Campaign Groups and Pairs Battery Commander in the Peninsula Campaign


On 25 January 1813 Michell was gazetted as First Captain. He was sent out to Spain to join Wellington’s 1813 campaign to expel the French. At the Siege of San Sebastian on 21 July 1813 one of Sir Thomas Graham’s battery commanders, Captain Dubourdieu, was killed by a shell splinter which struck him in the head. Henceforth, ‘Dubourdieu’s battery’ became ‘Michell’s battery’. It was horse- drawn and consisted of four 9-pounder smoothbores with 116 rounds per gun, and two howitzers, with 84 rounds each. 35% of the first-line ammunition was spherical case, better known as shrapnel rounds. A British invention, shrapnel was first introduced in 1804. It was designed to burst in the air above the heads of enemy troops and bombard them with a deadly blast of musket balls. The French did not use this type of munition.


The fall of San Sebastian cleared the way for Wellington to cross the River Bidassoa, the frontier between Spain and France, on 7 October 1813. He ordered the river to be forded near its mouth and at low tide, while Michell’s battery provided covering fire to prevent the troops being pinned down on the ford or the sand beyond it. It was a daring and successful gamble which took the French by surprise, and owed much to Michell succeeding in getting his guns into their correct position on the rocky heights near Irun at exactly the right time.


Michell wrote to his wife Jane in Portsmouth two days after the battle of Nivelle on 10 November, to report “Our Victory” and assure her that he was safe, although a shell splinter had passed through his hat (he was luckier than his predecessor Dubourdieu). “My Brigade [Battery] was however a good deal engaged [and suffered casualties]. I commenced the Action at daylight by driving into a redoubt 400 yards from an entrenchment of the enemy’s and soon drove them from it, after which we advanced and continued to push them till twelve o’clock… since which we have hardly remained six hours in one place… I never was in better health and am uncommonly pleased with my Brigade.”


This letter neatly sets the tone for Michell’s endeavours in the remaining great battles of Wellington’s 1813-14 campaign, where Michell often formed part of the renowned ‘eighteen gun’ battery. These battles were the Nive, Orthes (where his battery crossed the River Pau by pontoon bridge early on the morning of 27 February 1814) and finally Toulouse, where he distinguished himself by “valourous conduct” in front of the leading assault Column. They earned him a commendation from General Alten, which was sent to Wellington, and a Field Officer’s Gold Medal and Clasp. The notice that his name was attracting led to his battery being selected for service in North America, as part of a force commanded by Major-General Robert Ross.


Artillery Commander in the Second American War


Michell’s battery marched to Bordeaux, where it was to load into hired transports. Loading heavy ordnance using the lifting equipment of the day was always a fraught experience for all concerned. If a gun broke loose and fell, it would smash through the bottom of the hull and be lost forever, while the vessel would sink. As Michell supervised the embarkation of his guns and his men, the captain of the transport ship had a fit of what would today be called ‘road rage’. He attacked Michell, who defended himself. Both men fell into the harbour, and were rescued with some difficulty. By the end of July 1814 all the transports had arrived in Bermuda.


Government was now focused on ending the war. Canada had been successfully defended against repeated American invasions, and Maine had been captured. As far as the Americans were concerned, the Indian threat in the north had been neutralised and the end of the French wars meant that the British had stopped forcibly searching U.S. ships and pressing their crew members. There was no real appetite to recolonise the United States, so the British aim now was to conduct amphibious raids on coastal targets to inflict enough pain to persuade the War Hawks to compromise. Negotiations began in Europe in August 1814. In the meantime, it was decided to focus on raiding the Chesapeake Bay area, making initial sorties up both the Potomac and Patuxent rivers in the direction of Washington D.C.


The bulk of the army travelled up the Patuxent river, and Michell was appointed as overall Commander of the field force artillery (two Foot batteries, a Rocket battery and some Royal Marine Artillery, also armed with Rockets). Congreve Rockets were a relatively new weapon in British service. They had been used successfully to burn Copenhagen in 1807 and during the final battles of the Great French Wars. They were area, rather than precision weapons, most effective against troops in the open and highly combustible targets such as wooden ships or buildings. Their big advantage over conventional artillery during amphibious operations was that they were much easier and faster to load and unload from ships and to transport across country, needing less than half the horses of a standard foot battery. They came in a variety of sizes for field use, ranging from 6-pounders to 42-pounders, with incendiary, explosive or shrapnel warheads and an effective range of up to 1,500 yards.


