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The Third Division of the British army was formed in the year 1809 by Arthur Wellesley,
1st Duke of Wellington to supplement the Anglo-Portuguese army. Placed under the command of Sir
Thomas Picton the division soon gained the moniker of 'The Fighting 3rd'. The third incidentally
contained three brigades. The 1st Brigade was commanded by one Major General Thomas Brisbane,
this brigade contained the 1/45th Nottinghamshire, 74th Highland, 1/88th and 3 Coys 5/60th Royal
American regiment of foot. Command of Pictons 2nd Brigade was given to Major General Charles
Colville with 1/5th Northumberland Fusiliers, 2/83rd Dublin, 2/87th Prince of Wales Irish and the
94th Regiment of Foot.
Powers Portuguese Brigade however was a much more motley affair with the the 9th and
21st foot and the 1th Cacadores. It is an unfortunate truth however, that Wellesley never
bestowed upon Picton the confidence shown to Beresford, Hill and Crauford. Nevertheless Picton
earned a fine reputation of being extremely punctual and extremely thorough, never deviating
from his set orders yet always following them to his best ability, to the letter. An example of
Pictons stern attitude was an event on the river Coa in July 1810. Craufords foolishly got his
division involved in an action against the French, Crauford had found himself surprised by Marchal
Neys division of 20,000. Crauford decided to fight regardless of being hopelessly outnumbered
with an unfordable river at his back. Picton, being closest with the 3rd stalwartly refused to assist
in keeping with Wellesleys orders of avoiding engagement.
It was not however until the battle of Busaco in September of the same year. Here he had a plain
duty, that of repulsing the French attack, and he performed that duty with a skill and resolution,
which indicated his great powers as a troop-leader.
A few months later Picton and the third once again excelled at the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro,
Here the 3rd Division with some of the 1st Division pushed forward in a counter attack after the
French ousted them from the town and successfully pushed forward until the French were forced
back from the town. This final effort secured the British victory by plummeting French morale.
In the first operations of 1812 Picton and Craufurd, side by side for the last time, stormed the
two breaches of Ciudad Rodrigo, Craufurd and Picton's second in command, Major-General
Henry Mackinnon, being mortally wounded. At Badajoz, a month later, the successful storming
of the fortress was due to his daring self-reliance and penetration in converting the secondary
attack on the castle, delivered by the 3rd Division, into a real one. He was himself wounded in
this terrible engagement, but would not leave the ramparts, and the day after, having recently
inherited a fortune, he gave every survivor of his command a guinea. His wound, and an attack
of fever, compelled him to return to Britain to recoup his health, but he reappeared at the front
in April 1813. While in Britain he was invested with the collar and badge of a Knight of the Order
of the Bath by the Prince Regent George, and in June he was made a lieutenant-general in the
army.
At the Battle of Vitoria, Picton led his division across a key bridge under heavy fire. According to
Picton, the enemy responded by pummeling the 3rd with 40 to 50 cannon and a counter-attack
on their right flank (which was still open because they had captured the bridge so quickly) causing
the 3rd to lose 1,800 men (over one third of all Allied losses at the battle) as they held their ground.
The conduct of the 3rd division under his leadership at the battle of Vittoria and in the engagements
in the Pyrenees raised his reputation as a resolute and skilful fighting general to a still higher point.
Early in 1814 he was offered, but after consulting Wellington declined, the command of the British
forces operating on the side of Catalonia. He thus bore his share in the Orthez campaign and in the
final victory before Toulouse.
On the break-up of the division the officers presented Picton with a valuable service of plate, and on
24th June 1814 he received for the seventh time the thanks of the House of Commons for his great
services. Somewhat to his disappointment he was not included amongst the generals who were
raised to the peerage.
The 'Fighting 3rd' did indeed find itself at Waterloo, albeit under a new commander and with none
of the same regiments.
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