To The Douro

WELLINGTON’S DRAGOON 1: –––––––– TO THE DOURO BY DAVID J. BLACKMORE Brindle Books Ltd –––––––– Copyright © 2022 by David J Blackmore This edition published by Brindle Books Ltd Unit 3, Grange House Grange Street Wakefield United Kingdom WF2 8TF Copyright © Brindle Books Ltd 2022 –––––––– The right of David J Blackmore to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. ISBN 978-1-7398648-7-3 –––––––– All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the Copyright holder. Table of Contents Title Page Copyright Page Acknowledgements Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 About the author Also available from Brindle Books Ltd Acknowledgements The first people I have to thank are the members of the writing group in Howden. It is because of them, their encouragement and their advice, that this book got written. Our monthly meetings are always stimulating and fun, and sometimes challenging. Such as the challenge to write the opening paragraph of a novel, which eventually led to this book series. Thanks are also due to Gillian Caldicott for reading everything, and seeing the wood for the trees, as well as my typos. I have been re-enacting cavalry of various types for a long time, most recently B Troop, 16th Light Dragoons. It was with them that I learnt some of the realities of being a Light Dragoon, like the correct way to handle a 1796 Light Cavalry Sabre, and how to wheel by threes. It was with them that I took part in Waterloo 200, and charged across the original battlefield through the standing corn. Without those experiences this book would not have been written. My thanks to you all, and to all I have ridden with over the years. I am fortunate to be able to ride two or three times a week, frequently on Johnny, who is a real horse, and on many other excellent horses. I am grateful to Mark Atkinson of Atkinson Action Horses who makes all that possible, from whom I have learnt so much about horses and riding, and who continues to make a me a better rider than I was last week. There is no better pastime than being out on a good horse, whatever the weather. Finally, of course, I must thank Neil Hinchliffe for introducing me to Richard Hinchliffe of Brindle Books, and Richard for taking up my offering. Introduction The ‘Wellington’s Dragoon’ series relates the adventures of a young officer, Michael Roberts, of the 16th Light Dragoons during the war against Napoleon in Portugal and Spain, and in the final campaign of Waterloo. The 16th Light Dragoons is a real regiment, the only one to serve under Sir Arthur Wellesley, later the Duke of Wellington, from when he took command in April 1809, all the way through the Peninsular War to its end in 1814, and again in the Waterloo Campaign of 1815. Michael Roberts, is a complete invention, as is Emyr Lloyd and many, but not all, of the NCOs and dragoons of the regiment. All the other officers that appear served in the Regiment. William Tomkinson left us one of the finest diaries of a cavalry officer from the period. Many of the other characters you will meet in the series were real people, and many of the events are also real, including the crossing of the Douro using wine barges that is the pivotal action of this book. How those barges came to be there has never been explained, until now. I hope that I have done justice to everyone, and every event, real and imagined, if not, the fault is mine. You may be struck by the spelling of Buonaparte. That is the early spelling of Napoleon’s family name, he changed it to try to appear more Chapter 1 In the distance he heard cannon fire, and knew, without needing to see, that one of His Majesty’s Ships was entering the Carrick Roads and exchanging salutes with the guns at Pendennis Castle. It was an unwelcome reminder of the war, but Michael Roberts strolled on, carelessly, along Falmouth’s narrow Market Street and passed by the Parish Church. The latest news was not good, with a French army reported to be marching on Portugal. He and his parents had been forced to flee Lisbon six years before, only able to return a year later with the Treaty of Amiens, short lived though it was. And now it was happening all over again. Well, he thought, there was nothing he could do about any of it. A gust of a chill November wind plucked at the stylish top hat that sat rakishly on his head, and his hand flew up to secure it, while his open topcoat billowed open, revealing a young man of middling height, with a build that was muscled, but lean. Under the hat, thick, dark brown hair framed his unfashionably tanned face, with its brown eyes, hinting at an exotic background. Well dressed in a blue tailcoat, white pantaloons, polished top boots and a crisp, white neckcloth, he was a well known figure in the town. A moment later he was pushing his way through the doors of