#Arroyomolinos1811
Extract from the diary of Capt. James Gubbins, 13th LD:

Friday 25th La Aliseda
Marched at half past five, fine roads, beautiful country. 1 league cross the River Salor; a bridge of 15 or 16 arches. Soon after cross a sierra, a large stone house outside the...

...sierra, very strong pass through the sierra, bad road, the town on the other side. 5 leagues, overtook 2nd Hussars. In the pass found the Conde de [Penne], Morillo with his legion about 50 men badly mounted and shabbily dressed; like mountebanks with lances. General Hill, ...

...W. Erskine, Howard & Long. Halted & fed and got our men refreshed, marched again at 4 p.m. 2 leagues on the road to Malpartida, the French corps of Gerard within a league. Halted and killed oxen and dressed two days provisions for the troops, not a tree, linked our horses...

Got a tent up and took refreshment laid down for a couple of hours. Found a large tarantula on my blanket. Sounded to horse at half past two and marched off immediately. 9th Light Dragoons, 2 squadrons 2nd Hussars, 13th Light Dragoons, 2 brigades of infantry, a company of...

...Portuguese artillery and a Brigade of Spaniards. Very dark coming on to rain hard, passed the fires the French had left at Nine o’clock the evening before, formed in two columns of squadrons to the right of Malpartida, learnt that the French made off at one o’clock in the...

... morning, marched into the Town between 7 and 8 on the 26th, very cold and wet, very poor village, got ourselves to rights with some difficulty, a poor town and wretched inhabitants, half a mile off an old ruined castle. Tonight orders to march at 6 on the morrow.