When the Duke wasn’t the Duke

By Lindsay Downs

Several years ago I was writing a tome and wished to reference Arthur, 1st Duke of Wellington, in a selected passage. The story was set in 1812. Needing to know what his peerage title was at the time, I started searching out information of him. What I learned could take up several posts. However, I will be limiting this one to his early life and military career until 1812. What I learned in the course of my research came as quite a surprise.

The Honorable Arthur Wesley was born on 1 May 1769 in Dublin to the 1st Earl of Mornington and Anne, eldest daughter of the 1st Viscount Dungannon. The exact location is uncertain but the most likely place was his parents’ house, 24 Upper Merrion Street. On the death of his father in 1781, Arthur's elder brother, Richard, assumed the title and was beneficial in Arthur’s early advancement within the military.

The ancestral home, Dangan Castle, engraving 1842

Arthur’s early schooling was at Trim, when living at the family’s castle in Dangan, and Mr. Whyte’s Academy when in Dublin. When he was of age Arthur was sent to Eton. The loneliness of being there caused him to dislike the school very much, and, since at the time Eton didn’t have playing fields, it’s doubtful whether he ever said, “The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton”.

In 1784, with funds growing tight, his mother, Anne, withdrew him from school. Together they traveled to Brussels where they stayed until his early twenties. Then in either 1785 or 1786 (Different sources differ) he enrolled in the French Royal Academy of Equitation. While there he improved his French and was very popular with the neighbors.

1787 saw Arthur entering the military. With assistances from Richard, Lord Mornington, Arthur was gazetted as an ensign to the 73rd Regiment of Foot on 7 March. Then in November of the same year he was assigned as aide-de-camp to Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Marquis of Buckingham. He held this position until March 1793, having also served under the Earl of Westmorland. At some point during this year he transferred to the 76th Regiment and was promoted to lieutenant on Christmas Day.

23 January 1788 saw Arthur transferring again, this time to the 41st Regiment of Foot. He didn’t stay but a year and a half; on 25 June 1789, still a lieutenant, he went to the 12th (Prince of Wales's) Regiment of (Light) Dragoons.

He stayed with the 12th until 1791 where on 30 June he was given a company of soldiers in the 58th Regiment of Foot.

Kitty Pakenham by J. R. Swinton c.1850
from early sketch c.1810

Then on 31 October 1792 he moved once again, this time to the 18th Light Dragoons. Shortly afterwards, in 1793, he became enamored with Catherine (Kitty as she preferred) Pakenham. Arthur approached her brother Thomas, Earl of Langford. The earl turned him down, citing him to be 'a young man, in debt, with very poor prospects’. Arthur was so upset by the rejection that he, an aspiring amateur musician, burned his violins and vowed to pursue a military career. On a happier note he did marry Kitty on 10 April 1806. However, they lived apart even in the same house, only to become close on her deathbed on 24 April 1831. Kitty gave Arthur two children, Arthur and Charles.

Depending on the source, it was either 1793 or 1794 when on 30 April Arthur purchased a majority with the 33rd Foot and was soon sent to Antwerp. He joined up with the army on 10 July. 14-15 September saw him in his first engagement at the Battle of Boxtel. Soldiers in front of the 33rd were retreating towards his line. He ordered it opened to allow the English to escape through them to the rear. Arthur then ordered volleys of rifle fire which drove the enemy back. They were later to be forced back to the Waal River. On December 20 he wrote, “We turn out once, sometimes twice, every night; the officers and men are harassed to death. I have not had my clothes off my back for a long time, and generally spend the greatest part of the night upon the bank of the river”.
(This would have such an impact on him that, even when returning home, he would sleep on a camp cot.)

Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Wellesley,
aged c. 26, in the 33rd Regiment.

Finally driven out of the United Provinces into Germany after a disastrous expedition, Wellesley later said of his time in the Netherlands, “At least I learned what not to do, and that is always a valuable lesson”.

In March of 1795 he returned, with the 33rd , to England, then a year later rejoined the regiment in Southampton. The intention was to make for the West Indies. Weather was not in their favor. After seven weeks the ships were forced to return, landing at Poole, England. Arthur and the men recuperated for several months then on 3 May he was promoted to full Colonel. A few weeks later the 33rd set sail for Calcutta.

