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156

CHARACTERISTIC TRAIT OF NAPOLEON.

[A.D. himself resolved to quit Madrid on the 18th, and to march against the English army by Villacastia, Arevalo, and Tordesillas. The British advance had already reached this latter place on the 24th, when Moore became awakened to the danger of his position. He had heard of Soult's retreat at the same time that Romagna apprised him that the Emperor was advancing by forced marches, and saw that it was impossible to reach Soult before Napoleon should arrive in the rear. He therefore gave orders for an immediate retreat, satisfied at having so far succeeded in the task imposed upon him, as that he had withdrawn the Emperor from the capital. He quitted Sahagun on the 24th, and on the 28th reached Benevente. The weather was most inclement, so much so, indeed, that when Napoleon was leading his army through the passes of the Guadarama, his artillery was so overwhelmed by a snowstorm that they could scarcely proceed, and a column of infantry actually retreated before its violence. The conqueror who had so recently made a glorious winter campaign in Poland was not, however, to be overcome by a snowstorm in the mountains of Spain, and, therefore, immediately riding to the front of the column in person and dismounting from his horse, he formed the chasseurs of the Guard into sub-divisions the width of the road, on foot, who, leading their horses, pressed forward, forming a shelter to those who followed; and in this way they accomplished the passage of the mountain, but were obliged from the fatigue of the march, which the Emperor shared à la Bonaparte, to halt and pass the night at the post-house or Espinar. This is a characteristic trait of the great General, showing how well he knew the way to enlist the feelings of his soldiers on the side of his own selfish ambition. When the mule arrived, which brought him up the simplest luxuries of the table, he shared his fire and his meal with those who were the most overcome, and next morning led the march as before. He came up with Ney's corps at Rio Seco, whence he marched to Valderas on the 28th; and the following day approached Benevente.

35. BRITISH CAVALRY AFFAIR AT BENEVENTE.

The British cavalry reached Castro Gonzalo on the 27th, and crossed the Esla, where they destroyed the bridge leading into Benevente; but they had encountered the enemy in their retrograde movement, and had already had a successful cavalry affair near Villapando. Sir John Moore, hearing of the near approach of Napoleon, now ordered the destruction of all stores, and appealed to the British army to refrain from the excesses to which they had shown thus early an inclination to commit. There are two roads leading from Benevente, and while Moore took that by Astorga, Hope marched by La Banessa, and Lord Paget continued to cover the retreat with the cavalry. Early on the morning of the 29th a French officer was observed reconnoitring the fords of the Esla, near the destroyed bridge of Castel Gonzalo, and presently, between 500 or 600 cavalry of the Imperial Guard were observed to cross over the river. They

1809.]

AFFAIR AT BENEVENTE.

157

were led by Lefebvre-Desnouettes, a dashing cavalry officer, who had already highly distinguished himself. Colonel Otway immediately formed up the pickets, who amounted to about 220 men, and these retired slowly, showing a good face to the enemy. The first French squadron were in the act of charging, when Lord Paget came to the front with the 10th hussars and overturned them in a headlong rush, taking General Lefebvre and some 70 horsemen prisoners. This was the most serious affair in which the British cavalry had yet been engaged. The enemy's force consisted of tried soldiers, and they fought in a manner not unworthy of their reputation. It was a very spirited conflict, most creditable to the English cavalry, who lost in the conflict about 50 killed and wounded, the French losing 130 killed and 70 prisoners. On the 30th, the British General reached Astorga, and found Romagna's corps already arrived there before him. This was exceedingly irritating to Sir John, but he continued his retreat next day on Villa Franca. Soult crossed the Esla on the same day, and on the 31st of December Napoleon came up with his head-quarters to Astorga, and there, from causes not at that time intelligible, gave up the further pursuit of the British to Marshal Soult. It is now known that he had received information that the Austrians were really preparing to take the field, which obliged him to hasten back to Paris to make the required preparations to meet this new emergency.

1809.

1. PENINSULAR WAR-SIR JOHN MOORE'S RETREAT.-2. BATTLE
OF CORUÑA-DEATH OF THE BRITISH GENERAL.-3. MILITARY
CHARACTER OF GENERAL SIR JOHN MOORE.-4. ULTERIOR OPERA-
TIONS IN THE NORTH OF SPAIN.-5. SECOND SIEGE AND CAPTURE
OF ZARAGOZA.-6. MILITARY CHARACTER OF THE CAPTAIN-GE-
NERAL PALAFOX, DUQUE DE ZARAGOZA.—7. MARSHAL SOULT
ENTERS OPORTO. 8. BATTLES OF MEDELLIN AND CIUDAD
REAL. -
9. GENERAL WELLESLEY WITH A BRITISH ARMY LANDS
IN PORTUGAL DRIVES SOULT OUT OF OPORTO.- 10. NAVAL
WAR ADMIRAL WILLAUMEZ SAILS OUT OF BREST TO ROCHE-
FORT. -11. THE FRENCH FLEET ATTACKED BY FIRE SHIPS IN
BASQUE ROADS. -12. CAPTURE OF THE FRENCH COLONIES OF
CAYENNE AND MARTINIQUE BY THE BRITISH. -13. WAR IN
GERMANY.-14. THREE AUSTRIAN ARMIES CROSS THE FRONTIER
IN GERMANY, ITALY, AND THE TYROL.-15. THE ARCHDUKE JOHN
DESCENDS UPON ITALY BATTLE OF SACILE. - 16. THE TYROL
BREAKS INTO INSURRECTION UNDER ANDREAS HOFER.- - 17.
NAPOLEON ASSUMES THE COMMAND OF THE FRENCH ARMY ON THE
DANUBE.-18. BATTLE OF ABENSBERG-CAPTURE OF LANDSHUT.
19. BATTLE OF ECKMÜHL
ENTRY INTO RATISBON.
NAPOLEON MARCHES ON VIENNA-BLOODY FIGHT AT EBENSBERG.
21. PROGRESS OF THE CAMPAIGN IN ITALY, THE TYROL, AND
POLAND.-22. NAPOLEON CROSSES THE DANUBE.-23. BATTLE OF

20.

158

PENINSULAR WAR.

[A.D.

ESSLING OR ASPERN.-24. THE FRENCH ARMY WITHDRAWS INTO THE ISLAND OF LOB-AWE.-25. DEATH AND MILITARY CHARACTER OF MARSHAL LANNES.- 26. THE VICEROY OF ITALY JOINS THE GRAND ARMY- BATTLE OF RAAB.-27. SIX WEEKS IN LOB-AWE.-28. NAPOLEON QUITS THE ISLAND.- 29. BATTLE OF WAGRAM.-30. RETIREMENT AND MILITARY CHARACTER OF THE ARCHDUKE CHARLES OF AUSTRIA.-31. WAR IN SCANDINAVIA — CHANGE OF DYNASTY IN SWEDEN.- 32. WAR IN POLAND.— 33. WAR IN ITALY AND THE IONIAN ISLANDS. 34. NAPOLEON ANNEXES ROME TO HIS EMPIRE.-35. WAR RENEWED BETWEEN RUSSIA AND TURKEY-BATTLE OF TARTARIZZA.—36. WALCHEREN EXPEDITION.-37. PENINSULAR WAR.-38. BATTLE OF TALAVERA. 39. COMBATS AT ARZOBISPO AND ALMONACID.-40. WELLINGTON ORDERS THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE LINES OF LISBON. 41. HE REORGANISES THE BRITISH COMMISSARIAT.- 42. RISE OF THE GUERILLA SYSTEM IN SPAIN. 43. THIRD SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF GERONA-A FRENCH SQUADRON DESTROYED AT CETTE.— 44. THE SPANISH ARMIES DEFEATED AT OCANA AND ALBA DE TORMES. 45. TREATY OF VIENNA NAPOLEON MARRIES AN ARCHDUCHESS.-46. NAVAL WAR-FRENCH FRIGATES SUCCESSFUL IN THE INDIAN OCEAN.-47. BOAT ENGAGEMENTS.-48. COLONIAL WAR.-49. WAR IN THE EAST-PERSIA, SCINDIA, AND TRAVANCORE.

-

1. PENINSULAR WAR

- SIR JOHN MOORE'S RETREAT.

THE weather was dreadful. Rain or snow, with its attendant mud, rendered the roads almost impassable, as well to the pursued as to the pursuers. The latter did not venture to press back the former, for there was at all times readiness enough on the part of the retreaters to stand and fight, and every turn in the road was a position. Indeed, a retreat is always bitter to soldiers; and a British army is in this respect greatly inferior to a French one, where each soldier reasons like a general, and whether he is ordered away in a movement to the front, flank, or rear, the moustache gris knows that such manœuvres have often led to victory, and he therefore consoles himself with the idea that it will do so now; but the British soldier chafes under the presumed disgrace and privations of a retrograde movement, and becomes, under the mixed feelings it generates, very insubordinate, and difficult to keep in a state of discipline. The Commander-inChief, who knew his men well, and who was notoriously of a mild and conciliatory but firm demeanour, was constantly with his rearguard, doing his utmost to restrain the excesses which it is impossible absolutely to prevent in retreating armies. 'A curious anecdote is related among the incidents of Moore's retreat, and as it is almost a proverb, that what is to be found in a printed book is to be believed, it shall be related in the exact terms in which General Savary, Duc de Rovigo, gives it in his Mémoires: "Nous trouvions beaucoup de chevaux de la cavallerie anglaise mort sur le chemin, et nous rémarquions qu'il leur manquait à tous un pied. Nous apprîmes depuis

1809.]

THE FRENCH PRESS THE RETREAT.

159

que le cavalier anglais qui perdait son cheval était obligé d'en apporter la pied à son capitaine pour lui prouver qu'il était mort, autrement il aurait été suspecté de l'avoir vendu."

