on 31 July, leaving Colonel Murray and a detachment to garrison Ghennah. Baird travelled via Gizeh (which he left Colonel Ramsey to garrison). He reached the island of Rhouda just outside Cairo on 27 August and by 30 August had arrived at Rosetta. Baird’s force arrived at Alexandria just as a truce had been arranged and this was followed by the surrender of the French on 2 September 1801, which meant Beresford played no part in the siege of that city. He was, however, subsequently appointed Commandant of Alexandria and he remained in Egypt until the British forces were withdrawn in 1803.29
The march by Baird’s force from Kosseir on the Red Sea across 130 miles of desert in nine days and then down the Nile to Cairo caught the public imagination at home. Beresford shared in the fame generated by these events. Perhaps even more importantly he had witnessed the vital necessity of good organisation and planning for military operations, as demonstrated by Baird’s thorough preparations prior to crossing the desert.
On his return home from Alexandria in 1803, Beresford spent time in Ireland, one of the few occasions during the French wars that he was able to do so. Ireland had just witnessed the suppression of a further rebellion following that of 1798; for in 1803 Robert Emmet had sought to raise the flag of republicanism again; with the difference that now the Act of Union joining Ireland with England had been adopted (1801), the target was no longer the Irish parliament in Dublin but the British administration ruling in the name of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
The rebellion commenced in Dublin and County Wicklow on 23 July but was short lived. A number of those involved managed to avoid the government forces for some time. While back in Ireland in late 1803, Beresford was engaged in the search for some of Emmet’s supporters hiding out in the Wicklow mountains. Beresford’s appearance in Wicklow at this time probably resulted from the burning of the Beresford family property at Hollywood in County Wicklow in the 1798 rebellion. Michael Dwyer and Martin Burke were two prominent participants of the 1803 rising being sought by the militia. When Martin Burke was captured on 13 December, Beresford expressed the view that he merited mercy, as he had never been a murderer, and indeed he said he did not think Burke had been responsible for any particular crime since 23 July. However, he was prepared to use Burke to capture Dwyer. Dwyer in fact surrendered the next day, followed afterwards by a number of others who had been supporters of Emmet.30 These leaders of the Wicklow-based insurrection were detained in Kilmainham Jail in Dublin before being sent to New South Wales in late 1805 as free men.
This short interlude in Wicklow also demonstrated a side of Beresford’s character with which all were to become familiar in the Peninsula. A yeoman was caught plundering property during a search, whereupon Beresford sought instructions as to whether he could court martial him using the form of trial used for soldiers or whether he was required to use some other form? While the response from his superiors has not been located, the request is evidence of Beresford, the strict disciplinarian.31
The year 1804 remains a blank sheet in the life of William Carr Beresford. There is a family tradition that at some stage he sought the hand of his cousin Louisa, daughter of the Archbishop of Tuam; but that this union was prevented by the family.32 No documentary evidence has been located to support this story, but the two were supposedly close. In 1806, Louisa, who was a renowned beauty and friend of the Irish authoress Maria Edgeworth, married Thomas Hope, the interior designer, author and collector. With him she had a family, but following his death in 1831 she was to marry William in 1832 and they then spent the next twenty years together.33 They were both mature persons at that time, with William having secured fame, titles and financial security. Nobody would then have been in a position to prevent their marriage at that stage in their lives. If there is substance to family tradition, then the period of 1804 and early 1805 is the only time when Beresford would have had the opportunity to get to know Louisa as an adult prior to her marriage.34
2 THE CAPTURE OF THE CAPE COLONY AND THE RIO DE LA PLATA EXPEDITION OF 1806–1807
‘It grieved me to see my country subjugated in this manner, but I shall always admire the gallantry of the brave and honourable Beresford in so daring an enterprise.’1
Until the armistice of October 1801, which led to the Peace of Amiens in March 1802, Britain had been at war with not just France, but also with Spain and other French allies. War with France broke out again in 1803, and in 1804 Spain entered the war on the side of France following an attack on its treasure fleet by a squadron of the Royal Navy off Cape Santa Maria on 5 October without any declaration of war.2 Britain’s links with its colonies and trading partners were once again threatened, and the government developed a number of strategies to safeguard its position.
Possession of the Cape Colony, or at least the presence there of a friendly power, was a substantial asset to those interested in securing the sea route to India and the East Indies in the days of sail at a time prior to the construction of the Suez Canal. Lord Castlereagh, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, expressed it thus:
‘ the true value of the Cape to Great Britain is its being considered and treated at all times as an outpost subservient to the protection and security of our Indian possessions.’3 The British had conquered the Cape in 1795 but returned it to the Dutch (then the Batavian Republic) in 1803 pursuant to the Treaty of Amiens.4
French sea power, particularly when combined with that of Spain, remained a real threat to Britain in 1805 prior to the battle of Trafalgar in October of that year. Only two years previously, Napoleon had threatened an invasion of England by a massive force based around Boulogne and Calais.5 Against this background the British government determined to seek to recapture the Cape Colony. An expedition under the command of Sir David Baird was dispatched, comprising some 6,000 soldiers divided into two brigades. The first brigade, led by Beresford, was made up of the 24th, 38th and 83rd regiments. The second brigade, the Highland Brigade, was made up of the 71st, 72nd and 93rd regiments and was commanded by Ronald Craufurd Ferguson, like Beresford a Brigadier General. The land forces were escorted by a fleet commanded by Sir Home Popham on HMS Diadem. This fleet fitted out and sailed from Falmouth on 5 August, and having assembled and taken on troops and further provisions departed on 31 August from Cork.6
The fleet called first at Madeira in the last week of September 1805. There the destination of the expedition was confirmed, ending weeks of speculation, as instructions had been declared secret to all but the commanders. The ships prepared to sail from Madeira on 1 October. A few days later, those ships destined for the West Indies separated from the remainder of Popham’s fleet. After leaving Madeira, Popham raised his pennant as Commodore and appointed Captain Hugh Downman of the Diomede to command the Diadem, in a move that was to cause many disputes later when it came to claiming prize money. The fleet traversed the Atlantic, crossing the Equator on 3 November and arriving at São Salvador (now Bahia) on the Brazilian coast on 9 November after suffering some damage in a heavy storm. Two large vessels, the King George and the Britannia, were lost on Las Rochas with fatalities including Brigadier General Yorke, who had command of the artillery. Repairs and the sourcing of provisions and horses for the cavalry meant that the fleet did not depart São Salvador until late December.7 It was not until 4 January 1806 that the fleet reached Table Bay, where it was sighted by the Dutch colonists.
Notwithstanding the rough seas, Beresford and a small landing party were sent ashore that day to ascertain a suitable disembarkation venue.8 The next day, 5 January, there was an unsuccessful attempt to land Beresford’s brigade at Leopard’s Bay in high surf. Baird then detached Beresford with the 38th Regiment and some cavalry with orders to land at Saldanha Bay. This wonderful harbour is some 60 miles north of Capetown.9 Orders were to secure the area (including seizing the postmaster) with a view to obtaining provisions for the army, and to prepare the site for a landing by the entire force if that should prove necessary. Beresford’s force was carried by the Diomede (50-guns) and some smaller vessels, and disembarked without opposition on 6 January. As it turned out, landing at Saldanha Bay meant that Beresford missed the ensuing battle that determined the fate of southern Africa.
A change of wind direction abated the surf enough to allow Baird to land his main force at Leopard’s Bay (now Melkbosstrand), some 16 miles north of Capetown, with only minor opposition