The Sun.
London, England, 1834-05-20 00:00:00

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4

COLONEL NAPIER.

enemy
itiflorioidornt
shtl
theoeps,ho
/"--
(1, /7
-Th
Ir. range of swoi fl- n!w„ - . 4.-f;11/4*-?t.iiikeen-edgetl,
4'415 both sides, .and ii)mly t'xi 4.1 in ponderous beams, .
' ..liii:it were cl.aincd toguilici• and :t., deep in the
i,14, ; al ,d !',,r tell fcci nyfr..nit, ke- :iscent i'.4.,_
t,r.'4 v,itli 1,44.-0 plankF, ‘t.ticithol.,with sharp iron'
~,finis, 4,11 which the .1,1 t:f the l'eieniest being set,
. . .o planjls moved, and die nnhappy soldiers, falling .
:+eward on•tlic;4tkes,,railcd down upon the ranks be-
:,:nd. Then the Frenchmen, shorting at the success
•,i. their stratagem, and leaping forward, plied their
shot with terrible rapidity, for CN Cry man had several
i,iuskets, and each musket, in addition to its ordinary
:-harge, contained a small cylinder of wood,, stuck full
1 of leaden slugs, which scattered like hail when they
( were discharged.
1 " Again the assailants rushed up the breaches, and
again the sword-blades, immoveable and impassable,
stopped their charge, and the hissing shells and thun-
dering powder-barrels exploded unceasingly. Hun-
I dreds of men had fallen, and hundreds more were
dropping, but still the heroic officers called aloud for
i new trials, and sometimes followed by many, some-
times by a few, ascended the ruins; and so furious
were the men themselves, that in one of these charges .
the rear strove to push the foremost on to the sword-
blades, willing even to make a bridge of their writhing
bodies, but the others frustrated the attempt by drop-
ping down ; and men fell so fast from the shot, that it
was hard to know who went down voluntarily, who .
were stricken, and many stooped unhurt that never
rose again. Vain also would it have been to break
through the sword-blades, for the trench and parapet
behind the breach were finished, and the assailants, .
crowded into even a narrower space than the ditch
Was, would still have been separated from their, ene-
mies, and the slaughter would have continued.
" At the beginning of this dreadful conflict, Colonel t
Andrew Barnard had with prodigious efforts separated .:
his division from the other, and preserved some degree
of military array ; but now the tumult was such, that
no command could be heard distinctly, except by those ,
close -at hand, and the mutilated- carcases heaped on '
each other, and the wounded, struggling to avoid
being trampled upon, broke the formations ; order was
impossible ! Yet officers of all stations, folloWed
more or less numerously by the men, were seen to
start out, as if struck by a sudden madness, and rush
into the breach, which yawning and glittering with
steel, seemed like the mouth of some huge dragon
belching forth smoke and flame. In one of these
attempts, Colonel Macleod of the forty-third, a young
man, whose feeble body would have been quite unfit
for war, if it had not been sustained by an unconquer- .
able spirit, was killed. Wherever his voice was heard,
there his soldiers gathered, and with such a. strong .
resolution did he lead them up the fatal ruins, that
when one behind him, in falling, plunged a bayonet
into his back, he complained not, and continuing his
course was shot dead within a yard of the sword-
blades. But there was no want of gallant leaders, or ,
desperate followers.
" Two hours spent in these vain efforts convinced
the soldiers that the breach of the Trinidad was im-
pregnable; and as the opening in the curtain, although
less strong, was retired, and the approach to it im-
peded by deep holes, and cuts made in the ditch, the
troops did not much notice it after the partial failure
of one attack which had been made early. Gathering
in dark groups and leaning on their muskets, they
looked up with sullen desperation at the Trinidad,
while the enemy stepping out on the ramparts, and
they did not come into Badajos R'
theyaiaiming
ntgh rtehwe iroNs-ehro,tsasbkyetdh, easlig theirh t of
victims the
fl
r fire-balls
1,
l s ' whichfty
" In this dreadful situation, while the dead wore
lying in heaps and others continually falling, the
wounded crawling about to get some shelter from the
merciless fire above, and withal a sickening stench
from the burnt flesh of the slain, Captain Nicholas, of
the engineers, was observed by Mr. Shaw, of the
forty-third, making incredible efforts to force his wiiy
with a few men into the Santa Maria bastion. Shay
having collected about fifty soldiers of all regiments
joined him, and although there was a deep cut along
the foot of this breach also, it was instantly passed,
and these two young officers at the head of their gal-
lant band, rushed up the slope of the ruins; but whc r;
they had gained two-thirds of the ascent, a coney ,
trated fire of musketry and grape, dashed nearly the
whole dead to the earth ! Nicholas was mortally
wounded, and the intrepid Shaw stood alone ! After
this no further effort was made at any point, and the