February 1797 saw Arthur and the 33rd arrive in India. After spending several months there he, along with the soldiers, were sent to the Philippines. As, unsurprisingly, neither he nor the men had ever lived in a tropical climate, Arthur quickly established rules for dealing with hygiene. November saw them back in India.

Here we have another discrepancy between my sources. According to ‘A Web of English History’ Wellesley strongly urged his brother, Richard, Earl of Mornington, to come and take up the position of governor-general, while Wikipedia says that Arthur learned his brother had taken up the position. I leave it to you good readers to decide.

It was also in 1798 that Arthur changed the spelling of his surname from Wesley to Wellesley. In December of this year he was given command of troops near Vellore.

February of 1799 saw the arrival of General Harris who commended Wellesley for his “judicious and masterly arrangement in respect of supplies.” (Once again, Arthur had proven himself not only a excellent senior officer but was also aware of how to care for those under him. This trait would continue for years to come and serve him well as he continued to learn the craft of being a leader of men.)

Having distinguished himself so well at several battles, on 17 July 1801 Arthur was promoted to Brigadier-general. Three years later, June 1804, he applied for and was granted permission to return to England. In the meanwhile he returned to Madras where he was invested with the Order of Bath (K.B.). This was conferred upon him on 1 September 1804. During his tenure in India he amassed a fortune of £42,000 mostly from prize money.*

Three years after returning to England, in May 1807 Arthur stepped down from a political appointment when word reached him about an expedition going to Denmark. In August of that year he participated in the Second Battle of Copenhagen. If the city rather than the battle sounds familiar, that’s because later in Wellesley’s military career he rode a horse of the same name not only in Spain but more famously at the Battle of Waterloo for over fifteen hours. It is said that when Wellington dismounted after Waterloo he gave Copenhagen a pat and was almost kicked in the head by the beast. Copenhagen retired to Stratfield Saye House, the duke’s estate, and died on 12 February 1836 at 28 years of age.

Copenhagen

On 25 April 1808 Wellesley returned to England where he was promoted to Lieutenant-general. July 12 saws him departing from Cork for the Iberian Peninsula to fight the French. By now, having served in the Netherlands, India and Denmark Arthur was a battle-tested commander.

Historian Robin Neillands says it best.
“Wellesley had by now acquired the experience on which his later successes are founded. He knew about command from the ground up, about the importance of logistics, about campaigning in a hostile environment. He enjoyed political influence and realized the need to maintain support at home. Above all, he had gained a clear idea of how, by setting attainable objectives and relying on his own force and abilities, a campaign could be fought and won”.

With several successes in Spain and Portugal, Arthur was elevated to the peerage as Viscount Wellington on 29 August 1809. The name Wellington was selected by his brother Lord Mornington to minimize the change in name. On 26 January then again a few days later on 1 February 1810 he received the thanks of Parliament and an annuity of £2,000 per annum.

From then until 1812, Viscount Wellington had a few setbacks but more advances against the French in Portugal and Spain drawing rewards and accolades from the peers and citizens of England. On 28 February 1812 Arthur was elevated to the Earl of Wellington then with more successes on 18 August 1812 he was made Marquis of Wellington.”

Now, with this information at hand, I needed to decide at what point in my story, as yet untitled, I wanted to have my hero fighting in Spain. I chose spring of 1812, thus being able to refer to Arthur as the Earl of Wellington.
It is amazing sometimes what we will go through to obtain the most accurate information. Hours of research for a fine point of a proper title.

References-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Wellesley,_1st_Duke_of_Wellington
http://www.historyhome.co.uk/pms/wellingt.htm
*See more about Prize money here
[all above images are in the Public Domain]

Lindsay Downs has been  an avid reader since he first held a red leather bound first edition copy of Sir Walter Scott’s The Lady of the Lake.
Since 2012 when his debut regency romantic suspense was released, he has written several Regency mystery novels. The latest (and last book in the series) is The Hunt Ends, released today, and will be offered as a giveaway next week. Since 2012 He has lived in central Texas. He is also a member of Romance Writers of America and the Austin, TX chapter.

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The Flanders Campaign

by David Cook

"The hardest thing of all for a soldier is to retreat." - Arthur Wellesley, First Duke of Wellington.

