GRAHAM,
THOMAS, LORD LYNEDOCH.—This venerable warrior was descended from a common
ancestor with the Dukes of Montrose. He was the third son of Thomas Graham
of Balgowan, in Perthshire, by Lady Christian Hope, fourth daughter of
Charles, first Earl of Hopetoun, and was born A.D. 1750. He had thus reached
his ninety-fourth year when he died, a period of life which few who have
undergone the hardships and privatons of trying campaigns are privileged to
attain.
Nothing in the early course
of Thomas Graham indicated that he would become not only a soldier, but a
skilful and successful one. By the death of his two elder brothers he became
the heir and representative of the family; and by his marriage with Mary
Cathcart, daughter of the ninth Lord Cathcart, his affections were so
completely occupied and his home endeared, that he had reached his
forty-second year, with the character of an amiable country
gentleman, whose highest object was the welfare of his tenants and the
happiness of all around him. But all at once this tranquil happiness was
brought to a close by the death of Mrs. Graham in 1792, after she had been
married eighteen years; and her husband, who loved her with a surpassing
affection, was inconsolable at her death. The bereavement was also still
farther imbittered by the circumstance of their marriage having been without
offspring, so that no child was left behind to cheer the solitude of his
dwelling, and restore to him the look and accents of the departed. He felt
as if he had sustained a loss for which nothing could compensate; but
instead of having recourse to the miserable remedy of the suicide, he
resolved at the age of forty-three to devote himself to a military life,
where he might find, not a soldier’s glory, for which at this time he cared
not, but a soldier’s early grave, the refuge best fitted for a weary and
broken heart. Who would have thought that a feeling so tender and domestic
was to produce the victor of Barossa? It is to this commencement of his
military life that Sir Walter Scott so touchingly alludes, while describing
the chief heroes of the peninsular war, in his "Vision of Don Roderick":—
"Nor be his praise o’erpast who strove
to hide
Beneath the warrior’s vest affection’s wound,
Whose wish, Heaven for his country’s weal denied;
Danger and fate he sought, but glory found.
From clime to clime, where’er war’s trumpets sound,
The wanderer went; yet, Caledonia! still
Thine was his thought in march and tented ground;
He dreamed ‘mid alpine cliffs of Athole’s hill,
And heard in Ebro’s roar his Lynedoch’s lovely rill."
This choice of a military
life was made after the consolations of travel had been tried and found
ineffectual. The bereaved man had wandered through France; but neither its
beautiful scenery, nor gay society, nor even the wild events of its
Revolution, could abstract his mind from its own sorrows. He then became a
pilgrim on the shores of the Mediterranean, and passed over to Gibraltar;
and it was in the society of the offices there that his choice appears to
have been first adopted. He offered himself as a volunteer to Lord Hood,
then about to sail to the south of France, and by the latter he was received
with welcome. At the commencement of the revolutionary war in 1793, Graham
landed with the British troops at Toulon, and officiated there as extra
aide-de-camp to Lord Mulgrave, the general in command. In the numerous
encounters with the enemy that distinguished this memorable siege, the new
volunteer threw himself among the foremost; and on one occasion, when a
British soldier fell at the head of the attacking column, Mr. Graham
snatched up the musket of the dead man, and took his place. When Toulon was
evacuated by the British and Spanish troops, Graham, now a pledged soldier,
returned to Scotland, and raised the first battalion of the 90th regiment,
in which he was appointed lieutenant-colonel. With this corps he passed the
summer of 1795, and was afterward transferred to Gibraltar, where he
received the rank of full colonel in the army. The dulness of garrison duty,
however, within a sphere so limited as the rock of Gibraltar, was only
fitted to aggravate the disease for which Graham was seeking relief, and
therefore he sought and easily obtained permission to join the Austrian
army, at that time employed against the French on the Rhine. Here he bore a
part in the disastrous campaign of the summer of 1796, and was afterwards
shut up with the troops of the brave old Wurmser in Mantua, which was
invested by the Man of Destiny, at that time known by the simple title of
General Bonaparte. The siege was so tedious, that here Colonel Graham fell
into the same malady that had compelled him to abandon Gibraltar; and he
resolved to leave the garrison in which he served as a volunteer, for more
stirring occupation. For this purpose he silently left Mantua on the night
of the 24th of December, 1796, amidst a torrent of rain, and accompanied by
