LV. 1809. Corunna of and the Bay. Jan. 13. on into the town, and all the means which circumstances CHAP. would admit of were taken to strengthen the land defences, which, though regular, were very weak. The inhabitants 52. cheerfully and honourably joined in the toil, though they Arrival at well knew, from the preparations which were going for- the troops ward, that an embarkation was intended. On the day transports following, two powder-magazines, at a short distance with- from Vigo out the walls, containing four thousand barrels of powder, Jan. 12. the gift of England, were blown up, with an explosion so terrific, that nothing in the whole course of the war approached to it. The scene resembled the sudden explosion of a volcano; the city was shaken to its foundations, the rocks torn from their bases, the sea was tossed as in a tempest, the earth shook for leagues around; while slowly arose in the air a huge black cloud, shooting forth dazzling light, from whence, at a great height, stones burst forth with a prodigious sound, and fell with a sharp rattle in all directions. A stillness yet more awful ensued, broken only by the hoarse and sullen lashing of the still agitated waves on the shore.* On the following day, the trans- Jan. 14. ports from Vigo hove in sight, and soon after stood into the bay. Preparations were immediately made for the embarkation of the sick and wounded; the cavalry horses were almost all destroyed, and the greater part of the artillery, consisting of fifty-two pieces, put on board; 1 Lond. i. eight British and four Spanish being only reserved for Tor. ii. 198, immediate use. Notwithstanding all the sufferings of the 487, 488. retreat, not one gun had been taken by the enemy.1 Meanwhile the bulk of the army, still fourteen thousand strong, was drawn up with great care by Sir John Moore, on a range of heights, or rather of swelling knolls, which formed a sort of amphitheatre around the village * It is from Colonel Napier, an eyewitness, that this description is taken. Whoever has had the good fortune to see that most sublime of spectacles, an eruption of Vesuvius, will have no difficulty in giving implicit credit to the graphic truth of the picture. The author witnessed one in 1818, and the act of transcribing these lines recalls, in all its vividness, the thrilling recollection of the matchless scene. 199. Nap. i. 1 LV. 1809. 53. the British in front of Corunna. Atlas, Plate 52. CHAP. of Elvina, at the distance of rather more than a mile from CORUNNA. Hope's Hope's division was on the left, its flank covered by the muddy stream of the Mero, commanding Position of the road to Lugo; Baird's next, having its right directly behind Elvina; then the rifles, who, in extended order, stretched across a valley; and lastly, on the heights in front of Corunna, Fraser's division, which watched the coast-road to St Jago, and was prepared to support any menaced point; General Paget was half a mile in the rear, with the reserve, at the village of Airis. The French, full twenty thousand strong, were posted on a higher semicircular ridge, sweeping round the lesser one occupied by the British at the distance of about a mile. Laborde's division was on the right, Merle's in the centre, Mermet's on the left; their light field-pieces were distributed along the front of the line; the dragoons, under Lahoussaye and Franceschi, to which the English had nothing to oppose, clustered to the left of the infantry, and menaced the British right flank, with a detachment under Lorges to the right; while a great battery of twelve heavy guns, advantageously posted on a steep eminence on their left between their foot and horse, not twelve hundred yards from Baird's division, was prepared to carry devastation along the whole line. From the inactivity of the French army during the two preceding days, Sir John Moore had been led to imagine that they had no serious intention of disquieting his retreat; and preparations, on the 16th, were making for withdrawing the troops into the town as soon as the darkness would admit of its being done without observation. But, about noon, a general movement was Jan. 16. 488. Tor. ii. 280. South. 519, 523. 1 Nap. 487, seen along their whole line; and soon after, at two o'clock, 199, 200. their infantry, consisting of Mermet's and Merle's divisions, Lond. i. 278, in four massy columns, was observed to be descending from the heights which they occupied, and advancing with a 116. Thiers, swift step towards the English position. Perceiving that the hour he had so long and so passionately wished for was at hand, Sir John Moore instantly galloped to the front; the Jom. iii. ix. 531, 532. f LV. troops everywhere stood to their arms, and deployed into CHAP. line; while the French, according to custom, advanced in long and deep columns, preceded by a cloud of light troops. 1809. 54. Corunna. ment of the Their onset, as at Vimeira, and in all the subsequent actions of the war, was extremely impetuous. A cloud Battle of of skirmishers led the way, who drove in the English Commenceadvanced posts with great vigour, and, in the confusion action. of their retreat, made themselves masters of Elvina, directly in front of the centre. As they drew near to the British position they deployed into line, and it soon appeared that they extended into the valley greatly beyond Baird's extreme right; but the 4th regiment, which was there stationed, noways discouraged by this alarming circumstance, threw back its right wing; and, presenting a front in two directions, in which attitude it advanced, was soon warmly engaged with the enemy. Highly delighted with this display of presence of mind, and deeming 1 Jom. iii. the right secure when intrusted to