Badajoz, Spain, the evening of April 6, 1812. The Third Division, nicknamed the 'Fighting Division', had been ordered by Lord Wellington to assault the castle walls by escalade, in support of the 4th & Light Divisions who would attack the breaches, and the 5th Division who would assault the San Vincente Bastion. In the darkness, some of Picton's soldiers got lost, and Macarthy, the Engineer assisting in guiding them to the castle walls, became concerned. Having reached the spot, the soldiers went forward with their makeshift ladders, only to find difficulty in getting up the steep bank of the wall with them. When they did, they found they were too short, and some of the unseasoned timber they were made of was not strong enough to bear their weight. However, after several soldiers had been killed trying to raise the ladders against the ramparts, killed by bullet or missile thrown down on their heads, a small lodgement was made after Corporal Kelly of the 45th entered an embrasure and with others, held on. Lieutenant James Macpherson, also of the 45th, had reached the top of a ladder, only to see a French soldier aiming a musket at him. Not being able to strike at the man, Macpherson expected to be killed. The bullet, however, struck one of the large Spanish silver buttons on his waistcoat, and ricocheted off into the night. Macpherson, two ribs fractured, lost his balance and clung onto the ladder, which broke and slowly slid down to the ground. Macpherson lay in some discomfort, aided by two of his men, whilst all around him, more of the redcoated 45th Foot, struggled to gain access to the ladders. Edward Pakenham, seeing Macpherson laid there, called to him that he'd meet him again in Heaven, before galloping up a ladder to the ramparts. A particular French cannon at the castle had been a considerable annoyance during the siege, and it was well-known that several regiments had sworn to be the first to reach it and 'spike' it. Macpherson, regaining some of his strength, attempted to rise despite the fierce pain in his chest, and in doing so, displaced the two ribs causing him so much discomfort. Suddenly relieved of the need to fight for breath, he grasped a nearby ladder and started to ascend. This time he reached the top and swung over the ramparts, looking down at the struggle developing for control of the gates to the town. Parties of Picton's men were being sent along the top of the walls toward the breaches, in an attempt to support the attacks there, which had begun to decrease in volume as the British soldiers tired of trying to break through the seemingly impenetrable fortifications there. Macpherson suddenly recalled the French flag flying on the castle keep - looking up, he saw it was still there. Sword in hand, he ran to the keep, and was surprised to see a sentry still on duty there. He demanded to be shown the way up to the roof, and when the Frenchman did not see fit to volunteer this information, Macpherson struck him across the face with his sword, cutting the mans cheek. The Frenchman told the young British officer to strike again - he was French, and did not fear him. This answer raised a kindred spirit in Macpherson, and he called to a nearby NCO to guard the soldier, and see he came to no harm. Macpherson then made his way into the keep, found the tower stairs, and emerged a few minutes later onto the roof. He let his sword swing from the sword-knot, as he undid the rope and hauled down the French colour. He then had the idea to fly a British flag instead as a signal - but he didn't have one to fly. Quickly removing his sash, sword belt and gloves, he tore off his regimental jacket and improvised a flag by tying the rope of the flagpole to the sleeves. He then raised the jacket to the top of the pole. Sweeping up his sword belt and the captured flag, he then raced down the stone steps to the castle courtyard. The NCO had gone. The French sentry lay there, dead. The battle-crazed soldiers of the 3rd Division? English, Irish Scots and Portuguese; had broken through into the town and the Rape of Badajoz had begun.... Macpherson presented the French flag to General Picton, who refused to accept it, telling him to take it to Wellington. Macpherson did and was invited to lunch, but his injury made him decline to accept. Macpherson didn't get a promotion. He did get his jacket back. On April 6th every year, it became the custom for Nottingham Castle, Derby Town Hall and the Regimental Headquarters to fly a red jacket from a pole on `Badajoz Day' to commemorate this event. This small tale is dedicated to the Sherwood Foresters of today. (Acknowledgements to the Regimental Archives/Museum of the Sherwood Foresters) Back to Table of Contents -- First Empire #24 Back to First Empire List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1995 by First Empire. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com