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diff --git a/old/52723-0.txt b/old/52723-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 24e3b93..0000000 --- a/old/52723-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,16327 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's The Story of the British Army, by C. Cooper King - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: The Story of the British Army - -Author: C. Cooper King - -Release Date: August 5, 2016 [EBook #52723] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE STORY OF THE BRITISH ARMY *** - - - - -Produced by Brian Coe, Charlie Howard, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - -Transcriber’s Note - - -In the Plain Text version of this eBook, superscripts are represented -within curly braces, preceded by a caret symbol, e.g., 24^{th}, and -italic text is enclosed in _underscores_. Other notes will be found -at the end of this eBook. - - - - - THE STORY - OF - THE BRITISH ARMY - - - - -BY THE SAME AUTHOR - - - MAP AND PLAN DRAWING - HISTORY OF BERKSHIRE - GEORGE WASHINGTON - THE BRITISH ARMY - - ALSO EDITOR OF - GREAT CAMPAIGNS IN EUROPE - -[Illustration: FIELD MARSHAL THE RIGHT HON. VISCOUNT WOLSELEY, K.P., -G.C.B., G.C.M.G., &C., &C. - - _From a Photograph by Werner & Son, Dublin_ -] - - - - - THE STORY - OF - THE BRITISH ARMY - - BY - LIEUT.-COLONEL - C. COOPER KING, F.G.S. - - WITH PLANS AND ILLUSTRATIONS - - METHUEN & CO. - 36 ESSEX STREET, W.C. - LONDON - 1897 - - - - - IN TOKEN OF A LENGTHENED FRIENDSHIP - I DEDICATE THIS STORY - OF - HER MAJESTY’S ARMY - TO - ITS COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF - F.-M. THE RIGHT HONOURABLE - VISCOUNT WOLSELEY, K.P., G.C.B., G.C.M.G. - - - - -PREFACE - - -I have endeavoured in the space at my disposal to show how the British -Army has grown up. I have tried merely to tell a “story,” and therefore -omitted much that might have been said regarding the noble work the -Queen’s Army has done. As regards the opinions advanced, I have always, -as far as possible, given the reasons for my views and the authorities -which induced me to form them. - -I have adhered to the principle of using the old regimental numbers, -for the sake of continuity; though, after the date when these were -altered, I have, in most cases, added their present territorial titles. - -I wish to express my great appreciation of the courtesy of the Colonel -and the Officers of the Lancashire Fusiliers (20th), South Wales -Borderers (24th), and the Prince of Wales’s Own (West Yorkshire) -Regiment (14th), in allowing me to sketch the uniforms of their men -from the interesting histories of their respective regiments, and to -E. C. Brett, Esq., for permitting me to copy the suits of armour that I -have chosen as types from his father’s magnificent volume on _Arms and -Armour_. - - KINGSCLEAR, CAMBERLEY, - _March 1897_. - - - - -TABLE OF CONTENTS - - - CHAP. PAGE - - I. THE ARMY OF THE PEOPLE--TO 1100 1 - - II. THE ARMY OF THE NOBLES--TO 1500 14 - - III. THE PURITAN HOST 35 - - IV. THE ARMY OF THE KING--TO 1701 55 - - V. MARLBOROUGH AND HIS MEN--TO 1714 72 - - VI. THE EMBERS OF THE CIVIL WAR--TO 1755 87 - - VII. THE ARMY IN AMERICA--TO 1793 107 - - VIII. THE ARMY AT SEA--TO 1815 128 - - IX. THE PENINSULAR ARMY: (_a_) ITS MAKING--1793-1808 155 - - X. THE PENINSULAR ARMY: (_b_) ITS TRAINING--1808-1811 173 - - XI. THE PENINSULAR ARMY: (_c_) ITS REWARD--1811-1814 191 - - XII. THE ARMY IN THE NETHERLANDS--WATERLOO, 1815 206 - - XIII. THE ARMY AFTER THE LONG PEACE--THE CRIMEA, 1854 236 - - XIV. THE ARMY IN INDIA: (_a_) THE EAST INDIA COMPANY, ITS - RISE--1600-1825 264 - - XV. THE ARMY IN INDIA: (_b_) THE FALL OF THE COMPANY AND - AFTERWARDS--1825-1858 277 - - XVI. THE ARMY IN INDIA: (_c_) THE ARMY OF THE QUEEN-EMPRESS-- - 1858-1896 318 - - XVII. THE ARMY IN THE FAR EAST--1819-1875 336 - - XVIII. THE ARMY IN SOUTH AND WEST AFRICA--1834-1836 351 - - XIX. THE ARMY IN NORTH AFRICA--1867-1896 374 - - XX. THE ARMY AS IT IS 396 - - APPENDIX I.--THE PRINCIPAL CAMPAIGNS AND BATTLES OF THE - BRITISH ARMY SINCE 1658 407 - - APPENDIX II.--THE LIST OF REGIMENTS WITH THEIR PRESENT - AND FORMER TITLES 411 - - APPENDIX III.--LIST OF BADGES, MOTTOES, AND NICKNAMES - OF THE ARMY 416 - - INDEX 424 - - - - -LIST OF MAPS, PLANS, AND ILLUSTRATIONS - - - LEADERS - - PAGE - FIELD-MARSHAL VISCOUNT WOLSELEY, K.P., G.C.B., - G.C.M.G., etc. _Frontispiece_ - THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH (from an old print) 73 - THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON 209 - - - ARMOUR - - NORMAN (from the Bayeux Tapestry) 10 - PLATE ARMOUR, _circa_ 1500 23 - PLATE ARMOUR AT BARNET, 1471 29 - HALF ARMOUR, 1640 35 - - - UNIFORMS - - PRIVATE SOLDIER, 14TH REGIMENT, 1712 72 - PRIVATE SOLDIER, 24TH REGIMENT, 1751 104 - PRIVATE SOLDIER, 14TH REGIMENT, 1792 126 - PRIVATE SOLDIER, 20TH REGIMENT, 1812 200 - PRIVATE SOLDIER, 24TH REGIMENT, 1840 239 - OFFICER, LIGHT COMPANY, 20TH REGIMENT, 1853 260 - PRIVATE SOLDIER, 14TH REGIMENT, 1864 322 - PRIVATE SOLDIER, 24TH REGIMENT, 1879 370 - - - BATTLES - - THE LINES OF BATTLE AT BARNET, 1471 32 - THE LINES OF BATTLE AT NASEBY, 1645 43 - THE LINES OF BATTLE AT BLENHEIM, 1704 77 - THE LINES OF BATTLE AT WATERLOO, 1815 228 - THE LINES OF BATTLE AT TEL EL KEBIR, 1882 383 - - - GENERAL MAPS - - ENGLAND AND WALES 5 - HASTINGS 7 - QUEBEC 111 - SPANISH PENINSULA 173 - SALAMANCA 198 - BELGIUM AND WATERLOO 208 - CRIMEA 250 - INDIA 266 - - - ARMS - - MUSKETS, ETC. 125 - FIELD ARTILLERY 38 - SPEARS AND SWORDS 231 - - - - -THE STORY - -OF - -THE BRITISH ARMY - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE ARMY OF THE PEOPLE--TO 1100 - - -All nations have passed, more or less, through the same stages in -the up-growth of that military system which is as essential to the -political security of the mass as the formation of a police force is -necessary for the protection of the individual in civil life. From the -outset, the history of human existence has been one of combat. - -First, in the earliest of primeval days, archaic man had to contend -with mammoth, cave bear, and all the host of extinct mammals primarily -for food, and then for safety when the need for clearing them away -became more and more apparent as population increased. With this -increase in numbers grew also the instinctive hostility between man and -man. The desire for conquest is one of his strongest attributes. The -stronger has always tried to make the weaker subservient; and as time -went on, that desire was accentuated by the wish to possess the women -or slaves--the terms were then synonymous--of the weaker family. - -It was no mere poetic statement, therefore, that the head of a -patriarchal household felt safe with a body of stalwart sons, and was -not afraid “to speak with his enemy in the gate.” That old-world text -tells volumes, behind which lie sinister pages and details of family -feud and rapine. - -But families segregated together and became tribes; these in their -turn formed clans under a general head, and this led to the further -development of inter-tribal and clannish contest, of which the greater -wars of the present time are the natural outcome. - -Still, throughout all this pre-historic or semi-historic time, there -was no organisation of what is called an army. Every able-bodied male -was bound to join in the defence of his poor village or district, -or, on the other hand, to acquiesce in the general desire of a -more courageous or dominant group, and share in the attack on, and -despoiling of, some other group weaker or richer than itself. A king -of men, a stronger soul, a man with more ambition or more boundless -energy than his compeers, carried his fellows, by the divine right of -leadership, to war. Except as a consequence of his greater bravery, -he stood in no one place higher than those he led. The fighting was -individual. There were no tactics; there was no systematic military -organisation. All fought singly, with a view to the common end of -success. - -It was only when the character of arms themselves advanced, as -civilisation and greater inter-dependence of peoples increased, -as communication from point to point improved, rendering combined -operations possible, that systematic war began. Even then, there was -much of the personal element in the matter. The known chief planted -his standard, and round it gathered, at first, a mass of subordinate -units, led by their chosen sub-chiefs. But even this was the beginning -of greater things. Organisation, on which the real art of war depends, -had arisen. The chief now directed subordinate commanders, and command -became subdivided. He no longer led only; he directed, in addition to -infusing courage into his men by his personal bravery. - -So it has been with the successive races that have fought in those -early days on British soil. The first real military system worthy of -the name was that which brought woad-clad Britons in collision with -the military might of Rome. But wonderful as the Roman organisation -was, it seems to have left but little permanent trace on the people -it had governed and civilised for four hundred years, from the time -of Cæsar’s first landing to that in which Honorius recalled the last -legion from the deserted province of Britannia to assist the main trunk -of the empire. There is little evidence that the Saxons met with any -more valuable opposition than mere courage, an attribute of little -real permanent importance against a foe that had at the least a sort -of military organisation. For that the Saxons had such is clear. They -had learned from the Romans indirectly if not directly; and there is a -distinct trace of Roman influence in the way they arranged a battle. -This applies still more to their fighting organisation after they had -conquered and subdued the effete defenders of Roman Britain, before the -Danes came. Though they, too, had succumbed to the enervating influence -of peace, they had established a genuine system which had in it the -elements of the army as it is, or at least some portion of it. For -the army of Saxon England was, in all essential respects, a militia; -that is to say, a body closely resembling the tribal array, but better -organised. Against these came the Danes, whose methods were those of -the early Saxons; that is to say, tribal leading under renowned chiefs. -But the stronger and more correct principles that underlay the Saxon -organisation triumphed in the end; and the raids of Danish hordes were -beaten in detail, and became absorbed in the Saxon stock, to revivify -and strengthen it. The Roman was an alien, and remained so; but both -Saxon and Dane had the same racial origin, became, finally, part of -the nation they had conquered, and were absorbed by it, to form the -English, when the still stronger tone that Norman soldiers gave--coming -also, be it remembered, from the same group of peoples--had borne fruit. - -The story of the Saxon conquest and of the Danish invasion contains few -points of military interest, though that period was the cradle in which -the future army was to be reared. Still there is one battle of that -time which should rank with the decisive battles of the English world, -for it stemmed the tide of Danish success, and led to the amalgamation -of the hostile sides against the next new comer. This turning-point -is the battle of Æscesdune, or Ashdown, fought most probably on the -Berkshire hills. - -The Saxon had retained, somewhat, the Roman fighting formation, as -they had utilised Roman villas in Britain, and altered them to suit -Saxon tastes. A spearman--one of the _hastati_, say, of a Roman -legion--required for the free use of his weapons a space of three clear -yards round the spot on which he stood;[1] and it is more than probable -that the later Saxons had adopted some of the Roman methods. The arms -varied little from those in use during the Roman invasion. The spear or -javelin and arrow showed no change; the sword was broad and two-edged, -with a heavy pommel; the favourite Saxon weapon, the axe, was either -double or single, like the Gallic _Francisca_.[2] The body armour and -head armour was of leather, strengthened in some cases with iron, and -the chief defence, the shield, was of wood with bosses or _umbos_ -of iron. Their skill with the latter, as tradition tells it, seems -fabulous: it is even stated that Harold, surrounded by ten archers, -was able, his back being protected by a tree, to intercept every shaft -aimed at him. Until later, both antagonists fought mainly on foot. - -[Illustration: _OUTLINE MAP of ENGLAND & WALES._] - -Turn then again to the battle of Ashdown, and let the Saxon chronicler, -Bishop Asher of Sherborne, tell the story of the last great Saxon -fight, but one, on English soil. The next was to show the descendants -of the combatants at Ashdown united against yet another invader--and -the last. “The Pagans, dividing themselves into two bodies of equal -strength, draw up their lines--for they had there two kings and -several jarls--and they give the central part of the army to the two -kings (Baegsaeg and Halfdene), and the rest to all the jarls (Fraena, -Hareld, and the two Sidrochs). When the Christians perceive this, -they, in the same manner, divide themselves into two bodies, and draw -themselves up with equal diligence. But Alfred comes more speedily -and readily with his men, as we have heard from trustworthy reporters -who saw it, and arrives at the place of battle; for his brother, -Ethelred the king, was still remaining in the tent in prayer, hearing -the Mass, and declaring that he would not depart thence alive before -the priest should end the Mass, nor would desert the divine service -for the human. And he did as he had said, which faith of the Christian -king availed greatly with the Lord, as in the sequel shall be fully -shown. The Christians, therefore, had decreed that Ethelred the king -with his own forces should fight against the two pagan kings; but -Alfred his brother with his companies would know how to try the chance -of war against all the leaders of the pagans. Thus strongly were they -placed on either side when the king was lingering long in prayer, and -the pagans were prepared and had hastened to the place of conflict. -Alfred then being second in command, when he could no longer endure -the ranks of the foe, except he either retreated from the fight, or -dashed forward against the hostile forces before his brother’s arrival, -at last boldly, after the manner of a wild boar, guided the Christian -forces against the foe as had been determined, though still the king -had not come. Thus relying on the guidance of God, and supported by His -help, with the lines drawn up closely, he moves forward the standard -with speed against the enemy. But to those who know not the place it -must be explained that the site of the battle was unequal for the -belligerents, for the pagans had occupied beforehand a higher position; -but the Christians drew up their lines from a lower place. There was -also, in the same place, a single thorn-tree of very small size, which -we ourselves have seen with our own eyes. Around this, therefore, the -hostile armies, all with a great shout, meet together in conflict, the -one acting most wickedly, the other to fight for life and friends and -country. And when they fought for some time, fiercely and very cruelly -on both sides, the pagans, by the divine judgment, could endure the -attack of the Christians no longer; and the chief part of their forces -being slain, they took to flight disgracefully. And in this place one -of the two pagan kings and five jarls were slain; and many thousands -on the pagan side, both in that place and along the whole breadth of -the plain of Æscesdune, where they had been everywhere scattered, were -slain far and wide. For there fell their king Baegsaeg and Jarl Sidroc -the elder and Jarl Sidroc the younger, and Jarl Obsbern, and Jarl -Fraena, and Jarl Hareld; and the whole army of the pagans was put to -flight till the night, and even to the following day, until those who -escaped arrived at the citadel, for the Christians pursued them until -night and overthrew them everywhere.” “Never before or since,” says a -Saxon writer later on, “was ever such slaughter known, since the Saxons -first gained England by their armies.” All the next day the rout was -followed up, until the shattered remnants gained the shelter of their -fort. Whether it was absolutely abandoned by the Danes after their -defeat is doubtful; but it is recorded that fourteen days later Alfred -and Ethelred suffered a reverse at Basing, which shows, at anyrate, -that some portion of the enemy’s forces had retreated to the south. - -To meet the last invasion of foreign blood, the Anglo-Saxons had, by -that time, a military organisation which differed but little from the -hosts that William of Normandy brought against Harold the king at -Senlac. There had been much intercommunication between the British -Isles and the mainland. Both armies were armed and equipped in much -the same way. Their leaders wore the same kind of armour, and there -was little to distinguish between them, save that the Norman’s chief -strength was in his cavalry, that of Harold in his infantry. The Bayeux -Tapestry shows both Harold and William clad in the same attire. - -The Saxon fighting system at Hastings differed little from that of -the mercenaries of the most varied character that followed the banner -of the Conqueror, except that on Harold’s side there was union of -men, then of the same nationality to a great degree, against a mere -collection of adventurers. As to the political situation there is -little to be said. The true history of the eleventh century is -still, and ever will be, unwritten; the most reliable account is -after all largely, if not entirely, traditional. It is poetical -rather than actual. It is based on “hearsay” rather than fact. Yet, -notwithstanding, before real recorded history was, tradition had to -take its place, and this is what it and legend have to say of that -great conflict which destroyed Saxondom in Britain, and which placed -William the Norman on the English throne as king. - -[Illustration: _Battle of Hastings._ - -_14^{th}. Oct. 1066._] - -This, then, is what the fighting seems to have been. Curiously enough, -Harold selected the defensive, as did Wellington, as a rule, seven -hundred and fifty years after, and fought on foot while fortifying -his front with palisades; while the Normans attacked in a series of -lines, much as was done by British troops before the introduction of -the breech-loader led to the abandonment of “linear” tactics. The last -of the Saxon kings had chosen for his stand for crown and kingdom the -hill where Battle is now built; but there was one vast difference -between the opposing leaders. On the one side the Saxons feasted and -made merry, though there is little evidence that Harold made any effort -to rouse the enthusiasm of his men as his adversary did. In the Saxon -camp there was wine and wassail, and in that of William penitence and -prayer. William knew the guiding spirit of the art of war of the time, -the infusing into his host that religious fervour which later on made -Cromwell defeat Royalists as physically brave as his own Ironsides, and -the instilling in their minds confidence in their own powers, which has -been at the base of every English victory since then. The Saxons were -“slow to find out they were beaten”;[3] but the Norman enthusiasm was -raised by the duke’s address on the morning of the fight, in which he -recalled to their minds that the Normans “had won their land in Gaul -with their own swords; how they had given lands to the kings of the -Franks and conquered all their enemies everywhere; while the English -had never been famed in war, the Danes having conquered them and taken -their land whenever they would.” - -All this may be fable, and probably is, but what we know of William -tends to show it was likely. Even omens he turned to advantage. He -fell on landing, but, rising with his hands full of English soil, he -exclaimed, “What is the matter? I have thus taken seisin of this land, -and so far as it reaches, by the splendour of God, it is yours and -mine.” He put on his mailed shirt back in front, only to laughingly -exclaim, as he reversed it, “A good sign and a lucky one: a duke shall -this day be turned into a king.” - -All this evidences genius for war such as Harold never had. His bravery -is undoubted, but mere bravery counts little against bravery _plus_ -skill. So it was that, armed with sword and priest-blessed relics, -protected by the “consecrated” banner of Pope Alexander, and bearing -on his finger a ring set “with one of St. Peter’s hairs,” William went -into battle with not merely an army of sixty thousand men, to whom -success meant profit, but to whom death meant falling in a holy cause, -and to whom the very battle itself was a crusade. Everything was in his -favour, when, singing the battle hymn of Roland, he moved his three -lines against the hill on which Harold’s royal standard was planted. - -The details of the battle are of little interest. It was one of -hand-to-hand fighting. “The English axe, in the hand of King Harold, -or any other strong man, cut down the horse and his rider by a single -blow.” - -The personal element entered largely, as it did later, into the -contest. The fall of the leader led to the fall of the army. Where -Harold was, where his standard flew, there was the “tactical key” of -the field of battle. True tactics do not depend on the death of the -king, or the capture of so many yards of silk embroidery. But true -tactics, rightly understood, were not in these days. - -The duke formed his army in two wings and a centre, each of which seems -to have advanced covered by archers, supported by heavy infantry, and -strengthened by the main arm of battle, then the mailed cavalry. The -left wing, composed of men from Ponthieu, Maine, and Brittany, was led -by Alan; the right, adventurers from Picardy and France, was directed -by Roger de Montgomery; and the centre, comprising the flower of the -Norman host, was commanded by William himself. - -The bowmen covered the advance by arrow fire, and seemed to have -produced little effect; but towards the end of the day they, possibly -and apparently from the flanks,[4] poured in a vertical fire, and so -covered, without interfering with, the attack of the main bodies, and -it was from this, in a sense, long-ranged fire that Harold received the -wound that disabled him, caused his death and the ruin of the Saxon -cause. - -Whether the statement that William, by a feigned retreat, drew the -Saxons from their entrenchments in pursuit and then turned on them with -success, is true or not, may be open to doubt. Harold’s tactics and his -method of entrenchment all point rather to passive than active defence. -His best armed and best equipped men were in the centre, round his -royal standard, armed with javelin, axe, and sword, and covered close -by the large Saxon shield; on his flanks were the less reliable and -poorly armed “ceorls,” who could not be trusted to meet the main brunt -of battle. It is quite possible, however, that these less disciplined -troops may have been decoyed into a pursuit which was counter attacked -by the cavalry, and thus the flank was turned, and with it the line of -obstacles along the front, whatever they might have been. - -Be that as it may, it is most likely that the traditional termination -of the battle is in the main correct, and that William, by his “high -angle” fire of arrows, was able to “search” the ground behind the -stockade, and that the last Saxon king received his death-wound in the -eye from one of these missiles. It would have been better strategy on -his part to have fought a merely rearguard action at Hastings, and, -falling back, have both weakened his adversary by the guards he must -have left on the coast, and increased his own power of resistance -by the aid of the reinforcements that were coming up. So night went -down on the bloody field of Senlac, where Harold lay dead with fifteen -thousand Normans and “threescore thousand Englishmen,” though the -latter statement is, on the face of it, exaggeration. But the fight -had broken the Saxon power, and the Conqueror--as William of Poictiers -says--refused his royal brother burial, swearing “that he guarded -the coast while he was alive, let him thus continue to guard it -after death.” None the less, it is believed he was buried eventually -at Waltham, and William the duke passed on to cross the Thames at -Wallingford, seized London, and become William the king. - -With Senlac perished the militia system of the Saxon rulers of England. -The new-comers had brought with them the elements, though not the -completion, of the feudal system that was to follow and be the outcome -of the Norman Conquest. As a matter of fact, the invading army that -William led was only after all a gathering of armed men under leaders -of sorts. Its very origin prevented the full organisation which means -a real or regular army. Mercenaries, men who had never before the -war met the chiefs who were to lead them, in rare cases religious -enthusiasts, who believed that the cause of the Pope and the Normans -was the cause of God, mere soldiers of fortune, who thought from the -fair English land they might obtain fortune even more than fame;--these -were the men who were to break up the Saxon kingdom, still existent -more or less, and were to weld into one homogeneous whole the English -race. Never has the end better justified the means. Never have the -means themselves in 1066 been more ignoble. The Norman host as men had -scarcely a redeeming feature. To count descent from them, is to count -often enough from the meanest social ancestry, though age has made -it venerable and respected. Some of the noblest of English families -trace, or rather claim, descent from men of the lowest origin, who rose -from such a place as that of “Hugo the Dapifer,” to be the rulers of -England and replace Saxon jarls whose descent was more distinct, and -on whom the Norman parvenu looked down. It cannot be too definitely -expressed that to “have come in with the Conquest” is only a confession -that those who use the expression are ignoring the fact that many a -Saxon thane could show a family title far deeper set in the history of -England than any of the men who usurped and trampled on those whose -pedigree went back to the days of Æscesdune, before the soldiers -of fortune of the Duke of Normandy had emerged from their original -obscurity. - -[Illustration: _Battle of Hastings_ (_From Bayeux Tapestry_).] - -None the less the new invaders were “men,” and had a “man” to govern -them, while William, the king by right of everything that in those days -made kingcraft, ruled. - -“Stark was he,” says the English Chronicler, “to men that withstood -him; none dared resist his will. Earls that did aught against his -bidding he cast into bonds; bishops he stripped of their bishopricks -and abbots of their abbacies. But stern as his rule was, it gave peace -unto the land.” - -This was William. “Out of the strong cometh forth sweetness,” out of -the horrors that followed the Norman Conquest came the English people, -and, as time went on, that army which has mostly conquered, often -suffered, and generally met disaster with a bold front. And so the new, -or rather the last successful invaders seized the fair isle of Britain, -added their names to old place-names of Celtic or Saxon origin as an -affix, converting, for example, the “town by the water” of Ashton into -“Ashton Tyrrold,” and, holding the richest lands as their own appanage, -raised the massive frowning towers of Norman castles at all important -strategic points throughout the country, marking their conquest as by -a sign-manual that they held the land, as they had gained it, by the -sword. - -Notwithstanding that the Norman had many friends in England, it was -long before the whole country was subdued. There was fighting in the -north of England and on the marches of Wales; there was prolonged -resistance by Hereward in the Fenland and central forests, until, in -1071, the “Wake” surrendered, and became the “king’s man.” There was -much still to settle, and William settled them in his own stern way. -So much so that his own often parvenu barons revolted, and for many -a century rebelled against the royal authority, which, backed by the -clergy and English, won in the end. Ralf Guader was quieted in 1074, -and Robert of Bellème, with Robert Mowbray and Prince Robert, were -beaten in 1078. Similarly, when Rufus reigned, the same Robert Mowbray, -with Odo of Bayeux and others, held their castles as rebels until they -were stormed in 1095. - -The Celts of both Wales and Scotland proved troublesome, so to hold the -latter frowning Norman castles were erected at each end of the neck -between North Britain and England at Carlisle and Newcastle, while the -former were shut in by a chain of similar fortresses from Cheshire to -the Severn valley, along which hostilities continued for many a year, -to the territorial aggrandisement of the defenders of the “Marches.” - -Henry I.’s marriage, uniting the old royal race with the new, much -pacified matters, or at anyrate gave the king still more aid from the -English people as distinct from the Norman barons. Again Robert of -Bellème on the Welsh border revolted, but was driven into exile by the -sovereign: in the claim of Robert to the throne, Englishmen sided with -Henry, and for the first time served abroad to defeat the pretender at -Tenchebrai. But Henry left no male successor, and Matilda his daughter -was distasteful to the barons, who chose Stephen, grandson of the -Conqueror, as king. This created two factions--that of Stephen and that -of Matilda, the first of the great Civil Wars (for now the “English” -counted for much more than heretofore), and the king, unlike his -predecessors, unwisely allowing the barons to build castles on their -own lands, paid for his over-confidence. For Matilda’s party, led first -by the Earl of Gloucester, formed in the west of England, assisted by -David King of Scots in the north. Stephen advanced against the latter, -defeating the former at Northallerton, and after many vicissitudes on -both sides, the war ceased by the retirement of Matilda to Normandy. - -So in anarchy and suffering--suffering so great that it was said “that -God and His saints were asleep,” so terrible were the wrongs done in -the land--the Norman power as such ceased to be, and Plantagenet kings -(no longer Norman but English) reigned over the realm for more than -three hundred years. - -Out of that time grew up the system of feudal levies, that is, of men -who served as the personal retainers of some baron or overlord, and -who fought therefore no longer as freemen, fighting freely in their -country’s wars. Military service long remained personal rather than -national. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE ARMY OF THE NOBLES--TO 1500 - - -With the rise of feudalism arose a further expansion of the principle -of subdivision of command, though in its earliest days it degraded -fighting to the mere personal prowess of the individual, and tactics as -an art of war consequently made little, if any progress. Armies were -built up much as before, and were still in many respects a species of -militia. The knightly tenure was one of personal service for variable -periods,--generally of about forty days,--during which the knight -received no pay, and beyond which the king or overlord was supposed to -defray the cost, and too frequently didn’t. - -Sometimes he compounded for service by a money payment to the king, -which enabled the latter to pay others to do his work; this indirectly -leading to the mercenary soldier, or one who serves for pay. Throughout -all the feudal times armies for foreign service therefore had to be -paid, as campaigns could never be concluded within the period of free -service. Hence they were composed partly of feudal retainers, partly -of forced levies or mercenaries raised by some knight or gentleman, -expert in war, to serve the king at a fixed rate of pay, which was -often higher than that of a day labourer at home, with the prospect of -adventure and booty. There seems to have been little difficulty in thus -raising recruits. The money for this, which was paid in advance, was -raised from the royal revenues, crown funds, fines, or parliamentary -grants. These armies were disbanded, therefore, directly the war ceased. - -It is calculated that this system produced a levy of about 60,000 -knights and men-at-arms, and the country was divided into areas or -“knights’ fees,” each of which provided one armed man. - -The main “arm” in battle was the mailed cavalry, and infantry was -long thought little of; but in England speedily grew up the steady -and trustworthy bowmen, the foundation of that infantry which has -carried the national flag to victory in every part of the world, and -which had no counterpart in those days in foreign armies, such as -France, where the footmen were, till much later, merely armed serfs -or dependants, armed indifferently, and treated with contumely. In -England it was otherwise. There were both greater freedom, and better, -because more independent men. The trust that successive governments -had in the people is best evidenced by the fact that all classes were -armed. As far back as the reign of Henry II. it had been enacted that -every man should possess at least a bow, and it is said that a good -bowman could fire twelve shots a minute at two hundred and forty yards. -Archery and archers were encouraged on the one side of the Channel, -and on the other looked upon with contempt. Nowhere is the difference -between the English and foreign footmen better shown than at Crecy -and Poitiers; and the former is a type of the fighting of the period -immediately before the active employment of gunpowder. The political -events which brought about the battle need not be detailed here: it -will be sufficient to bear in mind that the “Hundred Years’ War” with -France commenced by the claim of Edward III. to the throne of France, -and the corresponding effort on the part of Philip to possess Guienne, -which the King of England held in fief as Duke of Aquitaine, one of -the six “peers of France.” After sundry fruitless expeditions, Edward -landed at St. Vaart on the 11th October, with an army composed of 4000 -men-at-arms, 10,000 bowmen, 12,000 Welshmen, and 6000 Irishmen, and one -of his first acts was to bestow on his gallant son, the Black Prince, -the honour of knighthood.[5] - -It is interesting to notice how even at this date footmen and infantry -formed an important part of the British army, which, after advancing -almost to the gates of Paris, was compelled to fall back to the coast -for many reasons, among which want of supplies predominated, and -finally, after a brilliant skirmish in crossing the Somme, took up -a position at Crecy-en-Ponthieu--whence, even if defeated, it had a -secure retreat through Flanders--there to give battle to the French. -When day dawned on the 26th August 1346, the battle was formed on the -slopes of the Vallé des Clercs, with the right flank resting on the -village of Crecy, situated _à cheval_ the river Maye, a shallow stream -some ten feet broad. The left flank was protected somewhat by a belt -of trees near Wadicourt, and the position--about a mile long--faced -south-east, and was held in three bodies; the first, on the right, -under the Prince of Wales, with Lords Warwick and Oxford, was composed -of 800 men-at-arms, 1000 Welsh infantry, and 200 archers, with 2000 -Welsh and Irish infantry in support;[6] the second, on the left, -commanded by the Earls of Arundel, Northampton, and Willoughby, with -Lords Basset and Ross, contained 800 men of all arms; while in rear -of the right wing was the reserve, 1700 men-at-arms and 2000 archers, -commanded by the king in person. - -The baggage was securely packed in a wood in rear of all. Each of the -wings was arranged with archers “formed in the manner of a portcullis -or barrow,” and the men-at-arms dismounted. The king utilised the -steadiness of the dismounted men-at-arms to resist the charge of the -enemy’s cavalry, while shaking and demoralising him in his advance by -fire. It was not unlike the “Battaglia” of the civil war in principle, -which were composed of “pikes” in the mass and “shot” at the angles. -The longbow was no bad weapon as time went. It could range four hundred -yards, was silent, and rapid to shoot, and, like modern smokeless -powder, did not obscure the field of view. There is little doubt that -the real formation was that of a line of men-at-arms, flanked by two -wings of archers, thrown forward, and with a central body of archers -forming a “herse” by the meeting of the inner wings.[7] Cannon, in the -shape of six small pieces slung to a beam, and called “brakes,” were -used for the first time, and both entrenchments and abattis seem to -have been made along the front. - -Philip himself, with an army estimated at as much as 120,000 men, was -meanwhile advancing from Abbeville with 15,000 Genoese crossbowmen, -forming an advanced guard, led by Antonio Doria and Carlo Grimaldi, -followed by 4000 men-at-arms and foot soldiers under the Dukes of -Alençon and Flandres, behind which came the remainder of the army in -four lines, under the command of the king. The march was disordered -and confused. “There is no man,” writes Froissart, “unless he had been -present, that can imagine or describe truly the confusion of the day.” -It was a case again of “those behind cried Forward, and those in front -cried Back”; and while the masses surged backward and forward, under -contradictory orders and want of plan, a gathering thunderstorm burst -with peals of heaven’s artillery, and the driving rain lasted long -enough to wet the bowstrings of the crossbowmen and render them of -little use. The superiority of the longbow was fully shown then, for -the English were able to keep the bows cased and the strings dry until -the moment for their use came. And come it did; for the sunshine again -broke through the clouds, and now full in the faces of the French. -Other omens too were there, which in days of superstition helped to -raise the courage of one side and depress that of the other; for over -the French early gathered great flocks of ravens, which “was deemed,” -so writes De Mezeray, “a presage of their defeat.” - -When, therefore, the Genoese were ordered to attack, they did little -execution, and under a fire of clothyard shafts so heavy that “it -seemed as if it snowed,” they fell back in panic and disorder. Whether -Edward’s artillery had any real effect is doubtful, but the noise of -the new weapon, probably firing stone shot, may have tended to add -to the _débâcle_, even if the actual loss it caused was small. The -Genoese were between two fires. In front were still the English line, -cool on the defensive, as they have always been; behind was Alençon’s -cavalry, who cared but little--in that chivalric age--for mere men on -foot. “Kill me those scoundrels,” said Philip, “for they block up our -road without any reason. “Truly,” also answered D’Alençon, “a man is -well at ease to be charged with these kind of rascals who are faint, -and fail us now when most at need;” so through the flying men rode the -French knights, whilst over the disordered crowd still fell the heavy -rain of English arrows. To add to the confusion, too, the Irish and -Welsh infantry, though they were of little value apparently otherwise, -joined in the mêlée, to slay with their long knives the dismounted -knights, whether wounded or not, “nor was any quarter given that day by -the victors.” - -But when the French cavalry had cleared a way to the English line, -they were a mere crowd, and the Black Prince advanced his line to -counter attack. But there was no lack of bravery in his antagonists. -They fought brilliantly and well, and so far succeeded as to place the -prince’s command in some danger. And while the French knights assailed -the flanks of the English right wing, a sharp attack was made by -some German and Savoyard cavalry which broke through the bowmen, and -even engaged the men-at-arms in rear. To his aid, therefore, pressed -Arundel’s left wing, and soon the French second line also fell back -routed, leaving its chief behind dead. It was too late to retrieve -the disaster, and it is somewhat pitiful to read how at that moment -the poor old blind King of Bohemia turned to those around him to say, -“Sirs, ye are my men, my friends and companions, I require you to lead -me so far forward that I may strike one stroke with my sword.” Verily -there were men in those days, and two knights did not fear to humour -him; so, tying their reins to his, they led him into the thick of the -fight, where, seeking death, the king “struck a stroke with his sword, -yea, and more than four, and fought valiantly, and so did all his -company; but they adventured so far forward that they were all slain, -and the next day were found in the place about the king, with their -horses tied to each other.” His was a valiant death, and though his -son, the King of the Romans, had fled, with him fell the flower of the -French army, the King of Majorca, the Duke of Lorraine, the Count of -Flanders, the Count of Blois, eight other counts, two archbishops, 1200 -knights, and 30,000 men. The loss on the English side is not recorded, -but was probably small, and the battle was won chiefly by the fire of -infantry,--in this case, arrow-fire,--as modern battles are mainly -decided by the bullet. - -Among the spoil of eighty banners was captured the banner of the King -of Bohemia, charged with three ostrich feathers, and the motto “Ich -Dien,” though the statement that the Black Prince thereupon adopted -them for his crest and motto is probably mythical, as many such stories -are. - -Philip seems to have been stunned by the disaster, and long refused -to leave the field. When late that night he reached the castle of La -Broyes, he had with him, of all his armed host, but Sir John Heynault -and five barons. On the other hand, Edward had the joy of embracing his -victorious son, with the words, “Persevere in your honourable career. -You are indeed my son, for valiantly have you acquitted yourself this -day, and shown yourself worthy of empire.” - -When the sound of conflict ceased, even Edward did not then know the -magnitude of the victory he had gained. And the night passed without -festivity, while the king himself “made frequent thanksgiving to the -Lord.” - -The battle of Crecy is a marked stage in the history of our own army, -for it shows clearly the value of the English infantry of the past, -the importance of infantry fire, and the dawn of the employment of -artillery. But by other nations and in other parts of the world, too, -had the value of resolute infantry been recognised, except in France. -The age of chivalry--so called--had increased, and fostered the use -of body armour. Its very dead weight literally and metaphorically -prevented the growth of tactics. There was no real organisation in -the crusading hosts; they were but gatherings of armed men such as -William led at Hastings, and battles were but a series of incidents -of rivalry between leading or ambitious chiefs. The age of chivalry -was an age of vanity, both of deeds and of iron clothes. Magnificent -was the armour of the knight; magnificent, too, his inordinate desire -to be noticed! These were not the days of personal interviews, daily -papers, or self-advertisement; but Sir Galahad, going from tournament -to tournament to show he was a stronger man, or with a Christian -desire to hurt somebody, did his best in that line none the less! The -Irishman who drags his coat along the ground at a fair--another sort -of tournament--in the hope that somebody will tread on the tail of it, -differs little from the challenger at Ashby de la Zouche. There was the -same human nature at the bottom of both--each was spoiling for a fight! -Still the spirit of the time sensibly increased the military spirit. -To individual prowess was open the tournament where doughty deeds, or -what were considered such, met with immediate reward and encouragement. -No better school for mediæval war ever existed than that in which men -learned to fight under the personal criticism of women. Vanity, pride, -love were all brought to play in these contests, and poetry spread far -and wide through the songs of the troubadour the deeds of the valiant, -the defeats of the weaker-- - - “Throngs of knights and barons bold, - In weeds of peace high triumph hold, - With store of ladies, whose bright eyes - Rain influence, and judge the prize - Of wit, or arms, while both contend - To win her grace whom all commend.” - -War was for long the only career open to men who did not care to -don the cowl of the monk. It, therefore, in the Middle Ages, was -essentially the one pursuit of the gentle born. It tended in a brutal -time to lessen some of the evils of war, which “is a barbarism which -civilisation only intensifies.” “_Væ victis_” was softened by the -feeling that the conquered opponent could be held to ransom and treated -gently. The very training of the knights combined the religious, the -romantic and combatant elements. The right of conferring it from time -to time varied. Before 1102 abbots of the Church had the power to -bestow the golden spurs. Hereward the Wake received his knighthood from -the Abbot of Crowland. But later on, only bishops, princes, or knights -themselves were permitted to bestow the honour, and, with them all, -great care was exercised that the recipient should be worthy thereof. -Considering the value of money in those days, the costs were heavy, the -robes alone amounting to £33. The golden collar of SS. or Esses, part -of the knightly decoration, must have been costly. Its origin is very -doubtful. Whether from “Souveraine,” from “Sanctus Simo Simplicius” (an -eminent Roman lawyer) or in compliment to the Countess of Salisbury, -has not yet been determined. - -The knightly duty was laid down with exactness, though probably few -carried out all the wholesome rules in their entirety. “They must learn -from the beginning to labour, run, carry weights, and bear the sun and -dust; to use sparing and rustic food, sometimes to live in the open -air and sometimes in tents; then to practise the use of arms.” The -“true merit of a knight is correctly stated by the Troubadour Arnaud -de Marveil.” It is “to fight well, to conduct a troop well, to do his -exercise well, to be well armed, to ride his horse well, to present -himself with a good grace at courts, and to render himself agreeable -there. Seldom are these qualities in the same person. To unite martial -habits and vigour with the courteous elegancies of polished life, could -not be often accomplished in a half-civilised age.” - -His oath declared his duty to be “To defend the Church, to attack -the perfidious, to venerate the priesthood, to repel the injuries -of the poor, to keep the country quiet, and to shed his blood, and -if necessary to lose his life, for his brethren.” But if his duties -were grave, his privileges were great. Knights were freed from all -“gelds” and taxes and from all other services and burthens by Henry -I., in order “that being so alleviated, they may instruct themselves -in the use of horses and arms, and be apt and ready for my service and -the defence of my kingdom.” Salisbury also mentions that knighthood -“rejoices in many immunities and more eminent privileges, and has not -to provide horses, carriages, and other sordid burthens.” Yet another -advantage, of doubtful value perhaps, was that of being rated at a high -value when taken prisoner in war. His ransom, always higher than a less -titled personage, sometimes amounted to ten thousand crowns, but if of -higher value than that, the captor was obliged to surrender him to the -king. Those who were knighted for valour on the field of battle were -empowered to use the square instead of the swallow-tailed pennon, as -knights banneret, and had the privilege of a war-cry. From this came -the mottoes of the modern “coats of arms.” - -The history of knighthood is a part, and a very important part too, -of the history of arms. To its institution can be traced many of the -decorations and forms of the arms and armour of the Middle Ages. The -honours it offered were so great and highly prized, that it increased -martial enthusiasm and encouraged military exercises; and the part -taken by women in rewarding the exertions of the knights both in the -tournament and in battle, exercised an enormous influence over the -warlike portion of mankind. Where the prizes were so great, attention -to arms of offence and armour of defence became natural and right. The -chivalric feeling engendered by knighthood and knightly exercises was -not confined to joust and tournament in times of peace. It was a useful -and valuable adjunct to personal bravery in war. “Oh that my lady could -see me now!” said a knight as he successfully led his men to the storm -of a well defended breach. The spirit thus aroused was due to the -knightly customs of the times. - -But this “chivalrous” and in a wide sense “cowardly” system was to -receive two rude shocks. The first came from the Swiss mountaineers, -who with the pike grievously routed the gorgeous knighthood of Charles -of Burgundy, and the second from the results of the brain-thought of -the peaceful chemist who rediscovered gunpowder. - -That cavalry were useless against determined infantry was a new and -lurid light to the iron-coated feudalist, and led to a considerable -increase of foot-soldiers and the use of the half pike. As the -firearms improved, so the unhappy knight tried to meet the bullet by -thickening his armour of proof, until on foot he was helpless, and -mounted not much better. - -[Illustration: _Complete Plate (Circa 1500)._] - -Armour, therefore, had much changed since the Conquest, and was still -changing. The Norman knight was chiefly clad in mail, composed at -first of rings sewn side by side on quilted cotton or leather, rings -overlapping (jazerant), scales overlapping (lorica), or square plates -overlapping (tegulated); to be followed by rings set edgewise (as -single mail); and finally regular double mail extending over the head -and entire body. Over the mail coif was worn a conical helmet with a -“nasal” or nose-piece, followed by a cylindrical flat-topped helmet -over the coif; and finally the latter was replaced by a round topped -helmet from which depended a mail cape or _camail_. Similarly as iron -replaced mail for the headpiece, so were knee-pieces, elbow-guards and -neck-guards of plate added. The foot-soldier wore an iron headpiece, -and now and then a back and breast plate, but he was generally badly -provided with defensive armour, and relied on the leather “buff” coat -or clothing of quilted cloth. But the armour from the end of the -fourteenth century to the beginning of the sixteenth century became -more and more massive. At first mixed armour,--mail and plate,--then -plate armour chiefly. In the former period more and more pieces of -iron plate were used to cover weak parts, such as knees, elbows and -shoulders, cuirasses, leg-pieces, thigh-pieces, gorgets (for the -neck), shoes (_sollerettes_), and gauntlets for the hands, appear -successively, until the only mail armour was that hung from the waist -in front, between the plate _cuisses_ that protected the outer part of -the thighs. The helmet or headpiece also became gradually closer, with -a visor that could be opened or closed at will, until it completely -covered the face, so that by the fifteenth century, the whole of the -armour was practically plate. Underneath the armour was generally worn -a leather suit, and over it the “tabard,” which not only bore the -wearer’s coat of arms, but protected him from the sun. Arms remained -much the same--sword, lance and dagger chiefly for the mounted man, -with at times the axe and mill-pick; on foot the two-handed sword, -with halberts and partisans of various types, such as the glaive or -byl, together with sword or dagger. The missile weapons, the longbow -and crossbow, were still common, though giving way slowly but surely to -the firearm; and the former was long more formidable than the latter. -It could be discharged much more quickly, it was less liable to get -out of order, it did not require heavy stores of powder and shot. The -arrow missiles were twofold in character. “Flight” arrows had both -heads and feathers small, and were used for ranges up to two hundred -and forty yards. “Sheaf” arrows were shorter in the shaft, were heavily -feathered and pointed, and were intended for close range. Even when -this ammunition was expended, there was no lack of similar missiles to -be found, either in the bodies of the slain or sticking in the ground. -Moreover, the flight of the clothyard projectile could be directed over -the heads of the men fighting in first line, and reach therefore the -reinforcements hurrying up in rear. Still the firearm slowly gained -ground, and the extensive use of body armour practically lasted until -the end of the sixteenth century, though by that time leg-armour was -generally falling into disuse. - -During this same period there was a corresponding growth, in addition -to the increasing appreciation of infantry already referred to, of -permanently organised armies. Their origin as “Free Companies” from -the twelfth to the fourteenth centuries was probably largely due to -the constant state of war and political contests that characterised -the time. A numerous soldiery, disbanded after the termination of -a campaign, were only too eager for further employment, however -hazardous. Their mode of life had destroyed their peaceful instincts, -and so as paid soldiers they served under the banner of any of the -unscrupulous leaders, often of noble birth, that such a condition of -affairs was likely to force to the front. Thus arose the mercenary -soldier, the forerunner of the paid soldier; and from the continuous -training the former perforce received also came the permanently -embodied armies of later days. The system insensibly influenced the -feudal levies, for among them served many others besides knights who -made a profession of arms. Finally, the practical value of a permanent -force was recognised in France, when “Compagnies d’ordonnance” were -raised by paid officers and composed of paid men. So things and matters -went, until the first of the great civil wars brought into the field -English armies that fairly typify the final development of the feudal -system that had been growing up. It differed much from what obtained -elsewhere still. There were but few mercenaries in England, at least -of foreign origin. The native independence of character had produced -a splendid infantry as times were. And with the Wars of the Roses -terminated mediæval tactics and its warfare, as with them finally came -in the dire foe to feudal knight and iron-clad noble, that “villainous -saltpetre” which was to revolutionise war and abolish armour altogether. - -So when, on the 13th October 1453, a prince, Edward, was born to the -feeble Henry VI. of Lancaster, the hope Edward of York cherished of -peacefully succeeding to the throne was rudely destroyed. Before him -lay the chance of a long minority under an imperious queen, Margaret -of Anjou, a prospect that pleased neither the duke nor the people. -Many who would have otherwise lived and died peaceful, unwarlike, -citizens sided, half in apprehension, half in sympathy, with the -“White Rose,” a feeling which acquired political importance by the -temporary appointment of the Duke of York as Protector during the -king’s mental feebleness and his son’s minority. “This Richard of York -was a personage to be reckoned with.” And political excitement was soon -followed by a political badge, as in later days the primrose became a -party emblem. In the gardens of the Temple--so tradition has it--the -white and red roses were plucked and worn by the spectators, the -latter by those who followed the reigning house of Lancaster; and from -this small beginning, from this outward and visible sign of internal -disagreement, sprang an internecine contest that lasted for thirty -years, brought about on English soil twelve pitched battles, more than -decimated both branches of the royal family, all the noble houses, and -for savage rancour and hideous cruelty is unequalled in the world’s -history. Yet it is not a war as modern military historians would class -it: there was little method, no “plan of campaign,” worthy the name. -Where “armies”--or rather, bodies of armed men--gathered together, -there a similar body went to fight them like two pugnacious cocks in a -farmyard. - -Not that Richard of York began with any certain idea of kingship, -though his son, afterwards to be Edward IV., was less scrupulous. -After the first battle of St. Albans,[8] matters went quite mildly -to begin with. Henry VI. was made prisoner, but was treated with -courtesy, and but for his determined queen, whose influence on his -weak character was as that of Jezebel on Ahab, the end of his reign -may yet have been peace. She was naturally despotic, and a conspiracy -to seize the Yorkist leaders drove them again into open revolt, and -gave them a victory at Blackheath in 1459, but much panic and some -treachery led to the dispersion of the Yorkist soldiery at Ludlow the -next month; to be followed in February 1460 by a complete victory -at Northampton, in which Richard’s son Edward, Earl of March, with -Warwick the Kingmaker, led the hosts of the White Rose, and Henry -became a prisoner once more. This led to a second temporary compromise, -whereby the Yorkists were promised the succession on the death of King -Henry. But it availed little. The war-spirit and the blood feud were -aroused. Wakefield Green witnessed the defeat and death of Richard -of York, and the cruel murder of his twelve-years old son, Edmund of -Rutland, by Lord Clifford. The cruelties of the Lancastrian party, the -systematic pillaging which their soldiery--recruited often from the -ruder North--so often indulged in, alienated the sympathy of the London -men; while the more commercial spirit of Edward of York also tended -to strengthen the party of the White Rose, to keep alive and embitter -the strife, and postpone the long-looked-for peace. The country had -practically subdivided itself into geographical as well as political -factions. The North and Midlands sympathised with Henry, who had there -the support of the landowners, the nobles, and their retainers; the -south more or less with Edward, with whom the great towns, such as -London, Bristol, and Norwich sided. Hence, after the latter had been -proclaimed king, there was still a powerful army of some sixty thousand -Lancastrians at York that had to be dealt with. And dealt with it was, -by the new king and Warwick his Kingmaker, who at Towton won one of -the most decisive and bloody battles during the struggle, and drove -Margaret first to Scotland, and then to exile. Much as her character -may be disliked,--and she was after all only a type of the imperious -feudal “divinely-appointed” ruler,--her dauntless energy and courage -cannot but meet with sympathy. So exile meant with her but _reculer -pour sauter le mieux_, and in France such poor supplies as she could -raise enabled her to make one despairing effort for her son’s sake, and -she landed in Northumberland in 1462; but nothing came of it except -dispersion again and despair. Unhappy queen! unhappy more by her own -faults than aught else. The legal claim of her branch to the kingdom -was never seriously contested. Her method of asserting that claim _was_ -contested, and with results fatal to her and her line, together with -fateful results to her people. Commercial Edward was more likely to -develop English handicraft and English trade than pious Henry. As later -the divine right of Tudor, and still more of Stuart, had to give way -to the rising spirit of freedom from autocratic control, whether of -king or pope, so out of the Wars of the Roses began to sprout, from -the soil of feudalism, broken by many a sword, manured by the best of -English blood, the plant of English liberty. Yet one more great contest -between rulers and ruled, and that plant was to spring into full and -vigorous life, of which we now see the matured and widespreading tree. -The nation hardened under the troubles of that stormy time; and, -hardening, grew to stout manhood. In thinking this we see that Margaret -unknowingly helped to make it. For “God fulfils Himself in many ways”; -and by many means, often seemingly of the meanest, do great things -come. Not that Edward was faultless, it was rather the other way. His -private conduct was not beyond reproach; his marriage with Elizabeth -Woodville, and the rise of that lady’s family, alienated many of the -leading nobles, Warwick among the number. So the smouldering embers -of civil war broke out again into flame, and now Margaret had to help -her the mighty power of Warwick, with and by whose direction her next -descent on England was to be made. But this, too, availed nothing. -Though first so successful that Edward fled, later on, he too returned, -but, unlike Margaret, to conquer. For at Barnet the great earl fell, -and with him the last hope of Lancaster. - -This remarkable battle is instructive as showing how slow was the -change in tactics during feudal days. There was still the feeling of -personal chieftaincy, so strongly held, that the result of the battle -depended largely on the life of one of its leaders. With the death of -Warwick the battle became a rout, and the feudal retainers fled when -the head of their house fell. Again, to deal with the special political -details which brought about the great fight would be foreign to the -object of this book. The battle of Barnet must be taken as a type of -the progress, such as it was, that had been made in the art of war -since Crecy and Poitiers had been won. It began thus. Edward, after a -five months’ exile, had landed at Ravenspur, and by the time he reached -Nottingham he had raised an army of about ten thousand men, with, it -is said, three hundred Flemings armed with handguns, and apparently -some other artillery. On the other side, the Lancastrians, about equal -in strength, had also some artillery, and had taken up a position on -Gladmore, or Hadley Heath, north of Chipping Barnet, and awaited the -approach of the Yorkists. The night preceding the battle was dark and -gloomy, and the morning broke in heavy mists and rain; notwithstanding -which the troops engaged between four and five o’clock on the morning -of Easter Day, the 14th of April 1471. - -[Illustration: _Battle of Barnet (From a M. S. at Ghent)_] - -Warwick had at first his artillery on his extreme right, and this fired -through the gloom, but with no effect, as Edward’s right wing did not -extend so far, and was overlapped by the Lancastrians. This army was -commanded by the Earl of Oxford, who led the van, and by the Marquis -of Montagu, who led the second line; the left wing was commanded by -the Duke of Exeter--both wings being largely composed of cavalry. -The extreme left was occupied by archers and pikemen entrenched or -palisaded in a small wood. This probably extended at that time from -Wrotham Park to the column now marking the site of the battle, and near -which tradition says Warwick fell. The centre, consisting of bows and -pikes, was commanded by the Duke of Somerset; and behind this there -appears to have been a reserve under Lord St. John, Sir John Conyers, -and, for a time at least, Warwick himself. - -The order of march of the host was with the right wing leading and -the left closing the column of march. On the other side, Edward -from his initial dispositions similarly outflanked the left of his -antagonist, opposite which was the Duke of Gloucester commanding that -wing, and presumably the artillery, if any. The left wing was led by -the Marquis of Hastings; and, as in the Lancastrian army, both wings -were mainly composed of cavalry. In the centre were the Londoners, -infantry armed with bows and bills, and in general reserve was a force -commanded by Edward himself. Some writers speak as if the armies were -formed in three parallel lines, but it would seem that the formation -customary for long after Barnet was that of two wings and a centre. -It is impossible otherwise to account for the curiously isolated and -impulsive attacks on either side by Oxford and Gloucester. Still, it is -practically certain that each of the three bodies into which the army -was divided was more than one line deep. Thus from the outset these -dispositions show a tendency to employ infantry in battle with cavalry -and artillery on the flanks, but the feudal idea still preponderated, -and paramount importance was still attached to the mounted arm, which -on both sides, as in all cavalry actions, simultaneously took the -offensive. - -One point, however, is especially noteworthy, and that is, the -appearance of London citizens in Edward’s fighting line. Though not -strong in numbers, they none the less represented the beginning of a -new era, which was to see a citizen soldiery formed of London trained -bands even more important in the next civil war, and which was to find -its climax in the later citizen soldiery, the Volunteer Army of modern -England. The natural result of such a primary disposition of the troops -on either side was that the right wings of both armies, practically -equal in number, gained a temporary success. The battle began by -Oxford’s attack on the wing opposite him, which actually routed it and -dispersed it; but the value of a reserve in the hand of the general -was never more clearly evidenced than when, during Oxford’s absence -and ill-advised, because too prolonged pursuit, Edward launched his -reserve against Warwick’s then exposed flank and the left centre. To -the suddenness of the attack was added the demoralisation caused by -imagined treachery. On that misty Easter morning it was difficult to -distinguish between the badges and banners of one side and the other. -The dress was not a different-coloured uniform, as later on; it had -only the uniforms of iron and steel. A false war-cry was easily raised, -the Oxford banner with a “star” not readily distinguishable from that -of Edward with the “sun.” So that when Oxford returned to the fray, he -fell on his own centre and produced the cry of “Treachery!” which was -always likely to be raised in an army composed of selections from two -factions deadly hostile to one another, and in which the Lancastrians -especially looked with something more than doubt on their new friends, -once the followers of hated York. So that confusion began and spread. -Somerset did little, and soon the centre and right dissolved, and only -on the left assembled round Warwick the relics of the beaten host, and -defended the entrenched wood. Here it was essentially a foot encounter, -with London archers and bills against Lancastrian bows and pikes, aided -by dismounted cavalry and supported by mounted troops, threatening the -flanks and rear. It is said even that Edward’s artillery was brought up -close to aid in destroying the defences; but the defence only delayed -the inevitable end. The battle was lost already, but it wanted yet -one death to make it a type of the death of a system. When Warwick -dismounted of his own will, and after slaying his favourite charger, -so that no retreat should be possible, took up his position with his -friends and personal retainers in the wood at Wrotham, and fell there, -axe in hand, he did something more than destroy the last practical -hope of Lancaster, for with him fell the feudalism of which he was so -magnificent an exemplar. No such man or soldier was ever afterwards -to hold from his own remarkable personality such a position as his. -Cromwell’s resembles it only in his becoming a great and prominent -leader in a civil war. Warwick, and nobles such as he, fought as much -for their order as their king; all succeeding soldiers fought more for -a cause than either. - -Meanwhile, Margaret and her son had landed in the West at Plymouth, -to be present at the fatal fight at Tewkesbury where defeat was -followed by the death of her son, whom Edward struck before subservient -attendant lords and stabbed to death, the imprisonment of the queen, -and, later on, the death of Henry VI. in the Tower. Neither he nor all -the house of Lancaster had been able to save his order from decay. - -Edward, too, according to his views, had unconsciously aided its -downfall. His death was illumined only by the lurid light of an -ill-spent life. However enthusiastic in bygone years was the following -of the Earl of March, he played the game so badly that with him the -feudal spirit practically disappeared. No son of his succeeded. No -kindly thought clung round the last of the Yorkist line. For he was -practically the last, inasmuch as his son was king but in name, his -brother Richard but a transient star. When on Bosworth field Richard -III. died, with him finished the civil wars of mediæval England and the -feudalism that had accompanied them. In Henry VII., a personality of -no great merit, though he certainly instituted a nucleus of the future -army in raising the “Yeomen of the Guard,” fifty archers strong, was -united the two Roses; and then was born the nation that in the next -civil troubles laid the foundation as far as England is concerned of -modern life, modern armies, and modern war. - -Never had a class suffered so severely as that of the nobles in this -prolonged struggle. Many of the royal princes, half of the nobility and -gentry of England, and quite a hundred thousand men had fallen in the -great wars. At Barnet the loss was accentuated by Edward’s own orders. -So many of the leaders of the great houses had been killed, murdered, -or beheaded, that the very decimation of the aristocracy rendered the -growth of the middle class more easy, its fusion with the higher class, -as time went on and wealth increased, more possible. The knighthood of -men of low degree was rare in feudal days; the Tudors were to extend it -to the merchant princes who developed English commerce sword in hand, -and taught foreign nations the prowess of the English race. - -[Illustration: _Formation of Lines of Battle at Barnet 14^{th} April -1471._] - -But there is also a marked distinction between the conduct of the -battles of the houses of York and Lancaster, and those of the Stuarts -and the Parliament of England in the next civil war. Up to Bosworth, -armies raised at a convenient feudal centre advanced, when “mobilised,” -against another army collected in a similar way at another place -convenient for the faction to which it belonged. They met as soon as -they were ready. They selected no “position for defence,” a primary -tactical law for a weaker force, which by so doing enlisted on its side -the elements afforded by such a selection. This was chiefly due to -the fact that the bulk of each army was still cavalry, but the other -“arms” were increasing in number and value, though still not fully -appreciated by the mounted men. - -The two battles of St. Albans and the fight at Barnet fully show this. -In both of the former the combatants met _en plein face_. The one was -making for London, the other stopped him. In the second battle the -Lancastrians tried to check the opponent, and failed in preventing his -advance, both armies in which mounted troops predominated. There was -nothing but a mutual offensive, the system that was at the basis of -feudal tactics, and which crystallised in the personal battle between -knight and knight in the lists. Strategy in its best sense was not, -neither were tactics, for tactics mean the development of a means of -equalising the deficiency of one side in numbers, arms, or morale. - -So long as a battle depended on personal prowess, the personal fighting -power, or even the personal domestic influence of a leader, so long -were battles often a mere matter of chance. When Warwick fell, Barnet -was lost. The next civil war changed this: neither the death of -Falkland nor that of Carnarvon at Newbury affected the fight seriously -in one single degree. Finally, as a rule throughout all these days -armies moved in order to subsist, and supply trains were rare. Thus -true strategy was barely in existence yet, but shock tactics in battle -were just beginning to give way to the fire tactics of bow and musket. - -As regards supplies in the Wars of the Roses, it must be remembered -that, as in later times, notoriously in the Peninsula, when the armies -had at times to collect the enemy’s shot and bullets, the weapons of -either side were interchangeable. - -Doubtless at certain places--castles or fortresses--the actual -munitions were stored. To these the armies must have either -periodically gone to refit, or what answered to convoys, conveying -absolutely necessary warlike stores, must have been formed for the -specific purpose of replenishing the locally exhausted stores. All -that was really required for the purposes of such wars must have been -carried on the persons of the combatants, as seems generally to have -been the case, or even on pack animals or country carts. The state -of the roads and both their poverty and paucity must have rendered -regular organised supply trains impracticable. Similarly as regards -food supplies little could have been carried. Like the French about -1811 and 1812, necessity must have rendered the soldiers hardy and -self-dependent, though of course at the cost of the civil population. -Thus it is said of the French troops in 1811 that they “were trained -to reap the standing corn, and grind it by portable mills into flour; -if green, they mowed it down with equal dexterity for their horses; -if reaped (and hidden away by the inhabitants), they forced it from -the peasants’ place of concealment, by placing the bayonet to their -throats.” And Wellington himself writes, that “the French armies in -Spain have never had any secure communications beyond the ground which -they occupy; and provided the enemy opposed to them is not too strong -for them, they are indifferent in respect to the quarter from which -their operations are directed, or upon which side they carry them on.” - -And, later, the French “live by the authorised and regular plunder -of the country if any should remain; they suffer labour, hardships, -and privations every day; they go on without pay, provisions, money, -or anything, but they lose in consequence half their army in every -campaign.” This accounts for the enormous losses of the rank and file -in the early days of the nineteenth century, while the losses in the -fifteenth century, with little or no medical or surgical knowledge for -the aid of sick and wounded, can only be surmised. - -History, military history especially, always repeats itself in pointing -out the necessary results of such unsystematically organised systems. - -[Illustration: _Half Armour (Circa 1640)._] - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE PURITAN HOST - - -The early part of the seventeenth century saw a considerable alteration -in the armament of the soldiery, and, notwithstanding the increasing -use of gunpowder, body armour long continued to be worn. On it was -lavished the highest skill of the artisan in its workmanship, and -the highest taste of the artist in its decoration by engraving and -inlaying. But the firearm, a matchlock, had, to all intents and -purposes, everywhere superseded the bow, so that even in Elizabeth’s -reign leg-armour was falling into disrepute, and, except in the -corselet or cuirass, was steadily lessening in weight. Buff coats with -sleeves, leather gauntlets, and leather boots were lighter than iron; -just as useful against a sword-cut, and no worse against a shot. What -little armour was left soon became too heavy to wear. - -Even James I. thought that the heavy armour of his time was “an -excellent invention, for it not only saved the life of the wearer, -but prevented his hurting anybody else”;[9] while “Dugald Dalgetty” -found the metal thigh-pieces were powerless to stop the bullets of the -firearms used by those who pursued him when he escaped from “that high -and mighty prince,” the Duke of Argyle. To summarise the gradual disuse -of arms from Tudor times to those of Anne, it may be stated that though -body armour and the helmet were long used, the former had become but a -cuirass to which a short skirt of metal was attached. The helmet became -more open; still covering the head, the back of the neck and ears, but -the face was only guarded by a “nasal” (like that of the time of the -Conqueror somewhat), which could be moved up or down, or by a triple -bar attached to the peak, which could be raised bodily like the visor -was. This soon gave way to the mere iron “pot-helmet” without any face -guards; and when this went, the cuirass soon followed. Last of all, the -neck-piece or gorget was worn finally as a mere ornament. For mounted -men the lance disappeared, and the sword, pistol, carbine, or “dragon” -took its place. On foot, as the musket became general, the ammunition -was long carried in a bandolier. But in addition to the firearms, or -“shot,” there were pikemen carrying plain pikes eighteen to twenty-four -inches long, and forming an important part of the infantry. - -Naturally, therefore, by degrees the proportion of firearms in the -_battaglia_ (whence comes our modern “battalion”) increased, and the -formation of definite fighting units, such as brigades, by Gustavus -Adolphus, Maurice of Nassau, and others, began to make the force more -capable of direction and control. De Rohan in France, too, devised -regiments on what were then scientific principles. His were composed -of 600 pikes, 600 musketeers, and 240 swordsmen, and, later, cavalry -were placed between these massive battalions. Speaking generally, the -artillery was little moved, and remained stationary during a battle. -The cavalry charged sword in hand or with pistols, and the infantry -received the charge with the pike or partially met it by fire. But with -an improved artillery arose also the necessity for ammunition and other -supply trains from fixed magazines, and hence more careful strategy -based on care for these magazines or “bases of operations,” and regard -for the roads “or lines of communication” leading from them to the -army, influenced the conduct of campaigns; so also did the introduction -of superior organisation. - -For food supplies, armies on the move were still dependent on the -good-will of the people, open markets, or plunder. It was long before -the supply of troops formed part of the serious study of the art -of war. There was yet but little change in the method of fighting. -Artillery as an “arm” was not. Rupert thought still that cavalry was -the principal arm and could do anything. Cromwell alone recognised what -trained infantry could be made to do. - -It is only here and there that strategical enterprise is apparent, -while the old tactical methods too were changing, but very slowly. Mr. -Ward in his _Animadversions of War_, dated 1639, shows the cavalry -formed five ranks deep, and (as the battles show) an undue dependence -was placed on this arm, though in the early battles it, seriously, -effected little, and was rather a cause of disaster than of victory. -They were armed with firearms of sorts and the sword, the lance of the -Middle Ages having fallen into complete disuse. They were classed as -cuirassiers, arquebusiers, carbineers, and dragoons; but all fought -much the same way, and were, taken altogether, rather mounted infantry -than true cavalry. Each _battaglia_, even as late as 1677, so says Lord -Orrery in his _Act of War_, had still one-third of its number “pikes”; -the remainder, as “shot,” were assembled in groups at the four angles -of the mass of pikes, which were ten ranks deep; but at the beginning -of the Civil War the proportion of pikes to shot was about one-half. No -wonder that the weapon “which never missed fire,” and was sixteen feet -long, for many a year was all-important, and that the heavy arquebus, a -matchlock with a rest which trailed, was long looked on as an adjunct, -not as the primary weapon of the foot-soldier. The weapon was fired by -a slow match, and one common stratagem at night, in retreat, was to -leave these matches attached to the branches of trees in a hedgerow, to -make believe that it was still held after the defenders had actually -fallen back. - -The general “order of battle” was two or three lines of these -_battaglia_ (named the “main battle,” the “battle of succour,” and the -“rear battle”) at close intervals, with the cavalry on the flanks, and -the guns dispersed along the front. In the beginning of the battle -small bodies or “forlorn hopes” were pushed to the front to draw the -enemy’s fire, much as the deployment of lines or columns later was -covered by light infantry skirmishers. The guns, immobile, badly -mounted, and badly horsed as they were, were not to be despised as far -as size went. There were “cannon royal” of 8 inches calibre, firing a -63-pound shot, down to “sakers” with 6-pound projectiles, and “bases” -of half a pound, and the range varied from 500 to 1500 yards; and the -“demi-culverin” with a 10-pound shot was a not uncommon field gun. Of -course their rate of fire was slow. There were no cartridges, and the -gun was fired, after being primed, by a linstock with a slow match. -Curiously enough, the first cannons were breech-loaders, and were -simply securely fastened into wooden slabs on low wheels by way of -carriage, and so were capable of very little elevation; but later on -they were furnished with trunnions on which the gun pivoted. - -The colours worn by the men seemed to have followed the armorial -bearings of their leaders. Orange, the colour of Essex, was generally -worn by officers; Lord Saye’s men wore blue, Hampden’s green, and so on. - -The opposing armies formed opposite one another at about 400 yards -range, and after due consideration one side attacked, and without any -real tactical plan the battle became a series of independent combats, -in which, practically, the last unbroken body remained master of the -field, and called it victory. Still this was a great advance on the -tactics of earlier days. The idea of “tactics” was there, but, like -the Caroline “strategy,” it was of a very feeble description. There -was plenty of bravery, little of the combined effort which “tactics” -implies. - -[Illustration: _Artillery._ - -_Early B.L. Cannon_ - -_Culverin_ - -_B.L. Ship Gun, 1545 (Recovered 1836)._ - -_M.L. Burgundian (without trunnions) 1477._ - -_M.L. Spanish (with trunnions & dolphins) 1800._ - -_R.B.L. Field Gun 1896_] - -But with the Stuarts had arisen a new power. To loyalty to the head of -the State was to be added reverence for an asserted divine right to -govern, of which little had been said before. With James I. arose the -theory of the divine right of kings. How it came to be that his people, -or a section of them, acquiesced in this assumption,--if they ever -really did,--is one of the unexplained wonders of the time; but that -the idea grew up and grew into full strength when Charles I., the -best, if not the ablest of the Stuarts, was king, is clear. - -With him the idea of the personal sacredness of majesty came to a -head, and died with him, as men died for his “idea.” Again another -stage in the army’s growth. Before this brave soldiers had died for -“ideas” in battle; now they were to die for an idea translated, or -crystallised, into a king. Out of this feeling came the men who fought -for the cause and the country as well as the sovereign, and less than -before for the personal duty due to the military chief or leader of a -feudal family or clan. There were several reasons for this alteration -in the causes that made men then join armies. During the Tudor dynasty -there had been a vast extension of foreign trade, with foreign travel, -which opened men’s minds and induced freedom in political thought. The -theological revival which culminated in the Reformation had aroused -a spirit, first of intolerance, and then of a desire for freedom in -religious belief. To the latter a hatred to Roman Catholicism, a dread -of popish interference in secular matters, the example given by the -religious conditions of our great commercial antagonist, Spain, and -the cruelties attributed to the Inquisition, largely contributed. To -the former the increase of commercial wealth, with a corresponding -decrease in the feudal power of the nobles, and a greater dependence -on general taxation to support the Government and foreign wars, lent -their aid. When Charles I. became king, he represented, in person, -these conflicting elements; for though not a Roman Catholic himself, he -was a High Churchman, his wife a Roman Catholic, and to an autocratic -belief in his own divine right he added an untrustworthiness which -was one of the many causes that led to his downfall. “From this -inordinate reverence for the kingly office grew a great evil, for with -a perverseness of reasoning which we name Jesuitical, Charles held -that for the advancement of so holy a cause as that of the king must -ever be, no means, however vile or mean to the common eye, could be in -verity aught but virtuous and true. To this Moloch he sacrificed his -children, as he had previously surrendered his home, his wife, and his -happiness; to this idol he offered up the love of his subjects, the -hope of his house, and the good of his country; for this he became an -outcast, a vagrant, and a prisoner; and when love, friends, and liberty -had been swallowed by the burning fiery furnace, he flung in with them -his honour and his fair fame for ever. It was then no hard matter to -die for the god. Let those only judge him for whom there exists a Truth -so living.”[10] - -The coming recrudescence of civil war differed somewhat, therefore, in -its origin from that between the rival houses of York and Lancaster. -In these, political rancour was fostered by great nobles, and armies -were formed on the feudalistic principle of personal servitude to -these chiefs; while on the other side was the trading spirit openly -fostered by Edward the Fourth. The Stuart wars are much more personal -and individual throughout. The men, the rank and file even, fought -with interest in the cause, and--as a rule, not as an exception, as -before--joined either side from feelings of personal predilection. -Hence it was that when the Restoration came, there was less bitter -antagonism between the factions than when Warwick fell at Barnet. Then -the king or queen or the feudal lord decided the measure of slaughter. -In the Stuart wars no such order as that of Edward, before Barnet, “to -give no quarter,” would have been, save in the most exceptional case, -obeyed. It was only when the purely theological animosity was paramount -that needless cruelties followed victory. The Covenanters at Bothwell -Brig were personally hateful to men like Claverhouse, for religious as -well as other reasons; so also the massacres at Drogheda, of which more -anon. Stern repression of the severest kind in such cases was both the -law and custom in those days. - -The actual outbreak of hostilities was preceded by minor outbreaks, -which increased the growing antagonism. Ships were lent to France and -used against the Huguenots of Rochelle, and the failure of an attempt -at Cadiz increased the irritation; and when the troops returned from -the Continent, they were not disbanded, as was customary, but billeted -on the population, and martial law was introduced during a time of -peace. Lastly, the efforts of the Star Chamber to raise fresh loans -accorded but little with the English spirit, and the direct tax of -ship-money on inland as well as coastal towns, together with the -attempted arrest of the five members of the House of Commons hostile to -the king’s policy, brought matters to a climax. - -Thus the Civil War began, much as in former times, without real -strategy. At first, certainly, there was little or no plan of campaign. -When an army formed, it moved on some point that seemed locally of -value, or to some town or garrison that wanted help. The only broad -principle of a very feeble strategy seems to have been to threaten (or -protect) London, and on the Parliament side to keep free for use the -road from London to the West. - -Practically, as in the Wars of the Roses, the political situation -was this. The north part of the Midlands and the west favoured the -Royalists, the east and south the Parliamentarians. But in both cases -there were numerous centres of disaffection in each area, and the -commercial spirit of the great towns and seaports in the south and east -was hostile to the king. - -Speaking generally, too, the nobles and gentry favoured the royal -cause, the middle classes that of the Parliament; though of course -there were many exceptions on both sides. The fashionable, worldly, and -gay were with Charles, the serious-minded, austere, and visionary with -the Parliament. But there was more than this: even the “people” found a -recruiting ground, for London trained bands and peaceful traders donned -buff and bandolier to fight in the national cause. As at Barnet, though -now much more so, the commercial class stood side by side with that -which deemed itself, by birth and education, more military. - -The gradual introduction of the supply train had introduced the -elements of strategy, though the study was still in its infancy. The -strategical objectives were rather more distinct, but even now there -is little trace of a connected serious strategic plan. The isolated -armies did not yet unite to a definite strategic end; the plan of -campaign was much the same as before, though a little less so. The king -assembled an army at X, the Parliament formed one at Y to beat it. The -main difference is, that in the Wars of the Roses defeat generally -meant dispersion, in this Civil War it meant more or less retreat to -re-form. The art of war was growing up, that was all. - -Briefly speaking, the only noteworthy points of military interest are -these which follow; as the most instructive tactical example is that of -the battle of Naseby. - -The early campaigns merely tell the usual tale of disconnected -skirmishes and resultless battles. Nominally the Parliament guarded the -capital, their opponents wanted to seize it. But they rarely tried, -and never seriously. In 1643, when Essex was retreating from the -relief of Gloucester, he was intercepted by the king at Newbury, where -strategically and tactically the royal forces were skilfully posted. -But the battle partakes of the nature of chance rather than intent. -Nothing practically came of it; but it showed the Cavaliers that if -infantry stood firm, the most reckless gallantry of cavalry could do -nothing. - -In that same year two political steps were taken that led eventually -to serious results. The Parliament allied itself with Scotland, and -increased Cromwell’s innate dislike to that nation; on the other hand, -Charles, to all intents and purposes, allied himself temporarily with -the Irish, and raised the theological hatred of his British foes to -fever heat. But constant war was hardening and teaching Cromwell and -his men, if it taught their opponents nothing. The handling of the -three armies in 1644 was skilful. Throughout the whole contest, too, -the better and steadier pay of the Parliamentary army told; they -plundered less than their harder-up adversaries, and as the rank and -file improved, so did their leaders, when the “self-denying ordinance” -eliminated incompetent soldiers, and handed over the conduct of the -war to those who meant to bring it to a successful issue. The true -professional soldier was being made. The superior and more intelligent -strategy of the end of the campaign of 1646 clearly shows this, and -by the end of the following year hostilities had practically ceased. - -[Illustration: _FORMATION OF THE LINES OF BATTLE AT NASEBY_ - -_14^{th} JUNE 1645_] - -Though there was at first much similarity between the conduct of all -the battles, there was an observable improvement on the Parliamentary -side as the years rolled on; and the battle of Naseby is perhaps the -best evidence of the better tactical appreciation of the situation than -that of any early combat. It evidenced how little the Royalists, how -much the Parliamentarians, had learned of the art of war in this the -fourth year since hostilities began. - -Of course the armies met haphazard, as such forces must do with little -or no strategic plan; so that when the king’s levies met at Daventry, -it was surprised, when contemplating the relief of Pontefract and -Scarborough, to find itself in touch with the army of Fairfax, which, -abandoning the siege of Oxford, had moved north to engage the royal -army. With it was Cromwell as lieutenant-general of horse. But if the -king was ignorant as to the whereabouts of his adversary, Fairfax was -not. The use of cavalry was being understood; “every step of the army -of the Parliament was guided and guarded by the action of detachments” -of this arm.[11] Ireton watched and threatened the enemy’s retreat on -Market Harborough, and on the evening of the 13th drove the king’s -rearguard out of Naseby, the main body of the army being then south of -Harborough. The next day the very casual and careless reconnaissance -of Rupert’s troopers reported that no hostile bodies were in sight, -and with the false impression that Fairfax was retreating, the royal -army advanced to the attack of an enemy superior in number, more highly -disciplined, and strongly posted on Mill Hill, north-west of the -village of Naseby. The king’s army was in three lines: the first of -four regiments, the second of three regiments, the third of the king’s -and Rupert’s regiments. Lord Astley commanded the infantry (about 5500 -men), Rupert the right, and Langdale the left, wing of cavalry, or -“horse,” each about 2500 strong. - -The army of the Parliament was thus disposed: right wing, six -regiments of cavalry under Cromwell in three lines, with the right -flank echeloned back. Ireton commanded the cavalry of the left wing, -of five regiments of cavalry and one of dragoons arranged in two -lines, while the latter lined a hedgerow to protect the left flank. -The infantry under Skippon was in two lines: the first, five regiments -strong, the second or reserve, three regiments. The baggage, with a -strong guard of “shot,” was posted in rear of the left flank. - -The battle began by the attack of Ireton against the opposing cavalry -“in echelon right in front”; but as this exposed his right flank to the -fire of the infantry squares of the first line, he turned his right -squadrons upon them. In this he was dismounted and wounded. Whether -from this cause, or what not, Rupert routed this wing, pursuing them as -far as Naseby, and then wasting time in attacking the baggage train, -while Ireton’s broken squadrons rallied. This is a perfect example -of the reckless and unskilful way in which the Royalist charges were -always made. - -The Royalist first line next advanced, and, breaking Skippon’s left and -centre, forced it back upon the second line or reserve; but by this -time Cromwell’s cavalry had broken that under Langdale, and with a true -appreciation of the situation, had then despatched but two regiments -in careful and guarded pursuit, and turned with the remainder on the -king’s still unbroken centre. This relieved the pressure on Skippon’s -infantry, and these, thereupon, rallied, and in a combined attack broke -the king’s remaining square. The battle was virtually over. Rupert -returned, all too late and all too exhausted to be of service. The king -in person tried to rally and employ the reserve, but the force was -already beaten and demoralised, and the retreat became a disorderly -rout. The prizes of the victors were 5000 prisoners, 8000 arms, and 100 -colours; but, most of all, this severe defeat was a death-blow to the -royal cause, and was the last in which Charles I. engaged in person. - -One curious result of it was that Lieutenant-General Cromwell himself -reported to the Speaker of the House of Commons “how the good hand of -God” had fought for them. - -There was little after Naseby in the year 1648 to disturb the -victorious army of the Parliament. There were sundry small fortresses -and castles to reduce, and these soon fell. To Cromwell was deputed the -task of capturing Devizes, Winchester, and Basing, and the latter is -especially noteworthy for the tenacity with which it was long defended, -and the rapidity of its final fall. The seat of the Marquis of -Winchester, whose motto of “Aimez loyauté” gave the name of “Loyalty” -to his mansion at Basing (to which also “the jubilant Royalists” had -given the name of “Basting” House), was a large and important group of -buildings, consisting of four great square towers linked together by -a wall, and with inner buildings of sorts. The main importance was, -that it closed the Great Western Road, south of the Kennet valley, as -Donnington Castle did on the north bank of that river. It had been -several times attempted during the past four years--first by Sir W. -Waller in 1643, who suffered heavily in his attempt to storm; and other -very partial attempts followed, until Cromwell himself was sent to -settle, once and for all, in whose hands the road by Basingstoke from -London should rest. - -So the lieutenant-general laid formal siege to it, and, on the morning -of 14th October 1645, stormed it, and carried it in three-quarters of -an hour. “He had spent much time in prayer,” says Mr. Peters, “the -night before the storm, and was able to write that night to ‘the Hon. -William Lenthall, Speaker of the Common House of Parliament,’ to the -follow-effect: ‘Sir, I thank God I can give a good account of Basing.’” -The marquis and two hundred prisoners were taken, and so speedily was -the capture completed, that there is some reason for the tradition that -the attack was a surprise, and that the garrison were playing cards. -Hence the local saying, “Clubs trumps, as when Basing was taken.” -Here, too, was slain Robison the player, who was mercilessly shot -after the surrender by fanatical Harrison, who shot him through the -head with the wild quotation, “Cursed is he that doeth the work of -the Lord negligently.” The action and the remark evidence, better than -anything else could, the increasing embitterment of the controversy, -and the real, or pretended, religious fervour, or rather rancour, that -accompanied its continuance. That the feeling was honest, however -strained, with many who fought against the king, is undoubted; as -undoubted as the religious fervour of the Jews when “Samuel hewed Agag -in pieces before the Lord”; or when a modern Mohammedan charges home -upon a British square with “Allah” on his dying lips. Incomprehensible -to some, it is a feeling that has to be taken serious account of in the -last great Civil War in England. - -So Basing fell. It was “now the twentieth garrison that hath been taken -in the summer by this army; and I believe most of them the answer of -the prayers, and trophies of the faith of some of God’s servants.” - -So thought Mr. Peters in that year of grace 1645, and so thought many -who, in the Commons House of Parliament, heard him tell his story of -how Basing fell. - -With the death of the king in 1649 came the real beginning of the end. -This is no place to discuss the merit or demerit of a step so serious -that it only finds a partial parallel in the action of Elizabeth -towards Mary of Scotland. But two great results grew out of it: the -proclamation of Charles II. as King of Scotland, and the invitation of -Ormond to Ireland, where also Charles was hailed as the new sovereign. -From this came the last two wars of the Commonwealth, the first of -which was fought in Ireland. There anarchy reigned. Petty war was the -normal condition of the rather more than half-savage clans. There had -been a massacre of Protestants, variously estimated at from forty -thousand to a hundred thousand, under circumstances of the “most -revolting barbarity; ... men, women and children they indiscriminately -murdered, in a manner of which the details recall those of the massacre -of Cawnpore.” This fact must be gravely borne in mind in considering -the English invasion, and must be added to the fierce religious hatred -and the increasingly intense political antagonism which the latest -events had once more brought to the front. There is much to be said for -the bitter revenge taken by the stern Protestant party, which composed -the army sent to destroy the Irish people who had done their utmost to -aid the monarchical cause in the late war. - -To the sectaries it was no mere word-painting to say that Papacy was -“Anathema,” and the Pope “Antichrist.” To break down the “carved -images” was infinitely less a figure of speech in Irish churches than -it was in English fanes. War in Ireland was to them a crusade, a -religious war, a war of creeds as well as people; and the antagonism -of peoples was little less than the antagonism of creeds. So alien -were the Irish deemed, that, long before this, Pigott of Clotheram -disinherited his eldest son merely for marrying an Irishwoman! Often -conquered before, never had this unhappy land been more completely -subdued than now. Yet even with this “curse of Cromwell” came peace -and prosperity. “Districts which had recently been as wild as those -where the first white settlers of Connecticut were contending with the -red men, were in a few years transformed into the likeness of Kent and -Norfolk. New buildings and new roads were everywhere seen.” Rightly or -wrongly, he held that war was not made with rosewater any more than -omelettes without breaking eggs. He may have been, and probably was, -quite conscientious when he wrote: “Truly I believe this bitterness -will save much effusion of blood.” - -It is not just to severely condemn Cromwell for his action in Ireland. -He lived in the seventeenth, not the nineteenth century, and acted -according to his lights. His Irish campaigns have been described as -“a series of blood-massacres, the just punishment of atrocious deeds, -or as the fanatical orgie of a tyrant. This was a complete perversion -of fact, and Cromwell’s conduct in Ireland had yet to be judged -impartially by a candid historian and by a competent thinker on war. -No doubt he was a stern and severe conqueror; no doubt they turned -their eyes away from Wexford and Drogheda; no doubt Cromwell and his -avenging host regarded Celtic Papists as accursed idolaters, dripping -with the carnage of 1641, and to be trodden under foot, like the doomed -tribes of Palestine were crushed ‘at the bidding of the Lord’; but -when he set foot in Ireland, he had to deal with a nation in armed -and furious revolt, which had a country difficult in the extreme to -penetrate. The experiences of previous Irish wars had shown, that under -conditions like these, it was essential to strike hard at once, and the -peculiarities of the Irish climate, fatal in the seventeenth century -to British troops, made it necessary to avoid the inland districts, -and, if possible, to obtain immediate success. These considerations -explained his deeds in Ireland. He was pitiless and inexorable, but -he acted upon a far-sighted policy, and his generalship was bold, -decided, and brilliant. His severity at Drogheda, he told them himself, -was calculated ‘to prevent the effusion of blood.’ Just as Villars -deliberately starved Fribourg, just as the garrison of Pampeluna -would have been put to the sword had it not yielded to the summons of -Wellington.”[12] - -Whatever be the criticism of the means he employed, the end was that -all open rebellion had ceased by 1653. - -Meanwhile, in Scotland, too, the war-cloud had again burst; and though -Fairfax resigned rather than invade that country, Cromwell either had -less scruples, or was more firmly determined to put down all armed -insurrection to the Republic, and assumed command of a fresh army of -the North. - -But the actions were, except that at Dunbar, disconnected and -inconclusive. There were the usual small affairs, minor sieges and -operations in an exceptionally difficult country. Whether Cromwell -wilfully left the doorway into England open or not is doubtful, though -Colonel Walford is of opinion he did; but be that as it may, the Scotch -army fell into a trap, marched into England as far as Worcester, and -there met what Cromwell and his party thought the crowning mercy of -defeat. His army had marched to that victory for twenty-four days, and -had covered in that time 350 miles. - -Thus in Scotland, as in Ireland, the stern discipline of Cromwell’s -army, though the religious feeling was in this case more or less -common to both, prevailed when the time came. Notwithstanding the -theoretical, and to a certain extent practical, sympathy which linked -the two nations of Great Britain together, all the wild and undoubted -bravery of the Northern Celt availed the royal cause at the end as -little as, or even less than, that of his more emotional brother across -the channel of St. George. But it must be remembered that the racial -antipathy between the two great branches of the inhabitants of Britain -had never been so accentuated, certainly not for half a century, as -that which existed then, and long after, between the Irish and the -British. - -What is clear in this last campaign is, that Cromwell had little in -common with those who governed the sister kingdom. “You ken very well,” -said the Lord Chancellor of Scotland in 1645, “that Lieutenant-General -Cromwell is no friend of ours.” He knew this, and his personal and -possibly religious antipathies were therefore in no wise lessened. - -But with the general and steady improvement in the systematic conduct -of war that is increasingly apparent as time went on, there is evidence -of an attempt at organising a system of supply; an attempt that, though -in a very sketchy and elementary way, foreshadows the higher strategy -that is more and more noticeable as the eighteenth century grew from -youth to old age. - -There is no doubt that in many of the battles the baggage trains were -more considerable than heretofore, and formed an important element -in the operations of the campaign. Instances of their presence, in -sufficient strength to be mentioned in the contemporary accounts, are -shown both in the first battle of Newbury, where they were collected -at Hampstead Park; as also at Naseby, where, far in rear of Mill Hill, -Rupert attacked Fairfax’s baggage train and its guard. Essex, in -his march to Newbury in 1643, complains of the want of food and the -difficulty in foraging, owing to the small amount of supplies they -could carry; and in passing through Aldbourne two ammunition waggons -broke down, and were consequently blown up. Doubtless they were even -then only improvised from private sources, and only the ordinary -vehicles used in the districts where war was being carried on were -employed. Even then, be it remembered, roads were still few and bad, -though probably more numerous and somewhat better than when Barnet was -fought. But firearms and what not had increased the importance of not -being dependent for supplies on what could be locally collected in -towns and villages, or what the soldier could himself carry; and thus -with the need for their replenishment at recognised _bases_, and their -protection before, during, and after a battle, began the true strategy -of modern war. Supply trains, _organised_ supply trains, alone render -an army really mobile and capable of carrying out a connected serious -plan of campaign. - -Again, comparing the time that was to come with that at this time -existing, Marmont writes to Berthier in 1812: “I arrived at the -headquarters of the north in January last: I did not find a grain -of corn in the magazine; nothing anywhere but debts; and a real or -fictitious scarcity, the natural result of the absurd system of -administration which has been adopted. Provisions for each day’s -consumption could only be obtained with arms in our hands. There is -a wide difference between that state and the possession of magazines -which can enable an army to move;” and later on: “The army of Portugal -at this season is incapable of acting, and if it advanced beyond the -frontier, it would be forced to return after a few days, having lost -all its horses. The Emperor has ordered great works at Salamanca; he -appears to forget that we have neither provisions to feed the workmen -nor money to pay them, and that we are in every sense on the verge of -starvation.” - -What was true in Spain in 1812 must have been infinitely more so in -1644. The country was not rich in any way, and the armies were, for -a poor country, considerable. But another step forward in the art of -war is faintly indicated in the greater mobility, because more regular -attention to supply, that characterises the armies of the Civil War as -compared with those of York and Lancaster. - -Thus the great Civil War terminated in a considerable change both in -the tactical and strategical condition of the army. It left behind -a true “army of the people,” such as England had never seen before, -and probably will never see again. If in previous wars the mass had -followed the lead of the few, in the middle of the seventeenth century -the Civil War had affected the mass and not the few only. There was -a greater feeling of individualism; and, unlike previous armies, -either of feudalism or of Saxondom, which was essentially more or less -the compulsory service of a militia, it was a force recruited by a -voluntary system. But this was of two kinds. - -The soldiers of the king were essentially volunteers, serving very -largely without pay, or even contributing to the royal military chest; -those of his opponent were also voluntarily enlisted, but received pay -from the resources of the State, over which Parliament had the chief -control. - -At first, therefore, the former afforded far the best fighting -material. They were largely--and entirely, as far as their leaders -were concerned--gentlemen and men accustomed to the use of arms, but -there they remained, and showed little aptitude of infusing into their -natural martial ardour the stern and necessary tonic of discipline. -On the other hand, the early armies of the Parliament were “hirelings -whom want and idleness had reduced to enlist.” Even Hampden’s regiment, -one of the best of any, was described by Cromwell as a “mere rabble -of tapsters and serving-men out of place.” No one saw this more than -Cromwell, and it is that instinct which makes him stand out among the -leaders of the Civil War. No one more fully recognised than he that -“you must get men of spirit: of a spirit that is likely to go on as -far as gentlemen will go, or else I am sure you will be beaten still.” -The metal might be there, but it wanted tempering, and the opportunity -for this the “self-denying ordinance” gave. By means of this the army -was purged of all its weaker parts. As Cromwell had organised his own -special regiment, so did he infuse into the rest of the force some -of the stern enthusiasm that made his Ironsides “very devils”[13] in -battle, fearless and fearful factors in the fight. They “prospered -because they were much in prayer and reading Scripture, an exercise -that till of late soldiers have used but little.” They “were constant, -conscientious, sober, strict, and thus conquered much upon the vanity -and looseness of the enemy. Men fought on principle as well as for pay; -they were little mutinous in disputing commands, fair in their marches, -to friends merciful in battle, and in success to their enemies.” -Finally their commissioners were “wise, provident, active, faithful in -providing ammunition, arms, recruits, of men’s clothes, and that family -must needs strive that hath good stewards.” It was inured to war, -therefore, by a series of campaigns in which strategical as well as -tactical conditions were beginning to be foreshadowed. Its organisation -was more complete and thorough than heretofore, its men were imbued -with the stern religious enthusiasm which has ever rendered such armies -dangerous. It knew its strength and had gauged it by its continued -success; what it had had to do had been God-directed (so its leaders -and rank and file thought, or professed to think), and bore the imprint -of immediate divine direction. - -Thus it was, when the great Protector died, that the army he left was -probably the most formidable body of armed men the world had ever seen. - -Socially and morally, pecuniarily and theologically, it was peculiar. -“The pay of the private soldier was much above the wages earned by -the great body of the people,[14] and if he distinguished himself by -intelligence and courage, he might hope to attain high commands. The -ranks were accordingly composed of persons superior in station and -education to the multitude. These persons, sober, moral, diligent, -and accustomed to reflect, had been induced to take up arms, not by -the pressure of want, not by the love of novelty and licence, not by -the arts of recruiting officers, but by religious and political zeal, -mingled with the desire of distinction and promotion. The boast of the -soldiers, as we find it recorded in their solemn resolutions, was, that -they had not been forced into the service, nor had enlisted chiefly -for the sake of lucre, that they were no janissaries, but free-born -Englishmen, who had, of their own accord, put their lives in jeopardy -for the liberties and religion of England, and whose right and duty it -was to watch over the welfare of the nation which they had saved.”