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Earl Grey. April In the course of these debates Earl Grey
21. complained that only 2000 cavalry had been sent to
Spain, though we had 27,000, and though that
description of force was peculiarly necessary in that
country; and he contrasted the conduct of the British
government with that of Buonaparte, “the
consummate general whose plans they had to
oppose. In rapidity of execution,” said his lordship, “he
is only equalled by his patience in preparing the
means. He has all the opposite qualities of Fabius and
Marcellus, whether you consider the country in which
he acts, the people with whom he has to contend, or
the means by which he is to subdue them. He rivals
Hannibal in the application of the means, and is
exempt from his only fault, that of not improving by
past experience. The means provided by Buonaparte
for the accomplishment of his purposes are so well
combined, and his objects so ably prosecuted, as
generally to give him a moral certainty of success;
and whatever may be thought of his total disregard of
the justice of those objects, it is impossible not to
admire the ability and wisdom with which he
combines the means of accomplishing them. In order
to maintain against such an antagonist the ultimate
contest which is to decide for ever the power and
independence of this country, the true policy of those
who govern it must be, to pay a strict attention to
economy, to be actuated by a determination to
concentrate our means, not to endanger them in any
enterprise or speculation in which the event is
doubtful; but pursuing the economical system of
husbanding our resources, by which alone we could
enable ourselves to continue a contest, the cessation
of which does not depend upon us, but upon the
injustice of our enemy.”
Earl of The Earl of Liverpool remarked, in reply, how
Liverpool. singular it was that every one who censured the plan
which ministers had followed with regard to Spain had
a plan of his own, and that none of those plans
should have a single principle of agreement with each
other. This at least, he said, showed the difficulty
which government must have felt in forming its
measures, though it afforded a facility in defending
them. As to the accusation of not sending a sufficient
force of cavalry, he stated that as much tonnage was
required for 5000 horse as for 40,000 foot; and
moreover that vessels of a different description were
necessary, of which a very limited number could at
any time be procured. Yet from 8000 to 9000 horse
had been sent, and there would have been not less
than 12,000, had not the General countermanded the
reinforcements which were ready. Weak as Earl Grey
might be pleased to deem the ministers, they had not
been so foolish as to expect that the first efforts of
the Spaniards would meet with uninterrupted success;
they were not yet guilty of calculating upon
impossibilities; they had not supposed that such a
cause as the cause of Spain, to be fought for with
such an enemy as the ruler of France, could be
determined in one campaign. Reverses they had met;
but those reverses were not owing to the indifference
or apathy of the Spaniards; they were imputable to
their want of discipline, and to an ill-judged contempt
for the French, a proof in itself of their zeal and
ardour. And what would have been the general
sentiment in that country and in this if our army had
retired without attempting any thing? If, when after
all her repeated disasters, the spirit of Spain was
unsubdued, and her capital bidding defiance to an
immense army at the very gates; if a British army, so
marshalled and equipped, and after a long march to
the aid of their ally, had in that hour of trial turned
their backs upon her danger, what would have been
thought of the sincerity of our co-operation? “I believe
in my conscience,” he continued, “that that movement
of Sir John Moore saved Spain. There are some,
perhaps, who may be startled at the assertion: it is
my fixed and decided opinion, and as such I will avow
it. After the destruction of Blake’s army, the defeat of
Castaños, and the dispersion of the army of
Extremadura, ... after the capitulation of Madrid,
which promised to emulate the glory of Zaragoza, and
would have done so, had not treachery interposed; if
at that crisis Buonaparte had pursued his conquests,
by pushing to the southern provinces, the Spanish
troops would never have had time to rally there. But
that time was given by Sir John Moore’s advance in
their favour. Never was there a more effectual
diversion. Sir John Moore himself said, that as a
diversion it had completely and effectually succeeded.
Nor was the moral effect of thus re-animating the
spirit of the nation to be overlooked. Let the final
issue of the contest be what it may, France has not
yet succeeded in subduing Spain. I admit that
Buonaparte has 200,000 men in that country; that his
troops are of the bravest, and his generals among the
most skilful in the world; and, above all, that he has
been himself at their head: and yet, with all this, he
has not got possession of more territory than he had
last year: he only holds such parts as in every war fell
to the lot of whichever brought the largest army into
the field. I am far from saying, regard being had to
the man and the circumstances of the case, that the
Spaniards must ultimately succeed; but, at the same
time, looking at the spirit they have evinced, and the
actions that have happened, particularly the defence
of Zaragoza, I cannot feel lukewarm in my hope that
 their efforts will be crowned with ultimate success. In
that fatal contest with America we gained every
battle; we took every town we besieged, until the
capture of General Burgoyne; and yet the Americans
ultimately succeeded, by perseverance, in the contest.
In the present struggle, do not the extent and nature
of the country afford a hope of success? does not its
population forbid despair? We have not lost the
confidence of the Spanish people; we know that every
true Spanish heart beats high for this country; we
know that whatever may happen, they do not accuse
us. Submission may be the lot they are fated to
endure in the end; but they do not impute to us the
cause of their misfortunes: they are sensible that
neither the thirst after commerce, nor territory, nor
security, is to be imputed to us, in the assistance we
have afforded to them upon this important occasion.
Whatever may be the result, we have done our duty;
we have not despaired; we have persevered, and will
do so to the last, while there is any thing left to
contend for with a prospect of success.”
