The war started with the Corunna Campaign (1808–1809), in which the British troops were commanded by Sir John Moore. In this campaign Charles Stewart commanded a brigade of cavalry, and played, together with Lord Paget, a prominent role in the cavalry clash of Benavente where the French General Lefebvre-Desnouettes was taken prisoner. He suffered from ophthalmia during the latter stages of the retreat. Moore sent him back to London carrying dispatches for Castlereagh and other leading figures and he missed the climactic battle where British forces successfully managed to evacuate in the face of Marshal Soult's army at which Moore was killed in action.