Carole Divall

On the 19th June, 1801, the Duke of York, Commander in Chief of the Army, laid the first stone for  new institution, the Royal Militry Asylum for the children of soldiers of the regular army, on a site near the Royal Hospital, Chelsea.  As the Royal Military Chronicle commented in an article eleven years later:

“The motives which gave rise to the establishment, and the principles upon which it is founded, are alike honourable to the present enlightened age, and congenial with the soundest maxims of policy, humanity, and benevolence.” Continue Reading »

2nd Battalion: Cadiz

Cadiz Harbour

There have been no deaths during the past two weeks, but sickness is a problem, largely due to the climate.  The numbers returned “sick present” vary between forty and fifty a day.  There are also six men still in Gibraltar because of sickness.

Captain Richard Machell was appointed brigade major, on the staff, on the 9th July.  This is his second staff appointment since joining the 30th.

Ensign Neville is still returned as absent without leave.

Corporal William Fuller was reduced on the 2nd July, and John Grant was promoted to corporal in his place the next day.

There are still detachments at Isla and Puntales.  In addition, a sergeant and four privates are in the provost guard, and two privates are serving as hospital orderlies.

The battalion was inspected on the 12th June, only nine days after their arrival in Cadiz, which caused them some concern.  Brigadier Daniel Hoghton’s brief report, however, which is now available, is generally complimentary.  He noted that the drill and field manoeuvres were found wanting – hardly surprising after several weeks at sea – but the men were “clean, and steady in the ranks”, and all administrative matters were in order.  He noted that there had been seventeen (regimental) courts martial since the last inspection, a low number, and that of the lashes awarded by the courts, less than half had been inflicted.  He approved of this leniency.

1st Battalion: Trichinopoly

The King Cobra snake

Five men have died in the past two weeks: Corporal James Cooper, and Privates John Wilkinson, Ephraim Partidge, Charles Clarke, and Joseph Poxton.  Nevertheless, this is a relatively low casualty rate for the time of year, given the extremes of climate.

Corporal Peter Connell resigned on the 1st July, and Corporal John Houghton was reduced on the 10th.

Major Maxwell’s sick leave has been extended by surgeon’s certificate.  Similarly, Lieutenant Carden has been returned as “not well enough to join”.

Depot: Wakefield

The process of recruitment and basic training goes on at various locations around the country. On the 2nd July Ensign Parke Percy Neville marched from the depot for Portsmouth with two sergeants and ninety-eight rank and file.  They will embark for Cadiz, to join the second battalion.

Two recruits have enlisted at headquarters.

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2nd Battalion: Cadiz

There are still detachments serving as carpenters (Isla), Royal Artillery drivers, and with the Great Gun Exercise at Puntales.  This last, however, resulted in tragedy.  On the 19th July Private William Page, a Leicester framework knitter, died of wounds received when a gun exploded.  Two other men were wounded, one to the hand and the other in the face.

Assistant Surgeon Brett, who was left in Gibraltar, has returned to England for recovery of health.  Surgeon Hennen now has sole responsibility for the sick and injured of the battalion.  On the 25th June one sergeant and thirty four rank and file were returned sick, much of this sickness caused by the excessive heat.  A general order has been received from the Adjutant General’s office, reminding commanding officers that there should be no deviation from the regulation uniform pattern.   This was not particularly welcome when the temperature is so high. Two sergeants and two privates have been sent to England for recovery of health.

Corporal Thomas Hamilton was reduced on the 29th June.  No-one has been appointed in his place.

1st Battalion: Trichinopoly

Four officers are now under sentence of a court martial, Lieutenants French and Harpur having been found guilty of taking part in a duel, and Lieutenants Jones and Carden of aiding and abetting.  The sentence passed by the court is cashiering, as stipulated by the Articles of War, but a recommendation for clemency has been sent to England, where the sentence will be confirmed.  Lieutenant Carden is on sick leave.  All four officers now have a long wait to discover their eventual fate.

Long-serving sergeant, Joseph Lonnergan, died on the 25th June.  Corporal Peter Connell resigned on the 29th June.

Depot: Wakefield

The depot returned Captain Christopher Williamson as doing duty at the army depot on the Isle of Wight.  He has previously been returned by the second battalion as on leave of absence for recovery of health.

Ensign Neville is preparing to take command of a detachment of recruits and militia volunteers who will join the second battalion in Cadiz.

The Irish Militia continues to provide the regiment with manpower; twenty-eight volunteers have joined from the Tipperary Militia.

One man has enlisted at headquarters.  One private has deserted.

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There is a perception of military surgeons of the Napoleonic period as butchers who lost more of their patients than they saved.  The statistics of the 2/30th Regiment at Quatre Bras and Waterloo challenge this perception, however.

The 2nd battalion 30th Foot in square with the 73rd at Waterloo

Although there can be no doubt about the six officers and thirty-six NCOs and privates killed during the three-day campaign, the number of wounded remains problematic.  The battalion surgeon, James Elkington, recorded in his journal that 202 officers and men were wounded.  Edward Macready thought the figure was 220.  This discrepancy can be explained by Macready including in his count even those who received what today we would classify as wounds requiring nothing more than first aid, whereas Elkington only included those he sent to the general hospital.

A list produced at the end of 1815 reduced the number of men specifially given as wounded to 156, although others were returned as in the general hospital, Brussels, and most of these seem to have been wounded.  Even if we take this minimum number, however, the figures for recovery remain surprisingly good.  Only twenty-six men died of wounds.  Of these, ten died on the sixth day after the battle, the point when infection became life-threatening.  This reminds us that lack of antiseptics posed a problem which even the most competent surgeon could not overcome.

The kinds of wounds which were survivable are also interesting.  The discharge papers of men of the 2/30th sometimes merely refer to “wounded at Waterloo”, but in  sixty-five cases more detail is given.  The date of discharge is also significant.  A man discharged in 1815 or 1816 had obviously been incapacitated by his wound (or wounds), while those men discharged in 1817 or later had made a better recovery.

With regard to the terminology in the table below it should be noted that a “gunshot wound” results from cannon fire, whereas “musket shot” is precisely what it says.

NAME	TYPE OF WOUND	DATE OF DISCHARGE
Cpl Joseph Andrews	Gunshot wound through thigh; disabled left hand	1815
Samuel Barnacle	Loss of use of left hand	1816
John Blackburn	Gunshot wound to left side	1816
Marshal Bodymore	Right thigh	1817
Laurence Brady	Paralysis from Waterloo wounds	1817
Daniel Brennan	Hand and leg; leg finally amputated	1817
Denis Brogan	Right foot	1816
Joseph Brown	Left arm amputated	1816
James Bunker	Right leg, by shell	1818
Thomas Cochrane	Hand and back	1815
James Connolly	Left leg; behind left ear	1817
Charles Cook	Right arm and right leg	1817
Patrick Daly	hand	1816
Sgt John Darville	head	1816
John Davey	Right leg, gunshot wound	1818
Robert Dawes	Broken arm, wounded at Waterloo	1816
Cpl Benjamin Detheridge	Right arm, right leg	1817
John Devoy	Left hand	1817
Cpl Thomas Dobbs	Right leg	1817
John Driver	Left leg	1817
Moses Dyer	Wounded in abdomen	1817
George Edwards	Gunshot wound, left leg	1816
Benjamin Fieldstone	Right arm	1817
Daniel Flinn	Left shoulder	1817
Robert Forbes	Left hand	1817
Thomas Foster	Gunshot wound, right leg	1816
John Harty	Left cheek	1817
Daniel Keeghan	Thigh	1817
John Lanxter	Left thigh	1817
Patrick Lawler	Sabre cut left hand; wound to thigh	1815
Thomas Lowe	Left arm and shoulder	1816
Michael Lynch	Right thigh	1817
Philip Lynch	Left leg	1817
John Lynham	Musket shot through ankle	1816
James Mahon	Compaction of knee joint caused by wound to thigh	1816
John McAndrews	Left foot	1816
James McCabe	Right thigh amputated	1815
Michael McGrath	Loss of use of arm from wound received at waterloo	1816
Peter Muxloe	Musket wound of the head	1816
Henry Nowell	Broken arm, wounded at Waterloo	1816
Cpl Michael O’Neill	Right leg	1817
James Patrick	Leg (at Quatre Bras)	1817
Robert Ramsden	Loss of left leg	1816
Edward Ripton	Amputated right thigh	1816
Patrick Robinson	Broken arm, wound received at Waterloo	1816
William Ryan	Lost left eye from wound received at Waterloo	1816
James Ryan	Shell at Waterloo, wound of abdomen	1816
Cpl Joseph Saville	Left hand	1816
Col Sgt Joseph Scotton	Gunshot wound to right leg	1816
John Shanaghan	Loss of use of arm	1816
Elias Simpson	Right arm and fingers	1817
Cpl John Slowey	Groin and thigh	1817
Donald Smith	Gunshot wound, left arm	1816
Nathaniel Smith	Right foot	1816
Thomas Sparkes	Hip joint	1818
John Stubbs	Right thigh	1816
William Taylor	Left leg	1817
William Thompson	Right thigh	1816
William Tinsley	Left leg	1816
Humphrey Vizer	Left arm	1816
Richard Ward	groin	1816
James Waters	Right thigh	1816
Sgt William Watkins	Right knee and middle right finger	1822
Richard Webb	Musket ball received in action with the enemy	1815