Part 7

The cross (see facing page 44), Maltese in form, is 1½ in. square, with a bright lapped double border framing a laurel mount. In the centre in bold relief is the British Lion statant, and on the four arms of the cross are arranged the names of the battles the recipient was engaged in. The name of the first battle is arranged in the space above the Lion. The obverse and reverse are similar; the cross was suspended from a crimson ribbon with blue edges--the regulation ribbon at this time--1⁷⁄₁₀ in. wide, by means of a gold swivel and laureated ring, connected to the cross by means of a gold loop and ornamentation. The names and regiments of recipients were engraved on the edges of the arms of the cross.

_Number Issued._--The Duke of Wellington received the only cross with 9 bars, representing 13 engagements; two were issued with 7 bars; three with 6 bars; seven with 5 bars; eight with 4 bars; seventeen with 3 bars; eighteen with 2 bars; forty-six with 1 bar, and sixty-one the cross alone. Eighty-five large gold medals were issued, and 599 small gold ones. One hundred and forty-three bore 1 bar, and seventy-two 2 bars, leaving four hundred and sixty-nine medals without bars or clasps.

=Nivelle.=--For nearly six cold and inclement weeks after the fall of San Sebastian, Wellington remained inactive in the Pyrenees, the troops suffering considerably in the bleak situation. Then began the operation which has been described as one of the boldest of the war. Wellington determined to seize the great La Rhune mountain, 2,700 ft. high, which stood between the Nivelle and Bidassoa valleys and the dependent heights; by so doing he could menace the centre of the French line, and cross the border. Soult lost his head, and called upon the French peoples of the provinces to take up arms and war "to the knife." Wellington coolly responded by informing the inhabitants that England did not make war upon the people, but upon their ruler, who did not allow others to remain at peace, and impressed upon his soldiers that any acts of violence or marauding would be punished by death. Early on the morning of October 7th, 1814, the British made their first movement by crossing the mouth of the Bidassoa River--a feat classed among the ablest and boldest of Wellington's operations; the enemy were taken by surprise, and the British carried everything before them. At 3 o'clock in the afternoon the famous exploit of Lieutenant William Havelock, "El Chico Blanco," took place. He had been sent by General Baron Alten to see the progress that Marshal Giron's Spaniards had made, and finding them irresolute, despite their previous successes, his fiery spirit could not brook the check. Taking off his hat, he called upon the Spaniards to follow him, set spurs to his horse, and cleared the abattis at a bound. "Then," wrote Napier, "the soldiers, shouting for 'El Chico Blanco' (the fair boy)--so they called him, for he was young and had light hair--with one shock broke through the French, and at the very moment when their centre was flying under the fire of Kempt's skirmishers from the Puerto de Vera." (Lieutenant-Colonel Havelock, elder brother of Sir Henry Havelock, was born on January 23rd, 1793, and killed while leading the 14th Light Dragoons--"450 sabres against an army amounting to more than 15,000 men with heavy cannon"--at Ramnuggur, November 22nd, 1848.) In three days the allies lost 814 men, and the French 1,400, but the victorious allies were now on French soil, and working well together, the Spaniards rising to the occasion as success succeeded success. For some days the armies were inactive; Wellington was getting ready to resume the offensive, while Soult was preparing to attack. The enemy, however, attacked, and carried a redoubt in the camp of Sarre held by the Spaniards. They then attacked, on the morning of the 13th, the advance posts of the army of Andalusia, under the command of Marshal Giron, but were easily repulsed. Ultimately the French retreated in confusion towards the bridge of Nivelle, and on November 10th the battle of La Nivelle was fought. It was a beautiful morning, and it must have been a grand sight to see the army of 90,000 men descend to the battle. "Three guns pealed from the mountain heights of Achubia ... and the battle of the Nivelle commenced." Driven from the centre, many of the French troops crossed the Nivelle at St. Pè, while Major-General Colville, with the 3rd division, and General Le Cor with the 7th, drove off those who held the heights above, and established the allied army on the rear of the enemy's right. Night ended the battle, and under cover of the darkness Soult withdrew his army and abandoned the position he had been fortifying for three months. On the 12th he took up his position in front of the camp at Bayonne. In this engagement the allies took 1,400 prisoners, 51 pieces of cannon, and 6 tumbrils of ammunition. The French also lost 2,000 men killed and wounded.

