History Notes

Battle of, 1811. The bloodiest battle of the Peninsular War. Wellington was absent and Beresford (of Buenos Aires notoriety) was in command. At best, the battle was a draw and the 2nd Battalion, 66th Foot lost 272 soldiers killed, wounded or missing (62%) of 441.

Alien Office. Set up by Act of Parliament in 1793 to implement the Aliens Act which was designed to control foreign visitors and refugees. Sub-department of the Home Office that had been formed in 1782. First Superintendent of Aliens was William Huskisson who was succeeded by William Wickham in 1794. Carried out domestic and foreign espionage at home and abroad. Exercised use of the Crown’s Power of Deportation under the Act.

Lord, 1773-1857. 1st Earl and British diplomat. Ambassador extraordinary to the Court of the Qing dynasty. Later, Governor-General of India. Ordered troops into Burma at a cost of 15,000 killed and £13 million expended. He was recalled in disgrace to London.

Sir David. 1757-1829. Born in Scotland and commissioned into the 73rd Highlanders (later 71st). Served in India before being captured and held prisoner by Tipu Sultan for four years. Commanded at the Battle of Alexandria against the French in 1801 and at Cape Town in 1806. Fought with Sir John Moore ast Corunna and served as Commander in Chief in Ireland.

William (1779-1829) and Betsy (1802-1871) Balcombe was rumoured to be an illegitimate son of Prinnie, later George IV, and had good connections at Court which may have accounted for his earlier career it the Royal Navy and his appointment as Purveyor to Napoleon’s household at Longwood House on St Helena. He held other key appointments that included acting as the East India Company’s Agent on the island and owning and managing a private trading company with two partners in Jamestown that had a monopoly to supply all vessels calling in at the island. When Napoleon first arrived he lodged with the Balcombe family at their house, The Briars, whilst his permanent residence was made ready. The two men became friends and after Napoloen had moved to Longwood, Balcombe and his family were frequent visitors. It was at The Briars that Napoleon first met Balcombe’s 14 year old daughter who became his particular friend although there was a gap of over 30 years in their ages. Betsy was a lively and attractive teenager and Napoleon and she spent many hours with each other in the Longwood Gardens. Meanwhile, the Governor, Sir Hudson Lowe, became increasingly suspicious that Balcombe was disobeying his instructions regarding fraternisation and was passing messages to and from Napoleon’s supporters in London and throughout the Atlantic World. Balcombe was gregarious, indiscreet did nothing to hide his sympathetic views of Napoleon. Eventually, Lowe lost his patience and Balcombe and his family were summarily dismissed the island and returned to England in disgrace. After five years of petitioning the Government for another position, Balcombe was appointed as Head of Revenue Collection in New South Wales and he and his family left for Australia. By this time Besty was married but had been deserted by her husband, Edward Abell, and accompanied her parents to Sydney, later returning to live in England.

William, doctor. 1749-1828. Third generation American born in Maryland. Provided medical services to the wounded after the battles of Concord, Lexington and Brandywine during the American War of Independence. During the war of 1812 became involved in a dispute about prisoners; was witness to the attack on Fort McHenry and the compostion of the Star-Spangled Stripes.

Count. 1773-1844. Accompanied Napoleon to St Helena on HMS Northumberland and was with him until his death in May 2021. Served as ADC at the battle of Austerlitz and appointed Grand Marshall of the Palace in 1813. Accompanied Napoleon to Elba in 1814. Attempted negotiation with the British Government for Napoleon to be allowed to live in England.

Lieut. 66th Foot. Dismissed the service in May 1816. Bladenburg, Battle of 24th August 1814. The British, General Robert Ross commanding, attacked the village of Bladenburg in preparation to crossing the bridge on its edge that led directly to Washington four miles to the West. The river Anancostia was shallow and the men were able to wade across and down it. The American forces retreated and Washington and Georgetown filled with refugees. That evening Washington and The White House were torched before thunder storms extinguished the flames.

