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Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

 
Military History Companion: Arthur Wellesley Wellington
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Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, Duke of (1769-1851). Born Arthur Wesley (the family later changed the spelling), second son of the Earl of Mornington, Wellington was commissioned at the age of 17. Influence gained him appointment as ADC to the viceroy of Ireland, and he was promoted lieutenant in 1787. He was elected to the family seat of Trim in 1790, and promoted captain the following year. Loans from his elder brother, now Lord Mornington (later Marquess Wellesley), purchased a majority and lieutenant colonelcy in the 33rd Regiment in 1793. He resigned his seat and took the 33rd to Flanders in 1794. He complained that ‘no one knew anything of the management of an army’ and admitted that the episode taught him much. ‘The real reason why I succeeded in my campaigns’, he wrote, ‘is because I was always on the spot—I saw everything; and did everything for myself.’

He regained his seat on his return, tried to obtain a government post, and, now a colonel, sailed for India. His brother was governor general, and he fought at Seringapatam, was then given command in Mysore and later promoted major general. In 1803 he beat the Marathas at Assaye. Years later, when asked what was ‘the best thing’ he did in the way of fighting he unhesitatingly replied ‘Assaye’. He lost 1, 500 of his 7, 000 men, one of his horses was shot and its replacement piked. He went on to win another battle at Argaum and take the fortress of Gawlighur (Gwalior).

He was knighted, returned home in 1805, took a brigade on a brief expedition to the Elbe, and then married Kitty Pakenham, who had rejected him over ten years before. On their wedding day he muttered, ‘She has grown ugly, by Jove’, privately admitted that it was a mistake, and was to have a series of characteristically discreet affairs. He sat unhappily on the backbenches until appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland in April 1807. Shortly afterwards he commanded a division in an expedition to Denmark, returning to Dublin after the capture of Copenhagen.

In the spring of 1808 he was promoted lieutenant general and sent to Portugal with a small force. On arrival he heard that the French were stronger than expected and the force would be increased: he would be superseded by Sir Hew Dalrymple, with Sir Harry Burrard as his second-in-command. In the meantime he faced Junot at Vimeiro. He checked the attack with skirmishers at the foot of a ridge and kept the bulk of his force concealed behind it to take on French columns at close range. The French had begun to break when Burrard arrived, but Wellington could not persuade him to pursue. Dalrymple and Burrard agreed the Convention of Cintra, which allowed the French passage home in British ships. A court of enquiry whitewashed all three generals, but neither Dalrymple nor Burrard held active command again.

Without military employment during the Corunna campaign, he returned to Portugal in 1809. He quickly secured Oporto, and within a month Portugal was cleared of French. He complained that ‘The army behave terribly ill. They are a rabble who cannot bear success any more than Sir John Moore's army could bear failure. I am endeavouring to tame them’. In uneasy collaboration with the Spanish, he pursued the French into Spain, only to have them turn on him at Talavera. On 28 July the French launched attacks on his line and came close to breaking it, but in the nick of time he plugged what he called an ‘ugly hole’. He lost a quarter of his force and was in no state to pursue. Talavera brought him a peerage, and he chose the title Viscount Wellington of Talavera and (for the family originated in the West Country) Wellington.

Hearing that Austria had made peace, Wellington knew that the French would be free to deal with him, and fell back into Portugal while French reinforcements flooded in, taking Ciudad Rodrigo and Almeida. On 27 September 1810 Masséna lost heavily attacking him on the long ridge at Busaco, but Wellington, outnumbered, retreated to the Lines of Torres Vedras, impervious to French attack. After a cold and hungry winter Masséna withdrew from Portugal in March 1811.

Wellington hoped to take Badajoz and Almeida, and left Beresford besieging Badajoz while he moved on Almeida, defeating Masséna at Fuentes de Oũoro in May, though the escape of the Almeida garrison took the gilt from the victory. Beresford, meanwhile, beat a relieving force under Soult in a bloody action at Albuera, and Wellington abandoned the siege of Badajoz shortly afterwards.

In January 1812 Wellington took Ciudad Rodrigo by storm, which brought him an earldom, and went on to assault Badajoz in April. The attempt nearly failed, and when the attackers at last fought their way in, discipline collapsed completely. Wellington lost 5, 000 men, and wrote to London: ‘The capture of Badajoz affords as strong an instance of the gallantry of our troops as has ever been displayed. But I greatly hope that I shall never again be the instrument of putting them to such a test’. In July he beat Masséna's successor Marmont at Salamanca, in a brilliantly timed attack, rightly regarded as his masterpiece. He followed up the victory by entering Madrid, rising another notch in the peerage by doing so, but failed to take Burgos. Slipping back into Portugal with Soult close behind him, he congratulated himself on getting out of ‘the worst scrape I was ever in’, but launched a merciless attack on indiscipline, gripping his army with what he called ‘a hand of iron’.

In May 1813 he again advanced into Spain, meeting Napoleon's brother Joseph, its puppet king, at Vitoria in June. With almost 80, 000 men Wellington outnumbered the French, and tried to pin Joseph to his position by a frontal attack while turning his flank. Although the attack did not go according to plan Joseph narrowly escaped capture and all his baggage and 151 guns were taken. Victory brought Wellington a field marshal's baton, sensitively designed by the Prince Regent himself. Wellington stormed San Sebastian and crossed the Bidossa into France in October. He beat the French at Orthez, but a subordinate's error marred the pursuit. Wellington reprimanded the officer so stiffly that he rode into a skirmish and was shot. Some thought that Wellington blamed himself, but as Sir William Napier said, ‘He has always kept to that system of never acknowledging he was wrong’. The war's last battle, at Toulouse on 10 April 1814, was what Wellington called ‘a very severe affair’. Although he drove Soult from the town, he lost more men than the French, and both sides claimed victory. Wellington was dressing for dinner in Toulouse when he heard that Napoleon had abdicated.

Created a duke, Wellington visited Paris before returning home to a tumultuous welcome, not much to his taste. Dispatched to Paris as ambassador, he was then sent to be senior British representative at the Congress of Vienna. On 7 March 1815 he heard that Napoleon had escaped from Elba, and a fortnight later he was appointed C-in-C of British and Dutch-Belgian forces in the Low Countries. He arrived in Brussels on 1 April to undertake the sternest test of his career, the campaign of the Hundred Days.

Wellington recognized that this was not the old Peninsular army, but ‘an infamous army, very weak and ill equipped’. He knew that the campaign would hinge on collaboration with his Prussian allies, assuring the diarist Creevy that ‘Blücher and myself can do the thing’. On 15 June he heard that Napoleon had crossed the frontier, but did not identify his main thrust correctly. He was at the Duchess of Richmond's ball in Brussels—giving the impression of normality, but with his senior officers to hand—when he heard that Napoleon was moving up from Charleroi. Admitting that ‘Napoleon has humbugged me’ he decided to concentrate at Quatre Bras, but planned to fight further back, on the ridge at Mont St Jean.

He reached Quatre Bras on the morning of 16 June, thought that the young Prince of Orange had things in hand, and then rode eastwards to confer with Blücher near Ligny. He confirmed that he would join Blücher, ‘provided I am not attacked myself’, and rode back to Quatre Bras. Although Wellington checked Ney at Quatre Bras, Blücher was beaten at Ligny by Napoleon, and Allied fortunes hinged on the old Prussian's gallant decision to march north-westwards to join Wellington rather than fall back, as Gneisenau suggested, on his lines of communication.

Wellington laid out his position near Waterloo on 17 June, making the most of slopes which allowed him to conceal much of his infantry. When Napoleon attacked on the 18th the duke was everywhere, plainly dressed in blue coat and white breeches, slipping on a blue cape with each of the many showers. He sent precise orders to the garrison of Hougoumont, congratulated Capt Mercer on the handling of his troop of artillery, and, when the Imperial Guard came up the trampled slope, was on hand to give Maitland's Guards Brigade the order to fire. It was a long and dreadful day, and at 18.30 he muttered: ‘Night or the Prussians must come.’ He had repulsed Napoleon's last attack when he saw that Blücher's men had bitten deep into the French right flank, and waved his hat to signal a general advance. That night he gave his bed to a mortally wounded staff officer, and tears furrowed his cheeks when he heard of the losses. ‘Well, thank God, ’ he said, ‘I do not know what it is to lose a battle, but certainly nothing can be more painful than to win one with the loss of so many of one's friends.’

Wellington commanded the Allied armies of occupation, and returned home in 1818 to become Master General of the Ordnance with a seat in Lord Liverpool's cabinet. Appointed C-in-C in 1827, he resigned when Canning became PM, but was persuaded to become PM himself in 1828. He spent two unhappy years in office, bravely introducing Catholic Emancipation but losing ground over parliamentary reform, to which he was steadfastly opposed. He was reappointed C-in-C in 1842, casting a long conservative shadow over the army for the last decade of his life.

Wellington was a brilliant tactician, with a sharp eye for ground and clear understanding of the men who held it. His campaigning in India and Spain shows him as a skilled logistician and manager of armies, with a flair for manoeuvre in attack, prepared to risk but never to gamble. He was no manoeuvrist in the modern sense. Orders were orders, and officers deviated from them at their peril. He was personally rather chilly, and many felt him stingy with praise, but his quiet ‘gentleman-like’ demeanour inspired regard often denied the more flamboyant. ‘We would rather see his long nose in a fight than a reinforcement of ten thousand men any day’, wrote an officer, while a private of the 7th Fusiliers asked, in Tyneside vernacular, ‘Whore's ar Arthur? Aw wish he wor here.’

Bibliography

  • Longford, Elizabeth, Wellington, vol. 1. The Years of the Sword (London, 1969); vol. 2. Pillar of the State (London, 1972)

— Richard Holmes

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Biography: Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
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The British soldier and statesman Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), was one of the pacifiers of British India, an important architect of the downfall of Napoleon I, and a major political figure.

The third son of the Earl of Mornington, Arthur Wellesley was born in Dublin, Ireland, on or about May 1, 1769. He was educated at Eton, in Brussels, and at Angers Military Academy. In 1787 he became a lieutenant of foot and aide-de-camp to the lord lieutenant of Ireland. From 1790 he was for five years a member of the Irish Parliament. In 1793, at the age of 24, he purchased a lieutenant colonelcy in the 33d Foot, whose colonel he became in 1806. In 1794 Wellesley participated in the Netherlands campaign, during which he was so struck by the inefficiency of British officers that the next year he began the serious study of warfare.

From 1797 to 1804 Wellesley was the commanding officer of the 33d Foot in India, where from 1797 to 1805 his brother Richard, Marquess Wellesley, was governor general. In India, Wellesley came into his own as a soldier, aiding in the capture of Mysore in 1799 and leading the two campaigns in 1799-1802 that crushed Dhundia Wagh, the robber chieftain. In 1802 Wellesley was promoted to major general, and from 1803 to 1805 he was chief administrator as well as military commander of the Deccan, where on Sept. 23, 1803, at Assaye he defeated the vaunted Marathas. Wellesley resigned when his brother was recalled in 1805.

The next year Wellesley became commander of a brigade at Hastings and was elected a member of Parliament. He married Kitty Pakenham on April 10, 1806, but she was never his equal and eventually became almost a recluse. In 1807 he moved to Ireland as chief secretary for 2 years; but in the same year he was sent on an expedition against the Danes. In 1808 he was posted to Portugal, beginning what was to be his major campaign.

