Collections - Letters
Letters of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Bevan, 1804-1811.
Letter Number 66
Dated: 16th February 1811. C.B. Torres Vedras Addressed to Mrs C
Bevan, Money Hill, Rickmansworth, Herts
Stamped on address fold ‘Mr 12 1811’
You may, my dearest Mary, imagine the vexation I feel at the present
moment at the very unaccountable delay of the packet; the last letter I
received from home has naturally made me most anxious for tidings of my
dearest friends; it is a remark known that bad news travels fast. I hope
that adage may in this instance be verified and that you are all well
and my poor little Edward even him fully well. Since I last wrote to you
nothing has taken place in this country and indeed it is not
------------ that any thing of importance will for some time to come, as
the constant fall of rain we have lately had must make the roads almost
impassable, which is to say the Irish (?) are at no time very good. I –
must I imagine depend on the changes likely to take place ---------- had
my men (?) but whatever may be their sentiments they cannot withdraw
this army. They may not choose to reinforce it certainly and in that
case we are not sufficiently numerous to advance far from our present
position. We have a thousand reports as usual, and as usual, none of
them to be attended to. It is said that the French army is very sickly,
but this you can observe here, hence always said when it has turned out
that they mean being merry and frisky – This is not the nature of an
Englishman therefore you will not be surprised to hear that I am not
particularly so; had I indeed no cause to be otherwise; I do not think
it is my forte. I am anxious to hear a more particular account of Mrs
Bevan which I conclude I shall do so in the next letter from Montague
Square.
I have no heard very lately from Paterson but I know he is perfectly
well: they have had a great loss in General Hill; whose place is
supplied by Marshal Beresford whom you may remember at Birr.
During the absence of General Leith our division is commanded by General
Dunlop and our Brigade for the time being by Col Egerton of the 44th,
the senior Lt Col. He married Miss Pembridge, Do you know her? He is a
very gentlemanlike man of a good bearing; not very young. She I am told
was immensely rich – and very youthful. The only letter I have received
since my arrival in this country from England was the one partly written
by your Mother; so I am almost in despair – we are quite out of the
world here. I wish you would tell Julia that my Mother’s newspaper would
be very acceptable and that there is no difficulty and no expense in
sending it here when they have done with them – They should be done up
singly as we always received them at Burlesdon – but any man of business
will tell her how to send them – It is thus that I sometimes get hold of
a paper for a little while, but the debates of our Parliament are just
now very interesting and I like to Pore over them. I would not make this
request was it attended with the slightest difficulty or expence. Pray
kiss all our young ones for me and present my love to all my friends,
not forgetting Mrs Shaw tho’ last not least
God Bless you, my best friend, I am always
Your own C.B.
Torres Vedras
16 February 1811
NOTES BY TRANSCRIBER
i) Hill – Later Gen Sir Rowland (1772-1842) Lt Col 90th Ft, 1805 Major
Gen. Fought at Rolica, Corunna, Talavera and won the engagement at
Arroyos dos Molinos. Almaraz, Nivelle, Nive Bayonne and Toulon and
Vittoria. Ay Waterloo commanded a Corps. 2i/c Army of Occupation France
1815 – 18. C in C England 1825-9. Viscount 1842. Health broke down in
1810, but returned later in 1811.
ii) Dunlop continued with the Brigade through 1811
iii) Egerton – C.O. 2nd 44th (later Essex Regt)) Senior of the 3 Lt Cols
in the Brigade
iv) Birr – town in Co Galway with a castle south of the Shannon
v) Irish – a passage very hard to decipher
vi) Mrs Bevan – perhaps CB’s paternal grandmother – but not identified
vii) Montagu Square – where CB’s mother had her father’s house – this
Square was built about 1800 and was probably too new to be fashionable
but Mrs Montagu had a very large house in the next Square so that they
were not too far down the ladder
viii) Miss Pembridge – not identified – there is of course Pembridge
Gardens in West London
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