Every August 31st the natives of San Sebastian remember the fire that devastated the city in 1813, during the War of the Independence. Only a street stayed in foot, the most ancient of the city, known at present as the street on August 31st. As every year, San Sebastian receives multitude of activities, to all kinds of public. On the 31st all the lights of the of Guipuzcoa capital will be extinguished at 21:30 and will proceed to the ignition of the candles in the balconies and in the street. The txistularis will interpret the March of San Sebastián in the portico of San Vicente’s Church. Later, accompanied by torches, gunners and trumpets will cross the street up to coming to Santa Maria. Once ignited the lights, and to have finished the distance, at about 22:00 the trikitilaris will cross the streets of the Old Part and will give a festive environment to the day of commemoration.
What did happen on August 31 in San Sebastian?
On June 22nd, 1813, and while the main body of Napoleon’s army had to withdraw crossing the border, Emmanuel Rey, a French General, took control of the town with 2,600 soldiers. The allies, the Anglo-Portuguese troops under the direct command of Sir Thomas Graham, and the supreme commander of the Duke of Wellington, besieged and cut the town off with a large contingent of troops and weapons. From that time onwards, and up to the town’s capture on August 31st, both sides carried out tactical movements prior to the battle. In the meantime, the French got out thousands of pro-French supporters who were in San Sebastián, invited the population to evacuate the town, seized San Bartolomé convent, and set fire to the buildings outside the town walls. The Anglo-Portuguese troops tightened up the siege, and positioned every battery.
The first attack on the town took place on July 25th, as soon as it was thought the shells had opened a big enough breach; but the attack was repelled by the French, who inflicted heavy losses on the Anglo-Portuguese troops. On August 4th, twenty one people, who got away from San Sebastián prior to the siege, sent the Duke of Wellington an account of the town’s predicament, due to the siege, in which they made a plea on behalf of their neighbours and the town itself. The letter never reached the English supreme commander because Alava, the Spanish General, did not consider it appropiate.
On August 31st, 1813, at two o’clock in the morning, and after several days of heavy bombing which widened the breach (French troops went through the same in 1719) a column of volunteers called the desperadoes started the attack. When they arrived at the upper part of the breach opened in the wall, they found themselves, much to their surprise, to be four metres above ground; taking advantage of their confusion, the French, unhesitantly, riddled them with bullets.
When a new withdrawal seemed to be most sensible course of action, an accidental fire, as well as the explosion of a French ammunition dump, provoked chaos on the French side. The attackers took advantage of the incident, forcing the French troops to withdraw towards the castle, where they surrended on September 8th.
During this time, the allied troops burned, looted, raped and killed. Looting went on for six and a half days, and only two parish churches and thirty five houses in the Calle de la Trinidad, nowadays called 31 de Agosto, were saved from the fire. The houses were not set on fire, because they were used as lodgings for British and Portuguese officers, while they attacked the castle. The population that had been 5,500 before the siege dropped to 2,600.
