The French army would thus have been in a critical condition, with the whole of Spain in arms against it, even if it had been under the orders of an able general, and its composition as strong as it actually was weak. We suffered reverses by sea and land; a squadron had to surrender in Cadiz roads just as Marshal Moncey had to retire from the kingdom of Valencia. The junta of Seville declared war against France in the name of Ferdinand VII. General Dupont, whom Savary had imprudently despatched without support into Andalusia, found at the beginning of July that the people were all rising round him, and, learning that 10,000 men from the camp of San Roque were advancing under the orders of General Castaños, resolved to withdraw towards Madrid, and with that view sent Vedel's division to occupy the Sierra Morena and re-open communications. But, instead of following his advanced guard promptly, Dupont, who from an excellent general of division had become a very bad commander of an army corps, resolved to give battle where he stood, and ordered Vedel's division, which was already ten leagues away, to come back. This was the first mistake, and besides this, Dupont scattered the troops that remained with him, and lost precious time at Andujar, on the banks of the Guadalquivir.

The Spaniards, reinforced by several Swiss regiments, took advantage of this delay to send part of their troops over to the bank opposite to that which our army occupied; so that we found ourselves between two fires. Still, so far nothing was lost, if our men had fought courageously and in good order; but Dupont had handled his troops so badly that on arriving before the defile of Baylen the rear of the column was three leagues from the head. Then, instead of bringing his force together, General Dupont sent each regiment and each gun into action as they came up. Our weak young soldiers, exhausted by fifteen hours' marching and eight hours' fighting, were dropping with weariness under the rays of an Andalusian sun. The most part could neither march nor bear arms any longer, and lay down instead of fighting. Then Dupont asked for a truce, which the Spaniards were all the more ready to accept that they feared matters might shortly change to their disadvantage. Vedel's division had, in fact, at that moment come up in rear of the Spanish force and was attacking them successfully. They sent a flag of truce to let the general know that an armistice had been agreed upon with General Dupont. Vedel took no notice of it and fought on vigorously. Two Spanish regiments had laid down their arms; others were in flight; and Vedel was only a short league from Dupont, and would soon have completely relieved him, when an aide-de-camp came from the latter through the enemy's army bringing orders to take no further steps as arrangements were being made for an armistice. Thereupon Vedel, instead of yielding further to the happy inspiration under which he had refused to recognise the authority of a chief who could send orders to his subordinates only by passing them through the hands of the enemy, halted in the middle of his victory and gave the order to cease firing. The Spaniards meanwhile had only eight cartridges per man left; but their supports were coming up and they wished to gain time. General Dupont asked permission from General Reding, a Swiss in the Spanish service, to pass through with his army and return to Madrid. Reding at first agreed, but afterwards declared that he could do nothing without the authority of General Castaños, who was some leagues away. He in his turn wished to refer the matter to the junta, and they raised all sorts of difficulties.

Meanwhile Dupont's young recruits were in a most unfortunate position; he kept giving contradictory orders alternately requiring Vedel to attack and to take back his division to Madrid. Vedel took the latter course, and the next day was at the foot of Sierra Morena, out of reach of attack from Castaños. But unluckily General Dupont had decided to capitulate, and with indescribable weakness had comprehended Vedel's troops in the capitulation, ordering them to return to Baylen. Having the way to Madrid open to them they tumultuously refused; but instead of taking advantage of their enthusiasm, Vedel pointed out that they would expose Dupont's men to reprisals, adding that the terms of capitulation were not severe since it was stipulated that they would be taken back to France, where they would get their arms again. The officers and soldiers declared that in that case they had better retreat, arms and all, to Madrid; but General Vedel preached passive obedience until he succeeded in bringing his division back to Baylen, where it lay down its arms. General Dupont deserves much blame for having included in the capitulation a division which was already out of the enemy's reach; but what must we think of General Vedel, who obeyed the orders of a commander no longer at liberty and handed over to the Spaniards nearly 10,000 efficient men? Dupont pushed his infatuation so far as to include all the troops of his army corps, even those who had not crossed the Sierra Morena. General Castaños required that these detachments should come twenty-five leagues to lay down their arms. One commander only, who deserves to be named, the brave Major de Sainte-Eglise, replied that he would not take orders from a general who was a prisoner of war, and by a rapid march, in spite of the attacks of the insurgent peasants, he succeeded with little loss in reach the outposts of the French camp before Madrid. The Emperor promoted him to the rank of colonel. With the exception of this battalion, the whole of Dupont's army, 20,000 strong, was disarmed. Then the Spaniards, having no more to fear, refused to keep the articles of the capitulation, which stipulated for the return of the French troops to France, and not only declared them prisoners of war, but shamefully ill-treated them and allowed several thousand soldiers to be slaughtered by the peasants.

Dupont, Vedel, and some generals alone obtained leave to return to France. The officers and the soldiers were at first packed on board pontoons in Cadiz roads, but an epidemic fever broke out among them, and the Spanish authorities, fearing that Cadiz might be infected, sent the survivors to the desert island of Cabrera, where there was neither water nor houses. There our poor men, receiving every week some casks of brackish water, some damaged ship biscuit, and a little salt meat, lived almost like savages. Without clothing, linen, or medicine, getting no news of their families, or even from France, they were obliged to shelter themselves in burrows like wild beasts. This lasted six years, until the Peace of 1814, by which time most of the prisoners were dead of misery and grief. M. de Lasalle, who became orderly officer to King Louis Philippe, was among the number, and when he was released he, like most of his comrades, had been almost entirely naked for more than six years. When it was pointed out to the Spaniards that their violation of the Treaty of Baylen was contrary to the law of nations in force among all civilized peoples, they replied that the arrest of their king, Ferdinand VII., had been no less illegal, and that they were merely following the example which Napoleon had set them—a reproach which, it must be admitted, was not without foundation.

When the news of the disaster at Baylen reached the Emperor his rage was fearful. Up to then he had regarded the Spaniards as on a par in courage with the Italians, and supposed that their rising was merely a peasant revolt which would quickly be dispersed by a few French battalions. But his eagles had been humbled, and French troops had lost the prestige of unbroken victory. Deeply must he have regretted that he had allowed his army to be composed of recruits, instead of sending the veterans whom he had left in Germany. His rage against the generals was indescribable. He made the mistake of imprisoning them to avoid the scandal of a trial, which led to their being regarded as the victims of arbitrary power. It was five years before they were brought to trial by court-martial. The capitulation of Baylen, as may be supposed, caused the insurrection to spread widely; nor did the defeat of the army of the Asturias by Bessières do anything to check it. The Spanish contingent, under General La Romana, which had served under Napoleon, and had been left on the coast of the Baltic, was brought back with the help of the English. The fortresses which the Spaniards still held were defended vigorously, and open towns, following the lead of Saragossa, turned themselves into fortresses. The Spanish army of Andalusia was set free to march on Madrid, and King Joseph with an army corps retreated beyond the Ebro, where the remainder of our troops raising the sieges in which they were engaged gradually assembled. Soon we learnt a new disaster. Portugal, owing to the imprudence with which Junot had scattered his forces, had been lost to us. Attacked by Sir Arthur Wellesley with superior forces, 1he had been compelled to capitulate at Vimeira. That day marked the beginning of Wellesley's fame and fortune; he was the junior lieutenant-general in the English army, and commanded that day only in consequence of a delay in the landing of his seniors. The terms of capitulation were that the French army should evacuate Portugal and be taken back to France by sea without being disarmed. They were faithfully executed by the English; but instead of being landed at Bordeaux, the troops were taken to Lorient.

By this time Napoleon had ordered up from Germany three army corps of infantry and much cavalry—all veterans who had fought at Jena, Eylau, and Friedland. To these he added a large portion of his guard, and prepared to set out himself for Spain, at their head. Their number amounted to more than 100,000, which, with the divisions already in Spain, would raise our army to 200,000 men.

Some days before starting, the Emperor, intending to take Augereau with him if the wound he had received at Eylau allowed him to take the command, had summoned him to Saint-Cloud. Being on duty, I accompanied the Marshal, and while Napoleon walked about with Augereau I stayed on one side with his aides-de-camp. It appears that after discussing the matter which they had in hand their conversation turned on the battle of Eylau, and the noble conduct of the 14th. Augereau spoke of the devoted manner in which I had carried orders to that regiment through the swarming Cossacks, and entered into full details of the dangers which I had run in accomplishing that mission, and of the really miraculous manner in which I had escaped death after being stripped and left naked on the snow. The Emperor replied: 'Marbot's conduct was admirable, and I have given him the Cross for it.' The Marshal having quite correctly declared that I had received no reward, Napoleon maintained his statement, and in order to prove it sent for Prince Berthier, the adjutant-general. He looked through the registers, the result of his search being the discovery that the Emperor, on hearing of my exploit at Eylau, had indeed entered the name of Marbot, aide-de-camp to Marshal Augereau, among the officers to be decorated. He had, however, not added my Christian name, not knowing that my brother was on the marshal's staff as supernumerary; so that when the time came to deliver the patents, Prince Berthier, always very busy, had said, to save his secretary trouble, 'The Cross must be given to the elder.' So my brother got decorated, though it was his first action, and, since he was only on temporary leave from the Indies, and his regiment was at the Isle of France, he did not officially even belong to the Grand Army. Thus was fulfilled the prediction which Augereau had expressed to him when he said, 'If you come on the same staff as your brother you will do each other harm.' Anyhow, after scolding Berthier a little, the Emperor came towards me, spoke to me kindly, and, taking the Cross from one of his orderly officers, fastened it on my breast. October 29, 1808, was one of the happiest days of my life. At that time the Legion of Honour had not been lavishly given, and a value was attached to it which since then it has unfortunately lost. Decorated at 26! I was beside myself with joy. The good marshal's satisfaction was equal to mine, and in order to allow my mother to share it he took me to her. No promotion that I ever got pleased her as much. To complete my satisfaction, Marshal Duroc sent for the hat which a cannon-ball had pierced on my head at the battle of Eylau, and which the Emperor wished to see.

