42. Oman, Peninsular War 1:646–648; see also Harris, Recollections, 104–106.
43. GO of August 9, 1809, in Gurwood, General Orders 1:122–123; see also Fortescue, British Army 7:196–197; and Oman, Peninsular War 2:484–486.
44. Comparative figures from contemporary digest, TNA, WO17/2814.
45. Monthly Returns October 1809 to January 1810, TNA, WO17/2464–2465. See also Gordon to Aberdeen, November 16, 1809, in Gordon, Wellington’s Right Hand, 68–69.
46. For a full monthly breakdown of losses by units, see Bamford “Guadiana Fever.”
47. Howard, Wellington’s Doctors, 166–170.
48. Mackinnon, “Campaign in Portugal and Spain,” 40–42.
49. Howard, Wellington’s Doctors, 95–99.
50. Cooper, Rough Notes, 33–34.
51. Simmons, British Rifle Man, 35–40.
52. Monthly Return, TNA, WO17/2464. On the shortage of medical personal, see Wellington to Liverpool, November 14, 1809, in Gurwood, Dispatches 5:280–282.
53. Coss, King’s Shilling, 97–104, 272–287.
54. McGrigor, “Medical History,” 469–470.
55. Ibid., 470.
56. Graham to Bathurst, December 31, 1813, TNA, WO1/198, 339–342. McGrigor, who asserted the value of a warm breakfast in “Medical History” (470), would certainly have approved.
57. Brett-James, Life in Wellington’s Army, 25.
58. The assertion made by Coss (King’s Shilling, 105–107) that plundering stemmed directly from the nutritional deficiency of the standard ration is, therefore, too simplistic and, like the rations themselves, is best taken with a pinch of salt.
59. The nature of these reforms is discussed in Howard, Wellington’s Doctors, 122–128, 137–138; and McGrigor, “Medical History,” 473–476. On the establishment of general hospitals during 1813 and 1814, see McGrigor, 392.
60. McGrigor, “Medical History,” 388–389.
61. GO of March 1, 1813, in Wellesley, Supplementary Despatches 7:562–564.
62. Wellington to Hill, October 11, 1810, in Gurwood, Dispatches 6:477–478; Wellington to Bathurst, February 13, 1814, in Gurwood, Dispatches 11:517.
63. l’Estrange, Recollections, 129–130.
64. McGrigor, “Medical History,” 394–395, 471–472.
65. Elting, Swords, 467.
66. GO of October 23, 1810, in Gurwood, General Orders 2:190–193.
67. On the battle of wits between malingering soldiers and a long-suffering medical staff, see Haythornthwaite, Armies of Wellington, 135; and Howard, Wellington’s Doctors, 206–208.
68. Howard, Wellington’s Doctors, 88–90. For an officer’s perspective (that of Lt. Charles Crowe), see Crowe, Eloquent Soldier, 205–230; for the view from the ranks, see Cooper, Rough Notes, 35.
69. GO of November 29, 1813, in Wellesley, Supplementary Despatches 8:404.
70. “Return of the number of men belonging to Corps in the Peninsula who could not be found in the General Hospitals, and who have been struck off as Dead,” March 25, 1814, TNA, WO17/2475.
71. McGrigor, “Medical History,” 397.
72. Linch, “Recruitment,” 202–233.
73. Officers, by contrast, were more commonly granted leave and frequently overstayed it, with some of the most flagrant offenders being cashiered as a result. See, for example, GO of May 29, 1810, copying Horse Guards circular of April 23, relating to the case of Lt. Alexander Winckstern, 7th KGL Line Battalion, in Gurwood, General Orders 2:78–80.
74. Urban, Fusiliers, 292–293.
75. Hall, British Strategy, 7, notes only fifty-two Britons executed for desertion in the peninsula. See also Oman, Wellington’s Army, 243.
76. GO of August 30, 1811, in Gurwood, General Orders 3:169–172; a largely identical case, relating to Private George Lever of the 51st, can be found in AGO of July 11, 1811, in Gurwood, General Orders 3:143–145.
77. Battalion Returns for 5/60th TNA, WO17/179.
78. Gough to father, June 23, 1809, quoted in Rait, Gough 1:31–36.
79. Monthly Return of June 1, 1809, TNA, WO17/2464.
80. GO of June 26, 1809, in Gurwood, General Orders 1:86-89; see also Oman, Wellington’s Army, 257.
81. Summerville, March of Death, 149–163.
82. Notes to Monthly Return of February 25, 1811, TNA, WO17/2467.
83. Inspection Report, June 19, 1810, TNA, WO27/99.
84. Note to Monthly Return of November 25, 1813, TNA, WO17/1773.
85. Note to Monthly Return of June 25, 1810, TNA, WO17/2465.
86. Haythornthwaite, Armies of Wellington, 209–210; for Wellington’s views on the Almeida case, see Wellington to Charles Stuart, August 31, 1810, in Gurwood, Dispatches 6:371—even then, he considered such recourse acceptable only for the rank and file and not for officers.
87. Wellington to Liverpool, November 10, 1810, TNA, WO1/246, 353–355. An appeal to the men under his command, couched in very similar terms, was made in GO of November 10, 1810, in Gurwood, General Orders 2:203–204.
88. GO of September 2, 1811, in Gurwood, General Orders 3:176–180.
89. Latimer, 1812, 38–39, 45–46.
90. Notes to Monthly Return of October 25, 1810, TNA, WO17/2465.
91. Nichols, Wellington’s Mongrel Regiment, 71.
92. Gray, “‘Prisoners, Wanderers and Deserters.’”
93. Monthly Return of September 25, 1814, TNA, WO17/1518.
94. Inspection Report of October 8, 1813, TNA, WO27/124.
95. Monthly Returns, TNA, WO17/2476.
96. Grattan, Adventures, 333–334; see also Oman, Peninsular War 7:513–514.
97. Brumwell, Redcoats, 43–47, 155, 127–136.
98. Cooper, Rough Notes, 121–141.
99. Urban, Rifles, 137–141, 161–163.
100. Linch, “Recruitment,” 204.
101. Haythornthwaite, Armies of Wellington, 50–51.
102. Linch, “Recruitment,” 218–221.
103. See, for example, Lawrence, Autobiography, 16–20; and Surtees, Rifle Brigade, 6–7. The tendency is also discussed more generally in Urban, Rifles, 4–9.
7. Beasts of Burden
1. Return of Regimental Courts Martial for 5th Dragoon Guards, TNA, WO27/111, part 1.
2. That only a dismounted trooper could be employed to tend the camp kettle mule is made clear by the GO of June 2, 1811, in Gurwood, General Orders 3:103–104.
3. Memorandum dated November 24, 1813, in TNA, WO1/414, 51–54.
4. Ibid. Note that the measurement was from the ground to the withers.
5. Tennant, “Wellington’s Mules.” On the issue of forage mules for the cavalry, see circular from Wellington to cavalry brigade commanders, August 31, 1811, in Gurwood, Dispatches 8:251.
6. “Journal of the Proceedings of the British Army,” March 11, 1810, TNA, WO28/339.
7. Henegan, Seven Years 1:175–176.
8. Hunt, Charging against Napoleon, 267.
9. Brett-James, Life in Wellington’s Army, 25; Robertson, Commanding Presence, plate three. Regarding the use of artillery oxen, see “Memorandum for Lieut. Col. Framingham RA,” August 27, 1811, in Gurwood, Dispatches 8:227.
10. Henegan, Seven Years 1:35.
11. Monthly Return for April 1814, TNA, WO17/2476
12. Cited in Fletcher, Galloping at Everything, 20.
13. Monthly Return for June 1812, TNA, WO17/2469.
14. Wellington to Liverpool, December 7, 1810, TNA, WO1/246, 481–485.
15. Fletcher, Galloping at Everything, 13; Brett-James, Life in Wellington’s Army, 179. Note that in Graham’s case this figure includes horses for servants and baggage in addition to the general’s own mounts.
16. Gleig, Subaltern, 2.
17. Aitchison to father, May 2, 1812, in Aitchison, Letters, 151–152.
18. Hay, Reminiscences, 26–31.
19. Brett-James, “Diary of Captain Neil Douglas,” 103.
20. December figure from Monthly Return for Moore’
s army, TNA, WO17/2646.
21. Hunt, Charging against Napoleon, 36.
22. Monthly Return TNA, WO17/2646.
23. Inspection Return and Report by Major General Victor Alten, February 12, 1813, TNA, WO27/111, part 1.
24. Fletcher, Galloping at Everything, 15–16; see also Wellesley to Castlereagh, June 22, 1809, in Gurwood, Dispatches 4:427–428.
