The British Army in North America 1775–83

49 Pages·3.224 MB·English

by  Robin May, Gerry Embleton

ROBI~ ~1:\Y GERRY DlBLETO~
()
SERIES EDITOR:LEEJOHNSON
THE BRITISH ARMY IN
NORTH AMERICA
1775·1783
I ..
TeXTBY
ROBIN MAY AND
GERRY EMBLETON
NEWCOLOURPLATESAND
TEXTREVISIONBY
GERRY EMBLETON
t!mm
MILITARY
THE BRITISH ARMY IN
NORTH AMERICA 1775·1783
INTRODUCTION
heBritish haverarelydislikedawarmorethantheAmerican
Revolutionandha\'cnc\"crbeenlesseagertoserveinthearmed
forcesoftheCroWll.IfithadnotbeenforScotsmen,whojoined
theann)'inconsiderable!lumbers.rccmilingwouldhavebeenane\'cn
biggerfiascothanilwas.
TheWhigOppositionW"dSagainslthewartotheex:tCI1lofsometimes
glol")ingpublici),inBritishdefeats,and.ashistorywasmostl)'",,'nnenb}'
Whighis.ariansinthefollowingcenllU)'.thenOlableachievementsof
theredcoatsinAmeriGtwereplayeddown.Whenb;ul1ehonourswere
distributednonealallwereaW"drdedfortheRevolution,ash'lIllcful
omission.)'elthemal"'..elisnOItllalthetroopsfoughlsobadl)'.bmso
well.AlAmerican textbookIc\"cl.theredeo.ush;I\'cbeen madeilllo
ogres.lhoughtobalancethis.manyofthemores)'mpalhcticcommClllS
onthcmha\'cbecn\\'rillcnbyAmeriC::llls,
Courage\\':LSnC\'crin shon suppl)" ForshccrgulS, the r(:<IcoalS'
beha\'iouratBunkerHill.Saralogaandolherblooc:l)'cncountershasrarely
beenexcelled.Thefacilhatsomecommandersrcfusedto<;ef\'eagainsl
IheAmericanshardlyhelpc."(!toachie\'(.'\iClOry.whileOlhers.including
I-loweandClinton,onl),crossedtheAlI:llllicoutofloraIt)'totheking.
SodidBurgo}11e.lhough,unliketheothel't\l'O,hehad110
~}'Illpathy\\'ilhllleAmericans,andlatercalledthema'rabble
inarms'.Hesimplydidllotwanttoser\'einAmerica.though
intheevellthcwasambitiousenough,Muchma)'beforgivcn
'Gcntleman.Johnny',howe\'er,forhewas'lhesoldiers'friend'and\\':IS
lovedb),them.
Ilowc-'Good-naturedBill)'I-lowe'-iswiddyregardedasasluggard
whocoillilluallyleIslipchancesoffinishingoll'tllewarill1776.[IIfact,
though no militarygenius and a lo\'erof:1 t"]uiet life, thanks10
Americanhistorians.wecannowseehimholdingoutanolivebranch
tohisenemies,ne\'erhiltinglhemlOOhard.bUIhopingtoCllCOLlr<lg"e
Ihel1110makepeace.And,asweshallsee.hewasalsocOlllinuall),
shortofsupplieswhichmostl),hadtobeshippedacrosstheAtlantic.
a fact buried under slOriesoflroops living ofTthe land, plundcl
I""'- b-,. andTrahpee,difficultiesofcampaigningin Americaandgrossineffi-
cicncyandcOITuplionathOlllewercfarmorcdeadlycnemiesof
the rcdcoats than the gencrals' conduct. blundcring as it
Ueuten.nlGene.... ThsocmAcmtimereicsa\n'<slSw.on,butonI}"just.andthenthankstoforeigninter
JJoohhnnnByu'r-gpotyanyew-rig'Ghet,nptloelmitiacnian vClltion and a small number of piltriots dcdicatcd, \.thant and
and'tnesoldiers'friend', continuallyletdownbytheirownpeople.Washingtollandahardcore
oralways loyal, alwaysdependable regimentSSlandin magnificent
contrast to a meall, bickeringCongress. alld part-timesoldiers
almostcomingandgoingastheypleased.Thestandardgcnerali
s<ttionabouttheAmericanRevolution\\'<ISlirSImadebyJohn
Adams,thesecondPresident,whoclaimedlhalalhirdorhis
coullIrpnenwallledarevolutioll,alhirdwereagainslilanda
thirdwereneutral.Irlhat\\~ISso,onlyasmallproponionor
theRebelswereprepared10bemilitalltinthetruesenseor
theword.
AsrorGeorgeWashinglon,1051ashesometimesseems
underitmountainoflegend,becausehe\\~lSsoletdownby
hiscounu-pnenandlx:callsche\\~ISnogre:ugener-II. his
achie\"emenlwasall themoreextraordinary.111iscomplex
man, 10whom dut),and p:ltriotism were not mere words,
deservesmorerromhiscompatriotsthanahalo.Hc\\~ISagiant,
andBritonscanbeproudthathe,too.\\~LSBlitish.
Theredcoat,havingwon\ictoryaftervictorycxceptwhenvicwry
mostmallered,finall)'leftrorhomeinNovcmber1783.hishumour
undimmed.The\'erylaslmantogo,having10\\'credthe Ilionflagon
SirHen.....Clinton,Howe" St:llenIslandandCUIthehal)~lrds.proceedcd10greasethestaff.AsIhe)'
succeuor••Commandaf'ln·Chlet rm\'edal\'aY,thC)'\\'ereabletoenjoyIhesightorIheirlaiCcnemiesIrying
1nAmeric.a. tomisetheStarsandSLripcs,mdnotsucceedingUllIilcleatshadbeen
hammer<.-dupthepoleandtheflagnailedintoplace.
Someredcoatsma)'ha\'ealsochuckledaliuleatIhefinal peace
U"eaty.rorthoughBritainlostherAmeriCOIllcolonies.shedidnOtcome
Outorthewarsobadlyconsideringth,llshehadFr,lIlce,Spainand
Iiolianda&",insthcr,ISwellbytheendorit.'li'lIe,thegloriollsdap;orthe
\'CarorMiracles.1759,werenomoreandthepreSligeorBril<lin,sohigh
in1763,hadslumpt.,<1badly.limRodney's\;cLOryoverdeGr'assein1782
hadsavedtheWestIndies,Gibr'aharhadnOtraUen,France\\~tsalmOSI
bankrupt,SpainhadprobkmsathomeandinNonhAmeric<l,and,
lhoughitwasnotre;:llisc..-dalthet.ime,lheLo}'alisL~whosettledinCanada
wereamagnificelHim'estmenlrorlhefUlllre.AfewrearshueI'.theyand
theredcoatswouldhelptothrowtheAmericansOlltofCanadainlhe
Waror1812.
ThebookwhichrollowsisnotallaCCOllnlofthewaranditsstrategy,
hIllolTen;ashortexaminationoftheorg-aniS:lIiolloftheBritishArmyin
America and Britain at the time ofthe Re\'oILltion,with pardcular
emphasisontheredco;Handhiswar.
RAISING AN ARMY
WhentheSevenYears'Warendedin1763.GrealBrilainproceededto
decimatethearmywhichhaddonesoIlluchto\\'inheranempire.All
inrantryorlhelineweredisbanded<lhovethe70thFOOL,andallc,mJ.lry
abo\'elhe18thLightDmgoons.Theest<lblishmenl\'o'aSthel"doreamis
emble17.500,3,000ofwhomweretheemergenc),forcesoaptlyknown
asthe'CorpsorInvalids'.Therewerealso1,800gunnersandsappers,
and12.000menontheIrishestablishmCIll.
Thecolonieswereallowed10,000men.excluding4,000rOI"Minorca
andGibmhar.and.thoughtheEastIndiaCompanyhaditsownrorces,
thismeantthattherestoftheempircwaspitifull}'under,policed.llatl'ed
ofstandingarmiesathomeandabroadcouldhardlybelakenfllnher.