such intrepid defenders, Reg. 1809, Sir John Moore rode up to the centre of Baird's division, 372. Hope's which had now come to blows with their opponents, who, Desp. Nap. having carried Elvina, were bursting through the enclo- Tor. ii. 116. sures which lay between its houses and the British with 533. loud cries and all the exultation of victory.1 1 117. Ann. official i. 494, 495. Thiers, ix. struggle in The action now became extremely warm along the 55. whole line. The French and English centres advanced to Vehement within pistol-shot of each other; and after exchanging a the centre. few volleys, the 50th and 42d charged with the bayonet, and drove the enemy opposed to them in the most gallant style back again through Elvina, and a considerable way up the slope on the other side. But this furious onset being carried too far, and not adequately supported, met with a severe check. The victorious troops, when broken by the enclosures and stone-walls on the other side of the village, were assailed in their turn by fresh French regiments, and driven back a second time through its streets, Major Napier, who commanded the 50th, being wounded LV. 1809. CHAP. and made prisoner. But Moore was at hand to repair the disorder. Instantly addressing the 42d regiment with the animating words, "Highlanders, remember Egypt!" and bringing up a battalion of the Guards to its support, he again led them forward to the charge. The shock was irresistible: borne back at the point of the bayonet, 1 General the enemy were again driven into Elvina, from whence, Hope's ache after a desperate struggle, they were finally expelled with In this decisive contest, however, Sir great slaughter. battle. Ann. Reg. 1809, p. 428. Nap. John Moore received a mortal wound from a cannoni. 494, 496. Lond. 1. 285, shot; and Sir David Baird, struck down at the head of ii. 201, 202. his men, had been shortly before carried from the field in a senseless condition.1 286. Tor. 56. Foiled in this attempt to pierce the centre, Soult Repulse of renewed his attacks with Laborde's division on the left; the French. while a heavy column endeavoured to steal unperceived round the British right, where they so greatly outflanked their opponents. But the ground on the left being in favour of the English, all his efforts were defeated with comparative case; and General Hope, who commanded there, pressing forward in pursuit of the repulsed columns, carried the village of Palavio Abaxo, close under the enemy's original position, which remained in his hands. at nightfall. At the same time, on the right, General Paget, who had been ordered thither with the reserve by Moore, not only at once perceived and advanced to meet the column which was endeavouring to turn his flank, but assailed it with such vigour, that it was thrown back upon Lahoussaye's dragoons, and the whole were driven in disorder to the foot of the hill on which the great battery was placed. When night, arriving in that wintry season at an early hour, separated the combatants, the enemy was not only repulsed at all points, but the British line was considerably in front of the ground they had occupied at the commencement of the action. They held, on the left, Palavio Abaxo; in the centre, Elvina; and on the right were advanced to the LV. acclivity of the central battery. Had Fraser's troops, CHAP. stationed on the coast-road to St Jago on the extreme right, been at hand to support this splendid advance of 1809. the reserve, and an hour more of daylight remained, the enemy would have been routed. Had the cavalry been on the field, or the horses not foundered, he would have been thrown back in irretrievable confusion on the swampy stream of the Mero, now flooded by the full tide, and traversed only by a single arch at El Burgo, and totally annihilated. Night, however, having supervened when the success was still incomplete, and the means of embarking unmolested having been gained by 1 Hope's the enemy's repulse, General Hope, upon whom the Despatch, command had devolved, did not conceive himself war- 1809, p 373. Nap. i. 498, ranted in making any change in the preparations for 499. Lond. departure; and after dark the troops were withdrawn into ii. 201, 202. the town, where they were all got on board without either 533,534. confusion or delay.1 * Ann. Reg. i. 287. Tor. Thiers, ix. 57. wound of Sir John Moore. Sir John Moore received his death-wound while animating the 42d to the charge. A cannon-ball struck his Mortal left breast, and beat him down by its violence to the earth; but his countenance remained unchanged, not a sigh escaped his lips, and, sitting on the ground, he watched with an anxious and steadfast eye the progress of the battle. As it advanced, however, and it became manifest that the troops were gaining ground, his countenance brightened, and he reluctantly allowed himself to be carried to the rear. Then the dreadful nature of the wound appeared: the shoulder was shattered to pieces; *The British loss at Corunna was from 800 to 1000 men; that of the French was stated by their own officers to Colonel Napier at 3000; Sir John Hope estimated it at 1600, but it was at least 2000- a number which would doubtless appear surprisingly large, if the murderous effect of the fire of the British infantry, from the coolness and discipline of the men, were not decisively proved by every action throughout the war. The total loss of the army, during the retreat, was 4033, of whom 1397 were missing before the position at Lugo, and 2636 from that to the final embarkation of the army, including those who fell at Corunna. Of this number 800 stragglers contrived to escape into Portugal, and, being united with the sick left in that country, formed a corps |