talavera.—fought, july, 27th and 28th, 1809, between the english and french and spanish armies.—“after the campaigns of marlborough, the english army acquired little distinction in the field for more than a century. the battles of dettingen (1743), fontenoy (1745), and minden (1759), were affairs in which england was involved by her hanoverian alliances, and in which small bodies of english troops were engaged, with little glory, and with but trifling results. it was not until the next century had opened, and the talent and ambition of one of the world’s greatest conquerors had almost reached the climax of universal dominion, that england, for her own preservation, and for the rescue of the spanish[342] peninsula from his grasp, was compelled to send an army into spain; which, under the guidance of one of the most consummate generals that the world has ever seen, chased the armies of france over province after province, from lisbon to biscay, and ultimately drove them over the pyrenees.
the peninsular campaigns of the duke of wellington commenced with the brilliant affair of vimiera; but we cannot dignify that engagement with the name of a great battle, in which the forces on either side, did not exceed thirteen or fourteen thousand men; and the fruits of which were snatched from the victor’s hands by the sudden arrival of a superior in command. it was on sir arthur wellesley’s second appearance in portugal, in the year following the battle of vimiera, that the contest really began; and the three great battles which distinguished its successive stages, were those of talavera, salamanca, and vittoria. the first exhibited the power of napoleon in spain fairly grappled with; the second showed that power defeated; the third closed the struggle by its absolute downfall and expulsion.
after his supercession in 1808, on the very day of vimiera, sir arthur wellesley had returned to england; but, happily, the indignation felt by the english people at the convention of cintra, by which the results of that victory had been thrown away, warned the british government that it was needful in times of great emergency to depart from the rule of seniority, and to select a commander mainly on the ground of known and proved talent and ability. hence the victor of vimiera was again called into the field, and, on the 22nd of april, 1809, sir arthur wellesley a second time landed in portugal.
“the unexpected arrival of a victorious commander,” says sir w. napier, “created the greatest enthusiasm:—the regency nominated him captain-general; the people hailed his presence, and an undefined but powerful sentiment that something great would be achieved, pervaded the public mind.” still, somewhat surprising, and rather overweening, was this confidence; for sir arthur wellesley commanded only 26,000 english and german troops;—the spanish and portuguese armies were of little worth, and the french emperor had at that moment in the peninsula, a force of two hundred and seventy thousand men.
sir arthur lost no time in bringing his troops into action. on the 12th of may he crossed the douro, in the face of the french army, and carried oporto. soult had entered it two months before with 25,500 men; he quitted it with 19,500, having lost by the sword and by sickness,[343] by assassination and capture, 6,000 good soldiers. he had marched into portugal with 58 pieces of artillery, he quitted it without a gun! yet soult was perhaps the greatest of all napoleon’s generals. sir arthur’s next object was, and indeed it seemed a necessity of his position, to seek the french armies, and to fight them with the least possible delay. the demand of the english, and of the portuguese also, was to be led against the foe. to raise the spirit of the people of spain and portugal, and also of the governments of both countries, it was necessary to show that there was an army and a general in the field, and that neither the army nor the general were afraid of meeting the french.
at this period the spanish generals and the spanish ministers had not fully proved their entire inefficiency. they still boasted of their power to “drive the french out of madrid, and out of spain;” and if the english general had refused to co-operate with them, he would have been charged with cowardice or with treachery. on the 27th of june, 1809, therefore, sir arthur, at the head of 22,000 british troops, and with 30 guns, entered spain, and began his march on madrid. the spanish general cuesta, with an army of 39,000 men, was to co-operate with him.
this co-operation, however, proved to be nothing but hindrance and a source of vexation. the two armies marched forward, sir arthur grieved, day by day, by some failure of supplies, means of transport, or other necessary aid. on one occasion a delay of two whole days was created by the spanish general’s obstinacy. on the 24th of july sir arthur wrote to lord castlereagh, “i am not able to follow the enemy as i could wish; having found it impossible to procure even one mule, or a cart in spain; ... my troops have been in actual want of provisions for the last two days.” meanwhile the spanish government took care of its own troops, and left the english to shift for themselves. “the french,” writes sir arthur, “can take what they like and will take it—while we cannot even buy common necessaries.”
joseph, the nominal king of spain, was apprized of the approach of the english and spanish forces, and marched out of madrid with 25,000 french veterans, commanded by marshals jourdan and victor, to meet them. the two armies came into the neighbourhood of each other about the 22nd of july, 1809. sir arthur and cuesta had agreed, on that day, that victor’s corps, which had been found detached from the rest of the french army, should be attacked on the following day. but when the english troops were getting under arms the next morning, the[344] old spaniard was not up, and finally, he objected to any attack that day. the fact was, that the french general had contrived to corrupt some of cuesta’s staff, and thus difficulties were constantly thrown in the way.
victor, whose discomfiture would have been easy on the 23rd, had now escaped, and had joined sebastiani and king joseph. the whole french army now amounted to 56,122 men, and, confident in their strength, the commanders resolved at once to march upon talavera, and to attack the anglo-spanish army.
two or three minor engagements preceded the general battle. on the 27th, in the afternoon, victor’s advanced guards came upon the british outposts, and immediately attacked them. the english troops, some of whom then saw fire for the first time, were thrown into some confusion, and sir arthur himself narrowly escaped being made prisoner. a body of 10,000 spanish which was posted near, took such an alarm, that they broke and fled, giving out that “all was lost.” sir arthur, with some difficulty, restored order, brought up fresh troops, and the french were finally driven off. yet such was the effect of this panic among the spanish troops, that they went into action the next day with 6000 men less than their previous number.
