Ltn-Gen. John Whitelocke

John Whitelocke (1757 – 23 October 1833) was a British Army officer.

Educated at Marlborough Grammar School and at Lewis Lochée's military academy in Chelsea, Whitelocke entered the army in 1778 and served in Jamaica and in San Domingo. In 1805 he was made a lieutenant-general and inspector-general of recruiting, and in 1807 he was appointed to command an expedition to seize Buenos Aires from the Spanish Empire, which was in disarray due to events in Europe. The attack failed and the British surrendered after suffering heavy losses. Whitelocke undertook negotiations with the opposing general, Santiago de Liniers, and having decided that the British position was untenable, signed the surrender and ordered the British forces to abandon Montevideo and return home later that year.

This proceeding was regarded with great disfavour by many under his command and the British army and public, and its author was brought before a court-martial convened at The Royal Hospital in London in 1808. On all the charges, except one, he was found guilty and he was dismissed from the service. He lived in retirement until his death at Hall Barn Park, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire on 23 October 1833.

https://archive.org/details/trialoflieutenan00whit

WHITELOCKE, JOHN (1757–1833), lieutenant-general, born in 1757, was the son of John Whitelocke, steward to the fourth Earl of Aylesbury, and probably a descendant of Bulstrode Whitelocke [q. v.] His mother died at Ramsbury, Wiltshire, on 7 June 1809 (Gent. Mag. 1809, i. 589), and was buried as Sarah Liddiard (alias Whitelocke). He was educated at Marlborough grammar school, was placed by Lord Aylesbury at Lochee's military academy at Chelsea, and obtained through Lord Barrington a commission as ensign in the 14th foot on 14 Dec. 1778. Owing to his previous training he was appointed adjutant to a battalion of flank companies a few months afterwards. He was promoted lieutenant on 26 April 1780 and went to Jamaica with his regiment in 1782. Soon afterwards he married a daughter of William Lewis of Cornwall, Jamaica, while another daughter was married to his brother officer, afterwards Sir Robert Brownrigg [q. v.], who became military secretary and quartermaster-general. Matthew Lewis, his brother-in-law, was deputy secretary at war, and Whitelocke is said to have owed much to his influence. He obtained a company in the 36th foot on 12 May 1784, and a majority in one of the newly raised battalions of the 60th on 2 Oct. 1788. He went with it to the West Indies, and on 30 March 1791 he became lieutenant-colonel of the 13th foot, then stationed in Jamaica. In September 1793, when the French part of San Domingo was in insurrection, he was sent thither with his own regiment and some other troops, with the local rank of colonel. He landed at Jeremie on the 19th with nearly seven hundred men. On the 22nd the fort at the mole of Cape St. Nicholas surrendered. On 4 Oct. he made an attempt on Tiburon, but the promised co-operation of French planters failed him, and he was repulsed. Yellow fever soon broke out and reduced his small force, but at the end of the year it was joined by nearly eight hundred men from Jamaica. On 2 Feb. 1794 a fresh attempt was made on Tiburon, and proved successful. He next tried to obtain possession of Port de la Paix by bribing its commander, Lavaux, but his offers were indignantly refused (Annual Register, 1794, pp. 174–5). On 19 Feb. he stormed Fort l'Acul, which was an obstacle to an attack on Port-au-Prince. On 19 May Brigadier-general Whyte arrived with three regiments and took the chief command. Whitelocke became quartermaster-general, but he stipu- lated that he should be allowed to lead the principal column in the attack on Port-au-Prince, and did so ‘with the greatest gallantry’ on 4 June. He was sent home with despatches, and Major (afterwards Sir Brent) Spencer expressed, on behalf of the troops, their hope that they might again serve under an officer ‘who carries with him such universal approbation and so well earned applause’ (Trial, App. p. 67). He was made brevet colonel on 21 Aug. 1795, colonel of the 6th West India regiment on 1 Sept., and brigadier on 10 Sept. After further service in the West Indies he was appointed brigadier-general in Guernsey on 12 Jan. 1798, and lieutenant-governor of Portsmouth on 29 May 1799. He was promoted major-general on 18 June 1798, and lieutenant-general on 30 Oct. 1805. Shortly after this he was made inspector-general of recruiting.

