Sickness, Suffering, and the Sword

by Andrew Bamford

  60. Monthly Returns in TNA, WO17/2464, 2479.

  61. See service histories in Partridge and Oliver, Handbook, 55–85; McGuigan, “Origin of Wellington’s Peninsular Army,” 61–70; and Oman, Wellington’s Army, 343–346.

  62. The Oporto campaign lacks a dedicated study, but see Glover, Wellington as Military Commander, 115–123; and Oman, Peninsular War 2:286–366.

  63. Field, Talavera; Oman, Peninsular War 2:433–608; 3:105–110.

  64. Costa, “Army Size”; Oman, Peninsular War 3:171–182.

  65. Glover, Wellington as Military Commander, 80–83; Robertson, Commanding Presence, 139–158; Oman, Peninsular War 3:153–196.

  66. Robertson, Commanding Presence, 159–177; Oman, Peninsular War 3:231–281, 341–481.

  67. Monthly Return for March 25, 1811, TNA, WO17/2467 shows 48,026 British rank and file, of whom 35,983 were present for duty.

  68. Oman, Peninsular War 4:23–63, 247–292.

  69. Buttery, Wellington against Massena, 122–139; Oman Peninsular War 4:131–205. On the supply problems, see, for example, “Arrangements for 20th March [1811],” as communicated by the quartermaster general, in Gurwood, Dispatches 4:682.

  70. Wellington to Wellesley-Pole, July 2, 1811, in Wellesley, Supplementary Despatches 7:176.

  71. Glover, Wellington as Military Commander, 142–151; Oman, Peninsular War 4:288–362.

  72. Dempsey, Albuera; comparative casualty figures are from Smith, Napoleonic Wars Data Book, 360–363.

  73. Oman, Peninsular War 4:404–457, 542–582; 5:157–186.

  74. See Returns in TNA, WO17/1486 (1810–1811) and WO17/1487 (1812). For more detail, see Bamford, “British Forces at Cadiz.”

  75. Oman, Peninsular War 4:91–130.

  76. Barker, “Debacle of the Peninsular War.”

  77. The detachment of troops to Tarifa from Gibraltar, and later Cadiz, may be tracked through returns in TNA, WO17/1796–1800 and WO17/1486–1488 respectively. On the siege, see Oman, Peninsular War 5:111–139; and Musteen, “Nelson’s Refuge and Wellington’s Rock,” 184, 200–216.

  78. Oman, Peninsular War 4:593–607.

  79. Oman, Peninsular War 5:215–279, 594–595; Glover, Wellington as Military Commander, 162–171.

  80. Wellington to Liverpool, May 26, 1812, in Gurwood, Dispatches 9:172–178. The letter as a whole contains a detailed appreciation of the strategic situation after the fall of Badajoz, and the means by which the writer proposed to take advantage of it.

  81. Muir, Salamanca; see also Oman, Peninsular War 5:297–518.

  82. Oman, Peninsular War 6:1–180; Glover, Wellington as Military Commander, 171–177.

  83. Calculation of losses comes from Glover, Wellington as Military Commander, 104–106. For Wellington’s memorandum, addressed to “Officers Commanding Divisions and Brigades,” see Gurwood, Dispatches 9:574–577.

  84. See Monthly Returns in TNA, WO17/1516, 2241.

  85. McGuigan, “British North America.”

  86. Latimer, 1812, 47–48.

  87. Elting, Amateurs, 19–58; Latimer, 1812, 35–83.

  88. See Anglo-Portuguese Morning States for May 1813, and Spanish returns for May–July, reproduced in Oman, Peninsular War 6:750–753.

  89. Oman, Peninsular War 6:314–450, 754–762; Weller, Wellington in the Peninsula, 247–269.

  90. Robertson, Wellington Invades France, 56–98; Oman, Peninsular War 6:523–556, 587–740.

  91. Robertson, Wellington Invades France, 47–55, 99–111; Oman, Peninsular War 6:557–586; 7:8–36.

  92. These campaigns warrant a study in their own right. In the absence of such, see Oman, Peninsular War 5:565–575, 609–610; 6:275–298, 488–522; and 7:63–109, 406–420, 429–432.

