APPENDIX 7

THE HAMILTONS AND THE 5^TH REGIMENT OF FOOT

It is a remarkable fact that all three sons and all four grandsons of my great X 5 grandfather, Rev. Nicholas Hamilton, served at the same time in the 5^th Foot while a cousin served in the 42^nd Highlanders and 95^th Rifles. I have been so intrigued by this fact that I decided to try and put some meat on the bones of this period of military history. What follows is a glimpse into the various campaigns related as far as possible to the 5^th Foot, using material that I have found in print and on the world-wide-web. C.F.B.H.

Rev. Nicholas Hamilton

John Hamilton James Mathew Hamilton Charles Frederick Hamilton

Nicholas Hamilton John Spring Hamilton James Bunbury Hamilton William Hamilton

John Hamilton: Ensign 1766; Captured during American War of Independence; Capt 1793; Exped to Den Helder 1799; Hanover 1805. Wrecked off Texel P.O.W.; Exped to Buenos Ayres 1806/7; Peninsula War 1808 at battles of Rolica, Vimiera and Corunna. Exped to Walcheren 1809.; Lisbon 1812 and soon thereafter returned home.

His brother James Mathew Hamilton: Ensign 1786; Canada 1787; Lt 1794 and i/c Fort Chippewa on the Niagara; Capt 1799 and exped to Den Helder.

His brother Charles Frederick Hamilton: Lt 1798; exped to Den Helder 1799. Wounded at Beverwyck 6 Oct – retired.

His son John Spring Hamilton: Ensign 1799; 1^st Bn. Hanover 1805. Wrecked off Texel. P.O.W.; Capt 1808; Peninsula War at battles of Salamanca, Vittoria, Nivelle – captured - P.O.W. at Verdun. Released and at occupation of Paris 1815. A miniature of him can be seen in the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers museum.

His son Nicholas Hamilton: Ensign 1796; Exped to Den Helder 1799; Capt 1803; exped to Hanover 1805. Wrecked off Texel P.O.W.; Exped to Buenos Ayres 1806/7; Peninsula War 1808 at battles of Rolica, Vimiera, Corunna; Exped to Walcheren 1809; Wounded; Leg amputated; Maj. Gen 1851. A miniature of him can be seen in the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers museum.

His son James Bunbury Hamilton: Ensign 1809; Peninsula War. Carried the Queens Colour at battle of Salamanca; slightly wounded.

His son William Hamilton: Ensign 1803; Hanover 1805. Wrecked off Texel P.O.W.; Exped to Buenos Ayres 1806/7; Capt 1809; Peninsula War 1808 at battles of Rolica and Vimiera and Corunna; Capt 1809; Exped to Walcheren 1809; Died at Deal of Walcheren fever 1809.

ALSO PRESENT

His Cousin William Hamilton of Eden: 42 Highlanders (Black Watch) Ensign 1804; served Gibraltar; 1809 Peninsula War to Corunna; exped to Walcheren, suffered fever and retired; re-joined 95^th Rifles as volunteer; 1811 joined 1^st Bn at Torres Vedras, Ciudad Rodrigo; Badajos; Salamanca; Vittoria and Pyrenees. Severely wounded at San Sebastian and retired 1813.

On the peace with Holland in 1674 the government of the States-General had obtained permission to train two regiments of English troops, two of Scots and one Irish. These regiments had followed the Prince of Orange in all his campaigns up to 1685 when James II claimed their aid on the occasion of the rebellion led by the Duke of Monmouth. Formed into two units, they were given the precedence as the 5th (Colonel Monk's) and 6th (Sir Henry Bellasise's) Regiments of Foot, their seniority being based on the order in which they had disembarked.

After Monmouth's defeat they returned to Holland, but when William of Orange came to occupy the English throne they accompanied him once more with their seniority being confirmed from the date of their first disembarkation in England.

The 5th adopted St George and the Dragon (the emblem of England) and the Garter as its badge and this is still the badge of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers today.

The American Revolution – The Colonel

Hugh, earl Percy was born as Hugh Smithson in August 1742. He became Hugh Percy on his father's ennoblement and name change in 1750 and, as was then customary, he was styled after his father's second title (baron Warkworth). On his father's death in June 1786, Percy was accordingly invested with the following titles (with their dates of creation): duke of Northumberland (1766), earl of Northumberland (1749), earl Percy (1766), baron Percy (1722), baron Warkworth (1749), and baronet (1660). He eventually became a knight of the Garter in May 1801. He died in July 1817.

Percy's life followed a relatively standard pattern both before and after he inherited his father's position. He was educated at Eton (1753-58). He volunteered for military service in 1759 and fought in several battles in Europe during the Seven Years (French and Indian) War. After the war, in 1763, he was elected to represent Westminster in the House of Commons. Politically, he benefited from his father's close relationship with the king. He married, in July 1764, the daughter of the earl of Bute, the king's mentor, and so secured for himself membership in the "king's private junto." This close relationship with the court did not last long; by 1768, both he and his father had distanced themselves from the court over the king's policies for the American colonies. Both voted against the Stamp Act in 1765 and for its repeal in 1766. (The younger Percy's slow political realignment would eventually carry him into the Prince of Wales' circle of friends.) Percy continued to serve in the Commons until he inherited his mother's barony in December 1776 and was automatically elevated to the Lords. In 1786, he inherited not only his father's titles but also his father's social responsibilities, including his fellowships in the Society of Arts (1787) and the Royal Society (1788) and his membership of the Order of the Garter (proposed 1788; installed 1801).

The duties of a peer's son in parliament were not exactly onerous, and Percy simultaneously held commissions in the army. His rise through the ranks was that of the nobleman who had both the wealth to purchase new ranks and the interest to secure promotions when available. He joined the army in 1759, when he was gazetted as an ensign in the 24th Foot. Four months later he exchanged into the 85th Foot, purchasing a captaincy as he did so; he purchased a lieutenant-colonelcy in the 111th Foot in April 1762. After the war, he was made a colonel and aide-de-camp to the king in October 1764, at the age of only 22. He was given command of the 5th Foot in 1768, with which regiment he fought in America (below). Percy's active military career ended with his return from the colonies in 1777, but he continued to serve in largely ceremonial positions: he obtained the colonelcy of the second troop of Horse Grenadier Guards (1784) and of the premier regiment, the Horse Guards in 1806; he became a full general in the army in 1793.

The government of Lord North had decided to make an example of the unsettled province of Massachusetts Bay. The government ordered a massive display of force in the colony. It was assumed that the threat posed by this force would overawe the provincials and lead to their submission; if not, then the force would be more than capable of overwhelming any army that the provincials might field. Once troublesome Massachusetts Bay was dealt with, the other colonies were sure to fall back in line. To this end, the government ordered the concentration in Boston of no less than twelve infantry regiments, four batteries of artillery, royal marines, royal engineers, and the seven largest men-o'-war in the Royal Navy's American Squadron. From the American perspective, the metropolitan government's high-handed deployment of force was of a piece with its increasingly tyrannical behaviour. By the so-called Coercive Acts (1774), the British closed Boston's port, revoked the colony's charter, and shut down the provincial judicial system. General Thomas Gage, the British commander-in-chief in North America and now royal governor of Massachusetts Bay, was caught in the difficult position of implementing these policies -- for which he was in large part responsible -- without further antagonizing the provincials. Gage sought a moderate line. Thus, as Percy wrote to his father in September 1774, with the country in open rebellion against the Crown, and with the British fortifying Boston, Gage continued to act in a very circumspect manner, wishing to use actual force only as the last resort.

One of the regiments ordered to Boston was the 5th Regiment of Foot, of which Percy was colonel. Despite his own opposition to the government's policies on the American colonies, and his strong hints that he agreed with the political aspirations of the colonials, Percy decided to accompany his regiment to America. It would have been acceptable for him, as a member of the peace party, to refuse to serve against the colonials. The earl of Effingham had so refused, and the venerable earl of Chatham had ordered his eldest son to quit the army rather than fight in America. But Percy had made the army his career and so felt it incumbent on himself to serve wherever he was posted. He therefore joined his regiment, then on station in Ireland. The 5th embarked at Kinsale on May 7th, 1774, and disembarked almost two months later, on July 5th, at Boston.

Gage had moved the provincial administration from Boston to Salem. In his absence, the commander of the senior regiment -- which was the 5th Foot -- had command of the growing encampment on Boston Common. Gage accordingly gave Percy command in Boston, together with the brevet rank of brigadier. Among his other duties, Percy was responsible for the construction of the fortifications. Once the fortifications were complete and winter had set in, Percy expected that the pace of work would decline. He sent to London, for example, for four books which would provide his "Winter's Amusement," including a recent account of the French and Indian War. But as it happened, the winter was quite mild. The provincials continued to prepare for the inevitable showdown with the British by collecting food and military stores, thereby laying the foundations for the opening shots of the Revolution, on April 18-19th, 1775

The events of April 18th and 19th, 1775, have been told at length by many writers. The mythic status they achieved during the nineteenth century has largely been dispelled by the application of new source materials acquired early in the twentieth century.

Suffice to say, that General Gage desired to prevent actual war with New England's rebellious Whigs. The best way to do this was to remove their ability to fight. He therefore ordered the removal of gunpowder and arms from the provincial powder house in September 1774 (prompting the first "Powder Alarm" and, indirectly, the organization of the Provincial Congress and of the Minutemen); from Fort William and Mary, Portsmouth, NH in December 1774 (which backfired when the provincials were warned by Paul Revere and seized the fort); from Salem in February 1775 (which ended in humiliation when the British marines were faced down by the town militia and had to leave empty handed; and, from Concord in April 1775.

The main raid on Concord, led by Colonel Francis Smith of the 10th Foot, was a fiasco rather than a "surgical strike." The officers who, on April 18th, were arrayed ahead of the column with the task of capturing the provincial messengers (including Paul Revere) let go their captives, who continued to raise the country. The column was poorly managed as it crossed the countryside in the early morning of April 19th. The confusion in the column was evident when the British troops fired on the militia gathered on Lexington column without orders from their officers. At Concord, the destruction of the arms and supplies was not very effective. Once the militia struck back, Smith delayed his retreat, until he was seriously outnumbered and could only retire under heavy fire.

Fortunately for Smith, he had sent word back early in the march that he expected to meet resistance and asked for the relief column to be dispatched. That column was commanded by Hugh, earl Percy. Percy left Boston at about 9 am on the 19th, getting to Lexington by about 2 pm, where he found Smith's column, almost out of ammunition and in serious disarray. After marshalling the primary column, Percy led the retreat for 15 miles under heavy fire. The initial plan was to retrace the route of Percy's advance; that is, the combined column would cross the Charles River at Cambridge and would enter Boston by land across the neck. The fighting became more intense as the British approached the Charles River, fuelled by the militia regiments which had gathered in Cambridge. Percy's vanguard soon observed that the roadway of the bridge had been destroyed, threatening to trap the British. Percy made a rapid decision that saved his command: he turned his column to the east, down "Kent Lane," to the Charlestown road. The British continued under heavy fire until about 7pm, when they entered Charlestown and the protection of HMS Somerset. Percy was the sole British officer to gain any credit from the action.