Portugal and Spain

Wellesley had conceived the idea of thwarting Napoleon on the Iberian Peninsula, and in 1808 he led an expedition to assist the Portuguese in their revolt against the French. He defeated the French at Rolica and Vimeiro, but Sir Harry Burrard prevented his pursuit of the routed French. Both Wellesley and Burrard returned to England to stand courts-martial, but both were acquitted. In 1809 Wellesley resumed command in Portugal. He captured Oporto, advanced into Spain on the strength of Spanish promises of support, won at Talavera, and then retreated when the Spanish promises fell flat to carefully prepared lines at Torres Vedras. He did not reach Torres Vedras, however, until after he had been created Viscount Wellington and had bloodied André Massena's nose at Bussaco. The French commander made no progress at Torres Vedras in spite of the fact that Wellington was ill-supported from England both in the quality of his officers and in the number of reinforcements.

In 1811 Massena pulled back and Wellington pursued, but he soon found himself facing larger forces. In 1812 he incurred heavy casualties storming Ciudad Rodrigo and in the capture of Badajoz; he entered Madrid on August 12. His efforts to take Burgos were bloodily repulsed, and he then beat a hasty retreat to Ciudad Rodrigo. He was created Marquess of Wellington.

Late in May 1813, after mending political fences in Spain and Portugal, Wellington began his final advance into France, beating Joseph Bonaparte at Vitoria and crossing into France over the Pyrenees. After much hard fighting, he penned the French into Bayonne and defeated them at Orthez. Following this victory he went to Paris to negotiate a peace. On entering France he had been created field marshal, to which title was now added Duke of Wellington.

Waterloo and After

Wellington remained as ambassador in Paris only through late 1814, for he then joined other European leaders at the Congress of Vienna. He was participating in these negotiations when Napoleon returned from Elba. Wellington was at once sent to command the Allied armies in the Netherlands, where he cooperated with the Prussian general Gebhard von Blücher. Wellington was surprised by Marshal Ney at Quatre Bras and fell back on Waterloo, where on June 18 he held on until Blücher could fulfill his promise to come to his aid after the Prussian defeat at Ligny. Together they routed the French. At the age of 46 Wellington had fought one of the most decisive battles in history and won. After advancing on Paris, effecting Napoleon's abdication, and restraining Blücher from taking reprisals or territory, Wellington was variously engaged in France until the Allied army of occupation was withdrawn in 1818.

As a general, Wellington was respected by his troops, who admired his sangfroid and his imperturbability under fire. "Nosey" was a known battlefield figure who had the loyalty of his varied forces, and he carried this over into his later career as a political leader. His successes were due to his study of war, to careful planning including that of supply, and to his realism, which led him to rely heavily on his British infantry and to choose so often defensive positions in which he had to be attacked, usually uphill, because he flanked the enemy's line of advance.

Man on Horseback

In the years after his great victory, Wellington reverted more and more to the aristocratic mold from which he had been cast. Not only was he an 18th-century nobleman, but also he was a man whose career had been spent leading officers and men not noted for their intellectual brilliance. Thus he was used to speaking bluntly and to the point. At the same time he was accustomed to giving orders and to being obeyed. That was his public image. Yet privately he displayed a great sense of humor and was much beloved by the ladies.

In the second half of his life, Wellington had to spend a good deal of time dealing with politics and civilians, for neither of which he had much tolerance. Yet these were the difficult times of the Peterloo Massacre, the Great Reform Bill, the Chartists, and the repeal of the Corn Laws. Moreover, in these years he was exposed to examination by journalists and liberals who became unsympathetic to his outlook and actions since he was no longer leading victorious armies in popular wars. Yet he had emerged from the Napoleonic Wars as the one great man in England, the man on horseback.

Political Leader and Prime Minister

On his return from France, Wellington divided his time between occasional attendance at international peace conferences and military and political appointments at home. From 1818 to 1827 he was master general of the ordnance with a seat in the Cabinet. In 1827 he became commander in chief. George Canning asked him to join the government when he succeeded Lord Liverpool, but Wellington professed himself happy as commander in chief. Moreover, he was staunchly Tory and Irish anti Catholic, while Canning leaned the other way. The upshot, when coupled to personal dislike, was that Wellington resigned both as master general of the ordnance and as commander in chief, and for the first time since he had joined the army in 1787 he was unemployed. Canning died within three months, and by September 1827 the duke was back as commander in chief.

But when Goderich's caretaker government faded early in 1828, the King sent for Wellington and asked him, as leader of the Tories, to form a new government. So at the age of 58, with doubts about the rising tide for Catholic emancipation, Wellington became prime minister. Suddenly he was back in public favor as he had not been since Waterloo.

Once in office, the duke, resigning again as commander in chief, discovered that he had to move to unite the Tories, especially after the Canningites left him. He therefore favored Catholic emancipation in an attempt both to unite his Party and to provide a sound government for Ireland. In this he was successful. The government survived until late 1830, when a combination of factors caused by the accession of William IV and the Revolution of 1830 in France made Wellington's position weak, even without his announced opposition to reform. The government resigned. The Tories were out of office for the first time in decades. Wellington refused to lead the opposition for he had been a royal servant too long.

Later Years

Unpopular for a while, Wellington beat a gradual retreat on reform in the House of Lords and was willing in 1832 to be prime minister again if the King desired, but he could not form a Cabinet. He then withdrew his opposition to the Reform Bill to prevent the Whigs from packing the House of Lords. When the Whigs went out of office in 1834, the duke acted as prime minister and all three secretaries of state until Sir Robert Peel could return from Italy; then Wellington briefly retained the Foreign Office until the elections went against the Tories.

Nevertheless, Wellington's personal popularity was high once again, and he decided that the country would survive reform. In 1841 Peel formed a new government with Wellington as leader of the House of Lords. The next year the incumbent commander in chief died, and the "Iron Duke" resumed the post that he held until his death a decade later. He constantly worried about national defense. During the Chartist troubles in 1848 he organized the defense of London. He died on Sept. 14, 1852.

Deaf in his last years, Wellington was the elder states man of Great Britain, honored and consulted by many. A gradualist and a realist, he was one of the best-informed persons in the kingdom, especially on foreign affairs. He carried on a voluminous correspondence, and he was always careful of his dignity and honor. Plain of speech, sometimes tart, he generally cut to the heart of the matter. At the same time, his distinctive features made him one of the few personalities well known to the people in the days before photography. His reputation was enhanced by the publication of his dispatches (1834-1880) and his parliamentary speeches (1854).

Further Reading

The most useful biography of Wellington is Elizabeth Longford, Wellington: The Years of the Sword (1969), which carries his career through 1815 and whose bibliography provides the best starting point for research on him; a second volume is under way. The older standard work is Philip Guedalla, Wellington (1931). An excellent illustrated work on the duke is Victor Percival, The Duke of Wellington: A Pictorial Survey of His Life (1969), composed for the Victoria and Albert Museum. E. L. Woodward, The Age of Reform, 1815-1870 (1938; 2d ed. 1962), provides an adequate introduction to the later period of Wellington's life. Dealing with Wellington and the army are Godfrey Davies, Wellington and His Army (1954); Jac Weller, Wellington in the Peninsula, 1808-1814 (1963), narrating the 6-year war against Napoleon's forces in Spain, and Wellington at Waterloo (1967); and Albert Tucker's chapter in Robin Higham, ed., A Guide to the Sources of British Military History (1971).

Additional Sources

Barthorp, Michael, Wellington's generals, London: Osprey, 1978.

James, Lawrence, The Iron Duke: a military biography of Wellington, London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1992.

Thompson, Neville., Wellington after Waterloo, London; New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1986.

Wellington Commander: the iron duke's generalship, Boston: Faber and Faber, 1986.

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Arthur Wellesley 1st duke of Wellington
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(born May 1, 1769, Dublin, Ire. — died Sept. 14, 1852, Walmer Castle, Kent, Eng.) British general. Son of the Irish earl of Mornington, he entered the army in 1787 and served in the Irish Parliament (1790 – 97). Sent to India in 1796, he commanded troops to victories in the Maratha War (1803). Back in England, he served in the British House of Commons and as chief secretary in Ireland (1807 – 09). Commanding British troops in the Peninsular War, he won battles against the French in Portugal and Spain and invaded France to win the war in 1814, for which he was promoted to field marshal and created a duke. After Napoleon renewed the war against the European powers, the "Iron Duke" commanded the Allied armies to victory at the Battle of Waterloo (1815). Richly rewarded by English and foreign sovereigns, he became one of the most honoured men in Europe. After commanding the army of occupation in France (1815 – 18) and serving in the Tory cabinet as master general of ordnance (1818 – 27), he served as prime minister (1828 – 30), but he was forced to resign after opposing any parliamentary reform. He was honoured on his death by a monumental funeral and burial in St. Paul's Cathedral alongside Horatio Nelson.

For more information on Arthur Wellesley 1st duke of Wellington, visit Britannica.com.

British History: Arthur Wellesley Wellington
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Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, 1st duke of (1769-1852). Soldier and prime minister. Arthur Wellesley was the third surviving son of the earl of Mornington, an impoverished Irish peer. After a year at a French military academy at Angers, he entered the army by purchasing a commission. Early experience in the campaigns in the Low Countries during the first years of the Revolutionary War showed how things should not be done. His great chance came in India, where his elder brother was governor-general. Arthur established his military reputation by winning the spectacular victories of Assaye and Argaum over the Mahrattas in 1803. In 1808 he was sent as commander of the first detachment of British troops to Portugal. Winning the battle of Vimeiro he was recalled to face a court of inquiry after the armistice of Cintra, which was seen in England as craven. Wellesley had signed the agreement under orders, but was bitterly attacked by opposition politicians. Cleared by the inquiry he resumed command of the British army in Portugal after the death of Moore. Shrewdly exploiting natural features and the engineering skills of the British army to construct the lines of Torres Vedras he ensured that the British army would not be pushed into the sea. But he was more than a defensive general. He was bold when necessary, as the assaults on the fortresses of Badajoz and Ciudad Rodrigo showed, and in the battles of Salamanca, Vitoria, and the Pyrenees he was as resourceful in attack as he had been in defence. The end of the Peninsular War saw him as the most famous British general since the duke of Marlborough. The battle of Waterloo in 1815 confirmed his stature and his fame. He cared for his men and husbanded their lives, scorned extravagant gestures, and despised popularity.

After 1815 Wellington was prominent as a diplomat and politician. He had owed much to Castlereagh; now he became one of his trusted lieutenants in the complex diplomacy of the post-war era. He also became a member of Liverpool's government, believing that it was his duty to serve the state in whatever capacity might be required of him. After the death of Canning and the failure of the Goderich ministry, Wellington became prime minister in January 1828. When in 1828 a crisis erupted in Ireland he chose to grant catholic emancipation rather than risk civil war. This earned him the hatred of the ultra-Tories and he fought a duel with Lord Winchilsea. In 1830 Wellington attempted to rally conservative opinion by affirming his resolute opposition to parliamentary reform. The tactic failed to restore confidence in his administration. In November 1830 he was defeated on the civil list in the Commons and resigned. Although Wellington opposed the Reform Bill he realized that opposition had to be attuned to the realities of politics. He therefore led 100 Tory peers from their seats in the Lords to allow the Reform Bill to pass in June 1832, preferring reform to the prospect of the Upper House being swamped by newly created peers. In 1834, during the crisis provoked by Melbourne's resignation, Wellington became a caretaker prime minister for some three weeks and after 1835 he played an important role as an elder statesman.

