Lieut. General the Hon. Sir A. Wellesley,
K.B., to Deputy Paymaster General Boys.
' Plasencia, 8th July, 1809.
' SIR, ' The Quarter Master
General has communicated to me your letter of the 5th, which has astonished and
disappointed me not a little. I cannot understand why you did not move at an
earlier day, after I had quitted Abrantes; nor for what reason you did not make
known to me, at an earlier period, the difficulties in procuring conveyance for
the military chest, if these difficulties prevented its removal. I beg that,
upon your arrival within the Spanish frontier, you will take measures for
moving at least two stages in a day, in order to join head quarters; from
whence you are not in future to separate yourself without my orders.
' I have the honor to be, &c. ' ARTHUR WELLESLEY.
Lieut. General the Hon. Sir A. Wellesley,
K.B., to the Commissary General.
' Plasencia, 8th July, 1809.
SIR, ' I enclose the copy of a
letter which I have received from Mr. Boys, which has surprised and
disappointed me not a little. You must have been awareindeed Mr.
Dalrymple was repeatedly informedthat I waited only for money to commence
my advance into Spain, as I was determined that the army should not be reduced
in that country to the difficulties under which it had labored in Portugal for
want of money. Yet I am sorry to observe that Mr. Boys, who, I expected, would
have left Abrantes a day or two after me, does not come away till the 5th, nine
days after I had set out; and then, instead of bringing with him all the money
in his possession, he brings only about £23,000, out of which sum I know
that he would have to pay £5 or 6,000 to the paymasters of the regiments
which had been stationed at Castello Branco, and who had omitted to send in
their estimates before I quitted Abrantes.
' Thus, then, the object for which I stayed so long at
Abrantes has been defeated, and the promise which I have made to the Spanish
authorities upon the frontierviz., " that ready money should be paid for
the supplies furnished to the British troops," will be violated; and the
Commissaries will experience all the difficulties in procuring supplies, and
the troops will suffer the distress, for the want of them, which we suffered in
Portugal.
' All these evils would have been avoided if Mr. Boys had
been supplied with thirty carts, which is the largest number that would have
been required to draw £60,000 in silver, which I believe is the utmost of
the Sum he had in the military chest at Abrantes.
' It is impossible that any man can pretend that Portugal,
or even the neighbourhood of Abrantes, could not supply thirty carts for this
service. I cannot, and nobody can believe, that, if proper measures had been
adopted, a sufficient number of carts could not have been procured to remove
the treasure at an early period; and I now beg that, immediately upon the
receipt of this letter, you will wait upon the Commissary at Abrantes, and tell
him that I desire he will employ parties of the militia at that place to bring
in carts in sufficient numbers to remove, not only the money, but the
provisions and stores which you have received directions to remove.
' You will then adopt efficient measures to have the drivers
of the carts fed and paid during their march; and you will send off every thing
without loss of time.
' It is necessary that positive orders should be given not
to put more than 600 lbs. on any cart ; and that a certain number of spare
carts should accompany the convoy. ' I hope that efficient measures have been
adopted to secure the arrival of the £60,000 in Spanish gold with General
R. Craufurd, and that I shall not be disappointed there also.
' I have the honor to be, &c. ' ARTHUR WELLESLEY.
Lieut. General the Hon. Sir A. Wellesley,
K.B., to the Officer Commanding the Artillery at Castello Branco.
Plasencia, 8th July, 1809.
' SIR, ' I learn from the Deputy
Paymaster General that he has been unable to move the military chest from
Abrantes for want of carts, and I beg that, upon the receipt of this letter,
you will call upon the magistrate at Castello Branco to supply as many carts as
he can get, and you will employ the artillery men under your command to press
them. You will then send them under escort of the artillery men under your
command to Abrantes by the road of Villa Velha.
' After taking the carts to Abrantes the artillery men may
return, as there are escorts at Abrantes for the money as well as for the
ordnance stores, &c.;
' The number of carts wanted for the money is thirty ; but I
doubt not but others are required to move the ordnance stores.
' I have the honor to be, &c. ' ARTHUR WELLESLEY.
Lieut. General the Hon. Sir A. Wellesley,
K.B., to the Officer Commanding the Artillery.
' Plasencia, 8th July, 1809.
' SIR, ' It is desirable that
all the horses belonging to the artillery in different parts of Portugal should
be ordered to be collected at Lisbon, with the exception of those attached to
Captain Baynes's brigade at Castello Branco.
' It is desirable that a 9 pounder and a 6 pounder brigade
should be equipped for the field with these horses, and should be encamped upon
the high ground behind Belem with the seven battalions of infantry now there;
and I beg that you will give directions accordingly.
