Frasers of Philorth > Volume 3

DURING THE PENINSULAR WAR. 17
a view of preventing our attack on St. Sebastian ; they had not, however, the
desired effect, for we carried the place by storm at twelve in the day on the 31st
instant. Our loss was very great ; they rate it, as well as it can be now got at, to
be about fifteen hundred men.
The place was stormed by detachments from the different divisions of the
army, and by the fifth division under the command of Sir J. Leith, who is
wounded. We sent a detachment of one Lieut.-Colonel, two Captains, four sub-
alterns, and two hundred men, fifty of whom have returned. Of the officers,
Burrard was mortally wounded, and died yesterday. He is son to Sir H. Burrard,
the second he has lost in action in the regiment. Ensign Bridgeman slightly
wounded, and Chaplin, who belongs to the Coldstream Guards, severely ; he
is shot in the breast, and his thigh broke so high that they cannot amputate ; he
is, however, doing as well as possible, but cannot be called by any means out of
danger.
On the morning of the storm Soult made a general attack on our line,
with an intention to relieve the place. The ground in our front is very strong,
and defended by the Spaniards of the Gallician army, under General Frere.
The French attacked one hour before daylight, and carried a small height
which they surprised ; this enabled them to establish a bridge over the Bidassoa,
and at eight in the morning they had passed over about ten thousand men,
and made a regular attempt to carry the hill occupied by the Spaniards, with-
out which they could not with safety pass any great force of artillery. The
Spaniards defended it with great obstinacy, and about two, when the French had
carried the hill, they made a very spirited charge, and with the bayonet drove
them fairly to the bottom. Towards evening the French made another attempt,
but a very feeble one, and on the Spaniards giving three cheers on being in-
formed of the fall of Sebastian, they retired, and during the night took away the
bridge, and have not since troubled us.
I have just come from the field, and from the number of dead lying there I
should think the loss on both sides must be about five thousand men, of which
number the Spaniards certainly lost the most. The French made an attack
more on the right, and were met by the seventh division British, and repulsed
with great loss. The castle of St. Sebastian still holds out, and will cost some
more men ; we are at present pounding away at it at a great rate.
VOL. III. C