[314] The consumption of the Estremos magazines by Mendizabal’s men will be found mentioned in the pamphlet (written under Beresford’s direction) called ‘Strictures on Napier’s Peninsular War’ [London, 1832]. ‘When the Marshal (Beresford) put his corps in motion from the Tagus he was informed that the British Commissary in the Alemtejo had from 200,000 to 300,000 rations in store for his use. But this officer had also been ordered to supply the Spanish division lately in that province, and (most incautiously) issued for its service whatever its commander required. Owing to this inadvertence on the part of the Commissary (whose name, I think, was Thompson), when Marshal Beresford arrived the store was _absolutely empty_’ [p. 61]. His name _was_ Thompson, and he was immediately superseded by Wellington’s order (_Dispatches_, vii. 426). Campo Mayor was an old-fashioned fortress, which had not been remodelled since the War of the Spanish Succession, its greatest weakness was that an outlying fort (São João), only 200 yards from the walls in a commanding position, had been dismantled, but not blown up and levelled to the ground. It overlooked one of the bastions of the place, and had only to be seized in order to provide an admirable starting-place for operations against the enceinte. No serious attention had been paid to Campo Mayor of late, the much stronger place of Elvas, only eleven miles away, having absorbed all the attention of the Portuguese government. The Spaniards had been garrisoning it for the last six months, but when they hastily departed the Governor of Elvas threw into it half a battalion of the Portalegre Militia (about 300 men) and a company of artillery. This handful of men, aided by the Ordenança of the place, were all that were at the disposition of the very gallant and resourceful old engineer officer, Major José Joaquim Talaya, who was left in charge of the place. As the population was under 3,000 souls, the levy of the Ordenança cannot have amounted to more than 300 men, and many of these (as was still the case in most parts of Portugal) had no firearms, but only pikes. But the chief magistrate (_juiz de fora_), José Carvalho, served at the head of them with great energy, and we are assured that (contrary to what might have been expected) the citizens took a more creditable part than the militiamen in the defence[315]. [315] Soriano da Luz, iii. pp. 531-2.