Mr. Canning. Mr. Canning also declared, that considering Sir John
May 9. Moore’s advance in a military point, in his poor
judgement he could not but think it a wise measure;
but in every view which ennobles military objects by
1809. exalting military character, he was sure it was so. With
May. all its consequences and disasters, he preferred it to a
retreat at that time. Of those disasters he would not
say a word: the battle of Coruña covered every thing;
but the retreat itself, and the precipitancy of it, he
could never cease to regret. This single expression
was the only hint even of censure as to the conduct of
the retreat which was heard in Parliament. In the
course of the debate an extraordinary confession was
made by Mr. Canning. “During the whole time,” he
 said, “that these events were passing, government
May 9. had no means of arguing from the past: the occasion
was without precedent, and such as it was impossible
to lay their hand on any period of history to parallel,
either from its importance with regard to individuals,
to this happy country and to Europe, or the difficulty
that arose from there being so little knowledge to
guide their steps in the actual scene of their
operations. Why should government be ashamed to
say they wanted that knowledge of the interior of
Spain, which they found no one possessed? With
every other part of the continent we had had more
intercourse: of the situation of Spain we had every
thing to learn.” With what contemptuous satisfaction
must Buonaparte and the French politicians have
heard such a confession from the British secretary of
state for foreign affairs! With whatever feelings the
government might make this avowal, it was heard
with astonishment by the thoughtful part of the
people, and not without indignation. To them it was a
mournful thing thus to be told that their rulers laid in
no stock of knowledge, but lived, as it were, from
hand to mouth, upon what they happened to meet
with! Is there a country or a province in Europe, it
was asked; is there a European possession in any part
of the world, of which the French government does
not possess maps, plans, and the most ample
accounts of whatever may guide its politics, and
facilitate its invasion? Even respecting Spanish
America, such a confession would have been
disgraceful, because it would have betrayed an
inexcusable negligence in seeking for information; but
as regarding Spain itself, it became almost incredible.
Did there not exist faithful and copious accounts of
that kingdom, both by foreign and native writers? Had
we not still living, diplomatists who had resided for
 years at the Spanish court; consuls and merchants
who had been domesticated, and almost naturalized
in Spain; and travellers who, either for their pleasure,
or on their commercial pursuits, had traversed every
province and every part of the Peninsula? Was not
12
information always to be found, if it were wisely and
perseveringly sought?
The truth was, that though we had means
adequate to any emergency, troops equal to any
service, and generals worthy to command them,
Government had the art of war to learn: it had been
forgotten in the cabinet since the days of Marlborough
and Godolphin. The minds of men expand with the
sphere in which they act, and that of our statesmen
had long been deplorably contracted. The nation,
contented with its maritime supremacy, hardly
considered itself as a military power; and had well
nigh acquiesced in what the French insultingly
proclaimed, and the enemies of the Government
sedulously repeated, that we had ceased to be so. We
had been sinking into a feeble, selfish policy, which
would have withered the root of our strength; its
avowed principle being to fix our attention exclusively
upon what were called British objects; in other words,
to pursue what was gainful, and be satisfied with
present safety, regardless of honour, and of the
certain ruin which that regardlessness must bring on.
The events in Spain had roused the country from a
lethargy which otherwise might have proved fatal;
and ministers, as undoubtedly the better part of their
1809. opponents would have done had they been then in
office, heartily participated the national feeling: but
when vigorous measures were required, they found
themselves without precedent and without system.
They had entered, however, into the contest
 generously and magnanimously, with a spirit which, if
it were sustained, would rectify the errors of
inexperience, and work its way through all difficulties.
Earl Grey. Earl Grey took occasion in one of his speeches to
April 21. notice an opinion, that it was of no consequence by
which party the administration of affairs was directed.
“How can it,” he asked, “be seriously urged, that it is
the same thing whether the government be entrusted
to incapable persons, or able statesmen? I am really
astonished at the absurd extravagance of the doctrine
into which men of general good sense and good
intentions have been recently betrayed upon this
subject.” But no person had ever pretended that it
was the same thing whether the government were
administered by weak heads or by wise ones. What
had been maintained was, that the party out of place
was in no respect better than the party in, and in
many respects worse: that they did not possess the
slightest superiority in talents; that a comparison of
principles was wholly to their disadvantage; and that
the language respecting the present contest held,
even by those among them whose attachment to the
institutions of their country could not be doubted, was
such as left no hope for the honour of England if it
were committed to their hands. The existing ministry
acted upon braver and wiser principles, and, whatever
errors they committed in the management of the war,
to the latest ages it will be remembered for their
praise, that in the worst times they never despaired of
a good cause, nor shrunk from any responsibility that
the emergency required.
Expedition to An error, and one most grievous in its
the Scheldt. consequences, they committed at this time, by
dividing their force, and sending a great expedition
against the Isle of Walcheren, as a diversion in aid of
Austria, instead of bringing all their strength to bear
upon the Peninsula. It was a wise saying of Charles V.
that counsels are to be approved or condemned for
their causes, not for their consequences. When the
causes which led to this unhappy resolution are
considered, it will appear imputable in part to the
conduct of the Spanish government, still more to that
of the opposition in England. By refusing to put us in
possession of Cadiz as a point of retreat and safe
depôt, the Spaniards afforded their enemies in
England an argument in support of their favourite
position, that these allies had no confidence in us.
