The Autobiography of Sergeant William Lawrence A Hero of the Peninsular and Waterloo Campaigns

27–28 July 1809

Battle of Talavera

CHAPTER VII.

Lawrence transferred into the Grenadier company -- The regiment embarks at Cadiz for Lisbon again in consequence of Sir John Moore's defeat at Corunna -- Hospitality of an English merchant -- March to join Sir Arthur Wellesley at Castello Branco -- The Spanish troops reviewed -- Lawrence's opinion of them -- Battle of Talavera -- Lawrence's opinion of the Spaniards justified -- Severe fighting on the second day of the battle -- Friendliness between the wounded -- Final attack and repulse of the French -- Horrible fate of some of the wounded -- Advance to Oropesa -- The Spanish General Cuesta deserts the wounded at Talavera -- March towards Badajoz -- Privations on the road -- Fresh supply of clothes at Badajoz -- Lawrence invalided to Elvas -- Is cured chiefly by reflecting on his manner of burial -- Returns to Badajoz -- Sir Arthur Wellesley made Viscount Wellington -- End of 1809.

CHAPTER VII.

Next month commenced by Sir Arthur Wellesley leaving the Spanish general Cuesta in charge of Talavera and the wounded, while on the 3rd he proceeded to Oropesa, where he expected to come up with and engage Soult's army. But he had not been there long before he found the obstinate Cuesta, upon hearing that the enemy was on his flank, had abandoned Talavera, thus leaving nearly the whole of the British wounded unprotected. The conduct of Cuesta in thus retreating and abandoning the position and the charge entrusted to him, was almost too much for Sir Arthur to bear, particularly as it was afterwards found that there was no need for it, as the enemy was at some distance off, and not in the least interfering with the Spanish army's movements. So in this case we would have been much better without his services altogether.

CHAPTER VII.

Thus ended the proceedings of 1809. Sir Arthur Wellesley was, after the battle of Talavera, raised to the rank of Viscount Wellington.

CHAPTER XIII.

Before, however, that I proceed further in my account of this sanguinary affair, I will relate an engagement that myself, Pig Harding, and another of my comrades, George Bowden by name, entered into before we even started on our way, of which the result showed what a blind one it was. Through being quartered at Badajoz after the battle of Talavera, all three of us knew the town perfectly well, and so understood the position of most of the valuable shops: and hearing a report likewise that if we succeeded in taking the place, there was to be three hours' plunder, we had planned to meet at a silversmith's shop that we knew about, poor Pig even providing himself with a piece of wax candle to light us if needed.

16 May 1811

Battle of Albuera

CHAPTER XI.

Commencement of the siege of Badajoz -- Sortie by the garrison repulsed -- Lawrence takes a prisoner, who proves difficult of persuasion -- Lawrence poses as champion of the regimental grog, and is indulged in return with an uncomfortable spell of sentry -- He eventually triumphs -- Move to, and capture of Olivencia -- Separates from a faithful friend -- Return towards Badajoz -- Battle of Albuera.

CHAPTER XI.

From Olivencia we marched again towards Badajoz, but owing to Soult's army being on its way to relieve that town, Beresford had occupied the heights of Albuera, about thirteen miles southeast of Badajoz, in order to check the enemy if possible in their intended object. General Cole therefore advanced to Albuera as well, and the action had just commenced when he arrived. The Allies had taken up their position on a fine ridge of heights, and the French under Marshal Soult made their appearance on the 15th of May.

CHAPTER XI.

It is useless for me to give any further details of this celebrated battle, for it has been already depicted so many times and so much more ably than I could do; but the Allies could not have lost less than seven thousand killed, wounded and missing, while the French loss was stated to be nine thousand. It was seldom, however, that we arrived at the correct estimate of the enemy's loss, it being generally the custom to state it as greater than ours, and my opinion is that in this battle the Allies lost quite an equal number to the French. The Spaniards especially must have sustained a great loss in their confusion. It was always a bother to get them to stir forward during a battle, but retreating was what they were best at, and then it was always in confusion; at the battle of Albuera indeed whilst they were in this state they even fired at random, and several shots went amongst the English.

18 June 1815

Battle of Waterloo

_A HERO OF THE PENINSULAR AND WATERLOO CAMPAIGNS_;

As to the style. Lawrence, though he never betrayed the fact to the authorities during his whole military career, being possessed of a wonderful aptitude for mental calculation, and always contriving to get some assistance in concealing his deficiency when his official duties necessitated his doing so, and though he has carefully avoided all direct allusion to it in this work itself, never learnt to write, and the first form in which his history was committed to paper was from dictation. The person who took down the words as he spoke them, one of his fellow-servants, was but imperfectly educated himself, so that it may be imagined that the result of the narrative of one illiterate person being written down by another was that the style was not likely to aspire to any very high degree of literary merit. Still, to preserve the peculiar character of the book, it has been thought better to leave it as far as possible in its original shape: some emendations have perforce had to be made to render it actually intelligible--for instance, in the original manuscript there is scarcely any punctuation from beginning to end, with the exception of at those places where the amanuensis evidently left off his day's work; but the language, with its occasional half-flights into a poetry of about the standard of an Eton boy's verses, its crude moralizings, and imperfect applications of old proverbs and fables, has not been altered, nor, so far as there can be said to be one, has the method. It is trusted, therefore, that, remembering that the main object in the editor's mind has been to let the venerable hero tell his story in exactly his own words so far as his meaning can be thereby made out, no one will take any unnecessary pains to count up how often the words "likewise" and "proceed" are repeated in these pages, or to point out that the general style of the book combines those of Tacitus, Caesar's Commentaries, and the Journeyings of the Israelites. Nor, it is to be hoped, will any one be too severe in his comments on the fact that to the mind of a man in Lawrence's position the obtaining of a pair of boots was apparently quite as important an event as the storming of Badajoz, or the finding of a sack with a ham and a couple of fowls in it as the winning of the battle of Waterloo.

CHAPTER XXII.

Of the general loss on that blood-stained day I am unable to give an exact account, but it must have been enormous on both sides, for three hundred of my regiment alone were missing; and this was not so great a loss as that of some regiments, for the one on our right lost six hundred, chiefly from the continual fire of shot and shell that the French cannon had kept up between the charges. But now there was very little delay; and early next morning we were again put in motion, to prevent our enemy, if possible, from getting any breathing time. The Prussians were at least twelve hours in advance of us, so that we really had not much to fear; but still some doubt was entertained as to whether the enemy would make another stand in their own territory, and in all probability such would have been the case if Blucher had not been pushing so close on their heels. I very much doubt, too, if, had not the Prussians come up when they did, both armies would not have remained on the field of Waterloo, and perhaps have joined battle again in the morning, for the French had been expecting fresh reinforcements after their defeat; but these not arriving and we being increased in numbers, no resource was left them but to retreat.

CHAPTER XXV.

I was under the necessity of talking French to my wife, as she could not understand English, which of course I made known to the gentleman, who replied that he knew a little of that language himself. Then, noticing my Waterloo medal on my breast, he said, "I see you have been in the battle of Waterloo, sergeant?" "Yes," I replied, "and in many other battles besides Waterloo;" and so a conversation ensued and we soon became quite friends. He wished to know where I was bound for, and when I told him, he politely asked me to spend a week at his house on the way, saying I should not want for anything; but I told him the reason of my hurry, thanking him for his kindness, and his stage having expired at this period he got out. But he would insist on giving my wife five shillings and paying our fare: we then shook hands heartily and parted, he wishing us good-speed on our journey.