Spying for Wellington: British Military Intelligence in the Peninsular War

328 Pages·2018·27.08 MB·English

by  Huw J. Davies

Spying for

WELLINGTON
British Military Intelligence
in the Peninsular War
Huw J. Davies
Spying for Wellington
CAMPAIGNS AND COMMANDERS
general editor
Gregory J. W. Urwin, Temple University, Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania
advisory board
Lawrence E. Babits, Greenville, North Carolina
James C. Bradford, Texas A&M University, College Station
Robert M. Epstein, U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies,
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas (retired)
David M. Glantz, Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Jerome A. Greene, Denver, Colorado
Victor Davis Hanson, Hoover Institution of Stanford University,
Stanford
Herman Hattaway, Leawood, Kansas
J. A. Houlding, Rückersdorf, Germany
Eugenia C. Kiesling, U.S. Military Academy, West Point, New York
Timothy K. Nenninger, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Bruce Vandervort, Virginia Military Institute, Lexington
Spying for Wellington
British Military Intelligence
in the Peninsular War
Huw J. Davies
University of Oklahoma Press | Norman
Publication of this book has been made possible by a grant from the Scouloudi
Foundation in association with the Institute of Historical Research.
An earlier and substantially revised version of chapter 3 was published as “Diplomats as
Spymasters: A Case Study of the Peninsular War, 1809–1813,” Journal of Military History 76,
no. 1 (2012): 37–68.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Davies, Huw J. (Huw John), 1981– author.
Title: Spying for Wellington : British military intelligence in the
Peninsular War / Huw J. Davies.
Description: Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, [2018] | Series:
Campaigns and commanders series ; volume 64 | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018005197 | ISBN 978-0-8061-6173-0 (hardcover : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Peninsular War, 1807–1814—Military intelligence—Great
Britain. | Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, Duke of, 1769–1852.
Classification: LCC DC231 .D38 2018 | DDC 940.2/78—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018005197
Spying for Wellington: British Military Intelligence in the Peninsular War is Volume 64
in the Campaigns and Commanders series.
The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on
Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources, Inc. ∞
Copyright © 2018 by the University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Publishing Division of the
University. Manufactured in the U.S.A.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
or otherwise—except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the United States Copyright Act—
without the prior written permission of the University of Oklahoma Press. To request permission
to reproduce selections from this book, write to Permissions, University of Oklahoma Press, 2800
Venture Drive, Norman, OK 73069, or email [email protected].
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Interior layout and composition: Alcorn Publication Design
For my parents, Janet and John Davies

Contents
List of Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 3
1. Blind Cyclops? Britain’s Intelligence System in the
Eighteenth Century 11
2. The House of Cards: Arthur Wellesley, the Development of
Military Intelligence, and the Origins of the Peninsular War 43
3. Diplomats as Spymasters: Agent and Spy Networks in Spain
and Portugal 71
4. Wellington’s Military Intelligence Network 91
5. Intelligence and the Retreat to Torres Vedras, 1809–1810 123
6. Stalemate and Intelligence Development in 1811 156
7. The Limitations of Intelligence: The Invasion of Spain, 1812 173
8. Tactical and Topographical Intelligence: Wellington’s Mapmakers
and the Vitoria Campaign, 1813–1814 210
Epilogue: Waterloo and Beyond 247
Notes 259
Bibliography 291
Index 307

Illustrations
Figures
The Battle of Vitoria, 21 June 1813 frontis
North View of the City of Westminster 111
Lord Liverpool 112
Lord Stuart de Rothesay 113
Torres Vedras in Lisbon 114
A Reconnaissance Party 115
Spanish Guerrillas under Colonel Don Julian Sanchez 116
Sir George Murray 117
Troops Bevouacked [sic] near the Village of Villa Velha 118
Rowland Hill, 1st Viscount Hill 119
General Crawford [sic] giving the word of command 120
Bivouac in the Pyrenees, the night before the battle 121
Wellington at Sorauren, 27th July 1813 122
Maps
Major British Battles of the Peninsular War, 1808–1814 58–59
Third French Invasion of Portugal, July–October 1810 142
Stalemate on the Portuguese Border, 1811 159
The Burgos Campaign, September–November 1812 196–97
The Vitoria Campaign, May–June 1813 227