Earl of Chatham

Let's talk about the commanders.

The expedition was commanded by the Earl of Chatham, while the naval forces were led by Sir Richard Strachan.

Right.

Yeah.

These guys were fighters, and what he avoided was armchair generals like, uh, uh, Burrard and Dalrymple and the Convention of Cintra.

Like, he didn't like these hoity-toity political generals who just sat on their chairs and did nothing.

So I don't know why this, this Earl of Chatham got selected.

Who picked this guy?

Speech given to

the House of Lords on January 22nd, 1770, by William Pitt, the First Earl of Chatham.

My lords, I cannot agree with the noble duke that nothing less than an immediate attack upon the honor or interest of this nation can authorize us to interpose in defense of weaker states and in stopping the enterprises of an ambitious neighbor.

whenever that narrow selfish policy has prevailed in our councils we have constantly experienced the fatal effects of it by suffering our natural enemies to oppress the powers less able than we are to make a resistance we have permitted them to increase their strength we have lost the most favourable opportunities of opposing them with success and found ourselves at last obliged to run every hazard in making that cause our own in which we were not wise enough to take part in while the expense and danger might have been supported by others with respect to corsica i shall only say that france has obtained a more useful and important acquisition in one pacific campaign than in any of her belligerent campaigns at least while i had the honor of administering the war against her the word may perhaps be thought singular i mean only while i was the minister chiefly entrusted with the conduct of the war I remember, my lords, the time when Lorraine was united to the crown of France.