The opposition writers did not fail to urge this as an
additional proof that they were unworthy of our
assistance; and the impression which they laboured to
produce was strengthened by persons whose hearts
were with their country, but who thought by heaping
obloquy upon the Spaniards, and making their very
misfortunes matter of accusation against them, to
excuse the manner of Sir John Moore’s retreat. To the
effect which had been thus produced on public
opinion ministers in some degree deferred. They
deferred still more to the pitiful maxim that the British
government ought to direct its efforts towards the
attainment of what were called purely British objects:
now there were ships at Antwerp and at Flushing, and
it was deemed a British object to destroy the naval
resources of the enemy.
Men in England regarded the commencement of
the Austrian war with widely different feelings, each
party expecting a result in conformity to its own
system of opinions. Those journalists who taught as
the first political commandment that Buonaparte was
Almighty, and that Europe should have none other
Lord but him, as from the commencement of the
 troubles in Spain they had represented the cause of
the Spaniards to be hopeless, so they predicted now
that that resistless conqueror was only called a while
from his career of conquest in the Peninsula to win
new victories upon the Danube, after which he would
return to the Guadalquivir and the Tagus, and bear
down every thing before him there. Others, who had
too sanguinely expected immediate success from the
Spaniards, with equal but less excusable credulity
rested their hopes now upon Austria, ... there, they
said, the battle was to be fought, and the fate of
Spain as well as of Germany depended upon the
issue. The wiser few looked for little from the
continental governments, though they knew that
much was possible from the people; but from the
beginning of this new contest, it appeared to them
important chiefly because it effected a diversion in
favour of the Spaniards; especially they hoped that
England would seize the opportunity, and by meeting
the enemy upon that ground with equal numbers,
secure a certain and decisive victory.
Troops sent to Great and unfortunate as the error was of dividing
Portugal. their efforts, the Government acted with a spirit and
vigour which have seldom been seen in the counsels
of a British cabinet. At a time when they expected
that not Spain alone, but Portugal also, would be
abandoned by our troops, they made preparations for
sending thither another army with all speed, under Sir
Arthur Wellesley, who consequently resigned his seat
in Parliament, and his office as Chief Secretary in
Ireland. Sir John Craddock, who had then the
command in Portugal, being a much older officer, was
Earl of appointed Governor of Gibraltar. The Earl of
Buckinghamshir Buckinghamshire complained of this, as being an ill
e. reward for those exertions in collecting the scattered
April 10. British force, and preparing it for resistance, to which
it was owing that the determination of embarking
from Lisbon was abandoned. This complaint drew
from the Earl of Liverpool a just tribute to Sir John
Craddock’s merits, and some remarks not less just
upon the impropriety of bringing such a subject
before Parliament, as at once trenching upon the
prerogative, and virtually destroying that responsibility
which ministers possessed.
Lord Buckinghamshire was of opinion that we had
acted unwisely in reinstating the Portugueze Regency;
that it became the duty of ministers to form a
May 1. provisional government in that country till the subject
could be submitted to the Prince of Brazil’s decision;
and that when Marquis Wellesley went out as
ambassador to Seville, he should take with him
powers for making those changes in Portugal which
could not be delayed without most serious injury to
the common cause of that kingdom and of Spain, and
to the security of Great Britain and Ireland. To this it
was replied, that what had been done was done
because it was presumed to be most in accord with
the sentiments of the government in Brazil, at the
same time that due regard was paid to the feelings
and even the prejudices of the people. Lord
Buckinghamshire strongly recommended that we
should avail ourselves of the strength of Portugal as a
military position, and of the excellent qualities of the
Portugueze, which, under good discipline, whenever
they had had it, made them among the best soldiers
in the world. Such measures for that great purpose
had at that time been taken as the Earl of
Buckinghamshire wished. That nobleman spoke more
wisely upon the affairs of the Peninsula than any
other member of the opposition, and without the
slightest taint of party spirit. There were some, of
whom it would be difficult to say whether their
speeches displayed less knowledge of facts, or less
regard of them.
 CHAPTER XXII.
SIR ARTHUR WELLESLEY’S SECOND
CAMPAIGN IN PORTUGAL. PASSAGE OF
THE DOURO, AND EXPULSION OF THE
FRENCH. DELIVERANCE OF GALICIA.

1809. There were members who boldly asserted in

Parliament that the Portugueze did not like the
Feelings of the English. A more groundless assertion had seldom
Portugueze
toward the
been hazarded there. The connexion between
English. England and Portugal was not an ordinary one, built
upon immediate interests, and liable to change with
the chance of circumstances. There were nations with
whom, during the long struggle against Buonaparte,
we were in league one day, and at war the next, the
hostility being without anger, and the alliance without
esteem. Our friendship with Portugal was like our
enmity to France, founded upon something deeper.
From the day when Portugal first became a kingdom,
with the exception of that unfortunate period when
the Philips usurped its crown, England had been its
tried and faithful friend. When Lisbon was conquered
from the Moors, English crusaders assisted at the
siege; ... English archers contributed to the victory of
Aljubarrota, which effected the first deliverance of
Portugal from Castille; ... an Englishwoman, a
Plantagenet, was the mother of that Prince Henry,
whose name will for ever remain conspicuous in the
 history of the world; ... the Braganzan family, when it
recovered its rights, applied, and not in vain, to its
hereditary ally; ... and when Lisbon was visited by the
tremendous earthquake of 1755, money was
immediately voted by the English parliament for the
relief of the Portugueze people; and ships laden with
provisions were dispatched to them in a time of
13
scarcity at home . These things are not forgotten ...
if there be a country in the world where the character
of the English is understood, and England is loved as
well as respected, it is Portugal. The face of its rudest
mountaineer brightens when he hears that it is an
Englishman who accosts him; and he tells the traveller
that the English and the Portugueze were always ...
always friends.
