Napoleon pursued us only as far as Astorga. There he left Marshal Ney with 18,000 men, to keep that part of the country in awe, and ordered Marshal Soult, at the head of 23,000 men, to pursue us to the coast, and drive us, as he expressed himself, into the sea. Soult's was not a hard task - he had only to pursue us at the pace at which we had been made to set off, not to come near enough and force us to stand at bay; and fatigue and the weather were more certain to complete our destruction, than the sword. From Astorga to Villa Franca del Bierzo is 15 leagues, or about sixty English miles; the road for the first four leagues is up the mountain-side, but through an open country. Having got to the summit of Foncebadon, we entered into some of the strongest passes in Europe. No invading army could here prevail against a body of determined men. This strong country extends three leagues, nearly to the village of Torre. Thence through Benbibre and Ponferrada, nothing can exceed the beauty of the country, nor the wonderful sublimity of the mountains which hem it in. But never, in the most melancholy ages of Spanish history, had a more deplorable scene presented itself, than was now exhibited here. The horses of our cavalry began to fail, chiefly from the want of shoes and shoe-nails. There was no want of iron to forge new ones, for there are large iron-works near Villa Franca, and plenty might have been procured, had time been allowed. But no; the excessive rapidity of our march forbade all delay. As soon, therefore, as these noble animals foundered, they were shot or bayoneted, lest the enemy should profit by them. The rain fell in torrents; the baggage had to be dragged on; and our soldiers, worn out and foot-sore, had to march through half-melted snow. Men and horses equally failed. More waggons were abandoned; and still more ammunition destroyed along the way; and when the troops reached Villa Franca, both officers and men were in such a desperate state, that several old and experienced officers predicted, if this horrid march against time should be longer persevered in, a fourth of the army would be left in the ditches before it was accomplished. On the 2d of January, more magazines and carriages were destroyed. Some of the men, grown reckless from cold, hunger, and excessive fatigue, now became completely abandoned; and, entering the wine-cellars, gave way to excesses, and were found lifeless by the French when they entered the town. When General Moore marched with the reserve from Benbibre, he left a detachment to cover the town, and parties were sent round to warn the stragglers of their danger, and drive them out of the houses - for the place was literally filled with them, nearly a thousand men of the preceding divisions having remained there, and most of them quite drunk. A few were persuaded to move on, but by far the greater number were deaf to all threats, and insensible to danger, till the rear guard compelled them to proceed. A small detachment of cavalry still protected them, and did not leave the town till the enemy approached; and then the road was filled with stragglers, armed and unarmed, mules, carts, women and children. Four or five squadrons of French cavalry compelled the detachment in the rear to retire, and pursued it closely for several miles, till General Paget, with the reserve, repulsed them. While galloping through the long line of the miserable stragglers, the French dragoons slashed at them with their swords to the right and left, the men being unable, from intoxication, to attempt either resistance or flight. Some of these having afterwards found their way to the army, were paraded through the ranks as examples to their comrades, of the miserable results of drunkenness at such a crisis.
At Villa Franca, the inhabitants would not believe that the French were advancing through such a country; and in so severe a season, they deemed it quite impossible. But here Sir John declined halting, lest the French should get round his flanks into his rear, and intercept him at Lugo. Again, therefore, our troops were hurried on, the artillery and head-quarters going on in front, General Baird's column and the cavalry under Lord Paget covering the rear. The advanced guard of the enemy was under General Colbert. General Merla's division joined them on the 3d, and on the afternoon of that day they attacked our rear-guard at Cacabelos; but were repulsed by the dragoons and rifle brigade. General Colbert received a ball in his forehead and fell. He was an officer of much promise, and of so fine a form, that Canova the sculptor had called him the modern Antinous. Having thus once more displayed to the French their native prowess, the rear of our army, reluctantly, and almost broken-hearted, continued their unwilling retreat. After passing Villa Franca, the road is one continued ascent, up Monte del Cebrero for about fifteen miles to Castro, through one of the wildest, most beautiful, and most defensible countries in the world. It is a royal road, cut with great labour and expense along the side of the mountain, and following all its windings; and for some part of the way it hangs over the river Valcarce, a rapid mountain stream, which joins the Burbia near the town, and thereafter falls into the Sil, to pass through that single outlet in the gorge of the Bierzo, before described.
