Part 9
"No. 6. The Commander of the Forces strongly recommends to all general officers of the army to return immediately any bat-men they may have to their corps, and to direct their staff to do the same, at all events no officer of any rank is to employ more than one soldier of this army to attend upon him, whether he acts as his own personal servant or bat-man."
"No. 7. Field officers of regiments are entitled each to a servant and bat-man, and of course to draw the allowance for each, when men from the ranks are not employed."
"No. 9 Announces that such servants come under martial law."
I believe that I could not any where, more conveniently or properly, introduce some observations, I consider it necessary to make upon the baggage of an army in the field, and upon some other matters connected with it, than at the close of this chapter, and I feel convinced that experienced officers will allow, that is a difficult subject to enter upon. It must, however, have been obvious to many, how much the quantity of baggage gradually increases as a campaign advances. Various articles are accumulated in all sorts of ways, but chiefly by servants upon the line of march, in the towns they pass through, in the field of battle, and above all at sieges.
We unluckily have many wants, almost unknown to the people of other countries, arising out of our early habits of indulging in many comforts; indeed, so many and so productive are they of enjoyment, that in spite of what some philosophers may say to the contrary, we cannot easily divest ourselves of the remembrance of them, for with most of us they too frequently become indispensables, or in other words, they are apt to make us rather selfish. But a General who may wish to keep such wants within reasonable bounds, or who is determined not to be overwhelmed with baggage, followers, and animals of burden, must be wholely uninfluenced by any other feeling than that of the good of the public service, and must cut off, at once, with an unsparing hand, all superfluities of every description; and he must endeavour to keep the whole under due restrictions. All the odium of this ought not, however, to be thrown upon the Commander of any army about to take the field, as it must, to a certainty, render him unpopular with many; but it would be much wiser that a British army should have, at all times for its guidance, established regulations, which no one could, on any account, be allowed to deviate from.
Selfish feelings never, I believe, show themselves more strongly than amongst landsmen on board ship, and amongst too many men in the field. Some, I have no doubt, have seen individuals retire to a snug corner, to enjoy unobserved something good which they had in their haversacks, lest they should be obliged to offer part of it to hungry comrades. Others have been known to sleep sound, warm, and dry in their tents, having probably offered shares of them, but in such a way to the officers of their own companies, that even they could not accept of their liberality, and preferred reposing at the roots of trees, or behind hedges, exposed to the pitiless storm. My only object in alluding to such trifling matters is, in the first instance, to show that these things do sometimes occur, and, moreover, to try to inculcate, if I can, into such badly brought up men, at least a little feeling for the wants of others. Yet I would not leave it in their power thus to enjoy their comforts--at all events in such situations, for I would make the officers of a company live and sleep in the same tent or hut, and be partakers of the same fare whatever it might be.
A regimental mess at home or abroad, is admirably calculated to keep up respectability, by insuring a proper degree of genteel economy; but of this the officers of corps cannot avail themselves in the field, and then it becomes requisite to act upon established regulations. The officers of a company should be made to have in common, a tent of a particular size and shape, and they should all three contribute towards its purchase, as well as towards the procuring of two horses or mules, which they should be obliged to keep. I would also fix upon a trunk or rather a portmanteau for each, of a certain size and shape. One of the horses should carry, on a well-fitted pack-saddle, the two subaltern's portmanteau, and the tent between them. The other horse should carry the captain's portmanteau, which might be a very little larger than those allowed to subalterns, but care should be taken that its size was also fixed upon; and this should be balanced upon the horse's back by a canteen (bought also amongst them) for the use of the mess, and between them a bag of a certain size, made of some water-proof stuff, could be placed, in which might be conveyed some useful articles for general comfort, especially such as might be considered necessary, when the country, the seat of war, could afford but few supplies.
It appears to me that the officers of a company could not possibly contrive to get on, for any length of time, with less than those two animals; but in the portmanteau should be carried, besides their clothes and a blanket each, their mattresses made air tight, so as to be inflated when necessary, and which can be rolled up into very small compass, when not wanted for use; and such mattresses not only make excellent beds, but also secure those who use them completely from damp from the ground. This is all that could or ought to be allowed to company officers in the field; and positive orders should prevent any other article whatever from being put upon the horses, as all good purposes are at once defeated if they are permitted to be overloaded; and even the private servants or bat-men should be made to carry their own knapsacks, in place of fastening them, as they will always try to do, upon the loads. I at the same time conclude, that the baggage of a company, regiment, brigade and division, marches in proper order, and if one overloaded or sore backed animal knocks up, the whole is most annoyingly and injuriously detained in consequence upon the road. In any arrangement, however, of this kind, I should expect that the baggage and animals allowed to field officers and regimental staff, and to commissariat and medical officers, &c. were likewise strictly brought under regulations, and the name of the owner, or the number of the troop, company, and corps, being conspicuously painted on a water-deck or cover, to go over the load of each animal, any irregularity, and the individual who might occasion it, could be at once ascertained.
