Battle of Barrosa
The Battle of Barrosa (March 5, 1811) was a minor rearguard action near Cádiz, Spain in which a British battalion drove back two French regiments and captured a regimental eagle.
Background
Cádiz was being besieged by the French under the command of Soult, but Soult had stripped the besieging forces in order to raise a force of 20,000 men to besiege Badajoz. In an attempt to raise the siege of Cádiz, a mixed Anglo-Spanish force was landed at Tarifa to march up the coast, and attack the siege lines from the rear. The force (15,000 men) was under the command of the Spanish General La Peña, with the British contingent (5,000 men) being commanded by Lieutenant-General Graham.
At the approaches to Cádiz, the French took up a position at the "Pinar de los Franceses", a marshy area about 15 km (10 miles) east of the Barrosa beach, where the road to Cádiz and San Fernando goes between a marshy area and a pine forest. This blocked attack on the siege lines, but left open a road to Cádiz. La Peña decided to march on to Cádiz, rather than attempt to force the French position and attack the siege lines.
Battle
To cover this, a mixed force acted as rearguard. Only the British component of the rearguard (a single battalion of 470 men drawn from the Gibraltar garrison) took up its positions on a low hill inland from Barrosa; this battalion retreated when threatened by significant French forces (about 7,000 men). Graham's division came under long-range artillery fire, and he counter-marched his division to retake the hill. The British infantry advanced in line; the French came down the hill in columns to attack them. After an exchange of musketry at close range, two French regiments broke and fled, and the British captured a regimental eagle.
Consequences
Tactically, and in terms of casualties inflicted, the battle was a victory for the British troops. They had already marched a considerable distance during that day (and the preceding night), and were fighting a French force approaching twice their numbers (on La Peña's instructions, the Spanish stood and watched while their allies were assaulted). Strategically, it had no real effect; after the battle the force resumed its march to Cádiz without any further attempt to attack the siege lines.
The battle gives its name (despite the different spelling) to the Barossa wine-growing region of Australia. Of specific note: Ensign Keogh of the 87th Irish Foot made an attempt at grabbing the eagle of the 8th Ligne Regiment in this battle. Keogh was killed in the process by those who were supporting it, but Sergeant Patrick Masterson, or Masterman (the records of the sergeant are slim) secured the eagle with the words, 'Bejabbers, boys, I've got the cuckoo!' He was later given a battlefield commission to captain for this feat. A twist of history is that a golden wreath of laurel was placed upon this same eagle by the hand of Napoleon himself in celebration of the 8th Regiment's distinction - gained when causing the 87th Irish Foot to retreat with considerable loss - at the earlier Battle of Talavera.
References
- Glover, Michael, The Peninsular War 1807-1814: A Concise Military History, (David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 1974) ISBN 0-7153-6387-5, GB (Archon Books, Hamden Connecticut, 1974) ISBN 0-208-01426-8, US