John Graves Simcoe, 1752-1806 Read online

  On 20 May, John P. Bastard wrote to discuss the Duke of Kent’s appointment as Commander in Chief of the British Army in Canada, a position Bastard had hoped would go to his friend.3 A few days later Lord Clifford was writing about a forthcoming muster of the Kingsteighton and Chudleigh cavalry:

  I mean to give a little Fete to the Troop in the Old Camp on the King’s Birthday. Col. Slade lets me have his band. The Park will appear to great advantage but I fear you & Mrs. Simcoe will be too much occupied to honor us with your presence on the occasion.4

  He was correct, for the General was planning two reviews, one at Woodbury Common for the Devon troops, the other at Curry Moor for those of Somerset. Woodbury Common is a large area of beautiful high heath between Exmouth and Ottery St. Mary, commanding superb views of the Exe Estuary and the Sidmouth gap. At a high point is an Iron Age hill fort, a site used for military training before and since. The review, before Lord George Lennox, was spectacular — 139 artillery with horses, 734 cavalry and 2,748 infantry, including the Honiton Volunteers, who were special to Simcoe. The some 900 horses represented a lot of dung. A dispute arose between Lord Rolle, Simcoe and others over who was entitled to take the dung away — one of many disputes between Rolle and Simcoe that would in time lead the former to challenge the latter to a duel. Simcoe declined; common sense prevailed.5

  Curry Moor is situated on the Somerset Levels, an area of low-lying land long ago reclaimed from the sea — a very distinct and fascinating landscape. The review, before the commander of the “Western District” Lieutenant General Richard Grenville, was successful. Grenville wrote a letter of appreciation on 26 June:

  I am anxious to take the first opportunity of impressing to the Commissioned and NonCommissioned Officers and Privates of the different Volunteer Corps of cavalry and Infantry belonging to the County of Somerset, who passed before me in Review on Curry Moor this morning, the great satisfaction I derived from every part of their conduct.6

  Simcoe duly passed on Grenville’s praise to the troops and received similar comments from Lennox. The good impression was the result of Simcoe’s enthusiasm and professionalism. One of his right hand men at this time was Henry Darling, whom he had known at Fort Niagara, now serving as his brigade major. Simcoe next moved his headquarters to Plymouth. Both Lennox and Grenville were taking leaves of absence. On 28 November 1799, the Exeter Flying Post reported: “Major-General John Graves Simcoe, to be Commandant of the Garrison at Plymouth, in the absence of the Governor and of Lieutenant-General Grenville.”

  Despite the worry over a French invasion, Simcoe had petty matters to distract him. Lord Rolle, as Colonel of the South Devon Militia, was acting illegally in staying at his home in Bicton, rather than at headquarters in Exeter. Rolle’s Lieutenant Colonel Elford brought this to Simcoe’s attention. Rolle incidentally had rubbed many people the wrong way. When he raised the matter with Rolle, the colonel suggested buying a house in Exeter. The dispute dragged on until Simcoe decided that Rolle could sleep at Bicton. Lord Fortescue, who slept at his home, Castle Hill, north Devon, and John Bastard, who often slept at Kitley, had established a precedent.7

  At Plymouth, Simcoe’s time was heavily committed to paper work—inspection returns from the region, requisitions, troop movements and myriad others. He must have kept a diary during the American Revolution, on which his Journal was based, but scraps of paper in his handwriting deal with day-to-day military matters. Elizabeth was with him in Plymouth following the death of baby John, and she was expecting their ninth child. The new arrival was a boy, born at Plymouth on 28 February 1800.8 They named him after Henry Addington, the then Speaker of the House of Commons and a childhood friend of Prime Minister Pitt. Owing to pressure of work in Plymouth, Henry Addington Simcoe was not baptized at Dunkeswell until 2 June 1801.