Despite the praise that Percy garnered for leading the difficult retreat from Lexington, his political sympathies for the American cause seem to have put him in bad favour. Percy's regiment, the 5th Foot, was part of the assault on Breed's Hill (commonly misidentified as Bunker Hill) on June 17th, 1775, but Percy did not lead them. He remained in Boston, watching as his regiment and the rest of the British assault were decimated. Gage was recalled in October 1775, when his officers eventually ceased to obey his orders. His replacement, Lord Howe, was equally distrustful of Percy's sentiments.

After nine months of stalemate, the British evacuated Boston on March 17th, 1776. They sailed first to Halifax, Nova Scotia, to regroup, and then sailed to New York. There, General Howe lead the assault on New York City and its surrounding islands in July. In November, Percy led the successful assault on Fort Washington, at the northern tip of Manhattan Island. This victory still not endear Percy to Howe, and Percy soon found himself in command of the small British force detached to hold Rhode Island (captured by General Clinton in December 1776).

Percy remained at Newport for barely five months. His disagreements with Howe came to a head in a little dispute over the provision of hay for Howe's horses in New Jersey. In a misunderstanding over the amount of hay available, Howe took the word of the logistics major over Percy's; Howe reprimanded Percy. As it happened, the major was wrong and the reprimand was uncalled for. Percy, displaying the irascibility for which he would be famous in later life, was furious that Howe should listen to a mere major before a general and heir to a dukedom. Percy accordingly requested leave to return to Britain. Howe granted him permission, and Percy left Rhode Island in May 1777. He would not return to America.

1774-1775 The 5^th Foot left Monkstown, Ireland on May 7, 1774 for Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony. Their presence was necessary because of strong civil unrest in the area. Arrived in Boston July, 1774. There the 5^th was camped on the Boston Common. April 19, 1775, the Light Infantry and Grenadier Companies participated in the march to Concord, and the resulting fighting at Lexington, Concord, and the march back to Boston. Casualties: 5 men killed, 3 officers and 15 men wounded, 1 man captured. On June 17, 1775, after being under siege by Patriot forces for 2 months, the 5^th Foot participated in the attack on Patriot fortifications on Breed’s Hill. The Patriot forces were finally driven off after intense fighting. The 5^th Foot was heavily engaged and suffered tremendous casualties: 22 men killed, 8 officers, 10 sergeants, 2 drummers, and 116 men wounded out of a total of 400 men engaged.

1776 After a harsh winter under siege, the entire British Garrison evacuated Boston on March 17, 1776. John Hamilton, who was commissioned Ensign in 1776, joined his regiment in America during this period. He was captured by the 'rebels' at some stage but to date I have been unable to learn any more about this, or his release. After spending two months on board ship in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the 5^th sailed to New York to participate in the effort to capture the city from the rebels. Participated in the Battle of Long Island, August 27, 1776. The rebel army was routed with heavy casualties. The 5^th suffered no reported losses. Participated in the Battle of White Plains, New York October 28, 1776. After a sharp fight, the rebels were again routed. Loss of 2 killed and 1 wounded, its commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel Walcott. Participated in the capture of Fort Washington, New York, November 16, 1776. Thousands of Patriot troops were captured after a short fight. The 5^th had no reported losses. Participated in the capture of Fort Lee, New Jersey, November 20, 1776. The Patriots abandoned the fort before the British arrived, but many supplies and some stragglers were captured. The 5^th had no reported losses.

1777 Spent a cold, difficult winter of 1776-1777 quartered near New York City. Skirmishes with the rebels were common. Part of Howe’s campaign to capture Philadelphia, the 5^th was engaged at the Battle of Brandywine Creek, Pennsylvania, August 25, 1777. The 5^th was part of the force that broke the Continental Army’s centre at Chad’s Ford, capturing 5 cannon. Casualties: 1 officer, 1 sergeant, and 12 men wounded. On the morning of October 4, 1777, the British Army was taken by surprise by a Continental Attack at Germantown, PA. The 5^th helped repel the Patriots after heavy, confused fighting. Casualties: 1 drummer and 9 men killed, 4 officers, 5 sergeants, and 37 men wounded. Lieutenant-Colonel Walcott later died of his wounds received at Germantown.

1778-1783 The British Army spent the winter of 1777-78 relatively comfortably in Philadelphia, occasionally skirmishing with the enemy. French entrance into the war necessitated the evacuation of Philadelphia in the spring and a retreat to New York City. On the difficult retreat through New Jersey, on June 28, 1778 the British Army was attacked at Monmouth Court House. The 5^th was involved in the heavy, but inconclusive, fighting. Casualties: 1 officer and several men killed, an unknown amount of wounded. While in New York, the 5^th participated in several raids and skirmishes, including a raid on Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey. The rebels had been using the harbour for privateering, and this raid succeeded in destroying many buildings and boats. Embarked from New York on November 3, 1778 for the French West Indies. December 13, 1778, landed on the island of St. Lucia. The 5^th was engaged with a small force of French and captured a 4 cannon battery. December 18, 1778, a force of 9000 French troops were landed on St. Lucia. The small British force of 1400 men occupied a hill located on the neck of a peninsula (to the west of Castries harbour). The French were fairly raw soldiers trained to fight in the classic European style of linear battles. The French advanced on the British force several times. The British, veterans of colonial fighting, inflicted a stinging defeat on the French. The French lost 400 killed and 1100 wounded to the British losses of 10 killed and 130 wounded, which included two 5^th Foot officers. As a result of the defeat, the French force abandoned the island. After the battle, the 5^th Foot took the white plumes worn by the French soldiers and placed them on their caps as a sign of honour. (The Regiment were almost certainly stationed on Pidgeon Island, which we visited in 2004 and where there are substantial remains of the barracks buildings – C.F.B.H.) After 2 years in the hot, insect-infested, disease-ridden West Indies, the 5^th Foot was sent to Ireland in December 1780, where they remained until 1787. In 1782 the 5th's petition to be called The Northumberland Regiment, reflecting their long standing links with the area, was granted. They were then deployed to Canada in 1787 where they remained for ten years, before returning to England in 1797. Chapter XVIII relates the experiences of James Mathew Hamilton in Canada but I have found no references to his older brother John who was a Lieutenant and Captain in the 5^th during its deployment to Canada.

The Expedition to Den Helder - Holland 1799

The Helder, situated on the tip of a peninsula which divided the Zuyder Zee from the North Sea in Holland, was chosen as an objective partly because of its importance as a naval base and partly because it was thought that the Dutch, under French occupation since 1794, were ready to rise revolt. York first mooted the idea of an expedition to the King in November 1798, but it was not until the following January that it was taken seriously by Pitt and his adviser. They managed to gather a force of nearly 30,000 British soldiers and persuaded the Russian Tsar to contribute a further 18,000, all of whom would be carried to the Helder by the Royal Navy. The aim was to seize the area as a base for future operations in conjunction with Dutch rebels, threatening the French hold on the whole of the Netherlands, and to restore the Prince of Orange to the Stadtholdership. John Hamilton, who had been promoted Captain in 1793, his brothers Captain James Mathew Hamilton and Lieutenant Charles Frederick Hamilton, and his son Lt. Nicholas Hamilton all participated in this expedition with the 5th Foot. Charles Frederick was wounded at Beverwyck and retired thereafter.

It did not go according to plan. Co-operation between the army and navy was poor. After the landings on 27 August, the fleet sailed past the Helder to receive the surrender of Dutch warships but then took little active part in the campaign, and as in Flanders six years earlier, inter-allied command links were weak. When York arrived on 7 September (the same day on which the Russian force came ashore) he found that the commander of the British contingent, Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, had made no attempt to advance beyond the shoreline or to conduct a reconnaissance of enemy positions. Instead his troops were strung out along the so-called Zype Line, just to the South of their landing site, facing a Franco-Dutch army that was rapidly increasing in size. There was no sign of any Dutch revolt.

But the situation did offer room for optimism. The enemy right flank, to the South-East of the Zype Line at Hoorne, was not well defended. York therefore ordered a thrust under Abercromby in that direction, while the rest of the Anglo-Russian force conducted a frontal assault on Bergen in the centre. The attack was scheduled to begin at daybreak on 19 September, but it soon went wrong. The Russians advanced two hours too early, giving the game away while Abercromby, although in possession of Hoorne, did nothing to turn the enemy flank. After only a few hours of fighting. York ordered his troops to return to the Zype line.

Another Attack on 2 October, this time towards Egmont on the coast, fared better forcing the enemy back to a line further South, but again the advantage was not exploited. Indeed when York ordered an advance on Kastrikum four day later, the enemy had recovered and was in the process of mounting its own counter attack. The resulting battle was confused and appeared to be indecisive, particularly as Russians were proving less than effective. York seemed to lose his nerve, convinced by his own half-hearted generals that the campaign could not be sustained. Retreat was therefore a measure of necessity, and next night, the 7^th of October, about ten o'clock, amidst a deluge of rain, the troops marched back to their former station at Petten and Alkmaar, which they reached without immediate pursuit or any serious loss. To embark, however, upon such a shore, and in the face of such an enemy, without great loss, was impossible; and, to prevent the unnecessary effusion of blood, an armistice was proposed by the Duke of York, till the troops should be quietly embarked.

The French general was willing to accede to the proposal, provided the Dutch fleet were restored, and all forts, dykes, &c., &c., left as they had been taken; or, if any improvements had been made upon them, in their improved state. To the first part of the proposal the duke utterly refused for a moment to listen; and, being in possession of the principal dykes, he threatened to break them down and inundate the country. The fleet was not given up; but in lieu thereof, eight thousand French and Dutch prisoners, that had been taken previous to this campaign, were to be restored, with all that had been taken in it, the Dutch seamen excepted. The troops were instantly embarked, and safely landed in England, with the exception of the Russians, who were landed in the islands of Guernsey and Jersey. Though this expedition totally failed in its main object – the liberation of Holland – it was not without advantage. The capture of the Dutch fleet, in the then state of affairs, was of very considerable importance. Nor was the impression it left upon the enemy of the superior skill of British officers, particularly of the subject of this memoir, and the daring valour of British troops, without its use in the succeeding periods of the war.

The campaign had achieved nothing of value. The 5^th Foot then were stationed at Gibraltar and between 1802-1804 were moved to Guernsey. At the end of 1804 the Regt. left Guernsey for Haslar Barracks, then marched to Colchester.

