Franceschi's cavalry and a battalion of
French infantry overtook between two and three thousand men forming the
rear of Romana's column. The latter drew up in a great square. Franceschi
attacked the rear face with his infantry, passed with his cavalry round
the sides of the square, and placed himself between it and the rest of the
retiring column. He had with him four regiments of cavalry, and now hurled
a regiment at each side of the square.
The Spaniards were at once seized with dismay, broke their formation, and
in a moment the French cavalry were upon them, cutting and trampling them
down. Twelve hundred were killed and the rest made prisoners. As soon as
Romana heard of the disaster that had befallen his rearguard, he broke his
engagement with Silveira and led his force over the mountains into Spain,
where the news of his defeat caused the Spanish insurgent bands to
disperse rapidly to their homes, where they delivered up their arms; and
even the priests, who had been the main promoters of the rising, seeing
the failure of all their plans, advised them to maintain a peaceable
attitude in future.
Silveira was not more fortunate, for two thousand of his troops with some
guns, issuing from the mountains just as Franceschi returned from the
annihilation of Romana's rearguard, the French cavalry charged and
captured the Portuguese guns, and drove Silveira down the valley.
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