-254 'LON 
camp at Santarem, leaving behind and deflroying fome of 
his heavy artillery and ammunition. The firft movements 
of the French indicated an intention of collecting a force 
at Thomar; for which reafon lord Wellington caufea a 
detachment of marthal Beresford’s corps to march in that 
direction, while he bimfelf put the main army in motion 
to follow the enemy. The allied army preifed clofely 
upon the retiring French, bringing them to aftion when¬ 
ever an opportunity offered, and occafionally killing and 
taking prifoners a confiderable number, though the fkill 
of their commander preferved them from any great difafter. 
The refult of lord Wellington’s operations was to fave 
Coimbra and Upper Beira from the enemy’s ravages, and 
oblige them to take the road towards the Spanifh frontier, 
with no other provifions excepting what they acquired by 
plunder on the fpot.—We have read, p. 227, 8. Mafl'ena’s 
accufations againfl lord Wellington on the fcore of plun¬ 
der and devastation during his retreat through this very 
fame country. No one will fuppofe the French to have 
been more humane under fimilar circnmftances : “ Their 
conduft, (lays lord Wellington,) throughout this retreat, 
has been marked by a barbarity Seldom equalled, and nejver 
furpaffed. Even in the town of Torres Novas, Thomar, 
and Pernes, in which the head-quarters of fome of the 
corps had been for four months, and in which the inha¬ 
bitants had-been induced by promifes of good treatment 
to remain, they were plundered, and many of their houfes 
deftroyed on the night the enemy withdrew from their 
pofition ; and they have Since burnt every town and vil¬ 
lage through which they have palfed.” They facilitated 
-their retreat by abandoning their wounded, and destroy¬ 
ing their baggage, and whatever elfe could encumber their 
march. 
They were fucceSTively driven from various Strong posi¬ 
tions, but retained one upon the Guarda till the clofe 
of March, when, upon the advance of the allied main 
army, they retired, without firing a Shot, to Sabugal on 
the Coa, upon the banks of which river, which flows 
near and parallel to the Spanish border, they took a new 
pofnion. Here they were attacked on April 3d, by the 
allied troops in feveral divisions, when a Sharp action en- 
fued, which terminated in the retreat of the French with 
a lofs of about two hundred killed and three hundred 
prifoners. They entered Spain on the following day, and 
continued their retreat acrofs the Agueda. Lord Wel¬ 
lington then made arrangements for the blockade of Al¬ 
meida ; and, aflive operations in this quarter being for a 
time Suspended, he went to the corps under marShal Be- 
resford in Spanifh Eftremadura. That general, after the 
capture of Badajos and Campo Mayor by the French, had 
advanced upon the enemy with an united force of Britifn 
and Portuguefe, and, on the 26th of March, had routed a 
French corps'with confiderable lofs, and recovered Campo 
Mayor. He then threw bridges acrofs the Guadiana, and 
puShed his advanced polls to the vicinity of Olivenga, 
where the French attacked them on the 7th of April, but 
were repulfed. Fie afterwards took a position whence he 
could inveft both Olivenga and Badajos, in both which 
places the enemy had left Small garrifons on their retreat 
from the province. Olivenga furrendered at discretion on 
the 15th ; and the marShal met general Wellington at Elvas 
on the 21 St, On the following day they reconnoitred 
Badajos, the blockade of which was established ; and lord 
Wellington then returned to his army. 
During the absence of the general, the enemy had made 
two unfuccefsful attacks upon the British picquets upon 
the Azava; and had collected a very large force at Ciudad 
Rodrigo, at which place were MaSTena’s head-quarters. 
