by Roger Knight
Roger Knight
BRITAIN AGAINST NAPOLEON
The Organization of Victory 1793–1815
Contents
Abbreviations
List of Illustrations
Lists of Maps and Their Sources
A Note on Names
Foreword
Introduction: A Hard-Working Generation
PART ONE
The Ever-Present Threat
1 The Arms Race and Intelligence 1783–1793
2 Pitt’s Investment 1783–1793
PART TWO
Holding the Line
3 The First Crisis 1795–1798
4 Whitehall at War 1793–1802
5 Intelligence and Communications 1793–1801
6 Feeding the Armed Forces and the Nation 1795–1812
7 Transporting the Army by Sea 1793–1811
PART THREE
Defending the Realm
8 Political Instability and the Conduct of the War 1802–1812
9 The Invasion Threat 1803–1812
10 Intelligence, Security and Communications 1803–1811
11 Government Scandal and Reform 1803–1812
12 The Defence Industries 1800–1814
13 Blockade, Taxes and the City of London 1806–1812
PART FOUR
The Tables Turned
14 Russia and the Peninsula 1812–1813
15 The Manpower Emergency 1812–1814
16 Final Victory
Aftermath
Appendices
1 Officials in Government Departments Involved in the War 1793–1815
2 Reports of Parliamentary Commissions and Enquiries Relating to the Army and Navy 1780–1812
Illustrations
Bibliography
Notes
Chronology
Glossary
Follow Penguin
For Jane
Abbreviations
BL British Library
Commission on Fees ‘appointed … to enquire into the Fees, Gratuities, Perquisites, and Emoluments, which are or have been lately received into the several Public Offices’, Reports 1786–8
Commission of Military Enquiry ‘appointed … to enquire and examine into Public Expenditure and the Conduct of Public Business in the Military Departments’ Reports 1806–12
Commission of Naval Enquiry ‘appointed … to enquire and examine into any Irregularities, Frauds or Abuses, which are or have been practised by Persons employed in the several Naval Departments’ Reports 1803–6
Commission of Naval Revision ‘appointed … for Revising and Digesting the Civil Affairs of the Navy’ Reports 1806–9
Committee on Public Accounts ‘appointed to examine, take and state, the Public Accounts of the Kingdom’ Reports 1780–87
Select Committee on Finance Reports 1797–8
DHC Devon Heritage Centre, Exeter
HL Huntington Library, San Marino, California
HRC Harry Ransom Center, University of Texas at Austin
NMM National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
ODNB The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford, 2004)
SCC Sim Comfort Private Collection
TNA National Archives, Kew, London
TNA, POST Post Office Archive, Mount Pleasant, London
WLC William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan
List of Illustrations
Endpapers: Board Room of the Admiralty, by Augustus Pugin, with figures added by Thomas Rowlandson, 1808, coloured aquatint, from Ackermann’s Microcosm of London (London, 1808–10), Vol. I, p. 16 (Bridgeman Art Library)
Shutter telegraph cabin on the Admiralty roof, with shutter codes, print, after 1796 (British Museum)
Map of Britain, coloured engraving, illustrating the threatened invasion by Napoleon Bonaparte, by John Luffman, published 19 January 1804 (Bridgeman Art Library)
North view of the City of Westminster from the roof of the Banqueting House, engraving by J. T. Smith, drawn in September 1807 (Bridgeman Art Library)
Somerset House, by Augustus Pugin and Thomas Rowlandson, engraved by John Bluck, coloured aquatint, from Ackermann’s Microcosm of London (London, 1808–10), Vol. III, p. 86 (1809) (Bridgeman Art Library)
William Pitt, by Thomas Gainsborough and Gainsborough Dupont, c. 1787–90 (English Heritage, Kenwood House, © English Heritage)
Henry Dundas, by Thomas Lawrence, 1810 (© National Portrait Gallery, London)
Lord Grenville, by John Hoppner, c. 1800 (© National Portrait Gallery, London)
Evan Nepean, unknown artist (Crown Copyright: image courtesy of the Ministry of Defence)
William Marsden, unknown artist (Crown Copyright: image courtesy of the Ministry of Defence)
George Phillips Towry, Victualling Board commissioner, by Philip Jean (© National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London)
Captain James Bowen, Transport Board commissioner, British school (© National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London)
