O'Connor?"
he went on, with a smile, as the door closed behind Terence.
"My experience affords me no guide, General," another of the senior
officers said. "It is simply amazing that a lad of seventeen--I suppose he
is not much over that--should have conceived and carried out such a plan.
It sounds like a piece of old knight-errantry. Clive did as much, but
Clive was some years older when he first became a thorn in the side of the
French. What is your opinion, sir?"
"He is already a lieutenant," the general said. "I sent home a strong
recommendation that he should be promoted, when he was last here, and
received an intimation three days ago that he had been gazetted lieutenant
and transferred to my staff. This time I shall simply, send home a copy of
the report he has furnished me with, and that of Colonel Wilberforce, and
say that I leave the reports to speak for themselves, but that in my
opinion it is a case altogether exceptional. That is all I can do now. The
question of course is, whether he shall return to staff service again, or
shall continue in command of the corps with which he has done so much. If
he does the latter he must have local rank, otherwise he would be liable
to be overruled by any Portuguese officer of superior rank. I think that
the best way would be to send a copy of the reports to Lord Beresford,
saying that my opinion is very strong that Lieutenant O'Connor should be
allowed to retain an independent command of the corps that he has raised
and disciplined; and that I will either myself bestow local rank upon him,
and treat the corps as forming a part of the British army, like that of
Trant, or that he should give him local rank as its colonel, in which case
he would operate still independently, but in connection with Beresford's
own force.
Pages:
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452