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 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
Ol 
 
 ra 
 
 AN 
 
PERSONAL MEMOIRS 
 
 OF 
 
 MAJOR RICHARDSON, 
 
 {aUTHOU or ' MOVKMENTS Of" THE BIUTISH r,EGION," 4C. iC. 4C J 
 
 AS GONNECTEU WlTll 
 
 THE SINGULAR OPPRESSION OF THAT OFFICER WHILE IN SPAIN BV 
 LIEUTENANT GENERAL SIR DE LACY EVANS. 
 
 I 
 
 A man who in too proud to iirknovi Iciljcc a fault when lie i> conscious of hftving committed 
 OMK, And thereby wounded the feeling'* of another, shows himself to be, instead of elevated 
 rank, very low indeed in the scale of intelleciual worth. His pride ii of the meanest kind, and 
 to him even more disgraceful than his fuMlt.—jfnonymous. 
 
 
 A 
 
 Vd 
 
 ^ 
 
 fp 
 
 ^^ 
 
 Q 
 
 ^' 
 
 MONTREAL :~ARMOUR & RAMSAY: 
 
 W. NEIL30N, QUEBEC | R. STANTON, TORONTO J AND J. MACFARLANE, 
 
 KINGSTON. 
 
 1838. 
 
 ,i^|ifc._,,-„li«(»S; 
 
*&■ 
 
 V 
 
 A 
 
TO 
 THE HONOURABLE 
 
 THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMOMS HOUSE OF PARLIAMEMT 
 
 OP 
 
 GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, 
 
 BEFOHE WHOM A PAUTUL ACCOUNT OF THE COURT OF INQl'IRY, 
 
 HELD UPON 
 
 MAJOR RICHARDSON, 
 
 HAS APPEARED, 
 
 THIS FULL AND AMPLE STATEMENT 
 
 OF THE PROCEEDINGS IN QUESTION, 
 
 TOGETHER WITH THE 
 
 MOST SINGULAR INCIDENTS AND PERSRCUTION CONNECTED THEREWITH, 
 
 IS VERY RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED, 
 
 BY 
 
 THEIR OBEDIENT tS&YAUT, 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
(^^ 
 
PERSONAL MEMOIRS 
 
 ot 
 
 MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 Actions, unimportant in themselves, derive their interest solely from 
 the relative positions of the actors. An affair of disunion between Sir 
 De Lacy Evans and myself can be in no other way interesting to the 
 public, than because the former officer, as the head of a considerable 
 body of British subjects in a foreign service, is amenable to the bar of 
 public opinion for whatever acts of injustice he may have exercised 
 while in command of that force. Any extreme of conduct merits, and 
 should entail, the approval or condemnation of his countrymen, and it 
 remains to be seen, if the commission of the most tyrannical acts of 
 injustice — acts originating in ungovernable vanity and impatience — ^will 
 be readily pardoned, even by his warmest admirers, to one holding the 
 high and responsible command entrusted to Lieutenant General Evans. 
 After the publication of my first edition of the " Movements of the 
 British Legion," I was called, in certain of the journals of the day, a 
 regular " out and outer " of General Evans. Never was there a greater 
 error, in as far as regarded my feelings towards the man. It was not 
 the promotion I had obtained, nor was it that which I expected, that 
 caused me to uphold him in his various military measures. So far 
 
 ' 9 
 
9 PERSONAL MEMOIRS Of 
 
 from tliia, of all the ulHccrH that entered the Lei^iori, I stand alune in the 
 Blowneas of my promotion, which, ader all, was won, not from favourj 
 but in the field — and even then, not willingly given by, but absolutely 
 wrested from, the Lieutenant General. So far from prouMtion being 
 accorded me, or even intended, while I lay on a bed of sickness «i( 
 Vitoria, unconscious of what was passing aruund, and suffering solely 
 through my over strict attention to duties which, properly, were not my 
 own, I was, witiiout a word of apology, put off the Staff to make room 
 for some favorite of the Brigadier, his brother. All this injustice I 
 felt deeply, keenly — for I had entered the Spanish service with the 
 highest testimony as to capability ;* which, whether merited or unmerit- 
 ed, so far from advancing, seemed to have the effect of retarding my 
 promotion. Still my attachment to the Legion was great, for I saw in 
 it the germs of good and soldier-like qualities, which required but the 
 hand and head of the skilful tactician to foster into honourable 
 notoriety ; and while the Lieutenant General conducted that Legion in a 
 manner likely to render the service a credit to those who had embarked 
 in it, I resolved that no personal disappointments should prevent my 
 rendering every justice to what I then considered to be his judicious 
 efforts. But the promise of military talent, held forth by him in his 
 cautious and well planned advance upon Vitoria, has not, unfortunately, 
 been fulfilled in his aAer career. 
 
 Having had my health seriously injured by typhus fever, I obtained 
 two months have from the Lieutenant General, prior to the Legion 
 receiving the order to move towards the coast. I leil Vitoria eatly in 
 April, but the order for the removal arriving speedily after my departure, 
 the troops reached the coast before I had an opportunity of embarking 
 for England. 
 
 * Sir Herbert Taylor was pleased to pronounce me competent to fill any situation 
 to which General Evans might think proper to appoint me, This, though more 
 than I merited, certainly ought not to have entailed the neglect I afterwards ex- 
 perienced — on my soul, I believe in consequence of this very flattering recom- 
 mendation. 
 
MAJOR RICHAHnSON. 
 
 Oil my arrival at Sun Selmstiun from Santander, on my way through 
 Bayonne and the nouth of France, I heard that an attack was to take 
 place on the enemy's linen in a few days. As I had all along done 
 duty with that branch of the service, I immediately hastened to the 
 Lieutenant General's, and volunteered my services on the Staff. Colonel 
 Considine, the Military Secretary, whom I saw, buid that he did not 
 think an attack would take place for some time, and advised my pursu- 
 ing my way to England without delay. On leaving him, I saw Colonel 
 Tupper, of tlie 6th Scotch Grenadiers, to which corps I had been ap- 
 pointed senior captain, at the breaking up of the 2d Regiment, but 
 which I had not yet joined. Colonel Tupper expressed satisfaction 
 at seeing me in San Sebastian, as the army was going out in a few days, 
 and he wanted officers. I told him I would willingly forego my leave, 
 although still in a very weak state of health, until on affair had taken 
 place — but tliat after such affair, I should proceed home. With this 
 intimation we separated. Some correspondence took place on this 
 subject subsequently, between Colonel Considine, Colonel Tupper, and 
 myself; the object of which, on the part of the first named officer, was 
 to show it was fully intended, by the Lieutenant General, that my leave 
 should continue in full force, and to be made available immediately after 
 an action had been fought. As the correspondence does not affect the 
 subjects of discussion contained in this statement, I do not feel it neces- 
 sary to transcribe it, especially as Colonel Tupper is no more. 
 
 A day or two prior to the attack on the enemy's lines, I conceived 
 and drew up a plan for the capture of the convent of San Francisco, on 
 the opposite bank of the Uramea. From this position the enemy were 
 daily in the habit of annoying us ; and although we knew they occupied 
 it in some force, I was satisfied that a single brigade might carry it with- 
 out much difficulty. Having formerly being quartered in the convent, 
 I knew the points where it was most assailable, and offered in my com- 
 munication to the Lieutenant General, which I sent through the Military 
 Secretary, to head the storming party myself. This proposal, it will be 
 
I PERIONAL MCMOntS OF 
 
 recollected, was made lieforu the attack on the Ayeti line had hern 
 determined upon ; and while constant essays were being made to cross 
 the Uramea by fording, immediately oppooite to the convent of San 
 Francisco. But, although I had passed a sleepiest night in concerting 
 the plan of attack, and had risen at tlio first dawn of day to communi- 
 cate its feasibility to the Lieutenant General, my offer of service was not 
 accepted. The following I received, the same morning, from Colonel 
 Considine : — 
 
 My dear RicharosoNi 
 
 I have received and submitted yoxir proposition to the Lieutenant 
 General, and he thanks you for your zeul — but the fact is, I believe the 
 Carlists do not occupy the convent in qucHtion.* 
 
 Yours sincerely, 
 
 W. CoMiLDimc. 
 San Sebastian, May 3d. 
 
 On the 5th, the attack on the Ayeti positions was ordered, and as I 
 have in my first edition of the " Movements of the Legion," promised 
 some particulars in regard to this action, which have not met the public 
 eye, I cannot perhaps select a better opportunity than the present for 
 making them known. I by no means purpose giving a detailed account 
 of the action — indeed, if I would, I could not from personal observation, 
 as that was necessarily confined, from my regimental position, to the 
 movements of my own brigade. 
 
 Althou^ the enemy did not oppose any very serious resistance to our 
 occupation of their first line, which, nevertheless, was carried in a very 
 gallant manner, they manifested the strongest determination to maintain 
 the others ; and, in order to prevent our columns from forming and issu- 
 ing from the cover of the chain of houses and walls which had constitut- 
 ed their first defences, kept up an incessant fire from their batterieS) 
 which were placed on the third, or last, line. Fortunately their guns 
 were too much elevated to cause us any very serious injury, and the 
 
 * Thk WM decidecUy inconeot. They did occupy H, and in c<maiderable force. 
 
 MMIMIMISN. -d^ 
 
MAJOR RICHARDSON. ^ 
 
 blowi we received, were chiefly from the fragments of atone watUTod 
 by the Yound shot through the sheltering houHes. 1 wbh twice struck 
 Oh the back by theae missileR, and one man had his cap knockcti ott', 
 and the scalp completely carried from his head. Having continued mine 
 time in this position, the Lieutenant General raw the nece.-eity of uinking 
 a charge on the second line — and as the Rifles,* under Colonel For- 
 teacue, had now joined us, after having carried weveral houses, on the 
 extreme left of the position, in the most gallant manner, preparations 
 were made for the assault. The brigade was commanded by General 
 Reid, who, greatly to the suqmso cf all, instead of dashing over the 
 parapet, which had been partly levelled by our pioneers, and which, 
 independently of being covered by the adjacent houses, affV)rded a much 
 shorter route, caused the brigade, (consisting of the Sd and 6ih regiments, 
 and part of the Rifles, with somC companies of Chapelgories,) to be formed 
 in full view of the enemy's second I'ne, where they were exposed to a 
 ceaseless cross fire* Under theae circumstances, it was absolutely im- 
 possible the troops could advance in proper column of attack. Yet a 
 column of some sort was formed, and this, headed by Colonel Tupper^ 
 dashed round the building hitherto sheltering us, into the high road to 
 Hernani, across which a most powerful barrier had been erected by the 
 Carlists. The fire at that point, where General Reid had so unneces- 
 sarily exposed his brigade, was most severe, and would have been even 
 more so, had not several companies of the brave Rifles been detached 
 down the slope of the ravine, into an apple orchard, where they con- 
 trived to draw ofl" a little of the enemy's attention. Meanwhile the 
 brigade advanced most determinedly — nor was a single trigger pulled 
 in return to the mudietry and cannonading which were momentarily 
 thinning our ranks. Immediately behind the Chapelgories were the 
 6th, headed by Colood Tupper. I was in the centre of the regiment. 
 
 • The cnck regiment of the Legion — and formed with great care and troulic 
 by the Baron de Aettenbucg, without exception, the first driU in the Anglo-Spanisti 
 service. 
 
io 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOIRS OF 
 
 I 
 
 and we were all close under the foiinidable barrier, which appeared already 
 v.-on, when I observed a large body of the Carlista in full retreat. In 
 the excitement of the moment, I called out to the men, " Now, my lad?, 
 hurrah ! for the honour of old Scotland ! — See ! they run ! they run !" 
 and I pointed with my sword. Suddenly, to my astonishment, I saw 
 the head of the '^olumn waver. They were the Chapelgories, who, una- 
 ble to surmount the barrier, had turned back upon the leading company of 
 the 6th. The 6th, in their turn, finding the impossibility of effecting an 
 entrance without scaling ladtlers, gave way al&o, and all became confusion 
 and dismay. I tried to stop the fugitive?!, but in vain,* — a sudden panic 
 had seized them, and they knew not the voices of their officers. In iheir 
 haste to pass me, on their way to their recent cover, they threw me 
 down — my face falling into the mud. As fast as I attempted to rise, a 
 rude foot was placed upon my back, and down again I fell. The men 
 neither cared nor thought about the matter. They must have now sup- 
 posed me wounded, and could not but know that, if left behind, there 
 was no chance of my escape from the Carlist bayonets ; yet, not a hand 
 was extended to raise me from the ground. I could not help reflecting, 
 even as I lay, on the extreme selfishness of men, while labouring under 
 the influence of panic. By tliis time not less than thirty men could 
 have passed over my back. Instead of avoiding, each seemed to seek 
 me, as if an impeiup could be given, from my rising body, to his flight. 
 The fire of the enemy, upon the retiring column, was at this time fiercer 
 than ever, and I thought I had a very good chance of being shot where 
 I lay, if not suffocated by my own men. These faihng, there was 
 the chance of the sortie to secure or bayonet me. This latter was not 
 at all a pleasing anticipation, and I resolved, weak and exhausted as I 
 w\Si to make one final and and desperate effort to regain my legs. It 
 succeeded, though when I arose I had all the sensation of a drunken 
 
 • In testimony of my exertions to rally them on this occasion, see the evidence 
 of Captain Jeffreys, of the Rifles, which appears later. 
 
 •WMt y»«»— »»*^ i w ii»ii ^11 UK ' 
 
MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 It 
 
 man — my head reeled, and I found it impossible to walk steadily, being 
 nearly blinded with the mud that covered my front from brow to toe. 
 
 I have been thus diffuse on a subject, in itself unimportant, for reasonx 
 which will later suggest themselves to the reader. 
 
 On reaching the parapet — (the fugitives had taken rather a shorter 
 route than that given them by General Reid) — the two regiments, (the 
 3d and 6th,) were mixed pellmell, and the crowd was such it was 
 impossible to restore, for the time, any thing like order. Had the enemy 
 sallied from their entrenchment, I am possitive they must have occasion- 
 ed us most serioui loss. General Evans, \\\o had been watching the 
 progress of the column, with much anxiety, from the parapet, was a 
 good deal excited and disappointed by the failure of the assault, and, 
 fearing the enemy would make a dash from their second line, he energe- 
 tically implored the men to retreat no further. At this moment, the 
 Adjutant General called out that the enemy were making a movement 
 as if to turn our left, and gave an order for part of the 6th Scotch to 
 occupy some houses and hedges which covered that flank. Although 
 scarcely able to stand, I immediately hastened to execute this order, 
 desiring two companies of the 6th, then drawn up under cover of 
 one of the houses, to follow me. To gain the position, it was necessary 
 to pass undei the fire of the enemy, and to ascend a steep and rugged 
 wall. Up this wall I was assisted by some men of the 3d, who had 
 preceded me, for, enfeebled as I was, I never could have ascended it 
 alone. On reaching the position, I found that the two companies of the 
 6th had not followed me as ordered, but that a large body of the 
 Westminster Grenadiers had. Finding the alarm to be a frlse one, 
 there being no enemy on onr left, and Colonel Churchill, of the 3d, 
 coming up at the time to take command of hjs men, I withdrew once 
 more to the parapet. 
 
 Meanwhile, some little order had been restored among the baffled 
 column ; but the brigade was without a head. General Reid, who had 
 been grazed in the neck by a musket hall, at the first advance of the 
 
St 
 
 fJBRSONAL MBMOtRS or 
 
 troops upon the second line, had retired into San Sebastian to have hii 
 wound dressed. The Lieutenant General, however, was near the spot^ 
 and with him was the Adjutant General. The necessity of carrying 
 the enemy's second line became at each moment more obvious, for 
 already many officers and men had fallen, while a severe fife was being 
 kept up by the other brigades, and yet no serious impression had been 
 made on the more important points of the position. The guns, moreover, 
 continuing to annoy us, the Adjutant General ordered Colonel Tupper to 
 advance once more with his regiment and carry them. Colonel Tup- 
 per calmly replied, " that his regiment, having attempted all that men 
 dared, could do no more.'* Next addressing himself to Colonel 
 Fortescue, of the Rifles, who had just come in from skirmishing in the 
 orchard before named, the Adjutant General issued the same command, 
 and met with a nearly similar reply. He then turned to me, who had 
 been standing near him at the time, and said, ** Captain Richardson, 
 lead on your company, and carry that battery." General Shaw, in his 
 Memoirs, remarks, that the Adjutant General, once during the day, gave 
 him the same order, and that he muttered to himself, " he would, provided 
 he (the Adjutant General) would put some salt on the enemy's tail." 
 This happy reply did not, I confess, occur to me — for I simply said, " I 
 am now not in command of a company, but of a wing, sir." — " Wing 
 or company — all the same, sir — lead on." I certainly did not think it 
 was "all the same," but I knew my duty too well to disobey. I 
 answered, " Very well. Colonel Le Marchant, have the goodness to assist 
 me over the parapet f The Adjutant General gave me his hand, and 
 I ascended the wall. Most of the 3d and Sth were at the time 
 sheltered by a row of houses, which extended about twenty yards beyond 
 the parapet. I ordered the oflicers of the left vtring of the 6th to bring 
 up their men for another advance. Most of those in command of com- 
 panies had already fallen, so that the task devolved on some of the 
 juniors, who but indiflferently understood theit duty. Not more than twa 
 companies could be got together, and with these, I again attempted an 
 
MAJon RlCHAnDSON. 
 
 13 
 
 advance upon llie high road. NoBooner, liowever, had the men uncover- 
 ed themselves, than a heavy fire of nmsketry was immediately poured 
 into them from various points, and the young soldiers, perceiving the 
 utter impracticability of effecting that which a whole brigade had vainly 
 attempted to accomplish, a short time previously, again retired to their 
 cover, whence it was impossible to withdraw them. I was a good deal 
 annoyed at the time, for the Lieutenant General was looking on ; yet it 
 was absurd in the extreme to suppose, so small a force could have 
 effected any thing against the obstacles they were sent to destroy. 
 While under the partial cover of one of the shells of houses, I received 
 two violent blows from bally, one in the chest, the other in the lower 
 arm, which the peculiar texture of the jacket I wore alone prevented 
 from entering the flesh. 
 
 Finding all my endeavours vain to urge the men from their cover, I 
 told them that, since they were afraid to move forward, I would not 
 remain to share their disgrace. Forcing my way through the crowd, I 
 gained the parajjct, which was greatly exposed to the fire of the enemy, 
 and where several officers had already been picked off" by tlie Carlist 
 sharpshooters, while in the attempt to cross it. I had not stood more 
 than five minutes on this paraj)et, before I received a blow on my leil 
 upper arm which knocked me off" the wall. So acute wa8 the agony, I 
 thouglit the limb was fractured, and I hastened to the ambulance, which 
 had been established about a hundred yards in the rear. ' Strange to 
 add, although the ball had passed completely in and out of the fur jacket 
 which I wore, it had not broken my shirt sleeve. Finding this to be Uie 
 case, painful as the wound was, I would not have it examined, but, 
 slipping on my jacket, again returned to the parapet. Here, for the 
 first time, I saw Major, since Colonel, Ross. He asked me if I was 
 woanded ? I said yes, but attaching no importance to the matter, I 
 added, " slightly." Major Ross, seeing, I fancy, that the wound ave 
 mc more pain than I chose to acknowledgpj advised my having it 
 
14 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOIRS or 
 
 examined, and going to the rear. I declined doing so, stqting that there 
 was no external mark of a wound — and I thought I could remain. 
 Meanwhile, the brigade were perfectly stationary, with the exception of 
 B, smart firing of musketry which was kept up between the Ist and 2d 
 lines. My arm, at this time, had become so dreadfully swollen and 
 painful, that I felt myself to be in a fainting state. I once more went 
 back to the ambulance, determined to have the wound examined. On 
 my way thither, I was met by a medical officer, whose name and 
 person I had utterly lost sight of afterwards, until he most independently 
 and fearlessly came forward and tendered the evidence, which appears 
 in the Court of Inquiry. This v. as Surgeon Cross, of the Artillery. 
 Afler having seated me on a stone, he renioved my jacket, and tore 
 open my shirt sleeve. The arm, at that time, was much swollen, 
 and, nearly from the socket to the elbow, of an inky blackness. 
 While under examination, according to the statement of Mr. Cross, 
 for I do not recollect the circumstance myself, I fainted. But as 
 his evidence on this subject will appear hereafter, I will not antici- 
 pate it. 
 
 Much stress has been laid upon the assumed fact, that I had received 
 but a slight wound, and for no other reason, I believe, than because I had 
 not made any extraordinary noise about it, a? very many others, whom 
 I could name, most certainly did. Had I kept my bed for four or five 
 days, pretending more suffering than I actually experienced, no charge 
 of this kind would have been brought against me. How necessary it is, 
 on certain occasions, to play the hypocrite. 
 
 Under all the circumstances, which subsequently took place, I may 
 be excused fbr dwelling a little here upon the nature of my wound, which 
 was not from a spent ball, but one in its full force, ihough turned aside 
 the moment it came in contact with the limb. Had it been a spent ball, 
 it never would have passed through my fur jacket, as it did. I ws^s 
 standing with my si^e exposed to tl^e enemy's fire, &nd the ball must 
 
MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 15 
 
 have taken rather a slanting direction, striking me, in ita passage, imme- 
 diately on the muscle of the arm, and being then turned, either by the 
 muscle or the fur of the jacket. 
 
 It is a vulgar error, that because a wound is not followed by visible 
 loss of blood, it is less severe in its effects than one which is. Many 
 medical men maintain a contrary opinion ; and I cannot better illustrate 
 the fact than by relating the following circumstance which occurred 
 to me a good many years ago in France — a circumstance bo similar to 
 the present, that it is in some degree remarkable : — 
 
 I had an affair with a French officer of Cuirassiers. My adversary, 
 imagining that I was skilled in the use of the pistol, refused to fight with 
 the customary weapons, and horse pistols were determined upon. I had 
 two Irish officers as seconds — the Frenchman had also two of his com- 
 panions — a third officer, (of the Garde du Corps du Roij) was selected 
 as a mutual umpire. Half a dozen brace of loaded honie pistols were 
 shaken in a bag, and the umpire drawing two of these, presented us 
 each with one. The signal was ^ven by dropping a white handker- 
 chief, (a very awkward mode by the way,) and we fired. Although 
 no very indifierent shot, the horse pistol was more than I could manage. 
 In pulling the stubborn trigger, my pistol swerved, and I missed 
 my adversary. His aim was more fortunate. His ball struck me just 
 over the tendon achilles of the right ankle. The pain was intense. I 
 dropped my pistol, and caught and clasped my thigh tightly between my 
 hands. My seconds came up. They placed me on the ground, and 
 uncovered the ankle. Most agreeably was I surprised to find the flesh 
 had not even been broken, when, from the agony I had experienced| 
 I fancied the limb had been shattered to pieces. The direction of the 
 ball was most singular. I had accidentally put on shoes and silk stock- 
 ings, and these latter had saved my limb. The bullet had passed through 
 the trowsers and closely fitting drawers, without at all injuring the 
 stocking, yet striking the back part of the ankle with such violence that 
 ^e whole of the tendons were injured. A second shot was attempted, 
 
16 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOIRS UF 
 
 ■ I 
 
 ■-til, 
 
 but ill vain. I could nut stnnd ; and, (tlie kocuikIs liuviiig consulted to- 
 gether,) the French officer, who had been the aggressor, made n»e a 
 very warm and sincere apoh)gy for his offence, and we shook hands. He 
 assisted in conveying me to the carriage in waiting, and I frequently 
 saw him during my confinement. Two days after tiiis affair the bruised 
 flesh came away, and the vi^hole of the tendons were left uncoveretl. 1 
 kept my bed one week, and was confined to my room nearly a month — 
 nor was it, until after a considerable period, that 1 could discontinue the 
 use of crutches. So much for a " contusion." 
 
 As is generally the case in an affair of the sort, there were a variety 
 of rumours on the subject, and some of these officious nobodies — would- 
 be-important characters, who abound on the Continent, and who man- 
 age to make every stranger's business their own — thought I ought to have 
 killed the Frenchman, and llius have vindicated the character, for pug- 
 nacity, of John Bull. My seconds, (the responsible persons in the 
 matter) felt it necessary to intimate to these sagacious gentlemen, that 
 they should consider any further observations, a reflection upon their 
 own conduct on the occasion, and make it a personal affair accordingly. 
 This had the effect of silencing them. From this same duel, I may 
 add, I have drawn the picture of the meeting in the Bois de Boulogne, 
 between Delmaine and the Comte de Hillier in my novel of " E(!art6." 
 I should not have dwelt on the foregoing circumstances in the man- 
 ner I have, was the description! have given not imperatively called for, 
 in order to a more full understanding of the documents and proceedings 
 which 1 am about to submit to the public, and particularly after the most 
 ungentlemanly and unmanly manner in which allusion has been made 
 to these proceedings, by General Shaw, in his letter to Mr. Otway Cave, 
 read in the House of Commons, when General Shaw well knew that 
 his assertion was untrue, that I had retired from the field on the 5th of 
 May, with a slight contusion, such insinuation having been positively 
 disproved by the Court of Inquiry that tried me upon two charges, and 
 General Shaw being fully apprized of the honorable acquittal I had ob- 
 
 I 
 
MAJOU RICHAUBSON. 
 
 vt 
 
 tained. I am aware tlmt I uhc ho very courtei»ii« lanuiuige U)v\ unln 
 General Shaw, but he himself has ,.:ovoked that which I do use, and 
 aB I liave also a little of the Gajlic blood in my veins, I may be excuK^d 
 for borro'-'ng a motto he seems remarkably fond of, the national one of 
 Scotland — " nemo me impune lacessit." 
 
 My anxiety to return to England, in order that I might publish the 
 first edition of my Movements of the Legion, was such, that I left toy 
 bed on the evening of tlie day after the action. No opportunity for depar- 
 ture, however, occurred until the 11th, when I took my passage to So- 
 coa, in order to pass through France. On the 10th, five days after the 
 action, I called upon the Lieutenant-General, who had all along been 
 aware of the chief object of my return, and who had even seen parts of 
 my manuscript. He regretted he could not well ask me to dine with 
 him, as he saw the state of my arm would prevent my accepting his in- 
 vitation, but wished me a safe journey to England, and every success 
 with my book. 1 told him that, independently of this, I had written an 
 account of the action, which I should leave for insertion in Galignant's 
 Messenger, on my way through Paris. He expressed great anxiety to 
 see this account. I returned to my billet for it. In repairing again to 
 the Lieutenant-General, he was in the act of mounting his horse at the 
 door. Seeing me, however, he relinquished his bridle to an Aid de 
 Camp, and we went up to his private apartments. I had stated, wliat 
 was the fact, that the cause of the retreat of the Light Brigade from 
 the second line, was owing chiefly to the disorder of the Chapelgories, 
 who had preceded them. This annoyed the Lieutenant-General very 
 much. He was even angry, and 1 shall not easily forget his very sin- 
 gular address to myself. " Why, my good man, this will never do. 
 The Chapelgories, the Chapelgories, it is always the Chapelgories first, 
 as if we could do nothing without the Chapelgories. The people in Eng- 
 land will seize hold of this immediately." I ventured to say, that I did 
 not see the thing in the same light with himself, as I thought the ad- 
 mission of the Chapelgories having preceded the column, and occasion- 
 
 w 
 

 18 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOIRS Of 
 
 
 B< 
 
 ed all the diBorder that subsequently tuck |)lace in it, greatly justified the 
 conduct of the iaiter. The LieutenantrGeneral, however, continuing 
 to evince his disr.pproval of the passage, I said I would expunge it al- 
 together. He made little comment on the letter generally, but I saw he 
 was not pleased. He returned me the paper, and went down stairs to 
 join his Staff, who were waiting for him to ride round the lines. <* The 
 General is difficult to please," I remarked to the .Assistant Military Se- 
 cretary, who was present. *' Oh, you must not mind that," was the 
 reply. " He makes us write the same thing twenty times over, 
 before we can fully please him." I thanked my stars that I had not 
 that enviable office. This was the last time I ever held personal com- 
 munication with General Evans. At this time, (five days after the ac- 
 tion, it will be recollected,) there was no hint that I had not done my 
 duty in the field. 
 
 While in London, I saw the letters written by Cordova to General 
 Evans, authorizing him, in the Queen's name, to confer decorations on 
 those officers who had merited them, for their conduct on the 5th of 
 May. I immediately wrote to Colonel Considine, with whom I had 
 always been on friendly terms, detailing my claims to corsideration. 
 This letter, the precise nature of which I do not now recollect, was in 
 substance what I have already stated. Before an answer could arrive 
 —nay, long before my communication could have reached San Sebas- 
 tian, I saw the order issued by the Lieutenant General, in which all 
 mention of my name had been omitted ! Feeling fully aware, that my 
 claim to notice, for my conduct on the occasion in question, was infin- 
 itely greater than that of certain individuals, on whom the Lieutenant 
 General had lavished the most fulsome encomiums, in his despatch, I, 
 in my indignation, immediately wrote a second letter to Colonel 
 Considine, stating, that I had, all along, suspected some private influen- 
 t'"i\ enemy, at Head Quarters, of having hitherto retarded my promotion 
 in the Legion, and that this last most faring act of injustice, on the part 
 of the lieutenant General, had converted that suspicion into certainty — 
 
\ 
 
 MAJOR RieilARDSON. 
 
 t» 
 
 I added) that I had some reason to know ttie individual, but that a time 
 would arrive when I should not fail to strip him of his borrowed plumes. 
 This private letter, the purport of which, as well as that of the former, 
 I have given, by reason of the sensation both* created at the time, at 
 Head Quarters, was accompanied by the following official addressed to 
 Colonel Gonsidine, in his capacity of Military Secretary : — 
 
 London, May 25th, 1834. 
 Sir, 
 
 Finding, by the Gazeiie published in the English papers this day, 
 that my name has been utterly overlooked in the list of decoiated ofTi* 
 cers, and furthermore, that a junior officer of my Regim ont has been 
 promoted above me, I hasten to acquaint you, for the information of the 
 Lieutenant General, that although I have yesterday obtained an exten- 
 sion of leave to the 30th of June, it is my intention to avail myself of 
 such part of it only, as will enable me to return to San Sebastian, for the 
 purpose of ascertaining in person the reason of such omission. 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 Sir, 
 Your obedient servant^ 
 
 J. Richardson, 
 Capt. 6ih Scotch Gr. B. A, L. 
 
 Col. Gonsidine, Military Secretary, 
 San Sebastian. 
 
 A second official, of the same description, I forwarded to the Adju- 
 tant General, and, at the same time, printed, in my preface to the 
 " Movements of the Legion," the following paragraphs : — 
 
 ** By the Gazettes which have appeared since the affair of Ayett6, 
 decorations and promotions have been given to most of the officers 
 wounded, and otherwise meriting distinction, while my name has been 
 wholly overlooked. 
 
 << If to have volunteered my services to remain at San Sebastian, in 
 anticipation of an affair, having in my possession two months* sick leave 
 of absence from the Lieutenant General — if to have communicated a 
 plan, in writing, for the capture of the convent of San Francisco, through 
 the Military Secretary, offering, from my knowledge of localities, to head 
 
 ! 
 

 } I 
 
 .1 
 
 20 
 
 I'KUSONAr. MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the Htorming party, an dITim- of service for which I have, at thin mo- 
 ment, the Lieuterwnt General's letter of thanks — if io have command- 
 ed a wing of my Rogiuient in the battle of Ayett6 — if to have lieen 
 knocked down, and trampled upon, in a vain attempt to rally ihem in 
 their retreat, when cioae under the enemy'a breachless walls — if, subse- 
 quently, to have sought to cover the general retreat of the Brigade, by 
 taking poaiiession of an advantageous position — if to have unhesitatingly 
 obeyed an order to attack the enemy's batteries in front, when ether and 
 superior officers had refused to do so in the most positive manner, (and 
 yet the claim of these officers to high gallantry and chivalrous tearing is 
 not to be disputed,) — if to have received three bullet wounds, two of 
 which (one severe) my zamara, or fur jacket, alone prevented from 
 proving mortal, in a second attempt to bring tiie men to the advance — if, 
 finally, to have obtained leave from tlie Lieutenant General to proceed 
 to England, for the sole purpose of accomplishing my original design — 
 that of upholding the character of the Legion, against the attacks of 
 those who have assailed it — if, I repeat, to have done these things, some 
 of which, after all, were mere points of duty, deserves such a return, 
 then, of a verity, are * all things vanity.' " 
 
 A copy of this preface I sent to Brigadier General Evans, '"ho was 
 confined to his room at Haikes' Hotel, in consequence of the wound re- 
 ceived in his duel with Colonel Dickson, intimating that it would be 
 given to the public, only in the event of the Lieutenant General failing 
 to accord me the justice I demanded at his hamls. The first private 
 letter to Colonel Considine, which simply contained a detail of my 
 services on the 5th of May, I had already communicated to him per- 
 sonally. 
 
 Leaving my manuscript in the hands of the printer, I embarked once 
 more for San Sebastian. On my arrival at Falmouth, for reasons which 
 the reader will find stated in my defence before the Court of Inquiry, I 
 suppressed the first preface, and sent from Falmouth to London, that 
 which subsequently appeared. Here, also, I received a letter from the 
 
MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 31 
 
 Assistant Military Secretary, forwarded to nie from Coluriel Wctherall, 
 in London, of which the following is an extract : — 
 
 ( "Head Quarters, San Sebamtian, 
 I 21lh May, 1836. 
 
 " The Lieutenant General does not recollect having promised you, as 
 you have stated, the fust vacant Majority.* All recoinmondations for 
 fiegimental i)romotion, must be forwarded by the Commanding Olficere. 
 After the alVuir of the 5th, you were not mentioned in the listof orticers, 
 sent in by LieuttHiant Colonel Ross. Major Clarke was strongly re- 
 commended by him, and by the late Colonel Tupper — lie twice re-form- 
 ed and charged at the head of his Regimentf during the day. But, to 
 tell you the truth, I mentioned your name to the Lieutenant General for 
 the Brevet, but without success. However, a few days afterwards, the 
 order of the first class of St. Ferdinand was conferred upon you, which 
 you, of course, are yet in ignorance of." 
 
 This semi-official was, indeed, amusing. To be informed by Major 
 Hcrmrm, (with whose services, past and pi-esent. private as well as pub- 
 lic, I was fully acquainted,) that he had condescended to ask a Brevet 
 Majority for me, and yet been refused by the Lieutenant General, was 
 rich in the extreme. I consoled myself, however, with the trite recollec- 
 tion, that " Les absens ont toujours tort,^^ and presumed that every tiling 
 
 ♦ NoTK. — The Lioutcnant Gmerara memory must have been very defective in- 
 deed. He hnJ proiuJHed me, at Santaiuler, in an interview I had with him, tlie 
 vi'iy fust which should occur — as (lie said) independently of the hiifh testhnonials 
 I had brou'^'ht him, he was anxious to promote an olficcr of such long standing in 
 the British service. (?) 
 
 Alludin'jf, on one occasion, to the volume I was about to publish, he seemed a 
 good deal annoyed, that a certain Member of the House of Commons ^Colonel 
 Thompson) should have termed the att'air of Hernani a " misadventure, he paid 
 ho WHS a well meaning man, but not much gillcd witli iious, and that, in his mis- 
 taken zeal to do gofKl to his party, he marred the afl'air, and did them infinitely 
 more harm. I mentioned to the Lieutenant General the view ( had taken of the 
 Hernani transaction, which he admitted to be perfectly just. The next day, Co- 
 lonel Considine, who had received my manuscript, with a view of communicating 
 certain portions of its contents to him. called at my posada, and expressed a wish, 
 on the part of the Lieutenant Grencral, that I should not give the [xiragraph which 
 bore upon the flogging of the man at San Sebastian, as he, the Lieutenant Gene- 
 ral, was unwilling it should go forth to the public, that he had tolerated flog£rin£| in 
 the Legion. This passage, however, I declined to erase. Whether my refusal to 
 do so had any effect in causing the Lieutenant General to forget the previous part 
 of our conversation, namely, that which referred to my promotion to a Majority, I 
 cannot pretend to say. 
 
 t 1 should very much like to know, where and when 1 
 
22 
 
 PCnilnNAI. Mi:MOfKN or 
 
 I 
 
 would be HOi right on my ivacliiiig Head Qtiarterii, whithei I wav going, 
 with every iiidirmtiori for pt?n«;e, yet fully prepared for war. 
 
 On landing at San Sebastian, I reported niyself to the Adjutant 
 General, who told me there wqh a vacant Majority in my regiment, 
 to which I wan to Iw immediately appointed. He uaid, however, 
 the Lieutenant General was very much displeased at that paragraph 
 in my private letter to Colonel ConHidine, which alluded to " stripping 
 ■ome officer of his borrowed plumeu." He seemed anxious to learn to 
 whom Thad referred, but I did not choose to name. It appeared that 
 my private letters to Colonel Considino had been opened (during that 
 officer^s confinement, by a severe wound he had received on the 5th of 
 May,) by Major Herman,* and conveyed by him to the Adjutant Gene- 
 ral, with whom he was extremely intimate. Both communicated their 
 contents to the Lieutenant General — as they subsequently declared, with 
 a view to serve my interests. This was kind ! 
 
 In the course of the day, I waited on the Lieutenant General — I 
 could not procure an interview, but I distinctly read in the Proteua-like 
 features of his Aida-de-Gamp, (most of whom were Portuguese or 
 Spanish,) that there was something wrong. 
 
 Later in the day, I saw Colonel (since General) Fitzgerald, who, in 
 order to put me on my guard, told me of the following remark made in 
 the waiting room by the Lieutenant-Greneral, to Colonel Ross, who had 
 gone to recommend me fur the vacant Majority. " Colonel Ross, be- 
 ware how you recommend Captain Richardson. He has threatened to 
 publish us all in England, and I am not to be intimidated b) threats." 
 The room was crowded at the time, and the Lieutenant-General, in is- 
 suing his prohibition, was extremely angry. Surely he could aot fancy 
 that I meant to allude to him, in writing of borrowed plumes. It was 
 evident the Brigadier, his brother, vvho had the character of being a great 
 
 
 * This officer has since been accused, and not without reason, by Lord Rane- 
 lagh, of opening a letter of his, and forging another in its stead. 
 
MAJUn RI('IIARDSO!t. 
 
 58 
 
 " mischief makor," lia(i neiit liiiii the printcil preface, nmi u *jonip:\.iitit 
 it by iMxiie observatiuiiH nut at nil tending to aootho the matter. 
 
 Meanwhile, before receiving this friendly intimation from Colonel 
 Fitzgerald, I had addrettHed the following letter to Lieutenant-Colonel 
 RoiM. 
 
 *>\ 
 
 Posada Ihabel, WhJuney 1836. 
 Sir, 
 
 On reaching San Sebastian, where I have just landed, J learn that 
 the reason of my not having been promoted to the Majority, vacant in 
 the 6ih Regiment, by the death of Colonel Tupper, is your having fail- 
 ed to recommend me for it. 
 
 If you will lake the trouble to call toyoi r recollection, I saw you on 
 the morning of the day which preceded my departure for England, 
 when you most strongly promised to do everything that was necessary 
 for my advancement, during my absence. I can only assume, that 
 your not liaving done so, originated in a supposition that I should not re- 
 turn, and a natural anxiety to have another Major substituted in my 
 stead. As, however, I have returned, and with my claim to the pro- 
 tnotion m no way diminished, I trust I may rely upon your rectiiying 
 an error, which is the more easy of accomplishment, by reason of the 
 resignation of Major Mill, which still leaves a vacancy for the officer so 
 unexpectedly promoted above me. <* 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 Sir, 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 J. Richardson, 
 Capt. 6th Scotch Grenadiers. 
 Lieut. Col. Ross, Comg. 6th Regt. 
 &c. &c. &c. 
 
 The next day, I received Col. Ross' answer. 
 
 Heights of Alza, * '- June. 
 
 I have to acknowledge your letter of the I2th instant, which I shall 
 submit for the consideration of the Lieutenant-General, aa the appoint- 
 ment of Major Clarke took place in consequence of the recommendation 
 of Brigadier-Cieneral Reid, as well as myself, and was approved by His 
 Excellency. I have to add that I submitted your name with that of the 
 other wounded officers, to his favorable consideration, (?) which, as 
 
24 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Col. Tup|)er wm then alive, was all that I could promise, nor am I 
 aware of there being any vacancy ut present.* 
 I acn, Sir, 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 Malcolm Ross, 
 Lieut. Col. Comg. 6/A Regi, 
 Gapt. Richardson, 6th Scotch Grenadiers, 
 &c., &c. &c. 
 
