History of the Peninsular War, Volume 3 (of 6)Southey, Robert
History
History of the Peninsular War, Volume 3 (of 6)
Southey, Robert
Peninsular War, 1807-1814
And
Sir J. Cradock had ordered a battalion of Portugueze infantry and a
regiment of cavalry to join him.
♦SIR ROBERT GOES TO CIUDAD RODRIGO.♦
When Sir Robert reached Lamego, he there found information, that a
small British detachment which had been stationed in Ciudad Rodrigo,
had, in consequence of the approaching danger, forsaken it. Always
hopeful himself, and well aware of what importance it was that that
position should be maintained, he left his troops, and hastened thither
to consult with the Junta. It was a point from which he could act
upon that division of the enemy who were then forcing their way into
Extremadura, ... or, co-operate with any Spanish force that might take
the field from Salamanca. The people, on their part, declared their
determination to defend the place resolutely; his aid, therefore, was
accepted as frankly as it was offered, and the legion accordingly
advanced from Lamego through a country almost impracticable at that
season. By dint of human exertion, carts and artillery were drawn up
steeps which hitherto had been deemed inaccessible for carriages.
Sometimes men and officers, breast-deep in the water, dragged the guns
through torrents so formidable, that cattle could not be trusted to
perform that service. Sometimes, where the carriages would have floated
and have been swept away, the wheels were taken off, and they were
slidden over on the foot-bridges. Sometimes they were hauled along
causeways and connecting bridges so narrow, that the wheels rested on
half their fellies upon the stones which were set edge upwards on the
verge of the road. It was the first march these troops had ever made,
but notwithstanding the severity of such labour, performed at such a
season, and during incessant rain, not a man deserted, and there was
no straggling, no murmuring amid all their difficulties: they sung as
they went along, and reached their resting-place at night with unabated
cheerfulness.
♦HE REFUSES TO RETURN TO PORTO.♦
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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