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

A soldier of the 88th, hearing what had been said, volunteered to get
up into a tree, and thereby to make himself an object to be shot at.
This he accomplished with some difficulty, and being asked what he
could see; replied, "Och, nothing but them wearisome vineyards, and bad
luck to them, and a power of their scrimigers." Night closed the scene,
the firing had ceased. The French sentinels and ours being posted
not twenty yards from each other, they, as usual, thought no more of
strife; but in the course of the night, the enemy silently and quietly
moved off towards Tarbes. The day following we crossed the Adour at
that town. Picton was again advancing against the enemy, whose right
having been turned by the divisions on our left, they were marching,
or rather running in great confusion along the road, which passes
through a wooded height above Tarbes to Tournay. Sir Thomas Brisbane's
dispositions were even made to have had a dash at them; when an
order, which greatly surprised us, came for the troops to halt, when
without almost meeting with any resistance, we must have cut off and
taken vast numbers of the fugitives, who were thus allowed to "live to
fight another day." Upon receiving this order to halt from Sir Thomas
Picton's aide de camp, (who was questioned in order to ascertain if he
was sure he was correct in the message he delivered) I went back to
find out what could possibly have occasioned it. I soon met Sir Thomas,
and venturing cautiously to express my regret at such an opportunity
having been allowed to escape, of intercepting so considerable a number
of the enemy's troops, he replied, "That is no fault of mine; but go
now, Sir, and desire your general to move on." But before I could
return to the brigade, which were greatly amazed at being kept back,
the last of the French were just disappearing behind a hill about half
a mile off.

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."

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

A soldier of the 88th, hearing what had been said, volunteered to get
up into a tree, and thereby to make himself an object to be shot at.
This he accomplished with some difficulty, and being asked what he
could see; replied, "Och, nothing but them wearisome vineyards, and bad
luck to them, and a power of their scrimigers." Night closed the scene,
the firing had ceased. The French sentinels and ours being posted
not twenty yards from each other, they, as usual, thought no more of
strife; but in the course of the night, the enemy silently and quietly
moved off towards Tarbes. The day following we crossed the Adour at
that town. Picton was again advancing against the enemy, whose right
having been turned by the divisions on our left, they were marching,
or rather running in great confusion along the road, which passes
through a wooded height above Tarbes to Tournay. Sir Thomas Brisbane's
dispositions were even made to have had a dash at them; when an
order, which greatly surprised us, came for the troops to halt, when
without almost meeting with any resistance, we must have cut off and
taken vast numbers of the fugitives, who were thus allowed to "live to
fight another day." Upon receiving this order to halt from Sir Thomas
Picton's aide de camp, (who was questioned in order to ascertain if he
was sure he was correct in the message he delivered) I went back to
find out what could possibly have occasioned it. I soon met Sir Thomas,
and venturing cautiously to express my regret at such an opportunity
having been allowed to escape, of intercepting so considerable a number
of the enemy's troops, he replied, "That is no fault of mine; but go
now, Sir, and desire your general to move on." But before I could
return to the brigade, which were greatly amazed at being kept back,
the last of the French were just disappearing behind a hill about half
a mile off.

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."

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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