The American Sharpe Read online

  My dear father,

  I take the opportunity of writing by a Mr Campbell who is going to Georgia and is to see yourself. When I wrote you last I was beginning to despair about my commission, but last Saturday I was to my great joy gazetted a 2nd Lieutenant in the 95th Regiment of Foot & which I must join in three weeks, as only one month is allowed from the day an officer is gazetted and I have been gazetted a week.4 You will doubtless have heard before this will reach you, the unfortunate state of the Gairdner’s [Edwin’s] affairs, we have not heard lately how they are coming on, they talked at first as if they would be able to accommodate matters, but Mr Gibbon thinks they must become bankrupts. Mr Harvey suffers by it so much so that when my aunt wrote to him requesting him to pay £200 of yours which was in his hands for my use, which of course we particularly want at present. He wrote word that he could not pay it at present without great inconvenience on account of the loss he had sustained through the Gairdners. My aunt wrote him immediately stating my appointment to a lieutenancy in the 95 [th] so that I hope it will be forthcoming. They say they have more goods in Trinidad than sufficient to cover all my Uncle Edwin’s affairs with them, so far lucky. My aunt will doubtless have written you that my uncle having sent over bills to the amount of £1,500 had fortunately consigned them to Mr Gibbon. My Aunt Moodie’s5 sudden arrival in England astonished us all, my aunt is very much vexed and grieved at her arrival under such circumstances as well as my Uncle Gordon. She is living at present with my uncle, she seems perfectly contented with her situation and entirely unconcerned at the state of her affairs. I dined with the Gairdners yesterday, they seem in much better spirits than I have seen them in since their present embarrassments. I sincerely wish they may be able to recover their affairs, although by all accounts Mr Graham, one of their creditors is very much incensed against them as they have it is said, behaved very shabbily to him. My aunt has been very much advised to go out of town6 this summer on account of her own health and her son’s. She has made several attempts but has given up all thoughts of it now, she is however going down to Mrs Gibbon for a week to a place they have near Epping Forest for the summer and is going to leave her children under Mrs Bell’s care while she is away. I think it is a pity she could not go somewhere and stay longer, for her health certainly requires it. I am very busy at present, I have but three weeks left of the month I am allowed to equip myself. I am learning dancing every day for it will never do for an officer not to be able to dance. I have been learning drawing in which I think I have greatly improved. I do not know whether I ever heard anything with so much pleasure as when I heard that the long expected commission was come at last. My real wish is to distinguish myself, of which I have no doubt I shall do if I have but an opportunity. I belong to the second battalion, some of which are abroad and some a[t] Hythe on the coast of Kent. As I am the junior officer I shall have to join those that are at Hythe but there is no knowing how soon I may have to [go abroad?] which of all things I ardently desire. It is a regiment that sees an immense deal of service as it is the only one of the kind in this country. I will let you know all the particulars of it when I join. In the mean [time] believe me my dear father, your dutiful & affectionate son, James P. Gairdner.

  His father replied in early 1811, offering sage advice on controlling his finances and avoiding debt. He acknowledged that James would be unable to live entirely upon his army wages of 4 shillings and 5 pence per day7 and arranged to supply funds which he could access through his aunt, but he cautioned against profligacy. He enquired about his regiment and how he was settling in and also put out a tentative offer to supply the funds to purchase a first lieutenancy (equivalent to lieutenant in the line regiments). This would require the sum of £550 to cover the official purchase price, however his second lieutenancy could be sold for £400, therefore the sum required for the step in rank would actually only amount to £150.

