lery back to France; a pretty conclusive proof of the impression made upon him by the preceding actions. Lord Wellington, instantly availing himself of this reduction of force in his front, determined to attempt the position, although apparently almost impregnable. On the morning, therefore, of the 30th, Lord Dalhousie made an admirably conducted attack on the heights on the right, which was executed with much gallantry by Brigadier-General Inglis's brigade. During this operation, Sir T. Picton succeeded in turning their left, while General Pakenham, at the same time, drove them from the village of Ostiz. Amidst such a series of arduous and successful attempts, an attack in front was made by General Cole's division, upon which the enemy abandoned " a position which is one of the strongest and most difficult of access that I have yet seen occupied by troops," and were pursued beyond Olaque, in the neighbourhood of which Sir R. Hill had been hotly engaged during the whole day, and had repulsed every attack made by Count d'Erlon, and the troops sent by Soult for the purpose of driving him back on Pampluna. In consequence of this success, the General took possession of the heights of Eguarrus, which enabled him to set all the efforts of the enemy at defiance.

On the night of the 31st the main body of the enemy retreated, leaving a strong body posted on a mountain, at the Pass of Donna Maria, from which they were next day dislodged: Lord Dalhousie on the one side, and Sir R. Hill on the other, ascended the hills, and General Barnes's brigade of the 50th, 71st, and Gordon Highlanders, whose gallantry had been so often conspicuous, pushed up a steep ascent, in defiance of all resistance, and against double their number. The enemy, however favoured by the natural strength of the country, could not withstand such resolute and undaunted movements, and were forced back at all points.

Lord Wellington's Dispatches.

In this manner position after position was successfully turned in flank, or taken in front, at the point of the bayonet, so that, on the 2d of August, the Allies occupied the same position on the 25th of July, when Soult made his first attack; and thus ended those operations which were to retrieve the disgrace of Vittoria, and the previous reverses of the enemy; and to conclude with driving back the Allies from the sight of the valley of France, and ultimately to reconquer the kingdoms of Spain and Portugal.

In this important, complicated, and lengthened engagement of so many days, on ground the most difficult, and in some places almost impassable, so that, on several occasions it was necessary to climb precipices to the point of attack, during which the men were fully exposed to the shot of their opponents above, success, with a comparatively moderate loss, was certainly the more honourable. A more detailed account of the various incidents, skilful manœuvres, and deeds of gallantry, which led to this long succession of splendid and important victories, would have been desirable. But when it is recollected,-that the actions both of defence and attack were not only numerous, but involved in a variety of complicated movements,-that they were continued through a period of several successive days,—and that they were fought in a mountainous tract, more than fifty miles in extent, and every where full of the most embarrassing obstacles; it must be obvious, that a narrative embracing the minute particulars of the scene could be the work only of an eye-witness, capable of noticing what passed under his own immediate observation, and of estimating the nature, consequences, and importance of more distant movements, such as occurred among the ravines and precipices of the Pyrenees, when such a continued succession of attacks, repulses, charges, and assaults was exhibited. To military men, indeed, a minute description would be both

See the amount of the killed and wounded in the Appendix.

interesting and instructive, but as my turn of duty led me to a distance from those important events, I have not attempted more than a mere outline of what took place.

On this occasion the 42d and 79th Highlanders did not belong to those brigades whose good fortune it was to be more actively engaged, but the Gordon Highlanders, who had more than once to attack and oppose the enemy, fully supported their former character. I have just mentioned my misfortune in not serving with this army, and consequently have not been able to procure any particular information, or to learn any characteristic anecdotes of the Highland regiments, either as a body, or as individuals. Such an illustration would be interesting, as tending to show the character and habits of Highland soldiers as contrasted with those of former times.