On 19 August General Ross’s force disembarked unopposed at Benedict, where the Patuxent river narrows significantly. They had no horses with them, so, having got his guns ashore, Michell had to have them dragged by hand along the local roads, which were either stony or sandy. The Artillery Drivers were mounted on requisitioned horses, and acted as amateur cavalry. Dragging the guns upstream proved so arduous that Michell had them all, except for one six-pounder, re-embarked at Marlborough. He pressed ahead with the one remaining cannon, two three-pounders and of course his easily transported rockets.


General Ross approached Washington from the north-east, so as to cross the eastern branch of the Potomac (now known as the Anacostia River) at the town of Bladensburg, where there was both a bridge and a ford. An American force gathered on the ridge beyond the bridge to defend their Capital city. It totalled 7,000 men (Ross had 1,500), but the majority were hastily raised local militia. Another disadvantage for the Americans was the presence on the battlefield of President Madison and most of his Cabinet. Secretary of State James Monroe interfered with the American deployment several times, making its faults worse and leaving some repositioned units without any instructions. The Bladensburg bridge was not burned.


The strongest element of the American defence was its artillery. Commodore Barney of the U.S. Navy commanded two 18-pounders and five 12-pounders from the Washington Naval Yard, manned by regular gunners of the Marine Corps, which were positioned in the centre of the ridge across the main road leading to Washington. On his left wing he had batteries of 6-pounder guns which had been bought up from Baltimore, some of which were protected by a fortified building and earthwork overlooking the bridge, and more 6- pounder guns from Washington itself. Michell had just a single precision cannon with which to take on at least four separate batteries (his 3-pounders were unsuitable for counter-battery work). Only his rockets could prevail in the artillery battle.


General Ross reached Bladensburg around noon on 24 August and ordered an immediate attack across the bridge. The American artillery and riflemen beat back several attempts to advance, but the British infantry used both the bridge and the ford to establish themselves on the American position. Michell pushed his guns forward and ordered his rocketeers to fire repeated salvos of explosive and shrapnel Congreve rockets at the American militia formations, smothering their lines in clouds of acrid black powder smoke and causing uncontrollable panic. President Madison, his entourage, and the militia all stampeded and fled, enabling the British to over-run the enemy batteries. The battle was won, at a cost of 200 British casualties, eight of whom were Michell’s men.


The Burning of Washington


Michell reported: “The enemy abandoned every gun which they had bought into the Field, and retreated in the utmost confusion towards Washington. General Ross having halted his army to refresh, I directed all the [American] guns, carriages and ammunition to be destroyed. In the evening we advanced and entered Washington almost without opposition and immediately proceeded to burn the Capitol, the President’s House and all the public buildings.” This was justified by Government as a reprisal for the American burning of York (now Toronto) and several other Canadian towns on the shores of the Great Lakes. The Americans set fire to the Navy Yard, stores and two brand-new warships before they fled.


www.dnw.co.uk all lots are illustrated on our website and are subject to buyers’ premium at 24% (+VAT where applicable)


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166  |  Page 167  |  Page 168  |  Page 169  |  Page 170  |  Page 171  |  Page 172  |  Page 173  |  Page 174  |  Page 175  |  Page 176  |  Page 177  |  Page 178  |  Page 179  |  Page 180  |  Page 181  |  Page 182  |  Page 183  |  Page 184  |  Page 185  |  Page 186  |  Page 187  |  Page 188  |  Page 189  |  Page 190  |  Page 191  |  Page 192  |  Page 193  |  Page 194  |  Page 195  |  Page 196  |  Page 197  |  Page 198  |  Page 199  |  Page 200  |  Page 201  |  Page 202  |  Page 203  |  Page 204  |  Page 205  |  Page 206  |  Page 207  |  Page 208  |  Page 209  |  Page 210  |  Page 211  |  Page 212  |  Page 213  |  Page 214  |  Page 215  |  Page 216  |  Page 217  |  Page 218  |  Page 219  |  Page 220  |  Page 221  |  Page 222  |  Page 223  |  Page 224  |  Page 225  |  Page 226  |  Page 227  |  Page 228  |  Page 229  |  Page 230  |  Page 231  |  Page 232  |  Page 233  |  Page 234  |  Page 235  |  Page 236