that same night victor, encouraged by the effect of the surprise thus narrated, made an attack after sunset on a hill which was the key of the english position. for a moment the french attack succeeded, but general hill brought up the 48th regiment, and at last expelled the french from the ground which they had gained. the british lost 800 men, and the french 1000, in this affair, which was not ended until long after dark.
as soon, however, as the day dawned, the french renewed the attack.
once more they ascended the hill, and struggled hand to hand with the english infantry. general hill was wounded, and many officers fell around him. but the french never gained the upper hand. after a severe contest, they fell back; and the english pressed down the hill, after them, until the whole of the attacking column got into confusion, and finally rushed down the declivity in headlong rout. this single attack, which lasted only forty minutes, cost the french nearly 1500 men.
a consultation was now held in the french camp, as to the expediency of immediately risking a general battle. jourdan strongly urged the taking up a position behind the alberche, and there awaiting the approach of soult, who, with another army, was expected to menace the[345] english on their flank and rear in a few days. victor was more confident, promising to carry the hill on the english left, if sebastiani would attack the centre and right at the same moment. he added, “if such a combination can fail, it is time that we gave up war.”
king joseph hesitated; when, at that moment, a despatch arrived from soult, stating that he could not reach the neighbourhood in less than a week. this decided the matter, and orders were given to attack.
meanwhile, many discouragements prevailed in the english camp. provisions were scarce, and the men suffered from hunger. among the spaniards all was confusion and distrust. such alarm was created by cuesta’s conduct, that in the very midst of the battle, his own countryman, the duke d’albuquerque, sent one of his staff to warn sir arthur wellesley that “cuesta was betraying him.” sir arthur received the message while seated on the hill, intently watching the movements of the french. he listened to it without even turning his head; and coolly replied to the officer who brought him the message, “very well, you may return to your brigade;” and then quietly resumed his survey.
but now the battle began. the allied army was posted near talavera, having that city and the tagus on its right, a hill already referred to on its left, a sort of ravine and water-course in front; and looking towards the alberche,—a river which flows into the tagus,—in front of which lay the whole french army. “the british and germans,” says sir w. napier, “were somewhat above 19,000 sabres and bayonets, with 30 guns. the spaniards were 33 or 34,000 men, with 70 guns. the french advanced with 80 guns, and nearly 50,000 men. but what a difference in the quality of the troops! the french were all hardy veterans; while the genuine soldiers of the allied army did not exceed 19,000.”
before one o’clock the french soldiers were seen to gather round their eagles, and the rolling of drums was heard along the whole line. half an hour later, king joseph’s guards, the reserve, and the fourth corps were descried in march; and soon the table-land and the height on the french right were covered with dark and lowering masses. victor gave the signal for battle, and 80 pieces of artillery sent a tempest of bullets before the light troops, who came on with all the swiftness and violence of a hailstorm, followed by the broad black columns in all the majesty of war.
“sir arthur wellesley from the hill viewed the whole field of battle. he saw the fourth corps rushing forwards with the usual impetuosity of[346] french soldiers and falling upon campbell’s division, which held the right centre, with infinite fury; yet that general, assisted by mackenzie’s brigade and two spanish battalions, withstood their utmost efforts. the british regiment met the advancing columns with loud shouts, broke their front, lapped their flanks with fire, and at last pushed them back with a terrible carnage. ten guns were taken; but as campbell feared to break his line by a pursuit, the french rallied, and made head for another attack. then the british artillery played vehemently upon them; a spanish regiment of cavalry charged their flank; they retired in disorder, and the victory was secured in that quarter.”
this was on the right of the english line. on the left, two different columns of french were seen advancing towards the hill, the key of the position. sir arthur sent forward an english regiment of cavalry, and the 1st german hussars, to charge the heads of these columns. a hollow cleft, not before perceived, stopped the germans; some of the english leaped it, in twos and threes, and in desultory manner fell upon the french infantry. some polish lancers charged them while thus disordered, and the regiment was broken, and lost 207 officers and men.
meanwhile, one of the french attacking columns was actually contending for possession of the hill; and at the same time a powerful mass of infantry, crossing the ravine, pressed hard upon the english centre. the french attack was at first driven back; then the english guards, in the excitement of success, rushed after them with reckless ardour. the french reserves charged them; the guards, disordered, were broken; the german legion, adjoining, got into confusion, and for the moment the english centre seemed to be shaken and in disorder.
but when the guards had made their rash charge, sir arthur, foreseeing the issue of it, had ordered up the 48th regiment; and had also sent for cotton’s light-horse. the french came on, pushing before them the disordered foot-guards. sir arthur charged them with the 48th, brought them to a stand; the guards and the german legion speedily recovered their ranks; and at last this terrible attack was defeated, and the french were pushed back over the ravine, carrying with them their general, lapisse, mortally wounded.
meanwhile their attack on the hill had failed; while on the spanish part of the army, safely posted behind redoubts in talavera, they had made no assault. and so closed the battle of talavera. both sides remained in the position of the morning when night closed upon them. but at day-break the french began their retreat; and before six o’clock[347] their whole army was safely encamped behind the alberche. that day, too, sir robert crawford joined the british army, bringing with him the 43rd, the 52nd, and the 95th regiments; which troops immediately relieved the rest of the army of the outpost-duty.
the loss of the english in this terrible contest was 6268; including in the reckoning all the attacks, both on the 27th and the 28th. the loss of the french was 8794, according to their own returns. they lost also 17 guns, some tumbrils, and several hundred prisoners.
sir arthur wellesley, as we have said, was obliged to fight this battle. had he refused to advance, the spanish government and people would have deemed his presence useless, and would have upbraided him with want of courage. and having advanced, the french marshals very naturally looked upon him as their prey; and attacked him, deeming his defeat certain.