In his dispatch Wellington particularly referred to the gallant conduct of the 51st and 68th Regiments in the attack on the heights above St. Pè. The allies lost 26 officers, including Lieutenant-Colonel Lloyd of the 94th, 28 sergeants, 289 rank and file; 155 officers, including Major-General Kempt, and 2,146 men wounded; 3 officers and 70 men missing.

The following regiments were present in the engagements leading up to the battle of Nivelle. 1st and 2nd Batts. Foot Guards; 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 20th, 23rd, 24th, 27th, 28th, 31st, 32nd, 34th, 36th, 38th, 39th, 40th, 42nd, 43rd, 45th, 47th, 48th, 50th, 51st, 52nd, 53rd, 57th, 58th, 59th, 60th, 61st, 62nd, 66th, 68th, 71st (did not take active part), 74th, 76th, 79th, 82nd, 83rd, 84th, 85th, 87th, 88th, 91st, 92nd, 94th, and 95th; the Rifle Brigade; 12th, 13th, 14th, and 18th Light Dragoons, and the 1st and 2nd Light Battalions, also the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Line Battalions of the King's German Legion.

=Chrystler's Farm.=--The day following the battle of Nivelle in France saw a victory for British arms in Canada at Chrystler's Point, commonly called Chrystler's Farm. This battle was a sequel to that at Chateauguay. I have referred to the fact that the American General Wilkinson, with his army of 10,000 men, had failed to combine with Major-General Hampton, but by November 3rd he landed a portion of his troops near Point Iroquois, to which place the British General dispatched a force of 800 regulars and militia, under Colonel Morrison, to stop the advance. Meeting 3,000 men who had been landed under Major-General Boyd at Chrystler's Farm, Colonel Morrison's little army routed them after a fight lasting two and a half hours, with a loss of 250 killed and wounded, besides 100 prisoners and one gun. The effect of the action at Chrystler's Farm was to compel the enemy to evacuate Lower Canada.

Men of the 49th and 2nd Battalion 89th Regiments, the Royal Artillery, Canadian Militia, Fencibles and Voltigeurs, likewise a few Indians, were engaged in this battle. As comparatively few regulars took part in the American battles, Fort Detroit, Chateauguay, and Chrystler's Farm, and because they were awarded so many years after, medals to British regiments bearing these bars are very rare, as indeed are those of the Colonials who took part.

=Nive.=--Soult, having lost the Nivelle, withdrew his army to Anglet, and formed a line of defence with his unfinished fortified camp in front of Bayonne. Wellington, owing to the bad weather--the 12th was very foggy, and rain fell in torrents from the 11th until the 20th November--was unable to move, and was consequently constrained to maintain the allied army in very close quarters. The bad weather abating, the British commander determined to enlarge the productive area for his army by forcing the line of the Nive, and taking up a position on the left bank of the Adour, where reasonable subsistence could be found for the allied army. The time had not passed tamely, for in pressing the posts slowly forward, Generals Wilson and Vandeleur were wounded, while the light division alone lost 100 men. On December 8th the troops made a forward movement, and on the 9th the Nive was crossed near Cambo by the right of the army under Lieutenant-General Sir Rowland Hill, while the 6th division, under Lieutenant-General Sir H. Clinton, successfully passed at Ustaritz, and by this manœuvre the enemy were driven from the right bank of the river, and retired towards Bayonne by the great road of St. Jean Pied de Port. Those opposite Cambo were nearly intercepted by the 6th division, one regiment being driven from the road and compelled to march across country.

On December 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th, Soult made a series of determined and often desperate attacks upon the British divisions, but without success, and was ultimately forced to fall back upon Bayonne, leaving the courses of the Nivelle, Nive, and Adour in the possession of the allies, who were thus enabled to obtain plentiful supplies for their needs, while the enemy were harassed by having their communications threatened and supplies restricted. During the conflicts between the 9th and 13th the French lost about 6,000 killed and wounded, and two guns. The British losses were 650 officers (including 6 Generals) and men killed; 233 officers, 215 sergeants, and 3,459 rank and file wounded; 17 officers, 14 sergeants, and 473 rank and file missing.

