because the French Light Horse and Polish Lancers, not meeting with a force of our cavalry sufficient to stop their progress, spread themselves over the face of the country, capturing our baggage and stores, and threatening to prevent the junction of the right brigade with the other two. While the French might be said to have the undisputed possession of the entire field of battle, over which they were pouring an immense mass of dragoons, followed by infantry and artillery, the regiments of our division which were in column continued their retrograde movement upon Fuente-Guinaldo. The 45th and 74th had by this time cleared the rugged ground and enclosures, and were in march to join the remainder of the column; but the 88th were most unaccountably left in a vineyard, which was enclosed by a loose stone wall. In the hurry of the moment they might, and I believe would, have been forgotten, had not the soldiers, who became impatient upon hearing the clashing of weapons outside the enclosure, burst down several openings in the wall, by which means they not only saw the danger of the position in which their comrades were placed, but also the hopelessness of their own, if they did not speedily break down the walls that incarcerated them; for our 1st Hussars and 11th Light Dragoons were giving way before the overpowering weight of the enemy’s horse, while the bulk of the 3rd Division were marching in a line parallel to the enclosure occupied by the 88th; so it was manifest that if this regiment did not at the instant break from its prison, a few moments would have decided its fate, and left the 3rd Division _minus_ the Connaught Rangers. Each moment that we remained was of consequence, and the delay of five minutes would have been fatal; we were without orders, and were at a loss how to act; but nothing tends more to bring the energies of men into action than their seeing clearly the danger that they are placed in, and the consciousness that their only means of escaping it depends upon their firm reliance on themselves. Some officers called out to have the wall broken down, and in a second several openings were made in it. Every officer made the greatest efforts to supply, by his own particular dispositions, such as were on the whole necessary; but an operation of so delicate a nature, made in the face of a powerful antagonist, could not be performed with as much order and regularity as was desirable. From the great coolness of the men, and the intelligence and gallantry of the officers, the regiment was at last extricated from its dangerous position, but it was far, very far, from being safe yet; and had the French dragoons, at the close of the day, shown the same determination they did at its commencement, not one man of the 88th would have escaped.