By John D Ellis
In August 1873 the obituaries column of The Jamaica Instructor sadly informed its readers of the passing, of “an old Waterloo Veteran, and a brave soldier of the Crown.” [1] That an old soldier of the 73rd Foot, and later the 42nd Foot, (the famous Highland “Black Watch” ), should die in the colonies was not exceptional; as many white British and Irish born soldiers, their horizons broadened by travel, chose never to return home after serving abroad. However, in this case the deceased was George Rose, a Jamaican born “man of colour”; former escaped slave; decorated veteran of the Netherlands and Waterloo campaigns; Sergeant in the “Black Watch”; Methodist minister; and the last known black survivor of Waterloo.[2]
George Rose was born into slavery in Spanish Town, Jamaica in 1787. By 1809, he had escaped to England, narrowly avoiding capture on the way, and enlisted in the 2nd Battalion 73rd Foot, (hereafter the 73rd), in London in August of that year. Rose was not alone in making his way to Britain, after the Somerset case of 1772 thousands of both enslaved blacks, and those free who thought their tenuous liberty threatened, had fled here in the often mistaken belief that once on British soil they would be free. Once in Britain, like many others both before and after him, Rose enlisted in the Army, securing his freedom and asserting control over his own destiny, as the jealously guarded tradition of the regimental system meant that all recruits had to be volunteers.[3] A further advantage of military service was that blacks were paid exactly the same as their white counterparts.
In 1811, probably whilst recruiting in Ireland for the 73rd Foot, Rose was converted to Methodism.[4] The links between Methodism and abolitionism have been sufficiently well documented for this article to avoid dwelling on them, save to say that the work of Methodist missionaries in the West Indies probably struck a chord with Rose.
Rose saw action with his regiment in Germany in 1813, and the Netherlands in 1814, where he received the first of his wounds in January 1814.[5] Following Napoleon’s first abdication in 1814 the 73rd was stationed in Belgium, and after his return from Elba, fought at Quatre Bras and Waterloo as part of the 5th British Brigade.[6] At Quatre Bras on the 16th June 1815 the 73rd lost fifty two dead, wounded and missing, and the following day a further four were killed.
Writing of the main battle on the 18th, Siborne, the historian of Waterloo, later wrote:
“Of all the troops comprising the Allied Army, the most exposed to the fierce onslaught of French cavalry and to the continuous cannonade of their artillery were the squares posted in advance of the crest of the Duke’s position. They consisted of a Battalion (each), of the 1st Guards, and the 30th and 73rd Regiments.”
By the evening of the 18th of June, and after three days of combat, of the 558 men who paraded with the 73rd on the morning of the 16th, a total of 135 had been killed, wounded or listed as missing. Amongst the wounded was George Rose, serving as a Private in Number One Company, who had been severely wounded by a gunshot to the right arm.[7]
Upon its return to England the 73rd‘s veterans of the Waterloo campaign, Rose amongst them, received their medals in 1816.[8]
The Battalion was finally disbanded in April of 1817, and whilst the majority of ‘effectives’ joined the 73rd‘s 1st Battalion in Ceylon, Rose transferred to the 42nd (Highland) of Foot.[9] In the 42nd Rose served in Ireland until 1825, Gibraltar from 1825 to 1832, Corfu and Malta from 1832 to 1836. In 1836 the regiment returned to Scotland, where Rose was discharged in Glasgow in 1837.
Whilst serving in Malta in 1829 Rose had been promoted to Corporal, and then later in October 1831 to Sergeant. As far as is known, he was the most senior black soldier serving in a British regiment during this period.[10] It would appear that white soldiers felt uncomfortable being under the authority of blacks, as this offended their sensibilities regarding the perceived “racial hierarchy“.[11] Yet, in the 42nd Foot, a regiment that was fiercely proud of its tradition of martial prowess, Rose was able to overcome many of the prejudices against “people of colour”, and become a respected senior non-commissioned officer. By 1829-1831, the 42nd could not have had many survivors of Waterloo left in its ranks, and it is possible that Rose’s campaign experience gave him an advantage over other candidates for promotion. However, campaign service alone was no guarantee of promotion, and Rose was by no means the most experienced black soldier of the period.[12] Nor was he the only black soldier referred to as being “a good, efficient, and exemplary soldier, trustworthy and sober,” a character reference which must also have stood in his favour.[13]
Thus, whilst Rose was no doubt an exemplary soldier, and in the absence of memoirs, one is forced to examine other factors that might have facilitated his becoming a senior NCO. Rose was promoted twice in quick succession in 1829 and 1831, dates corresponding with the period of command of one Lieutenant Colonel Munro. Whilst literacy was a pre-requisite for promotion to the rank of senior NCO, Munro took this one step further by establishing the first regimental library in the British Army in 1830, thus signalling that in the 42nd senior NCOs must be both well read and well informed. (Munro’s scheme was later implemented across the Army).[14]
Rose’s conversion to Methodism early in his career had probably saved him from some of the worst vices that befell the bored soldiery; the most prevalent being drinking and related crime. The memoirs of nineteenth century soldiers are littered with references to all-day drinking sessions, and records reveal drink to be responsible for many NCOs being reduced to the ranks, and enlisted men facing disciplinary procedures.[15] As a Methodist, Rose would, (in theory), have remained abstemious, thus meeting one of the main criteria for promotion. He must also have been literate, a skill he probably acquired after leaving Jamaica, or on conversion in Ireland, or perhaps through taking advantage of the Regimental schools instituted by the Army in 1812.
