Duckworth's British squadron. The Alsatian Kellerman, who had risen to the rank of major-general before the Revolution broke out, had achieved the first triumph of the Revolutionary arms by the famous "cannonade of Valmy;" and had distinguished himself in the struggles at Lodi, Pavia, Milan, and especially at the passage of the Tagliamento, for which he had been created Duke of Valmy.

To oppose such distinguished generals, the victor of Assaye had not a single general of division who had yet made a name for himself; and he had the further disadvantage of being compelled to accept battle on ground which he had not chosen for that purpose.

De Laborde's skirmishers came on with the usual impetuosity of their countrymen, and so rapid was their attack, that the British pickets were at once driven in, and his lines suddenly deployed in front of the brigades of Fane and Anstruther. But Brennier was still

entangled in the ravine, the existence of which had been concealed from Junot by the woods; and the British 8th brigade, under Ackland, which was then being moved along the heights to support the left, halted, and poured in a destructive flank fire upon De Laborde's troops. Junot therefore at once ordered Loison's corps to move up to aid De Laborde, and at the same time an order was sent to Solignac to quicken the attack on the British left by outflanking it. When De Laborde's column attacked the heights, the reserve of the British artillery, under Colonel Robe, was at once moved up to support Fane, and opened a fire which made fearful gaps in the Franch ranks. Yet the enemy, gallantly struggling up the slope, drove in the skirmishers, and reached the summit of the plateau. But here they were stopped by the musketry, the round shot, and the shrapnell* shots-used in this campaign for the first time. They staggered under this storm of iron, but, re-forming behind a green hillock, they again rushed on, and reached within twenty paces of the 50th regiment,-the "Black Half-Hundred," as they were popularly termed, from the then colour of their facings; a regiment which had won renown in Egypt by its unflinching coolness. The volley of the 50th at close quarters broke the head of the column; and then, leaping with their bayonets upon front and flank, the regiment forced the shattered ranks over the edge of the plateau. The French artillery

"Sir H. Shrapnell's idea consisted in placing in a spherical covering of gunmetal, sufficiently thin, all the balls it could be made to contain, and to add the exact quantity of powder necessary to burst the case. The projectile, thus constructed and provided with a fusee, is fired from a gun: the case bursts during the passage; these balls continue to move with the velocity given to the ball at the moment of explosion; they separate in the air, and form a gerbe, which carries the bullets to distances much beyond those at which firing with shot ceases to be effective. Sir Henry was the first who attended to the initial velocity of projectiles, and took it as the basis for firing shrapnells. This method of treating the firing of hollow projectiles was entirely new, and there was much justice in giving these shells the name of their inventor. The first experiments with these projectiles, which Shrapnell called 'spherical case,' were made in 1803. They furnished from the commencement very satisfactory results. The shrapnells were employed by Lord Wellington with great success during the whole Peninsular War" (Stocqueler).

men cut their traces and galloped off, and part of the 20th Light Dragoons completed the rout by charging the huddled and panicstricken mass. The minor attack on Anstruther's position was repulsed by the 52nd (Oxfordshire Light Infantry) and the 97th Foot (Earl of Ulster's); but the 43rd (Monmouthshire Light Infantry), which was detached from Anstruther's position to Fane's left, and was posted partly in a churchyard and partly in the houses by the road, was now furiously assailed by the French reserve, Kellerman's splendid Grenadiers, and its advance companies were broken. Robe's artillery, and the muskets of the 4th (Bowes') and 8th (Ackland's) brigades, poured an incessant fire into the Grena diers. With extraordinary valour the latter still pressed on, but with increasing confusion in the narrow ravines. The 43rd rallied and charged them with the bayonet, and the Grenadiers, fairly "mobbed," were forced back in irretrievable disorder.

.

The French attack on the centre having completely failed, their whole left and centre began to withdraw. Lieutenant-Colonel Taylor, of the 20th Light Dragoons, pressed them hard with the few cavalry which the British had. These were in a little charged by a whole brigade of Margaron's horsemen, Taylor himself was shot through the heart, and half of his squadron was cut to pieces. Kellerman then threw a body of the Grenadiers into a pine wood, to cover, with Margaron's cavalry, the defeated masses which were retiring to the road to the east instead of to the Torres Vedras road.

