Adventures in the Rifle Brigade, in the Peninsula, France, and the Netherlands Part 4

In every interval between our active services, we indulged in all manner of childish trick and amus.e.m.e.nt, with an avidity and delight of which it is impossible to convey an adequate idea. We lived united, as men always are who are daily staring death in the face on the same side, and who, caring little about it, look upon each new day added to their lives as one more to rejoice in.

We invited the villagers, every evening, to a dance at our quarters alternately. A Spanish peasant girl has an address about her which I have never met with in the same cla.s.s of any other country; and she at once enters into society with the ease and confidence of one who had been accustomed to it all her life. We used to flourish away at the bolero, fandango, and waltz, and wound up early in the evening with a supper of roasted chestnuts.

Our village _belles_, as already stated, made themselves perfectly at home in our society, and we, too, should have enjoyed theirs for a season; but, when month after month, and year after year, continued to roll along, without producing any change, we found that the cherry cheek and sparkling eye of rustic beauty furnished but a very poor apology for the illuminated portion of Nature's fairest works, and ardently longed for an opportunity of once more feasting our eyes on a _lady_.

In the month of December, we heard that the chief magistrate of Rodrigo, with whom we were personally acquainted, had, with his daughter and two other young ladies, taken shelter in Robledillo, a little town in the Sierra de Gata, which, being within our range, presented an attraction not to be resisted.

Half-a-dozen of us immediately resolved ourselves into a committee of ways and means. We had six months' pay due to us; so that the fandango might have been danced in either of our pockets without the smallest risk; but we had this consolation for our poverty, that there was nothing to be bought, even if we had the means. Our only resource, therefore, was to lighten the cares of such of our brother-officers as were fortunate enough to have any thing to lose; and, at this moment of doubt and difficulty, a small flock of turkeys, belonging to our major, presented themselves, most imprudently, grazing opposite the windows of our council-chamber, two of which were instantly committed to the bottom of a sack, as a foundation to go upon. One of our spies, soon after, apprehended a sheep, the property of another officer, which was committed to the same place; and, getting the commissary to advance us a few extra loaves of bread, some ration beef, and a pig-skin full of wine, we placed a servant on a mule, with the whole concern tackled to him, and proceeded on our journey.

In pa.s.sing over the mountain, we saw a wild boar bowling along, in the midst of a snow-storm, and, voting them fitting companions, we suffered him to pa.s.s, (particularly as he did not come within shot).

On our arrival at Robledillo, we met with the most cordial reception from the old magistrate; who, entering into the spirit of our visit, provided us with quarters, and filled our room in the evening with every body worth seeing in the place. We were malicious enough, by way of amus.e.m.e.nt, to introduce a variety of absurd pastimes, under the pretence of their being English, and which, by virtue thereof, were implicitly adopted. We, therefore, pa.s.sed a regular romping evening; and, at a late hour, having conducted the ladies to their homes, some friars, who were of the party, very kindly, intended doing us the same favour, and, with that view, had begun to precede us with their lanterns, but, in the frolic of the moment, we set upon them with snow-b.a.l.l.s, some of which struck upon their broad shoulders, while others fizzed against their fiery faces, and, in their astonishment and alarm, all sanctimony was forgotten; their oaths flew as thick as our snow-b.a.l.l.s, while they ran ducking their heads and dousing their lights, for better concealment; but we, nevertheless, persevered until we had pelted each to his own home.

We were, afterwards, afraid that we had carried the joke rather too far, and entertained some doubts as to the propriety of holding our quarters for another day; but they set our minds at rest on that point, by paying us an early visit in the morning, and seemed to enjoy the joke in a manner that we could not have expected from the gravity of their looks.

We pa.s.sed two more days much in the same manner, and, on the third, returned to our cantonments, and found that our division had moved, during our absence, into some villages nearer to Ciudad Rodrigo, preparatory to the siege of that place.

On inquiry, we found that we had never been suspected for the _abduction_ of the sheep and turkeys, but that the blame, on the contrary, had been attached to the poor soldiers, whose soup had been tasted every day to see if it savoured of such dainties. The proprietor of the turkeys was so particularly indignant that we thought it prudent not to acknowledge ourselves as the culprits until some time afterwards, when, as one of our party happened to be killed in action, we, very uncharitably, put the whole of it on his shoulders.

CHAP. VIII.

Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo. The Garrison of an Outwork relieved.

Spending an Evening abroad. A Musical Study. An Addition to Soup.

A short Cut. Storming of the Town. A sweeping Clause. Advantages of leading a Storming Party. Looking for a Customer.

Disadvantages of being a stormed Party. Confusion of all Parties.

A waking Dream. Death of General Crawford. Accident. Deaths.

SIEGE OF CIUDAD RODRIGO,

January 8th, 1812.

The campaign of 1812 commenced with the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo, which was invested by our division on the 8th of January.

There was a smartish frost, with some snow on the ground; and, when we arrived opposite the fortress, about midday, the garrison did not appear to think that we were in earnest, for a number of their officers came out, under the shelter of a stone-wall, within half musket-shot, and amused themselves in saluting and bowing to us in ridicule; but, ere the day was done, some of them had occasion to wear the laugh on the opposite side of the countenance.

We lay by our arms until dark, when a party, consisting of a hundred volunteers from each regiment, under Colonel Colborne, of the fifty-second, stormed and carried the Fort of St. Francisco, after a short sharp action, in which the whole of its garrison were taken or destroyed. The officer who commanded it was a chattering little fellow, and acknowledged himself to have been one of our saluting friends of the morning. He kept, incessantly, repeating a few words of English which he had picked up during the a.s.sault, and the only ones, I fancy, that were spoken, viz. "dem eyes, b--t eyes!" and, in demanding the meaning of them, he required that we should, also, explain why we stormed a place without first besieging it; for, he said, that another officer would have relieved him of his charge at daylight, had _we_ not _relieved_ him of it sooner.

The enemy had calculated that this outwork would have kept us at bay for a fortnight or three weeks; whereas, its capture, the first night, enabled us to break ground at once, within breaching distance of the walls of the town. They kept up a very heavy fire the whole night on the working parties; but, as they aimed at random, we did not suffer much; and made such good use of our time that, when daylight enabled them to see what we were doing, we had dug ourselves under tolerable cover.

In addition to ours, the first, third, and fourth divisions were employed in the siege. Each took the duties for twenty-four hours alternately, and returned to their cantonments during the interval.

We were relieved by the first division, under Sir Thomas Graham, on the morning of the 9th, and marched to our quarters.

Jan. 12th.--At ten o'clock this morning we resumed the duties of the siege. It still continued to be dry frosty weather; and, as we were obliged to ford the Agueda, up to the middle, every man carried a pair of iced breeches into the trenches with him.

My turn of duty did not arrive until eight in the evening, when I was ordered to take thirty men with shovels to dig holes for ourselves, as near as possible to the walls, for the delectable amus.e.m.e.nt of firing at the embrasures for the remainder of the night. The enemy threw frequent fire-b.a.l.l.s among us, to see where we were; but, as we always lay snug until their blaze was extinguished, they were not much the wiser, except by finding, from having some one popt off from their guns every instant, that they had got some neighbours whom they would have been glad to get rid of.

We were relieved as usual at ten next morning, and returned to our cantonments.

January 16th.--Entered on our third day's duty, and found the breaching batteries in full operation, and our approaches close to the walls on every side. When we arrived on the ground I was sent to take command of the highland company, which we had at that time in the regiment, and which was with the left wing, under Colonel Cameron. I found them on piquet, between the right of the trenches and the river, half of them posted at a mud-cottage, and the other half in a ruined convent, close under the walls. It was a very tolerable post when at it; but it is no joke travelling by daylight up to within a stone's throw of a wall, on which there is a parcel of fellows who have no other amus.e.m.e.nt but to fire at every body they see.

We could not show our noses at any point without being fired at; but, as we were merely posted there to protect the right flank of the trenches from any sortie, we did not fire at them, and kept as quiet as could be, considering the deadly blast that was blowing around us.

There are few situations in life where something cannot be learnt, and I, myself, stand indebted to my twenty-four hours' residence there, for a more correct knowledge of martial sounds than in the study of my whole life time besides. They must be an unmusical pair of ears that cannot inform the wearer whither a cannon or a musket played last, but the various _notes_, emanating from their respective mouths, admit of nice distinctions. My party was too small, and too well sheltered to repay the enemy for the expense of sh.e.l.ls and round shot; but the quant.i.ty of grape and musketry aimed at our particular heads, made a good concert of first and second whistles, while the more sonorous voice of the round shot, travelling to our friends on the left, acted as a thorough ba.s.s; and there was not a sh.e.l.l, that pa.s.sed over us to the trenches, that did not send back a fragment among us as soon as it burst, as if to gratify a curiosity that I was far from expressing.