Landing of British troops in Egypt, 8 March 1801, from James Jenkins, Martial Achievements, 1815, after William Heath (Bridgeman Art Library)
The landing at the Isle de France (Mauritius), December 1810: view from the deck of the Upton Castle transport, coloured aquatint after an original by R. Temple, published April 1813 (© National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London)
Embarking troops and horses at Margate, c. 1800 (© National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London)
Blackwall Yard from the Thames, by William Dixon, 1798 (© National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London)
Charles Lennox, third duke of Richmond, in the uniform of the master-general of the Ordnance, by George Romney, 1795 (by permission of the Trustees of the Goodwood Collection)
General Sir William Congreve, by James Lonsdale, 1810 (© Royal Collection Trust / Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 2013)
Prince Frederick, duke of York and Albany, by Benjamin West (Bridgeman Art Library)
General Sir David Dundas, probably by John Kay, 1806, watercolour (private collection)
William Pitt as the Cinque Port Colonel Commandant, by P. Hubert, published 28 March 1804 (Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection, Brown University Library)
Grand Review at Sandham (Sandown) Bay, Isle of Wight,4 June 1798, by Richard Livesay, coloured aquatint (Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection, Brown University Library)
Cornhill Military Association with a view of the Church of St Helens and Leathersellers’ Hall, 1799, by Edward Dayes, coloured engraving (Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection, Brown University Library)
Henry Addington, by William Beechey, c. 1803 (© National Portrait Gallery, London)
Lord St Vincent, by William Beechey (© National Portrait Gallery, London)
Charles Grey, by Thomas Lawrence, 1805 (courtesy of Sotheby’s Picture Library)
Thomas Grenville, by John Hoppner, 1807 (Bridgeman Art Library)
Chatham Dockyard, by Joseph Farington, 1794 (© National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London)
Plymouth Dockyard, by Nicholas Pocock, 1798 (© National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London)
Martello Towers in Pevensey Bay, looking eastwards from Eastbourne, by William Westall, watercolour (© National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London)
George O’Brien Wyndham, third earl of Egremont, in the uniform of the Sussex Yeomanry, by Thomas Phillips, 1798 (Petworth, West Sussex, © National Trust Images)
Banqueting House as Whitehall Chapel, by Augustus Pugin and Thomas Rowlandson, engraved by John Bluck, coloured aquatint, from Ackermann’s Microcosm of London, Vol. III, p. 238 (1 December 1809) (Bridgeman Art Library)
The Board Room of the Board of Trade, by Augustus Pugin and Thomas Rowlandson, engraved by John Bluck,
coloured aquatint, from Ackermann’s Microcosm of London, Vol. III, p. 197 (1 October 1809) (Bridgeman Art Library)
A view of Copenhagen with the British Forces taking possession under the command of Sir Home Popham and General Murray, 7 September 1807, engraving published by J. Ryland (© National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London)
The Last Act of the English, Copenhagen 1807, Danish engraving (© National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London)
George Canning, by Thomas Lawrence, 1810 (by permission of the Governing Body of Christ Church, Oxford)
The Cumberland merchant ship engaging four French lugger privateers off Folkestone, 13 January 1811, coloured aquatint (© National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London)
William Windham, by S. W. Reynolds, 1806, mezzotint (© National Portrait Gallery, London)
George Rose, by Sir William Beechey, 1802 (© National Portrait Gallery, London)
Spencer Perceval, by George Francis Joseph, 1812 (© National Portrait Gallery, London)
Lord Mulgrave, by William Beechey, 1807 (© National Portrait Gallery, London)
