Among the mass of MSS. through which he had to wade, the valuable manuscript notes connected with the 'History of the Royal Artillery,' arranged by the late Colonel Cleaveland, deserve special mention. The skeleton of this work, however, was furnished by the old Record Books of the Battalions, deposited in the office of which the author is Superintendent.
In the succeeding volumes, the advantage of being able to use the old letter-books of the head-quarter offices of the Royal Artillery will be apparent. But there was no head-quarter staff for the Regiment up to the time where this volume finishes; so that the student has, up to that date, to depend greatly on men like General James Pattison and Forbes Macbean, who placed on record, in their diaries and letter-books, valuable and interesting information connected with the Regiment during their service, which would otherwise have been hopelessly unattainable.
The value of such a History as this, if the writer has not utterly failed in his object, cannot be better shown than in some words addressed by one of our most distinguished Artillery officers (Sir E. C. Warde) to an audience at the Royal Artillery Institution a few months ago. The family affection which he urged as the model for Regimental esprit cannot be better fostered than by reviving the stories of our predecessors' gallant deeds and scientific excellence. As a Regiment, we are now large almost to unwieldiness, and conflicting interests and tastes tend to diminish the desired sympathy and cohesion. And, as in the crowded pit of a theatre before the performance commences, there is elbowing, and crowding, and wrangling for place, yet when the curtain rises all is hushed and quiet,—there is room for every one,—and the look of selfishness is exchanged for one of interest and pleasure,—so, among our great numbers, although there must be many and diverse interests and tastes, yet we all become as one as we gaze on the great dramas in which those of us have acted who have gone before.
The words used by Sir Edward Warde were as follows:—"It has ever been our pride, as a corps, to be regarded as one family; and if one member of it, in any remote part of the world, in any way distinguished himself, it was felt universally that he had reflected credit and honour on the whole corps. And so, vice versâ. Should we not, then, extend those feelings as they apply to private families, in which members embrace different professions? One becomes a soldier, another a sailor, a third enters the Church, a fourth goes up for the bar, and so on; and if any one gain honour and distinction, all equally feel that such honour and distinction is reflected upon the whole family, and all equally glory and rejoice in it. So should it be with us. Some of us take special interest in the personnel, as it is well known to you all that I have done throughout my career; but is that any reason why I should not take an interest—aye, and a warm interest—in the success of those brother officers who pursue scientific researches, and seek honour and distinction in the pursuit of literature, and in endeavouring to raise the character of our corps as one from which highly scientific attainments are expected? No, indeed; the very reverse should be our guiding rule; and I can conceive no position more honourable than that held for so many years by our highly distinguished brother officer, Sir Edward Sabine. Let us, then, feel that we are one family, and let us rejoice in the success of every one of its members, whether they are so fortunate as to gain distinction in the field, in the siege, or in literary and scientific pursuits; and by so doing may we hope, not only to maintain our present high reputation, but to increase it as time goes on."
CHAPTER I.
The Masters-General of the Ordnance and their
Honourable Board.
There are many reasons why the Masters-General of the Ordnance must interest the student of the History of the Royal Artillery. In the days before the Regimental organization existed, all Artillery details came under the care and superintendence of the Masters-General; and to a distinguished one of their number does the Regiment owe its formation. The interest becomes deeper and closer after that date; for in addition to the general superintendence which had already existed, the Master-General had now a special interest in the Royal Artillery, in his ex officio capacity as its Colonel.
And whatever objections may be urged against the Board of Ordnance, the Royal Artillery, save in one particular, has always had abundant and special reason for regarding it with affection and gratitude. The almost fatherly care, even to the minutest details, which the Board showed to that corps over which their Master presided, was such as to awaken the jealousy of the other arms of the service. Had their government not been of that description which attempts to govern too much, not a word could be said by an Artilleryman, save in deprecation of the day when the Board of Ordnance was abolished. Unfortunately, like a parent who has failed to realize that his children have become men, the Board invariably interfered with the duties of the Artillery under whatever circumstances its officers might be situated. No amount of individual experience, no success, no distance from England, could save unhappy Artillerymen from perpetual worry and incessant legislation. The piteous protests and appeals which meet the student at every turn give some idea of the torture to which the miserable writers had been exposed. The way, also, in which the Board expressed its parental affection was often such as to neutralize its aim. It was rare indeed that any General Officer commanding an army on service made an appointment of however temporary or trivial a nature, which had to come under the approval of the Board, without having it peremptorily cancelled. Even in time of peace, the presence in every garrison of that band of conspirators, known as the Respective Officers—who represented the obstructive Board, and whose opinion carried far more weight than that of the General commanding—was enough to irritate that unhappy officer into detestation of the Honourable Board and all connected with it.
It has been declared—and by many well able to judge, including the Duke of Wellington himself—that in many respects the Board of Ordnance was an excellent national institution and a source of economy to the country. It may be admitted that in its civil capacity this was the case, and the recent tendency to revive in the army something like the Civil Branch of the Ordnance proves that this opinion is general. But, if we take a more liberal view than that of mere Artillerymen, we must see that the military division of its duties was only saved from exposure and disgrace by the fact that the bodies of troops over which it had control were generally small and scattered. The command of the Royal Artillery, now that it has attained its present numbers, could not have remained vested in the hands of a Board constituted as the Board of Ordnance was. What General Officer could have hoped to weld the three arms of his division into any homogeneous shape, while one of them could quote special privileges, special orders, and sometimes positive prohibition, from a body to which they owed a very special obedience? The Royal Artillery may indeed have lost in little comforts and perquisites by the abolition of the Board of Ordnance, but in a military point of view, in proficiency, and in popularity, the Regiment has decidedly been a gainer.
While admitting, however, the advantages, nay, the necessity of the change which has taken place, the long roll of distinguished soldiers and statesmen who have successively held the office of Master-General of the Ordnance is too precious an heirloom in the eyes of an Artilleryman to let pass without special notice and congratulation.