In the hold

 Continuing with the same book.

The size of the leek you eat depends on the time and manner of service:

For this custom one needs a drummer and various sizes of leek, salt, and the officers of the 23rd Foot regiment, who are to be subjected to such a strange feast. And once you have this all, also to have it be the correct date of the day of St. David, which is 1st March, It was considered a trial for those young and newly commissioned:

Page 22: These junior members of the officers’ mess were to be tasked to eat a leek presented by a regimental drummer. The custom was described: Each officer is called upon to eat one, for which he pays a drummer a shilling. The older officers of the regiment and those who have seen service with it in the field are favoured with only a small one, and salt. Those who have celebrated st. David’s day with the regiment, but have only seen garrison duty with it, are required to eat a larger one without salt, and those unfortunates, who for the first time, have sat at the Mess, on this their Saint’s day, have presented to them the largest leek that can be procured and unless sickness prevents it, no respite is given, until the last tip of the green leaf is enclosed in the unwilling mouth… 


Get them drumsticks and silence the drummer:

Page 29:

…While investing Fort Desaix a French force issued from it one day with the evident intent of making a smart dash through our line. Our troops were too wary to be caught napping and in a moment they were under arms and not vulnerable to an attack. The bugles rang out the advance and the French, on seeing this, hesitated and then halted. But there was true mettle amongst the French, only not enough of it. A big drummer sprang from the ranks and beating the pas de charge, came boldly on towards the advancing foe, then less than 100 yards from them.  When he had got about half that distance, looking back and hurrahing at his still wavering companions, one of Bentinck’s companions, a noted shot in the company, turned and said to him,’ Bentinck, you want a pair of new drumsticks don’t you.’  ‘Aye, i could do with ‘em, why?’ Replied the lad. ‘Because you shall have ‘em by God.’ Answered the soldier levelling his musket at the French drummer, so gallantly advancing. As the red flash burst from the piece, the latter threw up his arms, fell flat on his face, and the fatal drumsticks dropped from his nerveless grasp.  …

This recalling continues by mentioning how then after the drummer Bentinck bolted from his spot to fetch the drumsticks, ignoring the fact that he was being shot at and being very lucky that the shots had all missed even if some had come quite close to hitting him. Then after the French returned to the fort. The French defending the fort belonged to the 82nd Regiment of Infantry and their eagle was taken by the British after their final defeat.  The pas de charge is in old military slang of the British called Old Trousers. 

Flogging and who does it: 

Page: 24

…One man who had tried it on before (deserting) was overtaken before he could cross and was sentenced to receive 999 lashes. Flogging was then done by the drummers…

This was the type of duty drummers might dread, because they were not allowed to hold back. They were expected to:
…if they did not fetch blood soon enough or copiously enough, the Officer would call out:’The drummer is not doing his duty.’ And if he failed after that, his cat was given to another and he came in for a taste of it. They were expected to make the blood run out of the poor fellow’s legs: and before they had been at it long too. The deserter above mentioned never came out of hospital after his punishment.  

Page 32:

…In this period, the maximum number of lashes that could be inflicted on soldiers in the British army was set at 1200. Such a number could obviously kill or disable a man and the number of lashes sentenced usually varied from 100 to 1000. Oman noted 1200 were only inflicted 9 or 10 times over the period 1809 - 1815 and that 1000 lashes were only administered about 50 times… 

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This will also be continued later as once more I need to run.