The drums beat the Dead March as the prisoners were led towards the big tree. Dobson’s young son kept his face as rigid as possible, but there were tears in the boy’s eyes as he brought his sticks down in the slow rhythm. Half the drummers were from the 106th, and the remainder from the other regiment with a soldier condemned to hang.
The battalions of the Reserve Division formed a hollow square facing inwards, and had been paraded all morning to witness the drumhead court martial and punishment of men arrested during the last few days. They stood in a field of snow on a low ridge to the east of Cacabellos. The village, with its narrow stone bridge, lay behind them. The 15th Hussars provided piquets, supported by the 95th, who were excused from the punishment parade by this duty. In any case, only a small number of their soldiers were under arrest – the result either of good conduct or greater skill in avoiding detection.
General Sir Edward Paget presided, and was confirming his reputation as a keen advocate of the lash. Already some two dozen men had been tied to triangles formed from sergeant’s half-pikes and flogged. Young Dobson was glad that he had not been chosen as one of the drummers to inflict the punishment itself, even if this other duty was grim enough. Most of the sentences were small by the standards of an army that could inflict a thousand or more lashes, even if it was rare for more than a few hundred to be delivered at one time. Hanley had seen a flogging soon after he joined the battalion, but had been glad that there was none since then. MacAndrews was a reluctant flogger, preferring other punishments unless the crime was serious. Today, most of the charges related to theft or drunkenness, and the major was willing to accept that some object lessons were necessary.
That had not prevented him from pleading for the life of Reade, the man now sentenced to be hanged. Formerly a sergeant, he had been broken to the ranks about an alleged failure, which was widely believed not to have been his fault. The man’s spirit had been shattered by the experience and the insult to his pride, and he had taken to drink. Yet in this case, MacAndrews was sure his excursion into Cacabellos had been a hunt for something to wear on his feet now that his boots had given out. It was simply unfortunate that he had run into a patrol of provosts, and when he tried to escape had fled around a corner and knocked down an officer. The major had no doubt that this was an accident. For the general this was of little importance. The man had been in a place forbidden to the soldiers, and was there with the intention of theft, whatever his motives.
Sir Edward had given his verdict, and then dismissed the court so that they could prepare for the execution. He took the opportunity to inhale some of his diminishing supply of snuff, and wondered whether there was any chance of getting more. The general noticed that Captain Wickham had returned and so nodded to the man, only half listening to his explanation that the French prisoner was now in the charge of an officer rendered an invalid by fatigue. Paget had barely noticed Wickham’s absence, and doubted that it had in any way reduced the efficiency of his staff.
Another hussar galloped up, reining in violently so that his horse skidded to a halt, flinging up mud and ice from the ground. The rider saluted.
‘Colonel Grant’s compliments, sir, and strong forces of French cavalry are pressing our outposts. He estimates there to be some five hundred, with more squadrons advancing to join them.’
‘Have they risked a charge?’
‘No, sir. Still skirmishing, but the fire is growing heavier.’ Sir Edward had heard the occasional shot, so that the report confirmed his impression of what was happening.
‘Very well,’ he said to the man. ‘That was a clear and soldier-like report. You may return to your squadron.’
The hussar saluted and sped back the way he had come. General Paget made no obvious move to act on the information, but returned to the business of the punishment parade.
MacAndrews found himself close to Wickham, and so bade him a good day, civility winning out over his dislike.
‘One of yours?’ asked Wickham as Reade was led away and stripped of his jacket.
MacAndrews disliked the ‘yours’ from a man still on the roll of the 106th. ‘Aye, one of ours. Do you not recollect Reade from Three Company?’ Wickham had been a lieutenant in the same company, and had failed to deliver the order which had led to the man’s disgrace. MacAndrews tried to drive the point home. ‘He was a good sergeant.’
‘No, I cannot place him,’ said Wickham, and his face appeared genuinely unstirred by any memory, or indeed significant interest. ‘May I convey my best wishes to Mrs MacAndrews and Miss MacAndrews? I trust they are both well, in spite of the rigours of the campaign.’
‘Mrs MacAndrews is as well as can be expected,’ said her husband flatly. ‘Miss MacAndrews foolishly went riding too far on Christmas Day. She has not been seen since.’
‘Oh … I did not realise …’ For once Wickham’s calm was shattered. ‘I am so very sorry to hear that.’ The sentiment was genuine, although it did begin with annoyance that he would be unable to seek diversion with her. Fear quickly followed. MacAndrews spoke of her riding out. Did he know why? ‘Such a truly terrible thing. However, perhaps she has merely been unable to return to our lines?’