Sir A. That old and honourable friendship was now once
Wellesley’s more to be tried and approved. An expedition sailed in
instructions. March for Portugal. The commander’s instructions
were, in case he should find that Lisbon had been
evacuated by the British troops, to proceed to Cadiz,
and land the army there, if the government would
admit them into the garrison. Mr. Canning stated in
his advice to Mr. Frere, that the delicacy of this point
was felt and acknowledged, and the former refusal
had been received without the least resentment or
surprise. But circumstances were now materially
changed. The security of Cadiz was impaired while the
French possessed Portugal, and it was thought
advisable to give the Junta one more opportunity of
reconsidering the question. Permission would now
undoubtedly have been granted had it been required;
fortunately it was not needed.
General The Prince of Brazil, perceiving the necessity of
Beresford forming an efficient Portugueze army, and the
appointed
commander-in- impossibility of remedying the old and inveterate evils
chief of the which had ruined the existing establishment, without
Portugueze
army.
the assistance of officers trained in a better school,
had appointed General Beresford commander-in-chief
with the rank of Marshal. Immediately upon taking the
command that General published an address to the
army, saying that no person had studied the
disposition and military character of the nation more
than himself, and that no one could be more
thoroughly convinced of the good qualities of the
Portugueze soldiers, who were now what they always
had been, if not the best in Europe, equal to the
bravest. His care would be to give their qualities that
efficiency which could only be derived from discipline.
They were loyal to their Prince, obedient to the
legitimate authorities who represented him, patient
under privations, and they had recently given proofs
of patriotism, energy, and enthusiasm worthy of their
illustrious ancestors. He was proud, therefore, of
identifying himself with such a people: he was now a
Portugueze officer, and he pledged himself that desert
should be the only passport to his favour, and that he
would avail himself of every occasion for promoting
the comfort, honour, and advantage both of the
officers and men.
He begins to The Portugueze army was indeed in the most
reform the deplorable state; but Marshal Beresford, in appealing
army. to the national pride, did not exaggerate the good
points of the national character; and had it been as
easy in an army which had been so long and so
thoroughly debased to form good officers as good
men, his task would not have been difficult. With the
aid of a certain number of British officers, who
volunteered into that service, retaining their rank in
their own, he commenced the task with indefatigable
 zeal. The capture of Porto excited great alarm in
Lisbon, which was increased when the refugees from
that unfortunate city arrived, and related the horrors
that had been committed there. The spirits of the
people, however, were encouraged by the expectation
of British aid, confirmed by a well-timed order of Sir
John Craddock’s for the army to advance, giving proof
thereby of a determination to defend the country, and
of confidence in the means for defending it. The
reinforcement which had arrived rendered his force
respectable, and he collected part in front of
Santarem, and part upon the road to Coimbra, to be
ready either against Soult or Victor, on whichever side
April 8. the attack might be made. Beresford announced the
fall of Porto in his general orders, and took that
opportunity of delivering a wholesome monition to the
army. “Porto,” he said, “defended by four-and-twenty
thousand men, and two hundred pieces of artillery,
had fallen an easy conquest, notwithstanding both the
people and the troops were brave and loyal, because
the enemy had been able to produce a general
insubordination under the appearance of patriotism.”
He warned them against the French partizans;
whatever reports such men propagated were to be
received with distrust, seeing they were undoubtedly
paid by the enemy to promote confusion and distrust.
“Let the troops,” he pursued, “be subordinate to their
officers; let them observe strict discipline, and the
country will have nothing to fear. The enemy is in
possession of Porto; so he was of Chaves; but that
place he has lost with more than 1500 men. Recollect,
soldiers, that when General Silveira saw the necessity
of retiring from Chaves, where, from the nature and
number of his forces, he was incapable of resisting
the French, there were pretended patriots who raised
a cry of treason against him, and induced a great
 number of the despisers of discipline to attempt the
defence of that place, which they surrendered without
firing a gun, and the troops with it, who had been
deceived by them. The firmness of the General saved
the rest of the army, and placed it in a situation to
acquire greater glory, and merit the thanks of his
country. The Marshal,” he concluded, “cannot
sufficiently warn the people and the troops against
those who, while they assume the appearance of
patriotism, are in reality leaders of sedition; nor can
he sufficiently recommend union and confidence, for
every thing may be hoped from the loyalty, valour,
and enthusiasm which animate the Portugueze in
defence of their country.” And he assured them that
he should always inform them of the disasters which
might occur, as well as of the successes, being
convinced that their zeal would be in proportion with
the services which might be required, and that they
would display a courage equal to the exigency of the
times, and worthy of the Portugueze character.
