CHAPTER XVIII.
Reports from France—More Desertion—Anecdote of General Stewart—Wellington and his Casualty Returns—The Courtesies of War—Scarcity of Transports—Wellington and the Trial-Papers—Sir G. Collier.Head-quarters, St. Jean de Luz,January 1, 1814.
Reports from France—More Desertion—Anecdote of General Stewart—Wellington and his Casualty Returns—The Courtesies of War—Scarcity of Transports—Wellington and the Trial-Papers—Sir G. Collier.
Head-quarters, St. Jean de Luz,January 1, 1814.
My dear M——,
Manyhappy new years to you and all your party! We are now quite quiet here, and have no news to communicate. We have repeatedly received reports of the arrival of an English mail, but it never comes. This may, however, arise from our having had three of the vessels at once on this side of the water.
You will be surprised to hear that I had an old French woman, and a young Spanish girl to breakfast with me this morning, on their way through to Bayonne, from Bilboa. I had made arrangements for six mules, and an ox-car to carry their baggage, but they mistook the tide in their directions, and the baggage is only just arrived, so that they cannot go until to-morrow. They are the wife and mother of a Monsieur Dabedrille, at Bayonne,ci-devantprincipalDirecteur de l’Octroi de Bilboa, who fled so quickly after the battle of Vittoria, that he left all his baggage and females behind him. He was very civil to Colonel Fitzgerald, who had undertaken to obtain for him the restoration of his wife; and as the Colonel was not exchanged, I undertook it, got Lord Wellington’s leave, and here they are, so far on theirway safe. Not having just now much business, I have had time to attend a little to these good ladies, and they are really very pleasant and well-bred, but just now the worse for having been six days on board a Spanish coaster (of Bilboa), to get here.
We have just now got beautiful weather, clear frosty mornings—that is, white frost, the ground just crisp, a little fog early, and a cool breeze from the Pyrenees, from the south-east, and a bright sun during the day.
The only news we have here is a report of the defeat of Davoust, through the French, and an account which General Wimpfen has just given me of the Austrians having taken possession of Switzerland. The French here are hard at work, drilling conscripts, who arrive in considerable numbers, and turning up the ground as usual in all directions. I suppose we shall also, as usual, wait until they have nearly done their task, and by that time, when the ground is dry, turn them out of their laborious defences. It is quite extraordinary how all their former position was covered with the effects of their labour.
The inhabitants continue to come in here to us every day, and now by degrees we get cattle, &c., from them. Desertion from the French has also been common, five or six men a-day, and many French, not Germans, young lads, sick of their work. I now hear that the Swiss have declared against France; that is one step more gained, if true. An officer, who was prisoner at Bayonne, on the 13th, the day of General Hill’s affair on the right, states, that the French were most sanguine that morning at Bayonne; they said that two of our divisions were caught in a trap, and that they would, General and all, be taken prisoners. They were quite in spirits, but towards evening, when the officer inquired where our General was, he could get no one to answer him, or talk on the subject. All were sulky. Report says also thatSoult is gone again, and farther back; some say that he has been sent for to Paris.
One of the hay vessels, bringing hay to us, in order to plague us, had got into Bayonne, and the French officers at the outposts taunt us, by saying that they find English hay very good. This is very provoking, for in consequence of this we have now nothing again to give our animals.
Sunday, Post-day.—I understand that there is no packet as yet at Passages, to go with the letters. I have, after three hours’ trouble, packed off my party this morning; four great trunks, two old women, and one young one, in an ox-car; and four more large trunks, and a quantity of bedding, andet ceterasof all kinds, on four mules; and one lady and a man-servant, on horseback. My old French woman, now she is safe out of Spain, does nothing but abuse the Spaniards, their language, their manners, their country, and, above all, their stupidity in society.
I must now return to the work of drawing charges, which must be done immediately. I hope there is not another task for me now passing my window, for there is an uproar, and seven Spanish prisoners going along bound to the provost guard.
We have now established a sort of little telegraph of signals to the right and in front, to acquaint Lord Wellington immediately should anything be going forward.
P.S.—I don’t think you heard a little anecdote of General Stewart, who is brave, and consequently always gets his aide-de-camp, &c., into some bad blows, if he does not get one himself. The people about him on the 13th were all touched, and he was nearly alone. An officer of the name of Egerton went up to him, and whilst there a shell burst between them. “A shell! sir: very animating!” said Stewart, and then kept Egerton there talking on.
