MEMOIRS OF LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR THOMAS PICTON, G.C.B. &c. INCLUDING HIS CORRESPONDENCE, FROM ORIGINALS IN POSSESSION OF HIS FAMILY, &c. BY H. B. ROBINSON. SECOND EDITION REVISED, WITH ADDITIONS. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET, in rtrtnarg to $ 1836. HENRY MORSt PA 3 TO HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON, &c. &c. SIR THOMAS PICTON fought and fell under your Grace's command England never lost a more devoted soldier, nor your Grace a more zealous officer. This Memoir is dedicated to your Grace in Sir Tho- mas Picton's own words, wlien, in reply to the House of Commons, upon receiving the thanks of that honour- able assembly for his services, he observed " IT WOULD BE UNFORTUNATE INDEED IF WE FAILED ENTIRELY TO REFLECT SOME OF THE RAYS OF THE GREAT LUMINARY THAT DIRECTED US." London, 1835. VOL. I. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. IN publishing the second edition of the Me- moirs of Sir Thomas Picton, the Author has endeavoured, by a careful revision of the text, and by the introduction of much new and valu- able matter, to render the Work more worthy of the personage whose memorable life he has at- tempted to depict. Numerous additional letters are now added. For these he is indebted to the liberality and kindness of Capt. Marryat, R. N. whose biographical sketch of Sir Thomas Pic- ton in a recent number of the Metropolitan (for the writer presumes to attribute to him the authorship of that article) is alike honourable to his head and to his heart. To numerous other friends of Sir Thomas Picton, the biographer is indebted for valuable Vlll PREFACE. assistance, more particularly to Major General Sir Charles Colville, and to Sir Frederick Mait- land, of whose information he has carefully availed himself. London, December, 1835. INTRODUCTION. OF the numerous distinguished officers whose brilliant services were familiar to their country- men at the close of the late war, many have al- ready found biographers. Such memoirs, when drawn from authentic sources, are a valuable addition to our annals : they contribute to that mass of materials from which hereafter, when all inducement to partial praise or censure shall have ceased, an adequate history will be drawn of that eventful period. Of these companions of the one great chief, none was more illustrious than Picton. Always engaged in important commands present at the most daring and successful movements, the history of his life includes the most prominent X INTRODUCTION. events in the Peninsular War. A more zealous or a braver soldier there was not in our army. Some brief memoirs of Sir Thomas Picton have been published ; but these are devoid of authority, and are generally incorrect. It was a consideration of these circumstances which induced the author, who had access to entirely new and authentic materials, to undertake the present work. Some years since, when he was in South Wales, accident gave him an introduction to the brother of the late gallant general, the Re- verend Edward Picton, of Iscoed, near Ferry - side, Carmarthenshire. This beautiful spot had long been the property of the general, and by him it was bequeathed to its present possessor. In almost every corner of the mansion a bust, a painting, or some other memorial, reminded the visitor of Sir Thomas. On these records the author dwelt with a deep interest. After many years, it recurred to the memory of the author, that whilst at Iscoed he had heard Mr. Picton speak of letters and manuscripts in his possession relating to his brother. Having con- ceived the idea of writing a life of the general, the author applied to be permitted the use of INTRODUCTION. xi these valuable papers in the composition of his intended Memoir; and in a short time after- wards he was gratified by the receipt of a box containing the whole of the documents in Mr. Picton's possession which related to the public career of his gallant brother.* From these manuscripts, the recollections of his family and friends, together with the valu- able communications of officers who served with him throughout the whole of his distinguished career, the present Work has been composed. It was not, however, possible that a life of Sir Thomas Picton could be written without em- bracing a general outline of the operations of the British army in the Peninsula. This was the scene of his principal services, and we must necessarily follow him into the field where his renown was acquired. One subject connected with the early life of Sir Thomas Picton possesses a painful interest : * Frequent applications had been made to Mr. Picton for the use of these papers in preparing a Memoir of the ge- neral, but to all, his constant answer was, that he would not allow them to be published during his life-time. By a re- markable coincidence, this worthy gentleman died in Sep- tember last, just as this Work was about to be published. Xii INTRODUCTION. the protracted prosecution to which he was subjected. The grave has, however, closed over nearly all who took an active part in those pro- ceedings ; and his brilliant career and glorious death have wholly removed the stigma which upon that occasion was attempted to be inflicted on his name.* The letters of Sir Thomas Picton introduced into this work are full of interest. The ma- jority of them were written within a few days after the different occurrences to which they relate. This gives them a value to which more elaborate compositions cannot lay claim ; for the unpremeditated conceptions of a strong and comprehensive mind possess a truth and freshness which no after consideration can im- prove. * A circumstance relating to this disgraceful prosecution ought to be recorded, as highly honourable to both the parties concerned. I nthe course of the narrative it is stated that excessive bail, amounting to the enormous sum of twenty thousand pounds, was required for the appearance of the gallant general to meet the charge, but it has not hitherto been made public to whose generosity Sir Thomas Picton was indebted upon this extremely trying occasion. To the late Joseph Marryat, Esq., M.P. for Sandwich, this act of public spirit, to which he was unsolicited, is to be ascribed. INTRODUCTION. Xlll In some instances the excitement of battle had scarcely passed away when the general sat down to calm the apprehension of fraternal affection or friendly solicitude. The soldier can be traced in every line. He seldom speaks of his own dangers and escapes, but confines himself to a relation of the proceedings of " his division" the brave "fighting division;" how his soldiers conducted themselves ; the part they bore in the struggles of the day, their heroism, and their losses : but of himself, who was ever at their head, and who shared with them every danger and privation, he says little. Once, and only once, does he allude to his own danger : this occurs in a letter to his brother just after the battle of Vittoria, in which he observes, " I was very fortunate, having escaped with only one shot-hole in my great-coat." In consequence of this total absence of per- sonal details in his correspondence, the author has been happy to avail himself of the informa- tion communicated by officers who served with him. Many of these are still living, and to them he is indebted for many particulars of Sir Thomas Picton's actions, his judgment, de- xiv INTRODUCTION. cision, and heroism. The author regrets that he is not allowed to strengthen the authority of these communications by publishing the names of the distinguished officers to whom he is indebted for them. London, Sept. 1835. CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. CHAPTER I. Parentage. Education. Enters the Army. Repairs to Gibraltar. Made Lieutenant. Captain of the Seventy- fifth Foot. Leaves Gibraltar. Siege. His Regiment Disbanded. Serious Mutiny in consequence. His spirited Conduct. Receives the Royal Approbation. Placed upon Half-pay. Pursuits. Personal Appearance Martial Dis- position. .... . Page 1 CHAPTER II. Unsuccessful attempts to obtain employment. Embarks for the West Indies. Joins Sir John Vaughan. Made Deputy Quarter-Master-General. Superseded by General Knox. -Introduction to Sir Ralph Abercromby Assists in the Capture of St. Lucia and St. Vincent. Voyage to England and return to Martinique with Sir Ralph Aber- cromby. Capture of Trinidad. Made Commandant. Instructions from Sir Ralph Abercromby. . 20 CHAPTER III. Sir Ralph Abercromby's opinion of Colonel Picton. Pic- ton's Enemies. Letter from General Maitland. Nature of Xvi CONTENTS. the trust reposed in Colonel Picton as Governor of Trinidad. His first act in that office. Address from the Inhabit- ants, Don Christoval de Robles. His recommendation to Colonel Picton. State of Trinidad when he was ap- pointed to the Government. Impulse to desertion sub- dued. Preparations by the Spaniards to regain possession of the Colony. Unprotected State of the ^Coast. Im- provement in the aspect of affairs. . Page 41 CHAPTER IV. Fatal Effects of the Rainy Season. Frustration of a Conspiracy. Estimation by his Majesty's Government of Colonel Picton's exertions. His Views as to further Con- quests on the Continent adjacent to Trinidad. Curious passage in Picton's Correspondence relative to the Battle of the Nile. Cruisers sent to protect the Trade of Trinidad. Proposed Reward for Colonel Picton's Head. His amusing Letters on this subject. Spanish Inhabitants of Trinidad averse to the Restoration of the Colony to the Mother Country. Correspondence on the subject. . 66 CHAPTER V. Character of Colonel Picton's Administration. Reward of his services. Attempt to injure his reputation. For- mally appointed Governor of Trinidad. Change of Ministry at home. Trinidad put in Commission. Insulting treat- ment of Governor Picton. His feelings in consequence. He determines to resign. . . . .85 CHAPTER VI. Statement relative to Dr. Lynch and the Under Secre- tary of State. Conflicting Affidavits of those gentlemen. Colonel Draper and Mr. Sullivan. General Picton's recep- tion of Colonel Fullarton in Trinidad. Extraordinary mo- CONTENTS. Xvil tion in Council. General Picton resigns his office of Com- missioner. His Letter to the Attorney-general of Trinidad. Difficulties which General Picton had to encounter in assuming the government of Trinidad. Colonel Fullar- ton's pamphlet. Charges brought against General Picton. Colonel Fullarton publicly rebuked by Sir Samuel Hood. Extracts from Colonel Fullarton's pamphlet. Page 96 CHAPTER VII. Testimonials in favour of General Picton's abilities and conduct. Flattering Address from the Inhabitants of Tri- nidad to the King. Realization of Dr. Lynch's " Prophetic Dream." General Picton's resignation accepted. Leaves Trinidad. Arrival at Barbadoes. Joins General Grinfield in an Expedition against St. Lucia and Tobago. Capture of the former. General Orders. The Fleet sails for Tobago. Its Capitulation. Despatch from the Commander-in- chief. General Picton appointed Commandant. Excite- ment in England against him. Its effects. Leaves To- bago Arrives in London. Artful devices to inflame the British Public. Their success. . . .121 CHAPTER VIII. General Picton's patriotism. Threatened Invasion of England by Napoleon. Picton's Letter to Mr. Adding- ton. His plan for the defence of the country. Its re- ception. Prosecution continued. Interview with Lord Hobart. Arrested by order of the Privy Council. Enormous bail. Indicted upon a criminal information. Observations upon the Indictment. Mandamus to obtain Evidence at Trinidad. Trial. . . .140 CHAPTER IX. Summary of facts extracted from the evidence. Perjured Witness. Malicious insinuation. Strong evidence against XV111 CONTENTS. the truth of the Charges Mr. Garrow's ingenuity. Verdict. .... Page 161 CHAPTER X- Effects of the Verdict upon the friends of each party. General Picton's Letter to Sir Samuel Hood. . 177 CHAPTER XL Motion for a new trial " made absolute." Investigation in the Privy Council brought to a conclusion. Their Report. Remarks upon. A second issued. Sir Samuel Hood offers himself as a Candidate for Westminster. Colonel Fullarton's attack. ' The Picton Veil, or, The Hood of Westminster/' a poem. The Duke of Queensberry. His munificent offer to General Picton. . . 196 CHAPTER XII. Second trial of General Picton. Testimonials to his cha- racter and abilities. Inhabitants of Trinidad present him with a sword. Their magnificent subscription to defray the expenses of his trial. The above sum generously re- turned by Picton. Argument on a special verdict. . 214 CHAPTER XIII. Expedition to Walcheren. Attack on and surrender of Flushing. General Picton's letter relative to this event. Appointed Governor of Flushing The Walcheren fever. Return of General Picton to England. Sir John Moore's retreat from Corunna, and its consequences. Movements of the British Army under Lord Wellington. . 228 CHAPTER XIV. Retreat of the British army upon Torres Vedras. General Picton receives orders to join the army in Spain. His CONTENTS. Xix anxiety to reach the field of operation. Appointed to the command of the Third Division. Skirmishes and man- oeuvres of General Crawfurd. . . Page 248 CHAPTER XV. Investment of Ciudad Rodrigo. Picton's opinion of the situation of the Army. Operations of General Crawfurd. Fall of Ciudad Rodrigo, and advance of the French Army. Death of Colonel Talbot. Affair of the Coa. Colonel Napier's account, and remarks thereon. Charge against General Picton refuted. . . .270 CHAPTER XVI. Fall of Almeida. Plans of Massena. Letter from General Picton to Colonel Pleydel. Battle of Busacos. Picton's Letter descriptive of that affair Whimsical incident during the Battle. . . 298 CHAPTER XVII. Colonel Napier's account of the Battle of Busacos ex- amined. General Picton's Letter to Lord Wellington. Erroneous statements in the " History of the Peninsular War." . . .328 CHAPTER XVIII. Operations of the Allied Army. Massena's movements Scene of horror and confusion. Retrograde movement of the Allies. Position within the Lines of Torres Vedras. Plan and defence of those lines. Disposition of the se- veral Allied Corps. Excesses of Massena's troops. Lord Wellington's masterly plans. Massena's critical situation. Pursuits and occupations of the Allies. General Picton's rebuke of his men. .... 355 XX CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIX. Retreat of the French Army. General Picton's account of the advance of the Allied Forces. General Picton's accu- racy proved by the statements of the Duke of Wellington, the Marquis of Londonderry, and Colonel Napier Inde- fatigable exertions of General Picton. The " Fighting Division." Depredations of the Enemy. Discontent among Massena's Generals. . . .. Page 379 TO THE BINDER. The Plan of Operations at the Sierra de Busacos to be placed opposite page 317. THE LIFE OF LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR THOMAS PICTON, G.C.B. CHAPTER I. Parentage. Education. Enters the Army Repairs to Gibraltar. Made Lieutenant. Captain of the Seventy- fifth Foot. Leaves Gibraltar. Siege. His Regiment Disbanded. Serious Mutiny in consequence. His Spirited Conduct. Receives the Royal Approbation. Placed upon Half-pay. Pursuits. Personal Appearance. Martial Disposition. THOMAS PICTON, the subject of the present memoir, was born in the month of August 1758, at the residence of his father, Thomas Picton, Esq. of Poyston, in the county of Pembroke. Thomas was a younger brother ; but, unlike the majority of young men so circumstanced, he was not entirely dependent VOL. I. B 2 THE LIFE OF upon his own exertions for future fortune: on the contrary, young Picton was entitled upon the death of his mother to considerable property; an event which, on its occurrence, rendered him independent of any profession. But this in his early youth was only a dis- tant expectation ; and it was then necessary that he should attach himself to some pro- fession. His earliest thoughts and inclinations led him to select that of arms ; and, according to the words of his reverend brother, " he would not hear of any other." The prospects in a soldier's life are certainly not such as would induce a sober preference; but to the young, the army has irresistible charms. Its constant excitement, occasional successes, and the hope of fame, possess at- tractions ; although the many who have fought and fallen without their names being known beyond the circle of their private friends, prove this hope to be as vain as it is daz- zling. With an ardour for all military studies, young Picton particularly directed his atten- tion to those sciences which make the rising SIR THOMAS PICTON. 3 soldier an ornament to his profession ; and the proficiency he soon acquired in these, gave him at once a superiority over his companions, who had contented themselves with the in- applicable course of education prescribed at our public and private schools. Latin and Greek are there made the groundwork for the soldier and the sailor, as well as for the lawyer and the divine ; whereas the mathematics are the great requisite to the aspirant for military fame, and a knowledge of Euclid will be of more professional utility to him in after-life than, an acquaintance with all the Greek and Roman classics. Fortunate in the advice of a sensible parent, and having a natural taste for the studies connected with his profession, Picton was permitted to follow the bent of his inclina- tions : but it must not thence be inferred that the young soldier was allowed entirely to neg- lect the acquirement of those branches of edu- cation which are indispensable to the character of a gentleman. Before he commenced his military education, his friends had taken care to instil into him some little, although of course, at his tender age, not a very extensive, B 2! 4 THE LIFE OF knowledge of the classics, and of the literature of his own country. After leaving school he was sent, previously to entering upon his professional career, to a military academy kept by a Frenchman named Lachee, where he obtained a great addition to his knowledge of mathematics and the art of war. In December 1771, being then thirteen years of age, he obtained an ensigncy in the Twelfth regiment of foot, then commanded by his uncle, Lieutenant-colonel William Picton, Lord Corn- wallis being colonel. The name of Thomas Picton appears in the Gazette for February 1772, as appointed ensign in that regiment; the date of his first commission being January the 22nd in that year. The present age would condemn the ad- mission of so young a soldier into our army as unnatural and dangerous : for it is surely unnatural to expose to all the perils and pri- vations of war those who still require maternal care; and dangerous, to place in a probable situation of responsibility one who can possess neither judgment nor resolution, qualities so SIR THOMAS PICTON. 5 absolutely necessary in the performance of every military duty. When Ensign Picton en- tered the army it was no uncommon occurrence for the captain of a company to be a boy at school, while many of equally tender years were already employed in active service : and yet it cannot be denied that the English army, during the late struggle with continental Europe, pro- duced officers who in courage and military ex- cellence might rival those of any nation in the world ; although nearly the whole of these en- tered the army at the same time of life as the subject of this memoir. Nearly two years elapsed after obtaining his commission before young Picton joined his regiment ; but during this period, and, in fact, during the first six years of his holding this rank, he had no pay, in consequence of the peculiar circumstances under which he receiv- ed his en sign cy. A captain in the regiment, who had rendered himself obnoxious to the rest of the officers, had been allowed to retire upon full pay; and in consequence of this arrangement, the youngest ensign without purchase received no pay, the youngest lieu- 6 THE LIFE OF tenant without purchase received that of an ensign, and the youngest captain that of a lieu- tenant. Our young soldier left the military academy of Monsieur Lache"e to join his regiment at Gibraltar, there to undergo the unvarying, and, in general, uninteresting, routine of garrison duty. Those, and they are but few, who sur- vive, and remember that early period of his career, speak of him as manifesting even then that strongly marked character for firmness and decision which distinguished him through life. From the boyish ensign he soon became the steady but inquisitive soldier; his principal delight, whilst upon duty in this fortress, (which presents every feature of the engi- neer's art,) was to wander through the mazes of fortification, trace the operation and de- sign of the numerous works, observe the choice of position, formation, and support of the end- less batteries; while he would frequently be arranging plans of attack, with additional de- fences which the garrison might erect in case of being driven from some of their positions. With these plans, and a host of inquiries, SIR THOMAS PICTON. 7 young Picton was in the habit of almost persecuting the officers of the garrison ; and they are recorded here as an illustration of the decided taste which he thus early be- trayed for the military profession. It was another occasional source of amuse- ment to him, whilst stationed at Gibraltar, to make excursions into Spain ; and during these expeditions he obtained such knowledge of the language as enabled him in after-years to fill that important situation which produced so great an influence both over his fortunes and his happiness. It was not only the Spanish language, however, that he acquired during this period of inaction ; his leisure hours, which were by far too many for his active dispo- sition, were devoted to the study of such books as were calculated to advance him in the know- ledge of his professional duties : in addition to which, he was greatly indebted to his uncle for many practical hints drawn from his own observations during a long life of constant and distinguished service.* * The estimation in which this meritorious officer was held by his Sovereign, cannot be better expressed than by the following extract from a manuscript in his own hand- 8 THE LIFE OF In March 1777, Ensign Picton was pro- moted to the rank of lieutenant in the same regiment. He was, however, now weary of the monotony of garrison duty, and anxiously looked forward to an appointment to some active service. During the five years he had been at Gibraltar, he had served under Gene- rals Sir Robert Boyd and Lord Heathfield; but the merits of one in so humble a rank as that held by Lieutenant Picton seldom call forth the particular notice of their superiors ; writing, in reference to his being appointed lieutenant- colonel of the Twelfth regiment, which is worthy of re- cord as exhibiting the tenacious recollection, and the plea- sure in rewarding merit, which marked the character of George the Third. " When Lieutenant-colonel Picton went to court to kiss hands on his appointment, having had the honour after the levee of being admitted to an audience in the King's closet, he addressed his Majesty with profound respect, expressing his most dutiful and grateful acknow- ledgments for the honour that had been conferred upon him. The Sovereign, with the utmost complacency, was pleased to say : ' You are solely obliged to Captain Picton, who in Germany commanded the grenadier company of the Twelfth regiment during the last war ;' alluding in particular to the colonel's having had the honour of being thanked, as captain of the grenadiers, by Prince Ferdinand, in the pub- lic orders of the army, in consequence of the report made by the then Hereditary Prince of Brunswick of his beha- viour under his Serene Highness's command at the affair of Zierenberg." SIR THOMAS PICTON. 9 and he requested his uncle to obtain for him an exchange into some regiment which had an earlier prospect of taking the field. This, in times when officers were more in request and vacancies more frequent, was not a very diffi- cult task ; and in January 1778 he was gazet- ted captain in the Seventy-fifth, or Prince of Wales' regiment of foot ; in consequence of which he returned to England, and thus, by a singular fatality, was debarred from partici- pating in one of the most memorable and im- portant sieges recorded in modern history. Within a few months from the period of his leaving Gibraltar, the Spaniards fitted out their grand expedition for the investment and attack of this key to the Mediterranean. The history of this siege is one of unparalleled interest. Every contrivance of modern war- fare was resorted to by the besiegers, directed by the ablest engineers of France and Spain : the eyes of all Europe were fixed upon the struggle. The English nation, confident in the courage and skill of its defenders, watched with anxious hope the progress of the opera- tions. The Twelfth regiment, commanded by Captain Picton's uncle, who was in 1779 ap- 10 THE LIFE OF pointed colonel, bore a distinguished part in the defence ; and it was always with a feeling of deep regret that the subject of this memoir spoke of the circumstance of his leaving Gib- raltar at that particular period, by which he lost the opportunity of participating in the de- fence of that fortress. The details of this memorable siege are well known ; and it is only necessary to state that, after almost incessant operations for three years in erecting batteries, making assaults, and in unsuccessful endeavours to prevent our fleets from affording relief to the garrison, the be- siegers made one last and desperate effort on the 13th September 1782. The garrison were however prepared at all points ; an incessant fire of red-hot shot destroyed the Spanish ship- ping, dismounted their guns, and burnt their batteries ; at the same time, the British troops repulsed every assault, drove the assailants from their works, and, after an immense slaughter, compelled them to abandon the siege, leaving Gibraltar from that day in the undisputed pos- session of the English. Captain Picton had indeed much reason to regret his impatience in quitting the Twelfth SIR THOMAS PICTON. 11 regiment. In the pursuit of active employment he was particularly unfortunate, as he was now doomed to undergo the still more irksome and monotonous routine of doing duty in provin- cial towns and home garrisons ; during the whole of which time he was continually read- ing in the public prints the spirit-stirring ac- counts of the progress of the siege of Gibraltar. Another five years of his life was thus passed without calling forth any of those brilliant ta- lents which even at this period were apparent to those who knew him intimately. Even after this period of unprofitable service, it was his fate to be thrown still farther from the sphere to which his inclinations led him, and for which he was so admirably calculated. The sudden reduction which took place in the military force of Great Britain in the year 1783, occasioned much disappointment among those aspirants for distinctions who had recent- ly obtained commissions in the new regiments which had been raised the preceding year. These were almost without any exception re- duced or totally disbanded ; and a great num- ber of individuals in humble life were thus thrown back upon their own resources, the 12 THE LIFE OF exhaustion of which had in most instances been their only inducement for entering the army. It will readily be believed that this measure, however necessary, was exceedingly obnoxious to those whom it thus affected, and on several occasions these feelings were ex- pressed to an alarming extent. The Seventy -fifth was at this period quarter- ed in Bristol, Captain Picton being at the time senior, and consequently commanding, officer. In accordance with the general order calling upon the commanders of regiments to make the necessary preparations for disbanding their corps, Captain Picton assembled the men in College Green Square, and read to them the instructions which he had received ; requiring them at the same time to conform quietly and with readiness to the necessity of the case. Only a slight murmur of discontent was at first audible after the order to disembody the regiment had been read, the soldiers being probably awed by the presence of their offi- cers ; but no sooner had they retired than the men were -guilty of the most mutinous and turbulent conduct, assembling together in a SIR THOMAS PICTON. 13 body, and entering into a general compact upon oath not to give up their arms or obey the commands of their officers. Several other regiments were at this time in the city, and the most fearful apprehensions were entertained by the inhabitants lest the contagion should spread, and a disorderly soldiery be let loose upon them. Some officers of the Seventy-fifth were quickly upon the spot, who in vain ex- horted the rioters to return to their duty, and submit to the commands of their superiors ; telling them that their opposition must be useless, and that it was disgraceful to the cha- racter of British soldiers. But their efforts were vain, clamour drowned their voices, and their attempts to reason with the mutineers only drew upon themselves threats of personal violence. Affairs were in this alarming state when information was brought to Captain Picton of the disorder. He immediately hastened to the scene of confusion and tumult ; and, singling out in an instant the most active of the mu- tineers, he drew his sword, and without a moment's hesitation rushed into the midst of 14 THE LIFE OF them, seized him, and dragged him forth from amongst his comrades. He was immediately taken by some non-commissioned officers who had followed their captain, and placed under arrest. This decisive step daunted the other mutineers, and they saw the leader in silence led off to the guard-house. A few words from their captain, spoken in a tone which did not seem to admit of reply, now sent them at once to their barracks. By this intrepidity and reso- lution, which in moments of emergency dis- tinguish a superior mind, the danger was at once averted, and the regiment was forthwith disbanded without another murmur. Upon the report of these proceedings being made at the War Office, the spirited conduct of Captain Picton became known to the King, who directed that the royal approbation should be communicated to him for " the courage and true military spirit which he displayed in quelling the mutiny in the Seventy-fifth regi- ment." This was conveyed to Captain Picton through the then Commander-in-chief, Field- marshal Conway, with a promise from that offi- cer of the first vacant majority ; but, as the sequel will prove, this message was the only SIR THOMAS PICTON. 15 reward which Captain Picton ever received for this important service. Upon the disbanding of his regiment, Cap- tain Picton was placed upon half-pay, and re- tired into Pembrokeshire, where he enjoyed the affection and esteem of a numerous circle of re- lations and friends ; and although it was much against his inclination that he thus early left his professional duties, and retired into private life, still he readily adapted himself to the novelty of his situation ; for it must be re- membered, that from the age of thirteen he had been a soldier, and consequently his re- collections of home were only those of a boy. Thus far his career had been successful, but not very eventful. A captain at five-and- twenty is now considered in a fair way to the highest military rank which interest or merit can obtain for him. But Captain Picton was doomed to lose all the advantages which he had already gained in his early and rapid promotion. Fortune had never yet given him an opportunity of displaying those talents which he so unquestionably possessed ; and those who were in authority naturally esti- mated the merits of an individual by the 16 THE LIFE OF services he had performed. After his regiment was disbanded, Sir Thomas Picton remained for the long period of twelve years on the half- pay list of captains ! We shall pass over this interval briefly : few events occur in the domestic circle of a coun- try town worthy of being recorded. Had there been any active hostilities in which Captain Picton could have taken a part, it is more than probable that the natural bent of his dis- position would have induced him to volunteer his services ; but during nearly the whole of this time Europe was at peace. He was there- fore more reconciled to the necessity of his situation, although he was unremitting in his applications to be placed on full-pay in some regiment ordered on foreign service. The un- varying reply of the gentlemen of the War Office was, that he would be appointed to the " earliest vacancy." But repeated disappoint- ments convinced him that an official promise is not always to be depended upon ; and, after a few more unsuccessful efforts, he gave up the attempt. His time was passed during this period of SIR THOMAS PICTON. 17 inactivity, according to the statement of his brother, the Rev. Edward Picton, in " the en- joyment of the sports of the field, in studying the classics, but more particularly in perfecting himself in the art of war." He was now pre- paring for that career which was afterwards so well known, and which was destined to be productive of so much honour to himself and advantage to his country. Few biographies offer a better or more elevated example to the young soldier, of the advantages which he may obtain by improving his mind in the know- ledge of his profession, than this of Sir Thomas Picton's domestic life. Some writer says, "that to feel great is to be great." Without admitting the truth of this assertion in its full extent, it cannot be denied that men seldom become elevated above the level of their ambition. Captain Picton was no doubt at this time conscious that the abilities he possessed required only an opportunity to dis- play themselves, in order to be appreciated ; and while labouring to qualify himself to im- prove any such opportunity to the utmost, he was looking forward to the attainment of the highest honours of his profession. VOL. i. c 18 THE LIFE OF In person Captain Picton was at this time tall and well-proportioned, approaching the athletic ; his height about six feet one inch, and his features large but well formed. The natural expression of his face was stern and dignified ; but his smile dispelled at once a repulsive expression which sometimes hung upon his brow. None who ever saw that smile could deny that it betokened a warm and generous heart. His eyes were brilli- ant and expressive; his voice sharp, and his manner of speaking quick and animated. He always commanded respect and attention ; the earnestness of his delivery and the power of his language impressed the hearer with conviction. But in the field, his tone of voice was totally altered ; it was there full and deep ; every word was calm and im- pressive, and its effect upon his soldiers was apparent in the increased confidence of their charge. Picton, thus resolved to prepare himself for any rank in his profession to which Fortune might elevate him, applied with ardour to every pursuit which could possibly assist him SIR THOMAS PICTON. 19 in the various duties he might be called upon to perform; and it was during this long interval of privacy that he laid the foundation of his after fame, and qualified himself to compete for a place among the heroes of his country. 20 THE LIFE OF CHAPTER II. Unsuccessful attempts to obtain employment. Embarks for the West Indies. Joins Sir John Vaughan. Made Deputy Quarter-Master-GeneraL Superseded by Gene- ral Knox. Introduction to Sir Ralph Abercromby. Assists in the Capture of St. Lucia and St. Vincent. Voyage to England and return to Martinique with Sir Ralph Abercromby. Capture of Trinidad. Made Com- mandant. Instructions from Sir Ralph Abercromby. IN February 1793, France commenced that extraordinary struggle against the nations of Europe, which, notwithstanding her internal discord, and the depopulating activity of the guillotine, she carried on with as much vigour and success as in her best and brightest days. The preparations for hostilities, and his strong desire for active service, induced Captain Picton to renew his applications to the Com- mander-in-chief for employment : but they were still unavailing; the same polite replies and genera] assurances were made to his letters as formerly, and he was soon convinced that SIR THOMAS PICTON. 21 interest, and nothing but interest, would obtain for him his wishes. Of this he had not much ; and no one could have been surprised had he turned with disgust from a profession in which he had such slender prospects of success. Fortunately, however, Captain Picton rightly considered that his past services gave him no particular claim for preferment ; and this re- conciled him in some degree to the disappoint- ment which he had constantly to endure. One whole year of hostilities was passed by Captain Picton in endeavours to obtain em- ployment ; when, tired of making applications, and hopeless of success, he resolved upon try- ing to procure for himself that which he had been so long seeking from others. Accord- ingly, towards the end of the year 1794, he embarked, without any appointment, for the West Indies, having no better prospect than a slight acquaintance with Sir John Vaughan, who had just been appointed com- mander-in-chief in that part of the globe. This step was probably the remote cause of Sir Thomas Picton's after fame ; and to Sir John Vaughan England is probably indebted for the important services afterwards rendered by the 22 THE LIFE OF man whose abilities he discovered and employ- ed. Sir John Vaughan at once appointed Cap- tain Picton to the Seventeenth foot, making him at the same time his confidential aid-de- camp, by which he had a closer and more con- stant opportunity of discerning the activity of his disposition and the strength of his judg- ment. Captain Picton was now for the first time in active service, and so well pleased was his general with the manner in which he fulfilled the duties of his situation, that he quickly promoted him to a majority in the Sixty-eighth regiment, together with the ap- pointment of deputy quarter-master-general, which entitled him to the brevet rank of lieu- tenant-colonel. Fortune seemed thus inclined to recompense him for the length of time he had lost ; and it will be perceived that when once Sir Thomas Picton had an opportunity of display- ing the powers of his mind, his abilities were so highly appreciated, that he was never after- wards exposed to neglect ; but, on the contrary, his life was passed in active and meritorious services. Sir John Vaughan held his impor- tant command for little more than one year, SIR THOMAS PICTON. 23 when ill health compelled him to resign, and Major Pieton had, a short time after this event, to regret the loss of his friend. He died at Martinique, in the month of August 1795. Major Pieton was continued at the head of the quarter-master-general's department until superseded by General Knox, when he resolved to return to Europe, having little expectation of promotion or employment now that his patron was no more. Before, how- ever, he could put his plans in execution, he was called upon by General Leigh, (who was at this period senior officer in the West Indies,) to assist him in receiving Sir Ralph Aber- cromby, upon the arrival of that gallant veteran at Barbadoes, to take the command in the place of the late Sir John Vaughan. This was the first occasion upon which Major Pieton had been personally introduced to Sir Ralph : the name was familiar to the general, through the knowledge which he pos- sessed of his uncle ; the merits of Major Pieton were, however, totally unknown to Sir Ralph previously to this meeting ; but it is probable that that discerning officer discovered at this 24 THE LIFE OF interview the superior powers and attainments of his new acquaintance. He received him in the most warm and friendly manner; and when, after Major Picton had in few words related his services, the situations he had held, and that, apprehensive of not being ena- bled to continue in active employment in the West Indies, he intended to return imme- diately to England ; Sir Ralph took his hand, and in language as gratifying as it was unex- pected, requested that he would continue with him during the ensuing campaign, hoping, as he observed, " to give him an opportunity of returning in a way more agreeable." This invitation was so flattering, and so much in accordance with Picton's desires, that he did not hesitate to accept it ; and from this period until the death of Sir Ralph Aber- cromby, a mutual regard and esteem existed between these illustrious men, which no petty intrigue or professional jealousy could for a moment impair. Immediately upon the arrival of Sir Ralph in the West Indies, he made every arrange- ment for active hostilities against such colonies as still remained in possession of the French. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 25 The first place against which he directed his forces was St. Lucia, whither he was accom- panied by Major Picton, as one of his suite, but not holding any command. Major Picton could not, however, remain an inactive spectator during the progress of the attack, and accord- ingly volunteered to occupy any post to which Sir Ralph might appoint him. In the attack upon this island he acted a zealous, although not a very distinguished part. His rank at this period was only major, for with the situa- tion of deputy quarter-master-general he lost the brevet rank of lieutenant-colonel, and fell back into that which he actually held in the army. He had no recognised appointment in the force under Sir Ralph Abercromby : his ser- vices therefore, however individually merito- rious, were not performed under circumstances which would warrant any specific mention of him by Sir Ralph in his public despatches. During the whole of the proceedings he acted as a volunteer aid-de-camp to Sir Ralph, and, as was strongly testified by that able chief, ob- tained from him his warmest approbation for judgment and intrepidity. On the 22nd of April, the troops destined for 26 THE LIFE OF the attack upon St. Lucia sailed from Carlisle Bay, in the fleet commanded by Admiral Sir John Laforey, and arrived off Longville Bay the evening of the 26th, when Major-general Campbell was ordered immediately to disem- bark with seventeen hundred men ; this he succeeded in doing, and took up a position for the night, without any further opposition than a few guns fired from the batteries on Pigeon Island. Early on the following morning he advanced upon Choc Bay, where the fleet had anchored during the night with the remainder of the troops ; the moment the head of this column was perceived, the centre division of the army disembarked near the village of Choc, when a force of about five hundred men, which had been faintly and vainly resisting the advance of Major-general Campbell's corps, retired with precipitation to a spot called Morne Chabot, one of the strongest and most commanding situations in the neighbour- hood. As it was absolutely necessary to obtain possession of this fort before investing Morne Fortune, Sir Ralph Abercromby ordered an as- sault to be made during the night by two de- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 27 tachments ; the one commanded by Brigadier- general Hope, and the other by Brigadier-ge- neral Moore.* This attack was intended to be made upon two opposite sides at the same mo- ment; and accordingly Brigadier-general Moore, having to proceed by the most circuitous route, commenced his march with about five hundred men precisely at midnight; while Brigadier- general Hope, who had to follow a more direct path, delayed his departure for a short time longer, when he also, with about the same num- ber of men, moved forward. The information upon which this expedition was planned had unfortunately been drawn from ignorant or treacherous guides ; and the calculation of time necessary for the two corps to perform the distance was consequently er- roneous. Brigadier-general Moore's leading column suddenly fell in with an advanced picquet of the enemy at least an hour and a half earlier than was expected. Upon this occasion, the promptitude and decision of that distinguished officer were particularly con- spicuous. Finding that his march was dis- * Afterwards Sir John Moore. 28 THE LIFE OF covered, and that it was impossible to halt the troops, as from the narrowness of the path they were marching in single file, lie at once resolved upon making the attack, without waiting for the co-operation of Brigadier-ge- neral Hope's division. The spirit of his men ably seconded his determination. Forming with as much expedition and regularity as the nature of the ground would admit, they pushed on with a resolution that was ir- resistible, and in a very short time car- ried the post at the point of the bayonet. Sir Ealph Abercromby observed in his des- patch, that " Brigadier-general Hope's division marched with so much precision, that they arrived exactly at the time appointed ; and, if fortunately the attack could have been ex- ecuted as was directed, the whole force of the enemy would have fallen." The loss sus- tained by the French during this short but brilliant affair was between forty and fifty men killed, and two hundred stand of arms, with some ammunition. Active preparations were now made for the investment of Morne Fortune, where the enemy had established himself in some force, SIR THOMAS PICTON. 29 having a garrison of about two thousand well- disciplined and well-affected coloured troops, several hundred whites, besides a number of black people who had flown thither for refuge. The difficulty of communication in this coun- try rendered the proceedings more tedious than was at first imagined, while the operation of erecting batteries for the reduction of this for- tress was a work of constant labour and much danger. During the progress of the siege, the enemy made several desperate sorties, but were inva- riably repulsed with considerable loss ; although not without doing much injury to the besiegers. The rugged and mountainous character of the country rendered the progress of the siege slow, and its event doubtful ; but the persevering dis- position and endless resources of the English general overcame every obstacle. Every inch of ground was disputed by the defenders with courage and skill, and nothing but the most indefatigable exertion 'and constant preparation for attack enabled the assailants to erect a bat- tery on the mountainous ridge of Duchasseux, which in a great measure commands the for- tress. During this laborious operation, the 30 THE LIFE OF officers and seamen of the fleet (which, Sir John Laforey having resigned the command, was now under the orders of Rear-admiral Sir Hugh Christian,) rendered the most important services in dragging up the guns, and trans- porting the ammunition up the steep and rugged ground over which it was of necessity conveyed. By incessant efforts day and night the be- siegers were enabled to open a battery of eigh- teen guns on the 16th of May ; but this being only on the first parallel, the further approaches were continued until the morning of the 24th, when three regiments were ordered to gain possession of a more advanced post. In this they were opposed in the most vigorous and resolute manner by the enemy ; but the con- test was not of long duration. Brigadier-gene- ral Moore led the assault with an energy which soon overcame all opposition ; and the assailants succeeded in establishing themselves within about five hundred yards of the fort. Two batteries of eight guns were immediately commenced, and were to have been opened on the following morning ; when, towards night, SIR THOMAS PICTON. 31 the enemy, perceiving that further resistance would be futile, sent a flag of truce, demanding a suspension of hostilities until noon the fol- lowing day. A truce was granted until eight o'clock the next morning, when the capitula- tion of the whole island ensued ; and the gar- rison, to the number of two thousand, marched out and laid down their arms. The loss of the English during this short but laborious siege was five hundred and sixty-six killed, wound- ed, and missing, including several valuable and promising officers. It would be impossible at this time to follow Major Picton through the different situations in which he was placed, and the services which he performed during this siege; but for a striking proof of the estimation in which his conduct was held by the general, it is only necessary to quote the following passage from the public orders issued by Sir Ralph Aber- cromby immediately after the subjugation of the island. In this he says, " that all orders coming through Lieutenant-colonel Picton shall be considered as the orders of the com- mander- in-chief." So decided a mark of ap- 32 THE LIFE OF probation thus universally expressed to the whole army must be interpreted as a strong testimony of the high opinion entertained of his merits ; but, not contented with paying him this distinguished compliment, Sir Ralph, without solicitation upon his part, recommend- ed him for the lieutenant-colonelcy of the Fifty-sixth regiment. After having arranged with Major-general Nicholls an expedition against Grenada, Sir Ralph Abercromby proceeded in person with the rest of the troops, accompanied by Lieu- tenant-colonel Picton, to attack the island of St. Vincent's. On the 7th of June, the fleet arrived off the island ; but the soldiers were not disembarked until the evening of the 8th. Early the following morning they marched in one column by their right as far as Stubbs, about eight miles from Kingston, where they were formed into three divisions, and bivouack- ed for the night opposite to their places of attack. At daylight the next day the assault on the forts was commenced, and continued with vari- ous success and but little intermission until the afternoon ; the garrison still making a determin- ed resistance. The resolution of British troops SIR THOMAS PICTON. 33 at length, however, prevailed : they were suc- cessful in every direction, and before four o'clock the English colours waved upon every position lately occupied by the enemy. In this well-contested struggle, of the English, one hundred and seventy-nine rank and file, besides officers, were killed or wounded. Upon the termination of this short but bril- liant campaign, Colonel Picton accompanied Sir Ralph Abercromby to Martinique, whence, after remaining a short period, he sailed with him for Europe, in the Arethusa. During the whole of this voyage, and the short stay Sir Ralph made in England, Colonel Picton and he were on the most friendly and inti- mate terms ; and he was often in after years heard to speak of this period of his life as one of unalloyed pleasure. It was not only the great strength of mind and general infor- mation possessed by Sir Ralph Abercromby which made Colonel Picton recall with so much satisfaction the hours he had passed in his society, but he always expressed himself to be deeply indebted to that experienced soldier for some lessons upon military tactics, which he never forgot, and which he was afterwards VOL. i. D 34 THE LIFE OF enabled to apply. He was therefore justly called one of Sir Ralph Abercromby's pupils, and he was proud of the appellation. There never was a better master, while few scholars ever attained so near to the perfection of their tutor. After a stay in England of not more than two months, during which time Colonel Picton was constantly with his kind patron, he again sailed with Sir Ralph for the West Indies, and without any incident worthy of remark arrived, near the end of January 1797, at Martinique. An expedition against Trini- dad had for some time been determined on; and shortly after the return of the commander- in-chief to the West Indies, he made the necessary arrangements with Admiral Harvey to proceed at once to the capture of that valuable island. The Spaniards had long been in expectation of an attack ; and had collected four ships of the line and several frigates for their defence, which were moored in a bay under the protection of some batteries of considerable strength. On the evening of the 16th of February the English squadron arriyed off this bay; SIR THOMAS PICTON. 35 when the admiral, having observed the position of the Spanish fleet, ordered preparations to be made for an early attack on the following morning. During the night, however, flames were perceived bursting from one of their ships, which spread with so much rapidity, that in a short time the whole w r ere consumed, with the exception of one line-of-battle ship, which contrived to escape the conflagration, but which was captured by the boats of the British fleet. After this disaster, which was said to have been produced by accident, the enemy was not in a condition to make any effectual resistance ; and when Sir Ralph Abercromby landed his troops in the morning, he was permitted to march into Puerto de Espagna, the principal town, almost unopposed. The governor re- quested permission to treat; which being granted, and the terms agreed to, the whole island was surrendered to Great Britain with- out any further resistance. The reduction of Trinidad was one of the most important events in the life of Picton, since in its consequences it threw a shadow not only over his living fortunes, but even over his memory. D 2 36 THE LIFE OF In our relation of the circumstances out of which the accusations afterwards brought against him arose, we shall adhere strictly to the facts of the case ; a simple statement of these will be his best and his sufficient vindication. Almost the first act of Sir Ralph Abercromby after obtaining possession of Trinidad, was to appoint Colonel Picton governor and com- mandant of his new conquest ; a mark of ap- probation which he had never ventured to soli- cit, and which was therefore quite unexpected. Sir Ralph Abercromby made but a brief stay at this island ; but during the short time he was there, he saw enough to convince him that the duties which Colonel Picton w r ould have to perform were very arduous. He was con- stantly beset by a crowd of complainants against the corruption and cupidity of the administra- tors of justice ; and a few days before his depart- ure from the island, while giving Colonel Pic- ton some additional instructions, he observed : " I have placed you in a trying and delicate si- tuation, nor, to give you any chance of over- coming the difficulties opposed to you, can I leave you a strong garrison ; but I shall give you ample powers : execute Spanish law as well SIR THOMAS PICTON. 37 as you can ; do justice according to your con- science, and that is all that can be expected from you. His Majesty's government will be minutely informed of your situation, and, no doubt, will make all due allowances." On the 25th of February, Sir Ralph Aber- cromby sailed from Trinidad, having previously drawn up with his own hand the following code of " instructions" for the guidance of Colonel Picton and Chief-Justice Nicholl in administering the laws of the colony. "INSTRUCTIONS. " General SIR RALPH ABERCROMBY, K.B. " Commander-in-chief of His Majesty's Forces in the Wind- ward and Leeward Charibbee Islands, &c. &c. " The island of Trinidad having submitted to his Majesty's arms, by the power and au- thority vested in me, by these presents I no- minate you, John Nicholl, Esq. to be chief judge and auditor (during his Majesty's plea- sure) over all and every part of the said island ; and you are hereby required and commanded to perform and execute all manner of things appertaining to the aforesaid offices, conform- ably to the instructions and powers you shall 38 THE LIFE OF receive from me through the Lieutenant-colo- nel Picton, whom I have appointed governor of the said island, and whose instructions and powers are to be considered of equal force as if given under my hand. And as there was no stipulation (in the capitulation) in favour of the Spanish laws in the administration of justice, and as they were merely continued by my circular letter to the commandants of quar- ters, magistrates, &c. in order to avoid the confusion which might result from too strict an adherence to the forms of the jurisprudence under an English government, you will re- ceive particular instructions from Lieutenant- colonel Picton explanatory of my intentions. And as I have judged it expedient to suspend from his employment the assessor-general, and not to name any one to fill that office in his stead, you are ordered to proceed in all causes, whether civil or criminal, without any assessor, although it may be contrary to the form and spirit of the Spanish laws. And I hereby declare that all sentences given and signed by you without the accompaniment of an assessor, shall have the same force and validity as if they were so accompanied, and shall be SIR THOMAS PICTON. 39 executed in the same common and ordinary form. " And as I have received serious complaints of the extortions practised by the exactions of excessive fees, and the mal-applications of useless and unnecessary proceedings in the ad- ministration of justice, by the escrivanos, attor- neys, &c. you are hereby required to shorten and simplify the proceedings, and to terminate all causes in the most expeditious and least expensive manner that the circumstances of them will admit, according to the dictates of your conscience, the best of your abilities, and conformably to the instructions you shall receive from Lieutenant-colonel Picton, al- though it should be contrary to the usual prac- tice of the Spanish government. And I also give you full power and authority to suspend from their employments all escrivanos, attor- neys, or other officers, who shall be guilty of extortions, contumacy, or contravention of your decrees. " In all civil causes, the parties are to be allowed an appeal from your tribunal to the King in council, when the matter in litigation exceeds 500/. sterling ; and in all criminal 42 THE LIFE OF have been as flattering to the individual, as they ought to have been convincing to the world, of the propriety of the person selected for the im- portant duties which he had to perform. No language could possibly have been more flatter- ing, as it must have conveyed a pleasing con- viction to the mind of Colonel Picton that it was his own merit alone, and no friendly in- tervention, which obtained for him the dis- tinguished preference; and after so strong a pledge of confidence it is but reasonable to suppose that he would endeavour still to merit that high estimation which Sir Ralph had thus strikingly expressed, by every exertion in his power to fulfil the duties of the trust to his satisfaction. The enemies of Picton, when they after- wards inveighed against him as " un homme antique en sceleratesse" and when, speaking of his actions, they declared that, " excepting Danton and some of his coadjutors under Robespierre, there are no instances in modern times of similar atrocity," made as direct a charge against the discernment of Sir Ralph, as they did against the character of the man he had honoured with his confidence. But Aber- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 43 cromby's character was too well known to bear such an imputation. To give colour to their calumnies, they were obliged to deny that the general had given Colonel Picton the appoint- ment upon his own judgment ; they insisted that it had been bestowed upon him at the earnest solicitation of Brigadier-general Mait- land. But the degree of truth with which this statement was made cannot be more satis- factorily shown than by the following letter from that officer to Colonel Picton. "Barbadoes, August 24th, 1804. "DEAR PICTON, " I have seen it asserted in a late publication, that I obtained the government of Trinidad for you : it appears also that you have publicly said that it was offered to you. On my part I de- clare, that you were not indebted for that ap- pointment to any interest which I made with Sir Ralph Abercromby, for I made none to that end. "The observation that your knowledge of the Spanish language was a peculiar advantage to you in that situation, I certainly have fre- quently made, and I believe did make about 44 THE LIFE OF the time of your appointment ; but whether 1 made this remark to Sir Ralph or not, (which at this distance of time I can neither affirm nor deny,) of this I am clear, that I made no interest to obtain the government for you. " When it is known that you were in Sir Ralph's suite (though you held no situation, you lived in his family,) from January 1796 until your appointment at Trinidad, within which period you made two voyages with him in his Majesty's ship Arethusa, Captain Wolley, the one from the West Indies to England, and the other from England to the West Indies ; that during these voyages you (I may say we) lived, and even slept, in the same cabin with the general ; I am persuaded that no person will hesitate to acknowledge that the general had a thorough opportunity to form his own judg- ment of you, and that from his opinion, thence formed, is evidently traced the cause which led him to appoint you to be commandant at Trinidad : for if this be not just, then it fol- lows, either that he had formed no opinion of you at all, or that he appointed you contrary to his own opinion ; which, when applied to the actions of Sir Ralph Abercromby, I believe SIR THOMAS PICTON. 45 everybody will say, in the language of geome- tricians, is absurd. " I am always, my dear Picton, " Yours, with the greatest regard, " FREDERICK MAITLAND." " Colonel Thomas Picton/' This letter declares at once the honest reasons which induced Sir Ralph Abercromby to select Colonel Picton for this important post. He had had a long-continued opportunity of seeing and judging his character; the impression on his mind was favourable, and therefore he gave him the appointment. It was unnecessary after the production of this letter to adduce further argument that Sir Ralph Abercromby nominated Colonel Picton commandant of Tri- nidad for no other reason and from no other motive than that he considered him qualified in every respect for the duties of the situation. The accusers of Colonel Picton were therefore driven to assert that he had by a long course of duplicity deceived Sir Ralph into the belief of his efficiency, and thereby abused the generous confidence of the general : but even this posi- tion is untenable ; for it does not appear that, to 46 THE LIFE OF the hour of his death,, Sir Ralph ever expressed himself in any degree disappointed or deceived in the opinion which he had formed of Colonel Picton; neither was he ever heard to censure any of his acts as governor of Trinidad. On the contrary, after having revisited the colony in the month of June, he expressed his "entire and complete approbation of Colonel Picton's conduct,'' and in consequence recom- mended him strongly in his subsequent des- patches as " an officer in every respect qualified to fill the important situation of governor of the island." Any further evidence to show the estimation in which Sir Ralph Abercromby held the character and abilities of Colonel Pic- ton, would be superfluous. In the instructions from his Majesty's go- vernment to Sir Ralph Abercromby, relative to the attack on the island of Trinidad is the following remark : "The island of Trinidad is pointed out as the source of great mischief to the British is- lands, being a shelter for privateers who annoy their trade, and affords an asylum for bad people of every description, who man the pri- vateers and row-boats, which make depreda- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 47 tions upon the coasts, carrying off slaves and property : it is therefore recommended to Sir Ralph Abercromby, if he can collect a suffici- ent force without exposing the British islands, to make an attack upon Trinidad, and if the force he can spare should not be sufficient to keep possession after he has taken it, to make the attack notwithstanding, for the purpose of destroying or carrying away all military stores and arms that he may find there, and to seize upon and to send to England the brigands and mischievous people who have made that island their home." This at one view displays the nature of the trust reposed in Colonel Picton. After Sir Ralph had taken possession of the island, he, with that kind feeling and consideration which ever distinguished him, granted to the inhabit- ants the exercise of their own laws, and the institutions which subsisted previously to the capitulation. When Colonel Picton first entered upon the duties of his appointment, the amount of the population was 17,718 ; and it will be shown in reply to the accusations brought against him, whether the administration of the laws 48 THE LIFE OF under his government tended to give con- fidence to settlers, or, as his accusers strongly and pertinaciously asserted, compelled those who were already located to fly from his "op- pressive domination, machinations, and delin- quencies." The first act of Colonel Picton was to dis- cover the actual condition of the island, and to ascertain how far the extract already given from Sir Ralph Abercromby's instructions was borne out by the character of the people. He was greatly assisted in these inquiries by the respectable part of the population, who volun- tarily came forward to give such information as they were enabled to impart ; and a short time after he had been appointed to the gover- norship, he received the following address from the inhabitants. "ADDRESS. " To his Excellency THOMAS PICTON, Esq. Governor and Commander-in-chief of the Island of Trinidad, &c. &c. " May it please your Excellency, "The last governor of this colony for his Catholic Majesty, perhaps too much occupied SIR THOMAS PICTON. 49 in the last moments of the reduction of the island, obtained from the conqueror, by the capitulation, the ratification of all the acts pre- viously passed under the Spanish government, but forgot to demand the continuation of our laws ; a thing the more necessary, as the es- tablishment of new ones, however good they might be, might occasion the greatest disor- der. This inconvenience could not escape the penetration of his Excellency Sir Ralph Aber- cromby, (whose humanity and disinterestedness cannot be sufficiently praised,) and in the course of a few days after the capitulation he was pleased to issue a proclamation, declaring this favourable resolution ; which increased, if possible, the gratitude of the inhabitants of this island, already so much indebted to him for the wise measures he adopted at the conquest, to preserve them from the horrors attendant on war. " The zeal which your excellency has invaria- bly displayed for the preservation of the colony, and the welfare of its inhabitants, has insured you for ever their confidence, and induces them to take the liberty of laying before you some observations, which they think of consequence VOL. I. E 50 THE LIFE OF towards securing to them, until the peace, the possession of their property, for the preservation of which you have proved your anxiety. " That assemblage of men of justice, the ma- jority of whom *no doubt presented instances of corruption of which no other colony could furnish examples, and whose iniquities and hor- rors have exceeded those of every government known to us, have brought all but ruin on the inhabitants : those shameful and permanent violations of all the laws of the Indies, and others of the kingdom, by which his Catholic Majesty intended that we should be govern- ed, (laws full of wisdom and foresight,) and which would undoubtedly have ensured our happiness, if their administrators had been men of ordinary honesty, were wholly perverted. Murders and robberies were committed with impunity ; widows and orphans despoiled ; in- heritances plundered ; creditors and debtors equally ruined in affairs of the most simple nature ; unfortunate colonists, scarcely arrived at the moment of enjoying the fruits of long and painful labours, which would have af- forded the means of existence to their families, were devoured without pity on the most trifling SIR THOMAS PICTON. 51 discussion, like victims fattened only for that purpose ! In short, who can deny that these disorders had increased to such a degree, that a man destitute of employment or property might attempt anything against a proprietor ; because the latter, convinced beforehand of the usurpation of part of his property, and of the loss of the remainder by the excessive costs of justice, would have rather submitted to the most violent assaults in his house and on his person, than have offered any resistance to them? " Such was the dismal but faithful picture of the colony at the period of its conquest ; and that peace which it enjoyed, (which alone had contributed to attract that multitude of exiles who had been forced to fly from the civil wars which raged in the neighbouring islands,) that peace of which they so highly applauded the advantages, was sold to us at the price of being devoured in the den of chicanery, if any difficulty obliged us to have recourse to justice ; whilst our administrators, in their despatches to the court of Madrid, attributed the rapid and unexpected increase of population to the effects of a wise and vir- E 2t 52 THE LIFE OF tuous administration. We have not thought necessary to give your excellency a detail of the numerous acts just mentioned. You were not long at the head of this government with- out obtaining a perfect knowledge of them, in consequence of the necessity imposed upon you to pursue the affairs of justice already commenced. What was your astonishment on beholding such infamy, and how often have you expressed your indignation thereon ! Yes, sir, we will say, that penetrated with the mis- fortunes of several persons who could not es- cape the claws of these vultures, your excel- lency wished to relieve them ; but how could it be effected, if with that intent you are ob- liged to have recourse to several of the same men of whom we complain, whose interest it is to support each other, and to bury in dark- ness what we are desirous of making known to the world? " The zeal and anxiety which your excellency has manifested for the good of this colony can only meet with the success you so well deserve by assenting to the request that we now pre- sume to make, for the establishment of a supe- rior tribunal, erected in the following manner, SIR THOMAS PICTON. 53 or in any other that your -excellency may judge most expedient. " Signed by a great majority of the respect- able inhabitants, natives of all countries."* Having ascertained that the opinion express- ed by the government at home as to the cha- racter of the inhabitants of this island was not undeserved, Colonel Picton felt himself in a position which might have intimidated a man of less resolution ; but, with that energy by which he was distinguished, he imme- diately applied himself to discover the root of the existing evil, and the most effective means for its extermination. Amongst those who had been recommended to him as inti- mately acquainted with the internal state of the country was Don Christoval de Robles, who had for nearly half a century held im- portant situations in the administration of the colony. Colonel Picton readily availed him- self of the advice of this gentleman ; and, in a short time, he sent to the governor the * The mixed character of these memorialists, and their ignorance of the English language, account for the whimsical manner in which this document is worded. 54 THE LIFE OF following document, which was so perfectly in accordance with his own observations, and the statements of the other respectable inha- bitants to whom he was referred, that Colonel Picton enclosed the original paper in his des- patches, to show at one view the actual state of the island. " DON CHRISTOVAL DE ROBLES' RECOMMENDA- TION TO COLONEL PICTON. " As you have done me the honour of con- sulting me, I will give you my honest and candid sentiments on the situation of this colony. " The population is mostly composed of re- fugees and desperate characters, who have been implicated in the rebellions and massacres of all the neighbouring islands ; their principles are incompatible with all regular government, and their inveteracy to your nation is irrecon- cilable. The timidity of the former govern- ment suffered their crimes to pass unpunished ; and at your arrival they were actually masters of the island. You may judge of the numbers capable of bearing arms, by the application of the French consul to the governor, on the ap- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 55 pearance of the British fleet, when he offered him the assistance of three thousand repub- licans, which, not being inclined to make any resistance, he thought proper to decline. " To those you may add the Spanish peons, or people of colour, a set of vagabonds, who casually come over from the continent, and who are ready to join in any disorder that affords a prospect of plunder; and a great proportion of the slaves, who have been sent here from the other islands for crimes dan- gerous to their safety. These people are now apparently quiet ; but they are the more dan- gerous, as they are only waiting for a favour- able opportunity to show themselves. They are studying you and your garrison. " A considerable portion of your troops, if one may draw a conclusion from their con- versation and conduct, are not well affected, and may be easily seduced; and those people will leave no means untried to effect it. If you do not give an imposing character to your government before the climate diminishes the number of your soldiers, your situation will become alarming. If those men do not fear you, they will despise you ; and you may 56 THE LIFE OF easily foresee the consequences. They have been accustomed to a timid and temporising government ; a few acts of vigour may dis- concert their projects. But, perhaps, you ex- pect some co-operation from the magistrates and tribunals : allow yourself no longer to be deceived ; there is not a sufficient confidence in the duration of your government to induce any one to commit himself by a vigorous ap- plication to the law. They are all apprehen- sive of returning under the dominion of their old masters, and will be careful not to expose themselves. They are, besides, people of weak and timid characters, from whom no energy can be expected. There is but one line of conduct by which you can extricate yourself from all these difficulties. " The circumstances of the conquest have virtually combined in you the whole power of the government. You are supreme political, criminal, civil, and military judge. You unite in your own person the separate powers of the governor, tribunals, and royal audience of Ca- raccas; our laws enable you to judge summa- rily, without recusation or appeal. Circum- stances like the present have been foreseen by SIR THOMAS PICTON. 57 our lawyers, who have provided remedies equal to the occasion. You are not shackled by forms or modes of prosecution. If you do substantial justice, you are only answerable to God and your conscience." The following extract from the laws of Gre- nada proves that De Robles was not singular in his estimation of the character of the people of Trinidad. " And whereas some persons have come from Trinidad, and lurked in these islands for the purpose of seducing and carrying off slaves ; and other persons residing in Trinidad have sent artful negro or mulatto slaves for the like purpose ; and it is but just and reasonable to proceed against those who reside on the very spot which holds out a retreat for fraudulent debtors and stealers of slaves, and where no re- dress or justice can be had." This act then goes on to enact, "That all persons coming from Trinidad shall give bond on their arrival in one thousand pounds sterling, to be of good behaviour ; and if such bond is not given, such person to be declared a vagabond, and, without any other proof than that of usual or 58 THE LIFE OF frequent residence in Trinidad, to be committed to gaol."* Such was the state of Trinidad when Colonel Picton was appointed to the government. It must be evident, from the preceding extracts, that severe measures only could enable him to keep possession of a place, the inhabitants of which were composed of such heterogeneous and lawless materials. The means at his disposal for this purpose were, however, but very inade- quate to the difficulty of the object. The fol- lowing statement of the military establishment at this period is from a return made by Colonel Picton to the commander-in-chief : " The Fifty-seventh regiment cannot bring into the field above ... . 800 " Hompesch's detachment (composed entirely of foreigners, and possessing very little of my confidence) 100 " Soter's French negroes (chiefly picked up in the island) . . . . . .100 "Artillery . . . . .20 " Total effectives 520 Inadequate as this force was, even for the protection of the most vulnerable points round * Laws of Grenada, vol. iii, page 232, clause 8. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 59 the island, it was not to be supposed that any reduction could be made from the military posts in order to perform the duties of police. Still, had these troops been well affected and well disciplined, or had they been all British soldiers, the activity and resolution of Colonel Picton might have compensated for the defici- ency in their numbers ; but, according to the remarks made in his despatches, it appears that the foreigners were " constantly deserting, or bordering on mutiny, through the insidious re- presentations of disaffected persons, employed, it was supposed, by the Spanish government for that purpose." In one of his earliest letters to Sir Ralph Abercromby, a short time subsequently to his appointment, he says : " The only inquietude we have experienced, has been occasioned by the deserters, most of them Germans." Again, he adds ; " I have been under the necessity of calling Hompesch's into town, to be im- mediately under my own inspection. A very great spirit of insubordination prevails in that corps ; and, I am sorry to say, the officers (with the exception of the major, who is unfortunate- ly ill) use no endeavours to repress it. They 60 THE LIFE OF report ten deserted with their arms, &c. ; but, I very much fear, they exceed that number. However, I believe it is put an end to for the present ; for in consequence of a circular letter I addressed to the different commandants of quarters, publishing a reward of sixteen dollars for each one apprehended or killed, five have been brought in, and one, who had written a letter to his comrades, saying he was at the head of five hundred men, has already suffered." The powers vested in Colonel Picton by the commander-in-chief prove the high opinion which that distinguished individual entertain- ed of his discretion and judgment. Chief Justice Nicholl was directed " to consider his instructions and powers as of equal force as if given under Sir Ralph's own hand; while, "in all criminal causes," the appeal was directed to be made " to the governor," and no sen- tence was to be executed until approved of by him." It will thus be seen that Colonel Picton was invested with authority to execute the most summary and extreme civil and military punish- ments, without reference to any other tribunal. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 61 The necessity for this, however, cannot be doubted ; nor can the use which he in this in- stance made of that authority be condemned. In the British army, desertion in time of war is always punished with death. Colonel Picton made an early example of the mutinous ring- leaders ; by which, and placing the detach- ment under his own immediate inspection, he succeeded in bringing the men back to a sense of duty and subordination. As soon as the first impulse to desertion had been subdued, Colonel Picton endeavour- ed by more gentle measures to convince the disaffected, that the way to obtain redress for either real or imaginary wrongs, was not by subverting military discipline, or opposing the laws ; and in a letter addressed to Sir Ralph Abercromby, only thirteen days after his ap- pointment to the government, he says, " By his Majesty's ship Pelican, I send to head-quar- ters five deserters from Brigadier-general Hom- pesch's regiment. It was not my intention to have troubled your excellency with any of them ; but as they complain of a want of jus- tice, and say that their never having been accounted with has been the reason of their 6% THE LIVE OF desertion, I could not think of proceeding against them in a summary manner." While this mutinous spirit was manifested by the troops, and while disaffection pervaded the island, constant preparations were made by the Spanish government, from without, to re- gain possession of their colony. Colonel Pic- ton was not, however, intimidated by the cri- tical situation in which he was placed; and perhaps at no period of his after life did he display more discretion, fortitude, and ac- tivity, than while fulfilling the duties of this important post. With extraordinary tact he contrived to obtain the co-operation, and cement the confidence, of the respectable and well- affected portion of the inhabitants, who were at once embodied in the form of militia ; by which his own inadequate force of Bri- tish troops was made disposable for the pro- tection of the island from external foes ; and in a subsequent letter to Sir Ralph Aber- cromby, dated April 4th, he observes : " A very exact police has been established in the town, and is gradually extending itself over the whole island. We are getting through SIR THOMAS PICTON. 63 the press of undecided processes as fast as we can. The colony is everywhere quiet, and the inhabitants pay prompt obedience to the orders of government." It will thus be seen that, in little more than one month from his appointment, he had over- come many of the existing dangers, and suc- ceeded in placing the captured island, if not in a position of security, at least in one of great improvement. Constant anxiety and indefati- gable exertion were the means by which this was effected. In every letter to the commander-in-chief, Colonel Picton reminds him of the totally un- protected state of the coast for want of a small naval force ; and in one of these communica- tions he remarks, " The north-east coast, from Toque to Mayero and Greaya, continues to be much annoyed by French privateers. A twelve- gun schooner, and another of a smaller class, continue to hover about these parts ; and there is little doubt but that they communicate with the disaffected, and probably supply them with arms. The respectable inhabitants make very serious representations of their unprotected and 64 THE LIFE OF exposed situation ; and say they shall be under the necessity of abandoning their homes, unless some naval protection be afforded them." Colonel Picton did not relax in his endea- vours to regulate the affairs of the island ; and his efforts were gradually successful, for when he had been only six months in possession of the government, he was enabled to report an improvement in the aspect of affairs which must have been far beyond the expectation of all who knew the condition of the island when entrusted to his care. The following is a copy of his letter to the authorities at home. " Port of Spain, 26th July, 1797. " SIR, " His Majesty's ship Dictator being ordered to Martinique, I profit by the occasion (the in- tercourse with England being more direct) to acquaint you with the situation of this island. The most perfect tranquillity and good-humour prevail throughout the colony ; and the inhabit- ants of all classes acknowledge that their situa- tion has been much ameliorated under the in- fluence and protection of his Majesty's govern- ment. " Since his Excellency Sir Ralph Abercromby SIR THOMAS PICTON. 65 has authorized me to arm launches for the pro- tection of the intercourse with the neighbour- ing Spanish provinces, that trade has experi- enced a very great increase ; and the market for British manufactures has become very con- siderable, and is daily increasing. Plantation provisions of all kinds are so plentiful as to enable me to permit the exportation of them to Grenada and St. Vincent's, which have lately suffered great distress from a discontinuance of the usual small supplies from America," &c. " To the Right Hon. H. Dundas." VOL. 1. 66 THE LIFE OF CHAPTER IV. Fatal Effects of the Rainy Season. Frustration of a Conspiracy. Estimation by his Majesty's Government of Colonel Picton's exertions. His Views as to further Conquests on the Continent adjacent to Trinidad. Curious passage in Picton's Correspondence relative to the Battle of the Nile. Cruisers sent to protect the Trade of Trinidad. Proposed Reward for Colonel Picton's Head. His amusing Letters on this subject. Spanish Inhabitants of Trinidad averse to the Restoration of the Colony to the Mother Country. Correspondence on the subject. THE first rainy season proved alarmingly fatal to the small force under the command of Colonel Picton ; and he says, in a letter dated October 25th, " The number of rank and file sick in hospital and quarters amount to five hundred and thirty-seven:" while at this and subsequent periods, demonstrations of attack were being constantly made by the Governor of Caraccas ; but which the disturbed state of that city fortunately averted. About Novem- ber, however, an attempt of a desperate and ex- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 6? tensive nature was made by the coloured inha- bitants of Trinidad (who were mostly French, and had ever been disaffected,) to bring about a revolution. This conspiracy had been long suspected by Colonel Picton, and he had taken every precaution to render it abortive. A number of refugees had collected on the oppo- site coast of Paria, who were to pass over and join their friends in the island with arms and ammunition ; these were dispersed, and their stores and habitations destroyed, by a force sent against them, at the same time that the ringleaders of the insurgents on the island were seized and brought to trial ; when, in the words of Colonel Picton, " by the immediate execution of one of the principals, and the imprisonment of several others, the remainder were overawed, and led to see the futility of their designs." As a strong proof of the high sense in which his exertions were held by his Majesty's govern- ment, he received in March 1798 a letter from the Right Hon. H. Dundas, informing him, that " his Majesty had been graciously pleased, in consideration of the extraordinary expense attending the civil and military command of 68 THE LIFE OF the island, to order that an allowance of one thousand two hundred pounds per annum should be made to the commandant, with authority to charge that sum against the revenues of the island." Colonel Picton, in one of his despatches, seems to acknowledge another and more formal testimony by the government of its approba- tion of his services. He writes " His Majesty's gracious approbation of my humble endeavours to promote the interest and honour of his government in this island, which you have so handsomely conveyed to me in your despatch of the 14th of January, is particularly flattering ; and I am highly sen- sible of the honour, which I shall endeavour to merit by continuing to pursue similar mea- sures with increased zeal." Such testimonies were, it will readily be be- lieved, highly gratifying to Colonel Picton ; and he continued by unremitting exertions to advance still further the interests of the colony. In a subsequent letter he remarks, " The roads, though nearly impracticable when his Majesty's arms took possession of the island, are now the finest in the West Indies ; and, upon the whole, SIR THOMAS PICTON. 69 the face of the country is undergoing a very flattering change." But his attention was not confined exclu- sively to Trinidad : he was for a long time studying the character and political security of the neighbouring continent, which, as one of the richest and most fertile countries in the world, held out an alluring prospect. The result of his inquiries was so perfectly in ac- cordance with the general report, that he was constantly urging both his Majesty's govern- ment and the various commanders of the forces in the West Indies, to attempt to annex these fertile provinces to the British dominions ; but although he was convinced that the con- quest of the whole country might be effected with but little difficulty or expense, his appli- cations were unavailing. One letter in particular, addressed to Lieu- tenant-general Cuyler, the then commander in-chief in the West Indies, sets forth so clearly, and in such glowing terms, the value of this conquest, and the facility with which it might be effected, that it is inserted in the Appendix for the perusal of the reader. Re- gardless, however, of his constant represen- 70 THE LIFE OF tations to this effect, the government were . either too supine, or too much occupied else- where, to undertake any enterprise in this quarter of the world : the opportunity was allowed to pass ; and these provinces re- mained undisturbed in the possession of Spain until the peace which was shortly afterwards concluded. There is a curious passage in Colonel Pic- ton's correspondence of this time. He had just heard the first rumour of the battle of the Nile, and observes, "A vessel, which left Glasgow on the 3rd of October, brings provincial papers of the 2nd, by which it appears that there is great reason to believe that Sir Horatio Nelson had at length discovered the retreat of Bonaparte's fleet on the coast of Egypt, but not at Alexan- dria ; and that an attack had been made upon it, which terminated highly favourably to his Majesty's arms. If so, the hero of Italy will appear more like a refugee than a conqueror ; and probably terminate his golden dreams amongst the sands of Asia." Colonel Picton was no prophet; but although he was mistaken in deducing its consequences, SIR THOMAS PICTON. 71 he felt all an Englishman's exultation when he received the news of Nelson's brilliant achieve- ment. He writes again, " The victory gained by Sir Horatio Nelson, whether considered singly, or with respect to the events it will probably produce, must be regarded as the most brilliant and important that has ever graced our naval annals. England is yet in a proud situation, with the eyes and hopes of the whole world upon her; and she may now look forward to a period when her voice will be heard and respected." In the beginning of the year 1799, Admiral Harvey, who was then in command of the fleet in the West Indies, sent some small cruisers to protect the trade which Colonel Picton had established with the continent. With these, under the command of Captain Dixon, of his Majesty's sloop Victorieux, he destroyed the batteries which had been erected to intercept the traffic of some of the smaller rivers. The removal of these obstructions, and the confidence which traders now reposed in his power and willingness to protect them, direct- ed much of the commerce of the neighbouring continent to this island ; and rendered it so 72 THE LIFE OF formidable a rival to the Spanish possessions on the main, that the Governors of Caraccas and Guayana offered a reward of twenty thousand dollars for the English Governor's head. Colonel Picton had for some time before this been in friendly communication with these officers, respecting the exchange of prisoners. Mutual efforts were made to ameliorate the hor- rors of war, and to afford protection to private individuals. In a letter to the Governor of Ca- raccas he remarks, " I shall have great pleasure in facilitating your excellency's benevolent in- tentions respecting the unfortunate individuals whom the fortune of war has separated from their homes, their families, and their friends ; and will most sincerely co-operate in every mea- sure that may conduce to an event not less interesting to my humanity than to your ex- cellency's." While, in a similar communica- tion to the Governor of Guayana, he adds, " The nations which we represent are not naturally inimical ; but the pressure of impe- rious circumstances and extraordinary events have produced a war, the asperities to indivi- duals resulting from which, I shall have great happiness in co-operating with your excel- lency to soften and alleviate." SIR THOMAS PICTON. 73 Of course this liberal offer for the head of Colonel Picton could not be interpreted as a proof of increased good feeling on the part of these gentlemen ; but, as he was not desirous of giving them any additional offence, or ap- pearing at all hurt by this public announce- ment of the value in which he was held, he returned for answer the following piquant and amusing notes. " Trinidad, 25th January 1799. " SIR, " Your excellency has highly flattered my vanity by the very handsome value which you have been pleased to fix upon my head. Twenty thousand dollars is an offer which would not discredit your royal master's mu- nificence ! " As the trifle has had the good fortune to recommend itself to your excellency's atten- tion, come and take it, and it will be much at your service: in expectation of which, I have the honour to be, &c. &c. &c. (Signed) "THOMAS PICTON." His Excellency, Don Pedro Carbonelli, " Governor-general, Caraccas." 74 THE LIFE OF And to the Governor of Guayana, the fol- lowing : IRj "Port of Spain, 25th January 1799. " I understand your excellency has done me the honour of valuing my head at twenty thousand dollars. I am sorry it is not in my power to return the compliment. Modesty obliges me to remark that your excellency has far over-rated the trifle; but, as it has found means to recommend itself to your ex- cellency's attention, if you will give yourself the trouble of coming to take it, it will be much at your service. "Your excellency's very devoted " humble servant, (Signed) " THOMAS PICTON." "The Governor of Guayana." But Colonel L Picton's personal strength and courage were too well known : even this tempting offer was not sufficient to induce any of the bad characters who at this time infested the island to undertake the desperate task of gaining possession of his head. The interpretation which was afterwards put upon this uncivilized proclamation is a singular in- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 75 stance of the facility with which the most atrocious acts will be defended by men who are prejudiced against the subject of them. This very proceeding of the two governors of the Spanish provinces was afterwards held up to the British nation as a laudable measure, provoked by the gross exactions and cruelties perpetrated by Colonel Picton on their subjects who traded to Trinidad. No conduct on Co- lonel Picton's part could remove the infamy of this transaction : but, so far from the excuse given being founded in fact, at this very period he was known amongst the South American Spaniards by the familiar appellation of " El Tio," the uncle or friend. In consequence of the brilliant successes of the British arms towards the end of the year 1799, the Spanish inhabitants of Trinidad be- came apprehensive of a peace, and that the island would be again restored to the mother country in exchange for Porto Rico or some other equivalent. Alarmed at this probability, an address was presented to Colonel Picton by the most respectable inhabitants, calling upon him to make a strong representation to the British government of the frightful situation 76 THE LIFE OF in which the colony would be placed if again put under the dominion of the Spanish crown. Colonel Picton was at the same time requested to address Sir Ralph Abercromby, to whom the whole colony still looked up as their con- queror and patron, calling upon him to protect them from the sanguinary persecution which those who had shown the least favour to the conquerors had every reason to expect if again in the power of "the most vindictive and revenge- ful government in the world." Conformably to the wishes of the inhabitants, he immediately addressed the Right Honourable H. Dundas and Sir Ralph Abercromby upon the subject ; and as these communications show in a very eminent degree his strong powers of discern- ment, and admirably illustrate the still un- changed character of the Spanish nation, they will be perused with interest. To Mr. Dundas he says (" Private.) "Port of Spain, Trinidad, " SlR, 24th October 1799. " Some very strong and earnest representa- tions, made by the most respectable inhabitants of this colony respecting the unjustifiable and alarming conduct of the government of Carac- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 77 cas, occasion this letter. If the island of Trini- dad should be restored to Spain at a peace, we must resign all hope of ever being well received by the natives of South America. Those inhabitants of this island who have expressed any satisfaction with his Majesty's government, or have paid any personal atten- tion to his representative, are known to be already prejudged and marked out as victims for the vengeance of the Spanish government whenever chance or circumstances may 'subject them to its jealous tyranny. " The Spaniards who recollect the conduct of their government subsequent to the peace of 1763, upon the restoration of the Havannah, when common acts of civility and attention to his Majesty's governor were punished as cri- minal actions, are convinced that the menaces secretly circulated by the emissaries of Ca- raccas are to be regarded as the predetermi- nations of a government whose politics know no restraint from morality, and with which loose suspicion entails certain ruin. " The present extraordinary conduct of the council (Junta del gobierno) of Caraccas suffi- ciently evinces the government has not changed 78 THE LIFE OF its principles. Amongst a number of other instances, an old gentleman, (Don Christoval de Robles,) the most respectable Spaniard I have ever known, in whom alone the high sense of honour the nation pretends to is not fabulous, who had held the principal civil employment of the island for a number of years with honour and unimpeached integrity ; because he has unguardedly expressed himself pleased with the justice of his Majesty's go- vernment, and has been ready on all occa- sions of difficulty to assist me with his advice and experience, has been proceeded against privately by the Junta del gobierno of Ca- raccas, and adjudged a traitor to his king and country. This decree has actually been acted upon ; and property, which he casually pos- sessed upon the continent, has in consequence been confiscated. " This island being either exchanged or re- stored at a peace, will produce in the minds of the South Americans a lasting distrust of the English nation; they are naturally favour- ably disposed to his Majesty's government, but the apprehension of again falling under the dominion of Spain keeps them at a fearful SIR THOMAS PICTON. 79 distance. They say : * You take possession of our country, at which we rejoice as an event most favourable to our happiness and con- ducive to our prosperity ; but we have scarcely tasted the advantages of an equitable and just government, when you make a sacrifice of us as a peace-offering to a jealous and vindictive government, whose spies have registered all our good offices, which will not fail to be con- strued into crimes for which our persons and property will answer.' " You conceive, perhaps, that I am over- charging the picture ; but, I regret to say, too many facts can be adduced to attest its truth. " I hope his Majesty's ministers will never be brought either to restore or exchange this valuable island ; for, besides the certain ruin and misery which it will occasion to all those who have shown any attachment to his Ma- jesty's government, it will leave a lasting, in- delible impression on the minds of the South Americans. Though a valuable equivalent might be proposed, I humbly conceive it would be highly impolitic to accept it. The inhabit- ants of all the neighbouring provinces have their eyes fixed upon Trinidad: if retained, it 80 THE LIFE OF will exalt their estimation of the power and energy of his Majesty's government, and de- termine them upon the first favourable occasion to seek its protection ; if restored, it will leave an opinion of weakness, unfavourable and de- structive to any future views on this quarter of the world. " I have the honour to be, &c. (Signed) " THOMAS PICTON/' " The Right Honourable " H. Dundas." At the same time he addressed Sir Ralph Abercromby to the following effect : " Trinidad, October 30th, 1799. " SIR, "Every one here looks forward to your ex- cellency's protection and patronage, and you must expect to be troubled upon all occasions of consequence to the prosperity and well-being of this colony. " The late brilliant and important successes of the allied armies, and other favourable circum- stances, holding out the probability of an ap- proaching peace, the most respectable plant- ers and settlers of Trinidad begin to enter- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 81 tain serious apprehensions of their future situa- tion ; and express great alarm and uneasiness lest his Majesty's ministers might be induced to exchange this island for Porto Rico, or any other proposed equivalent. They are well aware of the high degree of importance attach- ed by the Spanish government to this settle- ment on account of its situation, which will render it at all times dangerous and formidable to the neighbouring provinces of South Ame- rica ; the inhabitants of which have their eyes continually fixed upon Trinidad, and cannot fail to be affected by its newly -acquired opu- lence and flourishing situation. " I have taken the liberty of enclosing the copy of a letter I have just written to Mr. Secretary Dundas on the occasion, by which your excellency will see the ruin which me- naces the English and other inhabitants who have shown any marks of attachment to his Majesty's government, upon the event of the island being restored. The great object of the Spanish government in wishing to repossess itself of this island, is to show their subjects in these countries the little reliance they can place upon the protection and promises of the VOL. i. G 821 THE LIFE OF British government, which so easily sacrifices them for a supposed advantage ; and, above all, by the vengeance they will not fail to execute upon all those who have shown them- selves pleased with the new order of things, to deter their subjects on the continent from all thoughts of ameliorating their miserable situation by having recourse to the protection of Great Britain. " It requires considerable practical knowledge of the Spanish government to be enabled to form anything like a just idea of its politics. The individual is superstitious without religion and punctilious without honour; the govern- ment, with all the formality and mask of inte- grity, and the most extravagant pretensions to good faith, pursues the object of its ambition, avarice, or revenge, without any restraint from morality or respect for engagements. " No stipulation on the part of Great Britain will be effectual to secure the inhabitants from its unrelenting resentment. Its mode is to promise everything; but the public instruc- tions to their governors, &c. which they refer to upon all occasions, are always accompanied by others, via reservada, of an opposite import. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 83 Those who possessed situations under the Spanish government, who were permitted by your excellency to retain them and remain upon this island, accepted of your indulgence by the advice of M. Chacon, for the purpose of remaining as spies upon the conduct of the inhabitants. These people kept a minute regis- ter, in which all the inhabitants who had at any time expressed themselves pleased with his Majesty's government were calumniated in the most scandalous manner, and represented as traitors to the King of Spain. This was carried on with great secrecy ; but at length a disagree- ment amongst the parties led to a discovery, and I was enabled to get possession of it. The false and infamous representations it contained were calculated to render all the most respect- able inhabitants objects of resentment to the Spanish government. " I beg leave to refer your excellency to the enclosed copy of a letter to Mr. Secretary Dundas, wherein I have urged the reasons why I am of opinion that it would be ex- tremely impolitic to restore Trinidad on any terms, or for any equivalent. I shall not now intrude any further upon your time than to 82 THE LIFE OF British government, which so easily sacrifices them for a supposed advantage ; and, above all, by the vengeance they will not fail to execute upon all those who have shown them- selves pleased with the new order of things, to deter their subjects on the continent from all thoughts of ameliorating their miserable situation by having recourse to the protection of Great Britain. " It requires considerable practical knowledge of the Spanish government to be enabled to form anything like a just idea of its politics. The individual is superstitious without religion and punctilious without honour; the govern- ment, with all the formality and mask of inte- grity, and the most extravagant pretensions to good faith, pursues the object of its ambition, avarice, or revenge, without any restraint from morality or respect for engagements. " No stipulation on the part of Great Britain will be effectual to secure the inhabitants from its unrelenting resentment. Its mode is to promise everything; but the public instruc- tions to their governors, &c. which they refer to upon all occasions, are always accompanied by others, via reservada, of an opposite import. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 83 Those who possessed situations under the Spanish government, who were permitted by your excellency to retain them and remain upon this island, accepted of your indulgence by the advice of M. Chacon, for the purpose of remaining as spies upon the conduct of the inhabitants. These people kept a minute regis- ter, in which all the inhabitants who had at any time expressed themselves pleased with his Majesty's government were calumniated in the most scandalous manner, and represented as traitors to the King of Spain. This was carried on with great secrecy ; but at length a disagree- ment amongst the parties led to a discovery, and I was enabled to get possession of it. The false and infamous representations it contained were calculated to render all the most respect- able inhabitants objects of resentment to the Spanish government. " I beg leave to refer your excellency to the enclosed copy of a letter to Mr. Secretary Dundas, wherein I have urged the reasons why I am of opinion that it would be ex- tremely impolitic to restore Trinidad on any terms, or for any equivalent. I shall not now intrude any further upon your time than to G 2 84 THE LIFE OF claim a continuance of your patronage in favour of a large body of planters, who, having through your means experienced the advantages of his Majesty's government, conceive they have a claim upon your future good offices. " I have the honour to be, &c. (Signed) "Tn. PICTON." " His Excellency " Sir Ralph Abercromby." It would appear that the strength of these representations had their due weight with his Majesty's ministers : for, in the peace which ensued about two years after this period, Trinidad was retained amongst the British pos- sessions. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 85 CHAPTER V Character of Colonel Picton's Administration. Reward of his services. Attempt to injure his reputation. For- mally appointed Governor of Trinidad. Change of Minis- try at home. Trinidad put in commission. Insulting treatment of Governor Picton. His feelings in conse- quence. He determines to resign. EACH act of Colonel Picton's administration appeared the result of a well-matured judgment and an honest zeal. Every record of his life is an honourable memorial of services rendered. From the first moment of his being placed in that situation which enabled him to show the great powers of his mind, his career ensured a continued series of advantages to his country ; esteemed and respected by all men of worth to whom he was known, he received from them the kindly attentions and regards of private life ; while his public services were constantly obtaining for him the approba- tion of his sovereign and the warm com- 86 THE LIFE OF mendations of his ministers. Nor did his services pass unrewarded : in a letter dated January 4th, 1800, we find him again re- questing Mr. Dundas to lay his grateful acknowledgments at his Majesty's feet for his further munificence in adding the sum of one thousand two hundred pounds to his annual salary. It was, however, about this period that an attempt was made to injure his reputation. Some person in England, who had obtained the ear of the minister, made a charge against him of having exported the produce of the colony in foreign vessels, to the injury of the British ship-owner ; and it was implied that he did this for his own advantage. But this charge was discovered to proceed from private ill-will and personal disappointment ; and it was so clearly disproved by documentary evi- dence sent to England from Trinidad, that Mr. Dundas wrote a highly complimentary letter to Colonel Picton, containing an assur- ance " that he and his colleagues were perfect- ly satisfied with his explanation, and convinced that the charges brought against him were without the least foundation." SIR THOMAS PICTON. 87 But a more distinguished and gratifying- mark of the estimation in which he was still held by his royal master and his government was conveyed to him within a few months after he had refuted these unfounded imputa- tions. He was now formally appointed go- vernor of the island : hitherto he had only held the situation under the instructions of Sir Ralph Abercromby being, in point of fact, military commandant ; but he now re- ceived his Majesty's commission appointing him "civil and military governor." A letter from Lord Hobart, dated June 29th, 1801, announcing his Majesty's determination, accom- panied the despatch containing his appoint- ment to the governorship ; and the following short extract from this letter contains a flatter- ing testimony of the value in which his ser- vices were held : " The ability and zeal which you have shown in administering the affairs of the island of Trinidad, and the honourable testimony borne to your conduct by the com- mander- in-chief of his Majesty's forces in the Leeward and Windward Charibbee Islands on every occasion, have induced his Majesty to appoint you to the civil government of that 88 THE LIFE OF island ; and I have the satisfaction of enclos- ing herewith your commission, and the instruc- tions, under his Majesty's sign manual, for your guidance in executing the duties of that office." This unequivocal mark of confidence be- stowed upon him by his own government was to Colonel Picton a great source of con- solation under the difficulties which beset him, and a spur to further exertion : to use his own words, " it could not fail to animate his zeal and humble endeavours to merit a continuance of his Majesty's favour." Appended to the commission was a mass of instructions, headed " Instructions to our trusty and well-beloved Thomas Picton, Esq. our Governor and Commander-in-chief in and over our island of Trinidad. Given at our Court at Saint James's, the first day of June eighteen hundred and one, in the forty-first year of our reign." We have subjoined an extract from these instructions, because it is necessary that the reader should understand the extent of Colo- nel Picton's powers before we enter into a de- tail of the charges which were afterwards pre- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 89 ferred against him for his conduct in the go- vernment of this island. " It is our will and pleasure, that for the present, and until our further pleasure shall be signified therein, the same courts of judica- ture which subsisted in the said island previous to the surrender thereof to us, shall, for the present, be continued in the exercise of all the judicial powers belonging to them in all crimi- nal and civil cases, and that they shall proceed according to the laws by which the said island was then governed ; and that such judicial powers as, previous to the surrender of the said island to us, were exercised by the Spa- nish governor, shall be exercised by you our governor in like manner as the same were exercised previous to the surrender of the said island." So decisive are these "instructions" in point- ing out the course to be pursued by Governor Picton in the administration of the laws, that all responsibility seemed at once taken from him in regard to their operation. But it will be perceived, on reference to the instruc- tions left by Sir Ralph Abercromby upon ap- 90 THE LIFE OF pointing Colonel Picton to the command of the island, that they formed the basis upon which those now sent by his Majesty's government were established ; and by this ratification of Governor Picton's former powers and instruc- tions, it was evident that the antecedent opera- tion had given satisfaction, and that every act which Colonel Picton had committed up to this period was thus justified and approved by his Majesty's ministers. Towards the close of this year he received a further instance of his Majesty's favour, in being promoted to the rank of Brigadier-ge- neral ; the Gazette appointment being dated October the 22nd, 1801. Unfortunately, at this period a change took place in the affairs at home : Mr. Pitt, who had for nearly eighteen years been at the head of the administration, resigned his situation. With a change of mi- nisters came, as usual, a change of measures ; and Lord Sidmouth, who then came into of- fice, conceived that the condition of the West India colonies might be improved by what he denominated " putting the islands in com- mission ;" or, in other language, taking the government out of the hands of the present SIR THOMAS PICTON. 91 governors, and placing it under the control of three or more individuals, called commis- sioners, who were, in their united capacity, to administer the laws and have command over the troops in the separate islands. It is difficult to say upon what grounds this change was projected; but we offer the fol- lowing extracts from Lord Hobart's letter to Governor Picton, in the hope that the reader may be able to glean from them some satisfac- tory explanation. This letter is dated July the 9th, 1802. After the usual preamble to introduce the subject of the communication, his lordship explains its object by observing, " His Majes- ty has thought it expedient to place the go- vernment of the island in commission ; judg- ing that, from the union of civil, military, and naval talents, combined in the persons selected for this service, advantages must arise which cannot be expected from the labours of any one individual." Now, from the tenor of this passage, it might be imagined that some of Governor Picton's measures had been of evil tendency to the interests of the colony. If, however, 92 THE LIFE OF it is proved that this conclusion is without foundation, the only interpretation which can be put upon this proceeding is, that "advan- tages may arise" under this experimental change which had not been produced under the old system. The following passage from the same letter from Lord Hobart will prove the first conclusion groundless ; and we are in consequence left to trace the operations of this new government. His lordship adds, immediately after the last extract, " The experience of your conduct from the time the island was first placed under your charge has induced his Majesty to select you as one of the persons to whom this import- ant trust (that of commissioner) shall be con- fided." And then comes a recital of the names of the other two commissioners ; the first on the list being William Fullarton, Esq. colonel in the Indian army, F.R.S. ; after him, Samuel Hood, Esq. a captain in his Majesty's navy ; and last of all, Brigadier-general Picton, the late governor, whose good conduct in that ca- pacity, as above stated, had obtained for him the high opinion of his Majesty's government, together with the subordinate and inferior ap- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 93 pointment of junior commissioner ! The ar- gument, in point of fact, was what logicians would call " ad dbsurdum" viz. that Colonel Picton's conduct as governor had given so much satisfaction to his Majesty's ministers that they had superseded him in his situation, and conferred upon him an appointment in- ferior both in rank, respectability, and remu- neration ! Perhaps as novel a mode of reward- ing five years' approved and meritorious services as could possibly have suggested itself to the mind of a minister. It would be difficult to say what were the feelings of Governor Picton upon being ex- posed to this insulting treatment, just as he had by the greatest good management and exertion succeeded in bringing the colony to a degree of tranquillity and prosperity which the most sanguine could hardly have anticipated. To say he was indignant at this treatment, would be only attributing to him the common resentment of an ordinary mind : he was more, much more ; he experienced all that a noble and high-spirited man must feel when exposed to unmerited insult an insult rendered more galling by being disguised in the garb of 94 THE LIFE OF compliment ; and for this he was expected to be grateful, was told it was an honour and a proof of the high estimation in which he was held. From his private correspondence, in which he adverts to the receipt of this intelligence, it ap- pears that he considered himself not only " ill- treated," but " insulted." He observes : " Never, I am certain, did the actions of men so totally contradict their protestations as in the treat- ment which I have received. After the con- tinued assurances of the satisfaction which I have given by the active, and, as they say, 'judicious/ discharge of my duty, together with their reiterated assertions that the go- vernment of this island should undergo no alteration, I the next month receive a letter announcing that I am to consider myself as no longer the governor; but, in consideration of my 'good conduct/ I am told that I am ap- pointed to the important trust of junior com- missioner" Had Governor Picton refused the unworthy situation which he was now offered, the colony must have suffered materially for want of his assistance ; for it was not to be supposed that SIR THOMAS PICTON. 95 either of the other commissioners, Colonel Ful- larton or Commodore Hood, could possess any knowledge of the affairs of the island. It was this consideration alone which induced him to hold for a short period the appointment to which he was nominated ; it being, however, his full determination to tender his resignation so soon after his coadjutors' arrival in Trinidad as he could furnish them with such information as would assist them in administering the affairs of the government, without producing those in- jurious consequences usually attendant upon a change of rulers. THE LIFE OF CHAPTER VI. Statement relative to Dr. Lynch and the Under Secretary of State. Conflicting affidavits of those gentlemen. Colo- nel Draper arid Mr. Sullivan. General Picton 's reception of Colonel Fullarton in Trinidad. Extraordinary motion in Council. General Picton resigns his office of Com- missioner. His letter to the Attorney-general of Trinidad. Difficulties which General Picton had to encounter in assuming the government of Trinidad. Colonel Fullar- ton' s pamphlet. Charges brought against General Picton. Colonel Fullarton publicly rebuked by Sir Samuel Hood. Extracts from Colonel Fullarton's pamphlet. PAUSING for a while in tracing the opera- tion of this experimental scheme of govern- ment and its results, together with the influ- ence which it had upon the life and character of the subject of this memoir, we will notice a transaction which seems to throw some light upon the intentions of government in institut- ing this commission. The facts are these ; Dr. Frederic Thaddeus Lynch was prac- tising in the town of Galway, as a physi- cian, when his wife's brother, Nicholas Lynch, SIR THOMAS PICTON. 