Between 1802 and 1804, Colonel John Macdonald had the
honour of commanding a Battalion of Cinque Port Volunteers under the
Right Honourable Wiliiam Pitt at Walmer Castle. In this capacity,
Macdonald had ample opportunities to witness William Pitt as a Colonel
and a private man.
Needless to say, his praise of Pitt as a Colonel is glowing, and it deserves recording, in part, here:
"Had he [Pitt] been bred as soldier, he would have been as celebrated
a General as he was an eminent Statesmen; for he possessed in the
highest degree the three essential qualities necessary for the military
character - courage, coolness, and unbounded comprehension. In numerous
and mixed companies he was rather reserved, and though unaffectedly
polite and attentive to all, he directed his conversation to a few
around him…(Macdonald, 1819: 115)"
"At our regimental mess, his urbanity and condescension inspired his
officers with an attachment bordering on enthusiasm. Good singing,
particularly where the subject was patriotic, he seemed to
relish." (Macdonald, 1819: 116)
Macdonald (1819: 117) seems to wish that someone “would give a life
of this great man, including his familiar conversation, which was as
instructive as his public talents were splendid.” That’s my aim - a
singular focus on Pitt’s relatively unknown private hours!
But perhaps most touching of all is Colonel Macdonald’s reminiscence
of Pitt as he was when surrounded by a small group, usually only eight
or ten, of his private circle of companions, and this clearly left a
lasting mark on Macdonald himself. Writing in 1819, thirteen years after
Pitt’s death, and four years after the Battle of Waterloo which
signalled the final defeat of Napoleon, Macdonald (1819: 118) remembers
“…Mr. Pitt; to whose memory one who had been in habits of friendship
with him pays a feeble tribute of lasting admiration and unfeigned
regret.”
Reference:
Macdonald, J. (1819) A circumstantial and explanatory account of experiments. London: T. Egerton, pp. 115-118.
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