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Historical Note
LT-GEN. SIR JOHN ELLEY, KCB, KCH, MP
Eyewitness Account of the Battle of Talavera by
Lieutenant General Sir John Elley (17?? – 1839)
Elley is listed in John Hall's 'Biographical Dictionary
of British Officers Killed and Wounded 1808-1814':
"ELLEY, John, Lt. Col., Royal Horse Guards: Lt. Col., Royal Horse
Guards, 6 March 1806. Mentioned in Cotton's Llerena dispatch, 11 April
1812 ['Major General Le-Marchant's brigade (which I had sent Colonel
Elley to conduct under cover of the heights)... To Lieutenant-Colonel
Elley, my Assistant Adjutant-General, I am very much indebted for the
very great assistance which I derived from him, particularly in
conducting my right column to the point of attack.'] [London Gazette].
Slightly wounded, Salamanca, 22 July 1812, while serving as AAG [London
Gazette]. Gold Medal. Wounded, Waterloo, as DAG. Died, Chalderton Lodge,
23 Jan. 1839. Dalton, pp. 29-30 - 'This
distinguished general entered the Army as a private soldier and rose by
his own merits. He commanded the
rear guard of the cavalry at Talavera.' -" Charles Dalton's
Waterloo Roll Call.
3 page
Document – Signed and Dated: Talavera de la Reyne - July 30th, 1809
Text as Follows:
Talavera de la Reyne
July 30th 1809
My dear Sister,
As a Satisfaction to all our Family, I have a
moment to day after the most Sanguinary Battle that ever was fought by
British Troops. I am alive and well – more Fire I never was in, nor more
Perils did I escape – I led on one Squadron to the Charge as a forlorn
hope and out of 80 men I had not a dozen left – a very severe List of
Killed and Wounded you will see by the Gazette – It will be great
Satisfaction to my good old Father to Know that I had during the action
a very conspicuous share, and in which I had the good Fortune to Succeed
to the intense Satisfaction of the General Officers –
The French are in full Retreat towards Madrid, whither we shall follow
them in a few days – I hope what we have done will inspire the Spaniards
with a desire to imitate us - many Families will alas have to mourn the
Fate of their Relatives – a heavy Return of Killed and Wounded you will
of course see in the Gazette – and I hope our Friends in England will do
us the justice to believe we have endeavoured to support the Character
of the British Nation – I am persuaded my Father will read the Account
of the Action with great Interest – The Battle lasted two days – the
Ground on which he Battle was fought was clothed with Corn, long Grass
and Heath. The Fire of the Artillery was excessive and set fire to the
Corn and Grass the Consequence was a number of the wounded were
literally Roasted alive – The Enemy abandoned great numbers of their
wounded which together with our own we have been collecting today –
Their Sufferings were great indeed added to Anguish of Wounds, the heat
of the Weather was excessive and Thirst almost insupportable – all the
Prisoners taken declare that all former actions they have been engaged
in are trifles compared to this – King Joseph was in the Field,
confident he should exterminate the English. The Force with which they
made their Attack was composed of their choicest Troops infinitely more
numerous than ourselves, and directed by General Victor in Person, but
all would not do. They thrice came on with great Resolution and were as
often Repulsed with immense Slaughter, a favorite Reg’t of Buonaparte’s
the 24th had scarce a man left out of Twelve Hundred – I must refer you
to the Gazette for farther particulars – which will of course be fully
detailed – It will afford me a very sincere gratification to hear from
you and to know that you are all well – I wrote to my Father some time
ago – I hope he received it – Pray remember me most affectionately to
him, to Mary Ann, all the Boys & young Lady’s – My best Regards attend
Mr. Ellis [his sister's husband] – Remaining My dearest Sister,
Yours ever affectionately
J. Elley
[NB - Wellington did not pursue the
French but rather had to retreat back towards Portugal as another French
force led by General Soult was moving to cut him off from his Lisbon
base and supply line. It is interesting that Elley, rather than chase
after the French, was called upon to cover the British retreat.]
Lieutenant General Harry Smith’s Autobiography relates this anecdote
about Sir John Elley [chapter xxviii - Discharge of the Peninsular
Veterans]:
"The
celebrated Cavalry officer, Sir John Elley, a very tall, bony, and manly
figure of a man, with grim-visaged war depicted in his countenance, with
whiskers, moustaches, etc. like a French Pioneer, came over to Dover
during the time of our occupation of France. He was walking on the path,
with his celebrated sword belted under his surtout. As the hooking up of
the sword gave the coat-flap the appearance of having something large
concealed under it, a lower order of Custom officer ran after him,
rudely calling, "I say, you officer, you! stop, stop, I say! What's that
under your coat?" Sir John turned round, and drawing his weapon of
defence in many a bloody fight, to the astonishment of the John Bulls,
roared out through his moustache in a voice of thunder, "That which I
will run through your damned guts, if you are impertinent to me!"
John Elley is also in the Dictionary of National Biography. He was the
Lieutenant Colonel of the Royal Horse Guards from 6 March 1806. He had a
distinguished career serving on the staff as an Assistant
Adjutant-General in the Peninsular War and was the Deputy
Adjutant-General of Wellington’s army in 1815.
Elley was at Waterloo, as the Deputy Adjutant-General, there being Colonel
Sir John Elley, K.C.B., R. H. Gds. (Royal Horse Guards). Major General
Barnes, Wellington's Adjutant-General was wounded at Waterloo. He was temporarily
replaced by Lieutenant Colonel John Waters until Brevet Colonel Sir John
Elley, the Deputy Adjutant-General, could take command as Adjutant
General, once he had recovered
from his Waterloo wounds. He too was severely wounded at Waterloo and is listed as part
of the Staff Wounded for the Battle of June 18th: "Colonel Sir John
Elley, K. C. B. Royal Horse Guards (Blue), D. A. G. severely".
Elley reached the rank of Lieutenant General before retirement and then
represented Windsor as a Member of Parliament.
At the Proclamation of Queen Victoria in Windsor on 1st July 1837, it
was noted that
Constable; Sir John Elley, M.P. for Windsor, was in the procession. He
was a regular visitor at Windsor Castle and friend of the Duke of
Wellington. He died in 1839.
With thanks to Andrew Jackson and John McGuigan for their help in
researching Elley.
Document Specifications:
A single sheet of Watermarked, batonne
laid paper bifolium into four pages. Address is simply to Mrs.
Ellis (his sister) and must have been hand carried as the address panel
shows no postal markings. Handwritten on three pages, dated July
30th, 1809 at Talavera de la Reyne and signed "J. Elley". Some
archival tape reinforcement at folds and a papered notation "Lt. General
Elley" in another hand. A wonderful, if somewhat gruesome, first
hand account of a significant and notorious Peninsular War Battle by a
"celebrated Cavalry officer".
Offered
by Berryhill & Sturgeon, Ltd. |