Capt. 66th Foot. Orderly Officer at Longwood. Served in the Peninsular War. Died at Cheltenham in 1823.

Dr. William. 1750-1835. Came from a well-to-do Glasgow family. Medically qualified and went to India as an EIC surgeon. Made his fortune before returning to Britain and buying Folijon Park in 1804. High Sheriff of Berkshire 1814.

Founded in 1749 with six men by the magistrate, playwright and author, Henry Fielding. The first British police force. When Henry died in 1754, his brother John, blind since birth, took over as magistrate. The Runners were paid off in 1829 when the Metropolitan Police Act was passed by Parliament. John Sayer and John Townsend were two of the best known of the Runners.

Battle of. 1777. A large force was assembled by the American rebels to defend Philadelphia that was hidden in a forest near Brandywine Creek. Men of fhe 49th Regt. of Foot (Hertfordshire, later 1/66th) crept up silently during the night and routed the Americans as they slept. From that time onwards no quarter was given.

A number of clubs were started up in the West End of London in the 1750s. These included Almack’s, Brook’s, Boodle’s and White’s. Some were social only, others developed political affiliations. ‘The Female Coterie’ was a club for both sexes.

A, Col. 1772-1843. Born in Fermanagh. Joined the 44th Foot in 1792 and served throughout the French Revolutionary Wars in Egypt and Spain. Served under Sir Robert Ross in the War of 1812 and fought at Bladenburg, Baltimore and the Battle of North Point, where Ross was killed after which Brooke was promoted to command of the British troops on the Chesapeake.

Sir Henry. 1778-1860. Born at Mildenhall in Suffolk. Son of Henry Bunbury well known caricaturist. Joined the 2nd (Coldstream) Guards in 1797. Fought in the Mediterranean and married niece of Charles James Fox leader of the Whigs in the House of Commons. Close to the Holland House set while serving under Lord Liverpool and the Tories but was highly critical of the Government’s handling of the Peterlee massacre and denounced its oppressive domestic policies. Campaigned for the alleviation of agricultural distress., lower taxes on the poor and Parliamentary reform. Also, presented a series of ant-slavery petitions in Suffolk and in 1832 campaigned for the abolition of the death penalty for non-violent crimes.

the. Founded in 1810 in Buenos Aires as a part of the May Revolution against Spanish imperial rule in the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata that included present-day Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil. The governor appointed by Span was deposed and a Junta appointed. A group of prominent local lawyers and soldiers organised a special meeting of notables of he city and established its rule.

Lord Thomas, Admiral. 1775-1860. Cochrane was the penniless son of a Scottish peer (The Earl of Dundonald) who joined the Navy in 1793 aged 17. He soon made a reputation for being difficult but brilliant. In the French Revolutionary wars he fought continuously in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. He commanded HMS Speedy capturing, burning or driving ashore more than 53 enemy vessels and making himself and his crew rich on prize money. One of his Midshipmen was Frederick Marryat, later cartoonist and novelist. His most famous exploit was the burning of the French fleet with fire ships at the Battle of the Basque Roads on the French coast at Rochfort. In 1806 Cochrane stood for Parliament (Honiton) and promoted a series of reforms allying himself with William Cobbett and Henry Hunt. In 1814 he was implicated in a fraud at the Stock Exchange that involved making a false market in shares based on the false rumour of Napoleon’s death. Cochrane was found guilty, expelled from the House of Commons, pilloried at the Royal Exchange and imprisoned from where he escaped. He left Great Britain in disgrace, became a Chilean citizen and was invited to create a navy to libertate Chile. He subsequently commanded the Brazilian Navy and forced the Portugese to evacuate Bahia. His last command was of the Greek Navy in its fight for independence against the Ottoman empire. He was restored to the British Navy in 1832 and paid £40,000 (£3.7 million) in compensation for wrongful imprisonment.