  93. See Wellington to Bathurst, November 11, 1813, in Gurwood, Dispatches 11:275–277, proposing that the force be broken up; Wellington to Clinton, March 4, 1814, in Gurwood, Dispatches 11:544–546, with arrangements for its dispersal; and Weekly State for April 8, 1814, TNA WO17/2478, for details of the troops forwarded to Wellington.

  94. Fortescue, British Army 10:60–65.

  95. Monthly Return for November 25, 1813, TNA, WO17/2474.

  96. Graves, Field of Glory; see also Elting, Amateurs, 136–155; and Latimer, 1812, 195–216. On reinforcements, see Grodzinski, “Much to be Desired”; and McGuigan, “British North America.”

  97. Elting, Amateurs, 103–115; Latimer, 1812, 174–192.

  98. The task of this force is outlined in Bathurst to Gibbs, June 30, 1813, in Wellesley, Supplementary Despatches 8:47–48. See also Beamish, History of the KGL 2:140–154, 171–218; and Fortescue, British Army 9:387–388.

  99. Monthly Return for February 25, 1814, TNA, WO17/1773.

  100. This is another campaign meriting more study, but see Fortescue, British Army 10:1–11, 33–54; and Great Britain War Department, British Minor Expeditions, 80–88.

  101. Figures from TNA, WO17/2814.

  102. For example, Wellington to Bathurst, November 9, 1813, and March 11, 1814, in Gurwood, Dispatches 11:272–273 and 11:571–572.

  103. Robertson, Wellington Invades France, 123–186; Oman, Peninsular War 7:110–340.

  104. Robertson, Wellington Invades France, 187–249; Oman, Peninsular War 7:341–405, 433–512.

  105. Wellington to Bathurst, April 7, 1814, in Gurwood, Dispatches 11:626–628.

  106. Strengths from Monthly Returns, TNA, WO17/1518–1519, 2241–2243. Sherbrooke’s operations are related in Latimer, 1812, 345–348.

  107. Graves, Where Right and Glory Lead. See also Elting, Amateurs, 175–197, 244–252; and Latimer, 1812, 277–300.

  108. Bathurst to Wellington, January 28, 1814, in Wellesley, Supplementary Despatches 8:547; York to Bathurst, April 13, 1814, TNA, WO1/657, 635; Wellington to Hill, May 5, 1814, in Gurwood, Dispatches 12:2; Wellington to Bathurst, May 5 1814, in Gurwood, Dispatches 12:2–3.

  109. Elting, Amateurs, 252–263; Latimer, 1812, 345–368.

  110. Elting, Amateurs, 198–243; Latimer, 1812, 301–344; strengths from TNA, WO17/1218.

  111. Elting, Amateurs, 282–309; Latimer, 1812, 369–388; strengths from TNA, WO17/1218.

  112. Latimer, 1812, 360–368, 389–392.

  113. Beamish, History of the KGL 2:315–319; Lt. General Baron Linsingen to Duke of Cambridge, July 18, 1814, TNA, WO1/659, 153–155.

  114. Fortescue, British Army 10:227–228.

  115. One could provide a library’s worth of references on this campaign. For the most relevant or provoking accounts, see Barbero, The Battle; Fletcher, “A Desperate Business”; Haythornthwaite, Waterloo Armies; Hofschröer, 1815; and Robinson, Quatre Bras.

  116. Figures from “Grand Total of the British, Dutch, Hanoverian, and Brunswick Troops Under the Command of the Duke of Wellington,” in Wellesley, Supplementary Despatches 10:750.