In 1806 General Beresford [see Beresford, William Carr, Viscount Beresford], with only twelve hundred men, had gained possession of Buenos Ayres, but had been afterwards forced to surrender. The British government, in deference to the popular cry for new markets, determined to send a large force to recover it, and on 24 Feb. 1807 Whitelocke was appointed to the command. He was also to undertake the civil government of the province when recovered. More than five thousand men had already been sent to Rio de la Plata, under Sir Samuel Auchmuty [q. v.], and a corps of four thousand, under Brigadier Robert Craufurd, which was on its way to Chili, was to join them. Reinforcements from England would raise the total to eleven thousand men, of which not more than eight thousand were to be permanently retained. Whitelocke, accompanied by Major-general John Leveson-Gower as second in command, reached Montevideo on 10 May, and on 15 June Craufurd's corps arrived. Whitelocke did not wait for the troops from England. He left a garrison of 1,350 men at Montevideo, and on 28–9 June the army landed on the right bank of the river, at the Ensenada de Barragon, about thirty miles below Buenos Ayres. It consisted of nine battalions of infantry, two and a half regiments of cavalry (of which only 150 men were mounted), and sixteen field-guns, and numbered 7,822 rank and file.

The march was delayed by swamps, which caused a loss of guns and stores, but on 2 July the advanced guard under Gower forded the Chuello, drove the Spanish troops back into Buenos Ayres, and took up a position in the southern suburb. They were joined on the afternoon of the 3rd by the main body, which had been misled by their guide. The town had a garrison of about six thousand and a population of seventy thousand. It was cut up into squares by streets 140 yards apart, parallel and perpendicular to the river. It was unfortified, but the streets were barricaded. Whitelocke's intention had been to establish himself on the west of it, with his left on the river, land guns, and bombard it. But he wished to save time, as the rains were impending, and to avoid alienating the inhabitants, so he determined to take it by assault.

At 6.30 a. m. on the 5th eight battalions, formed in thirteen columns, entered the town with arms unloaded. They were to make their way, if possible, to the river by parallel streets, and occupy blocks of houses there. They were to avoid the central part of the town, the fort, and the great square, and to incline outwards, if at all. The columns on the right got possession of the Residencia, those on the left of the Plaza de los Toros; but in the centre the 88th regiment and the light brigade (under Craufurd) met with stouter resistance from troops in the streets, and from the inhabitants on the tops of their houses. They found themselves isolated, and unable to advance or retire, and at length surrendered. Next morning Whitelocke received a proposal from the Spanish commander, Liniers, that hostilities should cease, that the prisoners on both sides should be restored, and that the British should evacuate the province, Montevideo included, within two months. If the attack were renewed, Liniers could not answer for the safety of the prisoners. Of these there were 1,676, and the total British loss was 2,500. Doubtful whether a fresh attack would be successful, and convinced that if it were the object of the expedition was no longer attainable, and that the prisoners' lives would be sacrificed to no purpose, Whitelocke, after consulting Gower and Auchmuty, accepted Liniers's terms. The troops withdrew from Buenos Ayres on the 12th, and from Montevideo on 9 Sept. The indignation of soldiers and traders alike was unbounded. ‘General Whitelocke is either a coward or a traitor, perhaps both!’ was written up at the corners of the streets of Montevideo (Whittingham, p. 22). ‘Success to grey hairs, but bad luck to white locks,’ became a favourite toast among the men.

Whitelocke reached England on 7 Nov., and on 28 Jan. 1808 he was brought before a court-martial at Chelsea. He was charged with, first, excluding the hope of amicable accommodation by demanding the surrender of persons holding civil offices at Buenos Ayres; secondly, not making the military arrangements best calculated to ensure success; thirdly, not making any effectual attempt to co-operate with or support the different columns when engaged in the streets; fourthly, concluding a treaty by which he unnecessarily and shamefully surrendered the advantages he had gained at heavy cost, and delivered up the fortress of Montevideo. The trial lasted seven weeks, and on 18 March the court found him guilty of all the charges, with the exception of that part of the second charge which related to the order that ‘the columns should be unloaded, and that no firing should be permitted on any account,’ to which they attached no blame. They sentenced him to be cashiered. The sentence was confirmed by the king, and ordered to be read out to every regiment in the service.

