The Man Who Broke Napoleon's Codes (56 page)

305. “FitzRoy Somerset was found a seat in Truro …”: details of these Parliamentary arrangements can be found in the
Dictionary of National Biography
entry for each man.

305. “Some of them traded on their status as ‘A Hero of Waterloo and the Peninsula'…”: one of Charles Vere's handbills is preserved in the British Library as
Biographical Sketch of His Military Services.

305. “Scovell set pen to paper”: the letter is in the Wellington Papers, WP 1/613/30.

306. “There is no record of any reply from Wellington”: not in the Wellington Papers, which have been very thoroughly indexed as part of an on-line project. This means it is most unlikely even that a letter to another correspondent of the “find that chap Scovell something to do” variety exists. The Scovell Papers contain no reply, and given some of the materials included in that collection it seems impossible that any courteous letter from the duke would not have been kept.

306. “wondering whether he might become head of one of the new police forces …”: a letter from Somerset to Scovell asking him whether he is interested in becoming head of the New Zealand police survives in the Scovell Papers.

307. “Thus, late in 1823, Murray asked Scovell to reexamine many of the intercepted French dispatches from the Peninsular campaigns …”: there are many fascinating jottings from this exercise in WO37/10, including lists of all messages examined.

308. That it was Hardinge's doing emerges in a letter in W099/24, part of the papers kept at Sandhurst. In it, Scovell complains that he is not receiving all of the allowances promised to him by Hardinge when they agreed to terms for the job.

309. “The prime minister … telling one friend, ‘If there is mutiny in the Army …”': Wellington wrote this to the Rev. Gleig, his biographer. It is quoted in Hugh Thomas's
The Story of Sandhurst.

309. “When Scovell commissioned a portrait of Somerset in 1841, he sent a print to Wellington …”: a copy of Scovell's accompanying letter of 20 September 1841 remains in the possession of Martin Scovell, his descendant, who showed it to me. John Sweetman, in his biography of Raglan, also mentions the portrait: Somerset (Raglan) wrote complaining that his friend Scovell had gone to the trouble and expense of having the painting done, whereas his own son was not interested in having
a copy. This is one of the reasons why I do not think it is too strong to speak of Scovell's friendship as love.

309. “When he died of dysentery later the same year, Scovell was heartbroken …”: this is evident from several letters in the Scovell Papers, as was his desire to protect Raglan's reputation.

309. “On 10 August 1836, the duke went to dine with friends at Mr. Rogers's town house”: this anecdote, complete with the final quote, comes from Stanhope's
Conversations with the Duke of Wellington.

Throughout the writing of this book I have been using
A History of the Peninsular War
by Sir Charles Oman. He has been used as the decider on such issues as casualty numbers. These seven thick volumes, despite their occasional faults, are one of the greatest works of military history ever written. Certainly no journey into the past has ever given me such pleasure as beginning Oman's series and reading it through to its conclusion. It is a case, I think, of the reward derived by the reader being commensurate with the time put in.
Wellington's Army 1809–1814,
also by Oman, is a valuable reference for details such as the brigading of units and changes of command, as well as a very good synthesis of the soldiers' journals.
Wellington's Headquarters,
a classic study by S.G.P. Ward, London, 1957, was also valuable to me in gaining an initial understanding of how it all worked.

I have also drawn on Elizabeth Longford's biography of Wellington (in two volumes:
The Years of the Sword
and
The Years of State).
She is very good both on his Tory connections and her insights into his brilliant if unforgiving psychology.

A last word of praise belongs to the
Dictionnaire Biographique des Généraux et Amiraux françaises de La Revolution et de l'Empire
by Georges Six. This research on the lives of Napoleon's senior officers is fantastically useful when searching for details about some of the French Peninsular letter writers. It is only a shame that no work of the same comprehensiveness exists for British officers of the period.

The pagination of this electronic edition does not match the edition from which it was created. To locate a specific passage, please use the search feature of your e-book reader.

Entries in
italics
refer to maps.

