Part 9

“Having submitted to the Commander-in-Chief your letter of the 4th instant, I am directed to state, that there is no objection to the SEVENTY-FIRST being denominated _Highland Light Infantry Regiment_, or to their retaining their pipes, and the Highland garb for the pipers; and that they will, of course, be permitted to wear caps according to the pattern which was lately approved and sealed by authority.[25]

“I have, &c. “(Signed) WILLIAM WYNYARD, “_Deputy Adjutant-General_.

“_Lieut.-Colonel Pack,_ “_71st Regiment._”

On the 8th of May 1810 the first battalion marched to Deal barracks, where every exertion was continued to render it fit for active service. Here the battalion was deprived of the services of Lieut.-Colonel Pack, who was appointed a brigadier in the Portuguese army under Marshal William Carr Beresford, afterwards General the Viscount Beresford.

Nothing of moment occurred until the early part of September, when the battalion received orders to hold six companies in readiness for foreign service. They were prepared accordingly by drafting into them, from the companies which were to remain at home, the most effective officers and men, several not having recovered from the Walcheren fever.

The following were the companies selected and completed for foreign service, namely:--

1st, or Capt. M^cIntyre’s, 2d, or “ Hall’s, 3d, or “ Adamson’s, 4th, or “ Walker’s, 6th, or “ Spottiswoode’s, 10th, or “ Lewis Grant’s.

They consisted of two field officers, six captains, fifteen lieutenants, seven ensigns, four staff, thirty-eight serjeants, twelve drummers, and six hundred and three rank and file.

On the 14th of September the above companies embarked in the Downs on board the Melpomene and St. Fiorenzo frigates; three companies, with the staff, and Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Nathaniel Levett Peacocke, on board the former; the remaining three companies, under Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Thomas Reynell, afterwards colonel of the regiment, on board the latter. They sailed on the following day for Lisbon, and entered the Tagus on the 25th of September, after a short and pleasant passage. The companies were disembarked on the following day, and quartered in the San Benito and Espirito Santo convents.

The greatest exertions were made to complete the companies in field equipment, bât-mules, &c., which being effected, the detachment marched from Lisbon on the 2d of October to Mafra, where it was shortly afterwards joined by Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Henry Cadogan, who assumed the command, and Lieut.-Colonel Peacocke returned to the second battalion in North Britain.

The detachment being ordered to join the army under Lieut.-General Viscount Wellington, then retreating before Marshal Massena, Prince of Essling, marched from Mafra on the 8th of October, and on the 10th of that month effected the junction at Sobral, where it was brigaded with the fiftieth and ninety-second regiments under Major-General Sir William Erskine, in the first division under Lieut.-General Sir Brent Spencer, K.B.

The army having retired into a position in the rear of Sobral, that place was occupied by the SEVENTY-FIRST, having for its support the fiftieth and ninety-second regiments and Major-General Alan Cameron’s brigade. On the 12th of October the piquets were violently attacked by the enemy’s advance, and retired skirmishing. In the meantime the place was ordered to be evacuated, and the piquets having joined, the SEVENTY-FIRST took up a position on the outside, within musket-shot of the town. In this affair the detachment had eight men killed, and thirty-four wounded.

In this position the SEVENTY-FIRST continued, when on the 14th of October they were again attacked with the greatest impetuosity, and charged with the bayonet. The enemy was completely repulsed, with very considerable loss in killed and wounded, being chased to the spot from which he made the attack. Both parties resumed their original position.

In Viscount Wellington’s despatch reporting this affair, the names of Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Henry Cadogan, commanding the SEVENTY-FIRST, and that of Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Thomas Reynell, were particularly mentioned.

A soldier of the sixth company, named John Rea, behaved on this occasion in the most gallant manner, and particularly distinguished himself, for which he received a silver medal, with the following inscription: “To John Rea, for his exemplary courage and good conduct as a soldier at Sobral, 14th October 1810.”

