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 1

Chapter 10

Vitamin Overview and Fat-Soluble Vitamins

Chapter 10 Learning Outcomes

10.1 Introducing Water-Soluble Vitamins

10.1.1 Describe the fate of excess water-soluble vitamins in the body.
10.1.2 Identify the water-soluble vitamins.
10.1.3 Explain the importance of water-soluble vitamins as coenzymes.

10.2 Thiamin
10.2.1 Identify the coenzyme form of thiamin.
10.2.2 Describe dietary sources of thiamin.
10.2.3 Explain the consequences of a thiamin deficiency or toxicity.

10.3 Riboflavin
10.3.1 Name the coenzyme forms of riboflavin and discuss the vitamin’s primary functions in
the body.
10.3.2 Identify dietary sources of riboflavin.
10.3.3 List the signs and symptoms of a riboflavin deficiency.

10.4 Niacin
10.4.1 Name the coenzyme forms of niacin and discuss the vitamin’s primary functions in the
body.
10.4.2 Identify dietary sources of niacin.
10.4.3 Explain the signs and symptoms of a niacin deficiency or toxicity.
10.4.4 Discuss the clinical use of megadoses of niacin.

10.5 Pantothenic Acid

10.5.1 Name the coenzyme form of pantothenic acid and discuss the vitamin’s primary function
in the body.
10.5.2 Identify dietary sources of pantothenic acid.
10.5.3 Explain why a pantothenic acid deficiency is rare.

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Education.
 2

10.6 Biotin
10.6.1 Summarize the importance of biotin in the body.
10.6.2 Identify dietary sources of biotin.
10.6.3 Describe the signs of a biotin deficiency and identify the primary cause of the deficiency.

10.7 Vitamin B-6

10.7.1 Name the coenzyme form of vitamin B-6 and discuss the vitamin’s role in the body.
10.7.2 Identify dietary sources of vitamin B-6.
10.7.3 Describe the signs and symptoms of a vitamin B-6 deficiency or toxicity.

10.8 Folate
10.8.1 Name the coenzyme form of folate and discuss the vitamin’s role in the body.
10.8.2 Identify sources of folate.
10.8.3 Compare the absorption of folate from natural and synthetic sources.
10.8.4 Explain the consequences of a folate deficiency in both pregnant and nonpregnant
adults.

10.9 Vitamin B-12

10.9.1 Identify the functions of vitamin B-12.
10.9.2 List dietary sources of vitamin B-12.
10.9.3 Summarize the digestion and absorption of vitamin B-12.
10.9.4 Discuss the signs and symptoms of a vitamin B-12 deficiency.
10.9.5 List populations at the greatest risk for a vitamin B-12 deficiency.

10.10 Vitamin C
10.10.1 Describe the role of vitamin C in collagen synthesis, antioxidant activities, iron
absorption, and immune function.
10.10.2 Identify dietary sources of vitamin C.
10.10.3 Explain the consequences of a vitamin C deficiency or toxicity.

10.11 Vitamin-Like Compounds

10.11.1 Describe the difference between vitamins and vitamin-like compounds.
10.11.2 Explain the importance of choline, carnitine, inositol, taurine, and lipoic acid in human
health.
10.11.3 Identify major dietary sources of each of the vitamin-like compounds.

10.12 Diet and Cancer

10.12.1 Explain cancer development and progression.
10.12.2 Describe the role of diet in cancer development.
10.12.3 Summarize the relationship between vitamins and cancer risk.
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Education.
 3

Overview

Chapter 10 discusses water-soluble vitamins and vitamin-like substances, including choline and
taurine. Basic information about each water-soluble vitamin’s functions, dietary sources, and
dietary adequacy is provided. The last section of the chapter focuses on the role of diet in cancer.

Teaching Strategies/Classroom Ideas/Activities

1. Have students read the Case Study in the opening of the chapter and answer the questions
that follow. After they have read the chapter, students should answer the questions again and
compare their answers to the response provided at the end of the chapter.
2. Have students answer the Quiz Yourself questions. Students should save their responses and
answer the questions again, after they have read the chapter.
3. Assign Connect® and LearnSmart® activities for Chapter 10.
4. Assign the Personal Dietary Analysis feature in Connect or at the end of the chapter.
5. Have each student choose a water-soluble vitamin and search medical literature for
information about the vitamin’s deficiency disease. The student should prepare a brief report
concerning the signs and symptoms of the disease and its prevalence in the world.
6. Have students choose a water-soluble vitamin and search medical literature for information
concerning therapeutic uses of the particular micronutrient or risk of toxicity disorders from
ingesting excesses of the vitamin. Students should report their findings for the class.
7. Have students choose a water-soluble vitamin and summarize the DRI report that describes
how its RDA or AI was determined. The reports can be accessed online at
http://www.iom.edu/Activities/Nutrition/SummaryDRIs/DRI-Tables.aspx .
8. Assign the Critical Thinking questions and Practice Test at the end of the chapter.

Extended Chapter Outline

I. Introducing Water-Soluble Vitamins

A. Water-soluble vitamins dissolve in the watery components of food. Excesses of most
water-soluble vitamins can be excreted by the kidneys.
1. Such vitamins generally need to be consumed on a regular basis because they
are easily excreted.
B. Most water-soluble vitamins function as components of specific coenzymes. Refer
students to Table 10.1 for a summary of information about water-soluble vitamins, and
Figure 10.1 for MyPlate food groups that are rich sources of these vitamins. Refer
students to Figures 10.2 and 10.3 for basic coenzyme structure and function.

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Education.
 4

II. Thiamin
A. Thiamin functions as part of the coenzyme thiamin pyrophosphate (TPP). TPP
participates in chemical reactions that removes a carbon dioxide molecule from a larger
compound.
1. Such reactions are needed for catabolism of carbohydrate to release energy,
metabolism of branched-chain amino acids, and synthesis of neurotransmitters.
B. Whole-grain products, pork, legumes, and orange juice are good sources of thiamin.
Overheating food destroys the vitamin.
1. Thiamin-deficient diet results in beriberi.
2. Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome is a degenerative brain disease associated with
thiamin deficiency. Occurs primarily among alcoholics in the United States.
Alcohol reduces thiamin absorption and increases the vitamin’s excretion.
3. Toxicity is rare.

III. Riboflavin
A. Riboflavin is a component of flavin mononucleotide (FMN) and flavin adenine
dinucleotide (FAD). These coenzymes play key roles in energy, fatty acid, and folate
metabolism.
B. Milk, yogurt and other milk products, enriched cereals, and liver are among the best
sources of riboflavin. Riboflavin’s chemical structure is destroyed by exposure to light.
C. Most Americans consume adequate amounts of riboflavin. The vitamin is rapidly
excreted in urine.
1. Ariboflavinosis is the riboflavin deficiency disorder but the condition is rare in
the United States.
a. Glossitis and cheilosis are signs of the deficiency.

