The pride of the French too had been at this time abated on the eastern coast, where Suchet had hitherto boasted of success in all his undertakings. Major-General William Clinton arrived at Alicante in November to take the command from which his health had compelled General Maitland to retire; and notwithstanding the difficulties which were opposed by a false point of honour, by a jealousy as ill-founded as it was ill-timed, and perhaps by treasonable intentions, he succeeded in obtaining consent to garrison the castle with British troops. In December a reinforcement of 4000 men, British and foreign, arrived from Palermo, under Major-General James Campbell, who by seniority superseded General Clinton in the command, which he was to hold till the then hourly expected arrival of Lord William Bentinck from Sicily. But Lord William was detained by political circumstances in that island, where the hopeless attempt had been undertaken of improving a government before any improvement has been effected either in those who are to govern or be governed; and, ♦Sir John Murray takes the command.♦ as no end could be seen to this delay, Lieutenant-General Sir John Murray was sent out from England to command the allied forces in that part of Spain. Feeble as that allied force was, and inert as its feebleness had compelled it to be, it had yet employed Suchet’s attention during the autumn and winter.

That general had his head-quarters for the most part at San Felippe, between Alicante and Valencia, and about three leagues from the Xucar. Some trivial affairs were all that occurred, till Sir John Murray soon after his arrival took the army out of its cantonments, apparently with the view of making the French marshal fall back and concentrate his forces on that river. After an unsuccessful attempt at surprising an enemy’s detachment in the populous village of Alcoy, he moved forward and took up a position near the town of Castalla, where in the preceding summer Don Joseph O’Donnell had sustained a severe defeat. While Sir John made ♦Defeat of Elio’s corps.♦ this movement on the right, General Elio with a separate Spanish corps of 12,000 men moved on the left to Yecla, Villena, and the flat country in that direction. There was an old castle in Villena, and Elio garrisoned it with 800 of his best troops. Suchet was not a man to lose any opportunity which was presented him: he saw that one of Elio’s divisions had taken post at Yecla, within reach of Fuente-la-Higuera, where his own advance was placed, and too far from that of the allies which was at Villena, 25 miles distant. During the night he collected the flower of his army at Fuente-la-Higuera, and marched with one division, the cavalry and the reserve, upon Villena, while, with the other part of his force, General Harispe proceeded rapidly to Yecla, ♦April 12.♦ unseen by the Spaniards. At break of day he came in sight of them; they retreated from one position to another, but were out-manœuvred and beaten, and after losing some four or five hundred men, 1200 laid down their arms.

On the afternoon of the same day, Suchet was seen advancing within a few miles of Villena, which is about two leagues to the westward of Castalla. Sir John Murray immediately withdrew the Majorcan division from Alcoy, and concentrating his force, occupied the strong position of Castalla. His left, consisting of that division, was placed on the rocky and almost inaccessible hills south of the town, ... the range terminating there. Major-General Mackenzie’s division, and the 58th regiment from Lieutenant-General Clinton’s occupied the town, and the ground to the right; here and in front of the castle some redoubts and batteries had been constructed. The remainder of the position was covered by a strong ravine which rendered it almost inaccessible on that side; and there Lieutenant-General Clinton was stationed, supported by three battalions of General Roche’s division as a column of reserve. The position was well taken. The second battalion of the 27th foot, the 1st Italian regiment, and the Calabrian free corps, had on the first alarm been pushed forward beyond Villena, under Colonel Adam, and with them a detachment of cavalry commanded by Colonel Lord Frederick Bentinck. The object of this movement was to observe the enemy’s motions: it brought on a cannonade, and the French endeavoured to break in upon our troops, and enter Villena pell-mell with them; but Colonel Adam, following his instructions, fell back upon Biar without loss. Sir John, being now assured that Suchet meditated a serious movement, urged General Elio to withdraw his 800 men from Villena, where the castle, in its imperfect state of defence, was not tenable against such an enemy; but the Spanish general was not to be persuaded. The French entered Villena that evening, pushing their light troops beyond ♦April 12.♦ it towards Biar; and on the morrow the commandant surrendered at the first summons, and he and his battalion were made prisoners of war.

In the afternoon, Suchet advanced in force towards Biar; which village is situated at the entrance of a strong pass, in a range of hills running nearly parallel with the position of the allies. About four o’clock he commenced a serious attack upon Colonel Adam’s detachment. That officer’s orders were to fall back upon Castalla, but to dispute the pass; and this he did for five hours against a very superior force, with the utmost gallantry and skill; till being overpowered by numbers, and having both flanks turned, he retreated then to the pass, and took the place which had been allotted to him in the position, on the high ground to the left of Castalla, having in this unequal conflict both inflicted and sustained very considerable loss. Two mountain guns fell into the enemy’s hands; they could not be brought off, because they were disabled; Colonel Adam therefore directed Captain Arabin to fight them to the last, and then abandon them. Before day closed, the French were seen in great force on the road to Biar, and on the hills opposite the position; but darkness prevented any farther operations for ♦Battle of Castalla. April 13.♦ the night. At daybreak they were perceived in great numbers along the defile of Biar, and in the plain ground which separates it from the hills near Castalla; and in the course of the morning they posted several large masses of infantry, as if in preparation for a decided attack. Their success against Elio’s corps had increased their confidence; and they had accustomed themselves to speak of this army as composed of the rabble of the allied nations, and to talk of driving them into the sea.