By Napoleon's own advice, Augereau declined to go on the campaign. Accordingly, he asked Lannes, who had a command in Spain, kindly to take me with him; not, however, as supernumerary, in which capacity I had been with that marshal in the Friedland campaign, but as a regular member of the staff; but if Augereau returned to duty, I was to go back to him. So in November I set out for Bayonne, where, for the fourth time, I was to report myself to a new chief. My outfit had been left there, and was all ready for me. Indeed, I was able to lend the marshal a horse, as his had not yet come when the Emperor crossed the frontier. I knew the country through which we had to pass, and the ways of it, well; the language a little; so that I was able to be of some use to the marshal, who had never been in these parts before.

Nearly all the officers who had been on Lannes' staff having got promotion at the Peace of Tilsit, the marshal was obliged to form a new staff for Spain. He himself was a man of strong character; but from various causes he was obliged to select officers most of whom, for one reason or another, had had little experience of war. They were all brave enough; but it was the least military staff on which I had ever served. The senior aide-de-camp was Colonel O'Meara, brother-in-law to Clarke, Duke of Feltre. He ended his days as commandant of a small place on the Belgian frontier. Then came Major Gruéhéneuc, brother-in-law to Lannes, who commanded the 26th Light Infantry at the Beresina. Major Saint-Mars was the third. After being taken prisoner in Russia he became general secretary of the Legion of Honour. I was the fourth. The fifth was Marquis Serafino d'Albuquerque, a great Spanish noble, fond of good living, and very plucky. He was killed by a cannon-ball at Essling. Sixth, Captain Watteville, son of the Landammann of the Helvetic Republic, representing the Swiss nation; Lannes being titular colonel of the Swiss troops in the French service. He too went on the Russian campaign as a major of lancers. In spite of my care, he succumbed to cold and fatigue as we got near Wilna. The seventh was the famous Labédoyère. He was a tall and handsome man, brave, cultivated, and witty; a good talker, though with a slight stammer. He became aide-de-camp to Prince Eugene Beauharnais, and was colonel in 1814. The story of his bringing his regiment over to the Emperor at the return of Elba is well known. Under the Restoration he was tried and shot. The eighth aide-de-camp was named de Viry. He belonged to an ancient Savoyard family. So far as I knew, he had no bad qualities, and I became very intimate with him; he was severely wounded at Essling, and died in my arms at Vienna. Besides these the marshal had two supernumerary officers attached to his staff, Captain Dagusan and Sub-lieutenant Le Couteulx de Canteleu.

On my joining the staff, Marshal Lannes warned me that he reckoned very much on my help, both on account of the report of me which he had received from Augereau and from the manner in which I had served under himself in the Friedland campaign. 'If you do not get killed,' said he, 'I will see that your promotion comes quickly.' The marshal never promised in vain, and he was in such high favour with the Emperor that everything was possible to him. I promised to do my duty with unswerving courage and zeal.

We left Bayonne and marched with the troops as far as the Ebro, where we joined King Joseph and the army which had made the recent campaign. Rest in camp life had given these young recruits a military air, which they had been far from having in the previous July. But what most raised their tone was finding themselves under the command of the Emperor in person, and hearing that the veterans of the Grand Army had arrived. The Spaniards on their side were astonished and alarmed at the sight of the old grenadiers of the Grand Army, and realised that a change in the aspect of affairs was going to take place. And, indeed, hardly had the Emperor arrived on the Ebro when he launched numerous columns across the river. All that tried to make head against them were exterminated, or saved themselves only by rapid flight. The Spaniards, however, astonished but not discouraged, rallied several army corps under the walls of Burgos, and made bold to accept battle. It took place on November 9 and did not last long, for the enemy, driven in at the first charge, fled in all directions, pursued by our cavalry, with heavy loss.

