Whose Business Is to Die (47 page)

Captain TRUSCOTT
– A close friend of Pringle, Hanley and Williams, the slightly stiff-mannered Truscott was wounded at Vimeiro and suffered the loss of his left arm. A slow recovery kept him from participating in the Corunna campaign. He served in the 3rd Battalion of Detachments and by the end of the Battle of Talavera was its commander. He returned to Spain with the battalion at the end of 1810 and fought at Barrosa.

Ensign Samuel TRUSCOTT
– The younger brother of Captain Truscott, Sam is inexperienced, naive and prone to wild enthusiasm.

Ensign MESSITER
– Young officer in the battalion.

Major Alastair MACANDREWS
– The fifty-one-year-old Mac-Andrews first saw service as a young ensign in the American War of Independence. A gifted and experienced soldier, his lack of connections or wealth have kept his career slow. Raised to major after decades spent as a captain, he took charge of the 106th at Roliça, and led the battalion throughout the retreat to Corunna. Given the temporary local rank of lieutenant colonel, he led a training mission sent to Spain and became involved in the border fighting in 1810, fighting with distinction at the River Coa. At Barrosa he commanded a temporary battalion composed of Flank Companies, and fought with such distinction that he was praised in the dispatch and promised a brevet lieutenant colonelcy. This has not yet been gazetted. In the meantime he has returned to the battalion as a major and its second-in-command.

Lieutenant Colonel FITZWILLIAM
– The commander of the i06th, fresh from the Guards. He led the battalion into action at Barrosa and is widely respected and liked.

Lieutenant DERRYCK
– The senior ensign in the battalion, he served in Portugal and Spain in 1808–09, and gained his promotion to lieutenant at Barrosa.

Sergeant DOBSON
– Veteran soldier who was Williams’ ‘front rank man’ and took the volunteer under his wing. The relationship between Dobson and the young officer remains quietly paternal. However, at Roliça he displayed a ruthless streak when he killed an ensign who was having an affair with his daughter Jenny. Repeatedly promoted and broken for drunken misbehaviour, he has reformed following the accidental death of his first wife and his remarriage to the prim Mrs Rawson. He was wounded at Talavera, and served with Williams at Ciudad
Rodrigo and at the River Côa, and in the south, including the Battle of Barrosa.

Sergeant Tom EVANS
– NCO in the Light Company, Evans is an experienced, but somewhat surly, soldier.

Private JACKSON
– A soldier in Captain Truscott’s company.

Private JENKINS
– Young soldier in the Grenadier Company.

Sergeant MURPHY
– A capable soldier, Murphy and his wife suffered a dreadful blow when their child died during the retreat to Corunna. He fought at Corunna, and was with Williams at Ciudad Rodrigo and at the Coa, and then in the south.

Their families

Jenny DOBSON
– Older daughter from Dobson’s first marriage, Jenny has ambitions beyond following the drum and flirted with and let herself be seduced by several of the young officers. During the winter she abandoned her newborn son to the care of Williams and Miss MacAndrews and left in search of a better life. She is currently the mistress of a French officer.

Mrs DOBSON
– Herself the widow of a sergeant in the Grenadier Company, the very proper Annie Rawson carried her lapdog in a basket throughout the retreat to Corunna. The marriage to Dobson has done much to reform his conduct.

Jacob HANKS
– Son of Dobson’s daughter Jenny. His father killed and his mother run off to seek her fortune, the baby was protected by Williams and Jane. He is now being raised by Major MacAndrews’ family.

Mrs Esther MACANDREWS
– American wife of Major MacAndrews, Esther MacAndrews is a bold, unconventional character who has followed him to garrisons around the world. More recently, she managed to sneak out to Portugal, bringing her daughter with her, and the pair endured the horrors of the
retreat to Corunna. In 1810 they once again travelled to Spain in the hope of joining her husband and the battalion.

Miss Jane MACANDREWS
– Their daughter and sole surviving child, the beautiful Jane has a complicated relationship with Williams. During the retreat to Corunna, she was cut off from the main army and rescued by him, becoming involved in the desperate fight he and a band of stragglers fought to defend a vital bridge against the French under Dalmas. There is now talk of an understanding between Miss MacAndrews and Pringle’s older brother Ned.

