1808: The Road to Corunna

by Griff Hosker

  “How did he and the troopers do sir?”

  “Excellent Captain Stafford. They were a credit to the regiment and we even managed to capture some French Voltigeurs.”

  While I drank the wine they had procured I told them of our adventure. After I had finished I asked, “What of Sir Arthur? I ask for I am to be interviewed later by Sir John and I would like to know which way the wind blows.”

  “It seems that Sir John is making all the decisions, sir. Sir Arthur, from all accounts, is unhappy about the peace settlement. There is a rumour of a letter being sent to Sir John.”

  I could almost hear the gossip as it tittle tattled around the camp. I sighed, that was all I needed, politics.

  “And did you see the French sir?”

  “Just a handful at Badajoz but I fear that Bonaparte is about to make a foray into Portugal.” Their faces showed that they were excited about the prospect. “Do not get excited, gentlemen. If he comes then his best soldiers will be here also. That means the Imperial Guard. I have seen little in our army, at the moment, which could stand up to them.”

  “But sir, you are normally so confident about our enemies.”

  “I am, which should warn you of the abilities of the Imperial Guard.”

  When I joined Sir John, later in the afternoon, I was delighted that he was of the same opinion as I was. My intelligence was greeted with caution. “I would expect the Emperor to change things around. He cannot be happy with the performance of his marshals.”

  In that I knew he was right. Bonaparte, like Sir Arthur, had very high standards and he did not suffer fools gladly. “That was a good example of Portuguese and British soldiers working together. It looks like that may be the way we have to work in the future. By the by the Earl of Uxbridge has just arrived to take over the cavalry. I know you will want to get to know him and you have the most experience of any cavalryman in the Peninsular. He will need all the help you can give him. I know that Sir Arthur is most impressed with your performance thus far. He is most sorry to have to lose you to me.”

  “How is he, sir?”

  “You can ask him yourself. I invited him to speak with me this afternoon. I am a little worried about him. I can speak openly with you for you were close to him and I would not wish to embarrass Sir Arthur in any way.” He leaned forward, “I know that you can be discreet.”

  “Yes sir.”

  He went to a table and poured two glasses of port for us. He handed me one. “I know that you are not cut out for the diplomatic service. Don Francisco was keen to have your skin pinned to the harbour wall!” I began to speak and he held up his hand. “Sir, do not trouble yourself. Donna Maria has told me all. I might not have been so blunt but I can understand your reasoning. You are a man of action and I admire that.”

  “How is the lady?”

  “You may ask her yourself later on. She is living in the Queen’s apartments. She is concerned that the palace should not be left to us rough soldiers; not without a woman’s touch.”

  There was a rap on the door. The sentry said, “Sir, Sir…”

  He got no further for Sir Arthur strode in. “You wished to see me, Sir John?” He smiled when he saw me. “Ah Matthews, good to see you too. I hear you have had another damned adventure!”

  “Glass of port, Wellesley?” Sir Arthur nodded and I went to pour it for him. Sir John continued. “I received your letter yesterday and I thought we ought to chat about it.” I handed the port to Sir Arthur. “Any objection to Matthews staying?”

  “Of course not. He is one of the better soldiers. No secrets between us eh Matthews?”

  “No, Sir Arthur.”

  “Now Arthur,” I smiled when I saw the look of distaste on Sir Arthur’s face; he hated informality. “I think you should reconsider your decision to return to England. I need you here. You have beaten the French twice and you know the men.”

  “Very kind of you Sir John but I am being tarred with the same brush as Dowager Dalrymple and Betty Burrard! It won’t do. Matthews here will tell you that I wanted to pursue and finally defeat Junot. I did not want to give him a trip back to France courtesy of the tax payer!” He looked at me. “Tell him Matthews; you were there.”

  “That is correct, Sir John.”

  “You are not on trial here Arthur and I believe you. That is why I beg you to stay. You will be vindicated at the hearing.”

