review of the errors which you seem to me to have committed, but I
have thought it due to your position and to your high reputation to
show that Her Majesty’s servants have not determined to advise the
Queen to supersede you in the midst of the war without sufficient
cause for doing so; and for this reason, painful as it has been to
me to write to you in such a tone of censure, I have been compelled
to point out the errors into which you have been betrayed. It is,
however, some satisfaction to me to be able to add, that I have no
doubt it has been your judgment only which has been in fault, and
that, to the best of your ability, you have endeavoured to acquit
yourself of duties of no ordinary difficulty; nor do I doubt that in
more regular warfare against a civilized enemy, and if your military
operations had been less complicated by political difficulties, you
would have achieved the same success by which you had formerly been so
much distinguished.
I am, &c.
(Signed) Grey.
Lieut.-General Sir H. G. Smith, Bart.
B. _Memoranda to serve as Data in meeting the accusations brought
forward in Earl Grey’s Despatch of the 14th January, 1852._[277]
Camp Blinkwater, 12th March, 1852.
1. I am not aware that the not bringing a war to a speedy conclusion
with inadequate means is a proof of incompetency in a General, nor
even when his means and those opposed to him are nearly balanced. It
rather argues the strength and prowess of the enemy. History affords
many instances of long and protracted wars, conducted by men of
consummate ability, who constantly had occasion to report the result
of glorious and sanguinary victories which, however immediately
successful, did not do more than merely _lead_ to the conclusion of
the contest. I have had to contend with, I may say, an invisible
enemy, hardly ever to be met with in an assailable position. In
other wars to which I allude officers of rank may have fallen, but
their fall, however greatly to be deplored, was not considered of
importance in connection with the conduct of the campaign. The loss
of Lieut.-Colonel Fordyce I much regret. He showed himself with
his telescope outside the bush and was picked off by some skilful
Hottentot—a chance which might happen to any soldier. The other
officers who rushed to aid him fell under similar circumstances. I am
at a loss to understand how casualties of this description can attach
culpability to the General. If every General Officer were removed from
his command because his career was not a continued current of success,
not one would retain it. In the instance immediately in question
I assert that the troops were eminently successful, their success
enabling me to carry operations into a distant part of the country,
the important result of which best speaks for itself.
2. Earl Grey attaches blame to me for not having given the necessary
“vigour and judgment” to my military operations, or to the “political
measures bearing upon the war.” A reference to my detailed
instructions to the officers in command of the constant patrols
will, I think, sufficiently show that the movements of the troops
have been carefully watched over and well directed. I am not aware
that it is the duty of a Governor and Commander-in-Chief to _head_
patrols. On one critical occasion, when a vigorous personal example
was required, when it was necessary to show that I was regardless of
the sudden and extensive desertion in the Cape Corps, I hesitated
not for a moment to take the field in person, in direct command of a
large patrol; and by some rapid and completely successful movements
not only restored full confidence throughout the army, but in all
probability arrested the further spread of disaffection. But although
this energetic and decided step upon my part was at the moment called
for, and although in former days as Colonel Smith I led patrols
under the late Sir Benjamin D’Urban and gained some reputation as a
bush fighter, my position as Governor and Commander-in-Chief and the
interests of Her Majesty’s service directed me to place myself at some
central point, from which the general movements of the troops could
be best controlled and the duties of the Civil Government equally
administered. Neither of them were ever delayed a single day. For
this purpose no position could be so advantageous as King William’s
Town—the base of general operations, the very focus of all movements.
3. Earl Grey states that I have failed in using with effect the force
at my disposal. I have some experience in war, and I assert that no
body of Her Majesty’s troops was ever more energetically applied
under more appalling circumstances of difficulty; and none were ever
more successful. And although the troops have been so unceasingly
and energetically employed, they have suffered no privation, so
well have I cared for their provision; while at the same time so
rigid has been the economy I have observed and enforced, that many
thousands of pounds have been saved to my country. The comments of
Earl Grey on my not having done as much with the force placed under
my command as might have been done, would be very natural if such
were in point of fact the case. But it appears to me His Lordship
has not drawn this inference from my voluminous and explanatory
despatches, nor borne in mind the dates of arrival of reinforcements;
but has reached this conclusion through the medium of irritable
disappointment, the flippant statements of indirect correspondence,
and the garbled statements of the opposition newspapers. I will
therefore analyse the mode in which these reinforcements reached me
and their respective dates of arrival. It is perfectly correct that I
never asked for troops until the war was far advanced and had assumed
a much more formidable appearance than was originally anticipated. I
then recommended that two Regiments of Infantry should be sent out
in addition to those already arrived or on their passage. These had
been already ordered, the 43rd Light Infantry being one, the 1st
Battalion Rifle Brigade the other. I always reasoned that, as Lord
Grey had so repeatedly and peremptorily directed a reduction of the
force at the Cape, he would see the necessity, if he desired to retain
British Kaffraria, of at once sending reinforcements. My reasoning
was correct. I also relied upon a general turn out of the frontier
population, and neither I nor any other man anticipated a Hottentot
Rebellion.
On the 25th April, 1851, drafts for Regiments, amounting to 300 men,
reached the Cape in the _Singapore_, Peninsular and Oriental Company’s
steamer. I landed them at the mouth of Buffalo. On the 12th of May,
the 74th Regiment reached the Cape, after a passage of 58 days in
H.M. Steamer _Vulcan_. I landed it at Algoa Bay, so as to move on the
interior line of defence. On the 8th August the 2nd Queen’s arrived,
a period of 86 days having elapsed since they were ordered for
embarkation, a delay which caused me great disappointment. I landed
them at the mouth of the Buffalo, having been compelled to detach
Lieut.-Colonel Eyre and the majority of the 73rd to within the Colony
for the defence of Lower Albany and Graham’s Town, a service which he
most effectually performed.
On the 29th July I received authority to send to the Mauritius for
the Reserve Battalion 12th Regiment. Commodore Wyvill, with his usual
energy, placed H.M.S.S. _Hermes_, under that most energetic officer,
Captain Fishbourne, at my disposal. She sailed from Simon’s Bay on the
24th July, touched at the mouth of the Buffalo, received my orders to
proceed to the Mauritius, and on the 27th August, with the greatest
expedition, landed as I directed the whole Regiment at Algoa Bay, so
as again to reinforce the interior line of defence.
On the 29th August, 200 drafts for Regiments arrived from England.
On the 19 Sept. the 60th arrived, after a very tedious passage of
66 days in H.M. steamers _Retribution_ and _Sidon_; and were landed
at the Buffalo. At the same time a detachment of the 12th Lancers
arrived after a passage of 76 days in the _Berkshire_ Transport. The
head quarters and remainder of the 12th Lancers did not arrive until
the 4th Oct., after a very slow passage of 91 days. The horses for
the Regiment were in readiness at King William’s Town. The whole of
the troops were in the field on the arrival of the 60th, which Corps
also marched in three or four days, that is, as soon as they were able
after their long voyage. I am not aware that any delay occurred in
the application of these reinforcements, which were, on the contrary,
employed in the most energetic manner; and, as results prove, with
military judgment. Yet before their services could be well felt, Earl
Grey relieved me from my command, because Lieut.-Colonel Fordyce, a
very gallant officer, placed himself, to look through his telescope,
within shot of a paltry ambuscade of Hottentots.
After I had invaded Kreili’s country, the 43rd Light Infantry arrived.
They were sent immediately into the field as an escort of provisions
to Forts White and Cox by way of initiation; and on their return were
at once moved on the Kei in reserve and support.
It was intimated to me that the 1st Battalion Rifle Brigade would,
as one of the Regiments I had asked for, be immediately sent out. So
great, however, had been the delay, that I wrote to Earl Grey saying
that our successes against the enemy were such, that if this Corps had
not left England I did not then require it. A few days before I was
relieved it reached the Cape after a passage of _eighty-four days_. I
ordered it to Algoa Bay, thence to the Blinkwater, to preserve that
country, which I had just cleared, from any reoccupation by the enemy.
This was the only service I had for it; and as it had not arrived two
months previously as I had expected, I deeply regretted its having
left England. In the then state of affairs it was not required. I
appeal to every General Officer in H.M. Army if more could have been
done, and I turn to my own local experience, and cast aside the theory
of abstract and disappointed expectations.
4. With respect to my “political measures bearing upon the war,” my
conviction is that my central position at King William’s Town—the best
in a _military_ point of view—enabled me effectually, by personal
care and supervision, to preserve the neutrality of the formidable
T’Slambie tribes, who, had I been absent, would assuredly have joined
in the revolt. No man was ever surrounded by greater embarrassments;
but in the midst of them I preserved my position.
5. Earl Grey alludes to the state of my health. It is assuredly not so
good as it was twenty years ago; a half-century of unremitting service
in every quarter of the globe must naturally have made some inroads,
but no measure of government, civil or military, has ever, from this
or any other cause, remained neglected for one moment.
6. Adverting to Earl Grey’s remark as to the premature reduction of
the force, in which he confesses to participate in the blame (if there
be any), I must observe that he most emphatically urged the measure
upon me, desiring my reasons for delay in the event of my not carrying
it into effect. I could more honestly, at the moment, reduce the force
than give reasons for not doing so. I am now censured for having _met
the views of Her Majesty’s Government_.
7. Previously to the outbreak, I undoubtedly sent continued assurances
to Earl Grey that no real danger existed. I believed what was brought
before me by the officers directly associated with the Kafirs. I could
myself see nothing on the part of the people indicative of a hostile
feeling. If I have been deceived, Europe in the present age affords
various and similar examples. Upon the first outbreak of the war,
I was certainly ignorant of its real character. No one apprehended
the rebellion of the treacherous Hottentots. And had the burgher
population turned out, as I had every reason and right to expect, it
would have never taken place, and the Kafir rebellion would have been
quelled at the outset. Opinions after results are easily and may be
decidedly given.
8. As to the supply of firearms and ammunition, and the want of energy
imputed to myself and to the Secretary to Government in suppressing
their introduction, a reference to my despatches will show that all
that was possible was effected.
9. Earl Grey proceeds to regard as a most fatal error my having failed
to deal more promptly with treason on the part of the Hottentots.
My position at the time referred to was one, I believe, of as great
difficulty as man was ever placed in. The _whole_ Hottentot population
at that period had been taught they were an “oppressed and an ill-used
race,” and that the precepts of Holy Writ tolerated their seeking
redress by arms. Some thousands of them were in my camp, with a
few hundreds only of British soldiers; while General Somerset was
surrounded by Hottentots. When evidence was forthcoming, I proceeded
to military trial. But I must advisedly assert that had I, at that
period, executed the condemned, the torch of revolt would have blazed
throughout the Colony. I am regardless of an opinion to the contrary
advanced by any man. I assert as an undoubted fact that by my course
of proceeding I weathered a storm which would otherwise have burst
over me with irresistible fury; that the exercise of sound discretion
in this instance saved the Colony; and that a contrary course would
have ruined it. To strengthen this assertion, I desire to remark
that a few weeks only have elapsed since the legislature of this
Colony was deterred from passing an ordinance for the prevention of
“squatting” on Government lands, a very general impression prevailing
that the Hottentot population would arise to resist it. In the course
of enquiry facts will show the difficulty of my position, and bear me
out in my line of proceeding; in the correctness of which I rejoice,
and shall do so to the latest period of my existence, reflecting that
sound judgment saved the colony. The white inhabitants were very
naturally excited by the treachery of their Hottentot servants, and
jump to the conclusion that hanging a few would have been a sovereign
panacea. I know as much of the Hottentot character as most men; and
the contrary, I say, would have been the effect.
10. Earl Grey regards it as a grievous error that I have not removed
Major Warden. I honestly admit that that officer might have done
better; I had, however, no one to replace him; and he acted zealously
and to the best of his abilities. He is very popular with every
well-disposed and loyal Dutchman. His Lordship proceeds to remark that
by this and other mistakes (a somewhat comprehensive application of
censure) I have failed to conciliate the Dutch inhabitants. I need
not scruple to say that for many years I was most popular with them.
