One general, thirteen guns, and several hundred prisoners fell into the
hands of the British, and Junot's total loss far exceeded that of the
British, which was comparatively small. At the commencement of the fight
the British force was more than two thousand larger than that of the
French, but of these only a half had taken an active part in the battle,
while every man in Junot's army had been sent forward to the attack.
Sir Harry Burrard's command was a short one, for on the following morning
Sir Hew Dalrymple superseded him. Thus in twenty-four hours a battle had
been fought and the command of the army had been three times changed, a
striking proof of the abject folly and incapacity of the British ministry
of the day.
Two of these three commanders arrived fresh on the scene without any
previous knowledge of the situation, and all three differed from each
other in their views regarding the general plan of the campaign; the last
two were men without any previous experience in the handling of large
bodies of troops, and without any high military reputation; while the man
displaced had already shown the most brilliant capacity in India, and was
universally regarded as the best general in the British service. Dalrymple
adopted neither the energetic action advised by Sir Arthur nor the
inactivity supported by Burrard, but, taking a middle course, decided to
advance on the following morning, but not to go far until Sir John Moore
landed at Maciera.
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