  “No, Sir John, that is why I must return. I have to defend myself. My name and my honour are at stake.”

  Sir John finished his port and held his glass out to me. “I agree with you; the action taken by the two senior generals was the wrong one but they have been recalled to London anyway. Until we hear from London I command and you know that I will listen to you.” I took the glass and refilled it.

  “I am sorry Sir John. I hope you success in your appointment”

  He took the glass I offered him and shook his head. “I wish I had never been given this appointment. It is like a poisoned chalice. But it is the business of Government to remove me if they think proper. I can enter into no intrigue.”

  “In these times, my dear General a man like you should not preclude himself from rendering the services of which he is capable, by an idle point of form.”

  “I will do my duty, Sir Arthur.”

  “And I wish you well but I shall return to England on the morrow and clear my name.” He emptied his glass. He nodded to me, “You can trust this one. He may have little breeding but he is a damned fine soldier, honest and brave. They are rare. Oh and the only Portuguese soldiers I would trust are those commanded by Trant.” He stood, “And the Spanish are not to be trusted or relied upon at all!”

  With that he left. That was the last time that he and Sir John met. I believe that they would have made a good combination had they served together but it was not meant to be. Sir Arthur took a fast ship home the following day.

  Sir John was genuinely sad. “I shall need you even more from now on Matthews. Have you an effective deputy?”

  “Yes sir. Captain Stafford is a good officer. My men are sound.”

  “And that is more than can be said for the rest of the army. Sir Arthur told me there are none better when fighting but the rest of the time they are drunk and belligerent.” He shrugged, “Now we await orders.” He smiled, “If you would care to go and see Donna Maria; I know she desires conference with you and then find the Earl of Uxbridge. It is time you two became acquainted.”

  I spent the rest of the afternoon with Donna Maria. She had engaged servants and was repairing some of the damage from the looting. It did me good to speak with her. She brought everything down to a simple level.

  Before I left I went to the stables. They were cleaner now and there were more horses within. The groom recognised me. I shook his hand. “Your son is avenged.”

  He began to weep and I waited until he had composed himself. “Thank you sir. The man with the scar?”

  “I killed him myself. It will not bring back your son but he can rest in peace now.”

  I saw the groom’s eyes stray to the grave. I had not brought my sword for I had planned on this meeting with the groom. I unclipped the scabbard and handed Colonel Laroche’s sword and its sheath to the groom. “It is small recompense for the loss of a son but this is the sword of the man with the scar. You could sell it or…”

  He shook his head as he took it, “Thank you sir but I shall not sell it. I will bury this with my son. Thank you again, sir. If all Englishmen are like you then my country will be safe.”

  I headed back to camp wondering if we could save Portugal from the Emperor Napoleon. I had yet to see Sir John in action. I had been confident in Sir Arthur’s skills. I knew just how tricky an enemy Bonaparte could be. Sir John would need to be his equal if we were to win.

  I took Sergeant Sharp with me when I went to introduce myself to the Earl of Uxbridge. I knew he had been the colonel of the 7th Light Dragoons and that was about all that I knew of him. He was outside his tent sm
oking a cigar and studying some papers when I arrived.

  “Major Matthews, sir. General Moore thought we should get to know one another.”

  I saw him appraising me. “Ah yes, the chap who rescued those hostages from the French. Fine show. Take a seat. I hear you were involved in the two battles too.”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Dashed useful. And you are with the 11th?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “I know Colonel Fenton. He is a good officer.”

  “Yes sir, we like serving with him.”

  He waved a hand and a servant appeared with some wine. “None of your local stuff. This is a fine wine from Italy. I bought in London before I came out. I wanted to have a fine wine to drink.”

  I looked at the label. “Actually sir my family makes this. I can get you a case next time we get to London.”

  “Pon my word. You are a useful chap to have around. I daresay there is a story there.”

