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.

    115/192 (page 111)
    [Oct.] Country, which is as much as our limited means will enable us to defend. Octr. I,—Yesterday morning the Division received orders to march in the direction of the Coa for the purpose of being cantoned in Villages near it, but on this side of the River: as a temporary arrangement for the night we occupied a small place called Bismula, where we still remain. It was intended to have made the final arrangements this Morning, but during the Night, Orders were received from Lord W. for our Division to proceed to-morrow and occupy Villages about two Leagues in front of this, where it is probable we shall remain some time unless prevented by the Enemy. We shall have the Light Division on our right, but nothing in our front; we shall therefore be obliged to remain constantly on the alert & exposed to perpetual Alarms. It is considered a most fortunate circumstance that we retreated from Fuente Guinaldo at the time we did. An Aid du Camp of Lord W.’s who went in with a Flag of Truce on the Morning of the 26th & was detained by them, but has since been sent in, states that they had a most overwhelming force, with which they meant to have attacked us the following Morning ; while their Cavalry & Sharp shooters manoeuvred in our front, our right & left were to have been turned by twenty thousand Men on each flank. Our vast inferiority would have rendered it impossible to have sustained such an attack, and the consequences of a defeat under such circum- stances would have been dreadful; in all probability Portugal would have been lost by it. It is scarcely to be wondered that Marmont was much annoyed when he found that Lord W. had eluded his plans, & he exclaimed “ Voila encore la belle etoile de Wellington.” Our incapacity to resist the enemy on this occasion arose from the absolute necessity Lord W. was under of watching the different entrances into Portugal, by which means it was impossible for him to concentrate a large force on any one point.—It appears that at the time we