SWABEY DIARY. 37 
Lord Wellington in the Peninsula. The establishment was as follows :—2nd 
Captain Thomas Dyneley, Lieutenants Robert Newland, Robert Harding, and 
William Swabey, Assistant-Surgeon A. Macdonald, M.D., 164 non-commissioned 
officers and men,! with 175 horses. The armament was light 6-pr. guns. 
In 1816, after the termination of the long continental wars, various reductions 
and changes took place in the Royal Artillery, and “Ei”? Troop became “ D,” when 
the troop that had hitherto been so-named was reduced. It retained this letter 
till a reorganization in 1859, called the Brigade System, changed the designation 
of all units in the Regiment ; further alterations followed, until at the present time, 
Ist of January, 1895, it exists as “EH” Battery, Royal Horse Artillery, com- 
manded by Major J. McDonnell, 
Jevedagll! Jl 
Tae Larter Periop of THE CamparGn oF 1811, rocgeTHER WITH THE 38RD 
SIEGE or Bapasos. 
Summary of the Peninsular Campaign, from September, 1811, to 
April, 1812. 
It was at the latter end of September, 1811, that “H” Troop joined 
Lord Wellington’s army, which then lay in the vicinity of Ciudad 
Rodrigo, for the reduction of which place secret preparations had long 
been in progress. ‘T'he French army under Marmont lay at Salamanca, 
and it was from this point that interruption was principally to be appre- 
hended. But in December the welcome news arrived that Marmont 
had detached three of his division to assist Marshal Suchet before 
Valencia, and the favourable opportunity for commencing operations 
was at once seized. The siege was begun on the 8th of January, 1812, 
and on the 19th Ciudad Rodrigo was carried by storm. 
This successful attack was followed by the yet more daring attempt 
in the south, to reduce Badajos. By a rapid movement, therefore, 
the main body of the army crossed the Tagus at Villa Velha, and 
marched on Hlvas. Soult, on learning this, advanced towards Badajos, 
upon which Generals Hill and Graham were pushed forward to oppose 
him. As on the previous occasion at Rodrigo, the siege was hurried 
on, ground was broken on the 17th of March, and to the mortifi- 
cation of Marshal Soult, who was within two marches and ready to 
fight an action for its relief, Badajos was taken on the 6th of April. 
On the news of its fall, he at once returned to Seville, which in his 
absence had been blockaded by a Spanish force. 
A few days after these events, Lord Wellington heard that Marmont 
was committing great depredations in the northern provinces of 
Portugal, he, therefore, at once marched back with the bulk of the 
army. ‘The French, who had been stoutly withstood by the Portuguese 
Militia, on his approach withdrew from Portugal. 
12 Staff-Sergeants, 3 Sergeants, 7 rank and file non-commissioned officers, 7 artificers, 1 trum- 
peter, 84 gunners, and 60 drivers. 
