The Action at Sahagun 21st
December 1808:
O'er rivers of ice and
O'er mountains of snow
Setting The Scene
As the climax of the
Campaign of 1808 approached, the army of General Sir John Moore, 33,000 men
strong, was advancing from Salamanca in the general direction of Burgos,
intent upon surprising and all being well defeating in detail the dispersed
forces of Marshal Soult, and thereafter creating a threat to the vital French
lines of communication running from Bayonne through Burgos to Madrid, which
Napoleon had recently occupied at the head of his Corps d'Armee.
Ahead of Moore's main
body moved his screening light cavalry under command of the 40 year-old Henry
Paget, Lt. General of Cavalry, who was described at about this time by his
younger brother as "always at the head, and in the thick of everything that
has been going on. He is, in this respect, quite a boy, and a cornet instead
of a Lt General of Cavalry, but in every other he is the right hand of the
army."
Henry Paget, Lt. General of Cavalry
His present command
comprised two cavalry brigades under John Slade, "that damned stupid fellow"
as his superior regarded him with some justice, and Charles Stewart
respectively. The first brigade, with which we are concerned, comprised the
10th and 15th Hussars and a detachment of horse artillery; the second was made
up of the 3rd and 18th Hussars, some excellent Kings German Legion cavalry,
and the 7th Hussars, Henry Paget's own regiment.
As Moore marched for
Mayorga, his questing cavalry moved towards Melgar de Abajo. Unknown to the
British command, Soult was in fact already aware of the proximity of an enemy
force, but he had no accurate notion of Moore's actual strength (Baird had
joined him with 10,000 men on 20 December); nor had he any idea that he was so
close at hand. As a sensible general precaution, however, the Duc de Dalmatie
had concentrated infantry divisions at Carrion and Saldana, and sent cavalry
forces to Sahagun and Mayorga under generaux-de brigade Debelle and
Franchsechii. It would be the former force, comprising the French 8th Dragoons
and the 1st Provisional Chasseurs (a formation of Hanoverians absorbed into
the French Armee d'Espagne) that was destined to have its rest rudely
shattered before dawn on the 21st.
Four days earlier the
presence of this French formation in the vicinity was established by British
patrols - and an estimated strength of between 700 and 800 troopers
calculated. Sir John Fortescue doubts that there were more than 400 in fact,
but Oman accepts the higher figure. Be that as it may, late on the 19th,
amidst a storm of driving snow, the 10th and 15th Hussars entered Mayorga
after a 30 mile march, to receive further tidings that Debelle's cavalry had
moved to Sahagun that same afternoon. That night Paget moved forward to
Melegar de Abajo as the main army closed up on Mayorga. The 20th was devoted
to a well-earned rest. That evening, however, Paget issued his orders for a
night attack on Sahagun for the early hours of the 21st. Dated from "Morgel de
Alazo (sic) 20 December 1808 -9 p.m." these ran as follows:
"The 10th Hussars with 4 guns will march from Monastero
so as to arrive at the Bridge of Sahagun precisely at half-past six tomorrow
morning. The whole will march as light as possible, leaving the forage to be
brought forward by the country carts with the baggage, which will march at
daybreak under escort of such men and horses as are not fit for a forced
march. The guns will move without ammunition wagons, the two remaining ones,
with everything belonging to the artillery, will come on the with the baggage.
The object of the movement is to surprise Sahagun. The picquet at the Bridge
will be driven in briskly. If serious opposition is made, a squadron or more
may be dismounted, who, followed by a mounted squadron, will enter the town,
make for the (French) General's and principal officers' quarters to make them
prisoners. It is only in case of absolute necessity that the guns must be
used. The grand object is to drive the enemy through the town, on the other
side of which Lt Gen Lord Paget will be posted with the 15th Hussars. The
moment this object is in way of being accomplished, two squadrons of the 10th
must be detached to the left of El Burgo Ranco, where the enemy has a picquet
of from 60 to 100 men. These must be briskly attacked and made prisoner. This
done they will return to Sahagun."
Such was the plan -
one cavalry regiment to act as beaters, the other as stops on the further side
of the town. But as happens so often in military operations, events were
destined to take rather a different form. As von Moltke would remark a century
later, no plan survives the first five minutes of battle."
