486 
THE BROHE-WALTON FAMILY. 
regimental publications; and it has even been engrafted, with other 
errors, into the “ Records of the Royal Military Academy 55 (p. 6) : 
otherwise this squib fired from the hand of a young subaltern of less 
than two years 5 service—fresh from the walls of the new academy 1 2 — 
at the heroes of Dettingen, would be as unworthy of notice as it is 
directly contrary to the sentiments of both Colonels Belford and Cleave- 
land, expressed in semi-official letters to the Board of Ordnance. Col. 
Belford 5 s letter is given in full on pp. 20-1 of “ Essay on Early Artil¬ 
lery 55 by Colonel Miller, v.C., but no other writer has reproduced it. 
The source of the infelicitous passage is the anonymous MSS. Journal 
in R.A. library, No. 997, entitled “ Memoirs of the Royal Regiment 
of Artillery from 1743,” commonly quoted as the “ Forbes Macbean 
MSS. 55 The only officer of R.A. who was charged with disobedience 
or misconduct in Flanders had not graduated either from the ranks or 
from the academy, but had obtained a direct commission, vide “ History 
of the Royal Artillery, 55 Yol. I., p. 133), and “ Kane 5 s List. 55 
(b) It is necessary, also, to invite attention to the fact that the 
whole of the folios of the so-called “ Cleaveland MSS. 55 from p. 228 
(1742) to p. 242 (1754)—which include the objectionable passage—are 
not Colonel Cleaveland 5 s notes, but mere interpolations, being literal 
transcripts from the before-mentioned Journal (innocently inserted, by 
the revising editor, to replace missing Cleaveland folios). The meagre 
admission, in foot note ( x ) of p. 228 of the “ Cleaveland MSS. 55 is insuffi¬ 
cient to guard the ordinary reader from this misuse of Colonel 
Cleaveland 5 s name; and the sources of regimental history cannot be 
guarded too jealously? 3 
The “ Forbes Macbean Journal 55 purports to begin at 1743, while 
the fourth para, of its opening page proves that it was penned in 1783; 
it omits altogether Dettingen, Fontenoy, Scotch rebellion, battles and 
sieges of the campaigns in Flanders (1746-8), Minden (1759), &c.; 
stops short at 1779; is full of errors in matters of detail; and is not 
for one moment to be weighed in the balance with the “ Cleaveland 
MSS. 55 
(c) The professional rivalry of the “Practitioner 55 and “Theorist 55 
officers of the period is tersely summed up as follows in original MSS. 
of a proposed treatise on fortification, in 1743, by General Sir William 
Green, Bart. (R.E.), 3 who had served through both campaigns in 
Flanders:—“The e Practitioner 5 thinks that the 'Theorist 5 understands 
not the least thing, and that all his theory is nothing but a chimera 
which never can nor will be put in practice. On the contrary, the 
latter looks upon the former with the utmost disdain, as a set of stupid 
people and so obstinate withall as not to be convinced of their ignor¬ 
ance. 55 
1 Lieutenant Forbes Macbean entered the newly founded academy as cadet-matross in 1743, and 
obtained bis commission only in 1745— vide “ Kane’s List.” 
2 It is regrettable tbat tbe editing of the “ Cleaveland MSS.” bas stopped short at 1757, unfortu¬ 
nately and unnecessarily. 
3 It is surprising tbat tbe extraordinary war services and scientific attainments of tbis very dis¬ 
tinguished Engineer—from tbe opening of tbe Flanders campaign of 1742 to close of tbe great 
siege of Gibraltar (at which Sir William Green was Engineer-in-Chief)— do not appear to have 
been embodied in a Memoir. Lady Green’s diary during the siege would complement many of 
tbe gaps in Drinkwater’s History.” General Sir William Green was grandfather of Major- 
General 0. H. A. Mcolls, present Commandant of Woolwich Garrison. 
(To be continued.) 