However, religion and soldiering was considered by many to be a dangerous mixture, and many officers saw religion, and particularly non-conformity, as a threat to their own authority. In the 73rd Foot when Rose was serving in it, one officer, finding a Bible in the possession of one of the men, ordered him to burn it; saying “Damn you, Sir, I’ll let you know that your firelock is your Bible, and I am your God almighty!”.[16] It is not known if Rose was the soldier involved, but it serves to highlight the fact that religion of any kind was viewed with hostility by some officers. Nevertheless, it has been suggested that the combination of the abolition of regimental chaplains and the general lack of spiritual provision meant that nonconformity did appeal to many in the rank and file, and that some even became lay preachers.[17] The Duke of Wellington was ambivalent towards religion in the ranks, but tolerated it because he considered it was “a better way for the men to spend their time than indulging in the vices of the majority.”[18]
It would appear that Lieutenant Colonel Munro of the 42nd shared Wellington’s opinion, because in 1829 and 1831 when he was looking around to find men of the highest calibre and education to promote into positions of authority his eye fell on the abstemious, educated veteran of the Netherlands and Waterloo campaign, George Rose. Whilst, unlike in other regiments, there is no record of the 42nd employing black soldiers in musical roles, the strength of the belief in the “innate musical ability” of blacks across the Army ensured that Rose, a man of limited musical experience, should be appointed Band Sergeant.[19] However, despite his musical responsibilities, Rose was a fully integrated member of the 42nd in which as a soldier of a Highland regiment, he would have worn a kilt, and as a senior NCO he would have had authority over all the rank and file not just the band. Whilst the fact that Rose was the only black soldier known to achIeve senior NCO rank, is a sad indictment of early nineteenth century racial attitudes, paradoxically, it is a tribute to the open mindedness of Lieutenant Colonel Munro and the men of the 42nd that he was both selected for and accepted in that rank.
In Glasgow in 1837, after nearly twenty-eight years of service, time caught up with Rose and he applied for a pension. The surgeon’s report stated that “he is permanently incapacitated from military duty, having left inguinal rupture, and a right arm weakened from an old gun shot wound. He is debilitated to such a degree from length of service as to render him incapable of- marching.” On discharge he was of average height, (5’6″ tall), had black hair, black eyes, and was described as being “a man of copper colour.”
As a Chelsea out-pensioner he was awarded a pension of twenty-three pence per day, a comparatively large sum for the time, and one which probably reflected both the rank he had attained and the length of service he had undertaken.[20]
Rose’s decision to remain in Glasgow, (a city he can only have had minimal contact with), suggests that he was attracted there either because there might have been an existing black community there, or because through Methodism he had made contacts there.[21] Subsequently, Rose proceeded to officiate as a member of the Primitive Methodists, and preached on Glasgow Green.[22] One can only wonder what the onlookers thought of the “man of colour”, with his proud military bearing and injured arm, wearing the Waterloo Medal on his chest.
In 1849, Rose returned to Jamaica for the first time since his escape. It is probable that Rose returned on some missionary scheme, it being the practice of the period to train black Africans and West Indians in Britain in order to send them home as missionaries. By then Rose would have been a relatively old man, and the Jamaica he found on his return was very different from the one he had fled from so many years before. Slavery had been abolished in the 1830s, Jamaica was in economic decline, and beset by internal strife. Rose laboured as a missionary at the Ferry Pen, in connection with the United Presbyterian Church, but later was associated with the Free Methodists.[23] In 1862 he retired from the active work of the ministry, but still remained a member of the circuit meeting and district synod; occasionally still preaching.[24]
George Rose died, probably of old age, on Sunday 27th July 1873, at Turnbull Pen, near Spanish Town, Jamaica. His funeral the next day was undertaken in the presence of many spectators. He was buried in the small Chapel in which he had spent his final years preaching, and on his grave went the fitting epitaph “Death is swallowed up in Victory.”[25]
Whilst the original obituary of 1873 is lost to historians, an article did appear by an unknown journalist in the Daily Gleaner of 28th July 1957, in which Rose was described as “a notable Jamaican evidently well regarded.” However, the same article suggests that “in intelligence he must have been beyond the average of his comrades here”, (i.e. Jamaica). This creates the illusion of Rose as a lone black man overcoming prejudice, and indicates that skilled men will rise to the top in the Army whatever their skin colour. In fact, the records belie this assumption. However, George Rose served in the Army at a time when many regiments had black soldiers, a practice which lasted well into the 1840s. Thus, whilst he might have been the only “man of colour” in his regiment during the Waterloo campaign, he would have been aware of, and known black soldiers in other regiments.[26]
I have raised many issues in this article in the hope that this will shed some light on the life of a hitherto unknown, although obviously very able soldier and clergyman.[27] There are of course gaps in what we know of George Rose, particularly his life in Glasgow and Jamaica after leaving the Army, and it is hoped that at some future date further information will emerge. Perhaps most tantalisingly among all of the references to Rose, is a single entry in the Records of the Sergeants, (see note 19), which describes him as being “married”, leaving one to ponder, who was his wife, did they have any children, and if so, what happened to them?
Postscript
When I first wrote this article in 2004 I raised questions concerning a single reference to Rose having a wife and I speculated on whether he may have had children. Since then, much further research has been done and this has established that he was married and did indeed have children; a number of living descendants, of whom there must be many, have been identified. I will briefly summarise recent developments below but a detailed discussion falls beyond the scope of this current article. The developments since 2004 demonstrate that history is not static and that new discoveries are constantly being made.
It is now known that George’s father came from Inverness, and that Rose served in the (Irish) King’s County Militia before transferring to the 73rd Foot.[28]
On settling in Glasgow he became the Methodist Minister at the “Waterloo Chapel”, (also known as the “Waterloo Veteran Church”), on the corner of St Mungo’s and Suffolk Street.[29] The occasion of the laying of the foundation stone for the chapel revealed that George Rose was clearly amongst friends and former comrades in Glasgow.
John McDougall, named in the article, was born in Glasgow, Lanarkshire c.1784. He enlisted for unlimited service in the 42nd Foot at Fort George, Inverness on the 11th August 1803 aged 19 years. He served 18 years and 14 days in the 42nd Foot and was credited with an additional 2 years for serving at Waterloo. He was discharged as a Sergeant on a pension of 1s/11d by the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, 10th August 1821, due to a reduction in the establishment of the regiment. His conduct had been good. On discharge he was 37 years old, 5’10” tall with brown hair, grey eyes and a fresh complexion. He was a weaver by occupation. It was noted in his records that “Sergeant McDougall was severely wounded in the head (at) Corunna – and at Waterloo in the breast and right knee. He has lost the sight of his left eye – which reports to have been occasioned by a stroke of lightning when on night duty on service on the 17th June 1815.” A marching allowance of £1/5s was given to Sergeant McDougall to transport himself and his family from Kilkenny (where the 42nd were quartered in 1821), to Dublin to be assessed for pension at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham. John McDougall received the “Waterloo Medal” and in 1848 he was awarded the (retrospectively) awarded “Military General Service Medal 1793-1814” with a clasp for the battle of Corunna. In late 1845 he moved to Perth, where he died in November 1851, aged 66 years.[30]
George Rose was a charismatic preacher, well respected and much in demand. In 1844 he was invited to Belfast where he spoke in support of temperance, using examples of the perils of alcohol from his time in the 73rd and 42nd Regiments of Foot.[31]
George Rose was married to Mary, and they had four children: Mary Ann Rose (Born Ireland. 1819-1864). George Rose (Born Grantham. 1822-). Jane Matilda Rose (Known as Jeanie. Born Ireland. 1825-1904). Obadiah Rose (Born Gibraltar. 1830-1893).[32]
In 1849 the Waterloo Chapel was advertised for sale or let in the Glasgow Gazette. It was described as having space for 400 sittings, with gas and a stove, and including two dwelling houses, with water closets.[33]
1849 was the year George Rose returned to Jamaica, and it is possible that the death of his wife Mary prompted his return.
His children, who by 1849 were all adults, did not accompany him on his return to Jamaica. Today George Rose has descendants in Britain, Australia, Canada and France.
NOTES
[1] The Gleaner, (Jamaica), of 28/07/1957, pp.16 quoting an obituary from The Jamaica Instructor’ of 07/08/1873
[2] A.Lagden & J.Sly, The 2/73rd at Waterloo, (Privately Published, 1998), pp.205-211
[3] For the purposes of the article the term “British Army” applied exclusively to the units listed as being on the establishment of Household troops, Cavalry and Infantry in 1809. This is purely for the purposes of brevity and is not in any way intended to denigrate the service, status or achievements of the West India Regiment. It is well documented that the Army did procure slaves for the West India Regiment.