  He also encouraged James to undertake lessons in French, Greek and Latin, to aid both his education and his linguistic abilities when abroad. Finally his father mentioned the tensions already building in the United States against Great Britain despite the constant loss of American shipping to French privateers. The ‘Louisiana Purchase8’ by which Napoleon agreed to sell 828,000 square miles of territory for fifty million Francs ($11.25 million) and the cancellation of debts worth a further 18 million Francs ($3.75 million)9 had eased relations with France. Napoleon’s Berlin decree of 1806 now restricted neutral ships trading with Britain or her allies. Given that the Royal Navy ruled the oceans it had little real effect; but the British retaliatory ‘Order in Council’ of 1807 forbidding neutrals trading with Napoleon’s Empire was enforced with much greater rigour; added to which the Royal Navy’s habit of searching American crews for British nationals, and given the difficulties of determining between British and American nationals only a few decades after they had been one, led to many Americans being forcibly enlisted into the Royal Navy. This caused severe aggravation for American shipping and eventually led to war in 1812 despite the Order in Council having been belatedly revoked two days before.

  Light infantry rifle training was, as presumed by his father, markedly different from that of the line infantry. No long lines of red coats standing shoulder to shoulder and marching in formation here; the rifles were taught to fight in pairs, they skirmished in front of the line infantry, one firing whilst the other remained loaded. Their role was to prevent the enemy skirmishers approaching the British line and breaking up the cohesion of enemy attacks by picking off their high value targets with accurate long distance fire. The severe losses of officers, N.C.O.s, buglers and drummers would seriously degrade the command and control of enemy units. This was their role, requiring independent thinking, in a highly dangerous and rapidly changing situation.

  20th February 181110

  To Lieutenant J P Gairdner, 95[th] Regiment, Hythe Barracks, Kent

  My dear boy,

  Since writing you [on] 1st November I have received your favours of 10th September & 15th October [the latter no longer extant] & am very happy to hear you are so much pleased with your profession & that your brother officers are so agreeable. Hythe must be a pleasant station I should suppose in summer, it is not a great way in a direct line from your old residence at Broadstairs. The exercise in your regiment differs I suppose considerably from those of the line, are you practised to fire at a mark? What is your uniform and arms? As money is very scarce with me at present [I] am glad to hear you find living cheaper than you expected in the army & that £100 will answer in addition to your pay.11 The mess of a regiment must indeed be managed in a very frugal manner as there are many officers in the army that have nothing whatever but their pay to subsist on. I shall however send by the present opportunity to your aunt (as you may have been removed) a bill for £150, but there is no occasion for you to spend it all in the year but let the £50 remain for next year for fear of remittances not coming in time as you must not get into debt. You must also recollect that I cannot send you a remittance until about this time of the year when my crop gets to market. I hope as my land is now getting into good order to be able in 2 or 3 years to allow you whatever you wish without any inconvenience. I must endeavour to have money ready to purchase for you a first lieutenancy I suppose, what will it cost?

  At all events it is better to begin frugal, but by no means mean or stingy, depend on it my son, that it is a very difficult matter for a person to retrench his expenses, many a one is turned by being too expensive at the outset in life, goes on because he is ashamed to retrench. Make it a point never to borrow money, or lend it if possible, it is a common & a true saying that a man often loses his money & his friend by lending. You are young and must be very particular in your conduct. Let me know how the mess is managed, what it costs & everything regarding you or your manner of living is interesting to me. Your aunt writes me that you was very fond of the flute, it will be an amusement particularly in the long winter nights. I do not know whether you understa
nd French or not, if you do not, I should wish you to learn it as soon as possible, you ought also to look into your Greek & Latin books now & then that you may not forget altogether what you have been so long learning.

  I have not heard anything of Robert Walker12 lately, where is he & what ship is he in? Adam you would hear long ago got married, he lives about 4 miles from me, is well and doing very well.13 Public matters are not going on well at all, the ruling party are entirely in the French interest although Bonaparte has been plundering, seizing & burning all American property he could lay his hands on for some years, they want to involve this country in a war with Great Britain if possible. Let me hear from you often. I remain, my dear boy, your most affectionate father, James Gairdner.

