This post was intended to be mostly about William's civilian life. I feel a need, however, to revisit the story of Sergeant Greenlees at Waterloo. Frank Darroch documented the family lore about William Greenlees being a sergeant in the Royal Scots Greys. Frank added that William "would be in his prime about the time of the famous charge of the Scots Greys at Waterloo." [1] Frank’s choice of words intrigues me, for he did not state William participated in the charge, only that he would have been in his prime during that time.
How do we know whether or not William fought in the battle? Recreating a person's world of 200 years ago is like a connect-the-dots puzzle. Verifiable facts serve as dots that can be joined by inference. We can make that connection, but cannot have full confidence in it. I am grateful for Frank's book which tells us William was a sergeant with the Greys. There is little evidence, however, to indicate he was in the Battle of Waterloo. I will write the arguments for and against the idea, and let you judge for yourself.
We do not know when William was active with the Greys, for his daughter accidentally burned his discharge papers. One might infer he was at Waterloo, for “most soldiers at the time signed on for life." [2] In practical terms, that meant about 25 years, unless disrupted due to a serious wound or injury. William was born in 1780, so in 1815, he would have turned 35. Had he joined the Greys at any age between 15 and 30, the battle would have occurred within a 25-year career. Nonetheless, there are several reasons to doubt he was there.
The first reason is this: not all the Greys were deployed to Waterloo. Historians state the Greys had ten troops, of which six were sent to fight in Belgium. One source specifies there were “10 troops, comprising in all 946 officers and men. Six troops were to be held in readiness to go abroad” while four stayed in the UK. [3] Of these 946 soldiers, 396 fought at Waterloo, representing less than 42% of the total. If William were still on active duty in 1815, was he among the 42% who fought at Waterloo or the 58% who did not?
The second reason to question William’s participation is his name missing from the documentation. I have found two books that include the musters or roll calls of the Scots Greys. The authors drew from multiple sources: obituaries, military records, eye-witness accounts of survivors, and letters from descendants. They published errata or subsequent editions to correct errors and omissions. After all that research, neither of these books includes William’s name on the roll call. [4]
A third reason to doubt William was at Waterloo comes from what is left unsaid in the family lore. Stating he was a member of the Greys without mentioning he fought at Waterloo would be unlikely, for that is the very battle that propelled the Greys to great fame. Imagine stating Neil Armstrong was a NASA employee during the first lunar landing but neglecting to mention he walked on the moon. It doesn't make sense. As inaccurate as folklore can be, well-known sensational facts outlast the lesser-known mundane ones.
Therefore, even though I romanticize the thought of William fighting at Waterloo, I now doubt that he did. I lean toward the likelihood he was either among the 58% of the Greys on home duty, or he had already been discharged from the Greys. If he had been discharged due to injury, that would explain some of the challenges he subsequently faced in his life, which we will explore in future posts. So, for the above reasons, I suspect William did not fight at Waterloo.
Regardless of Waterloo, we can still learn much about William as a member of the Greys. For example, he was likely larger than the average soldier of the time. The Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, had been an officer for 28 years and had commanded many regiments and tens of thousands of soldiers. He was acquainted with the Greys and described the regiment as having “bigger men, bigger swords, bigger horses….” [5] Wellington was not the only one who observed this.
Another officer, F.C. Kinchant, stated, "I don't think there is a private in [the Greys] under 5 feet 11 inches." [6] Kinchant continued to describe the regiment in a way that tells us something about the discipline and skill of the soldiers. In 1815, he described the Greys as, "…without doubt the best and the most crack cavalry corps in the service.” [7] A few weeks later, in a letter to a colleague, he gave some specific examples. Here is an excerpt:
To-morrow we are again reviewed, for the fourth time since we landed, by the Earl of Uxbridge, who commands the English cavalry, and on Wednesday this regiment will be inspected by the Prince of Orange and a Prussian General. I assure you we are considered the finest cavalry corps on the continent. Every one wishes to see us, and all the Generals that have reviewed us, speak in the highest possible terms of the excellent appearance and condition of the men and horses. A Prussian General expressed a wish to see an English Dragoon Regiment, the Greys were immediately brought forward as a specimen. In fact we have every compliment paid us. [8]
To be associated with such a fine regiment is impressive. For William to be promoted within its ranks implies he was above the rank and file--a skilled, disciplined, and trustworthy soldier. We also know that, regardless of whether or not he fought at Waterloo, each soldier in that Cavalry was considered a hero. They helped save Europe from Bonaparte's conquests and became famous for their key role in the Battle of Waterloo. William would have been associated with that group and also considered a hero.
And a hero still needs a job, but there were not many to be had. Soldiers returning from the Napoleonic wars flooded the labour market and displaced highlanders were migrating to the lowlands. The industrial revolution was gaining steam and the factory-based power looms put weavers out of work by the hundreds. The area in which William lived most of his life was doubly hard hit, for it was the centre of weaving and thread-making. In addition, Scotland was going through an economic depression.
If all that were not enough, if William was discharged due to a wound or injury, physical work may have become difficult, regardless of his size or strength. We do not know where he worked immediately after his discharge. Perhaps he was an agricultural worker in his home parish or a labourer in the shipyards at Port Glasgow. We will explore this in more detail later.
We do know this: somewhere around 1820, William’s luck was about to change, for he began courting Anne Findlay. In the next post, I will introduce Anne and some of her family.
References:
[1] Frank Darroch, A Darroch Family in Scotland and in Canada (Harriston, Ontario, 1974), 62.
retrieved March 22, 2022.
[3] The two sources are, retrieved April 10, 2022:
Charles Griffin, The British Empire: The 2nd Dragoons (Royal Scots Greys), (https://www.britishempire.co.uk/forces/armyunits/britishcavalry/scotsgreys.htm)
Edward Almack, The History of the 2nd Dragoons 'Royal Scots Greys', 1908 (London), (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/49488/49488-h/49488-h.htm#Page_60)
[4] The two books are:
Charles Dalton, The Waterloo Roll Call: With Biographical Notes and Anecdotes, 1904 (London), (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/51143/51143-h/51143-h.htm#Page_250), 250.
Edward Almack, The History of the 2nd Dragoons 'Royal Scots Greys', 1908 (London), (https://www.gutenberg.org/files/49488/49488-h/49488-h.htm#Page_60)
[5] “Scots Greys at Waterloo: The turning point?” (2015),
retrieved April 7, 2022.
[6] Edward Almack, The History of the 2nd Dragoons 'Royal Scots Greys', 1908 (London), x,
(www.gutenberg.org/files/49488/49488-h/49488-h.htm#Page_60) retrieved April 7,
2022.
[7] Ibid., x.
[8] Ibid., 59.