Bembibre to Cacabelos and Villafranca

Abstract

From Bembibre to Villafranca eighteen miles to the west stretches the rolling valley of the Bierzo. In 1809 the highway between the two cities kept to the high ground on the northern side of the valley, crossing a succession of rivers flowing down from the mountains which rim the valley on the north. At the river crossings there were a series of towns, those useful to note here being from east to west, Congosto, Cubillos, Cabanas Raros, and Cacabelos. There are as one would expect in a country settled since Roman times and long before that, numerous side roads. Since the royal highway kept to the high ground it did not pass in those days through the city of Ponferrada which is in the valley on the banks of the Sil, but Ponferrada was connected to the royal highway by a number of roads, two of which were important in the retreat of the British army. The first branched south at San Roman, west of Bembibre, and ran by way of Matachana to Ponferrada. Modern maps show it now only running as far as Matachana and the road, as an automobile road, ends there. The second connecting road ran between Ponferrada and Cacabelos. In those days, then, it was possible to make a loop or detour from the main highway, leaving it at San Roman, proceeding by Matachana to Ponferrada, and rejoining the highway by the Ponferrada-Cacabelos road some twelve miles west of the starting point. The San Román-Matachana-Ponferrada road was taken by the Spanish soldiery and some British units which the Commander of the Forces sent that way in order to deny it to the French. The Ponferrada-Cacabelos road was guarded by the 3rd German Light Dragoons who had arrived at Ponferrada by the southern route described in the last chapter. In the retreat from Bembibre, as was the case previously, the Reserve, composed of two brigades, was the last division in the British column. Its commander was Edward Paget, and the brigadiers were Robert Anstruther and Moore Disney, all three generals knowledgeable in their profession, courageous, and humane. The troops were as good as their commanders. The regiments in Anstruther’s brigade were the 20th, the first battalion of the 52nd, and the first battalion of the 95th. Disney’s brigade consisted of the first battalions of the 28th and the 91st. The 52nd was, of course, Moore’s old regiment trained at Shorncliffe. The 20th had been commanded by General Wolfe and had a record for reliability in bad situations. The 95th, a rifle regiment, had one of the best records in the army, and in the retreat the 28th distinguished itself above all other regiments with the possible exception of the 20th. For cavalry Moore relied heavily on the 15th Light Dragoons and the 3rd Light Dragoons of the King’s German Legion. The horses of the 15th, unfortunately, gave out rather soon.