97 a resident in the island of Trinidad, came to Ireland on a visit to his relations. This gen- tleman represented to Dr. Lynch in glowing terms the success which would be sure to attend him if he would go to the West In- dies, and there practise as a physician ; which, together with similar statements in the public prints at the same period, induced Dr. Lynch to leave Galway and come to London, to em- bark for Trinidad. In London he saw several accounts in the papers, purporting that govern- ment would give large tracts of land to any white persons desirous of settling in Trinidad ; and accordingly Dr. Lynch called at the secre- tary of state's office, in order to have an in- terview with Lord Hobart, the principal se- cretary of state, or Mr. Sullivan, the under- secretary. He had an interview with Mr. Sullivan, to whom he mentioned the object of his application. Mr. Sullivan, however, in- formed him, that the grants of land alluded to were very trifling, and intended for mechanics or labouring men, and not for those in his sphere of life. Satisfied with this information, Dr. Lynch was about to depart, when Mr. Sullivan asked him whether he had any letters VOL. I. H THE LIFE OF of introduction to his Majesty's commissioners in Trinidad ; upon which Dr. Lynch replied, that he had only two, which were addressed to Governor Picton. In reply to this Mr. Sul- livan remarked, " You had better procure some, if possible, to the first commissioner, Colonel Fullarton :" the reason which he gave for this recommendation being, " That Colonel Fullarton would have it in his power to be of more service to Dr. Lynch, as in all probability Colonel Picton would be ordered to return to England before the expiration of sic months ; as Colonel Fullarton was instructed to investigate the conduct of Colonel Picton whilst in the Island of Trinidad." Thus far the affidavit of Dr. Lynch ; after having perused which, it is startling to read the following extract from that made by Mr. Sullivan : " The Right Honourable John Sullivan, one of his Majesty's most Honourable Privy Coun- cil, &c. maketh oath and saith, that he did not, at the time referred to in the affidavit of Dr. Lynch, or at any time since, know, nor had he any reason to suspect or believe, that Colonel Fullarton had any instructions whatever, either of a public or private nature, to investigate the conduct of General SIR THOMAS PICTON. 99 Picton in Trinidad, or to procure his removal from the government of that island, or his being ordered to return to England;" while in the same affidavit he goes on to state, that " This deponent now positively and solemnly upon his oath declares that he never did, either direct- ly or indirectly, inform Dr. Lynch or any other person, either in conversation or otherwise, before the month of December one thousand eight hundred and two, or at any other time, that in all probability General Picton would be ordered to return to England in six months, as Colonel Fullarton was instructed to inves- tigate the past conduct of General Picton at Trinidad ; nor use any words to that or the like effect," &c. There is something painful in the perusal of these contradictory statements, made upon oath, and coming from two individuals filling respect- able situations in society. It is obvious that either Mr. Sullivan or Dr. Lynch must have been guilty of a wilful and deliberate perjury ; which, we shall not pretend to decide : but Co- lonel Draper, who so nobly defended General Picton during his protracted persecution of eight years, was so fully convinced of the truth H 2 .00 THE LIFE OF of Dr. Lynch's statement, that in his " Address to the British Public," he undisguisedly charges Mr. Sullivan with the crime of perjury, and calls upon him to vindicate himself before the people of England. Mr. Sullivan contented himself, however, by filing a criminal informa- tion against Lieutenant-colonel Draper for the libel. The result was not entirely satisfactory to the Right Honourable Secretary ; for, after proceedings which lasted nearly three years, Co- lonel Draper, when found guilty, was required merely to give two sureties in five hundred pounds each, and to be bound himself in one thousand pounds, to appear when called upon to receive judgment, and to be of good behaviour. No judgment was ever afterwards given. It is now necessary to continue the history of General Picton's career ; as every reader will form his own conclusion with regard to the comparative veracity of the two affidavits. Colonel Fullarton, the first commissioner, arrived in Trinidad about the 4th of Janu- ary 1803, when he was received by General Picton with every mark of respect and hospi- tality ; nay, even a friendly intercourse seemed to exist between them ; and in a letter from SIR THOMAS PICTON. 101 the first commissioner to Mr. Sullivan, he re- marks : " I was received by General Picton with great politeness, and with all the atten- tion which Lord Hobart had been pleased to direct :" while in a subsequent communica- tion, he adds, "General Picton and I have carefully read Lord Hobart's instructions to the commissioners, and we shall not lose a mo- ment in preparing to carry his lordship's inten- tions into effect." Colonel Fullarton, after availing himself of the information which the late governor was so able and ready to impart, commenced making himself extremely active in the affairs of the island ; in fact, as General Picton afterwards observed, when speaking of the first commis- sioner's arrival at Trinidad, " I began to think, after a short time, that Colonel Fullarton was sent out to supersede me as governor of the island ; for, long before the arrival of Commo- dore Hood, he would have taken the manage- ment of both myself and the government under his sole control." But still there was no positive misunderstanding between the two commissioners until the 12th of February, about ten days previously to the arrival of 102 THE LIFE OF Commodore Hood, when General Picton was astonished by Colonel Fullarton making the following motion in council : " That there be produced certified statements of all the crimi- nal proceedings which have taken place since the commencement of the late government ; together with a list, specifying every indivi- dual, of whatever country, colour, or condition, who has been imprisoned, banished, fettered, flogged, burned, or otherwise punished ; also specifying the dates of their respective commit- ments, trials, sentence, period of confinement, punishments; and of all those who have died in prison." It could not for one moment be doubted that this was a preliminary step towards an inquiry into the conduct of the late governor, under whose sanction, and by whose directions, these little d&sagremens were supposed to have been inflicted. This was the first hostile act of Colonel Fullarton against General Picton, who might now foresee what was to follow. General Picton doubtless did so, but he was not to be daunted. His conduct throughout this unhappy business was worthy of himself. Conscious of his own integrity, he endured the SIR THOMAS PICTON. 103 ignominy attempted to be thrown upon his name with patience, because he knew it to be undeserved. When he perceived the dis- honourable grounds upon which Colonel Ful- larton had commenced his attack, having no taste for that species of warfare, and feeling at the same time that he could not hope to co- operate with him for the benefit of the colony, he resolved no longer to delay the resolution which he had previously formed of relinquish- ing the office of commissioner; and accord- ingly, upon the arrival of Sir Samuel Hood, on the 22nd of February, he tendered his resigna- tion to his Majesty. Nothing can more strongly evince the opi- nion which General Picton entertained of Co- lonel Fullarton and his actions at this period than the following letter to Mr. Gloster, the attorney -general of Trinidad, written for the purpose of obtaining the before-mentioned af- fidavit from Dr. Lynch. "London, May 20th, 1805. " MY DEAR SIR, " Having laid your letter, and its enclosure from Dr. Lynch, before the Right Hon. Board of Privy Council, Mr. Sullivan, at his own 104 THE LIFE OF request, was examined upon oath, and to my great astonishment denied in toto the conversa- tion stated in Dr. Lyneh's letter ; neither, how- ever, denying nor acknowledging that he had an interview with him. Under such circum- stances, and in the particularly delicate situa- tion in which I was placed, it would have been the height of imprudence in me to have pur- sued the business any further upon the single evidence of a letter ; I was therefore under the necessity of appearing satisfied with the expla- nation, and declined asking Mr. Sullivan any questions : but retiring from the board, I imme- diately expressed my doubts to Mr. Fawkener, the clerk in waiting, and communicated to him my determination of immediately applying to Dr. Lynch for a confirmation of his statement upon oath. I have, in consequence, to request that you will have the goodness to assure Dr. Lynch that I am very remote from entertaining suspicion of his veracity ; but as his statement to you has been wholly denied upon oath by Mr. Sullivan, I would recommend that he should maturely reconsider the business, and after recalling all the circumstances to his recol- lection, if he should then be convinced of the SIR THOMAS PICTON. 105 correctness of his former statement, in that case I wish that he would re-state it upon oath before the chief justice, and transmit certified copies of such affidavit to the Right Honourable Earl Camden, Secretary of State for the Colo- nial Department, and to the Right Honourable Lord Viscount Sidmouth, President of the Council, which will enable me at a future pe- riod to bring the business again forward in a less questionable shape. " If the statement be really true, no expres- sion can sufficiently characterise the conduct it relates to; and if not, it is most extraordinary that Dr. Lynch should have had so circum- stantial, and, I might almost say, prophetic a dream. As to there being any separate private instructions to Mr. Fullarton from the secre- tary of state's office, that is entirely out of the question ; but if there really was any secret un- derstanding, it must have been wholly between Mr. Fullarton and Mr. Sullivan. They might, like true Indian politicians, have prepared two strings to their bow ; and, if the insult of de- grading me from the high situation of gover- nor-in-chief to that of a junior commissioner did not excite my resentment, and occasion my 106 THE LIFE OF immediate resignation, the other mode might have been reserved as an ultimatum to get rid of me at all events. " Do not, my dear sir, delay attending to this business, which is of considerable import- ance to, " Your faithful humble servant, &c. " THOMAS PICTON." But before entering into the charges which were brought against General Picton, within six months after the appointment of Colonel Fullarton to the office of first commissioner, it may not be considered superfluous briefly to recapitulate from the public documents the difficulties which he had to encounter from the period of his first assuming the government of Trinidad. These documents represent the population as composed of bad people of every description, brigands, refugees, and desperate characters, who had been implicated in the rebellions and mas- sacres of all the neighbouring islands, long accustomed to a timid and temporizing go- vernment with no regular police, and living in an island situated only a few leagues from a SIR THOMAS PICTON. 10? populous continent inhabited by the enemy, and presenting an immense extent of unpro- tected coast, which enabled them to keep up an almost uninterrupted communication with the numerous disaffected in the colony. To sub- due this mass of disaffection, and mould it into something like a stable government, Colonel Picton had, in the early and most perilous period of his arduous duties, a force which would have been held contemptible even if the island had been one of our oldest and most loyal possessions. By the monthly return, dated September 1st, 1797, the number of British troops fit for duty in the garrisons of Trinidad amounted to only three hundred and fifteen rank and file ; while, to protect the coast, there were only two guard- ships, one of these being totally unfit for ser- vice. In a letter to Sir Ralph Abercromby, dated May 29th, 1797, General Picton observes, " I receive repeated expresses from the com- manders of the windward and remote quarters of the island, representing that the enemy's privateers are continually hovering about the coasts, and keep up a constant communication with their friends on shore : this they accom- 108 THE LIJrE OF plish without the least risk or danger, as we have not seen or heard of an English cruiser off the coast for nearly two months." In addition to these means, Governor Picton had one great difficulty within himself, in being entirely ignorant of the laws which he had to administer ; for although he was perfectly well acquainted with the French and Spanish lan- guages, and had obtained a great insight into the characters and habits of the people, still he was not acquainted with the laws of Spain, although he was to be made amenable to his country for this omission in his education ; and he was actually tried by the laws of Eng- land for being ignorant of the laws of Spain : a species of knowledge with which even the judge by whom he was tried was pro- bably not very conversant, and which was at least a very pardonable omission in the educa- tion of a soldier. When we reflect for a moment upon these accumulated difficulties and abuses which Governor Picton had to overcome and correct, and compare them with the inadequate means at his disposal, we may wonder that the most sanguine disposition could under such circum- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 109 stances anticipate success : but Picton not only dared to hope for, but even achieved it. Colonel Fullarton shall himself bear testimony to the qualities which enabled him to do so. During the time that the public attention was engrossed by this affair, several pamphlets ap- peared on both sides. Amongst others, Colonel Fullarton himself assumed the pen, and. in his second pamphlet the following passage occurs : "On the departure of Sir Ralph Abercrom- by, in March 1797, Colonel Picton remain- ed as commandant ; several circumstances, as before mentioned, concurred to qualify him for the appointment, great natural sagacity, address, activity, and acquaintance with the French and Spanish languages, without which it is impossible for any one to be an efficient ruler of Trinidad." But Colonel Fullarton accords him this meed of praise only that he may afterwards more unreservedly riot in abuse. We shall con- tinue our quotations from this pamphlet. *' At that time the ungovernable violence and the systematic tyranny of Colonel Picton were probably restrained by the respected character and virtues of Sir Ralph Abercrornby from 110 THE LIFE OF displaying anything like the rigour and extent which they afterwards exhibited, and which he now describes as the f energies of his nature.' From the first month subsequent to Sir Ralph Abercromby's departure, Colonel Picton, in his capacity as commandant, and afterwards gover- nor of Trinidad, commenced a career marked with atrocities, which, though 1 am precluded at present from detailing, must in some form or other come before the world, and at all events, I am warranted in asserting, must be registered in the records of eternal justice." Whether this last sentence is merely a silly attempt at fine writing, or whether it is intend- ed to convey a grossly impious hope, we leave to the reader. But let us hear the Colonel again. " Colonel Picton contrived very soon to out- rage and expel the assessor for the Spanish laws, Don Jurado, and almost every Spanish and English lawyer, from the settlement, stating in a letter to a confidential correspondent, that lawyers were like carrion-crows, who flocked around carcasses and corruption. " A continued series of severities occasioned the flight of many hundred Spanish peons or labourers. SIR THOMAS PICTON. Ill ****** " The suspension and imprisonment of Don Francisco de Castro, Dr. Timbrell, and others, were only continuations of the same persecut- ing spirit. All these collective cases, however, to which I have now referred, convey but a mutilated and imperfect notion of the con- nected series of oppressive acts by which Colo- nel Picton so powerfully enforced the reign of terror, shut all mouths that dared to speak against him, and, by the influence of fear, decep_ tion, corruption, and incredible artifice, extorted addresses praising his vigilance, his vigour, and his measures, from which he was denominated by his partisans ' the saviour of the island.' " These are but a few of the charges brought against General Picton by Colonel Fullarton in this pamphlet. The reader would, how- ever, be tired and disgusted by a detail of its tedious contents. It would be almost impos- sible, and it is quite unnecessary, to enume- rate all the charges it contained, and the as- sertions it put forward ; the majority were merely the inventions of a malignant spirit, and the rest were the highly-coloured and ex-^ aggerated descriptions of an enemy. There was, THE LIFE OF however, one statement made by Colonel Ful- larton, which, as it comes within the range of proof, may serve to show upon what basis he rested his facts. At p. 40 of this pamphlet he says "A continued series of severities occasioned the flight of many hundred Spanish peons or labourers ;" and at p. 41, " A great body of Spanish inhabitants and other foreigners in Trinidad abandoned the colony." This is a tangible assertion, which may be proved or disproved from official documents. If true, it certainly raises a strong presumption against General Picton's administration ; but, if false, it furnishes a yet stronger ground for rejecting the rest of Colonel Fullarton's testi- mony ; for we can hardly suppose that a man who would venture upon a falsehood capable of immediate disproof, would hesitate at others which could be examined with difficulty, and only at a distant period. General Picton's friends met it thus : From the official return of the population made by Mr. Mallet, the government surveyor, it ap- pears that in the year 1797 (when Colonel Picton commenced his administration) the SIR THOMAS PICTON. number of inhabitants was 17,718. In 1802 it amounted to 28,427. This was certainly an increase of 10,709 inhabitants in five years ; an unhappy piece of evidence, because its au- thority was indisputable. But General Pic- ton's friends could assume the offensive against his accuser: they reminded Colonel Fullar- ton of the public rebuke he received from his brother commissioner, Sir Samuel Hood, a name no less celebrated in our naval, than that of Picton in our military annals. That straightforward sailor was ashamed of the dis- sembling practices of his colleague. Having in vain tried to co-operate with Colonel Ful- larton, at length he could restrain his indig- nation no longer, but addressed him, (in con- sequence of Colonel Fullarton having caused a proclamation of the commission to be made and posted up unknown to his coadjutors,) in the presence of the whole council of Trinidad, in the following words : " I was never consulted respecting the pro- clamation ; and I am sorry, sir, that you have so bad a memory. Do you already forget hav- ing assured me that the proclamation was torn down by General Picton's partisans? I am VOL. I. I 114 THE LIFE OF ashamed of you ; ashamed to be seen in the same company. Not with you, General Picton I shall be proud to act with you on all occa- sions ; you have never attempted to impose upon me ; you have allowed me to see my own way. I have never had any conversa- tion with General Picton respecting the dis- agreements ; but as for you, sir, (turning to Mr. Fullarton,) your behaviour has been such, that nothing but the paramount obligation of his Majesty's commission could seat us at the same board. I shall, however, request to be relieved as soon as possible from so disagree- able a situation, with a colleague with whom I can have no further confidence. I was in hopes you had been occupied in carrying his Majesty's orders into effect, by forwarding the objects of the commission ; but I find, on the contrary, that every step you have taken has tended to protract them. You have, in the most arbitrary, indecent manner, taken advan- tage of my absence to suspend the public secretary, contrary to the opinion of the coun- cil and of your colleague, who protested against the measure, and advised that the considera- tion should be postponed until my arrival. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 115 Instead of cordially co-operating with General Picton, you seem to have done everything in your power to inspire him with disgust. The general dissatisfaction which your proceedings have given to the public bodies, magistrates, and respectable people of the colony, is but too apparent. You are doing everything you can to ruin the country; but you shall not effect it we will not allow you." General Picton, in his letter to Lord Hobart, remarks, that " Mr. Fullarton was so con- founded by these truths, urged with the manly and forcible eloquence with which a noble mind is naturally transported on the discovery of falsehood and treachery, that he could not utter a syllable in reply." Colonel Fullarton, never- theless, ventured to express himself upon a fu- ture occasion, when further removed from the indignant commodore : then he denied that Sir Samuel Hood had ever made use of such lan- guage, although he acknowledged that he had " uttered many improper and inadmissible ex- pressions ; but," he adds, " even if this ha- rangue had been uttered in my presence, with all the forcible and manly eloquence so inge- niously discovered in the enunciations of the i 2 116 THE LIFE OF commodore, it would be the first instance upon which any sort of eloquence, from the bellow- ing of a boatswain to the superior emanations of the most distinguished orators, had ever silenced or confounded me." Sir Samuel Hood never, however, contra- dicted one word of the report given of his speech, and was even known to remark the cor- rectness with which it was recorded. Colonel Fullarton was evidently unwilling to admit, and would not readily believe, that Sir Samuel Hood entertained so unfavourable an opinion of him ; and in several passages of his second pamphlet he endeavours to show that Com- modore Hood did not look upon him in so culpable a light as, from that officer's remarks, both verbal and in writing, the world would have been induced to suppose. In one para- graph he says, " The names of Hood, Grinfield, and Maitland are undoubtedly familiar to the public mind for important naval and military services on which they have been employed : it is unfortunate for the two former of those characters that they have suffered their well- earned reputations to be tarnished by a man whose superior sagacity and artifice, aided by Sill THOMAS P1CTON. 11? the machinations of numerous adherents im- plicated with him, acquired an ascendency over their inferior penetration." This sentence seems to admit that those officers had expressed themselves in a decided manner as inimical to Colonel Fullarton and his measures: and the world knows what to think of opprobrium thrown upon such names as these.* * The following letter from Sir Samuel Hood to Earl Camden, Secretary of State for the Colonial Department, expresses in still more distinct terms the opinion which he entertained of the first commissioner. " Centaur, Carlisle Bay, Barbadoes, Sept. 1, 1804. " MY LORD, " I should do great injustice to myself and my late col- league, Brigadier-general Picton, if I did not (after reading a publication of Mr. Fullarton's respecting the commission at Trinidad last year) inform your lordship at an early period, of the fabrication in various passages of words said to have been spoken by me. The very harsh expressions and the acri- mony with which Mr. Fullarton brings forward this epistle, false almost in every page, are such, that I trust your lord- ship and others of his Majesty's ministers will view it as it deserves. Mr. Fullarton asserts that I consulted the briga- dier, before the council was assembled, respecting the matters we were to enter upon ; / declare upon my honour no such communication ever took place; neither did ever the briga- dier make use of one expression out of the commission that could tend to lead me on his side: but I was guided by honourable sentiments, and not by such duplicity and in- 118 THE LIFE OF Perhaps it may be useful to subjoin a few more extracts from Colonel Fullarton's pam- phlet : they will discover the feelings which actuated the author in his accusations. We print them without remark. " A gentleman of great reputation in the literary world found several quires of Colonel Picton's printed libel on the counter of a shop, triguing as was exhibited in every part of Mr. Fullarton's transactions. But Mr. Fullarton used every art even to get his lady to aid in leading me into a track that must have soon destroyed the tranquillity of the colony. This false philanthropy must now be sufficiently brought to light, so as to need no comment. He interprets words spoken in council, in my house, as not agreeing with my colleague: I give the most perfect contradiction thereto ; and I cannot allow this to pass over without remarking on the means adopted by persons whom he calls gentlemen, who would listen to any conversation where their presence was not re- quired ; and it was not probable my servants should listen, and carry any conversation to the house of the first com- missioner. I conceive such allegations can only tend to prove how ready Mr. Fullarton has been to catch at subjects which I should shudder to repeat, had I made use of such ignoble means to gain the information stated. I will not trespass longeron your lordship's time; and I shall conclude this in saying, the upright and just measures adopted by the late governor saved the island : and I rest assured his cha- racter cannot be spoken of too highly, or traduced by the artful measures of an old intriguing politician. " I have the honour to be, &c. ''Earl Camden, K.B. &c." " SAMUEL HOOD." SIR THOMAS PICTON. 119 where they were used to wrap up the com- modities sold to customers, and circulated in that manner." " The charges against Colonel Picton were referred to in my letter to General Grin field, dated the 23rd of May 1803 : they involve a mass of criminality such as has never been brought against any British ruler. If they were unfounded in point of fact, then the fa- bricator of them would have deserved to be consigned to everlasting infamy and condign punishment." " Those who read the charges, cases, and statements I have brought forward, will per- ceive that anything of quarrel on personal grounds was entirely out of the question. I must again repeat, that Colonel Picton went to war with me because I would not sanction and adopt a system of government in Trinidad which, on his part, exhibits a more extended course of power abused, of good talents applied to evil purposes, and of more numerous atroci- ties by one person, than can be equalled in all the folio volumes of the State Trials, which I have carefully searched on this occasion." " These preliminary explanations appear in- 120 THE LIFE OF dispensable to the comprehension of the means by which Colonel Picton enforced his system of oppression, hermetically sealed up all sources of complaint, and extorted a mass of false and counterfeit applause ; harassing with obloquy and persecution every one who impeded any object beneficial to his pecuniary concerns, or who otherwise fell under his ungovernable re- sentments." " Colonel Picton affords the strongest illus- tration of the character, so admirably portray- ed in Dr. Moore's Zeluco, of an officer who could always restrain his temper in perfect for- bearance and submission on the parade, under the reprehension of a commanding officer of such vociferating tendencies as General Grin- field ; but could never put the rein on his im- petuous nature when in command, or uncon- strained by the presence of a superior ; and still less could curb his violence when a poor soldier or helpless victim was at the mercy of his resentment." SIR THOMAS PICTON. CHAPTER VII. Testimonials in favour of General Picton's abilities and con- duct. Flattering Address from the Inhabitants of Trini- dad to the King. Realization of Dr. Lynch's " Prophetic Dream." General Picton's resignation accepted. Leaves Trinidad. Arrival at Barbadoes. Joins General Griiifield in an Expedition against St. Lucia and Tobago. Capture of the former. General Orders. The Fleet sails for Tobago. Its Capitulation. Despatch from the Com- mander-in-chief. General Picton appointed Commandant. Excitement in England against him. Its effects. Leaves Tobago. Arrives in London. Artful devices to inflame the British Public. Their success. THE reader would doubtless be happy to turn from the painful narrative of an indi- vidual endeavouring by every means in his power to destroy the good name of a man whose character had hitherto been without stain, and whose after-life was marked by the most distinguished services. But much still remains untold, and the biographer of Picton unwillingly recalls these now forgotten calumnies. 122 THE LIFE OF We will first see what was thought of these statements at the time by those who possessed the most ample means of correctly estimating them. A few extracts from the correspondence of the parties are merely necessary to show in what degree of esteem General Picton was held, and the light in which the charges brought against him were viewed by the officers under whose immediate observation both the general and Colonel Fullarton were placed. These distinguished men, without a single exception, expressed, both verbally and in print, their unqualified approbation of the conduct of General Picton ; while, on the other hand, they spoke in decided censure of his accuser. Amongst those who may be mentioned as the warmest supporters and friends of General Picton, were Sir Ralph Abercromby ; Vice-admiral, Sir Samuel Hood ; Lord Ho- bart, at that time secretary for the colonial department ; Generals Grinfield and Maitland ; Lieutenant-governor Hislop ; Colonels Mo- sheim, Grant, and Draper ; together with Cap- tains Champain, Dickson, and Western, of SIR THOMAS PICTON. 123 the Royal Navy. Many of these names are so well known, and their characters are so highly appreciated, that it is only necessary to give a few brief extracts from their correspondence, to prove that General Picton must either have been the most deceitful, artful, and cor- rupt private friend or public servant that ever (in the language of his accuser) " disgraced the British name and character :" or that the blackest malice, falsehood, and treachery were employed to stigmatize his reputation, and brand his memory with infamy. It is needless to give the whole contents of the letters from which the following extracts are drawn ; for, as direct testimonies of the opinion entertained of General Picton by their writers, these por- tions are alone valuable. In a letter from Lord Hobart, dated July 19th, 1802, he says : " The first official notification I have re- ceived of any dissatisfaction at your govern- ment has been from yourself; and I can only observe, that the zeal and ability you have uniformly shown in maintaining the secu- rity and tranquillity of the Island during the very critical period of your command, would THE LIFE OF alone call upon me to receive any accounts of that kind with the greatest circumspec- tion. (Signed) " HOBART." " To Brigadier-general Picton, &c. &c." Lieutenant-general W. Grinfield, the corn- man der-in-chief in the West Indies, in his public despatches, dated the llth and 13th of August 1803, expresses himself in these strong and decided terms : " Circumstances, unexpected by Colonel Pic- ton, or by any other person, have placed him for a little time in a disagreeable situation ; but I am fully persuaded that his general conduct has been such as will convince the world of his merit, and his fame will rise the higher for the unmerited persecution under which he now labours. (Signed) " W. GRINFIELD, " Lieutenant general." " Right Honourable Lord Hobart, &c. &c." At the same time, in his despatches to his Royal Highness the Duke of York, this officer observes : " The disagreeable situation in which he (General Picton) has unfortunately, uninten- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 125 tionally, and disagreeably been placed, through the extraordinary conduct of Colonel Fullarton, requires me to desire you particularly to express my entire satisfaction of Brigadier-general Pic- ton, both as a soldier and a gentleman. (Signed) " W. GRINFIELD, " Lieutenant-general." " Colonel Churton, " Secretary to H. R. H. the Commander-in-chief." Brigadier-general Maitland, who was ordered to take the military command of the colony in June 1803, after General Picton had resigned the office of junior commissioner, thus spoke of him, in reply to the magistrates and council, when they waited upon him with an address upon his being relieved in the command by Lieutenant-governor Hislop : " Gentlemen, I am most grateful for this public testimony of your approbation of my conduct, for which I return you my warmest thanks. It rises in my esteem for this reason, that as I replaced a most distinguished and meritorious officer, it was more difficult to gain applause. I will not throw away this opportu- nity of expressing, in unison with you, that I THE LIFE OF reatly honour and esteem Brigadier-general 'icton. In a period of public danger, when the colony was beset with traitors, and shaken by the unruly behaviour of a disorderly sol- diery, (for such was the major part of the garri- son in May 1797,) his undisturbed mind awed the factious, subdued the danger, and saved the colony. (Signed) " F. R. MAITLAND." After these gratifying testimonials of the high estimation in which General Picton was held by those distinguished men who had an immediate opportunity of observing his cha- racter and actions, we are prepared to view the persecution which he had so long to endure with less pain, because we feel that they were unable to deprive him of the esteem of those of his friends whose approbation was most valuable. We have deviated somewhat from strict chronological order in canvassing in this place charges which were not made public until eighteen months afterwards. But it has been deemed more convenient to introduce them here, and to dispose of their credibility whilst reviewing the conduct upon which they pur- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 127 ported to be founded. Their evidence we have thus examined : their influence upon the fortunes of the subject of our memoir must occur again in our narrative. It is now, how- ever, necessary to trace the career of General Picton until his return to England. It has already been observed, that, feeling insulted by the appointment which he now held, General Picton tendered his resignation, While the accumulated insults of the first commissioner made him particularly desirous of being released from his disagreeable situation, he was at the same time apprehensive lest an address which the inhabitants (hearing of his intention) had sent to the King, praying his Ma- jesty not to accept the resignation of their go- vernor, might be the means of compelling him to remain. Every succeeding day convinced him that Colonel Fullarton was either appointed to, or had taken upon himself, the duty of investi- gator into his past conduct ; and General Picton, upon more than one occasion, expressed his en- tire conviction that the first commissioner was privately instructed to make out a case against him sufficiently strong to procure his removal. If this were true, as indeed there seems but 128 THE LIFE OF too much reason to believe, it was mean and pitiful conduct on the part of the govern- ment to intrude a mere spy into the confi- dence of a man whom it dared not open- ly attack, in order to work his ruin, and to use a mere tool for the accomplishment of an object so disgraceful to its members per- sonally. It is but reasonable to suppose that Governor Picton was deemed guilty of something censurable : how absurd, then, that in order to disguise or qualify the in- quiry, he was complimented upon his con- duct, and appointed (doubtless as a reward) one of the commission to inquire into his own culpability ! It is curious to observe how accurately the facts of this affair coincided with what General Picton called " Dr. Lynch's prophetic dream." It will be remembered, that on the 4th of January, Mr. Commissioner Fullarton ar- rived in Trinidad, and according to the words of Dr. Lynch's affidavit Mr. Sullivan informed him, "that in all probability General Picton would be ordered to return to England before six months." On the 31st of May, being four days within the six months, General Picton SIR THOMAS PICTGN. 129 received a communication from Lord Hobart, stating that " his Majesty had been pleased to accept his resignation:" and a few days after this announcement he was superseded in the military command of the Island by the follow- ing general order of the commander-in-chief, Lieutenant-general Grinfield. "GENERAL ORDERS. Head-quarters, Barbadoes, June llth, 1803. "Brigadier-general Maitland is to relieve Brigadier-general Picton in the command of the troops in the Island of Trinidad. " Brigadier-general Maitland is to proceed to Trinidad with as little delay as possible ; and Brigadier-general Picton, on his being relieved, has the leave of the commander of the forces to remain any time he thinks necessary at Tri- nidad to settle his affairs, and he may then pro- ceed to Barbadoes or to Europe, as he pleases, specifying his intention as soon as possible to the commander of the forces. (Signed) " GEO. B. MORDEN, " Lieut.-colonel, Dep. Adj.-general. " ALEX. PITMAN, Brigadier-major." VOL. I. K 130 THE LIFE OF Thus Colonel Fullarton did investigate the conduct of the late governor, and General Pic- ton did resign within six months. In judging between the contradictory affi- davits of Dr. Lynch and Mr. Sullivan, we may certainly, therefore, remember that the coinci- dence of facts strongly corroborates that of the former gentleman. General Picton had little to detain him at Trinidad, and accordingly, on the 14th of June, he embarked for Barbadoes. According to Colonel Fullarton, "he embarked in the dark, on board the Nelly, armed schooner, for Barba- does ; not daring, as it appeared, to face an injured and exasperated people, after he was divested of the support arising from the civil and military power with which he had been formerly invested." The following brief extract from a modern and authentic work upon the West Indies gives, however, a somewhat different impres- sion with regard to the estimation in which General Picton was held by those who were so lately subject to his authority. "On the 23rd of April 1803," says Mr. Southey, in his Chronological History of the West Indies, SIR THOMAS PICTON. 131 "the inhabitants of Trinidad presented their governor, Brigadier-general Picton, with a sword, upon his resigning the government of that Island. They also sent an address to the King, praying him not to accept of their gover- nor's resignation." Brigadier-general Pic ton arrived in Carlisle Bay, Barbadoes, at the moment when the ex- pedition was about to sail for the purpose of retaking the islands of St. Lucia and Tobago from the French. General Grinfield readily availed himself of Brigadier-general Picton's offer to join the expedition, and expressed much satisfaction in employing the services of so meritorious an officer. Colonel Fullarton, in his second pamphlet, seems to consider it necessary to offer an apology for General Grin- field, for this "improper deviation from prin- ciples of military duty ;" and accordingly ven- tures to " avow the belief that General Grin- field was induced to employ Brigadier-general Picton at St. Lucia and Tobago, by a strong desire to conciliate Commodore Hood, with whom it was most essential for the public ser- vice that he should continue to act on terms of cordiality and co-operation; which, it is per- K 2 132 THE LIFE OF fectly evident, could not have been the case had General Grinfield refused to gratify the commodore in protecting Brigadier Picton." That General Grinfield could have done with- out this officious apology will readily be be- lieved, upon a recollection of the observations already quoted, which were made upon Briga- dier-general Picton by his commander in his despatches after the successful issue of this ex- pedition ; of the operations of which a brief account is subjoined. "At daylight, on the 21st of June, the expedition for the attack of St. Lucia, under the command of Commodore Hood and Gene- ral Grinfield, was off the north end of that Island. In the course of the day, the greater part of the troops were disembarked in Choc Bay. About half-past five the out-posts of the enemy were driven in, the town of Costries was taken, and a summons sent to the French commandant, Brigadier Nogues. Upon the re- ceipt of his refusal, it was determined upon by the British commanders that the Morne For- tune should be stormed the following morning at four o'clock ; which was accordingly done, and the place carried in about half an hour."* * Southey. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 133 General Grinfield, in his despatches, states, "that notwithstanding the spirited resistance of the French, yet no sooner were the works carried by assault, and the opposition no longer existed, than every idea of animosity seemed to cease, and not a French soldier was either killed or wounded." The Island was, in conse- quence, unconditionally restored to the British government. In the " general orders " issued upon this occasion by the commander of the forces, after remarking upon the gallant behaviour of the second battalion of the Royals, and the Sixty- fourth regiment, he concludes by saying, " he is very sorry that the Sixty-eighth regiment, by its being in reserve under Brigadier-gene- ral Picton, was not in the action ; otherwise there can be no doubt but they would have merited an equal report, as was evinced by a small detachment of that regiment in a feint attack under the command of Lieutenant-co- lonel Shipley." After having secured the possession of this conquest, the troops were again embarked, and the fleet got under weigh for the Island of Tobago, where it arrived on the 30th of 134 THE LIFE OF June. General Grinfield immediately sent to demand the surrender of the place to his Britannic Majesty, at the same time proceed- ing to land his troops; the advanced column of which, headed by Brigadier-general Pic- ton, pushed on without delay, in order to urge the reply to the summons. The French general (Berthier) being, however, apprised of the force of the British, and of the taking of St. Lucia, agreed to capitulate the same day ; and according to the despatch of General Grinfield, "the French garrison marched out with the honours of war, laying down their arms after passing the guard of honour under the command of Brigadier-general Picton." In the general orders the following remark occurs : " The advance march of the first column, consisting of two companies of the Sixty-fourth regiment and five companies of the Third West India regiment, under Briga- dier-general Picton, which was in all proba- bility the cause of the speedy surrender, is entitled to military commendation." To express in a most convincing manner the unshaken confidence which the comman- der of the forces reposed in General Picton SIR THOMAS PICTON. 135 he appointed him, without any solicitation, commandant of the Island of Tobago; this situation, however, he was enabled to hold for a very short period, as he was within a few weeks informed that Colonel Fullarton and his associates had left Trinidad for England, with a series of charges affecting his honour and humanity. The reader will not have forgotten the highly flattering testimony in General Pic- ton's favour, which we recently extracted from General Grinfield's correspondence with Lord Hobart and the Duke of York. At this time Colonel Fullarton had preferred no less than thirty-six criminal processes against his predecessor before the council of Trinidad What General Grinfield thought of these accusations, his acts and his correspondence alike testify; and so far was his view of the circumstances concurred with by all who knew anything of Trinidad, that in the West In- dies, where it may be supposed there was a better opportunity of judging of the facts, it was pretty generally thought that Colonel Fullarton had much more need of an apology for his behaviour towards Governor Picton, than 136 THE LIFE OF General Grinfield for employing that officer's services. During the short period that General Picton held the appointment of commandant of Toba- go, he received every flattering attention from the local authorities, and upon his departure, many complimentary letters of regret. But no time was to be lost: he received several communications from his friends in England, informing him of the horrible tales of cruelty that were current concerning him, and that the public were becoming exasperated against the " cruel governor who had been guilty of such excesses." Upon receiving these statements, he felt that indignation which every honourable man must experience when he knows himself to be charged with crimes of which his conscience tells him he is innocent. His only anxiety was to be upon the field with his enemies ; for with that idea so common to a noble mind, he thought that to be innocent was enough to enable him to prove it. Few are aware how difficult is the task of disproving any accusation, however unfounded or gross, so as to leave the individual free from the insinua- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 137 tions of envy or malice. The world always gives the accuser credit for some authority to support the charge; and, unless the indi- vidual against whom it be brought can dis- prove the fact by sufficient evidence, believes him guilty : so that the accusation is received upon presumed authority, while the vindica- tion is not admitted unless confirmed by clear and acknowledged testimonies. Let us imagine the situation of Governor Picton, when Colonel Fullarton, shortly after his arrival in Trinidad, preferred against him the six-and-thirty processes before alluded to: what ingenuity or exertion could procure suffi- cient evidence to disprove these imputations to the satisfaction of the world ? A life passed in acts of constant benevolence and virtue would not have obtained for him an unsullied reputation. He might be acquitted by those in possession of just or liberal sentiments ; but the world would still say, " He never got well out of all those charges." General Picton arrived in London in the month of October, and soon discovered the truth of the statements of his friends. The daily prints were occasionally reminding the 138 THE LIFE OF public, (doubtless at the instigation of his enemies,) that " the blood-stained Governor of Trinidad was in England, and that the friends of humanity were preparing to bring him before the bar of offended justice, there to expiate his crimes ;" while, in more indirect terms, the prejudice of the British people was enlisted on the side of the prosecutors by cer- tain hints, such as, " His Majesty's Government is to institute an inquiry into the conduct of a late governor, whose unheard-of cruelties will harrow up the feelings, and call forth the indig- nation, of every sensitive and virtuous mind." Neither exertion nor expense was spared in order to ensure the ends of the prosecutors ; their only wish was to prove him guilty ; his acquittal would bring disgrace upon themselves, and be the means of clearing him from the many calumnies with which they had attempt- ed to overwhelm him. Corruption and per- jury were even employed, in order to mislead the judges, and stir up the vindictive feelings of the public against " one of those men whose unprecedented cruelties, according to the state- ment of Lord Walsingham, " had deluged our colonies with human blood." SIR THOMAS PICTON. 139 In addition to these exciting and unjust means, the press, that guide to popular opinion, with too much credulity lent its powerful aid in support of "injured innocence" and "out- raged humanity ;" while, fearful that even these auxiliaries would not be sufficient, coloured drawings were paraded through the streets, calling forth the public commiseration, by exhi- biting the " picture of the girl, pulley, spike, and thegrillos." In fact, every species of deception and arti- fice was employed to work upon the senses and blind the judgments of the public, so that Governor Picton should be made to fall at the feet of his accusers ; whether as the victim of justice, treachery, or persecution, was of little importance to them. 140 THE LIFE OF CHAPTER VIII. General Picton's patriotism. Threatened Invasion of England by Napoleon. Picton's Letter to Mr. Adding- ton. His plan for the defence of the country. Its re- ception. Prosecution continued. Interview with Lord Hobart Arrested by order of the Privy Council. Enormous bail. Indicted upon a criminal information. Observations upon the Indictment. Mandamus to obtain Evidence at Trinidad. Trial. DEEPLY wounded in spirit by the acts of an individual ; unjustly held up to the British na- tion as an object of reproach, and on the point of being involved in all the expense and ignominy of a prosecution by the Government ; which, at the same time that it was intended to convince the world of his guilt, would justify the vin- dictiveness of his accusers ; and this after the very same government had for years, both by rewards and correspondence, lauded his con- duct to their sovereign, and given their unani- mous sanction and approbation to every act of SIR THOMAS -PICTON. 141 his administration whilst governing the Island of Trinidad : overwhelmed at once by private persecution and public injustice, it will hardly be believed that he was even at this period em- ployed in devising a plan for the protection and defence of his country. Napoleon, who had clipped the wings of the Austrian eagle, destroyed that of Prussia, and seized the smaller states of Europe, at this pe- riod meditated an invasion of England. The French army was collected at Boulogne, with a flotilla for their transport to the shores of England ; Napoleon's design being to bring the war to the very homes of the English. A miserable remnant of disaffection, it is true, existed at this moment in Great Britain ; but its efforts were directed against the Govern- ment, not against the country ; and even had Napoleon succeeded in landing his troops, it is very doubtful whether the most clamorous in the cry of political dissent would not have been among the most zealous in resisting the in- vaders. Numerous plans and suggestions for the defence of the country were constantly sent to the ministers ; advice, money, and personal services were incessantly tendered ; and as the 142 THE LIFE OF danger appeared to increase, so the means to meet it were accumulated. Amongst the ear- liest to offer service was General Picton ; and there is no doubt that had his abilities been called into action in the defence of the king- dom, they would have placed him in an elevated position, alike honourable to himself and valu- able to his country. The following is a letter addressed by him to Mr. Addington, at this period of general excitement and apprehension. " SlR, " 20th October, 1803. " From the ambitious views and preponde- rating power of the French republic, there will be an absolute necessity, whether in peace or war, for placing this country in a permanent situation, so as to be at all times in readiness to resist sudden enterprises. An appearance of weakness will not fail to invite an attack, whilst an adequate state of preparation will show the impossibility of its succeeding. The country should not only be in a situation to oppose a successful resistance to an invading enemy, however numerous its armies or for- midable its preparations, but so organized and arranged as to inspire a general sentiment of SIR THOMAS PICTON. 143 security and safety, without which she cannot long be able to preserve her independence and high rank in the political scale. " The volunteers are the overflowing of the national spirit, and probably the happiest ex- pedient which could have been employed to meet the immediate exigency of the times : but the spirit is kept up by fermentation, which, I apprehend, it will be neither possible nor politic to continue as a permanent means of defence : it is supported by alarm and appre- hension ; and the mind which is kept in con- tinual agitation by those sentiments relaxes gradually, and at length yields to their destruc- tive influence. " There are many other insurmountable ob- jections to it as a permanent national system, which will render its continuance precarious, inadequate, and even dangerous ; for it is of a democratic construction, destructive of all dis- cipline, without which armed bodies are but mobs, more formidable to their friends than to their enemies. " The grand desideratum is, a broad effectual system of defence upon an economical plan, and the greatest possible force provided at the 144 THE LIFE OF lowest expense. Prudence must go hand in hand with preparation, or the remedy will pro- duce a crisis equally ruinous with the disease. " I shall leave the army and the militia where they are, considering them as easily augment- able to any extent circumstances may require. But first of all I must make some preliminary observations on the situation of a hostile army landing in this country. " They must unavoidably come deficient in two of the most important departments of an army, cannon and cavalry ; and their great object must be to force us to general and de- cisive actions, by way of remedying as soon as possible, the serious inconveniences resulting from the want of those essential arms. What is advantageous to the enemy will, of course, be disadvantageous to us ; and it cannot be dissembled, considering their experience and practical discipline, that they would at first have considerable advantage over new troops ; besides, the fate of battles is frequently depend- ent upon the caprice of fortune, and on causes not under the influence of human direction. We have inappreciable advantages, if we know how to make use of them, which it would be wanton SIR THOMAS PICTON. 145 and impolitic to hazard at once on the throw of a die. But it may be remarked, ' if the enemy is determined to bring you to action, you must fight :' yes, you must fight, but you fight on your own terms. "According to the plan I mean to propose, you must greatly out-number the enemy in light troops, cavalry, and cannon. The mo- ment he puts his columns in motion, they should be harassed in every direction by the irregulars, who, under protection of the cavalry and cannon judiciously posted, may approach them on all points, and distress them by an in- cessant fire. If they make detachments to dis- lodge your light troops, they can easily avoid them ; and if they disperse in the pursuit, they must fall an easy prey to your cavalry. They must make up their minds either to perish gra- dually by this harassing warfare, or have re- course to the expedient of detaching, which would be little less destructive. Your regular troops should dispute advantageous posts and favourable grounds, but never hazard a general affair ; the principal efforts should be made on the rear and the flanks, which arrest the enemy's movements, and render his progress slow and VOL. i. L 146 THE LIFE OF difficult, if not impossible. His confidence will necessarily abate as he sees no period to his labours ; whilst you gradually increase in mili- tary experience and courage, and prepare your- selves for the day which will crown your pa- tient efforts with success. " In this kind of war you cannot have too many light troops. An active man, who knows how to load and fire at a mark, will immedi- ately become a useful soldier : with a very little instruction, and a few days' practical experience, he will acquire a sufficient expertness in the few simple necessary movements, and in the mode of concealing himself so as to annoy the enemy. My plan is not to arm the country generally, but that every man from fifteen to fifty should be made sufficiently acquainted with arms to be useful on an emergency, that they should be divided into five or more classes, so that you may call them out by degrees : ar- range the young and unmarried men in the first, and those who are more advanced in life, and have families, in the more remote classes. The means of instruction should be placed within their reach, and every man should be compelled by law to conform. From these you SIR THOMAS PICTON. 147 may at all times augment your regulars and militia to any extent, and call out as great a number of irregulars as circumstances might require. If an enemy should effect a landing in force, and a campaign take place on British ground, the troops of the line and militia will require a continual infusion of recruits to sup- ply their unavoidable losses ; it would therefore be advisable to establish depots for each corps, where a supplement of one-fourth its number should be kept in constant training for that purpose. " I am of opinion that the arms for the irre- gulars should be brown, except the bayonet, and that the calibre should take a ball of twenty-five to the pound ; for, independently of freeing the soldier from an unnecessary en- cumbering weight, which greatly impedes his movements in the desultory kind of warfare he is to carry on, there will be a saving in ammu- nition of nearly thirty-five per cent. an object of no small importance on an extensive scale. " These troops should be clothed in a grey jacket and round hat, with accoutrements equally simple; a pouch to contain twenty- four rounds, powder-horn and bullet-bag, sus- L 2 148 THE LIFE OF pended by a strong black or tan leather belt, when called out upon active service. They should be divided into corps not exceeding five hundred men, with an active officer of the line to command each ; and they may eventually be formed into brigades, with irregular cavalry attached, and be placed under the command of partisans of superior rank. This system once made a part of the law of the land, you may call out the proportion of the population which the public safety and the circumstances of the times require without any alarming exertion, which unavoidably elevates the public mind only to let it down lower. " These are but rough hints, which I have hastily thrown together, as suggested to me by the situation of the country. If any one of them should prove useful, I shall esteem myself overpaid for the trouble I have taken. " I have the honour to be, " Your very faithful, humble servant, "Tn. PICTON."* "To the Right Hon. Henry Addington." * Appended to this letter is the following plan, in Sir Thomas Picton's own hand, for a new organization of the public force : SIR THOMAS PICTON. 149 It must be remembered, while perusing this letter, that General Picton was as yet an inex- perienced soldier, having served thus far more in a civil than a military career ; but, with a dis- position which led him to follow with interest every professional study and pursuit, he had " First, The defence of the United Kingdom, and of our political existence as an independent nation, requires a large regular force, to be constantly supplied from unperishing sources, and to be supported upon the most economical plan. " Second, That two hundred and fifty thousand men, cavalry and infantry, and ten thousand artillery, under the existing circumstances and relative situation of the country, will be necessary for that purpose. " Third, That the militia, though a most respectable body, and admirably calculated for the object of its original insti- tution, from a total change in the state of Europe, is become wholly inadequate, and ought to be blended and assimilated with the regular force. " Fourth, That the old as well as new system of recruiting, having proved ineffectual for the purpose of raising or sup- porting the necessary public force, ought to be given up> except for colonial service. "Fifth, That the public force consist of a certain number of first and second battalions, with a reserve, in case of in- vasion or actual necessity, consisting of one-fourth the esta- blishment of the two battalions, from which they are con- stantly to be supplied. " Sixth, The militia to be in the first instance incorpo- rated into the establishment, and the population at large to make up the deficiency by conscription. " Seventh, During peace the second battalion to be al- ways quartered in the counties to which they are attached, 150 THE LIFE OF made himself master of every theory connected with field movements and fortification, so that whenever required to enter upon active service he had only to add experience to knowledge to become great. Still this letter, as coming from the pen of Sir Thomas Picton, will be read and only two fifths of the establishment kept actually em- bodied. *' Eighth, The head-quarters of every second battalion to be a depot of arms for the use of the country. " Ninth, The second battalions to be commanded by ge- neral officers or colonels, with an allowance of six hundred pounds per annum, free of all taxes, &c. in lieu of pay and other emoluments. " Tenth, Permanent head-quarters at Exeter and York ; the assembly of these central armies of reserve to be esta- blished at Salisbury, Bristol, and Worcester. " Eleventh, Depots of ordnance stores to be established at each of the head-quarters. " Twelfth, Powder-mills and manufactories of artillery^ arms, and ammunition, to be established at Worcester and its neighbourhood. " Thirteenth, The first battalion to be always completed from the second, except in case of actual invasion, when both are to be supplied from the reserve. " Fourteenth, First class of conscription from eighteen to twenty-four, unmarried. " Second, from twenty-four to thirty, unmarried. " Third, from eighteen to twenty-four, married. " Fourth, from twenty-four to thirty, married. " Fifth, from thirty to forty, unmarried. " Sixth, from thirty to forty, married, respect being paid to the fathers of children. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 151 with interest, as the production of a man who afterwards attained a celebrity which would have gained for his suggestions both attention and respect. In tracing the histories of all who have dis- tinguished themselves in any particular path of life, it is strange to observe the little esteem in which their early thoughts or actions were held; we are almost invariably indebted to the indi- vidual himself for pointing out his own supe- riority. General Picton had at this period done no act which entitled his suggestions to particular attention, and in consequence he merely re- ceived from Mr. Addington's secretary an ac- knowledgment of his letter, together with the information that it added another to the many which had been addressed to the minister upon the same subject. Fifteenth, The period of service limited during peace to two years in the second battalion, and five in the first. " Sixteenth, Young men who volunteer for the cavalry, and attend at their own expense at the periods of exercise, until called upon actual service, to be excused the con- scription. " Seventeenth, During peace one-fifth of the first batta- lion to be occasionally discharged, and to be filled up by the second battalion, and lastly by conscription. 152 THE LIFE OF But returning to General Picton's career, it is now necessary to turn our attention to the particular charge upon which Governor Picton was tried, and upon which he was condemned by the public, in spite of the judgment of a court of justice, and the deci- sion of his Majesty's Privy Council. It was this charge upon which his future prospects were to depend, and by which the numerous accusations brought against him were to be supported. In consequence of the sinister proceedings of his enemies, which every day assumed a new and more aggravated form, General Picton felt himself placed in the situation of a man who, without trial, is convicted. An investigation into his conduct he could demand, but the pri- vacy of an inquiry in the Privy Council would avail him little with the public, while the se- crecy of the engines, and the low artifices which were employed, in order to shield the authors and instigators of these calumnies, rendered General Picton uncertain how to act, so as to clear his own character from the charges with which it was stained, and at the same time bring to account those who had thus aspersed SIR THOMAS PICTON. 153 him. He could not stoop to their low cun- ning, or trace them through the tortuous paths through which they attacked him : his noble and candid nature led him to seek his ene- mies in the open field. With all " the world " opposed to him, he felt that he must strug- gle for himself; and accordingly he waited on Lord Hobart ; when it is to be presumed he demanded from that minister an explanation of the situation in which he was placed, and to know whether he was to consider that he had incurred the censure of his Majesty's govern- ment, as well as that of his subjects. The particulars of this interview, however, are not known, as for some reason General Picton never afterwards alluded to it even to his most inti- mate friends. In the beginning of December, he was ar- rested by a King's messenger, by order of his Majesty's Privy Council, and was confined in the house of Mr. Sparrow, upon the oaths and depositions of Luise Calderon, Raphael Shando, Pedro Vargas, and Juan Montes.* This was The characters of these individuals may be thus summed up in a few words, from the evidence returned upon the mandamus : 154? THE LIFE OF the first decisive step taken by the Government in this prosecution ; and General Picton was now called upon to exert himself in order to meet the accusations which were brought against him, and to convince the world that he was inno- cent. His enemies had taken a strong position : they had appealed to the feelings of the public to avenge the cause of innocence and outraged humanity. The "blood-stained tyrant" was now before them ; these friends of justice had brought him to the bar of retribution, and the people of England were called upon to pronounce him guilty. These exciting an- nouncements were received as they were in- tended ; and the public voice at length be- came so loud, that the Government were com- pelled, in order to stop the clamour, to enter Luise Calderon, living with a man to whom she was incon- stant, and of whom she ultimately became an accomplice in robbing. Raphael Shando, once convicted of stealing, and sent to the galleys, " and not to be believed upon his oath." Pedro Vargas swore that he was a Spanish lawyer, and was accordingly brought forward to explain the Spanish laws ; but his evidence was so full of prevarication and falsehood, that the judge was upon the point of committing him for wilful and corrupt perjury. Juan Montes, a deserter from the Havannah, and generally believed in Trinidad to be a spy to the Spanish government. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 155 into the inquiry. A short time after his arrest he was allowed to put in bail ; but this was required to the enormous sum of forty thou- sand pounds ! Still he was not permitted to rest : a crimi- nal indictment was laid against him, founded upon one of the before-mentioned charges, preferred by Colonel Fullarton in the Council of Trinidad, "For the application of torture to extort confession from Luise Calderon, a girl under fourteen years of age, respecting a robbery supposed to have been committed by Carlos Gonzales against Pedro Ruiz, stated to have been frequently employed as an agent by General Picton. The torture is stated to have been applied with such severity that the girl fell down in appearance dead, and there was no physician or surgeon to assist." The indictment found by the grand jury was, however, framed in the accustomed style of exaggeration, and apparently wilful misstate- ment ; in fact, the perusal of this inflammatory document was, to use the words of another dis- tinguished victim of persecution, enough to make General Picton doubt " whether he was not as guilty as he was represented." 156 THE LIFE OF Amongst a variety of ingenious devices which had their origin solely in the head of the attorney who modelled this document, he is accused of " having affixed a rope to the wrists of Luise Calderon, which certain rope was made to pass through a certain pulley attached to the ceiling of the prison ;" and then the said Thomas is charged with " having caused her to be alternately raised up and down upon a certain sharp spike affixed to the floor, so that the feet of the said Luise fell every time upon the said spike, to the great injury and oppres- sion of the said Luise ;" and he the said Tho- mas is then accused of " unlawfully and mali- ciously intending to injure and oppress the said Luise ;" and " that he did make an assault, and then and there unmercifully and cruelly did bruise, beat, wound, and ill-treat the said Luise, so that her life was greatly despaired of," &c. Upon this indictment, which was found in Hilary Term 1804, a mandamus was granted, calling upon the lieutenant-governor of Trini- dad, General Hislop, "to receive proofs and examine witnesses in reference to the prosecu- tion pending against the late governor, General SIR THOMAS PICTON. 157 Picton."* These writs of mandamus were re- turnable in Michaelmas Term 1805 ; and the cause came on for trial in the Court of King's Bench, before Lord Ellenborough and a special jury, on the 24th of February 1806. *To avoid recurring again to the affairs of Trinidad, it is only necessary to remark that the " commissioner govern- ment " was, after a few months' trial, found to be totally incompetent to carry on the administration of the Island. The short reign of this discordant and heterogeneous government had proved highly injurious to the peace of the colony ; and the order and subordination which Governor Picton had, after so long a period, and with so much difficulty, succeeded in establishing, were in one month nearly destroyed. Lieutenant-general Hislop was appoint- ed lieutenant-governor upon the recall of the commis- sioners, and he was compelled by the severest measures again to reduce to subjection the turbulent population : but it would appear that he had either more difficulties to over- come, or less firmness for the task; for by the following letter from Trinidad, nearly eighteen months after he had been appointed to the government, it will be seen that much apprehension still existed, and that he had not entirely suc- ceeded in rooting out the seeds of discontent and rebellion. "Trinidad, Dec. 19th, 1805. " We had nearly experienced a rebellion of the negroes here, and a general massacre of the whites, which, had it taken place, would have involved all the Windward Islands in general devastation. The explosion of such a volcano here, as well as at St. Domingo, would have completely over- whelmed not only the British, but all the other colonies. 158 THE LIFE OF It would be both uninteresting and unneces- sary to give the whole proceedings of this unpre- cedented trial. Mr. Garrow was employed on behalf of the crown, or, more properly on that of Colonel Fullarton and Company ; while Mr. Dallas had to conduct the defence for General Picton. The usual eloquence, sophistry, and ingenuity were displayed by both those dis- tinguished lawyers. The witnesses were, as usual, made to contradict each other and them- selves ; forgetting, whilst under the bewilder- One of the kings -or emperors, a negro slave of Shand's estate, has this day been executed in the square of the town ; to-morrow six others of the royal dynasty take their leave of this world ; and the severest scrutiny is making as to the intentions of these nefarious conspirators. Colonel J. Gloster discovered the plot, in the valley where he is com- mandant, and made immediate communication of it to the governor, who sent a strong detachment of regulars in the dead of night, and took all the conspirators into custody. Their uniforms and standards were found concealed. The council has had a permanent sitting of eight days. The unwearied solicitude and precautions of our excellent gover- nor, Lieutenant-general Hislop, are above all praise. The projects of these scoundrels were, to get possession of all the white men, and grind them in Mr. Shand's new windmill, and they were to cast lots for the white ladies. Not a child was to have escaped their fury. The plans of these monsters have fortunately been completely frustrated, and no injurious consequences are now apprehended. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 159 ing influence of the learned gentlemen, every fact connected with their existence, and being made to admit or deny everything they knew, according as it answered the intentions of their ingenious examiners. To heighten the effect, a coloured drawing was produced in court and shown to the jury, just, as Mr. Garrow innocently remarked, "by way of explaining the instrument of torture, and to show how and in what manner the girl was placed upon it;" while he observed to the noble and learned lord on the bench, PRIVATELY, that is to say, in a whisper which was intended to be heard by no one else in court, excepting the jury, "I wish your lord- ship could have seen the involuntary expression of the witnesses' sensations upon looking at the drawing." Then this admirable pleader, upon being charged by the counsel for the defence with making use of unfair means in the prose- cution of his case, afterwards said in his ad- dress to the jury, " Gentlemen, with respect to the picture which has been stated to have inflamed your minds, I ask nothing of your passions;" precisely like knocking a man down, and then, finding the offended party not strong 160 THE LIFE OF enough to resist the injury, saying, " I ask nothing of your forbearance." In justice, however, to the able and learned lord on the bench, it must be admitted that he signified in strong language his disapprobation of " such tricks" as the introduction of the obnoxious drawing into court, at the same time that he expressed a hope that " no use would be made of it out of doors," with what effect has al- ready been shown. Another little jew cTesprit of this " garrulous " Mr. Garrow, as Colonel Draper facetiously calls him, was the witticism already alluded to of changing the appellation of picketing for the more appropriate and elegant one, as he ob- served, of Pictoning. In fact, every artifice that could amuse, harrow up the feelings, or impose upon the understandings of the jury, was by turns employed to obtain from them a verdict which should convince the British public that Governor Picton was guilty of every enormity which was laid to his charge, and that his ac- cusers were actuated solely by feelings of hu- manity and a love of justice. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 161 CHAPTER IX. Summary of facts extracted from the evidence. Perjured Witness. Malicious insinuation. Strong evidence against the truth of the Charges Mr. Garrow's ingenuity. Verdict. BUT it is now time to give a brief outline of the proceedings up to this period ; and as all the statements here made are from the authen- ticated documents brought forward in evidence, it is unnecessary to re-state the authorities and precise words in which they are expressed. First then Colonel Picton was directed by Sir Ralph Abercromby and his Majesty's commission to govern the island according to the laws in force at the time of its capitulation, with certain discretionary powers to simplify and accelerate the proceedings. On the 7th of December 1801, (nearly four years after Colonel Picton 's appointment,) one Pedro Ruiz, an industrious man, who sold tobacco, appeared in the govern- ment court at Trinidad, and complained that VOL. I. M 162 THE LIFE OF the lock of one of his trunks had been broken, and that he had been robbed of two thousand hard dollars (four hundred pounds sterling). Luise Calderon, the interesting subject of the philanthropy of the people of England, and of this prosecution, was his mistress and house- keeper ; having lived with him, according to her own statement on oath, " between two years and a half and three years at the time of the robbery" A young married man, named Carlos Gon- zales, was at the time in habits of intimacy with this Luise Calderon, and had been seen to enter the house during the absence of Pedro Ruiz the day upon which the money was stolen. In consequence of the deposition thus made, his excellency the governor directed Seiior Hilariot Begorrat, the alcalde in ordi- nary, " to prosecute" this case, in order to dis- cover the offender or offenders, that he or they might be brought to justice ; in the same man- ner as any English magistrate is instructed to trace out and apprehend the guilty parties concerned in any offence against the laws. Luise Calderon and Carlos were immediately taken into custody, and examined separately ; SIR THOMAS PICTON. 163 but both denied the whole charge, or that they had ever had an intrigue : and the female pri- soner, upon being again interrogated, disclaim- ed all knowledge as to the perpetrators of the robbery. In consequence of this obstinate denial, add- ed to the strong suspicions existing against both the prisoners, the alcalde was desirous of pro- ceeding according to the Spanish laws to extort confession by means of a slight torture ; but, finding that he had not power to inflict this punishment without the sanction of the go- vernor, he caused to be prepared by a notary the following document. " Official communication of his honour the Alcalde of the first election, to his excel- lency Governor Picton, December the 23rd, 1801. " In consequence of the strong suspicions his honour entertains of the mulatto Luise Calde- ron, a domestic of Pedro Ruiz, concealing the truth relative to the aforesaid robbery expressed in these proceedings, and his honour being per- suaded that she will discover the truth of the matter by means of a slight torture inflicted on M 2 64 THE LIFE OF the said Calderon; and whereas his honour is not invested with power to execute the same, his excellency the Governor and Captain-general of this island must be made acquainted hereof, with the summary of this process, by virtue of this document, to the intent that his excellency may determine as may appear to him justice. The usual and requisite forms to be adopted and observed by the notary in this cause, and in pursuance hereof, his honour thus decreed and ordered ; and he signed hereto, which I the under-written notary attest this day, the 22nd of the aforesaid month and year. " Before me, FRANCISCO DE CASTRO. (Signed) " BEGORRAT." Upon this representation, and after Governor Picton had been made acquainted by the above- mentioned notary with the usual mode of pro- ceeding upon such occasions according to the laws of the island,* he inquired of the notary * Extracted from the Recopilacion of Castile and the Purtidas. " The question of torment is to be applied for confirma- tion and proof, there not being sufficient." Curia Philipica, No. 2, fol. 229. " In the same crimes for which the question is applicable SIR THOMAS PICTON. 165 in what manner he should word the sentence which was applied for by the alcalde ; upon which the notary wrote the following for the governor to sign, " Appliquez la question a Luise Calderon. " TH. PICTON." (In English) " Apply the question (or torture) to Luise Calderon. " TH. PICTON." In order, however, if possible, to save the prisoner from this infliction, the notary, in the presence of the alcalde, caused her to be brought into a private room, where she was made ac- quainted with the above order, and told that it would immediately be put in force unless she to the delinquent, in the same it is applicable to the witness who varies or prevaricates in his evidence, or who denies the truth, or who refuses to declare it, there being a pre- sumption that he knows it ; not being of those persons to whom the torment cannot be applied according to the law of Partida and its Gregorian glossary." Curia Philipica, No. 4, fol. 229. "And in the same crimes for which the torment is ap- plicable to the delinquent, in case an evidence of low vile character and bad morals is admitted, he is to testify under torment ; otherwise his evidence is of no validity." Law de Partida. 166 THE LIFE OF confessed what she knew respecting the offence ; but she again said " that she did not know who had committed the robbery on Pedro Ruiz;' when, upon her still persisting in a denial, the picket was resorted to. This operation is effected by making the prisoner stand upon a piece of wood about five or six inches long, and one inch, or one inch and a quarter square, with a flat top. By the laws of the island, a strongly suspected person might be made to remain upon this for any time not exceeding an hour, unless willing to make confession. At first the prisoner appeared resolute in her determination to be silent ; but after a little time she acknowledged that she had submitted to the wishes of Carlos Gonzales, and that it was he who had stolen the money from the house of Ruiz ; but she denied knowing where he had deposited it, or having received any portion thereof. She was then confronted with Gonzales, when she charged him with being the person who had committed the robbery ; but he contradicted the accusation, and said that it was false testimony. He nevertheless fell upon his knees before all the witnesses, and acknowledged having been intimate with Luise SIR THOMAS PICTON. 167 Calderon for about four months, and that he had visited her upon the day on which the robbery had been perpetrated, having before sworn that such had never been the case. It is well known that few countries enjoy the inestimable advantages of " trial by jury ;" some, it is true, aim at our boasted privilege, but so imperfectly that it can hardly be recognised as the same principle. In Spain, however, the course of justice is totally different. The depo- sition on oath of witnesses in private, or con- fronted one with another, and even the ex- torted confession of the accused, are the only testimonies which are sought for; these, with certain forms and solemnities, are laid before the " superior tribunal," the power of which in this instance was concentrated in the governor, who, upon a strict examination of the different affidavits, decreed that Carlos Gonzales was guilty of the robbery. He was in consequence condemned, according to the laws of Spain en- acted for the punishment of the like description of offence ; his sentence being as follows : " Perpetual banishment from the island ; to pay a fine of one thousand eight hundred dol- lars ; to pay all the costs of the process, and to 168 THE LIFE OF labour on the public works until the term of this his sentence shall be fulfilled : which said fine to indemnify the said Pedro Ruiz. And the mulatto Luise Calderon shall be set at liber- ty, and considered to have expiated the offence by the long imprisonment she has suffered. (Signed) " TH. PICTON." This is a brief but faithful outline of the facts upon which Governor Picton was accused and found guilty ; and natural enough it was that such should be the verdict of the jury. General Picton was charged with " unlawfully inflicting the torture on Luise Calderon" Mr. Garrow and his witness proved to the satisfac- tion of the court that there was no law in the island which warranted such a punishment, and the verdict could not therefore be otherwise. But if the reader has patience to follow the proceedings a little further, he will perceive that an entire acquittal from the only portion of the charge upon which General Picton was found guilty was inevitable. Before, however, entering upon this final point of the proceed- ings, it may be advisable to show briefly in how far the charges made by Mr. Commis- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 169 sioner Fullarton were borne out by the wit- nesses for the prosecution. In the first place, just to evince how ready the accuser was to distort facts for the cause of justice and humanity, Luise Calderon was not under fourteen years of age.* A reverend and holy curate of the Roman Catholic church, by name Josef Maria Angeles, was examined re- specting the registry of baptism : he produced a certificate, which, according to his testimony, was extracted from the registry -book, and which set forth that Luise Calderon was born the 25th of August 1788 ; but as he first stated that the entry was made by himself "three months after the baptism of the child" and then upon the same question being again asked, when he had forgotten his former answer, he said he " believed it was a year or more" the court very properly determined he was not to be believed upon his oath : and the end of this * By the laws of Spain, no person under the age of four- teen can be made subject to the " question ;" consequently, the indictment being thus framed, compelled the defendant to bring evidence to prove the exact age of the girl, or sub- mit to be found guilty upon this count ; which would, in fact, alone have been sufficient for the judge to direct a verdict of guilty. 170 THE LIFE OF respectable witness was, that he was removed from his sacerdotal office by the vicar-general, and ultimately found guilty of forgery and perjury. Another certificate was however obtained from the Vicar-general Alvarado, which speci- fied that the aforesaid Luise was an infant and baptised by him " on the 6th day of September 1786 :" the truth of this was confirmed by wit- nesses who had seen her in her mother's arms at the latter end of the year 1786, by the evidence of the mother herself, by her own confession, and that of Pedro Ruiz, her late master. Luise Calderon was therefore proved to have been above Jif teen when the " question" was applied ; and this the court believed. The insidious remark that " Pedro Ruiz was stated to have been frequently employed as an agent by General Picton" was another proof of the vindictive feeling which induced Mr. Fullarton to come forward as the champion of outraged humanity. It had no bearing upon the case whatever, and was employed only as an ag- gravation, or rather indirect aspersion on the character of the defendant. One witness was however examined respecting the implied sinis- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 171 ter agency of Pedro Ruiz ; but nothing further could be elicited than that General Picton had occasionally bought mules and cattle from the said Ruiz, which had been paid for imme- diately upon delivery. After this mischievous insinuation, comes the following false and iniquitous statement, or rather report ; for all through the charge much caution is employed by Mr. Fullarton not to commit himself by a direct assertion, and the words "stated to have been" are constantly re- curring: " The torture is ' stated to have been' applied two successive times with so much severity, that the girl fell down in appearance dead, and there was no physician or surgeon to assist." In reply to this gross and palpable misstate- ment, let the reader for one moment turn to the evidence, and then ask himself whether the motive for this prosecution was solely humanity? The picket has already been described, and the manner of its use ; but observe its effects upon the prisoner as proved by the evidence : " Her feet were not swollen." " No surgeon or medi- cal man was called for by her or others ; neither was the attendance of one necessary." " She 172 THE LIFE OF did not cry out at all." " After the punishment and confession, she walked from the gaol to the house of Pedro Ruiz, a distance ofjifteen hundred paces, when she showed how Carlos had taken the trunk, brought it to the door, broken the padlock, and taken away the money ; she all the while smoking a cigar ; after which she walked back to the gaol as if she had suffered no pain whatever :" while, as a conclusion, the chief alcalde stated, " that, as he considered the picket in gaol a very slight torture com- pared with those employed in Spain, he order- ed it, in preference, to Luise Calderon." But this, be it remembered, was in answer to Mr. Garrow's ingenious but outrageously impudent assertion, that, "so far from Governor Picton having found torture in daily use under former governors so far from his being bound by any circumstances of necessity to inflict it, he has all the merit of the invention." The evidence now stood thus : that General Picton, being governor of Trinidad, and being charged to administer the Spanish laws, had caused something that may be termed a torture to be inflicted upon a girl above fifteen years old. That this act was in perfect accordance SIR THOMAS PICTON. 1?3 with those laws, we have already shown. Any attempt to extort a confession is so abhorrent to our English ideas of justice, that the mere mention of an instrument of torture is suffi- cient to draw a cry of indignation from any assembly of our countrymen ; and rightly so, for such an attempt is as absurd as it is cruel. But General Picton was not administering jus- tice in a peaceful state ; his task was to keep a conquered island. The population was tur- bulent and disaffected, and General Picton's force was small. In such a case every miti- gation of severity is interpreted as an admis- sion of weakness ; and although we must re- gret, as General Picton undoubtedly also re- gretted, that his duty forced upon him the infliction of severities, unknown in England because unnecessary, yet we must admit that he was morally justified by the exigencies of his situation, and certainly legally justified by the letter of his instructions. The case being in this dilemma, nothing but the ingenuity or effrontery of Mr. Garrow could have obtained for the prosecutors a ver- dict. The jury were bewildered ; they came into court with strong feelings against the 174 THE LIFE OF accused, as juries often do : in fact, they were to pass judgment in the name of the people of England upon " a bloody and inhuman gover- nor," who, according to the opening address of Mr. Garrow, " without the least pretence of law, without the least moral justification, but solely to gratify his tyrannical disposition by the op- pression of the unfortunate and defenceless victim of his cruelty," did all that he had been trying to make them believe ; but the fact was, these twelve honest but incredulous men COULD NOT believe both him and the witnesses, so they confined their belief solely to the latter; and had they decided solely upon "the merits" of the case, they would beyond a doubt have given their unhesitating verdict in favour of justice. But that able advocate Mr. Garrow was not so easily to be defeated : what was justice to him ? he wanted to gain his cause. Still, what was to be done? the obstinate jury would not believe his reiterated asseverations that " Governor Pic- ton had maliciously, wantonly, and to gratify a tyrannical disposition, subjected an interesting young Spanish girl under fourteen years of age to torture until she fell down in appearance SIR THOMAS PICTON. 175 dead."* Not a word of all this could Mr. Garrow persuade the jury to believe ; but, happy thought ! -law ! they must believe his law ; and accordingly he asserted, and brought a witness named Vargas, alias Smith, to swear, that the old Castilian Spanish laws were not in force at the time of the conquest of the * The following fact is rather an amusing illustration of the overdone efforts of General Picton's accusers. It is contained in a letter from a gentleman in Trinidad, who had just returned from Scotland. " A few weeks before I last left Scotland, Mr. Fullarton arrived with his family from Trinidad ; at that moment I was in Ayrshire, and mixed with several of his friends ; and dining one day at the lord provost's (mayor's) house in Ayr, mark my astonishment when I was told that, along with Colonel Fullarton, there had arrived with his lady a ' Mademoiselle Luise Calderon,' whom the Colonel and Mrs. Fullarton paraded about with them in their car- riage, introducing her wherever they went as the * blessed innocent' who was the devoted victim of Colonel Picton's tyranny, &c. (Signed) " JOHN DOWNIE." "Trinidad, September 8th 1805." The introduction of Miss Luise into such good society might have been exceedingly agreeable to all parties ; but as the ladies of Scotland are rather famous for their uncom- promising sense of decorum, it seems strange that they should have exposed themselves to the contaminating influence of a young lady who, by her voluntary statement, was a very im- proper person to associate with modest ladies ; while, by her extorted confession, she acknowledged herself to be, if not a thief, at least an accomplice. 176 THE LIFE OF island by Sir Ralph Abercromby, and, con- sequently, that punishing an offender accord- ing to that code was unlawful. This he told the judge, who could not contradict him, or his respectable witness ; the defendant's counsel was unprepared for so barefaced an assertion, and Colonel Draper says: "I sat near Mr. Garrow. He astonished me ! The noble and learned judge heard him, what shall I say ? he believed him ! the jury of course believed him, and they found accordingly a general verdict of guilty." SIR THOMAS PICTON. 177 CHAPTER X. Effects of the Verdict 'upon the Friends of each party. General Picton's Letter to Sir Samuel Hood. THUS far, then, Colonel Fullarton, his friends, and the majority of the public, were victori- ous ; justice was appeased ; the measure of punishment was left to the discretion of the judges ; and to this day many of those who remember Governor Picton being tried and found guilty of " unlawfully picketing an inter- esting Spanish girl under fourteen years of age," do not know that any further proceedings were taken for his vindication. One reason for this strange ignorance is, that they never took the trouble to inquire ; but, with a laud- able love of justice but too general, remained contented, not to say pleased, with the know- ledge that an individual holding a high and respectable situation had been reduced to a level something below that of the party making him the subject of his reflections. VOL. I. N 178 THE LIFE OF General Picton was thus found guilty of permitting an "unlawful punishment" to be inflicted on Luise Calderon : as an English judge might so far outstretch, or be ignorant of the laws which he had to administer, as to order a prisoner convicted of a capital crime to be decapitated instead of hanged, that would be unlawful punishment. The enemies of General Picton were not, however, quite contented with the manner in which this verdict had been obtained, as it was too evident that nothing but the unexpected assertion of Mr. Garrow could have succeeded in getting any. Colonel Fullarton, indeed, anticipated that the termination of this prose- cution would confirm or give probability to the calumnious accusations with which he had charged the defendant. But General Picton and his friends were even less pleased than his accusers with the result of this trial ; an entire acquittal was con- fidently anticipated ; and as the simple verdict of " guilty" embraced the whole of the charges, although it was evident to all who chose to take the trouble to inquire, that none of them were proved, still it involved the defendant in SIR THOMAS PICTON. 179 all the disastrous results attendant upon a simi- lar verdict founded upon the most perfect and comprehensive evidence. " Humanity is satis- fied ;" so said Colonel Fullarton, when informed that the jury had found his victim " guilty." "But I am not," he might have added: for his actions proved that nothing but the total ruin of both General Picton's name and for- tune would satisfy him. The subject was not allowed to drop, although humanity was satis- fied : pamphlets, caricatures, and newspaper- insinuations were industriously circulated ; all that the legal inquiry had failed to prove, it was attempted to wind around the senses of men by artful and repeated mis-statements; while to those whose judgments were too strong to be thus imposed upon, falsehood was had recourse to, assisted by appeals to their passions, to join in the universal outcry against this " inhuman oppressor of youth and innocence." * * Lieutenant-colonel Draper, in his spirited and able Address to the British Public, published in 1806, says, with almost prophetic truth, "The zeal, abilities, and acknow- ledged integrity of Colonel Picton will survive these un- worthy and unjust aspersions ; and he will live, I trust, to add still more to the fame, wealth, and honour of a just and generous nation." 180 THE LIFE OF From this picture of artifice trying to impose upon justice by assuming the garb of humanity, let the reader turn to the following letter, written at this period by General Picton to Commodore Sir Samuel Hood. "London, March 1, 1806. " MY DEAR SIR, "I doubt not but you will do me the justice to believe that the inventions of malice and the credulity of ignorance are equally unable to affect my mind or influence my conduct in any situation or circumstances of life; or that the indecent caricatures exhi- bited everywhere in the streets and windows, and the malignant, scandalous libels which have inundated the metropolis, to outrage truth, and to corrupt the sources of public justice, will neither succeed in alarming my apprehensions, nor irritating my disposition. Yet I am very far from despising the judg- ment of the public ; on the contrary, no one possesses a higher veneration for it, when calmly and coolly exercised ; but, to have any value in my mind, it must proceed from the operation of reason, and be the result of tempe- rate investigation. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 181 " The reputation which rests upon the solid foundation of honourable services and zealous devotion to the cause of our country, is an object of virtuous ambition to which no well- ordered mind can ever be insensible ; it is the shadow which accompanies the solid substance of meritorious actions, and the evidence of their existence, it is the only genuine source of popularity ; and the public opinion which rests upon any other foundation, or is derived from any other cause, though it may for a time serve the purposes of faction and intrigue, will ever be esteemed by prudent and deserv- ing persons as a counterfeit coin, and spurious imitation of the more precious metal. " The inhabitants of this country possess, perhaps, more of the milk of human kindness than those of any other nation in the world ; they are more feelingly alive to every tale of woe or oppression ; and these amiable qualities are, in a great measure, the cause of their being so open to the impositions and canting hypocrisy of pretended philanthropists : but they have in- variably a fund of sound sense at bottom, which will never allow any delusion to be of long duration. Such a public, when the first im- 182 THE LIFE OF pression begins to subside, will naturally inquire into the causes and motives of appeals to their passions ; and when an apparently public object is pursued and pressed upon them with all the rancour and animosity of private interest and resentment, they will not be slow in suspecting some concealed selfish motive lurking beneath the specious patriotic pretext. "This hypocrisy of patriotism, like that of religion, has always been most successful in its impositions upon people of ingenuous and can- did dispositions. But, even with them, the age of delusion is nearly over; and extravagant pretensions, either to the one or the other, have fallen everywhere into merited suspicion. It is, however, much to be lamented that the great principles upon which the well-being of all civil as well as political societies rest, have been much weakened in the estimation of the world from the interested and selfish motives by which their appearances have been urged, and the still more interested objects to which those unprincipled and designing impostors have directed them. " These reflections naturally lead to a consi- deration of the indefensible means employed to SIR THOMAS PICTON. 183 impose upon the credulity of the public in my case, and to make them the tools and instru- ments of private passion and resentment. You are too well acquainted with the corrupt sources from which they emanate to feel any astonish- ment at the impudence with which they have been employed: the puppet-show men may conceal themselves behind the curtain, but no one is ignorant of the hand which touches the strings and the wires, and sets the men of straw in motion. I need not here recall to your mind the circumstances which led to our resignation as two of his Majesty's commissioners for the government of Trinidad : they are of too ex- traordinary a nature not to be permanently fixed in your recollection without any effort of mine to renew the impression. My resignation, you well remember, was readily and easily ad- mitted ; and whatever the pretext might be, I believe you had no difficulty in penetrating the reasons why yours, though urged with more strength, met with a different reception. "The disagreements amongst the commis- sioners produced at least one good conse- quence, as they led to the abolition of a chime- rical system of government, which has realized 184 THE LIFE OF the apprehensions of every practical statesman, by producing an infinity of evil, and no one advantage, except a convincing proof of its im- practicability, which may deter future theore- tical politicians from attempting a similar in- congruity. " Amongst a variety of means, equally honour- able to the heads and hearts of the contrivers, a specious appeal has been made to the huma- nity and passions of the public in favour of a common mulatto girl, of the vilest class, and most corrupt morals, who, living in the con- fidence and under the protection of an indus- trious tradesman, formed an illicit connexion with a negro, who robbed him, with her con- currence, of the whole earnings of a life of industrious parsimony, amounting to nearly five hundred pounds sterling. " This respectable personage, who was guilty of the most flagrant perjury upon her exami- nations, was proceeded against before the ordi- nary magistrates of the colony according to due course of law, and nothing but mistaken lenity saved her from an ignominious death upon the gallows. Such is the person who has been selected to act the part of a most virtuous, SIR THOMAS PICTON. 185 interesting young lady, whose sufferings have been painted in such glowing colours to the public ; and who, at the very time she was fixed upon as the heroine of this mountebank exhi- bition, was living under the impression that she had been treated with peculiar mildness by the remission of the punishment ordained by the laws for a crime of such complicated vil- lany. " In consequence of circumstances connected with the above transaction, an indictment hav- ing been preferred against me in the Court of King's Bench, I was under the necessity of ap- plying for a mandamus to examine evidence in Trinidad, the result of which I now lay before the public (faithfully copied from the official returns), in order that they may have the means of detecting the artifices which have been practised upon their passions to mislead their judgments ; and I have chosen to address it to you, sir, as a testimony of the high vene- ration and esteem which I entertain for your character, public and private, and as a mark of the inappreciable value I place upon a friend- ship which commenced under circumstances of a most trying nature, and grew up amongst 186 THE LIFE OF difficulties. You, sir, had opportunities of be- coming acquainted with the sentiments and opinions of all the respectable inhabitants and proprietors of a colony I had governed for so many years, without instructions, advice, or assistance. " Did you ever learn any circumstances, during your official residence in that country, which could lead you to suspect anything dis- creditable to my character as a public or private man, in my civil or military capacities ? I may boldly venture to say, no ; or I never should have been honoured with your confidence and friendship. " In my public situation, as chief of the civil and military departments in a newly-conquered country, possessing great discretionary power without any accurate limit or definition, I am conscious that I at all times and on all occasions faithfully performed my public duty to the full extent of my abilities. Whether I am entitled to any degree of credit or not, is scarcely worth inquiry ; I am not asking for any rewards, therefore it will be superfluous to ascertain the value of my claims : all that I am solicitous of establishing is, that I have, on all SIR THOMAS PICTON. 187 occasions, done what I considered most con- formable to my public obligations, without any respect to private passion or individual interest: a position which I confidently trust no man of truth and honour, who had an opportunity of witnessing and examining my conduct, will be inclined to contest or dispute with me. " You see, sir, my claims upon the public are not extravagant or unreasonable : I neither claim rewards for my past services, nor challenge credit for great talents and extraordinary moral powers to operate wonders in their cause for the future. I make no such pretensions ; but I have a right to demand a presumption that the moderate share or portion of talents which they are willing to allow me was employed zealously and honestly, to the best of my judgment. Such is the extent of my claims upon the public, and to which the strongest testimony has been borne by every one of the high autho- rities I acted under during the whole of my civil and military employments. "You well know, sir, that I was placed, without any solicitation, as a matter of pro- fessional duty, in a most extraordinary situ- ation ; at the head of a new conquest, without 188 THE LIFE OF any legal adviser to guide me in the adminis- tration of an intricate system of foreign laws, written in a foreign language ; without any ma- gistrate legally constituted or acquainted with the jurisprudence of the country to execute them ; without any law-books, except such as I could casually pick up upon the spot ; with- out any council with whom I could share the responsibility, and without any detailed in- structions to supply the deficiency ; and that, so situated, I was left, nearly six years, solely to my own judgment and discretion, to carry on the business of the colony in the best manner I could. Thus circumstanced, what more could reasonably be expected of me than that I should act honestly, to the extent of my abi- lities, with the best advice I could procure in the place? How is it possible that I could become acquainted with the laws, or the prac- tice of them, except from the books within my reach, and the magistrates who were most ac- customed to their application? I did guide myself on this, as well as on every other occasion, by the advice of the magistrates and other law- officers, the only sources of legal information or practice ; and if more was required of me, I arn SIR THOMAS PICTON. 189 ready to confess I am not capable of impossi- bilities. "However, sir, if I were to estimate my merits in so novel a situation by the assurances of confidence and approbation which I conti- nued officially to receive from the high autho- rities under which I acted up to the very mo- ment of my resignation, I might allow myself to indulge in very considerable claims and pre- tensions, without incurring a charge of extra- vagance : but I have learned to estimate such assurances by the consequences which have followed them, and which it is not within the bounds of probability that I shall early or easily forget. " I trust that the English people are too rea- sonable to require of me more than they would of any other person of moderate abilities under similar circumstances. Let any one of them suppose himself posted where I was, without any solicitation or intrigue on his part ; would he be satisfied to be placed in the midst of darkness, and then punished for not seeing clearly ? I am ordered to administer an intri- cate system of laws, of which I am totally igno- rant, and then I am made accountable for the 190 THE LIFE OF errors I involuntarily committed; and crimi- nally prosecuted for what I could not possibly avoid. " If my deviations, indeed, proceeded from corrupt or malicious motives, the people of England would have a right to exact a severe and rigid account of them : they would not do justice to themselves, and to the character of the British nation, if they did not ; and I am ready to acknowledge that, in such a case, I should have nothing to plead in my defence. " The simple fact is, there were great diffi- culties in making any arrangements for the ad- ministration of a conquest, the circumstances and population of which they were not sufficiently acquainted with : and the only expedient they could have recourse to in order to get rid of the embarrassment was by throwing it upon me, confiding the remedy to my judgment and dis- cretion. I did not shrink from the task, how- ever difficult; and my obedience was at least a strong proof of my zeal for his Majesty's ser- vice, and my confidence in the authorities I acted under ; if not of my prudence and dis- cretion. It is true, I took a great responsibi- lity upon myself. I could not move a step in SIR THOMAS PICTON. 191 the public service without incurring serious re- sponsibility, which was imperiously forced on me by circumstances ; and it was incurred ho- nestly, honourably, and disinterestedly, in the service of the public, without any possible ad- vantage to myself. It was a sacrifice I made of personal interest and personal safety, which entitles me to some consideration, both from the public and the departments of government with which I was connected, though I never made any claim upon either. " I never made any claim : but my forbear- ance does not exonerate them from a perform- ance of their public duty ; it rather increases the obligation. Those authorities know that I did my best, and probably as well as any man could have done, in my situation. In the face of the people of England, I confidently say, that they know, from every source of credible information, from all the distinguished public characters with whom I was in relation, civil or military, in the different confidential situations I was employed in, that I invariably sacrificed every private consideration and personal interest to my high, perhaps Quixotic, idea of public duty. They know that agriculture, that com- 192 THE LIFE OF merce, that the public revenues, increased and flourished under my administration to an ex- tent scarcely to be expected, considering the unfavourable circumstances under which the colony was placed ; that the public expenses were narrowed within the bounds of the most rigid economy ; and that the whole disbursements of the colony were, not only provided for without a single call upon the Treasury, but that a large sum had been economised, and laid up in the colonial chesty as a resource for any extraordinary emer- gency. "Neither you, sir, nor his Majesty's ministers are ignorant of what has become of that large sum, nor what extraordinary calls have been made upon the treasury of this country in consequence of its sudden dissipation. They know that I applied the revenues and adminis- tered the laws of the country honestly and im- partially, to the best of my abilities ; and they are not ignorant that I sacrificed all fees and emoluments, to a large annual amount, (and to which I had an unquestionable right,) to pro- mote the interests of commerce, and of his Majesty's government. And yet, what have I not been exposed to ? To every species of in- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 193 dignity ; to expenses ruinous to any officer in his Majesty's service, whatever his rank might be ; and to circumstances, the effects of which are calculated to damp the ardour and cool the zeal of every public servant who may be simi- larly situated. " I am not of a contentious spirit either in public or private life ; and there are few who have been more disposed to make sacrifices to concord than I, on all occasions when the essen- tial duties of my public situations would allow me to follow the natural bent of my inclination. With such a disposition, during my long ser- vice I had the happiness to steer clear of all misunderstandings and contentions, as well with the chiefs under whose immediate orders I acted, as with all those with whom it was my duty to co-operate in promoting the public service ; and I had a fair prospect of being en- abled to end my public career without a single serious disagreement, when an event, which it was impossible to expect or foresee, exposed me to circumstances which rendered all pru- dence nugatory. "His Majesty had been graciously pleased, without any solicitation on my part, as a spon- VOL. i. o 194 THE LIFE OF taneous act of royal favour, to appoint me to the high and confidential situation of Governor and Commander-in-chief of Trinidad, expressly as a reward for my former services as military commandant of that important colony. Amidst the strongest official assurances of the fullest confidence and approbation of the measures which I had pursued in this high station, with- out any previous communication, I was sudden- ly superseded, and appointed to a subordinate situation in the same government, without my consent or even knowledge. Humiliating as my position became, thus degraded in the eyes of the world, it being signified to me as the express command of my sovereign, I did not hesitate a moment to obey, and in so doing I gave the strongest proof of my devotion to his royal will, by a sacrifice of every feeling ; in consequence of which I have been exposed to a series of wicked machinations, such as no man ever before experienced. " But to return to the subject from which I have insensibly strayed. The most wicked and indefensible means have been made use of to pre-occupy the public mind with opinions un- favourable to me, at a time when a cause of SIR THOMAS PICTON. 195 the utmost importance to my character is pending in the Court of King's Bench ; a con- duct the more atrocious, as it is manifestly cal- culated to deprive me of a fair, impartial trial, by influencing the passions of those who even- tually are to be my judges ; an attempt which, I trust confidently, the people of this country will not see without indignation. " All I ask of them is, what religion and mo- rality equally require as indispensable duties ; that they abstain from rash, premature judg- ment, and wait until they fairly and fully hear both sides of the question, before they give their verdict against an officer who has been serving them with zeal and fidelity for nearly thirty-seven years. I solicit no rewards, I ask no favours ; but I demand as a right, what they cannot refuse me without injustice, an impartial hearing, and a suspension of judg- ment until the final issue of the new trial for which I am about to move. " With many apologies for the length of my intrusion, " I am, &c. &c. " THOMAS PICTON." " Sir Samuel Hood, K.B.'" O 196 THE LIFE OF CHAPTER XI. Motion for a new trial " made absolute." Investigation in the Privy Council brought to a conclusion. Their Re- port. Remarks upon. A second issued. Sir Samuel Hood offers himself as a Candidate for Westminster. Colonel Fullarton's attack. " The Picton Veil, or, The Hood of Westminster," a poem. The Duke of Queens- berry. His munificent offer to General Picton. THE calm and elevated tone of this lettei forms a striking contrast to the vindictive and low-minded expressions of General Picton's enemies ; it breathes throughout a noble con- tempt for the senseless outcry of the mob, and a laudable desire for the good opinion of the more intelligent portion of the public. Such sentiments would have done honour to a Roman patriot ; and if we were called upon to portray the character of Sir Thomas Picton by any single act of his life, we would turn to this letter, in the confident assurance that the ex- pressions which it contains are the sincere ema- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 197 nations of a dignified and virtuous mind. The efforts of General Picton's accusers were, how- ever, unfortunately too successful; the public attention was so constantly directed to the " guilty and blood-stained governor" that, by the frequency of the accusations, the minds of even the most just gradually fell into a tacit belief that they were all true. When once conviction of another's guilt has taken possession of the mind, all attempts at vindication are unavailing : the individual is contented with having arrived at a conclusion, and if that opinion be unfavourable, he will never take the trouble to be convinced to the contrary. So, in the present instance, the jury found Governor Picton guilty ; pamphlets and the newspapers assured the public that he was so, and in consequence he has ever since been spoken of as " cruel" and " remorseless." But let posterity do him justice. Men will now read to judge for themselves: and it is hoped that his memory will no longer be tarnished by even a whisper of reproach. On the 26th of April 1806, Mr. Dallas, in an elaborate and powerful speech before Lord Ellenborough and three judges, moved for a 198 THE LIFE OF rule to show cause why there should not be a new trial in the case of the King versus Picton. It is unnecessary to recapitulate the whole of the arguments employed by this able advocate, more especially as they are already in print. He grounded the application upon two points : the first, " That in the evidence on which the verdict was founded, there was a gross misre- presentation of a most material fact," (in allusion to the non-existence of the old Castilian laws, as asserted by Mr. Garrow,) "a fact so material as to constitute in one respect the very ground and foundation of the charge; and that this misrepresentation took place under such cir- cumstances as rendered it impossible for Ge- neral Picton, or those who had to conduct his defence, to have foreseen, or to have been guarded against it by the exertion of any care or diligence on their part." The second ground was thus stated : " Supposing your lordships should be of opinion (even now) that the only fact found by the jury was correctly found, still on this indictment the defendant is and ought to have been acquitted, inasmuch as the act complained of was done in the course of his judicial duty not maliciously, but erroneously SIR THOMAS PICTON. 199 done, and therefore not the subject of any civil suit, and still less of a criminal prosecution." Mr. Dallas proved, to the entire satisfaction of the judges, " that what the witness Vargas, alias Smith, swore, was literally true, but substan- tially and virtually false ;" that " the law of Old Spain, which is the law of Castile, was in force in the island of Trinidad at the time of its capitulation ;" that " Colonel Picton was in- structed both by Sir Ralph Abercromby and his Majesty's government to administer the laws which he found in the island ;" and that "the punishment inflicted on Luise Calderon was in perfect accordance with those laws." Upon these statements, which were drawn from the most able authorities and supported by the clearest evidence, and as the very argu- ment by which the verdict had been obtained was negatived, the rule for a new trial " was made absolute." It was during these legal proceedings that the Privy Council was engaged in investigating an endless list of enormities said to have been committed by Governor Picton during his administration in Trinidad. The result of this judicial inquiry was of more vital import- 200 THE LIFE OF ance to the future prospects of the general than the decision of the law-court ; for, if one tenth part of the charges brought by Colonel Fullar- ton before that honourable assembly were esta- blished, the loss of his military rank, and the infliction of some heavy fine or punishment, would destroy at once both his fortune and character. Long and patient was this investi- gation : every kind of evidence was suborned in support of the accusations ; affidavits and wit- nesses being obtained at any expense, to show that the persecuted object of Colonel Fullarton's hatred was guilty. The defence which General Picton was en- abled to advance would not have sufficed in a court of law : the variety of the charges defied the utmost assiduity to procure evidence to rebut them in detail ; though to the impartial and liberal feelings of gentlemen, where no pro- fessional sophistry was hired to mislead their judgments, such evidence as could be brought forward in time was sufficient. Upon the affida- vits of individuals of the highest respectability in the island of Trinidad, who distinctly swore to the injustice of many of the principal charges, and considering the exalted character borne by SIR THOMAS PICTON. 