We went into the cottage soon after dark, to partake of something that had been prepared for dinner; and, when in the middle of it, a round shot pa.s.sed through both walls, immediately over our heads, and garnished the soup with a greater quant.i.ty of our parent earth than was quite palatable.

We were relieved, as usual, by the first division, at ten next morning; and, to avoid as much as possible the destructive fire from the walls, they sent forward only three or four men at a time, and we sent ours away in the same proportions.

Every thing is by comparison in this world, and it is curious to observe how men's feelings change with circ.u.mstances. In cool blood a man would rather go a little out of his way than expose himself to unnecessary danger; but we found, this morning, that by crossing the river where we then were, and running the gauntlet for a mile, exposed to the fire of two pieces of artillery, that we should be saved the distance of two or three miles in returning to our quarters. After coming out of such a _furnace_ as we had been frying in, the other fire was not considered a fire at all, and pa.s.sed without a moment's hesitation.

STORMING OF CIUDAD RODRIGO.

January 19th, 1812.--We moved to the scene of operations, about two o'clock this afternoon; and, as it was a day before our regular turn, we concluded that we were called there to lend a hand in finis.h.i.+ng the job we had begun so well; nor were we disappointed, for we found that two practicable breaches had been effected, and that the place was to be stormed in the evening by the third and light divisions, the former by the right breach, and the latter by the left, while some Portuguese troops were to attempt an escalade on the opposite sides of the town.

About eight o'clock in the evening our division was accordingly formed for the a.s.sault, behind a convent, near the left breach, in the following order:--viz.

1st. Four companies of our battalion, under Colonel Cameron, to line the crest of the glacis, and fire upon the ramparts.

2d. Some companies of Portuguese, carrying bags filled with hay and straw, for throwing into the ditch, to facilitate the pa.s.sage of the storming party.

3d. The _forlorn hope_, consisting of an officer and twenty-five volunteers.

4th. The _storming party_, consisting of three officers and one hundred volunteers from each regiment, the officers from ours were Captain Mitch.e.l.l, Mr. Johnstone, and myself, and the whole under the command of Major Napier, of the fifty-second.

5th. The main body of the division, under General Crawford, with one brigade, under Major-General Vandeleur, and the other under Colonel Barnard.

At a given signal the different columns advanced to the a.s.sault; the night was tolerably clear, and the enemy evidently expected us; for, as soon as we turned the corner of the convent-wall, the s.p.a.ce between us and the breach became one blaze of light with their fire-b.a.l.l.s, which, while they lighted us on to glory, lightened not a few of their lives and limbs; for the whole glacis was in consequence swept by a well directed fire of grape and musketry, and they are the devil's own brooms; but our gallant fellows walked through it, to the point of attack, with the most determined steadiness, excepting the Portuguese sack-bearers, most of whom lay down behind their bags, to wait the result, while the few that were thrown into the ditch looked so like dead bodies, that, when I leapt into it, I tried to avoid them.

The advantage of being on a storming party is considered as giving the prior claim to be _put out of pain_, for they receive the first fire, which is generally the best, not to mention that they are also expected to receive the earliest salutation from the beams of timber, hand-grenades, and other missiles, which the garrison are generally prepared to transfer from the top of the wall, to the tops of the heads of their foremost visitors. But I cannot say that I, myself, experienced any such preference, for every ball has a considerable distance to travel, and I have generally found them equally ready to pick up their man at the end, as at the beginning of their flight; luckily, too, the other preparations cannot always be accommodated to the moment, so that, on the whole, the _odds_ are pretty _even_, that, all concerned come in for an equal share of whatever happens to be going on.