IV. Niacin
A. Niacin has two forms: nicotinic acid and nicotinamide. The body uses these
substances to form the coenzymes nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and
nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADP). Niacin-containing coenzymes
participate in at least 200 chemical reaction, including pathways involved in energy
metabolism.
B. Major food sources of niacin include enriched cereals, beef liver, and tuna. Refer
students to Table 10.4.
1. The amino acid tryptophan can be converted to niacin. Sixty milligrams of
tryptophan yield about 1 mg niacin.
C. Niacin recommendations are provided as niacin equivalents (NEs).
1. In the United States, people with alcoholism, anorexia nervosa, and those with
rare disorders that disrupt tryptophan metabolism are at risk of niacin deficiency.

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Education.
 5

a. Early signs and symptoms of mild niacin deficiency are poor appetite,
weight loss, and weakness.
b. If the deficiency state continues, the condition becomes pellagra. The
classic signs and symptoms of pellagra are dermatitis, diarrhea, dementia,
and death—the “4 Ds of pellagra.” Refer students to Figure 10.6.
2. The UL for niacin is 35 mg/d. Megadoses of niacin-containing supplements can
cause skin flushing, GI tract upset, and liver damage.

V. Pantothenic Acid
A. Pantothenic acid is a component of coenzyme A, the coenzyme that helps release
energy from macronutrients and is needed for fatty acid synthesis.
B. Pantothenic acid is available from a wide variety of foods. Rich food sources include
fortified cereals, beef and chicken liver, and sunflower seeds.
C. Most Americans consume the AI amount or more daily, so dietary deficiencies are
rare.
1. People who abuse alcohol may develop pantothenic acid deficiency,
particularly if their overall diet is nutritionally inadequate.
2. No UL has been established for pantothenic acid, because there have been no
reports of toxicity.

VI. Biotin
A. In its coenzyme form, biotin participates in chemical reactions that add carbon dioxide
to other compounds. The coenzyme is essential for regenerating oxaloacetate in the citric
acid cycle (refer students to Figure 8.16).
B. Good food sources of biotin include liver, eggs, and peanuts.
C. Severe biotin deficiencies are rare because intestinal bacteria synthesize the vitamin
and it is widespread in foods.
1. Avidin is a protein in raw egg white that binds biotin, inhibiting its absorption.
Refer students to the Did You Know? feature in section 10.6.
2. No UL for biotin because the micronutrient appears to be nontoxic.

VII. Vitamin B-6

A. Vitamin B-6 is a family of three compounds: pyridoxine, pyridoxal, and
pyridoxamine. Cells can convert these substances to the primary B-6 containing
coenzyme, pyridoxal phosphate (PLP).
1. A major role of PLP is facilitating enzymatic reactions involved in amino acid
metabolism.
a. PLP is needed to convert tryptophan to niacin, for tranamination
reactions that form nonessential amino acids, and to convert homocysteine

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Education.
 6

to cysteine. Homocysteine may contribute to CVD. Refer students to

Figure 10.8.
b. PLP also plays a role in heme and neurotransmitter synthesis.
B. Liver, meat, fish, and poultry are among the best dietary sources of vitamin
B-6. During cooking, excessive heat can destroy the vitamin.
C. In the United States, the average adult consumes more than the RDA for vitamin
B-6. Deficiencies of the vitamin are rare but can result from alcoholism or genetic
disorders that affect the micronutrient’s metabolism.
1. Signs and symptoms of deficiency include dermatitis, anemia, convulsions,
depression, and confusion. Deficiencies may contribute to seizures in adults and
children with epilepsy.
2. Unlike most B vitamins, megadoses of vitamin B-6 are toxic, causing severe
sensory nerve damage (peripheral neuropathy). The damage resolves when the
affected person stops ingesting megadoses of the vitamin.
a. There is not enough scientific evidence to support the use of vitamin B-
6 supplements to relieve PMS, morning sickness, and carpal tunnel
syndrome.

VIII. Folate
A. Folate is the name for a group of related compounds that includes folic acid.
1. Folic acid is the synthetic form vitamin are converted to a group of coenzymes
called tetrahydrofolic acid (THFA).
2. THFA accepts a single-carbon group (e.g., CH3) from one compound and
transfers it to another compound.
a. As cells prepare to divide, they need THFA to make DNA.
b. Certain roles of folate and vitamin B-12 are interrelated. Refer students
to Figure 10.9.
B. Leafy vegetables, liver, legumes, and orange juice are good sources of natural folate.
Enriched grain products are among the richest sources of folic acid in the American diet.
Folate is easily destroyed by heat, oxidation, and UV light. Refer students to section 10.8
for information about dietary folate equivalents.
C. Folate naturally occurs in foods with a string of glutamates attached to its basic
structure. Refer students to Appendix D. Folic acid has only one glutamate. No enzymatic
activity is needed to digest folic acid. Folate, however, must be broken down to form
folic acid, which reduces its bioavailability.
1. Vitamin B-12 is need to activate folate after it is absorbed in the small intestine.
D. The risk of folate deficiency increases during periods of rapid growth (e.g.,
pregnancy). Alcohol consumption and use of certain medications increase the risk of
deficiency.

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Education.
 7

1. Red blood cell (RBC) formation requires rapid cell division of RBC precursor
cells. If folate is deficient, these cells cannot divide normally, and some abnormal
RBCs (megaloblasts) enter the bloodstream, resulting in megaloblastic anemia.
Refer students to Figure 10.10.
2. During pregnancy, folate deficiency can result in neural tube defects in the
embryo. Refer students to Figure 10.11.
a. Women of childbearing age should consume 400 µg of folic acid daily
to help prevent neural defects.
b. The prevalence of neural tube defects decreased by about 30% since
folic acid was included as an enrichment vitamin.
3. Folate deficiencies are associated with increased blood homocysteine. Folic
acid supplementation may reduce risk of stroke.
a. Supplementation doesn’t appear to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s
disease.
4. Folate naturally in food isn’t toxic, but the UL for folic acid is 1000 µg/day.
a. Folic acid can cure anemia that occurs with B-12 deficiency, but it
doesn’t prevent the serious nervous system damage that occurs in a B-12
deficiency.

IX. Vitamin B-12

A. Cells require vitamin B-12 to make coenzymes that participate in a variety of cellular
processes including the transfer of CH3 groups in the metabolism of folate. Vitamin B-12
is needed for homocysteine metabolism (refer students to Figure 10.9) and DNA
synthesis.
1. Vitamin B-12 helps maintain myelin sheaths. Without vitamin B-12, the
sheaths undergo destruction that can lead to paralysis.
B. Only bacteria, fungi, and algae can synthesize vitamin B-12. Plants don’t make the
vitamin, so people rely almost entirely on animal sources of food to provide the vitamin
naturally.
1. Meat, milk and milk products, poultry, fish, shellfish, and eggs are major
sources of vitamin B-12 in the typical American diet. Refer students to Table
10.9.
2. Vitamin B-12 is stored in the liver. (Liver is one of the richest sources of the
vitamin.)
C. The digestion and absorption of vitamin B-12 is complicated. Refer students to
Figure 10.12 for the major steps in the process.
D. Americans who eat animal products generally consume more than the RDA for
vitamin B-12, but vegans need to be concerned about their intake of the micronutrient.
1. Vitamin B-12 deficiency is characterized by nerve damage and megaloblastic
anemia.
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Education.
 8

2. Most cases of vitamin B-12 deficiency result from problems that interfere with
the vitamin’s absorption and not from inadequate intake.
a. Food-cobalamin malabsorption is caused by the inability to release
cobalamin from food protein. Reduced stomach acid contributes to the
malabsorption.
i. Causes of reduced stomach acid include aging, gastritis, and
medications.
ii. To overcome the lack of acid, people can take synthetic forms of
the vitamin that don’t need to be separated from animal protein.
b. People with pernicious anemia don’t synthesize intrinsic factor in their
stomach. Injections of vitamin B-12 are needed to treat this disorder.
3. Vitamin B-12 is also needed for neural tube formation in embryos, and the
vitamin may be helpful for improving psychological health.

