Chapter 14: The Court of Inquiry

I had left Adjutant Bywaters in charge of the dead bodies, the wounded man -- whom Surgeon Armityge said was fit to travel and to be questioned -- the captured man, and the pamphlets. I had also written a full account of the events that had occurred on that Christmas morning. The prisoners and my report were dispatched to General Picton's headquarters in Bristol.

It later transpired that the men we had captured, and those two who were killed, were the ringleaders of an anarchist movement. Information extracted from the captured pair led to many arrests, and it was assumed there would be no further attacks on the canal system now that the leaders of the movement were dead or in custody. However guards were still maintained on the locks during the hours of darkness.

I was now able spend every night in Jenny's bed, and our coupling, although frequent and pleasurable, was becoming more of a duty rather than a delight.
After getting into bed we would indulge in a period of kissing and caressing, after which we would start galloping, usually with Jenny astride me. We would both reach our release -- at least I reached mine, -- I cannot vouch for Jenny, then we would have another period of gentle kissing, before saying goodnight and turning over to go to sleep.

We made a special effort on New Year's Eve, and by a happy happenchance I managed to fire my volley just as the clock struck twelve, ushering in the New Year of 1815; I hoped that fortunate event boded well for the future.
Later that night, after more kissing and cuddling, Jenny said,

"Happy New Year, Jack. I wonder what this new year will bring us?"

"Much the same as the old one, I dare say."

"Oh no Jack, that cannot be. Now the war with France is over surely Lord Liverpool will remove that iniquitous Income Tax, which was levied on us when the war began?"

"Maybe," I said, thinking it unlikely that any government would ever give up such a rich source of income; but perhaps I was being too cynical, and the Prime Minister would repeal that tax.

There was talk that the battalion would be sent back to our previous billets, in those villages up on the edge of Salisbury Plain.
I was none too keen to be relocated back to Laverton, for several reasons. The first being was that up on that higher ground winters were bitter. In the sheltered Vale of Pewsey snow and frost, and cutting winds, were rare, but were much more prevalent on that higher terrain. Secondly, there was the comfort of living at the Anchor, with good food and drink, and a warm and comfortable bed -- and woman. Lastly, the only circumstance that might have induced me to move back to Laverton would be to rekindle my affair with the Rector's wife. However I had received a letter from Susannah just after Christmas, the gist of which was that she had found another person to accompany her on nature walks. So infatuated was she with this new partner that she had given up fornicating with all of her previous walking companions.

That last sentence had me gasping in disbelief. She could only mean that spindle shanked, whey faced curate from Wales: Gethsemane Goosepath!

On the 6th January 1815, I received orders to appear at a Court of Inquiry in Devizes on the morrow. The court would examine the events that led to the damaging of the eastern lock gates of Lock 51 of the Kennet and Avon Canal on the morning of 25th December 1814. It would determine if there had been any dereliction of duty, and would appropriate blame, and award punishment, as applicable.

The morning of the 7th January was a cold dark, menacing, day, and I viewed the coming interrogation by the officers on the Court of Inquiry with some trepidation. Although I had managed to spare the lock gate major damage the Wooten Bottom lock had been put out of commission for two days, although of course there would have been no canal traffic during the Christmas season in any event. Nevertheless, the lock should have been guarded in order to prevent such an occurrence.

The Court consisted of a president of the Court, General Sir Thomas Picton, and three other officers; a Colonel of artillery, the Lt. Col of the 12th Foot, and a Major of engineers. There was also a civilian observer, Sir Anthony Blare, a Member of Parliament (MP), which was quite unusual for such a purely military affair, but, for reasons we did not yet know the Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool, wanted to be kept fully informed.

The first officer to question me was the Major of engineers.
"Tell me, Captain, how many men did have you in your company, and how were they assigned to their duties?"

I explained how the company was split into two sections; the times of the duty for each section, and the numbers of men assigned to each lock, the tunnel entrance and the bridges. I saw that the other members of the court took notes, except for General Picton, who gazed at me with an unblinking stare.
The Major of engineers continued.

"You say that you had informed..." he looked down at the paper in front of him, " ... Captain Braxton-Clark, that you were not going to be responsible for the guarding of Wooten Bottom Lock, by letter?"

I nodded.

"How did he respond to that letter?"

"Captain Braxton-Clark didn't reply, but I arranged with his Lieutenant, Swithin Blaydon, that his company, would provide a guard for the lock, which continued until December eighteenth, when Captain Braxton-Clark informed me he would no longer be responsible for the security of the lock."

The President of the court looked up from a paper that he had been studying, and addressed me. General Picton stood at least six feet tall, and was wide of shoulder and deep chested, but his voice was quite high pitched, considering that barrel chest of his, and he had that sing song intonation of the Welsh.

"It don't seem that there was a very good relationship between the officers of the Sixty Ninth?"

He glared at me as if I was to blame for this sad state of affairs, but I kept my mouth shut and my face expressionless.

"Did you try and resolve this impasse with Captain Braxton-Clark?"

"I had my men keep observation on the lock from a nearby bridge, and I reported the matter to Adjutant Bywaters when he visited me, on December the twenty second. He said he would order a guard for the lock to be provided from Braxton-Clark's company."

General Picton then held up the sheet of paper that he had been studying, and read from it. It was the letter I had written to Braxton-Clark saying that I would not be responsible for Wooten Bottom Lock, but the words 'do not' had been omitted from the sheet of paper that Picton read from.

"That would seem to indicate that you were responsible for the lock, wouldn't you say?"

He glared at me ferociously, and I realised that Braxton-Clark, in a deceitful devious way, had altered my letter.
However, devious is as devious does, and I thanked my lucky stars that I had the wit to send a copy of the letter to HQ.

"That is not what I wrote. Words have been removed from my original letter, as will be seen when the copy I sent to battalion HQ is examined."

Picton gave me a slow, sly, smile.

"Captain, you are a man after my own heart -- never trust anyone!"

He then called for someone to find the copy of my letter, so that he could compare them. While we waited for the letter to appear he looked at me more closely.

"I know you, Sir! Where would that be from? I know that your regiment didn't serve in my Fighting Fifth division during the Iberian campaign."

He continued staring intently at me, which was quite an unsettling experience, when recognition suddenly dawned.

"By God! Now I remember. You're that madman with the axe at Ciudad Rodrigo?"

I nodded.

"I never forget a face, especially when it has won me some money. Bob Craufurd wagered you would be dead within a minute. I said you would last for at least five, and took ten guineas off that tight arsed Scot. Luckily for me he had paid up before he went and got himself killed."

He threw back his head and a whinnying laugh erupted. The rest of the court looked on amazed. It was a most unusual sight and sound.

Black Fred was an efficient administrator and kept track of all the paper work that came before him, so the copy of the letter I had written was soon produced. The two letters were handed to Picton, who closely examined the two versions.

"This," he held up the sheet he had read from, my letter to Braxton-Clark, "has been tampered with. It is clear that the words 'do not' have been removed, by a sharp blade I would suspect."

The officers comprising the Court of Inquiry then left the room to confer, while I awaited their verdict. It was a nerve racking time, for although I knew I had done my duty to the best of my ability the fact that a lock had been damaged meant that someone would need to be a scapegoat.
I was surprised when only after ten or so minutes the court reconvened with their verdict.
General Picton looked at me.