In the Ranks

Upon arrival at the regimental depot at Chatham, William and his fellow recruits were quickly introduced to the realities of army life.  Exchanging their worn and probably ragged civilian clothes for new, uncomfortable and perhaps ill-fitting uniforms removed any lingering doubts about the magnitude of their changed circumstances. Home in this new world consisted of barracks built during the 1790's, small red brick buildings constructed for "internal control," and definitely not for comfort. The forbidding structures were laid out in a square intended to keep soldiers in by controlling access and egress.  The men lived in a large open room where they slept, ate, and smoked.  Smoking was so prevalent that on one occasion, an officer entering a 72' by 36' room holding 48 men, could not see any of them because of the smoke.

Chatham about 1831

Instead of beds, the men slept on thin straw filled mattresses or straw filled wooden "cribs" with all of five inches between sleeping soldiers.  William may have felt the army preferable to the workhouse, but the workhouse inmate was allotted more space as were convicts.  In fact, government regulations allocated soldiers less than one-half of the space provided for convicts.  Reportedly the barracks smelled of pipe clay, damp clothing, lamp oil, dish cloths, soft soap as well as butter and cheese parings, not to mention other things better left unmentioned.  William was probably used to rough, crowded living accommodations, but nothing had prepared him for this.

In that regard, it probably goes without saying that sanitary facilities were primitive so we'll just leave it at that.  Shaving was not a problem as most soldiers wore beards.  What washing did take place was performed at an outside pump or from a communal tub which had other far less hygienic uses.  Such minimal attempts at cleanliness usually took place right after wake up at 5:00 in the summer or 7:00 in the winter before going on duty at 5:30 or 7:30 respectively.  Duty was dominated by "drill," learning individual and unit movements which had practical application in battle.  Initially William and other raw recruits went through the equivalent of basic training which was "rigorous and repetitious" and could last up to six months.

19th Century Military Barracks 

While the primary focus of William's training was how to be a soldier, there was one aspect that was very different from modern military training - the history and tradition of his unit - the 21st Regiment of Foot.  Many British regiments have long and glorious histories going back centuries.  The 21st, for example, was formed in 1678 as the Earl of Man's Regiment of Foot.  Shortly thereafter it was renamed the 21st Scots Fusiliers ( a fusilier is a light musket used only by select units).  The regiment's number signifies its seniority within the army, the lower the number, the older the regiment.

 In its distinguished history prior to 1839, the 21st had served in many wars including the American Revolution and the War of 1812.  In the latter conflict, it had taken part in capturing Washington, D.C., but also suffered defeat at New Orleans at the hands of the American army commanded by Andrew Jackson.  Today over three centuries later, the 21st still exists as the Royal Highland Fusiliers.  Given such long histories, British regiments are in a sense immortal, no matter how often individuals come and go, the regiment lives on.  The scene in the Errol Flynn movie, "They Died With Their Boots On," where they adopt the song "Gary Owen" as their theme song illustrates the point (www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m7RPjQxjmA).  All of this contributed to regimental pride and Esprit de Corps that was passed on to new recruits, both in training and on active duty.

Colors of 21st Regiment of Foot 

Since the discipline and communal living must have been a major culture shock for William, we can only hope he wasn't too let down by how the food and pay differed from the recruiting pitch.  A soldier's daily pay had been increased in 1797 when it reached a shilling a day where it would remain for the next 70 years so William never received a pay raise in his over 22 years of active service.  At 20 shillings to the pound, the pay rate would have equaled just over 18 pounds per year.  However, unlike Union army soldiers who received pay plus food, plus uniforms, plus medical care, a British soldier's pay was "stopped", that is reduced, for a whole range of things including food, medical care and new equipment.  Many new recruits didn't get paid for months until up front expenses, conveniently unmentioned during the recruiting process, were repaid.  The unfairness of the system received some minimal recognition in 1847 when it became mandatory that a solider be paid a minimum of 10 pence per day.

Victorian Army Barracks at Great Yarmouth 

Although soldiers effectively paid for their food, that did little, if anything, for the quality or quantity.  For many years there were only two meals per day, breakfast and dinner (lunch).  Fortunately for William, in 1840, after he enlisted, an evening or tea meal was added.  This was also long before mess halls with full time cooks so soldiers were divided into groups of 12, given food to cook for themselves which they ate at communal tables in the barracks.  Both breakfast and the tea meal (the latter was served about 5:00) consisted of bread with small beer or tea.  Dinner served at noon was a more substantial meal of boiled beef and potatoes, with the quality of the beef sometimes more than a little questionable.  Soldiers, of course, had the option of buying food, that is, if there was anything left of their pay.

One of the many unknowns of William Winder's story is what he knew about the army and army life before taking that fateful step.  Obviously he couldn't read about it so his only source of information was verbal, but it seems doubtful, he knew many soldiers before enlisting.  One thing he most likely didn't know was that about one-third of the army, was serving outside of England, with 29 regiments in India alone.  It's even possible that before enlisting, William had never even heard of India.  But at some point after joining the 21st, William found out that he and the rest of the regiment were about to embark on an ocean voyage half-way around the world to just that very place.