Intercepted Marshal Beresford soon had occasion to announce
letter from something more encouraging. Troops were marched
General from Spain to be employed in the war against Austria;
Kellermann to
they knew not whither they were going till they had
Soult.
left the Peninsula, nor even that a continental war had
recommenced, so completely had the all-pervading
despotism of the French government cut off all private
intelligence, as well as withheld all public. The
commanders alone were of necessity made
acquainted with the real state of affairs, and
Beresford now published an intercepted letter from
Kellermann to Soult, communicating this news. The
war in Germany, said he, produced by the intrigues
and gold of England, renders our situation extremely
critical. Such he represented his own situation to be,
 in what he called Upper Spain, where he occupied the
plain country with a considerable cavalry force,
watching the Asturian army and Romana, and doing
all he could to keep down the people between
Valladolid and Madrid. He told Soult that he could
expect no reinforcement unless it were from Marshal
Ney, of whose ability to co-operate with him
Kellermann could not judge, not having any
communication with him, because the whole of Galicia
was in a state of insurrection. Marshal Soult was at
this time spreading a report that Buonaparte was
about to arrive at the head of 80,000 men. Thus it is,
said the Portugueze address, that Marshal Soult, who
calls himself Governor of Portugal, endeavours to
conceal their danger from the unfortunate troops
whom he is sacrificing to the ambition of a tyrant. And
when it is thus ascertained that a general publishes
falsehoods in one case, his army and the people will
know how to appreciate his accounts in others.
Laborde sent to The French general at this time felt the difficulties
attack Silveira of his situation, though far from apprehending as yet
at Amarante. the vigour and ability of the enemy with whom he was
soon to contend. His immediate object was to open a
communication with Lapisse and Victor, and this was
not possible while Trant defended the Vouga, and
Silveira the Tamega. The latter enemy, who was near
enough to disquiet him, had broken down all the
bridges over that river except at Amarante. Laborde
was sent against him with a considerable force; he
had Loison’s division together with his own, and was
to be joined by Lahoussaye’s. Silveira, in advancing to
Penafiel, had supposed that Soult, instead of tarrying
at Porto, would have marched upon Lisbon without
delay; in which case he would have entered Porto,
and, by occupying the Douro, have effectually
 excluded the enemy from the province between the
rivers. Upon the approach of this force he withdrew to
State of the Campo de Manhufe. When the enemy entered
Penafiel when Penafiel the scene was such as to make them sensible
the French how deep was the feeling of abhorrence which they
entered. had excited and deserved. The whole city was
deserted; all food and every thing that could have
been serviceable to the invaders had been either
carried away or destroyed. Every house had been left
open; the churches alone were closed, that the
Portugueze might not seem to have left them open to
pollution. The very silence of the streets was awful,
broken only when the clocks struck; and now and
then by the howling of some of those dogs who,
though living, as in other Portugueze towns, without
an owner, felt a sense of desertion when they missed
the accustomed presence of men. The royal arms
upon the public buildings had been covered with black
crape, to indicate that in the absence of the Braganza
family Portugal was as a widow. Of the whole
population one old man was the only living soul who
remained in the town. Being in extreme old age, he
was either unable to endure the fatigue of flight, or
desirous of ending his days in a manner which he
would have regarded as a religious martyrdom; he
placed himself, therefore, on a stone seat in the
market-place; there the French found him in the act
of prayer, while the unsuppressed expression of his
strong features and fiery eye told them in a language
not to be misunderstood that part of his prayer was
Naylies, 102. for God’s vengeance upon the invaders of his country.
This was in the true spirit of his nation: and that spirit
was now in full action. It had reached all ranks and
classes. The man of letters had left his beloved
studies, the monk his cloister; even women forsook
that retirement which is every where congenial to the
 sex, and belongs there to the habits of the people.
But it was not surprising that in a warfare where
women were not spared, they should take part. Nuns
had been seen working at that battery which defeated
the French in their attempt at crossing the Minho; and
here a beautiful lady, whose abode was near Penafiel,
Naylies, 107. had raised some hundred followers; and in the sure
war of destruction which they were carrying on,
encouraged them, sword in hand, by her exhortations
and her example.
The bridge of After some skirmishing for two days, Silveira,
Amarante. understanding that a division of the enemy was
April 18. moving from Guimaraens to take him in the rear, and
place him thus between two fires, gave orders for
retiring to Amarante, and there defending the passage
of the bridge. Antiquaries have maintained that this
bridge was the work of Trajan; but a tradition too long
established, and too fondly believed to be shaken by
any historical arguments, has ascribed its foundation
to St. Gonçalo de Amarante, a Saint, who, having
taken up his abode there in a hermitage, and
commiserating the numerous accidents which
happened in passing the river, determined to build a
bridge. The alms which he obtained would have fallen
short of the necessary charges for feeding his
workmen, if the Saint had had no other resources; he,
however, by making a cross upon the water, drew as
many fish to his hand as he pleased to take, and then
supplied his labourers with a fountain of oil from the
rock for the purpose of dressing them, and another of
wine, that their hearts might be gladdened, as well as
their countenances made cheerful. The bridge
consists of three arches, the middle one being so
large as to appear very disproportionate; but through
this the Saint is believed to have guided with his staff
 a huge oak which the flood was bringing down, and
which, if it had struck the pier, must have demolished
it, ... a miracle so necessary, that he rose from his
grave to perform it. Portugal has never been
ungrateful to such benefactors: near as Compostella
is, the shrine of St. Gonçalo was preferred by the
Portugueze to that of Santiago; whole parishes went
thither in procession, and not a day passed in which
some joyous party of devotees was not to be met on
every road leading to Amarante, travelling with music,
and increasing their noisy mirth by firing off sky-
rockets in the face of the sun. It is the custom for
every pilgrim to offer a small wax taper, and these
tapers have amounted to more than twelve hundred
weight on the day of his annual festival, at which
sometimes more than 30,000 persons have assembled
from all parts.
