Vanity Fair Military Wives: Here We Go A Marching :: Victorian Era

Vanity Fair Military Wives: Here We Go A Marching In reading William Thackeray's novel, Vanity Fair, it was very surprising to learn that it was customary for soldiers' wives to follow and accompany their husbands' regiments when they went off to engage in combat. It seems rather odd when Amelia, on her honeymoon, boarded the ship (provided by His Majesty's government) that would take the troop on to Brussels. There is quite a big production as crowds gathered and cheered as the bands played â€Å"God Save the King†, while officers waved their hats and the crew rushed about. It did not seem possible that a major battle was going to take place in which many of the men would never again return to London. According to Andrew Uffindell's Women of Waterloo, â€Å"†¦ many soldiers were married, but only six or sometimes four in each company were permitted to take their wives with them on active service†. After the men had marched off to fight, the ladies who stayed behind in Brussels â€Å"suffered appalling mental tor tures as they awaited news of the fate of their loved ones† (Uffindell). After the Battle of Waterloo, many distraught British wives roamed the bloody battlefield in a state that sometimes bordered on madness. In Godfrey Davies' book, Wellington and His Army, the practice of allowing women to follow after their husbands' regiments goes so far back it is nearly untraceable. The number of women who might go abroad with the army was â€Å"unlimited for officers, but limited for men† (Davies 130). The majority of information available is about the wives whose husbands were in the infantry; much less is known about the cavalry and artillery. Soldiers' wives were restricted, or supposed to be restricted, to six per company and these â€Å"were chosen by lot on the evening before the regiment left its depot† (130). Approximately, there were twenty or thirty married women per company and each would draw a piece of paper on which was written â€Å"To go† or â€Å"Not to go†. The ones forced to stay behind were deeply sorrowful. This does not appear to be the case, however, with the famous ladies of Vanity Fair. What is startling is the general attitude of these British wives during this time of the war. The Duke of Wellington was leading the war against Napoleon and yet the entire party seemed entirely at ease: â€Å"†¦the business of life and living, and the pursuits of pleasure, especially, went on as if no end were to be expected to them, and no enemy in front† (Thackeray 286).