The 50th on campaign

Of those that are called the Dirty Half hundred and their adventures in quotes

A few interesting things of the life on campaign:

When the men no longer march in good order as shown on parade, but more go about in a manner of people having gone for a walk:

Quote: "The formalities of parade or drill marching are now at an end, and every one indulges in that mode of perambulation which best suits him. When the commanding officer is not one of your strict disciplinarians, the regimental juniors congregate together in groups, some in front, some in rear; while the men, though keeping their sections, travel in open ranks filling the entire space of ground over which the route extends.

At the head of the column, is to be seen a host of seniors, or old hands, among whom the laugh and joke prevail; and there many a long winded veteran inflicts upon the ears his patient auditors a narrative as endless as the road. Ever and anon the second Major falls back, and, in order to shew his consequence and zeal especially if a General with his staff should chance to be passing, he out, in a most important tone:" Gentlemen get into your places!" "Keep on the flanks!" and other friendly admonitions. As soon he is convinced, by the approving looks of great man with the long feather and epaulettes, that his vigilance has been duly noticed, gallops off to his old station and the gentlemen betake themselves again to theirs, till another appearance of the chief when the stray sheep are again called back to the flock. By the by I know of nothing else that these second Majors have to do, unless it be to act the part of moveable pivots for dressing up the line, )in which they are generally very fussy) or in whipping-in the young subalterns, whom they endeavour to keep in order. "

The kindness of Major Napier:

Quote:"The young recruits and drummers felt the hardship most, and often upon the journey has Major Napier given his charger to one of them, or to any poor fellow who could not well get on while with a musket, or sometimes a brace of them, on his shoulder, he walked before the regiment."

Sometimes the tall have an advantage over those far less exposed to the range of fire (on crossing of Esla):

Quote:"The advantage of lofty stature was highly conspicuous in this affair, for the man of towering height strutted above the wave, with no small pride on his extent of longitude; the poor, insignificant fellow of build, looked pitifully up at his more fortunate companion, bemoaning his diminutive size, the muddy fluid either washed his pericranium, or flowed in copious volumes down his unwilling throat. "

And of women who followed them:

Quote:"As for those ill fated damsels, faithful attendants through storm and sunshine, it had been far better for them that they never left their home; for, by their desire follow the drum they entailed upon a world of trouble and miseries enough to drain their patience to the lowest ebb. Here I gladly record the valuable services of those poor women, who devoted to their husbands and children underwent a series bitter suffering almost beyond human endurance. Toiling with their regiments through thick and thin, they never failed in their duties, and proved, in camp as well as in quarters, most active and persevering in giving aid useful service, whenever it might be required. Patient under every thing, they were always at hand, foraging, cooking and rendering all of assistance; while the men, borne down by hard fatigue, were often unable to help themselves. In fact without the labours of the fair sex, we should not have been able to get on; and I shall ever respect the heroine, who completed the range of her accomplishments by having served with honour a campaign or two."

Travelling to the point of meeting to embark on a new adventure presents an amusing scene, 1809:

Quote:"The officers were in and outside of coaches as the case might be while the Serjeants, corporals and drummers on vehicles of more humble pretensions, exhibited their pikes fusils and other weapoins, stuck out of windows, doors and various similar openings. This strange and whimsical cavalcade was not unlike a moveable train, or a troop of warriors in times, and bore no manner of resemblance to a party of modern heroes traveling genteelly, though not leisurely on the King's highway ."

The summer months in Portugal forced the men to begin their march much earlier. Its heat in the later time of the day was too great to allow a pleasant journey, there also being much dust coming from the dry grounds.

Quote: "Our detachment started from Garvao at 1 o'clock in the morning of the 10th, an early hour it must be admitted, but at this season the intensity of the heat precludes the possibility of marching at any other; we found it,besides, far more agreeable to make a moonlight journey when the air was cool and refreshing. "

From 22nd July up to September the men remained stationed at Borba, because the heat of the season was too great to safely proceed onwards. The area in which they had stopped however proved fruitful and well supplied with food. The men were chiefly logged in a Franciscan convent, while the officers were billeted around town. The buildings of Borba were build in such a fashion that they were very capable of deflecting the high temperatures,  while they were equally capable to keep the cold out in winter. While the houses do not have fireplaces, the rooms are kept warm by a large circular cauldron, well supplied with burning charcoal.