Perhaps my too anxious desire to serve both those within the Colony
and beyond the Orange River has been an error. Their not having turned
out, as they pretended they were desirous to do, is attributable to no
proceeding of mine; and if honesty of purpose and kindness of manner
fail to conciliate, I am as irresponsible for the effect as incapable
of seeking the good will of any one by other means. Earl Grey
observes that Mr. Pine has succeeded in conciliating many of the Dutch
inhabitants of Natal. The Lieut.-Governor acted upon my precedent and
by my advice; and has repeatedly declared his perfect concurrence in
the policy which I originated, which has led to the present contented
condition of the Natal Boers.
11. In his concluding paragraph, Earl Grey states that he has entered
into a review of the errors which it seems to him I have committed,
regarding it due to my position and to my high reputation to show that
Her Majesty’s servants have not determined to advise the Queen to
supersede me in the midst of these errors without sufficient cause.
I have served my Sovereign and my Country, as few soldiers have had
the good fortune to have the opportunity of doing, for nearly fifty
years. During that long service I have never, until now, received
the slightest censure. The difficulties which have surrounded me at
the Cape of Good Hope have been unparalleled. Earl Grey might have
awaited the result of operations which I apprized him were in progress
and which have been attended with eminent success. However much it
may appear to his Lordship that I have failed in using vigour and
judgment, facts will speak for themselves; and exonerate a General
from the stigma of deserving the greatest indignity with which he can
be visited—removal from the command of a victorious army devoted to
their Queen and Country and serving in the highest spirits and with
every confidence in their veteran Commander.
_True copy of recorded Memoranda._
John Garvock, Lieut.-Col.
Late Priv. Sec.
APPENDIX VIII.
Sir Harry Smith’s Paternal and Maternal Ancestry.
(1) John Smith, = Martha,
of Warboys, Hunts. | dau. of John Wakelyn, gent.,
| Whittlesey.
+-------------------+
|
Wakelyn Smith, = Susanna,
of Whittlesey, | ob. 6 March, 1804,
drowned 14 July, 1759. | dau. of -- Smith.
|
+-------------------+
|
John Smith, = Eleanor,
n. 1756, ob. 1843. | n. 1760, ob. 1813,
| dau. of Rev. George Moore.
|
+-+-+-+--------------+-------------+-+-+-+-+-+
| | | | | | | | | | |
Henry George Wakelyn,
n. 1787.
(2) Thomas Moore, = Jane.
of Boreton, near Buckingham, |
Head bailiff in 1546, 1551, 1565, |
ob. 1589. |
|
+-------------------+
|
Raphael Moore, = Ann Dix.
of Bucks, ob. 1603. |
|
+-------------------+
|
Thomas Moore, = Oswald,
of Bucks, ob. 1641. | dau. of John Clerke,
| citizen of Oxford.
+-------------------+
|
Thomas Moore, = Ruth,
of Ely, ob. 1662. | dau. of Edw. Woodman.
|
+-------------------+
|
Thomas Moore, = Mary,
of Haddenham and aft. of | ob. 1729, æt. 56,
Whittlesey, an attorney, | dau. of Cadwallader Coker,
ob. 1728, an. æt. 75. | of Bucks.
|
+-------------------+
|
Thomas Charles Cadwallader Moore, = Eleanor,
of Whittlesey, | ob. 1735, æt. 31,
ob. 1764, æt. 71. | dau. of W. Wiseman,
| of Eastry Hall.
+-------------------+
|
(Rev.) George Moore, = Alice,
n. 1731, m. 1758, ob. 1763. | ob. 1816,
| dau. of T. Ground, Whittlesey,
| m. 2ndly, in 1775,
| John Stona (ob. 1789).
|
+----------+
|
John Smith = Eleanor Moore.
|
+-+-+-+--------------+-------------+-+-+-+-+-+
| | | | | | | | | | |
Henry George Wakelyn.
FOOTNOTES
[1] See Appendix vi.
[2] Sir Harry’s original narrative is not broken into chapters.
[3] The Peninsular dates are generally borrowed from _A British
Rifleman_ (Major Simmons’ diary).
[4] Sir Harry’s ordinary signature was “H. G. Smith.” His letters to
his wife were commonly signed “Enrique”; to members of his family,
“Harry Smith”; to his friend and interpreter for the Kafir language,
Mr. Theophilus Shepstone, “Inkosi” (“Chief”). He addressed Mr.
Shepstone as “My dear Sumtseu” (“Hunter”).
[5] The birthplace of Sir Harry Smith in St. Mary’s Street, Whittlesey,
is now called “Aliwal House.” In his MS. he left the year of his birth
vacant, and it would appear that he was uncertain of his own age (cp.
p. 73). This may account for the date of his birth having been often
given wrongly as 1788. The east end of the south aisle of St. Mary’s
church was at this time partitioned off and used as a schoolroom, the
vicar or curate teaching. It was here that Harry Smith received his
education from the Rev. George Burgess, then curate, who survived to
welcome him in Whittlesey in 1847 on his return after the battle of
Aliwal. This part of the church, having been restored in 1862 as a
memorial to him, is now known as “Sir Harry’s Chapel.”
Harry Smith’s father, John Smith (son of Wakelyn Smith), surgeon, born
1756, died 2 Sept. 1843, married in 1781 Eleanor (born 1760, died 12
Dec. 1813), daughter of the Rev. George Moore, M.A. (Queens’ College,
Cambridge), vicar of St. Mary and St. Andrew, Whittlesey, and minor
canon of Peterborough Cathedral. They had in all fourteen children,
but only eleven survived infancy, viz. 1, Mary Anne; 2, John Stona;
3, Eleanor Moore; 4, Elizabeth; 5, Henry George Wakelyn (b. 28 June,
1787); 6, Jane Alice (Mrs. Sargant), b. 1789; 7, William; 8, Thomas
Lawrence (b. 25 Feb. 1792); 9, Anna Maria; 10, Charles (b. 10 Aug.
1795); 11, Samuel.
Mrs. Sargant, Harry Smith’s favourite sister, resided for many years in
Clapton Square, and died in 1869. She was the author of _Joan of Arc_,
_a Play_, _Charlie Burton_ (a tale, translated into French and German),
and many other works.
Thomas Lawrence (frequently mentioned in this book) received his
commission in the 95th (Rifle Brigade) on 3 March, 1808, and took part
in the actions of Sir John Moore’s expedition to the battle of Corunna.
Like his brother Harry, he served with the Light Division throughout
the Peninsular War to the battle of Toulouse, being dangerously
wounded at the Coa. He was recommended for promotion for his conduct
at Waterloo. He proceeded with his regiment to Paris, and riding as
Adjutant at the head of the 2nd Battalion, was the first British
officer who entered the city on 7 July, 1815. He went on half-pay in
1817. In 1824 he was appointed Barrack-master, in which capacity he
served in Ireland till 1838, when he was transferred to Chatham. On
the formation of Aldershot Camp in 1855, he was appointed Principal
Barrack-master there, and held his appointment till 1868. On retirement
he was made a C.B. and granted a special pension. He died in London on
6 April, 1877, and was buried in the cemetery, Aldershot.
Charles was present as a “Volunteer” with the 1st Battalion 95th at
Quatrebras and Waterloo, after which he received a commission as
Second Lieutenant. Two or three years later he retired from the army
and settled at Whittlesey. He became J.P. and D.L. for Cambridgeshire,
and Lieut.-Colonel of the Yeomanry Cavalry of the county, and died at
Whittlesey on 24 Dec. 1854.
Further information about Sir Harry Smith’s family was given to Mr.
Arthur M. Smith, at his request, for his book _The Smiths of Exeter_,
and will there be found, although, in the opinion of the present
editor, no connexion between the two families can be established. See
also p. 794 _inf._
[6] In consequence of a representation made to the Government by
Colonel Coote Manningham and Lieut.-Colonel the Hon. William Stewart,
an “experimental Corps of Riflemen” was formed early in 1800, with
Manningham as colonel and Stewart one of the lieut.-colonels. It was
actually organized by Stewart. On the 25th of December, 1802, the corps
was ordered to be numbered as the 95th Regiment. In 1803 they were
brigaded with the 43rd and 52nd as part of Sir John Moore’s Camp of
Instruction at Shorncliffe. The 2nd Battalion was formed on the 6th of
May, 1805, according to Cope, and joined the 1st Battalion at Brabourn
Lees, near Ashford, in June (see Cope’s _History of the Rifle Brigade_,
p. 1, etc.).
[7] For his diary of the voyage, etc., see Appendix I.
[8] The following extracts from Hughes and Clark’s _Life of Adam
Sedgwick_ (i. p. 76, etc.) refer to this time—
“Sedgwick went on December 17, 1804, to spend Christmas with Ainger
at his father’s house at Whittlesea.... He never forgot the simple
pleasures which he there enjoyed.... It was on this occasion that he
made the acquaintance of Henry Smith, son to the surgeon of Whittlesea,
then a boy of sixteen. Sedgwick watched his career with affectionate
interest.
“In 1807 he wrote to Ainger—
“‘Pray has Henry Smith escaped the fate which many of our brave
countrymen have met in Egypt? I believe his Regiment was in the
expedition.’
“W. Ainger replies—
“‘Whittlesea, August 3, 1807.
“‘Henry Smith, after whom you inquired, did not go into Egypt, but to
Buenos Ayres. His father had a letter from him after the engagement.
His Captain was killed by his side in the outset; the command of the
Company then of course devolved to Henry, who, I believe, acquitted
himself very creditably, and did not, to use his own expression, get
a single scratch. Last week brought his friends another letter from
Monte Video, which acquainted them that he was then (in April) just
recovering from the attack of a fever, which appears, Sedgwick, to have
been not less formidable than yours was. He says he has lost all his
flesh; but I find he retains all his spirit.’”
[9] _I.e._ the English spring.
[10] Cope says he could find no particulars of this affair of the 7th
of June beyond the mention of it and the casualties. Pack’s own report
of the affair, however (with Whitelock’s covering despatch), is given
under his name in Philippart’s _Royal Military Calendar_ (1820). It is
interesting to compare that account with the one in the text, as each
has some details not in the other. It seems that the Spaniards, two
thousand in number, were under Major-General Elio (see p. 79, below),
and the name of their position was San Pedro.
[11] See his reference to this time, p. 159.
[12] The author, writing many years after the events described, does
not discriminate the titles borne at different dates by his revered
commander, but speaks of him as “the Duke,” even from the time he was
Sir Arthur Wellesley. At the risk of offending the historical sense
of some readers, I have made no attempt to remove such a harmless
anachronism.
[13] Cp. E. Costello, _Adventures of a Soldier_, p. 36: “For bread
we took the corn from the fields, and, having no proper means of
winnowing and grinding it, were obliged, as a substitute, to rub out
the ears between our hands and then pound them between stones to make
it into dough, such as it was. From this latter wretched practice,
we christened the place ‘Dough Boy Hill,’ a name by which it is well
remembered by the men of our Division.” Cp. p. 321, below.
[14] Cp. Cope, p. 55: “Why Craufurd did not use his guns or let loose
the Riflemen at the French infantry, seems inexplicable.”
[15] Elder brother of Sir Henry Havelock. See p. 297.
[16] George Simmons writes in his diary for the 17th of September,
1810: “I removed to Pedroso for the convenience of sea-bathing, my
thigh being much better, which enabled me, with crutches, to move
about. Lieutenant Harry Smith was also with me. I found great benefit
from the sea-bathing.” Sir Harry Smith, writing to Major George Simmons
on the 16th of June, 1846 (soon after the battle of Aliwal, when he had
driven the Sikhs into the Sutlej), refers to their bathing together at
this time, though he says at Belem, not at Pedroso (both places are
close to Lisbon): “Dear George,—We little thought at Bellam [Belem],
when hopping about there, I should become a master of that art we were
both ‘girning’ under, or a swimming master for pupils in the Sutledge!”
[17] Simmons states in his diary that the Commandant was Major Murphy
(not Ironmonger), and writes that at the end of the second day’s
march “another one hundred _heroes_ had disappeared, which made our
Commandant raving mad. Smith called upon me to assist him in a medical
capacity. I had a bucket of spring water thrown upon him, which did
him good; he had several fits, but this put an end to them” (p. 111).
