'Aussie Rick'’s Comments (group member since Jun 13, 2009)

'Aussie Rick'’s comments from the THE NAPOLEONIC WARS group.

"Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon" - Just finished the chapter; "After the Fighting" - The issue of plunder:

"No regimental commander seems to have been so foolish as to attempt to strip his men of their plunder - which would surely have risked a mutiny - but several ensured that the treasure was shared equally throughout the regiment. Thus Colonel Hervey realized that while most of the 14th Light Dragoons had kept in the ranks, done their duty, and gained little or nothing, the farriers were gorged with loot. This he appropriated and divided among the whole regiment, 'to the joy and glee of the whole corps, who were justly entitled to it'."

Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon by Rory Muir

I liked this story as well and also the one about the one-armed Lt.-Col. Felton Hervey being spared in combat.

"Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon" - Final quote from the chapter; "Attitudes and Feelings":

"In battle, soldiers expected their opponents to abide by certain unwritten rules of the game, while particularly chivalrous conduct was widely discussed and admired. At El Bodon, in 1811, a French cavalry officer 'had raised his sword to cut [Lt.-Col.] Felton Hervey down, when perceiving his antagonist has only one arm [he had lost the other at Oporto, two years before], he instantly stopped, brought down his sword before Hervey in the usual salute and rode past'. The previous year, at Busaco, a young man, perhaps an officer, belonging to the King's German Legion went forward among the French wounded, giving them the drink they craved, and trying to make them comfortable. When he first appeared, the French skirmishes, fearing that he meant harm, redoubled their fire, but as soon as they saw what he was doing, the firing ceased and was replaced by loud cheering."

"Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon" - An interesting observation by the author in the chapter; "Attitudes and Feelings":

"Attitudes to the enemy varied enormously during the Napoleonic Wars, with the Peninsula seeing both the chivalrous and good-humoured fighting between the British and the French, and the pitiless, horrible war of atrocity and counter-atrocity between the French and the guerrillas. The character of each of these conflicts was set very early on, but their terms escalated, as courtesy was met with greater courtesy, barbarity with greater barbarity. Yet Britain and France were traditional enemies, divided by religion, whose governments each blamed the other for the long war; while Spain and France had long been allies, and despite the Revolution had much in common. But the Anglo-French war in the Peninsula was fought by professionals, on territory belonging to neither; while the Spanish resistance mobilized all classes of society, and was sustained both by the outrages committed by the French, and by the anger at their presence on Spanish soil."

Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon by Rory Muir

The Spanish Ulcer:
https://www.neh.gov/humanities/2010/j...

"Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon" - Just finished the chapter; "Attitudes and Feelings":

"Thomas Brotherton was only sixteen when he first came under fire, carrying one of the colours of the Coldstream Guards in Egypt in 1801.

The sergeant behind me ... said in a respectful but half-joking way, 'How do you feel, sir?' to which I replied, 'Pretty well, but this is not very pleasant!' for the men were falling fast. The sergeant, who was a seasoned veteran, liked the reply, for he seemed to take me under his special protection and care ever after ... Probably, had I pretended to feel quite at my ease and to despise the danger altogether, the shrewd old sergeant would have put me down as a 'humbug'.

"Colin Campbell, the future Lord Clyde, was even younger at his first action, at Vimeiro. His company was in the rear of the battalion, which was deployed in open column of companies, when it came under artillery fire. His captain, an experienced officer, took him by the hand and led him to the front of the regiment, where they walked up and down for some minutes, in full view of the enemy guns, until the young man's nerves had steadied. Many years later Campbell said that this 'was the greatest kindness that could have been shown me at such a time, and through life I have felt grateful for it'."

Here is some additional history on the Colours, this is from my old Unit; 5/7 Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment:

https://www.5rar.asn.au/history/reg-c...

"Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon" - Just finished the chapter; "Morale and Cohesion" - Cowardice and desertion:

"Quite a few British soldiers were tried, and usually shot, for desertion; but none, apparently for cowardice. After Talavera, the Spaniards court-martialled a number of their men who had ran away so disgracefully on the evening before the battle. Twenty-seven of these men were taken out on to the battlefield and shot on the morning after the battle - an action which British soldiers viewed with disapprobation verging on horror, and even Wellington, never famous for his clemency, is said to have appealed for their lives. Evidently the British army then believed that while an occasional or even habitual, lack of courage was disgraceful, it should not be a capital offence."

"Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon" - Just finished the chapter; "Morale and Cohesion" - Carrying the Colours into battle:

"Prominently displayed in the centre of the regiment, the colours made an obvious target for enemy fire and casualties in their vicinity could be very heavy even without hand-to-hand fighting. When Sergeant Lawrence was ordered to the colours at Waterloo, it 'was a job I did not at all like ... There had been before me that day fourteen sergeants already killed and wounded while in charge of the colours, with officers in proportion and the staff and colours were almost cut to pieces.' And William Milne reported from Barrosa:

As I commanded the left centre company & consequently stood next to the colours, I could scarcely turn my head round, without seeing someone fall. I lost about thirty five men in my Company, killed & wounded, out of fifty or sixty that were present. I saw there three or four officers & four Sergeants fall in the course of quarter of an hour."

