Note 178 — Chapter I

For an account of this curious affair see Fririon, Noël (who was with Loison at the moment), Pelet, and Marbot. The latter (as always) gives the most picturesque and probably the least trustworthy account. He forgets to mention that Fonte Cuberta was occupied by Loison’s 4,500 infantry, and writes as if a squadron of hussars had retired before Masséna’s escort of 50 men. According to him the Marshal’s night-retreat was much disturbed by the misadventures of his mistress (Renique’s sister), whose horse repeatedly fell in the dark and rolled over her, to his intense anxiety. Masséna’s dispatch says only, ‘Le duc d’Elchingen abandonna la position de Condeixa plus tôt que je ne le croyais. Le poste de Fonte Cuberta était découvert, et l’artillerie qui s’y trouvait compromise. J’ai gagné avec elle la grande route par une marche de flanc, à portée de canon de la ligne ennemie, par un beau clair de lune.’