CHAPTER XX.
Inthe afternoon of the 22d, the second division moved from its bivouac in front of Vittoria, passed through Salvateira, and towards the "wee short hour ayont the twal," encamped in a wood a few miles in front of it. During the march we were every moment presented with numerous evidences, animate and inanimate, of the total wreck of King Joseph's royal fortunes. Around, and on every side of us, lay men and horses, dead and dying, waggons of all descriptions, some overturned and emptied of their contents, others on their wheels, and filled with letters unopened and unheeded, although written to please the taste of every one in the army, being addressed to officers and soldiers of all ranks, from Jourdan down to the youngest drum-boy, on subjects grave, gay, and voluptuous. On passing a tremendous pile of letters, I presented a handful of them for acceptance to the Marquis of Almeida; but after a long tirade against Bonaparte, he politely declared that he would notsoil his fingers with them. The Marquis' hatred to the French was only equalled by that of Prince Blucher.
On passing Salvateira, our men were repeatedly invited by a dragoon, dressed in the uniform of a hussar, to join him in a full-flowing can, and he would "pay the piper." Our lads having expressed some doubts as to their new friend's ability to perform his promise, the latter instantly pulled from his boot a doubloon, and holding it up, told the sceptics that his boots were filled with similar pieces. How the cash came into the possession of the hussar it is for him to say; but I think we may infer that he obtained it without running any great hazard of losing a life, which, as a soldier, was worth nothing.
From the earliest period to the present, the armies of every nation have contained men who, unless narrowly looked after in action, are more apt to make war against theeffectsthan thepersonsof their enemies. To people of this stamp no leniency should at any time be shown, for in whatever light we may view a military plunderer, he must invariably appear to us dressed in the despicable garb of a traitor to his friends, his sovereign, and his country.
If soldiers would reflect on the ignominy which attaches to the name of a plunderer, and permit themselves to contrast his character with that of a soldier who retires from the service covered with honour,no man, possessing the feelings of areal soldier, would for a moment hesitate what course to pursue. The soldier who has discharged his duties faithfully and honourably, plods his way towards home with a breast swelling high with native pride, and when relating to a group of admiring relations and friends around the domestic hearth, his hair-breadth 'scapes by flood and field, receives their congratulations on his safe return, and hears their murmurs of applause, without the smallest blush on his cheek, being conscious that he has done his duty, and that none can upbraid him with one dishonourable act. Widely different indeed must the situation of the military plunderer be on arriving at his native place. There the bitter cup of self-conviction will invariably rise to his lips, and choak his utterance as often as he attempts to impose upon his friends with tales of war, in which he wishes them to believe he acted an honourable part. There he will spend a life of unceasing misery and extreme wretchedness; for although he may be removed far from any of those companions whose evidence could rise up in public against him, still the never-dying conscience will hourly remind him of the humiliating fact, that he had forfeited all pretensions to the designation of a soldier. Soldiers, therefore, would do well to bear these facts in constant remembrance, and unmindful of every thingsave their honour, conduct themselves at all times, and under all circumstances, in such a manner,that, on retiring from the busy scenes of a military life, they may have it in their power to say,
"The wars are o'er, and I'm returned,My hands unstained with plunder."
Sir Thomas Graham having been ordered to advance towards the French frontier, by the high road leading from Vittoria to Irun, came up with a French corps at Tolosa, which he attacked and defeated with considerable loss. After this rencounter, he continued his route, drove the enemy across the Bidassoa, and invested San Sebastian.
It being nearly four o'clock in the morning of the 23rd before our baggage arrived in camp, we had just thrown aside our wet clothes, and gone to rest, when those pests of every soldier's nocturnal repose—the bugles—again called us to arms. Although our sleep was short, yet a rather comfortable, but hurried repast, enabled us to strut away as gay as larks. But our gaiety unfortunately was short-lived, for in half-an-hour the rain again descended in torrents, and for five hours pelted us severely. Had we been moving, the rain would have given us little trouble. But by some unexplained mistake we were kept nearly five hours under arms, half-a-mile from where we started, when we ought to have been under cover of our canvass. Such mistakes should never escape censure, for the health of an army is of paramount importance to a general, and it must be injured by afew hours unnecessary exposure to a deluge of rain. Resuming our march, we drew two leagues nearer to Pampluna and encamped.