[15] - -Such a body was none the less a distinct menace to the State it had -armed itself to protect. So strong an engine for defence against the -tyranny of monarchy was equally a possible engine of oppression to the -rest of the body politic in the hands of an autocratic or incapable -ruler. - -It had compelled Richard Cromwell to dissolve Parliament, and by “this -act left the people at the mercy of an irresponsible authority, and -without representation or means of appeal.” - -It is curious to see, therefore, how the first voluntary national army, -long embodied, produced an antagonism, among the mass of the people, -to standing armies altogether, a feeling which lasts even until now in -theory, if not in fact. - -When Charles II. entered London in triumph, the sombre Ironside -soldiery must have felt their reign was over. If _they_ did not, the -people did. For with the “Happy Restoration” of the monarchy, the dread -of a military supremacy, whether of king or dictator, was strong enough -to decree that the army of the Commonwealth should be totally disbanded. - -So, for a short time at least, the army ceased to be. Its men soberly -disappeared as a mass into private life; but so good was its warlike -material, that “the Royalists themselves confessed that in every -department of honest industry, the discarded warriors prospered beyond -other men, that none was charged with any theft or robbery, that -none was heard to ask an alms, and that if a baker, a mason, or a -waggoner attracted notice by his diligence and sobriety, he was in all -probability one of Oliver’s old soldiers.”[15] - -Of the royal force there is nothing to be said, except that in -displaying the national bravery they added nothing to the military -knowledge and strength of the country when the sword was sheathed. -It is not from them, but from their stern, more resolute, and better -trained adversaries that we have to look for the germs of the future -army of the State. After the war in 1652, the total force of the -Protector’s army was 31,519 men in England, and about 20,000 in -Ireland, though during the war it seems to have numbered at the highest -about 80,000 men. - -So, till Richard Cromwell disappeared, Great Britain not only -possessed a standing army, but was practically governed by it. To the -very fact that this was so may be directly traced its nearly entire -disappearance; and, curiously enough, to the dread of it, when Charles -II. returned, may be confidently attributed its reluctant restoration -to safeguard the State he ruled. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE ARMY OF THE KING--TO 1701 - - -Two important results affecting the composition and growth of the -army which, after the Restoration, was to replace that of the -“Commonwealth,” were apparent when Cromwell died. The number of well -and continuously trained soldiers in Great Britain was far larger -than at any previous period, and therefore formed a large nucleus -from which a fresh, freely enlisted body could be recruited. It is -difficult otherwise to account for the brilliant fighting power of the -men who again began to make the name of the English army respected on -the Continent, as in the days of Crecy and Poitiers. Many of those who -fought under William were probably old soldiers of the latter part of -the Civil War; while even those who had not taken an active share in -the campaign of King and Cromwell, must have heard much of the bravery -of their fathers, and of the glory--a feeling rightly common to both -factions--won by the fighting power of those who had so recently passed -away. - -Armies, especially during long years of peace, live much upon past -honours and tradition; and that which had now to be formed could not, -if it tried, dissociate itself from the widespread military spirit -that prolonged hostilities had aroused and permanently created. As in -our days the memory of Peninsular victories lives to fan the flame -of military ardour and national courage, so doubtless the “old man -eloquent,” whether Cavalier or Roundhead, was listened to by his -children, or grandchildren, at his knee with interest and wonder, when -he descanted on how Rupert charged at Naseby, or how the trained bands -stood the shock at Newbury. - -It is curious to note how rapidly, as far as time goes, active -hostility between the late antagonists died out or simmered down. Nor -is the reason far to seek. The war was unquestionably conscientious -on both sides. Who can think otherwise when the death of Hampden on -the one hand, or of Falkland on the other, is taken into account? The -disease of political disagreement had to be cured by the stern tonic of -cold shot and sharp steel, and both antagonists in their several ways -must have sorrowed over the painful need. Certainly Falkland did. That -the antagonism so speedily ceased to be active, is strongly typical of -the English character. Fight out the battle of opinion if you will, -but when the contest is decided, then let the old friendships resume -their pleasant sway. Thus it was that within one generation many a -reconciliation had been effected, many an old sore healed; and as time -went on, the flowers of a more kindly appreciation of the good that lay -on both sides sprang up over the re-cemented factions, as the flowers -of the summer days had sprung up over the graves of Roundhead and -Cavalier. - -Though Parliament had decreed that the army should be entirely -disbanded, and the operation was actually begun, it had calculated -without its host. There were many stern fanatics who viewed their loss -of power with anything but favour. Crack-brained Thomas Venner created -a rising in London of the extremest sect of religious enthusiasts, the -fifth-monarchy men, and proclaimed the reign of “King Jesus.” This -menace to the public peace arrested the total abolition of the army. -Some form of military police was evidently necessary, and therefore a -reluctant permission was given for the formation of a small force for -the “guards and garrisons” of the king. They were to be raised by him, -and paid by him out of the State allowance for the support of the royal -estate, and were not to exceed three thousand men. They consisted of -the Yeomen of the Guard, the Gentlemen-at-Arms (founded by Henry VII. -and Henry VIII. respectively), the Life and Horse Guards or “Oxford -Blues” (so called from its commanding officer, the Earl of Oxford, and -to distinguish them from a Dutch regiment of horse, which was also clad -in blue), and the Coldstream Guards, raised from Monk’s own regiment of -foot. Their duties were to hold the Tower, Portsmouth, etc., and guard -the king’s person; but in addition the “Guard” especially was “employed -as police or thief-takers, patrolling the high roads, suppressing -conventicles, and at the London playhouses keeping the peace.” The -Household Cavalry were at first called “Troops of Life Guards of -Horse,” and the 2nd, or “Queen’s Troop,” wore green facings in honour -of Queen Catherine. But the dread of an army was very slow in dying, -even with so small a force as the king could now command. As soon after -this as 1673, the Commons resolved to grant no more supplies until -secured against Popery, and in 1674 the Commons voted “that any armed -force in the kingdom, excepting the militia, was a grievance.”[16] -In case of foreign war, therefore, armies were hastily levied for -a campaign, and as hastily disbanded when hostilities ceased, and -peace was declared. Thus, after a war, the country was overrun with -discharged soldiers, who were little better than bandits. Roads were -not safe to travel, for highwaymen abounded; and a fresh war was a -relief to both robber and robbed in more ways than one. The licence -of the camp in the days of the later Stuarts (unlike the sobriety of -the “Army of the Saints”) was also not likely to furnish a peaceful -population. - -Foreign wars and the constant dread of domestic broils were therefore -gradually wearing down the Parliamentary reluctance to the professional -soldier. The marriage of Charles added the 2nd Queen’s Tangier -Regiment, with its badge of the Paschal Lamb (the badge of the Royal -House of Portugal), the 3rd Buffs (or Holland Regiment, originally -the 4th in order, and so called from its facings), and the 1st Royals -(or Dumbarton’s Regiment), to the permanent Army List; while the -troops recalled from Dunkirk in 1662 became the Grenadier Guards. The -Admiral’s Regiment (so called from the Duke of York, its colonel, the -Lord High Admiral of England, and really the first force of marines) -was created before the Buffs, but soon after was incorporated in the -Guards. The occupation of Tangier had also strengthened the army by -the troop of horse that was the forerunner of the 1st Royal Dragoons, -and by a regiment that, transferred to the East India Company, became -eventually the 103rd Bombay Fusiliers. Thus, by the Peace of Nimeguen, -there had been some twenty thousand men under arms. Finally the militia -had been placed under the lords-lieutenants of counties, to whom was -granted the appointment of the officers. - -In these early days, the regiments first paid nominally by the -sovereign were, as time went on, borne on the strength of three -“establishments,” Irish, Scotch, and English, a method of distributing -their cost over the sum granted for the administration respectively -of each of these sections of the State. The first of these appears in -the reign of Edward IV., the second after the union of the Scotch and -English crowns,--before which time officers of the Scottish army had -to take an oath of fealty to the Estates of Scotland, and not to the -sovereign,[17]--and the cost of each establishment slightly varied -in detail. Hence we find in the list of the Scotch Establishment of -1678, the Earl of Mar’s Fusiliers, afterwards the 21st Foot, which was -brought on the English Establishment in 1689, and dates its seniority, -therefore, from that year. The seniority of regiments was ordered by -the royal will, and depended on the date on which they came on the -English Establishment; and thus, though the Coldstream Guards had been -among the first to welcome the Restoration of the king, on the return -of the Grenadiers from Dunkirk, it was decreed that “our own Regiment -of Foot Guards shall be held and esteemed the oldest regiment.”[18] -Each company had at that time a colour, and, in the Guards only, a -company badge, but the Grenadiers seem never to have been wholly armed -with the “grenade,” and the name was only given after Waterloo, where -they had defeated the French Grenadiers. Similarly the “Royal Scots,” -constituted as a regiment in 1633, dates its seniority by order from -1661. Its nickname of “Pontius Pilate’s Bodyguard” is said to have -arisen from a dispute with a French officer, who declared that _his_ -regiment had been on duty the night before the Crucifixion; to which -his opponent replied, “Had _we_ been on duty, we should not have -slept on our post.” It is probably the oldest organised regiment in -existence, and is descended lineally from the Scottish Archer-Guard of -the French kings, first raised by Charles III. in the ninth century. -Naturally also the “Irish Establishment” ceased with the Union. Some of -these early regiments were possibly recruited from the London trained -bands, and it is because of this that the Royal Marines, the 3rd -Battalion Grenadier Guards, the Royal London Militia, and the 3rd Buffs -claim the right, shared by no other foot regiment, of marching through -the city with fixed bayonets, drums beating, and colours flying. - -At first, too, regiments were known by the name of their colonel; and -the numbers and definite regulations as to the colour and clothing of -regiments were not issued until 1751. Territorial designations were -added to the numbers in 1782, and the present titles were given in 1881. - -So that when Charles II. died, the fear of Puritan risings and the -beginning of a foreign policy which the occupation of Tangier had -initiated, and which the war with the Dutch in 1665, and that with -the French three years later, emphasised, led to the permanent -organisation, as regiments, of the Grenadier, Coldstream, and Scots -Fusilier Guards, the 1st Royals, the 2nd Queen’s, and the 3rd Buffs, -with the 1st and 2nd Life Guards and the Horse Guards. The standing -army had thus increased from three thousand to about eight thousand -men. The cavalry regiments were formed of from three to eight troops, -and the foot regiments had twelve companies. Though dressed in -scarlet, the relics of body armour were long retained in the cuirass, -and, with the men, the pot helmet in addition; but the officers wore -plumed hats. The arms of the mounted troops were sword and carbine, -with pistols having barrels fourteen inches long, and throwing a ball -of fourteen to the pound. The infantry carried, some the sixteen-foot -pike, and others a musket of a calibre similar to the pistol, the -cartridges of which were carried in a bandolier. The bandolier was a -leather belt worn over the shoulder, from which depended a series of -small wooden boxes, each containing a charge: the bullets were carried -in a bag, whence the present name of “ball-bag” for the soldier’s -ammunition pouch is derived. Before beginning to load, the bullet was -frequently placed in the mouth. - -During this period, too, the bayonet was introduced, but at first was a -simple dagger screwed or stuck in the muzzle of the firelock, and known -as a “plug-bayonet.” It took its name from Bayonne, where it was first -made, and is first mentioned in a British Royal Warrant of 1672 in the -armament of a regiment of dragoons who were to have “the matchlock -musket, a collar of bandoliers, and a bayonet or great knife.” - -But perhaps the most noteworthy reminiscence of those days is the -foundation of Chelsea Hospital for old and disabled soldiers, for which -the army has to thank that somewhat notorious lady, Nell Gwynne. - -Tradition has it that, struck by the appeal of a beggar who had been -wounded in war, she persuaded her royal lover to found this beneficent -institution, and proved again to the army that women are at the bottom -of most things, whether they be good or bad. As a set-off to this, -the normal impecuniosity of Charles II. had led to the sale of army -commissions, and to the institution of the system of promotion by -purchase, which lasted until 1872. - -The accession of James II., and the consequent rebellion of Monmouth -in the interest, nominally, of Protestantism, led to the first serious -increase of the standing army; but again it is curious to note that -Monmouth’s own manifesto at Lyme Regis, where he landed, brings -prominently forward the proposal to have no standing army at all, but -only the militia. This is proof positive, if such were needed, that a -permanent military force, such as it then was, was still unpopular in -England. - -There was no fighting worth mentioning in James’s reign save at -Sedgmoor, and there the only noteworthy points are the failure of -the night attack, through faulty and imperfect reconnaissance; and -the fact that Sergeant Weems of the 1st Royals received a gratuity -of £40 for serving the “great guns in an emergency.” The true use of -artillery was not understood, evidently, and the guns were attached -to infantry regiments (as they were later, and singly, to cavalry -squadrons), and James organised an “ordnance regiment” armed with -fusils, for the protection of his artillery, which finally became the -Royal Fusiliers. The only point of interest in the dreary slaughter of -the vanquished after the battle of Sedgmoor, in which the Somersetshire -clown, ill-armed and wounded, showed the greatest gallantry, is the -stern repression exercised by Colonel Kirke of the 2nd Queen’s, whose -regimental badge of the Paschal Lamb acquired an ominous significance -when applied to the cruelties inflicted by his men after the rebels -were defeated. “Kirke’s Lambs,” they were named, in derision, from -their regimental badge. Sedgmoor was the last serious battle fought on -English soil. - -But the army had largely increased none the less. The troops at -Tangiers had been recalled. The king dreamed of using the army as a -means of overawing the country, and formed at Hounslow the first camp -of exercise for field manœuvres. But this effort to gain the army’s -support was made in vain. The 12th Regiment grounded its arms _en -masse_ rather than agree to support the repeal of the Test Penal Law; -the cheering of the soldiery at the acquittal of the Seven Bishops was -an unpleasant reminder that they were not with him in sympathy; and -the effort to introduce Irish Catholics in numbers into the purely -Protestant regiments met with the strongest opposition. “No man of -English blood,” says Macaulay, “then regarded the aboriginal Irish as -his countrymen; the very language spoken by the Irish was different -from their own.” No wonder, therefore, that there was friction, such as -found its full expression in the resignation of their commissions by -the colonel and five captains of the 8th Foot--resignations which were -not accepted, the offenders being tried by court martial and cashiered. -It is curious to note that Churchill, afterwards Duke of Marlborough, -thought the sentence inadequate. - -So the army as a whole proved but a rotten reed to the second James. -An increase to the standing army, which all feared, an oppressive -use of the billeting law, and an evident desire to employ martial -law, cost him his crown. So that when the Prince of Orange landed in -Tor Bay there was little active opposition. The Dutch troops won the -admiration of the invaded by their discipline, admirable equipment, and -good behaviour; and so, to the tune of what at the time was a popular -air, “Lillibulero bullen a la,” William marched on through Windsor -to London, and became king. Still there was a considerable number of -men in the ranks who were but lukewarm adherents to the Dutch-born -sovereign, and all Ireland was still openly and avowedly hostile. The -army by this time had been increased by six regiments of horse (now -the 1st to the 6th Dragoon Guards): the 1st Royal Dragoons (brought -on the English Establishment in 1683); the 2nd Dragoons (at first on -the Scotch Establishment in 1681); the 3rd and 4th Light Dragoons (now -Hussars); the 4th to the 14th Regiments of the line; the 15th (on the -Scotch Establishment apparently), and the 16th, which was created, -disbanded and re-formed later. The 18th Regiment had been formed in -Ireland before this, out of a number of independent Irish companies, -and was on the Irish Establishment, but did not receive its numerical -seniority until later. - -Peace, with such conflicting elements as Irish Romanists, English -Protestants, Scotch Jacobites, and the Dutch elements introduced into -the country, could not be of long duration. The smouldering embers -of civil war broke into a flame both in the West and North. For James -had, with French support, landed in Ireland, and was received with the -greatest enthusiasm; while in Scotland some thousands of Highlanders -were in arms, under Claverhouse, now Viscount Dundee. Against them, -Mackay, with the 21st, the King’s Own Borderers or Edinburgh Regiment, -and the 13th, with some irregulars, was despatched. He met them at -Killiecrankie, where the Highland charge broke the more disciplined -ranks, but the battle, which only lasted two minutes, says an old -writer with obvious exaggeration, was practically terminated by -the death of Dundee. The officers who had then been under arms for -their king retired to France, and, after undergoing the bitterest -privations, were formed into a company of ordinary soldiers under -their own officers. This “gentlemen company” behaved with the utmost -bravery whenever engaged. In 1697 they attacked an island in the Rhine -with such headlong bravery that it still bears the name of “Isle -d’Ecosse,” and the Marquis de Sella signed himself with the cross when -he personally thanked each officer for what he and his men had done. -In these isolated cases of determined courage, not confined to the -English, but displayed equally by the Irish Brigade or by Scottish -regiments serving in foreign armies, the true camaraderie of those who -serve under the “Union Jack” as soldiers, it may be hoped, will always -be found. - -The troubles in Ireland were more prolonged and serious, and required a -further addition to the army of the 7th “Horse,” the 6th Dragoons, and -the 7th Dragoons. The 18th, weeded of the Roman Catholic recruits, was -reorganised; and also appeared the 17th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd (raised -by that staunch Protestant the Duke of Norfolk in Wiltshire); and the -23rd (formed by Lord Herbert of Cherbury in Wales with its badge of the -Black Prince, the rising sun, the red dragon, the three feathers, and -the motto _Ich Dien_; it is headed on parade even now by a white goat, -and its marching-past air is the “Men of Harlech”); the 25th (enlisted -eight hundred strong in two hours by Lord Leven for the defence of -Edinburgh, and having for its gallantry afterwards, at Killiecrankie, -the right of “beating up” the town of Edinburgh for recruits without -the “special permission of the provost”); while the 26th, or -Cameronians, was enrolled in one day two hundred strong without any -beat of drum, and was punctiliously careful that their officers should -be “men such as in conscience they could submit to,” and required -besides a chaplain “an elder to each of its twenty companies.” Finally, -the 27th and 28th Regiments were added to the gradually increasing -standing army. This was at the direct instigation and at the direct -appeal of William III.; but the Commons, in agreeing to the proposed -increase, only did so on the condition that it was to be paid by the -State, and not out of the royal purse. It was the beginning of the -Parliamentary recognition of a real standing army paid by taxation. The -24th was also raised in Ireland about the same time, and was therefore -borne on that establishment; as also was the 5th Dragoons. - -Many of these regiments served in the Irish campaign in which the -sieges of Londonderry and Enniskillen by James stand out so prominently -on the one side, as do the battles of the Boyne and Aughrim on the -other. - -The latter battle was not of long duration, and was decisive. The -combatants were distinguished on the one side by green boughs in -their hats, and the Irish by white paper. The 23rd behaved with great -gallantry, and the spurs of Major Toby Purcell, who led the regiment on -that day, are still preserved by the senior major for the time being. -It is unnecessary to enter fully into the details of the campaign or -its battles; but it may be well to record that of existing regiments, -the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 6th of the line, the 1st, 6th, and 7th -among the cavalry, and the 8th, 9th, 12th, 13th, 18th, 20th, 22nd, -23rd, and 27th Regiments of foot fought in the Irish wars, though the -Dutch regiment claimed to have borne the brunt of battle at the Boyne -in 1690, where old Marshal Schomberg fell. But the battle of Aughrim -in 1691 practically completed the conquest of Ireland, and the fall -of Limerick led to the exile of thousands of brave Irishmen, who -preferred service in France to the English yoke, and who formed the -nucleus of that “Irish Brigade” whose gallantry is conspicuous in all -the battle history of that time. In no case is this more conspicuous -than in the defence of Cremona in 1702, where Burke’s and Dillon’s -regiments lost fully one-third of their strength, and by their own -desperate fighting forced Eugene to abandon an assault that at first -seemed likely to be successful. Well might the contemporary poet write -of them-- - - “News, news in Vienna! King Leopold’s sad. - News, news in St. James’s! King William is mad. - News, news in Versailles! Let the Irish Brigade - Be loyally honoured and royally paid. - News, news in old Ireland! High rises her pride, - And high sounds her wail for the brave who have died, - And deep is her prayer--‘God send I may see - Macdonell and Mahoney fighting for me!’” - -So with the continental part of the war with France, in which William -had allied himself with the Netherlands, the Austrian empire, and -others, because of the aggressive and menacing aspect of Louis XIV., -was resuscitated the renown of the English infantry. At Steinkirke -fought the predecessors of the Horse Guards, the 4th Hussars, the -3rd, 4th, and 6th Dragoons, the Grenadier and Coldstream Guards, the -4th, 6th, 7th, 10th, and 16th Foot, the 19th, 21st, the 1st Royals, -the 25th, and the 26th battalions of the line; and so close was the -action that “in the hedge fighting their fire was generally muzzle to -muzzle, the hedge only separating the combatants.” Ten battalions of -British troops held in check thirty of the French, and one battalion -alone “drove four battalions of the enemy from their cannon.” Here it -was that “Corporal Trim”--really Corporal James Butler--was ridden -down in the retreat, and where he blames Count Solmes: “‘He had saved -five battalions, an please your reverence, every soul of them. There -was Cutts’,’ continued the corporal, clapping the forefinger of his -right hand upon the thumb of his left, and counting round his hand, -‘there was Cutts’, Mackay’s, Angus’s, Graham’s, and Leven’s, all cut -to pieces; and so had the English Life Guards too, had it not been for -some regiments on the right, who marched up boldly to their relief, -and received the enemy’s fire in their faces before any one of their -platoons discharged a musket. They’ll go to heaven for it,’ added Trim. -‘Trim is right,’ said my Uncle Toby.” Landen, too, where were present -the Coldstreams, Scots Guards, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th, 16th Foot, etc., -as well as much cavalry, and Neerwinden, showed the extraordinary -gallantry of the British troops, especially of the 6th Carabineers, and -on that field fell Count Solmes himself, as well as one of the most -gallant of the Irish leaders in the Boyne campaign--Sarsfield, who was -shot, though not at the head of the Irish Brigade he loved so well. It -was one of the bloodiest battles of the time, and the stubborn fighting -of both sides resulted in 20,000 dead being left on the field. The next -summer the soil so fertilised “broke forth into millions of poppies,” -and it seemed as if “the figurative prediction of the Hebrew prophet -was literally accomplished, that the earth was disclosing her blood and -refusing to cover the slain.” - -Finally the siege of Namur stands out prominently as the marked success -in the campaign, and gives to one regiment, the 18th, the motto of -“_Virtutis Namurcensis Præmium_.” It lost 297 of all ranks in the final -attack. The regiments present in this famous siege were 1st, 5th, -6th, 7th Dragoon Guards, the 1st, 2nd, and 4th Dragoons, the 4th and -7th Light Dragoons, the 5th, 15th, 18th, and 19th Foot, forming one -division to keep in check the relieving force of Marshal Villeroy. The -other was composed of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 16th, and 17th Foot, -to carry out the actual siege operations. The greatest gallantry was -shown throughout by both sides; but the place finally fell, and it is -curious to note the punctiliousness of the soldiers of those days in -that Marshal Boufflers, though all the fortress had been captured save -only the castle, and though Villeroy was powerless to raise the siege, -would not capitulate without an assault. Unnecessary as it was, it was -undertaken, at the cost of 2000 men, and for the first time a great -fortress was surrendered by a French marshal to a British general. -Here it was that Sterne’s “Captain Shandy” was wounded in the groin -before the gate of St. Nicholas. Lord, formerly Colonel, Cutts, of the -regiment that bore his name, and to which another novelistic hero (this -time one of Thackeray’s), in the person of “Count Maximilian Gustavus -Adolphus von Galgenstein,” is presumed to have belonged, behaved with -his usual gallantry; and, says contemporaneous authority, “the bravery -of our infantry was very remarkable, for they forced the enemy from -several posts where they were very well lodged.” - -Of this Cutts, the colonel of a regiment of old time, it is said that -“few considerable actions happened in the wars in which he was not, -and hath been wounded in all the actions in which he served”; and -again: “In that bull-dog courage which flinches from no danger, however -terrible, he was unrivalled.” There was no difficulty in finding hardy -volunteers, German, Dutch, and British, to go on a forlorn hope; but -Cutts was the only man who appeared to consider such an expedition as -a party of pleasure. He was so much at his ease in the hottest fire of -the French batteries that his soldiers gave him the honourable name of -“The Salamander.” He was a fighting man of the time; became baronet -first, and was then raised to the peerage, and of him it was written-- - - “The warlike Cutts the welcome tidings brings, - The true, brave servant of the best of kings-- - Cutts, whose known worth no herald need proclaim, - His wounds and his own worth can speak his fame.” - -Still, with all that, he had not enough science to make a general. - -During this period armour was still gradually being abandoned, though -the cuirass was worn by mounted troops and to some extent by the -officers of the line regiments. The beaver hats of the cavalry were -lined with steel and the legs were protected by heavy jack-boots. The -ranks of the infantry had been reduced to six, and were still further -being lessened in depth. The companies, about 100 strong, still had, -in 1680, 30 pikemen, 60 matchlock men, and 10 men armed with a light -fusil to pick off conspicuous leaders; but three years later the -English Guards were furnished with “snaphaunce” muskets, with flint, -or pyrites, locks, and the bandoliers were replaced by pouches. In -1695, the king directed that the “cap” was to be worn by the Royal and -Scots Fusiliers and the Grenadiers of each regiment. The others wore -the three-cornered hat. The company was by then 60 strong, with only -14 pikemen, and the officers carried pikes, partisans, or half-pikes. -Pikes were not entirely abandoned until about 1705. - -The pay of the cavalry soldier was 1s. 6d. per day, out of which he had -to keep his horse; that of the private was but 8d. per day. The cavalry -regiments were organised in four squadrons, much as they are now, and -were being armed with sword and pistol. The artillery alone were only -partly organised as an “arm” of battle, and had made little progress -save in construction from the time of the Civil War; but the necessity -for military engineers had arisen, and Captain Burgh and Lieutenant -Wallace remained “with the forces engaged in the siege of the castle -(of Namur) in the capacity of engineers.” - -But the growth of the permanent army had been steady. By the time -Charles II. died, there were about 16,500 men enrolled, of whom about -one-half were now regulars; in 1697 the total home and field army -which has been variously estimated at from 80,000 to 65,000 men, -had been again reduced--this time to what was liberally supposed to -be the number on the English Establishment after Nimeguen, or about -10,000 men; but William’s proposal to permanently increase the army -to 20,000 met with the greatest opposition. An amendment that the -army in England should consist only of 7000 men, and those entirely -British, was carried, and thus the Dutch guards of the king were -disbanded, though apparently there were still some 12,000 men on the -Irish Establishment and about 4000 on the Scotch, while there had been -no objection to voting 15,000 men for the fleet. With this branch of -our national defence there has always been greater liberality and less -suspicion. This at least was mainly, if not entirely, defensive, was -the absolutely necessary protector of our commerce, and could never -have been a serious menace, so men seemed to think, to the peace or -liberties of the realm. The amalgamation of the English and Scotch -Establishments in 1707 had given precedence to the infantry in the case -of the Royal Scots, but had placed the cavalry second, in the case of -the Scots Greys, though they had been raised in 1681. - -Still the army had much improved. The introduction of the first Mutiny -Act in 1689, giving Parliamentary authority for officers to punish -men for mutiny and desertion without reference to civil law, a power -hitherto denied to them in Great Britain during peace, still further -recognised the standing army as a constitutional force, besides the -militia, which had been up to that time theoretically the only one; -for it was not permanently paid or embodied. But before King William’s -time the “method of voting men and money for the army annually had been -introduced, to some extent.” - -The distinguished gallantry of the men at Landen, Steinkirke, and -Namur had called forth the reluctant admiration of foreign powers, -and had converted this country into a power having Continental as -well as insular interests:--“the English subaltern was inferior to no -subaltern, and the English private soldier to no soldier in courage.” -This criticism speaks for itself. - -It is curious to notice how the political centre of gravity had -changed. Before this time English armies had indeed fought Continental -battles, but they were largely those in which only our real or fancied -personal interests were concerned. Now, however, the English flag was -to fly in causes alien to her own personal interests, and valuable only -to the king and the country the king loved. For Holland first of all -was really at the bottom of the “soldier king’s” action in leading the -armies of Great Britain. His interests had always been Continental, -and his personal influence, as well as other less important factors, -was leading this country to assert herself and display her military -value in his own national interest That William had some military -skill is evident, but his action was rather that of a brave soldier -than that of a great commander. By his own often reckless exposure, -he aroused the spirits of his soldiery, and he did not fear to face -danger, as Landen, where his clothes were several times pierced with -bullets, proved. Yet, though apparently respected, he was little liked. -The “asthmatic skeleton” who at Neerwinden “covered the slow retreat -of England” had roused irritation among the officers. Dutch generals -had been forced into high commands for which they showed no special -capacity. Neither Schomberg nor Ginckel in Ireland had displayed marked -ability; and Solmes at Steinkirke had evidenced an incomprehensible -apathy in going to the help of Mackay’s British contingent; while, -after Aughrim, when Ginckel had been raised to the peerage as Earl -of Athlone, the veteran Mackay was left out in the cold. The British -officers felt the incompetency of these foreign leaders, and also in -the above battle that English soldiers had been sacrificed to save the -Dutch Blues. The defeat at Neerwinden cost the army sixty-nine cannon -and sixty standards. So often were Dutch and English colours captured -in these early wars, that the Prince of Condé called King William -the “Upholsterer of Nôtre Dame,” from the number of banners he had -surrendered for the decoration of that building! The two medals for -Landen, or Neerwinden, which the king struck, and which have the title -“Invictissimus Guillemus Mag.,” have little significance, therefore. -The men fought magnificently; the generalship was of no high order on -the Allied side; and the results were meagre. - -But if the officers cared little for the Dutch prince, the rank and -file were not likely on their side to feel affection for a sovereign -who introduced flogging into the army and keel-hauling into the navy. -And, lastly, the cost of these wars, which were directly designed for -the defence of Holland, cost this country some £33,000,000 of money and -the establishment of a National Debt. - -But Irish disturbance and foreign war had brought to the front the -greatest soldier that this country has produced, and who was to -carry the glory of the British army to the highest point. It was of -Marlborough that, with regard to Ireland, the popular remark was -made that “he had achieved more important results in one month, than -the king’s phlegmatic Dutch friend had done in two campaigns”; it -was of him that Prince Vaudemont, no mean judge, spoke, when he told -the king that “there is something in the Earl of Marlborough that is -inexpressible; for the fire of Kirke, the thought of Lanier, the skill -of Mackay, and the bravery of Colchester seem united in his person; -and I have lost my knowledge of physiognomy, if any subject you have -can ever attain to such military glory as this combination of sublime -perfections must advance him.” - -He was not merely a fighting man, he was an educated soldier. His -apprenticeship in France had shown him the value of discipline, and -under William he was able and encouraged to enforce it. But he was -above all a student of the art of war, and so left little to chance, -for he recognised that “war is not a conjectural art,” but a science. - -This was the man whom William, on his deathbed, commended to the coming -queen as the fittest man to “conduct her armies or preside over her -councils.” He was head and shoulders above the brave and hard-fighting -Anglo-Dutch king in military genius, without a doubt. But “the weak -point in his position was, that it depended on the personal favour of -a stupid woman. When his wife lost her influence over Queen Anne, his -political antagonists in England found no great difficulty in bringing -about his disgrace.” - - - - -CHAPTER V - -MARLBOROUGH AND HIS MEN--TO 1714 - - -With the accession of Anne a fresh impetus was given to the national -spirit, and therefore to the army, which was its natural exponent. An -opinion by itself is valueless, but when backed up by threat of force, -must necessarily be listened to. There was much to keep the military -spirit alive, nothing to kill it down. There was a threatening and -ominous war-cloud beyond the Scottish border, which might accumulate -still more, and break with danger to the whole State, so long as there -was a pretender to the throne. There was now a greater amount of -intelligence, both as regards the understanding of what was going on -abroad, as well as at home, among the people; and still greater was the -amount and truthfulness of the news regarding such foreign affairs. The -spread of information as to what British soldiers were doing elsewhere -against the French and others, kept vigorously alive the memory of past -success, whether such was counted from Agincourt by land, or Blake at -sea. There was the beginning of the national principle of Empire, as -compared with the mere cramped vestrydom of home affairs only. A nation -that cares for nothing but such as these is provincial, not national, -in its tastes and views. But enlarged interests produce enlarged ideas. -The increasing necessity for an army was the first unwilling rift in -the old provincial policy of isolation. England was being led, or -forced, or both, to abandon her insular position and to take her place -more actively among the nations, and the consequent need for that -permanent national police, the army, was being slowly, though -still reluctantly, recognised. - -[Illustration: _Private 14^{th} Reg^{t}. 1742._] - -But ill deeds take long a-dying. It was not yet a century since kings -had tried to crush the freedom of a people, or since an army had taken -the place of personal rule and had threatened another and still worse -form of autocracy; still matters were mending. National poverty--for -the country was then neither populous nor rich--may have had a little -to do with past reluctance to enter the arena of European politics; -and for a long time a natural dread of a despotism of any kind led a -freedom-loving people to refuse supplies that might be used to create -a weapon hostile to their continued liberty. But all strong nations, -not governed by feminine hysteria or led by ill-balanced doctrinaires, -like to feel themselves strong and respected abroad as well as at home. -Blake had already shown the value of such a sentiment, but the time was -hardly yet ripe for the full influence of his work to be felt. It was -possibly but little known, generally, in his lifetime; for information, -in the middle of the seventeenth century, was slow in spreading. -Certainly it had not been fully grasped. But times were changing. -National glory, once tasted, could not be maintained by keeping aloof -from the broader work and interests of the world. The wars of Anne’s -reign, in which Marlborough was the leading spirit, roused the bold -fighting spirit that made the England of the eighteenth century, as the -campaigns of the early part of the nineteenth century have kept that -spirit from decay. - -[Illustration: THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH - - _From an old print_ -] - -But, more than this, an Englishman, the greatest of our national -leaders, John Churchill, Earl of Marlborough, Captain-General of -the combined forces in the Netherlands, was not only to take a more -prominent part in the coming war, was not only to enter into a campaign -the theatre of which was to range from the Atlantic to the German -Ocean, but was to command a more distinctly British contingent than -in William’s reign, when British, Dutch, and even Danes fought under -the same flag. And if the causes of the wars of the Dutch prince had -been rather of a personal nature, as before remarked, those which now -led the advisers of Queen Anne to take a vigorous offensive on the -Continent, were to preserve that “Balance of Power in Europe,” which -eventually became one of the special reasons advanced in the Mutiny Act -for the continuous, large standing army in this country. The war was to -check French oppression generally, for Europe’s sake, and to prevent a -single small State from falling into her hands. - -“The necessity of war is occasioned by the want of a supreme judge, who -may decide upon the disputes of individuals.... In the failure of any -perfect remedy, however, for the disorder of war, a corrector of its -evils has been found in the system called the Balance of Power. Europe -being divided into many separate states, it has been the established -policy of all, that when any one by its aggrandisement, threatened the -general safety, the rest should unite to defend their independence. -Thus Louis XIV. was checked by England, Holland, and the Empire.”[19] - -So the war-clouds again burst, with, on one side, a British, Dutch, -and Austrian army under Marlborough and Prince Eugene, and a force of -Spanish, Bavarians, and French under Tallard on the other; but the -extension of the interest in foreign political war was not now confined -only to the Continent, for seven regiments of infantry were also -despatched to the West Indies, to attempt the capture of the enemy’s -possessions in the Caribbean Sea and elsewhere. - -There was much desultory fighting before the great battles whose -names are borne on British colours were fought; for victories at -Schellenburg, Bonn, Huy, etc., earned for the British general a dukedom -before the battles of Blenheim, Ramilies, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet -were fought. Ramilies is remarkable for the fact that, though the -contending forces were nearly equal, of the Allies only twenty-two -battalions were English, and nine Scotch; and that Marlborough, by -recognising that the French left was behind a marsh difficult to -pass, neglected this side and attacked in strength the other flank -with complete success. Here, too, an Irish regiment captured an -English colour, which long hung in the Irish Benedictine Church at -Ypres; and it was at Ramilies that the 25th King’s Own Borderers found -the French had not to halt and fix the “plug” bayonet in the muzzle -before charging, because they had adopted the socketed bayonet. Of the -regiments that fought in these campaigns, the Coldstream Guards were at -Oudenarde and Malplaquet only; the 28th and 29th at Ramilies; but all -four of these great victories are borne on the colours of the 1st, 3rd, -5th, 6th, and 7th Dragoon Guards, the 2nd Dragoons, the 5th Lancers, -the Grenadier Guards, and the 1st, 3rd, 8th, 10th, 15th, 16th, 18th, -21st, 23rd, 24th, 26th, and 37th Regiments of the line. - -At Oudenarde there was a slight superiority on the part of the French, -and the battle is noteworthy for the presence and the gallant bearing -of “the Prince Elector of Hanover,” who afterwards, as George II., -fought at Dettingen. It was essentially an infantry battle, for the -cavalry found little ground for their useful employment, and the -artillery were scarcely engaged at all. The field was contested far -into the darkness, and the French total loss in killed, wounded, and -missing is reported to have amounted to 20,000 men. - -Malplaquet ranks as the most sanguinary conflict of the four, and -the loss of life almost exceeded the total of the other three. Among -the distinguished historical names of the combatants is that of the -“Chevalier de St. George,” who, as Marshal Boufflers says in his -despatch, “behaved himself during the whole action with all possible -bravery and vivacity,” and led twelve charges of the Household -troops. Courage was common, therefore, to both aspirants for the -British throne. The loss on both sides was heavy, that on the part of -the Allies has been variously put at between 35,000 and 18,000 men -(Villars); while the French loss was 15,000. Many of the veterans of -these wars lived up to the present century, and one, Henry Francis of -New York, died in 1820, aged 134. - -Of all these battles, Blenheim offers the best type of the “order of -battle” of the times. In a story that simply proposes to tell how our -army came to be, and how and why it increased, any detailed reference -to the causes of and even sequence of the successive wars is beyond -its province. It will be sufficient, therefore, to recall to mind that -the campaign in which Blenheim was the distinguishing feature arose, -in the beginning, from the offensive action on the part of Louis XIV. -in supporting the Stuarts, and in the support he gave to the claims of -his grandson Philip to the throne of Spain. The _odium theologicum_ was -also a serious factor in the game. It was the ever recurring battle -between the Catholicism of Rome and that of the other sections of -Christianity antagonistic to the claims of the Romish Church. - -It was nominally a coalition against France; at the bottom of it all -was religious antagonism, and this notwithstanding the nature of the -alliance. The Dutch wanted to preserve their frontiers, to protect -their faith. The Imperial army wanted to check French aggression and -support the Austrian candidature to the Spanish throne; while the -alliance of Bavaria with France left the heart of Germany open to these -allies. The defeat of the Emperor would destroy the Austrian hopes, -and therefore the French, under Tallard, moved towards the valley of -the Danube. Hence it was that Marlborough, grasping the situation and -seeing the importance of the defeat of the main Franco-Bavarian army, -decided on concentrating the allied forces in the valley of the Danube, -as Napoleon did later at Ulm.[20] - -Thus, after some unimportant tactical and strategical operations, -the opposing armies found themselves approaching each other near the -village of Blenheim, or Blindheim, between Dillingen and Donauwerth, on -the north bank of the great river. - -The road between these places is crossed by two streams running into -the Danube. West of the first is Hochstadt, the usual name given -to the battle by foreign writers; on the second, the Nebel, and close -to the Danube, was “Blindheim,” with Unterglauheim, on a marshy space -a short distance up the stream, and midway between the Danube and the -wooded heights in which these small tributary streams rise. Between -the rivulets lie parallel ledges of no great height; but, owing to the -period of the year, the streamlet was practically passable--except -possibly to cavalry and artillery--in most places. West of the Nebel -were the Franco-Bavarians, and Tallard had viewed his front of battle -as reduced to a series of defiles by the nature of the wet ground in -front, and had moreover retired so far from the stream as to leave -plenty of room for an assaulting column to deploy after it had crossed -the comparatively insignificant obstacle. Thinking the centre naturally -strong, Tallard therefore occupied Blenheim, which was strong enough -almost to take care of itself, with twenty-six battalions and twelve -squadrons. - -[Illustration: _Formation of the Lines of Battle at Blenheim 13^{th} -August 1704._] - -The centre was practically composed of cavalry, eighty squadrons, -and seven battalions. The left was held by Marsin from Oberglauheim -farther up the Nebel to the wooded hill lands in strength with fourteen -battalions (including the Irish Brigade) and thirty-six squadrons. On -the east bank of the rivulet, Marlborough, arriving first, had to wait -for his ally Eugene, and decided on holding or containing the enemy’s -right with Cutts’ hard-fighting regiment; and, waiting for the similar -attack by his ally on the enemy’s left, kept in hand a centre of 8000 -cavalry in two lines in front and a force of infantry in second line -behind. His artillery were posted to cover the passage of the stream, -over which extra pontoon bridges had been thrown. So he waited until -Eugene was ready to engage. - -This happened about 1 p.m., and the battle on this side was hotly -contested to the end, with varying results; indeed, the Irish Brigade -assailed the infantry of Marlborough’s right centre with serious -results, until checked, and finally Marsin was able to retreat in good -order. Meanwhile, on the other flank, Cutts had been able to “contain” -Blenheim, and then, about 5 p.m., Marlborough’s centre crossed -between the villages of Unter and Oberglauheim, and, supported as far -as possible by guns, vigorously attacked and broke the centre of the -defence, and the battle was practically over. For the separation of -the wings obliged Marsin to fall back on Dillingen; and Blenheim, with -twenty-four battalions and twelve squadrons, was compelled to surrender. - -The Allied loss came to about 5000 killed and 8000 wounded. Of the -French, 12,000 were killed and 14,000 made prisoners; while all the -cannon and stores, some 300 colours, the general commanding, and 12,000 -officers, were captured. - -The “advice to officers,” printed at Perth in 1795, tells a quaint -story of the conduct of the men of the 15th Foot during the battle. -One of the senior officers, who knew he was unpopular because of his -severity with his men, turned round to them before getting under fire, -and confessed he had been to blame, and begged to fall by the hands -of the French, not theirs. “March on, sir,” replied a grenadier; “the -enemy is before us, and we have something else to do than think of you -now.” On the French giving way, the major took off his hat and cried, -“Huzzah, gentlemen!--the day is our own”; and, so saying, he fell dead, -pierced through the brain; whether even then accidentally or otherwise -by some of his own men or by the enemy, will never be known. But the -death of officers by other bullets than those of the enemy is no new -thing, if past stories and tradition be true. - -The victory had a twofold aspect. On the one side the political effect -was enormous. It had checked for ever the idea of universal dominion -which may have been in Louis’ mind. More than this, but for it the -whole face of Europe might have been politically altered. Protestantism -might have once more been overridden by Roman Catholicism; Stuarts and -not Guelphs might have reigned in England; the growth of commercial -enterprise and religious freedom might have received a serious check; -and, to quote Alison without fully endorsing his views, it is possible -that “the Colonial Empire of England might have withered away and -perished, as that of Spain has done in the grasp of the Inquisition. -The Anglo-Saxon race would have been arrested in its mission to -overspread the earth and subdue it. The centralised despotism of the -Roman Empire would have been renewed in Continental Europe. The chains -of Romish tyranny, and with them the general infidelity of France -before the Revolution, would have extinguished or prevented thought in -the British Islands.” These are strong views and possibly exaggerated; -but whatever danger might have accrued from French aggression, the -victory of Blenheim effectually stopped it. On the other hand, from a -military standpoint the battle shows a curious change in tactics, which -forms a sort of link with those of the time preceding it and those that -followed. The actual order of battle shows how little, even then, the -true employment of the mounted arms with respect to the infantry was -understood. For example, Tallard had sent, besides a crowd of infantry, -into the confined village space of Blenheim, where the few could check -the many, some twelve dragoon squadrons to be dismounted and fight -on foot. He did not, evidently, understand or grasp the proportion -of footmen necessary for mere passive defence, or the value of the -defensive when the protective nature of the cover afforded by such a -place was taken into account. - -Nor was the relative support of the three arms of battle better -understood. If in the past the men-at-arms formed the mainstay of -the attack, so here, with a slight difference, is the same result -apparent. Much as the infantry had improved and come to the front, it -was, apparently, not even now recognised that it was a principal arm -of battle, to which all others are accessory. Then, when the decisive -moment of the day, about 5 p.m., came, the cavalry, some 8000 strong, -were led by the duke himself against the French position. There was -still personal leadership of men rather than the direction of them that -the general showed. “The infantry were in _support_, with intervals -between the battalions, so that the squadrons, if repulsed, might pass -through.” The admixture of the dissimilar arms of infantry and cavalry -in the same fighting line is still curious. Similarly, says General -Kane, “the Gens d’armes ... _began_ the battle by a most furious -charge, and broke through part of the front line” of Cutts’ division. - -The probable fact is that the cavalry, being more mobile than the -infantry, whose fighting power depended on the fire-action, which was -necessarily slow, were used for the real attack, as the infantry were -less able to take a vigorous offensive. Besides, the enemy’s centre -was composed chiefly of the mounted arm. The artillery, slow moving -like the infantry, were brought up in _support_ of the more mobile -body. It was only therefore when the ground was hopelessly bad for the -mounted arm, as at Oudenarde and Malplaquet, that the decisive blow was -given by infantry, and then the fight was more prolonged, more bloody, -more stubbornly contested and less resultful. Good as the infantry -was,--so good that “Salamander Cutts” advanced his regiments right up -to the palisades of Blenheim without firing a shot, and he contained -and held therefore in the village the mass of troops that finally had -to surrender there,--it was not the principal arm yet. The infantry -_supported_ the main attack of the cavalry, and completed the victory. -Time was to come when the cavalry were to reverse these tactics, and -complete the success that the infantry had begun. - -The proportion of the cavalry to infantry again proves the case; -nowadays it would be absolutely abnormal. Of the 52,000 Allies (9000 of -whom were English), there were 20,000 cavalry. Of the 56,000 French, -8000 were cavalry. It is a stage in the tactical history, and that -is all. The artillery took the preparatory part of the battle, and -practically stopped there. The infantry finished what the cavalry had -begun by Marlborough’s “decisive attack” with his two lines of cavalry; -but the value of artillery to support such an advance and its increased -mobility is foreshadowed by the advance of the guns across the Nebel. - -How history repeats itself backwards and forwards! In a war of -pure aggression, with, at its bottom, racial and religious hatred, -Shouvaloff, after the capture of Ismail in 1790, “with bloody hands” -writes his first despatch, and in it says, “Glory to God and the -Empress, Ismail’s ours!” So, in, 1870 Emperor William telegraphs to his -Queen, “Thanks be to God!” Here too, at Blenheim, Marlborough says in -his despatch to Queen Anne: “So with the blessing of God we obtained a -complete victory. We have cut off great numbers of them as well in the -action as in the retreat, besides upwards of thirty squadrons of the -French which I pushed into the Danube.” The assumption that Providence -is on the winning side, or on that of the “big battalions,” is common -throughout the military history of all time. - -The victory of Blenheim was certainly most complete. The French were -not defeated only, but routed and dispersed by the central attack, as -Napoleon defeated his adversaries at Austerlitz later on, by a similar -tactical blow. “The best troops in the world had been vanquished,” said -the marshal mournfully; but, replied Marlborough, “I think my own must -be the best in the world, as they have conquered those on whom you -bestow so high an encomium.” - -And, says another writer of the time, speaking of the anxious and -dreadful side of war, “A great general--I mean such as the Duke of -Marlborough, weak in his constitution and well stricken in years--would -not undergo those eating cares which must be continually at his heart, -the toils and hardships he must endure, if he has the least spark of -human consideration; I say he could not engage in such a life, if not -for the sake of his Queen, his country, and his honour.” - -Meanwhile, other warlike operations had been conducted elsewhere on the -Continent, though their glories and disasters were overshadowed by the -more tremendous conflicts in the northern theatre of war. An allied -Anglo-Dutch force under the Earl of Peterborough had been despatched -to the Spanish Peninsula in support of the claim of Charles III. to -the Spanish throne; and in consequence of the maritime nature of the -operations, battalions for sea service as marines were raised, so to -the three already in existence were added the 30th, 31st, and 32nd -Regiments of the line. The first success was the capture of Barcelona, -in which Colonel Southwell of the 6th Foot distinguished himself, and -where two Marine colonels, Birr and Rodney, disagreed on landing to -such an extent that they thereupon fought in front of the line, and the -latter was wounded unto death. Birr finally commanded the 32nd. - -But one of the rare disasters in our military annals befell us in this -campaign at Almanza, where the Guards, the 2nd, 6th, 9th, 11th, 17th, -28th, 33rd, 35th, and 36th Regiments, the 2nd Dragoon Guards, 3rd, 4th, -and 8th Hussars, besides other regiments since disbanded, were present, -and where the new Union Jack, with the two crosses of St. Andrew and -St. George only, was first carried; but the British were heavily -outnumbered by the fifty-two battalions and seventy-six squadrons -of the enemy, led by the Duke of Berwick, the son of James II. and -Arabella Churchill, and were practically dispersed, with the loss of -all their guns, 620 colours, and 10,000 prisoners. To counterbalance -this was the gallant defence of the castle of Alicante, and the -brilliant “affair” of Saragossa, when 30 standards were taken; and the -6th Foot claim the right of wearing their badge of the antelope from -the date of this battle, in which one of the standards taken by them -bore that emblem. - -Meanwhile, Marlborough retired to France after the treaty of Utrecht, -to return when George I. ascended the throne, as Captain-General and -Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, Colonel of the 1st Foot Guards, and -Master of the Ordnance. But he did not survive the receipt of his -new honours and return to power long. He died in 1722, at the age of -seventy-three years, and a grateful nation interred him in Westminster -Abbey. - -Whatever estimate may be formed as to the private character of -Churchill, there can be but one opinion as to his military career. -Few great generals have had a more difficult task to perform than he, -hampered as he was by alliances which often prevented his carrying to -its full end the instincts and direction of his military genius. He -was, besides being a skilful and scientific general, a brave man, and a -leader of men. He never lost a battle or a siege. His recognition of -the enemy’s weakness in the centre at Blenheim is only equalled by the -similar penetration that Napoleon displayed at Austerlitz, and which -proved once more that piercing the centre, if possible and successful, -necessarily involves the temporary dispersion of the defeated army. His -quick eye for “ground” is equally shown in his grasping the weakness -of the French defensive position at Ramilies, and his seeing that the -enemy’s left, being powerless for rapid offence, could be checked and -held in place, while the weight of the rest of his army was thrown -against the other wing. - -His personal bravery at the same battle nearly cost him his life; and -it is curious to read of the general commanding himself leading a -charge in person, and fighting like a trooper, sword in hand. - -But this and his personal care for and interest in his men was the -secret of his power of leadership. He himself inspected his line before -a battle, and his calm presence imparted a courage and confidence that -all soldiers understand. His cheerful and cheering “Be steady and go -on--keep up your fire, and the enemy will soon be dispersed,” accounts -for much of the feeling that the rank and file felt for “Corporal -John,” the affectionate title the men applied to him, as French -soldiers did that of “le petit Caporal” to the equally great soldier -of the next century. The ballad-writer of about 1711 fully emphasises -this:-- - - “Don’t talk of Schomberg and such to me; - Noll and King William they might be queer - To deal with, but he’d have beat them all three, - Lord! as easy as I’m taking off this beer. - All along I was with him, and I should know, - And I tell you, my boys, the sun never shone - On one that has led a charge here below - That was fit to be named with Corporal John. - - * * * * * - - Then May good luck and Ramilies brought, - At Ottomond’s tomb, by the red Mehaigne, - To slaughter our corporal, Villeroi thought, - But the French and their marshal we thrashed again. - Eighty standards and every gun - Our corporal took that glorious day, - And with it the whole of Brabant we won, - And Louis from Flanders, he slunk away. - Oh, Corporal John always fought to beat; - He was the one who could reckon upon; - There was glory and plunder, but never retreat, - For all who fought under Corporal John.” - -He believed in his men, and was careful of them as far as such was -possible. He believed that “with 10,000 well-fed Englishmen, 10,000 -half-starved Scotchmen, and 10,000 Irishmen charged with usquebaugh, he -could march from Boulogne to Bayonne in spite of Le Grand Monarque.” -And, true Englishman, he was “always of opinion that English horses, as -well as English men, were better than could be had anywhere else.” - -And while a strict disciplinarian (an absolute necessity with the -very rough material he had to command) he allowed no severe court -martial punishment to be carried into effect without his knowledge and -confirmation. Men were kept sufficiently employed, when in camp and -not actively engaged, to prevent liberty degenerating into licence. He -was no advocate, apparently, for night marching, thinking that three -hours of sound sleep _before_ midnight were all-important. After that, -it did not matter how early the reveillé was sounded. And, lastly, -it is curious to read of a fighting man of the early part of the -eighteenth century, when morals were not at their highest, and of one -the private side of whose character is, to say the least, questionable, -taking special care of the theological element of governance. His -chaplains were intended to do their duty, and did it. He rarely, if -ever, went into action without going to prayers first! At least, so -it is said. He has much in common with Napoleon. Both as soldiers -stand preeminent; both in their private capacities show weaknesses -that are little removed from criminal. But in thus judging the great -duke, every allowance must be made for the times in which he lived, -and the corruption that was so common as to be almost excusable. But -whether his hands were clean or not, whether his conscience was pure -or otherwise, whether he was really loyal or disloyal to the sovereign -he, militarily, served so well, now all these things may be forgotten, -and only the fact that he raised the name of the English army to -the highest pitch of glory, and laid the foundation of our present -respected position both by land and sea, need be remembered by this -generation. - -With the peace of Utrecht the great war for a time came to an end, and -the army of 200,000 men was reduced to 8000 in Great Britain and 11,000 -in the Plantations and elsewhere. All this, be it remembered, with the -remembrance of the victories of Blenheim and Ramilies still ringing -in the nation’s ears. But people began slowly, though still with -reluctance, to desire that the army should go to war strong, even if, -after the sound of battle had ceased, the Government reduced it to a -mere cipher of its former battle strength. Yet, though a cipher, it was -still one of larger value after each campaign than it was before. - -When, therefore, a German-speaking king, George I., ascended the -throne, the standing army had permanently grown. - -There were, besides the Life and Horse Guards, the seven Dragoon -Guards Regiments, the light regiments up to the 8th Light Dragoons (of -which the 7th, formed from troops of the “Greys” and Royal Dragoons, -was disbanded in 1713, but restored in 1715), and up to the 39th Foot -inclusive; and of these the 30th, 31st and 32nd, as Sanderson’s, -Villiers’ and Fox’s Marines, had been raised for sea service before -coming on the army’s strength. It cannot be too often pointed out -that the regiments were formed and disbanded more or less after every -war, and that consequently many rank their seniority from their first -creation. - -The arms had little changed. The cuirass for cavalry was abandoned in -1702 and restored temporarily in 1707. The socketed bayonet had been -introduced, and Blenheim was the first _great_ battle in which the -pike had been replaced by the new weapon. Sergeants still carried the -halberd, which was succeeded as time went on by the lighter pike or -“spontoon,” which remained in the service until after the Peninsular -war, and which was carried by the “covering sergeant,” who protected or -“covered” his captain with the weapon while his superior directed the -work of the company. - -The colours, formerly three in number, had by this time been reduced -to two, the one the Union “Jack,” the other the Regimental Colour, the -ground of which was that of the regimental facings. - -Doubtless the political feeling of expediency and the want of a larger -revenue had still much to do with these continuous and expensive -reductions, even more than the decaying dread of standing armies. They -were expensive as involving greater expenditure when war broke out -afresh, as it was likely to do. They cost the internal economy of the -State much, from the difficulty of finding employment for the vast -numbers of disbanded soldiery after a campaign. Politicians of the time -were too narrow-minded to see that it costs less to be always prepared -for war in peace rather than wait for the warlike necessity to arise. -They were “penny wise and pound foolish” then, much as we are to-day. -Taxpayers and Governments are proverbially slow to recognise this. The -greater the national wealth, the more need for the national insurance. -That means an army and a navy sufficient for that insurance. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE EMBERS OF THE CIVIL WAR--TO 1755 - - -The method of raising the army from the early part of the eighteenth -century until nearly its end had been by a curious system of contract. -Recruiting at first was mainly voluntary; but paupers or prisoners for -civil offences were given the option of serving in the ranks. Hence was -it that the armies that “swore so horribly in Flanders” got the bad -name that clung to the profession of arms in Great Britain until recent -years. The class of recruits, the severity of punishment, and the -degradation of the lash were the three main reasons why, in the opinion -of many worthy country people, to become a soldier was to be lost! - -“Sergeant Kite’s” statement in the _Recruiting Officer_[21] is, though -coarse, a not much exaggerated picture of what was _thought_ of the -soldier, though it can never assuredly be applied to all who wore the -uniform. He says: “I was born a gipsy, and bred among that crew till I -was ten years of age; there I learned canting and lying. I was bought -from my mother Cleopatra by a certain nobleman for three pistoles, -who, liking my beauty, made me his page; there I learned impudence and -pimping. I was turned off for wearing my lord’s linen and drinking my -lady’s ratafia, and then became bailiff’s follower; there I learned -bullying and swearing. I at last got into the army, and there I learned -wenching and drinking, so that if your worship pleases to cast up the -old sum, viz.--canting, lying, impudence, bullying, swearing, drinking, -and a halberd, you will find the sum total amounting to a recruiting -sergeant.” - -This, then, is reputed to be the material; the following was the method -of capturing it.[22] The crown contracted with gentlemen of position or -known soldiers to raise a certain body of troops, and bounty money per -head was granted for the purpose. Regiments, therefore, long bore the -names of the colonels who had raised or those who had recruited them. -Sometimes in lieu of money the contractor sold the commissions, which -was called “raising men for rank”; and hence arose a further extension -of the purchase system which seems to have originated with Charles II. -For the maintenance of this force the colonel received an annual sum to -defray the cost of clothing, pay, and recruiting; thus it is related -that a British Fusilier Regiment had four years’ pay owing to officers -and men, who, in spite of repeated memorials, could not obtain any -portion of it. After the lapse of some time, it transpired that Lord -Tyrawley, the colonel, had appropriated the arrears to his own use; an -act which he attempted to justify by pleading the custom of the army, -and by the fact of the king being cognisant of his proceedings.[23] -Recruits were raised by “a beating order,” without which recruiting was -illegal, and the regiment was kept up to full strength. Field officers, -to increase their rate of pay, received, say, colonel _as_ colonel, -12s. a day, and in addition, as captain of company 8s. a day. - -The term of enlistment of the recruit was a matter of arrangement, and -was often for life. The troops were long disposed in billets in Great -Britain, but in the early part of the eighteenth century barracks for -about 5000 men had been created, and the evils of billeting were fully -recognised. The barrack accommodation had not increased to more than -sufficient for 20,000 men by 1792. - -The Jacobite risings form a curious link in the conduct of European -politics, and not only led to active interference in them because of -the support given by France and Spain to the Stuart cause, but they -are also domestically interesting as being the last cases in which -armed bodies have met in civil war in England. They also emphasise the -curious personal and sentimental attraction which long hung round the -dynasty of the Stuarts, and for which there is no sufficient reason -to be advanced. They were neither great nor noble, neither good nor -trustworthy. Their reigns were either years of disturbance at home or -ineptitude abroad. Their attraction was only that of romance, coupled -with that odd personal reverence for the divinity of kingship, which -James I. brought prominently forward as a political creed, and which no -previous sovereign had been successful in establishing. Men of repute -and renown often changed sides when the “Roses” reigned; but this was -rare when the Stuarts ruled, or tried to rule. - -It is this romantic feeling that makes the efforts on the part of -the Jacobites to restore King James seem sorrowful. One cannot but -sympathise with those who sacrificed all for the most ungrateful -group of kings that have ever occupied the English throne, and at -the same time wonder why they did so. The Winchester motto of “Aimez -loyauté,” meant in the abstract but obedience or love for law, the -ordinances of the realm. It was for the enthusiastic Cavalier to -translate loyalty into personal regard for an indifferent, to say -the very least of it, group of kings, who had as a race scarcely one -attribute of true kingship. One’s sympathy, therefore, goes out more -fully towards the adherents than the leaders of the hopeless cause; -and it is well that the strong common sense of the nation saw that -the restoration of either of the Pretenders was hopeless. The peace -of Ryswick was the first blow to the faint hopes of James II.’s -restoration. His no longer receiving the active sympathy of France -reduced, for the time being, his “party” to a “faction.” The mistakes -of the Governments which followed were by no means the least of the -causes that re-formed it again into a “party” dangerous to the reigning -dynasty of Great Britain. There is no doubt that the injudicious -conduct of the statesmen of the early Georges, and even of the kings -themselves, did little to smooth matters. To have let small bickerings -and insurrections severely alone, by treating them as of no great -importance, might have rendered serious troubles less probable. Making -martyrs strengthened, rather than weakened the Jacobite cause; while, -on the other hand, the judicious conduct of the sovereign, later in the -century, destroyed for ever the hopes of seeing a Catholic James on the -British throne. - -But one great result, as far as the growth of the army is concerned, -arose from these dynastic troubles. They led by degrees to a closer -union between the fighting materials of North and South Britain, and to -the formation of those Highland regiments whose glorious record must be -the pride of all sections of the army, whose colours they have so often -led to victory. The death of James II., and the recognition by France -of his son, the “Old Pretender,” as King of England, re-aroused the -enthusiasm of the followers of the Stuarts. They ceased to be a faction -once more, and hopes rose high when Queen Anne died. The accession of -George I. was marked by increasing discontent, and it is possible, -though hardly probable, that the Young Pretender may have been in -England at the time. But there was no open opposition to the Hanoverian -succession at first, though, owing to the severe measures taken against -the Jacobites in the north, measures which were looked on as contrary -to the Act of Union, many disturbances occurred there and elsewhere, -notably in Edinburgh, Oxfordshire, and Staffordshire. Little was -known, strange to say, of the Highland people. They were regarded in -many quarters as semi-savages, much as the Irish recruits for English -regiments were deemed when James II. was king. In 1705 the Lowland -Scottish Militia was assessed at 22,000 infantry and 2000 horse, while -the fighting strength of the Highlands was regarded as 40,000 men. - -The Government hastily prepared for the outbreak of hostilities. -Regiments were raised and assembled, and the trained bands warned. -The standard of rebellion was soon raised, in Scotland by the Earl of -Mar, in Northumberland by the Earl of Derwentwater and others; and -some 10,000 men drew the sword for King James VIII., “our rightfull -and naturall King ... who is now coming to relieve us from all our -oppressions.” Notwithstanding Mar’s slowness, the revolt rapidly spread -in Scotland, where only some 2000 English troops under General Wightman -were assembled at Stirling, but the eastern counties of England were -watched by the newly-embodied battalions in dread of a descent by -France. Finally, the Duke of Argyll was appointed to the command of -the northern forces, which were to be reinforced, if required, by 6000 -men from Holland; and among the troops assembled at Stirling were now -the ancestors of the Scots Greys, the 3rd, 4th, and 7th Hussars, the -6th Inniskilling Dragoons, and the 8th, 14th, and 21st battalions of -the line. There were also some volunteers from Glasgow, Paisley, and -Kilmarnock. - -On the 13th November the opposing forces met at Sheriffmuir, near -Dunblane. The battle is only instructive as showing the Highlanders’ -method of attack; in fact, they had at that time, like cavalry always -have, no real defensive. To defend was to take the offensive. - -The formation of the Highland host long remained the same. Clans could -not be mixed. They fought side by side, each under its chieftain, who -stood in the centre, surrounded by his personal kinsmen, much as Harold -fought at Hastings with his housecarles. Then, often after silent -prayer, the plaids were thrown aside, and the charge was made. To this -there were five motions. First, to set the bonnet firmly on the head; -secondly, covered by the brass-studded target, to rush up to within -fifty yards; next, to fire the long-barrelled Spanish gun and drop it; -fourthly, to fire the steel pistol; and, lastly, to charge home with -dirk or claymore. The men were often arranged ten or twelve ranks deep. - -The march and deployment of the troops on either side in this battle -was such as to place the left wings of both armies outflanking the -other. This gave Mar his chance, and he quickly took it. Ordering -the charge, he led the clan Maclean in person; and they, throwing -aside their plaids, fired a volley, dropped their muskets, and rushed -with cheers and yells on their opponents, claymore and target in -hand. Skilled in the use of these weapons, such a rush was for the -time irresistible. The bayonet thrust was met by the shield, and the -sword or dirk did the rest. The loss in such a case was terrible, the -wounded generally injured beyond recovery. And so the Jacobites swept -the enemy’s left clean off the field, but, like the Royalists sixty -years before, they did not know when to check pursuit, and turn the -defeat of one wing of an army into the rout of the whole. Yet there was -more discipline than usual in these irregulars, for they were little -more. Their first volley had been most steadily delivered, and they -were not “in the least discomposed by the musketry which the British -regiments opened on them in turn.” Meanwhile, on the other wing, Mar’s -troops had been defeated and routed by the combined attack of Argyll’s -cavalry on the flank and his infantry in front, and though the Macraes, -especially, fought with desperate obstinacy, the result here was -practically as decisive as had been the attack of the Earl of Mar. So -he fell back after the battle, leaving Argyll master of the field and -of the situation, and who remarked to an officer before the day closed -that-- - - “If it was na weel bobbit, - We’ll bob it again.” - -But Mar was not the man to lead continuously a Highland host. Success -increased their fighting power--delay but weakened it; so that when -Argyll with some military wisdom at once took a simple defensive, Mar -feared to push the battle further, and his army fell back with the -prayer of at least one Scot, “Oh for one hour of Dundee!” The battle, -which is only noteworthy for the hard fighting of the Cameronians -against their fellow-countrymen, was theoretically “a draw,” but -the possession of the field and the spoil thereof rested with the -Hanoverian side. Soon the army of James began to melt away. The -Chevalier came to Scotland, but the affair of Preston in Lancashire -gave little encouragement for him to stay, and he returned to France. -The first attempt to restore James had signally failed, and while -Mar, attainted, died in exile at Aix la Chapelle, Lords Derwentwater -and Kenmure were beheaded, and the rest of the prisoners, from both -fields, were treated with the greatest barbarity. Still, this rather -inflamed than cowed the martial spirit of the north, for four years -later, the sentiment of revenge for cruelties unworthy even of the -days of the first Georges, led to reprisals. Spain had interested -herself in the Stuart cause, and treated the Chevalier as King of -Great Britain; while, oddly enough, France, being at war with Spain, -sided with King George. The Duke of Ormond headed the somewhat puerile -effort at invasion, which commenced with but 1500 Spaniards and Scots, -who, landing at Loch Alsh, encamped at Glenshiel; but these were to be -reinforced by a larger body under Ormond, which was, however, scattered -by a storm off Cape Finisterre. The isolated invaders received some -small reinforcement, including 400 Macgregors under Rob Roy, and took -up a strong position at the pass of Strachells. Against them marched -General Wightman once more, with some detachments of Dutch troops, -as well as companies of the 11th, 14th, and 15th line regiments; and -although the British force was repulsed, the Spaniards surrendered the -following day, and the Scots dispersed to their homes. - -This second failure resulted in the departure of James from Madrid, -and the loss of Spanish help. But the two efforts had taught the -British Government a lesson. Two things were necessary to subdue these -turbulent Highlands, of whose inhabitants so little was known that -they were generally believed by many English people to be savages -and by some even cannibals. Roads were necessary to open the country -up to organised military movements, and the disarmament of the clans -was requisite to lessen the offensive power of their members. General -Wade, in 1724, was entrusted with this duty, and about this time -independent paid companies of Highlanders were formed, which, from the -sombre colour of their tartans, were called the “Black Watch,” and were -eventually formed into a regiment, numbered finally the 42nd. - -To carry out his instructions, General Wade’s command (the 10th, 12th, -19th, and 21st Regiments) was reviewed by George I. on Salisbury Plain -in 1722, and marched to Inverness, where they joined the camp formed -by the 2nd Queen’s, commanded by Piercy Kirke. The 21st were quartered -in Aberdeenshire, but the remainder marched to Brahan Castle to disarm -the Mackenzies. No resistance was offered, but the whole thing was a -transparent fraud; for but 784 old weapons were given up, and even -then only with the stipulation that the companies of the Black Watch -should not be present. Finally, in all 2685 weapons were collected, -for which Wade calculated some £13,000 had been paid, “for broken -and useless arms which were hardly worth the expense of carriage.” -Meanwhile, the six Black Watch companies were detailed “to prevent the -Highlanders from returning to the use of arms, as well as to hinder -their committing depredations in the low country,” and for this purpose -were stationed as follows:--Lord Lovat, the passes between Loch Alsh -and Inverness; Colonel Grant, those from Ballindalloch to Dunkeld; -Sir Duncan Campbell, from Dunkeld to the Lorn Mountains; while the -remaining three companies were at Fort William, Kilcummin, and Ruthven. - -Of course the best of the arms had been concealed and buried, to -reappear twenty years later, when the Young Pretender came. Probably -Wade guessed this, and was wise enough to close his eyes to what he -was not strong enough to prevent or enforce. But he improved the -communications of the country in an unostentatious way, so that a poem -of the time in rather Hibernian style says-- - - “If you’d seen those roads before they were made, - You’d lift up your hands and bless General Wade.” - -One curious thing happened between 1725 and 1745. Two years short of -the last date, the newly formed regiment of the Black Watch mutinied. - -The year 1745 saw the most serious as well as the last of the Jacobite -efforts, and on this occasion France had returned to her first love, -and posed for the last time as the friend of the Catholic dynasty of -Stuarts. The tinge of romance about “the ’45” would have had little -foundation if the Pretender of ’15 had taken part in the rising. He had -got old, and, what was worse, fat. Only his divine right could have -helped him through. But with his son it was different. He was young, -good-looking, and engaging; he was always most affable and accessible; -he was a brave if unfortunate princelet seeking to regain a throne. -He does not seem to have had any real strength of character, and -his end was pitiful; but he was in himself--and his cause was still -more--romantic, and he possessed both dash and courage. - -So, taking advantage of the absence of the bulk of the British army -on the Continent, preparations were begun in 1743, when a French -expedition of 15,000 was assembled at Boulogne to make a diversion on -the south coast, while a landing of Stuart adherents was effected in -the north. But the attempt failed, and the fleet was driven back by a -storm. - -In 1745 the attempt was repeated, and this time successfully; for -though the _Elizabeth_ frigate, convoying the _Doutelle_, in which the -prince was embarked, was driven back by the _Lion_ frigate of sixty -guns, after a most determined battle, he was enabled to debark at -Moidart, and establish a camp at Inverness. The loss of his convoy, -however, had deprived him, so wrote Marchant in his _History of the -Present Rebellion_, published two years later, of £400,000 sterling, -besides arms, ammunition, and twenty field guns, all of which would -have been of infinite value to him later, even if it had not materially -influenced, or at the least prolonged, the insurrection itself. - -Sir John Cope, who commanded in Scotland, was not a man of much -quickness or resource; and the Jacobite song, “Hey, Johnny Cope, are -ye waukin’ yet,” alludes sarcastically to that fact. Stirling and -Edinburgh were garrisoned, it is true, and he had marched north to meet -the insurgent levies, but when the latter outflanked him and reached -Edinburgh, which surrendered at once (except the Castle garrison of -two companies of the 47th), he embarked at Aberdeen and landed again -near Dunbar. His total strength did not amount to more than 3000 -men, all told, and among these were the 13th and 14th Light Dragoons, -two companies of the 6th Foot, five of the 44th, eight of the 47th, -the 46th, and Loudon’s Highlanders, with six guns manned by sailors -and volunteers. His position, near Prestonpans or Gladsmuir, when the -enemy came in sight, faced west and then south, and was fairly strong. -The right rested on Colonel Gardiner’s house--he commanded the 13th, -and fell in the battle--and the left on the Seton Manor House, while -in front was a marsh traversed by a ditch. Against this small and not -too confident army the prince had a heterogeneous half armed force -of some 5000 men, chiefly Highlanders,[24] without artillery and but -a few very irregular cavalry; and, hearing of the general’s landing, -he moved out at once from Edinburgh, where the Castle still held out, -to engage him. The first day was spent in mere manœuvring, but after -nightfall the prince decided on attacking at daybreak, and, guided by a -Mr. Robert Anderson, who knew the country, he marched in two columns in -sections of threes by obscure paths across the marsh, and finally over -an unguarded foot-bridge crossing the ditch already referred to, and -formed line of battle across Cope’s left flank. That general seemed in -no wise dismayed, and again changed front, while in his address to his -troops he referred to his opponents as being “a parcel of brutes,” and -“a despicable pack,” from whom “you can expect no booty.” He had not -experienced the nature of a Highland charge. - -The Scottish army was formed in two lines, and it is not clear in this -instance that any firing was resorted to, as was often the case; but -the fury of the onslaught was such as at once to destroy the morale -of both the artillery and cavalry, who were on the flanks and fled in -disorder from the field, leaving the infantry isolated. But though -they held their ground for a while, they were assailed after their -first volley before they could reload, and were taken prisoners, -slain, or dispersed. All the colours, the guns, the military chest, -1500 prisoners, besides officers, and baggage, were the prizes of the -victors, and while 400 were slain, only 175 infantry soldiers escaped; -and this with a total loss of 110 killed and wounded on the opposite -side. Practically, the victory gave the whole of Scotland into Jacobite -hands, and the prince returned to Edinburgh, and wasted his time in -continuing the siege of the Castle. - -The delay was turned to full account by the English Government. Ill -luck had followed the Stuart cause from its outset, and was to continue -till the end; even success in battle seemed to bear but little fruit. -Regiments were recalled from Flanders, though many were reduced to -mere skeletons. Thus, when the king asked where the rest of the 3rd -Dragoons were, he was told by their colonel, “I believe the residue is -at Dettingen.” But an army was formed by Marshal Stair, and reviewed by -the king on Finchley Common; another, under Wade, was in Yorkshire; and -a third, under Cumberland, lay at Lichfield. - -Thus, when in November the Jacobite force moved into England, and -received no adherents as they had hoped to, and might have had if they -had started earlier before the Government could prepare for defence, it -had only taken Carlisle and reached Derby when the above armies were -ready to co-operate and check it. - -So the prince turned back, to find that in Scotland the Whig clans had -risen, the west was in arms, and Edinburgh had assembled a force of -which Cope’s refugees were the nucleus. - -The command of the sea in this as in all other cases was of the highest -value to one of the combatants. Especially in those days when sea -travel was quicker and more certain than land. - -The retreat was only molested by the English dragoons at Penrith, for -the infantry could advance but slowly owing to the execrable nature of -the roads and the inclement season of the year, and the prince moved -to Stirling. The discipline of the small army there was excellent, -its behaviour to the people was at all times better and more gentle -than that of their adversaries, while the “orders” are concise and -soldierlike. Hawley, from Edinburgh, with the 1st Royals, 3rd Buffs, -4th, 8th, 13th, 14th, 27th, 34th, 37th, 48th,[25] and 52nd Regiments, -the 7th, 10th, and 14th Dragoons, and some local volunteers, was the -first to attack it. This he did at Falkirk, but, making the common -mistake of undervaluing the enemy, he was defeated, and retired in some -disorder to Edinburgh, with the loss of his guns, five colours, tents, -stores, and camp equipage. Thus a second English general had failed to -defeat the Scottish Jacobites. - -The Duke of Cumberland was therefore despatched to Scotland, with -Major James Wolfe, of the 20th, as aide-de-camp, and met the prince at -Culloden, where he accepted battle with a weak and ill-provided army -against one strong in cavalry and artillery, the two arms in which -he was notoriously deficient. The story of that dismal battle is one -of 10,000 against 4000, of well-fed against fasting men, of cruelty -after the fight so revolting that the very names of all concerned -in it should be held in execration by every honest man. Wholesale, -cold-blooded butchery of wounded and prisoners, the vilest treatment -of women, who were then turned naked into the snow to die; these are -stories that stain the name of a general who well merited the name -he earned. To his credit be it said, however, Wolfe refused to take -part in these barbarities, and he must have felt with pride afterwards -that because of his conduct “it was remarked that the recusant officer -declined visibly in the favour and confidence of his commander.” It -was the last real battle that was fought on British land, and the only -point worthy of remembrance is the gallantry of the 4th Foot, in whose -ranks “there was not a bayonet that was not either bloody or bent.” - -It pointed out for the last time the curious clannish pride which -characterised the Highland people, for the three Macdonald regiments, -who had been placed on the left rather than the right, a post of honour -they claimed as theirs since the days of Bruce, for the gallantry of -their forefathers at Bannockburn, refused to fight, or even to follow -their chieftain Keppoch, who fell, pierced with musket balls. - -With Culloden the last hopes of the Jacobite “faction”--for it had -again become one now--died. Whatever hold, up to 1745, the Stuart -“idea” may have had on a section of the people, the wisest of them -saw that it was hopeless, and only the hopeful enthusiasts still had -dreams. It is difficult to know in these days whether there ever really -was a Jacobite party after “the ’45.” The idea seems to have died -in despair. Of course there were feeble and hysterical conspiracies -like the, possibly legendary, one of the young Scot who plotted the -assassination of the royal family; and the studied ignorance of Sir -Robert Walpole, who kept his eyes shut to these last faint flashes of -the fire of the cause, may have deepened the hopefulness of those who -still dreamed of “another opportunity,” as an old rebel of the name of -Scott did. There was one exception, in the cruel treatment and death -of Dr. Cameron about 1750 or 1751; but there may be some justification -for his execution, as he was no doubt a “go-between” the Pretender -in France and the few left faithful to him in the north. The Young -Pretender, too, seems to have been as blind as his adherents. Dr. King, -in his _Anecdotes of His Own Time_, states that in 1750 the prince -was in London; but he gives prominence to the undoubted fact that the -real destruction of the party was due to the decadence, physically and -morally, of the last real aspirant to the throne, and to the dread -that his mistress--Walkinshaw--was a paid spy of the house of Hanover, -her sister being housekeeper at Leicester House. Well might one of the -party ask this hopeless scion of a hopeless house, when endeavouring -to separate him from this woman, “What has your family done, sir, thus -to draw down the vengeance of Heaven on every branch of it for so many -ages?” The answer is simple enough. They had done little but bad. Their -kingship was only honourable with those who believed that any sovereign -was divinely appointed. The last of the Stuarts more than proved the -worthlessness of the whole race as far as the English throne was -concerned. Whether, as Scott romantically suggests in _Redgauntlet_, -the Young Pretender ever returned to Great Britain about 1765, is -improbable. Even if he did, his cause was lost, and that by his own -fault. What scion of the house of Stuart but so fell? It is not that -the early members of the house of Hanover were really great or good, -but it was because the last of the house of Stuart were irretrievably -mean and bad that the embers of the Civil War remained such, and never -after 1745 burst into a serious flame. - -But while the house of Stuart was declining from mere corruption and -decay, the almost alien house of Hanover was slowly and securely -winning its way into English sympathies. This was natural enough as -the successive sovereigns became more English in their feelings and -their speech. Until the early Guelphs could speak freely and fully -the language of the nation over which they were called to rule, until -they were English born and had English ideas, there was, no doubt, -ground for a certain amount of antagonism. Thackeray’s _Four Georges_ -proves up to the hilt how slow these sovereigns were in learning the -very patent fact that they must become English and cease to be German -to get a firm hold on our insular mind. And this they did eventually. -But, up to the ’45, their rule, which was still very foreign for years -after that date, was rather endured as a necessity than loved, their -personality regarded as alien rather than English. The one thing that -made the nation, up to the first half of the eighteenth century, accept -with little complaint, or hostility, princes who still were far too -German to please the tastes of English-speaking peoples, was their own -honesty of purpose and their personal courage and bravery. The house -of Guelph lost nothing by actual want of success in the foreign wars -about the time of the really serious Jacobite rising. Englishmen like -pluck, and don’t mind a beating, provided good men do their best. This, -then, is the story, as far as the army is concerned, of Dettingen and -Fontenoy. They were not successes, certainly, but neither king nor -soldier had shown want of the good old fighting spirit of Blenheim and -Malplaquet. At the worst it was a healthy time, and showed that our -mere bull-dog courage was not by itself the only thing by which battles -are won. - -The causes of the war in which an English reigning sovereign led an -army in the field were the guarantee of Great Britain, France, and -other States, of the succession of Maria Theresa to the throne of the -German Empire, known as the “Pragmatic Sanction,” and the attack upon -Silesia by Frederick of Prussia. From this action France and Bavaria -were drawn into the struggle against the Empress, and George II., -possibly fearing the preponderating growth of his neighbour Prussia -as a menace to his Hanoverian dominions, assembled a force of Danes, -Hessians, Hanoverians, and British, under the Earl of Stair, numbering -forty-four battalions, twenty of which were British, with fifty-three -squadrons. This army, about 35,000 strong, met the French, some -25,000 in number, and composed of twenty-four battalions, and thirty -squadrons, in position on the left bank of the Maine. The Allies were -at Aschaffenburg and Klein Ostheim, and prepared to march through -Dettingen on the right bank to join with a Hessian force at Hanau. - -Noailles, who commanded the French army, forming a _tête du pont_ at -Selegenstadt on his left, and massing the centre and right opposite -Aschaffenburg, crossed by his left to head the allies off. Thus when -the battle began, both held positions at right angles to the Maine, -the British left and the French right respectively resting on the -stream. The offensive was continued by the French, and led to a wild -and injudicious advance of the right wing through and beyond Dettingen, -a movement contrary to what the general commanding, who now wished to -assume the defensive, intended, so that finally the French were beaten -and driven across the stream. Except for incidents in the battle it has -few points of interest. - -The regiments engaged were the Life Guards and Blues; the 1st and 7th -Dragoons Guards; the 1st, 2nd, and 6th Dragoons; and the 3rd, 4th, and -7th Light Dragoons, now classed as Hussars. Of the infantry the 3rd, -8th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 20th, 21st, 23rd, 31st, 32nd, 33rd, and 37th -Regiments were engaged. The present Devonshire Regiment, from their -heavy losses here, at Ostend, and later on at Salamanca, was long -known, it is said, as the “Bloody Eleventh”; and the old 30th acquired -the name of the “Young Buffs,” from their facings in this battle, -which caused the king to exclaim, “Well done, old Buffs,” and on being -reminded of his mistake, and told it was the 31st, and not the 3rd, -replied, “Well done, then, _Young_ Buffs.” Of the 37th it is related -that a trooper of the 7th Dragoon Guards, who was charged afterwards -with being a deserter during the battle, proved that he had fought -on foot with the regiment, applying to Lieutenant Izzard for arms, -and, behaving with great gallantry, was afterwards rewarded with a -commission in the “Royal Welsh.” - -The Greys had captured the white standard of the French Household -troops, and the 1st Royals took the colours of the Black Musketeers. -The king behaved with the greatest courage and coolness. His coolness -under fire attracted the notice of the Duke d’Arenberg, who thought -him “the bravest man he ever saw.” He headed the second line in -person. Thackeray, no great admirer of the Georges, thus writes of -him: “Whenever we hear of dapper George at war, it is certain that he -demeaned himself like a little man of valour. At Dettingen his horse -ran away with him, and with difficulty was stopped from carrying him -into the enemy’s lines. The king, dismounting from his fiery quadruped, -said bravely, ‘Now I know I shall not run away,’ and placed himself -at the head of the foot, drew his sword, brandishing it at the whole -of the French army, and calling out to his own men to come on, in bad -English, but with the most famous pluck and spirit.” He was very far -from a coward, therefore, this last British king who personally took -part in battle; and he exposed himself so freely that he was nearly -taken prisoner, and was rescued by the 22nd Regiment of the line, which -ever after wear oak-leaves on their headdress on Dettingen Day. Such -courage is contagious, and one is not surprised to find Lord Crawford -of the Life Guards shouting with battle enthusiasm, when attacked -in front and flank, “Never mind, my boys, this is fine diversion.” -The loss, however, was heavy, and few practical results followed the -victory. The junction with the Hessians was formed at Hanau, and there, -as the king refused to turn and attack the French again, the Earl of -Stair resigned his command and returned to England, partly because of -this refusal, and partly perhaps (as officers in William III.’s army -had felt as regards the Dutch) because he resented the favour too often -shown to German over English commanders. - -By 1745 the British contingent had been further strengthened by the -addition of the 34th and 42nd Regiments up to about 53,000 men, or -forty-six battalions, ninety squadrons and ninety guns, and then the -Duke of Cumberland decided on attempting to raise the siege of Tournay, -which was being conducted by Marshal Saxe, and suffered a severe defeat. - -The French position was extremely strong, and Barri wood on the left, -Fontenoy in the centre, and St. Antoine on the river on the right -were most carefully fortified and entrenched and defended by 260 -guns. Here it was, as the attack developed, the story is told of the -meeting of the British and French Guards, when the former, saluting -with raised hats, called to their opponents, “Gentlemen of the French -Guards, fire!” The Highlanders behaved with extraordinary courage in -this their first great foreign battle, and one man, who had killed -nine Frenchmen, was in the act of cutting down the tenth when a shot -carried his sword-arm off. The carnage was extreme, yet the stubborn -soldiery would not give way even with the cross fire of musketry and -case-shot at short range; and at one moment, when St. Antoine was -carried, matters looked serious for Marshal Saxe. But that terrible -Irish Brigade, seven battalions strong, were now brought into the -fight. The fierce battle-cry of “Remember Limerick and Saxon faith” -showed that past evils were not forgotten, and added racial antipathy -to natural courage. The broken, wearied troops were too much shaken to -meet so fierce a charge of quite fresh men; and hence the Irish counter -attack fully succeeded, and the British retired sullenly, beaten. The -Allies had lost 21,000 men, killed and wounded, against 8000 of their -adversaries; but, outnumbered and exhausted as the British were, they -accounted for one-third of the men and one-fourth of the officers of -the Irish Brigade. - -Naturally King George was disturbed by so serious a defeat; and -naturally, perhaps, he might have felt and said, in thinking of the -Irish at Fontenoy, “Cursed be the laws which deprive me of such -subjects!” On the other hand, the exultation felt by the exiled Irish -can equally well be understood, as well as the spirit that induced the -following lines of the time:-- - - “The English strove with desperate strength; they rallied, staggered, - fled: - The green hillside is matted close with dying and with dead. - Across the plain, and far away, passed on that hideous wreck, - While cavalier and fantassin dash in upon their track. - On Fontenoy, on Fontenoy, like eagles in the sun, - With bloody plumes the Irish stand--the field is lost and won!” - -Little occurred after the battle until the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle -brought hostilities to a conclusion. - -Few changes had taken place in the armament of the troops in these -days. The hand grenade was still in use, as a picture of a grenadier of -the Foot Guards, dated 1745, shows; and officers, up to 1759, carried -either the spontoon or a “light fusil” as part of their equipment, with -the sash worn over the left shoulder as at present. Non-commissioned -officers still carried the halberd. - -The three-cornered hat was largely replaced by the sugar-loaf-shaped -“Kevenhuller” hat; and, in addition to the bright-barrelled musket -and bayonet, the privates carried a short sword. Wigs were abolished, -and long gaiters covered the leg to the knee, while the coats were -shortened to a sort of turned-back swallow-tail, in imitation of the -Prussian uniform. - -[Illustration: _Private 24^{th} Reg^{t}. 