Offensive operations of the Duke of Dalmatia—Partial retrogression of the British—Ill success in the storming of the breaches at St. Sebastian—Movements of the various divisions—Great extent of the British line along the Pyrenees—Interesting domestic scene attending the departure of the Author's Division from the town of Bera—Battle of Pampeluna—Embarrasing situation of the light division through an accidental separation from the army—Successes obtained over the French, and their consequent retreat—Active movements, and capture of the enemy's baggage—A trait of character—Continued advantages gained over the French, who are driven beyond the Pyrenees.
The Duke of Dalmatia, on the 25th of July, assaulted the passes in the neighbourhood of Roncesvalles,59 and the Count d'Erlon that of Aretesque, four miles in front of Maya. The result of this day's combat obliged Generals Cole, Byng, and the Spanish General Morillo, to fall back from Roncesvalles; owing to which retrograde, the British army were taken in reverse. The fifth division, at daybreak, had stormed the breaches of St. Sebastian without success; two thousand men had fallen, or were made prisoners, at the various points of contest; and General Hill fell back, during the night, from the pass of Maya. So far every thing seemed propitious to the views of the French marshal. Under all these circumstances, General Campbell, (who was stationed with a Portuguese brigade at the pass of Los Alduides,) finding his flanks laid bare, retired from that post, and, during the 26th, formed a junction with General Picton, who, by a flank movement to the right, had marched from Olacque to Lizoain, for the purpose of succouring the troops falling back from Roncesvalles.
During these operations, General Hill had taken up a strong position at Irrueta, sixteen miles from the pass of Aretesque, where he opposed, for the time being, the farther progress of the Count d'Erlon. This position covered the flank of General Picton's column, retrograding from Zubiri, and prevented the Count d'Erlon from uniting with the Duke of Dalmatia; and also enabled the sixth division to march direct to the rear from San Estevan, and to unite at the well-arranged point d'appui, five miles in front of Pampeluna, where, on the 27th, the general-in-chief joined those troops which had retired from Zubiri, under the command of Generals Picton, Cole, Byng, Campbell, and Morillo, and who were now drawn up on a strong ridge in front of Pampeluna, and flanked by the rivers Arga and Lanz. General Picton was in a manner thrown back on the left of the Arga, in front of Olaz, and supported by General Cotton, with the cavalry in reserve, for the purpose of preventing the enemy from taking the right of the army in reverse by the road from Zubiri. The enemy, who had followed the march of the troops by that road, had no sooner arrived opposite the third division, than by an oblique prolongation to their right, they began to extend their line across the front of the General-in-chief, under a fire of small-arms,—by which manoeuvre they succeeded in cutting off General Hill's retreat by the Maya road, running through Ortiz; he, therefore, having passed through Lanz, hedged off diagonally in a westerly direction, and, by an oblique march, formed a junction with the seventh division (from St. Estevan) at Lizasso, thence to co-operate, if possible, with the left of the General-in-chief, whose position in front of Pampeluna was about eighteen miles from that place. During these various movements, General Graham, with the first and fifth divisions, and a corps of Spaniards, remained stationary on the left bank of the Bidassoa, for the double purpose of covering St. Sebastian, (the siege of that place was now converted into a blockade, and the battering train embarked at the port of los Passages,) and watching General Villate. The latter lined the opposite bank of the river, to be in readiness to assume the offensive, for the purpose of raising the siege of St. Sebastian, or hanging on General Graham's rear, in the event of the Duke of Dalmatia gaining a victory at Pampeluna, or succeeding in cutting off in detail the various divisions of the British army, now thrown into echelon, and extending from the banks of the Bidassoa, in front of Irun, to seven miles in an easterly direction beyond Pampeluna; a distance of at least sixty miles for the army to unite to either flank, (between two fortresses, whose ramparts were garnished with the cannon and small-arms of the enemy,) on an irregular quarter circle: amid multifarious barren rocks, towering mountains, and extensive forests, over whose inhospitable regions it was necessary, amongst other things, to convey provisions, ammunition, and biscuit bags, for the daily consumption of the moveable divisions,—an operation attended with great difficulty under such circumstances.
Although the right of the army had been retiring for two days, the light division still tranquilly remained unmolested in front of Bera; but on the morning of the 27th, on finding that the seventh division had quitted the heights of Echalar, and uncovered our right flank, the first brigade quietly descended from the heights of Santa Barbara, and the whole division concentrated behind the defile on the road to Lazaca, the picquets being left to mask this movement, and form the rear-guard. As soon as the division had got clear off, the picquets evacuated the farm-houses in succession from the right; and lastly, at ten o'clock, a. m., quitted the town of Bera within pistol-shot of the enemy's sentinels, who pretended not to notice this retrograde, probably being apprehensive of bringing on an action without being able at this point to display a sufficient force to assume offensive movements, and also conjecturing that the division might meet with a reception little anticipated, on reaching the neighbourhood of Pampeluna. The Duke of Dalmatia, at this moment, was still pursuing the troops from Roncesvalles and Zubiri, and actually within a few hours of the vicinity of Pampeluna, two days' march behind the second and seventh divisions, and three in rear of the light division, and even threatening to intercept the sixth division from St. Estevan.
As I was left with the picquets at Bera, I had a good opportunity of witnessing the sang froid of the French outposts. They made no forward movement, and as I was loitering behind, within a short distance of the bridge of Lazaca, over which the troops had crossed to the left bank of the Bidassoa, I observed the Spanish family, (with whom I had recently become acquainted,) with rapid strides trudging along the flinty road, having rushed from their only dwelling through fear of the French, the instant they perceived the sentries retiring from their posts. They now presented real objects of commiseration, clad in thin shoes and silk stockings; the glossy ringlets were blown from off the forehead of la SeÑorita Ventura, and a tear from her dark blue eye, (shaded with raven eye-lashes), rolled down her flushed cheek, into the prettiest pouting lips to be imagined; a mantilla loosely hung across her arm, fluttering in the breeze, and a black silk dress, hanging in graceful folds around her delicate form, gave her, with all her troubles, a most enchanting appearance. El Padre accepted the offer of my horse, and, sticking his short legs into the stirrup leathers, composedly smoked a cigar. The mother took my arm, the other I offered to Ventura, who smilingly declined, saying, "It is not the fashion for las SeÑoritas to take the arm of los Caballeros," but politely offered her hand. While crossing the bridge, "Here," said the little heroine, "why do you not call back los soldados, and tell them to tirÁr las bÁlas a este puÉnte?" I endeavoured to explain that our flank was turned, and all the grand manoeuvres of an army; little to her satisfaction, for she could not comprehend any other than the front attack.
On entering the town, the family stopped at a large stone mansion of a relation, where they intended to take up their abode for the present: the parents urged my departure, through fear that I might fall into the hands of the enemy. I then took my farewell of them, (as I thought, for the last time), and galloping through the town, soon came within sight of the division, threading its march up a steep defile, enclosed on all sides by an extensive forest. Towards evening we encamped, one league and a half W. N. W. of San Estevan, on the mountain of Santa Cruz, from whence we still commanded a view of the French bivouac. Here we halted during the night.
On the following day, the battle of Pampeluna took place thirty miles in our rear, but, being entangled amongst the mountains, we did not hear of the event until three days afterwards. The combat began in a singular manner: the sixth division, under Gen. Pack, while on its march over a rough country, intersected by stone walls, within a few miles of Pampeluna, suddenly encountered the grey-coated French columns in full march, debouching from behind the village of Sauroren for the purpose of outflanking the left of the fourth division. The consequence of these two hostile bodies clashing was, that the enemy's van were driven back by a hot fire of musketry. The French, being thus foiled in this manoeuvre, turned their grand efforts against the front of the heights on which the fourth division was stationed, commanded by Sir L. Cole. The valour of the red regiments shone transcendant, and the Marquis of Wellington repeatedly thanked the various corps, while they were recovering breath to renew fresh efforts with the bayonet, in driving the enemy headlong from the crest of the rugged heights; thus forcing them, after a most sanguinary and furious contest, to desist from farther offensive movements on that position.
The General-in-chief could only collect, at the end of three days, two brigades of the second division, General Morillo's, and part of the Count d'Abisbal's Spaniards, and the three reserve divisions, to oppose the Duke of Dalmatia; which clearly demonstrates the great difficulty of occupying such a vast and rugged range of country. The first, second, fifth, seventh, and light divisions, were too far distant to join in the action of the 28th; and even the third division, only a few miles to the right of the field of action, could not take part in it, as the enemy had a corps of observation opposite General Picton, backed by a numerous train of artillery and a large body of cavalry, in readiness to engage him, should the sixth and fourth divisions lose the day.
The light division continued in position at Santa Cruz during the whole of the 28th, having completely lost all trace of the army; and, during these doubtful conjectures, at sunset we began to descend a rugged pass, leading W.S.W. near Zubieta, to endeavour to cut in upon the high road between Pampeluna and Tolosa, as it was impossible to know whether General Graham, by this time, was not even beyond the latter town. To add to our difficulties, the night set in so extremely dark that the soldiers could no longer see each other, and began to tumble about in all directions; some became stationary on shelvings of rocks, or so enveloped in the thicket, that they could no longer extricate themselves from the trees and underwood. The rocks and the forest resounded with many voices, while here and there a small fire was kindled and flared up, as if lighted in the clouds by some magic hand. For myself, I at length became so exhausted and out of temper, at the toil of lugging along my unwilling steed, that in a fit of despair I mounted, and keeping a tight rein, permitted the animal to pick its own steps. The branches of the trees so continually twisted round my head that I expected every minute to find myself suspended; at last the trusty horse made a dead stop, having emerged from the forest into a small hamlet, where I encountered a few harrassed soldiers, enquiring of each other where the main body had vanished to, or what direction to pursue, for they no longer knew whether they were advancing or retiring; and, without farther ceremony, they began to batter with the butt-end of their firelocks the strong and massive doors of the slumbering inhabitants, demanding, with stentorian voices, if any troops had passed that way?—a difficult question for people to answer who had just risen from their mattresses, and now timidly opened their doors, in considerable alarm, being apprehensive that we had come at midnight hour to rob and plunder them. At last a resolute Spaniard60 threw a large capote over his shoulder, and, stepping forward, said, "SeÑores Caballeros, only inform me whence you came or whither you are going, and I will be your guide;" but we were so bewildered, owing to the crooked path, and the intricate windings of the forest, that no one could take upon himself to point towards the direction of the bleak mountain we had come from, or the name of the place we were going to; as a matter of expediency, therefore, we patiently awaited the coming morn.61
At daybreak, a scene of complete confusion presented itself, the greater part of the division being scattered over the face of a steep and woody mountain, and positively not half a league from whence they had started on the previous evening. As soon as the various corps had grouped together, they followed the only road in sight, and soon met a mounted officer, who directed them towards Leyza: near that place one-half of the division were already bivouacked, having reached the valley before the pitchy darkness had set in. It was now the third day since we had retired from Bera, and Gen. Baron C. Alten became so uneasy, that he ordered some of the best-mounted regimental officers to go in various directions to ascertain, if possible, some tidings of the army, with which he had had no communication for three days, being now isolated amongst the wilds of the Pyrenees, on the left of the river Bidassoa, half-way between St. Sebastian and Pampeluna. At six o'clock the same evening we again broke up and marched two leagues in the direction of Arressa, and then bivouacked in a wood, with an order not to light fires, thus to prevent any of the enemy's scouts or spies ascertaining our route. Two hours after nightfall, the troops were again put in motion, and I was left in the forest, with directions to continue there all night, to bring off in the morning any baggage or stragglers that might happen to go astray. At daylight on the 30th, having collected together a few women (who dared not again encounter another toilsome night-march along the verge of precipices); it was a droll sight to see this noisy group defiling from the forest, many dressed in soldiers' jackets, battered bonnets, and faded ribbons, with dishevelled locks