Purchase of commissions in the British Army facts for kids

In the old days, from the 1600s to the late 1800s, becoming an officer in the British Army was often done by buying your way in. This was called "purchasing a commission." A commission was like a special document that gave you the right to be an officer. Instead of waiting for a promotion based on how long you'd served or how good you were, you could simply buy the job. This system started in 1683 under King Charles II. It continued for a long time until it was finally stopped on November 1, 1871, as part of big changes to the army called the Cardwell Reforms. Officially, the money you paid was like a promise that you would behave well. If an officer was found guilty of being a coward, running away, or doing something really bad, they could lose their commission and their money.

Buying Officer Ranks in Britain

You could only buy officer ranks in cavalry (soldiers on horseback) and infantry (foot soldiers) regiments. This meant you could buy ranks up to colonel. Other parts of the army, like the Royal Engineers and the Royal Artillery, did things differently. Their officers had to graduate from a special school called the Royal Military Academy in Woolwich. After that, they were promoted based on how long they had served. The Royal Navy (the sea army) also never sold officer ranks. In the Navy, officers were supposed to move up in rank based on their skills or how long they had been in service.

Why They Sold Commissions

People had several reasons for why they thought selling commissions was a good idea:

• It was seen as a way to make sure officers behaved well. If an officer misused their power or was really bad at their job, the King could take away their commission. This meant they lost their job and the money they paid for it.
• It helped make sure that officers were mostly from wealthy families. These families usually wanted to keep things the way they were in society. This reduced the chance of the army trying to start a revolution or take over the government.
• It meant officers usually had their own money. This made them less likely to steal from people or cheat their own soldiers to make money.
• It gave officers a way to get money when they left the army. They could sell their commission to someone else.
• It kept the officer group special and mostly for people from higher social classes.

How Much They Cost

The official prices for commissions changed depending on the type of army unit. However, people often paid more than the official price, especially for popular regiments.

Here are some examples of what commissions cost in 1837:

If an officer wanted to get a promotion, they only had to pay the difference between the price of their current rank and the new rank. For example, if a Lieutenant wanted to become a Captain, they would pay the difference in price between those two ranks.

Social Rules and Regiments

In theory, a commission should only have been sold for its official price. It should also have been offered first to the next officer in line in the same regiment. But in reality, there was often an unofficial "over-regulation price." This meant the actual cost could be double the official price. Popular regiments, which were seen as more fashionable, often sold their commissions to the person who offered the most money, almost like an auction.

Older officers often saw their commission as their retirement money. They would try to make its value go up. An officer who had debts or inherited money problems might sell their commission to get funds.

Money wasn't the only thing that kept the officer class exclusive. Colonels (the leaders of regiments) could, and often did, refuse to let someone buy a commission in their regiment. This happened even if the person had enough money, but wasn't from a social background the Colonel liked. This was especially true in the Household and Guards regiments, which were mostly made up of nobility (people from noble families). However, in other regiments, some Colonels would lend money to deserving non-commissioned officers (like sergeants) or warrant officers so they could buy a commission.

Not all first jobs or promotions were paid for. If an officer was killed in action (died in battle) or was given a job on the Staff (usually by being promoted to Major General), this created a "non-purchase vacancy." This meant the spot was open and didn't need to be bought. These also happened when new regiments were created or existing ones grew bigger. However, if an officer died from illness, retired, or quit, those spots were "purchase vacancies." An officer who got a non-purchase vacancy usually had to wait several years before they could sell their commission.

During Wars

Rules were in place to make sure officers served for a minimum time in a rank. They also stopped officers from selling or trading their commissions just to avoid fighting in wars. The Commander in Chief could make exceptions to these rules. In 1806, there was a big scandal. It was found that Mary Anne Clarke, who was connected to the Commander in Chief at the time, Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, was selling commissions for her own money.

The worst problems with this system were less noticeable during big wars like the Napoleonic Wars. Many officers died, which created lots of non-purchase vacancies. Also, wealthy people who didn't want to fight were less likely to buy commissions. This meant many commissions were exchanged for their official price. Officers could also get "brevet" ranks. This meant they might be a lower rank in their own regiment, but hold a higher honorary rank in the army for special service or bravery. Officers who brought news of a victory (like the Battle of Waterloo) often received such promotions.

Ending the Practice

The problems with buying commissions became very clear during the long time of peace between the Napoleonic Wars and the Crimean War. For example, Lord Cardigan paid a huge amount of money, £35,000, to become the lieutenant-colonel of a fancy regiment called the 11th Hussars. During the Crimean War, it became obvious that the system of buying ranks often led to bad leadership. A famous example was the Charge of the Light Brigade, where poor decisions were made.

An investigation was started in 1855, and it criticized the system. The practice of buying commissions was finally stopped as part of the 1871 Cardwell reforms. These reforms made many important changes to how the British Army worked.

Other Armies

In the 1700s, buying commissions was common in many European armies, but usually not as much as in Britain. In Spain, for example, Pedro Caro Fontes bought his commission as a lieutenant colonel in a dragoon regiment in 1734.

France stopped selling commissions for its infantry in 1758. However, they kept selling them in the cavalry until the French Revolution. The Austrian government tried to limit the practice, but it still happened unofficially. Only in the Prussian Army was it completely unknown. In Russia, Peter the Great said that all officers had to start as regular soldiers. So, noble families would often register their baby sons as soldiers. By the time the boy was 15, he would already have been promoted to a junior officer rank because of how long he had been "serving." This practice slowly faded away and was officially ended by Russian military changes in 1864.