The journal of an Army surgeon during the Peninsular War / [by Charles Boutflower].

  • Boutflower, Charles, 1782-1844.
Date:
[1912]
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The journal of an Army surgeon during the Peninsular War / [by Charles Boutflower]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    112/192 (page 108)
    [1811] [Sept.] I08 a melancholy extent in our Army; in my Regiment alone the present returns of Sick are fifteen Officers and six hundred Men. As the weather however is beginning to get cool, we are in hopes that the Troops will be more healthy; the total Amount of ineffectives at present is, I believe, not less than twenty thousand Men. igth. Early on the Morning of the 17th our Division received a sudden Order to change its Cantonments; we marched four Leagues that Day, & bivouacked for the Night in the neighbourhood of a small village called Alamandilla; it is in Spain but chiefly inhabited by Portugueze. Yesterday morning we resumed our march, and reached our cantonment at the most wretched of all wretched Villages called Fencalhos: it is in Portugal; the remainder of the Division are in Spain. This is the second time we have had the ill luck to get into Portugueze Villages, when we expected to be in Spain ; besides that the Enemy have not done a hundredth part of the mischief to the latter that they have to the former, there is an air of cleanliness in the Spanish Villages one can never meet with in Portugal, which renders the former so infinitely preferable as a Cantonment. We know not whether anything is likely to be done soon or not. It is said the Great Convoy is expected to quit Salamanca as to-morrow. I should rejoice at anything that would remove us from the state of misery we are in in this place. We have observed every night for the last week a Comet from which is reflected a very considerable light; it is situated immediately under the Constellation of the Great Bear; our being in this place is by many jocosely attributed to its malign influence. 21. There is a probability that we shall not remain long in this village: an Order has been received from Head Quarters for the Division to hold itself in readiness to march at a Moment’s Notice. Whether our Movements will be forward or retrograde we have no idea; it seems however that