Head-Quarters, St. Jean de Luz, January 4th, 1814.—Here we are still without any news from your side of the water, and of course most anxious. On this side we seem, however, to be preparing something for you to talk about; at least, appearances look like another battle. The day before yesterday (Sunday) all was quiet, and on Monday (yesterday) Lord Wellington ordered out his hounds, and went off early himself. In the middle of the day, however, the signal was made that the French were in motion; Lord March and Gordon went off to Lord Wellington, and he did not return last night. To-day the troops have all been on the alert, for the French are said to be still moving on our right, and in fact rather on our rear. The Guards were off early from hence to replace the light division, who went to the right, and all seems moving in that direction. No firing has, however, been heard; and I understand nothing has been done to-day. I went as far as Guethary, and up to the church-tower, whence the view is very extensive, but saw nothing in particular. The last report was, that the French still advanced on our right. If they persist in this, it is my opinion that we must have a fight, and a sharp one probably, on that side to-morrow, but as the staff are all out, I know nothing certain.
Two or three days since we took a little island in the Adour, almost without loss, which will enable us to molest the navigation more effectually than we have hitherto done, though already it is rather impeded, even at night, and almost totally by day. A contest about the island was rather expected, but not this bold move of the French in our rear. If they persist and fail, I think with the two Gaves in their rear, we may, perhaps, make them suffer severely for their enterprise. Marshal Soult’s supposed absence looks now rather like aruse de guerre.
We have Spaniards on our right, and in the valley of Bastan, who perhaps may now come in again for a littlefighting; and it is to be hoped they may, for if the French work constantly on the British and Portuguese, and you continue to send men to Holland, we shall by degrees get too weak for our situation.
Lord Wellington at dinner on Sunday directed some jokes at Major D——, who makes out the returns, because he wanted to make a grand total of wounded, &c., after the late five days’ fighting. He laughed, and said that all might go wrong from this innovation, but he was determined he would have no more grand totals until he got another Vittoria without more loss; that the loss was always great enough in all conscience, without displaying it in this ostentatious manner, and that he would not have every drummer and every officer, &c., killed or wounded in the five days, all added up in one grand total, but that at least the croakers should have the trouble themselves of adding up all the different losses, and making it out for themselves.
The weather is just now delightful, and we have had as yet nothing which can properly be called winter. During the last ten days the sea has been quite smooth, and we have not even had a white frost. The people say they think that the first bad season is over now, and we shall not have much more bad weather until near March: I only hope this will prove correct.
A French carriage and a car were waiting at the French outposts to receive my ladies, and they all got in safe. This was managed by sending in a message the day before. A certain communication with Bayonne is also now open; for yesterday we had an arrival of French watches, rings, trinkets, and silk dresses. We carry on war in a very civilized manner, especially if a little anecdote related to me yesterday be correct. One of our officers, it seems, I believe Major Q——, was riding a troublesome horse close to the French pickets, and partly from the violence of his horse, and partlyfrom his own inadvertence, he got close to a French sentinel. The latter called out several times that he was French, and ordered him off, and at last presented his bayonet. The horse still plunging on, and the officer apparently not understanding the man, the French sentry turned the horse the other way by the bridle, and sent him back without offering any harm to either beast or rider, though he might have killed or taken both.
This morning we had another instance on our side. A French officer’s wife came in from Bayonne to follow her husband, a prisoner in England. We had a boat in from Sacoa to take her upon the beach, to carry her round by sea to Passages, and an order from Lord Wellington waiting for her there, for a passage to England as expeditiously as circumstances would permit.
Wednesday, 5th January.—No one came back last night, and St. Jean de Luz is almost deserted; scarcely a red coat to be seen. The ladies are in some alarm, and only some inquiring doctors and commissaries are to be seen about the streets. I have in the mean time such an accumulation of business for Lord Wellington that I shall be almost fearful of seeing him—five Courts-martial, one of about ninety pages, another eighty. He always complains, and yet I think he likes to read these cases, and know himself exactly all that is going on. I have just been out to pick up news, but in vain, and have been driven back by a slight shower. Money has been so short here that I could only tempt them to give me some doubloons immediately by accepting a part of my pay on England in another Treasury Bill.
Friday, January 7th.—Lord Wellington is not yet returned here, and we are, therefore, still deserted; but nothing has been done. The French have been manœuvring for these three days on our right flank, but in vain, as our General was ready for them. Yesterday, however, he was nearly bringing them to blows. A part of theirforce remained on our side of the Adour, between the Nive and the Bidocque. This was too near our position, and they were to have been driven across, but prudently went away in good time of their own accord, consequently nothing was done, and I think nothing will be done just now.
The French head-quarters here are at (I believe) Peyrehorade, a town on the Gave, of some little river commerce. In our present suspense we were at last amused yesterday by the arrival of two mails, and I have got letters, papers, &c.
You kill men for me faster than I do in reality, and that is enough. I am only aware of forty-one having been shot or hung since my arrival in the country; and that is quite enough too, you will say, almost as many as you hang in all England in a year. You were quite right about the lost letter from me; it contained a full description of St. Jean de Luz, and of my horrible muddy journey from St. Fé to this civilized place, with a sketch of my house and its vicinity, &c., a ground plot of my quarter, which, if time and room permit, I will repeat. And as you do not congratulate me on my escape from being shot, I suppose that story was there also.