1751._] - -Body armour had been reduced to a mere relic of defence in the -“duty gorget”--a small plate of brass with the Royal Arms, which -was suspended by a piece of black ribbon from the neck by officers -“on duty”; a custom that obtained up to 1830. There had been no -material change in tactics; but the Royal Artillery had become more -fully organised in four companies, the uniform being a loose, long, -heavily-cuffed blue cloth coat with red facings. The Royal Military -Academy, for the education of artillery officers, was also established -about 1741, and the “Horse Guards” as an institution about 1750. - -The Black Watch, however, the first of the new Highland regiments, was -permitted, for some time, to carry a dirk, pistols, and round target. -Medals were issued after Culloden, and regimental numbers appeared on -the coat buttons about 1767. - -Tactics and the “order of battle” were slow in changing, but the -growing preponderance of infantry, now organised in three ranks only, -was becoming more evident after Dettingen and Fontenoy. Battles were -fought on more modern lines, and infantry bore the brunt; while the -cavalry at Dettingen had at last discovered its proper rôle, and -behaved with the greatest gallantry, in _not_ leading the main attack -as at Blenheim, but in meeting its own opposing arm and keeping it in -check, and finally in converting the French retreat across the river -into very nearly a rout. - -The artillery still lacked mobility, and were not vigorously handled, -with the exception of some Hanoverian batteries, which pushed up to -support the final advance of the infantry, and opened fire on the -French flank. So at Fontenoy the infantry had most to do. This was the -beginnings of the tactics of the future. - -Thus by 1755, or thereabout, the army had been steadily increasing. -After the death of Marlborough, the 9th and 10th Dragoons and the 40th -and 41st Regiments of infantry came on the permanent establishment, -chiefly because of the Jacobite rising of 1715; the 10th, 11th, 12th, -13th, and 14th Regiments of cavalry also date from the same period; -the 42nd had been formed from the separate Highland companies into the -“Black Watch,” so called from the sombre colour of their tartans; and -soon followed the 43rd, 44th, 45th, 46th, 47th, and 48th of the line. -The 49th, at first known as the 63rd Americans, dates from 1743. - -But still the old jealousy of, and objection to, a large standing army -was always recrudescing. On the accession of George II., the cadres -only amounted to 17,760 men; and even this small body Mr. Pulteney, -M.P., and “downright” Shippen in the House of Commons wished to be -reduced to 12,000! The threat of war in 1739 stopped this; but the -army was still at the mercy of political partisans, as the Duke of -Argyll in his masterly attack on Sir Robert Walpole in the House of -Lords conclusively proves. Another hundred years, too, had to pass by -before “political services ceased to form the foundation of a claim for -military preferment.” - -Flogging, long recognised, and rattan punishment, copied, like the -absurd uniform and rigid drill, from much-admired Prussia, now became a -permanently recognised institution, and so remained until 1878. It is -always a wonder that a free country, such as England, ever permitted -the correctional system of the crudest of all military despotisms, that -of the so-called Frederick the Great, to live so long. But in this, as -in uniform and drill, our army has always been more of a copyist of -foreign methods than an originator. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE ARMY IN AMERICA--TO 1793 - - -The period through which the army passed in the second part of the -eighteenth century was distinguished by a marked change in the causes -which led to the wars culminating in the separation of the American -Colonies from the mother country. There were still Continental troubles -in which English forces and others were engaged, where political, -balance of power, or dynastic influences were as heretofore the -primary causes of such campaigns. Minden is one of these; and, without -entering into the whole of the military history of the time, the battle -is especially noteworthy as adding additional laurels to those the -army had already gathered. It may be well, therefore, to refer to it -here, though somewhat out of the order of dates, as it is a more or -less isolated factor in the general story. The Seven Years’ War broke -out in 1756, and in 1759, after sundry successes, the French menaced -Hanover. Their opponents, commanded by Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, -were assisted by a small British contingent commanded by Lord George -Sackville, consisting of six cavalry regiments: the Horse Guards, -the 1st and 3rd Dragoon Guards, the 2nd, 6th, and 10th Dragoons; and -six infantry battalions: the 12th, 20th, 23rd, 25th, 37th, and 51st. -There was much manœuvring on the part of Prince Ferdinand, before he -succeeded in drawing his opponents across the marshy Wastau brook which -unites with the river Weser at Minden to form a deep re-entrant bend. -Crossing both these streams by numerous temporary bridges, the French, -under Contades, deployed some 50,000 troops against 36,000;[26] but -the flanks of his line of battle being unsuitable for the action of -cavalry, the whole of that arm, some 10,000 strong, and the flower of -his army, was stationed in the centre. On the other hand, the English -flanks were strengthened by cavalry, that on the right commanded -directly by Lord George Sackville; and on both sides the artillery were -chiefly on the flanks. Partial attacks, and an artillery duel on both -sides therefore began the action, but the “soul of the fight” was the -contest between the French cavalry and the two English brigades in the -centre, which yet again emphasised, if such emphasis were necessary, -the steadily increasing fighting power of well-disciplined infantry. - -Gallant as was the charge of the Mousquetaires, grey and red, desperate -as was their onslaught, the footmen received them with close volleys at -forty yards, and, as Contades himself bitterly remarked, “I have seen -what I never thought to be possible--a single line of infantry break -through three lines of cavalry, ranked in order of battle, and tumble -them to ruin.” These six battalions marched, not as ordered, to attack -“you six _on_ sound of drum,” but translated the command into “_by_ -sound of drum”; and so, with drums playing, entered into the crucial -battle with a brigade in both the first and second line. After the -first repulse of the enemy, they formed in single line of battalions, -with the Hanoverians on their left, and when the cavalry was routed, -drove back with heavy loss a Swiss and a Saxon brigade that attempted -to stop their splendid advance. Had Lord George Sackville charged with -his cavalry as he was ordered to have done, and should have done, the -French army would have been destroyed. As it was, only the Hessian and -Hanoverian cavalry on the left were of any service. The French lost -about 7000 men, 43 guns, and 17 colours, while in the British division -alone, 1394 officers and men had fallen. Of all the regiments, none -was more distinguished than “Kingsley’s,” now the 20th; but though the -“order of the day” after the battle stated that the regiment “from its -severe loss, will cease to do duty,” the “Minden Boys,” the “Men of -Kingsley’s stand,” were far too proud to accept even so kindly meant a -rest, and two days later we read that “Kingsley’s regiment, at its own -request, will resume its portion of duty in the line.” Well might His -Serene Highness Prince Ferdinand state publicly that, “next to God, he -attributes the glory of the day to the intrepidity and extraordinary -good behaviour of these troops.” The six Minden regiments were honoured -by being permitted to wear the laurel wreath in their colours, and -to this day, on the 1st August, the men deck themselves with roses -in remembrance of the battle, in which tradition says men walked to -death with roses they had plucked on the way in their breasts. One -curious fact in connection with the battle is that Colonel Preston, who -commanded a brigade of cavalry, wore the last buff-coat that has been -seen on a field of battle, which saved him from being wounded, though -cut at “more than a dozen times.” - -Minden preserved Hanover and Brunswick from the hands of the French, -and obliged them to leave Westphalia; while the British colours -waved in many a skirmish in the great war, as well as in the greater -battles of Warburg, Zierenburg, Kloster Kampfen, Kirch-Denkern, and -Wilhelmstahl. This latter name is borne by the 5th Foot as the first -name on its colours, for there it behaved with the most brilliant -bravery, taking a French standard and twice its own strength in -prisoners. After this battle the regiment was permitted to wear French -Grenadier headdresses, instead of the three-cornered hat then generally -in use, and these they retained until replaced later by the fusilier -“cap.” In the ranks of the 5th at Wilhelmstahl, fought Phœbe Hassell, -who was pensioned by George IV., and who lies, quiet enough now, in the -churchyard at Hove. - -Again, during the war with Spain, an army which included the Buffs -and 16th Light Dragoons served there under the command of the Earl of -Loudon; and one of his brigadiers, Burgoyne, won a minor but brilliant -victory at Valencia de Alcantara, where the cavalry carried the city -sword in hand, and held it till the infantry arrived. - -Peace followed a year later, and though England restored many of her -conquests, she retained much. The army was recalled from Germany, and -its own retirement from active service saw also that of its popular -leader, the Marquis of Granby. He had shown much courage and some skill -in the field. He had been most solicitous for the welfare of his men, -and there is no doubt of their appreciation of him. The numerous inn -signs bearing his portrait and his name are but relics of the days -when he was regarded as the soldier’s “friend,” whom the men delighted -to honour, and “to drain a tankard to his health.” But his mantle was -not taken up by his successor for a while at least; for at Quebec, the -year after his withdrawal from public life, the 15th, 27th, and two -battalions of the 60th all but mutinied because of the introduction of -a daily stoppage of fourpence a day for the food ration, a system of -supporting the soldier out of his own pocket that lived on till within -the last twenty years. - -But it is round the great contest on the American Continent which was -to result in, first, the conquest and retention of Canada, and then -the loss of our own possessions in North America, that the national -interest centres. By 1755 the French had practically absorbed Canada -with its dependencies, and furthermore claimed authority over the whole -valley of the Mississippi from its source to its mouth; and had linked -its conquests or its occupation together by a series of forts from -Quebec on the St. Lawrence river to the point where the Alleghany and -Monongahela unite to form the Ohio, and where Pittsburg now stands. -Here Fort Duchesne was erected. In fact, the French laid claim to -what would now be called the Hinterland of the whole of Eastern North -America without possessing much of its coast line, and it was to -break through this fancied and fragile chain that the first hostile -expedition was despatched. It was commanded by Braddock with a mixed -force of colonials and the 44th and 48th Regiments, while on the staff -served George Washington; but through gross ignorance and carelessness -it fell into an ambush and was heavily routed. Other equally feeble -efforts were made on other points in the enemy’s defensive line, but -all were more or less ineffective, and this naturally led to reprisals -and increased activity on the part of the French. - -[Illustration: _QUEBEC. (1759.)_] - -Hence the British army in America, whose headquarters were at New -York, was reinforced by the 17th, 42nd, and 2-60th Regiments, and the -conquest of Canada was decided on. An attempt against Fort Ticonderoga -in 1758, when the 42nd lost 647 men, failed, as did a first expedition -against Louisburg, Cape Breton; but in 1758 the Earl of Loudon was -despatched to Nova Scotia with the 1st, 17th, 27th, 28th, 43rd, 46th, -53rd, and 56th Regiments, which were formed into three brigades, -of which Brigadier-General James Wolfe commanded that composed of -the grenadiers, light infantry, and Black Watch, and behaved with -distinguished gallantry. - -Fort Duchesne, a second time threatened, was abandoned by the French, -and in 1759 Wolfe led the expedition against Quebec, where he met -a glorious death during its capture. The regiments present were -the 15th, 28th, 35th, 43rd, 47th, 48th, 60th, the _old_ 78th, or -Fraser Highlanders, which was disbanded in 1763; while the grenadier -companies of the regiments, with those of the 22nd, 40th, and 45th -(at Louisburg), and also the light infantry companies, were formed -into separate corps as usual. The fortress was far too strong to be -assaulted frontally, with a wide river covering it, and to pass that -at any time in boats was a risky and difficult operation. But the -rear of the town was but weakly defended, and faced an open plain, -which was regarded as practically unassailable, owing to the steep -and almost precipitous nature of the approaches to it. It was due, -it is said, to a Scottish officer called Macculloch that the design -to attack on this side was formed; and it was executed with much -difficulty, though with the greatest good fortune, as the river bank -was guarded by sentries. But these were evaded, and when Wolfe landed, -the obstacles to the advance even there were such that Wolfe exclaimed -to one of the Highland officers, “I do not believe, sir, there is any -possibility of getting up, but you must now do your best.” And they -did so. Slinging their muskets the Frasers gained the summit by sheer -hard climbing, and, driving back a piquet, seized a path by which the -other troops mounted; so that when the sun rose, it shone on Wolfe’s -line of regiments in contiguous columns advancing against Quebec. -Montcalm moved out resolutely to meet the threatening danger. But the -battle was soon over. The Frasers charged, Highland fashion, with -dirk and claymore; and Wolfe and Montcalm were both mortally wounded. -Wolfe lived long enough to hear the shouts of victory; Montcalm died -before the actual capitulation of Quebec; and Lieutenant Macculloch -died a pauper in Marylebone Workhouse thirty-four years later. This -capture of Quebec practically meant the conquest of Canada, which, with -Newfoundland, etc., was ceded to Great Britain; and though there were -troubles on the Pennsylvanian frontier, to suppress which a regiment of -Highlanders was despatched, nothing of real importance occurred till -the revolt of the American Colonies in 1774. - -More stress is laid on this portion of the army’s story, because the -war was between sections of the same race, and because much came of it. -Great Britain commenced the American contest that at first seemed so -unequal, under some disadvantages, none the less. The result of a long -period of military inactivity was, as it always has been and will be, -most materially felt. There were few old, or at least veteran, soldiers -in the ranks who had been under fire, and the younger officers were -equally inexperienced. This was natural to expect after - - “The cankers of a calm world and a long peace,” - -but it was at the bottom of both the want of skill with which -this singular war was conducted, and the want of appreciation, at -first certainly, of how such an enemy as the army of the colonists -should be tactically met. It was to be a war in which bush-fighting -and skirmishing were to be the leading features, as Braddock’s -disaster long years before and the defeat at Ticonderoga had already -conclusively proved. But the British leaders were to learn the fact, -they might have foreseen, in the “only school fools learn in, that of -experience.” - -In order to understand the reason for the want of uniformity and union -in the desultory campaigns that followed each other, a glance at the -map is necessary. It will be seen there that when hostilities broke -out, the seat of war was practically cut in two by the Hudson, at the -mouth of which was New York; and beyond Albany, up stream, a series -of forts guarded the line of approach from Canada by way of Quebec, -Lake Champlain, and Saratoga. This general line, therefore, cut the -confederation into two unequal parts, and separated the, at first, more -resolute New England States from those of the south, who, again, to -begin with, were somewhat lukewarm in the national cause. It was the -obstinate folly of the British Government, even more than the feeble -conduct of her warlike operations in America, that led to the final -result. Again, the command of the sea gave Great Britain the advantage -of being able to transfer her troops to any part of the long American -coast line, and attack or threaten the hostile levies formed at -different parts, but whose own power of concentration was hampered by -bad roads, a sparse population, and the physical difficulties offered -by the numerous rivers and estuaries. These latter, on the other -hand, were of the highest value to the sea power; and it was not till -France threw her sword into the scale that the balance of power at sea -was equalised and American success became a certainty. The temporary -loss of that naval supremacy, with all the world against us, was the -direct cause of the surrender at York Town, and the termination of the -struggle. More than all, perhaps, this very prolongation of hostilities -strengthened and gave experience to the colonists, which was all they -wanted. They had the courage and a cause already. Howe and other -English generals gave them confidence and trained their leaders. - -Boston was the active centre whence the “disease of disagreement” -spread. Stout, hard-headed Puritans, whose ancestors had left the -mother country for freedom’s sake, were as little likely to submit to -“taxation without representation,” in the latter days of the eighteenth -century, as their forebears had been a hundred years before. “Let us -be of one heart,” says one of them, “and stand fast in the liberties -wherewith Christ has made us free, and may He, of His infinite -mercy, grant us deliverance out of all our troubles.” But the home -Government thought otherwise. Boston, as a port, was to be closed. -General-Governor Gage was sent there to garrison it; and so doing, -applied the match to all the political tinder which surrounded him, -and was fully ready to burst into a flame. For not far from Boston the -colonists had collected some military stores at Concord and Lexington, -and these Gage decided on seizing. He had been _ordered_ to “take -possession of colonial forts, seize all military stores, to repress -rebellion by force, and imprison all suspects,” so the fault was not -all his. But the detachment of the 10th and the marines were beaten -back badly, and took refuge behind the reinforcements sent to help them -in such a condition of rout that they “flung themselves down on the -ground, with their tongues hanging out of their mouths, like those of -dogs after a chase.” It was a bad beginning, to say the least of it, -but it was curiously followed up; for the assailants were themselves -assailed, and Boston was besieged by the “Provincials,” who had many -men, boundless enthusiasm, but only a few guns and only sixty barrels -of powder “in all Massachusetts.” But by now they had that courtly -Virginian gentleman, George Washington, at their head, and without -him the revolution that made an empire would have had faint chances -of success. The only point of interest in this siege of Boston is the -battle of Bunker’s or Breed’s Hill. It was the last effort but one -to complete the ring of investment. The American General Prescott -had attempted to hold this peninsula, between the Charles and Mystic -rivers, and had fortified it with a poor breastwork and a still weaker -obstacle afforded by a post and rail fence, screened by new-mown hay. -But the fatal British failing of despising an adversary who could -shoot, received additional emphasis. The casual attack of the flank -companies of the 5th, 38th, 43rd, and 52nd, together with the 47th, the -1st marine battalion, and the 23rd, the latter of which suffered most -severely, was met by a deadly fire at thirty paces, and it took three -efforts to carry the weak defensive position, and then with a loss of -1200 officers and men out of about 2000. To add to the misery of the -defeat may be added the absurdity of making the men go into action -carrying 125 pounds of heavy marching order weight. It was the first -pitched battle of the war, small as it was, and the colonists had won. -Its moral value, therefore, far outweighed its other importance, and it -was soon followed by the retirement of the British from the town. The -district east of the Hudson was never again seriously troubled, while -in the meantime Ethan Allen and Benedek Arnold had captured, and still -guarded, the road to Canada by way of the Hudson and Lake Champlain. - -But the disasters around Boston had stirred the home Government into -unwonted activity. In 1776 the army in America was composed of the -4th, 5th, 10th, 14th, 15th, 17th, 18th, 22nd, 23rd, 27th, 35th, 38th, -40th, 42nd, 43rd, 44th, 45th, 49th, 52nd, 63rd, 64th, and 71st Foot, -with the 16th and 17th Light Dragoons and some battalions of Hessians. -Opposed to them was the main Colonial army under Washington, at or -about New York. The only plan of campaign, if such it could be called, -that Howe formed, was to seize New York, occupy a central position, -and support the two wings that, operating from the Canadian lakes for -the Upper Hudson on the one hand and from some naval base hereafter to -be determined on the southern coast, were to crush between them the -widely extended forces of the “Confederacy.” The internal difficulties -of co-operation were as bad for his divided wings as for Washington’s -extended front; but he had the great advantage of being able to -threaten the enormous coast line of the States. Thus the first move -in the game was the attack on Long Island; but though Washington was -defeated, he was enabled, through the supineness of his adversary, -to withdraw his whole force to the mainland. For while Howe thought, -reposing in his tent after the battle, that “they are at our mercy -to-morrow,” it was not to be; for when that morrow came, “the whole -continental force had crossed the East River, and our empire over -thirteen colonies had slipped away too.” - -Still the British army pressed on, drove the adversary from New York, -defeated him again at “White Plains” farther back, where Washington -checked Howe’s advance by no stronger entrenchments than those hastily -erected with stalks of Indian corn, roots outward, and after some -minor action dispersed the American forces, and Washington retired -south behind the Delaware. The invader had done little after all. -The Americans were not defeated, as the next step proved. For if the -Colonists were dispersed by defeat so were also the British “by order” -through the Jerseys; and General Howe held his soul in peace at New -York. - -To await a rude awakening. For, notwithstanding winter snow and -ice-clad rivers, on Christmas night 1776, Washington took the -offensive. Everyone knows the picture of his “Crossing the Delaware.” -How the Continentals were being hardened in! They “left the marks -of their march in the bloodstained footsteps of those whose boots -barely covered their feet,” but they succeeded. Trenton was taken. A -night march, covered by the clever stratagem of leaving fires alight -when the main body moved off, and a rearguard to work noisily at -trenches, resulted in a battle, after which the 40th, 17th, and 55th -British regiments fell back in disorder, and the ultimate result was -the abandonment of the Jerseys by the British army. In June 1777, -the relative strength of the combatants was 30,000 British troops -against 8000 Americans. As Colonel du Portael writes: “Ce n’est pas -par la bonne conduite des Americains, que la campagne en général s’est -terminée assez heureusement; mais par la faute des Anglais.” This is -the key to the whole situation. - -The first attempt to reach the nominal capital, Philadelphia, had -thus failed. The next was more direct, and was to be assisted by an -invasion from Canada. The latter can be dismissed in a few words. -General Burgoyne selected so bad a line of march on Saratoga, not far -from Albany, on the upper reaches of the Hudson, that he was compelled -to surrender there. The fighting had been most severe. At Stillwater -and other places, the 9th, 20th, 21st, 62nd (who in this war got their -name of “Springers,” from acting as the light infantry, whose order to -advance was “Spring up”), the grenadiers, and the light companies of -the 35th and 24th behaved with the greatest gallantry, as did the 9th, -of which regiment there is an interesting story to tell. With the army -its warlike stores should have been surrendered; but the colonel of -this regiment, with a feeling that can be comprehended, without actual -sympathy, removed the colours from the staves and secreted them. On -returning home, they were remounted, and presented to the king, who -returned them to the officer, to be retained as an heirloom. Passing -through many hands, they finally descended to the Chaplain of the Royal -Military College, Sandhurst, who presented them to that institution, -where, “trooped” by a battalion of the regiment then at Aldershot, they -were placed in the college next the pair of colours which were borne -by the 9th during Peninsular fights. But those which were carried in -America are distinguished from the later ones by the absence of the St. -Patrick’s Cross in the “Jack.” - -Meanwhile, Howe’s army, concentrated at New York after its retreat -from the Jerseys, had put to sea, and, sailing south, had landed in -the estuary of the Chesapeake. Washington, from the neighbourhood of -the Hudson, moved down to meet him, taking up a position behind the -Brandywine, but he was badly beaten by an outflanking attack, and fell -back behind Philadelphia to Valley Forge, and the British occupied -the capital. The battle proved conclusively that neither the American -levies nor their leaders were yet able to cope with regular forces in -a pitched battle. The waiting game was better, and the night attack on -Germanstown a few weeks later only failed because of the grim tenacity -the 40th Regiment showed in the defence of Judge Tew’s house at the -entrance of the village. Beyond this, little was done in the winter of -1777, but Howe returned home, and was succeeded by Sir Henry Clinton, -who soon withdrew from Philadelphia, and returned with the army to New -York, by way of the Jerseys, where a sharp rearguard action was fought -at Monmouth Courthouse, and again the Colonists were defeated in their -effort to disturb the retreat. Again it was evident that the natural -semi-guerilla warfare which they had first adopted was more suitable -to their powers than more serious tactics. Throughout, Washington had -shown little real military skill, and his tangible success was once -more due to his adversary’s faults. - -But one great event followed on the surrender of the British at -Saratoga and the return of Clinton to New York. France, who had so long -openly sympathised with the Colonists as to permit American privateers -to sell English prizes in her ports, had formed with the States a -commercial treaty, in which they were referred to as being “in full -possession of independence,” and finally threw her sword into the -scale, a course in which she was not long after followed by Spain. - -Speaking generally, the theatre of war from this time forward, useless -forays and wanton mischief elsewhere excepted, shifted to the South. -Georgia was first reduced to submission. Then the Carolinas were -attempted. Charleston was taken, the Southern Provinces occupied, and -the usual desultory, haphazard fighting followed, with the customary -want of practical results. The need of a connected plan of operation is -apparent everywhere. Gates was badly beaten at Camden; and reprisals, -that embittered even those who were not seriously disaffected to the -royal cause, followed. Mistake after mistake! This, at least, was -not the way to cow into submission men largely of English race. It -is curious to note also in this part of the campaign that the only -generals fighting on the American side who were distinctly of English -birth, and had had some military training,--Gates and Lee,--had proved -themselves distinct failures. - -Cornwallis was next despatched to the South, and fared no better than -his predecessors; while Clinton, in command of New York, directed the -operations thence with no greater success, having to face now the -greater danger of dealing with regular French troops side by side with -the levies of the States. - -But at this juncture, when the new allies were actually landing, and -the beginning of the end had come, General Arnold was given the command -of West Point, on the Hudson, the river-line dividing the New England -States from the remainder, and to the retention of which Washington -attached extraordinary importance. The story of his treason is one of -the few bits of romance in the history of this prolonged and unhappy -war. He was brave beyond measure, he was reckless and careless, he -was vain, ostentatious, and extravagant; but no one dreamed he was a -traitor. He had tried to obtain a loan from the French Minister and had -failed, and, so doing, turned to the other side, and proposed for money -and advancement to surrender West Point and the Highlands, “in such -a manner as to contribute every possible advantage to His Majesty’s -arms.” His immediate go-between and correspondent was a certain Major -André, Adjutant-General of the British Army, and A.D.C. of Sir Henry -Clinton. On the very night that Washington met the French officer at -Hartford, to arrange the allied plan of campaign, André, dressed in -uniform, over which he wore a long greatcoat, landed to confer with -Arnold. So prolonged were the treasonable negotiations, that day -broke, and retreat became dangerous. Over-persuaded, he changed into -plain clothes, concealed in his boots the plans and documents he had -procured, and, under a forged pass and a feigned name, attempted to -cross the neutral ground, and reach Tarrytown. He was captured and made -prisoner, and his captors, refusing a heavy bribe, sent him to North -Castle. Meanwhile, Arnold had received information that the plot was -known, and embarked on board H.M.S. _Vulture_ under a flag of truce, -and completed his treason by surrendering his own boat’s crew as -prisoners of war! - -André was brought to trial before fourteen general officers, among -whom were the Marquis de Lafayette and Baron Stuben, and was by all -the customs of war, and “according to the law and usage of nations,” -sentenced to be hanged. “His appeal to die by shooting rather than by -hanging was refused. As General Greene is reported to have said, to -have mitigated the sentence would have been to doubt its justice. So -he died the death of a spy, as from his own confession and action he -deserved, but he died bravely and calmly, like a gallant gentleman -of England.” No such death created more controversy, or raised more -hysterical sympathy. The whole business was bad, and André soiled his -hands in touching it at all, let alone the fact of his being in plain -clothes within the enemy’s lines, which at once placed him without -doubt in the position of a spy. His reasons for going there, assumed -to be patriotic, were largely personal, for promotion was to reward -success; and they have little to do with the matter. However good the -reasons, the means were vile; too vile even to justify the end. - -Washington was censured severely for his severity at the time, but -no one now would blame him. He had his duty to his country to do, -and he did it. None the less, André’s bones were eventually moved to -Westminster Abbey, and a fulsome tablet records the manner of his death. - - * * * * * - -Meanwhile, Cornwallis in the Carolinas scored a victory at Guildford -Courthouse, where the Guards, the old 71st, and the 23rd and 33rd, -defeated an inferior force of militia and what were fast becoming -seasoned troops, but the task was too heavy for his strength. “My -cavalry,” he sadly writes, “wanted everything, and the infantry -everything but shoes.” So he marched, with sundry skirmishes of little -value in various places, north-east towards York Town, and Lord Rawdon, -who practically commanded the other wing, fell back south-east towards -Charleston, with the 3rd, 63rd, and 64th. - -While Greene watched and “contained” the latter, Washington and -Rochambeau, giving up the long-cherished idea of the defence of the -Hudson and the capture of New York, moved into Virginia to assist -York Town. When the first parallel of the siege was completed, -Washington fired the first shot, and soon after, for the second time -in this hapless war, a British general with an army surrendered to the -Continental levies, just four years after the defeat of Burgoyne. - -The British troops had behaved, be it said, with the greatest -gallantry. The 71st, the grenadiers of the old 80th, and especially the -Royal Welsh Fusiliers, had done all that men could, and the colours of -the last-named regiment were, like those of the 9th at Saratoga, taken -home wrapped round the bodies of two officers. Lord Cornwallis himself -bears testimony that the Allies behaved with dignity, and that “the -treatment in general that we have received from the enemy since our -surrender has been perfectly good and proper.” Of the above regiments, -the 76th, 71st, and 80th were afterwards disbanded in 1783-84. - -Five days later, Clinton’s tardy reinforcements reached the Chesapeake -from New York, but it was too late. French assistance, and still more -French money, to the exhausted and almost bankrupt Americans had -brought peace within measurable distance, and just eight years after -the eventful conflict of Lexington, the news of the Peace of Paris was -communicated to the army. - -Though of little military value, the embers of the struggle for -independence still remained alight, and so far flickered into a flame -in 1814, as to make it worth while recording the last instance in which -British troops fought on American soil. The New Republic had been -a bit _tête montée_ after its undoubted success against the mother -country. There was unquestionably the feeling arising, first of all, -of a natural continuance of sympathy for France, as well as that of -having “licked the Britishers, who had licked the world.” The causes -of irritation are immaterial, and to some extent childish, but they -resulted in hostilities none the less. The war began with some minor -affairs in Canada, chiefly between the local militias, as there were -few British regular battalions in that country; but there was some -severe skirmishing for some time, in which the 8th, 41st, 49th, 89th, -the Royal Scots, some local bodies of volunteers, and the 100th and -104th battalions of the line, which were disbanded after the long war, -took part. Success generally rested with the Americans, and there were -some smart naval actions on the Great Lakes. - -But after the temporary conclusion of hostilities on the Continent in -1814, Great Britain was freer to turn her attention to this American -squabble. It was scarcely worth while at any time to dignify it by the -name of war. So some veteran Peninsular battalions, the 4th, 44th, -85th, 29th, and 62nd, as well as the 21st North British Fusiliers, -were sent to reinforce the army in America. The fighting showed much -exasperation on both sides, and there is little that is creditable to -either of the combatants. An advance on Washington was first made, and -after the brilliant affair of Bladensburg, where the Americans made -their first serious stand, and were easily beaten, the capital was -seized, and the Government stores and buildings burned. All that can -be said to the credit of the British is, that “no private property was -destroyed.” - -The American order of battle by this time was quite European. It formed -in two lines, and a reserve with cavalry on the flank, and guns more -or less dispersed, while the front was covered by “strong bodies of -riflemen” in skirmishing order.[27] - -A further effort against Baltimore was equally ineffective, and Ross -“of Bladensburg” fell. Finally, the army, reinforced by the 7th and -43rd, the 93rd and 95th, and two West Indian regiments, attempted the -capture of New Orleans, and, to all intents and purposes, failed. - -The whole war is regrettable from every point of view. The operations -on the part of the British so far lacked method and cohesion, as to -class them rather as filibustering expeditions than serious war. The -conduct of the Americans throughout offers no redeeming point, as they -fired on a flag of truce, and caused retaliatory measures because of -their unwarrantable action in the early operations in Canada. The -peace that was signed in 1815 was a relief to both sides; but it left -a bad feeling behind which time has failed entirely to eradicate. In -the War of Independence, as in this struggle, and to some extent in the -Civil War of 1864, we have always most unfortunately been opposed to -our own kith and kin. Be the faults what they may, they can scarcely -be deemed entirely one-sided. But the evil legacy of armed opposition -has a grim tendency to live on, whether it be with a successful or a -defeated antagonist. - -One curious old custom arose out of the fighting of this time, with one -regiment of the line, the 29th. Tradition is doubtful as to the precise -time and place, the when and where the custom originated. Long before -1792, and up to about 1855, the officers were always accustomed to -wear their swords at mess, and thus got the name of the “Ever-sworded -Twenty-ninth.” The custom is referred to in the old standing orders, -and is believed to have arisen from a detachment of the regiment having -been surprised by Indians at St. John’s, and massacred, the deed being -prompted by the French inhabitants from a feeling of revenge. Even -now the captain and subaltern of the day appear with their swords at -dinner, and in an officer’s diary of 1792 it appears that, on one -occasion, “One of our very best men, weighing twenty stone, found it so -inconvenient that he was allowed to dine without his sword, provided it -hung up immediately behind him.” - -The tactical changes that had occurred up to 1793 were not numerous, at -least as far as Europe was concerned. The number of ranks was reduced -to three, and the battle formations were becoming more linear and less -heavily columnar. Minden, again, had shown again what resolute infantry -could do, and in that battle the effort to bring about a mutual -co-operation of the three arms to a common end is increasingly apparent. - -But America had taught much. It is, perhaps, not too much to say that -the campaigns there had turned men’s minds in the direction of the -fighting of the future, the value of independent fire action, and--a -century before it was seriously organised--the value of mounted -infantry. Bunker’s Hill, and even Lexington, had borne grave testimony -to the value of fire action. Tarleton, in Carolina, with his mounted -troops from the old 63rd Regiment of the line, had proved conclusively -the value of a mobile infantry. It took long, doubtless, for these -ideas to bear fruit, but they did so in due course. The originally -mounted infantry man--the dragoon--had ceased to be. He had become part -of the cavalry of the time. He was to be revived, but not for another -hundred years, to do his original duty, that of a mounted man fighting -on foot, and then under another name. - -Much besides had happened militarily in this period of the army’s -story besides the campaigns already referred to. The “Horse Guards” -as Army Headquarters had been so created in 1751. Light troops had -been added in 1755 to the dragoons, some of which were eventually -to come on the establishment, when amalgamated, as light cavalry -regiments; and about the same time second battalions were added to -existing regiments, and of these, fifteen, numbering from the 61st -to the 75th, commenced later on an independent existence. Many of -these had been raised for a campaign, disbanded, and re-formed more -than once. Thus the 73rd, formed as a second battalion to the 42nd -after the disaster of Ticonderoga, took that number in 1786, but it -had been held successively by a second battalion of the 34th, then by -the 116th and the present 71st. These sudden alterations of strength -in the Army List produced evils and suffering in every way. It was -stated in 1763, after the reduction, that there were upwards of 500 -ex-officers in gaol for debt, because of want of employment. Most of -the regiments, both old and new, had flank companies of light infantry -and grenadiers, which were detached to form, for the time, separate -battalions during a campaign; and the former were the precursors of -the light infantry battalions of later years. The old force of Marines -was disbanded in 1748, to reappear seven years later as a more purely -naval force under the Admiralty, instead of being an army force, borne -on the military establishment, and lent, more or less, to the navy. The -Royal Artillery, first organised in a small way by Marlborough, had -become an independent body as far back as 1715, but it was not till -1743 it appeared on the estimates, nor until 1751 that officers were -commissioned. Similarly with the Royal Engineers. At first practically -civilians, military rank was not given them until 1757. The army was -growing up into a more complete machine. - -[Illustration: _Fire Arms._ - -_Arquebus (Match Lock) 1537._ - -_Firelock (Wheel Lock) 1620._ - -_Musket (Brown Bess) 1800._ - -_Magazine B.L. (Lee-Metford) 1896._ - -_Plug-Bayonet._ - -_Socket-Bayonet._ - -_Modern Bayonet._] - -There had been slight changes in the detail and colour of regimental -uniforms, but of no great moment. A black line or “worm” was added as -a border to the gold lace of the regiments that fought at Quebec, a -privilege asserted to be granted only when the commander-in-chief of an -army is killed in battle. But its true origin seems a mystery, for the -old 13th Foot is said to have been granted it after Culloden. - -A curious system of regimental medals for merit depending on the length -of good and faithful service was introduced in 1767 by the 5th Foot. -Arms had changed but little, and the preparation of ammunition was -sufficiently primitive. Sergeants and corporals were directed to “carry -a mould to cast bullets, and a ladle to melt lead in, with three spare -powder horns and twelve bags for ball.” Meanwhile, too, the militia had -been more fully recognised as a second line for home defence; and about -1757 a practical conscription by ballot for this force was proposed, -and after much opposition carried in Parliament. During training they -were to be under the Mutiny Act and Articles of War. These latter, -drafted originally on the general’s own responsibility when conducting -a campaign, had been still reluctantly recognised by Parliament, and -in 1754 had been extended, with even greater reluctance, to the East -Indies and America. The old feeling of dread of independent governance -by officers was still alive, though beneath the surface of things. -As late as 1770, Beckford, Lord Mayor of London, remonstrated with -the Secretary of State for War because a detachment returning from -Spitalfields had marched past the Mansion House with drums beating, -“making a very warlike appearance, and raising in the minds of peaceful -citizens the idea of a town garrisoned with regular troops.” It is -curious to watch, in the army’s growth, how persistently the civil -mind was antagonistic to the force that had carried its name, its -reputation, and, soon, its trade to success and esteem. Yet Lord -Bavington had to accept the remonstrance, and assure the civic chief -that such should not occur again without his approval and approbation. - -Only the 3rd Buffs, the Royal Marines, the Royal London Militia, and -the 3rd Grenadier Guards, because of their asserted origin from London -trained bands, can claim as a right the privilege of marching through -the city of London with fixed bayonets and colours flying. - -The army meanwhile had been largely increased and as frequently -reduced. Many existing regiments have more than once borne other -numbers than those they at present possess, owing to these changes. -Thus in 1760 there were 100,000 armed men serving the State. Of these, -to give an idea of the distribution of regiments in those days, there -were in Great Britain 3 regiments of cavalry and 2 of infantry. In -Ireland, 3 of cavalry and 17 of infantry; in Gibraltar, 6 battalions; -in America and the West Indies 26 regiments of foot; in India 4; in -Africa 2, and in Jersey 1; while in Germany were 4 cavalry regiments -and 16 infantry battalions. - -[Illustration: _Private 14^{th} Reg^{t} 1792_] - -But despite all these changes the army had grown steadily. There were -practically now in the Army List, putting aside the Foot Guards and the -Household Cavalry, 77 battalions of the line, 7 regiments of Dragoon -Guards, and 17 other cavalry regiments which have survived until the -present day. The last three of the latter had been raised in 1759, -and the 17th, then commanded by Colonel Hale, who had been present -at Quebec, got the authority for the new regiment to carry on their -standards the Death’s Head, with the motto “Or glory,” whence comes -their sobriquet of the “Death or Glory Boys.” So the 15th, at first -light dragoons, had a curious origin, for present at the town where the -regiment was being raised were a large number of clothiers and tailors -who had come to present a petition. This they, however, abandoned, to -join the ranks of the new regiment; but if tailors, they were still -men, and performed prodigies of valour; so Granby said at Emsdorff in -1760. - -The Dragoon Guards had originally been regiments of cavalry, or horse, -armed like the Household cavalry, and receiving a higher rate of pay -than the mere dragoon, who, essentially a mounted infantry soldier, and -armed at first with an infantry weapon, did not provide his own horse. -This, at first, the men in the regiments of “horse,” who were often the -sons of substantial farmers and small landowners, did. When, however, -the armament, equipment, and duties of both dragoon and horse were the -same, and when the mounts for both were provided by the State, and -the only difference was the rate of pay, amalgamation was inevitable. -Hence, in 1746, three of the seven regiments of horse then existing, -and in 1788 the remaining four were converted into Dragoon Guards, to -distinguish them from the mere dragoon, and the same rate of pay was -given to both branches. - -But two marked changes had been made in regimental designations. Up to -1751 they had borne the name of their successive colonels, a method -both confusing in itself and lacking in that continuity of regimental -history which a number or a title bestows. In that year, numbers were -given to regiments of the line, and the seniority fixed by the date on -which they came on the English Establishment. Uniformity of uniform was -also settled, and facings directed to be worn. Finally, in 1787, county -titles were bestowed on regiments, the forerunner of the “territorial -system” that obtains now. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE ARMY AT SEA--TO 1815 - - -The history of the army in early days, and, in fact, up to the -termination of the long war with France, was intimately associated with -naval operations. This naturally arose from our insular situation; and -though at first English armies were largely employed in Continental -war only, the time came when it was evident that blows of greater -weight and greater political consequence could be aimed at an enemy’s -colonial empire than even in great Continental battles, which were -invariably fought with the assistance of allies. There was little -but barren honour to be got by such land campaigns; but the naval -operations were not only valuable as lessening an enemy’s prestige, -but also gave tangible rewards and results in prize-money for the men -and territory for the State. In no other way, in fact, could Great -Britain’s supremacy at sea be used with greater effect; and hence it -is that in the battle-roll of many an English regiment are names of -victories which are practically semi-naval affairs. In fact, the army -has in its time been largely employed as marines, doing their twofold -duty of in some cases acting as the ship’s guard, and at others that -of a force to be landed for active service and re-embarked when their -work was done. Hence, regiments, though on the strength of the army, -were often lent to the navy for such duty. Thus in 1664 was raised the -“Admiral’s Regiment,” for service in the Dutch war, and was really -the “_Old_ Buffs,” as this was the colour of their facings. Said to -be raised from the London trained bands, which at that time must -have formed a very good recruiting ground of drilled men, they in -all numbered nearly 10,000 men, each ward furnishing a certain fixed -proportion. But these early naval soldiers were practically regarded as -a mere nursery for the navy, and when they had qualified as “foremast -men,” they were drafted as seamen, and fresh levy-money granted for -recruits to take their place. On the cessation of the Dutch wars, the -regiment was disbanded, to reappear in 1684 again as an “Admiral’s -Regiment,” but with the imposing title of “H.R.H. the Duke of York and -Albany’s Maritime Regiment of Foot.” This was eventually incorporated -with the Coldstream Guards, the Holland Regiment, formed about the same -time, which had also sent some of its companies on naval duty, taking -its place on the list, and numbering eventually the 3rd Regiment of -the line, or “Old Buffs.” The second title was given from the colour -of the facings and _linings_ of their coats, and to it was added the -term “old” to distinguish them from the “Young Buffs,” the 31st, -which wore the same colour. Several other marine regiments were also -raised, but they successively disappeared or were incorporated with -other regiments. Naval operations themselves were also becoming more -extended, and large fleets, rather than a few isolated ships, were -beginning to push out, from the narrow offensive-defensive actions -in and about the Channel, to wider seas and with greater aims. All -this necessitated, if any impression was to be produced on the actual -coastal people and defences of an enemy, the employment of soldiers. -Not that the effect of local naval victories was less important in the -past any more than in the future. The naval battle of La Hogue was, in -a way, as effectual in checking invasion as was Trafalgar later. The -very extension of the naval war of 1694 to the Mediterranean gave an -opening for one of these maritime operations, of which the naval and -military annals were for more than a century to be full. The action -of the army as an irritant to the general body politic of the hostile -state with which we were at war was to be evidenced. Thus, in 1694, -the absence of the French fleet in the Mediterranean led to an effort -to damage the French arsenal at Brest, for which purpose a landing was -attempted in Camaret Bay, when twelve regiments of the line and two of -marines embarked under Talmash. Churchill was currently believed to -be the cause of the disaster which followed; for he is stated to have -communicated the intended surprise to King James in France, so that -when the expedition reached its destination, it was most vigorously -opposed, and the general with 700 men fell. - -But in 1702, while six regiments were specially raised for sea service, -of which only three, the 30th, 31st, and 32nd, now remain, six other -battalions were lent from the regular army for naval duty. These were -the 6th, 19th, 20th, 34th, 35th, and 36th; and they returned to land -service in 1713, when the other three of the six marine battalions were -disbanded. - -Again, in 1739 and 1749, ten other marine regiments were formed; -but these again were, according to the prevailing custom, done away -with when, in 1748, war for a time ceased. But these newer levies -were becoming more like true marines. They were to be quartered near -the Government dockyards. They were to assist in the fitting out of -ships as well as helping to man them. Other independent companies of -a similar character were also formed in America and the West Indies, -and many of these became absorbed in the ranks of the land forces; but -so close was the union between the sea and land regiments then, that -exchanges between the officers of both were permitted. - -Up to this time, the sea service regiments had done good work. In 1702 -eleven regiments of the line, of which the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 7th, and 32nd -still remain, with a battalion of Guards and some Dutch regiments, were -despatched to the Spanish coast. An attack was first made at Rota, -in the bay of Cadiz, which was captured, but abandoned; and then the -squadron moved to Vigo Bay, where the Spanish galleons, laden with -treasure and convoyed by a French fleet, had taken refuge. The entrance -was difficult and guarded with batteries, and with a boom “made up of -masts, yards, cables, top chains, and casks, about three yards in -circumference, but this, though three-quarters of a mile long, and -guarded at the ends by seventy-four-gun men-of-war, was broken by the -_Torbay_ of eighty guns, the other ships following, while the troops -landed, stormed, and silenced the shore batteries at the Rhondella, -and this with little loss. The booty amounted to 20,000,000 pieces -of eight, and an equally valuable amount of merchandise, of which -14,000,000 pieces were saved, and about £50,000,000 worth of stores; -while 4,000,000 pieces of plate and ten of merchandise were lost.”[28] - -But the most noteworthy event of these times was the capture and -retention in 1704 of Gibraltar, in which the 30th, 31st, and 32nd -Regiments, serving as marines at first in Sir Cloudesley Shovel’s -fleet, bore a gallant part. This is the early history of one of our -proudest possessions, even if it be not as valuable strategically now -as it was when the century was young. - -Whoever the primæval inhabitants of “the Rock” may have been, and -their skulls and bones found in the stalagmitic limestone of the -caves show they were of no high class but merely cave-dwellers, they -were followed, somewhere about the eighth century, by the Moors. This -curious wave of invasion from the East seems to have simply skirted -the northern parts of Africa, until it reached what is now Algeria. -It never penetrated far south, and yet it represents one of the few -traces of civilisation in the dark continent. Most curious of all is -it that African aborigines have done so little for themselves. All -the civilising waves have been immigrant, from those who built the -dead cities of Mashonaland to the men who have made Buluwayo. Such -civilisation as North Africa possesses has been wholly of foreign -origin. The negro race has done nothing worth mentioning, and it may -well be believed, after the experience of Liberia, never will. So that -the Arab invasion sought for other outlets for its expansion than the -warmer clime of Mid or Central Africa. Reaching Algiers, Tarik the -Conqueror passed across the straits to the peninsula of Gibraltar, -and built there, somewhere about 725, a castle of which the existing -Moorish tower may be a relic. It remained in Mohammedan hands for seven -hundred and forty-eight years, and then, captured by the Spaniards, was -remodelled, the “Gebel al Tarik” becoming Christian “Gibraltar.” Its -present arms, a castle with a key pendent at the gate, granted by Henry -IV. of Castile, refer to its condition as a fortress once the key to -the Mediterranean, but now, with the improvements in the range and size -of modern guns, of less value than heretofore. - -In 1704 the place was but feebly garrisoned, and fell mainly owing to -the silencing of the batteries by the squadron and their occupation -then by seamen landed from the ships. The troops, under the Prince of -Hesse Darmstadt, meanwhile occupied the isthmus until the fortress -surrendered. So important a capture was not likely to be agreed to -without a further struggle, and in 1705 the Marquis de Villadarius was -despatched to formally besiege it. The garrison, however, had been -reinforced by the 13th and 35th Regiments, a battalion of Guards, and -some Dutch troops, and though several gallant efforts were made to -carry the place by assault they successively failed, and after seven -months the siege was abandoned and converted into a partial blockade. -It had cost the Spaniards and French some 10,000 men, but the garrison -lost only some 400. - -For more than twenty years the British flag flew unmolested from the -“Rock.” But, in 1727, Spain made a more determined attempt to regain -her lost possession. The strength of the fortress had been increased -since the previous siege, but the armament was indifferent, many of -the guns being so honeycombed as to be liable to burst on the first -fire, and at least a hundred of them were so destroyed during the -coming siege. But the command of the sea, and the presence of Hopson’s -powerful fleet, prevented stores reaching the Spanish army save by -land, and reinforcements, composed of the Edinburgh Regiment, the 35th, -some Engineer and Artillery officers and men, as well as, later on, -another line battalion and one of the Guards, were despatched to the -aid of the beleaguered fortress. So again, after a tedious four months, -during which time about 3000 of the enemy and 300 of the garrison had -fallen, a suspension of hostilities was agreed to, and followed by a -treaty of peace. - -But the last and most sustained attack upon the place was made during -the years 1781-83. Great Britain had been somewhat occupied, since -1775 and before, with warlike operations on the American Continent, -and needed much of her naval strength to cope with French fleets and -American corsairs, let alone to protect in addition her home waters. -The entry of Spain into the arena intensified her difficulties; and, -as might be expected, the great dream of the new enemy was to seize -the opportunity of England’s difficulty and repossess herself of the -key to the Straits. There was a strong French fleet cruising off Cape -Finisterre in 1779, and a Spanish one in Cadiz Bay, either of which -could spare a sufficiently powerful blockading squadron without risk. - -So that, by the middle of August 1779, the place was closely invested -by a Spanish army at San Roque, and a fleet of four ships, five xebecs, -and numerous “row-galleys” in the bay; and preparations were made for -the capture of Gibraltar by a formal siege, trenches, parallels, and -siege batteries being carefully and laboriously constructed. - -The fortress was commanded by that gallant “Cock of the Rock,” George -Augustus Elliot. His garrison consisted of the 12th, 39th, 56th, and -58th Regiments, the old 72nd, or Royal Manchester Volunteers, disbanded -in 1783, three Hanoverian regiments, and a company of Engineers. -The strength of the place had been greatly increased, especially on -the side facing the isthmus and Spain. Powerful batteries had been -erected there, and galleries with portholes for guns had been hewn -out of the solid rock. It was deemed impregnable in those days. It -was thought that “No power whatever can take that place, unless a -plague, pestilence, or famine, or the want of ordnance, musketry, and -ammunition, or some unforeseen stroke of Providence should happen.” -Throughout 1779 the place was simply blockaded, and there was little -firing on either side. But provisions ran short. General Elliot himself -tested practically that it was just possible to exist on four ounces -of rice a day! The arrival of Sir George Rodney’s fleet early in 1780, -after the destruction of a Spanish squadron off Cape St. Vincent, was -therefore joyfully welcomed. It reprovisioned the fortress, removed -the women, children, and invalids, and strengthened the garrison by a -strong battalion of Highlanders, then numbered the 73rd, but now the -71st Highland Light Infantry. But by March 1781 the stores again began -to fail, and soldiers were directed to economise flour and go with -unpowdered hair; and a cargo of potatoes “run” by a polacca fetched £7, -10s. 6d. a hundred-weight. - -The Spanish batteries, being complete and fully armed, opened a -tremendous fire. Far from discouraging the garrison, they replied -to it vigorously, though inferior in number of guns, and, more than -that, executed a most brilliant sortie, storming the siege works and -trenches, and setting fire to all the combustible material, doing -damage, it was said, to the tune of £2,000,000, and that with a loss of -but four killed and twenty-five wounded. - -In second line to the 12th, 39th, 72nd, 73rd, etc., who led the -assault, were the 39th and 58th Regiments, commanded by General Picton, -the uncle of the Peninsular hero. Finally, the continuous bombardment, -broken only by the diversion effected by a British squadron conveying -the 25th and 39th Regiments, culminated, on the 13th September 1782, in -a desperate attack both by sea and land. Specially constructed floating -batteries, the sides of which were formed of timber with wet sand -between, took part in the bombardment, when some 400 guns were hurling -their projectiles into Gibraltar. But it was of no avail: the vessels -were disabled and many burned. From the eighty cannon, with some -mortars and howitzers, which formed the artillery of the defence, more -than 8000 rounds were sent in reply, and quite one-half of them were -red-hot shot. - -So the attempt failed, and though the fire was steadily continued, -the attack was practically exhausted; and the preliminaries of peace, -signed in February 1783, were welcomed by all. The famous siege had -lasted three years, seven months, and twelve days. The loss suffered by -the garrison amounted to 1231 men, and 205,328 shot were fired during -that time. - -But other regiments embarked for local or special service were also -meanwhile earning naval honours for the army. The 6th Regiment showed -conspicuous gallantry in the attack on Fort Monjuich at Barcelona. The -6th, 9th, 11th, 17th, 33rd, and 36th Regiments also served at Almanza -in 1707, and the 6th also at Saragossa; while nothing can exceed the -gallantry of the defence of the Castle of Alicante by a regiment now -disbanded, when the officers refused to surrender, and drank the health -of good Queen Anne in a bastion over the mine that a few minutes later -blew the castle nearly in pieces! - -Again, in the melancholy expedition to the Spanish Main in 1740-41, the -6th, 15th, 16th, and 36th Regiments served; and the 6th, especially, -suffered so terribly from fever at Jamaica in 1742 that when it -returned home it had, from this and other causes, only eighteen men -left of the eight hundred who sailed from England. The expedition, -including the abortive attacks on Cuba and Carthagena, was throughout -conducted in such a way as to be fruitless of result, and is noteworthy -as a rare event in such expeditions, for the want of cordial -co-operation between the naval and military commanders. - -In 1746 the Royal Scots, 15th, 28th, 30th, 39th, and 42nd were embarked -under General Sinclair to destroy Port L’Orient, but beyond a feeble -bombardment little was done, and the army re-embarked to make a similar -abortive attempt at Quiberon Bay. Similarly, the 30th fought in the -naval action of Finisterre as marines (in addition of course to those -troops that had been definitely enlisted for sea service), and received -the thanks of the Admiral for their general behaviour. At that time the -proportion of marines embarked in vessels of war was one man per gun; -a fifty-gun frigate carrying therefore fifty men. - -At the outbreak of hostilities in 1739-40, six regiments had been -raised for sea service, and two years later four were added (numbering -from the 44th to the 53rd inclusive though still bearing the names of -their colonels); but all these ten regiments were disbanded in 1740, -and with them the principle of lending line battalions to the fleet, -except in 1741, practically ceased. For in 1755 fifty companies of true -Marines were raised, who were to be placed on the strength of the navy -and put under the definite command of the naval authorities. At this -time the army had been reduced to forty-nine line battalions, so the -newly raised Marine corps took rank after that regiment when serving -with the land forces, and the 52nd Foot, raised in 1755, became the -50th two years later. It is curious to note here, again, how frequently -the number had changed. The first “Fiftieth” was “Shirley’s American -Provincials” formed in 1745, which received its number in 1754 and was -disbanded in 1757. - -From this time forward, then, the land forces were only on occasional -emergencies lent to naval squadrons for sea duty. That was to be -carried out by the newly formed Marine companies, which, since their -reorganisation in 1755, have continued as a military force paid by the -navy, and not as a body lent when the occasion arose to the army. Thus -its duties are twofold, as in one respect its superiors are. When borne -on the books of a vessel of war, the Royal Marine is under the Naval -Discipline Act, and subject to the supreme authority of the Admiral -commanding the fleet. On shore he is liable to the provisions of the -Army Act, and owes allegiance to the officer commanding the garrison -in which he happens to be stationed. Employed, therefore, ashore as -well as afloat, the history of the Royal Marines is that of both the -army and the navy. Between their employment at Cork in 1690 and the -cessation of the long war in 1815, the services of marine soldiers are -mentioned in 369 naval actions and 169 coast operations and campaigns. -This does not include numerous small “affairs” in which lives were -lost. Between 1827 and the present date, again, there are more than -thirty battles and campaigns in which they have taken part, and this -list does not enter into details. So wide a story as theirs is that -of the army itself almost, and extends far beyond the limits of these -pages. But, briefly summarising the history, it may be said that the -first fifty companies of a hundred men each were first formed into -three divisions at Chatham, Portsmouth, and Plymouth, and to that, -later, was added one at Woolwich, which was disestablished, the depôt -at Walmer taking its place. Its badge, “the Globe,” with the motto, -“_Per mare, per terram_,” were granted in 1760, “for special service -during the war”; the title “Royal,” when the facings were changed from -white to blue, was granted in 1802, “for its many and varied services”; -and in 1827 George IV. added the laurel wreath to the globe, as well as -“Gibraltar” and the royal cipher, to mark its gallantry in the defence -of the fortress and “as the most appropriate emblem of a corps whose -duties carried them to all parts of the globe, in every quarter of -which they had earned laurels by their valour and good conduct.” The -designation “Light Infantry” was bestowed after 1855. - -To the light infantry companies were added, in 1804, artillery -companies, which were formed into a distinct body, “the Royal Marine -Artillery,” in 1860. - -Some of the Marine regimental records are interesting as showing -the inner life of the sea, or even land, soldier a hundred years -ago. In the tailor’s shop in 1755, for example, the idea of an eight -hours’ working day was evidently not a burning question; for the men -worked from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m., with _one_ hour only for meals. Again, -punishments were severe, as the sentences passed on three deserters in -1766 shows; for while one was shot, the other two were to receive a -thousand and five hundred lashes respectively. In 1755 two “private men -absent from exercise” were “to be tyed neck and heels on the Hoe half -an hour”; while thirteen years later, a sergeant, for taking “coals and -two poles” from the dockyard, was sentenced to five hundred lashes, -and to be “drummed out with a halter round his neck,” after, of course, -being reduced to the ranks. - -None the less, these were the men who fought the battles of the crown -in the eighteenth century; and perhaps of all their exploits, that of -the “Diamond Rock,” in 1804, is best worth noting. The rock lies near -Cape Diamond, and is described by Davenant as “a rough-looking place, -with little that was inviting about it--a great firm rock, the highest -point of which might be something over 500 feet above the level of the -sea, the circumference of it less than a mile, and in its shape not at -all unlike a haystack. On the west side there were bold, rugged cliffs, -precipitous, sheer up and down walls, seeming as though they would -defy all approach to them; and the roar of the surf beating against -the base of them was distinctly audible at the distance of a mile. Yet -here was the only place where a landing could be effected. The other -three sides of the Diamond Rock were simply inaccessible, presenting a -perpendicular face from within a few feet of the summit. On the whole, -it looked uncommonly like a _noli me tangere_ sort of place, reminding -me of Lundy Island in the British Channel, where, as old Holinshed -quaintly says, ‘there is no entrance but for friends single and able.’” -Its position was such that vessels passing between it and the shore -in those days of sailing ships were often able to escape pursuit; so, -to prevent this, the rock was garrisoned by Lieutenant Maurice and a -hundred and twenty marines and seamen, who for five months garrisoned -the place, and which, during that time, appeared in the estimates as -“His Majesty’s sloop of war, Diamond Rock”! So much trouble did the -garrison give the French, that a squadron of five ships was despatched -to capture it, but all attempts failed, until want of ammunition and -provisions led to its exhaustion. Even when compelled to capitulate, -however, the small detachment made such terms that the British flag was -not to be hauled down until the garrison had reached the ships, the men -were to be permitted to wear their side arms, and were to be sent under -a flag of truce to Barbadoes. - -A more extraordinary instance of coolness and bravery is not to be -found in any page of our national history; and the Marine service -has always been popular, for what was stated in 1775 is equally true -now, that “the Marines recruited better in every part of the island -[of Great Britain] than the line.” But, putting aside the operations -undertaken solely by the marine, the soldier acting temporarily as -such, or the bluejacket, there were many others in which the army -shared, though they do not form part of a connected series of battles -such as characterise more serious campaigns. They partake rather of -the nature of naval raids for the specific annoyance of the enemy, -or attempts at the actual capture of his outlying possessions. They -are individually interesting in many ways, but it would be impossible -to do more than tabulate them more or less in order of occurrence, -emphasising only the share the army took in them. Practically ships of -war either conveyed the soldiers as transports for the required duty, -or themselves formed the escort and guard of the convoy of transports -which accompanied the battleships, and for the time being formed part -of the armada. - -Thus, when the Seven Years’ War broke out, the attention of the French -was directed towards Minorca, which, captured in 1708 by Stanhope, -was regarded as only second in importance to Gibraltar for a naval -power having interests in the Mediterranean. Its capture was the -first appearance of England as a naval power possessing a naval base -in that closed sea. It was garrisoned by the 4th, 23rd, 24th, and -34th Regiments; and, unrelieved by Admiral Byng’s fleet, on whose -co-operation alone was it possible for the defender to hold out, its -commandant, Blakeney, was compelled to surrender in 1755, though the -troops behaved with such gallantry after the terrible bombardment, -with numerical odds against them of some 20,000 to 3000, that they -were allowed to march out with drums beating and colours flying, with -all the honours of war. The siege had lasted from May to July. It is -a noteworthy instance of the absolute importance of a most full and -cordial co-operation between the naval and military commanders in cases -such as these, when the army, cut from its home base, is dependent on -the navy for its line of communications. In the future, without full -command of the sea, isolated posts and coaling stations will be always -at the mercy of bold and skilful raids, unless powerfully armed and -sufficiently garrisoned. - -Minorca was restored to the British flag in 1763, and eighteen years -later had to undergo a second siege by the French under Crillon, when, -at the end, the governor, out of 660, had 560 on the sick list against -14,000 besiegers, and for the second time the fortress capitulated. -It was taken for the third and last time by General Stuart (with the -8th and 42nd) in 1798, of whom it was said that no man could “manage -Frenchmen like him, and the British will go to h--ll for him.” Little -resistance was made, and the number of the prisoners exceeded that of -the invaders. It was ceded finally to Spain in 1802. - -In 1758 a force was despatched to destroy the shipping at St. Malo, -and to capture Cherbourg, both of which affairs were successfully -conducted, the docks being blown up, and the brass cannon captured -taken in triumph through the streets of London; but success in these -somewhat pitiful operations was to receive a rude check, for a third -landing in the bay of St. Cas was conducted with such contempt for all -military precautions, that the force, on re-embarking, was heavily -beaten by the French, and while many boats were sunk by the fire of -artillery, some forty-six officers and eight hundred men were left -prisoners in the hands of the enemy. - -In 1759 the first serious attempts at extending our power over the -West Indies began; as did the first serious effort for the conquest of -Canada, the main action in which was the gallant capture of Quebec. -An expedition, in which the 3rd, 4th, 61st, 63rd, 64th, 65th, some -marines, and a second battalion of the 42nd, raised readily and rapidly -to avenge the loss of the first battalion at Ticonderoga the previous -year, took part, was therefore despatched under General Hopson, and -though they failed at Martinique, they succeeded, after much toil -and privation for three months, during which the climate was a more -deadly foe than the French, at Guadaloupe. Similarly, two years later, -while one force was sent to harass the French coast and destroy the -harbours of refuge for French privateers, and suchlike, on the island -of Belleisle in the Bay of Biscay, a success in which the 3rd, 9th, -19th, 21st, 25th, 37th, 61st, etc., Regiments shared, and where Private -Samuel Johnson, though severely wounded, distinguished himself by -killing six men in the defence of his wounded officer; another army -composed of the 1st, 17th, and 22nd Foot completed the capture of the -Caribbean Sea Colonies by the occupation of Dominica, Martinique, St. -Vincent, and St. Lucia. When Spain, too, joined the enemies of Great -Britain in 1762, and it was found impracticable to land an army on the -Continent, it was none the less clearly evident that decisive blows -could be struck against her in other parts of the world. - -In the far East was Manila, which since 1564 had been her undisturbed -possession. But the old 79th from Madras, with some other troops, -marines and sailors, gave a “good account of it,” and 9 colours and 536 -guns were taken with the fortress, though “the front we were obliged to -attack was defended by the bastions of St. Diego and St. Andrew, with -orillons and retired flanks, a ravelin which covered the royal gate, -a wet ditch, covered way, and glacis,” and the attacking force was -totally inadequate to attempt the full investment of the place. - -But this was not the only material gain. A still more important -expedition was despatched to the West Indies to take Havannah. The -troops embarked were the 1st, 9th, 22nd, 34th, 40th, 42nd, 56th, 72nd, -90th, and others, and there, after much hard fighting and considerable -hardships, during which at one time over 5000 men were on the sick -list, effected the storm of the Moro Castle and the place. Great indeed -was the prize. Nine sail of the line were taken in the harbour, 361 -guns on the fortifications, and treasure valued at nearly £3,000,000 -sterling. The Commander-in-chief’s share amounted to £122,697, but poor -“Thomas Atkins,” who had borne even more the burden and heat of the -day, got but £4 odd! - -Still these two great captures were the most important effected during -the whole war, and the combined army and navy had, both in the East and -West, as fully “singed the King of Spain’s beard” as did Drake some two -hundred years before. - -So again (and it is curious to see how little was known beforehand in -those days of an enemy’s probable movements), the French fitted out -a squadron at Brest and recaptured Newfoundland; but they only held -it for a short time, as the fleet sailed away, as Byng’s did, without -supporting the troops on shore, and the 45th and 77th re-took and -garrisoned St. John’s. - -For nearly twenty years there is little to record as regards these -isolated affairs; but in 1779 the French took St. Vincent, Granada, -the small garrison of the latter place having been surprised in the -dark by some of the Irish Brigade, who, “by speaking the same language, -were admitted into the entrenchments as friends,” and “immediately -overpowered our troops by numbers;”[29] and in the naval actions that -accompanied the closing scenes of the American War of Independence, the -4th and 46th again served as marines in Admiral Byron’s squadron, as -did, in 1780, some of the 5th in Rodney’s fleet. - -One romantic story of the army of this time found its conclusion -at Gibraltar. Many years before, a certain Maria Knowles, a tall, -handsome Cheshire girl, fell in love at Warrington Market with a -certain Sergeant Cliff of the Guards, who was on recruiting duty. -When he returned to his regiment, the girl ran away and enlisted in -the same regiment as the man she loved, but who does not appear up to -that time to have reciprocated her passion. She accompanied a draft -to Holland, fought in several engagements in Flanders, and, on being -desperately wounded at Dunkirk, the secret of her sex was discovered. -On recovering, she was induced to divulge the reasons for her action, -and the officers provided them with a handsome subscription, and the -chaplain of the 66th married them. Later on, he was promoted adjutant -of the 66th, and died at Gibraltar, whence his widow, with one son, -returned to England in 1798. - -The outbreak of the French Revolution, and the beginning of the long -war with France, led to a resumption of these combined operations. -Thus, in 1794, Paoli, a Corsican patriot, determined on throwing off -the French yoke, and for this purpose invited England’s co-operation. -Curiously enough, against him fought a young artillery officer, one -Napoleon Bonaparte. The force was composed of the 1st, 11th, 18th, -25th, 30th, 50th, 51st, and 69th Regiments, and the 12th Light Dragoon -Regiment, under Colonel, afterwards Sir John, Moore; and it seems -strange to read now that when resistance ceased, a “Te Deum” was sung -in the Cathedral of Bastia, and prayers were read for “George III., -King of Great Britain and Corsica”! Some of the 12th were employed at -Civita Vecchia, and so good was their conduct that the Pope Pius VI. -presented each of the twelve officers with a gold medal. In due course -Corsica was resigned to native hands, without any attempt or desire on -the part of Great Britain to retain it. In these years, too, Tobago, -St. Pierre, and Miquelon were captured; and the 13th, with some of -the 49th, assisted at the capture of St. Domingo. Martinique was also -taken, and the 1st and 3rd Regiments shared in the operation. Cape -St. Vincent, on the 14th February 1797, saw not only the brilliant -victory of Admiral Jervis over the Spanish fleet, but the gallant -boarding of the _San Nicolas_ by the seamen and some of the 69th, -who acted as marines under Lieutenant Charles Pierson. For while the -officer commanding dropped on to the deck of the enemy’s ship from -the spritsail yard, a private of the 69th dashed in the window of the -quarter gallery from the fore chain of the _Captain_, and led the -boarding column. - -The year following a brilliant dash was made with the object of -damaging Ostend, and, like many others of these harassing and -essentially useless debarkations, it did much damage; but, failing to -be able to re-embark, the assailants were compelled to surrender. The -force was but 1200 strong all told, with 6 guns, and was made up of -detachments of the Guards, 11th, 23rd, and 49th Foot, and a few men of -the 17th Light Dragoons under General Coote. - -Similarly useless and disastrous was the abortive passage of the -Dardanelles in 1807, which was followed by a feeble descent on Egypt, -in pursuance of the idea, this time, of harassing the Turk. But the -army was too weak to effect any real annoyance, and the 35th, 78th, and -31st sacrificed useless lives at Rosetta and El Hamet, the detachment -of the 78th being surrounded and losing 260 men out of 275. Several of -the men became leaders in the Turkish army, and one Scottish drummer -boy was until recently still living, the last survivor of General -Fraser’s small command. - -But there were two incidents in these times that are worth recording, -those of the first attempts against South America at Buenos Ayres and -Monte Video, and the successive operations that led to the conversion -of the Cape of Good Hope into an English colony. Beginning with the -latter, it will be remembered that it was first taken possession of -in 1795, with the consent of the Prince of Orange, but contrary to -the desire, apparently, of the colonists, who resisted the attempt -to occupy a position at Simon’s Bay held by the 78th and some -marines; but when reinforced by the 84th, 95th, and 98th Regiments, -an advance was made on Wynberg, where, after a slight skirmish, the -inhabitants surrendered. In the same year a number of other small -Dutch possessions, including Colombo, fell into English hands. The -Cape was resigned in 1801 by the treaty of Amiens; but the alliance -between the French and Dutch led to the assembling of an expedition -for its recapture, in which a Highland brigade, the 71st, 72nd, and -93rd Regiments, a brigade composed of the 24th, 38th, 59th, and 83rd -Regiments, with the 20th Light Dragoons, and one field battery with two -howitzers, took part. The resistance was most feeble, and the enemy, -though armed with nineteen cannon, barely awaited the attack of even -the Highland brigade. - -A number of the natives there were later formed into a regiment by -Colonel Graham, and these were the forerunners of the Cape Mounted -Rifles, a force which has done good service in Kaffir wars since. In -connection with this conquest, so important in the expansion of our -Eastern Empire, may also be recorded the capture, in 1810, of Mauritius -from France, and Java from the Dutch, in which the 12th, 19th, 22nd, -65th, 84th, and 89th, under Abercrombie, and the 14th, 59th, 69th, -78th, and 89th, under Auchmuty, took an active part. Their capture -freed those seas from the Dutch and French privateers, and secured our -trade route with Calcutta. - -The want of employment militarily, in South Africa, led to the -transference of the theatre of war to South America. In 1806, a small -force of dragoons, marines, and the 71st Foot occupied Buenos Ayres -with scarcely any opposition, but the Spanish afterwards assembled in -some strength, and compelled General Carr Beresford to capitulate. -Measures were at once taken to remedy this disaster. Colonel Vassall -of the 38th, and Colonel Backhouse, with the 43th, occupied the island -of Maldonado, which commanded the harbour of the same name, and, after -storming the batteries, furnished a safe and protected anchorage for -the fleet, which, with General Auchmuty, and the 38th, 40th, 47th, -87th, a company of the 71st, the 93rd, some marines, and the 17th Light -Dragoons, was on the way from England. The enemy were defeated outside -the town of Monte Video, when the advance was made from Maldonado, -but the further effort to penetrate into the city, through a breach -made by a few light guns, met with the most determined resistance, -and the assault of the “Gibraltar of America” cost some 600 officers -and men out of the 1200 who formed the column of assault, among whom -was Colonel Vassall, who had won the affectionate regard of the 38th -Regiment, which he commanded. So much so was this the case, that it is -said that when the regiment returned home and was stationed in Ireland, -a publican “realised a little fortune by simply hoisting as his sign -the effigies of the colonel,” and the “Vassall Arms” were as popular -there as was the name of the “Marquis of Granby,” Dorking, in former -years.[30] - -The capture was some consolation for the loss of Buenos Ayres, and -Auchmuty’s success led to the hope that our disaster there might be -avenged. So it might, possibly, had that general retained command; -but the army was to be placed under that of General Whitelock, who -was reinforced by General Crawford from the Cape with the 5th, 36th, -45th, 88th, the Rifles, some artillery, and the 6th Dragoon Guards. -A more extraordinary exhibition of want of judgment on the part of a -general in command has rarely been witnessed. Throughout the previous -operations, both of Beresford and Auchmuty, there had been no trace of -want of fighting power on the part of the enemy. But everything now -seems to have been left to guess. Reconnaissance was ignored, though -General Beresford had escaped from the town and, joining his chief, -could have given him the fullest information. The possible nature of -the defence with flat-roofed houses, each of which, defended by its -owner and his negroes, became a fortress; deep ditches and barricades -formed across the streets; stout buildings stoutly held; grape-loaded -guns entrenched to sweep the avenue; were so little imagined, that -“from motives of humanity”--Heaven save the mark!--many of the men’s -arms were unloaded, and others not provided with flints or even -locks,[31] lest they should “fire wantonly on the inhabitants.” -Doubtless this was much exaggerated, but there is no doubt that the -muskets were generally empty. The strong force of artillery captured -at Monte Video was not used at all, when a steady bombardment before -any attempt at assault or penetration into the town would have been of -the highest value. Yet, hemmed in and helpless as the columns were, -their bravery and steadfastness stand out in brilliant contrast to the -culpable and idiotic folly of their most incompetent generals. The -88th especially distinguished themselves, and one portion of the army -was compelled to surrender, having fired its last cartridge, while -Crawford, hemmed in on all sides, had to lay down his arms too. When -Whitelock finally agreed to withdraw, having lost 2500 men, according -to his despatch, he surrendered Monte Video as well, and on his return -to England was justly court-martialled. He was found guilty, and was -cashiered, and so much was his name held in detestation by the people, -that when, in 1830, he asked the landlord of the Somersetshire inn in -which he was staying, to drink with him, the man, when he knew who his -guest was, refused to “drink another glass with him,” at the same time -throwing down the price of the bottle, that he might not be indebted to -the cashiered general. - -The first efforts at conquest on the South American mainland had met -with little save disaster and disappointment, and were absolutely -barren of result. Our other possessions on that continent were gained, -not by hard fighting there, but by treaties dependent on hard fighting -elsewhere. Both British Guiana and Honduras saw no battles fought on -their soil by British soldiers. The former, captured in 1796, was -confirmed to the English rule in 1814; the latter became a crown colony -in 1867. - -Thus, though many of these expeditions rather partook of the nature of -filibustering raids than real war, they none the less are interesting -as showing the gradual extension of military operations beyond the -main theatre of war. In many cases, doubtless, as in the landing on -the French coast, no real benefit was derived from them, and they -only tended to exasperate and embitter a contest that already was -sufficiently imbued with these feelings. They brought the horrors of -war on defenceless people, as well as on the enemy’s military and naval -resources. In so doing they harassed and annoyed, and to some extent -lent their aid to the otherwise needless dispersion of the enemy’s -troops; but such deeds only lead to reprisals, and, like killing -individual soldiers on outpost duty, have little real effect on the -conduct or result of a campaign. - -Still there were many cases in which the semi-naval operations were -of supreme value to a great naval power. The true outlet for a -vigorous nation’s natural expansion is its colonies. Shorn of these, -in many instances the parent country loses its most vital limbs, with -increasing injury to the main trunk. Morally, as well as politically, -the loss of colonial empire gravely affects the mother country. The -loss of the American States to England long lowered her prestige in the -eyes of Europe, and for a time led nations to think her end as a great -power had come. The dropping away from Spain and Portugal of those vast -colonies which owe their origin and existence to the energy of the -people of those countries in the past, have left the mother countries -far behind in the race, low down in the political scale of Europe. - -Hence the conquest of French and Spanish colonies in this prolonged -war was not only a serious loss to the States concerned, but an -important element of strength to the power that first of all effected -the conquest, and then was strong enough to hold them. No doubt, in -days when steam and telegraph were not, the element of secrecy entered -largely into the calculation of how these attacks could be successfully -planned and executed. It was possible then to attempt what now would be -far more risky, because foreseen. “To be forewarned” is more than even -“to be forearmed” in these modern days. - -But, in addition, there is one other point to be considered in thinking -of what was done in past wars, and so examining if similar things -could be done in the future. Would the bombardment of open, or feebly -defended, coast towns be permitted? Would that old “harassing” side -of war, without any other end beyond that of harassing, be considered -justifiable now? There is a certain _general_ and no longer _local_ -public opinion to be considered nowadays, and much that was done when -the nineteenth century was young will be very possibly looked on as -barbarous and unnecessary when another century dawns. - -Lastly, the means of local defence have also largely increased. It is -common to see, as at Havana, how frequently forts and batteries were -fully silenced by the fire from the fleet, whose guns were certainly -not of great power. But coast batteries are now more scientifically -and powerfully built, and mount guns quite as formidable, if not more -so, than battleships can carry. Ranges are greater, and the accuracy -of fire enormously improved, and ground mines and active torpedoes -can make situations, whence fleets could formerly best act, too -dangerous now to be occupied at all. Quick-firing and machine guns, -repeating rifles, and what not, will render boat operations practically -impossible, except at night. Such landings as those at Aboukir Bay, -etc., should be now out of the question. It may safely be surmised that -the class of operations referred to in this chapter will be less easy -of execution in the future than when Guadaloupe was taken. - -But one thing is clearly apparent in watching the story of this -combination of military and naval war. It was only as England began -to feel her strength, and, by increasing her squadrons, to have the -power of showing it, that she really began to grow to greatness. At -first the wars were local and somewhat restricted on shore, as were the -actions of the fleets. But the desire to get at France and Spain on -both sides, or all along their coast lines, led, instinctively almost, -to the capture of Gibraltar, the gateway to the Mediterranean, and next -to seize Minorca, as she did later Malta, and then Cyprus, as a base of -operations for her naval strength. Such harbours or bases are needful -always for rest, refitting, reprovisioning, and, _now_, recoaling. No -such fortified place is by itself a menace; it is only the basis of -that active menace, the sea-going fleet of battleships. Neither Malta -nor Biserta would in the least affect the destinies of the world unless -behind the shelter of their defensive works was a sea-going fleet -capable of offensive action. The defence of the fortress is purely -passive; the defence power of the fleet is, like that of cavalry, -either active or nothing. This in the last century was the use of -Minorca. - -So, with the extension of the idea, the growing size of the fleet, -came greater ideas of expansion and greater powers of carrying it -out. Success had produced confidence. Confidence had created greater -boldness. Commerce had increased, and continued to increase, despite -the continuous wars. Though the loss of ships was terrible, the -merchant navy still went forth bravely upon the seas. Merchant princes -must have had calm, philosophical heads to have recognised, as they -must have done, an almost certain percentage of serious loss of both -ship and cargo. Such loss was to be risked from the mouth of the Thames -to the mouth of the Hudson, and yet still the traders sought the open -sea. Is such a spirit alive now, or is the commercial dread of loss -in the end of the nineteenth century greater than the commercial -fearlessness of the early part of it? That only the next war can prove. - -But the next stage in the national growth which is clear in these -bygone days, is that commercial expansion led to bold enterprises -against the enemy’s colonies, on which his commerce much depended. - -It was so with the expansion of the Indian Empire on the one hand, and -the American Empire, after the conquest of Canada from the French, -on the other. Both led to yet another idea, of which earlier history -could show no trace. The connection between these growing empires -and the mother country was becoming increasingly important, and so -remained until they were self-supporting or self-dependent. With -British India, then a mere spot on the peninsula of Hindustan, it was -to home and England only that she could look for everything. Until the -vast territories along the banks of the Potomac, the Hudson, or the -Ohio had been subdued and become populous, only the mother country -could be of use to help her struggling Western children in their early -youth. To guard the roads by which this necessary help must come was -all-important then, as it is now with such of our dependencies as have -not grown up to that national manhood which means independence of all -maternal support. - -Hence, then, the natural and instinctive desire to possess the Cape of -Good Hope. None saw then that there were other advantages and channels -of expansion, besides the Cape itself, to be gained in the “Hinterland” -to those unknown but reported “Mountains of the Moon.” It was only as -being a port on the road to India, in those days, that made the Cape -valuable, and for a very simple reason. Ships, like men, require stores -and food. Supplies run short, sails are destroyed, boats swept away. -These calling places are to the navy what “the Stores” are to the -individual; and if access to such places were denied, the ship and the -individual would suffer. A hostile Table Bay or Simon’s Bay would have -meant, in those days, no house of call between St. Helena and Bombay! - -Therefore it is so interesting to watch this gradual expansion of the -national idea of empire based entirely, instinctively, and rightly -on the colonies we were founding. The whole “earth hunger” of Great -Britain, if viewed in its natural light, is the opening of new lands -for trade, the extension of colonial empire by true colonists, men who -mean to make the new realm their permanent home, and the preserving -intact, with a good series of supply stations along these unmarked -ways, the roads that unite Great Britain with her colonial children. - - * * * * * - -Brave and gallant as had been the conduct of soldiers on board ship, -whether acting as marines afloat or as landed parties, there are other -instances of skill and courage equally well worth recording. - -In 1852 the _Birkenhead_ transport was on its way to India, with drafts -of the 12th Lancers, and of the 2nd, 6th, 12th, 43rd, 45th, 60th, -73rd, 74th, and 91st Regiments, under the command of Colonel Seton, -and, entering Simon’s Bay, struck on a sunken rock, and began to fill. -She was ill provided with boats, for there was scarcely sufficient -accommodation for the women and children, let alone the crew or the -gallant representatives of the army, and the harbour swarmed with -sharks. But the noble spirit of duty, that fearlessness of death and -danger which all brave men have and which discipline intensifies, was -never shown more grandly than in this moment of supreme peril. The -men fell in on the upper deck as if on parade, and there they stood, -bearing themselves as stoutly before that dread foe death, as ever they -had or would have done before an earthly enemy, while the weeping, -helpless, women and little ones were being saved. And standing there, -while the officers shook hands and wished each other good-bye, the -_Birkenhead_ sank beneath their feet. Of 630 souls on board, only 194 -were saved, and among them, Captain Wright of the 91st. - -Similarly, in 1857, sheer coolness and discipline saved an entire ship. -For the 54th were on their way to Mauritius, when the vessel caught -fire. It was only through the exertions and steadiness of the men that -the ship was saved at all, and then she reached her destination a mere -burnt-out shell. - -Nor was the case of the _Birkenhead_ the only one in which the greatest -of all bravery--facing death in cold blood--was evidenced by men of -the 91st. In 1846, the reserve battalion was taking passage in the -_Abercrombie Robinson_, when the vessel was wrecked near Cape Town. But -the 500 men of the 91st assembled on deck as if on parade, and kept the -grim silence of discipline until the women and children were safely in -the boats. - -Noteworthy is the discipline and patience of the gallant 78th, when the -transport _Charlotte_, in which they had embarked, for transference -from Batavia to Calcutta in 1816, ran ashore on a sunken rock a -few miles from the island of Preparis, and that so violently, that -in fifteen minutes she filled to her main deck. Though death was -apparently imminent, the men behaved like the heroes and soldiers they -were. Every man waited for orders, and there was no sign of panic or -disobedience. The women, children, and sick were transported to the -island, with a few bags of rice only, and a few pieces of salt pork. -It was four days before the rest of the men and crew were landed on -the inhospitable shores of Preparis, and during that time some 140 men -were quartered on a raft fastened to a rock near the ship that was just -aflush with water at low tide. There they had neither sleep, nor food, -nor water. But the most perfect order obtained none the less. When they -were all got on to the island, things were little better. They remained -without relief from the 9th November until the 6th December, by which -time even the poor two-day allowance of a glass of rice and two ounces -of meat per head had been exhausted. Shell-fish were collected at low -tide and stored. All such finds were brought to the common stock, and -there was no need even for a guard! Officer and man shared the same -privation until the final relief came, and throughout the discipline of -the men was perfect. - -But it is not merely in times of dangerous emergency that soldiers -alone have shown that they are descended from those Vikings who were -the true marines, equally good on shore or afloat. At the conclusion of -the China war of 1860, the regiments engaged returned to England, and -among them were the Buffs. Three companies of this grand old regiment, -who, like the Royal Marines, claim their descent from London trained -bands, and oftentimes had done seagoing duty, embarked on board the -_Athleta_. All went well till after she had touched at the Cape to -water. The crew was like many a merchant’s crew now, even if not much -more so now than then, built up of indifferent materials, probably -what is known as “Beachcombers,” men who in sterner days were marooned -on desert islands. The gold fever in Australia, too, had set in, and -hence caused desertions in homeward bound crews. So the crew of the -_Athleta_ tried to desert, and were prevented, and then came aft in a -body to complain of imaginary ill-treatment, and request to be taken -on shore before a magistrate. To have done so would have been fatal; -and the commanding officer of the Buffs stepped in. He suggested that -the captain should at once “weigh” and go to sea. The crew refused -to move a finger in the matter. Colonel Sargent proposed, as a quiet -and friendly way of settling the matter, to put the seamen in the -fo’castle, with an armed guard for their protection, and bread and -water for their food, while the Buffs worked the ship home. Captain -Potter joyfully assented, and went to sea with his strange, untrained, -crew. Volunteers were asked to go aloft, and the detachment was -cautioned as to its dangers, and the supreme necessity for coolness -and readiness of resource; and was told that to be _ordered_ aloft -was contrary to Queen’s regulations. None the less, sixty stalwart -lads stepped forward, and of these, twenty-eight were chosen for the -yards and “tops.” A week’s duty of this kind brought the mutineers -to their senses; that and the bread and water probably. They prayed -to be allowed to return to their duty, and did so. Colonel Sargent -thought, and rightly, that “he had had pleasure in going aloft with -them himself, because the boldest and most zealous of his men had never -been in the rigging before, and some had not even been on board a ship -of any kind previous to their voyage out and home.” Captain Potter -thought and said that he “was perfectly astonished to see soldiers able -to turn themselves all at once into such good sailors, and to teach -so wholesome a lesson to his crew, not one of whom, he was convinced, -would ever again strike work in a vessel on board of which British -soldiers were embarked.” The Buff crew refused payment for their extra -work, when it was proposed to stop a portion of the mutineers’ pay and -hand it over to the new crew, and “wished to enjoy the satisfaction -of feeling that they had only done their duty as British soldiers, -determined to support their commanding officer in any position.” - -The incident is not merely one of passing interest, it evidences that -_sentiment du devoir_ and discipline which, combined, form the finest -soldiery the world has ever seen. - -These are but a few of the noble records of the “Army at Sea.” - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE PENINSULAR ARMY: (_a_) ITS MAKING--1793-1808 - - -Peace--general peace at all events--had reigned from 1783 to 1789, -when the French Revolution broke out. With the merits or demerits of -that great struggle this story has nothing to do; but none the less -the overthrow of the monarchy of France not only created an almost -continuous condition of war for a quarter of a century, but helped most -materially to raise to the highest pitch the Continental opinion as -to the military value of Great Britain. Its naval strength throughout -that quarter of a century was most fully proved. It remained for the -stubborn fighting power of the land forces to be displayed during the -same eventful period. French anger, English panic, had dragged the -latter into open war with France, and that not without allies. All the -world began by being against the new Republic: small wonder, then, that -in her new-born freedom she turned bitterly against her world-wide -antagonists, and fought them all. That she did not fully conquer -them was largely due to one small State--England. The wealth of the -latter, even then comparatively greater than the Continent, her naval -preponderance, infinitely greater, as events proved, than that of her -antagonist, though her numerical fighting strength as compared with the -Continental powers was but small, and her insular position, made her -eventually almost the arbiter of Europe, when the great struggle drew -to an end. - -As usual, the actual number of the army throughout the years from 1793 -to 1808 constantly varied. The 150,000 men under arms in 1780 was -reduced to 40,000 the next year, was increased the year after to about -55,000 in Great Britain, and fell in 1784 to 18,000 at home, 12,000 in -the “Plantations,” and some 6000 in India. The provision for the latter -force was made by a new and special vote. The importance of the growing -empire in the East was being at last recognised. - -The system of levying troops continued much the same. Men were enlisted -voluntarily by heavy bounties, and when that attraction failed, the -pressgang, or even the prisons, was then employed to raise recruits. -Unless disbanded at the end of a campaign, they served for life, or -till worn out; but the dawn of a short-service system appeared in 1805, -when the period of service was fixed at seventeen years.[32] - -But the continued necessity for an increased army, and the dread of -serious invasion that obtained, and not without reason, during the -closing days of the eighteenth and the early days of the nineteenth -centuries, was fast wearing down the old civil dislike. Officers on -half-pay were rendered liable to trial by court martial. The militia -system was introduced into Scotland, and the Shropshire Regiment -was the first of the English militia to serve in that country, -while greater care was taken as regards home defence. France was -not content with a mere defensive rôle; but attempted, though with -extreme feebleness, to carry the war into her enemy’s territory. She -had threatened to land at Ilfracombe and then in Pembrokeshire; and -actually did so at Castlebar during the Irish insurrection of 1797-98, -though with no result save that of having to surrender. Ireland in that -year had required, as she has before and since, a large garrison, and -seven regiments of cavalry and four of infantry had been necessary to -put down the rising that was practically crushed at Vinegar Hill. - -The pay of the rank and file remained much the same, 1s. a day for a -private; but the stoppage for the food ration out of it amounted to -6½d. Still the army was everywhere growing in esteem and in popularity. -Decorations and brevets were largely bestowed in 1795, after the return -of the army from foreign service. Frequent reviews, at which George -III. and the Prince of Wales attended, were held. The Duke of York was -a popular Commander-in-Chief, and did much to improve the discipline -of the army. He was so well liked by the men as to win the name of the -“Soldier’s Friend,” a title which his founding the “Royal Military -Asylum” for the education of soldiers’ children emphasised. Under his -auspices, too, and helped by Sir David Dundas, the somewhat varied and -irregular systems of drill were made uniform by the introduction of the -first real drill-book, the _Rules and Regulations for the Formations, -Field Exercise, and Movements of His Majesty’s Forces_, in 1792. - -At that time Prussia was looked on as the great schoolmaster in the -art-military, as France was later, and as Germany is now. The English -army has been mainly a copyist of other people’s methods since the -century began. If, after the Crimea or the Italian campaign of 1859, -we adopted kepi-shaped hats, baggy “pegtop” trousers, and “booted -overalls” for riding, so, when Germany became successful, we copied her -“Blucher boots,” flat-topped forage-caps, infantry helmet, and rank -distinctions! - -In this case, too, the Prussian system was the basis of our drill -instruction, and, with but slight modifications, so remained until -1870, when linear formations gave place to extended order. - -The pace was increased from 75 to 80 per minute for the ordinary march -or movement, but one of 120 (our present quick march) was permitted -for wheeling and such minor manœuvres! The ranks were, when the book -first appeared, three deep, as obtained in Germany, until the death -of the late Emperor; but light infantry were allowed to form two deep -before skirmishing. The battalion had ten companies, including the -flank or “Light” and “Grenadier” companies. The absolute rigidity of -the line was insisted on. To be able to form line from open column -without either making gaps or causing crowding was the essence of good -drill; and hence, the “march past,” if well executed, was really then -a true test of the efficiency of a battalion. Other editions of this -drill-book were published in 1809, 1815, and 1817, but in 1808, the -three-rank formation was abolished for active service. It has been -surmised that the necessity, with the small armies we despatched in -these days, of this reduction in depth was made in order that a wider -front might be offered to the frequently numerical superiority of our -adversaries.