[James Langham]

Even more sadly I seem to recall that it was "Punch" that invented Napier's quote.

Originally Posted by Sanjuro

Another Churchill line: "When you have to kill a man, it costs nothing to be polite."
Or, General Sir Charles Napier, "Peccavi."
The fighting in the 1840's was at a time of British expansion in India. Nevertheless, there were those in Britain who doubted the wisdom of too rapid an advance, and in particular, the capture of the province of Sind, which was thought likely to lead to an overextension of lines of communication. Napier was therefore under express orders not to capture the territory. Once he discovered, however, how little resistance there was, he took the province with ease. ''Peccavi'' therefore meant both ''I have Sind,'' and ''I have sinned'' - perhaps a perfect pun.
With apologies for introducing Latin puns unto the thread...