CHAPTER XIV.
Languageis totally inadequate to convey even a faint idea of the fatigue and privations which a considerable portion of the allied army suffered in this ill-fated retreat. From the 6th to the 19th November, our brigade suffered much. The baggage being in the rear, neither officers nor soldiers had any thing to shelter them from the inclemency of the weather. Money we had none, being eight and nine months in arrears of pay. The men's linen were reduced to less than one shirt each, and their uniforms were literally composed of shreds and patches. I know nothing to which I can so aptly compare their jackets as parti-coloured bed-covers for there were not fifty in my own regiment but what had been repaired with cloth of every colour under the sun. The appearance of our poor fellows was, as may be conceived, far from prepossessing when on parade. But hideous as was the spectacle when viewed at a distance, it became ten times more so when close to the eye. In the formercase thepatchesonly were observable; in the latter, hundreds of Burns' "crawling fairlies" were seen pacing the exterior of the patches, in numerous bands, and although a war of extermination was waged against them daily from sun-rise to sun-set, yet they were not finally rooted out, till we had been in cantonments two or three weeks. Placed in the fields without tents to shelter them from the mid-night blast, without a change of linen, or money either to purchase that luxury, or to add to their scanty stock of provisions, was it possible for them to be so long exposed, night and day, to the pelting of the pitiless storm,without suffering severe privations? Let those who doubt the fact make a trial on the first opportunity, and be convinced.
That staff-officers are not the proper persons, however, to judge correctly of this, will be readily conceded by every person who may read the following facts:—Soon after our arrival in Coria, the Marquis of Wellington addressed a letter to the superior officers of the army, in which he called upon them to pay attention to the discipline of the troops under their command, which he, affirmed, had fallen off in the previous campaign, to a greater degree than any army with which he had ever served,or of which he had ever read. "Yet this army," continued the noble and gallant General, "has met with no disasters,it has suffered no privations, which but a trifling attention on the part of the officers could not have prevented, and forwhich there existed no reason whatever in the nature of the service;nor has it suffered any hardshipsexcepting those resulting from the necessity of being exposed to the inclemencies of the weather, at a moment when they were most severe. It must be obvious, however, to every officer, that from the moment the troops commenced their retreat from Burgos on the one hand, and from Madrid on the other, the officers lost all command over their men. Irregularities and outrages of all descriptions were committed with impunity, and losses have been sustained which ought never to have occurred." All this was attributed by the Marquis of Wellington, not to any want of ability of the superior officers;—not to the want of tents, baggage money, or to apartial failure of the objects of the campaign, but to thehabitual inattention of the captains and subalterns of the army to their duty, as prescribed by the standing regulations of the service, and by the orders of the army; though he did not question their zeal, still less their gallantry and spirit.
That discipline was permitted to relax to a criminal degree in some regiments, I readily admit. But I cannot allow that the misconduct of one two, three, or even a dozen of battalions could even form any thing like a good apology for the commander of the forces in Spain, bestowing upon the others a sweeping vote of censure for offences which they knew they had never committed. It wouldbe folly in me even to guess at the probable object which the noble and gallant writer had in view, when he seated himself to pen the unfortunate letter of the 28th of November; but I am confident that if its promulgation had been deferred but a few days longer, it would never have seen the light. Instead of huddling the innocent and the guilty together, the Marquis would have brought the guilty to punishment, and besprinkled with praise in place of censure, those who had done their duty under every change of situation and circumstances.
Since, however, this course was not followed, I conceive myself called upon even at the eleventh hour, to affirm thus publicly and unhesitatingly, that every officer in the regiment to which I belonged, performed their several duties with credit to themselves, and advantage to the service. And I as fearlessly assert, thatthroughout the wholeof the retreat, thenon-commissioned officers and privates obeyed the orders of their officers, with the same cheerfulness and alacrity for which they have ever been distinguished. Their spirits were, no doubt, frequently greatly depressed with hunger, cold, and fatigue; yet into their manly bosoms the fell-fiend despair never found a passage. Although covered with rags and vermin, yet they never ceased to be animated with the same ardent patriotism—the same love of their country, and the same thirst for glory, which they had exhibited on so many previous occasions. Under all their hardships anddiscomforts, their hearts remained truly British. They braved every danger with the most heroic firmness, and submitted to their fate without allowing a murmur to escape their lips.
