Wildest Dreams A Small Town Single Dad Romance

The Wilds Of Montana Book 3 Kristen Proby

download

https://ebookbell.com/product/wildest-dreams-a-small-town-single-
dad-romance-the-wilds-of-montana-book-3-kristen-proby-58492856

Explore and download more ebooks at ebookbell.com

Here are some recommended products that we believe you will be
interested in. You can click the link to download.

Wildest Dreams A Small Town Single Dad Romance The Wilds Of Montana
Book 3 Kristen Proby

https://ebookbell.com/product/wildest-dreams-a-small-town-single-dad-
romance-the-wilds-of-montana-book-3-kristen-proby-231932750

Wildest Dreams A Dark Horror Romance Call Of The Void Book 1 Mk Loa

https://ebookbell.com/product/wildest-dreams-a-dark-horror-romance-
call-of-the-void-book-1-mk-loa-48572842

Wildest Dreams A Dark Horror Romance Call Of The Void Book 1 Mk Loa

https://ebookbell.com/product/wildest-dreams-a-dark-horror-romance-
call-of-the-void-book-1-mk-loa-52276700

Never In My Wildest Dreams A Black Womans Life In Journalism Belva

Davis

https://ebookbell.com/product/never-in-my-wildest-dreams-a-black-
womans-life-in-journalism-belva-davis-2379448
Super Attractor Methods For Manifesting A Life Beyond Your Wildest
Dreams Original Retail Gabrielle Bernstein

https://ebookbell.com/product/super-attractor-methods-for-manifesting-
a-life-beyond-your-wildest-dreams-original-retail-gabrielle-
bernstein-10498760

Super Attractor Methods For Manifesting A Life Beyond Your Wildest

Dreams Gabrielle Bernstein

https://ebookbell.com/product/super-attractor-methods-for-manifesting-
a-life-beyond-your-wildest-dreams-gabrielle-bernstein-230787936

One Wish A New Hope Wildest Dreams Robyn Carr Carr Robyn

https://ebookbell.com/product/one-wish-a-new-hope-wildest-dreams-
robyn-carr-carr-robyn-33312604

Wildest Dreams Kristen Ashley

https://ebookbell.com/product/wildest-dreams-kristen-ashley-47674532

Wildest Dreams Rosanne Bittner

https://ebookbell.com/product/wildest-dreams-rosanne-bittner-9157162
 Another Random Document on
Scribd Without Any Related Topics
Colonel belonging to the enemy.
1713. "I made pleasure fireworks which were burnt on River Thames in the
month of August, over against Whitehall, on the Thanksgiving Day for the
Peace made at Utrecht.
1715. "In the month of December I was ordered with a train of Artillery to
Scotland, and arrived in the month of February in the Firth of Forth by Leith,
where I was ordered by His Grace the Duke of Argyle to send the vessells with
the Artillery to a place called Innerkithen till further orders, and to march with
all the officers and Artillery people from Edinburgh to Stirling. At Stirling I was
ordered by His Grace to take upon me the command of fifteen pieces of cannon
ordered from Edinburgh, &c., for field service, which was in such confusion as
cannot be expressed; part of which Artillery I brought so far as the town of
Dundee, where I was ordered to bring the Train back again to Edinburgh by
water.
1716. "In the month of March I was ordered by General Cadogan, in His Grace
the Duke of Argyle's absence, to send the vessells with the Artillery back again
to London, and the Train people to march from thence. On our arrivall at
London, I was ordered by the Board of Ordnance to lay before them tables and
draughts of all natures of brass and iron cannon, mortars, &c., which was done
accordingly and approved of. After the said draughts, two 24-pounder brass
cannon were ordered to be cast by Mr. Bagley in his Foundry at Windmill Hill, at
the casting of which I was ordered to be present. In the founding, the metal of
one of the gunns blow'd into the air, burnt many of the spectators, of which
seventeen dy'd out of twenty-five persons, and myself received four wounds.
1717, 1718. "The Board came to a resolution to regulate what was wanting to
compleat a compleat Artillery for sea and land service. I had an order to lay
before them draughts of all natures of carriages, wheels, trucks, grapes, and
matted shot, and all sorts of bombs both great and small for land and sea
service, with a great many other things relating to an Artillery too tedious to
mention, which they approved of. I likewise laid before the Board the ill-state of
the Laboratory, which the Board order'd me to put in some better order, and to
be at as little expence as possible, which I did accordingly.
1719. "I was ordered on the expedition to Vigo, which place I bombarded with
forty-six great and small mortars of my own projection, which answered their
intended end, of which my Lord Cobham, and the rest of the generall officers
can give a better account than myself, by which bombardment the Castle of
Vigo was obliged in the month of October to surrender.
1720 to 1722. "I attended the Service, as formerly, at all surveys, &c., relating
to the Artillery till such time Colonel Armstrong was made Surveyor, after which
time, notwithstanding His Majesty's signification to me for regulating the
Artillery for sea and land service, I was never consulted in anything relating to
the said service.
"His late Majesty was graciously pleased to renew my old commission as
Colonel, and to give me the command of the Regiment of Artillery established
for His service, consisting of four companys."[9]
 DATE OF LIEUT.-GENERAL BORGARD'S
COMMISSIONS, AND BY WHOM SIGNED.
Order of In what Date of By whom
Commissions. Station. Commission. Signed.
1 Served one
campaign in
the Artillery
in Flanders
as
Firemaster,
having no
Commission
1 Firemaster March, 1693 Lord
Sidney.
2 Captain and 1 Jan., 1695 Lord
Adjutant Romney.
3 Engineer 27 March, 1698
4 Major of the 4 April, 1702 Duke of
Artillery Marlboro'.
5 Major and 1703
Commander-
in-Chief to
Portugal
Both of
these
Commissions
lost at the
Battle of
Almanza.
6 Lieut.-Colonel 1704
of Artillery
Both of
 these
Commissions
lost at the
Battle of
Almanza.
7 Colonel of Foot 14 April, 1705 Lord
Both of Galloway.
these
Commissions
lost at the
Battle of
Villa Viciosa.
8 Colonel of 27 Nov., 1706
Artillery
Both of
these
Commissions
lost at the
Battle of
Villa Viciosa.
9 Chief 9 Aug., 1712 Lord Rivers.
Firemaster
of England
Signification Assistant to 25 April, 1718 H.M. King
the Surveyor George I.
of the
Ordnance
10 Colonel of 1 April, 1722 Duke of
Artillery Marlboro'.
renewed
11 Ditto 1 Oct., 1722 Lord
Cadogan.
12 Brigadier- 1 March, 1727 H.M. King
General George I.
13 Ditto 16 June, 1727 H.M. King
George
 II.
14 Colonel of the 1 Nov., 1727 Ditto.
Royal
Regiment of
Artillery
15 Major-General 28 Oct., 1735 Ditto.
16 Lieut.-General 2 July, 1739 Ditto.
 ABSTRACT OF ALL THE SIEGES
Lieut.-General Borgard has been present at from
the year 1675.
Year. No.
1675 1 The Town of Wismar, in Mecklenburg.
1676 2 The Castle of Helsinburg, in Schonen.
1676 3 The Town and Castle of Landskroon, in Schonen.
1676 4 The Town of Christianstadt, in Schonen.
1677 5 The Town of Mastraud and Castles, in Norway.
1685 6 The Town of Niewhensell, in Hungary.
1686 7 The Town and Castle of Buda, in Hungary.
1688 8 The Town of Haminie Podolski, in Poland.
1689 9 The Town of Keyserwart, on the Rhine.
1689 10 The Town of Bonn, on the Rhine: two slight Wounds.
1689 11 The Town of Mentz, on the Rhine.
1692 12 The Town and Castle of Namur, taken by the French.
1694 13 The Town and Castle of Huy.
1695 14 The Town and Castle of Namur, retaken by King
William.
1702 15 Fort St. Catherine, near Cadiz. Bombarded and took.
1702 16 Fort Malagar, near Cadiz. Bombarded.
1702 17 Fort Duran, near Vigo. Bombarded.
1705 18 The Town and Castle of Valencia d'Alcantra.
Wounded.
1706 19 The Town of Ciudad Rodrigo.
1706 20 The Town of Alcantra. Slight Wound.
1708 21 Fort St. Philip's, in Minorca.
1709 Bombarded the enemy's camp at Villa Nova de la
Barkea, in Catalonia.
1709 22 The Town of Balaguer, in Catalonia.
1719 23 Bombarded the Castle at Vigo, which surrendered
after some days' bombardment.
 ABSTRACT OF THE BATTLES
Lieut.-General Borgard has been present at from
the year 1675.
Year. No.
1676 1 Oeland, in the Baltic.
1676 2 Halmstadt, in Holland.
1676 3 Lund, in Schonen.
1677 4 Ronneberg, near Landskroon.
1677 5 Oddewall, in Norway.
1678 6 Whitlow, in the Isle of Ruggen, on the Baltic.
1683 7 Vienna.
1685 8 Graun, in Hungary.
1688 9 Budjack, in Tartary.
1689 10 Neys, near Dusseldorp.
1691 11 Salankeman, in Sclavonia. Wounded.
1692 12 Stemkirk, in Brabant.
1693 13 Neerhespe, or Landen, in Brabant.
1705 14 Brozus, in Spain.
1706 14 Cannonaded the enemy at Guadraca, in Spain.
1707 15 Almanza, in Spain. Here I lost my baggage.
1710 16 Almenar, in Spain.
1710 17 Saragosa, in Spain. Three wounds.
1710 18 Villa Viciosa, in Spain. Here I was wounded, lost my
baggage, and was taken prisoner.
1715 18 Went on the Expedition to North Britain.