201 General Picton, with perhaps a feeling amongst the members of the Privy Council that Colonel Fullarton was not actuated solely " by a love of justice," they acquitted his victim of the ac- cusations. In January 1807, nearly four years from the commencement of the inquiry, they at length made a report, the substance of which was, that "there was no foundation whatever for further proceedings on any of the numerous charges brought forward by Colonel Fullarton against General Picton." A publication of the day observes upon this report, " When we recollect that more than three years have elapsed since these charges were first submitted to the Privy Council ; that they were pursued under three successive administra- tions ; that they have of course undergone the fullest and most rigid investigation ; and that the late sittings were attended by the different members who had marked the whole progress of the business; we cannot, we confess, but feel for the deep humiliation of the rash accuser, who has thus been foiled in every attempt, and who has reaped nothing but defeat and disappointment from his strenuous and un- 202 THE LIFE OF exampled efforts in the cause of virtue, justice, and truth."* Shortly after this first report of the Privy * " No man was better qualified than Picton to rule a newly- acquired conquest, inundated as it was by all that was deprav- ed and savage in society. Let the reader bear in mind that he was enjoined, most strictly enjoined by his orders, and by the very wording of his appointment, in all civil matters, to enforce the law then existing, that is to say, the Castilian code. By his vigour he regenerated the island. He brought commerce to her shores, and plenty and happiness followed in her train. Every respectable inhabitant looked upon him as a friend and as a father. The Trinidadians feared nothing so much as being compelled to return under the sway of their ancient authori- ties; yet, for all these benefits, he experienced, not from those whom he governed, and whose happiness he consolidated, but from a mean party in England, the blackest persecution and the vilest ingratitude ; a persecution that ever after rankled in his heart an ingratitude that he was too noble not to forgive, but too sensitive ever to forget. " All the invidious calumnies launched so vindictively against him amount simply to this : that he implicitly obey- ed his instructions ; and had he not done so, would have subjected himself, not only to reprimand but to removal. He was bound to administer the old Castilian law he did so, and was persecuted. "These are the simple facts. A woman of loose morals had conspired with her paramour to rob, and actually did rob? her master of more than a thousand dollars. Her evidence was wanted to ensure conviction : she was contumacious : there was no moral doubt of her guilt and that of her confe- derate. The alcalde, or magistrate, by whom those offences were cognizable, merely as a matter of course, and in the routine of his office, applied to the Governor Picton, in con- formity to the Spanish law then in force, for his signature to SIR THOMAS PICTON. 203 Council, a second was published, in which the name of Sir Samuel Hood was introduced, in conjunction with that of General Picton, as apply to her the inconvenience, torture we cannot call it, of the picket. The signature was given as a matter of course ; the picket was applied, the whole truth displayed ; the guilty punished, and the defrauded man righted. Substantive jus- tice was administered to all parties. " But let not our generous and kindly-hearted countrymen run away with a false notion of the seventy of the punish- ment of this picket. It was of an infinitely shorter duration and hardly more severe than what every English drunkard, in every English village, is liable to receive the stocks. The punishment of the picket was the compelling the offender to stand upon a surface of one square inch upon one leg, whilst one arm was suspended by a rope above her head. This was formerly the punishment resorted to in the English cavalry for minor offences. We grant that it is not an enviable position, but by no means an infliction deserving the epithet of torture. " But had this infliction been breaking upon the wheel, it would not have been the fault of Picton. He made not the law : he was only there to administer it, and he only admi- nistered it upon the demand of the proper officer. " How often is it the case that naval and military men, who know no other party than that of the country for which they are recklessly staking their lives, are made a sacrifice to the caprice, the pique, or the vindictiveness of faction ! No one ever suffered from this injustice more than Picton. They not only attempted insult, but inflicted injury. We have neither space nor patience to dwell upon this persecution* which brought him before a British jury, enlisted against him the vilest popular passions, and thus wheedled them by ad- ministering to their prejudices, into giving a verdict of guilty against him, and which originated in ministerial revenge. Metropolitan Magazine, Dec. 1835. 204 THE LIFE OF having been charged with committing certain misdemeanours whilst commissioner of Tri- nidad. This report was, however, even more honourable to the accused than the former. The characters of both General Picton and Sir Samuel Hood came forth from this long and minute inquiry without a stain. It was after this report had been issued by the Privy Council, that Sir Samuel Hood, the friend and companion of Picton, offered himself as a candidate to represent the city of Westmin- ster in Parliament. Upon this occasion Colonel Fullarton, not from any desire to serve the cause of the opposing parties, but solely to avenge himself on the hustings for the casti- gation which he had received from Sir Samuel Hood in the Council at Trinidad, printed and published three folio pages, calling on the gal- lant commodore to answer him two-and-twenty queries, most of them extracted from his charges against General Picton ; such as, the " list of persons fettered, flogged, burned, &c. ;" * and numerous others, in equally inflammatory and exciting language. But, as a conclusion to the chain of abuse and machination concocted by * Vide page 102. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 205 the friends and admirers of Colonel Fullarton, (we would not willingly believe that it was the production of the colonel's own pen,) a poem was published, called " The Picton Veil, or, the Hood of Westminster," which is unrivalled for malice and rancour. This tissue of falsehoods was widely circulat- ed amongst the nobility, and friends of both Sir Samuel Hood and General Picton. The best and noblest of the land are here vilified in the most foul and scurrilous language: the principal objects of the assassin's venom were the leading members of the Privy Council, and upon them he has lavished it with an unsparing hand. But as the writer is convinced that no adequate idea can be conveyed of this production by mere extracts, he has thought it advisable to give this precious morceau entire. THE PICTON VEIL; OR, THE HOOD OF WESTMINSTER. See Grenville head the mighty troop Of legal statesmen in a group; Dimly he views them through his glass,* And drills his followers as they pass. * Lord Grenville wore spectacles. 206 THE LIFE OF The outward vision, true, 'tis dark ; But had great justice' vital spark Clear'd from dull mist the mental sight, His conduct then had stood the light. It bodes our country little good, When murder's covered by a Hood. And lo ! where, humbled in the dust, Sits him who holds the sacred trust, Keeper of conscience to his king ! His own seems lost, no power to sting ; Or it had whisper'd in his ear : Wilt thou a murd'rer dare to clear, And plead to the Great Judge of all, That, to obey proud GrenviuVs call, Justice and mercy both must fall ? It bodes our country little good, When murder's covered by a Hood. Next Eldon comes, of palsied mind, But half to good or ill inclined. Still, not like Erskine did he yield ; For three whole years he kept the field, Feebly held justice with a straw, Nor sanctioned murder by a law. It bodes our country little good, When crimes are covered by a Hood. Sidmouth, who at the board presides, By GrenvinVs fiat he abides : The Doctor's conscience feels no qualm, An opiate has procured a calm. TIB Grenville must the risk endure, Should too much blood require a cure. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 207 It bodes our country little good, When murder's covered by a Hood. Anstruther also must attend As Grenville's and Lord Wellesley's friend, His part to shelter Eastern crimes ; Guilt he won't see in Western climes, His principles must meet the times. It bodes our country little good, When murder's cover'd by a Hood. Here follows a stiff legal plant, Master of Rolls, Sir William Grant. In politics though quite ajar, He hopes to heal the recent scar, If, yielding now to the great flood, He helps to screen a man of blood. In measured words and accents slow, He sets at nought sad scenes of woe. It bodes our country little good, When murder's cover'd by a Hood. See Castlereagh, with dauntless front, Who in Hibernia bore the brunt Of flogging, torturing without end, In soul allied as Picton's friend : No wonder he his voice should raise To sound aloud a murd'rer's praise. It bodes our country little good, When crimes are cover'd by a Hood. Recorded on the list of fame, Spencer ! high stood thy honoured name ; Brought now to hide a culprit's shame, 208 THE LIFE OF Grenville has got thee join'd with knaves, To turn free Britons into slaves, Who under thee once ruled the waves. It bodes our country little good, When murder's cover'd by a Hood. Say, Moira, by what ordinance Dost thou with visage black advance ? ""Tis fear has bound thee fast in chains, Leads thee to shroud the ghost of Haynes,* And with fresh guilt renew thy stains. It bodes our country little good, When murder's covered by a Hood. Windham, thy metaphysic mind, That turns and twists, excuse can find For baiting bulls, or human-kind ; Though great they calFd thee yes, 'tis fact, Now thou art dwindled down t* 1 enact Proud Grenville's purpose, or the Training Act, It bodes our country little good, When murder's cover'd by a Hood. Oh ! Fullarton, the brave and good, With noble firmness you withstood Torture and waste of human blood : Long may a God of mercy spare Thy life unto thy country's prayer, 'Gainst tyrant foes to prove her shield, Either in council or the field ! So fearful was the writer of this infamous production of the odium and punishment * Colonel Isaac Haynes, executed by Lord Rawdon, with- out trial, in America. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 209 which were his due, that not even the printer's name was attached to the libel, nor did he ever acknowledge the authorship. A circumstance occurred about this time, which is well worthy of record, as a happy illus- tration of the character of that eccentric noble- man the last Duke of Queensberry. The pro- secution against General Picton was proceeding with all the rancour of party spirit, and the voice of the country was raised against him in an universal outcry. A few staunch friends, however, still clung to him ; some of whom had had opportunities of witnessing his con- duct in the West Indies, and others who knew him too well to believe for one moment the charges which were brought against him. These friends were yet unchanged, although assailed with reproach for holding communion with a man whom the world condemned. General Picton was one day dining at the Grosvenor Coffee-house, in company with some of these friends, when Colonel Darling, who highly honoured General Picton, and was intimate with the Duke of Queensberry, joined the party. After some general conver- sation, Colonel Darling said, " Picton, I have VOL. i. p 210 THE LIFE OF just left the Duke of Queensberry, and he has charged me with a message for you." " Indeed !" replied Picton ; " I am certainly much honoured, more especially as I never had the pleasure of being introduced to his grace." " I know it," said the colonel ; " but he has often spoken of you and your affairs in the most friendly and liberal manner." General Picton expressed his sense of the honour conferred upon him by the duke. " And now," continued the colonel, "he wishes to show you his feelings with regard to the pro. ceedings instituted against you, by a more decided mark of his consideration." " What do you mean, Darling ?" inquired the general with some surprise. " Simply this," rejoined the colonel. " The duke has watched the whole course of your prosecution with much interest, and he has now desired me to express to you his entire conviction of your innocence, together with the high sense which he entertains of your character." General Picton bowed in acknow- ledgment of this compliment. " But that is not all," continued the colonel. " I have just parted with him ; and, to be brief, SIR THOMAS PICTON. he has desired me to say, that as he is aware of the great expenses which you must incur in defending yourself against a Government pro- secution, and as he is uncertain whether your fortune can support the heavy demands upon you, he is desirous that you should make him your banker during the remainder of the pro- ceedings. He offers you the use of any sum under ten thousand pounds." Picton was for a moment silent ; this mark of consideration from a stranger overcame him. He could not immediately express his feel- ings ; but at length expatiated with much ear- nestness on the munificent generosity of the duke, to whom he immediately wrote a brief note, which he handed to Colonel Darling for perusal. In this, he stated how highly flattered he was by the opinion which his grace had expressed of him ; while, in refer- ence to his proffered munificence, he added, " Had it not been for the kindness and gene- rosity of a near relation," (his uncle,) " who has lent me his fortune to defend my character, I should most readily have availed myself of your disinterested liberality. At present, I am in no want of pecuniary aid ; but shall 212 THE LIFE OF ever feel grateful for the considerate manner in which you offered me your assistance." Until two days before the departure of the general for the Peninsula, he had no further communication with this eccentric but gener- ous nobleman. Picton was again at the Gros- venor Coffee-house, making preparations for his journey, when the Duke of Queensberry's card was brought in, with a request from his grace that he would oblige him by coming to his carriage at the door for one moment. The general immediately complied with his wish ; when the duke, shaking him warmly by the hand, after having apologised on the ground of his infirmity for not leaving his carriage, observed : " General Picton, I have ventured out ex- pressly to shake you by the hand, and bid you farewell before you leave the country ; and there is one request which I have to make, and which I hope you will oblige me in." The general expressed in warm terms the satisfaction which he should experience in obliging his grace in any possible manner. " Well, then," observed the duke, " it is this : you know what vague and contradic- SIR THOMAS PICTON. tory accounts we get in the newspapers about the proceedings of our army ; now, I want you to write me a letter occasionally that is, whenever you can find leisure just that I may know the truth." General Picton promised to comply with his wishes, by sending him the particulars of every affair of importance. This he did punctually ; and whenever a letter arrived from the general, the duke used always to observe, "Ah! this is a letter from Picton ; now we shall have the truth." But he was not long one of General Picton's correspondents, as he died in Decem- ber 1810, when, as a mark of the esteem in which he held the general, he left him a legacy of five thousand pounds. THE LIFE OF CHAPTER XII. Second trial of General Picton. Testimonials to his cha- racter and abilities. Inhabitants of Trinidad present him with a sword. Their magnificent subscription to defray the expenses of his trial. The above sum generously re- turned by Picton. Argument on a special verdict. THE second trial of General Picton for the same offence was now approaching. He had borne, in the intervening time, all the odium of being considered guilty, and, in addition to the enormous costs of his defence, all the injury arising from the necessary neglect of his pro- fession which that defence occasioned. The sole cause and originator of this extra- ordinary and tedious prosecution was, however, doomed not to see its termination, or the tardy justice which was at length rendered to the object of his persecution. Early in February 1808, Colonel Fullarton was attacked by an inflammatory told, which SIR THOMAS PICTON. 215 settled on his lungs, and on the 13th he ex- pired. The outcry which had so long existed against General Picton, and which had been kept alive during the life of Colonel Fullarton, died with him. The public mind, no longer excited by slanderous accusations, at once sub- sided into calm judgment; and as the period for the second trial approached, not a remark was made which could in any way predispose the minds of his judges. It must be remembered, that as this prose- cution was instituted at the suit of the King, the death of Colonel Fullarton did not at all interfere with the course of justice. It is true, that there no longer existed any strong feeling of personal animosity ; but still the proceed- ings were conducted in the same form ; the whole of the depositions of Colonel Fullarton were on record, and consequently justice lost nothing by the removal of this witness. There were still, however, some spirits malignant enough to desire another verdict of guilty, and to triumph in such an anticipation. The wit- nesses engaged on a trial generally make the cause so much their own, that they often give their evidence with the rancour of personal 216 THE LIFE OF enmity, apparently considering that to gain the verdict is to obtain a victory. One incident, however, occurred to General Picton about this period, which for a while dispelled the gloom which his continued per- secution, and the consciousness of exist- ing under the undeserved execration of the public, had thrown over his character. This was his promotion to the rank of Major- General, which appeared in the Gazette of the 25th of April 1808. Professional fame and promotion were always the highest sources of personal gratification to him ; and this testi- mony of approbation was particularly season- able. On the llth of June his new trial came on before Lord Ellenborough and a special jury, when the evidence was again gone through at even a greater length. The testimonials to General Picton's character and abilities as go- vernor given upon this occasion are so strong that a brief recital of them is but justice to him. These testimonials were all given on oath in answer to the question "Did you know Governor Picton, and what was his general character ?" SIR THOMAS PICTON. 217 The first witness was Don Hilario Begorrat, ordinary judge. His answer to the latter part of the question was "Great integrity and dis- interestedness; a man of knowledge and firm- ness, who saved the colony by his talents." Colonel de Soter answered "A character full of dignity, justice, activity, and generosity; beloved by the inhabitants, feared by all the disturbers of tranquillity, and generally con- sidered as the founder of the colony." Don Francisco de Farfan, a planter. " He was a man just, disinterested, and capable by his talents to govern all men." Baron de Montalembert. " I knew him inti- mately, and his character was the most honour- able and most respected that a chief could de- sire to possess in his government. I wish to declare that I came to the island to settle in consequence of the honourable report of cha- racter and reputation that was made to me of Governor Picton by his Majesty's ministers, his Grace the Duke of Portland, and the Right Honourable H. Dundas." Alexander Williams, Esq. a proprietor in the island seventeen years. "I knew him. His general character was that of an upright 218 THE LIFE OF and just governor; and generally esteemed in the colony, particularly by the foreigners." John Lynch, Esq. a proprietor for twelve years. " I knew him from his first arrival as governor; and his general character was that of a very honest, upright man, esteemed by all good men of every country." Chevalier de la Sauvager, formerly governoj of Tobago. " I knew him. His character was that of a man calculated to govern a colony, and knowing how to keep every man in his proper situation, and to render justice to all." Benois Dert, Esq. a proprietor for twenty years. "I knew Brigadier-general Picton. His character was that of a man who made himself feared and beloved by all." Chevalier de Cannes, a proprietor for ten years. " I knew him intimately. When I ar- rived in this colony, there were a number of very bad subjects in it, and it was threatened with a general subversion of good order. Briga- dier-general Picton restored order, maintained the police, protected commerce and the impor- tation of provisions, and tripled the value of land in cultivation : I always knew him to be extremely just towards all the inhabitants of SIR THOMAS PICTON. 219 the colony, without any prejudice to any of the various foreigners in it." Vincent Patrice, Esq. commandant of La Ventille. " I knew General Picton. I consi- der that the capture of the island has restored tranquillity, and caused commerce and agricul- ture to flourish." Count de Soppinott, proprietor for ten years. " I knew Brigadier-general Picton as gover- nor-in-chief of this island: I saw him govern with all dignity, loyalty, and perfect justice ; with a firmness which secured the tranquillity of the colony, to the satisfaction of every honest man, and which repressed all the evil-minded persons in it." Lazar Achard, Esq. proprietor for eighteen years. " I knew Brigadier-general Picton as a just man, and of integrity ; and I shall owe to him eternal gratitude for having preserved my life and fortune by his courage, activity, and abilities, in times when we were threatened with fire, and the malevolence of the negroes and other vagabonds, who only waited for a favourable moment to cut our throats." The Honourable John Nihell, member of council, and judge of the court of Consulado. 220 THE LIFE OF " To the firmness of his government, and his apparent determination to suffer no persons of revolutionary principles to remain in the colony, I attribute the order and tranquillity in the island after its capture; and I ascribe the present flourishing state of this colony to the firmness and uniform good conduct of General Picton, in giving ample protection to all good and peaceable subjects, and driving out all of a contrary character." Mich. St. Pe, alcalde of the second election. " I knew Governor Picton since 1798 ; and he was a man of good morals and practice, frank, impartial, disinterested; zealous for his Majesty's service, and for the preservation of the colony. There are very few inhabitants, of those who were here before the capture of the colony, who do not believe they owe to his vigilance their whole families." The Honourable Philip Langton, Esquire, alcalde of the first election. " I had the honour of being intimately acquainted with General Picton ; and all the respectable characters that I ever heard speak of him in the colony join me in considering him as an active, intelligent, humane, and disinterested magistrate, warmly SIR THOMAS PICTON. attached to the interests of his sovereign and of this colony." Such testimonials,* from individuals of un- impeachable respectability, were enough to make men of that station in life whence a spe- * The feelings of the inhabitants of Trinidad, and the im- pression which General Picton's conduct as governor had left upon their minds, cannot be more strikingly shown than by the two following instances: the first, that within a short time previously, and subsequently to his departure from Trinidad, the inhabitants of the island subscribed a sum of money for the purpose of presenting him with a handsome sword, as an evidence of the high estimation in which they held his character, both in his public and private capacities. This money was remitted to England, with an humble ad- dress from the subscribers to his royal highness the Duke of York, requesting him to present to their late governor this testimonial of their esteem and respect. In compliance with this address, his royal highness was graciously pleased to present the sword to General Picton, accompanying this act of condescension with some highly flattering remarks upon his judicious conduct whilst governor. The second instance was even more soothing to the feel- ings of General Picton, especially as it was the means of en- abling him to indulge in that noble generosity which form- ed so prominent and admirable a portion of his character. Whilst the prosecution was proceeding with the most vin- dictive activity when the government and people of Eng- land seemed arrayed against him in a body at that mo- ment the inhabitants of Trinidad came forward with a spirit and feeling which made General Picton ever remember them with unfeigned gratitude. Confident that the expenses to 222 cial jury is drawn, reject any prejudice which public clamour might have raised; the whole course of the present proceedings was marked by a milder and less excited feeling ; and even the ingenuity and eloquence of Mr. Garrow seemed deficient. During the first trial he had which he must necessarily be exposed were enough to ruin one in his then moderate circumstances, they in the most liberal and considerate manner subscribed amongst them- selves a sum amounting to nearly four thousand pounds, which was remitted to England, with a respectful but friendly address, praying him to accept it, that it might be employed in obtaining justice and refuting the many libellous charges which had been brought against him. It will readily be be- lieved that this proof of the continued esteem of those whom he had governed for so long a period must have been most gratifying to him. General Picton was deeply impressed by this mark of consideration, and returned to the inhabitants his warmest and sincerest thanks. A short time after the receipt of this money, a dreadful fire broke out in the principal town of Trinidad, destroying a great deal of property, and doing much injury to the poorer inhabitants, many of whom were left utterly destitute. The moment General Picton was made acquainted with this dis- tressing calamity, he took the most expeditious means of remitting the whole amount back to the island for the relief of those who had suffered. This act requires no comment, and it might have been supposed that so eloquent an appeal would at least have mitigated the rancour of his enemies. But the cry of popular reproach had been raised against him; it was kept alive by private enmity ; and it was not a single act of virtue that could wipe away the stain. SIR THOMAS PICTON. exhausted all his expedients, and he now came into court with, as he well knew, no argument which was likely to benefit his cause : his only hope was, that in the course of the evidence he might be enabled to catch at some legal point and again succeed in obtaining a verdict. But his opponent was too wary : he was prepared with witnesses for every probable contingency ; and consequently, after a protracted hearing, the jury returned the following special ver- dict : " That by the law of Spain torture existed in the Island of Trinidad at the time of the ces- sion to Great Britain, and that no malice ex- isted in the mind of the defendant against Luise Calderon independent of the illegality of the act." The reader will at once perceive that this decision completely destroyed the foundation upon which the former verdict had been ob- tained, viz. Mr. Garrow's assertion that the law of Spain did not exist in the island of Trinidad at the time of the cession to Great Britain. Consequently, it is only reasonable to presume that, had General Picton's counsel been pre- pared in the first instance with the requisite THE LIFE OF evidence (which he afterwards obtained for the special jury) to disprove Mr. Garrow's state- ment, the jury would then have acquitted General Picton, and he would have been spared the accumulation of expense, anxiety, and opprobrium which he had in consequence to endure. The words at the termination of the special verdict, " independent of the illegality of the act," refer to the question (which was left to the decision of the judges,) whether, as a British governor, he should have allowed such a punish- ment to be inflicted ? But the vindication which he pleaded in answer to this was : " I was desired to administer the laws of the island as they existed at the capitulation. Of these I knew nothing ; but my knowledge of the lan- guage enabled me to learn them. A judge was appointed under me, with the same instruc- tions, to administer Spanish law ; and he was acquainted with the laws of Spain : to him therefore I was obliged to look ; and, however contrary to my opinion of justice and huma- nity, which was founded upon our own admi- rable institution, I was compelled to sanction his proceedings. Had I been told to admi- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 225 irister English law, I should have done so to the best of my ability ; but I was instructed to administer justice according to a code of which I was totally ignorant ; and the disturbed state of the colony left me little time for study. In the case for which I am now being tried, if I was guilty of anything culpable, it was igno- rance ; but the notary cited the law to me,* and I then thought I had no alternative but to administer the Spanish laws as they were, instead of, as I have since learned, modelling them to the forms prescribed by our own legis- lature, and to the feelings of the British pub- lic. By the laws of England, which it appears ought to have been put in force instead of those of Spain, I think the girl Luise Calde- ron as an accessory before the fact, and Gon- zales as the principal, would have been hanged for stealing in a dwelling-house above the value of forty shillings, while Pedro Ruiz would have lost his money; and I leave impartial minds to determine whether in this instance Spanish law was not more satisfactory and merciful to all parties." These remarks are contained in a letter from * Vide page 164. VOL. I. Q 226 THE LIFE OF General Picton to a friend, and form an admi- rable summing up of the whole proceedings. That we may not be called from the contem- plation of General Picton's brilliant career, which has obtained for him a lasting fame, the concluding proceedings of this prosecution are here briefly detailed. An argument on the special verdict was heard on the 10th of February 1810, when the Court ordered "the defendant's recognizance to be respited until they should further order ;" which may be said to have terminated this disgraceful prosecution. But as no judgment was ever given, we subjoin the following note which concludes the report of this case in " Howell's State Trials : " It was thought by the bar, that had the opinion of the Court been delivered, judgment would have been given against General Picton ; but that, upon a con- sideration of the merits, it would have been fol- lowed by a punishment so slight, and so little commensurate with the magnitude of the ques- tions embraced by the case, as to have reflected but little credit upon the prosecution : and I have been informed, that it was by the advice of one of the learned counsel, who greatly dis- SIR THOMAS PICTON. tinguished himself in arguing the questions which arose in this case, that it was not again agitated." And thus, in the language of a contemporary, " after a trial which seemed to have no end ; after an expense of seven thousand pounds, which must have completed his ruin, had not his venerable uncle, General W. Picton, defray- ed the whole costs of the suit, while the ex- penses of his prosecutors were all paid by the Government ; his honour and justice were esta- blished on the firmest basis, and to the perfect satisfaction of every upright mind." CHAPTER XIII. Expedition to Walcheren. Attack on and surrender of Flushing. General Picton's letter relative to this event. Appointed Governor of Flushing. The Walcheren fever. Return of General Picton to England. Sir John Moore's retreat from Corunna, and its consequences. Movements of the British Army under Lord Wellington. GENERAL PICTON had long sighed over the apparent destruction of all his professional prospects ; and to those with whom he was intimate, he frequently expressed his impa- tience at being detained in England while his old companions in arms were engaged in active service upon the Continent. Still, it was impossible for him to leave his enemies at home even for the purpose of fighting against those of his country abroad ; for no services which he might there perform would clear his reputation from the stigma which would await him on his return. From the tedious pro- cesses of the law he was almost in despair of SIR THOMAS PICTON. 229 ever being released ; and more than once dur- ing the proceedings he would have left his cause and character to the justice of the na- tion, and have sought a more active and con- genial pursuit, had not his friends dissuaded him from this wild notion, and succeeded in convincing him of the importance of his pre- sence to his defence. For nearly six years he was, therefore, com- pelled to be an inactive but anxious observer of the proceedings of our troops. He perused with feverish excitement the various accounts from Spain, and watched the movements of Sir John Moore with all the military ardour so conspicuous in his character. The disastrous retreat upon Corunna, and the death of that unfortunate general, combined to raise the true spirit of General Picton's character above every other consideration ; and early in 1 809 he made application for some active employment. The abilities of General Picton w r ere highly appreciated by his royal highness the Duke of York. The estimation in which he was held, and the flattering language in which he was spoken of, by Sir Ralph Abercromby, had obtained for him the duke's favour ; and THE LIFE OF one distinguishing feature of his royal high- ness's official character whilst holding the situ- ation of Commander-in-chief was, with very few exceptions, always to employ those officers whose abilities he considered would be most conducive to the success of his Majesty's arms. It will be remembered, that about the end of July 1809 an expedition was fitted out by the British Government, of which at that time the Duke of Portland was premier. The pre- parations were commenced early in May. To- wards the end of July a fleet assembled in the Downs, consisting of thirty-nine sail of the line and thirty-six frigates, together with a considerable number of gun-boats, bombs, and small craft ; the troops, amounting to about forty thousand men, assembled at the neigh- bouring sea-ports ; making the whole force, including seamen and marines, nearly one hun- dred thousand men. The curiosity and ex- pectation of the country were excited ; the spectacle was grateful to the pride and flatter- ing to the hopes of the nation ; and Dover, Deal, Ramsgate, and Margate were full of visitors, anxious to witness the sailing of this imposing armament. SIR THOMAS PICTON. Its destination was not long a mystery. To take possession of Flushing, and destroy the French fleet, arsenals, and dockyards up the Scheldt, was universally known to be the object of this secret expedition ; and it is even stated that so little precaution was taken to prevent this fact from being made public, that the French were actually acquainted with it in April, and then ordered Flushing and the Scheldt to be put in the best state of defence. Still, so powerful was this armament, and so confident of success were its projectors, that they appointed to the command " a man whose very name," in the words of a writer upon this expedition, " was proverbial for inactivity." This was Lord Chatham, the brother of Wil- liam Pitt.* The reason for his being selected in preference to the many more able and dis- tinguished officers was unfortunately too ap- parent : his fortune was embarrassed, and this lucrative command would improve it. But the country had to pay largely both in riches and honour for this sacrifice of national interest to private emolument. * He was, during his life, known by the nick-name of " The laic Lord Chatham." 232 THE LIFE Gi- lt was to this expedition that Major-general Picton was appointed, being on the staff of the commander-in-chief. He did not enter- tain any great opinion of the plan of this un- dertaking, and frequently expressed to Colonel Pleydel the doubts which he had of its success; and the result proved these to have been well founded. He joined the army towards the end of July; and on the 28th and 29th, the fleet, under the command of Sir Richard Strachan, got under weigh in two divisions. On arriving at Walcheren and South Beve- land, the enemy showed no disposition to make any resistance. At Flushing, however, it ap- peared that they intended to concentrate all their force, and, if possible, check the British advance. This place was accordingly invested, and by the 13th of August the batteries were completed ; at which period the frigates and smaller vessels having taken their respective stations, the bombardment commenced with considerable effect. The town suffered dread- fully, both from the shells and Congreve rockets ; and, on the following day, the line- of- battle ships cannonaded the forts for several hours, until the enemy's fire was silenced. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 233 Early the next morning, General Monnet, who commanded in Flushing, demanded a suspen- sion of hostilities for a few hours; after the ex- piration of which the town was surrendered to the British, when the garrison, consisting of about six thousand men, were made prisoners of war. Although the expedition was thus far suc- cessful, still the mode of conducting the attack was the subject of much animadversion amongst the military men of the day. It was observed that a total want of skill and energy marked the whole of the proceedings. The batteries and trenches were formed one after another without method or arrangement ; and much confusion existed in consequence of neither the officers nor soldiers attached to the en- gineer department knowing their proper situ- ations, by which the works were carried on very slowly. The troops were placed within the range of the enemy's guns before any of the necessary stores for attack were landed ; while no precautions were taken to confine the enemy to his fortifications. The men in the trenches seldom had any covering party in their front ; and the enemy's advanced picquets were 234 THE LIFE OF frequently on their flanks. It was farther observed that the island of Cadsand, the only place whence the enemy could possibly receive supplies or reinforcements, was left unoccu- pied ; and as the naval force had not interrupt- ed the communication, advantage was taken of this omission to pass three thousand men over from Cadsand to Flushing. It is not our province to enter into the jus- tice of these remarks ; but the known miscon- duct of this futile expedition certainly favours them. The following letter, written five days after the surrender of Flushing, to Colonel Pleydel, discovers General Picton's sentiments upon the occasion. " Flushing, 20th August 1809. " MY DEAR COLONEL, " I have to acknowledge your very kind letter of the 15th, which was particularly agree- able, as it contained such satisfactory informa- tion of the general's health. The letter which you allude to as having appeared in The Times I never heard a word of before ; nor have I received a line from either of those gentlemen since I left England. " I perfectly agree with you in opinion, that SIR THOMAS PICTON. 235 the obstacles to our further advance towards Antwerp are nearly insurmountable ; and I may with very little qualification say, wholly so. In my opinion, we shall not attempt any- thing further ; although we make great demon- strations, as if we were determined to proceed immediately. According to the accounts we have here, a very respectable force has been collected at Antwerp ; and all the country through which we must unavoidably pass has been completely flooded. Under such circum- stances, I trust we are too wise to commit the safety of the fleet and army ; and that we shall prudently content ourselves with the laurels which we have already gathered. " Marshal Bernadotte has arrived on the opposite shores of Cadsand, and is now busily employed in erecting mortar batteries, for the annoyance of Flushing, and of our squadron which rides at anchor in its vicinity. The dis- tance between the two islands is barely three miles, and it is apprehended that their large mortars w r ill range that distance. " I have the command in Flushing, and the neighbouring country, with four regiments. The town is a perfect heap of ruins, exhibiting THE LIFE OF a state of misery not easily conceivable. Every house has been materially damaged, and not one in twenty is in any degree habitable, or ca- pable of affording protection against either the rain or climate. The best thing we can do will be to destroy the military defences, naval ar- senal, and basin, and then withdraw our army and squadron as soon as possible. " I have fallen in with an excellent manu- script plan of Flushing, which will give you a good idea of the place and our proceedings, when I have the pleasure of meeting you : and I rather think that period is at no great distance. " With my best wishes for your health, " Believe me, &c. " THOMAS PJCTON." The opinion expressed by General Picton of the wisdom of the directors of this expedition did them no more than justice. A large force was collected at Antwerp, composed of the national guards of the Belgic provinces and those from the nearest points of France ; while the forts on the Scheldt were well manned, and every preparation made to oppose the advance of our fleet and army. The immense quantity SIR THOMAS PICTON. 237 of stores at Antwerp was partly removed, and the remainder kept ready for immediate trans- portation ; and preparations had been made for carrying the French ships higher up the river, in case the British troops had succeeded in their attempt to force the passage. All idea of pushing up the Scheldt was therefore aban- doned, and, on the 14th of September, Lord Chatham, with the greater portion of the troops, returned to England ; leaving, however, a con- siderable body to keep possession of the island of Walcheren, while a part of the fleet block- aded the river so as to enable our merchants to introduce their goods into Holland. The havoc which this pestilential spot caused amongst our troops is too well known. By the official returns it would appear that, tri- fling as were our losses from fire and sword, this was the most fatal contest in which our army was ever engaged ; nearly one half of the troops were carried off by the fever, while the majority of the others bore with them to the grave the effects of this dreadful disease. Amongst the latter was General Picton, who, shortly after the occupation of Flushing, was himself attacked, in the performance of his ar- 238 THE LIFE OF duous duties as governor, and while rendering every assistance which humanity could dictate to the sick and wounded. A strong constitution and medical skill en- abled him to survive the shock ; but its rapid progress and deadly violence in a few hours reduced him to the brink of the grave. He never, indeed, entirely recovered from the ef- fects of the malady. So soon as the immediate danger was past, he was ordered to return to England ; and in a ship like a lazar-house he was brought home. But a brief allusion to the termination of this expedition may not be uninteresting to the reader. In the month of September, at which period the fever made the most dread- ful ravages, the average number of deaths in the army was from two hundred and fifty to three hundred a week. Still the British Go- vernment could not determine either upon giving it up or retaining it. Applications were constantly made for leave to employ the peasants in the island in thicken- ing the parapets and strengthening the dilapi- dated ramparts of Flushing, but without effect, until near the end of October, when large SIR THOMAS PICTON. 239 quantities of brick and lime, together with some artificers, were sent from England. But after their arrival, the plans of the Government were changed, and in the middle of November they commenced demolishing the works and basin; and as soon as this was accomplished, the island of Walcheren was evacuated by the remains of the British troops : being, in fact, the only termination which could have been anticipated. The enemy was justly elated, while the British people saw with indignation the imbecility of those who planned and con- ducted this expensive and fatal expedition. Upon his arrival in England, General Picton was advised to visit Cheltenham, the waters of which place were recommended as the only means of recovering from that prostration of strength which the Walcheren fever had left. Thence he removed to Bath. But he was not long allowed to remain inactive ; the affairs of Europe presented an appearance anything but gratifying, and England found herself com- pelled to employ not only her wealth and arms to stop the progress of Napoleon, but even to have recourse to defensive preparations, which presented quite a novel feature in her history. 240 THE LIFE OF The unfortunate evacuation of Spain, conse- quent on the retreat of Sir John Moore, and the inability of the small force in Portugal to offer an effectual resistance to the advance of Soult, and afterwards of Massena, gave confi- dence to the enemies of England ; while her allies, who were watching anxiously for some proof of her military prowess, began to doubt her power to co-operate with them. The people of Spain were making brave but hopeless struggles against the king who had been placed upon their throne by Napoleon, and who was sustained in that position solely by the presence of a French army. Austria had been beaten down in the unequal conflict ; and it appeared that, unless England could ani- mate some of the vanquished states to a fresh struggle, the whole of continental Europe must fall beneath the power of Napoleon, who would then have but one, and that his dearest hope, to realize, the conquest of Great Britain. The master-mind of Wellington was, how- ever, embracing the whole position and re- sources of the situation in which he was placed. To rescue Spain at this moment was impossible : too much dissension existed in that country to SIR THOMAS PICTON. 241 hope for that unanimous co-operation which alone could render her struggles successful ; and it cannot be doubted that Lord Wellesley had now to feel the effects of Sir John Moore's want of success in co-operating with the natu- rally indolent Spaniards, when the first effer- vescence of patriotism stimulated them to ex- ertions foreign to their character. Sir John Moore seems to have doubted when he might perhaps have had confidence : but if he had stirred up and kept alive the spirit of the mo- ment, he would probably have rescued Spain, instead of leaving her to be overrun by an army far inferior, at least in numbers, to that which the English general might have headed. It is true the Spanish army was at this moment ill organized and worse armed ; but they were nu- merous and brave, and possessed a hatred for their invaders, which would have excited them to an obstinate defence. Fighting by the side of British troops, whose cool resolution and steady discipline would have been a check upon their intemperate impetuosity, their ef- forts would have been directed by experienced judgment to the most vulnerable and therefore most advantageous points of attack. VOL. I. R THE LIFE OF Sir John Moore could not have suffered more either in privations, losses, or fame, by risking a battle in the interior of Spain, than he did in his retreat to Corunna; and the same heroism and skill which there enabled this miserable and disorganized remnant of the British army, not only to check, but even to obtain a victory over their pursuers, might have spared them the necessity of a retreat. But it was too late, they fought for safety, and not victory. It has been asserted in vindication of Sir John Moore, that, from the inspections which he had been enabled to make of the Spanish forces, he was convinced that to depend upon them to the same extent as upon regular troops, or even to operate at all with them, would be to expose his army to almost certain defeat. He accordingly waited until the Spaniards were sufficiently organized to be effective ; but, by some extraordinary mismanagement or inacti- vity amongst those whose duty it was to drill the recruits, many months were occupied in accomplishing badly what any sergeant in our service would be ashamed of not doing well in the same number of weeks ; and, in SIR THOMAS PICTON. consequence, every officer sent by the British general to watch the state of the Spanish levies returned with the same report, that they were in a miserable state as to discipline, although the public and official documents of the supreme Junta assured him that it was quite the re- verse. But as the information received by the Junta itself was no less imperfect than that which was forwarded to Sir John Moore, it ceases to be a matter of surprise that it should condemn the English general, and ac- cuse the British nation of having deserted the Spanish cause, when every assistance had been rendered in co-operating with it. According to these reports, Sir John Moore had at one period of the campaign no less than one hundred and twenty thousand men ready to act under his command. These were, however, spread over a great extent, and possessed in some instances a very imperfect line of communication. Still, no effort was made to concentrate this force, and thus to form any effectual opposition to the advance of Napoleon and Soult. The consequences are well known; the Spanish armies were beaten in detail : first, that of General Blake, at Espi- R 2 244 THE LIFE OF nosa ; then that of the Conde de Belvidere, who commanded the army of Estremadura. Cas- taiios, at the head of the armies of Andalusia and Arragon, now alone remained of the three " large Spanish armies" which had tempted the British Government to send a force to Spain. Castanos would have retreated upon the defeat of the other two generals ; but he was deceived into an action, and met the French near Tudela. The result was certain ; his young soldiers fought bravely, but were beaten. Napoleon having thus removed those impe- diments to his grand operations, which would otherwise have divided his force, next moved towards Madrid, with the intention of driv- ing the English out of Spain. The suc- cess of his plans, the disastrous retreat of our army, the compulsory though gallant defence of its embarkation at Corunna, together with the death of Sir John Moore, are all too well known to need recapitulation. We have been tempted to digress from our subject thus far in order to show the position of affairs at the time when General Picton joined Lord Wellington, and we cannot better SIR THOMAS PiCTON. 245 conclude this part of our narrative than in the words of a gallant officer who served under the command of Sir John Moore in this memorable campaign. " Perhaps the British army has produced some abler men than Sir John Moore ; it has certainly produced many who, in point of mi- litary talent, were and are quite his equals ; but it cannot, and perhaps never could, boast of one more beloved, not by his own personal friends alone, but by every individual that served under him. It would be affectation to deny that Sir John Moore, during his dis- astrous retreat, issued many orders in the high- est degree painful to the feelings of honour- able men, who felt that their conduct had not merited them. His warmest admirers have acknowledged this, and his best friends have lamented it. But, in all probability, no one would have lamented it more heartily than himself, had he lived to review in a moment of calmness the general conduct of this cam- paign ; because there never lived a man pos- sessed of a better heart, nor, in ordinary cases, of a clearer judgment."* * Marquis of Londonderry's Narrative. 246 THE LIFE OF Returning to the period when Lord Welling- ton was compelled, in order to avoid being placed in the same situation as his predecessor, to move his army into Portugal, and there to assume a defensive position, it will be perceived that all attempts made by the English general to obtain the co-operation of the Spaniards in an efficient degree proved unavailing. The recollection of Sir John Moore's inde- cision, and his retreat when (according to the opinion and belief of the Junta) everything had been done by Spain which Spain could do, doubtless rendered them cautious of con- fiding in British aid, and even uncertain of our abilities. By such a man as Lord Wellington, want of decision in military operations must have been considered a crime ; and unwill- ing to be made responsible for the vacillat- ing conduct of the Spanish leaders and go- vernment, he resolved by one determined step to make himself independent of their move- ments, and, after having gathered strength, to rescue them and their country from the des- potism of France, even without relying upon any assistance from themselves. Another strong inducement on the part of SIR THOMAS PICTON. 247 Lord Wellington for quitting Spain, was the total neglect of his army by those whose duty it was to supply it with provisions and forage. In a letter to the Marquis of Wellesley, dated the 18th of August, upon this subject, he says: " Since the 22nd of last month, the horses have not received their regular deliveries of barley, and the infantry not ten days' bread. # * * * * # " Fifty thousand men are collected upon a spot which cannot afford subsistence for ten thousand, and there are no means of sending to a distance to make good the deficiency : the Junta have issued orders, which, for want of arrangement, there are no persons to obey ; and the army would perish here, if I were to remain, before the supplies could arrive." THE LIFE OF CHAPTER XIV. Retreat of the British army upon Torres Vedras. Gener Picton receives orders to join the army in Spain. His anxiety to reach the field of operation. Appointed to the command of the Third Division. Skirmishes and man- oeuvres of General Crawfurd. WHEN the British general announced his intention of falling back upon Portugal, the Spanish government pretended great astonish- ment. The sincerity of their surprise might however be doubted, from the simple fact that they had long since been prepared for such a measure, not only by circumstances but even by public announcements. Still they were determined to be surprised ; and when the reality of Lord Wellington's designs could no longer be misunderstood, they offer- ed to supply him with everything which he demanded; but as their promises were not to be relied on, he turned a deaf ear to their fears SIR THOMAS PICTON. 249 as well as their remonstrances, and on the 4th of August 1809, crossed the Tagus by the bridge of Arzobispo, and established his head-quarters at Deleytoza. The force of the enemy at this time in Spain was supposed to be little short of one hundred and thirty thousand men ; of these, thirty-five thousand were employed in Arragon and Ca- talonia, and the remainder in the two Castiles and Estremadura ; while, to oppose them, Lord Wellington had only twenty-three thousand British capable of bearing arms, together with about seventy thousand Spanish troops dis- persed in different parts of the country, badly armed and worse disciplined. Still their num- bers, and the dearth of information under which the French generals laboured, owing to the ill-will of the inhabitants, gave to these armies a formidable appearance, which pre- vented Soult from concentrating his force against the British, and overwhelming them before they could reach the lines of Torres Vedras ; and even when Lord Wellington was established in that extraordinary position, the apprehension of being attacked in the rear by the whole Spanish nation, compelled Soult to 250 THE LIFE OF leave a large army to watch their move- ments. It might have been supposed that the many victories which the French had obtained over the Spaniards would have made them despise their attacks. Soult had, in fact, learned to look with contempt upon them as regular soldiers, and in consequence directed his personal efforts against the British forces. But Joseph Bona- parte, placed upon the throne of Spain by Napo- leon, without any of the abilities necessary to support the crown of an usurper, felt that his only security was in his brother's arms ; when- ever Soult, therefore, wanted any reinforce- ments to carry on his operations, Joseph always had some remarkably good reason for refusing them. Had it not been for this connection of interests and plans amongst the French com- manders, Soult would doubtless have run any hazard to bring Lord Wellington to a battle before he was enabled to fall back upon Lisbon ; nay, had he known the exact numbers of the British, it is more than probable that he would have made the attempt with the army which he commanded : but, fortunately for the fate of Europe, the numbers of the British were greatly SIR THOMAS PICTON. 251 exaggerated, while those of the enemy were proportionably underrated. Lord Wellington did not therefore hurry his retreat, because he did not know the strength of his opponent ; while Soult did not push on his advance to cut him off from Lisbon for the same reason. On the morning of the llth the army re- sumed its march, and arrived at Jaraicejo on the same day ; from thence, on the 20th, it con- tinued its route by Truxillo, Maejador, Mede- lin, and Merida. While the head-quarters of the army were at this latter place, a despatch came from Lord Wellesley, who had long been at Madrid trying to model the Junta into some- thing like a consistent body. In this letter he informed Lord Wellington of the terror of the Junta, and the general alarm and confusion of the people, at being left to the defence of their own troops ; for such was in point of fact the only interpretation which could be put upon their fears. Lord Wellesley, wishing to give them confidence, then proposed to Lord Wel- lington that he should endeavour to cover An- dalusia by taking up a position behind the Gua- diana, so that his left should rest upon the fron- tier of Portugal ; adding, however, this remark, 252 THE LIFE OF " I am fully sensible not only of the indelicacy, but of the inutility, of attempting to offer you any opinion of mine in a situation where your own judgment must be the best guide." Upon receiving this despatch, Lord Wel- lington halted at Merida for a few days, but he was ultimately obliged to refuse all further co-operation with the Spanish Junta. Being, however, unwilling entirely to abandon the seat of war, and at the same time being desir- ous of giving his troops a little rest and confi- dence from the dispiriting effects of constant retreat, he put the army in cantonments on the banks of the Guadiana, occupying Badajoz, Elvas, Campo-mayor, &c. This position en- sured to him either an uninterrupted retreat upon Lisbon, or advance into Spain, as cir- cumstances might render advisable ; while, at the same time, abundance of forage and provi- sions could be obtained from the surrounding country. The sickness in the army at this period was of a most alarming nature ; it had prevailed amongst the troops to a considerable extent ; but with inactivity it appeared to gain addi- tional violence, and during the stay of the allies : SIR THOMAS PICTON. 253 in these cantonments there were frequently from eight to nine thousand men in the hos- pitals at one time. Still, however, they re- mained at this place until December. It was now that the Spaniards were made to suffer the consequences of their vacillat- ing and treacherous conduct. Their armies were beaten in nearly all directions. The fatal battle of Ocana, with the unprofitable suc- cess and afterwards disastrous defeat on the heights of Tormes, destroyed the remnants of the Spanish armies ; while the French were left unmolested to advance into the south of Spain, and threaten Portugal by entering the province of Beira. To effect the first object, Joseph Bonaparte at once put himself at the head of a large army, having under him Soult as his major-general, with Victor, Mortier, and Sebastiani each in command of his own corps. Napoleon had just conquered Germany; the fatal battle of Wagram having, according to many, decided the fate of Europe ; and the Peninsula, it was supposed, must ere long sub- mit to the united forces of the French ge- nerals. It is said that Napoleon expressed dissatis- 254 THE LIFE OF faction at the inactivity and imperfect success of Joseph : to beat the Spaniards was, in the opinion of the conqueror at Wagram, hardly de- serving of praise ; the expulsion of the British forces was his ambition and his hope. While an English soldier was in the field against him, he felt that he had to contend with an enemy that he respected ; and he now resolved to turn the whole of his strength against Wellington and his little band. Spain was almost entirely subdued ; Albuquerque, the only Spanish ge- neral who deserved the gratitude of his coun- try, in opposition to the supreme Junta, and entirely on his own responsibility, flew to de- fend Cadiz, the only place of strength that still held out in the cause of patriotism* Joseph, who had again established his au- thority in the capital, pushed on Soult to in- vest Cadiz before the arrival of the Spanish general ; but Albuquerque, despising the warn- ing instructions of the Junta, by great exer- tions contrived to reach that city just two days before the French army: by which decided measure the fortress was put in such a state of defence, that a large French army was occupied in its investment for nearly two years, thus SIR THOMAS PICTON. 255 weakening the force employed against the allies in Portugal. Lord Wellington now became apprehensive for the fate of Lisbon. The French had received large levies, and were evidently preparing to attack Portugal by the most vulnerable points, Ciudad Rodrigo and Almeida ; and they were only waiting until the winter was over to commence their march. The English general had not, however, suffi- cient men to study convenience or seasons, and was compelled to make up by diligence and activity for the inadequacy of the force with which he had to contend against a numerous and victorious enemy. It should here be observed, that during the cantonment of the troops on the banks of the Guadiana, Lord Wellington was forwarding the construction of those stupendous lines of defence which he now looked forward to as the only present means of keeping a British force in Portugal. At the same time that he was forming the lines of Torres Vedras, he was organising the troops to defend them ; and Portugal was preparing an army under his di- rection, which he hoped would be worthy of fighting by the side of English soldiers. He 256 THE LIFE OF had apparently resolved in his own mind, that upon the defence of Lisbon depended the fate of Europe, and the result certainly confirmed both his judgment and abilities. The cantonment around Badajoz was broken up on the 15th of December, when, with as little delay as possible, the army was marched in twenty-one days into the valley of the Mondego, in the very centre of the province of Beira. The advance, under General Craw- furd, took up a position in front of Almeida, his patrols extending as far as Ciudad Rodrigo ; General Hill was in the mean time posted with about ten thousand men at Abrantes, to protect Lisbon on the south, the right flank of the army, and watch Badajoz ; the head- quarters being at Viseu, while that of the Portuguese w r as at Thorn ar, in which place and its neighbouring villages the troops were quartered. The improvement in the health of the allied army was the first beneficial result apparent from this change of position : in addition to which, both provisions and forage were much more abundant. The British army was so posted as to form a line of defence from the SIR THOMAS PICTON. 257 Tagus to the Douro, with General Hill, as be- fore mentioned, on the extreme right ; his right being again protected by Elvas and Badajoz, which latter was then held by Rom an a, botli places having a respectable garrison. Still, it could not be supposed that either of these for- tresses could arrest the march of Mortier and Regnier, (who were then at Merida with about twenty thousand men,) provided those generals should advance by this route upon Lisbon. General Hill's position consequently gave per- fect security to our army in its retreat upon the lines of Torres Vedras, as the force under his command could at all events defend the passage of the Tagus until Lord Wellington's army was enabled to fall back to his assistance. Much manoeuvring took place between these generals ; whenever Mortier advanced towards Badajoz, Hill pushed his army on in the same direction to its relief, which was no sooner per- ceived than the French general again fell back to his former position ; but it afterwards be- came evident that this was done only for the purpose of diverting the attention of the Bri- tish commander-in-chief from the vast prepara- tions which were being made in the interior, VOL. i. s 258 THE LIFE OF and the immense levies of troops which were marching in from France, and proceeding to the frontier of Portugal, in order to overwhelm the British force at one blow upon the com- mencement of the ensuing campaign. Our subject does not impose upon us a de- tailed account of the events of this war; but a general outline of the proceedings of the al- lied armies is necessary, inasmuch as those pro- ceedings are connected with the military ca- reer of General Picton. The letters of the general describe more par- ticularly the different engagements in which he was concerned ; and it is therefore neces- sary to follow the progress of the army, and more especially that of the third division, in order to give connexion to the narrative. With this design, we have recapitulated the proceedings of the allies up to the period when General Picton first held a command, in order that their situation may be clearly un- derstood. It was the good fortune of Sir Thomas Pic- ton to join the British army at the precise mo- ment when the reverses and disappointments to which it had hitherto been exposed had SIR THOMAS PICTON. 259 ceased. But, perhaps, the real state of the resources of Great Britain, and the position of our affairs, cannot be better expressed than by the following remarks. " Never at any period had the cloud which lowered on the cause of Spanish liberty shed a darker or more impenetrable gloom. Those whose confidence in the zeal, the devotion, the native and untamed energy of the Spanish people, had led them to predict a successful termination to the contest, now wavered in their hope. The British government, urged by the enthusiasm of the people, had at first rushed blindfold into the contest : the vast re- sources of England had been inefficiently wast- ed, her utmost efforts had been found unequal to arrest the progress of the French arms, and the lamentable expedition to the Scheldt had exposed the counsels of her rulers to the ridi- cule of Europe." * This was unfortunately not an exaggerated picture, and there was not a much more flat- tering prospect in the perspective. A defen- sive war is never gratifying to the pride of a nation ; and the desertion of Spain, and * Annals of the Peninsular Campaign. 260 THE LIFE OF subsequent retreat towards Lisbon, were con- sidered by the majority of the people of Eng- land as only a preliminary to the total eva- cuation of Portugal, either at the point of the enemy's bayonets, or by a more speedy but even yet more disgraceful retreat before their approach. Lord Wellington did not assure the government of success in his attempt to defend Lisbon ; but he remarked, that if he were supported, he had every reason to ex- pect it. He wanted arms, soldiers, money, and officers. The government could not pro- mise him much; dissatisfaction was naturally excited at its wavering and imbecile policy in entering into one enterprise without reflec- tion, and then, instead of pursuing it with vigour, plunging into another where no hope of success could exist. Ministers now, however resolved to direct the whole resources of the country to assist Lord Wellington in keeping a footing on the Peninsula : but these were now so few, that the British general had much difficulty in obtaining sufficient means to sup- port his army ; while reinforcements of men arrived so slowly, that Lord Wellington soon discovered that he could place little depen- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 261 dence upon any promised succours from England. Some valuable officers were, how- ever, added to his staff, and amongst them, early in 1810, may be enumerated General Picton. It has already been observed that he had been suffering for some time from the remains of the Walcheren fever : he was now remain- ing at Bath in order to recruit his impaired constitution. While at this place, he received orders to join the army in Portugal imme- diately : and, although far from being restored to perfect health, he obeyed with the greatest alacrity, and made preparations to embark. The service in which he was now about to engage was, according to his own words, " one in which a man could not fail to gain honour, if he only did his duty ; while, if he wished to distinguish himself, there was plenty of room." And he used frequently to remark, previously to his joining the army, " that to fight against the arms of Napoleon was more worthy a British soldier, than to war against the troops of any other nation in the world." General Picton's anxiety to reach the field of operation made him facilitate his arrange- 262 THE LIFE OF ments at home, with a noble desire, as wrote to an old and esteemed friend, to con- vince the people of England, that if ever he was guilty of an act injurious to the interests or honour of his country, it was the fault of his judgment, and not in accordance with the dearest wishes of his heart. " I will," he adds, " show them that my only desire for fame is, that by deserving it I may benefit my country ; that if I obtain honour, it may be to her glory ; and if my life is shed in her service, that she will do my memory justice." The remains of the deadly complaint which he had imbibed at Walcheren still lurked about his system ; but his was not a spirit to be restrained by bodily infirmity. Regardless of every selfish consideration, he embarked with feelings certainly soured by the persecution and injustice to which he had been exposed, but still ardent in the cause for which he was about to fight, and ambitious to distinguish himself in the coming struggle. The head-quarters of the army of Welling- ton were at Viseu when General Picton ar- rived in Portugal, and he was immediately appointed to the commaind of the third divi- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 263 sion of the army. This division was composed of the following regiments : BRIGADES. C45th Reg. 1st bat. Colonel Mackmnon, j ^ R ^ . ^ lgt bat< C5ih Reg.; 2nd bat. 58th ; Major-Gen. Lightburne, < ditto 83rd; ditto 1st comp. 5th (bat. of 60th Reg. These forces, thus placed under the com- mand of General Picton, were quartered in the neighbourhood of Celerico. The first divi- sion, under General Spencer, was at Viseu ; the second, under General Hill, at Abrantes ; the fourth, under General Cole, at Guarda; and the light division, under General Crawfurd^ at Pinhel ; while the cavalry, commanded by General Cotton, was stationed along the banks of the river Mondego: the total amount of British troops at this moment in the field being twenty-three thousand four hundred men. The English general was now awaiting the advance of the French ; his design being to re- tard their progress, so that they should exhaust their resources before he drew them into the snare which he had been so long and skilfully preparing. He therefore caused the fortresses 264 THE LIFE OF of Ciudad Rodrigo and Almeida to be put in as efficient a state of defence as they would admit of, and reinforced the garrisons. The lines of Torres Vedras were already in an ad- vanced state of preparation to receive the army, and all was anxiety for the opening of the campaign. But little was, however, expected from this small army. In England, the affairs of Portugal were the subject of continual ri- dicule ; the very idea that so small a force as twenty-four thousand men would be able to resist the whole French army, was looked upon as so absurd, that those who had ha- zarded their reputation upon the result were afterwards at a loss how to account for their want of foresight ; while in France there was but one opinion, and this amounted to a cer- tainty, that "the miserable few composing the remnant of the British army would be driven into the sea, and Massena would have possession of Portugal within seventeen days after his army was put in motion." Lord Wellington was not ignorant that these opi- nions were generally expressed, and that him- self and his army were objects of ridicule not only in France but to his own countrymen : SIR THOMAS PICTON. 265 nevertheless he had confidence in himself and in his soldiers ; he estimated at their due value the fears of his countrymen and the hopes of his enemies ; looked back upon his lines, and with unwavering resolution determined to disregard both. During this period of apparent inactivity, the confidence of the troops was kept up by the skirmishes and manoeuvres of the light division, under General Crawfurd. With this division, which had served under Sir John Moore, and which was in the most perfect state of discipline, General Crawfurd com- menced a series of daring, although not very profitable, manoeuvres, which were for a time the wonder and admiration of the whole army. Crawfurd's original proposition to Lord Wel- lington was, that he should advance to the river Agueda, while General Cole should move his division from Guarda to protect the line of the Coa. Colonel Napier* says, " But that general (Cole) would not quit his own position at Guarda, and Lord Wellington approving, and yet desirous to secure the line of the Coa, with * In his able " History of the Peninsular War," 266 THE LIFE OF a view to succour Ciudad Rodrigo, brought up the third division to Pinhel." The singular wording of this sentence admits of rather an extraordinary interpretation, and would even imply that General Crawfurd planned and exe- cuted these manoeuvres without orders from, or the authority of, Lord Wellington : for Crawfurd's proposition was of course made to him ; and General Cole telling the commander of the forces that he would not quit his position, would be rather an unprecedented measure, and certainly not one at all suited to the determined and uncompromising character of Wellington. If, on the contrary, Crawfurd made the pro- position to General Cole, and that officer had then said he would not move, Crawfurd must have acted, if not without the concurrence, at least without the support, of Lord Wellington. Instead of General Cole having refused to move his division to the Coa, it is much more pro- bable that Lord Wellington, considering Craw- furd's proposition as likely to involve the se- curity of his line, made the alteration which Colonel Napier states. For it cannot be de- nied, that if the fourth division had been re- moved from Guarda to Pinhel, the rear and SIR THOMAS PICTON. 267 right of the British position would have been exposed ; whereas, by the advance of Picton's division, the centre was only thrown more for- ward : and doubtless it was this consideration, and not the opposition of General Cole, which gave rise to the rejection of this part of General Crawfurd's proposition. General Picton was accordingly ordered to move his division to Pinhel, with instructions to support Crawfurd in case it should be neces- sary ; but, at the same time, strictly to avoid an action with the enemy, unless compelled by imperative circumstances. The French army under Massena (now Prince of Essling, and whom Napoleon used to call " the favourite child of Victory,") was now placed in extend- ed divisions between San Felizes, Ledesma, and Salamanca, making active preparations for opening the campaign by the attack of Ciu- dad Rodrigo. The principal object of General Crawfurd's operations was to give confidence to that garrison, protect some villages between the Azava and Coa from the depredations of the French, and to enable the British army to draw such resources from the protected country as would otherwise have been drained by the enemy. 268 THE LIFE OF The position of Crawfurd and his division was, however, one of extreme danger, and re- quired all that activity for which he was so much distinguished. His troops were at the same time in so perfect a state of command, that the whole division could upon any occa- sion, whether of surprise or otherwise, be in order of battle, with the baggage packed and in the rear, in less than a quarter of an hour. The war which he carried on was of a maraud- ing and desultory nature- The French were too deeply engaged in preparing to drive the British army into the sea, to pay much atten- tion to the bold movements of so small a force ; and only an occasional skirmish between the hostile foraging parties enabled Crawfurd's troops to convince themselves that the French cavalry were not invincible ; for in these little affairs the British cavalry were generally vic- torious. It is, however, quite evident that Lord Wel- lington could never, in accordance with the plans which he had marked out for the defence of Portugal, have intended for one moment that Crawfurd should risk a general engage- ment ; and knowing the fiery and determined SIR THOMAS PICTON. spirit of that officer, it is a matter of surprise that he should have entrusted him with so mo- mentous a command. Picton, cool and immov- able, of a character totally opposed to that of Crawfurd, was, it is true, ordered to support him in case of his involving himself, which it would appear the commander of the forces thought probable : but Picton knew the deli- cacy of that duty ; he knew that if, through the rashness of Crawfurd, he should be under the necessity of bringing his division to rescue him from the enemy, and in his turn should require to be supported by General Cole with the fourth division, that consequences might ensue which all the skill and foresight of Lord Wellington would not be able to repair or guard against. How he acted when called upon by General Crawfurd for his assistance, together with the remarks made upon his con- duct by Colonel Napier, will presently be de- veloped. 270 THE LIFE OF CHAPTER XV. Investment of Ciudad Rodrigo. Picton's opinion of the situation of the Army. Operations of General Crawfurd. Fall of Ciudad Rodrigo, and advance of the French army Death of Colonel Talbot. Affair of the Coa Colonel Napier's account, and remarks thereon. Charge against General Picton refuted. ABOUT the end of April, upon the French general making a movement towards Ciudad Rodrigo by advancing the sixth corps, Lord Wellington changed his head-quarters to Cele- rico ; the corps of Sir Rowland Hill still re- maining in the vicinity of Abrantes, to protect Lisbon and the rear of the British position from the attack of Regnier by the way of Alentejo. On the 26th of April, the French invest- ed Ciudad Rodrigo, having about twenty- five thousand men beneath the walls. The position of Lord Wellington and the English army was at this moment one of great interest. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 271 The Spanish garrison naturally looked for re- lief from their allies, nay, it had almost been promised to them ; but, excepting that the British general moved his head-quarters a little nearer to the frontier, no demonstration was made even to co-operate with the besieged. The army was anxious to be led to the attack ; but those officers who knew the magnitude of Lord Wellington's plans, saw the necessity for re- straining its ardour ; and the remark of General Picton upon this trying and peculiar situation is still remembered by a friend who cherishes his memory. " If," he observed, " we attempt to relieve the place, the French will drive us out of Portugal ; while, if they get possession of it, they will lose time, which is more im- portant to them than Ciudad Rodrigo; but they have got to find this out." The event proved that this check to the advance of the French, by wasting their resources, and giving the British nation time to recover from the effects of the unfortunate expedition to the Scheldt, saved the Peninsula. The opinion of General Picton may here again be given from the same authority, to the effect that, " had the French, instead of THE LIFE OF wasting their time in the attack on Chi dad Rodrigo and Almeida, pushed boldly on, Mas- sena in front and Regnier in flank, by the way of Alentejo, the result would have been much more doubtful. Hill's division," he observed, " many of which were Portuguese, could not have resisted the French army of Estremadura ; while, although it would have cost Massena a considerable number of men to force the differ- ent positions which the allied army could take up to check the enemy, still, as the French were at this period nearly three to one, the majority of them old soldiers, and all well dis- ciplined, he must have ultimately succeeded against the allied army, one-half of which was composed of Portuguese, upon whom entire de- pendance could not be placed. In addition to this," he observed, " that if the French had moved upon Alentejo with anything like de- termination or force, Lord Wellington must have at once retreated into the lines, or at least to the support of Hill ; when little could have been done to stop the advance of Massena until the British army was behind the lines of Torres Vedras." General Picton, nevertheless, had a favour- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 273 able opinion of the position selected by Lord Wellington, and always spoke of his operations in Portugal with the most unqualified appro- bation. The Marquis of Londonderry, in his " Narrative," referring to the same period to which these remarks apply, observes, "There were indeed many persons in the army who saw something of risk in our advanced situa- tion ;" and it is therefore to be presumed that others had their apprehensions of the success of Lord Wellington's plans. Picton, however, penetrated the designs of his illustrious com- mander, and did homage to his consummate skill. But it is necessary to return to the pro- ceedings of General Crawfurd, whose rashness might have involved the whole army of Wel- lington, by compelling him either to come to a general engagement with the enemy, or to make a hurried retreat within the first line of defence. The result of the former would have been too doubtful for Lord Wellington to risk, with his disparity of force; while the latter would have caused the immediate surrender of Ciudad Rodrigo, and afterwards that of Al- rneida. VOL. i. T 274 THE LIFE OF The details of the latter part of these opera- tions are here more particularly entered into, as the conduct and character of General Picton are called in question by a modern writer, upon perhaps as serious an accusation as could be brought against a British officer, namely that of neglecting his professional duty for the in- dulgence of personal animosity. General Crawfurd maintained his position upon the Agueda river and the stream of Azava, even after the French had commenced their operations against Ciudad Rodrigo; but in the beginning of June, about four thousand of their cavalry crossed the Agueda, when Crawfurd fell back to the neighbourhood of Gallegos, being still sufficiently near the be- sieged fortress to continue the confidence of the garrison and its hope of assistance in case of a favourable opportunity ; while, further to produce this impression upon the defenders of Ciudad Rodrigo, Lord Wellington about this period moved his head-quarters to a village about half-way between Celerico and Almeida, sending Crawfurd at the same time the Four- teenth and Sixteenth Light Dragoons to assist him in maintaining his present position. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 275 The Spaniards naturally concluded that these advance movements were preparatory to an attempt to relieve the besieged fortress ; but such does not appear to have been the intention of Lord Wellington. Had Massena been im- provident enough (which the English general could hardly have expected) to detach many troops from the army before Rodrigo, Lord Wellington, by his situation, was enabled quick- ly to concentrate his force upon the besiegers, and probably compel them to raise the siege. Crawfurd, with his two additional regiments of cavalry and some Spaniards, became more daring in his movements, and ventured upon several skirmishes with the enemy. The hos- tile force was, however, too overwhelming to allow him more than a momentary advan- tage: nevertheless, he determined to contest the ground. Massena, having now fully invested and nearly reduced Ciudad Rodrigo, commenced his advance upon the allied position. After having in vain tried to provoke Lord Wel- lington to an attempt to relieve the fortress, columns of infantry were collected in the neighbourhood of Marialva, which, with five 276 THE LIFE OF regiments of cavalry and some artillery, early on the morning of the 4th of July, crossed the Azava, by the ford in front of Crawfurd's posi- tion ; when the cavalry, coming on with great rapidity, drove in the British videttes, and then continued its advance, in spite of some horse-artillery which opened upon them a gall- ing fire. The allied infantry were compelled to retire in the direction of Almeida, some German and British horse covering their rear ; when, passing the bridge over a small brook near Almeida, the French met with a tem- porary check by the spirited charge of the German hussars, who, led by a gallant officer named Captain Kraiichenberg, dashed boldly at the advancing squadron while they were attempting at a furious pace to follow the British troops. The charge of this small body was successful, and the enemy was for a mo- ment driven back. The column of French in- fantry soon, however, crossed the stream at various fords; but when in front of Almei- da, instead of pushing on, they were easily repulsed by a few volleys from the Portuguese Cacadores, and gave up the pursuit. Crawfurd was, notwithstanding, under the necessity of SIR THOMAS PICTON. 277 falling back and taking up a new position near Fort Conception. On the morning of the llth, an affair took place which caused a considerable sensation in the army. General Crawfurd had discovered that the enemy's patrols were in the con- stant habit of pillaging the villages and ham- lets in his front, and he determined, if possi- ble, to cut them off in their retreat. Accord- ingly he arranged his movements by setting out at midnight, so as to get between them and their main body, with about six hundred cavalry ; but by some accident Crawfurd, in an attempt to discover a shorter path, lost his way, and while his squadron was in an extended line, and not at all prepared for an attack, they came upon a French patrol, consist- ing of about two hundred infantry, with thirty troopers, posted in a kind of steep defile, up which the British had to pass in order to get at them. A charge was instantly made by the hussars in front ; but as the infantry were quickly formed into square, they only suc- ceeded in driving off the small body of the enemy's cavalry. They, however, rode boldly on to attack the square; but were received with 278 THE LIFE OF so steady and well-directed a fire, that they were compelled to wheel and make way for the next squadron. But this was equally unsuc- cessful; the square was uninjured. A third at- tempt was, however, made: the brave Colonel Talbot, with four squadrons of the Fourteenth Dragoons, led the charge : they dashed rapidly forward, nor drew rein until the enemy's bay- onets were at their horses' breasts ; when the French, having reserved their fire, poured in a volley which brought down fourteen troopers and their brave leader. The remainder wheel- ed off; when General Crawfurd, despairing of success against infantry, and being deceived by some bodies of his own cavalry into a belief that the enemy were advancing upon him in force, ordered a retreat. The loss sustained in this contest was thirty men killed or wounded, be- sides Colonel Talbot, who was amongst the slain ; while the effect produced upon the army, and more especially the cavalry, by this unsuccessful rencontre, was at this moment particularly depressing. This affair took place the day after the fall of Ciudad Rodrigo, which, after a brave and protracted resistance, being unable any longer SIR THOMAS PICTON. 279 to contend unsupported against the over- whelming force by which it was surrounded, was compelled to surrender. Massena accord- ingly, after having lost many men and much time, which was to him the more valuable, was, at the expiration of ten weeks, en- abled to take possession of this stronghold. By this success a large portion of his army was released, and he was at liberty to make a further advance against the English posi- tion. Accordingly, on the 21st, the French cavalry were pushed forward in the direction of Almeida ; when Crawfurd, having blown up Fort Conception, fell back under the protec- tion of Almeida ; and it was generally believed that he intended by this retrograde movement to pass the river Coa, and again resume his po- sition in the British line. But it should here be observed, that Lord Wellington had given him positive directions " not to fight beyond the Coa :" his orders being, according to the Marquis of London- derry, " that he should by every possible means avoid an action; and that, as soon as he became aware of the approach of an enemy, he should retire, with ample space 280 THE LIFE OF between, to the opposite bank of the river :" and that these orders might be clearly un- derstood, they were repeated. Nevertheless, instead of making sure of his retreat, he made every preparation to repulse the enemy. But the degree of obedience which he paid to these orders from Lord Wellington cannot be better expressed than by the following copy of his report, dated " Carvalhal, July 25th. " MY LORD, " I have the honour to report to your lord- ship, that yesterday morning the enemy ad- vanced to attack the light division, with be- tween three and four thousand cavalry, a con- siderable number of guns, and a large body of infantry. On the first appearance of the heads of the columns, the cavalry and brigade of artillery attached to the division advanced to support the picquets ; and Captain Ross, with four guns, was for some time engaged with those attached to the enemy's cavalry, which were of much larger calibre. As the immense superiority of the enemy's force dis- played itself, we fell back gradually towards the fortress (Almeida), upon the right of which SIR THOMAS PICTON. 281 the infantry of the division was posted, hav- ing its left in some enclosures near the wind- mill, about eight hundred yards from the place, and its right to the Coa, in a very broken and extensive position, which it was absolute- ly necessary to occupy, in order to cover the passage of the cavalry and artillery through the long defile leading to the bridge. After this was effected, the infantry retired by de- grees, and in as good order as it was possible for them in ground so extremely intricate. A position close in front of the bridge was maintained as long as was necessary to give time for the troops which had passed to take up one behind the river ; and the bridge was afterwards defended with the greatest gallantry, though, I am sorry to say, with considerable loss, by the Forty-third and part of the Ninety- fifth regiments. Towards the afternoon the firing ceased ; and after it was dark, I with- drew the troops from the Coa and retired to this place. " The troops behaved with the greatest gal- lantry. (Signed) R. CRAWFURD." " To Lord Viscount Wellington, &c. &c." 282 THE LIFE OF The reader has here General Crawfurd's own statement of this affair ; Colonel Napier has, however, given another. It is necessary to quote a portion of that writer's account of this transaction. It is not intended to bring an accusation against Colonel Napier of in- dulging in any personal ill-will towards the memory of Sir Thomas Picton. There is no reason to believe that these two officers were ever in communication ; if they had been, it is not probable that Colonel Napier would have accused him of forgetting his duty to indulge in private animosity. After giving the details of General Crawfurd's retreat to the bridge of Coa, Colonel Napier thus continues : " As the regiments passed the bridge, they planted themselves in loose order on the side of the mountain. The artil- lery drew up on the summit, and the cavalry were disposed in parties on the roads to the right ; because two miles higher up the stream there were fords, and beyond them the bridge of Castello Bom ; and it was to be apprehend- ed, that while the sixth corps was in front, the reserves and a division of the eighth corps, then on the Agueda, might pass at those SIR THOMAS PICTON. 283 places, and get between the division and Ce- lerico. The river was, however, rising fast from the rains, and it was impossible to re- treat further. The French skirmishers swarm- ing on the right bank, opened a biting fire, which was returned as bitterly ; the artillery on both sides played across the ravine; the sounds were repeated by numberless echoes; and the smoke rising, slowly resolved itself into an immense arch, spanning the whole chasm, and sparkling with the whirling fusees of the flying shells. The enemy gathered fast and thickly ; his columns were discovered form- ing behind the high rocks, and a dragoon was seen to try the depth of the stream above; but two shots from the Fifty-second killed horse and man, and the carcasses floating be- tween the hostile bands showed the river was impassable. The monotonous tones of a French drum were then heard ; the next instant, the head of a noble column darkened the long nar- row bridge ; a drummer, and an officer in a splendid uniform, leaped forward together, and the whole rushed on with loud cries. " The depth of the ravine at first deceived the English soldiers' aim, and two-thirds of the 284 THE LIFE OF passage was won ere a shot had brought down an enemy ; yet, a few paces onwards, the line of death was traced, and the whole of the leading French section fell as one man. Still the gallant column pressed forward, but no foot could pass that terrible line ; the killed and wounded rolled together, until the heap rose nearly even with the parapet, and the living mass behind melted away rather than gave back. The shouts of the British now rose loudly ; but they were confidently answer- ed ; and, in half an hour, a second column, more numerous than the first, again crowded the bridge. This time, however, the range was better judged, and ere half the distance was won, the multitude was again torn, shat- tered, dispersed, and slain : ten or twelve men only succeeded in crossing, and took shelter under the rocks at the brink of the river. The skirmishing was again renewed, and a French surgeon coming down to the very foot of the bridge, merely waved his handkerchief, and commenced dressing the wounded under the hottest fire. Nor was this touching appeal unheeded ; every musket turned from him, al- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 285 though his still undaunted countrymen were preparing for a third attempt. " The impossibility of forcing the passage was, however, become too apparent ; and this last effort, made with feebler numbers and less energy, failed almost as soon as it commenced. Nevertheless, the combat was unnecessarily con- tinued, by the French, as a point of honour to cover the escape of those who had passed the bridge ; by the English, from ignorance of their object. One of the enemy's guns was dis- mantled, a powder magazine blew up, and many continued to fall on both sides, until about four o'clock, when a heavy rain caused a momentary cessation of fire ; the men among the rocks re- turned unmolested to their own party, the fight ceased, and Crawfurd retired behind the Pin- hel river. Forty-four Portuguese, two hun- dred and seventy-two British, including twenty- eight officers, were killed, wounded, or taken ; and it was at first supposed that Lieutenant Daw son and half a company of the Fifty- second, which had been posted in the unfinish- ed tower, were also captured ; but that officer kept close until the evening, and then with 286 THE LIFE OF great intelligence passed all the enemy's posts, and crossing the Coa at a ford, rejoined his regiment. " In this action the French lost above a thou- sand men : the slaughter at the bridge was fearful to behold. But Massena claimed to have taken two guns, and it was true, for the guns intended to arm the unfinished tower near Almeida were lying dismounted at the foot of the building. They, however, belong- ed to the garrison of Almeida, not to the light division. That they were not mounted, and the tower garrisoned, was certainly a great neg- ligence ; the enemy's cavalry could not other- wise have fallen so dangerously on the left of the position, and the after investment of Almeida have been retarded. In other re- spects, the governor, severely censured by Crawfurd at the time for not opening his fire sooner and more vigorously, was unblamable; the whole affair had been so mismanaged by the general himself, that friends and enemies were mingled together from the first, and the shots from the fortress would have killed both. " During the fight General Picton came up alone from Pinhel. Crawfurd desired the sup- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 287 port of the third division ; it was refused ; and, excited by some previous disputes, the gene- rals separated after a sharp altercation. Picton was decidedly wrong, because Crawfurd's situ- ation was one of extreme danger; he could not retire, and Massena might undoubtedly have thrown his reserves by the bridge of Cas- tello Bom upon the right flank of the division, and destroyed it between the Coa and the Pinhel rivers. " Picton and Crawfurd, were, however, not formed by nature to act cordially together. The stern countenance, robust frame, saturnine complexion, caustic speech, and austere de- meanour of the first, promised little sympathy with the short thick figure, dark flashing eyes, quick movements, and fiery temper of the second ; nor did they often meet without a quarrel. Nevertheless, they had many points of resemblance in their characters and fortunes. Both were inclined to harshness, and rigid in command ; both prone to disobedience, yet exacting entire submission from inferiors ; and they were alike ambitious and craving of glory. They both possessed decided military talents, were enterprising and intrepid; yet 288 THE LIFE OF neither were remarkable for skill in handling troops under fire. This also they had in com- mon, that both, after distinguished services, perished in arms fighting gallantly ; and being celebrated for generals of division while liv- ing, have since their death been injudiciously spoken of as rivalling their great leader in war. That they were officers of rank and pretension is unquestionable, and Crawfurd more so than Picton ; because the latter never had a sepa- rate command, and his opportunities were ne- cessarily more circumscribed : but to compare either to the Duke of Wellington, displays ignorance of the men, and of the art they professed. If they had even comprehended the profound military and political combina- tions he was then conducting, the one would have carefully avoided fighting on the Coa, and the other, far from refusing, would have eagerly proffered his support." That General Picton refused to co-operate with or assist General Crawfurd from a feeling of personal animosity, is the charge which Colonel Napier has thrown upon his memory. Con- cerning this affair, there is no written docu- ment whence information can be obtained SIR THOMAS PICTON. 289 and Colonel Napier's account is, doubtless, drawn from the memory of those who were present at this battle. With every paper re- lating to General Picton before us, we can discover no allusion to this circumstance ; nor does it live in the memory of his most intimate friends. A charge so seriously implicating a soldier's character should not be made without ample proof; and such proof Colonel Napier has not advanced. Circumstances which occur amid the tumult of a battle are seldom remem- bered with precision or reported with accuracy. We may be allowed to doubt whether the re- quest was ever made, or the refusal given, in the decided manner in which they are stated to have been. But even granting the facts, there are many means of accounting satisfactorily for such a refusal, without having recourse to a supposition which is the last that one officer should entertain of another; namely, that he sacrificed his fellow-soldiers to a private pique. Can Colonel Napier confidently affirm what were the private instructions which General Picton had received from Lord Wellington at this time ? We feel convinced that he cannot : and although we are unable to say that there VOL. i. u 290 THE LIFE OF did exist private instructions which compelled General Picton to act as he is stated to have done, we believe that Colonel Napier is equally unable to declare that there did not. But the colonel was not inclined even to suppose that Picton was acting in obedience to his orders, when he left General Crawfurd to finish what he had begun ; and, consequently, attributes to the worst of motives what might have been only a point of duty. Neither does this his- torian do Picton more justice when describ- ing his general character : his uncompromising sense of honour, his undaunted courage, his devoted patriotism, and his love of glory all these weigh as nothing to Colonel Napier, to prevent his representing him as endangering the safety of the whole army, together with his own and his country's honour, for the selfish gratification of one of the worst and most ig- noble sentiments of the human heart. If any feelings so contemptible had existence in the mind of Sir Thomas Picton, then indeed his most intimate friends had little knowledge of his character, and those who were most con- stantly with him were most effectually deceived. A gentleman who has contributed much va- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 291 luable information to this memoir, and who, to use his own words, " knew Picton intimately both in the field and out of it," speaking of his patriotism, observed : " No hero of ancient Rome or Greece ever loved his country dearer, or was a more devoted soldier in her cause, than my lamented friend Sir Thomas Picton." And is this the man who would sacrifice her interests from so unworthy a motive as private animosity ? Of this at least his countrymen must acquit him, arid not allow the memory of one whose whole life was devoted to their cause to be thus traduced. But it is not thus that Colonel Napier must be met ; the accusa- tion is made, and Sir Thomas Picton is not here to answer it : one word from him might have been sufficient to convince even the gallant colonel, that if he refused to bring up his divi- sion to support General Crawftird, he was not wrong. The first question which now naturally oc- curs is, upon what authority does Colonel Na- pier ground his statement? Did he hear of Crawfurd's request and Picton's refusal, to- gether with their sharp altercation, from either of the generals themselves ? or did he hear it 292 THE LIFE OF amidst the din of battle, whilst serving as lieutenant in the Forty- third regiment, then warmly engaged in defending the bridge ? That he never heard of this rencontre from either Crawfurd or Picton, the writer has little hesi- tation in asserting. He must therefore have received the report from some third person, who ought to have heard it, not from Ge- neral Crawfurd, after the occurrence ; for, by Colonel Napier's own showing, he would not have spoken well of Picton. But whoever in- formed him should have been present at the interview ; and the gallant colonel was not jus- tified in publishing so injurious a report to the memory of so distinguished an officer upon any other authority than that of an auricular witness. Colonel Napier cannot be ignorant of the fact, that no other writer upon the Peninsular war mentions this interview. The Marquis of Londonderry would certainly have been as likely to hear the report of Picton's refusal, as any other officer from whom the gallant colo- nel could have gleaned his information ; but the marquis does not even hint at the subject. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 293 A still stronger evidence that Colonel Napier's information may be incorrect, is, that General Crawfurd, in his report to Lord Wellington already quoted, makes no mention whatever of having applied to General Picton for his sup- port, and that it was refused. Now any mili- tary man will admit, that had General Crawfurd made this request to Picton, and met with a refusal upon no better grounds than personal altercation and disagreement, General Crawfurd would have reported his conduct to the com- mander of the forces, which would beyond a doubt have led to a public investigation ; and at the same time it is not unreasonable to sup- pose that Crawfurd would readily have alluded to General Picton's refusal to assist him, to divert in some measure the asperity of remark to which he had exposed himself by his own rashness. We have said, we think, sufficient to induce any unprejudiced person to reject this imputa- tion upon Picton's character. It is a serious charge, unsupported by evidence and contra- dicted by probability ; and, until further proof is adduced, we are justified in assuming that 294 THE LIFE OF this passage in Colonel Napier's work was oc- casioned by erroneous information.* It would be unsatisfactory to the reader to peruse the various reasons which, in a military point of view, might have induced General Picton to refuse bringing up his division. We have been assured by many a distinguished officer, that if Sir Thomas Picton did refuse to support General Crawfurd at the bridge of Coa, that refusal was not produced by any feeling of personal animosity, but was either in * Since the publication of this work, the following letter from Colonel Napier has been addressed to the author. " SIR, Freshford, near Bath, Oct. 29, 1835. " I have this moment read the first volume of your Life of Sir Thomas Picton ; the second I have not yet seen, but I lose no time in correcting an error into which you have fallen. I have not accused General Picton of refusing to support General Crawfurd, at the Coa, from motives of per- sonal animosity ; you have entirely mistaken the drift of the passage in question. If you will take the trouble to refer to it again, you will see that I make the refusal to support come before the altercation ; and consequently that I could not mean to impute the refusal to animosity arising from the altercation. My words will not, I conceive, either in letter or spirit, bear such a construction, and they were never intended to do so." Perhaps the more judicious course will be, to leave this explanation of the gallant colonel's meaning to the reader. SIR THOMAS PJCTON. 295 accordance with the private instructions which he had received, or a strong impression, the result of a profound military judgment, that by bringing up his division he would either interfere with Lord Wellington's more en- larged designs, or bring on what that general was most anxious to avoid a general engage- ment with the enemy. The result of the conflict, even by Colonel Napier's own showing, proved that Picton's "refusal" was not ill judged. The fight was over before, in all probability, the third divi- sion could have been brought up ; for General Crawfurd, in his report, says, " towards the afternoon the firing ceased." But enough has been said upon this subject ; the writer's only object has been to show that Picton was too much a soldier to sacrifice the interests of the army. The comments of Co- lonel Napier upon the character and abilities of General Picton, together with his concluding remarks upon the ignorance of those who com- pare him to the Duke of Wellington, will be again brought before the reader, after he has had an opportunity of forming a judgment from the actions of Sir Thomas Picton : one 296 THE LIFE OF thing however is evident ; namely, that Co- lonel Napier is apparently reluctant to give strength to the comparison by the slightest breath of praise, or even by a too frequent mention of the subject of this memoir.* * Since writing these remarks upon Colonel Napier's ac- count of the affair at the bridge of Coa, we have been fa- voured with an introduction to an officer who belonged to the third division, and who was actually with General Pic- ton at Pinhel when the battle was being fought at the bridge. This officer holds a high and distinguished name in the service : it was, as he himself observes, his " good fortune to hold an appointment on the staff of Sir Thomas Picton :" but he adds, " I also enjoyed his friendship, which I shall ever esteem as the greatest honour and happiness of my life." To this high-minded individual we are in- debted for many interesting particulars of Sir Thomas Pic- ton, and especially for the following facts connected with the affair at Coa. " We were quartered in the neighbour- hood of Pinhel/' observed this officer ; " General Picton's head-quarters being at that place on the 24th of July. We heard firing in the direction of General Crawford's position ; but as this was so common an occurrence, it was thought but little of. General Picton was, during the whole of this time, either in Pinhel, or occupied with some of his usual duties ; and as to riding out alone, it was a thirtg which he scarcely ever did, and certainly not on this day: he was generally accompanied by myself and several others of his staff : but of this I am quite certain, that he did not ride out on this day in the direction of the bridge of Coa ; neither do I think that he was half a mile from Pinhel during the whole time. And farther, I can state that the first intimation which we SIR THOMAS PICTON. 297 received at Pinhel of the serious affair which had occurred at the bridge, was by the body of an officer who had been killed at the bridge being brought back on the following day ; this officer had left us early in the morning of the 24th, and was brought back dead on the 25th, having fallen during the fight. Any attempt to bring up the third division in time to support the light division, (unless information had been sent to General Picton when General Crawfurd com- menced falling back,) would have been ridiculous, as the country could not have been traversed by infantry in less than three hours. With regard to any personal ill-feeling existing between Generals Picton and Crawfurd, I can only say, that I never knew the former to express himself in any but the most friendly terms of General Crawfurd. I cer- tainly upon one occasion heard him observe. * That d d fighting fellow Crawfurd will some day get us into a scrape :' but this was not uttered at all in an unfriendly tone ; on the contrary, I think he had a great respect for the daring cou- rage in General Crawfurd's character, at the same time that he always regretted his want of prudence and con- sideration." This is a valuable and indeed conclusive testi- mony in favour of the judgment we have already formed upon this subject: the officer from whom it was obtained is certainly as valuable an authority as any that Colonel Napier could select ; his means of information being pecu- liarly favourable, as he was upon the spot, and speaks from personal knowledge. The conclusion which probability fa- voured is thus confirmed by unequivocal and irrefragable authority ; and this ambiguous passage in the life of Picton is henceforward clear. 298 THE L11E OF CHAPTER XVI. Fall of Almeida. Plans of Massena Letter from General Picton to Colonel Pleydel. Battle of Busacos. Picton's Letter descriptive of that affair. Whimsical incident dur- ing the Battle. AFTER the fall of Ciudad Rodrigo, the next place for investment was Almeida ; and the enemy having secured the former important fortress, began to push some troops over the Coa ; thus cutting off all hope which the gar- rison of Almeida might have entertained of relief from the allied army. As no effort was made by the English general to drive them back to their original ground, they advanced on the 27th to the river Pinhel, when Lord Wellington, unwilling to hazard an engage- ment in his present situation, determined upon falling back to a more concentrated position. The cavalry was therefore ordered to Alverca to cover the retreat : the light division march- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 299 ed to Celerico, where the head-quarters were formed; the first division proceeded to Pen- hancos ; and General Picton, with the third, was ordered to Carapichina ; while the fourth was to continue to occupy Guarda, in order to keep open the communication with General Hill. In this line the British army remained for several days, anxiously waiting and watch- ing the movements of the enemy. On the 3rd of August, however, the French again retired beyond the Coa, and the road to Almeida was once more free. The following letter from General Picton, at this period, gives an accurate picture of the then state of the allied armies. " Linheres, 8th August, 1810. " MY DEAR SIR, " In consequence of the surrender of Ciudad Rodrigo, and the advance of the enemy, with very superior forces, we have withdrawn from the line of the Coa, which was no longer defen- sible, and the army is now cantoned about thirty -five miles in the rear of that river, in the neighbourhood of Alenio. By this movement we have gained two objects : we have transfer- red the theatre of operations to a more enclosed 300 THE LIFE OF country, where numbers will lose many of their advantages ; and we have secured the re-union of the different corps of the army whenever events may render such a measure desirable. " The enemy, certainly, show little disposi- tion to force us to a general action : by a rapid movement, immediately after the surrender of Ciudad Rodrigo, they might have compelled us to fight upon ground much less advantage- ous to us than that which we now occupy. They advance with great caution, and leave as little as possible to fortune. This campaign will be spun out for some months yet, and there will probably be a good deal of hard fighting before the enemy will be able to reach the neighbourhood of Lisbon : but as their losses will be supplied by continual re- inforcements, and we shall be daily diminish- ing in numbers, without any hopes of succour, it is clear that they must eventually succeed. With this view of the subject we are throw- ing away immense sums of money to no useful purpose ; and all we can expect are a few bar- ren sprigs of laurel for our labours and trea- sures. I have not heard a word from Trinidad since I have been in this miserable country, SIR THOMAS PICTON. 301 and I am, in consequence, desirous of knowing how my affairs are going on there. " The troops in general are now much ex- posed to slight fevers, and, I may assert, fully ten per cent, of them are now hors de combat in consequence. I hope Mrs. M. and all your family have had good health to enjoy the air and amusements of the country : pray offer them my best wishes. " My dear Sir, " Very respectfully yours, J. Marryat, Esq." " T. PlCTON." But Lord Wellington did not alter his plans until Massena had set himself down be- fore Almeida, which was not until the 14th, when the allies again took up the same posi- tion from which they had retired at the end of July. The fortress of Almeida did not, however, make that resistance which, from its strength, the British general had been led to expect. The French were dilatory in their proceedings; and had it not been for a disastrous occurrence, either the effect of accident or treason, which decided at once the fate of the fortress, they might have been 302! THE LIFE OF delayed for a considerable period in its reduc- tion ; but on the first day's firing the magazine exploded, shattering the defences to a heap of ruins, and compelling the defenders to accept the terms which the French general thought proper to propose. Immediately Lord Wellington became ac- quainted with the fall of Almeida, he ordered the army to fall back upon its previous posi- tion. But still much of inertness pervaded the operations of Massena ; he hesitated to ad- vance, and seemed anticipating the inconve- niences and disabilities to which he would be exposed by driving Wellington into the fast- nesses he had prepared. By their depredations and cruelties the French had rendered the inhabitants of the country in their rear implacable enemies. They had no regular commissariat, and in fact de- pended solely upon the chance resources of the country for their support : these were of course soon exhausted, and their only hope was then placed upon France. But to have sent sup- plies through Spain with any escort short of an army would have been absurd, as the Guerrilla parties were so numerous, and their local know- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 303 ledge so perfect, that they could at any time annihilate a small force with but little danger to themselves. Massena was accused of igno- rance with respect to the defences prepared by Wellington ; but it appeared as if he had a just idea of the difficulties which he would have to encounter ; for although he was well convinced that the army under his command was nearly threefold as numerous as that of the British, still he would not commence his invasion of Portugal until assured of the co-operation of Regnier. That general, on the 1st of Septem- ber, was at Sabugal, threatening to advance O n Guarda, and turn the right of the English posi- tion ; while almost at the same time the French cavalry attacked the British picquets in front. The plans of Massena appeared now ripe for exe- cution, and Lord Wellington made every prepa- ration for falling back upon the lines of Torres Vedras, the only position of defence which he could hope to maintain against the overwhelm- ing force by which he was opposed. The plan of the French general appears to have been at this period to enter Portugal by three different routes : a corps, under Junot, was to advance by the line of Pinhel ; another, under 304 THE LIFE OF Ney, by Alverca ; and a third, under Regnier, by Guarda. These intentions are now well known ; but the following letter from General Picton to Colonel Pleydel will convey an idea of the uncertainty which at that time existed in the British army with respect to the movements of the enemy. " Laurosa, 10 September 1810. " MY DEAR COLONEL, " Your kind letter of the 20th of July arrived in proper time, and I have very many thanks to return you for the satisfactory ac- counts it contained. After a variety of move- ments, which it will be superfluous to detail, as you will have seen them in the public papers, we at length arrived here, nearly in the centre of Portugal, on the 3rd instant ; and there is no hazarding a conjecture when we may move, or in what direction, as our operations will depend entirely on those of the enemy, which we are watching. The enemy's force threatens the whole of the frontier from the right bank of the Tagus as far as the Douro ; but a ridge of lofty and in most parts impracticable mountains (the Estrella) intervenes, and will confine their principal offensive operations to two lines the SIR THOMAS PICTON. 805 one to the north, and the other to the south, of this extensive chain. The army under Lord Wellington is so distributed as to attend to both these objects. There are about twenty - five or twenty-six thousand, including Portu- guese, with Lord Wellington, on the north line, where they can easily unite to oppose an enemy attempting to penetrate on that side ; and the country affords many good posts, where we can contend advantageously with greatly superior numbers, without any apprehension of having our flanks turned or being circumvented. " Lieutenant-general Hill, with nearly an equal force, is stationed in the rear of Cas- tello Branco, in front of the river Zizzara, with his right resting on the Tagus, to oppose any attempt to penetrate on that side ; and we are so relatively situated as to be able to com- municate and interchange support by four easy marches ; and by this distribution of our force we completely cover our line of com- munication with Lisbon. I think our position, generally considered, is much more advanta- geous than it has been at any period since my arrival in this country; and there is no doubt but the enemy will experience much difficulty VOL. i. x 306 THE LIFE OF and hard fighting before they get the better of us. " Lord Wellington's plan appears calculated to draw the enemy on into the interior of the country before he engages in a serious affair : a decisive defeat in such a situation would be fol- lowed by the entire destruction of their army ; for the whole peasantry of the country are fur- nished with arms and ammunition, and are most inveterate in their hatred of them, from a re- collection of the recent enormities and cruel- ties they have everywhere committed on the frontiers : and the mountainous and extremely difficult nature of the country will allow them abundant opportunities of acting without much risk. Lord Wellington has the full confidence as well of the army as of the Portuguese na- tion ; and, as far as I am capable of forming a judgment, I really think it was not possible to have made choice of a person possessing more essential qualities for so important and difficult a command. "This place (Laurosa) is situated in one of the most beautifully romantic countries I ever saw. It is a succession of hills and valleys, most magnificently wooded, bordering upon SIR THOMAS PICTON. 