fresh period in the history of the army may be dated, it will be well to
review the general condition of the army in the preceding century,
injured as it was by the distrust of parliament and departmental
weakness and corruption which went far to neutralize the good work of
the duke of Cumberland as commander-in-chief and of Pitt as war
administrator. Regiments were raised almost as in the days of the
Edwards. The crown contracted with a distinguished soldier, or gentleman
of high position, who undertook to raise the men, receiving a certain
sum as bounty-money for each recruit. In some cases, in lieu of money,
the contractor received the nomination of all or some of the officers,
and recouped himself by selling the commissions. This system--termed
"raising men for rank"--was retained for many years, and originally
helped to create the "purchase system" of promotion. For the maintenance
of the regiment the colonel received an annual sum sufficient to cover
the pay of the men, and the expenses of clothing and of recruiting. The
colonel was given a "beating order," without which no enlistment was
legal, and was responsible for maintaining his regiment at full
strength. "Muster masters" were appointed to muster the regiments, and
to see that the men for whom pay was drawn were really effective.
Sometimes, when casualties were numerous, the allowance was insufficient
to meet the cost of recruiting, and special grants were made. In war
time the ranks were also filled by released debtors, pardoned criminals,
and impressed paupers and vagrants. Where the men were raised by
voluntary enlistment, the period of service was a matter of contract
between the colonel and the soldier, and the engagement was usually for
life; but exceptional levies were enlisted for the duration of war, or
for periods of three or five years. As for the officers, the low rate of
pay and the purchase system combined to exclude all but men of
independent incomes. Appointments (except when in the gift of the
colonel) were made by the king at home, and by the commander-in-chief
abroad; even in Ireland the power of appointment rested with the local
commander of the forces until the Union. The soldier was clothed by his
colonel, the charge being defrayed from the "stock fund." The army lived
in barracks, camps or billets. The barrack accommodation in Great
Britain at the beginning of the 18th century only sufficed for five
thousand men; and though it had gradually risen to twenty thousand in
1792, a large part of the army was constantly in camps and billets--the
latter causing endless complaints and difficulties.