8. Browne's 'England's Artillerymen.'

9. N.B.—It was not until November, 1727, that these four companies were fully
completed. They were, however, decided upon at the date referred to in
Colonel Borgard's diary.
 CHAPTER IX.
Twenty Years. 1722-1741.

T
wenty years, during which Englishmen made no conquests; but
during which they had "peace, ease, and freedom; the Three per
Cents, nearly at par; and wheat at five- and six-and-twenty
shillings a quarter."[10]
Twenty years, during which England's army did not exceed 26,000
men; when there was actually a war of succession in Europe, and
our rulers did not interfere; during which our King could go to
Hanover for a couple of years, and the coach of the State move on
steadily and without interruption in his absence; and during which
our only alarms of war were two in number, and speedily
disappeared.
It was a favourable childhood for the Regiment; it gave time for the
old establishments to dwindle away, and the new one to acquire
consistency and strength with the funds which thus became
available at the Ordnance; instruction to officers and men could be
deliberately and systematically given; discipline could be learnt; the
fortifications could be armed; and the defects of the original scheme
of organization in the Regiment could be ascertained and quietly
remedied, instead of being more rudely exposed in time of war.
Only three events occurred between 1722 and 1741, which are
worthy of comment; but there are details connected with the every-
day life of the Royal Artillery during that period, which, though
unworthy of being called events, yet cannot but be interesting to the
student.
The first was the camp at Hyde Park, in 1723, which was attended
by a train of Artillery.
The second was in 1727, when the Spaniards laid siege to Gibraltar;
a siege, however, which only lasted four months.
The third was in the same year, when the States-General of Holland,
becoming nervous lest an attempt should be made on the
Netherlands, called upon England to hold in readiness the contingent
of 10,000, which she was bound by treaty to furnish, if required. For
this, a train of Artillery was ordered to be prepared, and although
not required, pacific counsels having prevailed in Europe, its
constitution is worthy of mention.
In the camp at Hyde Park, held the year after the Regiment obtained
its Colonel, probably for the amusement of the Londoners, there was
a train of Artillery of twenty pieces of Ordnance, comprising two 6-
pounders, four 3-pounders, and fourteen 1½-pounders. This battery
was horsed by seventy-six horses, but the detail to the various
natures of Ordnance cannot be traced. The officers and men
attached to the battery were as follows: 1 captain, 1 lieutenant, 1
fireworker, 2 sergeants, 4 corporals and bombardiers, 20 gunners,
40 matrosses, and two drummers.
The Infantry was called upon to furnish a guard over the guns when
parked, of twenty-five men. Six regiments of Dragoons, and twelve
of Infantry of the Line, attended the camp.
In 1727, the bad feeling, which had for some time existed between
England and Spain, produced an open rupture. A force of 20,000
Spaniards besieged Gibraltar, opening their trenches on the 11th of
February. By means of reinforcements from England and Minorca,
the garrison was increased to 6000 men, and the bomb-vessels,
which were sent from England and from other parts of the
Mediterranean, rendered great assistance by enfilading the enemy's
entrenchments. The siege was raised on the 23rd June, having only
lasted four months, during which time the Spanish loss had been
great, while that of the English had been inconsiderable. With the
reinforcements from England had come some guns and stores,
which assisted to make the fort more easily defended, its previous
armament having been but indifferent. Colonel Jonas Watson
commanded the Royal Artillery during the siege, having arrived for
that purpose from England, accompanied by Captain Hughes and
some young officers. The force under his command was two
hundred in number. The only Artillery officer killed during the siege
was Captain-Lieutenant Holman.
In this the first defensive operation in which the Royal Regiment of
Artillery was engaged—as in its first offensive at Vigo—it was on the
successful side. And in both cases, it not merely represented, but it
was the principal arm of the English forces. The next event, the third
proposed to be chronicled, took place in the same year. The train
which it was deemed probable would have to proceed to Flanders
was for field, not garrison service. It comprised four 6-pounders,
twelve 3-pounders, and eight 1½-pounders. There were also six
Royal mortars to be provided. A complete company of Artillery—with
the exception of the cadets of the company, and nine of its
bombardiers—attended the train, and 12 artificers and 22 pontoon-
men, under a bridgemaster, were also ordered to accompany it.
Conductors and commissaries were also included. Unless, however, it
was proposed to enlist foreign Artillerymen into the British service,
on landing in the Continent,—the staff of the train seems certainly
excessive.
For a total of 140 of all ranks—smaller than a single battery now—
the following staff was detailed: 1 colonel, 1 comptroller, 1
paymaster, 1 adjutant, 1 chaplain, 1 quartermaster, 1 commissary of
stores, 1 waggon master, 1 surgeon, 1 assistant-surgeon, 1 assistant
provost-marshal, 1 kettledrummer and his coachman.
These, then, were the three military events of most note during the
twenty years ending in 1741; and they are certainly not such as to
affect the peaceable reputation of the period. An unhappy expedition
to the West Indies, under Lord Cathcart, was ordered in 1741, but as
it was not completed until later, it can be alluded to more fully in a
succeeding chapter.
But the domestic life of the Regiment during this time requires
description. The rank of Captain-Lieutenant had been introduced in
1720, and the third and fourth Lieutenant of a company were called
Lieutenants and Fireworkers, the conjunction being speedily
dropped. The strength of a company was during this period as
follows:—
Captain.
Captain-Lieutenant.
First Lieutenant.
2 Second Lieutenants.
4 Fireworkers.
3 Sergeants.
3 Corporals.
12 Bombardiers.
25 Gunners. }
5 Cadet-Gunners. }
43 Matrosses. }
5 Cadet-Matrosses. }
2 Drummers.
The annual pay of each company amounted to 2956l. 10s.
It was in 1727, that the Regiment was increased to four complete
companies. The siege of Gibraltar suggested an augmentation which
the declining numbers on the old establishment admitted of the
Board carrying out. On this taking place, the staff requisite for the
Regiment was added, and Colonel Borgard was styled Colonel-
Commandant.
The staff consisted, in addition to the Colonel, of a Lieutenant-
Colonel—Jonas Watson; a Major—William Bousfield; an Adjutant, a
Quartermaster, and a Bridge-Master. To meet the demand for the
more scientific element in the new companies, one Second
Lieutenant and one Fireworker per company were transferred from
the old, and the number of bombardiers and gunners in each
reduced to eight and twenty respectively. The matrosses, as being
more easily obtained, and requiring less special training, were
increased to sixty-four per company; and from this time vacancies
among the gunners were filled by the most deserving matrosses.
The large number of junior officers and of bombardiers in each
company was intended to meet the demands of the bomb-service,
which even in this peaceable time were very heavy: more especially
for the bomb-vessels in the Mediterranean. It created, however, an
evil which must always be found in a profession where the junior
ranks so greatly outnumber the senior, and where the prizes are so
few, while the candidates are many;—the evil of slow promotion and
even stagnation, and in their wake, discontent, loss of zeal, and, at
last, indifference. So soon did this manifest itself, that by reducing
the number of junior officers, and increasing that of the seniors, it
has been repeatedly attempted to remedy it; the last attempt being
so recent as during the tenancy of the present Secretary of State for
War—Mr. Cardwell. But this remedy has its limits. There are duties to
be performed suitable only to inferior military rank, and the
performance of which, by senior officers, would have the effect of
degrading the rank to which they may have attained. A considerable
proportion of an army's officers, therefore, must always hold inferior
military rank; but whether the evil which accompanies stagnation in
their ranks is to be remedied by increase of pay in proportion to
service, or by enforced retirement in the upper ranks, is one of those
questions which it is not for the historian to argue.
The Captains of the four companies of the Regiment after the
augmentation were
 Captain James Richards,
Captain Thomas Hughes,
Captain James Deal,
and Captain Thomas Pattison.