The battle on December 13th, which determined the series of conflicts, was practically fought and won by the corps under Sir Rowland Hill--indeed the glory of the day was frankly given him by Wellington, who, taking him by the hand, said, "My dear Hill, the day is your own." There could be little doubt about that, for on the heights of St. Pierre--with only 16,000 men and 14 guns--he defied and drove off 35,000 French bayonets and 22 guns which assailed him in front, and the corps (8,000) of General Paris, with the Light Cavalry under Pierre Soult, which threatened his rear. The battle was regarded on both sides as "one of the most sanguinary that the French Army of Spain had fought, and that there was not one where so many deaths took place on the battlefield." No wonder the enemy never again took the offensive!

The following regiments were present in the series of engagements: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Foot Guards; 7th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 16th, and 18th Light Dragoons; 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 9th, 11th, 20th, 23rd, 27th, 28th, 31st, 32nd, 34th, 36th, 38th, 39th, 40th, 42nd, 43rd, 45th, 47th, 48th, 50th, 52nd, 53rd, 57th, 59th, 60th, 61st, 62nd, 66th, 71st, 74th, 76th, 79th, 83rd, 84th, 85th, 87th, 88th, 91st, 92nd, 94th, 95th, and the Rifle Brigade. Many of the regiments particularly distinguished themselves on the day of victory; notably the 92nd, which, scattering light troops that should have checked them, charged and repulsed a column; re-forming behind St. Pierre, they again advanced with colours flying and pibroch sounding, as if going to a review, and offered battle to a French column five times their superior: the challenge was, however, declined, for like Napier the French commanding officer recognised that men who could act so understood war.

=Orthes.=--On February 27th, 1814, the battle of Orthes (Orthez) was fought. A period of inaction had again been forced on Wellington by the severity of the weather, but by the second week in February the conditions were such as to make the roads passable, and the British commander proceeded to follow up his successes. Several minor, but in some instances obstinate, engagements, were fought, among them that of Garris, where Wellington, determined to force the passage of the Bidouse, ordered the 29th, with the 28th in support, to carry a bold hill, occupied by 4,000 of the enemy, before dark. This they did in a brilliant manner. Soult, finding the enemy pressing him rather forcibly, crossed the Gave d'Olèron in the night, and marching rapidly to Sauveterre, took up a position on the left of the Gave, while Wellington, having strongly established his right upon the Gave d'Olèron, returned to St. Jean de Luz to superintend the putting together of the remarkable and "wondrous bridge," which had been devised to enable the army to cross the Adour, 3 miles below Bayonne. On the 25th Sir John Hope crossed with his whole corps for the investment of the fortress; meanwhile Wellington was acting vigorously at Gaves, and General Hill was ready to force the passage of the Gave d'Olèron, which he did on the 24th, while Picton crossed between Montfort and Lass; other divisions having made equal progress, Marshal Soult withdrew his army across the Gave du Pau, and determined to make a final stand at Orthez. There, on the semicircular heights, the army of about 40,000 stood at bay, while the allies with about 37,000 men advanced to the attack. They were irresistible, but Soult retreated in a masterly manner, defending his divisions with splendid valour at each ridge they passed. Once forced on to the plain, they fell into disorder, and, charged and pursued by the British cavalry, they hastened to the river, over which they passed in scattered parties, and Soult retreated towards Toulouse, where the last and most unnecessary battle of the campaign was to be fought. It is estimated that 8,000 men were lost to the French in killed and wounded, while the allies lost 18 officers, 25 sergeants, and 234 men killed; 134 officers (including the Duke of Wellington), 89 sergeants, and 1,700 rank and file wounded; 1 officer, 5 sergeants, and 64 men missing.

