Note 7 — Invasion Panics.

The sufferings of the British soldiers in Holland, in 1794–5, from the incompetence and negligence of their superior officers, and the waste of public money from the same causes, have scarcely been exceeded during the Crimean war. In Lord Malmesbury’s Diary we find the following entry on the 7th Dec. 1793: “Lord Herbert came to see me. Complained much of the insubordination of the army; that it was greater than could be believed, and that the Guards were so beyond measure. Condemned the conduct of Gage, who had resigned on being refused leave of absence.” On the 16th of Feb. 1794, the Duke of Portland writes to Lord Malmesbury: “The Duke of York will return to the army the latter end of next week. But I cannot help saying that unless the licentious, not to say mutinous, spirit which prevails among our troops, and which originated in, I am sorry to say, and is cultivated by the Guards, is not subdued and extinguished, there is an end of the army.”