The despatches of Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington during his campaigns in India, Denmark, Portugal, Spain, the Low Countries, and France, and relating to America, from 1799 to 1815

Front matter

KAKOW COLLECTION

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THE DESPATCHES OF FIELD-MARSHAL THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON f

Introduction

This volume, consisting of selections from the despatches and documents relating to the various campaigns of the Duke of Wellington in India, Denmark, Portugal, Spain, the Low Countries, and France, from 1799 to 1815, is an epitome of the monumental work compiled by Lieutenant-Colonel Gurwood, Esquire to His Grace as Knight of the Bath. The despatches as published by Colonel Gurwood fill twelve bulky volumes, but, like the compilation of Nelson's despatches by Sir N. H. Nicolas, much that is dull and tedious is included, and great numbers of documents are given which have little or no present-day interest.

I have adopted the plan of so selecting the papers that they present the Duke of Wellington, to use Colonel Gurwood's happy expression, as ' the historian of his own brilliant career.' I have completed the precis of the Duke's services from 1835 to the time of his death, in 1852, and when notes have been needed to make certain points clearer or more interesting I have added them. With the exception of these notes, which are initialled, in order to distinguish them from Colonel Gurwood's, the entire book is a condensation of his work. My task has been to choose the most interesting passages, to give them headings, and to bring together some of them — as in the case of those relating to America — from several volumes, for convenience of reference, so that they

INTRODUCTION may tell their own story of the unparalleled achievements of our greatest soldier. I have excluded the formal beginnings and endings of despatches and letters, and where sentences of any length have been omitted their absence is indicated by dots.

Wellington's early military career is described in the despatches from India, and the documents relating to the Peninsula give a picture, plain and striking, of the long years of battle and suffering by that matchless army of which the Duke proudly said that he thought he could have gone anywhere and done anything with it. The wonderful series of victories beginning with Roleia and ending with Waterloo are described in simple language, and at the end of each is given the return which shows the cost in killed and wounded of the triumph. But even these figures, terrible as they are, do not by any means indicate the total death-roll. The British losses in the Peninsula and at Waterloo have been estimated at 3,807 officers and 54,283 men killed or wounded, but that total does not include Spaniards, Portuguese, Brunswickers, nor Hanoverians ; nor do they relate in any way to the enormous losses by disease, losses in comparison with which the slain in battle are insignificant.

The selections cover an amazing variety of subjects. They show the work which Wellington accomplished and the means by which he did it, and they reveal a state of things without parallel in military annals. The savage discipline of the Peninsular army is a matter of common knowledge, but stern work made stern measures necessary, and it was only by his iron rule that the Duke was able to bring his troops triumphant out of unexampled dangers. Terrible as the picture is which the despatches paint, it is in no degree exaggerated. The supplementary pages of Napier and lesser-

INTRODUCTION known contemporary writers, like Gleig, Captain J. Kincaid, the Marquis of Londonderry, and Quartermaster Surtees, tell of horrors and sufferings to which Wellington has not referred; but in themselves the documents furnish a story which needs no embellishment or help.

With few exceptions, the despatches and casualty lists relating to the fights in which Wellington and his officers were engaged are given, but some of the returns of killed and wounded have not been included in the volume. I have, however, retained the particulars of notable affairs like El Bodon and Arroyo dos Molinos. The spelling throughout the despatches is unaltered, and therefore it may be well to give that of the Peninsular and other victories as it appears amongst the ' honours ' in the Army List : ' Assaye,' ' Roleia,' ' Vimiera,' ' Talavera,' ' Busaco,' ' Fuentes d'Onor,' ' Albuhera,' 'Arroyo dos Molinos,' ' Ciudad Rodrigo,' ' Badajoz,' ' Salamanca,' ' Vittoria,' ' Pyrenees,' ' Nivelle,' ' Nive,' ' Orthes,' ' Toulouse.'

Colonel Gurwood, the compiler and editor of the despatches, was born in 1790. He began life in a merchant's office, but a love disappointment caused him to enter the army, and in 1808 he joined the 52nd Light Infantry (now the 2nd Battalion the Oxfordshire Light Infantry) as an Ensign. He saw long and hard service in the Peninsula, and led one of the forlorn hopes at the storming of Ciudad Rodrigo in 1812. He was wounded three times during the campaign, and was severely wounded at Waterloo. For many years he was private secretary to the Duke of Wellington, by whom he was entrusted with the editing of His Grace's general orders and despatches. This colossal task occupied the Colonel many years, and the published volumes prove his care and industry. The last volume of the despatches, with

INTRODUCTION the indexes — in itself a monumental compilation — were in the press at the time of the Colonel's death. This was hastened by his excessive mental toil and his old wounds. He died by his own hand, at Brighton, on Christmas Day, 1845, leaving a widow and family. Colonel Gurwood was a C.B. and Deputy Lieutenant of the Tower of London, and received £200 a year in recognition of his literary services.

Contents

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Precis of the Duke of Wellington's Services