X. Vitamin C
A. Vitamin C doesn’t function as part of a coenzyme, but serves as a nutrient cofactor
that facilitates certain chemical reactions. Vitamin C has a variety of roles in the body,
including collagen synthesis, antioxidant activity, and immune function.
1. Vitamin C participates in reactions that form and maintain collagen. Also, the
vitamin donates electrons to radicals or to vitamin E (antioxidant activity).
2. Taking high doses of vitamin C may be harmful because in high doses, the
vitamin acts as a prooxidant.
3. White blood cells have relatively high amounts of vitamin C, which may limit
free radical damage within the cells.
4. Vitamin C is necessary for the synthesis of important substances including bile,
certain neurotransmitters, and thyroxin.
5. Vitamin C enhances the absorption of iron from plant foods.
B. Plant foods are the best dietary sources of vitamin C. The vitamin is unstable in the
presence of heat, oxygen, light, alkaline conditions, and the minerals copper and iron.
1. Vitamin C is absorbed in the small intestine. As intake of the vitamin increases,
the rate of absorption decreases.
2. According to MyPlate, adults should eat 3.5 to 5 cups of fruits and vegetables
daily. People should choose vitamin C-rich produce to meet this
recommendation. Refer students to Table 10.10 for some foods that are rich
sources of the vitamin.
D. Vitamin C deficiency is called scurvy. Signs and symptoms of scurvy include
petechiae, bruising, spongy gums that bleed easily, swollen and sore joints, and tooth
loss. Without treatment, people with scurvy die, most likely from infection.

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Education.
 9

1. The adult UL is 2000 g/day. Excessive intakes of vitamin C can cause

gastrointestinal upsets, including diarrhea. Excess oxalate production
can raise the risk of kidney stones.
a. Taking large doses of vitamin C doesn’t prevent the common cold, but
the practice may shorten a cold’s duration by a day or so. Vitamin C
supplementation may also reduce the severity of cold symptoms because
the micronutrient acts as an antihistamine when taken in large amounts.
b. Results of studies to determine whether vitamin C supplementation
helps prevent CVD and Alzheimer’s disease are mixed.

XI. Vitamin-Like Compounds

A. The body synthesizes vitamin-like compounds (choline, carnitine, taurine, inositol,
and lipoic acid), but the need for these substances generally increases during periods of
rapid tissue growth, such as in premature infants.
1. Healthy adults are not at risk of deficiencies of the vitamin-like compounds.
Refer students to Table 10.11 for a summary information concerning the vitamin-
like compounds.
B. Choline is part of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter. The vitamin-like substance is
widely distributed in foods (refer students to Table 10.12). The phospholipid
phosphatidylcholine (lecithin) is in egg yolk and is added to foods for its emulsifying
properties. People who consume excessive choline often develop a fishy body odor and
low blood pressure.
C. Carnitine transports fatty acids into mitochondria. The vitamin-like compound is a
conditionally essential nutrient for premature infants and people recovering from serious
injuries or diseases. The compound is not useful as an aid for exercise or weight loss.
D. Inositol is in cell membranes. Animal and plant foods are sources of inositol.
Abnormal inositol metabolism occurs in diabetes, MS, kidney failure, and certain
cancers.
E. Taurine is a bile component, and the substance is involved in many important
functions, including central nervous system function and insulin action.
F. Lipoic acid is involved in certain metabolic processes that remove carbon dioxide from
compounds.

XII. Diet and Cancer

A. Cancer is a term for a group of chronic diseases characterized by cells that have
undergone damage to certain genes (mutations).
1. Cancerous (malignant) cells divide repeatedly and frequently, and they do not
die. These malignant cells often form invasive masses called malignant tumors.
2. Malignant cells can break away (metastasize) and travel to other tissues.

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 10

3. Some rapidly dividing cells form benign tumors, which are not considered
cancerous and do not spread.
4. A carcinogen is an environmental factor that triggers cancer. Refer students to
Figure 10.15, which illustrates the steps in cancer development and progression.
B. Cancer has numerous risk factors, including advancing age, family history, tobacco
use, and radiation exposure.
1. Nutrition-related risk factors include alcohol consumption and having excess
body fat.
2. Cancer causation is a complex process and may not be due to a single factor.
C. Certain foods and beverages promote cancer development.
1. Alcohol is a carcinogen and increases the risk of mouth, throat, esophagus,
larynx, liver, breast, colon, and rectal cancers.
2. Consuming foods contaminated with aflatoxin increases risk of liver cancer.
3. Consuming large amounts of processed/and or red meat is associated with
increased risk of colon cancers.
4. Fried, grilled, and broiled meats may increase the risk of colorectal and
pancreatic cancer due to the production of heterocyclic amines when the foods are
cooked at high temperatures. Charred portions of food should be avoided.
D. Dietary factors that may reduce risk of cancer include eating high amounts of fruits
and vegetables that are rich sources of vitamin C and phytochemicals.
1. Results of studies do not provide conclusive evidence that folate intake or
taking vitamin C or E supplements reduces cancer risk.
E. According to the American Cancer Society, people can reduce their risk of cancer by
limit alcohol consumption; achieving and maintaining a healthy weight; adopting a
physically active lifestyle; and eating a healthy diet that limits intake of red and processed
meats and emphasizes plant foods.

