IN A FORLORN HOPE.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7737, 7 May 1887, Page 2 (Supplement)

IN A FORLORN HOPE.

When the assault on Badajos was Ordered I volunteered for the forlorn hope. The stormers were received withashower of shot, canister, and grape. I myself received two small slug shots in my knee and a musket shot in my .side, which must have been mortal had it not been for my canteen ; for the ball penetrated that, and passed oat, making two holes in it, and then entered my side slightly. Still I stuck to my ladder, and Rot into tbo entrenchment. Numbers had by this time fallen : but the cry from our commanded being, "Oome on, my lads 1" we hastened to the breach. But there, to our great surprise and discouragement, we found a chevaux-de-frise had been fixed and a deep entrenchment made, from behind whioh the garrison opened a deadly fire on us. Vain attempts were made to remove this fearful obstacle, during which my left hand was dreadfully cut by one of the blades of the chevaux-de-frise, but, finding no success in that quarter, we were 1 , forced to retire for a time. We remained, however, in the breach until wo were quite weary with our efforts to pass ,}£• My wounds were still bleeding, and I begun feel very, weak. My comrades per. suaded me to go to the rear ; otit this proved a task of great difficulty, for, on arriving at the ladders, I found them filled with the dead and wounded, hanging some by their feet, just. as they had fallen and got fixed in the founds. . I hove down 1 three lots of them, henriag the imploringn of the wonnded all the time; but, oncoming to the fourth, I found it completely smothered with dead bodies, so I bad to draw myself up over them as best I could; When I arrived at the top, I almost wished myself back again for there of the two I think was the worst sight, nothing bnt the dead and the wounded lying aroupd, the cries of the latter, mingled with th# incessant firing from the enemy, being quite deafening. I was bo weak myself that I|could scarcely walk, so I crawled on my hands and knees' till X, got out of reach of theenemy'smuskalry. After proceeding for." some way, I fell in with Lord Wellington and his staff;, who, see. me mewounded, aseedme what regiment I belonged to. I told him the Fortieth, and that I had been one of the forlorn hope. He inquired as to the extent of my wounds, and if any of our troops had got into the town, and I said " No," and I did not think they ever would, as. there was a chevanx de f rise, a deep entrenohment, and in the rear of them' a constant and murderous fire being kept up by the enemy. One of his staff then bound np my leg with a silk handkerchief, and told me to go behind a hill which, he pointed cut, where I would Snd a doctor to dress my wounds ; so I proceeded on, and found it was the doctor of my own regiment. — From the Autobiography of Sergeant William Lawrence,' a soldier of the Peninsular and Waterloo Campaigns,