' In case this letter should not find you upon the road, I
send a duplicate of it to the officer commanding the artillery at Lisbon,
through the Commissariat at that station, in order that he may take measures to
carry these orders into effect.
' I have the honor to be, &c. ' ARTHUR WELLESLEY.
Lieut. General the Hon. Sir A. Wellesley,
K.B., to Colonel Peacocke.
' Plasencia, 8th July, 1809.
' MY DEAR SIR, ' I enclose a
letter for the officer commanding the artillery, which I beg of you to peruse
and deliver to the officer commanding the artillery at Lisbon.
' Although I have thus given directions that the strength of
the body of troops in the camp at Belem should be augmented, I beg that you
will understand that they are to move, but not till I shall send orders for
their movement, after I shall have received from you and from the General
Officers commanding them a report of their state, such as I directed should be
made in my letter to you of the 28th June.
' I beg that you will communicate this letter to Major
General Lightburne and to Brig. General Catlin Craufurd, who, I conclude,
command these troops.
' Believe me, &c.; ' ARTHUR WELLESLEY.
Lieut. General the Hon. Sir A. Wellesley,
K.B., to the Right Hon. J. H. Frere.
' Plasencia, 8th July, 1809.
' MY DEAR SIR, ' I have arrived
here with the advanced guard of the British troops. The army which was with me
on the Tagus will be here on the 9th and 10th, having marched some of them from
the neighbourhood of Santarem since the 27th of last month. The distance is not
far from 200 miles. The cavalry and part of the infantry lately arrived will be
up in two or three days afterwards.
' I am going over to see General Cuesta the day after
tomorrow, and I shall return here on the 12th. I shall write to you from his
quarters.
' You will have heard that General Franceschi is taken with
dispatches from Soult to King Joseph, and other interesting papers. I have seen
the purport of these papers; but I shall be very much obliged to you if you
will send me copies of the originals, which have been sent to Seville, as well
as General Franceschi and his aides de camp.
' Believe me, &c.; ' ARTHUR WELLESLEY.
Lieut. General the Hon. Sir A. Wellesley,
K.B., to Lieut. Colonel Roche.
' Plasencia, 8th July, 1809.
' SIR, ' I have received your
letter of the 6th. I have this day received from Almeida the purport of the
letters taken from General Franceschi's possession, of which I have given to
Lieut. Colonel O'Lalor a copy to forward to General Cuesta, who may not have
received them.
' From these it appears that Soult has evacuated Galicia and
come to Zamora, solely with a view to give repose and to refit his army, and
that he intends to plunder Braganza and to threaten Portugal; and he has
detached small corps under Colonel Guipe, the precise object of whose
operations is not stated. Ney remains, and must remain, in Galicia.
' I beg that you will tell General O'Donoju that I have no
apprehensions for Portugal. Braganza must be plundered, and that we cannot
help; but I have taken measures to prevent any serious impression being made
upon Portugal. I think, however, that the corps under Colonel Guipe may be
destined to pass through the Puerto de Perales or the Puerto de Banos to
endeavor to ascertain what is going on in this quarter. The latter will be
occupied on the 11th instant, but it is very desirable that some measures
should be taken to occupy the Puerto de Perales, from whence the enemy could
equally and most effectually annoy my communications with Portugal.
' I propose going over to see General Cuesta on the 10th, to
stay with him the 11th, and to return on the 12th.
' I have the honor to be, &c. ' ARTHUR WELLESLEY.
Lieut. General the Hon. Sir A. Wellesley,
K.B. to the Right Hon. John Villiers.
' Plasencia, 8th July, 1809.
' MY DEAR VILLIERS, ' Beresford
will have communicated to you the accounts which he has received from General
Cox of the capture of General Franceschi and his aides de camp, and of the
letters taken on his person. From these letters it appears to me that Soult has
been obliged to come out from Galicia to Zamora solely for the purpose of
giving repose to and refitting his army; that he intends to plunder Braganza,
which I conceive we cannot well prevent, and by his position, as well as by his
movements, to threaten Portugal ; that Ney remains in Galicia, in which kingdom
he is to fortify certain points, and to occupy them with his troops.
' You are aware that Beresford is about to collect his army
upon the frontier, somewhere south of the Douro ; and I defy Soult to do him or
Portugal any injury as long as his army is in its present situation, or by any
amelioration of its situation which can be produced in a short period of time.
He may be able to plunder Braganza, or any other village, but I trust that the
Portuguese Government will have firmness sufficient to look at the great
objects of the war, and not to disturb our plans or operations by calling for
detachments to protect trifling objects upon the frontier ; which detachments,
after all, will not be able to effect any of the objects which the Government
would have in view in calling for them.