307 a stupendous ridge of mountains, which rise in succession above each other, and the remotest of which lose their summits in the clouds ; and it is so thickly interspersed with towns and vil- lages, that we everywhere find abundant can- tonments for the troops. " Since we have been in constant movement, I have enjoyed perfect health, notwithstanding the extreme heat we have experienced during the last and this month. It has become sensibly cooler within these few last days, and, in conse- quence of some heavy rains, the troublesome flies are beginning to disappear. I have very lately written both to my uncle and to General Este ; therefore I shall only beg my remem- brances when you see them. " With my best wishes, " My dear colonel, very faithfully yours, " THOMAS PICTON." It was within a few days after General Pic- ton had written this letter, that the French general totally altered all the plans which by his demonstrations he was supposed to have formed. He suddenly concentrated the whole of his army, and commenced a rapid march along the 308 THE LIFE OF right bank of the Mondego, in the hope of se- curing Coimbra before the junction of General Hill's corps should enable Lord Wellington to offer him any effectual resistance. " The road selected by Massena for his ad- vance was of the worst description, full of natural impediments, and by all the officers by whom it had been surveyed considered al- most impracticable. The direct, and in every respect preferable road, to Coimbra and Lisbon runs along the left bank of the Mondego. By this Lord Wellington retreated in a line paral- lel with that followed by his opponent. Had Massena determined on advancing by the road on the south side of the Mondego, he must have previously encountered the British army in the strong passes of the Estrella, a high mountain- chain extending from the Tagus to the M,ondego. This, however, did not agree with his project of the campaign ; and, notwithstanding its numerous disadvantages, he directed his march along the road to the northward of the river. After passing Viseu, the road declines from a ridge into a lower and more level country, and is subsequently crossed by the Sierra de Busacos, which ter- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 309 minates abruptly on the Mondego. On the southern bank of that river there is another range, called the Sierra de Mureella, which forms an obstacle of equal magnitude to the advance in that quarter."* One of these ridges must be crossed in order to approach Lisbon from the north ; and so soon as Massena gave demonstrations of select- ing the heights of Busacos, Lord Wellington pushed the whole of his force over the river, and took up a position a little in the rear of that mountain. This was during the 20th and 21st of September. Sir Howland Hill, with his division, had not yet joined the army ; and General Leith's corps was not come up, but was engaged in passing the river ; con- sequently it is probable that if the French had at once made their attack, they might have succeeded in forcing the pass. But Mas- sena was not on the spot ; and although Ney, anxious not to lose the favourable opportuni- ty, would at once have commenced battle, he was unwilling to do so upon his own respon- sibility, and the moment was lost. This pro- duced a delay of several days, both generals * Annals of the Peninsular Campaigns. 310 THE LIFE OF being desirous not to lose any advantage in this trial of strength. The whole of Wellington's force was as- sembled before the enemy made any serious movement. By the 26th the British were thus posted: General Hill, with the second divi- sion, had to guard the passage of the river, and prevent an attack by the declivities on the right of the British position. Next in the line was General Leith's corps ; and on the left of this, General Picton, with his division, protecting the pass of St. Antonio de Cantara, where it was expected that the enemy would make the greatest efforts to effect a passage. About a mile on the left of General Picton was the first division, commanded by General Spencer ; the line being then continued by Ge- neral Crawfurd's light division ; and last of all, defending the extreme left, the fourth, under General Cole, the flank of which was protected by an almost perpendicular declivity. Here, then, Lord Wellington determined to wait, and, if necessary, to give battle : the position was one which hardly any but a madman would have thought of attacking, being co- vered in front by deep gorges and pathless defiles. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 311 The Marquis of Londonderry, in reference to the position selected, remarks : " The prin- cipal inconvenience attending this place as a fighting ground for our army arose out of its extent, for it was manifestly too capa- cious to be occupied aright by sixty thou- sand men ; whereas it is essential to the con- stitution of a military post, that it be easy of egress as it is difficult of access, and that its flanks as well as its centre be well secured. But when ground is too extensive for the troops destined to hold it, the latter object can never be perfectly attained ; and in the present instance we could not but feel, that any serious endeavour to turn our left by the Milheada road must in the end be attended with success. Strange to say, however, Marshal Massena, an officer whose reputation came second to that of no marshal in the French service, made no effort of the kind ; on the contrary, he led his columns through the passes above describ- ed, and up the face of heights approximating very nearly to the perpendicular, and thus de- voted them to destruction, from the hands of men posted, as has been already mentioned* on their summits. Had he acted by the ad- 312 THE LIFE OF vice of Lord Wellington," continues the gal- lant marquis, " I think he could not have adopted a course better calculated to insure defeat, and that too with a loss to the con- querors trifling, out of all the proportion which usually attends even upon success." It fell to the lot of General Picton and his division to take an active and conspicuous part in repulsing the enemy upon this occasion ; and it may be considered as the first oppor- tunity which he had of distinguishing himself under the command of Lord Wellington. The post occupied by the third division was the key to the pass of St. Antonio de Cantara, and was in consequence the principal object of Massena's attack, as it was evidently his in- tention to force, and not to turn, the British position. From this ridge the enemy could be seen bivouacked on a mountain plain : their encampment was animated during the day by the glistening of bayonets, the movements of squadrons of cavalry and detached parties of tirailleurs, who were occasionally sent up the mountain steeps to skirmish with the advanced picquets of the allies. At night the watch- fires discovered their position. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 313 On the 26th Lord Wellington's army was drawn up in expectation of an attack, every movement in the enemy's camp indicating such an intention. Towards noon a mass of infantry was observed filing into the French quarters : this was the eighth corps, consisting of about fifteen thousand men an addition to their force which was not a very agreeable contemplation to the British. Still the posi- tion of the allies presented an imposing aspect, as the sun shone upon the glittering points with which every eminence was covered. But there was something more inspiriting to the English general than his position, he could see confidence in the countenances of his men ; and the cheer which greeted him as he rode along his line conveyed a happy assurance that he might trust them. They had long been submitting to retreat, but they were not dis- heartened ; and now that they had hopes of meeting the enemy, the young soldier and the veteran felt alike anxious for the conflict : yet the 26th was passed without a battle.* * The night was cold, and the position occupied by the troops exposed them to the inclement blast which swept over the mountains ; even the hardy veteran shrunk within his scanty covering. The young soldiers, however, and 314 THE LIFE OF On the 27th, long before the dawn, the French were in motion. But the events of this day are described by Picton himself in the following letters to his friends Mr. Marryat and Colonel Pleydel. even the young officers, endured with much less patience their mountain couch. A party of these latter, tired of the coldness of their situation, resolved to try whether the enemy were equally inactive ; accordingly Captain Ur- quhart, with Lieutenants Tyler, Macpherson, and Ouseley, of the Forty-fifth, walked down the steep slope towards the advanced posts occupied by the enemy, and arrived at the spot from whence the artillery had been with- drawn only a short time previously. Here they found some straw, which offered so strong a temptation to obtain a few minutes' repose, that each ensconced himself beneath a heap, and prepared to enjoy their good fortune. They were soon fast asleep ; even the roll of the drums was un- heeded; and the first sound that broke their rest was the clash of fixing bayonets. This ominous sound effectually aroused them, and they scampered back to their regiments with admirable expedition, a retrograde movement which was considerably accelerated by a strong impression that they could hear the enemy coming up the hill. Upon reach- ing their line, they found the regiments formed, and silently waiting the attack. To fall-in without being observed by the colonel (Mead) was out of the question; they had been long missed, and he had sent orderlies in all directions after them ; and he now pounced upon them as they approached, full of indignation at this infringement upon military dis- cipline. He called loudly to them, " There you are ! I'll report every one of you to the general ; you shall all be tried for leaving your ranks while in front of the enemy!" Ob- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 315 " Cadaceira, 31st October, 1810. " MY DEAR SlR, " I shall say nothing to you about the action of Busacos, as you will have seen it in the Gazette though not very clearly de- serving at this moment that they were attempting to fall-in and avoid further castigation, he assailed them with renewed eloquence. '* Stop, sirs, stop, your names, for every one of you shall be punished, it's desertion." And a great deal more he would have added, but the French were on the move; and each officer having given his name, without waiting for any further observations, occupied his post in the ready- formed ranks, much chagrined at the unfortunate event of their expedition and its probable result. But the fight soon began, and every other thought was absorbed in the heat of battle. After the enemy had been repulsed, and the firing had ceas- ed, and the allies were falling back upon Coimbra, Colonel Mead, who was a severe disciplinarian, and possessed a most inveterately good memory, resolved to fulfil his promise, and report the offending officers to General Picton. Seeing Lieu- tenant Macpherson, he called to him, and in a tone of seve- rity said, " Well, sir, you remember last night, I suppose ?" Macpherson bowed with no very enviable recollections. " Ah, it's a breach of discipline not to be forgotten," continued the colonel, with a stern and uncompromising look. " Where is Urquhart?" " Killed," replied the lieutenant. " Ah !" grunted out the disciplinarian, " it's well for him. But where 's Ouseley, sir?" " Killed, sir," again responded Macpherson. " Bah !" exclaimed the colonel in a still louder tone, as if actually enraged at being thus deprived of the opportunity 316 tailed. The serious attack was upon my divi- sion on the right, that on the left being a mere feint. The attack was made with great im- petuosity, and en masse, but nothing could exceed the determined bravery of our troops, who repulsed them with the bayonet. I had only three British regiments and three Portu- guese engaged with two divisions, and in the to punish their breach of military discipline. As a last re- source, however, he inquired " Where is Tyler " " Mortally wounded, sir," was the reply. This was too much for the old colonel's patience ; so, with a look of anger, not at all allied to either regret or repent- ance, he rode off, leaving his only remaining victim in a state of much uncertainty. Two days after this rencontre, Lieu- tenant Macpherson, having received a message from his friend Tyler, who with the rest of the wounded had been carried into Coimbra, requesting to see him, applied to Colonel Mead for leave to visit the town, stating at the same time that his object in doing so was " to attend (as he thought) the dying moments of his friend." The colonel had not, however, forgotten' Macpherson's offence, and he took this opportunity to punish him. " No, no/' said he in a voice which seemed to forbid all further solicitation, " you shan't go ; you haven't deserved it, sir : go to your duty." Mac- pherson shortly after this met General Picton, and to him he stated the request which his chum Tyler had made, and Colonel Mead's refusal to grant him leave. Picton was in- dignant: "What! not let you go!" he exclaimed in his usually forcible and energetic manner ; " d me ! you shall go and tell Colonel Mead I say so ; d'ye hear, sir ?" The young lieutenant both heard and obeyed. Thanking the ge- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 317 four different attacks they made upon different points of my position, the enemy must have lost, in killed and wounded, nearly four thou- sand. " Massena appears to have got into a scrape, and in all probability will be obliged to yield up his laurels to his more fortunate adversary. He is in a most critical situation, without pro- visions, in an exhausted country, with his com- munication cut off. Another such an affair as that of Busacos will completely do him up, &c. " Your very faithful " Humble servant, " T. PICTON." " Cadaceira, 3rd November 1810. " MY DEAR COLONEL, " To give you some idea of the affair of Busacos, which took place on the 27th Septem- neral, he set off first to deliver Picton's message to the infu- riated colonel, who swore " that all discipline had ceased in the army ;" and then to Coimbra, where he found his friend Tyler not dead or dying, but wonderfully recovered from the severe wound which he had received, and prepared with an excellent breakfast for Macpherson and some more of his companions, whom he had contrived to allure into a partici- pation of the good cheer he had provided, by the invitation to " attend his dying moments." 320 THE LIFE OF great gallantry and perseverance, they never were able to gain an inch of ground, and were ultimately compelled to abandon the attempt in great confusion. " During this time a very heavy column penetrated, on the left of my position, close to the hill of Busacos, occupied by the Eighty- eighth regiment, and four companies of the Forty-fifth regiment, which appeared to be engaged in an unequal contest with very su- perior numbers. These regiments, after the enemy had completely gained 'the summit of the hill, most gallantly attacked them with their bayonets, and drove them off with great slaughter. Convinced that the enemy would make no impression upon the pass of St. An- tonio, from which they were completely re- pulsed, I galloped towards the left, to join the Forty -fifth and Eighty-eighth regiments, who still continued engaged, and, to my great surprise, found the enemy in possession of a strong rocky point in the centre of my line, and the light infantry companies of the Seven- ty-fourth and Eighty-eighth regiments (who had been stationed with the light corps in advance) driven in and retreating before them SIR THOMAS PICTON. 321 in disorder. With some difficulty I rallied them, drove the enemy from the rocky point with the bayonet, and with the assistance of a Portuguese battalion, which opportunely came up at that moment, I succeeded in forcing them to abandon the hill, and cross the ravine in great confusion. " There was another feeble attempt made by the enemy to force the hill ; but this was easily repulsed by Major-general Leith, who joined the army at that moment with the First, Ninth, and Thirty-eighth regiments : Lieutenant-ge- neral Hill also joined the army about an hour after, with ten British, and, I believe, eight Portuguese regiments. The evening of the 27th was employed by the enemy in a variety of movements and fresh combinations, and we fully expected a renewal of the attack on the following morning. Unfortunately we were disappointed : the enemy appeared in move- ment the whole of the 28th, as if concentrating for the purpose of attacking the left of the hill and convent of Busacos ; but towards the even- ing very considerable columns were discovered filing off through the mountains on our left, towards the main road leading from Oporto VOL. i. y 322 THE LIFE OF to Coimbra and Lisbon, and it became appa- rent that they had given up all hopes of forcing our position, and were endeavouring, by a cir- cuitous march, to turn our left, and occupy Coimbra before us. Lord Wellington in con- sequence marched in three columns, at two o'clock on the morning of the 29th, and took up a position to cover Coimbra on the same evening. Coimbra at this season, when the river Mondego is everywhere fordable, has no advantages of a defensive position ; it became, therefore, necessary to retreat, and occupy the great line which covers Lisbon, at the distance of about thirty miles, with the right of the army resting upon the Tagus at Alhandra, and its left on the sea near Torres Vedras, where we have been since the 7th of October. " Massena's army has its head-quarters at the village of Sobral, about two miles in front of the position occupied by the third division ; and his army is cantoned in the villages in his rear, and extending towards the Tagus on his left. He is apparently waiting for reinforce- ments, very badly off for provisions, with his communication wholly cut off. His situation is every day becoming more and more critical, SIR THOMAS PICTON. 323 and his difficulty of procuring subsistence for his army must be daily increasing. If a con- siderable army is not despatched in time to his assistance, little less than a miracle can save him from ruin. " Our army is healthy, well equipped in every respect, and regularly supplied with provisions. Our eating number, according to the commis- sary-general's returns, exceeds thirty-five thou- sand men ; and we certainly have seven or eight and twenty thousand bayonets in the field, exclusive of cavalry. The Portuguese may bring nearly the same number; in addition to which we have about seven thousand Spa- niards with the Marquis of Romana, a mise- rable mob, on which we have no reliance. I do not much like our position ; it is too exten- sive to be strong, and there is great difficulty in communicating between the different posts, on account of the extreme badness of the roads at this season of the year. " I hope you have enjoyed your health. I learn from General Este that my uncle con- tinues in good health and spirits. I wrote to him by the last packet. Will you have the goodness to offer him my best respects, y 2 324 THE LIFE OF and say that I am perfectly well? With my best wishes, " My dear colonel, " Very faithfully yours, " THOMAS PICTON." An incident occurred during this battle, which, although trifling in itself, at the moment caused much amusement to the soldiers. When General Picton had made every disposition for the reception of the enemy, and had visited the particular posts occupied by his division, after a sleepless night, he wrapped himself in his cloak a short time before the day broke, put on a coloured nightcap, (his usual custom,) and after giving orders to some of his staff that he might be called upon the least alarm, stretched himself upon the ground to snatch a short repose. Possessing that command over the senses peculiar to strong minds, he in- stantly fell asleep. Brief, however, were his slumbers: the sound of musketry on the left suddenly aroused him ; when, throwing off his cloak and putting on his hat, he sprang into his saddle, and was the next moment at the head of his troops defending the pass of Saint SIR THOMAS PICTON. 325 Antonio. Thence, when this point was se- cured, he galloped to the spot where the enemy had obtained a partial success. Here his pre- sence retrieved the lost ground ; he rallied the retreating troops, and urged them again to the attack. Major Smith placed himself at their head, and fell leading the attack. Picton, at the same time, placed himself at the head of a Portuguese battalion : the eyes of the men were fixed upon him as he cried " Forward !" and pointed towards the foe. When arrived within a few yards, with some encouraging words and a loud " hurra !" he gave the word to charge, and at the same moment taking off his hat, he waved it over his head, totally unconscious that it was still covered by his nightcap. His appearance at this moment was sufficiently grotesque, and caused much merri- ment. This incident for an instant diverted the minds of the soldiers from the approaching conflict : but it was only for a moment. Giv- ing one loud cheer, they dashed boldly for- ward ; the echo was a groan, as, borne back by the impetuosity of this charge, the foe rolled over the craggy steep. 326 THE LIFE OF While the attack was being made upon General Picton's division, Ney advanced two columns ; the one under Loison, and the other commanded by Marmont : these made an effort to force the heights occupied by the light divi- sion. They came on at a rapid pace with much intrepidity ; the path was even more dif- ficult and precipitous than in front of the third division ; still they pressed on, and nearly gain- ed the summit of one of the ridges, in the rear of which the Forty-third, Fifty-second, and Ninety-fifth were drawn up in line. These regiments allowed the foe to advance within a few yards without firing a shot ; but as soon as they were near the edge, one volley was poured in with terrific effect. The advancing column staggered ; but not so the English : Crawfurd, at the top of his voice, gave the word to charge, and in a moment the whole line was in motion ; the enemy, tired and breathless with their exertions in ascending the steep, made but a feeble resistance to the de- structive bayonets of our men. " The enemy, unable to retreat and afraid to resist, were rolled down the steep like a torrent of hail- stones driven before a powerful wind ; and not SIR THOMAS PICTON. 327 the bayonets only, but the very hands of some of our brave fellows, became in an instant red with the blood of the fugitives."* The enemy were thus foiled in all their attempts to force a passage over this mountainous ridge ; and they retreated for the night with all the disappoint- ment of defeat, besides the loss of between four and five thousand men in killed and wounded. * Marquis of Londonderry. THE LIFE OF CHAPTER XVII. Colonel Napier's account of the Battle of Busacos examined. General Picton's letter to Lord Wellington. Er- roneous statements in the " History of the Peninsular War." WE are compelled to advance a second com- plaint against Colonel Napier's " History of the Peninsular War." Any reader, in perus- ing the relation given of the battle of Bu- sacos in that work, would be led to believe that General Picton was either not personally concerned, or was merely a spectator of the conflict. To General Leith and Colonel Ca- meron is attributed the merit of rescuing the third division from its " critical situation'' A few extracts from Colonel Napier's account of the battle of Busacos will assist the reader to form an opinion of the justice rendered to Pic- ton by this historian. Referring to the attack upon General Picton's division, he observes : " The allies resisted vigorously, and six guns SIR THOMAS PICTON. 329 played along the ascent with grape ; but in less than half an hour the French were close upon the summit so swiftly and with such astonish- ing power did they scale the mountain, over- throwing everything that opposed their pro- gress. The right of the third division was forced back ; the Eighth Portuguese regiment was broken to pieces ; and the hostile masses gained the highest part of the crest, just be- tween the third and fifth divisions. The lead- ing battalions immediately established them- selves amongst the crowning rocks, and a con- fused mass wheeled to the right, intending to sweep the summit of the Sierra ; but at that moment Lord Wellington caused two guns to open with grape upon their flank ; a heavy musketry was still poured into their front ; and in a little time the Forty-fifth and the Eighty- eighth regiments charged so furiously, that even fresh men could not have withstood them." ***** " Meanwhile, the French who first gained the crest had re-formed their ranks, with the right resting upon a precipice overhanging the reverse side of the Sierra : thus the position was in fact gained, if any reserve had been at 130 THE LIFE OF hand ; for the greater part of the third division, British and Portuguese, were fully engaged, and a misty cloud capped the summit, so that the enemy, thus ensconced amongst the rocks, could not be seen except by General Leith. That officer had put his first brigade in motion to his own left, as soon as he perceived the vi- gorous impression made on the third division, and he was now coming on rapidly; but he had two miles of rugged ground to pass in a narrow column before he could mingle in the fight. Keeping the Royals in reserve, he di- rected the Thirty-eighth to turn the right of the French ; and as the precipice prevented this, Colonel Cameron, of the Ninth, who had been informed by a staff-officer of the critical state of affairs, formed his regiment in line under a heavy fire, and, without returning a single shot, ran in upon and drove the grenadiers from the rocks with irresistible bravery ; and yet, with excellent discipline, refraining from pursuit* lest the crest of the position should be again lost ; for the mountain was so rugged that it was impossible to judge clearly of the gene- ral state of the action. The victory was, how- ever, secure." SIR THOMAS PICTON. 331 This, then, is Colonel Napier's statement of the facts connected with the battle of Busacos : a statement so completely at variance with the private letter of General Picton, that if one be correct, the other must be erroneous. If Picton's account be false, it must be wilfully so: it is, therefore, of the utmost importance to his character that it should be investigated. We have fortunately found, amongst the manuscripts of the general, a document of some value in deciding this point. It is a copy of a letter addressed to Lord Wellington, giving a minute and circumstantial detail of the dis- position and conduct of Sir Thomas Picton's division, together with the support it received from any other corps belonging to the army. " Cadaceira, November 10th, 1810. " MY LORD, " In consequence of an extraordinary re- port, which has been circulated with a good deal of assiduity, it becomes necessary that I should make a written detailed report to your lord- ship of the circumstances which preceded and attended the action which took place upon the height of Busacos on the morning of the 27th of September, inasmuch as they relate to my- THE LIFE OF self and the troops I had the honour of com- manding on that occasion. " Major-general Lightburne, with the Fifth and Eighty-third regiments, was detached to the left, and did not act under my orders. " On the evening of the 25th, by orders from your lordship, I occupied that part of the Sier- ra de Busacos which is immediately connected with the pass of St. Antonio de Cantara, with Colonel Mackinnon's brigade, consisting of the Forty-fifth, Seventy-fourth, and Eighty-eighth regiments, amounting to about one thousand three hundred rank and file ; and with the Ninth and Twenty-first Portuguese regiments under Colonel de Champlemond : upon the whole about three thousand men. " All the movements of the enemy during the 26th indicating a determination of attack- ing the position early in the following morn- ing, I made what dispositions I judged neces- sary for the defence of the post that evening; and there being an unoccupied space of consi- derably above a mile between my left and Sir Brent Spencer's division, immediately after sun- set (when it could not be observed by the ene- my), I detached Lieutenant-Colonel Wallace, 1 SIR THOMAS PICTON. 333 with the Eighty-eighth regiment, to take up an intermediate position, and communicate with the hill of Busacos and the main body of my division at the pass of Saint Antonio. " The troops in the immediate neighbour- hood of the pass were visited by me on their respective posts by daybreak ; and, immediate- ly after, Colonel Mackinnon returned from visit- ing the Eighty-eighth regiment, and reported that the enemy was collecting in the ravine, op- posite the position occupied by that regiment ; in consequence of which I immediately detach- ed Major Gwynne, of the Forty -fifth regiment, with four companies, to reinforce that post. " A few minutes after, when the day began to clear up, a smart firing of musketry was heard on the left, apparently proceeding from the point where the Eighty-eighth regiment had been stationed ; and after a short suspense, a violent cannonade opened upon the pass of Saint Antonio, and at the same time a heavy column compelled the advanced picquet of the division to fall back, and, pressing forward with great impetuosity, endeavoured to push up the road and force the pass. The light corps of the division, unable to resist such a superiority of THE LIFE OF numbers in front, was most judiciously thrown in upon the flank of the advancing column by Lieutenant-colonel Williams ; and it was re- ceived with so steady and well-directed a fire by the Twenty-first Portuguese regiment of the line, and three companies of the Seventy- fourth regiment, that moved up to their sup- port on the left, that, after a long struggle, and repeated desperate attempts to effect their ob- ject, (during which they suffered much from the well-directed fire of the Portuguese artillery, under Major Arentschild,) they were ultimately under the necessity of desisting, though a severe firing of cannon and musketry still continued. " About this period the fire of musketry on the left appearing to increase and draw nearer, I directed Colonel Mackinnon to take the im- mediate command of the troops at the pass of Saint Antonio, and rode towards the left, with the assistant adjutant-general, Major Packen- ham ; leaving my aid-de-camp, Captain Cuth- bert, and the assistant quartermaster-general, Captain Anderdon, to bring up as fast as pos- sible one battalion of the Eighth Portuguese regiment, and the five remaining companies of the Forty-fifth regiment. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 335 " On reaching the high rocky point about half-way between the pass of Saint Antonio and the hill of Busacos, I found the light com- panies of the Seventy-fourth and Eighty-eighth regiments retiring in disorder, and the head of the enemy's column, already in possession of the strong rocky point, deliberately firing down upon us, and the remainder of a large co- lumn pushing up the hill with great rapidity. Whilst endeavouring to rally the light infan- try companies with the assistance of Major Packenham, I was joined by Major Smith of the Forty -fifth regiment ; and we succeeded in forming them under the immediate fire of the enemy, not more than sixty yards dis- tant. Major Smith most gallantly led them to the charge, and gained possession of the rock, driving the enemy before him ; but, I am con- cerned to say, fell in the moment of victory, for which we were chiefly indebted to his ani- mating example. " The assistant quartermaster -general hav- ing fortunately brought up a battalion of the Eighth Portuguese regiment, commanded by Major Birmingham, at this critical period, I personally led and directed their attack on the THE LIFE OF flank of the enemy's column ; and we com- pletely succeeded in driving them in great con- fusion and disorder down the hill and across the ravine. " Not being able to discover any enemy upon the ridge to my left, I immediately returned to the pass of Saint Antonio, where the firing of musketry and cannon still continued with little apparent abatement. On my arrival I learned from Colonel Mackinnon that the ene- my had not been able to make any impression during my absence. " At this moment Major-general Leith's aid- de-camp came to report the arrival of that ge- neral and his division ; upon which I rode from the post of Saint Antonio to the road of com- munication, and directed the leading regiment of the brigade to proceed without loss of time to the left, as I had no occasion for assistance. General Leith's brigade in consequence marched on, and arrived in time to join the five com- panies of the Forty-fifth regiment, under the Honourable Lieutenant-colonel Mead, and the Eighth Portuguese regiment, under Lieutenant- colonel Douglass, in repulsing the last attempt of the enemy. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 337 " Your lordship was pleased to mention me as directing the gallant charge of the Forty- fifth and Eighty-eighth regiments ; but I can claim no merit whatever in the executive part of that brilliant exploit, which your lordship has so highly and so justly extolled. Lieu- tenant-colonel Wallace of the Eighty-eighth, and Major Gwynne, who commanded the four companies of the Forty-fifth engaged on that occasion, are entitled to the whole of the merit, and I am not disposed to deprive them of any part. I was actively engaged at the time in repelling the attack upon the post with which I was principally charged, though I provided, as far as the means I had at rny disposal would allow, for the safety of every part of the position within my reach ; and the moment I could with propriety and safety to the ser- vice quit the principal point of my command, I immediately proceeded to the post where my services were most necessary, and was at all times to be found where his Majesty's service and my own honour required that I should be. " I shall not say anything of the conduct of the troops under my command during the VOL. T. z 338 THE LIFE OF whole of the trying service of the day : it was beyond eulogy, and can receive no additional splendour from my feeble praise. " With many apologies for troubling your lordship with such long details, in which I am necessarily so much concerned, " I have the honour to be, " With high respect, "Your lordship's very faithful, " Humble servant, (Signed) " THOMAS PICTON."* " To Lieutenant-general Lord Viscount Wellington, " Commander of the Forces, &c. &c." * The extraordinary report alluded to in this letter had its origin in the following singular and unlooked-for cir- cumstance : It has been before remarked, that previous to leaving England to join the army, General Picton made a promise to the Duke of Queensberry that he would write to him an account of the different occurrences which took place in the progress of the campaign. In accordance with this promise, a short time after the battle of Busacos, the general wrote to his grace a brief statement of the affair, confining his details almost entirely to the proceedings of his own division, giving but a brief outline of the attack on the light division and the spirited manner in which General Crawfurd drove the enemy from the heights. The perusal of this letter gave the duke much satisfaction, and he read it over and over again to his friends ; some one of whom, thinking that it would be equally interesting to the public, SIR THOMAS PICTON. 339 The clear and accurate description of the battle of Busacos contained in this letter, when contrived by some means to obtain possession of it, and within a few days it was inserted in all the newspapers. Now it will readily be believed that the report contained in this letter was not intended for general perusal, but solely for those who felt an interest in General Picton, and wished for a detail of his own proceedings ; and this was the whole which it was meant to convey. The effect produced upon the army, and especially upon General Picton, when the papers containing his letter were brought out, may easily be imagined. General Crawfurd, with the officers and men of the light division, were annoyed at the trifling mention made of them ; and the subject was discussed at some length in the army. Words cannot express the indignation of General Picton when he read his own letter in the public prints : he spoke of it as a most unjustifiable breach of confidence, but fully acquitted the duke of being a party to such a proceeding. The reader must remember, that, in writing this letter, he expressed that which was uppermost in his mind ; while, being written only a few days subsequently to the battle, be- fore he had an opportunity of being made fully acquainted with the proceedings on the left of the position, he was but ill able to give a detail of the engagement at that part of the line ; and again, the army, and more especially his division, had ever since been in the field, checking the advance of the enemy, and covering the retreat. Still, coming from a general actively engaged in the field, this letter was looked upon almost in the same light as the despatch ; whereas it was only intended to describe that part of the battle in which General Picton and his division had been personally con- cerned, and of which he had been an eye-witness. The pe- 340 THE LIFE OF assisted by the accompanying plan,* will con- vey an accurate idea of the conflict. The a< count given in the " History of the Peninsular War" is strikingly at variance with that con- tained in General Picton's report to the com- mander of the forces. The necessary inference to be drawn from these conflicting statements is, either that Colonel Napier must have been badly informed, and consequently published an erroneous statement ; or that General Picton did not know the disposition of his men, in what manner they behaved, or to whose assist- ance he was indebted for extricating his division from its critical situation ; or else, that knowing these particulars, he ventured to make a false representation of them to Lord Wellington. Which of these conclusions is the most pro- bable, it is for the reader to determine. Bin rusal of this letter gave rise to a variety of reports respecting General Picton, and the conduct of his division upon this occasion ; some of these reached his ears, and in conse- quence he was induced to draw up the above detailed report for the satisfaction of the commander of the forces. * This plan is engraved from the original sketch taken on the spot by the quartermaster-general referred to, and en- closed in, General Picton's letter to Colonel Pleydel of the 3rd November 1810. SIR THOMAS P1CTON. 341 should a doubt arise in the minds of any, we will point out more particularly a few of the errors in the description of the battle of Busa- cos, as related in the "History of the Peninsu- lar War." In the first place, it may be desirable to refer to an examination of the position of the British army on the heights of Busacos previously to the commencement of the attack.* It will there be seen that the corps of General Leith, called the fifth division, was on the right of Picton's third division ; while Sir Brent Spen- cer, with the first, was on his left. Now Gene- ral Picton in his report says, " There being an unoccupied space of considerably above a mile between my left and Sir Brent Spencer's divi- sion, I immediately after sunset (when it could not be observed by the enemy) detached Lieu- tenant-colonel Wallace, with the Eighty-eighth regiment, to take up an intermediate position, and communicate with the hill of Busacos and the main body of my division at the pass of Saint Antonio." This shows, that long before the commence- * Vide Plan. 342 THE LIFE OF ment of the attack, the Eighty-eighth regiment was more than half a mile on the left of the third division ; while, in the next paragraph of the same document, he observes, " The troops in the immediate neighbourhood of the pass were visited by me on their respective posts before daybreak ; and, immediately after, Co- lonel Mackinnon returned from visiting the Eighty-eighth regiment, and reported that the enemy was collecting in the ravine, opposite the position occupied by that regiment : in consequence of which I immediately detached Major Gwynne of the Forty-fifth regiment, with four companies, to reinforce that post." It is there proved that this part of the Forty- fifth regiment was thus early sent to join the Eighty-eighth on the left of Picton's position. General Picton then commences an account of the attack upon the pass of St. Antonio by " a heavy column" of the enemy ; who, accord- ing to Colonel Napier, scaled the mountain so swiftly and with such astonishing power, that they overthrew everything that opposed their progress. The gallant colonel then goes on to relate, that " the right of the third division was forced back, the Eighth Portuguese regiment SIR THOMAS PICTON. 343 was broken to pieces, and the hostile masses gained the highest part of the crest, just be- tween the third and fifth divisions." A statement more at variance from the above could hardly have been written than that con- tained in the following extract from General Picton's report, wherein he describes the recep- tion and success of this column of the enemy, which, he says, "compelled the advanced picquet of the division to fall back, and, pressing for- ward with great impetuosity, endeavoured to push up the road and force the pass. The light corps of the division, unable to resist such a superiority of numbers in front, was most judi- ciously thrown in upon the flank of the advan- cing column by Lieutenant-colonel Williams ; and it was received with so steady and well- directed a fire by the Twenty-first Portuguese regiment of the line, and three companies of the Seventy -fourth regiment that moved up to their support on the left, that, after a long struggle, and repeated desperate attempts to effect their object, (during which they suffered much from the well-directed fire of the Portu- guese artillery, under Major Arentschild,) they were ultimately under the necessity of desisting, LIFE OF though a severe fire of cannon and musketry still continued." The most astonishing part of Colonel Napier's statement, however, is contained in the con- cluding passage of the preceding extract from his work ; where, after stating that " the hos- tile masses had gained the highest part of the crest, just between the third and fifth divi- sions," he continues, " the leading battalions immediately established themselves amongst the crowning rocks, and a confused mass wheel- ed to the right, intending to sweep the sum- mit of the Sierra: but at that moment Lord Wellington caused two guns to open with grape upon their flank, a heavy musketry was still poured into their front, and in a little time the Forty-jifth and the Eighty-eighth regi- ments charged so furiously that even fresh men could not have withstood them." The Eighty-eighth and four companies of the Forty-fifth regiments were at this moment defending themselves against an attack of the enemy, more than half a mile on the left of General Picton's division ! the remainder of the Forty -fifth being in reserve ; how Colonel Napier SIR THOMAS PICTON. 345 could bring these regiments to charge on the right of the division is a mystery. The colonel then observes, that " mean- while the French, who first gained the crest, had re-formed their ranks, with the right rest- ing upon a precipice overhanging the reverse side of the Sierra. Thus the position was in fact gained, if any reserve had been at hand ; for the greater part of the third division, British and Portuguese, were fully engaged, and a misty cloud capped the summit, so that the enemy, thus ensconced amongst the rocks, could not be seen except by General Leith. That officer had put his first brigade in motion to his own left as soon as he perceived the vigorous impression made on the third divi- sion, and he was now coming on rapidly ; but he had two miles of rugged ground to pass in a narrow column before he could mingle in the fight. Keeping the Royals in reserve, he directed the Thirty-eighth to turn the right of the French ; and as the precipice prevent- ed this, Colonel Cameron of the Ninth, who had been informed by a staff- officer of the critical state of affairs, formed his regiment in 346 THE LIFE OF line under a heavy fire, and, without return- ing a single shot, ran in upon and drove the grenadiers from the rocks with irresistible bravery," &c. Now the ground of the whole of these pro- ceedings is supposed to be on the right of the third division, near the pass of Saint Antonio ; but if any further proof should be wanting to establish this fact, it is only necessary to re- mind the reader, that General Leith's corps was on the right of Picton's position ; and as the Ninth regiment, which is stated to have driven back the enemy after they had forced the right of his position, belonged to that corps, these operations must have taken place on the right of the third division. The reader has already perused General Picton's report to the commander of the forces, wherein he gives a most detailed account of the enemy's attack and repulse on this part of his position ; but so opposite is his statement to that given in the " History of the Peninsular War," that it will hardly be imagined to refer to the same point of the action. In fact, so convinced was General Picton that the enemy were effectually repulsed in their attack upon the pass, and SIR THOMAS PICTON. 347 that he had nothing to apprehend upon his right, that in his own words, which, although before inserted, are particularly applicable here, he actually quitted this part of his position, and proceeded to the left, where the attack was more warm. He says in the following para- graph to that last extracted "About this period the firing of musketry on the left appearing to increase and draw nearer, I directed Colonel Mackinnon to take the immediate command of the troops at the pass of Saint Antonio, and rode towards the left, with the assistant adjutant-general, Major Pakenham: leaving my aide-de-camp, Captain Cuthbert, and the assistant quartermaster-gene- ral, Captain Anderdon, to bring up as fast as possible one battalion of the Eighth Portuguese regiment." " On reaching the high rocky point about half-way between the pass of Saint Antonio and the hill of Busacos, I found the light companies of the Seventy-fourth and Eighty- eighth regiments retiring in disorder, and the head of the enemy's column, already in pos- session of the strong rocky point, deliberately firing down upon us, and the remainder of a THE LIFE OF large column pushing up the hill with great rapidity." It will be observed that the only point where the enemy did succeed in gaining any advan- tage was nearly a mile on the extreme left of the main body of the third division ; and, con- sequently, for General Leith to have seen the enemy "ensconced among the rocks" from his position, he must have looked through the smoke arising from the firing at the pass ; while for the Ninth regiment to have " driven them from the rocks with irresistible bravery," it must have passed with considerable expedition, either in front or rear of the main body of the third division : but this, even by Colonel Napier's own statement, they did not do ; while, by Ge- neral Picton's report, the enemy were repulsed by the troops of his own division. He conti- nues, "Whilst endeavouring to rally the light infantry companies with the assistance of Major Pakenham, I was joined by Major Smith of the Forty-fifth regiment, and we succeeded in forming them, under the immediate fire of the enemy, not more than sixty yards distant. Major Smith most gallantly led them to the charge, and gained possession of the rock, driv- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 349 ing the enemy before him ; but, I am concern- ed to say, fell in the moment of victory, for which we were chiefly indebted to his animat- ing example." How different this to Colonel Napier's ac- count ! In fact, there is no similarity between the two, excepting that the position gained by the enemy was " a rocky point :" but the local- ity of that point is described as at least a mile from its real situation, it being far to the left of the third division, instead of immediately on its right, and much nearer relief from Sir Brent Spencer's division than the corps of General Leith ; while, so far from the enemy having "no reserve" at hand, General Picton says, "that the remainder of a large column was pushing up the hill with great rapidity." But a more important error in Colonel Napier's account occurs where he so dis- tinctly describes the formation under fire, to- gether with the gallant and successful charge made upon the enemy by the Ninth regiment, under Colonel Cameron. Doubtless this officer would have led, and his regiment would have made, as brave and well-conducted an attack upon the enemy as that described by Colonel THE LIFE OF Napier only it was not there : and as praise is due only where it has been earned, some degree of injustice is done to the memory of Major Smith, in thus giving to another that which is justly his. But another brief extract from the report will further convince the reader who it was that drove the enemy from his rocky height, and forced him to abandon his momentary success. Immediately after the last extract General Picton observes : " The assistant quartermaster-general having fortunately brought up a battalion of the Eighth Portuguese regiment, commanded by Major Birmingham, at this critical period, I personally led and directed their attack on the flank of the enemy's column, and completely succeeded in driving them in great confusion and disorder down the hill and across the ravine." Thus, then, it appears that it was Major Smith, at the head of the light companies of the Eighty-eighth and Seventy -fourth regi- ments, who drove the enemy from the rocky point; and to his " animating example," Gene- ral Picton says, " we were chiefly indebted for success." But General Picton's biographer may add more ; praise is to him no longer SIR THOMAS PICTON. 351 flattery. Picton himself, at the head of a battalion of Portuguese, by his example as- sisted greatly the intrepid charge of the major, and together they drove the French at the point of the bayonet, first from the "rocky point," and then down the almost perpendi- cular steep. But the " History of the Penin- sular War" is not only deficient in giving due credit to the leaders of this charge, but also to the officers and soldiers of the Forty-fifth, Seventy-fourth, and Eighty-eighth regiments. To them, and to them only, the merit of this contest is due. The light companies of the two latter, it is true, were compelled to retreat be- fore the overwhelming numbers of the enemy ; but they gallantly retrieved what they had lost, unassisted by any other force than one batta- lion of the Eighth Portuguese ; the whole of which regiment, according to Colonel Napier's account, was " broken to pieces" at the attack upon the pass. General Picton then con- tinues : " Not being able to discover any enemy upon the ridge to my left, I immediately re- turned to the pass of Saint Antonio, where the firing of musketry and cannon still con- 352 THE LIFE OF tinued with little apparent abatement. On my arrival I learned from Colonel Mackin- non, that the enemy had not been able to make any impression during my absence ;" proving at once that the right of the third division was not forced back at any time during the action ; for the reader must be already convinced that no such reverse had taken place previously to General Picton visiting the position on his left, occupied by the Eighty-eighth and part of the Forty-fifth regiments. It was not until the return of General Pic- ton from the left of his position, when in fact the brunt of the action was over, that he had any communication with General Leith, as is evinced by the following remark contained in the consecutive passage of the report to that last quoted. " At this moment Major-general Leith's aide- de-camp came to report the arrival of that general and his division ; upon which I rode from the pass of Saint Antonio to the road of communication,* and directed the lead- ing regiment of the brigade to proceed with- out loss of time to the left, as I had no * Vide Plan of Busacos. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 353 occasion for assistance. General Leith's brigade in consequence marched on, and arrived in time to join the five companies of the Forty- fifth regiment, under the Honourable Lieu- tenant-colonel Mead, and the Eighth Portu- guese regiment, under Lieutenant- colon el Dou- glass, in repulsing the last attempt of the enemy." It thus appears, even by General Picton's report, that General Leith's division had a slight share in the conclusion of this battle ; and upon a reference to the letter to Colonel Pleydel, dated the 3rd of November, it will be seen that he there mentions the First, Ninth, and Thirty-eighth regiments, as being those which came up to his support. Still they were not engaged on the right, or in concert with the main body of the third division, but were directed to march by the rear to the left of the position. They did not, however, arrive at the point of attack until long after the enemy had been driven from the " rocky point" which they had succeeded in gaining, and were only engaged in repulsing the last feeble attempt made by the French before the close of the action. VOL. i. 2 A 354 THE LIFE OF u It is evident, therefore, that the " History of the Peninsular War" has not done justice either to General Picton or to his soldiers for the share which they took in the battle of Busacos ; and it is strange that a writer who takes so much pains to be correct, and who had so many sources of information, should thus have fallen into so palpable an error with respect to the details of this conflict. The authorities whence this memoir has been compiled are beyond question authentic ; and it is submitted that if General Picton did not know the opera- tions and disposition of his division, it may with safety be asserted that they were not known at all : and without any disrespect to the commander of the forces himself, it is not too much to say, that even he would forego his opinion with regard to the operations of the different corps of a division if opposed to the report of the general who at the time was in command. But General Picton deserves unequivocal praise for his conduct in this affair. The fore- sight which he displayed in filling up the interval on his left, between the pass of Saint Antonio and the position occupied by Sir SIR THOMAS PICTON. 355 Brent Spencer, which he describes as consi- derably above a mile in extent, is highly cha- racteristic of military genius. With admir- able judgment he despatched, unobserved by the enemy, one of his strongest regiments to occupy this ground, conscious that a small force could defend the pass. The event prov- ed how necessary was this precaution : it was the first point of attack, and by far the most serious. The bravery of the troops and the presence of their general, alone obtained for them victory. 356 THE LIFE OF CHAPTER XVIII. Operations of the allied army. Massena's movements. Scene of horror and confusion. Retrograde movement of the allies. Position within the Lines of Torres Vedras. Plan and defence of those lines. Disposition of the several allied corps. Excesses of Massena's troops. Lord Wellington's masterly plans. Massena's critical situ- ation. Pursuits and occupations of the allies. General Picton's rebuke of his men. IT is time now to follow the operations of the army after they had thus successfully check- ed the progress of the enemy. The letter of General Picton, dated the 3rd of November, has already given a brief outline of the move- ments of the allies subsequently to the battle of Busacos. It was fully expected that Massena would make a further attempt on the following morning to force a passage over this mountain ridge, and every preparation was accordingly made in the British line to give him as warm a reception as he had experienced on the pre- vious day. The French general had, however, i SIR THOMAS PICTON. 357 learned his lesson ; the result of the conflict on the heights had taught him to reflect that there might be a better, if not a shorter route to Coimbra, than over precipices defended by a determined and well-disciplined enemy. Acting upon this conclusion, Massena merely occupied the attention of the British during the day with some light infantry movements, and at night put his army in motion to ex- ecute what he should have done at first, instead of attacking the heights of Busacos. This was to turn the left of the British position, by marching his army through a mountain-pass in the Sierra Caramula ; a ridge which runs at an obtuse angle with that of Busacos, and upon which the right flank of the French had rested. This pass led into the high road to Coimbra; and, by a rapid movement, Massena hoped to reach that place before the British could suc- ceed in effecting their retreat. Lord Welling- ton, therefore, put his army in motion in three columns at two o'clock in the morning of the 29th of September, and in the even- ing took up a position with the apparent in- tention of defending Coimbra; but it does not appear that this was any part of Lord Wei- 358 THE LIFE OF lington's actual plan : for General Picton ob- serves, " Coimbra at this season, when the river Mondego is everywhere fordable, has no ad- vantages as a defensive position." The Bri- tish commander, in fact, had no other object in making this demonstration than to enable the inhabitants of the city to effect their re- treat in front of his army, while he retarded the advance of the French through the narrow paths by which they must necessarily pass. On the 1st of October, the enemy attacked the position occupied by the allies, driving in the outposts : a retreat was immediately order- ed ; and the army, with all expedition and some skirmishing, crossed the Mondego at Coimbra. This movement was full of danger, as the con- fined passes through which the army and re. treating inhabitants had to defile admitted but of a narrow front. The Junta had, at the in- stigation of Lord Wellington, issued a man- date, calling upon all the inhabitants of the provinces in the neighbourhood of Lisbon to fall behind the lines of Torres Vedras, to drive in their cattle, and bring with them their stores of corn and provisions, and whatever else they wished to preserve from the hands of the in- SIR THOMAS PJCTON. 359 vaders. This order was, however, but imper- fectly obeyed ; for, while the enemy was at a distance, and the British army between them, the inhabitants thought there was plenty of time ; and not until they found the French in their cities, and plundering their houses, did they discover that they had neglected the opportunity of complying with the wise injunc- tions of their Government. So, at Coimbra, the rapid advance of the enemy and the sudden retreat of the allies left but little time for pre- paration; and a scene of horror and confusion ensued which can hardly be conceived. Lord Londonderry says, " A crowd of men, women, and children, of the sick, the aged, and the infirm, as well as the robust and the young, covered the roads and fields in every direction. Mothers might be seen, with infants at their breasts, hurrying towards the capital and weeping as they went; old men, scarcely able to totter along, made way chiefly by the aid of their sons and daughters ; whilst the whole way-side soon became strewed with bed- ding, blankets, and other species of household furniture, which the weary fugitives were un- able to carry farther." 360 THE LIFE OF When the British troops fell -back upon Coimbra, all was confusion. As they pass- ed through the city and over the bridge, the whole population would have fled with them ; they then, however, felt how ill-judged had been their delay : the road was choked with soldiers and guns, and the inhabitants were compelled to give way, force even being employ- ed for the purpose of securing a passage for the army ; and the wretched inhabitants forgot in their misery the folly which had occasioned it. Little could be done to alleviate their suffer- ings or assist their flight ; they had neglected to employ the means when in their power, and they were now left by thousands to witness the pillage of their homes and the destruction of their city. The French showed but little mer- cy: plunder was their object, and they returned in full the rancorous hatred manifested by the Portuguese towards themselves. This retrograde movement of the allies was one of choice, not of necessity ; and a pe- culiarity characterized it, namely, that it was the retreat of a victorious army. But Lord Wellington did not wish to hazard another engagement with the enemy : his plans were Sill THOMAS PICTON. 361 more extensive, and his efforts were all di- rected to reduce the result to a certainty. To effect this he took up a position within the first grand line of Torres Vedras : here it was that he staked his military reputation ; this was the spot which he had chosen to convince the enemy that, although he had retreated, he was not vanquished. It was not only the French army that he had to check : that powerful op- ponent public opinion was now to be arrested ; the current of defeat was to be turned; in short, by this measure, the result of mature judgment, he hoped not only to destroy the power of the French in the Peninsula, but at the same time to secure the confidence of his army and the British nation. Without this, he could not expect to obtain success ; with it, he might obtain anything. These celebrated military lines of defence, the formation of which entitle their distinguish- ed projector to as much or more fame than any of the many victories which he gained, have already been fully described ; and we are here only called upon to repeat General Pieton's opinion of their capability, as expressed in his letter to Colonel Pleydel of the 3rd of Novem- 362 THE LIFE OF ber; wherein he remarks, that the position is " too extensive to be strong ;" and then adds, " There is great difficulty in communicating between the different posts, on account of the extreme badness of the roads at this season of the year." These objections were doubtless reasonable ; but it would be presumptuous at this period to hazard any observations in sup- port of General Picton's remarks, as they could at once be met with the ready reply of success. A brief outline of the position of the contend- ing armies and their resources shall therefore fill up the interval during which Lord Wellington locked up his army within the lines of Torres Vedras. The Marquis of Londonderry gives an ac- count of the plan and defence of these lines. " Along the neck of the Peninsula," says his lordship, " at the extremity of which Lisbon is built, there extend several ranges of high and rugged hills, intersected here and there by nar- row passes, and covered for the most part by deep ravines and defiles, in the usual accepta- tion of the term, impassable. Along these, at the distance of perhaps twenty-five English miles from the city, Lord Wellington had se- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 363 lected two lines, one considerably in advance of the other, but both of tremendous strength ; and he had bestowed upon their fortification so much of care, diligence, and science, as to place them almost equally beyond the reach of insult from any assailing force, however numerous and well supplied. The system pursued on this occasion was quite novel, and the works erected such as were not to be- met with under similar circumstances in any part of the world." In reference to the first line of this position, which was now occupied by the allied powers, he observes : " This line rested its right upon the acclivities of Alhandra, on the summit of which several formidable redoubts were erected, and was flanked by the fire of a dozen gun- boats at anchor in the Tagus. The faces of these hills were all carefully scarped, the road which led through them was destroyed, and it was with perfect justice concluded, that here, at least, our position might be pronounced im- pregnable ; on the left of these heights, by a ravine or gully, called the Pass of Maltao, the gorge of which was effectually blocked up by two formidable redoubts ; whilst it was com- pletely commanded on one hand by the hills of 364 THE LIFE OF Alhandra, and on the other by those of Armeda. The latter, like the former, were scarped, and otherwise rendered inaccessible ; and they com- municated with the centre of the position, which was a high mountain, crowned by a redoubt more extensive than any other in the line. As this mountain overhung the village of Sobral, its castle kept completely at command the great road which conducts from thence to Lisbon, and rendered it utterly hopeless for any body of men so much as to attempt a passage in that direction. On the left of this redoubt, again, some high and broken ground looked down upon Zebreira, and stretched in formidable shape towards Pantaneira. Just behind that village there is a deep glen, succeeded by other hills which cover the roads from Ribaldiera to Exara de los Cavalleiros and Lisbon ; whilst on the left of the whole was a lofty mountain, which crowded up all the space between these roads and Torres Vedras. " Such," continues the Marquis, " is a brief detail of the leading features in this position ; than which it will be seen that, independently of all that art had done for it, few can be im- agined more formidable. But when it is fur- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 365 ther understood, that the ascents were all steep, rugged, and rocky ; that strong vineyards and deep ground everywhere covered the front, and that wherever natural obstacles chanced to be fewer in number or less insuperable in kind than could have been desired, labour had not failed to supply them ; and when these things are taken into consideration, an army once brought thither must either be false to itself, or it might defy all the force of the French em- pire seriously to molest it." Such was the position of the army ; and it may now be desirable to show the disposition of the several corps. On the extreme right, with its right flank resting on the Tagus, were posted the forces of General Hill. The next on his left w r as Crawfurd, with his division, the parti- cular duties of which were to guard the heights of Arruda. General Pack's Portuguese brigade followed, occupying the great redoubt before alluded to as overlooking the village and castle of Sobral. The high ground above Zebreira was held by Sir Brent Spencer's first division, connected on its left with the right of Picton's division, which had to defend the ground from the vil- 366 THE LIFE OF of Pantaneira, across a kind of ravine, un- til it joined the fourth division, under General Cole, by which the line of defence was conti- nued across a succession of hills as far as the road leading to Exara de los Cavalleiros and Lisbon, where the corps of General Campbell occupied the extreme left of the British line at Torres Vedras. The troops under Lord Wellington's com- mand, and with which he had to defend this position, which extended about twenty-nine miles, amounted, according to General Picton's statement, to nearly seventy thousand men ; but of these only thirty-five thousand were British ; and this estimate was, as he observes, drawn from the " eating numbers," the amount of bayonets not exceeding eight-and-twenty thousand. The remainder of the seventy thou- sand was composed of Portuguese and Spani- ards : the latter General Picton styles " a mise- rable mob ;" while the former were hardly yet to be fully depended upon when unsupported by British troops. Still, as they were led, and in some instances officered, by English, it was hoped that they would not disgrace their allies. The disposable force under the command of SIR THOMAS PICTON. 36? Massena in front of the lines was about seventy thousand veteran soldiers ; but the relative situ- ations of the two armies was strikingly different. The French had Spain and the greater part of Portugal between them and France ; their ex- cesses had destroyed every favourable feeling which might have existed in the minds of the inhabitants of the Peninsula towards them ; every means were therefore employed to de- stroy and harass them. The marauding and destructive spirit which prevailed, and which was in fact encouraged, in the French army, soon devastated the country occupied by their soldiers, and destroyed their resources. The decree of the Junta had been but imperfectly obeyed, and for a time their foraging parties contrived to collect together a miserable mainte- nance ; but a thoughtless and wasteful expendi- ture soon exhausted the immediate neighbour- hood, after which they were compelled to ex- tend their depredations to a more enlarged circle. Then it was that the independent corps of both Spaniards and Portuguese, many of whom were instigated by bitter hatred, sought revenge for some desolated home or murder- ed relative. Those active but irregular forces, 368 THE LIFE OF 1 taking advantage of the unsupported detach- ments, constantly surprised and attacked them in their expeditions, and destroyed them with as little mercy as they had shown to others. These occurrences at length became so fre- quent, that the parties sent out by the French more resembled small armies than detachments; while it frequently happened that they could only succeed in obtaining sufficient for their own support, their unfortunate companions being left without resources. An occasional supply would sometimes arrive, sent from Ma- drid by King Joseph ; but for ten that were sent, not more than three reached their destina- tion. No reliance, therefore, could be placed upon their arrival. The numerous mountain- passes through which they had to travel gave the active and untiring guerilla bands every advantage in their attacks upon the escort ; and although occasionally they were successful in getting forward their charge, the contests in every succeeding defile reduced their numbers, until at length, the love of self-preservation su- perseding every other consideration, they aban- doned the waggons, and endeavoured by flight to gain the army. But few even by this sacri- i SIR THOMAS PICTON. 369 fice contrived to escape the hostile Spaniards, and they were hunted and shot with the same savage pleasure as if they had been wild beasts. Far different was the situation of the allies at that period, as, from their Alpine line, they looked down upon the host beneath. In con- scious security, they could watch their move- ments and defy their attacks ; while, with Lis- bon in their rear, and the English fleet riding triumphantly in the Tagus, they were abun- dantly supplied with provisions. England, with her ample resources, was sending constantly her fleets of merchant-ships full of corn, ammuni- tion, and in fact everything that could be de- sired for the maintenance and support of the army. In case of being driven from this their first position, they had another, and even a stronger, upon which they could fall back with- out confusion ; while, supposing all should fail, this same fleet was prepared to receive them. The allies had nothing, therefore, to do but to await the retreat and probable destruction of their enemies ; for it was certain that the French army could not remain long in its pre- sent position. In confirmation of this, the following letters VOL. i. 2 B 370 THE LIFE OF from General Picton himself are here in duced : 11 Figarro, Feb. 6, 1811. " MY DEAR SlR, " I am much rejoiced at your victory over the Secretary of State. Entre nous, the governor is a weak man, wholly divested of anything like firmness or independence of character. I find, by my letters, that Dr. Sanderson is become one of his most intimate friends ! ! " Our relative situation, and those of the enemy, is nearly what it was six weeks ago. There has been a total suspension of all opera- tions on both sides, and the two armies are perfectly quiet in winter quarters. The ac- counts by deserters and prisoners state, with lit- tle disagreement, that the enemy suffer greatly for want of provisions, forage, and supplies of all kinds ; and there is no doubt but the diffi- culty of procuring the primary indispensable articles for the support of the army, is daily increasing in an almost incalculable ratio. The impression upon my mind at present is, that the enemy will be under the necessity of falling back upon their resources : for I have no idea that it will be possible, during the winter SIR THOMAS PICTON. 371 months and rainy season, to forward adequate supplies from Salamanca, or any other depots in Spain, considering the length and imprac- ticability of the roads. Lord Wellington has certainly conducted the whole of this campaign with great ability and prudence ; and no one can reasonably refuse him the character of a great general. " My dear Sir, " Very faithfully yours, T. PICTON." "Figarro, 26th Feb. 1811. " MY DEAR SlR, " We still remain quiet in winter quarters, without any movement of consequence; the enemy apparently suffering great hardships from want of supplies, but continuing in the same position, and carrying on their communications with the frontiers of Spain with great difficulty, and by means of numerous detachments. " Nothing can exceed the misery of this part of Portugal. Every article of human subsist- ence has long been consumed or destroyed. The poor inhabitants are kept from perishing by the contributions of the officers (British) of 372 the different divisions of the army. This di- vision daily feeds above three hundred : but for this resource, the greater part must have pe- rished. My dear Sir, " Very faithfully yours, " T. PICTON." Lord Wellington had induced the French general to attempt the conquest of Portugal in order to destroy his army. Massena had not discovered the plans of his opponent until too late to retract from his fatal advance ; and he found himself in one moment stopped, when he was in full expectation of driving the Eng- lish into the sea, and taking quiet possession of Lisbon. He had now a choice of three ways of attempting to extricate himself, but none of these presented a very flattering prospect of success ; one was, to force the lines of Torres Vedras, and, by securing Lisbon, obtain for his soldiers those supplies of which he stood so greatly in need ; another, to fall back without delay to the frontiers of Spain, until France could send him some assistance by increasing his force, and securing the passage of provi- sions for their maintenance ; the last was, SIR THOMAS PICTON. 373 make a flank movement, and, by passing the Tagus, form a junction with the army of An- dalusia. Posterity will doubtless give to Lord Wel- lington as much credit for his masterly plans, and the manner in which he made the French general unconsciously subservient to them, pre- viously to taking up this position, as for any other acts of his life. Lord Wellington led on Massena with the constant shadow of victory ; for it must be acknowledged that the British army was retreating. From Ciudad Rodrigo, from Almeida, from Busacos, it had succes- sively retired, and " the Leopard was about to be driven into the sea." But at Torres Vedras the delusion was dispelled. The plot was then ripe. Lord Wellington had lured his pursuer into the snare he had so long been preparing ; at this spot his career of success was arrested ; here he wasted his re- sources and his strength ; here he discovered the error into which he had been betrayed, when, disappointed and discouraged by the formidable barrier before him, and ashamed to retreat, he remained in a state of mere inactivity. General Picton, even as early as the beginning of No- 374 THE LIFE OF vember, observed, " He is apparently waiting for reinforcements, very badly off for provisions, with his communication wholly cut off. His situation is every day becoming more and more critical, and his difficulty of procuring subsist- ence for his army must be daily increasing. If a considerable army is not despatched in time to his assistance, little less than a miracle can save him from ruin." Thus, then, Lord Wel- lington, from as bad, or even a worse situation than that of Sir John Moore, contrived to draw success, to stop the tide of French conquests, and, with an army which at first was laughed at for its insignificance, to hold at defiance an enemy flushed with conquest, and in numbers almost double that of the allies. General Picton gave a strong proof of his penetration, when, in the early period of Lord Wellington's career, before he had had an opportunity of evincing the vast original resources of his mind, he ob- served, " I think it was not possible to have made choice of a person possessing more essen- tial qualities for so important and difficult a command." A few movements in front kept our soldiers on the alert. Massena made several demonstra- SIR THOMAS P1CTON. 375 tions to change the line of attack by uniting his army to that of Regnier, and endeavouring to force the right extremity of the British position where it rested on the Tagus. The ground oc- cupied by General Picton and his division was of too important a nature to admit of its being for a moment left unprotected, and therefore no change took place in their position ; but many alterations were made in the situation of the other corps; andCrawfurd with his light division was more than once partially engaged with the enemy, and upon one occasion, had it not been for the opportune arrival of Lord Wellington, it is more than probable that he would again have involved the security of his division, if not of the whole army. The pursuits and occupations of the allies cannot be better expressed than in the language of the Marquis of Londonderry : " Neither the time of our soldiers," observes the gallant Mar- quis, " nor that of their chief, was, however, wasted in idleness. The former were busily employed in the construction of new works wherever their erection appeared at all desir- able, and in giving additional solidity to those already thrown up, till the lines became as per- 376 T1IE LIFE OF feet a specimen of a fortified position as it was possible for nature and art to produce. The latter was indefatigable in his exertions to bring his army into a condition of general efficiency, and his efforts were too judiciously applied not to be crowned with success. The Portuguese be- ing now thoroughly amalgamated with the Bri- tish troops, learned from them all those lessons which in after campaigns they turned to an excellent account ; and Beresford, to whom the entire merit of their first training is due, was in consequence removed from all farther responsi- bility in field operations. Every day brought in its improvements among them ; and the ge- neral was soon rewarded for all his trouble by the conviction that he might rely upon them almost as perfectly as upon his countrymen. Nor was Lord Wellington inattentive to the comforts and even luxuries of his followers. Provisions v^ere abundant ; there was no want of wine ; and sports and amusements went on as if we had been, not at the seat of war, but in England. Officers of all ranks arid every department, from the commander-in-chief down to the regimental subaltern, occasionally enjoy- ed the field sports of hunting, shooting, and SIR THOMAS PICTON. 377 fishing : the men, too, had their pastimes when not employed on duty ; in a word, seldom had an army, occupying ground in the face of an enemy, enjoyed so many hours of relaxation, or contrived to unite so completely the pleasures of country life with the serious business of war. It is probably needless to add, that so great a show of security in their leader had the best possible effect upon the temper of the troops ; or that the morale of the army was sustained, not more by a contemplation of things as they really were, than by a conviction that they must be going on prosperously, otherwise so much relaxation could not abound." Another writer, in relating the amusements of the officers and men at this period, after de- scribing the pillage of a wine-store by some of Picton's division, and the consequent intoxica- tion of the men, adds, " The first Sunday after the outrage already related, when the chaplain left his station, General Picton took his place, not to pray, but to give us a sermon. This was the first time he had addressed us. I felt anxious to examine the features of a man who had been so much the public talk on account of his reputed cruelty at Trinidad. I could 378 THE LIFE OF not deny that I felt a prejudice against bin r and his countenance did not do it away ; for it had a stern and gloomy expression, which, added to a very dark complexion, made it no way prepossessing: but when he opened his mouth, and began to pour forth a torrent of abuse on us for our conduct, and his dark eye flashed with indignation, as he recapitulated our errors, ' Hope withering fled, and Mercy sigh'd farewell.' " But General Picton was not the character which we by prejudice were led to think him. Convinced of the baneful effects of allowing his men to plunder, he set his face sternly against it, but in other respects he was indul- gent; and although no man could blame with more severity when occasion required, he was no niggard of his praise when it was deserved. Nothing could surpass his calm intrepidity and bravery in danger; and his presence in battle had the effect of a talisman, so much had his skill and valour gained upon the men under his command." SIR THOMAS PICTON. 379 CHAPTER XIX. Retreat of the French Army. General Picton's account of the advance of the Allied forces. General Picton's accu- racy proved by the statements of the Duke of Welling- ton, the Marquis of Londonderry, and Colonel Napier. Indefatigable exertions of General Picton. The " Fight- ing Division." Depredations of the Enemy. Discontent among Massena's Generals. IT was not until the commencement of the year 1811 that the allied army was again called into active operations. Massena, despairing of sufficient reinforcements to enable him to ad- vance, and having no certain means of commu- nicating with Napoleon, by which he could represent to him the actual state of his army and the total exhaustion of all his resources, resolved upon that step which, had he taken some few months earlier, might have placed the allied army at this period in a strikingly different situation to that which it now held. He resolved to retreat ; but it was now an act of necessity : his army was reduced, disheartened, 380 THE LIFE OF and disaffected, and he was obliged to fly before the same enemy whom he had at the close of the preceding year driven before him into the lines of Torres Vedras. Disease had made sad havoc amongst the French troops, and deser- tions had been frequent ; in short, every accu- mulated misery of a besieged city was endured by this victorious and blockading army. Massena was unwilling to betray his inten- tion to the British general until he had got his sick and baggage in advance of his march, and he even showed some demonstrations of com- mencing active operations against the lines ; but it soon became apparent that the only pre- parations which the enemy had been making were to deceive the allies, that they might retreat as far as possible before their intentions were made known. The correspondence of General Picton, who was now again called into action, and who had a fresh opportunity of showing the activity of his disposition, and that military genius which so strongly marked his character, contains a description of this retreat, and the part which his division took in harassing the enemy. He wrote the particulars contained in the following letter to SIR THOMAS PTCTON. 381 Colonel Pleydel ; and the accuracy of his de- tails cannot be more fully exemplified than by comparing them with the remarks of more mo- dern and more elaborate writers. " Philadoze, fifty miles in advance of Coimbra, 24th March 1811 ; and Guarda, 29th. ' MY DEAR SIR, "It having been satisfactorily ascertained that the enemy was in general movement to- wards the rear on the 4th and 5th of March, the different divisions of this army were or- dered to march on the 6th. The route of this division for five days was extremely labori- ous, running over excessively steep and rocky mountains, scarcely affording the trace of roads On the llth, after a march of above twenty miles, we came up with the rear-guard of the enemy, strongly posted near the town of Pom- bal; and the third division was ordered to make a movement to the left, to co-operate in a general attack upon the rear-guard : but the fourth division being delayed longer than was calculated, by the badness and narrowness of the roads, it was not carried into execution, and the enemy decamped during the night, 382 THE LIFE OF leaving merely a few of their light troops keep their fires up until morning. " On the 12th the army moved in pursuit of the enemy at six o'clock, this division sup- porting the advance-guard. After a march of between five and six miles, we came up with them, strongly posted on a commanding ridge, with an extensive declivity in front, their right resting upon a woody mountain of difficult access, and their left secured by the village of Redinha and an impassable river. The third division was ordered to march to the right, through difficult woods, to attack the left of the enemy's position ; whilst the fourth division, under the Honourable Major- general Cole, supported by the first, under Lieutenant-general Sir Brent Spencer, made the attack in front. After a well-supported though distant fire of about twenty minutes, the enemy gave way at all points, and retreat- ed across the river by a bridge with which, unfortunately, we were not acquainted. I at- tempted to push the Honourable Major-general Colville's brigade over the river, to cut them off; but the attempt failed, as it proved too deep and rapid to be forded. The enemy SIR THOMAS PICTON. 383 retreated about three miles to a strong woody ridge, where they showed a disposition to make another stand ; but the third division being pushed along the mountains on their left, so as to threaten their rear and their communi- cation with the main body of their army at Condeixa, they abandoned it the same evening, and took up a fresh position near the town of Condeixa, which is covered by an extremely difficult river. "On the 13th the third division made a forced march over a tract of difficult rocky mountains, to make a demonstration in the rear of the enemy's left flank ; which had the desired effect, as they immediately abandoned the position with considerable precipitation, and fell back several miles. The division crossed the river at an extremely difficult pass the same evening, and took up a position within a mile of the enemy's rear-posts. " On the following morning (the 14th) the light division was engaged with the enemy's rear-guard as early as half-past five, and it was a continual skirmish without any intermission until near four o'clock in the evening. The light troops of the third division harassed the 384 THE LIFE OF enemy's left during the whole of the d the body of the division made such successive demonstrations in their rear, as to deter them from attempting anything like a serious stand in any of the positions they took up during the course of the day. The fog was so very thick on the morning of the 15th, that we did not commence our march until nine o'clock, and it was nearly three o'clock in the evening before we came in contact with their rear ; which was immediately attacked on the right by the light division under Major-general Sir William Erskine, supported by the sixth divi- sion, and on the centre and left by the third division, supported by the first division under Lieutenant-general Sir Brent Spencer. The ground was particularly favourable to the ene- my ; being abrupt woody heights, connected by narrow gorges, which were strongly occupied by infantry and artillery. The division in con- sequence experienced an obstinate resistance ; but in the end we successively drove them from all the points they occupied, but were prevent- ed from taking advantage of their disorder by the approach of night. " The following day (the 16th) was employ- I SIR THOMAS PICTON. 385 ed in reconnoitring the position where the enemy had concentrated the whole of his force, about fifty thousand, upon a strong woody ridge, covered by a rapid rocky river, nowhere fordable, in his front. He decamped early on the following night, and by a forced march reached the river Alva, which he passed at different practicable fords on the 17th and 18th in the morning. We were under the necessity of relaxing in our pursuit through a total deficiency of provisions, the convoys of which could not keep pace with the rapidity of our movements, and the country through which we advanced affording no one article of human subsistence, the enemy having de- stroyed everything with fire and sword. We, however, followed the route of the enemy by easy marches until the 29th, when, by a combination of movements, we succeeded in dislodging him from the position he had taken up upon the heights of Guarda, the strongest and most defensible ground I ever recollect to have seen in any country. The most important part of this day's business fell to the share of the third division ; and we fully succeeded in turn- ing the left of the enemy's position, and taking VOL. i. 2 c 386 THE LIFE OF a strong position in his rear, within a quarter of a mile of his head-quarters ; which so alarm- ed him, that he immediately withdrew the corps which were opposed to the other divisions, and commenced his retreat with great marks of precipitation. ** Massena himself, with full twenty thou- sand men, was on the heights and in the city of Guarda when I made my appearance at nine o'clock in the morning, with three British and two Portuguese regiments. This famous ge- neral certainly showed little determination or talent on the occasion ; with his great superiority of force, he should immediately have attacked me, notwithstanding the excellence of my po- sition, which, independent of its strength, had a most commanding appearance; but he allow- ed me to remain within four hundred yards of his main body, threatening his rear, for above two hours before the other columns made their appearance ; but of course their movements alarming him, at the same time decided him not to hazard an attack, the failure of which would probably have brought on the total dis- comfiture of his army. This was wholly a day of manoeuvring, and did not cost us a sin- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 387 gle man. If the light division and cavalry had been able to cross the country, it would pro- bably have been a decisive day ; but the diffi- culty of the country and the badness of the roads rendered it impracticable. We have, however, driven them out of Portugal for the present; and their army is so perfectly disor- ganized in respect to every kind of military equipment, that it will require considerable time to reform it for active service. With about thirty-five thousand men we have been pursuing an army of sixty thousand, and of course Lord Wellington has been extremely cautious not to undertake anything which might eventually lead to a general action. " The enemy's rear-guard, during the whole course of the retreat, was commanded by Mar- shal Ney in person ; and all his movements afforded a perfect lesson in that kind of warfare. Moving at all times upon his flank, I had an opportunity of seeing everything he did ; and I must be dull in the extreme if I have not de- rived some practically useful knowledge from such an example. Nothing can exceed the devastation and cruelties committed by the enemy during the whole course of his retreat ; 2 c 2 388 THE LIFE OF setting fire to all the villages and murderini all the peasantry for leagues on each flank of his columns. Their atrocities have been such and so numerous, that the name of a Frenchman must be execrated here for ages. " I shall write to the general by this occa- sion. My friend General Este writes to me, that he continues to enjoy his usual health and spirits, and had got so far over the win- ter, as far as February, without any indispo- sition. I hope you have escaped equally well ; my health has been excellent. I fear you will have great difficulty in deciphering my miserable scrawl, which is rendered more so by the badness of the paper. " With my best wishes, " My dear Sir, " Very faithfully yours, " THOMAS PICTON." We are unwilling to forego this opportu- nity of showing the extraordinary precision and accuracy with which General Picton re- membered and described the dates, operations, and successes of the allied armies ; a compa- rison with those writers who have had every i SIR THOMAS PICTON. 389 facility for obtaining correct information, and whose pages have had the advantage of criti- cism and correction, will be a gratifying proof that implicit reliance may be placed upon the statements of General Picton, notwithstanding the unfavourable circumstances under which they may have been written. General Picton's account of the advance of the allied army is thus confirmed by the com- mander of the forces, who, in his despatch dated Villa Seca, March 14th, 1811, observes : - " I could not collect a sufficient body of troops to commence any operations upon the enemy till the llth. On that day, the first, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth, and the light divisions of infantry, and General Pack's bri- gade, and all the British cavalry, joined upon the ground immediately in front of the enemy, who had commenced their retreat from their position during the night. They were fol- lowed by the light division, the Hussars and Royals, and Brigadier-general Pack's brigade, under the command of Major-general Slade, and made an attempt to hold the ancient cas- tle of Pombal, from which they were driven ; but the sixth corps, and General Montbrun's 390 THE LIFE OF cavalry, which formed the rear-guard, support ed by the eighth corps, held the ground on the other side of the town ; the troops not having arrived in time to complete the dispositions to attack them before it was dark. " The enemy retired in the night." While the Marquis of Londonderry adds *' On the llth, dispositions were made for bring- ing the enemy to action, by the first, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and light divisions, assembled for the purpose : but Massena, instead of wai ting- to be assailed, broke up during the night." Colonel Napier, in reference to this demon- stration of attack, mentions it as having taken place on the 10th ; but as the three state- ments here given agree in representing it to have happened on the llth, it is only reason- able to suppose that he is in this instance mistaken. General Picton's statement relative to the attack of the enemy's position near the village of Redinha is borne out as follows : Lord Wellington, in his despatch, says, in allusion to this affair : "On the 12th, the sixth corps, with General SIR THOMAS P1CTON. 391 Montbrun's cavalry, took up a strong position at the end of a defile between Redinha and Pombal, with their right in a wood upon the Soure river, and their left extending towards the high ground above the river of Redinha: this town was in their rear. I attacked them in this position on the 12th, with the third and fourth light divisions of infantry, and Bri- gadier-general Pack's brigade and the caval- ry ; the other troops being in reserve. The post in the wood upon their right was first forced by Sir William Erskine with the light division ; we were then able to form the troops in the plain beyond the defile ; and the third division, under Major-general Picton, was form- ed in two lines in the skirts of the wood upon the right ; the fourth division, under Major- general Cole, in two lines in the centre, hav- ing General Pack's brigade supporting their right, and communicating with the third di- vision and the light division in two lines on their left. These troops were supported in the rear by the British cavalry ; and the first, fifth, and sixth divisions were in reserve. The troops were formed with great accuracy and celerity. 392 THE LIFE OF " There was but one narrow bridge, and a ford close to it, over the Redinha river, over which our light troops passed with the enemy ; but as the enemy commanded these passages with cannon, some time elapsed before we could pass over a sufficient body of troops to make a fresh disposition to attack the heights on which they had again taken post. The third division crossed, however, and manoeuvred again upon the enemy's left flank ; while the light infantry and cavalry, supported by the light division, drove them upon their main body at Condeixa. The light infantry of Ma- jor-general Picton's division under Lieutenant- colonel Williams, and Fourth Ca9adores under Colonel de Regoa, were principally concerned in this operation," The movements connected with the enemy's retreat, as detailed by General Picton, are re- lated in the same way by the Marquis of Lon- donderry. " On the 12th," observes his lord- ship, "a strong rear-guard was seen posted at the end of a defile in front of the village (Redinha). It was immediately attacked by three divisions of infantry, by General Pack's SIR THOMAS PICTON. 393 Portuguese brigade and the cavalry, and, after an obstinate resistance, was driven through the defile to the plain beyond. It next retreated to some high and broken ground, where it again showed a front ; but from this position it was also compelled to retire with some loss ; and finally it withdrew to Condeixa, where the main body had established itself." Colonel Napier's description is too detailed for entire extract: after alluding to the light division, then under Sir Wm. Erskine, " being formed in such a manner that it out-flanked the French right," he observes, " Picton seized the wooded heights protecting the French left ; thus Ney's position was left bare." In reference to the manoeuvres of the 13th, the same uniformity of statement will be ob- served in the correspondence of General Picton . and from this confirmation of the accuracy of his details, which it is now our object to prove by comparison, we may in future claim for him, when relating facts peculiarly within his own knowledge, the praise of strict veracity, which cannot be shaken by any contempo- rary narrator. Lord Wellington, in his despatch, observes : 394 THE LIFE OF " We found the whole army yesterday, with the exception of the second corps, which was still at Espinhel, in a very strong position at Con- deixa. " I therefore marched the third division, under Major-general Picton, through the mountains upon the enemy's left, towards the only road open for their reception ; which had the im- mediate effect of dislodging them from the strong position of Condeixa," Colonel Napier, in allusion to the position held by the French at Condeixa, observes, in confirmation of General Picton's remark on that head : " For some time all appeared quiet in the French lines. Massena, in repairing to Fonte Coberta, had left Ney orders, it is said, to set fire to Condeixa, at a certain hour, when all the divisions were simultaneously to concentrate at Casal Nova, in a second position, perpendicu- lar to the first, and covering the road to Puente Murcella. Towards three o'clock, however, Picton was descried winding round the bluff end of a mountain, about eight miles distant ; and as he was already beyond the French left, SIR THOMAS PICTON. 395 instant confusion pervaded their camp ; a thick smoke arose from Condeixa ; the columns were seen hurrying towards Casal Nova, and the British immediately pushed forward." The Marquis in his Narrative, referring to the same affair, says : " The third division, under General Picton, made a long and tedious detour to the right ; but it succeeded in throw- ing itself upon the left of the enemy's line, which instantly broke into column of march and fell back." Alluding to the attack by the light division, described in General Picton's letter, Colonel Napier remarks : " The enemy's ground was so extensive, and his skirmishers so thick and so easily supported, that in a little time the divi- sion was necessarily stretched out in one thin thread, and closely engaged in every part, with- out any reserve ; nor could it even thus present an equal front, until Picton sent the riflemen of the Sixtieth to prolong the line. Nevertheless, the fight was vigorously maintained amidst the numerous stone enclosures on the mountain, side ; some advantages were even gained, and the right of the enemy was partially turned ; yet the main position could not be shaken, until 396 THE LIFE OF Picton near, and Cole further off, had turned it by the left." The accuracy of General Picton's descrip- tion of the attack on the rear of the enemy on the 15th, is proved by Lord Wellington, in his despatch dated Louzao, March 16th, 1811, who observes : " We found the enemy's whole army yesterday in a very strong position on the Ceira, having one corps as an advanced guard in front of Foz de Aronce, on this side the river. I immediately made arrangements to drive in the advanced guard," &c. ****** "The light division, under Major-general Sir William Erskine, was ordered to possess some heights immediately above Foz de Aronce, while Major-general Picton's division was mov- ed along the great road to attack the left of the enemy's position and of the village. The sixth division, under Major-general Campbell, and the Hussars and Sixteenth light dragoons, supported the light division ; and the first divi- sion and the Fourteenth and Royal Dragoons, the third." In the " Annals of the Peninsular Cam- paigns/' it is stated that "On the following SIR THOMAS PICTON. 397 morning (the 15th) a thick fog retarded the march of the allies for several hours. About nine the day cleared up ; and the troops, renew- ing the pursuit, passed through the smoking ruins of Miranda de Corvo. The French army were found in a strong position on the Ceira, a tributary of the Mondego, with one corps at Foz de Aronce, on the left of the river. Lord Wellington immediately directed movements on the flanks of this corps, and attacked it briskly in front. By these measures it was driven rapidly back on the bridge in great confusion." It is extraordinary how General Picton could obtain such accurate details of the pro- ceedings of the other divisions, while he was himself, during nearly the whole of this retreat, on the extreme left of the allied army. Yet, allowing for the various modes of expression, General Picton's statements are corroborated by all those writers who have subsequently compiled their narratives of the war. It must be remembered that the letter from which these passages have been extracted was written actually during the advance of the allies in pursuit of the retreating French ; while, from 398 THE LIFE OF the position of Picton, he had not even the advantage of communicating with the other officers of division . Those who had an opportunity of observing the conduct of General Picton at this period, speak of him in terms which, if inserted here, would be considered merely the language of panegyric. One who served with him in al- most every field, declares that no pen could do justice to the merits and indefatigable exer- tions of Sir Thomas Picton during this pursuit of the French army. Long before the break of day he was awake, and preparing his di- vision for an advance so soon as there was sufficient light to direct their footsteps. Con- stantly at their head, encouraging where they faltered, and directing them where they were at a loss, he might be seen by every man in his division. The waverer was shamed into fresh efforts, while the courageous but exhausted soldier was cheered and encouraged by the ex- ample of his leader. The mountain steeps and unknown and broken paths were traversed with extraordinary rapidity, himself pointing the way and leading on his men until he suddenly sur- prised the enemy by emerging from the mist at SIR THOMAS PICTON. 399 those points where of all others they least ex- pected an attack. These unexpected and daring movements prevented many a bloody struggle, by daunting the enemy and compelling him to retreat in order to save his flank from being turned. The merit of planning these evolutions is doubtless in many instances to be attributed to the dis- tinguished chief of the British army, but the merit of their execution is due alone to Picton. After receiving his orders for the general line of operations, the rest was left to his judgment and his skill : all the active duty consequently devolved upon him ; and even at this period Lord Wellington showed the estimation in which he held him, by keeping his division constantly in the advance, when, by travers- ing the most dangerous and difficult paths, or by outflanking the position of the enemy, many an easy conquest was gained where it might have been anticipated that the enemy would make a determined stand. This division had already obtained for itself a name which it bore throughout the war, and the " fighting division" soon be- came the most conspicuous in the whole army 400 THE LIFE OF for its daring enterprise and indefatigable ac- tivity. It was not, however, its numbers that made it formidable to the enemy or distin- guished in the allied army ; it was the spirit of its soldiers and the heroic example of its leader. There were many older officers in the army at this period, both as to years and experi- ence ; for it must not be forgotten that General Picton had never seen a field of battle before he took the command of the third division of the army in the Peninsula : his early career had therefore been unmarked by any train of services likely to give him military knowledge or reputation. It has already been shown that many years of his life had been passed in all the inactivity of garrison duties in time of peace, many more in the retirement of private life, and a considerable period in the civil capacity of Governor of Trinidad : it will therefore be a natural inquiry how Ge- neral Picton had been enabled to qualify him- self for the important duties which he had now to perform. He had been in the field but one year at the period of this retreat ; yet he distin- guished himself above those whose whole lives had been passed in the camp, who had gone SIR THOMAS PICTON. 401 through every gradation in the school of war, but who now only lived and acted as well-drill- ed soldiers, obedient and brave. Not so Pic- ton : his whole soul was absorbed in the man- oeuvres of the two armies ; he was born a soldier, and he took with him into the field a genius which enabled him soon to become a mas- ter of his profession. In one year he established for himself a name which was the admiration and envy of many a veteran. Lord Wellington was not slow in discovering his abilities, and he thus early placed that reliance on his judgment which Picton afterwards justified upon a more conspicuous occasion. Pursuing a few steps further the comparative statements which have been already adduced in proof of the correctness of General Picton's account, the following extract from Lord Wel- lington's despatch, dated Oliveira de FHopital, March 21st, 1811, is here inserted.' " The enemy withdrew his rear-guard from that river (the Ceira) in the course of the 16th ; and we crossed it on the 17th, and had our posts on the Sierra de Murcella, the enemy's army being in a strong position on the right of the Alva. They moved a part of their VOL. i. 2 D 402 THE LIFE OF army on that night, but still maintained their position on the Alva, of which river they de- stroyed the bridges. We turned their left by the Sierra de Santa Quiteria with the third, first, and fifth divisions on the 18th, while the light division and the sixth manoeuvred in their front from the Sierra de Murcella. These move- ments induced the enemy to bring to the Sierra de Morta the troops which had marched the preceding night, at the same time that they retired their corps from the Alva." General Picton observes, " We were under the necessity of relaxing in our pursuit through a total deficiency of provisions, the convoys of which could not keep pace with the rapidity of our movements ;" a necessity which gave to the enemy an advantage which they could not otherwise have hoped for. They destroyed everything in their path, burning the villages, and apparently striving to revenge themselves upon the defenceless inhabitants for their own reverses. Lord Londonderry remarks : " It seemed as if these men had resolved to make a desert of the country which they had failed to con- quer; and that the war, which they professed SIR THOMAS PICTON. 403 at first to wage only with the English and their armed partisans, had been turned against its peaceable inhabitants."* Whilst the allied army was halting for sup- plies, the enemy were continuing their retreat with the utmost expedition, being followed in their rear by the British cavalry and light in- fantry. Massena's object was evidently to en- deavour to make an effectual stand against the advance of the allies, by concentrating his army upon the heights, and occupying the passes in front of Guarda. But much discontent existed at this time amongst Massena's generals: the impetuous Ney almost refused to co-operate 51 The following additional particulars of the cruel and devastating principle upon which this retreat was conducted are derived from the letter of a gentleman who accompanied the British army in its pursuit of the French, and who was consequently a spectator of what he relates. " It is impossible to describe the scenes of horror of which I have been an eye-witness, and which will for ever brand the name of Massena with execration. It is hard for anybody to believe that human nature could be guilty of such enor- mous and wanton wickedness. The city of Leyria had been eleven days on fire when I was there, and was burning still. Everything that could be taken away was removed, and the rest destroyed. The images in the churches were in pieces ; the graves were actually opened for the sake of plunder. The nuns and friars, at all the towns where we came, had fled to the mountains ; their convents were 404 THE LIFE OF with him ; while Junot, Drouet, and Regnier were equally opposed in opinion. Retreat is ever a trying moment for a com,- m an der-in -chief; the movement is disliked by all, and opinions are hardly ever wanting to prove that it was produced by bad manage- ment, and that at any one stage it might have been stopped. Still, all the odium is made to fall upon the chief, and every subordinate without restraint boldly asserts that he would, and his superior might, have averted the evil ; it is universally allowed that he alone is to be answerable for every casualty or mismanage- ment attending the movements. Thus Massena destroyed, and we found none but a few Portuguese perish- ing with hunger and ill-treatment. At every place where we halted, if we saw anything like a house with a door standing, we made it our head-quarters, and took possession of any table or chair that might have escaped the general devastation, as the mansions had no tenants to dispute our invasion. All was dreadful silence and desolation. The floors of almost every house had been pulled up wherever we passed, particularly at Leyria, where there were about twelve miserable wretches who had been unable to move from wounds and famine, some of whom expired before us. This city, four years since, contained thirty thousand inhabitants. Libraries were burned and scattered ; and it seemed to be the intention of the enemy to leave a dreadful memorial of their fury, which never should be effaced from the recollection of the country.'* SIR THOMAS PICTON. 405 was accused by his whole staff of want of skill, while each in his turn accused the others of giv- ing him bad advice ; and, in consequence, the retreating army more resembled a number of independent bands, than the organized force of a great, and hitherto conquering, nation. The master-hand of Napoleon was never more wanted than at this moment ; and had he acted upon this occasion with any of that foresight and decision which had so long mark- ed his character, by hastening with a few fresh troops to put himself at the head of this dis- organized army, he would at once have smo- thered the flame of discord, silenced the voice of disobedience, and perhaps have prevented, or at least delayed, his ruin. But he was too much engaged in dreams of conquest in the North, to turn for a moment to the affairs of the Peninsula. Wrapped up in his gigantic project against Russia, what were the affairs of the Peninsula to him? what the success of Lord Wellington and his five-and-thirty thou- sand British ? Let them advance ; he could crush them in Spain, and there they would have no retreat! With such arguments as these he let the moment pass ; and the progress of the 406 LIFE OF PICTON. allies towards the very heart of France was never arrested for any time, from the period when they commenced their advance from the lines of Torres Vedras. END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. LONDON J PRINTED BY 8AMVEL BENTLEV, Dorset Street, Fleet Street. 1 MEMOIRS OF LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR THOMAS PICTON, G.C.B. &c. INCLUDING HIS CORRESPONDENCE, FROM ORIGINALS IN POSSESSION OF HIS FAMILY, &c. BY H. B. ROBINSON. SECOND EDITION REVISED, WITH ADDITIONS. IN TWO VOLUMES VOL. II. LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET, in (rttmarg to 1836. CONTENTS THE SECOND VOLUME. CHAPTER I. The route of the enemy followed. Colonel Napier's His- tory and General Picton's Letter Affair of Sabugal. Pic- ton's projected attack. Retreat of the French Army. Battle of Fuentes de Onoro. General Picton's Letter relative to this engagement. Unsuccessful attempt to relieve Al- meida. Battle of Albuera. Siege of Badajoz. Page 1 CHAPTER II. French Forces on the frontier of Portugal. Interval of inactivity. Position of the Allied Army. Lord Welling- ton's intention to blockade Ciudad Rodrigo. Sudden ad- vance of the French. Horsemen charged by Infantry. General Picton's critical situation. Trying manoeuvre. Retreat of the Allies. Interval of repose. Omen of suc- cess. Death of General Picton's Uncle. 33 INTENTS. CHAPTER III. Operations to reduce the Garrison of Ciudad Rodrigo. Commencement of the Siege. Preparations for carry- ing the place by assault. General Picton's Addresses to his soldiers. His Letter descriptive of the Assault of Ciudad Rodrigo. The town taken. Sanguinary excesses. Conflagrations. Characteristic anecdote of General Pic- ton. Marmont and Lord Wellington. Daring design. Badajoz invested. Siege commenced. Death of Captain Cuthbert. Fort of Picurina taken. . Page 57 CHAPTER IV. Siege of Badajoz. Skill of French Governor in the art of defence. Memorandum issued by Lord Wellington. The attack made. General Kempt badly wounded. Desperate efforts of the besieged. Anecdote of Lieu- tenant Macpherson. General Picton wounded. Anec- dotes of Picton. Dreadful havoc among the British. 89 CHAPTER V. Capture of the Castle of Badajoz.-^Lord Wellington directs it to be retained at all hazards. Successful attack on the breaches at the bastion of San Vincente. The Go- vernor retires to Fort Christoval. Attempt to retake the Castle. Death of Colonel Ridge k Surrender of the Garri- CONTENTS. Vll son. Anecdotes of Picton and his Division. Picton's Let- ters relating to the Siege destroyed ; inference to be drawn therefrom. Lord Liverpool's eulogium on Picton. Cha- racter of the Third Division. . . Page 119 CHAPTER VI. Advance of Soult to relieve Badajoz. His retreat on hear- ing of its fall. Marmont threatens Ciudad Rodrigo. He marches upon Almeida Colonel Trant's stratagem. Bri- tish move towards Castile. French retreat upon Salamanca. Skirmish at the Douro. Friendly intercourse between the hostile armies. Marmont, reinforced, assumes the offensive. Picton's dangerous illness. General Pakenham assumes his command. Battle of Salamanca. Gallant con- duct of the Third Division. Temporary success of the French. Their complete route. . . .142 CHAPTER VII. Anecdote of Picton during his illness. Marmont retreats to Burgos. The Allies enter Valladolid. Lord Wellington moves upon Madrid. King Joseph evacuates the capital. Enthusiastic reception of the British. Picton returns to England. Recovers his health at Cheltenham, and revisits his native place. The Allies invest the castle of Burgos. They raise the siege, and retreat to Ciudad Rodrigo. Pic- ton created a Knight of the Bath. He rejoins the army. His reception by his men, Advance of the Allies. . 1 74 Ill CONTENTS. CHAPTER VIII. Joseph Bonaparte retreats to Burgos. He blows up the castle, and continues his retreat. Picton's account of the battle of Vittoria Picton's conduct in the battle. Sur- prising efforts of the Third Division The French driven back upon Vittoria. Total defeat of the French. Narrow escape of King Joseph. Southey's description of the booty. The French fly to Pamplona. They are refused admis- sion. Their flight continued to the Pyrenees. Soult ap- pointed " Lieutenant de VEmpereur." . .197 CHAPTER IX. Advance of the French Army under Soult. Contest under General Picton between the Allied Forces and the French. Battle of the Pyrenees. Retreat of the French Army. General Picton's return to England Receives the thanks of the House of Commons. His speech on that occasion. Command of the Catalonian Army offered to Ge- neral Picton. . . . 229 CHAPTER X. The British army crosses the Bidassoa. Surrender Pamplona. Invasion of France by the British Army. Address of Wellington to his soldiers. Defeat and re- treat of the French army. Advance of the Allies to Bayonne. The French again defeated, Effective state of j__ CONTENTS. IX the Third Division when rejoined by Sir Thomas Pieton. His account of the prospects of the Allied Army. Lord Wellington's operations against Bay on ne. Advance of the Allies into the interior of France. . Page 263 CHAPTER XI. General Picton's account of the Operations of the Army before Bayonne. Battle of Orthes. Picton's important services in that battle. Anecdote of Lieutenant Mac- pherson. Advance of the British upon Bordeaux. The French defeated at Tarbes. The Allied Army crosses the Garonne. Observations of General Picton on Marshal Soult. . . . . . .293 CHAPTER XII. Decisive Battle of Toulouse. Abdication of Napoleon - Evacuation of Toulouse by the French, and entry of the Allied Army. Intelligence of the arrival in Paris of the Allies. Unnecessary effusion of blood. . 323 CHAPTER XIII. Breaking up of the Army Tribute in respect to Sir Thomas Picton by his division His return to England. His services apparently undervalued by the Government. His remark on that subject. Picton again receives the thanks of the House of Commons. . 338 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XIV. Sir Thomas Picton retires into private life. Elevated to the rank of Knight Grand Cross of the Bath His inde- pendence as a Member of Parliament. Recalled from his retirement by the return of Napoleon. His consequent correspondence with the Duke of Wellington. His last letter from home. Presentiment of his death. Anec- dotes relative thereto. His arrival at Brussels, and recep- tion by the Duke of Wellington and the Army. March of the troops to the field. Enumeration of the forces under the command of Picton. His advance to Quatre Bras. Defeat of the French. Anecdotes of the Battle and of ton. Morning of the decisive battle of Waterloo. Page 355 CHAPTER XV. Battle of Waterloo. Death of Sir Thomas Picton His concealment of a previous wound. Announcement of his death in the House of Commons. His body conveyed to England. The Funeral. National Monument to the memory of Picton in St. Paul's Cathedral. Pillar erected at Carmarthen to commemorate his services. 