Battle of Benavente
Thesecond cavalry battle, fought on 29th December 1808, establishingthe early predominance of British cavalry over French in the Peninsular War
Podcast of TheBattle of Benavente: The second cavalry battle, fought on 29th December 1808, establishing the early predominance of British cavalry over French in the Peninsular War:John Mackenzie’s Britishbattles.com podcast.
The previous battle of the Peninsular War isthe Battle of Sahagun
The next battle of the Peninsular War isthe Battle of Cacabelos
War: PeninsularWar
Date of the Battle of Benavente: 29th December 1808
Place of the Battle of Benavente: North-western Spain.
Combatants at the Battle of Benavente: The British against the French.
Commanders at the Battle of Benavente: Major-General Lord Henry Paget commanded the British cavalry division under the command of Lieutenant General Sir John Moore.
GeneralLefebvre-Desnouettes led the French Imperial Guard Cavalry under the command ofthe Emperor Napoleon.
Size of the armies at the Battle of Benavente:
TheBritish cavalry division numbered around 2,000 men, not all of whom were inaction in the battle.
The 4squadrons taken by Lefebvre-Desnouettes across the River Esla at Castro-Gonzalo numbered around 650 men.
Winner of the Battle of Benavente:
TheBritish and King’s German Legion cavalry drove the French cavalry back acrossthe River Esla, capturing their commander, a general in the Imperial Guard.
Background to the Battle of Benavente:
At the end of December1808, Moore’s British army was in the area north-west of Valladolid, advancingto relieve the Spanish garrison in Madrid, when Moore received a series ofreports that revealed he was facing a French army led by the Emperor Napoleonof around 250,000 men, with his own army standing at 40,000 men.
Moore immediately beganthe arrangements for an urgent retreat to the port of Corunna in the north-westof Spain, to save his army.
The Emperor Napoleon wasconducting a grand review of his troops in Madrid on 19th December1808, when he heard of Moore’s advance.
Napoleon abandoned thereview, despatched orders to his commanders across the north-west of Spain, beforeadvancing over the Guardarrama Mountains to give battle to Moore and dispose ofBritain’s only army, thereby ending Britain’s involvement in the war.
There were three days ofsnowstorms in the Guardarramas causing considerable difficulties for the Frenchtroops crossing the mountains.
Information confirmed toNapoleon that Moore was proposing to retreat on Corunna, but for the moment wasstill at Valladolid.
Marshal Ney reachedMedina del Campo on 23rd December 1808, with Napoleon and the ImperialGuard following closely behind.
Napoleon deduced that if he captured the bridge over the River Esla at Castro-Gonzalo, 3 miles to the south of Benavente, he would have intercepted Moore’s route to the Spanish north-west and the British fleet at Corunna.
In fact, Moore had notmarched as far south-east as Valladolid and 2 of his infantry divisions werealready taking the route south-west along the River Esla to cross atCastro-Gonzalo and turn onto the north-west road towards Astorga and finallyCorunna.
Soult was convinced that the British army was in front of him along the line of the River Carrion and urged Napoleon to attack and move Ney’s Corps forward to Benavente to cut off the British retreat.
Further news reachedNapoleon from Ney, that a British force had been seen at Villada, south-east ofthe River Esla and another at Mansilla to the north-west of Villada.
Napoleon cancelled a dayof rest for the army, after the gruelling crossing of the Guardarrama Mountains,set for the 26th December 1808 and ordered a concentration at Medinade Rio Seco, 20 miles north-west of Valladolid.
On the same day a clashtook place between French cavalry and the British 15th Hussars andthe 3rd Hussars of the King’s German Legion.
Napoleon concluded thatMoore’s army was still in position in the Sahagun area. He moved hisheadquarters to Medina de Rio Seco and ordered Ney’s Corps forward to attacktowards Valderas and Mayorga.
