CAMPAIGN OF THE BRITISH ARMY UNDER SIR JOHN MOORE.

In all the bulletins and proclamations of Buonaparte the English were held up to the Spaniards for indignation and contempt: they were a people, he said, who fomented war every where, and distributed arms like poison, ♦14th Bulletin.♦ but who shed their own blood only for their own direct interest. At this time it is probable that he sincerely despised the English as a military nation. ♦Gazeta de Madrid, Dec. 18.♦ Can any thing be more ridiculous, it was asked, than that England should pretend to struggle with her land forces against France? ♦Do. Dec. 24.♦ she will realize the fable of the frog swelling itself to rival the ox, till it burst. “The day,” said Buonaparte, “wherein we succeed in seeing these English will be a day of jubilee for the French army. Oh, that they may dye with their blood this continent, which they have desolated with their intrigues, their monopolies, and their frightful selfishness! Oh, that they might be met with to the number of 80,000 or 100,000 men instead of 20,000! that English mothers might feel the evils of war, and the English government cease to sport with the ♦14th Bulletin.
12th Bulletin.♦ lives and blood of the continental nations. All the evils, all the plagues, which can afflict the human race, come from London.” He represented the Spaniards as complaining that the English had given them arms, powder, and clothing, but had sent troops only to excite ♦14th Bulletin.♦ them, lead them astray, and forsake them in the hour of danger, when 40,000 British at Espinosa or Tudela might have balanced the fortune of the war.... That number of British troops would at either place have turned it.

Great Britain possessed at that time men, means, and generals equal to any service; but the nation did not yet understand its own strength, nor had the government yet learnt either to direct it wisely, or to make exertions commensurate to the end whereat they aimed. The lessons which books and history might teach had been neglected, and experience therefore was to be purchased at a heavy price.

As soon as the campaign in Portugal was ended, Sir Hew Dalrymple began to prepare for entering Spain: on the 6th of October Sir John Moore received his appointment to the command; the preparations meantime had not been relaxed, and in eight days afterward part of the troops were in motion. Difficulties and doubts had occurred at the very outset. The infantry were to go either by sea or land at the Commander’s discretion; the voyage at that season was thought too precarious; and the Junta represented, that if they went by sea, half the army would be unable to leave the coast for want of necessaries, there being scarcely means at Coruña for forwarding 10,000 men who were to land there under Sir David Baird, and join the Commander wherever he should appoint. The land-journey therefore having been chosen, the Spanish Commissary-General was consulted concerning the means of subsisting the army on the great road by Elvas; but the quantity of meat which was required astonished him; and he computed that in three months all the oxen in the country would be consumed, and very few hogs left. There was no want of food in the north of Portugal, but it was said that artillery could not be transported across the mountains. British officers were sent to examine the roads, and they confirmed this assertion of the natives. It was ascertained when too late, that bad as the ways were, they were practicable for cannon; but in consequence of this error, it was deemed necessary to divide the army, and this led to serious evils. General Hope, with the artillery, cavalry, and four regiments of foot, was to go by the Madrid road; General Paget, with two brigades, by Elvas and Alcantara. The rest of the army moved through Almeida; two brigades, under General Beresford, by way of Coimbra; three, under General Fraser, by Abrantes, crossing the Tagus there, and recrossing at Villa Velha, ... a point which, in former wars, has been considered the key to Lisbon. These were to unite at Salamanca, and General Hope and Sir David Baird to join them either there or at Valladolid.

If the people of England had been required to name the general who should be employed on this important occasion, Sir John Moore would certainly have been their choice, so generally was he respected as an officer and as a man. ♦Former services of Sir John Moore.♦ He was born at Glasgow in 1760. From the eighteenth to the twenty-third year of his age he was on the continent with his father (a physician and a distinguished man of letters, then travelling with the young Duke of Hamilton), and soon afterwards rose to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel in the army. He served with distinction in Corsica, the West Indies, the Helder expedition, and in Egypt; had often been wounded, and given proofs of professional skill as well as of personal gallantry, for he was fond of his profession, and had studied it well. But the constitution of his mind led him to look at the dark rather than the hopeful aspect of things; and it was his farther misfortune to have imbibed that exaggerated opinion of the French as a military people, the ability of their Generals, and the consummate wisdom of their Emperor, which the enemies of government in England were always labouring to produce, for the purpose of humbling the spirit of their country.