383 CONCLUSION. Character of Sir Thomas Picton. Anecdotes of him. Character of Picton in a letter from the Duke of Welling- ton. . . . 397 CONTENTS. . xi APPENDIX. No. I. Letter from Sir Thomas Picton to Lieutenant-ge- neral Cuyler, transmitting information respecting the Island of Trinidad and the neighbouring continent . Page 427 No. II. Proceedings of the Commissioners and Council in consequence of Mr. Black's declaration . 433 No. III. Letter from Captain Dickson, R.N. to Colonel Picton, respecting Colonel Fullarton's charges . 439 No. IV. Letter from Captain Champain, R.N. to Colonel Picton, respecting Colonel Fullarton's publication 441 No. V. Letter from Lieutenant-colonel Mosheim to Co- lonel Picton, on the same subject . . 443 No. VI. Letter from Lieutenant Mac Carthy to Lieu- tenant-general Picton respecting claims for certain services during the siege of Badajoz .... 446 No. VII. Account of the Ceremony of laying the founda- tion-stone of the Monument in honour of Sir Thomas Picton at Carmarthen ..... 448 INDEX 457 THE LIFE OF LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR THOMAS PICTON, G.C.B. CHAPTER I. The route of the enemy followed Colonel Napier's His- tory and General Picton's Letter. Affair of Sabugal. Picton's projected attack. Retreat of the French army. Battle of Fuentes de Onoro. General Picton's letter relative to this engagement. Unsuccessful attempt to relieve Almeida. Battle of Albuera. Siege of Badajoz. THE allied army followed the route of the enemy by easy marches until the 29th ; Gene- ral Picton having still to lead his troops over almost inaccessible paths amidst the mountains. The striking similarity of statements between Colonel Napier's history and General Picton's letter is here well worthy of remark. The VOL. II. B J 2 THE LIFE OF historian observes : " Early on the 29th, the third, sixth, and light divisions, and two regiments of light cavalry, disposed in five columns of attack on a half-circle round the foot of the Guarda mountain, ascended by as many paths, all leading upon the town of Guarda, and outflanking both the right and left of the enemy. They were supported on one wing by the militia, on the other by the fifth division, and in the centre by the first and seventh divisions. A battle was expect- ed, but the absence of Ney* was at once felt by both armies : the appearance of the allied columns for the first time threw the French into the greatest confusion ; and, without fir- ing a shot, this great and nearly impregnable position was abandoned." The colonel then adds, that " had the pur- suit been as vigorous as the attack, it is not * According to Colonel Napier's history, Massena had deprived Ney of the command of the sixth corps, and given it to Loison. Whether General Picton was aware of this is uncertain ; but as he pays a high compliment to Ney for the manner in which he conducted the retreat, it may be necessary to remark that the change was only made about one day previous to the date of General Picton's letter ; consequently it is only reasonable to suppose that it was yet unknown in the allied army . SIR THOMAS PICTON. 3 easy to see how the second corps could have rejoined Massena. Regnier, however, quitted Belmonte in the night, and recovered his com- munication with a loss of only three hundred prisoners, although the horse artillery and ca- valry had been launched against him at day- light on the 30th ; and much more could have been done if General Slade had pressed his cavalry forward with the celerity and vigour the occasion required." A reference to the passage in General Picton's letter relating to this movement will evince the correspondence of facts ; but it should be particularly remarked, that the date of General Picton's letter is the very same as that upon which this operation took place, and it must actually have been written while the tramp of the retreating foe was almost sounding in his ears. Colonel Napier's ob- servation that the pursuit of the enemy was not so vigorous as the attack, is certainly not borne out by General Picton's statement, wherein he says : " Massena himself, with full twenty thousand men, was on the heights and in the city of Guarda when I made my appearance at nine B 2 4 THE LIFE OF o'clock in the morning with three British and two Portuguese regiments." This would imply that the advance, at least, of the third division was sufficiently bold and rapid to produce any advantages which pursuit could obtain ; but whether it was from any delay in bringing for- ward the other divisions, or that the enemy's reserve was in too great force for the allies to hazard any attack, a judgment may be formed by the succeeding passage of General Picton's letter : " This famous general (Massena)," he con- tinues, " certainly showed little determination or talent on the occasion. With his great supe- riority of force, he should immediately have attacked me, notwithstanding the excellence of my position, which, independent of its strength, had a most commanding appearance; but he allowed me to remain within four hundred yards of his main body, threatening his rear, for above two hours before the other columns made their appearance. But, of course, their movements alarming him, at the same time decided him not to hazard an attack, the failure of which would probably have brought on the total discomfiture of his army." SIR THOMAS PICTON. 5 From this it is quite evident, that whatever degree of censure may be attributed to the allies for not following up the pursuit with necessary vigour, still General Picton and his division are exempt ; for it is shown that he had to wait two hours until the other columns made their appearance.* General Picton at the same time agrees with Colonel Napier, that much more might have been done had the cavalry been pressed on ; but Picton, it will be perceived, attributes the neglect of this im- portant movement to the difficulties of the country and the badness of the roads, which, in his opinion, rendered it impracticable. Ap- * As these columns came up, the different staff officers were making constant use of their glasses, in endeavours to discover the movements of the enemy. One of these, whilst looking at an unfinished fort on the left of the position, remarked to Sir Edward Pakenham, who was near, " We shall have some sharp work there; that place is full of men." The gallant Sir Edward immediately fixed his glass on the fort, and, after observing for a short time, said, " Full of men ! yes, it is full of men ; but, by G d, they Ve all red jackets!" A further reconnoissance was quickly made, when it was soon discovered that this was Picton's division, which had thus early got possession of the fort, after driving the enemy out with such precipitation that they actually left their kettles on the fires, containing their meat, which thus became a most acceptable prize to Picton's soldiers. D THE LIFE OF parently unwilling to quit Portugal entirely, Massena lost no opportunity of arresting the progress of the allies ; and on the 3rd of April he attempted to make another stand on the Coa, which brought on the affair of Sabugal. Colonel Beckwith's brigade of the light division, four companies of the Ninety -fifth, with two squadrons of cavalry, and three companies of Colonel Elder's Ca9adores, supported by the Forty-third regiment, for a long time bore the whole brunt of the fight. This was occasioned by the attack being made somewhat prema- turely. Colonel Napier, in speaking of this affair, observes : "The troops could not gain their respective posts of attack with that simultaneous regula- rity which is so essential to success ; and in the light division no measures were taken by Sir William Erskine to put the columns in a right direction ; the brigades were not even held together: he carried off the cavalry without even communicating with Colonel Beckwith ; and this officer, who commanded the first bri- gade, being without instructions, halted at a ford in expectation of further orders. While thus waiting, a staff officer rode up, and somewhat SIR THOMAS PICTON. 7 hastily asked, why he did not attack ? The thing appeared rash, but, with an enemy in his front, he could make no reply ; wherefore, pass- ing the river, which was deep and rapid, he mounted a very steep wooded hill on the other side." The rain and mist for a time concealed their approach ; but, as they drew nearer, they found that they were close to the left of the enemy's main body, and opposed to a large column in front. None of the other divisions had yet reached their destination, and this small force was consequently in a very perilous situation. A most severe struggle ensued : at- tacked on all sides, and occasionally compelled to give way to the overwhelming pressure of the column to which they were opposed, still they recovered their ground the next moment at the point of the bayonet. Three successive charges were made by the Forty-third regiment with a resolution and courage which could not be resisted ; thrice they beat back the solid masses of the French, and repulsed the attacks of their cavalry : but all would have been in vain ; the whole force of the enemy had been called up, and were about to close in upon this 8 THE LIFE OF heroic little band, when firing was heard on their left. This was from the leading brigade of the " fighting division," under Major-ge- neral Colville. An individual who belonged to one of the regiments forming this brigade, alluding to its progress to the point of attack, observes, " As we advanced up the hill we formed line. Ge- neral Picton rode up in front of us, with his stick over his shoulder,* exposed to the hea- vy fire of the enemy, as composed as if he had been in perfect safety. < Steady ! my lads, steady !' said he ; * don't throw away your fire until I give you the word of command.' " And not a shot was fired until within a few yards of the enemy's right ; but then a volley was poured in close and true. A cheer at the same moment was caught up by Beckwith's almost * General Picton was in the constant habit of riding with a stick in his hand, and even in the heat of battle he some- times retained it. When the firing commenced, he might be observed tapping the mane of his horse, at measured inter- vals, in proportion to its rapidity ; as it became quicker, and the fight grew warmer, this movement of the stick would be increased both in velocity and force, until at length the horse would become restive. But this seldom drew Picton's attention off, as his firm seat saved him from all apprehen- sion of a fall. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 9 exhausted soldiers, and the attack was renewed with fresh energy. The head of Major-gene- ral Dunlop's column was now seen crossing the bridge of the Coa, and ascending the heights on the enemy's right flank, while the cavalry appeared on the high ground in the rear of their left. These movements compelled Reg- nier to desist from his attack upon the ap- parently devoted band against which he was about to lead his reserves, and Colonel Beck- with and his brigade were rescued from the perilous situation in which they had been thus rashly placed. It is, however, only justice to the memory of this brave officer and the soldiers under his command to conclude our account of this affair with the observations contained in Lord Wel- lington's despatch. " Although," says his lord- ship, " the operations of this day were, by unavoidable accidents, not performed in the manner in which I intended they should be, I consider the action that was fought by the light division, by Colonel Beckwith's brigade prin- cipally, with the whole of the second corps, to be one of the most glorious that British troops were ever engaged in." 10 THE LIFE OF The allies bivouacked on the field of battle, and consequently the victory, although dearly bought, was theirs. General Picton was not, however, content- ed with merely driving the enemy from the field ; upon reconnoitring their position, he perceived what he considered to be a most favourable opportunity for attacking a hill in his front. A considerable force occupied this post with some artillery; but General Picton felt confident that he could drive back the French and seize their guns. The other divi- sions had already halted ; but Picton was so convinced of the advantages to be gained by securing this post, that he was on the point of leading his men forward upon his own respon- sibility, observing to an aid-de-camp, " We must drive the enemy from that hill, or we shall have done no good." But at this moment an aid- de-camp came up from the commander of the forces, directing him to halt his division for the night. General Picton was always anxious to fulfil his instructions, although he sometimes ventured to give them a rather free interpretation ; consequently, with much dis- appointment, he immediately halted his divi- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 11 sion. The advantages of his projected attack were, however, apparent on the following morning ; for the enemy, upon the advance of the allies, hurried off, and with some diffi- culty were enabled to save nine guns, which were attached to this corps, and which, had the attack been briskly made on the previous evening, would in all probability have been captured. The retreat was continued ; and on the 5th of April the whole of Portugal, excepting Almeida, was freed from French troops at the point of the bayonet. This invasion was calculated to have cost Massena above thirty thousand of his best soldiers. The following letter from General Picton to Mr. Marryat, written about this period, will be read with interest : " Amedillia, Spain, 18th April. "My DEAR SIR, " I have had the pleasure of receiving your letter of the 12th of March, and one by Mr. , whom I took the earliest opportunity of recommending to the particular attention of Mr. Kennedy, the commissary-general, who, I am sure, will give him every opportunity of THE LIFE OF becoming useful to the public, and eventually to himself. This letter is written, as you will not fail to observe, from Spain. We have ef- fectually driven the French out of Portugal, with the single exception of Almeida, (where they have a small garrison,) which we have in- vested, but cannot besiege, for want of batter- ing cannon ; but as it is entirely cut off from any possible communication with the French army in Spain, it must submit in the course of a few weeks. " Whilst we have been employed in pur- suing Massena, the rascally Spaniards took an opportunity of treacherously giving the enemy possession of Badajoz, which obliged Lord Wellington, in the midst of his movements after Massena, to detach Sir W. C. Beresford, and a principal division of the army, consist- ing of sixteen British regiments, and nearly as many Portuguese battalions, to oppose Mar- shal Mortier, who is now shut up in Badajoz with about five thousand. If he succeeds in compelling him to surrender, as we confidently hope he will, the business of Portugal will be completely settled for some time; but from all I have seen of the Spaniards, I have little, i i SIR THOMAS PICTON. 13 indeed no hopes of their ever being able to do anything. " I find Maitland goes out to Sicily ; he will be an honour to his country wherever he is employed. " If anything can be done to prevent my being engaged with Mr. McDonald's affairs, pray endeavour to effect it. I would willingly make great sacrifices to get rid of this last West Indian concern, which hangs so heavily about my neck. "Nothing can be worse than the existing government of this country, and unless the Princess Regent of Portugal determines to get rid of all the rascally factions, by appointing Lord Wellington Vice-Regent, with full powers to administer the government, everything will shortly be as bad as ever here. The Portuguese army, for want of being properly recruited, is rapidly falling off every day. They scarcely bring twenty thousand bayonets into the field now, and in the course of another year they will not bring fifteen thousand, unless some more effectual mode of executing the existing laws be had recourse to. Two regiments at- tached to my division, the establishment of 14 THE LIFE OF which is two thousand five hundred men, do not bring one thousand two hundred into the field, and this is pretty generally the proportion throughout the army. The men are well dis- posed, good subjects, and I have found them, on all occasions, show an excellent spirit, and no want of courage in the face of the enemy. " Your very faithful, " Humble servant, T. PlCTON." To reduce Almeida was the next important measure. The opportunity was favourable, and the army was in consequence placed in canton- ment around this fortress, so as to effect its total investment. Having thus disposed of the allied army, Lord Wellington, leaving the command to General Sir Brent Spencer, the senior officer, next proceeded to inspect the Army of the South, which still kept the field, with Marshal Beresford at its head. Massena had not, how- ever, given up all hope of succouring Almeida: the allies were much pressed for provisions, but the fortress was quite destitute ; and Massena knew, that unless he could succeed in throwing in some supplies, General Brennier (who was in SIR THOMAS P1CTON. 15 command) would be compelled to surrender. Urging forward his reinforcements, the French general resolved to attempt to raise the siege ; and on the 2nd of May he crossed the Agueda near Ciudad Hodrigo, and marched upon Al- meida, with the hope of supplying the garrison with provisions. Lord Wellington returned to the army on the 28th of April, just in time to meet the plans of Massena, who, on the 3rd of May, put his whole force in motion, with the apparent intention of risking a battle for the defence of the fortress. The battle of Fuentes de Onoro ensued. The third division upon this memorable occasion occupied, in conjunction with the first, a posi- tion in the rear of the village of Fuentes de Onoro, the light troops being in the houses and defensible posts in front. Towards evening a most furious attack was made upon this part of the position by the whole of the sixth and part of the ninth corps of the enemy. A heavy cannonade was opened upon the village, which, being partly situated in a ravine, was neces- sarily much exposed. The enemy's light troops attacked the third and first divisions of the allied army with great bravery and persever- 16 THE LIFE OF ance. The cannonade from the neighbouring heights, together with the numbers of the ene- my, made them for a moment waver; but at this critical juncture a gallant charge made by the Seventy-first regiment, with Lieutenant- colonel Cadogan at their head, determined at once the question of occupation for the night ; the Twenty -fourth and Seventy-ninth regi- ments being at the same time ordered to cap- ture and maintain possession of the village.* The approach of evening put an end to the conflict; but with the morning it was expected that it would be renewed : Massena had, how- ever, found greater difficulty than he had anti- cipated in forcing this post; and when the Bri- tish line, with the first dawn of day, got under arms, no appearance of attack was perceptible. Still it was evident, as the day advanced, that preparations were being made for a more com- * The spirited conduct of Lieutenant-colonel Williams of the Sixtieth, who commanded the light troops of Pic- ton's division upon this occasion, and who in the most gallant manner defended the village against the repeated attacks of the enemy, called forth the warmest eulogiums from General Picton and the whole army. He was badly wounded during the action ; but it was not until after this event that the light troops were arrested in their successful opposition. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 17 bined and general movement: additional troops, especially cavalry, were seen coming in from all parts ; staff-officers were galloping about in all directions reconnoitring the British posi- tion. The 4th, however, passed without a shot being fired. Lord Wellington and his whole army had not a doubt but that the attack would be made on the ensuing day ; neither were they disappointed, as will be seen by the following letter from General Picton to his uncle, General W. Picton. Nava d'Aver, May 12th, 1811. " MY DEAR UNCLE, " I received the letter with which you fa- voured me when near Pombal, and take the first opportunity to acknowledge it. I know there is no subject so interesting to you as our movements; and while so near the enemy, I can think of no other to write upon. You of course know by this time that we have at length succeeded in driving Massena quite out of Por- tugal. Lord Wellington's plans throughout the pursuit appear to have been to avoid as much as possible a general engagement; for, although retreating, the enemy is still too strong for us VOL. IT. c 18 THE LIFE OF to meet him on open ground. He is, in fact, more frightened than hurt, and more alarmed by what might have happened if he had stayed any longer in Portugal than by any real injury. In consequence, our movements have all been to keep up this alarm, by giving him no time for reflection, and, by constantly outflanking his position, compelling him either to continue his retreat, or give us battle at a disadvantage. Fortunately he has preferred the former ; for the result of the latter would have depended a good deal upon the behaviour of our allies. Hitherto they have behaved very well, and will perhaps stand when it comes to a matter of importance; but they do not seem to handle the bayonet so well as our soldiers. " Massena having crossed the frontier into Spain, we commenced the blockade of Almeida early in April ; but, after lying in this state of inactivity for about three weeks, we were arous- ed by the sudden advance of Massena to succour the garrison. He crossed the Agueda on the 2nd of May with his whole army, and without much delay attempted to force a passage to Almeida; but we took up a strong position between him and that place, having rather an exten- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 19 sive line, the left resting on Fort Conception, and the right near Fuentes de Onoro. A good deal of skirmishing took place in this village on the evening of the 3rd May, during which the light troops of the division, under Lieu- tenant-colonel Williams of the Sixtieth, be- haved in a very gallant manner, repulsing the French at every point, until Colonel Williams being badly wounded, the enemy's efforts were attended with some success; but he was repuls- ed by the Seventy-first regiment, which made a spirited charge and drove the enemy from the village for the night. " We fully expected an attack upon the fol- lowing day, but it was passed by the enemy in reconnoitring and making fresh dispositions, apparently for a more general attack : these dis- positions were met by a corresponding change in our position. At daylight on the 5th we were again attacked by the French in great force, and we were soon engaged in rather a serious affair; when, as usual, the principal share of the fighting fell to the third division, which was supported on its right by the first, under Sir Brent Spencer; the light division under General Crawfurd, supported by the 20 THE LIFE OF cavalry, occupying the ground on the extreme right of our position. " The village of Fuentes de Onoro was still the principal object of attack ; but it was de- fended in the most determined manner by the Seventy-first, Twenty-fourth, and Seventy- ninth regiments. The firing was kept up with great spirit by these troops, and they succeed- ed in keeping possession of the place for some hours against the repeated attacks of the French, supported by a tremendous cannonade. About two o'clock, however, these regiments began to give way, and fall back upon some more defensible ground in the rear of the village; when at this moment the Eighty-eighth re- giment, under Colonel Wallace, and led by Major-general Mackinnon, was ordered to move up and support them. This was done in ad- mirable order; and they made so overwhelming a charge through the streets, that they drove the enemy from the village with immense loss.* * " General Picton had had occasion to check this re- giment (the Eighty-eighth) for some plundering affair they had been guilty of; when he was so offended at their con- duct, that, in addressing them, he told them they were ' the greatest blackguards in the army/ But as he was always as ready to bestow praise as censure where it was due, SIR THOMAS PICTON. 21 Neither did he make any fresh efforts to re- gain it, but contented himself by keeping up a heavy but not very destructive cannonade upon the village. " During these operations the light division, under General Crawfurd, was rather roughly handled by the enemy's cavalry ; and had this arm of the French army been as daring and active upon this occasion as they were when following us to the lines of Torres Vedras, they would doubtless have cut off the light di- vision to a man, and probably have destroyed our cavalry; but they let the golden moment pass, and I hope they will never have another. Our loss has been very severe, more especially in the third division. We have got possession of the ruins of Almeida; for the commandant, General Brennier, after blowing up several of the fortifications, on the night of the 10th, con- trived to pass through our blockading regi- when they were returning from this gallant and effective charge he exclaimed, Well done the brave Eighty-eighth !' Some of them, who had been stung by his former reproaches, cried out, ' Are we the greatest blackguards in the army now ?' Picton smiled, as he replied, * No, no ; you are brave and gallant soldiers: this day has redeemed your cha- racter.' " Eventful Life of a Soldier. 22 THE LIFE OF ments without being observed until too late to do him any serious injury ; and, in conse- quence, he was enabled to form a junction with Massena, having sustained but little loss. " We have been inactive for a few days ; but affairs are assuming a threatening aspect in the south, and perhaps you will next hear from m near Badajoz. " Always, my dear uncle, very sincerely and truly yours, " TH. PICTON." The firing continued for some time after the French had been driven from the village of Fuentes de Onoro, but without doing any serious injury to those who held it ; although much blood was spilt upon this occasion, with but little advantage to either party. HI Lord Wellington still maintained his position between Almeida and the supplies which Mas- sena was desirous of throwing into that garrison. The French general did not make a second at- tempt upon the following day, although a con- tinuation of the battle was fully anticipated by the allies. It has been a subject of much dis- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 23 cussion amongst military men, what could induce Massena so readily to abandon his ob- ject ; as his loss was not sufficiently great, and his position remained the same; in fact, the French as well as the allies claimed the victory; although, as the British succeeded in their ob- ject of preventing supplies being thrown into Almeida, while the enemy failed in effecting that for which they fought the battle, the decision of this mere point of honour is obvious. Massena was so little satisfied with the result of the attack, that on the 8th and 9th his army was in motion to the rear; but whether to attempt to force the British line at another point, or recross the frontier, was at first doubtful. On the 10th, however, he drew his whole force over the Agueda, and thus left Almeida to its fate. The con- duct of the governor of this fortress was both skilful and daring. As we have already seen from General Picton's letter, he contrived to elude the vigilance of the blockading regiments, and, after blowing up the fortifications, effected a junction with the second corps of the French army, under Regnier. This was a source of much disappointment to the British army ; and 24 THE LIFE OF the regiments whose duty it was to have pre- vented this manoeuvre were for some time ex- posed to the jeers of their companions. Upon the return of the French army to Spain after this unsuccessful attempt to relieve Almeida, the command was conferred on Mar- mont, who had been created Duke of Ragusa ; Massena being recalled to answer for the re- verses which he had sustained, and to quiet the discontent of his subordinate generals. A brief respite of a few days followed this second retreat, during which General Picton was ordered to rest his division at Nava d'Aver. But he was not long inactive, for some rather important events were now taking place in the south. Marshal Beresford had laid siege to Badajoz ; and about the period of Massena's defeat at Fuentes de Onoro and sub- sequent retreat it was fully invested, and the bat- teries of the besiegers had been erected. Soult, however, who was in command of the Army of the South, and was aware of the smallness of the force under Beresford aad the inefficiency of his means, determined, if possible, to raise the siege before any assistance could arrive from Lord Wellington. But that general, as if and- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 25 cipating the plans of his opponents, immediately he had made the necessary arrangements to guard against any further attack in front, and was convinced that no renewal of active hostili- ties was to be apprehended in that direction, placed the army in cantonments between Al- meida and the Spanish frontier, and then set off with the utmost expedition to superintend the siege of Badajoz. The third and seventh divisions were ordered to follow him without loss of time ; and accord- ingly General Picton broke up the cantonments of his division, and with the seventh, under General Houston, commenced his march by the route of Castello Branco, Niza, Portalegre, and Campo Mayor. The very day, however, upon which these divisions were put in motion to re- inforce Marshal Beresford, that general was com- pelled to give battle to Soult near the village of Albuera. Lord Wellington was proceeding at a rapid pace to the scene of threatened hostili- ties, while Soult was moving with equal rapidi- ty to relieve the besieged garrison ; and Beres- ford found himself under the necessity of either advancing to meet him, or of fighting under the walls of Badajoz. With much judgment he de- THE LIFE OF termined on the former alternative; and having carried off the whole of his stores, he put his army in motion, consisting of the fourth divi- sion, commanded by General Cole, and the se- cond division, under General Stewart; which were the only British troops under his com- mand, with the exception of the Thirteenth Dragoons and some artillery: the whole of the remainder, amounting to about twenty-five thousand men, being composed of Spaniards and Portuguese, with one brigade of Germans, under General Alten. The force under Soult was not so numerous, but far superior in every other respect, consisting entirely of French, and hav- ing above three thousand excellent cavalry and between forty and fifty pieces of cannon. It would be out of place here to give a detailed ac- count of this sanguinary day, as General Picton was not in the field ; but we refer to the admir- able description of this battle given by Colonel Napier. It was one of the most desperately fought general actions during this war ; and, as the Colonel well observes at the conclusion of his relation, " the laurel is nobly won when the exhausted victor reels as he places it on his bleeding front." I SIR THOMAS PICTON. 27 Lord Wellington heard numerous and differ- ing reports while on his road to Badajoz ; some that the French had been victorious, others that the allies had retreated without a battle: but as he got nearer to the scene, he was met at Elvas by an officer sent by Marshal Beresford, who brought him all the particulars of the con- flict. The result, as may be imagined, gave him great satisfaction; it was not however unmin- gled with regret, for the loss sustained by the English was immense. On the 24th of May, General Picton arrived at Campo Mayor with his division, where it was halted for a few days until the military stores and implements for the approaching siege could come up. The apprehensions that Soult would be enabled again to raise the siege were not entirely removed by the partial success which had attended the allies at Albuera. The enemy had there yielded with a stubborn front, which did not offer to the victors much security against a renewal of the attack when he should obtain a sufficient reinforcement ; but as that could not be immediately obtained, Lord Wel- lington determined, with his very slender means, to secure Badajoz before Soult should be enabled 28 THE LIFE OF to make a second effort for its relief. While, therefore, Marshal Beresford was instructed slowly to follow and observe Soult, Generals Houston and Picton were ordered to bring up their divisions and immediately to invest the place. On the 25th, the seventh took up a position on the right of the Guadiana. Two days after- wards General Picton crossed the river by a ford and established his division on the left bank, where the troops built themselves huts, and prepared to carry on the operations imme- diately. In modern warfare a hurried siege is, however, seldom a successful one if the defen- ders have a hope of relief. On the 2nd of June, the batteries were com- pleted, and opened upon the castle, and Fort Christoval. The poverty of the means at Lord Wellington's disposal for carrying on this siege was a subject of much merriment to the soldi- ers employed. General Picton remarked that " Lord Wellington sued Badajoz in forma pau- peris ;" and he was answered, that, " instead of breach in g, the operations appeared more like beseeching, Badajoz." In fact, everything was wanting to bring this siege to a rapid termi- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 29 nation. The means were deficient for the re- duction of the place in any time ; but to do so with expedition appeared, with such a force, to be impossible. On the 6th, the breach in Fort Christoval was reported practicable by Lieu- tenant Foster, who had minutely examined it, and in consequence an assault was ordered at midnight ; but, after a brave, though totally un- successful effort, the assailants were compelled to retire with considerable loss. A second at- tempt was made on the night of the 9th, which, although better planned and conducted, was equally unsatisfactory in its result. The bat- teries again opened on the following morning, as the walls were supposed not to be sufficiently breached to render the assault successful ; but towards noon orders were received at all the batteries to cease firing. Lord Wellington had received information of the enemy's movements, which at once determined him for a time to forego the reduction of Badajoz. Accordingly, after being engaged in unceasing efforts for nearly five weeks, the siege was raised, a block- ading detachment being left to prevent the garrison from receiving any reinforcements or supplies. 30 THE LIFE OF The following letter from General Picton to Mr. Marryat gives a desponding view of the prospects of the British Army at this period. " Campo Mayor, 2nd July 1811. " MY DEAR SlR, " Smith, I see, has a large support in the House. The ministry support him to cover their own ignorance and folly in the appoint- ment; and his former connexions, the Whigs and abolitionists, will not forsake an old friend in distress. You know I was always against puppet-show legislature in the country, and I have hitherto seen nothing to make me change my opinion. Generally speaking, and with few exceptions, it is a society composed of materials unfit to be trusted with the important power of legislation. It will be enough to give them good laws, and respectable, responsible people to execute them with impartiality. " The approach of Soult and Marmont de- termined Lord Wellington to raise the siege, or rather, blockade of Badajoz, and we have now taken up a defensive line on the right bank of the Guadiana, behind the fortresses of Elvas and Campo Mayor. " There is no probability of our undertaking offensive operations. Indeed, we are in no SIR THOMAS PICTON. 31 situation to attempt anything of the kind, considering the relative situations of the two armies : for, independent of the mixed materials we are composed of, in numerical force they exceed us at least by one-third. You appear everywhere to entertain sanguine expectations of our ulterior successes. I am concerned that I cannot say anything to keep up so pleasant a delusion, but believe me, it cannot last long. " Ministry represent the Portuguese force as amounting to forty thousand regulars, and fifty thousand militia. The regulars do not amount to twenty thousand, and as for the militia, they are scarcely worth bringing into the account. If it is intended to carry on the war with a paper force of this kind, you will all very shortly be undeceived. There are independent bands of freebooters who harass the French considerably in several parts of Spain, but they are equally formidable to the Spanish inhabitants, who dread them to the full as much as they do the enemy. And you may depend upon it, the great mass of the inhabitants of the neighbour- ing provinces have submitted to the French yoke, and are not disposed to make any further struggle. We are playing, in my opinion, a very losing game in carrying on the war with 32! THE LIFE OF our own money, at an immense expense, whilst the French army are wholly supported by the re- sources of Spain. This kind of contest cannot last long. Portugal, whatever your wise heads may say to the contrary, is a mere caput mortuum, or a dead weight upon our hands in the contest, and does not supply any force or co-operation of consideration for the 2,000,000/. she receives. Unless the whole resources of this country are made subservient and applicable to her defence, the contest cannot be carried on with any reason- able probability of ultimate success. " You will think me a gloomy predictor, but I fear, in the end, it will turn out that I have drawn legitimate conclusions. I shall be most happy to find them disproved by more favour- able events than I look forward to at present ; but I must continue under similar impressions until that period. " Yours very faithfully, " T. PICTON. In concluding his account of this siege, Lord Wellington, in his despatch, observes, "Major- general Picton directed the operations on the left of the Guadiana, and Major-general Hous- ton on the right, and T am much indebted to these officers." SIK THOMAS P1CTON. 33 CHAPTER II. French forces on the frontier of Portugal. Interval of inactivity. Position of the Allied army. Lord Welling- ton's intention to blockade Ciudad Rodrigo. Sudden advance of the French. Horsemen charged by Infantry. General Picton's critical situation. Trying mano?uvre. Retreat of the Allies. Interval of repose. Omen of success. Death of General Picton's uncle. MARMONT, Drouet, and Soult were collecting their forces on the frontiers of Portugal, to co- operate against the allies in one more effort to drive them from that kingdom. The main body of the British army was still behind the Agueda, under the orders of General Sir Brent Spencer ; and as the army of Portugal con- tinued to move by its left to form a junction with the corps under Drouet and Soult, the British army was manoeuvred so as to keep on its front, and still protect Portugal, until it effected a junction with the force around Bada- VOL. II. I> 34 THE LIFE OF joz. By the 26th of June, Lord Wellington had concentrated the whole of his troops to give battle to Marmont if he attempted the invasion of Portugal. The French in Badajoz were gratified by the sight of their own army on the 19th, when the united corps of Soult and Marmont came to their relief. General Picton had been or- dered to take up his old position at Campo Mayor, and accordingly he marched his own and the seventh division to that place, which now formed the extreme left of the British line, the right resting on Elvas; and in this position the army remained for some weeks : that of the French, amounting to about seventy thousand men, under the united marshals, being in cantonments along the course of the Guadi- ana, between Badajoz and Merida. It was natural to expect that, while the two armies were within so short a distance of each other, something decisive would take place. The enemy, at all events, came to fight; and as their force was considerably greater than that of the allies, they were expected to commence the attack. This expectation pre- vailed for some time in the allied army; but SIR THOMAS PICTON. 35 it soon became evident that the French mar- shals had learned to respect their opponents' and having succeeded in raising the siege of Badajoz, they appeared contented with their success. On the other hand, Lord Wellington was not anxious to risk a battle : he had lately received some reinforcements from England; the success of his plans had given confidence to the Government, and they were now making efforts to assist him. He determined, therefore, to fight if he could not defend Portugal with- out fighting ; but, unless compelled to do so, to remain in his present inactive situation. The position occupied by the allied army was one of considerable strength, and enabled Lord Wellington to concentrate his whole force with facility upon any one point which the enemy might think proper to select for attack. But the plans of the French generals seemed rather uncertain, and some weeks were passed in inac- tivity. A few cavalry skirmishes alone broke the monotony, in most of which the enemy were successful ; and upon one of these occasions they succeeded in cutting off and making pri- soners about one hundred and twenty men be- longing to the Eleventh Light Dragoons. The 36 THE LIFE OF " fighting division," while in these quarters, was quite out of its element ; and General Picton, in a letter written at this period to his brother, observes, " We are here undergoing all the dis- agreeable and inactive routine of garrison duty, although with an enemy's force more than one- fourth larger than our own immediately in our front : but this cannot last long," &c. For nearly a month the allied army remained in this position. About the end of July, how- ever, Lord Wellington resolved to occupy a new line, and General Picton was ordered to march his division in the direction of Ciudad Rodrigo, which, Lord Wellington had been informed, was almost destitute of supplies. Picton accordingly recrossed the Tagus at Villa Velha; Sir Rowland Hill being again left with his corps to protect Alentejo. The position of the allies was therefore very similar to that which they had occupied the preceding year; but their prospects were widely different. At that period the English general was making every preparation to retreat with his small and inexperienced army, to seek protection behind the fortified lines which he had prepared for its reception, while the French were advancing SIR THOMAS PICTON. 37 full of confidence to drive Wellington and his soldiers into the sea. Now the state of affairs was much changed : Lord Wellington's army was augmented in numbers, and had driven the enemy before them out of Portugal ; they had obtained confidence both in themselves and their leaders ; while the French, although better organized than they had been for some time, and greatly superior in numbers, were evidently afraid to hazard a battle. This was most satis- factorily demonstrated by an intercepted letter from General Tresion, chief of Marmont's staff, wherein he observed in most positive terms, that " the French troops were not able to cope with the English, and that their best chance of suc- cess lay in manoeuvring;" an acknowledgment highly flattering to the courage and discipline of the British soldiers. On the 10th of August Lord Wellington established his head-quarters at Fuente Guinaldo ; it being his intention to blockade Ciudad Rodrigo, in consequence of his deficiency in all the necessary implements for a siege. It was known that a want of pro- visions was beginning to be felt in the fortress, and it was hoped that the garrison might be compelled to surrender before any movement 38 THE LIFE OF could be made by Marmont for their relief. Lord Wellington immediately occupied the country between the rivers Coa and Agueda. The following letter from General Picton to Mr. Marryat gives his view of the prospects of the allied army at this time : "Alberguira, Spain, 12th Aug. 1811. " MY DEAR SIR, " We are again restored to our old theatre between the Coa and Agueda, and most proba- bly shall move forward and cross the latter. The insuperable difficulty (from distance, and the na- ture of the roads) to the transporting forward the heavy ordnance and stores for a siege, will effec- tually prevent our attacking Ciudad Rodrigo, but we shall push on towards Salamanca, for the purpose of drawing the French armies from the rich countries where they are now cantoned. If this purpose should be effected by our man- oeuvre, we shall have gained a most important point. As soon as they find us moving, in force, upon Salamanca, they will be obliged to concen- trate the whole of their force, now cantoned in the rich countries about Talavera de la Reyna, Placencia, and Coria, and march without loss of SIR THOMAS PICTON. 39 time upon Ciudad Rodrigo; when Lord Wel- lington, having effected his purpose, that of drawing them into a country where they cannot exist without separating, may either fight them to advantage, or take up a position behind the Agueda, in readiness to profit by any false move- ment they may make. If Buonaparte's atten- tion should be taken up in the North, so as to prevent his amply reinforcing his armies in the Peninsula, I think we shall be able to afford him plenty of amusement here ; but this war cannot be carried on without money, and if we cannot afford a liberal supply, we had better give it up at once. With money we can command abun- dant supplies on the frontiers of Spain, and can manoeuvre to great ^advantage over an enemy who is under the necessity of separating conti- nually to collect his means of subsistence ; but without, we shall not be able to effect anything of consequence, as all our movements will de- pend upon the procuring supplies, which we draw from the sea-ports by a long, difficult land carriage. Our movements are not nearly as ex- peditious as they would be, were we not depen- dent on such considerations. As long as we have money in abundance, supplies of all kinds 40 THE LIFE OF find us out ; but as soon as the means fail us, 5 Lord knows where Dollars here are the only we are obliged to go in search of them, sinews of war. "I had a letter from General Maitland, down from Gibraltar, on his way to Sicily. I find he was appointed to that command without any application or previous intimation of the inten- tion. In a pecuniary view it is certainly by no means an advantageous change for him ; as the revenue of a lieutenant-general will barely make the military pot boil, leaving the family entirely out of the question. "I hope Mrs. M. and the young ladies con- tinue in good health, and amuse themselves well with the rural scenes about Sydenham. Pray offer them my best respects. Has your elder son returned from his travels ? I hope well stored with useful observations. My best re- spects to him and all the young ones. "I am beginning to grow tired of this vagrant life. We have been since March in continual movement sometimes in miserable abandoned cottages, and as frequently without any cover- ing whatever. I have constantly, for a whole year, made use of a bundle of straw as a bed, SIR THOMAS PICTON. 41 and I do not see any probability of a change for some time longer. "With my best wishes, my dear sir, " Very faithfully yours, "T. PICTON." The third division was in a position of consi- derable extent, and even danger, on the heights of El Bodon. This was soon evinced upon a trying occasion. The intention of Lord Wel- lington in moving his army from the Guadiana was not apparently discovered by Marmont, and the allies had completed the investment of Ciu- dad Rodrigo long before that general put his columns in motion. At length, however, hav- ing formed a junction with the corps of Dor- senne, and collected a considerable quantity of provisions, he made preparations to raise the blockade, and, if possible, to drive the allies from the vicinity of the fortresses in the possession of the French on the Spanish frontier. On the 22nd of September, Dorsenne and Marmont met at Tamames, a few leagues in front of Ciudad Rodrigo; their united forces amounting to about sixty thousand men, with six thousand cavalry, and nearly one hundred pieces of artillery. The force under Lord Wei- 42 THE LIFE OF lington at this moment did not exceed fifty thousand men, some portion of which was neces- sarily occupied in the close investment of Ciu- dad Rodrigo. According to Colonel Napier, "Lord Wellington's position was very extensive, and therefore very weak," Certain it is, that the third division, which formed the centre, had to occupy ground which, to defend effectually, should have been held by double the number of men. At daybreak on the 25th the enemy were in motion to attack the position occupied by General Picton. Montbrun, with his cavalry, shook the ground in their approach with a noise as of thunder, and swept the height in the cen- tre of his position : it was occupied by the Fifth and Seventy-seventh, with the Eleventh Light Dragoons, and some squadrons of German hus- sars. Fortunately the impetuosity of the French cavalry led them so much in advance of their in- fantry, that they had for some time to contend alone against the British. The action was begun by the sudden advance of the French, who, first traversing an open plain, and then crossing a ravine, ascended a steep rocky causeway, under a constant fire of grape and canister from a brigade of Portuguese artillery. Men and horses were struck down SIR THOMAS PICTON. 43 in frightful numbers by this storm of shot; but still they persevered ; and so determined and rapid was their charge, that the gunners were sabred and the guns seized before the smoke had cleared away sufficiently to show them that the enemy had gained the summit. At this critical moment the Fifth regiment, under Major Ridge, quickly deploying from square into line, poured in a volley of balls, and then dashed at the cavalry with the bayonet. Novel as was the expedient of charging cavalry with infantry, still it was in this instance successful : they drove the enemy before them, and being joined by the Seventy-seventh regiment, were enabled to re-capture and bring off the guns. Montbrun, however, came up with fresh troops, and putting himself at their head, attempted to ride through these two regiments ; but they were rapidly formed into square, and received the attack in so cool and resolute a manner, that no impression could be made upon them. General Picton, it should be observed, was during this part of the contest in the village of El Eodon, where it was supposed that the French would have made their attack. He had with him the Forty-fifth, Seventy-fourth, and Eighty-eighth regiments. An officer was in- 44 THE LIFE OF stantly despatched from the scene of hostilities to El Bodon, when Picton prepared to concen- trate his division by moving on his left to the support of the centre. The ground occupied by the three regiments with Picton, in the neigh- bourhood of El Bodon, consisted principally of vineyard enclosures and rocky ravines, difficult to be traversed ; consequently it took some time to extricate the troops and push them for- ward to the point of attack. Before this could be accomplished, the French cavalry, having been to- tally repulsed in their repeated attempts to break the square of the Seventy-seventh and Fifth regiments, desisted for a while, and awaited the coming up of their infantry. During this interval these two regiments were enabled to manoeuvre into line, and form a junction with the Eighty- third British, and the Ninth and Twenty-first Portuguese regiments, being the left brigade, under Major-general Colville; and almost at the same time Picton came up with his three regi- ments, and put himself at the head of his division. The following extract from the pen of a writer* who w r as engaged in this combat, will be read with interest. It is, we believe, a faithful account of this affair. * Reminiscences of a Subaltern. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 45 " Montbrun, at the head of fifteen squadrons of light horse, pressed closely on our right flank, and made every demonstration of attacking us, with the view of engaging our attention until the arrival of his infantry and artillery, of which latter only one battery was in the field; but General Picton saw the critical situation in which he was placed, and that nothing but the most rapid and at the same time most regular movement upon Guinaldo could save his division from being cut off to a man. For six miles across a perfect flat, without the slightest protection from any incidental variation of ground, without artillery, and I might say without cavalry, (for what were four or five squadrons to twenty or thirty?) did the third division continue its march ; during the whole of which the enemy's cavalry never quitted them. A park of six guns advanced with the cavalry, and taking the third division in flank and rear, poured in a frightful fire of round-shot, grape, and canister. Many men fell in this way; and those whose wounds rendered them unable to march, were obliged to be abandoned to the enemy. ****** " General Picton conducted himself with his accustomed coolness : he remained on the left 46 THE LIFE OF flank of the column, and repeatedly cautioned the different battalions to mind the quarter distance and the * telling off.' * Your safety,' added he, s my credit, and the honour of the army are at stake ; all rests with you at this moment.' We had reached to within a mile of our entrenched camp, when Montbrun, im- patient lest we should escape from his grasp, ordered his troopers to bring up their right shoulders, and incline towards our column. The movement was not exactly bringing his squadrons into line, but it was the next thing to it, and at this time they were within half pistol-shot of us. Picton took off his hat, and holding it over his eyes as a shade from the sun, looked sternly but anxiously at the French. The clatter of the horses and the clanking of the scabbards were so great when the right half squadron moved up, that many thought it the forerunner of a general charge. Some mounted officer called out, ' Had we not better form square ?' * No,' replied Picton ; it is but ruse to frighten us ; but it won't do.' " This was a most critical and trying manceuvr< and its success was not more honourable General Picton than to the men under his com SIR THOMAS PICTON. 47 mand. The greatest order and coolness could alone save them from being annihilated by the furious charges of the enemy's cavalry; each battalion had in its turn to form the rear- guard to repulse their advance, and then, hav- ing given a volley to stop their approach, to fall back at double time behind that which had formed in its rear. There is hardly any situ- ation so difficult or so trying to the troops as per- forming this movement without cavalry. The least unsteadiness in forming or irregularity in retreat may lead to the instant destruction of the whole force : the only security, therefore, is the discipline of the troops, and the ability and firmness of their officers. General Picton in this instance saved his division, and, under such circumstances, that was more than could have been anticipated. The day following this affair it was expected that the French would make an attack in force upon Lord Wellington's position, and every pre- paration was made to receive them ; but again the allies were disappointed, and the day passed without a shot being fired. The demonstrations made by Marmont were, however, formidable ; and Lord Wellington had not sufficient confi- 48 THE LIFE OF dence in his present ground to wish to fight him. Accordingly, during the night of the 26th, the British army was ordered to fall back upon a new position, between the Coa and Agueda ; the fourth division, under General Cole, being left at Aldea de Ponte. To this place Marmont pressed his advance on the following day, when a short but desperate conflict took place for the possession of the village, which, after much hard fighting, was left in the hands of the British. On the same night the allies again retreated, and the following morning took up a strong and very defensible line behind Soita, where both flanks were protected by the river Coa. A singular circumstance attended this retreat ; it was discovered in the course of the next day that the enemy also were actually retreating at the same time. Instead of pursuing the allies, Marmont had suddenly resolved to retrace his march, contenting himself with having relieved Ciudad Rodrigo and driven the British from beneath its walls. He now, therefore, re- turned to Spain, occupying cantonments in the valley of the Tagus, while Dorsenne resum possession of Salamanca. A strong garrison an SIR THOMAS PICTON. 49 plenty of provisions were thrown into Ciudad Rodrigo ; but what further advantage was gained by this forward movement it is difficult to determine. Lord Wellington was once more left to his own plans ; the enemy had relinquished all in- tention of interrupting his operations, and he could now direct his arms against Ciudad Ro- drigo with almost the same prospect of success as before. If Marmont came to its relief, he would have again to retreat until the French general was tired of the pursuit. But it was quite evident that the report of Massena re- specting the lines of Torres Vedras was operat- ing strongly upon Marmont : Portugal was still more exhausted than formerly, and he found that every step he took towards Lisbon increased the difficulty of obtaining sustenance for his troops. With the example of Massena before him, there was little chance that Marmont would follow Lord Wellington in order to risk star- vation and defeat before these impregnable lines ; but, to avoid all probability of being led into this error, he made a timely retreat, and at once put an end to the campaign of 181 J. VOL. n. E 50 THE LIFE OF The allied army went into cantonments, and it was anticipated that the winter would be passed in comparative inactivity. General Pic- ton's division was ordered to occupy Aldea de Ponte, the remainder of the army being placed in quarters on the Coa ; the right resting on Penamacor, and the left on Celerico. During this interval of repose the losses in the army were extremely severe from a malignant fever, which spread with so much rapidity and vio- lence, that at one period there were twelve thousand British in hospital, besides a con- siderable number of Portuguese. This fright- ful return of invalids was in some degree at- tributable to the want of occupation and ex- citement ; in addition to which, provisions were scarce and bad, while the weather, being cold and wet, made the huts occupied by the troops both comfortless and unhealthy. Lord Wel- lington took this opportunity to collect such materiel for the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo as would enable him to carry the place by a more rapid method than that of blockade. He had resolved, that while Sir Rowland Hill was di- verting and even threatening the enemy in the south, he would make another attempt SIR THOMAS PICTON. 51 upon that fortress ; but he determined to try to obtain possession by a coup de main. This was, in fact, the only course open at the present moment; for the garrison was now so well supplied, and the place in so complete a state of defence, that a blockade, unless supported by a much greater force than the English general could bring into the field, would cer- tainly be disturbed before it could be success- ful. Marmont was aware of this; and Lord Wellington knew that Marmont depended upon it. It was, in fact, one of the calculations which the French marshal ventured to make with certainty : he knew the want of means possess- ed by the English for carrying on an active siege, and he ventured consequently to think this fortress perfectly secure. A singular and rather fortunate event took place in the month of October, which was con- sidered by the allies as an omen of success. On the 15th, Don Julian de Sanchos, one of the guerilla chiefs, celebrated alike for his activity and daring enterprise, whilst lying in ambus- cade near the walls of Ciudad Rodrigo, fell in with the cattle belonging to the garrison. He and his band immediately dashed forward E 2 52 THE LIFE OF to secure them ; when, having despatched or put to flight the drovers, they commenced driving off their prey. At this critical mo- ment General Regnaud, the governor of the fortress, happening to be in the neighbourhood with a small escort of dragoons, came up, and seeing the position of affairs, put himself at the head of his troopers, and charged the gue- rillas. They, however, bravely defended what they had won, and, after rather a severe conflict, were enabled not only to keep their prize, but to defeat the escort and succeed in making the governor a prisoner. He was immediately conveyed to the British head-quarters, where he was treated by Lord Wellington with every respect : while the cattle, being driven into the English quarters, were hailed as a valuable re- inforcement by the soldiers. During the interval preceding the assault on Ciudad Rodrigo, General Picton received a letter from his brother, written on the 16th of October, informing him that his uncle, the veteran soldier under whose almost parental command he had commenced his career, had two days previously, breathed his last. This venerable officer had attained the advanced age SIR THOMAS PICTON. 53 of eighty-four years, with the rank of general in the army and colonel of the Twelfth Foot, in which regiment he had been for nearly thirty-six years. He left General Picton his sole executor and residuary legatee. In his youth Picton had learned to esteem him as a parent, and these feelings only gained strength as he grew older: but when persecu- tion assailed, and had nearly overwhelmed him, then it was that the sincerity of his uncle's regard was manifested : when almost every one had deserted him, he came forward, and was willing to spend his whole fortune in the de- fence of his nephew's honour. An officer who had an opportunity of ob- serving Sir Thomas Picton, and was constantly with him in all his campaigns, says, in a letter to the writer of this memoir : "The effect produced upon General Picton by the letter announcing his uncle's decease was such as would hardly have been expected from a man who was accused of having set all the finer feelings of humanity at defiance. It is true, there were no external appearances of grief ; his countenance was unchanged ; but even I, who esteem his memory for every vir- 54 THE LIFE OF tue, cannot say that his eyes were even mois- tened by a tear : a slight exclamation of ' Good God !' burst from him when he came to the announcement of his uncle's death ; and as he closed the letter which had brought him the sad tidings, he in a low and melancholy tone murmured, * My poor uncle !' I saw little of him for the remainder of that day, but a great alteration was perceptible in his manner for a long time afterwards ; every feature kept rigidly its place, while the fire of his eyes was unchanged ; but I, who knew him well, took this opportunity to try and discover if he really was as cold and hard as he had been represent- ed : the conclusion at which I arrived was, that never man felt more the loss of a friend or relative than General Picton the death of his uncle. I say he felt it more than other men, because there was no outlet, no confidence ; but, locked up within the very centre of his heart, it preyed there with a strength which in any other person would have burst forth with un- controllable, unutterable grief: to him it pro- duced want of repose, and even ill health, but nothing would have offended him more than even hinting that it was caused by regret. He SIR THOMAS PICTON. 55 hardly ever mentioned his uncle's name ; but when he did, it was with a slight falter in the voice, which could not deceive one who ob- served him so closely as myself." In a letter dated Zamarra, January 25th, 1812, and which we shall again have to notice, General Picton observes : " The circumstance which you mention respecting my worthy uncle so shortly before his death is of that considerate nature, and so characteristic of him, that it convinces me he was as capable as at any for- mer period of his life to dispose of his whole property ; and I trust you will believe that I am more disposed to enlarge than diminish his benevolence." This passage relates to an annuity which was left by General William Picton to an old and deserving officer, who had been obliged to sell his commission, and was living in humble and almost indigent circumstances. The general and this officer had in early life been for some years in the same regiment ; and when the latter became reduced in circumstances, the general, with that kindly feeling which so distinguished him, assisted him, and at his death made that provision for his old companion in arms which 56 THE LIFE OF he thought would render the remaining years of his life free from care. His nephew, as executor, of course paid this annuity ; but as Picton thought it likely that his uncle had not indulged in the full extent of his inclination towards the object of his soli- citude, under the apprehension of reducing too much the amount to be inherited by himself, he immediately made an addition of fifty pounds a year to this annuity. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 57 CHAPTER III. Operations to reduce the Garrison of Ciudad Rodrigo. Commencement of the Siege. Preparations for carrying the place by assault. General Picton's Addresses to his soldiers. His Letter descriptive of the Assault of Ciudad Rodrigo. The town taken. Sanguinary excesses. Con- flagrations. -Characteristic anecdote of General Picton. Marmont and Lord Wellington. Daring design. Badajoz invested. Siege commenced Death of Captain Cuth- bert. Fort of Picurina taken. OPERATIONS had for some time been carried on, both by the guerillas and allies, to reduce as much as possible the garrison of Ciudad Ro- drigo. This was effected by means of detached parties, who constantly intercepted the supplies which the enemy attempted to throw in ; but although many were captured, still a sufficient quantity reached their destination to prevent any alarm on the part of the garrison lest they should be straitened for provisions. On the 4th of January 1812, the third divi- 58 THE LIFE OF sion was in motion towards Ciudad Rodrigo. Snow, rain, cold, and wind combined to render this wintry march harassing in the extreme ; but the example of their leader inspired the troops with fortitude and resolution to over- come every difficulty. Several, however, fell on the way ; when, unless fortunately discover- ed in time, their destruction was inevitable, a drowsy stupor soon crept over their senses, from which they never awoke. The carts, of which there were many, were entirely engaged in the transport of gabions and fascines, which the troops had been employed in constructing during the time they had passed in canton- ments ; consequently even an opportunity of placing an expiring soldier on one of these con- veyances but seldom occurred. The best security against the inclemency of the weather was the exertion of the march ; for those who had fallen from fatigue and cold were as likely to die upon an exposed cart as upon the ground. A long march brought the division into Robleda about eight o'clock in the evening. The following morning it was again in motion ; and by the 8th the fortress was completely invested. So rapid had been this movement on the SIR THOMAS PICTON. 59 part of Lord Wellington, and so suddenly did the enemy find himself closely shut in, that he had not time to make any extraordinary preparations for defence. The battering train attached to the allied army was now in a re- spectable condition both in point of numbers and efficiency ; Lord Wellington having by his strong representations induced the British Government to send out a considerable aug- mentation to this part of his force. About forty thousand troops, including those engaged in the attack, were now in the imme- diate vicinity of Ciudad Rodrigo, and it was Lord Wellington's intention to lose no time in carrying the place by assault. It was ordered that the duties of the siege should be perform- ed by four divisions, the light, first, third, and fourth, which were to relieve each other every twenty-four hours. The trenches were imme- diately dug ; the garrison the whole time keep- ing up a terrific fire of shot and shells, which did considerable execution amongst the work- men ; still the works were carried on with alacrity and spirit. " On the third day the garrison distinguished the batteries from the other parts of the work, 60 THE LIFE OF and attained their range so precisely, that two- thirds of their shells fell into them, and their round-shot caused many casualties."* The first battery was completed and opened on the 14th, being the sixth day of the siege, from which period until the 19th the firing was kept up without intermission. Lord Wellington then made a close recon- noissance of the two breaches; this, together with the report of Major Sturgeon of the Royal Engineers that they were both practicable, in- duced him to direct the assault to take place the same evening. Accordingly General Picton received orders to hold his division in readiness to make the attack, in conjunction with the light division and General Pack's Portuguese brigade. The arrangements made by Lord Wellington were, that General Picton with his division should attack the great or right breach, while General Crawfurd, with the light divi- sion, should make a simultaneous assault on the left and smaller breach : General Pack with his Portuguese being ordered to make a feint on the opposite side of the town ; but with further instructions, that if he did not find the resist- * Colonel Jones, in his "Journal of Sieges." SIR THOMAS PICTON. 61 ance too great, and could succeed in forcing an entrance, he was immediately to lead his troops to the assistance of those at the breaches. General Picton marched the left brigade of his division to the convent of Santa Cruz, si- tuated on the right of the batteries, where the officers and men were made acquainted with the duties which they had to perform ; the re- mainder of the division being formed in the first parallel. The night was calm, and the heavens studded with stars ; and a young moon - shed a faint light upon the earth, which seemed to mock by its tranquillity the wild and san- guinary scene which was about to ensue. The assault was ordered for seven o'clock ; but Colonel O'Toole, with the light company of the Eighty-third regiment and the Second Cacadores, was directed to cross the Agueda by the bridge, and make an attack upon the out- work in front of the castle ten minutes before the time appointed for the general assault ; his instructions being to destroy two guns planted in this outwork which might be the means of annoying the assailants by flanking the entrance to the ditch. At half-past six the division was ready, when General Picton and his staff rode 62 THE LIFE OF up to the ground : silence immediately pre- vailed amongst the troops. Major-general Mac- kinnon's right brigade, consisting of the Forty- fifth, Seventy-fourth, and Eighty-eighth regi- ments, and five companies of the Sixtieth regi- ment, was to take the lead, and to be supported by Lieutenant-colonel Campbell, (who upon this occasion commanded the left brigade of the division, during the absence of the Honourable Major-general Colville,) with the Fifth, Seventy- seventh, Ninety-fourth, and Eighty-third ; the whole of this force being directed against the principal breach. The animated detail given by a writer before quoted,* when speaking of General Picton's address to his soldiers previous to their advance to the breach, is worthy of perusal : " Long harangues are not necessary to British soldiers, and on this occasion but few were made use of. General Picton said something animating to the different regiments as he passed them ; and those of my readers who recollect his deliberate and strong utterance will say with me, that his mode of speaking was indeed very impressive. The address to each * Reminiscences of a Subaltern. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 63 was nearly the same ; but that delivered by him to the Eighty -eighth (the Cormaught Ran- gers) was so characteristic of the general, and so applicable to the men he spoke to, that I shall give it word for word. It was this : * Rangers of Connaught ! it is not my intention to expend any powder this evening ; we '11 do the business with the could iron /' " I before said the soldiers were silent, so they were; but the man who could be silent after such an address, made in such a way, and in such a place, had better have stayed at home. It may be asked, what did they do? Why, what would they do, or would any one do, but give the loudest hurrah he was able ?" A few similar pithy remarks were made to all the regiments, in a tone which went home to the heart and feelings of every man in the line. An officer in the Seventy-seventh regiment upon this occasion, observes, that while talking to some officers just previously to the attack, " suddenly a horseman galloped heavily but hastily towards us it was Picton. He made a brief and inspiriting appeal to us; said he knew the Fifth were men whom a severe fire would not daunt, and that he reposed equal confidence in the Seventy-seventh ; a few kind 64 THE LIFE OF words to our commander (Lieutenant-colonel Dunkin), and he bade us ' God speed !' pound- ing the sides of his hog-maned cob as he trotted off in a contrary direction."* No man knew the nature of soldiers better than Sir Thomas Picton : it was not by words alone that he urged them on ; his example was never wanting where they failed, and with such a leader none would have dared to pause. After having thus raised the spirits of his men, General Picton and his staff dismounted, and the advance commenced. The following letter from the general to his friend, written six days after the assault, contains an accurate and animated account of its progress. " Zamarra, 25th January 1812. " MY DEAR COLONEL, " I had the pleasure of receiving your letter by the last mail, and am most truly concerned to learn that your general health, as well as your complaint in the eyes, has been so trouble- some : these afflictions, which we cannot hope wholly to get the better of, are only to be softened by patience. The circumstance which you mention respecting my worthy uncle, so * The United Service Journal. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 65 shortly before his death, is of that considerate nature, and so characteristic of him, that it con- vinces me he was as capable as at any former period of his life to dispose of his whole pro- perty; and I trust you will believe that I am more disposed to enlarge than diminish his be- nevolence. " Since I had last the pleasure of writing to you, we have had a winter siege. The third division moved forward from its old canton- ments of Alvazavia on the 4th instant, for the purpose of approaching Ciudad Rodrigo. It was the most miserable day I ever witness- ed: a continued snow-storm, the severity of which was so intense that several men of the division perished of cold and fatigue. In con- sequence of this weather, we were not able to invest the place completely until the morning of the 8th ; and the advanced work, which covered the point of attack, was very gallantly carried by storm (by Lieutenant-colonel Col- bourne and the Fifty-second regiment) early on the same evening ; an event which allowed us to open our first parallel within five hundred and thirty yards of the bastion intended to be breached. VOL. II. F 66 THE LIFE OF " The siege was carried on by four divisions alternately twenty-four hours each, and we had to march about twelve miles every morning to the trenches. The enemy kept up a tremen- dous fire of shot and shells during the whole of the operations ; we however paid no atten- tion to this, but proceeded rapidly to erect our breaching batteries, and thereby curtail our operations ; there being a probability that Mar- mont might be able to interrupt our progress had we prosecuted our attack in a regular manner. " To make short of the business ; on the eleventh day, when the third division had the trenches, two breaches were declared practi- cable, and the light division was brought up to co-operate in the assault, which was determined to take place immediately after dark, and to commence at seven o'clock. The town is sur- rounded by an old wall, flanked with square bastions, generally about twenty-five feet high, covered by a modern fausse-braye and deep ditch; and the point to be attacked by the third division was elevated and commanding. " The third division made five separate attacks at the same moment; four in different parts SIR THOMAS PICTON. 6? of the fausse-braye, and the fifth on the main breach. The enemy kept up a tremendous fire of shot, shells, and musketry, and made a show of an obstinate resistance ; but on the forlorn-hope of the division reaching the foot of the breach, they prematurely sprung their mine, set fire to a great number of shells which they had arranged for the purpose, and retired to the entrenchments which they had thrown up on each side, and in front of the breach. The troops immediately took advan- tage of the explosion, rushed forward, and possessed themselves of the breach, where they were for some minutes exposed to a most de- structive fire of grape and musketry, until, by scrambling over the parapets, they turned the entrenchments on both sides, and overcame all further resistance. About this time the light division, which was rather late in the attack, also succeeded in getting possession of the breach they were ordered to attack, and a miserable scene took place, which, notwith- standing every exertion, continued during the greatest part of the night. Our loss has been very severe, particularly in officers, having forty-one killed and wounded on the occasion. F 2 68 - THE LIFE OF "My poor friend Major-general Mackinnon, a most gallant, intelligent officer and estima- ble man, was killed by an explosion on the breach. " Nothing could exceed the gallantry of the division, and it has most deservedly obtain- ed the highest reputation of any division in this army. " Accept, my dear colonel, my best wishes, and believe me to be very sincerely and faith- fully yours, " TH. PICTON." So studiously does General Picton abstain from making any allusion to his own actions in his letters, that we are compelled to seek from those who fought by his side such details as are necessary to illustrate his personal heroism, and that character for cool and undaunted courage for which he was so justly famed. General Mackinnon, whose fall he so warm- ly and feelingly laments, led the regiments which headed the attack. Whilst his soldiers were marching to the breach, Picton moved with them ; at this moment, immediately after the leading columns had cleared the trenches, SIR THOMAS PICTON. 69 the moon showed the advancing troops to the defenders of the fortress. A tremendous fire of every description of shot was instantly open- ed from the walls ; but no check, no wavering- was apparent, for with a steady and determined step they obeyed their general's command of " Forward!" When near the fausse-braye, Pic- ton stopped, and cheering on the storming par- ties, they rushed forward to the attack. Lieutenant-colonel Campbell, with the Ninety- fourth, Fifth, and Seventy-eighth regiments, had been formed near the convent of Santa Cruz, and ordered to enter the ditch on the right of the breach, and then turning to the left, join the attacking column. This force had commenced its advance ten minutes before seven; and when the soldiers of Mackinnon's brigade reached the ditch, they found Colonel Campbell and his men already there. Together, therefore, they rushed up the great breach, where all were striving to be first. The race was short; the " fighting division" had now another oppor- tunity of demonstrating that they deserved that name, and the shout of defiance which burst from them at this moment gave assurance to Picton, who was anxiously watching their pro- 70 THE LIFE OF gress, that all was well. But in another mo- ment every other sound was lost in one terrific explosion, which shook the earth, causing even those who were struggling on the breach to pause. A magazine at the foot of the rampart had, as General Picton observes, " prematurely" ex- ploded. The bastion was shaken to its base, while death was spread alike amongst friend and foe. Many a brave soldier fell upon this occasion, and amongst them Picton's lamented friend, Major-general Mackinnon,* who, after a long life of distinguished services, was thus shattered to death whilst leading his men in the assault. A fearful pause followed this explosion, but it was brief ; the breach was much widened by the accident, and rendered more easy of ac- cess. Again the men rushed forward over dead and dying: the summit was soon won, but the entrenchments, behind which the enemy had, ensconced themselves with a deep ditch in their front, were yet to be gained; in addition * This officer was uncle to the present Colonel Mac- kinnon of the Coldstream Guards, whose History of that dis- g-uished Regiment forms so interesting an addition to our military literature. Sill THOMAS PICTON. 71 to which, two guns on each side of the breach, and cut off from the assailants by a wide gap in the wall, commenced pouring in a most destructive fire of grape and canister on each flank. These were difficult to get at, being entirely isolated from the breach, while the entrenchments stopped the advance in front. But the defenders, being thus compelled to bring a great force to repel this attack of Picton's divison, had weakened their other points of defence ; and the small breach, after the first struggle, was quickly won: but that struggle was wild and deadly. Crawfurd led the van, and was almost the first up the breach cheering his men ; but he fell, just as the shout of victory burst upon his ear. A ball had passed through his arm and penetrated his body, producing a hopeless wound in the lungs : he lived to hear the place was won, but that was the last sound which fell upon his ears. His soldiers were not, however, long without a leader; another instantly stepped forth. But they knew their work, and it was soon done. They drove the enemy before them in every direction, and moving by their right, joined the troops of Picton's division, which had 72 THE LIFE OF by this time also been successful. They had with daring almost unparalleled seized the two guns before alluded to, which the enemy consi- dered unassailable, and then contrived to turn the entrenchments by scaling the ditch which the defenders had formed in front. Almost at the same moment the brigade under General Pack was in the town, having met with but little resistance in its attack upon the castle. The French were therefore taken in rear and surrounded on all sides. Still, however, they fought : they could not conquer, but they could kill, and for some time the fighting was continued in the streets. A conviction that little mercy would be shown by troops thus heated and excited protracted the sanguinary conflict : all was now blood ; and men who at other times would have wept at the relation of their own acts, now buried their steel in the breasts of those who sued for mercy. The flash and roar of musketry, the glare of the reeking steel, the wild shouts of triumph, the sullen cry for quarter, and then the m O an of anguish, which told the reply, these were amongst the terrors of that night. General Picton was soon in the town, and, SIR THOMAS PICTON. 73 according to the statement of one who was by his side, the efforts which he made to put a stop to this fearful tragedy were unremitting. He flew in all directions, calling in a voice of thun- der on the frantic soldiers to remember that they were "men, and Englishmen not sa- vages !" and by exhortations and threats he contrived to bring back some to their senses ; but the majority soon became intoxicated, and then every passion was let loose. Wherever the voice of distress was heard, thither Picton hastened, when his commanding arid resolute tone was sure to make the offenders desist and fly. In addition to the accumulated horrors to which the wretched inhabitants were subjected, frequent fires burst forth in various parts of the town, throwing a red glare over every object, and making the havoc of the night more fright- fully conspicuous. Here again Picton was to be found, surrounded by his officers, directing and even assisting to subdue the flames, and giving protection to the affrighted sufferers. But the mind willingly turns from the con- templation of scenes like these, and we would rather try to forget that our soldiers could ever 74 THE LIFE OF have been guilty of sueb wild and inhuman excesses.* The following account of the fall of Ciudad Rodrigo is given by General Picton in a letter to Mr. Marry at : "Zamarra, 27th Jan. 1812. " MY DEAR SIR, " Since I last had the pleasure of writing to you, we have been engaged in a most arduous undertaking ; a winter's siege in a climate to the full as severe as that of England. Marmont, calculating that we were safely lodged in winter quarters, and would not, on various accounts, undertake anything of consequence at such a season, moved the whole of his army southward, for the purpose of co-operating with Soult and * Lieutenant-colonel Macpherson, who has contributed many interesting particulars to these Memoirs, had upon this occasion been exerting himself to restrain some of the least disorderly of the soldiers, but without much success; for so soon as they were ordered to "fall in" others fell out, until he was left almost alone. Picton seeing him in the square thus occupied, encouraged him in his laudable efforts ; but Macpherson, tired of the endless task, observed to the general, " If you will keep them together, sir, I will collect them." The duty of each, however, was equally unsatisfac- tory ; for, impelled by the hope of plunder and intoxication, even Picton was soon deserted. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 75 Suchet, in overwhelming Blake and the Cata- lonians before the opening of another campaign, when their whole united force would become disposable on this side. As soon as Lord Wellington saw him so far advanced, as to afford him a probable opportunity of being able to capture Ciudad Rodrigo before he could return to its relief, he suddenly assembled four divisions of the army, and completely invested the place on the 8th instant ; and carried the approaches and works on with such astonishing rapidity, that there were two practicable breaches in the body of the place on the evening of the 19th, when it was determined to assault at all points. The business was divided between the third and the light divisions. The assault took place at seven o'clock in the evening. The third division had by far the most difficult attack on the main breach, where the enemy were most prepared. The troops were, in con- sequence, exposed to a severe fire of hot shells and musketry, as well as several explosions, from which they suffered severely ; but nothing could damp their ardour for a single moment. They rushed impetuously forward, drove the enemy from the breach as well as the entrenchments 76 THE LIFE OF they had thrown up to defend it. The light division shortly after seconded in the attack allotted to them, and in a few minutes we drove them from all their points of defence, and be- came undisputed masters of the city. Our loss on the occasion was very considerable, parti- cularly in officers, of whom forty -one (in the third division) were killed or wounded. It was necessary to accelerate the attack, as Mar- mont was returning rapidly, with a large army, to its relief. Upon the whole, it has been a most important as well as brilliant achievement, and does much honour to the talents of our com- mander. By this enterprise he has gained two great points. He has effected an important diversion in drawing Marshal Marmont's army back to this frontier, and he has, at the same time, gained a position of the greatest import- ance to our ulterior operations. I don't know whether you will be able to decipher this scrawl. My eyes are growing so bad, that I can with difficulty make out any writing particularly my own. Be so good as to offer my best re- membrances to Mrs. M. and all the family. " My dear sir, " Very faithfully yours, " T. PICTON.' SIR THOMAS PICTON. 77 Captain Kincaid, who upon this occasion led one of the storming parties against the small breach, remarks:* "Finding the current of soldiers setting towards the centre of the town, I followed the stream, which conducted me into the great square ; on one side of which the late garrison were drawn up as prisoners, and the rest of it was filled with British and Portuguese intermixed, without any order or regularity. I had been there but a very short time, when they all commenced firing, without any osten- sible cause ; some fired at the doors and win- dows, some at the roofs of houses, and others at the clouds ; and, at last, some heads began to be blown from their shoulders in the general hurricane, when the voice of Sir Thomas Picton with the power of twenty trumpets began to threaten with his usual energy ; while Colonel Bernard, Colonel Cameron, and some other active officers, were carrying his orders into effect with a strong hand ; for, seizing the broken barrels of muskets which were lying about in great abundance, they belaboured every fellow most unmercifully about the head who attempted either to load or fire, and finally suc- ceeded in reducing them to order." * In his " Adventures of the Rifle Brigade." 78 THE LIFE OF Lord Wellington, in concluding his despatch containing the report of this important success, observes : " The conduct of all parts of the third di- vision, in the operations which they performed with so much gallantry and exactness on the evening of the 19th, in the dark, affords the strongest proof of the abilities of Lieutenant- general Picton and Major-general Mackinnon, by whom they were directed and led." * The morning following this night of blood the troops were again reduced to order, and it was remarkable to witness how quickly the * Major-general Mackinnon had been an intimate and esteemed friend of General Picton, and his death caused him much concern. After the tumult was over and discipline again restored, his remains were found ; when Picton, after having taken a last look at them, calling to some pioneers, bade them prepare a grave in the breach. This breach had been won by the gallant deceased, and a better or a nobler tomb could not have been selected ; and Picton appeared to take a melancholy pleasure in thus paying a last tribute to the remains of his friend. It was a soldier's fitting resting- place, and many a brave heart was buried there; but the body was afterwards removed to Espija, where it was again interred with military honours. By Lord Wellington's orders, General Crawfurd was also buried in the breach which he had won, and no false notions or mistaken regard of friends disturbed the remains of that intrepid soldier. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 79 wildest passions of men were subdued by dis- cipline. The same man who but a few hours previously had broken through every bond of moral and physical restraint, was now the orderly and obedient soldier. An officer who served in the third division, relates, in his agreeable Reminiscences, a characteristic anec- dote of General Picton, in allusion to theEighty- eighth regiment getting under arms on the morning after the capture of this fortress. " We were about to resume our arms," he observes, " when General Picton approached us. Some of the soldiers, who were more than usually elevated in spirits on his passing them, called out, * Well, general, we gave you a cheer last night ; it is your turn now. 9 The general, smiling, took off his hat and said, ' Here, then, you drunken set of brave rascals, Hurrah, we 'll soon be at Badajoz /' A shout of confidence followed; we slung our firelocks, the bands played, and we commenced our march for the village of Atalaya in the highest spirits." So soon as undisturbed possession of the town was obtained, the fortress was ordered to be re- paired, and every addition made to the defences which skill could dictate. Marmont was at this 80 THE LIFE OF very period advancing toward Ciudad Rodrigo ; and it has since appeared that the French gene- ral was not acquainted with the investment of that fortress by the allies until the 15th of January, when immediate and hasty prepara- tions were made a second time to relieve it. But the same want of correct intelligence still em- barrassed him ; all communication with the gar- rison was of course cut off, and not until eight days after the English had carried the place did Marmont know that fact. How much may be done in a short time by an active body of engineers, is demonstrated by the circumstance that, by the time Marmont was apprised of the fall of Ciudad Rodrigo, it was placed in almost as formidable a state of defence as before the breaches had been made. The French general did not therefore think it prudent to make any immediate attempt for its recovery, but, as the weather was inclement and wet, he allowed the allies to retain, unmo- lested, this valuable fortress ; probably in the expectation that Lord Wellington would be satisfied with his success, and continue no fur- ther operations until the severity of winter had passed. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 81 If these were his views, however, he little knew the active mind of his opponent, and did not reflect upon the difference of their relative situations. Marmont was at the head of an army which belonged to a victorious nation ; his force was already large, and his hopes of being reinforced almost amounted to a certainty. Spain was at this moment vir- tually a French province: Joseph Bonaparte was still king, although he had more than once rebelled against the imperious power which had made him so. Marmont thought, therefore, that he had little to dread ; he fancied he was not in an enemy's country, and consequently remained for a short but fatal period inactive. The views and expectations of Lord Wel- lington were widely different : his army was composed of half foreigners, while the British troops were principally raw recruits, wanting confidence in themselves, and receiving little encouragement from the inhabitants, who, now tired and exhausted by war, made little distinc- tion between friend and foe ; as each of them consumed the produce of their soil, and made their dwellings the scene of their contest. Lord VOL. n. G 82 THE LIFE OF Wellington had learned not to expect too much from the promises of the British government, and the levies now sent out were so few that they were little more than sufficient to fill up the heavy losses which the army sustained. The supplies of provision were equally scanty, and plunder was frequently resorted to by the soldiers in order to supply the mere wants of nature, although this was in defiance of the general orders issued by the commander of the forces. The physical disabilities under which Lord Wellington laboured compelled him to keep his army in the field in the depth of winter, and to subject his troops to every hardship and privation, in order to take advan- tage of the inactivity of his opponent, who did not give him or his soldiers credit for such daring and unexpected measures. Apparently satisfied with the brilliant ter- mination of his attack on the fortress of Ciudad Hodrigo, Lord Wellington kept the army per- fectly quiet in its neighbourhood ; but it was a deceptive calm, for he was at this moment preparing to accomplish an undertaking of a singularly bold and decisive character. This movement, together with its preliminaries, w SIR THOMAS PICTON. 83 precisely one of those sudden but masked man- oeuvres which so greatly distinguished the plans of Napoleon. A whisper spread through the army that Badajoz was to be the next object of attack ; but by the following extract from a letter of General Picton's to a friend in Lon- don, it would appear that he at least was fully aware of the intentions of the commander of the forces. He observes in this letter, " I think your reply will meet me at Badajoz ; for we are making active although silent preparations to invest that place," &c. This letter is dated February the 9th. The army remained in cantonments on the Coa until March, when Lord Wellington es- tablished his head-quarters at Elvas ; in the neighbourhood of which place the troops des- tined for the siege were collected. On the 15th, pontoon bridges were thrown over the Gua- diana ; and the following day the third, fourth, and light divisions crossed the river, and with little opposition invested the fortress of Badajoz on the south and east sides, the north being protected by the river ; and as the only bridge was in the possession of the allies, but a small force was requisite to confine the garrison in G 2 84 THE LIFE OF that direction. The troops were under command of Marshal Beresford and General Picton, the latter being appointed by Lord Wellington to conduct the siege ; and arduous were the duties which he had to perform, - even the weather seemed to conspire against the besiegers, as it rained for several days toge- ther with so much violence that the river was swollen so as greatly to endanger the safety of the bridge : still no obstacle could overcome the energy of the troops, or the perseverance of their officers. The first point of attack was an outwork called Fort Picurina, of which it was absolutely necessary to obtain possession before the batte- ries could be erected ; and accordingly, on the night of the 17th, the first parallel was drawn out, and the approaches were then continued without intermission, although a tremendous fire was kept up both from the fort and town. On the 19th, the garrison (taking advantage of a thick vapour produced by the continued rains) made a sortie upon the trenches, both with cavalry and infantry. The attack on the workmen was sudden and unexpected ; they SIR THOMAS PICTON. 85 were for a moment driven from the trenches in disorder ; but some fresh troops being brought up, they quickly formed, and became in their turn the assailants, when they succeeded in driving the enemy back, although not before considerable damage had been done, and some loss sustained. General Picton, with one of his aides-de- camp, Captain Cuthbert of the Fusileers, was soon upon the spot, and assisted in rallying the flying workmen, who at his well-known voice regained confidence. The general was on foot, but Captain Cuthbert was mounted : Picton had just entrusted him with some orders, and he had scarcely left his side, when a shot from the fort struck him on the hip, killed his horse, and mangled the lower part of his body in a most frightful and fatal manner. General Picton had a sincere regard for this aid-de-camp, and felt his loss doubly, not only for his services as a valuable officer, but also as an estimable young man. His death appears to have been much regretted throughout the division, as his manners whilst in the fulfilment 86 THE LIFE OF of his duty were devoid of that arrogance which was assumed by many of those holding similar confidential situations. The trenches during the greater part of this siege, were half full of water, and the progress of the working parties was in consequence much retarded by the earth giving way, and filling up in a few minutes the labour of as many hours. In spite, however, of the weather, the fire of the enemy, and the circumstance of having to de- vote as much time to the repair of their work as in its execution, the besiegers were enabled to open six batteries, mounting in all twenty- eight guns, on the ninth day after the invest- ment. The scene now became one of awful grandeur; every element of destruction and noise seemed concentrated upon this spot : but the result of a modern siege is always certain, unless some diversion is made from without; and the only calculation to be made before its commencement is, the manner in which it can be effected with the greatest expedition and the smallest sacrifice of life. The Fort of Picu- rina, against w r hich the principal fire had been hitherto directed, presented on the 25th a most dilapidated appearance, nearly all the guns be- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 87 ing dismounted and the walls in ruins ; still, however, it was strong as a place of defence. But as the more important operations against the town could not be pursued until this fort was in possession of the besiegers, it was re- solved that on the night of the 25th it should be carried at the point of the bayonet. For this important and hazardous under- taking five hundred men of the "fighting division" were selected, and placed under the command of Major-general Kempt. About ten o'clock, every arrangement having been made for the attack, the little band commenced its march in three different detachments, advan- cing at the same moment; the right under Major Shaw, the centre under Captain Powis, and the left under Major Rudd. The fire which met the assailants was most destructive ; but nothing could subdue their courage and perse- verance. Three rows of strong palisades, pro- tected by showers of musketry, offered a vain resistance to their intrepidity ; for when they failed at one point they directed their efforts to another. The garrison showed a degree of resolution in their defence honourable to the French arms ; but with resistance the assailants 88 THE LIFE OF seemed only to gain determination : until, after as brave a contest as ever distinguished the troops of both nations, the British succeeded in driving the enemy from the walls, and compel- ling them to abandon the fort. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 89 CHAPTER IV. Siege of Badajoz. Skill of the French governor in the art of defence. Memorandum issued by Lord Wellington. The attack made. General Kempt badly wounded. Desperate efforts of the besieged. Anecdote of Lieu- tenant Macpherson. General Picton wounded. Anec- dotes of Picton. Dreadful havoc among the British. THE siege of Badajoz is an event as ho- nourable to our army as it was individually glorious to Sir Thomas Picton ; for, regardless of the illiberal attempts which were made to take from him the glory which he there won, the veteran never relates the taking of Bada- joz without a just eulogium upon him who, when every prospect of success seemed to have fled, sent his aid-de-camp to the commander of the forces with the gratifying announcement that the place was captured! It is necessary to give a brief outline of this siege in order 90 THE LIFE OF properly to appreciate the services of General Picton, and to understand the critical moment in which those services were rendered. Picurina being taken, the guns of that for- tress were immediately turned against the town, while the batteries were all concentrat- ed upon the ramparts, with the intention of effecting two breaches ; the one in the south- east angle of the fort called La Trinidad, and the other in the flank of the bastion called Santa Maria. Soult was now in motion, using strenuous arguments to persuade Marmont to effect a junction with him for the relief of Eadajoz ; but that general preferred making a diversion against Ciudad Rodrigo, in the expectation of inducing Lord Wellington to abandon the siege of Badajoz and hasten to its relief. The English general knew, however, too well the local obstacles against which Marmont would have to contend : he had received infor- mation that the rivers in the north were swollen, so as to render the passage of an army a long and tedious operation ; and the only cause of apprehension which Lord Wellington ex- perienced at this period was, that the waters might subside, or that Marmont, tired of wait- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 91 ing, would by forced marches endeavour to unite with Soult in sufficient time to prevent his obtaining possession of Badajoz. Soult made a movement towards the besieged fortress, but did not dare to risk a battle with the force under his command. Preparations were, however, made by the English general to fight him without stopping the progress of the siege ; for unless Marmont used extraordinary exertions, he would be too late to save Badajoz, as, without him, it was not supposed that Soult would make any further efforts for its relief. It w?s therefore, a subject of much moment that the proceedings against the town should be carried on with the utmost activity. Phillipon, the French general who com- manded in Badajoz with a garrison of about five thousand men, possessed great skill in the art of defence, and every obstacle which modern warfare could devise was thrown in the way of the assailants ; no opportunity was lost ; and when the outworks were destroyed by the fire of the batteries, the besiegers found others of nearly corresponding strength prepared behind them ; while the following morning frequently showed the vigilance of 92 THE LIFE OF the defenders in the repair of the injury effect- ed on the defences during the preceding day. But the plan of Lord Wellington was simply to make a practicable breach, and then trust to the known and often-tried courage of his soldiers to find their way through it into the town. The operations of the besieged were, how- ever, so daring, and their efforts to protract the siege so constant and judicious, that the firing in the breaches was ordered to be kept up dur- ing the night, in order to check in some de- gree the hardihood of their proceedings. But by some neglect this order was not obeyed to the extent desired, and on the morning of the 1st of April the garrison had succeeded in raising several additional defences behind the breaches ; in consequence of which General Picton issued the following order on the morn- ing of that day : " RESERVE ORDERS. "Camp before Badajoz, 1st April. " It having been reported to the command- ing officer by the commanding engineer, that the batteries, with the exception of that com- manded by Lieutenant De Goeben, did not fire at the breach last night according to orders lorn- Dril. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 93 given, he is determined to report every officer to Lord Wellington who shall neglect this duty." On the 5th of April expectation was at its height ; the general impression amongst the soldiers was that the attack would be made that night. Lord Wellington made a close reconnoissance of the breaches, attended by several of his generals, when he came to a determination that no longer time should be lost, and directions were accordingly given to the different officers to make the necessary pre- parations. The principal engineer was in the mean while desired to make his own observa- tions upon the state of the breaches, and the defences which the enemy had erected on the inside. Having with some difficulty been en- abled to effect this to his satisfaction, he re- ported to the commander of the forces, that although the great breach appeared sufficiently easy of access, the works which the besieged had thrown up in its rear would assist them in making a formidable resistance, which could not be overcome without a considerable sacri- fice of men. Under these circumstances, it was resolved to delay the attack until the fol- 94 THE LIFE OF lowing day, while in the mean time the whole of the batteries should direct their fire against the curtain of La Trinidad, " in hopes that by effecting a third breach, the troops would be enabled to turn the enemy's works for the de- fence of the other two." * The morning of the 6th opened with the same heavy cannonade which had for twelve successive days been con- tinued almost without cessation, and by four o'clock in the afternoon a third breach was re- ported practicable. Once more Lord Welling- ton made a reconnoissance ; and upon this oc- casion being satisfied with the appearance of the breaches, he gave directions for the assault to be made at ten o'clock that night. But in order that a correct idea may be formed of the intended operations, the memorandum issued by the commander of the forces is here in- serted. " MEMORANDUM. "1. The fort of Badajoz is to be attacke ten o'clock this night. " 2. The attack must be made on three points ; the castle, the face of the bastion of La Trinidad, and the flank of the bastion of Santa Maria. * Despatch. j m- dat SIR THOMAS PICTON. 95 " 3. The attack of the castle to be by esca- lade ; that of the two bastions by the storm of the breaches. "4. The troops for the storm of the castle, consisting of the third division of infantry, should move out from the right of the first parallel at a little before ten o'clock, but not to attack till ten o'clock. " 5. They should cross the river Kivillas, be- low the broken bridge over that river, and at- tack that part of the castle which is on the right, looking from the trenches, and in the rear of the great battery constructed by the enemy to fire on the bastion of La Trinidad. "6. Having arrived within the castle, and being secured the possession of it, parties must be sent to the left along the rampart, to fall on the rear of those defending the great breach in the bastion of La Trinidad, and to com- municate with the right of the attack on that bastion. " 7. The troops for this attack must have all the long ladders in the engineers' park, and six of the lengths of the engineers' ladders. They must be attended by twelve carpenters with axes, and by six miners with crow-bars, &c. 16 THE LIFE OF " 8. The fourth division, with the exception of the covering party in the trenches, must make the attack on the face of the bastion of La Trinidad, and the light division on the flank of the bastion of Santa Maria. "9. These two divisions must parade in close columns of divisions at nine o'clock. The light division with the left in front ; the fourth di- vision, with its advanced guard, with the left in front ; the remainder with the right in front. The fourth division must be on the right of the little stream, near the picquet of the fourth di- vision ; and the light division must have th river on their right. " 10. The light division must throw one hun- dred men into the quarries, close to the covered way of the bastion of Santa Maria ; who, as soon as the garrison are disturbed, must keep down by their fire the fire from the face of the bastion of Santa Maria, and that from the covered way. "11. The advance of both divisions must consist of five hundred men from each, at- tended by twelve ladders ; and the men of the storming party should carry sacks filled with light materials, to be thrown into the ditch, ,e SIR THOMAS PICTON. 97 to enable the troops to descend into it. Care must be taken that these bags are not thrown into the covered way. "12!. The advance of the light division must precede that of the fourth division, and both must keep as near the inundation as they pos- sibly can. "13. The advance of both divisions must be formed into firing parties and storming parties. The firing parties must be spread along the crest of the glacis, to keep down the fire of the enemy ; while the men of the storming party, who carry bags, will enter the covered way at the place d'armes, under the breached face of the bastion of La Trinidad ; those attached to the fourth division on its right, those to the light division on its left, looking from the trenches or the camp. "14. The storming party of the advance of the light division will then descend into the ditch, and, turning to its left, storm the breach in the flank of the bastion of Santa Maria ; while the storming party of the fourth division will likewise descend into the ditch and storm the breach in the face of the bastion of La Trinidad. The firing parties are to follow VOL. II. H THE LIFE OF immediately in the rear of their respective storming parties. " 15. The heads of the two divisions will fol- low their advanced guards, keeping nearly to- gether; but they will not advance beyond the shelter afforded by the quarries on the left of the road till they will have seen the heads of the advanced guards ascend the breaches : they will then move forward to the storm in double- quick time. " 16. If the light division should find the bastion of Santa Maria entrenched, they will turn the right of the entrenchment, by moving along the parapet of the bastion. The fourth division will do the same by an entrenchment which appears on the left face looking from the trenches of the bastion of La Trinidad. " 17. The light division, as soon as they are in possession of the rampart of Santa Maria, are to turn to their left, and to proceed along the rampart to their left, keeping always a reserve at the breach. " 18. The advanced guard of the fourth di- vision are to turn to their left, and to keep up the communication with the light division : the fourth division are to turn to their right, ai SIR THOMAS PICTON. 99 to communicate with the third division by the bastion of San Pedro and the demi-bastion of San Antonio, taking care to keep a reserve at the bastion of La Trinidad. "19- Each (the fourth and light) division must leave one thousand men in reserve in the quarries. " 20. The fourth division must endeavour to get open the gate of La Trinidad: the light division must do the same by the gate called Puerto del Pillar. "21. The soldiers must leave their knapsacks in camp. "22. In order to aid these operations, the howitzers, in number twelve, are to open a fire upon the batteries constructed by the enemy to fire upon the breach, as soon as the officers will observe that the enemy are aware of the attack, which they must continue till they see that the third division are in possession of the castle. " 23. The commanding officer in the trenches is to attack the ravelin of Saint Roque with two hundred of the covering party, moving from the right of the second parallel, and round the right of the ravelin looking from 100 THE LIFE OF the trenches, and attacking the barriers and gates of communication between the ravelin and bridge ; while two hundred men, likewise of the covering party, will rush from the right of the sap into the salient angle of the cover- ed way of the ravelin, and keep up a fire on its faces. These last should not advance from the sap till the party to attack the gorge of the ravelin will have turned it. That which will move into the covered way on the right of the ravelin looking from the trenches ought not to proceed further down than the angl formed by the face and the flank. "24. The remainder of the covering party to be a reserve in the trenches. The working parties in the trenches are to join their regi- ments at half-past seven o'clock. Twelve car- penters with axes, and ten miners with crow- bars, must be with each (fourth and light) division. A party of one officer and twenty artillery-men must be with each division. "25. The fifth division must be formed, one brigade on the ground occupied by the Forty- eighth regiment, one brigade on the Sierra del Viento, and one brigade on the low grounds II SIR THOMAS PICTON. 101 extending to the Guadiana, now occupied by the picquets of the light division. " 26. The picquets of the brigades on the Sierra del Viento, and that in the low grounds towards the Guadiana, should endeavour to alarm the enemy during the attack by firing at the Pardaleras, and at the men in the covered way of the works towards the Guadiana. " 27. The commander of the forces particu- larly requests the general officers command- ing divisions and brigades, and the command- ing officers of regiments, and the officers com- manding companies, to impress upon their men the necessity of keeping together and formed as a military body, after the storm and during the night. Not only the success of the opera- tion and the honour of the army, but their own individual safety, depend upon their being in a situation to repel any attack by the enemy, and to overcome all resistance which they may be inclined to make, till the garrison have been completely subdued." We have been informed from many sources, that, according to the original plan of attack, THE LIFE OF the third division was only to have made a feint against the castle. As Lord Wellington doubted the practicability of a successful esca- lade, he had abandoned the idea of any serious attempt in that quarter : but upon the repre- sentation and arguments of General Picton, it was afterwards determined that his division should make the attempt. This determination decided the fate of Badajoz. The original time appointed for making the assault was seven ; but so many arrangements were necessary, that it was afterwards post- poned until ten o'clock : a delay that en- abled the enemy to construct defences which, it will be shown, offered such unexpected ob- stacles to the progress of the assailants, that even the undaunted resolution of our soldiers must have been shaken, had not an unex- pected event paralyzed the efforts of the de- fenders. It will be seen by the arrangements, that the attack was to be made simultaneously at all points. Picton and his division were to move from the trenches a short while before the others ; but they were to appear beneath the walls of the castle at the moment when the assault was to commence on the breaches, Sill THOMAS PiCTON. 103 and the diversion was to be made by the fifth division on the opposite side of the town, near San Vincente. The number of troops directed to storm Badajoz amounted to about nineteen thousand men ; and never were soldiers in better heart or condition : one spirit seemed to pervade them. Some had already tried the strength of the defences against which they were now about to be led, in the unsuccessful attempt upon Fort Christoval during the former siege ; but any one who had seen the bearing of the men when drawn up in preparation for the attack could scarcely have doubted the result. It was not alone the hope of conquest that now led them on ; another, but not a better feeling, was stirring in their breasts : they burned to remove the stigma of former failures, and also to satisfy their hatred of the inhabitants, who had ever been unfriendly to the British troops. These motives had raised a combination of feelings which rendered this service a more than ordinary cause of excitement. The French in their turn were anxiously awaiting the contest, relying on the activity and skill of their distinguished commandant ; and, assured THE LIFE OF by the success of their previous efforts, they anticipated the attack with confidence. Pre- pared moreover on all hands and in every way to destroy, they hoped to drive the assailants back to their trenches, and compel them to raise the siege. As the hour approached, each man made his preparation in silence ; for on such occasions it would be ill-timed and un- kind to oppose the wishes of the brave and devoted men upon whose exertions all must depend. The night was dark and damp; a cold vapour hung around the town, partly composed of the dense smoke which had been left by the day's firing hanging heavily in the still air. But this stillness was not to last long. Near the appointed time, while the men were waiting with increased anxiety, Picton with his staff came up. The troops fell in ; all were in a moment silent, until the general, in his calm and impressive manner, addressed a few words to each regiment. The signal was not yet given; but the enemy, by means of lighted carcases, discovered the position of Picton's soldiers : to delay longer would only have been to expose his men SIR THOMAS PICTON. 