1809.] EXTRAORDINARY COURAGE OF THE BESIEGED.

291

The Spanish irregulars and Blake, with such troops as he had been able to bring together again, were active in the open country to annoy and interrupt the operations of the siege. The Migneletes, under Claros and Rovisa, attacked a convoy on the side of Figueras, and 9,000 men menaced the communications on the side of Hostalrich. Blake so skilfully worked these annoyances, and so effectually distracted the attention of the besiegers, that Garcia Conde, with 1,500 mules laden with munitions de guerre et de bouche, and 3,000 men, were enabled to penetrate into Gerona, on the 1st of September, and O'Donnel, with a division of 1,500, got even to the heights of the Capuchins, and remained posted there till the 5th. The courage of the besieged was again elevated to an extraordinary degree by these successful adventures, and the besiegers for a time were even compelled to suspend their operations; but on the 11th the cannonade recommenced, and on the 16th three breaching batteries opened against the old walls. On the 18th these were declared practicable on the side overlooking the Galligan, and Alvarez made all the preparations which skill and courage could suggest to repel the threatened assault. On the 19th, at 2 o'clock in the forenoon, 4,000 men advanced to the attack. The drums immediately sounded, and the toscin was rung from all the churches in the town, which brought down to the defence not only the garrison but almost the whole population. Men and women, monks and children. entered without confusion upon the duties assigned to each, and calmly awaited death in the unusual service demanded of them for the honour of their country. A terrific fire of artillery covered the approach of the assailants, and scattered death among the crowd of defenders; and notwithstanding the energy of the attack, the French could make no impression. The fury of the defence was such, that immense stones were hurled down the heights upon the heads of the soldiers, while the discharge of fire-arms was incessant. The struggle was long and severe. Three times did the besiegers attempt in vain to force an entrance, until at length, at about o'clock, after a hard conflict of three hours' duration, they were glad to draw off, with the loss of 600 killed and 1,000 wounded, including 3 colonels and a number of inferior officers, all greatly dejected at this signal failure of their greatest effort.

It was now determined to convert the siege into a blockade, and the disputes between Generals St. Cyr and Verdier having arisen to an inconvenient height, General Augereau was sent to take the command. The situation of the garrison and inhabitants, however, had become one of accumulated and intolerable suffering. Famine was in all their dwellings, and dysentery was so fatal among the population that the way to the burial-place was never vacant. But the besiegers were suffering at the same time almost as much as the besieged from want of provisions. The Somatemes from the mountains round about had rendered their supply extremely uncertain and hazardous, and the vigilance of Lord Collingwood defeated all attempts to assist them by sea.

On the 21st of October, Rear-Admiral Baudin, with "Le Robarte,"

292

ALACRITY OF BRITISH SEAMEN.

[A.D.

80, Captain Legras, "Le Borée," 74, Captain Laiguel, and “Le Lion." 74, Captain Bonami, with the frigates "La Pauline," 40, and "La Pomone," 40, and a fleet of armed store ships and transports, broke the blockade of Toulon, and sailed for Barcelona. The British Admiral, who had now established his cruising-ground off Cape St. Sebastian, to intercept the French Admiral, upon learning of the sortie, ordered Rear-Admiral Martin in the "Canopus," 80, Captain Inglis, bearing his flag, having under him "Renown," 74, Captain Philip Dushaw, "Tigre," 74, Captain Benjamin Hallowell, "Sultan," 74, Captain Griffith, "Leviathan," 74, Captain John Harvey, and "Cumberland," 74, Hon. Captain Wodehouse, to chase the enemy. Every stitch of canvas they could crowd was set by the British ships, in the hope of bringing their opponents to action before dark, but the sailing of the French ships was so good that this could not be accomplished until the 25th, when "Le Robarte " and "Le Lion," finding themselves chased too closely, ran on shore near the harbour of Cette, and "Le Borée" and "La Pauline only just succeeded in reaching that harbour, although it scarcely contained water enough to float them. The British ships accordingly hauled their wind and stood off, but Admiral Baudin, seeing the mizen-masts of both the stranded ships go by the board, ordered them on the 26th to be fired by their own crews, and both blew up with a tremendous explosion. Admiral Martin, having thus caused the failure of the convoy, returned to report to Lord Collingwood, who, finding that the five ships of war thus accounted for were all which had escaped from Toulon, returned to the blockade, and detached Captain Hallowell with the "Tigre," " Cumberland," and "Volontaire," with the "Apollo" and "Topaz” frigates, to attempt the capture or destruction of the seven merchant-vessels and the several store ships, which had anchored for safety under the roads and batteries of the bay of Rosas. On the evening of the 31st of October, Hallowell arrived in sight of them, when the boats of the squadron were immediately manned, and under the command of Lieutenant Tailour, first of the "Tigre," pushed off to execute the business assigned them; and, notwithstanding the fire of the ships and batteries, and of musketry from the shore, such was the alacrity of the British tars, that before the day opened on the 1st of November, every French vessel in the bay was either burned at her moorings, or brought off by the aid of a light wind from the land. The total loss to the British in these affairs was 15 killed and 55 wounded, including among the latter Lieutenant Tailour, who was among the foremost in the fight.