About one, they pushed forward a large column of cavalry to the village of Onil, about two miles in front of Castalla, and this movement was continued parallel to the front of the allies, until nearly opposite the right of the position. Sir John Murray had foreseen this: the ground was unfavourable for cavalry, and no notice was taken of the movement. Three masses of infantry at the same time moved rapidly from their right, crossed the plain ground in front of the pass, and with a gallantry, which, in the words of the British general, entitled them to the highest praise, commenced an attack on the centre and the left. The left had been weakened; for about an hour before the attack, General Whittingham had been ordered, with the three regiments which he had in position there, to make a reconnoissance upon the enemy’s right flank; but this was the key of the position; and the consequence of thus weakening it might have been disastrous if Colonel D. Julian Romero had not opportunely arrived there with two regiments from Alcoy. Upon this point, from whence more than half its force had been withdrawn, the main attack was made; and notwithstanding the difficult approach to it, the assailants gained ground. The Spaniards, who had expended all their cartridges, were observed to be retiring, and the enemy moving in considerable force to the left of our centre. The moment was critical. Just as the assailants had gained the summit, Colonel Adam, whom they were proceeding to attack in front, prevented them, and giving them no time to recover breath after the exertion of such an ascent, charged and overthrew their column, killing, wounding, or taking prisoner, during the pursuit, almost every man opposed to his brigade. The Spaniards resumed their ground. Whittingham too had no sooner apprehended the intention of the enemy, than he returned with all speed, and arrived in time to take part in the action, in which, and in the pursuit, the Spaniards distinguished themselves. The total failure of the enemy here seemed to be felt along their whole line of attack; they retreated every where. The cavalry, which had now advanced toward the front of the allies, fell rapidly back on perceiving this unexpected reverse, and entered the defile in such confusion, that had the advantage been vigorously pursued, a signal victory might, in all likelihood, have been obtained. Suchet, having united his broken battalions with those which he kept in reserve, took up a hasty position at the entrance of the defile. Sir John Murray, still retaining the height, moved a considerable part of his army into the plain, and formed it in front of the enemy, within cannon-shot, his right flank covered with the cavalry, his left resting on the hills. In this state, Marshal Suchet thought that the English did not choose to make an attack, and Sir John Murray, that the French did not choose to wait for one; ... for the line of the allies was scarcely formed when the enemy began their retreat, and continued it through the night, the action terminating at dusk with a distant cannonade.

The French had 18,000 infantry in the field, and 1600 cavalry: the allies were not much inferior in infantry; but greatly so in horse. The loss of the allies was 670 killed, wounded, and missing, the greater number of the killed being Spaniards: 800 of the enemy were left dead in front of the line which they had attacked: no prisoners were taken except such as were wounded; but Suchet sent 2000 of Elio’s soldiers prisoners to Tortosa on their way to France, and represented that his success on the one part of the operations balanced his failure on the other. If this had been the case numerically, which it was not, it was far otherwise in reputation. He had suffered a mortifying defeat; but what must most have tended to console him for it was, his satisfaction at perceiving that there was no intention on the part of the allies to pursue their victory. He retreated that night to Villena through Biar, where he left many dead and dying. Sir John, on the following day, marched his army in two columns to Alcoy, hoping (though with little confidence in that hope) that he might force the strong pass of Albayda, and reach the intrenched position of the enemy at S. Felippe before they could; this he thought better than a direct pursuit, because the road which the French had taken was favourable for cavalry, and he was greatly inferior in that arm. In the vicinity of Alcoy he remained till the 17th, and then advanced with the whole army into the open country, to the foot of the Albayda pass, about a league in front of Alcoy. But this being a lateral movement, made after the enemy had so far the start as to have passed all that was perilous for him, and got into a strong country, with his forces collected and restored to order, was an unimportant demonstration which had no effect; and he returned after it to his position at Castalla.

Marshal Suchet had not been more successful in machinations of another kind. Before the battle of Castalla, an Italian regiment in the Anglo-Sicilian army had been corrupted, and would have betrayed its post in an attack concerted with that view, if a timely discovery had not been made. A scheme also had been formed for delivering Alicante into his hands; but this also was detected, and three of his emissaries suffered death for it at Alcoy. Frey Assensio Nebot, known as a Guerrilla chief, by the name of El Frayle, the Friar, had more than any other partizan annoyed the French in Valencia. His party was well organized, and provided with a regularity which was seldom to be found in the regular Spanish armies: so rigorous were the measures employed against him, that women were put to death for supplying him with means and intelligence; and at length it was affirmed, that three criminals who had been condemned to capital punishment obtained their lives, and the promise of a good reward, on condition of presenting themselves to the Friar as volunteers, and taking an opportunity to assassinate him. Mr. Tupper, who had been the British consul at Valencia, and whose zealous services were never wanting to the common cause, obtained information of this villany, and the Friar was thus put upon his guard.