Battle of Benavente:
On 26thDecember 1808, clashes took place around Mayorga between French and Britishlight cavalry (10th and 15th Hussars and 3rdKGL Hussars), the British pre-dominating, in spite of being outnumbered, takingover 100 French prisoners.
The next day, Lord Paget’s Cavalry Division marched to the crossing of the River Esla at Castro-Gonzalo, 5 miles south of Benavente, pursued closely by Soult’s cavalry, that the British held in check with a number of what Fortescue calls ‘brilliant little attacks’.
During the evening of 27thDecember 1808, 4 of Paget’s regiments were across the bridge at Castro-Gonzalo,that the infantry of General Craufurd’s Brigade was demolishing by hacking downthe substantial medieval masonry.
On 28thDecember 1808, Bessières came up with the whole of the Cavalry of the ImperialGuard, but no attempt was made to interfere with the British demolition work onthe bridge.
In the evening, GeneralLefebvre-Desnoëttes led a dismounted attack on the bridge thatfailed.
Napoleon still hoped toenvelope Moore’s army and ordered his troops to cross the River Esla as quicklyas possible by whatever means.
Paget’s last regiment, the 3rd Hussars of the King’s German Legion, crossed the bridge and the remains of the bridge span were blown up.
The weather had been badwith persistent heavy rain and the river was flowing fast and high, washing outthe fords.
It seemed to the French that Moore’s army had continued its retreat, as no British troops could be seen in Benavente.
Lefebvre-Desnoëttes found a suitableplace to pass the river, effectively swimming the horses, as the water was toodeep to ford and crossed over with 3 squadrons of his own regiment, the Chasseursà Cheval of the Imperial Guard and a squadron of Mamelukes and Light Horse ofthe Imperial Guard.
In fact, Paget’s Cavalry Division was still in Benavente and a number of piquets were spread along the river bank.
On hearing of the Frenchcrossing, Colonel Otway, commanding the piquets, called them in.
On hearing of the French crossing, Colonel Otway of the 18th Hussars, commanding the piquets, called them in.
Approaching the town,Otway halted the piquets on the road in a position where garden walls on eachside of the road protected his flanks.
Otway was here joined bythe inlying piquets of the 7th, 10th and 18thHussars.
Otway, now having 150men, saw that he had more men than the isolated squadron of Chasseurs à Cheval,which had halted in front of him.
3rd King’s German Legion Hussar: Battle of Benavente on 29th December 1808 in the Peninsular War
Otway charged and theFrench squadron, receiving the charge at the halt, was completely broken, theircommander being killed.
The French secondsquadron came up and, galloping into the combat, reversed the situation,Otway’s men suffering considerable loss and being driven back.
3 troops of the 3rdKGL Hussars joined the fight and redressed the balance, the 2 French squadronsfalling back to reform.
Lord Paget and General Stewart arrived on the scene, Paget returning to Benavente, to bring up the rest of the 10th Hussars, while Stewart took over command from Otway.
Stewart charged the 2squadrons of Chasseurs à Cheval, which again received the charge at the halt.
This charge was not sodecisive and the combat broke up into a number of individual sword fights.
Lefebvre-Desnoëttes came up with thethird squadron of Chasseurs à Cheval, making a total French force of 500 menand charged into the melee taking the British light cavalry in the flank.
Stewart’s men were forced back towards the town, until the rest of the 3rd KGL Hussars came up and restored parity in numbers.
Paget now arrived withthe 10th Hussars and delivered a surprise attack on the flank of theFrench force, as they advanced.
Many of the soldiers ofthe other British regiments, the 7th, 15th and 18thHussars, took part in this attack.
Podcast of TheBattle of Benavente: The second cavalry battle, fought on 29th December 1808, establishing the early predominance of British cavalry over French in the Peninsular War:John Mackenzie’s Britishbattles.com podcast.
The French cavalry turnedand rushed back to the river, in considerable confusion, with individualtroopers pursued by British and German cavalrymen, in what Fortescue describesas a ‘race for the river.’