The Marquis of Wellington having pushed forward with the third, fourth, and light divisions towards Pampluna, the second and sixth divisions, and General Hamilton's division of Portuguese followed their friends at an early hour on the 24th. In the afternoon we were visited by a tremendous thunder storm. The lightning appeared before, behind, and on every side of us, in every shape which the electric fluid can be exhibited to the eye of man. The lightning flashed, and the thunder in terrific peals rolled over our heads in a manner so grand, yet appalling, that language is insufficient to convey to those who did not witness it, even a faint idea of the awfully sublime spectacle. At times the thunder growled for a few moments in a threatening manner, and then burst so suddenly upon our ears, that it was no uncommon thing to see numbers bending their heads, while the artillery of heaven was expending its wrath. About the time that the storm was at its height, Lieutenant Masterman of the 34th regiment was killed by the lightning, as was the mule on which he was mounted. Nine men of the same corps were also knocked down, but the most of them were but slightly injured. His watch was melted, and his sword belt was cut into as neat little square pieces, as the most expert tradesman could haveperformed a similar operation with a knife or scissors.
We continued our movement upon Pampluna on the 25th, 26th, and 27th, without meeting with any thing worthy of notice, save the smoking ruins of a few houses which the enemy had burned in their retreat, andoneof thetwopieces of artillery which Joseph Bonaparte carried with him from the fatal field of Vittoria, and which had been dismounted by some of the artillery brigades attached to the leading divisions two days before. In the evening of the 27th, we encamped in the vicinity of Pampluna.
As Sir Rowland Hill approached Pampluna, the Marquis of Wellington gradually withdrew a portion of the other divisions from before that fortress, and with the Spanish corps of General Mina, proceeded on the 27th to attempt the capture of General Clausel, who being too late to take part in the battle of Vittoria, was endeavouring to effect his escape into France, by a road to the eastward of Pampluna. Informed of the Marquis' intentions, Clausel wheeled to the right, and directed his march upon Saragosa. There being no visible prospect of bringing the enemy to action, the Marquis returned to Pampluna, and resigned the pursuit of the fugitives into the hands of the indefatigable Guerilla chief.
The French army was so much in want of provisions when it arrived under the walls of Pampluna,that Joseph was compelled to draw largely on the stores of the garrison to satisfy the cravings of his half-starved followers. This was a most egregious blunder on Jourdan's part, for it deprived the Governor of the means of prolonging the defence of the place beyond a very limited period.
On quitting Pampluna, the French army retired towards their own country in two columns, the principal part of it by the pass of Roncesvalles, the other by that of Maya. Conceiving that Jourdan would attempt to fortify the heights at both of those places, Lord Wellington pushed forward the third and fourth divisions, second brigade of the second division, and some Spanish and Portuguese troops towards the former; and the remaining brigades of the second division, and a brigade of General Hamilton's Portuguese division were ordered to proceed against the enemy at Maya.
Accordingly, about seven o'clock in the morning of the 2nd of July, the first, third, and fourth brigades of the second division, one brigade Portuguese infantry, a few pieces of artillery and some cavalry, moved from their encampment in front of Pampluna, and in the afternoon encamped near La-Zarza. Next morning we plodded our way under torrents of rain, to a bleak mountain a little in front of the village of Lanz and encamped. Early on the 4th we again moved forward, and about one o'clock arrived at Almandos, after a disagreeable tramp across the dreary pass of Lanz.A little in rear of the village, our columns closed up preparatory to an attack upon the enemy's position at Barrueta, three miles farther in advance.