According to the Army Lists, Major Barnaby Murphy, 88th Regiment, was
killed at Salamanca, July, 1812. Lieut.-Colonel W. Iremonger, 2nd Foot,
retired 2 May, 1811 (? 12 May). There is no Ironmonger in the Army
List. The garrison of Almeida escaped on 11 May, 1811. In his despatch
of 15 May, 1811, Wellington censures a Lieutenant-Colonel (name not
given), but it is for “imprudence,” not cowardice.
[18] Cp. Kincaid, _Random Shots_, pp. 101, 102.
[19] He was at Lisbon from 3 Dec. to 4 Feb., when he returned to his
Regiment with Colonel Beckwith (_A British Rifleman_, pp. 124, 135).
[20] Cope says Major John Stewart was killed in this fight near Casal
Nova, and Lieut. Strode mortally wounded (14 March).
[21] The duties of a Major of Brigade are given in a letter of Sir
W. Gomm, Sept. 19, 1808: “The pay and rank are the same as those of
Aide-de-camp. The officer has the rank of Major during the time he
holds the employment, and he is not considered as generally belonging
to the General’s family so much as the Aide-de-camp. The situation is
more independent” (Carr-Gomm’s _Life of Sir W. Gomm_, 1881, p. 106).
[22] See p. 34.
[23] Colonel Rowan (from 1848 Sir Charles Rowan, K.C.B.) was Chief
Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Force from its institution in
1829 till 1850. He died in 1852.
[24] Costello (p. 140) tells how, after the taking of Fort San
Francisco, many of the French wounded prisoners were stripped naked by
the Portuguese Caçadores. One of them, a sergeant, on being marched in,
and seeing his officer in the same plight with himself, “ran to embrace
him, and, leaning his head on his shoulder, burst into tears over
their mutual misery. Captain Smith, the General’s aide-de-camp, being
present, generously pulled forth his pocket-handkerchief and wrapped it
round the sergeant’s totally naked person, till further covering could
be obtained.”
[25] There is an interesting account of this heroic soldier in the
_United Service Journal_ for 1837, Part I. p. 354, by J. K. (John
Kincaid), written after Johnstone’s death at the Cape.
[26] Not till 24 March (Napier, iv. 105).
[27] _Random Shots by a Rifleman_, by Sir John Kincaid, pp. 292-296.
I venture to quote the rest of Kincaid’s interesting passage: “Thrown
upon each other’s acquaintance in a manner so interesting, it is not
to be wondered at that she and I conceived a friendship for each
other, which has proved as lasting as our lives—a friendship which was
cemented by after-circumstances so singularly romantic that imagination
may scarcely picture them! The friendship of man is one thing—the
friendship of woman another; and those only who have been on the
theatre of fierce warfare, and knowing that such a being was on the
spot, watching with earnest and increasing solicitude over his safety
alike with those most dear to her, can fully appreciate the additional
value which it gives to one’s existence.
“About a year after we became acquainted, I remember that our Battalion
was one day moving down to battle, and had occasion to pass by the lone
country-house in which she had been lodged. The situation was so near
to the outposts, and a battle certain, I concluded that she must ere
then have been removed to a place of greater security, and, big with
the thought of coming events, I scarcely even looked at it as we rolled
along, but just as I had passed the door, I found my hand suddenly
grasped in hers. She gave it a gentle pressure, and, without uttering a
word, had rushed back into the house again, almost before I could see
to whom I was indebted for a kindness so unexpected and so gratifying.
“My mind had, the moment before, been sternly occupied in calculating
the difference which it makes in a man’s future prospects—his killing
or being killed, when ‘a change came o’er the spirit of the dream,’ and
throughout the remainder of that long and trying day I felt a lightness
of heart and buoyancy of spirit which, in such a situation, was no less
new than delightful.
“I never until then felt so forcibly the beautiful description of
Fitz-James’s expression of feeling, after his leave-taking of Ellen,
under somewhat similar circumstances—
“‘And after oft the knight would say,
That not when prize of festal day
Was dealt him by the brightest fair
That e’er wore jewel in her hair,
So highly did his bosom swell
As at that simple, mute, farewell.’”
[28] From the time of their first residence at the Cape in the
thirties, Juana Smith conformed to the Church of England, and was in
consequence disowned by her remaining Spanish relatives.
[29] He was really twenty-four, but he seems never to have known his
own age. His wife (born 27 March, 1798) was just past fourteen.
[30] Her relations are numerous. She was in three sieges of her
native city: in one her wounded brother died in her arms. She was
educated in a convent, and is a lineal descendant of Ponce de Leon,
the Knight of Romance, and certainly she, as a female, inherits all
his heroism. Her name, Juana Maria de Los Dolores de Leon, at once
gives the idea of Hidalgo consanguinity, and she is of one of the
oldest of the notoriously old _Spanish_, not Moorish, families. After
Talavera, when the Duke’s headquarters were at Badajos, and my wife
was a child, Colonel Campbell and Lord Fitzroy Somerset were billeted
in her sister’s house. That was in the palmy days of their affluence,
when they derived a considerable income from their olive groves. These,
alas! were all cut down by the unsparing hand of the French, and the
sisters’ income seriously reduced. An olive tree requires great care
and cultivation, nor does it bear well until twenty or thirty years
old.—H.G.S.
[31] _Vide_ Duke’s letter, Nov. 23, 1812, to Lord Liverpool, in his
Grace’s letter to Marshal Beresford, Oct. 31, “You see what a scrape we
have been in, and how well we have got out of it.”—H.G.S.
[32] Cope, p. 141.
[33]
“Lord Dacre, with his horsemen light.
Shall be in rearward of the fight,
And succour those that need it most.”
_Marmion_, VI. xxiv.
[34] At the battles of the Pyrenees.
[35] See pp. 129, 130.
[36] Sir R. D. Henegan writes thus of Col. Skerrett, in describing the
defence of Tarifa: “The commanding-officer of this expedition, although
unimpeachable in the courageous bearing of a soldier, was wanting
in the bold decision which, in military practice, must often take
the lead of science and established rules.”—Henegan’s _Seven Years’
Campaigning_ (1846), vol. i. p. 234. Colonel T. Bunbury, _Reminiscences
of a Veteran_, i. p. 116, gives a similar account: “Skerrett as an
individual was brave to rashness; but I should have doubted it had I
not so frequently witnessed proofs of his cool intrepidity and contempt
of danger. At the head of troops, he was the most undecided, timid, and
vacillating creature I ever met with.”
[37] Cope’s account of Cadoux’s death (pp. 149, 150), derived, he
tells us, from Colonel Thomas Smith, is rather different. According
to this, Skerrett sent to desire Cadoux to evacuate his post. Cadoux
refused, saying that he could hold it. At 2 a.m. the French made a
rush, but Cadoux, by his fire from the bridge-house, kept the head of
the advancing column in check. Skerrett now peremptorily ordered Cadoux
to leave the bridge-house. Cadoux could only comply, but remarked
that “but few of his party would reach the camp.” And as a matter of
fact every officer present was either killed or wounded (Cadoux being
killed), besides 11 sergeants and 48 rank and file out of a total
strength of 100 men. Until the party left the bridge-house, Cadoux
had not lost a man except the double sentries on the bridge, who were
killed in the rush made by the French. Accordingly, while Harry Smith
in the text blames Skerrett for leaving Cadoux in an almost impossible
position without support, Thomas Smith’s charge against Skerrett is
that he recalled Cadoux when he was well able to hold his own.
[38] In the _Recollections of Rifleman Harris_ (1848), we have an
account of Cadoux which tallies closely with that of the text: “I
remember there was an officer named, I think, Cardo, with the Rifles.
He was a great beau; but although rather effeminate and ladylike in
manners, so much so as to be remarked by the whole Regiment at that
time, yet he was found to be a most gallant officer when we were
engaged with the enemy in the field. He was killed whilst fighting
bravely in the Pyrenees, and amongst other jewellery he wore, he had a
ring on his finger worth one hundred and fifty guineas.”
[39] Kincaid (_Random Shots_, p. 273) tells the story at second hand
with his usual _esprit_.
[40] Cope writes _Arrhune_. The Duke’s Despatches have _Rhune_.
[41] St. Pé, Nov. 13, 1813. No. 847.
[42] Cope’s account (p. 155) represents Barnard as falling wounded in
the attack on the redoubt described in the text below. But he seems
here to have read George Simmons’s rather carelessly. Though Simmons,
in his Journal for Nov. 10, says Barnard was wounded “towards the end
of this day’s fighting” (p. 321), in his letter of Dec. 7, he makes it
clear that it was before the final attack on the redoubt; in fact, as
Barnard was “reconnoitring how to move to the best advantage” (p. 326).
There is no discrepancy between this and the text above.
[43] It is difficult to reconcile this story with that told by Colonel
Gawler (quoted by Leeke, _Lord Seaton’s Regiment at Waterloo_, vol.
ii. p. 365). Speaking of the check received by Colborne and the 52nd
in their advance on the redoubt, he goes on: “At this moment an
interesting episode occurred. Baron Alten, seeing from the lower ridge
the desperate nature of the effort, endeavoured to send an order to
prevent further attempts. It was confided to the Brigade-Major, Harry
Smith. Trusting to the shifting character of the mark of a horseman
in motion, he tried the desperate venture; but it was impossible; no
single living creature could reach the 52nd under the concentrated
fire from the forts. The horse was soon brought down, and Captain
Smith had to limit his triumph to carrying off his good and precious
English saddle, which he performed with his accustomed coolness, to the
amusement of observing friends and enemies.”
[44] Query, Lindsell? See W. Tomkinson, _Diary of a Cavalry Officer_
(1894), p. 195.
[45] So in the Duke’s despatch. But query, Barrouilhet? See Napier,
Bk. xxiii. ch. ii., and the plan in Sir H. E. Maxwell’s _Life of
Wellington_, i. p. 358.
[46] Query, Baring? The name Beyring seems not to occur in the Army
Lists of 1813, 1814.
[47] See Appendix II. The _hour_ of the death is not stated in the
letter.
[48] Charles, from 1819 5th Duke of Richmond, after the introduction
of the Catholic Emancipation Bill became a vigorous opponent of
Wellington. Though reckoned an ultra-Tory, he joined the Reform
Ministry in 1830, and afterwards supported Lord Melbourne. On the other
hand, in 1845-6 (after the date when the remarks in the text were
written), he was a leader of the opposition to corn-law abolition. He
died within a few days of Sir Harry Smith, on 21st October, 1860.
[49] According to G. Simmons’ diary (p. 340), this attack on the French
Cavalry took place on 16th March, two days before the advance of the
Division. Simmons says the French captain “died soon after.”
[50] The 3rd Caçadores at this period were commanded by a fine gallant
soldier and a good fellow, but as he rejoiced in a name of unusual
length—Senhor Manuel Terçeira Caetano Pinto de Silvuica y Souza—we gave
him the much shorter appellation of “Jack Nasty Face,” for he was an
ugly dog, though a very good officer.—H.G.S.
[51] He was nearly twenty-seven. See p. 1 _n._
[52] Ross wrote, “So unexpected was our entry and capture of
Washington, and so confident was Madison of the defeat of our troops,
that he had prepared a supper for the expected conquerors; and when our
advanced party entered the President’s house, they found a table laid
with forty covers” (_Dictionary of National Biography_, “Ross”).
[53] The biblical account of Belshazzar’s feast (Daniel v.) does not
mention a storm. Sir H. Smith’s mental picture was no doubt derived
from engravings of Martin’s representation of the scene.
[54] “From Major-General Ross to Earl Bathurst.
“_Tonnant_ in the Patuxent, Aug. 30, 1814.
“Captain Smith, assistant adjutant-general to the troops, who will have
the honor to deliver this dispatch, I beg leave to recommend to your
lordship’s protection, as an officer of much merit and great promise,
and capable of affording any further information that may be requisite”
(Given in W. James’s _Military Occurrences of the Late War_ (1818), ii.
p. 498).
[55] Charles Cavendish Fulke Greville (1794-1865), Clerk to the Privy
Council from 1821; author of the _Greville Memoirs_; known to his
friends as Punch, or the Gruncher (_Dict. Nat. Biog._).
[56] See p. 158.
[57] Byron, _The Giaour_:
“Swift as the hurled on high jerreed,
Springs to the touch his startled steed.”
[58] See p. 209.
[59] Augustus Frederick (b. 1794), only son of Augustus Frederick,
Duke of Sussex (son of George III.), by his marriage with Lady Augusta
Murray. The two children of this marriage, when disinherited by the
Royal Marriage Act, took the name D’Este.