Marshal Augereau had no sooner assumed the command of the besieging army before Gerona than he set himself to work to obtain fresh supplies from France, and convoys already began to arrive in the French camp; but, hearing that a great convoy was also preparing under O'Donnel, at Hostalrich, for the relief of the besieged, he resolved to inaugurate his command by driving the Spaniards out of that town; and, having now effected this, he became master of the large magazines which had been formed there for the re

1809.]

HEROIC PATRIOTISM OF ALVAREZ.

293

victualment of Gerona. This event was depressing to the devoted inhabitants, as it not only deprived them of all hope of further relief, but gave plenty to the French camp. Moreover, no hope of external assistance longer remained to the city; and, to add to their distress, the brave Alvarez, whom no danger nor disaster could discourage, was at this time seized with the fever, and reduced to the last extremity. The report now made to the Governor by the chief of the medical staff-a mournful record- which still exists, tells a frightful tale of the horrors which reigned at this juncture within the devoted city. The bombardment had rendered every house uninhabitable, and torn up the streets so that the rain water and the sewerage stagnated in them. The dead bodies of the slain, and of those who had died of the pestilence, lay rotting amidst the ruins. The unnatural atmosphere affected even the gardens, for the fruits withered, and scarcely a vegetable could be raised. On the 2nd of December the guns were again opened against the unhappy city, and this time from the other side of the river. A sortie was repulsed, and the ammunition of the garrison was reduced to a very low ebb, so that the Spanish fire became weaker and weaker. Don Julien de Bolivar had succeeded to the command after Alvarez was stricken, and he now summoned a council to determine what should be done. Further resistance was unanimously pronounced hopeless, and on the 10th, propositions were made for a surrender. Augereau, happy to get possession of the place on any conditions, conceded honourable terms to the brave survivors of the defence of Gerona, who opened its gates to the conqueror, having held out for seven months with a courage and constancy that demand an immortality of praise. 4,300 soldiers, with their heroic governor, Alvarez, gave up their arms, but 15,000 had perished by the sword or disease. Alvarez was permitted by the terms of the capitulation to choose any place of residence within the French frontier, but Augereau, with brutal harshness, shut him up in a dungeon at Figueras, where he soon after died. "So long as virtue and courage shall be esteemed in the world, the name of Alvarez will, however, survive among those of heroic patriots; and, if Augereau forgot what was due to his merits, posterity will not omit to do full justice to both.”*

44. THE SPANISH ARMIES DEFEATED AT OCANA AND

ALBA DE TORMES.

The Central Junta, undeterred by the successive defeats of the Spanish armies in the field, still urged their commanders to continue their imprudent tactics, aud intrusted to General Areizaja, a very young man, who had gained some experience under Blake, and now succeeded Cuesta in the insane project of an advance upon Madrid. Blake himself had been recently defeated at Belchite by Suchet, and Areizaja, on the 16th of November, encountered King Joseph at Ocaña, on the great road from Seville to Aranjuez. The Spanish * Napier.

294

DEPRESSION OF SPANISH TROOPS.

[A.D.

troops did, indeed, here stand firm for a time against an attack made by Laval, under cover of a terrible battery of 30 guns, and had, with loud shouts, gallantly received the onset of the enemy, their guns in position at the same time keeping up a heavy and destructive cannonade against the assailants, whose leading ranks wavered and fell back. Soult, however, who was present as Major-General, ordered up Gerard's division to the aid of Laval, and this prompt succour restored the battle, and soon gave the French a complete victory. Areizaja took to flight, and his army dispersed in all directions, leaving behind 20,000 prisoners. 45 guns, and all their ammunition. The battle of Ocaña was quickly followed by the reduction of Cordoba and Seville, and thus a way was opened to beleaguer Cadiz.

