!
!
!
!
Ich Dien
“I serve”
An Analysis of the British Army during the Napoleonic and Anglo-American
Wars (1793-1815)
!
Eamonn O’Keeffe
November 15, 2013
!
!
!
!
!
!
Word Count: 976
Occupations
!
The study of former occupations of soldiers provides insight into the economic and social
backgrounds of recruits As well, this information allows for an understanding of the British Army’s
internal economy. According to Robert Henderson’s article “Former Occupations of Regular Soldiers
During the War of 1812”, many recruits would continue to practice their trades or professions after
enlistment.1 For example, former bakers, gunsmiths, blacksmiths and coopers would frequently have
proved useful in the army. Often, former shoemakers were tasked with repairing poor quality army-issue
footwear.
!
Henderson compiled information on former occupations of 1437 men who served in regiments that
saw action in the War of 1812.2 He surveyed 1089 soldiers from units raised in Great Britain and Ireland
and 348 men from units recruited in British North America.
!
The data shows that 14.6% of soldiers in the sample of regiments raised in Great Britain and Ireland
were weavers, compared to just 3.74% for Canadian units. The British textile industry was crippled by
the loss of overseas commerce caused, directly or indirectly, by the Napoleonic Wars. Lucrative trade
with the United States was curtailed first by President Jefferson’s trade embargo and later by the War of
1812 while Napoleon’s 1806 Continental Blockade disrupted British commerce with mainland Europe.
The turmoil of war was compounded by the economic upheaval of the Industrial Revolution in British
Isles. Five industrial textile mills housing about 100 shearing frames had been established in northern
England by 1806.3 Within a year, 72 mills and between 1,000 to 1,400 frames were in operation.4 The
rapid mechanization of spinning, carding and weaving led to widespread unemployment amongst skilled
textile workers. The regularity with which these professions appear in military records suggests that
many weavers, rendered jobless by Blake’s “dark satanic mills”, enlisted in the army rather than joining
Luddite protests against the new technologies. Ironically, some of these recruits would defend the
Industrial Revolution by guarding mills and machinery against rioting fellow weavers.
!
According to Robert Henderson, the smaller proportion of tradesmen in regiments raised in Canada
was due to a shortage of skilled workers in British North America.5 Tradesmen in the colonies, removed
from the economic upheaval of the Industrial Revolution, had more job opportunities and thus lacked a
significant motivation to accept the meagre army pay. Thus, British regiments raised in the Canadas
units included a higher percentage of unskilled labourers.
1
Robert Henderson, “Trades and Former Occupations of the British Soldier in the War of 1812,” 1998, The War of
1812 Website, 20 September 2013. <http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/c_casualties.html>
2
Ibid.
3
Arthur D. Gayer et al. The Growth and Fluctuation of the British Economy, 1790-1850. (Oxford: Clarendon Press,
1953) Vol. I: 94, 172.
4
Ibid.
5
Robert Henderson, “Trades and Former Occupations of the British Soldier in the War of 1812,” 1998, The War of
1812 Website, 20 September 2013. <http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/c_casualties.html>
!2
Countries of Origin
!
By the Napoleonic Wars, most regiments were given titles associating them with particular regions or
counties in the British Isles. For example, the Royal Welch Fusiliers, as the name implies, was
considered a Welsh regiment. How strictly did the composition of regiments adhere to their regional
affiliations?
!
A sample of the 1st Battalion, Royal Welch Fusiliers, was compiled using Norman Holme and E. L.
Kirby’s Medal rolls, 23rd Foot - Royal Welch Fusiliers, Napoleonic Period. It provides information on
the birthplace of 156 privates.6 This regiment, stationed in the Canadas to defend against possible
American invasion after the 1807 Chesapeake-Leopard Affair, later fought in Europe in the Peninsular
War and at Waterloo.
!
Table 3.1 Country of Origin for the Royal Welch Fusiliers
Country
England
Wales
Scotland
Ireland
Foreign
Frequency
87
53
1
14
1
Figure 3.1 Country of Origin for the Royal Welch
Fusiliers
100
90
80
Number of Soldiers
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
England
Wales
Scotland
Ireland
Foreign
Country
The data shows that most soldiers of the Royal Welch Fusiliers were not in fact Welsh. Nearly 56% of
soldiers included in the sample were born in England compared to just 34% from Wales proper.
6
Kirby, E.L. and Norman Holme. Medal rolls, 23rd Foot - Royal Welch Fusiliers, Napoleonic Period. (Caernarfon:
R.W.F. Regimental Museum, 1978).
!3
The case of the 1st Battalion, 1st Regiment of Foot (Royal Scots) offers further insight into the
relationship between the geographical association and composition of units in the British Army.7 Sent
from the West Indies to Quebec after the outbreak of hostilities with the United States, the 1/1st fought
in defence of Upper Canada during the latter half of the War of 1812. The September 1812 Inspection
Return records the country of origin of 1041 privates.8
!
Table 3.2 Country of Origin for the Royal Scots9
Country
England
Scotland
Ireland
Foreign
Frequency
319
231
437
54
Figure 3.2 Country of Origin for the Royal Scots
500
450
400
Number of soldiers
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
England
Scotland
Ireland
Foreign
Country
As with the Royal Welch Fusiliers, the composition of the 1st Battalion of the 1st (Royal Scots)
Regiment does not align with its traditional national affiliation. According to the data, just 22% of the
privates were Scotsmen whilst nearly 42% were Irishmen.
