SECOND-IN-COMMAND AT WATERLOO

Press, Volume C, Issue 29554, 1 July 1961, Page 3

SECOND-IN-COMMAND AT WATERLOO

One-Let: The Life and Lettern of Henry William Paget, First Marquess of Anglesey. By the Mar-j qoew of Anclesey. Cape. 413 PP Index. The name Uxbridge would rot be very widely recognised nowadays; but to an older generation, brought up on euch works of innocent patriotism as Herbert Strang\ "Red Book of British Battles." it is perfectly famihar. Lord Uxbridge w as the Duke of Wellington’s second-in-command at the i Battle of Waterloo It was his misfortune tt be struck by grape shot on the right j knee during the closing; stages of the action. This gave rise to a popular! story. "Uxbridge exclaims. *By God. sir, I've lost my! leg.’ Wellington momentarily! removes the telescope from his eye. considers the mangled! limb, says ’By God, sir, so: you have.’ and resumes his examination of the field " There is so much truth in the old story that in fact the! shot passed above the neck of I Wellington’s charger before striking Uxbridge. The Duke supported the wounded man i and prevented his falling: from the saddle. Lord Uxbridge was a man i of great fortitude The amputation was performed on a kitchen table, and. according to a witness, “he never moved or complained; no-one I even held his hand He said: once perfectly calmly that he! thought toe instrument was' not very sharp. When it was over, his nerves did not ap-| pear toe least shaken and the! surgeons said his pulse was: not the least altered. He said, smiling. T have bad a pretty long run. I have been: a beau there 47 years and. it. would not be fair to cut the! young men out any longer." •nd then ariced u« if we did! not admire his vanitv. I have! seen many operations.’ the writer ccrrtimied. ‘but neither Lord Greenock nor myse'fi cou'd bear this, we were: obliged to go to the other! end of toe room.” The patient made a remarkable recovery from toe effects of his wound and of the mili- ' tary surgery of the day. Within three weeks of the > operation he was back in : I>ondon. where he was, ecstatically welcomed by toe! Prince Regent, who. protest-; ing “toot he loved him. that' he was his be«t officer and his' best subject.” at once pro-! cored him a s‘ep uoward in | the peerage. He now oecame, the first Marquess of Ancdereyj in toe peerage of toe United' Kingdom This was un-! doubtedly toe zenito of a career of some distinction.l Keverf+iete-w in spite of hisi exalted rank, he was known| emong toe fairly wide circle: of there who might have! occasion to speak of him as! “One-Leg;" hence toe title of] toe present volume, written i by his d’rect descendant. toe i seventh Marquess.

The first Marquess had had; many names in his time Her was bom plain Master Henry} WiHiam Bayiy with great, < expectations. The first change ' occurred when the Paget, 1 barony came into the family' through his mother's line.) 1 Mr and Mrs Bayiy became the opulent Lord and Lady': Paget Henry Bayly's name, 1 was changed to Henry Paget., 1 Then. in 1784. the Earldom 1 ; of Uxbridge was revived fori: Lord Paget, and it was top this title that Henry Paget |] himself succeeded three years / before Waterloo. Paget’s childhood and:, youth, as described in this, | biography, follow the pattern; that might be expected He' attended Westminster School; and duly proceeded to Christ! Church. Oxford. After eight-: een months had passed, he 1 withdrew from the university, ' but not before he had been! "created" M.A., which was' the usual delicate compliment' paid in those days to men i of noble rank. The grand ]' tour followed, regulated by an: old French gentleman with] chronic gout. As he ex-i pected his young charge to! keep him company, the tour; was often rather dull, and!, Paget sighed to be back in England. However, he did learn to speak French withl tolerable accuracy and made' the acquaintance of many of, the first people in Europe at , that time. ' Back in London he followed the life of a man of fashion, with all that this | implied. He was something of a dandy, and the scandalmongers persistently linked j his name with that of the widowed Duchess of Rutland. ; who was. however, much : older than he. Horace Walpole wrote in 1791 to Miss Berry: ’’The town talk of a marriage between the Duchess of Rutland and Lord Paget." In 1795, after a spell of military service in Holland. he married Lady Caroi line Villiers, “who was 21 at the time of her marriage, and a girl of simple, dream-like beauty.” Paget’s military reputation was established early in the Peninsular War. He proved ' himself a dashing cavalry , commander. His view was that a cavalry general should ] "inspire his men as soon as ! possible with the most per- ' feet confidence in his personal gallantry. Let him but lead. , they are sure to follow, and!, I believe hardly anything will stop them.” The author suggests that it was sentiments of this kind that made Wellington distrust Paget. Wellington believed that cavalry should be retained until the moment W’hen their onset would be finally decisive. "Your men and horses." he said. *%hotild not be usdH up in w-ild and useless charges.” Nevertheless a series of ' splendid rearguard actions covering Sir John Moore’s ' retreat on Corunna showed - quite clearly that Paget was , prepared to practise what he I preached. As his brother, I Edward, wrote, “The cavalry have been performing really prodigies of valour, and Paget always at the head, and in the thick of everything that is going on. He is. in this respect quite a boy. and a 'cornet instead of a lieutgeneral of cavalry.” Less creditably Paget was j involved at this time in a resounding scandal, for which he must bear most of the blame. He and Lady Char- ■ lotte Wellesley, a sister-in-ilaw of Sir Arthur Wellesley | (as he then wash had em- ; barked on a passionate loveaffair. Early in March 1809 Lady Charlotte left her husband and went off to Devonshire with Paget. Lady , Paget, deserted by her husband. was at first in a pitiable state, but she proved not to be inconsolable. When all the excitement was over and 'the double divorce completed, she immediately married the ' Duke of Argyll, in Whom she | had long had an interest. By the end of 1810 Lady Chari lotte and Paget had also regularised their position. : Naturally the affair did not endear Paget to his future i commander-in -chief. After Waterloo Paget's military career was at an end. He thought of the post of i Master General of the Ord- ' nance, but at first found the ' way to this office closed, i Accordingly he began to take ' a greater interest in politics, and in 1828, during Wellingj ton's administration, he became Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. As he said to the King at Windsor. “Sir. I will not be considered either Protestant or Catholick; ’ I go to

reland determined to act npartially between them and without the least bias either ne way or the other." However, he was soon to nd that the passions roused y the Catholic Emancipalon debate did not favour enevnlent neutrality. Welngton was not long in writig to a private corresponent, “Lord Anglesey is gone tad. He is bit by a mad 'apist: or instigated by the we of popularity.” In fact ord Anglesey, as Paget hould now be called, apeared to show considerable ympathy with the Irish ause. and at the end of 1828 is term of office ended. He /as again to serve as Lord Jeutenant two years later, nder Grey this time, when he great questions facing the dministration were Reform nd the Irish Church. On oth these matters Anglesey ad advanced ideas. "I would ot hesitate.” he told Grey, to make peers to any exent. and I would boldly vow my motive. I would say, Phis is done to carry the Rearm Bill.’ ” As for Irish dorestic affairs, it was obvious hat his feeling for the peasntry was deep and sincere. But at the age of 66. he was howing some anxiety about lis health, and found it ecessary to follow a homepathic regime on the Coninent, He gained great bene;t from this; but other roubles, not connected with ds health, began to plague Jun. His two elder sons were xtravagant. Indeed, it would >e scarcely too much to say hat the conduct of the second son, William, poisoned he latter years of his father's ife. He was. however, fortunate n his marriage; for ties of he closest sympathy always ini-ted him with Lady Angesey. His natural kindliness ■f manner made him a host ■f friends, at the head of rhom. surprisingly enough, ras the aged Duke of Welington. It is worth recording that ,ord Anglesey died in office, n 1846 Lord John Russell ailed him to his old post of Jaster-General of the Ordlance and the Queen made im a Field-Marshal. “I am a readful sufferer,” he said, but I keep going.” During hese last years he was much xercised by problems of oastal defence. He lived to ee the outbreak of war with tussia. He died on April 29. 854. being then just eighteen ays short of his 86th birthay.