Lord Wellington was now prepared to open the campaign, and, for the first time, with such means as enabled him to act in full confidence of success. If the Anglo-Sicilian army should not achieve any signal service, he was yet assured that it would give sufficient employment to Suchet, so that the Intruder could look for no support from that side. The British force under his command consisted of 48,000 effective men; the Portugueze of about 28,000; the Galician of 18,000. The enemy were not inferior in number, and could more surely rely upon the whole of ♦May.♦ their troops; but the change in their Emperor’s fortune and in their own had been such, that they looked only to a defensive campaign, and trusted to their strong position on the Douro. In the middle of May Lord Wellington put his troops in motion. The cavalry which had wintered in the neighbourhood of Coimbra began their movement at the end of April: they went by the way of Porto to Braga, where they rested some days, and proceeding to Braganza, reached that place, which was the point of union for the left of the army, on the 22d of May. The left of the army under Sir Thomas Graham crossed the Douro in Portugal, between Lamego and the frontier. The siege of Ciudad Rodrigo in the preceding year could not have been undertaken unless that river had been rendered navigable far above the point to which the Portugueze barks formerly ascended: it had now been opened as high as to the mouth of the Agueda; and boats had been quietly collected at different points, without exciting any suspicion that they were ♦The left of the army crosses the Douro.♦ designed for the passage of the troops. Five divisions of infantry and two brigades of cavalry were thus placed upon the right bank of the Douro, while the enemy supposed that they had only to guard against an attempt from the left. The difficulties of the march were indeed very great; most of the roads are so narrow that carriages could barely pass between the thick walls which bounded them; and the mountain streams had their course in ravines, from whence the ascent is so laborious that sixty men could not without great exertion enable the horses to drag the artillery up. Nevertheless, hope and ardour overcame all difficulties; and the advantage which the troops derived from being provided with shelter was sensibly felt: out of a division of 6000 men, there were but 120 sick after a march of 250 miles, through such a country. When these were far on their way, Lord Wellington, with two divisions of British infantry, a Portugueze one under the Conde de Amarante, a Spanish one under Morillo, and some corps of cavalry, advanced from Ciudad Rodrigo by the direct road to Salamanca; the remainder of the army under Sir Rowland Hill moved upon the same point by Alba de Tormes.

The line of their retreat in November was still too evidently marked by the skeletons of the poor animals who had been worked to death in that cruel service. A division of infantry under General Villatte had been left in Salamanca, with some artillery, and three squadrons of horse. They evacuated the city upon the approach of the allies, but they lingered too long upon ♦May 26.Affair near Salamanca.♦ the high ground in its vicinity. When Lord Wellington was within half a league of Salamanca, he and his staff got upon a rocky height which commanded a full view of the city and adjacent country. Below him were his own videttes, and beyond them those of the enemy, each supported by piquets. To the right were the Arapiles, a name known only in topography before, but which had now a place in military history; and in the same direction, but more behind him, the heads of two columns, forming Sir Rowland’s division, were seen on two nearly parallel roads. Through a glass, the enemy were observed drawn up; two battalions and a squadron to the right of the city, near a ruined convent; two squadrons on the Tormes, near the bridge; half a squadron guarding the ford, about a mile above the city, near S. Martha; ... and behind the city a battalion in reserve. Villatte having barricadoed the bridge and the principal communications throughout the town, seemed to have thought himself sure of an easy retreat. The 1st German hussars, favoured by ground which concealed them from the enemy, inclined toward the ford, while the 14th light dragoons, keeping beyond the reach of fire, edged along the left bank of the river. The enemy appeared in some confusion, but remained stationary, as if waiting for something; and beyond the city, in the direction of Miranda de Duero and Zamora, their piquets were withdrawing, and mules and baggage joining them from all sides. It was now nearly ten in the forenoon, and the day very hot. The head of Sir Rowland’s right column, which consisted of cavalry, and a troop of horse artillery, under General Fane, were within two miles of S. Martha, marching for the ford: the enemy now began to move, first in the direction of Toro, but presently, as if wavering, bending to their right, they kept close to the Tormes, in the direction of Arevalo; and retired rapidly, but in good order, when Fane with his six squadrons had crossed the river. It was well for them that this cavalry was already jaded by a long march; but the horse artillery, as soon as, owing to the ravines and the intricacies of the ground, it could be brought into use, opened upon them with great effect, every shot going through their crowded ranks. They retired with extreme rapidity, but in excellent order, and the artillery pursued as quickly as a very deep country, occasionally intersected with hollow roads, would allow. When the enemy came to Aldea Lengua, there was an opportunity of attacking them with every probability of forcing them to lay down their arms; but strict orders had been given not to pass a ravine just by that village; and the moment (never to be regained in war) went by. When orders came to proceed, it was just too late; the pursuit however was continued, and some three miles beyond the village a charge was attempted by two squadrons, but feebly, for the horses were now far spent; the enemy formed into squares, and repulsed them by a volley, though with little loss. The pursuit was continued about three miles farther. Some of the French were taken, being unable to march farther from fatigue; and many threw away their knapsacks, and sacks full of biscuit, and of corn, but no troops under such circumstances could have behaved better; ... and some proofs were given of what better deserves to be called ferocious intrepidity than courage. One of their men who was severely wounded attempted to destroy himself; and another obstinately refusing to surrender when it was not possible for him to escape, compelled those who would fain have saved his life to cut him down. The affair ended in front of Aldea Rubia; a corps of infantry and cavalry retiring from Alba, when threatened by Major-General Long and by Morillo’s division, joined the enemy here; and Lord Wellington, as his infantry had not come up, recalled the troops from the pursuit. Above fourscore of the French lay dead on the road, and many fell among the standing corn: some 200 were made prisoners; and some baggage, ammunition, and provisions, with Villatte’s coach, were taken.

