“Ay, there have indeed; but soldiers say, ‘every bullet has its billet.’ The English army, from the time Lord Wellington was appointed commander in Portugal, to the peace, is supposed to have sustained the following loss.
| In 1808 | fell, officers | 69 | men | 1015 |
| 1809 | 243 | 4688 | ||
| 1810 | 7 | 924 | ||
| 1811 | 459 | 7384 | ||
| 1812 | 816 | 11030 | ||
| 1813 | 1025 | 14966 | ||
| 1814 | 400 | 4791 | ||
| 1815 | 717 | 9485 | ||
| 3807 | 54283 |
“This account does not include the Brunswickers, Hanoverians, Portuguese, nor Spaniards.”
“It seems a wonder there were no more killed. One would expect half the soldiers and sailors that went into battle would be killed.”
“No, that is not the case. At Salamanca there was one soldier in ninety killed; at Vittoria, one in seventy-four; and at the battle of Waterloo, one in forty. At the battle of the Nile there was one sailor killed in thirty-six; at Trafalgar, one in forty-one, and at Copenhagen one in thirty-nine.”
“How often do soldiers get leave to go home and see their friends?”
“Not very often. If they could go when they liked the ranks would be rather thinner than they are. A poor widow that I once knew, whose son was a soldier, expected him home on a furlough—day after day passed, and he did not come; at last a soldier entered her dwelling. Seeing the uniform, the poor woman sprang forwards: alas! it was not her son, but a comrade who had brought her the news of his death. The commanding-officer can grant a furlough, or leave of absence, to non-commissioned officers and soldiers when he pleases, and as long as he pleases, but he is not frequently applied to. If a furlough is obtained by a soldier from his captain for twenty days, it will be some time before it comes to his turn again, for only two men are allowed to be absent from a troop or company, unless in particular cases, at the same time. The muster-roll is kept with great care.”
“What is the muster-roll—a list to call over the names of the soldiers?”
“I will tell you. A muster-roll is a list of the officers and men in every regiment or company, by which they are called over, receive their pay, and are otherwise inspected. When you hear of a soldier having lost his name on the muster-roll, it means that he is dead. If an officer makes a false return, such as allowing the name of a soldier to stand on the muster-roll as being with his regiment when he is absent from it, he is liable to be cashiered, that is, dismissed the service.”
“That would be a very severe punishment to an officer, but as the men are punished when they do wrong, the officers ought not to escape.”