  James replied to his father in February, acknowledging that he had made the right decision becoming a soldier. The pastimes of the officers were more refined than perhaps would be expected, playing the flute and chess being two popular activities. Regarding purchasing a further step in rank, James explained to his father how the system worked. A two week leave of absence, which he hoped to extend, had allowed him to visit his aunt in London and he updated his father on family news.

  To James Gairdner esq, Augusta, Georgia14

  [Undated but probably written mid February, and marked ‘Answered 26th May 1811’]

  My dear father,

  I am now in London on leave of absence which I obtained for a fortnight, and am staying with my aunt in Northumberland Street. I continue to like the army and to rejoice more & more every day that I chose it for a profession. The greatest part of the 95th is in Portugal and the second battalion to which I belong has seven companies at home, the other three are in Portugal and the seven that are at home will most likely be sent out early in the spring. I sincerely hope they may, there is nothing I would like so much as to be sent to Portugal, or indeed on any active service whatever. The officers are all pleasant gentlemanly men and I am never at a loss for amusement when with the regiment. I practise the flute a good deal, I began to learn it about a year ago, I have had no lessons or assistance of any kind, I have made I think considerable progress. I also play at chess which is a very military game and which I am very fond of, there are many of the officers that play pretty well, Colonel Wade15 plays very well.

  I wrote this morning to ask Colonel Wade to extend my leave of absence another fortnight. The tenth of March is the day on which the general leave of absence expires and all officers must return by that day and during the whole summer no officer is allowed to go on leave of absence except on particular business. If we are not sent on service before the summer which I hope and believe we shall be; General Murray16 who commands the garrison of Hythe will have pretty frequently field days at Shorncliffe17 which is about two miles from Hythe, at least that was the case last summer, he is very fond of military show and parade. My aunt wishes that I would inform you of all the regulations concerning purchasing of commissions. There is a quarterly return made to the War Office by the commanding officer of the regiment of all officers who are able to purchase and where their money is to be had when called for and whatever step is open for purchase cannot be sold out of the regiment if there is anybody in it who has given in his name for purchase. The senior officer whose name is down for purchase of course gets the step. The price of my next step is one hundred pounds and as the money that Mr Harvey has of yours is not forthcoming immediately, Mr Gibbon has drawn a bill upon [you] for the money and I will at the next quarterly return give a reference to Mr Gibbon. The next step after that, which is to be a captain of a company I must have been in the army three years before I can be promoted to it; the purchase of that is one thousand pounds. The regulations with regard to that are similar to those above mentioned. The promotion in the Ninety Fifth has been for the last two years very quick, there is a talk of raising another battalion to it18, if that happens it will be a great help to me.

  My friends in London much the same as usual, my Aunt Gairdner is not very well, she talks of going out of town this summer, I hope she may be able to accomplish it for she as well as her family stand very much in need of country air and exercise. My Aunt Gordon has been confined to her room for some days with a cold. My Uncle Gordon is I think better than when I saw him last. The Gairdners are rather in low spirits but good health. I have not heard from Scotland lately, my grandmother and the family at Wooden19 were very well when I heard last. [In] your last you gave good accounts of your crops which I am happy to hear. In my last which I hope you have, I mentioned that I did not require such a large allowance as I at first expected. Remember me to all friends and believe me my dear father, your dutiful son, James P Gairdner.

  Six months later and everything had changed. Because of his rise up the seniority list following losses in the war, James had been transferred into the first battalion which was serving with Wellington’s army in Spain and it was not long before he was ordered out to the peninsula to join them.

