October 1st. Instead of advancing to Sabugal, Marshal Marmont contented himself with having relieved Ciudad Rodrigo, and fell back again towards Salamanca, upon which the British divisions went into cantonments on the frontiers, nearly as before, with the head-quarters in Freneda. Every thing being quiet on these frontiers, the army in cantonments, and Lord Wellington in Freneda, I proceed to notice the movements of General Hill's corps which was left in the Alentejo, and which had been ordered upon an expedition against the French corps of observation stationed at Arroyos dos Molinos. AFFAIR OF ARROYOS DOS MOLINOS. 28th October, 1811. General Hill, with a part of his corps, on this occasion conducted kis movements with such promptitude and secresy, that on the evening of the 27th, the British forces had arrived within gun-shot of the town of Arroyos before the enemy knew that they had left Portalegre. No fires were allowed that night in the camp, and so judicious were the ar rangemements made by General Hill, that at break of day on the 28th the village was surrounded, and the French so completely taken by surprise, that after a slight resistance, nearly the whole of their troops were made prisoners. General Hill having completed this important service in so brilliant a manner, returned to his cantonments. Great difficulties occurred about this time in supplying the army, owing to the nonarrival of boats up the Douro from Oporto, the violence of the weather having rendered the navigation of the river for some days impracticable. It is here worthy of notice, that about this time the artificers of the army were employed, under the directions of Lieut.-Colonel Stur geon of the Royal Staff Corps, in a work which afterwards proved of great utility. It had been found, from experience, that the transport of the country was inadequate to the purpose of supplying the wants of the army, or affording that aid to the mule trans port attached to each division which circumstances required, and that the country carts, in some instances, had proved of little or no use; so that a plan was suggested and put in execution for constructing a certain number, upon a model which had been approved by Lord Wellington, to be given over to the Commissary-General, and to be called the Commissariat Waggon Train. These carts or waggons were each to be drawn by four oxen purchased for the purpose, and were made capable of bearing eight hundred pounds weight each. Upwards of six hundred carts were thus constructed during the winter at Lisbon, Oporto and Almeida, and were formed into divisions and sub-divisions, under the superintendance of commissariat officers, with conductors, artificers and other subordinate persons attached to each :---and thus the army became possessed of an independent wheel transport of its own, by which the requisitions upon the inhabitants of the country became less oppressive and obnoxious. These carts were employed in conveying ammunition at the subsequent seiges of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajos; and in the Spanish campaigns they were the means of forming many of the depôts in the interior. 14th. About this time I was sent into the mountains near Sabugal, to a little village called Val de Espina, where the country: abounds with chesnuts. I remained there: two days. 23d. Head-quarters advanced this day to Fuentes de Guinaldo, and the army, moving up to the river Agueda, was posted in the road by which Marshal Marmont was again coming with a convoy of supplies for Cuidad Rodrigo. He was, however, on this occasion, forced to retire upon Tamames without effecting his object, and the army then returned to its cantonments on the frontiers, with the head-quarters at Freneda as before. December. Marshal Marmont having marched his troops into the interior of Spain, probably with a view to repress the rising: spirit of the Guerillas, and possibly supposing that all operations of the English had ceased for the winter, Lord Wellington gave orders; for the battering train to be brought to the frontiers; and during the latter part of the month the soldiers in the villages nearest to |