TWENTY YEARS. 1722-1741.
TWENTY years, during which Englishmen made no conquests; but during
which they had "peace, ease, and freedom; the Three per Cents, nearly at
par; and wheat at five- and six-and-twenty shillings a quarter."[10]
Twenty years, during which England's army did not exceed 26,000 men;
when there was actually a war of succession in Europe, and our rulers
did not interfere; during which our King could go to Hanover for a
couple of years, and the coach of the State move on steadily and without
interruption in his absence; and during which our only alarms of war
were two in number, and speedily disappeared.
It was a favourable childhood for the Regiment; it gave time for the old
establishments to dwindle away, and the new one to acquire consistency
and strength with the funds which thus became available at the Ordnance;
instruction to officers and men could be deliberately and systematically
given; discipline could be learnt; the fortifications could be armed;
and the defects of the original scheme of organization in the Regiment
could be ascertained and quietly remedied, instead of being more rudely
exposed in time of war.
Only three events occurred between 1722 and 1741, which are worthy of
comment; but there are details connected with the every-day life of the
Royal Artillery during that period, which, though unworthy of being
called events, yet cannot but be interesting to the student.
The first was the camp at Hyde Park, in 1723, which was attended by a
train of Artillery.
The second was in 1727, when the Spaniards laid siege to Gibraltar; a
siege, however, which only lasted four months.
The third was in the same year, when the States-General of Holland,
becoming nervous lest an attempt should be made on the Netherlands,
called upon England to hold in readiness the contingent of 10,000, which
she was bound by treaty to furnish, if required. For this, a train of
Artillery was ordered to be prepared, and although not required, pacific
counsels having prevailed in Europe, its constitution is worthy of
mention.
In the camp at Hyde Park, held the year after the Regiment obtained its
Colonel, probably for the amusement of the Londoners, there was a train
of Artillery of twenty pieces of Ordnance, comprising two 6-pounders,
four 3-pounders, and fourteen 1½-pounders. This battery was horsed by
seventy-six horses, but the detail to the various natures of Ordnance
cannot be traced. The officers and men attached to the battery were as
follows: 1 captain, 1 lieutenant, 1 fireworker, 2 sergeants, 4 corporals
and bombardiers, 20 gunners, 40 matrosses, and two drummers.
The Infantry was called upon to furnish a guard over the guns when
parked, of twenty-five men. Six regiments of Dragoons, and twelve of
Infantry of the Line, attended the camp.
In 1727, the bad feeling, which had for some time existed between
England and Spain, produced an open rupture. A force of 20,000 Spaniards
besieged Gibraltar, opening their trenches on the 11th of February. By
means of reinforcements from England and Minorca, the garrison was
increased to 6000 men, and the bomb-vessels, which were sent from
England and from other parts of the Mediterranean, rendered great
assistance by enfilading the enemy's entrenchments. The siege was raised
on the 23rd June, having only lasted four months, during which time the
Spanish loss had been great, while that of the English had been
inconsiderable. With the reinforcements from England had come some guns
and stores, which assisted to make the fort more easily defended, its
previous armament having been but indifferent. Colonel Jonas Watson
commanded the Royal Artillery during the siege, having arrived for that
purpose from England, accompanied by Captain Hughes and some young
officers. The force under his command was two hundred in number. The
only Artillery officer killed during the siege was Captain-Lieutenant
Holman.
In this the first defensive operation in which the Royal Regiment of
Artillery was engaged—as in its first offensive at Vigo—it was on the
successful side. And in both cases, it not merely represented, but it
_was_ the principal arm of the English forces. The next event, the third
proposed to be chronicled, took place in the same year. The train which
it was deemed probable would have to proceed to Flanders was for field,
not garrison service. It comprised four 6-pounders, twelve 3-pounders,
and eight 1½-pounders. There were also six Royal mortars to be provided.
A complete company of Artillery—with the exception of the cadets of the
company, and nine of its bombardiers—attended the train, and 12
artificers and 22 pontoon-men, under a bridgemaster, were also ordered
to accompany it. Conductors and commissaries were also included. Unless,
however, it was proposed to enlist foreign Artillerymen into the British
service, on landing in the Continent,—the staff of the train seems
certainly excessive.
For a total of 140 of all ranks—smaller than a single battery now—the
following staff was detailed: 1 colonel, 1 comptroller, 1 paymaster, 1
adjutant, 1 chaplain, 1 quartermaster, 1 commissary of stores, 1 waggon
master, 1 surgeon, 1 assistant-surgeon, 1 assistant provost-marshal, 1
kettledrummer and his coachman.
These, then, were the three military events of most note during the
twenty years ending in 1741; and they are certainly not such as to
affect the peaceable reputation of the period. An unhappy expedition to
the West Indies, under Lord Cathcart, was ordered in 1741, but as it was
not completed until later, it can be alluded to more fully in a
succeeding chapter.
But the domestic life of the Regiment during this time requires
description. The rank of Captain-Lieutenant had been introduced in 1720,
and the third and fourth Lieutenant of a company were called Lieutenants
and Fireworkers, the conjunction being speedily dropped. The strength of
a company was during this period as follows:—
Captain.
Captain-Lieutenant.
First Lieutenant.
2 Second Lieutenants.
4 Fireworkers.
3 Sergeants.
3 Corporals.
12 Bombardiers.
25 Gunners. }
5 Cadet-Gunners. }
43 Matrosses. }
5 Cadet-Matrosses. }
2 Drummers.
The annual pay of each company amounted to 2956_l._ 10_s._
It was in 1727, that the Regiment was increased to four complete
companies. The siege of Gibraltar suggested an augmentation which the
declining numbers on the old establishment admitted of the Board
carrying out. On this taking place, the staff requisite for the Regiment
was added, and Colonel Borgard was styled Colonel-Commandant.
