By Karin Wiberg
On April 25 JASNA-NC met to view Jim Nagle’s video from the 2019 AGM “The British Army: Its Importance to Regency England and to Jane Austen” and then have live Q&A with him. We had a great turnout of about 35 members and guests, and the group was so engaged we forgot to get a screenshot of all the lovely faces on Zoom!
Key Points
Jim pointed out first that Jane Austen lived through many different wars, which might account for her not writing much about them in her novels—she was tired of them. But they were certainly a backdrop to her life and novels.
Then Jim described the main categories of the British Army:
- Regulars – Minimum age 16; officers had to serve a period of time before buying their next promotion—could be quite expensive.
- Militia – This was basically a private army; only Protestant men age 18-45; there was a quota by county. The militia was primarily for domestic actions and sometimes acted as police. These are the red coats—red so they would be visible in the gunsmoke of battle. Officers initially had to own land, though positions were more affordable than in the Regulars.
- Volunteers – These were not fulltime and were similar in nature to the American Minute Men—not well armed or well uniformed.
Several of Jane’s brothers served in the military: Frank and Charles were admirals in the Navy; Henry was a militia officer, paymaster and regimental agent; Edward commanded the East Kent Volunteers; James and Mr. Austen did not serve but rather recruited for the military.
Austen’s novels have several military characters. Persuasion and Mansfield Park focus on the Navy, and the other four, the Army. An interesting note about Colonel Brandon: after his youthful love affair went sour, he swapped commission with an officer going to India. These swaps were fairly common; money was not usually exchanged, but the officers had to agree and the colonels of their regiments had to agree.
Q&A
After the video, we had some interesting discussion on the topic. Highlights:
- Sue noted that in Northanger Abbey we are told Captain Tilney’s exact regiment, an unusual detail for Austen to include. It was real and well-respected regiment that fought with Wellington at Waterloo. Captain Tilney must have known what he was doing.
- Q: Were Navy or Army officers more respected? There are references to both being the most esteemed. A: Probably Navy officers a bit more; Army maybe a bit less, but respect grew if there was threat of invasion.
- Q: How outrageous was the Bennets’ attitude towards Army officers? A: While the Bennet characters are a little over the top, their attitude was probably not uncommon—with invasion fears, these were their protectors.
- Q: Were there any rules of conduct for the Army men regarding women? A: It depended on the individual regiments and officers were expected to lead the way in that regard. Some had fairly serious penalties, but to an extent it depended who you dallied with.
- Q: It seems Wickham never faced penalties or discipline. A: Yes, he left for the job up north, which was bad enough, but he left debt as well, which reflected poorly on the regiment. Without Darcy, Wickham would have been considered a deserter and received penalties.
- Q: Why were the militia used as police? A: At the time, there were only rudimentary police departments. A strike or riot was beyond the capacity of the watch or the constable, so the militia were called out. Within a generation of Jane’s death, police were becoming more established. Prime Minister Robert Peel was instrumental in beefing them up; as a result they got the nickname “bobbies.”
- Q: Color bearers carried the flags of the regiments so they could be seen in battle. Were they young men/boys? A: Not necessarily young, but tall so the flag would be high. And it was a high-risk job. Drummers, however, tended to be very young. If you couldn’t see your regiment, you needed to be able to hear them.
- Q: Austen was writing at such a time of conflict. In 1807 slave trade was prohibited in the UK, and we are familiar with some of the Mansfield Park allusions. Was Lord Mansfield in the Army? A: Not sure about Lord Mansfield. But after the Napoleonic Wars ended, part of the Navy’s duty became policing the slave trade on the seas. In terms of colonialism (America, Canada, Australia, India), the British Army was the main instrument—the stick beside the carrot of British trade. When you peel the onion, Mansfield Park may be Austen’s most complicated work.
Resources for further reading
Jim provided the following suggestions for further reading about the British Army:
Books
- Jane Austen: The Banker’s Sister by E. J. Clery
- Jane Austen and the Military by Rupert Matthews
Articles in Persuasions
- Clive Caplan, “Jane Austen’s Soldier Brother” (No. 18, 1996)
- Clive Caplan, “Jane Austen’s Banker Brother” (No. 20, 1998)
- John Breihan and Clive Caplan, “Jane Austen and the Militia” (No. 14, 1992)
- Kenneth W. Graham, “The Case of the Petulant Patriarch” (No. 20, 1998)
- Collins Hemingway, “How the ‘Long War’ Affected Jane Austen’s Family and Her Novels” (No. 39, 2019)
Additionally, you can search for an online lecture by Rupert Willoughby, “Jane Austen and the Army.”
Thanks to Jim Nagle for an excellent talk!
James F. Nagle, a member of the Puget Sound Region, is a former secretary of JASNA. A semi-retired lawyer, Jim has spoken at numerous AGM’s and to various regions regarding various aspects of Jane’s life and times.