About two o'clock, the first brigade led by General Steuart in person, entered Almandos, and on arriving at the centre of it, made a sharp turn to the right, filed through several fields by a narrow foot-path, descended the left bank of a deep ravine, crossed a small stream, and then scrambled up the right bank, for as the whole face of it was covered with round trundling stones, the operation was rather a difficult one. We at length, however, gained the summit, and on taking a view of the obstacles we had surmounted, we were not a little surprised that the enemy should have permitted us to obtain a footing in that quarter, without making an attempt to confine our operations within a more limited sphere. A few hundred men judiciously posted, might have accomplished this, at least, for some little time. On perceiving us fairly established on the left of the enemy's chain of advanced posts, Sir Rowland Hill gave orders for the other brigades to move through Almandos, thence along the high road towards Barrueta, and attack the French posts in front of that town. On being attacked, the latter retired across a ravine which runs in front of the village, and joined their main body, the left of which rested on the summit of a high and very steep mountain, the centre occupied the village of Barrueta, and the right extended to theBidassoa, the right bank of which they occupied with a few light troops. On retiring behind the ravine, the enemy lined the right bank, the Portuguese the left. Between them a smart fire of musketry was kept up with considerable animation for some time, during which the 50th regiment made an effort to carry the village. The latter went up to their antagonists in their usual gallant style, but the French brought forward a very superior force, and drove them back. To support the 50th in this operation, the left wing of the 92nd was pushed towards the village, and the right wing and 71st regiment kept in reserve. The services of the 92nd left wing, however, were not required, for before they reached the scene of action, the 50th had received orders to retire, Sir Rowland Hill not deeming it prudent to bring on a more general affair that evening.
The enemy being in the same position, the troops cooked early next morning, and on the arrival of the Marquis of Wellington about noon, resumed their arms, and moved against the enemy. Forming the right of our little army, the first brigade was ordered to ascend a high, steep, and extremely slippery mountain on our right, in order to throw itself in rear of the enemy's left wing. The operation was a fatiguing one; but on arriving at the summit of the hill, a peep of the French territory, and of the ocean, which the soldiers aptly enough called the high road to England, banished in an instantevery trace of fatigue, as the spontaneous and deafening cheers of our poor fellows sufficiently testified. Previous to this, the left column of the enemy paid but little attention to our demonstration against their extreme left, but the boisterous expression of feeling just alluded to, which the enemy had attributed to a cause very different from the real one, made them bestir themselves. Conceiving it to be General Gazan's intention to give us battle, we detached our light companies towards his left flank, and supported the movement with the rest of the brigade. The enemy's centre and right wing were attacked about the same time by our friends in the centre, and in a short time forced to retire from Barrueta. Gazan seeing his left wing turned, and his right wing and centre about to be driven from their stronghold behind the village, gave orders to those immediately opposed to us, to follow the example of their friends, and retire towards Elizonda.
There being but one road by which the enemy could retire, and that one too narrow for the rapid retreat of 7000 men, part of the French troops moved through corn fields between the road and the Bidassoa, and two or three battalions were thrown across the river, whither they were pursued by some Portuguese infantry. From the time Gazan began to retreat, he never attempted to make a stand, but occasionally turned round, and after peppering us for a few minutes from behinda wall, hedge, or from the windows of a house, again took to his heels. Some of our light troops on those occasions conceiving it imprudent to attack the enemy in their strongholds, flanked them by moving into the fields, so that the former were always ready to pour a few vollies of musketry on the latter, the moment they retired from their temporary forts. In this manner the retreat and pursuit were conducted till both parties arrived at Elizonda. To prevent a surprise, the enemy had previously run a wall round the town, from behind which, they annoyed our light troops as they closed upon them. The French being forced at length to yield possession of the southern entrance, we walked on, pursued the fugitives through the various streets amidst the loud acclamations of the inhabitants, who, before the enemy had finally relinquished their hold of the northern gate, were ringing a merry peal in honour of their deliverance. This spontaneous effusion of loyalty was so grating to the ears of the French soldiers, that, on taking leave of the town, they swore to be revenged on it the first time they returned.
On being driven from his position in the valley of Bastan, General Gazan retired with the main body of his corps to a high ridge at the head of the valley, and with his left foot in France, and his right foot in Spain, prepared to give us another meeting before he relinquished his hold of the last position he could now lay claim to in Spain. Thisposition was reconnoitred by the Marquis of Wellington on the 6th, and again on the morning of the 7th. At the close of the last reconnoissance, preparations were made for an immediate attack, with the view of ridding this part of the Peninsula of the presence of the invaders.
The right of General Gazan's corps occupied a high and very steep mountain, called the Rock of Maya. His centre columns were posted on two heights considerably lower than the other, and about a mile, and mile and half distant; and the left rested on another height still farther to the left. In front of the left centre there was a ridge which ran all the way to the village of Maya,—nearly two miles. On this ridge the enemy had placed some light troops, and again, a mile in front of Maya, another body to watch our motions.