Abrantes, 2, 58–60

Alava, General, 290, 302

Albuera, 2

Battle of, 98–100

Almaraz, Battle of, 180–81, 183–85, 190

Almeida fortress, 84, 95–96, 103, 155, 156, 162, 172

Alten, Baron, 202

Andalucia, 2

Anglo-Portuguese force, 97, 285–86

daily post, 102

Anglo-Spanish alliance, 66

Army of Catalonia (French), 111, 112, 297, 298

Army of Dalmatia (French), 106

Army of Portugal (French), xix, 146

Badajoz and, 154, 155

cipher of, 148–49, 175, 188, 189

decoding, and defeat of, 312

Marmont heads, 105–7, 111

Masséna heads, 96, 105

in northern Spain, 282, 289–90

Salamanca and, 198–204, 207, 208, 214, 215, 218–19, 223–24, 232, 237, 241

after Salamanca, 246, 248

Wellington attack on, debated by French generals, 186, 190–92

Army of Spain (French), Berthier heads, 110

Army of the Center (French), 112, 194, 204, 209, 210, 216, 217, 221–22

position of, revealed by deciphered letters, 267–69, 282

Army of the North (French), 105, 111, 112, 146, 157, 158, 186, 194, 204

in cipher, 188

reinforcements to Marmont and, 206–10,221,223

Army of the South (French), 105, 111, 179,190,192

position of, revealed in deciphered letters, 268, 269, 282

Vitoria and, 291

Arroyo de Molinos attack, 126,135

Aspern-Essling, Battle of, 81

Austen, Jane, 30

Austerlitz, Battle of, xviii, 178

Austria, 67, 81, 83

Badajoz fortress, 95, 97–99, 102

British HQ at, 78, 81, 83, 84,108

British withdrawal from, 279

storm of,
152,
158–67, 172, 195, 249

Wellington decides to attack, 147–51, 153–56

Badcock, Captain, 90–91, 95

Bailén, Battle of, 9,
66

Ballasteros, General, 156, 193

Bathurst, Earl, 215–16, 217, 223, 270, 283,296,311

Beaufort, Duke of, 81

Beresford, Gen. William, 44, 45, 49, 83, 120,162–63,193, 216, 217, 230, 231,239,252

Albuera and, 98–100

background of, 41

Berthier, Marshal Louis, prince of Neufchatel, 110,112–14, 135,136, 149

adopts cipher, 113

Badajoz and, 156–57

French generals and, 178–79, 187

Great Cipher and, 139, 188

letter to, captured, 172–73

Marmont and, 150,178

Black Watch.
See
Highlanders, 42nd Bock, General, 193, 241

Bonaparte, Joseph, King of Spain

appeals to Napoleon, 283

appointed to command in Spain, 156–58

character of, xviii, 68, 75

Clarke and, 267

communications in cipher begun, 112–14,136

deciphering and defeat of, 312

dispatches to, captured, 64–66, 70

dispatch of, to Marmont, 217, 220–23

dispatch of, to Reille, 282

dispatch of, to Napoleon with Soult letter captured, 266–74

Dorsenne and, 187–88

evacuates Madrid, 246

Great Paris Cipher and, 136–39, 176, 188

Great Paris Cipher table of, found by Scovell, 296–98

Jourdan and, 135–36, 267

Marmont and, 126,181, 190–93, 208–10

May 1

packet and, 186–89

Napoleon recalls, 298

Rambouillet accord and, 109–12

Salamanca and, 214, 216, 310

Soult and, 77,190–93, 244–46, 254–55, 270–71

threats to abdicate, 178

trip to France of 1812, 261–63

Vitoria and, 288–96

Bonaparte, Queen Julie (Joseph's wife), xviii, 111

Bonnet, General, 135,194,199,202, 203, 214, 217, 238

Bourck, Count, 310

Bowden, George, 163, 164

Bragge, Capt. William, xvii Brenier, General, 95, 96, 194, 203

Britain

government decipherers, vs. Scovell, 283–84

invasion scares in, 28

social order, Wellington and, 52

British cavalry.
See also
Dragoon Guards; Dragoons

retreat to Corunna, 5–7

Scovell and, 53–54

British Fleet, 3, 4

British Foot (infantry)