Irish Literature Companion: 1st Duke of Wellington
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Wellington, 1st Duke of, (Arthur Wellesley) (1769-1852), soldier and statesman; born in Ireland, educated at Eton and a military academy in Angers, France. He was commander of British armies in India, 1797, and in Spain, 1809-14, Secretary of State for Ireland. 1807-9, victor at Waterloo, 1815, and British Prime Minister, 1828-30, 1834, and 1841-6. As an Irish MP he supported the extension of the franchise to Catholics (barring their entry into Parliament), but resisted electoral reform and Catholic Emancipation.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: Arthur Wellesley, 1st duke of Wellington
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Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, 1st duke of, 1769-1852, British soldier and statesman.

Military Achievements

Wellesley entered the army in 1787 and, aided by his brother Richard (later Marquess Wellesley), rose rapidly in rank. He held a command in Flanders (1794-95) and in 1796 went with his regiment to India. After his brother's appointment (1797) as governor-general of India, he received command of a division in the invasion of Mysore and became (1799) governor of Seringapatam. In 1800 he defeated the robber chieftain, Dhundia Wagh, and in 1802 he was made major general. In 1803 he moved against the Marathas, breaking their force of about 40,000 with an army of about 10,000 in a surprise attack. A valuable civil and military adviser to his brother, he returned with him to England in 1805 and was knighted. His election (1806) to Parliament and appointment (1807) as Irish secretary did not prevent him from leading (1807) an expedition against the Danes.

In 1808 he led an expedition to assist Portugal in its revolt against the French. He defeated the French at Roliça and Vimeiro, but was superseded in command. In 1809 he returned to the Iberian Peninsula, where he ultimately assumed command of the British, Portuguese, and Spanish forces in the Peninsular War. Taking advantage of the irregular terrain, Portuguese and Spanish nationalism, and Napoleon's preoccupation with other campaigns and projects, he drove the French beyond the Pyrenees by 1813, though his campaigns were rendered difficult by poor support from the British government. Late in 1813 he invaded S France, and he was at Toulouse when news of Napoleon's abdication (Apr., 1814) arrived.

Returning to England, he received many honors and was created duke of Wellington. He served for a short time as ambassador to Paris, then succeeded Viscount Castlereagh at the peace conference in Vienna; but when Napoleon returned from Elba, he took command of the allied armies. There followed his most famous victory, that in the Waterloo campaign, won in conjunction with the Prussian general, Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. Wellington, again lavishly honored, took charge of the army of occupation in France, exerting his influence to restrain harsh treatment of the defeated French.

Political Career

Wellington, "the iron duke," with the soldier's taste for discipline and order and the aristocrat's distrust of democratic institutions, lent his great prestige to the Tory policy of repression at home and took a cabinet post as master general of the ordnance (1819). He represented England at the Congress of Verona (1822), where he opposed intervention in the Spanish revolt, and at the conference at St. Petersburg (1826) that concerned itself with the revolt in Greece, but he was not in sympathy with the liberal foreign policy of George Canning and resigned (1827) when Canning became prime minister.

In 1828 Wellington himself reluctantly became prime minister. He bowed to public clamor and allowed the repeal of the Test Act and Corporation Act and the passage of the Catholic Emancipation bill (reforms he had previously opposed), but he lost the support of much of the Tory party as a consequence. When he declared against parliamentary reform, the ministry fell (1830), and his unpopularity subjected him to an assault by a mob. He refused to form a government in 1834, but served under Sir Robert Peel as foreign secretary (1834-35) and again (1841-46) as minister without portfolio. On the repeal of the corn laws he supported Peel, while not wholly approving his policy. In 1842 he was made commander in chief for life. He is buried in St. Paul's Cathedral.

Bibliography

See his dispatches and other papers (pub. in 3 series, 1834-39, 1858-72, 1867-80); biographies by J. W. Fortescue (1925, 3d ed. 1960), P. Guedalla (1931), C. Petrie (1956), E. Longford (2 vol., 1969-72), A. Bryant (1971), and C. Hibbert (1997); studies by G. Davies (1954) and N. Thompson (1986).

History Dictionary: Wellington, duke of
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Arthur Wellesley, a British general of the nineteenth century, revered in his country as the victor over the emperor Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo.

  • Wellington is known for allegedly saying “the Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton.” Eton is a famous English boarding school for boys. Wellington's statement emphasizes the effect of people's moral training and breeding on their later life.

    • Quotes By: Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley
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    Quotes:

    "Be discreet in all things, and so render it unnecessary to be mysterious."

    "Educate people without religion and you make them but clever devils."

    "Hard pounding, gentlemen: but we shall see who can pound the longest."

    "To define it rudely but not ineptly, engineering is the art of doing for 10 shillings what any fool can do for a pound"

    "Habit is ten times nature."

    "We have in the service the scum of the earth as common soldiers."

    See more famous quotes by Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley

    Wikipedia: Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
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    Field Marshal His Grace
      The Duke of Wellington 
    KG KP GCB GCH PC FRS

    In office
    17 November 1834 – 9 December 1834
    Monarch William IV
    Preceded by The Viscount Melbourne
    Succeeded by Sir Robert Peel, Bt
    In office
    22 January 1828 – 16 November 1830
    Monarch George IV
    William IV
    Preceded by The Viscount Goderich
    Succeeded by The Earl Grey
    Born c. 29 April/1 May 1769
    Possibly Dublin or County Meath, Ireland
    Died 14 September 1852 (aged 83)
    Walmer, Kent, United Kingdom
    Political party Tory
    Military service
    Allegiance Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom
    Service/branch British Army
    Years of service 1787 – 1852
    Rank Field Marshal
    Commands Commander-in-Chief of the Forces
    Battles/wars Flanders Campaign
    Anglo-Filipino Expedition
    Fourth Anglo-Mysore War,
    Second Anglo-Maratha War,
    Peninsular War,
    Waterloo campaign
    Awards Knight of the Order of the Garter
    Knight of the Order of St Patrick
    Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
    Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Guelphic Order

    Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, KP, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS (c. 29 April/1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852), was an Anglo-Irish soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the nineteenth century.

    Born in Ireland to a prominent Ascendancy family, he was commissioned an ensign in the British Army in 1787. Serving in Ireland as aide-de-camp to two successive Lords Lieutenant of Ireland he was also elected as a Member of Parliament in the Irish House of Commons. A colonel by 1796, Wellesley saw action in the Netherlands and later India where he fought in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War at the Battle of Seringapatam. He was later appointed governor of Seringapatam and Mysore.

    Wellesley rose to prominence as a general during the Peninsular campaign of the Napoleonic Wars, and was promoted to the rank of field marshal after leading the allied forces to victory against the French at the Battle of Vitoria in 1813. Following Napoleon's exile in 1814, he served as the ambassador to France and was granted a Dukedom. During the Hundred Days in 1815, he commanded the allied army which defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.

    An opponent of parliamentary reform, he was given the epithet the "Iron Duke" because of the iron shutters he had fixed to his windows to stop the pro-reform mob from breaking them. He was twice Prime Minister under the Tory party and oversaw the passage of the Catholic Relief Act 1829. He was Prime Minister from 1828–30 and served briefly in 1834. He was unable to prevent the passage of the Reform Act of 1832 and continued as one of the leading figures in the House of Lords until his retirement. He remained Commander-in-Chief of the British Army until his death in 1852.

    Contents

    Early life

    The earliest mention of the Wellesley family is in 1180. It places Wellington’s ancestry among the conquering elite of the Norman invasion in 1066: the family had been granted lands to the south of Wells around a settlement still known as Wellesley Farm. As well as Wellesley ancestors, "Wesley" was inherited from the childless wealthy husband of an aunt when, in 1728, Wellington's patrilineal grandfather Garret Colley, a landlord who lived at Rahin near Carbury, County Kildare, changed his surname to Wesley.[1] The Colleys had lived in that part of Kildare since the Norman Invasion of Ireland in 1169–72. In 1917 the Kildare historian Lord Walter FitzGerald, stated that: "... Elizabethan Castle which since 1588 has been in the possession of the family of Cowley or Colley, from whom the Dukes of Wellington are descended in the direct male line".[2]

    Wellesley spent much of his early childhood at his family house in Dangan Castle, painting circa 1840

    Wellington was born "The Honourable Arthur Wesley", the fourth son - third of five surviving sons - to Garret Wesley, 1st Earl of Mornington, and Anne, the eldest daughter of Arthur Hill, Viscount Dungannon. He was most likely born at 24 Upper Merrion Street, Dublin, opposite what was then the Royal College of Science and which is now Government Buildings.[3] His biographers mostly follow the contemporary newspaper evidence in saying he was born 1 May 1769,[4] the day he was baptised.[5] Other places have been put forward as the location of his birth: Mornington House, Dublin - as his father claimed; the house next door which is no longer there; the Dublin packet boat; and the family estate of Athy, as the Duke apparently put on his 1851 census return, which is now burnt.[6]

    He spent most of his childhood at his family's two homes, the first a large house in Dublin and the second, Dangan Castle, 5 km north of Summerhill on the Trim road in County Meath, part of the Province of Leinster.[7] In 1781 Arthur's father died and his eldest brother Richard inherited his father's earldom.[8] Two of his other brothers were later raised to the peerage as Baron Maryborough and Baron Cowley.

    Education

    He went to the diocesan school in Trim when at Dangan, Mr. Whyte's Academy when in Dublin, and at Brown's School in Chelsea when in London. He then enrolled at Eton, where he studied from 1781 to 1784.[8] (His loneliness there caused him to hate it, and makes it highly unlikely that he actually said, "The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton."; moreover, Eton had no playing fields at the time.). A lack of success at Eton, combined with a shortage of family funds from his father's death, led to a move to Brussels in Belgium with his mother in 1785.[9] Until his early twenties, Arthur continued to show little signs of distinction and his mother grew increasingly concerned at his idleness, stating, "I don't know what I shall do with my awkward son Arthur."[9]

    A year later, Arthur was enrolled in the French Royal Academy of Equitation in Angers, where he progressed significantly, becoming a good horseman and learning French, which was later to prove very useful.[10] Upon returning to England in late 1786, he astonished his mother with his improvement.[11]

    Early career

    Beginning in 1787, Wellesley worked at Dublin Castle (pictured) as aide-de-camp to two successive Lord Lieutenants of Ireland.