The siege of St Sebastian, which had been suspended on the advance of Soult, was now resumed on his discomfiture, and pressed with much ardour. A continued fire. from eighty pieces of cannon was opened. The enemy withstood this with a courage and perseverance the more commendable, as the late defeat of their friends left them but small hopes of succour. On the morning of the 31st of August, a practicable breach having been made, the troops advanced to the assault. Notwithstanding the extent of the breach, there was but one point where it was possible to enter, and this only by single files. All the inside of the wall to the right of the curtain formed a perpendicular scarp of twenty feet. Every thing that the most determined bravery could attempt was repeatedly tried in vain by the troops, who were brought forward in succession from the trenches, but each time, on attaining the summit, a heavy fire from the entrenched ruins within destroyed all who offered to remain, and "No man outlived the attempt to gain the ridge." It was at this critical moment that General Graham, confiding in the perfection to

VOL. I.

• General Graham's Dispatches.

2 N

which the artillery had been brought, and in the unshaken steadiness of the troops, with admirable presence of mind, ordered the fire of the artillery to be directed against the curtain, so as to pass a few feet over the heads of the troops in the breach, who were astonished at this fire from their friends. Playing with unparalleled accuracy, it checked the enemy's fire, and the troops advanced with perfect confidence under the correct and undeviating aim of the guns in their rear. After the most persevering exertions for two hours to force the breach, an explosion of ammunition within the ramparts causing some confusion, the assailants redoubled their efforts, and the men assisted each other over the walls and ruins. But it was not till an hour afterwards that the enemy were driven from the complicated works, which they had so resolutely defended. They retreated with great loss to the castle, leaving the town, a heap of ruins, in possession of the assailants, who had also to deplore the loss of many valuable lives. But a place of such strength, and of such importance to the future operations of either party, and so defended, must, of course, be dearly purchased.

Aware of the great importance of this fortress, Soult collected a force of nearly 40,000 men, and, with an intention of raising the siege, crossed the Bidassoa on the very day when the assault took place. This attempt, after repeated attacks, in which the brigades of Generals Inglis and Ross, and a division of the Spanish army, were actively engaged, had been as unsuccessful as the former. The conduct of the Spaniards at the post of St Marcial, the defence of which had been entrusted to them, was particularly noticed "as being equal to that of any troops which the Commander-inChief had ever seen engaged."+ Thus the French saw themselves beaten by the Spanish soldiers, whom they had formerly accustomed themselves to despise; and their humiliation at this defeat must have been rendered more acute

The loss during the whole siege, from 28th July to 8th September, was 42 officers, and 547 soldiers, killed.

+ General Orders.

by the recollection of those times when a French army believed that an advance to battle was a prelude to certain victory, often obtained on very easy terms. As nothing inspires a man with greater courage than the belief that there is no danger or hazard of victory, so nothing cools an advance, or breaks the resolution of troops, sooner than the presentiment of defeat on any rencounter with an enemy. Not that the French evinced a loss of energy, or a want of determination to fight, however unsuccessful they might be. Their gallantry, under discouraging reverses, was proved at St Sebastian, as well as by the loss the Allies sustained, amounting to more than 2000 men in killed and wounded.

On the 7th of October Lord Wellington entered France, crossing the Bidassoa, at low water, near its mouth. General Graham, with a combined force of British and Portuguese, attacked and carried the entrenchments of Andayo, which were gallantly defended by the enemy. General Don Manuel Freyre, with a Spanish division, crossed higher up, and drove the enemy from their works. Gen1 Baron Alten, with the light division, encountered more difficulty, but was equally successful. He drove the enemy from a succession of redoubts, raised one over the other, on steep and difficult ascents. General Giron's division of Spanish troops attacked and carried the lower part of the mountain La Rhune; but on their subsequent attempt to ascend to the second position, they found the obstructions insurmountable. However, on the following morning, the attack was renewed on the right of the enemy's position, when they withdrew and left it to be occupied by the Spaniards. All these operations were accomplished with the usual spirit of the assailants; the 9th regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel John Cameron, which met with more opposition than any other, was particularly distinguished, as were likewise the 52d, the 95th, and the 1st and 2d Caçadores.

General Graham having thus established the army within the French territories, he resigned his command to the