Disciplining the “scum of the Earth”

HistoryExtra podcast

HistoryExtra

History

4.3 • 4.7K Ratings

🗓️ 23 March 2023

⏱️ 47 minutes

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Summary

How did the British army keep order among troops and officers during the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th century? And were the rank and file really as rough and ready as you might imagine? Speaking with David Musgrove, Dr Zack White details the most common crimes and punishments in the armies of the Duke of Wellington and his contemporaries, considering whether the effective imposition of discipline helped the British and their allies finally defeat Napoleon on the battlefield of Waterloo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Just Between Us, the podcast with all of the answers, some of the time.
0:05.0	A bit of a different thing going on this week.
0:07.3	You've been immature and you've lied.
0:10.3	And now you're trying to turn it on me and manipulate me and gaslight me.
0:13.9	I was trying to manipulate you.
0:15.7	Diana, you would be chucking their clothes out of the window.
0:18.1	I know, I'd be like, are you joking?
0:20.6	I don't know.
0:21.7	I guess you'd have to ask.
0:23.5	Someone that has sex.
0:24.2	Someone that has sex.
0:26.2	And remember, it's just between us.
0:32.3	Welcome to the History Extra podcast.
0:35.7	Fascinating historical conversations from BBC History Magazine and BBC
0:40.6	History Revealed.
0:48.3	The Duke of Wellington famously referred to his soldiers as the scum of the earth.
0:55.1	But what exactly did he mean by that and why was he so frustrated with his troops?
1:01.2	Historian and battlefield guide, Dr. Zach White,
1:04.5	has been researching discipline in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars.
1:09.7	David Musgrove spoke to him to find out about which punishments
1:13.4	were used to keep men in line and whether the rank-and-file was really as rough and ready as you
1:18.8	might expect. If you want to watch an extended video version of this interview, you can find it
	...

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