The staff consisted, in addition to the Colonel, of a Lieutenant-
Colonel—Jonas Watson; a Major—William Bousfield; an Adjutant, a
Quartermaster, and a Bridge-Master. To meet the demand for the more
scientific element in the new companies, one Second Lieutenant and one
Fireworker per company were transferred from the old, and the number of
bombardiers and gunners in each reduced to eight and twenty
respectively. The matrosses, as being more easily obtained, and
requiring less special training, were increased to sixty-four per
company; and from this time vacancies among the gunners were filled by
the most deserving matrosses.
The large number of junior officers and of bombardiers in each company
was intended to meet the demands of the bomb-service, which even in this
peaceable time were very heavy: more especially for the bomb-vessels in
the Mediterranean. It created, however, an evil which must always be
found in a profession where the junior ranks so greatly outnumber the
senior, and where the prizes are so few, while the candidates are many;—
the evil of slow promotion and even stagnation, and in their wake,
discontent, loss of zeal, and, at last, indifference. So soon did this
manifest itself, that by reducing the number of junior officers, and
increasing that of the seniors, it has been repeatedly attempted to
remedy it; the last attempt being so recent as during the tenancy of the
present Secretary of State for War—Mr. Cardwell. But this remedy has its
limits. There are duties to be performed suitable only to inferior
military rank, and the performance of which, by senior officers, would
have the effect of degrading the rank to which they may have attained. A
considerable proportion of an army's officers, therefore, must always
hold inferior military rank; but whether the evil which accompanies
stagnation in their ranks is to be remedied by increase of pay in
proportion to service, or by enforced retirement in the upper ranks, is
one of those questions which it is not for the historian to argue.
The Captains of the four companies of the Regiment after the
augmentation were
Captain JAMES RICHARDS,
Captain THOMAS HUGHES,
Captain JAMES DEAL,
and Captain THOMAS PATTISON.
The first-mentioned two were at Woolwich with their companies, although
compelled to furnish detachments for Scotland and the bombs; the third
was at Gibraltar, and the fourth in Minorca. Special establishments
still existed for Annapolis and Placentia. The pay per diem of an
Artillery Captain was 10_s._
It was in Minorca that the question of the military precedence of
Artillery officers was first authoritatively settled. The officers of
the four Infantry Regiments stationed there having refused to sit on
courts-martial on the same terms as the officers of the train, the
matter was referred to England, and by order of the King the Secretary
at War informed the commandant at Port Mahon that whenever any of the
Artillery were being tried, the officers of the train were to sit and
vote with other officers of the Army, according to the dates of their
commissions.
The objection taken by the Infantry officers was doubtless based on the
fact that until 1751 the commissions of Artillery officers under the
rank of field officer were signed by the Master-General, not by the
King. This decision, however, settled the point effectually; and ten
years later there is a record of the trial by court-martial in London of
a deserter from the Artillery in which all the members of the Court were
officers of the Guards, and the president belonged to the Artillery.
Among the places which were supplied with additional armament during
this time of rest were Berwick, Plymouth, Portsmouth, and Hull, but the
charge of the Ordnance and Stores still remained in the hands of the
master-gunners and gunners of Garrisons, numbering at this time
respectively 41 and 178. The value of these officials may be estimated
by a description of certain accepted candidates for the appointment in
1725, who were "superannuated and disabled gunners, who have served long
and well, and being too feeble for active service, are subsisted until
they can be placed in the garrisons."
An augmentation to the companies was commenced in 1739, but not
completed until the following year, when one new company was raised; the
strength of the companies at home being increased to 150, and of those
at Minorca and Gibraltar to 100. It was 1741 before the distribution of
the companies at home was finally arranged; for it was found necessary
to divide the three into four, for purposes of relief and detachment. At
this time,—the end of the twenty years, the strength of the Regiment at
home, in addition to the companies abroad, amounted to thirty-five
officers, eighty non-commissioned officers, of whom fifty-six were
bombardiers, twenty miners, ninety-two gunners, thirty-two pontoon-men,
184 matrosses, and eight drummers.
There were also sixteen cadet-gunners, and sixteen cadet-matrosses, the
number in each of the four home companies having been reduced to four.
It was from the cadets that the lieutenant-fireworkers were generally,
although not always, chosen. The employment of officers of that rank on
board the bomb-vessels without superior officers above them rendered it
necessary often to promote non-commissioned officers, whose experience
would enable them to carry on such an independent service, better than
the young and inexperienced fireworkers, just promoted from among the
cadets. The discipline among these young gentlemen may be gathered from
the marginal remarks of the commanding officer on the muster-rolls of
the two companies at Woolwich in 1739. After alluding to one officer as
having been lame for six months, and to another as having lost his
memory, and done no duty for seven years, he comes to the cadets of the
companies. Out of the whole number of sixteen, there is a remark against
the names of no less than nine, "I know not where they are," and against
another, "A very idle fellow!" The remaining six were detached, two at
Portsmouth, one in the Tower, one on board the bombs, and only two at
Woolwich.
There is in the same list a remark made against the name of one,
Captain-Lieutenant George Minnies, which might justly have been made
against others of the same rank in later days, if indeed it may not also
have to be made again, "old and worn-out in the service."
The end of this period brings us near to that time when the Regiment,
having quitted the nursery, so to speak, entered the school of war,
which was provided for it in Flanders. Before, however, tracing its
story then, it will be well to describe some little matters connected
with the foundation and early history of an institution which was
founded in 1741, the last of our twenty years, to meet a want, which the
above comments of the commanding officer must prove most distinctly to
have existed.
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Footnote 10:
Thackeray.