  “I am distantly related to the Alpini family and I help them to sell their wines in London. I introduced them to Mr Fortnum.”

  “Good gracious! Is there no end to your talents? And you speak languages?”

  “A couple sir.”

  “I speak English and a little Frog and that is about it.” He leaned over. “Is that how you became a colonel in the Portuguese army?”

  “No sir, I just helped a friend of the Queen and the Regent rewarded me.”

  “Hmn. Tell me what do you think of this Trant fella?”

  “A damned good officer sir. The Portuguese love him.”

  “Quite but he does like the odd drink or two.”

  I held up my glass, “Many soldiers do sir.”

  “Touché! Point taken. I was just wondering if you might not like to lead the Portuguese cavalry. You have the ability and it would help me. We haven’t enough cavalry as it is.”

  “Sorry sir, Colonel Trant is a friend and besides I am the General’s aide.”

  “A man of honour. I can understand that. Well in that case we’ll say no more about it. But I think we need you to use your expertise as a scout.” He tapped his nose, “A little bird told me that you are quite good at operating in difficult circumstances.”

  I sighed. “I have been behind lines once or twice.”

  “Well we don’t need that but look here.” He pulled the map so that we could both see it. “Here is Madrid. From what you told Sir John, Bonaparte will be there soon. Now if he comes here, which is likely, he will come the most direct route.” He drew a line with his finger. “He will come this way; to the north of the Guadarramas Mountains, through Salamanca and through Ciudad Rodrigo.” He circled his finger. “As far as I can tell there is bugger all here to tell us what the terrain is like. This map has no detail on it. I want you to take a troop and scout it out for us.”

  “Go into Spain, sir?”

  “Good heavens no! Just to the border. I don’t want to risk a troop of cavalry. We have precious few of them but we need to know how the land lies, literally!”

  “And Sir John?”

  He smiled as he finished his wine. “He suggested it!”

  I wasted no time and rode to Queluz. Donna Maria d’Alvarez was in the gardens with her women picking up leaves. I shook my head; she was a force of nature. An hour of picking up leaves and talking with her gave me an insight into my plan for the next ten days or so.

  Cornet Williams was the most disappointed when I told him that he would be staying with Captain Stafford whilst Percy bounced around like a puppy. I would take my lieutenant with us. We had to take spare horses but the ones we had liberated from the French colonel were sound animals and they would suffice.

  We left on the 21st September and headed along the Tagus. I had an idea that both Sir John and the Earl of Uxbridge were using us to find a safe way into Spain.

  However we hit problems as soon as we reached Villa Velha. The gorge was deep and I could see that the artillery and the wagons we used would not be able to either cross the river there or climb the steep sides of the gorge. It became just as bad once we crossed the Tagus. Quite simply they were not roads they were tracks. Hauling the cannon would be impossible along these primitive routes.

  What we did find, however, was a complete lack of French soldiers. It was as though there was no war in this part of the country. I could see why. The French liked their artillery and their scouts would have told them that this was not artillery country. We reached Salamanca by the last week in September. I spoke with the equivalent of the Prefeito and received the disturbing news that there had been some Chasseurs in the vicinity in the previous week. The French were also scouting the plains of Spain. Madrid was now just a couple of days march away. The last that we had heard Marshal Jourdan was north of the Ebro. So long as he stayed there then Sir John could manoeuvre the army freely.

  We turned around. There were rains and storms as we travelled back. I came back by a different route in the hope that the roads there would be better. They were not. Portugal had been baking in the summer but now that it was autumn it became more like England. The roads became quagmires. The journey was not pleasant and we wearily reached Lisbon on the 3rd of October. Two of the horses we had taken were lame and would have to be put down. It was an indication of the problems we could expect. I immediately reported to Sir John.

  “Ah Major, have you had a successful patrol?”

  “That depends upon your definition of success Sir John. You cannot use that road for your artillery.”

  I saw his face fall. “Not even by manhandling it?”

