HLI Chronicle 1907 - The Royal Highland Fusiliers

HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY CHRONICLE.
Owing t.o the difficulty .of navigati.on .of the
river, the Army was m.oved in small divisi.ons,
by land, t.o C.oI.onia, a garris.on consisting of
the 47th Regiment and other details being
left at Monte Video under Col.onel Br.owne.
After many delays fr.om foul winds, the wh.ole
Army. was embarked at C.oI.onia, and safely
effected a landing .on the .other side in the bay
bel.ow the heights .of Ensenada de Barrag.on
on the 28th of June.
The 7lst Detachment had, on the arrival
.of the reinf.orcements, been formed along with
the Light Companies of the 36th, 38th, 40th,
and 87th, int.o a Light Battali.on, which was
commanded by Lt.-Colonel Packe, and, t.ogether
with the Rifle Battalion, f.ormed a
Light Brigade under General Craufurd, who
had arrived .on the 14th. The advance .on
Buenos Ayres was c.ommenced, and at first
great difficulty was experienced in getting
guns and stores acr.oss a morass which runs
in a line parallel with the sh.ore, and, after
s.ome trying marches, the Army reached the
village of Reduccion*, ab.out nine miles from
the bridge over the River Chuelo, .on the left
bank of which the enemy had constructed
batteries and a formidable line of defence.
It was acc.ordingly decided t.o turn this positi.on
by marching in two columns from the left
andcr.ossing the river higher up, the artillery
and baggage being left at Reduccion under the
protection of the 17th Light Drag.o.ons and
40th Regiment.
On the 2nd of July, Major-General Gower,
who c.ommanded the right c.olumn, which was
in advance, was ordered t.o push on t.o the
suburbs .of Buen.os Ayres and summ.on the
t.own. He reported that the ford at Paso
Chico was impracticable, and that he must
pr.oceed further up the river before crossing it.
In c.onsequence .of this, the main b.ody was
m.oved further t.o the left. General G.ower
afterwards f.ound he C.ould cr.oss at Pas.o Chic.o,
andreached the further bank in safety, but failed
to inform General Whitelocke, who had halted,
and the two columns thus became separated.
In the meanwhile General G.ower -pushed on,
and at a short distance from the city fell in
with the enemy. The artillery having been
left'in the rear, .owing t.o the inability .of the
h.orses t.o bring it up at the same rate at which
the Infantry marched, he directed an immediate
attack t.o be made .on their left flank
" It was at this village that the 7let had fought a
successful action on the 26th June. 1806. which
resulted in the capture of the town of Buenos Ayres by
General Be:resford. ..
with the bay.onet, which was executed by
Brigadier-General Craufurd in the m.ost perfect
manner with his Brigade. He was well
seconded by the gallantry .of Lt.-C.oI.onel
Packe and Maj.or Travers, and -the .officers
and men .of the 95th and Light Battali.on;
In five minutes the Spaniards, th.ough str.ongly
P.osted behind hedges and embankments, gave
way, leaving ab.out 60 killed, 70 pris.oners,
and the wh.ole .of their artillery, c.onsisting .of
9 guns and a h.owitzer."*
The separati.on .of the tW.o columns n.ow
pr.oved particularly unf.ortunate, fQ.&, had the
main b.ody been .on the SP.ot, the c.omplete
capture .of the town might have been effected
that night.
During their marches the men suffered
great fatigue. In his "J.ournal " 'the s.oldier
.of the 7lst describes the march as thr.ough
incessant rain, thr.ough m.orasses, and .over
the level plain, . where the grass reaChed t.o the
men's waists, whilst sh.oes were l.ost in the
mud, and s.ome men marched bare-f.o.oted.
The nights were als.o excepti.onally C.old.
Early .on the 3rd .of July (jeneral G.ower
summ.oned the t.own t.o surrender-at first
verbally, and afterwards f.orwarded terms in
writing, which were sternly refused by General
Liniers, wh.o signified his intenti.on .of defending
the place t.o the utm.ost .of his Pwer.
Owing t.o the ign.orance .ot their guide,
the main b.ody under General Whitel.ocke
did n.ot come up till three .o'cl.ocK.,on the 3rd.
On the 4th he again summ.oned the t.own t.o
surrender, with.out effect. His .original intenti.on
had been t.o have seized the high
gr.ound at the c.orner .of the Rec.oleta, oYer­
I.o.oking the river, from whence he C.ould have
c.ommunicated with the Fleet, and landed
heavy guns with which t.o b.ombard the town;
but, .owing t.o. the fact that the winter 'rains
had now set in f.or the winter, and that the
men were without shelter, owing t.o .the
difficulties .of transP.ort thr.ough the fl.o.oded
gr.ound, General Whitelocke decided t.o attack
the t.own with.out previ.ous b.ombardment.
He was als.o induced to d.o this bythe idea that
it W.ould save unnecessary bl.oodshed amongst
the n.on-c.ombatant porti.on .of the P.oPulati.on.
The city and suburbs were at this time
divided int.o sections, the exteri.or .of the
h.ouses in each secti.on forming an encl.osed
square .of 140 yards .on each side. The h.ouses
had all flat r.oofs, and it was kn.own that the
" Despatch by Major-General J. Leveson Gower.