Paget's scheme
involved a 12 mile approach march starting at 1 a.m. through snow and ice on a
bitterly cold night. Much clearly depended on proper coordination of the moves
of the two regiments - but a combination of bad weather and Brigadier-General
Slade would prove daunting odds against a full and successful implementation.
The die was cast,
however, and shortly after midnight
Lt Colonel C. Grant of the 15th began to muster his men. Their number was
probably about 400 troopers of the 15th Hussars - we know that of the 700 men
and 682 horses that embarked for the Peninsula there remained 527 still
present with the regiment on 19 December - as many more of the 10th Hussars,
and a dozen of the 7th Hussars, forming the personal escort of Lord Paget, not
to forget the brigade, four guns strong, of horse artillery. Perhaps 1,200 men
in all mustered to the bugle's command that chill early morning of
Christmastide 1808. Their gathering was not a little complicated by the
inopportune outbreak of a fire in the village of Melegar, and there was
some confusion as the church bell rang the alarm.
It is here that we
pass over the narrative to Captain Gordon‘s
“A Journal of a
Cavalry Officer in the Corunna Campaign 1808-1809”
Gordon’s
Story
21st.—Whilst we were drawn up at the
alarm post, waiting for the arrival of Lord Paget, a fire broke out in the
village, occasioned, probably, by the carelessness of some of our dragoons.
The glare of the flames partially illuminated the ground where we stood, and
contrasted finely with the dark mass of our column; whilst the melancholy
sound of the church bell, which was struck (In all the churches and convents I
had opportunities of seeing, the bells, which are without clappers, do not
swing, but are fixed. The sexton goes up to the belfry to sound them by
striking quick strokes with an iron rod, which produces a sound more like the
clattering of fire-irons, or pots and pans, than the music of the bells.) to
rouse the sleeping inhabitants, broke the silence of the night, and, combined
with the object and probable consequences of our expedition, made the whole
scene peculiarly awful and interesting.
Captain Thornhill, of the Seventh, who
attended Lord Paget, with ten or twelve orderlies of his regiment, rode beside
mc during part of the night, and told me the object of our movement was to
surprise a body of cavalry and artillery posted in a convent at Sahagun, a
large town on the Cea, five leagues from Melgar de Abaxo. I afterwards learned
that General Slade was directed to attack the convent with the Tenth and Horse
Artillery, whilst the Fifteenth was to make a circuit and form on the opposite
side of the town, in order to intercept their retreat. This plan, however, was
rendered abortive by the bad state of the roads and the dilatory proceedings
of the Brigadier, who on this occasion is reported to have made a long speech
to the troops, which he concluded with the energetic peroration of “Blood and
slaughter-march!“
Our march was disagreeable, and even
dangerous, owing to the slippery state of the roads; there was seldom an
interval of many minutes without two or three horses falling, but fortunately
few of their riders were hurt by these falls. The snow was drifted in many
places to a considerable depth, and the frost was extremely keen. We left
Melgar in the midst of a heavy fall of snow, and when that ceased I observed
several vivid flashes of lightning.
We passed through two small towns or
villages; in one of these, about two leagues from Sahagun, is a noble castle,
which appeared to great advantage “by the pale moonlight.” Near this place our
advanced guard came upon the enemy’s picquet, which they immediately charged;
the Frenchmen ran away, and in the pursuit both parties fell into a deep ditch
filled with snow. Two of the enemy were killed, and six or eight made
prisoners; the remainder escaped and gave the alarm to the troops at Sahagun.
Just at this period, when despatch was particularly required, our progress was
very much impeded by two long narrow bridges, (In the atlas of the roads
through Spain which accompanies De la Borde’s statistical account of the
country, Calzada de Sahagun and Calzada de los Hermanillos are marked at the
distance of about a league from Sahagun. It was probably these causeways which
impeded our advance so much on the morning of December 21, by obliging the
regiment to break into single file, and which, owing to the darkness, appeared
to me like narrow bridges without parapets.) without parapets, and covered
with ice, which we were obliged to cross in single file.
On our arrival at Sahagun we made a
detour, to avoid passing through the streets, and discovered the enemy formed
in a close column of squadrons near the road to Carrion de los Condes; but,
owing to the darkness of the morning and a thin mist, we could neither
distinguish the number nor the description of the force opposed to us, further
than to ascertain it consisted of cavalry.
