Here they halted in very pleasant quarters until the 14th. During this time Major-General Skerrett was appointed to the command of the second brigade of the Light Division, in which was the 2nd Battalion, in succession to General Vandeleur, who was transferred to the command of a cavalry brigade. On the afternoon of the 14th the Regiment marched from San Esteban, and encamped on the heights above Sumbilla. On the 15th at daylight they marched down the Bidassoa, by a road which sometimes skirted its bank, and sometimes rose upon the mountain side over it. On getting near the bridge of Lezaca the enemy’s advanced post was discovered near it, on the heights of Sta. Barbara. And the 1st Battalion was ordered to dislodge them. They climbed the mountain slowly; for it was very steep, and they were obliged to husband their strength for the fight which might take place at the top. The French gave them some shots; but when they arrived on the crest, they quickly drove them down the other side. And as they stood on the top the Riflemen had a view of the enemy’s position; and of the Bidassoa, which here makes a sharp bend to the left, and flows thence through a rocky channel to the sea. Below them was the town of Vera and the road which, leading into France through Vera, is called La Puerta de Vera. To defend this pass the French had thrown up strong works. And here also the Riflemen looked, far to the left, upon the sea; and a simultaneous cheer burst forth at the sight of that ocean which seemed to connect them with their native land, and which, for some years, most of them had not seen. The 43rd drove the enemy out of the town of Vera; but they still kept a picquet in some outhouses near it, and our picquets were posted in Vera. The Regiment encamped on the heights they had gained. It remained in this position, furnishing the picquets, and keeping up the communication between the army under Sir Thomas Graham, which was besieging St. Sebastian, and that under Sir Rowland Hill, which was investing and covering Pamplona. On July 25 Marshal Soult, who had assumed command of the French army, attacked the positions of Roncesvalles and Maya, with a view to raising the siege of Pamplona or throwing provisions into it; and after several hardly-contested fights had obliged Hill to fall back. It therefore became necessary for the Light Division also to retire, though the enemy in front made no sign of advancing. Accordingly on the 26th the Regiment marched from their encampment, and crossing the Bidassoa, and passing through Lezaca and Jansi, encamped for the night on high ground near Sumbilla.