Opening the text

A British army, as it was,--is,--and ought to be : $b illustrated by examples during the Peninsular War; with observations upon India; the United States of America; Canada; the boundary line; the navy; steam warfare, &c.Campbell, James

History

A British army, as it was,--is,--and ought to be : $b illustrated by examples during the Peninsular War; with observations upon India; the United States of America; Canada; the boundary line; the navy; steam warfare, &c.

Name: A British army, as it was,--is,--and ought to be : $b illustrated by examples during the Peninsular War; with observations upon India; the United States of America; Canada; the boundary line; the navy; steam warfare, &c.
Author: Campbell, James

Campbell, James

Great Britain. Army

I can positively say that he had no such intention, and I feel I
ought to make this assertion, if it were only in justice to Sir
Thomas Picton's military reputation, and I know I can be borne out
in it. I had been particularly employed with the 3rd division in
originally forming the blockade of Pampeluna; that is to say, in
taking up with the troops the positions to be occupied around it,
and Sir Thomas Picton was aware that, in consequence, I was likely to
be well acquainted with the various roads in the neighbourhood; he
therefore sent for me on the night previous to the day upon which it
was insinuated that he intended to have abandoned the position. He
told me he expected to be attacked by Marshal Soult in the morning,
that he was determined to stand his ground; but wished to know, if,
before Lord Wellington could come to his assistance, and if such a
misfortune should happen as that of his being obliged, by very superior
numbers, and the unforeseen events of a battle, to fall back, if I was
sufficiently acquainted with the roads around the city to enable me to
undertake, under such circumstances, to conduct the troops, so as to
keep them out of the range of the cannon upon the ramparts of the city.
I replied, that I knew the roads sufficiently for the purpose, and was
about to retire, when he repeated his determination to maintain his
position, and even betrayed a kind of feeling of delight at the idea
of giving Soult and his army battle, with only the few troops he could
oppose to him, until the arrival of Lord Wellington.

Almost at this moment, as I learnt afterwards, an engineer officer
(I don't remember his name) arrived to report himself, who had been
looking for the 3rd division amongst the mountains; I think he said he
had been sent to supply the place of Colonel Burgoyne, who had been
taken ill, and was obliged to go to the rear. Sir Thomas, who at such a
time, would have wished not to be plagued by a stranger, desired him,
partly, it was fancied, with the intention of getting rid of him, to
go and find out the different roads leading to the rear of Pampeluna;
and I have often since wondered if in this could have originated the
silly story of Sir Thomas Picton's intention of abandoning the position
in which the battle was fought, and in which the 3rd division performed
its usual brilliant part.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

History

A British army, as it was,--is,--and ought to be : $b illustrated by examples during the Peninsular War; with observations upon India; the United States of America; Canada; the boundary line; the navy; steam warfare, &c.

Campbell, James

Great Britain. Army

I can positively say that he had no such intention, and I feel I
ought to make this assertion, if it were only in justice to Sir
Thomas Picton's military reputation, and I know I can be borne out
in it. I had been particularly employed with the 3rd division in
originally forming the blockade of Pampeluna; that is to say, in
taking up with the troops the positions to be occupied around it,
and Sir Thomas Picton was aware that, in consequence, I was likely to
be well acquainted with the various roads in the neighbourhood; he
therefore sent for me on the night previous to the day upon which it
was insinuated that he intended to have abandoned the position. He
told me he expected to be attacked by Marshal Soult in the morning,
that he was determined to stand his ground; but wished to know, if,
before Lord Wellington could come to his assistance, and if such a
misfortune should happen as that of his being obliged, by very superior
numbers, and the unforeseen events of a battle, to fall back, if I was
sufficiently acquainted with the roads around the city to enable me to
undertake, under such circumstances, to conduct the troops, so as to
keep them out of the range of the cannon upon the ramparts of the city.
I replied, that I knew the roads sufficiently for the purpose, and was
about to retire, when he repeated his determination to maintain his
position, and even betrayed a kind of feeling of delight at the idea
of giving Soult and his army battle, with only the few troops he could
oppose to him, until the arrival of Lord Wellington.

Almost at this moment, as I learnt afterwards, an engineer officer
(I don't remember his name) arrived to report himself, who had been
looking for the 3rd division amongst the mountains; I think he said he
had been sent to supply the place of Colonel Burgoyne, who had been
taken ill, and was obliged to go to the rear. Sir Thomas, who at such a
time, would have wished not to be plagued by a stranger, desired him,
partly, it was fancied, with the intention of getting rid of him, to
go and find out the different roads leading to the rear of Pampeluna;
and I have often since wondered if in this could have originated the
silly story of Sir Thomas Picton's intention of abandoning the position
in which the battle was fought, and in which the 3rd division performed
its usual brilliant part.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

A British army, as it was,--is,--and ought to be : $b illustrated by examples during the Peninsular War; with observations upon India; the United States of America; Canada; the boundary line; the navy; steam warfare, &c.

A British army, as it was,--is,--and ought to be : $b illustrated by examples during the Peninsular War; with observations upon India; the United States of America; Canada; the boundary line; the navy; steam warfare, &c.

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