432, SWABEY DIARY. 
all the Hnglish, and discovered that the cause of the false alarm had 
been some of the heavy dragoons galloping in by General Hill’s order, 
to stop plunder, which had commenced. I then went back and com- 
pleted my purchases, happy in having seen at so little expense the 
effect of the French entry into a Spanish town. Whoever was in the 
street, man, woman, or child, took to their heels, many mounted their 
neighbours’ mules which had thrown their riders, and much baggage 
was plundered and cut away so that the people in charge might 
escape. 
We crossed the Tormes at Alba! in the rain, and the troop halting 
on the other side, I bid it adieu, and pushed on to join Macdonald at 
Salamanca ;” encamping with Ross who was on the side of the road. 
11th November.—Saw the two Arapiles and the position contended 
for on the 22nd July, by which I was sufficiently convinced that 
darkness alone saved Marmont’s army from total ruin. Arriving at 
Salamanca I found Macdonald there, and rode with him to Villa 
Mayor where the troop was, and joined my old friends with infinite 
satisfaction, being very glad of the rest. 
12th November.—Rode to Salamanca to purchase clothes from the 
want of which I had suffered much. Salamanca is a good town and 
contains more shops than any other I have visited in Spain. What 
remains of its desolated convents is grand; the cathedral, externally 
very little inferior to Toledo, still stands. 
13th November.—Tarned out early this morning in consequence of a 
skirmish between the out-posts, and returned late to Villa Mayor. 
14th November.—One day of welcome rest. 
15th November.—We marched out in force to-day and took up the 
position of the Arapiles. The enemy was engaged twice to-day on the 
river with the second division and was repulsed. It rained all day and 
all night in our camp. 
16th November.—Finding the enemy declined fighting and turned 
our flanks, we were obliged to recommence in the rain a precipitate 
retreat on the Rodrigo road, which was so deep that many a poor 
wretch actually perished in the mire. Nothing could exceed the 
distress of the infantry ; worn out men and women resigned to their 
fate waiting the enemy on the road, some even already dead; of these 
stragglers the greater number were Portuguese. It was evident that 
in adverse fortune these fellows had not half the fortitude of the 
English, and even sobbed aloud in an unmanly manner. We 
bivouacked after dark in the wet and rain. 
7th November.—We retired at day-light, the light division forming 
the rear-guard and ours their support. In passing a wood, actually 
within shot of our division, 50 or 60 French cavalry posted there 
plundered the baggage of our Commanding Officer, Lord Dalhousie. 
We chased them with our detachments, but they made off having 
1 The troops under Lord Wellington from Burgos, were now united with those under Sir 
Rowland Hill from Madrid. 
2On this date Lieutenant Swabey quits “D” troop and his diary in future deals with his own “BH.” 
