Urpaz, where the priests paid us a visit and the inhabitants welcomed us. After a short rest we proceeded to Zugarramurdi, a fortified village about four miles from the frontier. Here the General established his head-quarters, and we remained organizing our little band until the 17th. Our whole force consisted of about 400 men, of whom more than half were Frenchmen. The whole body was formed into three battalions, and a company called the Campania Sagrada, or Sacred Company, which consisted of educated Frenchmen who had volunteered into the service, and Spanish officers who had as yet no men to command. The three battalions were under the respective commands of Colonels Leguia, Trias, and Albeniz; the Campania Sagrada, in which I was enrolled as private, was under the command of Captain Roa.…
"October 17th.—Left head-quarters for Vera at 2 a.m., a town about 25 miles from Zugarramurdi, where about 400 of the troops of the line were stationed, and who were daily expecting to be reinforced from Pamplona. It was hoped that we might be enabled to surprise this place and take possession of it prior to the reinforcements. We reached Vera at about 11 o'clock in the day, but peasants had given notice of our approach to the enemy, and they were quite prepared to receive us. An officer bearing a white flag was sent with a few men to sound the wishes of the Royalist soldiers; they met, embraced, and we thought they had consented to join us, but on retiring to their commanding officer the order to fire was given, which, being returned by our troops, the action began. In a few minutes the enemy, driven from all the posts, retired into a strongly fortified convent situated upon a hill in a very commanding situation. From this place it was found impossible to dislodge them; our cannon (two 6-pounders) were not sufficiently powerful to make any impression upon the walls, and an uncovered approach
