During the Napoleonic Wars, the British Army officer's life centered on his
regimental mess when he was not on duty. Although the mess often provided the of
ficer a meal and a bed, it was more often a club where he could socialize with his
peers and unwind from the stress of the campaign.
The mess was at the heart of a regiment and its importance can not be overstated. As one officer put it "It brought us together each evening after our requisite duties to the soldiers had been gone through... and, all things considered, our club was most comfortable, and tended to keep up that feeling of harmony and action for which the 'Connaught Rangers' were so
remarkable during the Peninsula War." [1]
What occurred in the mess, as a rule stayed in the mess, however the friendships formed or ended there often affected the performance of the unit on the battlefield. The services offered by the mess varied from regiment, location, and year; and no messes were alike. Because
of this, this article will consist of two parts.
The first part will examine many of the factors that affected the mess, including when it was organized and the types of food and beverage served. The second part will explore what day-to-day life was like in the mess.
Most British officers who wrote memoirs of their experiences during the Peninsular War used the term mess very loosely. In most cases it referred to a group of officers who ate and socialized together on a regular basis. Depending on the unit or the location this could be as
small as two or three men or several hundred. Many factors influenced the quality and nature of the mess, as each following sections will address:
1. The type of duty the unit was performing. The regiments of the Light Division often were on outpost duty and dispersed over a wide area with many miles between the various companies. The officers usually then messed with the other officers in their company. [2]
Lieutenant Robert Blakeney, who commanded the Light Company of the 28th Foot, gives a classic example of this during the retreat to Corunna. His company mess was on the front line overlooking a key bridge that he and a company of the 92d Highlanders were guarding.
The rest of the regiment was somewhere in the rear. French fire from across the river could hit every spot in the room except for one corner. There he and one subordinate set up their mess using the only table to be found in the house and some chairs. To get to this corner they
had to crawl beneath the window to avoid being shot. His servant would bring the meals the same way pushing the plates in front of him.
The space was so cramped that they had to be careful exposing any part of their body. Captain Cameron, of the 92d and a guest in the mess, found this out the hard way, when he waved his glass and accidentally exposed it to the fire. A lucky shot broke his glass, which unfortunately for him was the only one available. [3]
2. Where the unit was billeted. When in winter quarters, occasionally the village assigned as a billet was too small to support the unit, especially for cavalry regiments. Not only did the men need to be under a roof, but so did the horses. This often necessitated the regiment being billeted in several villages in the area, making a centralized mess impossible.
Then the officers would form separate messes.
3. A major factor was the availability of a large enoughbuilding for the mess.
The officers preferred inns because they usually had numerous rooms, a wine cellar
and a kitchen; however they also used churches, large houses, and even barns.
During the winter of 1812-1813, the 1st of the 95th Rifles billeted in the same village
for the first time in several years.
The officers immediately established a mess in an old barn "through the roof of
which we built two large chimneys, rather uncouth as to size and shape; and making
a long table with benches, equally rough, around it." [4]
4. When space was not available for billeting, eating, and socializing.
Sometimes the allocated space would be so small or be missing a kitchen, they
could only use the mess for socializing. [5]
Other times the mess would be so large that it could seat the officers from several regiments.
Blakeney provides a very vivid description of the mess in Tarifa, in 1811, where he was its president. The mess served as a dining room and a place for entertainment for over 150 officers on any given day. It "was very spacious, and at either end was a room which entered into
it; not only these three, but in fact every room in the house, had tables put down;
and many there were who felt glad to procure a dinner even in the kitchen." [6]
While campaigning, a formal mess rarely existed. The officers from each company would usually eat together, however it was too difficult to set up a mess similar to what they would have in winter quarters.
There were a few exceptions to this, including:
1. If the unit was in a place long enough (usually several days), they might make informal arrangements. A major factor against setting one up was the expense of maintaining it on the move. Lieutenant Grattan, of the Connaught Rangers stated that twice they set up
formal messes while campaigning, the first after Talavera in 1809, the second after Salamanca. Both times it was a great deal of trouble and the costs were extremely high. [7]
2. On special days, such as Christmas, even when under difficult conditions, the officers would get together to celebrate. The 15th Hussars, during the retreat to Corunna in 1808, held a formal Christmas dinner in Sahagun.
"All the officers of the regiment, except those absent on duty, were assembled to celebrate the day; but the mirth and jollity usually prevalent at this season were considerably damped by
reflection on the critical situation in which we were placed." [8] The King's birthday was also another day celebrated quite heavily.
