Recruitment in The British Army - 18th and 19th Centuries

18th and 19th Centuries

At the beginning of the 18th century the standing strength of the British Army was reduced after the Treaty of Ryswick, and stood at 7,000 troops at home and 14,000 based overseas, with recruits ranging from 17 to 50 years of age. The army was kept small by the government during peacetime, mainly due to the fear that the army would be unduly influenced by the Crown or used to depose the government. The Bill of Rights of 1689 specifies that Parliamentary authority is needed to maintain a standing army in peacetime.

For much of the 18th century, the army was recruited in a wide variety of places, and many of its recruits were mercenaries from continental Europe, including Danes, Hessians and Hanoverians. These mercenaries were hired out by other rulers on contracted terms. Other regiments were formed of volunteers such as French Huguenots. By 1709, during the War of the Spanish Succession, the British Army totalled 150,000 men, of whom 81,000 were foreign mercenaries. The rest of the army consisted of natives of the British Isles, apart from the officers mainly recruited from the poorest sections of society. Each regiment was responsible for the recruitment of its own troops, and individual colonels would lead recruiting parties on tours of the towns and villages. This was emphasized by a popular play of the time called The Recruiting Officer. Other powers were given by the British government to allow the forcible enlistment of vagrants and vagabonds. Some of these powers were abused by recruiting officers desperate to fill their quotas, although a legalized Royal Navy press-gang system would not be implemented yet, even though normal recruiting methods failed to supply the required annual influx of troops, as the army was not a popular profession, with low pay, flogging and other barbarous disciplinary measures. The army's recruiting methods and treatment of its soldiers would remain the same for the rest of the 18th century.

During the American Revolutionary War, a policy similar to the Navy's Press Gangs was introduced. Two acts were passed, the Recruiting Act 1778 and the Recruiting Act 1779, for the impressment of individuals. For some men this would have been for being drunk and disorderly. The chief advantages of these acts was in the number of volunteers brought in under the apprehension of impressment. To avoid impressment, some recruits incapacitated themselves by cutting off the thumb and forefinger of the right hand. Both acts were repealed in 1780. The British Government also released criminals and debtors from prison on the condition they joined the army. Three entire regiments during the American Revolution were raised from this early release programme. Of the Volunteer recruits, some would find they had been enticed to take the King's shilling under false pretenses and many men would find they had signed to a lifetime in the army.

After the defeat of Great Britain by the American revolutionaries, the British Army fell into dereliction (it should be noted that the army in 1775 was in a poor state anyway), morale and discipline were low, and troops levels fell. The Army was neglected as never before and its total strength in 1793 stood at 40,000 men.