Expedition to Holland – Defence of Hanover 1805

The continental coalition against French ascendancy, which the active policy of Mr. Pitt this year effected, opened a prospect to the new-raised corps which spread universal joy throughout its ranks. Austria and Prussia had joined in a league with England against France; the British government were to send an army to the north of Germany to aid the operations of the allies, and the completed regiments of the King's German Legion were to form part of that army! The 5^th were involved in this expedition and Capt John Hamilton and three of his sons, John Spring, Nicholas and William deployed. The Regt. marched from Colchester to Ramsgate via Billericay and embarked in the "Brunswick" and "Helder".

But quickly and completely were these expectations destroyed. - Mack surrendered at Ulm, on the 17th of October; Buonaparte gained the battle of Austerlitz on the 2d of December; the treaties of Presburg and Vienna were soon after signed, the coalition was thus lamed, and Prussian troops took possession of Hanover.

Little, however, was so rapid and fatal a termination to the triple league anticipated, when Lord Cathcart’s expedition embarked for the Elbe. This army, about eighteen thousand strong, six thousand of which consisted of the King’s German Legion, sailed from Ramsgate in the month of November, under the command of General Don. Scarecly had the transports in which they were shipped reached the open sea, when they encountered a gale of wind which dispersed the whole corps. The hussars were driven to the coast of Holland; half the heavy cavalry regiment was forced back to England, one of their transports narrowly escaping capture under the batteries of Calais, from which it was only saved by a sudden shift of wind; and three companies of the fourth line battalion were cast ashore on the island of Wangeroge in Oldenburg in the transport "Helder". All four Hamiltons were amongst those wrecked off Texel and were taken prisoner by the Dutch! They were later released by exchange but I have been unable to determine when.

No lives, however, were lost, and in the beginning of December the whole corps, with the exception of that part of the heavy cavalry regiment which was driven back, and did not return, landed in the Hanoverian territory.

Lord Cathcart arrived on the 25th, and took the command of the army, establishing his head-quarters at Bremen. Those of general Don, under whom were the legion, were fixed at Verden.

In order to oppose the movements of the Austrio-Russian army, the French had evacuated the whole Hanoverian territory, with the exception of the fortress of Hameln, where a strong garrison still remained. The Russians had invested the place, and the first line brigade, first foot battery, and one engineer officer of the legion, were sent to co-operate with the Russian corps.

But the allies were too late in the field. Before the British troops left England general Mack had capitulated; before they reached the Elbe, Napoleon was at Vienna; and before Lord Cathcart had established his head-quarters at Bremen, the "battle of the three emperors" had decided the fate of Austria. All hostile movements in the north of Germany were consequently suspended, and the British-Hanoverian army was ordered to return to England.

The Regt. returned to Ramsgate seven weeks later. Sgt Stephen Morley[1] who joined the 5th Foot in 1803 in Guernsey, wrote of this period:

The tide flowing, we cut our cables, succeeded in floating our vessel, loosed sails, and stood in for the harbour, where at day break next morning we joyfully landed. Neither the country nor the inhabitants made a favorable impression upon our minds. We marched; and in a few days arrived, where destiny, the genius of Napoleon, or some other cause, had set limits to our enterprise; we were quartered in Hersberg and the surrounding villages.

Here we remained about four weeks, when we retraced our steps and gave our adieus to the peasants, German mud, and German waters, without robbing the forest of any laurels. We saw none! therefore how should we procure any to cover ourselves with! safely embarked, we as safely landed on the very spot, whence six or seven weeks before, full of hope and youthful spirit we had sailed from old England.

What the specific object of this tour was, I never learnt, but ventured to imagine that the country had some weightier object in view by sending us out, than to ascertain how many peasants drink out of the same glass, or how far they consider themselves above the surface of the solid earth. Be this as it may, it enabled our commander in chief (I believe Lord Cathcart) to say with Pericles, "I have caused no family to put on mourning."!

They then moved to Rye barracks in February 1806 for the next six months. In September 1806 they marched to Portsmouth, embarked in the transport and spent November afloat at Spithead before sailing for South America.

The Expedition to South America 1806

On 27 June 1806 a British force of 1,500 men under the command of Colonel William Carr Beresford had landed near Buenos Aires as part of an ambitious strategy to seize the Spanish colonies in Latin America. Despite an occupation of both Buenos Aires and Montevideo, the force was far too small to carry out its task. A Spanish counter-attack in early 1807 left Beresford with no choice but to surrender.

By then, however, the British government had decided to reinforce the expedition and, unaware of Beresford’s fate, 10,000 men under Lieutenant-General John Whitelocke were on their way across the Atlantic. It was this follow-up force that included the 5^th Regiment of Foot with John Hamilton and his sons Nicholas and William embarked. Stephen Morley again;

The "Atlas", the ship I was in, now made way. We were out of sight of land; the fleet extended as far as the visible horizon, each ship proudly breasting the swells as they dashed against her, and all went smoothly yet rapidly on; sea sickness was forgotten.. the soldiers mixing with seamen, going aloft when necessary, and making ourselves useful, felt quite happy.

It was usual for the band to assemble every morning on the poop. On one of these occasions clouds were observed to congregate, then rapidly separate without any wind to account for it, except now and then a sudden gust. It increased so quickly, however, that the men of music were compelled to descend and take their station with the common men on the quarter deck. "All hands shorten sail," soon brought the seamen to their places with such of the soldiers as were capable of giving assistance; red streaks, a sure indication of strong winds, marked the whole extent of the horizon. Once more the master raised the trumpet, when, "in of all" – hoarsely sounding through he ship, the ready men ran up the ratlines, and in less time than it takes to detail it, tacks, halyards and sheets went together, and soon after, the Atlas, with the exception of her topsails, shewed nothing but naked spars.

The storm continued for nearly three days; during which time, the hatches were covered over, and the useless hands kept below. Thus with the gallant yards struck, and going under close reefed top-sails , the Atlas, sound timbered, went bouyantly over the waves. The quarter deck is the best station from whence to witness the tremendous effects of a storm. There making himself secure, the spectator views the whole length of the vessel as she struggles through the boiling deep, and traces with intense anxiety her way, while she contends with, or by the watchfulness and skill of the helmsman is made to elude each successive swell. These swells sometimes make a clear passage over the forecastle, sweeping before them, men, or whatever else may be in their way. Sometimes the ship labours so much, that her gun-wales are not only engulphed, but her yards immersed in the sea. While breathless with awe he beholds the mighty deep rising in majestic mountains, whose weight would be destructive to the noblest ship, rolling in fearful proximity towards his apparently devoted vessel. And now the foremast springs, falls overboard, and the decks are in confusion; immediately behind him is heard the appalling exclamation "the rudder is adrift." The wind too sweeping with terrific sound through the entangled rigging, acts in dismal concert with the roaring of the sea. Such is the faint out-line of a storm; which may serve to shew, that seamen in one night may sometimes dearly earn their month's pay.

We had extremely fine weather and our troubles were forgotten. We passed the Island of Madeira on the first of December, and in a few days after saw the Peak of Teneriffe. On the 14^th came to anchor off the Porto Prega Isle of St. Jago one of the Cape verde Islands, subject to the house of Braganza. On our approach we perceived a spacious basin for anchorage, with a broad and level beach covered with ordnance; but there, as well as the Portuguese soldiers there, were the most ridiculous apologies for defence I had ever seen. It was excessively hot; hot in December: the inhabitants were in general in a state of nudity, and this too, without any regard to sex or age. The town is about a mile from the landing; the houses of rude materials, irregularly built, forming something like the three sides of a square. The favorite beverage is that pernicious Aquardente – limes, oranges, cocoes, and other tropical fruit are in abundance. During our stay here, we were visited with an epidemic, but fortunately without any fatal consequences. The person when first attacked, was seized with a species of delirium, and while under its influence, he would, if not prevented, cut and destroy every thing within his reach. Hospitals were erected on the shore, and by the 11^th of January, when we sailed, all were recovered or convalescent.

Our next destination was the Cape of Good Hope, where we arrived on the 31^st March: an old drill corporal, Richard Horne, died here. On approaching the land, we found ourselves abreast of False, or Simmond's Bay. Came to anchor the same evening. The next morning the bugles on shore announced the presence of a regiment. It was the 83^rd that was paraded for a field day. As we worked round to Table Bay, scenes novel and picturesque succeeded each other, till we passed what is called the devil's Hill, when one of the noblest views I had ever beheld burst on my astonished sight. The elevation we had just passed formed a peak or pillar on one side, while on the other the venerable Table mountain reared its gigantic head. In the centre was a beautiful and capacious bay, with a smooth beach, margined with works of defence; behind which were lines of magazines, and depots of stores. While the warehouses, public buildings and the town itself, all built of stone, or whitened over, rising in amphitheatric order, contrasted well with the background of wooded mountains. The streets of the town were straight and wide, the houses neat, and the stores and warehouses filled with commodities fro the four divisions of the globe. We were most liberally supplied with fresh meat and vegetables by our officers; and from them received every kindness and every comfort which humanity could bestow. Never were there such officers and such men together! but I must leave this never to be forgotten pleasing theme.

A curious phenomenon surprised us here, caused a fleet from India hastily and in consternation to weigh and stand out to sea, whilst our fleet, drew nearer in the shore, letting go every anchor. What could this mean? for the sun shone with resplendent lustre; it was mid-day, not a cloud in the sky, and scarcely a gentle zephyr breathed. An experienced seaman directed out attention to the Table mountain, when we observed that its top was concealed by a mist, and this he said indicated a squall. Soon after the sky was obscured by clouds, and a violent gale succeeded.

Sailed from the Cape on the 1^st of April and on the 14^th arrived off St. Helena, where we found our fleet from India. This Island a barren rock, rising from the bosom of the deep, is rendered famous as having since been the prison and the grave of Napoleon.

On the 20^th we proceeded direct for out final destination; and on the 4^th June beheld the headland of the vast Continent of America, Cape St. Mary's. If the Grecians who returned from Persia under the guidance of Xenophon exhibited such emotions of joy on beholding the Euzine, so did also our men when they first beheld the land which was to terminate a voyage now become so tiresome from its duration. We sailed up the river Plata, until we came to Monte Video, where being transhipped into lighter vessels we proceeded to Ensanada de Barragua, and on the 28^th of June disembarked after been nine months on board.

Rifleman Thomas of the 71^st Regiment continues;

On the arrival of the reinforcements, we were formed into a brigade, along with the light companies of the 36th, 38th, 40th, 87th, and four companies of the 95th regiments. On the 28th June, we assembled near Ensenada de Barragon, with the whole army, and commenced our march towards Buenos Ayres.