 Finding all attempt to procure an interview with the Lieutenant 
 General to be ain, I, oii the same day, addressed him as follows : — 
 
 ( Calle delPoso, Posada Isabel, 
 ( Monday, iSth June. 
 
 General, 
 
 It has just been communicated to me, that the reason of my non- 
 promotion to a Majority, is my liuviiig threatened a publication in regard 
 to the Legion, of an unfavorable kind. 
 
 I beg to state that I have never made such threat, or entertained the 
 remotest idea jf the sort, as a publication now in the press will shortly 
 prove,! ^^^ furthermore, if reference be made to the Morning Chroni- 
 cle of the 23d of May, it will be found, that no individual in the Legion 
 could have been more solicitous to maintain its well-earned reputation 
 in the field. 
 
 While in London, and smarting under the severest sensse of unmerit- 
 ed neglect, at finding all mention of my name omitted in the general 
 order of the l7th of May, I certainly did address a private letter to 
 Colonel Coiisidine, expressive of my belief that some influential secret 
 enemy at Head Quarters had hitherto retarded my promotion — a sus- 
 picion, which the latter extraordinary omission had confirmed. I might 
 also, in the course of this saime private letter, which I learn was publicly 
 read to you by the Adjutant General, have expressed the possibility of 
 my naming certain individuals, whom I suspected of keeping me in the 
 back ground, in a light different from that in which they had hitherto 
 appeared ; but I must distinctly deny having ever threatened to name 
 the Legion, except in the terms of praise it merits. 
 
 As an officer of some standing in the King's service, and as one, 
 moreover, to whom you had promised the first vacant Majority at 
 Stmtander, I certainly think that I had reason to complain of the neglect 
 
 • It will be borne in mind, that tHs letter wud written the day after Lieut.-Col. 
 Ross had been warned by the Lieut. -General not to recommend me for the Majo- 
 rity which he did know to be vacant. 
 
 t My first edition of the " Movements of the British Legion," 
 
MAJOR RICHARDS6N. 
 
 25 
 
 ; (I 
 
 I 
 
 with which I had been treated, during my absence on leave, wlien oilier 
 officers, long my juniors even in the service of the Queen ol Spain, had 
 been promoted to Brevets, which, according to Major HejTnan's state- 
 ment, was refused to me ; but although I believe ihcre is no instance on 
 record, of a death vacancy being given in the King's service, (by the 
 rules of which, on entering this, 1 understood we were to be governed,) 
 but to the seniors of the next rank — except in cases of misconduct in the 
 field.* Yet, as I was fully aware that yoti ii?d made it a rule to be 
 regulated in your bestowal of promotion, by the recommendations of 
 commanding officers, I could not, with any shadow of justice, apply 
 what I had written, to yourself, or to the Legion generally. The obsei-va- 
 tions made use of in my letter to Colonel Considine, which letter I must 
 still maintain to have been strictly jrivate, could only refer to certain 
 individuals, whom I did not think it expedietit to name. 
 
 The fact. General, of your having confened upon me the cross of 
 Saiiit Ferdinand for my conduct in the affair of Ayeti6, is in itself a 
 proof that I was not unworthy of promotion to the Majority vacant by 
 Colonel Tupper's death, and had I considered any particular testimony 
 to my behaviour on that occasion necessary, I should, among ollier<», 
 have called upon the Adjutant General himself. But this I d'd not. I 
 left for England five days after the action, and with a distinct promise 
 from Major (now Lieutenant Colonel) Ross, that he would favourably 
 recommend me. 
 
 That promise, which was, after all, a mere act of common justice and 
 of duty, wan overlooked ; and it will be recollected that my private letter 
 to Colonel Considine, was the result only of my non-promotion on the 
 occurrence of Colonel Tupper's death. Therefore, such letter could 
 not, I respectfully submit, be a reason for my having been passed over 
 in promotion in the first instance, whatever it may be now. 
 
 Reference has been made to a certain preface printed^ but not 
 published^ by me in England, a copy of which, as his name was inci- 
 dentally mentioned in it, I sent to Brigadier General Evans. An act 
 of deep injustice, in whomsoever originating, had been sanctioned by 
 you, and goaded by the very natural astonishment expressed by my 
 friends ani 1 acquaintance, I felt it to be a duty which I owed to myself, 
 and to my character aS a British officer, to promise public explanation 
 of a wrong which had been publicly done to me. I printed a few 
 copies of the preface which seems to have been submitted to you, but, 
 on calmer reflection, and seeing the inexpediency of mixing up private 
 matter witli a work of the character I was about to publish, I with- 
 drew it, substituting a preface of a wholly dissimilar nature. 
 
 • Does th« Lieutenant C'-eneral in uoticing this letter give this as a reason for my 
 non-promotion 1- -No. ^bt until long afteitvards does he bring forward sucn 
 a charge. 
 
 { 
 
 ,-4 
 
26 
 
 PEnSONAT. MEMOIRS OF 
 
 It is witlj in6rnte pain and mortification, General, that I find myself 
 compelled to write this explanatory letter, for the terms in which I have 
 ev :r named you and the Legion, both publicly and privately, are so 
 totally at issue with the intention attributed to me, (and attributed from 
 induction alone,) that I cannot but deeply lament, so erroneous an 
 impression of my motives should have been entertained by you. 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 General, 
 With consideration, 
 
 Your obedient humble servant, 
 
 J. Richardson, 
 Capt. 6 th Scotch Gienadiers, 
 
 Lieut. Gen. De Lacy Evans, &c. &c. &c. > 
 Comg. B. A. L. ^ 
 
 Accompanying this letter, I forwarded a note to Colonel Gonsidine, 
 requesting him to submit it to the Lieutenant General. Colonel Consi- 
 dine having, however, sent me back an intimation that it must go through 
 my commanding officer, I enclosed it in the following to Lieutenant 
 Colonel Ross : — 
 
 Posada Isabel, 13M June. 
 Sir, 
 
 I understand from the Military Secretary that the enclosed letter, to 
 the Lieutenant General, must b"; transmitted through you. I therefore 
 beg it may be immediately submitted. 
 
 Your letter of yesterday's date states that you art not aware of the 
 resignation of Major Mill. I enclose you an intimation of that fact from 
 Colonel Wetherall, forwarded to me at Falmouth — doubtless this 
 officer's intention will be officially notified in a day or two, if it has not 
 already arrived.* 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 Sir, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 J. Richardson, 
 
 Capt. 6th Regi. 
 Lieut. ?'i\. Ross, Comg. 6th Regt. " 
 Heights of Alza. 
 
 * Ths notification of Major Mill's resignation in England had arrived by the 
 steamer which conveyed me out, and Colonel Ross knew it. 
 
MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 27 
 
 •ii 
 
 On the 14th, Major Woolridge, an Aid-de-Camp to the Lieutenant 
 General, called upon me at my Posada, and after stating that Colonel 
 Robs, whom he had just seen, was a good deal annoyed at my having 
 put myself in official communication with him, delivered me a verbal 
 mesdage from Colonel Considine, which caused me to address the fol- 
 lowing letter to Lieutenant Colonel Ross. 
 
 Posada Isabel, Hth June. 
 Sir, 
 
 Colonel Considine has just sent me word that it will be merely ne- 
 cessary for you to recommend me for the step, vacant by the resignation 
 of Major Mill, in order to obtain it. May I therefore lequest you will 
 do what is necessary on the occasion.* 
 
 I have the honour to be, ' 
 
 Sir, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 J. Richardson, 
 Capi. 6th Scotch. Grenadiers, 
 Lieut. Col. Ross, Comg. 6th Scotch, > 
 
 Sic. Sic. Stc. S '^^ 
 
 The answer was : — 
 
 Camp, 15M June, 1836. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I have to acknowledge the receipt of both your letters of yesterday. 
 The enclosure for the Lieutenant General, in one of them, I have for- 
 warded without any comment. With regard to the vacant Majority, I 
 went and recommended you for it, when the 1/ieutenant General told 
 me to be cautious in doing so, giving the reason^ ..hich you seem to be 
 aware of, from your letter to him. I hope your explanation will have 
 the desired effect. 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 Sir, 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 Malcolm Ross, 
 Ideut. Col. Comg. 6th Scotch. 
 Gapt Richardson, 6th Scotch Grenadiers, 
 Sec. Sic. Sm. 
 
 ^il 
 
 * My first object was to secure the junior Majority, after which I should have 
 demanded, as a right, my pro-notion to that rank from the death of Colonel 
 Tuj^er, 
 
 i.: 
 
28 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOIRS OF 
 
 m 
 
 Tliia agniri was amusing. I'he Lieutenant Ganeml would not pm- 
 inote me, unless recommended by my commanding officer — and my 
 commanding oHicer would not recommend, because the Lieutenant 
 General had prohibited him. I saw clearly that the intention was not 
 to promote me ; yet I resolved, despite of all the petty annoyances I 
 knew I should be made to endure, to join jny regiment, until the 29th of 
 the month when my year of service would be completed. On the 16th, 
 in the evening, I joined at Alza, and, on the 17th, was sent in advanced 
 picket in command of two companies. On the 18th, a Captain Shaw, 
 of the regimentjcame to my post, and delivered me the following letter: — 
 
 Camp, Heights of Alza, 18M June, 1836. 
 Sir, 
 
 The officers of the 6th regiment having heard, they trust without 
 foundation, that reflections against our much lamented commanding 
 officer. Colonel Tupper, as against the officers generally with regard to 
 the action of the 5th of May, emanated from you during your absence 
 in England, they have requested me to forward this letter to you, through 
 a brother officer. Hopeing (qu.) that your reply will completely refute 
 insinuations, which they, as officers and gentlemen, must feel so deeply, 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 Sir, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 Capt. Richardson, 6th Rcgt. 
 Sec. &c. &c. 
 
 Archibald Calder, 
 
 Capt, ath Regit 
 
 Liitle susi)ecting the plot that was enacting, 1 at once replied :- - 
 
 \ Advanced Picket, Heights of Alza, 
 \ \^th June. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this morning's 
 date, calling \ipon me to refute ceilain rumours <: an insinuation said 
 to have been made by me, in England, of a natui'e unfavourable to 
 Colonel Tupper and the officers of the 6th regiment generally. 
 
 Under any other circumstances, I should have expressed surprise 
 that you, and the officers of the 6th regiment, through you, should have 
 
X 
 
 \ 
 
 MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 29 
 
 tell it necessary to put such a queiation to me ; but as I think I have 
 already had some hint that such a supposition was intended to \ye in- 
 Ibi red, and a» I furthermore surmise the source whence it springs, I shall 
 at once openly reply to your very natural demand. 
 
 I have never named Colonel Tupper and the 6th regiment generally^ 
 in England, but in terms of high commendation, and as actuated, on the 
 5th of May, when I had the honour of being a participator in their 
 glories, by the gallantry and chivalry of brave men. 
 
 And now, sir, having unhesitatingly answered y«ur question, I, in my 
 turn, assume that you cannot object to give mr ip the authority on 
 which your letter is founded. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 ^ Sir, &,c.j 
 
 J. Richardson, 
 Capt. 6tA Regt. Scotch Grenadiers. 
 Capt. Calder, 6th Regt. ) 
 &c. Sic. 8(c. S 
 
 On the following morning, having been relieved from picket, I re- 
 ceived, at the hands of a servant, a second communication from 
 Captain Calder. 
 
 Camp, Heights of Alza, I9th JurUf 1836, 
 Sm, 
 
 I have the honour to acknowledge your note of last night. Your dis- 
 avowal there, of having thrown out any insinuations in England against 
 the officers of the 6th regiment, and the late Colonel Tupixjr particularly, 
 are clear or (qu.) distinct ; but I have to inform you that this is not 
 now satisfactory. You demand that the author of the reports should 
 be given up to you. Documents have been put into my hands, which 
 leave not the smallest doubts (qu.) but that you have spoken and written 
 of Colonel Tupper and the officers of the regiment in any thing but in 
 terms odLe highest commendation. Permit me to quote a few passages. 
 In the preface to your notes of the action of the 5th May, about to be 
 published in England, I find that you added you had l(;d on a wing of 
 the 6th regiment, when oth^ and superior officers had n^fused to do so. 
 This assertion many, very many of us beg leave to question. But to 
 proceed. In a letter from England, dated 2d June, to Colonel Considine, 
 Military Secretary, you speak of gtripping some of our officers of borrowed 
 plumes, and that the officers you allutie to are more in your power than 
 they imagine. You go on to say that you are sick, disgusted, and 
 annoyed to a degree, and that certainly you shall publish details of this 
 same battle of Ayett6 with which the public are little acquainted. I 
 
30 
 
 PERSONAL MLMOIRS OF 
 
 usk, sir, arc these not insinuationB ? But you do nut stop here. In 
 another letter to the Military Secretary, you say that when directed by 
 General Le Marchant to occupy a certain position, you were followed 
 more by the Westminster Grenadiers than by your own regiment ; and 
 further, that General Le Marchant ordered Colonel Tupper to lead on 
 his regiment, and that he refused^ saying, " No, sir, I will not,or cannot," 
 and that the Adjutant General then said, « If you will not lead on your 
 men, let Major Ross do so." Again I ask are these not insinuations ? 
 and yet you solemnly assert in your note of last night, that you spoke 
 of the 6th regiment as actuated on the 5th of May by the gallantry and 
 chivaldry (qu.) of brave men. There are other passages in these docu- 
 ments containing, if possible, even worse reflections — but enough. Sir, 
 you have had the hardyhood (qu.) to throw out insinuations, and with 
 the documents containing them still fresh in your memory, you have the 
 unmanliness to deny them. 
 
 There is only one course for the officers of the 6th regiment to pursue, 
 and it becomes my painfull (qu.) duty, as the senior Captain present, 
 and in the name of the officers, to announce to you, that with Captain 
 Richardson we can no longer associate as an officer and a gentleman. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 Sir, ' 
 Your obedient servaiit, 
 
 Archd. Calder, 
 Capt. 6ih Regt. S. Grs. 
 
 Gapt. Richardson, 6th Regt. S. Grs. } 
 &c. &c. &^. ] 
 
 This was meant to be the coup de grace, and I confess I was not a 
 little dismayed to find the plot thickening around, which was intended to 
 accomplish my ruin. It was obvious the Lieutenant General had de- 
 termined on making the officers of the 6th regiment instrumental to his 
 views J and that great caution was requisite on my own part to defeat 
 these. My determination was instantly formed, and I placed the above 
 precious specimen of diction and orthography — the joint production of 
 the officers of the 6th Scotch, who had addressed me through their 
 talented organ, Captain Calder — in the hands of Lieutenant Colonel 
 Ross, intimating my intention to submit the whole affair to the Lieute- 
 nant General, and demanding that Captain Calder should be placed 
 in instant arrest, for presuming thus to address me, his senior officer. 
 
 >■— mra 
 
MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 31 
 
 Captain CaUler was placed in arrest acconlingly, and I repaired to San 
 Sebastian, where I caused the correspondence to be copied. 
 
 These copies I addressed to the Lieutenant General with the following 
 note, which I took to his residence myself. 
 
 San Sebastian, 19/A June. 
 General, 
 
 I have the honour to submit to you, copies of a correspondence which 
 has taken place between Captain Calder, of the 6th regiment^ and 
 myself — which correspondence, it wouhl appear, has originated in a 
 perusal of certain private letters, and a printecl, not published, preface, 
 addressed by me to Colonel Considine, and transmitted to them, by your 
 order, through the commanding officer of the 6th regiment. I have 
 taken no other notice of Captain Calder's second communication, than 
 to cause him to be placed in arrest, until your pleasure on the subject be 
 made known. 
 
 I have now to request that a Court of Inquiry be assembled, to report 
 either on the conduct of that officer, or on my own, in order that it 
 may be seen, by the shewing of these private letters, if I am in reality 
 entitled to the highly offensive remarks of Captain Calder. 
 
 I have the honour to be, ^ 
 
 General, 
 With consideration, i 
 
 Your obedient servant, . 
 
 J. Richardson, 
 Capi. 6/A Scotch Grs. ' 
 Lieut. Gen. De Lacy Evans, &c. &c. &c. ) 
 Comg. B. A. L. \ 
 
 The Lieutenant Greneral, whom I found in the waiting room, refused 
 to grant me a private interview, and I was obliged to communicate to 
 him, in the presence of General Reid and several other officers, that I 
 had received certain offensive letters from one, on behalf of the whole of 
 the officers, of the 6th Scotch, which I v/as anxious to submit to him. 
 " Oh," remarked the Lieutenant General, who seemed fully to under- 
 stand the contents, " it is a private affair altogether." *' Not at all, sir," 
 was my reply, " it is a public affair, and as such I submit it to you." 
 Finding I was firm in my purpose, the Lieutenant General then intimat- 
 ed the documents must come to him through the usual channel. I 
 
J'2 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOIRS Or 
 
 imniediately handed tlieni to the AtssiHtunt Military Secretar}', who was 
 preaent, and left the room. On my way down stairs, tlie Assistant Military 
 Secretary overtook me, with a message, that the Lieutenant General was 
 desirous I should see Colonel Considine. I felt very indignant at the 
 reception given me by the Lieutenant General, whom I knew to be the 
 instigator of the insult offered to me by the officers of the 6th Scotch, and 
 I at first refused. Major Herman having intimated that an interview 
 with Colonel Considine might lead to some satisfactory explanation, I 
 suffered myself to be prevailed upon. My meeting with Colonel Consi- 
 dine did not, however, produce any result, though he seemed anxious 
 to convince me, that the fact of my private letters having been shown to 
 the Lieutenant General, was not attributable to liim. This was unne- 
 cessary. I did not believe Colonel Considine to be capable of any such 
 baseness. The onus rested wholly with those who had broken open his 
 letters marked « j^nvo/e," during his indisposition, and communicated 
 their contents to the Lieutenant General. On leaving Colonel Considine, 
 he requested me to call again in an hour. I returned at the time ap- 
 pointed, when he stated that my letter to the Lieutenant General, 
 enclosing Captain Calder's, must come through my commanding officer, 
 and that Major Herman was instructed to deliver both to me for that 
 purpose. On applying to Major Herman, he said he had just despatched 
 an orderly with them to my Posada. 
 
 Meanwhile, the following letter was sent me by command of Brigadier 
 General Shaw, whom I had seen in close conference with the Lieute- 
 nant General immediately after my vain demand for an interview with 
 the latter. 
 
 i.ii:^ 
 
 SlA) 
 
 San SlsBASTiAN, 25th June, 1836. 
 
 I am directed by Brigadier General Shaw, to say that certain papers 
 have been officially laid before him, in which you throw out insinuations, 
 both in writing and in print, against certain officers of the 6th regiment, 
 by which it would appear they had not performed their duty in the action 
 of the 5th of May, and farther that you yourself were employed to 
 
MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 33 
 
 execute what they refused. Ah Brigadier Generul Shaw is most anxious 
 to have those oHicere punished, who did not pert'oriii their duty on this 
 occasion, you are directed to hand me in the names of those officers, 
 and the particular charges you have against each, with a view that they 
 may be brought to a Court Martial, or write a letter to me to say that 
 you had no intention whatever to make insinuations against any oiliccr 
 of the 6th regiment, and that you withdraw any document, either in 
 writing or in print, that can in any way be coasidered os derogatory to 
 the honour of any officer of^the 6th regiment, who was in the action of 
 the 5th of May. 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 Sir, 
 Your obedient humble servant, 
 
 Jno. O'Neale, 
 
 Major of Brigade. 
 Capt. Richardson, 6th Scotch Grenadiers, 
 &c. &c. &c. 
 
 This of course was considered by Brigadier General Shaw, who 
 admits he had always the character of a << deep intriguer " in Portugal, 
 to be a chef d^teuvrej u splendid means of entrapping me into some 
 contradictory statement, that would fully answer the views of the Lieu- 
 tenant General, whose most willing agent he then became. The action 
 of Fontarabia had not yet taken place. 
 
 The eligibility of General Shaw to any office requiring the exercise of 
 deep finesse, may be better understood from the following anecdote, of 
 an occurrence which took place nearly at the same time : — 
 
 Having heard that Mr. Wilkinson, formerly in the British 
 Legion, and then in the service of Don Carlos, was in the enemy's 
 lines, Brigadier General Shaw conceivett the noble design of des- 
 troying that person in the following manner : — He wrote a letter to 
 Sergeant Richardson, who, it will be recollected by those who have read 
 my Movements of the Legion, deserted from us at Vitoria, and was in 
 some measure the cause of the detection of the traitor Elozequi, who 
 suffered strangulation by the garrotte. In this letter, he stated that if 
 he, Richardson, repented of his desertion, and wished to rejoin the 
 Legion, he might easily do so, as Mr. Wilkinson was in possession of 
 
34 
 
 PERSONA I, MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ample I'limlH, utid hud autliority to make all neccaaury advances to men 
 desirous of returning. 
 
 When Brigadier General Shaw undertakes any thing, it is not by 
 halves, or with a probable chance of failure. He despntchcd a second 
 letter to Mr. Wilkinson, apprising him that the two nien ho had already 
 Hcnt over* had arrived safe, and expressing a wish to know when moro 
 might bo expected. He furthermore stated that if Richardson should 
 apply to him for funds, he was to advance them, &c. 
 
 This letter, as intended fell into the hands of a Carlist outpost, and 
 the poison worked so well, that Mr. Wilkinson, suspected of being a 
 traitor and a spy, rather than a disappointed Legionite, was, with his 
 wife, immediately arrested and thrown into prison. The intended 
 victims fortunately contrived to make their escape into France, whence 
 Mr. Wilkinson, later, went over to San Sebastian. His stay there, 
 however, was short, the Lieutenant General having provided him with 
 a passage to Socoa the moment he became apprized of his arrival. 
 
 This little ruse of Brigadier General Shaw's — conceived, no doubt, 
 after one of those communions with the Deity, in which he states, in 
 his Memoirs, he was so prone to indulge, with a view to relieve the 
 monotony of warfare — was one on which he especially prided himself. 
 He was wont to speak of it as being one of his best acts of — what shall 
 I term it — diplomacy. 
 
 An instance of General Shaw's deep sagacity once occurred under my 
 own immediate observation, and as, although trifling in itself, it made a 
 great impression on my mind, at the time, I will relate it : — Just before I 
 was taken ill with typhus fever. General Shaw was sent to Vitoria to re- 
 lieve me in the command of that place,in consequence of my having writ- 
 ten to the Adjutant General that I could not longer fulfil the double duty 
 imposed upon me, without a higher rank than that I held. The first 
 care of General Shaw was to assemble the whole of the convalescents, 
 
 ♦ No such men of course had ever been sent. 
 
 m 
 
MAJOR RICHAnUSON. 
 
 Willi a view of sending ofl' the inowl eHiciuiit to llicir rogimentf*. 'I'lic 
 parade was in the ConvaleBcent Depot, and Home of liie poor wretches, 
 who had been ouinmonud to attend it, could scarcely stand. Whenever 
 General Shaw came near a man, who, from the mere effect of cold, 
 (for it was the midst of winter,) acting on a frame attenuated by disease, 
 had pulled up his great coat about his ears, he was pleased to favour 
 Buch individual with a particular inspection, which ended in the man 
 being sent off to his regiment, although, as I have said before, in nine 
 cases out of ten, scarcely able to stand. It appeared to me that this 
 originated altogether, on the part of General Shaw, in a restless desire 
 for an encounter of wits. He at once took it for granted that die poor 
 sufferers were anxious to conceal a ruddv countenance, rather than to 
 protect their features quivering with cold, and he was resolved not to be 
 outdone in cunning. In the most smooth and placid voice, he would 
 address the men, while pulling down the collars of their coats : — " Well, 
 my good man, and what is the matter with you. Why you look very 
 well — I think you can do duty with your regiment." To another: — 
 " Oh ! if you had the collar of your coat down, I might have passed you 
 without notice." To a third : — Well, I daresay you think yourself 
 very deep — but I am much deeper than you — you can't take in Charley 
 Shaw — you are perfectly fit for duty." These and similar observations 
 he addressed to each ; but it was not so much the words that he used, as 
 the tone in which he spo^e, and the peculiar chuckle of self-satisfaction 
 which accompanied them, that attracted my attention. Thus did General 
 Shaw clear the hospitals,as he states in his Memoirs — but of subjects who 
 were compelled to return to them a day or two afterwards. I could not 
 help silently remarking, at the time, how little I should like to come 
 under the immediate command of so knowing an officer. Little did I 
 anticipate such an event was in store for me. 
 
 The letter, written to me by his Brigade Major, met with the follow- 
 ing reply :— 
 
 ;1 
 .'1 
 
 ;11 
 
 U 
 
 
 !'i 
 
3fl 
 
 rr,nsoNAi. mkmoirb or 
 
 Posada Uarel, 19lli June, 1836. 
 Sir, 
 
 It irt not with ftstoninlimont that I ncknowledgo your letter of this 
 (Jiiy^a (lute, for I had proviouHly receivoil a coiiiinuiiicatioii from the ofli- 
 ccrd of the 6th ro(;iinerit, of which I i ippen to be a muinber, nearly Hi- 
 niilar in HubHtnnue, tliough certainly not in detail. 
 
 To you, nn to theni, I can only state that I have neither written, nor 
 printed anything derogatory to their military character on the 0th of 
 May, therefore it is perfectly impossible I should adopt either of the al- 
 ternatives alluded to in your letter. If, however, it should t)e found that 
 I have accorded other than the public meed of praise due to the 6th 
 Scotch, for their conduct on the 5th of May, or if it should apftcar that 
 I have written, or printed unfavorably of individuals in the regiment, I 
 am fully prepared to meet the consequenr^s. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 Sir,. 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 J. Richardson, 
 Captain 6ih Scotch Grenadiers. 
 
 Brigadier General Shaw, Col. 6th Regt. I 
 &c. &«. &c. ^ 
 
 The next day, to my suriirisc, I received from Major Herman the fol- 
 lowing note. 
 
 20/A /Mn€, 1836. 
 Sir, 
 
 I find the General's orderly threw the letter I wrote you yesterday, in- 
 to the Post-office, and that it has been forwarded to England. 1 was re- 
 quested to return your communication to the LieuttMiant General, and to 
 request you, for form's sake, to ti'ansmit it through your commanding 
 officer. It was also accompanied by a copy <if the official letter addres- 
 sed to Lieutenant Colonel Rof^s on the 16th instant, of which I will send 
 you another copy, 
 
 I have the honour to Imj, 
 Sir, 
 Your most ol)edicni servant, 
 
 G. F. Herman, 
 
 Maj. Mil. Sec. 
 Captain Richardson, 6th Rcgt. 7 
 &c. &c. &c. ) 
 
 Copies of the papers alluded to, were sent to me the next day. 
 
^w^ 
 
 MA.tOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 n 
 
 i Head Quartbri, San Sibastun, 
 I 19M June, 1836. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I am directed by the Lieutenant General, to return vou the communi* 
 cation tmnsmitted to him, in order that it may Ix) forwarded through 
 your commanding officer, aH the oflicial channel through which such 
 communications dhould be made, when, I have no doubt, but that the 
 Lieutenant General will accede to the request it contained. I have it 
 further in command to transmit you a copy of my official communica- 
 tion to Col. RoHH, of the 16th instant. 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 Sir, 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 G. F. HURMAIf, 
 
 J\iaj. Jlt$. Mil. Stc, 
 Capt. Richardson, 6th Scotch Grenadiers, 
 &c. &c. &c. 
 
 Copy alluded to in the foregoing. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Head Quarters, San Sebastian, 
 
 16 th June J 
 
 I am directed by the Lieutenant General to return you a communica- 
 tion transmitted to him by you, in your letter of yesterday's date, from 
 Captain Richardson, of the regiment under your command,* and I have 
 it further in command to state to ou, that the reasons assigned by that 
 officer, in the very first paragraph of his communication, for his non pro- 
 motion on the 5th of May, is incorrect. He did not obtain a Majority 
 solely because he was not recommended for promotion either by the late 
 Colonel Tupper or yourself, and who, on that occasion, forwarded to the 
 Lieutenant Greneral a strong recommendation in favor of Major Clark. 
 It is therefore impossible, as Captain Richardson would imply, that the 
 publication of a threatening character, alluded to by him, could have ex- 
 ercised the slightest influence upon a promotion wliich had taken place 
 long before his letter had reached this country .f 
 
 The Lieutenant Greneral has further instructed me to inform you, that 
 when you recently reported to him the vacancy of a Majority in the re- 
 giment under your command, by the resignation of Major Mill, he cau- 
 tioned you not to be influenced by any threats of the publication of any 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 *The letter of remonstrance addressed to the Lieutenant General on the 13th. 
 tThe Lieutenant General says nothing about the refusal to grant me the second 
 Majority after my return to San Sebastian, and to that alone my letter alluded. 
 
38 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOIRS OF 
 
 circumetancee reflecting upon the conduct of Colonel Tupper or the 6th 
 regim^rit. This was, howevi merely a precautionary measure of ad- 
 vice on his part. Should you> on Captain Richardson satisfactorily ex- 
 plaining away the obpoi v utions which have fallen from him, deem it ex- 
 pedient to recommend him for the Majority now vacant in the regiment, 
 the Lieutenant Genejal will feel it his duty to confirm your recommen- 
 dation. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 Sir, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 G. F. Herman, 
 Mil. Sec. 
 Lieut. Col. Ross, comi.ianding 6th Regt. 
 &c. £tc. &c. 
 
 Accompan;, i.ig these copies was another note from Major Herman. 
 
 ( Head Quarters, San S-^bastian, 
 I 20th June. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 The orderly serjeant to whom the originals of the annexed leticrs were 
 yesterr'.ay entrusted, threw them into the post-office by mistake (!) I 
 deeply regret this circumstance, both from the delay it will occasion 
 you, and the trouble of recollecting the voluminous correspondence it 
 contained. I furnish you with the copies of the documents I transmit- 
 ted to you. 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 Sir, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 G. F. Herman, 
 MaJ. ^S8. Mil. Sec. 
 Capt. J. Richardson, 6th Regt. ' 
 &c. &c. &c. 
 
 - This mistake of the orderly serjeant, in causing letters addressed to me 
 at San Sebastian, to be sent to England, was quite in keeping with all 
 the previous and subsequent circumbtances. It was at jnce seen that 
 Captain Oalder's epistolary powcij were not such as to reflect much 
 credit on his championBhip of the Lieutenant General, and it was hoped 
 that I had neither copies nor originals, to produce at a later period, be- 
 fore the public eye. Hence the pretext of having sent them to England. 
 I liave never heard of their arrival in that ccu;itry. and strange would it 
 
MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 Stf 
 
 have been if I had, as they were directed to me at the Posada Isabel — 
 so at least said the Assibtant Military Secretary. The fact is, they ne- 
 ver were sent at all. 
 
 I instantly car ]ed fresli copier of the corre8i)ondence to be tranBcri* 
 bed, and transrjitteil to the Lieutenant Greneral, with the following note 
 annexed.* 
 
 
 • ■.ti 
 
 General, 
 
 Heights of Alza, 20th June, 1836. 
 
 Copies of the enclosed correspondence, transmitted to me from Head 
 Quarters, for the purpose of being conveyed through my commanding 
 officer, were. Major Herman state"., sent to me by the post, and are now 
 on their way to England, Fortunately, they were only copies, and I 
 beg to forward herewith duplicates of the same. 
 
 As, since my letter of the 19th, Captain Calder has been liberated 
 from arrest by Brigadier General Shaw, I beg to demand n court of In- 
 quiry upon myself. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 
 General, j 
 
 With consideration. 
 
 Your obedient humble servant. 
 
 Lieut. Gen. De Lacy Evans, Comg. B. A. L. } 
 &c. &c. &c. 5 
 
 J. Richardson; 
 Capt. %ih Scotch, 
 
 These letters I forwarded through Colonel Ross, as ordered, bui I 
 heara no more of their content^ for some time. Meanwhile I was sub- 
 jected to numerous petty annoyances in my regiment, the nature of 
 whi h may be gleaned from the following : — 
 
 The room in which I slept was occupied by Colonel Roes and Major 
 
 *In departing from the routine o*" the British service, in thus persisting to \d- 
 dress my communications to the Lieutenant Geiier^ himself, I was influenced by 
 the very natural fear that they migi)t hz withheld if sent through my commanding 
 officer. Moreover, there were so many deviations from the rules of the Btiti«n 
 service, that 1 saw no good reason for adhering to them in this particular instance. 
 Nothing was so easy as to pretend, at a later period, that my documents had n«t 
 reachetf Head Quarters, but I was determined that tney should— no matter how 
 often sent back 
 

 40 
 
 PIRSONAT. MEMOIRS 0¥ 
 
 I 
 
 mh 
 
 Clark. It WM customary for the regiment to be under arms at one 
 o'clock in the morning, and thus to remain until the Jay had fully 
 dawned. On the morning subsequent to my joining, I was preparing 
 to leave my rude couch, when Colonel Ross remarked it was quiie un- 
 necessary, as the regiment, being in reserve, turned out more as a mat- 
 ter of form than any thing else — he himself never rising for the purpose. 
 On the following morning, I lay still. Major Clark, who commanded 
 the parade on these occasions, was preparing to descend, when, finding 
 I did not move, he demanded in a most harsh tone : " Captain Richard- 
 Bon, are you asleep." " No.'* " Then, sir, why do you not go down 
 and join your company — recollect, sir, you are only Captain of a com- 
 pany." This from the very man who had been my junior on the 5th of 
 May, and who had been promoted above me, through means of the most 
 scandalous and barefaced intrigue, was rather trying to my patienc/ . 
 however I gulped the rising ire, and simply replied, that I should have 
 joined my company, had not Colonel Ross intimated that it was unne- 
 cessary. " Oh, but I only meant for yesterday," interposed Colonel 
 Ross, who was awake, and listening to the conversation. I said nothing, 
 but, buckling jn my sword, (we always slept in our clothes,) descended 
 to the torch-lit parade. I saw clearly through the scheme — Colonel 
 Ross had given me leave to absent myself, in order that Major Clark 
 might have an opportunity of addressing me in the manner he did. It 
 was hoped I should grow restive under the brutal language of the latter, 
 and commit myself by some act of violence, which might afford 
 a pretext for putting me in arrest. These attempts were vain. I had 
 made up my determination to do my duty most scrupulously, and to de- 
 mand my right of retirement at the end of the year. The most advanced 
 picket in the lines was furnished by the 6th regiment, and although the 
 situation was a very exposed one, it was matter of gratulation to me 
 when it became my tour of duty ; for I had infinitely greater pleasure in 
 looking at our Carlist enemies, and exchanging a skirmishing fire with 
 them, than in being in the presence of men whom I eo thoroughly des- 
 
ti :■ u 
 
 MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 41 
 
 pised for their base subserviency to the Lieutenant General.* However 
 as Brigadier General Evans had found no difficulty in bearing out his 
 charges against Colonel Dickson, through the testimony of certain ofBcers 
 of the 7th Irish, so his brother found most willing and obedient agents 
 in the officei's of the 6th Scotch, who, in serving him, also served iheir 
 present commanding officer, for reasons which I shall detail later. They 
 mciBover expected promotion, nor were they disappointed — three 
 Captains, who had been principally active in forwarding the Lieutenant 
 General's views, having o^!ained their Brevet rank shortly after- 
 wards. 
 
 An opportunity at length occurred, when it was hoped the mucli 
 wished for self-committal, on my part, had taken place. Finding all 
 other means to annnoy me vain, they had recourse to one which was in- 
 tended to insult me in the eyes of the men. Brigadier General Shaw, 
 who had taken upon himself to release Captain Calder from his arrest, 
 was invited to dine with the regiment at Alza. Of course I was neither 
 consulted on this occasion, nor expected to attend ; and the little triumph 
 of the little men, with the still more little General Shaw at their head, 
 was complete, as they anticipated the despair I should feel at not being 
 permitted to sit down with so highly honourable and talented a body — 
 an annoyance, which must necessarily be heightened by the notoriety 
 given to my exclusion, from these " exclusives," among the men. 
 Fortunately, however, Colonel Fitzgerald, who commanded the centre 
 Brigade, a short distance from our position, and who had, I believe, 
 jome iiiitimation of the insult intended, invited me to dine with him mi 
 ♦hat day, and thus was a principal object of the dinner to General Shaw 
 defeated. The parties were not a little vexed at the contretemps, and 
 Colonel Ross, as will be seen presently, was excessively enraged. 
 
 I stopped until rather a late hour, and Colonel Fitzgerald insisted on 
 
 ♦ I except from this number those officers of the 6th who had been severely 
 wounded on the 5th of May, and who were away from the regiment at this time. 
 I «zcept s'm) Major O'Neale, Ganeral Shaw's Major of Brigad«- 
 
 I 
 
 l^ii 
 
 '11 
 
 it !j 
 
 H 
 
 M 
 
 ' is 
 
 H! 
 
 I m 
 
 i . "1 
 
 
42 
 
 PERSONAL MRMOIRS OF 
 
 niy remaining for ihc niglit, desiring his Aid-de-Camp, Lieutenant 
 Colonel Boatson, to write to Colonel Ross, intimating that he had given 
 me leave. 
 The immediate and polite reply to tliis communication was : — 
 
 Camp, Heights of Alza, 20/A June, 1836. 
 Sir, 
 
 I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, and to ac- 
 quaint you that the same has t)een put inlo the hands of Brigadier 
 General Sliavv, commanding the Light Brigade, and that he has directed 
 that Captain Richardson shall be reported absent from the Head 
 Quarters of his regiment, without leave. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 Sir, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 Fred. Clark, 
 Major and Adjutant 6th Scotch Gren, 
 Col. Beatson, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 This letter, which arrived about twelve o'clock, was instantly convey- 
 ed to me by Colonel Fitzgerald. I was in bed at the time — a luxury 
 I had not enjoyed for days — however, I arose, and determined on 
 setting out to join the regiment, which, as I before remarked, always 
 turned out between onQ and two o'clock. It was excessively daik, 
 but having been furnished, by Colonel Fitzgerald, with the countersign, 
 I contrived to make my way along the lines from Ametzagana to Alza. 
 With some difficulty I passed the Spaniards that lay between the two 
 positions, and found myself within the Unes of the 6th just as the men 
 iiad fallen in. Nothing could exceed the annoyance of Lieutenant 
 Colonel Ross and Major Clark, when they found I had returned. I 
 was placed in instant arrest, which I took very coolly, and ailer hearing 
 a long philippic from the former, in the course of which he expressed 
 his determination of being treated with proper respect, &c., I begged 
 to know if I was still to consider myself under arrest, not having been 
 away from the lines, nor absented myself from parade. The angry 
 answer was, " No, sir — join your company." 
 
MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 48 
 
 I have often Bince wondered at my self-poseession, on this and^several 
 other occasions, for I am not naturally of the most forbearing temjjera- 
 ment ; and three and twenty years it. the King's army had not exactly 
 fitted me for the endurance of any thing like undue severity in so hmited 
 a service as that of the British Legion, particularly from an officer who 
 must have been learning his alphabet at the time I was studying the 
 practical rudiments of war, in many a hard fought battle field, in the 
 very country in which I publish this Memoir. But the fact is, I had 
 traced out a line of conduct I intended undeviatingly to pursue. I 
 knew that a powerful conspiracy was in agitation, at the head of which 
 was the Lieutenant General, and I felt that his satellites, from Brigadier 
 General Shaw to the very meanest in rank of the clique, would omit no 
 opportunity of making any unguarded expression of mine, a matter of 
 the most serious accusation against me. I felt moreover mailed in the 
 consciousness of my own right, and 1 laughed their petty intrigues and 
 mancBUvring to scorn ; for I knew that ten days, at t^e farthest, would 
 relieve me from this by-play at soldiering — ^this military bondage — 
 without my gratifying them by a resignation in disgust. This, or a pre- 
 text for bringing me to a Court Martial, was what they aimed at. 
 
 The following letter was sent, next morning, to Brigadier General 
 Shaw, by Colonel Fitzgerald, who, I have no hesitation in affirming to 
 have been the most independent minded officer in the British Legion. 
 His conduct to me, on this occasion, when he knew me to be a victim 
 to the vile machinations of a party, was such as to reflect honour upon 
 himself, and shame upon my persecutors. 
 
 
 Ametza, 2Ut JunCf 1836. 
 Sir, 
 
 I was rather surprised last night to receive a communication from the 
 Adjutant of the 6th regiment, that you had directed Captain Richardson 
 of that corps to be reported absent without leave, after I had given him 
 permission to remain with my Brigade until this morning. The cour- 
 tesy which ought to be shown, from one officer commanding a Brigade, 
 to the authority of another, should have prevented your interfering, even 
 
44 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOIRS OF 
 
 had the regiment to which Captain Richardson lielongs been at the same 
 place with the rest of your Brigade, but the 6th being at present so close 
 to my position, an J detached from yours, I concluded it was quite suffi- 
 cient to send an official notification to the officer commanding that 
 regiment. 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 
 Your humble servant, 
 
 G. L. Fitzgerald. 
 Brigadier General Shaw, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 General Shaw, in reply, denied that he had had anything to do with 
 the order for my being reported absent without leave, or that he had even 
 seen the letter written by Colonel Beatson ! Either ho, or Colonel Ross, 
 through his Adjutant, Major Clark, must have been guilty of a deliber- 
 ate falsehood — between them be it. 
 
