XIV

WELLINGTON’S ARMY WITHIN THE LINES OF TORRES VEDRAS. MORNING STATE OF NOV. 1, 1810

I. BRITISH TROOPS (effective, without sick or detached)

  Officers. Men. Total.
Cavalry Division (Stapleton Cotton):      
De Grey’s Brigade: 3rd Dragoon Guards and 4th Dragoons 51 753 804
Slade’s Brigade: 1st Dragoons and 14th Light Dragoons 40 858 898
Anson’s Brigade: 16th Light Dragoons and 1st Hussars K.G.L. 39 769 808
Unbrigaded: 13th Light Dragoons 23 300 323
Total Cavalry 153 2,680 2,833
INFANTRY      
1st Division (Spencer):      
Stopford’s Brigade: 1st Coldstream Guards, 1st Scots Fusilier Guards, and one company 5/60th Foot 61 1,624 1,685
Cameron’s Brigade: 2/24th, 2/42nd, 1/79th Foot, and one company 5/60th 101 1,438 1,539
Erskine’s Brigade: 1/50th, 1/71st, 1/92nd Foot, and one company 5/60th Foot 108 1,935 2,043
Löwe’s Brigade: 1st, 2nd, 5th, 7th Line battalion K.G.L., and a light company K.G.L. 120 1,561 1,681
Divisional Total 390 6,558 6,948
2nd Division (Hill):      
Colborne’s Brigade: 1/3rd, 2/31st, 2/48th, 2/66th Foot, and one company 5/60th 138 1,967 2,105
Houghton’s Brigade: 29th, 1/48th, 1/57th, and one company 5/60th Foot 97 1,560 1,657
Lumley’s Brigade: 2/28th, 2/34th, 2/39th, and one company 5/60th Foot 94 1,395 1,489
Divisional Total 329 4,922 5,251
3rd Division (Picton):      
Mackinnon’s Brigade: 1/45th, 1/74th, 1/88th Foot 117 1,564 1,681
Colville’s Brigade: 2/5th, 2/83rd, 94th, and three companies 5/60th Foot 122 1,533 1,655
Divisional Total 239 3,097 3,336
4th Division (Cole):      
Kemmis’s Brigade: 2/27th, 1/40th, 97th, and one company of 5/60th Foot 118 2,454 2,572
Pakenham’s Brigade: 1/7th, 1/61st Foot, and Brunswick-Oels Jägers 125 2,095 2,220
Divisional Total 243 4,549 4,792
5th Division (Leith):      
Hay’s Brigade: 3/1st, 1/9th, 2/38th Foot 89 1,958 2,047
Dunlop’s Brigade: 2/30th, 2/44th Foot 56 1,126 1,182
Divisional Total 145 3,084 3,229
6th Division (Alex. Campbell):      
Only one Brigade; 2/7th, 1/11th, 2/53rd Foot, and one company 5/60th Foot 101 1,847 1,948
Divisional Total 101 1,847 1,948
Light Division (Craufurd):      
Beckwith’s Brigade: 1/43rd, and companies of the 1st and 2nd 95th 56 1,427 1,483
2nd Brigade: 1/52nd and companies of 1/95th 52 1,230 1,282
Divisional Total 108 2,657 2,765
Infantry Unattached to any Division:      
2/58th, 2/88th Foot, and one company K.G.L. 64 874 938
General Total of Infantry 1,619 27,588 29,207
British Artillery (Horse) 18 304 322
British Artillery (Foot) 48 797 845
K.G.L. Artillery 19 328 347
Total Artillery 85 1,429 1,514
Engineers 24 19 43
Train 24 398 422
Staff Corps 3 37 40
Total Effective Strength of the British Troops on Nov. 1, 1810:      
Cavalry 153 2,680 2,833
Infantry 1,619 27,588 29,207
Artillery 85 1,429 1,514
Other Corps 51 454 505
Grand Total 1,908 32,151 34,059

The army had at the same time 9,213 men in hospital, and 2,628 men detached, who are not counted in the above total.

N.B.—Wellington, as it will be noted on page 451, says that he had only 29,000 British sabres and bayonets ready to take the offensive at this date. This appears to be an under-estimate; but it must be remembered that he (according to his custom) only counts rank and file, omitting officers. Moreover, the two battalions not brigaded, 2/58th and 2/88th, forming the garrison of the Lisbon forts, the gunners (about 200) in the forts, and the Train (as non-combatant) are also omitted in his calculation, so that 29,000 is not far out.