The Flanders Campaign of 1793-1795 was conducted during the first years of the French Revolutionary War by the allied states of the First Coalition and the French First Republic. Europe was a patchwork of kingdoms, principalities and provinces and France wanted to spread its ideals of liberty and equality. The allied aim was to invade France by mobilising its armies along the French frontiers to bully the new republic into submission.

Prince Frederick, Duke of York

In the north, the allies’ immediate aim was to expel the French from the Dutch Republic and the Austrian Netherlands, then march directly to Paris. Britain invested a million pounds to finance the Austrians and Prussians. Twenty thousand British troops under George III’s younger son, Prince Frederick, the Duke of York, were eventually tied up in the campaign.

Henry Dundas

Austrian Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg was in overall command, but answered directly to Emperor Francis II, while the Duke of York was given objectives set by William Pitt the Younger’s War Secretary, Henry Dundas. Thus, from the outset, mixed political machinations and ignorance hindered the operation.

The French armies, on the other-hand, also suffered. Many from the old royalist officer class had emigrated following the revolution, which left the cavalry severely undermanned and those officers that remained were fearful of being watched by the representatives. The price of failure or disloyalty was the guillotine. After the Battle of Hondschoote, September 1793, the British and Hanoverians under the Duke of York were defeated by General Houchard and General Jourdan. Houchard was arrested for treason for failing to organise a pursuit and guillotined.

By the spring of 1793, the French had virtually marched into the Dutch Republic and Austrian Netherlands unopposed. In May, the British won a victory at Famars and then followed up the success for the siege of Valenciennes. However, instead of concentrating their forces, the allies dispersed in an attempt to mop up the scattered French outposts. The French re-organised and combined their troops into larger corps. Dundas requested the Duke of York to lay siege to Dunkirk who had to abandon it after a severe mauling at Hondschoote.

By the end of the year the allied forces were now thinly stretched. The Duke of York was unable to support the Austrians and Prussians because of supply problems, and because Dundas was withdrawing regiments to re-assign them to the West Indies.

Map of the campaign, early 1794.
The allies (red) display their battle lines stretched over a wide area.

The French counter-offensive in the spring of the following year smashed apart the fragile allied lines. The Austrian command broke down as Francis II called for an immediate withdrawal. After the Battle of Fleurus, the defeated Austrians abandoned their century long hold of the Netherlands to retreat north towards Brussels. The loss of the Austrian support and the Prussians (who had also fallen back) led to the campaign’s collapse.

The Battle of Boxtel in September was a minor incident during the Allied retreat and is chiefly remembered for being the first time Arthur Wesley, (before changing his surname to Wellesley), saw action.

In the aftermath of Fleurus, the Austrians had begun to pull back east towards the line of the Rhine, abandoning any hope of recovering the Netherlands. This forced the British, German and Dutch troops to also retreat, where they destroyed bridges, redoubts and places where the French might use for their advantage.

Colonel Arthur Wesley, 33rd Foot

General Jean-Charles Pichegru, with the French Army of the North, advanced towards the British outpost at Boxtel, a town near the River Dommel, which had the only unspoiled bridge in the area. On the 14th the French captured the town after three hours of musket fire with Hessian troops with the aid of Dutch sympathisers. The Duke of York decided to send General Ralph Abercromby to retrieve the situation and protect the British rear-guard. Abercromby was given ten infantry battalions and ten cavalry squadrons, with the infantry made up of the Guards Brigade and the 3rd Brigade. This second brigade contained four infantry battalions; amongst them was Wesley’s own 33rd Foot. As the senior colonel present, he was given command of the brigade, while Lieutenant-Colonel John Sherbrooke, had command of the regiment.

Sir John Sherbrooke

At seven o’clock on the morning of the 15th, as veils of silver mist hung over the damp fields and dykes, the British force hurried to retake the town. It soon became abundantly clear that they were in danger of running into Pichegru’s main force and would be overwhelmed and outflanked by superior numbers. Abercromby ordered a withdrawal. When French infantry and cavalry charged the British, the retreat threatened to turn into a rout. The situation was saved by the iron resolve of the 33rd Foot’s commander – Sir John Sherbrooke. The battalion formed up into line and fired a series of disciplined volleys that shattered the French – so devastating was the fire that they were forced to retreat. Wesley was not directly responsible for their good behaviour, it was Sherbrooke, but he was overlooked and Wesley was given much of the credit that continues (in error) even to this day.