It is quite impossible to make arrangements for company officers who may be taken ill, and obliged to go to the hospital stations in the rear. A company in the field is what must be kept in view in any plan of this kind. The medical department, with the means I have yet to propose to place at its disposal, would have to look to such casualties. I must, however, here observe, that in Portugal especially, we had often far too many officers at such stations--for instance at Lisbon, or rather Belem, Coimbra, &c. where it was well known many of them staid so long, that Lord Wellington had often to give them very broad hints, that it was high time they should remember that their regiments were in presence of the enemy. Some of these gentlemen, when absent from their corps, had well supplied their wants, and returned at last to their divisions, nicely mounted on a horse, probably purchased in Lisbon, attended by a soldier, and perhaps a Portuguese boy, leading a mule or two heavily loaded with the good things of this world. Thus the baggage and animals with the army were always increasing. The mule or horse had very likely soon to be sold, from want of food and people to look after them, so that the good things brought up being consumed, the temporary campaigner again fell so sick, that it became indispensable for him to revisit an hospital station, to recruit his health and replenish his supplies. This is by no means an over-drawn picture; and when it was sometimes asked by those with the army, what had become of so and so, the common answer was, that he had taken up a strong position near Lisbon, his right upon the Tagus, and his left at Belem; or that he was teaching the good people of Lisbon to cross the river in cork boats,--for these gentlemen were not without their amusements. It however strikes me at this moment, that as many of these frequenters of hospital stations were really seriously ill, it would be desirable, that when young gentlemen presented themselves to be examined for commissions, it should not only be ascertained that they had been educated, but also that they were fit for service. But I must proceed with other matters. The large bell tents now in general use for soldiers in the field, accommodate certainly a great many of them at night, when well packed with their feet to the poles; but they are much too heavy to be carried on the backs of animals when wet, or when they must be struck before sunrise, saturated with heavy dew. The baggage mules were often knocked up by them in this state. It is a bad plan that of carrying the large iron camp kettles upon animals for the use of companies; the light tin ones carried in turn by the soldiers themselves, in a bag made for the purpose, are greatly to be preferred, as they are always at hand.
It must altogether depend upon circumstances, but it would at all times require serious consideration, whether company officers should be allowed to keep riding horses or not. When they are allowed to ride on the line of march, they are certainly enabled to go unfatigued into action, and to look more closely after their men at the end of a day's work; but I beg to ask (servants being along with the baggage) who are to take the charge of their horses, when they must dismount when near the enemy, on going into action; and no soldier should be taken out of the ranks for such a purpose; how can any country be supposed capable of furnishing the enormous quantity of forage required for such increased numbers of animals, after regiments of Cavalry, Infantry, (I mean those that must be kept by them) Artillery, and the other departments have been supplied? Here therefore an almost insurmountable difficulty presents itself, and it becomes wise to curtail as much as possible in time, for every animal allowed to be kept, must be fed in some way or other.
The fewer women permitted to accompany an army the better, for they are generally useless, and tend immensely to increase the number of animals and quantity of baggage. I once knew a general, who, in an order he issued, was so ungallant, as to style these ladies, "his advanced guard of infamy;" and I must admit that he had too often just cause to style them so.
His Grace the Duke of Wellington was often greatly annoyed at the enormous consumption of forage by his army, and found it necessary to issue many orders upon the subject, of which I shall now give a few.
"G.O. _San Pedro, 19th May, 1809._
"No. 10. As the Commander of the Forces has reason to believe many horses and mules are kept by even the soldiers of the army, and maintained by means entirely inconsistent with discipline and good order, he desires officers commanding regiments and brigades, to inquire into the number of horses and mules which are attached to the regiments under their command, and to enforce the immediate sale of those not allowed to be kept by the regulations of the army."
"G.O. _Zarza Mayor, 4th July, 1809._
"No. 17. The Commander of the Forces requests the attention of general officers commanding divisions and brigades, to the general orders of the 4th and 5th of March, by the late Commander of the Forces, relative to the use of mules allowed for conveying camp kettles, in any service, except for the carriage of camp kettles.
"No. 18. The consequence of loading them with other baggage is, that they are unequal to carry the kettles which they are given to convey, and the loads are so ill put on, that they fall from the mules, and the camp kettles do not arrive from the march till after the hour, at which they ought to be used by the troops."
"G.O. _Merida, 25th August, 1809._
"No. 3. The army must not forage for themselves, but must get it from the Commissary according to the usual mode, by sending in returns of the number of animals for whom forage is required, and receiving from him the regular rations; or if forage cannot be provided in that mode, and it is necessary it should be taken from the fields, it must be taken according to the general orders of the 17th of June, 1839."
"G.O. _Villa Formosa, 13th April, 1811._
"No. 1. The Commander of the Forces requests, that, if possible, the green corn may not be cut for the horses, &c. belonging to the army; and that they may, if possible, be turned into the grass fields in preference to the green corn. It must be understood, however, that the horses, &c. attached to the army, must be fed, and must have the green corn, if they cannot get grass."