[60] Sir J. Lambert was always in the Guards, and prided himself
on being Adjutant of the Grenadier Guards, as his eldest son now
is.—H.G.S. (1844).
[61] _I.e._ make a scapegoat of.
[62] Colonel Mullins was blamed for not having the ladders and fascines
ready.
[63] Pluck?
[64] After that attack I have always been of opinion that General Keane
should have occupied the narrow neck of land behind the deep ditch
which ran across from the river to the morass, and was afterwards (but
then not at all) so strongly fortified by the enemy. I admit there
were many, very many objections, but I still maintain there were more
important reasons for its occupation, since our Army had been shoved
into such a position, for, to begin from the beginning, it ought never
to have gone there.—H.G.S.
[65] “From Major-General Lambert to Earl Bathurst.
“His Majesty’s Ship _Tonnant_, off Chandeleur’s Island,
“January 28, 1815.
“Major Smith, of the 95th Regiment, now acting as Military Secretary,
is so well known for his zeal and talents, that I can with great
truth say that I think he possesses every qualification to render him
hereafter one of the brightest ornaments of his profession.”
[66] Cope’s order of events (p. 192) is as follows: Disembarcation of
troops on Ile Dauphine, Feb. 8; surrender of Fort Bowyer, Feb. 11;
arrival of news of the preliminaries of peace, Feb. 14. According to
the text, the disembarcation on Ile Dauphine would appear to have
followed the peace-news. There is no inconsistency, however. Only one
Brigade (the 4th, 21st, and 44th Regiments) was employed in reducing
Fort Bowyer. This Brigade disembarked on Ile Dauphine after the capture
of the Fort, the rest of the army having disembarked previously.
[67] They were separated for a great part of a year during the Kafir
War, 1835. Perhaps he is thinking especially of separation by sea.
[68] “During the Peninsular War, and how long before I know not, it was
very occasionally permitted to young men who had difficulty in getting
a commission, with the consent of the commanding officer, to join some
regiment on service before the enemy. In action the Volunteer acted as
a private soldier, carrying his musket and wearing his cross-belts like
any other man. After a campaign or two, or after having distinguished
himself at the storming of some town or fortress, he would probably
obtain a commission. He messed with the officers of the company to
which he was attached. His dress was the same as that of an officer,
except that, instead of wings or epaulettes, he wore shoulder-straps of
silver or gold, to confine the cross-belts.”—W. Leeke, _Lord Seaton’s
Regiment at Waterloo_ (1866), vol. i. p. 6.
[69] See p. 151.
[70] See p. 80.
[71] The Regiment of Orange Nassau held Smohain and La Haye, and part
of the second Regiment of Nassau the farm of Papelotte.
[72] See p. 155.
[73] In 1833, Major G. Gawler, of the 52nd, published _The Crisis of
Waterloo_, in which he claimed for his regiment the honour of having by
their flank-attack defeated the Imperial Guards in their last charge,
an honour generally given to the Guards. His contention was supported
by Rev. W. Leeke in _Lord Seaton’s Regiment at Waterloo_ (1866).
[74] There was one case at least: John Luard, Lieutenant, 16th Light
Dragoons, and George Luard, Captain, 18th Hussars.
[75] The MS. is in Harry Smith’s hand, and the wording is probably his.
[76] See p. 259.
[77] See Appendix II., pp. 708, 709.
[78] Battle of Denain, 24 July, 1712. Denain is only about five miles
from Cambray. Marlborough was removed from the command of the armies
of the Grand Alliance by the intrigues of Oxford and St. John in order
to force the allies into the peace of Utrecht. The withdrawal of the
British troops in the field a little later was immediately followed by
the first really serious defeat sustained by the allies in the central
field of the war since Marlborough had assumed the command; Villars
cutting up and annihilating an isolated force of 8000 men under the
Earl of Albemarle, who were holding a bridge across the Scheldt at
Denain to cover Eugene’s force besieging Landrécy. For the clearing
up of this passage (left incomplete in the MS.) I am indebted to my
colleague, Mr. H. W. Appleton, M.A.
[79] “Few good riders haggle at a ditch, but an abattis of trees, with
their trunks towards their friends, and their branches spread out
towards the foe, is a less manageable obstacle.”—H. Havelock, in his
account of his brother W. H. (Buist’s _Annals of India for 1848_).
[80] See p. 19, bottom.
[81] The 1st Battalion landed at Leith on 27th Sept. (Cope, p. 217.)
[82] See p. 166, bottom.
[83] Henry Havelock, writing to his old Captain, then Major-General
Smith, Oct. 3, 1840, refers perhaps to the events of this day. [Was
it April 2, 1820? See Cope, p. 220.] “I feel that it is time I ought
to be trying to ascend the ladder, if ever, for as the _Battle of
Glasgow Green_ was fought in 1820, I fear I must now be not very far
from forty-six.” It is perhaps not the least of Harry Smith’s services
to his country that he incited his subaltern, Henry Havelock, to make
a serious study of the science of his profession. Havelock writes
to him Sept. 5, 1840, as his “master,” and writes of him on Oct. 2,
1847 (after his appointment to the Governorship of the Cape): “When
I was a boy, he was one of the few people that ever took the trouble
to teach me anything; and while all the rest around me would have
persuaded me that English soldiering consisted in blackening and
whitening belts with patent varnish and pipe-clay, and getting every
kind of mercenary manœuvre, he pointed my mind to the nobler part of
our glorious profession. As a public man I shall ever acknowledge his
merits. He is an excellent soldier—one of the few now extant among
us who have set themselves to comprehend the higher portions of the
art. He has a natural talent for war, and it has been improved by the
constant reflection of years, and much experience. There is no species
of business which Harry Smith’s mental tact will not enable him to
grasp.”—Marshman’s _Memoirs of Sir H. Havelock_ (1867), pp. 66, 165.
[84] “Peterloo,” 16 August, 1819. It is amusing to contrast the
soldierly reference to an “affair of Yeomanry,” with Shelley’s _Masque
of Anarchy_, called forth by the same occurrence.
[85] “In 1819 and onwards for a few years, when the country was
supposed to be in danger from a rising of the “Radicals,” and there
was certainly a good deal of disaffection, Glasgow was the centre of
the agitation. In these circumstances it was resolved to re-embody
the “Glasgow Volunteer Sharpshooters,” a Corps which in 1808 had made
way for the “Local Militia.” This was accordingly done, the senior
surviving officer of the old corps, the well known Samuel Hunter, of
the “Glasgow Herald,” being appointed Lieut.-Colonel Commandant, and
Robert Douglas Alston, the Major. Colonel Hunter retired in 1822, and
Major Alston became Colonel.
Colonel Alston was a capital officer, and the regiment, in appearance,
discipline and drill, a very fine one. Some of the older citizens of
Glasgow must still remember the grand reviews on the green, in which
the Sharpshooters and Regulars took part under the command of Colonel
Smith, afterwards Sir H. Smith, the hero of Aliwal.”—_The Old Country
Houses of the Old Glasgow Gentry_, 2nd edit., p. 6.
[86] “By an order dated ‘Horse Guards, Feb. 16, 1816,’ the 95th
was removed from the regiments of the line, and styled _The Rifle
Brigade_.”—Cope, p. 214.
[87] He was now admitted to the Freedom of the City of Glasgow.
[88] Then the seat of Archibald Speirs, Esq. His family consisted
of five sons and nine daughters.—_The Old Country Houses of the Old
Glasgow Gentry_, 2nd edit. pp. 95, 96.
[89] I supply this name from Cope, p. 226.
[90] “Colonel Norcott feels himself bound by every principle of public
and private duty to express to Lieutenant-Colonel Smith and the
officers and battalion at large his most sincere and deep regret for
the loss of an officer who has served for twenty-two years with such
indefatigable zeal, distinguished bravery, and merit, and now retires
from its active duties on promotion and an appointment on the staff in
Jamaica, but to resume in that situation the same persevering devotion
to his profession, his king, and country.
“The Colonel knows how truly every officer in the Brigade participates
his feelings and sentiments, and is assured of the lively and warm
wishes of every non-commissioned officer and soldier for the welfare of
one who, with every attribute of as good and as gallant an officer as
ever lived, invariably united the most kind and peculiar interest for
the comfort and happiness of the soldier.
“At the particular request of this officer, it affords the Colonel
much pleasure to release from confinement to barracks, and punishments
of every description, all soldiers now under their sentences; he only
hopes, and is ready to believe, that they will prove sensible and
grateful for Colonel Smith’s kindness, shown up to the very last moment
he remains amongst them, in addition to every noble and honourable
feeling which all soldiers ought to show in the performance of their
duty and conduct on every occasion, by a determination to relinquish
every habit tending to injure the good of the service, their corps, and
individual respectability, comfort, happiness, and future welfare.
“A. Norcott, _Colonel_.
“Halifax, Nova Scotia, June 4, [? Jan.] 1827.”
[91] See p. 336.
[92] Algernon Frederick Greville (1798-1864), younger brother of the
author of the _Greville Memoirs_ (see p. 216), after being present as
an ensign at Quatre Bras and Waterloo, served as aide-de-camp during
the occupation of France, first to Sir John Lambert and afterwards
to the Duke of Wellington. When the Duke became Commander-in-Chief,
January, 1827, Greville became his private secretary and continued so
during the Duke’s premiership.
[93] See pp. 340 and 97, 98.
[94] For an interesting memorandum on the diet and treatment of
military prisoners, submitted by Harry Smith to Sir B. D’Urban in 1834,
see Appendix III.
[95] With this and the four following chapters, compare Appendix II.
[96] This disposes of part of H. Cloete’s dramatic story, which,
however, should be compared (_Great Boer Trek_, pp. 78, 79).
[97] The following characteristic story of Harry Smith about this time
is told by Mr. H. A. Bryden in _Temple Bar_, April, 1902. “In the Kafir
War, when irregular troops were much employed, odd scenes occasionally
happened. A corps of Grahamstown Volunteers was drawn up and paraded
before Colonel Smith, then Chief of the Staff. As he passed down the
ranks, one of the men touched his hat. ‘None of your d—d politeness in
the ranks, sir,’ was the response.”
[98] Cp. for this incident, and the whole history of the war, Sir J. E.
Alexander’s _Narrative of a Voyage, etc._ London, 1837.
[99] Given by Alexander, vol. ii. p. 14.
[100] Writing of this to his wife, on the 7th April, he says, “Well,
yesterday, alma mia, was the anniversary of that which led to our
blessed union, and, after my check at the natural fortress, which, by
Jupiter, was very strong—inaccessible, in short—I thought to myself,
‘Well, this day so and so many years ago, I had a good licking in
Badajos breaches, and the old Duke tried something else.’ So the blood
rushed into my heart again as gay as ever. ‘By G—d, I’ll have them out
yet.’ I had no information but my spyglass, and I made a _détour_, and
was lucky in hitting off the plan to approach.”
[101] Alexander, vol. ii. p. 99.
[102] The slaying of the ox on this occasion is also described by
Alexander, vol. ii. p. 132.
[103] Afterwards Sir Theophilus Shepstone.
[104] Alexander, vol ii. p. 147.
[105] The same speech is quoted by Alexander, vol. ii. p. 160.
[106] Alexander gives the river as Gnabacka. Schmidt’s map (1876) gives
it as Xnabeccana and Gnabecca.
[107] Mpako?
[108] Lord Glenelg.
[109] Alexander says “the Intabakandoda range” (vol. ii. p. 248).
[110] For Warden’s report of the conference, see Alexander, vol. ii. p.
335.
[111] These ants are most venomous—creep into the eyes, ears, etc.,
and cause a pain which no creature was ever known to bear without
lamentation; in all other punishments not even a sigh escapes them.—H.
G. S.
[112] See p. 441.
[113] Alexander, vol. ii. p. 222: “Nonubé, the mother of the young
Siwana of the T’Slambies, ... is the great widow of Dushani.”
[114] The author seems inadvertently to have omitted the rest of this
particular story.
[115] See p. 433.
[116] See Appendix V.
