Under Wellington's Command: A Tale of the Peninsular War Read online

  Produced by Martin Robb

  Under Wellington's Command:A Tale of the Peninsular Warby G. A. Henty.

  Contents

  Preface.Chapter 1: A Detached Force.Chapter 2: Talavera.Chapter 3: Prisoners.Chapter 4: Guerillas.Chapter 5: An Escape.Chapter 6: Afloat.Chapter 7: A French Privateer.Chapter 8: A Smart Engagement.Chapter 9: Rejoining.Chapter 10: Almeida.Chapter 11: The French Advance.Chapter 12: Fuentes D'Onoro.Chapter 13: From Salamanca To Cadiz.Chapter 14: Effecting A Diversion.Chapter 15: Dick Ryan's Capture.Chapter 16: Back With The Army.Chapter 17: Ciudad Rodrigo.Chapter 18: The Sack Of A City.Chapter 19: Gratitude.Chapter 20: Salamanca.Chapter 21: Home Again.

  Illustrations

  "You may as well make your report to me, O'Connor."Plan of the Battle of Talavera."We surrender, sir, as prisoners of war."Stooping so that their figures should not show against the sky."She is walking along now.""This is Colonel O'Connor, sir."Plan of the Battle of Busaco."Good news. We are going to take Coimbra."Plan of the Lines of Torres Vedras.Plan of the Battle of Fuentes d'Onoro.The men leapt to their feet, cheering vociferously."Search him at once."The man fell, with a sharp cry.Plan of the Forts and Operations round Salamanca.A shell had struck Terence's horse.

  Preface.

  As many boys into whose hands the present volume may fall will nothave read my last year's book, With Moore in Corunna, of which thisis a continuation, it is necessary that a few words should be said,to enable them to take up the thread of the story. It wasimpossible, in the limits of one book, to give even an outline ofthe story of the Peninsular War, without devoting the whole spaceto the military operations. It would, in fact, have been a historyrather than a tale; and it accordingly closed with the passage ofthe Douro, and the expulsion of the French from Portugal.

  The hero, Terence O'Connor, was the son of the senior captain ofthe Mayo Fusiliers and, when the regiment was ordered to join SirArthur Wellesley's expedition to Portugal, the colonel of theregiment obtained for him a commission; although so notorious wasthe boy, for his mischievous pranks, that the colonel hesitatedwhether he would not get into some serious scrapes; especially asDick Ryan, one of the ensigns, was always his companion inmischief, and both were aided and abetted by Captain O'Grady.

  However, on the way out, the slow old transport, in which a wing ofthe regiment was carried, was attacked by two French privateers,who would have either taken or sunk her, had it not been for ahappy suggestion of the quick-witted lad. For this he gained greatcredit, and was selected by General Fane as one of his aides-de-camp.In this capacity he went through the arduous campaign, under GeneralMoore, that ended at Corunna.

  His father had been so seriously wounded, at Vimiera, that he wasinvalided home and placed on half pay; and in the same battleCaptain O'Grady lost his left arm but, on its being cured, returnedto his place in the regiment.

  At Corunna Terence, while carrying a despatch, was thrown from hishorse and stunned; and on recovering found that the British hadalready embarked on board the ships of the fleet. He made his wayto the frontier of Portugal, and thence to Lisbon. He was thenappointed to the staff of Sir John Craddock, who was now incommand; and sent in charge of some treasure for the use of theSpanish General Romana, who was collecting a force on the northernborder of Portugal. Terence had orders to aid him, in any way inhis power, to check the invasion of Portugal from the north.

  Of this order he took advantage when, on the way, the agents of thejunta of Oporto endeavoured to rob him; attacking the house wherehe and his escort had taken up their quarters with a newly-raisedlevy of two thousand five hundred unarmed peasants. By a ruse hegot their leaders into his hands, and these showed such abjectcowardice that the peasants refused further to follow them, andasked Terence to take the command of the force.

  He assented, formed them into two battalions, appointed two Britishorderlies as majors, the Portuguese officer of his escortlieutenant-colonel, and his troopers captains of companies; putthem in the way of obtaining arms and, by dint of hard drill andkindness, converted them into an efficient body of soldiers.Finding that little was to be expected from Romana's force, heacted as a partisan leader and, in this capacity, performed suchvaluable service that he was confirmed in the command of his force,which received the name of the Minho regiment; and he and hisofficers received commissions for the rank they held in thePortuguese army.

  At Oporto he rescued from a convent a cousin, who, at the death ofher father, a British merchant there, had been shut up by herPortuguese mother until she would consent to sign away the propertyto which she was entitled, and to become a nun. She went to Englandto live with Terence's father, and came into possession of thefortune which her father, foreseeing that difficulties might ariseat his death, had forwarded to a bank at home, having appointedCaptain O'Connor her guardian.

  The present volume takes the story of the Peninsular War up to thebattle of Salamanca, and concludes the history of Terence O'Connor.My readers will understand that, in all actions in which theBritish army took part, the details are accurately given; but thatthe doings of the Minho regiment, and of Terence O'Connor as apartisan leader, are not to be considered as strictly historical,although similar feats of daring and adventure were accomplished byTrant, Pack, and other leaders of irregular forces.

  G. A. Henty.