Lord Paget immediately ordered us to
form open column of divisions and trot, as the French, upon our coming in
sight, made a flank movement, apparently with the intention of getting away;
but the rapidity of our advance soon convinced them of the futility of such
an attempt. They therefore halted, deployed from column of squadrons, and
formed a close column of regiments, which, as it is their custom to tell off
in three ranks, made their formation six deep. During the time the two corps
were moving in a parallel direction, the enemy’s flankers, who came within
twenty or thirty yards of our column, repeatedly challenged, “Qui vive?” but
did not fire, although they received no answer. As soon as the enemy’s order
of battle was formed, they cheered in a very gallant manner, and immediately
began firing. The Fifteenth then halted, wheeled into line, huzzaed, and
advanced. The interval betwixt us was perhaps 400 yards, but it was so quickly
passed that they had only time to fire a few shots before we came upon them,
shouting: “Emsdorff and victory!” The shock was terrible; horses and men were
overthrown, and a shriek of terror, intermixed with oaths, groans, and prayers
for mercy, issued from the whole extent of their front.
Our men, although surprised at time
depth of the ranks, pressed forward until they had cut their way quite through
the column. In many places the bodies of the fallen formed a complete mound of
men and horses, but very few of our people were hurt. Colonel Grant, who led
the right centre squadron, and the Adjutant who
attended him, were amongst the foremost who penetrated the enemy’s mass; they
were both wounded - the former slightly on the forehead, the latter severely
in the face. It is probable neither of them would have been hurt if our fur
caps had been hooped with iron like those of the French Chasseurs, instead of
being stiffened with pasteboard.
It was allowed, by everyone who witnessed the advance of
the Fifteenth, that more correct movements, both in column and in line, were
never performed at a review; every interval was accurately kept, and the
dressing admirably preserved, notwithstanding the disadvantages under which
we laboured. The attack was made just before daybreak, when
our hands were so be-numbed with the intense cold that we could scarcely feel
the reins or hold our swords. The ground was laid out in vineyards intersected
by deep ditches and covered with snow. Our horses, which had suffered from
confinement on shipboard, change of forage, and the fatigues of incessant
marches in inclement weather, were not in their usual condition; and, as the
commanding officer had neglected to halt the regiment during the march for
the purpose of tightening their girths, they had become so slack that when we
began to gallop several of the blankets slipped from under the saddles.
(No uniform references available for the 1st Provisional
Chasseurs - Hanoverian allies of France – who formed the front three ranks of
Debelle's static formation. The chasseurs were commanded by Colonel Tascher, a
nephew of the Empress Josephine, although there is some doubt as to whether he
was himself present.)
The French were well posted, having a
ditch in their front, which they expected to check the impetus of our charge;
in this, however, they were deceived. Lord Paget misjudged the distance or
halted the Fifteenth too soon, by which means our right was considerably
outflanked, and we outflanked theirs by a squadron’s length. It was said
afterwards that he intended the left squadron should have remained in reserve
to support the charge, but no explicit order to that effect reached us. After
the horses had begun to gallop, indeed, the word of command, “Left squadron to
support!” was passed from the centre, but so indistinctly that Major Leitch
did not feel authorized to act upon it, and at that moment we were so near the
enemy that it would have been difficult to restrain either the men or horses.
My post being on the left of the line,
I found nothing opposed to my troop, and therefore ordered, “Left shoulders
forward!” with the intention of taking the French column in flank; but when we
reached the ground they had occupied, we found them broken and flying in all
directions, and so intermixed with our hussars that, in the uncertain twilight
of a misty morning, it was difficult to distinguish friend from foe.