Lieutenant- The town, which contained about five hundred
Colonel Patrick families, stands on the right bank, consisting chiefly of
killed in one long and narrow street, leading down a steep
defending it.
descent to the bridge. Hither the Portugueze
retreated: a retrograde movement, in the presence of
an active and adventurous enemy, tries the best
troops; to the ill or the undisciplined it is usually fatal.
Silveira’s rear-guard fell back in disorder, ... the
confusion spread, and the enemy, when they entered
Amarante pell-mell with their despised and broken
opponents, thought themselves sure of winning the
passage, and destroying a force upon which they
were eager to wreak their vengeance. This
expectation might probably have been fulfilled, if
Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick, a British officer who had
come out with Beresford, had not been present. Short
as the time was which he had been with the
Portugueze, it had been long enough for him to
 become acquainted with their character; and rallying
a handful of men, who required only such a leader to
be fit for any service, he posted himself at the head of
the bridge. The example became as contagious as the
previous disorder, and the Portugueze, who,
despairing to maintain the passage, had begun to
withdraw toward Mezam-frio, rallied and re-formed.
The enemy persisted in the attack, knowing the
importance of the passage; but the defendants stood
their ground, and actually entrenched themselves in
the street with the dead bodies of their enemies; they
occupied the houses also, and the Convent of St.
Gonçalo, one of the finest which the Dominicans
possessed in that kingdom; and from thence they
kept up a most destructive fire, till the enemy were
driven out of the town with considerable loss. But
Lieutenant-Colonel Patrick received several wounds,
was carried off exhausted with loss of blood, and died
within a few days, after having performed a service
for which it is to be hoped a monument will one day
be erected to his memory on the spot.
The French The French set fire to the town before they
endeavour to abandoned it. On the following day, having been
throw a bridge joined by Lahoussaye’s division, they won the
over the river.
Convent, after a brave resistance: they were now
masters of the town; but the suburb of Villa Real, on
the other side the river, was occupied by the
Portugueze, who had barricadoed the bridge, and
planted batteries which commanded the approach to
it. They kept up a fire also from some houses in the
suburb upon those who approached to reconnoitre,
and killed, among many others, Loison’s aide-de-
camp, and his chief officer of engineers. The loss was
so severe in these attempts, that Laborde despaired
of forcing the passage, and gave directions for
 forming a wooden bridge some quarter of a mile from
the town. When the materials were prepared, the best
swimmers from the different regiments were ordered
to be upon the spot at midnight, as soon as the moon
had gone down; but they found the water so deep,
that no diver could touch the bottom in the mid
stream, and so rapid, that no one could reach the
opposite shore; this project, therefore, was
abandoned.
Repeated Captain Bouchard, of the engineers, who was
attempts to present at this attempt, had been sent by Marshal
effect the Soult to form an opinion upon the spot concerning
passage.
difficulties which both Laborde and Loison
represented as of the most formidable kind. In
reconnoitring the Portugueze works of defence from
the church tower, which was close to the bridge, he
discovered a string so placed as to leave no doubt in
his mind that it was fastened to a trigger, which was
to fire a mine and blow up the farther arch in case the
entrenchments should be forced: at the same time he
was convinced that there was no other possible
means of effecting the passage than by forcing them.
Ten days had been occupied in vain attempts, which
had discouraged not only the men, but their
commanders; more ammunition and artillery had
been sent them from Porto, and another division was
placed at Laborde’s disposal, and positive orders given
that the passage must be attempted and won, and
the opposite bank cleared of the enemy. A plan of
Bouchard’s was then tried, against the opinion of the
Generals, and the troops were held in readiness to act
in case of its success: this plan was to demolish the
entrenchments on the bridge by four barrels of
powder placed against them under cover of the night.
Plan for To call off the attention of the Portugueze guard,
demolishing the some twenty men were stationed to keep up a fire
Portugueze upon the entrenchments, so directed as not to
entrenchments. endanger the sappers who had volunteered for the
real service of the hour. It was a service so hopeful
and hazardous as to excite the liveliest solicitude for
its success. The barrel was covered with a gray cloak,
that it might neither be heard nor seen, and the man
who undertook to deposit it in its place wore a cloak
of the same colour. The clear moonlight was
favourable to the adventure, by the blackness of the
shadow which the parapet on one side produced. In
that line of darkness the sapper crept along at full
length, pushing the barrel before him with his head,
and guiding it with his hands. His instructions were to
stop if he heard the slightest movement on the
Portugueze side; and a string was fastened to one of
his feet, by which the French were enabled to know
how far he had advanced, and to communicate with
him. Having placed the barrel, and uncovered that
1809. part where it was to be kindled, he returned with the
May. same caution. Four barrels, one after the other, were
thus arranged without alarming the Portugueze. The
fourth adventurer had not the same command of
himself as his predecessors had evinced. Possessed
either with fear, or with premature exultation, as soon
as he had deposited the barrel in its place, instead of
making his way back slowly and silently along the line
of shadow, he rose and ran along the middle of the
bridge in the moonlight. He was seen, fired at, and
shot in the thigh. But the Portugueze did not take the
alarm as they ought to have done; ... they kept up a
fire upon the entrance of the bridge, and made no
attempt to discover for what purpose their
entrenchments had been approached so closely.
