Dec.]

LETTER OF MR. FRERE.

19

The first letter of Mr. Frere contained a reiteration of his entreaties, that Sir John Moore would suspend his resolution of retiring on Portugal. The enthusiasm pervading Madrid, he said, so far transcended all his hopes, that he could not forbear urging, in the strongest manner, not only the propriety, but the necessity, of supporting the determination of the Spanish people by every possible assistance. "I have no hesitation," continued Mr. Frere, "in taking upon myself any degree of responsibility which may attach to this advice, as I consider the state of Spain to depend absolutely, for the present, on the resolution you may adopt. I say, for the present; for such is the spirit and character of the country, that, even if abandoned by the British, I should by no means despair of ultimate success."

The resolution of Sir John Moore was at length shaken by these official statements. It was impossible to suspect that the Junta would deceive him in a mere matter of fact. He could not suppose that a person of Mr. Frere's known perspicacity had become the dupe of a mere flimsy delusion. Of the ardour and effervescence of the popular spirit, Colonel Charmilly declared himself to have been a personal witness. To discover the real state of affairs, under such representations, when cut off from all sources of more authentic intelligence, was beyond the power of human penetration.

Sir John Moore, therefore, decided on

Dated Dec. 5.] a change of plan. He sent immediate orders to Sir David Baird, directing him to stop his retrogressive march, and to make arrangements for returning to Astorga. In these orders, the caution and prudence of the general were admirably displayed. "The city of Madrid have taken up arms, have refused to capitulate to the French, are barricading their streets, and say they are determined to suffer every thing rather than submit. This arrests the French; and people who are sanguine

20 TRANSMITS ORDERS TO HOPE AND BAIRD, [1808. entertain great hopes from it. I own, myself, I fear this spirit has arisen too late, and the French are now too strong to be resisted in this manner. However, there is no saying; and I feel myself the more obliged to give it a trial, that Mr. Frere has made a formal representation, which I received this evening. I must beg, therefore, that you will suspend your march until you hear from me again, and make arrangements for your return to Astorga, should it be necessary."

On the day following, he wrote as follows:-" Let

Estab

all your preparations, as far as provisions, Dec. 6.] &c. go, continue to be made for a retreat, in case that should again become necessary. lish one magazine at Villa Franca, and one or two farther back; to which let salt-meat, biscuit, rum or wines, forage, &c. be brought up from Corunna. Send me, to Zamora, two regiments of cavalry, and one brigade of horse artillery, keeping one regiment of cavalry, and one brigade of horse-artillery with yourself; and send your troops by brigades to Benevente. The enemy have nothing at present in that direction ; and we must take advantage of it, and, by working double tides, make up for lost time. By means of the cavalry patrols, you will discover any movementsjimmediately near you; and take for granted, you have got other channels of information; and both you and me, although we may look big, and determine to get every thing forward, yet we must never lose sight of this, that, at any moment, affairs may take that turn that will render it necessary to retreat." The preceding order reached Sir David Baird at Villa Franca, late on the seventh of DecemDec. 7.] ber, when in full retreat on Corunna; and the movement was immediately arrested. The position of the army at Salamanca had now become materially improved. Sir John Hope, who, in order to avoid the enemy, had advanced by a circuitous rout, was already at Alba de Tormes, and,

Dec.]

TO EFFECT A JUNCTION.

21

by a movement to the left, the junction of the whole army was secure.

In the meanwhile, the change which had taken place in the mind of the general was unknown in Salamanca. Charmilly, supposing, from the tone of those around him, that the circumstances under which he was to deliver the second letter had occurred, presented it to Sir John Moore. It ran thus:

"Sir,-In the event, which I did not wish to presuppose, of your continuing the determination already announced to me, with the army under your command, I have to request that Colonel Charmilly, who is the bearer of this, and whose intelligence has already been referred to, may be examined before a Council of war.-I have, &c. J. H. FRERE."

