40 



ANECDOTE OF SIR THOMAS PICTON. 



An accusation has been brought against Sir Thomas 

 Picton with much injustice and acrimony, of having 

 neglected the interest of his officers, by not report- 

 ing their services to the commander of the forces. 

 When considering this accusation, the unbending 

 disposition of Sir Thomas Picton must be Dome in 

 mind, for we know that the opinion entertained by 

 nearly all the officers of the third division, who 

 served under General Picton, is decidedly in oppo- 

 sition to this assertion. It was in fact generally 

 believed that Sir Thomas Picton had every incli- 

 nation to reward the services of his officers, and to 

 advance their interests. It was also known that he 

 made frequent representations to the commander of 

 the forces in favour of his officers ; but these were 

 seldom successful ; and this circumstance, it is said, 

 produced so unfavorable an effect upon his proud 

 spirit, that at length he ceased any longer to apply 

 in that quarter, and in future addressed his applica- 

 tions solely to the commander-in-chief. 



We are enabled to offer one, and that a striking 

 proof, that General Picton did not neglect nor forget 

 the interests of those who served under his com- 

 mand. Colonel Macpherson was at the close 

 of the war, in 1814, still a lieutenant! A noble 

 independence prevented him from soliciting promo- 

 tion, and he thought that his services ought to en- 

 sure him some unasked reward. He was unknown 

 to Sir Thomas Picton in any other way than as a 

 deserving soldier : upon three separate occasions he 

 had been thrown in the path of his general, fresh 

 from some daring achievement, and Picton never 

 allowed early merit to pass unnoticed, nor, if he 

 could help it, unrewarded. He had made repeated 

 applications for his promotion, but without success. 



The last occasion upon which Macpherson had 

 seen Sir Thomas Picton was at Bordeaux, when he 

 was suffering severely from a wound received at the 