Whitelocke had much to urge in his defence. The expedition had been sent out under the profoundly false impression that the inhabitants would be friendly, from experience of ‘the difference between the oppressive dominion of Spain and the benign and protecting government of his Majesty.’ The season and the swamps embarrassed him. The plan of assault was drawn up by Gower, and none of the other officers raised any objection to it, or showed any doubt of its success. Had Craufurd fallen back on the Residencia, as Pack, who knew the place, advised, the town would probably have been surrendered next day.

But Whitelocke had shown himself incompetent throughout; infirm of purpose and wanting in resource, prone to lean on others, yet jealous of his own authority. He left a rearguard of sixteen hundred men idle, on the east of the Chuello, during the assault, and he himself remained passive all day, and went back to his headquarters to dine and sleep, without making any serious attempt to learn what had happened to his columns on the right. In the words of the general order, he was ‘deficient in zeal, judgment, and personal exertion.’

People asked how he came to be appointed. According to Lord Holland, who was in the cabinet, he was an opponent to Windham's plan of limited enlistment, and Windham wished to get rid of him as inspector-general of recruiting (Memoirs of the Whig Party, ii. 116). But Windham himself mentions that he suggested Sir John Stuart (of Maida), and the choice seems to have been mainly due to the Duke of York (Windham, Diary, p. 467).

He spent the rest of his life in retirement, latterly at Clifton. He died on 23 Oct. 1833 at Hall Barn Park, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, the seat of Sir Gore Ouseley [q. v.], who had married his eldest daughter. Another daughter was married to Captain George Burdett, R.N. He was buried in the west aisle of Bristol Cathedral. [Georgian Era, ii. 475; Records of the 13th Regiment; Bryan Edwards's Hist. of the British West Indies, iii. 155–60; War Office Original Correspondence, No. 43, P.R.O. (1807, Buenos Ayres and Montevideo); Trial at large of General Whitelocke, 1808; Craufurd's Life of Craufurd; Memoirs of Sir Samuel Ford Whittingham; Memoirs of M. G. Lewis; Erskine Neale's Risen from the Ranks, p. 67–95; Notes and Queries, 1st ser. ix. 201, 455, x. 54, 8th ser. xii. 492; Gent. Mag. 1833, ii. 475.]

John Whitelocke (1757 – 23 October 1833) was a British Army officer.

Educated at Marlborough Grammar School and at Lewis Lochée's military academy in Chelsea, Whitelocke entered the army in 1778 and served in Jamaica and in San Domingo. In 1805 he was made a lieutenant-general and inspector-general of recruiting, and in 1807 he was appointed to command an expedition to seize Buenos Aires from the Spanish Empire, which was in disarray due to events in Europe. The attack failed and the British surrendered after suffering heavy losses. Whitelocke undertook negotiations with the opposing general, Santiago de Liniers, and having decided that the British position was untenable, signed the surrender and ordered the British forces to abandon Montevideo and return home later that year.

This proceeding was regarded with great disfavour by many under his command and the British army and public, and its author was brought before a court-martial convened at The Royal Hospital in London in 1808. On all the charges, except one, he was found guilty and he was dismissed from the service. He lived in retirement until his death at Hall Barn Park, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire on 23 October 1833.

https://archive.org/details/trialoflieutenan00whit

Biografía

Whitelocke ingresó en el ejército en 1778, y ascendió a coronel en 1793. En ese mismo año la parte bajo dominio francés de la isla de Santo Domingo pidió a Inglaterra ser incluida como protectorado británico. El gobernador de Jamaica organizó entonces una expedición de ocupación el 9 de septiembre de 1793, compuesta por unos setecientos hombres a las órdenes del coronel Whitelocke. Desembarcó el 19 de septiembre en Jérémie, pero fue rechazado en su arremetida contra cabo Tiburón. Después de recibir refuerzos, tomó Saint Marc, Logane y Arcahay y realizó un segundo ataque contra cabo Tiburón, esta vez exitoso, gracias al cual logró el dominio de casi toda la costa occidental de la isla, con excepción de Puerto Príncipe. Asistido por toda la fuerza auxiliar de la parte española del país, sitió Port-de-Paix en la costa septentrional. Intentó en vano sobornar al general Lavaux, comandante de la ciudad, para que entregara el bastión. Poco después, tras la llegada de nuevos refuerzos provenientes de Jamaica, el balance de fuerzas se inclinó a su favor y el 14 de junio de 1794 finalmente pudo ocupar la ciudad.

