There was no personal animosity between the soldiers of the British and French armies in the Peninsula. Any rough handling that a French prisoner of war received at the hands of his British captors was usually due to the common soldier's desire for plunder, rather than aggression towards a vanquished for, and this situation applied equally if the roles were reversed.

After the successful siege of Badajoz the attacking British troops ran riot in the town, venting their anger and bloodlust upon the inhabitants and any French soldier rash enough not to have surrendered. Those French who had laid down their arms were quickly (and probably gratefully) marched from the citadel.

Edward Costello wrote:

.......we saw a number of Frenchmen guarded by our soldiers, coming over the bridge. They were the prisoners taken in the Fort San Christobal which but an hour or two previously had surrendered. These were soon surrounded by our men, who began examining their knapsacks, from whence a number of watches, dollars, etc. were quickly extracted [14]

Captain Charles Boothby of the Royal Engineers was wounded at Talavera and evacuated to the town of that name, together with 1,500 other wounded British soldiers. After the Spanish garrison abandoned the town, the occupying French infantry spent some time plundering the houses, regardless of any wounded who were present. Boothby heard from his servant that a number of British officers had had their possessions stolen by French soldiers and was prudent enough to conceal what few belongings he had with him.

Once he made his presence known to some French officers he received every courtesy from them. They supplied him with food, clothes and books, and paid social calls upon him. He had nothing but praise for the French officers he met.

In Talavera, some British Surgeons had been left behind to look after the British and French wounded. These gentlemen were informed by their captors that they were free to go when ever they wished, in gratitude for the attention that the French wounded had received. [15]

British officers were equally courteous whenever circumstances permitted. Surgeon James McGrigor recalled such an occasion at Badajoz:

'In one street, I met General Phillipon, the governor, with his two daughters, holding each by the hand; all three with their hair dishevelled, and with them were two British officers, each holding one of the ladies by the arm, and with their drawn swords making thrusts occasionally at soldiers who attempted to drag the ladies away. I am glad to say that these two British officers succeeded in conveying the governor and his two daughters safely .... to the camp.' [16]

In the field the British usually treated their prisoners of war correctly and would not hesitate to use force to 'preserve our French prisoners from being butchered' by the Spanish or Portugese irregulars [17]. Senior French officers taken prisoner were treated with the greatest respect. General Ruffin was mortally wounded at the battle of Barrosa in March 1811, and taken prisoner. When he died on board H.M.S. Gorgon off Plymouth on 15th May of that year he was conveyed to Portsmouth where he was buried with full military honours. [18]

Prisoners taken by the British were transferred to the nearest castle, monastery or town where they were held until arrangements could be made to march them under escort to Lisbon. French officers often fared better than their men. Baron Lejeune tells how after he was stripped naked by Spanish irregulars he was clothed, provided with money and entertained by British officers before being sent in a carriage to Lison. [19]

At Lisbon the prisoners awaited Transport vessels provided by the Royal Navy to convey them to England, usually disembarking at Plymouth or Portsmouth.

They were now in the care of the Transport Office, who initially sent them all to either the Prison Ships (Hulks) or Land Prisons. Officers above a certain rank were offered their parole. If they accepted they gave their word of honour in writing not to escape if allowed to reside in towns and villages throughout Britain designated as Parole Depots. [20,21,22]

Prisoners of war acquired by the French forces were marched to France under a strong escort of gendarmes, as British and Spanish soldiers were frequently rescued by guerillas en route. Both British and Spanish officers were treated courteously by their French counterparts and were often provided with a carriage for travel to France. British Generals (and only three were captured in Spain) [23] were treated very respectfully. Major-General Andrew Lord Blayney travelled through Spain being passed from one French General to another, dining with them in turn and being invited to participate in any social functions that were going; attending balls, bull-fights and hunting excursions with his hosts. It was the common soldier and gendarmes who occasionally roughly treated prisoners of war, including officers.

British prisoners were confined in the fortresses and walled towns along the east and north-east borders of France. Officers were allowed to reside on parole at Verdun. [24]

As there were more French in British hands than vice-versa, the French could not afford to maltreat their British captives as they did their foreign prisoners. In France there were two classes of prisoner; first-class and the rest. The regulations stated that:

'...the English prisoners of war belong, without exception, to the first class category, and are to be allowed daily, 1 lb. bread, one ration vegetables and salt, 78 centimes in cash. The prisoners of all other nations are to receive only one half of the pay of the privates of the French Army, and one ration of bread each...' [25]

This explains the harsh treatment of the Spanish and Portugese prisoners. They were marched under strong escort into France, with any wounded or stragglers unable to continue often being shot at the roadside. Captain Boothby recalled seeing the 'carcasses of Spanish soldiers on the road, upon whose bodies the uniform declares their nation, and the wounds the manner of their death'. He was told the reason for this policy; '...if those wretches were left sick on the road, they would only serve to strengthen the brigands.' [26]

Of the 13,000 Spaniards who surrendered at Saragossa, many died on the march to France of disease and neglect; typhus accounting for a large proportion of the deaths. Many others were shot, leaving only approximately 6,000 to enter captivity in France.

Notes and Sources