The. Founded during Queen Anne’s reign in c.1746 as a Tory chocolate- drinking house on St James’s. Previously it had been the headquarters of the Jacobite party in Parliament. Lord Holland and Byron were both members.

Robert. 1764-1812. Joined the Army aged 15 and served in India. Fought in the campaign in Buenos Aires in 1807 and considered General Whitelocke the C in C to be a traitor. Took part in the retreat to Corunna and returned to England before re-embarking for Portugal in command of the Light Division (43rd, 52nd and 95th) following the death of Sir John Moore. Became one of Wellington’s more trusted and reliable generals. Killed in the Redoubt during the attack on the fortress of Cuidad Rodrigo.

The, American privateer, commanded by Captain Henry Deacon, sailing out of Baltimore. Privateers had made their name in the American War of Independence on the North Amircan cost attacking British shipping. In receipt of Letters of Marque and Custom the privateers could avoid charges of piracy in return for paying tax to the authoritiies when they returned to port. Also sailed the North African, Mediterranean and North Sea coasts. In the War of 1812, The Damned Yankee became notorious for standing offshore and taking British ships as they came into and out of their home ports. During Napoleon’s exile on St Helena, the Damned Yankee was sighted sailing near the island on several occasions.

Nathaniel. 1748-1827. Senior Captain of the Honourable East India Company’s Fleet. By 1780 he had made eight voyages to India and had attained his captaincy. In January 1804 he was the senior captain of a fleet of 27 merchantmen returning to Britain from the Far East. It was attacked by a French fleet in the Straits of Malacca. Although mainly unarmed, the British retaliated and the French were driven off. The British vessels returned via St Helena to London. Dance received a reward of £5,000 and a Knighthood.

Don Manuel. Born c. 1742 in Lisbon and grew up in Buenos Aires. De Melo established businesses in West Africa, Bahia, Rio de Janeiro and London before settling in Montevideo.

May 1809. The British Army under Wellington’s command landed in Portugal and moved north from Lisbon. They came up to the south bank of the river Douro at Oporto and planned to cross to attack Soult on the following day. During the night some empty wine barges were found on the bank and the army began to embark to cross over. A bridgehead was established in the Bishop’s Seminary on the opposite bank. 2nd Battalion 66tth Foot crossed in the second wave.

Henry. 1707-1754. Author of Tom Jones and violent anti-Jacobite. Attacked bribery and corruption in government and was appointed London’s magistrate and set up the Bos Street Runners with his brother John who succeeded him when he died.

Built 1302 by John de Drockensford. Taken by the Crown in 1313 (Edward II). Attached to Windsor Forest. Sold in 1630 to Henry Henne Esq and in 1800 to a Mr. Thomas Bingley. Purchased by Dr. William Blane at auction in 1804.

Built in 1798 outside Baltimore. Withstood a bombardment by the British fleet in 1814. The Stars and Stripes were flown from its battlement and led to the composure of the Star-Spangled Banner, the national anthem of the United States of America.

Robert. 1765-1815. Born in Pennsylvania, Fulton was first apprenticed to a jeweller before moving to England and taking up landscape and minitiare painting. He began to study engineering and became involved in canal building with Lord Bridgewater. He also worked with James Watt and patented a design for canal lock gates. In 1796 Fulton moved to France attracted by its revolutionary government and proposed the building of a submarine to be called the Nautilus that would be used to attack and sink British warships. The French navy appointed a commission to examine the idea but turned it down on the grounds of viability and cost. This decision was later reversed and Fulton was able to demonstrate his invention on the Seine in Paris and corresponded with Napoleon about it. A protoype was built and further trials were conducted at Rouen. Whilst Napoleon, encouraged by his Ministers, maintained some interest in the project, he saw Fulton as a charlatan and money-grabbing American. Fulton left France and approached Prime Minister Pitt and the British Government who decided to buy him off to keep his secrets to himself. He returned to America where he built America’s first steam boat, the Clermont, and the first steam warship, the Demologos, later renamed the Robert Fulton in his honour and used in the war of 1812. He also designed the first steamboat that was sturdy enough to be used on the Mississippi river providing ferry services between Pittsburgh and New Orleans.