  117. Partridge and Oliver, Handbook, 89–90.

  2. Regimental Identity and Leadership

  1. Inspection Report of April 27, 1814, TNA, WO27/127, part 2.

  2. Morris, Recollections, 146–149.

  3. Haythornthwaite, Armies of Wellington, 271–274.

  4. Holmes, Redcoat, 26, 403. For a discussion of the “Die hard!” legend, see Dempsey, Albuera, 291–295.

  5. Cooper, Rough Notes, 68.

  6. Cookson, Armed Nation, 8, 24–27.

  7. Haythornthwaite, Armies of Wellington, 272–273.

  8. Fusilier Regiments: 7th (Royal Fusiliers), 21st (Royal North British Fusiliers), 23rd (Royal Welch Fusiliers). Highland Regiments: 42nd (Royal Highland), 71st (Glasgow Highland), 72nd, 73rd, 74th, 75th, 78th (Ross-shire Buffs), 79th (Cameron Highlanders), 91st (Argyllshire), 92nd (Gordon Highlanders), 93rd (Sutherland Highlanders). See Partridge and Oliver, Handbook, 39–46; and Haythornthwaite, Armies of Wellington, 76.

  9. Mackerlie, Scottish Regiments; Linch, “Recruitment,” 178, 187–189.

  10. Fassiefern, Memoir of Colonel John Cameron.

  11. Glover, Peninsular Prepara
tion, 128–129.

  12. Mackesy, British Victory in Egypt, 36, 84, 90.

  13. On the 20th, see Partridge and Oliver, Handbook, 22–23; and Oman, Peninsular War 1:645; on the 2/78th, see Reid, Highland Warriors, 180.

  14. Urban, Rifles, 31–34; Haythornthwaite, Armies of Wellington, 93–96; Glover, Peninsular Preparation, 122–134.

  15. Oman, Wellington’s Army, 212. See also Urban, Rifles, which makes it clear that the 95th was also not free from such individuals.

  16. Cook and Burnham, “Nicknames.”

  17. Quoted in Field, Talavera, 82. The “old Buffs” were, of course, the 3rd Foot.

  18. Cook and Burnham, “Nicknames.” A “Havercake” was a West Riding oatcake, allegedly offered to potential recruits, “Jaggers” was a corruption of “Jägers,” and “Pot Hooks” refers to the similarity between a hook and a figure seven.

  19. Ibid. Note, therefore, that the 11th’s nickname predates their Victorian adoption of red legwear.

  20. A distinction that has produced a not inconsiderable body of historiography; see, for example, Cookson, Armed Nation, as opposed to Colley, Britons.

  21. Grattan, Adventures, 39–40.

  22. Gleig, Subaltern, 61–67.

  23. Haythornthwaite, Die Hard, 14–15, 35.

  24. Quoted in Dempsey, Albuera, 291.

  25. For example, Inspection Return of May 1, 1813, TNA, WO27/117.

  26. Partridge and Oliver, Handbook, 44.

  27. Le Couteur, Merry Hearts, 93–104.

  28. Haythornthwaite, Armies of Wellington, 73.

  29. Oatts, Proud Heritage 1:97–98, 101–103, 124.

  30. Inspection Report of January 16, 1813, TNA, WO27/111, part 1.

  31. McGuigan, “Wellington’s Generals,” 179.

  32. Donaldson, Eventful Life, 129–131; emphasis in the original.

  33. Coss, King’s Shilling, 139–141.

  34. GO of October 14, 1811, in Gurwood, General Orders 3:214–215.

  35. For example, GO of September 30, 1810, in Gurwood, General Orders 2:170–172. See also Oman, Wellington’s Army, 206–207.

  36. GO of October 2, 1811, in Gurwood, General Orders 3:198–200.

  37. Aitchison to father, October 7,1809, in Aitchison, Letters, 64–65.

  38. Haythornthwaite, Armies of Wellington, 80. On the 1/3rd, see Dempsey, Albuera, 296–299.

  39. Aitchison to father, July 31, 1809, in Aitchison, Letters, 55–57.

  40. Grattan, Adventures, 136–137.

  41. Calculations are based on data in Oman, Peninsular War 1:646–648.

  42. Gordon, Cavalry Officer, 191.

  43. Summerville, March of Death, 149–163.

  44. Monthly Return for November 1812, TNA, WO17/2470.

  45. This has arguably been a fault typical of elite units throughout history. See MacKenzie, Revolutionary Armies, 153–154.