The second brigade of the second division being encamped on the right bank of the Bidassoa, was pitched upon to attack the rock, while the other brigades should endeavour to drive the enemy from the other points of their position. Accordingly, the former got under arms about 11 o'clock,A.M.on the 7th of July, and ascended a mountain on their left, over which a narrow foot-path led to the rock, five miles distant. When the second brigade marched from its ground the sky was clear, but fortunately for our friends, a dense fog crowned the conical summit of the rock, just as they were about to cross an adjoining eminence, so much lower thanthe other, that but for this the enemy would have been able to form a correct estimate of the numerical strength of the attacking column. With the able assistance of this potent ally, the second brigade approached the enemy undiscovered, till they had arrived within a very short distance of the summit of the rock. They were no sooner perceived, however, than their opponents poured down on them showers of bullets; but the action, though severe, was very short, for, making use of the bayonet, the second brigade soon rid the summit of the mountain of the presence of the enemy.
In order to deceive the French General in regard to our real intentions, the other brigades remained quiet in their camp for nearly two hours after their companions had quitted theirs. By this little manœuvre the French were lulled into a fatal security, for, until they saw us fairly under arms, they fancied themselves reposing in perfect safety. On moving from our camp a little in front of Elizonda, we directed our steps towards Errazu, behind which the most advanced of the enemy's troops were stationed. As we approached them, they retired towards the village of Maya. At first they retired slowly, but the firing on the rock caused them latterly to accelerate their motion. The same cause made us imitate them, in order that we might be at hand to render our friends assistance should Gazan attempt to regain by force his lost possession.
The first brigade, followed by Colonel Ashworth's Portuguese, advanced rapidly up the valley, passed Maya at a trot, and then, with the 6th Caçadores on our left, moved towards the enemy, with whom our light companies soon came in contact. The firing at this point was kept up with considerable vivacity for some time, but with little loss to either party. Pending these operations of the light troops, the 6th Caçadores had advanced close to the enemy scattered over the northern slope of the rock, with the intention of preventing us communicating directly with the second brigade. A smart running fire was the consequence of this collision, which lasted with little intermission till night. Having succeeded in driving back the enemy, and establishing themselves in this post, the 50th regiment was ordered to a height upon their right, close and immediately opposite to the enemy's right columns. These various movements at length brought a considerable number of the combatants into close quarters. The shots at first were as usual rather long, but as the afternoon advanced they became shorter, till the 50th and the enemy were more than once on the point of crossing bayonets. Being rather hard pressed, the 92d regiment moved to their assistance, but the "old half-hundred" had in its usual off-hand manner repelled the assault previous to the arrival of their Highland brethren.
General Gazan heartily ashamed of having sogamely yielded up the possession of a post which he should have held while he had a man remaining, made many desperate attempts to regain it, but in all of them he was beat back with considerable loss. During the whole of the operations on the rock, nothing could exceed the conduct of the second brigade, 28th, 34th, and 39th regiments, all of whom had made up their minds to give their bodies to the eagles that hovered over their heads, rather than permit the enemy to lodge on the summit of the mountain that night. The 71st light infantry rendered us good and efficient service on our right, till night's sable mantle wrapt every earthly object in impenetrable darkness.
The fog being extremely dense, the night dark, and the French little more than two hundred yards from our advanced posts, we lay under arms the whole of the night. So very dark was it indeed, that on the skirmishers being called in, many of them did not really know which way to move to rejoin their battalions. In front, and on our left rank, numbers were, for hours after the action had ceased, bawling, some Français, others Portuguese. So completely were the poor devils at fault regarding the situations of their respective friends, that two French soldiers actually passed one of our piquets, and were made prisoners before they discovered their mistake.
At day-break on the following day, General Gazan made another attempt to regain the key ofhis position, but failing as before, he kept up a loose irregular firing till about seven o'clock, when, seeing he could make no impression in that quarter, he took advantage of the fog to retire with his corps into his own territory. Colonel Ashworth followed him some distance, and skirmished with his rear-guard till evening.
