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Auction: 20001 - Orders, Decorations and Medals - conducted behind closed doors
Lot: 9

'A French dragoon, who was dealing death all around, forced his way up to near where I stood. Every moment I expected to be cut down. My piece was empty; there was not a moment to lose. I got a stab at him, beneath the ribs, upwards; he gave a back stroke, before he fell, and cut the stock of my musket in two; thus I stood unarmed. I soon got another, and fell to work again...'

A stirring extract from Private Todd's remarkable Journal.

The regimentally important 8-clasp Military General Service Medal awarded to Private J. 'Thomas' Todd, 71st Foot (Highland Light Infantry), whose account of his service in the Peninsular War was published in 1819, under the title Journal of a Soldier of the Seventy-First

Revered by Charles Oman as one of the finest 'soldier biographies' of the Napoleonic period, this journal records the 71st Foot's progress from the early battles of Roleia and Vimiera through to Fuentes d'Onor and the brilliant ambush at Arroyo dos Molinos, concluding with Waterloo and the triumphant entry into Paris. Todd was at the heart of every action, repeatedly fighting for his life in hand-to-hand combat

Re-published in 2005 under the title Bayonets, Bugles and Bonnets, Todd's journal is an irreplaceable source of regimental history which instils his silent Medal with profound significance

Military General Service Medal 1793-1814, 8 clasps, Roleia, Vimiera, Talavera, Fuentes D'Onor, Vittoria, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Orthes (James Todd, 71st Foot.), original riband, bottom three clasps on slightly bent carriage, light contact marks and edge wear, nearly very fine

3 'Talavera' clasps to the 71st Foot.

Provenance:

Ex- Colonel Murray of Polmaise Collection (published in Tancred's 1891 'Historical Record').
Glendining's, May 1926.

James Todd was born in Musselborough, Edinburgh on 17 January 1789, the son of 'poor but respectable parents' who neglected their own comfort to buy him an education 'superior to [his] rank in life.' His own journal reveals a spoilt and petulant youth, a 'gentleman in a house of poverty' whose parents pinned all their hopes on his entering a learned profession. To their dismay, he began an acting career which came to an ignominious end when he dried up on stage, chased off by hisses from the audience. He stormed out of his distraught parents' home and would never see them again. Wandering the streets at night, aged just 16, he fell in with some redcoats and rashly volunteered his services. He embarked at Leith, with seventeen other recruits, and was transported to the Isle of Wight in July 1806. Initially he 'could not associate with the common soldiers,' but shared hardships and dangers would gradually earn him their esteem.

This, at least, is what we read in The Journal of a Solider of the Seventy-First Regiment, a highly readable eyewitness account of the 71st Foot's exploits from Buenos Aires to Waterloo. The author, given simply as 'Thomas', is really an amalgam of different soldiers' accounts, compiled by an enterprising editor named John Howell (1788-1863). Howell conversed with veterans of the 71st in taverns across Edinburgh, acquiring anecdotes as he went and building them into a seamless narrative of the Regiment's journey through the Napoleonic Wars which he published in 1819. He could not find a soldier whose career encompassed every campaign, but he did find one who furnished about 70% of the material required. In a letter held at The Royal Highland Fusiliers Museum, Howell states: 'James Todd is the individual I got the greater part of the journal from. He was in the 71st all the time that I write of.'

Howell goes on to say that Todd was a highly literate individual who had fallen on hard times, wishing to remain anonymous. This fits with the Journal's portrayal of Todd's indulged childhood. No other 71st man by the name James Todd lived until 1848, or was working in Edinburgh at the time Howell made his enquiries. David Howarth therefore confirms, in his 2005 article for the OMRS Journal, that the 8-clasp Military General Service Medal catalogued here was indeed awarded to the man whose life inspired Howell's Journal of a Soldier of the Seventy-First.

In the following precis of James Todd's military career, the Journal is used to illustrate only those exploits which his service papers and regimental musters confirm to be true.

To Flanders, Portugal and Spain

Todd enlisted in the 2nd Battalion, 71st Foot on 31 January 1807 (WO12/7920). He had brown hair, marle eyes and a 'swarthy' complexion. Assigned to Captain LeButon's Company, he was stationed at Strabane in Ireland during the summer of 1807. On Christmas Day that year, LeButon's Company was transferred to the 1st Battalion, which had just returned from the disastrous Buenos Aires campaign. Greatly outnumbered, the 71st had been forced to surrender to the Spanish Viceroy, handing over both Regimental Colours (they are displayed to this day at Santo Domingo Convent, Buenos Aires). As if to wipe away this indignity, General Sir John Floyd presented new Colours to the 71st Foot on 21 April 1808. On 27 June that year, the reformed 1st Battalion (including Todd) sailed from Cork to join the expedition under Sir Arthur Wellesley, 'consisting of nine regiments of infantry.' Wellesley's expedition reached Mondego Bay, Portugal on 29 July, intent on saving England's oldest ally from the French. Rough weather delayed disembarkation by six days. Many landing craft capsized; the first British casualties of the Peninsular War were victims of drowning. The Journal recalls: 'we found all the villages deserted, except by the old and destitute, who cared not what became of them.'

