In 1812 General Arthur Wellesley, Lord Wellington, arrived in Cuéllar with a large number of soldiers. His arrival in Cuéllar must have been a shocking one: on 1 August 1812, the cavalry and infantry soldiers, victorious at the Battle of Arapiles, were seen crossing the municipality of San Cristóbal de Cuéllar, as they paraded to the sound of trumpets in the direction of the town, the display lasting from seven o'clock until eleven o'clock in the morning. The parish priest of the municipality, a witness and reporter, had to shelter an English captain and his wife, and claims that Wellington rode past, "smilingly reciprocating the greetings of the crowd". After offering lunch to the commanding officers, the army made its way to Cuéllar, where they stayed for at least six days.