The first-mentioned two were at Woolwich with their companies,

although compelled to furnish detachments for Scotland and the
bombs; the third was at Gibraltar, and the fourth in Minorca. Special
establishments still existed for Annapolis and Placentia. The pay per
diem of an Artillery Captain was 10s.
It was in Minorca that the question of the military precedence of
Artillery officers was first authoritatively settled. The officers of the
four Infantry Regiments stationed there having refused to sit on
courts-martial on the same terms as the officers of the train, the
matter was referred to England, and by order of the King the
Secretary at War informed the commandant at Port Mahon that
whenever any of the Artillery were being tried, the officers of the
train were to sit and vote with other officers of the Army, according
to the dates of their commissions.
The objection taken by the Infantry officers was doubtless based on
the fact that until 1751 the commissions of Artillery officers under
the rank of field officer were signed by the Master-General, not by
the King. This decision, however, settled the point effectually; and
ten years later there is a record of the trial by court-martial in
London of a deserter from the Artillery in which all the members of
the Court were officers of the Guards, and the president belonged to
the Artillery.
Among the places which were supplied with additional armament
during this time of rest were Berwick, Plymouth, Portsmouth, and
Hull, but the charge of the Ordnance and Stores still remained in the
hands of the master-gunners and gunners of Garrisons, numbering
at this time respectively 41 and 178. The value of these officials may
be estimated by a description of certain accepted candidates for the
appointment in 1725, who were "superannuated and disabled
gunners, who have served long and well, and being too feeble for
active service, are subsisted until they can be placed in the
garrisons."
An augmentation to the companies was commenced in 1739, but not
completed until the following year, when one new company was
raised; the strength of the companies at home being increased to
150, and of those at Minorca and Gibraltar to 100. It was 1741
before the distribution of the companies at home was finally
arranged; for it was found necessary to divide the three into four, for
purposes of relief and detachment. At this time,—the end of the
twenty years, the strength of the Regiment at home, in addition to
the companies abroad, amounted to thirty-five officers, eighty non-
commissioned officers, of whom fifty-six were bombardiers, twenty
miners, ninety-two gunners, thirty-two pontoon-men, 184
matrosses, and eight drummers.
There were also sixteen cadet-gunners, and sixteen cadet-
matrosses, the number in each of the four home companies having
been reduced to four. It was from the cadets that the lieutenant-
fireworkers were generally, although not always, chosen. The
employment of officers of that rank on board the bomb-vessels
without superior officers above them rendered it necessary often to
promote non-commissioned officers, whose experience would enable
them to carry on such an independent service, better than the young
and inexperienced fireworkers, just promoted from among the
cadets. The discipline among these young gentlemen may be
gathered from the marginal remarks of the commanding officer on
the muster-rolls of the two companies at Woolwich in 1739. After
alluding to one officer as having been lame for six months, and to
another as having lost his memory, and done no duty for seven
years, he comes to the cadets of the companies. Out of the whole
number of sixteen, there is a remark against the names of no less
than nine, "I know not where they are," and against another, "A very
idle fellow!" The remaining six were detached, two at Portsmouth,
one in the Tower, one on board the bombs, and only two at
Woolwich.
There is in the same list a remark made against the name of one,
Captain-Lieutenant George Minnies, which might justly have been
made against others of the same rank in later days, if indeed it may
not also have to be made again, "old and worn-out in the service."
The end of this period brings us near to that time when the
Regiment, having quitted the nursery, so to speak, entered the
school of war, which was provided for it in Flanders. Before,
however, tracing its story then, it will be well to describe some little
matters connected with the foundation and early history of an
institution which was founded in 1741, the last of our twenty years,
to meet a want, which the above comments of the commanding
officer must prove most distinctly to have existed.

