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The Redcoat and the Tippoo
Alexander Cormack (1770-1838), Soldier of the 12th Regiment of Foot (Cork, Flanders, Gibraltar, Madras and Perth)
Alexander was attested to the 85th (Buckinghamshire Volunteers Light Infantry) Regiment of Foot on 6th March 1794. At his first appearance on the Muster Roll the regiment are in Cork, Ireland, presenting the possibility that he was of Irish birth, as a large proportion of some English regiments were. Yet it cannot be taken for granted as Alexander's depot of recruitment is not specified and Cork was a frequent assembly area for troops from many places destined for overseas service. The army sought many like Alexander and recruiting parties were a common sight in the cities, towns and villages of Britain and Ireland with regiments by no means confining themselves to the locality suggested by their name. Usually the recruiting party comprised an officer, two sergeants, a drummer and from two to five men sent out to "beat up" an area. They were supposed to be picked for their smart appearance but in reality they seem to have been mostly elderly NCOs and sub-standard privates. A recruit saw the doctor after taking "the King's shilling". If he was passed fit - which he usually was - he received his bounty, about £2.12s. From this he had to pay two guineas for his knapsack, leaving him only 10s from what had seemed a sizeable sum. Most if not all of this would go on drinks for his new comrades in arms. Recruits would then be marched off to the nearest depot, where they were "sized" and allocated to their training companies. Did Alexander join as a volunteer or was he pressed? Was it the thought of adventure or fortune that caused him to take "the King's shilling" or merely a need to fill his belly in time of famine or clearance? The record does not say. He appears like all his comrades, a name out of the 18th century mist, one day unknown, the next a soldier. One Officer of the times describes a batch of recruits in this way, "the usual raw stuff swept up by the recruiting sergeant—all those restless spirits caught by the attraction of the red coat, those country lads tired of the plough or town lads who lived on the edge of unemployment, and to whom for sometime a full stomach had been something of a rarity ...sons of hard fathers and stepsons of intolerable stepmothers....rowdy spirits who were wanted by the constable ...not only were there poachers, smugglers and street-corner roughs, but pickpockets, coiners and footpads." Somewhere in that list, no doubt, we find Alexander. Messing together, recruits received two meals a day - breakfast and dinner. Their training comprised drill, three times a day, five days a week under the strictest of NCOs. Wednesday was Field Day and Sunday the day of rest. This regime lasted six or seven months after which they moved onto drilling with a musket. Once this initial training was complete Alexander would have been posted to his permanent company. The 85th Foot had only just been reformed when Alexander joined them, and they served under the Duke of York in Flanders that year, the nursery rhyme "The Grand Old Duke of York" being a contemporary satirical reflection on the army's indifferent performance there. Subsequently the regiment moved to Gibraltar to form part of the garrison on the rock. This was a time of growing trouble in India. Hence orders were issued to augment the regiments serving there. As a result, 54 men of the 85th were transferred from Gibraltar to the 12th (East Suffolk) Regiment of Foot on 10th July 1795. Alexander Cormack was amongst them. The order, signed by Lt General Picton , was clearly made in some haste. Reference is made to the fact that there was no time to get uniforms and equipment to the augmented regiments and, thus, the soldiers transferred had to take their old things with them. They were each given a guinea as "bounty" for their transfer. As a private soldier in the 1790s Alexander would have been paid 7 shillings a week (35p). In all 4s a week was taken from this for his messing and another 1s.6d. was stopped for 'necessaries'. The remainder was paid to him, subject to him finding enough to pay for washing and cleaning his personal equipment. In the end he actually received about 5¼d. a week which was the difference between his gross pay and the various stoppages. From this tiny sum he had to provide gaiters, breeches, hair leather, cleaning equipment for his musket and the cost of altering his uniform coat to fit. The uniform could almost have been designed to ensure the least possible benefit to the wearer. The high stock worn around the neck was distressingly uncomfortable, keeping the eyes fixed firmly forwards and the gaiters, which buttoned up to the knee, took twelve minutes to do up with the result that they were often left off. Stiff white breeches, a shrunken discoloured coat, and a battered, misshapen shako (hat), all weathered and dust laden, added to the unpleasantness. Even a soldier's hair was subject to regimental discipline and was worn in a pigtail. The whole hair had to be soaped, floured and frizzed, being then tortured into regulation shape. Not only was this painful but it prevented a man turning his head unless his body was also turned. The soldier's basic item of equipment was his musket. Alexander would have been issued with an Indian pattern weapon, 41" in length with a 17" socket bayonet, weighing 10lb 11oz in total. Added to this would be ammunition in the form of prepared cartridges of lead ball, gunpowder, waxed paper and string. These would be carried in a black leather cartridge pouch. Belts for cartridge pouch and bayonet, haversack for rations, canteen for water, and knapsack for clothing, blanket and personal effects would complete the uniform. Tents were not standard issue in the British Army until after 1805. Before that time soldiers would sleep in the open air whilst on campaign, building themselves bivouacs from boughs, foliage and other material at hand, resorting to rolling themselves in their blanket and greatcoat when no other shelter could be found. Winter was the worst when such wood as could be found was needed for fire. Sleeping, or trying to sleep, under the stars on a clear frosty night was an awful experience which, if successful, could result in the death of the soldier, frozen solid with his blanket cemented to the ground. It was no wonder that many made no attempt to sleep, but huddled together around camp fires. Discipline was draconian. Unless discharged as unfit, a soldier had joined for life and was kept in his place by the ubiquitous use of flogging. Every drummer in the army was supposed to carry a cat-o'-nine-tails in their pack and it was they who would carry out the punishment. Sentences varied dependant upon the offence committed, ranging from 25 (the minimum) through to 1200 lashes (the maximum). The larger sentence was calculated to kill most men and was normally reserved for robbery with violence or striking an officer. If a man did die under the lash, the sentence would be completed on his lifeless corpse—a stern lesson to his comrades. Capital offences such as desertion to the enemy or murder were punished by the firing squad or hangman's noose. A soldier's food was monotony itself. The basic commodity provided by the army was flour, made up by the field bakeries into large loaves of coarse bread. The daily portion of this 'Ammunition Bread' was 1lb or so per man. This was supplemented, or more often replaced, with issues of thin, hard, round 'navy' biscuits - the same weevil-infested 'hardbakes' given to sailors in the Fleet. When neither bread nor biscuit were available they might be replaced by rice or lentils. The bread ration was supplemented with ¼lb of beef when available. At intervals there might be issues of peas, beans or cheese. The drink ration, a cup of rum or a pint of wine a day, was often replaced with gin. Meals were generally prepared in the field, with comrades forming themselves into messing groups to cook and to eat. The beef was sometimes boiled, sometimes simply broiled over a fire on a makeshift spit of ramrods. The biscuit was usually crushed and soaked in water, with the stale bread, to make a gruel known as 'stirabout'. When there was flour but no bread it would be rubbed with lard and made into greasy dumplings which were added to the pot. Vegetables were regarded as an extra that soldiers had to provide for themselves. Scurvy was an ever present threat. The classic use of infantry in the British Army at the time is well documented. The 'Red Coats', cool and well disciplined, fought in two ranks - the renowned 'thin red line'. A battalion of 600 men occupied a front of some 200 yards. As the enemy advanced towards them each rank would fire alternately - one reloading his musket by pulling the flint back to the half-way position, biting the cartridge, priming and closing the firing pan, pouring the powder and cartridge into the muzzle and pushing it home with the ramrod - while the other rank aimed and shot as one man. The first volleys, from muskets loaded without haste and in the officially prescribed manner, were the most destructive, tearing away the front rank of the enemy and causing panic it its rear. Subsequent volleys were less effective. Loading was hasty, the volley became ragged and mishaps were common. Excited soldiers might cause the musket to go off "half-cock" by failing to pull the hammer back to its fully cocked position or they might forget to remove their ramrods, firing them away into the enemy ranks. Others might load more than one cartridge by mistake, with fatal results when they pulled the trigger. The musket itself might not fire as the powder got damp or the spark in the firing pan failed to ignite the charge in the muzzle—a "flash in the pan". Whilst effective at close range, the musket was hardly a generally accurate weapon. At the Battle of Vitoria in the early 1800s over 3.675 million musket balls were fired, causing around 8,000 casualties—one hit per 459 shots. So Alexander Cormack found himself on the way to India to fight as a part of the Madras Army against the Tippoo Sultan. The Tippoo, a hero to Indians, but a bloody tyrant to the British, had set himself against the growing British Empire and was seeking to establish himself as ruler of Mysore. Perhaps the greatest trial was getting anywhere near him. The voyage from Gibraltar to Madras would take months, with the ship sailing via the Cape of Good Hope. Sea sickness was ever present and "Bengal Belly" (dysentery) was a frequent killer . The worst was saved for the end of the voyage and disembarkment at Fort St George near Madras. This was dangerous in the extreme. The infamous surf and contrary currents required exceptional boatmanship to be navigated safely. Many failed the challenge and drowned. Even when successful, soldiers would arrive on the beach soaked, exhausted and terrified. Alexander obviously survived the experience and found his newly arrived regiment, with others, under the command of one Colonel Arthur Wellesley, later the Duke of Wellington. The climax to the campaign was reached in May 1799 with the Tippoo and his forces besieged in his fortress at Seringapatam. In such a scenario the normal use of infantry was forgotten, the need being to first breach the walls of the fortress and then assault it with an overwhelming force of foot soldiers. This was the strategy at Seringapatam where, in a brutally naked piece of aggression, the British sought to overthrow the Muslim Tippoo. (Bernard Cornwell's historical novel: "Sharpe's Tiger" gives a fictionally elaborated account of this campaign). Amongst those leading the assault were Alexander's regiment, the 12th Foot who, scaling the northern side of the breach, engaged in fierce and bloody hand to hand fighting with the Tippoo's men, and the Tippoo himself. Over 1,400 attackers and 6,000 defenders died in the assault. Retreating along the city walls, the Tippoo, gaudily dressed and bedecked in jewels, was pursued by soldiers of the 12th until he was eventually cornered and shot near a northern gate of the city. His killer remains anonymous to this day, probably due to his unwillingness to admit to the looting of the Tippoo's jewellery. Although many soldiers became rich men at Seringapatam, we can discount any thought of a secret Cormack fortune buried on some long forgotten Perthshire bank or brae. Alexander was sick at the time and missed that battle completely. Alexander remained in good health during the first years of his service, and would have fought in various engagements against the Tippoo's forces during that time. Then in June 1798 he is noted as being sick in Madras. This sickness clearly had long-term effects and he remained in Madras until June 1800 when he was transferred back to Europe, probably Britain. Quite how or why Alexander settled in Perth we can only speculate. The most likely reason hardly endears him to Scotch sensibilities. Soldiers unfit for overseas service were usually formed into Invalid Battalions or Companies. These were posted to garrisons in the Britain or Ireland where their duties would have included the support of the local authorities and dealing with civil disobedience, disturbance and riot. The late 1700s saw turbulent times in Perthshire as local landowners sought to implement the recently introduced Militia Act. This was intended to provide a reserve of soldiers, drawn by ballot from local manpower, for use "as and when" by the authorities. The economic and social effects would be severe with men taken from the land and Scot being set against Scot as the new militia were to be used to police their own families and communities. The reaction to the Act from the people of Perthshire was marked, with riots and disturbances breaking out all across the county. It is interesting to note how many places where Cormacks would later live are named in the troubles. Alyth, Ballinluig, Blairgowrie, Gourdie and Perth itself are all mentioned. The only soldiers that could be relied up to the deal with the riots were those drawn from outside Scotland, usually English and Irish. This may give a further clue to Alexander's birthplace. Although the worst of the troubles were over by the time Alexander was posted back to Europe, a strong garrison was kept in Perth and billeted in the Army Barracks on the edge of the town. These troops would have been used throughout the county and beyond, spending much of their time in the highland areas where unrest was always more likely. It is possible that Alexander served as a part of this force until his discharge in 1804. Employment for discharged invalid soldiers was problematic. Not many received Army pensions and Alexander is not recorded as getting one. Often having no skill other than soldiering and hampered by ill-health, they were too old to learn a craft or trade and not fit to work the land. Such men were forced into labouring, carting or hawking as their means of living. Alexander is recorded as a labourer on his daughter's baptismal record and then as a hawker on his son's death certificate. No more is known about him other than that he died in Perth in 1838. Mary outlived Alexander by nearly six years and can be found in the 1841 census living on her own as a pauper in Cross Street, Perth. She was born in Scotland, although not in Perthshire. © 2000 Origins.net and Neil Pheasant | ||||||||||||||||