The French win Four hours had elapsed before the four barrels
the bridge. were placed: by that time it was midnight, and in
May 2. another hour, when the Portugueze had ceased their
fire, a fifth volunteer proceeded in the same manner,
with a saucisson fastened to his body; this he fixed in
its place, and returned safely. By two o’clock this part
of the business was completed, and Laborde was
informed that all was ready. Between three and four a
fog rose from the river, and filled the valley, so that
the houses on the opposite shore could scarcely be
discerned through it. This was favourable for the
assailants. The saucisson was fired, and the
explosion, as Bouchard had expected, threw down the
entrenchments, and destroyed also the apparatus for
communicating with the mine. The French rushed
forward; some threw water into the mine, others
cleared the way; the fog increased the confusion into
which the Portugueze were thrown by being thus
surprised; they made so little resistance that the
Operations de French lost only nine men; and Silveira, saving only
M. Soult, 209– four pieces of artillery, but preserving order enough
222. soon to restore the spirits of his countrymen, retired
upon Entre ambos os rios.
Situation of the The advantage which the enemy had gained would
French. have been great, if it had been earlier; it was too late
to profit by it now. Loison had been ordered to
establish himself in Villa Real after the passage should
have been won, ... he only came in sight of it, and
returned to Amarante. On the way the post from
Lisbon was intercepted, and in that mail the
intelligence which had been so carefully concealed
from the enemy was found, that hostilities had
recommenced in Germany. The superior officers knew
now the whole danger of their situation, and began to
14
think only of how to secure the booty they had
 acquired by such flagitious means. The soldiers
partook the spirit of their leaders; ... they were now in
fact a body of freebooters, retaining still the form, and
unhappily the strength of an army, but with the
feelings and the temper of banditti; and it was in vain
for Marshal Soult, after the system of pillage in which
all ranks had indulged, to appeal to any principle of
honour, and call upon men to exert themselves for the
good of the service, whose sole care was how to
enrich themselves. Loison’s division had to fight for
the resources which were within their reach, on the
left bank of the Tamega; ... if they got sight of a
peasant, a cry was set up as if a beast had been
started, and they hunted him till he was slain. One
Portugueze who was thus brought down among the
crags by a shot which broke his thigh held fast his
fowling-piece when he fell, raised himself on the other
knee, and with an unerring aim killed a French officer
before he himself was put to death. Another gray-
headed old man, armed with a musket and bayonet,
posted himself to such advantage among the rocks,
Naylies, 117– that, refusing quarter, he wounded three men and
8. four horses before he could be cut down. Every day
made the French generals more sensible of the
difficulties of their situation. In any other country,
they said, with a fourth part of the means of every
kind which were employed here to obtain intelligence,
and without success, they should have been informed
of every design of their enemies, even the most
secret thoughts. All that they could learn now with all
their means amounted only to the certainty that Sir
Operations, &c. Arthur Wellesley had arrived at Lisbon, and that
229. General Beresford had begun to discipline the
Portugueze army.
Sir Arthur Sir Arthur had landed on the 22nd of April. A
Wellesley lands general rejoicing was made for his arrival, and every
at Lisbon. town throughout the kingdom, where the French were
not in possession, was illuminated three successive
nights. The Prince of Brazil had appointed him
Marshal-General of the Portugueze army, thus
enabling him to direct its movements, while Beresford
was continued in the command. He would at once
have proceeded into Spain, there in co-operation with
Cuesta to have struck a blow against the French in
Extremadura, had it not been that the part of Portugal
which the enemy occupied was fertile in resources,
and also for the importance of the city of Porto.
He Therefore he determined to drive Soult out of the
communicates kingdom, leaving such a force about Abrantes as
his plans to might secure Lisbon against any attempt on the part
Cuesta. of Victor; and he resolved not to pursue him into
Galicia, because he was not certain that he should,
singly, be equal to the French there, and because the
appearance of a British army in that province would
make the French collect their force, and thus suspend
the war of the peasantry, which was at this time
carrying on in a way that harassed and wasted the
enemy, and materially impeded their plans: Galicia, he
thought, might be more certainly and permanently
relieved by striking a blow against Victor, than by
following Soult. This plan he communicated to Cuesta,
requesting him not to undertake any thing against
Victor till the expedition to Porto should be concluded,
when he would come down upon Elvas, and co-
operate with him. Cuesta was not well pleased with
these intended operations. Little or nothing, he
thought, would be gained by driving Soult toward the
Minho, for in that case he would be able to re-enter
Galicia and complete its subjugation, neither the
peasantry nor Romana being able to prevent him.
 “The object of Sir Arthur,” he said, “ought to be to
surround the French in Porto, or get between them
and the Minho, so as to cut off the resources of Soult
and prevent his retreat. But,” he added, “the system
of the British is never to expose their troops; and it
was owing to that system, that instead of ever gaining
a decisive action by land, they sacrificed their men in
continual retreats and precautions, as General Moore
had done, for not having attacked the enemy in time.”
