The Bravest of the Brave — or, with Peterborough in Spain

by G. A. Henty

  CHAPTER VIII: A TUMULT IN THE CITY

  As the Spanish column retired to Barcelona under the idea that thewhole English army was on the hill, the Miquelets, as the armed bandsof peasants were called, swarmed down from the hills. Incapable ofwithstanding an attack by even a small force, they were in their elementin harassing a large one in retreat. Halfway between Montjuich and thetown was the small fort of San Bertram. The garrison, seeing the columnin retreat toward the town, pursued by the insurgent peasantry, fearedthat they themselves would be cut off, and so abandoned their post andjoined the retreat.

  The peasants at once took possession of San Bertram, where there werefive light guns. As soon as the news reached Peterborough he calledtogether two hundred men and led them down to the little fort. Ropeswere fastened to the guns, and with forty men to each gun these werequickly run up the hill and placed in position in the captured bastions.So quickly was this done that in less than an hour from the abandonmentof San Bertram by the Spanish the guns had opened fire upon Montjuich.

  While the troops worked these five guns and the three captured inSouthwell's first attack Jack Stilwell was sent off on horseback at fullspeed with an order for the landing of the heavy guns and mortars fromthe fleet. The news of the attack on Montjuich and the retreat of theSpanish column spread with rapidity through the country, and swarms ofarmed peasants flocked in. These the earl dispersed among the ravinesand groves round the city, so as to prevent any parties from coiningout to ascertain what was going on round Montjuich, and to mask themovements of the besiegers.

  Velasco appeared paralyzed by the energy and daring of his opponent,and although he had in hand a force equal if not superior to that whichPeterborough could dispose of, he allowed two days to pass withoutattempting to relieve Montjuich. In those two days wonders had beenperformed by the soldiers and sailors, who toiled unweariedly indragging the heavy guns from the landing place to the hill of Montjuich.The light cannon of the besiegers had had but little effect upon themassive walls of the fortress, and the Prince Caraccioli held out fortwo days even against the heavier metal of the mortars and siege gunsthat were quickly brought to bear upon him.

  On the 17th, however, Colonel Southwell by a well aimed shot broughtthe siege to a close. He noticed that a small chapel within the fortappeared to be specially guarded by the besieged, and ordered a Dutchsergeant of artillery, who was working a heavy mortar, to try to dropa shell upon it. The artilleryman made several attempts, but each timemissed the mark. Colonel Southwell undertook the management of themortar himself, and soon succeeded in dropping a shell upon the roofof the building, which proved, as he had suspected, to be in use as amagazine. There was a tremendous explosion, the chapel was shatteredinto fragments, Caraccioli and three other officers were killed, and agreat breach was blown in the main rampart.

  A loud cheer broke from the besiegers, and Colonel Southwell at once puthimself at the head of the men in the trenches and advanced to stormthe breach before the enemy could recover from their confusion. Thedisastrous effects of the explosion had, however, scared all idea offurther resistance out of the minds of the defenders, who at oncerushed out of the works and called out that they surrendered, the seniorsurviving officer and his companions delivering up their swords toColonel Southwell, and begging that protection might at once be given totheir soldiers from the Miquelets, whose ferocity was as notorious thenas it was a hundred years afterward.

  Peterborough appointed Colonel Southwell governor of Montjuich, andat once turned his attention to the city. The brilliant result of theattack on the citadel had silenced all murmurs and completely restoredLord Peterborough's authority. Soldiers and sailors vied with each otherin their exertions to get the guns into position, and the Miquelets,largely increased in number, became for once orderly and active, andlabored steadily in the trenches.

  The main army conducted the attack from the side at which it had beenoriginally commenced, while General Stanhope, his force considerablyincreased by troops from the main body, conducted the attack from theside of Montjuich. Four batteries of heavy guns and two of mortars soonopened fire upon the city, while the smaller vessels of the fleet movedclose in to the shore and threw shot and shell into the town.