East Indiaman. Typical of the East India Company’s vessels of its day (1800s). 149’ long by 43’ in the beam. 1,200 tons loaded. The ship had 60 sails; was crewed by 120 sailors and had 40 guns. Passenges and freight came on board at the Coampny’s East and West India Docks in London’s Lower Pool on the Thames. The Company also had a depot at Deptford used for ship-building, fitting-out and repairs. The ship usually sailed from London in a fleet to protect it from hostile navies and pirates. The Royal Navy also provided resources and later the EIC created its own Marine.

George L. Capt. 66th Foot. Arrived St Helena 26th June 1818. Died 1863.

Major 18th Foot. 1781-1841. ADC and Military Secretary to Sir Hudson Lowe, Governor of St Helena.

R, Midshipman, HMS Vigo. 1799-1820. Died at High Peak Hospital, Jamestown.

Major, St Helena Regiment. Town Major at Jamestown and Judge Advocate. Present at Napoleon’s funeral. Died at Bath 1858.

Lord and Lady and the Holland House Set. Elizabeth, Lady Holland was Napoleon’s most prominent supporter in England. Although banished from Court following a scandalous divorce, she presided over the most glittering social and political circle. The term ‘Holland House Set’ referred to a large group of Whig (liberal) politicians, literary figures and foreign visitors who were entertained at Holland House, the couple’s mansion in Kensington. These included Cavendish, Fitzwilliam, Spencer and Russell. Lord Holland’s uncle was Charles James Fox. Byron met Lady Caroline Lamb met at Holland House. Lord Holland was always pro-revolutionary France and was critical of expensive European wars. During Napoleon’s imprisonment on St Helena, the Hollands arranged to send over 1,000 books to him. Lord Holland believed that Napoleon’s death had been ‘a legal or political murder.’

The ‘Company’. 1600-1874. Founded in London to trade with India, the East Indies and China. The Company, known as John Company, became the most powerful trading organisation since the Roman Empire accounting for 50% of the world’s trade. Originally trading in commodities such as cotton, silk, dyes, salt, spices, tea and opium, the Company took over the Dutch, French and Portugese trading empires in power, influence and territory and managed its own army numbering over 260,000 Indian sepoys commanded by British officers and Marine. The Company was managed by a Court of directors from a small office in Leadenhall Street in the City of London with the Government always retaining some control based on a series of Royal Charters. Fortunes were made by the Company’s in-country managers known as Writers that enabled them to return to Britain as rich men and establish large estates and businesses. Later the Company also traded in the Far East, Hongkong and Japan. In England cadet writers were trained at the Company’s staff college at Addiscombe near Croydon and its military officers and European soldiers at its depot at Warley in Essex. However, as the Company’s responsibilities increased so did its costs until finally the British Government took over complete control and it was nationalised in 1858 partly as a consequence of the Mutiny of 1857.

1798. In May 100,000 Irish peasants rose in revolt against the British Government in Ireland. By September, four months later, 30, 000 had been killed and lay rotting and unburied in a smoking and desolate countryside. Many of the major towns had declared their independence from Britain and had formed their own republics in the French Revolutionary style. British troops were rushed over from the Mainland who ruthlessly supressed the uprising and restored Protestant rule.

Was a derogatory word used by the British to describe Americans duding and after the American Revolution. It was a term meant to suggest a boor, braggart, ruffian, hick or trickster. It was first used in New England to describe Puritans and pitted Jonathan against John Bull; the old world: pompous, imperious and stiff against the new world: up-start, crude and plain-spoken.