Miss Anne WILLIAMS
– Oldest of Williams’ three sisters, Anne is an intelligent and prudent young woman, and Pringle’s affection for her has grown into something stronger.

Mrs Kitty GARLAND (neé WILLIAMS)
– The middle sister, Kitty is bright, but impulsive and her marriage to the light dragoon Garland occurred only after Pringle had fought the cavalryman in a duel. Garland subsequently died of wounds received in the summer of 1810.

Captain Edward PRINGLE
– Until recently master and commander of HMS
Sparrowhawk
, Edward is Billy Pringle’s older brother and has followed the family tradition of going to sea. Smaller than his brother, and more sober in his manner, he has risen to command his own vessel by the age of twenty-eight. However, professional success has been marred by personal tragedy and a few months ago his wife died in childbirth. He has just been promoted post captain and given command of a frigate. There are rumours of a proposal to Miss MacAndrews.

The British

Mr BAYNES
– A merchant with long experience of the Peninsula, now serving as an adviser and agent of the government.

Marshal William Carr BERESFORD – the forty-three-year-old
Beresford was appointed the commander of the Portuguese Army in 1809 and has spent the last few years industriously reforming and rebuilding it. He is the natural son of Lord Waterford, a prominent Anglo-Irish peer, who has assisted his career. In spite of the loss of sight in one eye after a hunting accident, he has served around the globe. In 1806 he led an expedition to capture Buenos Aires and after initial success was forced to surrender. Beresford is a big, powerful man with an abrupt manner and quick temper.

Colonel MURRAY – As quartermaster general, Murray served Wellesley in 1808, Sir John Moore in 1808–09, and returned with Wellesley in the spring of 1809. He contributed a great deal to making the headquarters of the army function, in particular developing a far more effective system for the collection and processing of intelligence.

Lieutenant General Viscount WELLINGTON – After several highly successful campaigns in India, Wellesley returned to Britain and several years of frustrated ambition before being given command of the expedition to Portugal. He managed to win the battles of Roliça and Vimeiro before being superseded. Along with his superiors, Wellesley was then recalled to Britain following the public outrage at the Convention of Cintra, which permitted the defeated French to return home in British ships. Cleared of responsibility, Wellesley was given command in Portugal and honoured with a title for his victory at Talavera. In 1810 he won a defensive battle at Busaco, and then retired behind the shelter of the lines of Torres Vedras. The French were unable to break through the lines and after several months retired.

Lieutenant General Thomas GRAHAM – Born in 1748, Graham became a soldier in his forties after the coffin carrying his late wife was desecrated by French revolutionaries claiming to be searching for weapons. He served as a volunteer at Toulon in 1793, raised a regiment at his own expense – the 90th Foot – and saw considerable service, notably in Egypt in 1801. A close friend
of Sir John Moore, he served on the latter’s staff in Spain. He has recently been appointed to command the British and Portuguese troops at Cadiz and in March won a victory at Barrosa.

Brigadier General Robert CRAUFURD – Born in 1764, Craufurd was a serious soldier who studied his profession and spent several years with the Austrian and Russian armies on the continent of Europe. In spite of this, he found little opportunity to distinguish himself and his rise was slow. In 1807 he was given charge of a brigade in the disastrous expedition against Buenos Aires, where through no fault of his own he was forced to surrender. Even so, in 1809 Wellington asked for him and gave him the plum command of the Light Brigade – later the famous Light Division – over the heads of officers who were senior to Craufurd in the army list. At first unpopular with his officers, the ordinary soldiers respected and liked their tough commander from the start. He is currently on leave in Britain.

Colonel Benjamin D’URBAN – British staff officer attached to the army in Portugal, who in 1809 acted as observer with Cuesta’s Spanish Army of Estremadura. He is Marshal Beresford’s quarter master general and has worked hard to assist in reforming the Portuguese army. A capable officer, he is also fiercely loyal to his chief.

Major General the Hon. William STEWART – Born in 1774, he is the fourth son of the Earl of Galloway, and has had a distinguished military career. He was instrumental in forming the experimental corps of riflemen and later commanded them when they became the 95th Foot. Popular with the men, who nicknamed him ‘Auld Grog Willie’ from his habit of issuing more than the standard allowance of rum, he is brave, but impulsive.

