A Most Extraordinary Instance of Depravity

​By Tom Fournier
 
Oh, the gems you come across when doing research!
 
I believe most of us realize that the average British soldier was not a choirboy.  They were volunteers from the most poor and downtrodden.  They may have volunteered to escape the prospects of a domestic situation that they did not like. They were also forced conscripts from the judicial system; rather than face transportation to a penal colony or other punishment, a life in the army was offered as an alternative.
 
The Duke of Wellington was purported to say,” I don't know if they frighten the enemy, but they scare the hell out of me."

So, it should not be a surprise to come across a letter like this:
 
Quebec 6th December 1804
 
Sir
 
                                                I have the honor to acquaint you for the information of Lt. General Hunter that John Pothecary, Private 41st Reg.t is in Quebec Jail to take his Trial for Theft.   I request the General’s leave to discharge the Prisoner Pothecary should he be convicted & whipped or pilloried.  He is a poor Wretch not fit for active Service.
 
I have the Honor to be,
Sir
Your Most Obedient
Humble Servant
Henry Proctor
Lt. Col Comm.g 41st Reg.t
 
C series, RG 8, Volume 909, page 41
 
When we looked at a court martial return from the time period in a previous blog post (found here), we saw many instances of insubordination, theft and drunkenness.  It was a very difficult life in the army, particularly with an enlistment for life in a lengthy overseas posting.
 
Where theft was common, Pothecary must have been a very difficult case for not only was he facing punishment, in anticipation of a conviction his Commanding Officer was pre-emptively asking for a discharge even before conviction and sentencing!
 
Just over a year later and 800 kilometres up the St. Lawrence River in York, Upper Canada (modern day Toronto) we once more come across Pothecary.  Once again, he is in confinement.  Again, we find that he is there because of theft.  Now we learn that he has a long-standing history of theft.
 
Is it derangement or extreme desperation?  In any event, read below to learn about this “most extraordinary instance of depravity” that boggles the mind!
 
 
York, January 24th 1806
 
Sir
 
                                I have to acquaint you for the Information of Colonel Bowes, with a most extraordinary Instance of Depravity in a Private of the 41st Regiment.  John Pothecary, who whilst in Confinement for Theft, cut off both of his Ears, by which he has so completely disfigured himself as to be totally unfit for the Service.  He had been thrice flogged for Theft, and was three Months in Jail at Quebec for the same Crime.  He is of the Amhertsburg Detachment.  I request Colonel Bowes’s Permission to turn John Pothecary out of the Service.
 
I am sorry to report the Desertion of two more Men from Amhertsburg.  The unpleasant Circumstances attending which, Major Campbell has written to you upon.
 
I have the Honor to be,
Sir
Your Most Obedient
Humble Servant
Henry Procter
L. Colonel 41st Reg.
 
James Green Esq.
V.V.V.
 
C series, RG 8, Volume 909, pages 62, 63