The country is almost all level, and covered with long clover that reached to our waists, and large herds of bullocks and horses, which seemed to run wild. The weather was very wet. For days I had not a dry article on my body. We crossed many morasses in our march, in one of which I lost my shoes, and was under the necessity of marching the rest of the way barefooted. We passed the river at a ford called Passorico, under the command of Major-General Gower. Here we drove back a body of the enemy. We were next day joined by General Whitelock, and the remainder of the army. Upon his joining us, the line was formed by Sir Samuel Auchmuty on the left, stretching towards a convent called the Recoletta, distant from the left about two miles. Two regiments were stationed on the right. Brigadier-General Crawford's brigade (which included the 5^th Foot) occupied the centre, and possessed the principal avenues to the town, which was distant from the great square and fort three miles. Three regiments extended towards the Residenta, on the right. The town and suburbs are built in squares of about 140 yards on each side; and all the houses are flat on the top for the use of the inhabitants, who go upon them to enjoy the cool of the evening. These, we were told, they meant to occupy with their slaves, and fire down upon us as we charged through the streets. From the disposition of our army, the town was nearly surrounded. We remained under arms on the morning of the 5th of July, waiting the order to advance. Judge our astonishment when the word was given to march without ammunition, with fixed bayonets only. "We are betrayed," was whispered through the ranks. "Mind your duty, my lads onwards, onwards, Britain for ever!" were the last words I heard our noble Captain Brookman utter. He fell as we entered the town. Onwards we rushed, carrying every thing before us, scrambling over ditches, and other impediments which the inhabitants had placed in our way. At the corner of every street, and flanking all the ditches, they had placed cannon that thinned our ranks every step we took. Still onwards we drove, up one street, down another, until we came to the church of St Domingo, where the colours of the 71st regiment had been placed, as a trophy, over the shrine of the Virgin Mary. We made a sally into it, and took them from that disgraceful resting place, where they had remained ever since the surrender of General Beresford to General Liniers. Now we were going to sally out in triumph. The Spaniards had not been idle. The entrances of the church were barricaded, and cannon placed at each entrance. We were forced to surrender, and were marched to prison.

It was there I first learned the complete failure of our enterprise. During the time we were charging through the streets, many of our men made sallies into the houses in search of plunder; and many were encumbered with it at the time of our surrender. One sergeant of the 38th had made a longish hole in his wooden canteen, like that over the money-drawer in the counter of a retail shop; into it he slipped all the money he could lay his hands upon. As he came out of a house he had been ransacking, he was shot through the head. In his fall the canteen burst, and a great many doubloons ran in all directions on the street. Then commenced a scramble for the money, and about eighteen men were shot, grasping at the gold they were never to enjoy. They even snatched it from their dying companions, although they themselves were to be in the same situation the next moment.

We were all searched, and every article that was Spanish taken from us; but we were allowed to keep the rest. During the search, one soldier, who had a good many doubloons, put them into his Camp-kettle, with flesh and water above them; placed all upon a fire, and kept them safe. There were about one hundred of us, who had been taken in the church, marched out of prison to be shot, unless we produced a gold crucifix of great value, that was amissing. We stood in a large circle of Spaniards and Indians. Their levelled pieces and savage looks gave us little to hope, unless the crucifix was produced. It was found on the ground on the spot where we stood; but it was not known who had taken it. The troops retired and we were allowed to go back to prison without further molestation.

We immediately, upon our release, set out on our return to Britain, and had an agreeable and quick passage, in which nothing particular occurred.

Having landed they marched towards Buenos Aires, only to find that the region was now well defended. After an abortive attack on Buenos Aires on 5 July 1807, in which small parties of British troops were cut off and annihilated in the streets of the city, Whitelocke withdrew, abandoning all operations in exchange for a cease-fire.

The remains of his army were lucky to be allowed to leave Latin America, but Whitelocke himself was less fortunate. When he returned to Britain, he was court-martialled and cashiered, taking the blame for what had been poor strategic plan. The 5^th Foot embarked at the end of August and arrived in Cork on 19 December 1807. They had spent thirteen months afloat with two disastrous months in South America to show for it!

The Napoleonic Wars 1808

Following this ill conceived venture to South America in 1807, the 1st Battalion 5th Foot, including John Hamilton and his sons Nicholas and William embarked once again at Cork in June 1808 and sailed for the Iberian Peninsula arriving at Mondago Bay on 1 August, fighting at Rolica[2] and Vimiera, the first battles of the Peninsular War in August of that year. They were then involved in the retreat to Corunna. The following is a contemporary description of part of this retreat and the battle of Corunna:

Between the 22d and 24^th of December, Soult received such reinforcements, as made his army superior in numbers to the British. Junot, too, had advanced again as far as Palencia. Napoleon was hastening from Madrid with his Imperial cavalry, and all the disposable force in that quarter. The force under Lefebvre had been counter-ordered from the road towards Badajoz, and directed upon Salamanca. The retreat of our troops upon Portugal was thus cut off. Of the numbers really advancing against him, Sir John Moore was not informed; and so little idea was there of flying when he commenced his retreat, that it had been resolved to carry off the prisoners; who were accordingly stowed in our covered tilt-wagons. A thaw came on, on the day when we first began to fall back; on the following day it rained incessantly; and as the soil in those parts is a deep loam, the roads were above a foot deep. The flying proclamations of the French even overtook our army; these were as usual filled with lying promises and real menaces. They were come, they said, to deliver Spain, to emancipate the people from a tyrannical aristocracy, and a fanatic priesthood. That all persons who should remain quiet in their houses, or who, having fled, should return speedily, should receive no harm; but that, otherwise, their dwellings and goods should be confiscated, without exception. Unluckily, the conduct of our troops now began to give effect to these handbills. The soldiers were exasperated against the Spaniards for their indolence and supineness; they were also enraged by the conduct of some poor peasants, whose carts had been pressed to carry the sick and wounded, and who, as many of them as could, had fled with their mules during the night, because the movements of a retreating army exposed their own persons to imminent hazard, and their mules to certain destruction. Weary and disheartened, in want both of rest and food, disappointed in all their fond hopes of victory, and indignant at being compelled to turn their backs upon an enemy whom they despised, and would so eagerly have met in battle; it was no doubt a relief for them to vent these their feelings, in transports of rage, upon the only objects within their reach. In this frame of mind they commenced a scene of plunder and havoc as they went along; and the officers, many of whom already murmured loudly at the excessive rapidity of the retreat, and were discontented with the stern silence which the commander-in-chief maintained respecting his future measures, did not exert themselves, as they ought to have done, to prevent these excesses.

On the 26th December 1808, Sir David Baird's division, which took the shorter line of road towards Astorga by the town of Valencia de Don Juan, effected their march without being molested. The sick and wounded, following in the same track, halted at the latter place to pass the night. Hardly had they been provided with the necessary food and laid to rest, before the bugles were sounded and they were again hurried into the wagons. The night was cold, misty, and extremely dark, and the Ezla was to be crossed some little distance from the town, near the lofty ruins of an old castle, which overhangs its banks. We were unprovided with pontoons. The ford is dangerous, because of the great rapidity of the stream occasioned by two narrow banks of shingles, which meeting, form an obtuse angle in the middle; and at this time the river was rising very fast from the melting of the snows on the mountains of Leon. A sergeant's guard had been left by Sir David on the opposite bank, to assist the wagons in coming over, and then skuttle two ferry-boats as soon as they had effected their passage; they kindled a fire with grass and rushes for the sake of its light; but the materials being wet, it was soon extinguished by the gusts of wind. A Spanish muleteer attempted to guide us over the ford; but his mule tripped in the midst of the stream, he was thrown off, and only saved by the activity of an English soldier, when in the act of sinking. Dangerous, however, as the ford was, the passage was accomplished without other loss than that of some baggage-wagons which broke down in the river.

Meantime, Sir John Moore, with the other division of the army, and followed by the rear-guard and cavalry, had reached Benevente; and there he found it necessary to issue a general order, unexampled for the severity in which it commented on the misconduct both of officers and men. But strong as its terms were, it produced no effect, and the havoc which had been committed by the division passing through Valderas was renewed at Benevente. The castle of Benevente is one of the finest monuments of the age of chivalry. Added to the grandeur of the Gothic, it has all the gorgeous richness of Moorish architecture. Open galleries, where Saracenic arches are supported by columns of porphyry and granite; cloisters with fountains playing in their centres; jasper columns and tesselated pavements; niches, alcoves, and seats in the walls, overarched in various forms, and enriched with every grotesque adornment of gold and silver. It belonged to the Duke of Ossuna, and the magnificence of ages far gone by was still displayed there. The extent of this glorious pile may be judged of from this circumstance, that two entire regiments, besides artillery, were quartered within its walls. But alas, they proved the most destructive guests it had ever harboured, for their indignant feelings broke out once more in acts of wanton mischief; and the officers, who admired the beauties of this venerable edifice, attempted but in vain to save it from devastation. Every thing combustible was seized; fires were lighted against the fine walls; and pictures of unknown value were heaped together as mere fuel. Luckily, however, our soldiery were here afforded an opportunity of displaying their martial virtues. The rear of the army had but lately entered the town, when an alarm was given that the enemy had reached the opposite heights. In an instant, every man was at his post, and the dragoons poured out of the gates, - while in an opposite direction, the plain was covered with Spanish fugitives, and the streets were filled with the lamentations of females, calling upon the Virgin, and all the saints of the Catholic church, for succour. The French, perceiving in what spirit they were likely to be met, looked down on our troops from the heights, and retired. Evening coming on, and the enemy being so near, orders were given to destroy the bridge over the Ezla; which was effected towards day-break on the following morning, and it was imagined that their progress was suspended. Our troops again pursued their retreat; and the whole of the infantry and heavy artillery had set off, when intelligence arrived that the French cavalry were actually passing the Ezla, having discovered a ford about three hundred yards below the bridge. Lord Paget and General Stewart were still in the town. The night-picquets, under Lieutenant-Colonel Otway and Major Bagwell, were sent down; the cavalry were ordered to repair to their alarm-posts, and many volunteers came forward. Lord Paget hastened to the spot. He found four squadrons of Imperial Guards already formed, and skirmishing with the picquets; and more cavalry in the act of coming over the river. The 10th Hussars were sent for. As soon as they arrived, General Stewart placed himself at the head of the picquets, and charged the enemy, who immediately gave way, and repassed the ford with still greater rapidity than they had crossed it. However, they again formed on the opposite bank, and were threatening a second attack, when three pieces of horse-artillery, which now came up, were stationed near the broken bridge, and did considerable execution. About seventy prisoners were taken, and among them General Lefebvre Desnouettes, Commander of the Imperial Guard of cavalry, was taken by a private hussar of the 10th, named Grisdale. The enemy's loss could not be ascertained; but it was. variously guessed at, as being from 60 to 200. Our own was about 50 in killed and wounded. It was said that Napoleon was observing this action from the heights.

This fresh proof of British courage served evidently to damp the spirits of the French; and they continued their pursuit of us at so respectful a distance, that the rear of our troops reached Beneza that night quite unmolested. Next day, the 30th December, our Commander-in-chief reached Astorga. This was our rallying point, and here we found about 5000 men of Romana's army. That army was literally, as Colonel Symes had written to Sir John Moore, half-naked and half-starved. A malignant typhus fever was raging amongst them, and sixty or seventy were sent daily to the hospitals. Still about 5000 were fit for service, and Romana himself reached Astorga that day. The first intimation that the French were advancing to throw themselves between Portugal and the British army, had been received from that General; but it was his opinion that such information ought not to have produced any change in our Commander-in-chief's plans. The intended attack, he thought, ought still to have been made. Soult might have been beaten first, and plenty of time left us to have fallen afterwards upon the corps which was coming to his assistance; and by the success which prompt and vigorous measures would have insured, the united British and Spanish forces would thus have become masters of Leon and Castile. Romana now found that Sir John had no intention of making a stand at Astorga, part of the British army being already on the way towards Villa Franca del Bierzo, and one regiment of cavalry, all that was left on side of Baneza. The Marques went, therefore, to Sir John, and pointed out the expediency of checking the enemy where we now were, as it was a point from whence we might always have a secure retreat by the mountain-passes of Manzanal and Foncebadon - defiles so strong, that a small force might maintain them against any numbers. He mentioned to him also, that the park of artillery was at Ponferrada, where also hospitals had been established, and where there were magazines of corn; whilst, on the other hand, at Villa Franca there were more than 2000 sick, with a depôt of arms and hospital-stores, so that it was of the utmost importance to defend the entrance into the district called El Bierzo. But Sir John Moore replied, that he had determined upon retiring into Galicia, because his troops required rest. He requested that the high road of Manzanal might be left open to him, saying, that he should defend that and the principal entrance by Villa Franca; and that he, Romana, might take the Foncebadon pass, and enter by way of the Val de Orras and Puebla de Sanabria. And here we must record a proof of Spanish magnanimity, which was given by these half-armed, half-naked, and half-famished troops. A malignant fever was raging amongst them; and long fatigue, numerous privations, and the ravages of a mortal distemper made them appear rather like spectres issuing from an hospital than an army. Under such circumstances, it might have been presumed that they would anxiously have sought to secure their own retreat, under the protection of British bayonets, towards Corunna and Ferrol. But no; Romana and his forlorn band were too high-minded to attach themselves as a burden to us their allies, and they assented without hesitation to Sir John Moore's suggestion. Romana's only request was, that Sir John Moore would repress the horrible excesses of our troops, which even in an enemy's country would have been disgraceful; and our General must have been deeply mortified to feel, that even this request he could not enforce during a retreat so rapid as he intended that this should soon become.

Our troops had been assured at Benevente, that we were not falling back upon Corunna, but that we were only retiring towards a more favourable position. But our soldiers, judging from all they had already seen, were incredulous on this point; and when our Commander reached Astorga, and issued his orders, it was but too manifest that we were not only retreating, but actually flying before the enemy. Ammunition-waggons were here burnt, and an entire depôt of intrenching tools abandoned, so that the army was thus deprived of a most valuable means of resisting the progress of the French. The position at Villa Franca, which our Commander had formerly mentioned in his despatches, was no longer thought of. Two brigades, under General Crawford were detached, by way of Orensè, to Vigo, to which port Sir John had ordered empty transports to be sent for us, supposing that it was the best point of embarkation. This detachment went in advance of Romana, in that very line which he expected was to have been left open for him; and when he and his wretched men, after halting only one night, took their route towards Orensè, they found the country already stripped of the means of that subsistence upon which they had reckoned. General Fraser and his division were directly pushed on, with orders to proceed to Lugo. Sir John Hope and General Baird followed, and their instructions were to make forced marches to the coast. "We must all make forced marches," said General Moore in one of his despatches to Lord Castlereagh, "from the scarcity of provisions, and to be before the enemy, who, by roads upon our flanks, may otherwise intercept us." Hence it appears, that Sir John was as ignorant of the nature of the country through which he was passing, as he had formerly been on his setting out through Portugal; and that, too, notwithstanding the able Memoir which had been sent to him by Lord William. Bentinck, written by the Marquis Romana. But Sir John could perceive no security till he should reach the coast, - there his hope was either to find his transports ready, or to occupy some defensible position till they should arrive. And once upon the sea-shore, it was his determination not to be molested by any thing like an equal force. It is only while retreating, he said, that we are vulnerable. His sole object had now become, to withdraw the army - to effect which, he had already destroyed great part of the ammunition and military stores, and now left behind many of our sick soldiers.

Heavy clouds covered the mountain tops, and the roads were knee-deep with snow. Provisions in a country where the natives are so poor, that they can rarely afford to lay up any store, can never be abundant; and whatever there might have been once, these had been already exhausted by the repeated marchings and countermarchings, both of Sir David Baird's troops and of the Spaniards. Much waste, too, was necessarily incurred by the disorderly manner in which such food had been issued out; and this magnified the dearth. Our men, half-famished, half-frozen, desperate, and execrating the orders of their General, were altogether furious, and no longer under any sort of control. They forced their way into the houses where their rations should have been doled out, seizing upon them by main force, spilling the wine and spirits, and destroying more than they carried away. Nor was this all - plundering could not be prevented. On leaving the villages, they set them on fire, often through carelessness, or when mad with liquor; and the peasantry, in revenge, rushed upon the more intoxicated with their knives, and made them atone in blood for their intemperance.

Napoleon pursued us only as far as Astorga. There he left Marshal Ney with 18,000 men, to keep that part of the country in awe, and ordered Marshal Soult, at the head of 23,000 men, to pursue us to the coast, and drive us, as he expressed himself, into the sea. Soult's was not a hard task - he had only to pursue us at the pace at which we had been made to set off, not to come near enough and force us to stand at bay; and fatigue and the weather were more certain to complete our destruction, than the sword. From Astorga to Villa Franca del Bierzo is 15 leagues, or about sixty English miles; the road for the first four leagues is up the mountain-side, but through an open country. Having got to the summit of Foncebadon, we entered into some of the strongest passes in Europe. No invading army could here prevail against a body of determined men. This strong country extends three leagues, nearly to the village of Torre. Thence through Benbibre and Ponferrada, nothing can exceed the beauty of the country, nor the wonderful sublimity of the mountains which hem it in. But never, in the most melancholy ages of Spanish history, had a more deplorable scene presented itself, than was now exhibited here. The horses of our cavalry began to fail, chiefly from the want of shoes and shoe-nails. There was no want of iron to forge new ones, for there are large iron-works near Villa Franca, and plenty might have been procured, had time been allowed. But no; the excessive rapidity of our march forbade all delay. As soon, therefore, as these noble animals foundered, they were shot or bayoneted, lest the enemy should profit by them. The rain fell in torrents; the baggage had to be dragged on; and our soldiers, worn out and foot-sore, had to march through half-melted snow. Men and horses equally failed. More waggons were abandoned; and still more ammunition destroyed along the way; and when the troops reached Villa Franca, both officers and men were in such a desperate state, that several old and experienced officers predicted, if this horrid march against time should be longer persevered in, a fourth of the army would be left in the ditches before it was accomplished. On the 2d of January, more magazines and carriages were destroyed. Some of the men, grown reckless from cold, hunger, and excessive fatigue, now became completely abandoned; and, entering the wine-cellars, gave way to excesses, and were found lifeless by the French when they entered the town. When General Moore marched with the reserve from Benbibre, he left a detachment to cover the town, and parties were sent round to warn the stragglers of their danger, and drive them out of the houses - for the place was literally filled with them, nearly a thousand men of the preceding divisions having remained there, and most of them quite drunk. A few were persuaded to move on, but by far the greater number were deaf to all threats, and insensible to danger, till the rear guard compelled them to proceed. A small detachment of cavalry still protected them, and did not leave the town till the enemy approached; and then the road was filled with stragglers, armed and unarmed, mules, carts, women and children. Four or five squadrons of French cavalry compelled the detachment in the rear to retire, and pursued it closely for several miles, till General Paget, with the reserve, repulsed them. While galloping through the long line of the miserable stragglers, the French dragoons slashed at them with their swords to the right and left, the men being unable, from intoxication, to attempt either resistance or flight. Some of these having afterwards found their way to the army, were paraded through the ranks as examples to their comrades, of the miserable results of drunkenness at such a crisis.

At Villa Franca, the inhabitants would not believe that the French were advancing through such a country; and in so severe a season, they deemed it quite impossible. But here Sir John declined halting, lest the French should get round his flanks into his rear, and intercept him at Lugo. Again, therefore, our troops were hurried on, the artillery and head-quarters going on in front, General Baird's column and the cavalry under Lord Paget covering the rear. The advanced guard of the enemy was under General Colbert. General Merla's division joined them on the 3d, and on the afternoon of that day they attacked our rear-guard at Cacabelos; but were repulsed by the dragoons and rifle brigade. General Colbert received a ball in his forehead and fell. He was an officer of much promise, and of so fine a form, that Canova the sculptor had called him the modern Antinous. Having thus once more displayed to the French their native prowess, the rear of our army, reluctantly, and almost broken-hearted, continued their unwilling retreat. After passing Villa Franca, the road is one continued ascent, up Monte del Cebrero for about fifteen miles to Castro, through one of the wildest, most beautiful, and most defensible countries in the world. It is a royal road, cut with great labour and expense along the side of the mountain, and following all its windings; and for some part of the way it hangs over the river Valcarce, a rapid mountain stream, which joins the Burbia near the town, and thereafter falls into the Sil, to pass through that single outlet in the gorge of the Bierzo, before described.

Oaks, chestnuts, alders, poplars and hazels, grow in the bottom, and spread themselves up the sides of the hill; the apple, pear, cherry, and mulberry, are wild in this country; the wild olive too is found here, and also the first vineyards, which meet the eye of the traveller on entering Spain from Corunna. The mountains are cultivated, in some parts in the Moorish manner, even to their summits, and trenches are cut along their sides for the purposes of irrigation. This country was now covered with deep snow. There was neither provision nor shelter from the rain, nor dried fuel for our fires, nor place where the weary and foot-sore could rest for a single hour in safety. All that had hitheto been suffered by our troops, was but as a prelude to this consummate scene of horrors. It was still attempted to carry forward our sick and wounded; the beasts which dragged them failed, and they were of necessity left in their waggons to perish amidst the snow. As we looked round on gaining the highest point of those slippery precipices, and observed the rear of the army winding along the narrow road, we could see the whole tract marked out by our own wretched people, who lay on all sides expiring from fatigue and the severity of the cold - while their uniforms reddened in spots the white surface of the ground.