 As another instance of Colonel Fitzgerald's high and manly feeling, 
 I may name an occurrence that took place not long afler this, between 
 him and the same General Shaw, who, if we are to believe his me- 
 moirs, is never so^appy as when he is " up to the neck in fighting." 
 
 The period I allude to was the first of August, on which day a recon- 
 noissance had been sent to the heights of Ametzagana, at that time in 
 possession of the Carlists. Those of my readers who are aware of the 
 " movements of the Legion," will recollect that on this occasion the hill 
 was carried for a moment, and as suddenly abandoned to the enemy^ 
 who followed and annoyed the retiring troops. Colonel Fitzgerald was 
 slowly retiring in rear of his brigade, when he was overtaken by Gene- 
 ral Shaw, who could ill conceal the sneer of triumph with which he re- 
 marked — " Colonel Fitzgerald, your brigade is in the rear." Stung by 
 this imputation. Colonel Fitzgerald replied with warmth — " By G— d, 
 sir, it is no such thing — my brigade is in my front, and yours is in the 
 rear." This was the fact. 
 
 The next morning. Colonel Fitzgerald sent a friend to General Shaw, 
 to demand an apolojgy for his remark of the preceding evening, Lieut. 
 Town, an officer of the British half-pay, who was out, en amateur, was 
 deputed to carry the message. General Shaw at first refused to receive 
 
 \-; f 
 
 ...I 
 
J' 
 
 MAJOR RICHARDHONi 
 
 m 
 
 Lieutenant Town, under the pretence that he liad been denounced to 
 Cordova aa a '' Tory spy." Colonel Fitzgerald insiyted that Lieutenant 
 Town, and no other, should act as his (riend on the occasion. General 
 Shaw was obliged to submit, and Lieutenant Colonel O'Meara, his Aid- 
 de-Cainp, was named to act for him. After a day passed by General 
 Shaw in squibbing his pistols out of the window, that all the world of 
 San Sebai:<tian might know he was on " murderous deeds intent" he con- 
 cluded the parade by conceding to Colonel Fitzgerald the apology requi- 
 red. 
 
 On the morning following the date of the letter addressed to Gene- 
 ral Shaw, by Colonel Fitzgerald, on the subject of my arrest, I receiv- 
 ed a further communication from the fii'st named officer. 
 
 San Sebastian, 21s/ June^ 1836. 
 Sir, 
 
 I am directed by the Brigadier General, to request you wilt call upon 
 him, in San Sebastian, between the hours of two and three this day. 
 
 The General desires me to.say that he wishes this interview with you 
 in the hopes, and with a view that the aflhir, connected with your late 
 cunespondence with the 6ih regiment, may be satisfactorily arranged. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 Sir, 
 Your obedient servarit, 
 
 John O'Neale, 
 
 Brigade Major, 
 C:q>t. Richardson, 6th Regt. Heights of Alza., 
 
 I accordingly waited on Brigadier General Shaw, who, in the course 
 of our interview, admitted he could not perceive that any thing I had 
 printed or written could be construed into a reflection upon the conduct 
 of Colonel Tupper or the officers of the 6th regiment, on the 5th May. 
 He was, however, particularly anxious that I should say I could npt 
 bring charges against any officer of the 6th, on the occasion in question. 
 It amused me to observe the cunning and plausible manner, employed 
 by General Shaw to obtain this admission. I of course refused to have 
 he expression dictated to me, confining myself simply to the fact that I 
 
 G 
 
 m 
 
■IH 
 
 PERSONAL MP.MOmS OF 
 
 '^ff 
 
 l^' • 
 
 fuid not brought charges. General Shaw then rmmeii a wish tliat I 
 slioulii withdraw the letter I had sent him on the 1 9th, and substitute 
 another. To this I most willingly assented, for I had not considered 
 my letter of the 1 9th couched in sufficiently strong terms. Nut a little, 
 therefore, I presume, to the surprise of the biter, he found himself bitten 
 in the following : — 
 
 San Sebastian, \9th June, 1838. 
 Sir, 
 
 Your communication of yesterday's date, transmitted through Brigade 
 Major O'Neale, did not create surprise in my mind, only because one 
 similar in purport, though widely differing in detail, had been sent me by 
 certain officers of the 6th regiment. 
 
 I have no hesitation in assuring you — and I am convinced such assur- 
 ance will be received by you in a manner which has not characterized 
 the conduct oi the officers of the 6th regiment, who have thought it 
 expedient to address me on the subject — that not one of the documents, 
 sent by me to Colonel Considine, bears in the slightest degree on the 
 6th regiment on the 5th of May. Neither in my printed preface, hastily 
 v.'ritten in England, to which so much allusion has been made, is any 
 imputation intended to be conveyed against any individual of the regi- 
 ment, living or defunct. 
 
 Under these circumstances, Sir,and afler this candid assurance, should 
 my commanding officer still decline to recommend me for promotion — 
 and I have from the Military Secretary a copy of a letter in which it is 
 stated that his recommendation alone is wanting — I shall be under the 
 necessity of considering him influenced by some particular private 
 motive, to which this most singular public act, of certain officers of the 
 6th regiment, who. Lieutenant Colonel Ross has already assured me, 
 have been from the first jealous and annoyed at my having been placed 
 above them^-w but a cloaks 
 
 Such being the case, I call upon you, Sir, as the General Officer 
 commanding the Brigade, and as the Colonel of the 6th re^ment, to 
 require that my just demand for the Majority, now many days vacant by 
 the resignation of Major Mill, be accorded. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 Sir, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 J. ElCHARDSON, 
 
 Capt. ath Scotch Grenadiers, 
 
 Brigadier General Shaw, Comg. Light Brigade, 
 &G. &c. Sec. 
 
t 
 
 MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 47 
 
 ,5 
 
 General Sliavv never called upon me fur another letter, and no notice 
 was taken of this. Meanwhile, anxious to have the written opinion of 
 Colonel Boyd on the subject of my disagreement with the officers of 
 the 6th, of which regiment he was a member, I addressed him thus : — 
 
 Heights of Alza, 24M June, 1886. 
 My dear Botd, 
 
 Herewith I enclose for your perusal, copies of a correspondence which 
 has taken place between a Captain Calder, on tiie part of the officers of 
 the 6th regiment, and myself. 
 
 Afa you are almost the only individual borne on the Army List of the 
 6th Scotch whose favourable opinion I in the slightest degree covet, I 
 am sure you will not hesitate to convince me that you are in no way a 
 party to this glaring conspiracy, at the head of which is, I have reason to 
 believe, a very high individual of the Legion. 
 
 As I have had the pleasure of serving on your Staff, while Senior 
 Officer of the Quarter Master General's Department, I will not insult 
 myself, or you, so far as to ask if my conduct, since you have known 
 me, has been such as to warrant the gross decision contained in the last 
 grossly written letter of Captain Calder. Nor do I believe you will 
 express any thing but indignation at the contents and evident object ; but 
 I fain would have your opinion in writing, as it is my full determination 
 to lay the whole of the infamously concocted affair before the English 
 public. 
 
 Under these circumstances, I am anxious that the testimony of one 
 so well known as the personal friend, and Aid-de-Camp of a deceased 
 member of the Royal family,* should appear in evidence of the ridiculous 
 and impotent proceedings now pending against me. 
 
 Believe me. 
 
 My dear Boyd, ^ 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 J. Richardson. 
 Lieut. Col. Boyd, Actg. Qr. Mr. Gen. 
 &c. &c. &c. 
 
 Colonel Boyd immediately replied : — • 
 
 San Sebastian, 25M June, 1836. * 
 My dear Richardson, 
 
 Your letter, together with the enclosures — the printed preface and the 
 correspondence between yourself and Captain Calder — have this mo- 
 
 i 
 
 «! 
 
 • The Duke of Gloucester. 
 
4.8 
 
 PERSONAL MKMOIKS OF 
 
 Wl 
 
 nieiit roac'hctl me, aiul I rnnnot but linvc poruscd willj rogirt nnd 
 BurpriHe, the int'ereiicu drawn t'ruin the printed roainuinirntion in ques- 
 tion, in which I do not diHCovcr the nlighledt iniputiition, cither (hrertly 
 or indirectly, against iny brave and hunented friend Colonel Tuppor, < r 
 the ortirers and men under his command. The chivalrous gallantry 
 of the former, and the well tried bravery of the latter, have beon loo 
 well known both to friends and food to l)e for a moment doubted — 
 indeed you, I have heard often aay — " Poor Tupper waa brave to a 
 fault." 
 
 It is therefore, my dear Richardson, diflicult for me to nunnise how 
 the otficera of tlie 6th regiment could have recorded this opinion, un- 
 less some other documents had been laid before them, from which the 
 unfortunate inference has l>een drawn, and I do not hesitate in telling 
 you, (as is generally reported,) that it is attributed to a letter, addressed 
 to the Military Secretary, threatening, (as it is said,) to impugn the con- 
 duct of individuals in the Legion. How far this be (correct, you nuist 
 know best, as no such communication has come under my notice. 
 
 During the time I had the honour of being at the head of the Quarter 
 Master General's Department, you were for many months attached to 
 my office, and in the execution of all the duties confided to you, I ever 
 founa you most anxious and zealous, indeed so mucli so that it led to 
 the ultimate injury of your health, and necessitated your return to 
 England. 
 
 Your early departure from us after the action of the 5th of May — 
 your having done only one day's duty with the 6th regiment, (that I 
 grant a severe one) — the wish to fulfil the last request of poor Tupper, 
 backed by other recommendations, might have influenced the Lieute- 
 nant General in giving Captain Clark the Majority, but this is merely 
 and strictly my private opinion. I always believed that it was intended 
 tf» promote you as soon as you returned from leave of absence, therefore, 
 supposing that such idea liad been entertained by the Lieutenant Gene- 
 ral, what can have led to the alteration of that intention would be 
 unbecoming in me to offer an opinion on. 
 
 Those friends who have known you in the British service, and in 
 the closer ties of private society, will join with me in pronouncing you 
 incapable of acting derogatory to the high principles of honour you have 
 always professed and advocated. 
 
 With every sincere wish for the termination of the existing cauns of 
 excitement to your entire satisfaction. 
 Believe me. 
 
 My dear Richardson, 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 C. Boyd, 
 Lieut. Col. ^dg. Qr. Mr. Gen. 
 Capt. Richardson, 6th Regt. 
 
MAJon nrcHAnDsoN. 
 
 4.P 
 
 Mcanwliilc, my visitH to tlic picket liousi' wero conlituied, ovory m-- 
 ««)ikI or third day. Tho pwitioii occupied by the (Uh regiment, at this 
 p<;riod, waH highly picturesque, nnd as an order had l)cen isHUcd hy Col. 
 RoHfi, (»it»re tho nflair of General Shaw and Colonel Fitzgerald) that 
 no oflicer should quit the onntonmcntH of the regiment without leave, 
 nnd as I did not choose to ask the favour, I liad full leisure to survey the 
 Bcene. I had caused n hut to l)c built of the boughs of trees, in a spot 
 which commanded the whole of the view, and certainly nothing could 
 be mor? romantic than our lines at that point. 
 
 Immediately in front, nnd separated from us by a deep ravine, were 
 the Chapelgories and ^th Fusiliers, while the formidably defended ex- 
 treme height of Al:<a rose frowningly above the wooded valley on our 
 left. On our right, (the centre of the position,) were to Ije seen the 
 sloping heights of Ametzagana, crowned by the encampments of the 
 3d and 9th regiments of the Legion, and a body of Marines. The blood 
 rod flag waved in proud defiance from each of these positions, and tho 
 same symbol of exterminating purpose floated over numerous picket 
 houses in the advance, which were responded to by the enemy. The 
 river Uramea separated the advanced posts, immediately in fron*. of the 
 Ametzagana, and the line of country to its right, even to the bridge at 
 San Sebastian ; but before reaching Alza, the stream takes a course al- 
 most at right angles with the lines we occupied, and winding its way 
 more into the interior, suddenly disappears, and is only again visible 
 in the far distance, near the village of AstigaiTaga, through which it 
 runs. Nothing therefore separated the hostile lines, on the left, but the 
 wooded valley already alluded to, at the extremities of which, within 
 musket shot, there were picket houses from whence both parties were 
 more or less molested during the day. 
 
 In the distance, towered the lofty hill of St. Geronimo, strongly fortifi- 
 ed by the Carlists, and communicating by a chain of breastworks, with 
 numerous lesser hills which, strongly fortified also, guarded the left of 
 their position. The picket house of the 6th was the most exposed point 
 
ili 
 
 M 
 
 FKRKONAI. MEMOIUS UP 
 
 ''I 
 
 ■■k 
 
 i 
 
 ill iliti vvltolo line — ur rallicr l)oyuiul — and it vvaH always supposed tli'* 
 enuiny would uttompt it during the night, in ovorwhelming force. It 
 waH Htrongly barricaded, and well loop holed, ho tliat the two compa- 
 nicH, which conHtitutud tbo strength of the picket, might have defended 
 it iiucccttafully against ten times tlieir own force. Our black Hog, how- 
 ever, which waved over the roof, gave tliem no inclination for a trial, 
 and they seldotii fired upon us except from a distance. The only dread 
 I entertained, on thotw occasions, was that they might approach under 
 cover of the night, and have recourse to their well known and formidable 
 practice of burning the pimento plant, the smoke from which is agoniz- 
 ing in the extreme. But I \va» ever vigilant. I never closed my eyes 
 at night, and made a point of going round the different rooms every half 
 hour, to see that oiko company remained, as ordered, on the alert at the 
 loop holes, while the other lay down. Nor was this precaution unie- 
 cossary, for ^.he men were ever more ready to sleep than to watch, and 
 I believe the certainty of an attack would not have induced '^am to 
 forego their slumbec, had the indulgence been suffei'ed — y( -vate 
 soldier is, after all, a mere animal. 
 
 The period, however, had arrived when I was to bid adieu to this 
 wild and exciting scene — in short to leave the Legion. On the 28th 
 of June, I addressed General Evans as follows : — 
 
 Heights of Alka, 2Sih June, 1836. 
 Generax, 
 
 This day terminating my year of service in the Spanish Army, as 
 will appear from the accompanying certificate, I have the honour to 
 tender my retirement. Tomorrow I cease to be in the Auxiliary Le- 
 gion, and return to the half-pay of the British Army. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 General, 
 With consideration, ' 
 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 J. Richardson, 
 
 Capt. 6th Scotch, . 
 Lieut. Gen. Evans, Conig. B. A, L. " 
 &c. &C. &c 
 
 Wf 
 
 liStt i 
 
MAJOR RICHARDflOtf. 
 
 5t 
 
 i 
 
 This waa taking the enemy completclj by mirpriw. Tlie LioiiU*- 
 nant General had nu idea of my intention, and he wuh nou* roaolvcd to 
 inHtituto a Court of Inquiry into my conduct, although I had applied 
 for one, but in vain, ten daya previously. 
 
 A letter, from the AdJMtant Gencraru Oflice, was sent to mc on tho 
 29tli| enclosing the General Order : — 
 
 ( Hkad Quartbri, San Sebaatian, 
 ( 2m June. 
 
 A Court of Inquiry will assemble at ten o'clock tomorrow, the SOth 
 Juno, ''t Al/a, to investigate and repoit upon the conduct of Captain 
 Richard .on, (ith regiment, for having, while in England, thrown out im 
 putations in print, and in letters, addressed to the Military Secretary, 
 calculated to cast discredit on the conduct of the Legion in the glorious 
 action of the 6th of May. 
 
 By command, 
 
 J. Gaspare Le Marchant, 
 
 Adjutant General. 
 
 Although I perfectly understood thi Lieutenant General's kind mo- 
 tive, in ordering the Court of Inquiry at last, I was glad to have the 
 opportunity of appearing before it. I shall give the whole seriatim as 
 it occurred : — 
 
 Alza, 30M. June, 1836. 
 
 Proceedings of a Court of Inquiry, held by order of His Excellency 
 Lieutenant General De Lacy Evans, G. C. S. F., Commanding the 
 Corps of Army of Cantabria, to investigate and report upon the conduct 
 of Captain Richardson, 6th regiment, for having, while in England, 
 thrown out imputations, in print, and in letters addressed to the Military 
 Secretary, calculated to cast discredit on the conduct of the Legion in 
 the glorious action of the 5th May. 
 
 President, Brigadier General Chichester. 
 
 Members, 
 
 Colonel KiNLocH, 1st Lancers. 
 Lieutenant Colonel Thompson, Ist Regt. 
 Lieutenant Colonel Harlet, 4th Regt. 
 Lieutenant Colonel Sloane, 4th Regt. 
 Major Smaw, 10th Regt. 
 Major Hogg, 8th Regt. 
 
 i 
 
52 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOIRS W 
 
 i 
 
 The Court bv 'ng asscmblrjii, Captain Richards^ n 6th regiment, B. A. 
 L., preferred the following protest, which was read and recorded ; — 
 
 Mr. PREiiDENT AND GENTLEMEN, 
 
 Before the Court enters on its proceedings, I beg to submit the follow- 
 iiijj protesls : — 
 
 tst. I protest against this Court being appointed to try the question 
 at issuj in a purely Military sense. Tlie period of n»/ service expired 
 on the 28th, as will appec:," from the certificate, of which the acconr i- 
 nying is a copy, and on that day my retirement was given in tc ne 
 Lieutenant General, as a matter of course. That it has not ;ea 
 accepted, or noticed in orders, is perfectly unimportant. My term of 
 contract in the Legion, if my engagement must be so called, has been 
 fulfilled, and I now present myself as Lieutenant Richardson, of His 
 Majesty's Army, late Captain 6th Scotch. Strictly, t liave no right to 
 appear — as, however, a Court of Inquiry touching i!>e causes on which 
 the injurious imputation of my having wriUcn mfavourably of the 
 Legion is founded, had been solicited by myself so far back as the 20th 
 of June, I have no hesitation in having the question discussed even at 
 this more than eleventh hour, before a Court r'^ gentlemen, each of 
 whom must be jealously alive to the reputation of the Legion on the 
 glorious 5th of May, as the charge truly describes it. 
 
 2d. I protest against any other passages of my "/>n*w/«" letters to 
 Colonel Considine, subsequent to the appearance of the Gazeiie for the 
 5th of May, that is to say of all letters commencing " Dear Colonel," 
 being brought forward, except lho>»e which bear on the general c(>rtduct 
 of the British Legion, which it is falsely assumed I have aspereed. Of 
 these letters, being strictly " private," I have no copies ; bi't since they 
 have, to my astonishment, and without preceder>i in military or social 
 life, been converted into pul'lic document'^, I bejf to demand them. 
 
 3d. I furthermore protest againt my name appearing in the record of 
 these proceedings, except as loie of tlie 6th rei'imtnt. Anp'a time had 
 been afforded for tlie assembling of this Court, between the 20th and 
 30th, in which case I should have presented myself as an officer of the 
 Legion. Now, however, that my }ear of service has expired, my con- 
 tract with the Spanisli Goverinnent ceases, and I am on the half-pay of 
 His Majesty's xirray. If to-day I appear in the uiiiform of the Legion, 
 it ifi solely from a feeling of respect 'or this Ccnrt. 
 
 Finally, Mr. President and gentlemen, I beg it may be distinctly un- 
 derstood, that while disclaiming i\\eright of arybody of men to try this 
 (juestion now^ except as a matter of honour among gentlemen, I enter- 
 tain none but sentiments of respect for the Court, constituie*' as it has 
 l^een, and it will be at once my pleasure and my pride to meet, with 
 candour, whatever questions may be put to me, and to afford what ex- 
 planations are in my power, to convince you *hat the honour of the 
 
MAJOR m<CHARDSON. 
 
 53 
 
 m 
 
 
 Legion on the 5th of May, on which the present question hinges, has 
 never been dearer — will nevei' be dearer to your hearts, than to mine. 
 
 J. Richardson, H. P., 
 
 H. M. Gordon Hightanders^ 
 Late Capt, 6/A Scotch Grenadiers, 
 
 Certificate annexed to the foregoing : — 
 
 I certify that Captain Ricliardson appeared in General Orders as 
 CaptPin of the late 2d regiment, on the 29th of June, 1835, and received 
 pay from the S'^me date. 
 
 T. Wills, 
 Paymaster late 2d Regt. B. A. L. 
 
 The sensation produced by this protest was great. It was utterly 
 unexpected, and the Adjutant General, who was present, f^^med a 
 good deal annoyed. He remarked that the Lieutenant General had not 
 accepted my retirement. I replied it was of no consequence to me 
 whether he had, or not — my term of service had expired, and nothing 
 should induce me to rejoin the 6th regiment. The Adjutant General 
 then requested the President to suspend all proceedings until he had 
 seen the Lieutenant General, to whom he carried a copy of my protest. 
 Some hours later n Lancer came at full spee \ from San Sebastian, with 
 a letter to General Chichester, who, having assembled the Court, read 
 to them the following document, which the Lieutenant General insisted 
 shoild be entered on the proceedings : — 
 
 C Head Quarters, San Sebastian, 
 I m/i June, I8:it). 
 
 Sir, 
 
 The Lieutenant General ha« directed nie, as Militaiy Socivitary, io 
 transmit the following memorandum respecling the case of Captain 
 Kichard.jon, to the President of tlie Coiu-t of Inquiry on tliat officer's 
 conduct, to be inserted in the proceedings r 
 
 The presetit Comuianding Officer of the 6th regiment recommended 
 Captain Clai'lr, after the action of the 5th of May, for the Majority 
 vacant in that rCji^iment. Although the Lieutenant General has never 
 recognized seniority as a paramount claim to promotion, he inquired, on 
 that occasion, why it was proposed to pass over the Senior Captain. 
 The reply was, that he, Captain Richardson, had done scarcely any 
 
 '■( 
 
 
 :■ 'i*' 
 
 r. 
 i. 
 
 •i 
 
 -:l 
 
54 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOIRS OF 
 
 
 iluty with the regiment, and that he had retired from the acUon of the 
 5th, at eight o'clock in the morning, on tlie ground of a wound in the 
 arm, so slight as not to justify his having withdrawn himself. The 
 Adjutant General can ^jive evidence on this point, as he was present. 
 The Lieutenant General did not yield to the recommendation of Cap- 
 tain Clark, although aware of his efficiency and merit, until he found that 
 the officer commanding the Brigade concurred, in the recommendation 
 of Captain Clark, with the officer commanding the regiment, as did 
 also Colonel Tupper, before his death. The papers which are directed 
 to be laid before the Court, were marked private, and addressed to the 
 Military Secretary, but as their contents were of a public nature, the 
 Lieutenant General ordered them to be laid before you. 
 
 As the Protector of the whole corps, he owed it to the honour of the 
 officers of the 6th regiment, to cause these papers to be shown to them. 
 Several days have elapsed, during which it might have been expected 
 Captain Richardson would have seen the propriety of retracting or ex- 
 plaining, if possible, what was so calculated to give ground of offijnce to 
 his brother officers. He has not availed himself of that opportunity, 
 but has tendered his resignation. It seems essential to the ends of jus- 
 tice, that the facts of the case shall be elucidated and placed beyond 
 misrepresentation, before the resignation of this officer can be accepted, 
 and it is with this view the Lieutenant General directs the Court of 
 Inquiry to investigate the matter. 
 
 By command, 
 
 G. F. Herman, 
 
 Maj. Ass. Mil. Sec. 
 The President of the Court of Inquiry, ) 
 Ordered to sit at Alza. ^ 
 
 Captain Hichardson here stated, in reply to a remark of General 
 Chichester, that the letter just read contained a charge of a most serious 
 nature, which he had not the slightest idea could have been brought 
 forward — which had not been communicated to him — vs^hich he hoped 
 to rebut — and to which, the ribbon at his breast, was his first and 
 indignant answer ; but as it rendered it imperative on him to call other 
 witnesses, who were not in attendance, he left it to the Court to decide, 
 whether they would first enter upon that, or proceed to inquire into his 
 conduct agreeably to the general order, dated 29th June, 1836. 
 
 The Court then proceeded to read a printed document, dated London, 
 80th May, 1836, and signed « The Author." [Certain lettere, addressed 
 by Captain Richardson to Colonel Considine, and marked **privaie,^* 
 which the Lieutenant General insisted should be submitted to the Court, 
 were refused to be entertained by it, and immediately enclosed, in a 
 blank envelope, to Head Quarters.] The Court also read certain letters 
 which had passed between Captain Richardson and Captain Calder, 
 botli of the 6th regiment. 
 
 liW 
 
 ill 
 
m 
 
 MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 m 
 
 the 
 
 Captain Calder h?ving been callc' on, was qucstioiicd by the Court. 
 
 Question: — What motive had you, or wiiat grounds, for entering into 
 tiie correspondtsnce with Captain Richardson which has just been read 
 to the Court? 
 
 Answer : — In consequence of seeing a printed document which we 
 understood was a preface to a work about to be published in England, 
 and also from seeing two letters which I think were written to the 
 Military Secretary, by Captain Richardson. In the printed preface we 
 find the following words : — " If to have obeyed an order to carry the 
 enemy's batteries, when other and superior officers had refused to do so." 
 This we considered to be clearly an insinuation that the late Colonel 
 I'upper, and Major (now Lieutenant Colonel) Ross had refused to lead 
 on their men when ordered, from motives of fear. 
 
 Question : — What meaning did you and the officers of the 6th attach 
 to the following words : — " and y3t the claim of those officers to high 
 gallantry and chivalrous bearing is not to be disputed 1" 
 
 Answer : — We considered that they exonerated Colonel Tupper and 
 Major Ross,* in some degree, from the charge of cowardice, but not 
 sufficiently. 
 
 Question : — ^You allude to two letters addressed, as you think, to 
 Colonel Considine, which letters are not before the Court. How did 
 you get them ? 
 
 Answer : — They were put into our hands by Colonel Ross, or Major 
 Clark. 
 
 Question : — Were they official or private ? 
 
 Answer : — Certainly not official — one was marked "private.'* 
 
 Question : — What construction did you :md the officers of the 6lh 
 regiment, in whose name you wrote to Cajiiain Richardson, put upon 
 the various questions which appear in vour letter, dated Heights of Alza, 
 19th June 1 
 
 Answer: — We considered them (•(>n'"mnri(ory, especially where the 
 Westminster Grenadiere are alluded to, and vvhrn^ a conversation be- 
 tween General Le Marchant and Colonel Tupp^ . is mentioned. 
 
 Question: — In your letter, dated 19th June, a ^ these w ds: — 
 " You speak of stripping some of our officers of borrowed plumes, and 
 that the officers you allude io, are more in your power tfien thfy 
 imagine." Did the officers of the 6lh inmgine they applied 'o themi 
 
 Answer : — Yes, particularly to them. 
 
 Question : — In the same letter of the 1 9th, is this quotation : — " You 
 say you are sick, annoyed, and di.^gusted to a degree, but that certainly 
 you shall publish details of this same battle of Aj-ette with wiiii the 
 
 * Colonel Tupper and Major Fortescue of the Riflca were the officers alluded 
 •to. It was policy to connect Major Ross' name with the former, but certainly he 
 was not one of tnose alluded to, by rae, as of chivalrous bearing. .^ 
 
 HI 
 
96 
 
 PERSONAL MBMUIRS OF 
 
 i: 
 
 \ 
 
 public arc little acquuiitted.', Did the otKceru uf tUe 6th think these 
 detailH would be prcjudical to the clmracter of the regiment ? 
 
 Answer: — We thought it would be a more unfavourable ac(:o\i/it of 
 the action than had been previously jjublished, because he said he was 
 annoyed, and disgusted, because he did not get the Maiority. 
 
 Question from Captain Richardson through the Court: — From whom 
 did you, and the rest of the oflicera of tlie 6th regiment, hear that 
 imputations against the regiment had l)een thrown out by Captain 
 Richardnon? 
 
 Answer: — I think from Colonel Ross. 
 
 Question from Captain R. : — What was your reason for thinking that 
 \he two private letters you admit to have seen, alluded particularly to 
 , the 6th Scotch, they not having been named. 
 
 Answer : — I think they were named in one of the letters, but we 
 supposed they were alluded to, as from Captain Richardison having been 
 with them, he must have seen more of them than any other. 
 
 Question from Captain R. : — Did you write to Captain Richardson 
 in the name of the officers of the 6th, and if so, who were those officers ? 
 
 Answer : — In the name of all the olTicers, except Colonel Ross and 
 Major Clark. 
 
 Question from Captain R. : — Why did not the business originate with 
 Colonel Ross instead of you, who are junior to Captain Richardson 1 
 
 Answer : — We heard that there had been insinuations thrown out 
 against the regiment. We went to Colonel Roes, and asked for any 
 proof, and got the printed documents, and two letters, we telling him at 
 tlie same time, we intended to institute an inquiry. 
 
 Question from Captain R. : — Do you, as the organ of the officers of 
 the 6th regiment, deny the accuracy of Captain Richardson's statement 
 of his having received three wounds on the 5th of May ? 
 
 Answer : — Certainly not. 
 
 Question fivm Captain R. : — In your letter of .I^e 19th of June, is 
 the following expression — " I find that you assert you had led on a wing 
 of the regiment, when other and superior officers had refused to do so. 
 This assertion — many, very many officers present on the occasion, beg 
 leave to question." Do you mean Captain Richardson did not com- 
 mand a wing of the regiment i 'i that day 1 
 
 Answer : — I cannot ^l)eak fidm my own knowledge, not having been 
 there, but many offices, particularly those of the flank companies, said 
 that Captain Richardson neither led on a wing nor commanded one. 
 
 Question from Captain R. : — You say you considered the allusion 
 made in Captain Richardson's statement, of his having been followed 
 more by the Westminster Grenadiers than his own men, as condemna- 
 tory of the 6th Scotch. Have you any recollection of the whole of 
 the passage, and did it not run thus — " but finding myself more follow- 
 ed by the Westminster Grenadiers than I'ly own men, and Colonel 
 
 .. It 
 
 ill 
 
MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 Cliurchill coining up^ I returned to the parapet," tlius nia!king, by tliid 
 addition to the sentence, the circumstance of my being followed by the 
 Westminster Grenadiers, a reason for my return to the parajxit, ratlier 
 than a reflection upon the Scotch ? 
 
 Answer : — I do not remember the passage accurately, but our impres- 
 sion was, that it was condemnatory of the 6th Scotch. 
 
 [Question from Captain R. : — You conclude your letter of the 1 9th 
 of June, by a declaration that with Captain Richardson, as an otficer 
 and a gentleman, you can no longer associate. Pray, had Captain 
 Richardson ever previously associateid with you or the officers of the 6th 
 Scotch, that you should have considered this intimation necessary ? 
 
 Answer ; — I believe not.] 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Ross, commanding the 6th regiment, being sum- 
 moned, a letter directed to him and signed Charles Wood, Captain 6th 
 regiment, was read, and the following questions put : — 
 
 Question from the Court : — Were the letters above alluded to, public 
 or private 1 
 
 Answer : — They were given to me as public. 
 
 Question : — From whom did you receive them 1 
 
 Answer: — From the Lieutenant General. 
 
 Question : — At what period did Captain Richardson join the 6th re- 
 giment ? 
 
 Answer : — I think abou 'le beginning of May. 
 
 Question : — Did Captain Richardson retire from the field on the 0;h 
 of May, at eight A.M.? 
 
 Answer: — I think it was about that time I missed him from the field. 
 
 Question : — Was Captain Richardson wounded ? 
 
 Answer: —I suppose he was, for, about half an hour before I missed 
 him, he told me he had a slight wound, or something to that effect. I 
 remarked that he had better go and let some medical man see it, and I 
 afterwards saw his arm ii a sling. / deny having given as a reason, 
 for not recommending Captain Richardson for the Majority^ that he 
 had left the field imthout sufficient cause. I saw him do his duty in it.* 
 The reason 1 gave was, that he had done very little duty with the 6 th 
 regiment, and that, as he was going to England, he would be of no use 
 to me as a field-officer. I told the Lieutenant General I would not re- 
 commend my own brother under such circumstances. The Lieutenant 
 General himself asked me if he had left the field. 
 
 Question: — ^Did you understand the Lieutenant General to imply that 
 he had left the field without sufficient cause 1 
 
 Answer : — I did. 
 
 ♦Thus, for doing his duty in the field, Captain Richardson is passed over in pro- 
 motion. A nice incentive to good conduct, truly. But why should Colonel Ross, 
 unasked, make this declaration, to which the evidence of the Lieutenant General 
 as contained in the second charge read to the Court, and that of Brigadier Gene- 
 ral Reid, give a positive refutation, We shall see. 
 
 ;^1 
 
 I 
 
 ii\ 
 
h^' 
 
 58 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Question : — Did yovi give any opinion of your own respecting liis 
 having done ho ? 
 
 Answer : — None of my own. I said llie surgeon had stated that \m 
 wound was not so severe as that of son)e others who had remained. 
 
 Question from Captain Richardson through the Court : — Did you, on 
 Captain Richardson's return from England, recommend him for the Ma- 
 jority vacant by the resignation of Major Mill ? 
 
 Answer : — I did. 
 
 Question from Captain R. : — Did you see Captain Richardson 
 trampled upon by the men in the repulse they experienced on the 5th 
 of May ? 
 
 Answer : — I did not. But I saw him in a state which led me to sup- 
 pose he had been upon the ground. He was covered with mud. 
 
 Question from Captain R. : — Have you any recollection of having 
 stated thai yo> bad seen him down at one spot, when you were down 
 at another ? 
 
 Answer : — No. T recollect having stated that I had seen him at one 
 side of the wall, when I was getting up on the oilier. It was then it 
 struck me he had been down, but he was then standing. 
 
 Question from Captain R. : — On which side of the wall was Captain 
 Richardson standing ? 
 
 Answer: — On the side next to San Sebastian. 
 
 Question from Captain R. : — Do you recollect calling at Captain 
 Richardson's lodgings, subsequently to the 5th of May, and lunching 
 with him ? 
 
 Answer : — I do. 
 
 Question from Captain R. : — Did you then imply any doubt of the 
 necessity which existed for his quitting the field on the 5th of May 1 
 
 Answer : — None. 
 
 Question from Captain R. : — Was Captain Richardson in Regimental 
 orders as acting Major on the 5th of May ? 
 
 Answer : — I cannot say whether he was in orders, but I know Col. 
 Tupper had given a verbal order to that effect. 
 
 Question from Captain R. : — What conversation passed between you 
 and Captain Richardson, on the morning of his departure for France ? 
 
 Answer : — ^Not recollecting the day, I cannot say. 
 
 Question from Captain R. : — Did Captain Richardson, about the lOth 
 of May, address you nearly in the following words : — " Major Ross, I 
 am going io England in continuation of my sick leave — there is nothing 
 like having a friend at Court, and I am confident you will do all that is 
 necessary in my absence." 
 
 Answer : — I remember the conversation, but I gave no promise ; in 
 fact, at that veiy moment, I had Colonel Tupper's orders to go to General 
 Reid, and say that it was his wish if any thing was going, he hoped 
 General Reid would use his influence in favor of Major Clark. 
 
 n 
 
 ll 't 
 
MAJOR RldHATlDSnN. 
 
 u 
 
 Question from Captain R. : — Was not Colonel Tupper'b (loath mo- 
 mentarily expected, and was it not obvious, that although he did not I'rom 
 delicacy express it, Captain Richardson alluded to the vacancy it would 
 cause, and did you not reply to his observation " yes, ceilainly I will" — 
 or words to that effect ? 
 
 Answer: — Colonel Tupper's death was certainly not momentarily 
 expected. Captain Richardson might have alluded to the vacancy it 
 would cause, but I did not so understand it, nor do I recollect having said 
 I would do what was necessary. 
 
 Surgeon Wilkinson,* of the 6th regiment, having lieen summoned* 
 was questioned by the Court. 
 
 Question : — Did you see Captain Richardson's wound on the 5th of 
 May] 
 
 Answer : — I did, but not till aiVer the action. 
 
 Question : — Was it on the day of the action ? 
 
 Answer : — The impression upon my mind is that it was, but I cannot 
 say podtively. 
 
 Question : — Was the wound so severe, as to render it necessary for 
 Captain Richardson to leave the field 1 
 
 Answer : — From seeing it as I did afterwards, I should say not, but I 
 must beg to observe that the effect produced by gun shot wounds, is 
 greater in one individual than another. One may be in a fainting state, 
 whilst another is unconscious of having received it — tlie wound being 
 the same. 
 
 Question : — What effect would be likely to be produced on a person 
 not quite a month out of bed after an attack of typhus fever 1 
 
 Answer : — Such an individual would clearly be k?s <:u«;d to bear up 
 against it, than one in sound health, ahhough this again will in a great 
 measure depend upon the severity of the attack of typhus. 
 
 Question from Captain Richardson, through the Court : — Do you re- 
 collect having advised Captain Richardson, on the day of his departure 
 for France, to stop on the road and apply leeches to his arm, if it continu- 
 ed in the state in which it then was ? 
 
 Answer : — I do. 
 
 Question from Captain R. : Had the discoloration at all abated from 
 the time you first saw it? 
 
 Answer : — No. 
 
 Captain Richardson, of the 6th regiment, having been called on for his 
 statement, addressed the Court as follows : 
 
 Mr. President and Gentlemen, 
 
 I find myself in a position, at once novel, painful, and triumphant — 
 novel, inasmuch as I, who have ever been the most zealous advocate of this 
 
 ♦This person, in common with the other medical officers of the jregiihcnt, had 
 not made nis appearance on the fi:ld as late as nine o'clock. 
 
 i 
 
 ■A 
 
 
 <Ai 
 
 V 
 
I! 
 
 60 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOIRS OF 
 
 I 
 
 Lugiun, am accused of being its principal detractor — painful, in so Ikr as 
 I am called upon to justify myself from an infamous imputation — and 
 finally triumphant, because in my review of the past, and anticipation 
 of the future, I foresee but the \varm approval of every generous and 
 manly mind. 
 
 Gentlemen, I fear I shall have to trespass much on your patience 
 by 'le production of matter necessary to my defence, but when it is 
 conb'dered, that the honour of a soldier is concerned, and that soldier 
 one, who in return for his anxiety to maintain unsullied the reputation of 
 this Legion, has been met by a tissue of injustice, as varied in detail as 
 persevering in object, I am sure prolixity will be forgiven, and your 
 patience not unwillingly accorded. 
 
 In order to a preliminary explanation of tlie causes which have led 
 to the present Court of Inquiry, I beg to revert to a period anterior to the 
 5th of May, the proud recollection of which I am stated to have sullied 
 with my pen. It will be borne in mind by many, and by no one more 
 than by the President of this Court, who visited me during my early 
 convalescence, how much, in common with numerous otlier officers, 
 I suffered from typhus fever, contracted while in the Quarter Master 
 General's Department, and furthermore fulfilling the gratuitous, trouble- 
 some, unhealthy, and, yet even to this day, unrewarded duty of Com- 
 mandant of Vitoria. So far was my healtli injured, as subsequently to 
 have led to my departure for Santander, on my way to England. 
 Circumstances shortly afterwards changed the destination of the Legion 
 to San Sebastian. On my route to France, by this latter place, I heard it 
 was intended to attack the enemy's position without delay. I therefore 
 offered my services to do duty on the Staff.* Beasons, however, which 
 H is not necessary to enter into here, induced me to join the 6th Scotch, 
 to which I had been appointed senior Captain, on the breaking up of 
 the 2d regiment, but with a distinct understanding, conveyed in a letter 
 from the Military Secretary to Colonel Tupper, that immediaiely after 
 an affair had taken place, I was to continue my way to England. 
 Colonel Tupper caused my name to be inserted in the regimental order 
 book, as acting Major, and in that capacity I did duty in the action of 
 Ayett^, in which I received three wounds, two of which, as I have 
 already stated, my fur jacket alone prevented from proving mortal. 
 
