It was a year of note for England. War was going on in the East and in the West, and success had attended the English arms in both. Europe was bristling with armed men, whom the genius and the dread of Napoleon had produced; and in England alone, besides a gigantic regular army, 325,000 volunteers had rallied to protect the soil against a not improbable invasion. The cost of the army that year was over fourteen millions, in addition to which over four millions were voted for the Ordnance; and no less than four and a half millions more for the support of the militia and volunteers fell upon the groaning taxpayers. Nearly everything in England was taxed, and this year saw the taxes increased. A man's pension, office, personal estate, and everything that could be called a luxury was heavily mulct; if a legacy were left him, it shrank wofully in the process of reaching him; his profession or trade was made but another excuse for picking his pocket; if he smoked, the tax-gatherer waited round the corner; if he took snuff, the same relentless visitor called upon him; and yet, after all, the revenue of the country fell far short of its expenditure. The horrified fund-holder saw Consols quoted at 58, and yet Parliament borrowing right and left to make the two ends meet. Twenty-four millions were borrowed by annuities, and twelve millions by Exchequer bills; and driven to his wits' end by want of funds, the Chancellor of the Exchequer started lotteries to raise the wind.
A year of note in England. It was the year when Trafalgar was fought, and a country wept in the hour of victory for a life that could not be spared. A year when men were Titans; a fit year for a soldier to live; no unfit one in which he could die who had done to the very last his duty.
In March, 1805, the old General passed to his rest. Perhaps, as he lay dying, his mind wandered to the Far West, where so important a part of his career had been passed; to the Hudson, bound then in the grip of winter; to the trees at West Point waving their naked arms in the wind, as if praying for summer; to New York spreading in peace as it never could have spread in war; to that great country, destined to be greater yet, but ah! never to be so pure as in those days of its infancy as a Republic, whose people were listening—even as he died—to the words addressed to them by their new President, words of soberness and peace, such as Washington himself would have loved.
And so the old man went to sleep.
CHAPTER XXIX.
Conclusion of the War.
Before summing up the Artillery share in the American War of Independence, a glance may be taken at the domestic life of the Regiment at this time. From the date when the Regimental feeling first developed itself, there has always been a body of officers whom taste, opportunity, or ability has singled out to express the hopes, schemes, or resolutions, which may have existed among the officers at large for the welfare of the Corps. The centre of the Regimental life which has found its expression in such men has always been Woolwich. In the earlier days of the Regiment this was natural, as its head-quarters and its commanding officer were at that station: in later times, when the Regiment became too large for the supervision of one man, the head-quarters of the Battalions were concentrated there; and after the appointment of a Deputy-Adjutant-General of the Royal Artillery, his office remained at Woolwich for many years, the centre of administration of the whole corps. The large force of Artillery always at Woolwich, the manufacturing departments, and the numerous Regimental establishments, such, for example, as the Royal Artillery Institution, and the Department of Artillery studies, conspire at the present day to render Woolwich more than ever the centre of the Regiment's intellectual and domestic life.