The evet1L~leading up to Ihe American Revolution are not the
concernofthisbook,bIllscn~ral pointsmustbestressedwherethe
redcoatswcreconcerned. Firstly,thoughmanyBritonswerenotcon
,incedthatCanadawaswonhpossessing,nonedoubtedtheimportance
oftheAmerican colonies<lnd the sugar-ridl West Indies. Thegov
~mmel1l'smcthodsinthisperiodwerebluuderingintheextreme.True,
BritainhadspentafortunetowinCanadafromtheFrenchandtonmke
the13Americancoloniessafe,sothereforefeltobligedt.oextractmoney
fromAmericanstohelppaythecostofkeepingtroopsinAmerica,and
also10easetheNationalDebt.But10usesledge-hammertacticsinstead
oflacttogelthemoneyfromtheindependent-mindedAmericanswas
fatuous. Yet only the most Elr-sighted could foresee an actual war
breaking oul between the mothercountry and herown people in
Americasosoonafterthebellshadbeenringingforthedestructionof
NewFrance.
81llthegovernment,evenifitcouldnotforeseearevolution,should
have realised the folly ofCllllillgdown the ;lf1ny because ofwhat
happenedthe\'cryyearthewarended.Ponti;lC'sdramaticrebellion,the
lastrealchancetheIndianseverhadofdrivingthewhitesback10the
Atlantic.shouldhavemadeministersatOllceawareofthef()llyofCUL~as
mebelleroftwowhiteevils,notleastbecausePOll1iacwaspro-French.
Mterscnsationalsuccesseselsewllerc.hisnlainGlmpaigllagainstDetroit
justfailed.andperhapsbec<luseofIhis,IheHritishdidnotgraspthe
lessonsofhisrebellion.
SowhcntheRevolutionstartedin 1775.theI~ritishArmywasonly
48,647strong,with39.294infantry.6.fl69cavalryand2,484artillel'}'.The
breakdownbelowoftheirlocationscomes10slighllyfewerbecauseit
ka\'csouttheartillery,plus20independentcompaniesofim'<llidson
garrisondllty,thOllgl1itdoesincludethc41st.aregimentofim'alids,
LOCATIONOFTHEARMYIN 1775
Infantry Cavalry
""""'"-' 19regIs. 11.396 16regts 4.151
.Is.le..0,1.Man 31r"e"gt'.,,, ''""
M~ '2·19re"gts. '9.3.88155 12,egts 2.718 Aprivate01tnePIcketCompany
Glbra~a< 7regts 3.339 oftne11thFoot,Inabout1771,
Wesllndies 3""," "909 Thesecompanieswerethefore
-"""."'" t8regls 8.580 runnersoftheregimentallight
'''"'' '" companieswhichappearedvery
shortlyafterwards.Thecap
38,254 6,869 appearstobef1.lr-trimmed;the
crown,royalcipherandregi.
mentalnumberareinbrass.The
Thismakesagrandtotalof45.123men10guardanempire,plus redcoatofthe11thwaslined
gunners,someinvalids.andthesoldiersofthe LlSt IndiaCompany, Whiteandlaceddartl.green,with
IOgelherwithaRoyalNavyatalmostthelowestebbinitshistoryunder mreednatanldlagcreee,n(RsetprirpoedsucInedthbeyregl
theEarlofSandwich.whowas'Tooinfamoustoha\'eafriend.Toobad graciouspermissionofH.M,The
forbadmentocommend.' Queen)
Sixrearsaflcrthis,I\'hcllthemilitary......arwasow:1"ill/\Illcricacxn'p'
forskirmishcsandIhcformalilies,Iheann...hadreachcdthe110,000
mar"-£)7.000ofIhemstalioll(..dinAmeriC;IandtheWe" Indies.This
dOl'"llOtincludethe70orSOLoyalistregilllelll'l;\lU\formations,the
;lO,OOOGermanmercenariesandthefluctuating!lumberofIndians\I'ho
foughtonIheBritishsidc,
Rt.'(TuitinghadneverbeenmorrdifficultLhanforthiswar.Apart
from theunpopularityoftheconflict,the 1770swere tht'last\'ears
before till' lndu.:>trial Rt.'\'ohllion imrodllced al;lI-ge numl)('I'ofIhe
workingd:L~'i("Stoafate\\orsethantakingtheKing'.,Shilling- the
nightman:worldofprbon-lil.efacton n,e"\lerethelastH:arswhen
Br;tilill\\,15lIloreanagricultur.tlthananindusu;almllion,"hen{'\'cn
thepoorestcoumn'mencouldexpecttoratwell,and\lhen{'nc1osurcs
hadnot\'t"Iwreckedtherural\\";\\oflife.