 [The defence, after going into a detail of the several circumstances and 
 correspondence, in the order in which they appear to the reader, thus 
 proceeds :] 
 
 Here, gentlemen, terminate the documents, in not one of which, it 
 will be observed,is allusion made to the charge so strangely preferred after 
 the formation of this Court. But, not to detain you unnecessarily, let 
 
 * As a mounted officer alone I folt I had strength sufficient to do duty in the field, 
 and as such I wished to have been employed. 
 
 ii::ff 
 
^ 
 
 MAJUR lilCMAHD80N. 
 
 til 
 
 an 
 nd 
 on 
 nd 
 
 ler 
 of 
 
 u\e enter, in due order, u|)un the preface whicli iiu8 lieen laid liefore you. 
 It niuHt be borne in iniiid that this document is bonajuk a private one, 
 lor a work doe^ not necessarily become public, because it is in type. 
 However, even conceding this point, let us proceed to an analysis of 
 the passages which have given so much oflence. The subject should 
 Ix) considerad relatively and without bias — and if it be considered that 
 this preface was written, not with a view to im|H)gn the conduct of others, 
 but to substantiate my own claims, the difficulty at once resolves itself. 
 I have said, and I shah prove, that I commanded a wing of my regi- 
 ment in the battle of Ayett6, and if I have furthermore stated lliat I was 
 knocked down and trampled upon by my own men, in a vain attempt 
 to rally them under the enemy's breachless walls, I merely state a fac», 
 by no means intending to convey a reflection upon them. If objection 
 could 1)6 taken at all, it should be to the word " breachless," which 
 implies, if any thing, a censure rather upon those who sent them to 
 attack such walls, than upon the men who naturally failed in the 
 attempt. But, in truth, nothing of the kind was meant. Again, I have 
 said : — " If to have unhesitatingly obeyed an order to attack the enemy's 
 batteries, when other an J superior officers had relused to do so, merits 
 the return I have met with, then of a verity are all things vanity ;" but 
 it should be recollected I have added, that " the claim of those officers 
 to high gallantry and chivalrous bearing, is not to be disputed." What 
 did this imply, but that the individuals alluded to might, as officers com- 
 manding regiments, feel it necessary to remonstrate against a vain and 
 aimless sacritic^ of life, atler having previously made the attempt,'and 
 failed in it. Human courage could not accomplish more than the 
 troops had ali-eady achieved, and if there were obstacles not to be 
 surmounted, the fault was certainly not with them, but with those who 
 required the overthrow of those obstacles, without the means necessary 
 to the end. I, as a junior officer, felt it my duty to ol)ey when they 
 were justified in refusing, and I grounded my claims to consideration! 
 not on their hesitation, but my own promptitude. I shall prove to you, 
 gentlemen, by the evidence of the Adjutant General, that I was ordered to 
 advance with a single company against those same batteries, and that if I 
 did not so advance, it was because I was in command, not of a compa- 
 ny, but a wing. A foul imputation against my courage has been insin- 
 uated into the body of these proceedings. Let even the Adjuta- t 
 General's answers to my queries — answers committed to paper by him, 
 as he was under the necessity of departure for England, before a per- 
 sonal examination could take place — be my reply. When ordered to 
 lead on my wing to the second charge, I was faint, exhau. ^ed, bruised, 
 with the trampling under foot I had experienced. But did I make this 
 a pretext for not obeying the order given me ? No. The Adjutant 
 General admits my compliance was prompt and immediate. 
 
 Gentlemen, I have offered sufficient explanation, I hope, to shew 
 
 r-il 
 
 
<s 
 
 PEKSUNAI. MKMOIUH OF 
 
 ■ft 
 
 that in my prefnco 1 meant in no wny to reflect on the conduct ol* 
 Colonel Tupper, or the Hth regiment; and that the officers of that corpa 
 were not juHtified in pronouncin;; the decision they did, after my open 
 denial to them of any such preconceived intention. To place the point 
 beyond question however, 1 shall call upon two individuals whose tes- 
 timony must prove in every way honorable to nie. I have no doubt 
 they will bear attestation to the favourable manner in which I have spok- 
 en of Colonel Tupper and the 6th regiment — to the one in Paris — to the 
 other in London. The Lieutenant General appears to think I ought to 
 have entered upon a more ample explanation with the officers of the 6th. 
 This is matter of opinion. I should have considered my self-esteem 
 more than compromised by entering into explanation, after the manner 
 in which my original disavowal had been met. 
 
 There are some other passages which have been erroneously inter- 
 preted by the officers of the 6th iScotch, who have had no hesitation in 
 reading private letters of mine, placed in their hands by superior officers. 
 As, however, these private letters have also been submitted for your con- 
 sideration, and as the Court, actuated by that high sense of honor which 
 it might be expected would characterize its proceedings, has thought it 
 expedient, not to entertain, but to return them without comment to the 
 source whence they came, I, of course, do not deem it necessary to ex- 
 plain or justify their contents. 
 
 To establish this part of the defence. Captain Richardson called 
 upon Colonel Kinloch, 1st Lancers, who stated to the Court as follows : 
 
 Captain Richardson being the first officer I had seen in England, after 
 the action of the 5th May, I called upon him, and put several questions 
 to him respecting the battle, particularly with regard to Colonel Tupper, 
 of the 6th regiment, in whom I felt great interest also, because, knowing 
 Captain Richardson had been with the 6th, I naturally concluded he 
 knew more of what had been done by them, than by any other part of 
 the force ; and he always spoke of Colonel Tupper, and the 6th regiment, 
 in terms of the highest praise. He also expressed great indignation at 
 the attack which was made in England upon the Legion, and the 
 endeavour to give all the credit of that day to the shipping. In fact, I 
 considered Captain Richardson as doing more than any one else to 
 uphold the character of the Legion. 
 
 Captain Richardson then called upon Major W. A. Clarke, of the 
 Quarter Master General's Department, who stated as follows : 
 
 I met Captain Richardson in Paris, about ten days after the action, 
 and being anxious to hear how the affair had gone on — being partici- 
 larly anxious about Colonel Tupper, who was'an old friend, and about 
 the 6th Scotch, which had been my own regiment, I inquired more 
 about them. Captain Richar^lson said that Colonel Tupper had more 
 completely established his character as a soldier on that day, than he 
 could have conceived possible. Before he, Captain R., had considered 
 
 . 
 
m 
 
 MA.rort luniAnPsoN. 
 
 (>M 
 
 IvOionci i u)))>ci more, to iitic a rnnininn cxprosHion, as a man who would 
 be likely to knock hid head ogainHt a Hlonc wall, but then he uhowed 
 himBelf the cool, 8teady, dctcimined »oldier. With regard tu ihe Gth 
 regiment, they had loehaved aa well as men could possibly do. In tact, 
 the whole Legion was spoken of in terms of praise — no exception was 
 made generally or individually. The imprcHsion made upon my mind 
 by Captain KichardHon, was that it was one of the must gallant actions 
 that hau ever been fought. 
 
 Captain Richardson then proceeded with his defence : 
 
 But now, gentlemen, I come to the most serious and important of the 
 two charges — a charge intended to affix n stigma to my name for life — 
 to sully the fair fame of former year:*, and to render me a bankrupt in 
 reputation, as I have hitherto been in promotion — and l)ehold the origin 
 and working of the engine thus meicilessly employed to crush me. In 
 the second charge, so unexpectedly introduced into these proceedings, it 
 is stated that the reason wh / I did not obtain promotion, was because I 
 had quitted the iicid with a slight wound, and you have the positive 
 evidence of Colonel Ross that such question was not even mooted until 
 after my return to England. I shall however examine another witness 
 on this very material point. 
 
 Gentlemen, you have heard the evidence of Surgeon Wilkinson, of 
 the 6th regiment, who admits he does not know whether he saw me the 
 first or second day after the action. I shall produce the surgeon who 
 attended me on the field, and who can state to the Court what actually 
 was my condition. He can moreover l)ear testimony to my reluctance 
 to quit the ground, until pain and absolute exhaustion compelled me so 
 to do. I shall also produce another surgeon, who saw me daily after 
 the action, and was fully aware of the weak state to w'^ich typhus fever 
 had reduced me. 
 
 [Yet, even admitting it to be a fact that my wound had not been of 
 a nature to compel my departure from the field ; were there, I would ask, 
 no other instances of the kind 1 I make the remark without a shadow 
 of invidiousness — without the slightest intention to reflect on those indi- 
 viduals ; but I perfectly remember, among those who quitted the field 
 on the 5th of May, Briga«Mer General Reid, Lord William Paget,* Cap- 
 tain De Koven, of the Ist regiment, and Captain Drury, of the Rifles. 
 All these officers received slight wounds or contusions, yet were they all 
 decorated tnd promoted. Why then, I ask, has my name been the 
 only exception made on the occasion ?] 
 
 Gentlemen, it ia obvious that some motive, distinct and abstract from 
 that of positive demerit, must have swayed the Lieutenant Gen ^ral in 
 the injurious exception made in regard to me. Again, 1 re-peat, it is 
 
 111 
 
 * Lord William Pag«t, though rrtumed 
 horm. 
 
 ' Wounded," had mrrely a fall front his 
 
 ■ if 
 
 I 
 
u 
 
 PKitsoNAi. MKMoins or 
 
 staled in the letter <>1" tlie Militnr\- Senijtary, on wliicli the m'rnnd 
 chnrge iH founiitiil, iluit the reaHon o( my not olitaining tlie Majority 
 vnctint l»y Colonel 'I'lippur^H (leinH«; was my having done liut little duty 
 with the ()th regiment, and iMeaiirie I had (juitled tiio lield un the i>tli 
 with a wound too HJight to juntify Huch retirement. Yet, hy tiie evideiuxi 
 of Lieutenant Colonel RrMts, it a|)pi'iirH that tliiH latter queHtion waH not 
 even alluded to, until after my return from Englniul, and then, not hy 
 him, hut by the Lieutt.Miant GcMieral himnelf, who had l)een infonued, 
 about this period, that I had publiuhed, or was publit^hing, noma work 
 unfavourable to the Legion. The fact ia apparent enough, however, 
 from the document! in my pomession, that,nndmg every previoun ottempt 
 to embarrass my position vain, recourse has been finally had to this most 
 cruel of charges under the assumption, and in the hope, that if I should 
 fail in the proof necessary to rebut it — and the onus of refutation has 
 been thrown wholly upon myself — any unfavourable publication of 
 mine must issue stingless from the press ! 
 
 Much stress has been laid upon the fact of my having done but little 
 duty with the 6th regiment, and Colonel Tup(>er having expressed a 
 wish that Captain Clark should obtain the Majority. If I have not done 
 duty with the 6th regiment I have with another, which other the Lieutenant 
 General thought it expedient to break up, solely on account of i'uj weak- 
 ness, occasioned by the many and severe privations it had suflT.^red. No 
 one so well as the President of the Court, however, is aware tf my 
 services in the Legion, and of the pains taken by the officers of the Sd 
 regiment to render tlieir men efficient soldiers. He is also aware that 
 I was among the first who came out to this country, and that, from July 
 last, until the 2d of February, when I v^as attacked by typhus fever, 
 I never was a day absent from duty. As to the second fact, there is 
 a certain indignant feeling I cannot repress in barely alluding to it. 
 Because it was the wish of a dying officer that his favourite should obtain 
 promotion , the most glaring wrong is to be done to the senior of his rank, 
 by placing this friend above him ! This is indeed the acme of military 
 injustice. 
 
 There is one striking anomaly, gentlemen, in this most arbitrary of 
 proceedings to which I beg leave to advert. By the showing of the 
 Military Secretary, who writes in the name of the Lieutenant General, I 
 am not promoted to a Majority by reason of assumed misconduct in 
 the field. Yet, a few days afterwards, the cross of the Military Order of 
 Saint Ferdinand is conferred upon me, the wording of the diploma 
 accompanying which, specifies that it is for " meritorious conduct 
 generally, and particularly for gallantry before the enemy on the 5th 
 of May."* Little more than a month passes by, when 1 am considered 
 
 * What constitutes the truly absurd in this affair, is, that the Lieutrnant Oneral 
 sent me, through his Military Secretary, the diploma of the order only a few day* 
 
MAJUIl niCHARUSItm. 
 
 0ft 
 
 wortny ol a second Majority, which, in anolhor U i,n mmi uic Militniy 
 Secretary, it in Htuted, tliu Lieutenant (ienurul iH rt'udy to confirni. 'I'hiit 
 ntiinlH no comment. 
 
 Finally, Mr. Pretiident and g<^nttemen, I Huhmit my ca^e witli coid'i- 
 donct^ Into your handfl, for, independently of the not unt'{iv(Tiil)lt> t(>ti< 
 mony you nave already heard, added to that which I nhali adduce tiiiit 
 day, I am satiHticd thcie muHt exiut a desire to judge this chaigo in a 
 spirit of impartiality. Far he !t I'rom me to vaunt utmecePMarily ot' my- 
 self, but I I'col it a duty here to ntatc, that in the Britinh Hervice, I Imd 
 counted five general actionu, and twelve months imprisonment Im'Ioiu 
 attaining my Hoventeenth year, and furthermore that, at tluit eiirly 
 age, my name a|)pean) on the record, for good conduct l)efon! the enemy. 
 To thin, if necesHury, reference can he made ot the Horse-Guards. This 
 also was on the M\ of May, and for storming the batteries of the enemy. 
 Gentlemen, you will not dufler these proud recollections of my boyluiod 
 to be sullied in Inter lilb. I only trust that your decision will estahlinh 
 twoesuential points- -firi-t, that the ofliccrs of the 6th Scotch were not 
 justified in adopting the 8t(>p they did ; and secondly, that I did not re- 
 tire from the field on the 5th of May, without due and suflicient cause, 
 and that, consequently, I was not unwoiihy of the promotion accorded 
 on that occasion. 
 
 Surgeon Cross, of the Artillerj*, was then called upon by Captain 
 Richardson, and stated as follows : 
 
 On the 5th of May, about half-past eight in the morning, I saw Cap- 
 tain Richardson coming from the field. He was very faint, and covered 
 with mud. I ran to him — pave him my arm, and took him to v^ here 
 the medical officers were. Whilst we were examining his wound, he 
 fainted, and I considered he was suflering very much from the wound, 
 from fatigue and fasting, although brandy had been administered to him. 
 Upon inquir}', I found that he had been tnunpled under foot by at least 
 half a company, which, in conjunction with his having V)een struck 
 three times by the enemy, of which I saw the marks, I thought sufficient 
 to aci.ount for his subsequent exhaustion. I recommended him more 
 than once to quit the field, which be peremptorily refused to do. This 
 was about nine o'clock. He again returned to the ramparts, where, in 
 half an hour after,f I saw him, and returned him his pistols. I saw 
 Captain Richardson in bed about half-past eleven. He was much ex- 
 hausted, and suffering much from the wound. I saw a hole in his fur 
 jacket, and told him that had it not been for the jacket, it would have 
 been a dangerous wound. 
 
 before the Court of Inquiry was instituted, consequently after he hart intimat«'(l 
 to Colonel Rms I had quitted the field without sufficient cause. The fact was, 
 the Lieutenant General noped to soothe me.with this document, into something like 
 forgetfulness of his injustice. 
 
 t Doctor Cross, it will he obnerve<l, saw me in the field at half-past nine o'clock- 
 The charge states that I had quitted it at eight. 
 
 •Iv 
 
 ii( 
 
 
(>() 
 
 •ERSOXAI. MF.MOmS OP 
 
 Surgeon Duplex, of the Rifles, having been summoned, states as 
 follows: — 
 
 I saw Captain Richardson's wound on the 6th of May. It was a very 
 severe contusion, and knowing that he had been very lately recovered 
 from fever, and liearing that he had been trampled upon, I wondered 
 he had been able to stand the fatigue^^ of the day at all. As 1 did not 
 Sue the wound on the 5th, I cannot say whetliCr it was necessary for 
 liim to leave the field. 
 
 Question from the Court : — Is a contusion likely to render it neces- 
 sary to leave the field 1 
 
 Answer -.— A contusion is frequently worse in its effects, than a flesh 
 wound. Captain Richardfeon had a contusion.* 
 
 Brigadier General Reid was summoned and questioned by Captain 
 Richardson through the Co-ijrt. 
 
 Question : — It has been elated that the reason for Captain Richardson 
 not getting his Majority fur the oth of May, was his having retired from 
 the field at eight o'clock, in consequence of a wound so slight as not to 
 justify his having done so. Did yoii, as commanding the Brigade, state 
 this to Lieuten«it Greneral, and if so, on what authority 1 
 
 Answer: — The chief reason why Captain Clark was promoted 
 was owing to the representation of the oflicer commanding the regiment, 
 of the necessity of having an etficient Field Oflicer, and that he did not 
 think Captain Richardson competent, from the term he had served, to 
 fill the situation ; whereas Major Clark was most eflicient. He urged 
 it strongly. I pointed out that Captain Richardson was the senior oflicer 
 in action on the 5th of May, when he stated that he could not reco:n- 
 mend him for the action, and I am nearly positive he stated Captain 
 Richardson had retired, in consequence of a wound so slight as not to 
 justify his doing so. I am not quite certain Colonel Ross stated this as 
 a reason, because I had heard it from two or three others the same day, 
 but I think he did. I think the Lieutenant General had some conver- 
 sation with me upon the subject, and that I gave nearly the substance 
 of the above, but any conversation that passed between us was so short 
 that I neither remember time nor place. I wish it to be distinctly un 
 derstood, that the chief reason was to provide an efficient Field Officer 
 
 t 
 
 * Zumalacarregui died from the effects of a spent ball in the leg- It was at fint 
 consioercd trijfling. — Page 44^ Sequel of Policy of England towards Spain. 
 
 t The pertinacity with which this witness, who, from his peculiarities, had 
 obtained the soubriquet of " Peggy Reid," and " Looi>hole Reid," dwells on the 
 doubt implied of my capability, is, to say the least of it, amusing. Perhaps Gene- 
 ral Ruid, who used to drill his men livre en main, conceived himself fully 
 competent to the command of a Brigade of Infantry, when I could not take chaive 
 of a regiment. There is certainly nothing like having a good opinion of one's self. 
 Bat this is not all. Greneral Reid has the effrontery to state it was officially 
 reported to him that I had left the field without sufficient cause. I, in my turn, 
 state, and let General Reid deny it if he can, that he retired into San Sebastian m 
 Mrly as seven o'clock, and with a wound to trivial that it left him no cause for 
 
mijt'w 
 
 mtm 
 
 
 MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 6t 
 
 Question from Captain Richardson : — Do you recollect whether your 
 conversation with the Lieutenant General took place prt viously, or aub- 
 sequently to Captain Richardson's return from England, on the 12th of 
 June? 
 
 Answer : — I think it was after the 12th of June. 
 
 Major Frederick Clark, of the 6th Regt., was summoned by Captain 
 Richardson, from whom the following questions were put, through the 
 Court. 
 
 Question : — In the list of killed and wounded, on the 5th of May, 
 was Captain Richardson returned severely or slightly wounded ■? 
 
 Answer : — Slightly. 
 
 Question : — Did you not tell Captain Richardson that he had been 
 returned by you in the regimental report, as severely wounded, although 
 in that of the Adjutant General, he had been returned " slightly." 
 
 Answer: — Not to my recollertion. 
 
 [Captain Richardson here addressed the President of the Court, and 
 stated that he wished witness particularly to recollect if he had not so 
 informed him, as he (Captain Richardson) should otherwise be compel- 
 led to put another question to witness v\hich he would fain spare him. 
 Capt. R. having repeated his question to Major Clark, and meeting with 
 the same reply, put the following. 
 
 Question : — Pray, sir, were you never Adjutant of the 12th regiment 
 of British Infantry? 
 * Answer : — I was. 
 
 Question : — Were you not obliged to leave the 12th regiment for 
 maki ng a false report ? 
 
 The President of the Court here interposed, and asked Captain Rich- 
 ardson the object of his last question. Captain Ritihardson replied that 
 his object was to prove a conspiracy on the part of the officers of the 
 6th Scotch, and that the witness then under examination, was not to 
 be believed on his word. 
 
 The President ordered the Court to be cleared, and, after half an 
 hour's consultation among the members, it was decided that " Major 
 Clark need not answer Captain Richardson unless he chose." This de- 
 cision was communicated to Major Clark on the re-opening of the 
 Court, when that officer declining to answer the question, his further ex- 
 amination was dispensed with.] 
 
 Captain J. Drummond, Paymaster of the 6th regiment, was sum- 
 moned, and questioned by Captain Richardson, through the Court. 
 
 Question : — Did you see Captain Richardson on his entrance into the 
 
 remaining away from the field. I met Greneral Reid coming out of San Sebastiaiij 
 with Colonel Colquhoun, who had that moment arrived from Santander, at half- 
 past ten o'clock, lone after the second aUempt upon the enemy's second line had 
 been made and failed. 
 
 !l 
 
 ? 'l>/ 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
wmmm 
 
 68 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOIRS OF 
 
 town, on tl»e 5tli of May, ami if so, will you dcsciibe the state in which 
 he aj)peareil to be ? 
 
 Answer : — I did see him. His arm was in a sling, and he appeared 
 very faint. — His jacket was covered with mud. , 
 
 Question : — Was not Captain Richardson, through weakness, com- 
 pelled to lean on your arm 1 
 
 Answer: — He waw. ' 
 
 Question : — Did you see his arm 1 If you did, state what was your 
 opinion of it. 
 
 Answer : — I did. He liad a contusion from a musket ball. I should 
 say it was slight.* 
 
 Captain G. Jefferies, being summoned, stated as follows : — 
 
 About half-past six in the evening of the 5th of May, I saw Captain 
 Richardson on the road. He was advancing towards the breastwork. 
 His face was so covered with mud, that I hardly knew him. Having 
 been knocked down and trampled upon by my own men, I took it 
 for granted that the same had happened to Captain RichanJson.f 
 
 Captain B^hj dson handed in papers containing questions put by 
 him to t^ Uj ant General Le Mar ciiar ^ previous to his departure 
 for E iigi" -u J his answers. 
 
 Qv;''^^. . — Kave you any recollection o» having ordered Captain 
 Richardso;. to advance with a company against the enemy's batteries on 
 the 5th of May, and what was liis reply ? 
 
 Answer : — Yes, I have. Wlien so ordered, his reply was : " I do 
 not command a company, but a wing of the regiment." To which I 
 answered : — " Whether a company or a wing, it is all the same. Lead 
 on, sir." 
 
 • Tlie opinion expresssed l)y this v/ilness, wlio assisted in undressing me on my 
 return to San Sebastian, was ratlior ditlereut. He then adiiiilU'd, with a shudder, 
 that it was a very nzly wound indeed, and he con^tulatod liimself that he had 
 made las son, an Ensign in my company, report himself on tlie sick list the very 
 niglit prior to the attacU. I mention tins in order to show tiio feeling of " union 
 that prevailed in the Gth Scotch. 
 
 + It having m-currcd to me, after the procieedings of the Court had terminated, 
 that the evidence given by Captain Jeft'eries was not sudiciently forcible, I was 
 anxious to have a furllier document to give to the world, at a later period. To a 
 note of mine on the subject, he replied as follows : — 
 
 San SKBAtiTi.\N, Itk July, 183G. . 
 Df.ar Sm, 
 
 In reply to your note, respeotina; what I saw of your conduct on the 5th of May, 
 I can have no hesitation in saying on that occasion when the (ith regiment were 
 retreating in the greatest confusion and disorder, after a charge on the main road, 
 I saw you making every exertion to restore them to some degree of proper disci- 
 pline. 
 
 I shall be most happy to come forward and record this, whenever you may call 
 upon me- 
 
 I am, dear S!r, 
 
 Youis truly, 
 
 Geo. .Tffkt.ries, 
 
 Captain li'Jlcs. 
 Capl. Ruhardson, &c &,<•. &c., B A. L- 
 
MAJOil niCHARDSON. 
 
 69 
 
 V 
 
 Question : — Was Captain Richardson's compliance vvilli your order 
 immediate 1 
 
 Answer: — Yes, it was. 
 
 Question : — Was this after the first check experienced under the 
 enemy's second line, or before ? 
 
 Answer : — I believe after the first check. •* 
 
 Question : — Do you at all conceive that Captain Richardson was in 
 the back ground on the 5th of May. 
 
 Answer : — I have no reason whatever to think so, as far as personally 
 fell under my observation that day. 
 
 Question : — What was your reason for ordering Captain Richardson to 
 advance, instead of the senior Major of the regiment. 
 
 Answer : — My order was general, and applied to all ranks in the 
 regiment.* 
 
 Captain Richardson called upon Colonel Kinloch, who had seen 
 him in London, to state his opinion as to the severity of the wound, 
 who said as follows : — 
 
 About the 23d or 24'th of May, I saw Captain Richardson in London. 
 His arm was in a sling, and his coat sleeve ripped and tied with strings. 
 I inferred from these appearances that the wound was severe. 
 
 Captain Richardson also called upon Major Clarke, of the Quarter 
 Master General's Department, who stated : — 
 
 I called at Captain Richardson's lodgings in London, on the 26th of 
 May, whilst he was at dinner. His arm was in a sling — he was inca- 
 pable of using it — his food was obliged to be cut for him. His coat 
 sleeve was ripped aiid tied with strings. 
 
 [Captain Richardson here removed his coat, and showed the marks of 
 two bullet wounds — the one upon his breast — the other upon his arm. 
 The President and Court were of opinion, on seeing them, that they 
 could not have been very slight wounds, which, after an interval of 
 two months, had left such traces.f] 
 
 * It will he obvious to the reader that I have not so closely questioned many of the 
 witnesses, as I might have done. There were two reasons for this. First, the 
 very short time given me to prepare my defence. Secondly, because it had peen 
 intimated to me by the President, that though the Court could entertain but one 
 opinion of the charges, against which I was called upon to defend myself, it was 
 hoped and expected I would not enter upon recriminatory matter, but confine 
 myself strictly to my own exculpation. Tiiis hint, which was expressed prior to 
 my entering on my dcifence, I knew to have come from the Lieutenant General 
 himself, but I felt no disposition to spare the motives of those who had sought to 
 ruin me. 
 
 + It is rather a singular coincidence that in my talc of " Wacousta," published 
 in 1833, I should have made Frank Halloway cio precisely the same thing before 
 the Court Martial — namely, remove his coat, and bare his breast to snow his 
 scars- I certainly little anticipated when I wrote that passage I should ever be 
 placed in a similar position. The mark on the arm, I may as well observe, exists 
 at this moment, an<f will in all probability continue for life. Any one, not a medi- 
 cal man, on examining it, would declare there was a ball lodged under the skin and 
 over the muscle 
 
 t 
 
 :li 
 
I i. 
 
 ^' 1 
 
 PEnSONAL MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Tlic Prositlorit 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 ■» 
 
 ol'tlie Court tlicn stated to ('a[)tain Ricliardsoii, that it 
 had apiMjared in evidence lie, Captain W., Iiad alluded to stripping some 
 individual, or individual8, ot' their borrowed pkunes. He wished to 
 know if Captain R. had any objection to naming the pailiee. 
 
 Captain Richardson declined answering the question — on which the 
 President asked Captain Richardson if his defence was closed. Captain 
 Richardson expressed a wish to have Colonel Ross recalletl, as he had 
 an essential question to ask him. On his re-api)earance, the following 
 was put through the Court : — 
 
 Question : — Did the conversation, which you state took place be- 
 tween you and the Lieutenant General, occur before or after Captain 
 Richardson's return from England 1 
 
 Answer : — The first part, down to, " I would not recommend my 
 own brother under these circumstances," before his return — the latter, 
 (that is to say where allusion is made to Captain Richardson having 
 unnecessarily quitteil the field,) aftei* it. 
 
 [Captain Richardson then said he wished to close his defence with a 
 few observations, and thus addressed the Court : — 
 
 Mr. President and Gentlemen, , 
 
 You have heard the evidence I have been enabled to prmluce, in 
 order to rebut the charges which appear in the preamble of these pro- 
 ceedings, and, in relation to the first, I l)eg to call your attention to the 
 statements of Colonel Kinloch and Major Clarke — statements given in a 
 true spirit of impartiality and independence, and as honourable to 
 themselves as favourable to me. 
 
 In regard to the second charge, I hope I have adduced evidence 
 sufficient to show that I have been infinitely " more sinned against 
 than sinning.*' Gentlemen, there is one individual who has been sum- 
 moned by me, to whose conduct I beg minutely to revert. That a 
 conspiracy on the part of the oflicers of the 6th Scotch — some perhaps 
 instigated by others — has existed — there cannot be the slightest doubt, 
 for the whole tenor of their proceedings, both during my absence, 
 and since my return from leave, most distinctly proves it. Were 
 any evidence wanting, the conduct of Major Clark supplies it. This 
 Court of Inquiry, gentlemen, you will have perceived from the docu- 
 
 * This evidence is indeed most important, and proves, more than anything else, 
 a conspiracy to ruin me at all hazards if possible. The Lieutenant General dis- 
 tinctly says, through his Military Secretary, that the chief reason why I was not 
 promoted was, because " Colonel Ross informed him I had left the field without 
 suificieDt cause." Colonel Ross, in his testimony, as distinctly states he never 
 told the Lieutenant General any thin^ of the kind, hut, on the contrary, that he 
 (the i.ieutenant Greneral) had hinted it to him — and when 1 Before the promo- 
 tions were isaucu Tor the 5th 1 No ; but after I had returned from England, full 
 of just indignation at the Lieutenant General's conduct towards me, and deter- 
 mined in no way to hold communication with any of the parties concerned, in this 
 gross outrage to my feelings, except through an official channel. 
 
t;!|. 
 
 MAJOR HICHAHDSON. 
 
 71 
 
 merits I liuvc 
 (leinaruliHi by 
 8tar\ce, and 
 Hecond charge. 
 
 Iiud lliu Itunour of Hiibinittin^ to your consideration, vvaii 
 
 niyacir. Major Clark was fully awart^ of tiiis (tircum- 
 
 he inu8t have known it was intendoil to introduce this 
 
 During the few days 1 was in the cantonments of the 
 
 bth Scotch, aller my return from England, Major Clark took occasion to 
 state as a fact, that he, as Adj^itant of the regiment, on the 5th of May 
 had returned me " severely wounded." This, at the time the observa- 
 tion was made, I thougfit singular, but when a day or two afterwards, 
 on the Court of Inquiry being ordered to assemble, he asked if there 
 were any officers of the 6th, whom I wished to call upon, his motive 
 was in some degree explained. 
 
 Gentlemen, I fully believe that Major Clark assured me 1 had been 
 returned by him " severely woundeil," 8imj)ly to induce me to call upon 
 him as an evidence, when he proposed giving the testimony just recorded. 
 The Court has justified my expectation. When I summoned Major 
 Clark before this Court, I knew he would state, (which was indeed the 
 fact,) that I had been returned by him " slightly wounded ;" but I re- 
 solved to unmask his artifice, and to prove his little claim to credibility. 
 Such proof I was i)repared to call upon if necessary. Delicacy to the 
 Court caused me to hesitate in putting the last question, and I fain 
 would have spared even the individual, who had done me so much 
 wrong, the humiliation of exposure. Major Clark, however, persisting 
 in saying he did not recollect a conversation which had taken plac« so 
 very recently, I was compelled, in my own justification, to put the 
 question I did. And how was the interrogatory met? By the proud 
 indignation of a mind conscious of its own rectitude 1 By a spirit 
 jealously alive to its own honour 1 By a bold, prompt, and manly de- 
 nial 1 By the imperative demand of the high-souled soldier for expla- 
 nation and for proof? No. But by the silence of confusion, and by 
 willingly adhering to the opinion, pronounced by the Court, " that it was 
 not necessary Major Clark should reply to Captain Richardson's ques- 
 tion unless he thought proper." Gentlemen, I have done.] 
 
 Although these concluding remarks were listened to uninterruptedly 
 by the Court, the President thought that it vvou'd be advisable not to 
 enter them upon the proceedings. The Court generally entertained the 
 same opinion, and Captain Richardson bowed to their decision, reserving 
 to himself, however, the right of publishing them, as well as the other 
 passages in brackets, which the Court thoughi it expedient to expunge 
 also. 
 
 The Court having maturely weighed and considered the passages 
 written and printed that have been laid before it, together with the evi- 
 dence which has been produced, are o'' opinion with respect to the 
 printed preface, that although it exhibits considerable disappointment 
 and vexation on the part of Captain Richardson, which, under all the 
 circumstances, the Court cannot but consider natural, still there 
 
 I ; 
 
 lit*' 
 
 IS 
 
 '^i 
 
n 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOIRS OF 
 
 
 nothing ill it calculated to cast Jiscieilit on the Legion. One |)assage in 
 particular, vvhicli, acconling to the evidence of Captain Caldei, appears 
 to have given ofleiice to the oHicers of the Gth reginient, as injurious to 
 the memory of the late Colonel Tupper, seems, on the contrary, to the 
 Court, to be one doing justice to his known valour. 
 
 In the correspondence which took plate between Captain Richardson 
 and Captain Calder, various quotations from other letters, which do not 
 appear, are found, but even in these, witli one exception, the (Jourt see 
 nothing discreditable to the Legion. One, wheie allusion is made to 
 the Westminster Grenadiers, and which is said to be criminatory of the 
 regiment, is an expression which might with truth be made by meniljers 
 of the Court, who would be far from Jhrowing the slightest imi)utatioii 
 upon the brave men they had the honour to command ; another, allud- 
 ing by name to the Adjutant General and Colonel Tupper, apiniarg to 
 be explained in a manner perfectly satisfactory by Captain Richardson 
 in his defence. The expression : — " You speak of stripping some of 
 our officers of borrowed plumes," appears to the Court to be to all 
 intents and purposes a thi'eat against some individual, but whom does 
 not in any way appear. 
 
 With reference to the letter received from the Assistant Military 
 Secretary, dated Head Quarters, San Sebastian, 30th June, 1836, the 
 Court is of opinion that his having done no duty with the 6th regiment 
 is very satisfactorily accounted for, from his having been upon the Staff 
 when appointed to it, and afterwards from his severe illness. With 
 respect to his having retired from the field on the 5th of May, at eight 
 o'clock in the morning, on the ground of a wound in the arm, so slight 
 as not to justify his having withdrawn himself, the Court is of opinion 
 that it has been proved he did not withdraw until some time ailer he 
 had been recommended by a medical officer to do so, and that under all 
 the circumstances, not the slightest imputation rests upon him for having 
 retired when he did. 
 
 C. Chichester, Brigadier and President. '•■ 
 
 As agreeing with the opinion of the Court, but also thinking that the 
 letters which the majority considered public, should have been received 
 in evidence. 
 
 Agreeing altogetlier with the Court : — "„ 
 
 John Kinloch, 1st Lancers. 
 
 W. M. Sloane, Lieut. Col. 4th Regt. J 
 
 J. Thompson, Lieut. Col. 1st Regt. 
 
 G. Hogg, Major 8th Regt. 
 
 For considering the private letters public : — 
 
 C. Chichester, Brigadier General and President. 
 
 P. Harley, Lieut. Col. Comg. 4th Regt. 1 
 
 James Shaw, Major 10th Regt. > 
 
 
MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 73 
 
 These proceoJings weiv teiiniiiattMl, ami st-iit iit to tlie Liciilt'iiant 
 General, on the 5lh of July. Nothing, however, wa^ proiiuilj^att'tl as 
 late as the 10th, on which day a steamer, with a great number ofolliciis 
 on board, sailed for England. This was really cruel, for these ollirers, 
 although aware that a Court of Inquiry had been sitting on my conduct, 
 were yet ignorant of the opinion and finding of the Court. I saw at 
 once it was determined, if not wholly to suppress tlie proceedings, to 
 delay the publication in general orders, until the steamer had departed ; 
 and the motive for this was obvious. Early on the morning of the 10th 
 I addressed the Lieutenant General as follows : — 
 
 General, 
 
 Posada Isabel, San Sebastian, 
 lOtA July. 
 
 Five days having elapsed since the proceedings of the Court of Inquiry 
 held upon me at Alza were terminated, and transmitted to you, I can 
 only assume that the fact of its opinion not having been recorded in 
 general orders, is attributable to my having appeared before the Court, 
 not as Captain Richardson, of the 6th regiment, but as Lieutenant 
 Richardson, of His Majesty's service. 
 
 May I, therefore, beg that, as the Court had declared they could only 
 entertain the subject, as connected with an officer of the Legion, and as, 
 notwithstanding the formal entry of niy protest, I bowed in courtesy to 
 their decision, a copy of the opinion of the Court may, as in all cases 
 of the kind, be transmitted to me,* and furthermore that a record of 
 the same opinion may appear in general orders. 
 
 The fact of my having been before a Court of Inquiry, on a cfiarge 
 of having left the ground, on the 5th of May, with a wound too slight to 
 render my retirement necessary, is known to all the officers of this 
 Legion. The finding of the Court on this subject should therefore be 
 as public as the charge. If aught in favour of the insinuation be sub- 
 stantiated, let it appear. If, on the contrary, the charge be groundless, 
 let justice be rendered to me on the same principle. 
 
 May I also beg that, as you seem unwilling to establish a precedent 
 in the Legion, by which all officers may claim the right of retirement at 
 the end of their year of service, you will suffer mine to appear in orders 
 as that of one who has urgent affairs demanding his presence in England. 
 
 . 1, 
 
 f:. 
 
 M 
 
 m 
 
 * On my applying to General Chichester, he told mc it was not usual to grant 
 copies of the proceedings of a Court of Inquiry to the accused (?) and that he 
 could not do so in my instance. 
 
! 1 
 
 'I. 
 
 i| 
 
 n 
 
 I'EUSONAI. >tE>I()IKS Ol' 
 
 Ymi will tilsi'ivi', (Jt'iii'ialjlliat though 1 use the courlc«y ol" applying' 
 ui you IS uii nllioi-r ol' the IiC^moii, I iievei'lhclt'ss ileinaiid uitd cluiiu (Itu 
 light ul'aii ollirei in His Urilamuc Majesty's service. 
 
 1 have the homuir to be, ' 
 
 General, Stc. 
 
 J. Richardson, 
 
 Lieufenanl 9'2d HighlandrrSf 
 Late Cajtlain ^th Scotch. 
 Lieut. Gen. De Lacy Evans, &c. &. &c. } 
 
 B. A.L. <; 
 
 This letter was not in any way noticed, until after the departure of 
 the steamer, when f reiteived a communication from the Assistant Ail- 
 jutant General, Colonel Do Lancey, who, in the interview to which it 
 led, expnjssed the Lieutenant General's intention to insert the opinion 
 of the Court of Inquiry in general orders that day. He also stated that 
 the Lieutenant Greneral was willing to make all due reparation for the 
 injury I had sustained, and that he only awaited the withdrawal of my 
 resignation, (such, at Head Quarters, they invariably termed my retire- 
 ment) to enable him to do so. As I knew the army were to march 
 the next day, for Fuentarabia, I had no hesitation, after the assurance ■ 
 given me by Colonel De Lancey, to write the following letter to 
 himself: — 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Posada Isabel, 10th July, 1836. 
 
 In consequence of the conversation we have had this day, in the 
 course of which you expressed the Lieutenant Giineral's anxiety to 
 make me every necessary reparation for the injuBiice to which I have 
 been subjected, and knowing, moreover, that a movement is to be made 
 tomorrow, I beg to observe that I request permisaion to withdraw my 
 retirement, or rather, tender of retirement, under the following con- 
 ditions : — 
 
 Ibt. That I appear in orders as senior Major of the 6th reginient, 
 dated from the day of Colonel Tupper's death, but actually doing duty 
 with any other corps the Lieutenant General may think proper to name. 
 
 2d. That tlie Lieutenant General will consider my year of service to 
 have expired, and that the withdrawal of my retirement is only conse- 
 quent on the assumption that, at the termination of llie expected affair, 
 
\ 
 
 MAJOR niCMAROSON. 
 
 75 
 
 I .shall liavo iwriniHsion to retire timler the plt-a ol" piivale atVmr.^," and 
 be, hy him, rocommemlcil to the Spanish (iovernnient lor ihn i;ral«iity. 
 
 I liavc the honour to be, 
 . Sir, '. 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 ■ J. Richardson, 
 
 Late Capt. Gih Scotch Crs. 
 Lieut. Col. De Lancey, Asst, Ailj. Gen. ) 
 &c. &c. &c. ) 
 
 Colonel De Lancey appearing to think that the latter clauses mi|^l(t 
 Hocm dictatorial to the Lieutenant General, I withdrew the letter, and 
 8ul)stituted another without the stipulations. 
 