On the 15th of October the SEVENTY-FIRST were ordered to withdraw into the position at Zibriera, which was a continuation of the lines of Torres Vedras. In this celebrated position, which bid defiance to the French army, the troops were constantly on the alert, and occupied in rendering it as strong as circumstances would admit, and in observing the motions of the enemy.

Marshal Massena did not think proper to attack the British army in this stronghold, and occupied his time in reconnoissances and demonstrations, until compelled, through want of provisions, and consequent sickness of his troops, to abandon his designs, and retire to a position in his rear. This object he finally effected in a masterly manner in the night between the 14th and 15th of November, followed by the allied forces. Both armies thus evacuated positions on which the attention of Europe had been fixed, and which they had occupied for a month in the presence of each other.

The division in which the six companies of the SEVENTY-FIRST were placed advanced by the route of Alemquer, Cartaxo, Atelaya, and Almoster, and halted in and about the latter place from the 20th to the 26th of November inclusive. The enemy in the meantime retired to an extremely strong position at and in the vicinity of Santarem, where Marshal Massena halted, although threatened by Viscount Wellington, who, after some manœuvring, took up a position immediately in the enemy’s front, having his head-quarters at Cartaxo, and the different corps of the army cantoned in the villages. The brigade to which the SEVENTY-FIRST belonged occupied Alquintrinha.

[Sidenote: 1811.]

At this place the SEVENTY-FIRST remained in quarters until March 1811, at which period the army, having been reinforced[26], was about to resume the offensive, when the enemy retired during the night of the 5th of March, taking the same road, through Estremadura, by which he entered Portugal.

The British army accordingly advanced in pursuit of Marshal Massena, and the brigade in which was the SEVENTY-FIRST accompanied it, moving by Redinha, Miranda de Corvo, and Saryedes, passing the Coa, a little above Sabugal, upon the 5th of April, and on the 9th arrived at Albergaria, a small town on the frontiers of Spain. The SEVENTY-FIRST remained in Albergaria until the 2d of May, when the enemy, having been strongly reinforced, moved from Salamanca, and on that day crossed the frontier with a large convoy of provisions for Almeida, then closely invested by the Portuguese forces under Brigadier-General Pack.

In consequence of this movement, the allied army broke up its cantonments on the Azava, and formed in order of battle upon the high ground behind the Duas Casas, the left extending to the high road to Almeida which crossed the river by a ford near Fort Conception, and the right keeping up a communication with the bridge at Sabugal; opposite the centre, the village of _Fuentes d’Onor_ was strongly occupied by light infantry.

Upon the 3d of May the French took post on the opposite side of the valley of the Duas Casas, their left fronting Fuentes d’Onor, and their right extending about two miles and a half to Alameda. In the afternoon of the 3d of May they attacked Fuentes d’Onor with much vigour. That post was defended with the greatest bravery until the light companies, being worn out and harassed by repeated attacks, were obliged to retire, and the enemy possessed himself of the lower part of the village.

The SEVENTY-FIRST were now ordered up to support, and, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Henry Cadogan, charged the enemy through the village and across the Duas Casas, taking ten officers and about a hundred men prisoners. The corps retained its conquest that night and the whole of the next day, but upon Sunday the 5th of May, the French having succeeded in turning some troops to the immediate right, were obliged to give way; having been immediately supported by the seventy-fourth and eighty-eighth regiments, they again advanced, took possession of and retained the village until the conclusion of the action.

A struggle of such duration could not be carried on without great loss, and the SEVENTY-FIRST suffered severely. They went into action about 320 strong, and lost nearly one half of their number in killed and wounded.

The SEVENTY-FIRST had Lieutenants John Consell, William Houston, and John Graham, and Ensign Donald John Kearns, together with four serjeants and twenty-two rank and file, killed.

Captains Peter Adamson and James M^cIntyre, Lieutenants William M^cCraw, Humphrey Fox, and Robert Law (Adjutant), Ensigns Charles Cox, John Vandeleur, and Carique Lewin, six serjeants, three buglers, and one hundred rank and file, were wounded. Two officers, with several men, were taken prisoners.