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attention to regiments or brigades, so sudden was the affair, formed
two masses, one of which under general Dilke marched hastily
against Ruffin, and the other under colonel Wheately against Laval.
Duncan’s guns ravaged the French ranks; Laval’s artillery replied
vigorously; Ruffin’s batteries took Wheately’s column in flank; and
the infantry on both sides pressed forward eagerly, and with a
pealing musketry; but, when near together, a fierce, rapid, prolonged
charge of the British overthrew the first line of the French, and,
notwithstanding its extreme valour, drove it in confusion, over a
narrow dip of ground upon the second, which was almost
immediately broken in the same manner, and only the chosen
battalion, hitherto posted on the right, remained to cover the retreat.
Meanwhile Brown, on receiving his orders, had marched headlong
against Ruffin. Nearly half of his detachment went down under the
enemy’s first fire; yet he maintained the fight, until Dilke’s column,
which had crossed a deep hollow and never stopt even to re-form
the regiments, came up, with little order indeed, but in a fierce mood,
when the whole run up towards the summit; there was no slackness
on any side, and at the very edge of the ascent their gallant
opponents met them. A dreadful, and for some time a doubtful, fight
ensued, but Ruffin and Chaudron Rousseau, commanding the
chosen grenadiers, both fell mortally wounded; the English bore
strongly onward, and their incessant slaughtering fire forced the
French from the hill with the loss of three guns and many brave
soldiers.
The discomfitted divisions, retiring concentrically, soon met, and
with infinite spirit endeavoured to re-form and renew the action; but
the play of Duncan’s guns, close, rapid, and murderous, rendered
the attempt vain. Victor was soon in full retreat, and the British
having been twenty-four hours under arms, without food, were too
exhausted to pursue.
While these terrible combats of infantry were fighting, La Peña
looked idly on, neither sending his cavalry, nor his horse-artillery, nor
any part of his army, to the assistance of his ally, nor yet menacing
the right of the enemy, which was close to him and weak. The
Spanish Walloon guards, the regiment of Ciudad Real, and some
Guerilla cavalry, indeed turned without orders, coming up just as the
action ceased; and it was expected that colonel Whittingham, an
Englishman commanding a powerful body of horse, would have
done as much; but no stroke in aid of the British was struck by a
Spanish sabre that day, although the French cavalry did not exceed
two hundred and fifty men, and it is evident that the eight hundred
under Whittingham might, by sweeping round the left of Ruffin’s
division, have rendered the defeat ruinous. So certain, indeed, was
this, that colonel Frederick Ponsonby, drawing off the hundred and
eighty German hussars belonging to the English army, reached the
field of battle, charged the French squadrons just as their retreating
divisions met, overthrew them, took two guns, and even attempted,
though vainly, to sabre Rousseau’s chosen battalions.
Such was the fight of Barosa. Short, for it lasted only one hour and
a half, but most violent and bloody; for fifty officers, sixty serjeants,
and above eleven hundred British soldiers, and more than two
thousand Frenchmen were killed and wounded; and from the latter,
six guns, an eagle, and two generals (both mortally wounded) were
taken, together with four hundred other prisoners.
After the action, Graham remained some hours on the height, still
hoping that La Peña would awake to the prospect of success and
glory, which the extreme valour of the British had opened. Four
thousand men and a powerful artillery had come over the Santi Petri;
hence the Spanish general was at the head of twelve thousand
infantry and eight hundred cavalry, all fresh troops; while before him
were only the remains of the French line of battle retreating in the
greatest disorder upon Chiclana. But all military feeling Appendix, No. IX.
being extinct in La Peña, Graham would no longer Section 1.
endure such command. The morning of the 6th saw the British filing
over Zaya’s bridge into the Isla.
 Vol. 3, Plate 9.

BATTLE of BAROSA
5th March, 1811.
London Published by T. & W. Boone Novr 1830.
 On the French side, Cassagne’s reserve came in from Medina, a
council of war was held in the night of the 5th, and Victor, although of
a disponding nature, proposed another attack; but the suggestion
being ill received, nothing was done; and the 6th, Admiral Keats,
landing his seamen and marines, dismantled, with exception of
Catalina, every fort from Rota to Santa Maria, and even obtained
momentary possession of the latter place. Confusion and alarm then
prevailed in the French camp; the duke of Belluno, leaving garrisons
at the great points of his lines, and a rear guard at Official Abstracts of
Chiclana, retreated behind the San Pedro, where he Military
MSS.
Reports,

