The Sun.
London, England, 1865-02-23 00:00:00

The Late Lord Combermere•

The trade of war demands so much from its craftsine3
and exposes them to such rude trials that the death °f
of them who has not only outlived all his early cotenlP,_e
runes, but who has seen more than two generations of
.t.
men who heard the daily record of his services at the,Tua°
of their performance pass away like columns of shad°l"; ° f
a wall, fixes our attention for a moment in the 1u1"5,-,„:0
it is
present speculations and the affairs of the hour•
that distinguished Generals sometimes do escape tilegPegri'
of the field and survive the effects of long 031 P-1-13;
Wellington, Soult, Radetzky, Von Wrangel, Valliant °
, 1
at once. But how few they are with all their fe11°17,...
How many are now alive of those who entered the Si-ny
vice with Stapleton Cotton 75 years ago ? 11°3r many
of those whose names figured with his in despatches ou
the first time have lasted to our day ? Many die f
the field. Most of them vanished with the heats
ao•
their non-combatant kilo* men 30, 40, 50 Years„,a‘
Gough has seen more recent service, and held raore,—;sll
ous command. Blakeney was fighting a year after, more,
of Bhurtpore. Woodford, Burgoyne, Ross, and Gurcbilfes,-
other soldiers of the last century, still are among us 35 woo-
ing monuments of the glorious days of our arms, and to
derful examples of the strength which enabled theul.
e
sustain such fatigues, and of the favours of fortune Willr,
shielded them through so many ordeals of fire. °leo.
survive, too, a race later by a few years—'such as to
and
Brown, Stovin, Hope, Brotherton, and, we are -140d
say, others still, whose services against the enemY.
menced with the beginning of the gcentury But Cent'
o
cmere was the elof all army of veterallB.„'Ll
.ntemporary ofdNapoleon'sh and ofnoble Wellington's he e3IE,
to army so far back that his early exploits take us lob); iat,
realms of a history which may almost be styled au°,,etes
Lord Combermero's father lived before the United States
were constituted, and when all England rejoiced overolilfe,
conquest of Canada and still wept over the tomb of 171 of
His son was a soldier before Ireland became a porti°7llo
the United Kingdom, and when Catholics were verY I:, of
in the same condition as Christian ryots are the ailed
the Moslem. He began his career when LouiseXhn,r3olf
in France. He lay down to his rest while t et; blows
man against whose legions he struck snch weig 'lt of the'
nregullan er-esi'pevicilt;
was the acknowledged and unquestioned occurgr the
throne. Lord Combennere accompanied.
6th Dragoon Guards, then very differenhtiis.
from the Carabineers, who take their rue° in tile I ti°
List, to Flanders in 1793. From the easy conquest o
Cape he proceeded to India, and it almost challencsi,ylil
lief to read that he was in command of the 25th ii7Al-
-
Dragoons in the year 1796, nearly 70 years ag°
rons, led with the brilliant energy which dieting" tho
operations, bore no small part in the great war Whit so'
Lion of Mysore provoked ; and at Mallavelly and at Defoe
ingapatara he confirmed the good opinion which 430101
formed of him in his previous service. Coming 111131..:ed tha
honour—a colonel after ten years' service—he 1113"--, 1301'
eldest daughter of the third Duke of Newcastle, 13 er
and after six years of comparative inaction joined thot
tha
pedition against the French in the Peninsula, 1111.;i1. ;00
head of his brigade of the 14th and 16th Light -1111-1'
co;
showed at Oporto and Talavera what British caY,lll:piril'
do when properly handled and led by a congeol3"bv the
Indeed, so thoroughly was his talent appreciated igrg 51C
Duke and by the Government of the day that in 1' lietlit
Stapleton Cotton was created locally a lieutenallt-ge TllO V
and placed at the head of the whole allied cacalri,:brate',
historian of the whole campaigns which ensued ceL soo
on many an occasion the vigilance, courage, enterlll.-co'ttell
skill with which the task conferred on Sir Stapleton
au ad'
was fulfilled. Whether covering a retreat or leading
vance—on outpost duty, in guarding tke rear or
19r vi th°
the flanks—whether in the charge, in the pursuit, ool
defensive, the British horse did their duty in sPite, ° aloe 7,
adverse criticism; and, it may be safely asserte'/,
no disaster, compromised no movement, and bile' ov iu a
pursuit. In all the long series of actions which 11,1101311-
the varying fortunes of those famous camPaig3s°rtll3°,;
bermere did his duty, but he was something ul°, 0, ft:o
beau sabreur, for he was careful of horses Wad ,7° of
taught himself to restrain the hot counswi
youthful bravery, and to turn them to practice,' "d
Any one who turns to the despatches of the peri°j3ooc°
see what he did in the retreat from Almeida,
ee at
S orthe
Fuentes d'Onor, Salamanca, El Bodon, the Pyren:iu .
and at the battle of Toulouse. For his servic,,e- tha3o
Peninsula he was created a peer and received tl'e
of Parliament. In 1814 he married Miss Grec,,ftele °1:0151,i
became a widower for the second time 33 years v—tbe 0
But long after the great war was over he took to stroke tri
in India once more, and in 1825-6 dealt the death le°ol.
the great native confederacy which had for ISsrert °oot
struggled to maintain its independence or to 3`:, foul sod
power. When Bhurtpore fell a stain was wil3:dje le4,-
arms,and the people of Central India were taugh"i arid e
which it needed some years to teach' the Affgludb ulani)er
Sikh. That no climate and no sphere of action scii°o of if
untried, Lord Combermere went to the West cia
he had finished his Spanish career, and coriduesooo
with prudence and ability as Governor of .13 rate isles
1817, and as Commander-in-Chief of the forces "
at the end of the American war. obeul'.-
For more than 40 years his brilliant sword sol
01
sop-io;
but the nation did not prove careless of
presence, nor the authorities indifferentthe
t° to 6e: to
It was the delight of the new-comer to L°ll°°--aresse ''i:4
Rotten-row the upright figure of the old 01313'0 otaueidia
perfection and mounted beyond his years, wh°s, 6t,t,to
so well known as that of the good swordsman 1111
of half a century ago, and to mark hilt' „11.1 o'bOsi.,.
pageants and Court ceremonies bearing liiinSuo fleiti
virP"
as any new belted knight fresh from his
r"
Times. rie p
PP 00
" THE WAY, YOU ALWAYS STorPED, id will 'rap
mont Record tells a good story of an innocent °'
tosenge_iii.-
never before had " rid on a railroad," who 'Was Peceot
one of the Vermont railroads at the time °f 3tirain,ol3,9tieg
sion, when a freight train ran into a passengero uPse:tered
ing one of the cars, killing several passengers a his ,scl",„tee•
things generally. As soon as he could reco'ver
eroble
senses, the conductor went in search of the Y.ev.ll the car
,;-ed
whom he found sitting solitary and alone 1 with 3 ail);
other passengers having sought terra frffl'oithstSil t iu
placid expression upon her countenance, nu 00
she had made a complete summersault anceluneerellocl
front, and her bandbox and bundle had go‘..tirt ?" ialll,lBsra
ously down the passage way. "Are you I'old is,clY. 0 pa,
the conductor. "Hurt ! Why ?" said thew° a tit
have just beetirun into by a freight train,
wag
juted."sengers h,,aLvea, bmeeeal
Ikidllieddiftankdnoseivve,
brault nttinr°:::etile
you always stopped." • -