  “No, sir. The wagons cannot use it either. In places there is no road and the river crossing is hazardous. Even our horses struggled along the tracks, for that is what they are. Two out of the fifty horses we took are now lame. If you multiply that by the army then we will lose ten percent of all our animals.

  “When you used the road to Badajoz was that any better?”

  “Yes sir. Artillery could use that. If the French haven’t reinforced the fortress then there would be no problem.”

  He went to his map. “Come Major. I will use you to think things through.” He used a letter opener to point at the map. “I am having increasing pressure from our Spanish allies to go to the aid of Madrid. The French are obliging by keeping their forces north of the Ebro however Madrid is in the very centre of the country. We would have to march across half of the land to reach it. The route you took is the shortest and the quickest. If we cannot take the artillery that way then we have to travel this way.” He traced a long loop first east and then north east through Badajoz towards Madrid. “That would take too long. We may have to split the army. I am loath to do so but we may have no choice.”

  He sat down, “We now await orders from London.” He shook his head. “This is a poisoned chalice Robert. I think that Sir Arthur is well out of this.”

  Chapter 18

  I was summoned again to the palace on the 6th of October. Sir John was in high spirits. He pointed to the orders on his desk. “Well Major Matthews, I am in sole command now! I will no longer need to look over my shoulder.”

  As Sir John poured us a glass of wine each I read the letter.

  ‘Sir, His Majesty having determined to employ a corps of his troops, of not less than 30,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry, in the North of Spain, to cooperate with the Spanish armies in the expulsion of the French from that Kingdom, has been graciously pleased to entrust you the Command in Chief of this Force.’

  “That is excellent news sir.”

  “Yes but I have also had a communication from Lord Castlereagh telling me that General Baird will be landing in Coruna in the north of Spain. You are telling me that the artillery has to travel to the south to reach Madrid. That means we will have to split the army into three.”

  “And that isn’t good sir.”

  “No it is not. In addition we are having problems in the camps. The soldiers are bored and drunk. Sir Arthur told me to keep them busy but that is difficult
here.”

  “Yes sir.” I was out of my depth. I was used to managing one squadron and they were all easy to control. Troop Sergeant Grant saw to that.

  “I intend to move out sooner rather than later. Be so good as to inform the earl of Uxbridge that I shall need some cavalry to escort the artillery to Valladolid via Badajoz. He should be prepared to leave as soon as I can get more information from our Spanish allies and direction from London.” He shook his head. “I may be in command of the army but I have to cooperate with the Spanish and await instructions from London.”

  “Can we rely on the Spanish sir?”

  “We have not the manpower to defeat the French alone. The Spanish have five times the number of men over here that we do. They must be used. However their generals do not like to take advice.”

  The Earl of Uxbridge was equally unhappy with the state of affairs. “I mean Matthews I like a drink but the rank and file just drink to get drunk!”

  Therein lay the difference between the French and the British. The British drank when they were bored and the French drank to celebrate a victory.

  “And like Sir John I am suspicious of the quality and intent of our Spanish allies. Still that is all politics. We are soldiers. Now then, you know the cavalry regiments better than I do. Who should it be who is given the task of escorting the guns?”

  “Well sir the only two regiments I know well are the 20th and my own squadron the 11th. The 20th have more men and they are sound troopers.”

  He laughed, “Diplomatically put, Matthews. Sir Arthur told me before he left of Major DeVere and his ridiculous foray. The whole family are like that! They think they are on some damned fox hunt. Very well if you inform their commanding officer that he is to accompany Sir John Hope.” Just then we heard women’s squeals. “And I hope General Moore leaves the women behind. The last thing we need in this country is to be trailing such baggage with us.” Although there had been lots drawn to see which women could accompany the army many more had contrived to sail aboard the transports with their men. They numbered the muster of a regiment! They were a different breed to the women I had grown up with. They were however as tough as any soldier who fought for Sir John Moore.