The San Francisco call., 1904-03-28
NaPoleon'S Irish Fighters.


There was a strange commixture of
nationalities in the Peninsular War.
There were Spaniards fighting on both
sides. Thousands of them, who surren-
dered wholesale at the battle of Es .
pinosa, took part afterward in the ter
rible Moscow campaign. Four thou
sand Of them were reconveyed to
Spain from the Baltic by British naval
officers in 1912. Portuguese troops
were drafted into Napoleon's forces
and died like flies in that disastrous
business. It need not be stated what
gallant allies they proved to us when
drilled and organized by that grand
Irishman, afterward Field Marshal
Lord Beresford, to whom the church
Of Ireland owes its useful Marshal
Beresford's fund" The Duke of We'll
lington ardently desired to have these
experienced soldiers under him again
in the Waterloo campaign, but the
/ Portuguese Government ungratefully
refused leave There were Swiss regi-
ments on both sides. There were Ger
mans in both armies. Not only was
the splendid Kings German Legion a
tower Of strength to the British army,
but the Fifth Battalion of the Sixtieth
Rifles Cthe Royal Americans, in which
Duncan Hayward, of the Last of the
Mohicans," was a major), were as early
as 1898. when they served in the Irish
rebellion in County Wexford under Sir
John Moore, composed Of foreigners
and were in the Peninsula chiefly
made up of German deserters from
Soult's army. That there were Irish
galore in the Dukes command goes
without speaking. The deeds of the
! Eighty-seventh and Eighty eighth,
Faugh -Ballaghs and Connaught
Rangers, though they were "Picton's S
I theivin' blaguards," live in martial
story. But few know that Napoleon
had an Irish regiment, and that it
served in the Peninsula, and was un-
der his banner in 1915, though not ac-
tually at Waterloo.
We have a curious account Of their
gallant service in that fascinating
though sometimes / think apocryphal
book, the Memoirs of Baron LIE Mar
bot" Marriott reminds me strongly of
Brigadier Etienne Gerard; they must
( have been first cousins at least. Massena
had commenced his Inflated advance
on Portugal, where he was destined to
be foiled by the wonderful lines Of Tor
res Vedras. Marriott states that his ex-
/ pedition very nearly came to an end
at Viseu through lack of foresight on
his part. He made his artillery march
on the extreme right of the column,
away from the masses of his infantry,
its only protection being an Irish bat
talon in the French service and a COM
pany of French grenadiers. Marching in
. single file more than a league in length
the park was proceeding slowly and
laboriously by difficult roads when sud
denly on its right flank appeared the
T famous partisan, Colonel Trant at the
head of 1000 or 5000 Portuguese militia
/ If they had surrounded the convoy and
made a determined attack all the ar
| tillery, ammunition and provisions
would have been captured or destroyed
But Trant, as he himself said after
ward, could not suppose that genera
/ Of Massena's renown and experience
could have left unsupported convoy
so essential to the safety Of his army
and imagining that a powerful escort
must be close at hand he advanced will
I extreme caution, confining his attack tC
the leading company of grenadiers, wht
replied by a heavy fire, which killed
some fifty men. The militia recoiled il
alarm, and Trant, doing what he ought
! to have done at first, overlapped por.
ton of the convoy. AS he advanced ht
| discovered how weak was the escort
and sent a flag of truce to the officer IL
command, summoning him to surrender
or else he would attack all along th'
line. The French officer adroitly con
sented to negotiate in order to give thu
Irish regiment time to come up from
the rear Of the convoy. At length they
made their appearance at the double
AS soon as the French commander saw
them he at once broke off the parley
I saying, Il cannot treat any further
here is my general coming to my sup
port at the head of 5000 men," Each re
sumed his position, but Trant shortly
left his and made off, thinking that h
had to do with the advanced guard of {
strong column. Thus the game of bluff
/ was won and the artillery saved, bu
the French army soon learned the dan
ger it had been in and great indigna
ton was excited. Ney, Junot, Reynie
and Montbrun went off at once t
General Fririon, the chief of the staff
and addressed strong remonstrances t.
him. Not satisfied with his explana
tions, the four corps comanders wen
on TO Massena and had a fierce alter
cation with him. However, he pacifiet
them for a time, but only for a time
as may perhaps be allowed to tell IL
. another communication Robert Sfave
ly, in Weekly Irish Times.
For DySbebticS.