The following regiments were present: 3rd, 7th, 10th, 13th, 14th, 15th, and 18th Light Dragoons; 2nd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 10th, 20th, 23rd, 24th, 27th, 28th, 31st, 32nd, 34th, 36th, 37th, 39th, 40th, 42nd, 45th, 48th, 50th, 51st, 52nd, 57th, 58th, 60th, 61st, 66th, 68th, 71st, 74th, 82nd, 83rd, 87th, 88th, 91st, 92nd, 94th, 95th, and the Rifle Brigade. The 7th Hussars (Light Dragoons) distinguished themselves in the neighbourhood of Sault de Navailles, and made a charge under Lord Edward Somerset which Wellington described as "highly meritorious." The 52nd Oxford Light Infantry were also mentioned in dispatches.

=Toulouse.=--On April 10th, 1814, the sanguinary and unnecessary battle of Toulouse was fought, for the allies had entered Paris on March 31st, and Napoleon had abdicated. It is alleged that Soult fought the battle out of personal vanity or pique, since he had news--on April 7th--of what had happened in Paris. It was perhaps his last desperate effort for his master. However, this last battle of the Peninsular War was fought with terrible determination on both sides; but when the range of heights had been carried by the British, and the redoubts of the city won, Soult abandoned the town of Toulouse with 3 Generals and 1,600 men "prisoners at the generosity of the conqueror." The allied British, Portuguese, and Spanish armies lost in killed and wounded about 4,650, the latter including Generals Brisbane, Pack, Mendizabel, and Espelette, while the French had 5 generals and 3,234 men placed _hors de combat_. These numbers include, British losses, 31 officers and 563 men killed; 248 officers and 3,898 men wounded; 3 officers and 15 men missing.

In storming the redoubts the 42nd Black Watch, which had the honour of leading the attack, displayed their usual courage, but the withering fire from the defenders was such that in a short time it would have annihilated the regiment; indeed, out of the 500 who went into action, scarcely 90 reached the redoubt, from which the enemy fled, but these "leapt over the trenches like a pack of hungry hounds in pursuit." Two officers and sixty men of inferior rank were all that remained unwounded of the right wing of the regiment that entered the field in the morning. During the battle the standard of the regiment had passed through the hands of three wounded officers, until it was borne by a sergeant and defended by a few men. The 42nd, likewise the 36th, 79th, and 61st, who also lost considerable numbers, were mentioned in Wellington's dispatches. The 13th Light Dragoons, the 14th and 15th Dragoons, and the 18th Hussars, were also mentioned for gallant conduct during the advance on Toulouse.

The regiments represented at the battle were: 2 squadrons of the 1st and 2nd Life Guards and Horse Guards; 1st Dragoons; 3rd and 5th Dragoon Guards; 3rd, 4th, 7th, 10th, 13th, 14th, 15th, and 18th Light Dragoons; 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 7th, 11th, 20th, 23rd, 27th, 28th, 31st, 32nd, 34th, 36th, 39th, 40th, 42nd, 43rd, 45th, 48th, 50th, 52nd, 53rd, 57th, 60th, 61st, 66th, 71st, 74th, 79th, 83rd, 87th, 88th, 91st, 92nd, 94th, and 95th.

=Rewards for Generals.=--On May 30th, 1814, a treaty of peace was signed between Great Britain and France, Louis XVIII having been restored, and Napoleon permitted to retire to the Isle of Elba, where the allies allowed him to reign as sovereign. The Duke of Wellington was raised to the rank and dignity of a Duke and Marquis of the United Kingdom; Parliament suggested an annuity of £10,000, to be "paid annually out of the consolidated fund for the use of the Duke of Wellington, to be at any time commuted for the sum of £300,000 to be laid out in the purchase of an estate," but the sum was objected to as being too small, and an additional £100,000 was voted. Wellington's lieutenants--Generals Hope, Graham, Cotton, Rowland Hill, and Beresford--were also rewarded by pecuniary grants, and raised to the peerage.

=Nothing for Officers and Soldiers.=--The majority of the officers and all the men who had participated in this seven years' campaign were, notwithstanding the generosity of the nation to the leaders, left undecorated, and, irony of ironies, the Commander-in-Chief, who had shed tears at the loss of brave soldiers, and who had been so well rewarded, raised his voice against the bestowal of decorations upon the men who had fought and bled with him!