10. Thackeray.
 CHAPTER X.
Foundation of the Royal Military Academy.

F
rom what was mentioned in the last chapter, it will be seen that
there were cadets long before there was an Academy. Although,
however, this institution is of a date so long posterior to the
formation of the Regiment, and although by many of the practical
officers serving when it was founded, who had acquired their
knowledge in the school of experience, it was looked upon very
coldly, as a useless and undesirable innovation,—yet no History of
the Royal Artillery would be complete without some reference to its
early days. For, although often mismanaged, and even now almost
paralysed as an Artillery school by the marvellous arrangement
under which the best Artillery scholars are invited to join the Royal
Engineers, it has yet acquired such a hold upon the affections of
those who have been there, as to ensure it a prominent place
among our Regimental Records.
The warrant founding the Academy was issued in 1741. The cadets
then in the Regiment were to be instructed there, but not these
only; it was to be available for the professional education of all "the
raw and inexperienced people belonging to the military branch of the
Ordnance." At first, the sum proposed to be voted annually for its
support was merely 500l., but this was almost immediately doubled,
and before 1771 it had reached 1364l. 14s. From the very first the
practical and theoretical schools were distinct. The former was
attended not merely by the cadets, but also by all officers and men
off duty; the latter by all above the rank of bombardier, as well as
any below that rank who had evinced any special talent, or capacity
for study. In the Theoretical School, pure and mixed mathematics
were taught; in the Practical School, the various gun drills,
fortification, laboratory duties, &c. Once a year there was performed
before the Master-General, or his lieutenant, "a great and solemn
exercise of Artillery, in which exercise those who were best advanced
in the several classes shot with different pieces of Ordnance at
several marks according to their different proficiencies, or produced
some other specimen of their diligence and application in their study
of fortification, drawing, &c., when he who best distinguished himself
in each class was presented with some prize of honour—if an
engineer, officer, or cadet—or some pecuniary premium, if a private
man, as an encouragement."
It will thus be seen that from the earliest days there was no finality
in the education acquired by a cadet at the Academy. His training
was not supposed to cease when he was commissioned. It is well to
remember this at a time when there are not wanting men to decry
the continuous education of Artillery officers, and to express perfect
contentment with the amount of Artillery education obtained at the
Academy.
Probably these very men who deem Artillery an exact and finite
science to be mastered by a boy in his teens, would be the first to
protest against the idea that a man could master the intricacies of
the stable, without many years of progressive and practical
experience. Chemistry as applied to the service of Ordnance,
dynamics, metallurgy, might be sufficiently conquered at the
Academy, or might be conscientiously dispensed with, but the
perambulation of a horse infirmary might go on for a lifetime, and
yet a man's education be incomplete.
The best friend to his corps is the man who denies and scorns such
a theory. National predilections have made and will continue to make
the horsing of the English Artillery the best in the world, but the gun
must not be lost sight of in devotion to the horse. And this once
recognized, from that moment an Artilleryman, to be conscientious
and progressive, must be studious. At the altar of science he should
be the most regular votary; for gunnery, to be perfect, draws
incessantly and largely upon science.
In the early days of the Regiment, an officer might master in a short
time the requisite details for working his guns. In the present day,
an Artilleryman is unworthy who fails to watch every scientific
advance which may increase the power of his weapons, and raise
the tone of his corps. And to enable the officers of the Regiment to
do their duty in this respect, no effort for continued exertion and
study should be spared; mutual interchange of ideas should be
fostered; and the main use of Artillery as an arm should not be
concealed behind a veil of pipeclay and harness-polish. The merits
which these last-named agents are calculated to foster will come
almost spontaneously: it is the study of the higher uses, and of the
scientific progress of Artillery over the world, which requires
persuasion and encouragement.
The Academy, as we have said, was founded in 1741. Not until four
years later was the cadet company formed. During the interval, as
before the institution of the Academy, the cadets were under no
discipline worthy of the name; they wore no uniform, and were so
outrageous in study, that one of the occupations of the officer on
duty in the Warren was occasionally to visit the Academy, and
prevent the masters from being ill-used, and even pelted. When, in
June 1744, the Regiment was inspected by the Duke of Cumberland,
a disorderly mob, without officers, or even uniform, drawn up on the
right of the line, represented the cadets of the Royal Artillery. Let no
man say that ceremonial inspections are useless. Defects, which are
not apparent in every-day life, stare one in the face, as one stands
behind the individual whose office it is to criticise. The readiest critic
is he who is most interested on such an occasion. He is not the most
demonstrative; he is glad beyond measure if the blot escapes the
inspecting eye; but he remembers. And to such a man remembrance
means remedy. Next January, the cadets were no longer a mob;
they were no longer unofficered: they were clothed, but they were
not yet in their right mind.
It may be said of the Cadets of the olden time, that they were
veritable sons of Ishmael; their hands were against every man, and
every man's hand against them. They were the parents of their own
legislation; à priori law-making was unknown; and not a statute was
passed that had not been anticipated by the offence it was intended
to curb. The cadets' ingenuity in evading detection was equalled by
their talent in inventing new methods of annoyance. This talent was
too often aided by the connivance of the newly-commissioned
officers, whose sympathies were more with the law-breakers they
had left than the law-insisters they had joined. Hence came threats
fulminated against an intimacy between cadets and young officers,
which made such intercourse all the sweeter; nor was it effectually
put an end to until the Academy was removed from the Barracks in
the Warren to a secluded spot at the foot of Shooter's Hill. The
extreme youth of the cadets in the earlier days of the Academy,
coupled with the very different views then in vogue as to educational
discipline, produced a system of government which was harsh and
penal. The Royal Military Academy has gone through two stages—
the era of stern restriction, and that of comparative liberty. The
swing of the pendulum is as certain in military as in civil life. From
