The last duel in the British Army Background Captain William Henry Souper was born in St Michaels, Barbados in 1775. He married Amelia Ann Reinagle on 3 October 1797 at St Mary, Marylebone Road, London; and fathered six children. He began his military career in 1795 with the Royal Scots (aka “
1st Regiment of Foot”), during which time he was responsible for the “recruitment of free-born blacks and slaves in the West Indies”. The 1st Battalion had been garrisoned in the
West Indies from 1790 and left in 1797. As such, Souper had spent two years serving there when he joined the 2nd Battalion in the Mediterranean. Based in this timing, we understand he would have fought with them in the
Battle of Egmont op Zee in the 1799
Anglo-Russian invasion of Holland, and in the 1801 Egyptian campaign at the
Battle of Aboukir and the
Battle of Alexandria. In 1801, the
Chasseurs Britanniques unit was formed from French Royalist emigres under the charge of British officers, and served throughout the wars. Souper joined the Chasseurs Britanniques, as an officer and later became its paymaster. The unit served chiefly in the Mediterranean until 1811, when it participated in the later stages of the
Peninsular War. It had a good record in battle but later became notorious for desertion, and was not even allowed to perform outpost duty, for fears that the pickets would abscond. Between fighting, the Regiments were stationed on the Isle of Wight and the Channel Islands, and were stationed at Lymington's Foreign Depot in 1814 before being disbanded in October of the same year. In “Snippets from long ago in Pennington”, Joan Stephens notes that ‘during the threatened Napoleonic invasion of this country bands of
Militia were camped on the common. Between 1789-1815 French emigrants began to land all along the south coast. At this time, the neighbouring town of
Lymington was a dump for a turbulent and unruly mob of German, Dutch, English and French fighting units”.
The Duel According to Souper's testimony, Adjutant Dieterich had publicly insulted him. Of course, per Souper, if he'd not offered a duel he would lose his commission! For Dieterich, to refuse a duel would be a serious blow to his manhood and reputation. It is to be remembered that up to this point, dueling with pistols had been considered the most gentlemanly way of resolving any kind of personal dispute or dishonor. In particular, the army had kept the tradition ‘alive’ a lot longer than the public at large. On 15 April 1814, the two duelers, armed and accompanied by their assistants, or “seconds,” to ensure a fair fight, met at Pennington Common to settle once and for the grievances that divided them. Dieterich fired first; he missed. Then Souper took his shot. The bullet went through the hip of Dieterich into his spine; the shot was fatal.
The Trial The trial of WH Souper was reported in newspapers across the country. Souper was arrested and tried by jury at
Winchester Assizes. The Judge Sir Justice H Dampier presided. Souper had a wife and children and expected acquittal or short imprisonment, but the jury returned the verdict of ‘Guilty of Murder’. Souper fainted but then, ‘pathetically’, apologised, saying he had no fear death having been in battle and having faced the West Indies climate. He protested: ‘Am I to get led to execution like the vilest felon’. Being a gentleman himself, Justice Dampier sympathised but passed a sentence of execution. The Justice, in addressing the Jury, lamented recent cases of a similar kind in that the court had not been able to deter gentlemen in the army from the odious practice of dueling; and explained that all persons concerned in a duel, either as principals or seconds, must, in case of death to either of the parties, be guilty of wilful murder, both by the laws of God and man, in as much as it was not the rash act of a passionate moment, but done generally deliberately in cold blood. Souper's execution was scheduled for later in the summer, being 27 August. After the conviction and by 4 August that year, Winchester Assizes received five petitions for Souper to be pardoned from the public and the army. The petitions came from: • 21 officers of the Chasseurs Britanniques; • 33 Lymington inhabitants; • 35 other officers resident at the foreign military depot at Lymington; • 36 other officers resident at foreign military depot, Lymington; • From Souper's sister, Mrs Alshed. The Justice then used his powers to pardon Souper. The last recorded duel with pistols was in 1854, but it was generally outlawed in the British army before that following the Souper trial (and other similar incidents). In
Snippets from Long Ago in Pennington, Joan Stephens notes that British Army magazine ‘The Soldier’ heralded this “the Army’s last duel” in an article written by Capt. O’Donavan. Stephens also notes that the Foreign Depot in Lymington had ‘long since gone but, until 1974 – when it was destroyed by vandals, stood the grim reminder in Lymington Churchyard of the Army’s last duel – a stone erected to the memory of John Dieterich late Lieut and Adjutant of the Foreign Depot who fell in a duel on the Common at Pennington’. In 1815, Souper's son (also William) was appointed
Ensign for the York Chasseurs. Formed on 13 November 1813 from the ‘Better Class of Culprit and Deserter’ and confined aboard Isle of Wight military prison ships, this expendable corps of ‘Serial Deserters’ was dispatched to survive or die in the islands of Barbados, St Vincent, Jamaica, Grenada, Tobago and Guadeloupe, where 26 per cent successfully deserted, 30 per cent perished.
Donkey Town Pennington was locally nicknamed Donkey Town. It is understood from local sources that this was due to the number of donkeys that would graze on Pennington Common. Donkeys were used to transport salt from the marshes to the main road.
Notable people Manor owners • Sir
John Lisle, who also owned
Ellingham manor in Ringwood, was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1659. He supported the
Parliamentarian cause in the
English Civil War and was one of the
Regicides of King Charles I of England. He was assassinated by an agent of the crown while in exile in Switzerland. •
Giles Stibbert, who made his fortune as Lieutenant General of the
East India Company and then Commander in Chief of India, before returning to the New Forest. •
George Tomline, who was the Bishop of Lincoln and subsequently Winchester, and was Private Secretary to
William Pitt the Younger.
Other •
Frederick Keeping ==Governance==