Thomas Mullins (died 1823) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

officer of the 44th Regiment of Foot, best known for his misconduct at the

Battle of New Orleans The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between the British Army under Major General Sir Edward Pakenham and the United States Army under Brevet Major General Andrew Jackson, roughly 5 miles (8 km) southeast of the Frenc ...

during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

. While he performed well during the Chesapeake campaign, his failure to check on the regiment's engineering supplies at New Orleans played a key role in the disorganization and subsequent defeat of the British there.

Birth and early career

Mullins was the third son of Thomas Mullins, 1st Baron Ventry and his second wife Christabella. On 27 January 1791, he was promoted from Ensign of the

24th Regiment of Foot Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

to become a lieutenant in the Independent Companies, and on 22 February 1791, he exchanged again from half-pay in the Independent Companies to the

45th Regiment of Foot The 45th (Nottinghamshire) (Sherwood Foresters) Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment, raised in 1741. The regiment saw action during Father Le Loutre's War, the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War as ...

. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

on 20 July 1794. He was appointed to the second

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions ...

of the 44th when the second battalion was raised in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

in 1803. Subsequently, he transferred to the first battalion. In 1810, he married Parnell, the widow of Major-General Archer.

Chesapeake campaign

When Colonel Arthur Brooke,

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

of the 44th Regiment of Foot assumed the command of a brigade during the Chesapeake campaign, Mullins was breveted lieutenant-colonel and assumed command of that regiment. He was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

by General Robert Ross for his leadership at the

Battle of Bladensburg The Battle of Bladensburg was a battle of the Chesapeake campaign of the War of 1812, fought on 24 August 1814 at Bladensburg, Maryland, northeast of Washington, D.C. Called "the greatest disgrace ever dealt to American arms," a British for ...

, which took place on 24 August 1814. Mullins was also commended for his conduct during the

Battle of North Point The Battle of North Point was fought on September 12, 1814, between General John Stricker's Maryland Militia and a British force led by Major General Robert Ross. Although the Americans retreated, they were able to do so in good order having inf ...

by Brooke, who succeeded Ross when the latter fell to a skirmisher's bullet.

New Orleans campaign

During the New Orleans campaign, Brooke continued to command a brigade including the 44th during the initial landing, and Mullins retained command of that regiment. The 44th was assigned by General

Edward Pakenham Major General Sir Edward Michael Pakenham, (19 March 1778 – 8 January 1815), was a British Army officer and politician. He was the son of the Baron Longford and the brother-in-law of the Duke of Wellington, with whom he served in the Pe ...

to be the advance guard for the first column of attack on 8 January 1815, and to carry the ladders and

fascine A fascine is a rough bundle of brushwood or other material used for strengthening an earthen structure, or making a path across uneven or wet terrain. Typical uses are protecting the banks of streams from erosion, covering marshy ground and so ...

s which would enable the British troops to cross the ditch and scale the American ramparts. Mullins was not pleased, viewing the regiment's role as that of a

forlorn hope A forlorn hope is a band of soldiers or other combatants chosen to take the vanguard in a military operation, such as a suicidal assault through the kill zone of a defended position, or the first men to climb a scaling ladder against a defen ...

. Perhaps due to his bad temper, he failed to personally locate the ladders and fascines on the evening of the 7th, as Pakenham had ordered him to do. The officer he assigned to do so inquired about their location from an engineer officer, and reported they were in the advanced

redoubt A redoubt (historically redout) is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, although some are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldi ...

. During the night, a battery was set up about forward of the advanced redoubt. Mullins, thinking this to be the location of the

materiel Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context. In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the spec ...

, passed the advanced redoubt and halted the regiment at the battery. Upon discovering his mistake, he sent 300 men back to the redoubt at the double-quick to pick up the fascines and ladders, but it was too late. The other regiments were already advancing behind the 44th, the party of 300 lost formation as they struggled to reach the redoubt, and as day dawned, the attack commenced before the supplies could be brought forward. The British column had already been disordered by the passage of the 300 returning to the redoubt, and they advanced into a storm of American fire. Without the fascines and ladders, they were unable to scale and storm the American position. Major-General Gibbs encouraged them with cries of "Here come the 44th!", while vowing, in an undertone, to hang Mullins on the highest tree in the swamp if he lived until tomorrow. It was to no avail. The British attacks on the east side of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

failed in bloody confusion, with Pakenham and Gibbs among the casualties.

Aftermath

Upon the return of the 44th to

at the close of the campaign, Mullins was tried by a

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

between 11 July 1815 and 1 August 1815, on the charges of having neglected orders to collect fascines and ladders, having allowed the regiment to pass the redoubt containing the fascines and ladders, and for having engaged in "scandalous conduct", in remarking to an officer of his regiment that the 44th was a "forlorn hope...and must be sacrificed" after receiving orders that the regiment should carry fascines. While he was acquitted of the latter charge, he was convicted of the first two and

cashiered Cashiering (or degradation ceremony), generally within military forces, is a ritual dismissal of an individual from some position of responsibility for a breach of discipline. Etymology From the Flemish (to dismiss from service; to discar ...

from the Army. He died in 1823, leaving no children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullins, Thomas 1823 deaths British Army personnel of the War of 1812 British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Sherwood Foresters officers Younger sons of barons 44th Regiment of Foot officers Year of birth unknown