Military Cyphers

There are two types of British officer in Burnished Rows of Steel.

1. Laughable incompetents with stupid accents
2. Nowhere men: mere names and ranks, there for likeable Union officers with fleshed-out personalities to overwhelm and humiliate

For an amateur researcher, it is perhaps excusable that the British are under-developed. Because the American Civil War is such a pivotal event in the country's short national history, there are masses of secondary sources and bibliographies available which make it easy to find out about a particular officer. By contrast, relatively few mid-Victorian British officers (beyond Wolseley) have received detailed studies: a few of the more prominent have received short biographies in the DNB, but by and large they will remain undifferentiated unless the researcher takes the trouble to find out about them.


Similarly, most American Civil War officers spent the majority of their lives as civilians, while British officers spent theirs learning the profession of arms: as such, American officers often have more interesting back-stories. These are generally competely irrelevant to their ability to fight wars, but they make it much easier for an amateur author to keep their audience entertained.

However, even where there was an opportunity to talk in greater detail about the actions of British officers, TFSmith passes up on it. Compare his descriptions with even the bare-bones career histories included in Hart's Army List:



'Ross, commissioned in 1838, had seen action in India and Nepal, including being mentioned in dispatches'(link)

'Lt.Colonel T. Ross, in 1859 commanded a detached force on the Nepaul frontier; drove the rebels from the plains of Tilawara where there was a large Bazar, and next day attacked them in the Jungle of Pipurea, the whole rebel army in consequence retired to Botoul where they were cut up by Sir R. Kelly — mentioned in despatches, and for general services on the frontier was highly complimented by the Commander in Chief and Sir R. Kelly (Medal).'

'Daniell, commissioned lieutenant in 1849, had also seen action in the Crimea... Daniell had served as town major in Quebec before his promotion ' (link)

'Major C. F. T. Daniell served the Eastern campaign of 1854-55 as Brigade Major in the 3rd Division, including the battles of Alma and Inkerman, siege and fall of Sebastopol, and attack of the 18th June (Medal and Clasps, Brevet Major, Knight of the Legion of Honor, 5th Class of the Medjidie, and Turkish Medal).'

'Col. Alexander Low, a British officer, commissioned in 1835, who had been unattached when the crisis began' (link)

'Colonel Low served the Eastern campaign of 1854-55, including the battles of Alma, Balaklava, Inkerman, and Tchernaya, and siege of Sebastopol, also present with the Light Cavalry Brigade at Eupatoria; at Inkerman he commanded the Regiment (Medal and Clasps, Brevet Lt.Col., Knight of the Legion of Honor, Sardinian and Turkish Medals, 4th Class of the Medjidie).'

 Now compare them to some of the descriptions of Union officers:

'Brigadier General Hiram G. Berry’s 2nd Brigade. Berry, born in Rockland, Maine, in 1824, was the son of a veteran of the War of 1812-15 and grandson of a Revolutionary War soldier; a contractor, bank president, and former mayor of Rockland, he served as a militia captain, organized and led the 4th Maine to Manassas in 1861, and was promoted to brigadier general for distinguished service.' (link)

'Captain Charles N. Turnbull, (USMA-1854), chief topographical engineer of Sumner’s Department of New England. Son of Col. William Turnbull (USMA – 1819), former chief topographical engineer of the Army and Scott’s chief topog in Mexico, the younger Turnbull had served on the U.S.-Mexican boundary and the Great Lakes surveys in the 1850s, taught mathematics at West Point, and served as engineer on lighthouse and harbor projects before the war broke out. He had been assigned as chief topog to the Department under Butler, and Sumner – who had served with his father in the prewar army - had kept Captain Turnbull on after taking command in the winter;' (link)

'Brigadier General Benjamin Alvord (USMA, 1833, infantry), 49, who had served against the Seminole and in Mexico under both Taylor and Scott, earning brevets at Resaca delaPalma and Churubusco, before staff duty and teaching at West Point' (link)

Although it's possible to characterise these descriptive disparities as resulting from a combination of lack of reseach and the author's obvious partiaility for one side, there are occasions where they seem to serve a more nefarious purpose. Deliberately playing down British experience, and over-emphasising the amount of active service which Union officers had experienced, can be used subtly to influence the reader into accepting British defeats. For instance, compare the descriptions of officers given before the attack on San Francisco in Chapter 7, part 2:

Col. Thomas E. Knox, CB, who was to serve as a brigadier in British Columbia...Knox’s brigade, made up of the 40th (2nd Somersetshire), Lt. Col. Arthur Leslie; the 57th (West Middlesex), Lt. Col. Henry J. Warre; and the 67th (South Hampshire) Lt. Col. John W. Thomas, landed in good order and unopposed

Major William Austine, 47, (USMA-1838) an artillery officer who had been promoted twice for distinguished service in Mexico, studied gunnery in Europe, and taken command of the fort in 1861... The three regular companies were led by Capt. James Van Voast, 37, (USMA – 1852), with service in the infantry and artillery; Capt. George H. Elliot (USMA – 1855), an artilleryman and engineer who served as superintending engineer of the Defenses; and Capt. Joseph Stewart (USMA – 1842), an artillery officer who had served in Mexico. 

As described in Hart's Army List, here is the actual experience of those British officers which TFSmith thought too unimportant to provide:

Lt.Colonel Knox commanded the 67th Regt. throughout the campaign of 1860 in China, including the action of Sinho, taking of Tonghoo, and led the storming party across the main ditch at the taking of the inner Takoo fort, when seventy-seven officers and men of the 67th were killed or wounded ; also present at the surrender of Pekin (mentioned in dispatches, (CB.. Medal and Clasps).

Lt.Colonel Thomas served with the 40th Regt. throughout the operations in Candahar and Afghanistan in 1841-42 (Medal); also in the action of Maharajpore 19th Dec. 1843—wounded (Medal); commanded detachments of the 12th and 40th Regiments at the capture of a stockade occupied by insurgents at the Ballarat Gold Fields in Australia on 3rd Dec. 1854, for which he received the rank of Major. Served with the 67th Regt. throughout the campaign of 1860 in China, including the action of Sinho (commanded a wing), taking of Tonghoo, and was wounded in the face while commanding a wing employed as a covering party in front of the Takoo fort; also present at the surrender of Pekin (mentioned in dispatches, CB., Medal and Clasps).

Colonel Warre served at the siege of Sebastopol from March 1855, and commanded the 57th Regt. at the assaults on the Redan on the 18th June (after Colonel Shadforth was killed) and 5th Sept.; also at the bombardment and surrender of Kinbourn (Medal and Clasp, CB, 5th Class of the Medjidie, and Turkish Medal).

Although it is possible that this is another research failure (after all, the author failed to notice that Colonel Warre out-ranked his brigadier), the more insidious explanation is the more likely one.