Existing comment:
Battle-Hardened Veterans:
From the British perspective, the Battle of North Point represented a small action in a relatively minor war. Before coming to America, three of the four regiments engaged, the 4th, 44th, and 85th had fought against French forces for several years. In Europe, under the leadership of the Duke of Wellington, they participated in battles involving over 90,000 soldiers in campaigns lasting months. Discipline, endurance, and steadfastness under fire marked a professional soldier during the Napoleonic era. With the collapse of the French Empire in 1814 many British subjects looked forward to an era of peace and a quick conclusion to the war with America.
" ... march, I say, over the hills and far away -- over the hills and o'er the main, to Flanders, Portugal and Spain[,] King George commands and we'll obey, over the hills and far away."
-- Traditional British army song, "Over the Hills and Far Away" |