In commemoration of the gallantry displayed in this prolonged action, the SEVENTY-FIRST subsequently received the Royal authority to bear the words “FUENTES D’ONOR” on the regimental colour and appointments.

Viscount Wellington particularly mentioned the name of Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Henry Cadogan in his despatch, and being highly gratified with the conduct of the SEVENTY-FIRST on this occasion, directed that a non-commissioned officer should be selected for a commission. According to his Lordship’s recommendation, Quartermaster-Serjeant William Gavin was shortly afterwards promoted to an ensigncy in the regiment.

The SEVENTY-FIRST, upon the 14th, returned to their old quarters at Albergaria, and remained there until the 26th of May, when the brigade was ordered to the Alemtejo frontier, as a reinforcement to Marshal Sir William Beresford’s[27] army, at this time besieging Badajoz, and threatened by the advance of Marshal Soult from the south of Spain.

[Sidenote: 2d bat.]

On the 15th of May 1811, the second battalion embarked at Leith for South Britain, arrived at Ramsgate on the 23d of that month, and remained stationed in England for nearly two years.

[Sidenote: 1st bat.]

The first battalion, upon its route southward, crossed the Tagus on the 31st of May, and arrived near Albuhera on the 14th of June, having passed through Portalegre, Aronches, Campo Mayor, and Talavera Real.

The sanguinary battle of Albuhera, fought on the 16th of May, had obliged Marshal Soult to retire previously to the arrival of the reinforcement, which being considered no longer necessary, the battalion retired to Elvas, where it remained two days; the battalion again moved to Toro de Moro on the 19th of June, where it remained for a month. At this encampment a detachment of 350 men, with a proportion of officers, joined from the second battalion then stationed at Deal.

About this period the first battalion became a part of the army under Lieut.-General Rowland (afterwards Viscount) Hill. The junction of the armies of Marshals Marmont and Soult having obliged Viscount Wellington to raise the siege of Badajoz, which had been resumed after the battle of Albuhera, the battalion, in co-operation with his Lordship’s retrograde movement, retired to Borba on the 20th of July. Here it remained until the 1st of September, when it moved to Portalegre, and thence marched to Castello de Vido on the 4th of October.

A detachment from Marshal Soult’s army under General Girard having been collecting contributions in Spanish Estremadura, Lieut.-General Rowland Hill, with a view of putting a stop to his movements, broke up his cantonments at Portalegre upon the 22d of October, proceeding by Albuquerque and Malpartida. On the 27th, when within a moderate march of the enemy at _Arroyo-del-Molinos_, Lieut.-General Hill halted his troops, and, at night, breaking up his bivouac, made a flank movement close to the road by which the French intended to march on the following morning. In that position he awaited the approach of day, when, on the 28th of October, the British marched directly on the rear of the town with such celerity that the cavalry piquets were rushed upon before they had time to mount. The French main body, though in the act of filing out, had so little intimation of danger that the officers and men were surrounded before their formation was effected, and to seek safety they individually dispersed. Many of them were killed, and about 1,400 were taken prisoners. All the enemy’s artillery and baggage were captured. General Brun and Colonel the Prince of Aremberg, together with several other officers, were among the prisoners.

In this brilliant affair the SEVENTY-FIRST was one of the three corps that advanced through the centre of the town, and were, therefore, principally engaged; but the enemy, from his complete surprise, being unable to make a combined resistance, the British sustained but trifling loss.

The battalion subsequently returned to Portalegre, where it arrived early in November.