  46. “Journal by Sergeant Archibald Johnston, of the 2nd (or R.N.B.) Regiment of Dragoons,” in Glover, Waterloo Archive 1:50. See also Fletcher, Galloping at Everything, 235–266.

  47. Oman, Peninsular War 7:486–487, 559. Regarding concepts of precedence within the Highland corps, and the nature of the 42nd’s attempts to secure and retain its preeminent status, see Reid, Highland Warriors, 33–54.

  48. Battalion Return for May 1809, TNA, WO17/217; see also Cope, Rifle Brigade, 47.

  49. Linch, “Recruitment,” 200–201; the latter anecdote comes from Napier, Military Life, 21.

  50. Cooper, Rough Notes, 3; Memoirs of a Sergeant, 21; Wheeler, Letters, 17.

  51. The 4th Dragoon Guards, 6th Dragoons, 8th Hussars, and 18th, 27th, 86th–88th, and 99th–101st Regiments of Foot all bore Irish titles, whilst the 2nd Dragoons and 1st, 21st, 26th, 70th, 90th, and 94th Regiments of Foot, in addition to the Highland corps already noted, complete the list of Scots units. See Haythornthwaite, Armies of Wellington, 271–274.

  52. Linch, “Recruitment,” 180; Haythornthwaite, Armies of Wellington, 272.

  53. Bois, “The Inniskillings at Waterloo.”

  54. Holmes, Redcoat, 54–55; Graves, Dragon Rampant.

  55. Browne, War Journal, 73; Grattan, Adventures, 320–321.

  56. Sherer, Recollections, 224; emphasis added.

  57. Adjutant General’s Office, General Regulations, 279.

  58. Adjutant General’s Office, General Regulations, 279–281.

  59. Hay, Reminiscences, 44.

  60. Ibid., 91–92, 156, 163.

  61. Inspection Report of December 24, 1812, TNA, WO27/111, part 1.

  62. James, General Courts Martial, 456–477. See also Burnham and McGuigan, “The Impeccable Timing of Sir George Brown”; Haythornthwaite, Armies of Wellington, 36; and Holmes, Redcoat, 173–174. For the improved condition of the unit under its new officers, see Inspection Report by Major General Mackenzie of May 31, 1813, TNA, WO27/117; and Gleig, Subaltern.

  63. Gurney, Trial of Colonel Quentin; see also Haythornthwaite, Armies of Wellington, 36; and Oman, Wellington’s Army, 248–249.

  64. This trend is discussed with examples from the history of the 30th Foot—which seems to have enjoyed a largely consistent run of good commanders—in Divall, Inside the Regiment, 18–24.

  65. Wheeler, Letters, 19, 21, 43–44, 55–56, 66.

  66. On Inglis, see Woolright, Fifty-Seventh, 370–371. On Donellan, see Garvey, Northamptonshire Regiment, 133, citing an account in The Naval and Military Sketch Book of 1844; and Field, Talavera, 112–113. On Beckwith, see Urban, Rifles, 11–15, 27–31; and Surtees, Rifle Brigade, 53.

  67. Ward, Old Soldier, 104.

  68. Graves, “‘Every Horror.’”

  69. See Harris, Recollections, 201–202; and Urban, Rifles, 27–30.

  70. Grattan, Adventures, 16–20; Myatt, Peninsular General, 78–80.

  71. Inspection Report by Major General Drummond, May 9, 1809, TNA, WO27/94.

  72. Adjutant General’s Office, General Regulations, 125–126, 296; Hough, Military Law, 797–799.

  73. Elting, Swords, 429–431, 508; Harris, Recollections, 280–282.

  74. Lawrence, Autobiography, 48–50.

  75. Harris, Recollections, 204–205; although there is the sneaking suspicion that these may be the views of his ex-officer ghostwriter.

  76. Hoghton to Graham, July 6, 1810, TNA, WO27/99.

  77. Hoghton to Graham, July 6, 1810, TNA, WO27/98.

  78. Cope, Rifle Brigade, 66.

  79. Inspection Report by Lt. General Sir John Doyle, May 4, 1808, in TNA, WO27/92; emphasis in the original. In partial qualification, it should be noted that Sir John was both Colonel of the 87th and uncle to Charles Doyle.

