Fire and Sword

Chapter 51

Arthur was wearing his best uniform when he presented himself before the members of the panel. Sir David Dundas had been appointed president of the inquiry and was assisted by six other generals, all of whom were now seated behind a long table at the end of the Great Hall. Several clerks and secretaries sat at small tables in the wings, organising documents and taking down details of what was said to provide an accurate record of the event. Arthur was shown into the hall and escorted to the single chair set before the inquiry panel. He bowed to each of the members and then took his seat. Dundas was an elderly general and one of the most senior in the army. His gaunt figure topped by a thin face, a long nose and white hair. Dundas had a reputation for being a strict disciplinarian and a stickler for rules and regulations.

‘Sir Arthur,’ he began formally,‘you have been called here to account for your actions in relation to the treaty signed at Cintra. Generals Dalrymple and Burrard have already given their evidence. You will answer all questions truthfully and to the best of your knowledge. Do you understand?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Very well then. It is the understanding of this inquiry that you were in command of the army for the duration of the engagement at Vimeiro. Is that so?’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘And yet General Burrard had reached the vicinity of the army the day before.’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘So, in your view, it would have been possible for Burrard to have assumed command of the army in time to fight the subsequent battle.’

‘It was certainly possible, sir, but not necessary.The army had already won an engagement at Roliça, and it seemed that the enemy was retreating towards Lisbon. Sir Harry arrived in the afternoon and made the decision not to assume command until the next day. There was no expectation of a battle, and had the French not tried to surprise us, Sir Harry would have assumed command of the army in good time.’

‘That may be so, General Wellesley, but let me ask you this. If you had been in Burrard’s place would you have delayed taking command of the army as the senior officer present?’

Arthur paused. There was no way to answer this truthfully that did not undermine Burrard’s position. He drew a sharp breath. ‘No sir, I would not have delayed taking command.’

‘And why is that?’

‘It is my conviction that the initiative should be seized in all things, sir. If not, then you make a gift of it to the enemy, as we discovered.’

‘Just so.’ Dundas nodded, and then looked down at his notes for a moment. ‘So, then, the French attempted to outflank your position.You changed your front to foil them, threw back their attacks and routed their assault columns.’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Did you give the order to pursue the enemy?’

‘There was little opportunity to do that, sir.What few cavalrymen we had were unequal to the task.’

One of the other members of the panel, a stout officer with florid cheeks, leaned forward and addressed Arthur.‘But surely you could have ordered your infantry to make a pursuit, and denied the enemy any chance at rallying his formations?’

‘The order could have been given, sir. But it was not.’

‘Why not?’

‘General Burrard had reached the field in the course of the battle and was generous enough to permit me to retain command until the battle was over. Once the French had broken, I returned to my command position on the understanding that that was the point at which my authority was superseded.’

‘I see.’ Dundas nodded again. ‘Did you suggest to Burrard that he should attempt a pursuit?’

‘Yes, sir, I did.’

‘As we know, there was no such attempt. Did Burrard offer you any explanation as to why he did not order a pursuit?’

‘Yes, sir.’

There was a short pause before Dundas sighed. ‘Would you be kind enough to explain his reasoning to the inquiry?’

‘Sir Harry was of the opinion that we had insufficient intelligence about the enemy’s strength and his dispositions. Therefore it would be prudent to await the arrival of General Moore and his men in order to ensure that we had the advantage in numbers before continuing our advance.’

‘Did you agree with his opinion?’

‘No, sir, I did not.’

‘Why?’

‘We had beaten General Junot. The information I had from my Portuguese allies was that Junot’s army was the only enemy army between Vimeiro and Lisbon.Therefore it was my belief that we could have pursued him to destruction, before turning to liberate Lisbon.’

‘As it was, the enemy was allowed to escape.’

Arthur hesitated a moment. ‘Yes, sir.’

‘Do you feel you were responsible for their escape?’ Dundas asked in a very deliberate tone.