Thomas. 1772-1839. Inventor of the underwater craft the Turtle. Born at Lymington in Sussex. Became a notorious smuggler, sailor and saboteur. Fought against the French as a privateer and as the captain of a Revenue cutter. Imprisoned for smuggling.

Lieut., RN. 1750-1784. Born at Clitheroe, Lancashire where his father was Rector. Entered the Royal Navy aged 12. Served on the Newfoundland Station in Canada. Placed on half-pay in 1773 and studied science at Corpus Christ College, Oxford where he was taught by Horsby, Professor of Astronomy, who recommend him to James Cook. Served as navigator on Cook’s final voyage. After Cook’s death, led the squadron and wrote the first official account of the expedition. Fellow of the Royal Society.

Major, Edmund, 66th Foot. Commanded the Regiment 1817-1818. Left St Helena in 1818. Died 1851.

Santiago (1753-1810). A French officer who was appointed to the Spanish forces in South America. Liniers was responsible for the troops defending Buenos Aires during the two attacks by the British in 1806 and 1807. He rallied the local forces and defeated the invasions. Afterwards he participated in the up-risings against Spanish rule that occurred after the Spanish King had allied himself with the French and was appointed Viceroy but resisted the rule of the Cabildo in the revolution of the 10th May 1810. He was accused of being a French sympathiser and executed by the ruling Junta.

Founded 1792 as a radical society to promote universal suffrage in the era of the European Enlightenment and the American and French revolutions. Outlawed by Parliament in 1799 which feared a ‘Jacobin Uprising’ its members were put on trial using the provisions of the Aliens Act. Members were small tradesmen, for example, shoemakers, weavers and tailors with branches in Manchester, Sheffield and Stockport.

Sir Hudson. 1769-1844. Governor of St Helena August 1815 - July 1821. Served with the 50th Regiment in the capture of Corsica and raised a regiment of irregulars, the Royal Corsican rangers who fought on the side of the Allies. Present at the Battle of Leipzig in 1814 and with Blucher at Waterloo in 1815. He met with Napoleon on St Helena six times in five years while they co-habited the island. Wellington thought him ‘a stupid man, suspicious ands jealous.’ After Napoleon’s death he was recalled to England before being appointed to Antigua and Ceylon. He died at Chelsea.

Thomas, Lt.-Col. Inspector of Coasts and Volunteers on St Helena. Succeeded Captain Blakeny as Orderly Officer at Longwood. Died on the Isle of Man 1841.

trials at. May 1798. Soon after the start of the Irish Rebellion, spies from the Alien Office and other informers procured evidence of sedition against the British Government. A number of Irishmen men arrested and a special commission was formed at Maidstone to try the prisoners in the High Court. The prisoners, O’Connor, Quigley and Leary, who went under a number of aliases, were accused of treason that involved the landing of French troops, ships and arms in Ireland. A large number of jurors and witnesses were called in order to provide the charge with credibility. A number of the Bow Street Runners were called as witnesses in addition to individuals drawn from throughout the country including Manchester. The London Corresponding Society was also implicated in the charges. All the accused were acquitted except for O’Connor whop was executed.

Frederick. Capt. RN. 1792-1848. Novelist and cartoonist. Author of Children of the New Forest. Commanded HMS Beaver on St Helena. Attended the laying out of the body of Napoleon on 6th May 1821 and sketched his death mask. Born on Tower Hill, Marryat was the son of a wealthy and well-connected London merchant, Joseph Marryat. Joseph had good connections in the City of London; with the East India Company and at Lloyds, where he was Chairman of the Patriotic Fund set up to support widows and orphans of the Battle of Trafalgar. He was also the official agent for the Island of Antigua. Through his Lloyds work he met Lord Thomas Cochrane and when Fred was 15 secured him a cadetship with Cochrane on board the Imperieuse, a 38-gun warship captured from the French. Young Marryat was a stout young man and able to defend himself below decks. He soon gained a reputation for daring; shared with Cochrane in the many successes of the various ships in which he served and had a particular reputation for saving lives at sea. He served in the War of 1812 on HMS Spartan on the Canadian border and again in 1814 in HMS Newcastle. When Napoleon had been defeated, Marryat was fortunate to use his influence to be promoted to commander and given command of HMS Beaver on St Helena. After Napoleon’s death he transferred to HMS Rosario and was ordered to bring the news back to London. In 1823 he was ordered to the Far East and served in the war in Burma and in gunboats up the Irrawaddy river. In 1830 Marryat retired on half-pay from the Navy and settled in Norfolk where he lived for the remainder of his life whilst maintaining his links with bohemian and literary London.