    Despite his new promise he had yet to find a job and his family was still short of money, so upon the advice of his mother, his brother Richard asked his friend the Duke of Rutland (then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland) to consider Arthur for a commission in the army.[11] Soon after, on 7 March 1787 he was gazetted ensign in the 73rd Regiment of Foot.[12] In October, with the assistance of his brother, he was assigned as aide-de-camp, on ten shillings a day (twice his pay as an ensign), to the new Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Buckingham.[12] He was also transferred to the new 76th Regiment forming in Ireland and on Christmas Day, 1787, was promoted to Lieutenant.[12] During his time in Dublin his duties were mainly social; attending balls, entertaining guests and providing advice to Buckingham. While in Ireland, he over extended himself in borrowing due to his occasional gambling, but in his defence stated that "I have often known what it was to be in want of money, but I have never got helplessly into debt".[13]

    Two years later, in June 1789, he transferred to the 12th Light Dragoons, still as a lieutenant and according to his biographer, Richard Holmes he also dipped a reluctant toe into politics.[13] Shortly before the general election of 1789, he went to the "rotten borough" of Trim to speak against the granting of the title "Freeman" of Dublin to the parliamentary leader of the Irish nationalist movement, Henry Grattan.[14] Succeeding, he was later nominated and duly elected as a Member of Parliament for Trim in the Irish House of Commons.[15] Because of the limited suffrage at the time, he sat in a parliament where at least two-thirds of the members owed their election to the landowners of less than a hundred boroughs.[15] Wellesley continued to serve at Dublin Castle, voting with the government in the Irish parliament over the next two years and in 1791 he became a Captain and was transferred to the 18th Light Dragoons.[15]

    It was during this period that he grew increasingly attracted to Kitty Pakenham, the daughter of the Earl of Longford.[16] She was described as being full of 'gaiety and charm'.[17] Seeking permission to marry her in 1793 he was turned down by her brother, the new Earl of Longford who considered Wellesley to be a young man, in debt, with very poor prospects.[18] An aspiring amateur musician, Wellesley, devastated by the rejection, burnt his violins in anger, and resolved to pursue a military career in earnest.[19] Gaining further promotion (largely by purchasing his rank, which was common in the British Army at the time), he became a Major in the 33rd Regiment in 1793.[16] A few months later, in September, his brother lent him more money and with it he purchased a lieutenant colonelcy in the 33rd.[20]

    Netherlands

    Further information: Flanders Campaign
    Arthur Wellesley as Lieutenant colonel, aged 26, now in the 33rd Regiment

    In 1793, the Duke of York was sent to Flanders in command of the British contingent of an allied force destined for the invasion of France. In 1794, the 33rd regiment was sent to join the force and Wellesley set sail from Cork for Flanders in June, destined for his first real battle experience.[20] During the campaign he rose to command a brigade and in September Wellesley's unit came under fire just east of Breda, just before the Battle of Boxtel.[21] For the latter part of the campaign, during the winter, his unit defended the line of the Waal River, during which time he became ill for a while, owing to the damp environment.[22] Though the campaign was to prove unsuccessful, with the Duke of York's force returning in 1795, Wellesley was to learn several valuable lessons, including the use of steady fire lines against advancing columns and of the merits of supporting sea-power.[21] He concluded that many of the campaign's blunders were due to the faults of the leaders and the poor organisation at Headquarters.[23] He remarked later of his time in the Netherlands that "At least I learned what not to do, and that is always a valuable lesson."[23]

    Returning to England in March 1795, he was returned as a Member of Parliament for Trim for a second time.[24] He hoped to be given the position of secretary of war in the new Irish government but the new lord-lieutenant, Lord Camden, was only able to offer him the post of Surveyor-General of the Ordnance.[24] Declining the post, he returned to his regiment, now at Southampton preparing to set sail for the West Indies. After seven weeks at sea, a storm forced the fleet back to Poole, England.[24] The 33rd was given time to convalesce and a few months later, Whitehall decided to send the regiment to India. Wellesley was promoted full colonel by seniority a few weeks later and in 1796 set sail for Calcutta with his regiment.[25]

    India

    Further information: Fourth Anglo-Mysore War and Second Anglo-Maratha War
    Arthur's brother, Richard Wellesley (pictured), served as Governor-General of India. Arthur was to serve under him as Governor of Seringapatam and Mysore in the late 1790s.

    Arriving in Calcutta in February 1797 he spent several months there, before being sent on a brief expedition to the Philippines, where he established a list of new hygiene precautions for his men to deal with the unfamiliar climate.[26] Returning in November to India, he learnt that his elder brother Richard, now known as Lord Mornington, had been appointed as the new Governor-General of India.[27] As part of the campaign to extend the rule of the British East India Company, the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War broke out in 1798 against the Sultan of Mysore, Tippoo Sultan.[28] Arthur's brother Richard ordered that an armed force be sent to capture Seringapatam and defeat Tippoo. Under the command of General Harris, some 24,000 troops were dispatched to Madras (to join an equal force being sent from Bombay in the west).[29] Arthur and the 33rd sailed to join them in August.[30]

    In 1798 he changed the spelling of his surname to "Wellesley" - up to this time he was still known as Wesley - which his oldest brother considered the ancient and proper spelling.[27][31]

    After extensive and careful logistic preparation (that would become one of Wellesley's main attributes) the 33rd left with the main force in December and travelled across 250 miles (400 km) of jungle from Madras to Mysore.[32] On account of his brother, during the journey, Wellesley was given an additional command, that of chief advisor to the Nizam of Hyderabad's army (sent to accompany the British force).[29] This position was to cause friction amongst many of the senior officers (some of whom were senior to Wellesley).[33] Much of this friction was put to rest after the battle of Malavelly, some 20 miles (32 km) from Seringapatam, in which Harris's army attacked a large part of the sultan's army. During the battle, Wellesley led his men, in a line of battle of two ranks, against the enemy to a gentle ridge and gave the order to fire.[34] After an extensive repetition of volleys, followed by a bayonet charge, the 33rd, in conjunction with the rest of Harris's force, forced Tippoo's infantry to retreat.[34]

    Srirangapatna and Mysore

    Tippu Sultan, the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore fought the British during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War and was killed in battle. Wellesley was the first officer on the scene and confirmed his death by checking his pulse. Wellesley subsequently ruled Mysore as British governor.

    Immediately after their arrival at Seringapatam on the 5th, the Battle of Srirangapatna began and Wellesley was ordered to lead a night attack on the village of Sultanpettah, adjacent to the fortress to clear the way for the artillery.[35] Because of the enemy's strong defensive preparations, and the darkness, with the resulting confusion, the attack failed with 25 casualties. Wellesley suffered a minor injury to his knee from a spent musket-ball.[35][36] Although they would reattack successfully the next day, after time to scout ahead the enemy's positions, the affair had an impact on Wellesley.[35] He resolved "never to attack an enemy who is preparing and strongly posted, and whose posts have not been reconnoitred by daylight".[35]

    A few weeks later, after extensive artillery bombardment, a breach was opened in the main walls of the fortress of Seringapatam.[37] An attack led by Major-General Baird secured the fortress. Wellesley secured the rear of the advance, posting guards at the breach and then stationed his regiment at the main palace.[37] After hearing news of the death of the Tippoo Sultan, Wellesley was the first at the scene to confirm his death, checking his pulse.[37] Over the coming day, Wellesley grew increasingly concerned over the lack of discipline amongst his men, who drank and pillaged the fortress and city.[38] To restore order, several soldiers were flogged and four hanged.[35]

    After battle and the resulting end of the war, the main force under General Harris left Seringapatam and Wellesley, aged 30, stayed behind to command the area as the new Governor of Seringapatam and Mysore. He took residence within the sultan's summer palace and reformed the tax and justice systems in his province to maintain order and prevent bribery.[39] He also hunted down the mercenary 'King' Dhoondiah Waugh, who had escaped from prison in Seringapatam during the battle. Wellesley, with command of four regiments, defeated Dhoondiah's larger rebel force, along with Dhoondiah himself who was killed in the battle.[40] He paid for the future upkeep of Dhundia's orphaned son.[41]

    Whilst in India, Wellesley was ill for a considerable time, first with severe diarrhea from the water and then with fever, followed by a serious skin infection caused by trichophyton.[42] He received good news when in September 1802 he learnt that he had been promoted to the rank of Major-General.[43] Wellesley had been gazetted Major-General on the 29 April, but the news took several months to reach him by sea. He remained at Mysore until November when he was sent to command an army in the Second Anglo-Maratha War.[43]

    Second Anglo-Maratha War

    Wellesley decided that he must act boldly to defeat the numerically larger force of the Maratha Empire (as he concluded a long defensive war would ruin his army).[44] With the logistic assembly of his army complete (24,000 men in total) he gave the order to break camp and attack the nearest Maratha fort on the 8 August 1803.[43][44] The fort surrendered on the 12th after an infantry attack had exploited an artillery-made breach in the wall. With the fort now in British control Wellesley was able to extend control southwards to the river Godavari.[45]

    Arthur Wellesley at the Battle of Assaye in a painting by J.C.Stadler. The battle was an important victory for Wellesley in his career and he later remarked that it was the best battle he ever fought.[46]

    Splitting his army into two forces, to pursue and locate the main Marathas army, (the second force, commanded by Colonel Stevenson was far smaller) Wellesley was preparing to rejoin his forces on the 24 September.His intelligence,however, reported the location of the Marathas' main army, between two rivers near Assaye.[46] If he waited for the arrival of his second force, the Marathas would be able to mount a retreat, so Wellesley decided to launch an attack immediately.[46] On 23 September, Wellesley led his forces over a ford in the river Kaitna and the Battle of Assaye commenced.[46] After crossing the ford the infantry was reorganised into several lines and advanced against the Maratha infantry. Wellesley ordered his cavalry to exploit the flank of the Maratha army just near the village.[46] During the battle Wellesley himself was under fire; two of his horses were shot from under him and he had to mount a third.[46] At a crucial moment, Wellesley regrouped his forces and ordered Colonel Maxwell (later killed in the attack) to attack the eastern end of the Maratha position while Wellesley himself directed a renewed infantry attack against the centre.[46] An officer in the attack wrote of the importance of Wellesley's personal leadership: "The general was in the thick of the action the whole time.... Until our troops got the order to readvance, the fate of the day seemed doubtful."[47] With some 6,000 Marathas killed or wounded, the enemy was routed (though Wellesley's force was in no condition to pursue), at a cost of 1,584 British killed or wounded.[46] Wellesley was troubled by the loss of men and remarked that he hoped "I should not like to see again such loss as I sustained on the 23 September, even if attended by such gain".[46] Years later, however, he remarked that Assaye was the best battle he ever fought.[46]

    Despite the damage done to the Maratha army, the battle did not end the war.[48] A few months later in November, Wellesley attacked a larger force near Argaum, leading his army to victory again, with an astonishing 5,000 enemy dead at the cost of only 361 British casualties.[48] A further successful attack at the fortress at Gawilghur, combined with the victory of General Lake at Delhi forced the Maratha to a peace settlement (not concluded until a year later).[49] His biographer Richard Holmes remarked that his experiences in India had an important influence on his personality and military tactics, teaching him much about military matters that would prove vital to his success in the Peninsular War.[50] These included a strong sense of discipline through drill and order[50], the use of diplomacy to gain allies, and the vital necessity for a secure supply line. He also established a high regard for the acquisition of intelligence through scouts and spies.[50] His personal tastes also developed, including dressing himself in white trousers, a dark tunic, with Hessian boots and black cocked hat (that would later become synonymous as his style).[50]

    Return to Britain

    Recently knighted, Arthur was given permission to marry Kitty Pakenham in 1806. His early proposal was rejected in 1793 as his prospects were deemed poor.