 Meanwhile, the same day, the opinion of the Court of Inquiry had 
 been promulgated in general orders, with the following remarks ap- 
 api)ended: — 
 
 " 'I he liieutenant General altogether differs from the Court, in their 
 opinion that lettew on promotion, and the conduct of the troopn adilres- 
 sed to a public functionary, the Military Secretary, can be consitlered 
 private. It is a principle laid down, that a Military Secretary has no 
 power to withhold from his chief, any communication of the nature re- 
 ferred to. When laid before the officer in command,* any such com- 
 munication necessarily becomes a public document — otherwise, the 
 most insubordinate language might, with impunity, be conveyed to the 
 chief. The Lieutenant General greatly disapproves of some of the ex- 
 pressions used by Captain Richardson on being passed over in promo- 
 tion, but these from the evidence produced l)efore the Court, lie deems 
 in a great degree excusable. Captain Richardson, in his defence, in- 
 correctly stated the evidence of Creneral Reid, which appears in the pro- 
 ceedings. But this is comparatively immaterial. He has cordial plea- 
 sure in fully concurring with the Court, that not the slightest imputation 
 rests upon Captain Richardson for his conduct on the 5th of May, in 
 which he is proved to have done his duty as became a British otTicer. 
 On the other hand, on the part of the officers of the 6th regiment, not 
 knowing all the facts — not knowing the grounds of complaint, and of 
 palliation of the manner of that complaint, they only evinced a becoming 
 spirit in resenting the supposed offensive insinuations which Captain 
 Richardson had thrown out, no doubt, in a moment of irritation. This 
 inquiry, and its satisfactory result must be deemed by Captains Rich- 
 
 *And why Inid ? and hy whom- Cc.tainly not by Colonel Considino, but by 
 Major HoTman and the Adjutant General, Lr Marchant, 
 
 i 
 
n 
 
 PERSONAL MKMOIRM OK 
 
 a 
 
 m 
 1 
 
 aitlsini and Calilor to have cancollcil iho letterH which iiad paeocd bc- 
 Ivveoii them, and lltOHt'. ortn^ers are hereby thatinctly so to consider them — 
 and hail not Captain RichardHon tendered his resignation, earnestly re- 
 (jiiesting it to i)e receivetl, llie reparation would be done him for the in- 
 juHlico of which he had a right to complain, by appointing him to the 
 Majority, vacant by the death of Colonel Tupper. 
 
 Db Lacy Evans, 
 
 Lieutenant General, 
 San Sebastian, 17th July, 1836. 
 
 Extract from the general order, dated lOtii of July. 
 
 Captain Richartlson, of the 6th regiment, having tendered his resig- 
 nation on ur|i,t*nt privaU? alVairs, his resignation is accepted, and ho will 
 Ik' struck oil' the Legion from this date. 
 
 By conmmnd, 
 
 O. De Lancey, 
 Assistant Mjutant General, 
 
 This was certainly an illustration of the Lieutenant General's desire 
 to " make me all due reparatln- ir the injustice of which I had so much 
 right to complain," which sunoised me not, for it was perfectly in 
 kec^iixg with his former conduct. The order had not made its appear- 
 ance when I sent in my letter to Colonel De Lancey, or certainly I 
 never should have written it. However, it came back to me as I 
 desired. At a late hour of the day, Colonel De Lancey called at my 
 posada, and expressed a strong wish thai I should withdraw, what he 
 called, my resignation,notonly unconditionally, but even without allusion 
 to the conversation that had previously taken place on the subject. I 
 refused to do so, and as a final answer, tore up my original letter which 
 he had brought back with him for correction. He said the Lieutenant 
 General was just preparing to set out for Fuentarabia, and that if I 
 wished to re-join the Legion, I must be prompt in my decision. I told 
 Colonel De Lancey that my decision was already formed — that I clear- 
 ly saw the motive for demanding my unqualified withdrawal of retire- 
 ment, and that I was too well convinced of the Lieutenant General's 
 injustice, ae contained in his remarks on the finding of the Court of 
 Inquiry, to l)C duped into a course of action my belter judgment 
 
MAJOR RICHARDSOK. 
 
 n 
 
 condemned. Colonel De Lanccy left me, evidently chagrined at tho 
 failure of his mission. 
 
 Had I withdrawn my retirement unconditionally, or without specifi- 
 cally stating why I withdrew it, I should have seen in general orders : 
 " Captain Richardson having withdrawn his resignation, tho same is 
 accepted, and he will rejoin his regiment immediately." I certainly 
 should have declined doing bo, except with the promotion to the senior 
 Majority, to which rank I was fully entitled, and then my enemies 
 would have triumphed in something like the following: — "Captain 
 Richardson of the 6th Scotch having refused to join his regiment in 
 presence of the enemy, that officer is dismissed the service." Perhaps 
 this anticipation had already been communicated by General Evans to 
 his friend, Mr. Daniel O^Connell, when he stated, ut a later period in 
 the House, that I had been dismissed the Legion. Of the intention to 
 dismiss me, if possible, I never had the slightest doubt — and certainly no 
 art was lelt untried to devise a plea. 
 
 The expedition to Fuentarabia having terminated in the manner 
 already known to the public, I addressed the Lieutenant General, on the 
 13th, as follows : — 
 
 ( Posada Isabel, San Sebastian, 
 I ISth Julj/y 1836. 
 
 General, 
 
 In the remarks appended to the opinion of the Court of Inquiry held 
 on me at Alza, it is said that " had not Captain Richardson tendered 
 his resignation, urgently requesting it to be received, the reparation would 
 now be done him for the injustice of which he had a right to complain, 
 by appointing him to the Majority vacant by the death of Colonel 
 . Tupper." 
 
 You will excuse my suggesting, General, that if this justice wera 
 really intended, my retirement would have appeared in orders as th; t 
 of "Major," not "Captain, Richardson," since on the 13th of May, 
 to the conclusion of my perioil of service on the 29th of June, I was 
 in the Spanish army, and, by the showing of the Court, entitled 
 to my promotion, not perhaps for the Brevet, which was discretionary 
 from tl"? 5th, but for the regimental step from the 13th. I therefora 
 distinctly claim to retire on the rank of Major, and to receive the gratuity 
 attached to that rank. 
 
 I'i' 
 
 
 w 
 
 '^!i 
 

 78 
 
 PKRflONAI. MEMotllS OF 
 
 fm^ 
 
 ' 1 
 
 It will be I'ccolltH-Ujil tlmt my rctireintMit, (not rcHignntion Htnco I lind 
 comiileteil my »'ii;^ii^('mi'Ml in the sorvic**,) wiih iiimoiinciHl hy mo «« I'ur 
 back iiM the 'JMih of .Iimc, mul thnt my tlt-mnnd (or ii Court of Inquiry 
 was on th«! 20th. No notice, however, nuH taken of my niiphcntion, 
 iiritil ufler I hiul iinnouiu-ed my yeur of Hervico to Ik) expired, when u 
 Court wart irwliinlly convened, not to inveHligiite the ([ueHtion for which 
 my denintui for ii Court wnn madt', hut in order to introduce mntter of a 
 (to me at leaHt) hitherto wiiolly unheiu'd of nature. It will be Heen by 
 my protect, that, deiiyiii(r the rit'ht of the ('ourt toenler into the cliar^jes 
 preferred ajjainst me as a S|)aniHh ollicer, I yet uidienitatiiigly oiid irulig- 
 nuntly met them as a British Holdier. The Court, however, refused to 
 consider me as other than at) ollicer in the Spaiiisli scrvite, and to their 
 decision 1 bowed, anxious, on any terms, to have an opportunity of vin- 
 dicating myself from the foul attack which had l)eeti made upon my 
 honour. The result has, as I had anticipated, proved in tiie higheat 
 degree honourable and satisfactory to me. 
 
 It will also l)e borne in mind, G(;neral, that the remarks on the pro- 
 ceedings of the Court bear the date of the 7lh of July, and that the 
 acceptance of my retirement bears that of the lOlli. If, therefore, it 
 had l)een either desirable, or intended, that reparation should be made 
 me for the injustice of which, it is admitted, I had a right to complain, 
 nothing could have been more simple than to have recorded my just 
 claim to the Majority in general orders, and to have stated my retire- 
 ment to have been that of "Major Richardson." Ample time had 
 been afforded for this |)urpose between the 7th and 10th of the month. 
 
 Again, it will be observed, my original letter announcing my retire- 
 ment, was written, not only because my year of service had expired, but 
 because I was being made to endure a tissue of the most glaring oppres- 
 sion and injustice, which made me desirous of quitting the Legion the 
 moment my engagement in it had terminated. 
 
 Your letter to the Court of Inquiiy intimated that my retirement 
 could not be accepted, until its proceedings had closed. Five days had 
 elapsed since its conclusion, when I naturally enough conceived there 
 was no intention to give publicity to its opinion, and in the concluding 
 part of my letter, I stated a wish, that, since you were unwilling to 
 establish a precedent for the withdrawal of officers at the end of their 
 year of service, you would put your own colouring on the subject to the 
 Legion at large, and accept my retirement under the plea of" private 
 affairs." I beg though, General, you will particularly understand that I 
 did this, simply because I was unwilling to set an example, of opposition 
 to your will as Lieutenant General of the army, by publicly grounding 
 my retirement on indisputable right. That right is unquestionable, and 
 if I should require any evidence ofthefact, it is to be found in your 
 own written declaration to the i\ew Spatiish Minister at War, bearing 
 date 13th of June. In this you state that "the British Legion have 
 
 l! 
 
\ 
 
 Major uicmahuson. 
 
 79 
 
 f)eiM» engnged for one year, nntl ihnt you fully «*x|)ert the roliiTnient of a 
 miinlKT olollirers at the ond of •'•••ir year." 
 
 Finally, GuncrnI, 1 beg u, add, tliiit on Hct^ing the AuHiKtant Adjutant 
 General, Colonel Do Lancey, on Sunday lunt, lie told me that, thouf!;h 
 my retiiomont hud been accepted, and would apjicar in general 
 ordern, I had merely to write a letter to hiru, expressive of my dewirc to 
 withdraw that ri'tirement, vvhen 1 nhould at onco ho n|)poinled ijcnior 
 Major of the (Hh regiment. To this, an I knew the troopa were to move 
 on Fuentarahia, 1 nnmediatcly assenteil, ^;tipulating as a proviso, which 
 my knowle(lu,o of my retirement l)eing accepted rendered necosary, that 
 I should appear in orders uh henior Major of the (ith, hut doiiiji duty with 
 whatever other regiment the liieutennnt GeruMal mif^lil (hink proper to 
 name. Colonel Uo Lancey Hoeming to intimate the provisional clauses 
 might appear a dictation, I withdrew my original letter, substituting that 
 of which I herewith enclose a copy. Colonel De Lnncey made no 
 objection at the time, merely stating that he would see you immediately, 
 and that it vvould he necesiHary for me to get in instant readiness, as the 
 move would be inmiediate. I had accordingly prepared for departure, 
 when, to my surprise, about an hour after I had parted from him, Colo- 
 nel De Lancey came to my lodgings with the letter 1 had given in, 
 expressing a desire that I should expunge the first part, >vhich alluded 
 to my previous communication with him. Neither my respect for my 
 own character — my sense of the deep and unexpiated injury which had 
 been done me — nor my desire to uphold the British military profession 
 of which I am a humble member — vvould permit me thus to act, ant' 
 I tore the letter up in the presence of Colonel De Lancey, refusing to 
 entertain the aubject further. Hut for this I should have been at the 
 affair of Fuentarabia. However, as, I underetand since, it was only a 
 reconnoissance, I do not so much regret the circumstance of my absence. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 General, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 J. Richardson, 
 Lieutenant 92d Highlanders, 
 Lnte Captain 6th Scotch. 
 Lieut. Gen. De Lacy Evans, B. A. L. ) 
 &c. &.C. &c. S 
 
 The reply to this was: — 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Head Quarters, San Sebastian, 
 nth July, 1836. 
 
 I am directed by the Lieutenant General to acknowledge the receipt 
 of your communication of the 13th instant, and to inform you that it 
 
 4 
 •I 
 
 i 
 
 ■I 
 
 
 s t: 
 
10 
 
 PERSONAL MKMOmS Of 
 
 a' 
 
 should have been addressed to the Military Secreiarj', and moreover to 
 intimate to you, that it contains several passages which the Lieutenant 
 General thinks highly disrespectful to the office he hoUls. And with 
 reference to the claim you therein set forth, I have it in command to 
 refer you to to the concluding part of the general order of the 1 0th 
 instant, by which it must be evident that unless ytnir resignation, which 
 is urgently pressed, (!) I>e withdrawn, it is not in the power of the 
 Lieutenant General to take your claim into consideration. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 Sir, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 G. F. Herman, 
 jMajoTt A. M. S. 
 Capt. Richardson, late 6th Regt. } 
 &c. &c. &c. ) 
 
 This impossibility on the part of the Lieutenant General, " to take my 
 case into consideration," as his Secretary termed it, or more properly 
 to make amends, in so far as in him lay, for the almost irreparable 
 wrong he had done me, unless I retraced a step he had compelled me to 
 take, was another glaring feature in his catalogue of oppression. 
 
 I replied with the following : — 
 
 Posada Isabel, \MhJuly, 1836. 
 Sir, 
 
 Tn answer to your letter of this day's date, I beg to obscve that my 
 communication, which the Lieutenant General states shouid have been 
 addressed to the Assistant Military Secretarj', was forwarded through 
 that officer. 
 
 1 regret the Lieutenant General should have construed any part of my 
 letter of remonstrance into matter of disrespect towards him in his 
 official capacity. Such certainly was not intended. 
 
 In reference to the withdrawal of my resignation, I beg to state that 
 such withdi^vval, made unconditionally, can only take place after my 
 having appeared in general orders, as " Major," to which rank I most 
 distinctly lay claim. 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 Sir, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 J. Richardson, 
 Captain late 6th Scotch. 
 Major Herman, Asst. Mil. Sec. " 
 &c. &c. &c. 
 
•! 
 
 MAJOR RICHAnDSON. 
 
 81 
 
 Being fully aware of Lord John Hay's knowledge of the proceedings 
 instituted against me, and having moreover been informed that both 
 Brigadier General Evans, who had returned for a short period to San 
 Sebastian, Colonel Wylde, and himself, had been consulted by the 
 Lieutenant General as to the feasibility of trying mo by a Court Martial 
 — a proposition, which I believe was negatived by Colonel Wylde at^/iors 
 de question, I, at this period, sent a copy of my " Movements of the 
 Legion" to his Lordship, accompanied by the following note : — 
 
 3 
 
 I 
 
 ill 
 
 .' San Sebastian, 3 1*/ Jtt/y, 1836. 
 
 My Lord, 
 
 I have the honour to submit to your Lordship a copy of my work on 
 the British Legion, which I had caused to be printed in England. 
 
 As your Lordship cannot but be aware that a Court of Incjuiry has 
 been held upon my conduct on two charges, one of which specifies that 
 I had written of the Legion in an unfavourable manner, I have the moro 
 pleasure in submitting it to your consideration. 
 
 I beg to add that I have caused copies of the same work to be for- 
 warded to Lords Melbourne and Palmerston. 
 
 I have the honour to be 
 
 Your Lordship's obedient servant, 
 
 J. Richardson, 
 Cnj)tain late 6th Scotch. 
 
 Lord John Hay, Corog. British Squadron 
 &,c. &c. Sac. 
 
 i 
 
 On the 16th of July 1 received the subjoined communication from the 
 Military Secretary : — 
 
 ( Head Quarters, San Sebastian, 
 I 16th July, 1836. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I am directed to acknowledge your letter of the lilh instant, and to 
 acquaint you in reply that the Lieutenant General has been given to 
 understand by the Adjutant General, that he had intimated to you that, 
 on the withdrawal of your resignation, there was every probability of 
 your obtaining the Majority you applied for. This, I am novir to inform 
 
 ^1 
 
 ,.4 
 
 ^1 
 
'I ':• 
 
 82 
 
 PRRSONAI, MKMOIRS OP 
 
 you, will 1)0 acliul upon, on your doing so, and I need scarcely add that 
 your .esigiiation cannot bo cancelled without such withdrawal. 
 
 I have the honour to be. 
 Sir, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 G. F. Herman, 
 Majoi- Jl.M.S. 
 
 I immediately replied :- 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Posada Isabel, 16//^ July. 
 
 After the receipt of your letter of this day's date, I can no longer 
 hesitate to withdraw my retirement which I accordingly do, requesting 
 that my demand for such withdrawal may be laid before the Lieutenant 
 General. 
 
 I have the honour to br;, ; 
 
 Sir, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 J. Richardson, 
 Captain laie 6l/i Scotch Grenadiers. 
 Major Herman, Asst. Mil. Sec. ) 
 &c. Sec. &.C. \ 
 
 M 
 
 1 
 
 On the following day appeared this extract from general orders : — 
 
 i Head Quarters, San Sebastian, 
 I nth July. 
 
 G. O. Captain Richardson, late of the 6th regiment, having solicit(!d (!) 
 permission to withdraw his resignation, the Lieutenant General has Seen 
 pleased to cancel tne same. 
 
 Captain Richardson U) be Mr''', vice Ross, promoted, dated I3(,h of 
 May. 
 
 4th Queen's Own Fusileers. — I ■- " Richardson, from <hv; 6th regi- 
 ment, to be Major, dated i3th of A , 
 
 This waF niy triumph! The proud triumph of right over might. I 
 had had great obstacles to contend against, obstacles before which many 
 others w Id have succumbed, but single handed — or rather single 
 headed — I had overcome them all. I had insisted on, and obtained my 
 promotion, notwithstanding the unworthy pretences alleged for with- 
 
 ■ji t 
 
MAJOn RICHAnOSON. 
 
 S3 
 
 holding it, from the date of Colonel Tupper'b death. This, with the 
 knighthood of Saint Ferdinand, was all I sought. 
 
 And here the question naturally arises, wliat could have been the 
 motive of the Lieutenant General ir, thus persecuting an officer who had 
 done so much for himself and the Legion 1 My firm opinion is, that he 
 was annoyed at not having been siuffered to be the writer, as well as 
 the fighter, of his own battles, in his own peculiar way ; and angry at 
 the supposition that my " Movements of the Legion" were not written 
 precisely as he wished them to appear, was too happy to find a pretext 
 for wreaking his vengeance on the offender. It is, moreover, in the 
 character of human nature to follow up one act of injustice by others, 
 and, instead of making concession for a wrong, to seek every means for 
 the justification of conduct on which that wrong is based. Had Gene- 
 ral Evans ever seen the following paragraph in a number of the United 
 Service Journal: — " The designs of Russia (by Evans) are drawing to a 
 close> and Richardson has managed his partie of Ecart6 like a man of 
 the world." If so, was he not determined that though we thus stood 
 in juxtaposition, in the literary world, in the military world we should 
 p'and immeasurably asunder. His marked disregard of the high letters of 
 recommendation, which I handed him on my first entry into the Spanish 
 service, would lead one to surmise this to have bet., the lact. 
 
 But again, although the Lieutenant General had g'adiy availed himself 
 of the most unworthy means of oppression, did the insinuation, con- 
 veyed in the second charge, originate with himself? Brigadier General 
 Reid distinctly says he is almost persuaded Colonel Ross was his author 
 for the statement. Colonel Ross as distinctly denies that such statement 
 was ever made by him — and both these officers agree that no conversa- 
 tion on the subject took place with the Lieutenant General, until after 
 my return from England, when it was found that I had airived with 
 feelings of deep indignation, and resolved not to beg as a favour, but to 
 demand as a right my promotion to a Majority, (ieneral E\ ans' decla- 
 
 
 
^ 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ration, that I had been originally passed over for not having done lily 
 duty in the field, is, therefore, according to the evidence of these officers, 
 untrue. He himself suggested the infamous slander, and, knowing tho 
 dilHculty of positively disproving an accusation of the kind, appears to 
 have questioned General Reid and Colonel Ross,with a view of ascertain- 
 ing if some charge of the sort could not be framed against me, and thereby 
 justify the otherwise unjustifiable omission of my name in his despatch. 
 
 Thus fi'r, according to the evidence — but although the Lieutenant 
 General was anxious and eager to supply a charge which it was hoped 
 I should find more difficulty in disproving than that of having written 
 against the Legion, did not «uch charge originate with Colonel Ross. 
 Notwithstanding the denial of that officer, I believe it did — and now 
 come pjirliculars, which Colonel Ross lias only to thank himself for 
 seeing introduced before the public. Not in any spirit of vindictivenesa 
 do I give them, neither do I draw inferences from the facts them- 
 selves. 11} d Colonel Ross not swerved from, nay absolutely denied, a 
 promise made to me on my departure from San Sebastian — had he 
 not, during my absence, and in the hope I should not return to discover 
 and expose the prime movers in the nefarious scheme, attempted to 
 throw a fearful onus from his own shoulders upon mine — nay, even had 
 he not, after my rejoining the 6lh regiment, assumed the commanding 
 ofticer, in a tone as ab-iolute as it was unnet-essaiy, conceiving that by 
 so doing he should subdue my spirit, and cause me to relinquish the 
 course I had found it necessary <o adopt — I should have spared him now. 
 But justice to myself forbids it. I owe nothing to the forbearance of 
 Colonel Ross. He cannot expect it from me. 
 
 It is a fact notorious to the whole Legion, that, on the 5th of May, 
 when the 6th regiment had forced its way through one of the most galling 
 fires of nmsketry experienced throughout the campaign, on the Adjutant 
 General inquiring of Colonel Tupper where Major Ross was, that officer, 
 with a significant shrug df the shoulders, replied: — " Idon'tknovv — I daro 
 
? 
 
 MAJCm KICHARDSOtf. 
 
 8ft 
 
 say you'll find him behind some 8U)ne wall."* Major Ross had, in fact, 
 not come up. As senior Major of the regiment, his place was with tha 
 right, or leading wing, for the nature of the ground 'had rendered it 
 necessary to advance by files in the early onset of the 5th. Instead of 
 remaining with his wing, Major Ross, with the Adjutant, Captain Clark, 
 lingered in the valley which divides the Bartholomew convent, whence 
 we had issued at the first dawn of day, from the enemy's first height, 
 until the rear of the regiment had come up. This was my duty. How- 
 ever, finJing that Major Ross was willing to discharge it, I hurried as 
 rapidly as the slippery nature of the ground would permit to the right 
 wing, and was among the first who ascended the height and crossed 
 the open ground leading to the enemy's first parapet, under a fire so hot 
 that I frankly confess I would have gladly compromised for a shot 
 through the body to have escaped one through the liead. Major Ross 
 and Captain Clark did no/ come up, until acme little time aftn the first 
 line was carried, and the fire of the enemy consequently weakened. 
 The surgeons never came near the place at all, and the wounded of the 
 regiment were taken to the ground occupied by the Staff and Artillery 
 lurgeons, most of whom were greatly exposed throughout the day. 
 
 When the Adjutant General so sapiently ordered me to advance with 
 a single company, against a batteny which a »\ hole brigade had attempted 
 ineffectually to carry, a few minutes before. Major Ross was standing, 
 with part of the right wing of the 6th, close under a ruined house, which 
 sheltened them from the fire of the enemy. On my replying to the 
 Adjutant General that I was not in command of a company but a wing^ 
 Major Ross made not the slightest attempt to move. I do not urge that 
 he of necessity should, since the order had been given to me, but it cer- 
 tainly ill became him subsequently to insinuate, (when questioned by the 
 itieutenant General, as he pretends,) that I had retired Irom the field 
 without sufficient reason. 
 
 * Tliese words were heard, among others, by Captain Hunter of the 6th, and 
 were by him repeated, without je<;ret, to Lieutenant Colonels Cannon, and 
 BeaMoa 
 
m 
 
 PERSONA L MEMOIRS OF 
 
 5 I 
 
 H » 
 
 . Whatever the conduct of Major Ross on thia occasion, I had not 
 made any expressed comment on it, nor should I have done so from 
 myself. On the second day after the action, I called to see a Captain 
 Wood, who had formerly been in the 2d regiment with me, and who 
 had been wounded on the 5th of May. This officer first drew my attention 
 to the conduct of Major Ross in that affair, by stating he had remarked 
 how much the latter had lingered in the rear, in the early part of the 
 day. In this I was compelled to coincide. 
 
 On my return from England, Captain Wood, wiio had been recom- 
 mended by Major Ross for the order of Saint Ferdinand, and a Brevet 
 Majority, was one of Colonel Ross' strongest supporters. Of course I 
 never condescended to recal to Captain Wood's memorj' the observa- 
 tions made to me by himself two days after the action. Captain Wood 
 repeated his remark on Colonel Ross a little later to Captain Chadwick, 
 of the 3d regiment, who had also served with me in the 2d. 
 
 On reaching San Sebastian, and prior to my joining the regiment, 
 Lieutenant Colonel O'Meara, who was on General Shaw's Staff, called 
 at my posada, and in the course of casual conversation stated that he 
 had just seen Colonel Ross, who was most de|)lorably altered. He said 
 it was universal subject of discourse in the Legion, that when Colonel 
 Tupper had ordered him on one occasion to advance, Major Ross stuck 
 his sword in the ground and refused to move. Colonel O'Meara's 
 expression was, that " he was dying by inches in consequence." Now 
 this was idle and cruel repor . 1 do not believe Colonel Ross had acted 
 as stated, yet while calumny was busy with her hundred tongues upon 
 himself, he did not scruple to seek avoidance of her stings by turning them 
 upon another ! 
 
 ' The whole affair was a planned one. Captain Clark was to be 
 strongly recommended for the M;\i arity, provided he supported Major 
 Ross through *' thick and thin" in his account of the action, and I was 
 to be passed over under the plea of being of no sei-vice to him, and hav- 
 ing moreover misconducted myself in the field. Did Major Ross intimate 
 
■? 
 
 MAJOR RTCHAnDSON. 
 
 87 
 
 ()t 
 m 
 in 
 lio 
 >n 
 led 
 he 
 
 to me on my departure for England, tliat if I left him he could not recom- 
 mend me for the Majority, as he wanted an efficient Field Officer ? Dici 
 he hint that I had retired from the field with a slight wound, which did 
 not justify my so retiring? There was plenty of time to have arrived 
 at a decision on these points, for I did not take my final leave until five 
 days after the action. But no — it was more deeply planned. Tiie 
 parties waited until I had actually started for England, anticipating that, 
 when arrived there, filled with disgust and indignation at seeing my 
 name omitted in the General Order, I should at once resign, and there 
 would be an end of the matter. They have found themselves mistaken, 
 and if the arrows aimed against me now recoil with tenfold force, to 
 their own unskilfulness in using them, must they attribute that recoil. 
 
 Was Colonel Ross then the individual referred to in my letter to 
 Colonel Considine, as one to be stripped, at a later period, of his bor- 
 rowed plumes ? The defence before the Court of Inquiry specifically 
 states that no individual of the 6th regiment was alluded to. The 
 oflRcers of that corps, however, chose to fancy that Colonel Ross was 
 one of the parties meant, though they, artfully enough, coupled his name 
 with that of Colonel Tupper, on whose fair fame, as a soldier, it was 
 well known and felt, a taintcould never rest. They were aware of the 
 reports in circulation with regard to Colonel Ross, and they naturally 
 enough conceived I had alluded to 1; n. Hence the correspondence 
 which was commenced by Captain Calder, who although ostensibly 
 the " leader" of the juniors of the regiment, had acted chiefly at the 
 instigation of Colonel Ross and Major Clark. It was hoped I should 
 enter sufficiently into particulars, to show, under my own signature, that 
 nothing could attach to Colonel Ross. In this they were disappointed, 
 and hence their desire to gratify Colonel Ross and the Lieutenant General, 
 who sought to bear out the injustice of which the latter felt conscious he 
 had been guilty, by publicly insulting and provoking me to a duel, which 
 was to end in my dismissal from the service. Hence also the corres- 
 pondence and finesse of General Shaw, who, although he must have 
 
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 PERSONAI. MKMOIMS OK 
 
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 been fully aware that there did exist a report of the kind, was aiixious 
 to have it under my signature that I " could not " bring charges against 
 tny officer of the 6th Scotch for his conduct on the 5th of May. Foiled 
 In their attempt to fasten upon nie the onuH of bringing a charge of the 
 sort, which they knew it would be diffrult to sustain, when all the 
 officers of the 6th seemed to have arrived at one decision on the subject, 
 it was thought advisable to turn the tobies, by charging me with that 
 which they well knew I could bring against another, but wotcld not* 
 My reserve was a keen weapon suspended over their heads, of which 
 they were eager to dispossess me, and no means appeared so feasible 
 as those they adopted. 
 
 The fact is, I never for one moment had assumed, until my return 
 frr>m leave, that Colonel Ross had been accessory to my being passed 
 over in promotion, nor had I ever alluded to his conduct, except in the 
 conversation with Captain Wood. I had ell along anticipated that the 
 influence of the Adjutant General would be exerted against me, not 
 openly and in a manly manner, but secretly and indirectly. That officer 
 had already done much to thwart my views, and after the glaring injus- 
 tice of which he had been guilty, in refiisinr^ to procure the Brevet for 
 me, during my gratuitous fulfilment of his duties in Vitoria, I knew I 
 had nothing to expect from his interest — ever» if I was fortunate enough 
 to escape his hostility. Was there no reason for this? There was. I 
 had written of the Adjutant General in my first volume in any other 
 than terms of praise ; for praise I certainly could not accord to a man 
 whose incompetency to fill the responsible office of Adjutant General, 
 was notorious, and could only h& equalled by the rapidity of his promo- 
 tion. These passages, which, I have reason to know, the Adjutant 
 General had some hint of being on record, I afterwards expunged.* 
 
 ♦At the close of Theodore Hook's popular novel of Jack Brag, that boasting 
 hero is made to embark in the British Legion. Here I found the worthy gentle- 
 man, and I have endeavoured to describe his adventures in three volumes of con- 
 tinuation, which, though warmly approved and recommended by Mr- Hook him- 
 self, are yet unpublished. Should tney ever assuhie a typical form, the intimate 
 friends of Mr. Brag may, if they have curioaity enough, see their heroic deeds 
 rfefl«c\ed " Veluti in speculum." 
 
 'r 
 
MAJOU niCIIAHDSON. 
 
 8» 
 
 I have, at th'iH moment, copies uf orders issuuil by tlie Adjutant Gen- 
 eral, which carry absurdity on their surface, and would scarcely bo par- 
 doned in the most inexperienced Adjutant of u regiment. Nay, I have 
 no hesitation in asserting, that to many of thciie ridiculous orders — or- 
 ders given out one day, only to be countermanded the next — may be 
 a«cribed the deaths of many poor fellows barely recovering from the 
 affects of typhus fever. I have myself known men in the first stage of 
 convalescence, to have come in from some duty, (ordered by the Adju- 
 tant General,) which should have been executed only by men in rude 
 health — throw themselves upon their couch of straw, and die with llieir 
 accoutrements on, having no power to remove them — nay, without 
 thought or inclination to murmur at th« fate which put an end to their 
 sufferings. I have paraded men scarcely able to stand, for several con- 
 secutive days, waiting the caprice of the Adjutant General to join their 
 regiments, and when these poor and emaciated creatures had, after the 
 greatest exertion, been marched in the midst of a pitiless rain within a 
 few rods oftlieir respective corps, to be sent back until he was pleased 
 to take some new freak into his head. These I know to be facts, for as 
 I have already stated, they occurred under my own immediate observa- 
 tion.* 
 
 My letters of remonstrance on the subjec^t of the treatment of the con- 
 valescents, and of the infamous negligence of the Commissar iat, who sel- 
 dom could be made to issue rations to them before a late hour at night, 
 were not forgiven by the Adjutant General, who seemed to think, and 
 justly, that my remarks were an indirect reflection upon himself. 
 
 Then again, what were the qualifications of Colonel Le Merchant, to 
 fill the important trust of Adjutant General to an army in the field ? 
 Certes they were happily exemplified in his order for me to attack an 
 impregnable battery, with a single company, on the 5th of May, when 
 
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 ♦Cluery, — Is not this a mistake 1 Surely these are not the services for which 
 Her Majesty's Ministers have conferred the honor of Knighthood on General 
 Lc Mtrchant.— JPrtftfcr'* Devil. 
 
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 I'KKSONAI. MEMOIRS OK 
 
 !i brigade had been driven from it an instant previously. But the fact is, 
 the Adjutant (ieneral ever gave his orders without seeming to under- 
 Btaiid their import himself. Wlien the first charge was made by the 
 Light Jirigade, he occupied a spot which prevented him from seeing 
 the enemy's second line ; yet wlien the troops, after tlie most heroic 
 exertions to surmount impossibifitictj, were compelled to retire, he, with- 
 out reflection, ordered Colonel TupiMjr to advance again upon a position 
 which was utterly inaccessil)le but by scaling ladders. Colonel Tupper, 
 in the brusque way that was habittial to him, flatly refused, declaring that 
 his men had already done as much as men could do. From Colonel 
 Fortescue, of the Rifles, he met with a nearly similar reply, and then it 
 was that Colonel Tupj^er, on his inquiring for Major Ross to lead on the 
 6th, gave the answer I have already recorded. Did the Adjutant General 
 ofler to lead himself 1 No. Yet this olficer obtained the military order 
 of Saint Ferdinand of the 3d class, and was promoted to be Brigadier 
 General. 
 
 ' Colonel Le Marchant, as the cousin of Colonel Tupper, and the 
 friend of Captain Clark, fo whom he had promised the first vacant 
 regimental Majority, was but too happy to serve him at my expense. 
 The private letters which were addressed to Colonel Considine, and 
 officiously oi)ened by Major Herman, were, with an object perfectly 
 understood by me, conveyed to the Adjutant General, am. by him 
 shown to the Lieutenant General. This could be of little moment, as 
 far as regarded my promotion — for the injury had already been com- 
 mitted — but perhaps some twinge of conscience caused him to suspect 
 he was the individual of the borrowed plumes ! 
 
 But to return. It was not likely that the independent course I had 
 adopted in meeting the injustice of the Lieutenant General, and his 
 little minded clique, would be easily forgotten. I had intimation from 
 good authority, that as long as I continued in the Legion, I must not 
 expect another step ; however, as I had been assured by one of the 
 Lieutenant General's Aids-de-Camp, that my Majority, by Brevet, would 
 
MAJOR niCHARDSOlV. 
 
 !•! 
 
 be antedated to tlu; 5(li uf May, the moment I obtainiui tlie re ^iiiu'Dtiil 
 ■tep, 1 resolvbd to see if he was really sincere in the expression of gra- 
 tulation appended to the Court of In«{uiry. I accordingly sent hint u 
 copy of my " Movements of the I-iCgion," (which I had carefully witli- 
 lield prior to my promotion,) in order thut ho might be convinced how 
 little I had merited the imputation of writing against the Ix'gion ; expres- 
 sing at the same time my intention to continue in the nervice, until a 
 reinforcement of orticerei, of which the r^ervico stood much in need, 
 should arrive from England. 
 
 A few days after my appointment to the 4th, the regiment was 
 ordered to Passages, and as certain occurrences which took place the:e, 
 bear undeniable evidence' of the true feeling entertained by the Lieute- 
 nant General, who seems to have acted towards me on the principle 
 of " those we have greatly injured we greatly hate,"" I cannot without 
 injustice to myself and others omit them. 
 
 On the 30th of July there u:is a slight skirmish on the Heights of 
 Passages, in which a company of the 4th behaved extremely well. 
 Lieutenant ( oloiiel Harley, and the senior Major of the regiment, being 
 on the sick list in town, the command had devolved on me. After the 
 affair I wrote to Colonel Harley : — 
 
 Heights of Passages, 30M July, 1S36. 
 Sir, 
 
 Being in tempoii. v commai A of the 4th Fnsileers, I beg to make the 
 following report of an alTair which occurred this day : — 
 
 On reaciiing San Pedro, hich I did soon after seeing you this mor- 
 ning, and («ii my way from the inspection of a company of my wing 
 detached to Alz:i, I heard a sharp bring oq the Heights of Passages, 
 which caused \w instantly to ascend the Heights, ordering up on my 
 way the Isl and 2 companies. On reo' lung Lord John Hay's position, 
 I foujid that the 8th company had been detached, by Captain Kirby, to 
 cover a party of Sappers a »nf Miner, sent forw.ird for the purpose 
 of destroying several ol the vmemy's sucket houses. 
 
 On reaching the )>ost occupied by our Spaniards, in advance of the 
 po'^'iU.j ., I found this duty had been completely effected, and I saw the 
 8th coinpany retire from the enemy, then hotly pursuing them, in good 
 order. . ■■'-- - ■ -•■-,, 
 
 
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 Some sharp firing ensued, covered by the guns from Lord John Hay'g 
 batteries, vvtiich finally dispersed and compelled the Carlists to retire. 
 
 I feel pleasure in reporting the cool manner in which the 8th company 
 conducted itself on this occasion, retiring slowly before an impetuous 
 attack of the enemy, and I beg to recommend Lieutenant Fryena, who 
 commanded it, to your favourable notice. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 Sir, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 J. Richardson, 
 
 Maior Hh Fvsileers. 
 Lieut. Col. Harley, Comg. 4th Fusileers, ) 
 &c. &c. &c., San Sebastian. ) 
 
 On the follov/ing day I received from Colonel Harley the annexed 
 communication, which fully satisfied me that the regiment was under 
 strict — not surveillance — but espionage. The agents in this were 
 Colonel La Sauasaye,* and a Captain Macintosh, of the Rifles, who had 
 formerly been a private, (I believe in the 7th Hussars,) and was now 
 Aid-de-Camp to General Reid. Both these officers were attached to 
 the Quarter Master Generars Department. 
 
 The men were employed on fatigue duty at Lord John Hay's batte> 
 ries ; and if it chanced that any of the number originally told off in the 
 morning, absented themselves, or were lax in their duty, a report of the 
 circumstance was instantly made — not to me as the officer commanding 
 on the spot — but to Lord John Hay, and by him to the Lieutenant 
 General. The latter suggested the expediency of bringing the officer in 
 command to a Court Martial. Colonel Harley'a letter stated : — 
 
 Plaza Nuevo, San Sebastun, 3i*f Juiy, 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 It has been reported to me that the men's firelocks are in a most dis- 
 graceful state, so much so that, if attapked, they would be perfectly 
 useless. 
 
 Two persons came and told me a few minutes ago that two or three 
 individuals of the ith regiment disappeared very quickly yesterday when 
 
 ♦ This person now commands what remains of the British Legion in Spain- 
 
t 
 
 MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 93 
 
 the firing commenced in front of Lord John Hay*« position. I ahould 
 very much like to know the party. 
 
 I remain, dear Sir, 
 
 Yours very truly, 
 
 P. Harlet, 
 Lieut. Col. Comg. ^th Regt. 
 Major Richardson, 4th Regt., ) 
 Heights of Passages. ) 
 
 This, it must be confessed, was not a little provoking after the letter I 
 had written on the conduct of the only company, and the only officer, 
 engaged on the previous day. I immediately replied : — 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Heights of Passages, 315/ July, 1836. 
 
 I had the honour to receive your letter of this day's date, on my return 
 at night from clearing the streets of San Pedro of drunken and riotous 
 men. 
 
 I am at a loss to conceive who can be the officious author of the 
 reports alluded to by you, yet I will not dispute the possibility of the 
 men's firelocks being in the state you describe, for the whole discipline 
 of the 4th regiment is such that no single Field Officer can well be an- 
 swerable for its appearance. 
 
 The Adjutant has this day only been upon the Height — you, from 
 whom it appears all orders emanate, are on the sick list, and in town. 
 The senior Major is also ill, and I am left even without a Sergeant 
 Major. The medical officer, (for there is but one doing duty,) who 
 should attend the hospital here, is daily in town, as he asserts, by your 
 order, while the officers commanding companies — with one or two 
 exceptions — know nothing of their duty. Under these circumstances I 
 despair of doing any good with the regiment. 
 
 What my continuance in my very recent command might have 
 effected while uninterfered with, I will not pretend to say, but if my 
 arrangements are to be controlled, and my actions overlooked, I must 
 beg to decline serving longer in the Legion, where my zeal and ability 
 are thus questioned. 
 
 In addition to the general neglected state in which I find the regiment, 
 I will simply state that when I ordered out the 5tli company this day, 
 they mutinied before the Adjutant, and refused to attend parade, in 
 consequence of not having received any pay for some time.* I had 
 recourse to my own measures to compel them. 
 
 ♦ A few days prior to m>; joining, an order had boc>n been publmhed for the 
 •xpreB8 purpose of conveying tlu* Lioutertant G^noralK thanks to Lirut«nant 
 
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 PERSONAL MEMOIRS OF 
 
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 A man was accidentally vvounde 1 to-day by a comrode, and three 
 slugs, of which the cliarge seems to have been composed, entered his 
 boily. The woupd has been dressed only by the Hospital Sergeant — the 
 Assistant Surgeon having gone to town in attendance upon you. 
 
 Finally, sir, having lor the last two days perlbrnied the duties of Field 
 Officer, Adjutant, and Sergeant Major, to the extent of my power — 
 though these were services I never anticipated — yet finding all my exer- 
 tions vain, I beg to decline serving longer in the Legion, and have to 
 request you will lay my retirement before the Lieutenant General, who 
 has long been aware of my intention to leave the service. 
 
