The Autobiography of Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Smith, Baronet of Aliwal on the Sutlej, G.C.B.

Chapter LXII: Appendix: VIII (1)

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Sir Harry Smith’s Paternal and Maternal Ancestry.

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.”

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The Autobiography of Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Smith, Baronet of Aliwal on the Sutlej, G.C.B.Chapter LXII: Appendix: VIII (1)

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