En los años subsiguientes cumplió funciones en La India, Egipto, y el Cabo de Buena Esperanza. Fue ascendido a teniente general, y en 1807 se le asignó el cargo de comandante en jefe de las fuerzas británicas en el Río de la Plata. Allí las ambiciones británicas de forzar la dependencia comercial del virreinato habían sufrido un duro golpe: la fallida invasión comandada por el general William Carr Beresford terminó en la capitulación del 12 de agosto de 1806 en Buenos Aires, y la expedición de refuerzo de sir Samuel Auchmuty llegó demasiado tarde, por lo que tuvo que contentarse con la toma de Montevideo el 1 de febrero de 1807.

Whitelocke arribó a Montevideo el 10 de mayo de 1807, con un ejército de 6000 hombres al que agregó el de Auchmuty y el remanente del ejército de Beresford, con lo que llegó a reunir un total de 12 000 hombres disciplinados y bien entrenados. Dejó en Montevideo una guarnición de 2000 soldados y marchó con el resto a Maldonado. De allí, bajo protección de la flota naval del almirante sir Home Riggs Popham desembarcó el 28 de junio de 1807 en Ensenada, al sur de Buenos Aires.

El primero de julio Santiago de Liniers alineó sus tropas en el paso del Riachuelo, quedando con milicias bisoñas, inferior en armamento y número, con el río a sus espaldas, pero Whitelocke prefirió aun así evitar el combate y flanquear a su adversario al costo de demorar sus planes de tomar Buenos Aires. Tras cruzar el río aguas arriba, al anochecer del 2 de julio la vanguardia al mando de Lewison Gower derrotó en el Combate de Miserere a las tropas que Liniers había conseguido trasladar a marchas forzadas. Durante esa noche el alcalde de la ciudad, Martín de Álzaga, ordenó cavar trincheras y construir barricadas en las calles y reunió a las tropas desbandadas, de modo que Liniers, a su regreso, encontró las defensas ya organizadas. Esta mejoría en la posición táctica le permitió rechazar el 3 de julio la demanda de Whitelocke de entregar la ciudad. El comandante británico sin embargo tenía todo preparado para la invasión de la urbe: el 5 de julio condujo a su ejército —dispuesto en formación de ocho columnas— al asalto final.

La resistencia en las calles fue feroz, obligándolo a combatir el día entero, al fin del cual había sufrido 1100 bajas y otros 1500 de sus hombres habían sido capturados. Al día siguiente renovó el asalto, pero la resistencia fue incluso más fuerte: para el mediodía las fuerzas británicas habían sido batidas y rodeadas y habían sufrido la pérdida de más de 2000 soldados, por lo que Whitelocke ofreció su inmediata capitulación. Debió aceptar condiciones humillantes y evacuar la frontera meridional del río dentro de las siguientes cuarenta y ocho horas, y liberar la ciudad de Montevideo en el plazo de dos meses. La rendición fue ratificada el 7 de julio y cumplida al pie de la letra por Whitelocke, que dejó Montevideo el 1 de septiembre junto con todo su ejército.

Una caricatura que muestra la degradación de Whitelocke luego de la corte marcial. Dos niños bateristas le quitan su atuendo militar y quiebran su espada al tiempo que un diablo le ofrece un arma para suicidarse.

A su llegada a Inglaterra su desempeño fue interpretado como un gran desfavor a la causa británica en Sudamérica y otras colonias.