hanging over their weather-beaten features, as they drove along their lazy borricas with a thick stick; and, when the terrific blows laid on ceased to produce the desired effect, they squalled with sheer vexation, lest they might be overtaken, and fall into the hands of the enemy's light horse. Having travelled for two hours as a sort of guide to these poor women, I perceived an officer at some distance in front, and, on my overtaking him, he expressed the greatest joy at seeing me, and declared that he had been wandering for some hours in the most agitated state of mind, not knowing whither to bend his footsteps. The division had drawn up again during the night, and he having, lain down on the flank of the column, had fallen into a profound slumber, out of which he had awoke at broad daylight, with the rays of the sun shining full on his face; and, when somewhat recovering his bewildered recollections, he wildly gazed around for the column which had vanished, and springing on his feet, hallooed with all his might; but no answer was returned, a solemn silence reigned around, save the fluttering of the birds amongst the luxuriant foliage of the trees; the morning dew no longer bespangled the sod, nor did the print of a single footstep remain to guide his course: at length, in a fit of desperation, he hastily tore a passage through the thicket, and luckily reached the road, and at random sauntered along in no very pleasant mood, until I overtook him.—Soon after this we heard to our left sounds like those of distant thunder; as the sky was perfectly serene, we concluded that the noise must be caused by a heavy firing of musketry.62 On reaching Arriba, we found most of the doors closed; however, we succeeded in purchasing a loaf, and then seated ourselves on the margin of a clear mountain-stream, where we devoured it, and forthwith solaced ourselves with a hearty draught of the refreshing beverage. This stream looked so inviting, that we threw off our clothes and plunged into it. Notwithstanding the cooling effects of the bathe, the feet of my companion were so much swollen, owing to previous fatigue, that with all his tugging he could not pull on his boots again; fortunately mine were old and easy, so we readily effected an exchange, and then followed the road across a high mountain, from whose summit we saw the division bivouacked to the right of the broad and well-paved road (near Lecumberri) which leads from Pampeluna to Tolosa; from this position we could march to either of those places, being half-way between them; here the division awaited the return of its scouts the whole of the following day.
The French army being completely worn out, and having suffered terribly in killed and wounded, continued to retreat during the 31st, followed by the five victorious divisions of the British in three columns, by the roads of Roncesvalles, Maya, and Donna Maria. On the evening of the same day, although obliquely to the rear of the pursuing columns, we received orders, if possible, to overtake the enemy, and attack them wherever they might be found. Accordingly, in the middle of the night we got under arms and began our march. Towards the middle of the following day, (the 1st of August), having already marched twenty-four miles, we descended into a deep valley between Ituren and Elgoriaga, where the division drew up in column to reconnoitre the right flank of the enemy, who were still hovering in the neighbourhood of San Estevan. After an hour's halt, we continued our movement on the left of the Bidassoa, and for three hours ascended, or rather clambered, the rugged asperities of a prodigious mountain, the by-path of which was composed of overlapping slabs of rock, or stepping-stones. At four o'clock in the afternoon a flying dust was descried, glistening with the bright and vivid flashes of small-arms, to the right of the Bidassoa, and in the valley of Lerin. A cry was instantly set up "the enemy!" the worn soldiers raised their bent heads covered with dust and sweat: we had nearly reached the summit of this tremendous mountain, but nature was quite exhausted; many of the soldiers lagged behind, having accomplished more than thirty miles over the rocky roads intersected with loose stones; many fell heavily on the naked rocks, frothing at the mouth, black in the face, and struggling in their last agonies; whilst others, unable to drag one leg after the other, leaned on the muzzles of their firelocks, looking pictures of despair, and muttering, in disconsolate accents, that they had never "fallen out" before.
The sun was shining in full vigour, but fortunately numerous clear streams bubbled from the cavities and fissures of the rocks, (which were clothed in many places by beautiful evergreens,) and allayed the burning thirst of the fainting men. The hard work of an infantry soldier at times is beyond all calculation, and death, by the road-side, frequently puts an end to his sufferings,—but what description can equal such an exit?