25. Wellington to Bathurst, April 14, 1814, in Gurwood, Dispatches 10:295–297.
26. Wellington to Liverpool, December 7, 1810, TNA, WO1/246, 481–485.
27. GO of May 5, 1809, in Gurwood, General Orders 1:14–16.
28. Oman, Peninsular War 1:225.
29. Cradock to Castlereagh, March 17, 1809, quoted in Napier, War in the Peninsula 2:488.
30. Maitland to Bathurst, August 30, 1812, TNA, WO1/316, 5.
31. Taylor to Bathurst, December 4, 1813, TNA, WO1/414, 59–69; ibid., December 16, 1813, TNA, WO1/414, 189–198.
32. Robertson, Commanding Presence, 60.
33. Figures are from Woodman, Victory of Seapower, 158.
34. Diary of Lt. George Woodberry, February 2, 1813, in Hunt, Charging against Napoleon, 61–62.
35. Wellington to Vice Admiral Berkeley, September 16, 1811, in Gurwood, Dispatches 8:282–283.
36. Tomkinson, Diary, 1.
37. Ibid., 2
38. GO of November 17, 1810, in Gurwood, General Orders 2:207–208.
39. See, for example, Wellington to Liverpool, September 22, 1810, in Gurwood, Dispatches 6:405–406.
40. Brett-James, Life in Wellington’s Army, 180–181.
41. A point emphasized in Fletcher, Galloping at Everything, 14–16.
42. Wellington to Bathurst, April 14, 1813, in Gurwood, Dispatches 10:295–297; ibid., May 25, 1813, in Gurwood, Dispatches 10:400.
43. Artillery appendices are in Oman, Peninsular War 2:654–655; 3:558–560; 4:650–652; and 5:619–622; also Partridge and Oliver, Handbook, 146–147.
44. Stewart, XII Royal Lancers, 58–63.
45. Steuart to Bridger, July 12,1811, Bound letters of Colonel Sir James Stewart.
46. Steuart to Taylor, January 17, 1812, Bound letters of Colonel Sir James Stewart.
47. Summarized from Inspection Returns and Reports in WO27/111, part 1.
48. GO of April 25, 1813 in Gurwood, General Orders, Alphabetical Volume, 60–61; see also Wellington to York, April 27, 1813, in Gurwood, Dispatches 10:332–333.
49. Wellington to Liverpool, December 7, 1810, TNA, WO1/246, 481–485.
50. See, for example, Wellington to Payne, January 2, 1810 in Gurwood, Dispatches 5:402, and, in contrast, Wellington to Liverpool, August 27, 1811, in Gurwood, Dispatches 8:230–233. These points were discussed at some length on the Napoleon Series forum in 2007, and I am obliged in particular to Ron McGuigan, David Buttery, and Anthony Gray for their input on this topic. The topographical element is discussed in Fletcher, Galloping at Everything, 67–77; and Oman, Wellington’s Army, 94–97.
51. See artillery appendices in Oman, Peninsular War 2:654–655; 3:558–560; 4:650–652; and 5:619–622.
52. Fletcher, Galloping at Everything, 20.
53. For example, Robertson, Commanding Presence, 147–148.
54. Fletcher, Galloping at Everything, 44–45.
55. Ibid., 26–30; Glover, Peninsular Preparation, 134–137.
56. Monthly Return for July 1812, TNA, WO17/2470.
57. Monthly Return for June 1815, TNA, WO17/1760.
58. See for example, Smith, Autobiography, 24–27.
59. Schaumann, On the Road, 360–366.
60. Ibid., 218–219.
61. Returns of Regimental Courts Martial accompanying 1812 first half-yearly Inspection Reports, TNA, WO27/106, part 1.
62. Returns of Regimental Courts Martial for 9th and 14th Light Dragoons, TNA, WO27/111, part 1.
63. Return of Regimental Courts Martial for 1st KGL Hussars, TNA, WO27/111, part 1.
64. Return of Regimental Courts Martial for 1st KGL Dragoons, TNA, WO27/111, part 1.
65. Returns of Regimental Courts Martial for the 1st and 2nd KGL Dragoons, TNA, WO27/106, part 1, and those for the 9th Light Dragoons, TNA, WO27/111, part 1.
66. Inspection Report of January 29, 1813, TNA, WO27/106, part 1.
67. Burgoyne quoted in Brett-James, Life in Wellington’s Army, 188–189; Gleig, Subaltern, 138.
68. Monthly Returns, TNA, WO17/2465; see also Oman, Wellington’s Army, 111.
69. “A Chelsea Pensioner,” Jottings from my Sabretache (London, 1847), 189–90, quoted in Fletcher, Galloping at Everything, 22. Fletcher attributes the account to Sergeant William Tale; for the Dawes attribution, see Griffith and Philips, Corunna to Waterloo, 10.
70. Partridge and Oliver, Handbook, 58.
71. The latter point is made in Haythornthwaite, Armies of Wellington, 107.
72. Fletcher, Galloping at Everything, 17–18.
73. Hunt, Charging against Napoleon, 76.
74. May 1813 diary entry, quoted in Hunt, Charging against Napoleon, 80.
75. Kennedy to Elizabeth Kennedy, April 1813, quoted in Hunt, Charging against Napoleon, 205.
Conclusion
1. Emsley, “The Volunteer Movement,” in Guy, Road to Waterloo; Colley, Britons, 283–319.
2. See Mackesy, Statesmen at War, for analysis of this with reference to the 1799 campaign.
3. Hall, British Strategy, 1–15.
4. Oman, Peninsular War 3:540–543.
5. Elting, Swords, 328. For a critique of these methods as applied in the peninsula, see also Alexander, “French Replacement Methods.”
