It has been asserted that Caro offered the chief command of the Spanish armies to sir John Moore, and that the latter refused it; this is not true: Caro had no power to do so, and if he had, there were no armies to command; but that gentleman in his interview either was, or affected to be, satisfied of the soundness of the English general’s views, and ashamed of the folly of the junta. The 18th, head-quarters were at Castro Nuevo; from that place sir John Moore wrote to Romana, informing him of his intention to fall upon Soult, desiring his co-operation, and requesting that the Marquis would, according to his own plan given to the British minister in London, reserve the Asturias for his line of communication, and leave the Gallicias open to the British. The army was now in full march, Baird was at Benevente, Hope at Villapando; the cavalry scoured the country on the side of Valladolid, and in several successful skirmishes took a number of prisoners. The French could be no longer ignorant of the march, and the English general brought forward his columns rapidly. On the 20th the whole of the forces were united; the cavalry at Melgar Abaxo, and the infantry at Mayorga, and as much concentrated as the necessity of obtaining cover in a country devoid of fuel, and deep with snow, would permit. The weather was exceedingly severe, and the marches long, but a more robust set of men never took the field: their discipline was admirable, and there were very few stragglers; the experience of one or two campaigns alone was wanting to make a perfect army. [Sidenote: Appendix, No. 25.] The number was however small; nominally it was nearly thirty-five thousand, but four regiments were still in Portugal, and three more were left by sir David Baird at Lugo and Astorga. One thousand six hundred and eighty-seven men were detached, and four thousand and five were in hospital. The actual number present under arms on the 19th of December was only nineteen thousand and fifty-three infantry, two thousand two hundred and seventy-eight cavalry, and one thousand three hundred and fifty-eight gunners, forming a total of twenty-three thousand five hundred and eighty-three men, with sixty pieces of artillery: the whole being organized in three divisions, a reserve, and two light brigades of infantry, and one division of cavalry. Of the artillery four batteries were attached to the infantry, and two to the cavalry; one was kept in reserve. Romana, who had been able to bring forward very few men, promised to march in two columns by Almanzer and Guarda, and sent some information of the enemy’s position; but sir John Moore depended little upon his intelligence, when he found him, even so late as the 19th of December (upon the faith of information from the junta), representing Madrid as still holding out; and when the advanced posts were already engaged at Sahagun, proposing an interview at Benevente to arrange the plan of operations.