The Light Division crosses the Agueda. Lord Wellington reconnoiters Rodrigo. Don Julian Sanchez. The French governor taken prisoner by Guerillas. A picket of our light cavalry made prisoners in the Sierra de Gata. The Light Division reinforced by the third battalion of the 95th Rifle corps from Cadiz. Deaths by Alemtejo fever. I cross the mountains with my own company and one of Portuguese. Wild scenery. Goatherds. Their dress, language, and habitations. Rejoin the Light Division. Marmont advances to Rodrigo. The Light Division in position on the Vadillo. Gallant conduct of General Colville’s brigade. The Light Division joins the 3d and 4th near Guinaldo. The army falls back to Aldea de Ponte. The Light Division engaged with the French cavalry and dismounted chasseurs. Brilliant charge of the Fusileer brigade. General Picton’s light troops engaged. The army retires to Soita. Marmont follows the allied army no further, and falls back to Placentia. Our army goes into cantonments. Comparative merits of Spanish and English greyhounds. A new governor arrives at Rodrigo. Winter quarters in Spanish villages. Libraries not in vogue. An essay on cigars, and their utility in campaigning. A party made to shoot wild deer. General Hill surprises a French division. A shooting party in the mountains. Boleros, fandangos, and Irish jigs. Capital sport with the woodcocks. A good dancer and a particularly bad shot. Excursion to Robadillia. Just punishment inflicted on a demi-brigade of padres. The Light Division invests and lays siege to Ciudad Rodrigo. Redoubt of San Francisco stormed and taken. The siege and storming of Rodrigo. Death of Generals Crawford and M’Kinnon. Remarks on the defence made by the French governor. Contrast between the siege of 1810 and that of 1812. The army marches to the southward and besieges Badajoz. Difficulty of keeping our horses alive during the march. Siege of Badajoz. Storming of the place. 227