 I am ignorant who the parties can be, alluded to in your note, having 
 only seen the men retiring in what, I repeat to have been, good order 
 before a superior enemy. I shall make it a point, however, to institute 
 an immediate inquir}'. 
 
 I have the honour to be, ; - r 
 
 Sir, . .^'^:. 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 J. Richardson, 
 
 Major 4>th FiudleerSf 
 Comg. IJeighls of Passages. 
 Lieut. Col Harley, 4th Fusileers, &c. &c. &c. ) 
 San Sebastian, \ 
 
 On the following day I instituted an inquiry into a report which I 
 knew had not the slightest foundation in truth, yet wliich I shrewdly 
 suspected had been circulated for the purpose of annoying me. The 
 pailiculars I communicated officially to Colonel Harley. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Heights of Passages, 1st August^ 1836, 
 
 I beg to acquaint you I have instituted the necessary inquiry into that 
 part of the contents of your letter of yesterday's date which alludes to 
 a report of" two or three individuals of the 4th regiment having disap- 
 peared very quickly yesterday, the 30th of June, when the firing com- 
 menced in front of Lord John Hay's position," from which, in presence 
 of most of the officers assembled, I have elicited the following facts: — 
 
 Captain Kirby, having been left in command of the companies on the 
 Heights, states that he went forward with the Sappers and Miners, 
 ordered to destroy the enemy's picket houses, leaving directions with 
 
 Colonel Harley, (a great favorito at Head duartcrs,) and Paymaster Peyton, for 
 the extreme promptitude of these officers in aiding the service by the advance of 
 money out of their own pockets to pay the men. Lieutenant Colonel Harley, and 
 Paymaster Peyton, were later compelled to leave the Legion, on mutual recrimina- 
 tory charges of peculation, to the injury of the men. So much for advances. 
 
 ml 
 
MAJUR UICUAUUSON. 
 
 95 
 
 i ii 
 
 Lieutenant Fryers to advance to their support with a subdivision of the 
 8th company. He himself finding the duty was being ellectually exe- 
 cuted by Lieutenant Fryers, retired from the first })icket house — occupied 
 by the Spaniards, wlience he was watching the allair — to liis command, 
 on hearing that he liad been inquired for by nie. 
 
 Lieutenant Fryers, the only oHicer of the regimcrit present at the 
 time, besides Lieutenant Greig, the subaltern of the guard, states that in 
 pursuan(;e of the order given him by Cajjtain Kirby, he advanced close to 
 the picket houses, vvilli the Sappers and Miners, throwing his men under 
 cover as skirmishers in support. When the duly iiad been completed, 
 and the Sappers and Miners were retiring, he commenced a quick firing 
 upon the enemy then advancing from various points, and (according 
 to their practice upon a retiring body,) with great rapidity. Of Lieute- 
 nant Fryers' good conduct and that of the men under him, I can bear 
 personal testimony, having reached Lord John Hay's batteries at the 
 moment the Sappers and Miners commenced their retreat. 
 
 Under these circumstances, Sir, there being but two officers of the 4th 
 regiment present, one actually engaged in tlie affair — and this one having 
 been particularly noticed by myself for his conduct on the occasion — 
 the officers of the Fusileers, present on the Heights, request to know 
 not only who could be the 'two or three officers" alluded to, as having 
 misconducted themselves, but moreover who the parties are, who con- 
 veyed to you a report they esteem gratuitous and calumnious to a degree. 
 
 I may not close this letter. Sir, which I beg may be submitted to the 
 Officer Commanding the Brigade,* and by him lo the Lieutenant Gene- 
 ral, without stating a fact which in the course of my close investigation 
 has been elicited. 
 
 When the picket houses were destroyed, and the enemy advancing 
 upon the Sappers and Miners, Captain Macintosh, of the Quarter Mas- 
 ter General's Department, who was also out, ordered them to " leave 
 their tools behind and run away as fast as they could," although under 
 the protecting fire of our skirmishers. The men remarked freely on 
 this circumstance on their return, and Lieutenants Miller and Reid, 
 attached to the Sappers aud Miners, have two men of that corps to pro- 
 duce in corroboration of that charge. Captain Askey and Lieutenant 
 Hamilton heard the remarks made by the soldiers. Whether Captain 
 Macintosh was mistaken for one of the4th,I cannot pretend to determine. 
 I have the honour to be, 
 
 Sir, • , 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 J. RlCHAUDSON, 
 
 Major 4>th Fusileers, Comg. Heights of Passages. 
 Lieut. Col. Harley, 4<th Fusileers, &c. &c, Sm5. ) 
 San Sebastian. ) 
 
 * Oenrral Chichester. 
 
 M 
 
 
 41 
 
 
96 
 
 PERSONA L MEMOinS OF 
 
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 '♦ 
 
 On the same day that I wrote and despatched this letter, the recon- 
 hoiBsance to Ametzagana, to which I have alluded as having given rise 
 to a misunderstanding between General Shaw and Colonel Fitzgerald, 
 took place. The following day an orderly came to Passages with 
 Colonel Harley's answer. 
 
 Dear Sir, 
 
 Plaza Nuevo, San Sebastian, 
 U August, 1836. 
 
 ail 
 
 I have just received your letter of yesterday's date, and I am happy 
 you made the necessary inquiry respecting some individuals of the 4th 
 regiment reported to me as not having done their duty in the field, (name 
 of any was not mentioned,) at the same time I shall not forget to pro- 
 cure, if possible, how the report should have been circulated, and will 
 have every justice done to so foul an aspersion. 
 
 I remain, dear Sir, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 P. Harley, 
 Lieut. Col. Comg. ith Regt. 
 Major Richardson, 4th Fusileers, &c. &c. &c. ) 
 Heights of Passages. I 
 
 I waited some days, when finding Lieutenant Colonel Harley, who 
 oijght to have been the protector of the honour of his regiment, did not 
 *' procure," as he expressed it, how the report in question had originated, 
 and being heartily tired of a service, wherein I saw it was resolved I 
 Bhould have no release from perpetual espionage, and wilful misconstruc- 
 tion of my motives for action — being, moreover, sick of plastering up 
 Lord John Hay's batteries, a duty which I had never anticipated — I 
 applied for leave of absence, intending, as had been the case with several 
 other Field Officers, to retire at its expiration. The leave was, how- 
 ever, refused, and, a reinforcement of officers having arrived from 
 England, I sent in my retirement from the service altogether. 
 
 Scarcely had I sent in this document, intending to avail myself of an 
 
 - early departure for England, when Colonel La Saussaye, who had the 
 
 mpeiintendence of the billeting dep;)irtment, applied to me to give up the 
 
 biMet which I held in San Sebastian. I told Colonel La Saussaye that 
 
 I i 
 
MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 97 
 
 I thought the application a very unseasonable one for two reasons — 
 firstly, because almost ever since I had been in Spain— even while in tlie 
 Quarter Master GeneralVDepartment — I never had had a proper billet, 
 but had been obliged to hire apartments. Secondly, because I knew it 
 was customary for such officers as retired from the service to retain 
 their billets and servants, until an opportunity occurred for their depar- 
 ture for England. " Yes, it is true," said Colonel La Saussaye, bluntly, 
 " but I have been obliged to send the Provost Marshal to some of them 
 to turn them out." " Ah ! is it so," I replied. " Depend upon it, 
 Colonel La Saussaye, you shall never have occasion to send the Provost 
 Marshal to me," and I left him. 
 
 It required no angel from Heaven to satisfy me that Col. La Saussaye 
 had acted under a hint from the Lieutenant General, who was anxious 
 to get me out of San Sebastian where I was a sort of living commentary 
 upon his conduct, and thought that dispossessing me of my billet would 
 prove a most effectual means. I immediately hired lodgings, and ad- 
 dressed the following letter to Colonel La Saussaye : — 
 
 Sm, 
 
 6 Calle Narrica, San Sebastian, 
 19/A ^ugmtf 1836. 
 
 In consequence of the polite manner in which you alluded to my 
 removal this morning, and the very gentlemanly hint you threw out in 
 regard to the Provost Marshal, I beg to inform you that I have left the 
 miserable billet with so much difliculty accorded me by you, and have 
 taken private lodgings. 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 J. Richardson, 
 Major late 4iih Fusileers JB. A. L. 
 Lieut. Col. La Saussaye, &c. &c. &c. ) 
 Billeting Department. \ 
 
 Though I found there was little probability of Colonel Harley " having 
 justice done to so foul an aspersion" on the character of his officers, as 
 had been made by certain parties whom it was now evidently intended 
 to shield, I was etill determined the matter should not rest where it was. 
 
 
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 PKRSONAL MEMOraS OF 
 
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 All op[)ortimily for entering more fully into the affair soon occurred. 
 A dinner was given by the reginxent to Colonel Sloane, their original 
 Commanding OtBcer, and the then Commandant of San Sebastian, and 
 to this I was invited. In the course of a conversation that ensued 
 during the entertainment, I passed some mther free comments on the 
 conduct of Colonel La Saussaye, and when the strangers had all depart- 
 ed, I called to Colonel Harley's recollection the promise he had made 
 to discover the author of the slander against hia officers. Thus pressed 
 in the presence of the majority of these, Colonel Harley was obliged to 
 give up his authority, though he did so very unwillingly. Few of us 
 were taken by surprise when he named Colonel La Saussaye. 
 
 Here I must remark that in no service in the world could slander — 
 and slander of its worst kind — have been carried to one half the pitch 
 it iiad attained in the British Legion. Nothing was more common than 
 for officers to indulge in whispered remarks on the character for 
 courage of their brother officers, and I am sure I by no means 
 exaggerate when I state that, with half a dozen exceptions perhaps, 
 there was not an officer in the Legion, who had not, at some one period 
 or another, been secretly taxed with being any thing but too brave — and 
 yet the honourable wounds of these officers gave the lie, in almost every 
 instance, to the poisonous slander. But such is human nature, and few, 
 I fear, of the better feelings of that nature were to be found in the Legion 
 in the last year of its existence, when the majority of those men who had 
 served under the flag of their own country,had wholly seceded from a ser- 
 vice they found so uncongenial to their experience of what the profession 
 and feeUng of a soldier towards his companions in arms should be. This 
 I grant to be a humiliating picture, nevertheless it is most true. It was 
 the deep disgust and indignation I felt at this system of things — a system 
 which seemed to be in no wise discouraged by the Lieutenant Greneral, 
 and which had been already too painfully illustrated in the attempt made 
 upon my own character as a soldier, that caused me to persist in un- 
 masking the individuals who had so falsely dared to insinuate a similar 
 
•I 
 
 MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 99 
 
 charge against the brave oflicers I had for a time commarKlcd. I knew 
 
 such charge could not be supported, and I was determined the ouwa 
 
 should, if possible, recoil on the parties who had fabricated the Blander. 
 
 Tiie day following I addressed Colonel La Saussaye as follows : — 
 
 if'! 
 
 • 6 Calle Narrica, 20th Jlugusi. 
 
 Sir, \ ■ - i, ' 
 
 At a public dinner, given by the officers of the 4th Fusileers yesterday, 
 I learned from Lieutenant Colonel Harley, to whom I had previously 
 addressed an official communication on the subject, and from whom I 
 then required a final explanation, that you are the individual who 
 had stated, when the firing commenced in front of Lord John Hay's 
 position on the occasion of the burning of the picket houses, three or 
 four officers of the 4th regiment had very quickly disappeared. 
 
 Now, Sir, although I am aware that during the period I was in com- 
 mand of the 4th regiment on Lord John Hay's Heights, every idle report, 
 in the slightest degree disadvantageous to the officers and men of the 4th 
 Fusileers, was, by you, most diligently conveyed to Head Quarters, still 
 as 3'ou were not present on the occasion alluded to, I can only assume 
 that the foul and calumnious falsehood must have been communicated 
 to you by another party. 
 
 In the course of the inquir)' which I instituted into the subject, at the 
 desire of Lieutenant Colonel Harley, it was clearly shown that but one 
 officer of the regiment was engaged, and that his conduct was in the 
 highest degree meritorious. In the course of the same inquiry, (and its 
 result was communicated to Lieutenant Colonel Harley,) it, however, 
 appeared that there certainly was misconduct on this occasion, but not 
 on the part of any officer of ♦he 4th Fusileers. It was shown by the 
 evidence of two officers attached to the Sappers and Miners, and by 
 several men of the corps, that when the enemy made their appearance. 
 Captain Macintosh, of the Quarter Master General's Department, 
 ordered the Sappers to "throw away their tools, and run as fast as 
 they could," although under the protecting fire of our own skirmishers. 
 To their credit be it said, the order was not complied with by the 
 men, who were heard to make their own comments on it afterwards. 
 
 Now, Sir, in the name of the officers of the 4th Fusileers doing duty 
 on Lord John Hay's Heights on the day in question, it becomes my duty 
 as the officer then in command of the regiment, to demand your authority 
 for the foul and atrocious calumny attempted to be conveyed against the 
 corps, I shall only add that if you fail to afl()rd the officers of the 4th 
 
 
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 1» i 
 
 100 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the satislactory explanation and ample atonement they require, a copy of 
 this letter shall be laid before thv Lieutenant General. 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 J. Richardson, 
 Major late Uh Fusileers. 
 Lieut. Col. La Saussaye, &c. &c. &c. > 
 San Sebastian. S 
 
 % 
 
 In the course o<* the same day came the following from the head of 
 the Quarter Master General's Department. Colonel (now General) 
 Jochmus, who, as he was in the habit of " dislocating" the Legion, 
 might very fairly be excused for dislocating the forms usual on such 
 
 occasions. 
 
 , i 
 
 v\ 
 
 It ■ • 
 
 San Sebastian, 20M Augutty 1836. 
 Sir, 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel De La Saussaye requests Lieutenant Colonel 
 Jochmus to state to you,that he has been informed of your having publicly 
 at dinner yesterday called him a coward, because he did not take notice 
 of a note you addressed to hinj on the day previous. Lieutenant Colonel 
 Jochmus begs therefore you wii. inform him if this actually happened. 
 
 With reference to another letter which you addresf5ed to him to-day, 
 relative to a skirnush on the Heights of Passages, Lieutenant Colonel De 
 La Saussaje slates that he never had to report this, neither officially nor 
 in any other way at Head Quarters j* and Captain Macintosh, of whose 
 name you have made mention in this letter, declares that he never 
 mentioned at the time a word about the matter to Colonel De La Saus- 
 saye, and besides has desired Doctor Burnett to inform you, that he is 
 obliged publicly to declare that your statement of the facts connected 
 with the skirmish are " garbled and untrue." The imdersigned, in 
 transmitting to you these messages, on which they await your answer, 
 regret to be obliged to state these disagreeable occurrences. ; 
 
 Jochmus, Lieutenant Colonel, 
 
 Henry Jones Burnett, Staff Surgeon. 
 
 * This is a subterfuge. Colonel La Saussaye denies making any official report 
 of the kind to Head (Quarters, Did ho make the report to Colonel Harley 1 Th« 
 latter officer says he did- 
 

 MAJOR nicHAunsoN. 
 
 101 
 
 1 ill 
 
 liiculoniiiit (^)li>nel Do La Saimsaye has desiretl me \\\i' urulersip;nu(l 
 «u transmit your letter to the Lieutenant General Commanding in Chief. 
 
 JOCHMUS, 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel. 
 
 ThiH prociouH inorceau, the joint production of the heads of " Heads of 
 Departments"— I am wrong, Doctor Burnett's was not a head— was truly 
 alarming, by reason of the " disagreeable occurrences" alluded to, which 
 I confess I was dull enough neither to |)ercoivo nor understand. I, how- 
 ever, replied: — 
 
 6 Calle Narrica, 20th Auguni, 1836. . 
 Sin, 
 
 I have the honour to acknowledge your letter of this day's date, 
 wherein you requireil to know if I yesUirday called Lieutenant Colonel 
 La Saussaye a coward.* Before I can answer that question, I must 
 know your authority for the statement. 
 
 In regard to the second part of your communication, I have to observe 
 that it is purely of an official nature, and as such, and alfecting the 
 honoin' of the 4th Fusileers, will come before the Lieutenant General. 
 
 I have the honour to l)e, 
 
 Sir, ' ; 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 J. Richardson, 
 
 H. P. 92d Highlanders, 
 Major late irth Fnsileers. 
 Lieut. Col. Jochmus, Dep. Qr. Mr. Gen. 
 £cc. &c. &c. 
 
 A second letter from Lieutenant Colonel Jochmus & Co. : — 
 
 San Sebastian, 2Ut August, 
 Sir, 
 
 The undersigned, in answer to the note just now addressed by you to 
 Colonel Jochmus in reply to their communication of this morning, have 
 authority to state that Lieutenant Colonel Harley told Colonel De La 
 Saussaye of the expression alluded to, or tantamount, and that Colonel 
 Fitzgerald corroborates a similar statement. 
 
 - 
 
 * This is manifestly fallintr in with the very conduct I have deprecated ; but the 
 fact isj if I had made use of such term, it must have been in a moment of warm 
 irritation — not coolly, maliciously, and without provocation. Moreover, I was 
 willini^ enousfh to retort upon Colonel La Saussaye the charge he had n^cently 
 brought aiarainst certain olGccrs of the rcErimont, but had not the manliness openly 
 to avow. 
 
 I 
 
 Ml 
 
 :'l 
 
 ii 
 
 til 
 
 I I 
 
3 
 
 I 
 
 102 
 
 PEnSONAr, MEMOtRS OF 
 
 
 i 
 ( • 
 
 it 
 
 The undersigned further liog to Htatc, thut Cnplain MacJntush'a de^ 
 clarations are, in their and \m opinion, of a nature aa (qu.) not to admit 
 solely of an otlicial explanation, and rcquetit you will inimedia.ely name 
 a tliird i>cr8on for all further communication on both the above Hubjecta. 
 
 JocHMUS, Lieutenant Colonel. 
 
 Henry Junes Burnett, Staff Surgeon. 
 
 Major Hichardson, &c. &c. Sec. 
 
 I immediately wrote to Colonel Fitzgerald, and Lieutenant Colonel 
 Harley, to ascertain if, as had been stated by Colonel Jochmus, they had 
 attributed to me the precise expreeision contained in tliat oflicer'H firet 
 letter. Their answer was that I had, whereupon I addresticd Colonel 
 Jochmus : — 
 
 Sir, 
 
 G Calle Narrica, 2lst August. 
 
 I hiitve no recollection of having absolutely used the term *' coward" 
 yesterday, m alluriion to Colonel Lu Saussaye, but as it appeam Colonel 
 Fitzgerald and Lieutenant Colonel Harley have both so stated, I will 
 nc* deny the expression attributed to me. 
 
 In regard to Captain Macintosh's affair, whatever may be your pri- 
 vate opinion, or that of any other person, on the subject, I consider it as 
 a case involving the honour of the whole of the ^th Fusileers, and aa 
 such, whatever may be my own wishes as to the manner of disposal of 
 the question, of an entirely public nature. 
 
 You will, therefore, not deem me wanting in proper courtesy to your- 
 self or Doctor Burnett, if any future communications emanating from 
 that gentleman, as connected with Captain Macintosh's conduct on the 
 Heights of Passages, will be in no way noticed by me, until the question 
 has been finally disposed of by the Lieutenant General. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 Sir, 
 Your obedient aervant, 
 
 J. Bichardson, 
 
 H. P. 92d Highlanders^ 
 Major late Mh Fusileers. 
 Lieut. Col. Jochmus, Dep. Qr. Mr. Gen. 
 &c. &c. &c. 
 
 After this letter, there was of course no alternative left to Colonel La 
 Saussaye than to call me out. On the following day, to borrow a 
 sportsman's phraseology, " the affair came off " on the sands of San 
 

 MAJon nicnAnnsoN. 
 
 10.1 
 
 Sebastian. The adverse party had l)cen sitting in full conclave, to de- 
 termine what was to be done on the receipt of my last letter. All their 
 voices were for war — but Colonel La Saussayo and Colonel Jochmus 
 were of opinion that it should first begin, on lh«ir side, with Captain 
 Macintosh, and they even went so far as to propose that the parly 
 calling me out — namely, Colonel La Saussayo — could not meet me, 
 until I should previously have met the last named officer. This was a 
 pleasant enough arrangement to themselves, as they knew I was resolv- 
 ed not to afford Captain Macintosh the indulgence he sought, and one, 
 of course, by no means disagreeable to me. However, they had taken 
 into their councils General Shaw's Aid-de-Canip, Colonel O'Meara, and 
 as he happened to be rather more aufnit at these matters, the objection 
 interposed by themselves to their own demand for a meeting, was over- 
 ruled, and Lieutenant Colonel La Saussaye eventually paraded on the 
 sands. 
 
 The Adjutant General Le Marchant, and the whole of the Lieutenant 
 General's personal Staff, repaired to the glacis of the town, (which was 
 otherwise covered with spectators, and which commanded a view of the 
 scene of action,) secretly triumphing in the anticipated fall of the man 
 who had had the hardihood to set the clique at defiance. 
 
 Captain Fielding,* of the Rifles, was my friend — Lieutenant Erma- 
 tinger, of the Lancers, and attached to the Quarter Master General's 
 Department, acted for Colonel La Saussaye. There was a glorious 
 cavalcade assembled to witness the execution proposed to be done by 
 this latter gentleman, in the persons of the " undersigning," (would I 
 could have added, " undesigning") persons of Colonel Jochmus, Doctor 
 Burnett, and Lieutenant Colonel O'Meara, the latter of whom having 
 tendered his advice in the matter, was also most anxious to lend the 
 prestige of his presence to the advised. Much to the surprise of these 
 
 ♦ This officer was afterwards killed in one of the attacks which preceded 
 General Evans' defeat at Hornani. He had been in the British Service, and I 
 had known him at home. 
 
 Ik'- 
 
 ;?•) 
 
 h 
 
 \i 
 
 fffi 
 
I Vat 
 
 
 pu 
 
 ir 
 
 rt'l 
 
 ]04> 
 
 PEKSONAL MEMOIRS OP 
 
 geptleiueii, I lel'useJ to take my gioiiml, until llie vvliolc iiarly liad dis- 
 appeared behind the adjacent sand hilla. I had been accompanied only 
 by my friend Captain Fielding, (from vvhonj, by the way, I never heard 
 how Lieutenant Ermatinger had been substituted for Colonel Jochmuy, 
 whose unique epistles had led me to suppose he was to officiate on ihc 
 occasion,) and expected to find Colonel La Saussayc sinnlarly attended. 
 The ground having been cleared, and our places taken, we snapped 
 two caps, whicli I Me/i, and l»ave ever since, thought most singular. 
 After each trial of our weapons, followed by no other report than that 
 of the exploding caps, I was asked by my adversary's friend, through 
 Captain Fielding, if I would retract the expression I was said to have 
 made use of. 1 refused, and the pistols having, at my request, been 
 changed for others, we fired without injury to each other. Indeed we 
 might have amused ourselves in this manner until doomsday, for the 
 seconds had decided we should be placed back to back — turning and 
 firing the moment the word was given. This arrangement, in a soft 
 sand nearly ancle deep, was certainly not one likely to entail very 
 serious consequences. 
 
 Again an application was made for the withdrawal of the expression, 
 and again I refused, when Captain Fielding, urging strongly that I might 
 with propriety retract, as Colonel La Saussnye had practically disproved 
 the epithet) I said I had no objection to state " the expression I had 
 made use of, in regard to Colonel La Saussaye, was an erroneous one, 
 inasmuch as his conduct on the ground had proved it to be so." Colo- 
 nel La Saussaye indignantly refused any thing short of an unconditional 
 withdrawal, end, assuming that one concession was to produce another, 
 declared it j> be his determination to remain on the ground until morning, 
 unless he obtained it. To this piece of bravado, my only reply was an audi- 
 ble sneer, and again the pistols were loaded and placed in our hands. Af- 
 ter consulting with his second for a minute or two. Colonel La Saussaye, 
 who was to have remained on the ground all night, unless I uncondition- 
 ally retracted, determined on accepting the only concession I chose to 
 
MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 105 
 
 
 muke. Here the ulVuir teriiiinaled, and Culunel La Suussaye aial L 
 separated without furtlier reconciliation.* 
 
 The anxiouH Stalf, seeing the return of one ol° the conibatan's un- 
 scathed from the field, suffered bitter disappointment. Tiiey threw au ay 
 the ends of their cigars — bit their lips through mortified spleen, and 
 surrounding and questioning their champion^ rode sullenly back into the 
 town. " Sic transit gloria duellaj." 
 
 About an hour after my return from the ground, came a message from 
 Captain Macintosh. I am afraid I recei"ed the bearer of it — Captain 
 (now Lieutenant Colonel) Atkyns, (whom I have elsewhere named as 
 being a most gallant young officer) — somewhat cavalierly, but I was a 
 good deal annoyed at the pertinacity evinced to make Captain Macin- 
 tosh's affau a private one, and I accordingly gave Captain Atkyns his 
 cong6 somewhat abruptly — declaring that the Lieutenant General should 
 alone decide on the matter. 
 
 The game played by Messrs. Jochmus & Co. on this occasion, was 
 any thing but a concealed one, however the natural obtuseness of these 
 gentlemen, or their belief in my want of discernment, might induce them 
 to think it v^^as. Captain Macintosh, in his illiberal and wanton desire 
 to defame i.iy officers, had unmasked himself, and it was hoped that if I 
 could be brought to make a personal affair of the matter at issue, I 
 could no longer persevere in my determination to bring it in an official 
 shape before the Lieutenant General. What wisdom was concentra- 
 ted in some of these heads and tails of departments. 
 
 The next day I addressed the following to Lieutenant Colonel 
 
 Harley : — 
 
 6 Calle Narrica, 22d August, 1836. 
 Sir, 
 
 I have the honour to enclose to you copies of a correspondence which 
 has taken place between Lieutenant Colonel Jochmus and myself, as 
 
 *I voluntarily stated, however.on leaving tlin ground, that I had no rrcolioction of 
 usin^ the precise word " coward." I perfectly rrmcmberrd having said " no man 
 of spirit or gentlemanly feeling would have submitted cjuietly to the letter his rude 
 conduct had provoked from me on the preceding day," 
 
 L.i. 
 
 i 
 
 iff 
 
 
 9VI 
 
 J..! 
 
 
 t 
 
 1 .^1 
 
 
 #1 
 

 lOf) 
 
 PRRSOiVAL MEMOIRS OF 
 
 I 
 
 v-.i 
 
 
 'f 
 
 iih ' i 
 
 : I 
 
 connected with the report of misconduct before the enemy of part of the 
 officers of the 4th Fusileers, on the 30th of July, made to you, aa you 
 have stated, by Lieutenant Colonel La Saussaye. I have only to request 
 that this circumstance, long since officially reported upon by me, may, 
 in jusitice to the officers of the 4th, be laid before the Lieutenant General 
 without loss of time. 
 
 You will perceive, from the tenor of the enclosed, that Captain 
 Macintosh is desirous to make his case a private one, in order to avoid, 
 if possible, a public investigation into his conduct, which I have been 
 under the necessity of making the subject of an official despatch. Nei- 
 ther my own sense of right, however, nor that of justice to the regiment 
 to which I have had the honour of belonging, will admit of another 
 course of action than that I have adopted. Captain Macintosh, 
 under the authority of his friend Doctor Burnett, is pleased to term my 
 official statement " garbled and untrue." It is not my statement, but 
 that of Captain Askey, Lieutenants Hamilton, Miller, and Reid, and 
 of several soldiers of the Sappers and Miners. 
 
 You will observe, Sii, that, although no longer in the Legion, I forward 
 these communications to you, liecause they are a continuation of official 
 documents entered into, but not completed, before I left the 4th regiment. 
 I have no doubt that your liigh sense of what is due to the honour of the 
 4th Fusileers will prompt you to demand an immediate investigation into 
 the conduct of Captain Macintosh, who has the good or bad taste — be 
 it which it may — to call the courage of the regiment into question. 
 
 I have the honour to be, 
 Sir, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 J. Richardson, 
 Major late Mh Fusileers, 
 Lieut. Col. Harley, Comg. 4th Regt. ) 
 &c. &c. &c. S 
 
 
 Finding that I was fully determined to prosecute this affair, and if 
 possible, to draw the attention of the Lieutenant General to the subject, 
 Lieutenant Colonel Harley thought it at length incumbent on him to 
 make some show of interference in the matter. The result of this was, 
 that Captain Macintosh, accompanied by Lieutenant Colonel O'Meara, 
 calle<i on the following day at the lodgings of the above named officer, 
 and stated, with a view of exculpating Colonel La Saussaye, that /le 
 was the individual \vho had «^narged an officer of the 4th Fusileers with 
 want of courage on the Heights of Passages — and that the individual 
 
i 
 
 MAJOR RtCHAROSON. 
 
 107 
 
 he alluded to was Captain Kirby— the oflicer who had been left 
 temporarily in command. On application to General Chichester, who 
 commanded the Brigade, a Court of Inquiry was iistituted into the con- 
 duct of Captain Kirby, who had himself requested it in the following 
 letter : — 
 
 Sir, 
 
 San Sebastian, 22rf jiugust, 1836. 
 
 In consequence of the malicious and unfounded reports which have 
 been been made by Captain Macintosh relative to my conduct on the 
 Heights of Passages, I have to beg you will apply for a Court of Inquiry 
 to be assembled, in order that I may be enabled to exculpate myself 
 from a charge as disgusting as it is false and infamous. 
 
 1 am. Sir, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 Walter Kirby, 
 
 Lieut. Col. Harley, &.c. Sec. &c. 
 
 Captain 4>ih Rest. 
 
 — O 
 
 It was well known that Captain Macintosh could not substantiate 
 any part of his charge, but that, on the contrary, matters would be eluci- 
 dated in the course of that Inquiry, the tendency of which would be to 
 place him in the precise position in which he had infamously sought to 
 plunge Captain Kirby. Hence, after a mutual understanding among all 
 the " higher authorities," and with a view to prevent the necessity of its 
 being " officially" brought under the notice of the Lieutenant General, 
 General Chichester, instead of applying for a General, or even ordering 
 a Brigade Court of Inquiry, had desired Colonel Harley to institute a 
 Regimental one. 
 
 Captain Kirby having been most honourably acquitted by the Court, 
 the proceedings of which, with the addition of some severe comments 
 on Captain Macintosh's conduct, were forwarded to General Chiches- 
 ter, commanding the Brigade, to be laid before the Lieutenant Ge'^'^ral, a 
 message was immediately sent by the former officer to Captain Macin- 
 tosh, through Captain Fannin, of the 4th. Captain Macintosh was 
 satisfied with denying what he had previously stated to Lieutenant 
 
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 It it 
 
 
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 M 
 
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 W'i'' 
 
lOS 
 
 PERSONAL MEiMOlUS OF 
 
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 litf <'J 
 
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 v'M 
 
 ColoiuM Hailoy, in tlio presence of Lieutenant Colonel O'Meara, as will 
 be seen below. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 San Sebastian, ^ufp/sf^ 1836. 
 
 Having been called upon by you to state whether I ever at any time 
 expresaed my doubts as to the courage of Captain Kirby, of your regi- 
 ment, or whether in my reix)rt to Colonel Harley, and in evidence be- 
 fore the Court of Inquiry, I in any manner meant to convey any charge 
 againsjt that officer, I think it my duty publicly to declare that I never in 
 my life expressed, or meant to express such a charge against him, either 
 directly or indirectly. I further beg to express my regret that I have 
 not been called upon sooner to make this statement, and I feel satisfied 
 that the members of the Court must feel satisfied that my evidence was 
 of a nature rather tending to clear Captain Kirby than to inculpate him, 
 and that in repeating the expressions made use of by the men,* as I felt 
 it my duty so to do, that there could be but one opinion on the subject 
 that the expression alluded to was a gross misrepresentation. Captain 
 Kirby's absence from the field having been, in my opinion, most satis- 
 factorily accounted for. Should this declaration be deemed sufficient, I 
 shall be most happy. 
 
 I remain, dear Sir, 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 J. Macintosh, 
 Cnpi, Qr. Mr. Gen. Deprt. 
 Captain -Fannin, 4th Fusileers, " 
 &c. &.C. &c. 
 
 This answer, so redolent of" expression," was, of course, " deemed 
 sufficient," and therefore no doubt its writer was " most happy." He, 
 however, told Captain Fannin, on delivering it to him in person, that if 
 it should not be considered satisfactory, he would substitute any other 
 he might think proper to dictate ! Thus it is with the base, and 
 the craven hearted — ready to pour forth their slander when secure 
 from detection, but ever willing to eat their own words when their 
 infamy is exposed and threatened with the chastisement it deserves. 
 
 » The statement, of Captain Macintosh to the Court of Inquiry, sot forth that 
 his knowledge of Captain Kirby's misconduct had been obtained from remarks 
 made by some of his own men. Althou(»h the whole conipanv on£;a£?e<l on that 
 «lay, were ordered to attend the ('ourt, not one individual could Captain Macin- 
 tosh point out as his author for the calumny. 
 

 MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 109 
 
 On his acquittal by the Court of Inquiry, and after the receipt of 
 
 Captain Macintosh's letter to Captain Fannin, a copy of which he 
 
 enclosed, Captain Kirby, as the senior officer present at Passages, sent 
 
 me the following : — 
 
 San Sebastian, Augmt) 1836. 
 Sir, 
 
 The officers of the 4th regiment, who were present at the time, beg 
 me to express their admiration of Major Richardson's conduct, in de- 
 manding from Colonel La Saussaye the author of 'the foul accusation, 
 against the honour of the regiment, on the recent occasion on the Heights 
 of Passages. 
 
 I am, Sir, 
 
 Yours very faithfully, 
 
 Walter Kirby, 
 
 Captain Uh Fusiieers. 
 Major Richardson, late 4th Fusileers, > 
 &c. &c. &c. . ) 
 
 The whole of the circumstances attending these proceedings were of 
 a nature to satisfy me they were intended to be quashed without going 
 farther. I was, however, determined not to let the matter rest until it 
 had been submitted to the Lieutenant General, whose opinion, on the 
 remarks on Captain Macintosh's conduct, appended to the Regimental 
 Court of Inquiry, I was anxious to learn. I accordingly, addressed 
 Greneral Chichester a note on the subject, requesting to know if he had 
 submitted the proceedings to the Lieutenant General. The ignorance 
 expressed by General Chichester, in regard to' the contents of my note, 
 and the indifference with which he treated the matter, is curious enough) 
 and proves, as I said before, the desire which existed for shielding Cap- 
 tain Macintosh from the consequences of his espionage — a system 
 which must have had the sanction of more parties than one. But here 
 is a literal copy of the letter which is without date, written shortly 
 afterwards : — 
 
 My dear Richardson, 
 I think you were wrong in 
 
 . Do you mean Reid or 
 
 Kirby, for I have been puzling over your note, which I read as "Reid," 
 
 ,1 
 
 
 a 
 
110 
 
 PERSONAI, MEMOIRS OF 
 
 
 
 in 
 
 and it has just struck me that it may possibly be Kirby to whom you 
 allude, although the name as written appears to me plainly P. £ I D. 
 
 If it is the last, I remember nothing about it. If it is Kirby and the 
 officers on the Heights of Passages, I remember it well enough, but 
 cannot say whether the proceedings of the Court were laid before the 
 Lieutenant General or not. I have a faint idea that I merely told him 
 the renilif and gave the papers back to Hi rley.* 
 
 I remain, dear Richardson, 
 
 Sincerely yours, 
 
 C. Chichester, 
 
 Brigadier General, 
 J. Richardson, Esquire, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 Now, although, as General Chichester states, the Lieutenant General 
 was made acquainted, by him, with the nature of the proceedings, 
 Captain Macintosh was almost immediately appointed permanent 
 Peputy Quarter Master General, and ailerwards obtained his Brevet 
 Majority. Thus were those things managed in the British Legion. 
 
 I have been led into a detail of the occurrences at Passages, and 
 their consequences, from a desire to exhibit, in its true light, the feeling 
 and conduct of Lieutenant General Evans, even after he had been 
 convinced, or rather convicted, of a glaring injury towards me. Because 
 I had had firmness and independence of spirit sufficient to accuse him 
 of gross wrong, in passing me over in promotion, " the ends of justice" 
 require, forsooth, my arraignment before a Court of Inquiry on a charge 
 most easy to bring — most difficult to disprove. It is, moreover, intima- 
 ted to me that, because I have had the assurance to baulk the Lieute- 
 nant General in his most kind desire to crush and cover me with igno- 
 miny and shame, although the Majority I claim cannot be withheld 
 from me without deeply committing himself, I need not expect further 
 promotion in the service. Circumstances occur which place the con- 
 duct of another officer in a yet more questionable light, and yet there is 
 
 * I iiave no doubt, notwithstanding the weakness of the Brigadier's ipemory on 
 the subject, the papers were submitted to the Lieutenant General, and if they 
 were not, they should have been. 
 

 MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 in 
 
 ,'ou 
 
 no " end of justice " to answer in bringing that conduct under investiga- 
 tion. And wherefore 1 Because the party accused is a second or third 
 rate ccsature of the Lieutenant General, and the accuser — no, not the 
 accuser, (for half-a-dozen officers of the 4th were the accusers,) but 
 the supposed accuser, one whom the Lieutenant General loved not too 
 well. 
 
 Under any other circumstances I should have spared the following 
 anecdotes, from which the reader will perceive that the Lieutenant 
 General's anxiety to meet the ** ends of justice," was not so excessively 
 vehement, unless he had some personal interest to serve thereby. 
 
 While we were in Vitoria, the scenes of drunkenness and disorder, 
 which took place among a certain class, were such that it became a part 
 of the duty of the Field Officer of the day to make the round of the caf^s 
 at ten o'clock f\i night, and expel whatever officers of the Legion were to 
 be found in them. This was in general a duty of a most unpleasant 
 nature, as it not unfrequently occurred that the Field Officer was 
 insulted by a portion of these gentlemen,to whom the Lieutenant General 
 had given commissions for no other reason than that they happened to 
 have more or less influence as voters for Westminster. Scarcely a 
 night passed without some row or fracas of the most disgusting kind, 
 which oflen ended in the by no means British military practice of 
 a set to ^ /a Crib, These, in the Lieutenant General's eyes, were, how , 
 ever, matters of very little import, for if they came under the cognizance 
 of a Court Martial, and the aggressors were dismissed the service, they 
 were almost certain of being reinstated. For instance: — A Captain, 
 who afterwards continued in the Legion to its close, having used 
 some very insulting language to a Lieutenant of one of the Scotch 
 regiments, was immediately knocked down in the caf6 in which the 
 quarrel occurred. The matter was reported to the Lieutenant 'reneral, 
 and both officers were dismissed. Later, however, the individual 
 who had incurred the double odium of having grossly insulted a brother 
 officer, and submitted to tlie degradation of being knocked down, 
 
 rtii 
 
 I 
 
 M 
 
1. 1 
 
 i ' V 
 
 111 
 
 
 i -i. 
 
 If;: ^ 
 
 S.-5 - 
 
 
 '. X 
 
 112 
 
 PERSONAL HEMUIRS OF 
 
 without tuking tlic ii^ual notice of the assault, was reiiiptaled, and soon 
 afterwards promoted in the service, while to the officer who had been 
 provoked to commit the outrage of a blow, no such indulgence was 
 extended. This, however, is only one of several instances of the kind. 
 But to the anecdotes I have promised, and winch, indeed, 1 give 
 because they relate to individuals who were on the Lieutenant General's 
 Staff, whence his desire to conceal or gloss over their conduct. 
 
 The Honourable Mr. was Aid-de-Camp to the Lieutenant 
 
 General, but even while at Bilbao the personal Staff of that officer 
 was so numerous that he was compelled to distribute many of those 
 who might well, indeed, be termed " extras," among the other depart- 
 ments. Mr. was accordingly appointed to dtily in the 
 
 department, in which he was serving when the affair I am about to 
 relate occurred. 
 
 Among the number of some most extraordinary individuals, whom the 
 Lieutenant General had admitted into the service, was a foreigner of the 
 name of Petto, a truly cut-throat looking ruffian. Never was the character 
 of a downright bully more completely illustrated than in the person and 
 manner of this man, who was ture to be in every " row" that occurred 
 in Vitoria, and many of the more quiet and gentlemanly spirits of the 
 Legion both hated and feared him. I forget now the precise nature of 
 
 the quarrel between Monsieur Petto and the Honourable Mr. , but 
 
 I know it was something very trivial in the outset, and was only warmed 
 into importance by the mischievous spirit of certain other parties. Mr. 
 