Before the troops began their march Sir John Moore warned them in his general orders that the Spaniards were a grave, orderly people, extremely sober, but generous, and easily offended by any insult or disrespect; he exhorted them to accommodate themselves to these manners, to meet with equal kindness the cordiality wherewith they would be received, and not shock by their intemperance a people worthy of their attachment, whose efforts they were come to support in the most glorious cause. His resolution to maintain order and proper discipline was farther evinced by punishing a marauder upon the march with death: the offender was one whose character gave no hope of amendment, and the General took that opportunity of declaring his determination to show no mercy to plunderers or marauders, in other words, to thieves and villains. Farther to gratify the Spaniards, the army, upon entering Spain, were ordered to wear the red cockade in addition to their own.

On Nov. 13, Sir John arrived with his advanced guard at Salamanca. Before he entered the city, he learnt the defeat of the Extremaduran army at Burgos, and on the second night after his arrival, was awakened by an express, with news that the French had possession of Valladolid, ... twenty leagues distant. He had only three brigades of infantry with him, and not a single gun. His first thought was to fall back upon Ciudad Rodrigo; but he soon learnt that the French had retired to Palencia, and that none of their infantry had advanced beyond Burgos: he therefore sent orders to Generals Baird and Hope, to concentrate their divisions, and join him with all speed. Every day now brought with it intelligence of new disasters. Blake’s army was dispersed, and Buonaparte might either turn his force against Castaños, or march against the English, to prevent their junction. He, meantime, placed nearly in the centre, between two divisions of his army, which were approaching from different points, was compelled to remain inactive. Perceiving what he thought the supineness of the Spanish government, and indignant at discovering the weakness of the Spaniards, he began to despair of their cause. He saw nothing around him but an inactivity, which he mistook for torpor and indifference. They had not, he said, shown themselves a wise or a provident people; their wisdom was not a wisdom of action. Yet still he felt that they were a fine people; that they had a character of their own, quite distinct from that of any other nation; and much, he thought, might have been done with them. He erred in thinking that they would not do much for themselves.

Sir David Baird had formed a like opinion. The expedition under his command reached Coruña on the 13th of October; and such were the idle forms and the negligence of the Spanish authorities, that the troops were kept on ship-board till an order for their landing could be received from the Central Junta. This General had been accustomed to an Indian army, with its train of slaves and sutlers, elephants and palanquins; he had now to march through a country where it is not without difficulty that a party of travellers can obtain food, and which had already been drained by its own troops; and his commissaries were not only inexperienced in the business of their department, but ignorant of the language of the people. Dividing his army into small detachments, which followed each other at considerable distance, he arrived at Astorga, Nov. 19th, and there learning the defeat of Blake’s army, and anticipating that of Castaños’s, he consulted with his general officers, and informed Sir John Moore of their unanimous opinion, that he ought not to advance till his whole force was assembled there, which would not be before the 4th of December. Sir John Moore’s opinion of the hopelessness of affairs was thus confirmed by Sir David Baird. “I see my situation,” he said in his journal, “as clearly as any one, that nothing can be worse; yet I am determined to form the junction of the army, and to try our fortune. We have no business here as things are; but, being here, it would never do to abandon the Spaniards without a struggle.”

It was not long before intelligence arrived that Castaños was defeated, and his army dispersed. ♦Nov. 28.♦ This event the British Commander had expected; it had always been his opinion that the south of Spain ought to have been the scene of action; that Cadiz, not Coruña, should have been chosen for the disembarkation of the English army, and Seville or Cordoba the place of their junction. He now determined to retreat upon Portugal.... “Thus,” he said, in a letter to the English ambassador, Mr. Frere, “he should fall back upon his resources, cover a country where there was a British interest, act as a diversion in favour of Spain, if the French detached a force against him, and be ready to return to the assistance of the Spaniards, should circumstances again render it eligible. That such circumstances would occur he had no expectation. The French, he thought, would have little more to do to subdue the country than to march over it, though, after the conquest, they might have troublesome subjects.” And, in his letter to Sir David Baird, ordering him to fall back upon Coruña, and sail from thence for the Tagus, he directed him to write immediately to England, and order that transports might be sent to Lisbon; “they will be wanted,” said he; “for when the French have Spain, Portugal cannot be defended.” He had written a few days before this to Lord Castlereagh, saying, that he had ordered a depôt of provisions, for a short consumption, to be formed at Almeida, and perhaps the same should be done at Elvas; in that case, the progress of the enemy might be checked, while the stores were embarking at Lisbon, and arrangements made for taking off the army. Beyond this, the defence of Lisbon or of Portugal should not be thought of. In communicating his resolution of retiring to the British government, he wrote in the same spirit of utter despondency. “If the French,” said he, “succeed in Spain, it will be vain to attempt to resist them in Portugal. Portugal could not be defended against a superior enemy; the Spaniards, however, might rally in the south, and the English might still be of use, if they were landed at Cadiz. But it was impossible to be very sanguine on this subject, after what had been seen.”

