The story of the 1808 Convention of Cintra is an excellent
example of why incompetent people should never be allowed to be in charge of
anything as important as an army. However, the lessons are not always learned,
and lack of ability did not cease to be a bar to promotion for many years after
the affair in question.
The convention was a treaty drawn up after an early British
victory in the Peninsular War fought against the forces of Napoleon Bonaparte. The
war was fought to support the Spanish and Portuguese forces that had revolted
against the French invaders.
The Battle of Vimeiro was fought on 21st August
1808 between the British army led by General Arthur Wellesley (who would later
become the Duke of Wellington) and the French under Major-General Jean-Andoche
Junot. The latter had invaded Portugal in November 1807, being largely
unchallenged until the British Expeditionary Force arrived in August 1808.
The French were soundly beaten at Vimeiro and forced to
withdraw, their losses amounting to more than 2,100 casualties (killed and
wounded) as against the British 750. The French withdrew, but the British
declined to pursue them.
The reason for this lack of a follow-up was that Wellesley
was relieved of his command immediately
after the battle, that role being assumed firstly by Sir Harry Burrard
and then (only one day later!) by Sir Hew Dalrymple. It was not that Wellesley
had done anything wrong, merely that the rules of military precedence decided
the pecking order.
Sir Hew Dalrymple
Sir Hew Dalrymple came from military and aristocratic stock,
the latter guaranteeing that he would rise rapidly through the ranks as an army
officer. He was therefore a captain at the age of 18 and a lieutenant-colonel
when aged 31. His experience of military action – although not entirely absent
– was not extensive, and he had spent the two years before the Portuguese
adventure as Governor of Gibraltar. His appointment as Commander of the
Portuguese Expedition was therefore entirely unconnected with any direct
experience of what had gone before, and he turned up find Wellesley on the
point of pursuing the defeated French towards Lisbon.
The Convention of Cintra
Sir Hew’s first action was to tell Wellesley to stop what he
was doing. Instead, Sir Hew drew up a treaty that was duly agreed and signed by
Major-General Junot.
Under the treaty, Sir Hew arranged for the entire French
army, together with its equipment and goods previously looted from the
Portuguese, to be given a free ride back to France, conveyed thither in British
ships. Presumably Sir Hew thought that this was the gentlemanly thing to do,
but he appeared to suffer from the delusion that the French would accept the
deal in the same light. However, there was absolutely nothing in the treaty to
prevent the French from coming straight back again, which of course they did.
The absurdity of this convention was not lost on the British
government, which promptly recalled all three commanders back to London, given
that the other two had concurred with Dalrymple’s decision.
An enquiry was held, due to the derision that the convention
had caused, but no disciplinary action was taken against the three men. However,
Burrard was too embarrassed to seek another commission and Dalrymple was never
offered one.
The only person to escape with his reputation unscathed was
Wellesley, who had not actually signed the convention document. His experience
and record of military success was too valuable to be discarded and he returned
to Lisbon in April 1809 as supreme commander of the British forces. He
continued to fight a long and arduous campaign in the Peninsular that was
eventually successful.
© John Welford
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