  A breach was soon effected in the rampart, and Velasco was summoned tosurrender; but he refused to do so, although his position had becomealmost desperate. The disaffection of the inhabitants was now openlyshown. The soldiers had lost confidence and heart, and the loyalty ofmany of them was more than doubtful. The governor arrested many of themutinous soldiers and hostile citizens, and turned numbers of them outof the city.

  On the 3d of October the English engineers declared the breach on theside of Montjuich to be practicable, and Peterborough himself wrote tothe governor offering honorable terms of capitulation, but declaringthat if these were rejected he would not renew his offer.

  Velasco again refused. He had erected a formidable intrenchment withinthe breach, and had sunk two mines beneath the ruins in readiness toblow the assailing columns into the air.

  The guns again opened fire, and in a very short time a Dutch artilleryofficer threw two shells upon the intrenchment and almost destroyedit, while a third fell on the breach itself, and crashing through therubbish fired Velasco's two mines and greatly enlarged the breach. Theearl could now have carried the town by storm had he chosen, but withhis usual magnanimity to the vanquished he again wrote to Velasco andsummoned him to surrender.

  The governor had now no hope of a successful resistance, and hetherefore agreed to surrender in four days should no relief arrive. Theterms agreed upon were that the garrison should march out with allthe honors of war, and should be transported by sea to San Felix, andescorted thence to Gerona; but as a few hours later the news arrivedthat Gerona had declared for King Charles, Velasco requested to beconveyed to Rosas instead. The capitulation was signed on the 9th ofOctober, and the garrison were preparing to march out on the 14th, when,in the English camp, the sound of a tumult in the city was heard.

  "Quick, Stilwell!" the earl cried, running out of his tent, "to horse!The rascals inside are breaking out into a riot, and there will be amassacre unless I can put a stop to it."

  The earl leaped on to his horse, called to a few orderly dragoonswho were at hand to accompany him, and ordered that four companies ofgrenadiers should follow as quickly as possible.

  Galloping at full speed Peterborough soon arrived at the gate of SanAngelo, and ordered the Spanish guard to open it. This they did withouthesitation, and followed by his little party he rode into the city. Allwas uproar and confusion. The repressive measures which the governor hadbeen obliged to take against the disaffected had added to the Catalanhatred of the French, and the Austrian party determined to havevengeance upon the governor. A report was circulated that he intendedto carry away with him a number of the principal inhabitants in spiteof the articles of capitulation. This at once stirred up the people tofury, and they assailed and plundered the houses of the French and ofthe known partisans of the Duke d'Anjou.

  They then turned upon the governor and garrison. The latter dispersedthrough the city, and, unprepared for attack, would speedily havebeen massacred had not their late enemy been at hand to save them.Peterborough, with his little party of dragoons, rode through thestreets exhorting, entreating, and commanding the rioters to abstain.When, as in some cases, the mob refused to listen to him, and continuedtheir work, the dragoons belabored them heartily with the flats of theirswords; and the surprise caused by seeing the British uniforms in theirmidst, and their ignorance of how many of the British had entered, didmore even than the efforts of the dragoons to allay the tumult. Manyladies of quality had taken refuge in the convent, and Peterborough atonce placed a guard over this.

  Dashing from street to street, unattended even by his dragoons,Peterborough came upon a lady and gentleman struggling with the mob, whowere about to ill treat them. He charged into the thick of the tumult.

  His hat had been lost in the fray,
and the mob, not recognizing thestrange figure as the redoubted English general, resisted, and onedischarged a musket at him at a distance of a few feet, but the ballpassed through his periwig without touching the head under it.

  Fortunately two or three of his dragoons now rode up, and he was ableto carry the lady and gentleman to their house hard by, when, to hissatisfaction, he found that the gentleman he had saved was the Duke ofPopoli, and the lady his wife, celebrated as one of the most beautifulwomen in Europe.

