With the 62nd After the Skirmish

It was getting dark outside. He had requested Captain Vickery and Mr Sharpe to come, to discuss the skirmish in the afternoon, the first action that they had seen as an attachment to the 62nd. It would be interesting to know how it had gone from their point of view.

Vickery and Sharpe showed up together as requested by the Colonel. It would be interesting to hear his perspective on the afternoon's skirmish, Vickery thought as he waited for the Colonel's servant to announce them.

Abernethy announced the arrival of the two officers and stood back to let them into the tent. "Come in," Edrington said. "I think it would be helpful if we talked over this afternoon's affair. But first, would you like anything to drink? We need not be too formal about this."

"I don't suppose you have any coffee, sir," Vickery said, at the same moment as Sharpe made a request for tea, if there was any available. The Lieutenant shrugged. "I don't mind anythin', just so long as it's hot, sir."

Abernethy nodded, took a small box from the top of the chest, and slipped outside.

Edrington settled back in his chair. "Sit down, please. He won't be long. And in the meantime, I'd appreciate your general views. I think the Rifles performed very creditably, but... I am concerned about the difficulty of communication. Was that because your forward patrol was too far in advance?"

"Well, sir, the circumstances today were rather unusual in that due to the French position, the scouts did not realise there were French in the vicinity until it they were nearly on top of them. Ordinarily, they would have had a much earlier warning and been able to inform us without alerting the French." He had come entirely far too close to losing one of his men though.

"Unlike on a battlefield, where each regiment may be easily seen and communication with them are relatively easy, even if fraught with danger for the messenger, there is no easy way to pass messages between scouting parties and the column without possibly alerting the enemy to the scouts' presence. A mounted man can hardly make use of the terrain to conceal himself, as the Rifles are taught, after all, sir."

"The French were just sitting there, I believe. Not, I suppose, in sufficient numbers to endanger the column, though they could have been a nuisance. Particularly once they were reinforced by the rest of their company."

Edrington paused as Abernethy returned with a coffee pot in one hand and a mug of tea in the other. He passed the tea to Sharpe, and poured out two cups of coffee.

"Do we need - can we use - more people in a patrol? I know it makes it more likely that they will be seen, but it will ... Was your Rifleman meant to be on his own, Captain?"

He accepted the offered coffee with a smile and a nod of thanks.

"No, sir, he was not. He was supposed to have a partner with him, though I have yet to determine quite how Private Willoughby came to be that partner." He was not best pleased that Willoughby had been that partner; things could have been a lot worse because Newbury hadn't had someone able to back him up.

Edrington smiled. "I wil leave that matter to you. Although if you need me to deal with Willoughby..." A second, armed man might have made a difference.

"And then you sent a patrol forward under Sergeant Fisher, and then Lieutenant Sharpe. What did you find when you caught up with the Frenchmen, Mr Sharpe?"

"Well, sir, the 60th lads had pushed 'em back almost over the ridge, sir, Grenadiers not exactly bein' handy skirmishers. And they'd taken two of our lads prisoner. There was a small group of French with our two, who were tied up. I reckon they'd decided to fall back properly a bit earlier, because they cut the lads' trouser-buttons off. I reckon we'd have had a harder fight of it if they'd been Light, rather than Grenadiers. There was about thirty of them, so we - my lads and Captain Vickery's party under their Sergeant - outnumbered them, though we didn't know whether they was fallin' back to regroup, or had decided to cut their losses. Sir."

"That was well done - by both groups. But I am still concerned - we do not know what they were doing so far forward. I don't think our prisoner - a most junior grenadier - can be expected to enlighten us. Do we know if they were retreating back to their own side. Or if there are in fact more of them, south of our own forward positions. Are any of your men trailing them, Mr Sharpe? I believe you have skilled men in that field."

"I have, and I can send a some of them forward over the ground and after the French, though I don't reckon we want to risk runnin' into 'em again soon, like. We don't want a repeat of what happened today, anyway. It were a bit too close, like. If me an' the lads hadn't got up to where they were when we did, they might've high-tailed it back to wherever they came from with two of our lads. Sergeant... Fischer, I think it was, was outnumbered afore we got to him, an' it was only 'cause of havin' rifles not muskets that we could force 'em to go. Otherwise they could've regrouped and won by simply havin' more men, an' then picked up our two lads on their way back after. Leavin' them tied up wi' their buttons cut off would've meant they couldn't have got away even if the French hadn't decided to retreat."

Edrington smiled wryly. "They did seem humiliated, didn't they? But if it were a choice between being a prisoner and walking back to the column with their trousers over their arm, I expect they would have overcome their embarrassment."

He sipped the coffee. "I think we should try to see where the trail leads, if that is possible. Your men shouldn't be taken by surprise, at least. Set your best trackers onto it in the morning, would you? Captain Vickery, would you have done anything differently?"

