“Under the shelter of gipsy-tents, we passed the night” : Soldiers Shelters 1812-1815 Any cursory glance of the records of the British Army would suggest that prior following 1812 and the campaign of 1813 the introduction of the ‘round tent’ or bell tent would see the privation of the British Soldier on campaign lifted. Certainly the issue of tents for the 1813 campaign did go a long way to reduce the suffering of those in the peninsular army, however as these tents were carried by mules the question remains how often were tents utilised and how frequently did soldiers improvise shelter. The answer as in most cases probably lies somewhere in between. Surtees of the 95th certainly states that following their issue in 1812 that the army very rarely left without its tentage. However reading other accounts can as ever often paint a different picture, John Blakiston when campaigning across the Pyrenees commented that “we marched about twenty miles this day, and came to our ground dripping wet, with the disagreeable prospect of passing the night in a wood, without any shelter from the rain, which continued to fall in torrents”. Blakiston also gives us this clear description of the camps he encountered on arriving in Spain from his service in India “Our camps certainly formed a striking contrast to those brilliant displays of canvas to which I had been accustomed in India. Beside a comparatively scanty supply of tents, there was no regular order in the encampment, which was generally fixed in a wood or grove of trees, affording at once both shelter and fuel.” Similarly descriptions taken from Memorials From the Late War again highlight the plight of the army, “there was neither provision nor shelter from the rain, nor dried fuel for our fires, nor place where the weary and foot-sore could rest”. Similarly a soldier of the 71st wrote this account “there was nothing to sustain our famished bodies, or shelter them from the rain or snow. We were either drenched with rain, or crackling with ice”. Certainly the army was frequently unsheltered and open to the excess of the elements. Spreading the search further a field to Army fighting in the America, Robert Gleig whom served with the British Army at Washington and New Orleans, has this to add about the campaign fought over 1814 and 1815. Gleig’s memoirs lend testament to the lack of shelter often afforded to soldiers in the field “The effects of the rain however, was not so agreeable, for being perfectly destitute of shelter, we were speedily wet to the skin; and the remainder of our resting-time was rendered thereby the reverse of comfortable”, similarly Gleig comments “upon this miserable desert the army was assembled, without tents or huts, or any covering to shelter them from the inclemency of the weather”. Arguably Gleig was part of the amphibious expedition against Washington and New Orleans, and therefore tents were probably not a priority. With particular reference to the 68th, no analysis would be complete without a thorough search of Greens memoirs. Green paints a vivid pictures of the situation faced by soldiers in the field, “the rain fell in torrents, and, what added to our distress, was, we were exposed to the open air, not having a tent or any thing else to cover us”. Taking a more statistical approach, if we take Vicissitudes of a Soldier camping with shelter within a tent is mentioned only on two occasions. Sleeping without a shelter is mentioned on four separate occasions, with sleeping in house occurring around three occasions. Of course the years of Greens Service meant his access to a tent were on fewer occasions, therefore it makes sense that lack of shelter would be mentioned
more frequently. However, when reading Green the following statement on the nature of campaign again paints a vivid picture “frequently famishing for want of provisions, and often compelled to lie out of door with-out either tent or covering: this was particularly the case in the campaign of 1812”. Arguably if we take Green to be our most appropriate example, it is clear that although tents were issued and used there were numerous occasions where they were unavailable and soldiers were forced to improvise. This begs the question, what soldiers were doing when tents weren’t available and again the answers are as numerous as there are memoirs. Certainly the use of blanket tents was widespread and certainly was official practice at least during the 1813 Vitoria Campaign. Major Rautenberg of the KGL confirms this impression commenting “The great-coats were discontinued, blankets being furnished in their room, and the latter were so arranged that, in case of the mules not being able to come up with the tents, they might be substituted in place of them”. However the best description of the construction of a blanket shelter is provided by Surtees, “They had last campaign been ordered each man to have loops sewed on the corner of his blanket; thus, when in the field, two of these were united, spread over two stands of arms set up at the end for poles, and being fastened down at the other corners with bayonets, they formed a sort of tent, in which four men might creep”. Interestingly enough Surtees describes this order as being prior to the issue of tents for the 1813 campaign. This was not the only form of shelter type, and variations were probably as numerous as the number of soldiers themselves. Gleig describes the nature of an encampment during his campaigns in America, “There all the customary arrangements of lighting fires, piling arms, and planting outposts were gone through: and here, under the shelter of gipsy-tents, composed of blankets and the ramrods of muskets, we passed the night”. This sight would not have been out of place in the peninsular and Cooper in Rough Notes on Seven Campaigns describes similar activities in his appendices on bivouacs. Certainly Blakiston describe sleeping in a gipsy shelter while on campaign in the peninsular “at night, when in my little gipsy tent, I wrapped myself in my cloak, and lay down on a bear-skin mattras with fern, I slept as soundly as I could have done on a bed of down”. Our very own Green offers this description of trying to keep himself warm and dry while on Campaign “I contrived to keep myself dry, by getting directly under the arm of a large tree, and creeping under the blanket of an old comrade”. Certainly when nothing else was at hand, soldiers made the best of what they could and if sometimes the only shelter available was that of a tree “During the night, I reposed under the shelter of an old tree”. Of course this offered little protection and the soldier goes on to say “but could not sleep, being every now and then obliged to get up and walk about to prevent my limbs from being benumbed with the cold”. Finally, looking through the memoirs will also point to the heavy use of huts. Certainly whenever the army camped for a prolonged period of time, soldiers spend their time making them selves as comfortable as possible. The image “bivouac Anglais” from the occupation of Paris in 1815 aptly demonstrates this fact.
In the right hand corner next the bell tent can be seen a hut presumably constructed of whatever was a hand. Similarly this image also highlights the irregularity some the camps must have exhibited with a hut, fire and bell tent all within a short distance of each other. Arguably although tents were issued in 1812, the issue of camping remained far from certain. The orders for blankets tents in 1813 would imply that certainly it was assumed soldiers would not have access to tents on every occasion and the memoirs above, certainly of Green would point to lack of tentage being a common problem for the peninsular army. So what does this mean for us as re-enactors in the 21st century? Certainly large scale re-enactments in this country and abroad tend to have too much in the way of tents, Surtees and Cooper both comment that bell tents slept up to 20 men each. Certainly campaign style shelters of any variety in Napoleonic re-enactment are under represented. From a 68th perspective, arguably the answer is largely down to what we intend to represent. Certainly for any scenarios or events were we represent the 68th in 1812 i.e. Salamanca shelters of any variety would be appropriate from blanket tents, blankets and gipsy shelters. From 1813 onwards, again depending on scenario, both ‘round tents’ and shelters are certainly appropriate, huts being especially appropriate in fixed encampments. References: John Green, The Vicissitudes of a Soldier’s Life: Or a Series of Occurrences from 1806 to 1815, 1827: Louth G.R.Gleig, The Campaigns of the British Army at Washington and New Orleans, 1814-1815, 1836: John Murray: London Memorial of the Late War, Constable & Co, London:1828 Pococke, T. Journal of a soldier of the 71st, or Glasgow regiment, Highland Light Infantry from 1806 to 1815, William and Charles Tait:1819
Memoirs of a sergeant, late of the forty-third light infantry regiment during the Peninsular War, John Mason: London: 1835 Blakiston, J. Twelve Years Military Adventure in Three Quarters of the Globe: Or, Memoirs of an Officer who Served in the Armies of His Majesty and the East India Company, Between the Years of 1802 and 1814. H.Coburn:1829 Beamish, L. History of the Kings German Legion, 1837 Surtees, W. 25 Years in the Rifle Brigade, William Blackwood; 1833 Cooper, J, C. Rough Notes of Seven Campaigns in Portugal, Spain, France and America, 1869