"G.O. _Nave de Rey, 16th July, 1812._
"No. 1. The Commander of the Forces particularly requests the attention of the commissariat attached to divisions and brigades of Infantry, and to regiments of Cavalry, and of the general officers of the army, and commanding officers of regiments, to the orders which have been issued regarding the cutting of forage.
"No. 2. He desires, that whenever it is possible, grass may be given to the horses and other animals, instead of straw with the corn in the ear.
"No. 3. The Assistant Provosts must be employed to prevent the plunder of the corn-fields, and their destruction by turning cattle into them."
"G.O. _Frenada, 25th November, 1812._
"No. 4. The Commander of the Forces has taken the precaution of having the grass mowed, and saved as hay, in many parts of the country in which the troops are now, or may be cantoned, which resource is ample for the food of all the animals of the army during the winter, if duly taken care of, and distributed under the regulations of the service.
"No. 5. The Commander of the Forces is sorry to learn, however, that much of what was thus provided in this part of the country, has been already wasted, or trampled upon and destroyed, and in particular 35,000 rations of hay, which were at Espeja, and of which Lieutenant Holborne took possession, has been destroyed.
"No. 6. He entreats the attention of general officers, and commanding officers of regiments, to these orders, as they relate not only to the hay provided by the orders of the Commander of the Forces, but to the forage, and other resources of the country."
Much more might be given and said upon this most important subject; but being apprehensive that I have already exhausted the patience of many readers, I shall only farther observe, that in the French armies they act in a very summary manner with respect to carriages and animals kept contrary to the rules of the service. All such carriages and animals, and the persons along with them, are laid hold of by the police, and taken to head-quarters, to be delivered up to the provost, who reports the circumstances to the major-general, and who commonly orders the transgressors to be punished by the provost-corporals, and the carriages and animals to be sold for the benefit of the captors.
It now becomes necessary to consider other subjects connected with the higher branches of the military profession, and which require to be so well weighed, that I may, if possible, give offence to no one; at least it shall be my study to endeavour to avoid doing so.
CHAP. V.
There are many schools in which officers should study in order to gain a perfect knowledge of the military profession, but certainly none can be selected superior to that of experience, in which previously acquired science or theory can be usefully exemplified. But the best of all teachers is decidedly Cæsar, who still speaks to soldiers in a language which they can understand; and of this Napoleon was so well aware, that he always expected his officers to have carefully studied that great general's Commentaries, and which are so well translated into French by General Toulongeon. As an instance--selected out of many to be found in that finely written narrative--what can possibly be a more admirable piece of military policy, than when Cæsar, as he tells us, having found that his army had become alarmed at the accounts received of the warlike appearance, and desperate valour of the Germans under Ariovistus, he decides at once, to allow all who had no stomach for fighting to depart, if they thought fit to do so; and which instantly produced the effects he so wisely anticipated. And let me ask, if a British army were again to get into a scrape, like that in which the 3rd division, and part of our troops, found themselves on the Garonne, just before the battle of Toulouse, and had at least four to one pitted against them; and if our General announced, that those who did not like the appearance of matters might go home; how many would go?
Cæsar perfectly understood the feelings of a Roman army, and knew how to act upon them; but let us see what were those of even a commander of a British regiment.
Colonel Forbes was left by order of Sir Thomas Picton, after the 3rd division moved up the Garonne towards Toulouse, with the 45th regiment, to guard the pontoon bridge across it, where a considerable part of the army had passed. He had reason to think that a battle was about to be fought; and the idea of his remaining in the rear in command, even of such a regiment as the 45th, and though employed upon an important duty, was intolerable. Almost every hour I received a letter from him, urging me to represent to Sir Thomas Brisbane how unhappy he and his regiment felt, at being left in such a situation; and entreating that he might be allowed to give up his post to some troops more in the rear, or to detachments coming up to join the army. His impatience was for some time laughed at; but at last I had the pleasure of sending him orders to abandon his post, and to replace himself and his regiment at the head of the right brigade of the 3rd division. He came up just in time for the battle of Toulouse; and in it he fell, gallantly leading on his regiment in the unfortunate attempt made to force the passage of the canal.
To be able to take advantage of the proper moment for acting upon national feeling or character, is a strong proof of an officer being qualified to command. But a Commander-in-Chief cannot give the world a stronger proof of his fitness or unfitness for his high station than in the men by whom he surrounds himself or employs--if the choice is left to him--upon the staff of the army placed under his orders.
It is the opinion of many of our best soldiers, that no officer should ever be taken from his regiment to be employed upon the staff, unless his place in it be immediately and permanently supplied by another; for no corps ought thus to be deprived of those allowed for carrying on its duties; and such appointments have often been found to injure, in some degree, the individuals themselves ever after as regimental officers. What a corps might suffer in being thus deprived of its officers, seemed to be always overlooked; and interest or patronage alone too often guided those who had the power of recommending or selecting officers for such important appointments; their fitness to perform the duties attached to them was quite another matter, with which they did not appear to trouble themselves; and I have no doubt but I would be set down as a mere simpleton in the ways of the world, if I were to imagine that they would ever act otherwise.