The battles of the British Army : $b being a popular account of all the principal engagements during the last hundred yearsBlackwood, Robert Melvin
History
The battles of the British Army : $b being a popular account of all the principal engagements during the last hundred years
Blackwood, Robert Melvin
Battles -- Great Britain; Great Britain -- History, Military; Great Britain. Army -- History
At ten o’clock the action had ended. Sir Ralph Abercrombie previously
refused to quit the field, and remained exposed to the heavy cannonade
directed on the battery where he stood, until perfectly assured that
the French defeat had been decisive. From what proved a fatal wound
he appeared at first to feel but little inconvenience, complaining
only of the contusion on his breast. When, however, the day was won,
and exertion no longer necessary, nature yielded, and in an exhausted
state he was carried in a hammock off the field, accompanied by the
tears and blessings of the soldiery. In the evening he was removed, for
better care, on board the flag-ship, where he continued until his death.
Immediate attention was bestowed upon the wounded, who, from the
confined nature of the ground on which the grand struggles of the day
had occurred, were lying in fearful numbers all around. Many of the
sufferers had been wounded by grapeshot, others mangled by the sabres,
or trodden down by the horses of the cavalry. Death had been busily
employed. Of the British, two hundred and forty were dead, including
six officers; eleven hundred and ninety men and sixty officers wounded;
and thirty privates and three officers missing. Other casualties had
occurred. The tents had been shred to pieces by the French guns, and
many of the wounded and sick, who were lying there, were killed. No
wonder could be expressed that the loss of life had been so terrible,
for thousands of brass cannon-balls were lying loosely about, and
glistening on the sands.
The French loss had been most severe. One thousand and fifty bodies
were buried on the field of battle, and nearly seven hundred wounded
were found mingled with the dead. The total loss sustained by Menou’s
army could not have been much under four thousand; and in this the
greater portion of his principal officers must be included. General
Roiz was found dead in the rear of the redoubt, and the French order of
battle discovered in his pocket. Near the same place two guns had been
abandoned, and these, with a stand of colours, fell, as trophies of
their victory, to the conquerors.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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