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
Major Frazer was killed on the flaming ruins, the intrepid Jones
stood there awhile longer amidst a few heroic soldiers, hoping for
aid, but none came and he and those with him were struck down. The
engineer Machel had been killed early and the men bearing ladders
fell or were dispersed. Thus the rear of the column was in absolute
confusion before the head was beaten. It was in vain that colonel
Greville of the thirty-eighth, colonel Cameron of the ninth, captain
Archimbeau of the royals, and many other regimental officers
exerted themselves to rally their discomfited troops and refill the
breach; it was in vain that lieutenant Campbell, breaking through
the tumultuous crowd with the survivors of his chosen detachment,
mounted the ruins; twice he ascended, twice he was wounded, and all
around him died. The royals endeavouring to retire got intermixed
with the thirty-eighth, and with some companies of the ninth which
had unsuccessfully endeavoured to pass them and get to the lesser
breach. Then swayed by different impulses and pent up in the narrow
way between the horn-work and the river, the mass reeling to and fro
could neither advance nor go back until the shells and musquetry,
constantly plied both in front and flank, had thinned the concourse
and the trenches were regained in confusion. At daylight a truce
was agreed to for an hour, during which the French, who had already
humanely removed the gallant Jones and the other wounded men from the
breach, now carried off the more distant sufferers lest they should
be drowned by the rising of the tide.
Five officers of engineers including sir Richard Fletcher, and
forty-four officers of the line with five hundred and twenty men, had
been killed, wounded, or made prisoners in this assault the failure
of which was signal, yet the causes were obvious and may be classed
thus.
1º. Deviation from the original project of siege and from lord
Wellington’s instructions.
2º. Bad arrangements of detail.
3º. Want of vigour in the execution.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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