    Wellesley had grown tired of his time in India, remarking "I have served as long in India as any man ought who can serve anywhere else."[51] In June 1804 he applied for permission to return home and as a reward for his service in India, in September he was made a Knight of the Bath.[51] Whilst in India, Wellesley had amassed a fortune of £42,000 (considerable at the time), consisting mainly of prize money from his campaign.[51] When his brother's term as Governor-General of India ended in March 1805, the brothers returned together to England on HMS Howe. Arthur, coincidentally, stopped on his voyage at the little island of Saint Helena and stayed in the same building to which Napoleon I of France would later be exiled.[52]

    After returning home, the Wellesleys were forced to defend their extravagant and unauthorized deployment of British forces in India. Wellesley then served in the abortive Anglo-Russian expedition to north Germany in 1805, taking a brigade to Elbe.[53] Wellesley upon his return received good news, when, owing to his new title and status, he was given permission to marry Kitty Pakenham (from her family). He married her in Dublin on the 10th April 1806.[54] The marriage would later prove to be unsatisfactory and the two would spend years apart while Wellesley was campaigning.[55] He then took a period of extended leave from the army and was elected Tory member of Parliament for Rye in January 1806.[55] A year later, he was elected MP for Newport on the Isle of Wight and was then appointed to serve as Chief Secretary for Ireland, under the Duke of Richmond (at the same he was made a privy counsellor.[55]

    Wellesley was in Ireland, when in May 1807 he heard of the British expedition to Denmark. He decided to go, stepping down from his political appointments and was appointed to command an infantry brigade in the Second Battle of Copenhagen which took place in August. He fought at the Køge, during which the men under his command took 1,500 prisoners, with Wellesley later present during the surrender.[55] By the 30th September he had returned to England and was raised to the rank of lieutenant general.[55] In June 1808 he accepted the command of an expedition of 9,000 men. Preparing to sail for an attack on the Spanish colonies in South America (to assist the Latin American patriot Francisco de Miranda) his force was instead ordered to sail for Portugal, to take part in the Peninsular Campaign and rendezvous with 5,000 troops from Gibraltar.[56][57]

    Ready for battle, he left Cork on the 12th July 1808 to participate in the war against French forces in Iberia, with his skills as a commander tested and developed.[56] According to the historian Robin Neillands "Wellesley had by now acquired the experience on which his later successes were founded. He knew about command from the ground up, about the importance of logistics, about campaigning in a hostile environment. He enjoyed political influence and realised the need to maintain support at home. Above all, he had gained a clear idea of how, by setting attainable objectives and relying on his own force and abilities, a campaign could be fought and won."[56]

    Peninsular War

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    Main article: Peninsular War
    Reenacters of the 33rd Regiment of Foot Wellingtons Redcoats who fought in the Napoleonic Wars, 1812 – 1815, here showing the standard line 8th Company

    In this theatre of the Napoleonic wars, Wellesley achieved military victories and enormous renown through caution, by the reverse slope defence and use of the line formation against the French columns.

    Wellesley defeated the French at the Battle of Roliça and the Battle of Vimeiro in 1808 but he was superseded in command immediately after the latter battle. General Dalrymple then signed the controversial Convention of Sintra, which stipulated that the British Royal Navy transport the French army out of Lisbon with all their loot, and insisted on the association of the only available government minister, Wellesley. Dalrymple and Wellesley were recalled to Britain to face a Court of Enquiry. Wellesley had agreed to sign the preliminary Armistice, but had not signed the Convention, and was cleared.[58]

    Meanwhile, Napoleon himself entered Spain with his veteran troops to put down the revolt, and the new commander of the British forces in the Peninsula, Sir John Moore, died during the Battle of Corunna in January 1809.

    Although overall the war with France was not going well from a British perspective, the Peninsula was the one theatre where they, with the Portuguese, had provided resistance against France and her allies. This contrasted with the disastrous Walcheren expedition, which was typical of the mismanaged British operations of the time. Wellesley submitted a memorandum to Lord Castlereagh on the defence of Portugal. He stressed its mountainous frontiers and advocated Lisbon as the main base because the Royal Navy could help to defend it. Castlereagh and the cabinet approved the memo, appointed him head of all British forces in Portugal and raised their number from 10,000 to 26,000 men.

    Wellesley arrived in Lisbon on 22 April 1809 onboard HMS Surveillante,[59] after narrowly escaping shipwreck[60]. Reinforced, he took to the offensive. In the Second Battle of Porto, he crossed the Douro river in a daylight coup de main, and routed Marshal Soult's French troops in Porto. He then joined with a Spanish army under Cuesta in operations against Madrid. They meant to attack Marshal Victor, but Napoleon's brother, King Joseph Bonaparte, reinforced Victor first, and the French attacked and lost at the Battle of Talavera. For this, Wellesley was ennobled as "Viscount Wellington of Talavera and of Wellington".[61] With Marshal Soult threatening their rear, the British were compelled to retreat to Portugal. Deprived of the supplies promised by the Spanish throughout the campaign and not told of Soult's movement, Wellington did not rely on Spanish promises or resources again.

    In 1810, a newly enlarged French army under Marshal André Masséna invaded Portugal. British opinion both at home and in the army was negative and there were suggestions that they must evacuate Portugal. Instead, Wellington first slowed the French down at Buçaco, then prevented them from taking the Lisbon peninsula by his massive earthworks, the Lines of Torres Vedras, which had been assembled in complete secrecy and had flanks guarded by the Royal Navy. The baffled and starving French invasion forces retreated after six months. Wellington followed and, in several skirmishes and the Battle of Sabugal, drove them out of Portugal, except for a small garrison at Almeida, which was placed under siege.

    In 1811, Masséna returned towards Portugal to relieve Almeida; Wellington narrowly defeated the French at the Battle of Fuentes de Onoro. Simultaneously, his subordinate, Viscount Beresford, fought Soult's 'Army of the South' to a bloody standstill at the Battle of Albuera. In May, Wellington was promoted to general for his services. The French abandoned Almeida, but retained the twin Spanish fortresses of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz, the 'Keys' guarding the roads through the mountain passes into Portugal.

    Portrait of the Duke of Wellington by Francisco Goya, 1812–14.

    In 1812, Wellington finally captured Ciudad Rodrigo by a rapid movement as the French went into winter quarters, storming it before they could react. He then moved south quickly, besieged the fortress of Badajoz for a month and captured it during one bloody night. On viewing the aftermath of the Storming of Badajoz, Wellington lost his composure, broke down and cried at the sight of the carnage in the breaches.[62]

    His army now was a British force reinforced in all divisions by units of the resurgent Portuguese army. Campaigning in Spain, he routed the French at the Battle of Salamanca, taking advantage of a minor French mispositioning. The victory liberated the Spanish capital of Madrid. As reward, he was created "Earl" and then "Marquess of Wellington" and given command of all Allied armies in Spain.[63]

    He attempted to take the vital fortress of Burgos, which linked Madrid to France, but failed due to a lack of siege equipment. The French abandoned Andalusia, and combined those troops with their other armies to put the British forces into a precarious position. Wellington withdrew his army and, joined with the smaller corps commanded by Rowland Hill, began to retreat to Portugal. Marshal Soult actually held a numerical advantage over Wellington in November, but hesitated to attack, so wary had he become of the British commander.[citation needed] Despite the retreat, the victory at Salamanca had forced the French to withdraw from southern Spain, and the temporary loss of Madrid irreparably damaged the prestige of the pro-French puppet government.[citation needed]

    In 1813, Wellington led a new offensive, this time against the French line of communications. He struck through the hills north of Burgos, and switched his supply line from Portugal to Santander on Spain's north coast; this led to the French abandoning Madrid and Burgos. Continuing to outflank the French lines, Wellington caught up with and smashed the army of King Joseph Bonaparte in the Battle of Vitoria, for which he was promoted to field marshal.[64] . He personally led a column against the French centre, while other columns were commanded by Sir Thomas Graham, and Rowland Hill and looped around the French right and left (this battle became the subject of Beethoven's opus 114, Wellington's Victory). However, the British troops broke ranks to loot the abandoned French wagons instead of pursuing the beaten foe. This gross abandonment of discipline caused an enraged Wellington to write in a famous dispatch to Earl Bathurst, "We have in the service the scum of the earth as common soldiers",[65] a statement confirmed in San Sebastián, where the British troops rampaged throughout the town, looting, raping, killing and eventually burning it to the ground.[66] Notwithstanding this fact, he turned down the town representatives' demand for the English authorities to grant 2,000 starvation wages a day for the survivors most in need.

    After taking the small fortresses of Pamplona and San Sebastián, and winning the battles of the Pyrenees, Bidassoa and Nivelle over Soult's reorganised French army, Wellington invaded southern France. The British won the Battle of the Nive; Wellington then isolated the fortress of Bayonne and defeated Soult at the battles of Orthez and Toulouse. Immediately after Soult evacuated the latter city, news arrived of Napoleon's defeat and abdication.

    Hailed as the conquering hero by the British, Wellington was created "Duke of Wellington", a title still held by his descendants. (As he did not return to England until the Peninsular War was over, he was awarded all his patents of nobility in a unique ceremony lasting a full day.) However, although Wellesley spent nearly six years driving the French Army from Spain and removing Joseph Bonaparte from the Spanish throne, there is not a single statue of him, or monument to him, in Spain; and Spanish history, as taught in school, all but disregards both his contribution and those of the British and Portuguese soldiers that fought with him.[67]

    He was appointed ambassador to France, then took Lord Castlereagh's place as First Plenipotentiary to the Congress of Vienna, where he strongly advocated allowing France to keep its place in the European balance of power. On 2 January 1815, the title of his Knighthood of the Bath was converted to Knight Grand Cross upon the expansion of that order.

    Despite his successes in the Peninsular campaign, an alternative, minority view of his skill as a commander relative to that of his opponents is provided by A.G. Macdonell. "Probably no general in history has ever had such an easy time as Wellington had [in the Iberian peninsula]. Working on interior lines, with a mercenary army, in a country where every peasant and priest was at once an ally, a source of information, and an active assassin, with a constant flow of supplies from England, and with the complete command of the sea, the Duke of Wellington had the game in his hands, and yet it took him nearly six years to advance from Lisbon to the Pyrenees."[68] The simple fact, however, is that Wellington was never defeated by Napoleon or by any of Napoleon's generals.

    Battle of Waterloo

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    The Duke of Wellington, painted in 1814, several months before the Battle of Waterloo, by the artist Sir Thomas Lawrence.
    Main article: Battle of Waterloo

    On 26 February 1815, Napoleon escaped from Elba and returned to France. He regained control of the country by May and faced a renewed alliance against him.[69] Wellington left Vienna for what became known as the Waterloo Campaign. He arrived in Belgium to take command of the British-German army and their allied Dutch-Belgians, all stationed alongside the Prussian forces of Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher. The French invaded Belgium, defeated the Prussians at Ligny, and fought an indecisive battle with Wellington at the Battle of Quatre Bras. These events compelled the Anglo-Allied army to retreat to a ridge on the Brussels road, just south of the small town of Waterloo. Two days later, on 18 June, the Battle of Waterloo was fought.

    This was the first time Wellington had encountered Napoleon and he commanded an Anglo-German-Dutch army which consisted of only 25,000 troops trained to British standards—the rest were poorly trained soldiers taken from Dutch and Nassau forces, some of whom had fought for Napoleon before. Many of the best British troops had been sent to America, to fight in the War of 1812.

    Much historical discussion has been made about Napoleon's decision to send 33,000 troops under Marshal Grouchy to intercept the Prussians, but—having defeated Blücher at Ligny on 16 June and forced the Allies to retreat in divergent directions—Napoleon may have been strategically astute in a judgement that he would have been unable to beat the combined Allied forces on one battlefield.[citation needed] Wellington's comparable strategic gamble was to leave 17,000 troops and artillery at Hal, north-west of the Mont Saint Jean. The potential benefits of this decision were not only protection against Napoleon's attempt to turn his right flank, but to provide Wellington with a reserve with which to fight again the following day, should the action on 18 June prove inconclusive.

    Napoleon's tactics have been criticised as lacking in the brilliance he exhibited earlier in his career. Given the forces arrayed against him including the Russians and Austrians mobilised in the east, the choices which confronted him, and his responses to them, were brutally clear.[citation needed] After he had defeated the Prussians at Ligny on 16 June, and compelled Wellington's forces to retreat, Napoleon's aim was to keep the Prussians and the Allies from combining in the same battle, if he was to have any chance of victory and the possibility of a peace with Austria and Russia.

    Napoleon could not attack Wellington's right flank, partly because of the rearguard stationed at Hal, and ultimately because his wish was to divide Wellington and Blücher rather than drive them together. His plan was to pin Wellington's right with overwhelming cannon fire and an attack on Hougoumont, to draw reinforcements away from Wellington's centre-left position, then shatter this position with an all-out infantry assault in the column formation. This tactic had been successful with other opponents earlier in Napoleon's career.

    But Hougoumont held out, only modestly reinforced by Wellington, and the infantry attack by the French was destroyed by Allied cavalry, in badly controlled charges which resulted in many losses to the Allies and Napoleon's Polish lancers. Napoleon's only option left was an all-out assault on the Allied centre, leaving no effective force to hold off the Prussians. Wellington's reorganisation of his line was taken as the prelude to retreat, and waves of French cavalry attacked the Allies, which drove them into scattered defensive groupings ('squares'). At this point, a combined attack by French infantry and artillery, firing point-blank into the squares, would probably have caused devastation amongst the allied forces.[citation needed]

    Napoleon is deemed to have been inferior as tactician to his skills as a strategist according to historians - coordination of the various branches of the French army at Waterloo was haphazard throughout, and at this moment decisively lacking. The squares held out, the spaces between them protected by remnants of the Allied cavalry, and gradually the French cavalry assault, obliged to charge uphill through muddy terrain criss-crossed by sunken roads, petered out. The Prussians had begun driving in Napoleon's outposts, and it was now clear that the Prussians had fought their way through to the battlefield.

    Napoleon made a last attempt to smash Wellington's centre before his two enemies could achieve any kind of linkage. At about six in the evening, the farmhouse of La Haye Sainte, lynch-pin of the Allied front, was finally taken. Wellington redrew the remnants of his front and prepared for the final assault; he did not know the dark uniforms visible in the distance were the forces of Blücher rather than those of Grouchy. Napoleon sent forward the Imperial Guard, held in reserve to provide the decisive blow, and it branched out in a two-pronged attack to finish off what Napoleon believed to be an Allied army on the point of annihilation. But Wellington had prepared, in effect, a large-scale ambush for the possibly over-confident Guard; they ran into surprise counter-attacks and crossfire from British infantry, hidden behind slopes or in what was left of the crops on the battlefield. Unprepared, and perhaps demoralised, the Guard faltered, retreated and triggered a French panic.

    Wellington ordered an advance of the Allied line just as the Prussians were overrunning the French positions to the east, and what remained of the French army abandoned the field in disorder. Wellington and Blücher met at the inn of La Belle Alliance, on the north–south road which bisected the battlefield, and it was agreed that the relatively rested Prussians should pursue the retreating French army back to France.

    On 22 June, the French Emperor abdicated again, and was transported by the British to Saint Helena, an island in the Atlantic. Waterloo marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars and was canonised within a generation as one of "The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World".

    Wellington's army had held off the French attacks for several hours before Blücher's arrival, but there is still debate about whether the Allied victory would have been so crushing had it not been for the arrival of the Prussian Army. A third of Napoleon's army, under Marshal Grouchy, were engaged against the Prussians at Wavre some miles to the east. Considering these factors, and the fact that about a third of Wellington's army were German, one German historian in the 1990s went so far as to describe Waterloo as a "German Victory".

    Many later attempts, some of them made to Wellington in person, also suggested that, by his own standards, Waterloo had been chaotic. But Wellington always maintained that his strategy had been clear from the beginning. He wanted to hold his position against everything Napoleon could bring against it, and to counter-attack the positions of the French at the right time, with the aim of ending the battle, a plan which he had achieved. He had only agreed to make a stand at Mont Saint Jean on condition the Prussians would march west to link up with him, and he only received information late in the day that the Prussians were in fact making inroads on the French right.

    Statesman

    The Duke of Wellington in later life

    Wellington entered politics again in 1819, when he was appointed Master-General of the Ordnance in the Tory government of Lord Liverpool. In 1827, he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the British Army.

    Prime Minister

    Main article: Tory Government 1828-1830

    Along with Robert Peel, Wellington became an increasingly influential member of the Tory party, and in 1828 he became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

    During his first seven months as Prime Minister he chose not to live in the official residence at 10 Downing Street, finding it too small. He moved in only because his own home, Apsley House, required extensive renovations. During this time he was largely instrumental in the foundation of King's College London.[70]

    As Prime Minister, Wellington was conservative, fearing the anarchy of the French Revolution would spread to England. The highlight of his term was Catholic Emancipation; the granting of almost full civil rights to Catholics in the UK. The change was forced by the landslide by-election win of Daniel O'Connell, an Irish Catholic proponent of emancipation, who was elected despite not being legally allowed to sit in Parliament. The Earl of Winchilsea accused the Duke of having "treacherously plotted the destruction of the Protestant constitution". Wellington responded by immediately challenging Winchilsea to a duel. On 21 March 1829, Wellington and Winchilsea met on Battersea fields. When it came time to fire, the Duke took aim and Winchilsea kept his arm down. The Duke fired wide to the right. Accounts differ as to whether he missed on purpose; Wellington, noted for his poor aim, claimed he did, other reports more sympathetic to Winchilsea claimed he had aimed to kill. Winchilsea did not fire, a plan he and his second almost certainly decided upon before the duel.[71] Honour was saved and Winchilsea wrote Wellington an apology.[72] In the House of Lords, facing stiff opposition, Wellington spoke for Catholic emancipation, giving one of the best speeches of his career.[73] He had grown up in Ireland, and later governed it, so had some understanding of the grievances of the Catholic communities there. The Catholic Relief Act 1829 was passed with a majority of 105. Many Tories voted against the Act, and it passed only with the help of the Whigs.

    The epithet "Iron Duke" originates from his period as Prime Minister, when he experienced an extremely high degree of personal and political unpopularity. His residence at Apsley House was a target of window-smashers and iron shutters were installed to mitigate the damage. It was this, rather than his resolute attitude, that earned him the nickname "The Iron Duke".

    Wellington's government fell in 1830. In the summer and autumn of that year, a wave of riots, the Swing Riots, swept the country. The Whigs had been out of power for most years since the 1770s, and saw political reform in response to the unrest as the key to their return. Wellington stuck to the Tory policy of no reform and no expansion of suffrage, and as a result lost a vote of no confidence on 15 November 1830. He was replaced as Prime Minister by Earl Grey.

    Wellington and the Reform Act

    Main article: Reform Act 1832

    The Whigs introduced the first Reform Bill whilst Wellington and the Tories worked to prevent its passage. The bill passed in the British House of Commons, but was defeated in the House of Lords. An election followed in direct response, and the Whigs were returned with an even larger majority. A second Reform Act was introduced, and defeated in the same way, and another wave of near insurrection swept the country. During this time, Wellington was greeted by a hostile reaction from the crowds at the opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. The Whig Government fell in 1832 and Wellington was unable to form a Tory Government partly because of a run on the Bank of England. This left King William IV no choice but to restore Earl Grey to the premiership. Eventually the bill passed the House of Lords after the King threatened to fill that House with newly created Whig peers if it were not. Wellington was never reconciled to the change; when Parliament first met after the first election under the widened franchise, Wellington is reported to have said "I never saw so many shocking bad hats in my life."

    Caretaker Prime Minister and Member of Peel's Cabinet

    Main articles: Conservative Provisional Government 1834 and Conservative Government 1834-1835

    Wellington was gradually superseded as leader of the Tories by Robert Peel, whilst the party evolved into the Conservatives. When the Tories were returned to power in 1834, Wellington declined to become Prime Minister and Peel was selected instead. However, Peel was in Italy at that time and for three weeks in November and December 1834, Wellington acted as interim leader, taking the responsibilities of Prime Minister and most of the other ministries. In Peel's first cabinet (1834–1835), Wellington became Foreign Secretary, while in the second (1841–1846) he was a Minister without Portfolio and Leader of the House of Lords.

    Retirement and death

    The Duke's funeral procession passing through Trafalgar Square.

    Wellington retired from political life in 1846, although he remained Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, and returned briefly to the spotlight in 1848 when he helped organise a military force to protect London during that year of European revolution. The Conservative Party had split over the Repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846, with Wellington and most of the former Cabinet still supporting Robert Peel, but most of the MPs supporting the new leader Lord Derby. Early in 1852 Wellington gave Derby's first government its nickname by shouting "Who? Who?" as the list of inexperienced Cabinet Ministers was read out in the House of Lords.

    Wellington died later in 1852 at Walmer Castle aged 83 (his honorary residence as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, which he enjoyed and at which he hosted Queen Victoria). Although in life he hated travelling by rail, his body was then taken by train to London, where he was given a state funeral – one of only a handful of British subjects to be honoured in that way (other examples are Lord Nelson and Winston Churchill) – and the last heraldic state funeral to be held in Britain. At his funeral there was hardly any space to stand because of the number of people attending, and the effusive praise given him in Tennyson's "Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington" attests to his stature at the time of his death. He was buried in a sarcophagus of luxulyanite in St Paul's Cathedral next to Lord Nelson.

    Personality

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    Traits

    As an adult, Wellington was a tireless worker.[citation needed] He rose early – he "couldn't bear to lie in" once awake – and usually slept for six hours or less. Even when he returned to civilian life after 1815, he slept in a camp bed, reflecting his lack of regard for creature comforts. General Miguel de Álava complained that Wellington said so often that the army would march "at daybreak" and dine on "cold meat", that he began to dread those two phrases. While on campaign, he seldom ate anything between breakfast and dinner. During the retreat to Portugal in 1811, he subsisted, to the despair of his staff who dined with him, on "cold meat and bread".[citation needed] He was however renowned for the quality of the wine he drank and served, often drinking a bottle with his dinner – not a great quantity by the standards of his day.

    He took up high-technology and mechanical innovations and was one of the first British soldiers to employ shrapnel shells and congreve rockets; he was disappointed with the latter, as they were wildly inaccurate. He employed a full time officer to decrypt intercepted French messages. Conversely, although well organised, his supply trains comprised pack mules and ox carts with ungreased axles, plus cargo boats, if rivers could be used.

    He rarely showed emotion in public, and often appeared condescending to those less competent or less well-born than himself (which was nearly everyone). However, Álava was a witness to an incident just before the Battle of Salamanca. Wellington was eating a chicken leg while observing the manoeuvres of the French army though a spyglass. He spotted an overextension in the French left flank, and realised he could launch a successful attack there. He threw the drumstick in the air and shouted "Les français sont perdus!" ("The French are lost!"). Another time, after the Battle of Toulouse, when an aide brought him the news of Napoleon's abdication, he broke into an impromptu flamenco dance, spinning around on his heels and clicking his fingers.[74]

    Despite his famous stern countenance and iron-handed discipline, Wellesley cared for his men; he refused to pursue the French after the battles of Porto and Salamanca, because of the inevitable cost to his army in pursuing a broken enemy through rough terrain. The only time he ever showed grief in public was over the lives of his men: after the disastrously costly storming of Badajoz, he cried at the sight of British dead in the breaches. In this context, his famous dispatch after the Battle of Vitoria calling them the 'scum of the earth' can be seen to be fuelled as much by disappointment at their breaking ranks as by anger.

    As a soldier

    Wellington has often been portrayed as a defensive general, even though many, perhaps most, of his battles were offensive (Argaum, Assaye, Oporto, Salamanca, Vitoria, Toulouse). But for most of the Peninsular War, where he earned his fame, his troops lacked either the numbers or the training for an attack. Also, the Iberian peninsula provided excellent defensive terrain and he was never slow to take advantage of it.

    Much of Wellesley's tactics were dictated by politics, supply, or finance. Being merely a general in the field, he had to deal with the vagaries of an unstable government at home, the Portuguese government, various Spanish Juntas, guerrilleros, and warlords. Also, the problem of supply in the barren peninsula was a dire one. The French did not bother to deal with it, and simply looted whatever supplies they needed. Wellesley, needing the goodwill of the populace, was required to bring in his supplies from elsewhere (especially wheat from America) and transport them to his troops in the field. This supply line was his ever-present Achilles' heel, and often he was forced to either retreat or assume a defensive position when his line of supply was threatened.

    In his defensive battles, he showed an understanding of defensive tactics almost unmatched. He, almost alone of the Napoleonic commanders, realised the use of a reverse slope in a defensive battle, and made use of one whenever he could, to conceal his numbers and protect his men from artillery. Still, he rarely missed an opportunity to counter-attack, and many French columns found themselves cut up by musket volleys, then attacked with bayonets.

    Wellesley could be very aggressive. His river crossing at Oporto was a breathtaking gamble; and only the mistake of a subordinate officer allowed any of Soult's army to escape. On the attack also, he showed a clear understanding of tactics and terrain: at the Battle of Vitoria, he led a massive, well-coordinated attack in four columns from three directions, almost destroying the French army, forcing them to abandon all their baggage and supplies and all but one of their 138 guns.

    Still, he had to be very cautious. Besieged at the Lines of Torres Vedras, when Masséna's army was threatening Lisbon, Wellesley often stood on a parapet, surveying the French army with a telescope, muttering: "I could whip them, but it would take 10,000 men, and as this is the only army England has, it behoves me to take care of it."[cite this quote]

    The total number of French troops in Spain always heavily outnumbered the available number of British and Portuguese, although most French soldiers were used for garrisoning the rebellious population. However, it was always possible for the French command to abandon some region, as they did after Salamanca, in order to concentrate a larger army than the British; Wellington was therefore always cautious during his incursions into Spain, with the great exception of 1813.

    In the campaign leading up to the Battle of Vitoria, he was cut off from his supply line to Lisbon, so he re-established one on the north coast of Spain, throwing the French front-line troops back upon their reserves.

    All his sieges were successful, with the exception of the Siege of Burgos, probably his worst defeat. Most of his sieges were in India, against Indian armies of worse training, arms, and morale than the French; he may have been overconfident at Burgos. Wellington had to retake the frontier fortresses (like Almeida) several times, because the French were equally successful in capturing them from the Allied garrisons. Also, he did not have the time for lengthy, Vauban-style sieges, because the French would have been able to gather up relieving forces. Hence, his brief and bloody, though successful, assaults on Ciudad Rodrigo and on Badajoz.

    He disliked his cavalry commanders. He wrote a famous letter on 18 July 1812, accusing the cavalry of being unable to manoeuvre except on Wimbledon Common, and of always charging in a body, instead of forming in two lines – one to charge and one as a reserve. Of course, until 1815, he was denied the talents of the brilliant Henry Paget because of the family feud between them.

    He acted as his own head of intelligence, and closely supervised both the supplying and the payment of his troops.

    Much of his energy was diverted to political aims: shoring up his support in the British and Spanish governments, lobbying for his choice of officers, and cultivating the cooperation of the Portuguese and Spanish populations. While the French army alienated the latter by seizing their food and shooting anyone who resisted them, Wellington imported most of his food from abroad, paid cash for what he needed locally, and exercised strict discipline over his troops, regularly hanging men for looting, rape, murder, or desecration of religious sites. The locals repaid him with obedience, enlistment and information on French movements. In particular, the guerrilleros (partisans) operated in fairly close cooperation with British troops against the French, especially in their attacks on French couriers, and the passing of the captured French dispatches to Wellington.

    Legacy and contemporaries

    Wiki letter w.svg This section requires expansion.
    A bronze statue of Wellington by Carlo Marochetti in Woodhouse Moor, Leeds

    As a general, Wellington is often compared to the 1st Duke of Marlborough, with whom he shared many characteristics, chiefly a transition to politics after a highly successful military career.

    In September 1805, the then Major-General Wellesley, newly returned from his campaigns in India and not yet particularly well-known to the public, reported to the office of the Secretary for War to request a new assignment. In the waiting room, he met Vice-Admiral Horatio Nelson, already a legendary figure after his victories at the Nile and Copenhagen, and who was briefly in England after months chasing the French Toulon fleet to the West Indies and back. Nelson began a conversation which Wellesley found "almost all on his side in a style so vain and silly as to surprise and almost disgust me". Nelson left the room to inquire who the young general was, and on his return switched to a very different tone, discussing the war and British policies as between equals.[75] This was the only time that the two men met; Nelson was killed at his great victory at Trafalgar just seven weeks later.[76] Some 30 years later, Wellington recalled the conversation and claimed "I don't know that I ever had a conversation that interested me more." [77]

    Arms, titles, honours and styles

    Wellington's coat of arms
    Main article: Arms, titles, honours and styles of Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington

    Wellington received numerous awards and honours during and after his lifetime. These include a wide range of titles as well as buildings in his name, such as Wellington's Column, and the Wellington Monument in his native Dublin. Two of his former homes are now open to the public, including Apsley House in London and Stratfield Saye House. His name has also been applied to numerous buildings and places, including Wellington, the capital of New Zealand and HMS Iron Duke, a First World War battleship. In addition he is the only person to have had the honour of having not one but two Royal Air Force bombers named for him - the Vickers Wellesley and the Vickers Wellington, and at a time when the convention was for British bombers to be named after landlocked cities.

    A number of monuments have been erected to Wellington's name around Great Britain and Ireland:

    Wellington's tomb is in the crypt of St Paul's Cathedral, near that of Sir Christopher Wren. The casket is decorated with banners which were made for his funeral procession. Originally, there was one for Prussia, which was removed during World War I and never reinstated.[78]

    From 1971 until 1990, the Duke of Wellington's picture featured on the reverse of Series D £5 banknotes issued by the Bank of England, along with a scene from the Battle of Waterloo.[79]

    Nicknames

    He gave his name to "Wellington boots" and had several nicknames.

    • The "Iron Duke", possibly after an incident in 1830 in which he installed metal shutters to prevent rioters breaking windows at Apsley House
    • Officers under his command called him "The Beau", as he was a fine dresser, or "The Peer" after he was made a Viscount.
    • Regular soldiers under his command called him "Old Nosey" or "Old Hookey", on account of his prominent, aquiline nose.
    • Spanish and Portuguese troops called him "the Eagle" and "Douro" respectively.
    • "The Beef", a reference to the famous Beef Wellington dish. It is also his nickname in the board game, Risk.
    • "our Atty", short for Arthur, he was called thus at Waterloo by his Peninsular veterans

    In fiction

    • Wellington is a minor character in Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, in which he is aided in the Peninsular War by the magician Jonathan Strange. The latter provides him a magical road for the soldiers to walk on, changes the topography of Spain to benefit the British army, and plagues the French army with illusions, among other things. He may also have cast a protective charm over Wellington, who suffered no wounds in twenty years of battle.
    • Wellington is one of the two main protagonists of Simon Scarrow's Revolutionary Quartet books, the other being Napoleon. The books explore Wellington on the battlefield and also his personal life.
    • Wellington is a minor character in Georgette Heyer's novel The Spanish Bride, based on the Peninsular Wars. The novel uses Duke of Wellington's correspondence and his known remarks substantially to recreate his character as close-to-real-life as possible.
    • Wellington is mentioned numerous times throughout the "Horatio Hornblower" series of books by C. S. Forester. He is the brother of the famous (and fictional) "Lady Barbara" and becomes brother in law to Hornblower when the latter marries Barbara.
    • The Duke of Wellington is mentioned in Which Witch? by Eva Ibbotson, where it is suggested that he had a tail and that a special hole was made in his saddle when he rode to Waterloo.[81]

    References

    1. ^ Longford E., Wellington: The Years of The Sword Harper and Row Publishers, 1969; p.7
    2. ^ Journal of the Kildare Archaeological Society, Vol. X, No. 1, p. 90–94.
    3. ^ Dictionary of National Biography, vol. 60; p. 170
    4. ^ though April 29 is quoted as most likely by Sir Leslie Stephen & Sir Sidney Lee (eds.), Dictionary of National Biography
    5. ^ Guedalla, The Duke, p.480. His baptismal font was donated to St. Nahi's Church in Dundrum, Dublin, in 1914.
    6. ^ Holmes, p. 7.
    7. ^ Holmes, p. 6–7.
    8. ^ a b Holmes, p. 8.
    9. ^ a b Holmes, p. 9.
    10. ^ Holmes, p. 19–20.
    11. ^ a b Holmes, p. 20.
    12. ^ a b c Holmes, p. 21.
    13. ^ a b Holmes, p. 22.
    14. ^ Holmes, p. 23.
    15. ^ a b c Holmes, p. 24.
    16. ^ a b Holmes, p. 25.
    17. ^ Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, 10 Downing Street, Accessed 16-06-08.
    18. ^ Holmes, p. 26.
    19. ^ Holmes, p. 27.
    20. ^ a b Holmes, p. 28.
    21. ^ a b Holmes, p. 30.
    22. ^ Holmes, p. 31.
    23. ^ a b Holmes, p. 32.
    24. ^ a b c Holmes, p. 33.
    25. ^ Holmes, p. 34.
    26. ^ Holmes, p. 40.
    27. ^ a b Holmes, p. 41.
    28. ^ Holmes, p. 42.
    29. ^ a b Holmes, p. 49.
    30. ^ Holmes, p. 44.
    31. ^ Longford E. 1969; p.54. Wellington's first signature as Arthur Wellesley was on a letter dated 19 May 1798.
    32. ^ Holmes, p. 47.
    33. ^ Holmes, p. 51.
    34. ^ a b Holmes, p. 53.
    35. ^ a b c d e Holmes, p. 56 - 58.
    36. ^ The Battle of Seringapatam: Chronology, Macquarie University, Accessed 17-06-08.
    37. ^ a b c Holmes, p. 59 - 60.
    38. ^ Holmes, p. 62.
    39. ^ Holmes, p. 63.
    40. ^ Holmes, p. 64–65.
    41. ^ Holmes, p. 65.
    42. ^ Holmes, p. 67.
    43. ^ a b c Holmes, p. 69.
    44. ^ a b Holmes, p. 73.
    45. ^ Holmes, p. 74.
    46. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Holmes, p. 75 - 81.
    47. ^ Longford, p. 93 .
    48. ^ a b Holmes, p. 82.
    49. ^ Holmes, p. 83.
    50. ^ a b c d Holmes, p. 85 - 87.
    51. ^ a b c Holmes, p. 84.
    52. ^ Holmes, p. 85.
    53. ^ (Roberts 2001, p.xxiii)
    54. ^ Holmes, p. 96.
    55. ^ a b c d e Neillands, p. 38.
    56. ^ a b c Neillands, p. 39.
    57. ^ Holmes, p. 102–103.
    58. ^ Holmes, p. 124.
    59. ^ Longford, Elizabeth, Wellington, Abacus, 2002, p. 117
    60. ^ Griffiths, Major Arthur, The Wellington Memorial: Wellington, His Comrades and Contemporaries, Ballantyne, Hanson & Co., 1897, chapters IV and 211, available at Internet Archive accessed 4 November 2009
    61. ^ Holmes, p. 142.
    62. ^ Holmes, p. 162.
    63. ^ Holmes, p. 168.
    64. ^ Holmes, p. 189.
    65. ^ Wellington to Bathurst, dispatches, p. 496.
    66. ^ Sadaba, Javier; Sadaba, Asier (1995). Historia de San Sebastián. Editorial Txertoa. p. 73. ISBN 84-7148.  Book in Spanish
    67. ^ "Bernard Cornwell - Britain's Storyteller". HarperCollins Publishers. http://www.bernardcornwell.net/index2.cfm?page=3&BookId=40. Retrieved 2009-10-13. 
    68. ^ Napoleon and His Marshals. London: PRION, 1996 (originally Macmillan and Co., 1934), p. 185.
    69. ^ Barbero, Alessandro. The Battle : A New History Of Waterloo. St Martins Pr. pp. 2. ISBN 0-8027-1453-6. 
    70. ^ The Duke of Wellington and King's College London, King's College London, Accessed 08-06-08.
    71. ^ "The Duel: Wellington versus Winchilsea". King's College London. 2004. http://www.kcl.ac.uk/depsta/iss/archives/wellington/duel10.htm. Retrieved 2008-09-04. 
    72. ^ Holmes, p. 275.
    73. ^ "Web of English History". http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/terrace/adw03/polspeech/catholic.htm. 
    74. ^ Glover, p. 334.
    75. ^ http://www.abc.net.au/rn/science/ockham/stories/s1481479.htm
    76. ^ Professor Richard Holmes Wellington - the Iron Duke
    77. ^ Andrew Lambert Nelson - Britannia's God of War - p. 283
    78. ^ "Wellington's Tomb". St Paul's Cathedral. http://www.stpauls.co.uk/page.aspx?theLang=001lngdef&pointerID=23158U6K6iuafSNehqCL1qduCuzYGTGQ#wrenstomb. Retrieved 2008-10-20. 
    79. ^ "Withdrawn banknotes reference guide". Bank of England. http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/denom_guide/nonflash/5-SeriesD.htm. Retrieved 2008-10-17. 
    80. ^ for example in the "Willingdone Museyroom" vignette, pp. 8-10
    81. ^ "Which Witch?" by Eva Ibbotson, page 13

    Sources

    Find more about Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington on Wikipedia's sister projects:

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    • Beatson, Alexander. A collection of the Duke’s letters. A View of the Origin and Conduct of the War with Tippoo Sultaun. Bulmer and Co., 1800.
    • Brett-James, ed. Wellington at War 1794–1815, New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1961.
    • Glover, Michael, The Peninsular War 1807 – 1814. London: Penguin Books, 2001 ISBN 0-141-39041-7 (first published 1974).
    • Guedalla, Phillip, The Duke. London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1931.
    • Hilbert, Charles. Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, time and conflicts in India on behalf of the British East India Company and the British crown. Military Heritage, August 2005, Volume 7, No. 1, pp. 34 to 41, ISSN 1524-8666.
    • Holmes, Richard. Wellington: The Iron Duke. London: Harper Collins Publishers, 2002 ISBN 0-00-713750-8.
    • Hutchinson, Lester. European Freebooters in Mogul India. New York: Asia Publishing House, 1964.
    • Longford, Elizabeth. Wellington: The Years of The Sword. New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1969.
    • Neillands, Robert. Wellington and Napoleon - Clash of Armies. Pen and Sword Publishing, 2004.
    • Mill, James. The History of British India. 6 vols. 5th ed. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1968.
    • Gurwood, John. The dispatches of Field Marshall the Duke of Wellington : during his various campaigns in India, Denmark, Portugal, Spain, the Low Countries, and France, from 1799 to 1818. Volume X. London: J. Murray, 1838. Retrieved on 14 November 2007.
    • Roberts, Andrew (2001). Napoleon and Wellington. Weidenfeld and Nicholson. 
    • Coates, Berwick. "Wellington's Charge". London: Robson (Publisher), 2002 ISBN 1861055161 LCCN2002489427
    • Ward, S. G. P. (1957). Wellington's Headquarters - A Study of the Administrative Problems in the Peninsula 1809-1814. Oxford University Press. 

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    Henry Goulburn
    Preceded by
    Thomas Spring Rice    		 Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
    (pro tempore)
    1834    		 Succeeded by
    The Earl of Aberdeen
    Preceded by
    The Viscount Palmerston    		 Foreign Secretary
    1834 – 1835    		 Succeeded by
    The Viscount Palmerston
    Preceded by
    The Viscount Melbourne    		 Leader of the House of Lords
    1834 – 1835    		 Succeeded by
    The Viscount Melbourne
    Leader of the House of Lords
    1841 – 1846    		 Succeeded by
    The Marquess of Lansdowne
    Parliament of Ireland
    Preceded by
    Hon. William Wellesley-Pole
    John Pomeroy    		 Member of Parliament for Trim
    1790 – 1797
    With: John Pomeroy 1790–1791
    Hon. Clotworthy Taylor 1791–1795
    Hon. Henry Wellesley 1795
    William Arthur Crosbie 1795–1797    		 Succeeded by
    Sir Chichester Fortescue
    William Arthur Crosbie
    Parliament of the United Kingdom
    Preceded by
    Thomas Davis Lamb
    Sir Charles Talbot    		 Member of Parliament for Rye
    1806
    With: Sir Charles Talbot    		 Succeeded by
    Patrick Crauford Bruce
    Michael Angelo Taylor
    Preceded by
    Samuel Boddington    		 Member of Parliament for Tralee
    May 1807 – July 1807    		 Succeeded by
    Evan Foulkes
    Preceded by
    Sir Christopher Hawkins
    Frederick William Trench    		 Member of Parliament for Mitchell
    1807
    With: Henry Conyngham Montgomery    		 Succeeded by
    Edward Leveson-Gower
    George Galway Mills
    Preceded by
    Isaac Corry
    Sir John Doyle    		 Member of Parliament for
    Newport (Isle of Wight)
    1807 – 1809
    With: The Viscount Palmerston    		 Succeeded by
    The Viscount Palmerston
    Sir Leonard Thomas Worsley-Holmes
    Party political offices
    First
    None recognised before
    		 Leader of the British Conservative Party
    1828 – 1834    		 Succeeded by
    Sir Robert Peel, Bt
    Conservative Leader in the Lords
    1828 – 1846    		 Succeeded by
    The Lord Stanley
    Diplomatic posts
    Vacant
    Title last held by
    The Lord Whitworth of Newport Pratt    		 British Ambassador to France
    1814 – 1815    		 Succeeded by
    Sir Charles Stuart
    Academic offices
    Preceded by
    Baron Grenville    		 Chancellor of the University of Oxford
    1834 – 1852    		 Succeeded by
    Earl of Derby
    Military offices
    Preceded by
    The Duke of Richmond    		 Governor of Plymouth
    1819 – 1827    		 Succeeded by
    The Earl Harcourt
    Preceded by
    HRH The Duke of York    		 Commander-in-Chief of the Forces
    1827 – 1828    		 Succeeded by
    The Lord Hill
    Preceded by
    The Viscount Hill    		 Commander-in-Chief of the Forces
    1842 – 1852    		 Succeeded by
    The Viscount Hardinge
    Honorary titles
    Preceded by
    The Earl of Malmesbury    		 Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire
    1820 – 1852    		 Succeeded by
    The Marquess of Winchester
    Preceded by
    The Marquess of Hastings    		 Constable of the Tower
    Lord Lieutenant of the Tower Hamlets
    1827 – 1852    		 Succeeded by
    The Viscount Combermere
    Preceded by
    The Earl of Liverpool    		 Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports
    1829 – 1852    		 Succeeded by
    The Marquess of Dalhousie
    Peerage of the United Kingdom
    New creation Duke of Wellington
    1814 – 1852    		 Succeeded by
    Arthur Richard Wellesley
    Dutch nobility
    Preceded by
    New Creation    		 Prins van Waterloo
    1815 – 1852    		 Succeeded by
    Arthur Richard Wellesley
    Spanish nobility
    Preceded by
    New Creation    		 Duque de Ciudad Rodrigo
    1812 – 1852    		 Succeeded by
    Arthur Richard Wellesley
    Portuguese nobility
    Preceded by
    New Creation    		 Duque da Vitória
    1812 – 1852    		 Succeeded by
    Arthur Richard Wellesley
    Preceded by
    New Creation    		 Marques do Douro
    1812 – 1852    		 Succeeded by
    Arthur Richard Wellesley
    v • d • e
    Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
    Family
    Battles and wars
    Homes and Honours
    v • d • e
    Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom
    Kingdom of Great Britain
    Her Majesty's Government Coat of Arms.svg
    United Kingdom
    v • d • e
    Conservative Party
    v • d • e
    Home Secretaries of the United Kingdom
    of Great Britain

    Shelburne · Sydney · North · Temple · Sydney · Grenville · Dundas · Portland
    Her Majesty's Government Coat of Arms.svg
    of the United Kingdom

    Pelham · Yorke · Hawkesbury · Spencer · Liverpool · Ryder · Sidmouth · Peel · Bourne · Lansdowne · Peel · Melbourne · Duncannon · Wellington · Goulburn · Russell · Normanby · Graham · Grey · Walpole · Palmerston · Grey · Walpole · Sotheron-Estcourt · Cornewall Lewis · Grey · Walpole · Hardy · Bruce · Lowe · Cross · Harcourt · Cross · Childers · Matthews · Asquith · Ridley · Ritchie · Akers-Douglas · Gladstone · Churchill · McKenna · Simon · Samuel · Cave · Shortt · Bridgeman · Henderson · Joynson-Hicks · Clynes · Samuel · Gilmour · Simon · Hoare · Anderson · Morrison · Somervell · Ede · Fyfe · Lloyd George · Butler · Brooke · Soskice · Jenkins · Callaghan · Maudling · Carr · Jenkins · Rees · Whitelaw · Brittan · Hurd · Waddington · Baker · Clarke · Howard · Straw · Blunkett · Clarke · Reid · Smith · Johnson
    v • d • e
    Foreign Secretaries of the United Kingdom
    Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs

    Fox · Grantham · Fox · Temple · Leeds · Grenville · Hawkesbury · Harrowby · Mulgrave · Fox · Howick · Canning · Bathurst · Wellesley · Castlereagh · Canning · Dudley · Aberdeen · Palmerston · Wellington · Palmerston · Aberdeen · Palmerston · Granville · Malmesbury · Russell · Clarendon · Malmesbury · Russell · Clarendon · Stanley · Clarendon · Granville · Derby · Salisbury · Granville · Salisbury · Rosebery · Iddesleigh · Salisbury · Rosebery · Kimberley · Salisbury · Lansdowne · Grey · Balfour · Curzon · MacDonald · Chamberlain · Henderson · Reading · Simon · Hoare · Eden · Halifax · Eden · Bevin · Morrison · Eden · Macmillan · Lloyd · Home · Butler · Gordon Walker · Stewart · Brown · Stewart
    Her Majesty's Government Coat of Arms.svg
    Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

    Stewart · Douglas-Home · Callaghan · Crosland · Owen · Carrington · Pym · Howe · Major · Hurd · Rifkind · Cook · Straw · Beckett · Miliband
    v • d • e
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