[33] - -In all our early campaigns, notoriously those of the Marlborough -period, the British infantry had shone in the offensive. From the -steady advance against Blenheim to the vigorous dash at Lincelles, it -had shown how capable it was of attacking even against enormous odds. -And yet from 1800 almost until now there has been an impression that -our army is better on the defensive than in the attack. Even after -Waterloo, Müffling writes: “I felt a strong conviction that if fortune -so far favoured us in a battle that the English army could act on the -defensive, while the Prussians acted simultaneously on the offensive, -we should obtain a brilliant victory over Napoleon.” Unfounded as such -an idea was, if the military history of the past be examined, there is -no doubt it remained a tradition for long after the battle that proved -once again the undaunted steadiness of the British line. - -But the main change was in the extension of the principle of -skirmishing which the American war had introduced. For a long time the -“light companies” of battalions were designed to cover the front of -the line during its advance and protect it while manœuvring. Built up -for specific purpose into battalions, they formulated a drill of their -own; which General Dundas in his _Principles of Military Movements_ -condemns. The rapid movements adopted met with little favour from an -officer imbued with the stiff rigidity of Prussian drill-sergeants. -“The importance of light infantry has more particularly tended to -establish this practice. During the late war their service was -conspicuous, and their gallantry and exertions have met with merited -applause. But instead of being considered as an accessory to the -battalion, they have become the principal feature of our army, and have -almost put grenadiers out of fashion. The showy exercise, the airy -dress, the independent modes which they have adopted, have caught the -minds of young officers, and made them imagine that these ought to be -general and exclusive.” - -All this the drill-book of 1792 was designed to remedy, but though -it produced uniformity, which was valuable, it failed to check the -development of permanent light infantry battalions, such as composed -the magnificent Light Brigade of the Peninsular days. - -But when, in 1804, a Camp of Instruction was formed at Shorncliffe -under General John Moore, a new era to some extent began. Moore did -not favour the rigid drill of Dundas’s drill-book of 1792. He “d--d -the Eighteen Manœuvres,” which were looked on as essential for a -well-trained regiment to undergo. He introduced the system of light -infantry drill which was the basis of all such work in our army and -in our drill-books up to 1870; and the regiments he trained, the -4th, 52nd, 57th, 59th, and 95th, came nobly to the front when the -time arrived. The general was knighted a year later, and the 52nd -presented him with a diamond star, valued at 350 guineas, in token -of their appreciation of his services; while as colonel of the first -regiment named officially “Light Infantry,” he chose for one of the -supporters of his coat of arms a light infantry soldier. The other was -a Highlander, in remembrance of the help one of the 92nd had given him -when wounded at Egmont-op-Zee. - -Abroad, the formations were generally columnar, more or less, and the -movements of these dense bodies was covered, as was the line elsewhere, -by skirmishers from the light (flank) companies or light infantry -battalions. The French also had foreshadowed two modern improvements in -the use of balloons at Fleurus and the introduction of telegraphy by -means of semaphores. In England, on the other hand, General Congreve -had invented the war-rocket in 1805, and two years before, Sir Henry -Shrapnell the “spherical case,” which afterwards took his name and -which was first used with effect at Vimiera. - -Fighting was tolerably general in Europe from 1793 to the Peace of -Amiens in 1802. We had been fighting at sea with the French in Lord -Howe’s victory of the 1st June and at the Nile, with the Spanish at -Cape St. Vincent, and the Danes at Copenhagen. We had occupied Toulon -at the request of French Royalists, and been compelled to abandon it, -very largely through the action of a young officer of artillery named -Bonaparte. There had been practically three campaigns in Flanders. The -Duke of York, with the 14th, 37th, 53rd, etc., and a brigade of Guards, -had been despatched to Holland, where the latter, but three battalions -strong, routed an entrenched force of 5000 men, so that “The French, -who had been accustomed to the cold, lifeless attacks of the Dutch, -were amazed at the spirit and intrepidity of the British.” For this the -brigade bears the name of Lincelles on their colours. The 14th also -displayed the greatest coolness at Famars, young soldiers though they -were; for, attacking with too much impetuosity, their colonel made them -halt and re-form, and when thus steadied, took them into action again, -the band playing them to victory with the French Revolutionary tune of -_Ça ira_. Ever afterwards the tune is played after dinner at mess, and -is the regimental march. The attack on Dunkirk, however, failed, and -the duke returned home. - -The next year he returned, and the campaign, embittered by an order -of Republican France to give no quarter to wounded or prisoners, -re-opened. In the brilliant little cavalry action at Villers en Couche -the 15th Light Dragoons especially distinguished themselves, and -for their gallantry, as well as for saving the life of the Emperor -of Germany, eight of the officers were decorated with the cross of -the order of Maria Theresa; while at Cateau the Royals fought so -brilliantly that £500 was given to the regiment by the Duke of York’s -orders. - -The success was but temporary. The French concentrated overwhelming -numbers, and the army fell back on Antwerp, and then to Holland, -and suffered terribly in the dreadful winter of 1794. The stubborn -resistance of the rearguard, composed of the 14th, 37th, and 53rd, -supported on the flanks by the skilful and bold work of the 7th, 15th, -and 16th cavalry regiments, prevented a disaster which the indifference -or probable disaffection of the Dutch troops did not tend to lessen; -and finally, the dispirited but unbeaten force, abandoning its stores -and spiking the guns it could not take with it, reached Bremen. The -horrors of that dreadful march, begun on the 6th January 1795, are -only equalled by the retreat from Moscow of a French army later; but -the discipline and endurance of the troops was beyond all praise. The -contemporary records especially mention the Guards, the 27th, 33rd, -42nd, 44th, and 78th Regiments for their splendid discipline. The 28th, -too, were notorious for their strong regimental feeling. “Hospitals -were their aversion. Their home was the battalion, and they were -never happy away from it.” Of all the regiments, the hardy Scotsmen -of the 42nd fared best; and in this disastrous campaign, honourable -in all its details save that of mere success, another young officer, -Arthur Wellesley of the 33rd, first saw fire at Boxtel. Thus the end -of the last century was to give the early war-training to two great -antagonists--Napoleon at Toulon and Wellington at Boxtel. This alone -would render the military history of 1794-95 interesting to all who -read. - -But the eighteenth century was to see yet another campaign in the -Netherlandic area. It had not been, on the whole, peculiarly favourable -to British arms, and the last campaign there was to be no exception to -the rule. - -For, notwithstanding that the duke had the active co-operation of such -men as Ralph Abercromby and John Moore, not much came of it. The allied -Russians and British made little headway against the French with the -“Batavian Republic,” and a check at Alkmaar, followed by a victory at -Egmont-op-Zee on the 2nd October 1799 where, according to the duke, -“under Divine Providence,” the French were entirely defeated, and where -the Royals, the 20th, 25th, 49th, 63rd, 79th, and 92nd did their duty, -practically terminated the Helder campaign. For, after an armistice, -the British troops left the Netherlands, never to fight seriously in -that district until the final victory of 1815, when Wellington, who -first saw battle there, was to terminate a series of wars for which the -Low Countries had for more than a century been the “cockpit.” - -The landing of the army in Walcheren ten years later may be -disregarded. Except in the capture of Flushing, there was practically -no fighting. The real enemy was fever, and out of the forty thousand -men who had been disembarked, thirty-five thousand had been in -hospital. The plan of operation was initially bad, the carrying out -worse. Between Chatham on shore and Strachan at sea there was so little -intelligent co-operation that each abused the other for what was -clearly the fact, that - - “The Earl of Chatham, with his sword drawn, - Stood waiting for Sir Richard Strachan; - Sir Richard, longing to be at ’em, - Stood waiting for the Earl of Chatham.” - -As Napoleon himself remarked at one time, “Before six weeks, of the -fifteen thousand troops which are in the Isle of Walcheren not fifteen -hundred will be left, the rest will be in hospital. The expedition has -been undertaken under false expectations and planned in ignorance.” - -This is the grim and gruesome truth. With the above exception, then, -the theatre of war after the expedition to the Helder was, for many a -year, as far as the British army was concerned, changed. The increasing -importance of India was beginning to be felt. Napoleon, far seeing, had -recognised this, and first put into French minds the value of Egypt. -Though there was no canal, as there is now, it was still geographically -the shortest road to the East. Then, as now, Egypt was a station on -the line that united Great Britain with Eastern possessions that were -but embryos of what they are now. The one striking point in the vast -and ambitious intellect of the greatest soldier the world has seen, -Alexander and Cæsar not excepted, is his grasp of the political future -of the nations of Europe. Intuitively he saw the worth of Egypt to the -great dominant naval powers, England and France. His views were almost -prophetic, his ideas magnificent. - -Notwithstanding the disaster to the French of Aboukir Bay, he decided -on contending in Africa for the possession of Asia. What a stupendous -genius the man had! How astounding the rise of the young officer of -artillery, who fought against his fellow-patriots of Corsica, who drove -the British out of Toulon, and who was soon to be the dominant soul in -all Europe! “Who could have believed that a simple sub-lieutenant of -artillery, a stranger to France by name and by birth, was destined to -govern that great Empire and to give the law in a manner to all the -Continent, in defiance of reason, justice, the hereditary rights of the -legitimate princes of the realm, and the combined efforts of so great a -number of loyalists in the interior of the kingdom, and all the Great -Powers of Europe.” - -In 1799 he had gone to Egypt with a considerable force. It is strange -to think that such a thing was possible with British fleets on the -seas. But it was so, and it only shows how the element of surprise, how -the want of telegraph and the absence of steam, rendered the occupation -of Egypt possible at all. It could not be so now. But then, before the -danger was really grasped, the French had practically conquered Egypt, -and were in full occupation of both Cairo and Alexandria. And these -practically meant the country, and the closing of our highway to the -East. - -He returned to France in 1800, when the conditions of Continental war -were, as far as England was concerned, desperate. The expeditions to -the Netherlands had been productive of but little, to say the least. -The only chance for England, and that was based merely on the striking -at the enemy’s armed strength and not with the view of protecting the -Eastern Empire which Napoleon had seen the importance of threatening, -was to try conclusions with the French in Egypt when their great chief -was absent in France. The expedition, consisting of the Guards, the -1st, 54th (two battalions), and 92nd, and the 8th, 13th, 19th, and -90th, the 2nd, 50th, and 79th, and the 18th, 30th, 44th, and 89th, and -others, with a reserve composed of some companies of the 23rd, the -28th, 42nd, and cavalry brigade of some companies of the 11th Dragoons, -the 12th and 26th Dragoons, and some mounted infantry, started. It was -under the guidance of the best and most experienced general of the -time, Sir Ralph Abercromby, whose leading spirit was Sir John Moore. - -The force landed. The 23rd, 28th, and 42nd were the first to leap on -shore, though the casualties were numerous under the fire of fifteen -guns and many infantry, while the Royals, the 54th, and 58th did -equally good work farther along the beach. The marines shared in the -honours of the landing, and subsequent events gave them the title of -“Royal” from the Egyptian campaign of 1801. Of them there is a legend -of a curious speech made by a captain of the corps before his men -debarked. Looking out of a porthole at the sombre masses of the enemy -that were assembled to oppose the landing, he turned to his men and -said, “Look here! Those fellows on shore there are the French, and that -is the land of Egypt. If you don’t, therefore, help to give them a d--d -good thrashing, you will soon find yourself in the house of bondage!” - -So, with sundry skirmishes, especially that at Mandora, where the 92nd -displayed conspicuous gallantry, the army pushed on to the battlefield -outside Alexandria, where they took up an entrenched position between -the dry bed of Lake Mareotis and the sea. Here, at daybreak on the 21st -March 1801, they were attacked by General Menou, who, making a feint -at the British left with the Dromedary Corps, vigorously attacked the -right, where the 28th, 42nd, and 23rd were posted. But every attack -was repulsed, even when ammunition failed, and the defence had to be -conducted with the bayonet alone. The 28th, assailed in front and rear -when in line by cavalry, fought back to back, and ever since have been -distinguished by having the regimental number or badge on the back as -well as the front of their headdress. The victory was dearly bought, -for Abercromby was mortally hurt, and 1306 men, with 70 officers, were -killed or wounded. Shortly after Cairo was occupied, and Alexandria, -first blockaded, soon surrendered. - -The employment of a camel corps was a forecast of what would be done -when next an English army fought on Egyptian soil, but there is even -another point of resemblance. For as an Indian brigade co-operated -with the home army at Tel-el-Kebir, so in this campaign a force under -General Baird, consisting of the 8th Light Dragoons, and the 10th, -61st, 86th, and 88th, from India, with some two thousand Sepoys, landed -at Kosseir and made a gallant march of a hundred and fifty miles across -the desert to Kenneh, and so down the Nile to Rosetta. - -Foiled in seizing and holding one of the roads to the East, Napoleon -turned his thoughts to Great Britain herself. Though not a Continental -Power, she was his most dangerous adversary. Her naval strength and her -wealth enabled her to keep alive Continental antagonism, even if her -armies had, latterly at least, effected little but diversions of sorts. -Every preparation had been made for the invasion of hated England; -given only the even temporary command of the sea, and it was possible -then, as it is infinitely more possible now, in the days of steam. -The feeble efforts already referred to at the end of the last century -showed the entire practicability of the idea. All that was wanted -was the organisation of the effort on a large scale, and what better -military organiser was there than Napoleon, aided by his staff? So much -so that Soult, no mean authority, reported that a hundred thousand men -could be embarked in the flotilla in seven or eight minutes. Corps were -assembled at Amiens, Ostend, about Dunkirk, and at Boulogne. Flotillas -for the transport and debarkation of troops were massed in large -numbers. The bulk of the British army, too, was abroad, and matters -looked serious. There were in England, at least, but the Life and Horse -Guards, eighteen cavalry regiments, and five of regular infantry. - -There were militia, of course, and volunteer corps sprang up as rapidly -and as readily as they did later, when a similar provocation arose. -Serious instructions were issued, both to these and to the people, as -to how the enemy, if he landed, should be met and harassed. - -In an undated MS., the paper of which bears the watermark of a crown, -G. R., and 1801, the following instructions are issued. It is called -“Advice to the inhabitants of those districts of England through which -the French army may march in the course of its projected invasion.” -“As the enemy may effect a landing in many parts of the coast at one -and the same time, and as the _precise_ spots on which he may do so -cannot be previously ascertained, it follows, that _every_ order -which may become necessary cannot be previously given. In the actual -execution of those even which are so issued, some variation may be -required. Amid the numerous movements of the enemy either to effect his -intended junctions, or to possess himself of such cities and towns as -he may think fit to occupy, it is possible that the dispositions made -_beforehand_, may by subsequent occurrences be rendered unavailing, -and that, therefore, the inhabitants must often wait for fresh -instructions. During these intervals, it will not perhaps be useless to -point out to them in what manner they ought _provisionally_ to act.” - -“If it be necessary that they should defend themselves, it is not less -so that they should do it in such a manner as to provide for their -escape. He whose dexterity preserves him may, in a quarter of an hour -afterwards, again be firing on the enemy. He who, without judgment and -without precaution, exposes himself, must inevitably run very great -risks; nor can the country be defended by prisoners or dead men.” - - * * * * * - -“Every particular hill, every wood thus occupied, must be considered as -a _separate_ post acting for itself. Consequently, whatever number of -men may arrive in _each_, should be immediately organised. They must -appoint a captain and three lieutenants. The captain must be aware -that every post should be defended in front and flank, and to this -effect he must form his people into three divisions.” - - * * * * * - -“On all occasions, an ambuscade in a wood or behind hedges must allow -the enemy to approach as near as possible before the firing commences, -and it should be well understood that, at even three hundred paces, -musquet shots are very uncertain, and only become destructive at -that distance where one body of troops fire together upon another -closely collected. It is different where people are dispersed and -act individually; in that case any degree of precision with a common -musquet is not to be reckoned on at a greater distance than from fifty -to sixty paces.” - -This is a curious story, but it shows how exceedingly short the range -of firearms in those days, and even up to the Crimean War, was. General -Mercer, whose memoirs, apparently from fear of the duke, were not -published until after his death, gives in his account of Waterloo a -similar curious story. He says, that after a charge of the Grenadiers à -Cheval and Cuirassiers against his battery, “they prepared for a second -attempt, sending up a cloud of skirmishers who galled us terribly by a -fire of carbines and pistols at scarcely forty yards from our front. -We were obliged to stand with port-fires lighted, so that it was not -without a little difficulty that I succeeded in restraining the people -from firing, for they grew impatient under such fatal results. Seeing -some exertion beyond words necessary for this purpose, I leaped my -horse up the little bank and began a promenade (by no means agreeable), -up and down our front, without even drawing my sword, though these -fellows were within speaking distance of me. This quieted my men; but -the tall blue gentlemen, seeing me thus dare them, immediately made -a target of me, and commenced a very deliberate practice, to show us -what very bad shots they were, and verify the old artillery proverb, -‘The nearer the target, the safer you are.’ One fellow certainly made -me flinch, but it was a miss; so I shook my finger at him and called -him _coquin_. The rogue grinned as he reloaded and again took aim. I -certainly felt rather foolish at that moment, but was ashamed, after -such bravado, to let him see it, and therefore continued my promenade. -As if to prolong my torment, he was a terrible time about it. To me it -seemed an age. Whenever I turned, the muzzle of his infernal carbine -still followed me. At length bang it went, and whiz came the ball close -to the back of my neck and at the same instant down dropped the leading -driver of one of my guns (Miller), into whose forehead the cursed -missile had penetrated.” - -This forgotten effect of the range of firearms, before rifles were, -is interesting to follow. In a drill-book, dated 1829, occurs the -following. It is a book of questions and answers, and in it occurs -Question 65, which asks, “When firing them (the men) at ball cartridge, -do you increase or decrease their distance in proportion to their -confidence?” To which the answer is, “I increase or decrease the -distance in proportion to their confidence, making the diffident -strike it at all events; as I find his or their confidence increase, I -increase the distance accordingly.” So in Question 66 occurs that of -“And how is this done?” to which the reply is, “If a man do not strike -the target at forty yards, I decrease the distance to thirty yards, and -so on till he hits it.” - -This was in 1829; but it is still more remarkable to find in a -“Military Dictionary” of the year 1844, that even then “the first -target for the instruction of infantry recruits is made round and eight -feet in diameter, _the practice commencing at thirty yards_, so that -it is impossible for the recruit to miss it. This range is increased -to fifty, eighty, and a hundred yards at the same target”; while the -extreme range at this target practice was only two hundred yards! -Even later, in the “Manual of Field Operations” written by Lieutenant -Jervis-Whyte-Jervis, and dated 1852, it is stated that recruits are -placed into three squads in the French exercise which he admires, and -to which he attributes the accuracy of fire in their infantry. They -are thus classed: “1. Those who have struck the target three times -in 120 yards. 2. Those who have struck it more than three times. 3. -Those who have struck it less than three times”; and the instruction -goes on to say that while every recruit fires eighty ball cartridges -every year, the older soldiers are formed into three groups, of whom -the older soldiers fire nine times at the distance of 120 yards, and -six at 180 yards, and the successful marksmen are rewarded with silver -epaulets.” - -This, then, was the value of musketry-fire for long after the beginning -of this century and before rifles were common. Until 1854 there had -been, as far as armament was concerned, little alteration. - -When the Peninsular war broke out, England set quietly to work in her -wonted fashion, showing neither fear nor anger. Even when Portugal -was driven by France to close her country to us, we, though in what -looked like dire extremity, calmly took Madeira, just to express our -resentment at this treatment! - -Then the peace of Amiens intervened, and the danger temporarily ceased. -England resigned all her conquests but Ceylon and Trinidad. She agreed -to resign Malta, but didn’t; and this was used by Napoleon as a pretext -for the resumption of hostilities a year later. But for the first time -since the army was created, peace and reduction were not synonymous -terms. The danger had been too menacing for even the most unwarlike -citizen to desire to lessen the nation’s defensive strength. More -drilling and an attempt at a better organisation took the place of the -old-time disbandment; and when war was once more declared, there was -less reason for dread than before the “scare” occurred. The volunteers, -especially, were full of enthusiasm. The king reviewed twenty-six -regiments of them in Hyde Park on the 26th of October 1803, and -thirty-five more two days later. The Prince of Wales in vain besought -his father’s permission for a command, but though refused, the effect -on the national enthusiasm was marked. - -Abroad, we captured St. Lucia, Tobago, Demerara, and Surinam, and the -French occupied Hanover, which mattered nothing. But the destruction by -Nelson of the French and Spanish fleets at Trafalgar mattered much. It -destroyed altogether the idea of a French invasion for more than fifty -years. - -Hence the French idea of invasion was abandoned, and the military camp -on the Channel coast was broken up. Napoleon shivered the European -alliance against him at Ulm and Austerlitz, and contented himself with -abusing England in manifestoes. A British contingent, built up of the -Guards, and the 4th, 14th, 23rd, 28th, and 95th Foot, etc., went to -Bremen and came back again; but in 1806 a small British army did good -work on the coast of Calabria, and met the French at Maida, where the -20th, 27th, 58th, 78th, and 81st Regiments defeated Regnier, and where, -if tradition speaks truly, the 20th, who were bathing when the bugle -sounded, went into action with only their accoutrements and weapons on. -This battle is one of the recorded instances in which the French and -English actually crossed bayonets. - -Almost the last event of interest before the Peninsular War is that -of the seizure of the Danish navy, and the military operations that -accompanied that probably necessary, but certainly violent, act. When -the population and the wealth of Great Britain were infinitely less -than they are now, and when, as regards the former, most European -nations surpassed us, there is no doubt of the determination of the -men of that time. There was no fear of anybody, and that very boldness -saved us. It may be well in some cases to be pacific; but Drake’s -method of singeing “the King of Spain’s beard,” on the broad principle -that there “are two ways of facing an enemy: the one to stand off and -cry, ‘Try that again and I will strike thee,’ the other to strike him -first and then, ‘Try that at all and I’ll strike thee again,’” has -its merits in time of grave peril, and is likely to bear more useful -fruit than the method adopted by Mr. Snodgrass at Ipswich, when he, -“in a truly Christian spirit, and in order that he might take no one -unawares, announced in a very loud tone that he was going to begin.” - -For right or wrong it was done, and at Kioge Sir Arthur Wellesley met -the Danes with the 92nd and 95th, and drove them back on the capital. -Soon after the struggle terminated, the Danish fleet was taken away. -England for the second time had made an enemy of a State too weak to do -other than accept the conditions enforced by a stronger power. The only -excuse was the instinct of self-preservation. The only other resource -would have been to get Denmark to ally with us. But Denmark inclined to -what seemed the strongest, though not the most determined, power, and -so doing lost her fleet. - - * * * * * - -About this time was formed a foreign force that co-operated fully -and entirely with the British army in the stormy days that were to -come--“The King’s German Legion.” It was to be raised in Hanover and to -be trained in England, and eventually it was decided that it was to be -placed under the command of the Duke of Cambridge. When fully formed, -it was to consist of a cavalry brigade, a light infantry and two -ordinary infantry brigades, two horse and two foot batteries, with a -proportion of engineers; and when paraded at Weymouth, it gave promise -of the discipline that led to the bravery it displayed from Talavera to -Waterloo. - -But the political condition of Europe had been changing in these days. -Foreigners were either allies of Napoleon, cowed by him, or worshippers -of his genius and success. Only two were weak, and either neutral or -indifferent, and these were Spain and Portugal. So thither was the -restless ambition of the great soldier directed. A doubtful State was -one to be suppressed, and Spain was Bourbon and necessarily doubtful. -Therefore the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula was determined on. -How little did Napoleon foresee, when his magnificent genius failed -and induced him to think only as a soldier and not as a world-wide -politician! A country--two countries--with a wide coast-line, with -a population deadly hostile to the French, was not a wise base of -operations for the conquest of two capitals and two peoples. It was the -Spanish war that led as much as anything to the exhaustion of France, -and to Napoleon’s retirement to Elba. It was the unhealed sore that -sapped the military strength of the emperor, and which, neglected, was -one, if not the chief, cause of his political death. - -With the first serious and connected invasion of the Spanish Peninsula -begins the story of the downfall of the conqueror of Austerlitz. - -[Illustration: _OUTLINE MAP of SPAIN & PORTUGAL_] - - - - -CHAPTER X - -THE PENINSULAR ARMY: (_b_) ITS TRAINING--1808-11 - - -With the year 1808 began the great struggle in the Peninsula, which, -directly and indirectly, led to the long peace. Its immediate cause was -the seizure by Napoleon of the Iberian Peninsula, the establishment -on the Spanish throne of his brother Joseph, and then the determined -rising of the people against this uncalled-for foreign usurpation. - -This practically gave us a cause for interference, and for again -joining issue with our ancient enemy. We were rarely so well prepared. -We had under arms about 300,000 men, with 80,000 in India, 108,380 -militia, and 200,000 volunteers. An army, not large, for it numbered -but 30,000 men in all, but of excellent material, was equipped and -placed under the command of Sir Hew Dalrymple, with Burrard as second -in command, and the two divisional leaders were Sir Arthur Wellesley -and Sir John Moore. The force comprised the 3rd, 18th, and 20th, with, -later on, the 10th and 15th Light Dragoons. The line regiments were -the 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, the 1-9th, 2-20th, 1-28th, 1-29th, 32nd, 36th, -38th, 40th, 43rd, 45th, 52nd, 60th, 71st, 79th, 82nd, 91st, 92nd, -97th, with some light battalions, the King’s German Legion, and a full -proportion of guns. - -It is somewhat difficult to group the operations that continued from -this date to 1814; but it may be convenient to deal with them generally -in two groups. 1. From Roliça and Vimiera to Torres Vedras. 2. From -Portugal to France, or from Busaco to Toulouse. - -A glance at the map will show that there are only two good roads by -which Spain can be approached from France. The western pass is the -Bidassoa, by which the Bayonne road reaches Madrid; the eastern, that -of De Pertus, carrying the Perpignan road by Saragossa to Madrid. -Furthermore, the great central plateau is traversed by a series of -more or less parallel mountain ridges running east and west; so that -while movement laterally is comparatively easy, that from north to -south is difficult. Such was the terrain which was to see so much hard -fighting; a land held by a keenly patriotic and high-spirited people, -possessed of great tenacity of purpose, and especially qualified for -that guerilla warfare for which such a land was peculiarly suitable. -Throughout, the contest, as far as the French and their immediate -opponents, the Spanish and Portuguese, are concerned, was accompanied -by circumstances of the greatest barbarity. French orders to shoot -patriots and destroy villages in which risings against the foreign -rule had occurred, tended largely to the formation of those bands of -guerillas and partisans, in the minds of every member of which was -but one thought--revenge. Not unfrequently these bands degenerated -from patriotic _francs-tireurs_ into mere hordes of banditti, a terror -indiscriminately to the armies of both the combatants and the civil -population. - -This, then, broadly speaking, was the state of affairs when Great -Britain determined on siding actively with the enemies of France, and -up to this time, at least, matters had not improved, as the hostilities -became more and more prolonged. One decisive success only, that of the -defeat and capitulation of Dupont at Baylen, had hitherto attended the -Spanish arm, and at this battle England was represented by one English -officer, Captain Whittingham, as military attaché. - -The first of the groups into which the whole campaign may, for -convenience, be divided, practically resulted in the deliverance of -Portugal. The first division under Wellesley landed at the mouth of the -Mondego, and the first skirmish at Obidos resulted in the retirement of -the French advanced troops, and then Laborde was defeated at Roliça, a -victory which was all the more important as being the first success -that had been gained by the British army in Europe since the campaign -in Egypt and the affair of Copenhagen. In it the 5th, 6th, 9th, -29th, 32nd, 36th, 38th, 40th, 45th, 60th, 71st, 82nd, 91st, and the -newly-formed Rifle Brigade took a distinguished part. But instead of -rapidly following up the success gained, Burrard, much to Wellesley’s -disgust, decided on waiting till the second division under Moore, -which had reached Mondego Bay, should have joined the headquarters of -the army. But Junot, who commanded in chief the armies in Portugal, -anticipated this by advancing against the first division, which was in -position on the Vimiera heights near the Maceira River, and somewhat -inferior in strength to the assailant. - -The attack was delivered with the greatest boldness, but checked by -fire, and especially by the Shrapnell shells, which were first used -here, and then by the determined charges of the 50th (the “Blind -Half Hundred,” owing to the prevalence of ophthalmia in the regiment -in 1801, or the “Dirty Half Hundred,” from the men smearing their -faces with their black cuffs), the 43rd and the 71st (then known from -the number of Lowland Scotsmen in their ranks as the “Glasgow Light -Infantry”) the French fell back beaten. One instance of bravery, worth -recording here, is that of a piper of the 71st, who, though his thigh -was shattered by a musket shot, played on bravely, sitting on his -knapsack, exclaiming, “Deil hae me, lads, if ye shall want music!” - -Again, owing to Burrard’s want of dash, the final counter attack was -checked, and the French withdrew in fair order; but though Crawford’s -brigade had hardly been engaged, and a vigorous pursuit was rightly -urged by Wellesley, Dalrymple again determined to await the arrival -of Moore, and so the chance was lost. For this battle the regiments -already mentioned as being engaged at Roliça, as well as the 2nd, 20th, -43rd, 50th, and 52nd, bear the name of Vimiera on their colours. - -But though the English army thus delayed, Junot thought the game was -up. He entered into negotiations for the abandonment of Portugal, and -by the “Convention of Cintra” the fortresses were to be given up, and -the French troops transported to France in the vessels of the Russian -fleet for a time blockaded in the Tagus by a British fleet. - -Meanwhile Moore, landing at Maceira Bay, had joined the army, the whole -of which finally marched to Lisbon. - -The convention was bitterly condemned in England, though Napoleon -thought she had concluded a good bargain. By it Portugal had been -temporarily freed, and a good base of operations, with good harbours, -was obtained for further efforts. None the less both Dalrymple and -Burrard were practically retired, and the supreme command was now open -for the future Duke of Wellington when the time came. But scapegoats -were wanted, if only to please the irresponsible and irrepressible home -critics. - - “But when Convention sent his handywork, - Pens, tongues, feet, hands, combined in wild uproar; - Mayor, aldermen, laid down the uplifted fork; - The bench of bishops half forgot to snore; - Stern Cobbett, who for one whole week forbore - To question aught, once more with transport leapt, - And bit his devilish quill again and swore - With foe such treaty never should be kept. - Then burst the blatant beast, and raged, and roared, and slept.”[34] - -For a brief space, matters were quiescent. But Napoleon fully -recognised the gravity of the situation, and saw that a Spanish rising -might become a grave menace to France. He even induced his ally, the -Czar, to address King George a letter, asking him to make peace “in the -name of humanity”! It was like “Satan reproving sin,” and produced no -result; so he himself therefore took the matter in hand. He re-invaded -Spain to re-instate Joseph on the Spanish throne. He defeated the -Spanish armies, to be met by the advance of the army under Moore, who -had succeeded to the command after the Convention of Cintra, had landed -at Lisbon, and was to be reinforced by Sir David Baird, who had reached -Corunna with a force of some ten thousand men. - -It was arranged that the two divisions should concentrate at Salamanca, -but there were many difficulties in the way. The point of union, -or concentration, was too close to the enemy to be safe. There was -Spanish and Portuguese opposition, want of money on the one hand; on -the other, a country to traverse which was ill provided with roads, -and those of the worst character. Hence Moore still further subdivided -his command. The cavalry and artillery and heavy baggage were to move -by Elvas on Salamanca, whither Baird was also directed; the remainder -in two columns, one by Almeida, the other by Alcantara, and thence by -Ciudad Rodrigo to Salamanca; while, in addition to this separation, the -columns themselves were further subdivided into sub-units, separated -by intervals in the columns of march, thus greatly increasing their -depth and lessening their power of concentration for battle. Moore’s -difficulties increased rather than lessened as the advance continued. -The Spanish, profuse of promises of assistance, were slow in fulfilling -them. The transport was notoriously insufficient and inefficient. The -inhabitants themselves, strangely enough, were by no means enthusiastic -to their allies and would-be deliverers. The Spanish armies had been -successively beaten, and were much disorganised. There was nothing -for it but retreat really, though Moore made a last desperate effort -to retrieve matters, trusting to the glowing but untrue reports as to -the enthusiastic resistance the Madrileños were prepared to make, and -continued his advance to Madrid. The idea was more than risky. The -capital was already in French hands; Lefevre had already, by a movement -towards Talavera, seriously endangered his retreat to Portugal. The -weather was most severe, the local supplies of the smallest. - -Still he attempted to engage Soult, whose corps was somewhat weak and -the bulk of whose cavalry were about Sahagun. Baird was directed on -Mayorga; Moore himself moved on Saldaña, and the 10th and 15th Light -Cavalry, by a night march, engaged the enemy at Sahagun, the latter -regiment won the right to carry the name on its battle-roll. It is the -only cavalry regiment so distinguished. This fully roused the energies -of Napoleon. He determined to attempt the complete destruction of the -British force. Soult from the north, through Astorga, Lefevre from -the south by Talavera, and the main army under his own command by the -Escurial Pass, were to close in and surround Moore. - -The celebrated “Retreat to Corunna” commenced. Moore was to change -his base from Lisbon to Corunna, and began by falling back on Castro -Gonzalo (at Benevente) and Baird was retiring on Valencia (towns on -the river Esla) to unite with him at Astorga; and at both Mayorga and -Castro Gonzalo skirmishes occurred with the French cavalry which were -highly creditable to the British. Napoleon pursued as rapidly as the -state of the weather, with deep snow, would permit; but, recalled to -France on the 1st January 1809, he left to Soult the task of “driving -the leopard into the sea.” While in supreme command, the emperor had -infused his own boundless energy into the army, and had marched a -force of fifty thousand men over snowclad passes and in bitter weather -some two hundred miles in ten days! Many brilliant skirmishes were -carried out by the English cavalry at Mayorga, Benevente (where General -Lefebvre Desnouettes was taken prisoner), and at Constantine, and -notoriously that by the 10th Hussars at Calcabellos; and an attempt was -made to induce the enemy to attack at Lugo, but it only resulted in -a skirmish and not a battle, and the dismal retreat was continued by -Betanzos on Corunna. By this time the army was completely demoralised. -Repeated orders had been issued, but seem to have been of little -effect. At Bembribee, for example, the men broke into the wine vaults, -and drunkenness reigned; shops were broken into and plundered there and -elsewhere. The sufferings were extreme. Soldiers, women, and children -lay down in the snow by the line of march to die. It being winter, -fords were deep, and men had to cross them, and march in their wet -clothes under storms of rain, wind, and sleet. - -Guns had to be abandoned, and, like the military chest on one occasion, -thrown over precipices to avoid capture; and horses were shot, as there -was no food for them. The “stars in their courses” fought against -Moore. Even the precautions taken at Lugo to carry out a night march -failed, for the wind blew down the bundles of straw that had been -placed to mark the roads, and bridges that should have been destroyed -were left standing. - -Little wonder then that the troops hailed the sight of the sea at -Corunna with cheers, though it was three days after their arrival under -the walls of the little fortress before the transports dropped anchor -in the harbour. But the retreat was over, and the army stood at bay. -With all their unquestionable indiscipline and insubordination on the -march, those who were left had not lost the fighting spirit. It was -either victory, or capitulation, or a most disastrous embarkation; and -the army played for the first and won. Soult had twenty thousand men -flushed with the feeling of success to engage the remnants of Moore’s -army, barely fifteen thousand strong. - -The stores and magazines having been destroyed, and the horses killed, -the non-combatants and all the guns except nine six-pounders embarked. -The regiments, too, would have followed, but Soult prepared for attack, -and the army faced him, with backs to the sea. - -Soult’s attack was purely frontal, and designed to drive back the -supposed demoralised British army on the town. A strong force of -cavalry was on the extreme left, next to which was a heavy battery, and -on the right three heavy columns descended the ridge, covered by clouds -of skirmishers to force the division of Baird and Hope. The 50th again -distinguished itself by a vigorous use of the bayonet, and the ensigns -bearing the colours fell, to be carried then by the colour-sergeants; -while Major Charles Napier, of whom we hear more, later, in Scinde, -was wounded and taken prisoner. Baird, too, was severely wounded by a -grapeshot, and the 42nd, being short of ammunition, were falling back, -when Moore himself led them forward with the stirring appeal, “My -brave Highlanders, you have still your bayonets. Remember Egypt;” and -so doing fell from his horse with his shoulder shattered by a cannon -ball. None the less, he watched the victorious advance of the 42nd into -the shambles of Elvina village, which was the key of the fight, until -it was necessary to carry him to the rear on a blanket supported by -sashes, and soon he breathed his last, with the hope, amply fulfilled, -that his country would do him justice. - -From the outset, he was despatched with almost certain failure in view. -The wide dispersal of the Spanish armies, their notorious want of -cohesion and experience, were alone serious dangers; but if there be -added to this, a force too small for the purpose, a most indifferent -commissariat, and an ill-supplied military chest, the task imposed on -Moore was hopelessly impossible. Still, whatever the errors made in -the plan of campaign and in the disastrous retreat, Corunna more than -compensated for them, and Moore, the guiding spirit of it all, was laid -to rest in one of the bastions of the citadel, “with his martial cloak -around him,” after the embarkation which followed. On the night of, -and morning after, the battle, and when the 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers -were the last to quit the shore, the French, with chivalric courtesy, -kept the tricolour half-mast high, and fired the parting salute of -cannon over the grave of Sir John Moore. But the well-known poetry, -descriptive of the hero’s funeral, written by Wolfe, is not strictly -accurate. There was no need for the “lanterns dimly burning,” as it was -already daylight. - -The troops engaged were the Grenadier Guards, the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, -6th, 9th, 14th, 20th, 23rd, 26th, 28th, 32nd, 36th, 38th, 42nd, 43rd, -50th, 51st, 52nd, 59th, 71st, 81st, 91st, 92nd, and Rifle Brigade; but -as if to give the crowning touch to the sufferings of the campaign, the -fleet was scattered by a storm on the way home, and many ships were -wrecked. - -Military operations on a large scale ceased in Portugal after the -return home of Moore’s army. Soult had stormed and occupied Oporto, and -a strong army was nominally under the command of Joseph in Madrid and -to the west, while Lapisse was at Salamanca and Victor near Talavera. - -On the resumption of hostilities, Sir Arthur Wellesley landed with -an army at Lisbon. The somewhat disorganised Portuguese troops were -to be “wheeled into line” by Beresford, an officer already of some -experience, who had recently commanded the rearguard at Corunna, and -who soon proved the value, militarily, of his selection as chief in -command, though the rank and file were mutinous (and suffered for -it) at Braga; and Portugal did not like, to say the least of it, the -filling of most of the leading commands by British officers. - -Soult had already been somewhat isolated. In front of him were -Portuguese levies, with Wellesley at their back; behind him the country -swarmed with guerillas; his line of communication with Madrid and the -main army by Amaranthe on his left was closed by the Portuguese under -Silviera; on his right lay the sea and British ships of war. He had no -resource but to abide events, and these came under the personal conduct -of Wellesley, though meanwhile Soult had himself freed his line of -retreat by defeating Silviera. - -Guarding the approaches from Spain by detachments at Abrantes, -Santarem, and Alcantara, the English general marched against Oporto; -directing Beresford to cross the Douro higher up and threaten the -French line of retreat by Amaranthe. After some skirmishes he reached -the south bank of the river, where the pontoon bridge had been -destroyed, and all the boats removed to the north bank. He decided -on effecting the passage of the Douro, _en plein face_ of the enemy, -and the tactics adopted are typical of such an operation. He menaced -the mouth of the river, where gunboats were collected, as if with the -intention of transferring his army by these means to the north bank of -the estuary; he despatched Murray to turn the Oporto position at the -ford of Avintas, a short distance up stream; he selected a re-entrant -bend which was covered by a commanding artillery position at the -convent of Serra; he recognised the tactical value of a seminary on -the north bank, opposite the re-entrant, and, utilising some boats -discovered by Colonel Waters, one of the staff, the troops embarked, -and the seminary was occupied. But it must be noticed that “it was not -until Sir Arthur had become aware of Murray’s passage higher up the -Douro at Avintas,” that he gave the order, “Well! let the men begin to -cross.” Then the French awoke, but it was too late. Desperate fighting -occurred at the seminary gate, but the artillery on the Serra hill was -too powerful, and the enemy began to withdraw from the town, whereupon -the Portuguese passed boats across to Villa Nova, immediately opposite -the city, where the pontoon bridge had been. There the guards, under -Sherbrooke, crossed, and the French retired in haste by the Amaranthe -road, to find that place occupied by Beresford; so that Soult had to -continue his retreat in disorder, and that by a more circuitous route, -pursued by Sherbrooke and harassed by guerillas. - -It is interesting here to record that a little later, when Colonel -Waters was taken prisoner, he effected his escape when guarded by -four gens d’armes, owing to the mere speed of his horse, and this -notwithstanding that “he was on a wide plain, and before him and for -miles behind him the road was covered with French columns. His hat -fell off, and, thus marked, he rode along the flank of the troops; -some encouraged and others fired at him, and the gens d’armes, sword -in hand, were always close at his heels. Suddenly he broke at full -speed between two of the columns, gained a wooded hollow, and, having -thus baffled his pursuers, evaded the rear of the enemy’s army, and -the third day reached headquarters, where Lord Wellington, knowing -his resolute, subtle character, had caused his baggage to be brought, -observing that he would not be long absent.”[35] - -But danger from the main French army, under Victor and Lapisse, -threatened the southern part of Portugal. Hearing of Soult’s disaster, -the French fell back again on Talavera, where, facing them, was the -ill-disciplined Spanish army under Cuesta. With the latter Wellesley -proposed to co-operate and advance against Madrid. So he marched, -after making arrangements for the defence of Oporto, by Abrantes and -Placencia, where the concentration with the other Portuguese forces -available was effected, to Oropesa. There he was joined by Cuesta, an -old man of crabbed temper and of great self-conceit, and the combined -army advanced on Talavera. - -Here Wellesley first had practical experience of the weakness of his -Spanish allies. The talk of their generals and officers “was like the -maddest boastings of Don Quixote, their conduct in action was that of -his squire.”[36] Supplies promised were not forthcoming. Plundering -was therefore far from uncommon, and the British army was by no means -well disciplined at that time. Even their own general recognised this. -“The army,” he writes, “behaves terribly ill. They are a rabble who -cannot bear success any more than Sir John Moore’s army could bear -failure.... They plunder in all directions.” But they were only very -raw soldiers after all, and hungry men are not easily kept in order -when food exists, and they can have none of it unless they take it by -force. At Talavera, for example, the men had only “a few ounces of -wheat in the grain throughout that day” of battle. Cuesta obstinately -took his own line, and suffered for it. He would not attack the -French, when Wellesley proposed to do so, but went to bed! Taking the -initiative himself afterwards, he was roughly handled, and fell back -in disorder, but was finally persuaded to make a stand at Talavera. -The Allies numbered some 53,000 men, with 100 guns, of which the -British counted 19,000. The French, under the nominal supreme command -of Joseph, numbered 50,000 seasoned troops and 80 guns. These took the -offensive. Early in the day, some 10,000 of the Spanish broke and fled, -taking Cuesta with them. Whittingham, formerly the military attaché at -Baylen and now brigadier, helped to stop the gap thus made by bringing -up some Spanish battalions of stiffer metal. So the army held its own, -the French fell sullenly back, and thus ended the first day’s battle. - -At daybreak, the combat was renewed, and, owing to the intense heat -of the day, somewhat intermittently. During one of these lulls, both -combatants ran to assuage their thirst at a stream that ran between the -armies, and conversed amicably until the bugler on both sides sounded -the “fall in,” and the recent friends met again as foes. So the battle -was renewed with varying fortune, until, as evening drew on, the French -retired to their original position. - -During the latter part of the day a vigorous cavalry charge was made by -the 23rd Light Dragoons and Arentschild’s Hussars of the German Legion -on the head of a French column, but, meeting with a deep ravine, the -former plunged confusedly into it; but they still managed to reach the -enemy’s square, where they were practically annihilated, though they -undoubtedly paralysed the enemy for a time. But Arentschild, wiser in -his generation, wheeled aside, exclaiming, “I will not kill my young -mens.” - - * * * * * - -On the 29th July, Crawford’s Light Division, the 42nd, 52nd, and 95th, -joined the army after a march of forty-two miles in twenty-six hours, -during which each carried sixty pounds’ weight, in a time of extreme -heat, and went on outpost duty at once![37] Verily they were men in -those days, when khaki suits and sun-helmets were not. - -The victory of Talavera made Sir Arthur my Lord Viscount Wellington, -with a pension of £2000 a year, and placed its name on the colours -of the 3rd Dragoon Guards, 14th Hussars, 16th Lancers, Coldstream -and Scots Guards, the 3rd, 7th, 24th, 29th, 31st, 40th, 45th, 48th, -53rd, 60th, 61st, 66th, 83rd, 87th, and 88th Regiments of the line. -A gold medal was also granted to all officers above the rank of -lieutenant-colonel, who had served at Corunna and Talavera. - -Meanwhile, Soult was again advancing, and now in great force, on -Placencia, which place he reached without opposition, as Cuesta had -failed to guard the Baños Pass as he had promised. Wellington, unaware -of this, marched to it; while the advance of Joseph again rendered a -retreat, in presence of such numbers, unavoidable. Cuesta fell back, -abandoning both Spanish and British wounded to French generosity, which -was not misplaced. - -Finally, the Spanish were defeated in a series of small affairs, -while Wellington had crossed the Tagus at Arzobespo. Winter quarters -were taken up in the valley of the Mondego, when the Spaniards were -defending Ciudad Rodrigo on the one hand, and Beresford was covering -Almeida on the other; but the cessation of hostilities, in other parts -of Europe about this time, enabled Napoleon to pour considerable -reinforcements into the Peninsula, and to attempt once again the -invasion of Portugal. Then, by the summer of 1810, the French had three -corps (Victor, Mortier, and Sebastiani) in Andalusia; Joseph, with -24,000 men, in Madrid; and three corps (Ney, Regnier, and Junot), to be -united under the “spoiled child of victory,” Massena, who was selected -to invade Portugal, and prove that on this occasion, at all events, -fortune was going to “spoil the child.” There were three roads by which -this invasion could be effected,--from Oporto, from Badajoz, and from -Salamanca by Almeida and the Coa. This latter route was watched by -Crawford with some of the Light Division. - -Here occurred the first skirmishes along the Coa, which were brilliant -rather than useful; and the army, falling back before Massena, who -captured Ciudad Rodrigo and Almeida, took up a position on the Busaco -Sierra, as much with the view of restoring the morale of troops already -becoming disheartened by retreat, as for checking the enemy. “It was, -in fine, a political battle, and Wellington afterwards called it a -mistake.”[38] The delay in attacking enabled Wellington to further -strengthen his position on the ridge, eight miles long, the flanks -of which rested on the Mondego on the right, and on some precipitous -ravines on the left; and the French attack on it was conducted with the -greatest boldness and impetuosity. - -Though strategically unnecessary, the battle is interesting tactically, -as showing clearly the method of fighting frequently adopted, that -of the defensive; and it compares the French columnar formation--the -ranks of the companies being three deep, covered in their advance by -skirmishers--with the linear formations of Frederick the Great and -Wellington. Napier’s description of Busaco is singularly vivid:-- - -“Crawford, in a happy mood for command, made masterly dispositions. -The tableland between him and the convent was sufficiently scooped to -conceal the 43rd and 52nd Regiments drawn up in line; and a quarter -of a mile behind them, on higher ground and close to the convent, the -German infantry appeared to be the only solid line of resistance on -this part of the position. In front of the British regiments, some -rocks, overhanging the descent, furnished natural embrasures in which -Ross’s guns were placed; and beyond them, the riflemen and Caçadores -were placed as skirmishers, covering the slope of the mountain. While -it was still dark, a straggling musketry fire was heard in the deep -valley; and when the light broke, three heavy masses, detached from -the Sixth Corps, were seen to enter the wood below and throw forward a -profusion of skirmishers. One of them, under General Marchand, emerging -from the dark chasm and following the main road, seemed intent to turn -the right of the Light Division; a second, under Loison, made straight -up the face of the mountain against the front; the third remained in -reserve. Simon’s brigade, leading Loison’s attack, ascended with a -wonderful alacrity; and though the light troops plied it unceasingly -with musketry, and the artillery swept through it from the first to -the last section, its order was never disturbed nor its speed in the -least abated. Ross’s guns were worked with incredible quickness, yet -the range was palpably contracted every round. The enemy’s shot came -singing up in a sharper key; the English skirmishers, breathless and -begrimed with powder, rushed over the edge of the ascent, the artillery -drew back, and the victorious cries of the French were heard within a -few yards of the summit. - -“Crawford, standing alone on one of the rocks, had been intently -watching the progress of the attack; and now, with a shrill tone, -ordered the two regiments in reserve to charge. The next moment, a -horrid shout startled the French column, and 1800 British bayonets went -sparkling over the brow of the hill. Yet so brave, so hardy were the -leading French, that each man of the first section raised his musket, -and two officers and ten men fell before them. Not a Frenchman had -missed his mark--they could do no more. The head of the column was -violently thrown back on the rear, both flanks were overlapped at the -same moment by the English wings, then terrible discharges at five -yards’ distance shattered the waving mass, and a long track of broken -arms and bleeding carcases marked the line of fight.” - -At this battle were engaged the 1st, 5th, 9th, 38th, 43rd, 45th, -52nd, 74th, 83rd, 88th, and the Rifle Brigade. During the pursuit and -retreat, both armies plundered somewhat, and three men were hanged at -Leira by Wellington for this crime; while skirmishes with the rearguard -occurred frequently, showing that the armies were still in close touch. - -This emphasises the prescience of Wellington in preparing for this -emergency. The temporary abandonment of Spain was due entirely to one -cause, and that he early and fully recognised. “I have no motive,” he -writes, “for withdrawing the British army from Spain, whether of a -political or military nature, excepting that which I have stated to you -in conversation--namely, a desire to relieve it from the privations of -food which it has suffered since the 22nd of last month; privations -which have reduced its strength, have destroyed the health of the -soldiers, and have rendered the army comparatively inefficient.” -Writing after the battle of Talavera, on the 31st July, he says: “It is -positively a fact that during the last seven days the British army has -not received one-third of its provisions, and that at this moment there -are nearly four thousand wounded soldiers dying in hospital from want -of common assistance and necessaries,” and this while the Spanish army -was well fed. In such a case, even an attempt at embarkation might have -been disturbed even more seriously than at Corunna, unless preparations -to meet such an emergency were made, let alone the moral effect of -such a withdrawal from the Peninsula. Hence, long before, the “lines -of Torres Vedras” had been begun, and carried on with the greatest -secrecy. Massena was not aware, apparently, of their existence. Those -who did know, thought the works were merely for the protection of -the capital, and to cover the embarkation if decided on. They were -rather too extensive for either. They were in three lines, covering -the five roads converging on Lisbon; the outer line was twenty miles -from Lisbon, and twenty-nine miles long, extending from the Tagus to -the mouth of the Zizambre; the second line, eight miles in rear, was -twenty-four miles long, equally strongly fortified; the third line, -which was to cover embarkation, enclosed an entrenched camp, with Fort -St. Julian, a place of strength. In all there were one hundred and -fifty redoubts, and six hundred guns; and British marines joined hands -with the army and Portuguese in defence, while British gunboats guarded -the flanks of the Torres Vedras lines. - -Behind them, in all, were 130,000 combatants, of whom 70,000 were -regulars. - -Massena made sundry partial efforts against the lines, and then fell -back on a fortified position at Santarem; while Junot, after capturing -Badajoz and besieging Cadiz, had left Victor to continue the siege, -and moved to join his chief; but he was turned back by the news that -General Graham had, by transferring a force from Cadiz by sea, assailed -the French lines at Barrosa. The Grenadiers, Scots and Coldstream -Guards, and the 28th, 67th, 87th, and Rifle Brigade distinguished -themselves in the battle, and Sergeant Masterton, of the 87th, -captured the first eagle taken in the Peninsular War. Thus to their -former nickname of the “Faugh-a-ballagh,” or “Clear-the-way Boys,” was -possibly added that of the “Aiglers.” The battle had lasted but one and -a half hours when the French retired. - -In the meantime, Massena was steadily getting weaker, while his -immediate adversary was getting reinforced; and he therefore determined -on a retreat, which was “marked by a barbarity seldom equalled, and -never surpassed.”[39] Wherever they bivouacked, “the scene was such -as might have been looked for in a camp of predatory Tartars, rather -than in that of civilised people. Food and forage, and skins of wine, -and clothes, and church vestments, books and guitars, and all the -bulkier articles of wasteful spoil were heaped together in their -huts, with the planks and doors of the habitations which they had -demolished. Some of the men, retaining amidst this brutal service the -characteristic activity and cleverness of their nation, fitted up their -tents with hangings from their last scene of pillage, with a regard to -comfort hardly to have been expected in their situation, and a love -of gaiety only to be found in Frenchmen.” It was not for four days -that Wellington was aware that the French were retreating; but as soon -as he could concentrate, he commenced a pursuit, in which a series -of brilliant skirmishes and rearguard actions were fought at Pombal, -Redinha, Condeixa, Cazel Nova, and Foz d’Aronce. - -Beresford was detached to besiege Badajoz. At Sabugal, which Wellington -describes as “one of the most glorious actions British troops were ever -engaged in,” the 43rd, with four companies of riflemen, practically -checked the whole of Regnier’s corps, with artillery and cavalry added, -and even captured one of the enemy’s howitzers. - -These operations resulted in Massena’s abandonment of Portugal, and his -retirement by Ciudad Rodrigo to Salamanca, having lost thirty thousand -men since he had crossed the frontier a year before. - -Throughout the whole of this campaign, the greatly, preponderating -numbers of the French had been minimised by the usual jealousy and -want of co-operation between the French marshals. Only Napoleon’s -master-hand could keep them in hand, and make them work to a common -end. The difference between the conduct of the war from the time he -advanced by Vittoria on Madrid and dispersed the Spanish armies, and -that after his return to France, is too marked to require comment. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -THE PENINSULAR ARMY: (_c_) ITS REWARD--1811-14 - - -The previous campaign had practically terminated with the French -evacuation of Portugal. Only Almeida and Badajoz on and about the -frontier line were held, and blocked an advance eastward into Spain; -but beyond the former in that direction lay the stronger fortress of -Ciudad Rodrigo. The two first were besieged or blockaded, by Spencer -at the former, and Beresford at the latter, Wellington lending aid to -either wing as required; and both sieges brought on a battle, that in -the north, Fuentes d’Onoro, where Wellington commanded, and Albuhera in -the south, where Beresford had charge. - -Massena, with 40,000 infantry, 5000 cavalry, and 36 guns, moved towards -Almeida, and was met by Wellington, with a force of 32,000 infantry, -1200 cavalry, and 42 guns, at Fuentes d’Onoro, but the Portuguese were -of little value. Supplies had as usual been deficient, and ammunition -was wanting. - -The battle presents few features of professional interest. As the Light -Division fell back before the advancing French, there was a skirmish -at Gallegos on the 2nd May, and at Fuentes d’Onoro on the 3rd May; but -the real battle there was not fought until the 5th, and was of a very -desperate character. To say the least, it was indecisive, though the -French claim the victory, as, though they did not themselves advance, -Wellington retired to re-form. But Massena neither raised the siege of -Almeida, nor advanced farther into Portugal. It is rather in personal -incidents that this “soldiers’ battle” is noteworthy. Here it was that -the tactical conditions of artillery were reversed, and the guns -charged through a French column. “A great commotion was observed in -their main body; men and horses were seen to close, with confusion -and tumult, towards one point, where a thick dust and loud cries, and -the sparkling of blades and the flashing of pistols, indicated some -extraordinary occurrence. Suddenly the multitude became violently -agitated, an English shout pealed high and clear, the mass was rent -asunder, and Norman Ramsay burst forth, sword in hand, at the head of -his battery; his horses, breathing fire, stretched like greyhounds -along the plain, the guns bounded behind them like things of no weight, -and the mounted gunners followed close, with heads bent low and pointed -weapons in desperate career.”[40] - -Here, too, the Connaught Rangers, stigmatised by Picton, because of -their habit of plundering, as “the greatest blackguards in the army,” -drove the French out of Fuentes d’Onoro with terrible loss, in a -gallant charge which even Picton admired. “Well done, brave 88th,” he -exclaimed, as they returned; and in reply to the remark made by some of -the men, “Are we the greatest blackguards in the army now?” responded -with a smile, “No, no! you are brave and gallant soldiers; this day -has redeemed your character.” Besides the 88th, the 14th Hussars and -16th Lancers, the 24th, 42nd, 43rd, 45th, 51st, 52nd, 60th, 71st, 74th, -79th, 83rd, 85th, 92nd, and Rifle Brigade shared in the glories of -the day. Shortly afterwards, Bremner evacuated Almeida without being -opposed by the 2nd Queen’s, whose regimental badge is the Paschal Lamb, -or the 4th King’s Own, whose badge is the Lion, and hence arose the -following doggerel, the authorship of which is unknown:-- - - “The ‘Lambs’ were asleep, - The ‘Lions’ were at play, - The Eagle spread his wings - And ’tween them flew away.” - -The battle led to the fall of Massena, who was recalled to France, and -Marmont took his place in command of the northern army. Ten days after -Fuentes d’Onoro, the news reached Wellington of Soult’s advance against -Beresford; but though he started to reinforce him with the 3rd and 7th -Divisions, he was not in time to share in the bloodiest battle of the -whole of the Peninsula, that of Albuhera, in which Beresford, with the -Spanish troops under Blake and Castanos, fought to cover his siege of -Badajoz, with the grave anxiety lest defeat should lead to a fresh -invasion of Portugal. Out of the 30,000 men which composed the Allied -force, but 7000 were British, and these were the 3rd Dragoon Guards, -the 3rd, 7th, 23rd, 28th, 29th, 31st, 34th, 39th, 48th, 57th, 60th, and -66th Regiments; and of them only 1800 men were unwounded when the fire -ceased. - -The Spaniards on the right were first attacked, and soon gave way, and -for the rest of this short four hours’ fight, the brunt of battle lay -with the British contingent. The men behaved with valour extraordinary -even in those days of hard, continuous fighting; and there was heavy -need for it. The Allied right was practically _en l’air_, with -sufficient cover close to a dominating hill, which was not held, to -make a flank attack easy. Against this Girard, with the 5th Corps and -Latour-Maubourg’s Cavalry, were early moved. - -Here, when the Spanish broke, was moved Colborne’s Division, one -brigade of which had three of its regiments, the 3rd, 66th, and 48th, -almost destroyed, and only the 31st had time to form square. There -was bitter fighting, round the colours of the Buffs especially, and -confusion reigned supreme for a moment in the right wing. But soon -the 29th pressed into the fight, and on them the Spaniards somewhat -rallied. As their colonel, Duckworth, fell, he cried, “Die hard, -my men, die hard!” whence comes their honoured nickname of the -“Die-hards.” Richly they deserved it, for out of 25 officers 22 fell, -of 570 rank and file 425 were killed or wounded, and the king’s colour -bore thirty bullet wounds.[41] - -The battle was almost lost when Colonel Hardinge on his own -responsibility called up Cole’s Brigades, one of which was composed of -the 7th and 23rd Fusilier Regiments, and thrust him into the confused -fight on the right, while Allen turned round to regain Albuhera, which -had been abandoned. The fresh reinforcements were irresistible, though -the fire was terrible. “The Fusilier Battalion, struck by the iron -tempest, reeled and staggered like sinking ships; but, suddenly and -sternly recovering, they closed on their terrible enemies, and then was -seen with what a strength and majesty the British soldier fights. In -vain did Soult with voice and gesture animate his Frenchmen, in vain -did the hardiest veterans break from the crowded columns and sacrifice -their lives to gain time for the mass to open out on such a fair field; -in vain did the mass itself bear up, and, fiercely striving, fire -indiscriminately upon friends and foes, while the horsemen, hovering -on the flank, threatened to charge the advancing line. Nothing could -stop that astonishing infantry. No sudden burst of undisciplined -valour, no nervous enthusiasm weakened the stability of their order; -their flashing eyes were bent on the dark columns on their front, -their measured tread shook the ground, their dreadful volleys swept -away the head of every formation, their deafening shouts overpowered -the dissonant cries that broke from all parts of the tumultuous crowd, -as, slowly, and with a horrid carnage, it was pushed by the incessant -vigour of the attack to the farthest edge of the hill. In vain did the -French reserves mix with the struggling multitude to sustain the fight, -their efforts only increased the irremediable confusion; and the mighty -mass, breaking off like a loosened cliff, went headlong down the steep.” - -The losses of individual regiments were enormous. In the 23rd so many -officers had fallen that Corporal Robinson brought his captain’s -company out of action; and the 57th left on the field 23 officers and -400 men out of a total of 570. For this it bears the laurel wreath, -only carried by the six Minden regiments. - -So victory remained with the Allies, though little aid had been given -by the Spaniards. The French retreated on Seville in fair order, having -captured several colours, one gun, and some prisoners. Albuhera was -essentially a soldiers’ battle. It was won by sheer hard fighting. - -The army now turned to renew the siege of Badajoz, the capture -of which, as well as Ciudad, was essential for further offensive -operations. But though several daring efforts were made to storm the -breaches made, the siege had to be raised on the approach of the -combined forces of Marmont and Soult. - -After much manœuvring, marching, and counter-marching on both sides, -during which, at the brilliant little affair of El Bodon, the 5th -charged the French cavalry with fire and bayonet; and at Arroyo des -Molinos, where Girard was surprised by Hill, who, after a forced -march, made a night attack, and the 92nd stormed the village to the -somewhat appropriate tune of “Hey, Johnny Cope, are ye waukin’ yet.” -The brilliant action resulted in the dispersal of the corps, with the -loss of all its artillery, baggage, and military chest, at a cost -of but a few killed and wounded; but though the 9th and 13th Light -Dragoons, as well as the 92nd, 50th, 71st, and 34th took part in the -action, only the standards of the last-named regiment bear the name of -Arroyo des Molinos, the sole case of a battle _not_ a general action -being inscribed on the colours. For capturing the 34th Battalion of -French infantry there, the 34th long wore a red and white pompon; and -it is said, when the French battalion surrendered, the French officers -embraced their English confrères with the words, “Ah, messieurs, nous -sommes des frères, nous sommes du trente-quatrième régiment tous deux. -Vous êtes des braves. Les Anglais se battent toujours avec loyauté et -traitent bien leurs prisonniers.” - -There were skirmishes elsewhere, as at Tarifa, where the 47th, 87th, -and 95th Regiments successively defended the breach, and where the 13th -Light Dragoons, the 28th, 34th, 50th, 71st, and 92nd Regiments were -engaged; but this was only preparatory to the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo -and Badajoz, both of which were stormed, and fell. Their capture, -with the seizure of the bridge of Alcantara (which improved the -communications) and the destruction of that of Almanza (which severed -the direct communication between Marmont and Soult), finally opened -the doorway into Spain. In the attack on Ciudad the 5th, 43rd, 45th, -52nd, 60th, 74th, 77th, 83rd, 88th, 94th, and Rifle Brigade shared, -and the men plunged into wild excesses in the sack which followed, and -which the officers seemed powerless to check. It cost the Allies a -total loss of 1702, including Crawford of the Light Division, who was -killed, while Colborne, Gurwood (who afterwards edited the Wellington -Despatches), and Major George Napier, all of the 52nd, were wounded. -But Marmont’s siege train was captured. - -At Badajoz, whither Wellington had proceeded after Fuentes, curiously -enough the garrison was never summoned to surrender--an omission for -which many French writers unreservedly blame him, as being an act -contrary to the usages of war, and savouring of a feeling of revenge. -Be that as it may, the place was invested on the 17th March, while Hill -covered the siege against Soult, and on the 7th April was stormed, with -the terrible loss of nearly 5000 men. The defence was most gallant -and desperate. For two hours the storming column tried in vain to -mount the principal breach, defended by mines, _chevaux de frise_ of -sword-blades, and a close fire of musketry, grape, and hand-grenades, -and then fell back sullenly to re-form. But, as in other cases, though -this the “real attack” had failed, the “false attack” had succeeded, -and the 4th, followed by other regiments, penetrated into the town -by escalade. So the place surrendered, and its fall was succeeded by -a butchery more dreadful than that of Ciudad. Men were “literally -drowned in brandy.” Soldiers and camp--followers behaved equally -disgracefully. For two days and nights there seems to have been no -check to the horrors. There was nothing but “shameless rapacity, brutal -intemperance, savage lust, cruelty and murder. Shrieks and piteous -lamentations, groans, shouts, imprecations, the hissing of fires -bursting from the houses, the crashing of doors and windows, and the -reports of muskets used in violence, resounded through the town.” - -The plan of the siege itself was by no means a brilliant effort of -genius, and the cost in human life serious. But for the fortunate -action of the 4th, the storming column must have retired with a loss of -3500 men, having effected nothing. The only excuse for the storm of so -strong a place after so brief and imperfect a siege was the necessity -for breaking open this doorway into Spain. The end was believed at -the time to have justified the means, no matter how horrible. The -best excuse is, that the British army was too weak to mask it, dared -not delay for a prolonged siege, which might have led to a French -concentration in overwhelming numbers, and could not pass it by. It was -the old argument of necessity. The regiments who shared in the honours -and dishonours of Badajoz were the 4th, 5th, 7th, 23rd, 27th, 30th, -38th, 40th, 43rd, 44th, 45th, 48th, 52nd, 60th, 74th, 77th, 83rd, 88th, -94th, and Rifle Brigade. - -The affairs of Almanza and Alcantara have been already referred to, and -other means were now taken to distract the attention of the French. -The guerillas, more and more exasperated, renewed their efforts at -annoyance, and never were they more successful. It is even said it -took some thousands of men to escort a simple despatch! Under cover -of all this, Wellington moved on Salamanca, and after a brief delay -captured the forts the French had erected to guard the town, and pushed -forward to the Douro, behind which Marmont had retired, holding all -the passages. Then came a series of brilliant manœuvres, in which -the French general once marched fifty miles without a check, and -finally sought to turn the Allied right, so as to seize the road to -Ciudad Rodrigo. Both armies for many hours marched parallel to, and -within sight of, one another, and so marked was the early success of -the French in this manœuvring, that on the 21st, Wellington had more -than half decided to retreat. But the next day fortune favoured him. -Marmont, in his anxiety to close the Ciudad road, overreached himself, -the left wing got separated from the right, and Wellington, seizing the -opportunity, poured in at the gap, and in forty minutes the French -left wing was badly beaten; and but that the Spanish had abandoned the -guard of the Alba ford, the whole army must have been to all intents -and purposes destroyed. Many regiments, both of horse and foot, shared -in the glories of the battle of Salamanca. It was the most skilful of -any of Wellington’s victories, as showing a tactical appreciation of -the situation, which is often not so apparent elsewhere. He understood -the selection of a good position, and how to encourage the fighting -power of his men, to which, in most cases, the success of his battle -may be chiefly attributed. At Salamanca, though he behaved with skill, -the adversaries’ mistake was so glaring as to be apparent to a general -of far meaner capacity. - -The troops engaged had been the 5th Dragoon Guards, the 3rd, 11th, -14th, and 16th Light Cavalry Regiments, and the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, -7th, 9th, 11th, 23rd, 24th, 27th, 30th, 32nd, 34th, 36th, 38th, 40th, -43rd, 44th, 45th, 48th, 51st, 52nd, 53rd, 58th, 60th, 61st, 68th, 74th, -79th, 83rd, 88th, 94th, and Rifle Brigade. The result of the operations -so far was, that Marmont, with 42,000 men and 74 guns, had, in twelve -days, marched 200 miles, fought three combats and one general action, -and had lost 1 marshal, 7 generals, and 12,500 men, with 2 eagles, -several colours, and 12 guns. - -[Illustration: _BATTLE of SALAMANCA_ - -_22^{nd} July 1812_] - -Pursuing Clauset’s rearguard through Valladolid, which fell back on -Burgos, to be watched by Clinton, the victorious general entered Madrid -in triumph, and there his temporary success suffered a check. There was -the usual complaint; want of supplies and want of cash. The “troops -are now five months in arrears,” he writes, “and we are in debt in all -parts of the country.” Clauset, reorganised, had reoccupied Valladolid, -and Wellington decided on turning against him, and, if possible, -capturing Burgos. But the preparations were notoriously meagre, the -defence bold; so that after five assaults the attempt was abandoned, -and Wellington was compelled to once more retreat to Portugal. The army -had become greatly demoralised by the failure of the Burgos siege. -While the assaults had failed, all the sorties had been more or -less successful. There were skirmishes in the retreat, but the conduct -of the troops was, with the general exception of the Guards and the -Light Division, bad. As in Moore’s retreat, drunkenness prevailed. At -Torquemada 12,000 men were for a time useless. Doubtless the hardships -were severe. “Sometimes divisions were moved too soon, more frequently -too late, and kept standing on wet ground, in the rain, for two hours, -perishing with cold, waiting the order to move. Their clothes were -seldom dry for six hours together, and during the latter part of the -retreat continually wet; sometimes they were bivouacked in a swamp when -better ground was near, they lay down upon the wet ground, fell asleep -from mere exhaustion, were roused to receive their meat, and had then -no means of dressing it. The camp kettles had been sent on, or by some -error were some miles in the rear, or the mules which carried them had -foundered on the way, and no fire could be kindled on wet ground, with -wet materials, and under a heavy rain.”[42] - -Meanwhile, the French were concentrating in superior numbers; and, with -more and more indiscipline and suffering, the army, with a loss of 9000 -men and much baggage, finally encamped exhausted under the walls of -Ciudad Rodrigo. - -The first serious attempt to reconquer Spain had failed, save for the -moral effect of the occupation of Madrid, the defeat of the French at -Salamanca, and the restriction of the French armies now to the northern -part of Spain. It was, none the less, the beginning of the end. - -That end, the “deliverance of Spain,” dawned in the early days of 1813, -when all the Allied armies were reorganised, and had recovered their -tone. - -Napoleon, too, was no longer in a position to help the armies whose -opponents were bleeding his empire to death. Russia first, and then -united Europe, were keeping his hands far too full to attend to a -danger almost nearer home. The last French campaign in the Peninsula -was like that in Central Europe in the same year, 1813, a campaign -of despair. The numbers on both sides were more equal than they had -ever been. The Allies had learned in the bitter school of dreadful -experience, and were better organised and somewhat more homogeneous and -concentrated than their opponents. - -The general plan of Wellington’s last campaign here was to directly -threaten the French communications with France. It will be remembered -that there were but two real lines of invasion from that country, one -at the east, the other at the west of the Pyrenees. So, threatening the -French right, the strong line of the Douro, behind which the French -army lay, was turned at Toro. They fell back behind Burgos, therefore, -and then behind the line of the Ebro. This, again, was turned at its -upper reaches by a most difficult march. “Neither,” says Napier, “the -winter gullies, nor the ravines, nor the precipitate passes amongst the -rocks retarded even the march of the artillery--where horses could not -draw, men hauled; when the wheels would not roll, the guns were let -down or lifted up with ropes--six days they toiled unceasingly, and on -the seventh (that is, 20th June), they burst like raging streams from -every defile, and went foaming into the basin of Vittoria.” - - * * * * * - -So the battle area of Vittoria was reached, and Joseph stood to fight -on a front parallel to his line of retreat on Bayonne. As Wellington -had been _strategically_ turning the right of the general line of -defence so far, so in the battle he _tactically_ continued the same -idea, and the result was complete. “Never,” says Napier, “was an -army more hardly used by its commander, and never was a victory more -complete”; while General Gazan writes that the French “lost all their -equipage, all their guns, all their treasure, all their papers, so -that no man could prove even how much pay was due to him; generals and -subordinate officers alike were reduced to the clothes on their backs, -and most of them were barefooted.” - -[Illustration: _Private 20^{th} Reg^{t} 1812._] - -The following regiments were engaged in the battle:--3rd and 5th -Dragoon Guards, 3rd, 14th, 15th, 16th, 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, -9th, 20th, 23rd, 24th, 27th, 28th, 31st, 38th, 39th, 40th, 43rd, 45th, -47th, 48th, 50th, 51st, 52nd, 53rd, 57th, 58th, 59th, 60th, 61st, 66th, -68th, 74th, 79th, 83rd, and 84th. - -The deliverance of Spain was nearly complete. Only the extreme -north-west of Spain and that close to the frontier was left to Joseph, -erstwhile King of all Spain. Even this was soon abandoned. Joseph fell -back by Pampeluna, and this, with San Sebastian, was blockaded. The -former eventually capitulated, and the latter, which was to furnish a -new base of operations for Wellington, now too far from Portugal to -use his former base, was stormed by the 1st, 4th, 9th, 38th, 47th, -and 59th, and fell. Desperate as was the gallantry of the troops, -especially of the 52nd, the other side of the picture showed horrors -and utter indiscipline, far worse even than those which disgraced the -storm of previous sieges. The soldiery perpetrated villainies which -would have shamed the most ferocious barbarians of antiquity. At Ciudad -Rodrigo intoxication and plunder had been the principal object; at -Badajoz lust and murder were added to rapine and drunkenness; but at -San Sebastian the direst, the most revolting cruelty was added to the -catalogue of crimes.[43] - -After sundry operations, including the series of extraordinary combats -classed as the “Battles of the Pyrenees,” in which the 2nd, 3rd, 6th, -7th, 11th, 20th, 23rd, 24th, 27th, 28th, 31st, 34th, 36th, 39th, 40th, -42nd, 45th, 48th, 50th, 51st, 53rd, 57th, 58th, 60th, 61st, 66th, 68th, -71st, 74th, and 79th took part, the lines of the Bidassoa, Nivelle, and -Nive were successively forced. In these actions the above regiments -took part, as well as the 5th, 9th, 20th, 32nd, 38th, 43rd, 46th, 52nd, -62nd, 82nd, 83rd, 87th, 88th, 91st, 94th, 84th, 85th, and Rifle Brigade -and 16th Lancers. - -Finally, after further actions at Bayonne and the passage of the Adour, -the last important battles took place at Orthez and Toulouse, and the -long war in the south was practically at an end. - -At Orthez were the 14th Hussars, and the 5th, 6th, 7th, 11th, 20th, -23rd, 24th, 27th, 28th, 31st, 32nd, 34th, 36th, 39th, 40th, 42nd, 45th, -48th, 50th, 51st, 52nd, 58th, 60th, 61st, 66th, 68th, 71st, 74th, 82nd, -83rd, 87th, 88th, 91st, 92nd, 94th, and Rifle Brigade. There had been, -in addition, minor actions at Bordeaux and Bayonne, and at the latter -place war rockets were used for the first time in the British Army; but -these actions effected little, and were the last expiring struggles of -the Peninsular War. For a time, at least, there was peace in Europe. - -The British marched across France, and embarked for England and -America. The Spanish and Portuguese armies retired to their respective -territories, and the French armies dispersed over France. The now fully -established standing army of Great Britain had, notwithstanding the -indiscipline and violence that at times unfortunately characterised its -fighting, earned a reputation which it has never lost. Its undaunted -courage had broken down altogether the civilian fear of an army. It was -for the future only to be regarded economically or financially, not as -a possible danger to the public peace. There was scarcely a family, -hardly a village throughout the land which had not to mourn, but mourn -with pride, the loss of some of its sons. It had earned the respect of -foe as well as friend. It had dauntlessly shown that Englishmen were -not afraid to die. This spirit is touchingly referred to by Thorburn in -some poetry relating to a drummer boy of the 43rd, a regiment that, now -linked with the 52nd, and, like it, in Peninsular days a component part -of the famous Light Division, distinguished itself from the Coa to the -Pyrenees. As the story is told, it is that of an old grenadier who, in -the rush of the charge which then formed the most important element in -battle, as fire and the bullet do now, was wounded, but struggled on to -find in his way - - “’Twas a little drummer boy, with his side - Torn terribly with shot; - But still he feebly beat his drum, - As though the wound were not. - - But when the Mameluke’s wild horse - Burst with a scream and cry, - He said, ‘O men of the Forty-third, - _Teach me the way to die_.’” - -And so the story goes on to tell how the wounded grenadier, with a -bullet in his hip, pressed on into the fight, to fall himself later. -The story is, of course, probably mythical, but there is a certain -_ring_ in it that shows the spirit of those old fighting days. - -Equally mythical is that of the drummer boy and Sergeant Matcham in the -Ingoldsby “Legend of Salisbury Plain,” where “one Mr. Jones,” hearing -certain groans, states-- - - “That he followed the moans, and, led by their tones, - Found a raven a-picking a drummer boy’s bones! - Then the Colonel wrote word, - From the King’s _Forty-third_, - That the story was certainly true that they heard.” - -It must not be imagined that the final result of the war on the French -side was other than creditable in the highest degree to Soult. No one -recognises this more than Napier, and his eulogy is worth quoting. - -“Vast combinations, inexhaustible personal resources, a clear judgment, -unshaken firmness and patience under difficulties, unwavering fidelity -to his sovereign and his country, are what no man can justly deny him. -In this celebrated campaign of nine months, although counteracted by -the treacherous hostility of many of his countrymen, he repaired and -enlarged the works of five strong places, and entrenched five great -camps with such works as Marius himself would not have disdained; once -he changed his line of operations, and, either attacking or defending, -delivered twenty-four battles and combats. Defeated in all, he fought -the last as fiercely as the first; remaining unconquered in mind, and -still intent upon renewing the struggle, when peace came to put a stop -to his prodigious efforts. These efforts were fruitless, because Suchet -renounced him; because the people of the south were apathetic, and -fortune was adverse; because he was opposed to one of the greatest -generals of the world at the head of unconquerable troops.” - -Wellington, patient under difficulties, had fully succeeded in his task -of freeing the Peninsula from French domination. And if at Salamanca -he showed a tactical skill which stands out in contrast to some of his -other victories, the final campaign of Vittoria shows a strategical -grasp which is not, in the opinion of foreign experts in the art of -war, so brilliantly apparent in the years before 1813-14. But one thing -may be mentioned, of which many are now ignorant. A common cry among -the French throughout the prolonged war was the cruelty with which -their prisoners in England were treated. The charge embittered the -already bitter contest, and though foreign nations were little better -than ourselves, if at all, there was more than a sub-stratum of truth -in what was openly proclaimed in France. - -However much abuse may have been lavished on France in the time past, -and which lives to our shame and sorrow below the surface even now, -this is one of the evil heritages of that war-stricken time. This -is the recorded story of how the prisoners were treated: “They were -consigned in huge batches, like so many convicts, to the hulks at -Chatham and Portsmouth, and to inland prisons at Dartmoor and in some -rural districts of Scotland. The history of the hulks is one simple -tissue of horrors. The Government had no active wish to maltreat -its prisoners, but the officials placed in authority over them were -often rude, and oftener drunken, and did not understand the character -of their guests. Worse than that, they did not care about such -understanding; and at the time it was rather patriotic than otherwise -to detest a Frenchman. The prisoners were not systematically starved, -but they were fed as men-of-war’s men were then victualled--on weevilly -biscuit, salt junk, and jury rum. They had no means of cooking their -food in their own fashion; they were pent-up between the decks of -old vessels, all but deprived of exercise, and denied the commonest -appliances of cleanliness. So they had the scurvy, dysentery, typhus, -and a host of other ailments; now and then an epidemic would break -out among them, and they would die like sheep afflicted by the rot. -The most horrible profligacy was rampant on board those floating -pandemoniums. The prisoners had nothing whatever to do, and vast -numbers of them belonged to the lowest and most ignorant classes. -So they swore and gambled, they quarrelled and fought; scarcely a -week passed in which some fatal duel did not take place among them. -Such were the hulks,--the dreaded _pontons_,--descriptions of which, -not much overcharged, were drawn up by the order of Napoleon, and -distributed among the French peasantry, in order to inflame their minds -against the English.” - -Can one wonder at the revengeful feeling that lived afterwards? So -Thackeray thought, in telling with marvellous brilliancy the fictional -story of that 17th of June in Brussels, when “the cannon of Waterloo -began to roar,” when “from morning until past sunset” the sound never -ceased, and “it was dark when the cannonading stopped all of a sudden. - -“All of us have read of what occurred during that interval. The tale -is in every Englishman’s mouth; and you and I who were children when -the great battle was won and lost, are never tired of hearing and -recounting the history of that famous action. Its remembrance rankles -still in the bosoms of millions of the countrymen of those brave men -who lost the day. They pant for an opportunity of revenging that -humiliation; and if a contest, ending in a victory on their part, -should ensue, elating them in their turn, and leaving the cursed legacy -of hatred and rage behind to us, there is no end to the so-called -glory and shame, and to the alternation of successful and unsuccessful -murder, in which two high-spirited nations might engage. Centuries -hence we Frenchmen and Englishmen might be boasting and killing each -other still, carrying out bravely the devil’s code of honour.” No one -who lives now but must most fervently hope that the remembrance of that -evil heritage may be buried so deep as never to rise again! - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -THE ARMY IN THE NETHERLANDS--WATERLOO, 1815 - - -The Peninsular campaigns had, by the process of constantly “pegging -away,” to use Abraham Lincoln’s expression during the American Civil -War, resulted in sapping the strength of France, and led to the -emperor’s deposition. Perhaps it was not the main cause of his fall -after all; but it was the one open wound that bled the French to death, -when all other districts of Europe were in awe-full peace. The kingdoms -and empires of Europe had either successively fallen, or been cowed by -the mighty genius of Napoleon. Spain and Portugal, almost the least of -these European peoples, had been the only nations who continuously and -persistently stood out against his usurpation. It is more than probable -that, without England’s aid, even their patriotic stubbornness might -have broken down. They wanted active help, practical sympathy, and -money. All these England provided, taking the fact that she was not -then very rich and populous, without stint. How her efforts to aid in -the great aim of crushing the dominance of France, doubtless through -motives that were based on natural and national selfishness, were -responded to, the whole of the history of the Peninsular War clearly -shows. There were only barren honours to the chiefs, utter and cruel -ingratitude throughout to the men who, ill fed and scornfully treated, -fought the battles of Spanish generals and soldiers, who were hardly -worth fighting with or for. Omit England’s part in the great Peninsular -struggle, and there is scarcely a single case in which the Spanish or -the Portuguese either fought a good fight or played a straight game. In -both countries France had friends, and in both countries, therefore, -were traitors to their own cause, and still more to that of their -British allies. - -Whatever was the result of the hard work and fighting in the Peninsula -from 1808 to 1814, the British certainly owe no debt of gratitude to -either Spain or Portugal. The utter ingratitude of both nations towards -the insular power who alone of all the nations of Europe gave them -practical help, is more than apparent. The Iberian Peninsula was, and -is, full of the graves of brave men who fought to save a country that -had not the intelligence to save itself. Its coffers were filled with -hard-earned British gold, which they had not the grace to acknowledge. - -But the long war did one thing. It trained British officers and British -soldiers to fight the last great fight in Europe for many a year. - -Though the army at Waterloo contained but a proportion of the -Peninsular veterans, the glory of the work they had done, the -conviction of their own military masterfulness, the memory of what the -army had been there, was a great factor in the final struggle against -the greatest military power in Europe, when that final struggle came. - -The teaching and the glory of the Peninsula made raw soldiers fight at -Quatre Bras and Waterloo as brave men should. Peninsular victories had -wiped out the remembrance of many years of either only partial success -or actual defeat, and had carried the enthusiastic morale all armies -should have back to the best days of Blenheim and Ramilies. - -Thus things were when the return from Elba was devised, and, “with the -violets in the spring,” Napoleon returned to France. At the moment of -his return the French army numbered in round numbers about 150,000 men, -and this he speedily increased to 200,000, a small body to meet the -huge masses that were putting themselves in motion for his destruction. -There were the Russians about Poland, numbering 280,000; the Austrians -were 250,000 strong; Prussia alone could furnish 200,000 men; and, in -addition, there were the minor German states, as well as Portugal and -Spain. Holland and Belgium were not to be firmly reckoned on in case of -disaster, but, stiffened by the British and Prussians, they might find -it difficult to avoid casting in their lot with the other nations, and -even assume an enthusiasm that possibly was only superficial. To stand, -centrally situated, on the defensive, was but to invite disaster; and -the time required for the close concentration of the enormous Allied -mass could be calculated with tolerable certainty, though railways -were not. For a time at least, therefore, the nations east of the -Rhine could be disregarded, but those north of the Sambre came under -a different category. They were closer, and therefore within striking -distance. They could not only be got at quickly, and possibly be -defeated, before the eastern armies could arrive to their assistance, -but in case the emperor felt compelled to move towards the Rhine, they -might assail him in flank, attack his communications, and even capture -his capital. Finally, the Brussels road marked the line of junction of -two allies who spoke different languages, and who had not fought side -by side before. This joint, then, was the element of weakness. If it -could be broken through, the French might, like a wedge, split asunder -this flank of the coalition, and, if fortune favoured Napoleon, might -destroy in detail two of his nearest enemies. Besides, something _must_ -be done, and this course would soonest of all carry the war out of -France. Across the frontier the British army covered the front from -the Charleroi-Brussels road to Ostend, and the Prussians extended the -arc eastward to Liège. The former numbered about 106,000 men (of whom -about 34,000 were British, and the remainder Germans, Hanoverians, -Brunswickers, Nassauers, Dutch, and Belgians), with its base of supply -between Ostend and Antwerp; the latter 117,000, with its base on the -lower Rhine. Thus the area covered by the troops had a frontage of -about 100 miles and a depth of nearly 40. Opposed to them was a compact -French army of 125,000 men. - -[Illustration: _CAMPAIGNS of WATERLOO (1815) & MARLBOROUGH._] - -On the other hand, the Allies did not care at first to take the -initiative, though they were enormously superior in number. -Each had his own views as to what their great antagonist would do. -Wellington had, throughout, made up his mind that the emperor would -attack his right and sever his communications with the sea, although -such a course would force the concentration of the two possibly -undefeated armies. So determined was he that this view was correct, -that even on the supreme day of Waterloo he had detached at Halle some -10,000 men to guard the flank that was not even threatened. In his -first and last meeting with Napoleon he did not grasp his adversary’s -skill. He was planning an invasion of France at the moment the French -tricolors were crossing the frontier. On the other hand, Blucher, with -the difficult country of the Ardennes between his line of communication -and the enemy, was necessarily not so anxious for his outer flank, and -was quite prepared to fight opposite Charleroi. - -[Illustration: THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON] - -With Napoleon, decision and execution followed rapidly one on the -other. The army was quickly and secretly concentrated, and after -issuing an address appealing to past glories, in which direct reference -is made to the English “prison ships,”[44] it crossed the Sambre on -the 15th June, and the outposts became engaged; but when night fell, -only a portion of the French army were on the north bank of the stream. -The staff work had been bad, and an important order was not received -in time, because it was sent by one orderly instead of in duplicate by -two, and he had a bad tumble. Then began the series of delays which -were among the many causes that led later to the emperor’s defeat at -Waterloo. - -The left wing under Ney was so long in closing up to Quatre Bras, that -the British troops at the end of the day outnumbered their opponents, -and D’Erlon’s corps had been swinging pendulum-like between the two -battlefields of Ligny and Quatre Bras, to be useful at neither. Turning -to the Allied side, Blucher had readily gauged the French plan, if -Wellington had not. The night sky, reddened with the glare of many -fires on the night of the 14th June, had warned the advanced corps -of Ziethen that a large force lay in front of him, the details of -which were told him by the deserter Bourmont, who was received with -scant courtesy by the honest old Prussian. “It is all one,” he said -in German, when he noticed the white cockade of the Bourbons in the -general’s hat, “what a man sticks in his hat, a scoundrel remains a -scoundrel”; and so, dismissing him, he carried out the concentration -of his army towards Ligny. Here, on the morning of the 16th, the -French right wing, under Napoleon’s personal leadership, forced back -the Prussians, and after a severe conflict, which lasted till night, -drove them back, he thought in the direction of Liège, practically in -the direction of Wavre. But when defeated, Blucher’s “noble daring” in -deciding on falling back on Wavre rather than Liège, “at once snatched -from Napoleon the hoped-for fruits of his victory, and the danger Ligny -had for a few hours averted was left impending over him.” - -On the other flank, there is much to be said. There seems little doubt -that false reports from France had lulled Wellington into a feeling of -security for which, as results proved, there was little basis; and to -this may be added the somewhat futile demonstrations against his right -front. - -Even when the passage of the Sambre by the French army was actually -known, on the afternoon of the 15th, still he delayed his decision, -and merely _orders_ for the concentration of his widely-spread units -were issued. When at night the news was confirmed, the general tenor -of the orders pointed rather to a concentration at Nivelle than on the -Charleroi road; yet he knew by then that imposing masses of hostile -troops were north of that place. Had Ney been vigorous and rapid, -nothing could have prevented the separation of the Allied armies. - -That this was not so, was due to the independent initiative of a -Dutch-Belgian general, Perponcher, who assembled his command at Quatre -Bras, without orders, only a mile or two from the French bivouac, on -the night of the 15th June. Then came the celebrated ball when-- - - “There was a sound of revelry by night, - And Belgium’s capital had gathered then - Her beauty and her chivalry, and bright - The lamps shone o’er fair women and brave men; - A thousand hearts beat happily; and when - Music arose with its voluptuous swell, - Soft eyes look’d love to eyes which spake again, - And all went merry as a marriage bell; - But hush! hark! A deep sound strikes like a rising knell! - - Did ye not hear it! No; ’twas but the wind, - Or the car rattling o’er the stony street; - On with the dance! Let joy be unconfined: - No sleep till morn, when Youth and Pleasure meet - To chase the glowing hours with flying feet-- - But hark! That heavy sound breaks in once more, - As if the clouds its echo would repeat; - And nearer, clearer, deadlier than before! - Arm! Arm! It is--it is the cannon’s opening roar.” - -After the ball, the Prince of Orange, anxious for orders, was told by -the duke, it is said, to “go to bed”; but he started instead for Quatre -Bras, which his chief did not reach until eleven o’clock. - -Then the duke rode to Ligny and conferred with Blucher. At this -conference he agreed, against apparently his own and Müffling’s -opinion, to move to the right rear of the Prussians and act as a -reserve, _provided he were not attacked himself_. To do so he must have -moved by the Namur Chaussée, which passes through Quatre Bras. To do so -at all, therefore, that point must first be securely held. To have made -a flank march in the very presence of the enemy, and to have left his -own line of advance, towards which his troops were converging, exposed -to danger, would but have been to court disaster. To lend any aid -whatever to Blucher, Quatre Bras was his first case. But Herr Delbruck, -in his _Life of Gneisenau_, makes the assertion that the battle of -Ligny was only fought on the assumption that 60,000 men would form on -their right to strengthen, and if necessary prolong, their line on this -side, while Müffling, on the other hand, clearly points out that the -promise to come to Ligny was quite conditional--“provided,” to use the -duke’s own words, “I am not attacked myself.” - -Moreover, for the Prussians to fight at Ligny can scarcely be -considered optional. Like the action at Quatre Bras, it was -unavoidable, unless they retreated at once on Waterloo; for if -Wellington were obliged to engage the enemy in order to check his -advance and complete his concentration, it was equally Blucher’s only -choice to give battle at Ligny so as to enable Bülow to join him. -But now comes in a very remarkable statement made by Gneisenau, who -was the chief of staff to the Prussian army which Blucher commanded -in chief. He was the thoughtful brain thereof, as his chief, old -Marshal “Vorwarts,” was the fighting leader. Excellent as the latter -was at carrying out with abundant energy a plan entrusted to him, -the devising of that plan was given to more able and accomplished -students of the art of war. Gneisenau was esteemed one of these, and -the Prussian plan of co-operation with Wellington is probably due -mainly, if not entirely, to him. This fact must be borne clearly in -mind in criticising his comments on the campaign in which he took so -prominent a part. Moreover, he was next in command to Blucher, and -was thus placed with the object of assuming supreme authority over -the Prussian army, should such an eventuality as the temporary or -permanent disablement of Blucher render his services necessary. Such an -eventuality occurred at Ligny, and the retreat to Wavre was therefore -directed by Gneisenau, although the final operations of the Prussian -army, which led to so brilliant a result as the battle of the 18th -June, were superintended by Blucher himself. Gneisenau’s position, -therefore, was difficult and delicate. In supreme command all the -honours of victory would be his; acting as second in command, only a -reflection of that glory would fall upon him. Some allowance must be -made, therefore, for his views with regard to the campaign, if only for -the sake of the possible reason that his judgment was embittered by the -fact that, in the opinion of the world, to Wellington and to Blucher, -not to Gneisenau, the successful issue of the most momentous battle -that the world has seen was mainly due. - -It is difficult to understand without some such charitable assumption -the bitterness of his remarks regarding the English Commander-in-chief, -which are so prominently brought forward in the fourth volume of his -life. Not only does he comment in an almost contemptuous spirit on the -early dispositions of Wellington before the hostile armies came into -contact, but he accuses him of a want of _camaraderie_ which is foreign -to the English character, and with which Wellington cannot fairly be -charged. - -None the less, the Prussian leader plainly and brusquely considers that -he was guilty of culpable slowness in concentrating after the French -had attacked Ziethen’s outposts on the Sambre on the 15th June, and -charges him with dilatoriness in issuing the necessary orders on the -receipt of the intelligence that the Prussian outposts were so engaged, -and with want of loyalty to his Prussian allies in not rendering them -active assistance at Ligny. - -The two first of these may be dismissed without comment. They were -matters of opinion, and, rightly or wrongly, Wellington took his own -view regarding them, and must abide, like other men, by his acts, and -submit to honest criticism. But the last is more serious, for it is not -only stated that Ligny would _not_ have been fought, had it not been -for Wellington’s asserted promise to help, but that he promised in case -of disaster to fall back, with a portion of the army at least, with -Blucher to the Rhine. Gneisenau’s charge is both venomous and explicit. -He compares his own impression with the want of cordial feeling that -undoubtedly frequently existed between the duke and the Spanish -generals in the Peninsula; but this is such an _ex parte_ statement as -to merit little rejoinder. - -The evidence of every officer who shared in the glories and troubles -of the Peninsular campaigns bears full testimony to the jealousy, and -want even of courtesy, sometimes shown by the Spaniards, both towards -the army that was fighting for the deliverance of the country and the -chief who commanded it. It was not Wellington only who experienced -this difficulty of operating with the Spanish allies of the British. -Lord Lynedoch[45] very fully supports the accusation of incompetency, -jealousy, and uncordiality against the Spanish generals. After the -battle of Barrosa, his letters and despatches refer frequently to his -own difficulties with them; and as a general officer acting somewhat -independently of the principal British army, his corroboration of the -generally received opinion is valuable and trustworthy. - -It is unjust in the extreme to draw any comparison between the want of -unanimity that frequently existed in Spain, and the enforced inability -of Wellington to come to the assistance of Blucher on the field of -Ligny. But Wellington wrote a letter, which is quoted in detail in Herr -Delbruck’s _Life of Gneisenau_, in which this controversy arises. It -runs as follows:-- - - “SUR LES HAUTEURS DERRIERE FRASNES, - _le 16 June 1815, á 10 heures et demi_. - - “MON CHER PRINCE,--Mon armée est situé comme il suit. Le corps - d’armée du Prince d’Orange a une division ici et à Quatre Bras - et le reste à Nivelles. La Reserve est en marche de Waterloo - sur Genappe, où elle arrivera à midi. La cavalerie Anglaise - sera à la même heure à Nivelles. Le corps de Lord Hill est à - Braine le Comte. - - “Je ne vois pas beaucoup de l’ennemi en avant de nous, et - j’attends les nouvelles de votre Altesse; et l’arrivée des - troupes pour decider mes operations pour la journée. - - “Rien n’a paru du côté de Binche ni sur notre droit.