In the correspondence between officers at out-stations and at head-quarters, at various times in the Regiment's history, may be read much that is interesting of Regimental schemes and wishes. The great domestic event during the American war was undoubtedly the formation of the Invalid Battalion, thus ridding the four service Battalions of their invalid companies, and giving them effective men instead. The promotion given by the augmentation gave also great satisfaction to the officers, and in no place was it hailed with more delight than in America. Although the Invalid Battalion was not formed until 1779, its formation had been part of a scheme which had entered into the consideration of the thoughtful officers of the Regiment for some years. In a letter from General Pattison, at New York, to Captain Blomefield, at Woolwich, the scheme is thus alluded to. "I have just time, and that is all, to acknowledge and thank you for your obliging communication of the new arrangement for the Corps of Artillery. I began to despair of that plan, after lying dormant so long, ever taking place. You will, I am sure, do me the justice to believe that its being brought to light again, and carried into execution, affords me the truest satisfaction, and I very sincerely congratulate you upon the event. I hope, too, it is a prelude to something still better, and that the next step will be to form the four Battalions into as many Regiments, to consist of two Battalions each; and then I think the young officers need not be very solicitous to get into the Line." This is a very interesting quotation; and shows that the idea which has frequently been entertained, although happily never carried out, of dividing the Regiment into small Regiments with independent promotion, is at least a century old. Division of a different description may soon be necessary; a more thorough separation of the Garrison Artillery from the Horse and Field Artillery; but a division into several Regiments would have few good results, and many evil. That the division, which it is said above may become necessary, has never been effected, is demonstrative of the strength of the Regimental feeling, which could tolerate so many anomalies, rather than admit the small end of the wedge of separation. As science progresses, Siege and Garrison Artillery wander farther away every day from the Field branch of the Arm; and the difficulty of ensuring the necessary proficiency in officers who are changed repeatedly from one service to another wholly distinct, as well as the natural tendencies of young officers towards the mounted branches, may some day compel the issue of the long deferred edict of divorce. That such divorce is practicable without infringing on the Regimental system is as firmly believed by those who have given the subject their consideration, as that the duties of the various branches would be better performed, were the officers to realize that they would be retained in their performance during the whole of their professional lives. Embarrassing details, and individual hardships, might terrify a military reformer from undertaking the task; but such hardships are inevitable in every reform, and it is the duty of a conscientious and statesmanlike reformer to master details, instead of being mastered by them.
A century ago, the anxiety for a division of the Regiment which animated not a few thoughtful officers was inspired by the longing to create a promotion in the junior ranks, which would stimulate zeal, and remove the despair which was creeping over them. Not a few subalterns during the American War, who distinguished themselves, asked and obtained as their reward commissions in the Line. The elder officers might well become anxious, and look hungrily for any scheme which would deter their younger comrades from abandoning a service to which they did honour. And in this anxiety we may read an explanation of the almost undue delight which the creation of the Invalid Battalion, and eight additional service companies, with the consequent promotion, produced.
Not that in the Fourth Battalion there was not another minor reason for rejoicing. Its head-quarter staff had accompanied the Battalion almost from the commencement of the War; and there was no one at home to give the same attention to the recruiting, as would have been paid by the Battalion's own staff. The creation of two new service companies, to remain at Woolwich as a Depôt for the companies abroad, would, it was hoped, ensure more care in recruiting, and, as General Pattison wrote ironically, "my friends will not be put to the trouble of sending me any more drafts of picked men." The recruiting accounts for the various companies would also be expedited, for under the existing arrangement it too often happened, as the General wrote, that "the Agents have been prevented by more important affairs from bringing to any settlement the concerns of those, who are at 3000 miles' distance."
But there were more pleasing subjects of correspondence between Woolwich and the out-stations than recruiting or promotion. There was a genuine desire springing up in the hearts of the more thoughtful officers for a more scientific training, a desire which was daily acquiring strength, and whose mere existence ensured success; for those who sought it for others, endeavoured by their own exertions to secure it for themselves. At this time in the Regiment's history the feeling attained strength and certainty that to be a scientific corps was as high an aim as to win battles. Armed science was felt to be the aim of study. Something higher than mere gallantry, something more durable than brilliancy or dash, was felt to be necessary in officers of Artillery. Inventive genius was encouraged in the professional field; individual talent was coaxed and rewarded; and to the ordinary Regimental esprit, without which a military life would be a mere Valley of Dry Bones, was added scientific enthusiasm. There was, doubtless, much haziness as to ways and means; much uncertainty as to the details of the closer alliance which it was felt should exist between the corps and the scientific world; but there was enthusiasm, and a readiness to employ any aids already existing, which would certainly ensure success. The foundation of the Royal Military Repository; the establishment of such Government works as those at Waltham Abbey; the closer connection between the Royal Laboratory and the Regiment by the appointment of Captain Congreve as the Controller of the former,—all combined to give increased life and strength to the scientific tendencies which might otherwise have languished. The feeling which was to find strong and eloquent expression from distinguished, although unprofessional lips, nearly a century later, in the same Woolwich where it had been born, was certainly, albeit dimly, in existence then. With what a ring did the words now to be quoted echo in the old birthplace of the Regiment! How grandly did they give shape and consistency to the dreams which for a hundred years had been haunting those to whom their profession was dear!