 , a very weak-minded person, was, according to his own account, a 
 
 great duellist, and had been engaged in a vast number of affairs. Certain 
 parties who had heard of these things, usque ad nauseam, were anxious 
 to have ocular demonstration of the fact, and they accordingly urged 
 \y-^ to say more than he perhaps would, had he not been positively 
 assured that Petto, though a great bully, was a greater poltroon. The 
 thing at last was brought to a crisis, and a meeting was appointed for 
 the following morning. I am not positive on the point, and, therefore, 
 
r^ 
 
 MAJOR RfCHARDSON. 
 
 113 
 
 Stale it subject to correction, that Mr. was the challenging party, 
 
 which, if really bo, renders the denouement still more ridiculous. Alter 
 having slept on it, our hero became considerably cooler in regard to Iuh 
 quarrel, and so far from being on " wicked deeds of blood intent," abso- 
 lutely refused, when he came to the ground, to meet Petto — declaring, 
 as a reason, that the latter had not insulted him in such a manner as to 
 render it imperative on him to fight — and that he was quite satisfied 
 no insult was intended. His second was thunderstruck. He remon- 
 strated with the honourable gentleman, but in vain — fight the latter 
 would not, and his friend, telling him he was a " d — d coward," and 
 had disgraced thenri both, quitted the field, and, hastening to the princi- 
 pal caf6, expressed, in no very measured terms, his opinion of ihe con- 
 duct of Mr. . 
 
 The affair, of course, was immediately bruited abroad. A report was 
 made by some one officially, (I forget by whom,) to the Lieutenant 
 General, and a Court of Inquiry was ordered. , 
 
 Now comes the curious part of the affair. In the course of the 
 
 address made by Mr. in his defence before the Court, he grounded 
 
 the improbability of his declining a meeting from motives of cowardice, 
 on the fact of his having fought numerous duels ; and he numbered some 
 five or six men whom he had had the misfortune to kill upon the Con- 
 tinent. Rather infelicitously, however, he named, among others, a gen- 
 tleman in Paris who was a celebrated shot. A member of the Court of 
 Inquiry — Colonel O'Meara — started on hearing the name. He request- 
 ed Mr. would repeat it. He did so, and from the manner in which 
 
 he described him, there could be no doubt they both alluded to the same 
 person. " Strange enough," said the member, " I have only within the 
 last two days received a letter from Paris from this very gentlemen !'* 
 The Court were convulsed with laughter, and this little incident became 
 the theme of conversation, and of course reached Head Quarters. 
 
 The sentence of the Court was what might have been expected. Mr. 
 was dismissed the Legion. What^ conduct did the Lieutenant 
 
 :-ii 
 
 n 
 
 } . 
 
 ) ! 
 
 hi 
 
li 
 
 m 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Ci .'i 
 
 P 1^ 
 
 ;"it 
 
 Goiiorul pursue on the oucasioit ? Could he who, Radical as he is, loven 
 Lords and Honourables beyond all measure, oven though as in the case 
 of Lord Ranulagh, he has sometimes been laughed at and outwitted by 
 them — could he endure that an honourable and a quondam aid-de-camp 
 of his own should be expelled in this unceremonious manner 1 Not so. 
 
 The " the tender bowels of his compassion" were enlisted in Mr. *8 
 
 favour, and the proceedings and opinion of the Court were kept private, 
 while it was most considerately stated in General Orders that " Mr. 
 ■ having urgent private affairs which required his presence at home, 
 (to bury his dead perhaps,) the Lieutenant General had i)ermitted him 
 to retire from the service." I am not quite certain there was not an 
 expressio'i of regret that the Legion had lost so valuable an officer. 
 
 The other anecdote to which I allude is even more curious. A Gap- 
 tain Ogi]vie,who had been in the 6th,but was now no longer in the Legion, 
 gave a dinner to some friends at Vitoria, at which were produced some 
 very handsome silver candlesticks. An officer who had recently joined, 
 and been appointed to the 6th also, was one of the party, and in the 
 course of the evening expressed his admiration of the beauty and value 
 of the candlesticks, wondering at the same time to see such articles of 
 luxury on the table of an officer serving in Spain. " Oh, this is nothing 
 uncommon," said Captain Ogilvie, who had resolved to intriguer his 
 guest, " wherever we march we meet with what we may require of the 
 kind, and the convents and private houses in which we take up our 
 quarters supply us with these articles in abundance. In fact we make 
 it such a practice to rob and steal, that you will find other tables 
 infinitely better supplied than mine." This, it will be remembered, was 
 said jestingly. 
 
 The next day the newly joined Ensign dined with his Commanding 
 Officer, (Colonel Tupper,) and in the course of dinner stated that he 
 feared there were some very extraordinary characters in the regiment ; 
 and he instanced what he had heard the preceding day. Colonel Tup- 
 per was, of course, very indignant, and, having obtained the name of 
 
• .' 
 
 MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 113 
 
 he 
 nt ; 
 up- 
 
 of 
 
 the party, hastened to the Adjutant Generars Office to make a ivpoit oi' 
 the circumstance. The Adjutant General, with his usual buHtle, sent 
 a message for Captain Ogilvie to attend him instantly. On leaving the 
 office, however, Colonel Tupper happened to meet this officer, whom 
 he immediately seized by the collar, and attempted to drag to the Adju- 
 tant General's Office. Captain Ogilvie remonstrated, declaring that as 
 he was no longer in the Legion, Colonel Tupper should be held person- 
 ally res[ionsible for any violence he attempted to offer him. He however 
 consented to accompany him to the Adjutant General's. When there, he 
 was questioned as to the manner in which ho had become possessed of 
 the candlesticks, which, in the mean time, had been sent for to his lodg- 
 ings. He refused to answer any queries on the subject, except in 
 presence of the Lieutenant General. The Lieutenant General attended 
 accordingly, when Captain Ogilvie, indignantly repudiating the charge 
 of stealing which had been made against him, declared, on his honour, 
 that he had purchased them. " From whom ]" was the demand. Cop- 
 tain Ogilvie was unwilling to state. The Lieutenant General, however, 
 insisted on hearing the name, with a view to severe and summary 
 punishment of the offender. " Then, Sir," said Captain Ogilvie, " if you 
 insist upon knowing, I bought them from an officer on your Staff, who 
 admitted having plundered them from a house in which he had slept, 
 on the route from Santander with your Excellency's baggage." 
 
 This was turning the tables with a vengeance, and all became dismay 
 and confusion. What! an officer on the Lieutenant General's Staff 
 steal silver candlesticks ! Impossible. Sooner might the antipodes be 
 expected to meet. Alas ! it was a fact, and the only thing that remained 
 was to hush the matter up. Captain Ogilvie was of course released 
 from the dread of "durance vile," and Ensign B., the Lieutenant 
 General's Orderly Officer, to whom the care of his baggage had been 
 intnisted, was allowed to retire upon " urgent private affairs." 
 
 Will it be believed 1 This person was again taken into the service 
 whence he finally made off, after robbing one of the Commissariat 
 
 ft 
 
 
 ■■,1 
 
 I 
 
! -I 
 
 116 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOinn OF 
 
 :f 1 
 
 t, i 
 
 
 m 
 
 cheats. So much lox Lieutenant General Sir De Lacy £van8' strict 
 regard to "the ends of justice.'* 
 
 To return, however, to my narrative. It might have l)ecn suppoHed 
 that, with my exit from the Legion, had ceased tlie power of General 
 Evans and his agents to do mo harm. Not so. 1 was soon made to 
 feel that when there is a disposition to injure and oppress, the means, 
 however unworthy and base, are ever at command. The circumstances 
 connected with this last expiring eflbrt of the Lieutenant General to 
 atTix u stigma to my character, are so gross snd palpable, that they 
 necessarily form a part of my exposiy and even if they did not, they 
 should find insertion here, if only for the following reason : — 
 
 After the debate which took place in the House of Commons on 
 Sir Henry Hardinge's motion on the atfairs of Spain, in the course of 
 which my character and conduct were so warmly vindicated, both by 
 that gallant oiTicer and by my friend Captain Boldero, opportunity was 
 taken by some liberal member to state that I had been expelled from 
 a club at San Sebastian. 
 
 This is partly false, and partly true — and now for the facts of the 
 case as they stand to the present hour. Let the public judge on whom 
 the odium of that expulsion rests. 
 
 In the month of October, 1836, a club was formed at San Sebastian 
 for Regimental Field Officers and the Staff; and into this club were ad- 
 mitted, as I afterwards found, some very disreputable characters. At its 
 formation, I was solicited to become a member, both by General Fitzge- 
 rald and Colonel Sloane, the latter the Commandant of San Seba8tian,who 
 was, in a great degree, the originator of the measure. I at first objected, 
 urging, as a reason for not complying with their wishes, my approaching 
 departure for England, and even pointing out that, strictly, I had no 
 right to become a member of the club, as I no longer belonged to the 
 Legion. However, as both these officers almost insisted on my com- 
 pliance. General Fitzgerald declaring that he would put down my name, 
 I at length assented. 
 
 I 
 
MAJOR RiniAKDRON. 
 
 117 
 
 Somu few evenings nfUMwunii I paid a viuit to tho club, bul finding 
 it 8o ilitTLTciit from any tiling to which I had l>een accudtunied, \ reaolv* 
 ed to leuvc it. Cortaitily nothing lean rcdembled a place appropriated to 
 gerttletnen. The coardc card tabled were without clothii, an:l the 
 playerd had ever their hatH on — la di^ms en bouche — and a glaiM 
 of brandy anu vater at (heir elbow, while, to crown all, the waitem 
 were permitted to remain in the room, and in the niodt familiar man- 
 ner to overlook tlie players. Add to this, there were admitted into the 
 club, men who had previoutily been diiimitfded with ignominy from the 
 service, although subsequently reinstated by the Lieutenant General. 
 Among others, was an ollicer of the Medical StatT, on whose Court of 
 Inquiry I had myself sat at Bilbao, und who had, in consequence of the 
 finding of the Court l>een dismissed the service — and an individual 
 who had joined the Legion in the capacity of a servant. This, indeed, 
 was carrying the free and easy — the liberty and equality principle of 
 Lieutenant General Evans — to an extreme, and, as I have before 
 remarked, I resolved to retire from so mixed an association. 
 
 On the second and last night of my visit to the club, I had reason to 
 find fault with the extreme insolence of the head waiter, who seemed 
 to have the entire control of the establishment, and was in the habit of 
 addressing himself to the members, in a tone and style rather different 
 from those adopted by servants to the members of London clubs. Irri- 
 tated by the fellow's conduct, I threatened to throw him out of the 
 window, on which he went below to prefer his complaint to Colonel 
 Sloanc, the President of the Committee. Colonel Sloane soon afterwards 
 made his appearance, when I acquainted him with ♦' insolence of the 
 servant, not only to myself, but several other persons, -nd said that 
 unless he was dismissed, I should withdraw my name from the club 
 immediately. Colonel Sloane's reply xvas — and it struck me with utter 
 astonishment — " The waiter is only servant to the Committee. He 
 shall not leave the Club — but you can leave it if you please." 
 
 In an instant it occurred to me tliat the aflair was a planned one, and 
 
 <i 
 
ns 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOIRS OP 
 
 lU': 
 
 ■ i 1 
 
 mi 
 
 that the object in inducing me to become a member, uaa to fasten a 
 gratuitous insult unon me on the &v»t occasion that oflered. Roused 
 by this impression, I immediately replied that " no gentleman would 
 have made use of the same observation." Colonel Sloane then in- 
 quired : — " Do you mean, Sir, that I am not a gentleman f " I do, 
 Sir," was my emphatic reply, aixl turning at the same moment to 
 several officers who were standing near the fire, I continued : — " I wish 
 it to be pii..t(cularly understood by all present, that I declare Colonel 
 Sloane to be no gentleman." % then retired to my lodgings, where I 
 wrote the following note, which I placed with my own hand on the 
 table of the reading-room, in presence of several members of the Com- 
 mittee. 
 
 Major Richardson begs to withdraw his name from the Club which 
 has been instituted by certain individuals of the British Auxiliary Legion. 
 San Sebastian, 4th November, 1836. 
 
 About an hour after my return from depositing this note, Lieutenant 
 Colonel Ross, of the 6th Scotch, accompanied by Major Clarke, of the 
 Quarter Master General's Department, who came merely to introduce 
 the former, called upon me on the part of Colonel Sloane. I imme- 
 diately replied to Major Clarke, that I should be happy to entertain any 
 other friend of Colonel Sloane, but that with no individual of the 6th 
 Scotch would I, under any circumstances, hold communication. Co- 
 lonel Ross and Major Clarke then withdrew, the latter assuring me, as 
 I well knew to be the case, that he came more as a pacificator, than in 
 any other character. 
 
 The same night I received a note from Colonei Sloane, requesting me 
 to name a friend with whom ha could communicate. I replied, that 
 the lateness of the hour prevented me from naming one that night, but 
 that on the following morning a party should wait on him . Accordingly, 
 the ne^ct morning, Mr. Lanibton, a son of Colonel Lambton, formerly of 
 the 33d, who was on the Medical Staff of the Legion, and who was 
 present at the fracas, waited on Colonel Sloane. The latter expressed 
 
MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 nf> 
 
 considerable dissppointment at my refusal to entertain Colonel Robs, 
 who was his most intimate friend, and to whom alone he could intrust 
 the direction of an aiTuir of so much impoilance. Mr. Lambton having 
 communicated this to me, I said that as Colonel Sloane could not conve- 
 niently name another party, and as there was no necessity for my coming 
 personally in '•ontact with Colonel Ross, I would consent to waive my 
 original objection. 'I he parties met and conferred together, and it was 
 decided that mutual retracta*' as shouli be made. Colonel Sloane 
 stated that the expression which had given me offence was not intend- 
 ed — while I, in my tufn, withdrew my declaration that Colonel Sloane 
 was not a gentleman. 
 
 Thus far so well — but now come? the farcical, yet infamous, part of 
 the affair. That morning a placard was stuck up in the principal streets 
 and Plaza of San Sebastian, by a person of the nam3 of Taylor, a Staff 
 Surgeon, who was one of the Committee of the Ciub, and to whom, as 
 such, I had made some remarks, the evening before, on the strange 
 manner of conducting an association, which looked, as I have elsewhere 
 said, more like a common tavern, than a place of amusement for 
 officers and gentlemen. In this, I admit, I was wrong — ^but only in so 
 far that I condescended too much. I had no business to notice or 
 trouble myself whether the Club was conducted on orthodox principles 
 or not — or to pass any other comment on it, than what the simple with- 
 drawal of my name afforded. 
 
 The purport of this notice was, I understood afterwards, (for I never 
 saw it,) to call a general meeting of the Club, to take into consideration 
 subjects affecting it, of " vital importance." What these very important 
 subjects were every body knew long before the meeting was convened, 
 and then came the rush of " mighty men," anxious for, and deeply 
 interested in, my overthrow. There were the united Staff of the Lieute- 
 nant General — Messrs. Jochmus &i Co. — my friend Colonel La Saus- 
 gaye — Major Macintosh — the modest Mr. Inspector Alcock, w'iose 
 highly grammatical letter appears at the close of my " Movements of the 
 
 iV, 
 
 1,;.. 
 
 >p. 
 
 n 
 
 
 1 I 
 
 
 l.-:iii 
 
 4 
 
 f i:i\ 
 
120 
 
 PGKSONAL MEMUIKV OF 
 
 if ! 
 
 U' i' 
 
 % 
 
 li 
 
 B 
 
 Legion, Stc. &,c. Stc. — aiul lastly, tl»e Reporter of the Morning Mver- 
 tisery who wa? in the habil of eating the Lieutenant General's dinners, 
 and transmitting splendid accounts of hia " victories" to the various pot- 
 houses in Westminster. This person was invited to attend for the 
 purpose of sending home a statement of the proceedings of the Club the 
 moment they had terminated. After this, it will not be very dilTicult to 
 believe, the result had been decided long before the meeting took place. 
 
 The proceedings, of which not the slightest intimation had been 
 afforded me, were opened by the same Mr. Taylor who had placarded 
 the meeting. That individual stated that on the preceding night I had 
 sought a personal quarrel with him ; and further, that I had insulted 
 the Club generally, by telling Colonel Sloane, the President of the 
 Committee, he was not a gentleman, simply because he had refused 
 to kick the servant down stairs at my desire ! 
 
 This, whether true or false — absurd or consistent — mattered little to 
 my enemies who had repaired to the meeting for the express and most 
 magnanimous purpose of insulting me. It was in vain that Mr. Lamb- 
 ton, who was present, and whose conduct throughout exhibited a man- 
 liness and independence which subsequently drew upon him the wrath 
 of his superior officers, protested against the unpppcedented character of 
 the proceeding. It was in vain he urged that a private quarrel, honour- 
 ably and satisfactorily arranged between the parties, ought not to be 
 made a question for public consideration. The match had been applied, 
 and the explosion was inevitable. The dogs, or rather puppies, of war 
 had been let loose, and there was no probability of re-enchaining them. 
 Major Hichardson, who had contrived to steer his bark through the 
 Scylla and Charybdis of plot and conspiracy while in the Legion, was 
 fau'' — no, not fated, but intended — to suffer shipwreck almost at the 
 moment of bis arrival in port. 
 
 In the midst of his very natural protest against the injustice of these 
 proceedings, Mr. Lambton was unceremoniously interrupted by Colonel 
 Kirby, who said the members were not met there to hear any ezplana- 
 
i« 
 
 MAJOR niCHAnDSON. 
 
 liil 
 
 
 nation of the circumstances attending Major Richanlsoii'a quarrel with 
 Colonel Sloane, but to consider whether the offence offered to that 
 individual was not an insult to the Club at large. Of course it was 
 instantly decided in tiie affirmative, whereupon Colonel Kirby proposed 
 the resolution which appears below — this was seconded by General 
 Chichester, and carried, I believe, without a dissentient voice. But I 
 am wrong. I understand there was one other individual, l)esides Mr. 
 Lambton, who was manly enough to raise his veto against the resolu- 
 tion. This was Col. O'Connell who stated he thought that, at least be- 
 fore any measure of the kind was resorted to. Major Richardson ought to 
 be permitted an opportunity of replying to the charge which had been 
 brought against him. But what was one voice in such an assembly. 
 Colonel O'Connell's objection was over-ruled, if at all listened to ; and 
 the only result of his attempt at remonstrance, was a disavowal of any 
 share in this most iniquitous of all proceedings. 
 
 Mr, Lambton having called upon me in the course of the day, I was 
 given to understand, by him, what was in agitation. I was not therefore 
 taken by surprise, when the following resolution of the club was brought 
 to me. 
 
 San Sebastian, J^ovember 5, 1836. 
 At a general meeting of the club. Lieutenant Colonel Thomson,* 1st 
 regiment, in the Chair, it was proposed b^ '^olonel Kirby, seconded by 
 Brigadier General Chichester, and unanmiuUhrly resolved, that Major 
 Richardson, late of the 6. A. Legion, be informed, that his conduct last 
 night was such as to outrage the feelings of the members, being a breach 
 of the regulations of theCiub — that his subscription be returned to him, 
 and his name erased from the list of members of the Club. 
 
 J. Thompson, 
 Lieut. Col. and President. 
 
 Had contempt not been a predominant feeling in my mind, indig- 
 nation must. I congratulated myself, however, on getting back my sub- 
 scription, which fully equalled in value (although only two dollars) any 
 
 <^ This officer was laterpiaced on the retired list, in consequence of » charge of 
 misconduct brought by General Evana against tne Ist regiment of the Legion, 
 which hs commMided at th« defeat at Hernani, in March, 1837- 
 
 H 
 
 11 
 
 
:l 
 
 I 
 
 •i 
 
 f ! ! • ' 
 'I : - 
 
 E'! ' • ' 
 
 lit: 
 
 I i 
 
 ,«' i' 
 
 in 
 
 122 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOIRS OF 
 
 julvantages tliat coulil have i-esulted from continuing a nnember of so res- 
 pectable a body. I acknowledged its receipt in the following : — 
 
 " Major Richardson acknowledges the receipt of his subecription from 
 Lieutenant Colonel Thompson, President of the B. A. Club. Had 
 Major Richardson not withdrawn his name from it last evening, tie 
 would have duly felt the honour proposed to have been done him this 
 day. 
 
 Calle Narrica, 5th November." 
 
 I must not omit to state, en passant, that it vras one of the considera- 
 tions of the Club, whether my retirement from it, which I had sent in 
 the preceding evening, should be received or whether it should be 
 rejected. As they could not so well fasten their intended insult upon 
 me while out of the Club, they were determined to consider me in it, 
 and therefore rejected my letter of withdrawal from their most just, 
 honourable, and impartial body. Hence the resolution enclosed to me. 
 
 As I had intended, my answer not a little perplexed them, as to its 
 true meaning. To some it was perfectly algebraic — to others not more 
 intelligible, but in their chief aim they had been principally foiled. It 
 was supposed I should instantly have called out General Chichester and 
 Colonel Kirby, the proposer and seconder of the insult, in which case 
 it was the intention of the Lieutenant General to order me instantly out 
 of San Sebastian, and without giving time for a meeting. 1 had wit 
 enough to perceive tins, and on the very evening of my receipt of the 
 resolution of the Club, v/hile I was yet meditating how to act with effect, 
 I was informed that 1 had better be extremely cautious in the steps I " 
 meant to pursue, as the eyes of the Lieutenant General and those of his 
 Staff were upon mcf ; and that they only waited to have an opportunity 
 of announcing to the world that I had been turned out of San Sebastian. 
 Under these circumstances I could do nothinr more than pass over to 
 the Fi?ench coast, and leave notes of invitation for those who had pro- 
 voked them, to follow me thither. The weather, however, was so 
 boisteroufi that I found it impossible to embark before the 16th of the 
 month. 
 
 Il^ 
 
1 
 
 I 
 
 MAJOR RlCIlARDSOIf. 
 
 128 
 
 I It 
 
 My reflections were, I confess, of any other than a ])leasaiit nature, 
 and in reviewing tKe conduct pursued by those officers of tlie Legion 
 who had voted for my expulsion, I could not but feel a contempt for 
 their proceedings, which no expressions of mine can sufficiently render. 
 I could not have believed it possible that men, calling themselves officers 
 and gentlemen, could so far forget what was du'* to their own characters, 
 as to compromise themselves by a conduct w ..ch could have no prece- 
 dent ) and I felt more deeply and bitterly on the subject, because among 
 the number were Generals Chichester and Fitzgerald. The former 
 officer had all along evinced but too much readiness to fall into the views 
 of the Lieutenant General, and therefore there was more of indignation 
 than regret in the feeling I entertained towards him. But when I heard 
 that General Fitzgerald, who had ever previously manifested the utmost 
 independence of mind, proving himself the friend of one whom he 
 knew to be most unjustly persecuted, had joined in this conduct, I felt 
 deep astonishment and dismay. 
 
 . But I will do General Fitzgerald the justice to believe that some strong 
 motive must have influenced him in adopting the course he pursued. In 
 one or two English papers which I had recently seen. General Fiizgerald 
 was written of by some officer in the Legion, in rather cavalier and 
 offensive terms, and my firm impression is, that these paragraphs pro- 
 ceeded from Head Quarters, and were written with a view to induce 
 General Fitzgerald to believe I was the author of them. Some of th°, 
 higher officers of the Legion had given me credit for writing of the mode 
 in which the Staff" of the Legion was conducted, in rather a satirical 
 strain."^ General Fitzgerald had some hint of this, and therefore it was 
 the less difficult to persuade him that I had sent forth the paragraphs 
 which related to himself, and yet I knew not why it should aave been 
 80, for General Fitzgerald ought to have known me better. 1 uii rather 
 diffuse in my reference to the conduct of this officer, for however deeply 
 pained and hurt I felt on hearing he had joined the powerful ranks of my 
 
 ♦ For one of many instances of this, see Appendix. 
 
 \i 
 
 m1 
 
 4 
 
i 
 
 it 
 
 124 
 
 PERiiONAI. MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Iff; "'} 
 
 I* 
 
 f 
 
 ^lii' 
 
 t . 
 
 
 l! 
 
 enemies, I never cuuld forget the manliness of conduct he at one time 
 hud evinced. 
 
 Still, whatever might have been the private enmity or personal 
 prej<idice of individuals, this very fact should have rendered them 
 more cautioua of committing an injustice, and what injustice could be 
 more manifest than that of condemning one officer on the ipse dixit 
 of another, without a due notification of the charge being given, or 
 the accused being offered an opportunity of explaining, if he could. 
 That the great mass of those assembled to decide upon my conduct, 
 would avail themselves of the only opportunity that might ever 
 oiTer of revenging tliemselves upon one they had not the courage to 
 attack in a more open manner, I could well enough believe, for I kn^'v 
 that many of them were the very refuse of society ; but that General 
 Chichester and General Fitzgerald should have fallen into the same 
 course of conduct struck me, I confess, with pain and dismay. I was 
 glad, however, to find that neither Colonels Fortescue, Churchill, Can- 
 non, nor Apthorpe, who, with Colonel O'Connell, were almost the only 
 gentlemen of the English service leA, had countenanced a meeting the 
 true object of which was so apparent. 
 
 To add to my supposed discomfiture, it was conveyed to me that 
 several officers of the 6th Scotch had avowed their determination to 
 horsewhip me for refusing to receive Colonel Roiss, or any other offi- 
 cer of that corps, in the capacity of friend to Colonel Sloane. This 
 I firmly believed would be done, for now that it was known the Levi- 
 athans of the Club had recorded their magnanimous resolution to expel 
 me from their body, there was every reason to expect the " small fry" 
 would seek to ingratiate themselves with the Lieutenant General by 
 insulting me also — and I as firmly believe, on the honour of a gentle- 
 man, thp.t if the 6th Scotch had carried their threat into execution, any 
 attempt of mine to punish them, so far from being suffered by the 
 Lieutenant General, would have been followed by an immediate order 
 of removal from the countrv. 
 
MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 129 
 
 Satisfied as I was tliat I should be publicly insulted, and that redress 
 fur such insult would be denied me, my position waa any thing but an 
 agreeable one. This certainly was to Ije avoided by remaining in the 
 house ; but I could not bear the thought that my confinement to it 
 should be attributed to such an apprehentio i. Even if others did 
 not know it, I should, and such consciousness was not to be endured. 
 Things were, however, arrived at a crisis which made m^ desperate, 
 and when I went out, which I did more to prove my defiance of the 
 threat of a "horsewhipping" than any thing else, it was not without a 
 proper weapon of defence. With this, whatever the consequences, I 
 was resolved to make an example of the first officer who should venture 
 to assault me. But although they evinced outward signs of a most noble 
 pugnacity, none of them ventured upon the accomplishment of their 
 threat. 
 
 In the mean time, having been apprized of the false, yet uncontradict- 
 ed, statement made by Mr. Taylor at the meeting of the Club — a state- 
 ment which I did not choose to explain to that august body, reserving the 
 opportunity to a future period — I received, in reply to a note on the 
 subject, the following letter from Major Clarke, of the Quarter Master 
 Ganeral't) Department, who had also withdrawn his name from the 
 Club, in consequence of the admission into it of the dismissed officers 
 and ex-servants of the Legion, to whom I had already alluded. 
 
 i 
 
 'I 
 
 San Sebastian, 9th JSTovemberj 1836. 
 
 My dear Richardson, 
 
 I have no hesitation in replying to your note, in stating what I heard 
 and saw on the night of the raisunderslanding between Lieutenant Colonel 
 Sloane and yourself. The head waiter of the Club had been excessively 
 insolent on several occasions during the evening, which led to some 
 altercation, on which he brought up Colonel Sloane, who, as far as I 
 saw, without making any inquiry, came up to you, and said that the 
 waiter was only a servant to the Committee, and that you might leave 
 the room, on which you replied no gentleman would have made such 
 an observation, on which Colonel Sloane demanded — " Do you mean 
 to say I am no gentleman ?" to which you replied — " Yes." You 
 
 R 
 
 ij 
 
 :i 
 
 1 fJi 
 
126 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOIRS OF 
 
 were much exciteil at the time, as I myself eliould have been, at the 
 conduct of the waiter, but there was notiiing in your attitude or manner 
 that could have been in any way construed into a threat of personal 
 violence to Colonel Sloane, which, if such had occurred, could not 
 have escaped my observation — as I had my eyes upon you the whole 
 time. 
 
 fielieve me, my dear Richardson, 
 
 Yours very faithfully, 
 
 W. A. Clarke, 
 Major, Qr. Mr. Gen. Depart, 
 Major Richardson, &,c. &c. &c. 
 
 Confirmatory of the facts contained in this letter, I subjoin another 
 from my second, Mr. Lambton, who was also present at the transaction. 
 
 if i 
 
 ■ I ; 
 
 Mil 
 
 ii 
 
 San Sebastian, 13ih JiTovembeTf 1836. 
 My dear Major, 
 
 I should most willingly have explained by letter the unfortunate 
 difibrence which took place between Lieutenant Colonel Sloane and 
 yourself at the Club, on the 5th instant, but I think yon will agree with 
 me, that as I acted as your friend upon the occasion alluded to, and was 
 so fortunate as to bring the affair to an amicable termination, that any 
 explanation made on my part, relative to the unfortunate difference, 
 would be inconsistent, as a party concerned. 
 
 I have no hesitation, however, in stating that the affair was honourably 
 arranged to both parties, and that not the slightest imputation can be 
 cast on your conduct as an officer and a gentleman. 
 
 I have read Major Clarke's letter to you, and I consider it a very 
 correct statement of what occurred. 
 
 Believe me, my dear Major, 
 
 Yours very sincerely, 
 
 William Lambton, 
 .Assistant Staff Suurgeon. 
 Major Richardson, late of the 4th Fusileers, ' 
 &c. &c. &c. 
 
 Here, then, were two letters in every sense contradictory of the ridi- 
 culous statement made by Mr. Taylor, the extreme improbability of 
 which was of course no subject of question with the Club, who would 
 have been very much disappointed, indeed, had not some cause been 
 framed necessary to the end proposed, and to give a colouring of justifi- 
 
MAJOn ntCHARDSON. 
 
 127 
 
 cation to their conduct. Did I communicate these letters to the Club 1 
 Moat certainly not. It may be asked wlierefore, since they could not 
 fail to convince every man of sound honour and right feeling, that I was 
 tlie person principally aggrieved in the affair with Colonel Sloane. My 
 reasons for not doing so, were three in number. In the first place, I 
 could not condescend to enter into any sort of explanation with a body 
 of individuals who had thus acted ; secondly, I was unwilling to 
 compromise Major Clarke, who had already experienced the most 
 marked neglect of his services, at the hands of the Lieutenant General, 
 in consequence of the evidence given by him on my Court of Inquiry — 
 a neglect in which Colonel (now General) Kinloch equally shared ; and 
 thirdly, because I felt fully persuaded that no explanation, however 
 satisfactory in itself, would be regarded by men who had acted — some 
 under the influence of personal feeling — others under tlie impression 
 that their aostility to me would be the certain means to ensure 
 tiiC fnvuur of the Lieutenant General. Mr. Lambton, indeed, had 
 already been made to experience the rule of his superiors, for having had 
 the boldness to expostulate on the absurdity and injustice of the 
 proceedings of the meeting. Oh, these little men of a yet more brief 
 authority ! 
 
 The falsehoods invented by my enemies, in regard to my affair with 
 Colonel Sloane, were beyond all credence. Some persons even went 
 so far as to assert I had threatened personal violence to that officer. In 
 order to place the question beyond a doubt, I wrote him the following : — 
 
 ■ 
 
 < 
 
 
 ( 6 Calle Narrica, Sajv Sebastun, 
 I 8th JVavembeVj 1836. 
 
 Dear Colonel, 
 
 Unfortunate as was our misunderstanding of the other evening, we 
 have mutually explained and are mutually satisfied — but rumour, with 
 her hundred tongues, has magnified as usual. 
 
 It is reported that, on the night of our disagreement, I eitl er struck or 
 held up my hand to you threateningly. Now this is a great injustice to 
 ug both— to me, in assuming I could have so acted— to you, in supposing 
 
 i ' '« 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 jiuafflaa 
 
128 
 
 PRRSONAI. MEMOIRS OF 
 
 il 
 
 It: 
 
 iH 
 
 m 
 
 M 
 
 m 
 
 ( 
 
 1 
 
 i 
 
 you would have submitted to such blow or threatening genture, without 
 duly resenting it. 
 
 No mention of apology is made for any action of mine in the explana- 
 tion I rendered, and certainly had I done as represented, you would not 
 have been satisfied without more ample satisfaction than I gave. 
 
 Have you, therefore, any objection to state in writing that no such 
 blow or threatening gesture was ever made by me ? I may have raised 
 my hand in the energy of expression of the moment, but I C/ertoinly never 
 intended it should have been interpreted in a different manner. You, 
 I know, would not have suffered the insult tu pass unnoticed had I 
 done so. 
 
 I am, dear Colonel, 
 
 Yourri, &c., 
 
 J. Richardson, 
 I Major f late B. ^. L, 
 
 Lieut. Col. Sloane, Commandant, Snn Sebastian, 
 &c. &c. &c. 
 
 I received fr>v ans'.ver : — 
 
 San Sebastian, Sth J^Tovember, 1836. 
 Dear Major, 
 
 In reply to your note just received, I have to inform you that no 
 blow was struck, neither do I think intended, in the late unfortunate 
 transaction. 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 W. M. Sloane, 
 Lieutenant Colonel Commanding, 
 Major Richardson, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 On the 16th, as I have already stated, the wind, for the first time, 
 lulled sufficiently to enable me to embark for Bayonne. I had prepared 
 my letters, and gave orders they should be delivered to their respective 
 addresses the moment I was out of Lieutenant General Evans' juris- 
 diction. The two principal of these letters were for the proposer and 
 seconder of the insult that had Ijeen offered to me on the 5th of Novem- 
 ber, Colonel Kirby and General Chichester, but as these parties have 
 since made me the amende honorable for their prominent share in the 
 transaction, I forbear publishing them. 
 
 In order that no mistake should occur as to the existence of these 
 Wers, I took the precaution, not only to show them to those officers who 
 
 ' 
 
MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 129 
 
 had so nobly came forward with their testimony to save me from the 
 blow which had been aimed at my character by the Lieutenant General, 
 but I also enclosed copies of them to the Committee of the Club, in the 
 following communication : — 
 
 San Sebastian, 12M Novtmher^ 1836, 
 
 To the Committee of the B. A. L. Club Major Bichardron cncloflea 
 copies of lettern addressed by him to General Chichester and Colonel 
 Kirby. Major Richardson considers it due to himtielf, that ns the offence 
 was public, no mistake should occur in a knowledge of the transmission 
 of these letters to the parties so prominent in the wanton insult oH'ered 
 him on the 5th of November. 
 
 i ;i 
 
 To Colonel Thompson, who had presided at tlie meeting, I wrote : — 
 
 San Sebastian, I2ih Movembery 1836. 
 Sir, 
 
 When you were placed in the chair at a meeting of the British 
 Auxiliary Legion Club, to affix your signature to the paper I received 
 from }ou on Saturday last, you merely performed a part suggested and 
 desired by your superiors. 
 
 But, Sir, having understood that an account of what are called the 
 proceedings of a general meeting, has been, or is about to be, transmitted 
 to the London press, I simply warn the writer, through you, that 
 unless the account forwarded be a correct one, I shall not only contra- 
 dict it with incontrovertible facts, but an action for scandalous libel 
 shall be brought against his employers. 
 
 I am, Sir, &c., 
 
 The President of the Meeting of the ) 
 San Sebastian Club. ) 
 
 J. Richardson, 
 
 Major, late B. A, L, 
 
 i 
 
 The two next individuals to whom I felt it incumbent on me to 
 address communications, were Surgeon Taylor, and Colonel Shaw, of 
 the Artillery. The former, it will be recollected, had opened the 
 meeting with a most violent misstatement of my conduct, and the latter 
 was the individual who proposed that my resignation should not be 
 accepted, but, on the contrary, my dismissal from the Club recorded. 
 
 i 
 
w 
 
 I 
 
 ■ I 
 
 i 
 
 i\ 
 
 1:1 
 
 I 
 
 VM) 
 
 PKRNUNAt. MEMOIRS OF 
 
 r Tu tliu Lieiitoiiattt General, at whuae iniitigation the aevcral parties 
 had octeil, I could not of counie lend a communication of purport 
 tiimilar with the preceding ; hov 'iver, I won reaolved not to leave the 
 country without an expresoion of my opinion of the conduct ho hod 
 tliuuglit pro|)er to adopt towards me. I accordingly addrefned him : — 
 
 San Sebastian, 12/A Kovemhtr^ 1836. 
 General, 
 
 I should indeed he sadly wanting in gratitude were I, on taking my 
 final leave of Spain, to omit returning you my most sincere thanks for 
 all the goodness and loving kindness I have received at your hands 
 since I have been in the legion — more eajwcially since my departure 
 on leave of absence in May last. 
 
 As a very poor return for your unceasing attention, permit me, how- 
 ever, to enclose you the accompanying very important document.* It 
 was given me for the express purpose of publication, by an officer of no 
 mean rank in the Legion under your command — one who at the meeting 
 of the 5th was among the loudest in outcry for the insult so gratuitously 
 offered to me. 
 
 It was a high compliment tliat officer paid to my sense of honour, 
 when he feared not a very justifiable feeling of revenge might induce 
 me to betray a secret which vvould have cost him his commission. He 
 judged me rightly. I had pledged my word to secrecy, and although I 
 enclose you the document in question, no consideration shall cause me 
 to divulge his name. Suffice it to note, that he is one who, whatever 
 may be his present views, I have repeatedly heard to threaten you with 
 personal chabtisement, on your mutual return to England. 
 
 May his own reflections when he hears of the forbearance I have 
 shown in return for his gratuitous unkindness — as doubtless he will — be 
 his only punishment. 
 
 I am, General, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 J. Richardson, 
 
 Major, late B. A, L, 
 Lieut. Gen. Evans, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 At Bayonne, I ^^ailed three days, in the full expectation of being 
 followed by at least two of the four gentlemen to whom I had 
 intimated my intention of remaining there for that time. Mr. Taylor, 
 I understand, made a great show of valour in the streets of San Sebas- 
 
 * A paper containing an account of the heavy sums pocketed monthly by the 
 Lieutenant General. .7^ 
 
 t< 
 
MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 Ilil 
 
 lian, having applied for and obtained leave from Uio Lieutenant (loncrul 
 to fullovv me to Bayonne. No nooner, however, wau the leave granted, 
 than Mr. Taylor interposed an obstacle of hie own creation, in the »\\a[te 
 of an apjMjal to his coadjutors, as to whether he was really called upon 
 to follow or not. This was amusing. There was, however, more real 
 excuse in the state of the weather, which had again become boisterous 
 immediately after my departure) and not a little was Mr. Taylor consoled 
 tlierehy. That no pica might be urged hereaAor on the score of unfavor- 
 able weatlier preventing the parties from coming to Bayonne, I waited 
 tliree days longer. On my departure I dispatched the following : — 
 
 Bayonne, SarfJVw^OTAer, 1836. 
 
 I certify that Major Richardson remained at the same hotel where I 
 am now stopping, (the Hotel St. Eticnne,) until this day, Wednesday. 
 
 Chaules Heyland, 
 Captain Unattached^ British Service. 
 
 The moment this certificate was read by the Committee of the Club 
 at San Sebastian, to whom it was addressed, a second meeting was 
 called, in order to "determine what was to be done under existing cir- 
 cumstances.'' There was^ a.< usual, much noise and little wool ; how- 
 ever, it resulted that some one,(ColoneI Shaw,of the Artillerj', I l)elieve,*) 
 wrote home an account to the United Service GazettCy of my expulsion 
 from the Club at San Sebastian, expressing, at the same time, the 
 anxiety of that highly principled association, to make their own story good 
 before my arrival in England. This paragraph I did not see for some 
 months afterwards, when I replied to it as far as the limits of a news- 
 paper would admit, promising more ample refutation at a future time 
 when the conjpiracy formed by General Evans against me should 
 be fully exposed to the public. 
 
 On leanng Bayonne, I intimated to several of my friends at San 
 Sebastian my intention of remaining sufficiently long at Bordeaux, 
 
 ♦ An officer remarkable for nothing that 1 am aware of liut his perpetual prs- 
 Ipring of the Spanish Government, through the Englifih Ministry, for nis n-rears 
 of pay. 
 
 
 ,11 
 
 ' ' I 
 
 ■it] 
 I' 
 
 •»5l 
 
132 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOIRS or 
 
 
 3', 
 
 'I 
 
 ! 
 
 whither Captain hc^land had accompanied me, to admit of every 
 facility beirg aiTorded to those who had any inclination to follow ; but 
 although the fact was made known, at my desire, to the parties most 
 interested, no one came. Having continued nearly three weeks at 
 Bordeaux, without any sign of a hostile visit, I set off for Paris, but did 
 not reach London until the early part of last year. 
 