  80. Hoghton to Graham, July 6, 1810, TNA, WO27/99.

  81. Circular letter dated 25, March 1812, quoted in Marshall, Military Miscellany, 184–185.

  82. On the politico-legal element, see Steiner, “Separating the Soldier from the Citizen.”

  83. Cook and Burnham, “Nicknames.”

  84. Smythies, 40th Regiment, 134.

  85. General Courts Martial, 495.

  86. Ibid., 495–496.

  87. Ibid., 496.

  88. Hay to Wellington, March 2, 1813, in James, General Courts Martial, 496–497.

  89. Smythies, 40th Regiment, 137–138.

  90. Hough, Military Law, 797–798.

  91. Ibid., 798. I am much obliged to Ron McGuigan for information on Archdall’s second career.

  92. Gazette (London), March 15, 1808, 386.

  93. Inspection Report of May 12, 1808, TNA, WO27/92.

  94. Oman, Peninsular War 1:646.

  95. Inspection Return of November 26, 1810, TNA, WO27/100.

  96. Inspection Report of November 26, 1810, TNA, WO27/100.

  97. Inspection Report of May 12, 1808, TNA, WO27/92.

  98. Wellington to Liverpool, May 15, 1811, in Gurwood, Dispatches 7:565–567.

  99. Gazette (London), May 7, 1811, 828.

  100. Inspection Report of May 2, 1812, TNA, WO27/106, part 2.

/>   101. Ibid. Although here referred to as a major, Kingsbury was a brevet lt. colonel.

  102. Ibid.

  103. Ibid.

  104. Clinton to Manners, May 12, 1812, TNA, WO27/106, part 1.

  105. Obituary in The Gentleman’s Magazine 5 (January 1836), 88–90.

  106. Cannon, Historical Record of the Third Light Dragoons, 51.

  107. “Remarks” to Monthly Returns August–October 1812, TNA, WO17/2470; Brown, “British Regiments.”

  108. Bingham to mother, December 12, 1812, in Bingham, Wellington’s Lieutenant, 168–169.

  109. Inspection Report of May 12, 1808, TNA, WO27/92.

  110. Details of the case, and background, are from Oman, Peninsular War 7:270, 280. Sir Nathaniel is not to be confused with Warren Peacocke, the distinguished and effective commandant of Lisbon.

  111. Wellington to Torrens, March 8, 1814, cited in Millar, “Further Notes”; see also York to Wellington, March 23, 1814, in James, General Courts Martial, 611–612.

  112. Elting, Swords, 179; Muir, Experience of Battle, 177.

  113. Inspection Report of May 11, 1813, TNA, WO27/116.

  114. Wheeler, Letters, 66.

  115. Millar, “Duncan Macdonald” and “Further Notes.”

  116. Napier, Military Life, 264–268.

  117. Inspection Report of October 17, 1814, TNA, WO27/130, part 1.

  118. Napier, Military Life, 265–266: Denis Pack, by then a major general, had commanded the battalion before Cadogan; Victorian delicacy in the original replaces Peacocke’s name with an ellipsis.

  119. Barker, “Debacle of the Peninsular War”; Oman, Peninsular War 3:335–337.

  120. Inspection Report by Major General Burgoyne, December 9, 1810, TNA, WO27/101.

  121. Inspection Report of June 29, 1811, TNA, WO27/102, part 2.

  122. Campbell to Calvert, July 3, 1811, TNA, WO27/102, part 2.

  123. Graves, Where Right and Glory Lead, 180.

  124. Inspection Report of October 29, 1811, TNA, WO27/104, part 2.

  125. Graves, Field of Glory, 134–136, 262–264.

  126. Graves, Where Right and Glory Lead, 180–181.

  127. Graves, Where Right and Glory Lead, 67.

  128. Cooper, Rough Notes, 64.

  3. The Regimental System in Practice

  1. Inspection Report of May 14, 1808, TNA, WO27/92, part 2.

  2. Monthly Returns, TNA, WO17/2470–2476.