Our men had now become quite mad with despair: excessive fatigue, and the consciousness of their disgrace, in thus flying before an enemy whom they despised, excited in them a spirit which was quite mutinous. A few hours' pause was all that they coveted; an opportunity of confronting the foe, the chance of a speedy and honourable release, and the certainty of making their pursuers atone in death for all the miseries they had suffered. A Portuguese bullock-driver, who had faithfully served us from the first day of our march, was here seen on his knees amid the snow, with his hands clasped, and, in his dying moments, venting his soul in fervent prayer. He had, at least, the consolations of religion in his agonies. But not so those of our soldiery, who, throwing themselves down to perish by the way-side, gave utterance to feelings far different - of shame, anger, and grief; but too frequently their dying groans were mingled with imprecations upon the Spaniards, by whom they believed themselves betrayed, and upon the General, who chose rather to let them die like beasts, than take their chance on the field of battle. That no degree of horror might be wanting, this unfortunate army was accompanied by many women and children; - of whom some were frozen to death on the baggage-waggons, which were broken down or left upon the road for want of cattle; some died of fatigue and cold, while their infants were seen vainly sucking at their clay-cold breasts. One women was taken in labour upon the mountain; she lay down at an angle, rather more sheltered than the rest of the way from the drifting sleet and ice - and there she was found dead, and two babes, which she had brought forth, struggling in the snow. A blanket was thrown over her corse; and the infants were given in charge to another woman, who came up in one of the bullock-carts, to take their chance of surviving through such a journey.

While the reserve was on this part of the road, they met between twenty and thirty waggons filled with arms, ammunition, shoes and clothing, from England, for Romana's army. To carry them back to Corunna was impossible, for means were awanting; wherefore such things as could be made use of were distributed to the soldiers as they passed, and the rest were destroyed. From the failure of the draft-cattle, even the army-baggage could not be carried on. Nearly one hundred waggons, laden with shoes and clothing, were abandoned upon this ascent. Even the dollars could no longer be dragged along: had the resolution of sacrificing them been adopted sooner, they might have been distributed amongst our soldiery, and, in this way, saved from the enemy; and they who escaped would have had some small compensation for the perils they had undergone. They were, however, thrown over the precipices into the deep valley, in hopes that the snow might conceal them from the French. Many men are supposed to have been lost, in consequence of having dropped behind, from the hope of recovering some part of this treasure. Horrible as this retreat appeared to those who beheld the wreck of such a noble army strewing its line of march, it was more so for those who performed it through the dark storms of the night, wading through deep mire and snow, stumbling at times over the dead bodies of men and beasts, and hearing, amidst the howlings of the wintry tempest, the groans of those whose sufferings were not yet terminated by death.

Near Lugo, the different divisions were ordered to halt. Sir John had now become aware of the impossibility of reaching Vigo. Corunna was only half the distance; and the road to Vigo was said to be impracticable for artillery, while the place itself offered small advantages for embarking in the face of an enemy. The brigades of General Alton and Craufurd had, however, already marched towards Vigo; and General Fraser, with his division, had been ordered to follow and join them. A despatch was sent to recall the latter; but the dragoon, to whom it was intrusted, got drunk, and lost the letter, and these troops had proceeded full one days journey on the Vigo road before the counter order reached them, and they were marched back. Thus, instead of having two days' rest at Lugo, as had been intended, they returned thither excessively fatigued, besides having lost some of their number. When the horses reached Lugo many fell dead, and others were mercifully shot. Above four hundred carcasses were lying in the streets and market-places, which it was impossible for the army to bury; and the town's-people were in too great a state of terror and anxiety to think of undertaking such a task; whilst the firing of muskets in all directions gave notice of the slaughter of these poor animals, whose bodies lay, swelling with the rain, putrifying, bursting, and poisoning the atmosphere, faster than the dogs and vultures could devout them. Here we might have rested, if our engineers had succeeded in destroying the bridges; but the French came in sight on the 5th January, and, collecting in considerable force, took up a good position on the side of a valley, opposite to our rear-guard. On the 6th they began to attack our outposts, by opening upon us the fire of two Spanish cannon, which they had picked up on their march. The attack was made with great spirit, but it was received with that steadiness and enthusiasm which ever distinguishes our troops. The sight of the enemy and the sound of the artillery roused up every British heart, and stimulated into action that characteristic and invincible courage which soon made them victorious. On the 7th, the French repeated their attack, and were again repulsed. From the prisoners taken it was ascertained, that Soult was coming up with three divisions. In the expectation of a more serious attack, Sir John drew up his whole force on the morning of the 8th. It was now his desire to bring the enemy to action; having perfect confidence in the valour of the troops, and perceiving that, unless he crippled his adversary, he had no chance of embarking without molestation. Order and discipline were instantly restored by this hostile demonstration, and the soldiers seemed at once to have forgotten all their fatigues. But not so the French: they did not feel encouraged, from the skirmishing of the two previous days, to offer battle; and Soult was prudently waiting for the arrival of more troops. Our own ground was unfavourable; the country was intersected with enclosures; and the enemy had chosen too strong a position to be attacked by an inferior force. Another reason was assigned, namely, that the commissariat had only provisions for two days more; wherefore delay was considered to be as dangerous as retreat.

It was known afterwards, that the French had dreaded to be attacked; that they had no confidence in the strength of their position; and that their best officers feared we should have cut off their advanced guard. To those of our sick and wounded officers who afterwards fell into their power at Lugo, they frequently mentioned this, and rejoiced that Sir John Moore had simply contented himself with offering them battle, instead of attacking them. After waiting till the afternoon, during a very stormy day of drifting snow, Sir John ordered fires to be lighted along the line, to deceive the French, and then continued his retreat in the night. Before quitting Lugo, the General again tried to suppress the irregularities of the line of march, by warning the soldiers that their safety mainly depended upon their keeping their divisions, and marching with their regiments and that those who tarried in the villages, or straggled from the road, would assuredly be cut off by the French cavalry, who had hitherto, as he said, shown little mercy even to the feeble and infirm who have fallen into their hands. That having still eleven leagues to march, the soldiers must make an exertion to accomplish this, as the rear-guard could not stop, and they who fell behind must of course take their fate. These arguments proved useless, because to obey them was impossible. Most of the soldiers were exhausted, and absolutely unable to keep their ranks; others, who had totally thrown aside all discipline, quitted them, from a love of wine or of plunder. Indeed, so irresistible was the tendency to drunkenness amongst the men, in their now exhausted condition, it was even judged better to expose them homeless to the cold and rain of a severe night, than, by marching them into Betanzos, the next town, allow them to enter the wine-houses. When the regiment called the Royals, reached that place, they could only muster round their colours nine officers, three sergeants, and three privates: all the rest having dropped on the road, many of whom did not come up for several days. During this part of the retreat, a memorable instance occurred of what can be done by discipline and presence of mind. Between Lugo and Betanzos some invalids were closely pressed by two squadrons of French cavalry. Sergeant Newman, of the second battalion, 43d, who was amongst them, rallied round him such as were capable of making resistance, and directed the others to get on as they best could. He then formed his party into regular platoons, and commenced firing and retiring in an orderly manner, till he effectually covered the retreat of his disabled comrades, and actually forced the cavalry to give over the pursuit.

The partial actions at Lugo, and the risk of a general one, to which he had been exposed, checked the ardour of Soult, who was afraid now to trust himself too near our troops, unless with a superiority of numbers. We, therefore, gained twelve hours march upon him, and reached Corunna, with little more interruption. The bridge over the Mero was broken by intrenching tools brought from Corunna; and we thus delayed the progress of the French for a short time. At Corunna, had not General Moore represented the cause of Spain as quite hopeless, we might have found reinforcements from England, which would have enabled us to have turned upon our pursuers, and taken ample revenge for all the sufferings and disgrace we had endured. But instead of aid, he had directed empty transports to be sent: and, for want of a due knowledge of the country, had ordered them to Vigo, instead of Corunna. On discovering his error, it is true, that order had been countermanded; but contrary winds detained the ships, luckily for the honour of our native land, otherwise our army would have quitted Spain like fugitives. It was now quite clear, that we could not withdraw without gaining a battle. Corunna was a bad position assuredly: but had we been numerous enough to have occupied a range of hills about four miles from the town, our troops might have defended themselves against very superior numbers. These heights, however, required a much larger force than ours to occupy them, at least a fourth part of our gallant army having foundered by the way; it was, therefore, necessary to abandon them to the enemy, and rest contented with occupying a second and lower ridge. Such, however, were the natural disadvantages of this position, that some of our general officers advised Sir John to propose terms to Soult, for permitting the army to withdraw to our ships unmolested. Fortunately for the memory of Sir John Moore, he had sufficient confidence in his troops to reject this advice.

To give battle to the French was therefore resolved upon, and all the necessary arrangements made. General Hope occupied a hill to the left with one division, with which he commanded the road to Betanzos, as the height sloped away gradually in a curve towards the village of Elvira, where General Baird's division commenced, taking a semicircular sweep to the right. On Sir David's right, the rifle brigade formed a barrier across a valley, and joined themselves to General Fraser's division, which was drawn up about half a mile from Corunna, near the Vigo road. The reserve under General Paget occupied a village on the road to Betanzos, about half a mile in the rear of General Hope. Further to the right of the British posts was a magazine containing 4000 barrels of gunpowder, which had been brought from England, and, with the usual indolence of the Spaniards, left there, while their armies in advance were entirely without ammunition! This it was now necessary to destroy. It was blown up; - the explosion shook the town of Corunna like an earthquake, and a village near the magazine was totally destroyed.

On the morning of the 12th January, the French army appeared moving in force on the opposite side of the river Mero, and soon taking up a position near the village of Perillo, and, occupying the houses along the banks of the stream, they menaced our left flank. Their force was gradually augmented till the 14th, when they commenced a cannonade, which our artillery returned in such excellent style, that they at last withdrew their guns. In the evening of this day, the transports from Vigo hove in sight. Slight skirmishings occurred next morning. Meantime, preparations for embarking were going on. Sir John finding, from the nature of the ground, that not much artillery could be employed placed seven six-pounders, and one howitzer along the line, and kept four Spanish guns as a reserve; ordering the rest of his guns to be embarked. The sick soldiers and officers, and all the dismounted cavalry, were also sent on board without delay. A few horses, too, were embarked, but there was little leisure for this indeed most of them were completely knocked up: another slaughter, therefore, was made of them, and the sea-shore was strewed with their bodies.