During this battle, a remarkable, and, happily, very uncommon incident occurred. Two young infantry lieutenants quarrelled, and fought a duel in front of their battalion under a storm of cannon-balls from the enemy. One of them had his cheek laid open by a sword-cut. The colonel put them under arrest and brought them before the marshal, who sent them to the citadel of Burgos, and reported them to the Emperor. He gave them a further punishment, forbidding them to go into action with their company for a month. At the end of this period the regiment to which these two foolish fellows belonged was being reviewed by the Emperor at Madrid. He ordered the colonel to present to him as usual those whom he proposed to promote in the place of officers killed. The sub-lieutenant, who had had the wound in his cheek, was an excellent soldier. His colonel thought that he ought not to lose his promotion for a fault which, though serious, was not dishonourable. He therefore submitted his name to the Emperor, who, perceiving a recent sear on the young man's face, remembered the duel at Burgos, and asked him in a severe tone, 'Where did you get that wound?' Thereupon the sub-lieutenant, wishing neither to tell a lie nor to confess, turned the difficulty very cleverly. Placing his finger on his cheek, he said 'I got it there, sir.' The Emperor understood, and as he liked men of a ready wit, far from being angry at this original repartee, he smiled, and said to the officer, 'Your colonel proposes you for the rank of lieutenant; I grant it you, but in future behave better or I shall cashier you.'

At Burgos I found my brother, who was on the staff of Prince 2Berthier, chief of the general staff. Lannes' military talent increased every day, and the Emperor, who had a very high opinion of him, no longer gave him any stated command, wishing to keep him about his person and send him wherever things had got into disorder, being sure that he would quickly set them to rights. Thus, considering that he had left the town of Saragossa occupied by the insurgents of Arragon, and supported by the army of Castaños, which had conquered Dupont, and that old General Moncey was only bungling, Napoleon ordered Lannes to go to Logroño, take command of the Army of the Ebro, and attack Castaños. Thus Moncey came under the orders of Lannes. It was the first case in which one marshal of the Empire had commanded another. Lannes showed himself worthy of this mark of confidence and distinction. He started, accompanied by his staff alone, and we travelled by post. You must know that at this time there were no draught horses in Spain, but the post-houses keep the best nags in Europe. We rode, therefore, night and day, escorted from stage to stage by detachments of cavalry. In this way we went back as far as Miranda del Ebro, whence we reached Logroño, following the river. Marshal Moncey appeared much annoyed at finding himself, the senior marshal, placed under the orders of the junior, but he had no choice but to obey.

See what the presence of a single capable and energetic man can do. This army of recruits, which Moncey had not dared to lead against the enemy, were set in motion by Lannes on the day of his arrival, and marched against the enemy with ardour. We came up with him on the following day, the 23rd, in front of Tudela, and after three hours' fighting the conquerors of Baylen were driven in, beaten, completely routed, and fled headlong towards Saragossa, leaving thousands of dead on the field. We captured a great many men, several colours, and all the artillery; a complete victory. During this affair I had a bullet through my sabretache. Just at the outset I had had a lively quarrel with Labédoyère over the following matter. He had just bought a young and ill-broken horse, which at the sound of the cannon reared up and absolutely refused to go on. Labédoyère leapt off in a rage, drew his sword, and hamstrung the unhappy horse, who fell all bleeding on the grass, dragging himself along on his forefeet. I could not contain my indignation, and expressed it to him in strong terms; but Labédoyère took it very ill, and we should have come to blows had we not, been in the presence of the enemy. The report of this incident got about in the staff, and Marshal Lannes, very angry, declared that he would not have Labédoyère any more among his aides-de-camp. The latter, in despair, had seized his pistols to blow his brains out, when our friend de Viry pointed out to him that it would be more honourable to seek death in the ranks of the enemy than to inflict it on himself. Just at that moment, de Viry, who was near the marshal, was ordered to lead a cavalry regiment against the Spanish battery. Labédoyère joined the regiment as it was charging, and was one of the first to dash into the battery. It was carried, and we saw de Viry and Labédoyère bringing back a gun which they had taken together. Neither of them was wounded, but Labédoyère had got a grapeshot through his busby, two inches from his head. The marshal was much touched by this courageous act; all the more so, that, after having handed over the gun to him, Labédoyère was getting ready to hurl himself a second time on the enemy's bayonets. The marshal held him back, and, pardoning his fault, restored him to his place on the staff. That same evening Labédoyère came in the most honourable way to shake hands with me, and we ever afterwards lived on the best of terms. He and de Viry were named in the despatches, and promoted to captains a little time after the battle.