Notwithstanding this there was a smart
firing of pistols, and our lads were making good use of their sabres. Upon
reaching the spot where the French column had stood, I observed an officer
withdrawn from the melee. I followed, and, having overtaken him, was in the
act of making a cut at him which must have cleft the skull, when I thought I
distinguished the features of Lieutenant Hancox; and, as I then remarked that
he wore a black fur cap and a cloak which, in the dim light of the morning,
looked like blue, I was confirmed in the idea that he belonged to our
regiment. Under this impression, although his conduct in quitting the field at
such a period struck me as very extraordinary, I sloped my sword, and merely
exclaiming: “What, Hancox! is it you? I took you for a Frenchman!” turned my
horse and galloped back to the scene of action. The shock I felt from the idea
that I had been on the point of destroying a brother officer instead of an
enemy deprived me of all inclination to use my sword except in defence of my
own life; and the hostility I had cherished against the French only a few
minutes before was converted into pity for them. When I met with Hancox after
the action, I found that he wore an oilskin cover on his cap, and was not time
person I had followed, who, I conclude, was an officer of the grenadiers a
cheval or compagnie d’élite, which is attached to each regiment of dragoons in
the French service, and doubtless was much astonished at my sudden appearance
and abrupt departure. For my own part, I shall always consider it a most
fortunate circumstance that I was thus deceived, since I have escaped the
feeling of remorse to which I should have been exposed had I taken that man’s
life.
Many mistakes of the same kind must
have occurred in the confusion after the charge. One of our men told me that I
had a narrow escape myself, for that during the melee he had his sword raised
to cut me down, but luckily recognized his officer in time to withhold the
stroke. At this time I witnessed an
occurrence, which afforded a good deal of amusement to those who were near the
place. Hearing the report of a pistol close behind me, I looked round and saw
one of the Fifteenth fall. I concluded the man was killed, but was quickly
undeceived by a burst of laughter from his comrades, who exclaimed that the
awkward fellow had shot his own horse, and many good jokes passed at his
expense. The melee lasted about ten minutes, the enemy always endeavouring to
gain the Carrion road. The appearance of their heavy dragoons was extremely
martial and imposing; they wore brass helmets of the ancient Roman form, and
the long black horsehair streaming from their crests as they galloped had a
very fine effect.
Map from
“A Journal of a
Cavalry Officer in the Corunna Campaign 1808-1809”
Having rode
together nearly a mile, pell-mell, cutting and slashing each other, it
appeared to me indispensable that order should be re-established, as the men
were quite wild and the horses almost blown; therefore, seeing no superior
officer near, I pressed through the throng until I overtook and halted those
who were farthest advanced in pursuit. As soon as I had accomplished this
object, the bugles sounded the “rally.” Whilst we were re-forming our
squadrons, the enemy also rallied and continued their flight by different
routes. Our left and left centre squadrons were detached in pursuit of the
chasseurs a cheval, who took the road to Carrion; the other two squadrons
followed the dragoons, who retired in the direction of Saldana.
Lord Paget
accompanied the left centre squadron, and allowed the body he pursued to
escape by sending an officer, with a white hand-kerchief as a flag of truce,
to propose to them to surrender. Thc French took
advantage of the delay this occasion, and gained so
great a start as to render further pursuit
hopeless. The left squadron was
more successful, and made about seventy prisoners, amongst whom were a
Lieutenant-Colonel and three other officers; but we could not prevent the
escape of the main body, which, although more than double our number, never
attempted to face us. Soon after our left squadron was put in motion in
pursuit of the chasseurs a cheval, Baron Tripp came up to us and said that
Lord Paget had sent him to desire the commanding officer to ride forward with
a flag of truce and propose to them to surrender. Major Leitch made no answer,
but, as if he had misunderstood the order, immediately gave the word of
command to “Gallop!” upon which the squadron rushed on, leaving the
Aide-de-Camp petrified with astonishment it was entirely owing to Major
Leitch’s judicious conduct, in declining to act upon the flag of truce system,
that his squadron was enabled to secure so many prisoners.
The
Chapel of Nuesta Senora de lea Puente, by the bridge over the river Valderaduey;
wounded were taken there after the action at Sahagun.
Whilst
we were engaged in the pursuit of this division, my mare fell with me in
leaping a very wide ditch, and floundered in a
snow-wreath on the farther side; my foot hung in the stirrup,
and, being encumbered with my cloak, it was some time before I could extricate
myself. The mare in the meantime ran away, leaving me in no very enviable
situation. Whilst I was following the squadron on foot, after having been
dismounted by the fall of my horse, I was greatly shocked at witnessing an act
of wanton cruelty which it was not in my power to prevent.
