Battle of Busaco, 1810

Coloured aquatint by J C Stadler after William Heath, published by Thomas Tegg, 1 April 1818. Illustration for a narrative poem by Dr Syntax, 1818.

Busaco was an action fought during the Peninsular War (1808-1814) on 27 September 1810. After much heavy fighting, Marshal Michel Ney and Major-General Jean Reynier's French force failed to dislodge the Anglo-Portuguese forces from the Busaco ridge where they had deployed under the command of Lord Wellington. The French were driven off with the loss of 4,500 men killed or wounded, as against Anglo-Portuguese losses of about 1,250.