Oaks, chestnuts, alders, poplars and hazels, grow in the bottom, and spread themselves up the sides of the hill; the apple, pear, cherry, and mulberry, are wild in this country; the wild olive too is found here, and also the first vineyards, which meet the eye of the traveller on entering Spain from Corunna. The mountains are cultivated, in some parts in the Moorish manner, even to their summits, and trenches are cut along their sides for the purposes of irrigation. This country was now covered with deep snow. There was neither provision nor shelter from the rain, nor dried fuel for our fires, nor place where the weary and foot-sore could rest for a single hour in safety. All that had hithero [sic] been suffered by our troops, was but as a prelude to this consummate scene of horrors. It was still attempted to carry forward our sick and wounded; the beasts which dragged them failed, and they were of necessity left in their waggons to perish amidst the snow. As we looked round on gaining the highest point of those slippery precipices, and observed the rear of the army winding along the narrow road, we could see the whole tract marked out by our own wretched people, who lay on all sides expiring from fatigue and the severity of the cold - while their uniforms reddened in spots the white surface of the ground.
Our men had now become quite mad with despair: excessive fatigue, and the consciousness of their disgrace, in thus flying before an enemy whom they despised, excited in them a spirit which was quite mutinous. A few hours' pause was all that they coveted; an opportunity of confronting the foe, the chance of a speedy and honourable release, and the certainty of making their pursuers atone in death for all the miseries they had suffered. A Portuguese bullock-driver, who had faithfully served us from the first day of our march, was here seen on his knees amid the snow, with his hands clasped, and, in his dying moments, venting his soul in fervent prayer. He had, at least, the consolations of religion in his agonies. But not so those of our soldiery, who, throwing themselves down to perish by the way-side, gave utterance to feelings far different - of shame, anger, and grief; but too frequently their dying groans were mingled with imprecations upon the Spaniards, by whom they believed themselves betrayed, and upon the General, who chose rather to let them die like beasts, than take their chance on the field of battle. That no degree of horror might be wanting, this unfortunate army was accompanied by many women and children; - of whom some were frozen to death on the baggage-waggons, which were broken down or left upon the road for want of cattle; some died of fatigue and cold, while their infants were seen vainly sucking at their clay-cold breasts. One women was taken in labour upon the mountain; she lay down at an angle, rather more sheltered than the rest of the way from the drifting sleet and ice - and there she was found dead, and two babes, which she had brought forth, struggling in the snow. A blanket was thrown over her corse; and the infants were given in charge to another woman, who came up in one of the bullock-carts, to take their chance of surviving through such a journey.
While the reserve was on this part of the road, they met between twenty and thirty waggons filled with arms, ammunition, shoes and clothing, from England, for Romana's army. To carry them back to Corunna was impossible, for means were awanting; wherefore such things as could be made use of were distributed to the soldiers as they passed, and the rest were destroyed. From the failure of the draft-cattle, even the army-baggage could not be carried on. Nearly one hundred waggons, laden with shoes and clothing, were abandoned upon this ascent. Even the dollars could no longer be dragged along: had the resolution of sacrificing them been adopted sooner, they might have been distributed amongst our soldiery, and, in this way, saved from the enemy; and they who escaped would have had some small compensation for the perils they had undergone. They were, however, thrown over the precipices into the deep valley, in hopes that the snow might conceal them from the French. Many men are supposed to have been lost, in consequence of having dropped behind, from the hope of recovering some part of this treasure. Horrible as this retreat appeared to those who beheld the wreck of such a noble army strewing its line of march, it was more so for those who performed it through the dark storms of the night, wading through deep mire and snow, stumbling at times over the dead bodies of men and beasts, and hearing, amidst the howlings of the wintry tempest, the groans of those whose sufferings were not yet terminated by death.
From the top of this mountain down to Lugo, is nearly twelve leagues. There are several bridges on the way, over glens and gullies, which might possibly have impeded the pursuit, had they been broken; one in particular, between Nogales and Marillas, is the most remarkable work of art between Corunna and Madrid. This bridge, the Puenta del Corzul, crosses a deep ravine; and from its exceeding height, the narrow span of its lofty arches, and its form, which, as usual with the Spanish bridges, is very level at top, it might easily, at a short distance, be mistaken for an aqueduct. Several officers, who knew the road, relied much upon the strength of this ravine, and the impossibility of the French being able to bring their guns across it, in case the bridge should be broken. Sad, therefore, as the alternative was, a mine was made over the centre arch; but, as in most other instances, with little effect; for, either owing to the haste in which it was done, or to the small quantity of gunpowder employed, the keystones of the arch did not yield, and the bridge was left uninjured.
Near Lugo, the different divisions were ordered to halt. Sir John had now become aware of the impossibility of reaching Vigo. Corunna was only half the distance; and the road to Vigo was said to be impracticable for artillery, while the place itself offered small advantages for embarking in the face of an enemy. The brigades of General Alton and Craufurd had, however, already marched towards Vigo; and General Fraser, with his division, had been ordered to follow and join them. A despatch was sent to recall the latter; but the dragoon, to whom it was intrusted, got drunk, and lost the letter, and these troops had proceeded full one days journey on the Vigo road before the counter order reached them, and they were marched back. Thus, instead of having two days' rest at Lugo, as had been intended, they returned thither excessively fatigued, besides having lost some of their number. When the horses reached Lugo many fell dead, and others were mercifully shot. Above four hundred carcasses were lying in the streets and market-places, which it was impossible for the army to bury; and the town's-people were in too great a state of terror and anxiety to think of undertaking such a task; whilst the firing of muskets in all directions gave notice of the slaughter of these poor animals, whose bodies lay, swelling with the rain, putrifying, bursting, and poisoning the atmosphere, faster than the dogs and vultures could devout them. Here we might have rested, if our engineers had succeeded in destroying the bridges; but the French came in sight on the 5th January, and, collecting in considerable force, took up a good position on the side of a valley, opposite to our rear-guard. On the 6th they began to attack our outposts, by opening upon us the fire of two Spanish cannon, which they had picked up on their march. The attack was made with great spirit, but it was received with that steadiness and enthusiasm which ever distinguishes our troops. The sight of the enemy and the sound of the artillery roused up every British heart, and stimulated into action that characteristic and invincible courage which soon made them victorious. On the 7th, the French repeated their attack, and were again repulsed. From the prisoners taken it was ascertained, that Soult was coming up with three divisions. In the expectation of a more serious attack, Sir John drew up his whole force on the morning of the 8th. It was now his desire to bring the enemy to action; having perfect confidence in the valour of the troops, and perceiving that, unless he crippled his adversary, he had no chance of embarking without molestation. Order and discipline were instantly restored by this hostile demonstration, and the soldiers seemed at once to have forgotten all their fatigues. But not so the French: they did not feel encouraged, from the skirmishing of the two previous days, to offer battle; and Soult was prudently waiting for the arrival of more troops. Our own ground was unfavourable; the country was intersected with enclosures; and the enemy had chosen too strong a position to be attacked by an inferior force. Another reason was assigned, namely, that the commissariat had only provisions for two days more; wherefore delay was considered to be as dangerous as retreat.
It was known afterwards, that the French had dreaded to be attacked; that they had no confidence in the strength of their position; and that their best officers feared we should have cut off their advanced guard. To those of our sick and wounded officers who afterwards fell into their power at Lugo, they frequently mentioned this, and rejoiced that Sir John Moore had simply contented himself with offering them battle, instead of attacking them. After waiting till the afternoon, during a very stormy day of drifting snow, Sir John ordered fires to be lighted along the line, to deceive the French, and then continued his retreat in the night. Before quitting Lugo, the General again tried to suppress the irregularities of the line of march, by warning the soldiers that their safety mainly depended upon their keeping their divisions, and marching with their regiments and that those who tarried in the villages, or straggled from the road, would assuredly be cut off by the French cavalry, who had hitherto, as he said, shown little mercy even to the feeble and infirm who have fallen into their hands. That having still eleven leagues to march, the soldiers must make an exertion to accomplish this, as the rear-guard could not stop, and they who fell behind must of course take their fate. These arguments proved useless, because to obey them was impossible. Most of the soldiers were exhausted, and absolutely unable to keep their ranks; others, who had totally thrown aside all discipline, quitted them, from a love of wine or of plunder. Indeed, so irresistible was the tendency to drunkenness amongst the men, in their now exhausted condition, it was even judged better to expose them homeless to the cold and rain of a severe night, than, by marching them into Betanzos, the next town, allow them to enter the wine-houses. When the regiment called the Royals, reached that place, they could only muster round their colours nine officers, three sergeants, and three privates: all the rest having dropped on the road, many of whom did not come up for several days. During this part of the retreat, a memorable instance occurred of what can be done by discipline and presence of mind. Between Lugo and Betanzos some invalids were closely pressed by two squadrons of French cavalry. Sergeant Newman, of the second battalion, 43d, who was amongst them, rallied round him such as were capable of making resistance, and directed the others to get on as they best could. He then formed his party into regular platoons, and commenced firing and retiring in an orderly manner, till he effectually covered the retreat of his disabled comrades, and actually forced the cavalry to give over the pursuit.
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