22S 
LON 
with which he was veiled, for the ptirpofe of compelling 
iuch perfons as might appear to be carelefs and remifs, to 
make the neceffary exertions for faving themfelves from 
danger, and their country from ruin. For this reafon,all 
magiftrates and perfons holding offices under government, 
that fhould remain in towns and villages after receiving 
orders from any military officer to depart; and all perfons, 
of whatever clafs, who fhould hold any communication, 
or in any manner afFift the'enemy; were to be confidered 
as traitors to their country, and judged and punifhed as 
iuch an enormous crime deferved. 
While the Britifh army was on its retreat by Ponte 
Murceila, the whole of the French forces were drawn to¬ 
gether in the neighbourhood of Pen-hell, to the number 
of about So,ooo, in purfuit of it. Lord Wellington had 
advanced in his retreat two leagues beyond Coimbra ; and 
was accompanied by the whole population of the coun¬ 
try, who deftroyed as much as they could of the property 
they could not carry with them. 
After the fall of Almeida, the plan of Mafiena began 
to be unfolded. It was to turn lord Wellington’s left. 
Lord Wellington, to avoid this danger, retreated through 
the valley of the Mondego, and called the generals Hill and 
Leith to join him at the flrong pofition of Ponte Murceila, 
on the Alva, where he was determined to make a Hand, 
and difpute the paffage of the bridge. But Mafiena, hav¬ 
ing perceived this, fuddenly altered his plan, repafied the 
Mondego, and threw himfelf on the road which leads 
from Vizeu to Coimbra, to get pofleffion of the refources 
prefented by that city and the territory adjacent, and to 
proceed from thence in his march to Lifbon. Lord Wel¬ 
lington, penetrating the defign of this new movement of 
Mafiena, immediately determined to cover Coimbra, not 
with the intention of maintaining this open town as a per¬ 
manent ftation, but that the inhabitants might have time 
to retire with their effedls. Lord Wellington therefore, 
with equal judgment and rapidity, repafied the Mondego, 
and threw himfelf between Mafiena and Coimbra. 
Marflial Mafiena, on the 19th of September, arrived at 
Vizeu. “ Through ways,” fays the marfhal, “ bridling 
with rocks, we traverfed defects. Not a foul to be feen : 
every thing removed, deftroyed, or abandoned. The 
Englifh had the barbarity to order all who fhould remain 
at their homes to be fliot. Old men, women, and chil¬ 
dren—ever}' one fleeing before us.” At Vizeu, all the 
forces of Mafiena were concentrated on the 21 It. Here 
they were obliged to halt for three days, in order to give 
time for bringing up the baggage and park of artillery. 
It was this halt that gave time to lord Wellington to exe¬ 
cute the judicious and brilliant manoeuvre of paffing from 
the left to the right of the Mondego. He polled the cen¬ 
tral divilion and the left wing of his army on the Sierra 
de Buzaco, which was perpendicular to the courfe of the 
Mondego, and covered Coimbra, leaving at Ponte Mur- 
cella only the corps under general Hill. Mafiena left that 
place on the 24th ; and on the 26th arrived in front of 
the pofition of Buzaco, occupied, with the exception juft 
mentioned, by the allied Englifh and Portuguefe armies. 
The Sierra de Buzaco is a high ridge, extending from 
the Mondego in a northerly direction. At the higheft 
point of the ridge, about two miles from its termination, 
is the convent and garden of Buzaco. The Sierra de Bu¬ 
zaco is connected by a mountainous traft of country with 
the Sierra de Caramula ; and nearly in a line with the Si¬ 
erra de Buzaco is another ridge of the fame defcription, 
called the Sierra de Murceila. All the reads to Coimbra 
from the eaftward lead over one or other of thefe fierras. 
They are very difficult for the paflage of an army, the ap¬ 
proach to the top of each of the ridges, on both fides, being 
mountainous. 
Marflial Mafiena, who was ignorant perhaps of the 
xlrength of the allies, and probably did not expect to find 
them here, made a bold attempt to carry their pofition. 
Of the battle of Buzaco, fought on the 27th of September, 
we have two accounts; one by Mafiena, and one by lord 
DON. 