the days of black holes and bullying, the reaction to liberty,
confidence in a cadet's honour, thoughtfulness for his comfort, and a
system of punishment not degrading nor unsuited to his age, were
inevitable, and have come. So far, indeed, has the pendulum swung,
that the young officer must occasionally look back with regret on the
greater comfort and the absence of responsibility which were
characteristic of the older life. The absence of degrading
punishments has been brought about, in great part, by the system
of competition for cadet-ships, which, commencing with the practical
class in 1855, has now for many years been universal. Young men
from public schools, or from private tutors under whom they had to
study proprio motu, and without the spur of discipline, could not be
submitted to the same restraints as the mere boys who were cadets
in the earlier days of the Academy. Nor does their absence lessen
the sense of discipline which is necessary in a military body. The
sympathy of numbers is the strongest wall against which a
recalcitrant member can dash his head, and the result to the head is
proverbial. And among educated youth, past the stage of mere
boyhood, reasonable restraint and discipline can always be enforced
with full confidence in the support of the governed.
The extreme youth of the cadets, in the early Academy days, is the
key to the many ludicrous laws and anecdotes which have come
down. For many years the average age of the cadets was between
twelve and fourteen years, and old heads cannot be expected on
young shoulders. As a matter of fact, old heads were not to be
found; and the history of the Academy, over a hundred years ago, is
one of the most comic narratives which can be perused. The
incessant war going on between the Gulliver of authority and the
Lilliputians of defiance, who so frequently got poor Gulliver on his
back,—the laughable use of unaccustomed power by cadet
corporals, bewildered by their position,—and the grandiloquent
appeals of Governor after Governor to the feelings of rebellious
youth, all combine to make up a rare picture. We meet threats
against cadets who shall pass an officer without pulling off their
hats, or who shall stay away from church, or shall play during the
hours of study. So fond were the boys of bathing, more especially
after it had been forbidden, that no punishment could deter them,
until ingenious authority decided that any cadet found swimming in
the Thames should be taken out and carried naked to the guard-
room. Special punishments were devised for those who should wear
officers' uniforms for the purpose of getting past the guard at the
Warren gate, and for those who should break out over the wall after
tattoo, or spoil the furniture, or write upon the walls. Nor is it merely
the extreme youth of the cadets which is revealed by these orders; it
is their incessant repetition, month after month, day after day, that
makes the student detect the utter want of discipline that existed. A
record remains of a cadet who was expelled for striking and
maltreating another on parade, in presence of an officer, and
"refusing to make any concession, although urged to do so by the
Lieutenant-Governor." Two others are described in an official report
as "scabby sheep, whom neither lenity will improve, nor confinement
to a dark room and being fed on bread and water." These two,
having openly displayed contempt of orders and defiance of
authority, were dismissed ultimately from the Academy. Another, on
whom the same penalty of expulsion fell, rather checkmated the
authorities by taking with him his cadet's uniform and warrant,
which enabled him to create such disturbances in the town of
Woolwich, that he had to be threatened with the civil power if he did
not give up the one and discontinue wearing the other.
But in the orders which it was found necessary to issue can be read
most succinctly the account of life among the earlier cadets.
"The Gentlemen Cadets are now strictly forbid to cut or carve their
names, or initial letters of names, on any part of their desks, or any
way to spoil them.... They are not to spoil their own locks, or those
of any other Gentlemen Cadets, by attempting to open them with
wrong keys.... The Lieutenant-Governor expects that henceforward
no Gentleman Cadet will be guilty of ever attempting to open or
spoil any of the desks or drawers of the Inspectors, Professors, or
Masters, or of any other Cadet, or even attempt to take anything out
of them under the name of smouching, as they may be fully assured
such base and vile crimes will be pardoned no more. The Gentlemen
Cadets are, likewise, forbid from leaping upon or running over the
desks with their feet; and the Corporals are expected, not only to
keep a watchful eye to prevent any disorder in the Academy, but, by
their own good behaviour, to set an example to others."
Shortly after this order a remonstrance is published, arguing that
"the cadets have been guilty of a habit of making a continued noise,
and going about greatly disturbing the Masters in their teaching;
also, when the Academy ends, by shutting their desks with violence,
and running out of the Academy hallooing, shouting, and making
such a scene of riot and dissipation, greatly unbecoming a Seminary
of learning, and far beneath the name of a Gentleman Cadet; and,
lastly, during the hours of dancing, several of the Under Academy,
whose names are well known, behave at present in so unpardonable
a manner when dancing, by pulling, and hauling, and stamping, that
the Master is thereby prevented from teaching. Hence the
Lieutenant-Governor assures the gentlemen that those, who are
anyways found guilty of such conduct for the future will be
immediately sent to the Barracks, and receive such corporal
punishment as their crimes deserve."
Yet again in stately language, it is reported that "it had come to the
ears of the Lieutenant-Governor that of late the Corporals have
inflicted a mode of punishment entirely inconsistent with the Rules
and Regulations of the Academy—namely, that of making the
Gentlemen kneel down on both knees, with uplifted hands, in the
attitude of prayer; at other times placing them in painful and
ridiculous postures, rather tending to excite laughter than to inflict
punishment. The Lieutenant-Governor henceforward forbids all such
modes of proceeding, as also that of striking the Cadets. On the
contrary, when any Cadet is thought deserving of punishment, the
Corporals may order them to stand sentinel, or report them to the
Master on duty, or, with his leave, march them to the Barracks, and
report them to the Commanding Officer in writing, who may punish
them according to their crimes. On the other hand, the Lieutenant-
Governor expects the Gentlemen Cadets to obey the Corporal's
commands equally the same as any other superior officer,
subordination being the most essential part of military duty. Lastly,
the Lieutenant-Governor expresses the highest satisfaction in the
genteel behaviour of the Company during the hours of dancing, in a
great measure owing to the care of the present Corporals."
These extracts are sufficient proof of the youth and unruly habits of
the earlier cadets. Courts-martial among them were far from
uncommon; and cases of disturbance worthy of the name of mutiny