Later.—As Lord Wellington is still away, I continue to scribble to you. This place has been a very flourishing town, and of considerable trade, but is much in decay; this partly before the late wars, from the bar having increased, so that only small vessels can get in now, and the evil still increases. At low water the river only ripples over the bar of sand, scarcely a foot deep, and at times the river is choked up by the sand, so that it cannot make its way out, and floods the town. This happened twice last year, but has not recurred this year, though at times the bed of the river has been quite changed, and the water nearly stopped.
Sacoa is a very safe harbour; for small vessels drawingunder ten feet, quite safe. They lie there high and dry, according to the tide. The houses of the former merchants are rather magnificent, though some are in ruins, and their number, for the size of the town, considerable. It has been called a sort of little Paris for the Basques. Near the sea the water has been, and is, gaining on the town and bay. There are many ruins; one is part of an old convent, now beyond the sea-wall, and almost in the sea, and some say a whole street has been washed away. The great sea-wall made by Bonaparte, six hundred yards long, was constructed to save the town, and makes a good dry walk.
Sibour is also a very large village, or small town, of inferior houses, where at present two brigades of Guards are, and two other regiments of Lord Aylmer’s brigade, besides some staff cavalry, &c. Most of the better houses have French papers from Paris, and it looks very well. The whole wall forms one landscape, like tapestry—sea-ports from Vernet or Claude, &c.; some in colours, some in bistre or an imitation of Indian ink, some Chinese, but in better perspective. The brown and black are very pretty. Most of the walls are papered. The lower parts of the houses are all a sort of warehouse (where they are not shops); this serves us for stabling, but they are flagged, which having no straw is noisy, and they smell much also. Almost all the men of a better sort went away from St. Jean de Luz; several women, for the most part old, stayed, and many have since returned; but no society, or anything of that sort, is as yet set on foot here. The deputy mayor, who stayed, sold all the wine he could appropriate, his own, and all unclaimed, as well as other things, and is, I believe, making money of us very fast. The town is now all a market or fair, and full of Spaniards and Portuguese, as well as French and Bascos, all pillaging poor John Bull, by selling turkeys for 25s.and 30s., and fowls for 12s.and 14s.
The people from Bilboa have been most active. Little has arrived from England or Lisbon as yet, which is extraordinary; but the danger of the coast is, probably, the cause. During the bad weather ten vessels of ours found their way into Bayonne, one with fifty-two Irish bullocks, by which we lost part of the best beef we ever get, and one with seven hundred trusses of hay, others with biscuit, &c. This is very provoking. The Bayonne mayor showed us the post-list of the whole taken in each ship. How we shall get on with our animals I know not, for they tell me that they hear from England, in the Commissariat, there is but little hay on the sea for us, from want of transport, and there is no straw to be got at all now within thirteen leagues, or about forty miles, from hence. I am, however, advised to send for it; and if this movement shall come to nothing, will do so to-morrow.
It is fortunate that we are so near the sea, and have some advantage as to transport in the river Nivelle also, for our transport is much diminished by desertion of the muleteers from want of pay. The army is more numerous than when at Frenada and in Portugal, and our transport is now less. Were we to wander into France (as you suppose), away from the coast, we should find it difficult to live at all. The boats of this place are famous, and the men stayed here, or have escaped here, and are all in our pay now, and thus things are brought round from Passages here by sea, and then up to the division by the river as far as Ustaritz, where they are then distributed to the mules of each division. Even with this help the army cannot be supplied with rum, except by buying it very dear on the spot of the suttlers, for nearly all our remaining mules are required for bread and a little corn for the staff. The meat supplies itself in a way—that is, about two-thirds only of the flesh which leaves Valencia, &c., in Spain, arriving here, falls underthe butcher’s knife, besides the number which die on the road; and yet all that can be stopped, when fagged or lame, are distributed at the stations on the way. The suttlers, by the great profit they make, can pay the muleteers as high as two dollars a-day for each mule to carry up their produce, making us pay for it in the end. This evil increases, for our muleteers, who only have one dollar a-day for each mule (and enough in all conscience), are tempted to desert and get into the service of the suttlers, who thus supply the men with rum only at a dear rate, when we cannot do it. The pay of our muleteers is now over-due twenty-one months for each mule: they have, therefore, their own way, and are under no control at all. Nothing but a sort ofesprit de corps, and the fear of losing all claim to the debt, makes them keep with us at all; and we must submit to their fraud and carelessness, for we have no remedy.