When this intention of retreating was made known to the army at Salamanca, murmurs against it were heard in every quarter, and from men of all ranks. Even the staff officers lamented the resolution of their Commander. In his letter to Mr. Frere, written before the defeat of Castaños was known, Sir John Moore had proposed as a question, what the British army should do, in case of that event; whether he should retreat upon Portugal, or march upon Madrid, and throw himself into the heart of Spain, thus to run all risks, and share the fortunes of the Spanish nation? “This movement,” he said, “would be one of great hazard, as his retreat to Cadiz or Gibraltar must be very uncertain, and he should be entirely in the power of the Spaniards; but perhaps it was worthy of risk, if the government and people of Spain were thought to have still sufficient energy, and the means to recover from their defeats.” “The question,” said Sir John Moore to Mr. Frere, “is not purely a military one. It belongs at least as much to you as to me to decide upon it. Your communications with the Spanish government, and the opportunities you have had of judging of the general state of the country, enable you to form as just an estimate of the resistance that is likely to be offered. You are perhaps better acquainted with the views of the British cabinet; and the question is, what would that cabinet direct, were they upon the spot to determine? It is of much importance that this should be thoroughly considered; it is comparatively of very little, on whom shall rest the greatest share of responsibility. I am willing to take the whole, or a part; but I am very anxious to know your opinion.” Mr. Frere knew that what the Spanish government most deprecated was, a retreat of the English upon Lisbon. It would sink the hearts of the whole country, and would make them believe that England, after an ineffectual effort, had relapsed into the old limited system of protecting Portugal. If, therefore, a retreat were determined upon, as absolutely necessary, he thought the army should fall back upon Galicia, and the strong country about Astorga. But he said, in his reply to the General, that Leon and the two Castilles (with the exception of La Mancha and the city of Madrid) were the provinces least distinguished for a military, patriotic, or provincial spirit in all Spain: the people had been passive during the late events, and had seen their country successively occupied by the strongest party. It was difficult to blame them: living in open villages, in vast plains, without arms and without horses, they had neither the means of defence or escape. That country must necessarily belong to the party which was superior in cavalry; ... yet even there there was no want of a right feeling; the towns were abandoned at the approach of the enemy; not a single magistrate had been brought over to take the oath of allegiance to the Intruder, nor had the French been able to enlist a single soldier. The other provinces were possessed by the most ardent and determined spirit. There was no doubt of the people. The government was new, and had hitherto been too numerous to be very active; but there was hope that that inconvenience would soon be remedied. “They are resolute,” said Mr. Frere, “and I believe every man of them determined to perish with the country. They will not at least set the example, which the ruling powers and higher orders of other countries have exhibited, of weakness and timidity.”

Great advantages, the ambassador thought, would result from advancing speedily to cover Madrid. It was a point of great moment for effect in Spain, and still more in France, and in the west of Europe. The people of the town were full of resolution, and determined to defend it, in spite of its situation; and nothing could be more unfavourable to the claim of the Intruder than a siege of the capital. The first object of the English, therefore, he thought, should be to march there, and collect a force capable of resisting the French, before farther reinforcements arrived from France. There were reports that the resistance to the conscription had been much more obstinate than usual, and a pastoral letter of the Bishop of Carcassone seemed to prove that these reports were not wholly without foundation. An advantage obtained over the French now would be doubly valuable, inasmuch as it would render a conscription, for a third attempt upon Spain, infinitely difficult, if not impracticable. But if, with their present forces, they were allowed to retain their present advantages, and to wait the completion of the conscription, they would pour in forces, which would give them immediate possession of the capital and central provinces, and the war would then be reduced to an absolute competition between the two countries, which could stand out longest against the waste of population.

If, however, Mr. Frere said, this view of the subject should not appear sufficiently clear or conclusive to the Commander-in-chief, to induce him to take this step, which he, the Ambassador, was well convinced would meet with the approbation of his Majesty’s government, he would venture to recommend retaining the position of Astorga. A retreat from thence to Coruña (as far, said he, as an unmilitary man may be allowed to judge of a country which he has travelled over) would be less difficult than through Portugal to Lisbon; and we ought in that position to wait for the reinforcements of cavalry from England: the army would thus be enabled to act in the flat country, which opens immediately from that point, and extends through the whole of Leon and Old Castille.... Before this letter arrived, the General’s resolution had been taken, in consequence of the news of Castaños’s defeat. It was not shaken by the reasoning of the Ambassador, whose opinion he had asked, and he waited only for the junction of General Hope, to commence his retreat on Portugal.

