History of the Peninsular War, Volume 6 (of 6)Southey, Robert
History
History of the Peninsular War, Volume 6 (of 6)
Southey, Robert
Peninsular War, 1807-1814
While Longa thus harassed the enemy in the north of ♦MINA’S MOVEMENTS.♦
Spain, Mina was assailing them with his wonted activity in Navarre
and Aragon. The English landed two 12-pounders for him in the Deva,
together with clothing, ammunition, and other things of which he was in
need; 600 of his men were ready to receive and escort these. The French
endeavoured to intercept them, and were repulsed in the attempt; and
Mina was no sooner possessed of the guns than he attacked the enemy
in Tafalla, where they had a garrison of 400 men. General ♦FEB. 11.♦
Abbé moved to relieve it with all the disposable force from Pamplona;
but he was beaten back by a part of Mina’s force which had been left
to observe that city, and on the fifth day of the siege the garrison
surrendered as prisoners of war. The wounded he sent under an escort
to Pamplona; destroyed the fort at Tafalla, and the works, ... also a
Franciscan Convent, and an old palace in which the French might have
established a garrison; and he demolished in like manner two other
such edifices at Olite, that the road might be clear between Pamplona
and Tudela. From Tafalla he proceeded to Sos in Upper Aragon, a fort
which the enemy had occupied more than three years, and fortified
sufficiently as long as the Spaniards could bring no guns against it.
They were on the point of surrendering after a four days’ siege, when
General Paris arrived from Zaragoza and carried off the garrison,
leaving the fort half ruined: Mina completed its demolition, and by
this enterprise laid open the road between Pamplona and Jaca. Shortly
after, Fermin de Leguia, who was under ♦FEB. 20.♦ his orders, ventured,
without instructions, upon an adventure which was executed as boldly
as it ♦MARCH 11.♦ was designed. With only fifteen men, being the whole
of his party, he approached the castle of Fuenterrabia in the night,
scaled the wall with one man by the help of spikes and ropes which
supplied the place of a ladder, surprised the sentinel, got possession
of the keys, opened the gates for his men, and took eight artillerymen
prisoners, while the remainder of the garrison, who dreamt of no
danger, were sleeping in the town. He then spiked the guns, threw into
the sea all the ammunition which he could not carry away, set fire to
the castle, and though pursued by the enemy retreated without loss.
Mina was heard of next at Lodosa, where he attacked a detachment of
1000 French, few of whom ♦MARCH 29. CAFFARELLI RECALLED FROM SPAIN.♦
escaped, 635 being made prisoners. Caffarelli had at this time been
called to France, giving up the command in the north to Clausel; that
able general hoped to signalize himself by destroying an indefatigable
enemy who had baffled the efforts of all his predecessors; and this
was the first proof which he made of that enemy’s ability. Mina
next attempted to intercept a convoy which was going from Tolosa to
Pamplona; the convoy was alarmed in time, but the attempt led to an
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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