As an instance of this, it may be mentioned that one brigade of mules, which had twenty-four thousand pounds of barley given to them to bring here, five leagues from Passages, only delivered eighteen thousand, and almost openly admitted that they had taken the rest, which I suppose they had sold to raise money. We could only set off the value against their debt, for fear of losing them without getting others. There was a grand consultation the other day, at which Lord Wellington, the Commissary-general and his people, General Alava the Spanish General, and most of the principal Spanish Capistras, or directors of the mules and owners, were present, to settle what could be done. They resolved to make the arrears all a debt, to acknowledge it, and then begin a sort of new score. This is in imitation of the Portuguese; only they do not pay the debt at all, but wipe off the arrears. One month’s pay was also given by bills on the Treasury at a great discount, still thiswas something to go on with, and we have not Marshal Beresford’s absolute power to control these Spaniards, as he does the Portuguese. Somehow, however, you see we get on.
Head-Quarters, St. Jean de Luz, Sunday, January 9th, post-day again.—As to length, at least, you shall have no reason to complain this mail, though I am at work again at business; for on Friday night all our warriors returned home to their respective quarters, and the Commander-in-Chief to his papers. The latter had so increased upon him in his five days’ absence, that he was quite overwhelmed; and when I went in with a great bundle to add to them, he put his hands before his eyes and said, “Put them on that table; and do not say anything about them now, or let me look at them at all.”
This week’s manœuvring has not this time ended in smoke, but without smoke, as nearly as possible, for our men could not get within a long shot of the French, without following them beyond what our present plans would admit. They remained a short time on our side of the river Arrun, as it is called, in Casini’s great map, and Gambouri, in my part of the French National Atlas, a small river which runs by La Bastide and falls into the Adour, near Urt, a place half-way between Bayonne and where the Gaves fall into the Adour.
We collected on the heights above Bastide, and made the signal by a little mountain gun to advance. The French made use of the same signal to commence their retreat across the river, and scarcely a shot was fired. La Bastide, which is on this side of the river, we never entered: but remaining satisfied with that line, the matter ended there. A change of weather, to rain of no trifling kind, will probably, I think, oblige both parties to be quiet for some little time again, until sun and air return to us without wet, and dry roads enable the troops to move a little this difficult country. It is at presentvery hard work to get on, even in the best roads, and across the country, which is much intersected with streams and rivers, and has only clayey poached roads, and strong fences of hedge and ditch; it is almost impassable. Lord Wellington, I believe, always went back to his brother Marshal, Beresford, at Ustaritz, to which place he sent for some English hay for his horses. The Adjutant-general’s department remained mostly at Hasparren, which is, it is said, a very pretty small town in a rich cultivated valley of meadows, where they fell in with a small stock of excellent hay, not quite eaten by our cavalry, who are in that part of the country.
All the people at head-quarters have come back safe and sound; but with horses a little knocked up, and rather stiff with riding about twelve or even fourteen hours a-day. Most of them, however, look the better for the exercise. The most fagged of all I saw was our naval hero, Sir G. Collier, with his lame leg. He had ridden everywhere after Lord Wellington in hopes of seeing a fight, and coming in, I suppose, for another knock on shore, but all in vain. He says, that the French never will stand when he comes, and nothing is ever done. He is about to leave this station.
And now for a little account of the Spaniards, in order to show you how they plague Lord Wellington. We have undertaken to assist and direct, with our engineers, in putting St. Sebastian into some order, and into a state of defence. The actual working-party are, however, nearly all Spanish. These have nearly all deserted, and little or nothing is going on but quarrels between our people and the Spaniards in authority, who thwart them. At first Lord Wellington thought that we were to blame, and seemed angry; but he told Col. E—— at last, “If they go on so, d—— them, they may finish the work for themselves; but go over and see about it, and make a report to me.”
Later.—Another English mail arrived, and another letter from you of the 27th and 28th, with papers to the 27th, &c. The great news which yours contained as to Lord Castlereagh we had heard through the French outpost five days since; but the report only stated that he had actually landed at Morlaix, on his way to Manheim, to the general Congress, for a peace. This was believed before your account came, as it agreed with the general tenor of the late English news; at least I thought so, for one. Whether it will end in a peace, however, is very doubtful, especially if Bonaparte finds that in consequence of this negotiation he keeps all quiet in France, and the conscription goes on without resistance, and his armies in March next will be formidable. If he can once assume an imposing position, it is doubtful in my opinion whether he will come into the terms of the Allies.Mais c’est à voir, and he has much to do to put himself in such a position.
Many of the French conscripts here join almost without any uniforms or necessaries for a soldier, yet every deserter who comes in has everything nearly new, and is better provided for than any of our men, except the few who have just had their new clothing, &c., of which the Guards, who, by the by, returned here last night to their old quarters, form part. Just now the Italians begin to desert the French, and say it is in consequence of their having heard that their division, which was marched to the rear some short time since, was all disarmed and treated as prisoners of war. This may not be fact; but the effect is that many Italians come over to us.