Surrender at New Orleans

by David Rooney

  Harry and Juana made a tour of the Island with the Governor, the latter by boat and Harry and Juana by open coach, meeting up at some grand colonial mansion each night. Highly conscious of the iniquities of the slave trade, Harry was gratified to see slave conditions had improved. Slaves were better looked after than many peasants he had seen in other parts of the world – they were happier, better fed, less hard worked, had better medical facilities, better education and, indeed, provision was even made for old age. Many lived in little huts with their own gardens. He sometimes felt, ruefully, that they were better off than his soldiers.

  Harry and Juana found an idyllic spot in the mountains where they were above the extreme heat of the plains and rainfall was sufficient to make everything grow well. He visited his low-lying office only twice a week. But this halcyon existence was to be brought to an abrupt end when a note arrived from Lord Fitzroy Somerset to the effect that the C-in-C was so pleased with his performance in Jamaica, he was now appointing Harry to be Deputy Quartermaster General in the Cape of Good Hope. With forty-eight hours notice, Harry and Juana were aboard ship and bound for the Colony, but first via England for a brief reunion with the family before taking up the post. So once again they were entering another, totally different, chapter of their lives, this time to the unknown south of the Dark Continent. Once they left England, they were not to return until 1847.

  Key to sources: Whittlesey Museum (WM); Christopher Robinson (CR); Rifles Museum (RM); Harry’s Autobiography (Biog.).

  1. The Register of Baptisms and Burials at Whittlesey, showing Harry’s entry on 14 August 1787, proving that he was born in 1787, not 1788. (WM)

  2. The rear view of Harry’s house in Whittlesey. (WM)

  3. The plaque on the wall of Aliwal House in Whittlesey, showing the incorrect year of birth.

  4. The house today, from the street.

  5. Portrait of Harry, probably about 1815. (Biog.)

  6. Portrait of Juana in a pink dress in 1815. By Jean-Baptiste Isaby (1767–1855). (Biog.)

  7. Harry’s Waterloo medal now at the Rifles’ Museum at Winchester. The original was looted by Sikhs from the baggage train at Budowal. Harry’s was replaced in 1847. There is also one in the main collection of his medals. Both have his name on the rim but, unlike nowadays, are not engraved 'Replacement'. So which is genuine? (RM)

  8. Harry’s Peninsula medal, with twelve clasps. The medal was not issued until 1847. Unlike today, if a participant in a battle died before the medal was issued, his descendants would not receive it. (CR)

  9. Harry from the portrait in the Rifles’ Museum, Winchester. (RM)

  10. Busts of Harry and Juana. They were sculpted at the same time and were never separated. (CR)

  11. Dispatch after the Battle of Aliwal in Harry’s handwriting. (RM)

  12. List of awards after Aliwal. As there were no gallantry decorations in those days, officers were promoted to ‘brevet’ rank or, if senior enough, made Companions of the Order of the Bath (CB) or ADC to the Queen. (WM)

  13. Juana painted by Mrs Henry Moseley in September 1847. (CR)

  14. Juana’s medals. The Maharajpore medal is below, and the medal Harry had made into a brooch is above. (CR)

  15. Harry’s beloved charger, Aliwal. Painted in 1847. (CR)

  16. Harry in pen and wash, wearing sash and order of GCB. (CR)

  17. Harry in later life, wearing his Order and sash. (CR)

  18. Sword and scabbard hanging below Harry’s memorial in St Mary’s Church, Whittlesey.

  19. Sword showing the damage to the basket/hilt.

  20. Harry’s memorial in the south-east chapel of St Mary’s.

  21. St Mary’s Church, Whittlesey, today.

  22. Harry in the twilight of his years. Note the now mandatory moustache, and sideboards. Juana rather approved. (CR)

  23. Tower of the San Domingo Convent in Buenos Aires today, still showing marks of British cannon balls. (Eduardo Gerding)

  24. The original ‘Hero of Aliwal’ pub in Whittlesey, long since gone. (WM)

  25. Harry’s medals and orders.

  Left: GCB Order and sash.