CONTINENTAL PENINSULAR MEDALS

=Alcantara Medal.=--For the battle of Alcantara a medal of gold was given to some of the officers, and Dr. Payne has in his collection one awarded to Brigadier-General William Mayne, K.T.S., late Colonel Loyal Lusitana Legion, which by his kindness I am able to illustrate. It is 1⁷⁄₂₀ in. in diameter, enclosed in a gold-rimmed glass case, suspended from a gold-hinged waved bar 1⁷⁄₁₀ in. long by a salmon-pink ribbon 1½ in. wide, with a gold buckle attached thereto. On the obverse is engraved an outstretched sleeved arm and hand, below is the word CUIDADO, and above an eye, the whole within a wreath of palm and olive. On the reverse is the inscription, in bold Roman capitals, AL MERITO, and underneath, in script, "De la Juntade Gobierno y guerra de la Villa de Alcantara MDCCCIX." On the rim the name of the recipient is engraved in Spanish: AL CORONEL MAYNE DE LA LEAL LEGION LUZITANA.

=Gold Cross for Albuhera.=[4]--On March 1st, 1815, it was decided by the Spanish Government to issue a cross to Generals, officers, and men of the army of Estremadura, who had distinguished themselves at the battle of Albuhera on March 16th, 1811. This is an oblong, four-pointed cross of gold enamelled red, the points terminating in gold knobs, having red enamelled gold-edged flames issuing between the arms of the cross. In the centre of the cross, on a white enamelled ground, is the letter F in script, with VII in gold, surrounded by a frosted gold oval band bearing the inscription in bright gold letters AL BUHE RA. The cross is suspended from a squat green enamelled laurel wreath, to which is fixed a gold loop and ring for attachment to the ribbon, which is 1½ in. wide, and red with blue edges.

[4] Should be Albuera, but is spelt ALBUHERA on cross, also bars.

=Gold Cross for Vittoria.=--On April 22nd, 1815, a gold enamelled cross was instituted in Spain for presentation to officers to commemorate the battle of Vittoria, June 21st, 1813. The battle was won by the division of the 4th Corps of the Army, under the command of the Captain-General, the Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo (Wellington), and Field-Marshal D. Francisco Thomas de Longa. The cross is 1⅕ in. in diameter, and enamelled white with a red four-pointed star (see facing page 36), and between the cross, which is enamelled the same both sides, is a green enamelled laurel wreath; the cross is suspended from a gold Spanish crown surmounted by an orb ensigned with a gold fleur-de-lis; the ring for attachment to the ribbon being run through the ball. On the obverse is a white enamelled circle with gold borders encircling a red irradiated ground, whereon are three gold crossed swords, with a gold ribbon (inverted) bearing the motto IRURAG BAT. On the reverse, on a domed gold ground, is the legend in raised stamped letters, arranged in three lines, RECOMPENSA DE LA BATALLA DE VITTORIA. This cross depends from a 1½ in. ribbon composed of equal stripes of black, crimson, and pale blue.

=Gold Cross for Commanders.=--This gold cross, as the illustration facing page 28 shows, is star-like in form, but owing to the number of engagements recorded the number of arms varies. This particular cross, weighing nearly 2 oz., was awarded to Lieutenant-Colonel Richard Brunton, of the 13th Light Dragoons, late of the Portuguese Service, and forms part of the great collection of Dr. A. A. Payne. The cross was instituted by King John VI of Portugal, on July 26th, 1816, and was given to British officers who served on the Portuguese Staff during the Peninsular War, and who were in command of divisions, brigades, or regiments. The arms of this cross, enamelled white, have double points terminating in gold beads, resting on a blue enamelled band bearing a gold wreath of laurel; on each of the arms is a green enamelled torpedo-shaped overlay, each recording the name of an action in which the recipient was engaged: a gold scroll forms the attachment for the loop which carries the broad red ribbon, edged with blue, by which the cross was suspended from the neck. On the obverse a small gold bust of King John occupies the centre, which is enamelled light blue surrounded by a conventional continuous border of leaves. On the reverse, within a similar band, but on a white enamelled ground, are the initials of the recipient. Sir Denis Pack was awarded the cross with eleven actions recorded on it.