
S. Maria Bastion, the, 261, 262, 269, 273, 278
S. Martin del Rio, 28
S. Roque Ravelin, the, 260, 261
S. Sebastian, 295, 296, 303, 308; stormed, 305, 306, 307
S. Vincente, the bastion of, 268, 269
Salamanca, march to, 22; entrance into, 29; advance of the British army from, 31
Saldaña, 33
_Salsette_ frigate, the, 129
Santa Maria, 153
Santarbas, arrival of the Reserve at, 32
Santi Petri, the River, 153, 182, 183, 184
Sarre, 312
Sauroren, fight at, 300
Savage, Private, 105
Schelde, forcing the passage of the, 131
Sebastiani, Gen., 181
71st Regiment, the, 224, 225
73rd Regiment, the, 42
Seville, the Duke of Dalmatia marches from, 152
Shaw, Lieut.-Col., 337
Sierra Montanchez, the, 218, 224, 225, 226, 227, 231
Simpson, Assist.-Surg., 324, 325
6th Portuguese Regiment, the, 225
67th Regiment, the, 193
Skerrett, Col., 133
Slavin, Sir Frederick, 259
Somerset, Lord Fitzroy, 229
Soult, Marshal, 36, 308; approach of his advance guard, 38; approach of his heavy columns, 80; his arrival before Lugo, 87; his advanced guard, 94, 107; at Corunna, 112; his position, 113; dangerous situation of his army, 117; his corps advancing, 233; arrives at Llerena, 279; retires into Andalusia, 280; remodels his army, 296; at Pampeluna, 297, 298; retreats, 300; disorganised state of his army, 305; his tactics, 306; prepares for a more general action, 307; his positions on the Bidassoa carried, 309; his defence when charged with treason, 342. (_See also_ Duke of Dalmatia)
Sound, the, 6
South Beveland, the Island of, 130, 131
Spain, march of Sir John Moore’s army for, 22
Spaniards and Portuguese, contrast between, 27
Spaniards, dislike of by the British soldiers, 35; their want of good feeling towards the British, 40, 41; their character, 168, 169
Spanish door, a, 71
Spanish generals, tactics of, 182
Spanish soldiers, courage of, 311, 312
Sparks, Lieut., 185
Spithead, 17
Stanhope, Major, 121
Stewart, Lieut.-Col., 224
Stockholm, Sir John Moore at, 16
Stovin, Sir Frederick, 10, 21, 136
Stralsund, 16
Stuart, Gen., 8
Stuart, Gen. Charles, 32, 43
Stuart, Lord William, 129, 130, 131
Sullivan, Lieut., 229
Sweetland, Mr. William, 140
Tacher, Miss, 345
Tagus, crossing the, 23, 213, 252
Talavera, 35, 168
Tarifa, 207, 208, 209; march to, 133; withdrawal of the French from, 136; regiments ordered to, 137; threatened by a second attack, 146; a campaign from, 152-166; British troops sail for, 169; conviviality at, 170; arrival of Gen. La Peña off, 175; departure from, 177; return to, 205
Tarifa, the plain of, 164
Tarifa Volunteers, the, 144, 157, 158, 160
Taylor, Lieut., 28th Regiment (afterwards Capt.), 104, 330
Taylor, Lieut., 9th Regiment, 146, 147
10th Hussars, the, 32, 33, 37, 43
13th Dragoons, the, 227
30th Regiment, the, 133
34th and 39th Regiments, the, 225, 226, 233
36th Regiment, the, 256, 309, 316, 318; ordered to reinforce Wellington’s army, 337; arrives in Paris, 341; removed to the Ionian Islands, and subsequently to England and Ireland, 363
Toro, 32
Torre la Peña, 164
Torremocha, 215
Torrens, Col. Sir Henry, 239, 255, 331, 336, 337
Trafalgar Bay, 138, 180
Trinidad, Fort, 261, 262, 271, 278
“Trois Cents Corps Nobles, La Chapelle des,” 343
Trotter, Lieut., fate of, 288
Turnbull, Serg., 172
20th Portuguese Regiment, the, 193
20th Regiment, the, 31, 51, 100