At the river bank, theFrench crowded into the water, many being lost in the fast-flowing current.
Those left behind werecut down or captured.
Once across the river,the Chasseurs à Cheval dismounted and opened carbine fire on the British lightcavalry on the far bank, until 2 British horse artillery guns came up and put anumber of rounds of grape shot into the French cavalrymen, finally dispersingthem.
One of the last Frenchmento reach the river was General Lefebvre-Desnoëttes, who was captured in circumstances of somecontroversy.
Who capturedGeneral Lefebvre-Desnouettes?
It is the tradition of the 10th Royal Hussars that General Lefebvre-Desnoëttes was wounded and captured at the Battle of Benavente by their trooper, Levi Grisdall.
Beamish in his history of the King’sGerman Legion provides a different account.
Beamish describes the pursuit of theFrench Chasseurs à Cheval by the 3rd Hussars of the King’s GermanLegion. An 18-year-old soldier, Bergman, riding a ‘fast English horse’,caught up with a gentleman wearing a green frock and cocked hat, General Lefebvre-Desnoëttes. Thegeneral thrust at Bergman who parried the blow. Lefebvre-Desnouettes thensurrendered. An English cavalryman rode up and seized the general’s bridle,while Bergman rode on in pursuit of the main body of French cavalry.
The English cavalryman, Levi Grisdall,took Lefebvre-Desnoëttes toGeneral Stewart, his brigade commander and was lauded as the captor of thegeneral, receiving promotion to sergeant.
Another British soldier, CorporalLomax of the 7th Hussars, wrote of the capture of General Lefebvre-Desnoëttes in a letter dated 6th February 1809,sent to his sister:‘… I was well satisfied for we took the commandingofficer, General Lefevre. I made acut at him, but he would not give himself up; he got wounded in the back of theneck; he soon gave up his sword, and I caught his bridle reins and dismountedhim….’ (United Services Magazine 1831).
There seems no indication thatCorporal Lomax made a formal claim to the army authorities for acknowledgementor any reason to disbelieve his account, given in private correspondence.
Bergman of the 3rd KGLHussars petitioned to receive the Guelphic medal, a Hanoverian award, in 1828. Aninvestigation was conducted in Osterholz by the Hanover military authoritiesand Bergman was awarded the medal as the captor of General Lefebvre-Desnoëttes.
Perhaps the answer is that a group ofsoldiers came upon Lefebvre-Desnoëttes at the same time and all can be considered tohave taken a part in capturing the French general.
Emperor Napoleon in Spain: Battle of Benavente on 29th December 1808 in the Peninsular War: picture by Richard Caton Woodville
Casualties in the Battle of Benavente:
French casualties in the Battle of Benavente were 2 officers and 7 men killed with 7 officers and 91 men wounded and 3 officers and 42 men captured.
Military General Service Medal with clasp for Battles of Sahagun and Benavente, December 1808 in the Peninsular War
British casualties were 12 killed and around 70wounded.
The 3rd KGL Hussars suffered 3 soldierskilled and 41 wounded, with 2 officers wounded.
Aftermath to the Battle of Benavente:
The French made no further attempt to cross the River Esla at Benavente.
However,at Mansilla, where Romana’s Spanish army was guarding the crossing point,Moore’s recommendation to destroy the bridge was not followed.
Franceschi’sFrench cavalry brigade charged across the bridge and in a second action routedthe Spanish troops outside Mansilla, pursuing the survivors to the edges ofLeon, 7 miles up the road.
Moore’s force remained for a day at Benavente, waiting for ammunition and supplies to come up, before continuing the retreat towards Corunna.
The Emperor Napoleon, after giving instructions on the pursuit of the British, left the command of the French army in north-western Spain to Marshal Soult and in early January 1809 returned to Paris to deal with an incipient conspiracy against him by Talleyrand and Fouché.