The Junta had wished it had been possible for Sir John Moore to have conferred personally with them at Aranjuez, or with the military council at Madrid, and he himself had formed the same wish, believing that unless prompt and efficacious measures were taken, the defeat of the Spanish armies and the ruin of their cause were inevitable. But as this could not be, the Captain-General of Granada, with another officer, selected for his reputation and military experience, were deputed to consult with him at Salamanca. These Generals, in representing the resources of the Spaniards, enumerated the force under San Juan, and relied upon the pass of Somosierra; but Colonel Graham had just arrived before them with news that the pass had been won; and Sir John considered them personally as weak old men, and officially as having no information upon which any plan could be concerted. Mistaking, as he did, the spirit of the nation, and undervaluing its strength, he gave no ear to their urgent desire that he would form a junction with Romana, and thereby draw off the enemy from Madrid, nor to their declaration that his retreat, if he persisted in that intention, would immediately occasion the destruction of Spain.

On the 5th of December, a dispatch arrived from Castelfranco and Morla, informing him that about 25,000 men, of the central army, were falling back on Madrid; that 10,000 from Somosierra were coming thither; and that nearly 40,000 would join them. With that number of troops, the French army, which had presented itself, was not to be feared. But the Junta, apprehending an increase of the hostile forces, hoped he would be able to unite with their army, or fall on the rear of the enemy; and they did not doubt that the rapidity of his movements would be such as the interests of both countries required. This letter was written on the second, and the men who signed it had then determined to betray their country, ... but though they might have wished and designed to draw on the British army to its destruction, the proposal that it should advance came not from them alone, but from the civil and military Junta also, and was such as true Spaniards would have given. While Sir John was considering this letter, Colonel Charmilly, a French emigrant in the British service, and denizened in England, arrived, with dispatches from Mr. Frere. Colonel Charmilly was in Madrid on the night of the first, when the inhabitants were working by torch-light at the trenches, breaking up the streets, and barricading the houses. He had seen the Duque del Infantado, who told him there were provisions and ammunition in Madrid; that more than 30,000 men had that day enlisted themselves as volunteers; and that it was of material importance to the common cause that the British commander should make a diversion, which would compel the French to divide their forces, and thus afford some relief to Madrid. This he requested Charmilly to communicate to Sir John Moore, as he himself had been an eye-witness of the spirit of the people, and the preparations which they were making for resistance. By another Grandee he was requested to say to Sir John Moore, that he must make use of this moment to save Spain, by making conditions with the Junta for a better government; but especially that he should require the Spanish army to be put under the orders of the British Commander-in-chief for the time being, as it had been under Lord Peterborough.

When Charmilly reached Talavera, on his way, he found that Mr. Frere had just arrived there, following the Central Junta, who were retiring from Aranjuez to Badajoz. To him he communicated what had passed with the Duque del Infantado; and the Ambassador requested him, as a colonel in the British service, to take charge of a letter to Sir John Moore, urging him to suspend his retreat, as a measure which would have the worst effect upon the Spanish cause, and be of the greatest injury both to Spain and England. But thinking that, having begun the retreat, Sir John might suppose himself engaged to go on with it, Mr. Frere entrusted Colonel Charmilly with a second letter, to be delivered in case the General persisted in his determination. The purport of this letter was to request that the bearer might be examined before a council of war; and the reason for this measure was, that the decision of a council of war would exonerate the Commander-in-chief from the responsibility by which he might otherwise feel himself fettered. Charmilly reached Salamanca while Sir John was deliberating upon the dispatch from Morla and Castelfranco. He delivered the Ambassador’s first letter. The state of Madrid, Mr. Frere said, so much exceeded every thing which he had ventured to say of the spirit and resolution of the people, that he could not forbear representing to the General, in the strongest manner, the propriety, not to say the necessity, of supporting the Spanish people by all the means which had been entrusted to him for that purpose. “I have no hesitation,” he added, “in taking upon myself any degree of responsibility which may attach itself to this advice, as I consider the fate of Spain as depending absolutely, for the present, upon the decision which you may adopt. I say, for the present; for such is the spirit and character of the country, that, even if abandoned by the British, I should by no means despair of their ultimate success.” Having read this letter, and heard Charmilly’s communication, Sir John Moore gave him no reason to suppose that the intention of retreating would be given up. He retired, however, to reflect upon what he had heard. His instructions directed him to receive the representations both of the Spanish government and the British Ambassador with the utmost deference and attention: ... both deprecated his retreat. Charmilly had been an eye-witness of the preparations which were making in Madrid, and accounts confirming his report came from various quarters. He was persuaded that a great improvement in the public affairs had taken place, and that it was not becoming him to fly at such a time; and he wrote, that night, to Sir David Baird, telling him to suspend his retrograde march till he heard again, and to make arrangements for returning to Astorga, should it be necessary.