During the two following days, Lord Wellington established the troops which had marched from the Agueda and Extremadura Alta between the Tormes and the Lower Douro. On the 29th he left Salamanca, and reached Miranda de Duero. The enemy had destroyed all the bridges upon the river except that at Zamora. Opposite Miranda there is a ferry, where this deep and rapid stream is from 80 to 100 yards wide, and the rocks on either side from 400 to 500 feet high. When it is so swoln that the ferry is impracticable, the only way by which travellers can cross is after the old Peruvian manner, in a sort of hammock or cradle, fastened to a rope, which is secured upon two projecting points of rock, about thirty feet above the ordinary level of the ♦Florez Esp. Sagrada, t. 16, p. 3.♦ water. Here Lord Wellington crossed, and on the following day joined Sir Thomas Graham’s corps at Carvajales on the Ezla. This river, which upon good grounds is believed to have been the Astura of the ancients, and in Leon is called the Rio Grande, descends from the Puertos de Asturias, passes by Mansilla to Benevente, near which town it receives the Cea from the east, and the larger river Orbigo from the west, and enters the Douro below Zamora. At daybreak on the 31st the troops began to ford: the enemy so little apprehended danger on that side, that they had only a piquet there, and thus no opposition was offered to a very difficult and perilous passage. The ford was intricate; the water nearly chin deep; the bottom rough and stony; and the stones large and loose. The hussar brigade began the passage, entering in a body; and as it was supposed that a village on the opposite hill was occupied by the enemy, and as it was necessary that some infantry should cross to support the advance of the hussars, each dragoon had a soldier holding by his stirrup. But this impeded the horses: alarmed both by, the stream and the unsafe footing, they became unmanageable and plunged forward: the men, who before could scarcely keep their feet against the force and weight of the stream, lost at once their footing and their hold; they were plunged into the water, their knapsacks overweighed them and kept them on their backs, and in this manner they struggled at the mercy of the current. There were, fortunately, three or four small islands just at this part; and by these most of the officers and men were stopped, but several valuable lives were lost. The hussars exerted themselves with exemplary humanity to assist the infantry, and one of their corporals lost his own life in the performance of this generous duty. In this way the 51st and the Brunswick Oel’s corps, as well as the cavalry, passed. Their orders were to ascend the hill and take the village: the enemy’s piquet were made prisoners. A pontoon bridge was then thrown across, and the remainder of the corps passed over.

The French seem now for the first time to have comprehended Lord Wellington’s plan, and found themselves out-manœuvred by an enemy to whom they had hitherto allowed no credit for any thing except courage, and that only because they had been so often beaten by them that it was no longer for their own credit to deny it. No sooner were they menaced by the advance of the columns than they destroyed the bridge at Zamora, and retired from that city and from Toro. Both cities were entered by the allies; and at daybreak on the first of June the hussar brigade under Colonel Grant came up near Toro with the enemy’s rear-guard, who retired rapidly to the village of Morales, in the direction of Tordesillas. After having been cannonaded by two guns, which were all that could be brought up in time through the deep sandy roads, the French formed behind the village. The hussars passed on both sides of the village, and instantly charged them; upon which they made off with all speed for a little bridge across a marshy bottom, faced about there, being supported by some guns belonging to their infantry, and stood a charge. They were worsted in it, but passed the bridge; part of the 10th hussars pursued, and Captain Lloyd advancing with great spirit, but few followers, was taken: they were again pressed, and retired hastily on the infantry, losing more than 200 prisoners in these affairs, and so many in killed and wounded, that the 16th regiment of dragoons was almost destroyed. Captain Lloyd was ill-treated by his captors; they beat him and rifled him, but left him in their retreat. Though the fighting was almost in the street of Morales, the Spaniards were now so accustomed to sights of war, that within ten minutes after the firing had ceased the women were spinning at their doors, and the little children at play as if nothing had happened.

Lord Wellington halted at Toro, that the light division and the troops under Sir Rowland might cross the Douro by the bridge there, that his rear-guard might come up, and that the Galician army should unite itself with his left. The whole of the allied force was now on the right side of the Douro: leaving then half the reserve-ammunition near Zamora to spare the horses (which were already suffering), he proceeded: the French, whose force was distributed between Valladolid, Tordesillas, and Medina, retiring as he advanced, their rear crossing at the Puente de Duero, on the same day that the allies accomplished their first object in the campaign, by uniting on the right side of that river. The enemy now concentrated their force behind the Pisuerga: there also there was strong ground for defence; but abandoning that also when Lord Wellington manœuvred on their right, they withdrew behind the Carrion. The Intruder quitted Palencia on the 6th, and the greater part of his troops early on the following morning, after a night passed in the fear of close pursuit. When Lord Wellington entered that city, flowers were thrown upon him from the windows, and a shower of roses from the upper gratings of a nunnery. The enemy had not left a morsel of bread, nor a drop of wine in that city: and when they hastily retired from a bivouac near Tordesillas, leaving it to be occupied by a part of Sir Rowland’s corps, the fuel which the troops found collected there consisted of doors, window-frames, tables, and drawers, from the houses in the neighbourhood.

From the Ezla to Palencia the troops had marched through one continued track of corn, where villages were so thinly scattered, that it seemed unaccountable where the cultivators were to be found. The land was generally in wheat, with a fair proportion of barley, and here and there a crop of vetches and clover. They moved generally by two roads, and on each side of each at least twenty yards were trampled down. The horses were fed on green barley nearly the whole march. The intention of the British Government was to pay the inhabitants for whatever the army must of necessity take from them; and on the part of the Government, the full payment was in fact made: but little of that payment reached the poor people to whom it was due. For want of specie, the commissaries could pay upon the spot only in bills; to the peasantry these were worth no more than what the land-sharks who follow in the wake of an army chose to offer for them; and in this iniquitous manner large fortunes were amassed, ... a species of roguery which many of the Portugueze (though as a people the Portugueze are eminent for probity) were not slow in learning.