The disastrous battle which thus laid open the southern provinces of Spain was speedily followed by another scarcely less ruinous in the north. The Duque del Parque had for some time kept his ground in the neighbourhood of Salamanca, where, being joined by the Lusitanian Legion, under Sir Robert Wilson, he occasioned great annoyance to the enemy. In the middle of October, be succeeded in defeating General Marchand at the head of 10,000 foot, 1,200 cavalry, and 14 guns, and had obliged him to withdraw across the Douro, with a loss of 3,000 men. On November 17th, however, the same French division, reinforced and refreshed, advanced, under General Kellerman, against the Duke, to retrieve this disaster. The Spanish Grandee, elated by victory, determined on hazarding a battle at Alba de Tormes on the 23rd. Del Parque, indeed, obtained considerable success in this engagement; but, on the 25th, Kellerman came up against him with a large body of cavalry, before which the Spanish cavalry fled, but the infantry stood firm awhile, and enabled the Duke to retreat without any great loss, notwithstanding the repeated charges of the French horse upon their flanks, and he reached Tamames in some disorder; and such, indeed, was the depression of the troops, that the next morning they fled at the appearance of a French patrol, and separated in all directions, abandoning their whole artillery, ammunition, and carriages of every sort. Del Parque was left literally alone; nevertheless, in about a fortnight, he succeeded in rallying 12,000 or 15,000 of his men, and appeared in the mountains south of Ciudad Rodrigo at the head of an army, but destitute of guns and ammunition, and famishing from want.

By this victory the French were enabled, without further obstacle, to direct their views against Ciudad Rodrigo and to threaten Portugal, their terrible blows having now dispersed the only Spanish armies worthy of the name. Lord Wellington, therefore, wisely resolved to move his army from the banks of the Guadiana, where it had already suffered from the malaria prevalent in that district, in which he had been prevailed on by his brother, the Marquis Wellesley, to remain for the protection of Andalusia and Estramadura during this dangerous crisis in Spanish affairs. It has been charged against him as a military fault, that he stopped so long in a region that was proving fatal to both officers and men; but he remained

1809.]

WAR LET LOOSE UPON GERMANY.

295

with reluctance, and contrary to his own judgment. He seized the first favourable moment, therefore, to shift the army to the healthier and higher ground of the province of Beira, while he himself repaired in the beginning of December to Seville, when he was desirous of coming to some explanation with the Junta. On this occasion he met Lord Wellesley and Mr. Frere, and convinced them (as he afterwards succeeded in convincing the British Government) that the real question of the war was, whether it should be proceeded with for the defence of Spain from Cadiz, or that of Portugal from Lisbon. He admitted that he should have preferred the. former alternative, but for the inconvenience attached to Spanish interference. He was, however, satisfied that he could defend Portugal successfully against any advance of the French armies; and this was finally agreed upon. The aspect of affairs in the Peninsula had become so alarming at this juncture, that the Junta, overwhelmed with the public dissatisfaction, proclaimed the assembly of the Cortes.

50. THE TREATY OF VIENNA,

The armistice between the French and Austrian armies was followed by a definitive treaty of peace between Napoleon and Francis, which was ratified at Vienna on the 14th of October. It was declared to be common to the King of Bavaria, to whom the Tyrol, with an amnesty to the inhabitants who had taken part in the insurrection, was conceded. If any document was necessary to prove the utter wickedness of Napoleon's ambition, it was the treaty of Vienna. Here was a man, who had made the most extraordinary exertions to put an army in the field, and, having humbled his enemy, had to prescribe the terms of submission; yet this mighty conqueror had nothing to demand but that Austria should divest herself of the few miles of seashore she possessed, and should acknowledge his new pasteboard royalties. For this, human life was sacrificed in hecatombs, and the scourge of war let loose upon the whole of Germany.

The treaty was announced to the army by cannon, and the Emperor hastened his return to Paris on the plea of sending every disposable man into Spain to bring the contest in the Peninsula to a speedy issue. On the 12th of October, he had a grand review of his army at Schönbrunn, when an incident, which might almost have been prepared by his own agents, created an excitement which certainly very much advanced the object which had for some time entered his mind :-A young man, who attempted to force his way through the troops which kept the ground, on a plea of speaking to the Emperor, was found to have concealed in his dress a very long and very sharp knife, and admitted that he intended to strike the Emperor; but he could give no reason for this act, and was a mere youth, a German student, without any religious or political fanaticism. The public sympathy was of course raised in the conqueror's behalf, and showed itself in an un