This is really a melancholy picture to draw of most of our soldiers; but I lament to say it is a true one, and I am also reluctantly obliged to admit, that the almost only redeeming quality which they possessed, was undaunted courage in battle. But to show that I do not make these assertions on slight grounds (and I would never have been induced to do so without an important object in view), I must beg that the words of his Grace the Duke of Wellington, upon several occasions, may be duly considered.
In the month of May, 1809, he thus, in general orders, addresses his army—"The Commander of the Forces is much concerned to be obliged again to complain of the conduct of the troops; not only have outrages been committed by whole corps, but there is no description of property of which the unfortunate inhabitants of Portugal have not been plundered by the British soldiers, whom they have received into their houses, or by stragglers from the different regiments of the army. The Commander of the Forces apprehends that the interior discipline of the regiments is materially relaxed, &c. &c."
After establishing certain regulations for the maintenance of discipline, his Grace further observes that, "the object of these visitings is to see that the soldiers conduct themselves regularly in their quarters, to ascertain if there are any complaints by their landlords, and of whom, and that the men are in their quarters, instead of marauding in search of plunder." And after calling upon officers of all ranks to perform the duties required of them, he thus concludes—"The people of Portugal deserve well of the army; they have in every instance treated the soldiers well; and there never was an army so well supplied, or which had so little excuse for plunder, if any excuse can in any case exist. But if the Commander of the Forces should not by these and other measures be enabled to get the better of these practices, he is determined to report to His Majesty, and send into garrison those corps who shall continue them, as he prefers a small but disciplined and well-conducted body of troops to a rabble, however numerous; and he is resolved not to be the instrument of inflicting upon the people of this country the miseries which result from the operations of such a body. The regulations of these orders are to be understood as applicable to the dragoons and the artillery as well as the infantry."
Again, in the month of June, 1812, we read—"The soldiers must not be allowed to quit their corps to plunder, and Assistant-Provosts attached to divisions must see that the orders of the army on this subject are not disobeyed. The Commander of the Forces is sorry to observe, that the outrages so frequently committed by the soldiers when absent from their regiments, and the disgraceful scenes which occurred upon the storming of Badajoz, have had the effect of rendering the people of the country the enemies, instead of being the friends of the army. It is the duty of all officers to prevent the soldiers from plundering, and the Commander of the Forces calls upon them to perform it. He declares his determination to punish any person who may be found plundering on any occasion, and to make the soldiers give up any money or other valuable articles that they may have plundered.
"As these acts of outrage are generally committed by parties of men, the parties shall be put under stoppages to make good the damage which they shall do upon any occasion," And His Grace concludes this order by calling upon the officers, and non-commissioned officers, to assist in putting a stop to such disgraceful crimes and irregularities.
We again read in the General Orders of the 31st of July, 1812:—
"The Commander of the Forces requests to have returns of the several men missing from their regiments in the march of the 10th instant. It is reported to the Commander of the Forces that the enemy have in their power above a hundred men, British soldiers, taken on that day, straggling in the rear, and in the flanks of the army. As the army did not march more than ten or twelve miles on that day, and the country was perfectly open, the straggling of the soldiers, and their being prisoners, must be attached to the neglect of the officers of their regiments. It is quite obvious that if the soldiers cannot be made to march in their ranks at all times, the army cannot effect a march in face of an enemy, and it is so far unfit for service, &c. &c."
I do not at present wish to give many extracts from the Duke of Wellington's orders; but another dated Paris, the 9th of August, 1815, will be sufficient to prove that the character of British soldiers had not changed from 1812 up to that period.
No. 4. "The Field Marshal receives constant complaints of the robberies committed on the road from Neuilly to Paris, and he therefore now desires that guards may be mounted by the divisions encamped at Neuilly, and in the Bois de Bologne, so as to have sentries in communication with each other from Neuilly to the barrier de L'Etoile."
I consider it also necessary to give here two division orders nearly to the same effect: