The Romance of Modern Sieges: Describing the personal adventures, resource and daring of besiegers and beseiged in all parts of the worldGilliat, Edward
History
The Romance of Modern Sieges: Describing the personal adventures, resource and daring of besiegers and beseiged in all parts of the world
Gilliat, Edward
Adventure and adventurers; Battles; Sieges; War
He threw himself upon the Captain, and finding he understood French,
entreated he would save him from our infuriated soldiers; but this
he found it extremely difficult to do, as each successive group, on
perceiving his large gold epaulettes and orders, evinced a strong
anxiety to make further acquaintance with him. Upon one occasion the
Captain was obliged to use his sword to protect him from a few of the
60th, who advanced upon him in rather a suspicious and business-like
manner.
The poor Colonel was in a state of violent agitation, and kept a firm
hold of his protector’s arm through all the changes of the fight, until
they met a field-officer of the British artillery, to whom he gave him
in charge.
The Frenchman wanted to bring C---- to the bomb-proof, where his
baggage was secured, to give him some tokens of his gratitude, and
overwhelmed him with thanks; but duty called, and he left him with the
field-officer, who, he heard afterwards, reaped a rich reward for his
small service.
The first rays of a beautiful morning showed the incredible strength
of Badajos, and how dearly the capture of it had cost us. The gallant
hearts that beat with devoted bravery the night before now lay in the
cold grasp of death. Silence had succeeded to the dreadful din of arms,
and rendered more awful the contemplation of this fearful scene of
death and suffering and desolation.
A vast number of the enemy lay dead in a heap close by the spot where
our men were forming, and while they gazed on these unhappy victims of
a fierce and deadly fight, they were not a little astonished to observe
a very young French officer who lay amongst them, and whom they thought
to be dead also, slowly and cautiously raise himself up; then, after
looking about him with a wild stare, he coolly walked over to the other
side where the prisoners were standing and delivered himself up!
This wily hero had not been wounded, nor had he received the slightest
scratch, but, being more frightened than hurt, he lay concealed in this
manner until all fear of danger, as he thought, was over and gone.
It excited a good deal of merriment amongst our men, but the French
curled their moustaches, gave him a hearty “Sacre!” and their deep
contempt.
ANOTHER ACCOUNT.
“I was on a hill with the medical staff during the night of the assault
of Badajos. For two hours we watched the fire, the bursting of shells
and hand-grenades. Then the wounded began to arrive, and we were busy.
“Lord Wellington rode up with his staff, and soon after a staff-officer
came up at a gallop, shouting, ‘Where is Lord Wellington?’
“‘There, sir.’
“‘My lord, I am come from the breaches. The troops after repeated
attempts, have failed to enter them. So many officers have fallen that
the men, dispersed in the ditch, are without leaders. If your lordship
does not at once send a strong reinforcement they must abandon the
enterprise. Colonel McLeod, of the 43rd, has been killed in the breach.’
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
The Romance of Modern Sieges: Describing the personal adventures, resource and daring of besiegers and beseiged in all parts of the world — John Shaqi
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