  Right: Portugese Order and sash of Grand Cross of St Bento d’Aviz.

  Left to right at the top: Waterloo, KCB and CB, Maharajpore.

  Centre: Sutlej (Moodkee on medal, Sobraon, Aliwal, Ferozeshah clasps), Peninsula (Clasps of Toulouse, Orthes, Nive, Nivelle, Pyrenees, Vitoria, Salamanca, Badajoz, Ciudad Rodrigo, Fuentes D'Onoro Busaco, Corunna), South Africa 1853.

  Centre below: Miniatures. (CR)

  26. Plate on side of Harry’s tomb.

  27. Harry and Juana’s tomb in the Whittlesey cemetery.

  Chapter 6

  The Cape and Frontier Wars

  January 1829 to June 1840

  In the years after 1815, it appeared that wherever Harry and Juana went they met old friends who, like themselves, were Peninsula veterans. In 1829, after a delightful voyage of only eleven weeks – shorter than expected – they arrived in Table Bay. John Bell, an old friend, welcomed them warmly and insisted that, initially, they stay at his house. Juana was delighted with the affectionate welcome and the pleasant sunshine, a change from the bleak winds of Nova Scotia and the steamy heat of Jamaica. The day after they arrived, Harry rode out to see the Governor, Sir Lowry Cole, another old friend who had commanded the 4th Division in the Peninsula. Cole explained that Harry would be Commandant of the Garrison, in addition to being Deputy Quartermaster General, a position second only to the Governor.

  Harry realized that he would now face civil as well as military problems and set out to learn as much as possible about the wider issues facing the Government. The British Navy’s control of the sea had played a significant role in supplying Wellington’s forces through Lisbon and Harry had already been involved in their escapades in South America. Now he found their role in Cape Colony was equally significant. As Napoleon overran the countries of Europe, Britain, with its naval dominance, used the opportunity to annex their colonial possessions. The Dutch had settled Cape Colony and in 1805, after a brief skirmish at Blauwberg, it was taken over by the British. At first all seemed well, and the pastoralist and paternalist Dutch settlers quietly continued their lives. They held to the puritanical views of the Dutch Reformed Church, which were directly linked to a life based on cattle farming and the use of slaves. But gradually, British policy, which established English as the official language and used British law, and aggressive attacks by powerful missionary groups, seemed to the Boers to threaten their language, their religion and their way of life.

  In Cape Town, there was always a clash of interest between the city dwellers, the farmers and adventurers who eagerly expanded the frontier to the east and north, and the missionaries, who stoutly defended the rights of the native tribes, especially the Hottentots and Griquas in the remote frontier areas. The frontier (see map) and its problems were to occupy the lives of Harry and Juana for many years. From 1820 onwards, Britain encouraged large numbers of its people to settle in the eastern Cape, and this increased the demand for expansion into what many considered, incorrectly, to be the empty lands of the veldt. The frontier lands were far from empty and in the 1820s were under intense pressure from the so-called Bantu. These were African people often fleeing southwards from the depredations of the Zulu nation under their formidable military leader Shaka, then at the height of his powers. Operating over a wide area around present-day Durban, Shaka, with his original military ideas, established Zulu military power at such a level that decades later the Zulus could challenge the British at Isandlwana and Rorke’s Drift. Much of Harry’s effort and many of his dramatic rides, sometimes accompanied by Juana, related to the expanding frontier and the Bantu issue.

