FITEN'TES DE ONORO (The Fountains of Honor), a small village of Salamanca, Spain, on the Portuguese frontier, 14 in. w. of Ciudad Rodrigo, is well known as the scene of one of the important battles of the peninsular war, between the English under Wel lington and the French under Massena. Wellington, who had resolved to abide battle, drew up his forces between the Coa and the Agueda, his line extending n. and s, for about 7 tn., and his right wing stretching 2 In. s. of F. de Onoro. On the 3d May, 1811, this village was fiercely attacked by a strong body of French troops, who forced the English from the streets, and were not dislodged until the English, reinforced by three regiments, drove them by a terrific charge from their position, with a loss in all of 300 men. On the 5th, the battle proper commenced. The French, much stronger than their enemies both in cavalry and infantry, assailed Wellington's right with overwhelm ing numbers, and although prodigies of valor were performed by the English—as in the case of Ramsey's brigade of herse-artillery, which cut its way through a solid body of cavalry—their right wing was turned, and their position lost. Never during the war were
the English forces more perilously situated. Meanwhile, at F. de 0., on which Welling ton's left wing no wrested, a fierce hattleWas being fought. The three English regiments who had been left in occupation made a desperate resistance against assailing multitudes. The fight lasted here till evenly, reinforcements having been brought up on both sides; and the night closed upon the English holding the crags above the town, and the retiring regiments of the French. The loss of the allies amounted to 1500, while that of the French was stated at the time to be nearly 5,000, and was certainly greater than that of the allies. Neither army could claim a decided advantage in this battle; but its result was, that on the 10th, the French were forced across the Portuguese frontier; and thus ended the French invasion of Portugal.