Source: Bell's Weekly Messenger, No.1863, Sunday, December 18, 1831
On Wednesday evening about 300 men, most of them miserably clad and wretched in appearance, assembled on the Surrey side of Westminster Bridge, under the superintendence of several agents to Don Pedro. It being rumoured that they were going to Battersea fields for the purpose of embarking in two sailing barges that were engaged to convey them to Gravesend, where they were to re-embark on board a vessel which would take them to Bellisle, a number of the inhabitants of Lambeth assembled, and afterwards followed the "mob of Don Pedro," to ascertain whether the report was correct. The men marched in high glee, and reached the place of embarkation (a swampy meadow), when it was announced that the tide would not admit of their immediate embarkation. They loitered about for an hour, and at a quarter to nine the two barges made towards the land. The men were then ordered to embark. Some obeyed the command; others murmured in no very gentle strain, as no bounty was offered to them and loudly declared that they should not embark, as no English law was in existence which could compel them—however, Don Pedro or his agents, might have incurred great expense. Others complained of the agents having misled them; and the consequence was, that the barges left with the reduced number of 150 recruits.