Comte de. 1757-1831. The French (Bourbon) Commissioner at St Helena. Rabid monarchist. Left the island after Napoleon’s death in July 1821.

George, Capt., 66th Foot. Orderly Officer at Longwood. Had fought in the Peninsular War and was wounded at the Battle of Vittoria. Died in Cheltenham 1857.

Col. 66th Foot. Commanded the First Battalion in St Helena after service in the Peninsular War at the battles of Vittoria, Nive and Nivelle. Died at Clifton, Bristol in 1850.

Barry, Surgeon, RN. 1782-1836. Born in County Cork, Ireland. Started his career as Assistant Surgeon in the 62nd Foot but was dismissed and joined the Navy. On board The Bellepheron when Napoleon was captured and remained in attendance on the emperor until August 1818. He took Napoleon’s side in disputes with the Governor Sir Hudson Lowe and was dismissed his post. When he arrived back in London he wrote a memoire Voice from St Helena that criticised Lowe’s regime and greatly embarrassed the Government.

Captain, Polish Lancers. 1786-1849. Permitted to join Napoleon on St Helena as ADC. Previously served with Napoleon in the Russian campaign and went into exiled with him on Elba. He fell out with the Governor and was sent back to Europe after a year on the island.

Rear-Admiral, Robert. 1762-1834. Commander in Chief of the St Helena and Cape of Good Hope Naval Stations. Spoke French and Dutch. Lived at The Briars with the Balcombes and caused a scandal on St Helena by bringing a lady onto the island who was not his wife. Showed no sympathy for Napoleon.

Sir Home. 1762-1820. Joined the Royal Navy in 1778 after studying at Trinity College, Cambridge. Served aged 15 as an able-seaman in the American War of Independence but resigned his commission to engage in commercial voyages in the East Indies where his ship was seized for carrying contraband. Re-joined the Navy and became expert at in-shore operations. Was invited by Prime Minister Pitt to plan an attack on Venezuela but became involved in the attack on the Dutch colony at the Cape and the subsequent invasion of La Plata and Buenos Aires in 1806. Captured the Spanish gold fleet but remained at freedom after the surrender of British troops by remaining in Montevideo. Invented a signalling sysetn for the British Navy that was used at the Battle of Trafalgar. Ended his career as CinC, rhe Jamaica Station.

Henry. Superintendent of the Easy India Company’s ‘gardens’ on Sy Helena. Kept a boarding house in Jamestown.

Sir Thomas. Deputy Adjutant-General at St Helena. Sailed with Lowe to take up his post. Performed his duties with zeal and energy. Also appointed Inspector of Police. Was present at Napoleon’s post-mortem. Was suspected of being a spy. Appointed Consul-General in Tunis. Died 12849.

Rodolphuis, Lieut., 66th Foot. 1790-1847. Born in Tipperary. Entered the Army via the West India Regiment and later transferred to the 71st Foot. Landed in Portugal in 1808 and fought at Corunna and Vimiera. Transferred to the 66th in 1810 for service at St Helena. Sent home in October 1818 following a row with the Governor involving O’Meara. Appointed Barrack Master at Drogheda in 1841.