troops remained passive, but unflinching, beneath the
enemy's shot, which streamed without intermission ;
for, of the riflemen on the glacis, many leaping early
into the ditch had joined in the assault, and the rest,
raked by a cross fire of grape from the distant bastions,
baffled in their aim by the smoke and flames from the
explosions, and too few in number, had entirely failed
to quell the French musketry.
" About midnight, when two thousand brave men
had fallen, Wellington, who was on a height close to
the quarries, sent orders for the remainder to reti: e
and re-form for a second assault; for he had just then
heard that the castle was taken, and thinking the
enemy would still hold out in the town, was resolved
to assail the breaches again. This retreat from the
ditch was, however, not effected without further car-
nage and confusion, for the French fire never slack-
ened, and a cry arose that the enemy were making a
sally from the distant flanks, which caused a rush to:
wards the ladders ; then the groans and lamentations
of the wounded who could not move, and expected to
be slain, increased, many officers who had not heard of'
the order, endeavoured to stop the soldiers from going
back, and some-would even have removed the ladders
but were unable to break the crowd.
" All this time the third division was lying close in
the castle, and either from a fear of risking the loss of a
point which insured the capture of the place, or that the
egress was too difficult, made no attempt to drive away
the enemy from the breaches. On the other side, how:,
ever, the fifth division had commenced the false attack
on the Pardaleras, and on the right of the Guadiana
the Portuguese were sharply engaged at the bridge ;
thus the town was girdled with fire, for general Wal,
ker's brigade having passed on during the feint on the
Pardaleras, was escalading the distant bastion of San
Vincente. His troops had advanced along the banks
of the river, and reached the French guard-house, at
the barrier-gate, undiscovered, for the ripple of the
waters smothered the sound of their footsteps ; but
just then the explosion at the breaches took place, the
moon shone out, and the French centinels, discover,
ing the columns, fired. The Briti4h troops immedi,
ately springing forward under a sharp musketry began
to hew down the wooden barrier at the covered way,
while the Portuguese, being panic-stricken, threw
down the scaling ladders. Nevertheless the others
snatched them up again, and forcing the barrier,
jumped into the ditch; but the guiding engineer
was killed, and there was a cunette, which embarrassed
the the column, and when the foremost men succeeded in
rearing the ladders, the latter were found too shorty
for the walls were generally above thirty feet I-.L'igh.
Meanwhile the fire of the French was deadly, 4 small
mine was sprung beneath the soldiers' feet,
wood and live shells were rolled over on their heads,
showers of grape from the flank swept the ditch, and
man after man dropped dead from the ladders.
" Fortunately some of the defenders having been
called away to aid in recovering the castle, the ram,
parts were not entirely manned, and the assailants,
having discovered a corner of the bastion whore the
scarp was only twenty feet high, placed three ladders
there under an embrasure which had no gun, and was
only stopped with a gabion. Some men got up, but
with difficulty, for the ladders were still too short, arA
the first 11144 who gained the top was pushed up by
the
staggered
high
aihehouses,grgseirwalls,aed
his comrades and then drew others after hit' until
many had gained the summit; and though the French
shot heavily against them, from both flanks and from
a house in front, they thickened and could not bo
town itself to dislodge the
driven back ; half the fourth regiment entered the
while the others pushed along the rampart towards the
breach, and by dint of hard fighting successivetwhloyexorwdteohrie:
three bastions.
'eoapwsnedoduti4rtngoedmhoso
op:sh,avtlioltniiv-nas;
" In the last
poefretehievsinge combats General enmeartaelhWo:kteti
leaping forward, swourldinein! haAntd,thaatt twhoermtLosmne:
one of the enemy's cannoneers was discharging a gun,
nf
fillet
00 I howetclio I
o•
b covered e;
e al.diede
imagination,jilor• tlfinlderss outonheah.
dent
ehe; ) en 0
rn y
ground,mae dki aatp
appalled
1 cried
1 .iiai e
def ti et
cultbr,
Wide, drove .I:llthete
fi chimera of their own raising, and
o.aitticilers
outright,pitching
, again
in this disorder a French reserve, under General them with a firm and rapid charge,
men
cleansedoN-er the
th e
r walls,an limarnids
even killing
t o
the San Vinoente. There however Leith had placed
Colonel Nugent with a battalion of the thirt -eighth
as a reserve, and when the French came up, shout,_:_
and slaying all before them, this battalion, thou. u
hundred strong, arose, and with one close volley
destroyed them.
" Then the panic ceased, be soldiers ral:ied, and is
compact order once more charged along the weals to,.

