For King, Country and Glory – Wellington’s Officers in the
Peninsular War
By Sharon Bennett Connolly
Sir
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington is attributed with saying that
Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton (although he didn’t actually say
it); however, the training ground for many of the officers who commanded at
Waterloo was a much more hazardous school – and certainly had nothing to do
with cricket.
2015
marked the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. The final battle in the
Napoleonic Wars, Waterloo was the culmination of over 20 years of fighting.
Wellington’s officers had earned their experience and reputation in Portugal
and Spain, in the Peninsular War of 1807-1814, Napoleon
Bonaparte’s ‘Spanish ulcer’.
Having
risen through the ranks via the army system of purchase – where rank went to
those who could buy it, rather than on merit – he was a colonel by the age of
27 and a major-general at 34. Many officers in the British army advanced this
way and, although the system was flawed, it did give us the greatest British
general of all time.
Practical
and meticulous to detail in the day-to-day army administration, Wellington was
determined his officers would train their men so they could beat any force they
opposed.
He
was a master of the battlefield.
Generally,
the officers of the Peninsular War were the ‘stiff upper lip’ types. Their
letters home spoke of action and adventure, but few officers spoke of their
feelings in battle. These officers were gentlemen who desired glory and
lived within a code of honour. Life in war, to them, was a grand experience and
the battlefield was where glory could be achieved, if you survived it.
An
officer’s life was generally better than that of the men. The officer’s had
packs – or haversacks – containing rations (including a charge of rum) and
spare equipment, but these were conveniently transported on carts, rather than
their backs, like the common soldier.
Retreat,
however, showed a less than honourable attitude of some of the officers. Some
rode in carts while their men struggled to march – often barefoot. During the
retreat to Corunna, in January 1809, there was an incidence of one officer
climbing on the back of one of his men, so as not to get his feet wet while
crossing a river. This proved a great morale booster for the men, when an even
more senior officer ordered the soldier to drop his charge into the river.
It
was during retreat discipline was most likely to break down. The retreat to
Corunna was harrowing for the men and officers; the Spanish winter was harsh
and the French were constantly nipping at the army’s heels. Officers used a
mixture of encouragement and punishment to cajole the men along. Punishment was
harsh; floggings and hangings were inflicted for various crimes.The army’s discipline depended on the diligence of the regimental officers; men convicted of robber with violence or desertion were hanged, while looters and stragglers risked the lash. The chance of reprieve from punishment was dangled over regiments as a way of getting the men to fight harder when the enemy was close by.
Generals
were loved, feared and admired in equal measure. ‘Black Bob’ Craufurd of the
Light Brigade was seen as a harsh disciplinarian, but he looked after his men;
he led them and suffered with them, marching in their midst and sharing in
their miseries. General Roland Hill earned the nickname of ‘Daddy’ due to his
care for his troops; his men adored him. And Sir John Moore, killed at the
Battle of Corunna having brought the army safely through a harrowing retreat,
was mourned deeply, his memory often invoked to encourage the men in the thick
of battle.
Officers
were expected to be brave, to lead their men from the front, wherever possible.
An officer was proud to fall injured in front of the regimental colours –
leading their men, rather than following. They often waxed philosophical about
the “beautifully romantic and heroically sublime”¹ battlefield, while
describing the piteous moans of the wounded – men and horses – and the fury of
the combatants. The chivalrous sense of honour was a code; one rode straight,
spoke the truth and never showed fear.
Many
officers considered themselves content and happy in the military life, thinking
little about the enemy, except on the few occasions when they were brought to
battle. Campaign life for an officer was a combination of adventure, enjoyment
and discomfort; although they were expected to lead their men, they rarely kept
company with them when not on the march. Officer and soldier were billeted
separately wherever possible; the coarse behaviour of the men grated on the
refined officer.
If
they looked after their men, however, their men would look after them. There
are numerous anecdotes of soldiers trying to protect their officers from the
enemy, providing their officers with food and souvenirs taken from the enemy.
According to Rifleman Harris, an act of kindness from an officer had often been
the cause of his life being saved in the midst of battle.
There
were exceptions, of course. An area of Lisbon, known as Belem, was full of
officers avoiding the fighting, who fell ill even when only within earshot of a
battle. Wellington was happy for unsuitable officers to return home, or at
least stay away from the army.
Of those who remained, every officer was a volunteer; they saw the military life as a way of advancement in later civilian life – or as a way to be useful to their king and country. The majority were gentlemen; although their were rare instances of officers having risen from the ranks, these failed to gain the full respect of the common soldier and were not, as a rule, successful.
To
many the army was a home. The military life was a profession, officers
lived and died to “promote its honour and glory”².
And
Wellington was the heart of the army, his presence inspired confidence. Even
with all his ambivalence of character, he exerted an extraordinary sense of
loyalty among both officers and men. Sir John Kincaid said there was “not a
bosom in the army that didn’t beat more lightly, when it heard the joyful news
of his arrival.”³
And
it was with the confidence and experience gained from 7 years of war in the
Iberian Peninsular that Wellington led his army against the French for one last
time. It would be the 1st time that Sir Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of
Wellington, would face Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French; at Waterloo
on 18th June 1815, 200 years ago.
References:
First posted on History…The
Interesting Bits 18/06/2015
Footnotes:
¹& ² A Boy in the Peninsular War, Robert Blakeney ;
³ Beggars in Red: The British Army 1789-1889, Sir John
Kincaid, quoted by John Strawson.
Article adapted from
my own dissertation of 1992, entitled For King, Country and Glory? The
British Soldier in the Peninsular War, 1808-1814.
Pictures courtesy of
Wikipedia
Sharon Bennett Connolly
Sharon Bennett Connolly has been fascinated by history for over 30 years now. She has studied history academically and just for fun – and even worked as a tour guide at historical sites, including Conisbrough Castle.
Born in Yorkshire, she studied at University in Northampton before working in Customer Service roles at Disneyland in Paris and Eurostar in London.
She is now having great fun, passing on her love of the past to her son, hunting dragons through Medieval castles or exploring the hidden alcoves of Tudor Manor Houses.
On launching her own blog – History ... the Interesting Bits, Sharon started researching and writing about the lesser-known stories and people from European history, the stories that have always fascinated. Quite by accident, she started focusing on medieval women. And in 2016 she was given the opportunity to write her first non-fiction book, Heroines of the Medieval World, which has recently been published by Amberley. She is now working on her second book, Silk and the Sword: the Women of the Norman Coqnquest, which will be released in late 2018.
Heroines of the Medieval World
These are the stories of women, famous, infamous and unknown, who shaped the course of medieval history. The lives and actions of medieval women were restricted by the men who ruled the homes, countries and world they lived in. It was men who fought wars, made laws and dictated religious doctrine. It was men who were taught to read, trained to rule and expected to fight. Today, it is easy to think that all women from this era were downtrodden, retiring and obedient housewives, whose sole purpose was to give birth to children (preferably boys) and serve their husbands.
Heroines of the Medieval World looks at the lives of the women who broke the mould: those who defied social norms and made their own future, consequently changing lives, society and even the course of history.
I do so love your posts, Sharon!!
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