Lord Liverpool, by John Hoppner, 1807 (by permission of the fifth earl of Liverpool)
Lord Castlereagh, by Thomas Lawrence, 1809–10 (© National Portrait Gallery, London)
Norman Cross Prisoner of War Depot, Block House and the prisoners baking their own bread, by Captain Durrant, watercolour (© Hampshire County Council Arts and Museums Service)
The Emperor Napoleon and the empress accompanied by the king and queen of Westphalia at the launch of the Friedland, 80 guns, at Antwerp, 2 May 1810, by Mathieu van Bree; original in the Château de Versailles (Bridgeman Art Library)
Launch of the Magicienne, 36 guns, at Daniel List’s Yard at Fishbourne, Isle of Wight, 8 August 1812, unknown artist (reproduced with the kind permission of the Isle of Wight Heritage Service)
John Wilson Croker, by William Owen, c. 1812 (© National Portrait Gallery, London)
John Barrow, attributed to John Jackson, c. 1810 (© National Portrait Gallery, London)
George Harrison, by Charles Turner, published by and after Thomas Barber, 11 November 1816, mezzotint (© National Portrait Gallery, London)
Lord Palmerston, c. 1806 (by permission of the Master and Fellows of St John’s College, Cambridge)
Banquet given by the Corporation of London, 18 June 1814, for the prince regent, emperor of Russia and king of Prussia, by Luke Clennell (Bridgeman Art Gallery)
Fortress and Balloon in Green Park, coloured aquatint published by Thomas Palser, 24 August 1814 (Anne S. K. Brown Military Collection, Brown University Library)
Duke of Wellington, by Thomas Heaphy, 1813, watercolour (© National Portrait Gallery, London)
Review of the Russian Army by European heads of state in the Plains of Vertu, Paris, 10 September 1815, by F. Malek, original in the Pushkin Museum (Bridgeman Art Library)
List of Maps and Their Sources
British Offensive Strategy against Europe 1793–1814 (Mallinson, Send It by Semaphore, p. 157)
Central London: Government Offices c. 1804–1812 (‘Plans of all the Houses and Grounds within the Cities of London and Westminster and the Borough of Southwark held under leases from the Crown and also Public Offices and other buildings under the direction of John Fordyce, Esq., Surveyor-General of HM Land Revenue, by John Marquand and Thomas Leverton, finished in the year 1804’, TNA, MPZ/10; Richard Horwood, ‘Plan of the Cities of London and Westminster and parts adjoining showing every house, 1797’, NMM, MID/6/11 & 12; Commission of Military Enquiry, First Report, p. 26; Crook and Port, King’s Works, Vol. VI, pp. 537–71; Cole, Arming the Navy, p. 31; Philips, East India Company, p. 19)
Somerset House Government Offices c. 1800 (Feilden and Mawson (Alan Robson), ‘Conservation Plan for Somerset House Trust’ (2008))
Shutter Telegraph and Coastal Signal Stations 1796–1814 (Kitchen, ‘Signal Stations’, 337–43; Mallinson, Send It by Semaphore, pp. 83, 225–6)
South-East England: Defensive Measures 1803–1810 (Clements, Martello Towers, pp. 20–30; Douet, Barracks, pp. 70, 75; Goodwin, Military Defence of West Sussex, pp. 70–71; Vine, Royal Military Canal, p. 53; Saunders, Fortress Britain, p. 131)
East Coast: Defensive Measures 1803–1812 (Clements, Martello Towers, pp. 210–11; Douet, Barracks, pp. 70, 75; Kitchen, ‘Signal Stations’, pp. 341–2; Mallinson, Send It by Semaphore, pp. 83, 226; Saunders, Fortress Britain, p. 143)
Post and Packet Services 1803–1814 (Robinson, Carrying British Mails Overseas, p. 76; Trinder, Harwich Packets, p. xii)
Warship Building 1803–1815 (compiled by the author)
The Service of the West Essex Militia 1803–1816 (Digest of Services, West Essex Militia, TNA, WO 68/257)
A Note on Names
As this book is concerned with over two decades of British history, and as many of the main politicians came from an aristocratic background or were promoted to the peerage, there were frequent changes of name. The following are the most important:
Henry Addington became Viscount Sidmouth on 12 January 1805.
Henry Dundas became Lord Melville in 1802 and was made first lord of the Admiralty in 1804. On his death in 1811, his son Robert Saunders Dundas became the second Lord Melville. In 1812 he was also appointed first lord of the Admiralty.
