he
fight about the village of Elvina, was struck on the left breast by a
cannon-shot; the shock threw him from his horse with violence; yet he
rose again in a sitting posture, his countenance unchanged, and his
steadfast eye still fixed upon the regiments engaged in his front, no
sigh betraying a sensation of pain. In a few moments, when he saw the
troops were gaining ground, his countenance brightened, and he suffered
himself to be taken to the rear. Then was seen the dreadful nature
of his hurt. As the soldiers placed him in a blanket, his sword got
entangled, and the hilt entered the wound; Captain Hardinge, a staff
officer, attempted to take it off, but the dying man stopped him,
saying: "It is as well as it is. I had rather it should go out of the
field with me;" and in that manner, so becoming to a soldier, Moore was
borne from the fight.

Notwithstanding this great disaster, the troops gained ground. The
reserve overthrowing everything in the valley, forced La Houssaye's
dismounted dragoons to retire, and thus turning the enemy, approached
the eminence upon which the great battery was posted. In the centre, the
obstinate dispute for Elvina terminated in favour of the British; and
when the night set in, their line was considerably advanced beyond the
original position of the morning, while the French were falling back in
confusion. If Fraser's division had been brought into action along with
the reserve, the enemy could hardly have escaped a signal overthrow;
for the little ammunition Soult had been able to bring up was nearly
exhausted, the river Mero was in full tide behind him, and the difficult
communication by the bridge of El Burgo was alone open for a retreat. On
the other hand, to fight in the dark was to tempt fortune; the French
were still the most numerous, their ground strong, and their disorder
facilitated the original plan of embarking during the night. Hope, upon
whom the command had devolved, resolved therefore, to ship the army,
and so complete were the arrangements, that no confusion or difficulty
occurred; the pickets kindled fires to cover the retreat, and were
themselves withdrawn at daybreak, to embark under the protection of
Hill's brigade, which was in position under the ramparts of Corunna.

From the spot where he fell, the general was carried to the town by his
soldiers; his blood flowed fast, and the torture of the wound was great;
yet the unshaken firmness of his mind made those about