When General Gazan retired from the heights of Maya, General Stewart proceeded to look out for suitable ground for our brigade. In doing so, he spent fully two hours, there being no convenient spot but what had previously been occupied by the enemy. Before the General returned from his tour of inspection, a number had begun to grumble at the delay in placing us in camp. In this number was Captain H——s, of the 92d regiment, who would not give credit to the stories in circulation, relative to the not very praise-worthy habits of the French soldiery. Seeing that the Captain was not to be convinced, one of his brother-officers said to him in mere jest, "H——s, perhaps at this moment some of the gallopers may have already taken a fancy to you;" and then bending forward as if to examine whether such was not the case, he, to his own surprise, was able to convince the Captain of the fact by ocular demonstration. The Captain instantly sprung from the ground, and bounded along the heath like a deer for several hundred yards, stopping only twice to try whether an extraordinary shake of his pollutedankle would not assist him in getting rid of such vile intruders.
In the action of the 7th July, three Spanish peasants, inhabitants of Maya, joined our light troops, advanced into the very heat of the conflict, and fought with the most determined bravery, till one of them being killed, and another wounded, the third reluctantly quitted the scene of action to convey his friend back to his native village. Had the armies of Spain been composed of such men as these, the Peninsular contest would have been short indeed.
During the early French revolutionary wars, an opinion prevailed in the British army, that the French used poisoned balls. That this opinion still prevailed at the time of which I write, is evidenced by the fact, that on the evening of the 7th, I heard one of the 50th call out, as he passed us on his way to the rear, "I know I am a dead man, I have been wounded by a poisoned ball."
Conceiving it to be the duty of every officer in charge of a company to record every little anecdote, which can tend to illustrate the character or the men under their command, I cannot forbear to notice an act of coolness on the part of a young lad named M'Ewen, which cannot be too much admired. In the action of the 7th, a musket ball grazed his bonnet a little above the ear. Instead of alarming him, however, M'Ewen very coolly turned round his head to mark the progress of thebullet, and on seeing it bury itself in the earth a few yards in his rear, shook his head, and said, "O ye coaxing rascal."
Until we took possession of the heights of Maya, we really knew but little of the real discomforts of a camp. We had occasionally suffered severely from sleet, rain, and cold stiff gales, but such a thing as a hurricane was a total stranger to us. At Maya, however, our position was so exposed to the four wind's of heaven, that blow from whatever quarter it might, the wind always found us at its mercy. One evening, after we had retired to rest, our encampment was visited by a tremendous storm of wind and rain. The former howled, and the latter battered the slender sides of our tents with such fury, that many of them were blown down. Every precaution was instantly taken to keep the tent-poles and cords from snapping, but in many cases our efforts proved fruitless, for the wind continuing to increase for some time after, down came one tent, then another, and another, till more than a half of the whole were level with the ground. I had just fallen asleep, and was enjoying a very comfortable nap, when "Cast away, cast away!" from a well-known voice, rung in my ears, and roused me from my slumbers. I instantly started up, and fancying what had happened, pulled the strings of my tent, and gave the cast-away wanderer a hearty welcome. But scarcely had my friend recited his hair-breadth 'scape from suffocation, when appearancesboded nothing favourable to the little vessel in which we were. Our servants did all in their power to keep the pole upright, but seeing that to be impossible, I ordered them to haul it down, and then, in company with my brother-sufferer, proceeded on a voyage of discovery.
We proceeded, in the first instance, to the tent of three friends, which being more favourably situated than ours, we hoped would afford us shelter. On arriving there, however, all was desolation. We made two or three other unsuccessful attempts to obtain a temporary shelter from the surly blast; but despairing of finding it, and the night being extremely dark, we finally resolved to seek protection under the brow of the hill, and wait with patience the coming of the morning light. Pursuing our way, without a light or a guide, we had considerable difficulty in reaching a spot, where, protected, we might sit and hear the storm expend its fury over our heads. At length we got under cover, but had not been half-an-hour in our new berth, when our feet became so benumbed with cold, that we found it necessary to move about to bring them again to their natural heat. Wrapt in our cloaks, and with the rain battering in our faces, we were jogging along towards our arms, when all at once we came upon a tent which had withstood the fury of the storm. We were desired to walk in, and accept of what accommodation the inmates had to spare. We did so, but finding the tent prettywell filled with others similarly situated with ourselves, I left my friend Captain H—— under cover, and after a little more trouble I found out the residence of an old friend, where I remained during the remainder of the storm.
When day dawned, nothing but desolation was to be seen in our camp. Out of fifty tents, few were standing, more than the half of them were complete wrecks, and a number of the others were seriously injured. The men's arms and accoutrements were greatly damaged, and a considerable portion of our ammunition was destroyed.