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The British Army in Portugal and Spain: Its Order-of-Battle (June 1808 - April 1809)Part V: Lieutenant General Sir Arthur Wellesley's ArmyBy Ron McGuigan Command and StaffWellesley assumed command of the army at Lisbon on 27 April 1809. It consisted of: Appointed to the staff: Major General John Sherbrooke [Lieutenant General in Portugal] The units were those already in Portugal and the following embarked or under orders to proceed there: 8 Troops, 3rd Dragoon Guards [Portsmouth] (672) 22 April 1809When Wellesley assumed command, the army was organized [from 22 April] or in orders as: Commanding the force: Lieutenant General Wellesley [in orders on 27th April] Second-in-command: Lieutenant General Sherbrooke Adjutant General: Brigadier General C. Stewart Quarter Master General: Colonel G. Murray Cotton's Brigade: Major General Cotton14th Light Dragoons with detachment 3rd Light Dragoons, KGL The 16th Light Dragoons were on the march to join Wellesley's army. The 2/24th Regiment . [at Lisbon 24 April], 3rd Dragoon Guards and 4th Dragoons [at Lisbon 27/28 April] had just landed. These three units were instructed to join Mackenzie's force. Major General Mackenzie with his Brigade, Fane's Cavalry Brigade and May's Company R.A. under Baynes [light 6 pounders] were to remain on the line of the Tagus River and guard Abrantes to Santarem. The 1/40th Regiment remained with the garrison in Seville, although arrangements were being made to have it join the main army. The Lisbon GarrisonLeft as the commander of the garrison of Lisbon was the Town Major, Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Walsh 9th Regiment: 2/30th Regiment Other Re-inforcementsNot joined until May were Lieutenant General Paget, Lieutenant General Payne and Major General Erskine. Expected to arrive were the 1st Light Dragoons KGL and the 23rd Light Dragoons (672?) to form a brigade under Major General Erskine. Lieutenant General Payne was to command the cavalry. Lieutenant General Lord William Bentinck declined his staff appointment with the army. Apparently in April, Wellesley knew that the Light Brigade [Brigadier General Robert Craufurd with 1/43rd Regiment 1/52nd Regiment and 8 coys 1/95th Regiment ] and Horse Artillery [probably Ross's A Troop and Bull's I Troop] were to be ordered to Portugal and requested that they be sent as soon as possible. Portuguese TroopsIn April, Marshal William Beresford [Major General and Local Lieutenant General in the British Service] commanding the Portuguese Army [appointed March 1809] organized a portion of it to operate under Wellesley's command. [Wellesley was the Marshal General of the Portuguese army, appointed April 1809.] Two regiments, the 10th Regiment of two battalions and the 16th Regiment of two battalions [with a unit known as the 1st Portuguese Grenadiers formed from the Grenadier Coys of the 1/6th & 2/6th Regiment . and the 2/18th Regiment .] were to be integrated into British Brigades with Wellesley's Army. Under Marshal Beresford's immediate command to join the main army were: 1st Cavalry Regiment [3 squadrons] Beresford was to also incorporate the following under his command: Bacellar's Brigade: Major General Manuel Bacellar1/9th Regiment Major General Mackenzie's CommandTo be assigned to Major General Mackenzie's command on the line of the Tagus River: Cavalry Brigade: Brigadier Manuel de Lusignamo, Conde de Sampayo4th Regiment & 7th Regiment [5 squadrons] On 27th April, Lieutenant General Wellesley issued instructions to Lieutenant General Sherbrooke to begin the advance of the army on the 29th April. This then was the beginning of the Peninsular Army's journey down that long road to final victory. AcknowledgmentsSpecial Thank You to Michael Tänzer for providing obscure information, but especially for his kind assistance with the King's German Legion [see his excellent website at www.kgl.de], to Colm McLaughlin of the National Library of Scotland for his long hours of searching for and providing obscure General Orders, to Mrs M. Harding of the National Army Museum for finding and providing two General Orders and to Major Colin Robins OBE for his kind assistance with the