Scandalous Silver: The Battle of Albuera

2026年5月20日

This article first appeared in the Winter 2026 issue of Antiques to Vintage Magazine.

Elizabeth Cheung and Billy Robertson from Cache Antiques in Sydney present an elegant sterling silver ladle that carries immense historical significance: not only for the heroic sacrifices of the 57th regiment on the fields of Albuera, but also the catastrophic mistakes made by command.

The Peninsular War was significant as being one of the first battles to adopt large-scale guerrilla warfare, as well as fighting for national liberation on the Spanish part. Fought by the United Kingdom, Spain and Portugal against the First French Empire in the Iberian Peninsula, many regiments raised extra battalions to represent them.

The battle of Albuera took place on May 16, 1811. The British, Spanish and Portuguese forces were facing Napoleon’s French Army, which had by then struck dread into all of Europe. To halt the French advance, the village of Albuera and its surrounding fields were chosen by Duke Wellington as the ideal spot. The village was then gutted and left uninhabited, with fields interspersed with olive woods and surrounded by rolling hills to the west. Allied forces were convinced that the French would advance directly through the valley areas, and this initial assumption would snowball into the bloody events of May 16. Marshal Beresford, commander-in-chief of the allied forces at Albuera, had arrayed his troops to protect the area but several costly mistakes were made, including a failure to occupy higher ground and a mistaken belief that the main French attack would be deployed against the Allied forces’ centre and right.

However, the true French attack was one that flanked left. Concealed by olive woods, this caught the British forces wholly off guard. Beresford swiftly realised that the initial French attack was a heavy feint, but despite attempts to re-deploy the Allied forces, the Spanish general Joaquin Blake directly disobeyed Beresford’s orders as he, too, had fallen for the French ruse. These costly delays meant that just four Spanish battalions faced the full force of two French divisions.

These four Spanish battalions, led by General Zayas, performed with immense bravery and managed to hold out long enough for British forces to reinforce them, saving the Allied forces from collapse. Major General John Stewart brought over forces from the 2nd Division, with the 1st Brigade led by John Colborne, the 3rd Regiment of Foot (the Buffs), the 48th and the 66th, accompanied by Captain Andrew Cleve’s KGL battery (foot artillery). Their valiant efforts bought some time for the British army, at the cost of the division’s near total destruction. The faltering British line was being forced back until Major General Hoghton arrived at the front with three battalions: the 29th Regiment of Foot, 48th Regiment of Foot and the 57th West Middlesex Regiment.

Together with the survivors of Colborne’s brigade, just 1,900 men faced the full force of the French 5th Corps- 11,000 strong.

It was on this day May 16, 1811, that the West Middlesex Regiment would coin their glorious moniker “The Die-Hards”. Holding off the main French assault, the 57th, 29th and 48th Regiments held their ground. Brigadier Hoghton, which led the brigade including the 57th, was hit several times, but continued to lead his brigade until shot dead. Colonel William Inglis, severely wounded by grapeshot, exhorted the 57th to “Die hard 57th, die hard”. Having lost his horse, Colonel Inglis continued to lead his battalion on foot despite the peril of the battlefield. Four fifths of Hoghton’s brigade would die on this day; the 57th lost 23 officers and 405 soldiers were killed or wounded, making this one of the highest casualties suffered by a British regiment in the 19th century. Beresford would later write in his dispatch that "our dead, particularly the 57th Regiment, were lying as they fought in the ranks, every wound in front".

The Allied forces doggedly held off the French assault, until Marshal Soult finally withdrew from Albuhera on the 18th May. The massive death toll and wounded meant that soldiers lay on the field for days. Allied losses amounted to 5,916, while French losses were estimated to be upwards of 5,936, possibly as high as 7,900. Wellington would remark in private that another victory like Albuhera would destroy the British army. While Beresford was never officially censured for mistakes in leadership at Albuhera, one telling incident occurred when Wellington visited on May 21; visiting the wounded men of the 29th Regiment, one veteran would muster the courage to speak from his heart: If you had commanded us, my Lord, there wouldn’t be so many of us here.”

This war, one of the bloodiest events in Spanish history, remains significant due to its impact on the countries involved. A significant factor in Napoleon’s downfall and exile to Elba, those who perished to hold off Napoleon’s ambitions in Europe, including the 57th regiment, were commemorated by artists of the Day including Goya, Lady Butler and Stanley Wood.

Poignantly, every year on May 16th the Commanding Officer of the 57th Regiment proposes a toast “To The Immortal Memory”. This Silent Toast, held in the Warrant Officers’ and Sergeants’ Mess, honours those who fell at Albuhera and is drunk by officers and sergeants. The original cup is made from the silver gorget accoutrements of the officers who fought at Albuhera, and is adorned with the Colour Sergeant Holloway’s medal. The longest living survivor of the battle currently known, Holloway (circa 1800-1886) had served as a drummer boy at Albuhera and was just 11 years old.