In the early evening, a sentry of the 95th Rifles  stands guard in camp - such guards did ‘fix swords’ on duty and the duty of this ‘recreated’ rifleman is taken just as importantly.

‘Period Camps’ are recreated in every possible detail to provide the overall atmosphere behind a display-event - and the men (and their women) live ‘at home’ in them for the duration. Displays are given each day for visitors on every aspect of the operational duties of the 95th Rifles and include demonstrations of uniform, kit, rations, weapons and drill.

RECREATED  95TH  RIFLES  ‘IN  CAMP’

By

Richard Rutherford Moore

Seen just behind the sentry here is one of the notorious ‘Flanders cauldrons’ that was intended to feed four to six soldiers and each rifleman had to take turns in carrying - a Rifles officer described these pots as it ‘took half a church door to bring to the boil’. These iron pots were eventually replaced by lighter individual ‘mess-tins’ in 1813.

Left: This sentry is Rifleman Wanmer : Standing guard at Hougoumont on the scene of very heavy fighting during the battle of Waterloo on 18th June 1815.

The ‘backbone’ of the British Army is the long-service sergeant. The one seen here is posting two riflemen as pickets on the outskirts of a village to use both their eyes and ears - and rifles if necessary - to give a timely alert of any approach by friend or foe.

‘Portuguese’ tents were used by the 95th Rifles to establish ‘permanent camps’ in 1810 within The Lines of Torres Vedras before their bell-tents arrived from England via Lisbon. This photograph offers view down a typical ‘company street’ : period-camping is not ‘roughing it’ and this particular well-ordered and comfortable ‘working’ camp operated for several days and formed the attractive background for different displays by the 95th Rifles including the issue and cooking of ‘rations’ … but ‘bivouacking in the field’ is also on the menu for riflemen employed in ‘living history’ displays and this is catered for in the training of a new recruit. Rifleman making such ‘improvised overnight camps’ or bivouac during the Peninsular War did depend on their Brigade-Major making every effort to procure local supplies of straw for bedding as without such a provision though riflemen were very adept at making basic shelters from materials to hand, an overnight camp using only the blanket and greatcoat for warmth could be pretty miserable especially in wet or cold conditions - and would and did result in ‘complaints’.

Soldiers’ women prepare and cook food for the camp in ‘period-style’ - Bonaparte’s adage that ‘an army marches on it’s stomach’ (not that he ever did much about this himself) but Wellington’s Army will see a wholesome variety of soup and broth, pieces of roast beef and pork, pastry and pies and the baking of fresh bread produced. This aspect of camp-life is an industry in itself …

A squad of riflemen fall-in under the watchful eye of a sergeant to be reviewed by an officer. Riflemen of the 95th were always instructed in their training and duties by their own company NCO, subaltern or Captain. You can read from period memoirs that at such times, any opportunity for a joke were taken by both officers and men - within reason - but serious inspections of uniform and kit, gear and ‘overall awareness’ will take place. This squad will soon be issued with ammunition and ‘stand to their arms’ in readiness to march.

A squad of eight Riflemen ‘in light marching order’ under a ‘Chosen Man’ in the shade offered by trees awaiting their orders to march. This is a sensible precaution - and even if not ordered to do so by an officer, a Rifles sergeant or NCO would be expected to show initiative and move his squad into a suitable spot nearby to rest.

This section of the 95th is in ‘full marching order’ - the knapsacks of the 95th Rifles contain all they would need to survive ‘on campaign’ in terms of their ‘camp necessities’ … and in addition would often contain the entire worldly goods of the individual rifleman concerned. Wearing period-kit today in recreating the Napoleonic equivalent of ‘marching practice’ as laid down by Wellington does involve ‘trial and error’ gained through experience. Before going into battle, knapsacks would often be stacked and placed under guard for ‘safe-keeping’ - but in many actions of the Peninsular War, riflemen went into action still wearing their knapsacks.

95th Rifles ‘on the march’. Though deemed ‘light infantry’ the Rifles’ uniform and kit actually weighed more than ‘heavy infantry’ - the gear and kit carried on campaign by the 95th Rifles was ‘amended’ from the Kings Regulations during the early years of the war to reduce weight by riflemen simply discarding many items ‘deemed unnecessary’ - but including three days rations and sixty rounds of ammunition (and a few ‘home comforts’ ) would still weigh between fifty and sixty pounds. Here, the Rifles are seen recreating a period ‘marching exercise’ for training purposes and taking the period-usual ‘break’ of between five and ten minutes every hour before making an overnight camp using only what they are carrying. In the Light Division under command of Robert Craufurd when reaching a fixed point to schedule was set, the duration of the days’ march each day was set by ascertaining from a map or a local guide the distance that must be covered between two points and then dividing it into hours using a rate between two-and-a-half and three miles per hour … resulting in several examples of astonishing distances covered in miles per day.    The Corporal in charge of this rifle-section is wearing a ‘foul-weather’ cover over his shako.

A rifles-squad acting as ‘guides’ for a body of infantry. It was specified that officers of the Light Division not only possessed maps but also carried the means to create them. Such marches were often undertaken in Portugal and Spain during The Peninsular War to avoid the soldiers having to march in ‘the heat of the day’ … but this was done : the average distance of a days’ march set by Wellington for infantry was 15 miles when ‘on detached service’ but during The Talavera Campaign of 1809 the 95th  Rifles covered 25 miles in a single day in the heat of a Spanish summer - but - marches ‘in darkness’ were fraught with potential disaster during The Peninsular War and careful planning was undertaken to avoid any ‘mishap’. Two riflemen from this squad are a further two hundred yards in front.

‘First in the Field and the Last Out’ is a traditional 95th Rifles proverb. Riflemen are seen here ‘at their ease’ outside the historic church in Plancenoit on the south-eastern end of the battlefield of Waterloo waiting for the rest of the British infantry to arrive after ‘marching to the battle’.  Each rifleman here was issued with ammunition and his ‘rations for the day’ and after filling their water-bottles, set off ‘quite early’ that particular morning to avoid the midday heat to cover ‘in an easy march’ the distance of two and a half miles from their camp across the original battlefield.  Though it was not encouraged ‘in-period’ most of this eight-man squad have taken the opportunity to remove their caps to ‘cool off’.