Whitelocke fue juzgado en consejo de guerra en Chelsea, cerca de Londres, a partir del 21 de enero de 1808. El fiscal fue Richard Ryder, quien pronunció las siguientes palabras durante el primer día del proceso:

...la expedición al mando de Whitelocke fracasó completamente...lo que ha desvanecido todas las esperanzas que se abrigaban de abrir nuevos mercados a nuestras manufacturas

fiscal Richard Ryder

Calificó al contraste de calamidad nacional y achacó a Whitelocke toda la responsabilidad. El general Gower, segundo de Whitelocke en la expedición, dijo en el juicio que el comandante jamás formó plan alguno.

Al cuarto día de sesión (en febrero de 1808), el teniente general John Moore declaró que de haber pasado el río el segundo día y atacado Buenos Aires, la habrían tomado.

Entre otros testigos comparece el general Craufurd, quien criticó al acusado por no haber llevado las calderas de campaña que hubiesen permitido hervir trigo para la alimentación, y no haber contratados a criollos enlazadores de ganado para la alimentación de la tropa.

Gower afirmaría además que los jefes principales no hicieron objeción al plan de ataque el día 4 pues todos descontaban el triunfo. Agregaría luego que:

Jamás hubiera creido que fueran tan implacablemente hostiles como por cierto lo eran...No creo que haya habido un solo hombre realmente adicto a la causa británica en la América española

El testigo Torrens declaró que no se había tomado ninguna medida para la retirada, pues todos estaban seguros «que nuestras operaciones serían coronadas por un triunfo completo».

El teniente coronel Duff, expresó:

Con menos de cien hombres estaba en medio de una ciudad donde todos eran enemigos armados, desde el hijo de la vieja España hasta el negro esclavo

En su defensa Whitelocke manifestó:

Esperaba encontrar una gran porción de habitantes preparados a secundar nuestras miras. Pero resultó ser un país completamente hostil

El testigo Samuel Auchmuty afirmó que las tropas siguieron con las armas sin cargar después de la orden del general para el ataque, y agregó:

La tropa estaba completamente desanimada, hasta el punto de expresarse mucho de los soldados en términos inconvenientes...Quiero decir que la tropa no tenía ninguna confianza en su general

Ante la pregunta del fiscal de si creía que la expedición hubiese triunfado si hubiese sido dirigida de modo diferente, respondió: «No tengo duda de que la fuerza era más que suficiente para tomar Buenos Aires».

Whitelocke inició su defensa el día 14 de marzo. Alegó que había considerado estéril entrar a fuego en la ciudad y había preferido una confrontación directa con los soldados españoles. Y reconoce:

Puedo haber errado en adoptar un plan que ha dado malos resultados. Por confiar en él, puedo haber dejado de tomar toda la precaución necesaria, y que habría tomado de prever la resistencia que se nos opuso

El general White habló a favor de Whitelocke al elogiar la bravura de su actuación en la campaña de Santo Domingo.

El juicio terminó el 18 de marzo formulándose los siguientes cargos: 1.Haber exasperado los ánimos de la población porteña al exigir la entrega de empleados civiles en calidad de guerra. 2.Haber mandado dividir las fuerzas y hacerlas entrar en la ciudad con las armas sin cargar. 3.No haber socorrido a las divisiones que se hallaban acorraladas en Buenos Aires. 4.Haber capitulado de manera de perder las posiciones conquistadas en la ciudad y aún la plaza de Montevideo, «que se hallaba suficientemente guarnecida y provista contra un ataque».

El tribunal lo declaró culpable de todos los cargos mencionados, con excepción del segundo en la parte que se refiere a la orden de llevar armas sin cargar.

Finalmente dispuso darlo de baja y declararlo «inepto e indigno de servir a S.M. en ninguna clase militar».

También ordenó leer la sentencia a todos los regimientos a servicio del Rey e insertarla en los libros de órdenes de regimientos para que:

...sirva de eterno recuerdo de las fatales consecuencias a que se exponen los oficiales revestidos de alto mando que, en el desempeño de los importantes deberes que se les confían, carecen del celo, tino y esfuerzo personal que su soberano y su patria tienen derecho a esperar de ellos.

Vivió en el retiro hasta su muerte en Hall Barn Park, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire el 23 de octubre de 1833.