Good evening
I am an author of historical crime novels, and the narrator of my new series is a veteran of the Peninsular War. (That’s not the core of what I am writing, but I want to be sure that I have an accurate back-story for him.)
I already know that I want him to have been present at the Battle of Albuera in May 1811. He is a soldier servant to an officer and takes care of horses. At the battle I want him to be injured – not fatal, and a disfigurement only. (For my later purposes, he cannot be disabled – he needs to be able to ride and run.) It has been suggested to me that his face could be burned and eventually badly scarred by the recoil from a musket. I have come across this article, which contains a couple of images that show what might have happened to him: https://www.military-history.us/2017/09/muskets-at-the-battle-of-waterloo/ (Different battle, but I think it’s similar.) But what I am struggling with is whether such a lowly soldier would have had a musket. He’s serving with the 48th Northamptonshire Regiment. Would he have had his own weapon, or might he – in the heat of battle – have picked up one from a fallen soldier? And if the latter, would he have known how to use it?
Many thanks for any clarification. As I say, I am not going to dwell on his military service (except in occasional flashback nightmares) but I do like to know that my historical detail holds water.
Just to let you all know that your expertise has found a good home! Today I have published "Ostler" - the first in my planned series of five historical crime novels narrated by university constable, ostler and ex-soldier Gregory Hardiman. Your suggestions have helped me create a credible back-story for Gregory, and I have plenty of material to drip-feed into the next four novels. Thank you all again. And in case you're curious, here it is! https://mybook.to/Ostler
Hello everyone who has kindly taken the time to help me with this - you are marvellous.
I am now homing in on the details, and want to check whether you all think this would work:
Gregory is, as I say, an officer's servant and looks after his master's possessions and horse. He would therefore be, I am told, at the rear of any action rather than in the thick of it. But Guy Dempsey has said that "at Albuera, the 2nd Battalion of the 48th Foot was in Colborne’s brigade, which was routed by an attack of French cavalry, including the Polish lancers of the Vistula Legion". So might this rout/attack have reached the rear, catching my poor Gregory? And in trying to defend himself and others, might he have caught a blow from a sabre, as suggested by jwladis? (Were lancers armed with sabres - or lances? And what might a sabre of the time have looked like?)
If you think this is likely (actually, I'd be happy with "possible", as long as it's not "unlikely and rare"), does anyone have any descriptions of how a sabre injury might look? I think losing part of the nose - like Matthew Latham - would be too much, but I want something that leaves an unsightly (but not too revolting) scar. I want people to be startled but not sickened by his appearance once the injury has healed!
And another question, as you're all so good at this: if a soldier like Gregory were injured and it seemed likely that he would survive (in other words, he's not left to die on the field), where would he be taken for treatment? Were they already called "field hospitals", or is that a more modern term? Dressing station?
Thank you all again - I am very grateful.
I had another thought about disfigurement triggered by Guy Dempsey's post.
Your protaganist could be disfigured by a sabre blow to his head perhaps suffered during the rout of the 2d Battalion of the 48th by French cavalry.
A private soldier acting as a servant for an officer would have had the same equipment as any other soldier, including a musket, but he might have been assigned to the baggage guard rather than accompanying his unit into battle. At Albuera, the 2nd Battalion of the 48th Foot was in Colborne’s brigade, which was routed by an attack of French cavalry, including the Polish lancers of the Vistula Legion, while the 1st Battalion of the 48th was in Hoghton’s brigade, which suffered its casualties from French artillery and musket fire. The most famous wounds associated with Albuera are those suffered by Lt. Matthew Latham of the 3rd Foot in Colborne’s brigade, who had part of his arm and nose cut off while defending the King’s colour of his regiment. In recognition of his gallant behavior, the Prince of Wales paid for an operation to replace his nose, an early example of cosmetic plastic surgery. The image of Latham below comes from his doctor's published account of the surgery.
Thank you both so much - the photos are extremely useful, as is the information you have provided and the suggestions you have made. I feel a bit grisly, dwelling on this poor fellow's injury, but as I am planning a series of five books it's important to get things right at the beginning. You'll be relieved to know that he goes on to serve as a respected university constable in Cambridge in the late 1820s! Thank you again.
The injuries depected in the drawing are not from the musket's recoil but from the flash of the igniting powder charge in the barrel out the touchhole. Reenactors attach a brass flash guard to direct the flash upward instead of to the side. This photo shows both the flash and the brass flash guard.
These kinds of injuries could occur when, in the heat of battle, a man in a rear rank leaned too far forward so his musket's touchhole was near the face of the man in front of him. Imagine the flash pictured were directed to the side and into the side of the front man's face.
As for whether an officer's servant would be issued a musket, I don't know but I suspect not. In the course of a battle the servant could pick up a fallen soldier's musket but he would need to be in the front tank to suffer disfigurement. Perhaps you could have him picking up a musket and joining the front rank to avenge the death of his master.
Even a servant might know how to load and fire a musket particularly if he hunted with one or assisted his master in a hunt.
Best of luck with your novels.