Conclusion

To conclude, therefore, one can say that the lack of British artillery in the Peninsula was not due to small numbers of gun in use by the army, but due to the lack of horses to transport them. Various improvised schemes appear to have been adopted, such as moving the guns and limbers on bullock carts or dismantling them and man-handling them. It would also appear than any horse or mule that could be drafted into artillery service, was, such was the chronic shortage of animals. This shortage ultimately led to the reduction in the size of the Brigades, in some cases by half.

The ‘New Pattern’ or block-trail carriage was nearly in universal use by the foot artillery by 1808, and that the 5 ½ inch howitzer, long thought to have been mounted on a double-bracket carriage was indeed mounted on the block-trail. The associated support vehicles, however, had not yet reached such a level of employment, with the majority of them being of the old, i.e. pre-1788, pattern.

Furthermore we can observe that the 12-pounder was used by the Royal Artillery as a field gun and that the 9-pounder was not adopted as a means to counteract the French artillery, but to save on the number of horses used to move the artillery.

Bibliography

Adye, R.W. The Bombardier and Pocket Gunner. 7^th EditionLondon; 1813.

Caruana, A.B. “The Introduction of the Block-Trail Carriage”. Canadian Journal of Arms Collecting, vol. 18 no 1; 1980. Pp 3-16

Congreve, W. Several Methods of detaching Artillery Men to Pieces of Ordnance for the Field and Garrison Service.1778.

Congreve W. An Account of some of the cases in the Practice of Artillery which must be taught by the Officers of the Royal Military Repository, Woolwich.1800.

Dickson, Alexander. “The Field Artillery Carriages in the Peninsula”. The British Indian Military Repository vol iii No. 1824; Calcutta; 6 July 1824. Pp 136 to 147

Graves, D.E. Personal Communications; 2006.

Lawson.”Memorandum of Artillery Arrangements and Alterations made in Carriages, Harness  and Ammunitions &c”. Proceedings of the Royal Artillery Institute. vol. XII no. 4 Woolwich; 1884. Pp 207- 220.

Leslie, J.H. The Diary of 2^nd Captain Richard Bogue RHA 1808 to 1809. Woolwich; 1908.

Public Records Office, Kew. Board of Ordnance papers, WO 55/1195 “letters from Officers – Foreign” and WO 55/1201 “letters to Officers – Foreign”.

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