‘That is our hope.’ MacAndrews kept his voice level. ‘Thank you for your concern.’ He turned and strode back to the battalion. Wickham misread distaste in the voice for menace, and feared being called out. A major could not challenge a captain, but since he hoped for promotion before long that offered little assurance of safety. All over a daft slut who’d got herself lost in the middle of a war. The unfairness pained him. If the man could not look after his daughter properly, then it scarcely seemed reasonable to blame anyone else.
Wickham sat on horseback among the general’s staff not far from the tree as the execution party reached it.
‘Proceed,’ said Sir Edward to the provost officer. Two ropes had already been flung over suitable branches. They were made into nooses and these were placed around the condemned men’s necks and fastened. The pair were then lifted up so that their feet rested on the shoulders of some crouching provosts. These stood up carefully, and the ropes were made fast to the branch. One last roll, and the drums stopped. When the signal was given the provosts would step away and let the men drop and swing. If required, they could return to pull the men’s legs and speed their deaths rather than allowing a slow strangulation.
Sir Edward waited to give the order. He was thirty-three, although he looked older. For all his temper, it was not so much passion which moved him now, but a desire to do his duty.
Another hussar appeared, this time riding right across the centre of the square. He was especially gaudily dressed, and Wickham recognised General Slade. Command of the cavalry had fallen to him since Lord Paget had been rendered almost blind by an attack of opthalmia.
‘The French are upon us!’ he called out, reining in his horse directly in front of Sir Edward and his staff. ‘They have twenty squadrons to our three, and so we have begun to retire.’
‘I am sorry to hear that,’ replied Sir Edward as calmly as he was able. ‘It seems, however, somewhat odd for you to bring this information yourself rather than sending an orderly dragoon. I must not detain you, since you must be eager to return to your piquets.’
‘No, no, Sir John must be informed immediately.’ Wickham had a momentary hope that he might be given the task, until Slade set spurs to his horse’s sides and set off at a great pace down the slope towards the village and bridge.
‘Good God,’ murmured one of the ADCs, unable to restrain his surprise.
Sir Edward permitted himself another pinch of snuff from the holder suspended on a chain next to his watch. He inhaled, and a moment later sneezed explosively. He walked his horse forward until he was in the centre of the square. Shots were now coming more frequently and appeared to be getting closer with every passing moment. Pringle, standing at the right of his grenadiers, thought that the general’s face was racked with thought. If it was an act, then it was a good one.
‘My God!’ he bellowed out at last. ‘Is it not lamentable to think that instead of preparing you to receive the enemies of our country, I am planning to hang two robbers? Nevertheless, I shall always do my duty.’ He turned and pointed at the corner of the division’s formation closest to the road down which the French were advancing. ‘But even though that angle of the square should be attacked, I shall hang these villains in that angle.’ He pointed now at the tree.
They waited. More than one of the drummers around young Dobson was sobbing. Reade looked vacant, as if life no longer had any great savour for him and this last disgrace was a release. Paget broke his silence, turning his horse in a circle as he scanned the faces of the paraded men. ‘If I spare the lives of these men, will you promise to reform?’
No one reacted. There seemed to be no sound beyond the gentle sigh of the wind. For the moment there was no more sound of gunfire.
‘Will you promise?’
‘Yes,’ hissed Pringle in a whisper. He guessed that other officers were doing the same.
‘Yes,’ boomed out Dobson’s voice. Rawson echoed the call immediately. Then all the grenadiers and the rest of the regiment took up the cry. ‘Yes!’
‘So be it.’ Sir Edward signalled to the commander of the provosts. The two men were quickly lowered and released. Other provosts dismantled the triangles to signal that there would be no more floggings. The officers called for three cheers for the general, which were most heartily given. MacAndrews wondered whether a last-minute reprieve had been planned from the start. He had known more than a few commanders fond of such theatrics, believing that enough fear was created, and, better still, gratitude won, so that future offences were less likely. Old Billy Howe had been a great one for such things in America.
Little clusters of greenjackets from the 95th started spilling over the crest above them. There was more popping as they turned to fire at the as yet invisible enemy. The hussars were also falling back.
As the square broke up, each of the battalions of the reserve formed column at quarter-distance and began to file in turn down the hill towards the bridge. The 106th was in the rear. It took time for the others to make their way through the narrow streets and over the bridge and MacAndrews had to halt his battalion. He turned them about in case the French arrived more quickly than expected. A troop of horse artillery with six guns each pulled by half a dozen horses caused farther delay.
