A British army, as it was,--is,--and ought to be

by James Campbell

"No. 2. As during the two years which the brigade of Guards have been under the command of the Commander of the Forces, not only no soldier has been brought to trial before a general court-martial, but none has been confined in a public guard; the Commander of the Forces desires that the attendance of the brigade, at the execution to-morrow, may be dispensed with."

This ought surely to convince the country, that though the changes I have proposed, as to the officers of the Guards, may be necessary for the general good of the army; yet the idea of disbanding such troops can only be entertained by an ignorant and absurdly prejudiced mind.

I have often wondered it has never been deemed indispensable, that an uniform system of regimental economy was adopted for the whole army. This most desirable object is by no means attained by the book of general regulations and orders; for although there is to be found in it much that is useful, still a vast deal more is required to come up to what is necessary for the guidance of a regiment in the various situations in which it may be placed; and the want of such a well digested plan is the reason we see such a difference in the state of corps; some being in every respect in the highest possible order, whilst others are the very reverse. The former is entirely owing to their being commanded by talented and judicious officers; the latter is evidently occasioned by their being under men who are themselves ignorant, inexperienced, and yet very likely self-sufficient. Many regiments have good standing orders if they were steadily acted up to; but much depending upon the will of the commanding officer, he most probably adopts something of his own, which is often injudicious, or even injurious; or as much only of the old standing orders as he thinks fit; or perhaps he allows the whole to become a dead letter. A matter of such importance as this should not be left to whim or caprice; but a simple, uniform, and sufficiently comprehensive system should be established for the whole army, for the guidance of regiments in barracks and quarters at home and abroad; upon a march, or when on board ship, or in any situation, but especially when employed in the field. If this were done, and positive orders given, that there should not be the slightest deviation from the system laid down, on the part of commanding officers, we should hear less of corps being more annoyed and teazed by one commander than another; and we should not be able to observe that remarkable difference to be met with amongst them, both in appearance and discipline.

There could not be much difficulty in effecting this most important object. The standing orders of some corps, though in general too diffuse and complicated, and requiring too many returns or reports from companies, &c., would afford ample ground-work for all useful purposes, except in what is essential for the field; in which respect, all those I have seen were totally defective; but uniformity in every point is as necessary in this as it is in military movements; and if judiciously adopted, would be found as strikingly beneficial, as the changes were from the fancies of every commanding officer to the well known "eighteen manœuvres."

Having proposed to do away with regimental pioneers, to make up efficiently for them, two men of good character should be enlisted—but that only for service in the field, to take charge of and lead a bat-horse each, to carry on well fitted pack-saddles a few of such useful tools as might be required for ordinary military purposes. The surgeon, at such times, also requires a man and a horse of this kind for his instruments and medicines; and so do the pay-master and adjutant, for the conveyance of money, books, and various indispensable papers and returns. These ought always to march in the rear of the corps to which they belong. Thus, by doing away both with generally indifferent musicians and misappropriated pioneers, I would save to each regiment about thirty soldiers, or about half the effectives of a company of the present day.

It will surprise those who know nothing of war, and even many military men, when I mention how many soldiers are lost, I may say, to the service, taken out of the ranks of corps to be employed as non-combatant clerks, servants or bat-men, horse-keepers or grooms, &c. The head-quarters and staff sweep off numbers in this way beyond belief. The general officers and staff of divisions and brigades, including engineer officers, staff surgeons, commissariat, &c. if allowed, quite as bad. Then come field officers and regimental staff, and perhaps forty captains and subalterns per regiment, all of whom must be supplied; a few with two, for taking care of their chargers and pack-horses or mules, and all with at least one each to look after pack-horses for the conveyance of baggage; most of it probably indispensable, if it is expected that these gentlemen are to be kept efficient. But there is another demand of a man per company for the care of pack-horses for the carriage of tents, &c. as wheel carriages for such purposes ought never to be allowed upon the line of march.

For these various occupations, I have no hesitation in saying, many hundreds of soldiers are taken away from where they should be, and corps are thus deprived of their best men, and greatly weakened before they come into contact with an enemy.

This must appear almost incredible to many good people, who will naturally be surprised what Mr. Hume, that mirror of economists, could have been about; but who, they may depend upon it, invariably contrives to have, at last, the candle burnt at both ends. But how indignant they must now be to hear, probably for the first time, that they were obliged to pay for such a number of soldiers, who only made a figure upon paper to the disadvantage of the general's reputation who commanded the army in the field, who was supposed to have had, perhaps, 30,000 men to act with, whereas in reality he could not bring into action 25,000; and when a battle took place, there were a few more drains from the ranks besides the killed and wounded; for the latter and sick required attendants at the several hospital stations, and also on the road to them; and how often have I, as a Brigade-major of the 3d division, had to encounter the cross looks of commanding officers of regiments, when I could not avoid calling upon them for officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers, for such purposes, when the enemy had, perhaps, sufficiently thinned their ranks.

I would suggest that money should be allowed, and, if possible, no soldiers whatever for any of these purposes at home or abroad, and certainly not upon service; and even at home it would be advisable to make officers a proper allowance for private, or non-combatant servants, so that an end might at once be put to the custom of taking away soldiers from their duties to be employed as such. All servants should however, be regularly enlisted as soldiers are at present, but for a limited period only; and they should be bound to accompany their masters abroad, or upon any kind of service; and commanding officers of regiments should have the power of discharging, at their master's request, these servants if found guilty of bad or improper conduct, and of enlisting others to replace them, of course, such servants come under martial law; but what I have proposed, in this respect, is nothing new, for does not history tell us, of non-combatant servants being of old attached to armies; and allow me to ask, with what intention is it, that officers receive at the commencement of a campaign, and at fixed periods afterwards, bat and forage money? If the sums granted are insufficient—which they undoubtedly are—for providing servants, field equipments, pack-horses, &c. more should be given, as it must be admitted, that they are all indispensable. It could never, however, have been intended, that the number of muskets and bayonets in the ranks, were to be so much reduced, as I have shown is the case, to supply men for the purposes enumerated, when by a trifling comparative increase of the expenses of a war, our armies could be kept efficient, and in such a complete state, as to enable a General to carry it on with that vigour, which is always so essential towards its successful and speedy termination.

But the necessity of what I have just recommended being adopted, appeared in so strong a light, to one of our best officers, that we read in a general order, dated Tholen, 20th of December, 1813, as follows:—