Skirmish at Obidos. On leaving the point of disembarkation, Junot, whose main force was at Lisbon and its vicinity, ordered Loison with 8,000 men to advance from Estremos, and at the same time he sent forward De Laborde from Lisbon towards the Mondego to cover Loison's march, and to observe and report on the progress of the British. Wellesley's advance cut the line of communication between De Laborde and Loison, and the former fell back on the village variously named Roliça, Roleia, and Roriça or Rorissa, leaving his pickets at the village of Obidos, by the ruins of the ancient Moorish castle and the magnificent Roman aqueduct, and a detachment in the windmill of Brilos. On the 15th August Wellesley drove in the pickets from Obidos, the first action between the British and French in the Peninsular War, and a happy omen of the final result. But some companies of the 95th Foot (the Derbyshire Regiment) and the 60th Rifles continued the pursuit too eagerly, and were only saved by Spencer's advance. The road to the south from Obidos passes through a sandy vale, thickly studded with shrubs, to the foot of the bold grassy eminence on which the village of Roliça stands, surrounded by vineyard walls and olive plantations. From behind the Roliça height, several passes lead off to the mountains, in the direction of Lisbon, affording a safe retreat to the French general. A second ridge, on which are two villages, Columbiera and Zambugeiro, runs parallel to this, about a mile in the rear, and the main road leads over it up a steep defile. A rugged ridge runs to the west of these heights, and the spurs of the Sierra Baragueda connect with them on the east. This beautiful vale witnessed the first of the Peninsular battles in which the British were concerned, and the first victory of Wellesley,-the "General of Sepoys," as Napoleon termed him,-in an independent command in Europe. Battle of Roliça. De Laborde had under him 5,500 infantry and 500 cavalry, with five field-pieces. With consummate skill he had chosen his ground, the heights of Roliça, for checking the British advance; and he had posts on the hills on both sides of the valley, and in the plain in front, the whole covering the passes into the mountains in his rear. Though outnumbered in the proportion of nearly three to one, De Laborde resolved to hold his post to the last; for his retreat would have one of three results,—it would open the road to Torres Vedras, or the road to Lisbon, or would lose the road by which Loison could join him. Wellesley's total force, including the Portuguese, amounted to 13,480 infantry, 470 cavalry, and 18 guns. The troops were under arms at dawn, and moved from their bivouacs at Obidos at seven o'clock on the morning of the 17th of August. The country was finely wooded, and the weather beautiful and bright; the mists had rolled up the mountain-sides; a gentle breeze wafted the scent from the luxuriant masses of wild flowers; and the repose of nature was unbroken, save by the gay carolling of the birds,-so soon to be succeeded by the booming of cannon and the shouts of war. The allies advanced in three columns. From the perfect discipline of the British regiments, the troops marched with all the exactness of a review; and when any inequality of ground caused a break in the order, the foremost battalions halted till the proper distance had again been gained. On entering the valley, the right wing, consisting of 1,000 Portuguese infantry and 50 horsemen under the English Colonel Trant, was sent by St. Amias to turn the enemy's left, and penetrate into the mountains in the rear. On the allies' left, the brigades of Generals Ferguson and Bowes, with three companies of riflemen, a battery of light artillery, and 40 horsemen, were sent along the spurs of the Sierra Baragueda, to turn the posts on the left of the valleys, and guard against an expected approach of Loison's corps from Rio Mayor. The centre, consisting of about 9,000 men-the brigades of Generals Sir Rowland Hill, Craufurd, Nightingale, and Fane, and 400 Portuguese-with the rest of the cavalry, and two batteries of six-pounders and nine-pounders, moved to attach De Laborde's position direct in front. As the centre advanced, Fane extended to the left, to connect with Ferguson's divisions, while Hill inclined to the right of the main road. At nine o'clock the main body of the centre pushed on vigorously to the attack; and simultaneously Trant's column appeared beyond St. Amias, the riflemen of Fane's division crowded the crests on the enemy's right, and Ferguson began to descend the heights on Fane's rear. The posts which protected the French position being thus lost, De Laborde promptly withdrew to a second position, the narrow ravines and steep hills behind Columbiera, where the overhanging rocks and clumps of wild myrtle and tangled shrubs offered great protection to his musketry. Wellesley at once formed columns under Hill and Nightingale to carry the position directly in front, although it could only be approached by narrow paths through deep ravines, and the assailants must therefore be exposed to a murderous fire. At the same time Trant on the right and Ferguson and Fane on the left converged on the new position. The skirmishers dashed into the rugged glens, and pressed forward with ringing shouts and an incessant roll of musketry, the enemy gallantly disputing every inch of ground. The first battalion of the 29th Foot (the Worcestershire) and the 9th Foot (the East Norfolk), which should have followed a path to the right to join Trant's column, took what was the more direct path to the enemy through a narrow steep ravine on the left, and reached the slopes of the small plateau before either Trant's or Ferguson's men arrived at the flank passes. The gallant commander of the 29th, LieutenantColonel Lake, galloped up the narrow path, and his devoted men rushed forward over the shrub-covered rocks and through the dense undergrowth in the gorges, while the withering fire of the French, who were concealed by the shrubs or huge stones, swept their broken ranks. The leading company of the 29th was destroyed, and the dead and wounded blocked the mouth of the pass. But the regiment halted only for a moment. Lake forced his charger forward, and, waving his hat, he called on his men to follow. They answered with a loud cheer, as they struggled on over the shingle, which gave way under their feet, to the plateau; but before they could deploy, a French battalion charged them and drove |