Rank and File
| British | American | Size of force led |
| Field Marshal | General of the Armies | Theatre |
| General | General | Army |
| Lieutenant-General | Lieutenant General | Corps |
| Major-General | Major General | Division |
| Brigadier | Brigadier General | Brigade |
| Colonel | Colonel | Regiment |
| Lieutenant-Colonel | Lieutenant Colonel | Battalion |
| Major | Major | |
| Captain | Captain | Company |
| Lieutenant | 1st Lieutenant | Platoon |
| Ensign/Subaltern | 2nd Lieutenant |
At this time in the British army a regiment usually only fielded one of its two battalions; the other battalion being kept at home for recruits and replacements (remember Sharpe's Regiment?) or behind the lines with the wounded. Some regiments did field more than one battalion (like the 60th and 95th Rifles) but this was rare.
Battalion strength fluctuated pretty wildly, with companies having between 30 and 100 men (depending on losses and when the latest draft of replacements have arrived) and there being 10 companies in a battalion; 8 infantry companies, 1 grenadier company and 1 light company. The Grenadiers were the big, stupid folks, used for main assaults. The light companies were smaller, quicker and smarter men, used as skirmishers. Later in the war it was common to see one or two of the infantry companies also used as skirmishers due to the British army's experience in America which had exceptional skirmish troops. French voltigeurs weren't as effective because they never used rifles so their fire was not as accurate. American skirmishers did.
Two to four regiments/battalions
comprised a brigade. Two to four brigades comprised a division. The British
Army did not use Corps until the Waterloo campaign but their corps were
just overstrength divisions. Division strength throughout recorded history
in virtually every army has been between 5000-15,000 men with 10,000 being
the norm.
As a note of comparison from The Armies of Wellington, by P.J. Haythornwaite - "During the period just after the Napoleonic Wars, an analysis of 1000 men accepted as fit by recruiters in London recorded the following heights:
5'5" - 5'6" = 73 men
5'6" - 5'7" = 476
5'7" - 5'8" = 220
5'8" - 5'9" = 126
5'9" - 5'10" = 56
5'10" - 5'11" = 35
5'11" - 6' = 12
over 6' = 2
RSM Rich
According to "Wellington's Army in the Peninsula 1808-1814" by Michael Glover
"One officer in 20 (5.42%) [not 20% as suggested] had risen from the ranks apart from the ensigns of the veteran battalions who were almost always former nco's. Most of these promotions were for long & steady service. Some were the reward for specific acts of gallantry, such as Sergeant Masterson of the 87th who captured a French eagle at Barossa in 1811. Sergeant William Newman, of the 43rd, distinguished himself by rallying a knot of stragglers on the retreat to Coruna, who beat off repeated attacks by French cavalry.... Sometimes the promotion was a compliment to a regiment rather than specifically to an individual. Sergeant Donald McIntosh of the Cameron Highlanders was made an ensign in the Connaught Rangers to mark Wellington's 'sense of the good conduct of the 79th during the late engagement (Fuentes de Onoro)' "
In 1814 there were 10,590 officers on full pay. At 5.42% that is about 570 officers who came up from the ranks!!
Another interesting point that he mentions is that in the Peninsular War less than 1 in 5 first commissions were purchased (19.5%). In the infantry it was it was less than 17%. In the cavalry it was 47% & in the Guards it was 44%!
Larry Halpin
Lieutenants in their mid-30s during this period were certainly not unknown, and not all of them had been promoted from the ranks. Lieutenant Thomas Taylor, the 41st Regiment of Foot, and who was Fort Major at Fort George (Canada) in 1812, was 41 when he retired on his Lieutenant's half pay. His predecessor at Ft. George, Donald Campbell of the 90th, was 57 when he died, still a Lieutenant.
Promotion up to the rank of Colonel was by purchase generally. Field promotions - when a Captian was killed for example - were used, but this had to be ratified by Horse Guards (Army HQ). Sharpe runs into this problem later in his career.
Another twist in the British army at this time was that there could be administrative staff promotions locally, but the officer would retain the rank and pay of the HQ designated level. Thus, Adam Muir of the 41st could be called 'Major', for local reasons, but officially he was a Captain (Up from the ranks), and retired as such. The local reasons were that unlike the US army at the time, Regular officers outranked militia officers, so a temporary or local rank was assigned to regular officers to make it look as though they were senior. This was true in Muir's case.
This muddies the water of ranks and promotions, but such was the system.
Ray Hobbs