cavalry. The enemy could only approach on a narrow front and by the high road, till within cannon shot, when one byroad branched off to Pringle's position, the other to where the 3rd Regiment was posted. A flood on the night of the 12th had carried away the bridge over the Nive; it was soon restored, but on the morning of the 13th, Hill was completely cut off from the rest of the army, while seven French divisions, 35,000 strong, with twenty-two guns, approached him in front, an eighth under General Paris, and Pierre Soult's Division of cavalry menaced him in rear. To meet the enemy in front he had less than 14,000 officers and men with fourteen guns (for the Sixth Division was now on the left of the Nive), and there were only 4000 Spaniards, with Vivian's Brigade of cavalry, to protect his rear. It was a situation to try the nerve of the bravest general. On the morning of the 13th of December, the 92nd marched from Petite Moguerre, and on arriving at the high road in rear of St Pierre, were ordered to turn to the right and halt at that hamlet. Soult had formed his order of battle in front of Bayonne under cover of a thick mist. D'Erlon, having d'Armagnac's, Abbé's and Darican's Divisions, Sharré's cavalry and twenty-two guns, marched in front, followed by Foy and Maransin; the remainder of d'Erlon's command was in reserve. This formidable array was sometimes shrouded by the mist, sometimes dimly seen by the dauntless little army of Allies who waited their attack. At 8.30 the sun burst forth, just as Soult's light troops pushed back the British pickets in the centre, and the sparkling fire of the skirmishers crept up the hills on either flank, while nearly forty pieces of artillery shook the banks of the Nive and the Adour. Darican directed his division against Pringle; d'Armagnac was ordered to force Byng's Brigade; Abbé assailed the centre at St Pierre. Sir William Stewart commanded the troops stationed in front. Sir Rowland Hill took his station on Mount Horlope in rear of St Pierre, from whence he could see and direct the movements of all. Abbé pushed his attack with great violence, and gained ground so rapidly with his light troops on the left of Ashworth's Portuguese, that Stewart sent the 71st and two guns to aid the latter. The French also won the small wood on Ashworth's right, and half the 50th was detached to that quarter. The wood was retaken and Stewart's flank secured, but his centre was much weakened, and the French artillery fire was concentrated on it. Abbé then pushed on a column of attack with such power that, in spite of musketry on his flanks and artillery in his front, he gained the top of the position, and drove back the remaining Portuguese and that half of the 50th which had remained in reserve. The British were now in imminent danger, when General Barnes brought forward the 92nd. As the battalion cleared the houses of St Pierre, one of the pipers was killed at its head. The right wing quickly extended on the moor to the left; the French skirmishers fell back before them, while the left wing, led by Colonel Cameron, charged down the road on the two regiments composing the column. "The charge," says Napier," was rough and pushed home; the French mass wavered and gave way." The Highlanders pursued and took many prisoners. Abbé immediately replaced the beaten column with fresh troops, and Soult, redoubling the play of his heavy guns, sent forward a battery of horse artillery, which opened its fire at close range with destructive activity. Cannonade and musketry rolled like one long peel of thunder, and the second French column advanced with admirable steadiness, regardless of their loss by Ross's guns. The Highlanders, unable to resist this accumulation of foes, were borne back, fighting desperately hand to hand, and even charging again and again with most determined fortitude and audacity, till General Barnes ordered them to retire,* while all the time the pibroch "Cogadh na sith " rang in their ears.† Slowly, but with broken ranks, they regained their position behind St Pierre. The Portuguese guns, their British com "General Barnes had just sent me word not to advance further."— Letter from Cameron. † A letter from Archibald Campbell, Esq., suggests that Sir John Sinclair (President), "ought to communicate to the Highland Society the fact that two out of the three pipers of the 92nd Regiment were killed while playing 'Cogag na shee' to encourage their comrades;" as one fell another took it up; and that this "should be made known all over the Highlands." Mr Campbell was informed of this by a letter from Colonel Cameron. manding officer having fallen, then limbered up and retired; and the French skirmishers reached the impenetrable hedge in front of Ashworth's right, when Barnes, seeing that hard fighting was the only chance of saving the day, made the Portuguese gunners resume their fire. The wing of the 50th and the Caçadores gallantly held the wood on the right, but Barnes was soon wounded, the greater part of his and of General Stewart's staff were disabled, and the matter seemed desperate. The light troops were overpowered by numbers and driven in; the gunners were falling at their guns, Ashworth's line crumbled before the fire; the ground was strewn with dead in front, and the wounded crawling to the rear were many. If their skirmishers could have penetrated the thick hedge in front of the Portuguese, the success of the French would have been certain at this point, for the main column of attack still steadily advanced up the causeway, and a second column on its right was already victorious, because the colonel of the 71st had withdrawn that gallant regiment, and abandoned the Portuguese. Pringle was bravely holding the hill of Villefranque against Darican's numbers, but on the extreme right, the colonel of the 3rd Regiment had also abandoned his strong post to d'Armagnac,* whose leading brigade was rapidly turning Byng's other regiments; and now Foy's and Maransin's Divisions were coming up to Abbe's support, at the very moment when the troops opposed to him were deprived of their reserve. For Hill, with admirable decision, when he beheld the retreat of the 3rd and 71st Regiments, galloped down from his eminence, leaped his horse over the fence of the road, met the latter regiment indignant at being withdrawn from the fight, and turned them back, delighted to renew the combat; then leading in person one brigade of Le Cor's Reserve to the same quarter, sent the other against d'Armagnac on the hill by Vieux Moguerre. Thus at the decisive moment the French reserve was augmented, and that of the Allies was thrown into action as a last resource. Meanwhile Ashworth's Caçadores and the wing of the 50th held the little wood with * The colonels commanding the 3rd and 71st were both dismissed the service.-Napier. unflinching courage, never doubting that their tried comrades of the Gordon Highlanders would soon return to their assistance; and their confidence was not misplaced, for as soon as the 92nd had time to re-form its shattered ranks, its gallant colonel, on foot-for his horse had been killed under him— again led the battalion down the road, with colours flying and bagpipes playing, "resolved to give the shock to whatever stood in the way.' At this sight the British skirmishers on the flanks suddenly changed from retreat to attack, rushed forward and drove the enemy back on each side; yet the battle seemed hopeless; Ashworth was badly wounded, his line was shattered to atoms, and Barnes, who had not quitted the field for his former hurt, was now shot through the body. The 92nd was but a very small body compared with the mass in its front, for some of their companies were extended as Light Infantry,† and the French soldiers seemed willing enough to close with the bayonet; but an officer riding at their head suddenly turned his horse, waved his sword, and appeared to order a retreat; then they faced about and retired across the valley in good order, scarcely pursued by the victorious Highlanders, so exhausted were they by their several desperate encounters. The enemy's retreat was produced by the bold advance of the 92nd, and the returning rush of the skirmishers thus encouraged; but the 71st had returned with such alacrity to the combat, and were so well aided by Le Cor's Portuguese, Generals Hill and Stewart leading them in person, that the French were overthrown there also, at the same time that the 92nd came down the causeway in such gallant style. These deeds were witnessed by the French at Villefranque, where Pringle had given them enough to do, and now, disheartened, they fell back in confusion. Meanwhile the Portuguese, detached by Hill to recover the Moguerre ridge, had ascended under heavy fire from Soult's guns, rallied the 3rd Regiment in time to stop the First Brigade of French, who had passed Byng's flank; and while the fire of musketry and cannon continued, the contending * Napier. Two companies of the 92nd had also been detached before noon to support the troops in the left centre. |