On the morning of the 16th all the preparations for going on board were completed: and the General intimated that he intended, if the French remained stationary, to begin embarking the reserve at four in the afternoon. This was about mid-day; and he mounted his horse, and set off to view the outposts. Before going far, he was met by a messenger, announcing that the French line was getting under arms; and a deserter, arriving at the same moment, confirmed the intelligence. He spurred onward. Their light troops were pouring rapidly down the hill on our right wing, and the advanced picquets had already commenced firing. Lord William Bentinck's brigade - the 4th, 42d, and 50th regiments, maintained this post. It was a bad position; and what rendered it more critical was, that, if they should give way, the ruin of the army was inevitable. The guards were in their rear. General Paget was ordered to advance with the reserve, and support Lord William. The French now opened a cannonade from eleven heavy guns, advantageously placed upon the hills. Two strong columns, one coming out from a wood, and the other skirting its edge, directed their march towards the right wing. A third column bore down upon the centre, while a fourth advanced slowly upon the left, and a fifth remained half way down the hill in the same direction. They had a decided superiority not only in the numbers, but in the weight of their cannon; and they fired with so much precision from their commanding situation, that the balls in their bounding reached our reserve, and even occasioned some destruction there.

Sir David Baird, on leading on his division, had his arm shattered with a grape shot. The two lines of infantry advanced to meet each other: they were separated by stone walls and hedges, which intersected the ground; but, as they closed, it was remarked, that the French line extended beyond the right of our troops, and a body of the enemy was seen moving up the valley to turn it. Soult's intention clearly had been to force the right of our army, and, by thus interposing between us and Corunna, cut us off from embarking. But, having failed in this attempt, he was now endeavouring to outflank us. Half of the fourth regiment (the King's Own) was therefore ordered to fall back, forming an obtuse angle with the other half. This manoeuvre was performed well, and they commenced a heavy flanking fire. Sir John Moore called out to them that this was precisely what he wished, and rode on to the 50th, commanded by Majors Napier and Stanhope. Getting over an enclosure in their front, this gallant regiment charged the enemy most vigorously; but Major Napier, advancing too far in the pursuit, received several wounds, and was made prisoner; while Major Stanhope was shot through the heart, and fell dead. General Moore now proceeded towards the 42d. "Highlanders!" he exclaimed, "remember Egypt." They rushed forward, driving the foe before them, till they were stopped by a wall. Sir John went on with them during their charge. He now despatched Captain Hardinge to order up a battalion of guards to the left flank of the Highlanders. The officer commanding the light infantry erroneously conceived from this that they were to be relieved by the guards, because their ammunition had been almost expended, and he began to fall back. The General, being aware of the mistake, exclaimed, "My brave 42d, join your comrades; ammunition is coming, and you have your bayonets." Upon this they instantly again moved onward. Captain Hardinge now returned and pointed out to the General that the guards were coming up; meanwhile the fire from the enemy was very fierce, and their artillery was playing unceasingly on the spot where they were conversing. A cannon-shot here struck Sir John Moore, and carried away his left shoulder and a portion of the collarbone, leaving the arm hanging merely by the flesh. He dropt from his saddle on the ground, stretched on his back; but his fine manly countenance changed not, neither did he exhibit the least sensation of pain. Captain Hardinge dismounted, and grasping his hand, observed him anxiously watching the 42d, which was warmly engaged, and told him they were advancing, whereon his countenance brightened. His friend Colonel Graham, (Lord Lynedoch), who now came up to assist him, observing the composure of his features, began to hope that he was only slightly wounded, till he observed the dreadful laceration. From the extent of the wound, it was vain to attempt to check the bleeding, and Sir John consented to be removed in a blanket to the rear. In raising him up, his sword hanging on the wounded side, touched his arm and became entangled, which induced Captain Hardinge to unbuckle it; but the General said, in his usual tone and manner, "It is as well as it is: I had rather it should go out of the field with me." Six soldiers of the 42d and guards now bore him away. Hardinge, observing his composure, began to hope that the wound might not prove mortal, and expressed his wish that he might still be spared to the army. Moore turned his head, and looking steadfastly at the wound for a few seconds, replied, "No, Hardinge, I feel that to be impossible."

As the soldiers were carrying him slowly along, be made them frequently turn round, that he might look again upon the field of battle, and listen to the firing, and he was pleased when the sound grew fainter and more distant. A spring-waggon came up bearing Colonel Wynch, who was wounded; the Colonel asked who was in the blanket, and being told it was Sir John Moore, wished him to be placed in the waggon. Sir John asked one of the Highlanders whether he thought the waggon or the blanket was best? and the man having said that the blanket would not shake him so much, he ordered him to move on. Thus they proceeded with him to his quarters at Corunna, weeping as they went.

General Paget, in the meanwhile, hastened up with the reserve to the support of the right wing. Colonel Sydney Beckwith hurried on with the rifle corps, repelled the enemy, and advanced so far as nearly to carry off one of their cannon; but a corps, greatly superior in number, moving up the valley at this crisis, forced him to fall back. Paget, however, attacked this body of the French, repulsed it, and pressed forward, dispersing every thing before him, till the enemy, perceiving their left wing was now quite exposed, drew it entirely back. The French now advanced in the centre upon Generals Manningham and Leith. But there the ground we held being lofty and favourable for artillery, they were speedily repelled. The position on the left was also strong, and their attack there was fruitless; but a body of them got possession of a village on the Betanzos road, and continued to fire from it, till Lieut.-Colonel Nicholls attacked it and drove them out. Night was now drawing on, and the French had fallen back in every direction. The firing, however, did not entirely cease until it was quite dark.

No battle was ever gained under greater disadvantages. The French force exceeded 20,000 men, the British did not amount to 15,000. In artillery, too, their superiority was equally great; The enemy had met on their way English guns, sent off thus late to the Spanish patriots, and these they had turned back and employed against our troops. Our artillery had been embarked, and the Shrapnell shells, (now called Spherical Case-Shot), which had contributed so materially to the victory at Vimeira, were not employed in this more perilous engagement. If the moral and physical state of the two armies be compared, the disadvantages under which our soldiers laboured will be found still greater The French abounded in stores which they had captured on their way, and were elated with a pursuit during which no man had been pressed beyond his strength, and had hourly received reinforcements to their already superior numbers. Our troops were in a state of misery, to which no army, far less a British one, had ever been reduced before till after a total defeat. We had lost our military chest, our stores, our baggage, our horses, our women and children, our sick, wounded and stragglers, and, in a word, every thing except our innate excellent and unconquerable courage. From 5000 to 6000 men, and as many horses, had sunk under the fatigues of this retreat. Our loss in the battle did not amount to 800; that of the French is believed to have exceeded 2000. Seeing that such a victory was gained by the British army, under such a combination of evil circumstances, what might not have been achieved by that army when entire and fully equipped, with all its means at hand, in full health and strength; in all "its pride of place," and plentitude of hope?

The General lived to hear that the battle was gained. "Are the French beaten?" was the question which he repeated to every one entering his room: and he expressed how glad he was to know that they were defeated. "I hope," he exclaimed, "that the people of England will be satisfied! I hope that my country will do me justice!" Then, addressing Colonel Anderson, who had been his friend and companion in arms for one-and-twenty years, he said to him, "Anderson, you know that I have always wished to die in this way. You will see my friends as soon as you can... tell them every thing... say to my mother..." Here his voice failing, he became excessively agitated, and did not again venture to name her. Sometimes he asked to be placed in an easier posture. "I feel myself so strong," he said, "I fear I shall be long dying. It is great uneasiness. It is great pain." But after some time, he pressed Colonel Anderson's hand firmly to his body, and in a few minutes expired without a struggle. He fell, as it had ever been his desire to do, in action and in victory. Never was any man more beloved in private life, nor was there ever any General in the British army more universally esteemed. Had he but been more ardent in hoping, and somewhat less anxious and circumspect and doubtful, he would have been much more competent to his own difficult task. Personally, he was as brave a man as ever met death in the field; and we ought to remember with gratitude, that when some of his brother officers wished him to sully the honour of his army by proposing a capitulation, he had the firmness to reject the proposal.

His wish had always been, to be buried on the spot where he might chance to be killed. The citadel of Corunna was therefore selected, and his aids-du-camp attended in turns, whilst a party of the 9th regiment dug a grave for him in one of the bastions. There was no leisure to procure a coffin, so that the officers of his staff wrapped up his body in his military cloak and blankets, without undressing it. About eight in the morning, the enemy having commenced firing, there being an apprehension that some serious attack might require their presence elsewhere, the officers of his family bore his body to the grave, where the funeral service was performed by the chaplain, and his remains were covered with earth.

Meantime, General Hope, on whom the chief command had devolved, was passing the night in the embarkation of the troops. At ten o'clock he ordered them to move off from the field by single brigades, leaving strong picquets to guard the ground, and give notice if the enemy should approach. Major-General Beresford, with a rear-guard of 2000, occupied the lines in front of Corunna, and covered the embarkation. Major-General Hill, with a corps of reserve, was stationed on a promontory behind the town. Towards morning, most part of the troops had got on board; the picquets also were withdrawn, and embarked before daylight, and the reserve were alone left on the shore. On the 17th January, the French remarking this, pushed on their light troops to the heights of St Lucia, which overhang the harbour, where they got up some artillery, and began to fire at the transports. Several of the masters of these vessels being frightened, cut their cables and in the confusion four of them ran aground. These were burnt, and their men were put aboard other ships. During the night of the 17th, and the following morning, General Beresford sent off all the sick and wounded which would bear removal in the ships of war, which protected our embarkation. Lastly, the rear-guard got into the boats, the enemy making no attempt to interrupt us. And thus terminated this memorable and luckless expedition. But of those who reached England, many fell victims to a pestilential typhus fever which we had acquired, partly from coming in contact with the soldiers under Romana, and partly from the dreadful privations which we had undergone during the retreat.

Cousin William Hamilton of Eden, was also present with the 42 Highlanders (Black Watch) during this first sortie to the Peninsula. The 5^th Regiment returned to Worthing barracks before being dispatched on the Walcheren expedition.

The Walcheren Expedition 1809

John Hamilton, his sons Nicholas and William and cousin William, all of whom had survived the horrors of the retreat to and battle of Corunna, were deployed on this expedition. The campaign is described by Rifleman Harris.

"A fair wind soon carried us off Flushing, where one part of the expedition disembarked; the other made for South Beveland, among which latter I myself was. The five companies of Rifles immediately occupied a very pretty village, with rows of trees on either side of its principal streets, where we had plenty of leisure to listen to the cannonading going on amongst the companies we had left at Flushing. The appearance of the country (such as it was) was extremely pleasant, and for a few days the men enjoyed themselves much.