[117] So Alexander, vol. ii. pp. 134, 135: “A Highland piper was
ordered to play for Hintza’s amusement. Hintza was asked what he
thought of the music. He answered, that some of it reminded him of
his children at home and made him cry, and that he supposed that the
instrument had been invented by us out of regard for the General [Sir
B. D’Urban], to imitate his crying when he was a little boy, and to
remind him of the crying of his children.”
[118] Captain Andries Stockenstrom, afterwards Sir A. Stockenstrom,
Bart. Lord Glenelg’s dispatch was dated 26th Dec. 1835.
[119] Given above, p. 454.
[120] He succeeded Sir B. D’Urban, 22 Jan. 1838.
[121] With Chapters XL. to XLIV. compare the extracts from letters
given in Appendix VI.
[122] On this very day twelve months, this ship, the _David Scott_,
was burned in harbour in the Mauritius, having previously buried her
captain at sea on the voyage from Calcutta.—H. G. S.
[123] Colonel Harry Smith was appointed on 21st August, 1840, to the
rank of Major-General (in the East Indies only). Writing to his friend
Captain Payne, 72nd Highlanders, on 17th January, 1841, he says, “I get
on very well here with the public functionaries of all descriptions,
tho’ they are odd fellows to deal with. But I have very much learned to
restrain an impetuosity which never produces so favourable a result as
moderation, for, if right, it frequently makes you wrong.”
[124] Henry Thoby Prinsep, Member of Council at Calcutta, 1835-1843;
Member of the Court of Directors of the East India Company, 1850-1858;
Member of the Indian Council, 1858-1874. Died 1878.
[125] Elphinstone had commanded the 33rd Regiment during the years of
the occupation of France, 1815-1818.
[126] _I.e._ Nott.
[127] In Memorandum No. 1, dated “Simla, 7th August, 1842,” the policy
advocated is, “strike a decisive blow which will maintain our prestige
in India, and then abandon Afghanistan, which ought never to have been
entered.”
In Memorandum No. 2, dated “Simla, 29th August,” he states that his
policy has been adopted. But the method involved “A division of force;
an advance into the heart of the enemy’s country; the siege of two
cities with no positive means, one the venerated city of the Prophet,
Guznee, the other Cabool, the capital; a retreat; the destruction of
the base of these operations, Candahar.” The plan, therefore, involved
too many risks.
In Memorandum No. 3, dated “Simla, 7th September,” he says that the
evacuation of Candahar before Cabool and Guznee had been reduced was
contrary to all military science. “Nott’s column is now a single ship
in the midst of the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by hostile fleets.”
“The science of war dictates that as rapid a concentration as can
be effected of the forces of Nott and Pollock should be made to
Guznee—reduce it, hence to Cabool. Thus the union of force ensures
one of the primary objects in war—‘one line of operations, one base,
and a union of resources.’” “A kind of drawn battle with fluctuating
advantages is worse to the general cause than if no attempt whatever
had been made to ‘strike a blow.’” “Our force is on the verge of winter
in the prosecution of two sieges—having abandoned its base previously
to the reduction of either, and it has a fair probability of being
distressed for food and forage.” “Our present base Jellalabad is of the
most difficult and almost inaccessible character—and a whole country,
the Punjaub, between it and our natural frontier.” “If the enemy knew
how to apply his means, he would fall upon either Nott or Pollock.”
These Memoranda, marked “confidential,” were sent to a number of
Indian officers of high rank, civil and military, and their answers
(preserved) show a general acceptance of Harry Smith’s views. Among
them is the following letter from Henry Havelock and note from
Broadfoot to Havelock:—
“My dear General,
“I have the pleasure to return the Minutes which Broadfoot, the most
gallant and talented fellow that I met beyond the Indus, has read, as
you will see by the accompanying note.
“I too, though all unworthy to be mentioned in the same day, have
perused them, and agree with you in every point, excepting one or
two minor matters which those only who were in Afghanistan could be
correctly informed upon.
“I feel like a man worn out, which is perhaps not surprising after
having had my mind pretty much on the stretch for four years, but
will come and speak to you upon General Skelton’s affairs to-morrow
morning, by God’s help, and try to get a look at the charges.
“I thought Sir R. S[ale] would not go home. He is to blame, but
generally takes odd views of things and then is not easy to move. He
ought to make a personal fight for his pension.
“Ever yours very truly,
“H. Havelock.”
“My dear Havelock,
“The bearer will deliver to you General Smith’s minutes. I have read
them with much interest, and am much tempted to give you some of the
reflections they have given rise to, but if I began I should run into
a dissertation. Give the General my best thanks, and believe me,
“[G. Broadfoot] [Signature cut off].
“Major Havelock, C.B.”
[128] “_Dâk_: post, relays of palanquins or other carriages along a
road” (_Anglo-Indian Dictionary_).
[129] For 26 December, 1843.
[130] “The Governor-General, with the ladies of his camp, rode on
elephants beside the advancing columns” (Trotter, _India under
Victoria_, vol. i. p. 100).
[131] Lord Keane.
[132] Sir Charles Napier, writing to Harry Smith early in 1844, treats
humorously of the presence of Lady Gough, Juana Smith, etc., under fire
at this battle. “I congratulate you on your feats of arms. You had a
tough job of it: these Asiatics hit hard, methinks. How came all the
ladies to be in the fight? I suppose you all wanted to be gloriously
rid of your wives? Well, there is something in that; but I wonder the
women stand so atrocious an attempt. Poor things! I dare say they too
had their hopes. They talk of our immoral conduct in Scinde! I am sure
there never was any so bad as this. God forgive you all. Read your
Bible, and wear your laurels.”—W. Napier’s _Life of Sir Charles Napier_
(1857), vol. iii. p. 45.
[133] On Sir Harry Smith’s appointment to the command of the 1st
Division, his duties as Adjutant-General devolved upon Lieut.-Colonel
Barr.
[134] It will be noted that Sir Harry Smith, in spite of all that
followed, supports Sir H. Hardinge’s military judgment in the famous
dispute on this occasion between him and Sir H. Gough. A contrary view
is taken in Gough and Innes’ _The Sikhs_, etc., p. 107.
[135] General Avitabile, an Italian, had been employed by Runjeet Singh
in training his troops.
[136] Son of Lord Fitzroy Somerset, afterwards Lord Raglan, and
great-nephew of the Duke of Wellington, his mother (a daughter of Lord
Mornington) being the Duke’s niece.
[137] Sir Harry Smith’s capture of the village of Ferozeshah and his
retention of it during the night were vaguely referred to in Sir H.
Gough’s dispatch in these terms: “I now brought up Major-General Sir
Harry Smith’s Division, and he captured and long retained _another
point of the position_.” On this circumstance General Sir James Kempt,
in a letter to Sir Harry Smith dated “5th April, 1846,” makes the
following comment, which I give for what it may be worth:—
“Sir H. Gough does not in his public Dispatches of the action mention
your carrying the village of Ferozeshah, or allude to the difficulty
in which you were placed, and my _first_ impression was that he had
written the Dispatch before he received your Report. But as Gilbert in
his Report of the proceedings of his Division (which has been published
in India) says that after driving the enemy from their position
opposed to him, he was induced (from circumstances which he mentions)
to withdraw from the position they had so gallantly won and to take
up a position _under instructions_ 400 yards in the rear, where he
bivouacked for the night—_this_, and Littler having also withdrawn on
your left, fully accounts for the unprotected state in which you were
left after carrying the village. But Sir H. Gough could not mention you
in the way which your service deserved in the _public_ Dispatch without
telling the whole truth, and letting the public know how miserably the
thing was managed.”
[138] Colonel T. Bunbury writes of the battle of Ferozeshah: “Everybody
was so famished with hunger that Sir H. Smith, hearing that (one of our
officers had secured a lamb), sent to beg of us a mutton chop. But he
was too late. The sheep had been slaughtered, cooked, and devoured.”
(_Reminiscences of a Veteran_, iii. p. 289).
The same story is told in a letter of a private soldier, dated “January
5th, 1846” (printed in the _Cambridge Chronicle_, 25th April, 1846):
“The Governor-General, the Commander-in-Chief, the General of Division,
the A.D.C., and the whole of the staff—with this one exception, they
rode and we marched—fared the same as ourselves—without food, without
water.” The same writer relates, “General Smith has command of the 1st
Division. He exposed himself very much, too much in fact, for when the
whole of the men were lying down to escape the shower of shot, the
gallant General remained on his horse in front of the line, exhorting
the men to lie still as they could not get up and live, and when they
charged the guns, he led them in truly gallant style. His escape was
truly miraculous.” “The gallant General Smith has just passed—he looks
somewhat thinner, and no wonder, for he has a very busy time of it. I
hope to God he will come off unscathed, and may he receive the reward
of his services from his sovereign.”
[139] Before sending the dispatch given in the next chapter, Sir Harry
wrote in pencil from the field of battle the following short note to
the Commander-in-Chief:—
“Bank of the Sutlej, 28th January.
“Hearing the enemy had received a reinforcement yesterday of twelve
guns, and 4000 men last night, I moved my troops at daylight this
morning to attack. I think I have taken every gun he had and driven him
from the river. My guns are now battering him from the opposite bank.
He came out to fight me. I expect fifty guns are on the field at least.
My loss I hope not great. The Cavalry charged several times, both black
and white, like soldiers, and infantry vied with each other in bravery.
To the God of victory we are all indebted. God bless you, dear Sir
Hugh. My staff all right. Mackeson and Cunningham, of the Political
Department, bore heavily on some villages. The enemy required all I
could do with such brave fellows to teach him to swim.
“H. G. Smith,
“Major-General.”
[140] Not received by the Secret Committee.
[141] Eleven guns since ascertained to be sunk in the river, total
sixty-seven; thirty odd jingalls fell into our hands.
[142] He wrote these lines in September, 1846.
[143] No one but those who have encountered it, can be aware of the
difficulty there is in disposing of the stores and captured guns of
your enemy. I had 52 to move, and most of their own draught animals had
been killed in action or shot by the victors. The country yields no
resources in aid, thus I had to use the transport of my own 32 guns to
send on to Loodiana 47 of the enemy’s, and this delayed my return to
Headquarters three days.—H. G. S.
[144] A trooper in the 16th Lancers, named Eaton, writing on 2nd Feb.,
1846, of the battle of Aliwal, says, “As soon as the Commander-in-Chief
received the dispatches, which he did on horseback while reconnoitring,
he leaped from his horse and gave three cheers, a salute of eighteen
guns was fired, and the line gave three hearty cheers for us, their
gallant comrades, as they called us.” The same writer gives a very
characteristic picture of Sir Harry Smith: “The General told us that
when our regiment was in Lahore in 1837, the King thought us all
gentlemen, but had he seen us on that day, he would have proclaimed us
all devils, ‘for you charged their ranks more like them than anything
else.’ As he left us we saw tears in the poor old man’s eyes, and he
said, ‘God bless you, my brave boys; I love you.’”—See _Cambridge
Independent Press_, 4th April, 1846.
Of the above letter Professor Sedgwick wrote, “Excepting Harry Smith’s
dispatch, which nothing can reach, it is one of the most soul-stirring
letters that has come from India.”—_Life of Sedgwick_, ii. p. 102.
[145] Prince Waldemar of Prussia, travelling as Count Ravensburg, was
present with his suite at the battles of Moodkee, Ferozeshah, Aliwal,
and Sobraon.
[146] His aide-de-camp, now General Sir Edward A. Holdich, K.C.B.
[147] A coloured print of the 31st Regiment at Sobraon was published
afterwards by Ackermann. There is also a large engraving, “The
triumphal reception of the Seikh guns” (at Calcutta), after W. Taylor,
in which Sir Harry Smith is a prominent figure.
[148] The following extract from a letter from Lieut.-Col. Bellers,
who believes himself to be the only officer now surviving who served
in the 50th during the Sikh War (during the greater part of which he
was Adjutant), shows that the admiration expressed by Sir Harry for the
50th regiment was fully reciprocated. “With us Sir Harry Smith was ever
most popular, I may say, beloved: a strict disciplinarian, but never
exacting more than was necessary. His figure on ‘Aliwal’ with his cloak
on in front of our Division is well in my memory.”
Mr. B. Genn of Ely, who served in India in the 15th Hussars in 1846
under Sir Harry, gives us the _soldiers’_ view of him. “He was about
the most popular man in the army. He always had something jocose to
say. He would gammon us by complimenting us in comparison with some
other regiment—then we should hear from the men of the other regiment
that he had complimented them in the same manner. He would stroll round
the tents, and there would be a cry, ‘Sir Harry Smith’s coming!’ Then
he would call out, ‘Trumpeter, order a round of grog; and not too much
water: what I call “fixed bayonets”!’”
[149] The official dispatches not till March 26th.
[150] Kincaid, in his generous enthusiasm, wrote a letter signed
“Veteran” to the _Times_ of March 30th, to acquaint the public with his
friend’s past services and military character. Speaking of Peninsular
days, he writes, “Those only who have served under a good and an
indifferent staff officer can estimate the immense value of the former,
and Smith was one of the very best, for his heart and soul were in his
duty. His light wiry frame rendered him insensible to fatigue, and,
no matter what battle or march might have occupied the day or night,
or what elementary war might be raging, Smith was never to be found
off his horse, until he saw every man in his brigade housed, if cover
could possibly be had. His devotion to their comforts was repaid by
their affection.... No one who knew Harry Smith (his familiar name) in
those days could doubt for a moment that whenever he acquired the rank,
and the opportunity offered, he would show himself a General worthy of
his illustrious preceptor.... The battle of Aliwal speaks for itself,
as the dispatch of Sir H. Smith would alone proclaim that he had been
trained under Sir John Moore and finished under the master-mind of
Wellington.”
[151] Sir James, writing to Sir Harry Smith himself on 5th April, said,
“I well knew that you only wanted an opportunity to display the great
military qualities which I knew you possessed in no common degree....
Most nobly did you perform your part and show how a battle ought to be
fought when the troops are commanded by a skilful and brave General who
feels himself ‘at home’ in the thickest of the fight, and who knows how
to handle them, and how to make use of each arm at the proper time as
an auxiliary to the other. The Great Duke in his speech in the House of
Lords makes _you_ the Hero of the day.... On the day that thanks were
voted to you in Parliament, I invited Barnard, Johnny Kincaid, Rowan,
Alex. McDonald, and other of your old friends and comrades to dine with
me, and we drank a bumper to your health and that of Lady Smith.”
[152] Compare an extract from the journal of Sir C. Napier (_Life of
Sir C. Napier_, iii. p. 398): “[Hardinge’s] army is for discipline the
worst I have seen.... There were no picquets or patrols, not even when
close to and in sight of the enemy! I am told, however, that Harry
Smith’s Division was an honourable exception.” And another from the
same journal, dated “July 9” (p. 434): “Harry Smith is a good-hearted,
brave fellow, and it gladdens me that he has been rewarded, for he
was the only man that acted with any science and skill as a general
officer.”
[153] Written, as Sir Edward Holdich tells me, on the battlefield on
the night of the battle, and hardly altered afterwards.
[154] W. M. Thackeray, _Book of Snobs_: “Military Snobs.”
[155] Professor Sedgwick wrote similarly, “I do not believe the old
Duke ever spoke so much praise in the course of his life before, and
all he said was from the heart” (_Life of Sedgwick_, ii. p. 102).
[156] See p. 329.
[157] Sir Robert Peel, in a letter of 21st April, requesting Sir
Harry’s acceptance of a copy of his speeches of April 2nd, added, “Sir
Robert Peel trusts that the special reference in the Gazette and the
Patent for conferring a Baronetcy on Sir Henry Smith to the name of
Aliwal (unusual in the case of a Baronetcy) will be acceptable to the
feelings of Sir Henry Smith.”
[158] See p. 33. The letter has been printed by Col. Verner in _A
British Rifleman_ (George Simmons’ diaries).
[159] See p. 331.
[160] Charles Beckwith, so often mentioned in the first volume, lost a
leg at Waterloo. During his time of suffering he underwent a religious
conversion. “I was carried away by the love of glory, but a good God
said to me, ‘Stop, rascal!’ and He cut off my leg; and now I think I
shall be the happier for it.” Through casually opening a book in the
Duke of Wellington’s library, he became interested in the Vaudois
or Waldensian Protestants, and from 1827 onwards spent a great part
of his life among them as a father or apostle. He died in 1862 (see
_Dictionary of National Biography_).
[161] Sir Harry passed Gen. Beckwith’s letter on to Col. W. Havelock,
the “Young Varmint” of the Light Division (destined to die a soldier’s
death at Ramnuggur two years later), and received a characteristic
letter of acknowledgment of the “treat” it had given to “yours
affectionately, Old Will.”
[162] Lord Malmesbury wrote in his diary for May 8th, “Dined with the
Eglintons. General Sir Harry Smith was the great lion of the evening.
He is a little old man, very clever-looking. She is a Spanish woman,
and has been very handsome” (see _Memoirs of an Ex-minister_).
[163] The Peninsular Medal had just been granted.
[164] For his early friendship with Harry Smith, see p. 5, _n._
[165] On the opposite page is given a facsimile of the handbill issued
for the occasion.
[166] Dean Peacock, who presided, referred to the character he had
received of Sir Harry from Sir John Herschel, as one not only valiant
in the field, but able to conciliate a foe and turn the enemies of the
British Empire into its friends.
[167] _Life of Sedgwick_ (Clark and Hughes), vol. ii. p. 124. The
_Illustrated London News_ of 10th July, 1847, has an illustration
representing Sir Harry passing the house of his birth.
[168] Then commanded by his “third Waterloo brother,” Captain Charles
Smith, with whom Sir Harry stayed during his visit.
[169] See p. 158.
[170] During his Whittlesey visit an address was presented to Sir Harry
at Thorney, on behalf of the inhabitants of that village.
[171] The Whittlesey troop of Yeomanry Cavalry, under the command of
Captain Charles Smith, formed the guard of honour at the Installation.
[172] A letter from the Rev. Canon Charles Evans tells us of an
incident which took place _within_ the Senate House. “I was present in
the Senate House and stationed close to the platform on which Sir Harry
was conversing with the Duke of Wellington, as we were waiting for the
arrival of the Queen and Prince Albert, from whom I was to have the
honour of receiving the Senior Chancellor’s Medal. The undergraduates
were loudly cheering the Duke, when laying his hand on Sir Harry’s
shoulder, he said, ‘No, no, this is the man you ought to cheer; here
is the hero of the day.’ Sir Harry Smith burst into tears and said, ‘I
little thought I should live to hear such kind words as these from my
old chief.’ I distinctly heard every word.”
[173] _Life of Sedgwick_, ii. pp. 125-127 and 573.
[174] Told me by General Sir Edward Holdich, who sailed with Sir Harry
as his aide-de-camp.
[175] Theal’s _History of South Africa_, iv. p. 308.
[176] Mrs. Ward, _Five Years in Kaffirland_.
[177] After the abandonment of the Province of Queen Adelaide, King
William’s Town had been deserted. Mrs. Ward, early in 1847 (p. 147),
speaks of “the ruins of what had once promised to be a flourishing
town.” “The walls of Sir Harry Smith’s abode are still standing.” Sir
Harry now ordered Colonel Mackinnon to cause it to be laid out in
squares and streets on both sides the Buffalo. He also established in
British Kaffraria a chain of forts, and four military villages called
Juanasburg, Woburn, Auckland, and Ely.
[178] Theal, iv. p. 311.
[179] The choice of this date shows Sir Harry’s pleasure in restoring
all his old arrangements. It was the date of the great meeting of
chiefs in 1836 (see pp. 437, 438, and Appendix V.), and it was then
arranged that on every 7th January there should be a similar meeting.
[180] Theal, iv. p. 315.
[181] On his way he stayed from January 12th to 14th at Shiloh, and
then selected a site for a town at the junction of the Klipplaats
and Ox Kraal Rivers to which he gave the name of his native place,
Whittlesea.
[182] Theal, iv. p. 421.
[183] Ibid., iv. p. 422.
[184] Theal, iv. p. 427.
[185] The question was submitted to a Committee of Privy Council,
whose report was approved on 13th July, 1850. They gave it as their
opinion that to abandon a sovereignty virtually assumed by Sir P.
Maitland in 1845 and proclaimed by Sir H. Smith in 1848 would be
productive of more evil than good. But they add sentences which read
strangely in these changed times. “We cannot pass from this part of
the subject without submitting for your Majesty’s consideration our
opinion that very serious dangers are inseparable from the recent, and
still more from any future, extension of your Majesty’s dominions in
Southern Africa. That policy has enlarged, and, if pursued further,
may indefinitely enlarge, the demands on the revenue and the military
force of this kingdom with a view to objects of no perceptible
national importance, and to the hindrance of other objects in which
the welfare of the nation at large is deeply involved.... Unless some
decisive method can be taken to prevent further advances in the same
direction, it will be impossible to assign any limit to the growth of
these unprofitable acquisitions, or to the extent and number of the
burdensome obligations inseparable from them. In humbly advising that
the Orange River Sovereignty should be added to the dominions of your
Majesty’s crown, we think ourselves therefore bound to qualify that
recommendation by the further advice that all officers, who represent,
or who may hereafter represent, your Majesty in Southern Africa,
should be interdicted, in terms as explicit as can be employed, and
under sanctions as grave as can be devised, from making any addition,
whether permanent or provisional, of any territory however small to
the existing dominions of your Majesty in the African Continent, and
from doing any act, or using any language, conveying, or which could
reasonably be construed to convey, any promise or pledge of that
nature. And we are further of opinion that the proposed interdict
should be published in the most formal manner in your Majesty’s name;
that so, in the contingency of any future disregard of it by your
Majesty’s officers, your Majesty may be able to overrule any such
act, or to disappoint any such promise of theirs, without risking the
imputation of any breach of the public faith.”
[186] J. Noble, _South Africa_ (1877), p. 126.
[187] “The Governor—likened to a thunderbolt in presence of an
enemy—acted with characteristic promptitude.”—Noble, p. 132.
[188] Called in Sir Harry Smith’s dispatch “Kroom Alem Boh,” by Theal
“Kromme-Elleboog.”
[189] “Up to this moment he was confident that no European in South
Africa would point a weapon against his person. In this confidence he
had dressed himself that morning in blue jacket, white cord trousers,
and drab felt hat, the same clothing which he had worn when he met Mr.
Pretorius in the emigrant camp on the Tugela seven months before. He
was exceedingly anxious to avoid a collision.”—Theal, iv. p. 437.
[190] A picture of the sharp skirmish of Boomplaats (from a drawing
by the late Lieut.-Col. Evelyn) appeared in the _Graphic_, 17th Feb.,
1900, with some comments by Major-General C. E. Webber.
[191] “It was remarkable how his Excellency came out unhurt, for from
the beginning to the end he was in the thickest of the fire.”—Noble, p.
135.
[192] It appeared afterwards that only nine Boers were killed.
[193] In connexion with this, I may quote a story told to my sister,
Miss Moore Smith of Durban, by the late Sir Theophilus Shepstone. “Sir
Harry always read part of the service on Sunday morning at Grahamstown
[? in 1835], and was so particular that all should come that he imposed
a fine of half a crown on every absentee. He read extremely well, and
was very proud of it. One Sunday a dog came into the room when service
was going on, and began to create a disturbance. Sir Harry stood it for
a little time, then in the middle of a prayer said suddenly, ‘Take that
d——d dog away,’ after which he continued his prayer in the same tone as
before.”
[194] The execution of Dreyer as a rebel was long bitterly resented by
the Boers.
[195] Here, or near here, on 12th May, 1849, the town of Aliwal North
was founded by Mr. Chase, the Civil Commissioner.—Wilmot and Chase, p.
417.
[196] Under Sir Henry Pottinger’s rule the Eastern Province had had an
able Lieutenant-Governor in Sir Henry Young, and there was a strong
feeling during Sir Harry’s governorship that the interests of the
Eastern Province could not be ensured by a government at Cape Town.
Sir Harry himself finally gave in to this view, and on 14th June,
1851, recommended “a separate and distinct government for the Eastern
Province.”
[197] In May and June, 1849, Sir Harry was seriously ill from a
carbuncle on his neck. On 20th June he gave a ball at Government
House, which many refused to attend owing to the agitation against the
Government. Sir Harry, with soldierly punctiliousness, appeared among
his guests for half an hour, but his appearance was so ghastly, and
made the more so by his dark green Rifle uniform, that it was said “one
might have imagined that he had just stepped out of his coffin.”