6. Oman, Peninsular War 4:625–626.
7. Elting, Swords, 328.
8. Memo from Adjutant General’s Office, October 19, 1814, TNA, WO1/659, 457. Note that this applies only to units disbanded whilst overseas.
9. Clayton, British Officer, 67–68.
10. Graves, Fix Bayonets, 7–29; Urban, Man Who Broke Napoleon’s Codes, 7–8, 25–29.
11. Graves, Fix Bayonets, 410; Clayton, British Officer, 102.
12. Cooper, Rough Notes, 63.
13. Divall, Redcoats against Napoleon, 113–114.
14. Kincaid, Adventures in the Rifle Brigade, 50.
15. Sir Walter Scott, quoted in Haythornthwaite, Die Hard, 125.
16. Coss, “King’s Shilling,” 140.
17. Ibid.
18. Linch, “Recruitment,” 164, 239–242.
19. See in particular Robertson, Commanding Presence. Recent attempts to analyze Britain’s success in the field include Muir, “Wellington and the Peninsular War,” 1–38; Fletcher, “Wellington, Architect of Victory,” 149–162; and Arnold, “A Reappraisal of Column Versus Line in the Peninsular War.”
20. Evelyn, “‘I Learned What One Ought Not to Do,’” in Guy, Road to Waterloo, 16–22, which stresses the distinction between tactical ability and failings of manpower and supply.
21. Muir, Britain and the Defeat of Napoleon, 380.
22. Inspection Return of May 14, 1808, TNA, WO27/92, part 2.
23. Le Couteur, Merry Hearts, 10–19.
24. Histman and Sorby, “Independent Foreigners,” 11.
25. Wellington to Bathurst, August 18, 1813, in Gurwood, Dispatches 11:11–12.
26. Oman, Wellington’s Army, 171; Hofschröer, 1815 2:63.
27. Oman, Wellington’s Army, 352–353.
28. Fortescue, British Army 10:185–186.
29. On the Spanish organization, see Wellington to the Conde de la Bisbal, February 27, 1813, in Gurwood, Dispatches 10:325–326; with reference to similar proposals for the Portuguese service, see Partridge and Oliver, Handbook, 139.
30. Clayton, British Officer, 98–100; Fortescue, British Army 13:561–562.
31. Dietz, Last of the Regiments, 40–59.
32. Cook and Burnham, “Nicknames”; Graves, Fix Bayonets, 137–138, 414–415.
33. Compare with the description of the 1775 festivities in Boston in Urban, Fusilier
s, 7–13.
34. Frey, British Soldier in America, 117–125.
35. Gilbert, “Tale of Two Regiments,” 275.
36. Newbolt, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, 136.
37. Keegan, Six Armies in Normandy, 194.
38. Fortescue, British Army 13:50, 226.
39. Holmes, Tommy, 639–640.
40. Brumwell, Redcoats; Frey, British Soldier in America; Urban, Fusiliers.
41. Oman, Peninsular War 7:513–514.
42. Colley, Britons, 177–191, 364–368.
43. Cookson, “Duke of Wellington Statues,” 23–40; Colley, Britons, 257–258.
44. Cookson, “Regimental Worlds,” 23–24, 37–39; however, this admittedly chimes with Colley’s broader construct of national identity defined against an outside “other” presented in Britons.
45. Haythornthwaite, “‘Carrying On the War as It Should Be,’” 115–130; Kincaid, Adventures in the Rifle Brigade, 26–27.
46. Colley, Britons, 313–314; lyrics quoted in Graves, Field of Glory, 251.
47. Strachan, Wellington’s Legacy, 159–175.
48. Burnham, “Filling the Ranks,” 219.
49. Glover, Peninsular Preparation, 184–185.
50. Strachan, Wellington’s Legacy, 211–216.
51. Zamoyski, Rites of Peace, 366, 372–373.
52. Fortescue, British Army 10:232–242.
53. In particular the near-collapse of Halket’s Fifth Brigade at Quatre Bras and again at Waterloo—see Hofschröer, 1815 1:303; 2:137; and Divall, Redcoats against Napoleon, 148–150, 174–175.
54. Oman, Peninsular War, 343–373; McGuigan, “Anglo-Allied Army.”
55. Fortescue, British Army 10:419.
56. Ibid., 1:554–580.
57. Smurthwaite, “Glory is Priceless” in Guy, Road to Waterloo, 164–183.
Appendix 1
1. No January return, and includes data for Baird’s corps for December only. Includes some units that returned to Portugal, as well as those that went to Corunna. Surviving January Battalion Returns for 1/32nd and 1/52nd have been incorporated into data for these units.
2. See also individual data for KGL units serving under Wallmoden, for which additional data has been obtained from battalion returns.
Bibliography
Archival Sources
Sickness, Suffering, and the Sword Page 40