only one attendant. It was a truly perilous exit; for all the water
communications with the lake formed by the Mincio, on which Mantua is
situated, were in possession of the French, so that the lake itself was to
be crossed in a boat, which stranded repeatedly upon the little islands, and
was every moment in danger of swamping. After groping through the midnight
darkness and storm, the landing-place was at last reached; and here a new
series of dangers commenced. The country round was trodden into mire and
studded with swamps, among which the travellers floundered at haphazard; and
when morning dawned, Colonel Graham, who wore his British uniform, was in
danger of being arrested or shot by the enemy’s pickets. He concealed
himself during the day, and travelled only at night, until he reached a
river, for the crossing of which he hired a boat, intending to risk a
landing, where he would probably have been shot by the French sentinels, had
they not been previously driven from their posts by a heavy rain. He thus
crossed the river in safety, and finally reached the army of the Archduke
Charles, where he continued till the pacification of 1797 by the treaty of
Campo Formio, in which France dictated to Austria the terms of a conqueror
and master. This termination of the war in Germany released Graham from his
temporary volunteer service, and accordingly he returned to his old quarters
in Gibraltar.
The rapid current of events
quickly called Colonel Graham once more into the field. His first employment
was in the reduction of Minorca, under the command of Sir Charles Stuart,
who bore honourable testimony to the valuable services of his brave
assistant. After this island had been won, Graham repaired to Sicily, and
was of such use in retarding the falling fortunes of the king and queen of
Naples, that they testified their sense of his merits by repeated
acknowledgments. He was afterwards employed in an event of the highest
importance to the naval supremacy of our country: this was the reduction of
Malta, which had been basely surrendered to Napoleon by the Maltese knights,
on the 10th of June, 1793, while he was on his way to the conquest of Egypt,
and which he had garrisoned as a key to the future conquest of India. The
strength of fort and rampart was such, that had the gates been merely kept
shut, even Napoleon himself, at the head of his victorious legions, could
never have entered, so that he only became master of the place because there
were traitors within to open them. An assault upon this mighty ocean
fortress was hopeless, garrisoned as it was by such troops; and nothing
could be done except by a blockade from the land, while our ships of war
intercepted every aid that could arrive to it by sea. In consequence of this
decision, Graham, now holding the local rank of brigadier-general, invested
the approaches to Malta with a small army, sufficient for skirmish and
observation. This slow process was successful, for after a blockade of two
years, Malta surrendered to the British in September, 1800. It is true,
indeed, that this cession was made to Major-General Pigot, who had
previously arrived with reinforcements and by whom the account of the
surrender was sent home; but the despatch bore full testimony to the able
and successful arrangements of Graham during the protracted siege. No sooner
had the latter arrived in England at the termination, than he found the
whole land ringing with the Egyptian campaign, and the successful struggles
by which the military glory of Britain, so long held in abeyance, had been
recalled to its standards. But what chiefly concerned Graham personally, was
the gallant deeds of his own regiment, the 90th, which, in conjunction with
the 92d, had formed the advanced guard of the British army on their landing
at Aboukir. Eager to join his brave fellows, and partake of their glory and
danger, he bade a hurried adieu to England; but on arriving in Egypt he
found his presence unnecessary, as the whole French army had capitulated. He
therefore left the country for a tour through Turkey, during which he stayed
for some time at Constantinople, and afterwards, in consequence of the peace
of 1801, he visited France and its capital. The next movement of Graham was
to Ireland with his regiment, where he continued from 1803 to 180ô, at the
end of which, his place of military service was transferred to the West
Indies. Here he remained three years, but without that active employment
which still continued to be the breath of his nostrils. At last a prospect
of occupation occurred in 1808, in consequence of Sir John Moore being
appointed to the command of the armament sent to the coast of Sweden; and
having obtained permission to accompany Sir John as aide-de-camp, Graham
joined the expedition. It ended, as is well known, in nothing, owing to the
Quixotic freak of the Swedish king, who, instead of acting on the defensive,
and fighting for life itself in his own territories thought of nothing less
