The Cavaliers of Fortune; Or, British Heroes in Foreign WarsGrant, James
History
The Cavaliers of Fortune; Or, British Heroes in Foreign Wars
Grant, James
British -- Foreign countries; Great Britain -- History, Military
Leaving Campo Verde in the valley of Aro, on the 14th, he marched
rapidly down from Casa de Silva upon Abispal, where the French, under
Swartz, were entrenched. He attacked them, slew two hundred, and,
taking the rest, embarked them for Tarragona, whither he retired soon
after, to take a little repose, being troubled by his last wound; yet
in January, 1811, we find him again in arms, directing the movements of
the army, and harassing Marshals Macdonald and Suchet, though unable to
ride or appear in the field; and on his being created Conde de Abispal,
he resigned the command of his Catalonians, three thousand in number,
to Campo Verde, being so disabled by wounds that he was quite unable to
conduct the siege of Tortoza.
In October, 1812, he was appointed to that situation, which several
Irish soldiers of fortune have held--Captain-General of Andalusia,--and
on Wellington reaching Cadiz in December of that year, after the
retreat from Burgos, on his making a complete re-organization of the
Spanish forces, the first reserve corps was given to the Conde de
Abispal, and the second reserve to Lacy. Thus they both served in the
new campaign which ended so gloriously on the field of Vittoria. After
this signal victory, the task of reducing the forts near the tremendous
pass of Pancorbo, which secured the approach to the Ebro, was given to
the Irish Conde and his Andalusians, to whom they fell partly by storm
and partly by capitulation.
On the 14th July, 1813, to O'Donnel and his reserve of five thousand
was permanently entrusted the important duty of blocking up the
French garrison in Pampeluna, now almost the last stronghold of
Napoleon in Spain. This task he conducted with great vigour, while
Wellington secured the passes of the Pyrenees and pushed the siege of
San Sebastian; but on Soult forcing the passes on the 25th July, such
an alarm reached Pampeluna, that the Conde de Abispal spiked some of
his cannon, blew up his magazines, abandoned the trenches, and but
for Picton's victorious stand at Huarte, was prepared to retreat. On
the fortunate arrival of a small Spanish division under Don Carlos
d'Espana, the blockade was resumed and the siege pressed with renewed
vigour.
O'Donnel was posted on the right of Marshal Murillo at the great and
decisive battle of Pampeluna, so absurdly and obstinately styled by the
British _the battle of the Pyrenees_, from which it is nearly thirty
miles distant. Soult was completely overthrown, and in August O'Donnel
reinforced the seventh division in occupying the important passes of
Exhallar and Zugaramurdi. After this, being again troubled by old
wounds, he fell ill and resigned his command for a time to Giron. In
November he resumed it again, and occupied the beautiful valley of the
Bastan, prior to the invasion of France under Wellington.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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