So11ll'temptationtojoinup\I<lSminimal:poorp::.'.sa'";\gedisciplinc
andbildfood.combined,,'illlmeprospectoffightingfellO\\Britons.\\~as
enough10putoff<111blllbornfightersand3<,h-enturel"'S,Forllinaleh.
Scotland.alleas!.WilSfullofbOlh.
Thcp;wofapl;\,atcsoldier\IdSeighlprnceacia,.but1ll0~tofilwas
prompL1~"1;lkenaw;wfromhim.SixpenceallrgMIv"'entforsub~istence,
thoughsomeofIhepreciouspennies\I repULaside(0J><l\forc1Olhing.
medicineandIherepairofarms.Muchortheremaining{\I'opencewas
deducted10pa\thePa\'masler--C<-neraJ,theChe~Ilospitai.<Iplacea
fccruitwas"0unlikdrtorc;lch,theregimentalagill,eLC.The,S\"Slemof
pa\andstoppages\\,ISunhdie\<lbhcompliclLM,butmeresult\\'asthe
~lIlJe-theMlldiergOtnext10nOLhing.
HarrackswerelewinBritainintheJ77~,somerr-cn.itwaslikehto
beunderGun'lS.or.moreprobabh.inIodg;ngs\lherehisprescnce\\'a~
grcatl} rescllted. DiloCipline\1";\)18th-eellLuntr.lditional,Lheonh dif
lCl'enccfrolllearliertimesbeingIhatIhelash"<lS!heuni"el-";:Ilpenalty
for most crimes. Other tortures like the 'hone' and 'f1l1lning Ihe
gauntlet' were not beingphasedOlllforhumanilarian rea_"Ons, but
simpl)'becausell~g"in!{wassimpler: 1,000ormorelashesII,ISstilla
frequt.'lltsenlence,
Food\\,ISgellcr;lllyappalling.andcontinuedtobeso\\hen llle
soldit.'l"reachedAl11t.'1"ica. LcgendImsitthatm rrdcootsli\cdcom
fortOlhl}'olTtheland:legendiswrong.RecnliuinBritainwereoftenso
llllCkrfedinlheirding)'billetsthatlhey\I'crescarcelyablelOendurethe
drillthatlllrnedthcmintoremarbblygoodsoldiers.
MI)S\ofthem;~orbattlesoftheRt'\'Olution\\erefoughtOilEuropean
Apriva"01ttaPleketCompany p;llterns,sotheuniformredcoatsofLhemen\\erenotintlH:lllse!\,esa
01the13thFoot,Inthat lllellacctosafet),.c\'cnthoughtheAmerican fromtileSlanpickl.-doffthe
regiment'syellow-Iaeedeoat;the ofliccrs.Asthew<lrprogresseddressregulation \I'ererelaxed.makingit
eapornament"bra..,andthe casierlorthesoldiertofight.Thestock\I<lSnot)etatOrtuoushighIcalher
ethaeplwtaideelllaIapralerttylcoullIamrpel".eOmIIipHldeol collar,but\\~ISmoreoftennmdeof\-eh'etorhorsehair,andgaitcl"Shad
lightInf.ntfyeepa.(Repro6l>c:ed beenblacksince1768.1~1ItitstilllookIhea'-er.lgesoldierupLOLhree
bygrKkH.t.pennl••lon01H.M. hours10g"clhimselfread)'foraparade,\lherras1ighl1Il00"e1llCillora
TheQueenJ 1J<ldl\'an,mgedheadofhair(cO\eredinunh\'gienicgrraseandpon'der
accordingtoregulalions)couldgethim100lashesOf"more.