  Jack Stilwell had soon after they entered the town become separated fromhis general. Seeing a mob gathered before a house in a side street, andhearing screams, he turned off and rode into the middle of the crowd.Spurring his horse and making him rear, he made his way through them tothe door, and then leaping off, drawing as he did so a pistol from hisholster, he ran upstairs.

  It was a large and handsomely furnished house. On the first floor was agreat corridor. A number of men were gathered round a doorway. Within heheard the clashing of steel and the shouts of men in conflict. Burstinghis way in through the doorway he entered the room.

  In a corner, at the furthest end, crouched a lady holding a little boyin her arms. Before her stood a Spanish gentleman, sword in hand. Aservant, also armed, stood by him. They were hard pressed, for six oreight men with swords and pikes were cutting and thrusting at them.Three servants lay dead upon the ground, and seven or eight of thetownspeople were also lying dead or wounded. Jack rushed forward,and with his pistol shot the man who appeared to be the leader of theassailants, and then, drawing his sword, placed himself before thegentleman and shouted to the men to lay down their arms. The latter,astounded at the appearance of an English officer, drew back. Seeing hewas alone, they would, however, have renewed the attack, but Jack ran tothe window and opened it, and shouted as if to some soldiers below.

  The effect was instantaneous. The men dropped upon their knees, andthrowing down their arms begged for mercy. Jack signified that hegranted it, and motioned to them to carry off their dead and woundedcomrades. Some of the men in the corridor came in to aid them in sodoing. Jack, sword in hand, accompanied them to the door, and saw themout of the house. Then he told a boy to hold his horse, and closingthe door returned upstairs. He found the gentleman sitting on a chairexhausted, while his wife, crying partly from relief, partly fromanxiety, was endeavoring to stanch the blood which flowed from severalwounds.

  Jack at once aided her in the task, and signed to the servant to bringsomething to drink. The man ran to a buffet and produced some cordials.Jack filled a glass and placed it at the lips of the wounded man, who,after drinking it, gradually recovered his strength.

  "My name, sir," he said, "is Count Julian de Minas, and I owe you mylife and that of my wife and child. To whom am I indebted so much?"

  Jack did not, of course, understand his words, but the title caught hisear, and he guessed that the Spaniard was introducing himself.

  "My name is Stilwell," Jack said; "I am one of General Peterborough'saides de camp. I am very glad to be of assistance; and now, seeing youare so far recovered, I must leave you, for there is much to do in thetown, and the general has entered with only a few troops. I think youneed not fear any return on the part of these ruffians. The Englishtroops will enter the town in the coarse of a few hours."

  So saying Jack immediately hurried away, and mounting his horse rode offto find the general.

  The news that Lord Peterborough and the English had entered spreadrapidly through the city, and the rioters, fearing to excite the wrathof the man who in a few hours would be master of the town, scattered totheir homes, and when all was quiet Peterborough again rode off to thecamp with his troops and there waited quietly until the hour appointedfor the capitulation. The Spanish then marched out, and the earl enteredwith a portion of his troops.

  He at once issued a proclamation that if any person had any lawfulgrievances against the late governor they should go to the town houseand lay them in proper form, and that he would see that justice wasdone. An hour later some of the principal inhabitants waited upon him,and asked which churches he desired to have for the exercise of hisreligion. He replied:

  "Wherever I have my quarters I shall have conveniency enough to worshipGod, and as for the army they will strictly follow the rules of war, andperform divine service among themselves without giving any offense toany one."

  This answer gave great satisfaction to the people, as the French hadspread a report among them that the Protestants, if they captured thetown, would take their churches from them.

  In the evening the earl gave a great banquet, at which he entertainedall the people of distinction of both parties, and his courtesy andaffability at once won for him the confidence of all with whom he camein contact. The next day the shops were all opened, the markets filled,and there were no signs that the tranquillity of Barcelona had everbeen disturbed. Soon after breakfast Jack, who was quartered in thegovernor's palace with the general, was informed that a gentleman wishedto speak to him, and the Count de Minas was shown in. He took Jack'shand and bowed profoundly. As conversation was impossible Jack told hisorderly to fetch one of the interpreters attached to the general.