Vickery lowered his cup and thought for a moment.

"Apart from making sure for definite I had two reliable men - if not more - out scouting? I should probably have sent more than ten men to find out what was going on, although that is with hindsight, which always has perfect vision." He shook his head. "I don't believe that I could have done anything better under the circumstances. Especially considering the fact that we believed the French to be rather further north. I should think that scouts will be rather more cautious now we know there is French infantry somewhere not too far ahead."

He smiled at the recollection of Newbury and Willoughby trying to hold their trousers up. "Cutting trouser buttons off doesn't just hmiliate, sir," he said, sipping his coffee. "It's very hard to run - or even walk - when trying to hold your trousers together. It was meant to slow them down, possibly enough for the French to get away. I would have kept after them a little longer, but that is neither here nor there, sir."

Edrington nodded. "Yes, it is always possible to be wise after the event. But now we do know about them, I'd like to see more men in front, and on the flank. Reliable men, who can back each other up, and come back to tell us what they have found." He grimaced. "This time we outnumbered them, but if they were attached to a larger force, we might have found ourselves having a regiment of French infantry on top of us. Finding out, and reporting back, would have been more use than pouring increasing numbers of riflemen into the skirmish, until it turned into a full-scale battle. I know we can't have proper lines of communication, but with more men in each patrol... Would that not work?"

The tow Rifles officers looked t each other. "Yes, sir, that would work," Vickery said eventually. And of course now they knew of the presence of French to their front, it would be silly to carry on as they had been.

"We could do all the scoutin' for everyone, with the 60th in reserve," Sharpe offered, and received a scowl from Vickery, hastily erased from his features as he took another mouthful of coffee to help regain control.

"You can do the scouting to the front, and we'll cover both flanks," the younger man offered. "I know you've got more expert scouts than I have, but my men need to learn those skills as well."

One of the sentries standing guard outside scratched at the tentflap to announce his presence and stuck his head inside.

"My lord Edrington, a Captain Poole of the Scots Greys to see you, sir!"



(OOC there is a cavalry screen, you know. People just keep missing the 400 grey horses... )

[OOC - I occasionally remember them, but they are not 'mine' like the Riflemen. I assume they're directed by General Wellesley. Unless someone has attached an entire cavalry regiment to my 62nd?]

Edrington looked up and said "Send him in. Abernethy, do we have another stool? Another cup of coffee?"

As the cavalry officer entered he said: "Captain Poole," and waited for the man to state his business.

"Sir." The cavalry officer stepped inside and came to attention. "I have to report that we are missing a vedette of dragoons, sir."

(OOC you have at least 2 squads, under Major Findlay. But he is missing, too. They have just been going quietly about their business)

(OOC and I would like to point out that shitting all over Waldegrave was not that stealthy at all)

"How on earth do you lose a vedette of dragoons?" Edrington looked at Sharpe and Vickery. "I assume you are aware that there are 30 - or more - French grenadiers in the area. Last seen heading north, east of the road. Is that where your vedette was going?"

"Yessir. As we are mounted on heavy warhorses, I sent a dismounted vedette under Cornet Westley to investigate a narrow sidetrack this morning. I continued with the remainder of my troop on the main road."

[Do you mean they were walking leading their horses? Or that they weren't meant to have horses at all? Because Javert has heard them planting their proud hoofs in the receiving earth.]

"Damn. Where was the track meant to lead them? Edrington got up quickly and unrolled the map that had lain curled up at the end of the table. "Presumably it would have brought them back close enough to here to make it by nightfall."

[to recap: after Sgt. Grey purged Willoughbys horse and it shat all over Waldegrave he fessed up about the incident to his officers. Consequently he was given punishment duty of dismounting and walking with their horses up the mountains. *points to threads Afternoon 5th day, Sunday morning and Sunday afternoon*]

Captain Poole studies the map intently and then points to a marking a bit away from todays marching route.
"There. I sent them to investigate that monastry or church there." He runs his index finger gingerly over the map. "The trail is not marked clearly. I suppose they could have gotten lost. And they would have to lead their horses for most of the way. We are not mounted on mountain goats, but on heavy warhorses, you know."
Dispite being smaller than both the Riflemen he manages to look down his nose at them. "I believe there are other parts of our division more suited to scouting in the mountains, sir."

Edrington snorted. "Particularly if you want to see and not be seen. We need to work together - Cavalry, line and rifles. But our first problem is your vedette." He looked at the map. "That," he pointed, "is where we met the grenadiers. If they retreated along here..." His finger traced a line through the hatched hills that might just intersect with the path to be taken by the cavalry. "This monastery - was there any reason why it should be investigated? I'm wondering if they have met the larger force that I feared might be here."