James M. Campbell

“ Much, however, as I admire the undaunted courage of British soldiers in following the bravest and most noble-minded officers in the world, I cannot be blind to their imperfections, and especially to their conduct after victory, and upon other occasions, which often threatened us with the most serious consequences; and it is this makes me so anxious to have more of the good and true men of the British empire brought into our ranks, and of whom there are enough to be found to form a well conducted invincible army. ”

“ At that moment it was quite evident that the effects of the war had begun to be most seriously felt; and it was also an expensive, and as the Duke of Wellington would pronounce it to be, a useless little war for Great Britain to be so long engaged in. If we are again provoked to hostilities, which is very probable, the people of the United States should be made to feel what are the effects of a war carried on in earnest in their own country, by such a powerful empire as Great Britain; but for this our navy and army must be properly prepared. ”

“ I know, as well as they do, that British soldiers will always follow their gallant officers in any attempt, if even requiring the most supernatural efforts; but I am not, as they almost all seem to be, blind to the great imperfections of too many of those allowed to enter our regiments. I can gladly leave them the reputation of possessing the most undaunted courage of any soldiers in the world, and the nation the honour and glory their deeds in battle have acquired. ”

“ The Prussian army on the morning of the 14th displayed a splendid front of infantry, cavalry, and seven or eight hundred pieces of cannon. All their manœuvres were executed with that precision and rapidity which might be expected from troops who spent their lives at constant drill, and in military evolutions; in all of which the French were very inferior; yet they had been sufficiently taught their business as soldiers, without that severity of discipline having been resorted to, which too frequently dispirits men, and renders them indifferent to events. ”

“ It was of old a common saying that, "with French officers and English soldiers the world might easily be conquered." Whatever slur this may have been intended to convey against British officers, it certainly no longer exists, and it could be easily proved that they are now second to none; and all they want is a superior description of men to act with, which the United Kingdom can easily furnish, and a better system for their guidance—a system which would allow them to treat those placed under them as beings endowed with reason, and not as mere pieces of machinery. ”

“ And how strangely also, and inconsistently, are honours conferred upon officers in our army—not for alone distinguishing themselves in action, but because they happened to hold a rank sufficiently high to entitle them to a certain command, or to be the head of a department, and to which the greater part of them had attained, perhaps, by money, well backed by interest; for an officer may have been in every action of importance, from the beginning of the present century up to Waterloo ”

“ I must, however, declare that none of the inhabitants of Great Britain and Ireland are deficient in courage. But let us reflect upon the state into which Sir John Moore's army (which almost set him distracted) had got in the retreat to Corunna. Almost all the corps had become completely disorganized in every respect, and had nearly lost the appearance of regular troops. An opportunity of fighting presented itself, and in a moment steady and well disciplined British battalions appeared in the field. Such were the strange beings British officers had to manage as well as they could. ”

“ Now I must beg the unmilitary reader to imagine a large body of troops thus manœuvring in columns at quarter-distances, or in open columns, or lines formed from them, covered by clouds of sharpshooters, supported by these columns or lines, cannon and cavalry, and he will have at once before him a chief feature in modern warfare, in which science and experience on the part of generals and staff officers must be so essential and indispensable. ”

“ The French fairly worked us into practical knowledge of war at last; not that the officers of that gallant nation were themselves so greatly enlightened, as was generally supposed, or that they or their troops gained the battles fought—although I often, and especially at first, wondered they did not—but we had almost always to pay most dearly for victory, that is to say, for getting possession of the field of battle, which was sometimes all we had to boast of. ”

“ And in speaking of the degree of liberty enjoyed in the United States and in Great Britain, what comparison can be drawn in this respect between the two countries?—for who would prefer the tyrannical rule of a usually tumultuous Democracy to the mixed Government under which all men enjoy protection and sufficient liberty in the United Kingdoms, and all over our vast empire, without its being allowed to become licentiousness? ”

“ But a Commander-in-Chief cannot give the world a stronger proof of his fitness or unfitness for his high station than in the men by whom he surrounds himself or employs—if the choice is left to him—upon the staff of the army placed under his orders.
It is the opinion of many of our best soldiers, that no officer should ever be taken from his regiment to be employed upon the staff, unless his place in it be immediately and permanently supplied by another; for no corps ought thus to be deprived of those allowed for carrying on its duties ”

“ I see, therefore, no cause why I should not venture strongly to urge that a military fund be established under the sanction and approval of Government; and to promote so desirable an object, the country, as it would thus soon be freed from the great expense of half-pay to the officers of the army, ought, in common justice, to contribute a certain sum annually, and especially at first, towards it; for it should be borne in mind, that, comparatively speaking, very few pensions would be hereafter required for soldiers, and, I may say, none whatever for officers. ”

“ The Sovereign alone, at the recommendation of the Commander-in-Chief, should have the power of rewarding and honouring conspicuous gallantry, and high merit, by marks of distinction, or by promotion out of the regular routine of seniority; but this prerogative, I think it will be allowed, ought, especially as regards promotion, to be very rarely exercised; and putting an end to such a disheartening and disgusting a practice, as that of officers being able to get forward by money or interest alone, would wonderfully improve our regiments of the line, and infinitely more those of our cavalry. ”

“ I hope, however, that Great Britain will never become so humbled, as to require salvation from naval and military patriotism; but I boldly assert, and without fear of contradiction, that no where on earth, amongst men, is this virtue to be found so pure as in the hearts of the officers of our navy and army. ”

“ The household corps of the British army represent a body of troops which, for appearance, for discipline, for intelligence, and for respectability, are unequalled by the troops of any other nation upon earth. ”

“ I have been again rather minute in detailing the part performed in this battle by the 3rd division, as I wish to attract attention to the mode of fighting invariably practised, and with so much success, by Sir Thomas Picton, who would have thought but little of any commander of a brigade or regiment who did not instantly, but in compact order, push forward upon the enemy; a mode of fighting which he knew to be most suitable to British soldiers and the least relished by their foes, who would always have preferred firing away, either skirmishing or even in line. ”

“ But is it not also too bad and vexatious that works written by American authors are patronized and lauded even in the United Kingdom, not so much perhaps on account of their style of composition, or literary merits, as for the subjects they contain; which are intended to extol, chiefly at the expense of our navy, fierce and lawless men, many of whom were actually British subjects? Yet who can for a moment suppose, that sending British seamen or landsmen to the other side of the Atlantic, can deprive them of their natural courage. ”

“ Colonel Napier says, in speaking of French and British soldiers, "place an attainable object of war before the French soldier, and he will make supernatural efforts to gain it, but failing, he becomes proportionally discouraged. Let some new chance be opened, some fresh stimulus applied to his ardent sensitive temper, and he will rush forward again with unbounded energy; the fear of death never checks him, he will attempt any thing." ”

“ It is also to be hoped that the brave people of France and Great Britain have at length seen the madness of having wasted centuries in unceasing rivalry and jealousy, and likewise the folly of tearing each other to pieces, to the delight of countries which would glory in seeing both so humbled as to suit their own boundless ambitious views. ”

“ The best and most useful of all spies, are those, who, though known as such, are employed and paid by both parties, according to the value of the information they are able to obtain. It is at the same time prudent, that they should be closely watched by the police, without their being aware of it, whilst they remain with our army; and it is not difficult to deceive them, and thereby make them convey false intelligence to the enemy. It would, however, be very imprudent at any time, to place too much reliance upon the reports of even the best spies. ”

“ In the first place, the corps of militia must hereafter be composed of a very inferior description of men to what they were of old; and flogging must, as a matter of course, be persevered in; but why in these times are the militia to be embodied and badly trained at a considerable and unnecessary expense to the country; for it is quite time enough to think of calling out this force when the country may be threatened by an enemy with invasion; for with the fine regular army I have in view, the tranquillity of the United Kingdom can be completely secured ”

“ But are these poor veterans, I again ask, fit to guard such an extensive frontier, constantly menaced by hardy and restless men, inured to a North American climate?
I have no doubt but that prejudiced men, and such as are always ready to cavil at any change proposed, be it good or bad, will at first be inclined to look upon what I have suggested for keeping up our army, as not only a wild and visionary, but also as an impracticable scheme ”

“ The head of this department ought to be a man of great energy and ability, capable of arranging and carrying into effect whatever plans may have been adopted for the removal and care of the sick and wounded, and above all he should possess, like the celebrated Dr. Larrey, of the French army, not only extraordinary perseverance, but also that kind-hearted benevolence, which insured for him, on all occasions, the respect and affections of both officers and soldiers. ”

“ There is no country with which Great Britain is likely so soon to come into hostile contact as the United States of America, and for such a war we must certainly want an army such as I have in view.
It has long been the fashion, and I believe it is the object of many interested and designing men, to endeavour to have the United States of America considered as much more powerful and dangerous to Great Britain then they really are. ”

“ I sincerely hope we shall never again hear of such things being practised in a British army; and no commanding officer should be allowed to keep his regiment longer than an hour and a half, or two hours at a time under arms, which will be found quite sufficient, if well occupied, for every useful purpose of instruction; especially as at almost every parade, a battalion ought to be made to perform a movement or two before it is dismissed. ”

“ I hope, therefore, I may be allowed to observe, that it is much to be regretted, it has not struck Colonel Pasley, that a work coming from him, elucidating some of the subjects I have reluctantly ventured to touch upon, especially those connected with Russia, and a new boundary line for our North American territories, would be well received by statesmen, military men, and the country in general; all of whom must allow that an efficient and highly disciplined army and navy are now wanted by Great Britain, and that no time should be lost in acquiring them. ”

“ This new and more constitutional mode of recruiting the army, would bring into its ranks, and in a manner so little objectionable, such a different description of men, and would so vastly increase the respectability of the service, and give such a high tone of national, and also local interest and feeling to our regiments (for they ought ever after to be kept up by men from the same districts) , that the idea of subjecting such soldiers, who could no longer be considered as mere mercenaries, to the corporal punishment of flogging, should, I trust, be abandoned. ”

“ It has pleased Divine Providence to form the men of the British empire for such a kind of warfare; having bestowed upon them daring hearts, and powerful arms to execute whatever may be required of them. ”