than rushing full tilt against the whole power of Napoleon; and on the
refusal of Moore to co-operate with him, by taking the Russian empire as his
share of the universal melee, he attempted to throw the British
general into prison, so that the latter was obliged to hasten home with his
reinforcements, without the opportunity of striking a single stroke. In this
way Graham, after all his hopes, had only obtained a short trip to the
Baltic, which was anything but a pleasant one. On the return of Sir John to
England, he was forthwith commissioned upon his eventful expedition to
Spain, and to that land of stirring adventure and change Colonel Graham
accompanied him, still acting as aide-de-camp. He therefore participated in
all the disastrous incidents of that most unfortunate campaign, without the
opportunity of obtaining a commander’s full share in the glory with which
its termination was crowned. But all that could be won by an aide-de-camp he
merited and secured. He was affectionately remembered by Moore in his dying
moments at Corunna, and one of the last questions of the expiring hero was,
"Are Colonel Graham and all my aides-de-camp well?" The services indeed
which the colonel rendered to the army during its retreat were such, that
Sheridan thus described them in his place in Parliament: "In the hour of
peril, Graham was their best adviser; in the hour of disaster, Graham was
their surest consolation." After a long and laborious run before the French
columns in hot pursuit, Graham embarked with the army at Corunna, after it
had dealt such a parting blow at the pursuers as sent them reeling
backwards. But he was soon to return to Spain under better auspices, and
there achieve a victory that should be wholly his own.
This change, so gratifying to
the heart of Colonel Graham, did not occur until nearly three years
afterwards. During the interval, however, he was again to be connected with
those unlucky expeditions of which, it might be thought, he had already
obtained somewhat more than his proper quota. This was the Walcheren
expedition, in which he held the command of a division, having been
previously raised to the rank of major-general. It was a useless and
hopeless campaign against malaria and pestilence; so that, during the siege
of Flushing, he was attacked by the prevalent fever that so fearfully
thinned the British ranks, and obliged to return home. On his recovery he
was sent, with the brevet rank of lieutenant-general, to Spain, to take the
command of the British and Portuguese troops in Cadiz. The situation of this
important city was extremely precarious. Being one of the few remaining
bulwarks of Spanish independence, its possession was keenly contested by the
French; and a large army under Soult had so closely invested it, that its
capture was daily anticipated. One of those rapid transitions, however, with
which that was so largely abounded, averted the downfall of the city. This
was the invasion of Estremadura, conducted by Soult in person at the head of
20,000 of the besieging force, leaving Victor, with the rest of the French
army, to continue the siege. Soult’s brief campaign was one of the most
brilliant episodes of the Spanish war: he captured Olivenza, routed
Mendizabal at Badajoz, and obtained that powerful fortress by surrender;
after which successes he prepared to return in all haste, and resume the
siege of Cadiz. But during his brief absence Graham had been as alert and
ready for action as himself; and, judging the opportunity best fitted for
the purpose, he resolved to raise the siege by an attack upon Victor. With
the French and Portuguese under his command, he embarked on the 21st of
February, 1811, and landed at Tarifa on the day following. They then pushed
forward on their route for Ahgesiras; but as they had no better road than a
mule path, the artillery had to be transported by sea; and, owing to
contrary winds, which delayed. its arrival, the attack, which was intended
to be made on the 28th, was delayed for a week longer. And even this was the
least of Graham’s difficulties in advancing to action. On the 29th he was
joined by La Pena, with 10,000 Spaniards, who forthwith took the command, as
if for the sole purpose of showing his utter incapacity to hold it. Graham
too soon discovered the impracticability of such a colleague, who sometimes
unreasonab1y hung back, and at other times drove on, as if the French were
already defeated and in full flight. So inexplicable, indeed, were his
movements, that the British officers suspected that treachery had been
ingrafted upon his natural stupidity and obstinacy. At length the combined
but ill-assorted army reached the memorable heights of Barossa, upon which
Victor sallied from his lines to give them battle. Even at that critical
moment La Pena must needs blunder, by requiring Graham to alter his
excellent position from the heights to the wood of Bermeya, towards the
sea-coast; and when the latter, in compliance, commenced the movement, La
