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
A period of inaction succeeded the victory at Vimiero. Burrard was
superseded in his command by Sir Hew Dalrymple, and the convention
of Cintra perfected, by which an army was restored to France, that,
had Sir Arthur Wellesley’s advice been attended to, must have been
eventually destroyed or driven into such extremity as should have
produced an unconditional surrender. Other articles in this disgraceful
treaty recognised a full exercise of rights of conquest to the French,
secured to them the enormous plunder their rapacity had accumulated,
and granted an amnesty to every traitor who had abandoned his country,
and aided the invaders in effecting its subjugation. No wonder that
this precious convention occasioned in Britain a universal feeling of
disgust. No wonder that blood spilled in vain, and treasure uselessly
wasted, roused popular indignation to a pitch of excitement which no
occurrence in modern history can parallel.
Within twelve months from the commencement of the war Britain had sent
over to the Spanish armies (besides £2,000,000) 150 pieces of field
artillery, 42 thousand rounds of ammunition, 200 thousand muskets,
61 thousand swords, 79 thousand pikes, 23 million ball cartridges, 6
million leaden balls, 15 thousand barrels of gunpowder, 92 thousand
suits of clothing, 356 thousand sets of accoutrements and pouches,
310 thousand pairs of shoes, 37 thousand pairs of boots, 40 thousand
tents, 250 thousand yards of cloth, 10 thousand sets of camp equipage,
118 thousand yards of linen, 50 thousand great coats, 50 thousand
canteens, 54 thousand haversacks, with a variety of other stores, far
too numerous to be recapitulated.
The particulars of the treaty of Cintra, immediately on being known
in Britain, occasioned the recall of Sir Hew Dalrymple; while under
the plea of ill health, his colleague, Sir Harry Burrard, resigned and
returned home. What a different result the Portuguese campaign would
have exhibited had these two old gentlemen been left in a district
command, and not been allowed to check a career of victory which opened
with such glorious promise!
Sir Arthur Wellesley had already returned to Britain, and many officers
of all ranks followed his example. The command of the army devolved on
Sir John Moore, a man most deservedly respected by the country, and
popular with his soldiers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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