There are two roads leading to the coast from Astorga, one by Orense to Vigo, the other by Lugo to Coruña. As it was necessary to prevent any attempt on the part of the enemy to cut into the line of retreat, Brigadier Craufurd was desired to take the former of these two roads, and Sir John Moore, with the main army, continued the retreat by Villa Franca. On the 3rd, while Sir John was with the rearguard, 4,000 or 5,000 French, under General Merle, came rather sharply upon the 95th, between Cacabellos and Pietros. The regiment was immediately withdrawn across the river by a bridge, and thrown into some vineyards on the hills commanding it. As the sharpshooters retired, the French cavalry, under General Colbert, came up, and charging their rear, made some prisoners. He then sent some dismounted voltigeurs across the stream, who were driven back with considerable slaughter, and the General, eager to lead on his chasseurs, was struck by a musket-ball in the forehead. As the French now showed a greater disposition to press the retreat, Moore ordered Hope to halt at Lugo, where there was a position in which he determined to show front and offer battle to the enemy. It may be useful to note in this place, that in a retreat it is for the most part desirable to avail yourself of any strong ground which you may pass over to check the too vigorous advance of the enemy, who is often in loose order, and is on that account more easy to overcome; and also because it affords a moment to reorganise your divisions. Moreover, the chances of

success are in your favour, for if you conquer you cheer your soldiers, and give them confidence and endurance; and if you are defeated you can scarcely be worse off than when the advance galls you, and when you see all discipline almost at an end; in truth, you must occasionally hazard failure, as a soldier hazards death for a sufficient object. There was a descent in the road at Constantino, where there is a bridge, and Sir John, apprehensive that this might be taken advantage of by the French, directed Lord Paget to keep back the advance. Some skirmishing, accordingly, ensued until night fell, when the rear-guard fell back on Lugo. Lugo stands on an eminence above one of the tributaries of the Minho; it is a walled town, but surrounded by cultivated enclosures, which offer good cover for marksmen and impede the action of cavalry.

On the same day that the British halted here, namely, the 6th, Marshal Soult had reached San Juan de Corbo. Here he also assumed a position equally strong. His right rested on the river Tamboga, his left on some precipitous and intersected acclivities. No sooner did the British army halt and see a prospect of a fight, than the disorder which had hitherto accompanied the retreat ceasedinsubordination was at an end, stragglers came up from the rear, and, hastening to join their regiments, fell into their places. Never was such a revulsion of feeling in troops more decided-it was instantaneous and striking. On the 7th, the enemy had apparently

160

BRITISH SACRIFICE MUCH TREASURE.

[A.D. collected his strength, and opened a cannonade which was promptly responded to by the British artillery, and a feint was made on the British right; but Soult saw that he was not yet in a position to make a successful onslaught, and accordingly he rested his army and postponed his attack, first till the 8th and then till the 9th. The British General was well aware that it would be the height of imprudence in him either to attack the French position or remain so long in his own as to give his adversary the advantage. Accordingly, in the night of the 8th or 9th, the retreat was resumed, and, unhappily, its horrors also. The troops, jaded and half famished, got into complete disorganisation, and a great part of the army became little better than a confused crowd of stragglers. The usuai accompaniment of panic would have yielded many prisoners to the enemy if his pursuit had been more vigorous. In so long a retreat much baggage was undoubtedly lost; and at one point it was found necessary to sacrifice treasure to the amount of 25,000l., by throwing it over a precipice, and it is not known whether the French soldiers or the Spanish peasants benefited by the sacrifice, or whether it still remains undiscovered. On the 10th, General Paget, with the reserve, halted at Betanzos, where there was a slight affair of outposts, and on the 11th the army reached Coruña still entire, and without having left a gun or a colour in the possession of the enemy. Jomini says of the retreat to Coruña: "Je n'ai jamais bien compris à cette fugue dont les Anglais se sont bien lavés, mais qui ne le cède à aucune autre de ce genre." Yet the truth revolts against this assertion. An army composed of young troops, and commanded by inexperienced officers, sustains unshaken for eleven days the pursuit of veteran troops led on by such chiefs as Ney and Soult, resting three days out of the eleven; and at the end of its march can fight, repulse the assailant, and embark in his presence and in his despite! This was no flight, nor even a precipitate retreat. But, on nearing Coruña, Sir John saw with alarm that the transports had not arrived; and, although his design was to embark without fighting, yet he had now nothing left but to accept battle in the best position he could select to check the French, who came up to the ground behind the river Mero, on the morning of the 12th.

2. BATTLE OF CORUÑA DEATH OF THE BRITISH GENERAL.

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On reconnoitring the ground before Soult came up, the British General found a natural position of great strength-the left resting on the tidal river, Mero, at the bridge of El Burgo, and the right on a conical hill behind the hamlet of Castries; but it was too extensive for the army he had with him, and too removed from the harbour; he was accordingly compelled to adopt a parallel but lower range and to leave the commanding heights to the enemy. This position was indeed a bad one, but it was without question the only one; and some of his Generals, impressed with the melancholy aspect of affairs, thought it their duty to counsel Sir John Moore

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