Wellington, but both agreeing in the main points, that 
the French made fimuitaneous attempts to drive the al¬ 
lies from the mountains, in two different quarters; that 
in thefe attempts the French difplayed both daring and 
perfevering courage, but that they were repulfed by the 
allies with great (laughter. During the attack on the Sierra 
de Buzaco, although nearly the whole of the French army, 
confiding of the corps of Ney, Junot,and Regnier, amount¬ 
ing to the number of 70 or 80,000, were under arms, from 
ao to 25,000 only were engaged in the aftion ; and of the 
allied army, from 50 to 60,000 flrong, as fmali a propor¬ 
tion. The line of the allied army was eight miles in ex¬ 
tent. The fourth battalion of Portuguefe caiTadores at¬ 
tacked a fuperior body of French with the bayonet, with¬ 
out firing a fingle (hot. A high compliment was paid to 
the gallantry of the Portuguefe by the enemy, who affirm¬ 
ed in his public ftatements, that loaf Wellington had 
praclifed the device of drefiing Britifh foldiers in Portu¬ 
guefe uniforms. The lofs of the French in killed and 
wounded is Hated by Mafiena to have been 3000, including 
a very great number of officers, many of them fevereiy, and 
fome, among whc-m was general Simon, dangeroufly. Ge¬ 
neral Graindorge died of his wounds. 
While the French, having turned the Englifn pofition 
at Buzaco, were on their march by a roundabout way to 
Coimbra, lord Wellington, by a more direct road, got 
there before them; which he did on the 30th of Septem¬ 
ber. But, as Coimbra was riot a pofition in which the 
fuperior force of the enemy could be oppofed with advan¬ 
tage, he lent his advanced guard to the left bank of the 
Mondego on that day, and continued his retreat in the 
beft order the next day by Pombal, Leyria, and Alcobaca, 
to his ftrongly-fortified pofitions near Torres Vedras, 
where he arrived on the 9th of October. The ftay of the 
allies at Coimbra was fliort; but there was time for de- 
flroying the magazines there. Thofe, however, at Fi- 
gueras, at the mouth of the Mondego, which were of 
greater value, fell into the hands of the enemy. When 
lord Wellington moved rapidly to the left of the Mon¬ 
dego, he left fome corps of cavalry on the right bank, to 
give more leifure for evacuating Coimbra. The inha¬ 
bitants of Coimbra, and of all the other places through 
which the allied army paffed, accompanied them in their 
retreat, carrying along with them their mod precious ef- 
fefts. The inhabitants of Coimbra, after removing every 
thing they could carry off, requested our foldiers to take 
whatever they could carry, and immediately after threw 
the provilions that remained into the Mondego. The 
fame thing was done at Figueras. The picture drawn by 
Mafiena of this miferable defolation, is not overcharged s 
“ The enemy burns and aeftroys every thing as he eva¬ 
cuates the country. He forces the inhabitant's to aban¬ 
don their homes on pain of death. Coimbra, a town of 
20,000 inhabitants, is deferted. We find no provifions. 
The army is fubfifted on India corn, and vegetables which 
we find remaining on the ground.” Every foul in Co¬ 
imbra fled, leaving it literally a defert; for the order of 
the regency was pofitive for all to leave their houfes, carry 
off all their goods, or deflroy them, and leave nothing for 
the enemy. The road to Lifbon was blocked up with 
waggons, carts, mules, horfes, and bullocks; mothers, 
their eyes flreaming with tears, carrying their fereaming 
infants ; young women of genteel condition, alfo in tears, 
on foot, and feparated in the crowd from their families j 
men with heavy hearts, but in filent forrow, and every 
thing wearing an air of trouble and confufion. All the 
roads from St. Thomarand the other neighbouring towns, 
to Lifbon, were in like manner full of men, women, and 
children, with what eftefts they epuid bring along with 
them. 
Neither the government of Portugal nor the private fa¬ 
milies of Lifbon remained untouched at the fight of fuch 
diflrefs ; diftrefs incurred in the common caufe of the 
Portuguefe nation. The inhabitants of Lifbon, particu¬ 
larly thofe of the higher ranks, received the emigrants 
froth 