[4] C.H.Crookshank, History of Methodism in Ireland, (London, 1886), Vol.2, pp.346
[5] Lagden & Sly, op cit. pp.198-199
[6] Capt., W.Siborne, History of the Waterloo Campaign, (Greenhill Books, London, 1990), pp.564. The 5th Brigade was comprised of the 1st Battalion/33rd Foot, the 2nd Battalion/69th Foot and the 2nd Battalion/73rd Foot.
[7] Lagden & Sly, op cit. pp.XII, LX, 198-9.
[8] ibid
[9] In 1881, the 42nd and 73rd Regiments of Foot were linked as the first and second Battalions of the “Royal Highland Regiment (the Black Watch)” respectively. The regiment was later renamed as “the Black Watch (Royal Highlanders)”, a title that it retains to this day. See Lagden & Sly, pp.XI. Also B Ferguson, The Black Watch, A Short History, (printed for the Regiment, Woods of Perth, printers, 1985). Rose has perhaps the unique honour of being the only man to serve in both regiments.
[10] Of all the black soldiers identified by my MA thesis (summarised in BASA Newsletter #30) as serving in British regiments in the early nineteenth century, Rose was the most senior in rank.
[11] See my MA thesis noted in BASA newsletter #30, pp.57-62
[12] The two most experienced soldiers were probably Charles Arundell and Gibeon Lippett; mulattos from St Kitts and Rhode Island respectively who served as company Buglers “with the 1st/43rd Regiment at the capture of Copenhagen in 1807, General Sir John Moore’s retreat in 1809, and in every siege and action in which the 43rd Regiment was engaged from the Battle of Coa 24th July 1810, to the end of the War in the South of France. They served at New Orleans in America, 8th January 1815 and were present at the Capture of Paris in July 1815”, (PRO WO97/724&587). Yet, these men, who, if they had lived to claim the retrospectively awarded Military Service Medal, 1793-1814, would have been eligible for up to fifteen battle ‘clasps’, which would have put them amongst the most decorated former soldiers of Wellington’s Army, appear not to have been considered for promotion.
[13] Archibald Robertson of Grenada served in the 1st King’s Dragoons Guards from 1800 to 1815, and on discharge was adjudged to have “conducted himself well, and to have been a most excellent soldier in every respect = to the highest fidelity and sobriety.” (PRO WO97/91-92). However, unlike Rose, Robertson was unable to rise beyond the rank Private.
[14] EM. Spiers, The Army & Society 1815-1914 (Longman, London, 1980), pp.27.
[15] N. Holme, The Noble 24th Biographical Records of the 24th Regiment in the Zulu & South African Campaigns 1877-1879, (Savannah, London, 1999).
[16] J. Selby (ed), The Recollections of Sergeant Morris. (Windrush Press, Gloucestershire, 1997), p.14.
[17] Sergeant John Stevenson of the 3rd Foot Guards served in the Peninsular and later became a Methodist lay preacher. (Haythornthwaite, The Armies of Wellington. (Arms & Armour, London, 1991), pp.124-125).
[18] Haythornthwaite, ibid, p.125.
[19] J. Barclay, (ed), The Records of the Sargeants: 42nd Royal Highland Regiment, 1826-1873, (Pike: Army Printer, Devonport, 1873), pp.9.
[20] Lagden & Sly, op cit, pp.198-199.
[21] At least one black soldier was discharged in Glasgow: George Dennison of Jamaica who served with the 77th Foot from 1815 to 1822 PRO WO/25/405.
[22] Daily Gleaner, 28/07/1957, p.16.
[23] Ibid.
[24] Rev. OA. Beckerlegge, United Methodist Ministers & their Circuits. (Ebworth Press, London, 1932), pp.202.
[25] Daily Gleaner, 28/07/1957, p.16.
[26] For example, in the Waterloo campaign, in the 33rd Foot, (see note 6), and serving alongside the 73rd, was one John Lewis Friday of Massambasse, Africa. See R154, Description Books, Grenadier Guards. I am most grateful to Miss Barbara Chambers for drawing my attention to this individual. For other black soldiers who served at Waterloo in regiments such as 10th, 13th, and 18th Hussars, and the 71st Foot, see by MA thesis noted in BASA Newsletter #30 Appendix Three, p.130
[27] This article could never have been written but for the continued help and encouragement of Marika Sherwood. I am most grateful for the help and assistance of Thomas B. Smyth, archivist of the “Black Watch”, the regiment of which George Rose was a proud and respected member.
[28] TNA WO 97/581. The Glasgow Herald, 2nd July 1847.
[29] Perthshire Courier, 30th September 1841.
[30] For John McDougall see: TNA WO 119 and TNA WO 122/127 and 135.
[31] Banner of Ulster, 16th August 1844
[32] The Rose Family Tree (John D Ellis) on www.ancestry.co.uk
[33] Glasgow Gazette, 12th May 1849.