The Sun.
London, England, 1836-11-10 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

HISTORY OF THE WAR IN THE PENIN-

SULA. Vol. V.
BY W. F. P. NAPIER, C.B.
Boone, New Bond-street, London, 1836.

Colonel Napier's fame as an historian rests on a
basis as imperishable as the mighty deeds of national
chivalry of which he is the worthy Chronicler. His
is the only work yet published in this country, on the
subject of the Peninsular War, which is destined to go
down to posterity. The Marquis of Londonderry's
book is a burlesque upon the name of history ;
Southey's history is incomplete, and we understand the
author never intends to finish it ; and as for the swarm
of " Notes," " Journals," and " Memoirs," that have
appeared, purporting to contain authentic accounts of
all that occurred in the Peninsula from 1807 to the
Battle of Waterloo, we are much mistaken if, thirty
years hence, it be so much as known that they ever
existed. If we remember rightly the four octavo vo-
lumes published by Southey, include the period from
the beginning of the year 1807 to the beginning of the
year 1811—leaving the history of five of the most
eventful years still to be written. Southey's history is
a readable, but by no means a profound work. The
Author is throughout a zealous partizan. With an
industry unworthy of his great and varied talents, be
collected from the newspapers and other ephemeral
productions of the day, every imputation which was
then supposed to detract from the greatness of Napo-
leon's civil and military reputation ; and we regret to
add, that in too many instances such imputations are
embodied in his history without the accompaniment of
a doubt of their authenticity. But no charge of this
kind can be brought against Colonel Napier's work.
The Gallant Officer assumed, at the very outset, the
dignified position befitting the historian of the martial
prowess of three great nations. He suffered not his
pages to be defiled with the vile insinuations of petty
malignity ; he permitted not his judgment to be
warped by national vanity ; he discriminated between
successes resulting from accident and design ; and he
combined with patient research the rare quality of ad-
justing to a hair the balance of merit between the vic-
tors and the vanquished. His principles, always en-
lightened and liberal in the extreme ; his feelings, ever
chivalrous and high-minded ; his views profound with-
out being over-elaborate ; and his style vigorous, con-
densed, full of imagery, and singularly expressive, qua-
lified him to execute with force and fidelity the task
which he had undertaken.