Before taking leave of this subject, I beg to make a few remarks on regimental instruction, to the almost total absence of which, at that period, I conceive all the irregularities so grievously complained of by our leader, may fairly be attributable.
From the earliest ages, military men have been of opinion, that it is during a period of profound tranquillity only, that the military establishments of an empire can be thoroughly examined, and so improved in all its parts, that its army can take the field at a moment's notice,readyandableto repel an invader, avenge an insult, or afford protection to a friend, when threatened with the vengeance of a more powerful adversary. Instead of improving, however, many nations renowned for their knowledge in the art of war, have totally neglected their military institutions in time of peace, and as a very natural consequence, frequently drawn upon themselves invasion, defeat, and ruin. The Romans, for example, were often guilty of this flagrant error, and as often punished for this act of treason to themselves. What but a culpable relaxation in regimental discipline and instruction, during that period of comparative inactivity, in which the Romans remained from the close of the first, to the commencement of the secondPunic War, led to all the misfortunes which befel their armies, from the entrance of Hannibal into Italy, down to the battle of Cannæ? As, therefore, what has once happened in this world of ours, may do so again, may not dangers similar to those which threatened the Roman empire with destruction, also pay us a visit, if we do not adopt the necessary measures to counteract the baneful influence, which a period of similar inactivity may ultimately exercise over all our military establishments?
The British army never can be sufficiently grateful for the many and valuable improvements introduced into our military system, by His Royal Highness the late Duke of York. For more than thirty years, that illustrious Prince laboured incessantly to improve the discipline, increase the comforts, and raise the character of the British army in the eyes of surrounding nations, and almost every person knows that by diligence, perseverance, and the most assiduous attention to the duties of his office, he at length succeeded in raising its character to a point of excellence, unequalled for discipline, bravery, and moral worth, by any other army under the canopy of heaven. But as to revise, improve, and consolidate the various parts of the military establishment of even a third rate power, is a task too arduous for any one man to accomplish, how much more difficult must a similar undertaking be in Britain, whose warriors are at this moment to be found in considerable forcein every part of the habitable globe? It being impossible, therefore, for the Duke of York to accomplish every thing called for in the way of correction and improvement, it ought not to excite surprise, that our military institutions should still claim the attention and serious consideration of the gallant and much esteemed nobleman, who now presides over the military affairs of the United Kingdom.
The discipline of a battalion being invariably more or less perfect, in exact proportion as the officers are more or less qualified to convey military instruction to those over whom they are placed, it should be the grand object of general officers and colonels commanding battalions, to have all the officers under their command thoroughly instructed in every branch of duty which they can be called upon to perform at home or abroad. This appears to me the more necessary from this circumstance, that a great proportion of the junior officers hold erroneous opinions regarding those military qualifications; many of them conceiving that if they can perform a portion of their minor public and regimental routine duties with some appearance of accuracy, any farther attempt at improvement in military science is anunnecessary waste of their time, which, perhaps after all, is spent in an idle round of frivolous amusements. By obstinately clinging to those opinions, numerous officers not only permit year after year to roll over their headswithout making one attempt to explore the rich mines of military wealth, contained in the various books of instruction, but as a natural consequence of such egregious folly, plod their way through, perhaps, a long military life, more like walking automatons than officers, and then slip into retirement as utterly ignorant of the great leading principles of regimental discipline, as they were on the day they first entered the service.
