732 



BRITAIN. 



Britain. 



Blockade 



of Almeida. 



Eradiation 

 ofAlmeida, 

 and the 

 escape of 

 the garri- 

 son. 



of the third brigade under Major-General Houghton, 

 who gallantly attacked the enemy, and fell, pierced 

 with wounds, while he was cheering on his brigade to 

 the charge. Though the enemy's attack was chiefly 

 directed to this point of the right, he likewise made 

 continual efforts against the part of the original front 

 of the allies, at the village and the bridge, which 

 were defended by Major-General Baron Alien, and 

 the light infantry brigade of the German legion. The 

 front now formed the left ; and Major General Ha- 

 milton's division, which had been brought up there, 

 was left to defend it, with the assistance of a consi- 

 derable proportion of Spanish troops. While the 

 enemy's infantry attempted to force the right of 

 the allies, their cavalry endeavoured to turn it ; but 

 nil their efforts were baffled by the able manoeuvres 

 of Major-General the Honourable William Lumley, 

 who commanded the allied cavalry. Major-General 

 Cole, perceiving the attack of the enemy, brought up 

 his left, marched in line to attack the left of the ene- 

 my, and contributed, with the charges of the bri- 

 gades of General Stewart's division, to force the 

 enemy precipitately from his situation, to take refuge 

 under his reserve. The allies pursued the French to 

 a considerable distance, and drove them across the 

 Albuera. 



At the beginning of the engagement, a heavy 

 :*orm of rain came on, which, along with the smoke 

 trom the firing, rendered it impossible to see any thing 

 distinctly. From this obscurity the French derived 

 great advantage, both in the formation of their co- 

 lumns, and in their subsequent attack. 



During the whole of this well-contested battle, 

 which lasted from nine in the morning till two in the 

 afternoon, the s-kill and courage of the British troops 

 were eminently displayed. The dead of the 57th re- 

 giment were lying as they fought, in ranks, and every 

 wound was in the front of their bodies. The loss of 

 the French has been estimated at 8000, while that of 

 the allies did not exceed, in killed, wounded, and 

 missing, 5686. 



Soult, with the remainder of his army, retreated to 

 Llerena, where he received great reinforcements from 

 different parts of Spain, and was afterwards joined 

 by the army under Marmont. 



After the battle of Fuentes d'Honore, the allies 

 resumed the blockade of Almeida. The commander 

 of the garrison, General Brennier, perceiving that it 

 was in vain to defend the place, conceived the hazar- 

 dous design of evacuating it during the night, and car- 

 ried his resolution intoeffect with the most consummate 

 skill. In order to deceive the blockading army, he con- 

 tinued for several nights to fire cannon occasionally 

 from the fortifications. After destroying all the ord- 

 nance, he set fire to the mines which had been con- 

 structed for blowing up the works, and at one o'clock 

 in the morning of the llth, he marched out with his 

 garrison ; and cutting his way through the picquets 

 by which the place was observed, he joined the army 

 of Massena, in the vicinity of Ciudad Rodrigo. A 

 considerable part of the garrison was lost in this bold 

 enterprise, and the rest were saved in consequence of 

 the 4th regiment mistaking the road to Barba del 

 Puerco. On the evening of the 7th of May, there 



was a very heavy fire oi cannon from the fort, and 

 the picquets were attacked. The same thing hap- 

 pened on the 8th, so that the blockading troops, and 

 the queen's regiment in particular, ascribed the explo- 

 sion on the J 1th to the same cause from which it had 

 arisen on the preceding night. In consequence of 

 this mistake, none of the troops moved till the real 

 cause of the explosion was ascertained. 



Leaving Sir Brent Spencer in the command of the 

 army of Almeida, Lord Wellington took the com- 

 mand of the allies before Badajos, on the 22d of May. 

 On the 25th, the place was invested on the right of 

 the Guadiana, and the ordnance and stores being 

 brought up for the siege, the allies broke ground on 

 the evening of the 29th. The fire commenced on 

 the 2d of June, from four batteries ; and on the night 

 of the 6th, two breaches in the walls of the Fort St 

 Christoval appeared to be practicable. A detach- 

 ment of the 85th regiment, under Major Mackintosh, 

 moved forward in the best order, and with the utmost 

 intrepidity, under a heavy fire of musquetry and hand- 

 grenades from the outworks, and of shot and shells 

 trom the town, the advanced guard being led by En- 

 sign Dyas of the 51st regiment; but when they ar- 

 rived at the bottom of the breach, they saw that 

 the enemy had cleared the rubbish from the bottom 

 of the escarp, and though provided with ladders, they 

 found it impossible to mount it, and were obliged to 

 retire with loss. Another attempt to storm the out- 

 work of St Christoval was made on the 9th, but 

 though conducted with the same gallantry, the storm- 

 ing party were unable to mount the breach, and were 

 obliged to retire with considerable loss. In these 

 two attempts the allies lost about 300 men. 



On the 10th of May, Lord Wellington having re- 

 ceived information that Soult was collecting a force 

 for the purpose of again advancing upon his position, 

 and that the army of Marmont had broke up from 

 Ciudad Rodrigo to join that of Soult, raised the 

 siege of Badajos. He crossed the Guadiana with his 

 whole army, and encamped in the woods, upon the 

 Layer between Quinta de St Joos and Arronches, 

 where he was afterwards joined by the army under 

 Sir Brent Spencer. 



In other parts of Spain, the patriots were not 

 equally fortunate. The death of the Marquis de la 

 Romana was a severe loss to the Spaniards. On the 

 1st ot January 1811, Tortosa surrendered to Mar- 

 shal Macdonald, after 13 days open trenches ; and 

 the garrison, consisting of 9500, laid down their 

 arms, and were made prisoners of war. Tarragona, 

 after a month's siege, surrendered to Marshal Suchet. 

 Cherishing constant hopes of relief, the Spanish gar- 

 rison maintained a brave resistance, and made several 

 destructive sorties .against the besiegers. The place, 

 however, was taken by assault, on the 29th of June, 

 and the people, as well as the brave garrison, were 

 treated with unexampled cruelty. Four thousand 

 men were killed in the city ; 1000, who endeavoured 

 to save themselves behind the walls, were either sabred 

 or drowned; and nearly 10,000, of whom 500 were 

 officers, were taken prisoners, and sent to France. 

 The junta of Tarragona escaped to the monastery of 

 Montserrat, the fortifications of which had beea 



Britain. 



V 

 PRINCK 

 REGENT. 

 1811. 



Siege of 

 Badajos. 



Tortosa 

 taken by 

 the French, 

 1st Jan. 



Tarragona 

 taken by 

 asiault, by 

 Suchet, 

 89th June. 