A man of
Griffith’s troop rode up to a French dragoon who was lying wounded on the
ground, and at his approach raised himself with difficulty to beg for mercy,
stripping off his cross-belts at the same time to show
that he surrendered. I hallooed to the
fellow to spare him, but before I could reach the spot the villain had split
the Frenchman’s skull with a blow of his sabre, and galloped away. It was
fortunate for him that he got out of my reach, for, in the indignation I felt
at his conduct, I should certainly have treated him in the same manner. I
beard afterwards that the excuse he offered for this dastardly conduct, when
twitted by his comrades, was that be did not like “to let the day pass without
cutting down a Frenchman, and could not suffer such a favourable opportunity
to slip!”
The restored
bridge over the river Valderaduey, over which Debelle’s troops escaped the
Chapel of Nuesta Senora de la Puente is behind the trees.
It was also reported that several of the French who were wounded and had
received quarter, fired at our men as soon as their backs were turned, and of
course paid the forfeit of this treachery with their lives.
After running three or four hundred yards, I met some men
of my troop leading captured French horses, from which I selected one to
replace my lost charger. Several straggling Frenchmen passed close beside me,
whilst I was on foot, without offering me the slightest molestation; they
probably took me for one of their own people, or were too intent on providing
for their own safety to think of any other object.
The animal I selected was a bad goer
and very ill-broke; it had belonged to a quartermaster or subaltern officer,
and was handsomely caparisoned, but the saddle was far from comfortable, and
the stirrups so long that I could scarcely reach them with the point of my
toe. This horse was such a headstrong beast that he was near placing me in an
awkward predicament. In the act of leading the
men I had collected against the squadron of Chasseurs which had escaped from
Lord Paget, I leaped over a ditch which lay between the two bodies; and when
the attack was countermanded, I suppose my steed recognized his old
companions, as the enemy was then passing at the distance of little more than
a hundred yards, and I had the greatest difficulty in forcing him to recross
the ditch, and for some time expected to be carried into the midst of the
French squadron in spite of all my exertions to the contrary.
When I was remounted, I saw that the
squadron was so far advanced I had no chance of overtaking it. I therefore
employed myself in collecting the prisoners we had taken, whom I sent to the
rear under an escort. They seemed very much terrified, having, as I
understood, been taught to expect no quarter would be given them; and when I
assured them they had no cause for apprehension of that sort, they kissed my
hands, embraced my knees, and committed all manner of extravagancies. Many of
these men were Germans and remarkably fine-looking fellows.
Sahagun: the
charge of the 15th Hussars after J.P. Beadle
I had now collected about thirty
hussars— including those who had been sent back with the prisoners, and whose
horses had been unable to keep up with the rest—when the Tenth appeared on an
eminence near the scene of action, and were supposed to belong to the enemy.
As soon as I noticed this fresh body of cavalry, I looked anxiously round the
plain in hopes of discovering a rallying point; but the regiment was so
completely scattered in pursuit that I could not perceive a single squadron
formed on the field, and our situation appeared so desperate that I
considered the only thing that remained for us to do was to sell our lives as
dearly as possible. I therefore determined to lead my small division against
the body of Chasseurs which had escaped from Lord Paget; but I had scarcely
given the word to advance, when his lordship, who as well as every other
officer had been deceived by the appearance of the Tenth in a quarter where
they were not expected, ordered the “rally” to be sounded, and Colonel Grant,
who had just arrived at the spot and approved of my design, said the signal
must be immediately obeyed. I was thus reluctantly obliged to abandon the
meditated attack, which, from our relative positions, would iii all
probability have been attended with complete success, as we had an
opportunity of charging on the enemy’s flank.
I was happy to exchange the French horse for my own mare,
which was brought to me soon after time regiment had reassembled, having been
found in the custody of some men of the Tenth, but I was not so fortunate as
to recover the valise with my baggage, which was
strapped to the saddle at the time I
lost her.
The Battlefield of Sahagun
We learned from the prisoners that
their force consisted of the 8th Regiment of Dragoons and a provisional
regiment of chasseurs a cheval, commanded by the General of Brigade, Debelle,
whose horses and baggage fell into our hands. It appeared by the returns found
in his portfolio that the French had about eight hundred men mounted in the
field, whilst we only mustered betwixt three and four hundred, as, independent
of various small detachments, above a hundred men and horses were left at
Melgar de Abaxo. Although but few of the enemy were killed on the spot, a
great proportion of the prisoners were severely wounded, chiefly by the sabre;
their total loss exceeded 300 men, for a number of their wounded who, after
escaping from the field bad been left on the road from inability to proceed,
where secured and brought to headquarters by our infantry, who afterwards
occupied the villages where they had taken shelter.
