Journal, 26th March-26th May 1811—Letter No. XII., To his Parents, from Espeja, dated 18th May 1811 158 CHAPTER VIII Journal, 26th May-21st August 1811—Letter No. XIII., To his Parents, from Martiago, dated 26th August 1811—Journal, 29th August-30th September 1811—Letter No. XIV., To Lieutenant Maud Simmons, 34th Regiment, 2nd Division, Portugal, from Aldea Velha, Portugal, dated 1st October 1811—Journal, 1st October-20th December 1811—Letter No. XV., To his Parents, from Atalaya, Spain, dated 8th December 1811 185 Campaign of 1812 213 CHAPTER IX Journal, 4th January-30th July 1812 216 CHAPTER X Journal, 1st-31st August 1812—Letter No. XVI., To his Parents, from Madrid, dated 8th September 1812—Journal, 1st September-31st December 1812—Letter No. XVII., To his Parents, from Alameda, Spain, dated 12th December 1812—Letter No. XVIII., To his Father, from Alameda, Spain, dated 29th December 1812 245 Campaign of 1813 273 CHAPTER XI Letter No. XIX., To his Father, from Alameda, dated 30th April 1813—Letter No. XX., From Lieutenant Joseph Simmons to his Parents, from Alameda, dated 5th May 1813 (Postscript by George Simmons)—Journal, 1st May-30th August 1813 275 CHAPTER XII Letter No. XXI., To his Parents, from Vera, Pyrenees, dated 30th August 1813—Postscript, dated 4th September 1813—Journal, 31st August-31st December 1813—Letter No. XXII., To his Parents, from St. Jean-de-Luz, France, dated 7th December 1813, and Postscript 302 Campaign of 1814 331 CHAPTER XIII Journal, 12th January-21st March 1814—Battle of Orthez—The Action of Tarbes—Letter No. XXIII., To his Parents, from Tarbes, France, dated 27th March 1814 (finished by Maud Simmons)—Journal, 13th April-23rd July 1814 333 Campaign of 1815 354 CHAPTER XIV Journal, 25th April-June 1815—Letter No. XXIV., To his Parents, from Brussels, dated 19th May 1815—Journal, 15th-18th June 1815—Letter No. XXV., To his Parents, from Brussels, undated, but bearing a postmark of 1st July 1815—Letter No. XXVI., To his Parents, from Brussels, dated 21st July 1815—Letter No. XXVII., To his Parents, from Brussels, dated 18th September 1815 355 Conclusion 378 Appendix I., Letter from General Sir Harry Smith, 1846, after Aliwal 381 Appendix II., Medical Certificates 384 INTRODUCTION George Simmons, the writer of the following letters and journals, was born on 2nd May 1785. His parents resided at Beverley, in Yorkshire. The family consisted of nine sons and three daughters.