In her poem dedicated to Sir John Moore, the English General who died in the Battle of Elviña (La Coruña) and subsequently buried there, Rosalía De Castro agonizes over the fact that his body is buried so far away from his home country. However, she claims that he would not find any greater burial place outside of his homeland.
Set against the background of the Spanish War of Independence, we must not forget the excesses of the English army in their flight through the region of El Bierzo (Leon, Spain). On the 2nd January, 1809, shamed by the conduct of his men, Moore immediately gathered up his troops in Cacabelos to give them a harsh reprimand. “If the enemy has now taken Bembibre, as I believe is the case, they have got themselves an unusual haul: they have taken or destroyed hundreds of cowardly and drunken Englishmen. No-one other than these wicked drunks would get so inebriated under the very nose of the enemies of the village. So, rather than surviving such vile conduct, I hope that the very first cannonball fired by the enemy strikes me in the head”.
General Sir John Moore was killed on the 16th January, 1809 after receiving an injury to the head from a cannonball fired during the Battle of La Coruña as he was fighting alongside the Spanish against the French.
He was born in Glasgow in 1761 and was a natural soldier. He fought on the battle fields of America, he was trained in the battalion sent to Corsica to fight against Napoleon in 1794, fought in Ireland in 1797, took part in the maneuvers in Abukir in 1800 and later in the seize of Alexandria. He also led a troop of 10,000 soldiers to go to the aid of the Kind of Sweden. Under attack from Denmark, Russia and France and as Napoleon arrived in France and Great Britain chose to come to our aid, Moore requested and was granted permission to come to our country to fight against Napoleon’s troops.
Here he was given control over the English troops and he attempted to bring together the various different branches of his army. However, the French drew the battle lines in Elviña and vastly outnumbered the English troops. Faced with the impossibility of standing up to Marshall Soult who was at the head of the enemy troops, Moore ordered their withdrawal. Just as they were leaving and arriving at the port and were about the board the ship, a cannonball took his life, just as he was rallying his platoon who, in view of the misfortunate incident, chose to return home.
The Battle of Elviña (also known as the Battle of Coruña) was one of the battles of the Spanish War of Independence, which in turn were part of the Napoleonic Wars. It took place on the 16th January, 1809, between 14.000 British soldiers under the command of Sir John Moore and 16.000 French soldiers led by Nicolas Jean de Dieu Soult.
The body of General John Moore was buried the following day and in his memory, the chief of the Spanish troops, the Marquis of La Romana, ordered an interim mausoleum to be built upon the remains of this illustrious soldier. In his own hand was inscribed the following, “To the Glory of the most Excellent Sir John Moore, General in Charge of the British Armies and its courageous soldiers, Spain is forever grateful”. In 1811 the mausoleum was converted into a permanent commemorative monument and was restored in 1834 to include the inscription in Latin, Spanish and English.
Many memories of this battle still continue in the city of La Coruña. However, the battle field has been partly dismantled, principally to allow the construction of Avenida de Alfonso Molina which is the main access route into the city, although some of it still remains. The village of Elviña is easy to find on the right-hand side on leaving the city. The most part of the former battle ground adjoins the village and this has now been taken over by the University of La Coruña.
Towards the top of the village, going up to Zapateira hill, there is a viewpoint where an illustrative map of the battle made from tiles has been erected. There are also some commemorative plaques, one of which was unveiled by the Prince of Wales in 1931.
Every year there is an historic recreation of the Battle of La Coruña and the death of General Sir John Moore (16th January, 1809) and this includes various talks, donations, and exhibitions organized by the Town Hall of La Coruña and the cultural association, the Royal Green Jackets.
Written by Jesús Castro.
Translated by Rachael Harrison.
Sponsored by www.costaluzlawyers.es
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