[237] Napier (iii. 129) is wrong in saying that the movement was ‘Supported by the 1st, 5th, and 7th Divisions.’ These only reached Celorico that day, and were fifteen miles from the field. See Diary of Stothert of the Guards, p. 232. Napier was misled by the vague wording of Wellington’s dispatch to Lord Liverpool (vii. 425), from which it might be supposed that these divisions were up. [238] The 3rd Division arrived some time before the 6th and the Light were in actual touch with the enemy. Picton writes about this: ‘Masséna with full 20,000 men was on the heights, and in the city of Guarda, when I made my appearance at 9 in the morning, with three British and two Portuguese regiments.... He ought immediately to have attacked me, but allowed me to remain within 400 yards of his main body for about two hours, before the other columns came up. But of course their movements were alarming him, and decided him not to hazard an attack, the failure of which would have probably brought on the total discomfiture of his army.’ Letter in Robinson’s _Life of Picton_, vol. ii. pp. 3, 4. Loison went off in great haste on the two roads open to him, both leading south-east towards the Coa: one by Adão and Pega towards Sabugal, the other by Villa Mendo and Marmeleiro to Rapoulla da Coa. The British infantry could never come up with him. The cavalry pressed his rear, and made many prisoners, mainly foraging parties which were straggling in to join the main body. A patrol of the 16th Light Dragoons captured 64 men in one party, and took 150 sheep and 20 oxen[239]. The total number of prisoners was between two and three hundred. But the French rearguard of three battalions of infantry kept well together, and was in too good order to be broken by unsupported squadrons of cavalry. The main body of the 6th Corps marched all day towards the fords of the Coa, but had not reached that river at nightfall. One of its columns encamped at Pega, the other at Marmeleiro. [239] See Tomkinson’s Diary, p. 90.