The weather was still unimproved in terms of the reduction of temperature even at the beginning of autumn. The sun remained strong:

Quote: "On the first of September, 1811, we broke up from our cantonments at Borba, and commenced our march for Portalegre. Under a burning sun, and parched with thirst and heat, we arrived at Monteforte in the evening; and on the following day once more entered Portalegre, where we took up our quarters near a large open space called the Praca de Rocio The sufferings of the men were extreme during this route, for, loaded as they were each, with three days provisions and sixty rounds of ball cartridge, together with a well filled knapsack they were almost overcome; and on arriving at the termination of this journey were scarcely able to proceed to their allotted billets."

Many of these men were said to have gone to the hospital, suffering from the effects of the march, and did not recover for a while. The officers walked as well, and therefor suffered some of the same ailments as their men. They were in the hospital after it due to that.

Billeting in the Portalegre did not surpass their earlier accommodation in Borba. If anything it was much worse, miserable for the 50th and here it was that they were to pass Winter months in.

Quote:"The miserable quarters in which the 50th was condemned to pass the winter months, were rather calculated to diminish our zeal for military life, while on the other hand, their attractions being so slight, our ardour to embark in some active business was rather encreased than otherwise. We had not indeed been exactly placed so as to encounter all the inclemency of the weather, but we had indisputably undergone a tolerably rough seasoning while stationed there."

It however appears that they did not stay there long, as next report states that they (2nd. Division) left Portalegre on 22nd of October 2011. The 1st Brigade (which the 50th were part of) were on alarm early in the morning of that day, and left soon after in the direction that they were ordered. Having been far gone at the time of first daylight. Towards noon they were caught up in a torrent of rain. Upon reaching the village of Codiceira they entered the house that looked to be one of the best there and stripped themselves without much ceremony (Presumably the officers are spoken of here, but it can be assumed that the soldiers have been billeted elsewhere and were as eager to strip themselves) and replaced their garments with cloaks provided by the woman of the house.

Here it is also that the relationship between the dragoons and the infantry is described in some detail.

Quote: "The dragoons sometimes acted towards the infantry in rather a cavalier manner, and appeared to treat them as if they were quite an inferior order of beings.[...] We had scarcely entered, when our ears were saluted with the noise of cavalry, coming down the street, and in a short space we had a sample of dragooning, such as it would be vain to look for even among the Cherokees. [...] our servants preparing for the culinary operations when a loud hammering was heard at the door of the hovel, accompanied by the clanking of carbines, sabres, sabredashes and other warlike appurtenances. At the same moment in burst a tall, raw-boned trooper, (armed cap-a-pied, with a countenance well furnished with a most abundant crop, in which the crows might have built their nest,) followed by two others, carrying sundry hampers belonging to their masters. The intruder, who proved to be the officer commanding, gazed with awful stare upon the lodgers already in the house, drawing himself up, as if, like Sampson, were about to raise the building on his shoulders, called, or rather growled out in the tone of an angry mastiff, while he curled the of his black mustachios," These quarters are not too good for a Col-o-nel of Dra---goons eh?" and suiting the action to the word, he flung his implements of war on a table at hand, with a degree of violence that shook our frail tenement to its base. His claims to supremacy being intimated to us, we gathered up our traps, and bundled out, indignantly looking round, with no very gracious glances, at the statue in whose possession we quietly left the premises to go in search of another billet . "

A notion on lace and the opinion of the 50th officer, Patterson. This opinion is brought forth when describing the 'luxurious look' of much more lace rich dragoons:

Quote: "[...]but lying in a wet ditch, or stretched by the side of a tree upon the ground, with a tattered cloak for covering, they (lace and other such 'ornaments') are of little value. In that situation a good blanket and a well filled haversack are worth all the lace, fringe, feathers and aiguillettes in the British army,"

Some of the artifacts used by the officers during the day in a conventional way, could make themselves of a completely different use, far from what they have been made to do. So it is said that the officers who have been long on campaign could decide to use their saddle cloth as a blanket to keep warm at night. When faced with one of the newcomers, who had held them in poor regard and thought perfumes were of more importance than Rum, found himself one night shivering, albeit pretty and as if clothes were painted onto his body, in his broadcloth and stays. The other officers were warm under their saddle cloths. While they had taunted him briefly for calling them 'blanket merchants' before, he soon after left them and never returned again. The dirty half hundred seems to have 'cast away' the one man, clean as a whistle. ;)