  Chapter 3

  Journey Out to the Battalion

  James eagerly prepared his field kit and camp equipment for the hardships of campaigning in Spain and Portugal. The 1st Battalion 95th had been involved in the Peninsular War since the early days, arriving in Spain as part of Sir John Moore’s corps in 1808. It had participated in the advance into Spain and subsequent dreadful retreat in winter blizzards to Corunna, where a pyrrhic victory allowed the army to embark on ships to sail back to Britain in early 1809. It returned the following summer and as part of Brigadier General Robert Craufurd’s famous Light Division, and was force-marched to Talavera, where it unfortunately arrived only just too late to participate in the British victory. However, although victorious in battle, the British army was forced to retire by superior French forces threatening to cut off their line of retreat. The battalion had then fully participated in the slow retreat of 1810 towards Lisbon including serving with distinction at the Battle of Bussaco and then moved behind the impenetrable chain of forts known as the Lines of Torres Vedras, whilst the superior French army of Marshal Masséna slowly starved outside. During the subsequent retreat of the French, the 1/95th played a significant role in harassing them back into Spain.

  Reinforcements for the French army stemmed the rot and a cagey war of manoeuvre led to the bitterly fought battles of Fuentes d’Oñoro in the north and Albuera in the south. The campaigning season of 1811 ended with Viscount, later Duke of, Wellington’s army poised on the Portuguese border but with almost all of the major border fortresses in French hands and a large French army in its front.

  It was whilst both armies rested in their quarters during the winter of 1811 and prepared for the upcoming campaign that James Gairdner prepared to sail with a cadre of reinforcements for the battalion. But far more importantly for our understanding of James’ personal war, he thankfully began a daily journal, which he kept up with an almost religious fervour for the next five years.

  November 1811

  14th1 Having been removed from the 2nd Battalion to the 1st and having obtained leave to join that part of the 1st Battalion in the peninsula,2 I embarked this day on board the Leopard 50 guns, Captain Dillon, for Lisbon. Joined the lieutenants’ mess.

  15th Went on shore [in Portsmouth] to make some purchases & returned on board the same evening.

  16th Remained at anchor at Spithead.

  17th Got under weight [sic] about three o’clock this afternoon, we sailed in company with the Diadem 60 under Captain Phillimore3 who was commodore of the squadron & four frigates of which I forget the names.4

  18th – 25th We continued making very good progress all the time. The weather was fine & the wind for the most part fair & plenty of it.5

  James was blessed with a very short passage of only nine days to Lisbon, but the voyage was certainly long enough to convince him that a career in the navy would not have suited him at all.

  26th Anchored this day about three o’clock p.m. in the Tagus opposite the packet stairs Lisbon. I had an opportunity
during this voyage of learning more of the life, manners and habits of a sailor together with their interior discipline and economy than ever I should have learnt by books or conversation.

  The power of the captain on board his own ship is arbitrary and almost unbounded, their punishments, two or three of which I was witness [to], at the will of the captain and limited solely by him. Upon the whole judging from what I saw I should never [be] happy as a sailor. I was at this time a red hot soldier who was fond of my profession & from the little I had seen of it, and who did not find one single objection to it. I have since seen almost all the vicissitudes of a soldier’s life though in a short space of time and neither the fatigues, dangers or want of comforts to which a soldier on service is exposed have in the least disgusted me with it. There is one and one only objection that I have to the army, viz the subordination of the junior ranks and the power that a commanding officer has to annoy, if he pleases to act unlike a gentleman. To the navy this objection exists and in a greater degree, for both the subordination of the junior ranks and the power of the commanding officer are greater and more unlimited.6

  27th I landed this day at the packet stairs and after taking lodgings (not being able to get accommodation at Cairns’ Hotel, the place I intended to put up at) went on board the Leopard again and brought my luggage on shore. Dined at Cairns’ ordinary and went to the theatre in the evening with an officer who dined there also.

  28th November – 4th December Blank

  One week after his arrival at Lisbon, James was ordered to proceed with a detachment, presumably partly of men having recovered from illness and wounds, returning to their units from the General Hospital.

  December

  5th Having reported myself to the commandant at Belem I was yesterday afternoon ordered to parade at Belem at 5 o’clock with a detachment of the Light Division with which I embarked this morning at daylight for Figueras7 on board the Argus transport lettered M.E. There were several other officers on board in charge of detachments.