Paymaster John Harley wrote his memoirs in the mid to late 1830's,
some fifteen years after he had left the army under questionable
circumstances. He apparently published this memoir privately in two
volumes in 1838 a few years before his death - quite possibly as he
had not found a mainstream publisher because of its potentially
libellous content - and only four hundred copies were apparently
printed. John Harley had a varied and interesting military career,
serving in the Tarbert Fencibles, the 54th Foot in Egypt, and then
the 47th Foot with Wellington in Spain and Southern France. John
Harley was born in Cork, Ireland on 18 November 1769 but his father
died within a few weeks, he therefore lived with his mother for
most of his youth in the area of Kilkenny. At the age of fourteen
he was put to work at a merchant house in the city but never really
settled in this role and secured a lieutenancy in the Tarbert
Fencibles on their formation in 1798. Harley gained a commission as
Quartermaster of the 54th Foot on 12 June 1800 and joined his new
regiment at Winchester. Soon after they were ordered to proceed
abroad and within a year Harley found himself trudging through the
hot sands of Egypt in the campaign of Sir Ralph Abercromby to oust
the French from Africa. Thereafter, they formed part of the
garrison of Gibraltar and were there during the infamous mutiny
against the governor the Duke of Kent. After being placed on
half-pay during the Peace of Amiens, Harley soon found a new
position, as Quartermaster in the 1st Battalion 47th Foot. On 11
July 1805 John Harley gained the position of Paymaster to the
regiment's 2nd Battalion and moved with it around Ireland for the
next three years, thence to England in 1807 where they remained
until 1809 when they were finally ordered for foreign service. They
sailed for Gibraltar in October 1809 and were then transferred to
Cadiz, taking part in the defence of that place and of Tarifa in
1811. The following year the siege of Cadiz ended, the battalion
marched to Seville and then joined in Wellington's difficult
retreat to Portugal. In 1813 the battalion was at the Battle of
Vitoria, where John had the awful news of the death of his son; he
then took part in the siege of San Sebastian. They were then
involved in the crossing of the Bidassoa, the Battles of Nivelle
and the Nive and finally involved in the sortie from Bayonne, when
the war ended. As a Paymaster, Harley was rarely in the fighting,
but he was certainly close to the action at times and also saw much
of the terrible aftermath. However, some of the greatest and most
entertaining memoirs have already come from non-combatants. It is a
simple truth that if you want to know what it was really like in
the British army for the ninety-nine percent of the time when there
was no fighting, read the memoirs of such men, who had opportunity
to enjoy the best of times, partook in many of the greatest
adventures, and thankfully had the spare time to record them for
posterity. Although he did not write his memoirs until 1830, Harley
remembers a great deal; names, personalities, incidents, and
tragedies and although his memory might occasionally confuse the
correct ranks or some of the fine details; every one of the major
incidents he recounts is to be found in the records. But the
greatest joy of these pages are the various scurrilous incidents
mentioned in these memoirs, which have all been found to be fully
established in fact. Duels, bigamy, abductions, women tricked into
marriage, sinking boats, cowardice, larceny, murder, corruption,
human tragedy, bankruptcy, forgery, suicides, privateers, debtors
prison, card sharks, highwaymen, prisoners of war, and Garryowen
Boys, indeed the whole gambit. It truly exposes the seedy underside
of Georgian life both within the army and in civilian life too.
John Harley's memoirs are a real joy and a real eye-opener on many
levels - once you have read them, you will never look at
Wellington's army in the same light ever again.
General
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