Asforequipl1lelll.itmightweighasmuchas60pound,lhoughsome
ha\eclaimed- probabl\'wrongl}- thatitsometimesweighedalmosl
lwiceasmilch.Burgoyneconsidered60pound toomuch.andlhefol-
Io....;ngrl....·ealingrepon;:lbOlIlequipment.dated15June1784,soonaner
lh~w·d.rwaso\'er.showsthatnoticewastakenofcomplaintsifsenior
officersmadethem.ItisaReportofmeProcecdingsofaCommittee
ofGcner.tlOfficersRt.·gardingtheEquipmentofSoldiers.andthe
li.stl"t!recommendationsreceivedapproval:
1OrdnanceCartridgeBoxatpresentinusefoundtobe
inconvenient.
2Powder-HornsandBullet-BagsofLightInfantrywerenever
usedduringthelatewar.
3Matches&Match-CasesofGrenadiersarebecomingobsolete.
4Grenadiers'swordswereneverusedduringthelastwar.
(Itwasproposedthatallthesearticlesbeabandoned.)
5Thewholebattaliontobeaccoutredalike,withtheadditionof
twoarticlesfortheLightInfantry,e.g.,Hatchel&PrimingHom,
whichmaybecarriedeitherwiththeknapsackorasthe
CommandingOfficershallthinkmostconvenient.
6Shoulder-beltstobeofequalbreadth,andtohavetheAmmunition
divided;tocanythePouchontherightside,andtheMagazineonthefeft.
7Pouch&Bayonet-Belts10beofBuffleather&bothtobe2inches
broad,theBayonet-Carriage[frog]toslipon&offthebeltwithtwo
loops. Gene..tSirGuyc.rteton,UYlour
8AleathercapwornbysomeoftheLightInfantryduringthelatewaris ofC.nadaandLat...,••Lord
stronglyrecommended. .~.h..e.s..t,l.lr,~firstlIOfttnO"'"
9Proposeablackwoollenclothgaiterwithwhitemetalbuttons&without
stifftopsinplaceoftheblacklinengaitersatpresentinuse.
SosomclhinghadbeenlearntfromthecampaignillAmerica.Back
in[775,itmusthaveseemed10solllethaItherewouldbenocampaigns
from which to learn. for recruiting was practicallystationary. In
December.Ed\\';.u·dII;:u"\'ey.theA{ljll\am-Gcncral.lamentcd:'Sadwo,'k
nenwhcreinrecruiting.Inthesedamnedlimeswemustesertzeal.'
Ill'wasright,forapa.nfromthemanyreasonsfOTnotjoininglheanny,
merewereotherdisa<!\'antagt.'S.Scnicewasnonnallyforlifeandpostings
abro:ldcouldgoonforde<:adt.'S.Notoriousl)'.the38thFootwastrappedin
theWcstIndiesfor60rears!Andthedeepunpopularityofsoldierswasas
rnlllpantasatanytimeintheccntlllY.Atleastthes"lilor,pressed,flogged
andwretched,could- andoflet1did,evcnatlhisdismaldilleillna\~ll
hi~tol"y-colllfort himscJf\\~lhthethoughtlhathewasthenation'spride.
Volunreel'sjoincdupforlhreerearsorlhedur.nion,OUI.exceptfor
inScolland,Iherewerepilifullyfewoflhemin1776.Somere<:ruiting
partiesintheirdespairle\iedill\~llidsandpensioners,and("'enRoman
Cuholics.unwelcomebefore1775.wererecruited.
Lesssuccessful....'asanattempttoenlist20.000Russianmercenaries.
ortoenticeaScotchbrigadebackfromsen;cewiththeDutch.Thisled
10lhehiringofGcnnansfrom11t.-sse-Casselandelsewhere.Ilowe...er.the
Ilighiandsprovedgoodgroundforrecruitingpanics.man)'clansmen
comingforwardlOgelawayfrolllgrimconditionsa1home,or10seck
glory, or bOlh. Lowlanders also carne forwMd, somc C"clI refusing
boullty.andincertaintowns.lhefamiliesofthosewhowelltweresup
pont.'1:\bythosewhoslaredbehind.TheEnglish.h;shandWelshshowed
nosuchardouI".