20th, (East Devonshire) Regt. of Foot, formed 1688. Fought at the battles of Alexandria, in Portugal and the Peninsular, Vimeiro, Corunna nd Vitoria.

43rd, (Monmouthshire) Regt. of Foot, formed 1741. Re-mustered as light infantry under the command of Sir John Moore and fought at Talavera, Bussaco, Salamanca and in the Light Division under Robert Crauford at the assault on the fortress of Badajoz (1812) where the Regiment lost 20 officers and 335 riflemen. Served in the War of 1812 at New Orleans (1814).

44th, (East Essex) Regt. of Foot, ‘The Pompadours’, formed 1741. Fought in the ’45 at Prestonpans; in Boston (1775) and Brandywine (1777) and in the War of 1812 at Bladenburg, North Point and New Orleans. The Regiment’s 2nd Battalion served at the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo, Badajoz and at Salamanca in 1812 captured the Imperial Eagle of the French 62nd Regiment. Fought at Quatre Bras and Waterloo in June 1815.

66th, (Berkshire) Regt. of Foot, formed 1756. In 1804 the First Battalion was swerving in Ceylon whilst the Second Battalion fought at the Crossing of the Duoro and at Talavera, Bussaco, Albufera (1811) and Badajoz. At the latter it suffered very heavy casualties and for the remainder of the war formed a composite battalion. In 1817, the battalion wa sent to St Helena where it was amalgamated with the First Battalion from Ceylon.

71st, (Highland) Regt. of Foot, formed 1777. Served in India; at the Cape of Good Hope and at the Battle of Blaauberg in 1806. Served in Sir Home Popham’s expedition to South America in 1806 where the Regimental colours were captured when the whole force surrendered to the Cabildo in Buenos Aires. Served throughout the Peninsular.

88th, Regt. of Foot, (Connaught Rangers), formed 1793 in response to the threat of invasion by the French. Known as “The Devil’s Own”. Left Falmouth in 1806 for South America and served in Sir Home Popham’s expedition to South America where it was captured at the surrender of Sir John Whitelocke’s force in Buenos Aires.

95th, Regt of Foot (Rifles), formed 1800 by Sir John Moore at Shorncliffe Barracks in Kent as “an experimental corps of riflemen”, the 95th was armed with Baker rifles. They served in South America under the command of Robert Crauford where they suffered heavy casualties and were captured in the surrender of Sir John Whitelocke’s force at Buenos Aires in 1807. Served with distinction throughout the Peninsular War at Rolica, Corunna and at the siege of Cuidad Rodrigo. Three battalions served at Waterloo in 1815 and particularly distinguished themselves at the defence of Le Haye Sainte throughout the battle.

PS.
The first corps of British Riflemen was formed to operate with the new rifle, which had far greater accuracy that the old smooth bore musket. Clothed in bottle-green uniforms to give protective cover, these new sharpshooters were taught mobility and concealment and were encouraged to use their own initiative. This training gave the Regiment an ethic it never lost. “The fighting, thinking soldier: A corps not of automata acting en masse but of alert, intelligent, adventurous and quick moving individual marksmen, trained to act independently but with a common purpose. The Rifle Brigade made comradeship between all ranks the foundation for its achievements and the hallmark of the rifleman has always been adaptability, good humour and cheerfulness in any adversity. The Regiment had no colours but each rifleman wore a silver badge in the shape of a bugle horn as a mark of their membership of this elite body of men.

The Rising Star was designed and built in London by Lord Thomas Cochrane for use in the Pacific against the Spanish Navy. It was a steamship with twin boilers and a paddle wheel. Cochrane had hoped to sail in her to Chile but the vessel was not built in time and followed later.