28th Regiment, the, 82, 85, 100, 102; ordered to Kinsale, 1; removed to Parsonstown and the Curragh of Kildare, 2; on garrison duty in Dublin, 2; in Denmark, 6-13; ordered to Sweden, 14; go to the Peninsula, 17; with Sir A. Wellesley’s troops, 18; inspection of, 20; losses of, 24; form portion of a reserve corps, 31; a band of ventriloquists in, 45; reprimanded by Sir John Moore, 53; at Calcabellos, 57, 61; in charge of the bridge of Betanzos, 94, 95; ordered to retire from El-Burgo, 106; efficiency of during the retreat, 108, 109; return to England, 124; ordered to Holland, 127; arrival in, 129; return to the Peninsula, 133; ordered to Tarifa, 137; garrisoned at, 169; at Barossa, 188-200; their losses at Barossa, 203, 204; sail for Lisbon, 208; at Arroyo Molinos, 225-229; celebration of anniversaries in, 366
_United Service Journal, The_, 330
Valencia, 37
Valencia de Alcantara, 235, 237
Valladolid, 31, 32
Vandeleur, Gen., 335
Vejer, 154, 161, 163; capture of an English merchant vessel near, 137; retaken, 138; move of the British army towards, 179, 180
Ventriloquists, a band of, 45, 46
Vera, 306, 312
Victor, Marshal, 133, 136; result of his inactivity, 181; advances from Chiclana, 184, 186; at Barossa, 195, 196, 198, 199
Victoria, the Princess, 357
Villaba, 296
Villa Formosa, 26
Villa Franca, arrival of the Commander-in-Chief at, 52; destruction of stores at, 66; arrival of Soult at, 280
Villamur, Count Penne, 215, 226
Villapando, arrival of the reserve at, 32
Villatte’s Division, 198, 305, 306
Villavelha, the pass of, 22; bridge of boats at, 279
Villaviciosa, 213
Vimieiro, 17
Vincent, Lieut. 319, 322
Vittoria, 294, 295
Vivian, Capt., R.N., 139, 140
Voirol, Lieut.-Col., 231, 361, 362
Walcheren, the Island of, British troops land on, 130
Walker, Gen., 262; his brigade, 269
Walloon Regiment, the, 177, 183
Weir, Dr., 326
Wellesley, Sir Arthur (afterwards Lord Wellington), 17, 20, 168, 244, 256, 279, 321, 340; at Badajoz, 266, 267; his arrangements to meet Soult, 279; arrival at Pampeluna, 298; nearly captured, 300; effect of his appearance on the battlefield, 306; his successful manœuvring, 308; extract from his despatch on the battle of the Nivelle, 323
Wench, Col., 116
Wheatley, Col., 193, 194
Whittingham, Col., 177, 183 184, 185
Wilkinson, Lieut., 204
Wilmot, Capt., 22, 23, 24, 29
Wilson’s Brigade, Col., at Arroyo Molinos, 225, 229
Woodford, Lieut.-Col., 130
Yarmouth, 16
York, H.R.H. the Duke of, 239, 285, 357
Zante, the Island of, 42
Zayas, Gen., 181, 182, 198; in command at Cadiz, 169
Zubiri, the valley of, 297, 298
Printed by Hazell, Watson, & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury.
Transcriber’s Notes
Punctuation and spelling were made consistent when a predominant preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed.
Simple typographical errors were corrected; occasional unbalanced quotation marks retained.
The author often omitted commas in simple in-line lists and between adjectives.
Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained; occurrences of inconsistent hyphenation have not been changed.
Sidenotes in this eBook originally were odd-page running headers, and have been placed between paragraphs near the pages on which they appeared. They are not always at the beginning of the subjects they summarize.
Index not checked for proper alphabetization or correct page references.
End of Project Gutenberg's A Boy in the Peninsula War, by Robert Blakeney