Battle Honours and Medal for the Battle of Benavente:
The Military General Service Medal 1848 was issuedto all those serving in the British Army present at specified battles duringthe period 1793 to 1840 and who applied for the medal. The medal was onlyissued to those entitled to one of the clasps, 11 of which were for battles inthe Peninsular War.
The Battle of Benevente (spelt wrong) was one of the clasps, either on its own or in combination with the Battle of Sahagun, where soldiers were present at both battles.
No regimental battle honour was awarded for the Battle of Benavente.
In 1810 a Gold Medal was issued to be awarded to officers of rank of major and above for meritorious service at certain battles in the Peninsular War, with clasps for additional battles. The ‘Large Gold Medal’ was awarded to generals, the ‘Small Gold Medal’ to majors and colonels, with the medal replaced by a cross where four clasps were earned. The Battle of Benavente was one of the battles, either alone or in combination with the Battle of Sahagun.
Anecdotes and traditions from the Battle of Benavente:
- It is reported that the French crossing of the Guardarrama Mountains before the Battle of Benavente was so difficult that an entire troop of cavalry was lost in a snow-filled crevasse.
- The battle was watched from the town walls by thousands of Benavente townspeople, shouting‘Viva los Ingleses’.
- Beamish reports that the 3rd KGL Hussars used their broad British light cavalry swords to considerable effect, inflicting terrible injuries on the opposing Frenchmen.
- The 3rd KGL Hussars carried out many of the most arduous duties during the withdrawal to Benavente. The regiment was given the opportunity to stand down in Benavente. The commander, Major von Linsingen, foreseeing a possible French incursion across the river, refused to permit his men to unsaddle overnight, enabling the regiment to turn out at short notice and support Otway’s picquets.
- The Emperor Napoleon is said to have been distressed at the humiliation and loss to one of his favourite corps, the Chasseurs à Cheval of the Guard.
- British army rumour had it that the battle had been watched by the Emperor, but this was not so. He was at Valderas at the time.
- Once Moore’s army was evacuated to Britain from Corunna, the 3rd Hussars of the King’s German Legion did not return to the Peninsula, serving with British armies in Northern Europe.
- General Lefebvre-Desnoëttes was taken as a prisoner of war to England where he was released on parole to live in Cheltenham. Lefebvre-Desnoëttes broke his parole and escaped to France in 1811, causing outrage in Britain. After successful service in the Imperial Guard, Lefebvre-Desnoëttes, with the abdication of Napoleon in 1814, served under the restored Bourbon monarchy, but reverted to support for Napoleon in the 100 days, serving in the Imperial Guard at the Battle of Waterloo. After the battle and facing execution by the Bourbons, Lefebvre-Desnoëttes travelled to the United States of America, where he assisted in setting up the Aigleville colony of French Imperial veterans in Alabama. With the collapse of the colony, in 1822 Lefebvre-Desnoëttes returned to France, but was lost in the wreck of the ‘Albion’ off the coast of Ireland.
- Levi Grisdale fought on with the 10th Hussars in the Peninsular War and at the Battle of Waterloo, where he was wounded, reaching the rank of sergeant major. On leaving the army, Grisdale opened a pub in Penrith, Cumberland, named the‘General Lefebvre’, which the locals called the ‘General Grisdale’, dying in 1855. On Grisdale’s return to England after Corunna, he was presented to the Prince Regent, who offered to pay for his education, an offer Grisdale refused, wishing to stay in the army. Grisdale was awarded a medal by the officers of the 10th Hussars for his feat in capturing General Lefebvre-Desnoëttes. The date for the battle is wrong on the medal.
References for the Battle of Benavente:
See the extensive list of references given at the end ofthe Peninsular War Index.
The previous battle of the Peninsular War isthe Battle of Sahagun
The next battle of the Peninsular War isthe Battle of Cacabelos
Podcast of TheBattle of Benavente: The second cavalry battle, fought on 29th December 1808, establishing the early predominance of British cavalry over French in the Peninsular War:John Mackenzie’s Britishbattles.compodcast.