Pena immediately followed, thus leaving the ridge of Barossa, the key of the
army’s position, undefended. Victor, who saw this change with astonishment,
instantly moved his force of 9000 French veterans and fourteen guns to take
possession of the heights. They advanced to the onset, and meeting with some
of the Spanish troops who had not yet left the hill, they attacked and
routed them in an instant. The fugitives directed their headlong flight to
the British division, already in motion among the difficulties of the wood,
and reported that the heights were won, and the enemy at their heels. Justly
might Graham at this moment have left his worse than useless allies to their
fate, and thought only of a retreat. But this neither suited his daring
spirit nor warm-hearted generosity. With his own forces, upon which he could
fully rely, he resolved. to give battle to the enemy, notwithstanding the
advantages of their new position, and the suddenness of the emergency. His
artillery, consisting of ten guns, was instantly wheeled round, and opened
upon the enemy, already descending from the hill; while his infantry,
hastily formed into two columns, was led to the charge. Under these untoward
circumstances was commenced the battle of Barossa.
It is not our purpose to
enter into the minute particulars of this conflict, forming, as it did, only
an episode of the war. The double onset of the British lines was made with
the utmost bravery, and met by the French with equal courage, so that for
some time the hot and heady charges that were given and received on either
side kept the battle in suspense over the whole field. At length a gallant
charge of one of these lines, composed of the 87th and 28th regiments, broke
the division of General Laval, that was opposed to it, and drove it back so
successfully that they were unable to rally; while the capture of two guns
and an eagle attested the success of the victors. The other British column,
under General Dilkes, was equally brave and equally fortunate. This
division, composed of the Guards and two regiments, mounted the brow of the
hill, and was met half-way by the columns of General Ruffin. A desperate
struggle ensued, that ended in the French being driven up to the height, and
afterwards down the slope on the opposite side, with great slaughter. It was
in vain that they rallied with their wonted promptitude, and united their
two discomfited divisions into a single compact body, for the purpose of
abiding a new conflict: as fast as they formed, the well-served British
artillery tore their ranks, the 200 German horse in the British service
followed the cannonade with a decisive charge, and at last the enemy
yielded, with the loss of six guns and more than 2000 killed and wounded.
And now Cadiz might have been saved had La Pena been true to his country.
But this miserable imbecile, or traitor, or both, with his army of fully
13,000 Spaniards, looked on and did nothing; while Graham, with his small
force of 4000 infantry and 200 cavalry, bore the whole brunt of the battle,
and achieved a glorious victory. Even when the French were put to flight,
had La Pena let loose upon them his 800 dragoons and powerful horse
artillery, he might have completed the defeat of the enemy without their
chance of rallying. But as it was, Victor fell back upon his old position
undisturbed, and the return of Soult, which occurred soon afterwards, made
the battle of Barossa useless, except as a stirring incentive to the British
during the rest of the campaign. Thus had the Spaniards served Moore, and
Wellington himself, as well as Graham; let their generous allies fight as
bravely as they pleased, they still in every case refused to co-operate, or
even did their best to make the services of their defenders useless. Was it
Spanish pride, that could endure no glory but its own; or Spanish bigotry,
that would not suffer a heretic general to be victorious? In the meantime,
General Graham, unable to follow up his success, or even to maintain his
ground single-handed, was obliged to return to the Isle of St. Leon. But
this retrograde movement, which he made after victory, as well as his
advance before it, were equally commended by Wellington, who was too well
able, from his own experience in Spain, to judge of the necessity of such
seemingly inconsistent changes. The affair of Barossa was also justly
appreciated by Parliament, so that the thanks of both houses were voted to
the general and his gallant companions in arms. In the reply of the veteran
on this occasion, after stating his high estimation of the honour conferred
on him, he added: "I have formerly often heard you, Sir, eloquently and
impressively deliver the thanks of the house to officers present, and never
without an anxious wish that I might one day receive this most enviable mark
of my country’s regard. This honest ambition is now fully gratified, and I
am more than ever bound to try to merit the good opinion of the house."