are also recorded. Yet, in the very earliest days of the Academy,
officers joined the Regiment who entered with such spirit and zeal
into their duties, that they called forth special commendation from
their commanding officers. In Flanders, in 1747 and 1748, Colonel
Belford and Major Michelson warmly acknowledged the assistance
they received from the young officers in their arduous attempts to
impart to the Artillery Train a more military appearance than had
hitherto distinguished it. And when, some years later, we find this
very Colonel Belford protesting against the officers who joined from
the Academy, and wishing that Institution were "detached as a
Repository for Captain Congreve's curiosities, and that a number of
fine young fellows were appointed as Cadets to every Battalion, and
such as were fit for every duty to go upon all commands," we must
bear in mind that, so great had the demand for officers been in the
years immediately preceding his complaint, that the cadets had
hardly any time to spend at the Academy—three or four months only
being far from unusual, and, therefore, that the fault lay not so
much in the system as in its neglect. A lad of eighteen years of age
will be able to acquire even discipline in a very short time, because
he is able to understand its necessity, and he soon becomes a
creature of habit in this as in other matters. But a boy is always,
either from restlessness or mischief, chafing against restraint, and
takes longer time to subdue. The extreme youth of the earlier cadets
prevents surprise at the ludicrous state of discipline which prevailed,
and creates wonder that the officers who joined so young, after such
a training, were so good as they proved. If the truth were known,
we should, doubtless, find that, while their intellectual training
commenced at the Academy, their real discipline did not commence
until they joined the Regiment.
Not merely did the exigencies of the service curtail the stay of the
earlier cadets at the Academy, but the abuses and jobbery which
were rife in the last century rendered it possible for cadets to be at
the Academy without any previous education at all. With a
proclamation hanging on the wall that the Institution was created for
teaching the "Mathematicks," we find piteous Masters protesting
against the presence of cadets who could neither read nor write.
There were cadets,—not in the Academy, but away in their homes,—
drawing pay as such almost from their cradle; and not until the
Academy had been a considerable time in existence was this abuse
put an end to. Before the formation of the Company of Cadets, the
pay of a Cadet Gunner was 1s. 4d. per diem; that of a Cadet
Matross was 1s. When the company was formed, all cadets received
the higher rate; and ultimately, although not until twenty years had
passed, the pay was raised to 2s. 6d. When enrolled in a company,
military duties were expected of them which were never dreamt of
before: they carried arms, and mounted guard, the post where the
cadet-sentry was placed being generally over the commanding
officer's quarters. The officers of the company—in addition to the
Master-General, who was its captain—were a Captain-Lieutenant,
whose daily pay was 1l. 3s. 6d.; a First Lieutenant, with 5s.; a
Second Lieutenant, with 4s.; and a Fireworker, with 3s. But it was
not for some time after its formation that the officers of the
company were borne as supernumeraries in the Regiment. A Drum-
major was also on the strength of the company.
The number of cadets in the company, which had been almost
immediately increased from forty to forty-eight, varied with the
demands on the Academy during different wars. At the end of last
century, and the beginning of the present, so heavy were the wants
of the Regiment, and of the East India Company's service, that
accommodation for cadets had to be sought for in the various
private schools in Woolwich and its vicinity, and even in the Military
College at Marlow. With the opening of the new Academy in 1806
this necessity gradually disappeared, the Government
accommodation being sufficient.
Besides the cadets of the company, the Academy was attended by
supernumeraries in the earlier days, who were permitted to study
there pending vacancies. Certain students, also known as gentlemen
attendants, who did not meditate joining the Army, but attended for
general education, were permitted to avail themselves of the
services of the Academy Masters by paying the annual sum of thirty
guineas. Classics were taught as well as mathematics, at the schools
in the Warren; and, in fact, Woolwich was used by these gentlemen
attendants, much as West Point is used in America by students who
recognize the value of the education imparted there, but do not
contemplate entering the military profession.
This suggests allusion to the Academy Masters in the olden time. It
must be admitted that, in point of discipline and obedience to
authority, the example set by the Masters to the pupils was far from
beneficial. They resented military interference. They brooded over
real and fancied slights. They absented themselves without
permission; and their letters to the Lieutenant-Governor were not
unfrequently impertinent. The case was at one time serious. But
"Custodes quis custodiet ipsos?" At last a man was found to bell the
cat; a man of whom we shall hear again—who was Lieutenant-
Governor in 1776, before going to command the Artillery in America
—James Pattison. A letter which he addressed to the Mathematical
Masters on the 1st April, 1777, shows the line he adopted; and tells
the whole story without any explanation being necessary.
"Gentlemen,—I have received your letter of 27th March, and the reply I have at
present to make to it is principally to correct two essential mistakes contained
in the four lines which compose the letter. You say, that at my request, you
have subjoined your opinion on the mode of education in the Academy, and
desire me to present it to the Master-General in your names.
"The case in my manner of stating it is this. I signified to you the Master-
General's being not well pleased at the slow progress made by the Gentlemen
Cadets in the Mathematics, and asked if you thought there was room for any
beneficial alteration in the method of teaching in your department. Upon
which you expressed great discontent at the printed rules you are prescribed
to teach by, condemning them as being very defective and absurd, and
mentioned several amendments you wished might be allowed to take place. I
thereupon required, not requested, you to represent them to me in writing,
that I might be able to lay them, if expedient, before the Master-General; not
meaning, as you seem to conceive, to be merely the porter of them in your
names.
"As to the temporary suspension of teaching Latin in the Lower Academy, it
being by the Master-General's orders, his lordship will judge how far the
manner in which you think proper to reprobate the measure is becoming. I
have only to say that, as that branch of learning is not in either of your
departments, it was no part of my directions to you to give an opinion on it.
"I have, &c.,
"James Pattison."
But not merely on matters of public and official importance did the
masters test the patience of the authorities. Another letter, also, like
the one given above, deposited in the Royal Artillery Record Office,
gives a glimpse at the private worries over which the Academy
Masters brooded—and which they inflicted on the Lieutenant-
Governors. Two Professors had adjoining quarters in the Warren,
adjacent to the wall bounding the road to Plumstead, and a long
way from the Warren gate. From one of these quarters there was a
communication through the wall to the town—from the other there
was not. The occupant of the latter dwelling was, in consequence, a
miserable and ill-used man; it was another case of Ahab and
Naboth's vineyard—and he waxed sick as he thought of his hardship.
So, appending to his letter an elaborate map of the Warren, he
addressed the Lieutenant-Governor on the subject, begging either
for a right of way through his neighbour's house, or for a new
communication for his own. So quaintly does he argue his cause,
that his words are reproduced for the amusement of the reader.
"For want of such a ready communication with the town of
Woolwich, with regard to my Family, I am subject to much
inconvenience. For, the way by the gate of the Warren makes the
distance to and from my house so great, that I can't have the
necessary provisions brought to me as other people have, by Bakers,
Butchers, Milkmen, &c., without great additional expense, and many
not even for that at any rate. So that I am obliged to send my
servants round about by all that way, on all occasions, to bring in all
things necessary to the Family. This is not the worst of it; for all
kinds of Family necessaries not being constantly to be bought in the
shops in such a place as Woolwich, many things are brought only
occasionally and cried about the streets, when it is matter of no
small grief that such things as may then be much wanted in the
family can be heard to be cried immediately behind the house,
without a possibility of coming at them, but by going half a mile
round about, when perhaps the servants can be least spared to go,
and when they do go, it is ten to one they are disappointed by the
crier then being gone quite out of sight and hearing. And besides all
this, it is not always that I can prevail on my good and sober female
servants to be willing so frequently to go through by the Warren
gate, as it is next to an impossibility that such persons can pass so
many soldiers as are generally there assembled, without sometimes
being subject to rencounters disagreeable to them."
The Lieutenant-Governor, who had not merely official troubles with
the Masters to vex him, but had also to listen to such harrowing
domestic details as those just given, was not a man to be envied.
Even a hundred years later, as the student comes on this plaintive
picture, his imagination begins to work, and he sees, tearing his hair
in his study, the ill-fated teacher listening to the well-known cry, just
over the Warren walls, which told him that some much-loved
delicacy was there—so near and yet so far.
These pages, concerning the early days of the Academy, suggest the
difference between those days and the present. And in thoroughly
analysing that difference, the feeling grows stronger that two
changes are inevitable. Inevitable, because the principle of justice is
involved; but difficult to bring about speedily, on account of the
strength of Academy traditions. So long ago as 1792, these
traditions were strong enough to defeat a scheme for liberalizing the
scientific officering of the Regiment. Again, in 1855, the same
traditions urged many to oppose a similar change. And yet, as sure
as anything can be, the moment that the Universities realize that
their sons are debarred from entering the Artillery and the
Engineers, by conditions as to age, and by the long technical
Academy curriculum, from that moment an agitation will commence,
which will sweep all obstructions away. In the early days of the
Academy, the cadets acquired all the education they ever had, under
its roof; not merely technical, but general. But in these later days,
the cadet enters the Academy at a more advanced age, and with a
sound and liberal education. Is it absolutely necessary that he should
spend so long a time as he does there, on the technical part of his
schooling? Would not the officers of the corps be of a much higher
scientific tone, if they spent a longer time at the University, and a
shorter at the Academy? While admitting the fact that from the
Academy there have come officers who have so pressed forward
with the great army of Science, that they have become Captains and
Generals in its ranks, it would be flattery to say that the Academy
could ever be a rival to the Universities, although it might certainly
be an honoured and useful helpmate. When it is remembered that
an officer remains for months in a state of professional pupilage
after he obtains his commission, in addition to the time spent at the
Academy, the question instinctively rises: "Is there not a danger of
the technical part of education receiving more than its fair share?"
For although it is easy to add the technical to the general, it is not
easy to reverse the operation; and in the division of a young man's
training life, which is now made in preparing the officers of the
Scientific Corps, there is a danger lest we may produce, to a certain
extent, scientific soldiers; but not what is also wanted in the Artillery
of these days—scientific and highly educated men.
The other change which must come is in the officering from one
source, of two corps, which are at once sister and rival. At the time
the Academy was founded, it was never imagined that the small
Engineer element then in our service was to develope itself into the
large regiment which now exists. Nor was it ever believed probable,
that one of the two Scientific Corps would have such pecuniary
advantages over the other, as to tempt many into its ranks who
might otherwise have been indifferent. But both these events having
taken place, the Artilleryman, who sees the best cadets tempted
away every year to the sister corps, may with justice ask whether he
is not paying somewhat dearly for the relationship. Without any
violent divorce, there must come some friendly separation before
many years are over; and it is more likely to be friendly, if the
difficulty is looked in the face at once, instead of having it urged in
language of harsh misfortune hereafter. The only way of maintaining
the present system with justice would be by equalizing the pecuniary
prospects of officers in both corps; but this would be more difficult
than the obvious remedy suggested above. At present, the case
stands thus:—in order that Engineer officers may acquire the
amount of Artillery education which will be necessary for them
hereafter, they are educated under the same roof with the future
officers of the Artillery; and the highest and most accomplished
cadets in each class are invited to join the Royal Engineers. This
invitation, being backed by parents who have a natural eye to their
children's future income, is very generally accepted.
In this plain statement of facts, he who runs may read a grievance
to the Royal Artillery, which may develope itself into a Regimental, if
not a national misfortune.
 CHAPTER XI.
A Sterner School.

