Apr 01 2011
The Siege of Cadiz, part 6
Cadiz from the sea
Graham had won the battle of Barrosa; now he needed to win the battle of words which followed.
On the 6th March Graham crossed to the Isla with his wounded, at the same time making clear that he would no longer serve under General La Peña. He realised that the problem was not any inadequacy among the Spanish forces, but La Peña himself. He also appreciated that there was still time to rescue something from the debacle of the campaign. Marshal Victor had withdrawn his troops from the lines, so Graham, in conjunction with Admiral Keats, suggested that now was the time to attack Victor and disrupt the siege.
The plan was simple. The Spanish would advance on Chiclana while the British would attack the Trocadero by land and by sea, thus forcing Victor to withdraw inland.
La Peña’s response, on the 7th, was to retire into Cadiz, taking up the bridge of boats. This enabled Victor to re-occupy his lines on the 8th. All chance of salvaging something from the mismanaged expedition was now lost.
The futility of the campaign did not prevent La Peña from claiming all the credit for Barrosa, and he was so convincing that the Regency awarded him the Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III. (They also offered Graham a dukedom, which he politely refused.)
The Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III
The story of La Peña’s victory at Barrosa grew in the telling. Sir Henry Wellesley, Wellington’s youngest brother and British envoy to Cadiz urged Graham to tell his side of the story but Graham held silent, contenting himself with the knowledge that not all the Spanish were taken in. One of his supporters was General Zayas, who had pleaded with La Peña to be allowed to come to Graham’s aid on the 5th, and who would soon distinguish himself at the battle of Albuera. Graham described Zayas as ‘an active, zealous and intelligent officer.’ The exact opposite of La Peña!
The Spanish military were more aware of La Peña’s shortcomings than the Regency and towards the end of March he was suspended. This provoked him to go into print. He produced a highly inaccurate account of the campaign, putting all the blame on Graham for its failure.
Graham could keep silent no longer and produced his own account, which was translated into Spanish and widely circulated. Since it made more sense than La Peña’s version, it was generally accepted to be true.
La Peña now used more devious means to restore his reputation. He persuaded General Lacey, his chief of staff, to write another, even more libellous account. Graham immediately challenged Lacey to a duel, whereupon Lacey apologised profusely and agreed to remove the offending passages. Having dealt successfully with Lacey, Graham now made a similar offer of ‘an early morning meeting’ to La Peña. It was totally in keeping that La Peña refused the offer and promptly decamped from Cadiz.
A fine pair of duelling pistols
On the 24th June Graham received a welcome order to join Wellington and the main Anglo-Portuguese army. His departure was regretted by the men who had served under him but it is unlikely that Graham was sorry to leave Cadiz.
The end of the siege
The siege of Cadiz was finally brought to an end by events elsewhere in Spain. On the 22nd July 1812 Wellington defeated Marshal Marmont at the battle of Salamanca. A fortnight later he was in Madrid.
The Duke of Wellington enters Madrid in 1812
Marshal Soult, in command in Andalusia, realised that he could be cut off from the other French armies in the Peninsula if he remained where he was. He had no choice but to abandon the province. On the 24th August he ordered a withdrawal from Cadiz. There was no return.
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