expected to be immediately attacked. If La Peña had

even then pushed to Chiclana, Graham and Keats were willing to
make a simultaneous attack upon the Trocadero; but the 6th and 7th
passed, without even a Spanish patrole following the French. On the
8th Victor returned to Chiclana, and La Peña instantly recrossing the
Santi Petri, destroyed the bridge, and his detachment on the side of
Medina being thus cut off from the Isla, was soon afterwards obliged
to retire to Algesiras.
All the passages in this extraordinary battle were so broadly
marked, that observations would be useless. The contemptible
feebleness of La Peña furnished a surprising contrast to the heroic
vigour of Graham, whose attack was an inspiration rather than a
resolution, so wise, so sudden was the decision, so swift, so
conclusive was the execution. The original plan of the enterprise
having however been rather rashly censured, some remarks on that
head may be useful. “Sebastiani, it is said, might, by moving on the
rear of the allies, have crushed them, and they had no right to
calculate upon his inactivity.” This is weak. Graham, weighing the
natural dislike of one general to serve under another, judged, that
Sebastiani, harassed by insurrections in Grenada, would not hastily
abandon his own district to succour Victor, before it was clear where
the blow was to be struck. The distance from Tarifa to Chiclana was
about fifty miles, whereas, from Sebastiani’s nearest post to
Chiclana was above a hundred, and the real object of the allies could
not be known until they had passed the mountains separating Tarifa
from Medina.
 Combining these moral and physical considerations, Graham had
reason to expect several days of free action; and thus indeed it
happened, and with a worthy colleague he would have raised the
blockade: more than that could scarcely have been Appendix, No. IX.
hoped, as the French forces would have concentrated Section 5.
either before Cadiz or about Seville or Ecija; and they had still fifty
thousand men in Andalusia.
Victor’s attack on the 5th, was well-judged, well-timed, vigorous;
with a few thousand more troops he alone would have crushed the
allies. The unconquerable spirit of the English prevented this
disaster; but if Graham or his troops had given way, or even
hesitated, the whole army must have been driven like sheep into an
enclosure; the Almanza creek on one side, the sea on the other, the
San Petri to bar their flight, and the enemy hanging on their rear in
all the fierceness of victory. Indeed, such was La Peña’s misconduct,
that the French, although defeated, gained their main point; the
blockade was renewed, and it is remarkable that, during the action, a
French detachment passed near the bridge of Zuazo without
difficulty, and brought back prisoners; thus proving that with a few
more troops Victor might have seized the Isla. Meanwhile
Ballasteros, who had gone against Seville, was chased, in a
miserable condition, to the Aroche hills, by Daricau.
In Cadiz violent disputes arose. La Peña, in an address to the
Cortes, claimed the victory for himself. He affirmed that all the
previous arrangements were made with the knowledge and
approbation of the English general, and the latter’s retreat into the
Isla he indicated as the real cause of failure: Lascy and general
Cruz-Murgeon also published inaccurate accounts of the action, and
even had deceptive plans engraved to uphold their statements.
Graham, stung by these unworthy proceedings, exposed the conduct
of La Peña in a letter to the British envoy; and when Lascy let fall
some expressions personally offensive, he enforced an apology with
his sword; but having thus shewn himself superior to his opponents
at all points, the gallant old man soon afterwards relinquished his
command to general Cooke, and joined lord Wellington’s army.
 CHAPTER III.
While discord prevailed at Cadiz, the siege of Badajos continued.
Early in March, the second parallel being completed and the
Pardaleras taken into the works, the approaches were carried by sap
to the covered way, and mines were prepared to blow in the
counterscarp. Nevertheless, Rafael Menacho, the governor, was in
no manner dismayed; his sallies were frequent and vigorous, his
activity and courage inspired his troops with confidence, he had
begun to retrench in the streets behind the part attacked, and as the
fire of the besiegers was also inferior to that of the besieged, every
thing seemed to promise favourably for the latter: but, on the evening
of the 2d, during a sally, in which the nearest French batteries were
carried, the guns spiked, and trenches partly ruined, Menacho was
killed, and the command fell to Imas, a man so unworthy that a
worse could not be found. At once the spirit of the garrison died
away, the besiegers’ works advanced rapidly, the ditch was passed,
a lodgement was made on one of the ravelins, the rampart was
breached, and the fire of the besieged being nearly extinguished, on
the 10th of March the place was summoned in a peremptory manner.
At this time the great crisis of the campaign had passed, and a
strong body of British and Portuguese troops were ready to raise the
siege of Badajos. In three different ways, by telegraph, by a letter,
and by a confidential messenger, the governor was informed, that
Massena was in full retreat and that the relieving army was actually
in march. The breach was still impracticable, provisions were
plentiful, the garrison above eight thousand strong, the French army
reduced, by sickness, by detachments and the Lord Wellington’s
previous operations, to less than fourteen thousand Despatch.
men. Imas read the letter, and instantly surrendered, handing over at
the same moment the intelligence thus obtained to the enemy. But
he also demanded that his grenadiers should march out of the
breach, it was granted, and he was obliged to enlarge the opening
himself ere they could do so! Yet this man so covered with
opprobrium, and who had secured his own liberty while consigning
his fellow soldiers to a prison, and his character to infamy, was never
punished by the Spanish rulers: lord Wellington’s indignant
remonstrances forced them, indeed, to bring him to trial, but they
made the process last during the whole war.
When the place fell, Mortier marched against Campo Mayor, and
Latour Maubourg seizing Albuquerque and Valencia d’Alcantara,
made six hundred prisoners; but Soult, alarmed by the effects of the
battle of Barosa, returned to Andalusia, having, in fifty days,
mastered four fortresses and invested a fifth; having killed or
dispersed ten thousand men, and having taken twenty thousand with
a force which, at no time, exceeded the number of his prisoners: yet
great and daring and successful as his operations had been, the
principal object of his expedition was frustrated, for Massena was in
retreat. Lord Wellington’s combinations had palsied the hand of the
conqueror.
While the siege of Badajos was proceeding, no change took place
in the main positions of either army at Santarem. The English
general, certain that the French, who were greatly reduced by
sickness, must soon quit their ground if he could relieve Badajos,
was only waiting for his reinforcements to send Beresford with
fourteen thousand men against Soult; when the battle of the Gebora
ruined this plan and changed his situation. The arrival of the
reinforcements could not then enable him to detach a sufficient
number of men to relieve Badajos, and it was no longer a question of
starving Massena out, but of beating him, before Soult could take
Badajos and the two armies be joined. In this difficulty, abandoning
the design of raising the siege by a detachment, lord Wellington
prepared to attack Massena’s army in front on the side of Tremes,
while Beresford, crossing at Abrantes, fell upon the rear; he hoped
thus to force back the French right and centre, and to cut off the left
and to drive it into the Tagus. However, nothing could be attempted
until the troops from England arrived, and day after day passed in
vain expectation of their coming. Being embarked in January, they
would have reached Lisbon before the end of that month, had sir
Joseph Yorke, the admiral, charged to conduct the fleet, taken
advantage of a favourable wind, which blew when the troops were
first put on board; but he neglected this opportunity, contrary gales
followed, and a voyage of ten days was thus prolonged for six
weeks.
On the other hand, the French general’s situation was becoming
very perilous. To besiege Abrantes was above his means, and
although that fortress was an important strategic point for the allies
who had a moveable bridge, it would not have been so for the
French. Massena could only choose then, to force the passage of
the Tagus alone, or to wait until Soult appeared on the left bank, or to
retreat. For sometime he seemed inclined to the first, shewing great
jealousy of the works opposite the mouth of the Zezere, and carrying
his boats on wheel-carriages along the banks of the Tagus, as if to
alarm Beresford and oblige him to concentrate to his left: yet that
general relaxed nothing of his vigilance, neither spy nor officer
passed his lines of observation, and Massena knew, generally, that
Soult was before Badajos, but nothing more. However, time wore
away, sickness wasted the army, food became daily scarcer, the
organization of the troops was seriously loosened, the leading
generals were at variance, and the conspiracy to put See Vol. II
St. Cyr at the head of the army in Spain was by no
means relinquished.
Under these accumulating difficulties even Massena’s obstinacy
gave way; he promised to retreat when he had no more provisions
left than would serve his army for the march. A tardy resolution; yet
adopted at the moment, when to maintain his position was more
important than ever, as ten days longer at Santarem would have
insured the co-operation of Soult. General Pelet says, that the latter
marshal, by engaging in the siege of Badajos and Olivenza, instead
of coming directly down upon the Tagus, was the cause of
Massena’s failure; this can hardly be sustained. Before those sieges
and the battle of the Gebora, Mendizabel could have assembled
twenty thousand men on Soult’s rear, and there was a large body of
militia on the Ponçul and the Elga; Beresford had fourteen thousand
British and Portuguese regulars, besides ordenança; while the
infinite number of boats at lord Wellington’s command would have
enabled him to throw troops upon the left bank of the Tagus, with a
celerity that would have baffled any effort of Massena to assist the
duke of Dalmatia. Now, if the latter had been defeated; with what
argument could he have defended his reputation as a general, after
having left three or four garrisoned fortresses and thirty-five
thousand men upon his flank and rear; to say nothing of the results
threatened by the battle of Barosa.
The true cause of Massena’s failure was the insufficiency of his
means to oppose the English general’s combinations. The French
army reduced by sickness to forty thousand fighting men, exclusive
of Drouet’s troops at Leiria, would have been unable to maintain its
extended position against the attack meditated by lord Wellington;
and when Massena, through the means of the fidalgos, knew that
the English reinforcements were come, he prepared to retreat.
Those troops landed the 2d of March, and, the 6th, the French had
evacuated the position of Santarem.
At this time Napoleon directed the armies of Spain Muster-Rolls of the
to be remodelled. The king’s force was diminished; the French Army.
army of the south increased; general Drouet was ordered to march
with eleven thousand men to the fifth corps, which he was appointed
to command, in place of Mortier; the remainder of the ninth corps
was to compose two divisions, under the command of Clausel and
Foy, and to be incorporated with the army of Portugal. Marmont was
appointed to relieve Ney in the command of the sixth corps; Loison
was removed to the second corps; and Bessieres was ordered to
post six thousand men at Ciudad Rodrigo, to watch the frontiers of
Portugal and support Claparede. Of the imperial guards; seven
thousand were to assemble at Zamora, to hold the Gallicians in
check, and the remainder at Valladolid, with strong Appendix, No. VII.
parties of cavalry in the space between those places,
that intelligence of what was passing in Portugal might be daily
received. Thus Massena was enabled to adopt any operation that
might seem good to him, without reference to his original base; but
the order for the execution of these measures did not reach the
armies until a later period.
 R E T R E AT O F T H E F R E N C H F R O M S A N TA R E M .

