The Adventures of Captain John Patterson: With Notices of the Officers, &c. of the 50th, or Queen's Own Regiment from 1807 to 1821Patterson, John
History
The Adventures of Captain John Patterson: With Notices of the Officers, &c. of the 50th, or Queen's Own Regiment from 1807 to 1821
Patterson, John
Great Britain. Army. Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment; Peninsular War, 1807-1814 -- Personal narratives, British
Were I at liberty to choose a party upon whose steadiness in camp and
quarters, and upon whose fidelity to orders, I might depend, and who,
from love of country, take pride in the most implicit obedience to
their officers, even while suffering all the miseries of hard service,
cold and famine, commend me to the Scotch. Their esprit de corps, and
faithful attachment to their chiefs and clans, is proverbial, and form
the actuating powers of influence with them, prompting them to follow
their leaders, even "to the cannon's mouth," while the pibroch is
ringing in their ears. Talk to a Highlander of his heaths and
mountains, and remind him of his honour, his blood gets up, and he
will burn with ardour to signalize himself for the honour of his
people. To learn the character of the Scotch regiments, look to the
page of history.
Now for the Hibernian--Come along, my lads,! hurrah!--They may well be
called rough and ready fellows; not over solicitous about personal
appearance, they use no unnecessary delay about the toilet, and are
therefore always at hand, and prepared for a start, at any moment or
on any duty, when their services may be wanted. Is there a fort to be
stormed, or a castle wall to be escaladed, then, they are the boys for
your work. Only let them have a little word of encouragement,
accompanied, (if you like), with a small drop "just to keep the could
out of their stomachs," by way of priming, and they will assault a
battery bristled with cannon. As for behaviour in quarters, they are
now and then a little unruly to be sure, for Pat, when he gets a taste
of the creature, is rather a pugnacious being. The Irishmen are,
however, firm soldiers in the field, and nothing can match them in the
bivouac, where their fertile genius comes into play; while the
veterans of other corps are gazing about them, they have got their
huts made, their wood cut, and may be seen scampering all over the
country, in search of all the good things that may be had for love or
money--
"Pat is the fellow that lives on his pay,
And spends half a crown out of sixpence a-day."
The 3rd division, (Sir Thomas Picton's), was called the fighting
division. It was chiefly composed of Irishmen. This is quite as much
as if volumes were written on the subject. Look to the 87th at
Barrosa, the 88th at Badajos, the 27th and 45th every where.
More need not be said.
The German troops are superior to any I ever met with for strict
attention to duty. They are determined, brave, and cool in the hour of
battle; and, should they be entrusted with the outposts, the camp may
sleep in safety, and in full assurance of being vigilantly
watched.--Hardy and inflexible, they conform under any state of things
to their commanders, at whose will they move with the regularity of a
piece of mechanism.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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