during which an army is on service, is one of relaxation from all rule, instead of being, as it is, the period during which, of all others, every rule for the regulation and controul of the conduct of the soldier, for the inspection and care of his arms, ammunition, accoutrements, necessaries, and field equipments, and his horse and horse appointments, for the receipt and issue and care of his provisions, and the regulation of all that belongs to his food, and the forage for his horse, must be most strictly attended to by the officer of his company or troop, if it is intended that an army, a British army in particular, shall be brought into the field of battle in a state of efficiency to meet the enemy on the day of trial."

I entertain the highest personal esteem for the Marquis of Wellington; I consider him as the first General of the age, as a most extraordinary character, yet I cannot hesitate in asserting that some divisions of the army under his Lordship's command did experience the most distressing privations, and every disaster that could arise from severe weather, fatigue, hunger and thirst.-His Lordship admits that the season was inclement; the fact is, the men had seldom dry cloaths for six hours, and during the latter part of the retreat they were continually wet; and took their short sleep on the wet ground.-These disasters, these hardships, as I have already stated, were produced by the incompetency of some General Officers, and the want of proper attention on the part of several officers on the Staff of the army. Was it possible, sir, for a young man, nursed in the lap of luxury or not, allowing him what his Lordship admits, all the fire of zeal and spirit, to bear up against. such difficulties, distresses and privations? Consider the situation of a subaltern, a youth whose pay and allowances are scarcely competent to his support, view him without even those accommodations, his pay three or four months in arrear, and without the means of sustaining the severities of the weather, or the ability of procuring such refreshment as may enable him to preserve his health; consider him labouring under the difficulties of a campaign, and those difficulties increased ten-fold by the operations of a most fatiguing retreat; himself worn out, without raiment, without food, and the cold wet earth his couch.-Must we then be surprized at finding his spirit depressed, his body wearied out, or his duty relaxed?

No blame can be fairly imputed to the subaltern officer, or to those commanding companies, or even regiments; the whole justly rests with the Generals commanding divisions:-they were inefficient, incompetent to their duty; they, and they alone, have injured this VOL II.

E

army. Our Chief is competent to every thing; but his exertions must not be damped by the ignorance of those who are appointed to execute his Lordship's immediate orders.

A SUBALTERN.

N. B. The loss of the 82d regiment was excessive: numbers died from want, numbers perished from the inclemency of the weather; yet the officers of that regiment are not to be blamed; they are all zealous, active and intelligent; and were under the command of Colonel Grant, a veteran beloved in this army.

Sir,

BADGES OF MERIT.

Colchester, February 20th. THE great utility of conferring honorable Badges on meritorious conduct, cannot for a moment be questioned. It affords a means of rewarding officers who may have distinguished themselves, when their brother officers have not had an equal opportunity, and when, therefore, it would be injudicious to promote them to the detriment of others. It adds to the dignity of an officer's rank, without injuring the army, unless erroneously bestowed.

When Badges of Merit are to be conferred on an army after a splendid victory, I conceive that every officer engaged should partake of that benefit, if universal satisfaction is desired, or that it should be given to those only who have been conspicuously deserving, and not indiscriminately to those who may happen to hold a command. I am led, therefore, to remark on the order of merit which was bestowed on officers of a certain rank, in the brave army under that late gallant and worthy officer, Sir John Moore.

Two instances were related to me, by a brother officer who was an eye-witness to the operations of that army, which certainly deserve mention, as they exhibit the impolicy of granting those honorary Badges to Officers, not for services, but because they might happen. to hold a command.

The first is, that a Regiment, about six hundred and fifty strong, but chiefly composed of lads, marched into the field, went through that short disastrous campaign highly creditable to itself, and highly honorable to the brave and able Officer who commanded it. His boys performed all the duties required of them in a most commendable manner, and bore a distinguished share in the action which took place near Coruña, at the close of that unfortunate expedition. It was farther described to me, that the Commanding Officer of this gallant corps took the most early and very requisite precautions, to spare them from unnecessary fatigue, that it was

his study to render them as comfortably housed and fed as the nature of the service would possibly admit-they were the friends on whom he looked to support the character of his country and his own fame. I lament to add, that this noble officer received a wound, which took an oblique direction across his forehead, of which he at this moment feels the effects; and his country has to grieve for the loss of any future services from an Officer who is an honour both to it and the military profession. He was rewarded with the Badge of Merit, for having held a command, the same as those Officers in like situations.

