PENINSULAR WAR Collection from Lieutenant Henry Bence Bence of the 16th, or Queen's, Light Dragoons, including diary and two notebooks, manuscript plan and two printed maps, comprising: i) Autograph diary, the commentary beginning with a list of the 'British Army in Spain & Portugal previous to the Battle of Talavera', continuing with an account of campaigns March to December 1809, beginning with the voyage from England, much on Lisbon, its inhabitants and their customs ('...The manners of the Portuguese seem polished, but they are actually rustic... their passions are violent in the extreme...'), joining the army and meeting Portuguese troops ('...nothing better than a mere rabble...'), the countryside ('...the most beautiful mirtle groves...'), various billets ('..the Padron keeping a patrol through my room all night to see that I stole nothing...'), skirmishes with the French ('...The Squadron of the 16th and that of the 20th were now ordered to charge... but not without great loss... Captain Ashworth's horse was shot...'), crossing the Douro and entry into Braga ('...The cloth from the billiard table was literally taken to convert into Pantaloons never were people so glad to see the English... we were covered with rose leaves from the windows...'), surprising the French ('...we found the enemy seated round their fires, preparing their dinners, when not a little to their astonishment they found a few shots rattling amongst them...'), on shortage of provisions ('...not having a single thing to eat or drink for two days or even more...'), description of a bull fight ('...the most excruciating torture that ingenious cruelty can devise...'), the English and Spanish join forces and advance towards Talavera ('...skirmishing on their way...'), detailed account of the battle of Talavera ('...we had now to contend with a force exceeding fifty thousand men... which was advancing with the greatest rapidity... no battle ever immortalised so much the valour of the British army... On both sides they fought with such determination that the muzzles of the firelocks almost touched... If the enemy had gained this hill, we should have lost the battle...'), the refusal of the Spanish to fight ('...our Heroic allies... neither did nor were inclined to do anything...'), aftermath ('...heaps of dead and dying were lying in the streets...'), the last entry for December 1809, interspersed with copies of despatches and letters, c.96 leaves, dust-staining and marks, original limp vellum with envelope flap and leather ties, marked and worn, 'Private/ April 1809. Bence' in ink on upper cover, 4to (207 x 152mm.), March to December 1809 ii) Manuscript plan of the battle of Talavera, annotated, showing troop positions on the 27 July, pen, ink and wash, dust-staining, creases and small tears, some staining to two corners, folio (377 x 230mm.), [1809] iii) Autograph notebook containing manuscript copies of official reports, including report from General Sebastian to 'The King commanding the French Armies in Spain', 27 September 1809; 'The March of the French Army Across the Sierra Morena, copied from a letter of the Marshal Duke of Dalmatia to the Prince of Neufchatel... 22 Jany 1810'; 'Official Intelligence from the armies of Spain and Portugal', Paris 30 March; and extracts of despatches from Lord Wellington, one illustrated with a line drawing of troop positions at Alverca, list of French Generals and their titles, and notes on the life of Napoleon Buonaparte reversed, ownership inscription 'W. Bence Queen's Dragoons/ Portugal & Spain' on first leaf, c.113 leaves, dust-staining and marks, small tears, original limp vellum with envelope flap, marked and worn, ownership inscription in ink on upper cover, 4to (206 x 150mm.), [c.1810/1811] iv) Autograph notebook titled 'Standing Orders/ of the 16th, or Queen's/ Light Dragoons/ 1808' on front endpaper, the Orders carefully written out under headings such as 'Major & His Duties', 'Dress of Officers... The character of a Regt for discipline & subordination is very materially marked by the uniformity or otherwise, that is observable in the dress & appearance... boots without wrinkles, tassels not too large in front...' etc., four ruled tables within text, ownership inscription 'H. Bence' on first leaf above a pencil index, 122 numbered pages, c.16 leaves roughly excised at end, dust-staining, marks and discolouration, black ruled morocco, worn and rubbed, 8vo (152 x 95mm.), 1808 v) Two folding maps: Don Thomas Lopes, Geographer to his Catholic Majesty, Map of Spain & Portugal, engraved, hand-coloured in outline, dissected into 16 panels, mounted on linen, some damp-staining, browning and marks, some panels lifting, tears at folds, 467 x 567mm., published by I. Stockdale, Piccadilly, 3rd September 1808; William Faden, Mappa Corografico dos Reinos de Portugal e Algarve, copiado do Inglez de W. Faden, 1809, engraved, hand-coloured in outline, dissected into 12 panels, mounted on linen, browning and marks, 750 x 530mm., held in a contemporary card case covered with red and sepia decorative paper, with flap closure and linen tie (collection) Footnotes: 'ON BOTH SIDES THEY FOUGHT WITH SUCH DETERMINATION THAT THE MUZZLES OF THE FIRELOCKS ALMOST TOUCHED': A Lieutenant's notebooks, including a vivid description of the Battle of Talavera, his manuscript plan of the battle and a rare Portuguese map by Faden. Lieutenant Henry Bence Bence (1788-1861) of Thorington Hall, Suffolk, was commissioned into the 16th Lancers in 1808, when he diligently wrote out the regimental standing orders in a notebook included in our collection. His diary describes his posting to Portugal in early 1809, for which he evidently equipped himself with the two maps also included here: 'Once Bence had tried using his López, one suspects that he discovered its inaccuracies, since his collection of papers includes another, somewhat better map: Mappa corografico dos reinos de Portugal e Algarves, copiado do Inglez de W. Faden. This is now a very rare Portuguese copy of a Faden, published 1809...' (Richard Tennant, 'Maps in the Peninsular War', Napoleon Series online). Bence served with the 16th Lancers in 14 actions in the Peninsular Wars and was wounded at Talavera, a battle he describes in particular detail here. He retired from the army in 1814 and married heiress Elizabeth Starkie in 1815. Two years later they ordered the family seat, Thorington Hall, to be demolished and rebuilt in the neo-classical style under the guidance of architect Thomas Hopper, a house that was, in turn, lost in the great purge of country houses after the Second World War. This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: • • Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing