Twenty-five Years in the Rifle Brigade

Front Cover
William Blackwood, 1833 - Great Britain - 435 pages
 

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

Popular passages

Page 63 - But before we could get ourselves quite disentangled from the wood, the troops on the Barrosa hill were seen returning from it, while the enemy's left wing was rapidly ascending. At the same time his right wing stood on the plain on the edge of the wood within cannon shot.
Page 63 - I received notice that the enemy had appeared in force on the plain, and was advancing towards the heights of Barrosa.
Page 63 - This latter position occupies a narrow woody ridge, the right on the sea-cliff, the left falling down to the Almanza creek, on the edge of the marsh. A hard sandy beach gives an easy communication between the western points of these two positions. My division being halted on the eastern slope of the Barrosa height, was marched about twelve o'clock through the wood towards the Bermesa.
Page 63 - A great pine-forest skirts the plain, and circles round the height at some distance, terminating down to Santi Petri ; the intermediate space between the north side of the height and the forest being uneven and broken.
Page 63 - Petri ; the intermediate space between the north side of the height and the forest being uneven and broken. A well-conducted and successful attack on the rear of the enemy's lines near Santi Petri, by the vanguard of the Spanish army, under Brig.
Page 138 - The two armies began to move a little and to approach nearer each other ; but before they met, the Prince of Wales, with eyes and hands uplifted towards heaven, exclaimed : " God of truth, the Father of Jesus Christ, who has made and fashioned me, condescend, through thy benign grace, that the success of the battle of this day may be for me and my army ; for thou knowest, that in truth I have been solely emboldened to undertake it in the support of justice and reason, to reinstate this king upon...
Page 63 - A reserve formed beyond the narrow valley, across which the enemy was closely pursued, next shared the same fate, and was routed by the same means. " Meanwhile the right wing was not less successful : the enemy, confident of success, met General Dilkes on the ascent of the hill, and the contest was sanguinary, but the undaunted perseverance of the brigade of guards, of...
Page 138 - Thy benign grace, that the success of the battle of this day may be for me and my army ; for Thou knowest that in truth I have been solely emboldened to undertake it in the support of justice and reason, to reinstate this King upon his throne, who has been disinherited, and driven from it, as well as from his country.
Page 63 - No expressions of mine could do justice to the conduct of the troops throughout. Nothing less than the almost unparalleled exertions of every Officer, the invincible bravery of every soldier, and the most determined devotion to the honor of His Majesty's arms in all, could have achieved this brilliant success against such a formidable enemy so posted.
Page 165 - Before this order was issued, the most unbounded confidence subsisted between us, and which it was a pity to put a stop to, except for such weighty reasons. They used to get us such things as we wanted from Bayonne, particularly brandy, which was cheap and plentiful, and we in return gave them occasionally a little tea, of which some of them had learnt to be fond. Some of them also, who had been prisoners of war in England, sent letters through our army-post to their sweethearts in England, our people...

Bibliographic information