Todd and the 71st took part in Battle of Roleia (clasp) on 17 August. Though outnumbered 3 to 1, the French under Henri Delaborde held a strong position on high ground and were able to repulse three determined British attacks. The 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment made an ill-judged oblique movement and were cut to pieces. Though Wellesley managed to drive the French back at 4 p.m., his lack of cavalry enabled them to retire in good order. After receiving 4,000 reinforcements from England, Wellesley fought the Battle of Vimiera (clasp) on 21 August. The French commander, Major-General Junot, sent his infantry forward in two columns, ignoring the lessons of Maida two years before. The British line, silent as ever, delivered one crushing volley before charging forward with the bayonet, capturing 13 guns and inflicting 2,000 casualties. The Journal relates:

'In our first charge, I felt my mind waver; a breathless sensation came over me. The silence was appalling. I looked alongst the line: It was enough to assure me. The steady determined scowl of my companions assured my heart, and gave me determination. How unlike the noisy advance of the French!'

Just as the battle was coming to a close, Wellesley was forced to give up his command to Sir Harry Burrard and Sir Hew Dalrymple, newly arrived from Gibraltar. These men chose not to pursue the fleeing French army. Instead they negotiated the scandalous Convention of Cintra with Junot. This treaty instructed the Royal Navy to transport the entire French army, with all its arms, ammunition and Portuguese loot, safely back to Bordeaux.

After Portugal was liberated, command of the British forces went to Sir John Moore. Though the bulk of the 71st took part in Moore's advance into Spain and subsequent retreat to Corunna, a small detachment of the 71st remained 'on command' at Alba de Tormes. The regiment's muster (WO12/7857) confirms that Todd was part of this detachment, comprised largely of the regiment's sick men (see Howarth, 2005). This detachment, acting independently of the 1st Battalion (recuperating in England), fought at the Battle of Talavera (clasp) on 27-28 July 1809, as part of the 2nd Battalion of Detachments. Clasps to the 71st Foot for Talavera are therefore extremely rare: just three were officially issued, one of them to Todd.

Following Wellington's withdrawal into Portugal, the 71st detachment was transported back to England, re-joining the 1st Battalion at Deal, Kent in September 1810. The 1st Battalion had just returned from the Walcheren Expedition, where it suffered terrible hardships. The Journal states that a draft of 600 recruits joined the 1st Battalion at Deal, hinting at the huge losses caused by Walcheren Fever. The regiment's name had changed to reflect its new Light Infantry role, a transformation perhaps inspired by the performance of sharpshooters during the Retreat to Corunna.

'Skirmishing every day'

Two frigates conveyed the 1st Battalion once again to Portugal, Todd sailing aboard the Melpomene with the 4th Company (WO12/7358). The Battalion disembarked at 'Blackhorse Square' (christened as such by the British due to a large and prominent equestrian statue of King Joseph I) in Lisbon, Todd being billeted in a cook-shop. The French army under Marshal Masséna now surrounded the city, but was kept at bay by the Lines of Torres Vedras. The 71st defended a section of the Lines at Sobral de Monte Agraço, comprising earthworks atop steep hills. The French attacked this point in great numbers on 14 October, and almost broke through; a fierce hand-to-hand combat ensued. The historian Charles Oman referred to this incident as the 'highest watermark' of the French invasion, and the 71st were in the thick of it. The Journal recalls:

'We were scarce able to withstand their fury. To retreat was impossible; all behind being ploughed land, rendered deep by the rain. There was not a moment to hesitate. To it we fell, pell-mell, French and British mixed together. It was a trial of strength in single combat; every man had his opponent, many had two. I got one up to the wall, on the point of my bayonet. He was unhurt. I would have spared him, but he would not spare himself. He cursed and defied me, nor ceased to attack my life, until he fell, pierced by my bayonet. His breath died away in a curse and menace. This was the work of a moment: I was compelled to this extremity. I was again attacked, but my antagonist fell, pierced by a random shot. We soon forced them to retire back over the wall.'

Masséna reluctantly called off the attack. He knew that a protracted siege was impossible: Wellington's 'scorched earth' policy had removed opportunities for foraging, the traditional method by which a French army sustained itself. He withdrew his tired and ragged troops back across the River Tagus, via Santarém, and concentrated around Ciudad Rodrigo on the Spanish border. Wellington set off in pursuit, laying siege to the French-held border fortress of Almeida. Masséna swept back into Portugal to break the siege. Taken by surprise, Wellington rushed the 1st and 3rd Divisions into the hill town of Fuentes d'Onor (clasp), blocking the French advance on 3 May 1811. The 71st were pivotal to the British defence, staging a brilliant charge which evicted the French just in time to save the town. Todd writes that he charged three times that day, and 'fired 107 rounds of ball-cartridge.' On 4 May, the fighting was even more desperate. The Journal continues:

'About half-past nine o'clock, a great gun from the French line, which was answered by one from ours, was the signal to engage. Down they came, shouting as usual. We kept them at bay, in spite of their cries and formidable looks. How different their appearance from ours! Their hats set round with feathers, their beards long and black, gave them a fierce look. Their stature was superior to ours; most of us were young. We looked like boys, they like savages. But we had the true spirit in us. We foiled them, in every attempt to take the town, until about 11 o'clock, when we were overpowered, and forced through the streets, contesting every inch. A French dragoon, who was dealing death all around, forced his way up to near where I stood. Every moment I expected to be cut down. My piece was empty; there was not a moment to lose. I got a stab at him, beneath the ribs, upwards; he gave a back stroke, before he fell, and cut the stock of my musket in two; thus I stood unarmed. I soon got another, and fell to work again... On my arrival in the lines, when I unpacked my knapsack, I found a ball had pierced the centre of it, and dimpled the back of my shoe-brush.'

The slaughter in Fuentes d'Onor was terrible, but whereas two companies of the 79th Foot (Cameron Highlanders) were annihilated by fighting in close formation, the 71st, employing light infantry tactics, suffered half the casualties. Pushing into Spain, Todd next took part in Lord Hill's brilliant night attack which destroyed General Girard's Division at Arroyo dos Molinos on 27-28 October. The French were completely unprepared, many of them fighting in their nightshirts. Amid much swearing and confusion, the French general emerged from a verandah and stamped on his cocked hat in frustration. Todd and his comrades caught sight of the glinting medals and decorations on this general's chest. The Journal wryly states: 'in a minute his chest was as bare as a private's.'

On 18/19 May 1812, Todd took part in another of Lord Hill's great achievements, the storming of Almaraz. This French-held fortress guarded a pontoon bridge over the Tagus, which linked French forces in the north and south of Spain. By destroying this bridge, Hill split the French armies and enabled Wellington's crushing victory at Salamanca on 22 July. Todd describes rushing up scaling ladders as the French defenders threw rocks and grenades. The 71st were 'the first to mount the works,' turning the enemy's guns against them. In October that year, the 71st were part of Wellington's rearguard in the Retreat from Burgos, inflicting severe casualties on the enemy with little loss to themselves. The Journal recalls 'skirmishing almost every day.'

At the Battle of Vittoria (clasp) on 21 June 1813, the 71st were heavily engaged, losing 14 officers and 301 men killed and wounded. Todd went on to serve in the Pyrenees (clasp), including a desperate action in the Maya Pass on 25 July, when d'Erlon's Corps attempted to relieve Pamplona. The French advance nearly overwhelmed the British line. He was also present at Nivelle (clasp) on 10 November 1813, and Orthes (clasp) on 27 February 1814. His papers confirm that made a late claim for the Toulouse clasp. Interestingly, the regimental muster of 27 May 1814, taken after Napoleon's abdication, describes Todd as having been a 'Prisoner of War'. The Journal corroborates this, revealing that Todd was briefly captured during a French sally from Toulouse, and repatriated after the conclusion of hostilities.

Todd was also entitled to a Waterloo Medal, though the Journal devotes a mere three pages to that famous battle. By now, after eight years' hard soldiering, Todd was so accustomed to death that Waterloo made little impression. The Journal simply remarks: 'I looked over the field of Waterloo as a matter of course - a matter of small concern.' Todd did, however, reflect on the important part his Regiment played in repelling the French cavalry attacks. Part of Major-General Frederick Adam's Brigade in Clinton's 2nd Division, the 71st advanced towards Hougoumont during the afternoon, forming square on the forward slope and pouring devastating fire into the massed ranks of French horsemen. The regiment's advanced position meant that when Wellington ordered a general advance at 8.30 p.m., following the repulse of the Imperial Guard, the 71st were in the vanguard. Legend has it that the 71st fired the last shot of the Battle of Waterloo, by capturing a French field gun and turning it against their fleeing opponents. The Journal goes on to describe the capture of Paris, and the inspection by Wellington at the Tuileries. Todd remained in France as part of the Army of Occupation, and was discharged on 19 March 1816.

Todd then returned to Edinburgh, gaining employment as a weaver on Carlton Hill. Despite his abject poverty, he would regale his old comrades with tales of his bravery at Fuentes d'Onor, or his near-escape at the Lines of Torres Vedras. While his meeting with John Howell may have resulted in an incredible book, revered by the historian Charles Oman as one of the finest 'soldier biographies' ever written, Todd never benefitted from its proceeds. Howell's letter in The Royal Highland Fusiliers Museum states that shortly after the meeting, Todd emigrated to South America and fell into obscurity. His Journal, re-published in 2005 under the title Bayonets, Bugles & Bonnets, is his legacy.

Sold with a copy of the Journal (2005 re-print), along with copies of all relevant service papers, pay lists, articles and muster rolls.

Recommended reading:

Howarth, D., 'James Todd: The Soldier of the 71st', OMRS Journal (March 2005), pp. 120-122.

Todd, J. 'Thomas', Bayonets, Bugles & Bonnets: Experiences of hard soldiering with the 71st Foot - the Highland Light Infantry - through many battles of the Napoleonic Wars during the Peninsular & Waterloo Campaigns (Leonaur, 2005).









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