  "I tried to come last night," the count said, "but I found that I wastoo weak to venture out. I could not understand what you said when youwent away so suddenly, but I guessed that it was the call of duty. Idid not know your name, but inquiring this morning who were the officersthat entered with the general yesterday, I was told that his aide decamp, Lieutenant Stilwell, was alone with him. That is how I foundyou. And now, let me again thank you for the immense service you haverendered me and my wife and child. Remember, henceforth the life of theCount de Minas and all that he possesses is at your service."

  When the interpreter had translated this, Jack said in some confusion,"I am very glad, count, to have been of service to you. It was a pieceof good fortune, indeed, on my part that I happened so providentiallyto ride along at the right moment. I was about this morning to do myselfthe honor of calling to inquire how the countess and yourself were afterthe terrible scene of yesterday."

  "The countess prayed me to bring you round to her," the count said."Will you do me the honor of accompanying me now?"

  Jack at once assented, and, followed by the interpreter, proceeded withthe count to his house. The room into which the count led him was notthat in which the fray had taken place the day before. The countess roseas they entered, and Jack saw that, though still pale and shaken by theevents of the previous day, she was a singularly beautiful woman.

  "Ah, senor," she said, advancing to meet him, and taking his hand andlaying it against her heart, "how can I thank you for the lives of myhusband and my boy! One more minute and you would have arrived too late.It seemed to me as if heaven had opened and an angel had come to our aidwhen you entered."

  Jack colored up hotly as the interpreter translated the words. If he hadexpressed his thoughts he would have said, "Please don't make any morefuss about it;" but he found that Spanish courtesy required much morethan this, so he answered:

  "Countess, the moment was equally fortunate to me, and I shall ever feelgrateful that I have been permitted to be of service to so beautiful alady."

  The countess smiled as Jack's words were translated.

  "I did not know that you English were flatterers," she said. "They toldus that you were uncouth islanders, but I see that they have calumniatedyou."

  "I hope some day," Jack said, "that I shall be able to talk to youwithout the aid of an interpreter. It is very difficult to speak whenevery word has to be translated."

  For a quarter of an hour the conversation was continued, the count andcountess asking questions about England. At the end of that time Jackthought he might venture to take his leave. The count accompanied him tothe door, and begged him to consider his house as his own, and then withmany bows on each side Jack made his way into the street.

  "Confound all this Spanish politeness!" he muttered to himself; "it'svery grand and s
tately, I have no doubt, but it's a horrible nuisance;and as to talking through an interpreter, it's like repeating lessons,only worse. I should like to see a man making a joke through aninterpreter, and waiting to see how it told. I must get up a littleSpanish as soon as possible. The earl has picked up a lot already, andthere will be no fun to be had here in Spain unless one can make one'sself understood."

  The next day there were rumors current that the population weredetermined to take vengeance upon Velasco. The earl marched eighthundred men into the town, placed the governor in their center andescorted him to the shore, and so took him safely on board a ship. Hewas conveyed, by his own desire, to Alicante, as the revolt had spreadso rapidly through Catalonia that Rosas was now the only town whichfavored the cause of the Duke d'Anjou.

  The capture of Barcelona takes its place as one of the most brilliantfeats in military history, and reflects extraordinary credit upon itsgeneral, who exhibited at once profound prudence, faithful adherenceto his sovereign's orders, patience and self command under the illconcealed hatred of many of those with whom he had to cooperate--thewrong headedness of the king, the insolence of the German courtiers, thesupineness of the Dutch, the jealousy of his own officers, and the opendiscontent of the army and navy--and a secrecy marvelously kept up formany weary and apparently hopeless days.

  On the 28th of October King Charles made his public entry intoBarcelona, and for some days the city was the scene of continual fetes.The whole province rose in his favor, and the gentlemen of the districtpoured into the town to offer their homage to the king. Only about onethousand men of the Spanish garrison had to be conveyed to Rosas inaccordance with the terms of capitulation, the rest of the troops takingthe oath of allegiance to King Charles and being incorporated with theallied army.

