The Campaigns of the British Army at Washington and New Orleans 1814-1815 | Page 8

art, stands the other redoubt. Beyond this, again, there
is a perpendicular precipice, the hills there abruptly ending; so that on
two sides the walls of the fort skirt the extremity of a bare rock. It was
along the outer ridges of these ravines, and through the churchyard of
St. Etienne, that our trenches were drawn, the village itself being the
most advanced British post; and it was along these ridges, and in the
street of this village, that the action of the 14th of April was fought.
It is not my business, neither indeed is it my intention, to relate here the
particulars of that affair. The French, having contrived, in a dark night,
to elude the vigilance of our sentinels, came upon the piquets
unperceived, and took them completely by surprise. The battle was
maintained on both sides with great determination, and had it not been
for the unfortunate capture of Sir John Hope and the fall of General
Hay, the assailants would have had little cause to rejoice at the result:
for though the loss of the English was certainly great, that of the French
was at least not inferior. Yet the business was an unfortunate one to
both parties, since, before it took place, Buonaparte had already
abdicated, and the preliminaries of peace were already signed between
the two nations.
I found the village, in which the fighting had been most obstinately
maintained, in the condition of most villages where such dramas have
been acted. The street had been barricaded, but the barricade was
almost entirely torn down; the houses, trees, and church, like those we
had passed upon the march, were covered with the marks of cannon and
musket balls, whilst quantities of round and grape shot, of musket and
pistol bullets, broken bayonets, swords, &c. &c., lay scattered about in
every direction. Nor were these the only evidences of strife discernible.
In many places--on the pavement of the street, in the churchyard, but
above all, on the floor of the church itself, --the traces of blood were
still distinctly visible. Beside the remains of the barricade there stood a
solitary six-pounder, which had been taken and re-taken nine times
during the struggle; and a sprinkling of what looked like a mixture of
blood and brains still adhering to its carriage and breech, showed that it
had never been given up without the most desperate resistance. The

mounds, too, under which the dead were buried, presented a peculiarly
striking appearance; for the field of action having been narrow, those
that fell, fell in heaps together, and being buried in the same way, one
was led to form an idea of greater slaughter than if double the number
of graves had been distinguishable in a more extended space.
Having now accomplished my wishes as far as I could, and beginning
to feel somewhat fatigued with strolling about, I adjourned to an hotel
in the city, from whence, in the evening, I went to the play. The house
was poor and the performance miserable, consequently there was no
great inducement to sit out the whole of the piece. After witnessing an
act or two, therefore, I returned to the inn, where I slept, and at an early
hour next morning rejoined my regiment, already under arms and
making preparations for the continuance of the march.
MARCH THROUGH BAYONNE--TO ONDRES
As it would have been considerably out of our way to go round by the
floating bridge*, permission was applied for and granted, to pass
directly through Bayonne. With bayonets fixed, band playing, and
colours flying, we accordingly marched along the streets of that city; a
large proportion of the garrison being drawn up to receive us, and the
windows crowded with spectators, male and female, eager to behold
the troops from whom not long ago they had probably expected a visit
of a very different nature. The scene was certainly remarkable enough,
and the transition from animosity to good-will as singular as it was
sudden; nor do I imagine that it would be easy to define the sensations
of either party, on being thus strangely brought n contact with the other.
The females, indeed, waved their handkerchiefs, whilst we bowed and
kissed our hands; but I thought I could discover something like a
suppressed scowl upon the countenances of the military. Certain it is,
that in whatever light the new state of affairs might be regarded by the
great bulk of the nation, with the army it was by no means popular; and
at this period they appeared to consider the passage of British troops
through their lines as the triumphal entrance of a victorious enemy.
________________________* The bridge here alluded to was thrown
across the Adour by the Duke of Wellington at the commencement of

the siege. It