In this opinion the brave but ill-judging old man
wronged the English, as much as he underrated the
exertions of Romana and the Galicians: and he
recommended a plan which was impossible, unless
Soult should remain quietly at Porto, and allow the
enemy to get in his rear. Sir Arthur’s plans were well
formed and vigorously pursued, nor were they altered
in any degree by the intelligence that the passage of
the Tamega had been effected, and that Lapisse had
crossed the Tagus at Alcantara to form his junction
with Victor. He stationed two dragoon regiments, two
battalions and a brigade of infantry, with about 7000
Portugueze under Major-General Mackenzie, to defend
the fords of the Tagus between Santarem and
Abrantes, and the mountain passes between that city
and Alcantara. The latter place was occupied by 600
of the Lusitanian Legion, 1100 Portugueze militia, and
a squadron of Portugueze cavalry under Colonel
Mayne. In case Victor, now that the junction had been
effected, should enter Alemtejo, which Sir Arthur
thought was not impossible, he advised that Cuesta
should follow him; but his opinion was, that the
French in that quarter would make no movement till
they should hear of Soult.
Views of the Marshal Soult, in conformity to Buonaparte’s
Philadelphes in system, had endeavoured to keep his army ignorant
Marshal Soult’s of the continental war. But copies of Marshal
army. Beresford’s address, which contained the intercepted
letter from Kellermann, were carried to Porto by a
brave inhabitant of that city, Manoel Francisco
Camarinho by name, and means were even found of
fastening it upon the walls of Soult’s own quarters.
This intelligence raised the hopes of those officers
who, under the appellation of Philadelphes, had
formed a plan for overthrowing the military despotism
under which France, as well as her conquests, was
suffering, and restoring peace to Europe. The
restoration of the Bourbons made no part of the
scheme, for the leaders had grown up in those
republican opinions which it is the tendency of
youthful studies to promote, and which are congenial
to a generous mind till time and knowledge have
matured it. The end whereat they aimed, as far as
they saw the end, was meritorious; ... the means had
a fearful character, such as is common to all secret
15
societies, but which no circumstances can justify.
The plan had proceeded to a great length in Soult’s
army, and some of the general officers were engaged
in it. The more dangerous part was taken upon
himself by the Sieur D’Argenton, who was then
Adjutant-Major, and had formerly been Soult’s aide-
de-camp. It is one of the worst evils of revolution,
that in such times good and honourable men are
forced into situations where nothing can enable them
to act innocently and uprightly except that unerring
religious principle which it is the sure tendency and
The Sieur undisguised intent of modern revolutions to destroy.
D’Argenton D’Argenton was worthy to have fallen on better times,
goes to Sir for he was a man of kind and generous affections, at
Arthur once firm of purpose and gentle of heart. When the
Wellesley to
French entered Porto, no individual exerted himself
explain their more strenuously in repressing the excesses of the
views. troops; and many families in those dreadful days were
beholden to him not only for their lives and
properties, but for preservation from evils more
dreadful than ruin and death. This officer undertook
to open a communication with the British army, and
finding his way to Colonel Trant’s head-quarters, was
sent by him to Sir Arthur. Several interviews took
place; and he went backward and forward by the
French posts with such ease, and so little
apprehension of danger, as naturally to excite a
suspicion that he was acting under Soult’s,
instructions, and endeavouring to dupe the British
Commander. There were no means of ascertaining
this; but the manner in which his overtures were
received was that which would have been equally
proper whether they were sincere or treacherous. He
was assured by Sir Arthur that no change in the
French army, either in contemplation or actually
carried into effect, would induce him to delay his
operations as long as it continued in Portugal; ... he
should march against it with equal activity whether
revolutionized or counter-revolutionized. D’Argenton,
however, well knew that if the army declared
unequivocally against Buonaparte, an arrangement
with the British Commander must of necessity follow,
and he asked for passports from the Admiral for the
purpose of communicating with the army in Germany.
Sir Arthur warned him of the danger to which he
exposed himself by having such documents in his
possession; but he was particularly solicitous to obtain
them, and accordingly they were given him.
Advance of the The movements of the troops, meantime, were
British army continued without any reference to the politics or
towards Porto. projects in the French army. On the 5th of May the
 whole of the British force which was intended to
march against Porto was assembled at Coimbra. On
the same day Beresford advanced from that city
toward Viseu, with about 6000 Portugueze, a brigade
of British infantry, and a squadron of British horse, to
act upon the enemy’s left, in the hope that he might
so disconcert their plans as to make them retreat by
Chaves into Galicia, rather than by Villa Real in a
direction which would enable them to effect a junction
with Victor. Trant was still on the Vouga, where the
students had now the proud feeling that they formed
the advanced post of that army which was about to
deliver their country. He had taken measures for
collecting provisions, whereby one difficulty that might
have impeded the advance was lessened. A strong
division under Major-General Hill proceeded to Aveiro,
and there, in boats which Trant had got together for
that service, embarked for Ovar, which is upon the
northern creek of that singular harbour. The main
body proceeded by the high road, and began their
march on the 7th. They halted the next day, to allow
time for Beresford’s movements.
D’Argenton is At this time Soult was informed that there existed a
arrested. conspiracy in his own army. A general officer, to whom
D’Argenton had just opened himself without being
sufficiently sure of his man, gave the information.
D’Argenton was instantly arrested, and all doubt
concerning the truth of the accusation, if any there
could have been, was removed by discovering Admiral
Berkeley’s passports among his papers. He was not a
man who held his life cheap, for he had a wife and
children in France whom he loved; but he valued it at
no more than it was worth, and had made up his
mind how to act in case of such a discovery. He
avowed that he had been both to Lisbon and to
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