Napoleonic Wargame Club (NWC)

"...In the year 1802, I was drown as a soldier for the Army of Reserve. ...I was drafted into the 66th Regiment of Foot... .
Whilst in Winchester, we got a route for Ireland,... and landed at Cork. ...Whilst in Dublin, I one day saw a corps of the 95th Rifles, and fell so in love with their smart, dashing, and devil-may-care appearance, that nothing would serve me till I was a Rifleman myself; so, on arriving at Cashel one day, and falling in with a recruiting-party of that regiment, I volunteered into the second battalion,...being joined by a sergeant of the 92nd Highlanders, and a Highland piper of the same regiment... ." (The road to Corunna. From memoirs of rifleman Benjamin Harris. The Mammoth Book of Soldiers at War, pp.67-71)
How was it possible, gentlemen[?]
Did SOLDIERS had the permission for tranfering to another unit on their own volition[?][8)]
But how about the drafting bounty? The situation could be the soil for some misuses.[;)]
The unbelievable nonsense![:0]
It is uniquely for that epoch.[:I]


GL Count Vladimir Repnin
2nd Grenadier Division
8th Corps
2nd Russian Army,
His Imperial Majesty
Chevalier Guards' Chief

Hi Vladimir,

In the British army (and most western armies) you can transfer relatively easily between different Regiments.

However in this period (1800s) I believe it was more a case of what you could get away with! If you actually deserted your regiment or went AWOL then you would be likely to have a bounty on your head from your regiment. If however you joined another unit (regiment) and could keep a low profile you might be ok, even if the old regiment found out. As long as you were a good soldier with the new regiment they would look after you.

Or you could buy your way out of the old regiment or possibly the new regiment would pay the old for you! This is for real, it was the same for the Officer corps that you could buy your commission in any regt as long as you could afford it, had connections or had family history with the regt.

It caused many problems for appointments within the officer corps of the British army and was a cause of some of their worst command problems, the early spanish/portugese actions being a case in point. However they have come some considerable way since then, royalty exempt of course [;)]



Lt Col Mike Ellwood
1 Bde, 22 Div
VII Saxon Corps, ADR

Thank you, Mike.[:)]
It's so unusual.
But anyway it was possible only at peacetime, I reckon.

Another question:
which was a role of GL Whitelock at the Buenos-Aires fiasco[?]
He was a talentless leader (with the rank of GL!)[8)]
or he was bribed by the Spaniards[?]


GL Count Vladimir Repnin
2nd Grenadier Division
8th Corps
2nd Russian Army,
His Imperial Majesty
Chevalier Guards' Chief

Hi

It was also common during "war" (England was always at "war" somewhere in the world by then!) but more so in England and Ireland, not so much once regiments were deployed in an operational theatre.

As for the Buenos-Aires fiasco I'm not at all sure about that one. I remember something about it in my deep dark memory but cannot say sorry.

Lt Col Mike Ellwood
Konig Regt
1 Bde, 22 Div
VII Saxon Corps, ADR

Hi Vladimir,

I did a Google search for "Whitelock and Buenos Aires" and came up with over 600 sites. It seems Lt. Gen. Whitelock commanded the second British invasion of BA in 1807. He was decisively defeated in early July of 1807, surrendered his army and signed a treaty with the defenders of BA. When Whitelock returned to Britain he was court-martialed and dismissed from the British Army. His defeat did lead to the eventual independence of Argentina from Spain.

I hoped this helped.

Captain Bill Spitz
1/27th Regiment of Foot (The Inniskillings)
10th Brigade, 6th Division
Anglo-Allied Army
[image]http://www.regiments.org/img/badges/uk-crest/robinson/inf/027.jpg[/image]