The army crossed the Carrion on the 7th, following an enemy who seemed undetermined where to make a stand. On the 12th, Lord Wellington found it necessary after such rapid movements to halt his left, while the right under Sir Rowland advanced to reconnoitre the strength of the French, and the position which they had taken up near Burgos, where great pains had been taken to strengthen the fortifications of the castle. They were posted in considerable force on the heights to the left of the Hormaza, with their right above the village of that name, and their left in front of Estapar. Part of the allied force flanked them on their right, another marched against the heights of Hormaza, the remainder threatened those of Estapar; without waiting to be attacked they were dislodged, and retreated hastily for Burgos, suffering considerable loss from the horse artillery, and losing a gun and some prisoners, but retreating in the best order. More presence of mind indeed was shown by them hitherto in presence of the enemy, and in action, than in their counsels. They posted themselves on the left of the Arlanzon and of the Urbel, which were then greatly swoln with rains: but in the night they retreated into the city, and hurrying from it, blew up the castle early in the morning, about an hour after the Intruder had left it. They seemed to have been aware that there was no longer any hope of recovering their ascendancy, and to have intended to bring upon the city a destruction which should prevent the inhabitants from rejoicing in their deliverance. But the hurry, and fear, and confusion, with which their preparations were made defeated this malignant purpose. Several mines failed; some which were primed did not explode; others were so ill managed that they blew the earth inwards: and as the explosion took place some hours sooner than was intended, the destruction which was intended for their enemies fell in part upon themselves. Many of their men who were lingering to plunder perished as they were loading their horses with booty in the streets and squares, and three or four hundred were blown up in the fort. Above 1000 shells had been placed in the mines: the explosion was distinctly heard at the distance of fifty miles; and the pavement of the cathedral was covered with the dust into which its windows had been shivered by the shock. The town escaped destruction owing to the failure of so many of the mines, but the castle was totally destroyed, ... gates, beams, masses of masonry, guns, carriages, and arms lying in one heap of ruins; ... some of the mines had laid open the breaches, and exposed the remains of those who had fallen during the siege.

The object of the enemy now was to occupy a position behind the Ebro, blocking up the great road by placing a garrison in the castle of Pancorbo, and calling to their assistance the corps from Biscay, Navarre, and Aragon. But Lord Wellington, repeating the manœuvre which had before so perfectly succeeded, had already sent his left column to effect its passage in a quarter from whence they apprehended no danger. The Ebro rises in the mountains of Santillana, its principal source being at the northern extremity of Old Castille, towards the Asturian frontier, near a town which from that cause is called Fontibre. The Sierra de Oca prevents it from trending westward, like the other great rivers of Spain; and at Miranda de Ebro, the point at which the Intruder had instructed the different divisions of his army to make for with all speed, it appears nearly as large a stream as at Tortosa, though in the course of the intervening sixty leagues it receives many and large rivers, one of them the Aragon, of such magnitude, that it is called the husband (el varou) of the Ebro. While the remainder of the army were pushing the enemy back ♦Passage of the Ebro by the allies.♦ upon Burgos, the left column had been detached to effect its passage above Frias by the bridges of S. Martin and Rocamunde: the road thither had been deemed impracticable for carriages, and on that supposed impracticability the enemy relied; but the confidence of the British General was partaken by his army, and well seconded by them in all ways; exertions which nothing but zeal and eager hope could have accomplished were made; and the artillery was lowered down the steep banks of the river where there were none to offer any resistance. The French had calculated not without reason on the line of the Ebro, if they had had foresight or been allowed leisure to occupy it. The road begins to descend the mountains about three miles from the right bank, and for more than half that way winds down a continued defile, which admits only eight or ten men abreast, and being withal tremendously steep, is so paved that horses can scarcely keep their feet there. Another such defile, and of greater length, is to be passed on the opposite side. A few ditches cut across the route, a few trees placed as barricadoes, a rock blown up to block the pass, a hundred or two of men to defend it, and to roll stones from the crags and precipices above, might have stopped any force that attempted the passage. The left column crossed on the 14th, the remainder of the army on the 15th, at the same points and by the Puente de Arenas, and on the following day they moved to the right, in the direction of Vittoria.

They knew at this time little of the enemy, not even who commanded their united force, whether Marshal Jourdan or General Gazan, the Intruder’s command being of course merely nominal; it was thought that their intention was to have given battle upon the main road, near Briviesca; but this alone was certain, that their plans had been disconcerted by Lord Wellington’s movements and sudden advance, and that they were in that state of irresolution which prepares even the best soldiers for defeat. On the 16th and 17th they assembled a considerable force near Espejo, composed of troops which had been employed against Longa and Mina, and of others detached from the main body of their army. They had also a division of infantry, with some cavalry, at Frias, to observe the movements of the allies after the passage of the Ebro. These detachments, in all about 16,000 men, moved on the 18th, those from Frias upon S. Millan, and those from Espejo upon Osma. The light division, under Major-General Alten, drove them from S. Millan, and cut off the brigade of their rear-guard, of whom it killed and wounded many, took 300 prisoners, with a considerable quantity of baggage, and dispersed the rest among the mountains, ... from thence to be brought in by the peasants and the guerrillas. Sir Thomas Graham arrived at Osma at the same time with the enemy’s corps; they were considerably superior in numbers, nevertheless they retired as soon as an intention was shown of attacking them: presently they returned briskly, as if to become assailants in their turn, but their reception was not such as to encourage them, and they once more retired towards Espejo, and being followed thither, withdrew to the heights. The enemy’s head-quarters were that day at Pancorvo. During the night they moved from thence towards Vittoria; and on the following day their rear-guard was found strongly posted, having its right covered by the village of Subijana, and its left upon the heights in front of ♦June 19.♦ Pobes. The light division attacked them in flank on the right, Sir Lowry Cole with the 4th in front, and they were driven back upon their main force, of which a view was then obtained, but no correct judgment could be formed of its numbers, because they were in part concealed by the mountains, and a thick rain was falling during the whole day. On that night they took up a position in front of Vittoria.