-f/Y~-

( PRicE 71).)

We make no apology for giving at full
length Colonel NAPIER'S description of the
taking of Badajos. It is, perhaps, the most
vivid, correct, and heart-stirring picture of a
siege that ever was drawn :---

The night was dry but clouded, the air thick with
watery exhalations from the rivers, the ramparts, and
the trenches unusually still ; yet a low murmur per-
vaded the latter, and in the former, lights were seen
to flit here and there, while the deep voices of the
sentinels at times proclaimed, that all was well in
Badajos. The French, confiding in Phillipon's direful
skill,-watched, from their lofty station, the approach
of enemies, whom they had twice before baffled, and
now hoped to drive a third time blasted.. and ruined
from the walls ; the British, star dine in deep columns,
were as eager to meet that fiery destruction as the
others were to pour it down ; and both were alike ter-
rible for their strength, their discipline, and the pas-
sions awakened in their resolute hearts.

" Former failures there were to avenge, and on either
side such leaders as left no excuse for weakness in the
hour of trial ; and the possession of Badajos was be-
come a point of honour personal with the soldiers of
each nation. But the strong desire for glory was, in
the British, dashed with a hatred of the citizens on an
old grudge, and recent toil and hardship, 'with much
spilling of blood, had made many incredibly savage :
for these things render thenoble-minded indeed averse
to cruelty, but harden the vulgar spirit. Numbers
also, like Caesar's centurion, who could not forget the
plander of Avaricum, were heated with the recollec-
tion of Ciudad Rodrigo, and thirsted for spoil. Thus
every spirit found a cause of excitement, the wondrous
power of discipline bound the whole together as with
a band of iron, and, in the pride of arms, none
chubted their might to bear down every obstacle that
man could oppose to their fury.
At ten o'clock, the castle, the San Roque, the
breaches, the Pardaleras, the distant bastion of San
Vincente, and the bridge-head on the other side of
the Guadiana, were to have been simultaneously as-
sailed, and it was hoped that the strength of the enemy
would shrivel within that fiery girdle. But many are
the disappointments of war. An unforeseen accident
delayed the attack of the fifth division ; and a lighted
carcass, thrown from the castle, falling close to where
the men of the third division were drawn up, disco-
vered their array, and obliged them to anticipate the
signal by half an hour. Then, everything being sud-
denly disturbed, the double columns of the fourth and
light divisions also moved silently and swiftly against
the breaches, and the guard of the trenches, rushing
forward with a shout, encompassed the San Roque
with fire and broke in so violently that scarcely any
resistance was made.