  Before the birth of Henry, General Simcoe had been approached by Sir Charles Stuart to join him on a military expedition to the Mediterranean, as second in command of a force of 15,000 men. Simcoe declined because he did not want to leave Elizabeth until after her confinement. When Lord Grenville (William Wyndham Grenville) of Pitt’s inner circle renewed the offer, Simcoe consented, but by then the Duke of York had appointed Sir Henry Paget as Stuart’s second in command. Stuart persuaded the Duke to appoint Simcoe to be Paget’s superior. An enthusiastic Simcoe went to London to prepare, but at the last minute the expedition was called off. On 30 April, Simcoe wrote to Francis, now nearly nine years old:

  My dear Son,

  The expedition on which I was going has been laid aside, to my great Mortification as an English gentleman & an English statesman, but to my great satisfaction as the Father of Francis Simcoe, whom I shall hope to find a very good boy on my return to my command in Devonshire, which will be shortly.9

  He now had enough free time to increase his holdings. He acquired Pitpark at Budleigh Salterton, other small parcels nearby, and Windsor Farm in the parish of Luppitt, close to Wolford Lodge. John Scadding was the tenant of the farm.10 Defense preparations, however, continued, especially a buildup of Volunteer troops. The lord lieutenant accepted a new corps of Infantry for the Hundred of Hemyock, which included Dunkeswell.

  By August, Elizabeth and their older daughters were at Whitchurch, called there because of the final illness of Mrs. Elizabeth Gwillim. Elizabeth’s aunt breathed her last on the 6th, and was laid to rest in the family plot in St. Dubricius churchyard. Elizabeth would miss the knowing letters from this aunt, as sensible as Aunt Margaret Graves was sometimes silly.

  In September, authorities were worried about signs of civil unrest in the West of England, even more than the threat from across the English Channel. Unrest resulted from poor harvests in many parts of the country. Not large producers of grains, Devonians imported them from other counties whose farmers now had no surplus to sell. Prices were high and demands large in the greater Plymouth area, where the military, civilians, and the off-shore fleets all required provisioning. Prices of food rose causing hardship. A handbill displayed in the Shambles, Cullompton, threatened bloodshed similar to that in France:

  Now see the youke is taken of[f] from them now they have provision at so reasonable a price as any person could wish … their [sic] is nothing wanting in this Country only Courage & then we should be released of our burden.11

  Disturbances known as Bread Riots occurred at many centres, including Honiton. Grenville ordered Simcoe to send the 2nd Somersets to Bristol to help quell the disorders. On 1 January 1801, union with Ireland (without Catholic emancipation) came into effect, which added the Cross of St. Patrick to the flag. The same day, Under Secretary at War William Windham wrote to Simcoe:

  Sir,

  The King having been pleased to appoint you to serve on the Staff in Great Britain as a Lieutenant-General, with Aides de Camp, I am commanded to acquaint you, It is His Majesty’s Pleasure that you do obey such Orders as you shall receive from His Majesty, the Commander in Chief, or any other your Superior Officer,

  I have the honor to be …12

  The Simcoes were then celebrating the festive season with a grand house party. Under the General’s direction, family and guests staged a masquerade, which Caroline described in a letter to Mrs. Hunt who was then living in Exeter.13 Guests appeared as characters from Shakespeare. General Simcoe as Prospero introduced everyone. “Mrs.” Burges was “the drollest figure in the room” as a witch from Macbeth. Julia Somerville was Moth with enormous wings; Eliza, Thisbe, Charlotte, Pyramus; Harriet, Wall; Sophia, Moonshine; Francis, Lion. A band from Honiton played for dancing, and a “pedlar” distributed presents. In attendance were the children of James Coleridge, whom Caroline called “Captain” although he was a Militia Colonel. Elizabeth was a spectator; her tenth child was expected in the spring. House parties, with a pageant or masquerade, became a tradition as the children grew old enough to enjoy the play-acting. Simcoe wrote the scripts, usually in rhyme, on patriotic themes.

  In March 1801, Simcoe’s military career seemed about to ta
ke a turn for the better. Pitt resigned on the 14th over the rejection of Catholic emancipation, and Henry Addington became prime minister. On the 23rd, at Wolford Lodge, Elizabeth gave birth to her seventh daughter. They named her Katherine, after the sixth daughter who had been buried at York, Upper Canada.14

  On 10 January, Simcoe had replied to a letter from Henry Addington respecting Vice Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson:

  I rejoice that Lord Nelson is to be employed & am much indebted to you for any conversation with him in which my name was mentioned for I believe him (whatever may be his foibles) to be governed by a true heroic and English Spirit …15

