I recently came across a letter from Lieutenant Benjamin Marcus Ball, 2nd Battalion 39th Regiment of Foot, to his mother containing an excellent account of the Battle of Arroyomolinos. I will use extracts in my forthcoming book on that battle, and the one at Almaraz six months later, but thought it worth reproducing here in full.
Benjamin Ball was 22 years old. He had been commissioned as an ensign in 1807 and promoted to lieuteant in 1809, shortly before his battalion arrived in the peninsula. To aid readability I’ve cleaned up a bit of the punctuation and introduced some paragraphs.
Alburquerque, November 15, 1811
My dear Mother,
I little thought when I last addressed you from the peaceful village of Alegrete that I should so soon have occasion to call forth my pen to record an additional Triumph for the British Arms – a Triumph the parallel of which has not appeared during this long & eventful War; as its Laurels are not tarnished with the blood of our brave Soldiers – & which has set the Talents of our much-loved General (Hill) beyond all competition in the Peninsula, unless with those of our illustrious Commander-in-Chief.
You will no doubt ere this reaches you have heard of our Movement, perhaps you will have seen the Dispatches, as the circumstances in which I have been placed, which I shall in due order unfold, have prevented me from writing as soon as I could have wished. A more detailed account may however not be unacceptable , I therefore lose no time in presenting you with the following.
About the latter end of September, the Division of the Enemy commanded by General Girard came down as far as Caceres for the purpose of levying contributions in that part of Estramadura, & drove the Spanish Troops under Conde de Penne as far back as Valencia d’Alcantara. They settled themselves very quietly in Caceres thinking I suppose they would meet with no molestation from us, as the season was so far advanced that all operations were deemed impracticable. In which expectation they were bitterly mistaken as will appear in the sequel. Girard’s force amounted to 5,000 Men; of which nearly 2,000 were cavalry – & this was the only force of any Consequence the Enemy had in Estremadura, the Garrison of Badajos alone excepted. General Hill formed his plans for surprising them with such secrecy & decision that no one for a moment suspected he had any intention of the kind, so much so that we were extremely astonished on 21st October, to see the 71st Regt marching into Alegrete from Castelo de Vide without our having in any manner been apprized of their coming, or being ordered to make way for them. We of course concluded it was some mistake, & sent into Portalegre for orders; when we were soon set to rights by an express from the General ordering both the Regts to march the following morning to Codosera, where we were joined by the whole Division & encamped. On 23rd our Brigade marched to San Vincente, & that of Genl. Howard to Alburquerque. As these two Brigades were the only British Troops employed in the subsequent operations except the Cavalry, I shall take no notice of the rest.
On 24th our Brigade moved to a place called San Catalina & encamped & the same day that of Howard to Alisada. At two in the afternoon of 25th we advanced to Aroyo de Puerco, & encamped. The Enemy at this time had an advanced of about 600 men in a village called Malpartida de Caceres, about a league in our front, & two from Caceres; which we received orders to attack the next morning. We accordingly marched at day break for that purpose, but on arriving at the place we found General Howard’s Brigade in the town. The enemy apprized of our approach had withdrawn at day-break, & Howard had entered the town two hours after they had left it. On arrival of the Advance in Caceres, the whole corps moved off to Aldea de Cano. General Hill was no sooner informed of the Route they had taken than he resolved on one effort more to come up with them, though a day’s march ahead of us. The more effectually to accomplish this he had to recourse to a Ruse de Guerre, which was sending into Caceres, to prepare Quarters & Rations for his Army which was to be there the following day, & of which he well knew the French would be Duly apprized. Instead however of going to Caceres, the next morning as we also expected we set out for Aldea de Cano, escorted by the same Guide who had conducted the French the preceding day, on our arrival there we found the Enemy was off & halted two hours while the General made a Reconnoissance, when we marched again & at nightfall reached a small village called Cuesca near which we encamped. The Enemy were then all in the town of Aroyo de Molino, only a league in our front. At two o’clock we moved on again so as to reach that place by break of day. Having performed a March of ten Leagues in 24 hours in the worst of weather, & then only came up with the Enemy who were to be attacked, beaten, & pursued over mountains for 4 Leagues further. We formed in close Column behind a little hill which concealed us from the town & shortly the French were seen march out in Column of Route on the Merida road, little dreaming destruction was so nigh.
General Howard’s Brigade was ordered to march directly on the town, & clearing it of all stragglers to take them to the Rear, while our Brigade under Colonel Wilson 39th operated on their flank.
The first information they had of our approach was a Volley from the 71st which killed several. Girard himself was in his house, & his horse & two Orderlies at the door. The fire of the 71st killed both his Orderlies, when he came running out, mounted his horse & galloped to his Brigade, when they came in contact with the head of our Column which they had not seen, having been obscured from their view by the heavy rain which fell. They immediately withdrew precipitately from the Road, & made for the mountains which were unfortunately but too near them; leaving the whole of their Baggage, Stores & Cannon in our possession. They were hotly pushed by the Light Companies of the Brigade, & 28th and 34th Regts while our Battn was detached to cut off their Retreat. We kept to the foot of the hill along the plain, while the other Regts drove them up the Mountain which was composed entirely of craggy rocks, at the point of the bayonet, making great numbers of Prisoners. After winding round the Mountains about a League we ascended a stupendous hill which we expected would command the Road they had to pass, but how great was our disappointment on gaining its summit to find they were not within musquet-shot.
A great part of our men were so completely knocked up by the fatigues they undergone, that they were unable to proceed any further. Determining however, to strain every nerve to cut them off we descended the plain, & following our former course gained a road which led into that by which they were retiring – but too late, we came within reach of them across a Vineyard, when we commenced a very brisk fire on them which they returned for half an hour. Suddenly they all made off as hard as they could run, & gained a very high ascent where they made a second stand. From this position they opened a very heavy fire completely enfilading the road we were in, we pushed directly for some rocks which commanded their position, but in this manoeuvre so much time was lost, they gained a full league, & returned without much further molestation from us tho we followed them as close as we could the whole way, having been informed that the cavalry was waiting to cut them off as soon as they reached the plain, & indeed about 20 Dragoons did show themselves when the French collecting, formed the square & kept them at a very reasonable distance. On arriving at the foot of the Mountain tho we had but a few men up, Lt Col Lindesay who commanded the Regt, resolved on demanding them to surrender & fixing his handkerchief on a Stick by way of Flag of Truce, rode up to their Column & was met by Girard himself who had conducted the Retreat the whole time & was wounded in the Arm. Col. Lindesay desired him in order to spare any further effusion of blood, to lay down his Arms. Girard with tears in his eyes answered he would rather die – but several of the Men calling out “yes we will surrender”, Lindesay desired them to follow him when 15 Men & an Officer came out of the Column, & returned to us with him. The whole of these Men were wounded. The wretched Remains of the Enemy retired into a wood, whither they were followed by the Guerrillas who took about 50 of them. We were then at the end of our chase of 3 Leagues from Aroyo de Molino, & finding a small village called Val de Fuentes we halted in it for the night. It was unfortunate our Men were so severely fatigued, as had they been fresh as their Antagonists every man would have been taken. As it is however it is splendid achievement, & reflects infinite credit on the General who planned, & the Troops who…
The letter is damaged here with the end of most lines missing. Ball talks about the prisoners that were captured, including the Duc d’Arenberg, who was related by marriage to Napoleon’s former wife Josephine, General Lebrun who commanded the French cavalry, three lieutenant colonels, and many more officers. He also mentions the 8,000 Dollars worth of stores and ammunition taken, and a chest containing about the same amount of cash. The 28th Foot apparently netted £10,000 between them with one solider seizing £400 in coin. He laments that his regiment missed out on the plunder because of its role in the further pursuit of Girard. He also talks about the very poor weather and the the long marches they had to endure, and then continues:
The day before the action we marched at six in the morning & continued on the Road till Eight at night, halted in a new ploughed filed till two while the Rain almost beat us into the Ground, & being forbidden to make fires, could get nothing to eat, marched again at two, came up with the Enemy at five, & continued our pursuit over Mountains till four in the evening having had nothing to eat or drink from 5 o’clock in the evening of 26th till 9 at night of 28th, incessantly on the move, & constantly wet through. To add to my comfort, my baggage was carried back to Portalegre during the fight, & I was left with only the clothes on my back, & these in no very Catholic condition, until a few days ago when it was restored to me in a most melancholy plight, one half of my things having been stolen, & these which remained, utterly destroyed by the wet, & my horse almost dead from ill-usage & starvation, so you see I am no great gainer from these wars.
On 29th we returned to Curesca, & thence by the same road to San Vincente, whence we were ordered to this place which we reached on 7th Inst. & Where the 28th & our Regt remain. The rest of the Division have returned to Portalegre. We are in good Quarters here & in some degree recovering From our fatigues, but Dreadfully in want of Money having received no Pay for four months, & in Spain nothing is to be had without the Dollars.
We have had no Mail from England since I last wrote to you, of course I have heard nothing further respecting my Promotion. It is indeed nearly three months since any accounts have been received from home which makes me think the King is dead, as I can conceive no better cause for delaying Pacquets. What alteration such an event might make in the star of affairs here, it is hard to say but I think the Spaniards would be somewhat downcast. From Lord Wellington’s Army we hear but little, but I believe all is quiet in the North. Our first battalion arrived in Lisbon sometime since from Sicily, & is shortly expected at Portalegre. I do not however suppose the transfer will take place between the two Battalions, before the 24th December. At present there is great canvassing in the Regt for who is to go home, & who to stay, a Question which time only can resolve. The loss sustained by our Regt in the late Affair amounts only to 1 Captain, 1 Sergeant 3 Rank and File Wounded; none killed, but I think our whole loss is under Twenty while that of the Enemy is as above mentioned. This is certainly at least a long letter & I shall expect a long one in Reply, Should any thing occur you shall soon hear from me again, in the mean time I remain with best lobe to Mr Baget & the Children
Your affectionate Son
B.M.Ball
Ball did transfer to the 1st Battalion and went on to serve for the remainder of the peninsular campaign. He was present at the first siege of Badajoz, Albuera, Arroyomolinos, Vittoria, the Pyrenees, the Nivelle, the Nive, Garris, Orthez, Aire and Toulouse. The Hampshire Archives has over 20 of his letters to his mother dated from May 1811 to April 1814, reference 20M62/11B.
My book on Arroyomolinos and Almaraz – At the Point of the Bayonet – will be published later this year by Helion & Co.
My history of the 5/60th – Riflemen is available from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.ukand other book retailers, or direct from the publisher Helion & Co.
Daring, Duty & Cunning Plans 