II. PORTUGUESE TROOPS (effective, without sick or detached)

From a Return of Oct. 29, 1810

  Officers
& Men
Present.
Infantry of the Line:  
1st Brigade (Pack): 1st and 16th Line, 4th Caçadores 2,267
2nd Brigade[659] (Fonseca): 2nd and 14th Line 2,414
3rd Brigade[660] (Spry): 3rd and 15th Line 2,163
4th Brigade[659] (Arch. Campbell): 4th and 10th Line 2,407
5th Brigade (A. Campbell): 6th and 18th Line and 6th Caçadores 2,442
6th Brigade (Coleman): 7th and 19th Line, and 2nd Caçadores 2,196
7th Brigade[661] (Baron Eben): 8th Line, 1st and 2nd Lusitanian Legion 2,083
8th Brigade[662] (Sutton, vice Champlemond): 9th and 21st Line 1,961
9th Brigade[663] (Collins, vice Harvey): 11th and 23rd Line 2,535
1st and 3rd Caçadores, attached to Light Division 964
12th Line[664], attached to Lecor’s Militia Division 1,213
Total Regular Infantry 22,645
Regular Cavalry (Fane’s Division):  
1st, 4th, 7th, 10th Regiments 1,193
Regular Artillery (9 batteries) 701
Total Regulars of all Arms 24,539

N.B.—The Portuguese regulars had, over and above these 24,539 officers and men present with the colours, 3,011 men sick and detached.

  Officers
& Men
Present.
Militia and Embodied Ordenança:  
(1) Lecor’s Division (Alhandra Forts): Regiments of Santarem, Idanha, Castello Branco, Covilhão, and Feira. [12th Line, counted above, was also attached][665] 2,616
(2) At Bucellas Forts: Regiments of Lisbon (Termo), Thomar, Torres Vedras 1,907
(3) In the Forts facing Sobral: Atiradores Nacionaes (embodied Ordenança), 2 batts. 761
(4) In Torres Vedras Forts; Regiments of Lisbon (E.), Lisbon (W.), Setubal, Alcaçer do Sul 2,231
(5) At Mafra Forts: Regiment of Vizeu 691
Militia Artillery [composed of cadres from the regular artillery filled with Volunteers from the Militia and embodied Ordenança] 2,886
Total Militia, &c. 11,092

The Militia and embodied Ordenança had, over and above these 11,092 officers and men present with the colours, 1,267 sick and detached.

Dépôt Troops:

The dépôts of the Line and Militia contained, on Oct. 29, 6,470 more or less trained recruits, who had not yet joined their corps, but all did so before Dec. 1, and 530 sick. I have on page 434 reckoned the amount of these available on Oct. 15 at 3,000 men. Besides these 6,470 men there was at Peniche, outside the lines and in Masséna’s rear, a general dépôt of recruits, containing several thousand men who were not yet trained. Of these no account, of course, is taken here.

III. SPANISH TROOPS WITHIN THE LINES

  Officers
& Men
Present.
Vanguard Division of the Army of Estremadura (La Carrera):  
Principe (2 batts.), 1st and 2nd of Catalonia (1 batt. each), Vittoria (1 batt.)—about 2,500
[N.B.-One battalion of Principe, and Volunteers of Gerona, belonging to this division, remained behind at Badajoz.]  
2nd Division (Charles O’Donnell):  
Zamora (2 batts.), Rey (2 batts.), Toledo (2 batts.), Hibernia (2 batts.), Princesa (2 batts.), 2nd of Seville (1 batt.)—about 5,500
[N.B.-Fernando VII, Voluntarios de Navarra, and Tiradores de Castilla, belonging to this division, remained behind in Estremadura, at Badajoz and elsewhere.]  
Total 8,000

These numbers are probably a little overstated; on Feb. 1 the whole Vanguard, including the battalions left behind, had only 2,687 effectives, and the whole 2nd Division, including the four battalions left in Estremadura, only 5,108. It is probable that the wastage of the Spanish troops when inside the Lines was not large, and that on Nov. 1 the whole of La Romana’s sixteen battalions did not make 7,000 men.

TOTAL OF REGULAR TROOPS IN THE LINES

British 34,059
Portuguese 24,539
Spanish 8,000
Total 66,598

Add Portuguese Militia and embodied Ordenança, 11,092 strong, and the total of organized troops in the Lines makes 77,690.