AN AGE OF NEGLIGENCE? BRITISH ARMY CHAPLAINCY, 1796 – 1844 by ROY DAVID BURLEY A thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham for the degree of MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Modern History School of Historical Studies The University of Birmingham January 2013 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT British army chaplaincy, until more recent times, is a subject which has been sadly overlooked by historians. This thesis seeks to help fill that gap; it is a study which explores the origins and development of the early Army Chaplains’ Department. The most significant factor in determining the effectiveness, or otherwise, of army chaplaincy in the latter half of the eighteenth century, can be seen in the way that civilian incumbents served in their parishes, or to be more precise, were often absent from their parishes except through the services of a curate, thus before 1796, regimental chaplains were often absent from their duties. It is clear that the army, especially some of its commanders, valued chaplains as can be demonstrated by the future Duke of Wellington, asking for more quality chaplains. Life for the chaplain deployed on campaign with his troops could be harsh; it is therefore easy to understand why there were so few clergymen who would take up the call. This thesis focuses on those chaplains who served with Wellington and Moore during the Peninsular War. This thesis draws on numerous primary sources, including some which have not been used in previous studies. Over the fifty years that this thesis covers, it will examine the development of the Department, with the challenges of expansion and post-war reductions. Historical evidence would suggest that the bulk of the Church of England ministers who were available to become army chaplains were poorly trained and motivated. It is from this pool that army chaplains were drawn, and thus they ministered to their troops to the best of their abilities. 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis builds upon work completed for my M.A. degree, which left many questions unanswered and was therefore a subject worth revisiting. Research for that thesis focussed primarily on chaplaincy in the Peninsular War, whereas this thesis uses previously unused primary source material to build up a more complete picture of chaplaincy during this period. I wish to acknowledge the invaluable support and assistance from my tutor Dr Michael Snape, whose comments and suggestions have guided my studies into many fruitful areas. I am grateful to several others along the way especially David Blake, the archivist of the Armed Forces Chaplaincy Centre, Amport; the staff of the National Archives; the Library of the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst; Dr Peter Nockles of the John Rylands Library; Mrs Julie Crocker of The Royal Archives; Paul Evans regarding the archives of the Ordnance Board and David Wood from Landguard Fort. The backing of the Royal Army Chaplains’ Department was also important and the encouragement and interest of the Reverend Dr Philip McCormack. Finally, I must record with gratitude the encouragement and forbearance of my wife Gladys and daughter Rachel who, without their support whilst away or locked in a room researching, this thesis could not have been completed. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract 2 Acknowledgements 3 Table of Contents 4 List of Abbreviations 7 Introduction 8 a. Literature Review 10 b. Research Question and Methodology 11 c. Outline 12 Chapter 1 Army Chaplaincy Before 1796 a. Introduction 19 b. The Standing Army 20 c. The East India Company Chaplains 22 d. The Glengarry Fencibles 31 e. Conclusion 32 Chapter 2 The Formation of the Army Chaplains’ Department, 1796 a. Introduction 35 b. The Need for Change 35 c. The Royal Warrant 40 d. The Reverend John Gamble 44 e. Conclusion 53 Chapter 3 Army Chaplains’ Department Reforms of 1809 a. Introduction 55 b. The Proposed Reforms 56 c. Garrison Chaplains 60 d. The Reverend John Owen 64 e. Conclusion 75 4 Chapter 4 Chaplains on Campaign a. Introduction 77 b. Training, Deployment and Role of Chaplains 81 c. Conditions on Campaign 85 d. Some of Wellington’s Chaplains 94 e. Conclusion 100 Chapter 5 Post War Department and the Rise of George Gleig a. Introduction 102 b. The Reverend Robert Hodgson 104 c. The Reverend William Dakins 109 d. Further Military Reforms 116 e. Further Chaplaincy Reforms 119 f. The Reverend George Gleig 121 g. Conclusion 124 Chapter 6 Methodism and Evangelicals a. Introduction 126 b. Methodist Soldier Preachers 129 c. The Impact of Methodism on the Army 132 d. Methodism and French Prisoners of War 133 e. Methodism Overseas 134 f. The Duke of Wellington and Methodism 139 g. Conclusion 140 Conclusion 142 Appendixes a. Royal Warrant creating the Army Chaplains’ Department 147 b. Extract from the Army List 1795 149 c. Home and Foreign