Royal Artillery outside of his usual 'era' of research. Thank-you to the Arquivo Histórico Militar, Lisboa, the Bodleian Library, Oxford, the British Library, London, The Gordon Highlanders Museum, Aberdeen, the King's Own Royal Regiment Museum, Lancaster, the National Army Museum, London, the Regimental Museum of the Queen's Own Highlanders, Inverness, Royal Artillery Institution, Woolwich, and the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum, Gloucester. A special thanks to the Trustees of the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, for permission to use information from their manuscript collection of theMurray Papers. BibliographyAnglesey, Marquis of. One-Leg London : Jonathan Cope; 1961. Brownrigg, Beatrice. The Life and Letters of Sir John Moore Oxford : Basil Blackwell; 1923. Butler, Lieutenant Colonel Lewis. The Annals of the King's Royal Rifle Corps London : John Murray; 1923. Cope, Sir William H. History of the Rifle Brigade London : Chatto & Winders; 1877. Delavoye, Alex. M. Life of Thomas Graham, Lord Lyndoch London : Richardson and Co.;1880. Duncan, Major Francis. History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery 2 volumes; London : John Murray; 1879. Dunn-Pattison, R. P. The History of the 91st Argyllshire Highlanders Edinborough : Wm. Blackwood & Sons;1910. English Historical Review Fortescue, J. W. A History of the British Army Volumes VI & VII; London : Macmillan; 1910-1912. Glover, Michael. Britannia Sickens London : Leo Cooper; 1970. Glover, Michael. The Peninsular War 1808-1814 London : David & Charles; 1974. Glover, Michael. Wellington as Military Commander London : Sphere Books; 1973. Glover, Michael. Wellington's Army in the Peninsula 1808-1814 New York : Hippocrene Books; 1977. Great Britain. War Office Army Lists for 1808 & 1809 London : C. Roworth. Gurwood, John (Ed.). The Dispatches of Field Marshal The Duke of Wellington During His Various Campaigns. From 1799 to 1818 London : John Murray; 1837. Hamilton, Lieutenant General Sir F. W. The Origin and History of the First or Grenadier Guards London : John Murray; 1874. Hibbert, Christopher. Corunna London : Pan Books; 1972 House of Commons. British Sessional Papers 1808, 1809, 1810. Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research various volumes Law, Lieutenant Colonel M. E. S. Battery Records of the Royal Artillery Woolwich : R. A. Institute; 1952. Leach, Lt Colonel J. Rough Sketches of the Life of an Old Soldier London : Ken Trotman; 1986. Leslie, Major John (Ed.). The Dickson Manuscript: Series C 1809-1818 Woolwich : R. A. Institute; 1905. Leslie, Major John H. The Services of the Royal Regiment of Artillery in the Peninsular War 1808-1814 London : Hugh Rees Ltd; 1908. Maxwell, Sir Herbert (Ed.). The Lowland Scots Regiments Glasgow : James Maclehose and Sons; 1918. Moore, James. A Narrative of the Campaign of the British Army in Spain Commanded by his Excellency Lt. Gen. Sir John Moore 3rd Edition; J. Johnson; 1809. Moorsom, W. S. Historical Records of the Fifty-Second Regiment (Oxfordshire Light Infantry) London : Richard Bentley; 1860. Nafziger, George. The Nafziger Collection Napier, Major General Sir William. History of the War in the Peninsula and in the South of France. From A.D. 1807 to A. D. 1814 New York : AMS Press; 1970. Oman, Carola. Sir John Moore London : Hodder & Stoughton;1953. Oman, Sir Charles. A History of the Peninsular War London : Greenhill Books; 1995. Oman, Sir Charles. Wellington's Army 1808-1814 London : Greenhill Books; 1986. Partridge, Richard & Mike Oliver. Battle Studies in the Peninsula London : Constable; 1998. Quarterly Review London 1836, 1838. Rousseau, I. J. (Ed.). The Peninsular Journal of Major General Sir Benjamin D'Urban Presidio Press; 1990. Swiney, Colonel G. C. Historical Records of the 32nd (Cornwall) Light Infantry London; 1893. The Times various issues, 1808 & 1809. Wellington, 1st Duke of. General Orders, Portugal, Spain & France, 1809-1814 T. Egerton 1810-1815. Wellington, 2nd Duke of (Ed.). Supplementary Despatches, Correspondence and Memoranda of Field Marshal Arthur Duke of Wellington, K. G. London : John Murray; 1860.
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