It was understandable that with the emergence of liberalism in Portugal, Beresford, as the representative of an authoritarian government as well as that of a not entirely disinterested ally, should have been regarded with distaste. Largely ignored by Portuguese historians of the nineteenth and twentieth century because of whom he had represented, a new interest in the Marshal has been awakened, linked rightly with the role played by the Portuguese army and people in defeating a hitherto invincible enemy who invaded and laid waste to their country on three separate occasions in five years; an army moreover which then played an important role for a further three years in the liberation of Spain and the defeat of Napoleon in south west France in 1814.
The reader will note that I have referred to Arthur Wellesley as Wellesley until 4 September 1809. Thereafter he is Wellington. This is possible because there is a natural break in events after the retreat following the tactical victory at Talavera. William Carr Beresford is referred to as ‘William’ or ‘Beresford’ save where the use of the name ‘Carr’ is used to make a particular point. I have sought to provide substantial details in the footnotes to each chapter to facilitate those who wish to research the topics further. I have also used these as an opportunity to bring forward information about events and personalities which, if not centre stage, deserved in my opinion their footnote in history.
I have been fortunate to have found in Irish Academic Press a publisher which has high standards, and whose staff have shown great interest in and been most attentive to this project. In particular I would like to thank my publisher Conor Graham, editor Fiona Dunne and Myles McCionnaith.
Finally I would like to acknowledge the support and assistance of Professor Malyn Newitt. The professor’s encylopaedic knowledge of Portuguese and Brazilian history made it a pleasure as well as a privilege to discuss with him Beresford’s part in these wars. He was kind enough to read my script and I am certain it is much improved as a result of his comments and suggestions. At the end of the day, the views expressed are my own as are any mistakes. I have tried to be objective and to avoid any sense of an apologia; dealing with both Beresford’s achievements and the occasions on which success eluded him or was only partial. The reader will judge the degree of success or otherwise attaching to my endeavour.
1 THE EARLY YEARS
‘A before marriage boy of the old Lords’1
William Carr, born in 1768, was the younger of the two boys fathered by George de la Poer Beresford, Earl of Tyrone, prior to his marriage to Elizabeth Monck. John Poo had been born two years earlier than William Carr. Little is known about their early lives but given that Elizabeth was reportedly fond of them, they presumably spent those days at the family home, Curraghmore, County Waterford. There they clearly formed close bonds with their siblings, as is borne out by their later correspondence. The Marchioness gave birth to six children and all bar the first, Lord la Poer, were to have a continuing and lifelong relationship with William Carr.2 In the family, the boys were addressed in correspondence as ‘Poo’ and ‘Carr’ respectively, rather than John and William. They probably carried these as surnames in early years, for later in life both boys obtained licences to use the name ‘Beresford’.3 Obtaining these licences seems only to have regularised a pre-existing condition, for the naval and military records of the two boys refer to them as Beresford from the commencement of their service, and they signed documents as such from that time.4
Childhood at Curraghmore would have been comfortable by the standards of the day. Lying in a broad and beautiful valley in County Waterford, through which runs the river Clodagh, the architecture of the house incorporates the mediaeval tower along with additions including those of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. William was not to enjoy those surroundings for long. At the age of eight he was sent (along with John) to a school in Catterick Bridge in Yorkshire to be educated.5 Later, the two boys moved to a school in York, where they were looked after by two ladies whom they remembered with kindness later in life.6 As might be expected, his elder brother, John, very much led the way at this time.7 In his seventeenth year (1784), William entered the military academy in Strasbourg to train for the army.8 His stay there was relatively short, for in 1785 he was appointed an ensign in the 6th Regiment of Foot (1st Warwickshire Regiment). It is likely this position was purchased, perhaps by his father with whom he remained in close contact, albeit mostly by correspondence given William’s long absences abroad, for the rest of the Marquis’s life.9
The 6th regiment was posted to Nova Scotia in 1786. One of William’s fellow ensigns in the 6th regiment was Thomas Molyneux, who joined it in 1786 and also hailed from Ireland.10 William and Thomas were part of a hunting party one day when a covey of partridges rose up. As Thomas shot at the birds, a pellet from his gun struck William in the left eye, entirely depriving him of sight in that eye.11 While the loss is evident in some of the paintings of William in later life, in others it is as if airbrushed to produce a more sympathetic picture.
Promotion came rapidly, albeit by changing regiments. In 1789 he joined the 16th Regiment of Foot as a Lieutenant, a regiment of which in later life he became Colonel.12 In the following year he became a Captain in the 69th Regiment of Foot, and in that capacity he served with the marines under Admiral Lord Hood.13 He was present at the opening to a British force of the gates of Toulon by French royalists in August 1793. For some time prior to this event, Hood’s fleet had been blockading that French naval base, but royalist success was to be shortlived. On 2 December of the same year, the town fell to French revolutionary forces (the French artillery was commanded by a certain Napoleon Bonaparte). However, Hood was able to ensure that much of the French fleet was burnt rather than to let it fall into revolutionary hands.
Admiral Hood then moved to take Corsica, having been invited to do so by the de facto ruler and Corsican patriot, Pasquale Paoli. William distinguished himself at the capture of the Martello at San Fiorenzo, as a result of which he achieved his majority in March 1794. Additionally, serving under Sir John Moore, he was present at the capture of Bastia and Calvi. The island briefly became a British protectorate, but was lost to the French again in 1796. By that time Beresford had returned to England (1794) where he was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the Waterford Regiment (124th), a regiment raised by his father on his estates in Ireland.
In early 1795 the regiment was transferred to England, where it was based first at Romsey and then Netley barracks in Hampshire.14 The regiment was almost full and recruiting was continued in Ireland throughout the first half of the year. Even at this early date, Beresford’s ability to organise and train was recognised with the regiment’s Major, Richard Lee, reporting that it was wonderful what Carr had made of it. Initially the 124th was designated to serve under Lord Moira, who had recently returned from an unsuccessful expedition to the Netherlands led by the Duke of York.
This decision delighted the Marquis of Waterford who, no doubt aware of the short life expectancy of soldiers in the West Indies, expressed the view that he was happy ‘Carr’ would not be going there.15 His joy was to be short lived, for even though the Duke of York inspected the regiment at Southampton that summer and was most complimentary, a decision, which Waterford had apprehended, was made in the autumn to disband the 124th, transferring officers and men to the 88th regiment (the Connaught Rangers).16 There was a silver lining to this particular cloud, as Beresford was appointed Lieutenant Colonel of the Connaught Rangers in September 1795. This appointment came at a time when the