105 unnecessarily ; he therefore gave the word to " advance." The regiments composing the third division upon this occasion deserve par- ticular mention. The Forty-fifth took the lead ; and the Seventy-fourth, Eighty-eighth, Fifth, Seventy-seventh, Eighty-third, and Ninety-fourth, closely followed. But it would be injustice to pass over the two regiments of Portuguese, the Ninth and Twenty-first, under Colonel de Champlemond, who nobly bore their part in the struggle of the night. Advancing at a steady pace, they crossed a small mill-stream called the Rivillas, but not unobserved : some fire-balls sent forth by the garrison burning brilliantly in the air over their heads, showed the silent march of the column. The enemy's fire immediately open- ed, and every available gun was brought to bear upon their ranks. Still there was no pause ; not a shot was returned ; but quickly filling up the intervals caused by this destruc- tive fire, they moved on. The illuminated air now showed them their path ; but the storm of shot grew closer and hotter at every step as the enemy saw more clearly their assailants, until, having crossed the stream, Picton's soldiers set 106 THE LIFE OF up a loud shout, and rushed forward up the steep, to the ditch at the foot of the castle walls. General Kempt, who had thus far been with Picton at the head of the division, was here badly wounded and carried to the rear. Picton was therefore left alone to conduct the assault : and the desperate nature of the service called for all his energies. Arrived in the ditch, the leading engineer, Lieutenant Mac Carthy, of the Fiftieth regi- ment, who had volunteered for this service, found that the ladders had been laid upon the paling of the ditch. This brave officer, finding that these palings had not yet been removed, and that they formed a considerable barrier to the advance of the men, cried out, " Down with the paling!" and immediately applying his own hands to effect this, with the assistance of a few others, he succeeded in forcing them down. Through this gap rushed Picton, fol- lowed by his men; but so thick was the fire upon this point, that death seemed inevitable. For a moment the soldiers were paralyzed, and wavered ; but the voice of their general was heard above the din, and they again moved over SIR THOMAS PICTON. 107 their fallen comrades, bearing the ponderous ladders on their shoulders, crowding to raise them against the walls ; but the fire was so tre- mendous, that this forlorn-hope was all but ex- terminated. It is said that each soldier on the walls had six muskets, which he fired in turn as they were loaded by others ; at the same time vast frag- ments of stone like rocks, which had been kept poised upon the walls, were pitched down upon the assailants, crushing them in a frightful manner ; whilst hand-grenades, shells, and guns loaded to the muzzle with grape and case-shot, all burst forth at once. The incessant flashes threw a terrible glare over the scene ; and the men could be discerned running to and fro in the ditch, some pressing forward with the lad- ders, others endeavouring to raise them, and many falling in the act : quickly, however, was their place again filled up. They then strove to rest the ladders against the ramparts ; but the defenders, prepared for every attempt, had long poles shod with iron, with which they forced them back, while those on the wall, pointing their muskets down on each side, swept off all who endeavoured to mount. 108 THE LIFE OF At length, however,, the assailants succeeded in erecting three ladders ;* but the rush of men and the fire of the enemy caused the ladders to break, when those who had succeeded in mount- ing them were thrown upon the bayonets of * One of the first to make the daring ascent was Lieu- tenant Macpherson of the Forty-fifth, (whose name has been before mentioned,) closely followed by Sir Edward Paken- ham. He arrived unharmed to within a few rounds of the top, when he discovered that the ladder was about three feet too short. Still undaunted, he called loudly to those below to raise it more perpendicularly ; and while he with great exertion pushed it from the wall at the top, the men with a loud cheer brought it nearer at the base : but this was done so suddenly, that Macpherson was on a level with the ram- part before he could prepare for defence, and he saw a French soldier deliberately point his musket against his body ; and, without having the least power to strike it aside, the man fired. The ball struck one of the Spanish silver buttons on his waistcoat, which it broke in half: this changed its deadly direction, and caused it to glance off; not, how- ever, before it had broken two ribs, the fractured part of one being pressed in upon his lungs so as almost to stop respiration. Still he did not fall, but contrived to hold on by the upper round of the ladder, conscious that he was wounded, but ignorant to what extent. He could not, how- ever, advance. Pakenham strove to pass him, but in the ef- fort was also severely wounded. Almost at the same mo- ment the ladder broke : destruction seemed inevitable, for a chevaux defrise of bayonets was beneath. Still, even at such a moment as this, their presence of mind was unshaken : Pakenham, taking the hand of the wounded Macpherson, SIR THOMAS PICTON. 109 their comrades below, where they met with a horrid and lingering death. Hundreds had fallen, and every moment added to the carnage. Still there was no pause, not a soldier thought of retreat; for a wild feeling of revenge now said, " God bless you, my dear fellow ! we shall meet again !" And they did meet again, but not where Pakenham meant, for they both recovered from their wounds. Macpherson contrived, by getting to the back of the lad- der, to descend to the ditch in safety, where he lay for a short time insensible. When reason returned, he found him- self attended by two of his men, one supporting his head up- on his knees, and the other holding a cup of chocolate to his lips : the shots were ploughing up the ground in every direc- tion around them ; but, unmoved and unhurt, they continued their friendly occupation. Macpherson made a violent effort to rise, during which the bone which had been pressing on his lungs was forced from its place, and he obtained instant relief. He arose and again mounted a ladder ; but the walls were now gained : he therefore directed his steps towards the tower, on which he had in the morning seen the French flag waving in proud defiance ; his object was to gain it. But all was now confusion and slaughter ; the enemy continued to defend every tenable post, and the infuriated soldiers were bayonetting them without mercy, " I at length," (to use his own words,) " found my way to the tower, where I perceived the sentry still at his post. With my sword drawn, I seized him, and desired him in French to show me the way to the colours. He replied, ' Je ne sais pas.' I upon this gave him a slight cut across the face, saying at the same time, ' Vous le savez a present? on which he dashed his arms upon the ground, and, striking his breast, said, as he raised his head .0 THE LIFE OF led them on with sanguinary fury ; every shot that struck a comrade to the earth filled the survivors with deadlier rage. A ball had struck Picton on the groin a little above his watch, whilst leading his soldiers to the foot of the ramparts. A distinguished offi- cer who was by his side at the time, and to whom we are indebted for much interesting in- formation respecting the events of this night, thinks the ball had first struck the earth ; still the blow was severe. He did not fall or bleed, but being assisted to the glacis, in a short time became extremely faint and almost insensible. He remained in this state for nearly twenty minutes ; when the pain having in some degree and pointed to his heart, ' Frappez, je suis Franpais !' his manner at the same time indicating that the colour was there. I could not wait to provide for the safety of this brave fellow ; so I called out loudly for a non-commissioned officer to take charge of him, so that he should not be hurt. One stepped forward ; when, giving him instructions to pro- tect the gallant soldier, I ascended the tower ; but my pre- caution was vain, for I afterwards discovered that this noble fellow was amongst the dead." Macpherson was rewarded upon reaching the top of the tower by rinding the French colour still flying. He instantly tore it down ; when, for lack of anything else, he took off his red jacket, and hoisted it on the staff as an honourable sub- stitute for the British flag. SIR THOMAS PICTON. Ill subsided, refusing medical aid, he again pro- ceeded to direct the attack. He now saw his men moving amidst the dying and dead, while the incessant fire was still mowing them down ; he could also perceive that they had not yet struck a blow in return, for during this period the defenders had scarcely lost a man. Picton's soldiers were amazed at the overwhelming fire that was poured upon them ; but they heard their general calling upon them in a calm energetic tone, not to desert him, but to make one effort more. " If we cannot win the castle," he cried, " let us die upon the walls !"* This was sufficient ; fresh ladders were raised against another part of the battlements, and hundreds rushed forward to scale them, when the struggle again commenced : this part of the wall was not quite so high. * " Picton, seeing the frightful situation in which he was placed, became uneasy ; but the good- will with which his brave companions exposed and laid down their lives, reassured him : he called out to his men, told them they had never been defeated, and that now was the moment to conquer or die. Picton, although not loved by his soldiers, was respected by them ; and his appeal, as well as his unshaken front, did wonders in changing the desperate state of the division." Reminiscences of a Subaltern. Colonel Ridge of the Forty-fifth, who had so greatly distinguished himself at Ciudad Rodrigo, was again foremost : a ladder was dashed against the battlement, when, springing forward, he rushed up, followed on every round by his fear- less and devoted soldiers. He had ascended so quickly, that, before those on the top could force the ladder back, the weight was too great, and it pressed firmly against the wall. But who could hope to gain the summit and live ? The enemy were now concentrated round the top to pour their fire on each man as he ad- vanced ; pikes, bayonets, and the unceasing stream of musketry were to be passed before the wall could be reached. Ridge still, however, pressed on, his sword guarding his head, and the bayonets of those on the next rounds thrust upwards to protect him. Other ladders were erected, and with better success ; the enemy in their turn were paralyzed at the unconquerable resolution of the assailants. Despair of being able to repulse them seemed now to have seized the defenders ; it might even be supposed that they were tired of killing : certain, however, it is, that their efforts were becoming more feeble, for Ridge, Canch, and several more, gained a SIR THOMAS PICTON. 113 footing on the battlements. Then (for the first time during the night) did the tide turn in favour of the assailants. A continued rush of troops now followed up the ladders ; as the enemy made but a slight resistance when the wall was gained. This conquest had cost the victors much, but the defenders paid a dear and bloody price for the injury which they had inflicted. From men so infuriated with the disappointment of repeated failure little mercy could be expected ; few, very few of those who had assisted in raising the pile of dead that now nearly filled the ditch, were left to boast of their deeds. The wound which Picton had received pre- vented his ascending the ladders to enter the castle, and he was in consequence compelled to remain in the ditch, but he was not inactive ; for, calling up the whole of the straggling par- ties, he ordered them all to ascend the walls, and thus poured in a powerful assistance to co-operate with those already in possession in resisting any efforts on the part of the enemy for recovering the castle. But we must now take a slight retrospect of the assault on the breaches, and the operations VOL. II. I 114 THE LIFE OF of the fifth division against the Pardaleras and San Vincente, in order to form an opinion of the importance of Picton's success. It is not, however, necessary to dwell upon the details of these attacks. The fourth and light divisions were ordered on this fearful duty. They advanced a short time after Picton's division had moved against the castle. Their united numbers amounted to about ten thousand men, commanded by Major- general Colville and Lieutenant-colonel Barnard. The attack made by these troops is perhaps one of the most extraordinary instances of daring in history : as an appalling proof of the wildness and even madness of men when stimulated to desperation by resistance and impelled by re- venge, it stands unparalleled. But these were not the only feelings which pervaded this gal- lant band ; it would be injustice to them to deny that in the breasts of many there lived a nobler and better motive. They moved from the trenches and reached the glacis in silence : there the enemy dis- covered them, and the work of death com- menced. The ditch was to be crossed : some few availed themselves of the ladders ; but, im- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 115 patient of this slow mode of descent, the men rushed to the brink, and the column poured down like a falling cataract. The enemy had waited for this moment to set at work all their instruments of destruction. " Never, probably, since the discovery of gunpowder," says Colonel Jones, " were men more exposed to its action than those assembled in the ditch to assault the breaches. Many thousand shells and hand-grenades, numerous bags filled with powder, every kind of burning composition and destructive missile, had been prepared and placed along the parapet of the whole front : these, under an incessant roll of musketry, were hurled into the ditch without intermission for upwards of two hours, giving to its surface an appearance of vomiting fire, and producing sudden flashes of light more vivid than the day. Description, however, conveys but a faint idea of the imposing na- ture of such a mode of defence. The doors of success were certainly thrown open ; but they were so vigilantly guarded, the approach to them was so strewn with difficulties, and the scene altogether so appalling, that instead of its being a disparagement to the troops to have 116 THE LIFE OF failed in forcing through them, is it not rather a subject for pride and exultation that they had firmness to persevere in the attempt until recalled ?" Yet they did persevere in defiance of all these horrors, and the pile of dead and dying which was soon accumulated : the living still rushed on to gain the breach, or fill it with their bodies. Closely packed in the narrow ditch, every ex- plosion and every shot found a victim, until it more resembled a grave where the living were interred with the dead. It would have been a hopeless effort to escape or even to avoid the destruction ; and the shell was frequently seen about to explode, without the beholder having power to move from its vicinity. But the hope of gaining the breach made them submit with- out a murmur to the havoc made in their ranks. Much confusion existed for a short time by the circumstance of an unfinished ravelin being mistaken for the breach : it was, how- ever, too easily gained ; no enemy was on the summit. But it was not a position to be main- tained : a murderous fire from the ramparts in the rear, on each side, and from the breach, swept the crown of this elevation, and many SIR THOMAS PICTON. 117 fell rolling back upon their advancing friends. Still, others pressed forward and jumped into the ditch which separated it from the ram- parts ; while some, moving to the right of the ravelin, joined them; when, forming in one close but irregular mass, they rushed up the crumbling ruins of the breach. It would be vain to attempt an adequate description of this wild and sanguinary scene ; to trace all its features is impossible. When the troops had arrived on the crown of the breach, an unexpected obstacle was found to exist ; one that seemed at once to defy every effort of desperation to overcome. This was a chevaux defrise of sword-blades, fixed in beams of wood, the ends of which were buried deep- ly in the ruins, and chained to each other both inside and out ; between these were rows of muskets, which poured forth a deadly and in- cessant fire upon the almost frantic assailants, as, goaded to desperation by this unlooked-for check, they dashed the butts of their muskets with wild fury against the firmly-rooted blades. While thus vainly endeavouring to overcome this barrier, the enemy, who lined the ramparts on each side, continued to send forth every 118 THE LIFE OF missile of destruction, and at the same time kept up an incessant fire of musketry ; so that the troops, unable to advance and unwilling to return, stood with reckless daring to be massacred by the enemy, who mowed them down with impunity. The sloping ruins were quickly covered with their bodies, some only disabled, others sadly mutilated ; but all were soon alike, as their crushed and mangled re- mains were trampled into shapeless masses by their intrepid comrades. Unappalled by the havoc which strewed their path, fresh men still pressed up the breach : beneath that fire no man could live, but they could die ; and hope- less but desperate, they crowded forward, un- shrinking, unsubdued. The loud shouts of triumph sent forth by the defenders were answered by wild cries of defiance from the devoted English ; and that was again echoed by the hollow moans and piercing cries of the trampled fallen. Many feats of daring gal- lantry were performed upon this memorable night by individuals, which, could they be re- corded, would hand to posterity a list of nam worthy of fame. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 119 CHAPTER V. Capture of the Castle of Badajoz. Lord Wellington directs it to be retained at all hazards. Successful attack on the breaches at the bastion of San Vincente. The Governor retires to Fort Christoval. Attempt to retake the Castle. Death of Colonel Ridge. Surrender of the Garrison. Anecdotes of Picton and his Division. Picton's Letters on the Siege destroyed ; inference to be drawn therefrom. Lord Liverpool's eulogium on Picton. Character of the Third Division. IT would have been difficult to determine whether the soldiers or the officers were most conspicuous in this struggle for death ; leaders were never for one moment wanting, nor hundreds to follow them : but it was still the same hopeless strife no single step was gained, the same impenetrable barrier stood uninjured ; while the garrison, exulting in the success of their stratagem, plied their muskets with in- creasing and frightful rapidity. To continue this unavailing sacrifice of life would have been inhuman. Lord Wellington received repeated 120 THE LIFE OF communications from the officers commanding the attack ; but no one brought him any change, or held out any prospect of success. The red glare upon the dark clouds, and the incessant din of arms, told him clearly that the contest was still raging with unabated fury. He knew well the slaughter attendant upon the assault of a breach ; a brief struggle is there surely a bloody one, but the long continuance of this promised a frightful return. He knew that his soldiers would not desist while an entire company remained to die; but justice to these brave men demanded that he should put a stop to the work of destruction and he ordered the retreat to be sounded. At this moment, directed by the burning flambeaux to the post occupied by the com- mander of the forces and his staff, an officer rode up at speed it was Picton's confidential aid-de-camp. "Who's that?" said the chief, in his usual sharp but firm tone. " Lieutenant Tyler," was the reply. " Ah, Tyler, well ?" observed his lordship. " General Picton has taken the castle, my lord/' said Tyler. " Then the place is ours," exclaimed Wellington ; and Tyler was immediately ordered to return to SIR THOMAS PICTON. 121 Picton, with directions to keep possession of the castle at all hazards. Tyler hastened back ; but Picton, never for one moment forgetting or misunderstanding the spirit of his instruc- tions, had already ordered parties to proceed along the ramparts to the breaches. The enemy, upon his retreat from the castle, had closed and strongly barricaded the gates communicating with the ramparts. To force these ponderous iron-bound barriers was a work of difficulty, with the means at their disposal. Again, the enemy having received some re- inforcements from San Vincente, were mak- ing demonstrations to retake the castle ; when Picton sent in some fresh troops to repel the threatened attack, while others were employed in battering the gates. The success of Pic- ton's escalade had, however, destroyed the se- curity and confidence of the garrison. The castle commanded the whole town ; and un- less it could be retaken, the further efforts of the French in defending the breaches must be ultimately defeated. Other operations were, moreover, in progress against the fort of Par- daleras and the bastion of San Vincente. Ge- neral Walker's brigade of the fifth division THE LIFE OF had made a successful assault on the latter for the enemy's troops destined to defend this post had been called upon to aid in the attempt to recapture the castle, and in consequence those that were left made at first but a feeble resistance, and the British troops quickly suc- ceeded in establishing themselves upon the walls. As soon, however, as the French had recovered from their first panic, they were rallied by their officers, and a desperate conflict ensued, when the English were again partially driven back ; but fresh troops were rushing up the ladders, and these being formed by Colonel Nugent as they reached the rampart, received the French with so steady and close a volley, that they were almost annihilated: the bayonet finished the work, and the British troops ad- vanced into the town, hurrying through the main street to attack the breaches and retrench- ments of the enemy in the rear. Every exer- tion had been made during this period by Picton's soldiers to force the communications from the castle to the ramparts ; but some of the gateways were filled up with solid masonry, while others were of such massy workmanship SIR THOMAS PICTON. and so firmly secured, that all their efforts were vain. General Picton, upon being made acquainted with this, sent the same aid-de-camp to inform the commander of the forces of the difficulty which his soldiers found in effecting a passage to the breach. Upon receiving this informa- tion, Lord Wellington, having ordered the light and fourth divisions to cease the attack, sent word to Picton to blow down the gates, but remain in the castle until daylight, when, with about two thousand soldiers, he was to sally out upon the ramparts, while the attack in front of the breaches was to be resumed by the two divisions which had already suffered so much and fought so well. Picton accordingly prepared to obey the in- structions of his chief ; but the British bugles were now sounding in the rear of the enemy's entrenchments, and the English soldiers were rushing forward to clear the breaches. The light and fourth divisions were again ordered to advance against the breach of La Trinidad. But there was now no enemy: for, alarmed by the surrounding attack, and convinced that longer 124 THE LIFE OF resistance would be unavailing, Phillipon con- trived to cross the bridge, and throw himself and part of his garrison into Fort Christoval, leaving to the allies the prize for which they had so nobly fought. The two divisions mount- ed the breach, passed over the hill of dead, and reached the chevaux de frise; but the resist- ance had ceased ; instead of the showers of balls which had before assailed them at that fatal spot, they now stood uninjured. Still with difficulty they forced the unguarded barrier; but so soon as an entrance was effected, they rushed like a torrent into the devoted city. The last effort of the enemy to recover Badajoz was an attack upon the castle; but Picton's invincible and victorious soldiers beat back the French with frightful slaughter, not, however, until as brave an officer as ever fought had fallen by almost the last shot. This was Ridge, who was the first upon the walls, and whose daring example, both at Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, had rendered him an object of emulation throughout the army. A writer to whom we have before alluded, in concluding his account of the siege of Badajoz,* * In The United Service Journal." SIR THOMAS PICTON. 125 observes: " An attempt to retake the castle was made in vain. But the brave Colonel Ridge of the Fifth, who had so distinguished himself, lost his life by almost one of the last shots that were fired in this fruitless effort to recover a place which had cost the army the heart's-blood of the third division : and the army saw like a speck in the horizon the scattered remnant of Picton's invincible soldiers, as they stood in a lone group upon the ramparts of a spot that, by its isolated situation, towering height, and vast strength, seemed not to appertain to the rest of the fortifications, and which the enemy, with their entirely disposable force, were unable to retake from the few brave men that now stood triumphant upon its lofty battlements. Nevertheless, triumphant and stern as was their attitude, it was not without its alloy, for more than five-sixths of their officers and comrades either lay dead at their feet, or badly wounded in the ditch below them. All their generals, Picton amongst the number, and almost all their colonels, were either killed or wounded ; and as they stood to receive the praises of their commander, and the cheers of their equally brave but unfor- 126 THE LIFE OF tunate companions in arms, their diminished front and haggard appearance told with terri- ble truth the nature of the conflict in which they had been engaged." Thus terminated this important siege, dearly purchased, it is true, but never did soldiers cover themselves with so much glory as those who conquered Badajoz. France heard of it with wonder and ill-concealed dismay ; for the details which were given to the French nation, by exaggerating the amount of resistance in the defenders, only added to the degree of skill and courage demanded for its subjection. This was the first perfect lesson which the enemy had learned of the invincible nature of British soldiers, and it produced its effect. Napoleon is said to have observed in the memorable field of Waterloo, " These English never know when they are beaten." As may be imagined from the details here given, the loss sustained by the allies was very great; nearly five thousand men had fallen from the commencement of the siege until the moment when the flag of England was seen floating over the city. Colonel Napier remarks, that when the ex- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 127 tent of the night's havoc was made known to Lord Wellington, the firmness of his nature gave way for a moment, and the pride of con- quest yielded to a passionate burst of grief for the loss of his gallant soldiers.* Phillipon and the remainder of the garrison * We have met with several anecdotes relating to this siege iu the accounts of those who witnessed the events of this night, and who shared in its dangers, but whose better fortune spared them to relate the deeds of those who fell. From that excellent periodical the United Service Journal the following anecdotes are extracted, which refer in parti- cular to General Picton and his division. A medical officer, whose more humane duties debarred him from entering into the sanguinary struggle at Badajoz, and who was necessarily better enabled to observe and note the passing events, after having remarked upon the repeated arrivals of aides-de-camp from the breaches, announcing the total failure of the attack, and that unless some rein- forcements were sent the troops would be compelled to re- treat, adds: " Another staff-officer soon arrived, bringing information that General Picton had obtained possession of the castle. " < Who brings that intelligence ?' exclaimed Lord Wel- lington. " The officer gave his name.f " * Are you certain, sir?' " ' I entered the castle with the troops have just left it, and General Picton in possession.' f Lieutenant Tyler, the officer before alluded to as sent by General Picton with this information. 128 THE LIFE OF surrendered early on the following morning. Would that the pen could stop here, and close the account of this brilliant achievement ! But it cannot be the degrading tale is already told, and those who have thus far admired the brave and enduring soldiers for the devo- tion with which they fought, must look with disgust upon the lawless plunderer and the ... stt With how many men ?' " * His division.' " It is impossible to imagine the change this produce the feelings of all around. " < Return, sir, and desire General Picton to maintain his position at all hazards.' " Having despatched this messenger, Lord Wellington directed a second officer to proceed to the castle to repeat his orders to General Picton." Alluding to the failure of the soldiers to force the gates and attack the breaches in rear, the enemy at the same time threatening the recapture of the castle, and to defeat which the troops were kept in order on the ramparts, another writer observes : " Having continued formed as above until morning, we received orders to advance into the town, and were cheered by the generous admission of our brave comrades, * that Picton and the third division had taken Badajoz.' " And the Editor in a note to this remark, adds : " We have now before us a letter from an officer, written the day after the storm, eulogizing the magnanimity of Lord Wellington on this occasion ; his lordship having, it was asserted, told Sir Thomas Picton that the ' thii division had saved his honour and gained him Badajoz.' " SIK THOMAS PICTON. violater of every human tie. When further apprehensions of resistance had subsided, the troops were allowed to leave their ranks, mi- litary discipline ceased, and the doomed city was made the sport of wantonness and crime. Colonel Napier says, " Now commenced that wild and desperate wickedness which tarnished the lustre of the soldier's heroism. All, indeed, were not alike ; for hundreds risked and many lost their lives in striving to stop the violence : but the mad- ness generally prevailed ; and as the worst men were the leaders here, all the dreadful passions of human nature were displayed. Shameless rapacity, brutal intemperance, savage lust, cruelty and murder, shrieks and piteous la- mentations, groans, shouts, imprecations, the hissing of fires bursting from the houses, the crashing of doors and windows, and the reports of muskets used in violence, resounded for two days and nights in the streets of Badajoz ! On the third, when the city was sacked, when the soldiers were exhausted by their own excesses, the tumult rather subsided than was quelled."* * Lieutenant Macpherson, the officer whose gallant efforts to ascend the ladder have already been mentioned, waited VOL. II. K 130 THE LIFE OF We regret that we are unable to give ori- ginal letters or documents from the pen of Sir Thomas Picton relative to the capture of Ba- dajoz : those who had in their possession letters upon General Picton the day after the assault, and pre- sented to him the flag which he had taken in the castle the previous night. Macpherson's distinguished behaviour had been already reported to the general, and he received him in the most kind and friendly manner ; even the words which he made use of to the young lieutenant are deeply impress- ed upon his memory. " Sir," he observed in a tone of deep interest, " I congratulate you on your gallantry, and thank you : this night you have allied your fate to mine," putting out his hand and warmly shaking that of Macpherson. He then continued : " There is a hand will never forsake you ; from henceforth your promotion shall be my look-out." In how far he fulfilled this promise the reader will have a future opportunity of observing. General Picton would not accept the flag from the young officer, from a hope that it might do him more service in a higher quarter. " No," he said, "take it to Lord Wellington, and show him what the third division can do." Macpherson was suffering much pain from his wound, and felt little inclination to intrude himself at head-quarters ; but Picton with friendly warmth insisted upon his going, Macpherson accordingly presented the flag to the comman- der of the forces. He was thanked, and invited to dinner; his wound, however, prevented him from accepting this in- vitation. General Picton applied almost immediately to Lord Wel- lington to give him a company; but two years after th( taking of Badajoz he was still a lieutenant. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 131 written by Sir Thomas Picton within a short period after this siege have, from a friendly but mistaken zeal, consigned them to the flames. In no less than three instances has this been the case, and amongst a consecutive packet of letters from which this memoir has been in a great measure composed, those that referred in particular to the taking of Badajoz have been in like manner withdrawn or destroyed. This is the more to be regretted, as the parties to whom these communications were addressed are no longer living, so that even their me- mories cannot be appealed to. Unfortunately, the inference to be drawn from this act on the part of Sir Thomas Picton's friends is not of a favourable nature ; for it will necessarily be presumed that he had in these letters expressed opinions and passed comments upon the con- duct of this siege and assault, which were not calculated to advance his professional prospects, and that for this reason they were destroyed. The candid and unflinching statements of such a mind as that of Sir Thomas Picton would have been highly valuable ; and although they might have embraced some unpleasant or rather severe truths, still they would have been es- K 2 THE LIFE OF teemed as the sentiments of a man who never disguised his opinions, or shrunk from giving them utterance from any feeling of policy or fear of reproof. The reader's attention should be directed to the following fact, and then he will be con- vinced, that when General Picton ventured to express anything like censure upon the man- ner in which the assault was conducted, he only did that which modern writers have not hesitated to do. Immediately after the capture of Badajoz, admiration and respect for the commander of the forces, together with the exultation pro- duced by success, made comment mute ; and even those whose dearest friends and relatives had fallen on that fatal breach joined in the universal cry of praise to the great mind that had achieved this conquest. But a man of Sir Thomas Picton's stern cast was not to be carried away by the stream of public opinion ; and it is only reasonable to suppose that these letters which his friends so zealously destroyed contained nothing more than those very re- marks which are now brought forward without hesitation. He then saw circumstances to con- I SIR THOMAS PICTON. 133 demn in the conduct of this siege, which none but himself dared to allude to at the time, but which are now freely commented upon. Colonel Jones makes the following observa- tions : " The hour originally named was half- past seven, being immediately after dusk ; but it was subsequently changed to ten, in conse- quence of the arrangements being found to re- quire that delay. The garrison took advantage of the interval between the breaching batteries ceasing to batter and the commencement of the assault, to cover the front of the breaches with harrows and crows'-feet, and to fix chevaux de frise of sword-blades on the summits."* A gentleman who knew General Picton in- timately, and to whom he more than once spoke of the siege of Badajoz, still further con- firms the supposition that the letters of which we so much regret the loss, only referred to the very point alluded to in the foregoing extract ; for to this gentleman Sir Thomas Pic- ton on one occasion expressed in rather strong terms his opinion with regard to delaying the attack, and the consequent sacrifice of life ; and this is the only source from which the writer * See his admirable work upon Sieges. 134 THE LIFE OF has been enabled to draw respecting the proba- ble contents of these letters. After this state- ment, it will naturally be asked by what means any account has been obtained of General Pic- ton's proceedings during the siege of Badajoz. This has not been a difficult task ; for many are now living who were by his side nearly the whole time of the assault ; and they have given every assistance which their memories could furnish. The only document amongst the gal* lant general's own papers which refers in any way to the capture of Badajoz is the letter from Lieutenant Mac Carthy to Sir Thomas Picton, which has been before alluded to, and from which an extract has already been given ;* but this affords no account of General Picton's individual conduct. The wound which General Picton had re- ceived rendered him for a time unable to follow the same active routine which had so long been his habit. The soldiers of his divi- * This letter is inserted at length in the Appendix, as an interesting detail of the progress of an individual during the escalade, and in order to assist in refuting the charge brought against Sir Thomas Picton, of neglecting the interests of the officers who served under his command. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 135 sion had now learned to look up to him as their rallying point as the chief who was ever ready to share with them every privation, and who had obtained for them the most distin- guished name amongst the army. It was not his undaunted courage that alone made his soldiers value him ; his collected and resolute demeanour, together with the calm firmness of his voice in the most trying moments of danger, gave them a confidence in his judg- ment second only to that which they reposed in the commander of the forces, and which made them follow wherever or whenever he led, depending on his skill and generalship to extricate them from any situation of peril in which they might be unexpectedly placed. Lord Liverpool, during a debate in the House of Lords on the 27th of April 1812, after having eulogized collectively the services and abilities of the officers under the command of Lord Wellington, observed : " The conduct of General Picton has inspired a confidence in the army, and exhibited an example of science and bravery which has been surpassed by no other officer. His exertions in the attack on 136 THE LIFE OF the 6th (Badajoz) cannot fail to excite the most lively feelings of admiration." The third division was not so conspicuous for the regularity of its appointments or its parade-movements as for the more important duties of the field. One regiment in particular, the Eighty-eighth, or Connaught Rangers, as brave and steady a fighting set of fellows as ever handled a musket, were perhaps as de- termined a band of marauders as ever sacked a city or robbed a poultry -yard : their appear- ance was at the same time equally irregular, and Picton used familiarly to call them his " brave ragged rascals." But this irregularity in the regiments of the " fighting division" was not confined to the " Eighty -eighth," although the palm certainly rested with the "Rangers of Connaught;" and Picton used to remark, that all the light division left in the way of plunder, was sure to be found by his " ragged rascals" Another observation of Sir Thomas Picton, when speaking of his soldiers, was, " I don't care how they dress, so long as they mind their jighting" And this was the only thing his division did mind one unconquerable I SIR THOMAS PICTON. 137 feeling seemed to pervade the whole. Picton had taught them to be daring, never to pause, never to retreat ; and so well had they learned their lesson, that it is a singular truth, that the third division was never repulsed when they attacked ! Success operates strongly on the minds of soldiers in making them respect their leaders ; it gives them confidence in themselves and in their officers ; they fight with a firmer front and think less of a reverse, and the victorious veteran becomes at length equal to a host of untried soldiers. The war waged by the "fight- ing division" was of that stern and unyielding description which defied opposition : their bat- tle-front was terrible ; warmed by their chief, they rushed on, and never stopped until the enemy was overcome. Picton often spoke in terms of the warmest admiration of the noble bearing of his sol- diers when exposed upon several occasions to the most severe fire without returning a shot ; every gap in the line would be in an instant filled up; when, close or unbroken, they would move on until bidden to pour in their deadly 138 THE LIFE OF answer, or charge with the bayonet. After the escalade of the castle of Badajoz, he spoke of them with an expression of gratitude for the devoted manner in which they obeyed his or- ders, regardless of the fearful nature of the attack, and undaunted by the fate of each suc- ceeding comrade who had gained the summit of the ladders. " Still/' he observed to an of- ficer who was with him for some time after he was wounded, " still they rushed to the foot of the ladders, even striving who should be first to mount ; but they fell so fast, and the ladders were so insecure, that even the bravest began to waver. I called upon them, however, to make another effort, when they poured on and bore one another up until at length the wall was gained ; nothing could resist them. Yet I could hardly make myself believe that we had taken the castle." It was not, however, by words only, but by a liberal gift, that Picton evinced the sense he entertained of his gallant soldiers.* 1 A few days after the capture of Badajoz, he desii one of his aides-de-camp to pay to the remainder of the men who composed the storming party of his division, one guinea each, as a testimonial of their general's gratitude. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 139 The following letter from General Picton to Mr. Marry at may be here inserted with little interruption to our narrative. " Peno Dona, 8th May 1812. " MY DEAR SIR, " I had the pleasure of your letter by Mr. Henwell, who arrived in the camp before Ba- dajoz on the morning previous to the assault of that place, and fortunately participated in that event. He was, in consequence, recommended for an ensigncy in the Forty -third regiment, to which there is little doubt of his succeeding. After the capture of Badajoz, we were under the necessity of moving rather expeditiously north- ward, as Marshal Marmont had made an in- cursion during our absence, with the view of drawing us from our main object, the siege of Badajoz ; but in this expectation he was disap- pointed by the celerity of our operations, which he did not calculate upon. He, however, did very considerable injury in the province, and carried off cattle and other booty of no incon- siderable value; and, what is of very great importance, he has taught us what value to place upon a militia force, which the ministerial 140 THE LIFE OF papers, with you, have so frequently and so loudly cried up as nowhere yielding to regulars. The militia of the northern provinces, under their generals, two English and one Portuguese, of established reputation, and whose names and exploits have frequently figured in the gazettes, were driven from the strong post of Guarda, and perfectly dispersed and dissipated, by about five hundred French horse. If we rely upon our vast establishment of the kind, we shall, some day or other, be woefully disappointed. These people, like ours, had sufficient mecha- nical discipline, and were equal in appearance and equipment to any regulars : but war is a practical science, and is only to be learned in collision with the enemy. I seriously appre- hend that our military system will eventually lead to a great national misfortune, unless it be more practically organized in time. " We are now approaching the river Douro, in order to be near our depots of provisions, whilst our means of transport are employed in supplying Almeida and Ciudad Rodrigo with provisions ; and I shall profit of this movement to visit Oporto, and, on my return, if Major- general Colville should be sufficiently reco- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 141 vered from his wounds to take charge of the division, I shall take my passage for England, where my affairs require my presence. The public despatches will let you know what we have been about, and I trust you will not think we have been idle or uselessly employed. The general idea is that we shall again move south- ward, to carry on offensive operations on that side; but we are not in sufficient force to act, at the same time, on the offensive there and the defensive here. We want at least fifteen thousand English troops more to do any thing decisive. I shall probably see you in August. " My dear Sir, " Very faithfully yours, " T. PICTON." 142 THE LIFE OF CHAPTER VI. Advance of Soult to relieve Badajoz. His retreat on hearing of its fall. Marmont threatens Ciudad Rodrigo. He marches upon Almeida. Colonel Trant's stratagem. British move towards Castile. French retreat upon Sala- manca. Skirmish at the Douro. Friendly intercourse between the hostile armies. Marmont, reinforced, as- sumes the offensive.-' Picton's dangerous illness. General Pakenham assumes his command. Battle of Salamanca. Gallant conduct of the Third Division. Temporary success of the French. Their complete rout. UPON the fall of Badajoz, Marshal Soult re- solved, after too long a delay, to advance from Seville to the relief of the besieged fortress. He arrived at Villa Franca, on the 8th of April, only to hear from the flying garrison that the place had been captured two days previously. He halted upon receiving this information, for his force was not sufficiently large to meet the allies without the assistance of the garrison, and immediately afterwards he commenced his re- treat to Seville. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 143 As soon as Lord Wellington was made ac- quainted with the advance of Soult, he made preparations to give him battle. When it was known, however/that he was in full retreat, the cavalry, under Sir Stapleton Cotton, was order- ed to follow on his rear ; and several skirmishes took place highly honourable to the skill and courage of the pursuers. During this period, Marmont had threatened Ciudad Rodrigo, with about twenty thousand men ; but finding the garrison determined to defend the place stoutly, although ill supplied with provisions, he left one division to establish a blockade, while with the remainder of his army he marched towards Almeida. Colonel Trant,* whose active and enterprising operations at the head of a few militia had drawn forth the warm praises of Lord Welling- ton, arrived at this moment in the neighbour- hood, and contrived, with great daring and at much personal risk, to establish a short commu- nication with the governor of that fortress, Co- lonel Le Mesurier, when they agreed upon the plans which they should pursue in co-operation in order to deceive the enemy. By the simple * Now Sir Nicholas Trant. 144 THE LIFE OF stratagem of making a great show of fires during the night, they led the French to be- lieve that a large force had advanced to the re- lief of Almeida ; and they consequently aban- doned their design of attacking this place, and moved forward to take possession of Castello Bran co, which was occupied by their advanced guard on the evening of the 12th of April. After the trenches of Badajoz had been filled up, the breaches repaired, and the walls height- ened, Lord Wellington put his army in motion towards Castile. On the 15th the third division was again on its march. As this division passed beneath the castle of Badajoz, which only a few days before it had so daringly assailed, the recollection of those who had fallen came sadly on the minds of all ; and there was not a man among them who did not recognise, in the spots around, the burial-place of many friends. When the allied army was put in motion towards the field of Marmont's operations, that general at once betrayed a distrust either in himself or the force under his command. Even the report of Wellington's success at Badajoz, and his intention to advance to the North, stopped the excesses which he had been com- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 145 mitting on the frontiers of Beira; and as soon as he received information that the English general was upon his march, he commenced a retreat upon Salamanca. The allies again took up a position between the rivers Coa and Agueda, the head-quarters being established at Fuente Guinaldo ; and for a while the army remained in cantonments to refresh after the severe services in which it had been engaged through all the inclemency of winter. It was during this period that Napoleon invaded Russia. How the strength of France was wasted in this vast attempt, her fields left nearly untilled, and her cities deprived of their defenders, need not be repeated here. The affairs of the Penin- sula became now a secondary consideration in comparison with this greater enterprise, to the result of which all Europe was looking with painful suspense. On the 9th of May 1812, Napoleon left Paris to join the immense army with which he un- dertook this expedition : had he thrown him- self into Spain with one-fourth of this army, the English general might probably have been driven to his ships. It is true that the number VOL. II. L 146 THE LIFE OF of French troops in the Peninsula was already great. According to Colonel Jones, " The French force within the Pyrenees, in May 1812, exceeded one hundred and seventy thousand, chiefly veteran troops, under distinguished of- ficers. Soult commanded fifty-eight thousand in Andalusia ; Marmont, fifty -five thousand in Leon ; Souham, ten thousand (the Army of the North) in Old Castile ; Suchet, forty thousand in Arragon and the eastern provinces ; and Jourdan could dispose of fifteen thousand men, called the Army of the Centre, for the security of the intrusive king and the quiet of the capital." But, large as this force was, it was not during any period of the subsequent war effective : a want of cordiality and co-operation existed amongst the different generals, which, fortu- nately for the liberties of Europe, enabled Lord Wellington to act against each army separately, and defeat them in detail ; while reinforcements could riot be expected from a country already exhausted of its population. But the presence of the Emperor would have produced a great alteration in affairs ; he would have been able to concentrate each corps, and SIR THOMAS PICTON. 147 silence at once all dissension among his officers ; while his great military genius would have se- cured every advantage which the preponde- rance of his force might have entitled him to expect. The force under Lord Wellington's com- mand, with which he had to oppose that of Marmont, amounted to about forty-five thou- sand men. General Hill had at the same time about ten thousand infantry and one thousand two hundred cavalry, principally Portuguese ; but this corps, after having carried the castle of Miravete by assault, and secured the bridge of Almaraz, was occupied in observing the opera- tions of Soult, and preventing a junction be- tween his army and that of Marmont. On the 13th of June the allied forces once more commenced operations, and on the 16th they came up with the French in front of the town of Salamanca ; but the enemy showed no intention of fighting, and the next morning they had passed the river Tormes, upon the right bank of which the city is built. Lord Wel- lington crossed in pursuit on the following day by two fords, one above and the other below the town. A good stone bridge is thrown over L 2 148 THE LIFE OF this river; but the French had erected some formidable works to prevent the passage, which were at the same time so constructed as to command the city. The inhabitants were not well-disposed towards their invaders ; but re- ceived the English with every demonstration of friendliness and gratitude. The following letter from General Picton to Mr. Marryat details the operations of the British army at this period. " Before Salamanca, 24th June 1812. " MY DEAR SlR, " We passed the Tormes by difficult fords on the 17th, and I had a continued skirmish with Marshal Marmont during the whole of that day. We entered the city on the same evening, but the French occupied a strongly- fortified point, which they have ever since maintained with obstinacy ; and we have lost many valuable officers and men in attempting to dislodge them. On the 19th, Marshal Mar- mont, being joined by the reinforcements he expected, advanced within three miles of our position in front of Salamanca, and he made every apparent disposition for attacking us, and SIR THOMAS PICTON. 149 extended his army along our front so as to al- most bring the two armies in contact in various points. In this extraordinary situation we re- mained, with various skirmishes and trifling affairs of posts, during the whole of the 22nd. On the morning of the 23rd, we discovered that he had silently decamped during the night, with all the appearance of a retreat upon Valladolid. However, we shortly after discovered that he had made that nocturnal movement for the purpose of approaching his left to the Tormes, and he now appears to be meditating the passage of that river, for the purpose of getting into our rear and acting upon our line of communication. We have also passed the river with three divisions of the army, and are endeavouring to counteract this manoeuvre. The armies are, I believe, nearly equal at present ; but the enemy has the means of reinforcing himself at hand, and we have no hopes of any addition to our force. My hopes are far from sanguine. We may operate as an admirable diversion, and distract the enemy considerably by obliging him to concentrate his forces, which will lay him open to the enterprises of the Guerillas; but I have no 150 THE LIFE OF hopes of being able to effect anything sub- stantial. I am perfectly tired with the con- tinual movements and fatigue of this unceas- ing kind of warfare, in a country where we are exposed to every kind of privation, and, I may almost say, want. I mean to make my interest, as soon as I find a favourable opportunity, for some one to succeed me in the command of the third division. " Very faithfully yours, " T. PICTON." A battering train had already been ordered from Elvas for the reduction of the forts erect- ed to prevent the passage of the river. This duty was given to the sixth division, under Major-general Clinton ; while the remainder of the allied army was posted on the heights of St. Christoval, three miles in advance of the town : a position which cut off Marmont's com- munication with the troops defending the be- sieged works. It is unnecessary to dwell upon the reduction of these forts. On the tenth day after the batteries had opened, two breaches were reported practicable in St. Vincente, the principal, and one in Gaetano, the smaller fort. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 151 "The troops," according to Colonel Jones, " were formed for the assault of the latter, when a white flag announced the intended submission of the garrison ; at the same moment the flames in the other work increased rapidly, and the commandant likewise demanded to capitulate. Each, however, required three hours' prelimi- nary delay. Their offers were treated as sta- tagems to gain time and get the flames under, and Lord Wellington limited them to five minutes to march out, promising them their baggage and effects. This message not being complied with, the batteries resumed their fire, under cover of which the storming parties ad- vanced and carried the lesser fort at the gorge, the enemy offering little resistance : the Por- tuguese light troops even penetrated into the principal fort, making the number of prisoners above seven hundred." The reduction of these works destroyed the last hold which Marmont possessed on Sala- manca, and it was now quite evident that he must either fight or retreat. He was not long in forming his determination, the army being at once withdrawn towards the Douro, closely followed by the allies. The British THE LIFE OF cavalry came up with their rear on the 2nd of July, when a sharp skirmish ensued, which terminated in favour of the English, who com- pelled the enemy to cross the Douro in much confusion. Both armies took up a position for the night on different sides of the river; and here they remained until the 16th, the third division being posted at the ford near Polios. The writer of the " Reminiscences of a Subaltern" observes, that much intercourse existed between the soldiers of the two armies, more especially between the third British and seventh French divisions and he adds; " The French officers said to us on parting, * We have met and have been for some time friends ; we are about to separate, and may meet as ene- mies. As friends we received each other warm- ly; as enemies we shall do the same/ In ten days afterwards, the British third and the French seventh divisions were opposed to each other at the battle of Salamanca ; and the se- venth French were destroyed by the British third." During this interval of repose, neither ge- neral was desirous of becoming the assailant ; Lord Wellington on account of the strength SIR THOMAS PICTON. 153 of the French position, and Marmont ren- dered cautious by his late reverses. He was now however joined by General Bonnet, with the Army of the Asturias, amounting to nearly ten thousand men: thus augmenting the troops under his command to forty-seven thousand veterans. With this addition to his strength, he again prepared to commence offensive ope- rations. To cross the river with the army of Wellington in his front, was an undertaking which must necessarily be attended with consi- derable sacrifice; he therefore, after a variety of brilliant and rapid movements, contrived to throw his army over the Douro at a place about twenty miles above Toro. By this skil- ful manoeuvre he re-established his communi- cations with the Army of the Centre, at the same time that he threatened to cut off the light and fourth divisions, together with Major- general Anson's brigade of cavalry ; but these troops managed to rejoin the main body of the allies, which now occupied a position on the river Guarena. Several days were then passed by both generals in a variety of move- ments and counter-movements ; now marching " in parallel lines, within half-cannon shot dis- 154 THE LIFE OF tance of each other ;" then the allies, falling back, followed by the French, would suddenly halt, as if to fight ; upon which the enemy in his turn would decline the proffered contest. Still it was evident to every individual in the army that a battle must ensue. Picton's division alone seemed disheartened ; for their leader, whose appearance at their head they had now learned to consider as an as- surance of success, was not with them. He had for some time been inconvenienced by the wound he had received at Badajoz; but, still mounted on his cob, he had been frequent- ly seen among his soldiers. He w r as now, how- ever, dangerously ill with the fever which is so common in these countries, and from which our troops suffered greatly ; although these returns, being confined to the medical depart- ment, did not swell the list of loss which ap- peared in the Gazettes. General Picton was confined in Salamanca with this malady, which had attacked him in its most virulent form. His life was for a time despaired of; but the same iron consti- tution which had supported him through the fever at Walcheren enabled him to withstand SIR THOMAS PICTON. 155 this disease. His illness and consequent ab- sence were much regretted by his soldiers. Going into battle without " Old Picton" at their head seemed, in the language of his men, quite unnatural. At the same time the illness of the general was greatly increased by con- stant anxiety respecting his soldiers; in fact, when made acquainted with the near approach of the two armies, and the various movements which had been made, he observed that they must lead to a battle; and it was with some difficulty that he was restrained from going to place himself at the head of his division? although so enfeebled that he could not 'stand without assistance. Lieutenant Tyler, his aide- de-camp, succeeded, however, in dissuading him from this rash design ; and when he heard that the honour of the " fighting division" was > entrusted to General Pakenham, he observed, " I am glad he has to lead my brave fellows ; they will have plenty of their favourite amuse- ment with him at their head." But although Picton was not present at this battle, the noble spirit which he had infused into his men was conspicuous. On the 20th of July, the allies were again in 156 THE LIFE OF the same position on the heights of St. Chris- toval which they had occupied during the attack on the forts. Marmont was still man- oeuvring ; but both generals had the same object, each trying to draw the other to com- mence hostilities while his army was in the strongest position. In every particular these movements resembled a game of chess where the players are nearly equal : both were pre- pared to advance, but hesitated for some fa- vourable moment; while the slightest oversight being immediately observed on each side, the greatest possible advantage which could be o tained from it was instantly seized upon. On the evening of the 21st, the allied arm crossed from the right to the left bank of the Tormes by the bridge of Salamanca; Picton's division, with Brigadier-general D'Urban's ca- valry, being however left to watch a large corps which the enemy still kept on the heights above Babilafuente. The French had crossed in the morning of this day, when, marching by their left, they threatened to cut off the road between Ciudad Rodrigo and the allies; and it was to counteract this, that Lord Wellington also moved his army over IIC ,, Q y SIR THOMAS PICTON. 157 the river, and thus for a time re-established and secured his communication. Still Marmont had evidently determined to effect this object, while Lord Wellington resolved to prevent it ; and it was this point which led to the battle of Salamanca. The night of the 21st was tem- pestuous ; and as the soldiers were kept under arms, the incessant rain and thunder, which kept them wet and sleepless, but ill fitted them for the exertions of the coming day. Early in the morning, the third division, with D'Urban's cavalry, was ordered to cross the bridge with the utmost speed, and take up the ground allotted to them on the extreme right of the British position, just behind Aldea Tejada. Next to Picton's division was the fifth, under General Leith ; General Bradford, with a brigade of Portuguese, occupying an elevated post between these two. On the left of the fifth, and immediately in the rear of the village of Aripiles, was the fourth division, under General Cole, supported in reserve by the sixth and seventh divisions, the former commanded by Major-general Clinton, and the latter by Major-general Hope : the first and light divisions, which occupied the ground on 158 TIIE LIFE OF the left of the position, being also stationed i reserve. The morning was passed in anxious suspense. The allied army expected a battle, and were prepared for a decisive conflict ; but for a time the enemy gave no demonstrations of com- mencing the attack : some few alterations were made by Marmont in the disposition of his troops, but none which produced any effect upon the general arrangements ; in fact, it appeared as if each party expected the other to begin. Lord Wellington's military skill was striking- ly evident in this war of manoeuvre. He had left Marmont but little choice : the post oc- cupied by the allies was strong, and each point easily supported. If the French general did at- tack, the chances would be much against him ; at the same time that any movement which Marmont should attempt in order to pursue his plan would necessarily weaken his line, and Lord Wellington might then become the assailant with every probability of success. His military judgment and foresight were soon conspicuous. Towards noon much confusion was observed in the ranks of the enemy ; but Lord Wellington saw nothing which induced SIR THOMAS PICTON. 159 him to make any alteration in his position ; when, about two o'clock, after having observ- ed the movements of the French, " he gave his glass to one of his aides-de-camp, while he himself retired for a few moments to take some refreshment. He had scarcely commen- ced, when his aid-de-camp said, 6 The enemy are in motion, my lord.' * Very well : observe what they are doing,' was the reply. A minute or two elapsed, when the aid-de-camp said, < I think they are extending to the left.' < The devil they are !' said his lordship, springing upon his feet : ( give me the glass quickly.' He took it, and for a short time continued observing the motions of the enemy with ear- nest attention." Marmont, by extending his left, was in hopes of being enabled to turn the right of the allies ; but as this was done without a corresponding movement of the remainder of the French army, but by the extension of the line, it was a necessary consequence that the whole was comparatively weakened. It would appear by this manoeuvre on the part of the French general that he was ignorant of the actual extent of the allied position ; as, when he had 160 THE LIFE OF thrown out his left as far as was consistent with the security of his centre, he was still outflanked by the third division. But this was only one of those false moves which, whether in chess or in war, are and ever will be made by the best players, being in fact more fre- quently produced by impatience or loss of temper, than by the want of judgment or fore- sight. Wellington instantly discovered the ad- vantage which his adversary had given him, and he resolved at once to begin the attack. In his despatch he observes that he had long been anxious to do so ; and accordingly he or- dered Pakenham to move on with the third division, take the heights in his front, and drive everything before him. " I will, my lord, by G d !" was the laconic reply. The duty given to the third division upon this memorable occasion was one of the most conspicuous in the field. While the attack was being made in front, they had to as- cend the height upon which the enemy had rested his left, and take the French line in flank. It is a singular fact, and one which redounds but little to the military skill of Marmont, that while the allied forces were SIR THOMAS PICTON. 161 advancing to give him battle, he was making his dispositions to receive them. The French army was, in fact, wavering between two po- sitions, when they ought to have been prepared for the reception of their opponents. The seventh French division had been or- dered to march some distance on its left, to alarm the English general with the fear of being outflanked; but it was this very move- ment which induced Lord Wellington to be- come the assailant ; and long, therefore, before this division had reached its intended ground, the British line was advancing in order of battle. An aid-de-camp was immediately sent after General Foy, who commanded the se- venth division, with orders to return with all despatch and again occupy his former ground. This betrayed great want of foresight in Mar- mont: it was playing a bad game, resting the success of his plans upon the ignorance of his opponent ; but he paid dearly for his presumption. The confidence which Lord Wellington placed in the third division was strikingly justified upon this occasion; moving in two lines, the first consisting of the Forty-fifth, VOL. II. M 162 THE LIFE OF Seventy-fourth, and Eighty-eighth, led by Co- lonel Alexander Wallace of the latter regi- ment ; and the second composed of the Ninth and Twenty-first Portuguese, under Colonel de Champlemond ; the Fifth, Seventy-seventh, Eighty-third, and Ninety-fourth British regi- ments being kept in reserve. General D'Ur- ban's cavalry, and Le Marchant's three regi- ments of heavy dragoons, were ordered to fol- low in the rear of the division, to protect it from any flank attacks by the enemy's horse. The heights which these regiments had to carry were well provided with cannon, while the bayonets of the French riflemen could be seen moving hastily down the ridge : and a plain of some extent was to be traversed beneath the fire of these guns before the Bri- tish could return a shot. The word was given, and "forward" they moved in open column of companies. The crown of the hill was in a moment enveloped in smoke as the artillery commenced their play. The shot fell amongst the advancing columns ; but the height from which they were directed, and the rain which had fallen during the night, rendered them less fatal than migh SIR THOMAS PICTON. 163 have been expected, as they were soon buried in the earth. Some British artillery, under Captain Douglas, replied to this from some high ground in the rear of the third division. The English were thus between two fires, the shot from their own guns flying over their heads, while those of the enemy fell amongst them. They moved on with unshaken reso- lution, the ranks being silently filled up as their comrades fell: but this was only a slight preface to the work about to ensue. A column, consisting of above five thousand men, w r as posted at the top of the hill, commanded by General Foy, who had just reached this po- sition with the seventh division. This mass of men covered the summit, waiting until the British should in their ascent of the hill come sufficiently near to be annihilated by their fire. They beheld them move steadily onward ; they saw the line occasionally close up as the shot ploughed through their leading files ; when, within a short distance from the brow of the hill, by Sir Edward Pakenham's orders, the companies formed into line without halting. By this well-judged manoeuvre, which was per- formed with much regularity and expedition, M 2 164 THE LIFE OF the enemy's light troops were at once driven in to their main body ; for, expecting to do some execution while the English were deploying into line, they were surprised to see this effect- ed without a pause. Now the British line pre- sented a more formidable array, as, formed only two deep, they pressed up the remaining ac- clivity. The French artillery continued a rapid dis- charge of grape and canister ; but Foy's divi- sion stood motionless, waiting until the English should have gained the top of the ridge. In consequence of the grand efforts of the enemy's artillery being directed against the centre of the British brigade, the two wings, which were less exposed, advanced more rapidly ; and by this means a kind of crescent was formed, the horns of which were about to close upon the enemy. Panting with their exertions, and having left many dead and dying on their path, the gallant line paused a moment on the summit of the hill. Then came the attack from General Foy. His column immediately poured in a close volley, which almost crushed the English. In a moment the earth was strewed with the leading line of Wallace's bri- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 165 gade ; but quickly recovering from this shock, and stepping over their fallen companions, the others rushed on before the smoke had clear- ed from the field, or the French could reload. Wallace, looking back upon his men, pointed to the enemy : it was enough they knew well their work. The French, confident that this volley would paralyze their adversaries, were about to charge the remainder and drive them from the hill at the point of the bayonet ; but at that moment they saw through the smoke the faces of their opponents, who were ad- vancing upon them with rapid but steady steps. This was a thrilling scene : for a mo~ ment there was almost a breathless silence, but it was the next instant broken by the French, who opened a quick but ill-directed fire. The assailants pressed forward. The French fire had almost ceased, when a loud cheer was given by the British line. Pa- kenham, seeing the excited state at which his men had arrived, gave the word to " charge." A well-directed volley was poured in to the opposing column, the muskets were brought down to the "rest," and, emerging from the smoke of their fire, they rushed forward with 166 THE LIFE OF the bayonet. The close phalanx for an instant bent from the shock : then, for several minutes, the living mass was swayed backward and for- ward ; but at length it yielded ; another effort, it was broken, and they fled ; when, in the words of a writer from whom many of these details are drawn, " the seventh French was destroyed by the British third." The battle was not, however, only here ; in the centre it was raging with equal fury : the constant roll of musketry along the whole line made it evident that the same success had not yet crowned the efforts of the other divi- sions. But Pakenham remembered his instruc- tions " to drive everything before him ;" and accordingly, having driven the French from the height, he next proceeded to turn the re- mainder of the enemy's positions. But cavalry were now wanting to complete the destruction of Foy's retreating column ; the infantry could only force them down the slope, while their very numbers and closeness made their retreat less decided than it would have been, could they have fled without interruption. Le Mar- chant's heavy dragoons were too far in the SIR THOMAS PICTON. 167 rear, and it was late before an officer was sent to order them forward. When Pakenham had followed the French to a plain at the foot of the hill, Foy, instantly observing the absence of cavalry, brought up a fresh brigade, and by great exertions contrived to re-establish something like discipline, and per- suade the men once more to face their pursuers. This part of the battle was now partially re- stored the result was even uncertain ; but at this moment the hoofs of horses were heard in the rear of the British. Their line opened, and at a sharp canter three regiments of heavy cavalry rode through the intervals, quickly formed in front, and prepared for their charge. The suddenness of this evolution caused re- newed confusion in the enemy's ranks ; they were instantly ordered into square, but they moved with uncertainty, and before they were half formed the cavalry were amongst them. Still they fought. The first close volley stop- ped the career of many a horseman ; amongst others, Le Marchant their leader was shot as his horse was at speed, and his body was pre- cipitated upon the enemy's bayonets. Such a THE LIFE OF contest could not last long. The broken French bravely but vainly resisted : it was a confused slaughter ; the troopers hewed down the ex- hausted and almost helpless foe with unspar- ing fury, until at length they even fled to the British line for protection ; and there it was given so long as it was demanded : and, as the writer before referred to observes, " not a man was bayoneted, not one even molested or plun- dered ; and the invincible old ' third' on this day surpassed themselves ; for they not only defeated their terrible enemies in a fair stand- up fight, but actually covered their retreat, and protected them at a moment when, with- out such aid, their total annihilation was cer- tain." And now the battle appeared to turn in fa- vour of the allied army, as Foy's flying column spread confusion along the French line, and the British troops were seen advancing on their right. On the left of the third division, Leith, with the fourth, had, during the fighting on his right, been warmly engaged for some time in firing volleys at the column to which it was opposed ; but when he saw that the charge of the third had proved successful, he gave the SIR THOMAS PICTON. 169 word to advance, and placed himself at the head of his division. The crash was terrible : Leith soon fell badly wounded, but his men still pressed on. Here also the allies were vic- torious ; the French were driven up the hill in their rear, and the English were left in posses- sion of the disputed ground. In the centre, however, affairs bore a different aspect, and for a while the result seemed doubtful. Cole's division made a gallant attack upon Bonnet's corps, and after a severe struggle the French were thrown into confusion. Brigadier- general Pack, with nearly two thousand Portu- guese, was to have carried a height called the Dos Arapiles, on the left of the fourth division. This was occupied by not more than five hun- dred of the enemy, with a few pieces of cannon. The security of Cole's advance depended upon the French being driven from this post, and the superior numbers of Pack's brigade ren- dered his success, by calculation, almost certain ; but just as Cole had succeeded in throwing Bonnet's corps into confusion, the guns from this height opened with great effect upon the rear and flank of the fourth division : the Por- tuguese had failed in their attack ; and the 170 THE LIFE OF French, who had beaten them back, now turn- ed their fire against Cole's successful troops. This unexpected event produced an immediate panic amongst the British soldiers, as the storm of grape, round-shot, and musketry did severe execution in their ranks. Bonnet had been carried from the field wounded, and the com- mand had now devolved upon General Clau- sel, who saw at one glance that the advance of the English had been checked, and as quickly conceived the cause. He hastily re-formed his troops, brought up a small reserve, and became in his turn the assailant : the fourth division gave way, and the Frenchmen, animated by their success, renewed the attack with fresh vigour. Cole fell wounded, while endeavour- ing to rally his men ; but all his efforts were vain, for his troops were now retreating from the position which they had gained. Clausel was joined in his well-timed onset by the re- mains of the two broken columns, and he now moved forward in great force, confident of overthrowing all before him. Marshal Beres- ford, who happened to come up at this critical moment, without delay ordered up a brigade of General Leith's division, to try and stop the SIR THOMAS PICTON. 171 current of defeat ; but these regiments, com- posed principally of Portuguese, only added to the disorder, as the whole were borne back in one confused mass by the advancing line. Beresford was himself wounded and carried from the field. An aid-de-camp had, however, been sent to apprize Lord Wellington of the state of affairs. Wellington galloped to the spot, and perceived at once the extent of the danger. The sixth division, under General Clinton, consisting of six thousand men, which had been in reserve, and had not yet fired a shot, was ordered to advance. Night was now closing in, but there was yet sufficient twilight to continue the battle. Clinton's soldiers, who had been looking on with ill-suppressed impa- tience, now pressed forward with ardour to the charge. As the enemy saw this division coming on with unbroken ranks, they paused to receive them, and commenced a heavy fire. The con- test was not, however, long one of musketry : the two lines soon closed, their bayonets cross- ed, and then a severe struggle ensued, and con- tinued until there was scarcely light sufficient to distinguish friend from foe. The French, 172 THE LIFE OF elated by their temporary success, fought with great obstinacy : but English troops have al- ways displayed a decided superiority in the use of the bayonet ; they destroyed rank after rank ; and at length the enemy, disheartened at their loss, shrunk from the contest. The rout was complete; but their flight was pro- tected by the darkness, which forbade any lengthened pursuit. Lord Wellington himself, with some cavalry, supported by the first and light divisions, followed them a short distance; while the remainder of the army slept upon the field. Both Marmont and Bonnet were wound- ed early in this battle, and General Clausel now conducted the retreat of the army. It may perhaps be here inquired, why the third division did not continue its flank move- ment after the defeat of Foy's column, and thus extricate the fourth division from its peri- lous situation ? The progress of a battle may be seen at once by the commanders of the two contending armies ; but it cannot be thus delineated : many of the movements which we are obliged to de- scribe consecutively took place at the same mo- ment. It was thus with the contests between SIR THOMAS PICTON. 173 Pakenham and Foy, and Cole and Clausel : these successes and reverses were taking place at the same time. While the third division was driving Foy's column from the field, Clausel's were pursuing Cole's broken corps. The third upon this occasion took nearly five thousand prisoners, nine pieces of artillery, and two eagles : and Salamanca was justly added to the many glorious names already inscribed upon the colours of the regiments forming this division. THE LIFE OF CHAPTER VII. Anecdote of Picton during his illness. Marmont retreats to Burgos. The Allies enter Valladolid. Lord Welling- ton moves upon Madrid. King Joseph evacuates the capital. Enthusiastic reception of the British. Picton returns to England. Recovers his health at Cheltenham , and revisits his native place. The Allies invest the castle of Burgos. They raise the siege, and retreat to Ciudad Rodrigo. Picton created a Knight of the Bath. He re- joins the army. His reception by his men, Advance of the Allies. WHILST this glorious and decisive victory was being achieved, Picton was, as we have already mentioned, confined to his bed by a severe and even dangerous fever. The intense interest that he took in the proceedings of the armies, and with which he listened to the ac- counts of the progress of the battle, and after- wards of its event and subsequent details, may be readily conceived ; the excitement produced by anxiety, and still more by regret that he was not in the field, considerably increased the vio- lence of the disease and retarded his recovery. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 175 He heard with unmixed pleasure the account of the part which his own division had borne during the day, frequently interrupting the narration with exclamations of delight as par- ticular acts of bravery were described. At the same time he spoke highly of Pakenham ; call- ing him a " fit leader for his fellows," and pass- ing high encomiums upon his conduct and courage. It was when recovering from this illness that the following little incident occurred. Lieu- tenant Tyler, his aid-de-camp, accompanied by a subaltern officer in the Ninety-fifth Foot, one morning rather hastily entered his apart- ment. Both these officers were very young men, full of spirits, and easily excited. Tyler, who was in constant attendance upon the general, familiar with his habits, and ac- customed to his singularities, immediately ac- costed him with, " Well, general, how do you do to-day ?" but the other was struck with the singular appearance of the emaciated invalid, as, raising himself on his arm, he displayed his pale and haggard features beneath a nightcap of more than ordinary dimensions. Picton was about to make some reply to Tyler's inquiry, 176 THE LIFE OF when just at that moment the risible propen- sities of Mr. C overcoming every control, made him burst out into a loud and rather boisterous fit of laughter. The general, whose natural irritability was augmented by his bodily suffering and mental inquietude, instantly fix- ed his fiery glance upon the unfortunate C- - ; he did not ask the cause of his ill-timed mirth ; but, in spite of his debility, made an effort to leave the bed, in all probability to wreak his fury upon the culprit ; but he was too weak, and he sank back. His rage was, however, so great that, finding it impossible to take personal vengeance, he insisted upon the now repentant ensign quitting the room, in terms too strong to hazard a moment's delay. After his retreat, Tyler attempted to pacify the irritated general ; but it was no easy task, and he therefore left him. Shortly after this event, Ensign C re- turned to England, when he entered the Foot Guards, and Picton did not see him again until the battle of Waterloo; when, on the 16th, riding over a part of the field occupied by his division, be saw the enemy in possession of a hill, which rather affected the security of his SIR THOMAS PICTON. 177 position. He was near some battalions under arms at the moment, and resolved to employ them in driving the enemy from this post. " Who commands these battalions ?" he cried out in his usual loud, but sharp tone. " I do," said now Lieutenant-colonel C . Picton recognised him in an instant. " How do you do, General Picton ?" continued the colonel ; " I am glad to see you looking so well." " No time for compliments now, sir," sharply re- sponded Picton ; " lead your men against that hill, and take it." This was not easily to be effected ; the enemy's numbers were about four to one of the English ; but the colonel had his orders, and away he went, fully determined to execute them to the letter. Picton's attention was almost immediately directed to other points of the field, and he had probably forgotten all about C and the hill, when that officer rode up, and, as he waved a salute, said, " I have taken the hill, general." Picton fixed his eyes upon him for a moment, and then without a word rode off with his staff. They never met again. Panic-struck by the signal defeat which they had experienced, Marmont's retreating army VOL. II. N 178 THE LIFE OF continued its flight until it arrived at Burgos ; and Lord Wellington, having no reason to ap- prehend that that general would again assume an offensive position for some time, resolved upon a bold and masterly manoeuvre, strictly in accordance with the most approved rules of war. To beat the French armies in detail was the system which his circumstances ren- dered it necessary for him to adopt. It must be admitted that the French generals had made but feeble efforts to guard against this ; the attempt to relieve Badajoz was little more than a threat; while, not until Lord Welling- ton was on the point of attacking Marmont, did King Joseph put his soldiers in motion, or the Army of the North move up to his support. Both were, however, too late ; and Marmont's retreating troops themselves an- nounced their defeat. To the want of unani- mity and co-operation amongst the leaders of these corps may, in a great measure, be at- tributed their destruction; for had they by retrograde movements, or falling back without fighting upon some common centre, contrived to concentrate their corps against the single army of the allies, they would have been en- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 179 abled to oppose Lord Wellington with one hundred and fifty thousand men, instead of allowing him to fight forty or fifty thousand at different times, and in different places. Having followed the French as far as Valladolid, and driven them from thence, the allied army entered that city amidst the ac- clamations of the inhabitants. The character of our soldiers was here flatteringly appreci- ated; and the admirable discipline which the commander of the forces had established, prov- ed as beneficial to the comfort and security of the men when amongst the inhabitants, as it was destructive to the enemy in the field. At Valladolid, Lord Wellington made that sudden change in his movements, which, from its rapidity, was so eminently successful. Joseph Bonaparte, with the Army of the Centre, consisting of about twenty thousand men, was making demonstrations on the right flank and rear of the allies, which rendered it dangerous to continue the pursuit of JVlarmont. Lord Wellington now, therefore, determined by one bold effort, either to compel the intru- sive king to fight him with his inferior forces, or evacuate Madrid. And accordingly, having 180 THE LIFE OF impressed Clausel, who now commanded for Marmont, with the idea that he intended to fol- low up the pursuit to Burgos, he on the 6th of August changed his route, and moved towards Madrid with the whole of his army, except a force under General Paget, which was left on the Douro to watch the movements of the ene- my. The advance of the allies caused much consternation to the king, and he allowed them to march unopposed through the mountain- passes which they were obliged to traverse. At first he ventured to hope that his subjects would assist him in opposing the English ; but the demonstrations of enmity to his govern- ment, and satisfaction at their approach, were too evident to be misunderstood. Instead, therefore, of awaiting their arrival, so soon as they were seen on the mountains in the -neigh- bourhood of the capital, Joseph with his army and partisans evacuated Madrid, and retired by the roads of Toledo and Aranjuez. On the morning of the 12th of August the British army marched into the city, when it was received with the utmost enthusiasm. Ban- ners, music, and acclamations greeted them at every step ; and as our troops paraded through SIR THOMAS PICTON. 181 the streets, flowers were strewed upon their path, and laurels thrown upon their heads from every window. The French had left some troops in occupation of a spacious entrenched post on the side of the Retiro ; but when the governor perceived that the allies held quiet possession of the city, and that they were pre- paring to besiege this post, he offered to sur- render upon honourable terms of capitulation. These were granted, and the garrison were made prisoners of war. General Picton was not yet able to take the command of his division, the complaint under which he had been suffering having greatly re- duced his physical powers, and rendering his re- covery slow and tedious. His constitution was naturally hardy, but the variety of climates in which he had served, and his illness at Wal- cheren, had given it a severe shock ; from the last in particular he had never totally reco- vered. Some of the internal organs had been greatly impaired either by the disease or the remedies, and he was ever afterwards subject to most distressing bilious attacks : these, after several long and tedious fits of illness, ter- minated in what is generally called a bilious 182 THE LIFE OF fever, every return of which was more violent. The long confinements to which he had been subjected, and which had kept him entirely inactive, now that the original disease had been overcome, produced a return of this equally distressing complaint. The only effectual cure for these illnesses, to which he was always obliged ultimately to have recourse, was the Cheltenham waters. On the present occasion, the skill of medical men proved as unavail- ing as formerly to restore his strength ; and at length they informed him that the only means of re-establishing his constitution was to return home for a short period. Picton was compelled, from former experience, to admit the justice of this opinion, and he prepared to act upon it. He was accompanied upon his return by his aid-de-camp, Captain Tyler. By easy stages General Picton reached Lis- bon, where he embarked for England. Upon his arrival the sea air had in some degree re- stored his strength, but the germ of the disease was not eradicated. He repaired directly to Cheltenham, and the air and waters of that place produced a rapid and favourable change. After remaining at this place until his con- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 183 stitution was restored, he revisited his native land. Here, as elsewhere, his military repu- tation had preceded him : the people of Wales had become justly proud of his renown ; many soldiers who had served in his division came from the same neighbourhood as himself, and in their correspondence they had mentioned with pleasure the high estimation in which their fellow-countryman was held by the whole army. For a short time he enjoyed the plea- sures of retirement among his friends and re- latives ; but it would have been wholly incon- sistent with the character of Sir Thomas Picton to have remained long inactive from any other cause than absolute necessity. The approaching spring gave promise of some great events : Napoleon, weakened by the destruction of his grand army, could with difficulty keep down the discontent of the various powers he had subjugated ; and he at length became sensible of the danger that threatened him from Spain. The perseverance and skill of Lord Wellington, together with the series of defeats he had inflicted upon the French marshals, determined Napoleon to make a more powerful effort to drive 184 THE LIFE OF the English from the Peninsula. It appears that he would have placed himself at the head of the army of Spain, but the Northern powers were now threatening his dominions with a more formidable invasion. Prussia, Austria, and Russia, were forming a close alliance ; and France, exhausted by the efforts which she had been called upon to make, was now left almost destitute of the means of de- fence. After the capture of Madrid, the allied army, as we have already mentioned, remained for a short time within that city to refresh. On the 4th of September, the troops were col- lected at Arevola, except the third and fourth divisions, which were left to garrison Madrid : from Arevola they marched towards Burgos, and, as they advanced, the French army eva- cuated all their fortified posts. On the llth the allies entered Placentia, and on the 16th Lord Wellington was joined by the army of Galicia, consisting of about five thousand Spaniards. This corps was however greatly deficient in discipline and organization. To compensate for these disadvantages, the Spaniards cherished an inveterate hatred to- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 185 wards the French, and possessed a certain sparkling bravery, which, with judicious man- agement, might be rendered highly effective. On the 18th, the allies marched into the city of Burgos, and on the following day the castle was invested by the first, fifth, sixth, and seventh divisions. The proceedings for the reduction of this fortress were protracted and tedious ; the garrison made a brave and skilful defence ; and the allies were occupied for more than a month in unsuccessful attempts to com- pel them to capitulate. It was known that the French were using every exertion during this period to collect a sufficient force to make Lord Wellington raise the siege ; while he, aware of their intention, pressed it forward as much as possible. About the middle of October, however, he received information that Souham was advan- cing towards Burgos with a considerable army on the north ; while Marshal Soult was moving on Madrid with a large force from the south. Upon the confirmation of these reports, orders were immediately sent to Sir Rowland Hill, who commanded the troops left in Madrid and its vicinity, to fall back upon the Adejo. 186 THE LIFE OF On the 22nd of October, Burgos was eva- cuated, and the main army of the allies com- menced falling back upon the frontiers of Por- tugal, at the same time that General Hill made a retrograde movement to form a junction with Lord Wellington. The enemy followed close upon their rear, and constant skirmishes took place between the retreating and pursuing armies. Early in November, the three corps of Soult, Souham, and Joseph Bonaparte, united on the Tormes, when their combined forces consisted of eighty thousand infantry, and about twelve thousand cavalry. They, however, relinquish- ed the pursuit after they had reached the ri- ver ; and Lord Wellington, having established his head-quarters at Ciudad Rodrigo, directed the army to prepare winter cantonments in its vicinity : the third division occupying Fonte Arcada and the neighbouring villages. Thus, then, the campaign of 1812 was brought to a close. The British army had gained many battles and much glory : they had destroyed the notion of the invincibility of French troops, and had inflicted such severe losses upon Na- poleon, that those of his friends and followers SIR THOMAS PICTON. 187 who have traced the causes of his downfal, have assigned to these reverses no trifling share in the destruction of his power. They all agree that the " Spanish ulcer" was only second to the Russian winter. Still, Lord Wellington's winter quarters at the close of the last cam- paign were within a few miles of those which the allies now occupied; they had, it is true, obtained possession of the two strong-holds of Badajoz and Ciudad Rodrigo ; and had seen Madrid and Salamanca, but both these cities were again in the hands of the French. Lord Wellington was sharply animadverted upon in England for his retreat from Burgos. The popular outcry against him was very great, and all that he had done was forgotten in condemnation of this last act. The Govern- ment were fortunately not influenced by the same sentiments ; they were satisfied with the explanation he gave of his motives for re- treating, and resolved to send him every assist- ance which they could afford, in order to put him in a position to open the ensuing cam- paign with a force which would enable him to act upon more decisive and extended plans. The British general himself was constantly THE LIFE OF engaged during the winter months in making exertions to render his army as effective as circumstances and time would admit, and in this he succeeded beyond expectation ; for early in the spring of 1813, the allied army amounted to nearly one hundred thousand men, of which forty-eight thousand were British, thirty thousand Portuguese, and the remainder Spaniards : the two former composing a high- ly effective army of seventy-eight thousand men. Lord Wellington had never before been placed in so commanding a position : hitherto he had been obliged to depend upon the errors and over-confidence of his opponents; now he was about to have the opportunity of form- ing his own plans and contending upon equal terms. The power of Napoleon was now in its decline. Russia had destroyed his grand ar- my : the whole of the Northern powers were combined against him, and Austria was al- ready threatening his frontier. Still France, with a blind but noble devotion, poured forth her sons to fight his battles. Another army was required ; his old soldiers, those whom he had so often led to victory, were almost an- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 189 nihilated. The conscription with difficulty fill- ed up his ranks. But the conscripts were young and undisciplined : these, therefore, he sent to gain experience in the Peninsula, in the place of Soult and his veterans, whom he ordered to join his Army of the North. The abilities of this great general were therefore withdrawn, and the conduct of the army of Spain was left to King Joseph and his major-general, Mar- shal Jourdan. The former had long since shown his incapacity, while the latter had yet to prove it : for some time after the re-open- ing of the campaign it was not even known amongst the allies who actually held command of the enemy, Joseph being always spoken of as the ostensible chief. Early in the spring Sir Thomas Picton again returned to the Peninsula, his health having been reinstated by his native air ; although, ac- cording to his own opinion, he was never so well as when employed upon active service ; for while away from the army he experienced a constant feeling of anxiety and apprehension lest some important action might take place during his absence. He returned, therefore, to his old soldiers with all the pleasure of a pa- 190 THE LIFE OF rent to his family ; and he was received with the same feeling. Before he left England to resume his command in the allied army, his Royal Highness the Prince Regent in the most flattering manner created him a Knight of the Bath ; and he was nominated and invested at Carlton House on the 1st of February, 1813. A distinguished officer, who was a witness of Picton's reception by his old soldiers, has communicated to us the following account of this interesting event: "I was," he says, "much surprised one afternoon by hearing a kind of low whisper amongst the men of my regiment, who were at the time variously amusing themselves. This whisper was quickly increased to a more general commotion, as they all set off in the direction to which their attention had been drawn, at first walking, and then run- ning a kind of race, as each tried to distance the others in first reaching the point of their desti- nation. For awhile I was quite at a loss to ac- count for this sudden movement ; but at length I discerned at some distance several mounted officers riding slowly towards our quarters. Curiosity led me to follow the men ; but long before I could reach the spot, the approaching SIR THOMAS PICTON. 191 horsemen were surrounded by the soldiers, who had now collected from all directions^ and were warmly greeting them with loud and continued cheers. As I came nearer, I soon recognised General Picton. Many of the men were hailing him with most gratifying epithets of esteem, one of which in particular struck me : this was, 6 Here comes our brave old father !' The general seemed much gratified, and smiled upon them with a look of unaffected regard. I was not forgotten nor unnoticed. His eagle eye in one moment was fixed upon me, and holding out his hand, he observed, the weather still continuing too unfavourable for field operations. The position and pro- spects of the allies and their opponents cannot be better explained than in the following letter from Sir Thomas Picton to his old correspond- ent Colonel Pleydel. " Hasparren, 10th February, 1814. " MY DEAR COLONEL, " We continue on the advance posts ; al- ways in sight of the enemy, and, of course, al- ways upon the alert. There are three divisions immediately in our front, only separated by the small river Laran, which traverses the country from the Pyrenees to the Adour. The enemy have latterly detached two divisions of infantry, and nearly all their cavalry, to the interior, they say towards Lyons ; but the weather has been so very wet, and the roads consequently so bad, that it is not possible to take any ad- vantage of their situation. In the mean time 1 SIR THOMAS PICTON. 283 they are raising the levy en masse, and mean to oppose us with the whole population of the country : a most dangerous step, as it does not appear at all attached to the existing regime. We receive no reinforcements, notwithstand- ing the great losses we sustained in the many severe conflicts during November and Decem- ber ; and our army is in consequence reduced considerably below sixty thousand English and Portuguese. Upon the Spaniards we have little reliance, as they are rather an embarrass- ment than otherwise. Under these circum- stances, it cannot be expected that we should make any considerable impression. They pro- mised twenty thousand, and we have not yet received a man. If we do nothing, the fault will be with them. " My health has been tolerably good, though I have yet some remains of my old complaint. I hope you will have escaped any attack of your old complaints, and will have got over the severe winter without any serious indisposition. " My dear Colonel, " Ever faithfully yours, " TH. PICTON." 284 THE LIFE OF Lord Wellington's object was now to dive Soult from the continued occupation of hi very commanding position around Bayonn but that genera] was unwilling to forego t advantages afforded him by the strength of his position. A series of manoeuvres was therefore performed by Lord Wellington to draw him forth, at the same time that the intentions the allies should be hidden. On the fourth day after the date of Sir Th mas Picton's last letter, he was again in motion. Sir Rowland Hill, with the right wing of the allies, made a movement in advance on the left of the enemy's position, in order to cut off his communication with St. Jean Pied de Port- This enabled General Mina, with his Spanish forces, to invest the place without apprehen- sion from the French corps of General Harispe, which was now compelled to fall back upon Garres ; at the same time that General Hill, ad- vancing on the right of the centre, made a cor- responding movement. The greatest difficulty which the army now had to surmount was the passage of the several rivers behind which the enemy successively ensconced themselves in comparative safety. The principal of these .ULJ : SIR THOMAS PICTON. 285 rivers was the Adour, which, even undefended, offered a considerable barrier to the march of an army, but, with a strong force posted on the opposite bank, presented obstacles of a most formidable nature. To obtain a passage over this river below Bayonne was, however, indis- pensably necessary in order to effect the perfect blockade of the city. This important and arduous service was to be executed by the left wing of the army under Lieutenant-general Sir John Hope, Sir Tho- mas Graham having returned to England to command an expedition to assist in the libe- ration of Holland. An English fleet under Rear-admiral Penrose co-operated with this corps ; and the hardihood of the seamen, com- bined with the abilities of the military artificers, under the direction of Major Todd, enabled the allies to form a bridge of boats over this rapid river, which, at the spot selected for the purpose, was two hundred and seventy yards wide. Soult had relied upon the supposed impossi- bility of this movement : but before this great undertaking was completed, the allies had ob- tained possession of the right of the river ; for, 286 THE LIFE OF taking advantage of the enemy's confidence, Sir John Hope directed the first division to attempt a passage near the mouth of the Adour, by means of pontoons and the boats of the coun- try. A picquet and battery could be observed by the allies opposite the situation which they had selected for crossing ; but, strange as it may appear, although only six boats effected the passage in the first instance, each having only six soldiers, they met with no opposition : the picquet ran away without even giving an alarm. The allies carried a hawser from one side of the river to the other ; and before the French had recovered from their surprise, about six hundred of the Guards, with some Congreve-rocket com- panies, had effected a landing on the opposite bank. Then, however, their further progress was stopped, as the flood-tide set in with so much violence, that a raft with from fifty to sixty soldiers, having got near the middle of the river, could not be moved either backwards or forwards ; and in this situation they were com- pelled to wait for the slackening of the tide, until which they were unable to continue their passage. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 287 The French were not long in discovering the error of which they had been guilty in depend- ing upon the river for their protection ; and ac- cordingly, towards evening, about fifteen hun- dred men were sent against the force which had already crossed the river, with the full expec- tation of surrounding them and making them prisoners. But Major-general Stopford, who commanded this small body, made such an ad- mirable disposition of his men to receive the attack, while the rockets, which were at this time quite new to the French, produced so much ter- ror and confusion in their ranks, that they made a precipitate retreat towards the citadel, leav- ing this little band unmolested for the rest of the night. The following day, the 24th, the remainder of the division was ferried over ; when, moving up the river, it kept the right bank, and prevented the French from interrupt- ing the formation of the bridge. The result of these operations was the perfect investment of Bayonne.* * The following letter from a serjeant in the Coldstream Guards, written to his father, who resided in the neighbour- hood of Swansea at the time, contains an accurate detail of these movements : " Camp 288 THE LIFE OF Soult, leaving a strong garrison, had now withdrawn his army from this place, and di- rected his march towards Orthes. He called upon the inhabitants of the country through " Camp in front of Bayonne, " March 18, 1814. "My DEAR FATHER, " In my last I carried you on to the operations of the 9th, 10th, llth, 12th, and 13th of December, and also to our movement from St. Jean de Luz in the early part of January, and subsequent return; since which nothing of any consequence occurred within the limits of my knowledge until the 14th of February, when the troops stationed in and about St. Jean de Luz (and, I suppose, the rest of the army) were put in motion ; and the left column, under Sir John Hope, comprising the first and fifth divisions, with Lord Aylmer's brigade (British), and, I believe, two Portuguese brigades of infantry, were directed to invest Bayonne. Accordingly we encamped on the south-western side of that fortress until the 23rd, when a sufficient number of vessels, principally chasse-marees, with some gun-boats, having entered the mouth of the Adour, a bridge of boats was successfully attempted. During the necessary prepa- rations for establishing the bridge, and in order to prevent any interruption from the enemy, the left wing of the first battalion (Third Guards), with the light companies, were detached to the right bank in boats; which the enemy observ- ing, threw down a column of three battalions, at least eigh- teen hundred strong, to oppose about one-third of their num- ber. Our small body certainly appeared in a critical situa- tion at this moment, being separated from the brigade by the Adour on the right, at least six hundred yards wide, with their rear to the sea, with no other alternative than a SIR THOMAS PICTON. 289 which he passed to rise and repel their in- vaders ; but the wise policy of Lord Welling- ton gave them such perfect assurance of protec- tion, that they remained quietly in their homes, glorious resistance against such superior force, or a quiet submission to become prisoners of war. The enemy's troops were encouraged to their bold advance by their officers assuring them the force they were to attack were Spa- niards. But they were soon convinced to the contrary ; for a brigade of rockets having passed the river at this pressing moment, opened on them with such effect, that, consulting their safety, they sought it in flight, leaving some killed, wounded, and prisoners in our hands ; and we proceeded without farther molestation in the completion of the bridge, which has since proved of the greatest importance to the ready communication of the army with the rear. Having completely established ourselves at this point, we remained quiet until the 27th, when a very brisk attack was made upon the enemy's outposts., and, after some sharp righting, we succeeded in driving them within their entrenchments close to Bayonue ; in which service considerable loss was sus- tained on both sides. We are now as close to that city as their batteries will allow us to approach, and our column, it would appear, are to carry on the siege. " I am happy to inform you that Lord Wellington has gained a battle over Soult between this and Bordeaux :* he has taken immense stores at Mont Marsan. In fact, it is considered a victory of as much importance as that of Vit- toria ; and it gives me equal pleasure to inform you, that our countryman, Sir Thomas Picton, in command of the third division, behaved with his usual judgment and gallantry." * Orthes. VOL.11. U 290 THE LIFE OF and readily supplied the allies with the produce of the soil, for which they invariably received ample remuneration. Sir John Hope being left to continue the blockade of Bayonne, the remainder of the British army, consisting of the second, third, fourth, sixth, seventh, and light divisions, with a well-appointed park of artil- lery, and about eight thousand cavalry, were put in motion on the 24th of February, to pe- netrate into the interior of France. Sir Thomas Picton marched simultaneously with the other divisions towards Orthes. The enemy's advanced posts uniformly fell back after a short skirmish as the British line moved for- ward : still the security afforded to the French by the difficulties of the country enabled them obstinately to dispute every advantageous post. Sir Thomas Picton kept the enemy in alarm by a threatened attack upon the bridge across the Gave d'Oleron at Sauveterre. This posi- tion was occupied by the French in great strength ; but General Picton determined upoi attempting to gain the opposite side of the river, by means of a ford at some distance below the bridge. By effecting this, he would be enabled to take the enemy in flank, at the SIR THOMAS PICTON. 291 same time that he made the attack in front. A brigade was, consequently, ordered upon this service ; when some light companies, covered by a party of the Seventh Hussars, succeeded in fording the river. The rapidity of the stream and the nature of its bed, which was composed of large round stones, rendered this a difficult operation. The enemy offered no opposition, and it was even supposed that they had not anticipated such a movement. Without waiting, therefore, for any further support, the troops which had crossed immediately moved forward up a hill, through a narrow and steep lane. Arrived at the top of this eminence, they took up a position behind a high bank, when the cavalry returned to the ford. They were, however, surprised by seeing a considerable corps of the enemy advancing at a rapid pace to drive them from the post which they held. So sudden was this attack, that before any support could be thrown over the river, the light companies, finding resistance against so overwhelming a body quite hopeless, endea- voured by a hasty retreat to recross the river. But the French pressed hard upon their rear ; 292 THE LIFE OF and, in the confusion of flight, they got jammed in between the two walls of the lane. In this situation they were exposed to a heavy fire from the enemy. The annihilation of the whole body seemed inevitable ; some, however, succeeded in extricating themselves, when they rushed wildly to the ford, in the hope of re- joining their companions, who were watching them from the opposite side of the river. Still the French followed close upon them, firing at those who were struggling through the water. Many were now carried away by the current, and all who were wounded from the shore im- mediately sunk : it was doubtful whether a single man could escape ; when the sound of artillery was heard on the British side of the river. A brigade of guns had been hastily ordered up to cover the retreat ; these opened a heavy fire of grape upon the enemy, the ra- pidity and precision of which checked their advance, and enabled the few remaining Eng- lish to regain the main body. SIR THOMAS P1CTON. 293 CHAPTER XI. General Pic ton's account of the operations of the army before Bayonne. Battle of Orthes. Picton's important services in that battle. Anecdote of Lieutenant Mac- pherson. Advance of the British upon Bordeaux. The French defeated at Tarbes. The Allied army crosses the Garonne. Observations of General Picton on Mar- shal Soult. THIS affair, although so unfortunate in its results, had the effect of alarming the French, lest, by crossing the river at some other point, the allies should succeed in coming sudden- ly upon their position and compel them to fight. They were consequently induced to blow up the bridge during the night of the 24th, when, without offering any further re- sistance, they retreated. The day following, Sir Thomas Picton, having had a bridge of boats thrown across the river, led over his division and entered the town of Sauveterre. The Petite Gave was passed without difficulty, as Soult was now rapidly concentrating his THE LIFE OF forces behind the Gave de Pau near the town of Orthes. A similar movement was in con- sequence made by Lord Wellington, in order to unite the whole strength of his divisions at the same point ; Sir Thomas Picton having, as the duke observes in his despatch, " passed his division over the river by means of a ford, which he fortunately discovered a short dis- tance below the bridge of Bereux." The following letter from Sir Thomas Picton to Colonel Pleydel describes the proceedings of the army upon this occasion. " Cazeres, department of Landes, 4th March, 1814. "Mr DEAR COLONEL, "You will have seen in the papers that we broke up our winter quarters about the middle of last month, and commenced qur operations in the midst of a hard frost. Our first movements were not of any great interest, and were merely calculated to blind the enemy as to our real intentions. We had three con- siderable rivers to pass, and the enemy on our first movement prepared to blow up all the bridges. We succeeded, however, in effecting SIR THOMAS PiCTON. 295 the passage of the Bedouse, the Petite Gave, and the Gave d'Oleron, at points where they did not expect us ; and, on the 26th instant, the third division forded the Gave de Pau about four p. M., drove in the enemy's advanced posts, and took up a position within four miles of the Duke of Dalmatia's army, which he had concentrated in a strong mountainous po- sition in front of the town of Orthes, on the Gave de Pau. " The light, fourth, sixth, and seventh di- visions passed during the night or early on the following morning over a bridge of boats. His lordship having reconnoitred the position early on the morning of the 27th, immediately made his dispositions for the attack, which was to be made upon the centre and both flanks. The right flank, which rested upon a village of difficult access, was to be attacked by the fourth division, supported by the light and seventh ; the centre by seven battalions of the third division, and the left flank by the remaining three battalions of the third division, supported by the sixth division in reserve. " The fourth division twice carried the village, 296 THE LIFE OF and was compelled to fall back with great loss : but, upon the arrival of the light and seventh divisions, the enemy was compelled to give it up, with the loss of two pieces of artillery. This afforded those divisions ground and op- portunity to deploy and prosecute the ad- vantages they had gained. In the mean time the three battalions of the third division, sup- ported by the sixth division, turned the enemy's left flank, drove him from a very strong ad- vanced position where he had a formidable battery, and established themselves, notwith- standing a most obstinate resistance on the flank of his centre. His position was a kind of triangle, and the two extreme points of the base line were hard pressed and unable to maintain their ground, when the seven batta- lions advanced against the centre and forced it also to fall back. At this moment he began his retreat, which he protected with large solid masses of infantry, successively taking up the most advantageous ground that offered; and this was for some time made in great order and regularity; but, as the evening approached, and we pressed rather hard upon their flanks, the disorder gradually increased, and the dif- SIR THOMAS PICTON, 297 ferent columns at length mixed and dispersed, running off in all directions, as at Vittoria. " It soon became dark, and we were under the necessity of giving up the pursuit. We took, I believe, eight pieces of cannon, and about fifteen hundred prisoners. But the French army is greatly disorganized and much diminished by the desertion of the con- scripts and national guards, so that I do not think they will volunteer meeting us again for some time. " As usual, you will see by the Gazettes that we had a fair part in this memorable business ; and our loss, which amounts to eight hundred and twenty-five, including fifty-three officers, exceeds that of any other of the divisions. My health has been remarkably good, and I think it will last to see the end of this memorable struggle. " After we had gained the enemy's advanced position to the left flank, we were for nearly two hours exposed to the most continued and severe cannonade I ever witnessed ; one of our nine-pounders had every man killed by round- shot; and Captain Parker of the Engineers, who acted as my aid-de-camp on the occasion, 298 THE LIFE OF was killed close to me by a cannon-shot, whilst carrying my orders. I hope this will find you free from indisposition. " My dear Colonel, " Believe me to be " Most sincerely and faithfully yours, " TH. PICTON." The subjoined letter to his brother refers to the same events : " Cazares, in the department of Landes, South of France, 4th March 1814. " MY DEAR BROTHER, " You will have seen in the papers that we broke up our winter quarters and com- menced the campaign in the middle of last month. There was, however, no circumstance of any great consequence which took place until the 27th ; when we attacked the Duke of Dalmatia in a strong position which he had taken up on a chain of elevated mountains, in front of the town of Orthes, on the Gave de Pau. "After a severe conflict of several hours, during which the enemy fought with a con- siderable degree of obstinacy, we succeeded in SIR THOMAS PICTON. 