GENERAL HISTORY. 



[147 



(5tb. Simultaneous attacks of dif- 

 ferent parts of the works were 

 planned ; of which, that of the 

 castle of Badajosby escalade, con- 

 ducted by Lieutenant-General Pic- 

 ton, was the first that succeeded, 

 ,and the third division was establish- 

 ed in it at about half past eleven. 

 In the mean time the breaches in 

 the bastions were vigorously as- 

 saulted by the 4th and the light 

 divisions; but such were the ob- 

 stacles raised by the enemy upon 

 and behind the breaches, and so ob- 

 stinate their resistance, that the as- 

 sailants, after a long contest, and 

 considerable loss, were ordered to 

 retreat. The possession of the 

 castle, however, which was secured 

 by the success of the other divi- 

 sions, decided the fate of the town, 

 for it commanded all the works 

 both of and in the place; and at 

 day-light General Philippon, the 

 Commandant, who had retired to 

 Fort St. Christoval, surrendered, 

 with all the staff, and the whole 

 garrison. These, at the beginning 

 of the siege, had consisted of 5,000 

 men ; but about 1,200 had been 

 killed and wounded during the ope- 

 rations of the siege, besides those 

 who perished in the assault. The 

 total loss of the besiegers in killed, 

 wounded, and missing, from the 

 investment to the cajjture, amount- 

 ed to upwards of 4,850, British and 

 Portuguese. This might perhaps 

 be thought a dear purchase ; but 

 besides the glory to the allied arms 

 in gaining this second strong place 

 by storm, the possession of two im- 

 portant fortresses on the frontiers 

 of Portugal was of so much conse- 

 quence to thest'curity of that king- 

 dom, and to the success of future 

 operations in the peninsula, that, 

 in a military consideration, it jus- 



tified the payment of a high 

 price. 



In order to make a diversion in 

 favour of the garrison of Badajos, 

 Marshal Marmont advanced to 

 Cindad Rodrigo, and kept it block- 

 aded : at the same time, a French 

 party made a reconnoissance upon 

 Almeida, but were so received that 

 they had no inclination to make an 

 attempt upon the place. On April 

 the 17th, Marmont broke up from 

 the neighbourhood of Ciudad Rod- 

 rigo, and proceeded to Sabugal. 

 His advanced guard folloxved Gen. 

 Alten through the lower Beira as 

 far as Castello Branco, which it en- 

 tered on the 12th, but whence it 

 retired on the 14lh, and the place 

 was repossessed by Alten and Gen» 

 le Cor. 



Sou It, who had advanced from 

 Seville into Estremadura, as far as 

 Villa-Franca, on hearing of the fall 

 of Badajos, retreated on the Uth 

 towards the borders of Andalusia. 

 General Graham directed Sir Sta- 

 pleton Cotton to follow his rear 

 with the cavalry ; and coming up 

 with the French cavalry at Villa 

 Garcia, with the brigades of Gene- 

 rals le Marchant and Anson, he 

 defeated them on the 11th, with a 

 considerable loss in killed and 

 prisoners. The French retired on 

 that day froui Llerena, and after- 

 wards entirely quitted Estremadu- 

 ra. Lord Wellington, as soon as he 

 was apprized of Soult's retreat, put 

 his army in motion towards Castille. 



During this period the Spanish 

 parlies were extremely active in 

 different quarters. That distin- 

 guished Guerilla chief, Espos y 

 Mina, was successful in various en- 

 counters in Navarre, and the neigh- 

 bouring districts, and when appa- 

 rently surrounded by different de- 



L 2 tachments 