‘No, sir. I urged Sir Harry Burrard, and Sir Hew Dalrymple when he arrived to take command, to march at once against General Junot. If they had, the French would have been defeated, and there would have been no armistice, and no treaty of Cintra.’

‘And no inquiry,’ Dundas added with a faint smile. ‘Let us turn our attention to the armistice.You signed it.’

‘Yes, sir.’

‘Did you draft the agreement?’

‘No, sir. It was drafted by Sir Hew and the French representative, General Kellermann.’

‘So why did you put your name to it?’

‘I was ordered to, sir. By General Dalrymple. My signature is a mere form.’

‘I see. And did you agree with the terms of the armistice, as ratified at Cintra?’

Arthur swallowed nervously, but strained to keep his face calm, and his voice unflustered. ‘There is no simple answer, sir. The object of the campaign was to capture Lisbon and eject French forces from Portugal. The treaty achieved that with no loss of life. To that extent I approved of the treaty.’

‘However?’ Dundas prompted.

‘However, I contend that we should have accepted a few more casualties and pursued and destroyed Junot’s army, and thereby damaged wider French morale and inspired our allies. In addition, I think the terms agreed were over-generous to our enemy and have damaged the reputation of Britain. Having defeated Junot, it was absurd to permit his army to be returned to France, rather than be taken into captivity.’

Dundas narrowed his eyes. ‘You are a master of understatement, General Wellesley. However, I feel it only fair to inform you that Sir Hew Dalrymple is unequivocal in ascribing the blame for the treaty to you.’

Arthur felt a cold chill of anger grip his heart.‘I fail to see how I can be held to account for the treaty. If General Dalrymple refused to heed any of my advice in the conduct of the campaign, I am certainly not answerable for the consequences.’

Dundas looked away and conferred quietly with the other panel members, making a few more notes on the papers before him.At length he turned back to Arthur and continued questioning him on more precise details for the next hour, after which Arthur was permitted to leave.

For the next week other officers were called before the inquiry, and then the panel retired to consider the evidence and write their report.As Arthur waited, he made preparations to return to Dublin with Kitty and the children to resume his civilian duties at the castle, but he could not help considering his prospects.At best, he would be cleared of any blame, but he knew that the stigma of the Cintra treaty might stick to his name for many years to come, unless he had the chance to fight again and win a victory that would expunge his part in the armistice.At worst, he faced public censure and would be stripped of his post of Chief Secretary, with no hope of achieving high office at any future date.

Kitty and the boys went back to Dublin, but Arthur lingered in London, feeling he was in a peculiar state of limbo. His friends and acquaintances remained slightly at a distance, as if he had some kind of illness, and yet inside he felt certain that he would not be censured by Sir David Dundas and his colleagues.The fact that it had been a military inquiry, rather than a parliamentary one, was a considerable source of comfort in such politically partisan times.

The wait dragged by, and Arthur’s spirits settled lower and lower, until three days before Christmas. He was taking breakfast, alone, when he heard a loud knock at the front door. A moment later a footman opened the door. There was a short, muffled exchange, then footsteps pounded down the hall and the door to the dining room burst open. William stood on the threshold, breathing hard, eyes wide with excitement.

‘Good God,’ Arthur exclaimed. ‘What on earth is the matter with you?’

‘Just . . . come . . . from my club.’ William struggled to catch his breath, and swallowed before continuing.‘One of the others . . . brought news of the inquiry.They’ve just published.’

Arthur froze, knife and fork poised over his lamb chops. ‘Well?’

‘They’ve approved the treaty . . . six votes to one. There’ll be no action taken against you or the others.’

Arthur nodded slowly. Inside he felt no joy or sense of vindication, only a sudden heavy weariness. It was over, then. Dundas and the others had decided to close ranks and protect their fellow generals, and the radical press and politicians would howl with protest that they had been denied their prey.

‘You’re in the clear,’ William continued. ‘You must show your face around London, and in Parliament. There’s a reputation to rebuild. So what do you intend to do?’

‘Do?’ Arthur replied calmly. ‘I intend to finish my breakfast. Then I shall complete my arrangements to re-join my wife and children in Dublin.’