This city, which is now the capital of the province of Alava, and stands in a valley, bounded on one side by a part of the Pyrenees, and on the other by a range of bold though inferior mountains, was founded in 1181 by Sancho VII. of Navarre, a king distinguished by the appellations of the Wise and the Valiant. There had been a village called Gasteiz on the site; Sancho thinking it a good situation for a fortress which might check the incursions of his Castillian neighbours ♦Garchay, L. 24, cap. 13. pp. 187–8.♦ on that side, rebuilt, peopled and fortified it, and gave his new town the name of Victoria, in memorial of some now forgotten victory obtained in that vicinity over them. Juan II. of Castille made it a city. It is now divided into the old and new towns, the latter being the larger and better part of what in peaceful times was a populous, industrious, and prosperous place, containing more than a thousand houses, and twice that number in the suburbs.

In front of this city the enemy had taken their position, under the nominal command of the Intruder, but actually commanded by Marshal Jourdan, as the Major-General of the army. Their left rested upon the heights which terminated at the Puebla de Arlanza; and they had a reserve in rear of their left, at the village of Gomecha: their centre extended along a range of strong heights on the left bank of the Zadorra, its right resting on a circular hill that commands the valley to which that river gives name; this hill they had covered with infantry, flanked and defended with several brigades of guns; their right was in advance of the river, above the village of Abechuco, to defend the passage. This position, extending about eight miles, covered the three great roads which from Bilbao, Logroño, and Madrid, converge upon Vittoria; it crossed also the main road to Bayonne, upon which immense convoys were seen, moving towards France with the last harvest and the last gleanings of their plunder. The city was filled with others awaiting their turn for departure. It is remarkable that, within sight of this ground, the battle of Najara was fought, in which Edward the Black Prince, acting as the ally of a bad man, defeated the best troops of France under their most distinguished leader Bertram du Guesclin, who was come in support of a worse. It is also remarkable that the Prince of Brazil, before the battle of Vittoria was fought, should have conferred the title of Duque da Victoria upon Lord Wellington.

Lord Wellington halted his columns on the 20th, in order to close them up, for since reaching the Ebro they had necessarily been extended, because of the nature of the country: only the 6th division was left at Medina de Pomal to cover the march of supplies from the rear. That day he made a close reconnoissance of the enemy’s position in every part, with the determination of attacking them on the following morning, if they should continue there. There was little disparity of numbers between the two armies, each having from 70 to 75,000 men. Lord Wellington instantly perceived that the position, though in most respects well chosen, was too confined, that it showed an inconsiderable front, and was liable to be taken in flank.

At daybreak on the 21st of June the allied army was put in motion. The right under Sir Rowland, consisting of the second British division, the Conde de Amarante’s Portugueze division, and Morillo’s Spanish corps, was to commence the action by attacking the heights of La Puebla, upon which the enemy’s left rested. Sir Thomas Graham with the left, composed of the 1st and 5th divisions, Generals Pack and Bradford’s brigades of infantry, Generals Bock and Anson’s brigades of horse, and Longa’s Spanish division, was directed to turn their right by a wide movement, and, crossing the Zadorra, to cut off their retreat by the road to Bayonne. As soon as either of these corps should be in a situation to manœuvre on the other side the river, the centre, consisting of the 3d, 4th, 7th, and light divisions, in two columns, was to advance, and the whole then push forward on the city, and attack it simultaneously in front and in flank, ... whereby the French would be compelled either to abandon it and their precious convoys, or risk a battle in the hope of preserving them. The Spaniards, under Morillo, began the action, and attacked the heights with great gallantry; their leader was wounded, but remained in the field; the enemy stood firm, and made great efforts to retain their ground, perceiving when too late, that they had neglected to occupy it in sufficient strength. Strong reinforcements were sent from their centre to its support, so that Sir Rowland found it necessary to detach thither, first, the 71st regiment, and the light infantry battalions of Major-General Walker’s brigade, and successively other troops; the contest was very severe, and the loss considerable. Here the Hon. Lieutenant-Colonel Cadogan was mortally wounded, an officer, in Lord Wellington’s words, “of great zeal and tried gallantry, who had acquired the respect and regard of the whole profession, and of whom it might have been expected, that if he had lived he would have rendered the most important services to his country.” At length the enemy were driven at the point of the bayonet from these heights; and under the cover which the possession of this ground afforded, Sir Rowland crossed the Zadorra at La Puebla, passed the difficult defile, two miles in length, which is formed by the heights and the river, and then attacked and won the village of Sabijana de Alva, which covered the left of the enemy’s lines. They on their part made repeated attempts to regain this important point, and with that hope drew from their centre a considerable force; again and again they endeavoured to recover the village, but their efforts, though bravely and perseveringly made, were unsuccessful.

The difficult nature of the country delayed the communication between the different columns, and it was late before Lord Wellington knew that the 3d and 7th divisions, under the Earl of Dalhousie, had arrived at their appointed station. The 4th and the light divisions, however, crossed the Zadorra immediately after Sir Rowland had gained possession of Sabijana, the former at the bridge of Nanclares, the latter at the Tres Puentes; almost at the same time the Earl of Dalhousie’s column arrived at Mendonza, and the 3rd division, under Sir Thomas Picton, charged and took the bridge higher up, and crossed and was followed by the 7th. These bridges the enemy ought to have destroyed, but from the beginning of the campaign a want of foresight had been manifested in all their operations, though when in action their generals displayed the habitual promptitude of experienced commanders. The four divisions which had now crossed, and which formed the centre of the allied army, were destined to attack the heights on which the right of the enemy’s centre was placed, while Sir Rowland should move forward from Sabijana to attack the left. The French had lined those heights with artillery, which opened on the allies as soon as they attempted to advance from the river, and with so destructive a fire that it became necessary for them to halt and bring two brigades of guns to oppose it. Meantime the contest was maintained at Sabijana with great obstinacy; the enemy feeding their attacks from a wood, in which their troops were assembled in great force. But when a brigade which Sir Rowland had detached along a range of mountains to turn their flank appeared, and at the same time Sir Thomas Picton approached their front, they gave over their attempts to recover the village, and began to think rather of retreat than of a successful resistance. And when Sir Thomas pushed on to take the large circular hill in flank, while the fourth division moved simultaneously upon the village in the centre, their whole force prepared to fall back upon the town, retreating before the allies could close, but keeping up a hot fire from their artillery. The third division first came in contact with their columns, and by a gallant attack captured 28 of their guns which they had not time to draw into the road. The other divisions pressed them in front. At this moment both the winning and the losing game were played with equal skill, “the allies advancing by echellons of battalions, in two or three lines, according ♦Colonel Jones’s Account, 2. 158.♦ to the nature of the ground; and the French retiring before them in the most orderly manner, and taking advantage of every favourable opportunity to make a stand.” And here it happened, that General Colville’s brigade, which was on the left of the centre, and most in advance, became, by an accident of the ground, separated from its support; the enemy, who lost no opportunity in action, attacked it with a far superior force, but the brigade stood firm, though out of 1800 men it lost 550.

While the right and the centre, following up their success, were pushing the enemy back upon Vittoria, the left was advancing upon that town by the high road from Bilbao. Sir Thomas Graham with that column had been moved on the preceding evening to Margina, and had then so considerable a round to make, that it was ten o’clock before he began to descend into the plain. General Giron with the Spanish army had been detached to the left under a different view of the state of affairs; but having been recalled and reached Orduña on the yesterday, he marched from thence in the morning so as to be in readiness to support Sir Thomas Graham, if his support should be required. The enemy had a division of infantry and some cavalry advanced upon the Bilbao road, resting their right on some strong heights covering the village of Gamarra Mayor, and both that village and Abechuco were strongly occupied as têtes-du-pont to the bridges over the Zadorra at those places. The heights were attacked both in front and flank by Brigadier-General Pack’s Portugueze brigade, and Longa’s Spanish division, supported by Major-General Anson’s brigade of light dragoons, and the 5th division of infantry, all under the command of Major-General Oswald; and they were carried, both Spaniards and Portugueze behaving admirably. Longa then with little resistance got possession of Gamarra Menor, and the larger village of the same name was stormed and taken by Brigadier-General Robinson’s brigade of the 5th division, which advanced under a heavy fire of artillery and musketry without firing a shot: the enemy suffered severely there, and lost three pieces of cannon. Sir Thomas Graham then proceeded to attack the village of Abechuco with the 1st division; they formed a strong battery against it, under cover of which Colonel Halkett’s brigade advanced to the attack, supported by General Bradford’s brigade of Portugueze infantry. Three guns and a howitzer were taken on the bridge here, and the village was carried. While the contest at Abechuco continued, the enemy seeing their communication with Bayonne threatened, marched a strong body to their right in the hope of recovering Gamarra Mayor: they were driven back in confusion; made a second attempt, and were again repulsed, for Sir Thomas had loop-holed the houses in front of the bridge, placed artillery to flank the approach, and stationed several battalions concealed along the walls, and their fire repelled the enemy upon a third advance. But the French had two divisions of infantry in reserve upon the heights on the left of the Zadorra; Sir Thomas, therefore, could not cross the river with such a corps in front, till the troops which had moved upon the centre and the left of the French should have driven them through Vittoria. About six in the evening this was done, and the corps which held him in check retreated then lest it should be taken in rear. The left then crossed the Zadorra, took possession of the high road to Bayonne, and forced the right as well as the left centre of the enemy back into the Pamplona road; and now they were unable to hold any position long enough for drawing off their artillery and baggage. In the expressive language of an officer who bore his part in the victory, “they were beaten before the town, and in the town, and through the town, and out of the town, and behind the town, and all round about the town.” Every where they had been attacked, every where beaten, and now every where were put to utter rout. They themselves had in many actions made greater slaughter of a Spanish army, but never in any instance had they reduced an army, even of raw volunteers, to such a state of total wreck. Stores, baggage, artillery, every thing was abandoned; one gun and one howitzer only were they able to carry off, and the gun was taken before it could reach Pamplona. 151 pieces of brass ordnance on travelling carriages were taken; more than 400 caissons, more than 14,000 round of ammunition, and nearly two millions of musket-ball cartridges. The loss on the part of the allies consisted of 501 British killed, 2808 wounded: 150 Portugueze and 89 Spaniards killed, 899 and 466 wounded, ... the total loss not amounting to 5000. The French acknowledged a loss of 8000, ... unquestionably it was greater; not more than a thousand prisoners were taken; for so soon as they found themselves irretrievably defeated, they ran, and never did brave soldiers when beaten display more alacrity in flight. Having abandoned all their ammunition waggons, they had not powder to blow up the bridges; had this been done, the pursuit would have been greatly impeded; attempts were made to break them up with pick-axes, and in this they partly succeeded in several places. But the country was too much intersected with ditches for cavalry to act with effect in a pursuit; and infantry who moved in military order could not at their utmost speed keep up with a route of fugitives. Yet, precipitate as their flight was, they took great pains to bear off their wounded, and dismounted a regiment of cavalry to carry them on. And they carefully endeavoured to conceal their dead, stopping occasionally to collect them and throw them into ditches, where they covered them with bushes. Many such receptacles were found containing from ten to twenty bodies.