Besides being a source of great uneasiness to themselves, the inattention of officers to their studies must invariably lessen the general efficiency of their respective battalions. With a few lessons in the facings, wheelings, and manual and platoon exercises, any officer may perform theformalportion of his regimental duties; but no officer can ever arrive at any thing like a proficiency in drill, or become thoroughly acquainted with his public or regimental duties, until he has treasured up in his memory, every rule and section of the book of rules and regulations for the formation and exercise of the army. To accomplish this most desirable object, a little application is all that is necessary, provided the pupil is assisted in his studies by a tutor qualified to convey military instruction in a clear and forcible manner. But if he is permitted to grope his way through the mazes of that volume without a guide to direct him in the proper path, it is a hundred to one, but he will be found at the expiry of five, ten, or twenty years,to have proceeded but a very short way from whence he started;—totally unacquainted with the ground over which he has travelled, and altogether unable to proceed one step farther.
I may perhaps be told that it is a part of the adjutant's duty to instruct the young officer. I admit the fact; but in doing so must add, that if the adjutant discharges as he ought all the other duties which more immediately belong to his situation, he will have but very little time to bestow on the instruction of officers. From a personal knowledge of the duties of that officer, I am so satisfied he cannot give that attention to the instruction of the young officers which the good of the service requires, that I have no hesitation in saying, that this part of an adjutant's duty should be removed from his shoulders to those of the junior major and senior lieutenant of each regiment.
The duties of a lieutenant-colonel commandant are so numerous and important, that to burden him with others, which some of the junior officers could equally well perform, would, in effect, be to render him incapable of performing any one of them with credit to himself, or advantage to his battalion. And as the senior major has frequently to assume the command of the battalion in the temporary absence of the lieutenant-colonel, it would be equally imprudent, I conceive, to select him for this duty. But as the duties of the junior major are neither many or important, I would delegate tohim the entire superintendence of all drills having for their object the instruction of the juniors, or the farther improvement of those of longer standing, in every branch of duty which they can be called upon to perform at home or abroad. And as the major, in the discharge of this honourable and important duty, would be afforded numerous opportunities of bringing his military acquirements under the eyes of his superiors, it is obvious that he could not be appointed to a situation better calculated to bring him into notice in that quarter, towards which the eyes of all those who look forward to rank, and honours are continually bent.
I would further suggest, that the senior lieutenant in each battalion should be appointed the major's assistant, with the temporary rank of captain, and allowed the pay of an adjutant. Should the senior lieutenant appear to the commanding-officer to be unfit for the situation, an indulgence of a few months might be granted, to enable him to qualify himself for it. But should he, at the expiration of the given period, be still deficient in the necessary qualifications, the lieutenant next in rank should be appointed; failing him, the third, and so on, until one of them is found competent to discharge as he ought the multifarious duties of the office.
In regard to those lieutenants who may frominattentionbe found unqualified six months afterthe promulgation of any order on this subject, perhaps it might be prudent to transmit their names to the Horse-Guards, in order that they might be made to attend to their duties, or retire from the service, and make room for others more desirous of serving their country. At all events, a hint from that quarter that promotion would be stopped, if improvement did not take place after a farther limited period, would operate powerfully and favourably on the minds of the juniors, and by stimulating them to immediate exertion, and consequent improvement, render a future recurrence to harsh measures altogether unnecessary; for what officer of spirit would not sacrifice rest, comfort,even life itselfrather than return to the bosom of his family with any thing approaching to a stain upon his character?
In order to facilitate the instruction of the young officers, I am of opinion that a company, consisting of forty privates, and a proportion of non-commissioned officers, should be formed in every battalion and the command of it given to the "Captain lieutenant." The men should be selected in equal portions from every company, and none but the very best men admitted into it. This would prove a stimulus to good conduct, which, if carefully fostered, might be productive of much real good to the service. And farther, from the high state of discipline, &c. in which the "Company of Instruction" would invariably appear on parade, the commanding-officerwould be enabled at all times to hold it up to the permanent companies of his battalion, as a pattern worthy of imitation in every thing touching duty, cleanliness, or intelligence.