--Votre - très obeissant serviteur, - - “WELLINGTON.” - -Much capital is made out of this document. It is assumed that -Wellington made a promise which he must have known could not be -fulfilled. And the still graver charge is implied that the letter -was intentionally misleading. It seems scarcely credible that such -a view could be maintained, knowing the good feeling that obtained -between him and all the Prussian leaders except Gneisenau. Moreover, -Wellington’s own army was not so good, so homogeneous, or even so -numerically superior to that of the French as to render his chance of -fighting the emperor single-handed, when his troops were flushed with -victory, a successful one. The political feeling of the Belgians, the -sympathy undoubtedly felt by many with the French, a sympathy only half -concealed in many cases, would be an additional reason for his being -very far from desirous of in any way opposing the concentration of the -Allied armies. - -At the time specified there was, judging from his own statement as -to the reconnaissance, little doubt in his mind but that no serious -attack would be made on Quatre Bras; and he evidently intended to move -to Ligny unless prevented. As to the actual position of his corps, -he seemed to have indicated where they might possibly be by the time -when the letter was written, rather than where they actually were; the -errors in position of the different corps averaging ten miles. He seems -to have forgotten, however, that by the after order of 10 p.m. on the -15th June, Picton had been directed to march along the Namur road, only -“to the point where the road to Nivelles separates,” _i.e._ near Mont -St. Jean. Clausewitz’s view that the halt there was designedly made -until after the interview with Blucher is, as Colonel Chesney remarked, -“obviously inconsistent” with the known time of Picton’s appearance -with the leading division at Quatre Bras. As a matter of fact, he -apparently overrated his power of concentration and the movement of his -brigades, though there seems no reason to doubt but what they might -have been, on the whole, very nearly in the positions assigned had they -moved with ordinary speed. - -Be all this as it may, the battle of Quatre Bras began. At the cross -roads there, at 2 p.m. on the 15th June, were 7000 Dutch Belgians and -16 guns, against 17,500 French infantry and cavalry and 38 guns, who -speedily drove back the outposts at Frasnes, and were pressing them -still farther back through the wood of Bossu on the Allied right when -the first reinforcements came. These were Pack’s Brigade, composed -of the 42nd, 44th, 92nd, and 95th; Kempt’s Brigade, of 28th, 32nd, -79th, and 1st, and a Hanoverian Brigade of four battalions, with -two more batteries; and thus from 3.30 to 4.30 the Allies numbered -20,000 men with 28 guns, against 18,000 with 44 guns. Now, therefore, -Picton, with whom the duke “was barely on speaking terms,” made a -counter attack on the left, with the usual result that the fire of the -line drove back the enemy’s skirmishers which covered the advance of -their columns, and these, broken by fire against their mass and then -charged with the bayonet, fell back too. But on the other wing, the -right, there was some confusion. The Brunswickers there had fled, both -horse and foot, and their duke was wounded. The 42nd in the tall rye -grass were somewhat rolled up, as they were not in square, while the -44th, assailed in front as well as rear, faced both ranks outwards, -and reserved their fire to twenty paces. So the enemy’s charge swept -on across the field from right to left until the 92nd checked it -and compelled it to retire. Meanwhile, the Bossu wood on the right -was lost, and the French heavy cavalry in vain charged the British -squares, but broke up the 69th, whose order to form square had been -countermanded by the Prince of Orange. So the fight fluctuated until -between 5 and 6 p.m., when the Allied troops now numbered 32,000 men -and 68 guns (against 20,700 and 50 guns) by the arrival of the Guards -and some Brunswickers. Then the whole force advanced, and victory -rested with them. Thus the battle ended at about 6.30 p.m., and at that -time, even if D’Erlon had joined Ney, the French left would still have -been outnumbered. But Wellington, writes the ablest critic of this -momentous campaign, “at dusk, thirty hours after his first warning, had -only present at Quatre Bras three-eighths of his infantry, one-third of -his guns, and one-seventh of his cavalry. Truly, in holding his own, -the great Englishman owed something that day to fortune.”[46] - -This is really the gravamen of Gneisenau’s charge. During the night -the Allied right wing was reinforced to 45,000 men, but, short as -the distance between the wings was, showing how less intimate the -connection between the Allied armies was than it should have been, -Blucher’s left wing was beaten and in full retreat, and the English -general did not know the fact till late. - -So retreat was unavoidable, and was begun at 10 a.m. on the 17th. -Wellington was to fall back on the known position of Waterloo. Blucher -had promised to come with his whole army if he could. Napoleon had -despatched Grouchy with 33,000 men to prevent this, and keep the -Prussians on the move; but the emperor’s own ill health and failing -strength had again caused delay; so Grouchy started late, and Napoleon -wasted his time in rest and a review. - -The British retreat was well conducted in wretched weather, and despite -the heavy ground, there was some rearguard fighting, chiefly by the -cavalry on both sides. At length, on the sodden ground about Mont St. -Jean, both armies settled down for what rest was possible, and waited -for the dawn. Thus the British prepared for battle, with the hope that -Blucher, or the certainty that night, would come on the 18th June 1815. - -But still, with a firmness that seems degenerating into obstinacy, -Wellington persisted in his nervous anxiety for his right flank, as he -had done throughout, and stationed some 10,000 men out of his small -army at Hal. His excuse that the troops were inferior is futile, for he -had battalions of a precisely similar character on the battlefield of -Waterloo. He must have known, from the extent of front occupied, that -the bulk of the French army were in front of him. He must have guessed -that some considerable force had been despatched to keep the defeated -Prussians on the move. He knew that the distance of Hal was such as to -preclude the possibility of any further considerable detachment from -the main French army being made, as it would be entirely isolated from -the main battle. - -His force was none too strong to hold the position till Blucher came. -His centre was weak and reserves were insufficient. By ten o’clock, -thinks Shaw Kennedy, “it is difficult to understand how any fear for -the Hal road could have existed.” None the less he left ten thousand -men, under the Prince of Orange, not only unemployed, but likely to -remain unemployed. - -There, unfortunately for them, were left a brigade of Dutch Belgians -and one of Colvile’s Division, that of Johnston, comprising the 35th, -54th, 59th, and 91st Regiments. - -Whether Wellington ever rode to Wavre to personally arrange with -Blucher as to his co-operation or not, is one of those things which -cannot be proved. That it was quite possible, that the distance apart -of the two Allied armies was such that it could be easily done, that -Wellington, not unnaturally anxious, might have thought of it, all -might have been. But it is not proved, any more than the myth that -later on he hoped that “night or Blucher might come.” To accept the -first part of the wish as true would mean that the retreat of a beaten -or at least shaken army through a forest at night was a matter of no -difficulty, which is absurd; to assume the latter part is reasonable, -inasmuch as the blow so struck must have assailed the French rear. It -is probable he did see then the necessity of the Prussian help, and, -so seeing, might have tried to ensure it by a personal talk with his -stout-hearted ally. - -The position selected for the battle lies almost at right angles to the -road between Brussels and Charleroi, is about two miles long, and only -about three-quarters of a mile from that held by the French. Its folds, -of equal height with those held by the French, fairly concealed all the -troops but those immediately in front line; its gentle slopes merged -easily into those southward of it. On its left were the roads that led -to Wavre and Blucher, whose general line of march must inevitably lead -to an attack on the village of Planchenoit in rear of the French right -wing, and only about half a mile from their line of retreat by the -Charleroi road. - -The position, finally, had three strong advanced posts: on the right, -the Château of Hougomont; in the centre, the small farm of La Haye -Sainte; and on the left those of Papelotte, La Haye, and Smohain; -while the right wing, extending towards Braine la Leud, was somewhat -strengthened by Merbe Braine in rear of it. - -As this is the last and most momentous battle of the long war, it will -be well to examine briefly the dispositions made on both sides, for -what practically, then as now, were the three lines of battle. - -Commencing on the extreme left, where the ground was somewhat flat, -and to cover the right hand of the two roads by which the Prussians -intended coming if they could, were the brigades of Vivian and -Vandeleur, made up of the 10th and 18th Hussars, the 1st Hussars of -the King’s German Legion, and 11th, 12th, and 16th Light Dragoons; -Perponcher’s Dutch Belgians, holding in advance the farms in front, and -with one brigade (Bylandt’s) extended to their right, on the exposed -and open slopes of the ridge; Vincke’s and Best’s Brigades; Pack’s, -formed of the 1st, 3rd, 1-42nd, 2-44th, and 92nd; Kempt’s, whose right -rested on the Charleroi road, having the 28th, 32nd, and 79th, the -latter of which detached three companies in advance to hold the knoll -of La Haye Sainte, on the east side of the road. - -This formed the left wing of the first line. West of the Charleroi road -came Ompteda’s, Kielmansegge’s, and Halkett’s (30th, 33rd, 69th, 73rd), -the right of which rested where the Mound of the Lion now stands, and -Ompteda detached the 2nd light battalion of the King’s German Legion -to hold La Haye Sainte in advance; the two Guards Brigades under Byng -and Maitland (2nd Coldstream and 2nd and 3rd Foot Guards) extending to -the Nivelles road, with Hougomont held in front by the light companies -of the division of Guards and some Nassau and Hanoverian troops; and -then echeloned back came Du Plat’s Brigade and Adam’s Brigade (the -52nd, 71st, 2-95th, and 3-95th), in advance of which was extended -from Hougomont to well the other side of the Nivelles road (which -was abattised) the 4th Brigade, composed of the 14th, 23rd, and 51st -Regiments. Its right flank was covered by a squadron of the 15th -Hussars, which linked it to the Dutch Belgians at Braine la Leud. - -Thus the first line, often further subdivided into two parts, held the -ridge, with a series of advanced posts and advanced troops in front, -covered throughout by skirmishers. - -The second line, from right to left, was mainly cavalry. Grant’s -3rd Brigade (7th, 13th, 23rd Light Dragoons) to the Nivelles road; -Dornberg’s (23rd, 1st, 2nd Light Dragoons and one of the King’s German -Legion) to the Charleroi road; the 3rd Hussars of the King’s German -Legion; and across the Charleroi road Somerset’s Heavy Brigade (the -1st and 2nd Life Guards, the Royal Horse Guards, and the 1st Dragoon -Guards), with on its left Ponsonby’s Union Brigade, composed of the -1st, 2nd, and 6th Dragoons. - -In the third line behind the right was a Hanoverian Brigade in Merbe -Braine, and extended as far as the Charleroi road were the Hanoverian -Hussars, the Brunswick Corps, Collaert’s Division, and Lambert’s -Division (4th, 27th, 46th) when they came up. - -The artillery were distributed freely by batteries along the front of -the line, and some held in reserve; but there was no concentration -of artillery. The proportion of each line seems to have been, out of -50,000 infantry, for the advanced posts, 6000 men; in main or first -and second line, 31,000 men; in reserve, 13,000 men. These were formed -when in line two, three, or even four deep, and Shaw Kennedy formed Von -Alten’s Division, each battalion (or pair of battalions) in column on -a front of two companies, whence they at first formed line to re-form -column and square when attacked by cavalry. The whole of the front was -covered by skirmishers. But it will be noticed again how much stronger -the right wing is than the left, owing to the rooted and unfounded -conviction that Wellington held that his right would be chiefly -assailed. And yet it is evident that if the weak left wing were once -broken through, the battle might be lost. Thus the proposed point of -junction of the Allied armies, the junction that could alone inflict a -telling disaster on the French, this which was all-important to allied -as distinctive from local success, was more or less _en l’air_. - -On the French side also there were three lines, and these formed and -marched in eleven columns, of which four were to form the first, four -the second, and three the third line. They executed the movement in the -most perfect order. - -The first line was composed of Reille’s Corps, 15,000 strong, in two -lines of columns, ranks three deep, and having on its left the light -cavalry of the corps (fifteen squadrons in three lines); and D’Erlon’s -Corps (16,000 strong and similarly formed), the eleven squadrons of its -own light cavalry in three lines being on its right. - -The second line was composed of, from the left, Kellerman’s -Cuirassiers; in two lines fifty feet apart, Lobau’s Corps, in mass of -battalion columns; and the light cavalry of Daumont and Subervie and -Milhaud’s Cuirassiers. - -In the third line was Guyot’s heavy cavalry of the Guard, then the -Guard itself, drawn up in a column six lines deep, and on its right the -Lancers and Chasseurs of the Guard under Lefebvre. - -When any attack was made, the attacking force formed into a smaller -number of larger columns (D’Erlon’s Corps, for example, forming five), -and all were thickly covered by light infantry skirmishers. - -The artillery was more or less massed, especially on the right, and -came into action, on several occasions, as at La Haye Sainte, within -two hundred and fifty yards of the infantry. There is no doubt that -until the battle was well advanced, Napoleon believed he was going to -win. Reaching the field on the evening of the 17th, and finding the -enemy in position, he is reported to have said, “I wish I had the power -of Joshua to arrest the sun, that I might attack the enemy to-day.” -Even the next morning he, though imagining the Allied force in front -of him was superior in numbers, considered, “We have at least ninety -chances to a hundred in our favour.” - -Nor was Wellington less sanguine. Blucher had promised that “I shall -not come with two corps only, but with my whole army,” and Blucher -was likely to prove a man of his word; but the weather and the roads -rendered it improbable that he should join hands with him, seriously, -till the afternoon was well advanced. As he rode along the line -between 9 and 10 a.m. on the 18th, he was cheered. He was wearing a -blue frock-coat and white buckskin pantaloons, with Hessian boots -and tassels, a white cravat, a low cocked hat without a plume, but -ornamented with a black cockade for Britain, and three smaller for -Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands. In his right hand he carried -a long field telescope drawn out and ready for use. General Alava, -who joined him from Brussels, found him under a tree observing the -movements of the advancing French. “How are you, Alava?” said he, -laughing. “Bonaparte shall see to-day how a general of Sepoys can -defend a position!” - -The general conduct of the battle can best be briefly described by a -series of attacks or phases, though, naturally, the fire both of guns -and skirmishers along the entire front of battle throughout the day -never ceased. The first attack was made at 11.30 by Reille, against the -right at Hougomont, the artillery of that corps being reinforced by -Kellermann. This resulted in the British being driven from the wood and -garden of the house, but not from the buildings themselves. Still, it -had been a very close affair. The Guards, in falling back to the house, -had not time to close the door of the yard before the French were on -them, and severe hand-to-hand fighting ensued; but finally Colonel -Macdonnell and a few men managed to close it, killing all the French -who had penetrated. It was the narrowest escape of capture Hougomont -had. As it was, some of the outbuildings were in flames, and the fire, -curiously enough, only ceased at the feet of a wooden image of our -Saviour. - -The second attack was delivered at 1.30 by D’Erlon, against the left -and centre, with the whole of his corps, first in four great columns, -and finally, as the right-hand column split in two against the farms, -into five. But though they temporarily gained Papelotte and the gardens -of La Haye Sainte, the only tangible success on the French side was -the retreat in some haste of Bylandt’s Brigade. One of the main causes -of the failure of the attack was the vigorous offensive taken by -Ponsonby’s and Somerset’s Brigades. It was during this period that -Picton, who had been wounded at Quatre Bras and concealed it, fell dead -while cheering on Kempt’s Brigade; and Sergeant Ewart of the Greys, and -Captain Clarke of the Royal Dragoons, each by the capture of an eagle -in the charge, gained for those regiments the distinction of the eagle -badge on their appointments. The charge of the Heavy Brigade, too, -must have recalled mediæval days, for, meeting the French Cuirassiers, -the clash of weapons upon armour was, as Lord Somerset said, “like so -many tinkers at work.” When the French fell back to re-form, La Haye -Sainte, the real key of the position, was reinforced, but only by two -companies, and the 92nd Regiment had by then been reduced to less than -300 strong. The French cavalry attack began at 4 p.m. on the right -centre. The fierceness of the attack had lulled for a while; there had -been no effort of a serious nature against the right during the second -phase. The cannonade continued there, as it did equally on the left -after D’Erlon fell back. - -But now there was to be a change in the method of attack, and Milhaud’s -Cuirassiers, forty squadrons strong, crossing from the right, advanced -into the gap between La Haye Sainte and Hougomont,--a frontage of -about 1000 yards only,--to attack in lines of columns the British and -other regiments opposed to them, which threw themselves into squares. -Thrice Milhaud attempted to break them, and, failing, was driven back -by the British cavalry to re-form. Then, at 5 p.m., those who were -left, together with Kellermann and Guyot, seventy-seven fresh squadrons -in all, made the same desperate effort. But by six o’clock this too -had failed. The ground was strewn with the bodies of horses, lancers, -cuirassiers, carbiniers, chasseurs, horse grenadiers, hussars, light -and heavy dragoons, and the mighty mass of horsemen was practically -destroyed, and that mainly by infantry and artillery fire. - -Now the Prussian army was fully _en évidence_. As early as 4.30, -Bülow’s corps from Wavre had reached the field, and had so hotly -engaged the French that Lobau’s corps and the cavalry division of -Subervie and Daumont had been detached to oppose him; and by six -o’clock they had to be reinforced, from Napoleon’s last reserve, by -eight battalions of the Guard, or one-third its total strength, when -Blucher had developed on, and in rear of, the French right flank, -29,000 infantry and 64 guns. The second attack on the centre by Ney -occurred between five and six. It was mainly directed on La Haye -Sainte, which was carried after desperate fighting, and the poor -remnants of the King’s German Legion, who had fought magnificently -until they were short of ammunition, were almost annihilated. Hougomont -and the whole of the right centre had meanwhile been again assaulted, -though without result; but when La Haye Sainte fell, the English centre -was, for a brief space, broken. The French, pressing in, inflicted -heavy losses on the brigades on either side of the Charleroi road, -especially those of Ompteda and Kielmansegge. Between Halkett’s brigade -on the west of the Charleroi road, and Kempt’s on the right, there was -a great gap. So dire had been the slaughter, that at one time the duke, -pointing to a mass of killed and wounded men of the 28th and 73rd, -asked what square that was so far in advance. It was a critical moment -in the battle. - -But here Wellington’s coolness in the ordering of a battle stood him in -good stead. Says Kennedy: “This very startling information he received -with a degree of coolness, and replied to in an instant with such -precision and energy as to prove the most complete self-possession, -and left on my mind the impression that his Grace’s mind remained -perfectly calm during every phase, however serious, of the action; that -he felt confident of his own powers of being able to guide the storm -which raged around him; and from the determined manner in which he -then spoke, it was evident that he had resolved to defend, to the last -extremity, every inch of the position which he then held. His Grace’s -answer to my representation was in the following words, or very nearly -so:--‘I shall order the Brunswick troops to the spot, and other troops -besides. Go you and get all the German troops of the division to the -spot that you can, and all the guns that you can find.’” - -So the gap was filled and the danger ceased; but, “most fortunately, -Napoleon did not support the advantage his troops had gained at this -point by bringing forward his reserve, proving that he did not exert -that activity and personal energy in superintending and conforming to -the progress of the action, which he ought to have done.” - -It was all too late now. Ney had pressed for reinforcements, to -receive the reply, “_Où voulez-vous que j’en prenne? Voulez-vous que -j’en fasse?_” How could he indeed? Blucher was close at hand now with -three corps, and was forcing the French right and rear from Smohain to -Planchenoit, with 52,000 infantry and 104 guns. - -The fifth and last French attack was made at 7.30, with the Guard on -the right centre, and these, with all other available divisions and the -cavalry, made for the first time a general assault along the entire -line. - -Ten battalions of the Guard formed into two columns and pushed up the -slopes between La Haye Sainte and Hougomont, covered by skirmishers; -but the storm of fire in front, and especially in flank, by Colborne’s -judicious management of the 52nd, was too severe. A gallant effort -was made by the picked soldiery of France to crest the blood-stained, -well-defended heights; but the game was played out, and “the Guard -turned and fled.” “_Tout est perdu_,” said the half-broken host. “_La -Garde est répousée_”; and even Napoleon at the failure of this final -effort repeated the saying, and finished with, “_Sauvons nous_.” As -the French fell back, the whole Allied line advanced, and though the -defence of Planchenoit still continued up to this moment, that village -too was carried, and the French army of Waterloo ceased to be, and -fled in utter rout to France. It was eight o’clock, and by that time -the loss since the passage of the Sambre amounted to at least 40,000 -French, and 30,000 of the Allied troops. - -No account of this great and most decisive battle is complete without a -further reference to the Prussian co-operation, and the action Grouchy -may have taken to interfere and prevent what, if it were successful, -must have been decisive as to result. At the end, one French corps, -some battalions of the Guard, and two cavalry divisions were face to -face with some 50,000 men. It will be remembered that Grouchy had been -despatched from Ligny late on the 17th, to prevent this very union of -the Allied wings. - -He was 33,000 strong, with 96 guns, and by 8 a.m. on the 18th, the -morning of Waterloo, was nearing Wavre. It was at Sart-le-Walhain that -he heard the cannon-roar of battle to his left. What was he to do? -Nowadays he would have moved to the sound of the guns, and, however -it might be matter of opinion, such a course would have, to say the -least, not have lessened the helpfulness of the task his chief had -given him. His object was to keep the Allies apart. What he did, did -not. He attacked the Prussians in front of Wavre. To have crossed the -Dyle above Wavre, difficult though it was, might have had two results. -First, he would have turned the Prussian position there where the -stream was less difficult. He must have isolated the corps at Wavre, -and _might have_, by appearing on the flank of the Prussian column of -march on Smohain and Planchenoit, forced one other corps at least, to -form front towards him, and thus checked or “contained” two of the -enemy’s corps. He might have done more with this half-beaten army. -But most of all, he would have, and must have, as the day went on, -by prolonging the French right at Planchenoit, prevented the direct -advance of Blucher on the French right rear and line of retreat. His -very appearance between the Dyle and Planchenoit would have had an -effect, possibly considerable, on the Prussian army. It is immaterial -whether, as the hours flew by, Grouchy could have joined hands with -Lobau at Planchenoit. Blucher might have and would have got one -corps by Sart-le-Walhain on the British left; but it is possible -that all his other corps would have been checked, facing the unknown -danger of Grouchy, between the field of Waterloo and the passages at -Wavre. Doubtless Napoleon made a mistake in not giving Grouchy a more -free hand. He, Grouchy, feared his great chief, and thought literal -obedience to orders was more important than translating those orders. -Not that Grouchy’s appearance near the great field would have prevented -disaster; but it might have prevented rout. There _might_ have been -more men to call on, say the eight battalions of the Guard, when Ney -most wanted them in his further effort against the English centre, and -La Haye Sainte had fallen. Grouchy attacked in front the strongest -part of the Prussian line of defence. Had he _turned_ it, he would -have carried out both his literal and his factual orders to keep the -Prussians back from joining Wellington. - -Hence, as Napoleon himself said, “This morning we had ninety chances -for us; this arrival of Bülow loses us thirty.” - -But Blucher, unmolested, had only difficult ground to traverse, wearied -troops to encourage, and his promise to help Wellington to keep his -energy at its highest. He was not threatened in his march. Thielemann -could hold Wavre, and so, desperately playing the bold game, he won -success. It was “_toujours l’audace_” over again. He had promised to -come with all he could bring, and he nobly fulfilled his promise. Never -was there a better leader of men in a time of sore anxiety. He knew -he could call upon the personal hatred of Prussians, who remembered, -themselves or through their people, the French occupation of their -country not many years before. His cheering cry in that heavy march, -of “_Kinder, ihr wollt doch nicht dass ich wortbrüchig werden soll_” -touched the heart of every weary, tired man, and “Englishmen ought -never to forget it,” because it made Waterloo not merely a victory, but -a rout. The hard defensive battle is due to the men, both Germans and -English, Wellington commanded. The utter collapse of the French is due -to Blucher’s steadfastness of purpose, and to Grouchy’s too literal -obedience to Napoleon, and his fear of disobeying his direct command. -None the less Grouchy, useless as a subordinate who had to translate -literal orders into practical action, a good divisional leader when -under distinct orders rather than a semi-independent commander, acting -according to his dim “regulation” lights, saved the remnants of his -force with great skill, and might have done more. To the British army -is due much of that marvellous victory, but not all. Until Colonel -Chesney wrote the Waterloo Lectures, all foreign students of the -campaign looked askance at the claim of the British army to have been, -as for long years it was asserted to be, the only great factor in the -great fight. No proud nation should fear to recognise such external -help, and yet, less than fifty years ago, all British soldiers were led -to believe that they alone had won the hard-fought battle, and that -Prussian help at Waterloo was a mere incident, not a great element in -the victory that is due to both. - -[Illustration: _Formation of the Lines of Battle at Waterloo 17^{th} -June 1815._] - -Thus was Waterloo fought, and lost, and won. “All might have failed, -but for the astonishing staunchness of the English and German infantry -in Wellington’s army. Nothing, in war or in peace, is so trying to the -nerves as passively to await deadly peril, making no effort to avert -it. And never probably in war was greater strain of this nature put -upon troops, than fell on Alten’s and Picton’s divisions at Waterloo. -The Guards and Hanoverians who held Hougomont had more prolonged and -exciting conflict, the heavy cavalry did magnificent service: to -Maitland’s Brigade, and still more to the 52nd, belongs the conspicuous -glory of having given the last crushing blow. But, after all, the chief -honour belongs to the English brigades of Halkett, Kempt, and Pack, and -to the Germans who stood by their side.”[47] - - * * * * * - -The conclusion of the campaign offers but few points of interest. -The Prussians mainly carried on the pursuit, and it must have been -embittered by all the dreadful history of the past. One can understand -the troopers sabreing till arms were weary, with “_that_ for Jena, -and _that_ for Austerlitz.” There were skirmishes at Namur, Laon, -and Cambrai; Peronne “la Pucelle,” was stormed; and within eighteen -days since the French crossed the frontier, the Allied armies were -before Paris, which soon capitulated, and the great war was over. The -last shot was fired on the 3rd July 1815, when the advanced guard of -the 16th Light Dragoons were entering Paris. Then Ney, “le brave des -braves,” was shot, and Napoleon, surrendering himself to his ancient -enemy, the English, finished his days at St. Helena. - - * * * * * - -During the prolonged war, which was almost continuous from 1793 -to 1815, the actual and permanent increase to the army list had -been considerable, though there had been many fluctuations. Second -battalions to many regiments had been formed, disbanded, restored, and -in some cases given a separate existence. Up to 1805, moreover, the -period of service had been usually for life, but in that year it was -fixed at seventeen years, with the power of re-engagement for twelve -years more. - -In 1793, the twelve regiments of infantry, numbering from the 78th to -the 89th inclusive, had been formed. The 90th in Perthshire, and the -91st in Argyllshire, had been raised by private enthusiasm, the former -by “Sir Thomas Graham,” and hence called his “Perthshire Greybreeks,” -from the colour of their breeches; and the latter by the Duke of -Argyll, though it then was numbered the 98th. But the 5th Royal Irish -Dragoons was disbanded for disloyalty during the Irish Rebellion, -though there is but little evidence that the disaffection was general. -It is curious to notice how the frequent and serious cases of mutiny in -the navy found no parallel in the army. Even the above was undoubtedly -much exaggerated, and so strong was the loyal feeling in the army that, -in 1798, the 2nd Queen’s subscribed £100 for the discovery of the -author of sundry seditious pamphlets that were being circulated. - -Dress had often changed, though merely in minor details, The -three-cornered hat was replaced, about 1796, by a cylindrical hat, -somewhat like the modern “stovepipe” headdress, but with the side -turned up with a cockade and feather. Black cloth leggings replaced the -white spatterdashes. Powder disappeared in 1796, but pigtails, though -shortened to 7 inches in 1804, were not abolished altogether until -1808. How so ridiculous a fashion had been retained so long it is hard -to imagine. Men were helpless to finish off their headdress for parade -by themselves. “Tie for tie,” and “plait for plait,” was the general -cry in every barrack-room, and woe to the man who had no friend to help -him! The only trace of the absurd custom is the black silk “flash” worn -on the collars of the officers of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. - -The old Hussar dress, with its swinging pelisse, was introduced from -Hungary, where it was the national attire, about 1806, when the 7th, -10th, and 15th Light Dragoons adopted the new name of “Hussars,” and -wore a scarlet shako, instead of the former headdress, the busby; -while by 1820, the 9th, 12th, 16th, and 17th Light Dragoons were armed -with the lance, and appeared in the _Army List_ as Lancers. For their -services at Ciudad, Badajoz, and San Sebastian, the Engineers became -the “Corps of Sappers and Miners.” - -One noticeable thing relating to the Highland forces had occurred in -the early part of the period under consideration. Between 1793 and -1809, Scotland had willingly furnished some 70,000 men to fill the -ranks of her national section of the army. But North Britain was not -populous, and the supply of men, more than such a country could afford, -began to fail. There were then one cavalry and nineteen infantry -regiments serving with the colours and wearing the tartan; but already, -as too often occurs at the present time, there were many regiments -which perforce were recruited in England, and were only Scottish by -name and dress. Hence it was that six of these regiments, the 90th, -91st, 72nd, 74th, 75th, and 94th, were ordered to abandon the kilt, and -adopt the ordinary line uniform. - -There had been many changes in the form of the sword. At first a broad -two-edged blade, a heavy, hacking weapon with a cross hilt, it was -designed to wound men in armour. Not that, apparently, they ran much -danger, for in many a battle few were killed. The wounds received in -action appear to have been chiefly contusions.[48] The mace or axe was -in armoured days probably more effective than the sword. As armour was -abandoned, and the mail gauntlet discarded, so the hilt became more -complex (as in the so-called modern “claymore” hilt), to guard the -naked, or merely gloved hand. The weapon itself was now made to thrust -as well as cut, and the lighter and thinner blade was stiffened and -strengthened (as in bayonets) with grooves. Finally, about the end -of the last century, and for long after, the merely thrusting rapier -was almost universal, save the hanger or cutlass used by bluejackets. -But fashions change, and the rapier blade widened out into the modern -cut-and-thrust sword, and the simple shell-like rapier guard again -spread out to cover hand and wrist. Swords were worn by the rank and -file of the British infantry battalions up to 1745, the grenadiers -carrying them seventeen years longer. - -[Illustration: _Spears & Swords._ - - _Pike_ - _BlkBill_ - _Partisan_ - _Lochaber Axe_ - _Halberd Geo: II._ - _Halberd Geo: III._ - _Spontoon 1820_ - - _1350_ - _1580_ - _Scheavona 1600_ - _Claymore 1700_ - _Rapier 1800_ - _Modern 1896_ -] - -No infantry weapon has exercised so powerful an influence on the -destinies of mankind as the sword. The _gladius_ conquered the world -not merely because it was a true steel weapon and an excellent fighting -tool, as compared with those of the nations the Romans had to meet, -but because it was carried by men who knew its value. Morale--moral -courage--is induced by a knowledge that one’s weapons are superior to -those of the antagonist. The good sword implies a personal courage, -the intention of closing with the adversary, and an individuality -that no other weapon possesses. At times it had its special religious -aspect. The cross of the Crusader’s sword was the emblem to him of -his faith and of his cause. His prayers said before it, a consecrated -weapon, had all the reverence that would have been attached to prayers -before the Crucifix; his oath upon it was as an oath on the Cross of -Christ. At all periods a ceremonial weapon, now it is mainly so. The -two-handed Sword of State has been carried before kings and princes -and potentates from early days even until now. The dress sword of the -Lord Mayor means but guardian power. The State sword worn by a court -official but implies the defence of the sovereign’s person, and the -right of those surrounding the throne to carry arms. At all times it -has been the emblem of personal authority and governance. - -Highly prized as heirlooms in those days when swords were rare, they -often appear in the chronicles of ancient wills. Æthelstan mentions in -his will “the sword of King Offa, the sword which Ulfeytel owned, and -that with the silver hilt which Wulfric made.” Similarly, in old Japan -the father’s sword was a precious heirloom, a sacred charge, and this -feeling has been common among all nations where the profession of arms -was held to be noble, and the arms themselves consequently revered. -Mrs. Norton has touched this chord very tenderly in one of her poems-- - - “Tell my mother that her other sons will comfort her old age, - For I was but a truant bird, who thought his home a cage; - For my father was a soldier, and even as a child, - My heart leaped forth to hear him tell of struggles fierce and wild. - And when he died and left us to divide his scanty hoard, - I let them take whate’er they would, but kept my father’s sword; - And with boyish love I hung it where the bright light used to shine, - On the cottage walls of Bingen, fair Bingen by the Rhine.” - -This very feeling caused a certain amount of personality to be attached -to the sword itself. Thus, swords have had fanciful names, as Cæsar’s -“Crocea Mors” (yellow death), Charlemagne’s “Joyeuse,” Mahomet’s “Al -Battar” (the beater), Ali’s “Zulfagar,” and King Arthur’s “Excalibur.” -In other cases they bore mottoes, such as on the Scotch sword which -has-- - - “At Bannockburn I served the Bruce - Of which the Inglis had no ruse;” - -and an Italian blade has on it-- - - “Draw me not without cause, - Sheath me not without honour.” - -In other cases the mottoes are of a religious cast as “_In te Domine_,” -“There is no conqueror but God,” “Do not abandon me, O faithful God,” -and so on. Lastly, some swords bear the names or monograms of the -places where they were made, or persons who forged them. Thus Solingen -in Germany and Sahagun in Spain were noted for sword blades, and the -former is so still. Many of the early makers take their names from the -town in which they worked or were born, as Alonzo de Sahagun and Andrea -di Ferrara did. - -After the close of the Peninsular War, the usual rapid reduction of -the national armed strength followed. Hardly had Wellington returned -to England than the Volunteer and Yeomanry Corps, as well as the -militia, were disembodied; but, for the first time, there was a delay -in the reduction of the _regular_ forces. The prolonged war had still -further, for a time at least, caused the nation to forget its former -prejudice against a standing army. It had got accustomed, at least, -to its existence, and on the civil life of the country was reflected -the military glory won by its sons in foreign war. There had been -much almost personal antagonism to the pretensions and aggressions -of France, and this had led, more than anything else perhaps, to the -feeling that the army was after all but an integral portion of the -Commonwealth, and need not be, and had no intention of being, hostile -to the national peace at home. To this gradual increase in political -freedom was added less fear of the sovereign. The time had passed -since any King of England either could, or would, use the army (in the -way the Stuarts wanted to do) as a means of repressing the people or -their freedom. Englishmen had got over this childish dread lest the -soldiery should be used actively against them. The national police -that had protected abroad the commerce of the land and kept its shores -practically inviolate was no longer feared. It was expensive now. That -was all. - -The reductions in the time to come, therefore, were but economic -questions, and when the national pocket was pinched, the army was -reduced as the readiest and easiest means of meeting the deficit. It -was no longer feared, had even become respected and respectable; but -its keeping up was a matter of taxation. All reformers seek to reduce -this burden, and what so easy as to lessen the cost of a machine, the -value of which in the past may have been great, and only possibly might -be of equal value in the future? But in the immediate present (at any -period in this century) the reformer merely looked at things as they -then were, and carefully put off till the to-morrow what it would -have been less costly to do quietly to-day. Such politicians do not -see that the ominous war-cloud means war risks, greater haste, higher -prices, and more expenditure. But it matters little to them so long as -retrenchment, whether wise or not is immaterial, comes to them. “What -has posterity done for them,” that they should trouble about a future -that only concerns their children? And yet, if these same economists -were to put off life insurance until age and waning health came, they -would consider such a course more than unbusiness-like. The nation -had by sheer force of circumstances been led to see the value of the -national insurance--the army; but it was reluctant to effect as sound -an insurance in this respect as the case needed. The story of all -voluntary armies has practically been the same. - -With the cessation of hostilities came the shower of rewards, but with -a considerable reservation. Ensigns of the Guards were to rank as -lieutenants, and the 1st Foot Guards were made “Grenadiers.” Generals -were made peers, and the knighthood of the Bath expanded to decorate -others. But Tommy Atkins, who did the fighting? He got nothing, save -discharge on a full or a limited pension, ranging between sixpence and -a shilling a day, or Chelsea Hospital! His sole reward was the increase -of pay of his sergeant-major, the addition of a colour-sergeant at -two-and-fourpence a day to each company, and, some thirty years later, -for those who survived--a medal! Never were the rank and file of an -army that had done so much rewarded at so exceedingly cheap a rate. - -The necessity for keeping the regular army on a war footing after 1815, -still remained so long as there was an army of occupation, 25,000 -strong, to be kept in France. In 1816, therefore, the numerical -strength of the army was 175,615 men, exclusive of those employed in -India. But when that occupation ceased, a reduction of 26,000 men -followed as a matter of course, and most of the cadres of regiments -were reduced to a very low peace strength. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -THE ARMY AFTER THE LONG PEACE--THE CRIMEA, 1854 - - -Reference has already been made to the reduction of the army after -Waterloo. When warlike enthusiasm died out, and the cost of the -war--some £800,000,000--had been grasped, the natural reaction came. -Retrenchment “all along the line” was natural; but though the numbers -were reduced to a weak peace footing, few regiments actually ceased to -exist. The old 100th, 99th, 98th, 97th, 96th, 95th, and 94th Battalions -were disbanded. Many regiments received fresh numbers. Hence the army -in 1821 numbered 99,224 men, with 20,000 in India; but there was a -slight increase to the infantry in 1823, when the 94th, 95th, 96th, -97th, 98th, and 99th reappear, and a further increase of 7,000 in -1831 because of Irish discontent; but this was again reduced, to be -increased in 1848. In 1837 the army consisted of ninety-nine regiments -of the line, with the Rifle Brigade, but was extremely weak in the -matter of the artillery and cavalry. - -The dread of war died with the banishment of the great emperor to St. -Helena, and was buried with his death. Europe was at peace for many a -year, and people, foolish then as now, could not read by the lessons -of the past that no perfect or continual peace was possible until the -millennium came. Even those who looked forward to that event did not -read prophecy correctly. There were to be “wars and rumours of wars,” -but the people sat quietly down and dreamed of a continual peace, which -was as impossible as a continual war. - -Exhaustion follows great warlike efforts, and exhaustion, of a -different kind, follows prolonged peace. There is “a deal of human -nature about man,” and there is at the bottom of most of us an old -combative spirit that, however concealed by common conventional life, -is none the less still smouldering below the surface, and quite ready -to break out into a flame. - -The exhaustion of war requires repose: that of peace requires -excitation, as the future proved. No war has ever been seriously -unpopular in England--_after a long peace_. Man is a pugnacious animal -at the heart of him, and woman is little better! The red coat, the -“scarlet fever,” appeals to both sexes, and the most peace-loving woman -in the world would rather see her brother or her lover die the death -for country’s sake, than see him stay at home if his soldier’s work lay -elsewhere. - -Still, a great reaction, national and personal, had followed all -these years of nearly continuous war. No wonder the army was reduced, -and, to avoid further reduction, hidden away. The civilian idea that -armies could be raised anyhow, that any man was not only fit for, but -could be easily made, a soldier, was as common then as now. Yet if -these well-meaning people, people of business, had been asked if any -of their clerks could be so improvised, such a remark would have been -met by a scornful negative. Curious to remember that people who think -so are absolutely ignorant of the training in rapid decision, quick -initiative, and perfect coolness, which in the midst of battle and -sudden death the soldier, and still more his leader, has to show. But -human nature is human nature. Civilians held the purse-strings, and the -army suffered. The canker of peace rusted all things until the rude -awakening of the Crimean War, and then those who complained most of the -undoubted errors committed were the very descendants of those who had -refused in every way to keep sound and commercially intact that great -national insurance--the army. - -But for India and the far East, the practice in the fighting trade -would have been little or nothing for forty years! The history of the -army from 1820 to 1854 is mainly domestic. Thus, between 1821 and 1827 -the Household Cavalry had the cuirass restored; the list of battles on -the regimental colours was increased, and regimental histories ordered -to be written (by Mr. Cannon, of the War Office) by royal command; -trousers took the place of leggings, and short boots and “Wellingtons” -came into being; and when the Deccan prize-money was distributed, the -general commanding these operations received £44,201, and the private -soldier 19s. 10d.! - -In 1827 the Duke of York died, and was succeeded the next year by the -Duke of Wellington. - -The late Commander-in-Chief was by no means a great general, and had -lacked both tact and judgment, as was shown by his entanglement with -Mrs. Clarke, which led to a heated debate in the House of Commons. -But he was honest in his endeavour to improve the army as a fighting -machine. When Sir Arthur Wellesley was a member of Parliament, he -bore willing testimony to the work His Royal Highness had done. -“Never was there army in a better state, as far as depended on the -Commander-in-Chief, than the one he had commanded,” was his successor’s -honest opinion in 1808 regarding His Royal Highness. There is little, -if any, evidence that he was personally aware of the somewhat doubtful -transactions that had been carried on, and his rigid integrity in all -other matters had won him the respect of the army, when he finally -ceased to command it in chief. - -The Duke of York was, after all, but a man of his time. He had -condescended to fight a duel with Colonel Lennox in the days of his hot -youth. He had behaved with coolness and intrepidity in Holland when the -14th Foot and the Guards had distinguished themselves at Famars and -Lincelles. He was notorious for his courtesy at his numerous levées. -He behaved with dignity, certainly, in the unfortunate campaign of -1799. He had the interest of the army at heart, as is evidenced by his -dying words to Sir Robert Peel, when he said, “I wish that the country -could compare the state of the brigade which was to land in Lisbon -in 1827 with that which landed at Ostend in 1794.” A contemporary -opinion stating that “No man of his high rank, since the days of Henry -IV. of France, had ever conciliated more personal attachments, or -retained them longer,” is sufficient eulogy of his private worth, if -his military career be not remarkable for any marked success. - -[Illustration: _Private 24^{th} Reg^{t} 1840._] - -The last pike carried by the infantry, the sergeant’s spontoon, from -its use as protecting the captain of the company while leading or -directing his command--disappeared in 1830, and was replaced by a -“fusil and bayonet.” The sergeant’s firearm long remained shorter than -that of the rank and file. The head-dress had been frequently changed, -and by 1840 was a heavy-topped shako with badge, and with a ball or -plume in front. The coat, or “coatee,” was swallow-tailed and buttoned -to the throat, and was ornamented with epaulets or “scales,” the cuffs -and collar showing the regimental facings. The sword was supported by -a “frog” from a cross-belt over the right shoulder, on the front of -it being a small square brass “breastplate” carrying the regimental -devices. - -The small brass “duty gorget,” long worn as a badge of being on duty, -suspended by a ribbon round the neck, represented the last body armour -for the protection of the shoulders; while so the “breastplate” was, in -name at least, a survival of the cuirass. - -The soldier’s bayonet was also supported by a belt over the right -shoulder, and was balanced by a cross-belt over the other shoulder, -which carried the only ammunition pouch. The man’s personal kit was -contained in a knapsack, on the top of which the rolled greatcoat was -strapped. - -The drill remained practically the same from 1792 until after the -Crimean War. Editions of the Drill book published by Dundas were -issued in 1809, 1815, and 1817, though the alterations are trivial; -but in 1824, when Sir Henry Torrens revised it, greater celerity was -infused into some of the manœuvres, the “quick march” of 108 paces a -minute being now generally used, except for mere parade. The two-deep -formation became the rule, though drill for forming both three and -four deep was retained, and a temporary effort was made to introduce -the “bayonet exercise,” but this was very soon abandoned. - -During Wellington’s first year of office as Commander-in-Chief, -the yeomanry were remodelled. The system of limited enlistment was -discontinued for a time, and there was much malingering in the army by -men who tried by such means to get their discharge; but in 1833 the -limit of enlistment was fixed at twenty-five years, and in 1847 at ten, -with the colours, and the power of completing twenty-one years for -pension. The soldier’s “small book,” containing his personal record, -etc., was introduced, and as the typical pattern was made out in the -name of a supposititious “Thomas Atkins,” the now familiar name of -“Tommy Atkins” as the nickname of the private soldier came to be. - -Between 1829 and 1839 there is little of note except the increase in -the literature relating to the army. It was then that the _United -Service Magazine_, the _Army and Navy Gazette_, and the _Journal of -the United Service Institution_, first arose; and, save for Eastern -wars, the only other service seen by the line was in the Canadian and -West Indian troubles in 1832 and 1834, which were quelled by the 15th -and 22nd,[49] and a second Canadian rebellion, in 1839, which was -suppressed by the 24th, 32nd, and 66th. - -During the ten years between 1839 and 1849 duelling, which had -continued very prevalent, was abolished. The last fought in England -was between Mr. Hawkey of the Royal Marines and Mr. Seton of the 11th -Hussars, on the beach at Gosport, in which the latter was mortally -wounded. This was in 1845. - -Flogging, which it had often been proposed to abolish, was reduced to -fifty lashes in 1846, when good conduct medals and badges, as well as -gratuities for non-commissioned officers and military savings banks, -were introduced. Barrack accommodation was improved, regimental schools -introduced, and either proper married quarters, or lodging money to -men who married by permission “on the strength of the Regiment,” took -the place of the disgraceful system that had before obtained of the -married women sleeping in the same room as the men, the bed only being -curtained off. - -The school of musketry at Hythe was also inaugurated; and in 1851 the -principle of granting medals was extended to cover the Indian victories -from 1803 upwards. Medals for the long war and the recent Indian -successes were issued, but of all the host who upheld the national -honour when Napoleon ruled, only 19,000 recipients were found for the -Peninsular decoration, and but 500 for the victory of Maida! - -The next French “war scare” arose in 1847, because of a pamphlet, -written by the Prince de Joinville, pointing out the military -defencelessness of Great Britain, and the poor condition of our -defensive forces. This had never been more clearly pointed out than -when the Duke of Wellington wrote to Sir John Burgoyne: “It is -perfectly true that, as we stand at present, with our naval arsenals -and dockyards not half garrisoned, five thousand men of all arms -could not be put under arms, if required, for any service whatever, -without leaving standing, without relief, all employed on any duty, -not excepting even the guards over the palaces and the person of the -sovereign.” This was mainly the condition of the army when the Crimean -War broke out. The Royal Artillery had been slightly increased in 1847, -but in 1853, none the less, it was stated that there were not at home -fifty guns fit for service. - -But things were on the mend. Examinations for admission to the army -were introduced, to the dismay of those who had hitherto gained -commissions therein solely by family or other influence. The arms, -too, were improving. Minié had invented a bullet, expanded by an iron -base-cup, which facilitated the rapid loading of the piece, which had -hitherto, with the Brunswick rifle, with its “belted ball,” and a range -of about 400 yards, been impossible. This began to be used in 1851. -The Great Exhibition of 1851 had introduced to the world the “Colt’s -Revolver.” As far back as 1842 the percussion lock, invented in 1807, -had taken the place of the Brown Bess, so called from the brown -tint given to the barrel, as distinct from the bright iron barrels -of foreign muskets; but it is stated that the duke was by no means -favourable to the supersession of the flint-lock by the chemically -charged cap. Judging from this, the actual armament of the whole army -with the English model of the Minié (the “Enfield” rifle of 1855), -which carried a bullet weighing sixteen to the pound, and of which a -man could only carry sixty rounds of ammunition, would have been to him -“Anathema Maranatha.” Similarly, the breech-loader had been introduced -to Napoleon in 1809, but the weapon, being probably imperfect, met -with little favour; none the less, the Prussians had already adopted, -by 1841, the breech-loading needle gun. But General Anson, then “Clerk -of the Ordnance,” had no fancy for such new-fangled ideas, a feeling -shared fully, by all accounts, with the Commander-in-Chief, who was -always irascible with inventors and their inventions. He did not -believe we “ought hastily to adopt any of these improvements”; and, as -to rifles, “it was ridiculous to suppose that two armies could fight -at a distance of 500 or 600 yards!” Even the Secretary of State for -War, afterwards Lord Panmure, stated that the weapons, that is, the -percussion musket, “were better than all the inventions that could be -discovered.” Certes, he lived long enough to be “sorry he spoke,” for -of the musket he so be-praised, it was officially declared, in 1846, -that “fire should never be opened beyond 150 yards, and certainly not -exceeding 200 yards,” for “at this distance half the number of shots -missed the target, measuring 11 feet 6 inches, and at 150 yards a very -large proportion also missed!” - -It is but forty years since these ideas were held, and rightly; but it -is curious, none the less, to note the extraordinary advance the art -of killing men has made since then. In 1822 it is deliberately stated -in a French report that “thus infantry is only formidable at about -100 yards.” In 1852, and thereabout, there were marked improvements -in firearms, and this, notwithstanding the continuance of the reign -of peace the “Great Exhibition” was supposed to inaugurate, and the -ominous distant growl of the war-thunder that was arising in the East. -With nations of different national characteristics, and in different -stages of national development, the quietude of a peaceful power is -looked on as but a synonym for weakness. National decadence and a -peace-at-any-price policy run, as all history proves, on very much -the same rails; the latter spirit is called up to cover or excuse the -former. So it was that the long peace was broken. If Russia had really -thought she would have to fight four powers and a “benevolent neutral,” -she might have held her hand, but the “Manchester School” talked much, -and foreign powers are disposed always to take the outcry of the -hysterical few in England for the solid opinion of the silent many. - -Some people, less influenced by the hysteria of those who, like the -Pharisee in the parable, air their opinions in the streets, or, like -Rudyard Kipling’s monkey-folk,--the “Bander-log,”--imagine, because -_they proclaim_, their proclamations must be true, were uneasy. The -best of the House of Commons were uneasy, and voted the Militia Bill, -which aimed at creating 80,000 permanent militiamen as a second line -of defence; a force that proved the justice of the view taken, by the -enormous help they gave the army when the new war began. It is saying -very little to assert that, without the militia from 1854 to 1856, we -could not have recruited the army at Sebastopol, any more than we could -have held our Mediterranean garrisons. - -Then there was a certain Colonel Kinloch who was uneasy. And he found -relief for uneasiness by starting the second Volunteer Movement. The -first was when Napoleon threatened to invade us. He wrote a very -valuable, because impressive, pamphlet, which attracted attention, and -actually led to the formation of volunteer corps, which, of course, -had little support from the Government; all the more because they were -anxious about their own pet child, the new “Militia Bill.” - -Then, lastly, there were the Secretary of State and the -Commander-in-Chief also anxious. And these relieved their anxiety by -doing the best possible thing they could, in establishing the camp -at Chobham, where field manœuvres were first seriously tried. Again -it is curious to see how history repeats itself. When the impressive -lesson of 1870 to 1871 aroused the national anxiety, the first camp -of instruction with real field manœuvres was started in 1871 by Lord -Cardwell, over much of the same area. - -In 1852 Wellington died, and, after a while, Lord Hardinge took his -place. That the “Iron Duke” had been uniformly and, on the whole, -extraordinarily successful, is evident. That he never saw the -greatest leaders until he met Napoleon at Waterloo, is equally so. -It was for long, and is, to some extent, still rank heresy to even -criticise his actions. But whatever confidence he may have gained by -his imperturbable coolness, he gained no man’s regard. The rank and -file trusted and believed in him to some extent. But there was not -one soldier who would have died with his name on his lips as many did -for his far greater antagonist--Napoleon. Men were obedient, save in -such retreats as Burgos, when Wellington’s influence was powerless -to check the disgraceful conduct of his army, but never devoted. He -rarely praised the men who fought, and died, and won battles, some -of which are distinguished by the absence of everything but that -bull-dog courage which the privates showed. He had a belief in himself -that seems at times arrogant, but he was patient, persevering, and -sagacious. No careful student of the art of war, _no foreign military -critic certainly_, has ever classed him among the greatest generals, or -thought his campaigns worth studying seriously. - -Gneisenau at Waterloo utterly mistrusted him, as has been shown, and -the feeling must have been created by Wellington himself. If half -the myths about him were true, they would be worth publishing as the -unwritten history of a great man with many faults. Of him Gleig, who -shared in the general admiration of him, is quite plain-spoken as to -his personal coldness. - -“Though retaining to the last a warm regard for his old companions in -arms, he entered very little with them, after he became a politician, -into the amenities of social life. We have reason to believe that -neither Lord Hill, nor Lord Raglan, nor Sir George Murray ever visited -the duke at Strathfieldsaye, nor could they, or others of similar -standing, such as Lord Anglesey, Sir Edward Paget, and Sir James Kempt, -be reckoned among the _habitués_ of his hospitable gatherings in Apsley -House. The circle in which he chiefly moved was that of fashionable -ladies and gentlemen.” - -The gallantry of Norman Ramsay’s battery at Fuentes d’Onoro met with -no praise from this imperturbable chief. Mercer’s unquestionably cool -and brave work with his battery at Waterloo was barely noticed by -his general. Mercer himself, in no very complimentary spirit, says -of his share in the great fight: “One day, on the Marine Parade at -Woolwich, a battalion coming up in close column at the double march, -Lieutenant-Colonel Brown, who stood near me, remarked, ‘That puts -me in mind of your troops coming up at Waterloo, when you saved the -Brunswickers.’ Until this moment I never knew that our having done so -had been remarked by anybody. But he assured me it was known to the -whole army; and yet the duke not only withheld that praise which was -our due, but refused me the brevet rank of major; and, more than that, -actually deprived me of that troop given me by Lord Mulgrave, the -then Master-General, for that action, as recommended by my commanding -officer, Sir G. Adams Wood. - -“That the duke was not ignorant of their danger, I have from Captain -Baynes, our brigade-major, who told me that after Sir Augustus Frazer -had been sent for us, his Grace exhibited considerable anxiety for our -coming up; and that, when he saw us crossing the fields at a gallop, -and in so compact a body, he actually cried out, ‘Ah! that’s the way I -like to see horse-artillery move.’ Another proof.” - -Few men had had greater good fortune than he. “With no opportunity -for the display of any kind of talent, he, after entering the army -as an ensign at seventeen, became captain, M.P., and A.D.C. to the -Lord-Lieutenant at twenty-one, lieutenant-colonel at twenty-four, -and colonel at twenty-six. Had Wellesley been the son of an obscure -gentleman he might, and probably would, with all his genius, have -served in India as a subaltern, in the Peninsula in various regimental -grades, and might have died, perhaps, a barrack-master on half-pay--a -lieutenant-colonel with half a dozen clasps.”[50] So writes one -historian of his life, and his view is shared by Brialmont, who thinks -that, when his brother became Governor-General of India, “without his -fraternal hand, he would probably have risen neither so quickly nor so -high.” - -And, finally: “The duke’s unpopularity, increasing with every stage -of his opposition to the Bill, reached such a height that, on the -anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, the once idolised victor in that -fight was hunted along the city by a mob, and escaped their violence -only by a fortunate accident.” - -None can deny that his rewards were ample. He had landed in the -Peninsula but the “Sepoy general,” who had, through family influence, -succeeded the man who won Seringapatam. He had received after Salamanca -£100,000, and, later on, was granted another £400,000. Talavera had -made him a viscount, and, but a few years later, he ranked as an -English duke, had received the Garter, and had been granted every -possible foreign rank and decoration. - -In 1854 the long peace was broken. Tactics had meanwhile scarcely -changed since the Peninsula. The English still fought in line, the -French more or less in column, and in both armies the deployment and -the advance were covered by light infantry skirmishers. The artillery -was that of 1815 to all intents and purposes. Only the telegraph -introduced a new and not always, from a military point of view, -valuable adjunct to warlike operations, as it led to the interference, -by ignorant people at home, with the conduct of operations of which -they could form no accurate judgment; and though this “opening up” -communication with the western countries greatly accelerated the -supply of whatever was wanted, “still, in the Crimean War, it enabled -Napoleon III. to worry the army incessantly with military ideas, which -Pelissier calmly disregarded.” Lastly, the use of steamships gave -greater rapidity and certainty in the transport of troops. - -Just before the war began the coatee was gradually superseded by the -tunic, which offered greater protection to the man than the previous -dress. Gradually epaulettes as well as scales ceased. - -The British army entered on its first European campaign, for nearly -forty years, side by side with its ancient enemies, for the first -time since the Crusades. In alliance with Turkey, to which after was -added Piedmont, it was proposed, at first, to carry on an active -campaign in the Balkan Peninsula against the Russian invasion of the -“principalities.” Russia’s appearance there, nominally to obtain -protection for the Christian subjects of the Porte, was based on the -hope of inheriting, or gaining by force of arms, the territory of the -“sick man,” or at least, by his destruction, to lead to a partition of -his territories, as had been effected before in Poland. Russia thought -little of the then newly made Emperor of France, Napoleon III., and -he, on his part, was by no means disinclined to adopt the Napoleonic -method, and to obtain security for his throne by war abroad, and -peace, with glory added, at home. England, owing to the outcry of the -“Manchester School,” had been regarded as a _quantité négligeable_ -then, as she has sometimes been since. The Czar hoped, at least, -that the canker of the long peace had so rusted her energies that -she might protest, but would do nothing more. But there were several -surprises for the autocrat, as his descendant found also in 1877 to -1878, before the wished-for end could be gained. Turks then, as later, -proved themselves somewhat stubborn fighters. To a man who believes in -Kismet, death has no real terrors, and there is only his own personal -_ego_, only his own personal nerve strength, to deal with. The quantity -is somewhat difficult of determining, and its determination marks -the difference between the brave man and the coward. Few know, or -can guess, the value of this personal equation until he is tried. -Sometimes, when that trial is made, it is too late to be of future -value. - -But the Turk tenaciously held his own in the valley of the Danube, -and England and France declared war. The real defeat of Russia was -not to be on pseudo-Turkish soil. Austria intervened by mobilising -a portion of her army, which therefore threatened the Russian line -of retreat, and in other ways paralysed her freedom of action. This -“benevolent neutrality,” like all such actions which are half-hearted, -made bad blood. No one rejoiced, privately, more than Russia did when -disaster befell Austria in 1866. Said, three weeks after Königgratz, -the governor of East Siberia, who had received the news partly by -telegraph, partly by steamer down the Amoor, when asked why he had -rejoiced that “the Austrians had been gloriously defeated at Sadowa,” -“We have never forgotten or forgiven Austria’s benevolent neutrality of -1854.” - -So Russia abandoned her first idea of carrying the war into the enemy’s -country, and had to prepare to defend her own. - -The Allied army had been landed, till all danger in that part was over, -at Varna, and had suffered terribly from sickness. Now the seat of war -was transferred to the Crimea, with the object of destroying both the -Russian base of operations in the Black Sea, and her prestige as well, -by the capture of Sebastopol. So the troops embarked; but while both -France and Turkey had to use their ships of war as transports, and -could not therefore convey cavalry, England, with a magnificent fleet -of transports for her troops and a fine squadron of warships to cover -them, was able to embark all three arms for the new seat of war. It was -something even in 1854 to be still a leading naval power. “No power but -England has, indeed, ever successfully despatched a complete army by -sea, at anyrate since the Crusades, save England.”[51] - -Thus were landed on the shores of the Crimea, which there run north and -south, on the small, well-protected beach of Balchuk Bay, a few miles -north of the Bulganak River, and about twenty-five miles north of the -principal objective, Sebastopol, a force of 28,000 French--they had -lost 10,000 men by cholera at Varna--and 7000 Turkish infantry, with 68 -guns and no cavalry, and the British army of 26,000 infantry, 60 guns, -and a light cavalry brigade of about 1000 sabres. The former forces -were commanded by Marshal St. Arnaud, the latter by Lord Raglan, and -were formed into five divisions, about 5000 men, each of two brigades, -each brigade of two regiments, and with each two field batteries. - -The siege train and the heavy cavalry brigade were awaiting embarkation -at Varna. Even then it had been contemplated that a siege was possible, -but there was an obstacle in the immediate way; for, behind the Alma -river, a few miles south of the Bulganak, the Russian army under -Mentschikoff had taken up a position for defence. The march began with -the English force inland on the left because it had cavalry to cover -its flank front and rear, with the Rifle Brigade forming the advanced -and rear guard; then came the French; and the Turkish contingent formed -the right of the advance, though in the column of march they followed -in rear of the French columns. The first day’s march was six miles. -The Russians had placed their army across the road from Eupatoria to -Sebastopol; but there were few troops west of the road, as the cliffs -bordering the brook were there steep, with only two difficult avenues -of approach, which might have been blocked or defended by field works, -while the plateau was exposed to the fire of the guns from the fleet. -Their right, however, rested on the Kourganè Hill, and on the slopes -below were some earthworks; while the presence of their cavalry on -the extreme right, necessitated (according to the principle of the -Peninsular days) that the left flank battalions of the English lines -should be in column ready to form square. - -The battle of the Alma is a fair type of the use of line _versus_ -column; and, be it remembered, that as it had survived the Peninsular -days so, very slightly modified, it remained in the British army until -1870. - -The French and Turks began the battle, but what happened on the right -can be dismissed with little comment. The difficulties were rather -those of ground than those created by the enemy, for there was little -resistance here. “Opposed to the English were at least two-thirds -of the Russians.” The Second and Light Divisions, the 30th, 55th, -95th, and 41st, 47th, 49th in the one, and the 7th, 23rd, 33rd, with -the 19th, 77th, 88th in the other, led in line of columns; the Third -and First, the former composed of the 1st, 38th, 50th, and the 4th, -28th, 44th, the latter of the Guards and the 42nd, 79th, 93rd, were -in second line; the Fourth Division, the 20th, 21st, 68th, 69th, and -the 1st Rifle Brigade echeloned on the left was in third line, and the -cavalry, 4th, 13th, 18th, 11th Hussars, and the 17th Lancers, formed -on the flank and rear. Each line deployed occupied about 2400 yards, -the first at about one mile from the enemy’s position; and not only -did this occupy much time, “several hours,”[52] but the deployment was -irregular and the advance slow. All the disadvantages of the linear -formation for attack were fully shown. Crossing the Alma, where at some -points the water was up to the men’s necks,[53] the dislocation of the -attenuated front became more manifest, while the loss was heavy. Still -the shattered and broken lines pressed on, but the Light Division had -to fall back, having lost 47 officers and 850 men, and the brigade of -Guards, with the Highlanders on their left, pressed into the fight. -Though they too were checked for a time, their advance and the front of -fire they developed were too much for the Russian columns. Assailed in -front by determined infantry, the Vladimir Regiment alone about this -time lost 49 officers and 1500 men, so Anitschkoff says, and, fired on -by two guns which Lord Raglan had fortunately got across the stream in -the very forefront of the battle, the great columns dissolved and fled. - -[Illustration: THE CRIMEA. - -1854-5.] - -But, throughout, the evil, from a military standpoint, of the long -peace was apparent. There was want of method in the attack and want -of supreme direction. The artillery was badly handled, and was used -without combined effort. It would have been wiser if the whole force -had made a flank attack on the Russian right, and both threatened -directly his line of retreat and penned him in against the coast.[54] -And, finally, the cavalry were not used at all. “I will keep my -cavalry in a bandbox,” said Raglan, which, however cautious, was not -“_l’audace_”; and so, partly due to French advice no doubt, there -was no pursuit and no rout. Once again, as often in the Peninsula, -the battle was won by the fighting power of the men rather than the -genius of the commander. Throughout, the cavalry, instead of spreading -widely for information, were kept close to the columns they should -have covered. Finally, while the Russians admit a loss of 6000 men, -the British suffered one of 2000, and that of the French was estimated -by Raglan at the most as three officers and 560 men. Two days were -then wasted, and on the 23rd the army made the magnificent march of -seven miles, and on the next day six more! With greater celerity -Sebastopol might, in all human probability, have been carried by -assault. So thought Todleben himself, the commanding engineer in the -Russian fortress, and he was no mean judge. The defeated army had -only garrisoned the fortress, and then proposed falling back into the -interior. There was, too, a dread of the fortifications themselves -on the part of the leaders of the British army, which is somewhat to -be wondered at, with the traditions of Badajoz and Ciudad Rodrigo -still not forgotten, by some at least. The works on the north side -of the harbour were deemed too formidable to attack; it was decided, -therefore, to make a flank march round the place and try the southern -side. It must be remembered that the general line of march was north to -south, that of the harbour east and west; and that beyond the upland -which lay behind the town, and which was to be the site of the coming -siege, were two harbours, Balaklava and Kamiesch, which might be used -as new bases of operation against the great fortress of the Crimea. - -So the most remarkable flank march in military history was begun. -Owing to the confusion that characterised much of the staff work of -the campaign, the general-in-chief found himself leading the entire -column, the advanced guard having lost its way (!), with behind him -thirty guns; and this through a thick wood. The British general was in -as complete ignorance that the Russian army was moving across his front -five miles away, as was Mentschikoff in equally blissful ignorance that -his enemy was crossing the rear of his column of march. Thus, not even -the true advanced guard, but some of the main column, cut off some of -the Russian baggage train. - -However, Balaklava was reached without further misadventure, the result -of blind accident rather than knowledge of how war should be conducted; -and the two armies settled down before Sebastopol on the Chersonese -Upland, the north side of which was formed by the south front of the -fortress, another by the sea, and the third by a cliff edge leading -down into the wide valley below the Tchernaya and Balaklava. Reversing -the order of attack at the Alma, the Allies now changed flanks, the -British from Balaklava taking the right as far as they could afford to -go (this flank had later on to be extended by the French), while the -French from Kamiesch Bay occupied the left of the besieging line. Thus -it was not even a complete investment of the southern side. The right -of the English section was at the beginning quite _en l’air_. There -was no covering army to watch and meet the Russian army known to be -outside and free to act. Balaklava was fortified, camps were formed -on the upland; the Woronzoff road, by which Todleben, in command at -Sebastopol, communicated with the interior of Russia, was defended -by a few weak redoubts held by Turks; and the camps of the cavalry -brigades were formed in the lowland between the road and the upland -cliffs. Nothing could prevent the continual reinforcement of the -garrison, nothing could prevent an attack by Mentschikoff’s army from -Baghtcheserai; but the investing force must in that case turn its back -upon the defenders of the fortress to meet the attack of the relieving -army. - -Sebastopol was neither to be invested nor reduced. The siege was merely -a means to an end, that of draining the resources of the adversary, and -the cost of doing so, both in lives and in suffering, was great in the -extreme. - -The siege itself is too complex to deal with in detail. The place was -bombarded on the 17th October, and the fleet co-operated. The first -sortie was made on the 26th; by January 1854 there were 14,000 men -in hospital, and there were scarcely any horses; there was a second -sortie in March; on the 9th April there was a second bombardment, but -nothing came of it; on the 6th June there was a third bombardment and -an assault, and the Mamelon was taken; the fourth bombardment on the -17th June was also followed by an assault, the cemetery at the foot of -the Green Hill being taken; a fifth and sixth bombardment was carried -out on the 17th August, and from the 5th to the 7th September; and -then the final assault was made, when the Malakoff Tower was taken, -and the attack on the Redan failed. This terminated the siege. The -Russians, after a prolonged defence, of which they are justly proud, -sank their ships, blew up the forts on the south side, and retreated -to the north side of the harbour, leaving the bloodstained ruined -city and fortifications to the victors. They had nothing to reproach -themselves with. But, meanwhile, an expedition to Kinburn had cut -off one of the arsenals on which the Russian commander in Sebastopol -depended, and the exhaustion of Russia (she had lost 240,000 men up -to the late Czar’s death, and 80,000 since) was evident. Otherwise -the Russian position was still admirable, and the war might have been -prolonged indefinitely. But the fall of the southern forts led the way -to armistice and then peace. - -But while the siege was thus dragging on its weary length, the Russian -field army and the garrison had not been passive. There had been three -efforts to raise the siege, namely, those which led to the battle of -Balaklava on the 25th October 1853, when the relieving force numbered -22,000 infantry, 3400 cavalry, and 78 guns, and advanced from the -Tchernaya by Kamara, across the Woronzoff road; the battle of Inkerman, -on the 5th November 1854, when the garrison made a sortie with 19,000 -infantry and 38 guns, aided by Pauloff with 16,000 infantry and 96 guns -from the Inkerman heights, while Gortschakoff threatened the upland -from the Balaklava valley; and the battle of the Tchernaya, on the -16th August 1864, in which our new Sardinian allies shared, and which -was fought by them and the French only, with a Turkish reserve, but -which does not enter into the story of the British army, except as an -incident in the campaign. - -But the two former battles are remarkable and noteworthy instances of -the courage and fearlessness--one may almost add skill-lessness--of -our army. Never did men fight better. Never were greater mistakes made -in all the annals of war. The Crimean campaign teaches one thing, if -it teaches no other. Battles are won, sometimes if apparently lost, by -sheer hard fighting. When Marengo was lost, it was very soon won. So -in these cases. The army ought to have been beaten according to all -the canons of war, but it wasn’t! Perhaps a time will come when the -man who does the real work--that “very strong man,” Thomas Atkins--has -his due meed. Crosses and decorations are given often enough to those -who have never seen a shot fired, but poor “Thomas” goes away bravely -in peace, as he fought bravely in war, with his medal, and even that -for “distinguished service in the field,” to sweep a London crossing. -Balaklava is a clear instance of mere brilliant animal courage, a -bravery that the Russians recognise as fully as we do, and would reward -better than we do, who have allowed many a gallant man who rode in the -“death ride” to sink to workhouse pay. They speak with feeling and -admiration of both the action of the cavalry and the Highlanders, and -wonder why we have a clasp for Balaklava! A Russian officer, many years -ago, asking what clasp was on the Crimean medal an officer was wearing -(he was dining in a naval mess), and being told it was for Balaklava, -started, and said, “Do you English give clasps for your _defeats_ as -well as your victories, for _we_ claim Balaklava as a success?” “How -so?” was the Englishman’s natural response. “You did not hold the -field, nor did you raise the siege.” “True,” replied the Russian, “but -we won the Woronzoff road, and, practically, you never contested with -us the right to it afterwards, and contented yourself with acting -defensively behind the earthworks of Balaklava and the Upland.” - -There are two sides to every question, therefore; but one thing is -evident, that the British position based on Balaklava was in front -line as regards the interior of the Crimea, while that of the French -at Kamiesch was not, and could not be, molested. A glance at the map -shows this, and shows also how a little further forethought on the part -of the British would have shown the staff the advisability of keeping -on the left, as we had done, and agreed to do, at Alma, and basing -ourselves on Kamiesch, rather than taking Balaklava as our base, in -opposition for a time to the French, and wilfully accepting, or rather -asking for, the most exposed position. It is always easy to be wise -after the event, but a wise staff gauges the possibility of the event -before it occurs. No one can ascribe to the staff in the Crimea the -virtue of prescience in the faintest degree. - -The battle of Balaklava, therefore, is peculiar. The only regiments -in the _Army List_ who carry that name “on their colours” are the 4th -and 5th Dragoon Guards, the 1st, 2nd, and 6th Dragoons, the 4th, 8th, -11th, and 13th Hussars, and the 17th Lancers among the cavalry, and the -Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, the second battalion of which was -the 93rd, who formed “the thin red line” to meet the Russian cavalry, -which was looked upon, and rightly in the days of muzzle-loaders, as -peculiarly gallant. But even these brave men might look back on the -equal gallantry of the Fusiliers who at El Bodon did much the same -thing. - -But a battle must be “peculiar” when only one regiment of the line can -claim a clasp for Balaklava. It only shows how purely defensive the -action was. Against the Russian host of all arms, only the cavalry -and one regiment of the line were exposed to fire. The artillery, of -course, were engaged, but to enumerate all the actions they have been -in would be to explain the meaning of their motto “_Ubique_.” The -Russians from the Traktir Bridge advanced then straight on the poor -forts situated on the Woronzoff Road, held by the Turks, and heading -towards Kamiesch and Balaklava. Expanding into skirmishing order, -says an eyewitness, they easily carried them, and the Turks fled into -Balaklava village, to be blasphemed by some old soldier’s wife who -hated running men. Her language, so it is said, was emphasised with -a broomstick. The retreating Turks were pursued by cavalry; but, met -by the guns of the Marine Artillery outside the castle and the “thin -red line” of the 93rd, the Russians fell back. The base of operations, -at least, was safe; but it could never have been carried by cavalry -alone. British cavalry alone had prevented the advance of the Russian -army elsewhere. The actual loss inflicted by this arm could not have -been much, and they probably suffered more than they inflicted; but the -moral force and value of cavalry was never more clearly shown. - -There were two cavalry charges that made the battle noteworthy. There -is nothing else, except the pluck of the Highlanders, that needs -comment. - -On the sound of the firing, the First and Fourth Divisions moved down -towards Balaklava, and moving parallel with them were the Light and -Heavy Brigades, separated by a wide interval, the latter leading on the -south side of the road towards Balaklava, the other on the north side -nearer the Tchernaya. The scene of the two charges is therefore divided -by the road, which runs along a low ridge. Just as the Heavy Brigade, -900 sabres strong, marching in a very irregular column without scouts, -was nearing Kadikoi, a huge column of Russian cavalry, estimated at -3000 men, suddenly appeared on their left crossing the ridge. Scarlett -did not hesitate: forming up the first troops (some 300) as they -arrived, he dashed with the Greys and Inniskillings full at the centre -of the mass, which, irresolute, halted to receive the shock; and the -4th and 5th coming up successively and taking the unwieldy column in -flank, the Russians gave way in complete disorder, and fled headlong -back to the head of the valley. The charge had cost the Heavy Brigade -comparatively few men. - -Meanwhile, there had been an apparent intention on the part of the -Russians to remove the guns captured in the Turkish redoubts. To -prevent this, Lord Raglan sent his aide-de-camp, Captain Nolan, -with directions to Lord Lucan to advance. Through misconception of -his instructions, Captain Nolan, instead of indicating the intended -objective, pointed to the heavy battery of guns a mile away, supported -by masses of cavalry and infantry and other batteries on either flank. -Lord Cardigan was to charge the whole of the Russian army. But there -was as little hesitation with him as with Scarlett. Into the semicircle -of fire the Light Brigade dashed on their “death ride.” They returned -broken and in groups, having left 247 men killed and wounded, and -with a mounted strength of but 195 men. The Heavy Brigade had moved -in support, but was not employed; on the other side the Chasseurs -d’Afrique gave timely aid by driving off the guns on the left of the -advance. Nolan, the author of a misfortune the remembrance of which -is still so glorious, was struck by a piece of shell in the breast, -and though already lifeless, was carried through the ranks of the 13th -before he fell from the saddle. Never was there recorded a more daring -ride against dreadful odds, and all so practically useless. Well might -the French officer looking down from the plateau on the battle panorama -below, exclaim, “_C’est magnifique, mais ce n’est pas la guerre_.” - -The camps of the different divisions had meanwhile been pitched far -back on the Upland, not far from the steep escarpment that overlooked -the plain and the Tchernaya valley, on the opposite, or right, bank of -which river rose the Inkerman heights. The more northerly of the camps, -and therefore that nearest the river, was that of the Second Division, -on whose left front lay “Shell Hill,” bounded on one side by the Quarry -Ravine and on the other by Careenage Ravine, which the Russians had -attempted to seize in the sortie on the 26th October. To its right -front is “fore ridge,” the extreme northern spur of which overlooks -the Quarry Ravine and the Tchernaya. Here, to prevent the Russians -from occupying “Shell Hill,” a sandbag battery had been built, armed, -and then abandoned. A line through this point almost due west passes -through the Lancaster gun battery; and this line represents the extreme -limit of the British occupation. North of it, between the line and that -formed by the upper end of the harbour of Sebastopol and the river -Tchernaya, is the field of Inkerman. It was on the extreme right flank -of the British defensive line. - -There were for immediate purposes of defence 3000 men of the Second -Division, together with the Guards 1300 strong, and the Light Division, -1400 strong, about a mile to the south. A mile farther off was -Bosquet’s French Division. This was the force that had the task before -it of defending the gap between the Careenage Ravine and the Tchernaya -against the 35,000 men which Mentschikoff meant to develop. It turned -out to be as difficult for him to develop his strength in the narrow -space, as for his adversary to defend it. - -At 7 a.m. on the 5th November heavy Russian batteries opened fire from -“Shell Hill.” The piquets fell back fighting, and were reinforced by -the Second Division. It is the most curious battle to record that has -ever been fought. In other great struggles, army corps, great units of -sorts, are used to express the action during the phases of the fight. -But Inkerman! One has to tell of what mere handfuls of men did. How the -first reinforcement was 650 men; how the 49th defeated a strong column, -and pursued it even to Shell Hill; how 260 of the 77th fired into, -and charged and dispersed, two Russian battalions; how 200 men of the -30th charged with the bayonet two out of four battalions, driving the -whole off; how the 41st, 525 gallant souls, met five other battalions -and drove them into the valley of the Tchernaya; how in this, the -first stage of this “soldiers’ battle,” 15,000 men had been shattered -by less than 4000 all told! Nor is the next stage, which began at -7.30, less extraordinary. Against the remnants of that weary force -some 19,000 fresh troops were to be brought into action, and 10,000 -of them attacked the right at the Quarry Ravine. There were actually -2100 of Cathcart’s Division arriving! Round the Sandbag Battery the -fight seemed now to centre. First, some 4000 Russians attacked the 700 -British there, who held them in check until reinforced by the Guards. -The fighting was individual, almost, and desperate. At one moment -there must have been some 6000 Russians against a few hundreds of the -Coldstreams, who were holding the battery, and here occurred, perhaps, -the “bloodiest struggle ever witnessed since war cursed the earth. Back -to back on that bloody ground, sodden into a hideous quagmire, the -gallant Coldstreams fought against an infuriated multitude, till their -ammunition was expended; and then, clubbing their muskets, by dint of -blows from stock and stone, they drove the Russians back far enough to -obtain room to form in line, and with levelled bayonets charged the -retreating masses, and again joined their comrades.” - -Cathcart, arriving with his command, essayed a counter attack on the -right, but he fell, and his force suffered severely. The opposing -forces were curiously intermingled in that misty confusion, and a -vigorous effort again made by the Russians from the Quarry Ravine -seemed, at one moment, likely to succeed, for guns were captured. But -the end was near. An English eighteen-pounder battery and some French -guns had beaten down the fire of the Russian artillery on Shell Hill, -and at eleven o’clock the “Russians, when hopeless of success, seemed -to melt from the lost field,” and the British were far too exhausted to -pursue. - -Gortschakoff’s menaced attack was not pushed home; and hence it was -that Bosquet came to the assistance of the hard-pressed British and -did useful work. The English loss was 597 killed and 1760 wounded (or -rather more than one-third their total strength), the French 130, and -the Russians 12,256. The regiments engaged on the British side were -the 4th, 8th, 11th, 15th, 17th Light Cavalry, and the 1st, 4th, 7th, -19th, 20th, 21st, 23rd, 28th, 30th, 33rd, 38th, 41st, 44th, 47th, 49th, -55th, 57th, 63rd, 68th, 77th, 88th, 95th, Rifle Brigade, and Guards. - -It was the last serious effort to defeat the besieging army, and the -siege went on with all horrors of a dreadful winter. “The days and -nights in the trenches were simply horrible. The troops shivered there -for twenty-four hours at a time, often amid mud that rose nearly to the -knee, and as the winter drew on, became frozen, especially towards the -early and darker hours of the morning.” Matters improved a little when -the railway from Balaklava was completed, and when the war terminated, -the army was well fed, housed, and clothed. It was 51,000 strong, that -is, stronger than it had ever been; with Turkish and German legions, -20,000 and 10,000 each respectively, raised by British money. But -battle, and, still more, disease and mismanagement, had cost the -country 22,000 men. The general motto “Sebastopol” is borne on the -colours or appointments of the 1st, 4th, 5th, and 6th Dragoon Guards, -and the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, and 17th -Cavalry Regiments, and the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 7th, 9th, 13th, 14th, 17th, -18th, 19th, 20th, 21st, 23rd, 28th, 30th, 33rd, 34th, 38th, 41st, 42nd, -44th, 47th, 48th, 49th, 55th, 56th, 57th, 62nd, 63rd, 68th, 71st, 72nd, -77th, 79th, 82nd, 88th, 89th, 90th, 93rd, 95th, and 97th Regiments of -the line, the Rifle Brigade, and Guards. - -[Illustration: _Officer 20^{th} Reg^{t} (Light Co.) 1853._] - -But though the State ceased to reduce the number of battalions, -everything was put on a peace footing as soon as possible. “Upon the -return of the army, the reduction of its establishments was effected -in the usual reckless fashion. We soon reverted to our customary -condition of military inefficiency.” Yet we had learned, or should have -learned, much by the war. Waste and mismanagement had characterised -the administration and the staff, the paucity of regular reserves -had so made itself felt, that even in the assault of the Redan there -were men who had barely fired a rifle before. Recruits, scarcely even -drilled, and only partly uniformed, were fighting in the forefront of -battle but a few weeks after they had enlisted. Our Mediterranean -garrisons were largely composed of militia, which force also formed, -at that time, our only reliable recruiting-ground, and in our home -forts were foreign legionary soldiers. The only things that were left, -after a while, of the experience we had gained in the Crimea were the -establishment of the School of Gunnery at Shoeburyness, the foundation -of the great hospital at Netley, the framework of the present -commissariat and transport corps, and the building of the Staff College. - -Still, though reduction and economy (or what was thought economy) -naturally followed the conclusion of peace, a new era, as far as the -army went, dawned. The camp at Chobham, before the war, had emphasised -the value of such field training, and hence, largely through the -advice and energy of the late Prince Consort, a considerable area of -waste land was purchased at Aldershot, and the “Camp” was permanently -formed, Crimean huts being utilised for barracks. Bounties had -always been largely used, in the just finished war, as before it, to -induce recruits to join; but out of it the numerous small personal -requirements of the soldier were purchased. Now this was changed, and a -“free kit” of “necessaries” were given to the recruit, as well as his -uniform and equipment. Still he paid for his rations out of his daily -pay. The supply of clothing, too, which had hitherto been a regimental -matter, in the hands of the commanding officer, subject to inspection -by a board of general officers, now passed into the hands of the War -Office, a course which not only insured uniformity, but closed a door -open to possible wrong-doing. - -The Victoria Cross for Valour was inaugurated, and many of the -Crimean heroes received the coveted decoration, which meant to the -men not only an honour, but carried with it a pension of £10 a year. -Since its introduction, some 412 officers and men have received the -coveted reward, and of these, apparently, 166 are still living. It -has reached all classes. There are still serving with the colours -(in 1896) 1 field-marshal, 6 generals, 2 major-generals, 6 colonels, -4 lieutenant-colonels, 4 majors, 5 captains, 1 lieutenant, 1 -quartermaster, 1 surgeon-lieutenant-colonel, 2 surgeon-majors, 2 -surgeon-captains, 1 sergeant-major, 1 colour-sergeant, 1 corporal, and -2 privates who wear the bronze cross. Medals were issued to all the -rank and file, with clasps for the actions in which they had shared; -and to these were added a certain proportion of Turkish, Sardinian, and -French medals for special distribution. - -Many other small regulations were made for the benefit of both officers -and men, and people of all classes vied in welcoming the soldiers -home. At last the long-expiring dread of an army was nearly dead. At -Sheffield, Mr. Roebuck, at a dinner given to the 4th Dragoon Guards, -said in his speech that our soldiers are “the protectors of England, -they are the protectors of our glory, they are the protectors of our -freedom. And here now is one striking instance that your institution -affords of the thorough confidence we have in you, and in the -institution to which you belong. We are not afraid of soldiers. We -love you as brethren, and we know that you will protect us as such.” -These are welcome words to those who have seen how strong had been the -antipathy to a standing army in the past. By sheer patience, sheer -bravery, and continuous good behaviour, the standing army had won its -place in the national heart. - -All the infantry were now armed with a new rifle, the Enfield. The -Minié, introduced in 1853, was very heavy, indeed far too heavy, and -carried an ounce ball. Its calibre had been that of the Brown Bess, the -heavy flintlock musket that preceded the percussion weapon of 1840, -and which had won for us much of our Empire; as this in its turn had -followed the wheel-lock and matchlock arms. The survival of the first -infantry missile weapon since the days of bow and crossbow is shown in -the term “firelock,” applied to the musket of the rank and file, even -long after the campaign of Waterloo. It was now replaced by a lighter -weapon, so that sixty rounds of ball ammunition could be carried on the -person. - -So with the bayonet. At first it was merely a dagger which was -thrust, not screwed, into the muzzle of the smooth-bore gun. Then it -became socketed and lengthened. When the length of the gun barrel was -diminished, it was also lengthened, as either the “sword bayonet,” -or the very long bayonet that was, for a while, introduced with the -Martini-Henry rifle. Finally, it has reverted more or less to its -original form and length, and the Lee-Mitford has ceased to be a -serious pike. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -THE ARMY IN INDIA: (_a_) THE EAST INDIA COMPANY, ITS RISE--1600-1825 - - -It was not until the year 1600 that the attention of English merchants -was seriously turned to India. Long before that, Portugal first, then -its conqueror, Spain, next the Dutch, and finally the French, had -gained a footing in Hindustan, and with factories had established -trade. The beginnings were small enough. Surat near Bombay and Bantam -in Java were first occupied by us, and in 1640 a footing was obtained -on the mainland, and Madras came into being. This replaced Bantam, -as the cession of Bombay did Surat. Similarly, a factory, higher up -the Hooghley, was transferred to Fort-William, around which grew up -Calcutta. By 1708 the various rival companies which had been formed -were united under one head; and while the privileges of the Company -were continually renewed and extended, the foreign opposition of -our rivals in India, save France established at Chandernagore and -Pondicherry on the Madras side, gradually died away and disappeared. - -In 1744 the two opposing forces came into active antagonism. On the -French side, Dupleix, already at the head of the French “Raj,” a man of -considerable ability, had gained enormous influence over the factions -that made up the Mogul empire. He, with Labourdonnais, from Mauritius, -had even captured, and held to ransom, Madras; while, by fighting and -diplomacy, the French completely controlled the policy of the Carnatic -and Deccan. - -But rising into note on the opposing side was Robert Clive; who, after -defeating the French and their allies at Arcot and Conjeveram, raised -the siege of Trichinopoly. Both French leaders had failed, and both -died in France in suffering and comparative poverty; but Clive, after a -journey home, returned to India, to find that Surajah Dowlah, Nabob of -Bengal, had captured Calcutta and caused the death of the majority of -the survivors by their imprisonment in the “Black Hole.” - -The intricate, and not very creditable, diplomacy that ensued -culminated in the battle of Plassy, notorious as being won against -extraordinary odds, and as leading directly to the destruction of the -French power in India. - -The European, or at first largely half-caste army employed there was -not numerous. The remains of the garrison that had been sent to take -possession of the Bombay dowry formed the nucleus of the “Bombay -Regiment,” which became the Bengal Fusiliers, or “Old Toughs,” and is -now the 2nd Battalion Royal Dublin Fusiliers. They behaved gallantly in -the early fighting at Cuddalore and Davicottah, but did not come on the -strength of the home army until 1858. In 1754 the first true European -regiment, the 39th, was despatched to hold Madras. For this it is -distinguished by the motto “_Primus in Indis_.” It is most curious to -note, therefore, in all these early efforts at dominion in India, the -Madras Sepoy took a most important part, and behaved manfully. - -Two smaller “affairs,” the capture of Fort Hooghley and Chandernagore, -preceded the more important battle of Plassy, where the Indian army -numbered 50,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry, and 50 guns, and met Clive -in the “groves of Plassy,” with a force roughly estimated at 1000 -Europeans, namely, the 39th, the 1st Bengal and 1st Bombay Fusiliers -(now the 1st Battalion Royal Munster and 2nd Battalion Royal Dublin -Fusiliers), with 2000 Sepoys and 8 six-pounders, with 2 howitzers. -The battle lasted from the 22nd till the morning of the 23rd June, -and resulted in the dispersion of the enemy with a loss in killed and -wounded on the British side of but seventy-two men. But though far -reaching in its results, it, however decisive, cannot be classed -among the great battles of history. The insignificant numbers of -Clive’s army on the one side, the treachery displayed by most of -the great chieftains of Surajah Dowlah, even the small cost of the -victory, show that the fighting itself could not have been severe. -But for the disloyalty of Mir Jafar and others, the British army must -have been driven into the river they had crossed in order to engage -the enemy. Had this been otherwise, the history of India might have -been differently written. As it was, the moral effect was great. It -was the first real military footing the British had in the Indian -Peninsula. “It was Plassy which forced her to become one of the main -factors in the settlement of the burning Eastern Question; Plassy which -necessitated the conquest and colonisation of the Cape of Good Hope, of -the Mauritius, and the protectorship over Egypt.” - -By 1761, therefore, the French power was but a name; and, reinforced -now from home by three more battalions, of which the 79th was one, -the British defeated the French at Wandewash, where only European -troops were engaged on the British side. There the old 79th behaved -magnificently; and later on, the war led to the addition of the names -of Buxar and Carnatic (as well as that of Plassy) to the colours of the -103rd. - -[Illustration: _OUTLINE MAP of INDIA._] - -If Plassy had been the turning-point in the early days of British -effort at conquest, so Wandewash showed the natives the fighting -strength of other foreign aspirants for political power in India -besides France, and led as directly to the expulsion of the French from -the Indian Peninsula, as did the capture of Quebec settle for ever -the rivalry for supreme power in North America. With this victory the -fear of British power among the natives arose and strengthened. During -all this time, the power of the East India Company had been gradually -extending, and in 1773 was appointed the first Governor-General of -India, Warren Hastings. Meanwhile, as the years crept on, a new -native state was rising, that would also seek by a French alliance -to check the political advance of Great Britain in India. Hyder -Ali, a Mahometan chieftain in the army of Mysore, had succeeded in -establishing himself on the throne of his Hindu predecessor. Commanding -an irregular army estimated at 150,000 men, he was disposed to be -threatening; and on the principle of _divide et impera_, Hastings -proposed to play off, by alliance, the Deccan and Oudh against this -new disturbing element, which was fast spreading its influence over -Western and Northern India. In 1780 the chance arose. Hyder took the -offensive, defeated and massacred the small army under Colonel Baillie -at Conjeveram, and attacked Madras, but he was checked finally by Sir -Eyre Coote, and in 1783 the general peace put an end to hostilities, -though not for long, and though Hyder himself was dead. - -By this time the European army had slightly increased. To the troops -already there had been added the 71st (then the 73rd), the 72nd (then -the 78th), and the old 73rd, and a second battalion of the 42nd; and -these had furnished the backbone of the resistance against Hyder Ali’s -son Tippoo Saib. - -There was hard fighting at Mangalore, which gained for the 73rd the -honour of bearing the name on its colours for bravery during the seven -months of a dreadful siege; and against the French at Cuddalore, where -Colonel Wagenheim of the 15th Hanoverian Regiment made prisoner a young -French sergeant, and, struck by his appearance, personally directed -his wounds to be dressed. Many years after, when the victorious -French, under Marshal Bernadotte, entered Hanover, Wagenheim, by that -time an aged general, attended his levée. Bernadotte asked him if he -recollected the wounded French sergeant to whom he had been so kind -at Cuddalore. The general replied in the affirmative. “That young -sergeant,” replied the future king of Sweden, “was the person who -has now the honour to address you, and who rejoices in having this -public opportunity of acknowledging his debt of gratitude to General -Wagenheim.” - -Here also were engaged some 300 marines under Major Monson, and in -the ranks of his command served a certain Hannah Snell. “She behaved -with conspicuous courage, and received a ball in the groin, which she -herself extracted two days afterwards. Eleven other wounds in both -legs rendered her removal to the hospital at Cuddalore absolutely -necessary, and, having returned home, her sex was not discovered until -she obtained her discharge. She afterwards wore the marine dress, and, -having presented a petition to H.R.H. the Duke of Cumberland, obtained -a pension of £30 a year for life.” - -For a time hostilities languished, but they were resumed against the -Mysoreans in 1789, when Cannanore was taken; and finally, in 1792, -Tippoo’s capital, Seringapatam, fell, and his two sons were left as -hostages for the fulfilment of the treaty of peace that followed. - -All this led to increased interest in Indian affairs by the home -Government, and a corresponding increase in the number of European -troops employed. In India there were by now the 23rd Light Dragoons, a -regiment of Hanoverians, the 74th, 75th, 76th, and 77th Regiments of -the line, together with the 98th, and the European Regiments of the -East India Company; so that in 1784 the white troops numbered nearly -18,000 men. Hostilities recommenced in 1799 with Tippoo, and this time -finally. With all his savage cruelty, he was a man of some military -genius, as far as his education went. He does not seem to have lacked -personal bravery; and notwithstanding the want of communication with -England, he watched with interest the contests his British enemy in -India was waging elsewhere. He corresponded with the French authorities -in Mauritius; therefore, in 1797, with a view to a French alliance, he -entered into negotiations with the Nizam and the Ameer of Afghanistan -to help him, as Mahometans, against the “Feringhi” foe. But the -Governor-General, Lord Mornington, was not prepared to wait till the -war-clouds had fully gathered. - -Warning Tippoo first, he assembled an army against him. The Bombay -troops, under Stuart, were despatched to the Coromandel coast; -at Malavelly, the Madras army under Haes, composed of Sepoys -stiffened by the 33rd Regiment, at that time under the command of -Lieutenant-Colonel Arthur Wellesley, won a victory; and finally, -after a brief siege, Seringapatam was carried by storm. Here the flank -companies of the 12th, 33rd, 73rd, and 74th gallantly led the way, -supported by the 12th and 75th, some 1200 native infantry, and 1000 -British and 1800 native cavalry; a force which, with 60 field and 40 -siege guns and their crews, numbered nearly 22,000 men. Two other -armies co-operated more or less with the above; the one the troops of -the Nizam, with some Sepoys, under Wellesley, the other under Stuart, -formed of Sepoys and 1600 Europeans, including the old 103rd. The -attack on Seringapatam was made at night, and fiercely resisted, war -rockets being freely used by the defenders. But the British troops were -not to be denied. The place was carried with much slaughter, and Tippoo -fell, sword in hand, in the gateway of his capital, surrounded by his -faithful followers, of whose dead bodies there lay seventy “in a space -4 yards wide by 12 long.” - -It was to Sir David Baird that the chief credit of the assault was -due, but none the less he was superseded in the government of the city -by Colonel Wellesley, the brother of the Governor-General. “And thus, -before the sweat was dry on my brow, I was superseded by an inferior -officer.” These are his own words. But he lived to do distinguished -work later, in Egypt, whither Wellesley was to have gone also, had not -fever checked him. - -Thus the whole kingdom of Mysore was practically added to the -increasing empire of Great Britain, but brought her into hostile -contact with the empire of the Mahrattas. This was founded by Sivagi -in the previous century, and extended from Delhi to a tributary of -the Krishna, and from Gujerat to the Bay of Bengal. Its leading -chieftains were, speaking generally, the Peishwa at Poona, the Rajah -of Berar, Scindia in the Northern Deccan, Holkar about Malwa, and -the Guikowar about Gujerat. Touching these were the tributary state -of the Nizam, the conquered Mysore, and the rest of the Carnatic and -other territories that had succumbed to the growing land-hunger of the -British Company. - -The former governor of Seringapatam, now Lord Wellesley, was -Governor-General of India. The perpetual antagonism of the native -rulers among themselves gave him the same opportunity of assisting the -one against the other as had fallen to his predecessors. He availed -himself of the political chance as they had, but not to the same -extent. There was a greater knowledge arising of Indian affairs, due -possibly to the former action of Warren Hastings, and the prominency -his impeachment by Burke in the House of Commons had given to these -matters, and possibly also a growing popular interest in the political -conduct of our rule in the great peninsula. - -There was still the danger of French intervention and assistance. -France, in those days, stood as an always possibly active opponent of -the East India Company, as Russia does now of the Imperial Government -of the same land. - -Wellesley’s policy was rather one of subsidised alliances with the -native princes than the active assistance of one against the other -in local wars. Doubtless the practical result was much the same. The -dominant power, in the long-run, absorbed the feeble units, to all -intents and purposes, as fully as Clive and his successors had by war -brought vast territories under the British rule. - -The Peishwa made the first overtures. He wanted to regain his lost -pre-eminence, and by the treaty of Bassein it was agreed to restore -him. “It was the greatest diplomatic triumph which the world has ever -witnessed. On the eve of a contest impending, which could not have been -long delayed, between the Máráthá Confederacy and the British, it broke -up the Máráthá Confederacy, it relieved the English of the danger which -had long threatened them of having to face at one and the same time the -united power of a league whose territories comprehended the North-West -Provinces of India, Central India, and the greater part of Western -India, and allowed them to meet and conquer each section of that league -singly.”[55] - -So the natural results followed. The rest of the Mahratta leaders -formed common cause against the Peishwa and his new ally. They had, -directly and indirectly, the assistance of their former ally, the -French. Scindia had the aid and counsel of Perron, who had organised -the former’s army after European methods. Pondicherry, restored to -France by the treaty of Amiens, was a base of operations should that -nation be at war with us, and had temporary command of the eastern -seas. Wellesley made the first move, and restored the Peishwa by the -capture of Poona; but it was evident the “restoration” was but a sham. - -For a combined movement was organised. Wellesley took charge of the -Deccan, Lake that of the Ganges, while other minor columns, under -Stevenson, Murray, Campbell, and Harcourt, threatened other points of -the Mahratta Confederacy. - -The struggle was of no long duration. Wellesley and Stevenson moved -in two columns against Scindia, and took Ahmednuggur; but, unable to -concentrate in time, only Wellesley’s column was engaged in the battle -of Assaye that followed, so that only 4500 British troops were opposed -to some 30,000 of the enemy. Disproportionate as the numbers were, the -soundest policy was to attack. To stand on the defensive would have -been but to increase the enemy’s morale, and to betray a weakness, or -rather a hesitation, that with Asiatics is fatal. The battle was short, -sanguinary, and successful. The Mahrattas were badly beaten, a hundred -guns being captured, but at a loss of some 600 killed, and 1500 wounded. - -The 74th and 78th Regiments bore the brunt of the battle, to the -success of which the charge of the 19th Light Dragoons largely -contributed. Here it was that the general’s quick eye for ground was -evidenced. With so small an army, to get protection for the flanks -was essential, especially bearing in mind the threatening masses of -the enemy’s cavalry. So, through noticing that there were two houses -directly opposite to one another on either bank of the river Krishna, -he surmised that this indicated a ford, and, crossing there, advanced -against the enemy with the flanks of his two lines resting on the -river and a tributary stream. He recognised, too, that though weak in -numbers and not concentrated, to fight was wiser than retreat, and that -in such a terrain a small, determined, well-directed army could act -victoriously, if vigorously handled, against an unwieldy mass, which -such ground cramped. None the less it was running a grave risk; but his -own coolness and steadiness, and, above all, his power of directing a -battle, were never more clearly shown. - -So the battle was won, and well won, by skill against the brute force -of numbers. It was Wellesley’s first battle as a general in command, -and with the battle of Argaum which followed, the Mahratta power was -completely broken. The war in South-west India was over. - -Meanwhile, Lake had not been idle in the northern theatre of war. He -had captured Alighur, and had won a brilliant victory at Delhi. His -whole force there numbered but 4500 as against 13,000 infantry, 60 -guns, and 6000 cavalry, led in many cases by French officers, but the -infantry marched up to within eighty yards of the enemy with their -“firelocks” at the shoulder, covered by the cavalry, who by a feigned -retreat drew the enemy from his entrenchments, and then, wheeling to -either flank, exposed the would-be pursuing enemy to the fire of the -infantry line, which, having repulsed them, re-formed column for the -cavalry to complete the rout. It is a very good illustration of the -tactical formation of the time against such adversaries. - -Restoring Shah Allum to the throne of the Moguls, Lake speedily -followed up his victory by seizing Agra, and then still more decisively -defeated Scindia’s army at Laswarree. In the preliminary skirmish the -cavalry brigade, composed of the Royal Irish Hussars, the 27th and -29th Dragoons, and the native regiments, showed the greatest gallantry -in checking the enemy’s retreat. During a long night march of nearly -twenty-five miles, and in the battle itself, the 76th distinguished -itself by its coolness and gallantry as throughout the campaign. The -fighting in this battle showed more desperate tenacity than in any -other previous battle in India. The loss to the British was about -one-fifth of a force of some 4000 men, and the enemy stubbornly -contested the ground, foot by foot and gun by gun. The operations of -the other column had been equally successful, and though Holkar still -fought on, the war ceased in 1805, and Cuttack was annexed. During -these operations the 8th, 27th, and 29th Light Dragoons, and the 22nd, -65th, 75th, 76th, and 86th regiments had been employed in India. Thus -practically terminated Wellesley’s active Indian career; as did that of -Lake, not long after, by death. - -To both men is largely due the extension of our own Empire by the -destruction of those of the Indian princelets. Lake’s bravery, his -boldness even to rashness, is everywhere remarkable. On more than -one occasion in this very war he had personally led the attacks, as -Wellesley had, in his battles, directed them. He “was a man whose -influence with his soldiers was unbounded, whose calmness in danger, -whose self-reliance, and whose power of commanding confidence have -never been surpassed. He had but one way of dealing with the native -armies of India, that of moving straight forward, of attacking them -wherever he found them. He never was so great as on the battlefield. He -could think more clearly under the roar of bullets than in the calmness -and quiet of his tent. In this respect he resembled Clive. It was this -quality which enabled him to dare the almost impossible. That which in -others would have been rash, in Lake was prudent daring.”[56] - -Of course in all such cases much depends on the arms and tactical -system of the adversary. With most, if not all, of the native levies -it seems to have been an axiom to avoid a decisive engagement save -in overwhelming numbers; and rather to seek, by retiring before and -ravaging the country, to deprive the enemy of supplies, while at the -same time his flank and rear were harassed by cavalry masses. - -Such seems to have been the tactical method of the armies both Lake -and Wellesley had to meet. Of Lake’s own views in the matter there -is nothing especially recorded; but of the last-mentioned general it -is stated that he gave the following advice to his coadjutor in the -Mahratta war:--“Suppose that you determine to have a brush with the -enemy, do not attack their positions, because they always take up such -as are confoundedly strong and difficult of access, for which the banks -of rivers afford them facilities. Do not remain in your own position, -however strong it may be, or however well you may have entrenched it; -but when you shall hear that they are on the march to attack you, -secure your baggage and move out of your camp. You will find them in -the common disorder of march; they will not have time to form, which, -being but half-disciplined troops, is necessary for them. At all -events, you will have the advantage of making the attack on ground -which they have not chosen for the battle; a part of their troops only -will be engaged, and you will gain an easy victory.” - -This was sound advice, and obtained for many years after the writer had -returned to Europe, where this “General of Sepoys,” as Napoleon dubbed -him, was to see harder work and a different style of fighting than -Assaye. - -War broke out with the Ghoorkas in Nepal in 1813-15; other hostilities -occurred with the Pindari freebooters in 1815, when the enemy, arrogant -and blustering, were defeated by the 24th, 66th, and 87th, with Indian -troops in addition under Ochterlony, and converted into friends. -They had no great opinion of us at first. We had “been driven from -Bhurtpore, which was the work of man: how should they then storm the -mountain citadel, which was built by the hands of God?” But they took -their punishment with good humour, and having appealed to China, as the -suzerain power, to help them, after all requested _our_ assistance if -the relieving army entered their territories. Thus this little frontier -state of India first brought us within measureable distance of war with -the Celestial Empire. - -Finally, there was fighting with the Mahrattas again, at Nagpore -(where the second battalion of the Royal Scots behaved with exemplary -steadiness), at Maheidpore and Corregaum, at Soonee and Talnere, and -lastly, at the capture of the fortress of Assirghur, “the Gibraltar of -the East.” - -In this latter “affair,” the Royal Scots, the flank companies of the -38th, 67th, and Madras European Regiments, vied with each other in the -siege and storm of this most formidable fortress. The result of all -these operations was that the bulk of our late enemy’s possessions was -annexed to the Empire. - -The strength of the European army, both Imperial and local, had -steadily grown. In 1817 there were four cavalry regiments, the 8th, -17th, 22nd, and 24th Light Dragoons, and the 7th, 8th, 14th, 65th, -67th, 87th, and 47th Regiments of the line, serving in India. - -With the exception of some punitive expeditions against the Wahabees in -the Persian Gulf, and against the Kandians in Ceylon, little occurred -for many years, except the second and successful siege of Bhurtpore; -though the Ameers of Scinde were at times restless, and their action -foreshadowed at no distant period a serious campaign. - -But the capture of Bhurtpore is an important epoch in our military -history in India. It was the capital of the Jauts, who boasted that -neither the English nor the Mogul had been able to subdue them. But -their self-confidence had a rude awakening. For Lord Combermere -assembled an army in November 1825, among which were the 11th Dragoons, -16th Lancers, and the 14th and 59th Regiments, with the future 101st, -and this force brilliantly carried the hitherto impregnable fortress -by storm. The 16th Lancers, who had only recently been armed with the -lance, especially distinguished themselves, and slew or took prisoners -3000 cavalry and infantry of the enemy, when attempting to escape after -the great breach was carried, this latter duty falling mainly to the -14th and 59th. - -A curious bit of superstition gathers round the fall of Bhurtpore. The -native tradition was, that the place would only fall when an alligator, -or _kumbhir_, “drank up the waters of the city ditch.” When, therefore, -Lord Combermere invested the place, and, by cutting the banks of Lake -“Mootee Jheel,” prevented the ditch from being filled with water, the -old prediction was in native eyes awfully fulfilled. - -Among the spoil, amounting in value to £500,000, was found, singularly -enough, a small cannon of brass, bearing the inscription, “Jacobus -Monteith me fecit, Edinburgh, anno Dom. 1642.” - -This important victory not only confirmed the conquest of India, but, -by wiping out the remembrance of Lord Lake’s failure to carry the place -in 1805 with the flank companies of the 22nd, 57th, and 76th line -Regiments, and the Company’s European Regiment, it restored the British -prestige among the natives, and prevented the occurrence of a general -rising against our rule, which the absence of so large a number of -troops in Ava rendered possible, if not from positive dislike to us, -from a desire for plunder. In this gallant siege hand grenades were -used for the last time in India. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -THE ARMY IN INDIA--(_b_) THE FALL OF THE COMPANY AND -AFTERWARDS--1825-1858 - - -While peace reigned in Europe, as far as our army was concerned, for -nearly forty years after Waterloo, our Eastern Empire had meanwhile -been growing by war and conquest. - -Reference has already been made to the introduction of the percussion -musket, but the Afghan war of 1840 was the first campaign in which it -was used, the 13th and many other regiments still carrying the “Brown -Bess.” - -It is curious to note, in referring to this period, what was the -opinion of distinguished officers, both as regards the education -necessary for an officer and what his expenses should be. Of course -these were “piping times of peace” everywhere save in India; and the -army, “kept in the background,” took little place in the general life -of the nation. - -With regard to such education, Sir John Burgoyne considered that the -first four rules of arithmetic were sufficient for the young officer, -and that with regard to fractions, “it is going a little too far.” He -did not think one boy out of fifty could do either “simple equations or -a little French,” that not one “educated gentleman” out of fifty could -do “a sum of addition or subtraction by logarithms.” He was not of -opinion that a knowledge of the theoretical part of the profession was -necessary to make a very good subaltern officer, and thought it was not -even required “to make a very good commanding officer in the field.” -He saw no good in such training. He doubted “if the Duke of Wellington -had any very high theoretic knowledge; it is very likely that he could -not have solved a problem in Euclid, or even worked out a question in -simple equations or logarithms.” When the leaders of the army held -these views, it is not surprising that the educational standard of the -examination for admission to the army was not high. So we find General -Wetherall was not “a friend to an examination before an officer enters -the army.” He thought the Horse Guards’ principle in looking over the -papers of candidates for direct commissions very fair, when “if they -find that the questions which a boy cannot pass are not very material, -they allow the boy to pass.” But the same officer foreshadows the -system that afterwards obtained, for a time, in agreeing with Lord -Monck’s view that after the preliminary examination for the commission, -he should be sent “for a year or two to the senior department at -Sandhurst, before he was put to regimental duties.” - -Such was the military domestic life of these years before the Mutiny; -and in such a question the change was so gradual that it is hard to -say when it really came. After 1858 there were many alterations in the -inner life of the army, doubtless; but before then, notwithstanding -the much-abused system of purchase, officers lived apparently less -extravagantly than they do now. Modern extravagance is due, no -doubt, to the general increase of luxury among all classes; but it -is curious to read, in an official blue-book of the early fifties, -Lieutenant-Colonel Adams’ evidence, in which he states: “Very many men -never had a farthing in the regiment which I first joined, when we -were quartered at Plymouth with a regiment of the Guards. There were -people of all ranks there; there were guardsmen and cavalrymen. Colonel -Stewart, the son of the famous philosopher Dugald Stewart, was a man -of property. And people not only lived there without a farthing beside -their pay, but our establishment was so good that frequently it has -been remarked to me by officers of the Guards, ‘All your people are -men of property.’ ‘Oh,’ I said, ‘I wish they were, but most of them -get nothing beside their pay.’” It is strange to read opinions so much -at variance with those of the bulk of the officers to-day. He did not -think that the poorer men got into debt more readily than those with -good allowances, which “stimulated them to keep horses and get into -racing.” The whole style of living in the army must have been widely -different from what it is now. Sir Howard Douglas’s evidence was: “When -I first entered the service, the officers’ mess was very much what the -sergeants’ mess is now. Subalterns could live on their pay, and did -in every regiment live on their pay.” This statement, however, seems -to refer to the days of the Peninsular War, and not to the long peace -that followed it. With greater wealth in the country came also among -all classes greater luxury, though possibly by slow degrees. General -Wetherall, however, though he “knew a great many examples of men who -had passed, and had been many years in the army without a shilling -besides their pay, and who had saved money upon it,” considered a young -officer should have “a minimum of £60 and a maximum of £100 per annum -in addition to his pay.” Colonel Adams gave as his opinion: “You can -never get one person out of fifty to enter into any studies whatever -when once they have got their commission.” This was the general feeling -during the period from 1825 to 1858. There is no doubt that the Crimean -War first, and the Mutiny finally, altered much of this; but the change -was very gradual none the less. - -Turn now to the military history of the time in which these men lived. -During the period under review, from 1825 to 1858 and afterwards, there -were hostilities in the Levant in 1840-41, at Beirouth, D’Jebaila, -Ornagacuan, Sidon, and Acre, under Sir Charles Napier, but these -were mainly naval operations, in which the Royal Marines only of the -army shared; and a second war occurred in Burmah in 1852, which will -be dealt with in a later chapter; as also will the wars with China -beginning in 1839, which resulted in the cession of the island of Hong -Kong to Great Britain. There were also disturbances at Aden, suppressed -by the 5th Foot and the Bombay European Regiment in 1840. - -But before the Crimean War there were important campaigns fought in -the Indian Peninsula which had important results. These were the first -wars with the Afghans, that with the Ameers of Scinde, and the two -Sikh campaigns. The first of these, that with Afghanistan, was induced -by causes somewhat similar to those which caused a recrudescence of -hostilities many years later. What were called Russian intrigues were -at work, or supposed to be. At anyrate, a Russian agent appeared at -Cabul, and a demand was made for his dismissal. The fear, which has -not yet died out, that in Russia’s natural extension into Central -Asia, if only as a counterpoise to our own antagonistic influence at -Constantinople and in the Balkan Peninsula, where she wished her own -influence to be supreme, there was a danger to our rule in India, was -held then as now. It is clear, therefore, that in those days, as in -these, we, at the bottom of us, are not at all satisfied that our rule -has really linked these Eastern people to us. We rule only; we neither -absorb nor are absorbed. The Russians do the former, and therein lies -their strength. They are by origin Asiatics, and in going back to their -birthplace, they retain the power England can _never_ have. As barbaric -hordes they invaded Eastern Europe. Checked there by the higher -civilisation of the West, they have learned to impose on their natural -Asiatic savagery the Western veneer. “Scratch the Russian and you find -the Tartar, the Central Asian, beneath.” They are new to Europe, these -Russians. They, after the Turks, are the last of the invading Aryan -waves. Stopped by the Western peoples, they have turned, like a river, -backward to their source. Religious rancour is far less keen with -them anywhere West or East, but especially East. Ali Khan, the rebel -Samarcand nomad, settles down quite quietly with his fellows to become -the decorated “Colonel Alikhanoff” of the Russian army, who helped, in -some degree, to create the “Pendjeh incident.” Why not? They are both -from the same stock, and separated by but a small interval of time. - -Russia would have absorbed India; we have only conquered it. Every -native officer is subordinate to the white soldier of the British -“Raj.” Russia would have made them her equals. We have won the Empire -by the sword, and must govern it thereby. We have colonised elsewhere, -and even intermarried. In India we do neither. All the professions of -native chieftains in India must be taken just for what every sensible -man takes them. To love conquerors? Never! We English would never do -so, however righteous the government of the alien power that held -the reins might be. Given the best foreign government that could be -devised over England, and there is not one man with the spirit of his -forefathers in him that would not rise, when the time came, in open and -avowed insurrection. - -These points are worth considering before we deal at all with the wars -that have led to the extension of the Empire, preceded the Mutiny, of -which more hereafter, and have culminated in superficial peace. Bokhara -and Samarcand, other Central Asian khanates, are part and parcel of the -army and strength of the legions of the White Czar. Certainly; they -are, after all, as before remarked, of the same racial stock. - -Indian rajahs and princelets, potentates and ryots, are still the -subject beings of the white who rules them, but does not mix with them. -Instinctively, it would seem, England recognised a danger from Russia, -but did not see what was at the bottom of it, nor her own helplessness -to prevent it. When the first Afghan war broke out, Russia proper and -India were _very_ far apart. Foolish politicians laughed when soldiers, -wiser men than they, men who are part of the story of the army, looked -and talked gravely. Unwise civilians jeered in the House of Commons -at the idea of the Russian frontier and ours ever being conterminous. -Soldiers can jeer now at these very stupid people. The frontiers that -never were to be, never could be, touching, _are_ touching, and between -the Russian Empire and our own Indian possessions is the buffer state -of Afghanistan, the prize of the highest bidder or of the strongest -power when the time comes. - -The whole Eastern Question is grave, so long as we forget that we are -not liked and can only keep what our forefathers won by bravery, and -their grandchildren cannot hold by talk and whining; so long as we -forget that all the tall talk and all the missionary talk is only so -much wasted breath, so long must it be worth while, in studying the -story of the army, to view gravely the one most dangerous frontier in -all our vast possessions,--the strip of land which lies between Russia -the earnest and England the supine; to that one bit of _terra firma_ -that, not careless politicians, but their guards and national police, -the soldiers, look on gravely and seriously. In Afghan territory the -ultimate danger lies. - -So this dread of Russia was really the cause of the coercive expedition -despatched in 1839; but the ostensible cause was different, and is -characteristic of the methods which have led to our gradually obtaining -supreme power in Hindostan. A domestic quarrel had arisen as to the -succession to the Afghan throne which Dost Mahomed Khan, assumed to -incline towards Russia, had seized, and which Shah Sujah, a son of -the late monarch, also claimed. Thus primarily war was undertaken, to -nominally place on the throne a prince unpopular and bad, and whose -tenure of authority therefore only lasted just as long as he had -British bayonets at his back. - -There was little serious opposition in the first phase of the campaign. -The advance was made by way of Quettah and the Bolan on Candahar. The -Khan of Khelat foresaw the difficulty that was to come. He knew that -Dost Mahomed was a man of ability and resource, and that his rival was -the reverse. “You have brought an army into the country” he remarked to -Burnes, “but how do you propose to take it back again?” The so-called -native army, which was supposed to accompany Sujah and which was paid -by us, did not contain a single Afghan, and was, though native, purely -alien. The hill tribes assailed the columns in the mountain defiles, as -might have been expected, and whenever they were taken, they were shot -or hanged, no quarter being given![57] This must be taken into serious -consideration when we blame the Afghans for the dreadful revenge, -later on, came. The losses in men and animals in crossing the mountain -barrier had been already heavy. The supplies were so insufficient that -the men were on half, the camp followers on quarter, rations. Still, -Candahar fell without resistance, Ghazni was stormed by the 13th Light -Infantry and Bengal Europeans, and an uninterrupted march to Cabul was -followed by the peaceful occupation of the city. But the capital of -the unfortunate Khan of Khelat was taken by the 2nd and 17th Foot, and -the Khan himself slain. Finally another column, under Wade, forced the -Khyber Pass, took Jellalabad, and the conquest of the country seemed -complete. But no European could venture far outside the camps or out of -the range of British guns. In 1841 the Khyber Pass was virtually closed -by the insurgent tribes. Sale, with the 13th and some Sepoy troops, -was sent to clear it, and was shut up in Jellalabad in October of that -year; and when the bitter winter came, and the garrison of Cabul, which -had been reinforced by the 44th Foot, attempted to return to India, -the whole force was either destroyed or made prisoners. Only one man, -Dr. Brydon, escaped alive to Jellalabad, to relate the awful tale. The -whole details of the termination of the first occupation of Cabul are -both dreadful and humiliating. All told, some twenty thousand human -beings actually perished in the retreat. Thus, with Sale shut up in -Jellalabad, Ghazni retaken by the Afghans and its garrison butchered, -and Nott in Candahar, the new year 1842 dawned. - -To restore a prestige damaged as much by general incapacity as by -loss, the army of relief, or of “vengeance,” as some call it, though -it is difficult to see the fitness of the term, was formed at Peshawur -under Pollock. We had, for political reasons, invaded a territory -inhabited by barbarous tribes on the flimsiest of excuses. We had -begun the slaughtering “without quarter” the hill tribes who defended -their native passes; we had tried to force on an unwilling nation the -man they hated, and who was backed by what they hated even more, a -Christian army. But “what in the officer is but a choleric word, is, -in the soldier, rank blasphemy;” what is patriotism in one case is on -the part of others unjustifiable and unwarrantable rebellion. Even Lord -Ellenborough thought the war a folly which might even prove a crime. -But the great god “Prestige” had been invoked, and Pollock marched. He -had, as European troops, the 3rd Light Dragoons, with the 9th and 31st -Foot. With Nott were still the 40th and 41st. Pollock again forced the -Khyber and relieved Jellalabad, but had to halt there for some months -to organise his transport. Sale’s defence had been magnificent. For -five months he had defended a ruined fortress racked by earthquake. So -short of regimental officers for duty was the 13th Foot that sergeants -were generally employed, and hence arose the custom in the regiment of -the sergeants wearing the sash on the right shoulder, the same as the -officers.[58] Shah Sujah was assassinated. Nott defeated the investing -Afghan army outside Candahar, and marched on Cabul with 7000 men; while -Pollock and Sale, after some stiff fighting in the Jugdulluck and -Tezeen passes, also advanced, and the collected armies reoccupied Cabul. - -Shortly after, when the prisoners taken in the retreat had been -released, the army returned to India, leaving Afghanistan just as they -had found it, but with a dreadful and increased legacy of hate behind. - -The only thing of note we brought back were the sacred gates of -Somnath, which the Mahomedan invaders had taken back with them after a -successful foray some centuries previous; but the _coup_ fell flat, and -nobody was gratified! - -Now arose the “tail of the Afghan storm.” The Ameers of Scinde had -openly favoured our enemies in the recent war. They were defiant, at -least, and covertly hostile. What better cause could there be for war? -Besides, they were undoubtedly tyrannical, and alien to the Hindus they -governed, or misgoverned. The Beloochees formed their army and were -ruthless. A Beloochee might slay with impunity either Hindu or Scindee; -there was no redress. Like Conqueror William, they had laid waste -vast areas to form hunting grounds; they did not favour commerce, -though they were quite ready to rob the merchant of his gains. In this -case, at least, it may be deemed that the end justified the means. -European methods of government and justice have converted what was a -poverty-stricken district into one of comparative plenty. - -To Sir Charles Napier was entrusted the conduct of the war. There had -been a British Residency at Hyderabad, the capital, and here Outram, -the Resident, was attacked on the 15th February 1843, as soon as Napier -had crossed the Indus and interposed between the Northern and Southern -Ameers, and taken the fortress of Emaum Ghur. To meet the field army -the British force was a mere handful, and counted but 2600 men all -told, with 12 guns, and with but one European regiment, the 22nd, to -stiffen the rest. Against him, in position at Meanee, were 30,000 -infantry, 5000 cavalry, and 15 guns, well posted behind the Fulaillee -river, and with the flanks resting on woods. But Napier knew the value -of the initiative, and trusted to drill and discipline against numbers, -and his confidence was fully justified. The enemy fought with the -utmost stubbornness. The battle opened by the British along the river -bank firing at 100 yards, and by the Beloochees with their matchlocks -at 15 yards! When the 22nd crowned the bank, “they staggered back in -amazement at the forest of swords waving in their front. Thick as -standing corn and gorgeous as a field of flowers stood the Beloochees -in their many-coloured garments and turbans; they filled the broad, -deep bed of the ravine, they clustered on both banks, and covered the -plain beyond. Guarding their heads with their large dark shields, they -shook their sharp swords, beaming in the sun, their shouts rolling like -a peal of thunder, as with frantic gestures they dashed forward, with -demoniac strength and ferocity, full against the front of the 22nd. -But with shouts as loud and shrieks as wild and fierce as theirs, and -hearts as big and arms as strong, the Irish soldiers met them with the -queen of weapons, the musket, and sent their foremost masses rolling -back in blood.” - -Still the struggle continued, but not for long. Nearly all the European -officers were down, twenty were killed or wounded, and then the cavalry -were let go. The enemy had held his ground for three hours, and then -sullenly retired, beaten, but not subdued. “The victors followed -closely, pouring in volley after volley, until tired of slaughtering; -yet these stern, implacable warriors preserved their habitual swinging -stride, and would not quicken it to a run, though death was at their -heels.”[59] - -One more fight at Dubba, and then the pacification of the province and -the dispersion of robber bands was left to Sir Charles Napier. Scinde -and Meerpore were added to the British dominions in India; and no finer -or more loyal regiments have we now in the Indian army than the Belooch -regiments, composed of the descendants of those men who fought us so -gallantly at Meanee. - -But the fighting of the year 1843 was not finished. The usual domestic -disturbances as regards the succession, nearly as periodic in native -states in those days as “the rains,” broke out in the Mahratta State of -Gwalior. Of course, again we were “pledged” to somebody or something, -and marched an army there to carry out our “pledge.” It is somewhat -curious that, in thus assisting others, we always managed to get -something, usually the whole thing, out of it! Sir Hugh Gough was -despatched to pull this particular chestnut out of the Indian fire, and -he carried out his instructions with the customary completeness. - -One opponent, “the usurper” of course, took up a position at -Maharajpore with 18,000 men, 3000 of which were cavalry, and 100 guns. -Against him Gough employed an army, in the glories of which shared the -3rd, 39th, 40th, and 50th Regiments of the line, with sundry regiments -of Sepoys, in all 14,000 men, with 40 guns. The 39th and 40th stormed -the entrenchments with the bayonet and took the guns also. Crosses were -made of their gun-metal afterwards, and were issued to the troops -engaged, in commemoration of this act of daring. The cost had been 7 -officers killed and a total loss of about 800 men. On the same day, -General Grey similarly defeated 1200 Mahrattas at Punniar, a battle in -which the 3rd and 50th took part, and bear these names, therefore, on -the colours. - -This terminated the war. For a brief space there was peace; but not for -very long. The endless repetition of the same causes that brought about -hostilities in the past history of British India is almost monotonous. - -We were next to deal with the Sikhs in the Punjaub. Rungeet Singh, -by way of being on friendly terms with his dangerous neighbour, died -in 1839. Naturally, domestic disturbances followed, and in 1844 -there was a child and a regency. There often was before these wars -of ours. Sir Henry Hardinge had meanwhile become Governor-General, -and with far-seeing wisdom introduced the railway, and promoted many -measures which both lessened the friction between the military and -civil departments of his rule, as well as introducing others which -ameliorated the condition of the native as well as of the European -soldier. He might have made his reign distinguished only by such useful -and peaceful measures, but in this case, the Sikhs took the offensive -and forced his hand. The child, Dhuleep Singh, the nominal head of the -Punjaub, was too young to reckon as an active factor in the coming, or -rather existing, complications at Lahore. His ambitious ministers or -chieftains saw this, and thought the time had come for a war of rapine. -This is what Hardinge had to face soon after he assumed the reins of -command. - -The Sutlej separated the two States and the two armies, and the -Governor-General was reluctant to believe that the Sikhs would take -the offensive. But they did, and crossed the river in December 1845 -with 60,000 men, and so invaded British territory. To this there could -be but one reply. Sir Hugh Gough, the Commander-in-Chief, hurried to -the front, and with him went Sir Henry Hardinge, who was the political -chief, but, by seniority, his military subordinate. - -The opponents first met at Moodkee, on the 18th December 1845. Gough’s -force had marched twenty-two miles. Be it remembered, again, that -this was not when uniform was comfortable, and kit was carried, and -ammunition and weapons were both light. Such a march nowadays would -call for letters in the _Times_. Then it was different. The story of -the army in the past is widely different from that of the army in the -present, as far as marching, and in heavy marching order, is concerned. -The loss in the campaigns before 1870, too, was excessive; but nobody -dreamed of talking big about it. Now, a very small percentage of men -hit is magnified, and all the papers talk of it. - -When this long march was finished, and the alarm sounded, the dinner -preparations were dropped, and the men of that time went to fight -before feeding. And bloody was the contest. There were on the British -side twelve battalions and some batteries. The Sikhs were so strong -that to all intents and purposes the British army formed but one line -to meet them. The infantry met them in front; the 3rd Light Dragoons, -with the Second Brigade of cavalry, turned their left and swept along -their line, while the rest of the cavalry threatened the right. Night -only saved the Sikhs from actual disaster, and when the firing ceased, -they fell back with a loss of 17 guns. On the attacking side 3850 -Europeans and 8500 native troops, with 42 guns, had lost 84 officers -and 800 men, and among the dead was Sir Robert Sale of Jellalabad. It -was midnight when Gough returned to Moodkee camp, and the Sikhs to -Ferozeshah, where they entrenched with 120 guns. This was the first -phase of a long-continued struggle. - -On the 19th, reinforcements reached the general, in the shape of more -heavy guns, the 29th, the 1st European Light Infantry, and some Sepoys. -Sir H. Hardinge then, waiving his official rank, elected to serve as -second in command to the commander-in-chief. - -Sir John Littler pushed up from Ferozepore and joined the army. - -The total force was even now but 5674 Europeans and 12,053 native -troops, with 65 guns, against 25,000 regulars, 10,000 irregular troops, -and 83 guns. Then began a more desperate fight than Moodkee, the battle -of Ferozeshah. It was to be a two days’ battle, and even lasted into -the intervening night. There were but two lines, the second being -formed of the small reserve under Sir Henry Smith and the cavalry. The -artillery opened fire and closed up to within 300 yards of the enemy’s -guns, and then the infantry charged and took them. Even then the Sikhs -did not fall back. The troops formed up 150 yards from the enemy’s -camp, and lay down in “contiguous quarter distance columns,” while the -reserve at 10 p.m. occupied the village in front. The 62nd had suffered -so severely that 17 officers out of 23 had been killed and wounded. The -3rd Dragoons charged in the dark and broke up the hostile camp, and -lost 10 officers and 120 men out of 400 in doing so; while during the -night the Sikh artillery opened fire, and the 80th charged and stopped -it, and spiked three guns. Well might the general say “Plucky dogs, -plucky dogs--we cannot fail to win with such men as these!” A more -wonderful battle never was. Here, within 150 yards of one another, were -8000 British troops against an unknown number of enemies yet unbroken. -All the Governor-General’s staff had been killed or wounded, but he -wrote cheerfully to his family and described how “I bivouacked with -the men, without food or covering, and our nights are bitter cold, a -burning camp in our front, our brave fellows lying down under a heavy -cannonade, mixed with the wild cries of the Sikhs, our British hurrah! -the tramp of men, and the groans of the dying.” But hearts quailed not, -and the wearied soldiers slept peacefully beside their arms and “wished -for day.” They deployed at daylight for the third, last, and crowning -incident. - -And so the 20th December dawned. It sounds like the days of so-called -chivalry to read that, at that close range, the Commander-in-Chief and -the Governor-General of India placed themselves in front of the two -wings of the line, “to prevent the troops from firing” until they -closed! The left was attacked and turned; the enemy half, or more than -half, beaten, fled, and left 74 guns behind him; but meanwhile there -arrived to him a strong reinforcement under Tej Sing. He was threatened -by the already exhausted cavalry, and refused close battle. So the -field rested with the British, and on it lay 2415 men and 115 officers. -Of the survivors many had been without food or water for forty-eight -hours. These were the men who made the Empire; regiments like the 3rd -Light Dragoons, the 50th, 62nd, 29th, and 53rd made the history of -which their descendants reap the benefit. - -The sympathy of Hardinge for his men is touching. He visited the -wounded and cheered them. To a man who had lost an arm he pointed -sympathetically to his own empty sleeve, and reminded him of Quatre -Bras; to him who had lost a leg he told the story of how his own son -had fought in that wondrous battle, and had done so without the foot he -had lost in former fight. But all archæologists will recognise in him a -confrère as the man who repaired and prevented from falling into decay -the Taj Mahal at Agra. - -No one can read the story of the Sikh War without a feeling of pride -for the men who did their duty so patiently, so bravely, and under such -distresses. But they had still much to do with one of the bravest and -most stubborn foes the British have ever had to face in Hindostan. For -in January 1846 the Sikh Sirdars threatened Loodianah, and effected a -passage of the Sutlej near that place, as well as at a point near where -they had recrossed the river after their defeat at Ferozeshah. This -latter passage, near Sobraon, formed by a bridge of boats, they had -further covered by a well-constructed _tête du pont_. - -Sir Harry Smith, a Peninsular veteran whose medal ribbon bore twelve -clasps, marched to arrest the danger that threatened Loodianah, and -thus eventually brought on the battle of Aliwal, as the Sobraon -position brought on the battle that bears that name. In both the -British were victorious, though with heavy loss. - -The battle formation at Aliwal was typical, and is therefore worth -recording. The front was covered by the cavalry in “contiguous columns -of squadrons,” with two battalions of horse artillery between the -Brigades. The infantry followed in “contiguous columns of brigades at -deploying intervals,” with artillery in the spaces between brigades, -and two eight-inch howitzers in rear. The right flank, as far as a wet -nullah some distance off, was covered by the 4th Irregular Cavalry. -There seems, therefore, to have been but one line, and this was fully -capable of manœuvring. From the above line of columns it formed line -with bayonets fixed and colours flying, the artillery forming three -groups, one on either flank, the other in the centre. When the Sikhs -threatened to turn the right of this line, it “broke into columns to -take ground to the right and reform line with the precision of the most -correct field-day,”[60] and for a second time advanced. - -The whole force was but 10,000 men against nearly 20,000 of the enemy, -with 68 guns, but the position was gloriously carried, and the 16th -Lancers and the 31st, 50th, and 53rd Regiments greatly distinguished -themselves, the Lancers losing 100 men and 8 officers, while the total -“bill” was 589 men; but the victory was most complete, and all the -enemy’s stores were captured. - -A short delay occurred before the next battle, that of Sobraon, as Sir -Hugh Gough awaited his reinforcement by Sir Harry Smith, while Sir -Charles Napier was assembling a third, or reserve army at Sukkur. But -the brave Sikhs were still confident. The Sobraon entrenchments were -strong, with a frontage of 3500 yards, and held 34,000 men and 70 guns -on the left bank of the Sutlej, and on the other were some 20,000 more. - -Sir Hugh did not hesitate, and advanced with 6533 Europeans and -9691 native troops, among which were the 10th, 29th, 53rd, and 88th -Regiments of the line, and the 3rd Dragoons. The ford of Hurrekee on -the left was watched by the 16th, and the division formed in three -lines, with a brigade in each, and marched against the works at 3 a.m. -on the 10th February, opening fire with a powerful force of artillery -as soon as the morning mists rose. When the fire told, the assault -was delivered, and with complete success. The European regiments had -advanced without firing a shot until they had penetrated the works, “a -forbearance much to be commended and most worthy of constant imitation, -to which may be attributed the success of their first effort and the -small loss they sustained,” and after two hours’ fighting the _tête -du pont_ was won, and the Sikhs, in recrossing the bridge of boats, -suffered terrible loss from the fire of our Horse Artillery. But the -victory had cost us dear. The 29th had lost 13 officers and 135 men; -the 31st, 7 officers and 147 men; the 50th, 12 officers and 227 men; -and the 10th, 3 officers and 130 men: while Sir Robert Dick, General -Cyril Taylor, and General M’Laren among the leaders were also among the -slain. On the other hand, the Sikhs had lost 14,000 men. - -Sobraon was “the Waterloo of the Sikhs.” Their aims on our Indian -possessions were completely frustrated. But the field army was too weak -to do more than it had done, and though some of the enemy’s territory -was “occupied,” the reins of government were still permitted to remain -nominally in the youthful hands of Dhuleep Singh, until the time came -for the annexation of the whole district of the Punjaub. - -The final opportunity came three years later, in 1849, when the Marquis -of Dalhousie was Governor-General. - -Intestine troubles, in due course and as usual, arose in Mooltan. There -was the customary doubt as to the loyalty of some of the Sirdars of -Mooltan. The European assistant resident and some others were murdered -at Lahore; a sufficient cause for further war. Some insignificant -skirmishes preceded the final and more important collisions. Mooltan -was besieged by a force under General Whish, an operation shared -in by the 10th and 32nd European Regiments, but the siege had to -be abandoned. Lord Gough had meanwhile been assembling an army at -Ferozepore, and the enemy were first seriously met at Ramnuggur, and -fell back beaten; and then the siege of Mooltan was renewed. The heavy -guns were soon brought up to within eighty yards of the walls, and the -enemy’s principal magazine was blown up; but this did not affect the -courage of the Moulraj, the defending Sikh general; and on the receipt -of the letter demanding his surrender, “he coolly rammed it down his -longest gun,” and sent the reply back to us thus.[61] But his bravery -availed nothing, and the place fell. On the other hand, Attock, held by -an English garrison, was retaken. - -The next battle was not judicious. Gough’s duty was to cover the siege -of Mooltan, then proceeding, and when that fell, to advance offensively -with all the force he could muster. As it was, weak in numbers and -with a river between them and the enemy, he, on the 12th January 1849, -reached the battlefield of Chillianwallah about dusk, with an army -wearied by a long march. He did not even seriously reconnoitre the ford -ways of the Chenab, but none the less despatched Thackwell with 8000 -men, three horse and two field batteries, two eighteen-pounders, and -the 24th and 61st Regiments, to cross the Ranekan ford, but finding it -too difficult, he moved to that at Vizierabad by 6 p.m. Then he crossed -by boats, but some regiments bivouacked on a sandbank in mid-stream, -and all were wet, cold, and without food. Gough, meanwhile, was on the -opposite bank, some miles away, near Ramnuggur, with a difficult ford -in front of him, vigilantly watched by the Sikhs. But their leader -saw the opportunity and seized it; he left a weak force to watch that -ford, and marched against Thackwell. He hoped to beat the British in -detail, and might have done so but for want of energy. He met them at -Sadulapore, where an artillery skirmish followed, and finally Gough -joined him, and at two o’clock halted before the enemy’s position at -Chillianwallah, when the enemy’s advanced guns fired on him, and the -attack was ordered. On the right was Gilbert’s Division, in which were -the 29th and 30th, covered on the right by Pope’s Brigade with the -9th Lancers and 14th Light Dragoons. On the left was Campbell, with -the 24th and 61st, covered by White’s Brigade of cavalry with the 3rd -Dragoons and three horse batteries. Along the whole front was a dense -mass of jungle so high as to conceal even the colours to the top of -the staff. The battle was a scene of wild confusion, in which the -staff direction was impossible. The cavalry on the right broke, and -six guns were taken; five colours were left on the field, one being -that of the 24th, and when the firing ceased, some 89 officers and 2357 -men had been lost, and the army fell back, as did, on their side, the -enemy too. The Sikhs had fought with their accustomed fierceness and -bravery: said one officer, “They fought like devils”; but it is curious -that the Sikhs alone did this, and, judging from another account, -their opponents “fought like heroes!” The 3rd, 9th, and 14th cavalry -regiments behaved well, as did the 10th, 29th, and 32nd Foot, with -the native Indian regiments, but into the “Story of the Army” that -of the army of the East India Company does not enter. It was another -instance of where “the dauntless valour of the infantry rectifies the -errors of its commanders, and carries them through what would otherwise -be inevitable defeat and disgrace. But it redeems their errors with -its blood; and seldom has there been more devotion, but, alas! more -carnage, than on the hard-fought field of Chillianwallah, a field -fairly won, though bravely contested by the Sikhs of all arms.”[62] - -The loss of the latter, some 4000, with 49 of their guns spiked, had -been heavy too, and they had fought with all the bravery of, and in a -manner somewhat similar to, the Highlanders who drew sword and fought -for the “Pretender” when the “embers of the Civil War” died out. In the -hand-to-hand fighting, they had caught the bayonet with the left hand, -to cut at its holder with the right with the sword. They had received -lance-thrusts on their shields, to return the attack when the lance was -thrown aside or broken; they had laid themselves down when the cavalry -charged, to rise when the horsemen passed, and attack them shield -and sword in hand. Between the fighting of the Scots in 1745 and that -of the Sikhs in 1849 there was no real difference as far as pluck and -courage went. But the spirit of our gallant and stubborn adversaries -was not broken yet. Mooltan fell. They met us again at Gujerat, but the -previous encounters had created in them a feeling of despair. Hitherto -the Sikhs had been the attacking side when the battle was being formed. -Now it was otherwise. They fought on the defensive and were badly -beaten; the 9th, 3rd, and 14th British cavalry Regiments, and the 10th, -29th, 60th, and 61st line Regiments shared in the last fight against -the Sikhs, as did the European Regiments of the Bombay and Bengal -armies. Though said to be 34,000 men strong, with an Afghan detachment -of 1500 men and 59 guns, the Sikhs’ army, as such, ceased to be, and -its guns, camp equipage, and baggage became the spoil of the victors. -“God has given you the victory,” was the despairing cry of many a dying -Sikh. - -The loss on the British side was small, 29 officers and 671 men; and -the final result was the unconditional surrender of the enemy, and the -annexation of the Punjaub to the Indian Empire of Great Britain. - -Throughout, Gough had pressed his infantry into the fight before the -artillery had sufficiently “prepared” the position. He was so excitable -under fire, that the story is told that his staff, knowing his “passion -for employing infantry before the guns had done their work, induced -the gallant veteran to mount by means of a ladder--the only means of -access--to the top storey of an isolated building which commanded a -complete view of the battlefield. They then quietly removed the ladder, -and only replaced it when the artillery had done its work.”[63] - -Nothing of grave military importance occurred in India after the defeat -of the Sikhs and the annexation of the Punjaub in 1849, for some years. -But shortly after the close of the Crimean campaign occurred a petty -war with Persia, which had inclinations towards a Russian friendship, -if not an alliance. A rebellion had broken out in Herat, and the -Persians laid siege to it; whereupon Dost Mahomed, who had become -Ameer of Afghanistan on the deposition of our own nominee Shah Sujah, -moved from Cabul to Candahar. Troubles had occurred with the Heratees -in 1837, when Persia was persuaded by Russia to make a very imaginary -claim to the possession of Afghanistan, and had, also with Russian -aid, besieged Herat; but the Governor-General of India despatched -Pottinger, a young officer of artillery, to aid in the defence, which -was successful. Russian influence here, and its supposed influence with -Dost Mahomed at Cabul, were among the causes which, as already pointed -out, brought on the first Afghan war. - -In 1853 there had been a convention between the British minister and -the Shah as regards Herat, and this Persian siege was contrary to its -provisions. General Outram was despatched in command of an expedition -which contained two regiments of the British army in its composition, -the 64th and 78th; but the bulk of the force was necessarily made up of -native Indian troops of the Bombay army. Landing near Bushire, there -was an “affair” at Reshire on the 9th December 1856, and another at -Bushire the next day, where the entrenched Persians were defeated by a -brilliant bayonet charge. At Kooshab, in February 1857, the 3rd Bombay -Cavalry broke a Persian square; while at Barajzoom, Mohummerah, and -Ahwaz were other minor engagements, which speedily led to peace. - -The names of Persia, Reshire, Kooshab, and Bushire are borne on the -colours of the 64th; and Persia, Kooshab, on those of the 78th for -their conduct in these somewhat uninteresting operations. - -Now began to arise an ominous war-cloud, which for a time threatened -to burst with such violence as to sweep away altogether the British -rule in India. It might have been foreseen had people cared to take -the trouble. The attributed and immediate cause of rebellion was no -new thing. There had been a precedent already as far back as 1806, in -the history of the 69th Regiment of the line, two companies of which -were garrisoned at Vellore, with a battalion of Sepoys. Sir John -Craddock, who commanded in Madras, had, with the best intentions, -introduced a lighter headdress than the turban, but which had some -leather fittings to it which the natives assumed were “unclean”; while -a new “turn-screw” had a cross-top, which again might have been assumed -by ill-affected persons to represent the emblem of Christianity. There -were always, then as now, men who looked on a rebellion as a means of -getting plunder and advancement, and many of the adherents of Tippoo -Sahib were still living, and by no means loath to stir up discord. -In this case they succeeded, though fortunately the incipient mutiny -spread no farther than Vellore. But there the Sepoys attacked the -European cantonment, and shot or bayoneted 113 men. The remainder -made a desperate resistance, being even reduced to firing rupees for -bullets, and one escaped and reached Arcot, where was stationed the -19th Light Dragoons. The distance to Vellore was soon covered, and -ample vengeance taken. Of the mutineers, 500 were made prisoners, and -350 were slain. Similarly, in 1824, the Sepoys at Barrackpore refused -to embark for Burma, lest they should lose caste, but the mutiny was -crushed. Again, in 1844, there had been disturbances at Ferozepore, and -again in 1849 to 1850. - -Notwithstanding these premonitory warnings, a false feeling of security -had long been growing up. As far back as 1832, a committee, examining -the condition of the native army, had been told that “The Indian army -when well commanded is indomitable; it is capable of subjugating all -the countries between the Black and Yellow Seas. The European officers -are all English, Irish, or Scotch gentlemen, whose honour and courage -have created in their troops such an intrepid spirit as to render India -secure against every evil from which an army can protect a country.”[64] - -There was over-confidence and want of real discipline; for the Native -and European troops who had fought side by side and conquered the -varied races of the Peninsula, and between whom there had once been -sympathy, had drifted apart. In the past they had forgotten caste, -and in campaigns had lived as brother soldiers. The increase in the -European establishment of officers to native regiments had introduced -many with whom the native was not in touch. The whole essence of our -previous leadership was that the men respected their officers because -they knew them, or knew the tradition of their military past. But new -men meant new manners. The Sepoy’s past connection with his officer -had been personal, and based on warlike experience and respect for his -leader as a fighting man. “Piping times of peace” again had made the -officer no longer a fighting unit, but a pay agent. This matters little -in the West, but in the East it is far otherwise. The Asiatic reveres -personal courage, and believes in little else. Sir Samford Whittingham, -no mean judge, as far back as 1824 had seen the coming danger, and -writes: “The longer I stay in India, the more I am convinced of the -correct truth of all my former statements to you. The country hangs -upon a thread. The slightest reverse would set the whole in a flame, -and you have not the smallest hold upon any class of men in all your -vast Indian dominions except that which is immediately derived from the -opinion--or rather the conviction--that your bayonets and sabres are -superior to theirs. The Indian army must become, and that speedily, a -king’s army, the number of officers must be greatly increased, and the -broken spirit of both officers and men regenerated.” - -He at least saw that the country won by the sword must be held by it; -that the Sepoy only respected us so long as we were militarily strong. -Generals and officials without number felt and said the same. The -abolition of flogging in the native army, while retained with the white -troops, only added to the increasing want of respect of the former for -the British soldier. There is nothing worse than virtue gone mad! There -is no greater vice with barbaric and ignorant people. But the Company -sat still, and, civilian-like, were content so long as the outer part -of the sepulchre remained whitened! The very efforts at introducing -the principles of Western civilisation in too abrupt a manner had -raised, long since, concealed antagonism. Immensely conservative as -all the East is, such changes should be made more than gradually. The -hostility of the people had been excited by measures, well meant, no -doubt, but which were antagonistic to their cherished beliefs, their -old-world and long-continued customs. That of the chiefs had been -aroused by our continued deposition or supersession of kings, rajahs, -and chieftains, who, with all their faults, were natives and not -aliens. The Mahomedans felt these changes most, but the Hindus were by -no means apathetic. - -The very quietude of the nations under our rule is misleading, and -misleads those who now think that all the varied peoples and sects -of India love us, love one another, and are of the same race and -feeling. The natives of India are as different as those between John o’ -Groat’s House and the South of Spain, only more so. Even Wellington, -whose experience of India was not vast, writes: “The natives are much -misrepresented. They are the most mischievous, deceitful race of -people I have ever seen or heard of. I have not yet met with a Hindu -who had one good quality, even for the state of society in his own -country, and the Mussulmans are worse than they are. Their meekness -and mildness do not exist. It is true that the feats which have been -performed by Europeans have made them objects of fear, but whenever the -disproportion of numbers is greater than usual, they uniformly destroy -them, if they can, and in their dealings and conduct among themselves -they are the most atrociously cruel people I ever heard of.” - -The real cause of the Mutiny was hatred to the institutions we had -introduced, and growing contempt for our power; to which may be added, -if not as a cause, as a nominal standard round which the malcontents -assembled, the practical deposition of the Kings of Oudh and Delhi. -Military weakness or indifference, and political impotence, are with -Eastern peoples synonymous terms. The ostensible reason for the -outbreak was a cartridge, and this, though actually bees-waxed, was -said, by those who were fomenting the outbreak, to be lubricated with -cow and pig fat, which would make it abhorrent to the touch of either -Hindu or Mahomedan. There is little doubt that in the first pattern -there _was_ cow fat, as Captain Boxer seems to have admitted; and in -order to lessen the evil, the next pattern was made so that the end -might be torn off rather than bitten off. But the error was made, and -to remedy it was too late. Disaffection first appeared at Berhampore, -and the disbanding of the 19th Native Infantry followed; and next, the -34th Native Infantry at Barrackpore behaved mutinously, and was also -disbanded. Both measures tended rather to spread the disaffection than -stamp it out. In the last case blood was shed, two officers being badly -wounded, the culprit being a certain “Mangul Pandy,” whose second name -became the nickname of the Indian Sepoy, as “Tommy Atkins” was that of -his European comrade. - -Next the 7th Native Infantry showed the same insubordinate spirit, but -they were easily cowed; and finally a more determined outbreak occurred -at Oude and Meerut, the officers being massacred, and the two native -regiments concerned marched to and occupied Delhi, which now became -the focus of the Mutiny. The time had been well chosen: the white -troops were much disseminated, and the hot weather was coming on; the -proportion of European officers in the native regiments was small, the -Company officers being always natives, and having little real authority -over their men. There was, moreover, a tradition that a hundred years -after Plassy the English power in India would be broken. - -Hence Delhi fell into the hands of the rebels, and became the scene of -the most revolting barbarities, too foul to tell. Whatever even remote -idea of striking for freedom the leader may have held, is lost in the -awful savagery that accompanied the rising. But vengeance complete and -ample was preparing. Risings occurred everywhere--at Ferozepore, at -Meean Meer, at Murdaun, and so on; but in many cases prompt measures -were taken to disarm the men, who, when disarmed, fled to increase the -hostile force at Delhi. - -The European troops seemed but oases in the vast desert of ruin. -The 32nd held Lucknow; the 60th and Carabiniers Meerut; the 61st at -Ferozepore; at Meean Meer the 81st; the 75th were at Umballah; the 9th -Lancers and the Bengal Fusiliers elsewhere. Here and there were native -regiments who were actively loyal and helpful, others were apathetic or -openly hostile. - -From Burmah was recalled the 84th, from Ceylon the 37th, from Madras -the Madras Fusiliers (102nd). The 64th and 78th returned from Persia -just in time, and covered 126 miles in eight days. Sir Colin Campbell -arrived from England to take the chief command of the operations, while -regiments were hurried out from home, and the troops destined for China -were detained on the way. - -No campaign or war is more difficult to describe briefly or follow than -that of the great Mutiny. It lasted for twelve months. It was fought -by mere detachments of Europeans, isolated from each other. When one -was victorious it joined another, and the two combined made at once -for the point of nearest danger, or where their aid was most required. -No connected plan was at first possible. The very insurrection itself -spread irregularly and spasmodically. It could not be said for long -that a general rising took place. The rebels had no real head, but -acted independently under isolated leaders. It was a war in which the -skill and personal courage of the European was to be measured against -the courage, great in many instances, but less determined than that of -their foes, of the native troops. - -If there were real grievances in India as regards our rule, it must -have been common in all the Presidencies. But in Madras there was -only unrest, never real danger. In Bombay, save in one case, at -Kolapore, the same conditions obtained; but the whole region of the -Ganges between Lower Bengal and the Punjaub was the scene of general -revolt, general massacre in most instances of the European troops. -There were more than forty military stations where revolt occurred. -In many of them the European army speedily regained the ascendancy. -But three centres stand out among the dreadful details of the dismal -story--Cawnpore, Lucknow, and Delhi; and the last was, as far as there -was a centre at all, the focus of the whole Mutiny. The insurrection -was without plan, and was a complete surprise. Had it been otherwise, -had the mutineers made common cause, had less delay been given to the -British to concentrate their strength in India, from other neighbouring -colonies and from home, the end might have been more distant, the -struggle more prolonged, but the final result would have been none the -less assured. - -Fortunately, the great semi-independent states remained either -quiescent, or offered active help; on the other hand, the method first -adopted of disbanding the mutinous regiments, and therefore instigating -them in one sense to reinforce the Delhi centre, where arms were -numerous, only strengthened the insurrection. Stronger men in the -beginning, like Napoleon’s “whiff of grape shot,” might have nipped the -whole thing in the bud. If the few mutineers had been shot down first, -and then told, as far as the rest went, to lay down their arms, “the -beginning of wisdom” might have grown somewhat more rapidly into the -souls of those who, influenced by example, hysteria, religious mania, -and drugs, also began to think of revolt. Nothing is more catching than -such epidemics. When, at one time, sundry British soldiers thought it -would be an out-of-the-common act to shoot their officers on parade, -the stupid, wicked idea spread, until the authorities were wise enough -to put the hysteria down by the summary method of speedy trial and -death. - -Of the three most important places, that of Cawnpore is of chief -interest, from its sentimental side. The fugitive survivors of the -rising at Futtyghur fled down the Ganges as far as Cawnpore, where -they were confined in the Assembly Rooms, by the order of Nana Sahib -of Bithoor, who commanded the rebels there. The garrison of Cawnpore, -at no time strong in Europeans, had been denuded of some of the white -troops to reinforce Lucknow. There were but 150 European soldiers all -told, including detachments of the 32nd, 84th, and Madras Fusiliers, -when the storm burst. A rude entrenchment had been formed round the -hospital barracks and the soldiers’ church, and was defended by eight -guns. Opposed to this handful were at least three revolted battalions, -besides all the ruffians of the city, supported by a number of -24-pounders. In such a case the end could not be long coming, though it -delayed for twenty-two days. - -Though the greatest bravery was shown, such as when Captain John Moore -of the 32nd, though severely wounded, made a sortie with twenty-five -men, and spiked some of the enemy’s guns, the buildings were soon so -riddled with shot as to afford little protection, and a portion of the -hospital had been fired by shells and burnt. So the capitulation was -made, on the solemn oath of Nana Sahib, that no life should be taken. -Needless to say, that promise was not kept. On reaching the river -bank, the massacre began, and culminated in the shooting or bayoneting -of the whole of the white men, and the temporary confinement of the -surviving women and children with their unfortunate fellow-sufferers -from Futtyghur in the Assembly Rooms at Cawnpore. Here they were all -massacred. - -The army of relief was approaching, but it was too late to arrest -the awful conclusion to the defence of Cawnpore. Havelock advanced -from Allahabad with but 1300 men, including the 64th, 78th, and 1st -Madras Fusiliers, and after four severe skirmishes at Futtehpore and -elsewhere, during which the 64th and 78th carried a battery of guns, -and “went on with sloped arms like a wall till within a hundred yards -and not a shot was fired,” while, “At the word ‘Charge!’ they broke -like a pack of eager hounds, and the village was taken in an instant.” -When the column had reached Cawnpore, it had marched 126 miles in eight -days and captured 24 guns! - -Ample vengeance was taken for the massacre. The sight alone of the -room where it had taken place inflamed the men beyond expression. -Old soldiers wept, others divided locks of the hair of their murdered -countrywomen and vowed revenge. There was little quarter given by -Havelock’s column from that time forward. - -General Neill was left in charge of the station, and ruled with an -iron and a merciless hand.[65] His orders were: “Whenever a rebel is -caught, he is to be instantly tried, and unless he can prove a defence, -he is to be sentenced to be hanged at once; but the chief rebels or -ringleaders I make first clean up a certain portion of the pool of -blood, still two inches deep, in the street where the fearful murder -and mutilation of women took place. To touch blood is most abhorrent to -the high-caste natives; they think by doing so they doom their souls -to perdition. Let them think so! My object is to inflict a fearful -punishment for a revolting, cowardly, and barbarous deed, and to strike -_terror_ into these rebels. The first caught was a subadar, or native -officer, a high-caste Brahmin, who tried to resist my order to clean up -the very blood he had helped to shed. But I made the provost-marshal -do his duty, and a few lashes soon made the miscreant accomplish his -task. When done, he was taken out and immediately hanged, and buried in -a ditch at the roadside. No one who has witnessed the scenes of murder, -mutilation, and massacre can even listen to the word ‘mercy’ as applied -to these fiends.” - -Havelock, meanwhile, was “pacifying” the neighbourhood with his handful -of men. He destroyed Nana’s palace at Bithoor, he beat the rebels -at Oonao, at Busserut Gunge, and Zaithpore, he attempted to relieve -Lucknow; and though there was some desperate fighting, in which the -British were locally successful, his force was too weak to reach the -besieged, and he fell back, still fighting, to Cawnpore, reduced to but -800 men. He moved out again four days later, 1300 strong, to defeat -the enemy at Bithoor again and return. But reinforcements were long -in coming, for at Dinapore the regiments had mutinied and impeded -communication with the south. Outram from Persia then assembled at -Allahabad a column of 1500 men, including the 5th and 90th, and joined -Havelock at Cawnpore. The most striking and noteworthy thing in all -these operations is the exceeding smallness of the insignificant armies -which were hastily assembled to crush the insurrection. - -Cawnpore itself was now safe, and it was around Lucknow, therefore, -that the main interest centred till the suppression of the revolt. It -was the last important point in the war, for Delhi was taken before -Lucknow; and this is how Delhi fell. - -There had been, at first, only a native garrison in the cantonments -near the capital of the Great Mogul. There was a contingent of European -residents and a few officers, but no white troops. Practically, -therefore, no resistance could be offered to the rising of the -mutineers and to their brutality and bloodshed. Willoughby, with six -other men, held the insurgents at bay long enough to blow up the great -magazine, and when he fled, not a white was left alive in Delhi. -Wilson, with the 60th and the Carbiniers from Meerut, commanded the -advanced guard, and first engaged the enemy about fifteen miles from -Delhi. The entire relieving force was under General Barnard, and -contained detachments of the 9th Lancers and Carbiniers, and the 60th, -75th, 1st and 2nd Bengal Fusiliers, and some Ghoorkas, besides guns. -Further resistance was experienced outside Delhi, and then Barnard -sat down before the town. He seems to have been too weak for the work -he had to do. Prolonged resistance only increased the morale of the -mutineers, and gave them confidence. It is possible, therefore, that -though the enemy fought throughout with the desperation of despair, an -assault might have been successful, and the moral effect of victory -at this juncture more than valuable. On the other hand, defeat would -have been disastrous, and in Delhi were collected the largest, best -organised, and most complete army the insurgents possessed. So the -attack partook of the nature of a siege, without a complete investment -of the fortress. The enemy were vigorous, and made frequent sorties, -once even making an attack on the rear of the camp by a wide detour. -On this day, the anniversary of Plassy, the fighting lasted for fifteen -hours. The heat was terrific; the men were exhausted by long marches, -little food, and incessant fighting. The generalship was of no high -order. Neither Barnard nor Reid, his second in command, were equal to -the occasion. In June the total force of Europeans numbered but 3000, -with three battalions of Sikhs, Guides, and Ghoorkas, comparatively new -levies. - -Throughout all India, even those parts not then affected by the storm, -panic began to spread. Calcutta was in terror, though the 37th and 53rd -were there, and the Sepoys at Barrackpore had been disarmed. Elsewhere -risings were common, sometimes suppressed by the bravery of a few; in -other and more numerous cases, resulting in the death, with or without -torture, of the mass of the European residents. - -Thus the siege of Delhi drew to a conclusion, and the illness of the -two leaders left General Wilson in charge of the operation. He was -reinforced by Nicholson with 1000 Europeans and 1500 Sikhs. Small still -as the army was, it was now able to take the offensive, and no more -dashing officer than John Nicholson could have been selected for the -duty. A force, some 7000 men strong, had left Delhi, to threaten the -rear and communications of the army, and against this he moved with -a mixed force, in which were the 9th, 61st, and 1st Fusiliers. The -enemy was dispersed by the gallantry of the European troops who formed -the first line, flanked by horse artillery batteries, and Nicholson -retraced his steps to Delhi. It was the last of the sorties. By this -time the siege train from Ferozepore had arrived, and with it a welcome -reinforcement of a wing of the 8th Foot, a Belooch battalion, and -detachments of the 9th and 60th, besides other native levies. By the -14th September two breaches had been made, and the assault was made in -four columns. Of these, the first, under Jones, was directed on the -Water Bastion, whence they were to move towards the Cashmere Gate, but -he missed his way at first, and hence caused delay, but eventually he -got in and pushed towards the Cabul Gate; the second, under Nicholson -himself, carried the breach near the Cashmere Gate, and its leader -fell mortally wounded near the Lahore Gate; the third, under Reid, -attempted the Lahore Gate, but was repulsed with heavy loss; the 4th, -under Campbell, had the difficult task of carrying the Cashmere Gate, -which was blown in by a party consisting of Lieutenants Home and -Salkeld, Sergeants Smith and Carmichael, and Corporal Burgess of the -Engineers, Bugler Hawthorne of the 52nd, and 24 native sappers, though -with severe loss. Through the gap charged the storming column of the -Oxford Light Infantry, and by night the whole outer fringe of the city, -from the Water Bastion to the Cabul Gate, was in the possession of the -assailants, though the rest of the city was still in rebel hands. But -not for long. The heart of the resistance was broken, and the 21st -September 1857 saw the capture of the puppet king, and the death of his -son and grandson, by the hands of Hodson of “Hodson’s Horse.” - -Only Lucknow now remained in hostile hands. The fire was fast dying -out in all parts of the empire, and therefore the operations could be -conducted on a more consistent and deliberate plan. Lucknow had been -in severe straits. Early in June a large force of rebels had assembled -there and laid siege to the Residency, held by Lawrence with the 32nd, -commanded by Inglis, and some 500 loyal natives. The details of that -remarkable defence are such that it would be impossible in a brief -space to enumerate the acts of heroism that accompanied the defence -of Lucknow or the scientific skill with which the defenders, of whom -Napier of Magdala was one, conducted the desperate contest. - -At first it was hoped that relief would come in a fortnight, but -eighty-seven weary days passed before the first help came. Then -Havelock attempted it alone, with some 1300 troops, as has been already -pointed out, but though unsuccessful, his advance had relieved the -pressure on the beleaguered garrison, and enabled them by a bold sortie -to reprovision the Residency, where provisions had run short. - -His next effort was after Outram had been appointed to the chief -command; but the latter magnanimously refused to take the work off -Havelock’s hands, and offered to accompany him simply as “Chief -Commissioner of Oudh.” The army, 2500 strong, in two brigades, in -which served the 5th, 64th, 84th, and 1st Madras Fusiliers, the 78th -and 90th, starting from Cawnpore, crossed the Ganges by a pontoon -bridge, and so brought about the first real assistance to the garrison -of Lucknow. The march was opposed from the outset. There was severe -fighting at the Alumbagh, “the garden of the Lady Alum, or beauty of -the world,” four miles from the Residency; but the British attack -was irresistible, and five guns were taken. The next stand made was -at the Charbagh, or “Four gardens,” but Outram with the Fusiliers, -5th, 6th, and 84th, carried the line of palisaded guns with a cheer, -and Havelock, with the 78th and 90th, dashed into the town, carrying -everything before them, though every inch of ground was disputed. -Obstacles had been created on all sides, and the houses prepared for -defence and loopholed, were occupied. But the “petticoated devils,” as -the mutineers termed the Highlanders they met in battle for the first -time, drove everything before them until the Residency was reached. It -was only just in time, for the mutineers had driven mines beneath the -defending walls, and soon all would have been over. In the assault some -four hundred men had fallen, and among them the gallant General Neill. -But the “relief” was a reinforcement only. The combined garrison was -too weak to force its way through the still overwhelming masses of the -enemy, with so many non-combatants to guard. So Havelock and Outram -were, like Inglis, besieged in their turn for nearly fifty days. - -During this time, Greathed, with the 84th, some of the 9th Lancers, and -the 3rd Bengal Infantry, afterwards the 107th Regiment of the line, -had cleared the country about Alighur and Agra; and Sir Hope Grant had -reached Cawnpore with a column, and moved to Alumbagh, defeating the -rebels at Canouj on the way. Here he was joined by Sir Colin Campbell, -and the final relief of Lucknow was begun with Peel’s Naval Brigade, -a strong force of artillery, and the 9th Lancers, 8th, 53rd, 75th, and -93rd Regiments of the line, which, with other troops, made a total of -about 3500 men, to which were soon added detachments of the 23rd, 82nd, -etc., and others of the 5th, 64th, and 78th. - -The route chosen was by way of the Secunderabagh, “Alexander’s garden,” -where the first severe skirmish took place, and here some 2000 of -the enemy perished by the bayonet alone. Small wonder that with the -recent remembrance of “Cawnpore,” no quarter was asked or given. It was -too late for mercy. The fighting continued from building to building -and from garden to garden, till on the 17th, Outram and Havelock met -Sir Colin Campbell, who had begun his soldier’s career far back in -the Peninsular days, when he carried the colours of the 9th Foot at -Corunna, outside the battered walls so long and so gallantly held. The -cost to the relieving force had been 467 officers and men killed and -wounded. Even now it was impossible to remain and continue the contest. -Occupying the Alumbagh with a brigade under Outram, the Lucknow -garrison evacuated the blood-stained ruins of the Residency. There too -Havelock died. - -“The retreat was admirably executed, and was a perfect lesson in such -combinations. Each exterior line came gradually retiring through its -supports, till at length nothing remained but the last line of infantry -and guns, with which I remained myself, to crush the enemy, had he -dared to follow up the pickets. The only line of retreat lay through -a long and tortuous lane, and all these precautions were absolutely -necessary to ensure the safety of the force.” - -An instance of the fury which characterised the fighting at the -Secunderabagh is admirably told in Forbes Mitchell’s _Reminiscences of -the Great Mutiny_. The hero of the story, around whose private history -there was evidently more romance than usually falls to most men, bore -the name of Quaker Wallace, the final name being fictitious, the first -a nickname; and when the signal for the assault was given, he “went -into the Secunderabagh like one of the furies, plainly seeking death, -but not meeting it, and quoting the 116th Psalm, Scotch version, in -metre, beginning at the first verse-- - - ‘I love the Lord, because my voice - And prayers He did hear. - I, while I live, will call on Him, - Who bow’d me to His ear.’ - -And thus he plunged into the Secunderabagh, quoting the next verse -at every shot fired from his rifle and at each thrust given by his -bayonet-- - - ‘I’ll of salvation take the cup, - On God’s name will I call: - I’ll pay my vows now to the Lord - Before His people all.’ - -“It was generally reported in the company that Quaker Wallace, -single-handed, killed twenty men;” but be that as it may, the quaint -religious fervour of this gallant soldier of the 93rd is a quaint -survival of the same stern fanaticism of the Cameronians who fought and -suffered in many a skirmish besides Bothwell Brig. - -Cawnpore had in the meantime been again attacked, and thither Sir -Colin, with the rest of the force, including the non-combatants, moved, -reaching their destination on the 28th November. His arrival was -most opportune. The Gwalior contingent had appeared before the town, -and Wyndham, who commanded, had led out against them some 2000 men -of the 64th, 82nd, 88th, and 34th Regiments. But the enemy were too -strong. The rebels, 14,000 strong, with 40 guns, were reinforced by -the relics of Nana Sahib’s army. Forcing back the weak British army, -they held the outskirts of the city, capturing the mess plate of four -regiments, together with the Arroyo des Molinos trophies of the 34th, -and the wearied soldiery, having suffered terrible losses, were in -sore straits. It was then that Campbell, cool and resolute, arrived; -and when on the 1st December reinforcements came from Allahabad, the -end was near. Cawnpore was bombarded for the last time, and the rebels -retreated by the Calpee road, pursued first by Sir Colin Campbell, and -then by Sir Hope Grant, with terrible effect. Guns and stores were -captured, and the broken remains of the Gwalior contingent fled to join -the mutineers who still held Lucknow, but who were watched and checked -by Outram in his strongly defended position at Alumbagh. - -Much good work was done elsewhere, to which only brief reference can -be made--by Colonel Seaton about Pattialah, where he was afterwards -reinforced by Sir Colin Campbell, in which the 6th Dragoon Guards took -part; by Colonel Raines in Rajpootana, with the 95th; by Sir Hugh -Rae in Central India, with the 42nd, when Roohea was unsuccessfully -assaulted; and by General Roberts, also in Rajpootana, with the 8th -Hussars and 72nd, 83rd, and 95th line Regiments at the storming of -Kotah: but the Mutiny was practically crushed, and only the Lucknow -force remained as a serious organised body of the enemy to be dealt -with. - -While the dying embers of the Mutiny were elsewhere, as already -referred to, being stamped out by daily increasing forces, and with -increasing determination and success, Outram still held at bay the -50,000 men who faced him at Alumbagh. That they did not do more than -they did is proof positive that they knew already that the game was -up, and that the rebellion had collapsed. Outram’s communications with -his chief at Cawnpore were never, as heretofore, seriously endangered. -Brigadier Franks had given one or two outside bands a lesson at Chanda -which was effective, before he joined the army headquarters before -Lucknow. - -Sir Colin Campbell had marched from Cawnpore on the 28th February 1858, -and out of his army of 30,000 men nearly 20,000 were Europeans, with -100 guns, and this without Franks’ contingent, and the handy force of -Ghoorkas under Jung Bahadoor. England had played her usual careless -game. Surprised at first, the innate courage of her fighting men had -pulled her through her political and military difficulty. When the -national spirit was aroused, real armies were created, and the end was -certain. - -In the final attack on the city, nothing is more curious than to note -the strong feeling of military camaraderie between the Sikhs and the -Highlanders. It is not enough to say that they showed a gallant feeling -of emulation. They fraternised. Both regiments advanced equally, -“stalking on in grim silence,” and without firing, till the bayonet -came into use. The Highlanders stormed a building at the Secunderabagh -by tearing the tiles off the roof, at Sir Colin’s own suggestion, and -dropping into the building that way. - -So, stage by stage, Lucknow was taken. The rebels were utterly routed, -and never seriously afterwards did the rebellion raise head again. But -many valuable lives had been lost in doing their duty; and among them -was Major Hodson, who had had the courage, when Delhi was carried, -to kill, with his own hand, the last scions of the Mogul Empire. -Dreadful the deed, but dire the necessity. Whatever may be thought -of him, he lived the life of a gallant soldier, and like one fell. -Victoria Crosses were issued to eight officers for their bravery during -these campaigns, and there were very many others who were equally -deserving. No war, of which there is record, contains such numerous -and continuous instances of self-denying heroism as does the Mutiny. -Never were individual men more placed in the position of doing their -duty and displaying the most magnificent heroism. As far as the “Story -of the Army” goes, it may be recorded that the following regiments -bear war honours on their colours for the good work they did in saving -our Empire in India from utter destruction. “Lucknow” is borne on the -colours and appointments of the 7th Hussars and 9th Lancers, and of the -5th, 8th, 10th, 20th, 23rd, 26th, 32nd, 34th, 38th, 42nd, 53rd, 64th, -75th, 78th, 79th, 82nd, 84th, 90th, 93rd, 97th, 101st, 102nd, and the -Rifle Brigade. “Delhi” is carried by the 6th Dragoon Guards and 9th -Lancers, and by the 8th, 52nd, 60th, 61st, 75th, and 104th Regiments -of the line. The name “Central India” is worn by the 8th Hussars, 12th -Lancers, 14th Hussars, and 17th Lancers, with the 27th, 38th, 71st, -72nd, 86th, 88th, and 95th Regiments. - -Lucknow was practically the closing scene of the great struggle. There -were still insurgent bands, no longer armies, to suppress; notorious -rebel leaders to seek for and oftentimes never find; disturbed -districts to settle down; all these things had to be done before peace -passed over the land. Peace that was problematical then, even after -the war of vengeance that was only righteous because of the hideous -cruelties which caused it; peace that must always be superficial and -doubtful. Youths yet unborn, if patriotic Indians, as were many of -their ancestors at this time, however misguided in the course of action -they adopted, may yet turn back to the burning history of the past, and -may rise to avenge past conquest, and what may seem then, as earlier, -present wrong. - -The Romans governed England well, and raised it from savagery to -civilisation. They introduced the higher arts of peace, founded our -system of municipal government, created the first lighthouse on an -English coast. But they came as aliens and left as strangers yet. -Within but a few years, all traces of their holding of Magna Britannia -had ceased to be, save in ruined homes, wrecked villas, grass-grown, -unused roads, and abandoned towns. They conquered Britain by the sword -and held it by the sword, so long as their military hand was strong -enough to use and grasp the weapon. When their military power ceased, -other and stronger and possibly less scrupulous nations took the lead -in this our land. So it may be in India yet. Justice may be admired, -but is rarely loved, so long as it is administered by foreign hands. -Herein lies the strength and power and possibly the future hope of -Russia. The Anglo-Saxon colonises and replaces peoples, the Slav -absorbs. He has absorbed Central Asian khanates as we never have Indian -native states; and yet his rule anywhere will not compare in any one -degree with ours as regards justice, development, and care. None of -these things matter when the human _ego_ has to be taken into account. -That personal equation, the man himself, is left out of the question -with the dominant Saxon. The less dominant, because more receptive and -absorbing, Russian, whose blood runs in many a branch of the races -that go to make up India, acts otherwise, and his chance of ultimate -success, when the trouble of the future comes, is greater than that of -the Saxon, who now rules with every good intent in the place of Mogul -emperors and Hindu kings. - -The Mutiny was one of those rare wars which were based on pure -political reasons, that is, reasons based on conditions other than -mere military considerations or those of conquest. It was unlike many -of our other struggles, in the past, and recently, which were begun -for reasons of policy. Policy and politics are not synonymous terms, -though they are spelt much the same way. This serious contest grew up -internally, from internal disagreement and disease which might have -been diagnosed. Many of our other campaigns were based on a desire for -conquest, a dread of the possible action of neighbouring powers which -it might be to our interest to forestall, or to that natural expansion -of empire which all colonising nations are subject to; and which means -the subjection or destruction, for purely colonial or commercial -reasons, of the races who stand in the way of what enterprising -colonial empires think their national right. Whether their antagonists -recognise it is “another story.” - -One great result of the troubled time through which the nation passed -during 1858 was that it led to a further and considerable increase to -the army. In March of that year second battalions were added to the -twenty-four regiments of the line after the 1st Royals, whose second -battalion, created earlier, had remained in existence, and a fresh -regiment, the 100th, or “Royal Canadians,” was raised in Canada and -added to the _Army List_. The 5th Dragoons were restored as Lancers, -and the 18th Hussars were raised at Leeds; while, when the Indian -army was incorporated with the national forces, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd -European Bengal Cavalry became the 19th, 20th, and 21st Hussars; and -the European fusilier battalions of the Bengal, Madras, and Bombay -armies were placed on the _Army List_ as the 101st, 102nd, 103rd, -104th, 105th, 106th, 107th, 108th, and 109th Regiments of the line, -dating their seniority from 1861. To this increase, a permanent one, -not one man raised an objection, a marked contrast to the times that -had been. The dread of the standing army was at last as “dead as Queen -Anne.” - -The half-civil, half-military instruction of the army aspirant, the -Sandhurst cadet, began to partake more of the latter character than -the former; and was to be changed still more in another decade or -thereabout. The utter failure of the staff in the Crimea had pointed -out, what all foreign nations had already recognised, that a special -training for some, if not all, of the staff officers of the future was -advisable. So the Staff College came into being in 1858, and first -established, more fully than the old “Senior Department” of the Royal -Military College of Sandhurst, the principle that the work of the -staff in the future can only be learned by studying the mistakes and -successes of the past; that the art of war is by no means conjectural, -but that he who knows what has been done can learn from that teaching -how to do it again and do it better. The age of the “heaven-born -soldier,” a rarity even greater than the black swan, was a thing of -the past. To pitchfork unknown or untried men into the most difficult -of all duties, that of working the machinery that makes or mars an -army--its staff work--belonged to an earlier age than now. - -But another great movement arose, the end of which no man can foresee, -save that it has saved the nation from the dire evils of conscription. -No really free nation ever has or ever will accept the fetters of -compulsory service unless it feels there is a real reason for it. -Nothing but actual invasion would ever make free Englishmen accept -conscription as a principle, though they accepted in the long war what -was almost worse. The pressgang, compulsory service in its worst, most -one-sided, and most cruel form, was endured, but hated. But when, -however, our late ally, France, irritated by the fact that our free -political institutions did not admit of our handing over to her tender -mercies men who, however ruffianly, had threatened the life of the -Emperor Napoleon on political grounds only, and when the colonels of -her army asked in the intensity of their sycophancy (for, as after -events proved, the third Napoleon had no great hold on the affections -of his people) to be led against “_la perfide Albion_,” the old spirit -rose. - -The spirit of individual help towards the national defence had been -clearly shown as that of boyhood when the century was yet in its teens; -in 1853 it had its second stage of youth; and finally in our time was -to grow into first adolescence, and then vigorous manhood. - -With all her pride, and its consequent self-sufficiency, with all -her natural self-respect and self-belief, there is no nation really -less military, at the heart of her, than Great Britain. Always a -fighting race, it may be that this is why she is reluctant to fight, -and is therefore always unready. She began the Crimean War with her -usual curious sort of half-reluctant enthusiasm, and with an army of -about the Peninsular type. She finished the war, the only nation then -prepared and anxious to fight on, and, stronger than before, to push -it to a successful termination when her allies were somewhat more than -half-exhausted. But this very reluctance makes her serious when roused. -And the uncalled for insult that she, of all nations in the world, was -open to invasion at the call of French colonels called out all that -curious innate fearlessness of battle which has helped British soldiers -in many a hard-fought field to victory. Never were the English people -more at peace, and more anxious to be. Never did they more willingly -throw that feeling to the winds than when a body of French colonels -insulted the whole English race. - -So for a third time the civilian laid aside his mufti and clutched the -uniform and rifle. By the middle of 1859 there were six thousand men -armed and willing to fight. It is not necessary here to enter into -the controversy of the merits or demerits of this force. It began one -way, it has finished another. It began, helped by a fulsome praise -that can only be called hysteric; for the first idea it had was to -reduce or abolish the army for the sake of a force of _not_ soldiers, -but merely men in arms, and which was for a time the laughing-stock -of all Europe! Anything more ludicrous, and from a military point of -view contemptible, than the early days of these willing and patriotic -enthusiasts cannot be imagined. They played at soldiers in the most -absolute way, and though much improved, they are very far from perfect -now. - -At first they were designed merely as local corps of varying strength, -and were to have merely a company organisation. A separate manual -even, the “Drill and Rifle Instruction for Corps of Rifle Volunteers,” -was compiled with the specific purpose of minimising the amount of -instructions to be given. This could, it was considered, be imparted -in six lessons, and Sir Charles Napier in his “Letter on the Defence -of England” strongly advises the new soldiery not to “let anyone -persuade you to learn _more_.” Of course all this has long changed, and -now the volunteer undergoes the same training as the soldier or the -militiaman, but without that continuity that alone can make it of first -value. Discipline and drill, if not synonymous terms, run hand in hand. -The former naturally follows on the latter if it be continuous and -sustained. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -THE ARMY IN INDIA: (_c_) THE ARMY OF THE QUEEN-EMPRESS--1858-96 - - -After the great Mutiny, the disturbed districts soon settled down -to their normal calm. Discontent, if still existing, was concealed -with Asiatic astuteness. The justice of our rule was evident, even if -antagonistic to natural prejudices and antipathies. The extension of -railways rendered rapid concentration of troops more possible, and the -great increase in the permanent establishment of European troops soon -impressed the native mind with the futility, for the time at least, of -any further effort to upset the British rule. - -The danger to which India was to be exposed for the future was more -external than internal, more political than domestic. The natural -extension of the Empire had brought it into intimate connection with -semi-savage peoples on the one hand, and, what was of more serious -importance, had, through the rapid absorption by Russia of the Central -Asian khanates, brought the frontiers of two mighty Empires within -striking distance. Hence the military history of India since the Mutiny -is composed of small punitive expeditions against the mountain tribes -of the Himmaleyehs and Hindu Koosh, or political campaigns such as that -in Afghanistan. - -Many of the former are too unimportant to mention, and reference will -therefore be confined to those for which medals or clasps have been -given, or whose names are borne upon the colours. But all spring from -the same source. It is the contest, as old as the hills themselves, -between the people of the mountains and those of the plain. To the -former, rapine and plunder is a profitable pastime, and war an -agreeable change. Like the Scottish Highlander of the time of “Roderick -Dhu,” who looked on the Saxon or Lowlander as justifiable prey, and -to whom to “spoil the Egyptians” was not merely right, but laudable, -so all hill-tribe peoples feel with regard to the Lowlanders. Their -own land provides little even of bare necessaries, still less of -common luxuries. In many cases their condition necessitates, in their -eyes, raids for slaves or wives; in all they know they will long -enjoy comparative immunity from unpleasant consequences, provided -their hostile acts are not too pronounced. They are aware, as are the -military police and the government of the more peaceful districts, -that to punish minor acts of theft is a costly, though rarely a -dangerous, proceeding. Emboldened by immunity, and forgetful of past -punishment, they grow bolder and bolder, until at length the patience -of the other side is exhausted, and a second or a third punitive -expedition is despatched. Even when, after such a one, superficial -peace is established, the presence of foreign Residents, to see that -that peace is kept, is often a constant source of danger. Some patriot -more zealous or hyper-sensitive to the presence of the foreigner--all -the more if he be a “Feringhi”--than the rest resents this apparent -vassalage, and carries his resentment to its natural end with people -whose fighting instincts are still strong. The early history of all -dominant military nations or clans is the same. When they are fully -subdued, they become as valuable servants and coadjutors in the -principle of keeping order and the peace, as they were before hostile -to both. - -Where are there better soldiers than the Highland Scotch? and yet for -generations they were deadly hostile to those with whom they now work -with absolute cordiality. So with the Sikh and Beloochee. They furnish -some of the best and most reliable of the native regiments. - -Hence it is that frontier wars in India are, and will be, matters of -common occurrence, until the peoples see the error of their ways, and -learn that resistance and robbery, for it is little else, do not pay. - -There is yet another reason why these wars must long continue to be -inevitable. Semi-civilised man with arms in his hand (and all such -tribes rejoice in having arms) are not content with looking at them. -They desire to use them, and therefore do. Doubtless often enough it -is a case of _cherchez la femme_, and it would be strange indeed if in -some cases the male had not been egged on by ambition, or the desire -for something which a raid would give her, by his feminine belongings. -Barbaric woman thinks little of a peace-loving man. She likes the man -none the less, but all the more, because he is strong in battle, and -fearless when danger comes. - -Frontier wars, however, are at anyrate a valuable training-school -for our army, and give, in piping times of general peace, the only -practical experience of how often death, and at all times difficulties, -may be met and overcome. The first of these after the Mutiny was -that of Sikkim, a district north of Darjeeling. There had often been -friction before, and the turbulence of some of the tribes led to the -“temporary occupation” of a portion of the Rajah of Sikkim’s territory. -The natural consequences followed. The detachment was after a while -driven out. Of course, too, there was the necessity to punish the -“unjustifiable action,” and there was also the political effect such a -minor reverse might have on the neighbouring populations. - -As “Ramrod Joe” wrote long since-- - - “Wotever ye does hout ’ere, stick hup for your pride o’ race. - Keep your _prestige_. Wot’s that? Why, keep them blacks in place.” - -In 1860, therefore, an expedition was prepared under Colonel J. C. -Gawler; and, in all these cases, the physical difficulties were more -serious than the military. Only the 6th European Regiment, with the 3rd -Sikhs, the 73rd Native Infantry, etc., with some 12-pounder howitzers, -took part in these operations. - -The country was difficult, consisting of rude mountain tracks, with -dense and impenetrable jungle between. One peculiarity of this jungle -was its being infested with leeches, which “penetrate loosely-woven -cloths, and deprive the wearer of a good deal of blood before he finds -them out. They get far up the noses of horses, goats, etc., and cannot -be removed without subjecting the poor animal to a couple of days -without water, which being afterwards offered to him, the leeches also -want to drink, and may be seized. If allowed to remain, the animal -becomes a mere skeleton.” The order of march, too, was peculiar in -such a terrain. Flanking patrols were impossible, and the column was -therefore protected by small bodies halted in succession, which in due -course joined the rear of the column as fresh bodies in advance took -their place. - -The defence was not serious: there was some desultory jungle fighting, -with little loss on either side; there were stockades and stone -breastworks constructed, but not seriously held or for long; there were -huge masses of stone, “booby traps,” so arranged on a bamboo platform -that a few cuts with a knife would release them to roll down the -mountain side, but no loss was effected by them. Finally, the country -was pacified and war ceased; but a second expedition, in which the -Derbyshire Regiment took part, was necessary in 1888, where the same -difficulties were encountered and surmounted, and a small engagement -took place at Gnatong. - -The small Umbeylah, or Ambela, campaign, as it spelt in the official -history, was somewhat more serious. There had been fanatical outbreaks -by Hindustanis in the district beyond the territory of the Buner Khels, -lying opposite the Hazara district of the Indus valley, and bordering -on the area ruled by the Akhund of Swat. This personage was a spiritual -as well as a temporal ruler, and combined theological distinction with -political power. - -The force was organised in two columns. That in the Hazara district had -the 51st and 93rd Regiments, with the native troops, and was intended -to watch the frontier at first defensively. The other had at first the -71st Highland Light Infantry and the 101st Royal Bengal Fusiliers to -stiffen the Indian regiments, and to these were added later the 79th -and 7th Royal Fusiliers, with the 7th Hussars. - -The operations lasted from October to December, and are noteworthy -for the heavy loss in officers and the tenacity with which the enemy, -taking the offensive, conducted the fighting. To begin with, it was a -continuous affair of outposts, for, penetrating into the mountains, -the Buner people refused to let the column pass, and the small army, -under Sir Neville Chamberlain, halted and posted outposts on commanding -points known then as Eagle’s Nest, the Craig, the Water piquet, etc. -The fighting round these was most severe. Taken and retaken frequently, -always with loss, it was impossible to advance until a secure line of -communication had been made, and reinforcements pushed to the front. -The Punjabis fought gallantly, and Lieutenants Pilcher and Fosbery won -the V.C.; but the instances of individual gallantry were most numerous. -So desperate was the continued struggle for the Craig piquet that it -got the name among the men of _Kutlgar_, the place of slaughter. But -eventually the invading force was increased to 9000 men, and then, -with a vigorous offensive, the tribal gathering was dispersed. The -medal issued to the Usafzai Field Force was well earned; 36 British and -31 native officers, and 152 British and 689 native soldiers had been -killed and wounded. - -[Illustration: _Private 14^{th} Reg^{t} 1864._] - -In such frontier wars, one frequently leads to another. The Bhoteas had -passively, if not actively, sympathised with their neighbours in the -Sikkim campaign, and soon in their turn became troublesome. In 1864, -therefore, an expedition formed in four columns, for which detachments -of the 48th, 80th, and the artillery, together with a large force of -native regiments, were detailed, invaded Bhotan, which is situated on -the north-east frontier, and whose people are more nearly allied to -the Thibetans than to the Hindus. There was but slight opposition to -the left column at Dhalimcote. The fort was bombarded and stormed, but -the enemy, armed with stones, matchlocks, and bows and arrows, did -not await the assault. The fort of Dhumsong and most of the stockaded -positions built to check the advance were abandoned without firing a -shot, and a brief stand was made at Chamoorchee, after which the Deb -Rajah wrote a somewhat remarkable letter to the following effect:-- - -“If you wish for peace, do not disturb our peasantry; it will be best -for you to go back to your own country without doing any harm to -ours. But if you will take possession of my country, which is small, -without fighting, and attach it to your own kingdom, which is large, -I shall send the divine force of twelve gods, as per margin, who are -very ferocious ghosts. Of this force 7000 stop at Chamoorchee, 5000 at -Durma, 9000 at Buxa, and 102,000 at Dhalim Dooar. You have done great -injury to our country, and should not repeat it.” - -The other column on the left of the general line of advance, under -Colonel Watson, none the less took Buxa without the “ghosts” raising -any objection; while one of the right columns reached Dewangiri and -the Darungah Pass after a brief skirmish, and the other marched on -Bishensing without meeting the enemy. The formal annexation of the -country was ordered, and a chain of military posts fixed for the -garrison of the country until its government had become settled. But -the Bhotanese made a second bid for freedom in 1866, and there was some -brisk fighting at Dewangiri, which was for a time practically invested, -as the Darungah Pass was held by the enemy. Water was running short, -and, seeing little hope of reinforcement, Colonel Campbell decided on -retreating by the Libia Pass, and was compelled to abandon his guns on -the march. - -Attacks were made afterwards on all the hill posts from Dewangiri to -Chamoorchee, at Bishensing, Buxa, and Tazagong, and it was evident -that the force there was insufficient to quell the now extensive -rising. More artillery, the 55th and 80th Regiments, and three native -battalions, under General Tombs, C.B., V.C., were hurried up. This -was to act on the right, the other troops under Fraser on the left -wing, for the reconquest of the country; and when Balla, Buxa, and -Chamoorchee were taken with but little fighting by Fraser, as well as -the stockades in the Balader Pass, the Darungah Pass, and Dewangiri -(where the enemy made an ineffective stand), the war practically -ceased; though after these active hostilities it was found necessary -to despatch a strong force to check a tendency to further disturbance, -though there was no more fighting. - -Nothing of any note occurred until 1872, when the introduction of -tea-planting into Assam led to a considerable immigration of Europeans, -and offered greater temptations to the Lushai hill tribes to make -incursions into the richer districts at the foot of the mountains. As -far back as 1840 these people had been troublesome, and a punitive -expedition had been despatched in 1850; but numerous outrages and -forays had occurred in 1862 and 1869, and the Indian Government at -length decided on the suppression of the annoyance. - -The country was to be invaded in two columns: the left, from Cachar, -under Colonel Bouchier, was composed of native troops and Royal -Artillery, and, though opposed, the loss was trifling. The march -towards Lalboora was made by Mynadhur (the last tea plantation in -Assam), Khotel, and Kalhi, where the enemy assembled in such numbers -that it was deemed advisable to fall back to the post at the Tuibuin -river, and, after some fruitless negotiations, hostilities were -continued in a haphazard fashion at Pachin Poiboi and Chelam, but the -small force was so much weakened by the numerous detachments that had -to be left to hold the more important points seized, that on more than -one occasion the main column ran serious risk of being overpowered -by numbers. Fortunately the arms of the adversary were of no great -value, being very old flintlock Tower-pattern smooth-bores, bows -and iron-tipped arrows, spears, and a species of Burmese _dah_. The -bullets were not cast, but beaten into shape. It is to this fact that -the extremely small loss, even when the jungle fighting was at close -quarters, must be attributed. Meanwhile the right column, starting -from Chittagong, had been similarly employed, and finally the whole -force assembled in the final stronghold of Lungvel, and, first hoisting -the British flag there, burned the village and returned to India. The -terms of peace were the payment of a small fine, and the admission of -Government agents in their villages, whose chief mission was to prevent -disturbances, and report if such were likely to occur. - -In 1875 and 1877 troubles sprung up nearer the Afghan frontier with -the Jowakis, a branch of the Afreedis, who had persistently raided -the Peshawur Valley, and finally attached a British outpost. To burn -villages and slay defenceless villagers was one thing, to lay violent -hands on a wearer of the Queen’s uniform was far more serious. So the -second battalion of the 9th Regiment accompanied a small expedition -which effected its object with but little loss on either side, and -indeed no resistance worthy the name was offered. But of all these -frontier campaigns, that against the Afghans, 1878 to 1880, was far -more serious and prolonged. It was not a war with a small tribe only, -but with a nation, though even then that nation was built up of many -semi-independent and wholly barbaric bodies, serving under their own -chiefs. In the _casus belli_, history repeated itself exactly. Fear -of Russian influence at Cabul, and the refusal of the Ameer Shere Ali -to dismiss a Russian envoy, led to the declaration of war, this to -the occupation of Cabul, that to the placing of a British Resident -at the capital and his consequent murder, and then another “Army of -Vengeance.” The sequence of events was much as in 1844. - -Space fails to tell fully the story of this remarkable contest. -Remarkable not merely for the bravery of the enemy, his extraordinary -power of recuperation after a beating, which had something very British -about it, his strong political patriotism for his mountain home, his -passion for freedom from all alien domination, especially of the hated -“Feringhi”; but also for the enormous difficulties presented by the -frowning defiles of the mountain barrier which separates the basin -of the Indus from the wide, secluded valley which runs from Cabul -to Candahar. The British seem to have been peculiarly obnoxious to -the people, for other reasons than that of faith. The Ameer, when he -proclaimed a _Jehad_ or holy war against us, struck, probably, the -keynote as far as his people were concerned, when he said, “A foreign -nation, without cause or the slightest provocation, has made up its -mind to invade our country and conquer it.” - -The first advance was made direct on Cabul by the Khyber Pass. The -small fortress of Ali Musjid was attacked on the 21st November 1878, -by the 51st and 81st European, and the 6th and 45th Native Regiments, -and abandoned by the enemy after some sharp fighting; but many of the -fugitives were stopped by the first battalion of the 17th in their -retreat and taken prisoners. By the end of the year the head of this -column was about Jellalabad. Coupled with this was the penetration of -the Kurram Valley by the second column under General Roberts, which was -composed of the 10th Hussars and 12th Bengal Cavalry, four batteries -of artillery, the second battalion of the 8th, the Duke of Albany’s -Highlanders, and many native regiments, to which were added, later, -another battery of artillery, a squadron of the 9th Lancers, the 67th -and 92nd, and more native cavalry and infantry battalions, raising the -force by November 1878 to about 14,000 men. Advancing up the Kurram -Valley to Fort Azim, which was garrisoned, the Afghan position on -the Peiwar Kotal was attacked frontally by General Cobbe with a wing -of the Gordons and other troops, and turned by the Spin Gawi Kotal -with the 8th, the other wing of the Highlanders, and the 29th Native -Infantry, with the 5th Ghoorkas. Finally, troops pushed on to Ali Kehl, -which was garrisoned. Both these passes were held during the winter, -and the troops, especially detachments, were frequently harassed by -the semi-independent action of the hill tribes, rendering necessary -punitive expeditions, such as those in the Khost Valley against the -Mangals and Wazaris by Roberts’ force; and those against the Lughman -tribes, north of Jellalabad, during which occurred the disaster to a -squadron of the 10th Hussars, which, missing its way in crossing a ford -on the Cabul river, lost forty-five men and one officer by drowning. -Expeditions also on this side against the Khugranis led to fighting at -Futtehabad and at Dehowink with the Afreedis. At the same period Sir -Donald Stewart had occupied Candahar with but little opposition, and -had also seized Khelat-i-Ghilzi and Girishk. There was much outrage, -also in the Pishin and other valleys, both by the turbulent hill tribes -and the dispersed or disbanded soldiery of the Amir. - -By May 1879 Yakoub Khan, who had succeeded to the throne on the death -of his father, Shere Ali, had recognised the futility of further -resistance. The Peace of Gandamak was signed, by which the control -of the foreign affairs of Afghanistan was to be vested in the Indian -Government, the Kurram, Pishin, and Sibi Passes were to be attached to -the Indian Empire, the Khyber Pass was also to be under our control, -and a British Resident was to be installed at Cabul. Sir Louis -Cavagnari accordingly proceeded there with a small escort on the 17th -June 1879. - -The calm that followed on the conclusion of the first period of the war -was rudely broken. Sir Louis Cavagnari’s sanguine belief in a friendly -Afghanistan was ill founded. But unlike the close of the first period -of the previous war in 1843 to 1844, the massacre of the Resident and -his people, which caused the second “army of vengeance,” took place -while they were in apparently peaceful occupation of the Residency, and -in Cabul, and not when in full retreat on India. There was even less -warning of disaster in 1878 than in 1844. - -When the news came there were troops in the Khyber, and Kurram Vallies, -and at Candahar. In the Kurram Valley rapidly assembled the brigades of -Macpherson and Baker, in which served the 72nd, the 67th, and the 92nd -European Regiments, with many gallant Sikh and Ghoorka battalions, well -provided with artillery and a cavalry brigade, in which were the 9th -Lancers. Pushing on at once beyond the Peiwar Kotal, the Shaturgardan -Pass was occupied before the enemy could get there, and garrisoned; and -then the army, pushing on by Ali Kehl, in the Logar Valley, first met -and defeated the insurgent Afghans at Charasia, where twenty guns were -taken with but little loss. Yet another skirmish, and the army reached -Cabul. The 67th was the first to enter, playing the quickstep that had -been played long years before by the unhappy 44th, and the army then -took up cantonments in the fortified district of Sherpur without the -city walls. - -Here for many a week they were practically shut in. The Shaturgardan -garrison was isolated until relieved by Gough, and then that line of -communication was abandoned and a fresh one opened by Gandamak and the -Khyber. Throughout the whole of December there was almost continual -fighting. General Roberts, slender as his force was, fully recognised -the overwhelming advantage of the offensive in such a war and with such -a people. Wherever armed bands gathered, there a force was sent. Often -enough it barely carried out its purpose, and only then with heavy -loss, because of the overwhelming numbers and determined bravery of -the enemy. On one occasion the 9th Lancers suffered heavily, and three -guns were temporarily abandoned; and at length the tribal gathering was -too large to face, and, seizing Cabul, the Afghans shut up the small -British army within its defences at Sherpur. But it was not for long. -An attack on the 23rd December was beaten sternly back, and again the -hostile host melted away and left Cabul alone. A few days after, Gough, -with reinforcements, including the 9th Regiment, arrived by way of the -Khyber. - -Meanwhile, Sir Donald Stewart had moved up from Candahar, as Nott -did in 1844. Meeting the enemy at Ahmed Kehl with his small force, -which included the 59th and some of the 60th, he was victorious, -though heavily outnumbered, and at one time, because of the desperate -gallantry of the Ghazi charge, in a position of some peril; while, -after entering Ghazni, he had a second “affair” at Urzoo, and then -joined hands with General Ross’s force of Sikhs, Ghoorkas, and the 9th -Foot, which had had another fight at Charasia before communication with -the relieving column was effected. - -Sir Donald Stewart now assumed supreme command at Cabul. Abdul Rahman -was recognised as Amir by the Indian Government; and preparations were -made, on the establishment of his authority, to abandon the Afghan -capital and withdraw the army to India. - -Meanwhile, General Primrose, with the 66th and 7th Fusiliers and some -native troops, had been left in Candahar. The total garrison numbered -less than 3000 men. But, hearing of the advance of another of the -Afghan pretenders, Ayub Khan, from Herat, a considerable portion of -the garrison, including the 66th, was pushed out to the north, as far -as the Helmund, to check his advance. In this General Burrowes, who -commanded, was unsuccessful. The battle of Maiwand was a terrible -disaster, brought on chiefly, if not entirely, by taking up a fatally -bad position to resist a powerful force furnished with a well-served -artillery. - -Here the 66th lost their colours, notwithstanding the desperate bravery -of the remnant that rallied round them. Olivey and Honeywood carried -the colours on that dreadful day, and the latter was heard to cry, as -he held the standard on high, “Men, what shall we do to save this?” -when he fell dead, as did Sergeant-major Cuphage, who next tried to -take it. Colours--the _signa militaria_ still, though not of such -importance as a rallying centre in these days of extended order and -fire fight, as in the days of line formation and the Brown Bess--lost -as these were lost reflect honour, and not discredit, on the history of -a regiment. - -Remarking on the use of colours in the past during battle, Sir Charles -Napier writes: “Great is the value of the standard; it is a telegraph -in the centre of the battle to speak the changes of the day to the -wings. Its importance has therefore been immense in all ages, among -all nations, and in all kinds of war. ‘Defend the colours! form upon -the colours!’ is the first cry and the first thought of a soldier, -when any mischance of battle has produced disorder; then do cries, -shouts, firing, blows, and all the combat thicken round the standard; -it contains the symbol of the honour of the band, and the brave press -round its bearer.” So it has ever been since the standard-bearer of -the Tenth Legion threw the honoured insignia of his regiment among -the British-Celtic, or Belgic, militia on the Dover coast, when -Christianity had not yet dawned. The breech-loader has caused the -colours to be omitted in the battle-order paraphernalia of modern -war, and, as gunpowder had, in the past, destroyed some of the glory -and panoply of the mediæval host, so it has lessened some of the -picturesqueness of the line of battle of to-day. - -Worn-out colours have one of three endings. First, and naturally, in -the church of the district whose name the regiment bears, because -the consecrated banners find fitting resting-place in consecrated -buildings. Next, with the colonels of the regiments, who may be well -expected to revere the standards of the battalions which have honoured -them by such a gift. And lastly, as the old 50th did when it was made a -royal regiment, and when, in place of the black standard, it received -one of royal blue; then the silk of the old colours was burned with -careful reverence, and the ashes placed in the lid of the regimental -snuff-box, made out of the wood of the staff, on which is also engraven -the names of those who had borne the colours in the storm of battle. - -The sentiment that dwells around the regimental colours has been very -well expressed by the late Sir Edward Hamley. Speaking of the colours -of the 43rd, now resting and rusting peacefully in Monmouth church, he -says-- - - “A moth-eaten rag on a worm-eaten pole, - It does not look likely to stir a man’s soul. - ’Tis the deeds that were done ’neath the moth-eaten rag, - When the pole was a staff, and the rag was a flag. - - For on many a morn in our grandfathers’ days, - When the bright sun of Portugal broke through the haze, - Disclosing the armies arrayed in their might, - It showed the old flag in the front of the fight. - - By rivers, o’er bridges, past vineyards and downs, - Up the valleys where stood, all deserted, the towns, - It followed the French, and when they turned to bay, - It just paused for the fight, then again led the way. - - And whenever it chanced that a battle was nigh, - They saw it then hung like a sign in the sky: - And they soon learned to know it--its crimson and white-- - O’er the lines of red coats and of bayonets bright. - - * * * * * - - In the church, where it hangs when the moon gilds the graves - And the aisles and the arches, it swells and it waves; - While, below, a faint sound as of combat is heard - From the ghostly array of the old Forty-Third.” - -The feeling here expressed must have been strong with those who tried -to save the colours at Maiwand. More than 1300 men had fallen there -when the relics of the little army returned to Candahar, which was then -invested, and all communication with India cut off by the destruction -of the telegraph. - -The nearest force for its relief was that of General Phayre in the -Quettah Pass, where the difficulties of transport and supply were -extreme. The other available army was that under Stewart and Roberts -at Cabul. It was from them assistance was to come; but, while awaiting -relief, a most useless and injudicious sortie was made, which had -no result save the loss of valuable lives and a slight break in the -monotony of the siege of Candahar. - -The country in this part of Afghanistan was fully roused, though the -northern portion, now held by the Amir, was quiet. The hatred to the -British seemed to increase day by day. The deportation of prominent -Afghan chiefs to India added fuel to the flame. The horror of such -exile, in the Afghan mind, is extreme; the suffering infinitely greater -than any death. - -The fact that the tide of unvarying success which usually characterises -the action of our arms in the East had been so far checked, had -acted curiously on even the Indian mind. Hitherto there had been no -reluctance to serve beyond the borders of the Indian Empire, and no -difficulty in obtaining recruits. Now there was; and to such an extent -that bounties of £5 had to be offered, a sum equivalent with a native -to what £56 would be with an English soldier, in order to fill up the -depleted ranks. Even the often despised Madrasee was willingly taken. - -Ayub’s army therefore gathered strength as it advanced, especially -after the Maiwand disaster, and with the prospect of the rich plunder -of Candahar. He certainly numbered at one time some 10,000 men, but -the numbers varied, and these irregulars, like the Highlanders in the -Jacobite wars, often returned home to deposit plunder, see to their -crops, or visit their families. - -The Amir who then ruled Afghanistan was by no means averse to the -crushing of this somewhat formidable personage. His seat on the golden -throne was not yet so firmly secure that he could view with equanimity -the rise of a powerful and possibly victorious chieftain, who might -be his rival in the allegiance of the people. He assisted the British -expedition in every way, arranging, as far as he had power, for -supplies to be procured. - -To General Roberts was entrusted the command of the relieving column. -It numbered about 10,000 men, with 8000 camp followers, and with it -marched the 92nd, 72nd, and 60th line Regiments, and the 9th Lancers; -but the only artillery were three batteries of 7-pounder screw mountain -guns. - -The remainder of the army, including the 9th, 59th, and 67th Regiments, -under Stewart himself, marched back to India by the Khyber Pass, -unmolested by even a single Ghazi bullet, and Lundi Kotal became an -advanced post on this road, as Quettah was on that to Candahar. - -Though Stewart’s march from Candahar to Cabul was an anxious one, and -seriously resisted throughout, the return journey was uneventful and -unopposed. Joining hands with Primrose, the combined troops, leaving a -weak garrison in the city, marched out to attack Ayub, who had taken -up a position north of the fortress near the Pir Paimal ridge. Here, -while the 7th and 66th, with some native detachments, freed the central -attack, the right wing movement was effected. Macpherson’s Brigade, -in which served the 92nd, and Baker’s Brigade, forming the left wing, -and having the 72nd Regiment and the 2nd Sikhs in first line, the -5th Ghoorkas and 3rd Sikhs in second line, and the 2nd Beloochees -in third line, was thrust forward on this side against the enemy’s -right. The cavalry had to make a wide detour on the left to cross -the Argandab river. The victory was complete, 31 guns and 2 Royal -Horse Artillery 9-pounders were taken, one of which was claimed by a -plucky little Ghoorka, who, rushing on the gun, thrust his cap in the -muzzle, shouting in Hindustani, “This gun belongs to _my_ regiment, -2nd Ghoorkas, Prince of Wales’s!” The loss was only 46 killed and 202 -wounded. - -With the battle of “Baba Wali,” or “Candahar,” all opposition ceased, -and the British troops returned to India. Quettah and Lundi Kotal in -the two main passes were garrisoned, and the former has, since the war, -been strongly fortified, while a railway has been constructed to unite -this advanced post with the Indian railway system. - -Medals, with clasps, were given for Ali-Musjid, Peiwar Kotal, Cabul -1879, Charasiah, Candahar 1880, Afghanistan 1878 to 1880, and Ahmed -Kehl; while all those who took part in the 318-mile march from Cabul -received a bronze star supported by a rainbow-hued ribbon, as did those -who participated in the first Afghan war thirty years before. - -Since the annexation of the Punjab, and between 1849 and 1881, no -less than forty-four expeditions have been undertaken against the -hill people, and since then there have been other minor disturbances -in Sikkim, Waziristan, on the Black Mountain, Manipur, and elsewhere. -Finally, the British army, native and European, has brought to a -successful conclusion the expedition for the relief of Chitral, which -has shown, by the rapidity and secrecy of its mobilisation, and the -skilful conduct of this last “little war,” the preparedness of the army -in India for the work it may have eventually to perform, on a larger -scale even than that of the last Afghan campaign. - -Notwithstanding the difficulty of mobilising an Indian army widely -dispersed, and with often indifferent means of intercommunication, -the first division received the order on the 19th March, and was -fully mobilised by the 1st April. The men carried but ten pounds -weight of kit, and the officers forty, and there were no tents; yet, -notwithstanding, 28,000 pack animals were required for this limited -transport. The relief of Chitral, in the fort of which a small British -force, with the British agent, Surgeon-Major Robertson, was besieged -by a native rising composed of Pathans from Jandul, a state bordering -on Chitral, under Umra Khan, and Chitralis under Sher Afzul. It was -proposed to effect the invasion of this mountain district from two -sides. From the south was to advance the first division, in which -were the King’s Own Scottish Borderers, the Gordon Highlanders, the -Bedfordshire Regiment, and a battalion of the King’s Royal Rifles, -and their route lay by Sivat and Dir, with four hill ranges and three -considerable streams to be crossed. From the north-east by Gilgit -and Mastuj a second and smaller column under Colonel Kelly was to -march, having to cross in deep snow a pass 12,000 feet high. Both -expeditions succeeded. Colonel Kelly’s force overcame every difficulty -with the greatest determination, and the rapid and decisive defeat -of the enemy in the Panjkora and Jandul valleys by the main army -soon brought about the complete submission of the revolted tribes. -The defence of the fort of Chitral may be classed among the gallant -deeds English soldiers are proud to recognise, though there were no -European troops other than officers to conduct the operations. There -are some curious stories as to the indifference with which wounds are -regarded by Asiatics. After one of the skirmishes, one of the enemy -with six bullets through him walked nine miles to the British camp to -be treated, and fully recovered; while in another case a lad looking on -at the fight was wounded by a bullet in the arm, which “passed through -it in several places, splintering it badly.” The doctors gave him -the choice between death and amputation, but he declined the latter, -and “in a few days, instead of being dead, he was better, and in a -few days was out and about again.”[66] Against foes with such nerve -strength or indifference to pain, small-bore rifles will be of little -value to check a fanatic rush. The leaders of the little garrison of -Chitral richly earned the rewards bestowed on them; and Surgeon-Captain -Whitchurch won the Victoria Cross. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -THE ARMY IN THE FAR EAST--1819-75 - - -The minor wars outside the main peninsula of Hindostan have been caused -either by the expansion of the Empire of India in the only possible -direction--eastward--or for the purposes of colonisation or trade. - -A series of points on the road to the Pacific were gradually obtained, -usually by purchase, between 1786 and 1824, such as Penang, and the -land opposite in the Straits of Malacca, with Singapore and Malacca -farther south. These guarded the sea-road to China, with whom we were -eventually to be engaged in war. - -But before that happened, Alompra, King of Ava, had played into the -hands of those who were willing to add still more realms to those -already under the British flag. He had conquered much of the southern -peninsula, and, fancying himself irresistible, had raided our Cachar -territories which bordered on his. He had seized the island of Shapuree -and driven out the British guard there. Reluctant as was the East -India Company to engage in further war after the costly campaigns -with the Mahrattas, they had little choice. Prestige is all-important -with semi-barbaric nations, and force alone wins respect. So this -first expansion of empire into the Burma-Siamese peninsula began as a -punitive expedition. - -It commenced with an outbreak of mutiny, which future events in India -rendered ominous. The 47th Bengal Regiment refused to embark for -Burmah, lest they should lose caste. It is possible that their scruples -were sincerely conscientious, and their contract of enlistment does not -seem to have contemplated their employment beyond the seas. It was bad -management to select those whose religious antagonism might be roused; -but the order had been given, and on the continued refusal of the men -to embark, they were fired on by European infantry and artillery and -massacred. - -Then the expedition started, on a three years’ campaign, in which the -1st Royals, 13th, 38th, 41st, 44th, 47th, 54th, 87th, and 89th shared, -as did also the forerunner of the present 102nd or 1st Battalion Royal -Dublin Fusiliers, besides numerous regiments of Madras Sepoys. - -There had been some skirmishing with the invaders of Cachar, in the -north-west, where General Shuldham was on guard, but the physical -difficulties of forest and mountain rendered military operations -extremely difficult; so that the second step was the occupation of -Arracan by General Richards, with the 44th, 54th, and seven Sepoy -battalions. Little else was done in that province, and the troops -suffered terribly from sickness. Soon after Rangoon was taken by Sir -A. Campbell, who had the 13th, 38th, and 41st Regiments, with a large -force of Sepoys, as well as the remains of the 44th and 54th line -Battalions, and this formed the base of all the future operations. -The war throughout was peculiar. The chief villages and towns were on -or near the banks of the Irrawaddy and its tributaries, and the whole -district was covered by dense forests and marshes through which ran -poor tracks which could scarcely be deemed roads. The enemy fought with -bravery, but rarely ventured to meet the invader in the open, basing -their defence on skilfully constructed stockades, which they rapidly -erected. The physical difficulties were great, and led to delay, which -in its turn led to a steady decimation of the white troops. Between -June 1824 and March 1825, out of an average force of about 2800 men -nearly 1400 had died. It was jungle fighting under the most severe -conditions, and the whole strategic plan of attack was the successive -assault and possession of the chief towns until the capital itself was -reached. - -But little headway was made at first. The first attempts on Kemmendine -and Donabu failed; raids on Tavoy, Mergui, Tenasserim, Martaban, and -Yé succeeded. There were constant skirmishes round Rangoon, in which -the 38th and 13th especially distinguished themselves; and as Havelock -says, in his _Memoirs of the Three Campaigns_, the enemy “acquitted -themselves like men. They fell in heaps under the bayonet.” - -But until 1825 began, the only result of the operations had been the -possession, more or less, of the coast line. Early in that year a -famous Burmese general, one Maha Bandoola, who had marched through -Arracan bearing with him heavy gold fetters wherewith to bind and make -captive Lord Amherst, appeared before Rangoon. The “Lord of the golden -foot” who ruled in Ava was exasperated at the capture of the place. -His first order had been: “British ships have brought foreign soldiers -to the mouth of the river. They are my prisoners. Cut me some thousand -spans of rope to bind them.” The Burmese army therefore took up and -entrenched a strong position at Kokaing, whence Rangoon was harassed; -but, attacked in rear by Cotton with the 13th Regiment (which lost 53 -men and 7 officers killed and wounded, out of a total of 220) and some -Sepoys, and in front by Campbell with a force in which were the 38th, -41st, and 89th (recently arrived), the enemy, 25,000 strong, was badly -beaten by about 1500 men, and fell back on Donabu. The 47th and Royals -having arrived as reinforcements, Campbell pushed on toward Sarawak, -but Cotton, attacking Donabu, was not in sufficient force to carry out -his object; so the two wings united and attacked the place a second -time, and after desperate fighting carried the defences of the town, -and Bandoola was slain. He was a man of an inquiring disposition, and -was anxious to see the properties of the common shell, one “with a very -long fuse having been projected by the British. The live ‘creature’ was -brought fizzing at a dreadful rate to him; and he, at some distance, -surveyed with great curiosity the unfortunate men bringing the fiery -fiend along. Another second or two and it burst, killing the carriers -and every one beside it! Bandoola was thunderstruck, and for the whole -of that day his courage left him.” The stockades were “made of solid -teak beams about 17 feet high driven firmly into the earth. Behind this -wooden wall the old brick ramparts of the place rose to a considerable -height, affording a firm and elevated footing for the defenders. On -the works were 150 cannon and several guns. A ditch surrounded them, -and the passage of it was rendered difficult by spikes and great nails -planted in the earth, by treacherous holes and other contrivances. -Beyond the ditch were several rows of strong railings; but in front of -all was the most formidable defence, an abattis of felled trees, thirty -yards in breadth, extending quite round the works.” - -This will give a good idea of the Burmese defences at that time. - -The next post of importance occupied was Prome, still farther up the -river, and here, though the lower part of the country was now in the -undisturbed possession of the British, the Burmese army was not yet -cowed, and 60,000 men assembled to blockade Prome. But, assisted by -the fleet which accompanied the advance, the British pushed on, though -opposed step by step, in a series of skirmishes in which the 87th and -41st showed distinguished gallantry; and after a more determined battle -at Melloon, and another at Pagahan-Mew, within forty-five miles of Ava, -a treaty of peace was concluded in February 1826, whereby Arracan, Yé, -Tavoy, Mergui, and Tenasserim were added to the Indian Empire. The war -had cost the lives of 3222 Europeans and 1766 Sepoys, and placed “Ava” -on the colours of the 13th, 38th, 41st, 44th, 45th, 47th, 87th, and -89th Regiments of the line, as well as the Madras European Regiment, -afterwards the 102nd Foot. - -But the treaty of Yandaboo, granting safety to merchants and opening -the country up to trade, was never really kept. So much did the -native insolence increase, that in 1852 the foreign inhabitants of -Rangoon embarked in the _Proserpine_, and the occupation of Burmah -was temporarily suspended. But the Marquis of Dalhousie, then -Governor-General, saw the danger of having a hostile State on our -borders, especially if flushed with the idea of strength. In April of -that year, therefore, an army in which were the 18th, 51st, and 80th, -under General Godwin, proceeded to Burmah, and successively occupied, -after but slight resistance, Martaban and Rangoon. In these operations -the fleet as before were usefully employed. So terrible was the heat -that many men, and Major Oakes, who commanded the artillery, perished -from sunstroke; but the key to the position, the Golden Pagoda, was -carried by the 80th and Royal Irish, after some stout fighting and -comparatively little loss. Soon after, Bassein was again taken by the -51st and garrisoned while the enemy made an ineffective attack on -Martaban; but the resistance in this war was by no means so vigorous -as in 1825; and when Pegu, which had been subdued and partly destroyed -during Alompra’s conquests, was taken by one company of the 80th and -some Madras troops, the army advanced unopposed as far as Prome, which -was taken with a loss of one man killed and one wounded. So hostilities -ceased without any formal treaty; but Pegu was annexed, and a military -road was commenced to unite Calcutta with Prome. - -The final subjugation of Burmah presents few features of military -interest. The feeble rule of the king necessitated his deposition, and -the country was annexed therefore. Since then its pacification has -steadily progressed, and the military operations have mainly consisted -of moving against the bands of disbanded soldiery, or Dacoits, which -successively formed in the country. - -The last operation undertaken in the peninsula was the expedition to -Perak in 1875, which, formerly ruled by Siam, had after 1822 been -independent. - -Our possession of the country began in the customary way. Internal -disturbance led us to assist one side, and place a Resident, Mr. J. W. -Birch, in the country; and here again the usual results followed--his -murder, and a punitive expedition. The small war was identical with -those of the neighbouring state of Burmah, the ostensible reason for -it the inadvisability of having a disturbed, internecine war-torn -principality near our own possession of Wellesley Province, opposite -Penang. The operations, similarly, were conducted along the Perak -river; the country itself was heavily jungled and morassed; the enemy -fought us behind stockades. The jungle was “so dense and dark, that -during all the time not a vestige of sun or sky was visible overhead; -and during the advance [on Kinta] they were without cover of any kind, -and slept in the damp, dewy open.” The regiments, or portions thereof, -employed were the 10th and the 3rd Buffs, with Ghoorkas and other -native troops, aided by engineers, artillery, and naval brigades. - -Of these latter there were three. Captain Butler, with some of the -men of the _Modeste_ and _Ringdove_, accompanied General Colborne on -the Perak river, which was patrolled by the boats of the navy, and -incursions from the north bank thereby prevented; Captain Garforth, -with bluejackets of the _Philomel_, _Modeste_, and _Ringdove_, was -with Ross in the Larut district; and Captain Stirling of the _Thrush_ -co-operated with Colonel Hill in Sunghi Uhjong. - -The physical difficulties and the food supply, the want of roads and -the climate, were the chief obstacles; but after a series of severe -skirmishes between the Perak and Kinta rivers, at Kinta, Kotah Lama -and Rathalma, the Malays accepted the inevitable, and fighting ceased. -One remarkable result may be recorded. As soon as British rule was -established, the Malays flocked in numbers to the settled land, and -“Under British sway these have increased until they numbered 120 souls -per square mile, while in the States governed by native sovereigns they -have sunk down to about seven souls in the square mile.” The districts -annexed, and righteously governed, had recently, as Sir Andrew Clarke -stated, been “huge cockpits of slaughter.” The end here unquestionably -justified the means. - - * * * * * - -The expedition to China was the natural outcome of our commercial -expansion, as others had been produced by colonial expansion. The -innate conservatism of China was at its highest about this time. -Freedom of trade was not; and merchandise, etc., filtered only through -the one doorway of Canton and Macao. Smuggling was rampant, especially -in opium, and this was extensively imported into the country, -notwithstanding the objections raised by the Chinese Government, which -had, twenty years earlier, prohibited its use. From mere threats they -proceeded to active measures. Some twenty thousand chests of opium were -seized, and British merchants trading in the drug were imprisoned. -Early in 1840, therefore, a combined naval and military expedition -was fitted out, the latter consisting of native Indian regiments, -together with the 18th, 26th, and 49th, and later on the 55th and -98th. The attack on the unwieldy empire was more or less coastal; its -aim exhaustion rather than occupation of large areas of territory, -the seizure of great towns rather than a connected campaign. The -Island of Chusan was chosen as the primary base of operations, and -the whole coast line, as far north as the Yangtse, was blockaded, but -the loss from disease was far greater than that caused by battle, and -the Cameronians were soon reduced from 900 to barely 300 strong. The -resistance offered was of no great value. Each success was followed by -negotiations which led to no result beyond the tedious prolongation of -the war. - -Thus, in 1841, detachments of the 18th, 26th, and 49th landed and took -Chuenpee, the Bocca-Tigris Forts were destroyed, and Canton fell. The -squadron from Hong Kong Harbour then captured Amoy, the marines and -26th occupying Kulangsu on the left of the entrance, and the 18th and -49th the great battery on the right, or city, side. - -The flank of this long, low, coast battery was covered by a crenelated -wall, and when the Royal Irish swarmed over it, the “Tiger Braves,” so -called from their uniform and the tiger’s face on their huge wicker -shields, endeavoured to frighten the invaders by yells and jumps. But -it had little effect, and we “picked ’em off,” said one soldier, “like -partridges on the wing.” This was the first campaign in which the -percussion musket was employed. - -Chusan was abandoned for a while, but reoccupied later by the 18th, -49th, and 55th; and shortly afterwards the seaport of Ningpo was taken, -together with Chinghai; while the following year Chapoo and Woosung, at -the mouth of the Shanghai river, were destroyed, and a severe battle -took place at Chin Kiang, which placed the whole of the most important -ports of the Chinese littoral in British hands. - -The Tartar troops fought with desperation at Chin Kiang, and, according -to a barbarous custom, based possibly on dread of ill-treatment to -prisoners, they murdered their wives and children before retreating. -One deep draw-well was full to the brim of drowned Tartar girls, some -well dressed and of the higher class. - -The fall of Chin Kiang, and the threat to advance upon Nankin, had -brought the emperor to his senses, though probably he had been deceived -up to that time as to the result of the invaders’ efforts. He sued for -peace, therefore, and obtained it at the expense of the cession of -Hong Kong, the opening of five ports to trade, and the payment of an -indemnity of four and a quarter millions sterling. For this campaign -the regiments engaged bear the dragon, with “China,” among their badges. - -There was a further small ebullition of hostility to the “Fan Kwei,” or -“foreign devils,” in 1847, in which the 18th was employed to quell the -disturbance, but it was not of much military interest. - -But in 1856 hostilities again broke out on a more serious scale. The -Chinese had seized the _Arrow_, a small trading vessel, and taken a -man out of her, on the ground that he was a pirate. The insult to the -flag could not be permitted, and the refusal of apology led to a second -declaration of war. The 59th Regiment was already on the China station, -and with the assistance of the Royal Marines, early in 1857, bombarded -and stormed Canton; it also served in the expedition to the White Cloud -Mountains and at the capture of Nantow in 1858. But the gravity of -the situation in India was too profound to admit of the despatch of -reinforcements to the far East until the great Mutiny was quelled. It -was not until 1859, therefore, that active operations were resumed, and -these met with a disastrous check at the first move; for the fleet, -in attempting to destroy the forts which the Chinese had erected at -the mouth of the Peiho, was decidedly repulsed. In 1860, therefore, -a serious combined naval and military expedition was planned. The -former was commanded by Admiral Hope; the latter by Sir Hope Grant, and -consisted of the 1st Dragoon Guards, a battalion of the 1st Royals, -the 2nd Queen’s, the 3rd Buffs, and the 31st, 44th, 60th, 67th, and -99th Regiments, together with the Royal Marines and Indian troops, -including the famous “Fane’s” and “Probyn’s” Horse. But, in addition, -we were allied with a French force under General Montauban, and, as is -not uncommon in such allied operations, the small French contingent was -often rather a drag than an assistance, totally unprovided as it was -with regular cavalry. - -A landing was effected near the mouth of the Peiho, at Pehtang in the -Gulf of Pecheli, and the army marched towards Sinho. The Taku forts -were of considerable size, strongly armed and surrounded by wet ditches -and lines of bamboo pickets. But they were stormed none the less, after -a brief skirmish on the way at Sinho, the works on the north side being -first assailed, as being least formidable and commanding the southern -fort, which was, moreover, to be bombarded from the sea by the French -and British gunboats. But the fall of the first north fort attacked, -where Lieutenants Rogers of the 44th and Burslem of the 67th showed -great gallantry in carrying the colours of their regiments, led to the -abandonment of the rest. Unlike the previous war, this was undertaken -with the definite strategic plan of bringing pressure to bear upon the -emperor by the seizure of his capital. Leaving the Buffs at Taku, and -despatching the 44th to Shanghai, the army marched to Tientsin, whither -the lighter vessels of the squadron also steamed. The route taken was -along the south bank of the Peiho, by Tientsin, Chan-Chia-Wan, and -Palichaio, where the river was crossed, and then, after a detour to -the Summer Palace of Yuan-ming-Yuan, the capital was reached, and -preparations made to breach its massive walls. No serious resistance -was offered until the army had reached Chan-Chia-Wan, where there was a -sharp skirmish, and the enemy abandoned his entrenched position, with -74 guns, within a few miles of Pekin; and exasperation was added to -the desire for attacking the Chinese by the unwarrantable seizure of -Captain Brabazon, Lieutenant Anderson, Mr. Norman, Mr. Bowden, and Mr. -(afterwards Sir Harry) Parkes, who were taken prisoners, and with the -sole exception of Parkes, barbarously murdered. - -One last effort was made to cover Pekin, before the emperor fled, -at the Bridge of Palichaio, and here the French attacked with the -greatest vigour the Chinese Imperial Guard, and drove them back with -loss, taking 25 guns. This obtained for General Montauban the title of -Comte de Palikao. The further advance was practically unopposed. The -Summer Palace was looted and finally burned; the main gate of Pekin -surrendered to avoid bombardment. - -The plunder in the Summer Palace was immense, but the French, less -scrupulous than the British, began it, and had the best of it. - -“In the room,” says an eye-witness, “we proceeded to examine the -imperial curiosities, as we might have done those in a museum, but the -French officers proceeded to ‘_arracher_’ everything they took a fancy -to, gold watches and small valuables being thrust with amazing velocity -into the capacious side pockets of their voluminous red pantaloons. -Though the general asserted that nothing was to be touched till Sir -Hope Grant arrived, yet the ‘looting’ of the famous Summer Palace went -on. One French officer found a string of gorgeous pearls, each being -the size of a marble, which he afterward foolishly sold at Hong Kong -for £3000. Others had pencil-cases set with pure diamonds; others -watches and vases thickly studded with pearls.” - -Again, “In an outhouse two carriages, presented to the Emperor -Taon-Kwong by Lord Macartney, were found; and such a quantity of gold -fell into the hands of the 15th Punjaubees that one officer alone got -£9000.” - -The wilful destruction of the palace was a stern necessity. As Sir -Garnet Wolseley, in his account of the war, says: “The destruction -of the palace appears to have struck the Pekin authorities with awe. -It was the stamp which gave an unmistakable reality to our work of -vengeance, proving that Lord Elgin’s last letter was no idle threat, -and warning them of what they might expect in the capital itself unless -they accepted our proffered terms.” - -There is one incident regarding the conduct of one of the brave men -who fought in this campaign, which is worth recording. Private Moyse -of the Buffs was, with some Indian troops, taken prisoner near Sinho, -and led before the Tartar general. Here the prisoners were ordered to -_kow-tow_, the usual salutation from the lower classes in China to the -higher classes, and which consists of kneeling down and touching the -ground several times with the forehead. The native soldiers obeyed. -Private Moyse refused, and was at once killed. The story has been -touchingly poetised by Sir F. H. Doyle, under the title of “The Private -of the Buffs.”[67] - - “Last night among his fellow roughs, - He jested, quaffed, and swore, - A drunken private of the Buffs - Who never looked before. - To-day, beneath the foeman’s frown, - He stands in Elgin’s place, - Ambassador from Britain’s crown, - And type of all her race. - - Poor, reckless, rude, low-born, untaught, - Bewildered, and alone; - A heart with English instinct fraught, - He yet can call his own. - Ay, tear his body limb from limb, - Bring cord or axe or flame, - He only knows that not _through_ him - Shall England come to shame. - - * * * * * - - Yes, honour calls, with strength like steel - He put the vision by; - Let dusky Indians whine and kneel, - An English lad must die. - And thus, with eyes that would not shrink, - With knee to man unbent, - Unfaltering on its dreadful brink - To his red grave he went. - - Vain, mightiest fleets of iron framed, - Vain, those all-shattering guns, - Unless proud England keep untamed - The strong heart of her sons. - So let his name through Europe ring, - A man of mean estate, - Who died as firm as Sparta’s king - Because his soul was great.” - -The battle of Palichaio practically terminated the war. The conquerors -refused to come to terms unless Pekin was itself occupied, and, when -this was agreed to, peace followed in due course. The Chinese had to -pay an indemnity of £100,000, open the port of Tientsin to trade, -and add the island of Kowloon, opposite Hong Kong, to the British -possessions in China. - - * * * * * - -In the area of the South Pacific there had been little employment for -the army except as the national police. No resistance had been offered -to our occupation of the islands in the Southern Seas, with the sole -exception of New Zealand. The war that broke out here was remarkable -for the great courage shown by the natives, and for the stubborn -resistance offered to the troops engaged in what were lightly called -rebellions. In such campaigns there could be no very connected plan. -It was essentially bush fighting, against isolated bodies or tribal -headquarters, very skilfully entrenched and stockaded. - -It began in 1847, three years after the island had been declared -a British colony, and arose from the gradual colonisation of the -territory and the occupation of the tribal lands. This was contrary to -the national feelings of the Maoris, and was bitterly resented. The -country was much wooded, and the natives warlike and cannibal. Like -all such contests, the wars were prolonged and embittered. The first -one lasted more or less from 1849 to 1856, and from time to time kept -fully employed the 58th, 65th, 98th, and 99th Regiments of the line. - -The second continued from 1860 until 1869, and employed at intervals -no less than thirteen regiments of the line, which, therefore, bear -“New Zealand” on their colours; and afforded many opportunities for -distinguished bravery, which gained Colonel M’Neill, Doctors Manley -and Temple, Lieutenant Pickard, Sergeant M’Kenna, Sergeant-major -Lucas, Ensign Down, and Drummer Stagpoole the honour of the Victoria -Cross. The regiments referred to are the 12th, 14th, 18th, 40th, 43rd, -50th, 57th, 58th, 65th, 68th, 70th, 96th, and 99th, and at one time -there were altogether some 25,000 men under arms, of which 10,000 -were regulars; while, on the other hand, the enemy are said never to -have been able to muster for battle at one time more than 600 men! -The positions selected for defence were, as a rule, well chosen, and -protected with well-constructed rifle-pits, and they communicated with -each other by fire signals by night, and steam produced by pouring -water on heated stones, by day. The general plan of operation was -necessarily dislocated. As districts were cleared of the enemy, so -redoubts were made and garrisoned to hold in awe the land. - -The fighting was at times terribly severe, well sustained, and at times -chivalric. At Rangiriri, where the British loss was 15 officers and 117 -men killed and wounded of the 40th, 65th, 12th, and 14th Regiments, the -Maoris surrendered, and at once fraternised with their late opponents, -and in a speech said, “We fought you at Koheroa, and fought you well; -we fought you at Rangiriri, and fought you well, and now we are friends -for ever, for ever, for ever.” Similarly, at the “Gate Pah” the enemy -had entrenched himself, and threatened the station of Tauranga; so the -garrison was reinforced by the 68th and detachments of the 12th, 14th, -43rd, and 65th Regiments, with a force of marines and bluejackets, -with nine guns and six mortars, and advanced to drive the Maoris from -their strongly-entrenched position. The flanks rested on marshes, -and “on the highest point of the neck the Maoris had constructed an -oblong redoubt, well palisaded and surrounded by a strong post and rail -fence--a formidable obstacle to an advancing column, and difficult -to destroy with artillery; the interval between the side faces of -the redoubt and the swamps was defended by an entrenched line of -rifle-pits.” - -This will give a fair type of the Maori method of defence, and is -sufficient evidence of a natural military eye for ground. - -The attack was checked at first with heavy loss, and the enemy -escaped during the night. On the field were left 14 officers killed -and wounded, and 97 non-commissioned officers and men. For when the -stormers entered the work, the enemy had concealed themselves in -subterranean hollows or casemates, which both protected them from the -artillery fire and hid them from view, and from this cover close and -heavy volleys were fired by a concealed adversary at a range where -every shot told. The sudden panic so created spread to the supports, -and hence the disaster which fell so heavily on the gallant “fighting -43rd.” - -The desultory fighting continued until the Maoris were exhausted, and -a better understanding between native customs and European methods has -led to prolonged peace. - - * * * * * - -Many improvements had been made in the army during the years comprising -the period under review. Rifled artillery had entirely superseded -smooth-bores after the Franco-Austrian campaign of 1859. The Enfield -rifle was converted into the breech-loading “Snider” soon after the -value of the new mechanism had been proved in the Austro-Prussian War -of 1866; but even as late as the China War many of the Indian regiments -were still armed with the old flint “firelock” or “Brown Bess.” The -Act of 1867 had been passed, making the length of army service twelve -years, with power of re-engaging for twenty-one years for pension. An -effort was made to create a reserve. - -The system of payment, too, was altered in 1824, and men were paid -daily. Previous to that time a certain amount of petty cash was issued -weekly, and the balance at the end of the month. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII - -THE ARMY IN SOUTH AND WEST AFRICA--1834-86 - - -Omitting such small “affairs” as were consequent on the extension and -for long purely coastal expansion of our Empire in Africa after the -long war, there is little to record until 1834. The conquest of the -Dark Continent had been gradual, and practically commercial. It had -been largely based on geographical discoveries. War and political -occupation followed missionary enterprise here as elsewhere. Nothing -is more curious to watch than how often the proselyte is followed by -the soldier and the sword. The colonist and trade follow the first, -and with him or them come trade-rum, trade-firearms, and all the -so-called blessings of civilisation. After both comes first friction, -then fighting, and finally conquest. These are usually the phases of -Anglo-Saxon colonial expansion, unless we add to them the last end of -all, the practical extermination of the native races. - -So it was in America, where the red man is dying out; and so in New -Zealand, though to a less degree, for the natives there are of better -stock. It is not yet to the same extent in Africa, solely because -the population, in the latter days of the nineteenth century, is too -redundant. But unless the black can assimilate with the white, he must -as assuredly give place to those who have the mental and physical -power, as the red man has been driven westward against the mountain -ridges of America. - -Asiatics alone, among the races of colour, have held their own, -because the people are intellectually sound. In that country, built -up of many countries, there has been always, as far as historic time -goes, civilisation. In Africa there has been none, save that alone of -immigrants. In China, again, there is no dread of such extermination; -its people, though barbaric, are intellectual and more than -semi-civilised. In Japan the extreme case is met with. A nation of high -artistic and intellectual power, not a quarter of a century ago ranking -among armour-wearing barbarians, it has shown its strength in its -recent war with China, and won respect and equality among the leading -nations of the earth. - -This Africa has _never_ done, and its history therefore, as far as -Great Britain’s army is concerned, is not that of the barbaric or -semi-barbaric powers with whom we have come in contact, but that of -savage powers who are incapable of improvement or absorption, and whose -only destiny is to remain hewers of wood and drawers of water. As the -red man numbered millions when the eighteenth century was dying, and -within a hundred years is far less than a _quantité negligéable_, so -the black man, numbering millions when the nineteenth century is also -a-dying, may possibly, before another century, fade out too. There is -no room for either, unless the black mends his ways better than the red -man did. - -The earliest occupation of the African littoral was that of the -North-West Coast for purely trading purposes, and that of the Cape of -Good Hope for those of colonial expansion, and as one of the chain of -ports uniting our Eastern and Far Eastern possessions with the mother -country. In early days they were the depôts whence the essential -necessaries of food, water, and stores were replenished. Now they are -even more vitally important as the coaling stations for the ocean -steamers. - -As already referred to, the Cape of Good Hope was seized by conquest -in 1805. The West African settlements at Gambia, Sierra Leone, Gold -Coast, and Lagos, united in 1806 into one government, bear date from -1787, etc., and were made primarily with little serious opposition. -The West African is a less serious fighting personage than either his -stalwart brother of Zululand or the “Fuzzy Wuzzy” of the Soudan. There -was little antagonism at first, that is to say, after the conquest -of the Cape of Good Hope from the Dutch. There was plenty of room for -expansion, and the population was for a long time meagre. - -But in 1817 the 72nd was engaged in suppressing a rising of the Kaffirs -of the Great Fish River; and in 1834 it was again employed against -Macomo in the same district. The frontier troubles were getting rather -more serious, and the Kaffir invasion of the colony was marked by the -usual savage atrocities. Almost the only military operation of the -practically peaceful reign of William IV. was the punitive expedition -of Colonel Peddie’s Highlanders against these tribes. - -The frontier, however, still remained restless for some years after -this; and in 1843 the tables were somewhat turned, inasmuch as the -91st Regiment was despatched to assist the Griquas, who had placed -themselves under our protection, against the Boers, on the Orange River. - -Shortly after, in 1846, the first serious Kaffir war broke out, and in -it the first and reserve battalions of the 91st, the 6th, 73rd, 45th, -and Rifle Brigade were actively engaged for nearly two years. There was -much hard fighting in the Amatola Mountains, at Burn’s Hill and Block -Drift, and one noteworthy act of bravery may be recorded of Privates -Walsh and Reilly, who, when Fort Cox was beleaguered, managed to convey -a despatch through the investing savages to Governor Maitland. - -At the close of the year 1850 the racial antagonism again appeared, and -this second Kaffir war lasted until 1853, requiring the services of -the 2nd, 6th, 43rd, 45th, 60th, 73rd, 74th, and 91st Regiments of the -Line, besides the Rifle Brigade, the Cape Mounted Rifles and Colonial -Irregulars. The British frontier, when war broke out, was supposed -to be represented by the Kei River, between which and the Great Fish -River the country had been informally considered more or less neutral. -But all buffer states are dangers as a rule, and neutral belts are -no better. So thought Sandilli, a powerful Kaffir chieftain; jealous -of his own waning power as that of the white man increased, and also -at being deposed by the governor of the colony, he broke into open -revolt. The country was dense forest, roads rare, and the conduct of -the war desultory. To destroy the rude kraals of the enemy, carry off -his cattle, cut down his crops to starve him out, and finally assault -some central stronghold such as are to be found in hill districts like -the Amatolas, or some isolated hill honeycombed with caves, was the -method of procedure then as it is now. Nothing has changed less in the -army’s history than the tactics of savage war, especially in Africa. - -Sir Harry Smith, who commanded, was not particularly successful -either in his conduct of the campaign or in his judgment of the -military situation. There were several small disasters, such as befell -detachments of the 6th and 73rd under Mackinnon at the Keiskamma -defile, and which partook then, and often after, of the nature of -ambuscades. A detachment of the 45th escorting a convoy was cut off. -The garrison of Fort Cox was for a time surrounded and completely -isolated by the Kaffirs. Meanwhile, numerous European villages were -destroyed by the enemy, and in many cases the inhabitants massacred -with extreme barbarity and with horrible mutilations. - -In the spring of 1852 a determined advance was made against the Amatola -Mountains, in which was Sandilli’s stronghold, and the Highland -“tortoises,” as the enemy called the 74th, from a fancied resemblance -of their tartans to the markings of the land tortoise of South Africa, -after much heavy fighting and hard work, succeeded in clearing the -district, but it took until September, when there was a sharp skirmish -at Kromme. - -Early in October the Kaffirs assembled on the Waterkloof heights, where -the fortress of Chief Macomo was attacked seven times before the enemy -were subdued. It cost the lives of many officers and men, including -that of Colonel Fordyce of the 74th. Thus hostilities practically -ended, as the expedition across the Orange River against the Basuto -chief Moshesh, with the 2nd, 43rd, 73rd, 74th, Rifle Brigade, and 12th -Lancers, with some artillery and irregulars, was not opposed. - -The next important outbreak of hostilities occurred on the West Coast. -There had been, long before 1873, frequent troubles in the Hinterland -of the West Coast settlements. There had even been war about 1824 and -1826, when we had to defeat the natives at Accra, after much previous -desultory skirmishing, in one of which Sir Charles Macarthy, the -Governor of the Coast, was slain, and the force with him practically -destroyed. There was a further slight disturbance in 1863; but in 1870, -a more serious dispute arose as to the ownership of Elmina, which we -had taken over from the Dutch. Many impolitic acts were committed as -regards the assistance that might have been rendered by us to those -tribes most exposed to the Ashanti attack, and finally, in January -1873, the Ashanti army crossed the Prah, and attacked the Assims and -Fantees, and these after a while were worsted, and the roads to Cape -Coast Castle and Elmina were thus left open. The Elminas and Ashantis -fraternised, and made an effort to seize the Elmina Fort, but were -repulsed by Colonel Festing, with some Royal Marines and a Naval -Brigade; and thus matters remained, with 20,000 Ashantis at Mampon, -ten miles distant from the British forts, until the arrival of the -expedition commanded by Sir Garnet Wolseley, which reached the coast in -October 1874. Partly by way of a diversion, and partly as a punitive -expedition, a small force was first sent to Elmina, and landing there, -advanced against the allied natives at Essiaman, and dispersed them -with little loss. Native levies were raised, and placed under the -charge of European officers; posts were prepared, and the road improved -between Cape Coast and the Prah, one result of which preparation was -the abandonment by the Ashantis of their Mampon camp, and their falling -back behind the river. Sundry other small expeditions from Dunquah and -towards Abracampa also assisted. - -In addition to the main advance, another was prepared under Captain -Glover and Captain R. Sartorius, and was designed to advance from Accra -on Coomassie. It was composed entirely of native levies led by a few -British officers, but did not reach the Ashanti capital until it had -been captured and abandoned by the main column. - -This was composed of the 2nd Battalion of the Rifle Brigade, the 23rd, -and the 42nd, and by New Year’s day, 1874, these troops had landed -at Cape Coast Castle. No expedition could have been better managed -or organised. Every attention was paid to the slightest detail. Sir -Garnet’s instructions for the officers, as regards their attention to -their men, are more than instructive: they evidence the patient study -of details necessary for the well-being of his command, which only a -careful leader knows to be as essential to success as the fighting of -his men when the time for action comes. Sir Garnet’s _Notes for the Use -of the Troops_ should be read by everybody who has to conduct a similar -campaign. - -When the advance began, the stations between the coast and the Prah -numbered eight in the sixty-nine miles that covered the distance. - -Soon the Prah was reached, the river that the Ashantis believed would -never be crossed by a white man; but Lieutenant Grant of the 5th -crossed it first, none the less. Here the stream, some 70 feet wide and -9 feet deep, was bridged with a crib bridge, and King Koffi Calcali -sent ambassadors to treat for peace. But it was too late, even if the -barbaric potentate could be trusted. - -The army pushed on, deserted at times by the carriers, and little -helped by the native allies; though the black regiments commanded by -Russell, Wood, and Webber did some useful work. - -The Adansi Hills and Bahrein river were successively crossed, and a -skirmish occurred at a village near Adubiassie, in which Captain Nicol -was killed; but the first serious battle was that of Amoaful, in which -the Ashanti army stubbornly fought for more than five hours before they -fell back beaten. - -The bush was terribly dense, the tracks were but 8 feet broad. Paths -had therefore to be hewn by the engineers in every case where the -slightest width of front was necessary. - -Strong in numbers, and acquainted with the jungle tracks, the Ashantis -were able to assail both flanks and rear of the column as well as hold -it in front. Simultaneous attacks could be, and were, made during and -immediately after the battle on the fortified posts along the line of -communication with the Prah and Cape Coast at Quaman, Fomanah, etc. - -The fighting formation that could best meet these difficulties was, -as in most of our African wars, a species of square. The advance was -made in three columns. The centre, which formed, so to speak, the -front face as far as possible, and was composed of the 42nd and the -detachment of the 23rd, with Rait’s guns, was to seize the village of -Egginassie. The left column, the Naval Brigade, and Russell’s native -regiment, with some Royal Engineers and two rocket troughs, was to move -by a road cut through the bush some few hundred yards from the central -column. The right column was also built up of the Naval Brigade, with -another native regiment, and some Engineers and rocket tubes. The 2nd -Battalion of the Rifle Brigade formed the reserve or rear face, if -required, of the square. The village of Egginassie was occupied with -but little opposition, and the firing was continuous and heavy, as -the troops advanced farther. Fortunately the missiles were slugs, not -bullets, or the loss would have been serious. As it was, many men were -hit, some severely, and Captain Buckle was killed. The total casualties -amounted to 250, while the Ashanti loss was heavy, and their leader, -Ammonquantia, was slain. - -The following day the village of Bequah was taken, and further severe -skirmishing took place at the passage of the Ordah, which had to be -bridged, and while the baggage convoy was being packed at Ordahsu, a -further effort was made to disturb the column, and Lieutenant Eyre -was killed. Here the defence was half-hearted, and the capture of the -capital, Coomassie, was not opposed. It was “a town over which the -smell of death hangs everywhere and pulsates on each sickly breath -of wind--a town where, here and there, a vulture hops at one’s very -feet, too gorged to join the filthy flock preening itself on the -gaunt dead trunks that line the road; where blood is plastered like -a pitch coating over trees, floors, and stools--blood of a thousand -victims yearly-renewed; where headless bodies make common sport; where -murder, pure and simple, monotonous massacre of bound men, is the one -employment of the king, and the one spectacle of the populace.”[68] - -One of the many reasons for the war was a wish to put down the -barbarous horrors of King Koffi Calcali’s reign, and a stipulation to -that effect was made in the treaty, but it was disregarded. It required -a second expedition to carry the measure into effect, by the deposition -of the king’s successor, Prempeh, and the bloodless occupation of the -capital--measures over which gloom was cast by the death of Prince -Henry of Battenberg. Finally, in the first expedition, the city was set -on fire, the king’s palace destroyed, and the army turned back to the -coast. It was quite time; the rains had set in, and what were rivulets -on the march up were now unfordable streams on the march back. Men half -swam, were half dragged over these, their clothes being carried on the -heads of natives. In one case, the bundle was lost, and, it is said -that the unfortunate owner paraded the next morning with nothing but -his helmet and rifle! - -The war was over, and a treaty of peace signed; but after the -retirement of Sir Garnet Wolseley from Coomassie, Captain Reginald -Sartorius, who led the advance of Captain Glover’s force from the -Volta, rode alone through the ruins of the city to communicate with -the general commanding, and won thus the Victoria Cross. But this -expedition was too late to join hands with the main column, though it -had some skirmishing on the way; as also were those of Captain Butler -with the Akims, and Captain Dalrymple with the Wassaws. Small as the -war was, and of very short duration, it was sufficiently deadly. By -July 9, 1874, thirty-eight officers of the whole force were dead.[69] - -Turning once more to South Africa, it will be remembered that the -Kaffir wars of 1850-53 had been chiefly fought about the valley of the -Kei, south of which river was British Kaffraria, including the tribes -of the Fingoes and Gaikas, while in the Transkei district are the -Galekas, Pondos, Griquas, etc. The war broke out much as before. The -Gaika chief Sandilli and the Galeka chief Kreli attacked our old allies -the Fingoes in 1877, and the Kaffirs, being better armed with rifles -than in 1850, were now rather more formidable. - -The enemy developed an increasing knowledge of tactics. The old -irregular rush of a mass of men had given way to more methodical -formations. Thus Kreli in his advance on the police post of Ibeka--the -frontier police had taken the place of the Cape Mounted Rifles, which -had been disbanded--had about 2000 of his 10,000 men mounted, and -advanced in line of columns covered by skirmishers. But the fire of the -breech-loader, together with that of rockets and 7-pounders, checked -then, as before, the savage ardour. The war, which lasted more or less -intermittently until 1878, was mainly carried out by colonial and -irregular levies; but many detachments for holding the defensive posts -with which the country was dotted were furnished by the 88th, the 24th -(whose bandsmen were trained as gunners to work a 7-pounder gun), a -naval brigade with marines, the 90th (one of whose men emphasised the -value of the Martini-Henry rifle by hitting a man who was whooping -and dancing 1800 yards away), the 2nd Buffs, and the 13th, and most -of these regiments shared in the prolonged war. The losses were more -serious both with officers and men, for the better weapons the Kaffirs -had secured told. - -But the end, though long in coming, was decisive. Kreli surrendered, -Sandilli was killed, risings in Griqualand were suppressed, and the -Basutos were crushed when their chief Morosi’s heavily-fortified -stronghold was stormed. The theatre of war had extended north as far -as Mafeking, where there was hard fighting with another Basuto leader -named Letherodi. - -The next campaign against the natives was far more serious than the -preceding one. The Zulus were probably the bravest of all these -southern tribes, and had some form of discipline, organisation, and -tactics, though their arms--clubs or “knob-kerries,” shields, muskets -of sorts, and assegais--were much the same as in other parts of Africa, -save that the latter were shorter, blunt at the end, and broader in -the blade, being intended for stabbing rather than throwing. In other -respects the people were bloodthirsty, superstitious, and sanguinary, -given over to “witch doctors” and brutal massacres. There had been -frequent raids on the Natal frontier by them from 1838 onwards until -1878, when the spirit of restlessness increased, and General Thesiger -took command of the army at the Cape, which then consisted of the 3rd, -13th, 24th, 80th, 88th, and 90th Regiments, with two batteries of -Artillery and some Engineers. The country was to be invaded by three -columns. The first or southern column, under Colonel Pearson, consisted -of the Buffs, the 99th, with some Artillery, a Naval Brigade, and local -levies; the second or central column was to move from Helpmakaar under -Colonel Glyn, and contained the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the 24th, a -battery, and other levies; and the northern, which was based on Utrecht -in the Transvaal, under Colonel Evelyn Wood, in which were a battery -and the 13th, 60th, and 90th Regiments. A fourth column under Colonel -Durnford was to march later, between the first and second columns. - -Opposed to them were supposed to be about 40,000 fighting men. They -were organised in large masses, and used skirmishers. Speaking -generally, their tactical method was to form a complete ring, if -possible, around the body attacked, and then close. On the 12th January -1879 the troops marched, and on the 22nd Pearson had a smart brush with -the enemy at Inyezane, but reached his first objective, Etschowe, where -a depôt was to be formed, without further opposition. - -The central column had been less fortunate, for, crossing the river at -Rorke’s Drift, where a detachment of the 24th were left, the small -army pushed on to the isolated hill of Isandhlwana. Here, while the -general was reconnoitring to the south-east, the Zulu army passed -across his front and attacked the camp. A desperate resistance was -made, but against 14,000 Zulus there could be only one result. Few of -the British escaped, and one colour of the 24th was lost, the “Queen’s -colour” of the 1st battalion being carried safely as far as the river -by Lieutenants Melville and Coghill, who gallantly died there in its -defence. - -This colour was subsequently recovered, and the “regimental” colour -had been left safe at Helpmakaar. Of the regular troops 26 officers -and 806 men had fallen, and 24 colonial officers and many men had also -perished. The only gleam of sunshine on this gloomy and disastrous -day was the gallant defence of the commissariat camp at Rorke’s Drift -by Lieutenants Chard and Bromhead of the Royal Engineers and 24th -respectively. For when the victorious “Impi” continued its advance, it -found the post hastily fortified with biscuit-boxes, mealie sacks, and -bags of Indian corn, and so desperate was the resistance of the small -band, 139 men in all, of whom 35 were sick, against 4000 Zulus, that -they fell back beaten. The brave defence had prevented the invasion of -Natal, and in all the annals of the army there is no more brilliant -episode than the defence of Rorke’s Drift. - -Wood’s column had meanwhile reached the White Umvolosi, and while -a stone fort was being built there, and named “Fort Tinta,” many -reconnaissances were made towards the Zungen range; but though there -were many skirmishes, there was on this side no serious fighting yet. - -So ended the first stage of the war. The general’s first idea was to -fall back on the Tugela and await reinforcements; but, leaving to -Colonel Pearson to act on his own discretion, that officer decided on -remaining at Etschowe and fortifying it. Here for some time he was -completely isolated, but several successful raids were made, in one -of which Dabiulamanzi’s Kraal was burned. Relief came on the 2nd -April, when a force under Colonel Low, consisting of a naval brigade, -the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, the Lanarkshire Regiment, -detachments of the Buffs and 57th, the 37th, the 60th, with some guns, -rocket tubes, and Gatlings, etc., advanced as far as Ginghilovo, and -these, when in laager, were attacked by a force 10,000 strong, who -fought with the greatest bravery, closing up to the very rifles of -the defenders; but the fire was too heavy, and when they fell back -in disorder, a charge of Barrow’s mounted irregulars completed their -discomfiture. They had lost 1200 men, at a cost to their opponents of -9 men killed and 52, including 2 officers, wounded. After the relief -of Etschowe, the force fell back to Ginghilovo and encamped. As the -right wing had fought a successful battle and altered its position, so -the left wing was to copy its example. For Colonel Wood, leaving Fort -Tinta and entrenching at Kambula, made many raids thence, including -that to the Inhlobane Mountain, a famous natural fastness of the Zulus, -where the natives had been for some time collecting. Here the force was -attacked by a strong Impi formed in a line of five contiguous columns, -forming the “chest” and “two horns,” covered by skirmishers; but, -owing to a series of unfortunate misunderstandings, the retirement was -effected in some disorder and with much loss. Nearly all the Border -Horse were slain, as also was our staunch Boer ally, “splendid, manly, -honest, simple, and taciturn Piet Uys, whose fathers, uncles, and -cousins fought and fell in the old war with Dingaan”; while 15 officers -and 79 men were killed, and 1 officer and 7 men wounded. But Colonel -Buller, Lieutenant Lysons, and Private Fowler, for distinguished -bravery, earned the Victoria Cross. Success emboldened the Zulu -chieftains, and, pushing on, they attacked the Kambula laagers on the -20th March, with 25,000 men, and after one of the most serious and -prolonged battles of the war, fell back beaten, and were pursued for -many miles. Out of the British force of some 2000 men, only 18 men were -killed, and 8 officers and 57 men were wounded. - -As Rorke’s Drift saved Natal from invasion, so Kambula preserved -Utrecht and the Transvaal. - -An incident in this phase of the campaign was the attack by the Swazi -freebooter Umbelini on a convoy, guarded by a detachment of the 80th, -when on its way from Luneberg to Derby in the Transvaal, in which the -convoy guard lost 62 men out of 106, and Lieutenant Harward, for riding -off to get assistance, was tried by court-martial, but acquitted. - -The final stage of the war was approaching. Reinforcements were rapidly -arriving. These were the 1st Dragoon Guards and the 17th Lancers, two -more batteries, and Royal Engineers, the Royal Scots Fusiliers, 59th, -60th, 91st, and 94th; and among the fresh arrivals was Prince Louis -Napoleon, who was appointed an extra aide-de-camp on the headquarter’s -staff, and Sir Garnet Wolseley. - -The reorganised army again formed three columns, but Wood’s command was -to act as an independent flying column in the north; the next column, -No. 2 Division, under General Newdigate, and based on Utrecht, moving -by Landmann Drift across the Ityolyosi on Ulundi. - -It was in a reconnaissance towards the last-named river that -Prince Napoleon was slain, an event the sadness of which cannot be -over-estimated, and over which it is well to draw a veil. Finally, -on crossing the White Umvolosi the 2nd Division was joined by Wood’s -column, and, leaving one battalion of the 24th to guard the baggage, -the remainder formed a huge hollow rectangle, with the baggage in the -centre. Marching in this formation with bands playing and colours -flying, until a suitable position was found within sight of the king’s -kraal at Ulundi, it there awaited battle four ranks deep, the two front -of which knelt. Brave as was the assault, a bravery which asked no -quarter, it was powerless against better arms and better discipline. -The fight had lasted barely an hour when the Zulu power was utterly -broken. - -Meanwhile, the 1st Division under Crealock on the right had been -operating in the south by the lower Tugela and Etschowe, moving -somewhat close to the coast and in the direction of Ulundi; but -through no fault of its own it did not reach the field in time, and -when the final battle was won, the army as then constituted was -practically broken up. Other arrangements for its distribution were -then made, and a series of forts and fortified posts held by sufficient -garrisons were formed all along the Zulu frontier. But the closing -scene had yet to come. Two columns were formed for the final military -exploration of Zululand, the one under Colonel Clarke, which had among -its number the 57th, 60th, and 80th, and the other under Colonel Baker -Russell, which included the 94th. The former was to occupy Ulundi, and -thence attempt the capture of the king. This was effected by Major -Marter after much trouble, and the war was thus at an end. On being -captured, Cetewayo remained, though broken, a king, and objected with -dignity to being taken by a private of dragoons, with the words, “White -soldier, touch me not--I surrender to your chief.” - -Baker Russell was to search the southern and eastern part of the -country, and after doing so, enter the Transvaal about Luneberg. This -was done, and the last shots in the Zulu war were fired by his column -in an attack on the Manganobas in the Intombe valley. - -The war had cost the army 76 officers and 1007 men killed, and 37 -officers and 206 men wounded; while in addition 17 officers and 330 -men died from disease, and 1286 were invalided home. The cost to the -country financially had been £5,230,323. - -Sir Garnet Wolseley’s lucky star had again shone over him in these -operations. His presence in South Africa coincided with the period of -success and the capture of Cetewayo. There was one more knotty point -for him to settle, that of the still insurgent chief Sekukuni, who -had been a thorn in the side of the Boers, whose territory we then -possessed. It will be seen next how his good fortune, based on careful -attention to details both moral and physical, led to the surrender of -the last disturbing element in this section of South Africa,--at least -as far as the natives were concerned. - -It may be considered a matter of regret that the State did not -undertake the annexation of Zululand, as it did the absorption of -Indian tribes a century ago. Our brave but bitter enemies, the Sikhs, -have become our most reliable soldiers in India. Similarly there -was no personal hostility when war ceased between the Zulu and the -English soldier; rather the reverse. They had received the elements of -military organisation, and had shown themselves apt pupils in applying -them. To have substituted for Panda’s discipline and training that -of our own army under able and skilful officers, accustomed to make -of native levies regiments more or less irregular but of the highest -military value, would have been easy with our Eastern experience. A -Zulu militia, well trained, well armed, and led by whites, would have -conduced to the peace of South Africa as much as Sikhs, Beloochees, and -Ghoorkas do to the preservation, by military means, of peace among the -discordant elements, both national and theological, which go to make -up our great Eastern satrapy. Such a force would have fought for brave -leaders, and with them, as the hastily raised levies of the Mutiny -fought for Fane, or Probyn, or Hodson. - -Such an army, created mainly for defensive, and not necessarily -offensive, purposes, would have created a military peace. Fear of it -would have kept turbulent and restless peoples in wholesome fear. -Trained and led by British officers, it would have been the police of -South Africa at the smallest possible cost to the English State. To -have kept alive the military instinct of the Zulu, to have instilled -into him the soldier’s habit of discipline and cleanliness, would have -saved him. - -We have won South Africa purely and simply by the sword and so must -we keep it. But we could keep it best--as we keep the peace in -India--by not ignoring the military spirit of the people, but by -showing the justice of our rule, and keeping alive the soldier feeling -as a national police. Any other course is impossible with savage or -semi-barbarous people. Nothing is despised more than a weakness which -they translate as fear. It is a fatal day when a nation, whose history -throughout is one of conquest, forgets how she has made the empire, and -thinks to hold it by other means, such as by a popular opinion which it -takes centuries to create and make good. To forget the traditions of -the race is equally fatal. Our empire was never made by concessions; it -was made by forcible possession, and that, as a general rule certainly, -for the eventual benefit, as far as civilisation is concerned, of the -people we have conquered. The neglect of this is at the bottom of the -disastrous campaign that followed the destruction of the Zulu power. - -“_Vestigia nulla retrorsum._” To go back is weakness with all except -the highest intellectual nations. We took the Transvaal, and stated -that the former condition of things there should _never_ be restored! -The wisdom of the first step may be a matter of opinion. The evil of -the “afterwards” is another question altogether. - -Anyhow, our annexation of the Transvaal in 1877 had led to collision -with Sekukuni, a turbulent Basuto chieftain, and at first the -operations taken against him were unsuccessful, Colonel Rowland’s -force, which included a company of the 13th, having to fall back to -Lydenburg. During the Zulu campaign he had openly sympathised with -Cetewayo, and had had frequent skirmishes with the Transvaal Boers. -When, therefore, the Zulu war terminated, Sir Garnet Wolseley’s -attention was turned towards this constant source of trouble, and in -October 1879 he moved against the “fighting Koppie” with detachments of -the 21st Royal Scots Fusiliers, 86th, and 94th, in all 1400 European -troops, and 4000 native levies, to meet a force estimated at 14,000 -men, strongly entrenched. The district occupied by Sekukuni lies in a -bend between the junction of the Oliphant and Steelpoort rivers, and -was surrounded by fortified posts. The fortress itself was naturally -strong: “Its whole interior was honeycombed by nature, intersected by -passage and gallery, leading into great chambers with chinks, clefts, -and crannies, forming natural loopholes for musketry, and in one place -there yawned an appalling chasm which had never been fathomed, and was -believed to contain water at the bottom. When in the agonies of thirst -on the third day of their blockade, some of Sekukuni’s people went down -by means of great leather thongs tied together, none of them ever came -up again; no more was heard from them.” This is a good type of the -African rock-fortress. - -On the 28th of November the attack was made, and was fully successful, -but some of the caves still held many who would not surrender, and -who preferred rather to die of thirst and starvation than give up -either themselves or their chief. The conduct of these warriors was -chivalric in its devotion to Sekukuni, who did not surrender until the -2nd December, and was then conveyed to Pretoria. There the 4th, 58th, -80th, the 1st Dragoon Guards, and Curling’s battery paraded for a -review of the largest body of regular troops yet seen in that town, and -Commandant D’Arcy as well as Privates Flawn and Fitzpatrick of the 94th -received the Victoria Cross. Sir Garnet Wolseley left the Transvaal -with a small garrison, and, he thought, at peace. - -So it might have been had there been greater firmness and more tact -displayed after he left. But there was friction between the British -and the Dutch settlers, who had refused to remain under our rule -long years before. In 1845, three companies of the 91st and some -Cape Mounted Rifles defeated 500 Boers, who fled after making but a -faint resistance. Collision again occurred in 1848 at Boomplatz, the -second of a series of small conflicts which one by one have sought -to wrest from the Boers the territories they had conquered and in -part reclaimed. The tendency throughout had been to treat them as -only another sort of semi-barbarous occupant, to be got rid of when -their land was wanted by others. In this skirmish were engaged some -companies of the 45th, 91st, and Rifle Brigade, with two squadrons and -two guns, and they routed a Boer command, estimated at 1000 strong, -though strongly entrenched behind breastworks of piled stones. There -was but little loss on either side, and it is said that a drummer of -the 91st, tired of the long waiting, while the men were lying down -firing, himself beat the charge, and the men went in with cheers, and -the enemy fled without an effort to rally. Then they retired behind -the Vaal to form the Transvaal Republic, and in 1851 the Orange River -Territory, which had been annexed by us in 1848, was relinquished -to form the “Orange Free State.” But now for reasons that the -future historian will wonder at, we annexed the Transvaal. Our past -experience of the Boer had taught us nothing. Anyone who will read the -Parliamentary Blue Book and Colonel Brackenbury’s despatches must see -that war was inevitable. Yet, with a fair knowledge of what Boers were, -and with an idea of superiority which was to have a rude awakening, we -entered into a serious war with a light heart and with a force that was -insufficient to meet even a Zulu impi. The war is remarkable in every -way, primarily as the first instance, since the firearm was introduced, -in which regular soldiers came under careful, well-directed, aimed, -rifle fire, and were in every case beaten. The only parallel instance -is that of the war of American Independence. There also a people goaded -into fighting by wrong were victorious; and succeeded both because -the justice of their cause strengthened their moral fibre, and their -guerilla warfare, for it was often little else, was in many cases -accompanied by careful shooting. But the difference in the nature of -the weapons at the end of the eighteenth and that of the nineteenth -century is so great as to mark, by the heavy loss the defeated troops -sustained, the terrible nature of modern rifle fire when carefully -directed. - -The Transvaal had been annexed in 1877, though in 1852 it had been -recognised as a free and independent State; the reason assigned, among -others equally unreasonable, being that the State was bankrupt. The -true Boer, the “Dopper,” is the descendant as much of French Huguenots -as of the Dutch employees of the East India Company. “They are,” writes -Sir William Butler, “a homely, sober, quiet, dull race of beings, as -full of faith in God and fair dealing between man and man as this -world holds sample of.” Doubtless there are many exceptions to their -character as thus drawn, but the vast majority agreed in one thing, -protest against the loss of their freedom. Meeting succeeded meeting, -appeal followed appeal. To threats of force the answer was, “We do not -rely upon regiments, but on right.” When, therefore, the storm burst, -there were but three battalions (the 21st, 58th, and 94th) of regulars -in the Transvaal, with a detachment of the 4th, a squadron of the -King’s Dragoon Guards, and a battery of artillery, while the nearest -reinforcements were the 3-60th in Natal, and the 91st at the Cape. - -Hostilities began in this way. In December 1880, the 94th, about 250 -strong, under Colonel Anstruther, was acting as convoy guard on the -road from Lydenberg to Pretoria. On crossing Brunker’s Spruit, they -were opposed by 150 Boers, who opened fire when Anstruther, on being -informed of the declaration of the Republic, refused to retire, and in -twenty minutes 120 men were _hors de combat_, of whom 7 were officers. -Mrs. Smith, the wife of the bandmaster, who was shot by her side, and -was herself wounded, behaved with the greatest gallantry in assisting -the wounded, and was afterwards given the silver medal for deeds of -gallantry on land. Meanwhile the isolated garrisons in the Transvaal at -Pretoria, Rustenberg, Wakkerstroom, Standerton, Heidelberg, Lydenberg, -Middleberg, Fort Victoria, Fort Albert, and Marabos Stadt, were more -or less invested, and the Boers, crossing the Natal frontier, placed -a strong force _à cheval_ the road from Newcastle to Standerton about -Laing’s Nek. - -Open sympathy with the Boers increased rapidly and came from all -sources, the Cape, the Orange Free State, the Dutch in Holland, and -even Belgium. Every effort was made to bring about an understanding, -but all to no effect. The evil cry on our side, “Restore us our -prestige and then we will treat” prevented peace as yet. So a “relief” -column left Newcastle for Potchefstroom and Pretoria, under Sir George -Pomeroy Colley, consisting of detachments of the 58th, 60th, 2nd -Scots Fusiliers, and a naval brigade with 6 guns and 2 Gatlings, but -the total strength was not 1000 men. A purely frontal attack, by men -conspicuous with white helmets, against the steep and partly entrenched -position of the Boers at Laing’s Nek, on the 28th January 1881, -met with a severe reverse, 208 men being killed and 80 wounded. The -fighting had been close, for, as Joubert reports, “One of the officers -even fired in among our men with his revolver before he was shot, but -then the Lord helped us!” - -The reverse was somewhat startling to those who thought there would be -no opposition. Two companies of the Gordon Highlanders were hurried up -to Mount Prospect Camp, between which and Colley’s base at Newcastle -ran the Ingogo River. It was south of this stream that the second fight -took place, and was brought about by despatching a force, including -some of the King’s Dragoon Guards and the 60th, to assist in covering a -convoy which was expected from Newcastle; but as the Boers had already -interposed between Newcastle and the Ingogo, it had returned to the -town. The ground favoured the tactical skill of the foe, “men who -could neither march, manœuvre, nor even form sections of fours, but -were resolute in heart, muscular in figure, and deadly marksmen, who -were accustomed to bring down the fleet springbok at full speed from -their saddles, and stalk all the great game with which Southern Africa -abounds.” - -So the British loss was heavy. Most of the killed were shot through the -head as they essayed to fire over the boulders that sheltered them; the -two guns were soon disabled, and the wearied remnant returned to camp, -with a loss of 132 officers and men. Still, the men had behaved well -and coolly, and suffered no panic. - -[Illustration: _Private 24^{th} Reg^{t} 1879_] - -Meanwhile, reinforcements consisting of the 92nd, 2-60th, the 15th -Hussars, a naval brigade, and the Natal Police under Sir Evelyn Wood, -met Sir George at Newcastle. The additional cavalry had enabled the -general to make more extended reconnaissances round the Boer left, -which proved that they were still entrenching, and showed no signs of -wishing to avoid battle. On the evening of the 26th February, General -Colley played his last card, and lost his life as well. Contrary to -usual custom, he formed, with the utmost secrecy, a force to occupy -Majuba Hill, an isolated and precipitous koppie, which to a certain -extent dominated the right flank of the Laing’s Nek position. It was -made up of detachments of the Highlanders, the 58th, the 2-60th, and -65 bluejackets, in all some 545 bayonets. In the advance, made in the -dark, a company of the 92nd and one of the 60th, with a dismounted -troop of hussars, were left at a point about midway between the hill -and the camp, and the remainder stumbled on, and after great exertion, -about 5 a.m., reached the summit. This was a saucer-shaped plateau -about 1000 yards round, and when day broke, the presence of British -soldiers produced wild confusion in the Boer camp. But not for long. -While one portion hastened to man the trenches at Laing’s Nek, the rest -rode towards Majuba, and, dismounting, opened fire. It was said at -the time that the “covering party” consisted of the married men, the -storming column of the single men who could best be spared. Be that as -it may, between twelve and one the fire suddenly increased in intensity -and the assault was made. It was only too successful. The British -were driven from it in the utmost disorder, and left behind them Sir -George Colley and 18 other officers, with 218 men killed, wounded, or -missing, of about 600 men who had left Prospect Camp the night before. -One instance of devoted bravery marked the terrible day, and for it -Corporal Joseph John Farmer got the Cross for Valour, for, “while the -Boers closed with the British troops near the well, Corporal Farmer -held a white flag over the wounded, and when the arm holding the flag -was shot through, he called out that he had another. He then raised the -flag with the other arm, and continued to do so until that also was -pierced by a bullet.” - -The Boer loss is stated, by themselves, to have been between 24 and -50, but the details are very conflicting. An armistice was soon agreed -to between the belligerents, during which the army, now commanded by -Sir Evelyn Wood, consisted of the 6th Dragoons, 15th Hussars, and -a squadron of the King’s Dragoon Guards, 14 guns, the 2nd and 3rd -Battalions of the 60th, the relics of the 58th, the 83rd, 92nd, and -97th, together with a naval brigade and some mounted infantry. Finally -peace was declared, and the beleaguered garrisons were relieved. - -No war of such small magnitude, as far as the numbers engaged are -concerned, has left more grave results. For long years after the -peace was signed, the Boers showed the greatest arrogance towards all -British subjects, whether civilians or soldiers, and in many cases it -was accompanied with open and undisguised insult. The surrender of -the Transvaal was ruin to many an Englishman who, “confiding in the -public declaration of Sir Garnet Wolseley and Sir Bartle Frere that -the annexation of the Transvaal was irrevocable, had invested capital -in the country, and their property was now worthless and their capital -lost, owing to their having put faith in the words of Her Majesty’s -representative.” But the blame does not rest with him. - -The disastrous war had cost in all 29 officers killed and 20 wounded, -and 366 men killed, with 428 wounded. - -One result of the British defeat in the Transvaal was to increase, -not unnaturally, the restlessness of the Boers. Both Zululand and -Bechuanaland suffered from unauthorised incursions of what were -really filibusters, whose efforts at colonial expansion were too -frequently attended with murder. In one of these, against Chief -Montsoia, an Englishman named Bethel was barbarously murdered, and -hence an expedition was despatched, under Sir Charles Warren, to -Bechuanaland in 1884. An attempt had been made by the Boers to annex -Montsoia’s territory, which, by the Convention of 1884, was under -our Protectorate; there was no doubt, moreover, that the whole of -the disturbances had been directed from the Transvaal, and if not -distinctly fostered by that Government, met with its tacit approval. -But hostilities were happily averted. President Kruger met Sir Charles -Warren in conference, and the conflicting clauses were adjusted. -But the operations, insignificant as they may seem militarily, were -politically important. They, temporarily at least, restored the -position of Great Britain as the paramount power in South Africa. The -last collision in the Transvaal between Dr. Jameson’s troopers, led -by British officers, and the Boers of Pretoria, etc., was decisive in -another way; but it is not a part of the story of the regular army, and -is of too recent occurrence to be commented on here. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX - -THE ARMY IN NORTH AFRICA--1867-96 - - -Turn now from the southern portion of the Dark Continent to the -northern. The researches of recent explorers, such as Mr. Stanley and -others, had opened up the previously unknown interior to a much greater -extent than had been effected before their exertions. - -Southern Africa, as far as its white immigrant population was -concerned, was extending its political limits northward. The Congo -Free State was attempting to bring European civilisation down towards -the equator. The ideas of “Hinterland,” a preposterous notion, had -been advanced. All nations were bent on pushing from the sea towards -the rediscovered Mountains of the Moon. All Europe was burning to -get authority over some portion of the African coast-line, and every -State, whether it had colonising power or not, burned to claim as much -ground behind the surf-clad beach as it could get. But before this -earth-hunger assumed the proportions it did, there had been trouble in -the north-eastern portion of Africa, though this case was rather one -of national honour and prestige than desire for the extension of our -“sphere of influence.” - -A serious war-cloud had arisen in Abyssinia, the forerunner of the many -disturbances which by degrees have since led to the opening up of the -heart of Africa to commerce. Abyssinia had seemed a promising field -for our trade, and Consul Cameron was despatched there to represent -the British Government and protect as far as possible the missionaries -who followed and preceded him. But Theodoros, the Negus, or emperor, -was a man of violent passions, and both tyrannical and a drunkard. He -fancied himself insulted because the British Government took no notice -of a letter he had addressed to the Queen. He told Consul Cameron -that she “can give you orders to visit my enemies, but she cannot -return a civil answer to my letter to her.” So he quarrelled with his -visitors, and threw them into prison. To save their lives, if possible, -and avenge the insult to the nation through our representative, an -expedition was fitted out under the command of Sir Robert Napier. It -was about 10,000 strong, and well equipped. It was largely composed of -Indian troops, stiffened by the 3rd Dragoons, and the 4th, 26th, 33rd -and 45th Regiments of the line, with artillery and Engineers. - -The general plan of the campaign was simple; it was to release the -prisoners, defeat the emperor if he would fight, and destroy his -capital of Magdala. The difficulties were regarded as mainly physical. -The country was “a broken Libyan highland. Abyssinia is what a vaster -Switzerland would be, if transported to the tropics, and if bordered by -blazing deserts on each flank of its cool rocky peaks.” The climate was -reported good, the people warlike; their weapons were firearms, with -shields and swords, or lances. They had no field artillery, but some -heavy guns were reported to be at Magdala. The landing was effected at -Zoola, where two companies of the 33rd were the first to get on shore, -and pushed on to garrison the first depôt or post at Senafé, on the -borders of the territory of King Kassa of Tigre, who readily agreed not -to oppose, but to some extent assist, the invading army. - -Hard as the advanced party of Engineers and Pioneers worked at -improving the road, the advance was slow and laborious. “We have -scaled,” says Henty, “mountains and descended precipices; we have -traversed along the face of deep ravines, where a false step was death; -we are familiar with smooth, slippery rock and with loose boulders; -and after this expedition it can hardly be said that any country is -impracticable for a determined army to advance. I hear, however, that -between us and Magdala there are perpendicular precipices running like -walls for miles, places which could scarcely be scaled by experienced -cragsmen, much less by loaded mules.” When within twenty-five miles in -a direct line from Magdala, and when the place was clearly visible, -they had to make a detour of sixty miles to avoid these obstacles. -But the valley of the Bachelo was reached, and descending 3800 feet -on one side by a fair road, the stream was forded, and the ascent of -the opposite side of the enormous ravine was begun. On reaching the -first level, fire was opened from the hill fortress, and a serious -sortie was made by a large irregular mass of infantry and cavalry. The -army was almost taken at a disadvantage. The nature of the country had -tended to lengthen the column, and there were but few troops up to the -front; but the Naval Brigade rocket-battery came into action, with the -4th, some Engineers, two companies of the 10th Native Infantry and a -squadron of the 3rd Native Cavalry had to bear the first brunt of the -first battle. It was enough, however, and the fighting did not last -long under the breechloading fire of the 4th, the first time the Snider -had been used in actual war. This disposed of one of the two bodies -into which the enemy had been divided; the other made for the baggage -defended by some of the 4th and the Punjaubees, supported by the steel -mountain battery of Colonel Penn, known therefore as the “Steel Pens,” -and the Abyssinian rush was checked by shell fire at 300 yards, and -the deadly fire of the breechloading rifle. The enemy fell back badly -beaten, while our own loss was only 30 men wounded and none killed. Of -about 5000 men who had rushed boldly to the attack of the head of the -British column, the bulk were destroyed or dispersed, and the ground -was covered with dead and wounded. The expenditure of ammunition was -serious. In one hour nearly ninety rounds per man had been discharged. - -The next day came the “Easter Monday Review,” as the soldiers termed -it, and the storm of Theodore’s stronghold. Scaling ladders were -improvised from the bamboo dhooly-poles, and the handles of the -pioneers’ axes. But they were not needed. The guns and rockets opened -on the devoted fortress, and the storming column, formed of the -33rd, with Major Pritchard and the Engineers in front, the 45th in -support, and the remainder in reserve, pushed up the narrow path to -the entrance. Here, while efforts were made to break open the gate -(for the powder required for the purpose had been forgotten), some of -the 33rd managed to scramble up the side of the path, turned the flank -of the defenders of the barrier, and when a second gate at the top of -a steep flight of steps was destroyed, the place was taken. The loss -had been most slight, but the vengeance taken on a bloodthirsty tyrant -was complete. Theodore himself committed suicide, his fortress was -burned and destroyed, his queen died in our camp at Senafé, and Prince -Alamayu, his son, was taken to England. There he eventually became a -cadet at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst; and, dying of pneumonia -in 1880, was buried, by royal command, just outside the Royal Chapel of -St. George at Windsor. - -With further researches and interest in Africa, and the greater -enterprise resulting from them, came the desire for more possessions -which would afford valuable outlets for our trade. - -The finding of the sources of the Nile, the discovery of the Great -Lakes, the possibility of valuable gold-fields, the comparative -healthiness of the African uplands in the interior, all emphasised -again the future value of the great water way which drained those -inland seas, and terminated in the Egyptian Delta. It is to some -extent now, and might be one day fully made, the natural highway to -the heart of the Dark Continent. Directly or indirectly, politically -or instinctively, possibly both, the value of Egypt as the doorway -to Ethiopia became prominent. Probably no statesman really saw it at -first. But “there is a Providence that shapes our ends, rough hew them -how we will,” and the road to Central Africa from this side seems to be -only opened by the sword. - -So dismissing the Eastern littoral and Zanzibar, where the question of -the penetration of the interior is far more a question of railways, -so as to get over the fever belt, than one of soldiers, the land of -Egypt became a serious factor in the awakening of Africa; as it was a -serious factor in Mediterranean politics when Pharaoh was king. But -the employment of the British army in Egypt in 1884 rose from what -most people would call a mere accident. It is possible that nothing is -seriously “accidental.” But while British interference in Egypt in the -first years of the century was due entirely to our war with France, our -present interference seems to have come from an instinctive feeling as -to the importance of securing, and teaching Egypt to improve, the one -natural highway to the uplands of the centre of Africa. - -Theoretical as this may be, the practical fact of our second -interference in the land of Egypt, by landing there, arose from a very -simple cause. The Khedive of Egypt, Prince Tewfik, had made as his -Minister of War a turbulent and somewhat imperious soldier who aimed -certainly at a species of military dictatorship, if not at the supreme -power. Beloved by the Egyptian soldiery, and possessing some military -knowledge, he posed as a patriot, with the cry of “Egypt for the -Egyptians.” Between Mehemet Ali and Arabi there is but one difference. -The former succeeded, the latter failed. Nevertheless, such conduct, -with such a people, tended in the direction of anarchy. Anarchy might -at any time endanger the security of the Suez Canal, in which Great -Britain had an important pecuniary interest, and which was, moreover, -her shortest and best route to her Eastern possessions. Both France -and England claimed to have vital interests in the Nile Valley, and -at first there was an apparent accord between the two nations, to the -extent that a combined naval demonstration was made at Alexandria. In -this, however, the English ironclads very largely preponderated. - -Riots and massacres on shore at once broke out. The native press was -bitterly hostile to England. Nor was it likely to be otherwise. No -self-respecting nation brooks foreign interference. Neither of the -Powers most interested would have admitted for a second of time such -interference at home; and Egypt being too weak to offer a formidable -resistance, only added bitterness to the native feeling of impotency. -Doubtless, only the most energetic sections of the people were -seriously in earnest. The vast mass of the people, the Fellahin, were -certainly more anxious about their daily bread than political freedom. -But so it is, and has been everywhere, in such popular revolts against -foreign domination. The heaven-born leaders lead, by their very force -of character; the mass follows. Whether such revolutions are for the -best, according to outside opinion, has nothing to do with the matter, -except only as regards the extent to which political revolt affects -foreign interests, which are mainly selfish. - -All this the Egyptian leaders may have felt; and, admitting the -inherent corruption of all Eastern governments, and even the ambition -of those who seek to raise the storm, and not reap but guide the -whirlwind, there is nothing extraordinary in the effort made by those -who brought on the war against foreign interference to take the -government of their own country out of the hands of stranger powers. - -Be all this as it may, it was decided by Europe, nominally, to coerce -the Egyptians; euphuistically, to help the Khedive against an armed and -threatening insurrection. The bombardment of Alexandria was decided on; -but the French warships steamed out to sea, and refused to co-operate. -The heavy fire of the ships soon silenced the shore batteries, and then -the seamen and marines were landed to save what was left of the town -from pillage. These were soon reinforced by battalions of infantry from -Malta. - -Preparations were at once made for the despatch of considerable -reinforcements from home, and an Indian contingent, among which were -the Seaforth Highlanders and the 1st Manchester Regiment, was prepared -for despatch from India to the seat of war. Arabi made no effort to -oppose the military occupation of Alexandria, but contented himself -with strongly fortifying the position at Kafr ed Dowr, the neck of land -between Lakes Mareotis and Aboukir Bay. Some desultory skirmishes then -took place on the neutral ground between the city and the enemy’s lines. - -The main expedition, under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir Garnet -Wolseley, embarked in August 1884 for the front. It consisted of the -First Division under General Willis, composed of the 2nd Battalion -Grenadier, the 2nd Coldstream, and the 1st Scots Guards, and the (18th) -2nd Royal Irish, the (84th) York and Lancaster, and (87th) Royal Irish -Fusilier Regiments, and the (50th) 1st West Kent, with two squadrons -of the 19th Hussars, the (46th) Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry, -and two batteries of artillery, with details. The Second Division, -commanded by Sir Edward Hamley, was formed of the 42nd, 75th, 79th, and -74th (or the Royal, Gordon, and Cameron Highlanders, with the Highland -Light Infantry), and the (35th) Sussex, (88th) Stafford, (49th) -Berkshire, and (53rd) Shropshire Light Infantry, with two squadrons of -the 10th Hussars, the 3-60th, and two batteries of artillery, etc., -as divisional troops. The Cavalry Brigade contained three squadrons -of the Household Cavalry, and the 4th and 7th Dragoon Guards, with -Horse Artillery, etc., under Sir Drury Lowe. The Corps-Artillery -under General Goodenough had one battery of horse and three of field -artillery. Engineers and train were added in requisite proportion. An -ironclad train was also used during the operations outside Alexandria. - -It was soon evident, however, that the frontal attack on the -enemy’s fortified position would be costly and, even if successful, -ineffective, as driving the Egyptian army back on the capital, which -it was necessary to seize. It was therefore decided to effect a change -of base; and, while deceiving the enemy by openly proclaiming that the -army was to be transferred to Aboukir Bay, to tranship the bulk of the -force to Ismailia, and move thence across the desert by the Sweet-water -Canal on Cairo. The several points on the Suez Canal were therefore -suddenly and rapidly seized by the fleet; the Seaforth Highlanders, -from India, advancing from Suez, seized Chalouffe, on the fresh water -Canal; and the bulk of the troops sailed for Ismailia. In so doing, -Sir Garnet, with a caution that in the conduct of so delicate an -operation was entirely justifiable, left Sir Edward Hamley, who took -command of Alexandria, in ignorance of what his real plan was, until -after the fleet had sailed. The controversy as to whether this was -right or not has, however, been warm and embittered. - -The landing was rapidly accomplished, and after a brief delay the -mounted troops, with the York and Lancaster Regiment and the Royal -Marine Light Infantry, were pushed forward to Magfar and Tel el -Maskhuta, where a sharp skirmish took place with a force of all arms -about 7000 strong, and two batteries. Another took place the next day -near Mahsameh, and Tel el Maskhuta was occupied, with an advanced post -at Kassassin lock; behind these the army strung out along the line of -the Sweet-water Canal, as a forward movement in force was not possible -until sufficient stores had been collected in depôts well ahead, and -this, under the conditions of the ground, was necessarily a slow -operation. - -While in this position the first “affair” of Kassassin was fought, in -which were engaged the Royal Marine Artillery, the Duke of Cornwall’s -Light Infantry, and the York and Lancaster Regiment, with a few cavalry -and artillery; and one peculiarity was a Krupp gun taken from the canal -and mounted on a truck, and worked by a detachment of Royal Marine -Artillery under Captain Tucker. The Royal Marine Light Infantry arrived -during the fight, and late in the evening the Household Cavalry and 7th -Dragoon Guards came up from Mahsameh and charged the Egyptian left. - -As stores were pushed to the front, so the First Division became -concentrated between Maskhuta and Kassassin; and on the 29th August, -the Highland Brigade, under Alison, was, with Sir Edward Hamley, -ordered to Ismailia, leaving Sir Evelyn Wood with his brigade at -Alexandria, to watch the Kafr ed Dowr lines until the conclusion of -hostilities. - -Early in September reinforcements were despatched to strengthen -Alexandria and protect the direct line of communications from Ismailia. -Here matters were still at a standstill, owing to the unavoidable -difficulties of transport; and frequent reconnaissances, involving -an occasional skirmish, were made towards Tel el Kebir, where the -enemy were now known to be in strength and heavily entrenched. That -this point was that in which a decisive battle for the possession of -the Delta might have to be fought, had been recognised before the -expedition left England. On the 9th, Arabi made his last offensive -effort on both sides of the canal, bringing on the second battle of -Kassassin; and on this occasion the troops he brought from Tel el -Kebir were reinforced by a force of five battalions from Salahieh to -the north; but the fighting was not severe and the loss on both sides -insignificant, while in retiring, the Egyptians abandoned three guns, -two of which were taken by the Royal Marine Light Infantry. - -The army was now concentrated within striking distance of the first -objective, the defeat of the Egyptian army under Arabi. Repeated -reconnaissances had shown that in front of the village of Tel el -Kebir was a long line of entrenchments, the right resting on the -canal, the left, some four miles out _en l’air_ in the desert. -The desert, absolutely treeless, and without marked undulations, -afforded absolutely no cover, and to cross the fire-swept approach -against entrenched troops would have caused serious loss. Sir Garnet, -therefore, decided on making a night march to get within charging -distance, and thus inaugurated on a large scale the system of night -attacks, which, as a distinguished soldier long since remarked, will, -if properly prepared for and organised by a nation, cause it to win the -next great war. - -The ground favoured the operation, but the distance was not -inconsiderable, and the danger of that unreasoning panic which -sometimes seizes the best troops was always present. At anyrate, any -manœuvring in the dark or the early dawn was out of the question. The -army must march in the order in which it was going to fight, and -therefore each battalion had one half in first and the other half in -second line, either marching in line formation or in line of companies -in column of fours at deploying interval, from which lines could -speedily and readily be formed. Extended order was not required for the -rush into the entrenchments which the general planned. It was not to be -a fire-action, but a shock-battle such as the Peninsula saw. - -[Illustration: _Formation of the Line of Battle at Tel-el-Kebir, -13^{th} Sept^{r} 1882._] - -Willis’s First Division was on the right, to it having been added -the battalion of Royal Marine Light Infantry, the Guards being in -second line, and the Cavalry and Horse Artillery on the right to sweep -round the enemy’s flank and threaten his retreat. In the centre was -Goodenough’s Artillery, acting both as a link to the two divisions, -and yet separating them. If panic in one wing did occur, this might -prevent its spreading to the other. On the left, the Highland Brigade -was in first line, and Sir Edward Hamley’s Division, the other brigade -of which was with Wood at Alexandria, was completed by a weak brigade -under Ashburnham, made of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry and -the King’s Royal Rifles. In reserve were the Royal Marine Artillery -and 19th Hussars; with the reserve ammunition was one company of the -West Kent; on the railway, the armoured train with a 40-pounder worked -by bluejackets; the West Kent guarded the stores at Kassassin; and -along the line of communication to Ismailia were other troops. The -army started at 1.30 a.m. on the early morning of the 13th September; -the Indian Contingent, the Seaforths leading, moving off on the other -bank of the canal an hour later, so as not to alarm the inhabitants of -the small hamlet on that side, and so give Arabi earlier warning than -need be of the impending attack. The total strength was about 11,000 -infantry, 2000 cavalry, and 60 guns. Halting for a few minutes at about -1000 yards from the enemy, the lines advanced, with the right, however, -rather thrown back, and then suddenly a storm of fire ran along the -long line of parapet, and when about 300 yards from it, with a wild -cheer, the Highland Brigade began the storm. There was much stubborn -fighting while it lasted, but in half an hour the enemy were beaten, -and flying in hot haste and great disorder towards Zagazig, pursued by -the cavalry and the Indian Brigade. The battle had cost 9 officers and -48 men killed, with 27 officers and 385 men wounded or missing. - -Pushing on rapidly with the 4th Dragoon Guards and the Indian cavalry, -Sir Drury Lowe seized Cairo, and Arabi surrendered. This practically -ended the war, and on the very date fixed by Sir Garnet, before he left -England, for its probable conclusion. - -The isolated garrisons at Tanta and elsewhere were disarmed, and -when on the 17th it was found that the works at Kafr ed Dowr were -deserted, they were occupied by the Berkshire and Shropshire Regiments -of Sir Evelyn Wood’s brigade, which had been further strengthened by -the Manchester and Derbyshire Regiments. So the army returned home, -leaving, besides artillery and the 7th Dragoon Guards and the 19th -Hussars, the (35th) Sussex, (38th) Stafford, (42nd) Black Watch, (49th) -Berkshire, (53rd) Shropshire, the 3rd King’s Royal Rifles, the (74th) -Highland Light Infantry, (75th) Gordons, and (79th) Camerons as a -garrison for Cairo, and the 2nd (18th) Royal Irish, the (46th) Duke of -Cornwall’s, and a wing of the (50th) West Kent, to hold Alexandria. - -For the war a medal with clasp for Tel el Kebir was granted by the -British Government and a bronze star by the Khedive; while numerous -Turkish and Egyptian orders were distributed. Sir Garnet Wolseley was -made a peer, and the names, “Egypt, 1882-84,” and “Tel el Kebir” were -placed on the colours or appointments of the regiments which had served -in this campaign. - - * * * * * - -The reorganisation of the Egyptian army was now commenced by British -officers, and Sir Evelyn Wood was its first Sirdar; but this command -was kept distinct from that of the British troops in the two great -cities, which were under General Stevenson. - -Meanwhile, trouble had long been brewing in the Sudan, which had been -originally conquered by Mehemet Ali. There were many insurrections -of more or less importance, and the people were ripe for still more -serious revolt. The advent of Mohammed Ahmed, the son of Abdullah the -carpenter and Amina his wife, whose name, therefore, agreed with those -of the parents of the Prophet, as the expected Mahdi, whose mission it -was to convert the whole world, gave the opportunity, and one in which -religious fanaticism was added to patriotism. There were many small -skirmishes, with varying success, at first; but still the movement -increased, and soon El Obeid was captured, Hicks Pasha, with about 7000 -men, was totally defeated, and his army practically destroyed. Next -General Gordon was appointed Governor-General of the Sudan and took up -his residence at Khartum, and a further advance of the Mahdieh resulted -in the fall of Berber and the investment of the capital of the Sudan. - -Then it was that serious preparation for its relief by a British army -was seriously undertaken. As far back as April 1884, Lord Wolseley had -considered that General Gordon could not hold out later than the 15th -November. The nature of the opposition to be expected had, however, -been already tested in the independent series of operations that long -took place around Suakin on the Red Sea littoral. Suakin was the port -to Berber, but between the two places was an almost waterless desert, -inhabited by hostile tribes of the greatest bravery. - -The fighting there had commenced this way. A slave trader, Osman Digna -by name, had heard of the Mahdi’s success, and saw an opportunity of a -revolt of his own with the warlike sept of the Hadendowas. He invested -Sinkat, which fell, and its garrison was massacred. He threatened both -Tokar and Suakin, and when to relieve the former Baker Pasha marched -out from Trinkitat with nearly 4000 Egyptians, he was badly beaten, -for the troops showed no fight at all. This aroused the attention of -the home authorities. A British force was formed, under Sir G. Graham, -and moved from Trinkitat, defeating the Sheikhs at El Teb, taking six -guns and a Gatling, and killing 2100 men; but Tokar had already fallen. -The troops engaged were the 19th and 10th Hussars, the Black Watch, -Gordon Highlanders, the Royal Irish Fusiliers, the York and Lancaster -Regiments, the Royal Marine Light Infantry, with a Naval Brigade and -some Artillery. They advanced in a hollow square, the Gordons leading; -and, leaving detachments at Trinkitat and Fort Baker (at the end of the -causeway across the salt marsh that nearly surrounds the town), the -small army moved against the Arabs entrenched around the wells of El -Teb. The fighting was severe and desperate, but discipline and weapons -soon told. The enemy’s guns were abandoned, and one taken by the Royal -Marine Artillery was manned by the men under Captain Tucker and turned -on the enemy, who fled finally towards Tokar. The loss to the British -force had been 22 officers and 167 men killed and wounded. - -After marching to Tokar, the force returned to Suakin, and as Osman -Digna had collected a large force some miles outside the town, it was -again decided to disperse them. Sir G. Graham formed the small army -in two squares: that on the left, which led, under General Davis, had -its front and flank faces formed by the Royal Highlanders and the York -and Lancaster Regiments, with the Royal Marines in the rear face, and -the Naval Brigade with Gatlings in the centre; on the right rear, -echeloned, was General Buller’s Brigade, having the Gordon Highlanders -and the Royal Irish Fusiliers in the front and flank faces, and the -King’s Royal Rifles in rear, inside being the 7-pounder guns. The -squares were about 1000 yards apart, and between them was a battery of -9-pounders, while the left flank was covered by the Hussars. - -The enemy was met with in the deep ravine, or “Khor,” of Tamai, and -early opened a brisk fire. Replying with a needlessly hot fire, which -enveloped the troops in smoke, the square of General Davis made a rush -with the front face and breaking up its close formation, the Arabs -rushed into the gaps between the front and flank faces. For a time it -was a scene of wild confusion. The British, fighting steadily still, -with bullet and steel, fell back in some disorder, abandoning the guns, -but they soon rallied, and the advance of the other square enabled it -to re-form. The edge of the ravine was reached, and the leading square -crossed it, with a cheer, to occupy Osman Digna’s camp, and disperse -such of the enemy as were still there. Thirteen officers and 208 men -had been killed and wounded on the attacking side. - -Little was done after this for a while. The force returned to Suakin, -and afterwards occupied and burned the village of Tamaneb with little -opposition. Then the bulk of the troops were withdrawn, leaving the 3rd -King’s Royal Rifles and a battalion of Royal Marines to garrison Suakin. - -The Nile expedition for the relief of Gordon had now begun, and it -was still, for a while, designed to take Berber and advance thence -on Khartum. To communicate with the coast at Suakin from Berber was -evidently advisable, but the district was almost waterless, and a -railway was of primary importance. Furthermore, the destruction of -Osman Digna’s power there was essential to its construction, let alone -that to attack him would effect a useful diversion, and weaken the -Dervish strength which might otherwise collect in the Nile Valley. - -A second expedition was hence despatched to Suakin under Sir G. Graham. -It consisted of a Guards Brigade (3rd Grenadiers, 1st Coldstream, and -2nd Scots), and a second brigade of the 2nd East Surrey, 1st Shropshire -Light Infantry, 1st Berkshire, and Royal Marines, with two squadrons -5th Lancers, two of the 20th Hussars, some mounted infantry, Royal -Engineers, and three batteries of artillery. In addition, there was a -strong Indian Contingent and a volunteer force from New South Wales. - -The enemy was known to be at Tamai, to the south-west, and at Hasheen -to the west of the town, and by the latter the railway, which was to -be made by English contractors, was to run. The first move, therefore, -was the defeat of the force at Hasheen, and for this purpose the whole -force, with the exception of the Shropshire Light Infantry, marched -and formed in one square, of which the front face was held by the -Marines and Berkshire Regiment (the Surrey was detached to cover a -working party on some hills to the right front), the left flank by the -Indian Brigade, and the right by the Guards. The rear was open, and the -artillery, and the camel transport occupied the centre. The operations -resulted in the temporary dispersion of the Hadendowas, with a loss on -our side of 9 officers and men killed and 39 wounded. Throughout the -enemy displayed the most reckless bravery, and an utter indifference to -death. - -It was now necessary to attack Osman Digna’s main force at Tamai, -and for this purpose it was intended to establish an intermediate -post on the road to that place, as one had been made at Hasheen. The -force detailed to cover the work was under Sir J. M’Neill, and, made -up of the Indian Contingent, one squadron of the 5th Lancers, with -the Berkshire Regiment, the Royal Marines, etc., was formed into two -squares. On reaching the open space of Tofrik, a zareba was commenced, -the two angles of which were held by the Berkshires and Marines in -two squares, while the Indian Contingent formed a large rectangle in -between, covering the huge mass of camels and transport. - -The mimosa bush was very dense, and little could be seen even by the -cavalry, who were pushed out _en vedette_ in front. While in some -confusion a sudden attack was made by the enemy. Crawling under the low -trees until within charging distance, they reached the squares in small -groups with their usual headlong gallantry. So fierce was the assault -that the 17th Native Infantry broke, and for a while, with stampeded -animals rushing to and fro, and with the Mahdieh cutting and stabbing -in all directions, matters looked grave. But determined courage and -discipline at length triumphed, and the enemy sullenly withdrew, -leaving behind him 1500 dead. The loss on our side was 150 officers, -men, and camp followers killed, 148 missing, and 174 wounded, in a -fight that lasted just twenty minutes. - -The remaining operations around Suakin have little interest. Tamai was -reached, and found to be abandoned; and numerous petty skirmishes -occurred in protecting the construction of the railway, which was -getting near Handub. But with the eventual abandonment of the Nile -expedition that of Suakin followed. On the 17th May the troops -commenced to withdraw. They had had a severe time of it, with the -thermometer at 120° in the tents, and constant disturbances night after -night from the enemy. He was by no means to be despised. He combined -the courage of the fanatic who saw heaven in view if he fell in battle -with the infidel, with the most determined physical bravery. Few men -want more killing than those Arabs of the Sudan. No one has added them -up better than Rudyard Kipling when he says-- - - “’E rushes at the smokes when we let drive, - An’, before we know, ’e’s ’ackin’ at our ’ead; - ’E’s all ’ot sand and ginger when alive, - An’ ’e’s generally shammin’ when ’e’s dead. - - ’E’s a daisy, ’e’s a ducky, ’e’s a lamb, - ’E’s a injia-rubber idiot on the spree; - ’E’s the on’y thing that doesn’t give a d--n - For a regiment o’ British Infantree! - - So ’ere’s to you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, at your ’ome in the Soudan. - You’re a pore benighted ’eathen, but a fust-class fightin’ man; - An’ ’ere’s _to_ you, Fuzzy-Wuzzy, with your ’ayrick ’ead of ’air, - You big black boundin’ beggar--for you broke a British square!” - -To commemorate the services of the army in this portion of the theatre -of war, clasps for Suakin 1885, El Teb, Tamai, and Tofrik, were given -with the ordinary Egyptian war medal. - - * * * * * - -But a more important series of operations had been taking place at the -same time as these troublesome affairs on the shores of the Red Sea. -The relief of Gordon had, after fatal delays and indecision on the -part of the Government, been, with apparent reluctance, decided on, -and in supreme command was placed Lord Wolseley. Notwithstanding that -many authorities advocated the Suakin-Berber line of approach, he, -throughout, had resolutely insisted that the Nile Valley was the only -practicable way of reaching the Sudan, because of the difficulties both -of roads and water supply. - -Lord Wolseley arrived in Cairo on the 9th September, and proceeded to -organise the concentration of a sufficiently powerful force about Korti -and Ambigol (south of Dongola), whence one, “the river” column, could -be despatched to seize Berber, assisted to some extent by the force -operating at Suakin against Osman Digna, and the other, the “desert” -column, could make its way across the Bayuda Desert, by a known track -way indifferently furnished with water, to Metemmeh on the Nile -opposite Shendy, and about midway between Berber and Khartum. - -A camel force had also been formed, and was divided into four parts, -the Heavy Camel Regiment (from the Household and seven other cavalry -regiments), the Light (made up of detachments of light cavalry men), -the Guards (from the brigade, and to which the Royal Marines were -attached), and the Mounted Infantry Camel Regiment (men selected from -different line regiments). - -The general plan of the desert march was to form posts at the wells of -Howeryat, Jakdul, and Abu Klea, and seize Metemmeh, forming at the same -time a strong depôt at Jakdul. The first move was made at 3 a.m. on -the 30th December, and Jakdul was occupied, garrisoned, and the camels -returned for stores, etc., but it was the 8th January before the force -definitely started on its mission. It was composed of a Naval Brigade -under Lord Charles Beresford, one squadron 19th Hussars, the Guards, -Heavy and Mounted Infantry Camel Regiments (the Light was employed -chiefly in guarding convoys), half battery Royal Artillery, Royal -Engineers, 400 men of the Royal Sussex Regiment (of whom 150 were to -be left at Jakdul), one company of the Essex Regiment for the Howeryat -post, with “details”; in all about 120 officers and 1900 men, exclusive -of natives, camel-drivers, etc. The whole was under the command of Sir -Herbert Stewart. The force left Jakdul at 2 p.m. on the 14th January, -and on the 16th got touch of the enemy near Abu Klea wells, but too -late for fighting that day. At 9 a.m. the following day, square was -formed with camels in the centre, the front angles being formed by -the Mounted Infantry, the Guards Camel Regiment, with the Artillery -between, and the rear angles by the Heavy Camel Regiment and the Royal -Sussex Regiment, with the Naval Brigade in the middle of the rear face. -The cavalry were left free to act outside; the sick and baggage were -left in a zareba guarded by some of the Royal Sussex; and the square, -covered by skirmishers, then advanced against the enemy’s line, which -was some half mile long, and marked by flags. Though the skirmishers -helped to check the enemy’s fire, which had already caused casualties, -they were in the way of the defensive power when the Arab rush was -made. It was executed with “lightning rapidity, and into gaps formed -by the lagging back of the camels the Arab spearmen poured. The fight -was sharp and desperate.” Within the square the din of battle was such -that no words of command could be heard, and each man was obliged to -act on the impulse of the moment. The enemy’s “formation was curious, -a sort of variety of the old phalanx. It was as if there were portions -of three phalanxes, with rows of men behind. At the head of each rode -an Emir or Sheikh with a banner, accompanied by personal attendants, -and then came the fighting men. They advanced at a quick, even pace, -as if on parade.” And this before the breechloading fire! The “fine -old Sheikh on horseback,” who planted his banner in the middle of the -broken square, had advanced “with his banner in one hand and his book -of prayers in the other.” He “never swerved to the right or left, and -never ceased chanting his prayers until he had planted his banner in -our square.” Such bravery is worthy of all admiration, and well may -Sir Charles Wilson say, “If any man deserved a place in the Moslem -paradise, he did.” It was sheer hard hand-to-hand work for a brief -space, and then the square re-formed, with its late antagonists falling -suddenly back, leaving only their dead. Short as the affair was, 9 -officers and 65 men were killed, and 9 officers and 85 men wounded; -a serious loss. On the other hand, 1100 Arab dead were counted near -the square, and their loss in wounded too was severe. Before moving -on, a small fort was built here to contain the wounded, guarded by -100 men of the Royal Sussex, and when this was completed, Sir Herbert -marched at 4 p.m. on the 18th for Abu Kru. The guide was one Ali Loda, -a local freebooter. But night marches, however advisable under such -conditions as Tel el Kebir, are bad with wearied men. The soldiers in -this case were exhausted, and did not get within measurable distance -of the river, so that between them and water lay the Arab host. Laager -was then formed to protect the transport; and was garrisoned by some -of the Heavies, the 19th Hussars, the Artillery and Naval Brigade. -Then the square moved toward the enemy, not without skirmishes, and -while halting for breakfast the enemy’s fire increased, and Sir Herbert -received the wound which afterwards proved fatal. At 3 p.m. the advance -was resumed, and the Arabs charged as before. But the men were cooler -than in the previous action, and none of the enemy got within 100 yards -of the square, and in five minutes the Arabs broke and fled. Thereupon -the wearied British reached the wished-for stream and bivouacked. The -loss had been 1 officer and 22 men killed, and 8 officers and 90 men -wounded. - -Sir C. Wilson was now in chief command, and made a reconnaissance in -force of Metemmeh; but he judged that to storm it would be both costly -and inadvisable, and therefore returned to the zareba at Gubat, to meet -the Egyptian Government steamers from Khartum. Then ensued a brief -delay, necessary to make arrangements for the security of the camp, -and also because of the general exhaustion of the men. Sir Charles, -therefore, first proceeded down stream beyond Metemmeh, to ensure -that there was no force advancing from the north in addition to what -might be reasonably expected to arrive from the south, and then turned -back, halting for a while at Gubat, and finally reached the immediate -neighbourhood of Khartum, to find that all was over. It had fallen, -and Gordon had been killed; so, running the gauntlet of guns and -rifles, the small flotilla returned to Gubat, but both steamers were -sunk and a fresh one had to be sent up. The story of this adventure -well merited the telegram received by Sir Charles at Korti from the -Secretary of State for War: “Express warm recognition of Government of -brilliant services of Sir Charles Wilson and satisfaction at gallant -rescue of his party.”[70] - -On his return from Khartum, he started for Korti, and on his report, -Sir R. Buller was despatched to take command of the desert column, -which was to be reinforced by the Royal Irish and West Kent Regiments; -but it was soon afterwards decided to abandon the effort to crush the -power of the Mahdi, and the small army withdrew by degrees to Korti, -with but little molestation on the way. During the march, however, Sir -Herbert Stewart succumbed to his wound, and was buried near Jakdul. -Like his namesake, who had been with Gordon and was murdered when going -down the river at Hebbeh, his loss to the army was serious. “What an -ill-fated expedition this has been!” writes Sir C. Wilson. “The whole -Sudan is not worth the lives of men like Gordon and the two Stewarts.” - -In the meantime, the river column had been pushing on, and had its tale -to tell. Under the command of General Earle, it was made up of one -squadron 19th Hussars, the South Staffordshire Regiment, the Duke of -Cornwall’s Light Infantry, the Black Watch, and the Gordon Highlanders, -with some Egyptian artillery and Camel Corps, etc. The Essex Regiment -was, at first, to hold the line of communication of this force between -Merowi and Abu Hamed, but the idea had to be abandoned. - -The force marched on the 24th, the mounted troops by land, the -remainder in the boats, and there was a small skirmish at Berti; but on -the news of the fall of Khartum, the force halted for further orders -near Dulka Island; and while there, news was received that the enemy, -some 1500 strong, had advanced out of the Shukuk Pass and taken up a -position at Kirbekan. - -As it was still determined to seize Berber, in which operation it was -proposed, if possible, to employ the remains of the desert column, -General Earle was directed to push on again; and, finding the enemy -still blocking the road to Abu Hamed, whence there is a track across -the desert to Korosko, he turned the enemy’s left flank and attacked -him in flank and rear. The battle was mainly a fire-action, there being -only one partial charge of the Arab spearmen; and with the charge of -the Highlanders, pipes playing, the enemy were turned out of the rocky -hill land on which they were posted, and at the very end of the fight, -General Earle was killed, with 2 other officers and 7 men, while 4 -officers and 43 men were wounded. The troops engaged had been the -Staffordshire Regiment, Black Watch, Egyptian Camel Corps, and the -Artillery. On the 20th February, however, the column, now commanded by -General H. Brackenbury, was recalled, in accordance with the decision -to attempt no further operations until after the hot season. But even -this plan was given up by orders from home; and on the 11th May, Lord -Wolseley was ordered to withdraw the troops from the Sudan. This was -successfully effected, but, as might be expected, the Arab leaders -pushed on. Kassala was occupied by Osman Digna from Suakin, and -Dongola by the Mahdieh from Khartum. Near this, the town of Kosheh was -invested, and the small action of Ginnis was fought in December 1885, -the last skirmish of the first Sudan War. Throughout, the enormous -physical and administrative difficulties had been successfully met; the -conduct of the men, both in battle and on the march, left nothing to be -desired. That Lord Wolseley and the expedition failed in their primary -object of relieving Khartum and saving Gordon’s life was no fault of -theirs. They did all that men could, and the blame rests only on the -head of a weak Government, that could not make up its mind until it -was too late. Yet “the siege of Khartum lasted for three hundred and -seventeen days--only nine less than the great siege of Sebastopol, -in which General Gordon first saw active service. For more than ten -months the wild tribes of the Sudan were kept in check by the genius, -the indomitable resolution, and fertile resources of one man; and, long -after the controversies of the present day have been forgotten, the -defence of Khartum by General Gordon will be looked on as one of the -most memorable military achievements of modern times.”[71] - -A medal was given for the campaign, with clasps for Kirbekan, Abu -Klea, and Abu Kru; and the rank of viscount was bestowed on the -Commander-in-Chief of the two expeditions, those of the Nile and -Suakin. Never was honour more justly bestowed. - - - - -CHAPTER XX - -THE ARMY AS IT IS - - -Few changes have been made in the drill or manœuvres of the army -since 1880, except in the direction of reducing the number of the -latter, and simplifying and giving freedom of action in the former. -Greater attention is now paid to practical instruction, and to the -value of continued training in marching, coupled with care for the -soldiers’ feet, after the day’s march, and clothing. Thus the truth of -Wellington’s remark is recognised, that “battles are as much won by -feet as by arms.” - -Examinations for promotion are more searching, selection for -appointments to command the rule rather than the exception; while every -possible care is taken to ensure the retention of men who know their -work. Sir Evelyn Wood bears evidence that “in tactical skill, officers -of all ranks have improved to a very great degree; but the improvement -in military spirit, in eagerness to learn, and to submit cheerfully to -great physical discomforts is even more remarkable, and this spirit -reacts naturally on the lower ranks.” - -The armament of all arms is altering. In the cavalry the front ranks -of all heavy and medium regiments are armed with the lance, as well -as sword and carbine, and only the hussars retain the two latter for -both ranks. Every effort is being made to lighten the enormous weight a -cavalry horse has to carry. - -The artillery re-armed with a steel breech-loading, chambered, -12-pounder gun, has a very high velocity, and hence a very flat -trajectory. This, for many purposes admirable, lessens the “searching” -effect of artillery fire, and in foreign armies howitzer batteries and -even field-mortar batteries are being experimented on. - -Quick-firing guns are openly advocated for field service, and high -explosives will render iron or steel turrets and stone fortifications -both vulnerable, and dangerous to the defenders. Of late years, not -only has Shoeburyness continued its useful work as the great centre of -experimental work with large and small guns, but Okehampton has been -utilised as a practice-ground for field artillery under conditions -approximating to those of actual war. - -The use of smokeless powder has changed in many ways the tactical -application of the three arms. It is no longer easy to estimate -exactly the extent of front of a battery of guns, nor even its exact -position, nor can the fact of its fire being diminished by loss -be so readily ascertained as when the smoke gave the information -wanted. So, throughout the field generally, there is no smoke screen -to hide the assailants from view, and greater exposure may involve -more serious loss in attack. Similarly, the length of the enemy’s -line of battle, and the extent to which it is occupied, will so far -perplex the attacking commander, that unnecessarily wide turning -movements may be expected, with consequent loss of time. Furthermore, -the friction caused by the velocity of the cordite gas, with its -naturally chemically corrosive action, tends to destroy barrels, and -so render, earlier than heretofore, the weapon inaccurate. As regards -the infantry, they have been armed with a Lee-Mitford small-bore rifle, -with a calibre of ·303 inch, and having a muzzle velocity with cordite -of 2000 feet a second, and a consequent range of 1900 yards. The long -bayonet has been replaced by a short dagger, not unlike the first -pattern of “plug-bayonet” which fitted into the muzzle of the arquebus. -The weapon has an extremely flat trajectory, but it is improbable that -the small diameter of the bullet would stop an Arab rush unless it -found its billet in a vital part. Its penetration into wood is such -that simple stockades, or even old brick walls, would be vulnerable -before the new rifle. The number of rounds carried in the magazine is -ten. Much stress is now laid on “field-firing” against targets with -unknown ranges, arranged as far as possible under service conditions. - -Long-ranged fire, even up to 3000 mètres, has been tried in France, but -in England there is a tendency, with many officers, to deprecate the -use of small-arm ammunition at extreme ranges. - -The general direction of the improvement in firearms is to lessen the -size of the bore and increase the flatness of the trajectory. Thus -the high-angled fire of the Snider, converted from the muzzle-loading -Enfield, was changed for the Martini-Henry, in every way a more deadly -weapon, and this, as has been already remarked, has given way to an -even smaller bored rifle. And with the increased rapidity of fire and -the larger number of rounds of the lighter ammunition that can be -carried, the bayonet, that was lengthened in 1878, was reduced to its -present dimensions. - -Muzzle-loading guns have been replaced by breech-loaders, and the steel -muzzle-loading guns used in Abyssinia by screw guns, which can be put -together and fired within a minute from the time the two mules, which -carry the parts, halt. - -Machine guns, such as the Gatling, Gardner, and Nordenfeldt, will -probably give way to the automatic Maxim. - -Since the campaign of 1870 to 1871, greater attention has been paid to -visual signalling by flag or flash, and the field telegraph is much -more actively employed, and accompanies, as far as possible, the army -up to the point of attack. - -In England, considerable attention has been paid to night marching and -night attacks, as being the only method under favourable circumstances -of crossing, unseen, the fire-swept zone now so much more extended than -formerly. - -Balloons, captive and free, form part of the equipment of an army -corps, and officers are trained both in their use and in reconnoitring -from them. They were employed in the operations round Suakin, but are -difficult to manage in windy weather, as they found on that occasion. - -Uniform has altered little, but helmets were issued in 1877 to all -but Highland and Fusilier Regiments; and since that date the Rifle -headdress has been restored, as well as the peculiar shako of the -Highland Light Infantry. Badge and rank chevrons were formerly worn -by all light infantry regiments on both arms, but this was abandoned, -though the old 43rd still wore them up to 1881.[72] The abolition -of purchase in 1872 rendered the army possibly more professional, -but certainly not, as was imagined, less expensive. It destroyed, -however, the “right” claimed by officers who had purchased to different -treatment from that which would naturally follow under a non-purchase -system. Curiously enough, the alteration was hardest on the poor man -who rose from the ranks, as he, on his retirement, frequently received -a large sum for the “regulation” and “over regulation” price of his -commission. - - * * * * * - -But the two greatest changes have been the introduction of short -service, and the territorialisation of the regiments of the army; both -of which measures have opponents as well as friends. - -There is much misconception about the former, certainly. Its enemies -quite forget that there was practically no alternative, that we are -living in the end of the nineteenth century, not the beginning. The -so-called Long Service Act of 1847, with its ten years’ service for the -first period with the colours, and the right, if of good character, to -extend it to twenty-one years for pension, did not provide sufficient -recruits for a meagre army, and, as the Crimea proved, gave not only -an insufficient number of men, but no reserves at all. When peace was -signed, we had boy soldiers in the ranks much as we have now, many of -the older men having perished; yet they fought well, as they always -have done. Outside the first line there were foreign legions and -militia, and that was all. The times even then were past since an -army of 25,000 men was considered a respectable command for a serious -European war; and the change in the conditions is even greater now, -with all Europe an armed camp, and the armies themselves counting as -many thousands as they did hundreds “when George the Third was king.” -Nor was the longer service Act of 1867 any better. It gave twelve years -with the colours and nine of re-engaged time to obtain pension. But the -army then was more under its proper strength annually than before. - -The plain fact is, that an army of even the dimensions of our own -cannot attract a sufficient number of recruits for so long a period -as ten or twelve years. You can get enough men to do so for a force a -few thousands strong, like the Royal Marine Corps, but not for an army -which has to put in fifteen or sixteen years in such climates as some -parts of India or Burmah. - -Short service was inevitable, and since its introduction the army -has rarely, I believe never, been below its numerical strength. -The question of reserves, important as that is, and of good -non-commissioned officers is quite beside the question. Neither would -be worth a row of pins without a sufficient number of men, however -young, in the ranks. Besides, if serious war comes, the same method -will be adopted that was in vogue in the much-belauded long service -days. Battalions were weeded then as they are now, and though they had -permanently a larger proportion of older men in the ranks to stiffen -the regiments, the same stiffening can always be got from the reserves -whenever it is wanted. Our previous system gave us nothing, absolutely -nothing, to fall back on; our present system gives us, if we want them, -some 100,000 old soldiers whom we can claim as a right. - -No one prefers boy soldiers to stout men. No one for choice would take -very young men for sergeants. But if the State will not offer greater -inducements, if the nation will not pay the cost, then you must do the -best you can with the materials you can purchase in the open labour -markets of this country. - -Lord Wolseley, whose experience of war in all its aspects is second to -none, has always expressed himself in terms of the strongest approval -of our young soldiers, who have done their duty so well, and without a -murmur, and yet are maligned by those who ought to know better. - -In his last despatch from the Nile, in June 1885, he thus refers to -the lads who had undergone the severe strain of the campaign, and with -comparatively so little loss. “It is a source of great pride to me as -a soldier, and of satisfaction as a British subject, that upon each -fresh occasion when I am brought in contact with Her Majesty’s troops -in the field, I find the army more efficient as a military machine than -it was the last time I was associated with it on active service. This -improvement is evident in all grades and in all arms and departments, -but it is, I think, more marked in the rank and file. Military -spirit--the essence of military efficiency--is now established in our -army in a higher form and on a sounder basis than formerly. I attribute -the improvement in moral tone that undoubtedly exists, in no small -degree, to the abolition of flogging, and I believe that amongst the -officers who have lately had practical experience in the field, even -those previously in favour of retaining the lash as a punishment on -active service, now fully recognise that many advantages have resulted -from its total abolition. The soldier is prouder of himself and of his -calling than he used to be, and his self-esteem has also been raised by -the healthy feeling of liberty arising from the knowledge that if the -army does not suit his tastes, he can easily quit it, instead of being -bound to it for ten or twelve years. Our rank and file are morally -better, and militarily more efficient, than formerly. The general -conduct and bearing of our men in the Sudan left nothing to be desired, -and was not only creditable to the British army, but should be also a -just source of pride to the British nation.” - -Nor in comparison with foreign armies equally on a peace footing is -there anything to complain of as regards the length of service of the -men serving, for out of battalions of between 500 and 600 men there -were in British battalions 245, in German 59, and in French but 23 -men of three years’ service and upwards. Similarly, the Continental -recruit ranges in height from 5 feet to 5 feet 1½ inches, with a chest -measurement of 30.8 inches, but with an age of 20 years; while our -“boys” of 18 have a height of 5 feet 4 inches, with a chest of 33 -inches. - -Even the cry that reservists cannot find employment is an exaggeration, -as the report of Lord Wantage’s Committee shows; for it was proved that -of 32,700 reservists, 75 per cent. were in regular employ. - -Turning to the territorialisation of the regiments, there again must be -necessarily conflicting opinions. Those who think regimental prestige -is lost with a name, must have a very poor opinion of what prestige -really is. Have the navy no _esprit de corps_? And yet theirs is for -their _profession_, not for H.M.S. _Bacchante_ or the _Melpomene_. -It must not be forgotten, too, that many of the existing regiments -have borne other numbers. Has their efficiency been lessened because -they had to put 82 instead of 83 on their forage caps in past years? -Doubtless it is not worth while changing for changing’s sake; but -when administration is simplified, the working of the short service -system (which is in a sense forced on us) and recruiting improved, then -those who object must show a better case than that of objection merely -because they don’t like it. - -There is the strongest evidence that the bulk of the men not only don’t -care about the dead and gone numbers, but prefer the territorial title. -In the presence of some officer, whose enthusiasm clings like ivy round -the past glories of the “Onety-oneth,” they may, for obvious reasons, -express themselves differently; but, when alone, they do as everybody -else does, outside a small and decreasing group of men who live, as -archæologists do, in a dead past, and use the local name, which to them -has a more distinct meaning. - -Of course it is to be regretted that the army is not strong enough to -do the foreign service it is called upon to perform; that of the two -battalions, now tied together as they were formerly linked, one cannot -always be at home. But that simply comes from the numerical weakness -of the army, and has nothing to do with the system. True, the home -battalion is practically a secondary depôt, and why not? So long as the -foreign, and often active service, battalion is strong, what does it -matter? - -So the army in 1881 was territorialised, as it had previously been -linked. The linking was less symmetrical than the new plan, for two -battalion regiments like the 17th were formerly linked with a single -battalion like the 45th. As far as possible, too, battalions that had -during their regimental history been formed in the same or neighbouring -districts were joined under the same designation. There were of course -difficulties, and ludicrous ones at times, as when the 100th Royal -_Canadians_ are united with the 3rd _Bombay_ European Regiment to form -the _Leinster_ Regiment; but these are of no great moment now, and will -be quite forgotten in another fifty years. - -But more than grouping battalions of the regular army together is the -uniting in one common bond the other parts of our fighting strength. -The addition of militia to the regiment, and of the volunteers to the -same, both promotes a real and wider _esprit de corps_, and facilitates -recruiting in every way. To hear a Hampshire volunteer say he is -leaving his volunteer battalion to “join our fighting battalion,” -meaning thereby the 1st regular battalion then on foreign service, -expresses very fully the union that, given time and patience, will -eventually exist between all branches of our fighting strength. - -Hence, therefore, rightly or wrongly, as opinions differ, the army -is divided into English regiments with white facings, Scotch (4 -Battalions) with yellow facings, and Irish (1 Battalion) with green -facings; but the Royal Irish and the Scottish Rifles have dark green, -all Royal Regiments blue, the East Kent Regiment buff, the Rifle -Brigade black, and the King’s Royal Rifles scarlet facings. Similarly -the garrison artillery are partially territorialised, but the cavalry -are not so. - -The latest change in the administrative branches is the conversion of -the formerly noncombatant “Commissariat and Transport Department” into -the combatant “Army Service Corps,” and the officering of that force by -selected officers after a searching course of training and examination. - -Much more serious attention is paid, too, to the food of the soldier -and military hygiene generally. A quarter of a century ago the ration -of bread and meat was eked out by a grocery ration limited both in -dimensions and variety. Now, without extra cost to the soldier, and -solely by better management and better cooking, he fares not as well -as, but better than, many a family in civil life of presumably a better -position. Thus the weekly dietary, in a company of a line regiment at -Aldershot not long since, comprised for breakfast a selection (every -day having a fresh combination) from tea, cocoa, porridge and milk, -bloaters, rissoles, bacon, brawn, corned beef, and cold boiled bacon; -for dinner, pea soup, roast meat stuffed, potatoes, Irish stew, plain -suet pudding, barley soup, meat pies, brown curry and rice, currant -rolls, lentil soup, baked meat, haricot beans, sea pies, rice pudding -and Yorkshire pudding; and for tea, marmalade, dripping, soused -herrings, cheese, kippers, and jam. Not only is the dietary therefore -more varied and appetising, but the men trained at the cookery school -are fully qualified to cook it properly. - -In other respects the army has altered little. The profession is -naturally conservative, and does not care to try new armour unless -it has proved it. But the story of the army tells this--that in two -hundred years it has increased from 3000 men to nearly 667,000 putting -aside local colonial troops and our admirable Indian army. This number -is composed of - - Regular Army 216,688 - Army Reserve 80,000 } - Militia Reserve 30,000} 110,000 - Militia 75,000 - Volunteers 255,000 - Yeomanry 9,500 - -Of this force, about 110,000 of the regular troops are serving abroad -and the remainder at home; while, though no new regiments have been -added since 1870, the army has increased in number by 29,000 men, and -this without the faintest opposition. All the former dread of it, -whether real or affected, has passed away. In place of it has grown up -the feeling that it has won the nation’s affection, and has earned and -holds its confidence. - -Meanwhile, in many a small matter of daily life there is a survival of -long-forgotten military ideas. The acts of courtesy of removing one’s -hat or shaking hands with an ungloved hand are, after all, but baring -the unarmoured head and using the unmailed, and therefore friendly, -hand. With the soldier’s salute, the dropping of the sword-point is -exposing the unguarded breast, the “present arms” but offering the -power of firing the weapon to the person saluted. Passing right hand -to right hand is but being on one’s guard, and having the power of -easily standing on the defensive. Even the two useless buttons on the -back of the man’s coat may be but the survival of the means whereby the -sword-belt was kept up. - -In the names of bachelor, esquire, and soldier live those of _bas -chevalier_ (inferior knight), _escuyer_, and _solde_, or pay. In the -expression “pulling the long bow” survives the spirit of some of the -tales told by stout yeomen over strong ale. In the fantastic flourishes -that surround the helmet and shield in the painted coat-of-arms is seen -still the mantling that covered the tilting _heaulme_. - -The army is as much part of the social and national life of England as -its commercial marine, or its police force. It does the same duty on a -large scale for the former as do the latter on a smaller scale in civil -life. It protects the commercial enterprise of our merchant princes, -finds new outlets for our manufacturers. It guards our seaports at home -and abroad; it assists the civil police against the proletariat, and -that without creating real hostility. - -It represents the fighting spirit that has made the nation what it is -and has enlarged its boundaries. It has given us what without its aid -would have been impossible--external and internal safety. - -And, most of all, it has preserved unsullied our national honour. Where -the flag flies over British fighting men, there our lads behave as -becomes true Englishmen, and face death fearlessly. The spirit that -braced the nerves of the men of Lincelles, Albuhera, and Inkerman lives -still in their descendants, and those who fought and fell before the -Arab rush at Abu Klea may well stand in the nation’s esteem side by -side with our heroes of the past. - - - - -APPENDIX I - - THE PRINCIPAL CAMPAIGNS AND BATTLES IN WHICH THE BRITISH ARMY - HAVE BEEN ENGAGED SINCE 1658. - - - Aboukir 8th March 1801 - Abu Klea, Sudan 17th January 1885 - Abu Kru, Sudan 19th January 1885 - Abyssinia 1867-68 - Aden 19th January 1839 - Afghanistan 1841-42 - Afghanistan 1878-80 - Agra 17th October 1803 - Ahmedabad 12th August 1780 - Ahmednuggur 12th August 1803 - Ahmed Kehl 19th April 1880 - Albuhera 16th May 1811 - Alexandria 21st March 1801 - Ali Musjid 21st Nov. 1878 - Aliwal 28th January 1846 - Alkmaar 6th October 1799 - Allyghur 4th Sept. 1803 - Alma 20th Sept. 1854 - Almanara 28th July 1710 - Almanza 14th April 1707 - Almaraz 19th May 1812 - Almeida 26th August 1810 - Amboyna 17th Feb. 1810 - America 1775-81 - Amoaful 31st January 1874 - Antwerp 5th May 1814 - Arcot 31st August 1751 - Arcot 31st October 1780 - Argaum 29th Nov. 1803 - Arnee 2nd June 1782 - Arroyo des Molinos 28th October 1811 - Ashanti 1874 - Assaye 23rd Sept. 1803 - Asseerghur 8th April 1819 - Aughrim 12th July 1691 - Ava 24th Feb. 1826 - - Badajos 6th April 1812 - Balaklava 25th October 1854 - Baltimore 11th Sept. 1814 - Banda 8th March 1810 - Bangalore 21st March 1791 - Barcelona 1705 to 8th May 1706 - Barrosa 5th March 1811 - Bayonne 22nd Feb. to 14th April 1814 - Belleisle 7th June 1761 - Benevente January 1809 - Beni-Boo-Ally 2nd March 1821 - Bergen 19th Sept. 1799 - Bergen-op-Zoom 8th March 1814 - Bhurtpore 2nd April 1805 - Bhurtpore 18th January 1826 - Bidassoa 7th October 1813 - Bladensburg 24th August 1814 - Blenheim 13th August 1704 - Bothwell Brig 22nd June 1679 - Bouchain 13th Sept. 1711 - Bourbon 21st Sept. 1809 - Boyne 1st July 1690 - Brandywine 11th Sept. 1777 - Brooklyn 27th August 1776 - Brunx 28th October 1776 - Buenos Ayres 28th June 1806 - Buenos Ayres 5th July 1807 - Bunker’s Hill 17th June 1775 - Burmah 1824-26 - Burmah 1852-53 - Burmah 27th Sept. 1810 - Bushire 10th Dec. 1856 - Buxar 23rd October 1764 - - Cabool 12th October 1842 - Camden 16th August 1780 - Campen 15th October 1760 - Campo-Mayor 25th March 1811 - Candahar 10th March 1842 - Candahar 1st Sept. 1880 - Canton 5th Jan. 1858 - Cape of Good Hope September 1795 - Cape of Good Hope 9th January 1806 - Cape of Good Hope 1846-47; 1850-53; and 1877-79 - Carthagena April 1741 - Cateau 26th April 1794 - Cawnpore 17th July 1857 - Caya 7th May 1709 - Central India 1857-58 - Charasiah 5th October 1879 - Chateaughay 26th October 1813 - Cherbourg 5th August 1758 - Chillianwallah 13th January 1849 - China 1840-43 - China 1856-60 - Chrystler’s Farm 11th Nov. 1813 - Ciudad Rodrigo 19th January 1812 - Condore 8th December 1758 - Coomassie 4th Feb. 1874 - Copenhagen 2nd April 1801 - Copenhagen 8th Sept. 1807 - Corbach 10th July 1760 - Corsica 17th June 1794 - Corunna 16th January 1890 - Crimea 1854-55 - Crabbendam 10th Sept. 1799 - Cuddalore 13th July 1783 - Culloden 16th April 1746 - - Deig 13th October 1804 - Delhi 11th Sept. 1803 - Delhi 20th Sept. 1857 - Denkern 15th July 1761 - Detroit 16th August 1812 - Dettingen 16th June 1743 - Dominica 22nd Feb. 1805 - Douay 25th June 1710 - Douro 12th May 1809 - Dunkirk 17th Sept. 1793 - - Egmont-op-Zee 2nd October 1799 - Egypt 1801 - Egypt 1882 - El Bodon 25th Sept. 1811 - El Teb 29th Feb. 1884 - Emsdorf 16th July 1760 - - Famars 23rd May 1793 - Ferozeshah 22nd Dec. 1845 - Flushing 15th August 1809 - Fontenoy 30th April 1745 - Freehold 28th June 1778 - Fuentes d’Onoro 5th May 1811 - - Germantown 3rd October 1777 - Ghent 30th Sept. 1708 - Ghuznee 23rd July 1839 - Ghuznee 6th Sept. 1842 - Gibraltar 10th March 1705 - Gibraltar 22nd Feb. 1727 - Gibraltar 5th February 1783 - Ginghilovo 2nd April 1879 - Goojerat 21st February 1849 - Grenada 24th March 1796 - Guadaloupe February 1810 - Gueldermalsen 8th January 1795 - Guildford 15th March 1781 - - Hashin 25th March 1885 - Havannah 14th August 1762 - Helder 27th August 1799 - Hulst 5th May 1747 - Hyderabad 24th March 1843 - - Ingogo 8th Feb. 1881 - Indian Mutiny 1857-59 - Inkerman 5th November 1854 - Ionian Islands 12th October 1809 - Isandula 22nd Jan. 1879 - - Java 18th Sept. 1811 - Jellalabad 7th April 1842 - - Kambula 29th March 1879 - Kassassin 28th Aug. 1882 - Khelat 13th Nov. 1839 - Kirbekan 10th Feb. 1885 - Kirkee 5th Nov. 1817 - Kooshab 8th February 1857 - - Laing’s Nek 28th Jan. 1881 - Leswaree 1st Nov. 1803 - Lexington 19th April 1775 - Liège 23rd October 1702 - Lincelles 18th August 1793 - Lisle 23rd October 1708 - Llerena 11th April 1812 - Louisburg 26th July 1758 - Lucknow July to Nov. 1857 - Lucknow 21st March 1858 - - Maestricht 2nd July 1673 - Magdala 13th April 1868 - Maharajpore 29th Dec. 1843 - Maheidpore 21st Dec. 1817 - Maida 4th July 1806 - Maiwand 17th July 1880 - Majuba Hill 27th Feb. 1881 - Malavelly 27th March 1799 - Malplaquet 11th Sept. 1709 - Malta 5th Sept. 1800 - Mandora 13th March 1801 - Mangalore September 1783 - Manilla 5th October 1762 - Marabout 21st August 1801 - Martinique 5th February 1762 - Martinique 16th March 1794 - Martinique 7th March 1809 - Masulipatam 1769 - Matagorda 22nd April 1810 - Mauritius 2nd Dec. 1810 - Meeanee 17th Feb. 1843 - Miami 5th May 1813 - Minden 1st August 1759 - Minorca 1708 - Minorca 29th June 1756 - Minorca 5th February 1782 - Minorca 15th Nov. 1798 - Monte Video 3rd February 1807 - Moodkee 18th Dec. 1845 - Mooltan 2nd January 1849 - Morales 2nd June 1813 - Moro (Havannah) 14th August 1762 - - Nagpore 24th Dec. 1817 - Namur 20th August 1695 - Neer-Hespen 18th July 1705 - Neer-Landen 19th July 1693 - New Orleans 13th January 1815 - New Zealand 1861-63 - Niagara 1814 - Nieuport 24th October 1793 - Nile 1884-85 - Nimeguen 8th Nov. 1794 - Nive 9th to 13th December 1813 - Nivelle 10th Nov. 1813 - Nundydroog 18th October 1791 - - Orthes 27th February 1814 - Oudenarde 11th July 1708 - - Pegu 21st Nov. 1852 - Pekin 12th October 1860 - Peninsula 1808-14 - Persia 1856-57 - Perak 1875 - Pewar Kotal 2nd Dec. 1878 - Plassy 23rd June 1757 - Plattsburg 11th Sept. 1814 - Pondicherry 23rd August 1793 - Porto Novo 1st July 1781 - Prestonpans 21st Sept. 1745 - Punniar 29th Dec. 1843 - Pyrenees 2nd August 1813 - - Quatre Bras 16th June 1815 - Quebec 13th Sept. 1759 - Queenstown 13th October 1812 - - Ramillies 23rd May 1706 - Rangoon 5th May 1824 - Rangoon 14th April 1852 - Rediuha 11th March 1811 - Reshire 9th December 1856 - Roliça 17th August 1808 - Rolicund - Rorke’s Drift 22nd Jan. 1879 - Rosetta 21st April 1807 - Roucoux 1st October 1746 - - Sabugal 3rd April 1811 - Sahagun 21st Dec. 1808 - Salamanca 22nd July 1812 - San Sebastian 31st Aug. 1813 - Saragossa 20th August 1710 - Savendroog 21st Dec. 1791 - Schellenburg 2nd July 1704 - Scylla 17th January 1809 - Sedgmoor 6th July 1685 - Seringapatam 15th May 1791 - Seringapatam 6th February 1792 - Seringapatam 4th May 1799 - Sevastopol 8th Sept. 1855 - Sholingur 27th Sept. 1781 - Sillery 28th April 1760 - Sobraon 10th Feb. 1846 - Steenkirk 24th July 1692 - Stillwater 19th Sept. 1777 - St. John’s 13th Nov. 1775 - St. Lucia 28th Dec. 1778 - St. Lucia 4th April 1794 - St. Lucia May 1796 - St. Lucia 22nd June 1803 - St. Sebastian 31st August 1813 - St. Vincent 14th February 1797 - Suakin 1885 - Surinam 30th April 1804 - - Taku Forts 21st August 1860 - Talavera 27th and 28th July 1809 - Tamai 13th March 1884 - Tangier 1680 to 1683 - Tarbes 20th March 1814 - Tarifa 31st Dec. 1811 - Tel el Kebir 13th Sept. 1882 - Ternate August 1810 - Ticonderoga 8th July 1758 - Tofrik April 1885 - Tongres 10th May 1703 - Toulon 19th Dec. 1793 - Toulouse 10th April 1814 - Tournay 10th Sept. 1709 - Tournay 18th May 1794 - Transvaal 1881 - - Ulundi 4th July 1879 - Umbeylah or Ambela 1865 - - Val 20th June 1747 - Valenciennes 28th July 1793 - Venloo 23rd Sept. 1702 - Villers en Couche 24th April 1794 - Vimiera 21st August 1808 - Vittoria 21st June 1813 - - Walcourt 25th August 1689 - Wandewash 22nd January 1760 - Warbourg 31st July 1760 - Waterloo 18th June 1815 - Wilhelmstahl 14th June 1762 - Wynendale 28th Sept. 1708 - - York Town 19th October 1781 - - Zululand 1879 - - - - -APPENDIX II - - LIST OF REGIMENTS, WITH THEIR FORMER NUMBERS AND THEIR PRESENT - TITLES, IN ORDER OF PRECEDENCE - - - --------------------+------------------------+-------------------------- - NAME. | FORMER TITLE.[73] | PRESENT TITLE. - --------------------+------------------------+-------------------------- - _Cavalry._ | | - | | - The Life Guards. | First and Second | The same - The Royal Horse | The “Blues” | ” - Guards | | - 1st Dragoon Guards | The King’s | ” - 2nd ” | Queen’s Bays | ” - 3rd ” | Prince of Wales’s | ” - 4th ” | Royal Irish | ” - 5th ” | Princess Charlotte of | ” - | Wales’s | - 6th ” | Carabiniers | ” - 7th ” | Princess Royal’s | ” - 1st Dragoons | Royal | ” - 2nd ” | Royal North British | Royal Scots Greys - | (Scots Greys)[74] | - 3rd Hussars | The King’s Own | The same - 4th ” | The Queen’s Own | ” - 5th Lancers | Royal Irish | ” - 6th Dragoons | Inniskilling | ” - 7th Hussars | The Queen’s Own | ” - 8th ” | The King’s Royal Irish | ” - 9th Lancers | The Queen’s Royal | ” - 10th Hussars | The Prince of Wales’s | ” - | Own Royal | - 11th ” | Prince Albert’s Own | ” - 12th Lancers | The Prince of Wales’s | ” - | Royal | - 13th Hussars | None | None - 14th ” | The King’s | The same - 15th ” | The King’s | ” - 16th Lancers | The Queen’s | ” - 17th ” | None | The Duke of Cambridge’s - | | Own[75] - 18th Hussars | ” | None - 19th ” | ” | Princess of Wales’s Own - 20th ” | ” | None - 21st ” | ” | ” - | | - _Infantry._ | | - | | - Grenadier Guards | 1st, 2nd, and 3rd | The same - | Battalions | - Coldstream ” | 1st and 2nd Battalions | ” - Scots Fusilier[76] ”| 1st and 2nd Battalions | ” - 1st Regiment | The Royal | The Royal Scots (Lothian - | | Regiment) - 2nd ” | The Queen’s Royal | (Royal West Surrey - | | Regiment) - 3rd ” | East Kent--The Buffs | (East Kent Regiment) - 4th ” | The King’s Own Royal | (Royal Lancaster - | | Regiment) - 5th ” | Northumberland | The same - | Fusiliers | - 6th ” | Royal 1st Warwickshire | The Royal Warwickshire - | | Regiment - 7th ” | Royal Fusiliers | (City of London Regiment) - 8th ” | The King’s | (Liverpool Regiment) - 9th ” | East Norfolk | The Norfolk Regiment - 10th ” | North Lincolnshire | The Lincolnshire Regiment - 11th ” | North Devonshire | The Devonshire Regiment - 12th ” | East Suffolk | The Suffolk Regiment - 13th ” | Prince Albert’s Light | The Prince Albert’s - | Infantry | (Somersetshire Light - | | Infantry) - 14th ” | Buckinghamshire | The Prince of Wales’s Own - | | (West Yorkshire - | | Regiment) - 15th ” | Yorkshire East Riding | The East Yorkshire - | | Regiment - 16th ” | The Bedfordshire | The Bedfordshire Regiment - 17th ” | Leicestershire | The Leicestershire - | | Regiment - 18th ” | The Royal Irish | The Royal Irish Regiment - 19th ” | 1st Yorkshire North | The Princess of Wales’s - | Riding | Own[77] (Yorkshire - | | Regiment) - 20th ” | The East Devonshire | The Lancashire Fusiliers - 21st ” | Royal North British | Royal Scots Fusiliers[78] - | Fusiliers | - 22nd ” | The Cheshire | The Cheshire Regiment - 23rd ” | Royal Welsh Fusiliers | The same - 24th ” | The 2nd Warwickshire | The South Wales Borderers - 25th ” | The King’s Own | The King’s Own Scottish - | Borderers | Borderers - _N.B_--All these regiments had two battalions. - 26th Regiment | The Cameronian | 1st Cameronians (Scottish - | | Rifles) - 27th ” | Inniskilling | 1st Royal Inniskilling - | | Fusiliers - 28th ” | North Gloucestershire | 1st Gloucestershire - | | Regiment - 29th ” | Worcestershire | 1st Worcestershire - | | Regiment - 30th ” | Cambridgeshire | 1st East Lancashire - | | Regiment - 31st ” | Huntingdonshire | 1st East Surrey Regiment - 32nd ” | Cornwall Light Infantry| 1st Duke of Cornwall’s - | | Light Infantry - 33rd ” | Duke of Wellington’s | 1st West Riding Regiment - 34th ” | Cumberland | 1st Border Regiment - 35th ” | Royal Sussex | 1st Royal Sussex - 36th ” | Herefordshire | 2nd Worcestershire - | | Regiment - 37th ” | North Hampshire | 1st Hampshire Regiment - 38th ” | 1st Staffordshire | 1st South Staffordshire - | | Regiment - 39th ” | Dorsetshire | 1st Dorsetshire Regiment - 40th ” | 2nd Somersetshire | Prince of Wales’s - | | Volunteers, 1st South - | | Lancashire Regiment - 41st ” | The Welsh | 1st Welsh Regiment - 42nd ” | Royal Highland (Black | 1st Black Watch (Royal - | Watch) | Highlanders) - 43rd ” | Monmouthshire Light | 1st Oxfordshire Light - | Infantry | Infantry - 44th ” | East Essex | 1st Essex Regiment - 45th ” | Nottinghamshire | 1st Sherwood Foresters - | (Sherwood Foresters) | (Derbyshire Regiment) - 46th ” | South Devonshire | 2nd Duke of Cornwall’s - | | Light Infantry - 47th ” | Lancashire | 1st Loyal North - | | Lancashire Regiment - 48th ” | Northamptonshire | 1st Northamptonshire - | | Regiment - 49th ” | Princess Charlotte of | 1st Royal Berks Regiment - | Wales’s (Herts) | - 50th ” | The Queen’s Own | 1st Royal West Kent - | | Regiment - 51st ” | 2nd Yorkshire, West | 1st King’s Own (Yorkshire - | Riding (the King’s | Light Infantry) - | Own Light Infantry) | - 52nd ” | Oxfordshire Light | 2nd Oxfordshire Light - | Infantry | Infantry - 53rd ” | Shropshire | 1st The King’s - | | (Shropshire Light - | | Infantry) - 54th ” | West Norfolk | 2nd Dorsetshire - 55th ” | Westmoreland | 2nd The Border - 56th ” | West Essex | 2nd Essex - 57th ” | West Middlesex | 1st Duke of Cambridge’s - | | Own (Middlesex) - 58th ” | Rutlandshire | 2nd Northamptonshire - 59th ” | 2nd Nottinghamshire | 2nd East Lancashire - 60th ” | King’s Royal Rifle | The same - (4 battalions) | Corps | - 61st Regiment | South Gloucestershire | 2nd Gloucestershire - 62nd ” | Wiltshire | 1st Duke of Edinburgh - | | (Wilts) - 63rd ” | West Suffolk | 1st Manchester - 64th ” | 2nd Staffordshire | 1st The Prince of Wales - | | (North Staffordshire) - 65th ” | 2nd Yorkshire, North | 1st York and Lancaster - | Riding | - 66th ” | Berkshire | 2nd Princess Charlotte of - | | Wales’s (Royal Berks) - 67th ” | South Hampshire | 2nd Hampshire - 68th ” | Durham Light Infantry | 1st Durham Light Infantry - 69th ” | South Lincolnshire | 2nd Welsh - 70th ” | Surrey | 2nd East Surrey - 71st ” | Highland Light | 1st Highland Light - | Infantry | Infantry - 72nd ” | Duke of Albany’s Own | 1st Seaforth Highlanders, - | Highlanders | Ross-shire Buffs (The - | | Duke of Albany’s) - 73rd ” | Perthshire | 2nd Black Watch (Royal - | | Highlanders) - 74th ” | Highland Regiment | 2nd Highland Light - | | Infantry - 75th ” | None[79] | 1st Gordon Highlanders - 76th ” | None | 2nd Duke of Wellington - | | (West Riding) - 77th ” | East Middlesex | 2nd Duke of Cambridge’s - | | Own[80] (Middlesex) - 78th ” | Highland Regt. | 2nd Seaforth Highlanders - | (Ross-Buffs) | (Ross-shire Buffs), - | | The Duke of Albany’s - 79th | Cameron Highlanders | Queen’s Own Cameron - (1 battalion)[81] | | Highlanders[82] - 80th Regiment | Staffordshire | 2nd South Staffordshire - 81st ” | Loyal Lincoln | 2nd Loyal North Lancaster - | Volunteers | - 82nd ” | Prince of Wales’s | 2nd Prince of Wales’s - | Volunteers | Volunteers (South - | | Lancaster) - 83rd ” | County Dublin | 1st Royal Irish Rifles - 84th ” | York and Lancaster | 2nd York and Lancaster - 85th ” | Bucks Volunteers | 2nd The King’s - | (King’s Light | (Shropshire Light - | Infantry) | Infantry) - 86th ” | Royal County Down | 2nd Royal Irish Rifles - 87th ” | Royal Irish Fusiliers | 1st Princess Victoria’s - | | (Royal Irish Fusiliers) - 88th ” | Connaught Rangers | 1st Connaught Rangers - 89th ” | Princess Victoria’s | 2nd Princess Victoria’s - | | (Royal Irish Fusiliers) - 90th ” | Perthshire Volunteers | 2nd Cameronians - | (Light Infantry) | (Scottish Rifles) - 91st ” | The Argyleshire | 1st Princess Louise’s[83] - | Highlanders | (Argyle and Sutherland - | | Highlanders) - 92nd ” | Gordon Highlanders | 2nd Gordon Highlanders - 93rd ” | Sutherland Highlanders | 2nd Princess Louise’s - | | (Argyle and Sutherland) - 94th ” | None | 2nd Connaught Rangers - 95th ” | Derbyshire | 2nd Sherwood Foresters - | | (Derbyshire) - 96th ” | None | 2nd Manchester - 97th ” | Earl of Ulster’s | 2nd Queen’s Own (Royal - | | West Kent) - 98th ” | None | 2nd Prince of Wales’s[84] - | | (North Staffordshire) - 99th ” | Lanarkshire | 2nd Duke of - | | Edinburgh’s[85] (Wilts) - 100th ” | Prince of Wales’s | 1st Prince of Wales’s - | Royal Canadians | Leinster (Royal - | | Canadians) - 101st ” | Royal Bengal Fusiliers | 1st Royal Munster - | | Fusiliers - 102nd ” | Royal Madras ” | 1st Royal Dublin - | | Fusiliers - 103rd ” | Royal Bombay ” | 2nd Royal Dublin - | | Fusiliers - 104th ” | Bengal Fusiliers | 2nd Royal Munster - | | Fusiliers - 105th ” | Madras Light Infantry | 2nd King’s Own (Yorks - | | Light Infantry) - 106th ” | Bombay ” | 2nd Durham Light Infantry - 107th ” | Bengal Infantry | 2nd Royal Sussex - 108th ” | Madras ” | 2nd Royal Inniskilling - | | Fusiliers - 109th ” | Bombay ” | 2nd Prince of Wales’s - | | Leinster (Royal - | | Canadians) - Rifle Brigade | The Prince Consort’s | The same - (4 battalions) | Own | - --------------------+------------------------+-------------------------- - - - - -APPENDIX III - -LIST OF BADGES, MOTTOES, AND GENERAL NICKNAMES OF THE ARMY. - - - ---------------+----------------+----------------+------------------------ - NAME. | BADGE. | MOTTO. | NICKNAMES. - ---------------+----------------+----------------+------------------------ - 1st Life Guards| The Royal Arms | | “Cheeses,” “Piccadilly - 2nd Life Guards| ” | | Butchers,” “The Tin - | | | Bellies,” “Patent - | | | Safeties” - Royal Horse | ” | | “Blue Guards,” “Blues,” - Guards | | | “Oxford Blues” - 1st Dragoon | Royal Cipher | | “K. D. G.’s,” “The - Guards | within Garter| | Trades Union” - 2nd ” | ” | | “The Bays,” “The Rusty - | | | Buckles,”[86] “The - | | | 2nd Horse” - 3rd ” | Plume of Prince| | “The Old Canaries” - | of Wales | | - | within Garter| | - | crowned. Red | | - | Dragon and | | - | Rising Sun | | - 4th ” | Irish Harp | “_Quis separa- | “The Blue Horse,” - | within Garter| bit?_”[87] | “Godfrey’s Horse,” - | crowned. Harp| | “The Royal Irish” - | and Crown and| | - | Star of St. | | - | Patrick | | - 5th ” | V. D. G. | “_Vestigia | “The Green Horse,” - | in Garter | nulla | “Green Dragoon - | crowned | retrorsum_” | Guards,” “Cog’s - | | | Horse” - 6th ” | Crossed | | “The Carbs,” - | Carbines | | “Tichborne’s Own,” - | within a | | “9th Horse” - | Garter | | - | crowned | | - 7th ” | 7. D. G. in | | “The Black Horse,” “The - | Garter | | Blacks,” “Virgin - | crowned | | Mary’s Guard,” - | | | “Strawboots” - 1st Dragoons | Crest of | “_Spectamur | - | England | agendo_” | - | within Garter| | - | crowned, and | | - | Eagle | | - 2nd ” | Thistle within | “_Second to | “Scots Greys,” “Old - | a Garter | None_” and | Greys,” “Grey - | crowned. | “_Nemo me | Dragoons,” “Scots - | Eagle with | impune | Regiment of White - | “Waterloo” | lacessit_” | Horses,” “Bubbly - | | | Jocks” - 3rd Hussars | White Horse | “_Nec aspera | “Lord Adam Gordon’s - | within Garter| terrent_” | Life Guards,” - | crowned | | “Bland’s Dragoons” - 4th ” | V. R. within | | “Paget’s Irregular - | Garter | | Horse” - | crowned | | - 5th Lancers | V. R. within | “_Quis | “Royal Irish,” “The - | Garter | separabit_” | Daily Advertisers,” - | crowned. Harp| | “The Red Breasts” - | and Crown | | - 6th Dragoons | Castle of | | “The Black Dragoons,” - | Inniskilling,| | “The Old - | with the S. | | Inniskillings,” “The - | George’s | | Skillingers” - | colours | | - | within Garter| | - | crowned | | - 7th Hussars | V. R. within | | “Old Straws,” “Black - | Garter | | Horse,” “Young Eyes,” - | crowned | | “Strawboots,” “The - | | | Lilywhite Seventh,” - | | | “The Old Saucy - | | | Seventh” - 8th ” | Harp within | “_Pristinæ | “St. George’s,” “The - | Garter | virtutis | Cross-Belts,” “The - | crowned. | memores_” | Dirty 8th,”[88] “The - | Harp crowned | | King’s” - 9th Lancers | V. R. within | | “Wynne’s Dragoons,” - | Garter | | “The Delhi Spearmen,” - | crowned | | “The Queen’s” - 10th Hussars | Prince of | | “Baker’s LightBobs,” - | Wales’s Plume| | “The Chainey Tenth,” - | within Garter| | “Don’t Dance - | crowned. The | | Tenth”[89] - | Prince of | | - | Wales’s | | - | Plume. The | | - | Red Dragon. | | - | The Rising | | - | Sun | | - 11th ” | Sphinx in | “_Treu und | “The Cherry Pickers,” - | Garter | fest_” | “The Cherubims” - | crowned. | | - | Sphinx with | | - | “Egypt.” | | - | Prince | | - | Consort’s | | - | Crest | | - 12th Lancers | Prince of | | “The Supple Twelfth” - | Wales’ Plume | | - | in Garter | | - | crowned. Red | | - | Dragon. | | - | Rising Sun. | | - | Prince of | | - | Wales’s | | - | Plume. Sphinx| | - | and “Egypt” | | - 13th Hussars | V. R. in Garter| “_Viret in | “The Green Dragoons,” - | crowned | æternum_” | “The Ragged Brigade,” - | | | “The Evergreens,” - | | | “The Geraniums,” - | | | “Gardiner’s - | | | Dragoons,” “Great - | | | Runaway - | | | Prestonpans”[88] - 14th ” | Royal Crest in | | “Hamilton’s Runaways,” - | Garter | | “Ramnuggur Boys,” - | crowned. | | “The Emperor’s - | Prussian | | Chamber maids” - | Eagle | | - 15th ” | Royal Crest in | “_Merebimur_” | “Fighting Fifteenth,” - | Garter | | “Elliot’s Light - | crowned | | Horse” - 16th Lancers | V. R. within | “_Aut cursu aut| “The Red Lancers,” - | Garter | cominus | “The Queen’s” - | crowned | armis_” | - 17th Lancers | Skull and Cross| Death’s Head | “Death or Glory Boys,” - | bones within | “_or Glory_” | “Skull and Cross - | a Garter | | Bones,” “Bingham’s - | crowned | | Dandies” - 18th Hussars | V. R. within | “_Pro Rege, pro| “Drogheda Light Horse” - | Garter | Lege, pro | - | crowned | Patria | - | | conamur_” | - 19th ” | V. R. within | | “The Dumpies” - | Garter | | - | crowned. | | - | Elephant | | - 20th Hussars | V. R. within | | “The Dumpies” - | Garter | | - | crowned | | - 21st Hussars | ” | | ” - Royal Artillery| Royal Arms and | “_Ubique._” | “The Gunners” - | Supporters. | “_Quo fas et | - | A field gun | gloria | - | with rammer | ucunt_” | - Royal Engineers| Royal Arms and | ” | “The Mudlarks,” “The - | Supporters | | Sappers” - Grenadier | A grenade. | | “Sandbags,” - Guards | Also, 1st | | “Coal-heavers,” “Old - | battalion, | | Eyes,” “Bermuda - | the Crown; | | Exiles” - | 2nd | | - | battalion, | | - | Royal Cipher | | - | crowned; 3rd | | - | battalion, | | - | same as 2nd, | | - | but with a | | - | pile wavy | | - Coldstream | The Star of the| | “Nulli Secundus Club,” - Guards | Garter, for | | “Coldstreamers” - | 1st | | - | battalion; | | - | 2nd | | - | battalion, | | - | Eight-pointed| | - | Star within | | - | Garter | | - | crowned | | - Scots Guards | The Thistle. | “_En! Ferus | “The Jocks” - | Sphinx with | Hostis._” | - | “Egypt.” 1st | “_Unita | - | battalion, | Fortior_” | - | Royal Arms of| | - | Scotland | | - | crowned; 2nd | | - | battalion, | | - | Union Badge | | - | crowned | | - Royal Scots | V.R. within St.| | “Douglas’s Ecossais,” - (1st) | Andrew’s | | “Pontius Pilate’s - | Collar | | Bodyguard” - | crowned. The | | - | Star of the | | - | Thistle. The | | - | Sphinx with | | - | “Egypt” | | - The Queen’s | The Paschal | “_Pristina | “Kirke’s Lambs,” “The - (2nd) | Lamb. The | virtutis | Sleepy Queen’s,” “1st - | Royal Cipher | memor._” | Tangerines” - | within the | “_Vel exuviæ | - | Garter. The | triumphant_” | - | Sphinx with | | - | “Egypt” | | - The Buffs | Rose and Crown.| “_Veteri | “Buff Howards,” “Old - (3rd) | Dragon. | frondescit | Buffs,” “The - | White Horse | honore_” | Nutcrackers” - | of Kent | | - The King’s Own | V.R. within the| | “Resurrectionists,” - (4th) | Garter. The | | “Barrel’s Blues,” - | Lion. Rose | | “The Lions” - | and Crown | | - Northumberland | St. George and | “_Quo fata | “The Shiners,” “The Old - Fusiliers | the Dragon on| vocant_” | Bold Fifth,” “The - (5th) | a grenade. | | Fighting Fifth,” - | St. George | | “Lord Wellington’s - | and Dragon | | Bodyguard,” “The Old - | alone. Rose | | and Bold” - | and Crown | | - Royal Warwick | Bear and Ragged| | “Guise’s Geese,” “The - (6th) | Staff. | | Warwickshire Lads,” - | Antelope. | | “The Saucy Sixth” - | Rose and | | - | Crown | | - Royal Fusiliers| The united Red | “_Nec aspera | “Hanoverian White - (7th) | and White | terrent_” | Horse,” “Elegant - | Rose within | | Extracts” - | the Garter | | - | crowned.[90] | | - | White Horse | | - The King’s | White Horse | “_Nec aspera | “King’s Hanoverian - (8th) | within the | terrent_” | White Horse” - | Garter | | - | crowned. V.R.| | - | within the | | - | Garter | | - | crowned. | | - | Sphinx with | | - | “Egypt” | | - Norfolk | Britannia over | | “Holy Boys,” “Fighting - (9th) | a castle with| | Ninth,” “Norfolk - | three towers | | Howards”[91] - Lincolnshire | Sphinx and | | “The Springers,” “The - (10th) | “Egypt” | | Lincolnshire - | | | Poachers” - Devonshire | Castle of | “_Semper | “The Bloody Eleventh,” - (11th) | Exeter | fidelis_” | “One and All” - Suffolk | Castle and Key | “_Montis | “Old Dozen,” “The - (12th) | with | insignia | Minden Boys” - | “Gibraltar” | Calpe_” | - Somersetshire | Mural Crown | | “Yellow-banded - Light | with | | Robbers,” - Infantry | “Jellalabad,”| | “Bleeders,” - (13th) | over a Bugle | | “Jellalabad Heroes,” - | stringed with| | “The Illustrious - | a Sphinx and | | Garrison.” (Sergeants - | “Egypt.” The | | wear sash on left - | Sphinx and | | shoulder) - | “Egypt.” | | - West Yorkshire | Prince of | “_Nec aspera | “The Old and Bold,” - (14th) | Wales’s | terrent_” | “Calvert’s Entire,” - | Plume. White | | “The Powo’s”[91] - | Horse. Royal | | - | Tiger | | - East Yorkshire | White Rose in | | “The Snappers,” “The - (15th) | an | | Poona Guards.” (One - | eight-pointed| | of Wolfe’s Regiments) - | Star | | - Bedfordshire | The United Red | | “The Old Bucks,” “The - (16th) | and White | | Peacemakers,” “The - | Rose | | Feather Beds”[92] - Leicestershire | Royal Tiger | | “The Lilywhites,” “The - (17th) | with | | Bengal Tigers,” “The - | “Hindostan” | | Tigers,” “The Green - | | | Tigers” - Royal Irish | Harp crowned | “_Virtutis | “The Namurs” - (18th) | with | Namurcensii | - | Shamrock. The| præmium_” | - | Dragon with | | - | “China.” | | - | Sphinx with | | - | “Egypt.” The | | - | Lion of | | - | Nassau on | | - | shield | | - Yorkshire | White Rose. | | “Green Howards,” - Regiment | Princess of | | “Howard’s Garbage,” - (19th) | Wales’s | | “Howard’s Greens” - | Cipher | | - | crowned | | - Lancashire | Sphinx with | | “Two Tens,” “Minden - Fusiliers | “Egypt.” The | | Boys,” “Kingsley’s - (20th) | Rose. Sphinx,| | Stand” - | and “Egypt” | | - | laurelled on | | - | a grenade | | - Royal Scots | St. Andrew with| “_Nemo me | “Earl of Mar’s - Fusiliers | Thistle | impune | Greybreeks” - (21st) | wreath. The | lacessit_” | - | Royal Arms on| | - | a grenade. | | - | The Thistle. | | - | V.R. crowned | | - Cheshire | The united Red | | “The Two Twos,” “The - Regiment | and White | | Red Knights” - (22nd) | Rose | | - Royal Welsh | Rising Sun. Red| “_Ich Dien._” | “Nanny Goats,” “Royal - Fusiliers | Dragon. | “_Nec aspera | Goats” - (23rd) | Prince of | terrent_” | - | Wales’s Plume| | - | on grenade. | | - | White Horse. | | - | Sphinx and | | - | “Egypt” | | - South Wales | Sphinx and | | “Howard’s Greens,” - Borderers | “Egypt” | | “Bengal Tigers” - (24th) | | | - King’s Own | White Horse. | “_Nec aspera | “Leven’s Regiment,” - Scottish | Castle of | terrent._” | “The Edinburgh - Borderers | Edinburgh. | “_Nisi | Regiment,” “The - (25th) | The Royal | Dominus | Borderers,” “Sevens,” - | Crest. The | frustra._” | “The Brothers” - | Sphinx and | “_In | - | “Egypt” | veritatis | - | | religionis | - | | confido_” | - Cameronians | Sphinx and | | (2nd battalion) “The - (26th and | “Egypt,” | | Greybreeks,” “The - 90th) | Dragon and | | Cameronians” - | “China,” | | - | Bugle within | | - | a Thistle | | - | wreath | | - | crowned | | - Royal | Castle of | “_Nec aspera | “The Lamps,” “The Old - Inniskilling | Inniskilling | terrent_” | Muster,” - Fusiliers | with St. | | “Inniskillings.” - (27th and | George’s | | - 108th) | colours on a | | - | grenade. The | | - | Sphinx and | | - | “Egypt.” | | - | White Horse | | - Gloucestershire| Sphinx and | | “Old Braggs,” “The - (28th and | “Egypt” (worn| | Slashers” “The Right - 61st) | back and | | Abouts,”[93] (2nd - | front) | | battalion) - | | | “Whitewashers” - Worcestershire | The united Red | “_Firm_” | “The Vein Openers,” - (29th and | and White | | “The Old and Bold,” - 36th) | Rose | | “Star of the Line,” - | | | (2nd battalion) “The - | | | Saucy Greens” - East Lancashire| Sphinx and | | “Triple X,” “The Three - (30th and | “Egypt.” The | | Tens,” (2nd - 59th) | Rose | | battalion) “The - | | | Lilywhites” - East Surrey | United Red and | | “Young Buffs,” “Glasgow - (31st and | White Rose | | Greys,” “Murray’s - 70th) | | | Bucks” - Duke of | Red and White | | “The Docs,” “The - Cornwall’s | Rose. Bugle | | Surprisers,” (2nd - Light | crowned | | battalion) “The Red - Infantry | | | Feathers,” “The - (32nd and | | | Lacedemonians” - 46th) | | | - West Riding | Elephant with | “_Virtutis | “Havercake Lads,” “Duke - (33rd and | “Hindostan” | fortuna | of Wellington’s Own,” - 76th) | Crest of Duke| comes_” | (2nd battalion) “The - | of Wellington| | Immortals,” “The - | | | Pigs,” “The Old Seven - | | | and Sixpennies” - Border (34th | Laurel Wreath. | | (2nd battalion) “The - and 55th) | Dragon with | | Two Fives” - | “China” | | - Royal Sussex | United Red and | | Belfast Regiment, “The - (35th and | White Rose | | Orange Lilies” - 107th) | | | - Hampshire | Royal Tiger in | | (2nd battalion) “Royal - (37th and | Laurel Wreath| | Tigers” - 67th) | with “India” | | - South | Sphinx and | | “Pump and Tortoise,” - Staffordshire| “Egypt” | | (2nd battalion) - (38th and | | | “Staffordshire - 81st) | | | Knots” - Dorsetshire | Sphinx and | “_Montis | “Lankey’s Horse,” - (39th and | “Marabout.” | Insignia | “Green Linnets,” - 54th) | The Castle | Calpe._” | (2nd battalion) - | and Key | “_Primus in | “The Flamers” - | | Indis_” | - South | Sphinx and | | “Excellers,” “The - Lancashire | “Egypt.” | | Fighting Fortieth” - (40th and | Prince of | | - 82nd) | Wales’s Plume| | - Welsh | Rose and | “_Gwell augau | “1st Invalids,” - (41st and | Thistle | neu | “Wardour’s Regiment,” - 69th) | within the | Chwilydd_” | (2nd battalion) “Old - | Garter. | | Agamemnons,” “Ups and - | Prince of | | Downs” - | Wales’s Plume| | - Royal | V.R. within | “_Nemo me | “Black Watch.” - Highlanders | Garter. St. | impune | “_Sauvages - (42nd and | Andrew. The | lacessit_” | d’Ecosse._” - 73rd) | Sphinx and | | - | “Egypt” | | - Oxfordshire | United Red and | | “Light Bobs,” “Light - Light | White Rose. | | Brigade” - Infantry | Bugle | | - (43rd and | | | - 52nd) | | | - Essex Regiment | Castle and Key | “_Montis | “The Two Fours,” - (44th and | with | insignia | “Little Fighting - 56th) | “Gibraltar.” | Calpe_” | Fours,” (2nd - | Sphinx and | | battalion) “The - | “Egypt” | | Pompadours,” “Saucy - | | | Pompeys” - The Sherwood | The United Red | | “Old Stubborns,” - Foresters, | and White | | “Sherwood Foresters - (Derbyshire | Rose | | “Nottingham Hosiers,” - Regiment) | | | (2nd battalion) - (45th and | | | “Sweeps” - 95th) | | | - North | The Red Rose | | “Cauliflowers,” - Lancashire | | | “Lancashire Lads,” - (47th and | | | “Wolfe’s Own,” (2nd - 81st) | | | battalion) “Loyal - | | | Lincoln Volunteers” - Northamptonshire| Castle and Key | “_Montis | “The Steelbacks,” - (48th and | with | insignia | “Heroes of - 58th) | “Gibraltar.” | Calpe_” | Talavera” - | Sphinx and | | - | “Egypt” | | - Royal Berkshire| Dragon with | | (2nd battalion) “Green - (49th and | “China” | | Howards,” “Two Sixes” - 66th) | | | - Royal West Kent| Sphinx and | “_Quo fas et | “Blind Half Hundred,” - (50th and | “Egypt” | gloria | “Dirty Half Hundred,” - 97th) | | ducunt_” | “The Devil’s Royal,” - | | | “The Gallant - | | | Fiftieth,” (2nd - | | | battalion) - | | | “Celestials” - Yorkshire Light| The White Rose | “_Cede nullis_”| “The Kolis” - Infantry | | | - (51st and | | | - 105th) | | | - Shropshire | The United Red | “_Aucto | “Brickdusts” “Old Five - Light | and White | splendore | and Threepennies,” - Infantry | Rose. A Bugle| resurgo_” | (2nd battalion) - (53rd and | with K. L. I.| | “Elegant Extracts” - 85th) | | | - Middlesex (57th| Prince of | | “Steelbacks” “The - and 77th) | Wales’s | | Die-hards,” (2nd - | Plume. Duke | | battalion) “The - | of | | Pothooks” - | Cambridge’s | | - | Coronet and | | - | Cipher in | | - | Laurel Wreath| | - King’s Royal | Maltese Cross | “_Celer et | “Royal Americans,” - Rifle Corps | crowned, with| audax_” | “_Sanguinary_ Sweeps” - (60th--4 | Bugle and | | - battalions) | 60th in | | - | centre, with | | - | names of | | - | battles | | - Wiltshire (62nd| Duke of | | “The Springers,” - and 99th) | Edinburgh’s | | “Splashers” - | Cipher and | | - | Coronet | | - Manchester | Sphinx and | | “Bloodsuckers” - (63rd and | “Egypt” | | - 96th) | | | - North | Prince of | | - Staffordshire| Wales’s | | - (64th and | Plume. Dragon| | - 89th) | and “China” | | - York and | Union Rose. | | - Lancaster | Royal Tiger | | - (65th and | and “India” | | - 84th) | | | - Durham Light | United Red and | | “Faithful Durhams” - Infantry | White Rose. | | - (68th and | The Bugle | | - 106th) | | | - Highland Light | Elephant and | | “Glasgow Light - Infantry | “Assaye.” | | Infantry,” “The - (71st and | Bugle | | Glesca’ Keelies,” - 74th) | crowned, with| | (2nd battalion) “The - | H.L.I. inside| | Assaye,” “Pig and - | | | Whistle Light - | | | Infantry” - Seaforth | Elephant and | _Cuidich’n | “The Macraes,” (2nd - Highlanders | “Assaye.” | Righ_ (”Help | battalion) “King’s - (72nd and | Late Duke of | the King,” | Men” - 78th) | York’s Cipher| the motto of | - | and Coronet. | the | - | A Stag’s Head| Mackenzies) | - Gordon | Royal Tiger and| | “Strada Reale - Highlanders | “India.” | | Highlanders” - (75th and | Sphinx and | | - 92nd) | “Egypt” | | - Cameron | Thistle | | “Cia mar tha’s” - Highlanders | crowned. | | - (79th) | Sphinx and | | - | “Egypt” | | - Royal Irish | Harp crowned. | “_Quis | “Fitch’s Grenadiers,” - Rifles (83rd | Sphinx and | separabit?_” | (2nd battalion) - and 86th) | “Egypt.” | | “County Downs,” - | Bugle | | “Shropshire - | | | Volunteers” - Royal Irish | Prince of | | “Old Fogs,” - Fusiliers | Wales’s | | “Faugh-a-Ballagh - (87th and | Plume. Harp | | Boys,” - 89th) | crowned. | | “Eagle-takers,” (2nd - | Sphinx and | | battalion) “Blayney’s - | “Egypt.” | | Bloodhounds,” “The - | Eagle with | | Rollickers” - | Laurel wreath| | - | on grenade. | | - | Princess | | - | Victoria’s | | - | Coronet | | - Connaught Rgrs.| Elephant. | “_Quis | “Devil’s Own,” (2nd - (88th and | Sphinx and | separabit?_” | battalion) “Garvies” - 94th) | “Egypt.” Harp| | - | crowned | | - Argyle and | Princess | “_Ne oblivis- | (2nd battalion) - Sutherland | Louise’s | caris_” | “The Thin Red Line,” - Highlanders | Cipher and | “_Sans peur_” | “The Rories” - (91st and | Coronet. A | | - 93rd) | Boar’s Head | | - | in a Myrtle | | - | wreath. A Cat| | - | in a Broom | | - | wreath | | - Leinster | Prince of | | “Royal Canadians,” (2nd - (100th & | Wales’s Plume| | battalion) “The - 109th) | in a circle | | German Legion.” “The - | crowned with | | Crusaders.” “The Wild - | Maple Leaf | | Indians.” “The - | wreath. A | | Centipedes.” “The Old - | Maple Leaf | | Hundredth.” “The - | | | Colonials.” “The - | | | Maple-leaves”[94] - Munster | Royal Tiger. | | “The Dirty Shirts” - Fusiliers | Shamrock | | - (101st & 104th)| | | - Dublin | Elephant with | “_Spectamur | “The Lambs,” (2nd - Fusiliers | “Carnatic” | agendo_” | battalion) “The Old - 102nd & 103rd)| and “Mysore.”| | Toughs” - | Royal Tiger | | - | with | | - | “Plassey” and| | - | “Buxar” | | - Rifle Brigade | Bugle. Rose. | | “The Sweeps” - (4 battalions)| Maltese | | - | Cross, | | - | laurelled and| | - | crowned | | - West Indians | Broken Column | | “Buckmaster’s Light - | with Ivy | | Infantry” - Royal Marines | Globe and | “_Per mare, | (Infantry) “The Joeys,” - | Laurel. Royal| per terram_” | “The Jollies,” “The - | Cipher | | Little Grenadiers” - | crowned. | | (Artillery) “Blue - | “Gibraltar” | | Marines,” “Water - | | | Gunners” - Royal Malta | Maltese Cross | | - Artillery | within a | | - | Garter. Royal| | - | Cipher. | | - | Egypt, 1882 | | - | | | - Ordnance Store | | | “Sugarstick Brigade” - Corps | | | - Army Service | | | “London Thieving - Corps | | | Corps,” “Murdering - | | | Thieves,” “Moke - | | | Train,” “Muck - | | | Train”[95] - Army Medical | | | “Pills,” “Linseed - Department | | | Lancers,” “Poultice - | | | Whollopers”[94] - | | | - | | | - Chaplains | | | - Department | | | - | | | - Army Veterinary| | | - Department | | | - | | | - Army Pay | | | - Department | | | - ---------------+----------------+----------------+------------------------ - - - - -FOOTNOTES - - -[1] Polybius. - -[2] One of the latter was exhumed some years since on the field of -Hastings. - -[3] _History of the Conquest of Granada._ - -[4] _Atlas des Batailles_, Kausler. - -[5] The rates of pay, per day, at this time were:-- - - Knight 2s. - Esqr. and Captain 1s. - Mounted Archer 6d. - Foot Archer 3d. - Gunner 12d. 3d. - Welsh Foot 2d. - -[6] Mr. Hereford B. George gives 1200 to 1600 men-at-arms and 3000 -archers. - -[7] _The Battles of English History_, by Hereford B. George, p. 62. - -[8] The site of the first battlefield of St. Albans is situated -south-east of the town, on its present immediate outskirt at -“Keyfield.” It evidently was fought across the London Road, one force -(the Yorkists) trying to debouch the other (the Lancastrians), to -prevent its advance. The ground was undoubtedly grass land leading down -to a small brook, and sparsely crossed by fences, which were probably -plainer then than now. A row of poor cottages called “Key Terrace,” -marks probably the centre of the fight. - -That of the second battle is north of the town, on land that is still -open heath more or less. It is slightly undulating clay land, dotted -with thin scrub and bramble, and probably was always so, fences being -even now rare. There was no well-defined “position” in either case, a -common fault on such soils, and here again, a force advancing from the -north drove in a force occupying the town, and based on London, and -which met its antagonist for battle on the northern road. - -[9] The weight of the man and his armour, trappings, etc., in 1560 -amounted to twenty-five stones. - -[10] _The Parliamentary Generals of the Great Civil War._ Major N. L. -Walford. - -[11] Walford, p. 128. - -[12] Judge O’Connor Morris. - -[13] Spriggs. - -[14] Foot received 1s.; horse 2s. 6d. per day. - -[15] Macaulay. - -[16] Military Papers. State Paper Office. - -[17] Lovat’s Life. - -[18] In 1703, apparently, there were in England about sixteen troops of -cavalry, with seven regiments of infantry, in all about seven thousand -men; and in Scotland, about ten troops of cavalry, and six regiments of -infantry, or about four thousand men. - -[19] _Affairs of Europe from the Peace of Utrecht to 1723._ Earl -Russell. - -[20] _Battles of English History._ Hereford B. George. - -[21] Farquhar. - -[22] _Encyc. Brit._ - -[23] Fonblanque. - -[24] The total available fighting strength of the clans was reputed to -be about 40,000. - -[25] Not the present 48th, which was the 49th. The above mentioned -disappeared in 1748. - -[26] Carlyle. - -[27] Gleig. - -[28] Schomberg’s _Naval Chronicles_. - -[29] _Scots Magazine._ - -[30] Stocqueler. - -[31] Stocqueler. - -[32] Stocqueler. - -[33] The late Sir G. Pomeroy Colley. - -[34] _Childe Harold._ - -[35] Napier. - -[36] Sir E. Hamley. - -[37] Robinson. - -[38] Napier. - -[39] Wellington Despatches. - -[40] Napier. - -[41] At Inkerman, later, Captain Stanley roused the courage of his men -by calling out, “Die hard! Remember Albuhera.” - -[42] Southey. - -[43] Napier. - -[44] See p. 204. - -[45] _Life of Lord Lynedoch_ by Captain A. Delavoye. - -[46] Chesney. - -[47] Hereford B. George. - -[48] _The British Army_, Sir S. D. Scott. - -[49] The South African wars will be dealt with separately. - -[50] Sir E. B. Hamley. - -[51] Hereford B. George. - -[52] Von Moltke. - -[53] Hamley. - -[54] Hamley. - -[55] _Decisive Battles of India_, p. 279. Malleson. - -[56] _Decisive Battles in India_, p. 311. Malleson. - -[57] Macfarlane. - -[58] Another tradition has it that the custom arose after the battle of -Culloden. - -[59] General W. F. P. Napier. - -[60] Sir H. Smith’s despatch. - -[61] _Annual Register._ - -[62] _Calcutta Review._ - -[63] Malleson. - -[64] Sir C. Napier. - -[65] _British Battles by Land and Sea._ Grant. - -[66] _Relief of Chitral._ Younghusband. - -[67] _Macmillan’s Magazine._ - -[68] Correspondent, _Daily Telegraph_. - -[69] _The Ashantee War_, by the _Daily News_ Special Correspondent. - -[70] _From Korti to Khartum_, by Sir Charles W. Wilson. - -[71] _From Korti to Khartum._ - -[72] An amusing card was anonymously printed after this deprivation, a -copy of which appears in the Regimental Chronicle. It runs as follows:-- - -“In memory of Left-Arm Chevrons, 43rd Light Infantry, last surviving -offspring of the late General S. PRIT DE CORPS, of the Light Division, -cut off by the hand of envy at Thayetmyo, July 1881. - -“Also of BADGES, _Relict of the above_, destroyed by the Great Flood at -Poona, October 1886. - - “_Cursed is he that removeth his neighbour’s landmark._” - -[73] 1868. _N.B._--Where the old title is retained it is not added to -the new title. - -[74] Altered to “Royal Scots Greys” in 1877. - -[75] Granted in 1876. - -[76] Altered to “Scots Guards” in 1877. - -[77] Granted in 1875. - -[78] Granted in 1877. - -[79] “Stirlingshire” granted in 1862. - -[80] Granted in 1876. - -[81] Second battalion authorised, and in course of formation (1897). - -[82] Granted in 1873. - -[83] Granted in 1872. - -[84] Granted in 1876. - -[85] Granted in 1874. - -[86] _Nicknames and Traditions of the British Army._ - -[87] _British Army._ Laurence Archer. - -[88] _Nicknames and Traditions of the British Army._ - -[89] _The Regiment._ - -[90] _Army List._ - -[91] _The Regiment._ - -[92] _Nicknames and Traditions_, etc. - -[93] _The Regiment._ - -[94] _The Regiment._ - -[95] _Nicknames and Traditions of the Army._ - - - - -INDEX - - - Abercrombie, 164. - - Abu Klea, 391. - - Abyssinia, 374. - - Admiral’s Regiment, 129. - - Advice to Volunteers, 166. - - Afghanistan, 282, 326. - - Albuhera, 193. - - Aliwal, 291. - - Almanza, 82. - - André, 119. - - Armour, 23, 35. - - Arms, 4, 37, 85, 241, 239, 262, 349. - - Army in Africa, 126, 354. - - ” in America, 107. - - ” of Charles II., 5, 7. - - ” in the Far East, 336. - - ” in India (1600-1825), 264. - - ” in India (1825-1858), 277. - - ” in India (1858-1896), 318. - - ” of the King, 55. - - ” in North Africa, 374. - - ” of the Nobles, 14. - - ” of the People, 15. - - ” in Spain, 187, 199. - - ” at Sea, 128. - - Arroyo des Molinos, 195. - - Artillery, 19, 29, 38, 396. - - Assaye, 271. - - Ashantee, 385. - - Ashdown, 4. - - Assirghur, 275. - - - Badajoz, 196. - - Baggage trains, 49. - - Baird, 269. - - Balaklava, 252. - - Barnet, 28. - - Barrosa, 188. - - Basing House, 45, 46. - - Bayonet, 397. - - Beginning of true strategy, 41. - - Bernadotte, 267. - - Bhoteas, 322. - - Bhurtpore, 275. - - Bladensburg, 122. - - Blenheim, 76. - - Blucher, 227. - - Boers War, 367, 372. - - Bonaparte, 143, 160. - - Boston, 114. - - Bowmen, 15. - - Boxtel and Wellesley, 161. - - Brussels Ball, 211. - - Buffs, 346. - - Bunker’s Hill, 114. - - Burmah, 336. - - Burmese stockades, 339. - - Busaco, 187. - - Bushire and Reshire, 296. - - - Candahar, 333. - - Cawnpore, 302, 310. - - Cetewayo, 364. - - Chevalier de St. George, 75. - - Chillianwallah, 293. - - China, 343. - - Chitral, 339. - - Chivalry, 20. - - Colours, 330. - - Colonel Vassall, 145. - - Convention of Cintra, 176. - - Crawford, 186. - - Crecy, 16. - - Crimea, 236, 297. - - Cromwell, 44, 47, 49, 51. - - ” in Ireland, 47. - - Cromwell’s men, 52. - - - Delhi, 272, 305. - - Dettingen, 101. - - Diamond Rock, 138. - - Douro, 182. - - Dragoons and Dragoon Guards, 127. - - Drill Books, 157, 239. - - Drummer of the 43rd, 202. - - Duelling and Flogging, 240. - - Duke of Cumberland, 98. - - ” of York, 238. - - - Early Battalions, 36, 37. - - Early Companies, 24. - - Education of officers, 277. - - Edward IV., 28. - - Egypt, 163, 378. - - El Bodon, 195. - - Embers of the Civil War, 87. - - Enlistment, 88. - - - Facings, 403. - - Famars, 160. - - Ferozeshah, 289. - - First Afghan War, 282. - - Fontenoy, 103. - - Forbes Mitchell, 309. - - French armies, 39, 50. - - Frontier wars, 320. - - Fuentes d’Onoro, 191. - - - General Wade, 93. - - George II., 75, 102. - - Gibraltar, 131. - - Gneisenau and Wellington, 212. - - Gujerat, 295. - - - Hal, 217. - - Hardinge, 290. - - Hastings, 6, 7. - - Highland regiments, 230. - - ” tactics, 91. - - Hodson, 307. - - - Infantry, 24. - - Ingogo, 370. - - Inkerman, 258. - - Isandhlwana, 360. - - Ismailia, 380. - - - Jowakis, 325. - - - Kaffir Wars, 353, 359. - - Kambula, 362. - - Kassassin, 381. - - Knighthood, 21, 22. - - - Laing’s Nek, 369. - - Lake, 272. - - Lincelles, 160. - - Lord Wolseley, 355, 363, 380, 389, 394, 401. - - Lucknow, 307, 312. - - Lushari, 324. - - - Magdala, 376. - - Maharajahpore, 287. - - Maiwand, 329. - - Majuba, 371. - - Malplaquet, 75. - - Maori defences, 348. - - Marines, 130, 137. - - Marlborough, 82. - - Meanee, 285. - - Militia, 243. - - Minden, 107. - - Minorca, 140. - - Monte Video, 145. - - Moodkee, 289. - - Moore, 173, 180. - - Moyse of the Buffs, 346. - - - Naseby, 43. - - Neill, 309. - - New Zealand, 347. - - Nile Expedition, 389. - - Norman names, 11. - - ” rule, end of, 13. - - - O’Connor Morris, 48. - - Oudenarde, 75. - - - Pandy, 301. - - Peninsular army, 173. - - Perak, 340. - - Plassy, 266. - - Pottinger, 296. - - Prestonpans, 96. - - Prince Alamayu, 377. - - ” Napoleon, 363. - - Puritan army, 35. - - Puritan host, 35. - - - Quatre Bras and Ligny, 209. - - Quebec, 111. - - Queen Margaret, 27. - - - Ramillies, 75. - - Range of firearms, 167. - - Rangiriri, 348. - - “Retreat to Corunna,” 178. - - Richard of York, 25. - - Roberts, 332. - - Roliça, 174. - - Romans, 313. - - Rorke’s Drift, 361. - - - Sabugal, 187. - - Salamanca, 197. - - Sandhurst and Staff College, 315. - - San Sebastian, 201. - - Saratoga, 117. - - Sebastopol, 253. - - Second Afghan War, 325. - - Sekukuni, 366. - - “Sergeant Matcham,” 203. - - Seringapatam, 269. - - Short service, 399. - - Sir C. Wilson, 391. - - Sir Herbert Stewart, 390. - - Sir John Moore, 159, 164. - - Sir R. Buller, 362, 393. - - Smokeless powder, 397. - - Sobraon, 291. - - Soult, 203. - - St. Albans, 26. - - Suakin, 385. - - Sudan, 385. - - Survivals, 405. - - Swords, 231. - - - Tactics, 8, 29, 33, 36, 43, 44, 50, 79, 250. - - Talavera, 104. - - Tel el Kebir, 382. - - Territorialisation, 402. - - The “Birkenhead,” 151. - - The Buffs and the Athleta, 153. - - The “Charlotte,” 152. - - The Colours of the 9th, 117. - - The Delaware, 116. - - The English “Hulks,” 204. - - The Irish Brigade, 104. - - The Light Division, 184. - - The Mutiny, 297. - - The Normans, 10. - - The Peninsular army, 155. - - The Red and White Rose, 25. - - The Rising of 1715, 90. - - The Rising of 1745, 94. - - The Saxon army, 3. - - The “self-denying ordinance,” 42, 51. - - The Spaniards, 183. - - The Stuarts, 40. - - The V.C., 261. - - The 13th, 284. - - The 14th at Famars, 160. - - The 28th, 164. - - The 29th, 123. - - The 39th, 265. - - The 50th, 175. - - The 52nd, 193. - - Tofrik, 388. - - - Umbeylah, 321. - - Uniform, 104, 125, 229. - - - Vellore, 297. - - Vimiera, 175. - - Vittoria, 200. - - Volunteers, 30, 166, 243, 316. - - - Walcheren, 162. - - Wars of Roses, 25. - - Warwick and his death, 31. - - Waterloo, 206, 218. - - Wellesley, 171, 174, 181. - - Wellington, 244, 274. - - West Coast of Africa, 355. - - Wolfe, 99, 111. - - - Yeomen of the Guard, 32. - - York Town, 121. - - - Zulu War, 361. - - -PRINTED BY MORRISON AND GIBB LIMITED, EDINBURGH - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes - - -Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a -predominant preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not -changed. - -Simple typographical errors were corrected; occasional unbalanced -quotation marks retained. - -Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained. - -Ditto marks in the Table of Contents and List of Illustrations have -been replaced by the words above them. Ditto marks in Appendices II and -III have been retained. - -Footnotes, originally at the bottoms of pages, have been renumbered and -moved to the end of the main text, just before the Index. - -Index not checked for proper alphabetization or correct page references. - -Page 45: “follow-effect” was printed that way. - -Page 63: The closing right parenthesis in ‘“Men of Harlech”);’ was -added by the Transcriber. - -Page 115: “Benedek Arnold” was printed that way. - -Page 161: “Egmont-op-Zee on the 2nd October 1799” was misprinted as -1779; corrected here. - -Page 145: “43th” was printed that way. - -Page 231 (illustration of “Spears & Swords” facing this page): The -right-hand part of the upper caption was ambiguous, likely due to lack -of space. Transcriber modified it so that “Halberd” appears twice in -this eBook: once for Geo. II and separately for Geo. III. - -Page 279: The opening quotation mark for “a minimum of £60” was added -by the Transcriber; it may be in the wrong place. - -Page 325: “attached a British outpost” probably is a misprint for -“attacked”. - -Page 408: “Balaklava 25th October 1854” was missing the “4”. - -Page 409: No date was printed for “Rolicund”. - -Page 425: No page numbers given for index entry “Army in Africa”. -Transcriber added them based on examination of the text. - -Page 426: No page numbers given for “O’Connor Morris”, “The Saxon -army” or “The self-denying ordinance”. Transcriber added them based on -examination of the text. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Story of the British Army, by C. 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