We had some difficulty at first in finding the breach, as we had entered the ditch opposite to a ravelin, which we mistook for a bastion. I tried first one side of it and then the other, and seeing one corner of it a good deal battered, with a ladder placed against it, I concluded that it must be the breach, and calling to the soldiers near me, to follow. I mounted with the most ferocious intent, carrying a sword in one hand and a pistol in the other; but, when I got up, I found n.o.body to fight with, except two of our own men, who were already laid dead across the top of the ladder. I saw, in a moment, that I had got into the wrong box, and was about to descend again, when I heard a shout from the opposite side, that the breach was there; and, moving in that direction, I dropped myself from the ravelin, and landed in the ditch, opposite to the foot of the breach, where I found the head of the storming party just beginning to fight their way into it. The combat was of short duration, and, in less than half an hour from the commencement of the attack, the place was in our possession.

After carrying the breach, we met with no further opposition, and moved round the ramparts to see that they were perfectly clear of the enemy, previous to entering the town. I was fortunate enough to take the left-hand circuit, by accident, and thereby escaped the fate which befel a great portion of those who went to the right, and who were blown up, along with some of the third division, by the accidental explosion of a magazine.

I was highly amused, in moving round the ramparts, to find some of the Portuguese troops just commencing their escalade, on the opposite side, near the bridge, in ignorance of the place having already fallen. Gallantly headed by their officers, they had got some ladders placed against the wall, while about two thousand voices from the rear were cheering, with all their might, for mutual encouragement; and, like most other troops, under similar circ.u.mstances, it appeared to me that their feet and their tongues went at a more equal pace after we gave them the hint. On going a little further, we came opposite to the ravelin, which had been my chief annoyance during my last days'

piquet. It was still crowded by the enemy, who had now thrown down their arms, and endeavoured to excite our pity by virtue of their being "Pauvres Italianos;" but our men had, somehow, imbibed a horrible antipathy to the Italians, and every appeal they made in that name was invariably answered with,--"You're Italians, are you? then, d--n you, here's a shot for you;" and the action instantly followed the word.

A town taken by storm presents a frightful scene of outrage. The soldiers no sooner obtain possession of it, than they think themselves at liberty to do what they please. It is enough for them that there _had_ been an enemy on the ramparts; and, without considering that the poor inhabitants may, nevertheless, be friends and allies, they, in the first moment of excitement, all share one common fate; and nothing but the most extraordinary exertions on the part of the officers can bring them back to a sense of their duty.

We continued our course round the ramparts until we met the head of the column which had gone by the right, and then descended into the town. At the entrance of the first street, a French officer came out of a door and claimed my protection, giving me his sword. He told me that there was another officer in the same house who was afraid to venture out, and entreated that I would go in for him. I, accordingly, followed him up to the landing-place of a dark stair, and, while he was calling to his friend, by name, to come down, "as there was an English officer present who would protect him," a violent screaming broke through a door at my elbow. I pushed it open, and found the landlady struggling with an English soldier, whom I immediately transferred to the bottom of the stair head foremost. The French officer had followed me in at the door, and was so astonished at all he saw, that he held up his hands, turned up the whites of his eyes, and resolved himself into a state of the most eloquent silence. When he did recover the use of his tongue, it was to recommend his landlady to my notice, as the most amiable woman in existence. She, on her part, professed the most unbounded grat.i.tude, and entreated that I would make her house my home forever; but, when I called upon her, a few days after, she denied having ever seen me before, and stuck to it most religiously.

As the other officer could not be found, I descended into the street again with my prisoner; and, finding the current of soldiers setting towards the centre of the town, I followed the stream, which conducted me into the great square, on one side of which the late garrison were drawn up as prisoners, and the rest of it was filled with British and Portuguese intermixed, without any order or regularity. I had been there but a very short time, when they all commenced firing, without any ostensible cause; some fired in at the doors and windows, some at the roofs of houses, and others at the clouds; and, at last, some heads began to be blown from their shoulders in the general hurricane, when the voice of Sir Thomas Picton, with the power of twenty trumpets, began to proclaim d.a.m.nation to every body, while Colonel Barnard, Colonel Cameron, and some other active officers, were carrying it into effect with a strong hand; for, seizing the broken barrels of muskets, which were lying about in great abundance, they belaboured every fellow, most unmercifully, about the head who attempted either to load or fire, and finally succeeded in reducing them to order. In the midst of the scuffle, however, three of the houses in the square were set on fire; and the confusion was such that nothing could be done to save them; but, by the extraordinary exertions of Colonel Barnard, during the whole of the night, the flames were prevented from communicating to the adjoining buildings.