When the logjam cleared, he sent Pringle with the grenadiers to form in a patch of open ground to the right of the road, before sending the next four companies of the battalion over the bridge. Together, this was half of the 106th, and since they stood on the right of the formation they were known as the right wing. The 52nd had extended along the riverbank and he had his own companies deploy on their flank. The 20th were on the other side of the road. Then the left wing crossed and formed line closer to the high towered church which stood on a rise beside the road.
Pringle waited for the order to bring his own company across the bridge. He had them in line, two deep, with the front rank kneeling, all at an angle to the road. The men were loaded and ready. The right flank was only a few yards from the bridge, but the ground dipped between the last few houses and the crossing point, making it hard for Pringle to see what was happening on the far bank.
Feet pounded as a company of the 95th came jogging down the road. Another followed close behind, and Pringle stepped back to allow the greenjackets to cross. Other riflemen were going into the houses. One of the men looked quite drunk and wandered aimlessly in the street until a comrade dragged him through the door.
Sir Edward Paget remained on the far side of the village, using his telescope to scan the high ground and the road. The 15th continued to pull back, and Wickham began to wonder when the general would himself retire. They could already see French squadrons on the road, and others were just cresting the high ground so recently occupied by the division. There were chasseurs in green, and a regiment of hussars in grey, wearing shakos rather than the fur hats of the British light dragoons.
‘Time?’ asked Sir Edward.
‘A quarter past one, sir,’ replied one his officers, checking his fob watch. A clatter of hoofs announced the arrival of Sir John himself, along with Graham, Colborne and some of his other officers.
The generals exchanged greetings, and Moore explained that he had met Slade on his ride here and hurried his pace accordingly. ‘It appears that he now considers himself ADC to Colonel Grant of the Fifteenth,’ joked Sir John, before listening to Paget explain the situation.
Wickham saw the French horsemen get closer. Using his own glass brought them even nearer. The French hussars had red facings and white lace on the fur pelisses which they wore over their jackets. Shifting his gaze, he saw glittering from the brass helmets of a squadron of dragoons. They were at some distance, but it suggested that enemy reinforcements were approaching fast. The music of a band drifted through the air, playing a jaunty tune. A mounted band seemed unlikely, so that suggested the approach of infantry. Surely it was time to leave.
As if in answer to a cue in the theatre, one of the leading French squadrons gave a cheer and charged. Others came behind it in support. Most of the 15th were some way back, filing through the main street of the village, and the heavily outnumbered piquet had no choice but to flee in front of the attack.
‘We had best be off as well,’ said Sir John. They took a side alley, but soon found themselves in the main street, trying to push through an almost solid mass of hussars and riflemen. There was shouting from behind them, and the sound of blade clashing against blade as the French charge met a troop of British hussars formed to meet them.
Somehow the mass shifted. Hussar horses so tired and lame they had barely been capable of a trot half an hour ago now found a burst of energy. Everyone, hussars, riflemen and senior officers, pelted along the road. Those in the lead were already crossing the humpbacked bridge. The mêlée broke up and there were grey-uniformed Frenchmen riding in among the rest. Rifles fired from windows, the sharp cracks of the discharges echoing along the street. A muzzle appeared from a second-floor window just in front of Wickham. He ducked beneath it as he passed, but the explosion was deafening and he was sure the flame touched him.
Horses and men were screaming. Wickham yelped as a Frenchman rode abreast of him, and then he yelled out in horror because the man’s head was almost severed from his neck, and simply hung down by a thread of skin, bumping against his chest with the motion of the horse. Another grey-coated Frenchman, this time very much alive, appeared from behind the other. He cut down to slice through the skull of a rifleman running alongside. Then a shot from another window hit the man in the face, pitching him from the saddle to be trampled in the scrimmage.
Wickham felt his horse break through the crowd, his shoes sliding for a moment on the stones of the bridge, and then he was across. He cantered along the road, not sure whether the French were coming after him and afraid to look back. MacAndrews saw him pass, his head pulled down and not looking either right or left.
The grenadiers could not fire into the French without killing their own hussars and riflemen. Pringle stood back from the bridge, knowing that he could not take his own men across until the crowd had gone. He would fire if he had to, but at the moment there were few French to be seen and most were some way back.
‘Steady, lads,’ he said calmly but firmly over the chaos. He looked along the faces of the rear rank – the men in front were too low to see – and was amazed at how confident they looked. ‘Fix bayonets!’ Men clipped the rings of the blades around the muzzles of their muskets.
The crowd started to thin. Most of the 15th were across, and the generals and their staffs long since safe. Pringle had smiled to see Wickham pass, looking like a startled rabbit, but then doubted he would have looked too happy in a similar situation. There were dead in the street, but fewer than he expected. At the far end he could see numbers of riflemen being herded away as captives. He could discern no means of rescuing them, and since the greenjackets in the houses were nearer and made no move to help he doubted that it was possible. Perhaps a dozen French hussars were walking their horses down the street towards him.
