It would probably be fair to say that to the uninitiated, light infantry tactics boil down to handing a man a firelock and a competent supply of ammunition, pointing him in the general direction of the enemy, and letting him get on with it. In reality of course skirmishing tactics not only demand a high degree of skill and personal initiative on the part of the individual soldier, but also require a considerable degree of tactical control by officers in order to co-ordinate all those rugged individuals and ensure their optimum effectiveness.

As in most 18th century armies, therefore, British infantry regiments posted their more experienced and reliable men into elite companies which were formally designated either as grenadiers, if intended for the assault role, or as light infantry if intended to be skirmishers. Both were commonly referred to as Flank Companies for the rather obvious reason that on parades and at reviews they were posted on the right and left flanks of the regiment.

Although these flank companies were notionally capable of providing the individual infantry regiment with its own organic assault troops and skirmishers, and they were required to demonstrate this role at a review, they rarely did so in practise for it was very rare for a regiment to take the field independently. Instead, whenever two or more regimens were concentrated, whether at home or abroad, the flank companies were routinely detached from their parent units and combined into independent specialist battalions. It should be stressed at once that this was done as a matter of course, and indeed pretty well automatically, rather than at the occasional whim of the local commander.

The provisional battalions thus formed could be quite temporary affairs, brought together as needed and dispersed again afterwards. At Quebec in 1759 Wolfe's grenadier companies were only concentrated in a provisional battalion under Lieutenant Colonel Guy Carleton as and when they were required for particular operations, such as the disastrous Montmorency landing, but were back with their own regiments during the final battle on the Plains of Abraham. On the other hand three companies detached from regiments in the Louisburg garrison famously served together throughout the campaign as the "Louisburg Grenadiers", and all of Wolfe's light companies were concentrated in a provisional battalion under Lieutenant Colonel William Howe at the very outset and kept- together as such until after the fall of the city.

In 1775, General Gage also formed the flank companies of the Boston garrison into a grenadier battalion and a light infantry battalion, and in the following year Billy Howe, now a major general, formed no fewer than four grenadier battalions and four light infantry battalions for the invasion of Long Island. Subsequent attrition and the departure of parent units to other theatres eventually saw them whittled down to two battalions of each, but the v served right through the war and developed considerable espirit de corps. The grenadiers in fact both officially and informally referred to themselves as the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the British Grenadiers!

Unsurprisingly therefore the same practise was followed during the French Revolutionary War in the 1790s. In the West Indies, for example, Sir Charles Grey formed two battalions apiece of grenadiers and light infantry, even taking flank companies of units remaining in Europe to complete them. Similarly, when an expeditionary force was scraped together from the Jamaica garrison for operations on St. Domingo, a combined flank battalion made up of both grenadier and light companies was formed, and employed almost exclusively as an assault force rather than in the skirmishing role.

Although it might at first seem paradoxical to employ light infantry in the assault role, whether at Bunker's Hill or on St.Domingo, it was not at all inconsistent with 18th century tactical doctrines, which regarded light troops primarily as fast moving 'mobile' units to be employed as strikers in a strategic rather than a tactical role. However, the advent of the heavy skirmish screens so characteristic of the French revolutionary armies forced a reassessment of these roles.

At the outset of the Napoleonic Wars proper detached flank battalions certainly continued to be employed in certain theatres, most notably at Maida, where Stuart not only concentrated his regimental light companies but also reinforced them by culling the less formally organised 'marksmen' and 'skirmishers' from the battalion Companies as well, and also at Barossa in 1811. Otherwise the conventional wisdom is that with the newly created Light Division at his disposal for mobile operations, Wellington did not employ flank battalions in his Peninsular army and that consequently the practise died out entirely.

This however is true only up to a point, for while the Division certainly removed the need to form (lank battalions for mobile operations, it did not remove the newfound need for skirmishers. Unsurprisingly therefore there is a considerable amount of evidence for the formation of provisional light infantry battalions within each brigade and division. It would in fact be rather more surprising if the reverse were the case, for the 1792 Rules and Regulations for the Formations, Field Exercise and Movements of his Majesty's Forces clearly stated that: 'when two or more companies are together they are to consider themselves a battalion, the senior officer is to take the command, leaving the immediate command of his own company to the next officer belonging to it.' (p332)

This rule had very little to do with specific tactical precepts or doctrines and everything to do with common sense. If a typical three regiment brigade deployed its three light companies (and an independent company of rifles from either the 60th or the Brunswick Jager) out in front it would clearly be sensible if not downright essential for someone to take charge of the whole skirmish line and run it as a single battalion. Were this to be a purely temporary arrangement only entered into on the day of the race then one would expect that, just as the Regulations laid down, the officer in command would simply be the senior captain of the four, and hopefully he would be well enough known to his colleagues to avoid the need for standing around comparing commission dates while bullets were whistling around them.

