Identifier: historyofpenins05oman (find matches)
Title: A history of the Peninsular War
Year: 1902 (1900s)
Authors: Oman, Charles William Chadwick, Sir, 1860-1946
Subjects: Peninsular War, 1807-1814
Publisher: Oxford : Clarendon Press
Contributing Library: Robarts - University of Toronto
Digitizing Sponsor: University of Toronto

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s cuirassiers had galloped 1 This account of the charge of the cuirassiers comes from the Memoires ofColonel de Gonneville, who commanded their leading squadron. There isa curious point to be settled here. Marshal Suchet says (Memoires, ii. p. 185)that he rode in person to the head of the regiment, and haranguedit shortly on Margalef and other ancient glories, before bidding it charge.While speaking he was struck by a spent ball on the shoulder. Butde Gonneville (who had read Suchets book, as he quotes it in other places)says distinctly (p. 208 of his Souvenirs militaires) that he received noorders, and charged on his own responsibility. Nayant la dordre arecevoir de personne, mais comprenant la necessite darreter cette massede cavalerie qui arrivait a nous, &c. . . . je donnai le signal. Was Suchetromancing about his little speech ? Or was de Gonneville, who wrote hisMtmoires forty years later, oblivious ? Either hypothesis is difficult. SAGUNTUM Betera French n^2 daSpanish cb da
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Gunboats 13. Y^ OaJ* sWe, Carrol, iqitf 1811) CHARGE OF THE CUIRASSIERS 43 straight before them after the fugitives, though they hadalso ridden over and captured a Spanish battery on the rightof the line of deployed battalions. The decisive blow in thisquarter was given by Saint Pauls Italians, who, issuing fromolive groves behind Harispes left, came in upon the unpro-tected flank of Lardizabals troops, which they rolled up,driving away at the same time a few squadrons which had notbeen affected by the charge of the cuirassiers. These last rodein among their own infantry, which was already hotly engagedwith Harispes battalions, and carried confusion down the line.The division, which had hitherto fought most gallantly, gaveway, and retired in confusion towards the bridge over thePicador, and the Cartuja where Lardizabal hoped to sustainhimself by means of the battery and the Valencian reservebattalions which he left there. Meanwhile Blake, from the summit of the knoll of El Puig,had wi

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