Postings – Recommended 10 May 1809 157 d. Chaplains Deployed to the Peninsular War 159 5 e. Army Chaplains 1795-1845 161 Bibliography 170 6 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AFCC Armed Forces Chaplaincy Centre CH Church History CME Commission of Military Enquiry FO Foreign Office HCPP House of Commons Parliamentary Papers JMH Journal of Military History JRAChD Journal of the Royal Army Chaplains’ Department JSAHR Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research JRL John Ryland’s Library MAS Modern Asian Studies NA Not Available NAM National Army Museum NAS National Archives of Scotland NK Not Known NMAFBS Naval, Military and Air Force Bible Society ODNB Oxford Dictionary of National Biography PMM Primitive Methodist Magazine PWHS Proceedings of the Wesley Historical Society RAChD Royal Army Chaplains’ Department RCAChD Royal Canadian Army Chaplains’ Department RCSA Royal Corps of Signals Archive RMAS Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst SJCL St John’s College Library T Treasury USSCD University of Southampton, Special Collections Database WCO Wesley Centre, Oxford WO War Office WP Widow’s Pension 7 Introduction This thesis sets out to tell the story of the early days of the Army Chaplains’ Department, set against the backdrop of major global changes with revolution in France and industrial changes at home. This was a period of wars around the globe, fought by British troops who deserved good and dedicated chaplains to provide spiritual support, but often failed to find it. This thesis concludes at the beginning of the Victorian era, with the retirement of the fourth senior chaplain, the Reverend William Dakins, who had been with the Department from its early days. The Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815), which includes the longest campaign of the conflict, the Peninsular War,1 still resonates in popular imagination and scholarship today. Not only is it the source of many books and films, the main characters2 and their respective tactics and philosophies are still studied and debated in military colleges around the world. However, for many people the fictional stories of Richard Sharpe, and a hugely successful TV series, provides the only recent popular access to this historically significant period. The wealth of scholarly research on the period 1 See: Bell, David A, The First Total War London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2008; Bluth, BJ, Marching with Sharpe London: Harper Collins, 2001; Brett-James, Anthony, Life in Wellington’s Army London: George Allen and Unwin, 1972; Divall, Carole, Inside the Regiment – The Officers and Men of the 30th Regiment During the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars Barnsley: Pen and Sword Books, 2011; Esdaile, Charles, The Peninsular War, A New History London: Penguin, 2003; Fletcher, Ian, Wellington’s Regiments Staplehurst: Spellmount, 2005; Fraser, Ronald, Napoleon’s Cursed War – Spanish Popular Resistance in the Peninsular War, 1808-1814 London: Verso, 2008; Freemont- Barnes, Gregory and Fisher, Todd, The Napoleonic Wars, The Rise and Fall of an Empire Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2004; Glover, Michael, Wellington’s Army in the Peninsula, 1808-1814 Newton Abbot: David & Charles, 1977; Glover, Richard, Peninsular Preparation – The Reform of the British Army 1795-1809 Cambridge: Ken Trotman Ltd, 1988; Oman, C W C, Wellington’s Army 1809-1814 London: Francis Edwards, 1968; Urban, Mark, Rifles London: Faber and Faber, 2003 2 See: Corrigan, Gordon, Wellington: a Military Life London: Hambledon Continuum, 2001; Glover, Michael, Wellington as Military Commander London: Penguin, 2001; Holmes, Richard, Wellington – The Iron Duke London: Harper Collins, 2003; Longford, Elizabeth, Wellington London: Abacus, 1992; Roberts, Andrew, Napoleon and Wellington London: Phoenix Press, 2002; Weller, Jac, Wellington in the Peninsula London: Greenhill Books, 1992; Weller, Jac, Wellington at Waterloo London: Greenhill Books, 1992; Weller, Jac, Wellington in India London: Greenhill Books, 1993 8 in question remains the basic entrance point for any new research project. The classic texts are multi-volume, from Napier’s six volume History of the War3, through Oman’s seven volume History of the Peninsular War4, to the thirteen volume History of the British Army5 by Fortescue, which includes a section on the Peninsular War. Among the many shorter works on the Peninsular War, four key texts include two entitled Wellington’s Army.6 The first, by Oman, considers different areas of life including the tactics and organisation of Wellington’s army, as well as a chapter on the spiritual life of the army. Glover7, on the other hand, moves from the recruiting of soldiers, through its component parts and to the machine of war in operation, but only has a couple of pages on chaplaincy, which are evidently not as comprehensive as Oman.