Several lines of operation were open to the prince of Esling. 1º. He

could pass the Tagus, between Punhete and Abrantes, by boats or
by fords, which were always practicable after a week of dry weather.
2º. He could retire, by the Sobreira Formosa, upon Castello Branco,
and open a communication with the king by Placentia, and with the
duke of Dalmatia by Alcantara. 3º. He could march, by the Estrada
Nova and Belmonte, to Sabugal, and afterwards act according to
circumstances. 4º. He could gain the Mondego, and ascend the left
bank of that river towards Guarda and Almeida; or, crossing it, march
upon Oporto through an untouched country. Of these four plans, the
first was perilous, and the weather too unsettled to be sure of the
fords. The second and third were difficult, from the ruggedness of the
Sobreira, and exposed, because the allies could break out by
Abrantes upon the flank of the army while in retreat. Massena
decided on the last, but his actual position being to the left of the line
of retreat, he was necessarily forced to make a flank movement, with
more than ten thousand sick men and all his stores, under the beard
of an adversary before he could begin his retreat. Yet this he
executed, and in a manner bespeaking the great commander.
Commencing his preparations by destroying munition, and all guns
that could not be horsed, he passed his sick and baggage, by
degrees, upon Thomar, keeping only his fighting-men in the front,
and at the same time indicating an intention of passing the Zezere.
But when the impediments of the army had gained two marches,
Ney suddenly assembled the sixth corps and the cavalry on the Lys,
near Leiria, as if with the intention of advancing against Torres
Vedras, a movement that necessarily kept lord Wellington in
suspense. Meanwhile, the second and eighth corps, quitting
Santarem, Tremes, and Alcanhete, in the night of the 5th, fell back,
by Pernes, upon Torres Novas and Thomar, destroying the bridges
on the Alviella behind them. The next morning the boats were burnt
at Punhete, and Loison retreated by the road of Espinal to cover the
flank of the main line of retreat; the remainder of the army, by rapid
concentric marches, made for a position in front of Pombal: the line
of movement to the Mondego was thus secured, and four days
gained; for lord Wellington, although aware that a retreat was in
execution, was quite unable to take any decided step, lest he should
open the Lines to his adversary. Nevertheless he had caused
Beresford to close to his right on the 5th, and at daylight, on the 6th,
discovering the empty camps of Santarem, followed the enemy
closely with his own army.
Thomar seemed to be the French point of concentration; but as
their boats were still maintained at Punhete, general William Stewart
crossed the Tagus, at Abrantes, with the greatest part of Beresford’s
corps, while the first, fourth, and sixth divisions, and two brigades of
cavalry, marched to Golegao; the light division also reached Pernes,
where the bridge was rapidly repaired by captain Tod, of the royal
staff-corps. The 7th, the enemy having burnt his boats on the
Zezere, the Abrantes bridge was brought down to that river, and
Stewart, crossing, moved to Thomar; on which place the divisions at
Golegao were likewise directed. But the retreat being soon decidedly
pronounced for the Mondego, the troops at Thomar were ordered to
halt; and the light division, German hussars, and royal dragoons
followed the eighth corps, taking two hundred prisoners.
This day’s march disclosed a horrible calamity. A large house,
situated in an obscure part of the mountains, was discovered, filled
with starving persons. Above thirty women and children had sunk,
and, sitting by the bodies, were fifteen or sixteen survivors, of whom
one only was a man, but all so enfeebled as to be unable to eat the
little food we had to offer them. The youngest had fallen first; all the
children were dead; none were emaciated in the bodies, but the
muscles of the face were invariably drawn transversely, giving the
appearance of laughing, and presenting the most ghastly sight
imaginable. The man seemed most eager for life; the women
appeared patient and resigned, and, even in this distress, had
arranged the bodies of those who first died, with decency and care.
While one part of the army was thus in pursuit, the third and fifth
divisions moved, from the Lines, upon Leiria; the Abrantes’ boats fell
down the river to Tancos, where a bridge was fixed; and the second
and fourth divisions, and some cavalry, were directed to return from
Thomar to the left bank of the Tagus, to relieve Badajos: Beresford
also, who remained with a part of his corps near Barca, had already
sent a brigade of cavalry to Portalegre for that purpose. This was on
the morning of the 9th; but the enemy, instead of continuing his
retreat, concentrated the sixth and eighth corps and Montbrun’s
cavalry on a table-land, in front of Pombal, where the light division
skirmished with his advanced posts, and the German horse charged
his cavalry with success, taking some prisoners.
Lord Wellington, finding the French disposed to accept battle, was
now compelled to alter his plans. To fight with advantage, it was
necessary to bring up, from Thomar, the troops destined to relieve
Badajos; not to fight, was giving up to the enemy Coimbra, and the
untouched country behind, as far as Oporto: Massena would thus
retire with the advantages of a conqueror. However, intelligence
received that morning, from Badajos, described it as being in a
sufficient state, and capable of holding out yet a month. This decided
the question.
The fourth division and the heavy cavalry, already on the march for
the Alemtejo, were countermanded; general Nightingale, with a
brigade of the first division and some horse, was directed by the road
of Espinal, to observe the second corps; and the rest of the army
was concentrically directed upon Pombal. How dangerous a captain
Massena could be, was here proved. His first movement began the
4th, it was the 11th before a sufficient number of troops could be
assembled to fight him at Pombal, and, during these seven days, he
had executed one of the most difficult operations in war, gained three
or four marches, and completely organized his system of retreat.

S K I R M I S H AT P O M B A L .