the reputation gained by the victory was obviously that arising from a fearless meeting of the attack of a fine french army of 50,000 men, led by two celebrated generals, with an anglo-german force of 19,000, encumbered with the merely nominal aid of spaniards. a french critic, general jomini, thus speaks of the moral result: “this battle at once restored the reputation of the british army, which, during a century past, had declined. it was now ascertained, that the english infantry could dispute the palm with the best in europe.”
sir arthur, too, had now seen, and his troops had seen and proved, the value of the spanish army; and all illusion on that subject had ceased. their artillery was well trained, and sometimes rendered good service; but their cavalry was wretched; and their infantry was totally unable to perform evolutions under fire without falling into confusion. the result therefore naturally was, that the english general, retiring into portugal, commenced plans to be carried out by english and portuguese forces, in which the spanish armies bore little or no part.
the merits of the english commander were promptly recognized by his own government. he was immediately created baron douro and viscount wellington of talavera, and of wellington in the county of somerset.
there is a remarkable similarity, in all its chief features, between this, the first of wellington’s great battles, and waterloo, his last. doubling the numbers on both sides, the proportions were nearly the same. the french at talavera had more than 50,000 excellent troops,—at waterloo they had almost twice as many. the great english general had about[348] 19,000 good troops at talavera, with the nominal aid of 30,000 worthless ones. at waterloo, he had about 33 or 34,000 good troops, with the addition of about as many unreliable ones. in both cases alike, the french, confident of success, made the attack; and in both cases they were foiled and driven back by a british force of less than half their number. the one material difference between the two conflicts lay in this,—that in the second great battle, just as napoleon’s last attack had been repelled, a force of 50,000 prussians broke in upon the retreating french, and utterly dispersed and annihilated their already-beaten army.”
tara, battle of.—this was one of the earliest battles in ireland in ’98. fought between the royal forces, only 400 strong, and the insurgent irish, amounting to 4000, yet they were completely beaten, and 500 slain, may 26th, 1798.
tarbes, battle of.—fought, march 20th, 1814, between the english and french. marshal soult was forced from his position, with great loss, by the duke of wellington. this engagement shortly preceded that of toulouse.
tarentum war.—one of the most celebrated wars in roman history. undertaken by the inhabitants of tarentum, with the aid of the renowned pyrrhus, king of epirus, which resulted, after many battles, in their subjugation by the arms of the romans.
tchernaya, battle of.—one of the brilliant engagements during the crimean war. fought, august 10th, 1854. the enemy, in dense columns of infantry and cavalry, supported by 160 guns, advanced from the heights towards the river, here crossed by two bridges, the larger one being known as the traktir bridge. they carried pontoons, and appliances for crossing the stream; and there were also several places in which the tchernaya was fordable. favoured by the dim light of early morning, they succeeded in throwing several battalions unobserved across the river, and attacking the division led by general camon, on the extreme left of the french line. though taken by surprise, the french made a brave resistance, and the 3rd zouaves and 50th of the line assisted by the 82nd, which attacked them in the flank, succeeded in repelling them with considerable loss.
in their second attempt the russians were somewhat more successful. they advanced across the traktir bridge. the tête du pont was[349] guarded by the 20th regiment of the line, who were too weak to offer any effective resistance. they bravely disputed the ground, and lost twelve officers before they would give way. the dense masses of the russians now thronged across the bridge. in their train followed three guns, which were promptly got into position to sweep the road along which the french would advance. the infantry swarmed across the bridge, or waded breast high through the stream. quickly forming into heavy columns, they advanced in gallant style up the hill in front of the french centre. general herbillon was fully prepared for the attack, and the enemy was promptly met, and, after a very animated contest, driven back across the bridge by the 2nd zouaves, the 97th of the line, and one battalion of the foot chasseurs. the slaughter was terrific; the french and sardinian guns playing on the retreating mass, and the french pursuing them in a vigorous bayonet charge.
the right of the french position occupied some low hillocks, defended in front by the river, and by the aqueduct used to supply the turkish army with water. the sardinian army was encamped on their right and had manned a very effective battery. general faucheux was the french commander at this portion of the line, and a considerable body of artillery was under his command. while the russians were attacking the french centre, as already related, another column of enormous strength advanced across the river and aqueduct, and attacked the french right. the artillery and the rifles of the sardinians made dreadful havoc in their ranks; but the russian officers cheered on their men to the advance, and, in defiance of dreadful loss, charged gallantly the french position. the zouaves, who held the brow of the hill, retired slowly to the main body, which was partially hidden by the nature of the ground, and the enemy came on with loud cheers, imagining an easy conquest. then the french suddenly formed up into line, and charging forward with an impetuosity that defies description, literally crushed the enemy in their tremendous rush, and hurled them down the hill. many rolled into the aqueduct and were suffocated; others had their limbs broken by the fall; and the main hotly turned and fled precipitately towards the bridge. as the broken and flying mass poured onwards, the batteries opened upon them, and a scene of fearful massacre ensued. the bridge was choked with the troops endeavouring to pass across, and the river was crowded with the fugitives. among them poured the iron hail of the sardinian batteries; and when they struggled into the open ground, hundreds more fell mortally wounded. never was there a more complete or ignominious defeat.
