Who was Charles O'Neil/O'Neal? Regimental Descriptive WO25 show there were two Charles O'Neils in the 28th, one who enlisted 10th June 1798 being discharged to pension 1st December 1806 and the second who enlisted 5th May 1811 for unlimited service, neither of these men would have been an actor as the author claims in the Battle of Barrosa 5th March 1811, this is further supported by the Muster Roll for the Battalion, which had no Charles O'Neil listed.
At the Battle of Waterloo Charles O'Neal was on the Muster for the Depot at Albany Barracks, being shown as Recruiting in Armagh, which would explain why he doesn't feature on the Waterloo Medal Roll and, although the memoirs were published in 1851 he made no application for the Military General Service Medal.
Pleased to hear any observations as to the validity of his recollections
Hi Jim,
His memoirs have been viewed with suspicion for years, probably cobbling together stories he had heard whilst serving, but not actually there himself. In the National Archives it appears that O'Neal eventually settle in North America, so he is most likely the author, but he was not present at half of what he claimed.
Here are some comments I found online by D Ellis
I did my BA thesis on the 28th Foot at Waterloo and it is clear after studying the muster and medal rolls that Charles O'Neill who claims authorship of this book never served at the battle of Waterloo with the 28th under that name. Much of the book consists of generic "remembrances" in a vague narrative style that probably made use of available publications at the time/after. I believe that the real Charles O'Neill was a member of the 28th - and who was Irish - but not a Waterloo veteran and died while serving with the regiment sometime after the Napoleonic Wars ended. The 28th was a fine regiment and served well - Charles Cadell wrote a good book. There are so very many good books in this genre - I'd look elsewhere if I was you.
He has published a full article which can be read here online free at present - https://www.jstor.org/stable/44230960?seq=1
Hi Gareth,
I wasn't aware of J. Ellis's thesis, my main interest lies in Barrosa and Tarifa with the battalions who fought there. I am going to toss a little hand grenade in here regarding the validity of Adam Reed's recollections 2/47th at Barrosa. There is no doubt that he was serving with the battalion when both actions were fought he was in the 9th Company.
I accept he was awarded M.G.S. with the full five clasps awarded to the battalion for their actions throughout the Peninsula War; however the Muster Roll of the 2/47th contain no information as to whether individuals were attached/on command, the Muster does show if a man was killed or died of wounds, whereas other battalions like 1/82nd and 2/9th do show members of the Flank Company's who were sent to serve at Barrosa.
The 2/47th Flank Company's sailed from Cadiz to Algeciras onboard either Ephira or Rebuff, both ships listed in their supernummary Muster each member of the battalion that they carried for ration purposes numbering in total just under 160 officers and men. Adam Reed does not feature in these Musters.
The Flank Company's 2/47th were originally attached to Barnard's Flank Brigade with 3/95th but were superseded by 20th Cacadores, when they took over the role of 'Ammunition Guard' for the artillery, here they would also protect the gunners and if required replace fallen artillery men. Reed in his diary makes no reference to this, merely skimming over the battle, whereas at Tarifa he gives a more detailed account.
So was Reed at Barrosa or merely recounting stories from his comrades of the Flank Company's? Being a highly celebrated battle with the seizure of the first French Eagle, how many claimed in the words of Max Boyce "I was there"
Just a thought
Jim
Interesting, how wonderfully appropriate that Bernard Cornwell wrote the introduction to the Spellmount edition. Perhaps I shall file my copy under fiction. All the best.
Hi Jim I cannot be certain that Wray was there as you say, but I would add a note of caution on official returns, they are not always as accurate as we assume. I have come across numerous accounts of the records being returned to regiments as incorrect and presumably many went through without detection.
I have to agree with Gareth about being careful about returns. In my study of the British Foot Guards at Waterloo I found that several officers were listed as being present on the morning of the battle that were not. I think there was probably some confusion about who to include in the return. If an individual was a baggage guard or for some other reason in the rear, they were included in the strength return, since they were technically still with the battalion, even though they were not actually there. If there were mistakes made like that for officers I suspect that there were also errors for the NCOs and Other Ranks.
Having read many memoirs, letters, and diaries. I have found diary entries the most reliable, followed by letters written shortly after the events. Memoirs are hit or miss. The longer they were written after the event, the less reliable they were.
An old joke. . . what is the difference between a fairy tale and a war story? A fairy tale begins with Once upon a time. A war story begins with There I was. . . 😀