British Infantry Colours - Napoleonic Wars:
https://tmg110.tripod.com/british5.ht....

"Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon" - Just finished the chapter; "Morale and Cohesion" which was pretty interesting.

"Battle involved mental as well as physical attrition, wearing away at individual and collective determination as well as the number of men in the ranks. 'A fit of passion is no trial of a man's courage,' wrote one British officer,

but a whole day's battle is. If, after 3 or 4 hours fatigue & witnessing the destructive effects of cannon & musketry, you are ordered to charge an enemy you will discover what quantity of that necessary ingredient you possess. There are few but feel something more than usual on going into battle. The first is, no doubt, the worst, but do not imagine that after the second or third all feeling is lost. Old soldiers know well what a ball can do & many feel more than they express."

Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon by Rory Muir

Betsy wrote: "I've always heard that he drowned as he tried to escape the city, but am not sure if that's totally true. Being shot in combat was probably preferable to a soldier."

Everything I've read to date indicates he drowned while crossing the river.

I think so Betsy; did he drown during the retreat from the city or was he shot and died as a result of combat.

"Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon" - Just finished the chapter; 'Subordinate Commanders, Staff Officers and ADCs':

"Salamanca was an unusually bloody battle for senior officers. On the allied side Le Marchant was killed, and Beresford, Cotton, Leith and Cole were wounded; while on the French, Marmont was very badly wounded, Ferey and Thomieres were killed, and Clausel and Bonnet were both wounded: that is, the commander-in-chief and four of the eight commanders of infantry divisions. This was exceptional, and it is worth pointing out that only two or three of Napoleon's twenty-six marshals fell to enemy fire (Lannes, Bessieres and, perhaps Poniatowski); yet between 1807 and 1814 the marshals received twenty wounds in action between them. At a slightly lower level the losses were even more severe: over the same period thirty-two generals of division were killed or mortally wounded in action, and a further 174 were wounded. Wellington's much smaller army had ten British generals killed and fifty-five wounded; while one account states that at Leipzig the casualties included twenty-nine allied and sixty-six French generals and brigadiers. These figures, and the obvious courage displayed by men like Leith, help to explain why the rank and file of Napoleonic armies never felt the alienation from their senior officers which developed during the First World War."

Tactics and the Experience of Battle in the Age of Napoleon by Rory Muir

Talking of 'taking the King's shilling' Betsy it reminded me of this book which I really enjoyed. I found it a very informative and easy to read book and loved it:

All for the King's Shilling: The British Soldier under Wellington, 1808–1814 by Edward J. Coss

Plus Osprey have a book on camp followers of the French Army:

Napoleon's Women Camp Followers by Terry Crowdy

Plus this book covers a number of wars involving the British army and its camp followers:

Following The Drum: The Lives Of Army Wives And Daughters, Past And Present by Annabel Venning
Description:
FOLLOWING THE DRUM tells the stories of the women who followed their men around the world, sometimes onto the battlefield itself, and went on to become brave, headstrong and positively warlike. Army wives have 'followed the drum' to the cholera-ridden valleys of the Crimea, the sweltering plains of the Indian Mutiny, the treacherous Burmese jungle and into the last Gulf War. Drawing on letters, journals and interviews, FOLLOWING THE DRUM pays tribute to the remarkable women who triumphed amidst the blood, battles and brawls.

Talking of camp followers here is an interesting site covering some history of camp followers in the British military:

https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/timelin...

Very harsh times, for all concerned!

Betsy wrote: "Perhaps the truth was somewhere in the middle. I can't really imagine Wellington encouraging his men with a speech about the pyramids as Napoleon did, or use use belittling remarks about his oppone..."

Totally agree with you Betsy!

That's interesting Betsy, Rory Muir provides this quote from Napoleon in regards to speeches and motivation of his soldiers:

"The worth of such speeches may be questioned. Napoleon was sceptical of the value of efforts to achieve rhetorical heights:

It is not set speeches at the moment of battle that render soldiers brave. The veteran scarcely listens to them, and the recruit forgets then at the first discharge. If discourses and harangues are useful, it is during the campaign; to do away with unfavourable impressions, to correct false reports, to keep alive a proper spirit in the camp, and to furnish material and amusement for the bivouac."

Scott wrote: "The Art of Warfare in the Age of Napoleon
Chapter 2 of Rothenberg’s book on the art of war is an excellent potted history..."

Sounds good Scott, thanks for that bit of information!

The stories of the women and young children of the soldiers on active duty is always very touching. I always find the accounts of women being left destitute after her soldier-husband has been killed or the children of soldiers following into the Regiment as drummer boys quite moving.