Still the rooted feeling of his heart was despondency. In this very letter he expressed his fear that the spirit of resistance had arisen too late, and that the French were now too strong to be resisted in that manner. All this, he said, appeared to him very strange and unsteady; yet if the spirit of enthusiasm did arise, and the people would be martyrs, there was no saying, in that case, what a British force might do. In the morning he wrote a second letter, ordering Sir David to return to Astorga. “We must be at hand,” said he, “to aid and take advantage of whatever happens. The wishes of our country and our duty demand this of us, with whatever risk it may be attended.” But he added, “I mean to proceed bridle in hand; for if the bubble bursts, and Madrid falls, we shall have a run for it.” These were ominous words. It was apparent that he had no confidence in the patriotism of the Spaniards, nor in his own means of resisting the French, however strong the country; it was apparent also, that, while these impressions weighed upon him, he looked on with apprehension to the opinion of the English public, and that in deference to that opinion he was sacrificing his own.

While Sir John was dispatching these instructions, it was not known at Salamanca that he had changed his intention of retreating: officers and men alike were delivering their opinions loudly, and speaking of another investigation. Charmilly hearing this, and being equally ignorant of the determination which had been formed, supposed that his second letter was necessary, and accordingly delivered it. The General, not perceiving the intent for which it was written, and feeling like a high-spirited officer who thought himself injured, tore the letter in pieces, and gave vent to his indignation in violent language. Part of his anger fell upon Charmilly, and, on the following day, he ordered him to quit Salamanca. Charmilly respectfully represented that he had not deserved such treatment. The General replied that he did not mean to give him the smallest offence; but he repeated the order, and it was obeyed. Sir John Moore, in his resentment for what he conceived the improper interference of the Ambassador, soon, however, recollected what was due to him as the King’s minister. He told Mr. Frere, therefore, that he should abstain from any remarks on the two letters delivered by Colonel Charmilly, or on the message which accompanied them. “I certainly,” said he, “did feel and express much indignation at a person like him being made the channel of a communication of that sort from you to me. Those feelings are at an end, and I dare say they never will be excited towards you again. If M. Charmilly is your friend, it was, perhaps, natural for you to employ him; but I have prejudices against all that class, and it is impossible for me to put any trust in him.” He informed the Minister that every thing should be done, for the assistance of Madrid and the Spanish cause, that could be expected from such an army as he commanded, ... but he could not make a direct movement on Madrid, because the passes of Guadarrama and Somosierra were in the hands of the French, and, besides, he was much too weak, until joined by Sir David Baird.

On the following day, Sir John received a letter from the Junta of Toledo, telling him they intended to re-unite the dispersed armies there, and defend the city to the last. He replied, that if the Spaniards acted up to such sentiments, there could be no doubt of their ultimate success, whatever temporary advantages the French might gain; and he sent a British officer to reside at Toledo, and concert measures for its defence. On the 8th, he informed Sir David Baird that he should move a corps on the 10th to Zamora and Toro, and ordered him to push on his troops, by brigades, to Benevente. But, on the 9th, Colonel Graham, whom he had dispatched to Morla and Castelfranco, returned from Talavera, with tidings that these men had surrendered Madrid. The number of the French there was computed at between 20,000 and 30,000 men, and it was said that they remained at the Retiro, not having taken possession of the city, in consequence of the temper of the inhabitants. Another part of the French army was engaged in besieging Zaragoza. From Toledo the news was equally discouraging: Victor no sooner approached than it was surrendered to him. These circumstances did not induce the British General to alter his plan: his object was to threaten the French communications, draw their attention from Madrid and Zaragoza, and thus favour any movements which might be projected by the armies forming on the south of the Tagus. If no advantage was taken of it, and no efforts made, he saw that the French might turn against him what portion of their force they pleased. That they would be able to do this he expected; and he believed that nothing which his army could effect would be attended with any other advantage than the character which might be won for the British arms. He looked, therefore, to a retreat, as an event which would soon be unavoidable; in his dispatches home, dissuaded the government from sending out reinforcements, and desired that transports might be ready, at Lisbon, and at Vigo, to receive the troops; being fully persuaded that the efforts of England could be of no avail, and that it would be necessary to evacuate the peninsula.