UntilIi:":-..\dum rfieiH'done-and-a·half
guineas.but0l.!Ithere""trefartOOfewofthem.
pardoned crimUla] and deserters were
welcomed.tntfL. Ifl."'i.Stherequiredheight.
though'''OlIn .00lookedasiftheymiglll
grow .....ere enli'led, ....he..eas the lame, the
ruptu..roandtho prone10fitS.....e..enot.
After171.....hen~logab..oughltheFrench
into Ihe .....ar, ..ecruiling became mOi'e urgent.
.' cVhoallrllglteeeiln"StghOrlether)t~tpooruanldthseanedn.daosfinih1e7w75a,r:aadnisd
in Scotland and the London area. thc 'able
l>o<liedidleanddisorderly'werepressedforal
leaslfi\'e)'earsoruntiltheendofhostilities.The
agc limits.....ere 17 10 45, The 'idle' persons
elsewhereinBritain.....erelefttoworkIheland.
Thisscheme.100,railed,soin1779\'ohmLCcrs
galthree-and-a-halfguineasandtherighl10set
upinbusinessaft~r.sen;crwhere"erIhevchose.
J whatever local corpor:uions might sa)'. The
f-:;..P,..il.·~..I,..,'...'·ultI"t- j',t..,,, wounded .....ere to gel similar pri,·ileges. The
rInv~·..t..cl"t,.·i1..·,.lIt..t"elL"~,,,..;").17l(i,'.,••·.(f,.." prcssedmen,mean.....hile.couldnowbeasshot1as
Sf!.'lin.andasoldas50.Newsortsofrogues
couldbetaken,andthrwholecountr)'couldbe
scouredforthem.TheonlyeSGlpewastojointhe
ABrltlllh1I0idierlItatlooedIn militia,aEliI'ployasBritainsecmedtobeindangerofinvasion.
Canada101778-oot,asthe Despitedesertions,scll:[l1aimingsandfightSwiththeprcss-gallgs.jtlSl
ptAiclituFrreie'sdrcicilhpt_iooaGuegrgmeasotso,'s1766. eOncol0u!>gchI'mIei7n9w-erebulotuwllhda-ts1o,w46e3dinthseoaunthneymwBasritthaienfbaecttwtehc;:lllt~m'Iaanr)c'hnaonwd
botehe.rt"tndrealwaitneg..sdaintet.1hiHsesewrieeas,.a cameforward10\'oluntecl"10;I\"oidbeingpressedandtobendilfrom
wIllt.blankatcoat,Ol"capote, thevervfairtenus.
withahood;ithaslightbluetrim InIi78.12newH:gilllentsoff001wereraisedand17marchadbeen
.tcuffandMm,alightbl.... rai~dI»'1780.FOUl"rc.:gimcntsoflighldragoonswereraisedbet\,'een
rcfaoosslaet.utnt..ee.dLoonwntigtnhbelbuhpeipe,osavonedfntlilhsse,o..rme f1e7lT78edanasdh1e7s8u1s.pOecldtedn.-(griigmhetlll)t'sinwemreane)n'claarsgese)d.thaai~'cSotleomnetllslCofkitnhgenpere'"
"alt.rtJOusen.arewom,andao regimcnL'iwouldplacc100manyrelati\'esinthem.To.....ns.100,raised
underjacketwlthslaeves01 regimenL'i- theBOth(RaptEdinburghVolullIcers)wasone-andalso
Itron"whitecorduroywould ga\'cgenerousboulllics.Lesshappily,thes)'stemofdmfting\\~ISmuchin
h.v.b.eotypical.Thered· evidence,abadl),mauled regimentbeingforccd10senditsoflit:ers,
a,knudllteadll.ca(NpewhaYsorbter.oPwuobfluic..trim NCOsamIdrummershometorecruitwhilcitssurvivingprivatcstrans
LIbrary) ferrcdlOanotherregimelllalsoinHeedofmcn,bmnotdeslillltc.This
seriouslyinterferedwithPS/Jllllll'corps.SomcdrafleesofthemackWalch
mutinicdrmherthanjointhe83rdandbeforced10abandonthcirkills.
and30,,"erekilledinapilchedhaule.