  After they had settled into their home in Cape Town, Harry thought ‘no man was ever more happily placed’. He and Juana lived in a delightful house some distance from the Governor’s residence, with ‘capital stables’; the garrison he commanded consisted of an artiller
y battery and a battalion of the 72nd Regiment (later the Seaforth Highlanders). He set to work to reorganize unnecessary guards and duties, gaining an admirable response from the troops. He abolished the guard of eight soldiers at the Observatory, remarking that the stargazers found that they could carry on ‘their celestial pursuits without the aid of terrestrial soldiers’. He trained all the troops up to the exacting standards of the Light Bobs and carried out exercises with live ammunition without a single casualty. Soon afterwards, Lord Dalhousie, who had been with Harry at the Battle of Vitoria and again in America, called at the Cape on his way to India as Commander-in-Chief, and Harry staged a mock battle with his newly trained troops. As Deputy Quartermaster General in the Colony, Harry was the senior military officer with administrative, discipline and quartermaster responsibilities.

  Hunting and shooting were never far from Harry’s thoughts and he was able to indulge his passion enthusiastically. High-quality horses from thoroughbred English stock gave him ample choice and soon he had an excellent stud. Around Cape Town, hunting had an added hazard because moles the size of rabbits made deep holes, which in wet weather were highly dangerous to horses and caused damaging falls. After describing the excitement of hunting antelope with his horses and an excellent pack of hounds, he added that further away near the frontier was the fleetest deer of all – the springbok.

  During the shooting season, Harry and Juana used to go off to visit a retired officer of the 21st Dragoons, who was farming some miles away and whose land provided very good partridge and grouse shooting. A huge wagon, drawn by eight horses, took all their gear, and was accompanied by greyhounds, pointers, terriers and spaniels. Harry concluded his description of hunting and shooting by adding that he and Juana enjoyed this life, which was full of kindness, hospitality and happiness, from soon after their arrival until 1834. During that time their friend Sir Lowry Cole retired and was succeeded as Governor and Commander-in-Chief by Sir Benjamin D’Urban.

  Soon after the arrival of D’Urban as Governor, there was a serious outbreak among the Kaffir tribes on the frontier. Harry described this outbreak as ‘An irresistible rush, carrying with them fire, sword, devastation and cold-blooded murder, and spoiling the fertile estates and farms like a mountain avalanche’. The centre of the outbreak lay some 600 miles east of Cape Town, and D’Urban sent Harry to deal with it by all necessary means. A naval sloop was ready to take him, but, mindful of the frustrating days they waited at Harwich before Waterloo, Harry decided to ride to Grahamstown. Post horses were arranged for a seven-day ride, and at the same time half of 72nd Regiment was sent by sea and half by wagon. D’Urban gave Harry clear instructions and promised to support him in every way.

  On 1 January 1835, Harry, with one servant, set off before daybreak on a 90-mile ride for the first day – with the heat raging like a furnace. He carried important documents, which Juana had sewn into the lining of his jacket. In spite of a severe thunderstorm he reached his first stop by late afternoon. The next day, he again rode for nearly 90 miles on a game little horse which impressed him so much he decided to buy it. On the third day he planned to ride a hundred miles, but it proved to be a day of frustration. At one stage no horses were ready and at the next town a great dinner had been prepared, which he had to stop and eat, and from which he suffered for the rest of the day. Then more frustration at the next town where there was a civic reception, which delayed him still further. The following day he intercepted mail from Grahamstown which included dire reports of disasters and murders, and the fear that Grahamstown would have to be abandoned. At this news he sent messages ahead to have his horses ready a day early. Throughout this ride he suffered from intense heat and the next day, after his horse had collapsed, a Dutch farmer refused to lend him a horse so Harry knocked him out, jumped on the horse and rode off. On the last day of the journey, having ridden ‘wretched knocked up horses’, he was met by an escort of Cape Mounted Rifles, given a good horse and so at last reached Grahamstown – only to be faced by another civic reception and another huge dinner. As he approached the town, he found an atmosphere of complete panic, and passed families fleeing with their herds and all their possessions. Much of the detail of this remarkable expedition is given in his affectionate letters to Juana – mi queridissima muger – my dearest wife.