' Beresford's army on the frontier of Portugal will protect
that country, and will add much to the strength of my left flank. Hereafter it
will be able to accomplish more important objects; and in the mean time, I do
not think it much signifies whether a village more or less is plundered. ' I
arrived here this day. It is said that King Joseph has crossed the Tagus with
some of Victor's cavalry and infantry, and the reinforcement he brought with
himself, and is gone to join Sebastiani's corps, which will thus amount to
30,000 men; and that his intention is to beat Vanegas, who has 20,000 men, and
then to penetrate to Seville by Cordova. Victor remains near Talavera with the
remainder of his army, it is said, in great distress for provisions. ' I
enclose the copy of a letter which I have received from Mr. Boys, and the copy
of one which I have in consequence written to the Commissary General. I shall
be very much obliged to you if you will mention to the Government the great
inconvenience which the army has felt, ever since its arrival in Portugal, for
the want of the assistance of the Civil Government to procure the supplies it
has required, particularly of carriages and mules. For the latter I have
written to you, I believe, not less than ten letters ; but they have not yet
assisted the British army with one, and the magistrates of the country have
rather prevented than aided us in procuring carts.
' I hope that now that we have left the country, more
attention will be paid to our demands; and that I shall not. want that which
alone I shall require from Portugal, the means of moving the money, and
ordnance stores, which I shall want from Lisbon. I shall be obliged to you if
you will send to Beresford the observations contained in the first part of this
letter.
' Believe me, &c.; ' ARTHUR WELLESLEY.
Lieut. General the Hon. Sir A. Wellesley,
K.B., to Marshal Beresford.
'Plasencia, 9th July, 1809.
' MY DEAR BERESFORD, ' I have
received your letters of the 4th and 5th. I have not forgotten either the
Puerto de Banos or the Puerto de Perales, and have called upon Cuesta to occupy
both. The former is already, and the latter will be so in a day or two.
' I have no apprehension that Soult will be able to do any
thing for some time with his whole corps, but I think that that column ought to
be watched. Your position in this view of the enemy's operations will
materially aid our left. I believe that the enemy do not know now where we are.
' In respect to your officers, I have no objection to your
appointing them to regiments, if you think you can do so without inconvenience
hereafter. All that I say is that the decision of the Commander in Chief and of
Government upon my letter of the 7th June must be final, and must be carried
into execution.
' I have not yet been able to obtain a return of our camp
stores. As soon as I can get a return, I will spare you what can be given
without inconvenience to the British troops; but I must have Mr. Villiers's
receipt for every thing.
' I should have thought that the arrangements which I had
made for paying Mr. Villiers £80,000 of the money lately arrived would
have enabled you to have taken the field. I am going to Cuesta's camp, and I
shall write to you again when I return.
' Believe me, &c.; ' ARTHUR WELLESLEY.
Lieut. General the Hon. Sir A. Wellesley,
K.B., to the Right Hon. John Villiers.
' Plasencia, 9th July, 1809.
' MY DEAR VILLIERS, ' I have
received your letter of the 5th, and I am perfectly satisfied with any notice
taken by the government of the present acts of enmity committed by the people
of Portugal on the troops, which I fear that the latter deserve but too
well.
' We must have some general rule of proceeding in cases of
criminal outrages by British officers and soldiers, by which the individuals
guilty of them may be brought to early punishment. As matters are now
conducted, the government and I stand complimenting each other, while no notice
is taken of the murderer; and the example of his early trial and punishment is
lost to the troops.
' The artillery man who has committed the murder at Cascaes
must be tried according to the laws of the country, or for a military offence
under the Articles of War. My opinion is that he ought, and all guilty of
similar offences, ought to be tried (I mean tried in earnest, and not as the
officers of the th were tried) according to the laws of the country ; but
if the government prefer that we should take cognizance of these offences, as
being of a military nature, we will do so at once in every case, but they must
assist us in obliging the witnesses to come forward and give their testimony on
oath, to which I find they have great objections.
' I have been working ever since I have been in Portugal to
effect the object proposed by government in respect to the carts, but the army
commenced ill before I arrived, and I have never been able to get it right
since.
' I shall most readily come into any measure proposed by
government to remedy the horrible abuses and hardships now existing, and
occasioned entirely by the mode in which carts are taken for the service of the
British army.
' Let me see the plan of the government before they
promulgate it. I have directed that the money borrowed from Mr. Quintella at
Oporto be repaid to him at Lisbon.
' Believe me, &c.; ' ARTHUR WELLESLEY.
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