T
he same year which saw the foundation of the Royal Military
Academy witnessed the commencement of a seven years'
schooling, which was to leave an indelible mark on the
Regiment. In the West Indies and in Flanders, as well as in the
disturbances at home in 1745, officers and men learnt lessons, and
acquired an esprit de corps, to which they had hitherto been
strangers. It is at once pleasing and amusing to read in the old
order-books, framed at Woolwich during the years between the
peace of Aix-la-Chapelle and the commencement of the Seven Years'
War, reminders of the school of war and discipline represented by
the years between 1741 and 1748. "The same as we wore in
Flanders" was a favourite way for describing a particular dress for
parade. And the word "we" is poetry to the student, who is
searching for signs of an awakening Regimental esprit.
No history of a Regiment like the Royal Artillery could be compressed
into any reasonable dimensions, if every campaign in which it was
engaged were described in detail. It must suffice to sketch the
campaigns, but to paint in body colours the Artillery's share. The
gradual increase of the proportion of this arm; the occasions on
which it more particularly distinguished itself; the changes in dress
and equipment; and the officers whose services in the successive
campaigns were most conspicuous; these are the details which will
form the foreground of the Regiment's History. But even these are
so numerous that most careful sifting will be required to prevent the
story from becoming wearisome.
The same year, then, which saw the warrant issued for the
foundation of the Royal Military Academy saw also the despatch to
the West Indies of one of the most formidable expeditions, both in a
naval and a military sense, which had ever left the shores of
England. The squadron consisted of 115 vessels, well armed and
manned, and the troops were in number over 12,000. The Royal
Artillery was commanded by Colonel Jonas Watson—a brave and
experienced officer, who did not live to return to England, being
killed at the bombardment of Carthagena,—and was divided into
trains for service on shore, and detachments for service on board
the numerous bomb-vessels which formed part of the squadron.
The troops were to have been commanded by Lord Cathcart, but
unfortunately this officer died of fever, on the arrival of the
expedition at Dominica, and his successor, General Wentworth, was
totally unfit for the duties which devolved upon him. To this
circumstance, and the want of harmony between him and the naval
commander, Admiral Vernon, the ultimate failure of the expedition
was due. Notwithstanding additional reinforcements from England,
so reduced was this force in two years by disaster and disease, that
not a tenth part returned to England; "and thus ended in shame,
disappointment, and loss, the most important, most expensive, and
the best concerted expedition that Great Britain was ever engaged
in, leaving this melancholy proof, that if dissension is the misfortune
of a State, it is the ruin of any military undertaking."[11]
In reading the accounts of this expedition, more especially of the
attack on Carthagena, there is a positive relief in turning from the
passages relating to the quarrels between the naval and military
commanders to those painful but proud episodes, in which the
obedience and bravery of the troops and seamen were so gloriously
manifested; and although the first service of the Royal Artillery on
the Western side of the Atlantic was neither profitable nor pleasant,
it can be studied with satisfaction, as far as their performance of
their duties and endurance of hardship are concerned. As for the
blunders which were committed by the commanders, the blame
must lie with them, not with the executive.
To return, however, to Europe. The war of the Austrian succession
had commenced, and England felt obliged to support Maria Theresa,
which she did partly by a grant of money, and partly by sending an
expedition to Flanders under the aged Earl of Stair. The force
employed amounted to 16,000 men; and the Artillery comprised a
considerable staff, three companies, and thirty guns, 3-pounders.
At this time the Regiment was distributed as follows:—One company
at Minorca, one in Gibraltar, one at Newfoundland, two at Woolwich,
and three in Flanders.
Although the Artillery was at Ghent in July, 1742, no military
operations were carried on that year, owing to the backwardness of
the Dutch to fulfil their part of the contract; and the English lay in
Flanders, inactive until the following year.
The commanding officer of the Royal Artillery, at first, was Colonel
Thomas Pattison, and the following is a nominal list of the
combatant officers who served under him:—
Major George Michelson,
Captain William Sumpter,
Captain Withers Borgard,
First Lieutenant James Pattison,
Captain Thomas Flight,
Second Lieutenant Samuel Cleaveland,
Lieutenant-Fireworker John Northall,
Lieutenant-Fireworker Nathaniel Marsh,
Lieutenant-Fireworker Thomas Broadbridge,
Lieutenant-Fireworker Edward Bullock,
Adjutant Joseph Broome.

In November, 1742, Captain James Deal was appointed Lieutenant-

Colonel to the train; Lieutenant Archibald Macbean was appointed
Bridge-master; and Lieutenant Charles Stranover joined as
Lieutenant of Miners.
Welcome to our website – the perfect destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. We believe that every book holds a new world,
offering opportunities for learning, discovery, and personal growth.
That’s why we are dedicated to bringing you a diverse collection of
books, ranging from classic literature and specialized publications to
self-development guides and children's books.

More than just a book-buying platform, we strive to be a bridge

connecting you with timeless cultural and intellectual values. With an
elegant, user-friendly interface and a smart search system, you can
quickly find the books that best suit your interests. Additionally,
our special promotions and home delivery services help you save time
and fully enjoy the joy of reading.

Join us on a journey of knowledge exploration, passion nurturing, and

personal growth every day!

ebookbell.com