But at the expiration of (I think) less time than a week, an awful visitation came suddenly upon us. The first I observed of it was one day as I sat in my billet, when I beheld whole parties of our Riflemen in the street shaking with a sort of ague, to such a degree that they could hardly walk; strong and fine young men who had been but a short time in the service seemed suddenly reduced in strength to infants, unable to stand upright-so great a shaking had seized upon their whole bodies from head to heel. The company I belonged to was quartered in a barn, and I quickly perceived that hardly a man there had stomach for the bread that was served out to him, or even to tast his grog, although each man had an allowance of half-a-pint of gin per day. In fact I should say that about three weeks from the day we landed, I and two others were the only individuals who could stand upon our legs. They lay groaning in rows in the barn, amongst the heaps of lumpy black bread they were unable to eat.

This awful spectacle considerably alarmed the officers, who were also many of them attacked. The naval doctors came on shore to assist the regimental surgeons, who, indeed, had more upon their hands than they could manage; Dr. Ridgeway of the Rifles, and his assistant, having nearly five hundred patients prostrate at the same moment. In short, except myself and three or four others, the whole concern was completely floored.

Under these circumstances, which considerably confounded the doctors, orders were issued (since all hopes of getting the men upon their legs seemed gone) to embark them as fast as possible, which was accordingly done with some little difficulty. The poor fellows made every effort to get on board; those who were a trifle better than others crawled to the boats; many supported each other; and many were carried helpless as infants.... On shipboard the aspect of affairs did not mend; the men beginning to die so fast that they committed ten or twelve to the deep in one day. It was rather extraordinary that myself, and Brooks, and a man named Bowley, who had all three been at Corunna, were at this moment unattacked by the disease, and notwithstanding the awful appearance of the pest-ship we were in, I myself had little fear of it, I thought myself so hardened that it could not touch me. It happened, however, that I stood sentinel (men being scarce) over the hatchway, and Brooks, who was always a jolly and jeering companion (even in the very jaws of death) came past me, and offered me a lump of pudding, it being pudding-day on board. At that moment I felt struck with a deadly faintness, shaking all over like an aspen, and my teeth chattering in my head so that I could hardly hold my rifle. Brooks looked at me for a moment with the pudding in his hand, which he saw I could not take, 'Hullo', he said, 'why Harris, old boy, you are not going to begin are you?' I felt unable to answer him, but only muttered out as I tumbled, 'For God's sake get me relieved, Brooks!'…. In fact I was now sprawling upon the forecastle, amongst many others, in a miserable state, our knapsacks and our great-coats over us,… and thus we arrived at Dover…. The Warwickshire Militia were at this time quartered at Dover. They came to assist in disembarking us, and were obliged to lift many of us out of the boats like sacks of flour. If any of those militiamen remain alive, they will not easily forget that piece of duty; for I never beheld men more moved than they were at our helpless state. Many died at Dover and numbers in Deal.

Nicholas was wounded and lost a leg (though he went on to become a General). William caught the Walcheren fever and died in Deal a short while later in October 1809. Cousin William survived the fever, retired but then re-joined the 95^th Rifles in 1811 as a volunteer and fought throughout the Peninsula campaign before being severely wounded at San Sebastian. On return from Holland, the 5th returned to Bexhill Barracks. At the end of 1810 they sailed from Portsmouth to Fermoy barracks in Cork. In mid April 1811 they embarked in HMS Leopard (inter alia) and sailed again for the Peninsula arriving on 24 June.

Back to Lisbon 1812

A detachment had remained in Portugal after the retreat from Corunna and this element fought at Talavera in July 1809. At about the same time, the 2nd Battalion landed in Lisbon and were present at Busaco 1810, Sabugal and Fuentes d'Onoro 1811. The first and unsuccessful siege of Badajos and the action at El Bodon 1811, where they charged "half a cavalry brigade" in a rearguard action which saved their division and, arguably, Wellington's entire army from disaster. This act was praised by Wellington himself. After the siege and storming of Ciudad Rodrigo 2/5^th were part of the force – 3^rd Division (Gen Picton) and the Light Division that were ordered to storm the two breeches in the walls and Badajoz while the Light Div and 4^th Division stormed the breeches, the 3^rd Div incl 5^th were ordered to attack the castle by escalade. The stormers were badly mauled but the escaaders got into the old Moorish Castle which commands the town – a very costly win and the town fell early in 1812. In June, the 1st Bn, with John Hamilton and his sons John Spring and James Bunbury landed to join the 2nd. However, Captain John, who had fought in every campaign described in this Appendix, shortly thereafter returned home from Lisbon for reasons unknown and never rejoined his regiment. I wonder if his return was connected with the death of his daughter Catherine Hamilton in Lisbon. Both regiments, plus the 95^th Rifles in which cousin William (who had joined the 95^th Rifles in 1811 and fought at Torres Vedras, Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajos) was serving, fought at Salamanca 22nd July 1812 with the 3^rd Div under Gen Pakenham (Picton had been wounded). At Salamanca, James Bunbury carried the Queens Colour and was slightly wounded. The remains of the regimental colours, which were carried by John Spring's brother in law, Ensign Pratt, are displayed in the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers Museum in Alnwick Castle. The 5^th started the battle in the town but in mid afternoon were ordered out and to turn the enemies left which they achieved and eventually after a furious battle the French were comprehensively beaten. The 2nd/5th thereafter sailed for home. The 1st Battalion went on to fight at Vittoria, Nivelle and Nive 1813, Orthes and Toulouse 1814, before, at the end of May 1814, sailing to Canada. Cousin William went on to fight at Vittoria and the Pyrenees, being severely wounded at San Sebastian. John Spring was captured at Nivelle, imprisoned in Verdun[3] and released at the war's end and was present at the occupation of Paris in 1815. The Battle of Nivelle is described by Ensign Gronow of the 1^st Guards:

We expected to remain quietly in our winter quarters at St. Jean de Luz; but, to our surprise, early one morning, we were aroused from sleep by the beating of the drum calling us to arms. We were soon in marching order. It appeared that our outposts had been severely pushed by the French, and we were called upon to support our companions in arms.

The whole of the British army, as well as the division of the Guards, had commenced a forward movement. Soult, seeing this, entirely changed his tactics, and from that time, viz. the 9th of December, a series of engagements took place. The fighting on the 9th was comparatively insignificant. When we were attacked on the 10th, the Guards held the mayor's house, and the grounds and orchards attached: this was an important station.

Large bodies of the enemy's infantry approached, and, after desultory fighting, succeeded in penetrating our position, when many hand-to- hand combats ensued. Towards the afternoon, officers and men having displayed great gallantry, we drove the enemy from the ground which they courageously disputed with us, and from which they eventually retreated to Bayonne. Every day there was constant fighting along the whole of our line, which extended from the sea to the lower Pyrenees—a distance probably not less than thirty miles.

On the 1lth, we only exchanged a few shots, but on the 12th Soult brought into action from fifteen to twenty thousand men, and attacked our left with a view of breaking our line. One of the most remarkable incidents of the 12th was the fact of an English battalion being surrounded by a division of French in the neighbourhood of the mayor's house—which, as before observed, was one of our principal strategical positions. The French commanding officer, believing that no attempt would be made to resist, galloped up to the officer of the British regiment, and demanded his sword. Upon this, without the least hesitation, the British officer shouted out, "This fellow wants us to surrender: charge, my boys! and show them what stuff we are made of." Instantaneously, a hearty cheer rang out, and our men rushed forward impetuously, drove off the enemy at the point of the bayonet, and soon disposed of the surrounding masses. In a few minutes they had taken prisoners, or killed, the whole of the infantry regiment opposed to them.

On the 13th was fought the bloody battle of the Nivelle. Soult had determined to make a gigantic effort to drive us back into Spain. During the night of the 12th, he rapidly concentrated about sixty thousand troops in front of Sir Rowland Hill's corps d'armee, consisting of 15,000 men, who occupied a very strong position, which was defended by some of the best artillery in the world. At daybreak Sir Rowland Hill was astonished to find himself threatened by masses of infantry advancing over a country luckily intersected by rivulets, hedges, and woods, which prevented the enemy from making a rapid advance; whilst, at the same time, it was impossible on such ground to employ cavalry. Sir Rowland, availing himself of an elevated position, hurriedly surveyed his ground, and concentrated his men at such points as he knew the nature of the field would induce the enemy to attack. The French, confident of success from their superior numbers, came gallantly up, using the bayonet for the first time in a premeditated attack; Our men stood their ground, and for hours acted purely on the defensive; being sustained by the admirable practice of our artillery, whose movements no difficulty of ground could, on this occasion, impede, so efficiently were the guns horsed, and so perfect was the training of the officers. It was not until mid-day that the enemy became discouraged at finding that they were unable to make any serious impression on our position; they then retired in good order, Sir Rowland Hill not daring to follow them.

Lord Wellington arrived just in time to witness the end of the battle; and while going over the field with Sir Rowland Hill, he remarked that he had never seen so many men hors de combat in so small a space.

I must not omit to mention a circumstance which occurred during this great fight, alike illustrative of cowardice and of courage. The colonel of an infantry regiment, who shall be nameless, being hard pressed, showed a disposition not only to run away himself, but to order his regiment to retire. In fact, a retrograde movement had commenced, when my gallant and dear friend Lord Charles Spencer, aide-de-camp to Sir William Stewart, dashed forward, and, seizing the colours of the regiment, exclaimed, "If your colonel will not lead you, follow me, my boys." The gallantry of this youth, then only eighteen years of age, so animated the regiment, and restored their confidence, that they rallied and shared in the glory of the day.

In his "History of the War in the Peninsula", Major General Sir WFP Napier, KCB says:

That the British Infantry soldier is more robust than the soldier of any other nation can scarcely be doubted by those who, in 1815, observed his powerful frame, distinguished amidst the united armies of Europe; and notwithstanding his habitual excess in drinking, he sustains fatigue and wet and the extremes of cold and heat with incredible vigour. When completely disciplined, and three years are required to accomplish this, his port is lofty and his movements free, the whole world cannot produce a nobler specimen of military bearing: nor is the mind unworthy of the outward man.

An officer of the 5th Foot

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[1] "Memoirs of a Serjeant of the 5^th Regiment of Foot" by Stephen Morley - containing an account of his service in Hanover, South America and the Peninsula. A limited edition reprinted by Ken Trotman Ltd, Ditton Walk, Cambridge in 1999.

[2] Aug 19 1808 " General Orders today thanks 9^th, 29^th, 5^th (Foot) and Rifle Corps for noble conduct" Letters from Capt Warre ADC to General Ferguson.

[3] The history of Verdun as a P.O.W. citadel is in itself a fascination story. All British officers taken during the Napoleonic Wars were placed there on parole (free to move and live as they could best afford within the town on promise not to try and escape). Few broke their parole which was a matter of honour. Prisoners were marched there from whence they were captured and took, in many cases, many weeks to get there, staying in hostels, public houses or prisons overnight on their march.