Pack’s brigade and the cavalry, the first, third, fourth, fifth, sixth,
and light divisions, and the Portuguese troops, which were attached,
like the ancient Latin auxiliaries of the Roman legion, to each British
division, were assembling in front of the enemy on the 10th; when
Massena, who had sent his baggage over the Soure river in the night
by the bridge of Pombal, suddenly retired through that town. He was
so closely followed by the light division, that the streets being still
encumbered, Ney drew up a rear-guard on a height behind the town,
and threw a detachment into the old castle of Pombal. He had,
however, waited too long. The French army was moving in some
confusion and in a very extended column of march, by a narrow
defile, between the mountains and the Soure river, which was
fordable; and the British divisions were in rapid motion along the left
bank, with the design of crossing lower down, and cutting Massena’s
line of retreat. But darkness came on too fast, and the operation
terminated with a sharp skirmish at Pombal, whence the ninety-fifth
and the third caçadores of the light division, after some changes of
fortune, drove the French from the castle and town with such vigour,
that the latter could not destroy the bridge, although it was mined.
About forty of the allies were hurt, and the loss of the enemy was
somewhat greater.
In the night Massena continued his retreat, which now assumed a
regular and concentrated form. The baggage and sick, protected by
the reserve cavalry, marched first; these were followed by the eighth
corps; and the sixth, with some light cavalry, and the best horsed of
the artillery, were destined to stem the pursuit. Ney had been
ordered to detach Marcognet’s brigade on the 10th, from the Lys, to
seize Coimbra; but some delay having taken place, Montbrun was
now appointed for that service.
Lord Wellington’s immediate object was to save Coimbra, and he
designed, by skilful, rather than daring, operations, to oblige
Massena to quit the Portuguese territory: the moral effect of such an
event, he judged, would be sufficient; but as his reinforcements were
still distant, he was obliged to retain the fourth division and the heavy
cavalry from the relief of Badajos, and was therefore willing to strike
a sudden stroke, if a fair occasion offered. Howbeit the country was
full of strong positions, the roads hollow and confined by mountains
on either hand, every village formed a defile; the weather also, being
moderate, was favourable to the enemy, and Ney, with a wonderfully
happy mixture of courage, readiness, and skill, illustrated every
league of ground by some signal combination of war.
Day-break, on the 12th, saw both armies in movement, and eight
miles of march, and some slight skirmishing, brought the head of the
British into a hollow way, leading to a high table-land on which Ney
had disposed five thousand infantry, a few squadrons of cavalry, and
some light guns. His centre was opposite the hollow road, his wings
were covered by wooded heights, which he occupied with light
troops; his right rested on the ravine of the Soure, his left on the
Redinha, which circling round his rear fell into the Soure. Behind him
the village of Redinha, situated in a hollow, covered a narrow bridge
and a long and dangerous defile; and, beyond the stream, some very
rugged heights, commanding a view of the position in front of the
village, were occupied by a division of infantry, a regiment of cavalry,
and a battery of heavy guns; all so skilfully disposed as to give the
appearance of a very considerable force.

C O M B AT O F R E D I N H A .

After examining the enemy’s position for a short time, lord

Wellington first directed the light division, now commanded by sir
William Erskine, to attack the wooded slopes covering Ney’s right: in
less than an hour these orders were executed. The fifty-second, the
ninety-fifth, and the caçadores, assisted by a company of the forty-
third, carried the ascent and cleared the woods, and their
skirmishers even advanced on to the open plain; but the French
battalions, supported by four guns, immediately opened a heavy
rolling fire, and at the same moment, colonel Ferriere, of the third
French hussars, charged and took fourteen prisoners. This officer,
during the whole campaign, had never failed to break in upon the
skirmishers in the most critical moments; sometimes with a
squadron, sometimes with only a few men; he was, however, sure to
be found in the right place, and was continually proving how much
may be done, even in the most rugged mountains, by a small body
of good cavalry.
Erskine’s line, consisting of five battalions of infantry and six guns,
being now formed in such a manner that it outflanked the French
right, tending towards the ford of the Redinha, was reinforced with
two regiments of dragoons; meanwhile Picton seized the wooded
heights protecting the French left, and thus Ney’s position was laid
bare. Nevertheless, that marshal observing that lord Wellington,
deceived as to his real numbers, was bringing the mass of the allied
troops into line; far from retreating, even charged Picton’s
skirmishers, and continued to hold his ground with an astonishing
confidence if we consider his position; for the third division was
nearer to the village and bridge than his right, and there were
already cavalry and guns enough on the plain to overwhelm him. In
this posture both sides remained for about an hour, when, three
shots were fired from the British centre as a signal for a forward
movement, and a most splendid spectacle of war was exhibited. The
woods seemed alive with troops; and in a few moments thirty
thousand men, forming three gorgeous lines of battle, were stretched
across the plain; but bending on a gentle curve, and moving
majestically onwards, while horsemen and guns, springing forward
simultaneously from the centre and from the left wing, charged under
a general volley from the French battalions: the latter were instantly
hidden by the smoke, and when that cleared away no enemy was to
be seen.
Ney keenly watching the progress of this grand formation, had
opposed Picton’s foremost skirmishers with his left, and, at the same
moment, withdrew the rest of his people with such rapidity, that he
gained the village ere the cavalry could touch him: the utmost efforts
of Picton’s skirmishers and of the horse-artillery scarcely enabled
them to gall the hindmost of the French left with their fire. One
howitzer was, indeed, dismounted close to the bridge, but the village
of Redinha was in flames; and the marshal wishing to confirm the
courage of his soldiers at the commencement of the retreat, in
person superintended the carrying it off: this he effected, yet with the
loss of fifteen or twenty men, and with great danger to himself, for
the British guns were thundering on his rear, and the light troops of
the third division, chasing like heated blood hounds, passed the river
almost at the same time with the French. The reserves of the latter
cannonaded the bridge from the heights beyond, but a fresh
disposition of attack being made by lord Wellington, while the third
division continued to press the left, Ney fell back upon the main
body, then at Condeixa, ten miles in the rear.
 The British had twelve officers and two hundred men killed and
wounded in this combat, and the enemy lost as many; but he might
have been utterly destroyed; for there is no doubt, that the duke of
Elchingen remained a quarter of an hour too long upon his first
position, and that, deceived by the skilful arrangement of his reserve,
lord Wellington paid him too much respect. Yet the extraordinary
facility and precision with which the English general handled so large
a force, was a warning to the French commander, and produced a
palpable effect upon the after operations.
On the 13th, the allies renewed the pursuit, and before ten o’clock
discovered the French army, the second corps which was at
Espinhal excepted, in order of battle. The crisis of Massena’s retreat
had arrived, the defiles of Condeixa, leading upon Coimbra, were
behind him; those of Miranda de Corvo, leading to the Puente de
Murcella, were on his left; and in the fork of these two roads Ney was
seated on a strong range of heights covered by a marsh, his position
being only to be approached by the highway leading through a deep
hollow against his right. Trees were felled to obstruct the passage; a
palisado was constructed across the hollow; breast-works were
thrown up on each side, and Massena expected to stop the pursuit,
while Montbrun seized Coimbra: for he designed to pass the
Mondego, and either capture Oporto or maintain a position between
the Douro and the Mondego, until the operations of Soult should
draw the British away; or until the advance of Bessieres with the
army of the north, should enable himself again to act offensively.
Hitherto the French general had appeared the abler tactician, but
now his adversary assumed the superiority.
When at Thomar lord Wellington had sent Baccellar orders to look
to the security of Oporto, and had directed Wilson and Trant also to
abandon the Mondego and the Vouga the moment the fords were
passable, retiring across the Douro; breaking up the roads as they
retreated, and taking care to remove or to destroy all boats and
means of transport. Now, Wilson was in march for the Vouga, but
Trant having destroyed an arch of the Coimbra bridge on the city
side, and placed guards at the fords as far as Figueras, resolved to
oppose the enemy’s passage; for the sound of guns had reached his
outposts, the river was rising, and he felt assured that the allied army
was close upon the heels of the enemy.
As early as the evening of the 11th, the French appeared at the
suburb of Santa Clara, and a small party of their dragoons actually
forded the Mondego at Pereiras that day: on the 12th, some French
officers examined the bridge of Coimbra, but a cannon-shot from the
other side wounded one of them, and a general skirmish took place
along the banks of the river, during which a party attempting to feel
their way along the bridge, were scattered by a round of grape. The
fords were, however, actually practicable for cavalry, and there were
not more than two or three hundred militia and a few guns at the
bridge; for Baccellar had obliged Trant to withdraw the greatest part
of his force on the 11th; nevertheless the latter opposed the enemy
with the remainder, and it would appear that the French imagined the
reinforcement, which reached Lisbon the 2d of March, had been sent
by sea to the Mondego and was in Coimbra. This was Campagne des
an error. Coimbra was saved by the same man and Français Portugal.
en

the same militia that had captured it during the

advance.
Montbrun sent his report to Massena early on the 13th, and the
latter too readily crediting his opinion of Trant’s strength, relinquished
the idea of passing the Mondego, and determined to retire by the
Puente de Murcella: but to ensure the power of changing his front,
and to secure his communication with Reynier and Loison, he had
carried Clausel’s division to Fonte Coberta, a village about five miles
on his left; situated at the point where the Anciao road falls into that
leading to Murcella. There Loison rejoined him, and being thus
pivotted on the Anciao Sierra, and covering the line of
communication with the second corps while Ney held Condeixa, he
considered his position secure. His baggage was, however,
observed filing off by the Murcella road when the allies first came
upon Ney, and lord Wellington instantly comprehending the state of
affairs, as instantly detached the third division by a very difficult path
over the Sierra de Anciao to turn the enemy’s left.
For some time all appeared quiet in the French lines. Massena, in
repairing to Fonte Coberta, had left Ney orders, it is said, to fire
Condeixa at a certain hour when all the divisions were
simultaneously to concentrate at Casal Nova, in a second position,
perpendicular to the first, and covering the road to Puente Murcella.
But towards three o’clock Picton was descried winding round the
bluff end of a mountain, about eight miles distant, and as he was
already beyond the French left, instant confusion pervaded their
camp: a thick smoke arose from Condeixa, the columns were seen
hurrying towards Casal Nova; and the British immediately pushed
forward. The felled trees and other obstacles impeded their advance
at first, and a number of fires, simultaneously kindled, covered the
retreating troops with smoke, while the flames of Condeixa stopped
the artillery, hence the skirmishers and some cavalry only could
close with the rear of the enemy, but so rapidly, as to penetrate
between the division at Fonte Coberta and the rest of the French;
and it is affirmed that the prince of Esling, who was on the road, only
escaped capture by taking the feathers out of his hat and riding
through some of the light troops.
Condeixa being thus evacuated, the British cavalry pushed
towards Coimbra, opened the communication with Trant, and cutting
off Montbrun, captured a part of his horsemen. The rest of the army
kindled their fires, and the light division planted piquets close up to
the enemy; but, about ten at night, the French divisions, whose
presence at Fonte Coberta was unknown to lord Wellington, stole
out, and passing close along the front of the British posts, made for
Miranda de Corvo. The noise of their march was heard, but the night
was dark, it was imagined to be the moving of the French baggage
to the rear, and being so reported to sir William Erskine, that officer,
without any further inquiry, put the light division in march at day-light
on the 14th.

C O M B AT O F C A S A L N O VA .

The morning was so obscured that nothing could be descried at

the distance of a hundred feet, but the sound of a great multitude
was heard on the hills in front; and it being evident that the French
were there in force, many officers represented the rashness of thus
advancing without orders and in such a fog; but Erskine, with an
astounding negligence, sent the fifty-second forward in a simple
column of sections, without a vanguard or other precaution, and
even before the piquets had come in from their posts. The road
dipped suddenly, descending into a valley, and the regiment was
immediately lost in the mist, which was so thick, that the troops
unconsciously passing the enemy’s outposts had like to have
captured Ney himself, whose bivouac was close to the piquets. The
riflemen followed in a few moments, and the rest of the division was
about to plunge into the same gulf; when the rattling of musketry and
the booming of round shot were heard, and the vapour slowly rising,
discovered the fifty-second on the slopes of the opposite mountain,
engaged, without support, in the midst of the enemy’s army.
At this moment lord Wellington arrived. His design had been to
turn the left of the French, for their front position was very strong,
and behind it they occupied the ridges, in succession, to the Deuca
river and the defiles of Miranda de Corvo. There was, however, a
road leading from Condeixa to Espinhal, and the fourth division was
already in march by it for Panella, having orders, to communicate
with Nightingale; to attack Reynier; and to gain the sources of the
Deuca and Ceira rivers: between the fourth division and Casal Nova
the third division was more directly turning the enemy’s left flank; and
meanwhile the main body was coming up to the front, but as it
marched in one column, required time to reach the field. Howbeit
Erskine’s error forced on this action, and the whole of the light
division were pushed forward to succour the fifty-second.
The enemy’s ground was so extensive, and his skirmishers so
thick and so easily supported, that, in a little time, the division was
necessarily stretched out in one thin thread, and closely engaged in
every part, without any reserve; nor could it even thus present an
equal front, until Picton sent the riflemen, of the sixtieth, to prolong
the line. Nevertheless, the fight was vigorously maintained amidst
the numerous stone enclosures on the mountain side; some
advantages were even gained, and the right of the enemy was
partially turned; yet the main position could not be shaken, until
Picton near and Cole further off, had turned it by the left. Then, the
first, fifth, and sixth divisions, the heavy cavalry, and the artillery,
came up on the centre, and Ney commenced his retreat, covering
his rear with guns and light troops, and retiring from ridge to ridge
with admirable precision, and, for a long time, without confusion and
with very little loss. Towards the middle of the day, however, the
British guns and the skirmishers got within range of his masses, and
the retreat became more rapid and less orderly; yet he finally gained
the strong pass of Miranda de Corvo, which had been secured by
the main body of the French.
Montbrun also rejoined the army at Miranda. He had summoned
Coimbra on the 13th at noon, and, without waiting for an answer,
passed over the mountain and gained the right bank of the Deuca by
a very difficult march. The loss of the light division this day was
eleven officers and a hundred and fifty men; that of the enemy was
greater, and about a hundred prisoners were taken.
During the action of the 14th, Reynier, seeing the approach of the
fourth division, hastily abandoned Panella; and Cole having effected
a junction with Nightingale, passed the Deuca; when Massena
fearing lest they should gain his rear, set fire to the town of Miranda,
and passed the Ceira that night. His whole army was now
compressed and crowded in one narrow line, between the higher
sierras and the Mondego; and to lighten the march, he destroyed a
great quantity of ammunition and baggage; yet his encumbrances
were still so heavy, and the confusion in his army so great, that he
directed Ney to cover the passage with a few battalions; yet charged
him not to risk an action. Ney, however, disregarding this order, kept
on the left bank, ten or twelve battalions, a brigade of cavalry, and
some guns.

C O M B AT O F F O Z D ’ A R O N C E .

The 15th, the weather was so obscure that the allies could not
reach the Ceira, before four o’clock in the evening, and the troops,
as they came up, proceeded to kindle fires for the night; thinking that
Ney’s position being strong, nothing would be done. The French right
rested on some thickly wooded and rugged ground, and their left
upon the village of Foz d’Aronce, but lord Wellington, having cast a