Note 112 — BUSACO.
Reading edition
A singular circumstance, which occurred that night in the bivouac of Craufurd’s division, is thus related:
“One of those extraordinary panics that, in ancient times, were attributed to the influence of a hostile god, took place. No enemy was near, no alarm was given, yet suddenly the troops, as if seized with a frenzy, started from sleep, and dispersed in every direction; nor was there any possibility of allaying this strange terror, until some persons called out that the enemy’s cavalry were among them, when the soldiers mechanically ran together in masses, and the illusion was instantly dissipated.”—Napier.