On the 2d of May, the whole French army, consisting of 
the 2d, 6th, and 8th s corps, with all the cavalry that 
could be collected in the provinces of Caftile and Leon, 
recroSTed the Agueda at Ciudad Rodrigo, and advanced 
towards the allied army pofled between the Coa and the 
Agueda. The inferiority of the latter in cavalry did not 
permit lord Wellington to oppofe their march, which 
D O N. 
they continued the next day towards the river of Du as 
Cafas, along which, and at the fources of the Azava, ti e 
allied army was ranged, with their light division at Gal¬ 
legos and Efpcja. This divifion, with the British cavalry, 
as the enemy advanced, fell back upon Fuenres d’PIonor 
on the Duas CaSas, where three other divisions were potted, 
while others were guarding the paSTages of the river, and 
a corps vvas left to maintain the blockade of Almeida. 
On the afternoon of the 3d, the French with a large force 
attacked the village of Fuentes d’FIonor, which was very 
gallantly defended by fome battalions of light infantry. 
The enemy, by repeated efforts, obtained momentary poi- 
feffion of part of the village, from which they were driven 
by a charge of the 71ft regiment. Other reinforcements 
were fent by lord Wellington, and the conteft, after con¬ 
tinuing till night, left the allies in pofleflion of the whole 
poft.—On the morning of the 6th, all the different French 
corps, with the cavalry, united in a vigorous attempt to 
crofs the Duas Cafas, and gain pofleflion of Fuentes 
d’Honor. After a variety of partial actions and move¬ 
ments, which cannot be made intelligible without a plan, 
but which feem to have been dire< 5 ted with great judg¬ 
ment by the British general, and executed with equal 
courage and discipline by his troops, and which in dif¬ 
ferent quarters lafied till evening, the aflailants were 
finally repulfed at all points. During the courfe of the 
night of the 7th, they began retiring from the Duas 
Cafas ; and on the 8th the whole French army was col¬ 
lected in the woods between Efpeja, Gallegos, and Fuentes 
d’Honor, their Superiority in cavalry having protected 
them from purfuit. They broke up on the followup,g 
night ; and at length croSfed the Agueda, leaving Almeida 
to its fate. The whole lofs of the Britifh and their allies 
on thefe two days was not much Short of 1700 in killed, 
wounded, and miffing, of all defcriptions. That of the 
French, though not known, mult have been very consi¬ 
derable ; befides a number of prifoners taken from them, 
they left 400 dead in the village of Fuentes d’Honor, 
againft which their principal efforts were directed. 
The garrifon of Almeida, commanded by general Bren- 
nier, evacuated that place on the night of the 10th, after 
having blown up a part of the works. They marched in 
great Silence, dexterously winding their way through the 
Several bodies of blockaders, fo as not to be perceived till 
they had nearly reached the bridge over the Agueda. 
They were, however, purfued as foon as the alarm was 
given, and incurred a confiderable lofs ; but the remain¬ 
der were protected by a French divifion which had not 
yet quitted the bank of that river. The whole of the 
French army then continued its retreat towards the river 
Tormes. 
In the mean time, the investment of Badajos by the 
allied army under marshal Beresford, which had been in¬ 
terrupted by a fudden inundation of the Guadiana, and 
the cortfequent destruction of the bridge over that river, 
was renewed, and the bridge was restored. The prepara¬ 
tions for a Siege being completed, approaches were made, 
which produced two Sorties from the fort of St. ChriStoval, 
attended with confiderable lofs to the garrifon. On the 
jzth of May, marShal Beresford, being- informed thatr 
marshal Soult, having quitted Seville, and formed a junc¬ 
tion with general Latour-MaubOurg, w-as advancing with 
the intention of attacking the allied army, and relieving 
Badajos, fufpended his operations againft the town, fent 
his heavy artillery and Stores to Eivas, and concentrated 
his force to withstand the threatened affault. He marched 
forward to meet the enemy, and took a pofition near the 
village of Albuera ; and on the morning of the i6tb, 
having been joined by a Spanifh force under general Blake,, 
he drew up his troops in two lines parallel to the river of 
Albuera, on the ridge of ground gradually afcending from 
it, and covering the roads to Badajos and Valverde. The 
French did not long delay their attack; in which their 
principal objeCt feemed to be, to pufh acrofs the river be¬ 
yond the fight of the allies, and endeavour to turn their 
flankj 