  Jack Stilwell entered into the festivities with the enjoyment of youth.The officers of the allied army were made much of by the inhabitants,and Jack, as one of the general's aides de camp, was invited to everyfete and festivity. The Count de Minas introduced him to many ofthe leading nobles of the city as the preserver of his life; but hisinability to speak the language deprived him of much of the pleasurewhich he would otherwise have obtained, and, like many of the otherofficers, he set to work in earnest to acquire some knowledge of it.In one of the convents were some Scottish monks, and for three or fourhours every morning Jack worked regularly with one of them.

  Although Lord Peterborough threw himself heart and soul into thefestivities, he worked with equal ardor at the military preparations.But here, as before, his plans for energetic action were thwarted bythe Germans and Dutch. At last, however, his energy, aided by theactive spirit of the king, prevailed, and preparations were made forthe continuance of the campaign. The season was so late that no furtheroperations could be undertaken by sea, and the allied fleet thereforesailed for England and Holland, leaving four English and two Dutchfrigates in support of the land forces at Barcelona.

  Garrisons of regular troops were dispatched to the various towns whichhad either declared for the king or had been captured by the Miqueletsheaded by the Marquis of Cifuentes, engineer officers being also sent toput them in a state of defense. Of these Tortosa was, from its position,the most important, as it commanded the bridge of boats on the Ebro, themain communication between Aragon and Valencia. To this town two hundreddragoons and one thousand foot were sent under Colonel Hans Hamilton.The king turned his attention to the organization of the Spanisharmy. He formed a regiment of five hundred dragoons for his bodyguard,mounting them upon the horses of the former garrison, while from thesetroops, swelled by levies from the province, he raised six powerfulbattalions of infantry. He excited, however, a very unfavorable feelingamong the Spaniards by bestowing all the chief commands in these corpsupon his German followers.

  But while the conquest of Barcelona had brought the whole of Cataloniato his side, the cause of King Charles was in other parts of Spain lessflourishing. Lord Galway and General Fagel had been beaten by MarshalTesse before Badajos, and the allied army had retreated into Portugal,leaving the French and Spanish adherents of Philip free to turn theirwhole attention against the allies in Catalonia.

  Weary weeks passed on before Lord Peterborough could overcome the apathyand obstinacy of the Germans and Dutch. At a council of war held on the30th of December Peterborough proposed to divide the army, that he inperson would lead half of it to aid the insurrection which had brokenout in Valencia, and that the other half should march into Aragon; butBrigadier General Conyngham and the Dutch General Schratenbach stronglyopposed this bold counsel, urging that the troops required repose aftertheir labors, and that their numbers were hardly sufficient to guardthe province they had won. Such arguments drove Peterborough almost tomadness; the troops had, in fact, gone through no hard work during thesiege of Barcelona, and two months and a half had elapsed since thatcity surrendered. Moreover, far from being reinvigorated from rest,they were suffering from illness caused by inactivity in an unhealthycountry.

  Already all the benefits derivable from the gallant capture of Barcelonahad been lost. The enemy had recovered from the surprise and dismayexcited by that event. The friendly and wavering, who would at oncehave risen had the king boldly advanced after his striking success, hadalready lost heart and become dispirited by the want of energy displayedin his after proceedings, and from all parts of Spain masses of troopswere moving to crush the allies and stamp out the insurrection.

  In Valencia only had the partisans of Charles gained considerableadvantages. In the beginning of December Colonel Nebot, commanding aregiment of Philip's dragoons, declared for Charles, and, accompanied byfour hundred of his men, entered the town of Denia, where the people andBasset, the governor, at once declared for Charles.

  On the 11th Nebot and Basset attacked the little town of Xabea,garrisoned by five hundred Biscayans, and carried it, and the same nighttook Oliva and Gandia. The next day they pushed on through Alzira, wherethey were joined by many of the principal inhabitants, and a detachmentof the dragoons under Nebot's brother, Alexander, surprised and routedthree troops of the enemy's horse, captured their convoy of ammunition,and pursued them to the very gates of Valencia.