" But a sudden blaze of light and the rattling of
musketry indicated the commencement of a most ve-
hement combat at:the castle. There general Kempt,
for Picton, hurt by a fall in the camp, and expecting
no change in the hour, was not present, there General
Kempt, I say, led the third division; he had passed
the Rivillas, in single files by a narrow bridge, under
a terrible musketry, and then reforming, and running
up the rugged hill, had reached the foot of the castle
when he fell severely wounded, and being carried
hack to the trenches met Piston, who hastened forward
to take the command. Meanwhile his troops spreading
along the front reared their heavy ladders, some against
the lofty castle, some against the adjoining front on
the left, and with incredible courage ascended amidst
showers of heavy stones, logs of wood, and bursting
shells rolled off the parapet, while from the flanks the
enemy plied his musketry with a fearful rapidity, and
in front, with pikes and bayonets, stabbed the leading
assailants or pushed the ladders from the walls; and
all this attended with deafening shouts, and the crash
of breaking ladders, and the shrieks of crushed sol-
' diers, answering to the sullen stroke of the falling
weights.
"Still, swarming round the remaining ladders,
these undaunted veterans strove who should first climb,
until all being overturned, the French shouted victory,
and the British, baffled, but untamed, fell back a few
paces, and took shelter under the rugged edge of the
hill. Here, when the broken ranks were somewhat
reformed, the heroic Colonel Ridge, springing for-
ward, called, with a stentorian voice, on his men to
follow, and, seizing a ladder, once more raised it
against the castle, yet to the right of the former at-
tack, where the wall was lower, and an embrazure
offered some facility. A second ladder was soon placed
alongside of the first, by the grenadier officer Canch,
and the next instant he and Ridge were on the ram-
part, the shouting troops pressed after them, the gar-
rison, amazed, and in a manner surprised, were driven
fighting through the double gate into the town, and
the castle was won. A reinforcement, sent from the
French reserve, then came up, a sharp action followed,
both sides fired through the gate, and the enemy re-
tired, but Ridge fell, and no man died that night with
more glory—yet many died, and there was much glory.
" During these events, the tumult at the breaches
was such as if the very earth had been rent asunder
and its central fires were bursting upwards uncon-
trolled. The two divisions had reached the glacis,
just as the firing at the castle had commenced, and the
flash of a single musket discharged from the covered
way was as a signal showed them that the French were
ready ; yet no stir was heard and darkness covered the
breaches. Some hay-packs were then thrown, some
ladders were placed, and the forlorn hopes and storm-
ing parties of the light division, about five hundred in
all, had descended into the ditch without opposition,
when a bright flame shooting upwards displayed all
the terrors of the scene. The ramparts, crowded with
dark figures and glittering arms, were seen on the one
side, and on the other the red columns of the British,
deep and broad, were coming on like streams of burn-
ing lava ; it was the touch of the magician's wand,
for a crash of thunder followed, and with incredible
violelice the storming parties were dashed to pieces by
the explosion of hundreds of shells and powder barrels.
" For an instant the light division stood on the brink
of the ditch, amazed at the terrific sight, then, with a
shout that matched even the sound of the explosion,
flew down the ladders, or, disdaining their aid, leaped,
reckless of the depth, into the gulph below ; and
nearly at the same moment, amidst a blaze of musketry
that dazzled the eyes, the fourth division came run-
ning in, and descended with a like fury. There were,
however, only five ladders for both columns, which
were close together, and a deep cut made in the bottom
of the ditch, as far as the counter-guard of the Tri-
nidad, was filled with water from the inundation ; into
this watery snare the head of the fourth division fell,
and it is said that above a hundred of the fusileers, the
men of Albuera, were there smothered. Those who
followed, checked not, but as if such a disaster had
been expected, turned to the left, and thus came upon
the face of the unfinished ravelin, which, being rough
and broken, was mistaken for the broach, and instantly
covered with men; yet a wide and deep chasm was
still between them and the ramparts from whence came
a deadly fire, wasting their ranks. Thus baffled, they
also commenced a rapid discharge of musketry, and
disorder ensued ; for the men of the light division,
whose conducting engineer had been disabled early,
and whose flank was confined by an 'unfinished ditch
intended to cut off the bastion of Santa Maria, rushed
towards the breaches of the curtain and the Trinidad,
which were indeed before them, but which the fourth
division were destined to storm.
4‘ Great was the confusion, but now the ravelin was
quite crowded with men of both divisions, and while
some continued to fire, others jumped down and ran
towards the breach, many also passed between the ra
velin and the counter guard of the Trinidad, the two
divisions got mixed, and the reserves, which should
have remained at the quarries, also came pouring in,
until the ditch was quite filled, the rear still crowding
forward, and all cheering vehemently. The enemy's
shouts, also, were loud and terrible, and the bursting
of shells and grenades, the roaring of the guns from
the flanks, answered by the iron howitzers from the
battery of the parallel, the heavy roll and horrid ex-
plosion of the powder-barrels, the whizzing flight of
the blazing splinters, the loud exhortations of the of-
ficers, and the continual clatter of the muskets, made
a maddening din.
" Now a multitude bounded up the great breach
as if driven by a whirlwind, but across the top glittered