  In Grahamstown he found fear, panic, chaos and confusion, with ineffective barricades, and everyone heavily armed and liable to shoot each other. Harry, with his memories of Badajoz, tried not to laugh. He went to Colonel Somerset’s house, gave orders, demanded the necessary documents by daybreak, and said he would establish martial law in the morning. Several outlying posts had been abandoned and some missionaries were in peril, besieged in a settlement a few miles away. After martial law was established, a Dutch burgher was objectionable, so Harry put him in jail and took over his house. He ordered the immediate creation of a Corp of Volunteers, and then in a meeting of excited and terrified burghers, he decided to take over and assert his authority. He asked why his orders had not been carried out, and when the chairman started arguing, Harry, in a voice of thunder, said that anyone who did not instantly obey his orders would be court-martialled and punished. He quickly established control, organized the Volunteers, and showed that defence consisted of military vigilance and not cowering behind barricades inside your own house.

  The next day, Harry organized a force of 300 men, under an experienced Rifles officer, to attack the kraal of a local Kaffir chief who was the leader of the uprising, and whom Harry described as ‘a double faced old murderer and breaker of treaties’. The chief narrowly escaped, but the effect of the attack was dramatic and the forces of the Kaffir uprising withdrew from the immediate area. When the 72nd Regiment arrived, they quickly recaptured an outlying fort. Next, a Rifles officer led a swift attack and rescued the missionaries, who had daily expected to have their throats cut. Harry thought that the rescue of the missionaries was one of the best single things he did in the Kaffir War, but the missionaries never acknowledged it and were always ready to censure – as Harry was later to find out. The day after the rescue, the Governor arrived and issued a special General Order commending the outstanding achievement of Colonel Smith, which was beyond all praise and deserving the gratitude of the whole Colony.

  D’Urban confirmed and extended Harry’s powers so that he could deal effectively with all the problems of the area. He quickly organized four companies – each about 100 strong – from the Hottentots, the original native people of the Cape, and found that they quickly became good soldiers. Harry stayed several weeks, campaigning in the area of Grahamstown and up to the Fish River and beyond. His forces captured thousands of cattle, some which had been stolen and some the property of the revolting Kaffirs, finding that this was an effective way of hitting at the enemy. Even with all this hectic activity he wrote to Juana almost every day and on 7 April he reminded her that it was the twenty-third anniversary of the dramatic moment in Badajoz when they had first seen each other. He opened his letter with ‘mi queridissima ma muger’, my dearest wife, and at the end wrote: ‘God bless you old woman, and do not be afraid, God will take care of us.’

  The news of the revolt on the frontier had arrived when Harry and Juana were at the Governor’s New Year’s Eve party, and D’Urban had instantly discussed it with Harry. When, almost immediately afterwards, he galloped off on his famous ride, he and Juana did not realize that they were in for a long separation. Their home, ‘a dear little cottage in Rondesbosch’, though substantially larger than the family house in Whittlesey, provided Juana with a safe and secure base for a happy and active social life while Harry was away. She was surrounded by a number of old friends, including the Lowry Coles and their large family, she was active in community activities and she regularly taught in a school for African girls. Cape Town was growing rapidly and could already boast a public library of 30,000 volumes. There seemed to be an almost constant stream of visitors from the ships bound for India, the Far East and Australi
a, which called in at the Cape for a welcome break from their long voyages. Many of these, once again, were old Peninsula friends, often going to fairly senior appointments in the army or the civil administration in India. For Juana and Harry, thoughts of their future often turned to India, where numerous campaigns brought the possibility of promotion. The main hotel, St George’s, relied substantially on the Indian passing trade and it was here that Juana was frequently entertained. Visitors usually brought eagerly awaited news from London and especially the latest news from Parliament about the slavery issue. Just occasionally a visitor called in after doing the unutterably tedious garrison duty on St Helena.