299 forcing the position on all sides, and he fell back, covering his retreat with large masses of infantry. It was made for some time with great regularity and order ; but as he became pressed towards evening, he fell into confusion, dispersed and made off in all directions so fast that we were unable to follow him sufficiently close to make many prisoners ; and dark night coming on very shortly after he became in this state, we w r ere under the necessity of giving up the pursuit, and he continued his flight during the whole course of the night, so that we were not able to come up with his rear- guard until the following evening, too late to attack it. We have since followed him slowly, and we are now on the right bank of the Adour, on the road to Toulouse ; but our means of subsistence will not allow us to follow much farther. We, as usual, had a principal share in this memorable battle, and our loss ex- ceeded that of any of the other divisions. The enemy is reported to have had forty thousand men in position ; we certainly did not bring more than twenty-three thousand into action. We have lost about two thousand five hundred in killed and wounded : there is no estimating 300 THE LIFE OF with any correctness that of the enemy, whicl I conceive must have been more considerable. But, what is of greater importance, the loss of the battle has occasioned the desertion of more of the conscripts and national guards, with which the marshal's army had been reinforced after his repeated defeats in November and r December last. " My health has been remarkably good since my resumption of an active life, which appears to suit my body and mind. We are here in the country of excellent wine; better, in my opinion, than that of Bordeaux : but the French army has so exhausted the country, that every other necessary of life is extremely dear. The country we have passed through is most beau- tifully picturesque ; and appears like a con- tinued village, it is so remarkably well settled. The inhabitants are an exceedingly fine race, and perfectly uncorrupted. "Property is well divided in Navarre and the departments of the Lower Pyrenees. I have never seen a beggar, or anything like mi- sery ; the inhabitants are all well dressed, well lodged, and well fed : I wish the population of England were as well off, and generally as well- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 301 disposed. There are none of the vices of great riches or poverty here. The state of agricul- ture is very favourable ; they pay great atten- tion to the collecting and working of manure, and irrigation is general throughout this part of France. I hope you have all passed the severe winter without accident or injury to your health. May it long continue ! My best re- spects to Mrs. Picton. " Very sincerely yours, " TH. PICTON." " To the Reverend Edward Picton, " Llynceaer, near Bridgend, Glamorganshire/' During the battle of Orthes, Sir Thomas Picton commanded the centre of the allied army, consisting of the third and sixth divi- sions, with Lord Edward Somerset's brigade of cavalry. The left wing, under Marshal Beresford, commenced the attack upon the right of the enemy at the village of St. Boes ; and here the struggle was continued for a con- siderable time, with but little success on the part of the allies. When possession of the village was obtained, Marshal Beresford next proceeded to drive the enemy from two com- 302 THE LIFE OF manding heights which they occupied in tne rear; but the only approach to this point of their position was along a narrow ridge of land, with a deep ravine on each side, the whole space being ranged by their artillery. The difficulty of advancing over this exposed ground will easily be conceived. The fourth division made the attempt with a courage which merited success ; but the enemy's fire sweeping dia- gonally across the exposed summit, caused a terrible slaughter : the front and centre were alike exposed, and the havoc which was made in the ranks of the division proved the stern materials of which it was composed. They still, however, pressed on ; for they had been so long inured to victory, that they could not conceive themselves defeated : but the ground strewed with their fallen comrades presented a frightful picture of the hopelessness of the at- tempt. A Portuguese brigade, after standing for some time exposed to the destructive fire of the foe, at length gave way, and commenced a disorderly retreat. The French pressed hard upon their rear ; and nothing but the timely support of some fresh troops from the light division could have rescued them, and pre- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 303 vented their spreading confusion throughout this wing of the army. The battle now as- sumed a threatening aspect : the French were redoubling their fire upon the broken Por- tuguese ; while the fourth division, paralyzed and wavering, bent beneath the storm. Again it was reserved for Sir Thomas Picton to change the fate of the day. At this moment, when the issue of the contest was yet doubt- ful, he received orders from Lord Welling- ton to advance against that part of the enemy's position between the right of his centre, where it rested upon the left of the right wing. This attack was made with his wonted energy and resolution ; the British troops carried every point which the enemy attempted to defend, with a spirit and daring intrepidity which were irresistible. The whole eleven regiments of the third division were desperately engaged, and drove the enemy from every height on which they ventured to make a stand. This unexpected movement at once changed the front of battle : the French columns opposing the advance of Beresford's corps, alarmed for their flank and rear, now in their turn gave way, while their 304 THE LIFE OF artillery was partially withdrawn. Then the fourth division rushed over the ground upon which so many had fallen, and the whole quickly deploying into line, charged the heights, driving the enemy before them with immense slaughter. The British artillery was now brought to some high ground near the right of the third division, from which they poured a destructive fire along the entire line of the enemy's centre. This may be said to have concluded the battle; for Soult, seeing his centre totally discomfited and preparing to retreat, became apprehensive for his wings, and, therefore, after another futile effort to retrieve the fortunes of the day, the field was abandoned. General Picton has sufficiently detailed the retreat of the enemy, which, as he observes, was after a time changed into a complete rout ; for Sir Rowland Hill, having succeeded in forcing the passage of the river above the town of Orthes, was moving quickly to the rear of their left, threatening to cut off their com- munication with Sault de Navailles, which, with the exception of Dax, was the only road calculated for the passage of artillery. Even SIR THOMAS PICTON. 305 Vittoria was not a more decisive victory than the battle of Orthes. The enemy, it is true, were not now rich with the spoils of a plunder- ed nation, and the acquisition of the allies was not great in anything save glory. Their bril- liant success upon this occasion was, however, tinctured with a feeling of apprehension for the safety of their commander ; the Marquis of Wellington was himself amongst the wounded ; for, during the action a grape-shot struck the pommel of his sword, driving it with much force against his side, and producing a severe contusion. This wound, although not danger- ous, was sufficient to alarm his soldiers, and prevent his directing the pursuit of the enemy.* * The following anecdote connected with this battle, re- lating to Lieutenant Macpherson, whose heroism at Ba- dajoz we have already recorded, will not be uninteresting. He was still a lieutenant at the period of the battle of Orthes, attached to the light company of the Forty-fifth foot. Just before the attack commenced, the regiment was drawn up in line, partly hidden by a kind of hedge or bank. The bugles had sounded the recall, and the light troops were has- tening back to form in the rear. As the files opened to let them through, some of the enemy's tirailleurs had followed them nearly up to the line, which made Macpherson anxi- ous to see the whole of the men fall in before he himself retired. The skirmishing was still kept up as they fell back, and an occasional man fell on both sides, as these expert VOL. II. X 306 THE LIFE OF The results of this battle were highly im- portant, by striking another and powerful blow at the empire of Napoleon. At the same time, the conscripts who had been forced into the ranks of Soult's army took the op- shots rapidly loaded as they moved, and then with deadly accuracy turned to stop the advance of their enemy. The gallant Macpherson, in his anxiety to do his duty, was left almost the last, when he was about to effect his own re- treat; but just at this moment he perceived one of the enemy's sharpshooters, within about twenty yards, raising his piece to take a deliberate aim at him. This man had ventured thus far alone ; for his comrades, having come within range of the fire from the line, had begun to retire. Colonel Macpherson's own description of his reflections are at once amusing and painful. " I saw the man," he observes, " taking a deliberate aim at me. What to do I did not know. I could not get at him before he could fire, while to run would have been equally useless I should then be shot in the back ; for I knew that he was one of those picked men who never missed anything; in fact, I could think of nothing else to do but stand fire. The fellow was a confounded long time taking his aim, as if determined to make sure of his mark : so I put myself in an attitude, by presenting my right side to him, putting my arm straight down to cover me, and screwing myself up as small as pos- sible ; but I can assure you I felt smaller than I looked, as I thus stood like a target to be shot at by a fellow that could hit any one of my buttons that he pleased. At last, bang went his piece, and I felt in a moment he was all right. I did not fall, but staggered a few paces backwards, and then felt very much inclined to reach my soldiers, some of whom had seen the whole affair without being able to SIR THOMAS PICTON. 307 portunity of this retreat to quit a service in which they took no interest and for which they felt no inclination. In fact, the impolicy of raising the country en masse, which Sir Thomas Picton so justly condemned, was now strikingly lend me any assistance. My right arm was rendered un- serviceable, and I felt confident that the ball had entered my body; but I was uncertain whether or not it had found its way out. I staggered towards the line, but must have fallen, had not a brave fellow named Kelly, (an Irishman, and one of our crack shots,) seeing that I was hit, run for- ward to support me. As soon as I felt his friendly grip round my body, I mustered fresh strength, although bleed- ing profusely both inside and out. Kelly commenced a dialogue, observing, ' By my sowl, sir, you're badly wound- ed, sure !' " I felt very faint, but replied, ' Yes, Kelly, I think so : feel if the ball is out.' Kelly watched its course; and then placing his hand upon my loins, where it should have made its exit, exclaimed, " ' No, by my sowl, then it isn't, and you're spaking yet. But where's the man that did it ?" "Without at the moment any feeling of revenge towards him whom I then thought my destroyer, I pointed in the di- rection from whence he had fired ; and there, on the very same spot, stood this daring fellow, deliberately re-loading to have another shot at my assistant or to finish me. But Kelly quitted hold of me for a moment, and I saw his un- erring gun raised to his shoulder: the French soldier was un- moved Kelly fired and he fell dead." The colonel, in relating this incident, spoke with much regret of the fate of his gallant enemy. 308 THE LIFE OF apparent; for these southern provinces were always known to be well affected towards the Bourbons, and they now gladly availed them- selves of the success of their cause to forsake the service of the Emperor. It is not necessary here to follow the course of events in the North ; which, in conjunc- tion with the invasion of France by the British army under the Marquis of Wellington, led to the overthrow of the power of Napoleon. It is sufficient to observe, that he gave brilliant instances of his masterly military skill, and, by his rapid movements, even for a while paralyzed the operations of his opponents. But he either would not or could not see the extent of his difficulties ; and he thought that he was now become so necessary to France, that the nation would make any sacrifice to support him. The French people were now, however, tired of a war which was no longer accompanied by conquest and glory : a re- action had taken place. The veteran guards were, it is true, still attached to him; but these alone could not withstand the vast in- vading force. Still Napoleon thundered out his proclama- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 309 tions, calling upon the nation to rise and crush the invaders. But the cry was made to desert- ed hearths; the manhood of France had fallen to support his power, and the feeble efforts of age and youth would not avail his cause. His ambition urged him, however, to de- lay his answer to the proposition of the allied powers until he had tried his strength. This trial gave confidence to his opponents, and he consequently lost all; for when they had gained Paris at the point of the bayonet, negotiation was at an end Napoleon was then an usurper. This was the position of affairs in the North. To return to the proceedings of Lord Wel- lington's army in the South, and the subject of our memoir. After the battle of Orthes, Mar- shal Soult fell back by the most direct road to St. Sever, closely followed by the allies. The enemy destroyed the whole of the bridges in his rear, and by this means contrived to effect a tolerably secure retreat. The ardour of Sir Thomas Picton and his division gave them a conspicuous position in this advance; and on the 1st of March, with the centre of the allied army, they crossed the Adour, and enter- ed the town of St. Sever. The rain having I II 310 THE LIFE OF greatly swollen these rivers, Lord Wellington was induced to delay for a few days his fur- ther progress, in order to give the soldiers a short interval of rest, while he sent working parties forward to repair the bridges which the enemy had destroyed. But as the French had considerable stores at Aire, on the Adour, a few miles above St. Sever, Sir Rowland Hill moved forward to dislodge them from that position. This service was performed in the most gallant style; the French, after a smart action, being driven from some heights which they had occupied with considerable loss : when, being forced from this vantage ground, and finding no other tenable position near the town, they made a precipitate retreat, and aban- doned to the allies the whole of the stores. . Soult now felt himself beaten both in tactics and in force ; even the Portuguese soldiers were now equal to the French ; for these troops had so often fought by the side of the British that they had learned to imitate their steadi- ness, and caught their daring. Soult evidently thought that his soldiers were inferior to their opponents, for he still continued his retreat. Again he committed an error ; and to err with I I SIR THOMAS PICTON. 311 Wellington as an opponent, was to ensure de- feat. He appeared to have assumed the fact that Lord Wellington would not venture to advance upon Bordeaux, leaving so strong a place as Bayonne unreduced in his rear. But the commander of the allied forces had re- ceived confident information of the disaffection which existed in Bordeaux towards Napoleon. He determined, therefore, to take advantage of this feeling ; and as the Due d'Angoulme had a short time previously repaired to St. Jean de Luz, it was resolved to put the sincerity of the Bordelais' professions to the test. Accordingly, as a deputy had arrived from Bordeaux, bear- ing assurances from the corporation of their warm attachment to the House of Bourbon, and that nothing but the presence of a small French garrison prevented the inhabitants from giving proof of their sentiments, the Duke re- paired to head-quarters at St. Sever; when Lord Wellington, who had hitherto refrained from assisting him too warmly without the concurrence of the British Government, no longer hesitated, but sent Marshal Beresford with three divisions to drive out the garrison, and secure to the Due d'Angoulme an unin- 312 THE LIFE OF terrupted entry. This measure was entirely successful ; the French garrison evacuated the place without any resistance, and the heredi- tary Prince of France entered the city amidst cries of " Vive le Roi /" " Crowds pressed round him," observes Southey, in his elaborate History of the War, " if they might but touch his clothes or his horse. Some cried, ' He is our blood; he was born a Frenchman, and feels like a French- man.' Numbers fell on their knees and bless- ed him, and blessed God that they had lived to see this day. Mothers pointed him out to their children, and said, f Now we shall no longer lose all our sons in the war.' And thus one hold was taken in the enemy's coun- try : a great and influential city had openly declared against the longer continuance of Na- poleon's empire." During these political movements, confidence was given to the inhabitants of the southern provinces of France, by Lord Wellington, to follow up the example which had thus been set. The mere fact of seeing the French army driven before the English was enough in itself to make the people discontented; and they are SIR THOMAS PICTON. 313 ever prone to favour the strongest side. Soult was now falling back upon Toulouse; the in- habitants were apprehensive that he would de- fend their city, and, had they dared, they would readily have shut their gates against him: for though he could not fight the English, he could beat the French; they were therefore obliged to wait patiently the course of events. The direction which Soult had taken was dictated by sound military policy: he hoped to draw off the allies from Bordeaux. Thirteen thousand men were still there with Marshal Beresford ; and the French general thought, and hoped, that Lord Wellington would not dare to withdraw them from watching that city. In this again he was mistaken : no doubts were entertained of the sincerity of the senti- ments expressed by the Bordelais, and Lord Wellington did not hesitate to withdraw the whole force under Beresford, with the exception of the seventh division, under Lord Dalhousie, which was reserved to keep in check any reaction of French policy which might occur. Having, therefore, again united his force, Lord Wellington continued his advance against Soult with undiminished confidence. That 314 THE LIFE OF general, however, finding he could not cover or save Bordeaux, and being alarmed lest the reanimated loyalty should spread, made a show of firmness by an attack on the right flank of the allies at Canchez and Viella, occupied by Sir Rowland Hill. This took place on the 17th March, when he drove in the British pic- quets, and threatened to turn the line with his whole force. But Sir Rowland Hill imme- diately retired upon some strong ground be- hind the Gros Lyes ; and Lord Wellington, being now convinced that the French marshal intended to carry the war to the eastward, or- dered two divisions from the centre to move to the right of the allied position, for the pur- pose of supporting Sir Rowland Hill, should Soult attempt any more important operations. On the 18th, the whole army advanced, oc- cupying each side of the Adour, and marching up the stream ; the French slowly falling back on their front towards Toulouse. The " fight- ing division" was on the right ; and on the morning of the 19th they drove a large body of the enemy from some singularly defen- sible ground which encircles the town of Vic Bigorre. This position was capable of SIR THOMAS PICTON. 315 a very obstinate defence, and its acquisition would in that case be necessarily attended with great loss. About the middle of the day, the division entered a wood composed entirely of vineyards, thickly occupied by the enemy's light troops. To force these to retire was indispensable before the division could advance. Lord Wellington and Sir Thomas Picton, protected by a squadron of German dragoons, reconnoitred the position, and after a short time the division was ordered to close up for the attack. It was expected, from the nature of the ground, that the enemy would make consider- able efforts to maintain this strong post; but the light companies of the division, supported by the Portuguese brigade, met with little opposition, as they drove the French before them. The main body of the division moved close in their rear, so that any attempt made in force by the enemy would have been im- mediately overcome ; and the result was, that, before evening, Sir Thomas Picton and his division encamped about three miles beyond the town of Vic Bigorre. On the following morning, Sir Thomas Picton was joined by Sir 316 THE LIFE OF llowland Hill, with the second division, that general having moved round the vineyards on the right of the third division ; and they now marched together towards Tarbes, which form- ed the left of Soult's position, his right extend- ing in the direction of Rabastens. The intentions of the French general were still uncertain : he was continually threatening to give battle to the allies, but as continually retreated when they came up. He was draw- ing Lord Wellington back upon the Pyrenees; but he was leaving the country which he had to defend unprotected ; and, in fact, it ap- peared as if he would abandon France to the allies, provided he might have Spain. It was said that Soult had expressed his determination to defend the heights of Tarbes to the last man; but whether his own resolution or the courage of his soldiers failed, is uncertain. A general movement was made by the allies on the whole of the French line ; the third division, with Sir Rowland Hill's corps, moving, as before observed, upon Tarbes, while three other divisions crossed the Adour and advanced to attack the right of the enemy at Rabastens. The whole of these arrange- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 31? ments were admirably planned and executed. The French marshal had again assumed a very strong and commanding position, so that the feebleness of his defence is quite unaccount- able. Sir Henry Clinton commenced the attack upon the right of the French line, while the two divisions advanced upon Tarbes. This place was quickly occupied by the British light troops. These succeeded in forcing the enemy to abandon the town, who then crossed the river, and ascended the heights in its rear, which were occupied by their main body. The two divisions now marched through the town with colours flying and the bands play- ing, during which they were loudly cheered by the inhabitants, who greeted them with acclamations of " Vivent les Anglais ! " " Vive /' Angleterre /" the sincerity of which expres- sions might readily be doubted, as they were not interspersed with any cries of loyalty to the Bourbons, or of attachment to the cause in which the allies were engaged. The troops did not, however, pause in the town ; but, marching quickly through, proceeded to follow up their success. Great, however, was their surprise when they saw a large French army 318 THE LIFE OF drawn up on the heights to receive them, and those soldiers whom they had driven from the town hastening up the acclivity to form in their ranks. It was judged expedient both by Generals Hill and Picton to await the further advance of the corps under Sir Henry Clinton before an attack was made upon this strong position. Nothing was, however, done before evening closed ; the troops, therefore, bivouacked upon the ground which they had gained, in full expectation of a renewal of the contest on the following day ; but, as usual, Soult took advantage of the night to retreat, and fell back to the vicinity of Toulouse. The dawn showed the heights deserted by the enemy, and the allies continued their march in pursuit. Soult made as little delay as possible upon the way, being anxious to get the defences which he had been preparing in as perfect a state as possible before the arrival of the allies. The enemy were not again overtaken until they were formed in the neighbourhood of Tou- louse. The broad and rapid river Garonne was to be passed by Lord Wellington's army before SIR THOMAS PICTON. 319 Soult or the city could be attacked ; and, to effect this, a pontoon train was indispensable. The conveyance of this heavy appendage ne- cessarily delayed the movements of the troops, and they did not succeed in reaching the vi- cinity of Toulouse until three days after the French. Soult appeared to have resolved to make a determined stand against his pursuers at this place, as he had fortified every approach and outwork with the utmost care ; no point that presented the least facility for defence had indeed been neglected. The army, therefore, looked forward to some severe fighting ; and they were not disappointed. On the 29th of March, Sir Thomas Picton halted his division at Plaisance, about five miles from the city ; the other divisions of the army occupying positions along the banks of the river Garonne, opposite Toulouse. General Pic- ton was directed to have his division under arms two hours before daylight on the morn- ing of the 1st of April, and it was generally supposed that on that day the battle would be fought. The division was accordingly formed at the appointed time, and remained in momen- tary expectation of being ordered to advance 320 THE LIFE OF until late in the afternoon, when the men were again sent back to their quarters. It was in- tended that the second and third divisions should attempt to force a passage over the bridge in front of the town ; but, upon recon- noitring, it was discovered to be so strongly fortified, and blocked up with so many ob- stacles, that it was not deemed advisable by the commander of the forces to make the attempt. Again, Sir Rowland Hill had succeeded in establishing a pontoon bridge on a bend of the river a short distance below the city : over this he had passed with his corps ; but the passage thence to Toulouse was found to be almost im- passable in consequence of the great quantities of rain which had recently fallen, and upon this conviction he withdrew his troops. Lord Wellington now resolved to attempt the passage of the river below the city, at Grenade ; and the pontoon bridge was there- fore thrown across at this place by the 4th. The third, with the fourth, sixth, and light divisions, were then ordered to cross : but this was a slow and tedious operation, as the ca- valry were compelled to dismount and lead their horses in single files. During the day, SIR THOMAS PICTON. 321 by great exertions, a large force was enabled to effect a passage in the following order : " Colonel Vivian's brigade of hussars, horse artillery ; sixth division, foot artillery ; fourth division, foot artillery ; Lord Edward Somer- set's brigade of hussars, horse artillery ; third division, foot artillery ; six regiments of heavy cavalry." By the time these troops had passed over, the day had closed ; and during the night the wind and rain caused so great and unexpected a swell in the river, that, in order to save the pontoons from destruction, they were removed. At the same time, the enemy, who had at length discovered the bridge, were trying every device to destroy it, by floating down large pieces of timber and boats loaded with stones. But their designs were frustrated by the skill and activity of the British engineers. The position of the allied army was now, how- ever, rather precarious ; its strength being di- vided by a wide and impassable river. Sir Thomas Picton, when afterwards alluding to this position, observed, that he considered Soult betrayed more timidity and less generalship upon this occasion than from the preceding VOL. II. Y 322 THE LIFE OF actions of his life and acknowledged abilities could ever have been expected. But he added, " I suppose the anticipated downfall of his master had produced a corresponding depres- sion in his own confidence." The Marquis of Wellington was on the op- posite side of the river, and Sir Thomas Pic- ton, as senior officer, assumed the command ; and had Soult taken advantage of this acci- dent which chance had thrown in his way, left his entrenchments, and come down in force to attack these divisions, he would have had the advantage of fighting about seventeen thousand men with his whole army ; while the rest of the allied forces would have been compelled to remain inactive spectators of the struggle. Albuera had witnessed how much could be done by a still smaller band ; and with that example before us, what would have been too much to expect from these men, had Soult acted on the opportunity thus presented to him, and come down to the attack ? SIR THOMAS PICTON. 323 CHAPTER XII. Decisive Battle of Toulouse. Abdication of Napoleon. Evacuation of Toulouse by the French, and entry of the Allied army. Intelligence of the arrival in Paris of the Allies. Unnecessary effusion of blood. f ON the 6th, Lord Wellington and Marshal Beresford crossed the river in a small boat and visited the troops. By the 8th, the water of the river had run out sufficiently to enable the pontoons again to be laid down at a fresh place nearer to the city, when the Spanish army, under General Freyre, was passed over. The divisions which had already gained the oppo- site side advanced nearer to the town ; the third division taking up a position in some meadows, with their picquets occupying some closely-wooded ground, near a fortified bridge over the Canal du Midi. On the left of the third was posted the sixth division, under Baron Alten ; the object of this corps being to observe and divert the enemy in the sub- 324 THE LIFE OF urbs, between the canal and the city, and threaten an attack upon the whole of that part of the town to the river. Sir Rowland Hill's corps was on the oppo- site side, on the left bank, protecting the right flank of the third division by a cannonade, and threatening the tete de pont. It was not, however, on this side of the city that the bat- tle was to be fought : a ridge of bold and commanding heights to the east of the town offered to Soult a strong defensible position for nearly his whole army ; these heights were therefore fortified with some redoubts and en- trenchments, by which the line of communi- cation was kept up to the canal, and thence to the walls : his right flank was protected by the river Ers, and his left by a strongly fortified redoubt and entrenchments ; so that the whole line from the Ers to the Garonne was prepared to resist the advance of the allies. Circumstances rendered it necessary for Lord Wellington to force this position of the enemy, or obtain possession of Toulouse. To effect the former object appeared the most expedi- tious ; and having made every disposition for attacking the heights, on the 9th of April the British army slept on the field. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 325 On Easter Sunday, 1814, the dawn was scarcely visible when the columns of the allies were moving to their different points of attack. The following extract from Lord Wellington's despatch, dated Toulouse, April 12th, will con- vey to the reader's mind a perfect idea of the plan of the intended assault, and of the duties which Sir Thomas Picton had to perform upon this occasion, remarkable alike as the last grand struggle of this long-protracted war, and on account of the particular circumstances under which it took place. " The plan according to which I intended to attack the enemy, was for Marshal Sir W. Beresford, who was on the right of the Ers with the fourth and sixth divisions, to cross that river at the bridge of Croix d'Orode, to gain possession of Mont Blanc, and to march up the left of the Ers to turn the enemy's right ; while Lieutenant-general Don Manuel Freyre, with the Spanish corps under his com- mand, supported by the British cavalry, should attack the front. Lieutenant-general Sir Sta- pleton Cotton was to follow the Marshal's movements, with Major-general Lord Edward Somerset's brigade of hussars ; and Colonel Vivian's brigade, under the command of Co- 326 THE LIFE OF lonel Arentschild, was to observe the move- ment of the enemy's cavalry on both banks of the Ers beyond our left. " The third and light divisions, under the command of Lieutenant-general Sir Thomas Picton and Major-general Charles Baron Alten, and the brigade of German cavalry, were to observe the enemy on the lower part of the canal, and to draw their attention to that quarter by threatening the tte de pont ; while Lieutenant-general Sir Rowland Hill was to do the same on the suburb on the left of the Garonne." The third division was formed in three se- parate corps by Sir Thomas Picton early in the morning; the one being posted on the left, its flank resting on the light division near the road from Paris, the right being support- ed by the Portuguese ; Major-general Brisbane's brigade having to move along the banks of the river and occupy in force the plantations which were still held by the advance picquets. " The business of this dreadful day com- menced about seven o'clock, when Sir Thomas Picton drove in the French picquets in front of Port Jameau, at the point where the Canal SIR THOMAS PICTON. 327 de Brienne joins that of Languedoc. The action became warm here ; and the enemy re- tiring, set fire to a fine large chateau, in the cypress avenues of which they had sought in vain to cover themselves."* Too much impor- tance is here ascribed to this skirmish. The enemy had no intention of withstanding the attack of the third division in this quarter ; and from the information we have been enabled to collect, it does not appear that any portion of the third division was engaged at this period, except some of the rifle companies, who oc- cupied the enemy's attention by skirmishing across the canal. The battle commenced on the left and in the centre of the allied position, in front of the heights upon which the enemy were posted. Marshal Beresford, with the fourth and sixth divisions, moved along the left bank of the Ers, carried the village of Mont Blanc, and then advanced steadily over the level ground at the foot of the heights, exposed the whole time to a tremendous cannonade, which was poured down upon them with great precision and rapidity. At the same time the Spaniards, * Southey. 328 THE LIFE OF under General Freyre, were ordered to attack the redoubts from which this fire was opened. But in this they failed, although they conti- nued to advance with much gallantry, until, elated by a slight success, and then panic- struck by the tremendous fire to which they were exposed, they wavered ; when, before they had recovered from their alarm, the French charged them with the bayonet. The steady courage of our soldiers was then strikingly contrasted with the exhausted impetuosity of the Spaniards : they turned and hastily retreat- ed down the hill, followed, but not hotly, by the French. This was a critical moment ; for, had the enemy succeeded in driving this corps over the Ers, the force under Marshal Beresford would have been cut off from the rest of the army. But Lord Wellington, always prepared for emergencies, immediately ordered the light division to move by its left, to arrest the flight of the Spaniards and check the progress of the enemy. Marshal Beresford, during this reverse in the centre, continued his advance. Having marched each column of the fourth and sixth divisions opposite to their respect- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 329 ive points of attack, they were rapidly wheeled into line. Then came the struggle. The ground up which these troops had to move was rugged and broken, offering every protection to the enemy's tirailleurs, and being occasionally ex- posed to the fire of the main body, which was posted on the more elevated heights. So true and close was the fire of the artillery, that nearly every shot told, mowing down the files as they unhesitatingly pressed on. But no fire could appal these men : they at last gained the summit, and drove the French from a formidable redoubt on their right flank. The enemy had, however, by means of planks laid over the broken and irregular ground, contriv- ed to carry off their guns, which were withdrawn to redoubts further to the rear, from whence they opened afresh upon Beresford's troops. The allies were without artillery to reply to this destructive fire ; for the guns attached to these divisions had been placed in battery in front of the village of Mont Blanc, to can- nonade the enemy's works on the heights. An officer was now, however, sent to hasten it forward, while Beresford's soldiers covered themselves as well as they could within and 330 THE LIFE OF behind the redoubts which they had taken. At this period a singular, and apparently unac- countable, pause ensued : the firing had almost ceased on the left, and the battle seemed sus- pended. It was even suspected by the third division and Sir Rowland Hill's corps that the allies had been defeated. But Sir Thomas Picton, who had been observing with anxious interest the progress of the fight, now rode up at speed ; and the whole division was in an instant on the alert. He had seen the retreat of the Spaniards, and justly concluded that the left wing would have a frightful struggle against an immense superiority of force. This at once decided him in making a diversion in their favour, which has since been canvassed with some degree of severity by military men. The right brigade, under the command of Major-general Brisbane, was immediately or- dered to leave the plantation in which they had been hid, and attempt to force a passage over the canal, by means of a bridge situated near its junction with the river Garonne. The bridge was covered by an extremely strong redoubt in front, and a formidable range of artillery SIR THOMAS PICTON. 331 on each flank. Sir Thomas Picton personally directed this attack, which was made by the Forty-fifth, Seventy-fourth, and Eighty-eighth regiments, with three companies of the fifth battalion of the Sixtieth, in the usual style of "the fighting division," moving to the assault with that impetuous courage which nothing could daunt. The artillery attached to Sir Rowland Hill's corps, perceiving the inten- tion of Sir Thomas Picton, opened a heavy fire across the river ; but unfortunately they struck down some houses which had served to protect the light troops of the division, and this left them exposed to the incessant shower of grape which was kept up by the enemy. The works which Sir Thomas Picton was now about to attack had been prepared with the utmost skill and care ; everything that art could devise to render them impregnable against assault had been done ; but it was not until the counterscarp had been gained that General Picton discovered the formidable nature of the defences. Here such a blaze of mus- ketry and artillery was opened, while the ditch itself presented such an insurmountable bar- rier to any further advance, that a retreat was THE LIFE OF immediately sounded, but not before ma had fallen. The body of the gallant Colonel Forbes, of the Forty-fifth regiment, was left upon this fatal spot; but his soldiers after- wards obtained leave to carry it off, and gave it a soldier's grave. Major-general Brisbane was wounded, and the command of the brigade devolved upon Colonel Taylor of the Eighty- eighth foot ; who had, however, only to lead off the remnant of the troops, and establish them in their former position, where Picton and his division were condemned to remain inactive, listening with intense anxiety to the thunder of battle, which had now broke forth with renewed fury on their left. . The light division had succeeded in arresting the Spaniards in their flight, and in checking the pursuit of the French. When Beresford, who had now been joined by the artillery, was informed of this effectual check to the enemy's success, and that the Spaniards were again formed and about to renew the contest, he resolved to continue his advance along the ridge with the fourth and sixth divisions. As there was a considerable space between the two advancing divisions, Soult, imitating SIR THOMAS PICTON. 333 Napoleon's tactics, endeavoured to crush one before the other could arrive to its support. For this purpose he collected the whole of his disposable force, and prepared to surround the sixth division with cavalry and infantry. But Sir Henry Clinton did not wait to be attack- ed ; he ordered his men to charge the assem- bling army. They did so, rushing upon them with a fury which could not be withstood. It was a burst of impetuous courage ; but it was sustained by the stern valour of Englishmen. The French fought with much resolution : never, according to some writers, did they fight better. They even checked for a while the advance of the allies ; but they could not make them desist. A terrible carnage ensued : it was a contention of numbers against invincible courage and determination. At length the enemy, unable longer to withstand the fury of their assailants, fled : this may be said to have decided the fate of the day, although another grand effort was made by fresh troops, sent across the canal, to re- cover the lost ground and redoubts. The sixth division again conquered, and the heights were cleared by a simultaneous charge of the British 334 THE LIFE OF and Spaniards. The enemy then retired across the canal, the bridges over which were all strongly fortified ; and about four o'clock the battle terminated, nearly five thousand men being left upon the field. The futility of this battle is well known : at the very time that this carnage was going on, the Northern allies were in Paris, and Napoleon was held a kind of regal prisoner by the commissioners of the confederation. On the 31st of March the city of Paris capitulated, when the sovereigns forming the alliance made their entry. Napoleon fled to Fontainebleau ; but his hopes and much of his energy had left him. He made an offer to abdicate in favour of his son, the King of Rome. This was of course rejected ; and he then submitted to their will, and abdicated upon a treaty by which, as a kind of satire upon his ambition, he was allowed to retain his imperial name, with the miniature domi- nion of Elba. The news of this abdication and the consequent peace was actually received in London six days prior to its being made known at Toulouse. The probability, nay, almost certainty, is that, as any communication to this SIR THOMAS PICTON. 335 effect must of necessity have come through the French lines, either Soult or some of his offi- cers intercepted the despatch. It is difficult to find a reason for such an inhuman act : the only one that presents itself is, that the sting of defeat had rankled so deeply, that they would not listen to peace before they had sought re- venge. There is much reason to suspect that this is the truth. On the llth of April, the day following the battle of Toulouse, the divisions were again un- der arms ; when Lord Wellington sent in a flag of truce, calling upon the French army to sur- render as prisoners of war, in order to save the city from destruction. The situation of Soult was precarious : he replied, that he would ra- ther bury himself and soldiers in the ruins of the town. But he knew that he should have the whole of the inhabitants against him if he remained, and Lord Wellington would bom- bard the place ; while, if he waited until the allies had effected a perfect investment, he would in all probability be compelled to sur- render. He therefore formed his resolution, and evacuated the city during the night of the 12th, taking the road to Ville Franque. 336 THE LIFE OF On the following day Lord Wellington entered the city, with a grand procession of English and foreign officers, together with those of the corporation. Even here, and by the French themselves, Picton was greeted with acclama- tions as he rode early in the morning across the square. The allied army was now halted for a while. The report had spread widely through the city that the Northern allies were in Paris. Still Lord Wellington received no official intima- tion until towards evening on the 12th of May, when Colonel Cooke arrived from Paris, bringing a confirmation of the report* A French officer, Colonel St. Simon, also arrived, who was charged by the provisional govern- ment to make this news known to Marshal Soult. After having spread the glad tidings at Toulouse, these two messengers repaired with a flag of truce to the French camp. But Soult did not receive the information with any ap- pearance of satisfaction, and even refused to acknowledge the authority by which the noti- fication was received. An armistice was, how- ever, agreed upon ; when Soult, hearing within a short time that the Emperor was about to SIR THOMAS PICTON. 337 embark for Elba, settled the conditions, and the French army in a short time dwindled into a few regiments. A still further, although equally unnecessary, effusion of blood had, however, taken place before this event was brought about. The two messengers in their way from Paris had passed through Bordeaux, from whence they sent information of the peace to Sir John Hope, who was still blockading Bayonne. Sir John did not communicate this intelligence to General Thouvenot, who commanded the garrison, as he did not conceive he was justi- fied in so doing until he had received the an- nouncement direct from Lord Wellington ; in consequence of which delay, the enemy made a sortie during the night of the 14th, which was attended with the most distressing results ; nearly two thousand French, English, and their allies, having fallen within the trenches. This was, however, the last of these sanguinary struggles; after which the British army went into cantonments, previously to its return to England. VOL. II. 338 THE LIFE OF CHAPTER XIII. Breaking up of the army. Tribute of respect to Sir Thomas Picton by his division. His return to England. His services apparently undervalued by the Government. His remark on that subject. Picton again receives the thanks of the House of Commons. DURING this protracted war the Spaniards and Portuguese had learned to respect and ad- mire their British allies, and they now looked upon a separation from these companions with a feeling of regret. But other and closer ties were to be broken : those regiments belong- ing to the same divisions, which had so long been formed into a kind of fraternal band, were now about to be ordered into different parts of the world. In the third division especially this was much felt, as several regi- ments were ordered to embark for America. As a proof of the error of the assertion that Sir Thomas Picton was not popular amongst the officers and soldiers of his division, we may refer to the circumstances of his parting SIR THOMAS PICTON. 339 from the division at the close of this war. From the very best authorities, we are enabled to state that, with but one exception, a strong feeling of regret was evinced by every soldier of the division when " old Picton " inspected their ranks for the last time previously to his embarkation for England. The heartfelt, ani- mating cheer, the reply to his brief address as he thanked them for their gallant services and bade them farewell, was, as he himself remarked, "a gratifying and convincing proof that the regiments composing * the fighting di- vision' would never forget their old general." The officers of the division exhibited, how- ever, a more substantial, but not more con- vincing proof of the esteem in which they held him : and it will hardly be believed by those who have heard that Sir Thomas Picton never reported the services of any officer under his command, or attempted to procure for them any reward, that those very officers whom he is thus accused of having neglected, before the division was broken up, subscribed amongst themselves a sum amounting to nearly sixteen hundred pounds, for the purpose of presenting " old Picton" with a service of plate. One ex- z 2 340 THE LIFE OF ception must, however, be made to this ap- parently universal sentiment of regard : this was on the part of the officers and men of the Eighty-eighth Foot. This regiment has al- ready been alluded to upon more than one occasion as having called forth the anger of General Picton. We have since been inform- ed by an officer of distinguished rank who saw much of this regiment, that they were altogether the most singular set of fellows that ever handled a musket. " For days to- gether," observed this officer, " they would be the most orderly, well-behaved soldiers ; then all at once they would break out into the wildest and most irregular courses it is possi- ble to conceive, pillaging everything spiritual or temporal ; for being almost without ex- ception Irish and good Catholics, they were always the first to find their way to church, when their love and veneration for the holy utensils made them greedily appropriate them to their own share, doubtless that they might not fall into the hands of their heretical com- rades. But this was not all," added our in- formant; "for frequently, just before going into battle, it would be found upon inspec- i SIR THOMAS PICTON. 341 tion that one half of the men of the Eighty- eighth regiment were without ammunition, having acquired a pernicious habit of exchang- ing the cartridges for aguardiente, and substi- tuting in their place pieces of wood cut and coloured to resemble them." Picton never found fault with their conduct in the field; but, on the contrary, gave them most un- qualified praise whenever it was deserved ; and this was often. But the frequent reprimands which he gave them for their behaviour upon other occasions, and which the officers in a great measure applied to themselves, produced a kind of ill feeling which was never entirely destroyed, and now broke forth in not a very Irish-like manner; for, almost without a single exception, the officers of this regiment declin- ed subscribing towards this testimonial of re- spect and esteem from the ( fighting division' to their gallant general. With this exception, the feeling which dictated this offering was universal throughout the division. The money for the purchase of this plate was remitted to the Honourable Colonel H. R. Pakenham, who was then detained in England by a severe wound, and he with some brother officers had 342 THE LIFE OF the ordering and management of this handsome present.* The services of Sir Thomas Picton being no longer required, he embarked at Bordeaux * Major-general the Honourable Charles Colville (now Sir Charles), Major-general Brisbane, Major-general Power, and Lieutenant-colonel Stovin, were the chief officers in promot- ing this testimony of the high esteem in which Sir Thomas Picton was held by his division. For the following letters relating to the presentation of this gift we are indebted to Sir Charles Colville : ;< Valley of Bastan, in Spain, Aug. 27, 1813. " DEAR SIR, " It has long been the wish of the officers of the three brigades which we have had the honour to command under you in the third division, as also of the divisional staff, to have an opportunity of offering you an ostensible mark of that high respect, gratitude, and esteem, which we so sincerely feel in our hearts. Every objection seems now removed in point of time, and otherwise, when, on the recurrence of severe illness, which has in four successive seasons assailed you, you at present only await sufficient degree of convalescence to ad- mit of your trying change of climate, with but too little pro- spect, we lament to think, of your returning to your command in this country. Services such as yours cannot but have been acknowledged before this, by the offering of one or more swords from your attached military brethren, or a grate- ful corps; we, therefore, for ourselves, and those who de- sire us to represent them, request you will do us the ho- nour to accept of a piece of plate, with a short inscription commemorative of the circumstance, and of the corps which composed the third division under your command in the Pen- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 343 upon his return home. But he was there doomed to suffer further disappointments, which, if they did not call forth any warmth of expression, caused him to feel deeply how insula. With most sincere wishes for your early conva- lescence, followed by confirmed good health, on leaving a climate that has proved so unfriendly to you, we have the honour to subscribe ourselves, " Dear sir, " Your ever faithful servants, (Signed) " C. COLVILLE, " T. BRISBANE, Major-general. " M. POWER, Major-general. " For the Staff of the Division, " H. STOVIN, A. A. General. " To Lieut.-gen. SIR THOMAS PICTON, K.B. " Commanding the Third Division of the British Army." " London, 18th Sept. 1813. *' MY DEAR GENERAL, " I lose no time, after my arrival in England, to return an answer to the letter which you were so good as to forward me from the general officers commanding brigades in the third division, an(J which you will have the goodness to com- municate to them. I am very sensible of the kindness of their intention, and feel much flattered by so handsome an expression of their sentiments. " I was fortunate in rinding the President frigate ready on my arrival at Passages ; and my friend Lieut.-colonel Hood of the Guards immediately called upon me, and introduced me to Captain Mason, his brother-in-law. We sailed on the 9th, and arrived at Portsmouth on the 16th. My health im- proved but very slowly during the voyage, and I have not 344 THE LIFE OF little dependence could be placed on mei and long services to obtain their reward, when opposed to the more powerful claims of courtly favour and ministerial influence. It will readily be believed, that those who had distinguished themselves in this glorious cam- paign were hailed upon their return to Eng- land with enthusiastic admiration. Amongst these Picton stood in a proud position. All yet been able to shake off the remains of the disorder which continues to incommode me. My nights are still restless. I can give you no news, not having yet seen any one. " My best wishes attend you. " My dear general, " Most faithfully, (Signed) " THOS. PICTON. " The Honourable Major-general Colville." less. " London, 18th Sept. 1813. " MY DEAR GENERALS, " In the extreme weak state to which I was reduced, previous to my leaving the Peninsula, my feelings were too powerful for my spirits, and it was not possible for me ad- equately to answer the kind letter of the general officers commanding brigades in the third division, which you did me the honour of forwarding to me from the Valley of Bas- tan on the 27th of August last. " I cannot but highly value the testimony of gentlemen to whose talents, zealous co-operation, and gallantry, on every occasion of difficulty, I feel myself indebted for the honours that have been conferred upon me, and for the degree of re- 1 SIR THOMAS PICTON. 345 was now rejoicing: and many who read these pages well remember the feelings of admira- tion with which the millions who attended the numerous spectacles in commemoration of the peace gazed upon those who had fought with Wellington throughout the Peninsula. The often-tried Picton, the gallant leader of the " fighting division," was deservedly amongst the most popular of these. putation to which I have risen in the service ; and I shall receive any memento of their esteem and regard with corre- sponding sentiments and feelings of the heart. " The period of my life to which I shall always recur with the greatest satisfaction, is that which was passed at the head of the third division, where I always experienced such a spirit of unanimity and heroism as never once failed to secure success in any one of the difficult enterprises we were employed upon. Though I may never again have the ho- nour of commanding so distinguished a corps, I shall ever feel myself identified with the third division in all its operations, and shall take as strong an interest in its success as I ever did whilst I had the honour of presiding at its head. " Accept of my many acknowledgments for your kind at- tention, and of my sincere and constant wishes for your suc- cess and prosperity on all occasions. " Your devoted and very faithful humble servant, " THOS. PICTON, Lieutenant-general. " The Hon. Major-general Colville. " Major-general Brisbane. " Major-general Power. " Lieutenant-colonel Stovin, &c." 346 THE LIFE OF Within a short period after Sir Thomas Picton's arrival in England, a Gazette was published, containing the names of the follow- ing distinguished officers who were elevated to the peerage : Sir William Beresford (Viscount Beresford), Sir Thomas Graham (Lord Lyne- doch), Sir Rowland Hill (Lord Hill), Sir John Hope (Hopetoun and Niddry), Sir Stapleton Cotton (Viscount Combermere). The friends of Sir Thomas Picton were na- turally disappointed, as they unhesitatingly as- serted that the claims of General Picton were equally strong with more than one of those who had been thus rewarded. Can it then be a matter of surprise that Sir Thomas Picton, who was greedy of honour, and who was fond of the remark, and often used it, that " he never envied anybody excepting when they did some- thing great," should now experience a feeling of silent reproach and degradation, when he saw his services thus passed over, and a decided and publicly marked preference shown to those officers with whom he thought he had at least equal claims? The people of England were more familiar with his name than with some of those who were thus exalted ; but Sir Tho- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 347 mas Picton could not deign to ask, and there were none to speak for him. His own spirited remark, when a friend asked him why his name was omitted amongst the new creation of peers, is characteristic of the man : " If the coronet were lying on the crown of a breach, I should have as good a chance as any of them," was his reply ; and the world will now admit that there was no vanity in the assertion. It appears that his Majesty's Ministers found it necessary to give some reason for this un- accountable omission, and that a more satis- factory one than the comparative merits of the parties. The following letter, however, which appeared in one of the daily papers at the time, will demonstrate the nature and jus- tice of this ministerial vindication. " SIR, " You will confer a great personal obliga- tion upon myself, as well as be the medium, I hope, of satisfying the curiosity of thousands, by inserting in your paper the following qusere, which will probably be answered by those who alone are competent to solve it : " What is the reason that Lieutenant-gene- 348 THE LIFE OF ral Sir Thomas Picton has not been created a peer of parliament, as well as those distin- guished officers whose names have appeared in the Gazette ? " I have, sir, a very extensive acquaintance in London, and am continually stopped by one person or another with the inquiry, ' Pray, co- lonel, can you tell me the reason why General Picton has been left out of the batch of peers ?' As I do not pretend to know that of which I am really ignorant, I reply to my friends uni- versally in the negative ; and I content myself with asking them, what is the current solution of the problem ? I am told, and indeed it is the only attempt at an answer which I have heard, that the reason is, because the honours were thought to be due to those officers only who had the good fortune to have had, at some time or another of the Peninsular war, what they call distinct commands; by which, I pre- sume, they mean, commanding corps at a certain distance from the chief, although not moving without his orders. " Give me leave here to assure you most sincerely, that in requesting you to offer this enigma to the public, and in presuming to SIR THOMAS PICTON. 349 give my reasons for not thinking the general reason so assigned a sufficient one, it is by no means my intention to throw any stigma upon the conduct of the Prince Regent's ministers for the advice which they have thought proper to give his Royal Highness on the occasion ; still less is it my wish to sow the seeds of discontent amongst that class of officers who may, perhaps, conceive themselves equally en- titled to this distinguished honour : quite the contrary. I do believe that the noble person who is supposed more particularly to direct those counsels is not only an honourable and disinterested man, but I have good reasons to think that he entertains a very high opinion of the abilities of Sir Thomas Picton. " It is, therefore, with a view as much to relieve them from the imputations to which they are subject, that I solicit your publication of this letter. Now, sir, as to the particular reason before assigned for the exception of Sir Thomas Picton, I cannot bring myself to admit its validity ; for, to hold good, the reason must be general, as well as apply fully and completely to all the officers mentioned in the Gazette. This cannot be disputed. But 350 THE LIFE OF is this the fact ? Let us examine : There are Sir William Beresford, Sir Thomas Graham, Sir Rowland Hill, Sir John Hope, and Sir Stapleton Cotton. We shall take it for grant- ed that the first three may be brought within my exposition of the words * having had dis- tinct commands.' Then come Sir John Hope and Sir Stapleton Cotton. The first was, on Sir Thomas Graham's leaving the army in the Peninsula, considered nominally, or titularly, as some classes would call it, second in command. He has been but a few months with the army ; was left a few weeks at Bayonne to superin- tend the siege, and taken prisoner there. "Sir Stapleton Cotton has commanded the cavalry : this is the sum of his good fortune. Now, sir, I beg to know, even in the strictest military definition that can possibly be given of this latter situation, whether it can fairly be considered to come under that class behind which, as it is said, his Majesty's Ministers entrench themselves, in the strict limitation of the rule they appear to have prescribed to themselves. I contend not : I assert that it is no more than the mere command of a division of the army ; that it is straining too hard for SIR THOMAS PICTON. 351 a distinction, to endeavour to support it by call- ing it a 'distinct command;' and that, where the honour and feelings of an officer of such high rank, of such distinguished and acknow- ledged abilities, and of such a length of brilliant services, are intimately concerned, it is in my humble opinion an unlucky endeavour to find out words instead of reasons for the exception of Sir Thomas Picton. " I shall say nothing as to the rank, fortune, or relative merits of those officers : they are all men of ancient families, good fortunes, and unquestionable characters. But, in the view which I take of the question, those points are quite immaterial. The question is, Is the rea- son assigned for Sir Thomas Picton's exception a good one? Does it admit of his feelings being at once reconciled to it ? With a rea- son that does so, I shall be perfectly content- ed ; and so I believe will be the whole army. But if it does not, or that he has not refused the proffered honour, then I assert without fear of contradiction, that by thus excepting him, a positive injustice and insult have been offered to him. I am, sir, " AN OLD SUBSCRIBER." 352! THE LIFE OF As a solace for the disappointment which he had experienced in not meeting with that re- ward which his countrymen agreed he had earned, he was again called upon by the Com- mons of England to receive from them their thanks; this being the seventh time upon which he had been thus complimented by this honour- able assembly. On the 24th of June, the Speak- er rose, and addressed Sir Thomas Picton thus : " Lieutenant-general Sir Thomas Picton, you stand amongst us this day to receive our thanks for great and signal victories won by British arms in the fields of France. " Descending from the Pyrenees, surmount- ing in adverse seasons all the difficulties of a country deeply intersected, and passing with unparalleled skill and boldness the formidable torrents of Navarre, after a series of arduous and sanguinary conflicts you came up with the collected forces of the enemy, posted upon the heights of Orthes. Attacked on all sides by British valour, the troops of France at length gave way, and commenced their retreat. Press- ed, however, upon each flank, that retreat was soon changed into a flight, and that flight to a SIR THOMAS PICTON. 353 total rout. Pursuing their broken legions across the Adour, and seizing upon their strongholds and accumulated resources, you then laid open your way on the one hand to the deliverance of Bordeaux, and on the other to the lamented but glorious day of Toulouse. " It has been your fortune to reap the latest laurels in this long and memorable war ; and leading forward your victorious columns from the Tagus to the Garonne, you have witnessed, with arms in your hands, the downfall of that gigantic tyranny which your own prowess has so materially contributed to overthrow. " Informed of these triumphant exploits, this House lost no time in recording its thanks to all who had bravely fought the battles of their country : but to those whom we glory to reckon amongst our own members, it is my duty and happiness to deliver those thanks personally, and I do now accordingly, in the name and by the command of the Commons of this United Kingdom, deliver to you their unanimous thanks for your able and distinguished con- duct throughout all those operations, which concluded with the entire defeat of the enemy VOL. II. 2 A 354 THE LIFE OF at Orthes, and the occupation of Bordeaux b the allied forces of Great Britain, Spain, and Portugal." The gallant Picton was only able upon this as upon a former occasion to express, in brief and simple terms, how deep were his feelings, and how totally unable he was to give them utterance. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 355 CHAPTER XIV. Sir Thomas Picton retires into private life. Elevated to the rank of Knight Grand Cross of the Bath. His inde- pendence as a Member of Parliament. Recalled from his retirement by the return of Napoleon His conse- quent correspondence with the Duke of Wellington. His last letter from home. Presentiment of his death. Anecdotes relative thereto. His arrival at Brussels, and reception by the Duke of Wellington and the Army. March of the troops to the field. Enumeration of the forces under the command of Picton. His advance to Quatre Bras. Defeat of the French. Anecdotes of the battle and of Picton. Morning of the decisive battle of Waterloo. SIR THOMAS PICTON now resolved to retire to his seat in Wales, and pass the remainder of his days in the quietude of a country life. At this period, indeed, he expressed to several friends his determination to give up active ser- vice; in fact, to retire from the army : and with this intention he left London. The circle of acquaintance of Sir Thomas Picton was now greatly extended; the whole 2 A 2 356 THE LIFE OF : principality of Wales was proud of him an< loud in his praise. He was contented, howevei with the intimacy of a few choice friends, am with them he looked forward to enjoy the d cline of life. Foreign as this wish may appea to his nature, and contrary to his professed in- clinations, he nevertheless had firmly resolved to serve no longer in a public capacity. He had perhaps discovered that his unbending dis- position would not advance him in his profes- sional interests ; and as he was by far too inde- pendent in spirit to endeavour to suit the man- ners of the age, he determined to leave for others that path which he could only follow with advantage by the sacrifice of his feelings. Upon the extension of the Order of the Bath at the commencement of the year 1815, he was elevated to the rank of Knight Grand Cross, being the highest class of that distinguished order ; and this was the last and utmost honour which was conferred upon himself or his family. His time was now principally occupied in attending to his estate, and devising plans for the improvement of the surrounding country ; for the activity of his mind would not allow of his remaining long at rest. His health ti had SIR THOMAS PICTON. 357 been greatly impaired during the constant and arduous services in which he had been engaged for so many years, and in such a variety of climates. This did not, however, prevent him from being regular in the performance of his parliamentary duties, his conduct in which gave the most perfect satisfaction to his con- stituents. He did not pledge himself to any party, but, regardless of the favour of either, gave his vote for or against any measure, as he considered it likely or not to benefit his country; and with this feeling he was justly considered as one of the few really constitu- tional members of that period. He was not long, however, to enjoy the repose of private life, or the honours of a representative for his country. Napoleon was once more in the field. After breaking his parole, and every engagement into which he had entered when he abdicated the throne of France, he now again returned, breath- ing threats of vengeance against those who had deserted, and those who had subdued him. The excitement produced by this unexpected event is still well remembered. No time was lost by the allied powers in making efforts to 358 THE LIFE OF secure the peace of Europe ; and it was soon apparent that a decisive blow would ere long be struck ; for Napoleon was quickly at the head of a formidable army, ready to march against the first power that should take the field. England offered her millions to set the machine in motion, while every regiment which she could send forth was ordered to repair without delay to the Netherlands ; at the same time that those officers who had distinguished them- selves during the recent war were summoned from their retreats, again to meet the common enemy. The note of warlike preparation was now sounding in all directions. Instead of the peace which the people of England had been so long anticipating, hostilities were about to be com- menced with renewed activity. Sir Thomas Picton expected that he should be again called upon to take the field, and he was not long- kept in suspense. An application was forward- ed from the War Office, requiring him to join the army in the Netherlands under the Duke of Wellington's command. But the general hesitated : he had not exhausted his patriotism or his love for a military life ; but during his SIR THOMAS PICTON. 359 command of the third division he had, upon more than one occasion, been exposed to a variety of petty annoyances from officers having intermediate commands between the comman- der of the forces and himself, and he now wrote to the Duke of Wellington, declaring his readi- ness to serve under his grace's command, but not under any other general officer ; when, upon an assurance that he would be exclu- sively employed under the duke, he expressed his intention immediately to join the assembling forces. This in some degree accounts for the delay which took place before Sir Thomas Picton repaired to the Netherlands ; for it is not likely that the commander-in-chief would have ne- glected to call upon Sir Thomas Picton, or that his assistance would have been thought lightly of at such a period, when the whole moral and physical strength of the country was demanded to re-establish the peace of Europe. It has, however, been implied, in no friendly terms, that Sir Thomas Picton did not join the army at an earlier period, in consequence of the Duke of Wellington not having called upon him for his services. His enemies did not hesitate to 360 THE LIFE OF give publicity to the insinuation that the Duke of Wellington thought so lightly of his abili- ties, that he doubted whether he should call upon him to join at all. It is only necessary to remark, that this was not the fact. Having come to the determination of again entering upon active service, Sir Thomas sent the following letter to his aid-de-camp, Captain Tyler, which possesses a melancholy interest, as being the last he wrote from home. " Iscoed, 26th May 1815. " MY DEAR TYLER, " You must get ready as soon as you can ; and you will be so good as to communicate to Captains Chambers and Price that I have re- ceived orders for Flanders. " Look out for some active horses, not above fifteen hands ; but do not purchase without the opinion of Mr. Price, who I dare say will give you all the assistance in his power. I shall bring up the old horse and the mare, and there is one in London. Three others will be about my mark. I shall be in town during the course of the next week. "Yours faithfully, " TH. PICTON." " Carmarthen, 26th May 1815." SIR THOMAS PICTON. 361 Sir Thomas Picton forthwith made every preparation for the approaching campaign. He had a presentiment that it would be his last ; and he did not hesitate in expressing to his friends the force of this impression. The calm- ness of his manner when he alluded to the subject made them at first hope that this anti- cipation might be the result of impaired health ; but when it was known that he expressed this conviction in the most serious manner to the different branches of his family, and that he was arranging his affairs with all the exactness and attention of a man who knows that he has but a short time to live, the fact then became apparent. He never, however, betrayed for one moment the slightest dread of the fate which he believed to await him ; and the fol- lowing incident will illustrate the composure with which he anticipated death. He was walking during a fine evening, a few days before his departure, with Sir John and Lady , when they came to a churchyard, in which a grave was dug for the reception of some humble individual. The party was in- duced to ascend the newly thrown-up earth and look down. Sir Thomas Picton, after THE LIFE OF commenting upon the neatness with which it had been dug, observed, " Why, I think this would do for me;" at the same time jumping in and laying himself at full length along the bottom, he observed that it was an exact fit. On scrambling out, he was surprised to find Lady much affected, as she declared this incident was ominous of his fate. Picton only smiled, and tried to persuade her out of such melancholy reflections. After having made every preparation, he left Wales and repaired to London, where he made a short stay among his numerous friends. Twice he expressed the conviction which had taken such strong hold of his mind that he should die. In the one instance he observed to an intimate friend, " When you hear of my death, you will hear of a bloody day :" prophetic words which were but too faith- fully verified. The second instance was when bidding adieu to the Honourable Colonel Pa- kenham, who was at the time prevented from joining the army by a severe wound. " God bless you !" said the general as he shook him warmly by the hand ; " if we never meet again, you will at all events hear of me." He had, SIR THOMAS PICTON. 363 in fact, determined to win all the honours that the most daring courage could obtain, or to fall in the attempt ; and this determination he frequently expressed : he resolved not to leave an excuse for any neglect either to his name or to his memory. Mr. Wynne, during a debate in the House of Commons, when reverting to this period of Sir Thomas Picton's career, observed, " He had heard that nearly the last words which the gallant Picton uttered before he left this country, were to express a hope, in the pre- sence of two members of that House, that if he should fall, which he seemed to antici- pate, he might not be forgotten, but receive the same distinctions that had been conferred upon other officers who had died in the service of their country." It will be seen that he never for one moment shrunk from the resolu- tion which he had formed ; but that, wherever danger was greatest, there he was foremost, until he found that heroic death which he neither sought nor shunned. His was not the daring of rashness or despair; if he exposed himself, it was not from any weariness or discontent of life ; the lingering impression 364 THE LIFE OF that death was in his path could not turn his steps or make him seek to avoid it. On the llth of June he left London, with his aid-de-camp, Captain Tyler; and on that day dined at the Fountain Tavern, in Canter- bury. This dinner was given to Sir Thomas Picton as a mark of respect and admiration by some of the inhabitants of the place ; upon which occasion the general was as cheerful and his manner as unconcerned as in the happiest moments of his life. From Dover on the fol- lowing day he embarked for Ostend, where he arrived early the next morning, the 13th. Here he held a levee to receive the numerous officers who were desirous of paying their re- spects to their own general. At Ostend at this period all was activity and confusion ; troops and horses were land- ing day and night, while the whole materiel of war was rolling on to one point Brussels. Sir Thomas Picton lost no time in pursuing the same route ; and so soon as his horses and bag- gage were landed, he hastened forward, and arrived in that city on the evening of the 15th. The Duke of Wellington greeted his old com- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 365 panion in arms with a friendly warmth ; and there can be no doubt but that his grace gain- ed additional confidence as he beheld himself surrounded by so many of those distinguished soldiers who had been with him in his former hard-fought fields. Picton had never known defeat ; and there was not a soldier in this hastily-collected army, many of whom were raw recruits, who was not anxious to serve under his command : for at such a moment as this, when all appears confusion, and the minds of men are excited beyond their usual tension, they turn to those who have been in many such scenes before, with a peculiar confidence. It will readily therefore be believed that Pic- ton was greeted with shouts of congratulation as he appeared among the young and ad- miring soldiers : their veteran comrades, many of whom had seen him in the midst of death, as calm as now, took delight in repeating to them the events of past days, when Picton led and they conquered. The Duke of Wellington had just received information from Marshal Blucher, that the French army was in motion, and had com- 366 THE LIFE OF menced an attack upon the Prussians. This unexpected announcement quickly changed the scene of merriment which was going on in Brussels. Orders were issued for the troops to make every preparation to advance at a moment's notice ; while the Duke of Welling- ton, surrounded by his generals, waited with some anxiety for further information. An officer who was present upon this occasion observes : " It was past midnight, and profound repose seemed to reign over Brussels, when suddenly the drums beat to arms, and the trumpet's loud call was heard from every part of the city. It is impossible to describe the effect of these sounds, heard in the silence of the night. We were not long left in doubt of the truth ; a second courier had arrived from Blucher. The attack had become serious ; the enemy were in considerable force ; they had taken Charle- roi, and had gained some advantage over the Prussians, and our troops were ordered to march immediately to their support. Instantly every place resounded with martial prepara- tions. There was not a house in which mi- litary were not quartered, and consequently SIR THOMAS PICTON. 367 the whole town was one universal scene of bustle. The soldiers were seen assembling from all parts in the Place Royale, with their knap- sacks on their backs ; some taking leave of wives and children; others sitting down uncon- cernedly on the sharp pavement, waiting for their comrades ; others sleeping upon packs of straw, surrounded by all the din of war ; while bat-horses and baggage- waggons were loading, artillery and commissariat trains harnessing, officers riding in all directions, carts clattering, chargers neighing, bugles sounding, drums beating, and colours flying." It is unnecessary to recapitulate all the de- tails of the following days. Every incident connected with the battle of Waterloo is fresh in the memory of our countrymen : every vil- lage and tree upon this sanguinary field has obtained immortality. Sir Thomas Picton, immediately on his ar- rival, was appointed to the command of the reserve, consisting of above ten thousand men. It is, however, to be understood that his par- ticular command was the fifth division, con- sisting of the following force : 368 THE LIFE OF BRIGADES. 8th brigade, Major-general Sir James Kempt. 9th brigade, Major-general Sir D. Pack. Hanoverian 5th brigade, Colonel Vincke. REGIMENTS. 28th foot 32nd ditto . 79th ditto, 1st battalion 95th ditto, ditto . 1st ditto, 3rd ditto 42nd ditto, 1st ditto 44th ditto, 2nd ditto 92nd ditto M. B. Hameln Hildesheim . Peina . Giffhorn Total 6,815 The remainder of the reserve being composed of the sixth division, consisting of the 10th brigade, Major-general Lambers Hanoverian 4th brigade, Colonel Best 7th Brigade, Major-general Mackenzie 8th brigade 2,401 2,345 2,500 The Duke of Wellington being now con- fident in the opinion which he had formed of Napoleon's intended point of attack, ar- ranged his plans so as to co-operate with the movements of Blucher at Ligny. It may not be superfluous to state that the enemy's grand object at this period was, either to defeat the army of Wellington or that of Blucher before SIR THOMAS PICTON. 369 the one could receive any support from the other; or, failing in that object, to gain such a position between the two armies, that their communication should be cut off, and their junction rendered impossible. This was the basis of Napoleon's plans, and it was for the Duke of Wellington and Marshal Blucher to defeat them. The Duke of Wellington was convinced that the French would renew their attack on Blucher's position on the following day, the 16th. It would appear that he fully expected that the Prussians would be enabled to keep their ground; but, to guard against the acci- dents of war, the army of the Netherlands, con- sisting of between five and six thousand men, was ordered to march to Quatre Bras, while several other corps of the army were to move in the same direction. The fifth division was, however, to advance with the utmost expedition to support the army of the Netherlands, in case the French should attack the position at Quatre Bras. Upon receiving these orders, Sir Thomas Pic- ton hastened forward his troops ; and before morning they were all marching, full of confi- VOL. II. 2 B 370 THE LIFE OF dence and courage, towards the scene of ex- pected hostilities. Sir Thomas himself left Brussels just after daylight, accompanying the Duke of Wellington and his numerous staff. Picton was at this period in more than usually good spirits; and, as he passed through the city, seeing many of his old companions in arms, he accosted them in the most familiar and encou- raging manner. As had been anticipated, the French made an attack upon the troops of the Netherlands at Quatre Bras, first by skirmishing, in which the Belgians behaved with some degree of cou- rage. This commenced as early as five o'clock in the morning, and was continued without any more important movement or any decided success until the middle of the day : then the enemy, having sent fresh troops to support their advance, succeeded in forcing the Belgians to give way. But at this moment the British colours were seen waving in the distance, and the scarlet jackets hastening through the stand- ing corn. Sir Thomas Picton, as he approached the field with his division, had heard the continued and increasing fire kept up by the skirmishers, SIH THOMAS PICTON. 371 which made him push forward to the support of the Belgians, and by this means he succeed- ed in reaching Quatre Bras before any other British force. Nearly at the same time, how- ever, the first division of Brunswickers, led by the gallant duke, arrived to share with Picton and his soldiers the honour of arrest- ing the progress of the French in this first stage to Waterloo. The Prince of Orange was anxiously look- ing for the arrival of some of his allies, when he was gladdened by the spectacle of this re- inforcement pouring forward with steady but quick steps to relieve his almost exhausted troops. Before half-past two in the afternoon, fourteen thousand men were in the field. These consisted of Picton's division, six thousand eight hundred and fifteen ; first division of Brunswick Oels, five thousand ; one regiment of Brunswick cavalry, containing about nine hundred ; and the Second Belgian Hussars, amounting to one thousand two hundred men. The force which the enemy had now con- centrated to attack this position amounted to forty thousand men, under the intrepid Ney : the odds were therefore fearful ; but the firm- 2 B 2 372 THE LIFE OF ness of the allies was not shaken by the ported strength of their opponents. As the different regiments arrived on the ground, they instantly took up the posts to which they were directed by their respective commanders. Immediately the enemy perceived that this additional force had taken the field, Ney mov- ed down with two columns of infantry and a cloud of cavalry to the attack. The English and Brunswickers had but just taken up their ground, when they were exposed to a furious and galling fire from the immense park of artil- lery attached to this wing of the French army. The receding smoke showed the advancing co- lumns rushing on to break the line of the allies : the brunt of this movement fell upon Picton's soldiers, and " Sir Thomas Picton's ' superb di- vision' was singly engaged with the enemy for nearly two hours. Every man fought with a desperation which no language can describe." Picton was himself amongst his soldiers, calling upon them to stand firm and receive the ene- my with a steady front. A murderous conflict now commenced ; a rolling discharge of mus- ketry from Picton's line was answered with deadly rapidity and closeness by that of the SIR THOMAS PICTON. 373 French : the havoc was terrible ; but Picton was in the midst, watching the progress of the fight ; wherever death was thickest, there could he be seen encouraging exhorting the soldiers to be firm. After the French infantry had been repulsed, and before the heavy smoke had cleared off, the cavalry came thundering on. The English were instantly formed into squares to receive them. Upon the steadiness and celerity with which this was executed the safety of the men depended: then it was that Picton's calmness and penetration were conspicuous in watching and directing each movement ; before the French cavalry was upon them, the squares were closed up. " Another furious onset was then made by the Lancers, which obliged General Kempt to take refuge in the square ; but they again re- pulsed their assailants ; and at that moment Sir Thomas Picton riding up, ordered them to ad- vance, for the enemy were giving way. Pic- ton led them to the charge himself, and they drove the French from their position with great loss." * * Mudford. 174 THE LIFE OF In reference to this movement, and tne enemy's cavalry having surrounded the British squares; Captain Kincaid also makes the fol- lowing remarks:* " This was a crisis in which, according to Bonaparte's theory, the victory was theirs by all the rules of war, for they had superior numbers both before and behind us : but the gallant old Picton, who had been trained in a different school, did not choose to confine himself to rules in these matters. Despising the force in his rear, he advanced, charged, and routed those in his front ; which created such a panic amongst the others, that they galloped back through the intervals in his division, with no other object in view than their own safety." But the progress and result of this sanguinary preface to the battle of Waterloo are too well known to require repetition here. Towards evening fresh troops arrived at Quatre Bras, and the struggle w r as continued until dark with un- abated fury. The many heroic feats that were performed upon this memorable day are all recorded ; and never was the courage of our army more called for, and never was it more * Adventures of the Rifle Brigade. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 375 M brilliantly displayed, than in resisting the over- whelming numbers of the enemy. The vital importance of this point, by which the line of communication with Blucher and his army was maintained, rendered success of the utmost im- portance; and perhaps the Duke of Welling- ton could not have evinced more satisfactorily the high esteem in which he held the military judgment and skill of Sir Thomas Picton, than by appointing him to command the British forces at Quatre Bras ; and all who saw him upon that occasion concur in stating that his confidence was well placed. For awhile he was in chief command of the troops engaged in this battle ; for the Duke of Wellington, after having ordered the dispositions to receive the attack, rode across the country to Bry, to arrange with Blucher the subsequent move- ments of the allied armies. Marshal Ney, finding that he could not suc- ceed in forcing this position, at night desisted from the attack, and left the allies in quiet pos- session of the field which they had so nobly but dearly won ; and the living slept amidst five thousand of their dead and dying com- rades. The loss of the French was supposed 376 THE LIFE OF to have been much greater ; but the policy Napoleon would not allow of any returns being made, in fact, he boasted that he had gained a victory, that the vanquished English were flying before his victorious soldiers. While this battle was being fought by Ney at Quatre Bras, Napoleon himself was with the remainder of his army attacking the Prus- sians in the neighbourhood of Ligny, Bry, and Sombrel. Blucher and his soldiers fought long and bravely ; a mortal and personal en- mity appeared to exist between the two armies, for they slaughtered each other without mercy, neither asking nor giving quarter. The fight was continued with this sanguinary feeling from three in the afternoon until the approach of night, when the French succeeded in forcing the Prussian army to abandon the field. " The bulletins of the Emperor announced two victories of the most dazzling description as the work of the 16th. Blucher would be heard of no more, they said ; and Wellington, con- founded and amazed, was already within the jaws of ruin."* If anything could have removed the fatal * Life of Napoleon. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 377 presentiment of his approaching death, which still existed in the mind of Sir Thomas Pic- ton, it would have been his remarkable escape through the perils of the 16th. He observed to his aid-de-camp, Captain Tyler, that he never had had so hard a day's fighting; and added, " I shall begin to think that I cannot be killed after this." The night of the 16th was cold and wet ; but the exhausted troops slept soundly on the field of Quatre Bras. Towards daylight they were however aroused by some skirmishing between the outposts, and it was supposed that the enemy were about to renew the attack. The allies were soon under arms ; but no enemy was visible, and they in consequence proceeded to pay those attentions to the wounded which the darkness had prevented them from doing during the night. A great change was now made in the Duke of Wellington's plans. The defeat of the Prus- sians compelled him to fall back, in order to keep up his communication with Marshal Blucher ; who had instantly, after the reverse which his troops had experienced, despatched a courier to make the duke acquainted with 378 THE LIFE OF his future movements. The English genera] had brought up nearly the whole of his force to Quatre Bras ; but, upon receiving intima- tion of the defeat which the Prussians had sus- tained, a retrograde movement was ordered, and at ten o'clock on the morning of the 17th the allied forces were falling back upon the field of Waterloo. Sir Thomas Picton was much inconvenienced during this day for want of a horse : that which had carried him on the 16th was injured ; and as his staff servants, who were fresh from England, could not be found during the night, he was under the necessity of taking a trooper's horse ; and we are assured that the general was rid- ing about on the 17th upon a horse without a saddle ; while Captain Tyler, who was con- stantly with him during the whole of this day, was mounted on a pony with a halter. Towards night, however, the servants came back ; when the account which they gave of themselves caused the general and his staff no little amusement. Picton commenced re- primanding them in rather severe terms for presuming to leave the field ; but one of the men, who undertook to be spokesman on the SIR THOMAS PICTON. 379 occasion, explained their absence by saying, " About the middle of the battle of the day previous, the shot had flown about them so thick, although a good way in the rear, that they all agreed it was better to go farther off, for fear some of the horses should be hurt." This quite disarmed the general of his anger, and he laughed heartily at the simplicity of this careful guardian of his property. Before night the whole of the allied army was formed in position on the plains of Water- loo. The soldiers were ordered to sleep upon their arms; for it was known that Napoleon was now concentrating the whole of his force against this point, and a great battle was fully expected to take place on the morrow. But, as before observed, it is not our object to recapitulate the details of this eventful day ; although in order to follow the subject of this memoir to the termination of his glorious career it will be necessary to relate some few particu- lars immediately connected with that event. The tempestuous night of the 17th was pass- ed by both armies on the field, which were ex- posed to all its inclemency. Sir Thomas Pic- ton sought a few hours' repose in a small cot- 380 THE LIFE tage in the village of Waterloo ; and, for some time after the battle, his name was written in chalk upon the door : there he slept last ! The morning was wet ; but between nine and ten the weather became clear. Picton was on the field at daylight, watching the movements of the enemy, and making every preparation for the approaching conflict. He was con- stantly being recognised by some of his old soldiers, and many a hearty cheer welcomed him upon this last morning of his earthly ca- reer. He fully anticipated the stern nature of the battle which was about to ensue ; and doubt- less then felt that silent conviction on his mind which he had so often expressed, and which was so fatally realized within a few hours. At half-past eleven the battle began on the right by an attack on the Chateau of Hougou- mont. The obstinate defence of this building, together with the surrounding wood, is well known : this was, in fact, the key of the Bri- tish position, and its loss would consequently have exposed the whole line of the allies. Picton, with his " superb division," as it was justly called from being composed of some of the finest regiments in the army, was posted SIR THOMAS PICTON. 381 on the road to Wavre, behind a straggling hedge, which extended from the farm of La Haye Sainte to Ter la Haye. This hedge is called straggling, because it was broken, and in some parts nearly levelled with the ground ; and the troops were in consequence exposed to the attacks of cavalry, and not even pro- tected from the enemy's artillery. But Napoleon, finding so much difficulty in making any impression on the left of the allied position, now sent some heavy masses of infantry against the left of the centre, on the right of the road to Brussels. This force advanced, supported by about eighty pieces of artillery, which opened upon the British line. A brigade of Dutch formed Picton's centre; Sir James Kempt, with the Seventy- ninth, Twenty-eighth, and Thirty-second, on their right ; and Sir Dennis Pack, with the Scotch brigade, consisting of the Ninety-se- cond, Forty-second, Forty-fourth, and First, on their left ; and again, on the left of these regiments, the Hanoverian brigade, under Bri- gade-colonel Vincke. As the enemy's formid- able mass of infantry advanced against Picton's position, they were received with a most de- THE LIFE OF structive fire from the British artillery, which was ranged along the whole front of his line ; this swept down hundreds, but the columns still advanced. Some Belgian infantry were posted a short distance in front of the fifth division : Picton rather distrusted the steadi- ness of these troops : and about this period Captain Tyler, who was by his side when the French were coming up, observed, " I am sure, general, the Belgians will run." " Never mind," said he ; " they shall have a taste of it, at all events." The truth of Captain Tyler's remark was, however, immediately evident ; as the French no sooner came within musket range, than these troops fled with precipitation. And now came that contest in which Picton fell. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 383 CHAPTER XV. Battle of Waterloo. Death of Sir Thomas Picton. His concealment of a previous wound. Announcement of his death in the House of Commons. His body conveyed to England. The Funeral. National monument to the memory of Picton in St. Paul's Cathedral. Pillar erect- ed at Carmarthen to commemorate his services. THE French columns were marching close up to the hedge; the English advanced to meet them, and the muzzles of their muskets almost touched. Picton ordered Sir James Kempt's brigade forward ; they bounded over the hedge, and were received with a mur- derous volley. A frightful struggle then ensu- ed; the English rushed with fury upon their opponents, not stopping to load, but trusting solely to the bayonet to do their deadly work. The French fire had, however, fearfully thinned this first line, and they were fighting at least six to one. Picton, therefore, ordered General Pack's brigade to advance. With the exhilarat- 384 THE LIFE OF ing cry of " Charge ! Hurra ! hurra !" he place( himself at their head, and led them forward. They returned his cheer as they followed him with a cool determination, which, in the words of the Spanish chief Alava, " appalled the enemy." The general kept at the head of their line, stimulating them by his own example. Ac- cording to the Duke of Wellington's despatch, " This was one of the most serious attacks made by the enemy on our position." To de- feat it was therefore of vital importance to the success of the day. Picton knew this, and doubtless felt that his own presence would tend greatly to inspire his men with confi- dence. He was looking along his gallant line, waving them on with his sword, when a ball struck him on the temple, and he fell back upon his horse dead. Captain Tyler, seeing him fall, immediately dismounted and ran to his assistance : with the aid of a soldier he lifted him off his horse ; but all assistance was vain his noble spirit had fled. The rush of war had passed on, the contend- ing hosts had met, and none could be idle at such a moment. Tyler, therefore, placed SIR THOMAS PICTON. 385 the body of his lamented friend and ge- neral beneath a tree, by which he could readily find it when the fight was done ; and he rode forward to report to Sir James Kempt the loss which the army had sustain- ed. That general, as senior officer, imme- diately assumed the command of the division : but "Picton's intrepid example had done its work. Animated by their gallant chief, the men fought with a degree of fury which nothing could appal or resist : at one moment formed into squares, they received and repuls- ed the dreadful assaults of the lancers and cui- rassiers ; at another deploying into lines, their vigorous arm and undaunted courage drove back the enemy's masses at the point of the bayonet."* How the British fought, and how they conquered upon this day, is already fully re- corded upon the pages of many a history. As long as the name of Waterloo shall be repeated with national exultation, so long will Picton's death be remembered as one of the noblest of the sacrifices by which that victory was purchased. * Mudford. VOL. II. 2 C 386 THE LIFE OF When the sanguinary struggle had ceased, and the victorious English were called back to the field of battle, leaving the Prussians to pur- sue the enemy, Captain Tyler went in search of the body of his old general, with feelings which even the events of the day and its surrounding horrors could scarcely moderate. He found it easily. Upon examination, the ball was discovered to have entered near the left temple and passed through the brain, which must have produced instant dissolution : after this, meeting with some resistance, it glanced downwards, and was found just under the skin near the articulation of the lower jaw. Upon looking at the dress of Sir Thomas Picton in the evening of the 18th, a few hours after his fall, it was observed that his coat was torn on one side. This led to a further exami- nation, and then the truth became apparent : on the 16th he had been wounded at Quatre Bras ; a musket-ball had struck him and broken two of his ribs, besides producing, it was supposed, some internal injuries : but, ex- pecting that a severe battle would be fought within a short time, he kept this wound secret, lest he should be solicited to absent him- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 387 self upon the occasion. Regardless of every selfish consideration, he only divulged this se- cret to an old servant, with whose assistance he bound up the wound ; and then, with a com- mand over his feelings almost incredible, he continued to perform his arduous duties. The night of the 16th and the whole of the follow- ing day he was in constant activity. By the morning of the 18th the wound had assumed a serious aspect; but the assurance that the French were about to attack the British po- sition roused every energy of his almost ex- hausted frame ; he subdued his bodily anguish ; and when the moment came which called for his great example, the hand of death, which it is supposed was even then upon him from the wound alluded to, could not, while suffi- cient life yet remained, check for a moment his lofty courage. The following brief recapitulation of Sir Thomas Picton's death was made by General Gascoyne in the House of Commons on the night of the 29th of June : " In the battle of Quatre Bras, previous to the great victory of the 18th, he had been dangerously wounded. From the moment he 388 THE LIFE OF had left this country until he joined the army, he had never entered any bed he had scarcely given himself time to take any refreshment, so eager was he in the performance of his duty. After the severe wound which he had received, he would have been justified in not engaging in the action of the 18th. His body was not only blackened by it, but even swelled to a considerable degree : those who had seen it wondered that he should have been able to take part in the duties of the field. He had afterwards fallen gloriously at the head of his division, maintaining a position which, if it had not been kept, would have altered the fate of the day, and its issue might have been dif- ferent from that which now occasioned such well-founded rejoicings." In so bad a state was the wound which Picton had received on the 16th, that it was supposed that, from having been neglected, from the great personal exertions which he had gone through, and the excitement necessarily attendant upon so great a victory, the result would have been fatal, even had he escaped en- tirely on the 18th. Of Picton's four aides-de-camp, not one re- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 389 mained unhurt after this sanguinary battle : Captain Barrington Price was rode over by a charge of cuirassiers, and died a few months afterwards ; Captain Algernon Langton was wounded on the 16th, and on the 18th Cap- tain C. Chambers was killed ; Captain Tyler was also slightly wounded.* Picton's remains were conveyed to Brussels, where they were placed under a guard of ho- nour until Tyler received further orders respect- ing their destination. This was indeed a duty which called for all the fortitude of his nature ; * This officer experienced the following most singular and providential escape upon this occasion : Early in the morning of the 18th, Sir Thomas Picton, surrounded by his staff, was observing the movements of the French from a slight eminence near the position occupied by his division. This cavalcade of officers being observed by the enemy, they despatched a couple of guns in order to compel them to retire. After firing several rounds without any effect, or meeting with much attention, they at length succeeded in getting a better range. This was evinced by a shot strik- ing Captain Tyler's horse directly on the hind-quarters, shattering the unfortunate animal in the most distress- ing manner. Before, however, he had quite fallen, two musket-balls struck him, the one in the head, and the other in the shoulder. But, strange as it may appear, this was nearly all the injury which these shot did ; for Cap- tain Tyler escaped with a slight wound in the knee, and some severe bruises by the fall of his horse. 390 THE LIFE OF Sir Thomas Picton had been to him more than an officer. During the last years of the Penin- sular campaigns he had been constantly with him, his companion and friend: he had left England with him a few days before, full of life and energy he now lay before him a corpse. When it was known to the Duke of Wel- lington that the body of his old general was in Brussels, his grace directed that Tyler should convey it to England, where he expressed a wish that it might be received and interred with every honour due to his distinguished merit. Having received these instructions, Captain Tyler made every preparation for his melancholy journey. By slow steps he pro- ceeded to Ostend, where the cavalcade em- barked for England. When arrived in the Downs, so soon as it was known that the ship which carried her flag half-mast high bore the body of Sir Thomas Picton, every vessel there assumed the same funereal form ; and when the coffin was lowered into the boat to be conveyed ashore at Deal, the men-of-war fired minute- guns in honour of the dead. Upon reaching the land, a procession, formed of all the naval and SIR THOMAS PICTON. 391 military in the place, was waiting to receive the body and accompany it on the road to Can- terbury ; where, by a strange coincidence, the remains of Sir Thomas Picton were placed in the very same room at the Fountain Hotel in which he had that day fortnight been en- tertained by his friends. The funereal pall, surrounded by the war-worn veterans who had been selected for the guard of honour, seen in the faint glimmer which found its way through the closed shutters, this was the change which had come over the scene. On the whole line of road, wherever it was known that this mournful group was attend- ing the body of a Waterloo hero, and that that hero was Sir Thomas Picton, every means were employed to express the high sense enter- tained of his merits. When the body reached London, it was immediately conveyed to a house which he had long occupied, No. 21, Edward-street, Portman-square ; all the mem- bers of his family who could possibly attend being in town to receive it. It was moved by General Gascoyne in the House of Commons, that the ashes of Sir Thomas Picton should be deposited in St. 392 THE LIFE OF subject Paul's Cathedral; but 1 ed to drop. It was at length determined that the body should be interred in the family vault, in the burial-ground of St. George's Hanover -square ;* and so soon as this was made public, a great number of noblemen, of- ficers, and gentlemen, sent to announce their intention to follow the body to the grave. The funeral took place on the 3rd of July, and the body was followed by a vast concourse of people, the most profound silence reigning among the assembled multitude as the remains were lowered into the tomb. It now merely remains to observe, that his country, grateful for his services, resolved to raise a tablet to his memory, which should hand to posterity the estimation in which he was held. On the 29th of June 1815, Lord Castlereagh moved in the House of Commons, " That an humble address be presented to his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, that he will be graciously pleased to give directions that a national monument be erected in honour of * The burial-ground of this parish is situated in the Bays- water-road, a short distance from the end of Oxford-street. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 393 the splendid victory of Waterloo, and to com- memorate the fame of the officers and men of the British army who fell gloriously upon the 16th and 18th of the present month, and more particularly of Lieutenant-general Sir Thomas Picton and Major-general the Honourable Sir William Ponsonby." Mr. Wynne upon this remarked, that he " was anxious that distinct monuments should be erected to those two general officers who were mentioned in the motion ; especially when it was recollected what their services were, and in how many hard-fought battles they had participated." Lord Castlereagh warmly seconded the sug- gestion of the honourable member, observing, " that the House might readily accede to it, as they had only one object in view, that of distinguishing the eminent services of those lamented officers. He would, therefore, sub- join, as an amendment to the original motion, ' And that funeral monuments be also erected in memory of each of those two officers in the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, London/ " A monument was, in consequence, erected in the north-west transept of that cathedral, 394 THE LIFE OF having a bust of Picton on the summit of a marble column, with an emblematic group, consisting of Fame, Genius, and Courage ; the base bearing the following inscription : Erected at the public expense, To LIEUTENANT-GENERAL SIR THOMAS PICTON, K.G.C.B. Who, after distinguishing himself in the victories of Busacos, Fuentes de Onoro, Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Vittoria, the Pyrenees, Orthes, and Toulouse, Terminated his long and glorious military services In the ever-memorable battle of Waterloo, To the splendid success of which His GENIUS and VALOUR eminently contributed, On the xvin. of June M.DCCC.XV. But a still more costly edifice was some years afterwards erected at Carmarthen in comme- moration of the brilliant services of this distin- guished soldier. A subscription for this pur- pose was set on foot, and in a short time a sufficient sum was collected to construct a monument worthy of the name of Picton ; and amongst the earliest subscribers to this national undertaking was his Majesty King George IV. who directed the following gratifying com- munication to be forwarded to the treasurer : " Whitehall, May 5th, 1825. " DEAR SIR, " Inclosed I have the pleasure of sending you a draft for one hundred guineas, being the SIR THOMAS PICTON. 395 sum which the King has been graciously pleas- ed to contribute towards the erection of a monument at Carmarthen to the memory of Sir Thomas Picton. " His Majesty is gratified by this opportunity of marking the estimation in which he holds the name and services of that gallant and dis- tinguished officer. " I am, dear Sir, very faithfully yours, "ROBERT PEEL." " J. Jones, Esq. &c." On the 16th of August 1825, the first stone of this edifice was laid by Lady Dynevor.* This elegant structure was not completed until August 1828, when it was opened to public view ; the nobility and gentry of the sur- rounding country proceeding from the Guildhall for that purpose. On this occasion sixty Wa- terloo veterans carried silk banners, bearing in letters of gold the names of the different bat- tles in which the gallant Picton had fought, Upon the arrival of the procession at the co- lumn, the member for Carmarthen, J. Jones, Esq. addressed a few words to the assembled crowd, in allusion to the occasion. * See Appendix. THE LIFE OF Ireland's national bard, Moore, must have fitly appreciated the character of Picton, since he has in the following stanzas paid that tribute to his memory which, as in ancient times, was the poet's meed for heroic acts. Oh I give to the hero the death of the brave, On the field where the might Of his deeds shed a light Through the gloom which o'ershadows the grave. Let him not be laid on the feverish bed, There to waste through the day, Like a taper, away, And live till the spirit be dead. Oh no ! let him lie on Fame's deathbed of pride, On the hoof-beaten strand, With his sword in his hand, ,And a fresh welling wound in his side. No not with the stealth of disease should he die ; He should bound o'er the flood Of his fame and his blood, To the glory that waits him on high ! For the lifeblood whose stream to our country is given, In the pride of its worth Shall be hallowed on earth, And the soul shall be honoured in heaven. Such fate, gallant Picton ! was thine, when the few Who survived thee in fight Won the day by the light That thy deeds shed around Waterloo ! SIR THOMAS PICTON. 397 CONCLUSION. Character of Sir Thomas Picton. Anecdotes of him Character of Picton in a letter from the Duke of Wel- lington HAVING thus followed Sir Thomas Picton through his splendid career to his glorious death, it remains but to make a few remarks upon his character as a private man and as a soldier. In private life he was kind and generous, warm in his friendships, but strong in his en- mities. He had a strict sense of honour, which would not admit of the slightest misconstruc- tion or prevarication ; it was to him one straight line, from which he never swerved, even in thought. The artificial forms of society were in many instances too nearly allied to deception to meet with his approbation ; and this made his manners too unstudied and natural to be polite in the modern acceptation of the term. 398 THE LIFE OF In him there was no sacrifice of opinion or tacit acquiescence for the sake of obtaining favour. He was generous almost to a fault, and his purse was open to all who came with a tale of distress. A gentleman who knew Sir Thomas Picton intimately, and who does not hesitate to acknowledge that he was himself an object of his munificence, observes : " He was the most generous of men ; the warmth of his heart or the extent of his liberality knew no bounds ; but this only appeared to those be- neath him, together with the poor and miser- ableto these he was ever kind and consider- ate; while to rank or presumption he was unbending and uncompromising. But perhaps the extraordinary degree of feeling possessed by Sir Thomas Picton cannot be better illus- trated than by the following anecdote which came under my own observation. " I was one day riding with him on horseback a short distance out of town, when an Irish beggar-woman, with a child in her arms, came by the side of his horse, and commenced ask- ing alms in the usual dolorous tone of this class of mendicants. Our horses were walk- ing, and we were deeply engaged in conver- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 399 sation. I happened to know this woman's face, and had always strongly suspected that she was an impostor : so, seeing the general fix his eyes upon her with some degree of attention, I imagined that he was about to relieve her, and therefore expressed to him my suspicions ; upon which he desired her in rather a severe tone to be gone, and turning his head we continued our conversation. The woman, however, with national perseverance, still trudged on by the general's side, looking piteously up in his face, and pouring forth a strain of natural eloquence, depicting in strong colours a long train of miseries. I suspected my companion's attention was gradually leav- ing the subject of our discourse, as his re- plies lost much of their usual force, and he seemed absent. The woman (doubtless a bet- ter judge of the effect produced upon the ob- ject of her solicitation) opened a fresh battery, held up her babe, said she had four more at home unable to crawl from disease and starvation ; that her husband was dying on the floor, without a morsel of food or a soul to give him a drink of water, while she came out, half-mad, to rob or beg a few half-pence 400 THE LIFE OF to make his last moments comfortable. God knows, this tale might have been true ; it made me relent, and forget my suspicions ; but General Picton did more : the woman added something to what she had already said, I think, that her husband had been a soldier. The general had not uttered a word for nearly two minutes ; and as she continued heighten- ing the picture of her woes, I could perceive the blood rushing to his face, until no longer able to bear the contention of his feelings, and unwilling to believe all he had heard, he cried out in a most singular tone, as if almost stifled by the fulness of his breast, ' You lie! 9 threw her a piece of gold, and then, without any notice to me, put spurs to his horse, and it was some time before I could overtake him." It is unnecessary to multiply the instances which might be given in proof of the kindness and benevolence of Sir Thomas Picton's heart. In passion, the most humane man may inflict an injury ; his reason for the moment is estranged, and when he returns to himself he generally suffers more real pain than he has inflicted. Sir Thomas Picton was accused of possessing a cruel disposition. Those who knew him best SIR THOMAS PICTON. 401 are most thoroughly convinced that such an accusation is wholly unfounded. A great and apparent change was however produced upon the character of Picton by the incidents of his life ; he was naturally candid, open, and confiding, thinking every man as honourable as himself. But his disposition underwent a change in consequence of the persecution he had to endure ; and its long continuance caused in him a moroseness foreign to his nature, which was rather increased by the scanty reward bestowed upon his services. Had there been the least disposition to cruelty in the breast of Sir Thomas Picton, it is only reasonable to suppose that it would have been augmented by the severe mortifications and injustice to which he had been subjected ; but this was not the case. Whenever a city or for- tress was taken, his indefatigable exertions to save the unfortunate inhabitants from the law- less soldiery are well known by all who served under his command : upon all these occasions he appeared to make their cause his own, and he frequently risked his own life in order to save that of others. To his men he was always kind and considerate; and some old soldiers VOL. II. 2 D 402 THE LIFE OF who are still enjoying the comforts of Chelsea Hospital, and who served under him, yet re- member and speak of him in the most gratifying terms for his general attention to their comforts.* Perhaps the disposition was never more strongly portrayed in the expression of the countenance than in that of Sir Thomas Picton. Lavater would have pointed to him as an evi- dence of the truth of his system. Firmness, penetration, courage, honour, and decision, were * One of them, who was a Serjeant in the Forty-fifth, thus spoke of him. " General Picton, or ' old Picton,' as we used to call him, was always very well liked by the division : he was very strict sometimes in particular about any little bit of plun- der that the men would sometimes pick up ; and he used always to be talking about how wrong it was to take from the poor people because the countries happened to be at war. He used to have the men flogged when they were found out : but when he flogged, many others took life ; so our fellows always thought ' old Picton' a very kind general. Besides this, the men always thought he had their welfare at heart ; for every soldier in the division knew that if he had anything to complain of, * old Picton' would listen to him, and, if he could, set him right. As to his fighting, I always thought that it was he who made the third division what it was. Somehow the men never used to trouble their heads about anything but fighting when they went into battle; for they all depended so entirely upon the general to know what the enemy was doing in our front and on our flanks, that they never bothered their heads about anything Sill THOMAS PICTON. 