  Perhaps Simcoe counted Lady Hamilton as one of Nelson’s foibles. He was now second in command of the Channel fleet; his superior was Earl St. Vincent Admiral Sir John Jervis. Nelson had joined his flagship, San Joseph, at Plymouth. There he discussed the Baltic problem with Simcoe. Nelson later wrote Henry Addington that he was very much impressed by the General.16

  Lieutenant General Grenville wrote on the 18th, that he had heard from the Duke of Kent that Simcoe would continue on the staff of the Western District. The command would pass to Simcoe “as the eldest [i.e. most senior] General on the Staff.”17

  Lord Clifford, writing on the 27th, congratulated Simcoe on being given the western command, and relayed a conversation he had had with Earl St. Vincent at Tor Abbey, one that he was not expected to pass on. St. Vincent raised the possibility of Simcoe taking a command in the Baltic. Clifford warned St. Vincent that Simcoe would decline it.18

  The situation in the Baltic was serious. Denmark, Sweden and Russia had placed an embargo on British ships. The Danes had occupied Hamburg to prevent Britain trading with north Germany. Operations would be necessary to prevent an alliance being formed between the league of northern nations and the French. Simcoe, Clifford, St. Vincent (about to become First Lord of the Admiralty) and Prime Minister Addington, had discussed the situation at length. A fleet should be sent. Simcoe, as usual, recommended an operation far more massive than even Addington, his friend, could contemplate. He wanted 25,000 infantry, 10,000 cavalry and 5,000 volunteer engineers.

  He recommended, as the first priority, “take absolute possession of Copenhagen … Cronenburg and the Island of Zealand” and the destruction of the arsenal at Copenhagen. The Danes should be persuaded that a British force was an army of deliverance, because they had been forced into the alliance with Sweden and Russia for fear of being overrun by those countries. The British must be “Strong as the times” and if the islanders of Zealand were not convinced by “persuasive tactics” Britain should annex the island and deport the inhabitants. Strong stuff indeed.19

  On 1 February Admiral Lord Nelson arrived in Tor Bay, on the San Joseph (he later transferred his flag to the St. George). He went ashore to meet with St. Vincent concerning the Baltic campaign. Nelson would be second in command of the fleet under Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, and His Lordship recommended embarking 10,000 troops. He thought Simcoe was the only general capable of leading such a venture.20

  As Lord Clifford had predicted, Simcoe was reluctant. To Addington on 1 February he wrote that while His Lordship wanted him to command the troops for the Danish-Swedish-Russian expedition, especially as “Sir C. Grey” had declined:

  I mentioned Stuart or Lord Moira, under whom I had rather Serve than Command, because in case of Command, really and truly, I should be at a loss for a second, should Government leave such a nomination to me, & therefore I should prefer the serving with either or both of those excellent Officers, who perfectly know that I would neither betray them, nor the Service of my King and Country.

  He concluded his letter with: “It was with Sir Hyde Parker as Admiral, that I recently formed my best hopes of the Conquest of San Domingo…21 Simcoe had informed Pitt and others that he wanted foreign service, yet he backed away from this opportunity. On 12 March, Parker and Nelson sailed with fifteen ships of the line, two fifty-gun ships, frigates, brigs and 1,000 troops. A month later the Danes agreed to an armistice, thus avoiding a confrontation with the Russians in the Baltic.

  Simcoe turned his attention to the home scene. Lord Rolle had “a rage for popularity” for he ordered his tenants to bring their grain to market at reduced prices, or risk non-renewal of their leases.22 Law and order was vital, especially in a time of riots that came to a head in March and April. The main authority was Lord Lieutenant Fortescue, assisted by a number of deputies, law officers, magistrates and the military, and to a lesser extent by high constables and parish constables.

  Simcoe inspected a large part of his command. On 10 March he sent a report to the adjutant general. Meanwhile, he wanted good maps for his officers to use. He had frequently produced his own operational and campaign maps. He had turned to Robert Clifford for assistance when he was expecting a French invasion. On a national scale, the Board of Ordnance was undertaking a trigonometrical survey of England. In 1791, a Royal Artillery officer, William Mudge, was appointed to the survey, and he became its director in 1798. Plymouth-born Mudge had begun working in Devon in 1795. On 28 August 1800, he advertised in the Exeter Flying Post:

  … in order to execute the commands of the Master General of His Majesty’s Ordnance for the Survey of Devon and Parts of their adjoining Counties, Somerset and Cornwall, to erect Staffs and Staffs with Flags attached to them … is it [sic] therefore earnestly requested that no Person will molest or throw them down, as such Proceedings will unavoidably be productive of much inconvenience.

  It was signed “Wm. Mudge, Captain of the Royal Artillery, Director of the Trigonometrical Survey, Dunkery Beacon, Aug. 22, 1800.”23

  The French were far ahead of England at scientific map making; their army had a corps of surveyors who added topographical detail that might be of military significance. In England, maps were produced by a publisher named John Cary. His maps were on a scale of five miles to the inch — and Napoleon had acquired a set of Cary maps of southern England.24 Robert Clifford made Simcoe a set of base maps on which he could place relevant detail, rather than have his officers accept details on comprehensive maps that might not be accurate, and in any case were too busy to be read quickly. (As yet the Board of Ordnance maps were not available.) Clifford made him “Skeleton” maps using Cary’s large ones as a base on which he retained all towns in capital letters on oil paper. These he engraved on large copper plates from which he could make any number of copies, and add such information as was required on each: “This could be of great use for officers going to outposts as in 5 minutes they may take their post from the general map & keep it in their orderly book.” They were what Simcoe required — a general view at a glance.25

  Simcoe sent his detailed plan, “The Defense of Devon” to Robert Clifford, who replied:

  You have noted the assailable parts, at least with respect of the south of Devon; am sorry the North of Devon has not been considered with equal accuracy, for though the Enemy may not invade by that part … (particularly as Bristol was one of their grand objects Last War) it may be found necessary to bring convoys to the North by sea for the Defense of the County.

  The Exe, the Teign, the Dart and the Yealm would afford landing places — “the Enemy having landed must send out foraging parties” for food and detachments to wage the war. Simcoe also sent to Clifford drawings of “entrenched camps” at Roborough Down and Buckland Down, which Clifford thought “mostly beautiful.”26

  Later, Clifford sent Simcoe the map, on two sheets,

  but the division is natural. I coloured the roads in the little one to show how much clearer it would look, and the roads you may wish to make military roads need only to be washed over with pale red which would make them appear a sand colour over the yellow … The rivers are done with a pen rather soft.27

  Simcoe received reports on more riots, and an eye-witness account from a Mr. Fanshawe at Newton Ferrers — forwarded by Lord Clifford. A feature of these uprisings was the lack of real violence, only plenty of intimidation. One form was
to force farmers to sign agreements to sell at affordable prices. Many rioters belonged to the Volunteer Corps, and even some of their officers, the very people expected to help calm the situation. The Reverend Pratt, parish priest at Luppitt, characteristic of most of the clergy, offered assistance for the restoration of tranquility. In March, when serious riots broke out in Somerset and Devon, Simcoe ordered troops to Cullompton, Honiton, Tiverton and Oakhampton, and moved a squadron of cavalry from Dorchester, in Dorset, to Chard and Ilminster, Somerset. Exeter mobs were descending on neighbouring villages such as Exminster, Kenn and Broadclyst.

  James Coleridge, writing on the 28th from his home at Ottery, described how he dealt with a mob at Exmouth. He gave all who had taken an oath, to exonerate themselves by bringing Coleridge their arms. A Major Hull later sent Coleridge a letter warning him of a farmers’ meeting, to make decisions that would be disagreeable to the people, resulting in more disturbances. His letter was carried by an “orderly,” a man whose job it was to deliver messages and await replies so that the exchange might take only hours. Simcoe replied:

  It is not proper to trust people with arms from the Duke of York to the Drummer, who will not support the petty Constable in aid of the laws of the land — however I regret the measure they must in that case be disarmed.

  Coleridge reported on other threats, and advised testing the Volunteers, and if they refused to assist the civil power they should be disarmed immediately. At a meeting in Ottery St. Mary, “The Gentlemen and the farmers … had agreed on an acceptable price of twelve shillings a bushel for wheat, and “every inhabitant have it in proportion to their families.” Good sense was beginning to prevail. The people at Exmouth told Coleridge: