General Sir John Moore
Moore was born in Glasgow in
1761, son physician John Moore. He attended
The High
School of Glasgow. After joining the army at the age of 16
he served in the American War of Independence (1779-83),
in Corsica during the French Revolutionary War (1794) in the
West Indies (1796), Ireland (1798), Holland (1799), Egypt
(1801), Sicily and Sweden (1802). He was responsible for the
system of
Martello Towers, including
three in Scotland, built between 1805 and 1812 to defend the
coast of Britain from the French navy.
In 1808 he was posted to Spain at the start of the Peninsular
War (1808-14), taking command later the same year. By
December of 1808 defeat seemed unavoidable. After the French
capture of Madrid Sir John led a winter retreat in atrocious
conditions across the mountains from
Astorga to the coast at
La Coruña,
in order to evacuate by sea, pursued by Marshal Soult. Soult
engaged the British Force at
Elviña
close to the city. A desperate battle ensued, and by
nightfall the French had been repulsed. General Sarazzin
later wrote:
"Whatever Buonaparte may
assert, Soult was most certainly repulsed at Corunna; and the
English gained a defensive victory, though dearly purchased with
the loss of their brave general Moore, who was alike
distinguished for his private virtues, and his military
talents".
History of the War in Spain and Portugal from 1807 to 1814 by
Jean Sarrazin p. 358
Sir John was killed in the last stages of the battle, having
seen victory obtained:
"Sir John Moore, while
earnestly watching the result of the fight about the village of
Elvina, was struck on the left breast by a cannon shot; the
shock threw him from his horse with violence, but he rose again
in a sitting posture …"
Sir W F P Napier - "History of the War in the Peninsula
1807-1814" 1886
"A round-shot had torn a hole so deep in his left shoulder
that the lung was exposed, the ribs over the heart and part of
the collar-bone had been smashed, the muscles of the breast had
been torn into strips and the arm was hanging only by the sleeve
of his coat and a shred of flesh."
¹
In order not to prejudice the
evacuation Sir John was buried after nightfall in secret on the
ramparts of La Coruña, described in Rev. Charles Wolfe's ,
"The Burial of Sir John Moore at Corunna" (1817):
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Not a
drum was heard, not a funeral note,
As his corse to the rampart we hurried;
Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot
O'er the grave where our hero we buried.
We buried him darkly at dead of night,
The sods with our bayonets turning,
By the struggling moonbeam's misty light
And the lanthorn dimly burning.
No useless coffin enclosed his breast,
Not in sheet or in shroud we wound him;
But he lay like a warrior taking his rest
With his martial cloak around him.
Few and short were the prayers we said,
And we spoke not a word of sorrow;
But we steadfastly gazed on the face that was dead,
And we bitterly thought of the morrow.
We thought, as we hollow'd his narrow bed
And smooth'd down his lonely pillow,
That the foe and the stranger would tread o'er his head,
And we far away on the billow!
Lightly they'll talk of the spirit that 's gone,
And o'er his cold ashes upbraid him—
But little he'll reck, if they let him sleep on
In the grave where a Briton has laid him.
But half of our heavy task was done
When the clock struck the hour for retiring;
And we heard the distant and random gun
That the foe was sullenly firing.
Slowly and sadly we laid him down,
From the field of his fame fresh and gory;
We carved not a line, and we raised not a stone,
But we left him alone with his glory.
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Rev.
Charles Wolfe ,
"The Burial of Sir John Moore at Corunna" (1817)
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Plaque with the poem in the Jardín de San Carlos, La Coruña
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The Spanish defended the town for
another four days, allowing the evacuation to be completed.
Jardín de San Carlos, La
Coruña
The
Jardín de San Carlos was established around Sir John Moore's
tomb, replacing a memorial placed there on the orders of Marshal
Soult.
2
29th June 2012
29th June 2012
Fresh wreaths had been laid the previous weekend by the Ship's
Company of
HMS ILLUSTRIOUS alongside an earlier wreath on behalf of
The
Light Infantry.
© Iain Laird
A statue in Moore's memory was installed in Glasgow's George
Square in 1819. Wreaths were laid at its base by the
Lord Provost, together with soldiers of the Royal Regiment of
Scotland and pupils from the High School in 2009, to commemorate
the 200th anniversary of his death.
Elviña
© Iain Laird
There is a Memorial
at the battle site, now the
University of La Coruña's
Campus
de Elviña (Facultad
Informática) and there are plaques at Elviña's Church,
San Vicente de Elviña to Brigadier General Anstruther and
Lieutenant Colonel Mackenzie, to one of Soult's Brigadiers,
Jean-Yves Manigault Gaulois, and to the Fallen.
British Army
In accordance with common
practice at the time. Soult in his memorial referred to British
as English, and this has been reflected on the memorial at the
Campus. The Spanish Memorial at the
Jardín de San Carlos refers to British Troops.
The Commanders of three of four
of Moore's Divisions were Scots:
General Sir David Baird,
Lieutenant General Hope who took command when Moore received
his fatal wound, and
Lieutenant General Mackenzie Fraser, and four of the eleven
Brigade Commanders were Scots:
Robert Craufurd (Crawford) Catlin Craufurd,
James Leith Hay, and
Robert Anstruther.
Seven Scottish Regiments took
part in the battle, the 1st Foot (The Royal Scots), 26th Foot (Cameronians
(Scottish Rifles)), 42nd Foot (The Black Watch), 71st Foot
(Fraser Highlanders later Highland Light Infantry), 79th Foot (Queen's Own Cameron
Highlanders) 91st Foot (Argyllshire Highlanders) and the 92nd
Foot (The Gordon Highlanders).
References/Links
Overview of General Sir John Moore
Battlefields of the Peninsular War - La Corunna 1809
Welcome to the 51st light Infantry Sir John Moore
¹Battle
of Corunna 1809 : Marshal Soult : Sir John Moore
The Peninsular War | The Battle of La Coruña (Corunna, Elviña,
Elvina), 16th January 1809
Portsmouth Napoleonic Society - Corunna - (Includes photos of
Memorials)
Bicentenario de la batalla de La Coruña
Tile Map of the Battle
Sir John Moore Bicentenary - MOD Site