Therecruillotheinfantr)'foundhimsclfinaregimentofsome477
men divided inlo len companies forming a single baualioll. One
comp.1.n)'consistedofgrcnadiers,whonolongerhurledbtTenade:..but
werethe!:llIestandstrangeslmenintheregiment.Anotherwasmade
lipoflighlinfalllrpnell,wir)'Iroopswhoweretheregiment'scrackshots.
Thescchoscnmenwercplaced011Iheflanks.
Recruilsweresubjectedtocndlessarmsdrill.oflenaruggedordeal
8 011inadequaterations.Thebasicinfantryweaponwaslhe'(\rowlIlless'
AnaerialviewofFortNiagara,
whicheouldkIIrdlybelesslike
thelog'IockadeofHollywood
legend....,tlninghistory
,trekhe,fromt1579tot8t5,
whenItwa,handedbacktothe
USA-Ithadbeentakenfromthe
FrenchIn1759.Theredoubts
oatefromtnG-1,whikthe
,t_bIockhou....each
mountingtwoc:annononthe
gun-deek,"'...wall,fivefeet
thick..Intheforegr'O\l'f>darethe
~eandthesouthblockhouse;
ontherighlbthenorthb1ock
hovH;Inthefa,blIckgroundIs
the'caslle'withItabakehouH;
IsolatedontheleftI.the
magazl...;andtotheleftofthe
blocktlQu'.intheforegroundis
arangeof,lorebuildings.(Old
FortNiagaraAssociation
Incorporated)
muskct.withacarbineforthcGl\'alry.whilefusilierscarriedafusil.The
finestIkilishfirearmofthewar.thcFergusonbreech~loaderinvcllledIJ}'
thcdashing~1~orratrickFcrguson.wasonlyusedby100orSOpicked
marksmeninAmerica.
FortNlapra-thesouth Rcgimentaldoctors.asrecruitsfound.\'ariedfromgoodtoghastl\'.
obnlolyckvheoryus.teroI.nsghlyowbunil-t.wbaustnwoats Andasfortheconsolationsofreligion.itwasanirreligiollsage,and
'tnteglcallyimportant.During though each r<:giment officialh had achaplain. fewevcrappearcd.
theAevolutionItwe.themain ScrgealllLamb,thcdiaristand'iurgeon'smatcofthe9th.c1aimt.:dhe
baseforLoyalistandIndian kncwmatl\ piollssoldiers.and thcrewasnorcason for him tolie.
g_nilla..notably~ Dcspitctheoriginsofmanymcn.andthcbrutishli\'csthcyhadendured,
JRoasnegpehraBarnadntt.h(OelldroFqourtoiN'ilaegdarbay thcaverageredcoatcannothavcbeensovcrrdifferentfrom hissuc
AnoclatlonIncorporaledand CCSM}rs" Celltlll)'ormore later. William Cobbett. thcgrcat radical
GroveMcClellan) politicianandwriter.thoughthighlyofsoldiers.I-Iejoinedthcarmy
in 1784andbecameasergeant-mitior.lieonce\\TOte:'Ilike
soldiers,asaclassinlirt:.bellerthanallYothcrdcscription
ofmen.Theil'convcrsationismorcpleasing10me;
lhcyhavcgencrallyseen morcthanother111en;
they have less vulgar prejudice abOlll Ihem.
Amongst soldiers. lcss Ihan amollgsl all}'other
descriptionofmen.ha\'cIobsern'dthc\'icesof
lyingandh)pocl'isy,'
Wrillenpermissionfromanoniccrwasneedcd
forCobbell'sadmiredpri\'atesoldiers10man)'.
The reglliations for wh'es and women on
campaignbelongtothencxtchapu'r.Inharr-lcks
athome- thoughtruebarracksonI)'datefrom
the17905-husbandsandwin"s\\'erecmitledto
scl"cencd-offbedsinbarrdckrooms.
As for the $landard of officers. it was
perhapshigherthanilhadbeen inlheSc\'cn
'ears'War,inwhichsomanyofthemhadpre
\;ollslyfougln.ThisisnOlthebooktoarguethe
fewprosandm.m)'consofthepurchaseS)'Stem
of commissions which restricled so many
officers....ithOulprimlemeanstojuniorranks
andallowedmereYOllthstocommandthem.
TherewasnogeneralintheRcvolutionquitc
so ineffcctivc as Abercromby of Fon
Ticonderoga(Ii58),butnorwastherea\\'olfe.
AndSirWilliamIlo\\'c,regardlessofhisfeelingsaboutthewar,....~dSnot Englllvedpowderhomof
theequalofhisincompal,lbleelderbrother, LordGeorgeAugustus unusualInterest.rnSC:ribedwrth.
I[owe,ki[ledatTiconderogajllstbeforeAbercrombydidhisworst,which detailedmapandthelegend:
includedallowingtheB[ackWatchtobemassacred.[ronically,Howe, PERROBERTSON/CORPLLIN
BurHoyneandClintonwereallr-.lernbersofParliamentanditW'<!Snot 9CTAHPTRPEEGYTT.O/1NSSTCAOUMGPU:SYT/lINNET/HE
consideredwrongforageneral-politician10relurntoLondoninthe MARCH1117457.and:THECITY
winterandspeakinlheIlouse. OFHAVANNAILLUMINATEDAT
OneoftenfOl"llinalefactoratthislimewasthatnoonicerwasforced THEEMBARKATlONOFTHE
otobl1i>geIe"\d'etoovetarskeeasIh.eThfiiesldn,obtuotnIlhyamttehaenatmIhbaillilouunsalmicisghanldrisienffaansltesrwbeerceaunsoet 07BTR'H'm''1S'7H63(s(lcM:)eTtrRoOpOolPitSanJUMLUYHTUHmE
manyofficersprefern:d10stayathome011half-payratherthanserve,To
readlthelOpintheIiiOsit"'asbeSt10beintheGuardsortheca''alry.
bUlthaiwastoholdgoodform'lIl)')'c.u'Stocome.
The real slumbling-block\\.\.~the numberofscl'villgsoldierswho
simply did not lI'ish to fight Americalls. Lord Percy, hiler Duke of
NOl'lhumberhllld.whoseconductontilelirstdayoftileRevolutionhelped
savetheretreatingIlritishAmlY.wasOlleoflIIallYofficerswhocouldnot
Slomachthc\1<11'.Afterdisunguishedsen'iccin[ii6,heI'ClurnedhotTlc.
FortunatelyforIlrilisharms,therewereplclll)'whocould,plelllYof
c:arccronicerswhogOt011withthejobalongwithithardcoreoffinc
NCOs.And undcl'thcm\\<lSthat Illuch-'lbused,sorelytricd. usually
valiantandhumorousman01'....<11'.lheredcoat.
RECRUITING
Twocontrastingmethods
M,yorl\orleRocheinactioninIrelandinAllgustI7iS.asreportedby
lheJ)1Ib/;'ljar/nwl.FirstheorganiSl.,,<1aprocession:
MajorRoche.bearirlQalargePurseofGold.
CaptainCowley
Agreatnumberoflikelyre<:ruits
AnelegantBand01Music.consistirlQofFrench
Horns,Hautboys,Clarionets,andBassoons,
p1ayirlQ'GOOSayetheKing'
AlargeBrewersDmywithfiveBarrelsofBeef,the
Horserichlycapansonedandornamented
withribbons,
TwoDraymenwithCockades,toservetheBeef.
TheRecrultlng5efjeant,
DrumsandFlies.
Anotllef-DivisionofRecruits,
TheRecruitirlQSoldiers,
10 AprodigiousconcourseofSpectators