[350]
the remnants of the infantry withdrew behind the cavalry, and retreated to the hill; the russian artillery covering them by a heavy fire against the french batteries. prince gortschakoff man?uvred his cavalry for some time in sight of the allies, hoping apparently to draw our dragoons in pursuit among the hills, where a second balaklava massacre would probably have awaited them. general scarlett, commanding the english cavalry division, eagerly proffered the services of his splendid warriors, but general pelissier wisely declined to hazard such valuable troops in such a perilous adventure.
towards evening the russians drew off, leaving about 3000 dead upon the field, and their wounded could not have amounted to less than 5000. the french carried off in their ambulances, 1626 soldiers and thirty-three officers, besides 400 prisoners. among the dead was general read, a very distinguished russian officer, upon whose person was found a plan of the attack. the french lost 9 officers killed and 61 wounded, 172 men killed and 1163 wounded, besides 146 missing. the gallant sardinians, besides the death of general the count of montevecchio, sustained a loss of 250 men. the turkish battalions arrived too late to take any part in the affair.
tewkesbury, battle of.—fought, may 4th, 1471. the very day of the battle of barnet, queen margaret landed at plymouth. at the news of the defeat of warwick she sank to the ground in despair; but the arguments of her friends soon awakened her natural courage, and she advanced to bath. it was there resolved to try to effect a junction with the earl of pembroke, who had a large force in wales; but the people of gloucester had secured the only bridge over the severn, and at tewkesbury it was found that edward was at hand with a more numerous army. the lancastrian leaders then drew up their forces without the town; the yorkists, led by the king’s brother, the duke of gloucester, fell on them furiously, and after a short but gallant resistance, the lancastrians were totally routed. the queen and prince were made prisoners; the latter being led into the royal tent, edward demanded of him what had brought him to england. “to recover my father’s kingdom and heritage, from his father and grandfather to him, and from him to me lineally descended,” replied the undaunted youth. edward struck him in the face with his gauntlet, and gloucester, clarence, and some others despatched him with their swords. edward then set out for london, and on the evening of his arrival king henry died in the tower, of grief[351] as was given out, but there can be little doubt that he was murdered by order of edward. the guilt of the deed, though without any proof, was afterwards laid on the duke of gloucester.
texel, battles of the.—the vicinity of the texel has been the scene of some remarkable engagements, among others a battle of three days was fought here, between the english, under blake and monk, and the dutch, under van tromp and deruyter, when the dutch were signally defeated and van tromp killed, 1653. again ruyter was defeated here, august 11th, 1673. the dutch fleet gloriously vanquished by lord duncan, october 11th, 1797. twelve ships of war and thirteen indiamen of the dutch surrendered to admiral mitchell, who took them without firing a shot, august 28th, 1799.
thermopyl?, battle of.—leonidas, at the head of 300 spartans at this defile withstood the whole army of the persians, until of the 300 heroes who surrounded him, all were slain but one man; 20,000 persians perished by the hands of the spartans, august 7th, 480 b.c. this battle was one of the most celebrated events in the annals of greece, and effectually, at last, gave a check to the invading persian army. the following is from rollin’s ancient history.
[4]“thermopyl? is a strait or narrow pass of mount ?ta, between thessaly and phocis, but 25 feet broad, which therefore might be defended by a small number of forces, and which was the only way through which the persian land army could enter achaia, and advance to besiege athens. this was the place where the grecian army thought fit to wait for the enemy: the person who commanded it was leonidas, one of the two kings of sparta.
[5]xerxes in the meantime was upon his march: he had given orders for his fleet to follow him along the coast, and to regulate their motions according to those of the land army. wherever he came, he found provisions and refreshments prepared beforehand, pursuant to the orders he had sent; and every city he arrived at gave him a magnificent entertainment, which cost immense sums of money. the vast expense of those treats gave occasion to a witty saying of a certain citizen of abdera in thrace, who, when the king was gone, said, they ought to thank the gods, that he ate but one meal a-day.
[6]in the same country of thrace, there was a prince who showed an[352] extraordinary greatness of soul on this occasion: it was the king of the bisaltes. whilst all the other princes ran into servitude, and basely submitted to xerxes, he bravely refused to receive his yoke, or to obey him. not being in a condition to resist him with open force, he retired to the top of the mountain rhodope, into an inaccessible place, and forbade all his sons, who were six in number, to carry arms against greece. but they, either out of fear of xerxes, or out of a curiosity to see so important a war, followed the persians, in contradiction to their father’s injunction. on their return home, their father, to punish so direct a disobedience, condemned all his sons to have their eyes put out. xerxes continued his march through thrace, macedonia, and thessaly, every thing giving way before him till he came to the strait of thermopyl?.
[7]one cannot see, without the utmost astonishment, with what an handful of troops the grecians opposed the innumerable army of xerxes. we find a particular account of their number in pausanias. all their forces joined together, amounted only to 11,200 men, of which number 4000 only were employed at thermopyl? to defend the pass. but these soldiers, adds the historian, were all determined to a man either to conquer or die. and what is it that an army of such resolution is not able to effect?
[8]when xerxes advanced near the straits of thermopyl?, he was strangely surprised to find that they were prepared to dispute his passage. he had always flattered himself, that on the first hearing of his arrival, the grecians would betake themselves to flight: nor could he ever be persuaded to believe, what demaratus had told him from the beginning of his project, that at the first pass he came to, he would find his whole army stopped by an handful of men. he sent out a spy before him to take a view of the enemy. the spy brought him word, that he found the laced?monians out of their intrenchments, and that they were diverting themselves with military exercises, and combing their hair: this was the spartan manner of preparing themselves for battle.
xerxes, still entertaining some hopes of their flight, waited four days on purpose to give them time to retreat;[9] and in this interval of time he used his utmost endeavours to gain leonidas, by making him magnificent promises, and assuring him, that he would make him master of[353] all greece if he would come over to his party. leonidas rejected his proposal with scorn and indignation. xerxes, having afterwards written to him to deliver up his arms, leonidas, in a style and spirit truly laconical, answered him in these words,[10] “come and take them.” nothing remained but to prepare themselves to engage the laced?monians. xerxes first commanded his median forces to march against them, with orders to take them all alive, and bring them to him. these medes were not able to stand the charge of the grecians; and being shamefully put to flight, they showed, says herodotus,[11] that xerxes had a great many men, and but few soldiers. the next that were sent to face the spartans, were those persians called the immortal band, which consisted of 10,000 men, and were the best troops in the whole army. but these had no better success than the former.