Charles Grey became Lord Howick in 1806 when his father was raised to the peerage as the first Earl Grey. On the death of his father on 14 November 1807 Charles became the second Earl Grey.
Robert Hobart was styled Lord Hobart in 1793, and on his father’s death on 14 November 1804 became the fourth earl of Buckinghamshire.
Robert Banks Jenkinson became Lord Hawkesbury in June 1796 when his father was created the first earl of Liverpool. On the death of his father in December 1808 he became Lord Liverpool, and was appointed prime minister in 1812.
Admiral Sir John Jervis was raised to the peerage as Earl St Vincent after the battle of that name on 14 February 1797.
Charles Middleton, comptroller of the Navy Board between 1778 and 1790 and on the Admiralty Board from 1794 to 1795, was created Lord Barham on 1 May 1805, from which point he was first lord of the Admiralty for ten months.
Dudley Ryder became Baron Harrowby on 20 June 1803 and the earl of Harrowby on 19 July 1809.
Robert Stewart became Viscount Castlereagh in 1796 and on the death of his father in 1821 became Lord Londonderry. As he was an Irish peer, he was a member of the House of Commons.
Arthur Wellesley was made Viscount Wellington after the Battle of Talavera on 4 September 1809, earl of Wellington on 28 February 1812 and the marquess of Wellington on 3 October 1812 after the Battle of Salamanca. He became the duke of Wellington on 11 May 1814.
Richard Wellesley, Arthur’s elder brother, became earl of Mornington in 1781 on the death of his father. He was created Marquess Wellesley in December 1799.
Foreword
This story of the war effort against France begins in the 1780s, for the British government was preparing for conflict long before hostilities started in 1793. It continues for over twenty years, through the early 1800s when the First Consul and later emperor Napoleon, leading the French people and the many nations he subjugated, attempted to invade and conquer Britain. It ends in 1815, when the nations of Europe united for the last time to defeat him at Waterloo.
This is not a book about wholesale suffering and slaughter, starvation and devastation, which was the experience of large parts of the populations of central Germany, Russia, Spain and Portugal. Such was not the fate of British citizens; but they did experience more than twenty years of hard naval and military conflict, and, in consequence, significant casualties. Civilian Britain faced high taxation, social change and domestic unrest as well as long periods of intense political and public anxiety because of the threat of invasion when the emperor’s dominance was at its height. The war against Napoleon was more extensive and expensive than that against Revolutionary France: in the words of John Cookson, ‘a police action
against a revolutionary regime had become a war of national survival.’1
I was brought up on the tradition of spectacular British naval victories in the French Revolutionary War, and the assumption that, although the war against Napoleon was protracted, final victory was inevitable. These images and memories are still very much with us. Most people (excepting a very few scholars) who read and think about the Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars today do not realize how vulnerable Britain was at this time; nor are they aware of how many years its soldiers and seamen had to fight, and of how much its civilians had to endure, to secure the survival of the country. It was a world war in all but name, enveloping Europe but also stretching as far as America and India, with ferocious fighting right to the finish, between two systems of government, each using every possible resource to overcome the other. A British victory was finally achieved but only through radical efficiencies in the nation’s economic and political life: major reforms in the civil service, enormous growth in the quality and quantity of output by industrialists and farmers; and an acceptance of oppressive taxes by the rich and of military service by the less well off. Much of this is now forgotten. It may be that the horror of the Western Front in the First World War and the sheer size of the conflict in the Second World War have overshadowed the memory of the early-nineteenth-century French threat.2 Perhaps this is not surprising, even though the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars lasted a generation, nearly four times as long as either of the two terrible twentieth-century wars. But the experience of the misery of what has been called total war, the changes that accompany it and the lessons to be learnt from it extend much further back than the conflicts of the twentieth century.3 To the students of both, parallels between the Napoleonic War and the Second World War abound – in military and naval patterns of warfare, in stress among political and military leaders, in internal opposition and in distrust in relations with Continental allies. The most disturbing similarity is the plight of civilians on the Continent, displaced, ruined and starved by the campaigns of large armies.