History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery Vol. 2: Compiled from the Original RecordsDuncan, Francis
History
History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery Vol. 2: Compiled from the Original Records
Duncan, Francis
Great Britain. Army. Royal Regiment of Artillery
The Treaty of Amiens was not destined to be carried out in its entirety
by the nations concerned. Napoleon’s hostility to the English could not
be concealed; and the evacuation of Malta, Alexandria, and the Cape of
Good Hope, which had been commenced by the latter, in accordance with
the terms of the Treaty, was never fully completed. On the 13th March,
1803, Lord Whitworth, the English Ambassador, was publicly insulted by
Napoleon at the Tuileries; and on the 6th May he quitted Paris. The
recommencement of hostilities with France was aggravated by another
insurrection in Ireland, which was happily quelled with little
difficulty. But the general state of affairs was so serious that an
augmentation of the military forces in England became urgently
necessary, as well as renewed activity on the part of the fleet. The
Government received warm and cordial support from the people, both as a
body and individually. Lord Chatham, then Master-General of the
Ordnance, received [Sidenote: Mr. J. Bagot, London, to Lord Chatham,
dated 11 July, 1803.] on the 18th July a letter from a Mr. John Bagot,
to the following effect:--“Being anxious in the present awful crisis to
come forward in any line that my services can be of use to my King and
country, I beg leave to offer, for the consideration of your Lordship,
to raise a Battalion of Artillery, of 300 men, for the war or such
further period as may be necessary, and on such terms as your Lordship
or His Majesty’s Government may direct....”
The state of recruiting in England was, however, so favourable, that the
Master-General was not compelled to have recourse to private enterprise
to obtain the necessary augmentations to the Regiment. The number of
non-commissioned officers and men in the Horse Brigade and Marching
[Sidenote: Mem. to Master-Gen^l. from Colonel Macleod, 13 Aug. 1803.]
Battalions of the Royal Artillery on the 1st January, 1803, was 6777; on
the 1st June, notwithstanding the loss of 306 men by death or discharge,
the total had increased to 7119; and in two months more, it stood at
7439, besides 131 recruits in the country districts, not yet posted. The
Corps of Gunner-drivers had increased in the same period by 1109 men. It
was therefore resolved to increase the Regiment by another battalion,
the 8th, and the first intimation of this resolution is found in a
private letter from [Sidenote: Colonel Macleod to Lieut.-Colonel
Willington, dated 7 Sept. 1803.] the Deputy Adjutant-General. “It is at
last, I believe, determined,” he wrote, “to increase the Artillery, even
under all the disadvantages of a deficiency in officers. The cadets are
doubled; and the winter may do a good deal for us: in the mean time we
take twenty of the most forward. Our companies will only have two 1st
Lieutenants: there will be hardly a 2nd Lieutenant upon the
establishment.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account