Sir Thomas Picton

 

“A man of no great prepossessing appearance came rambling amongst our guns, and entered into conversation with me on the occurrences of the day. He was dressed in a shabby, old, drab greatcoat and a rusty round hat. I took him at the time for some amateur from Brussels (of whom we had heard there were several hovering about), and thinking many of his questions rather impertinent, was somewhat short in answering him, and he soon left us. How great was my astonishment on learning soon after that this was Sir Thomas Picton!”

 

Picton was, in fact, a very eminent General. Born in Pembrokeshire 1758, he had been commissioned as an Ensign into his uncle’s regiment, the 12th Foot, aged only 13, in 1772. When his uncle became Colonel of the 75^th Regiment, Picton transferred with him, but the regiment along with a number of others was disbanded in 1783 after the American War of Independence and he returned to Pembrokeshire where he remained on half pay for 11 years. In fact, as senior officer present, it was Picton’s job to read the notice of disbandment to the troops. He left the scene as murmurings of discontent grew until a full scale riot was threatened. He defused the situation by marching back into the middle of the crowd with sword drawn and delivering such a torrent of Billingsgate language that the men were persuaded to disperse.

 

He obtained a government post in the West Indies and between 1797 and 1803 he served as Governor of Trinidad. His rule of the island does not make pleasant reading. It was very dictatorial and was littered with executions, some of them summary, slaves’ heads on poles, floggings, corruption and pocket lining. His run came to an end in 1803 when he was recalled and put on trial for condoning torture to extract a confession out of a local woman, one Luisa Calderon. He got off on the technicality that local Spanish law allowed such things. His reputation was, however, irreparably damaged and the case is the reason why he never received a peerage despite his military achievements.

 

He next saw military service on the ill fated Walcheren expedition of 1809 when they all caught malaria and had to come home. But he really made his name in the Peninsular War at the siege of Badajoz in 1812 where it was his diversionary attack which succeeded in taking the town while the main attack failed.

 

He retired from the army after the Peninsular War, his nerves shot to pieces. He was recalled by Wellington for the Waterloo campaign. He went reluctantly as he had had a premonition of death. It is said that, before his departure, he had jumped into an open grave, lain down and declared “Why, I think this will do for me.”

 

He fought at Quatre Bras on June 16^th where two of his ribs were broken by a canister shot ball. However, he concealed this injury from all but his orderly as he was determined to lead his Division at Waterloo.

 

At Waterloo, as D’Erlon’s Corps approached, Picton rode forward, encouraging his men to charge. He was heard to shout “Charge! Charge! Hurrah!”. Those were the last words he ever uttered. He was seen to fall stone dead from his horse. He had been shot in the temple by a musket ball which passed through the band of his top hat. A soldier of his own division then rushed out and tried to plunder his body, but he was driven away by a staff officer, namely Captain Horace Seymour, one of Uxbridge’s ADCs. It is hardly surprising that the soldier ran off as Seymour was reputedly the largest, strongest man in the entire British army.

 

And so probably the most eminent military man which the country of Wales ever produced died a glorious death at the head of his Division, but it is sad that he is remembered more for his eccentric dress, colourful language and the bizarre circumstances of his death rather than for his military achievements, which were many and notable.

Picton was once described by Wellington as “rough, foul mouthed a devil as ever lived”. Due to the modesty of Georgian authors, the expletives he used are lost to history. The only recorded example of his swearing is at the Battle of Vitoria where he urged his men forward with a shout of “Come on you damned rascals, come on you fighting villains.” The inference is, however, that he could swear as well as any of the men under his command.

 

Picton was an eccentric character, particularly in terms of dress. His favourite attire comprised a black top hat (or more correctly a round hat) and frock coat. He also carried an umbrella which served a dual purpose. Firstly to keep the rain off and secondly for striking people with. Captain Mercer treats us to a wonderful description of an encounter with a rather shabby man on the eve of Waterloo :-

 

Picton portrayed by Jack Hawkins

in the feature film Waterloo

Picton’s hat and spurs together with the musket ball which killed him.

On display in the National Army

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