Middle East -- Description and travel; Stanhope, Hester, Lady, 1776-1839
The Moores were then at Geneva, which the young man was soon to leave to
travel in France, Germany and Italy. He continued to perfect his
education; the first part permitted him to render himself agreeable to
women, the second aided him in his career as an officer, at any rate it
is to be hoped that it did. The knowledge of French was useful to both.
The profession of arms was at that time a very attractive one, for
England was in the midst of the American War, while the more serious
wars of the Revolution and Empire were to follow. There was promotion to
be won and no time to stagnate in garrison towns. Young Ensign Moore
took part in all the fêtes and journeyed across the world. For an
intelligent lad to see the country is never a disagreeable thing. We
find him at Minorca in 1776, then in America in 1779. He takes part in
the famous Corsican expedition by the side of Paoli. He is sent to San
Lucia, commands a brigade at the Helder under the orders of Abercromby,
returns to Minorca, goes to Malta, takes part in the Egyptian campaign,
is very nearly going to the Indies and in 1808 is finally appointed
commander-in-chief of the troops in Spain. Accidents by the way were not
lacking. He was wounded so often that his friends surnamed him the
"unlucky one."
In his last campaign it seems that ill-luck, indeed, pursued him. Moore
relied confidently on the resistance of the Spaniards in Madrid and was
in entire ignorance of the negotiations of Prince Castelfranco and Don
Thomas Morla to surrender the town. The admirable English army, 29,000
strong, was concentrated at Toro and the infantry was within two hours'
march of the French, when a letter, intercepted by chance, suddenly
informed him that Napoleon had made his entry into Madrid no less than
three weeks earlier. Then began that magnificent retreat, in the depth
of winter, over 250 miles of difficult and hilly country. Hard pressed
by the enemy, the exhausted English army reached Coruña on January 16.
The embarkation was hurried on, but the enemy was already descending
from the heights in serried columns. Lord Bentinck's brigade sustained
the shock. Moore was justly applauding an heroic charge of the 50th,
under the orders of Majors Napier and Stanhope, when a bullet struck him
and shattered his shoulder. He lived until the evening. His soldiers
buried him as dawn was breaking, on a gloomy January day, and while they
were digging the grave with their bayonets the enemy's cannon began to
growl again, as if to render funeral honours to the dead.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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