3rd, 37

48th, 39

50th, 18,291

57th, 7, 30, 99–101

66th, 39

88th, 235

British Royal Army.
See also
specific units

commissions sales scandal, 31–32

company strengths, 57n Irish in, 153

landing of, in Holland, 81

mobilization of, 28

poor conduct of, 58–61, 166, 256–57, 278–79, 294–96

reform of, 50–52, 61, 278–79

retreat of, to Corunna, 4–5

Wellington's attempt to improve, 285–86

British Royal Army Divisions.
See also
Fighting Division; Light Division

1st, 76,229–31,249

2nd, 291, 293

3rd, 144,153,160,162, 227, 233, 235, 236, 238, 249, 292–93

4th, 153,162,167, 195, 219, 232, 234, 235, 239, 249, 292, 293

5th, 232, 234–36, 238, 284

6th, 198, 249

7th, 92, 93

British Royal Navy, 4, 20, 23

Brotherton, Captain, 89–93

Brown, infantryman, 59–60

Brownrigg, Lieutenant General, 33

Buffs, 57, 59
Bulletin,
273

Burgos, 2

French withdraw from, 269, 288–89

siege of, 248–57, 264–65, 278

Burgoyne, Maj. John, 250, 251, 253

Busaco, Battle of, 106, 186, 203–4

Caffarelli, Gen. Louis Marie, 208, 210, 214, 221, 274

Campbell, Colonel, 266, 270

Castlereagh, Lord, 9, 24, 25, 48, 79–80

Catalonian expeditionary corps, 253

Charles I, king of England, 104

Cimetière, Major, 144n Ciudad Rodrigo, xvii, 84, 95, 102, 126–28,
130,
155,156

attack on,134, 140–46, 149–51, 264

blockade of, 109, 114, 119–21,123

Clarke, General, duke of Feltre, 157–58, 267–68, 273, 298

Clarke, Mary Anne, 31–32

Clausel, Gen. Bertrand, 203–4, 217, 219, 234, 239, 248, 254, 256

Clinton, Capt. Lord, 242

Clowes, John, 29, 122

Clowes, Maj. Leigh, 29, 122, 123, 234, 240

Clowes, Samuel, 122

Cocks, Capt. Edward, 49, 92, 94,132, 140,146,185,249,254

Codes and ciphers, xvii.
See also
Great Paris Cipher

adopted for Joseph, 113–14

bigrams, defined, 137

defined, xi European royalty and, 103

French begin to use, 65–69, 96–98

hieroglyph used by Lucotte, 282

importance of decoding, to Wellington's victory, 242, 312

Latour-Maubourg letter in, 97–98, 103

Marmont devises
Grand Chiffre,
105–6

Marmont's, decoded by Scovell, 116–20,127–28

Scovell learns to decipher, 103–4

Scovell reexamines dispatches in, after war, 306–9

Scovell's early interest in, 10

Scovell's “two-book” system for British, 252–53

small
{petits chiffres),
69

vacant numbers in, 205

Wellington acknowledges Scovell's skill at decoding, 270, 283–84, 311, 312

Wellington forgets Scovell's deciphering of, 309–10

Wellington sends Scovell's early results to London, 205–7

Coffin, Pine, 144n

Cole, General Lowry, 202, 286

Communication.
See also
Codes and ciphers British system of, 74

difficulties of, for French, 67–69

Joseph at center of, 157–58

Scovell runs British, 9–11, 240–41

Wellington and, 252–53

Conradus, David Arnold, notebook, 103–4, 116–17, 125, 177, 189, 312

Conservatives, 24

Cooper, Sergeant, 59–60

Cordoba meeting, 255–56

Corps of Mountain Guides

campaign of 1809 and, 77–78

Corunna and, 14, 20–21, 24

intelligence by, 61–64, 85, 101–3

Salamanca and, 193

Scovell commands, 10, 54–56, 62–64, 74–76

Scovell gives up command of, 282

uniform of, 170

Corunna, 2

Battle of, 13–21,24–25

conduct of army at, 279

retreat to, 3–11, 25

Costello, Rifleman Edward, 163–66, 257, 295

Cotton, Lt. Gen. Stapleton, 202, 218, 230, 236, 238, 242

Craufurd, Maj. Gen. Robert “Black Bob,” 94,143,144, 238

Crimean War, xv, 309
Cryptographia, or The Art of Decyphering
(Conradus), 103–4

Cuesta, General, 70, 74, 75, 77

Curtis, Father Patrick, 123,126, 127, 204, 284

Curto, General, 217, 235

Daily post, 102, 103

Dalbiac, Lieutenant Colonel, 122, 233

Dalbiac, Susannah, 122, 240

Dalmatia, duke of.
See
Soult, Marshal Nicolas Jean de Dieu De Lancey, Lady, 302

De Lancey, Lt. Col. William, 44, 53, 62, 80,101,195, 201, 230, 233, 242, 264, 299

character of, xv

death of, 300–301, 302

D'Erlon, Count, 193, 203, 209, 210,221, 222, 256

D'Espagne, Gen. Carlos, 124

Desprez, Col. François, 191–92, 255, 256, 273, 283