Marshal Beresford was brave, but was better as an administrator in peace than as a General in war. No praise can exceed his deserts in reference to the organization and training of the Portuguese army, or his fidelity to Wellington; but his abilities as a commander in the field were feeble, and the success of his troops in the battle which followed the raising of the siege of Badajoz was won in spite of, rather than by him. Albuera was one of the fiercest battles of the Peninsula; with it the name of Beresford will always be associated; but its chronicler will always have to register with the stories of its gallantry that of his incapacity. The policy of fighting the battle at all--a question which lies with a General alone--was more than doubtful; but, even admitting that it was wise, his tactics were extremely faulty, and the errors were expiated only by the courage and losses of his men. With a General like Soult against him, the arrangement of his army on the morning of the 16th May revealed a childlike innocence, which, in a General charged with the lives of men, was criminal. Part of his army was still at Badajoz, and could not possibly reach his position in time for the battle;--part had barely succeeded in doing so on the eventful morning;--he had, on the previous day, allowed the French to occupy a wood on the other side of the Albuera River, where they could conceal their intentions;--and, with marvellous blindness, he had allowed them to secure a hill in the immediate front of his own right, behind which they organized the famous attack, which so nearly proved fatal.