Colonel Dud’huit and twelve officers
of the 8th Dragoons were taken. This regiment, which was in the front, bore
the brunt of the attack, and suffered most severely. Colonel Dugens, three
officers, amid about a hundred of the Chasseurs, were made prisoners. We
understood that the Eighth was a favorite corps; it had served in all the late
campaigns, and gained great credit at Marengo, Austerlitz, Jena, Eylau, and
Friedland; several of the officers wore the Cross of the Legion of honour and
several of the sergeants and privates bore honorary badges. ‘The clothing and
appointments, both of men and horses, were strong and serviceable; and the
brass helmets, in point of utility and martial appearance, might be
substituted with advantage in our Service for the cocked hat of the heavy
dragoon.
The French officers expressed surprise
at our temerity in attacking them, and at their own defeat. At first they took
us for Spaniards, and expected an easy victory. It is but doing them justice
to remark that they received our charge with the most determined firmness, but
after their ranks were once broken they made no effort to retrieve the day,
but appeared panic-struck, and only intent on making their escape.
Colonel Tascher, nephew to the
Empress. Josephine, commanded the Chasseurs, but we could not ascertain
whether he was present in the action. The French were better mounted than we
had been led to expect from the report of some of our officers who had been on
service with the regiment in the campaigns of 1794 and 1799. None of their
horses were under fourteen hands and a half, and several were taken into our
brigade to replace such as had become unfit for service. They were in pretty
good condition, but most of their backs were galled; this was not surprising,
as they had only arrived at Sahagun a few days before, having made almost
daily marches since the beginning of October, when they left Hanover; and the
French dragoons take very little care of their horses.
There was not a single man of the
Fifteenth killed in the field we had about thirty wounded, five or six
severely, two of whom died the next day ; (The actual losses were, four men
died of wounds, two officers and nineteen other ranks wounded; four horses
killed, four wounded, and ten missing.) most of the others were so slightly
hurt that they returned to their duty within a week.
I expected the French would have
displayed more skill in the use of the sabre than our men, but the fact proved
quite the reverse, for notwithstanding their swords were considerably longer,
they had no chance with us. Our hussars obtained a good deal of plunder, as
the prisoners were well supplied with many trinkets and ingots of silver, the
produce of plate stolen from the churches and houses of the Spaniards, and
melted to render it more portable. Many of their valises contained fans and
parasols—rather extraordinary articles of equipment for a winter campaign.
General Debelle lost his baggage and horses; we also got possession of the
papers belonging to the staff of the brigade, and the seals of the 8th
Regiment, besides a great number of private letters which were scattered about
the fields of the captors without any regard to the tender nature of the
contents.
Although the success of the action was rendered incomplete,
owing to the very extraordinary conduct of General Slade and sonic mistakes
of Lord Paget, it nevertheless impressed such an idea of the superiority of
our cavalry on the mind of the enemy as induced them to avoid as much as
possible coming in contact with us. Indeed, I can only attribute the want of
enterprise displayed by them on many subsequent occasions, when, owing to
their immense superiority in point of numbers and the inefficient state of our
horses, they had favorable opportunities of destroying the regiment, to the
lessons they had received at Sahagun, Rueda, Valencia, etc.
If General Slade
had sent forward an officer to announce his approach, or if he had joined in
the pursuit, in all probability not a single Frenchman would have escaped.
The whole affair did not occupy an hour, and the regiment remained drawn up
under the walls of the town, without any refreshment, from seven in the
morning till five in the afternoon; whilst the Tenth, who had no share in the
dangers of the day, were sent into quarters before us.
Sahagun
'Twas in quarters we lay, as you quickly shall hear,
Lord Paget came to us and bade us prepare,
Saying, 'Saddle your horses-by the light of the moon,
For the French they are lying in the town of Sahagun.'
We saddled our horses, and away we did go
O'er rivers of ice and o'er mountains of snow,
To the town of Sahagun then our course we did steer,
'Twas the Fifteenth Hussars, who had never known fear.
