Historical Record of the Sixth, or Royal First Warwickshire Regiment of Foot by Richard Cannon

Author:Richard Cannon [Cannon, Richard]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Reference, General, Nonfiction, Historical, Fiction, Literary, Reference & Language, Classics, Fiction & Literature
ISBN: 4064066215415
Google: 9bGxDwAAQBAJ
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: Good Press
Published: 2019-12-09T05:00:00+00:00

King Philip fled in consternation and dismay, and the allied army advanced in triumph to the capital. A crisis had arrived, and the destiny of Spain appeared to depend on the speedy advance to Madrid of a body of British and Portuguese troops which were manœuvring on the frontiers of Portugal; but the Portuguese generals disappointed the hopes of the allies, and sent their troops into quarters. Meanwhile King Charles occupied Madrid with a small army; the enemy called to his aid additional troops; new armies and new generals appeared in Spain, and the forces of King Philip were soon so superior in numbers to the allies, that the latter were forced to retire from the capital towards Catalonia. King Charles consulted his own safety and proceeded to Barcelona, accompanied by a detachment of the royal dragoons. The army was pressed by the enemy in its retiring movements; the country people withheld supplies of provisions and forage, and availed themselves of every opportunity to attack small parties and to plunder the baggage. Thus harassed on every side—worn out with the fatigues of a long campaign—in a country hostile to their cause—exposed to inclement weather, and without tents—the condition of the soldiers may be more easily conceived than expressed. On the 6th of December, the Sixth and several other corps, forming the rear column on the left, under Lieut.-General Stanhope, arrived at the village of Brihuega, consisting of about a thousand houses, and situate on the side of a hill near the river. Here the troops halted on the following day, and at the moment when the officers and men were expecting orders to march, the village was surrounded by the French and Spanish forces under the Duke of Vendosme. The English, finding their retreat thus cut off, prepared for a vigorous defence; but unfortunately they had no artillery, and very little ammunition, and the ruinous old wall which surrounded the village was but a feeble bulwark to oppose to a powerful train of artillery. The enemy forced one of the gates with their cannon, made a practicable breach in the wall, and attacked the place by storm. But British courage did not quail before the host of foes by which the village was surrounded; and the enemy was driven back with great slaughter. A second attack was made: eight hundred French infantry gained access to the village, and a sharp conflict was maintained in the houses and streets; and when the English had expended all their ammunition, they hurled bricks, stones, and other missiles from the tops of the houses upon their opponents. But being pent up in a small village by a numerous army, and without ammunition, they were forced to surrender prisoners of war. Such was the fate of two thousand brave men, whose achievements are immortalized in history; and the veterans of the Sixth, who had so often signalized themselves, were consigned to surveillance and to prison: but their honour was preserved untarnished.

1711

1712

1713

1714

Lieut.-Colonel John Ramsay and about

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