Drawing of the battle
Rijks Museum, Amsterdam

Plaque commemorating Boxtel at the site

The origins of the term ‘Tommy Atkins’ as a nickname for the British soldier is said to have originated during this fight. It is a name, perhaps today, that conjures in the mind images of the British soldier during the First World War, certainly not from an obscure clash in 1794. It is said that Wesley spotted amongst the wounded a soldier of the 33rd with a long service history. He was dying of three wounds; a sabre slash to his head, a bayonet thrust in his chest, and a bullet in a lung. The wounded private looked up at the colonel and said "It’s alright sir. It’s all in a day’s work". He then died. His name was Thomas Atkins, and his valour is said to have left an impression on the future Duke of Wellington. This may explain why the War Office chose the name ‘Tommy Atkins’ as a representative name in 1815. The Soldier’s Hand Book issued that year for both the cavalry and infantry uses the name as a generic soldier, and Wellington certainly gave his concurrence.

The term was used quite widely, and indeed rather contemptuously, in the mid-19th century. Rudyard Kipling sums this up in his poem ‘Tommy’, one of his Barrack-Room Ballards (1892) in which he contrasts the unkind way in which the common soldier was treated in peace time with the way he was praised as soon as he was needed to defend or fight for his country. ‘Tommy’, written from the soldier’s point of view, raised the public’s awareness of the need for a change of attitude towards the common soldier.
A much earlier origin can be traced back to as early as 1745 when a letter was sent from Jamaica concerning a mutiny, and when it was put down, it was mentioned that "Tommy Atkins behaved splendidly".

By the autumn, The Duke of York had been replaced by Sir William Harcourt, but with rumoured peace talks, the British position looked increasingly vulnerable. The only allied success of that year was that of the ‘Glorious First of June’, when Britain’s Lord Howe defeated a French naval squadron in the Atlantic, sinking one and capturing six French ships.

The winter of 1794 was one of the worst any one had ever imagined. Rivers froze, men died in their sleep, disease was rampant, and the soldier’s uniforms fell apart. It was an extremely harsh winter, mainly because the army was starving due to the collapsed commissariat. Troops started to steal from the local inhabitants. The officers were too lazy or indifferent to control them, and discipline amongst some units broke down completely.

By the spring of 1795, the British reached the allied Hanoverian port of Bremen and arrived home, weak, ill and emaciated. Some never fully recovered.

The Flanders Campaign demonstrated a series of weaknesses within the British Army. The Duke of York was given the role as Commander-in-Chief and brought forth a programme of reform, and it created the professional army that was to fight with much success throughout the Peninsular War.

The allies abandoned the Low Countries. Britain did attempt to undertake a second invasion of the newly proclaimed Batavian Republic until 1799 under The Duke of York, but it faltered and proved disastrous.

Notoriously, a children’s rhyme about the Holland campaign mocked the leadership of the Duke of York:

Oh, The grand old Duke of York,
He had ten thousand men;
He marched them up to the top of the hill,
And he marched them down again.

And when they were up, they were up,
And when they were down, they were down,
And when they were only half-way up,
They were neither up nor down

However, there is another satirical verse attributed to Richard Tarlton, and so was adapted where possible, the latest ‘victim’ being The Duke of York. The oldest version of the song dates from 1642:

The King of France with forty thousand men,
came up the hill and so came downe againe.

Many officers who would continue to serve their countries received their baptism of fire on the fields of Flanders. The Austrian Archduke Charles fought in Flanders, as did several of Napoleon’s marshals: Jourdan, Ney, Murat, Mortier and Bernadotte. The Prussian General Sharnhorst, another great reformer of the Napoleonic Wars, saw battle under the Duke of York.

The one good thing to come out of that debacle was that it created Britain’s professional army that was to fight with much success throughout the Peninsular War, into France and which ultimately ‘Tommy Atkins’ played a part in defeating Napoleon at Waterloo.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

David Cook’s new novella Blood on the Snow, about the British retreat during the Flanders Campaign, will be available on Amazon, Smashwords and CreateSpace from the 27th September. For more information, please visit his Facebook page ‘Liberty or Death’.