The Regimental Mess of the British Army was a system that provided the officer a place to eat, drink, relax and socialize with his peers and friends, free from the formal constraints that he had when he was on duty. Large illustration (slow download: 78K) Part I of this article (published in EE&L Vol. 2 No. 14) dealt with how and when the mess was organized, how it was equipped, and what was eaten and drunk in it. Although those are important aspects of its operation, the real heart of the mess was the activities that occurred other than eating and drinking. Rarely do the surviving memoirs and diaries contain information about food or drink, however, most if not all will tell of the various activities they used to relieve boredom. These activities ranged from sedate games of cards, drinking, small talk, and dances, to high spirited pranks that were senseless, destructive, or unthinkable for an officer today. Yet it was these activities that formed the bonds of friendship, that carried the regiment through good times and bad. Lieutenant Schaumann left the following description of the mess of the 18th Hussars: "The officers, who were mostly young men of noble birth, and well versed in all the dissolute pastimes of London, did not trouble much about their regimental duties, nor did Major Gore, the officer commanding the regiment. They would go out riding, loaf about the market place, hold races, devise all kinds of tours de force, eat wonderful meals at mess, and drink barbarously. These were their principal occupations. While engaged in drinking their favourite form of entertainment was to tell the most salacious and obscene stories and anecdotes..." 1 Was Lieutenant Schaumann speaking the truth with his vivid description of the 18th Hussars? There was much truth in what he said, for depending on whose memoirs you read the regimental mess was either a place of drunken excesses or strict decorum. Drinking occurred on a scale that would be unimaginable today. Gambling was a regular pastime. Yet hunting, sports, and theaters were also prevalent. Apparently about the only thing forbidden was not paying your bills. George Napier states that at one point when he was a subaltern, he and two other officers were so far in debt to his regimental paymaster that they moved out of the mess and lived separately on milk and bread for three months, until they could pay their debt. 2 Drinking As mentioned above, drinking was one of the primary activities to pass the time. They drank wine, port, and brandy at most meals. Unlike today, water was not a beverage drunk if any other type was available. The amount could be quite staggering. Lieutenant George Simmons writes to his parents that his brother Joe was so ill sick, that he had to limit his wine to two bottles a day! 3 Lieutenant Blakeney, the president of the 28th Regiment's mess, stated that keeping the wine cellar stocked for the 150 regular members of the mess in Tarifa was a major problem "The draught of our cellar was deep, and profiting by the experience of the first day of the jubilee, on the second day, the 24th, we passed a restriction act limiting each officer to a pint of port and half a bottle of claret; but not withstanding this precaution, we ran a pipe of port [126 gallons] dry in less than four days. Porter and brandy, being easily procured, were not subject to restriction... It was calculated that, including port, claret, brandy and porter, two thousand bottles were emptied in our mess-house within the week...4 Visiting other messes occurred frequently, with often the only restriction was the ability to find one's way home while drunk. 5 The survivors of the 23d Dragoons after Talavera, "ended their mess or dinner every night by all getting drunk and flinging the dinner service, and finally the chairs and table, out the window." 6 Surprisingly drinking was quite heavy even on the outpost lines. Lieutenant George Hennell, of the 43d Regiment, wrote home that while on piquet duty in the Pyrenées, he deliberately got so drunk that he couldn't even remember lying down and falling asleep. 7 Fortunately for him and his unit, the French did not attack that night. Things were not much different in the 1st King's German Legion Hussars according to Schaumann. He wrote that when they were serving as the covering force in front of the Lines at Torres Vedras "in the evening we had large parties at which we smoked cigars and drank barbarously. Not once did any of us go to bed sober." 8 Dances with the local men and women occurred fairly frequently. The residents of Madrid gave many balls for the British officers when they liberated it in 1812. Occasionally the officers, while in winter quarters would hold a ball, which could be quite elaborate affairs. A ball held by the 1st KGL Hussars and the 2d KGL Light Battalion in 1813 took weeks of preparation with hundreds of people attending. 9 Few messes had libraries, while few officers carried any books with them. The primary reason was weight. Their horses and mules could only carry so much. Essential items of comfort would have to be sacrifice to carry the books. 10 Major Edward Charles Cocks was one of the few who mentioned books in letters or journal. Several of his letters home were requests for books, however he specified that these books be pocket editions if possible. 11 A possible exception was the book Gil Blas, a French satire on 18th century Spanish life, mentioned in several memoirs. Gambling Gambling was a favorite entertainment and it was not confined to cards. Captain Hay once bet that he could ride the 30 miles round-trip between Portalegre and Castel de Vieda in two and a half hours. The road was extremely bad and at least half the distance was through some steep mountains. Combined with the hot weather, this ride appeared to be an almost impossible feat. Betting was very high, with the odds running 30 to 1 against either him or his horse returning alive and 20 to 1 that neither would! Hay and a friend bet 5 pounds, more for the honor of the regiment than in any great belief that he would win... he made it with 6 minutes to spare! 12 In cavalry units, the bets were much of the same but with a subtle twist. The officer would bet that he could ride to a distant point (often a church spire on the horizon) in a straight line, without taking a detour around any obstacle. He had to go either through or over the obstacle. with no deviation allowed, even for swamps, cliffs, houses, or walls. These attracted large crowds of officers who enjoyed the spectacle of the officer trying to ride over a house! Unfortunately no recorded the reactions of the poor farmer, however the officers enjoyed themselves immensely. 13 When in a semi-permanent garrison, such as winter quarters, many units had quite active amateur theaters and would stage elaborate productions. The Light Division set up a theater during the winter of 1812-1813. Their production of "The Rivals" "might have vied with half the provincial ones in England, if we could but have procured female performers. Lord Wellington and his staff rode over from headquarters one dark night, (twelve miles through execrable roads,) to witness our performance. It is impossible to imagine any thing more truly ludicrous than to see Lydia Languish and Julia (which characters were performed by two young and good-looking men, dressed uncommonly well, and looking somewhat feminine on the stage,) drinking punch and smoking cigars behind the scenes, at a furious rate, between the acts." 14 Lieutenant Lord C. Spencer of the 95th Rifles played the role of Julia. Schaumann also comments on the high quality of the acting, especially one of those who plays a female role. 15 This production was so professional that printed programs were provided for the audience. A copy of which can be found in Hennell's memoirs. The Prince of Orange complimented Hennell on his performance of the role of David. 16 This theater was in an old chapel which drew the ire of the Bishop of Ciudad Rodrigo. 17 Hunting and fishing were popular and many officers brought packs of hunting dogs with them. The officers in the 95th Rifles formed a trigger club, where each member would host a dinner at his billet, with the food being whatever game the hunters had killed. 18 The 1st Battalion, 95th Rifles started a walking club, whose members thought nothing of hiking 20 or more miles to visit another mess for dinner. 19 Other pursuits included: "foot-races (our horses being in but poor trim for such feats), played matches at foot-ball, and played rackets against the tower of the church, had duck-hunting with dogs in a piece of water, and sometimes turned a pig loose, with his tail greased, when he was pursued by the soldiers, and became the lawful prize of the man who could catch and hold him... 20 Some activities were not so innocent. Captain Hay tells of when he and some other officers from the 12th Light Dragoons stayed in the house of a Portuguese Grandee, they set up a shooting gallery on his verandah and used a door as the target. It was until the next morning they found out they accidentally killed a 700 pound pig that lived behind the door. 21 At times the activities of the officers inadvertently caused problems with the highly religious Spanish, while other times the officers went out of they way to deliberately poke fun at the local clergy. Free Mason lodges were established, but were forced to disband when Wellington issued an order banning them, because the Spanish priests "not only felt greatly affronted by it, but out of fear lest we should infect Spain with this devilry (as they called it)... 22 The 23d Dragoons took great pleasure in playing pranks on the Spanish clergy. On one notable occasion in 1809, word spread through the town of Villa Vicosa, that an English bishop was arriving. "...the alleged bishop really did make his appearance, riding solemnly down the street on horseback, accompanied by all the officers of the 23rd Dragoons, bearing their helmets reverently in their hands. The bishop (a captain of the regiment) was clad in red velvet breeches, white gaiters trimmed with lace, a long skirted red velvet jacket, an English flannel dressing-gown trimmed with black, a large Spanish collar a la Van Dyck, with a clerical band, a wig, a moustache, an old-fashioned hat with a large tassel, and gauntlet gloves. In his left hand he carried a sceptre, on which a huge lemon was stuck, surmounted by a cross. With his right hand he blessed the people. And thus they marched in solemn silence through Villa Vicosa to Borba..." 23 Duels It is difficult to determine how often duels occurred due to incidents in the mess. They must have happened enough times because legend has it that Wellington eventually banned them. (Oman disputes this, however. He states that "Wellington... set his face against them on active service, because he could not afford to lose good officers on account of personal quarrels. "However, Oman never stated that they were forbidden. 24 ) It is not surprising that they did occur, what with the heightened sense of personal honor of the age, combined with the heavy drinking and the stress that rigorous campaigning must have caused. What is surprising is how rarely the writers of the period mention them. George Napier is one of the few officers who do mention dueling, including how he accidentally provoked one. He had spent the evening drinking heavily with an officer from the K.G.L. Hussars and one of his subordinates, Lieutenant Gifford. He opined that should the French had invaded England in 1804, they would have failed. The British would show no quarter and the countryside would rise up and kill any straggler, as he felt they should. This statement shocked his subordinate. Any man who has such sentiments is no Englishman." Napier asked him whether that meant he wasn't? To which Gifford responded: "Yes, I do, and I'll be damned if they are the sentiments of an Englishman or an officer." Napier demanded satisfaction and insisted they meet in a half hour to settle the matter with pistols. While he was getting his pistols, Napier ran into a fellow officer, who interceded and brought him to his senses. Napier apologized for his ungentlemanly conducted and he and Gifford became best of friends. 25 These high-spirited activities must be kept in context of the time. Grueling campaigns were often interrupted by months of inactivity when the weather forced the campaigns to stop. There was little in the way of entertainment for either the soldier or the officer. Mail was slow and the need to carry everything limited what could be brought for entertainment. Naturally they turned to local pursuits and with alcohol being easily obtained it is not surprising they drank heavily. Yet if one concentrates solely on the organization or activities within the mess, it is to forget the most important function the mess provided -- a place for the officer to unwind and bond with his peers. Lieutenant Robert Blakeney summed it up best when he wrote of his mess the last night before the commencement of the campaign that culminated in the battle of Barossa "Officers having entered their profession young, mutual attachment was firmly cemented, genuine and disinterested. Each man felt sure that he sat between two friends; worldly considerations, beyond legitimate pleasures and professional ambition, were banished from our thoughts. The field of glory was present to our view and equally open to all; none meanly envied the proud distinctions which chance of war fortunately threw in the way of others." 26 Related: Fine Dining: Regimental Mess, Part I Footnotes: 1 Schauman, Augustus: On the Road with Wellington; Edited by A. Ludovici; Alfred Knopf, N.Y.; 1925. Page 360 2 Napier, George T.: The Early Military Life of General Sir George T. Napier; Edited by W.C. Napier; Spottiswoode and Co, London; 1886. Page 15 3 Simmons, George: A British Rifleman; Edited by W. Verner; Greenhill Books, London; 1986. P. 271 4 Blakeney, Robert: A Boy in the Peninsular War; Edited by Julian Surgis; Greenhill Books, London; 1989. Pages 170-171. 5 Schaumann; P. 327 6 ibid; P. 210 7 Hennell, George: A Gentleman Volunteer; Edited by Michael Glover; William Heinemann, London; 1979. Page 128 8 Schaumann; P. 267 9 ibid; P. 338 10 Leach, Jonathan: Rough Sketches of the Life of an Old Soldier; Ken Trotman, Cambridge; 1986. Page 239 11 Cocks, Charles E.: Intelligence Officer in the Peninsula: Letters & Diaries of Major The Hon Charles Edward Cocks 1786-1812; edited by Julia Page; Hippocrene Books; N.Y. Page 159 12 Hay, William: Reminiscences 1808-1815 Under Wellington; Ken Trotman, Cambridge; 1992. Pages 26-31. 13 Schaumann; Pp 326-327 14 Leach; Pp 298-299 15 Schaumann; P. 327 16 Hennell; Pp 64-65 17 Kincaid, John: Adventures in the Rifle Brigade and Random Shots from a Rifleman; Richard Drew Publishing, Glasgow; 1981. Page 98. 18 Surtees, William: Twenty-five Years in the Rifle Brigade; Frederick Muller LTD; London; 1973. Page 187 19 Ibid; P. 187 20 Leach; P. 120 21 Hay; P. 98 22 Schaumann; P. 326 23 ibid; P. 210 24 Oman, Charles: Wellington's Army, 1809-1814; Greenhill Books, London; 1986. Pp 201-202 25 Napier; P. 99-100 26 Blakeney; P. 175 Back to Empire, Eagles, & Lions Table of Contents Vol. 3 No. 2 Back to EEL List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1997 by Jean Lochet This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com