Lieut.-General Hill, on the 7th of November, issued the following General Order:--

“_Portalegre, 7th November 1811._

“Lieut.-General Hill has great satisfaction in congratulating the troops on the success which has attended their recent operations in Estremadura, and in so doing he cannot but endeavour to do justice to the merits of those through whose exertions it has been obtained. A patient willing endurance of forced and night marches, during the worst of weather and over bad roads, of bivouacs in wet weather, oftentimes without cover and without fire, and a strict observance of discipline, are qualities, however common in British soldiers, which the Lieut.-General cannot pass unnoticed. Having on this occasion witnessed the exertion of them in no ordinary degree, he feels that nothing but the most zealous attention of commanding officers, the goodwill and zealous spirit of the non-commissioned officers and soldiers, could produce such an effect, and he requests they will, generally and individually, accept his warmest thanks, particularly those corps which were engaged in the action of _Arroyo-del-Molinos_, whose silent attention to orders, when preparing to attack, and when manœuvring before the enemy, could not but excite his notice, and give them an additional claim on him.”

Letters from the Secretary of State, dated the 2d, and from His Royal Highness the Duke of York, Commander-in-Chief, dated the 6th December, were promulgated, expressive of His Royal Highness the Prince Regent’s approbation and thanks to Lieut.-General Hill, and the troops under his command, for their brilliant operations on the recent expedition in Spanish Estremadura, in having totally surprised and defeated the enemy under General Girard.

Viscount Wellington having made preparations for the recapture of _Ciudad Rodrigo_, concentrated the main body of the army in that neighbourhood, and the troops under Lieut.-General Hill were therefore ordered to divert the enemy’s attention in the south.

The first battalion of the SEVENTY-FIRST remained at Portalegre until the 25th of December, when the brigade moved into Estremadura for the purpose of expelling the French, who were ravaging the country. After the performance of this duty, the battalion returned to its former quarters at Portalegre in February 1812.

[Sidenote: 1812.]

Upon the 19th of March 1812, the battalion moved northward to Castello Branco, where it remained for about a week, and afterwards returned for the last time to Portalegre.

The Earl of Wellington having made arrangements for the third siege of _Badajoz_, Lieutenant-General Sir Rowland Hill’s[28] corps was destined to cover his movements, and with that view proceeded on the 21st of March towards Merida, and afterwards to Don Benito, where the troops remained for a few days; but upon the approach of Marshal Soult with a large army, with the intention of raising the siege, Lieut.-General Hill retired upon Albuhera, through Arroyo de San Servan and Talavera Real.

Badajoz having been assaulted and carried by the troops under the Earl of Wellington on the night of the 6th of April, after a sanguinary conflict, the movement of Marshal Soult was rendered nugatory, and the troops under his orders retired into Andalusia.

Marshal Marmont having, during the progress of the siege, penetrated into the province of Beira, and threatened Ciudad Rodrigo and Almeida, the Earl of Wellington, after the fall of Badajoz, crossed the Tagus, leaving Sir Rowland Hill’s force to watch Marshal Soult, which took post at Almendralejos for that purpose.

The battalion was stationed at this town from the 13th of April until the 11th of May. It having then become expedient to render the communications between the French armies on the north and south of the Tagus as precarious as possible, by the destruction of the bridge of boats at _Almaraz_, the corps under Lieut.-General Sir Rowland Hill, being the most disposable and convenient force, was accordingly ordered on this important service.

The French, feeling the importance of this bridge to their mutual strength and security, had surrounded it on both sides of the river with formidable enclosed works, having in the interior of them casemated and loop-holed towers. The troops appointed for these strong works, consequently, anticipated an arduous struggle.

Upon the 12th of May the corps broke up from Almendralejos, and marching by Truxillo and Jaraicejo, reached on the 18th of that month the sierra, five miles from Almaraz, on which stands the Castle of Mirabete. This post was so strongly fortified that it blocked up the only road to Almaraz for the passage of artillery, which was considered by the enemy absolutely necessary for the destruction of the works. Sir Rowland Hill thought otherwise; and ascertaining that infantry could cross the sierra by a track through Roman Gordo, he left his artillery, and descended at night with a column of 2,000 men. The leading company arrived at dawn of day close to the principal fort, built on a height a few hundred yards in front of the _tête-de-pont_; but such were the difficulties of the road that a considerable time elapsed before the rear closed, during which the troops were fortunately sheltered by a ravine, unseen by the enemy.