xerxes, out of all hopes of being able to force his way through troops so determined to conquer or die, was extremely perplexed, and could not tell what resolution to take, when an inhabitant of the country came to him, and discovered a secret[12] path to the top of an eminence, which overlooked and commanded the spartan forces. he quickly dispatched a detachment thither; which, marching all night, arrived there at the break of day, and possessed themselves of that advantageous post.
the greeks were soon apprized of this misfortune; and leonidas, seeing that it was now impossible to repulse the enemy, obliged the rest of the allies to retire, but staid himself with his 300 laced?monians, all resolved to die with their leader; who being told by the oracle, that either laced?mon or her king must necessarily perish, determined, without the least difficulty or hesitation, to sacrifice himself for his country. the spartans lost all hopes either of conquering or escaping, and looked upon thermopyl? as their burying-place. the king, exhorting his men to take some nourishment, and telling them at the same time, that they should sup together with pluto, they set up a shout of joy as if they had been invited to a banquet, and full of ardour advanced with their king to battle. the shock was exceedingly violent and bloody. leonidas himself was one of the first that fell. the endeavours of the laced?monians to defend his dead body were incredible. at length, not[354] vanquished, but oppressed by numbers, they all fell except one man, who escaped to sparta, where he was treated as a coward and traitor to his country, and nobody would keep company or converse with him. but soon afterwards he made a glorious amend for his fault at the battle of plat?a, where he distinguished himself in an extraordinary manner. xerxes, enraged to the last degree against leonidas for daring to make head against him, caused his dead body to be hung up on a gallows, and made his intended dishonour of his enemy his own immortal shame.”
thrasymene, battle of.—fought, b.c. 217.—on a circular range of hills, near the lake, hannibal disposed his army, and flaminius, the roman general, took his station in the valley beneath. a mist rising from the lake completely concealed the carthaginians from the romans, while it left the view of the former unimpeded. the fortune of the day was such as might have been expected—15,000 soldiers fell with flaminius in the valley, and 6000 more were obliged to surrender themselves prisoners of war. the following is from rollin’s ancient history:
[13]“hannibal being thus got, almost unexpectedly, out of this dangerous place, refreshed his troops, and then marched and pitched his camp between arretium and fesul?, in the richest and most fruitful part of tuscany. his first endeavours were to discover the genius and character of flaminius, in order that he might take advantage of his foible, which, according to polybius, ought to be the chief study of a general. he was told that flaminius was greatly conceited of his own merit, bold, enterprising, rash, and fond of glory. to plunge him the deeper into these excesses, to which he was naturally prone,[14] he inflamed his impetuous spirit, by laying waste and burning the whole country, in his sight.
flaminius was not of a temper to continue inactive in his camp, though hannibal should have lain still. but when he saw the territories of his allies laid waste before his eyes, he thought it would reflect dishonour upon him, should he suffer hannibal to ransack italy without control, and even advance to the very walls of rome, without meeting any resistance.
he rejected with scorn the prudent counsels of those who advised him[355] to wait the arrival of his colleague, and to be satisfied for the present with putting a stop to the devastation of the enemy.
in the meantime, hannibal was still advancing towards rome, having cortona on the left hand, and the lake thrasymene on the right. when he saw that the consul followed close after him, with the design to give him battle, by stopping him in his march; having observed that the ground was convenient for that purpose, he also began to prepare himself for the battle. the lake thrasymene and the mountains of cortona form a very narrow defile, which leads into a large valley, lined on both sides, with hills of a considerable height, and closed at the outlet by a steep hill of difficult access. on this hill, hannibal, after having crossed the valley, came and encamped with the main body of his army; posting his light-armed infantry in ambuscade upon the hills on the right, and part of his cavalry behind those on the left, as far almost as the entrance of the defile, through which flaminius was obliged to pass. accordingly, this general, who followed him very eagerly, with the resolution to fight him, being come to the defile near the lake, was forced to halt, because night was coming on; but he entered it the next morning at day-break.
hannibal having permitted him to advance, with all his forces, above half way through the valley, and seeing the roman vanguard pretty near him, he sounded the charge, and commanded the troops to come out of their ambuscade, in order that he might attack the enemy, at the same time, from all quarters. the reader may guess at the consternation with which the romans were seized.
they were not yet drawn up in order of battle, neither had they got their arms in readiness, when they found themselves attacked in front, in rear, and in flank. in a moment all the ranks were put into disorder. flaminius, alone undaunted in so universal a surprise, animates his soldiers both with his hand and voice; and exhorts them to cut themselves a passage with their swords through the midst of the enemy. but the tumult which reigned everywhere, the dreadful shouts of the enemy, and a fog that was risen, prevented his being seen or heard. however, when the romans saw themselves surrounded on all sides, either by the enemy or the lake, and the impossibility of saving their lives by flight, it roused their courage, and both parties began the fight with astonishing animosity. their fury was so great, that not a soldier in either army perceived an earthquake, which happened in that country, and buried whole cities in ruins. in this confusion, flaminius being slain by one of the insubrian gauls, the romans began to give ground, and at last quite[356] ran away. great numbers, to save themselves, leaped into the lake, whilst others, climbing over the mountains, fell into the enemy’s hands whom they strove to avoid. six thousand only cut their way through the conquerors, and retreated to a place of safety; but the next day they were taken prisoners. in this battle 15,000 romans were killed, and about 10,000 escaped to rome, by different roads. hannibal sent back the latins, who were allies of the romans, into their own country, without demanding the least ransom. he commanded search to be made for the body of flaminius, in order to give it burial, but it could not be found. he afterwards put his troops into quarters of refreshment, and solemnized the funerals of 30 of his chief officers, who were killed in the battle. he lost in all but 1500 men, most of whom were gauls.
