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

by James Campbell

"No. 1. The Commander of the Forces being desirous to render the army for the field as effective as possible, directs that all soldiers acting as servants to officers, shall always appear in uniform, and carry their arms and accoutrements on the march. The servants of regimental officers to be in the ranks on the march, and the Commander of the Forces calls upon the General and other officers in command strictly to inforce this order."

"No. 2. With a view to diminish, as much as possible, requisitions on regiments for soldiers as servants, General Sir Thomas Graham authorizes any officer who is entitled by the usage of the service to appear mounted and keep a horse, to hire a servant as bat-man in lieu of a soldier, for which he will be allowed at the rate of 4s. 6d. (quite insufficient) per week and a ration; but it is distinctly understood, that the allowance is not to be extended to any persons attached to this army, who, by the custom of the service, are not entitled to soldiers to wait upon them, and whenever it is drawn, an effective soldier is to be thereby restored to the army."

"No. 6. The Commander of the Forces strongly recommends to all general officers of the army to return immediately any bat-men they may have to their corps, and to direct their staff to do the same, at all events no officer of any rank is to employ more than one soldier of this army to attend upon him, whether he acts as his own personal servant or bat-man."

"No. 7. Field officers of regiments are entitled each to a servant and bat-man, and of course to draw the allowance for each, when men from the ranks are not employed."

"No. 9 Announces that such servants come under martial law."

I believe that I could not any where, more conveniently or properly, introduce some observations, I consider it necessary to make upon the baggage of an army in the field, and upon some other matters connected with it, than at the close of this chapter, and I feel convinced that experienced officers will allow, that is a difficult subject to enter upon. It must, however, have been obvious to many, how much the quantity of baggage gradually increases as a campaign advances. Various articles are accumulated in all sorts of ways, but chiefly by servants upon the line of march, in the towns they pass through, in the field of battle, and above all at sieges.

We unluckily have many wants, almost unknown to the people of other countries, arising out of our early habits of indulging in many comforts; indeed, so many and so productive are they of enjoyment, that in spite of what some philosophers may say to the contrary, we cannot easily divest ourselves of the remembrance of them, for with most of us they too frequently become indispensables, or in other words, they are apt to make us rather selfish. But a General who may wish to keep such wants within reasonable bounds, or who is determined not to be overwhelmed with baggage, followers, and animals of burden, must be wholely uninfluenced by any other feeling than that of the good of the public service, and must cut off, at once, with an unsparing hand, all superfluities of every description; and he must endeavour to keep the whole under due restrictions. All the odium of this ought not, however, to be thrown upon the Commander of any army about to take the field, as it must, to a certainty, render him unpopular with many; but it would be much wiser that a British army should have, at all times for its guidance, established regulations, which no one could, on any account, be allowed to deviate from.

Selfish feelings never, I believe, show themselves more strongly than amongst landsmen on board ship, and amongst too many men in the field. Some, I have no doubt, have seen individuals retire to a snug corner, to enjoy unobserved something good which they had in their haversacks, lest they should be obliged to offer part of it to hungry comrades. Others have been known to sleep sound, warm, and dry in their tents, having probably offered shares of them, but in such a way to the officers of their own companies, that even they could not accept of their liberality, and preferred reposing at the roots of trees, or behind hedges, exposed to the pitiless storm. My only object in alluding to such trifling matters is, in the first instance, to show that these things do sometimes occur, and, moreover, to try to inculcate, if I can, into such badly brought up men, at least a little feeling for the wants of others. Yet I would not leave it in their power thus to enjoy their comforts—at all events in such situations, for I would make the officers of a company live and sleep in the same tent or hut, and be partakers of the same fare whatever it might be.

A regimental mess at home or abroad, is admirably calculated to keep up respectability, by insuring a proper degree of genteel economy; but of this the officers of corps cannot avail themselves in the field, and then it becomes requisite to act upon established regulations. The officers of a company should be made to have in common, a tent of a particular size and shape, and they should all three contribute towards its purchase, as well as towards the procuring of two horses or mules, which they should be obliged to keep. I would also fix upon a trunk or rather a portmanteau for each, of a certain size and shape. One of the horses should carry, on a well-fitted pack-saddle, the two subaltern's portmanteau, and the tent between them. The other horse should carry the captain's portmanteau, which might be a very little larger than those allowed to subalterns, but care should be taken that its size was also fixed upon; and this should be balanced upon the horse's back by a canteen (bought also amongst them) for the use of the mess, and between them a bag of a certain size, made of some water-proof stuff, could be placed, in which might be conveyed some useful articles for general comfort, especially such as might be considered necessary, when the country, the seat of war, could afford but few supplies.

It appears to me that the officers of a company could not possibly contrive to get on, for any length of time, with less than those two animals; but in the portmanteau should be carried, besides their clothes and a blanket each, their mattresses made air tight, so as to be inflated when necessary, and which can be rolled up into very small compass, when not wanted for use; and such mattresses not only make excellent beds, but also secure those who use them completely from damp from the ground. This is all that could or ought to be allowed to company officers in the field; and positive orders should prevent any other article whatever from being put upon the horses, as all good purposes are at once defeated if they are permitted to be overloaded; and even the private servants or bat-men should be made to carry their own knapsacks, in place of fastening them, as they will always try to do, upon the loads. I at the same time conclude, that the baggage of a company, regiment, brigade and division, marches in proper order, and if one overloaded or sore backed animal knocks up, the whole is most annoyingly and injuriously detained in consequence upon the road. In any arrangement, however, of this kind, I should expect that the baggage and animals allowed to field officers and regimental staff, and to commissariat and medical officers, &c. were likewise strictly brought under regulations, and the name of the owner, or the number of the troop, company, and corps, being conspicuously painted on a water-deck or cover, to go over the load of each animal, any irregularity, and the individual who might occasion it, could be at once ascertained.