[198] Mr. W. A. Newman (_Memoir of J. Montagu_) quotes a reply made by
Sir Harry to the Anti-Convict Association on 18th June: “This is the
anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. For four and forty years have
I served my sovereign—I say it with pride—and I would rather that God
Almighty should strike me dead than disobey the orders of Her Majesty’s
Government and thereby commit an act of open rebellion.”
[199] Chase writes (Wilmot and Chase, p. 458), “Sir Harry, perfect
soldier as he was, had an instinctive horror of shedding blood, which
was never more strongly developed than when he curbed the military from
retaliating the insults offered to Her Majesty and to themselves by
the mobs of the western metropolis during the anti-convict _émeute_.”
We may remember that he had shown the same spirit during the Radical
disturbances at Glasgow (see pp. 326-328, 335).
[200] In connexion, however, with the delays encountered in receiving
the new constitution, Lord Grey was much reviled both in the Colony and
in England. Sir W. Napier (_Life of C. Napier_, iv. p. 327) quotes the
following epigram:—
“This point was long disputed at the Cape,
What was the devil’s colour and his shape.
The Hottentots, of course, declared him white,
The Englishmen pronounced him black as night;
But now they split the difference and say
Beyond all question that Old Nick is Grey.”
[201] On the 20th December, Sutu, Sandilli’s mother, was made chief.
[202] Wilmot and Chase, _Annals of the Cape Colony_ (1869), p. 437.
[203] W. A. Newman’s _Memoir of J. Montagu_, 1855.
[204] A good deal might have been excused in a document issued under
such circumstances, but the word “exterminate” was not a happy one,
and was frequently seized on afterwards by opponents of Sir Harry in
England. How little it represented the writer’s real feeling is shown
by a sentence in a letter to his wife of 24th May, 1851: “I hope yet
to see all the ringleaders hung, while I would willingly _forgive_ the
poor wretches who have been led astray by the wickedness of others.”
[205] Consisting of the 6th, 73rd, 91st, and 45th Regiments.
[206] Dispatch to Lord Grey, 17th March, 1852.
[207] _Cape Town Mail_, April 5th and 8th, 1851.
[208]
“Horse Guards, 7th March, 1851.
“It appears to me that this insurrection of the Caffres is general and
quite unjustifiable, sudden, and treacherous.
“In my opinion Sir Henry Smith ought to have the means in Regular
Troops and Light Equipments of ordnance to form two bodies of troops,
each capable of acting independently in the field, each of which should
give countenance and support to the detachments of Boers, Hottentots,
and loyal Caffres, by which the rebel and insurgent Caffres should be
attacked and driven out of the country.
“The occupation of the numerous posts in the country marked Adelaide in
the map was very proper and necessary when the frontier was the Buffalo
River, but it would be much better to carry it to the Key and there
fix it permanently, and to form a place d’armes or fortified Barrack
for Troops somewhere about King William’s Town, between that and Fort
Wellington, or possibly a little to the westward near the sources of
the river.
“In such place d’armes there might be the means of giving cover to more
than the small body which might be required for the permanent garrison.”
[209] Lord Grey.
[210] Wilmot and Chase, p. 458.
[211] Cp. pp. 791 _bot._, 792. The _Cape Town Mail_ (some indication of
colonial feeling) protested both on the 25th January and on 5th April
against the military execution of rebels.
[212] The _Cape Town Mail_ of 9th Dec. 1851 wrote prophetically, “This
abandonment of a really flourishing and promising British colony would
be an Imperial calamity; but the full extent of the mischief would
not be understood until it became necessary, as in a few years it
certainly would be found, to reconquer the territory so dishonourably
and foolishly deserted;” and Chase in 1869 speaks of the “abandonment
of that splendid country, the Orange River Sovereignty, through a gross
ignorance and a disgraceful misstatement of its capabilities, and
permitting in its place the formation of the Free State Republic—one
of the most imprudent acts ever committed, involving the Colony in
entanglements, troubles, and cost, the end and consequence of which
cannot be predicted.”
[213] _Correspondence of Gen. Sir G. Cathcart_, p. 358.
[214] Lord John Russell stated that the dispatch had never been seen
by the Queen, and Lord Ellenborough, in a kind letter dated “Feb. 7,”
says, “What I am told is that Lord Grey recalled you, not without
asking the Duke’s opinion, but against it, after he had asked it.”
[215] Sir George Napier, himself an ex-Governor of the Cape, wrote in
April, 1852:—“Had the Duke of Wellington ever seen the ‘Cape bush,’
he would not have said what he did about making roads through it; the
thing is quite out of the question.... You may rely upon it that Sir
Harry Smith would never have delayed one day in making roads had it
been feasible.... As for Harry Smith, I am glad to see Lord Grey is
abused by everybody for the harsh unjust manner of his recall. In my
opinion the great mistake Smith made was in ever giving in to Lord
Grey’s folly of withdrawing a single soldier; and when the war did
break out, he should have at once acknowledged his error, and boldly
demanded reinforcements to the extent of 5000 troops at once. I still
hope he may be able to finish the war before his successor arrives, for
till lately he had not force to do more than he did.”—_Life of Sir W.
Napier_, ii. pp. 310-312.
[216] By the Sand River Convention signed on 17th January, 1852, by
the Assistant-Commissioners Major Hogg and Mr. Owen, and subsequently
ratified by General Cathcart, the Transvaal emigrant farmers had their
independence recognized, and being thus reconciled to us were detached
from the Boers within the Orange River Sovereignty, who now had no one
to look to but the British Government. The Convention was no doubt
politic on the assumption that the Sovereignty was to be resolutely
kept. When the Sovereignty was abandoned, it took a different
character. But for this Sir Harry Smith was not responsible.
[217] The supersession of the Governor at this crisis was no doubt a
main cause of the war’s being protracted, though in a less severe form,
for some months longer. See Mr. Brownlee’s report dated “Fort Cox, 4th
March, 1852.”
[218] _Correspondence of General Sir George Cathcart_ (1856), p. 36.
[219] _Cape Town Mail_, 20th April, 1852. Sir Harry’s departure from
King William’s Town in 1836 was strangely similar. See pp. 458, 459.
[220] See _Cape Town Mail_, April 17th and 20th, 1852.
[221] Wilmot and Chase, pp. 417, 459. With regard to Mr. Chase’s last
assertion, it is perhaps worth remarking that Sir Harry Smith reflected
the spirit of the Romantic School in his religious feelings as well as
in much else.
The weakness which Mr. Chase previously mentions is thus referred to in
the _Natal Witness_ (Jan. 1889): “It was a common habit with Sir Harry
Smith to threaten to jump down people’s throats,—boots, spurs, and all;
and he once on a field of battle sent a message, seasoned with some
fearful expletives, to a colonel that if he kept his regiment so much
to the front, he’d have him knee-haltered. But the fine old General
drew a line at swearing and never allowed of personal abuse.”
[222] _Portsmouth Times_, 5th June, 1852.
[223] Lord Grey fully appreciated Sir Harry’s chivalry. He writes,
“On a question of this kind we were not at liberty to consult our
private feelings. This was fully understood by Sir Harry Smith himself,
of whose most handsome and honourable conduct I cannot too strongly
express my sense. He has shown no resentment against us for what
we did, but has fairly given us credit for having been guided only
by considerations of public duty. I feel individually very deeply
indebted to him for the kindness with which he has acted towards
me since his return.”—_The Colonial Policy of Lord John Russell’s
Administration_ (1853), vol. ii. p. 247. Men will decide according to
their dispositions whether such conduct was “lowering” to Sir Harry or
not. It was at least part and parcel of his nature.
[224] _Portsmouth Times_, 11th Sept. 1852.
[225] _Life of Sir W. Napier_, vol. ii. p. 327.
[226] Martin’s _Life of the Prince Consort_, vol. iv. p. 37.
[227] Sir Harry felt a strong personal devotion to the Queen, and would
speak of her as “the most gracious lady in the whole world.”
[228] Henry Havelock’s elder brother, Will, as before stated, was
called in the Peninsula “Young Varmint” for “his keenness and daring in
the saddle and in every manly sport.” See account of W. H. by H. H. in
Buist’s _Annals of India for 1848_.
[229] See p. 33 _n._ It is characteristic of Sir Harry’s kindness of
nature that he now brought home from Lisbon some little presents for
the children of his aide-de-camp, Major Payne.
[230] See p. 184 _n._
[231] Cope, p. 451.
[232] Miss Alice E. Smith (daughter of Major Thomas Smith), now Mrs.
Lambert, was a great deal with her uncle and aunt from 1852 onwards.
[233] Cp. p. 657.
[234] Sir H. E. Maxwell’s _Life of Wellington_, vol. ii. pp. 361-364.
[235] _I.e._ the war then being waged in Italy.
[236] Tortona was laid waste in 1155 and 1163 by Frederick Barbarossa.
[237] _Glasgow Gazette_, 11th Feb. 1860.
[238] See p. 1 _n._
[239] Called by Lady Smith, “not _quite_, yet like my own Henrique!”
[240] The date should be 1787.
[241] The first twelve names represent the 12 clasps attached to Sir
Harry’s Peninsular medal; for Waterloo, Maharajpore, and South Africa
(1853) he had separate medals; the remaining three names are those of
his clasps for the Sutlej Campaign. He wore, besides, the Grand Cross
of the Bath and the Portuguese Order of St. Bento d’Aviz.
[242] See p. 653.
[243] In his last years the gallant old General would say that “he did
not care any longer to go to the club and meet _a lot of old fogies
whom he didn’t know_.”
[244] She died Jan. 10, 1902.
[245] _Cape Town Mail_, 5th April, 1851.
[246] I visited last year at Ely, Mr. B. Genn, late of the 15th
Hussars, who had served under him in India in 1846, and who had fired
over his grave. As soon as I had opened the door, a fine engraving of
Sir Harry greeted me. It had been bought at a sale. The old veteran
spoke of his commander always as the “dear old man.” When I asked him
if he thought him a good General, he fired up quickly, “Why, think of
the battle of Aliwal! Not a mistake anywhere.”
[247] The following characteristic story has been sent me by Major
J. F. Anderson, of Coxwell Lodge, Faringdon: “Sir Harry was very
quick-tempered, and on one occasion (during the Kafir War of 1835?),
when my father remonstrated with him as to an order he gave, he said,
‘Learn to obey, sir,’ and ordered him into his tent under arrest. In
the evening he sent to ask my father to dine with him!”
[248] In this and the following items, the story given above is
repeated.
[249] Afterwards married to Charles Smith.
[250] Vicar of St. Mary and St. Andrew, Whittlesey, and cousin to Harry
Smith’s mother.
[251] Query, 11th? See preceding letter.
[252] I possess this document only in the form of rough drafts. The
document as here printed is therefore to some extent a compilation. It
is clear that the Board of Officers were proposing a more stringent
treatment of prisoners than that which Harry Smith had adopted and
which they maintained was more lenient than was permitted by the Royal
Warrant.
[253] Col. W. Johnstone was then living at Cape Town. See p. 58.
[254] “My dearest wife!”
[255] His house at Rondebosch, near Cape Town.
[256] Major William Cox.
[257] See p. 212.
[258] _I.e._ tired of doing nothing.
[259] See p. 737.
[260] See p. 100.
[261] “Knife.”
[262] _I.e._ soldiers of the Rifle Brigade.
[263] _I.e._ brown, buckskin trousers (Munro, _Records of Service_, i.
205).
[264] “A little oil and a clove of garlic.”
[265] Alexander has a picture of this scene, with others of the war,
drawn by Major Michell, Surveyor-General.
[266] “Do you remember, poor child?”
[267] See p. 168.
[268] “Nonsense.”
[269] See p. 476, _sup._
[270] Hugh Smith, son of Harry Smith’s “Waterloo brother,” Thomas.
[271] Harry Smith, son of the “third Waterloo brother,” Charles.
[272] See pp. 673, 674.
[273] Edward Law, Lord Ellenborough, Lord Chief Justice of England.
[274] His youngest sister, Miss Anna Maria Smith.
[275] The Peninsular medal was granted in 1847.
[276] “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.”
[277] I am not aware what use, if any, Sir Harry made of these
“memoranda.”