Having determined, in this inauspicious state of mind, upon advancing, he wrote to Romana, who was then at Leon, collecting and refitting the remains of Blake’s army. Sir John complained to him that he had been put in no communication with any of the Spanish armies, had been kept perfectly in the dark with respect to their movements, the plans of their generals and their government, and that while his army was on the march to assemble and unite itself, he had been left exposed, without the least support. Therefore, though his wish had always been to co-operate with the Spaniards, it became necessary for him, finding that he was left to himself, to think of himself alone. Under that feeling he had ordered the corps at Astorga to fall back on Coruña, and meant himself to retire upon Portugal, there to be ready for the assistance of Spain whenever their affairs were better managed, and an opportunity offered for doing them any good. Perhaps this opportunity had now occurred; and as his retreat had been reluctant, so he had stopped it the moment a chance of acting to advantage presented itself. His wish now was to unite with the Marques, for whose character he had the highest respect, and who would always find him ready to undertake whatever was practicable for the service of the Spanish nation. The account which Romana gave of his army in reply was far from encouraging. He had 20,000 men under arms, but they were almost all without haversacks, cartridge boxes, and shoes, and at least two-thirds were without clothing, from head to foot. Their spirits however were good, and if they were well fed they would do their duty. Their dispersion in Biscay had been wholly owing to the want of subsistence. He should not doubt of uniting with Sir John, and concerting a decisive attack upon the troops which surrounded Madrid, were it not for a division of 8000 or 10,000 men, extending from Sahagun to Almanza, whose apparent object was to check his army. As long as they remained in that position, he could not abandon his, because it would leave them a free way into Asturias; they would take possession of the country from whence he drew large supplies, and they would threaten the passage into Galicia. A combined movement with Sir David Baird might oblige them to fall back upon Reynosa, and then it would not be difficult to form a junction.

From the beginning Sir John Moore had thought so poorly of the Spaniards, that this account of the force with which he was to co-operate could make no alteration in his views. It was perfectly understood by him that he must stand, or fall, by his own means. He left Salamanca on the 12th. On the same day, Lord Paget, with the principal part of the cavalry, marched from Toro to Tordesillas; and General Stuart surprised and cut off a party of French who were posted at Rueda. This was the first encounter between the British and French in Spain; and the prisoners declared it was universally believed that the English army had retreated. On the 14th, when Sir John was at Alaejos, a packet of letters, from the head-quarters of the French army, was brought to him. Some peasantry had killed the officer who had them in charge. Among them was a letter from Berthier to Marshal Soult, directing him to take possession of Leon, drive the enemy into Galicia, and make himself master of Benevente and Zamora. He would have no English in front, it was said; for every thing evinced that they were in full retreat. A movement had been made to Talavera, on the road to Badajoz, which must compel them to hasten to Lisbon, if they were not already gone; and when they had retired, the Emperor thought Soult could do whatever he pleased. It appeared from this letter, that Soult had two divisions with him at Saldaña; that Junot was collecting another at Burgos; and that another, under Mortier (Duke of Treviso), had been ordered to march against Zaragoza.

Sir John had intended to march to Valladolid, but seeing that Soult was stronger than had been represented, he thought it better to move to Toro, and unite his army there, Sir David Baird doing the same at Benevente, from whence the two corps might be joined, either by a forward or flank movement, and strike a blow against Soult, before that General should be reinforced. While the head-quarters were at Toro, a member of the Junta arrived there with Mr. Stuart. After the manner in which Colonel Charmilly had been dismissed, Mr. Frere had little reason to hope that any thing would induce Sir John Moore to alter his determination of retiring from the country in despair. The Spanish Government ♦The command of the Spanish armies offered to Sir J. Moore.♦ had, however, pressed him to make one effort more: if that determination were persisted in, they said, it would bring on the most dreadful consequences. The measures which alone could save Portugal and Spain would be completely disconcerted, and England would have afforded them succour only to make them rely on an effective aid, and then to withdraw it at the critical moment when it was most needed. In reality, the enemy at this moment exposed himself to ruin by dividing his army to cover such an extended line. Romana would join Sir John Moore with 14,000 men, and the Junta had taken such measures that within a month 30,000 would be raised in Leon, Galicia, and Asturias. Mr. Frere inclosed this note to the British Commander, and reminding him of the immense responsibility with which he charged himself in adopting a measure which must be followed by immediate if not final ruin to our ally, and by indelible disgrace to the country with whose resources he was entrusted, expressed a hope that Mr. Stuart, who was personally esteemed by the General, would by that advantage be enabled to urge this argument with the warmth of regard. “I am unwilling,” he pursued, “to enlarge upon a subject in which my feelings must be stifled, or expressed at the risk of offence; which, with such an interest at stake, I should feel unwilling to excite. But this much I must say, that if the British army had been sent abroad for the express purpose of doing the utmost possible mischief to the Spanish cause, with the single exception of not firing a shot against their troops, they would, according to the measures now announced as about to be pursued, have completely fulfilled their purpose.... That the defence of Galicia should be abandoned, must appear incredible.”... This letter arrived too late to have any influence upon Sir John’s movements; he had advanced, but it was with a heavy heart: and when the Deputy from the Junta, D. Francisco Xavier Caro, at this time offered him the command in chief of the Spanish armies, he refused it. He would not have done this if he had had any hope of acting with success against the enemy, or any intention of making a stand against them: for at this time he learnt that Romana was beginning to retire on Galicia, and felt how inconvenient it was that the army which was to co-operate with him should be independent of him. He therefore wrote to the Marques, saying, he had looked for the assistance of such part of his corps as was fit to move; and had expected also that the road to Coruña would have been left open for the British army, as that by which it must receive its supplies, and the only one by which it must retreat, if compelled so to do. Romana replied, that he should have had no thought of retreating had it not been for the intelligence which he received from Sir D. Baird; that he was ready to act with Sir John; and that this was the moment, not for retreating, but for trying what could be done against the enemy, and drawing him from the capital.

The junction with Sir D. Baird was formed at Mayorga on the 20th; the united force amounting to something more than 28,000 men, of whom 2450 were cavalry, with 50 pieces of artillery. The cavalry under Lord Paget were pushed forward, and having learned that some of the enemy’s cavalry were posted at Sahagun, Lord Paget endeavoured to cut them off. The alarm was given, and they had time to form in a favourable position; but they were out-manœuvred, charged, overthrown in a moment, and dispersed in every direction, with the loss of many killed, and 157 prisoners, including two Lieutenant-Colonels. In this affair about 400 of the 15th Hussars encountered nearly 700 French; and the British felt and proved their own exceeding great superiority. Head-quarters were advanced to Sahagun on the 21st. The weather was severe; the roads bad, and covered with snow; and as the troops had suffered from forced marches, they halted there for a day, and there a co-operation with Romana was finally concerted, the Marques engaging to move with from 900040 to 10,000 men, being that part of his force which was sufficiently clothed and armed to take the field. Pitiable as their condition appeared when they were compared to troops so admirably equipped as the English, it was, nevertheless, evident, even to a desponding observer, that they might be brought into action as auxiliaries, to occupy part of the enemy’s force, and to complete his destruction in case of victory.

According to the information which Romana could obtain, Soult’s corps consisted of about 9000 infantry and 1000 horse; but that General, apprehending that some attempt would be made against him, had applied for reinforcements, and without waiting for them, called to his assistance the nearest troops; he had thus brought together about 18,000 men, who were posted behind the river Carrion. Every arrangement was made for attacking him, and orders were issued accordingly, ... never more welcome to a British army. The convents in Sahagun were prepared for the reception of the wounded; and the soldiers confidently anticipated a glorious victory. Their general was less sanguine. “The movement I am making,” he said to Mr. Frere, “is of the most dangerous kind. I not only risk to be surrounded every moment by superior forces, but to have my communication with Galicia intercepted. I wish it to be apparent to the whole world, as it is to every individual of the army, that we have done every thing in our power in support of the Spanish cause, and that we do not abandon it until long after the Spaniards had abandoned us.” The truth is, that nothing had been done; but he was disgusted with the Spanish Government, and he had no faith in the people: his own judgement would have led him to fall back from Salamanca; and he only advanced because he knew what would be the feelings of the English nation, if its army had retired without attempting any thing. Offended with Mr. Frere, for having given his opinion, when he himself had asked it, he did not deem the suggestion of that Minister, as to making a stand at Astorga, worthy of consideration. It was at once rejected, as futile; and he advanced against this detachment of the French, “bridle in hand,” as he himself said, and expecting to “have a run for it,” ... not thinking that any possible benefit could result from a victory, but seeking a reason which might appear valid to the people of England for abandoning the peninsula, and for leaving Spain and Portugal to their fate.... “It was necessary to risk this army,” he said, “to convince the people of England, as well as the rest of Europe, that the Spaniards had neither the power nor the inclination to make any efforts for themselves. With respect to the cause, it will probably have no effect. Even if I beat Marshal Soult, it will be attended with no other effect than the character it will attach to the British arms.”