3. Several units celebrated their founding days. The most famous case of this was on 25 August 1813 when the officers of the 95th Rifles celebrated the 10th anniversary of the activation of their regiment.
In full sight of the French on the Vera heights, 73 officers from the three battalions of the regiment sat down in a crude hut made from the branches of trees. No table was available, so the mess made tables and benches by digging a trench for the officers to dangle their legs.
Depending on the source, either there was a large amount of food (Kincaid) or very little (Leach), however "neither vocal nor instrumental music was wanting after the feast; and, with the aid of cigars and black strap, we enjoyed the most extraordinary J;hte cha? - tre (country
festival) I have ever witnessed. [9] Lieutenant Johnny Kincaid confirms this but to even a greater degree:
"...the earth almost quaked with the weight of the feast, and the enemy certainly did, from the noise of it. For so many fellows holding such precarious tenures of their lives could not meet together in commemoration of such an event, without indulging in an occasional
cheer--not a whispering cheer, but one that echoed far and wide into the French
lines, and as it was a sound that had often pierced them before, and never yet boded
them any good, we heard afterwards that they were kept standing at their arms the
greater part of the night...." [10]
The Connaught Rangers, an Irish Regiment, always celebrated Saint Patrick's Day in style. In 1813, Lieutenant Grattan was the caterer for the celebration. He traveled 15 miles over
bad roads through the mountains to Vizeu to obtain the proper quantity and quality
of food and beverages. On his way back he was attacked by wolves, however he
survived and "the dinner went offwell, the attendance was good, and we were al1 as
happy as any corps could wish to be..." [11]
4. The night before a campaign began the mess usually had one last feast.
In 1811, 191 officers from the 28th Regiment and other units that were to
fight at Barossa came together the night before they departed Tarifa.
"The exhilarating juice of the grape was freely quaffed from out the crystal cup, and the inspiring songs of love and war went joyfully round, and the conclusion of each animating strophe was loudly hailed with choral cheers... Hilarity and mirth reigned throughout.
Livelysallies of wit cheerfully received as gutlessly shot forth added brilliancy to
the festive board... Our revels continued until morning... we marched out of Tarifa
with aching heads but glowing hearts." [12]
When campaigning life was fairly Spartan for the officer, especially for the
company officers. Regulations only authorized one mule for every two
subalterns and one for a captain. [13]
Furthermore, some commanders placed a restriction on the amount of baggage that an of ficer could bring with him. Ensign John Aitchison, of the 3d Foot Guards, proudly wrote home in late 1808, that General John Moore had ordered that all servants who were serving soldiers in
the officers' regiment had to rejoin the ranks.
"... in consequence the officers have provided themselves with knapsacks to
carry their necessaries themselves... I have weighed what I have to carry and find it
amounts to 27 pounds." [14]
Junior officers rarely obeyed the restriction on the number of baggage animals or the requirement to carry their own equipment. Most officers, who could afford them, immediately bought themselves a horse to ride and a mule to carry their personal items. The Army even
provided the payment of an allowance, known as bat and forage money, for the upkeep of the authorized animals.
This payment, like their regular pay, was generally six months in arrears at any
given period of the war. The Army authorized each infantry battalion thirteen baggage mules, one for each company to carry the camp kettles (after 1812 the company tents), plus one each for
the surgeon, the paymaster, and for carrying camp equipment. [15]
The lack of authorized baggage animals and the subsequent cost of maintaining private animals usually precluded the regiment from taking with it any formal mess equipment, such as silver, punch bowls, etc. The officers would donate from their own personal equipment the necessary cutlery, plates, bowls, etc., when they established the mess. Other items were bought locally or taken from abandoned buildings. [16]
As the years went on, the more seasoned campaigners were able to obtain some unusual items for use in the mess. Lieutenant Schaumann, the commissary officer for the 1st King's German Legion Hussars, acquired a set of French amputating knives to use as carving
knives. [17] The most famous field acquisition of course was by the 14th Light Dragoons, who captured Joseph Bonaparte's silver chamberpot after the
battle of Vitoria. This became the regimental punchbowl.
On campaigns, food was often scarce due to the inability of the commissary to provide enough, nonebeing available in the countryside, or the lack of money to buy it even if it were available. In garrison, as long as the officer had the money to pay for it, he could usually
obtain food. Again, depending on whose memoirs you read, the British were either quite adept at making the best meal out of the food available or totally incompetent.
Captain Peter Hawker, of the 14th Light Dragoons, wrote in his diary that
during the Talavera Campaign in 1809: "By the good management of one of our officers (who is perhaps the best forager, the choicest caterer, and the first amateur cook in his Majesty's service), we had contrived to establish an excellent mess..." [18]
Yet a German officer serving with the British reinforced the stereotype [fully
justified--Ed] of the British not being gourmets, when he wrote "It is strange but
true, that Englishmen would rather starve than trouble themselves about cooking; ...
the men together with their officers, are like young ravens--they only know how to open
their mouths to be fed." [19]
As they became more experienced, most officers built up
their private larders. In garrison, many kept chickens, turkeys, and
goats. On campaign, they often brought their goats with them as
part of their garrison. Harry Smith claims that this practice was so
widespread that:
"...every [company] mess had a boy, who was in charge of
them [goats] on the march and in quarters, and milked them. On
the march the flock of each Regiment and Brigade assembled and
moved with their goat-herds, when each drove his master's goats
to his quarters. We observed extraordinary regularity with these
goats, and upon inquiry we found out the little fellows organized
themselves into regular guards. They had a captain; ...their time
of duty was as regular as our soldiers'; they had sentries with
long white sticks in their hands, and Mein's little boy held a sort
of courtmartial, and would lick a boy awfully who neglected his
charge. [20]
Local purchases were a hit or miss affair, depending on the
locale. When on campaign, as long as the unit was not moving
through an area that was picked clean by either side, then some
kind of food was generally available. Unfortunately very few of
the memoirists left a detail list of the type of food that was
available and how much it cost.
The best source on purchasing food during the Peninsular
War is Major Alexander Dickson's Petty Cash Books. The books
cover the years 1809-1811 and provide clues not only on the
types of food available but the cost of the items. The following
items are from the books and include the cost in both local
currency and in British shillings. [21] (The conversion rate for 1811 was 1 Portuguese Dollar equals 40 vintens which equals 4 shillings 6 pence. [22] Note: One pound equals 20 shillings; 1 shilling equals 12 pence)
The above table is interesting from several aspects. A wide
range of food was available in Portugal throughout much of the
years 1809-1811. (Unfortunately the Dickson Manuscript volumes
IV and V (for years 1812 and 1813 do not include excerpts from his
petty cash books.) George Hennell, of the 43d Light Infantry
wrote home in 1812, that in Madrid the following items were
available: [23]
Francis Larpent reported in early 1813, that the following
items were available at the cutler's store in the vicinity of
Wellington's Headquarters: [24]
Not surprisingly, the imported items, such as tea and gin,
were fairly expensive. Interestingly, certain items went up
significantly (compare Dickson's 48 bottles of port in 1811 at 1
shilling 8 pence per bottle to almost 4 times that for a bottle that
Larpent paid in 1813; tea also increased fourfold.) What is
important to note about the prices however is the cost.
When compared to the officer's pay,
they were fairly high. An infantry captain
made 10s6d per day; an artillery captain
11sOd; and a cavalry captain 14s7d. [25] The
three bottles of gin that Dickson bought in
1810 would have cost a cavalry captain a
day's wages. Either the officer had to have
an outside source of income or he had to
live very frugally. One of the advantages
of belonging to a mess was it allowed the
junior officers to pool their resources and
thus save money. George Simmons of the
95th Rifles, regularly sent money home to
support his parents, eventhough he had
no income but his pay! [26]
Belonging to a mess could be
especially advantageous when it came to
organizing a special meal. Lieutenant
Grattan wrote that The Connaught
Rangers' spent 50 dollars (225 shillings) to
buy food for the forty or so officers of the
mess for the 1813 Saint Patrick's Day
celebration. He wrote that:
"The fish was excellent, the fowl of
the best quality, and to any one who has
ever had the good fortune to taste a
Lamego ham, it would be but superfluous
to descant on the merits of so delicious a
morsel. For the beef and mutton I can't say
much, but the wine was of the best
quality.
I had taken particular care on this
essential point, and went to a convent
where my friend Graham, with his
Portuguese regiment, were quartered, and,
through his interest, prevailed on the
priests to send us some of their own best.
In saying this I need not say more in
praise of the wine, as it is well known
those gentlemen never kept, for their own
use, one drop of any wine that was not of
the best quality." [27]
Setting up the Mess
Equipping the Mess
Feeding the Mess
The mess obtained food and beverages a variety of ways, the primary source being the issued ration. However, whenever possible, the officer tried to supplement the rations with local
purchases, hunting, foraging, packages from home, from captured French stocks, or, at the last resort, from the enlisted soldiers.
Item Amount Cost in
DollarsCost in
ShillingsYear Tea, sugar, butter . 1 d.35 v. 2s5p 1809 Anchovies 10 dozen 2 dollars 9 shillings 1809 Gin 3 bottles 3 d. 24 v. 16 s. 2p. 1809 Ham 1 1 d. 27.5 v. 5 s. 2 p. 1809 Ham 17 lb. 3 d. 34 v. 14 s. 4p. 1809 Turkeys 2 12 vintens 1 s. 3 p. 1809 Fowls 4 2 dollars 9 shillings 1809 Tea 1 lb. 3 dollars 13s. 6p. 1810 Rum 2 bottles 1 d. 24 v. 2 s. 1 p. 1810 Gin 6 bottles 7 d. 4 v. 31 s. 6 p. 1810 Tongues 2 2 d. 16 v. 31 s. 6 p. 1810 Salmon 1 1 dollar. 4 s. 6 p. 1810 Fowl 1 2a vinten 2 s. 6 p. 1810 Brandy 16 bottles 6 dollars 27 shillings 1810 Tea 2lb. 4d.30v. 18s.9p. 1810 Holland (Dutch Gin) 8 bottles 8 dollars 36 shillings 1810 Anchovies 10 dozen 2 dollars 9 shillings 1810 Gin 3 bottles 3d. 24 v. 14s. 1 p. 1810 Salt, refined 2 lb. 15 vintens 5 s. 1810 Pepper 1/4 lb. 10 vintens 3 pence 1810 Ham 1 2d.32v. 9s.10p. 1810 Brandy & Gin 2 bottles of each 4 dollars 18 shillings 1811 Biscuits small barrel 1 d. 20 v. 5 shillings 1811 Tongues 3 1d. 20 v. 5 shillings 1811 Port 48 bottles 15 d. 29 v. 68 s. 3p. 1811 Marmelade 5 lb. 1 d. 35 v. 5 s. 4 p. 1811
Item Amount Cost Mutton 1 pound 1 shilling Hares whole 3 or 4 shillings Partridges whole 2 shillings Pigeons whole 6 pence Bread 1 pound 1 shilling
Butter 1 pound 4 shillings Bread 1 pound 1 shilling 6 pence Gin 1 bottle 12 shillings Pepper & Mustard 1 small bottle 7 shillings Tea 1 pound 13 shillings 6 pence Cheese 1 pound 4 shillings Gin 1 bottle 7 shillings 6 pence Brandy 1 bottle 7 shillings 6 pence Porter (beer) 1 bottle 5 shillings Milk 1 quart 1 shilling Salt-butter 1 pound 3 shillings Pork 1 pound 1 shilling 8 pence Oil 1 quart 5 shillings Port 1 bottle 6 shillings 6 pence
The most ingenious hunting technique
was one used by the 1st Battalion,
95th Rifles.
A third source of food was the care
packages sent from England. Most items
sent out were those unavailable locally,
such as spices and condiments. [28] The
two weeks to two months shipping time
from England prevented the shipping of
perishables. The most unusual item I
found was a care package that an officer
in the 95th Rifles received in southern
France in late 1813. It consisted of
"... two immense pies, weighing nearly a hundred-weight each, and packed
in tin cases. They were composed of every kind of game and the best
description of fowls, such as turkeys, etc., with the bones taken out, and the meat
baked till it became like brawn when cut in slices. They were most excellent." [29]
The officers were desired to take with them their fowling-pieces and grey-hounds...the, whole battalion was extended in one long line skirmishing order, bringing rather forward the wings, and proceeding in this manner straight across the great plain to the river. Hares, rabbits, and partridges were soon started at all points; when such shooting, coursing, and knocking down with sticks and stones, and such mobbing of quadrupeds and birds commenced,
that a game-preserving John Bull would undoubtedly have stigmatised us as a most nefarious corps of poachers." The final place an officer could obtain food was from the
enlisted men. They avoided this except in cases of extreme need,
because unlike modern Western armies today, the British officers
of that time did not look after the needs of their men to the same
degree as they would today. The sharing of food from private
stocks was unheard of, and it
Frequently the officers would supplement their rations with game they hunted. Many of the officers carried shotguns in their baggage and quite few even brought hounds for coursing after
hares, partridges, quail, and deer. The most ingenious hunting technique was one used by the 1st Battalion, 95th Rifles. On bathing days, the officers would form the battalion in line, the men in "... their light fatigue dress, foraging caps, and a stick, for a purpose which shall immediately be explained.
[30]
The mess was where the bonding
among the officers, that was so essential
to the espirit de corps
of a unit occurred
"Lord Charles Spencer, then a youth about eighteen years
of age, suffered dreadfully from the hunger and fatigue of this
retreat; trembling with cold and weakness, he stood perched upon
some branches, that had been cut down for fuel, the tears silently
starting from his eyes through the pain he experienced, while thus
sharing in the common lot, anxiously watching a few acorns,
which to stay the pangs of hunger he had placed in the embers to
roast. I dare say his Lordship had never known till then the joys
of poverty - a good appetite! Nor will he, I expect, forget how
willingly the rough soldiers flew to offer him biscuits, which their
own sufferings could not withhold from one so tenderly and
delicately reared..." Finding food other than the issued ration while deployed
overseas has always been a problem for soldiers of every army
since the first army marched. One of the benefits of the regimental
mess system was that it allowed the officers to feed themselves
more efficiently through a common larder while having fewer
cooks and servants to support them. This benefit was secondary,
however to the real purpose behind the mess--it was a place for
the officers to relax and unwind with their peers after the stress of a day.
The mess was where the bonding among the officers, that
was so essential to the esprit de corps of a unit occurred.
Although shared meals were a significant part of this bonding, it
was the activities that occurred when the officers unwound that
truly built bonds. The second part of this article will examine
those activities that were the heart and soul of the mess.
Related:
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
[31]
Conclusion
Footnotes
[1] Grattan, William: Adventures with the Connaught Rangers 1809-1814; Howard Arnold, London; 1902. Page 316.
[2] Smith, Harry: The Autobiography of Sir Harry Smith; John Murray, London; 1910. Page 20.
[3] Blakeney, Robert: A Boy in the Peninsular War; Edited by Julian Sturgis; Greenhill Books, London; 1989. Pages 103-104.
[4] Leach, Jonathan: Rough Sketches of the Life of an Old Soldier; Ken Trotman, Cambndge; 1986. Pages 297-298.
[5] Grattan; P. 316
[6] Blakeney; P. 170
[7] Grattan; Pp 316-317
[8] Gordon, Alexander: A Cavalry Officer in
the Corunna Campaign 1808-1809; Worley Publications, Tyne & Wear; 1990.
Pages 132-133.
[9] Leach; P. 337
[10] Kincaid, John: Adventures in the Rifle
Brigade and Random Shots from a Rifleman; Richard Drew Publishing, Glasgow; 1981. Pages 122-123.
[11] Grattan; Pp 320-321.
[12] Blakeney; Pp 175-177
[13] Oman, Charles: Wellington's Army, 1809-
1814; Greenhill Books, London; 1986. Page 269.
[14] Aitchison, John: An Ensign in the
Peninsular War; edited by W.F. Thompson; Michael Joseph, London;
1981. Page 31.
[15] Oman; P. 271.
[16] Leach; P. 297.
[17] Schaumann, Augustus, On the Road With Wellington; Edited by A. Ludovici; Alfred Knopf, N.Y.; 1925. Page 291.
[18] Hawker, Kevin: Journal of an Officer in Portugal and Spain; Ken Trotrnan, London; 1981. Page 41.
[19] Schaumann; P. 38.
[20] Smith; P.129.
[21] Dickson, Alexander: The Dickson Manuscripts, Volumes 1,2, & 3; edited by John Leslie; Ken Trotman, Cambridge; 1988.
[22]Dickson, Vol. 3. Page iii.
[23] Hennell, George: A Gentlemen Volunteer; Edited by Michael Glover; William Heinemann; London; 1979. Page 41.
[24] Larpent, Francis S.: The Private Journal of Francis Seymour Larpent, Judge Advocate General of the British Forces in the Peninsula; Edited by George Larpent; Richard Bentley, London; 1853. Pages 50 & 52.
[25] Glover, Michael: Wellington's Army;
Hippocrene Books; New York; 1977. Page 96.
[26] Simmons, George: A British Rifle Man;
Edited by W. Vemer; Greenhill Books; London; 1986. Page X.
[27] Grattan; P. 320.
[28] For more information on items
ordered by one officer, see Fine Dining in the Peninsula: The General's Mess; EEL #11.
[29] Surtees, William: Twenty-five Years in
the Rifle Brigade; Frederick Muller LTD, London; 1973. Page 256.
[30] Leach; Pp 109-110.
[31] Costello, Edward: The Peninsular and Waterloo Campaigns; Archon Books, Hamden, Cn; 1968. Page 114.
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