GENERAL HISTORY. 



[14^ 



the next important event of the 

 Spanish campaign. The command- 

 er-in-chief having directed sir 

 Tliomas Graham to attack and 

 form a lodgment on the breach, 

 which now extended to a large 

 surface of the left of the fortifi- 

 cations, the assault commenced at 

 eleven in the forenoon of August 

 31st, by a combined column of 

 British and Portuguese. The ex- 

 ternal appearance of the breach, 

 however, proved extremely falla- 

 cious ; for when the column, after 

 being exposed to a heavy fire of 

 shot and shells, arrived at the foot 

 of the wall, it found a perpendi- 

 cular scarp of twenty feet to the 

 level of the streets, leaving only 

 one accessible point, formed by the 

 breaching of the end and front of 

 the curtain, and which admitted 

 an entrance only by, single files. 

 In this situation the assailants made 

 repeated but fruitless exertions to 

 gain an entrance, no man surviv- 

 ing the attempt to mount the nar- 

 row ridge of the curtain. The 

 attack thus being almost in a des- 

 perate state, sir Thomas adopted 

 the venturous expedient of order- 

 ing the guns to be turned against 

 the curtain, the shot of which 

 passed only a few feet over the 

 heads of the men at the foot of 

 the breach. In the meantime a 

 Portuguese brigade was ordered to 

 ford the river near its mouth, and 

 attack the small breach to the 

 right of the great one. The suc- 

 cess of this manoeuvre, joined to 

 the effect of the batteries upon 

 the curtain, at length gave an op- 

 portunity for the troops to establish 

 themselves on the narrow pass, 

 after a most determined assault of 

 more than two Iiours ; and in an 



hour more the defenders were 

 driven from all their complicated 

 works, and retired with great loss 

 to the castle, leaving the town in 

 full possession of the assailants. A 

 prize thus contended for could not 

 but cost dear to the successful 

 party ; the loss amounted to above 

 2,300 in killed and wounded ; but 

 the possession of this place was 

 of essential importance to the fur- 

 ther operations of the campaign. 

 The light in which it was regard- 

 ed by the enemy appeared from a 

 vigorous effort for its relief. After 

 the fire against St. Sebastian had 

 recommenced, the French had 

 drawn the greatest part of their 

 force to one point, which con- 

 vinced lord Wellington of their 

 intentions. Three divisions of the 

 Spanish army under Don Manuel 

 Freyre, were therefore posted upon 

 heights near the town of Irun, 

 commanding the high road to St. 

 Sebastian,and were strengthened by 

 a British and a Portuguese division 

 on the right and left, whilst 

 other troops occupied different po- 

 sitions for the greater security. 

 Early in the morning of the 31st, 

 the enemy crossed the Bidassoa in 

 great force, and made a desperate 

 attack on the whole front of the 

 Spanish position on the heights 

 of San Marcial, but were repeat- 

 edly repulsed with great gallantry 

 by the Spanish troops, whose con- 

 duct, says his lordship, was equal 

 to that of any whom he ever saw 

 engaged. In the afternoon, the 

 French having thrown a bridge 

 over another part of the river, re- 

 newed their attack, but were again 

 repulsed, and at length they took 

 the advantage of a violent storm 

 to retire from this front entirely. 