403 strongly marked when his features were in a quiescent state; while energy, candour, sym- pathy, and benevolence, were by turns expressed in the features as these qualities arose in the mind. But in moments of excitement, when the fiery temperament of his nature was called forth, his whole countenance betrayed the over- whelming influence of passion ; and he then gave utterance to a storm of bitter reproofs, but what he ordered them to do ; and I really think, if the general had placed himself in the thickest fire we were ever in, that, so long as he remained, his division would have stayed with him to a man." Another, who served during the whole time that Picton commanded the third division, takes particular delight in repeating the following incident. He had told it over and over again in the guard-room as his tale, and dwells upon it now as the only instance in which he was thrown in immediate communication with his general. It is here given in his own words. His name is Jonathan Reynolds. " I was a serjeant in the Fifth foot. One day, while we were in the Pyrenees, there was a general movement in the whole army. The captain of my company, Captain Cui- ley, commanded the light companies of the Fifth, Eighty- third, and Eighty-seventh regiments. We were lying under some heights, when our general, Sir Thomas Picton, came up. After looking about him for a moment, he desired Captain Culley to send a serjeant and six file round a corner that hid us from the enemy. I was ordered upon this duty ; and Sir Thomas Picton spoke to me before I went, and told me not upon any account to let my men fire, and to keep as much under cover as possible. He then told the captain, 2 D 2 404 THE LIFE OF which, for a while, subdued the most disorderly to good behaviour. With a disposition so frank and generous, great natural abilities, a strong desire for infor- mation, tenacious memory, and an eloquent flow of language, it will readily be believed that he must have been an ornament to social life: in fact, he has left a most enviable im- pression ; and all who knew him, now speak that as soon as the signal gun had fired, he was to advance with the three companies and carry a hill occupied by the French just round the corner where I was to be posted : and before he went away he said to Captain Culley, that he should be there himself in about half-an-hour. l Oh, then,' said my captain, who was a droll old soldier, * I suppose I must be there in a quarter of an hour to get things ready for you.' The general smiled and then rode off. When I and my men had got round the corner, we could see a num- ber of French officers reconnoitring on the hill. But the signal gun soon fired, and the companies advanced, when we fell in, and soon drove the enemy from their position. There was very little to do ; and we only lost one man, a corporal of the Eighty-seventh, besides a bugle-man wounded. We drove the enemy above a mile and a-half, and halted near three houses, the Ca^adores having come up with us. When Sir Thomas Picton and his staff arrived, Captain Culley spoke to him just by me, and said, ' General, my three com- panies have done all the work : I hope you will give them comfortable quarters.' * Well, Culley/ said the gallant old general, ' there are three houses, put a company into each- that 's the best I can do for you.' " SIR THOMAS PICTON. 405 of his loss with strong feelings of regret. We cannot better conclude these remarks than by quoting the following corroboration of our opinion by a distinguished officer, to whom we are greatly indebted for many interesting par- ticulars of his life. " Sir Thomas Picton was uniformly so kind to me during frequent, and sometimes prolong- ed, occasions of intercourse in Spain, that I cannot fail bearing him in the most affectionate remembrance. I feel also on higher grounds than personal sentiments, the strongest reason to respect his character as that of a thorough good man and soldier. A very wrong impres- sion was formed of him by the world in general. He had certainly but little of the courtier about him ; but an abruptness of manner was added to, in effect, by a rigid countenance and appear ance, which amounted to roughness and to a seeming hardness of disposition ; yet there never was a man more thoroughly kind-hearted and benevolent." The abilities of General Picton as a soldier are attested by actions which need no commen- tary ; but it is justly observed that " any of- ficer, however high his rank or great his abili- 406 THE LIFE OF ties, who served under the command of the Duke of Wellington, must necessarily have been obscured by the lustre of his grace's fame ;" and this reflection may justify a few observations upon the military character of Sir Thomas Picton. As remarked in the course of this memoir, General Picton had made the art of war his principal study ; but this alone would never have made him what he was, one of the most distinguished officers under the Duke of Wel- lington's command ; in fact, as he was some- times styled, " his right hand'' A strong power of combination, great foresight, calm judgment* unshaken nerve, and undaunted courage ;* these were the qualities, which fitted him so ad- mirably for the profession which he had chosen, and which enabled him to reach that eminence * The following anecdote of Sir Thomas Picton has re- cently appeared in a periodical publication. " Sir Thomas Picton went to witness the exhibition of Ire- land (the famous gymnast) throwing a somerset over a dozen grenadiers, standing at ' present arms/ with fixed bayonets: but when he saw the men placed, he trembled like a leaf, and kept his head down whilst Ireland jumped; nor did he look up until he had first asked, ' Has he done it ?' when assured he had, he said, * A battle is nothing to that.' " SIR THOMAS PICTON. 407 which mere study and experience could never otherwise attain. " He had," observes one who knew him long, and had many opportunities of observing the bent of his disposition, " a firm- ness of mind, independent of animal courage, which was remarkably striking. The train of his ideas, for instance, was always turned, even in the hours of greatest difficulty, rather upon the enterprises which we could undertake against the enemy, than upon the injury which they could do to us ; and his actions, if in chief command, would have been more offensive than defensive." The remarks made by Colonel Napier upon the military abilities of Sir Thomas Picton, are certainly not supported by the evidence of his actions. Colonel Napier desiring to draw a comparison between Picton and Crawfurd, first proves that they were composed of such con- flicting elements that they did not often meet without a quarrel, and then he implies that they were each compared to the Duke of Wellington by some ignorant people. It must be obvious to every military reader, that in no one respect could any comparison obtain be- tween Generals Picton and Crawfurd. The lat- 408 THE LIFE OF ter was impetuous and headstrong ; the former calm and reflective. The commander of the forces had the most perfect reliance on Sir Thomas Picton for fulfilling his orders ; but perhaps the words of a gallant and distinguished officer, who was intimately acquainted with Sir Thomas Picton, will more satisfactorily express this confidence. Extracts have already been given from this officer's correspondence ; and it may here be observed, that the situation in which he was placed was one which gave him a favourable opportunity for remarking the in- tercourse which subsisted amongst the respec- tive generals. He says, " It was the common opinion that the Duke of Wellington and Sir Thomas Picton did not get on smoothly to- gether when they happened to have personal intercourse, which was seldom. I cannot vouch for the fact, but can readily believe it, from the habitual frankness with which Sir Thomas would offer his opinion, without respect to per- sons. I know, however, the high sense he en- tertained of the talents and character of the great commander, and I am satisfied that the Duke had a most favourable opinion of the merits of Sir Thomas Picton as a general and SIR THOMAS PICT' 409 soldier ; indeed, nothing could exceed the zeal with which he carried the orders that he re- ceived into execution; this was not, however, done to the letter, but to the spirit, when he was quite sure what that spirit was." Xo person who has read Colonel Napier's admirable history, can pretend that such obser- vations could with the least shadow of justice be applied to the character of the intrepid Crawfurd. How little would they accord with the actions which are related of, and the dis- position which is attributed to, that general by the author of that work ! Sir Thomas Picton was remarkable for calm judgment and im- movable resolution when in the field ; and this it was which produced the remark from Lord Liverpool, that " the conduct of General Pic- ton had inspired a confidence in the army, and exhibited an example of science and bravery which had been surpassed by no other officer." Without the slightest intention to depreciate the merits or abilities of General Crawfurd, it must be acknowledged that the army had not, and never could have had, a similar confidence in him. His impetuosity and fiery temperament, together with his thoughtless 410 THE LIFE OF daring, would have rendered him a very unfit officer to command an army ; for Colonel Na- pier well knows that a general-in-chief must possess some other qualifications besides mere courage, and that prudence and judgment are indispensably necessary to inspire confidence in the minds of his soldiers. By Colonel Napier's own showing, General Crawfurd did not disco- ver either of these qualifications, as will readi- ly be seen by a reference to those pages in the Colonel's own history which record General Crawfurd's proceedings on the Coa,* at Alern- quer when falling back upon the lines,f and at El Bodon4 Colonel Napier has himself ven- tured to censure Crawfurd for his spirited though ill-judged proceedings upon these occa- sions ; whereas, in candour and justice, he must acknowledge that he could not find in the course of Sir Thomas Picton's military career any one act which did not call for eulogium ; and yet Colonel Napier says, " they were both officers of mark and pretension ;" and imme- diately afterwards remarks that " Crawfurd was more so than Picton, because the latter * Chap. iv. vol. iii. f Vol. iii. p. 349. t Vol. iii. p. 241. SIR THOMAS PICTON. 411 never had a separate command, and his oppor- tunities were necessarily more circumscribed." It is perfectly true that Picton had not equal opportunities with Crawfurd; but it may be safely asserted that, had he been placed at Coa in the same situation, and with the same orders as Crawfurd possessed, he would not have acted in such a manner as to call forth the just re- proof which Colonel Napier has thrown upon the conduct of that officer. This remark is not made without proof. It has already been fully established by many in- stances of masterly judgment, foresight, and determination, far removed from ill-judged im- petuosity, or untimely daring. It may not be superfluous to recapitulate these instances, his foresight at Busacos his calmness and masterly skill at El Bodon his persevering resolution and heroism at Badajoz his intrepid advance, now bearing the enemy back, and then checking his impetuous troops until his flanks were covered, at Vittoria his able gene- ralship on the Pyrenees, in checking the ad- vance of Soult ; nay, even his attack, and timely retreat at Toulouse ; and, last of all, when on the "red field of Waterloo" he fell, in the Duke of Wellington's own words, while " gloriously leading his division to a charge with bayonets, in which one of the most serious attacks made by the enemy on our position was defeated." These brilliant services will place the character and military abilities of Sir Thomas Picton in a far more elevated position than they could possibly have attained by the comparison which Colonel Napier has instituted with General Crawfurd. This is not the only instance of erroneous judgment which Colonel Napier manifests as regards the character of Sir Thomas Picton; he asserts that he was " inclined to harshness, and rigid in command." " Where others took life for offences against military discipline, our general only flogged/' was the remark of several of the old soldiers of the " third division." Each of these veterans had served long under Picton's command, and it is certain that better evidence could not be obtained of the feelings and opinions of this class of the army. Picton acquired a lasting place in the hearts of his soldiers : true, he was severe in enforcing a strict attention to the duties of the field, at SIR THOMAS PICTON. 413 the same time that he punished any offenders who were found committing depredations upon the peaceful and unoffending inhabitants.* * The following anecdote has been reported of Sir Thomas Picton : " During the Peninsular war, when provisions were rather difficult to be obtained, a young and dandified commissary had been instructed to supply the rations for the third division at a given place by a certain time ; but by some mismanagement this officer forgot to fulfil his engage- ment, and the division was in consequence left to its own resources, which were bad enough. A report of this neg- lect was brought to General Picton, and he forthwith sent for the commissary. " Well, sir," commenced Picton, as he came in, " where are the rations for my division ?" This being the very question that the commissary was not prepared to answer, he hesitated for a short time, and then stam- mered out some well-worn excuse. Picton was not, how- ever to be cajoled by excuses while his men were kept with empty stomachs ; so he led the alarmed commissary to the door, and pointing, said, " Do you see that tree ?" " Yes, sir," was the reply. " Well now," continued Picton, " if you don't get the rations for my division at the place mentioned by twelve o'clock to-morrow, I will hang you up there at half- past." He was then released, when he proceeded forthwith to Lord Wellington, and told him, with an appearance of injured dignity, of General Picton's threat; but the commis- sary was dreadfully alarmed when his lordship coolly re- marked, " Ah ! he said he 'd hang you, did he ?" " Yes, my lord." " Well, if General Picton said so, I dare say he will keep his word. You 'd better get the rations up in time." Further advice was unnecessary the rations were there to the moment. 414 THE LIFE OF Colonel Napier also asserts that Picton was " prone to disobedience, yet exacted entire sub- mission from inferiors." The character of Sir Thomas Picton appears to have been totally misunderstood by Colonel Napier. This is per- haps as severe a charge as can be brought against the character of a soldier. Severe, however, as it is, we would not attempt, solely upon our own judgment, to vindicate Sir Thomas Picton, or to deny the justice of Colonel Napier's asser- tion : there is indeed no necessity for this ; for the opinions of many officers, who served with him, completely refute this accusation ; and their testimony is confirmed by Picton's whole career. There can be little doubt but that this erroneous impression of his character had its foundation in the manner in which he carried his orders into execution," not to the letter, but to the spirit 9 when he was quite sure what that spirit was." If at any time he saw what he conceived to be a favourable oppor- tunity for extending the letter of his instruc- tions, he never hesitated to avail himself of it, and by this means he frequently did more than he was expected to do, but never less ; but this surely cannot be designated " disobedience." SIR THOMAS PICTON. 415 At the battle of Vittoria, it may be remem- bered, that he acted almost entirely upon his own responsibility ; still he did not disobey the orders of the commander of the forces, simply because he had received none; and he there only anticipated the time of his movement, be- cause he considered the moment favourable, and the result proved the soundness of his judgment. Had Lord Wellington ordered him not to advance, and he had afterwards done so, then indeed that would have been an act of disobedience ; but whenever General Picton received any orders either to advance or retreat, he in every instance on record strict- ly obeyed them ; if, having no positive instruc- tions, he thought he could obtain any impor- tant advantages, he invariably availed himself of the opportunity. That Sir Thomas Picton exacted entire sub- mission from inferiors, as a trait in the cha- racter of an officer, would not call for any remark ; but, when coupled with the former charge of " disobedience," it implies an unjust and tyrannical disposition. An accusation has been brought against Sir Thomas Picton with much injustice and acri- 416 THE LIFE OF mony, of having neglected the interest of his offi- cers, by not reporting their services to the com- mander of the forces. When considering this accusation, the unbending disposition of Sir Thomas Picton must be borne in mind, for we know that the opinion entertained by near- ly all the officers of the third division, who served under General Picton, is decidedly in opposition to this assertion. It was in fact generally believed that Sir Thomas Picton had every inclination to reward the services of his officers, and to advance their interests. It was also known that he made frequent represen- tations to the commander of the forces in favour of his officers ; but these were seldom successful: and this circumstance, it is said, pro- duced so unfavourable an effect upon his proud spirit, that at length he ceased any longer to ap- ply in that quarter, and in future addressed his application solely to the commander-in-chief. We are enabled to offer one, and that a striking proof, that General Picton did not neglect nor forget the interests of those who served under his command. Colonel Macpher- son, whose name has been before mentioned in these volumes, was at the close of the war in SIR THOMAS PICTON. 417 1814 still a lieutenant ! A noble independence prevented him from soliciting promotion, and he thought that his services ought to ensure for him some unasked reward. He was un- known to Sir Thomas Picton in any other way than as a deserving soldier : upon three separate occasions he had been thrown in the path of his general, fresh from some daring achievement, and Picton never allowed early merit to pass unnoticed, nor, if he could help it, unrewarded. He had made repeated applications for his pro- motion, but without success. The last occasion upon which Macpherson had seen Sir Thomas Picton was at Bordeaux, when he was suffering severely from a wound received at the battle of Orthes. Picton invit- ed him to dinner, when, although much de- bilitated, he accepted the general's invitation. He was taken ill whilst at table, and was compelled to retire ; Picton would not, how- ever, allow him to leave the house, but in- sisted upon his taking up his quarters in his own apartment, and sent at once for his bag- gage. In a few days after this, Sir Thomas Picton embarked for England, but before his departure he recommended Macpherson to the VOL. n. 2 E 418 THE LIFE OF care of Lord Dalhousie, who was then com- manding the British troops in the town. Macpherson neither saw nor heard anything more of General Picton for some time. He applied to the War Office for a company, sup- porting his application by a memorial, which recorded a list of services that equalled those of any officer of his years, and surpassed those of many a veteran ; and upon this he depended for success ; but a cold official reply was the only notice taken of either his letter or me- morial. The young soldier felt acutely this neglect, and in consequence actually contemplated re- tiring from the army. About this period, as he ,was walking one day along Pall Mall, he saw Sir Thomas Picton coming towards him, with several other officers. This was some months after his departure from Bordeaux. Macpherson hesitated to address his general : he thought, to use his own words, " that now Sir Thomas Picton was in London, surround- ed by so many men of equal rank, he would wish to avoid a humble lieutenant." Accord- ingly, as the general approached, he made no attempt to stop him. Picton had not, appa- SIR THOMAS PICTON. 419 rently, seen him, for he was deeply engaged in conversation ; and Macpherson was passing him, as he thought, unnoticed. But Picton seized his arm, and in his sharp though friend- ly manner exclaimed, " D e, sir ! are you going to cut me ?" The lieutenant was startled ; but immediately collecting himself, bowed and observed, " No, sir ; any officer who served under Sir Thomas Picton's command would be proud in the honour of being recognised by him. But I thought," added the lieu- tenant, " you might have forgotten me." " Forgotten you !" repeated Picton : " No ! no! sir, I have not forgotten you. But come along, sir," and he took his arm ; " come home with me, I have got something I want you to copy." Macpherson accordingly walked to the Grosvenor Coffee-house with the general, who, upon entering his room, bade him be seated, when he presently put in his hands a paper for his perusal. This was a memorial of Lieu- tenant Macpherson's services, drawn up with much care, and dictated by a tenacious me- mory. In fact, every incident of the intrepid career of the young soldier was there set forth in the most forcible language. 420 THE LIFE OF Macpherson was greatly surprised at this marked instance of friendly consideration, and expressed his acknowledgments in the most grateful terms. But Picton did not want thanks, neither would he have them; but, stopping him short, he desired that he would without delay transcribe that paper into a more legible text, that he might at once send it to the Horse Guards. A few days after this, Lieutenant Macpherson called upon Sir Tho- mas, at his desire, to know the result of his application. He found the general foaming with rage, with a letter crumpled violently in his hand. " There, sir, read that !" he said, at the same time giving Macpherson the mu- tilated letter to peruse; "there is an answer to my application." It did not take long to read. The lieutenant knew it by heart; it being, in fact, a secretary's circular. " No vacancy," but "shall be appointed to the first vacancy. Your obedient, humble servant," &c. Picton thought, and justly, that he deserved something more than this; his proud spirit could not submit to repeat his applications to the commander of the forces sufficiently often to render them successful ; for certain SIR THOMAS PICTON. it is, that very few of those for whom he ap- plied received any reward through his inter- cession. His application was now, however, made where he had a right to expect some- thing more than the formal reply which would be deigned to a subaltern. Dissatisfied and annoyed, he told Macpherson to accompany him to the Horse Guards, when, as it was levee-day, he was readily admitted into the Duke of York's presence: the substance of his remarks during this interview are not known, for Macpherson was not present. The result was, however, soon apparent ; for with- in a week from that day the lieutenant was gazetted as a captain, and received instruc- tions to repair to Chatham to raise a company, there being actually at the time no vacancy. The well-known sense of justice and considera- tion for merit which distinguished that zealous public servant the late Duke of York, doubt- less upon this occasion operated powerfully in behalf of Macpherson, and rendered Sir Thomas Picton's application successful.* * We gladly avail ourselves of the permission of the able writer, to insert the following sketch of the charac- ter of the gallant general, which appeared in the Metro- politan Magazine for December 1835. 422 THE LIFE OF Having discussed the military and private character of the subject of this work, we " When Picton fell, England lost a soldier never surpass, ed in bravery, and seldom equalled in genius. He was a soldier every inch of him ; his character as such was never mistaken as that of a man, greatly. His country appeared to know him only when it lost him, and the revulsion in his favour became as great, as was formerly the prejudice against him. That he was a man of the kindliest disposition, the numerous instances narrated in these volumes, and the still more numerous ones with which we were ourselves acquainted, evidently prove. But early in his career, he had been misrepresented by many, and most foully slandered by a base few. The few obtained a temporary credence, and then Thomas Picton coated his heart with a mail, not impenetrable, as a thousand instances show, but which opposed a harsh and hard exterior to most, whilst all was generous and soft within. " His galling early injuries had turned his manly firmness into sternness, and his features in some measure were a reflection of his character, at least to the stranger. What he was, even in his looks to his intimate friends, they alone know, and for them it would be bootless to tell. Many of the bosoms that he gladdened are now mouldering in their graves, and the few that remember him in the hours of domestic relaxation, are now content to view him only in the light of an unapproachable star of the first magni- tude in the galaxy of British military glcry. " Many pages of these Memoirs are occupied in disprov- ing invidious charges brought against him on many mili- tary subjects. We think that his elaborate justifications were needless, and we would have had them omitted, as they reflect so little honour upon the distinguished characters SIR THOMAS PICTON. 423 cannot close the memoir more happily than by inserting the following letter from the Duke of Wellington. To H. B. ROBINSON, ESQ. " London, August 28th, 1835. " DEAR SIR, " I have received your letter, and I have the greatest satisfaction in giving you the as- surance, that not only I was not on bad terms that have brought them forward. Not only was he not indifferent to the interests of those who, under him, dis- tinguished themselves by their merits, but extremely though not importunately zealous. Picton become importunate ! there seems an absurdity in the very idea, a palpable ca- tachresis. A man who commanded so much awe by the strength of his character, could not possibly win a favour by the smile of sycophancy. Yes, he was the steel upon which men rely in the hour of peril ; not the jewelled bauble to be praised and fondled in the period of enervation and luxury. Unfortunately for the brave, appointments are no longer bestowed and honours granted in the battle-field still slippery with gore ; but in the essenced hall, and in the courtly chambers, among silken parasites and luxuri- ous hangers-on. Had the former been the case, how many of Picton's gallant companions of his brilliant third division would have now, if living, stood high on the army list! Alas! the stern brave warrior could only show them how to gain glory they gained that, and but little else. 424 THE LIFE OF with the late Sir Thomas Picton, but that in the whole course of the period during which I was in relation with him, I do not recollect even a difference of opinion, much less anything of the nature of a quarrel. " My first acquaintance with Sir Thomas Picton was when he joined the army in the Peninsula as a general officer on the staff. I had solicited his appointment, because I enter- tained a high opinion of his talents and qua- lities, from the report which I had received of both from the late General Miranda, who had known him in the West Indies. I never had any reason to regret, on the contrary, I had numberless reasons to rejoice, that I had so- licited his appointment. It was made at a moment at which an unmerited prejudice ex- isted against Sir Thomas Picton, the recollec- tion of which was effaced by his services. " I afterwards solicited his appointment to the staff of the army in Flanders ; than which I cannot give a stronger proof, not only of my sense of his merits and former services, but likewise that I never was otherwise than on the best terms with him. The country was deprived of his valuable services on a glorious SIR THOMAS PICTON. 425 field of battle, in a short time after be joined tbe army ; and tbere was no individual in tbat army or in England who lamented his loss more sincerely that I did. " I have the honour to be, Dear Sir, " Your most obedient humble servant, " WELLINGTON." APPENDIX. No. I. Port of Spain, 25th May 1798. SlR, Previous to your excellency's departure for Eng- land, I feel myself called upon to furnish you with such details and information respecting this island and the neighbouring continent, as may enable his Majesty's ministers to judge of the means necessary to be em- ployed for the attainment of the objects they may have in view. This island, possessing the most extensive, and perhaps one of the best and finest harbours in all America, wholly free from hurricanes, (the effects of which are so dreadful in all the other West India ports,) is so situated as to command the commerce of an immense continent, extending from the banks of the Rio de los Amazones to those of La Madalina, in- cluding the rich provinces of Guiana, Barinas, Santa Fe, Venexuela, Caraccas, and Cumana, with which there are navigable communications by means of the different rivers, which, traversing those extensive coun- tries, at length lose themselves in the great river Oro- noque, which discharges itself into the Gulf of Paria, by a number of small canals, navigable by vessels draw- ing from ten to twelve feet water, and by one large channel (capable of receiving frigates) opposite the north-east point of Trinidad. 428 APPENDIX. The island has also a communication with the in- terior of the province of Cumana, by the navigable river of Guarapiche, which also falls into the Gulf of Paria. These provinces are inhabited by Spaniards from Europe, who generally hold all offices and employments under government ; Creoles, or such as are descendants of Spanish settlers ; Indians, who are collected in mis- sions, and kept in the profoundest ignorance by their Capuchin governors ; Negroes, and a mixed race, re- sulting from the communication of all the others : the latter class and the Indians are by far the most nu- merous. Throughout these fine provinces the oppressions and exactions of the persons entrusted with the government have totally annihilated all enterprise and industry ; and the inhabitants of all orders are reduced to the most pitiable state of misery. They are entirely with- out manufactures of any kind, and now wholly depend upon the stranger for everything they wear. The usual intercourse between the mother-country and the colonies being almost entirely cut off by the war, the inhabitants of these countries are literally in want of everything. I know a gentleman of the province of Cumana who has 30,000 head of horned cattle, and is in absolute want of a coat. The government, possessing no public force to com- pel obedience, and having entirely lost the confidence of the people, keeps up its authority by arming every individual against his neighbour, ordering every subject to seize another carrying on a prohibited trade, and to kill him in case of resistance; and authorising him to apply whatever he may so seize to his own use, as a APPENDIX. 429 reward. Corrupted by these means, every person is sus~ picious of his neighbour, and regards him as a spy and informer ; so that they appear more a set of insulated individuals than a nation. They however agree, op- pressors and oppressed, that nothing can be more vex- atious and corrupt than the government they live under, or more deplorable than their own situation ; and every individual, with the exception only of those who, placed in the highest offices of administration, have the means of oppressing and plundering the in- ferior ones, looks forward to a deliverance from some foreign hand with a degree of confident hope. They have not yet been able to recover from the habitual dread of a sanguinary government, and are of themselves incapable of an independent, unassisted struggle to subvert it. Conscious of a want of union and energy, weak and defenceless as they know their government to be, they acknowledge themselves in- capable of any enterprise against it, unless favoured by the countenance of some foreign power. What I have the honour to propose is not in the nature of a conquest, difficult and expensive to be main- tained. I have to submit to your excellency, for the consideration of his Majesty's ministers, a plan which has for its object the opening an immense commerce to the industry of his Majesty's subjects, and securing them advantages of an incalculable value, to be obtained by no other means. The town of Cumana is centrically situated, so as easily to communicate with the province of Guiana on the one hand, and that of Caraccas on the other, with the intermediate towns of Barcelona and Cariacco. The town itself is capable of no defence, being open on all 430 APPENDIX. sides, and will probably be evacuated on the first ap- pearance of a force ; at least, such was the determi- nation some months ago. If about three thousand troops could be collected, with a sixty-four gun ship, a frigate, and some forty- four, or India transports, to make an appearance or impression for a squadron would be no otherwise use- ful I would propose immediately taking possession of Cumana. The public mind has long since been pre- pared, and the people in general look forward to it as the most favourable event which can befall them. The prejudices against the English nation, which the govern- ment had sedulously cultivated by every species of misrepresentation and artifice, have happily been dissi- pated by the extensive communication and intercourse they have had with this island since the conquest- The governor has no regular force, and the militia have repeatedly signified that they would not expose their families and property by an unavailing resistance. I have also had an opportunity latterly of learning the spirit of the Capuchins, who are determined to keep their Indians entirely out of the business, and capi- tulate for their missions. I have seen a letter from one of the principals of that order, giving such advice to the missioners governing the dependant missions. The government has latterly betrayed considerable jealousy of the authority which this order has acquired amongst the Indians ; and the Fathers, recollecting the fate of the Jesuits in Paraguay, appear a little suspicious of their intentions ; and this has in a considerable degree loosened their attachment. A declaration that the in- tentions of his Majesty are to give the inhabitants of South America an opportunity of asserting their claim APPENDIX. 431 to an independent government and free trade, will, I am convinced, decide them at once to forsake a go- vernment which has energy only to oppress them ; and the situation of the neighbouring provinces, long in a state of revolt, affords reasonable grounds to think that it will become the centre of a general movement, which might there be left to itself, and would only require occasional supplies of arms and ammunition. The expense of the expedition I propose would, com- paratively, be very inconsiderable. It will not be ne- cessary to employ horses or pioneers, and the ordnance necessary would be a few light field-pieces only. The principal objects to be attended to will be arms for cavalry and infantry, for the purpose of arming the inhabitants, and a liberal supply of ammunition. There is a native of Caraccas, I understand, now in London, (Miranda,) who might be useful on this occa- sion : not that he possesses a great local knowledge, or has any considerable connexions, being the son of a shop- keeper of Caraccas who left the country at a very early period ; but as a native of the country, who has made himself a good deal talked of, he might fix the atten- tion of those people, and thereby make himself service- able. For reasons very obvious, I would advise his not being consulted on the business, or acquainted with it, until the moment of execution. The beginning of November will be the best time for an expedition to that part of the Main : the dry weather sets in much sooner there than in the islands. The situation is re- markably dry and healthy. The expedition should go down immediately to its object, without stopping at Trinidad, which would in a certain degree indicate the point menaced : but it 432 APPENDIX. will be necessary to apprise me early of the intention, as the success will in a great measure depend upon the previous steps I may take to secure it. I have a person perfectly master of the Spanish lan- guage, who can prepare all the necessary declarations and papers. A subordinate expedition might be undertaken from Trinidad, with five or six hundred men, up the river Guarapiche, which would essentially contribute to the complete success of the undertaking : and this might be performed without any additional expense, as I should be able to provide the vessels necessary for their trans- port on the spot. Having now sufficiently enlarged on this subject, and furnished your excellency with materials to form your own opinion from, I shall take my leave, with an as- surance that a doubt does not exist in my mind re- specting the success of the expedition I have the honour of recommending ; and which, if entrusted to the com- mand of an officer of prudence and conduct, cannot fail to produce the most extensive and important advan- tages. I have the honour to be, &c. (Signed) THOMAS PICTON. To his Excellency Lieutenant-general Cuyler, Commander-in-chief, West Indies. 433 APPENDIX, No. II. PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMISSIONERS AND COUNCIL IN CON- SEQUENCE OF MR. BLACK'S DECLARATION. First Upon motion made and seconded, Resolved, That the first Commissioner, Colonel William Fullar- ton, in taking possession of the criminal records depo- sited in the office of Francisco de Castro, (a public scrivener, and regidor of Cabildo, one of the public archives of this colony,) without the knowledge and consent of Brigadier-general Picton and Commodore Hood, (as declared by them at this board,) both being present in the government, and without giving a receipt or specific acknowledgment for the same, has acted contrary to his duty to his Majesty > who appointed him joint governor, and not sole governor, of Trinidad. Resolved, That the said Colonel William Fullarton has, in the opinion of this board, for the above reason, acted in breach of duty to his colleagues in the govern- ment of this colony. Resolved, That the said Colonel William Fullarton has, in the opinion of this board, for the above reasons, also treated the council with contempt and insult, be- cause, at its meeting of the 17th day of March, the following motion was made and carried, Colonel Wil- liam Fullarton presiding, and of which he could not plead ignorance ; to wit : " As the first commission- er's paper, No. 4, contains insinuations of a most in- VOL. II. 2 F 434 APPENDIX. sidious nature, calculated to impress his Majesty's ministers with opinions injurious to the government, at the head of which the brigadier presided during dangerous and perilous times; he thinks it his duty to move, that the alcaldes in ordinary be called upon to produce copies of all the criminal proceedings that have been carried on in their respective offices since the 1st day of March 1797; and that they be remit- ted by the clerk of the council to the office of his Majesty's Secretary of State, the Right Hon. Lord Hobart:" and these aggravations this board conceives to be the greater, as Colonel William Fullarton put himself in the situation of public informer and de- nouncer against the whole military and civil autho- rity of the late government of this colony ; and it is the Jirst time this board ever learnt that an accuser was to wrest the strongest means of defence out of the hands of the accused, (which these public records must be sup- posed to do,) and to vest them exclusively in his own. Resolved, That the first commissioner, Colonel Wil- liam Fullarton, in his conduct at the house of the Honourable John Black, alcalde of the first election, in the evening of Monday last, in the manner just read and stated before this board, was guilty, in their opinion, of an insult to the board of council, who had recom- mended proceedings against the said Francisco de Castro for breach of public duty, and an outrage of the most violent kind against the laws ; as the persons and houses of all magistrates are, or ought to be, deemed sacred ; and prisoners once in legal custody, never at- tempted to be rescued, but suffered to remain until dis- charged by due course of law. Resolved, That Colonel William Fullarton, by nomi- APPENDIX. 435 nating Francisco de Castro (when a prisoner in legal custody for a breach of public duty on the evening of Monday last) to the honourable and confidential post of commissary of population, in the room of Major Wil- liamson, as proved by the declaration of Mr. Black, lost all respect for his colleagues, for this board, and for this colony. Resolved, That Brigadier-general Picton and Com- modore Hood be requested to give out in public orders, that the military attend to the calls of the magistrates, commandants of quarters, and alcaldes, whose houses may be entered against their consent, their persons insulted, and their authorities attempted to be weakened or brought into contempt. Resolved, That the first commissioner's application to the board, soon after his arrival, for the establish- ment of a schooner to serve in the surveyor-general's department, (although two brigs were sent out by government and offered by Commodore Hood for that service,) was, on the ground of the excessive expense it would incur, and little utility to accrue from it, re- jected : That the same application having been after- wards made, for the same reasons was again rejected ; and the schooner Start, in both instances proposed, being now hired, affords just reason to this board to suspect, that thejirst commissioner } s design, in making such applications, was to impose fictions on this board, to effect his present purpose of deserting his post in the said schooner Start, and concealing the public records. Resolved, That his Majesty's first commissioner, by connecting himself with the disaffected characters and classes of inhabitants inimical to the former govern- 2 F 2 436 APPENDIX. ment, hath produced the effects such conduct was cal- culated to promote : for this board views with sorrow and indignation, that a spirit of party and faction is kindling among the white inhabitants of all nations and languages ; that the legal authority of the master over the slave is weakened ; that mutinous ideas are excited in the minds of the numerous bands of free coloured people, who, by steady government and vigilance, par- ticularly immediately before his administration, were tranquil, loyal, and happy ; that the authority of the commandants of quarters is brought into contempt and insult, and the whole civil and criminal administration committed to their charge, with the wise system of police established, and found efficacious for six years, and even in time of war, to keep good government, in the most imminent danger of being overset and extirpated. The board having taken into its serious consideration a retrospect of the whole conduct of the first commission- er. Colonel William Fullarton, since he has been in the exercise of this government, and compared it with the present desertion of his post, withdrawing from the commission and the council, enlevement of the public records, and the contempt with which official requests to produce these records, or to inform where they are deposited, have been treated ; Resolved, That he, the first commissioner, has lost the confidence of this board ; and that these resolutions, with all respect and humility, be laid before his Majesty, together with all the minutes of council, instead of the proposed address, and that his Majesty's ministers be humbly prayed to advise his Majesty to remove him for ever from the government of this colony. APPENDIX. 437 EXTRACT FROM THE ADDRESS OF HIS MAJESTY*^ COUNCIL OF THE ISLAND OF TRINIDAD TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR, THOMAS HISLOP, ESQ. We, his Majesty's council of the said Island of Trinidad, beg leave to assure your excellency, that we have seen with just concern an attempt made to inter- rupt the peace and tranquillity of the colony, by asser- tions advanced in a pamphlet written by Colonel Ful- larton, and by him forwarded to your excellency. We have, in a committee of the whole board, resolved them to be libels on your excellency, and meant to throw re- flections upon the present government and the members of his Majesty's council, and to sow discord, disunion, and mistrust among them, &c. &c. (Signed) Hon. J. RUTHERFORD. Hon. JOHN SMITH. Hon. J. RIGBY. Hon. JOHN NIHELL. Hon. ST. HILAIRE BEGORRAT. Hon. ARCHIBALD GLOSTER. EXTRACT FROM THE ANSWER OF HIS EXCELLENCY THE LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR TO THE FOREGOING PART OF THE COUNCIL'S ADDRESS. GENTLEMEN, I beg leave to offer you my warmest and most grate- ful acknowledgments for the very flattering and kind address with which you have been pleased to honour me ; and you may be assured, that it is with no less concern that I have seen an attempt made to interrupt the peace and tranquillity of the colony, by assertions 438 APPENDIX. advanced by Colonel Fullarton, one of which was trans- mitted to me by his directions. The resolutions which your board have thought pro- per unanimously to adopt on the occasion cannot fail to stand recorded on a basis the most impartial, and must be to the world convincing of the pure and honourable motives that have actuated you in the steps you have deemed necessary to adopt, to refute unmerit- ed calumnies, and most effectually to ftop the possibility of introducing the seeds of discord, disunion, and dis- trust in the colony ; which, through the never-ceasing determination which you, individually as well as col- lectively, have manifested for the maintenance of union, of action, and sentiment in the discharge of your public duties, as well as in your private capacities, has hither- to maintained its rightful authority with requisite energy, and is thereby capable of resisting every species of attempt which can in future be invented to shake it, &c. &c. THOMAS HISLOP, Lieutenant-Governor. 439 APPENDIX, No. III. Inconstant, Spithead, 4th December 1804. MY DEAR SIR, I have received your letter, enclosing Colonel Fullar- ton^s extract, and should have answered it immediately, but waited to see the letter you mentioned having sent by Captain Maxwell, who has not yet come this way. With respect to the extract in question, it is noto- riously false. I never went on any predatory enter- prises whatever : those undertaken by your orders, and executed by me, were for the sole purpose of destroying French privateers and bodies of brigands who had taken post on the Spanish Main, and threatened the destruction of the Island of Trinidad ; and I trust my public letter to Admiral Harvey, of the 6th of December 1798, stating the account of the expeditions to Rio, Caribe, and Carus- sano, which you will see in the " Naval Chronicle" for that month, printed for J. Gold, Shoe Lane, London, will refute most fully his assertion. I have enclosed you a copy of the proclamation I sent to the commandants of Rio, Caribe, and Carussano, which is another strong proof that our mission was not to plunder or bring off cattle, either for ourselves or your estates ; and I am persuaded that Colonel Mosheim, Major Laureal, and Captain Champain will feel equally indignant with our- selves at so gross a misrepresentation of the motives which guided us on those expeditions. And be assured, 440 APPENDIX. my good sir, it affords me great satisfaction to have it in my power to enable you thus publicly to contradict insinuations suggested solely to poison the public mind. With respect to the sentiments of the inhabitants of the Spanish Main towards you, I can say with great truth, wherever I had an opportunity of communicating with them, they expressed the highest veneration for your character, and placed the greatest confidence in your government. I am, my dear Sir, Yours very sincerely, E. S. DJCKSON, Captain R.N. Colonel Picton, &c. &c. 441 APPENDIX, No. IV. MY DEAR SIR, In perusing Colonel FulJarton's publication relating to certain transactions in the Island of Trinidad during your government, I cannot, as an officer who then held a considerable time the command of one of his Majesty's sloops on that station, help expressing that indignation I must naturally feel at the very malicious aspersions with which that gentleman has thought proper to stigmatize the conduct of the naval officers during that period. The reasons for which he has introduced in his work this calumny, of predatory excursions being undertaken for private purposes, and particularly to obtain negroes for the governor of Trinidad's estates, is foreign to the purpose ; but so serious an imputation cannot be passed over in silence ; indeed, it behoves every one against whom this accusation is brought to vindicate himself; and as that is the sole object of this address, you will make that use of it you may deem most ad- visable to that end. Mr. Fullarton must know that every atom of what he has above asserted respecting the navy is, as I now declare it to be, perfectly false. Though the ships and vessels of war were under the command of Captain E. S. Dickson, we were both on service on the Spanish Main, but not for the purpose of committing depreda- tions. We had a more laudable object, in searching for 442 APPENDIX. and destroying a cowardly foe, still numerous in the West Indies ; brigands who were harbouring in the Spanish Main, and taking every opportunity of com- mitting depredations on the island of Trinidad ; and, but for the excellent look-out upon their plans, much mischief might have ensued to the colony : and on no other account have I received any other orders respecting this service, nor were any slaves or cattle taken by me as asserted ; if they were, my present declaration would fall to the ground, as a reference to the ship's journals would establish the point as well as living testimony. I believe, my dear sir, you had at that time no landed property in the island ; and if you had, I am convinced, from our long acquaintance, and your well-established honest integrity, you are one of the last, I should con- ceive, who could have admitted a thought of stocking your lands by such means. Captain Dickson, Major Mosheim, and myself must spurn at these base insinu- ations. With long and faithful regard to your eminent services and faithful friendship, I am, my dear Sir, Your most assured friend, WILLIAM CHAMPAIN, Captain R.N. Jason, Woolwich, December 28th, 1804. To Colonel Picton, &c. &c. 443 APPENDIX, No. V. London, October 1st, 1805. SIR, Having had the honour of serving under your com- mand in the Island of Trinidad in the years 1798 and 1799, periods the most critical, during which your vigilance, activity, and wise measures preserved that valuable colony, I could not help reading with the utmost astonishment and surprise, " A Statement of Letters and Documents respecting the Affairs of Trinidad, &c. &c." I must declare the same in one par- ticular instance to be " a statement of the most base and malicious falsehood ;" and firmly persuade myself that, after a just and candid investigation, the whole will appear in its true merits, as having been brought for- ward purposely to create amongst an ignorant public an unfavourable impression concerning your acts of government, which unquestionably will stand the most rigid ordeal. I allude to number 83, Colonel Fullarton's an- swer to Colonel Picton's address, page 172, where it is said, " The various expeditions against Guiria, Point- a-Pierre, and Carussano, on the river Guarapuchy, were merely predatory enterprises to procure mules and cattle, and to punish individuals who had incurred Colonel Picton's resentment." Also page 11, in a note: " The chief object of these expeditions was to plun- 444 APPENDIX. der cattle from the unoffending inhabitants for his own emolument."" I have been the officer whom you ordered to embark with a detachment of an hundred men, " to disperse several armed bodies collected and assembling on the opposite coasts of the Gulf, at Guiria, the River Gua- rapuchy, &c. &c." I sailed on board of his Majesty*^ ship Invincible, Captain Cayley, in company with his Majesty's sloop Zephyr, Captain Champain ; my instructions ordering me to disperse all armed bodies along the coast assembled for the purpose of invasion, and of preventing Spanish launches to proceed to Port of Spain ; enjoined the strict- est attention to order and discipline, and to cultivate the good will of the inhabitants along the coast.' And I do hereby most solemnly declare, that not the least act of depredation or irregularity has been committed by this expedition, which effected several landings along the coast. The first disembarkation, which took place at Guiria, was made with all necessary precautions, not knowing what resistance we should meet with : Cap- tain Cayley was even so obliging as to order a party of marines to proceed with me on shore. Finding, how- ever, the enemy dispersed, and the inhabitants coming in crowds to receive us as friends, the troops were re- embarked the very same evening, and in our subsequent visits on shore we were only attended by small parties of about fifteen or twenty men. This, therefore, sir, was no predatory enterprise ; on the contrary, it was undertaken, as all others, for the pro- tection of a very valuable trade with the Spanish Main, and for the security of the Island of Trinidad. I forbear saying more, regretting much the worthy APPENDIX. 445 captain then commanding his Majesty"^ ship Invincible being dead, and therefore not to be referred to on the occasion. I am convinced that the respectable naval officers under whose protection, assistance, and direction these expeditions did sail, Captain Champain, Captain Dickson, &c. ; Major Laureal, of the 12th West India regiment ; Captain Frauchessin, of Sir Charles Green's light infantry volunteers, will all concur with me in declaring it " a base and malicious falsehood," when it is asserted that their chief object was plunder and depredation. I have the honour to be, with the greatest respect, Sir, Your very faithful and obedient servant, Ls. MOSHEIM, Lieut.-Col. Colonel Thomas Picton, &c. &c. 21, Edward Street. 446 APPENDIX, No. VI, Lewes, 27th October 1812 Sm, I take the liberty of addressing this letter to you, in the hope that you will at least forgive the intrusion, and allow me to detail a few introductory particulars before I presume to express my wishes. Anticipating that my regiment (in General HilPs division) was not likely to be actively employed, I obtained leave to serve at the siege of Badajoz as an acting engineer ; and on the night of the storming that city, I had the honour of conducting the third division of the army, under your auspicious command, to the point of escalade at the castle. I naturally felt con- siderable anxiety at the weight of the charge, when in the open space where none had before trod ; although I was particularly acquainted with everything from the trenches to and about the castle, and no delay occurred. You will, sir, I presume, recollect, that on your arrival at the mill-dam, (where streams of fire opened on you,) the forlorn-hope and others stopped the way, and some men had fallen in the water : I rushed through the crowd, and found the ladders left on the railing in the ditch, and this barrier unbroken. In this extremity, I cried out, " Down with the paling !" and with my own hands, aided by a few men, I made the opening at which you entered. At the wall, you APPENDIX. 447 know, sir, the fire was terrific the men were amazed ; but I succeeded in getting the ladders erected, although three broke, and I fear a brigade- major, who laboured hard, was hurt by their fall. In applying myself, for example, to a ladder the men had abandoned, a ball lodged in the upper part of my thigh, and caused a compound fracture, and I fell on a man who had just dropped at my side. I remained till the afternoon of the next day amidst expiring brother sufferers, and being confined one hundred and thirty days to my bed, my sufferings were very severe : but I was greatly con- soled by the approbation of Majors Squires and Bur- goyne of the Engineers, and particularly by their assurance of your commendation. I returned last month on sick leave ; and am, thank God ! much recovered. His Royal Highness the Commander-in-chief some time since promised me promotion for my length of service and former wounds at Corunna ; I therefore trust my exertions at Badajoz will add to my claims ; and as I intend to lay my case before his Royal High- ness, I beg leave most earnestly to solicit you to ho- nour me with your approbation, which will ensure my promotion. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your most obedient humble servant, E. MAC CARTHY, Lieut. 50th Reg. To Lieutenant-general Picton, &c. General Picton made immediate application to the Commander-in-chief, for the promotion of this de- serving officer, and he was within a few days appoint- ed to a company. 448 APPENDIX, No. VII. ACCOUNT OF THE CEREMONY OF LAYING THE FOUNDATION STONE OF THE MONUMENT IN HONOUR OF SIR THOMAS PICTON AT CARMARTHEN. This long-expected and interesting ceremony took place before a great concourse of spectators, estimated at ten thousand persons. Early in the morning and the preceding evening a vast concourse of company kept pouring into the town to witness the proceedings of the day ; and we can with confidence and truth assert, that a more numerous and respectable procession, or a more imposing ceremony, was never witnessed in this town by the oldest inhabitant. As the hour appointed for organising the procession approached, vast numbers of elegantly-dressed females were to be observed bending their steps towards the spot in- tended for the erection of the monument, who, as they arrived, were ushered by the steward, Mr. G. Goode, into the seats raised for their accommodation. The cavalry moved on to the ground under the command of the Honourable George Rice Trevor, M.P. and took their station, lining the road near the depot. A little before twelve o\rlock, the mayor and corpora- tion of Carmarthen, the committee of the Carmarthen Cymreigyddion Society, visiters, &c. moved in proces- sion from the Town-hall, preceded by a band of music, to the Ivy-bush Hotel, where they were joined by the APPENDIX. 449 Provincial Grand Lodge for South Wales, and the other lodges and members of the honourable fraternity in masonic order ; and the whole proceeded to the site of the stone, entering the ground on the right hand, passing round in front of the seats, in order to afford those who had previously taken their places an oppor- tunity of seeing the whole procession, and retiring through the other entrance on the left hand. When the head of the procession reached the principal entrance the second time, the lines were opened, the original order of the procession was reversed, and entered the ground in the following order : Provincial Grand Tyler, with a drawn sword. Band of Music. Two P. G. Stewards, with wands. P. G. Sword-bearer. P. G. Steward, J Standard of the) P. G. Steward, with a wand. (. P. G. Lodge, f with a wand. Right Worshipful the Provincial Grand Master for South Wales. Deputy P. G. Master, with a square. f Volume of the Sacred Law,") P. G. Steward, J wUh ^ and com . ( P. G. Steward, with a wand. ^ passes> Qn a ye , vet cushion j with a wand. Senior P. G. Warden, with the level. Junior P. G. Warden, with the plummet. Sir W. C. De Crespigny, P. G. Master for Hampshire. P. G. Chaplain. P. G. Treasurer, with the coins and inscriptions. P. G. Registrar. P. G. Secretary, with the book of Constitutions. P. G. Director of Ceremonies. P. G. Superintendent of Works, with the silver trowel and plan of elevation. P. G. Organist. A Master Mason, with the mallet. After which the following lodges, arranged in masonic order, and preceded by their respective banners. VOL. II. 2 G 450 APPENDIX. The Glamorgan of Cardiff, No. 50. The Union of Carmarthen, No. 192. The Indefatigable and Beaufort of Swansea, No. 427. The Cambrian of Neath, No. 726. The St. David's, or Loyal George the Fourth's, of Mitford, No. 728. Brethren, not members of any lodge present. Peace Officers. Union Flag. Drums and Fifes. Staff of the Carmarthenshire Militia. Lords Lieutenants for the counties of Pembroke, Carmarthen, and Cardigan. Visiters of distinction. The Standard of the Corporation. The Mayor and Corporation of Carmarthen in their robes, preceded by the Mace and Sword-bearers. Clergymen in their Canonicals. Banner of the Cymreigyddion Society. Committee of the Cymreigyddion Society. Union Flag. Subscribers and Gentlemen connected with the undertaking. Peace Officers. The several parties comprising the procession having been conducted by the steward to the stations respec- tively assigned them, and the regalia of the Grand Lodge being placed on a table provided for the pur- pose, the grand master and his officers took their station on a platform erected for their reception on the east side of the stone ; the Right Honourable Lady Dynevor being on the west, and the several lodges with their officers and banners in front, forming a square, the band playing a masonic air. By command of the deputy grand master, the stone was raised about four feet, and the mortar spread on the base by Mr. Mainwaring, the architect. The Right Honourable Lady Dynevor, supported by Sir Christopher Cole, grand master for South Wales, and Sir W. C. De APPENDIX. 451 Crespigny, grand master for Hampshire, then de- scended to the stone, when the grand treasurer, by command of the grand master, deposited the coins, &c. which were enclosed in a glass hermetically sealed, and consisted of all the gold, silver, and copper British coins of the present reign, together with the Waterloo medal of the late Sir Thomas Picton, and covered them with a plate bearing the following inscription : This, The first stone of the Column Erected to the memory of our gallant countryman Lieutenant-general Sir THOMAS PICTON, (Knight Grand Cross of the Bath, and of several foreign orders,) Who, after serving his king and country In several campaigns, Died gloriously at the battle of Waterloo, Was laid By the Right Honourable Frances Baroness Dynevor, Assisted by Sir Christopher Cole, (Knight Commander Of the Bath, Captain in the Royal Navy of Britain, Member Of Parliament for the County of Glamorgan, And Provincial Grand Master of Masons for South Wales,) On the 16th day of August 1825. The upper part of the stone was then lowered slowly to its destined position, the band playing solemn music. After which the Rev. John Da vies of Llandovery, provincial grand chaplain for South Wales, invoked the blessing of the Great Architect of the Universe in the following words: " O Almighty and Eternal God, by whom the foundations of the earth were laid, and the curtains of the heavens were spread, and upon whom dependeth the success of everything we take in hand ; we, thy humble creatures, implore Thee to bless and countenance this our present undertaking, 452 APPENDIX. that, as it is begun in order, it may be carried on in harmony, and finally be crowned with success, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen." The grand master then proved that the stone was properly adjusted, by the application of the plumb, rule, level, and square, which were successively deli- vered to him by the junior and senior grand wardens and deputy grand master. The mallet was then deli- vered to the grand master, who handed it to Lady Dynevor, with which her ladyship struck the stone three times, the band playing ' God save the King/ amidst the enthusiastic applause of the assembled spec- tators, and a salute of twenty-one guns from the depot. The scene at this moment was peculiarly imposing. Every person present uncovered as it were instinctive- ly, one common sentiment seeming to pervade the assembled thousands ; every face was lighted up with enthusiasm, and every voice exerted to cheer the com- mencement of an undertaking which will transmit to posterity the heroic achievements of one of the ablest and bravest generals that ever graced the military annals of this or any other country. The plan and elevation of the column were then presented by the grand superintendent of works to the grand master for his inspection, with which he express- ed his approbation, and delivered them to the architect for his guidance, and also the implements of operative masonry, desiring him to erect the structure conform- ably to the same. Lady Dynevor was reconducted to the platform prepared for her at the west end of the area ; and the grand master resumed his station with the Grand Lodge at the eastern end of the stone, the band playing a national air. APPENDIX. 453 The grand master then addressed the mayor and corporation, noblemen, clergy, and gentry present, as follows : " Gentlemen, I beg leave to congratulate you on the ceremony which has just taken place, preparatory to the erecting a monument to the memory of that gallant and distinguished officer the late Sir Thomas Picton ; and you will allow me now to assure you, that I have had the sincerest gratification, as provincial grand master of masonry for South Wales, in finding myself in a situation to lend my humble aid to the business of this day. I am perfectly aware that on this subject I have a wide field for observation ; but I must throw myself upon the indulgence and kind-heartedness of those who hear me, and at once confess my total ina- bility to render even common justice to the eminent merits of this gallant officer, whose loss we have so long deplored : and it might perhaps be justly con- sidered presumption in so humble an individual as myself to attempt to utter anything like a detailed panegyric or eulogium on the character of that great officer whose memory we have met this day to do honour to. But, gentlemen, it has happened to me in the performance of my professional duties, many years ago, whilst serving in a distant quarter of the globe, to be called under the notice of that distinguished charac- ter, when he held a situation of high trust and respon- sibility as governor of one of the West India Islands ; and I had frequent opportunities of witnessing the activity, ability, and rigid principle, which marked his conduct in this high situation: and I left the Island of Trinidad with impressions of respect and admiration which time can never efface. 454 APPENDIX. " Gentlemen, if these were my feelings, it was with a degree of disgust that I will not attempt to describe, that I found by the public prints not long afterwards, when serving on a still more distant station, that a most violent persecution existed against the conduct and character of this honest and upright public servant, which ended in a criminal prosecution. But this dis- gust was soon followed by a corresponding feeling of exultation, when, supported alone by the firmness of his own mind, by the integrity of his own principles, he was enabled to throw back tenfold upon his accusers that odium which they had vainly endeavoured to affix to his character. " It is impossible for me to quit this part of the life of Sir Thomas Picton without mentioning a circum- stance which may not have come to the knowledge of many that hear me, and which, I am sure, will be con- sidered as redounding as much to his honour as any of those more brilliant events which accompanied the lat- ter part of his glorious life. At the time he was under the circumstances I have mentioned, the respectable and well-disposed inhabitants of the Island of Trinidad entered into and realized a subscription which amount- ed to a large sum of money, and which they transmit- ted to their late governor, as a proof of their respect and devoted attachment, to enable him the more easily to meet the expenses of the prosecution, which, unhap- pily in this country, often press as heavily upon the innocent as the guilty. A dreadful fire had, about this time, consumed nearly the whole of the town at the principal sea-port on the island, and the inhabit- ants, by this visitation of Providence, were reduced to a state of the greatest misery and distress. With a APPENDIX. 455 feeling of generosity and magnanimity which can never be too much admired, the whole of this sum was remit- ted back to the island for the relief of their necessities. And be it remembered, that there must have been many in the number of sufferers who had been unfriend- ly to him under his difficulties ; but, with true Christian charity, on this occasion he drew no distinction between friend and foe. " Gentlemen, after the most honourable public ac- quittal, a short time placed him on a wider scene of action, for which he had been prepared by the best military education in his youth ; and in that very quarter, the West India Islands, he soon gave an earnest of that harvest of glory which he afterwards reaped on so many fields of battle on the continent of Europe. I now approach a period of this great officer's life with a feeling of diffidence and incapacity, which entirely prevents my making an attempt to give any detailed account of his distinguished services during the war in Spain and Portugal. And, gentlemen, his actions are too deeply engraved on the hearts of those to whom I address myself, to make it necessary for me to refer more particularly to that period of his career : it is sufficient for me to say, that there is not a volume scarcely a page of history of the Peninsular war, that does not teem with the heroic exploits of Sir Thomas Picton ; and it is known that he returned from that war with the admiration of his fellow-sol- diers, together with the admiration and gratitude of his countrymen. " If I feel difficulties in touching upon the exploits of Sir Thomas Picton in the Peninsular war, how much must these difficulties be increased when I look 456 APPENDIX. upon the circumstances of his glorious death on the field of Waterloo ! Perhaps the finest compliment ever paid to a military talent was paid by the greatest cap- tain of the age, when he offered a prominent command to this distinguished soldier in that army which their great captain was about to lead to the Continent, to give confidence to Europe, and to give the final blow to the arrogant ambition and inordinate lust of dominion of the greatest conqueror, but the greatest despot, that this world ever produced. It is known that the fall of this hero was accompanied by a desperate and new ex- ample in military tactics ; and that, at the head of a body of infantry, he attacked at the point of the bay- onet, and defeated, what had been until that day consi- dered the finest cavalry in Europe ; and no British heart can do otherwise than give the meed to his me- mory, of having devoted himself to death for the glory and safety of his country. " Long may that stone continue as a memorial of the eminent abilities, the undaunted courage, the bril- liant heroism, of this lamented general ! Long may it remain as a proof that, in possessing these qualities, he found the best reward that a Briton can receive in this world, the ardent admiration and generous grati- tude of his fellow-countrymen !" Immense cheering followed the close of this speech, which was also repeatedly applauded during its deli- very. INDEX. A. Abercromby, Sir Ralph, appointed commander-in-chief in the West Indies, i. 23 ; his friendly reception of Major Picton, 24 ; directs his forces against St. Lucia, 25 ; or- ders an assault to be made against Morne Chabot, 26 ; passage from the orders issued by him, 31 ; re- commends Major Picton to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the 56th regiment, 32 ; arranges with Major Nicholls an expedition against Gre- nada, ib. ; proceeds to attack the island of St. Vincent, ib. ; accom- panies Colonel Picton to Marti- nique, from thence to England, 33 ; returns to the West Indies, accom- panied by Colonel Picton, 34 ; makes arrangements with Admiral Harvey for the expedition against Trinidad, ib. : appoints Colonel Pic- ton governor of Trinidad, 36 ; his instructions for the management of the island, 37 ; instructions from his Majesty's government to him, 46 ; Colonel Picton's letter to him, 80. Achard, Lagar, Esq. one of the wit- nesses at General Picton's second trial, i. 220. Addington, Mr. Gen. Picton's letter to, i. 112. " Adventures of the Rifle Brigade," ii. 77 n. 374. Albuera, battle of, ii. 25 ; passage from Colonel Napier's, description of, 26. Albuquerque, Duke de, defends Cadiz on his own responsibility, i. 254. Aldea de Ponte, desperate conflict at, ii. 48. Alhandra, hills of, i. 363. Almeida, fall of, i. 302. Alvarado, Vicar-general, gives a cer- tificate of Luise Calderon's baptism, i. 170. Angeles, Josef Maria, curate of the Catholic church, i. 169; found guilty of perjury, 170. Angouleme, Due d', his entry into Bordeaux, ii. 312. " Annals of the Peninsular Cam- paign," extracts from, i. 259. 395 ; ii. 228. 278. B. Badajoz, cantonment around broken up, i. 256 ; fortress of, invested by the British, ii. 83 ; attack made on Fort Picurina, 84 ; taken, 88 ; out- line of the siege of, 89 ; the castle taken by General Picton, 120 ; sur- render of the garrison to the British, 127; Batty, Capt. his account of Soult's attack upon the left wing of the allied army, ii. 274. Beckwith, Col. assists in the engage- ment of Sabugal, ii. 6 ; his perilous situation, 7 ; Lord Wellington's re- mark respecting his bravery, 9. Begorrat, Senor Hilariot, official com- munication from him to Governor Picton, i. 163. Belvidere, Conde de, his army beaten at Estremadura, i. 244. Bentinck, Lord William, supersedes Sir John Murray in the command in Catalonia, ii. 236 ; resigns the command, ib. Beresford, Marshal, lays siege to Ba- dajoz, ii. 24; compelled to give battle to Soult at Albuera, 25 ; his judgment at the battle of Al- buera, ib. ; wounded at the battle of Salamanca, 171 ; left wing under him commenced the attack at the battle of Orth.es, 301 ; his critical situation at the battle of Tou- 458 INDEX. louse, 328 ; raised to the peerage, 346. Bernard, Colonel, activity of, ii. 77. Blake, Gen. his array beaten at Es- pinosa, i. 243. Blucher, Marshal, informs the Duke of Wellington of the French army being in motion, ii. 365. Boes, St. see St. Boes. Boyd, Gen. Sir Robert, Lieut. Pic- ton served under him at Gibraltar, i. 8. Brennier, Gen. commandant of Al- meida, ii. 21. Brisbane, Major-gen, commands the right brigade at the battle of Tou- louse, ii. 330 ; wounded in the as- sault, 332 ; one of the managers of the present to Sir T. Picton, 342. Bonaparte, Joseph, places himself at the head of a large army to enter the province of Beira, i. 253 ; orders Soult to invest Cadiz before the Spanish general, 254 ; evacuates Madrid on hearing of the approach of the allied army, ii. 180 ; collects his forces on the roads to Burgos, 194 ; abandons his position, ib. ; continues his retreat to Vittoria, 198 ; prepares for an attack, 199 ; his retreat, 217; garrison of Pam- plona refuse to open their gates to him, 224 ; continues his flight to the Pyrenees, 225. Napoleon, his design of invading England, i. 141 ; moves towards Madrid, 244 ; his dissatis- faction at the inactivity of his bro- ther Joseph, 253 ; leaves Paris to join his immense army against Russia, ii. 145 ; appoints Soult to command the army in the south, 226 ; his address to the French nation in his council of state, 279 ; instances of his military skill, 308 ; his ambition, 309 ; abdicates and retires to Fontainebleau, 334 ; re- turns from' Elba, 357 ; places him- self at the head of the French army, 358 ; his plans, 369 ; attacks the Prussians, 376 ; bulletins of, ib. ; battle of Waterloo, 380. Burgos, castle of, invested by the British, ii. 185 ; blown up by the French, 198. Busacos, battle of, i. 317. C. Cadogan, Lieut, his gallant conduct at the battle of Fuentes de Onoro, ii. 16. Calderon, Luise, a witness against General Picton, i. 153 ; accused of having robbed Pedro Ruiz, 162. Camden, Earl, Sir Samuel Hood's letter to him, i. 117 n. Cameron, Colonel, activity of, ii. 77. Campbell, Major-gen, ordered to the attack of St. Lucia, i. 26. Lieut.-col. his bravery at the assault of Ciudad Rodrigo, ii. 69. Caraccas, governor of, reward offered by him for Col. Picton's head, i. 72 ; the colonel's letter to him in reply, 73. Castello Branco, occupied by the ad- vanced guard of the French, ii. 144. Castlereagh, Lord, his motion in the House of Commons respecting Sir Thomas Picton, ii. 392. Castro, Don Francisco de, imprison- ment of, mentioned in Col. Fullar- ton's pamphlet against Gen. Pic- ton, i. 111. Chambers, Capt. C. killed at Water- loo, ii. 389. Champain, Capt. a supporter of Gen. Picton, i. 122 ; his letter to him, ii. 441. Champlemond, Colonel de, regiments under, ii. 105. Chatham, Lord, appointed to com- mand the expedition against Flush- ing, i. 231 ; returns to England, 237. Christian, Sir Hugh, Rear-admiral, commands the fleet upon the re- signation of Sir J. Laforey, i. 30. Ciudad Rodrigo, invested by the French, i. 270; surrendered to them, 279 ; operations to reduce the garrison of, ii. 57 ; siege of, 59 ; explosion of a magazine, 70 ; sanguinary excesses after the takino- of, 72. Clausel, Gen. changes his march in consequence of the defeat of the French at Vittoria, ii. 225. Clinton, Gen. commands the sixth division at the battle of Salamanca, INDEX. 459 ii. 171 ; succeeds to the command in Catalonia, 236 ; his conduct at the battle of Toulouse, 333. Coa, affair of the, Col. Napier's ac- count of, ii. 6. Coimbra, Lord Wellington's apparent intention of defending it, i. 356 ; scene of confusion at, 358. Coldstream Guards, letter from a ser- geant in the, ii. 287 . Cole, Gen. commands the fourth di- vision at Guarda, i. 263 ; wounded at the battle of Salamanca, ii. 170. Colville, Major-gen, had the com- mand of Gen. Picton's division during his absence, ii. 263 ; one of the managers of the present to Sir Thomas Picton. 342. Conway, Marshal, commander-in- chief, conveys to Capt. Picton the royal approbation of his spirited conduct, i. 14. Cooke, Col. brings a report to Lord Wellington of the Northern allies being in Paris, ii. 336. Cotton, Sir Stapleton, ordered to fol- low in the rear of the enemy, ii. 143 ; created Viscount Comber- mere, 346. Crawfurd, Gen. commands the light division at Pinhel, i. 263 ; his dar- ing manoeuvres, 265 ; his propo- sition to Lord Wellington, 266; his operations, 274 ; his desperate skirmish with the enemy, 277 ; copy of his report to Lord Welling- ton, 280 ; killed at the assault of Ciudad Rodrigo, ii. 71 ; buried in the breach he had won, 78 n. Cuyler, Lieut.-gen. Col. Picton's let- ters to him, i. 69 ; ii. 427. Cuthbert, Capt. aide-de-camp to Gen. Picton, his death, ii. 85. Picton, i. 122 ; letter to Sir T. Pic- ton, ii. 439. Dixon, Capt. of his Majesty's sloop Victorieux, has the command of some cruisers sent to Trinidad by Adm. Harvey, i. 71 ; his letter to Sir Thomas Picton, ii. 413. Downie, John, letter of, i. 175 n. Draper, Col. his charges against Mr. Sullivan in his "Address to the British Public," i. 100 ; criminal information filed against him by Mr. Sullivan for libel, ib. ; result of it, ib. ; his remark concerning Mr. G arrow, 160 ; extract from his " Address to the British Public," 139*. Drouet, Gen. collects his forces on the frontiers of Portugal, ii. 33 ; en- deavours to force the pass of Maya, 231. Duchasseux, mountainous ridge, i. 29. Dundas, Right Hon. H. letter from him to Col. Picton, i. 67; Col. Picton's letter to him, 76 ; his com- plimentary letter to Col. Picton, 86. Dynevor, Lady, lays the first stone of Picton's monument at Carmarthen, ii. 451. E. Elder, Col. assists in the affair of Sabugal, ii. 6. Ellenborough, Lord, presides at Gen. Picton's trial, i. 157. England, Napoleon's design of in- vading, i. 141. Espana, Carlos, despatch from, to Lord Wellington, ii. 266. " Eventful Life of a Soldier," ii. 20 t. D. Dallas, Mr. conducts General Picton's defence, i. 158 : moves for a new trial, 198 ; his arguments, ib. Darling, Col. anecdote of him and Gen. Picton, i. 210. Dert, Benois, Esq. one of the wit- nesses at Gen. Picton's second trial, i. 219. Dickson, Capt. a supporter of Gen. F. Farfan, Don Francisco de, witness at Gen. Picton's second trial, i. 218. " Fighting Division/' Gen. Picton's division so called, i. 398. Flushing, preparations to take pos- session of, i. 231 ; surrendered to the British, 233. Forbes, Col. killed at the battle of Toulouse, ii. 332. 460 INDEX. Fort Picurina, the first point of at- tack at the siege of Badajoz, ii. 84; taken by the British, 88. Foster, Lieut, reports the breach in Fort Christoval to be practicable, ii. 29. Fuentes de Onoro, battle of, ii. 15. Fullarton, Col. William, appointed one of the commissioners of the island of Trinidad, i. 92 ; his arrival in Trinidad and reception by Gen. Picton, 100 ; extract from his letter to Mr. Sullivan, 101 ; his hostile act against Col. Picton, 102 ; ex- tracts from his pamphlet concern- ing Gen. Picton, 109, 110. 118 ; publicly rebuked by Sir Samuel Hood, 113 ; his death, 216 ; pro- ceedings of the commissioners and council against, in consequence of Mr. Black's declaration, ii. 407 ; extract from address at his Ma- jesty's council at Trinidad to Lieut. - governor Hislop, respecting, 411 ; Governor Hislop' s answer thereto, ib. G. Cannes, Chevalier de, witness at Gen. Picton's second trial, i. 219. G arrow, Mr. employed on behalf of the Crown at the trial of Gen. Picton, i. 158; produced in court a drawing of the torture, 159 ; his exertions to procure a verdict against Gen. Picton at his second trial, 223. Gascoyne, Gen. his recapitulation of Sir Thomas Picton's death, ii. 387. George IV. his subscription towards Picton's monument in Carmarthen, ii. 394. Gibraltar, siege of, i. 9. Gloster, Mr. Gen. Picton's letter to him, i. 103. Goeben, Lieut, de, commands a bat- tery at the siege of Badajoz, ii. 92. Gonzales, Carlos, accused of robbing Pedro Ruiz, i. 162. Graham, Gen. Sir Thomas, his bra- very at the battle of Vittoria, ii. 214 ; directed to invest the fortress of St. Sebastian, 226 ; returns to England to conduct an expedition for the liberation of Holland, 285 ; raised to the peerage, 346. Grant, Col. a supporter of Gen. Pic- ton, i. 122. Grenada, extract from the laws of, i. 57. Grinfield, Lieut.-gen. a friend of Gen. Picton, i. 122 ; extracts from his letters, 124, 125 ; from his des- patches 133 ; extract from his des- patch, demanding the surrender of Tobago, 134. Guayana, governor of, reward of- fered by him for Col. Picton's head, i. 72 ; the colonel's letter to him in reply, 74. Gwynne, Major, detached by Gen. Picton to reinforce the 88th regiment at the battle of Busacos, i. 333. H. Harispe, Gen. French corps under, falls back upon Garres, ii. 284. Harvey, Adm. makes arrangements with Sir Ralph Abercromby for the expedition against Trinidad, i. 34 ; sends some small cruisers to protect the trade of Trinidad, 71. Haynes, Col. Isaac, execution of, i. 208 w. Heathfield, Gen. Lord, Lieut. Picton serves under him at Gibraltar, i. 8. Hill, Gen. Sir Rowland, takes the castle of Miravete by assault, ii. 147; commands the troops left in Madrid, 185; attacks the left wing of the French army at the battle of Vittoria, 213; General Drouet endeavours to force the pass of Maya occupied by him, 231 ; advances to cut off the enemy's communication, 284 ; forces the river above Orthes, 304 ; dislodges the French from their position at Aire, 310 ; commands the second division at Tarbes, 316 ; succeeds in forming a pontoon bridge below Toulouse, 320 ; created a peer, 346. Hislop, Lieut- governor, a friend and supporter of Gen. Picton, i. 122 ; extract from address from his Ma- jesty's council to him, and his an- swer thereto, ii. 437. " History of the Peninsular War," extract from, i. 265 ; errors in the description of the battle of Busacos in, 340. Hobart, Lord, letters from, to Col. Picton, i. 87. 123. INDEX. 461 Hompesch, Brig.-gen. deserters from his regiment, i. 61. Hood, Sir Samuel, appointed one of the commissioners of Trinidad, i. 92 ; his arrival there, 103; pub- licly rebukes Colonel Fullarton, 113; his letter to Earl Camden, 117 n. ; letter from Gen. Picton to him, 180; report of the privy coun- cil against him, 203 ; honourably acquitted, 204; offers himself as representative for Westminster, ib. Col. Fullarton's conduct upon this occasion, ib. Hope, Brigadier- gen. commands a detachment against Morne Cha- bot, i. 27 ; army under him ordered to cross the Adour, ii. 285 ; delays communicating the news he had received of the Northern allies being in Paris until he heard from Lord Wellington, 337 ; distressing results in consequence, ib. created a peer, 346. Houston, Gen. commands the se- venth division at Badajoz, ii. 25. " Howell's State Trials," extract from, i. 226. J. Jones, Col. observations in his " Jour- nal of Sieges/' ii. 60 n. 133. 146. 151. Jones, J. Esq. Sir Robert Peel's let- ter to, transmitting the King's subscription towards Picton's mo- nument at Carmarthen, ii. 394. Jourdan, Marshal, commands the French troops under Joseph Bona- parte while King of Spain, ii. 146. K. Kelly, an Irishman, anecdote of him, ii. 307 n. Kempt, Gen. Sir James, wounded at thesiege of Badajoz, ii. 106; com- pelled to take refuge in the square at Waterloo, 373 ; assumes the command of the fifth division on the death of Sir T. Picton, 385. Kincaid, Capt. remark in his " Ad- ventures of the Rifle Brigade," ii. 77. 374. Knox, Gen. supersedes Colonel Pic- ton as deputy quartermaster- gene- ral, i. 23. Kraiichenberg, Capt. leader of the German hussars, i. 276. L. of Lache, Monsieur, master military academy, i. 4. Laforey, Adm. Sir John, commands the fleet in the attack of St. Lucia, i. 26 ; resigns the command, 30. Langton, the Hon. Philip, witness at Gen. Picton's second trial, i. 221. Capt. Algernon, wounded at the battle of Waterloo, ii. 389. Leigh, Gen. calls upon Col. Picton to assist him in receiving Sir Ralph Abercromby upon his arrival in Barbadoes, i. 23. Leith, Major-gen, repulses the ene- my at Busacos, i. 321 ; Gen. Pic- ton's remark concerning him, in his report of the battle of Busacos, 351 ; wounded at the battle of Sa- lamanca, ii, 169. " Life of Napoleon," ii. 376. Londonderry, Marquis of, extracts from his Narrative, i. 245.273. 279. 311. 358. 361. 375. 390. 392. Lucia, St. siege of, i. 26 ; capitula- tion of, 31 ; expedition for the re- taking of, 131. Lynch, Dr. statement respecting him, i. 96; his interview with Mr. Sullivan, 97 ; affidavit of, 98. Lynch, John, Esq. witness at Gen. Picton's second trial, i. 218. Lynch, Nicholas, his representations to Dr. Lynch, i. 96. M. Mac Carthy, Lieut, his bravery at the siege of Badajoz, ii. 106; his letter to Sir Thomas Picton, 446. Mackinnon, Col. his report after visiting the 88th regiment at the battle of Busacos, i. 333 ; his bravery at the battle of Fuentes de Onoro, ii. 20 ; killed at the assault of Ciudad Rodrigo, 70 ; buried in the breach he had won, 78. Macpherson, Lieut, anecdote of, i. 314 n.; ii. 74 n. ; endeavours to raise a ladder at the siege of Badajoz, 1 08 n. ; severely wounded, ib. ; succeeds in obtaining the 462 INDEX. French colours, 110 ; anecdote of him, 129 n. ; wounded at the bat- tle of Orthes, ii. 305 n. ; promoted to a captaincy through the friend- ship of Sir Thomas Ficton, 398. Maitland, Brigadier-general, extract from his letter concerning Gen. Pic ton, i. 125 ; letters to the author since the publication of the first edition, ii. 254 n. 256 n. Mallet, Mr. his return of the popula- tion of Trinidad, i. 112. Maltao, pass of, i, 363. Marmont, Marshal, created Duke of Ragusa, command of the French army conferred upon him on retire- ment of Marshal Massena, ii. 24 ; collects his forces on the frontiers of Portugal, 33 ; unites his forces with those of Dorsenne at Tamames, 41 ; attacks the allied army, 42 ; conflict at Aldea de Ponte, 48 ; contents himself with having relieved Ciu- dad Rodrigo, and retraces his march, ib. ; retreats to avoid falling into Massena 's error, 49 ; not aware of the fall of Ciudad Rodrigo until it is placed in a state of defence by the British, 80 ; his situ- ation and that of the British com- mander compared, 81 ; marches his army towards Almeida, 143 ; moves forward to take possession of Castello Branco, 144 ; commences a retreat upon Salamanca, 145 ; joined by Gen. Bonnet, 153 ; his skilful manceuvre, ib. ; wounded at the battle of Salamanca, ii. 172 ; his army retreats until it arrives at Burgos, 178. Marryat, Mr. Gen. Picton's letters to, i. 299 ; ii. 30. 38. 74. 139. 148. 218. 221. Massena, Marshal, commences his advance on the allied position, i. 275 ; takes possession of Ciudad Rodrigo, 278 ; commences a rapid march along the right bank of the Mondego, 308 ; selects the heights of Busacos, 309 ; critical situation of his army, 322 ; endeavours by a rapid movement to reach Coimbra before the British can effect their retreat, 356 ; force uniler his com- mand, 366 ; excesses of his troops, ib. : makes demonstrations to change the line of attack, 375 ; resolves upon a retreat, 379 ; ac- cumulated miseries of his army, 380 ; Picton's account of his re- treat, 381 ; takes up his position on the heights of Guarda, 386 ; shows little talent upon this occasion, ib. ; makes another stand on the Coa, ii. 6 ; his plans to protect the fortress of Almeida, 14 ; battle of Fuen- tes de Onoro, 15 ; again attacks the allied army, 18 ; repulsed from the village with immense loss, 19 ; draws his force over the Agueda, 23 ; recalled, and the command conferred on Marmont, 24. Mead, Col. anecdote of him, i. 314 n. Mesurier, Col. Le, governor of the fortress of Almeida, ii 143. Metropolitan Magazine, extracts from, i. 202; ii.421. Mina, Gen. invests St. Jean Pied de Port, ii. 284. Monnet, Gen. commandant of Flush- ing, demands a suspension of hos- tilities, i. 233 ; surrenders the town to the British, ib. Montalembert, Baron de, witness at Gen. Picton's second trial,!. 217. Montbrun, commands the French cavalry, ii. 42 ; attacks Gen. Pic- ton's division, ib. Montes, Juan, witness against Gen. Picton, i. 153 ; character of, 154 n. Moore, Brigadier-gen, (afterwards Sir John), his command of a detach- ment against Morne Chabot, i. 27 ; promptitude upon this occasion, ib.; Lis retreat from Corunna, and its consequences, 241, 242. Thomas, lines to the memory of Sir Thomas Picton by, ii. 396. Moore, Dr. reference to his Zeluco, i. 120. Mosheim, Col. a friend of Gen. Pic- ton, i. 122 ; his letterto him, ii. 443. Murray, Sir John, superseded in the command of Catalonia by Lord William Bentinck, ii. 236. N, Napier, Col. extract from his " His- tory of the Peninsular War," i. 265 n. ; his letter to the author, 294 77. ; further extracts, 390. INDEX. 463 393. 394. 395; his statement of Gen. Crawfurd's skirmish with the enemy, 282 ; his account of the battle of Busacos examined, 328 ; errors in it, 340 ; his singular statement concerning the 45th and 48th regiments at the battle of Bu- sacos, 344 ; similarity of his state- ment and Gen. Picton's, ii. 1 ; ex- tracts from his history, 6. Ney, Marshal, commands the ene- my's rear-guard during their re- treat, i. 387 : deprived of the com- mand of the sixth corps, ii. 2 n, Nicholl, Chief Justice, directions to, i. 60. Nihell, the Hon. John, witness at Gen. Picton's second trial, i. 221. Nogues, Brigadier, a French com- mandant, summons sent to, i. 132. O. Orange, Prince of, ii. 371. Orthes, battle of, ii. 301 ; gained by the allies, 304. O'Toole, Col. directed to attack the castle of Ciudad Rodrigo, ii. 61. P. Pakenham, Sir Edward, anecdote of, ii. 5 n. ; his bravery at the siege of Badajoz, 108; takes the command of Gen. Picton's division at the battle of Salamanca, in consequence of his illness, 155; his bravery at the battle of Salamanca, 166. Pamplona, garrison of, refuse to open their gates to King Joseph, on his retreat from Vittoria, ii. 224 : blockaded by the Spaniards, 226. Parker, Capt. killed at Orthes, ii. 297. Patrice, Vincent, Esq. witness at the second trial of Gen. Picton, i. 220. Pe, Mich. St. witness at Gen. Picton's second trial, i. 221. Peel, Sir Robert, his letter to the treasurer of the Carmarthen sub- scription, ii. 394. Penrose, Rear-adm. English fleet under his command, ii. 285. " Personal Narrative of Adventures in the Peninsula," anecdote of Gen. Picton in, ii. 195. Phillipon, commander in Badajoz, his skill in the art of defence, ii. 91. Picton, Rev. Edward, brother of Sir Thomas, statement of, i. 17 ; Gen. Picton's letter to him, ii. 205. PICTON, SIR THOMAS, his birth and parentage, i. 1 ; his ardour for mili- tary studies, 2 ; his education, 3 ; sent to a military academy, 4 ; ob- tains an ensigncy, ib. ; leaves his academy to join his regiment in G ibraltar, 6 ; acquires a knowledge of the Spanish language, 7 ; pro- moted to the rank of lieutenant, 8 ; exchanges his regiment, and gazet- ted captain in the 75th, 9 j his regret at being absent from the siege of Gibraltar, 10 ; assembles his men in Bristol previous to disband- ing them, 12 ; his spirited conduct in quelling the mutiny of his men, 13 ; report of the proceedings made at the War Office, 14 ; retires on half pay, 15; his constant applica- tion to the War Office for employ- ment, 16; his personal appearance, 18 ; embarks for the West Indies, 21 ; his acquaintance with Sir John Vaughan, ib. ; appointed by him to the 17th foot, and made his aide de-camp, 22 ; promoted to a majority in the 68th regiment, and appointed deputy quartermaster- general, 22 ; superseded, 23 ; assists in receiving Sir Ralph Abercromby, ib. ; accompanies him against St. Lucia as one of his suite, 25 ; Sir Ralph's decided mark of approba- tion, 31 ; appointed lieutenant-co- lonel of the 56th regiment, 32 ; accompanies Sir Ralph against St. Vincent, ib. ; sails with him to England, 33; to the W r est Indies, 34 ; appointed by Sir Ralph governor of Trinidad, 36; Sir Ralph's opinion of him, 41 ; his enemies, 42; General Maitland's letter to him, 43 ; accusations against him, 45 ; Sir Ralph's ap- probation of his conduct, 46 ; re- ceives an address from the inhabit- ants of Trinidad, 48 ; avails him- self of the advice of Don Christoval De Robles, 53 ; number of his mi- litary establishment, 58 ; powers vested in him by Sir Ralph Aber- cromby, 60 ; his efforts to regulate the affairs of the island, 64 ; letter to the authorities at home, ib. ; fa- 464 INDEX. tal effects of the rainy season, i. 66 ; frustrates a conspiracy, 67 ; letter of Right Hon. H. Dundas to, ib. ; extract from his despatches to go- vernment, 68 ; letter to Lieutenant- general Cuyler, 69, ii. 401 ; curi- ous passage in his correspondence, i. 70 ; reward offered for his head, 72 ; his letters to the governors of Carac- cas and Guayana in reply to, 73, 74; familiar appellation by which he was known, 75 ; address presented to him by the inhabitants of Trini- dad, ib. ; his letter in consequence to Mr. Dundas, 76 ; letter to Sir Ralph Abercromby, 80 ; character of his administration, 85 ; attempt to injure his reputation, 86 ; re- ceives a complimentary letter from Mr. Dundas, ib. ; appointed gover- nor of Trinidad, 87 ; letter from Lord Hobart to him, ib. ; his in- structions, 88 ; promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, 90 ; Lord Hobart's letter to him, 91 ; appointed a commissioner of the island of Trinidad instead of gover- nor, 92 ; his indignation at this treatment, 93 ; extract from his pri- vate correspondence, 94 ; his friend- ly reception of Col. Fullarton, 100 ; his remark concerning him, 101 ; Col. Fullarton's hostile act against him, 102 ; resigns the office of commissioner, 103 ; letter to Mr. Gloster, ib. ; his difficulties on assuming the government of Trini- dad, 106 ; letter to Sir Ralph Ab- ercromby, 107 ; pamphlet concern- ing him by Col. Fullarton, 109 ; accusations against him in it, 110 ; his friend's defence of him, 112 ; his letter to Lord Hobart, 115; passages from Col. Fullarton's pamphlets against him, 118 ; testi- monials in his favour, 123 ; re- ceives an order for his resignation from Lieut.-gen. Grinfield, 129 ; embarks for Barbadoes, 130 ; ex- tract from Mr. Southey's " Chrono- logical History of theVVest Indies," ib. ; arrives in Carlisle Bay, Bar- badoes, 131; offers to join the ex- pedition for the islands of St. Lucia and Tobago, ib. ; Col. Fullarton's observations upon it, ib. ; appoint- ed commandant of the island of Tobago, i. 135 ; flattering attention paid to him there, 136 ; his indig- nation at the charges brought against him by Col. Fullarton, ib. ; arrives in London, 137 ; ex- ertions to prove him guilty, ib. ; his patriotism, 140 ; his design of protecting his country against the French, 141 ; letter to Mr. Ad- dington, 142; his plan for a new organization of the public force, 149 n. ; waits upon Lord Hobart, 153 ; arrested by a king's messen- ger, ib. ; witnesses against him, ib. ; criminal indictment against him, 155 ; a mandamus granted upon it, 156 ; his cause brought on before Lord Ellenborough, 157 ; sum- mary facts extracted from the evi- dence, 161 ; one of the witnesses against him convicted of perjury, 170; verdict of guilty brought against him, 176 ; effect of the verdict upon his friends, 178 ; his letter to Sir Samuel Hood, 180; character of it, 196; Mr. Dallas moved for a new trial, 198 ; rule for a new trial made absolute, 199 ; reports by the privy council in his favour, 201 ; remarks concerning him in the Metropolitan Magazine, 202 n. ; honourably acquitted, 204 ; Duke of Queensberry's kind offer to him, 211 ; anecdote of him, 213 ; his approaching trial, 214 ; pro- moted to the rank of major-gen. 216 ; testimonials of witnesses in his favour, 217 ; feelings of the inhabitants of Trinidad towards him, 222 n. ; presented with a sword by them, ib. ; his generosity to them, 223 n. ; exertions to procure a verdict against him at his second trial, ib. ; special verdict returned by the jury, 223 ; his vindication, 224 ; argument upon the special verdict, 226 ; his impatience to be in active service, 228 ; applies for active employment, 229 ; estima- tion in which he was held by the Duke of York, ib. ; joins the ex- pedition against Flushing, 232 ; his letter to Col. Pleydel, after the taking of Flushing, 234 ; his illness, 237 ; advised to visit Chel- INDEX. 465 tenham, i. 239 ; receives orders to join the army in Portugal, 261 ; his anxiety to reach the field of operation, ib. ; appointed to com- mand the third division in Portu- gal, 262 ; quartered in the vicinity of Celerico, 263 ; his cool and in- moveable character, 269 ; Col. Na- pier's remarks upon his behaviour, 286 ; the charge against him re- futed, 288 ; ordered to Carapi- china, 299 ; his letter to Mr. Mar- ryat, ib. ; his letter to Col. Pley- del, 304 ; letters to Col. Pleydel after the battle of Busacos, 315. 317; anecdote of Picton, 323; his bravery at the battle of Busacos, 325 ; his letter to Lord Wellington, 331 ; extracts from his report, 342. 347. 350, 351 ; his remark con- cerning Gen. Leith, 351 ; state- ment of the number of troops under Lord Wellington, 365 ; letters re- specting the lines of Torres Ve- dras, 369, 370 ; remark concerning Massena, 372 ; rebukes his men for pillaging a wine- store, 377 ; letter to Col. Pleydel, 381 ; de- scribes the enemy's retreat, 382 ; accuracy of his descriptions, 388 ; his indefatigable exertions, 398 ; name which his division obtained, 399 ; reliance which Lord Wel- lington placed in him, 401 ; com- parative statements, ib. ; follows the route of the enemy, ii. 1 ; similarity of his statement and Col. Napier's, 2; gets possession of an unfinished fort, 5 n. ; anecdote of him, 8 TO. ; his projected attack, 10; letter to Mr. Marryat, 11; his eulogiums upon Lieut. Wil- liams' spirited conduct, 16 n. ; his letter to Gen. W. Picton, 17 ; anec- dote of him, 20 n.; ordered to rest his division at Nava d'Aver, 24 ; follows Lord Wellington to Bada- joz, 25 ; arrives at Campo Mayor, 27 ; ordered to invest Badajoz, 28; letter to Mr. Marryat, 30; Lord Wellington's observations respecting him, 32 ; ordered to march in the direction of Ciudad Rodrigo, 36 ; letter to Mr. Mar- ryat, 38 ; dangerous position of his division, 41 ; the enemy at- tack his position, 42 ; critical situ- ation of his troops, 43 ; account of VOL. II. the affair from the " Reminiscences of a Subaltern," 44; trying man- oeuvre of the enemy, 46 ; retreat of the allies, 48 ; ordered to occupy Aldea de Ponte, 50 ; informed of his uncle's death, 52 ; his excessive grief, 53 ; passage from one of his letters, 55 ; his liberality, 56 ; marches to Ciudad Rodrigo, 58 ; receives orders to make an attack, 60 ; stations part of his division in the convent of Santa Cruz, 61 ; his excellent example, 64 ; letter to a friend after the assault, ib. ; de- scribes the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo, 65 ; his bravery there, 69 ; endea- vours to put a stop to the excesses of his men, 73 ; letter to Mr. Marryat, 74 ; his letter to a friend, 83 ; conducts the siege of Badajoz, 84 ; his regret at the death of his aide-de camp, 85 ; at- tacks Fort Picurina, 87 ; taken, 88 ; makes the attack on Badajoz, 105 ; desperate efforts of the besieg- ed, 106 ; attempts to raise the lad- ders, 108 ; receives a severe wound, 110 ; proceeds to direct the attack, 111; respected by his soldiers, ib. n. ; prevented by his wound from ascending the ladders, 113 ; demonstration of the enemy for retaking the castle, 121 ; surren- der of the garrison to the British, 127 ; anecdote of him, 130 n ; Lord Liverpool's observation respecting him, 135 ; his remark concerning the Connaught Rangers, 136 ; re- compenses his soldiers for their gallant conduct, 138 n. ; letters to Mr. Marryat, 139. 148. ; his dan- gerous illness, 154 ; regret of his soldiers at his absence, ib. ; their bravery at the battle of Salamanca, 173; anecdote respecting him, 175; his continued illness, 181 ; Chel- tenham waters recommended, 182 ; returns home accompanied by Capt. Tyler, ib. ; repairs to Chelten- ham, ib. ; again returns to the Pen- insula, 189 ; created a Knight of the Bath, 190 ; his reception by his soldiers on his return, ib. ; pro- moted to the rank of lieut.-gen. 192 ; letter to Col. Pleydel, 200 ; to his brother, 205 ; anecdote of him at the battle of Vittoria, 208 ; gallant conduct of his division, 211. 215 ; 2 H 466 INDEX. letters to Mr. Marryat, ii. 218. 221 ; his division in reserve at Olaque, 230; informed of the success of Soult's advance, 235 ; puts his division in motion, ib, ; arranges the troops near Pamplona, 257 ; Lord Wellington's approbation of his conduct in checking Soult's ad- vance, 238 ; directed to dislodge the French from the heights they occu- pied, 243 ; left to cover the blockade of Pamplona, 246 ; returns to Eng- land accompanied by Capt. Tyler, 247 ; receives the thanks of the House of Commons, ib. ; his an- swer, 250 ; singular coincidence concerning him, 251 ; prepares to return to the army, 252 ; his letter to a friend from the port of St. Jean de Luz, ib. ; command of the Ca- talonian army offered to him, 260 ; declines it, and resumes his old command, 262 ; effective force of his division when he rejoined the army, 280 ; skirmish with the ene- my, 281 ; his account of the posi- tion and prospects of the allies, 282 ; his unsuccessful attempt to cross the Gave d'Oleron, 290 ; alarm of the French, 292 ; crosses the river, and enters the town of Sauveterre, 293 ; his description of the battle of Orthes, 294. 298 ; commands the centre of the allied army during that battle, 301 ; his important services, 303 ; complete rout of the enemy, 304 ; halts his division at Plaisance, 319 ; his ob- servation concerning Soult, 321 ; commencement of the battle of Toulouse, 326 ; hastens to the re- lief of Marshal Beresford, 330 ; retreat of the enemy, 333 ; enters the city of Toulouse, 336 ; greeted with acclamations, ib.; grief of his soldiers on his inspecting them before he embarked for England, 339 ; subscription among the of- ficers of his division for present- ing him with a service of plate, 341 ; embarks at Bordeaux upon his return home, 342 ; letter from Sir C. Colville, &c. to, ib. ; his reply, 343 ; disappointed at be- being omitted in the list of new peers, 346; letter concerning this omission, 347 j receives the thanks of the House of Commons for his gallant conduct, ii. 352 ; retires into private life, 355 ; elevated to the rank of Knight Grand Cross of the Bath, 356 ; his independence as a member of parliament, 357 ; return of Napoleon, ib. ; receives an ap- plication from the War Office, 358; writes to the Duke of Wellington, 359 ; his intention to join the forces in the Netherlands, ib. ; his letter to Captain Tyler, 360 ; his presentiment that this would be his last campaign, 361 ; anecdote of him, 362 ; leaves Wales and repairs to London, ib. ; leaves Lon- don with his aide-de-camp, 364 ; appointed to command the 5th di- vision, 367; leaves Brussels with his troops, 370 ; advances to Qua- tre Bras, 371 ; defeat of the French, 373 ; his military judgment held in high esteem, 374 ; battle of Waterloo, 380 ; killed, 384 ; bis concealment of the wounds he re- ceived at Quatre Bras, 386 ; re- capitulation of his death by Gen. Gascoyne, 387 ; his body convey- ed to Brussels, 389 ; from thence to England, 390 ; the public's sense of his merit, 391 ; his funeral, 392 ; monument erected to his memory in St. Paul's, 393 ; costly edifice erected in Carmarthen in commemo- ration of his services, 394 ; charac- ter of, 397 ; anecdotes of, 402 n. 413 n. ; character of him by the Duke of Wellington, 424 ; particu- lars of the Port of Spain in a letter to Lieut.-gen. Cuyler, 427 ; letters to, from Capt. Dickson, 439 ; Capt. Champain, 441 ; Lieut.-Colonel Mosheim, 443 ; Lieut. Mac Car- thy, 446 ; ceremony of laying the foundation stone of his monument in Carmarthen, 448. Picton, Lieut. -col. William, uncle of Sir Thomas, commands the 12th regiment of foot, i. 4 ; estimation in which he was held by his sove- reign, 7 n. ; regiment commanded by him bears a distinguished part in the defence of Gibraltar, 10 ; his death, 52. Pitman, Mr. orders signed by, i. 129. Pitt, Mr. his resignation of office, i.90. INDEX. 467 Pleydel, Col. Gen. Picton's letters to him, i.234. 304. 317. 381; ii. 64. 200. 282. 294. Portland, Duke of, appointed pre- mier, i. 230. Power, Major-gen, one of the mana- gers of the present to Sir T. Pic- ton, ii. 342. Price, Capt. Barrington, died of the wounds he received at Waterloo, ii. 389. Privy council, reports made by them, i. 201.203. Q. Queensberry, Duke of, his generous offer to Gen. Picton, i. 210; anec- dote of him, 212. R. " Recollections of a Soldier's Life," extract from, ii. 193 n. Regnaud, Gen. governor of Ciudad Rodrigo, taken prisoner by a gue- rilla chief, ii. 52. " Reminiscences of a Subaltern," ex- tracts from, ii. 44. 62. 162. Ridge, Major, of the 5th regiment, charges the French cavalry with his infantry, ii. 43 ; his bravery at the siege of Badajoz, 112 ; gains a footing on the battlements, ib. ; shot while the enemy endeavoured to retake the castle, 125. Robles, Don Christoval de, his docu- ment to Col. Picton, governor of Trinidad, i. 54. Ross, Major-gen, spirited conduct of, at the battle of the Pyrenees, ii. 239. Ruiz, Pedro, robbed by Carlos Gon- zales, i. 162. S. Sabugal, affair of the, ii. 6. St. Boes, village of, taken by Marshal Beresford, ii. 301. Salamanca, battle of, ii. 157 ; descrip- tion of, 162 ; won by the British, 172. Sanchos, Don Julian de, a guerilla chief, his daring exploits, ii. 51. Sauvager, Chevalier de la, witness at Gen, Picton's second trial, i. 218. Sebastian, St. siege of, ii. 245. Shando, Raphael, witness against Gen. Picton, i. 153 ; character of, 154 n. Sidmouth, Lord, succeeds Mr. Pitt in the administration, i. 90. Simon, Col. St. brings a report of the Northern allies being in Paris, ii. 336. Smith, Major, his gallant behaviour at the battle of Busacos, i. 348. 350. Soppinott, Count de, witness at Gen. Picton's second trial, i. 219. Soter, Col. witness at Gen. Picton's second trial, i. 217. Souham, Gen. commands the French troops in Old Castile, ii. 146. Soult, Marshal, his contempt of the Spanish soldiers, i. 250 ; determines to raise the siege of Badajoz, ii. 24 ; collects his forces on the frontiers of Portugal, 33 ; arrives at Villa Franca, and learns the fall of Ba- dajoz, 142 ; title given to him by the emperor, 226 ; appointed to command the army in the south, ib. ; his address to the French sol- diers, 227 ; concentrates part of his army, 231 ; endeavours to force the pass of Maya, ib. ; contests between his army and the allies, 235 ; battle of the Pyrenees, 238 ; attempt to form a junction with Drouet, 242 ; commences a retreat, 244 ; concentrates his army behind a fortified position on the N ivelle, 242 ; retreat of the French army, 248 ; falls back upon Bayonne, 249 ; makes an effort to drive back the left wing of the allied army, 274 ; changes his plans, 276 ; at- tacks the right and centre of the allied army, ib. ; defeated, 278 ; withdraws his army from Bayonne, and marches to Orthes, 288 ; blows up the bridge across the Gave d'Oleron, 293 ; concentrates his forces near the town of Orthes, ib. ; battle of Orthes, 301 ; retreat of his army, 304; conscripts take the op- portunity of his retreat to quit the service, 306 ; falls back upon St. Sever, followed by the allies, 309 ; continues his retreat, 310 ; falls back upon Toulouse, 314 ; attacks the allies, ib. ; retreats from Tarbes, 468 INDEX. ii. 31 8 ; his fortifications at Toulouse, 319 ; attempts to destroy the bridge across the Garonne, 321 ; battle of Toulouse, 327 ; imitates Napo- leon's plans, 333, 334; retreats,312 ; his answer to Lord Wellington's flag of truce, 335 ; evacuates Tou- louse, ib. ; receives a report of the Northern allies being in Paris, 336. Southey , Mr. extracts from his ' ' Chro- nological History of the West In- dies/' i. 130, 132 j ii. 222 ; his account of the Due d'Angouleme's entry into Bordeaux, ii. 312. Spencer, Gen. commands the first division at Viseu, i. 263. Sparrow Mr. Gen. Picton confined in his house, i. 153. Stopford, Major-gen, admirable ar- rangement of his men, ii. 287. Stovin, Lieut.-col. one of the managers of the present to Sir Thomas Picton, ii. 342. Strachan, Adm. Sir Richard, Wal- cheren fleet under the command of, i. 232. Sturgeon, Major, his report to Lord Wellington, ii. 60. Suchet, Marshal, commands the French troops in Arragon, ii. 146. Sullivan, Mr. statement relative to him and Dr. Lynch, i. 97 ; extract from an affidavit made by him, 98. Tresion, Gen. chief of Marmont's staff, letter of, intercepted by the British, ii. 37. Trinidad, expedition against, i. 34 ; surrendered to Great Britain, 35 ; desperate attempt of the inhabitants to bring about a revolution, 67 ; apprehension of the inhabitants of, that it would be restored, 75 ; address to Col. Picton in conse- quence, ib. ; generosity of the in- habitants of, towards Gen. Picton, 221 n. ; proceedings of the com- missioners and council of, in con- sequence of Mr. Black's declara- tion, ii. 433 ; address of his Majes- ty's council at, to Lieut.-governor Hislop, with the governor's an- swer, 437. Tyler, Lieut, conveys the news of Gen. Picton's taking the castle of Badajoz to the commander-in-chief, ii. 120. 127 ; returns to England with Gen. Picton, 182 : sees Gen. Picton fall, and hurries to his assist- ance, 384 ; places the body under a tree during the battle, 385 ; reports his death to Sir James Kempt, ib. ; on examining the body of Sir Thomas, finds that he had been wounded at Quatre Bras, 386 ; his own providential escape, 389 n. ; conveys the body to England, 390. T. Talbot, Col. death of, i. 278. " The Picton Veil," a malicious poem, i. 205, et seq. Thouvenot, Gen. commands the garrison of Bordeaux, ii. 337. Timbrell, Dr. imprisonment of, men- tioned in Col. Fullarton's pamphlet against Gen. Picton, i. 111. Tobago, expedition for the retaking of, i. 131. Todd, Major, military artificers under the directions of, form a bridge of boats over the Adour, ii. 258. Torres Vedras, position of the British army within the lines of, i. 362. Toulouse, battle of, ii. 305. Trant, Col. afterwar.is Sir Nicholas, contrives to obtain a communica- tion with the governor of the for- tress of Almeida, ii. 143. U. ! United Service Journal," extract from, ii. 124. V. Vargas, Pedro, a witness against Gen. Picton, i. 153. Vaughan, Sir John, commander-in- chief in the West Indies, i. 21 ; appoints Capt. Picton to the 17th foot, and made him his confidential aide-de-camp, 22 ; resigns his com- mission on account of ill health, 23 ; his death, ib. Vincent, St. attack of the island of, i. 32 ; captured by the English, 33. Vittoria, description of the battle of, ii. 207 : won by the allied army, 217. INDEX. 469 w. Walcheren, evacuated by the British troops, i. 239. Walker, Gen. makes an assault on the bastion of San Vincente at the siege of Badajoz, ii. 121. Wallace, Lieut.-col. detached with the 88th regiment to take up an in- termediate position at the battle of Busacos, i. 332 ; Col. his bravery at the battle of Fuentes de Onoro, ii. 20. Wellesley, Lord, despatch from him, i.251. Wellington, Lord, movements of the British army under him, i. 246 ; his letter to the Marquis Wel- lesley, 247 ; retreat of his army upon Torres Vedras, 249 ; des- patch from Lord Wellesley, 251 ; places the army in cantonments, 252 ; sickness among the troops, ib. ; apprehensive for the fate of Lisbon, 255 ; marches the army into the valley of Mondego, 256 ; valuable officers added to his staff, 261 ; causes the fortresses of Ciu- dad Rodrigo and Almeida to be put in a state of defence, 264 ; takes up a position in the rear of the heights of Busacos, 309 ; awaits the attack of the enemy, 313 ; covers Coimbra, 322. 357; his object for so doing, 358 ; enemy attacks the position occupied by the allies, ib. ; retreat ordered, and the army cross the Mondego at Coimbra, ib. ; scene of horror there, 359 ; retrograde movement of the allies, 360 ; takes up a position within the grand line of Torres Vedras, 361 ; outline of the position of the contending armies, 362 ; disposition of the several corps, 365 ; number of his troops, 366 ; security of the situation of the allies, 369 ; his masterly plans, 373 ; indefatigable in his exertions to bring his army into a state of efficiency, 376 ; his attention to the comforts of the soldiers, ib. ; retreat of the French army, 379 ; General Picton's account of the enemy's retreat, 381 ; corrobo- rates Picton's account of the ad- vance of the allied army, i. 389 ; his allusion to General Picton's statement of the enemy's posi- tion at Redinha, 390. 394 ; his despatch compared with General Picton's, 401 ; route of the enemy followed, ii. 1 ; his observation concerning Col. Beckwith's\bra- very, 9 ; retreat of the French con- tinued, 11 ; army placed in can- tonments, 14; battle of Fuentes de Onoro, 15 ; maintains his posi- tion against Massena, 22 ; super- intends the siege of Badajoz, 25 ; receives particulars of the battle of Albuera, 27 ; determines to se- cure Badajoz, ib. ; batteries opened upon the castle and Fort Chris- toval, 28 ; issues orders to cease firing, 29 ; concentrates his troops, 34 ; receives reinforcements from England, 35 ; resolves to occupy a new line, 36 ; intercepts a letter from General Tresion, 37; esta- blishes his head-quarters at Fuente Guinaldo, ib. ; his intention of blockading Ciudad Rodrigo, ib. ; occupies the country between the Coa and the Agueda, 38 ; amount of his force, 42 ; sudden advance of the French, ib. ; critical situation of the third division, 43 ; General Picton's coolness on this occasion, 45 ; manoeuvre of the enemy, 46 ; retreat of the allies, 48 ; takes up a defensible line behind Soita, ib. ; retreat of the enemy, 49 ; puts the allied army into cantonments, 50 ; "losses in the army from fever, ib. ; collects materials for besieging Ciu- dad Rodrigo, ib. ; the governor of Ciudad Rodrigo taken prisoner and conveyed to him, 52 ; opera- tions to reduce the garrison, 57 ; his intention to carry it by assault ; 59 ; reconnoitres the breaches, 60 ; makes arrangements for the attack, ib. ; orders Gen. Crawfurd to be buried in the breach he had won, 78 n.; his daring design, 82 ; invests Badajoz, 83 ; memorandum issued by him, 94 ; the attack made, 105 ; the wall of the castle gained by Picton's division, 113; operations of the other divisions against the Paidaleras and San Vincente, 114 ; dreadful havoc among the British, 470 INDEX. ii. 116 ; receives news of the castle being taken by General Picton, 120 ; orders him to blow down the gates, 123 ; governor retires to FortChristoval, 124; the enemy endeavour to recover the castle, 125 ; termination of the siege, 126 ; his grief for the loss of so many soldiers, 127 ; garrison surrender to the British, ib. ; puts his army in motion towards Castile, 144 ; establishes head-quarters at Fuente Guinaldo, 145 ; pursues the French, 147 ; reduction of the forts of St. Vincente and Gaetano, 150 ; re- treat of the enemy, 151 ; battle of Salamanca, 156 ; arrangement of the troops, 157 ; anecdote of him, 159 ; resolves to begin the attack, 160 ; confidence he placed in the thirddivision,161 ; an aide-de-camp sent to apprise him of the state of affairs, 171 ; the battle won by the British, 173 ; drives the French from Valladolid, and enters that city, 179 ; moves towards Madrid with his army, 180 ; marches into that city, ib. ; advances to Burgos, 184 ; enters Placentia, ib. ; invests the castle of Burgos, 185; receives information of the advance of the French troops, ib. ; establishes his quarters at Ciudad Rodrigo, 186 ; outcry against him in Eng- land for his retreat from Burgos, 187 ; number of his troops in the spring, 188 ; the army again in motion, 193 ; concentrates his army at Valladolid, 194 ; crosses the Carrion, ib. ; prepares for his in- tended attack, 199; position of the troops, 200 ; battle of Vittoria,207; gained by the British, 217 ; retreat of King Joseph, ib. ; Southey's description of the spoils taken by the allied army, 222 ; places the army in a position to meet the ad- vance of Soult, 229 ; contests be- tween the allied forces and the French, 231 ; despatch sent to in- form him of the advance of Soult, 233 ; sets off to the scene of action, 236 ; informed by General Picton of his arrangement of the troops, 237 ; approves of his conduct, 238 ; bat- tle of the Pyrenees, ib. ; strength- ened by the arrival of the seventh division, 242 ; penetrates Soult's plans, 243 ; pursues him, 244 ; Siege of St. Sebastian, 245 ; block- ade of Pamplona, 246 ; forces the passage of theBidassoa, 263, 264 ; receives an account of the surren- der of Pamplona, 265 ; prepares to enter France, 267 ; issues a proclamation, ib. ; puts the allied army in motion, 268 ; forces the passage of the Nivelle, 270 ; re- treat of the French army, 272 ; allied army placed in cantonments, 273 ; resolves upon crossing the Nive and investing Bayonne, ib. ; the enemy's attack upon the left wing of the allied army, 274 ; prepares to defeat Soult's plans, 276 ; the enemy attack the right and centre of his army, ib. ; defeated by the allied army, 278 ; places his troops in cantonments, 279 ; his manosuvres to divert the attention of Soult from the allies, 284 ; army again in motion, ib. ; prepares to cross the A dour, 285 ; invests Bayonne, 287 ; puts his army in motion to penetrate the interior of France, 290 ; bat- tle of Orthes, 301 ; complete route of the enemy, 304 ; wounded dur- ing the battle, 305; pursues the enemy to St. Sever, 309 ; enters that city, ib. ; sends Marshal Beresford with three divisions to secure the Due d'Angouleme's entry into Bordeaux, 311 ; continues his advance against Soult, 313 ; right flank of the allies attacked by the French, 314 ; advances towards Toulouse, ib. ; attack upon Tar- bes, 316 ; retreat of Soult, 318; reaches Toulouse, 319 ; Dallied army cross the Garonne, 320 ; prepares to attack the heights oc- cupied by the enemy, 325 ; his in- tended plan of assault, ib. ; bat- tle of Toulouse, 327 ; retreat of the enemy, 313 ; sends a flag of truce to Soult, 335 ; his reply to it, ib ; enters the city of Tou- louse, 336 ; halts for a time, ib. ; receives a confirmation of the re- port that the Northern allies were in Paris, ib. ; puts the army in cantonments, 337 ; breaking up of the army, 338 ; return of Napoleon INDEX. 471 from Elba, ii. 357 ; army under his command in the Netherlands, 358 ; his confidence on being sur- rounded by his old soldiers, 365 ; receives information of the French army being in motion, ib. ; bustle in Brussels, 336 ; arranges his plans to co-operate with those of Blucher, 368 ; defeat of the French at Quatre Bras, 374 ; his esteem of the military judgment of Sir Thomas Picton, 375 ; rides to Bry to arrange with Blucher, 376 ; the allied forces fall back upon Water- loo, 377 ; battle of Waterloo, 380 ; his character of Sir Thomas Pic- ton, 424. Western, Capt. a friend and sup- porter of Gen. Picton, i. 122. Williams, Alexander, Esq. witness at Gen. Picton's second trial, i. 218. Williams, Lieut.-col. his spirited conduct at the battle of Fuentes de Onoro, ii. 16 n. Windham, Capt. pursues King Jo- seph on his retreat from Vittoria, ii. 217. Wynne, Mr. reverts to Gen. Picton during a debate in the House of Commons, ii. 363. THE END. LONDON t PRINTED BY SAMUEL BENTLEY, Dorset Street, Fleet Street. RETURN CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT TO ^ 202 Main Library LOAN PERIOD 1 HOME USE 2 3 4 5 6 ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS 1 -month loans may be renewed by calling 642-3405 6-month loans may be recharged by bringing books to Circulation Desk Renewals and recharges may be made 4 days prior to due date DUE AS STAMPED BELOW ItfiERUBRARf LOAN FFB 1 1 1982 , 1F BEm INTERLIBRARY LI JAN FEB 1 4 198 - UNIV. OF CALIF.. B UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKEL 1 FORM NO. DD6, 60m, 12/80 BERKELEY, CA 94720 28-732 THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY