The rampart of Torres Vedras, a 22-mile-long escarpment fortified by the British and Portuguese, protects the approaches to Lisbon. Impregnable, it forms a massive defense that prevents the French army from reaching the capital, Lisbon. The invaders skirt it and march south, searching for access elsewhere but find they’ve been funneled into a trap and pinned against the Tagus river.

Torres Vedras symbolizes the competence of the British army under Wellington, a force seen only in brief moments in the story but whose presence looms over the tale. The rampart serves as a reminder that allied regiments stand ready, watching and waiting as the French flounder on the plains below.

Forester, an Englishman and a fan of Wellington, wants to drive home the difference between British capability and the arrogant overreach of the French. The Torres Vedras rampart says to the invaders, “This far, and no further.” 

Dodd’s first goal is to reach the Tejo, or Tagus, a river running southwest across central Portugal. He can follow the river to Lisbon and his regiment. French invaders, meanwhile, find themselves trapped on the northern bank of the mile-wide river. For Dodd, the river is an opportunity; for the French, it’s a blockade.