Narrative of the Expedition which Sailed from England in 1817, to Join the South American Patriots: Comprising Every Particular Connected with Its Formation, History, and Fate; with Observations and Authentic Information Elucidating the Real Character of the Contest, Mode of Warfare, State of the Armies, &c

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J. Murray, 1818 - 144 páginas

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Página 47 - ... exterminating principle upon which it had been conducted, the country in general displayed one uniform scene of devastation and wretchedness ; that the Patriot forces were reduced to a state of the greatest poverty, totally devoid of discipline, and not one-fourth provided with proper military arms, the remainder being compelled to resort to bludgeons, knives, and such other weapons as they found most readily procurable. " In clothing they were still more destitute and deficient, in most instances...
Página 47 - ... when hardened by the sun's heat, they again render pliant by immersion in the first stream at which they chance to arrive. A blanket, with a hole cut in the middle, let over the head, and tightened round the body by a buffalo thong, has been frequently the dress of the officers; and one of them who witnessed the fact, assured me, that suchwas actually the uniform of a British colonel (R ) who was at that time in the Independent service.
Página 50 - ... as could be procured, they departed. The armies retired to other parts of the country, and the officer was fast recovering from the effects of his wound, when General Morillo, advancing upon the same route, discovered his retreat, and had him instantly put to death.
Página 48 - ... barefooted and in rags, provided •with such splendid uniforms as we had been obliged to procure ; and ridiculed the strange contrast which our dresses and those of the Patriots would exhibit in the field ; observing, that such clothes would be alone sufficient to excite the jealousy of the natives, to whose eagerness for their possession, we should almost inevitably become a sacrifice.
Página 44 - ... newspaper office. The armourer afterwards returned to Saint Bartholomew's with the intention of proceeding to New Orleans. The fate of the remainder I never learned, but fear their distresses must have been great, as they appeared totally destitute of money, and were consequently dependent for their subsistence on the manual exercise of their respective arts. ' Some of the officers succeeded in providing for themselves, either through their own resources, or pecuniary aid from friends; the remainder,...
Página 47 - ... remainder being compelled to resort to bludgeons, knives, and such other weapons as they found most readily procurable. In clothing they were still more destitute and deficient, in most instances merely consisting of fragments of coarse cloth wrapt round their bodies, and pieces of the raw buffalo hide laced over their feet as a substitute for shoes, which when hardened by the sun's heat, they again render pliant by immersion in the first stream at which they chance to arrive.
Página 50 - ... stain upon the Spanish American Revolution. The engagement is scarcely ended, when an indiscriminate massacre of the prisoners takes place ; nor is the slaughter only confined to the captives, the field also undergoes an inspection, when the helpless wounded are in like manner put to the sword.
Página 50 - In this action, a young French officer, in the service of the Independents, had his arm severed from his shoulder by a sabre cut, and being unable to sustain himself from loss of blood, he sunk to the ground. His distinguished bravery had however previously been observed by his companions, who succeeded in bearing him off the field, from whence they conveyed him into the woods, and sheltered him in a negro hut; where having applied such balsams as could be procured, they departed. The armies retired...
Página 24 - ... commanding the different corps, who had become so perfectly disunited as scarcely to observe towards each other the common forms of personal recognition. This want of harmony among the superior officers destroyed all exertions for the general cause ; and the Colonels, instead of evincing a solicitude to forward the views and realize, as far as lay in their power, the expectations they had excited in the minds of their followers, appeared to be influenced solely by an anxiety for personal precedency....
Página 46 - The information received from the officers to whom I have just referred, was to the following purport: They assured us, that in consequence of the extended duration of the war, and exterminating principle upon which it had been conducted, the country in general displayed one uniform scene of devastation and wretchedness. That the patriot forces were reduced to a state of the greatest poverty, totally devoid of discipline, and not one-fourth provided with proper military arms, the remainder being...

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