Robert, Major-General. 1766-1814. Born in Ireland and commissioned into the 25th (Sussex) Regt. Served at the Battle of Alexandria in 1801 and was appointed to command the 20th (East Devonshire) Regt in 1803. Fought at Corunna and in Spain where he was severely wounded at the Battle of Orthez in early 1814. Ross was appointed to command British troops in America and fought at the Battle of Bladenburg in August and in the attack on Washington when public buildings, including the Navy Yard, Capitol Hill and the White House were destroyed. Ross was persuaded against his will to attack Baltimore and was shot by snipers at North Point 12 miles outside the city. His body was removed to Canada in a barrel of rum for burial.

John Stuart. 1788-1851. Skinner trained as a lawyer and went into practice in Annapolis. In 1812 he married Elizabeth Davies and in 1813 moved his offices to Baltimore where he was ordered by President Madison to be responsible for the repatriation of prisoners. As prisoner exchange officer he negotiated the release of Dr. William Beanes who had been wrongly arrested by British forces on the Chesapeake. He witnessed the British attack on Fort McHenry from General Robert Ross’s flagship HMS Tonnant and, on the following morning witnessed the American flag still flying over the fort with his friend . Francis Scott Key who wrote the verses of American national anthem, The Star Spangled Banner. After the war, whilst continuing to lead his legal practice and working as Postmaster of Baltimore, Skinner published a series of farming magazines, the first of their kind in America.

On the occasion of the British Army’s invasion of La Plata in 1806: Baird received £23,000, current value £1,918,430. Popham and Beresford received £12,000 each, current value £1,000,920 Private soldiers received £18 each, current value £1,494 £100 in 1806=£8,341 (ONS: officialdata.org/1806-GBP-in-2017)

formerly ‘the Defenders’. Founded in 1791 as a movement for political reform and to promote the rights of romn Caholics and Presbyterians. By 17989 at the start of ghe Frech Revolution, the Society had widespread support in Ireland from dissidents of all kinds. The Society’s leader was the radical ab deformer Wolf Tone who denounced Britsh interference in Irish affairs; demanded the reform of the Irish Parliament and the union of all religious faiths. When France declared war on Britain in 1793, the Society was outlawed as 15,000 French troops set sail for Cork. By the time of he Irish Rebellion on 1798, the Society had 280,000 members and thousands rose in revolt. In County Wexford a republic was declared and loyalist civilians were massacred by ‘the Defenders’. In August 1798, 1,000 French troops arrived in County Mayo but it was too late. Tone was captured before cutting his own throat and the rebellion was brutally suppressed.

Richard, Maj, 88th Regt. Commanded a column during the attack on Buenos Aires in 1807. Fought with Crauford and the Light Division in the Peninsular. It was said by Wellington of his men: ‘They may not frighten the enemy, but, by God, they frighten me.’ Commanded a Division at Waterloo.

Dr. 1787-1858. Surgeon to the Royal Artillery at St Helena. Born in Ireland and trained in Sublin and Edinburgh. Served in the Peninsula. Lived at Longwood but with little to do as Napoleon refused his services. He left the island in April 1820.

Essex, Military Depot of the HEIC and, later, the 44th (East Essex) Regt.

Sir John, Lieut-Gen. 1757-1833. Commissoined into the 14th (Bedfordshire) Foot in 1778 and served in the West Indies where he was appointed Quartermaster-General. In the invasion of La Plata and Buenos Aires of 1807 he was to be the military and civil governor of a new British province following its conquest. The attack was a disaster for which Whitelocke was blamed and at his Court Martial that followed at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea he was particularly criticized for his order that arms should be kept unloaded. He was described by witnesses including Crauford and Vandeleur as a coward and a traitor. He was found guilty and dismissed the service. The King ordered that the verdict should be read out to every Regiment of the Line.

William. 1761-1840. First Director of the Home Department’s Alien Office set up as a consequence of the Aliens Act. Britain’s master spy in Europe for five years during the French Revolutionary Wars. Based himself in Switzerland and ran agents into France. Responsible for the use of the Government’s secret funds. Subsequently Chief Secretary for Ireland.