Pulteney's Regiment (13th Foot)

The Letters of Major Richard Davenport

Extracts from the letters of Major Richard Davenport
4th Troop Horse Guards and 10th Dragoons.
As printed in the Society for Army Historical Research Special Publication No. 9
Edited by W.O.II C.W. Frearson, Pub. 1968

Concerning soldier wives, nurses and sundry other types

Ghent
29th September, 1742.

I am heartily tired of this place, the people are disagreeable and cheat us in everything; as for the women, I have not seen one that is so handsome as my laundress’ sister, except the Foot soldiers wives’ who look like angels.

Ghent
3rd January, 1743.

Provisions are plenty of all sorts, but the cooks of this place are the worst in the world and there are no English women but soldiers’ wives. The wives of our men are above service and the wives of the foot soldiers, without excepting one that ever I saw, are as drunken as their husbands.

Brussels
26th April, 1743.

Brussels is an agreeable place; its situation pleasant, the people of good fashion, the women handsome and not virtuous.

Elliot lives in a little, dirty house and keeps a Flemish whore, very pretty. It is my misfortune to have a washerwoman of sixty, but Taylor and I and my man and his man keep a little wooden shoes girl that lives in the house where we lodge, amongst us, but we begin to be jealous, having reason to suspect an intrigue between her and another officer or his servant who live next door.

Lathen
3rd January, 1759.

When a man goes into hospital, his wallet, with his necessaries, are sent with him, but nothing ever returns. I have lost nine men and not heard of anything that belonged to them. It is common practise of the nurse, when a man is in danger, to put on him a clean shirt, that he may die in it, and that it may become her prerequisite. I went once through every ward in the hospital and enquired of every man in the regiment who was there, if he had anything to complain of, and they all said no, they were all well attended and supplied, except some who complained of the negligence of the nurses.

Nottuln, 4 leagues form Munster
21st May, 1759.

The dirty village and peasant’s barn which was my lot in Winter, is changed to a pleasant country place and a handsome, modern house, belonging to a chapter of canonesses, all of noble blood. Two of the four that live in the house with me are young and genteel and one of them is as handsome as an angel. They are perfectly easy and well bred, without affectation, speak French and love English country dances as well as any girls in England, which you will believe when I tell you that we have had three Balls a week ever since we came here, three or four of which have lasted till day-light. This was to have gone on at the same rate, but alas! – this very afternoon as we were drinking tea and singing French songs under Pitt’s new tent, there comes a scoundrel full gallop, blowing a damned squeaking horn, and produces an order to march to-morrow morning.

Adieu Nottuln! Adieu Madamoiselles d’Ascheberg, de Chalis and van Galin! Adieu to the love and graces that hover round the two former and to the Frowzy odour that exhales from every pore of the latter when she sweats in dancing.

Bramsche
6th April, 1760.

In these damned Protestant villages, there is a kind of regularity of morals and a fear of their pastor among the young women, that is a great check to intrigue. They are never clear of the fear of the consequences of their sins.

In Catholic villages, and especially towns, they are ‘smokey’ and know they can settle accounts once a month or so. They dread the time a little as it approaches, but after Confession the heart is a light as feathers.

Besides these defects in the people, there is in us an ignorance of the language and from thence an impossibility of employing to any purpose, the art of persuasion. A man who can only say, ‘Will you?’ and one word more, must not expect the answer to be always ‘Yes’, yet sometimes, these few words joined with the glittering appearance of a ducat, will have a good effect, but less here than in any quarter I have been in.

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