Lieutenant Colonel William MYERS – The commander of the 1/23rd Foot or Royal Welch Fusiliers, Myers is currently in charge of the entire brigade.

Major General Daniel HOUGHTON – Commander of the second brigade of the Second Division.

Brigadier General Robert LONG – Lately arrived in Portugal, Long has received command of the cavalry with Marshal Beresford’s army. In the past he served on the staff with Sir John Moore. A few months after Albuera he wrote this mock obituary for himself –
The Thanks of the Country to ROBERT LONG, Major-General and Cabbage Planter, who had luck enough to do his public duty, Sense enough to know when he had done it and WISDOM enough to prefer Cabbage Planting to DEPENDENCE upon Princes or Power for More Substantial Happiness
.

Lieutenant Colonel John COLBORNE – Currently in command of the first brigade of the Second Division in place of Major General Stewart, Colborne serves in the 2/66th. He owed his step to lieutenant colonel to the recommendation of the dying Sir John Moore. Colborne is a highly gifted soldier and has immense confidence in his own abilities. Williams is currently acting as his ADC.

Captain William DUNBAR – Colborne’s brigade major and a fellow officer in the 2/66th.

Major General William LUMLEY – Commander of the third brigade of the Second Division, Lumley was originally a cavalryman.

Colonel Michael HEAD – Commander of the 13th Light Dragoons.

Major MORRES – Commander of a detachment of the 13th Light Dragoons.

Cornet MACREA – Junior officer in the 13th Light Dragoons.

Corporal STILES
– A wounded member of the 23rd Light Dragoons now employed as servant and groom by Williams.

Corporal SCOTT
– Experienced soldier from the 5/60th Foot who trains Hanley to fire a rifle.

Private SCHWARTZ
– Rifleman from the Brunswick Oels Jaeger.

Captain VON WACHHOLTZ – Commander of the Brunswick rifle company attached to the Fusilier Brigade.

The Spanish

Captain-General Francisco CASTAÑOS – The senior Spanish general and the man credited with the great victory at Bailén in 1808. Although present at Albuera, he waived his seniority and accepted Marshal Beresford’s command on the basis that his main force was further north in Galicia.

General Joaquín BLAKE – One of many descendants of Irish exiles to rise to high rank in the Spanish army, Blake commands the army in the south. He is also a member of the Regency Council. Although his commitment to the cause is unquestioned, there is less confidence in his military ability and he has suffered a string of defeats. However, like the Spanish army in general, he continues to recover and renew the struggle.

General José Pascual de ZAYAS – The commander of one of the divisions of Spanish soldiers brought up from Cadiz. During their time in the south, the general has written a drill manual for his soldiers and had time to train them well. He was born in Cuba.

Lieutenant Colonel Andreas von SCHEPELER – A Westphalian officer serving on the staff of General Zayas.

Don Julián SANCHEZ/El CHARRO – One of the most famous of the guerrilla leaders, El Charro operated from Ciudad Rodrigo. A former soldier who had served in the ranks of the Spanish army, over time his band has developed into a regiment of irregular lancers.

GUTIÉRREZ
– A farmer who supplies information to Baynes and Hanley.

The French

Capitaine Jean-Baptiste DALMAS
– A former schoolteacher, Dalmas was conscripted into the army and took readily to the life of a soldier, serving in most of the Emperor’s great campaigns and winning promotion. Since 1808 he has served as a supernumerary ADC to Marshal Ney and proved himself to be both a brave and an intelligent officer. The only blemish on his career has been his failure to seize a bridge so that the French could outflank Sir John Moore’s British army as it retreated towards Corunna. On that occasion he was repulsed by a ragtag band of stragglers led by Hamish Williams. In 1810 he was tasked with capturing or killing Hanley. The British officer escaped, but during the pursuit Dalmas uncovered the vulnerability of General Craufurd’s Light Division and helped Marshal Ney drive the British back across the River Coa. After that he was sent to Marshal Soult’s staff and in early 1811 he helped to arrange the capture of the fortress of Badajoz.

Sergeant BRANDT
– A Pole who has served in many different uniforms, he was discovered by Williams attempting to rape the wife of a partisan leader. Arrested, Brandt escaped, deserting to the French and enlisting with them. He is a savage man and a crack shot with a rifle.