INDEX.
A
Aboyne, Lord, 576
Achmuty, Col., 177, 710
Adalbert, Prince, of Prussia, 663
Adams, G. G., A.R.A., 684
Adour R., 166, 171
Afghanistan, war in, criticized, 472-479, 492, 493, 766-769
Africa, South, 359-468, 582-651, 715-765, 782-793
Agra, 483, 492, 769
Agueda R., 24, 48, 51, 56, 89;
French attacked at, 28, 29
Ahsin R., 486, 490
Aire, 170
Akalies, 499
Alameda, 24, 30, 89
Alava, Gen., 305;
his story of Wellington after Waterloo, 291
Albany, district of, 453, 454, 634
Albert, Prince, 562, 577, 655, 663, 664
Albert, district of, 587
Albuera, battle of, 50, 66, 278
Alcala, 79, 80, 92
Aldea de Ponte, 52
Alemtejo, the, 15, 47-50, 54
Alexander, Lieut.-Col. (R.H.A.), 541, 542
Algeo, Col., 132;
death of, 133
Algeria, 655
Algoa Bay, 369, 379, 605
Aliwal, battle of, 33 _n._, 535-549, 552, 554-556, 558-563, 568, 780, 781;
Aliwal dispatch, 536-543, 556, 557;
anniversaries of, 592, 593
“Aliwal,” horse, 551, 576, 657, 664, 771;
shot by Sir H. Smith, 673, 674
Aliwal North, 607 _n._, 651
Allahabad, 480
Allen, Col. (Guards), 67
Alligators, 253, 254
Almaraz, 19, 321
Almeida, 24, 30, 34, 47;
escape of French garrison from, 48
Alston, Major R. D. (Glasgow), 328 _n._
Alten, Gen., 79, 87, 100, 122, 142, 143, 147, 148 _n._, 163
Amatola Mountains, 619-645 (_passim_), 751
Amava, the, 745
American War, 191-254
Andrews (secretary), 727
Angelo, Major, 541
Anglesey, Marquis of, 655
Annapolis, 203, 204
Anta (Kafir chief), 619
Antelope-shooting at the Cape, 365, 366
Antonio (a boy goatherd), 116, 129, 130
Antree Pass, 485
Ants, sign of good luck, 721
Antwerp, 281, 283
Apsley House, 356
Arapiles, the, 84
Aravaca, 82
Arbonne, 152, 155
Arcangues, Château d’, 152, 154
Arganda, 79, 80
Arms of Sir Harry Smith, 771, 772, 564-566
Armstrong (murdered by Kafirs Ap. 1835), 750
Armstrong, Capt. (C.M.R.), 376
Armstrong, Fort, 623
Arragon R., crossing of, 109, 110
Arrhune. _See_ Rhune
Arronchas, 49
Arruda, 35, 36
Arzobispo, bridge of, 19
Asche (Asch), 266
Assuduco (Governor of the Havannah), 255
Atlantic, the, fishes and birds of, 692-695;
voyages across, 4, 12, 13, 193, 208, 226-228, 257, 338, 339, 344,
352-354, 691-696
Auchmuty, Gen. Sir Samuel, 4, 691
Auckland (South Africa), 588 _n._, 619
Auckland, Lord, 471-474
Autobiography, Sir H. Smith’s, 752, 775-777
Avitabile, Gen. (Sikh Army), 512-514, 534, 537, 540-542, 779
Ayliff, Mr. (missionary), 738
B
Badajos, 16, 20, 23, 75 _n._;
the storming of, 31, 62-73, 75, 275, 389 _n._
Bagot (Hottentot Battalion), 728
Bailie, Capt. John, 411, 414
Bailie, Lieut. C., 412, 420-422, 425
Baillie, Lieut. R. (72nd), 364, 365
Balfour, Lieut. Arthur L. (called “Paddy”), (72nd), 395, 398, 399, 406,
427, 720, 724, 727, 729, 735, 745, 750, 751, 758, 759
Baltimore, 203, 204, 206;
question of an attack on, 206, 207;
attack repulsed, 221
Balvaird, Major (95th), 299
Bandits, Battle of the, 21-23
Baranhara, 526-529
Barba del Puerco, 24
Barnard, Gen. Sir Andrew, 73, 112, 126, 127, 132, 163, 165-168, 174,
175, 333, 495, 556 _n._, 563, 569, 572, 686, 688, 715;
at Badajos, 63-66;
at Nivelle, 146, 147;
commandant of Cambray, 308, 314, 315;
letter to, 564;
death, 661
Barnard’s Vale and Ford, 757
Barnes, Sir E., 115, 302
Barney, Commodore (U.S.A.), 197
Barossa, 125, 480
Barr, Lieut.-Col., 491, 503 _n._
Barrouilhet, 154 _n._
Barwell, Major (9th), 515
Bashee R., 401, 402, 408-412
Basutos. _See_ Moshesh
Bath, 207, 217
Bath, Marquis of, 666, 667
Bathurst, 634
Bathurst, Lord, 207, 213-216;
dispatches to, 214 _n._, 247 _n._
Bavay, 287, 288
Baxter (? David), Staff Surgeon, 201
Baynes, Lieut. T. (39th), 254
Bayonne, 152, 153, 161
Beaufort, Duke of, 571
Beaufort, Fort, 376, 622, 634, 641, 727
Beaufort West, 598
Beauport (Sussex), 320
Beckwith, Lieut. Robert (95th), 20
Beckwith, Major (R.B.), 602
Beckwith, Major-Gen. Charles, 67, 87, 147, 148, 153, 172, 173, 297, 567,
662, 674, 675, 685, 688;
letters from, 568, 656, 659, 661, 665, 666, 667, 669
Beckwith, Mrs. Charles, 665, 666
Beckwith, Mrs. (sen.), 324, 325
Beckwith, Sir George, 324
Beckwith, Sir T. Sydney, 14, 15, 24, 31, 39, 40, 45, 49, 324, 715;
anecdotes of, 17, 35, 36, 38, 44, 46;
invalided by ague, 63
Belem, 33 _n._, 34, 48, 667
Belfast, 336-339
Bell, Gen. Sir John, 52, 53, 89, 225, 253, 350, 710, 360, 361, 455,
569, 572, 655, 665, 666, 674, 681, 685, 688, 742, 745;
anecdotes of, 177, 685
Bell, Lady Catherine, 360, 361, 655
Bere, Capt., 541
Beresford, Lieut. H. T. (71st), 743, 753
Beresford, Marshal, 96 _n._, 166, 175
Bergen Op Zoom, 128
Bermuda, island of, 194, 195
Berri, the Duke de, stag-hunting, 295-297
Bester, Paul, 598
Bethany, S. Africa, 604
Bethune (Mayor of Cambray), 315
Beyring, Col., 155
Bhoondree, 541, 542
Biaritz, 154
Bidassoa R., 112, 131;
fight at, 117-125
Biddulph, Lieut. (Hottentot Battalion), 420, 421
Biddulph, Mr. (Resident at Winburg), 597
Bingham, Lieut. R. C. (75th), 737
Birmingham, 322, 663
Bladensburg, 204;
battle of, 198-201;
night-march from, 201, 202
Blakeney (? Lieut.-Col. Edw.), 242
Blantyre, Lord, 330
Blinkwater Post, 641
Blinkwater stream, 630, 787, 790
Bloemfontein, 584, 591, 597, 604, 605, 606, 640, 644
Blucher, Marshal, 294;
accident to, 293
Boar-hunting, 21, 82
Boers, of Cape Colony, 373, 376, 383, 461, 462, 621, 626, 720, 723, 726,
727, 728, 729, 730, 732, 733, 750, 792;
migrations of, 463, 464, 583, 584, 592, 593;
across the Orange, 584, 590;
rebellion of, 596-608;
across the Vaal, 584, 644;
in Natal, 793.
_See_ Orange River Sovereignty
Boileau, Capt., 543
Boku (brother of Hintza), 396, 397, 585, 743, 746, 747, 749, 750, 753
Bolton, Brig. S., 505
Bombay, 501
Boomplaats, battle of, 601-604
Booth, Capt. W. (15th Hussars), 171
Bordeaux, 186, 216
Botha’s Drift, 598, 599
Bourlon, near Cambray, 300
Bowker, Joseph, army surgeon, 78
Bowker, Mr. T., 576
Bowyer, Fort, capture of, 248-251
Brabourne Lees, 3, 158
Bradford, Major, 538
Bradford, Major-Gen. Sir T., 327, 328, 330, 332
“Brass Mare,” the, 264, 302;
carries Juana Smith to Antwerp and back, 281-288
Bright, John, M.P., 661
Bringhurst, Major J. D., 709
Briton, Mr. (Harwich), 263, 264
Broadfoot, Major G., 477 _n._, 512
Brooke, Col. Francis, 53, 195, 199
Brotherwood, Serg., 62
Brown (a spy), 198;
saved by a ruse, 205, 215
Brown, Col. (85th), 199
Brownlee, Chas. (Civil Commissioner), 617, 645 _n._
Brownlee, Rev. J., 751
Brownrigg, David (surgeon), 39
Bruges, 264, 265
Bruintjes (cook), 726, 728, 740
Brunswick, Ferdinand, Prince of, 324
Brussels, 260, 266, 267, 281, 286, 287, 297
Buccleugh, Duke of, 331
Budhowal, Budowal, 526-538, 543;
encounter with Sikhs at, 529-532, 543-546, 556, 559, 561, 568
Buenos Ayres, 6;
disastrous attack on, 8-10, 237, 246, 247, 699
Buenos Ayres, near Lisbon, 33, 39
Buffalo, Poorts of the, 388, 389, 458, 625
Buffalo R., 418, 618, 731, 751, 754, 756, 757, 789
Buffeljaghts R., 371
Buller, Col. (R.B.), 602-604, 606
Bundelcund, 479, 493
Burgess, Rev. G., 1 _n._, 569
Burgher force, 376, 398, 720, 723, 732, 750
Burghersh, Lord, 666
Burgos, 79, 83, 94;
blown up by the French, 96
Burmese war expected, 472
Busseean, 504, 526, 527, 558
Butler, Col. (American), story of, 240-242
Butterworth, 391, 734, 737, 738
C
Cabool, 475, 476 _n._, 479, 766
Cadoux, Capt. D. (95th), killed at Vera, 121-125
Calais, 317
Calcavellos, 16, 17, 699
Calcutta, 355, 470, 480-482
Calder the Leper (a spy), 198, 205, 215
Caledon, 370
Calvert Fontein, 603
Cambray, army of occupation quartered round, 298-316;
last review, 310;
Harry Smith appointed Town Major of, 300;
coursing, 302-304
Cambridge, 577-579, 654, 700
Cambridge, Duke of, 655, 662, 669
Cambridgeshire Yeomanry Cavalry, 2 _n._, 576, 578
Cameron, Capt. Alister (95th), 31, 64
Campbell, Capt., 376
Campo Mayor, 20-22
Canary Islands, 692
Candahar, 476 _n._
Cape Castle, 54, 361, 362
Cape Colony, 359-468, 715-765;
Sir Harry’s Governorship, 582-651, 782-793;
horse-breeding and sport, 363-368;
fixing of frontier, 627 _n._, 732, 746, 753, 754;
annexations to, 629;
question of Representative Assembly, 609, 610, 613-616, 632, 650;
Convict question, 611-613, 630, 631, 650, 687
Cape Mounted Rifles, 374, 396, 398, 598, 601, 620, 719, 720, 723, 756;
defection in, 623-625, 635
Cape Town, 646;
Sir Harry Smith there, 360-372, 462-468, 585-586, 596 (cp. 591)-598,
608-617, 618, 647-649;
his treatment of military prisoners at, 715-717
Carbonada, 724, 725
Cargill, Lieut. (52nd), story of, 136
Carlton House, 213
Carpio, 47
Casal Nova, fight at, 43
Castello Branco, 50
Castello de Vidi, 20
Castel Sarrasin, 181, 183, 185
Castilleur (Casteleur), Château of, 152, 154, 162
Castlereagh, Lord, 301
Cathcart, Gen. the Hon. George, 637, 642, 644, 645, 646, 647, 648, 649,
783
Caucasus, 655
Cawnpore, 483, 497
Chalmers, Dr., 360