“Beresford’s achievement was such as to lead commentators to acknowledge the Portuguese army the equal of any in Europe.”

By Marcus de la Poer Beresford

THE DUKE OF Wellington was never one to lavish praise on his subordinates, but he made an exception in the case of William Carr Beresford. In fact, the Iron Duke once referred to the Irish-born general as “the ablest man I have yet seen with the army.” It was no empty tribute.

Born in 1768 to the 1^st Marquis of Waterford, Beresford would fight in campaigns on three continents, during which he’d achieve the rank of general and even marshal. His exploits in Corsica, Egypt, and on the River Plate, where he took part in the capture of Buenos Aires in 1806, certainly won him fame. But it was his exploits on the Iberian Peninsula that cemented his reputation as one of Wellington’s finest.

In 1808 Beresford was sent to Portugal, having served briefly as governor of the island of Madeira. Portugal had been conquered by Napoleon’s forces the previous year, but his actions there, while truncated by the British army’s retreat to and subsequent evacuation from La Coruna in January 1809, endeared him to both Portuguese political and military authorities. When the Portuguese government requested a British general to rebuild its army, strong support within the British government combined with recognition of both his military and administrative abilities led to Beresford’s appointment.

Beresford’s instructions were to rebuild the Portuguese army, disbanded following the first French invasion and conquest of Portugal in 1807. Taking up the post in Lisbon in March 1809 he was joined soon afterwards by Wellington (still at that time Sir Arthur Wellesley), nominated to command the British army in Portugal as well as in overall commander of the combined British and Portuguese forces. The introduction of British officers and regulations by Beresford combined with extensive training and strict discipline proved so successful that within a year, Wellington was to substantially integrate the two armies brigading together Portuguese and British regiments. For over five years Wellington and Beresford were to work together in harmony causing the former to observe on one occasion ‘it is impossible for two people to understand each other better than Beresford and I. He is two miles from this [Gouveia] and I see him every day; and I believe that we take pretty nearly the same view of every transaction.’

Beresford participated in most of the major engagements of the peninsular war including the battles of Barrosa, Albuera, Salamanca, Vitoria, the Pyrenees, the Nivelle, the Nive, Orthez and the final battle at Toulouse in April 1814. He partook in the building and defence of the Lines of Torres Vedras outside Lisbon and was present at the capture of the great Spanish fortresses of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz in 1812. Beresford’s achievement was such as to lead commentators to acknowledge the Portuguese army the equal of any in Europe.

Following the defeat of Napoleon and his 1814 exile, Beresford returned to Portugal to resume his command there. To his and Wellington’s chagrin he was not present at Waterloo due to the intransigence of the administration in Portugal which would permit neither Beresford nor the Portuguese army to be moved to the Low Countries to face Napoleon. Instead, the next six years of his career were taken up with trying to maintain the effectiveness of the Portuguese army in the face of a myriad of challenges. He bristled against calls for demobilization and resisted the dispatch of troops to Brazil to support Lisbon’s expansionist policies there at the expense of Spain. Even amid the resulting  threats of Spanish invasion, he alienated the very government officials who protected him and faced several plots designed to get rid of troublesome ‘foreigner.’ Yet despite all of this, he retained the complete trust of King Joao VI whom he visited in Brazil on a number of occasions.

While there in 1820 to impress upon the king the need to return to Portugal to retain his throne, a liberal revolution erupted at home. Upon returning to Portugal with fresh funds to pay his army, the new regime in Lisbon refused him permission to land. He resigned his commission and returned to England.

During his command in Portugal, Beresford was a strong advocate of promotion on merit. Conservative in his own politics, he would end up advancing many of those who would later support the liberal revolution. Colonel Allan Millett, the American historian, in identifying Beresford as one of the great military reformers, has observed ‘Sometimes military reform becomes an engine for change for an entire society, intended or otherwise.’

Already honoured in Portugal as Marquis of Campo Maior and Conde de Trancoso and in Great Britain as Baron of Dungarvan and Albuera, Beresford was created Viscount Beresford in 1823. Governor of the island of Jersey for over 30 years, he was also a member of Wellington’s first government in 1828 as Master General of the Ordnance. He married his first cousin Louisa Beresford, widow of Thomas Hope, the celebrated author, designer and art collector. In later life the monarchs of Portugal continued to consult him. He died at Bedgebury, his home in Kent in 1854, the last of the marshals on any side to have fought in the Napoleonic Wars.

Marcus de la Poer Beresford is the author of Marshal William Carr Beresford: The Ablest Man I Have Yet Seen With the Army from Irish Academic Press. A member of the Military History Society of Ireland, British Military History Commission and the Waterford Historical Society, Beresford writes and lectures on the Napoleonic Wars in Ireland, the United Kingdom and Europe. For more information, visit his website, marcusdelapoerberesford.ie.