At seven in the evening, the division having been in march nineteen hours, and accomplished nearly forty miles, it was found absolutely necessary to halt the second brigade near Aranaz, as a rallying point. Being now parallel with the enemy, and some hours a-head of the vanguard leading the left column of our army, our right brigade still hobbled onwards; at twilight we overlooked the enemy within stone's throw, and from the summit of a tremendous precipice: the river separated us; but the French were wedged in a narrow road, with inaccessible rocks enclosing them on one side, and the river on the other: such confusion took place amongst them as is impossible to describe; the wounded were thrown down during the rush, and trampled upon, and their cavalry drew their swords, and endeavoured to charge up the pass of Echalar, (the only opening on their right flank,) but the infantry beat them back, and several of them, horses and all, were precipitated into the river; others fired vertically at us, whilst the wounded called out for quarter, and pointed to their numerous soldiers, supported on the shoulders of their comrades in bearers, composed of branches of trees, to which were suspended great coats, clotted with gore, or blood-stained sheets, taken from various habitations, to carry off their wounded, on whom we did not fire.
Our attention was soon called from this melancholy spectacle to support the rifle corps,63 while they repulsed the enemy, who had crossed over the bridge of Yanzi to attack us, to enable the tail of their column to get off. Night closed on us, and the firing ceased; but, owing to our seizing the bridge, we cut off the whole of their baggage, which fell into the hands of the column of our army following from St. Estevan.
In this way ended the most trying day's march I ever remember. On the following morning, soon after daylight, we filed across the bridge of Yanzi, held by our pickets, and detached a small force to guard the road towards Echalar, until the troops came up from the direction of San Estevan, which had hung on the enemy's rear for the then three previous days. Continuing our march, we once more debouched by the defile opposite Bera, where the French sentinels were still posted, as if rooted to the rocks on which they were stationed the day we had taken our departure.
As soon as the second brigade came up, we again ascended the heights of Santa Barbara, where we found a French corporal, with a broken leg, his head resting on a hairy knapsack, and supported in the arms of a comrade, who generously remained behind to protect the life of his friend from the cuchillo of the Spaniards. As soon as he had delivered him to the care of the English soldiers, he embraced the corporal, saying, "Au revoir, bon camarade Anglais," and, throwing his musket over his shoulder, with the butt-end en l'air, he descended the mountain to rejoin the French army on the opposite range of heights. Of course, no one offered to molest this simple soldat, who easily effected his escape. As our picquets could not enter the valley until our right was cleared, and the enemy pushed from the mountain of Echalar, as soon as another division attacked those heights, the 1st rifles moved on and clambered the mountain of St. Bernard, supported by five companies of our regiment. The soldiers had been for two days without any sustenance, and were so weak that they could hardly stand; however, an excellent commissary had managed to overtake us, and hastily served out half-a-pound of biscuit to each individual, which the soldiery devoured while in the act of priming and loading as they moved on to the attack.
The summit of the mountain was wrapped in a dense fog: an invisible firing commenced, and it was impossible to ascertain which party was getting the best of the fight; the combatants were literally contending in the clouds. When half-way up the side of the mountain, we found a soldier of the rifles lying on his face, and bleeding so copiously that his havresack was dyed in blood: we turned him over, and, being somewhat recovered before he was carried off, he told us, in broken monosyllables, that three Frenchmen had mistaken him for a Portuguese, laid hold of him, thrust a bayonet through his thigh, smashed the stock of his rifle, and then pushed him from off the ledge of the precipice under which we discovered him.
The second French light infantry were dislodged, before twilight, from the top of this mountain; but the sparkling flashes of small-arms continued after dark to wreath, with a crown of fire, the summits of the various rocks about Echalar.
Thus, after a series of difficult marches, amongst a chaotic jumble of sterile mountains, the enemy were totally discomfited, with an enormous loss, by a series of the most extraordinary and brilliant efforts that had been made during the Peninsular War. For three days the French indeed had the vantage ground, owing to their superiority of numbers at a given point; but on the fourth day, the same divisions which had so heroically fought while falling back, sustained, with their backs to a hostile fortress, (whence the enemy sortied during the battle,) a most desperate assault made by the Duke of Dalmatia, over whom the Marquis of Wellington gained a memorable victory, and ceased not in turn to pursue the French marshal, until he was glad to seek shelter from whence he came. The standards of Britain again waved aloft, and flapped in the gentle breeze over the fertile fields of France.
END OF VOL. I.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY G. SCHULZE, 13, POLAND STREET.