At the hour appointed, the whole force was under arms; the right column had begun its march, and the rest were in high spirits, expecting the word of command: ... just at this time came a letter from Romana, with intelligence ♦The French endeavour to surround the British army.♦ that the French were advancing from Madrid, either to Valladolid or Salamanca; and information to the same purport was received by other messengers, and also, that considerable reinforcements ♦Dec. 23.♦ had arrived at Carrion from Palencia. Orders were immediately issued that the troops should go back to their quarters, and by daybreak next morning be again under arms. “In my life,” says one who was present, “I never witnessed such an instantaneously-withering effect upon any body of living creatures! A few murmurs only were heard, but every countenance was changed, and they who, the minute before, were full of that confidence which ensures victory, were at once deprived of all heart and ♦Sir J. Moore begins his retreat.♦ hope.” The next morning General Hope fell back to Mayorga, on the road to Benevente, with his own division and with General Fraser’s. Sir David Baird was ordered to pass the river Ezla at Valencia de San Juan: on Christmas-day the Commander-in-chief followed General Hope, with the reserve and the light brigades; and the cavalry, under Lord Paget, followed the reserve on the 26th. When Sir John Moore apprized Romana that he should fall back, he told him that if he were pursued he should stop and offer battle: and in a second communication from Sahagun he said, that if he were pressed after crossing the Ezla, he should have no objection to try an action. But he had made up his mind to lose some of his baggage, and not to fight, if he could avoid it. Astorga was to be his rallying point: there he informed Romana he should stand, as his retreat from thence, if necessary, would be secure, and he should be in the way to receive the supplies and the reinforcements which he expected from England. At the worst, he could defend himself, and, with Romana’s aid, defend Galicia. “You may rest assured,” he added, “that I shall not retreat a foot beyond what is necessary to secure my supplies from being intercepted.... You will find no inclination in me to abandon the Spanish cause.” But his dispatches from Benevente, on the 28th, show that this intention, if it had ever been seriously entertained, was soon abandoned; and as for the reinforcements, he had already countermanded them in his feeling of despair. His force, he said, when he reached Astorga, would be about 27,000; Romana could not have above 8000. The troops moving against him he estimated at not less than 50,000; and it was said that Buonaparte himself was coming, with 10,000 of his guards. His real purpose was not to stop longer at Astorga than to secure the stores, and then retreat to Villa Franca, where he had been told there was a position. Romana had intimated to him, some time ago, his intention of retiring into Galicia by this route, but Sir John begged it might be left open to the English, being the only communication they had for their retreat or supplies.

From the 22d to the 24th, Soult received such reinforcements as made his army superior to the British. Junot, with the army which had been transported from Portugal to France, had advanced to Palencia, and threatened their right flank. Buonaparte was hastening from Madrid, with his imperial cavalry, and all the disposable force in that quarter. The force under Lefebvre was counter-ordered from the road to Badajoz, and directed toward Salamanca. The retreat of the British upon Portugal was thus cut off. Of the numbers advancing against him Sir John Moore was not informed; and so little idea was there of flying when he began his retreat, that it was determined to carry off the prisoners; and they were accordingly stowed in covered waggons. A thaw came on the day when they first fell back; on the following it rained without intermission: the soil in that part of the country is a heavy loam, and the roads were above a foot deep in clay. The proclamations of the French travelled faster than the British army: these were, as usual, full of promises which would not be fulfilled, and menaces which would. They were come, they said, to deliver Spain; to emancipate the people from the yoke of a tyrannical nobility and a fanatic priesthood. All persons who remained quiet in their houses, or who, having forsaken them, speedily returned, should receive no injury; but otherwise, whatsoever belonged to them should be confiscated. Unhappily, the conduct of our people now began to give effect to these hand-bills. The soldiers were indignant ♦Ill conduct of the troops.♦ with the Spaniards for their apparent supineness; they were exasperated by the conduct of some poor wretches, whose carts had been pressed to carry the sick and wounded, and who, as many of them as could, had taken their mules, and run away in the night, because the movements of a retreating army exposed themselves to imminent danger, and their beasts to certain destruction. Weary and disheartened, in want of rest and food, disappointed in their confident hopes of victory, and indignant at turning their backs upon an enemy whom they would so eagerly have met in the field, it was a relief for them to vent these feelings, in the shape of anger, upon the only objects within their reach. In this temper they began to plunder and commit havoc wherever they went; and the officers, many of whom already murmured at the rapidity of the retreat, and were discontented with the total silence which the Commander-in-chief maintained respecting his future measures, did not exert themselves as they ought to have done, to prevent these excesses.