The Intruder, who now appears for the last time upon the stage of his everlasting infamy, narrowly escaped. The tenth hussars entered Vittoria at the moment that he was hastening out of it in his carriage. Captain Wyndham with one squadron pursued, and fired into the carriage, and Joseph had barely time to throw himself on his horse and gallop off under the protection of an escort of dragoons. The carriage was taken, and in it the most splendid of his trinkets, and the most precious articles of his royal plunder. Marshal Jourdan’s staff was among the trophies of the field; it was rather more than a foot long, and covered with blue velvet, on which the imperial eagles were embroidered; and it had been tipped with gold; but the first finder secured the gold for himself. The case was of red morocco with silver clasps, and with eagles on it, and at either end the Marshal’s name imprinted in gold letters. Lord Wellington sent it to the Prince Regent, and was gracefully presented in return with the staff of a Field-Marshal of Great Britain. The spoils resembled those of an Oriental rather than of an European army; for the Intruder, who in his miserable situation had abandoned himself to every kind of sensuality, had with him all his luxuries. His plunder, his wardrobe, his sideboard, his larder, and his cellar, fell into the conqueror’s hands. The French officers, who carried the pestilential manners of their nation wherever they went, followed his example as far as their means allowed, and thus the finest wines and the choicest delicacies were found in profusion. The wives and mistresses of the officers had gathered together in one house, where they were safe, and from whence they were sent in their own carriages with a flag of truce to Pamplona. Poodles, parrots, and monkeys, were among the prisoners. Seldom has such a scene of confusion been witnessed as that which the roads leading from the field of battle presented; ... broken down waggons stocked with claret and champagne, others laden with eatables dressed and undressed, casks of brandy, apparel of every kind, barrels of money, books, papers, sheep, cattle, horses, and mules, abandoned in the flight. The baggage was presently rifled, and the followers of the camp attired themselves in the gala dresses of the flying enemy. Portugueze boys figured about in the dress coats of French general officers; and they who happened to draw a woman’s wardrobe in the lottery, converted silks, satins, and embroidered muslins, into scarfs and sashes for their masquerade triumph. Some of the more fortunate soldiers got possession of the army chest, and loaded themselves with money: “Let them,” said Lord Wellington, when he was informed of it; “they deserve all they can find, were it ten times more.” The camp of every division was like a fair; benches were laid from waggon to waggon, and there the soldiers held an auction through the night, and disposed of such plunder as had fallen to their share to any who would purchase it. Even dollars became an article of sale, for they were too heavy to be carried in any great numbers; eight were offered for a guinea, ... guineas which had been struck for the payment of the troops in Portugal, and made current there by a decree of the Regency, being the gold currency. The people of Vittoria had their share in the spoils, and some of them indemnified themselves thus for what they had suffered in their property by the enemy’s exactions.

The city sustained no injury, though the French were driven through it, and though great part of the battle might be seen from every window. Nothing could be more mournful than its appearance that night, ... a lantern at every door, and no one in the streets. It was the first place where the allies had found that the inhabitants were French in feeling. Two days of heavy rain impeded the pursuit; but that rain saved many houses from the flames, for the French wreaked their vengeance upon every thing which they could destroy in their flight. Every house at which the pursuers arrived had been gutted by the fugitives, every village set on fire, and the few inhabitants who had not taken flight in time had met with no mercy; at every step the allies found havoc, and flames, and misery, the dying and the dead. Such was the panic among the fugitives, that, finding the gates of Pamplona closed, they attempted to force their way over the walls, and did not desist till they were opposed by a serious fire of cannon and musketry. A council of war was held there, in which it was resolved to blow up the works and abandon the place; with this intent they destroyed ammunition and tore down palisades from the outworks. But the Intruder knew that the possession of so strong a fortress would in some degree cover his flight; and the last act of his usurped authority was to order that every article of food and fuel should be taken from the Spaniards who were within reach. By the rigorous execution of this order, the quantity in the town was more than doubled; and having left a garrison there, the flying force continued their way to the Pyrenees. Their rear was still in sight of Pamplona, when the right and centre of the allies were checked in their pursuit by a fire from the walls.