 Although I knew that the Reporter of the Morning Advertiser had 
 been invitee' to attend the meeting of the San Sebastian Club, with 
 that view, as I had never been in the habit of reading or indeed of 
 eve" hearing of the existence of the paper, I did not take tli3 trouble to 
 examine its61er< to see if the threat of publication had been carried into ex- 
 ecution. 1 am therefore in ignorance, to this hovir, whether any slander has 
 been circulated through tike columns of that journal — nor do I indeed at- 
 tach any importance to the fact, for I confess my letter to Colonel Thomp- 
 son was written more in a spirit of scornful defiance than any thing else. 
 
 With the United Service Gazette, which was in the hands of all 
 military men, it was vory different. My attention having been called 
 thereto, 1 at once recurred to its files, an i found the following lying par., 
 graph, which had been written after the receipt of my copies of the 
 letters to General Chichester and Colonel Kirby by the Committee of 
 the Club : and the subsequent certificate of Captain Heyland : — 
 
 "There hai been one rather unpleasant circumstance, but wi-ich 
 will be of use in many points, as it shows that the superior (?) officers 
 are determined to put every thing of au improper kind down, Thit, is 
 the history : and as the aggressor will try to make good his own story when 
 he arrives in England, I wish you to be in (lossession of the facts, and 
 to be beforehand with him. Major Rictiardson, of Ecarti notoriety, 
 though he had lefl the Legion, was, at die recommendation of two 
 niembers> admitted to the benefits of the Club. He had been one 
 evening playing cards, and got into a dispute and violent rage with the 
 servant about paying for them. He then went tc Colonel Sloane, the 
 chairman, and complained to him, who said he could not help it, or 
 some such answer, upon which Major Richardson became very abu- 
 sive, said he was no gentleirar-., ar-' made use of very violent and 
 indecorous language. Colonel Sloane, of course, sent him a message, 
 
 ; 
 
MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 133 
 
 r every 
 IV ; but 
 ;s most 
 eeks at 
 but did 
 
 iser had 
 b, vdth 
 ideed of 
 ouble to 
 intoex- 
 nder has 
 ideed at- 
 Thomp- 
 ling else, 
 ds of all 
 sn called 
 ing par,. ■ 
 es of the 
 mittee of 
 
 ut wrich 
 ?) officers 
 Thifc. ;s 
 ;ory when 
 facts, and 
 notoriety, 
 n of two 
 been one 
 ) with the 
 loane, the 
 lielp it, or 
 very abu- 
 olent and 
 I message, 
 
 hut the business was rtrevonted from going further by some person in 
 power^ a>id the club was immediately convened. Before it could as- 
 semble, the Maj^r sent in his resignation; but when the meeting took 
 place, it w^s resolved that the behaviour of Major Richardson was so 
 improper (I forget the exact words of the resolution) that his name 
 should be erased from the list, and his money returned to him. This 
 was carried by about fifty members ; I do not think there was above one 
 or two in the room, who did not hold up their hands, and vote him out 
 in a manner anything but complimeniary. 
 
 Thie persons who took the most active part were ofScers of the King's 
 and Company's service, holding high rank in the Legion.* Major R. 
 wrote some letters to these officers, as well as copies which he sent to 
 the Club, but 'he members considered him too insigkiificant and con- 
 temptible to be noticed. Here the matter rests. I wonder if his ex- 
 pulsion from this society will form a chapter in the en'ertaining work 
 he proposes favouring the public with. He has left San Sebastian, an(t 
 said in his letters to these officers, that he should remain three days at 
 Bayonne. Had these officers been willing to give him the rencontre, 
 they could not, the weather having been so very bad." 
 
 From the date of this letter, which bears that of the 19th of Novem- 
 ber, it will be seen that it was written immediately ailer the second 
 meeting of the Club, to whi(;h I have already alluded. No doubt 
 Colonel Shaw, of the Artillery, (to whom I have attributed it,) thought 
 it much safer to deem Major Fichardson too contemptible to be followed 
 than to notice the letter I had left for him, which, by-the-bye, I have since 
 understood from the officers who had previously seen and read it, he had 
 the prudence not to exhibit; although Mr. Taylor, half frantic at its receipt, 
 had made the contents of his public the next hour. The paragraph in the 
 United Service Gazette hints at the " unwillingness" of the parties 
 invited to follow to Bayonne — an unwillingness which had some show 
 of excuse in the weath'^r. Of this disinclination on their parts, I have 
 not the slightest doubt ; for it is rare, indeed, that ^hose who have the 
 baseness to inflict a wanCoii and unprovoked injury, have the heart to 
 uphold or justify their conduct. The man of real courage is incapable 
 of prem<^itated offence. How this " unwillingness" was eventually 
 overcome in the principal of the parties, will be seen later. 
 
 ♦Most certainly, General Chichester and Colonel Kirby. ^^ 
 
 S 
 
 I 
 
134 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOIRS OF 
 
 «■* 
 
 I : i 
 
 Meanwhile, on perusing the ])aragraph from San Sebastian, I wrote 
 
 lo the Editwrs of the United Service Gazette : — 
 
 London, \6th Januaryf 1837. 
 Gentlemen, 
 
 Having only recently returned from the continent, I have not had an 
 opportunity of following up the consecutive numbers of your Gazette — 
 nor should I have thought of referring to the file even now, had not my > 
 attention been directed by a friend to your paper of the 5th of Decem- 
 ber, in which (I will not say to my surprise as far as regards the fact 
 itself,) I find ir.y name brought forward in the most offensive manner. 
 
 I canaot condescend to notice the whole of the letter of your anony- 
 mous correspondent from San Sebastian, otherwise than by stating that 
 it is couched in the true spirit of the party at whose instigation he has 
 written. Allusion is made to me of being of Ecarte notoriety. If by 
 this your correspondent means that I am the author of a book so called, 
 unwilling, as I have hitherto been, to identify myself publicly wit^ oiy 
 works, I cannot deny the " sweet imputation."* 
 
 And now, gentlemen, as the conduct of your paper has ^ iO)0.«ied 
 justice — justice of the most impartial kind — for its basis, I assume that 
 you will not hesitate to insert my answer, to the foul scurrility contained 
 in the letter of your correspondent. 
 
 That an insult has been offered to me, with a view to please the 
 Lieutenant General, who has sought to make me his victim, on a yet 
 more extended scale than Colonel Dickson was attempted to be crushed 
 by th(j Brigadier his brother, I will not deny, but I believe it will 
 scarcely be disputed that an unprovoked, and uaexpiated insult reflects 
 rather upon him who offers, than upon him who receives it. On the 
 same principle, a ruffian, or set of ruffians, may gratuitoueiy and premi-, 
 ditatedly insult you in the street — yet where is your redress? The 
 gentleman is studiously careful to avoid even a suspicion of wrong. 
 The ruffian adds insult to injury. The gentleman, if wrong, ofiers every 
 atonement in his power. 
 
 Youv correspondent seems apprehensive of the appearance of my 
 << second volume," and is anxious that his slander should precede my 
 publication. He is right in regard to the fact of publication. That vo- 
 lume is forthcoming, and will contain such an expos6 of General 
 Evans' tyranny, oppression and injustice, as will with difficulty be cre- 
 dited by h^s favouring "electors of Westminster,*' to whom it is intended 
 to be inscribed.! Nor, be it assumed that my production will contain 
 
 *It is obvious a very different meaning was intended to be conveyed, but | did 
 not choose so to consider it. 
 
 tThis was my original intention. Since the discussion, however, which has to 
 ken place in the House of Commons, and the offensive introduction of my nam<' 
 by certain parties therein, I have thought it expedient to inscribe this Memoir ui" 
 the facts connected with the case, to that honourable Assembly. , 
 
'i^ 
 
 MAJOK RICHARD&OX. 
 
 135 
 
 
 simply an exparte Htatement ; documents, emanating from General 
 Evans and his subordinates, shall be given, chapter and verse, for all I 
 have to advance. 
 
 When that publication appears — as shortly it will — I shall fearlessly 
 submit to the consideration of all honourable minded men — particularly 
 to the Clubs of London, and more particularly to the United Service 
 Clubs — whether I have, in aught, failed to uphold the honour of a Brit- 
 ish officer, throughout a series of oppression the most unexampled (un- 
 der all the circumstances) perhaps on military record — i repeat, and I 
 beg it to be distinctly underetood, that i'* I fail to show I have acted in 
 the affair with the h'jh and becoming feeling of a British soldier, I will 
 cheerfully bow to any fiat, however severe, they may pronounce upon 
 my conduct. 
 
 The principal paragraph in your correspondent's letter, which I shall 
 notice, is that wherein he states the weather was too bad for any one of 
 my principal insulters, with whom (in consequence of the Lieutenant 
 General's threatened interference) I had felt it necessary to leave invita- 
 tions to follow me to Bayonne in the space of three days, to profit by 
 the opportunity. The annexed certificate of Captain Heyland (an offi- 
 cer of the British service, and not of the Legion) will show that I re- 
 mained six days, and did not eventually leave Bayonne before the mail 
 boat had arrived without bringing any of the parties expected. On 
 quitting Bayonne, I intimated my intention to remain at Bordeaux ano- 
 ther week, enclosing, at the same time. Captain Heyland's certificate to 
 the Committee of the Club. At Bordeaux I remained a fortnight. 
 Thus much for the delay from bad weather. 
 
 Meanwhile, gentlemen, as this last desperate act of the Lieutenant 
 General's party to insult me publicly, and thereby, (in forwarding their 
 own account of that insult,) to neutralize the effects of my threatened 
 publication of his most gross injustice towards me, has had its pretext 
 in my jirivate misunderstanding with Colonel Sloane. I trust you will 
 do me the favour to insert the following letters sent me by two eye- 
 witnesses of a transaction, which has been so grossly and calumniously 
 misrepresented. 
 
 [Here follow the letters of Major Clarke and Mr. Lambton, together 
 with the certificate of Captain Heyland.] 
 
 The above is all I (X)nceive it necessary to state here. For obvioua 
 reasons I do not publish my letters to the parties who, even after my 
 retirement from the so-called San Sebastiar. Club, proposed and second- 
 e*^. the gratuitous insult offered to me. In due time a detail of the whole 
 proceeding will appear. 
 
 In a former number of your paper you have been pleased to designate 
 me as an out-and-outer of General Evans. The notes which you then 
 
 ;'s:^| 
 
 I 
 
 Vrii I 
 
 |l] 
 
IS 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 if 
 
 •': i 
 
 p.; 
 
 i 
 
 ' 
 
 ^ !l 
 
 136 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOIRS OF 
 
 received, it must be recoHeuted, alluiled to General Evaiia as a soldier — 
 such as I then deemed him to be. It becomes [my (not enviable) task 
 now to depict him chiefly as a man. 
 
 It is far from pleasant, gentlemen, to be thus dragged into notice before 
 the public ; yet, painful as it id, I cannot do other than adopt the neces- 
 sity which has thus been imposed upon me — that of contradicting under 
 my own signature the calumny of your anonymous correspondent. As 
 you have given admission to the poison, which has now been some 
 weeks in circulation, I presume you can have no hesitation in adminis- 
 tering the antidote. 
 
 I am, Gentlemen, 
 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 J. Richardson, 
 
 ^MajoTf late B, A. L, 
 Editvf ('6 United Service Gazette, 
 &c. &c. &e. 
 
 Some days aiier this letter had been published, I accidentally heard 
 of the arrival of Colonel Kirby in town. I, of course, immediately 
 called upon that officer for redress for the injury I had experienced, at 
 his hands, enclosing him, at the same time, a copy of the United Service 
 Gazette, in which my answer to the paragraph from San Sebastian had 
 appeared, and which could leave him no pretext for refusing my 
 demand. After some little delay on the part of Colonel Kirby, he 
 referred my friend to one of his own. Several interviews to<^ place on 
 the subject between the seconds, at Long's Hotel, in Bond-street, which 
 finally terounated in an arrangement that we should meet at day-break 
 on the following morning, at Chalk farm. Most fortunately, however, 
 for me, I had engaged as a friend, one whose sound judgment and 
 discernment led him at once to perceive that a duel proved, or rather 
 disproved, nothing, and that the written admission of Colonel Kirby's 
 error would infinitely more advantage me than a meeting — since such 
 admission coming from the principal of the offending parties, would, 
 of course, place the others entirely in ray power. He accordingly 
 suggested, ^ile on the point of separation from Colonel Kiiby's friend, 
 that the whole proceeding should be made the subject of arbitration — 
 the artMtntors to decide on the evidence submitted to them. To this 
 
MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 137 
 
 proposition Colonel Kirby's second immediately assented. Both parties, 
 however, reserved to th option of their principals whether the 
 measure should be final or not. Feeling perfectly satisfied that I 
 could produce such evidence as must convince the arbitrators how 
 much I had been wronged, I, of course, most gladly assented to the 
 arrangement. Colonel Kirby was, according to the showing of his 
 friend, for fighting first and explaining aflterwards, but, on calmer reflec- 
 tion, he consented to the arbitration. 
 
 Mr. Morin, the Editor of the Globe, was the arbitrator named by 
 Colonel Kirby. Mr. Gurney, a gentleman as remarkable for his talent 
 as for his amiable manners ana profound knowledge of the world, 
 acted for me, as indeed he had in the proposal of submitting the afiair to 
 arbitration. 
 
 On the 25lh of February, the arbitrators met at Mr. Gumey's, in 
 Albemarle-street, when the following document was handed in by Mr. 
 Morin, on behalf of Colonel Kirby : — 
 
 *< Colonel Kirby is ready to state, that if he had been aware when he 
 moved the resolution of expulsion from the Club, that Major Richardson 
 had not been fairly put upon his defence ; 
 
 Or, 
 
 That the evidence of Major Richardson's conduct the night previously 
 was not such as to substantiate the charge against him, he (Colonel 
 Kirby) would not have taken any part in the proceedings of November 
 5th, 1836." 
 
 Mr. Gurney, on the part of Major Richardson, then requested that 
 Colonel Kirby would have the goodness to attend before the arbitrators, 
 and answer a few questions to be put to him by Major Richardson. 
 
 Colonel Kirby attended accordingly. 
 
 Question ist : — Will Colonel Kirby state the charge or charges brought 
 against Major ^chardson on the 5th of November. 
 
 Answer : — The San Sebastian Club was assembled on that day, to 
 consider the propriety of Major Richardson's conduct to Colonel Sloene, 
 on the night previously ; and while the Committee were sitting, Major 
 R.'a resignation, as I understocd^ was announced. The Committee en- 
 tered the Club room, and read a report on Major Richardson's conduct, 
 the charge in which was substantiated by the viva voce testimony of Dr. 
 Taylor and others. The charge wa^ that Major Richardson had insul- 
 
 
 Hi 
 
138 
 
 PERSONAL MEMOIRS OF 
 
 P i 
 
 Ui' 
 
 tud Colonel Sloane, Chairman of tlie Committee, when acting in tliut 
 capacity. 
 
 Question 2d : — Under what circumstances did Colonel Kirby make 
 his motion ? 
 
 Answer : — Aa I recollect, a member of the Committee, Colonel 
 Shaw, of the Artillery, I believe, proposed that Major Richardson's resig- 
 nation should not be received, but his subscription returned. I then 
 asked — '' Are we here to take into consideration a private quarrel be- 
 tween Major Richardson and Colonel Sloane, which ap|iears to have 
 been settled already, or are we met to consider Major Richardson's con- 
 duct to the club through its Chairman]" The answer was generally 
 the latter. On that account, I then moved that Major Richardson be ex- 
 pelled the Club, which was seconded by General Chichester, and 
 carried. 
 
 Question 3d : — Does Colonel Kirby know if the Committee had 
 given notice to Major Richardson of the charge to be preferred against 
 him? 
 
 Answer : — I do not know. / did not take the tremble to inquire. 
 
 Question 4th :— Why did not Colonel Kirby take the trouble to in- 
 quire? 
 
 Answer : — Because, after the representations made by the Commit- 
 tee, and the viva voce testimony of Doctor Taylor before alluded to, Mr. 
 Lambton made a statement on the part of Major Richardson, whether 
 authorized or not, that the afl'air between Colonel Sloane and Major 
 Richardson had been settled, and mutual apologies exchanged ; frona 
 this circumstance, I was led to think that Dr. Lambton, who I was in- 
 formed was Major Richardson's friend in this quarrel, still appeared in 
 the Club as Major Richardson's representative. 
 
 Question 5th : — ^Did Mr. Lambton represent himself as authorized 
 by Major Richardson ? 
 
 Answer : — I did not hear him say so. 
 
 Question 6th : — Do you happen to know, or did you ever hear of an 
 instance in which a member of the Club has been expelled from it after 
 having withdrawn his name as a member ? 
 
 Answer : — ^This was the first Club of which I ever was a member, 
 and I never had an opportunity of knowing. 
 
 Question 7th : — Do you know of any notice having been given to 
 Major Richardson of the intention to bring forward any charge against 
 him? 
 
 Answer: — Ididnot. ;- y ; 
 
 Several other questions were put to Colonel Kirby, but as I have lost 
 the paper on wLich I had transcribed them, and as they are not so vital 
 to the subject as the preceding, I do not give their substance. 
 
MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 I3f) 
 
 Tlie arbitrators having considered the various evidence submitted to 
 thorn, (amongst others, that of Captain Tupper, a relation of Colonel 
 Tupper, who was present at the Club on the night in question) came to 
 a decision that Colonel Kirby should make me reparation for the part he 
 had acted. This was conveyed under his own signature, and in the 
 following terms : — 
 
 " In consequence of the opinion of the arbitrators, and upon due re- 
 flection, I now consider that I acted under a mistaken impression, n 
 proposing a resolution for the expulsion of Major Richardson from the 
 San Sebastian Club, and I therefore offer Major Richardson such repa- 
 ration (without entering into detail) as it may strictly become me to make, 
 and him to accept, as officers and gentlemen. 
 
 (Signed) H. W. Kirby, 
 
 Col. Spanish Service. 
 
 The only remaining individual on whom I now felt it incumbent on 
 me to call, was General Chichester, the seconder of Colonel Kirby's 
 motion. No opportunity, however, had been afforded me while in 
 England for submitting to that officer the alternative embraced by Colonel 
 Kirby, nor was it until after my arrival in this country, whither, I had 
 been given to understand. General Chichester had preceded me from 
 Europe, that I was enabled to bring the long pending affair to a close. 
 On reaching Montreal, in the vicinity of which I was informed General 
 Chichester — again actively employed in the British service — was quar- 
 tered, I found he had arrived from Three Rivers, on his way to the 
 Upper Province, and was then at Orr's Hotel, in Notre Dame Street. 
 Almost a total stranger in this my native land, from which I had been 
 absent upvtrards of twenty years, and which, indeed, I found wearing a 
 very different aspect from that which it bore at my departure, I had some 
 difficulty in procuring a friend to whom a mission of such importance 
 to me co!ild be entrust'id. The moment I succeeded in obtaining one — 
 and it was necessary, for obvious reasons, the party should be a civilian — 
 I sent him to General Chichester, charged with the written apology of 
 
 i 
 
 mi 
 
 i m 
 
 
HO 
 
 l>Bil80NAL MCMomi Of 
 
 '•: i-i 
 
 Culonol Kirby, and the letters of Major Clarke and Mr. Lamhton, on 
 which that apology had been chiefly grounded, requiring, at the same 
 time, a similar document from himself. GSeneral Chichester referred 
 my friend, Mr. Morison, to Colonel Wetherall, of the Royal Regiment. 
 The following is the correspondence which took place on the occasion :-— 
 
 Montreal, May 30, 1838. 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel Wetherall has carefully perused the correspon- 
 dence this day sent to his friend Colonel Chichester, regarding an affair 
 at San Sebastian, which led to the expulsion of Major Richardson from 
 the Club of that place. 
 
 Colonel Chichester seconded the motion on that occasion, in conse- 
 quence of the evidence then adduced against Major R., and Lieutenant 
 Coloael Wetherall has no hesitation in stating, on the part of his friend, 
 *' that had he then known what is now brought to his knowledge in 
 Major Clar/ufs letteTf he would not have seconded the motion of Colo- 
 nel Kirby." 
 
 M. Morison, Esq. Rasco's Hotel. 
 
 I 
 
 ;> 1 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Rasco's Hotel, 30th May^ 10 o'clockj P. M. 
 
 The fact of admission contained in your letter of this evening's date, 
 that Colonel Chichester would nut have tiiken the part he did, in se- 
 conding the motion for the expulsion of Major Richardson from tho San 
 Sebastian Club on the 1st November 1837, is sufficient to show that he 
 (Colonel Chichester) laboured under an erroneous impression, but, of 
 course, such admission must come under his own signature, coupled with 
 an apology similar to that given by Colonel Kirby, the proposer of the 
 highly offensive measure in question, which I had the honour of, this 
 day, submitting to Colonel Chichester. To obviate the necessity of all 
 extraneous correspondence on the matter, I beg to add, that the style of 
 apology above alluded to, is the only one I (as the friend of Major Rich- 
 ardson) can, under all the circumstances of the case, accept. 
 I have the honour to be. 
 Sir, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 (Signed) M. Morison. 
 Lieut. Col. Wetherall, Su;. &c. &c. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 Rasco's Hotel, 10 o^clock^ Thursday Morning. 
 
 Last evening, I had the honour of forwarding a reply to your com- 
 munication on the part of Colonel Chichester, to which I have not yet 
 
MAJOR RICHARDSON. 
 
 HI 
 
 received an answer. I trtiHt it will not appear unnecessarily hastening 
 the arrangement of the aflair under our mutual consideration, if I request, 
 that the earliest possible answer may he sent to my note of last night. 
 When I state that Major Kiclianlson is under the necessity o( leaving 
 for Quebec this evening, I am satistied you will sufliciontly enter in'.o my 
 views for dispatch. 
 
 I liave the honour to he. 
 Sir, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 (Signed) M. MoRisotf. 
 Lieut. Col. WetheruU, &c. &.c. &c. 
 
 i 
 
 Montreal, 3 Ist J\Iay, 7 P. M. 
 Sir, 
 
 My unavoidable absence from Montreal since an early hour this 
 morning, and having only just returned, has prevented my replying 
 earlier to your letter ; indeed, after our personal interview yesterday, I 
 did not expect to hear further, deeming the explanation which Colonel 
 Chichester had made, through me, sufficient. Let me again relate the 
 Circumstance : — 
 
 A Club was formed at San Sebastian, of which Major Richardson 
 was a member. Some conduct of that officer had given offence to the 
 Club, or to a committee of the Club, and a meeting was summoned to 
 consider it. Colonel Chichester was summoned to attend it, and re- 
 luctantly complied ; but, finding that the accused was not present to 
 vindicate himself, he (Colonel C.) moved an adjournment, that the 
 object of the meeting might be mentioned to him, and an opportunity 
 afforded of his coming. The Club subsequently met, pursuant to ad- 
 journment, and Major R. did not attend, but a Dr. Lambton made a 
 statement, explanatory of that officer^s conduct ; it was not deemed 
 satisfactory, and Colonel Kirby moved that he be expelled. The 
 Chairman asked who seconded the motion, and iio one answering, 
 Colonel Chichester was asked to do so, to which he assented, and the 
 expulsion was carried, with the single dissenting voice of Dr. Lambton. 
 As I stated before. Colonel C. acted upon the evidence adduced — 
 he had no personal animosity towards Major R. — his voice was only- 
 one of a corporation. How, therefore, can he be called upon to apolo- 
 gize for a conscientious vote upon, a public guesHon 1 You will, I am 
 sure, upon reflection, consider the thing preposterous, I mean an apology 
 in the common acceptance of that term. Colonel C. has authorized me, 
 in his name, to say, that had he known then, as much as he now does, 
 from Major Clarke's letter, that he would not have given such a vote, and 
 has, therefore, no hesitation in retracting it, but further I cannot permit 
 him to do. 
 
 ■i 
 
 A 
 
 I 
 
 *t— 
 
' 
 
 t 
 
 ?■ 
 
 142 
 
 PKRfONAL MEMOIRS OP 
 
 Let me say, that had Major R. availed himself of the opportunity of 
 vindicating himself, which Colonel ChicheHter caused to be afl'orded him, 
 by an adjournment, the matter must then hiive l)een, as it now ie, utuica- 
 bly adjusted. Colonel Chichester hoped that the udjoumment had been 
 notified to Major Richardson, and that Dr. Lanibton would have done so, 
 but surely no blame can \ye attached to Colonel C<, but personal neglect. 
 I request that all correspondence on the subject may ceaae. 
 Believe mo to be 
 
 Your obtdient servant, 
 
 G. A Wktherall. 
 M. Morison, Esq., &c. &,c. &c. ) 
 
 Rasco's Hotel. 
 
 Montreal, \st June, 8 o'clock, A. M. 
 
 Sir, 
 
 I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of last night. 
 
 Although strici etiquette might demand, that agreeably to your desire, 
 all further vrritien communication on the subject at iesue should be 
 closed, I should but indiflerently acquit myself of a duty which I owe 
 to ' '' parties, were I not to persevere in my endeavours to procure an 
 amicable adjustment of the afl'air between Colonel Chichester and Ma- 
 jor Richardson. You say that Colonel Chichester, in seconding a pro- 
 posal for the expulfiion of Major Richardson from the San Sebastian 
 Club, was influenced solely by public considerations, and, that the only 
 offence towards Major Richardson with which he could be charged, 
 was personal neglect. True it is, that personal neglect, however se- 
 verely it may be felt by the party neglected, forms no decided basis for 
 a demand for redress ; but this is not the point under consideration. The 
 gravamen of the wrong cf which Major Richardson complains, and 
 justly, consists in this; that Colonel Chichester seconded a motion, hav- 
 ing for its object an insult to him, Major Richardson, without causing 
 that officer to be duly apprized such purpose was contemplated. True, 
 doubtless, as you state, Colonel Chichester may have moved an ad- 
 journment of the meeting of the Club to which your letter makes allu- 
 sion, but, was it the especial care, as it should have been the paramount 
 duty of Colonel Chichester to see and know, that Major Richardson 
 was placed in a position, by due and official notice of the inten*' )n8 of 
 the meeting, to avail himself of such adjournment, and offer one word 
 in denial of a false and deliberate charge, which had been brought 
 against him ? Certainly not. Colonel Chichester seconded a propositi 
 of gratuitous insult to Major Richardson ; gratuitous, (because he had 
 already withdrawn his name from the Club) without affording him the 
 slightest opportunity for an explanation which he might and would have 
 given. Again, it is remarked in your letter of last evening, that " it is 
 preposterous to suppose a man should be held privately accouniable for 
 
MAJOR RICIUnOllON. 
 
 143 
 
 the public net of a body. So far I beg to differ with you ; every indivi- 
 dual composing the irieeting nt the San Sebastian Ciub was accountable 
 to Major Richardson, but it did not enter into the views of that officer to 
 condescend to notice the insult that had l)t>en offered him by the maM 
 of persons composing that Club. It was sufficient for the vindication of 
 his own honour, to contine his demand for redress to the proposer and 
 seconder of the highly obnoxious measure. From Colonel Kirby, the 
 mover of the insult, he has received such explanation, as two gentle- 
 men, of high character and feeling, the ono, the Editor of the Globey 
 the other, a private gentleman, moving in the first circles of honour, de- 
 cidei) was due to him ; it now only remains for him to obtain redreM 
 from the seconder. 
 
 It is matter of regret, that Colonel Chichester should have sanctioned, 
 by bis presence or vote, a gross outrage to the feelings of an unoffending 
 individual, without being fully sensible such outrage was merited. It is 
 equally matter of regret, that Colonel Chichester should now, when 
 convinced of, and even acknowledging his error, persist in refusing to 
 make the amende honorable^ which the proposer of the motion he sup- 
 ported has already done in the fullest manner. To show, however, that 
 Major Richardson desires not Co'onel Chichester's inculpation, but 
 merely the vindication of his own honour. I am now authorized, with- 
 out exacting the precise document signed by Colonel Kirby, simply to 
 require, that Colonel Chichester shall declare under his own hand what 
 he has already declared through you, namely, that had he known as 
 much as he now does from Major Clarke's letter, he would not have 
 given his vote for Major Richardson's expulsion from the San Sebastian 
 Club, and has therefore no hesitation in retracting, and expressing his 
 regret for it. 
 
 Should Colonel Chichester, however, unfortunately decline affixing 
 his signature to such document, although I see no reason to apprehend 
 the difficulty, the subject now at issue l)etween that officer and himself, 
 will be, by Major Richardson, still considered an open one. 
 • Major R. leaves for Quebec this evening. 
 I have the honour to be, 
 Sir, 
 Your obedient servant, 
 
 (Signed) M. Morisok. 
 Lieut. Col. Wetherall, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 Montreal, \st Junej 1838. 
 Lieutenant Colonel Chichester, in regard to a discussion and corren^ 
 pondence which has taken place between Lieutenant Colonel Wetherall, 
 on his part, and Mr. Morison, on the part of Major Richardson, admits, 
 that had he known as much as he now does, from Major Clarke's letter, 
 he would not have given his vote for Major Richardson'i expulsion from 
 
 li 
 
 
144. 
 
 PURSUNAI. MklMOIRH Of 
 
 the San Sebastian Club, and ban thercfure, no bceitation in rctrartiiig it, 
 expreaaing bin n^gret that the aflair wus not at tliu time cxplninud, and 
 amicably lettlud, iiince he bau been in England. 
 
 (Signed) C. Chichester, 
 
 Lieuienant Colonel. 
 (GncloMed) M. Moriiion, Esq., RaHCo'« Hotel, 
 with Lieut. Col. WetberalPa complimentH. 
 
 Baisco's Hotel, \st June, 2 oclock, P. M. 
 Sir, 
 
 I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of the document, signed 
 by Colonel Chichester this day, and inclosed to me from youri*cir. 
 
 Major Richardson, whose solo object throughout this very unpleasant 
 affair, has been the vindication of bis honour, begs me to express his 
 •atisfaction with a pai)cr, which he conceives to be couched in a (ipirit 
 desirous of rendering atonement for an unmerited injury. 
 I have the honour to be. Sir, 
 With high ootceni, 
 
 i our very obedient servant, 
 
 M. MORIBON. 
 
 Lieut. Col. Wetherall, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 Thus in Canada, in 1838, has been played the last act iu th ^t sin^ 
 gular of dramas — a drama commenced in Spain, in 1 836, anu . ...inued 
 in England in 1837. If the energies of the principal player should 
 seem to have been occasionally put forth with a vehemence dispro- 
 portioned to his subject, let it be recollected, that on the wide stage of 
 action, on which he had been forced, often witliout study or prepr ration, 
 he has stood almost alone and unsupported. One false emphasis in his 
 reading->^ne instance of weakness in iiis acting, and he must have 
 failed, not only through the glaring disinclination to perform their parts 
 as they ought, of those with whom he has been brought in contact upon 
 the scene, but by the unanimous voice of that most imposing and severe 
 of all audiences — the world. 
 
 By the cold and the calculating — by the selfish and the prudent — I 
 shall no doubt be considered as having adopted a course more chivalrous 
 Uian wise in the uniform opposition I have shown to the various 
 measures of oppression — so unworthily — so ignobly arrayed against 
 me. By those, however, of hi^i honour — of proud and independent 
 
MAJOR RICHAnDHOh 
 
 lif) 
 
 ffuliDg — by those who oiu incapable of saciiticing the approval oC the 
 inward nmn to mere considerutionB ofiMsraonal interest and expediency, 
 I Hhull 1)0 judged in a nobler spirit. They^ at least, will admit, thut in 
 adopting the line of conduct unfolded in the pages of this brief and 
 local Memoir, I have studied that which was most befitting an honour- 
 able mind. As I have elsewhere had reason to observe, never did a 
 more cruel system of injustice seek *o work its slow and sinuous course 
 beneath the mantle of liberalism. Every engine of his power had been 
 put ir motion, by General Evans, to accomplish the ruin of an officer, 
 who had in no other way offended than by refusing tamely to submit — 
 firstly, to his injustice — secondly, to his oppression, and that tho utter 
 overthrow of such officer has not been accomplished, is attributable, not 
 to any forbearance on the part of his persecutor, but to his own innate 
 integrity and right. Yet, this is the man — the political TartufTe — the 
 newly created Sir De Lacy Evans, ; o created through his very aposta- 
 cy to the cause he at one time ati'ected to advocate,) whose watch- 
 words are—or rather were — Liberty and Justice ! To the English 
 public, and more particularly to the English House of Commons, I 
 charge him, in his capacity of Commonder of the British force in Spain, 
 with having been guilty of the most flagrant, groundless, and unprece- 
 dented tyranny that is to be found on military record. To the Horse 
 Guards, moreover, I charge hira with having violated one of the finat 
 and fundamental articles of our military code, in preferring an accusa- 
 tion of the most heinous and cruel nature against an officer bearing Her 
 Majesty's commission, without aflbrding even an hour's notice for 
 defence. Let General Evans deny this if he can. There is not a 
 document given in these Memoirs of which I do not possess the original. 
 Finally, to him and his creatures, I address myself in the strong 
 language of the poet : — 
 
 FalsuB honor juvat et mendex infainia tcrret, 
 ((lueni niii mendaretn et mendacem. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Ii 
 
 1 
 
 V! 
 
 I 
 
f 
 
 ERRATA. 
 
 Page 7, line 29— For being read been- 
 " 45, last line -For he read the- 
 " 66, line 19— For ihU to read thU to the. 
 " 75, line 14— For apappended reai appended- 
 " J36, line 1— For received read reviewed. 
 
n 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 MAXIMS FOR OFFICERS JOINING THE BRITISH LEGION, 
 
 HOW TO GET ON THE STAFF.* 
 
 If you are a tolerable rider, provide yourself with a good horse, on your 
 departure from England — no matter about furnishing your head. When 
 you see the Chief out, who is a devilish bad rider himself, perform 
 various e<iuestrian evolutions with great rapidity ; this will not fail to 
 catch his eye. He will be sure to inquire who you are, and fancying 
 you a showy appendage to his tail, at once place you on his Staff. 
 
 Or, if you cannot ride, contrive to havF a boyish appearance — close- 
 shaven cheek, and well curled wig, with the slightest tinge of a mous- 
 tache. Commence with a demonstration of much fawning — hold the 
 stirrup-iron while the Chief mounts — sv./allow, for a bet, as many 
 biscuits after dinner as you oan — and carry scandal to him with his 
 pocket-handkerchief. He makes no inconsiderable use of both. 
 
 HOW TO OBTAIN PROMOTION. 
 
 Ref^jse your Brigadier, on public parade, to put off a fancy jacket- 
 deny the same demand from the Adjuint General; and when the 
 Chief himself finally urges the same thing, say you will be d — d if you 
 /omove your jacket for him or any man living. This will show your 
 independent spirit, and cause the Chief to do for you through fear, what 
 
 * Whoever wrote these '.naxims must certainly have been cift^d with the spirit 
 of divination, for, in most instances, they were acted upon to the very letter. 
 
 f 
 
 mmm' 
 
ii 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 |i 
 
 he would not through love. When you have thus shown that you are 
 not to be humbugged out of this proper military spirit, get three months' 
 leave of absence — go to England vi'hile any thing is doing — but 
 return just at the moment when orders of merit are being distributed, and 
 peremptorily put in your claim. Sight or wrong, you will be sure to get 
 it. The order obtained, start again for England ; remain away a 
 couple of months more, and on your return, insist on promotion to a 
 higlier step. You may depend upon its being given to you, dated from 
 the period of some action which took place when you were at least a 
 thousand miles off.* 
 
 HOW TO BE SOLICITED TO REMAIN IN THE SERVICE. 
 
 If you happen to hold any sort of command, write to the English 
 papers a flaming account of your own prowess, even though you be 
 most lamentably thrashed. Treat the Chief as a mere cipher. He 
 will call upon you, in great wrath, to contradict the statement ; do jo, 
 but guardedly. The Chief will, perhaps, undertake to forward your 
 contradiction himself. Do not by any means oppose this ; but be sure, 
 by the samr post, that you write to the same paper, and urge the 
 Editor, while inserting your contradiction, to descant much on your 
 excessive modesty and merit in disavowing your own encomiums; 
 and insinuate that, though out of courtesy the second statement is 
 inserted, the 6rst is, after all, the true one. The Ciiief will begin to fear 
 your popularity in England, and interference with liis own popularity 
 is the last thing he can tolerate. To borrow a vulgarism, he will 
 ♦< draw in his horns." That is the time to push your card. Send in 
 your resignation. Although the Chief would give his eyes and ears 
 that you were in the seventh heaven, or any other place equally distant, 
 he will be afraid to let you go. A thousand to one, he writes you the 
 most abject of letters, entreating you to remain, and think no more of 
 
 * An officer of the Legion, who shall be namelcHs, certainly did act as above 
 represented, paragraph for paragraph. 1 have a perfect rcmembrttnce of the facts. 
 
APFtirniX. 
 
 iii 
 
 the past. Be sure, liowever, you do not accept llie concession for 
 some time ; Heaven only knows what you nnay get out of him in the 
 meantime.* 
 
 HOW TO OBTAIN A REPUTATION FOR COURAGE. 
 
 Get introduced to the wife of some petty contributor to a pa|)er; 
 make a favorable impreHsion upon her if you can ; tell her with much 
 vivacious grimace of the pirils you encountered in the field, and in the 
 bouviaCf (mind you do not call it by the vulgar and antiquated name of 
 bivouac.) Tell her that your conduct, in presence of the enemy you 
 were afraid to face, was the admiration of all parties. Persuade her 
 that the hostile armies stood still, confounded, and gazing upon the 
 
 * The writer evidently had Brigadier Shaw in view when lie penned tiie aliovo- 
 The reference is to the quarrel wnichtook place between that officer and General 
 Evans, in consequence of the affair Ok' Fuentarabia, in which the Brigadier assum- 
 ed all the credit of the day to himself; putting the General in Chief completely on 
 the shelf— a piece of modesty which gave rise to his final departure from the Legion. 
 Apropos however; since these Memoirs have been submitted to the press, Gene- 
 ral Snaw, who occupies no mean place in them, has been Knighted by Her 
 Majesty! How General Evans, who has had the same dignity conferred upon 
 him, will like the idea of such honour being bestowed ujwn his hated rival in glory, 
 it cannot be difficult to divine. Still, not the li : s imj)ortant services has General 
 Shaw rendered to his country. Few can be ignorant of the opportune assistance 
 afforded by him to the present Ministry, by his abuse of the Tory parly through a 
 letter to Mr. Otway Cave, read in thi ' louse during th»; debate on Sir Henry 
 • Hardinge's motion on Spain. This v n the summer of 1837. In May. 1838, 
 we find the same indefatigable and pai/ <'•/(• General Sliuw thus addressiiip the 
 Editor of the Morning Chronicle : — 
 
 Sm, 
 
 1 regret that circumstances should hare drircu iiic lo request i^oii to lei ' he knoini 
 that I am not the " Colonel Shaw" who has his name to i jicdlion pr< 'nted lu.si 
 night to the House of Lords by the Marquis of Londonderry Since 1 cnt(>rc(l 
 the liberating army of Portugal in 1831, until my return from Spain in I83(: ijie 
 Marquis of Londonderry has, in my opinion, been doing his uimost to throw 
 obloquy on the gallant officers and men with whom I had the honour of serving in 
 these countries ; therefore, 1 would think it derogatory to my own finmcter, were 
 i to ask any favour at the hands either of Lord Londonderry or any of the parly 
 who during that lime have made a system of abusing us. 
 I have the honou; to be, 
 Sir, 
 Your most obedient servant, 
 
 Ch^blks haw, 
 Colonel PortiiL'uetc servicey 
 Late Brigadier General B. A' Lesion. 
 Reform Club, 23d May, 1838. 
 
 In July following — almost before the ink with which Ihis highly graphic and 
 elcpant production was written, is dry— we see him gazetlcd a^. Sir Charles Shaw. 
 It 18 always pleasant to observe individual services — and thc'^c of course embrace 
 high merit— thus early and flalteringly rewarded. 
 
 u 
 
 I 
 
 M 
 
'■} l\ 
 
 d 
 
 iv 
 
 APPENDIX, 
 
 uiiniil!il)ltM»e.sH (»r your glory in ahsoliite astoiiishiiieut ! ! Tell her to get 
 her husband to write all this to the paper. Even though he should 
 hear your account of yourself with disgust and doubt, depend upon it, if 
 he happen to be a little henpecked by his wife, you will gain your end, 
 and the report of your prowess — although it should be witnessed by 
 none but yourself— sent for insertion in the journal to which he con- 
 tributes his mite. — Quiz. 
 
 ■/■,,•: 
 
 MONTREAL. PRINTED BY iRMOl'R AND RAMSAY, 
 
 1, I. 1 
 
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