That Sir John Moore should feel indignant at the receipt of such a letter was natural. He considered Mr. Frere as unwarrantably intruding on his office as Commander of the forces, and attempting to control him, by a Council of war, to act against the dictates of his judgment. He tore the letter in pieces, and dismissed the messenger from his presence. Nor did his resentment rest here. On the day following, Charmilly received an order to quit Salamanca, which, after a fruitless attempt to procure its revocation, he was compelled to obey.

On a calm review of the circumstances connected with this unpleasant collision, we feel little disposed to attribute blame to either party.-Both unquestionably decided on the purest and most conscientious motives. Both were animated by a vehement desire to act as might most contribute to the honour of their country, and the interest of the common cause.-The style of Mr. Frere, indeed, is somewhat less courteous than might have been expected from so accomplished a diplomatist; and the opinions of Sir John Moore were certainly entitled to greater respect than the minister seemed

22 SIR JOHN MOORE'S REPLY TO MR. FRERE. [1808.

inclined to accord them; but the question on which they differed was one on which men, zealous for the same end, might arrive at dissimilar conclusions, without imputation on the motives of either.

In truth, the minds of Mr. Frere and Sir John Moore were of different mould and consistency. The one, ardent and enthusiastic, was disposed to rely with too facile a credence on the energy and devotion of the assertors of a noble cause. The other, too strongly disgusted perhaps, with repeated proofs of ignorance and imbecility in the Spanish leaders, regarded the scene around him with the eye of a general. He felt little disposed to anticipate a fortunate issue to the resistance which popular enthusiasm might oppose to military skill and highly disciplined troops. They beheld the same events through different media, and in both cases they were modified and refracted by their respective peculiarities of vision.

The resentment of Sir John Moore however, strong as it might be at the moment of receiving the offence, did not lead him to forget the respect due to the minister of his Sovereign. His answer to Mr. Frere's communications was mild and dignified: “I shall abstain," said he, "from any remark on the two letters delivered to me last night and this morning, by Colonel Charmilly. I certainly did feel and express much indignation at a person like him being made the channel of a communication of that sort from you to me. These feelings are at an end, and I dare say they will never be excited towards you again. If Mr. Charmilly is your friend, it was perhaps natural for you to employ him; but I have prejudices against all that class, and it is impossible for me to put any trust in him." He informed Mr. Frere, that the order for retreat had been countermanded, and that he had put himself in communication with the Marques de la Romana, at Leon. He declared his readiness to do every thing in his power

Dec.] HE COMMUNICATES HIS PLANS TO ROMANA, 23

for the assistance of Madrid and the Spanish cause; but stated the impossibility of a direct movement on the capital, from the circumstance of the passes of Guadarama and Somosierra being already in possession of the French, and from the weakness of his army, until it should have formed a junction with the corps of Sir David Baird.

Having at length adopted the resolution to advance, Sir John Moore wrote to the Marques de la Romana, informing him of this change in his decision, and expressing a strong wish for the speedy junction of their armies, in order that combined efforts might be made for the support of Madrid. The account of his army, however, given by the Spanish General, was abundantly discouraging. He had twenty thousand men under arms; but they were stated to be in the very worst condition with regard to equipment. The soldiers were without havresacks, cartridge-boxes, or shoes, and many even without clothing; yet their spirit was undaunted, and, if sufficiently provisioned, they would discharge their duty in the field.

The Marques likewise stated, that he would gladly have formed an immediate junction, with the view of advancing to the relief of the capital, were he not prevented from abandoning his present position by a corps of eight or ten thousand men posted between Sahagun and Almanza, the apparent object of which was to check his movements. Any approach to the British army would leave, to this corps, free ingress into Asturias, from whence he drew large supplies, and would likewise endanger Gallicia. A combined movement with Sir David Baird, however, might oblige them to fall back on Reynosa, and, in that event, he should be ready to unite his army with the English.

Dec. 7.]

On the seventh, Sir John Moore was informed, by a communication from the Junta of Toledo, that they intended to reunite the dispersed armies in that quarter, and de