I recently came across the letter below written by Major Charles Napier of the 50th Foot to his mother Lady Sarah Lennox Napier, who was the daughter of the 2nd Duke of Richmond. Her great grandfather was King Charles II. Major Napier was the older brother of William Napier who is best known as the author of the six volume “History of the War in the Peninsula and the South of France”.
Charles Napier was seriously wounded at Busaco on 27 September 1810 and spent several months recovering from his wound in Lisbon. While in Lisbon he wrote the letter below. The reason I am posting it is because it is the most mind boggling letter from the era that I have ever read. The letter is to his mother and was written in late November 1810. Napier says that Lisbon was abound with conspiracies at the time and that Dom Miguel Forjaz, the Portuguese Secretary of War, was trying to get Wellington replaced. Napier apparently met with an Italian and after the meeting, the man, his wife, and their children were arrested by Forjaz.
“As to conspiracy, dearest mother, be at your ease: I am a conspirator as much as the unfortunate creatures taken up; their crime is being freemasons: the regency, composed of the greatest rascals on earth, have used conspiracy for pouncing on private enemies. They called everybody they dislike jacobins [sic], and in two hours the wretches were dragged on board ship and no more heard of: their poor families have to thank our papers for all they know of their relations’ fate! My intent is to have a slap at the regency if any of them are to be met at the admiral’s, or at the envoy’s, Mr. C. Stuart’s: the latter and Lord Wellington disclaim these proceedings entirely. There is no more conspiracy in Lisbon than in London.
The Portuguese prime minister, or head of the regency, told Stuart that my statement was a lie. Stuart told me this. I will prove it a truth said I, and taking Captain [Thomas] Lloyd of the 43rd, and Captain [Henry] Sturgeon of the Staff Corps with me, I went straight to the palace of government and saw the minister. I told him he must choose one of three things 1o. Making am ample apology. 2o. Fighting me. 3o. Horsewhipping. He said it was very unpleasant to do any one. Our tastes are perfectly similar, said I, but having unluckily been born a gentleman I have a character to keep up which obliges me to desire an immediate compliance. To-morrow you shall have an answer, said he, for I too am a military man. This minute if you please, your excellency, quoth I. After some more talk on his part, and a rather insolent manner on mine, Sturgeon doing interpreter, and Lloyd looking like Gog and Mag together, Forjas said he would say, that I was right, and make an apology to me through Mr. Stuart. It must be given in writing, as the lie was so given, said I. He answered, if you are not content to-morrow we will fight, but read my apology first. Basta, if the apology be complete, was the reply. So we ended.“
My questions are:
1. Was there any truth in this?
2. What would have happened if Forjaz had accepted the duel and was killed?
3. Regardless of the outcome of the duel, did Wellington hear about it?
4. If Wellington had heard about it, what would his reaction have been?
I have found nothing in Wellington’s Dispatches on this, nor have seen any gossip about it in letters of the time.
Thanks!
Bob
Great! Thanks!
Hello Robert and Tom. Very interesting! I never saw this episode mentioned by Portuguese authors, but from the letters' context there is reason to believe that this unusual episode is true.
The fact was that on the 10 and 11 September 1810 (after the news of the fall of Almeida reached Lisbon) the Portuguese government ordered the arrest of 58 individuals under the accusation of conspiring in favor of the French. In 18 October they were deported to the Azores islands. Probably there was not any active conspiracy but they were freemasons (by the way Freemasonry was forbidden in Portugal, the existing lodges were clandestine and their members liable of persecution; by their behavior during Junot's tenure, the freemasons were suspects of sympathy for the French and French revolutionary ideas) and many were foreigners or of foreigner descent, French and Italian. The government was worried because Marshal Massena brought with him two prestigious Portuguese officers, generals Marquis de Alorna and Pamplona, both suspected to be freemasons. Also in the events that led to the fall of Almeida a Portuguese officer in the place was suspect of be under the influence of those officers. With the French army marching through Portugal, the government didn't wanted to take any chance of some plot or uprising. This was communicated and explained by the Portuguese government to Wellington.
The British ambassador Stuart remonstrated with the treatment given to them and intervened in behalf of some of the prisoners and managed that a few (the most high classed) were sent to London. It is very likely that other British nationals in Lisbon tried also to intervene in behalf of some of their friends. The episode probably happened in this context.
On the situation of a young British officer storming the government palace to get a satisfaction from the Portuguese Secretary of War I abstain to comment. It was certainly a "trouble", as Napier call it, to ambassador Stuart, to which the second letter was addressed, I suspect.
Contrary to what Napier says, certainly because he was an young officer, new to the Portuguese society and culture, with some prejudice against it and knowing little what happened higher up, Dom Miguel Forjaz had been the most important ally of Wellington in the Regency, particularly during the bitter disagreement about the strategy designed to face Massena's advance. Dom Miguel nearly lost is position in the government and remained thanks to Wellington intervention directly to the Prince Regent in Rio de Janeiro.
I think the Lobo mentioned in the second letter was Jerónimo Francisco Lobo, the magistrate chief of the police and obviously involved in the arrests.
I hope this large post gives some context to these letters.
Moisés
[1810]
My Dear Sir,
I am really vexed at the trouble I have unintentionally given you – and most sincerely obliged to you for your kindness in interesting yourself about my Italian friend. As to the Portuguese Gentleman I really think the best thing is to say no more on the subject. The two last letters from Forjaz and Lobo are quite sufficient to satisfy me and much too long to answer so that silence in the best weapon and will be, I have no doubt, a very effectual one, They won’t provoke a second visit from me I dare say
I have the honor, My Dear Sir, your obliged and faithful
Cha[rle]s Napier
Berryhill & Sturgeon, Ltd. (berryhillsturgeon.com)