‘Present!’ Both ranks raised muskets to their shoulders. ‘Front rank only. Wait for the command.’
The French stopped. They had already done a lot of damage. A formed squadron would probably have hurled itself at the single company, but these men were tired from the confused fight and had the sense not to take a risk against an opponent who was clearly ready. They turned their horses and trotted back the way they had come.
Pringle watched them. He wanted to keep his volley if possible. Once the men fired, it would take time to reload and in that time more horsemen might be upon them. Loaded muskets and good order were great enough threats to deter the enemy, at least for the moment.
The riflemen were pulling out of the houses and running back over the bridge. He let them pass, and when there seemed to be no more he sent Hanley with half the company back. There was still no sign of enemy horsemen organising to attack down the street, so he sent his own men back. Walking backwards a few paces, he finally decided that they still had time, and so turned and scampered after his men.
The main line was withdrawing. The 20th and 52nd were on their way up the slope to the ridge behind the church. The 91st Highlanders were already there. Sir John himself rode up to MacAndrews and ordered him to conform to the new position. The 106th remained in two wings. The left wing was to form on the ridge to the north of the road, extending the line of the other regiments. The right wing was farther forward, standing across the road itself. Moore and Paget both trotted along the road to meet the Grenadier Company as they marched back, passing the walled churchyard. Riflemen were already extending in pairs among the rows of trees and vines on either side of the road.
‘Good day to you, Captain …?’
‘Pringle, sir.’
‘Now Mr Pringle, I need your fellows for a special task.’ Sir John’s voice was calm, reasonable, and conveyed absolute authority. ‘Halt here, and form line across the road.’ The church beside them was on a hummock, making its high walls and tower loom even taller. ‘You must stay here and protect the artillery. The French cannot see them at the moment, but the guns are hidden behind the churchyard. When the time comes they will wheel them out and engage over your heads.’ Just behind the company, the road climbed steeply to reach the same level as the church.
‘The French are lively today, so I do not think it will be long before they come to visit. Well, they shall have a greater welcome than they expect.’ For all his professional coolness, the general appeared to be enjoying himself. Paget and their respective staffs seemed equally jolly. Wickham had not yet rejoined them. Raising his voice, Moore called as they left, ‘I know I can rely on my grenadiers to see the French off!’
Sergeant Rawson dressed the line with care. Once again the front rank knelt. They would fire their volley and then ram the butts of their muskets against the ground, pointing them upwards so the bayonets formed a solid line of sharp points to deter any horse from charging home. That, at least, was the theory. Pringle had never done it in practice. Hanley thought to himself that their little band of sixty-seven men was hopelessly out on a limb. Yet his friend seemed untroubled, and the sergeants their usual confident selves. If anything the men were eager to be at the enemy, and he sensed they enjoyed being closer to them than the rest of the regiment.
‘We’ll teach the bastards for killing women,’ said Murphy.
Dobson just nodded, and then saw Hanley and nodded amiably to him.
‘Aye, we’ll show ’em,’ he said firmly.
‘Not long now, lads,’ said Pringle, pacing along the front of the formation. ‘They’re only cavalry, so aren’t likely to do much thinking.’ They grinned at that. ‘Wait for the orders, and we’ll tumble the rogues in the mud. Now our gunners are going to nip out and be firing over our heads, so don’t worry about the noise.’
‘You sure they can shoot straight?’ called out Murphy cheerfully.
‘Oh yes, of course yes. I am sure our gallant artillery can see as well as me.’ Pringle took off his glasses and squinted blindly at them. The grenadiers roared with laughter. Hanley envied his friend’s familiarity with the men. So often the faces seemed closed to him. He felt useless, with little to do and even less idea of what needed to be done for them to survive the next half-hour.
‘Mr Hanley.’ Pringle’s voice was formal. ‘If you would be so good as to watch the left flank, I shall take care of the right.’ That was the danger. If the French came at them up the road, and if the men held their fire and then poured it on at the right moment, the enemy horsemen should be stopped cold. Pringle was confident of this. The risk was if the cavalry managed to sweep round the flanks of the company. It would not be easy for them. The road was constricted by walls and the trees and the grenadiers filled most of the open ground.
‘Sir!’ There was just a hint of nervousness in Sergeant Probert’s voice as he called a warning to the captain, breaking in on Pringle’s thoughts. The officer turned.
‘Thank you, Sergeant, I see them. Well …’ Pringle struggled to think of something fittingly casual to say, and failed to think of anything original. ‘It looks like the ball is about to open.’