History of the war in the Peninsula and in the south of France from the year 1807 to the year 1814, vol. 6Napier, William Francis Patrick
History
History of the war in the Peninsula and in the south of France from the year 1807 to the year 1814, vol. 6
Napier, William Francis Patrick
Peninsular War, 1807-1814
Colonel Adam was wounded very early, the command devolved upon
colonel Reeves, and that officer seeing his flank turned and his men
falling fast, in short, finding himself engaged with a whole army
on a position of which colonel Adam had lost the key by neglecting
the bridge, resolved to retreat. In this view he first ordered the
guns to fall back, and to cover the movement charged a column of
the enemy which was pressing forward on the high road, but he was
severely wounded in this attack and there was no recognized commander
on the spot to succeed him. Then the affair became confused. For
though the order to retreat was given the Spaniards were fighting
desperately, and the twenty-seventh thought it shame to abandon
them; wherefore the Germans and De Roll’s regiment still held the
old fort and the guns came back. The action was thus continued with
great fury. Colonel Carey now brought the Calabrese into line from
the left, and menaced the right flank of the French, but he was too
late; the Spaniards overwhelmed in the centre were broken, the right
was completely turned, the old fort was lost, the enemy’s skirmishers
got into the allies’ rear, and at three o’clock the whole dispersed,
the most part in flight; the Spanish cavalry were then overthrown on
the main road by the French hussars and four guns were taken in the
tumult.
Captain Waldron, with the twenty-seventh reduced to eighty men, and
captain Müller with about the same number of Germans and Swiss,
breaking through several small parties of the enemy effected their
retreat in good order by the hills on each side of the road. Colonel
Carey endeavoured at first to gain the road of Sadurni on the left,
but meeting with Decaen’s people on that side he retraced his steps,
and crossing the field of battle in the rear of Suchet’s columns made
for Villa Nueva de Sitjes. There he finally embarked without loss,
save a few stragglers who fell into the hands of a flanking battalion
of French infantry which had moved through the mountains by Begas
and Avionet. The overthrow was complete and the prisoners were at
first very numerous, but the darkness enabled many to escape, and two
thousand men reached Manso and Eroles.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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