  On the night of the 15th the main body marched from Alzira, and appearednext morning before Valencia and summoned the town to surrender. TheMarquis de Villa Garcia refused, but Alexander Nebot put himself at thehead of his dragoons and galloped up to the gates shouting "Long livethe king!" The inhabitants overpowered the guard at the gate and threwit open and Valencia was taken. When the news of these reverses reachedMadrid the Conde de las Torres, a veteran officer who had seen muchservice in the wars of Italy, marched from Madrid in all haste toprevent if possible the junction of the forces of Catalonia with theValencians.

  He at once marched upon San Matteo, which lay on the main line ofcommunication, and commenced a vigorous siege of that city. The kingreceived the news on the 18th of January, 1706, and wrote at once toPeterborough, urging him to go to the relief of San Matteo, butgiving him no troops whatever to assist him in his enterprise; andPeterborough's difficulties were increased by General Conyngham, whocommanded a brigade at Fraga, hastily falling back upon Lerida uponhearing exaggerated rumors of the strength of the enemy.

  Peterborough, however, did not hesitate a moment, but mounting hishorse, and accompanied only by his aides de camp, Jack Stilwell andLieutenant Graham, rode for Tortosa. Changing his horse at the varioustowns through which he passed, and riding almost night and day, hereached Tortosa on the 4th, and at once summoned the magnates of thetown to give information as to the real state of things. He then found,to his astonishment, that the details which the king had sent himrespecting the force of the enemy were entirely incorrect. Charles hadwritten that they were two thousand strong, and that sixteen thousandpeasants were in arms against them, whereas Las Torres had with himseven thousand good troops, and not a single peasant had taken up arms.

  General Killigrew, who now commanded the two hundred dragoons andthe thous
and British infantry at Tortosa, together with his officers,considered that under such circumstances it was absolutely hopeless toattempt any movement for the relief of San Matteo; but Peterborough didnot hesitate a moment, and only said to his officers:

  "Unless I can raise that siege our affairs are desperate, and thereforecapable only of desperate remedies. Be content; let me try my fortune,whether I cannot by diligence and surprise effect that which bydownright force is apparently impracticable."

  The officers had unbounded confidence in their general, and althoughthe enterprise appeared absolutely hopeless, they at once agreed toundertake it. Accordingly the three weak English regiments marched fromTortosa under Killigrew, and the next day the earl followed with thedragoons and a party of Miquelets, and overtook the infantry that night.The next morning he broke up his little army into small detachments inorder that they might march more rapidly, and, dividing the Miqueletsamong them as guides, ordered them to assemble at Fraiguesa, two leaguesfrom San Matteo.

  The advance was admirably managed. Small parties of dragoons andMiquelets went on ahead along each of the roads to occupy the passesamong the hills. When arrived at these points they had strict ordersto let no one pass them until the troops appeared in sight, when theadvance again pushed forward and secured another position for the samepurpose.

  Thus no indication of his coming preceded him; and the troops arrivingtogether with admirable punctuality before Fraiguesa, the place wastaken by surprise, and guards were at once mounted on its gates, withorders to prevent any one from leaving the town on any excuse whatever.Thus while the English force were within two leagues of San Matteo,Las Torres remained in absolute ignorance that any hostile force wasadvancing against him. Graham and Jack were nearly worn out by theexertions which they had undergone with their indefatigable general.They had ridden for three days and nights almost without sleep, and ontheir arrival at Tortosa were engaged unceasingly in carrying out theirchief's instructions, in making preparations for the advance, and inobtaining every possible information as to the country to be traversed.

  Both the young officers had now begun to speak Spanish. A residence offour months in the country, constant communication with the natives, andtwo months and a half steady work with an instructor had enabled themto make great progress, and they were now able to communicate withoutdifficulty with the Spaniards with whom they came in contact.