Having been relieved from his
military duties at Cadiz in the summer of 1811, General Graham joined the
army under the Duke of Wellington, where he was appointed second in command.
But a complaint in his eyes, by the use of a telescope in the glaring
atmosphere of Spain, and frequent writing by candle-light, obliged him to
quit the army while it was employed in the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo. He
returned to England, where he obtained a cure, after which he rejoined the
British forces in the Peninsula, and commanded the left wing at the battle
of Vittoria. His able services during this conflict were honourably
mentioned in the despatch of Wellington on the occasion. After this he
continued to share in the subsequent movements of the campaign, and
commanded at the siege of St. Sebastian, where he obtained possession both
of the town and castle—the former by capitulation, and the latter by storm.
He also commanded the left wing of the British army when it crossed the
Bidassoa into the territory of France, upon which he succeeded in obtaining
a footing after a desperate resistance. In the following year (1814) he was
appointed commander of the British forces in Holland, where he made an
unsuccessful siege of Bergen-op-Zoom. It was no wonder that he should have
failed against a fortress so strong, and so bravely and skilfully defended.
Sir Thomas Graham had already shown that he was a brave, prompt, and
effective soldier, fitted for all the emergencies of an open field, and able
to win a decisive victory, even under untoward circumstances. But he had not
learned war as a science; and to conduct such a siege would have required a
thorough acquaintanceship with the whole mathematics of military service. It
was only by such men as Bonaparte or Wellington that Mantua could have been
reduced to a surrender, or Badajoz taken by storm. His failure at
Bergen-op-Zoom, however, neither detracted from the estimation in which he
was held, nor the public honours that awaited him; and in May, 1814, after
having received the thanks of Parliament, he was raised to the peerage by
the title of Baron Lynedoch, of Balgowan, in Perthshire, with a pension of
£2000. He had previously, during his course of service, been created a
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath, and afterwards a Knight Grand
Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. He was also a Knight of
the Tower and Sword in Portugal. But the return of peace also brought with
it an honour of an exclusively peaceful character; this was the Lord
Rectorship of the University of Glasgow, which was conferred in full senate,
by the votes of the enthusiastic students, upon the chivalrous victor of
Barossa.
The course of Lord Lynedoch’s
life was now one of unobtrusive tranquillity. He had sought nothing more
than forgetfulness amidst the din of war, and found in it rank and fame. In
1821, he received the full rank of general; in 1826, he was removed to the
colonelcy of the 14th Foot; and in 1829, he was appointed governor of
Dumbarton Castle, an office with a salary of only £170 attached to it, but
still it has always been accounted of high honour in our country. "Sir
William Wallace," said the valet of the Duke of Argyle, "was governor of it
in the old wars of the English, and his grace is governor just now. It is
always intrusted to the best man in Scotland."
The latter part of the life
of Lord Lynedoch, as the infirmities of old age grew upon him, was spent
chiefly in Italy; but the visit of her Majesty Queen Victoria to his native
country so roused the ardour of the loyal old hero, that he hastened from
Switzerland to pay his respects to her in person, in the ancient capital of
her Scottish ancestors. This was the last public event of his life. He died
at his residence in Stratton Street, London, on the 18th of
December, 1843, in the ninety-fourth year of his age. As he was childless,
his titles became extinct with his death, and his estates were inherited by
his nephew. |