immediately after, hannibal dispatched a courier to carthage, with the news of his good success in italy. this caused the greatest joy for the present, raised the most promising hopes with regard to the future, and revived the courage of all the citizens. they now prepared with incredible ardour to send into italy and spain all necessary succours.
rome, on the contrary, was filled with universal grief and alarm, as soon as the pr?tor had pronounced from the rostra the following words, “we have lost a great battle.” the senate, studious of nothing but the public welfare, thought that in so great a calamity and so imminent a danger recourse must be had to extraordinary remedies. they therefore appointed quintus fabius, dictator, a person as conspicuous for his wisdom as his birth. it was the custom at rome that the moment a dictator was nominated, all authority ceased, that of the tribunes of the people excepted. m. minucius was appointed his general of horse.”
tilsit, peace of.—between france and russia, when napoleon restored to the russian monarch one-half his dominions, and russia recognized the confederation of the rhine and the elevation of his three brothers, joseph, louis, and jerome to the thrones of naples, holland, and westphalia. signed, july 7th, 1807.
tinchebray, battle, of.—fought, 1106, between henry i of england, and robert, duke of normandy. the two brothers met at this place, and robert was defeated, and all normandy was taken by henry,—robert himself being thrown into a dungeon, and kept for more than twenty-five years a prisoner.
toplitz, battles of.—the first was fought between the austrians and prussians, the latter defeated, in 1762. another battle[357] august 30th, 1813. treaty of ditto, september 9th, 1813. second treaty of ditto, october 3rd, 1813.
torgan, battle of.—between frederick ii of prussia and the austrians, in which the former obtained a complete victory. the austrian general, count daun, was wounded, november 11th, 1760.
toulon, naval battles of.—a memorable battle off this port between the english, french and spanish fleets, february 10th, 1744. the english lost the victory through a misunderstanding of their admirals. another battle fought here, when lord hood took six ships of the french fleet, and sunk one of very large force, and several others, june 4th, 1794. while the two fleets were engaged, a large fleet of indiamen got safely into brest harbour. as on this fleet depended the means of the french carrying on the war, they claim the victory, notwithstanding their loss in ships and men.
toulouse, battle of.—this was the final battle of the peninsular war—one of the most bloody that was fought between the french and english. the french were commanded by soult, and the english by wellington. wellington forced the french to retreat after twelve hours of hard fighting, the battle raging from seven in the morning till seven at night. the english lost between 4000 and 5000 men, that of the french exceeded 10,000. fought, april 10th, 1814.
tournaments, or tilts.—every one has read of these ancient modes of duelling. if not, let them read sir walter scott’s “ivanhoe,” &c. the arabs are very expert in their management of horses at these tilts. the following will describe the whole:—
“the tournament field is oblong, and bordered by rows of spectators, sitting cross-legged round the open space. the best riders of the tribe, mounted on the most active horses, are then introduced into the arena, the men being clothed with as much splendour as their means will permit them, while the chargers are covered with large silk housings of different colours, reaching to the ground, and resembling those of ancient knights, as represented in froissart. some of the arabs then commence making their horses dance to the sound of drums and trumpets, whilst men on foot occasionally rush forward and discharge their muskets close to the horses’ ears. others dash forward at full speed along the line of seated spectators, as close to their feet as they possibly can, without actually trampling upon them: and every now and then suddenly[358] throwing their horses on their haunches, spin them round on their hind legs, and resume in the opposite direction their wild career. it is a nervous sight to behold; for you momentarily expect to see some person or child crushed beneath the horses’ hoofs; but no accident ever happens, and men, women, and children, maintain their seats with the greatest calmness and feeling of security, saluting any well-executed point of horsemanship with loud and exulting shouts of approbation, whilst the women accompany them with the usual but indescribable cries of the quick-repeated lu-lu-lu-lu; in return for which they are covered with clouds of sand and dust, which the impetuous coursers throw up behind them. three or four others dashing their sharp stirrups into the flanks of their impatient steeds, rush madly along the length of the arena, shouting forth their tekbir, or war-cries, and whirling round their heads the long and silver-adorned arab guns, which they discharge at the spectators when they have reached the farthest extremity of the lists. others engage with swords soldiers on foot, galloping round their adversaries in incredibly small circles, twisting their horses suddenly round, and then circling to the other hand; and i know not which most to admire, the activity and suppleness of the rider or of his horse. others, whilst at full speed, will lean over, and without in the least reducing their pace, pick up from the ground a piastre or any other equally small object, thrown down for the purpose. these sports form, on the whole, one of the gayest and most animating scenes i ever beheld, increased as it is by the waving of many silken sanjaks of the brightest colours, by the music, the report of fire-arms, the war-cries of the performers, and the shouts of the numerous spectators.”
tournay.—taken by the allies in 1709; taken again by the french, november 11th, 1792. a battle was fought here by the anglo-austrian army, against the french, in which they were defeated, may 8th, 1793. another battle was fought between the english and french, when the french were repulsed, losing 200 men and three field pieces. fought, may 6th, 1794.
tours, battle of.—one of the glorious victories of charles martel, and that which most established his fame; gained over the saracens, near tours, and from which he acquired the name of martel or the hammer. some historians declare that but for this victory, all europe, us well as asia and africa, would otherwise have become mahommedan. fought, october 10th, 732.
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towton, battle of.—this great battle is supposed to be the most fierce and bloody that ever happened in any domestic war. fought, march 29th, 1461, between the houses of york and lancaster, to the latter of which it proved fatal; more than 37,000 men of the lancastrians fell. edward iv of york issued orders to give no quarter, and a merciless massacre ensued.
trafalgar, battle of.—the most glorious and splendid naval engagement ever achieved by the british navy. the french had 18 and the spaniards 15 ships of the line; the british had 27 ships. several of the enemies’ admirals were taken prisoners. the following is southey’s fine description of the death of england’s greatest naval hero. he says:—
“nelson having despatched his business at portsmouth, endeavoured to elude the populace by taking a by-way to the beach, but a crowd collected in his train, pressing forward to obtain a sight of his face: many were in tears, and many knelt down before him, and blessed him as he passed. england has had many heroes, but never one who so entirely possessed the love of his fellow-countrymen as nelson. all men knew that his heart was as humane as it was fearless; that there was not in his nature the slightest alloy of selfishness or cupidity; but that, with perfect and entire devotion, he served his country with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his strength; and therefore they loved him as truly and as fervently as he loved england. they pressed upon the parapet to gaze after him when his barge pushed off, and he returned their cheers by waving his hat. the sentinels who endeavoured to prevent them from trespassing upon this ground, were wedged among the crowd; and an officer who, not very prudently upon such an occasion, ordered them to drive the people down with their bayonets, was compelled speedily to retreat; for the people would not be debarred from gazing till the last moment upon the hero—the darling hero of england!
it had been part of nelson’s prayer, that the british fleet might be distinguished by humanity in the victory which he expected. setting an example himself, he twice give orders to cease firing on the redoubtable, supposing that she had struck, because her guns was silent; for, as she carried no flag, there was no means of instantly ascertaining the fact. from this ship, which he had thus twice spared, he received his death. a ball fired from her mizen-top, which, in the then situation of the two vessels, was not more than 15 yards from that part of the[360] deck where he was standing, struck the epaulette on his left shoulder, about a quarter after one, just in the heat of action. he fell upon his face, on the spot which was covered with his poor secretary’s blood. hardy, who was a few steps from him, turning round, saw three men raising him up. “they have done for me at last, hardy,” said he. “i hope not,” cried hardy. “yes” he replied, “my back-bone is shot through.” yet even now, not for a moment losing his presence of mind, he observed, as they were carrying him down the ladder, that the tiller ropes, which had been shot away, were not yet replaced, and ordered that new ones should be rove immediately: then, that he might not be seen by the crew, he took out his handkerchief, and covered his face and his stars. had he but concealed these badges of honour from the enemy, england, perhaps, would not have had cause to receive with sorrow the news of the battle of trafalgar. the cockpit was crowded with wounded and dying men, over whose bodies he was with some difficulty conveyed, and laid upon a pallet in the midshipmen’s berth. it was soon perceived, upon examination, that the wound was mortal. this, however, was concealed from all except captain hardy, the chaplain, and the medical attendants. he himself being certain, from the sensation in his back, and the gush of blood he felt momently within his breast, that no human care could avail him, insisted that the surgeon should leave him, and attend to those to whom he might be useful; “for,” said he, “you can do nothing for me.” all that could be done was to fan him with paper, and frequently to give him lemonade to alleviate his intense thirst. he was in great pain, and expressed much anxiety for the event of the action, which now began to declare itself. as often as a ship struck, the crew of the victory hurrahed, and at every hurrah, visible expression of joy gleamed in the eyes, and marked the countenance of the dying hero. but he became impatient to see hardy; and as that officer, though often sent for, could not leave the deck, nelson feared that some fatal cause prevented him, and repeatedly cried, “will no one bring hardy to me? he must be killed! he is surely dead!” an hour and ten minutes elapsed from the time when nelson received his wound, before hardy could come to him. they shook hands in silence, hardy in vain struggling to suppress the feelings of that most painful and yet sublime moment. “well, hardy,” said nelson, “how goes the day with us?” “very well,” replied hardy; “ten ships have struck, but five of the van have tacked, and show an intention to bear down upon the victory. i have called two or three of our fresh ships round, and have no doubt of giving them a[361] drubbing.” “i hope,” said nelson, “none of our ships have struck.” hardy answered, “there was no fear of that.” then, and not till then, nelson spoke of himself. “i am a dead man, hardy,” said he; “i am going fast; it will be all over with me soon. come nearer to me. let my dear lady hamilton have my hair, and all other things belonging to me.” hardy observed, that he hoped mr. beatty could yet hold out some prospect of life. “oh! no,” he replied; “it is impossible. my back is shot through. beatty will tell you so.” hardy then once more shook hands with him, and with a heart almost bursting, hastened upon deck.
by this time all feeling below the breast was gone, and nelson, having made the surgeon ascertain this, said to him: “you know i am gone. i know it. i feel something rising in my breast,” putting his hand on his left side, “which tells me so.” and upon beatty’s inquiring whether his pain was very great, he replied, “so great that he wished he was dead. yet,” said he, in a lower voice, “one would like to live a little longer too!” and after a few minutes, in the same undertone, he added: “what would become of poor lady hamilton if she knew my situation!” next to his country she occupied his thoughts. captain hardy, some fifty minutes after he had left the cockpit, returned, and again taking the hand of his dying friend and commander, congratulated him on having gained a complete victory. how many of the enemy were taken he did not know, as it was impossible to perceive them distinctly, but 14 or 15 at least. “that’s well,” cried nelson, but “i bargained for 20.” and then, in a stronger voice, he said: “anchor, hardy, anchor.” hardy, upon this, hinted that admiral collingwood would take upon himself the direction of affairs. “not while i live, hardy,” said the dying nelson, ineffectually endeavouring to raise himself from the bed: “do you anchor.” his previous orders for preparing to anchor had shown how clearly he foresaw the necessity of this. presently calling hardy back, he said to him in a low voice, “don’t throw me overboard;” and he desired that he might be buried by his parents, unless it should please the king to order otherwise. then reverting to private feelings: “take care of my dear lady hamilton, hardy; take care of poor lady hamilton. kiss me, hardy,” said he. hardy knelt down and kissed his cheek; and nelson said, “now i am satisfied. thank god i have done my duty!” hardy stood over him in silence for a moment or two, then knelt again and kissed his forehead “who is that?” said nelson; and being[362] informed, he replied, “god bless you, hardy.” and hardy then left him for ever. nelson now desired to be turned upon his right side, and said, “i wish i had not left the deck; for i shall soon be gone.” death was, indeed, rapidly approaching. he said to the chaplain, “doctor, i have not been a great sinner;” and after a short pause, “remember that i leave lady hamilton and my daughter horatia as a legacy to my country.” his articulation now became difficult; but he was distinctly heard to say, “thank god, i have done my duty!” these words he repeatedly pronounced, and they were the last words which he uttered. he expired at thirty minutes after four, three hours and a quarter after he had received his wound.”
traktir bridge, battle of.—fought during the crimean campaign, between the french and sardinian forces, and the russians—
“the garrison of sebastopol having failed, on the 2nd of august, in a desperate attempt to forces the allied lines by the woronzoff road, remained inactive only in appearance. they were ready for a new balaclava and a new inkerman all in one, so far as the strategic movement is concerned. in august the tchernaya is fordable at many points, well known, of course, to the enemy. on the 16th of that month they debouched from the tchouliou heights, and descended to the tchernaya, in the neighbourhood of traktir-bridge. behind this bridge rise, at a little distance, the fediukine hills, on which rested the rear of the french army, which now faced about. to their right were the sardinians,—to theirs the turks. beyond the river, and under tchouliou hills is a valley, along which swarmed the russian masses, driving the outposts of the sardinian bersaglieri, or sharp-shooters. about 1500 zouaves and chasseurs guarded the bridge: they were attacked by 10,000 russians, under general read. for an hour the 1500 held the 10,000 beneath the storm of artillery which pound upon their dense columns from one english battery and from the sardinian and french artillery. at last, the russians swarmed over the fords, forced the bridge, and slowly pushed the brave zouaves up the hill; but executed this movement painfully, out of breath, in disorder, and rent by ordnance. at the hill’s brow the main body of the french received in their openings comrades worthy of leonidas, who, turning, and now backed by strong columns, charged bayonets down the declivity. twice the enemy rallied, but in vain. the sardinians and french made a final rush, and drove them with carnage upon their supports, who were thus disarrayed. the artillery[363] reopened, and the battle was won. general scarlett’s dragoons came up at this moment, but general pelissier deemed pursuit unwise. the enemy retired on mackenzie’s farm. he left on the field a quantity of fascines, planks, beams, ladders, and sappers’ tools, destined to destroy the works of the besiegers. he left also 2500 dead; and 1620 of his wounded were that night in the ambulances of the french, who took, in addition, 500 prisoners. they themselves lost 180 killed, and 810 wounded—chiefly on and near the bridge. this great battle occurred the day succeeding the first napoleon’s natal anniversary, and the fête-day of the french empire. it was on that very morning that the queen of england set out to pay the first royal visit ever made by english monarch to a sovereign of that warlike dynasty. it seemed as if events both in the east and in the west were conspiring to raise to the highest point the glory of the napoleon destinies at one and the same hour.”
trebia, battle of.—fought between hannibal and the romans. hannibal taking advantage of the well known impetuosity of the romans, sent over at first a detachment of 1000 horse. these pretending defeat, hastily recrossed the river, followed by the main body of the romans. by this means the defeat of the romans was insured. benumbed with wading up to their armpits in water, they became an easy prey to their enemies; 26,000 were either slain, or drowned in attempting to cross the river.
trincomalee.—taken from the dutch by the english in 1782. retaken by the french same year; restored to the dutch in 1783. surrendered to the british, under colonel stewart, august 26th, 1795, and was confirmed by the peace of amiens in 1802. of a series of actions fought off trincomalee, between sir edward hughes and the french admiral suffrein, one was fought february 18th, 1782, the enemy having 11 ships and the british 9. on april 12th following, they had 18 to 11 ships, and on july 6th, same year, they had 15 to 12 ships. yet, in every one of these battles, the french suffered severe defeats.
triple alliance.—this celebrated party alliance between the states general and england against france, was for the protection of the netherlands (holland and belgium). sweden afterwards joined the alliance, january 28th, 1668.
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triumph.—on the day appointed, the general, crowned with laurels, pronounced an oration to the soldiers and surrounding multitude, relating his military achievements; then the march began with a long procession, in which were carried inscriptions, containing the names of the nations, provinces, or cities, he had conquered; the priests assisted, leading the beasts used for sacrifice. the conqueror, in an ivory car, richly ornamented, closed the procession. he was surrounded by his friends and relations, bearing branches of laurel; the procession stopped at the capitol, where they sacrificed to jupiter, and deposited part of the spoils. the lustre of the roman conquests was often tarnished by their inhumanity to the conquered; their prisoners, if of high rank, were only reserved to suffer superior mortifications; the captive monarchs and generals were bound in chains, their heads closely shaven (a mark of peculiar degradation), and they were thus presented a sad spectacle to the gazing multitude.
troyes.—celebrated for the treaty, may 24th, 1420. the french were driven from troyes by the allied armies, february 7th, 1814. retaken by napoleon, february 28th, and finally occupied by the allies, march 4th, same year.
tyre.—a celebrated city in asia minor. besieged by nebuchadnezzar, b.c. 572, and the city demolished a year after its rebuilding. taken by alexander the great, who spent seven months in the siege, august 20th, 332 b.c. thousands of the inhabitants were crucified by alexander, along the shore, for the bravery with which they had defended their city.