On the 19th of May the fiftieth regiment and the left wing of the SEVENTY-FIRST, having been provided with ladders, were appointed to escalade the works of _Fort Napoleon_, supported by the right wing of the SEVENTY-FIRST, and the ninety-second regiment.

From a feint made upon Mirabete, the French were aware that an enemy was in the neighbourhood. The garrison was on the alert; immediately opened a heavy fire, and vigorously resisted the efforts made to push up the scarp; but the moment the first men gained a footing on the parapet the enemy took to flight. The whole of this brilliant affair was completed in the short space of fifteen minutes, and with little loss.

The SEVENTY-FIRST had Captain Lewis Grant, with one serjeant and seven rank and file, killed; Lieutenants William Lockwood and Donald Ross, three serjeants, and twenty-nine rank and file were wounded.

The names of thirty-six non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the SEVENTY-FIRST were inserted in regimental orders for conspicuous bravery upon this occasion, and the Royal authority was subsequently granted for the word “ALMARAZ” to be borne on the regimental colour and appointments.[29]

The following orders were issued upon this occasion:--

“_Bivouac, near Fort Napoleon_, “19th May 1812.

“BRIGADE ORDER.

“Major-General Howard cannot delay expressing his warmest acknowledgments to Lieut.-Colonel Stewart and Major Harrison, of the fiftieth regiment, and Major Cother of the SEVENTY-FIRST regiment, who commanded the three columns of attack this morning on Fort Napoleon and the works on the Tagus, for the gallant and distinguished manner in which they led the columns intrusted to them, as well as to all the other officers, non-commissioned officers and privates, for their bravery and good conduct, which produced the brilliant result of the capture of the works in question.”

“_Truxillo, May 22nd, 1812._

“GENERAL ORDER.

“Lieut.-General Sir Rowland Hill congratulates the troops on the success which has attended their exertions in the present expedition. Every object for which it was undertaken has been attained, and in the manner most desirable and effectual. It is highly gratifying to the Lieut.-General to report on this occasion his admiration of the discipline and the valour of the troops under his command. The chance of war gave to the fiftieth and SEVENTY-FIRST regiments the most conspicuous share in these events, who nobly profited by the opportunity; but the Lieut.-General is satisfied that the same zeal and the same spirit would have been found in every corps if there had been occasion for bringing them into play.

“The Lieut.-General has not failed to report to his Excellency the Commander of the Forces the particulars of this brilliant service, and the good conduct of all those concerned in it. He will therefore not say more at present than to express his warmest thanks for the assistance which he has received from all ranks; and he is confident, when it shall again be his good fortune to lead them against the enemy, he shall have to report conduct equally honorable to them, and equally advantageous to their country.”

The bridge and works in the neighbourhood of Almaraz having been completely destroyed, the SEVENTY-FIRST returned to Truxillo, where they remained a few days, then moved to Merida, and afterwards to Almendralejos. Lieut.-General Sir Rowland Hill’s force having received orders to make a diversion in the south, while the main army was moving northward on _Salamanca_, the battalion again moved from Almendralejos to the borders of Andalusia, through Llerena. On this march the advanced parties of cavalry were constantly skirmishing with the enemy, but the SEVENTY-FIRST were not engaged.

From Llerena the battalion returned to Zafra, where, after a short halt, it proceeded to Villa Franca, and finally to Don Benito. In these marches through Estremadura the weather was oppressively hot, and, joined to the clouds of dust raised by the troops, was so fatiguing that it was considered expedient at one time to move by night, and thus these inconveniences were alleviated.

While the force under Lieut.-General Sir Rowland Hill had been thus employed, the allied army under the Earl of Wellington had gained a victory on the 22d of July over the French at _Salamanca_, for which he was advanced to the dignity of marquis.

From Don Benito the battalion moved upon the 13th of September, and passing through Truxillo, Talavera, and Toledo, arrived at Aranjuez upon the 1st of October, from which place, after a halt of three weeks, it moved to Ponte Duenna, further up the Tagus.