We rode on all night till the daylight did break,
When eight of those French on a bridge we did take:
But two got away, and rode off to Sahagun,
To tell the French there that the English had come.
The French they turned out of the town of Sahagun,
Well mounted, well armed, full eight hundred strong:
So loud they did
cry for Napoleon, their King;
With three cheers from the fifteenth the vineyards did ring.
They formed themselves up, and the fight it began,
They thought they could frighten the brave Englishman:
With our glittering broadswords right at them we sped,
They turned threes about, and away they all fled.
We soon overtook them as frightened they fled,
Cut through the brass helmets they wore on their head;
'Have mercy, have mercy! ' So loud they did cry;
'Have mercy, you English, or else we must die! ,
'Mid the snow in the vineyards the French they lay dead:
Three hundred were taken, the rest of them fled.
Their Colonel, likewise, he was taken in the field;
'Twas the Fifteenth Hussars made those Frenchmen to yield.
The Spaniards turned out of the town of Sahagun
To welcome the Fifteenth, the 'King's Light Dragoons,'
With jugs full of wine, our thirst for to quench,
Crying, 'long live the English, and down with the French!
Lord Paget came to us, and thus he did say:
'I thank you, Fifteenth, for your valour this day;
Dismount now your horses and feed everyone,
For the battle is over and the fight it is won.'
The twenty-first of December, my boys, was the day
When three hundred 'Fifteenth' made those French run away,
Although they then numbered eight hundred or more.
We'll drink and well sing now the battle is o’er.
Here's health to Lord Paget, so endeth our stave,
Likewise Colonel Grant, and our Officers brave;
With a full flowing bowl now "we’ll drink and we’ll sing,
'Success to the Fifteenth; and 'God Save the King.'
This song was composed by one of the men and was first sung on 21 December
18O9.
It is still sung every year when the
anniversary of Sahagun Day is celebrated and on other occasions
Order of Battle
There is much discrepancy over the numbers involved in
this action.
Oman has a return for the 19th Dec as;
15th – 527
10th – 514
These are figures do not exclude those in hospital or ‘on
command’ on the day. Fortesque puts Debelle‘s sabres at only 400-500
Gen Charles William Vane, who ‘may’ of charged with the
15th, says the English cavalry had 400 men, whilst that
of the French numbered 700. Lord Paget himself, in a letter to his father states that
he had around 400 men whilst the enemy had 600–700.
Fortesque puts the losses of the French at “ apart from
several men killed, amounted to 12 officers and 145 men taken prisoners, both
wounded and unwounded, 125 horses and several mules”. The 15th lost
2 men and 4 horses killed, 2 officers, 18 men and 10 horses wounded. Oman says
the chasseurs were commanded by Col Tascher, a cousin of the Empress
Josephine. They lost 2 Lt-Col’s 11 other officers and 157 men were taken
prisoner. 20 were killed and many more wounded. In fact, the Regt were so mauled that Bonaparte dissolved
it in January 1809.
British
15th
Hussars 7th Hussars (Pagets Escort)
10th
Hussars 2x Horse Artillery Guns
French
1st
Provisional Chasseurs 8th Dragoons
Bibliography
Bryan Fosten Wellington’s Light
Cavalry Osprey Men at Arms 1982 ISBN:
0850454492
Emir Bukhari Napoleon's
Dragoons and Lancers
Osprey Men at Arms 1979 ISBN: 0850450888
Emir Bukhari Napoleon's Line
Chasseurs Osprey Men at Arms 1977 ISBN:
0850452694
The Marquess
of Anglesey One Leg Jonathon
Cape 1961 ISBN: 0850525187
John Mollo The Princes Dolls Leo Cooper 1997
ISBN: 0850524938
Captain Gordon A Cavalry Officer in
the Corunna Campaign
London Ed. H. C. Wylly
1913
Sir Charles
Oman History of the
Peninsular War Vol. 1
Oxford 1902
J. W. Fortescue History of the
British Army Vol. VI
London 1910
P
Haythornthwaite Corunna 1809
Osprey Campaign 2001 ISBN: 1855329689
D. G. Chandler Battle of Sahagun History Today
Article 1978
The Portsmouth Napoleonic Society
