History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, Vol. 1: Compiled from the Original Records

In Short

This comprehensive record traces the Royal Regiment of Artillery from its disorganized sixteenth-century origins through the Napoleonic era. It details the administrative struggles, technological shifts, and battlefield services of the individual companies and batteries that formed the backbone of the British military. By meticulously cataloging the lineage of these units, the author preserves a legacy that would otherwise have been lost to departmental bureaucracy and time. The work remains an essential primary reference for military historians, valued for its exhaustive appendices, its inclusion of rare personal diaries, and its candid look at the tension between frontline soldiers and the remote, often indifferent, civilian administration at the Tower of London.

The Story

The narrative begins with the primitive artillery trains of the Tudor era, illustrating a time when "artillery" was a loosely managed collection of hired specialists rather than a cohesive military branch. The author details the transition from these early, fragmented groupings to the formal establishment of a permanent regiment. As the British Empire expands, the Regiment’s history becomes synonymous with the nation’s projection of power across the globe.

Central to this progression is the constant struggle against the "Honourable Board of Ordnance"—the administrative body in London responsible for supplying the troops. The author portrays the Board as a stagnant, penny-pinching entity that frequently neglected the needs of soldiers in the field, leading to unnecessary suffering and starvation for want of basic supplies like bedding or adequate ammunition. The story follows the Regiment through major geopolitical conflicts, including the Siege of Gibraltar, the War of Independence in America, and the sweeping campaigns of the Napoleonic period. Each conflict serves as a crucible where the professional standard of the artillerymen is forged, often in spite of their superiors rather than because of them.

Throughout these campaigns, the author shifts between broad strategic movements—such as the deployment of heavy siege guns during the bombardment of Louisbourg—and the gritty, immediate realities of the rank and file. The history is punctuated by accounts of "gentlemen cadets" at the Royal Military Academy, whose early indiscretions and rowdy behavior offer a human contrast to the dry technical records. By the time the narrative reaches the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, the Regiment has fully transformed into a modern, disciplined fighting force. The closing chapters reinforce the idea that the Regiment’s true history lies in the cumulative service of its individual batteries. By providing detailed tables of every engagement and command change for these units, the author ensures that the service of even the smallest company is etched into the permanent record, concluding with a plea for future generations to continue documenting the Regiment's subsequent exploits in the Crimea and India.

How It Unfolds

The medieval origins The narrative establishes the early structure of the ordnance, listing the daily pay rates and roles of gunners and pioneers in the sixteenth-century trains. These initial chapters highlight the informal, contract-based nature of military service before the existence of a standing army.

The administrative struggle The author details the chronic friction between the field artillery and the Board of Ordnance, which prioritized domestic economy over the survival of soldiers stationed in distant colonies. This section serves as an indictment of official indifference, illustrated by the tragic neglect of troops in America.

The service of individuals Personal narratives, such as the adventurous, international career of a seventeenth-century fireworker, provide a break from institutional history. These accounts show the life of a soldier moving between foreign armies, siege warfare, and the accumulation of plunder.

The maturation of the corps The book tracks the development of professional standards within the Regiment, focusing on the foundation of military societies and the formal training of cadets. This stage marks the move toward a more intellectual and disciplined approach to the art of war.

The exhaustive record The final portion of the text is dedicated to the precise lineage of individual batteries, tracking their movements through the American Revolution, the West Indies, and the battlefields of Europe. This section serves as a permanent, searchable archive for the specific actions that define the Regiment's modern identity.

The People

The book is populated by a mix of historical commanders, overlooked officers, and the anonymous, "diminutive" soldiers caught in the machinery of war. Sir Thomas Seymour appears early on, representing the era of the Master of the Ordnance, when military leadership was inseparable from the management of royal resources. The narrative frequently returns to the plight of men like John Murray, the Master-Gunner at Fort William, whose summary dismissal by the Board of Ordnance serves as a recurring symbol of the injustices faced by long-serving professionals.

General Pattison and Major Lewis stand out as quintessential examples of the professional officer—men whose later years were complicated by infirmity and the Byzantine financial structures of the Regiment, yet whose service provided the backbone of the American campaign. Their stories are balanced by the vivid, individual account of John Turner, an English gunner who found himself instructing foreign princes in artillery methods. Turner’s experiences—navigating the treachery of local officials and the temperamental nature of royalty—inject a necessary sense of agency and individual struggle into the wider military history. Finally, the author highlights figures like Colonel Mawhood, whose reputation for bravery is contrasted with the "wooden-headed" clerks in London who lacked any understanding of the realities of the field. Through these figures, the reader sees a clear distinction between the dedicated, often pragmatic soldier and the detached, bureaucratic administrator.

In Its Own Voice

"Among the uneducated, discipline is created by fear, and confirmed by habit."

The author reflects on the psychological foundations of military discipline before contrasting them with the higher sense of duty expected from an educated officer.

"The extravagance always began at the Tower, the centre of the Board's official centre and kingdom; the economy away at the circumference, among poor gunners at distant stations."

This observation captures the central tension of the book, critiquing how administrative bodies prioritized their own comfort at the expense of soldiers in the field.

What It's Really About

At its core, this is a study of institutional identity. It argues that a regiment is not merely a collection of soldiers, but a living historical record composed of the distinct, often heroic, service of its individual companies. The text poses deep questions about the nature of military responsibility, contrasting the "noblest" form—a reasoning, internal sense of duty—with the rigid, fear-based control of an earlier age. It is also a critique of administrative dysfunction; the author suggests that the greatest obstacle to military success is often the internal bureaucracy of the state. By rooting the Regiment's character in its long, often thankless service, the author constructs an argument for the necessity of the "professional soldier" who persists regardless of the changing whims of the government or the failures of the supply chain.

Why Read It Today

Readers with a deep interest in military history or the mechanics of British imperial administration will find this a fascinating, albeit dense, resource. The book reads with the precision of a ledger, making it less of a narrative page-turner and more of an authoritative, foundational text. Those who enjoy piecing together the lives of overlooked historical figures—the "John Murrays" of the world—will be rewarded by the vivid, humanizing details tucked into the broader account.

However, the reader must be prepared for the book's archaic structure; it is not a modern biography or an action-driven novel. It assumes a reader already interested in the granular details of battery movements and the minutiae of historical warrant lists. The period attitudes—particularly the author’s disdain for "diminutive" recruits or his views on the American Republic—are reflective of the mid-nineteenth-century British officer class and may feel jarring to a modern reader. Despite its length and the dry nature of some of the logistical appendices, there is a tangible warmth in the author's voice, a genuine desire to honor the memory of the officers and gunners he describes. If you are looking for a comprehensive, bottom-up history that treats military service as a matter of individual and collective honor, this work remains an essential piece of archival literature. It stays with you as a testament to the importance of keeping record of those who serve, ensuring that their names, their battles, and their hardships are not erased by the passage of time.