The fifth volume of Colonel Napier's " History of
the War in the Peninsula," commences with Mav,
1812, and concludes with July, 1813. It opens with
an account of General Lord Hill's celebrated surprize
of Almarez ; the siege and battle of Salamanca, where
Wellington out-generalled and defeated Marmont ; the
siege of and retreat from Burgos ; Wellington's entry
and retreat. from Madrid; the battle of Castella, in which
Suchet was beaten by the Allies ; and the whale of
the operations upon the Tagus during that memorable
season. Prefixed to the volume are remarks upon the
criticisms which appeared relative to the volumes
already published, and appended to it are a series of
plans and extracts from documentary evidence. With
the author's remarks upon these criticisms we
have nothing more to do than to direct attention to
them as models of chaste and vigorous composition.
The historical part well sustains the character of the
earlier volumes, in all that constitutes the excellence
of this work. A sound unbiassed judgment ; an in-
timate acquaintance with the leading causes which
produced all the important results ; a fearless de-
termination to speak the truth, however painful
to individuals, or dangerous to himself ; and, what
is of more consequence to many readers, a dis-
tinctness in the order of his own ideas, which he com-
municates in an instant to others, is clearly perceptible
in almost every page. Our space will not admit of us
making more than a few extracts, which we do at
random. We commence with the French passage of
the Douro, in July, 1812 :
At daybreak Cotton's outposts were again driven in by
the enemy, and the bulk of his cavalry with a troop of horse
artilery immediately formed in front of the two infantry di-
visions, which were drawn up, the fourth division on the
left, the light division on the right, but at a considerable
distance from each other and separated by a wide ravine.
The country was open and hilly, like the downs of Eng-
land, with here and there water-gulleys, dry hollows, and
bold naked heads of land, and behind the most prominent
of these last, on the other side of the Trabancos, lay the
whole French army. Cotton, however, seeing only horse-
men, pushed his cavalry again towards the river, advancing
cautiously by his right along some high table-land, and his
troops were soon lost to the view of the infantry, for the
morning fog was thick on the stream, and at first nothing
could be descried beyond. But very soon the deep tones
of artillery shook the ground, the sharp ring of musketry
was heard in the mist, and the forty-third regiment was
hastily brought through Castrejon to support the advanc-
ing cavalry ; for besides the ravine which separated the
fourth from the light division, there was another ravine
with a marshy bottom, between the cavalry and infantry,
and the village of Castrejon was the only good point of
passage.
The cannonade now became heavy, and the spectacle
surprisingly beautiful, for the lighter smoke and mist,
curling up in fantastic pillars, formed a huge and glitter-
ing dome tinged of many colours by the rising sun ; and
through the grosser vapour below, the restless horsemen
were seen or lost as the fume thickened from the rapid
play of the artillery, while the bluff head of land, beyond
the Trabancos, covered with French troops, appeared, by
an optical deception close at hand, dilated to the size of
a mountain, and crowned with gigantic soldiers, who were
continually breaking off and sliding down into the fight.
Suddenly a dismounted cavalry officer stalked from the
midst of the smoke towards the line of infantry ; his gait
was peculiarly rigid, and he appeared to hold a bloody
handkerchief to his heart, but that which seemed a cloth,
was a broad. and dreadful wound ; a bullet had entirely
effaced the flesh from his left shoulder and from his breast,
and had carried away part of his ribs, his heart was bared,
and its movement plainly discerned. It was a piteous and
yet a noble sight, for his countenance, though ghastly was
firm, his step scarcely indicated weakness, and his voice
never faltered. This unyielding man's name was Wil-
liams ; he died a short distance from the field of battle,
and it was said, in the arms of his son, a youth of four-
teen, who had followed his father to the Peninsula in
hopes of obtaining a commission, for they were not in
affluent circumstances.

General Cotton maintained this exposed position with
skill and resolution, from daylight until seven o'clock, at
which time Wellington arrived, in company with Beres-
ford, and proceeded to examine the enemy's movements.
The time was critical, and the two English generals were
like to have been slain together by a body of French ca-
valry, not very numerous, which breaking away from the
multitude on the bead of land beyond the Trabancos,
came galloping at full speed across the valley. It was for
a moment thought they were deserting, but with headlong
course they mounted the table-land on which Cotton's left
wing was posted, and drove a whole line of British cavalry
skirmishers back in confusion. The reserves indeed soon
came up from Alaejos, and these furious swordsmen being
scattered in all directions were in turn driven away or cut
down ; but meanwhile thirty or forty, led by a noble officer,
had brought up their right shoulders, and came over the
edge of the table-land above the hollow which separated
the British wings at the instant when Wellington and Be-
resford arrived on the same slope. There were some in-
fantry picquets in the bottom, and higher up, near the
French, were two guns covered by a squadron of light
cavalry which was disposed in perfect order. When the
French officer saw this squadron, he reined in his horse
with difficulty, and his troopers gathered in a confused body
around him, as if to retreat. They seemed lost men, for
the British instantly charged, but with a shout the gallant
fellows soused down upon the squadron, and the latter
turning, galloped through the guns ; then the whole mass,
friends and enemies, went like a whirlwind to the bottom,
carrying away Lord Wellington, and the other generals,
who with drawn swords and some difficulty, got clear of the
tumult. The French horsemen were now quite exhausted,
and a reserve squadron of heavy dragoons coming in cut
most of them to pieces ; yet their invincible leader, as-
saulted by three enemies at once, struck one dead from
his horse, and with surprising exertions saved himself from
the ethers, though they rode hewing at him on each side
for a quarter of a mile.
The following observations on the battle of Sala-
manca are new to us as regards the result. They can-
not prove uninteresting to our readers :
In the battle Marmont had about forty-two thou-