The three hours' struggle on the British centre was almost terminated before the attack on the left was delivered. While Brennier was still endeavouring to make his way out of the labyrinths of the ravine, Solignac advanced along the crest of the ridge, where he expected to find few to oppose him. He was suddenly stopped by Ferguson's triple line, and his front and right were swept by artillery. The British regiments advanced to the charge; and, though their cavalry made repeated attacks, the enemy were driven back from the ridge, and, their left being outflanked, they were hustled into the village of Perenza, where six guns were taken from them.

Solignac himself had been carried off the field severely wounded in the British charge. Just when Solignac's men were driven into Perenza, Brennier issued from the ravine. The 82nd and 71st, no enemy being visible, had lain down on the grass to rest. Suddenly Brennier's troops appeared, rushed in upon them, and retook the guns. The two regiments fell back to a little eminence, where they again formed; and, after pouring in a volley, they charged, recaptured the guns, and took prisoner Brennier himself, who was wounded. The piper of the Grenadier company of the 71st, Stewart, had his thigh broken by a musket-shot, but the Highlander sat on his knapsack and continued to play a stirring pibroch. For this extraordinary devotion to his duty he was subsequently presented with a handsome bagpipe by the Highland Society of Scotland. The French right was now utterly broken, and Ferguson was about to enclose the greater part of Solignac's troops, and compel them to surrender, when he received an order to halt from Burrard. The latter had landed and had arrived on the field shortly after the action had begun, but had courteously left Wellesley to conduct the battle to its close. Now he most inop. portunely interfered, and, by his excessive caution, the French right was enabled to draw off at midday and in good order to rejoin the main body.

Wellesley's army had suffered but little, and a portion of it, the 5th Brigade (Crawfurd's) and the Portuguese, had not been in action. He therefore urged that Junot's retreating army, while exhausted by the night march and their exertions on such difficult ground, should be closely pressed and driven in upon the Tagus by the main body, while a detached force under Hill, Anstruther, and Fane should hurry through the Torres Vedras Pass (which was now left open by the French retreat to the east) to Monte Chique, and cut them off from Lisbon. But Burrard objected that his own army was in a bad condition for marching, for the gun-carriages were shaken, the commissariat was in confusion, the Portuguese carmen were running away, and the small body of cavalry was

Burrard stops the pursuit. French regain Torres Vedras.

almost annihilated; but the French had just received a reinforcement of 1,200 by the Torres Vedras road, and they had not been deprived of any position necessary for their defence. Burrard's views were supported by the Adjutant-General Clinton, and the Quartermaster-General Murray, and Wellesley's proposal was negatived. "Burrard's decision was certainly erroneous, yet error is common in an art which at best is but a choice of difficulties: the circumstances of the moment were imposing enough to sway most generals," and "the facility of executing Sir Arthur's plan was not so apparent on the field of battle as it may be in the closet" (NAPIER). Wellesley himself was deeply annoyed at this check, and said to his staff, "Gentlemen, there is nothing for us to do now but to hunt red-legged partridges !"

The loss in the battle. Napoleon's criticism.

The stoppage of the pursuit enabled the French to recover their line of retreat upon Lisbon, to move round to the important Torres Vedras road, and to occupy before nightfall nearly the same position as on the evening before the battle. Their loss amounted to more than 2,000 killed or wounded, 400 prisoners (among whom was Brennier), 13 guns, 23 ammunition-waggons, and upwards of 20,000 cartridges. Solignac, Foy, Charlot, and a large number of superior officers were more or less severely wounded. The British loss was returned at 135 killed, 534 wounded, 51 missing—a total of 720. Napoleon, who put Junot's force much below the English estimate of it, gave the following opinion when he learned the defeat :-"If the Duke of Abrantes had marched with 12,000 men, which in case of need he could have assembled, instead of 9,200, -if he had left in the defile of Torres Vedras one strong battalion of infantry and 600 horse,—and if he had advanced rapidly with the rest of his army, to attack the enemy in flank or in rear, at the same time that the detachment from the defile made a demonstration against the front of the English line; if all these dispositions had been made during the night, and if a vigorous attack had been begun at daylight, victory would have certainly crowned once more