The second fact I wish to notice, is one where conceit and incapacity destroyed a battalion of brave fellows, who commenced the campaign seven hundred strong, mostly stout and active men, volunteers from the militia. One instance will be sufficient to point out the dangerous effects arising from men commanding regiments, if strangers to military knowledge. At the end of a night's march, eighty of these men were victims to pulmonary complaints, and this regiment did not, finally, muster sufficient men to guard its own colours. The consequence arising from the above circumstance was, that they acquired neither honour nor glory; whereas, had they experienced the command of an intelligent officer, they would have shared the praises so justly obtained by other corps. The Officer, however, who commanded the regiment, received the Order of Merit, which his rank entitled him to.

If it is necessary, and I certainly think it is, to reward parti cular feats of gallantry by Badges of Merit, is it just to confine it to Field Officers, or to bestow it on an Officer because he happens to command a regiment? Would it not be more correct and satisfactory, to give it to those who may be reported by the Generals of Divisions and Brigades, as having distinguished themselves-as having proved themselves worthy of such an honour? Did an Officer, from fortuitously being in the command of a regiment, entitle himself to such distinction, where perhaps, from ignorance, incapacity, carelessness, or other misconduct, his corps was reduced to a mere shadow of a battalion, so that when the moment arrived, at which an individual was an host, some battalions could not muster one sixth of their number?

I flatter myself, that my humble opinion on this head accords with those of most Officers of the army-that honor should never be indiscriminately bestowed, or to the exclusion of the meritorious -that Badges of Merit, when given, should be according to the

reports of Generals commanding Divisions and Brigades, by which they will be an honour to the service, and a stimulus to gallant actions:-that otherwise they will produce chagrin, disgust, and disaffection. The Badge of Merit conveys to the receiver the approbation of the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, as well as that of his own Commanding Officer; and as I am confident the views of his Royal Highness the Duke of York are to administer honor with justice, I further flatter myself that the high distinction of these Badges will be bestowed in such manner as to reward meritorious Officers alone. NESTOR.

Mr. Editor,

SUBALTERNS' ALLOWANCES.

PERMIT me to state a few simple facts through the medium of your Military Panorama.

1st. When a regiment of infantry is quartered where there are barracks, a Subaltern generally has the accommodation of a room, and an allowance of coals and candles, which together are equal in value to at least fifty pounds a year.

2d. When a regiment is quartered where sufficient room can be had for the rank and file of the corps in barracks, but not for all Subaltern officers, those not provided with barrack rooms have an allowance of six shillings per week for lodgings, coals, candles, &c.

3d. When a regiment is billetted on the innkeepers of a town, the officers are allowed neither coals, candles, or lodging money, but may have billets.

4th. A lieutenant's pay, after deducting income tax, is 5s. 11d. An ensign's pay, after deducting income tax, is 4s. 11d.

5th. A single bed-room cannot be hired by a Subaltern (with firing and candles) for less than 3s. per day, at the least.

I shall now only observe, that if what the Subaltern officer receives in the first instance stated, he is justly entitled to, his situation in the 2d and 3d instances requires to be amended by the military departments of this realm: and from the attention His Royal Highness the Duke of York has ever given to recommendations for improving the situation of officers, I hope this will prove deserving of early notice from that truly illustrious character.

February 22, 1813.

MILES VETERANUS.

I HAVE been given to understand from several officers, that the principal cause of the havoc made in our cavalry in the expedition under the late Sir John Moore, arose from the actual want of horse-shoes; that many hundreds of horses, including cavalry, artillery, and the waggon-train, were rendered useless from the want of shoes and farriers.

Every man who is at all employed with horses should know how to shoe them; it should form a part of the cavalry drill, and the shoe should compose one part of the horse-soldier's kit.-There ought also to be in every regiment of infantry amongst the pioneers, at least six men capable of shoeing, and a chest of tools for that pose should always accompany them.

pur.

Should these suggestions be thought worthy of a place in your valuable work, I shall be much gratified.—I am, sir, &c.

F.

Sir,

ON THE

MILITARY RANK, &c. OF PAYMASTERS.

IT appears extraordinary that Paymasters in the Militia should not have the advantage of rank in a regiment equal to other officers to whom from their appointment they cannot be inferior. A Regimental Paymaster, let his services be for any length of time, cannot rank higher than a Subaltern. The moment a Surgeon joins a regiment, he takes his rank amongst the Captains, according to the date of his commission. An Adjutant, although from his merit he may be appointed to such situation from being a Serjeant-Major, after five years service, is entitled to rank as Captain, and thus put over the head of a Paymaster. Neither the Surgeon or his Assistant are liable to do any military duty, but a Paymaster, though he has no one to assist him in the labour of his employ, is required to do military duty. Surely something may be done to place Paymasters upon an equal footing with the description of officers alluded to, otherwise it is mortifying to such a class of men, to know that their conduct, however meritorious, has not the reward given to their associates.

Devizes, Feb. 14, 1813.

J. B.