The division went through several evolutions, and performed them in a very superior manner indeed; the line marching and the echelon movements, for which the 88th, under Wallace, was so celebrated, seemed to surprise the General; he however said little. Once he turned to Wallace and said, in rather a disagreeable tone, “Very well, sir.” The parade was about to be dismissed, and the General about to return to his quarters, when two marauders of the 88th were brought up in charge of a detachment of Portuguese militia. They had stolen a goat on their march up to join their regiment. The complaint was at once made to Picton, who ordered the men to be tried by a drum-head court-martial on the spot. This was accordingly done; the men were found guilty, and flogged on the moment in presence of the General.
This act was considered by all as not good taste in General Picton on his first appearance amongst his troops; the offence committed by the soldiers could have been as well punished in front of their own regiment as in the presence of the entire division; and, besides this, there was no necessity for the General’s remaining to witness the punishment. This act on his part caused those who had formed a favourable opinion from his appearance to waver, and the word “tyrant” was more than muttered by many of the division.
So soon as the two soldiers were removed after having received the number of lashes it was thought necessary to inflict, the General addressed the brigade in language not of that bearing which an officer of his rank should use, for turning to the 88th he said, “You are not known in the army by the name of 'Connaught Rangers,' but by the name of Connaught footpads!” He also made some remarks on their country and their religion.
Language like this was enough to exasperate the lowest soldier, equally with the Colonel, who had done so much for the regiment during his command; and Colonel Wallace, directly the parade was over, waited on General Mackinnon, who commanded the brigade, and requested that he would go to General Picton, and intimate to him that he conceived the abusive language which he had made use of towards the 88th was not just to the corps, or to himself as commanding officer of it.
Mackinnon was a strict disciplinarian, but a man of an extremely mild temper, and he felt greatly annoyed at what had taken place. He readily complied with Colonel Wallace’s request, and received for answer from Picton, that he would remove those impressions when he again had an opportunity of assembling the division.
A long period elapsed before the division was again brought together, and when it was Picton neglected, or perhaps forgot, to fulfil the promise he had made. Immediately after the parade Wallace reminded General Mackinnon of what had before passed on the subject, and Mackinnon, for the second time, waited on Picton. The latter requested that Wallace should call upon him, which was immediately complied with, and then took place a memorable interview.
When Wallace reached Picton’s quarters he found the General alone; a long conversation took place, which Colonel Wallace never repeated to me, nor was it necessary that he should, because my rank did not entitle me to such disclosure, but I have reason to think that it was very animated, and what I am now about to write I have from under Colonel (now General) Wallace’s own hand. It is as follows:—
“After a conversation which it is here unnecessary to recapitulate, General Picton paused for a little and said, 'Well, will you dine with me on ——?' I replied, 'Most certainly, General, I shall be happy to do so.' When I went to dinner on the day appointed, I found almost all the superior officers of Picton’s division, and the troops quartered in the vicinity of Pinhel, assembled. General Picton then addressed himself to Colonel Mackinnon, commanding the brigade, and said, 'I understand that Colonel Wallace has taken offence at some observations made by me relative to the corps he commands, when addressing the division. I am happy to find that I have been misinformed as to their conduct for some time past; and I feel it but justice to him and them, to say that I am satisfied every attention has been paid to the conduct and appearance of the corps. I certainly did hear, on my way up to the army, of irregularities that had been committed, but I am happy to say that I have had every occasion to be satisfied with the general conduct of the corps since my joining the division.' I made no reply, but bowed to the General. Dinner was announced, and General Picton came up to me and asked me to sit beside him at dinner. There ought always to be a deference given to a general of division by an officer inferior in rank, and under these circumstances I considered General Picton’s conduct to have been arranged in a very gentlemanlike and handsome manner. From that period General Picton and myself were always on the best terms, and though from prejudice he often signified that he suspected the Connaught Boys were as ready for mischief as any of their neighbours, he always spoke of them to me as good soldiers while I was with his division.”
Thus ended the matter, and I never knew or heard that Picton ever again made use of a harsh expression towards the regiment; indeed his biographer says that he often gave them “unqualified praise.” Perhaps he did, but for nearly four years that Picton commanded the 3rd Division, not one officer of the 88th was ever promoted through his recommendation, though it is well known in the army that many deserved it.
Shortly after this period a laughable circumstance took place between Picton and a soldier of the 88th, which put the General in great good-humour, and he often repeated the story as a good joke. He was riding out one day, accompanied by his aide-de-camp, near the river Coa, when he saw, on the opposite bank of the river, a man of the Connaught Rangers with a huge goat on his back.