!
7
This regiment was not formally styled as the Royal Scots until February 1812, having previously been referred to
as the 1st (Royal) Regiment of Foot. However, the unit’s strong Caledonian connections date back its foundation
in Scotland in 1633. Additionaly, the regimental breastplates and cap plates were adorned with Scottish symbols
such as the thistle. For all intents and purposes, the 1st Regiment of Foot was considered a Scottish regiment
throughout the Napoleonic Wars.
8
“September 1812 Inspection Return for the Royal Scots,” 23 September 1812, Upper Thames Military
Reenactment Society, 9 October 2013. <http://www.royal-scots.com/research.html>
9
The number of Welshmen in the Royal Scots is unknown. The 1812 Inspection Return for the Royal Scots, in
accordance with standard army practice, records the nationality of Welsh soldiers as English.
!4
In his book British Redcoat, Stuart Reid states most regiments paid little attention to their territorial
titles when recruiting.10 For example, the 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment, associated with a county in
central England, was 55% Irish in 1803.11 Similarly, the 79th (Cameron) Highlanders were only 45%
Scottish in 1799. 12
!
However, some regiments appear to have taken stock in their territorial affiliations. For example, 93%
of the 92nd (Gordon) Highlanders were Scots; only 14 soldiers in the 78th (Seaforth) Highlanders were
English or Irish.13 The Irish 88th Regiment of Foot (The Connaught Rangers) was indeed 90.2% Irish in
1815.14 Although further investigation is required, it is possible that these regiments experienced less
difficulty in recruitment compared to units that did not adhere to their regional associations.
!
Indeed, it appears that some of the major deviations from official county affiliations can be attributed
to the need to replenish understrength battalions. For example, Reid cites the case of the 68th (Durham)
Regiment, which received 1,777 recruits from the Irish militia in 1798 after a stint in the disease-ridden
West Indies had reduced its strength to just 36 privates.15
!
The 1st Battalion of the 1st Regiment (examined above) was 58% Scottish in 1789.16 Yet, as with the
68th, a posting in the West Indies in the 1790s resulted in the loss of 400 men and 5 officers to disease.17
The battalion’s decidedly un-Caledonian composition in 1812 appears to derive from enlistment of Irish
militiamen to fill the ranks upon its return.
!
Faced with an average annual attrition rate of 9.9% between 1804 and 1813, the British Army became
increasingly desperate for volunteers.18 Commanding officers and Horse Guards bureaucrats were
understandably preoccupied with replacing these losses rather than adhering to regimental geographical
affiliations.
!
!
10
Stuart Reid and Graham Turner, British Redcoat: 1793-1815 (London: Osprey, 1997) 8.
11
Edward J. Coss. All for the King’s Shilling: The British Soldier under Wellington, 1808-1814. (Norman:
University of Oklahoma, 2010) 259.
12
Stuart Reid and Graham Turner, British Redcoat: 1793-1815 (London: Osprey, 1997) 10.
13
Ibid.
14
Edward J. Coss. All for the King’s Shilling: The British Soldier under Wellington, 1808-1814. (Norman:
University of Oklahoma, 2010) 258.
15
Stuart Reid and Graham Turner, British Redcoat: 1793-1815 (London: Osprey, 1997) 9.
16
Ibid, 10.
17
“Royal Scots History,” The Royal Scots: The Royal Regiment, 14 October 2013. <http://
www.theroyalscots.co.uk/page/history/>
18
Robert Burnham, “The British Army in the Napoleonic Wars: Manpower Stretched to the Limits?,” The Napoleon
Series, 12 October 2013. <http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/c_casualties.html>
!5
Bibliography
!
Burnham, Robert. “The British Army in the Napoleonic Wars: Manpower Stretched to the Limits?”
The Napoleon Series. Web. 12 October 2013. <http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/
c_casualties.html>
!
Coss, Edward J. All for the King’s Shilling: The British Soldier under Wellington, 1808-1814.
Norman: University of Oklahoma, 2010.
!
Gayer, Arthur D. et al. The Growth and Fluctuation of the British Economy, 1790-1850. Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1953.
!
Henderson, Robert. "Trades and Former Occupations of the British Soldier in the War of 1812." The
War of 1812 Website. Web. 20 Sept. 2013.
!
Holme, Norman, and E. L. Kirby. Medal Rolls 23rd Foot Royal Welch Fusiliers, Napoleonic Period.
Caernarfon: R.W.F. Regimental Museum, 1978.
!
Holmes, Richard. Redcoat: the British soldier in the age of horse and musket. New York: Norton,
2002.
!
Reid, Stuart, and Graham Turner. British Redcoat: 1793-1815. London: Osprey, 1997.
!
“Royal Scots History.” N.d. The Royal Scots: The Royal Regiment. 14 October 2013. <http://
www.theroyalscots.co.uk/page/history/>
!
“September 1812 Inspection Return for the Royal Scots.” N.d. Upper Thames Military Reenactment
Society. 9 October 2013. <http://www.royal-scots.com/research.html>
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!6