On this page
-
Text (2)
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
« , - , «• I I ¦ * ¦ ¦ ¦ • . - » ¦ ' NO . Ill , — THE SlfiOE OF EODBIGO , WXTH ANECDOTES OF PLUNDER . ¦ "' . . ¦ ¦ ¦•/ .- * . ¦ ¦ . . ¦ ' ¦ . ¦ ¦ ... ¦ -
The siege of Rodrigo is not to be compared with the siege of Badajos ; the sacrifice of life in storming the town was not so great , nor Were the atrocities which were committed , although bad enough , of so aggravated a description . About six o ' clock , on the 19 th January 1812 , our men fell in under the dead wall of a convent near the town , which was occupied ^ byvtbe 40 ( h regiment during tihe principal part of the siegfc . There Was a trench dug leading fydnx the 'convent towards a breach . This was the left breach whieh was to be stormed by the light division , while
the right breach was to lie assailed by the third division . When fallen in , General Robert Craufurd addre ^ sfed the , men , impressing on the stormerrto kefcp together after they had entered the breach , and to fctear the ramparts of the enemy ,, before they entered the streets . At the signal of a gun from our battery * off
we started . Poor General Craufurd ! on _ the first violley of grape , or small arms , he received a : mortal wound , the ( bail passing through the arm and body . He died on the 22 nd , and we ^ buried him a few days afterwards in the breaeh . His body was carried by four sergeant-majors—the Duke of Wellington attended the funeral and seemed much affected * - He was a brave soldier , and
greatly beloved by the light division . The captain of my own company , a gallant young man , whose name was Uniack , here volunteered on the Forlorn Hope ; but being a junior , his wish was not complied tvith , and" a sfeniof officer appointed in his stead . He wak nevertheless * resolved not to be baulked , for he left the
command of his own companyand joined the stormers just as they were entering the breach . I recollect hirti welL H ^ lai d his hand on my shoulder , ^ as he was forcirig his way up tire breach , and ccrted , « Foltow me l )? Fortunately fbr me I did not ; for hi turned to the right towards' the breaeh whicli the third division was to
stake , whdir , by accident or design , tie French sprung a mine and : > lew up some hundreds of their own as well as our men . The » ight was dreadful ; theyjall layabout jn beaps ^ The brave UniacK was among the sufferers . I saw fete next moirning— -he was utill living . The righ ^ arm was torn out of the socket ( we could ;<; ee into him ) , abd he had convulsive inotions of tholeft , and was mufterin ^ words which he bad not strength to articulate . He was mrrieii on a stretcher to Gallegos , where he died a few daysafter-« rards . He was deeply lamented , especially by the men of his
» wvn company . On entering the breach I turned to the left , and stumbling [ gainst a howitzer , rolled over it . I found a French officer , who
Untitled Article
9 m The Siege of fiodrtgo . ¦ . r * ¦ ' ¦• » ; - * ¦ - . - [ « , - - , - - ¦ - - .- . ' *„ , : . . ¦ \ ¦ ¦ ; r ¦> , ¦ : : ¦ . -. .. - ,-v > * '
Untitled Article
A 'S FRAGMENTS oy SOLDfERLIFE .
-
-
Citation
-
Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), June 1, 1837, page 346, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1832/page/28/
-