There should therefore be nothing remarkable in finding captains recording in their returns of service that they commanded the light companies of their brigade on a particular occasion, but a surprising number claimed to have commanded battalions or even brigades, and in some cases those commanders were not captains but field officers.

The presence of those field officers is also explicable in that while the captains referred to their having commanded their brigade light battalion, the majors and lieutenant colonels are normally found commanding the divisional light battalion or 'brigade', and the fact that these formations were not casual groupings but semi-permanent formations is underlined by the fact that they also had adjutants to assist them.

Essentially therefore, although the 'ideal' division comprised three infantry brigades, each comprising three ten company battalions of the line and one rifle company; in actual practise at a tactical level a brigade would actually have fielded three nine-company battalions of the line and a four-company light battalion, and the three small light battalions were in turn run as a 'brigade' co-ordinared by a divisional field officer and adjutant. While these light battalions obviously differed from previous flank battalions in that they were not detached from then parent brigades and divisions, the employment of this higher organisational structure clearly points to a much more sophisticated degree of tactical control being exercised over 'ordinary' light companies in the Peninsula than has previously been recognised.

Known Light Battalion Commanders

The list below, collated from service returns (W02.5) reproduced in Dr. John Hall's Biographical Dictionary of British Officers Killed and Wounded, 1808-1814 is by no means exhaustive but serves to give some idea of the ranks and appointments typically held by these officers.

Capt. Edward Charlton 61st Foot: "in Command of the Light Infantry Cos. Of the left Brigade 6th Division'

Major Edward Cocks 79th Foot: 'commanding the light infantry battalion...' (at Burgos)

Capt. Andrew Creagh 29th Foot: 'Obtained a Medal as Brevet Major in the 29th Regiment while in the Command of a Light Brigade at the Battle of Rolea & Vimeira'

Lieut. Col. Edmund Faunce 4th Foot: 'Recommended by Major General Pringle to the Duke of Wellington for his conduct in the command of the Light Infantry Companies of the Brigade in the Battle of Salamanca'

Lieutenant Henry Gillman 3rd Foot: '...frequently Engaged with Light Compys during the Retreat from Madrid, VI ttoria 21 June 1813, Pampluna 2% & 28 June 1813... Various Skirmishes between this period & Novr. With Light Compys. Biddassoa, Nivelle, Cambo, Bayonnc, Orthes, Toulouse... Noticed in Orders for conduct as Adjutant of the Light Companies, on the 25th & 26th Jill v 1813.'

Major Thomas Leaky 23rd Foot: 'The next day the command of the light cos. of the Fusilier Brigade and a company of the Brunswicks at the Aldea de Ponte - devolved on me, Lieut. Col. Pearson having been wounded in the early part of the day.'

Lieutenant Martin Orr 7th Foot: 'Thanked bv Lt. Colonel Achmuty Commg. Brigade of 1st. Infy. Comps for gallant conduct during the 10 Ap 1814 at Toulouse...'

Major Henry Pynn 82nd Foot: 'as Lt. Col. Commanding the light companies in Col. Ashworth's Portuguese brigade'

Captain Charles Turner 11th Foot: 'Battle of Busaco 28th Sept. 1810, as Lieutenant of Lt. Company, and Adjt. Of Light Battalion 4th Division... Led the Attack of the 6th Division at the Battle and passage of the Nivelle 10th Novr. 1813, and brought the Light Companies of the Brigade out of Action after the Death of Captain Furnace 61st Regiment.'

Lieut. Col. William Williams 60th: 'the Village of Fuentes de Honor, which was defended in a Most gallant manner by Lieutenant-Colonel Williams of the 5th Battalion 60th regiment, in command of the light infantry battalions belonging to Major General Picton's division...'

Captain Thomas Willshire 38th Foot: 'Crossing the Bidassoa (Bt. Major commanding Brigade of light company) ... Obtained the brevet rank of Lt. Colonel for Commanding a Brigade of Light Companies when a Brevet Major in the actions of the Bidassoa... Sir Charles Grenville who in 1813 Commanded the Brigade to which the Light Companies I commanded belonged.'

Capt. 8 Lt.Col. Alex Woodford: 'commanding the light battalion of the brigade of Coldstrearn Guards guards' (at Salamanca)