During William s reign the small English army bore an honourable part in the wars against Louis XiV., and especially distinguished itself by its intrepidity at Steinkirk, at Neerwinden, and in the assault of Namur. Twenty English regiments took part in the campaign of 109i. In the great wars of Queen Anne s reign the British army under Marlborough acquired a European reputation. The cavalry, which had called forth the admiration of Prince Eugene when passed in review before him after its long march across Germany (1704), especially distinguished itself in the battle of Blenheim; and llamilies, Oudenarde, and Malplaquet were added to the list of English victories. The army was peimanently increased by one regiment of cavalry and eleven of infantry ; and though the regiments were much reduced in strength during the following peace, the cadres remained untouched. During the reign of the first and second Georges an artillery corps was organised, and the army further increased by five regi ments of cavalry and thirty-five of infantry. Fresh laurels were won at Dettingen (1743), in which battle twenty English regiments took part ; and though Fontenoy was a day of disaster for the English arms, it did not lower their reputation, but rather added to it. Six regiments of cavalry and six of infantry shared under Prince Ferdi nand the honours of the victory of Minden (1759), and the English infantry was especially thanked by the prince for its conduct on that occasion. About this time the first English regiments were sent to India, and the 39th shared in Olive s victory at Plassey. During the first half of George III. s reign the army was principally occupied in America; and though the conquest of Canada may be counted with pride among its exploits, this page in its history is certainly the darkest. English armies capitulated at Saratoga (1777) and at Yorktown (1781), and the war ended in 1785 by the evacuation of the revolted states of America and the acknowledgment of their independence. Before passing to the great French Kevolutionary wars, from which a fresh period in the history of the army may be dated, it will be well to review the general condition of the army in the century preceding.
Regiments were raised almost as in the days of the Edwards. The Crown contracted with a distinguished soldier, or gentleman of high position, who undertook to raise the men, receiving a certain sum as bounty-money for each recruit. In some cases, in lieu of money, the con tractor received the nomination of all or some of the officers, and recouped himself by selling the commissions. This system termed raising men for rank was retained till very recently, and originally helped to create the " purchase system" of promotion. For the maintenance of the regi ment the colonel received an annual sum sufficient to cover the pay of the men, and the expenses of clothing and of recruiting. The colonel was given a " beating order," without which no enlistment was legal ; and was responsible for maintaining his regiment at full strength. "Muster masters" were appointed to muster the regi ments, and to see that the men for whom pay was drawn were really effective. Sometimes, when casualties were numerous, the allowance was insufficient to meet the cost of recruiting, and special grants were made. In war time the ranks were also filled by released debtors, pardoned criminals, and impressed paupers and vagrants. Where the men were raised by voluntary enlistment, the period of service was a matter of contract between the colonel and the soldier, and the engagement was usually for life ; but exceptional levies were enlisted for the duration of the war, or for periods of three or five years. The army was officered entirely from the upper ranks, the low rate of pay and the purchase system combining to exclude all. but men of ndependent incomes. Appointments (except when in the gift of the colonel) were made by the King at home, and by the Coirtmander-in-Chief abroad ; even in Ireland the power of appointment rested with the local commander of the forces until the Union. The soldier was clothed by his colonel, the charge being defrayed from the " stock fund." The army lived in barracks, camps, or billets. The barrack accommodation in Great Britain at the beginning of the century only sufficed for 50UO men ; and though it had gradually risen to 20,000 in 1792, a large part of the army was constantly in camps or billets the latter causing endless complaints and difficulties. The drill of the army was mainly borrowed from that of Frederick, but tho American war had trained many regiments to skirmishing. The administration was generally corrupt and defective, and the character of the army stood very low when England embarked on her long war with France.
Her first efforts in this war did not tend to raise it. After a campaign, fought with great gallantry but not much skill, the English army under the Duke of York was driven out of Holland, and that country annexed to France. But the appointment of the Duke of York to the post of Com- mander-in-Chief of the army was the commencement of a better era. He did much to improve its organisation, discipline, and training, and was ably seconded by com manders of distinguished ability. Under Abercromby in Egypt, under Stewart at Maida, and under Wellesley and Lake in India, the British armies again attached victory to their standards, and made themselves feared and respected. The energy and unbending resolution of Pitt seemed to communicate itself to the nation, and the threatened invasion of England excited her martial spirit to the highest pitch. Finally, her military glory was raised by the series of successful campaigns in the Peninsula, until it culminated in the great victory of Waterloo ; and the army emerged from the war with the most solidly founded reputation of any in Europe.[1]
The events of this period belong to the history of England, and fall outside the province of an article dealing only with the army. The great augmentations required during the war. were effected partly by raising addi tional regiments, but principally by increasing the number of battalions, some regiments being given as many as four. On the conclusion of peace these battalions were reduced, but the regiments were retained, and the army was per manently increased from about 20,000, the iisual peace establishment before the war, to an average of 80,000. The Duke of York, on first appointment to the command, had introduced a uniform drill throughout the army, which was further modified according to Dundas s system in 1800 ; and, under the direction of Sir John Moore and others, a high perfection of drill was attained. At the beginning of the war, the infantry, like that of the Continental powers, was formed in three ranks; but a two-rank formation had been introduced in America and in India, and gradually became general, and in 1809 was finally approved.
The Duke of Wellington had also brought the commissariat and the army transport to a high pitch of perfection; but in the long peace which followed these establishments were reduced or broken up. The period which elapsed between Waterloo and the Crimean war is marked by a number of Indian and colonial wars, but by no organic changes in the army, with perhaps the single exception of the Enlistment
Act of 1847, by which short service, i.e., an original- ↑ " Possedant les souvenirs de gloire et de success les plus solides, sans contredit, parmi toutes les arniees europeemvcs " (L Armte Anglaise, by the l!arou de Graueey, Paris, 1873.)
