Hi All.
The duties and allocation of ADC's to Senior Officers was quite clearly defined. But what about orderly Dragoons and drummers etc ? Was there a set number allocated to each Brigade of Division commander? What sort of duties did they typically perform?
Thank you in advance.
Paul
John
An excellent source, thanks for sharing. Maj Charles Napier, 50th Foot, also had his orderly sergeant to thank for his life at Corruna, when the latter used his spontoon to divert the muskets of his men as they were about to fire.
On reading James' dictionary it seems that this position was held for a week at a time, so presumably rotated around the sergeants of the regiment.
I can't offer a comprehensive answer, but in the absence of more informed comment I can offer this entry from James' 'Universal Military Dictionary,' from 1802- which suggests that the essential duties of orderly serjeants and 'private men' was to record orders in orderly books for officer's to refer to (serjeants), and to communicate written orders between one tier of command and another. https://archive.org/details/universalmilitar00jame/page/582/mode/2up?q=orderly
In the field orderlies might find more urgent employment. Allegedly, Major General David Dundas, of 'PRINCIPLES OF MILITARY MOVEMENTS' fame, was once spared serious injury or worse by his orderly dragoon intervening to cut down a French hussar who had got too close, after a small party of his regiment had infiltrated the British line. I don't believe acting as an officers' body guard was part of the job description.