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Lorsque le document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un seui clichA, 11 est film* A partir de I'angle supArieur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nAcessalre. Les diagrammes sulvants illustrent la mithode. irrata to pelure, n A 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 .■.ii^Viflt nW}tUii7'i%(/^ r"^ \.i-«. ' -■'*'-' .,-W^ ^ .c 4- »i; ri--. ii I / ^ ' ■ i' • I ' AV : r \ L^< ■\ ■■^ I -■■-'J >- f or THE 3 C:^ ^^^^P^'^^^^^f(^^^^^ ^ ^ """■^ V -^?5 ■•.-•i . . i .>*^' .>.^./.^.- i -. \v i '!'i I '■. I HISTORICAL RECORDS /-\ or THE BRITISH ARMY. li' •■ - ; '1;^ GENERAL ORDERS HORSE-GUARDS, Ist January, 1836. His Majesty has been pleased to command, that, with a view of doing the fullest justice to Regi- ments, as well as to Individuals who have distin- guished themselves by their Bravery in Action with the Enemy, an Account of the Services of every Regiment in the British Army shall be published under the superintendence and direction of the Adjutant-General; and that this Account shall con- tain the following particulars, viz., The Period and Circumstances of the Ori- ginal Formation of the Regiment; The Stations at which it has been from time to time employed ; The Battles, Sieges, and other INIilitary Operations, in which it has been engaged, ^;rticularly specifying any Achievement it may have ^lerformed, and the Colours, Trophies, &c., it may have captured from the Enemy. Tlie Names of the Officers and the number of Non-Commissioned Officers and Privates, Killed or Wounded by the Enemy, specifying the Place and Date of the Action. r m GENERAL ORDERS. The Names of those Officers, who, in con- sideration of their Gallant Services and Meritorious Conduct in Engagements with the Enemy, have been distinguished with Titles, Medals, or other Marks of His Majesty's gracious favour. The Names of all such Officers, Non-Com- missioned Officers and Privates as may have specially signalized themselves in Action. And, - The Badges and Devices which the Regiment may have been permitted to bear, and the Causes on account of which such Badges or Devices, or any other Marks of Distinction, have been granted. By Command of the Bight Honourable GENERAL LORD HILL, Commanding-inr'Chief. John Macdonald, A djutant- General. *;: PREFACE. The character and credit of the British Army must chiefly depend upon the zeal and ardour, by which aU who enter into its service are animated, and consequently it is of the highest importance that any measure calculated to excite the spirit of emulation, by which alone great and gallant actions are achieved, should be adopted. Nothing can more fully tend to the accomplishment of this desirable object, than a full display of the noble deeds with which the Military History of our country abounds. To hold forth these bright examples to the imitation of the youthful soldier, and thus to incite him to emulate the meritorious conduct of those who have preceded him in their honourable career, are among the motives that have given rise to the present publication. The operations of the British Troops are, indeed, an- nounced in the " London Gazette," from whence they are transfijk'rsd into the public prints : the achievements of our armies are thus made known at the time of their occurrence, and receive the tribute of praise and admiration to which they are entitled. On extraordinary occasions, the Houses of Parliament have been in the habit of conferring on the Commanders, and the Officers and Troops acting under ! f VI PREFACE. their orders, expressions of approbation and of thanks for their skill and bravery, and these testimonials, confirmed by the high honour of their Sovereign's Approbation, constitute the reward which the soldier most highly prisses. It has not, however, until late years, been the practice (which appears to have long prevailed in some of the Con- tinental armies) for British Regiments to keep regular records of their services and achievements. Hence some difficulty has been experienced in obtaining, particularly from the old Regiments, an authentic account of their origin and subsequent services. This defect will now be remedied, in consequence of His Majesty having been pleased to command, that every Regi- ment shall in future keep a full and ample record of its services at home and abroad. From the materials thus collected, the country will henceforth derive information as to the difficulties and privations which chequer the. career of those who embrace the military profession. In Great Britain, where so large a number of persons are devoted to the active concerns of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, and where these pursuits have, for so long a period, been undisturbed by the presence of wavj which few other countries have escaped, comparatively little is known of the vicissitudes of active service, and of the casualties of climate, to which, even during peace, the British Troops are exposed in every part of the globe, with little or no interval of repose. In their tranquil enjoyment of the blessings which the ( ( PREFACE. vn country derives from the industry and the enterprise of the agriculturist and the trader, its happy inhabitants may be supposed not often to reflect on the perilous duties of the soldier and the sailor, — on their sufierings, — and on the sacrifice of valuable life^ by which so many national benefits are obtained and preserved. The conduct of the British Troops, their valour, and endurance, have shone conspicuously under great and trying difficulties ; and their character has been established in Con- tinental warfare by the irresistible spirit with which they have effected debarkations in spite of the most formidable opposition, and by the gallantry and steadiness with which they have maintained their advantages against superior numbers. In the oflicial Reports made by the respective Com- manders, ample justice has generally been done to the gallant exertions of the Corps employed; but the details of their services, and of acts of individual bravery, can only be fully giveji in the Annals of the various Regiments. These Records are now preparing for publication, under His Majesty's special authority, by Mr. Richard Cannon, Principal Clerk of the Adjutant-General*s OflSce j and while the perusal of them cannot fail to be useful and interesting to military men of every rank, it is considered that they will also afford entertainment and information to the general reader, particularly to those who may have servrjd in the Army, or who have relatives in the Service. There exists in the breasts of most of those who have r II VJll PREFACE. served, or are serving, in the Army, an Esprit de Corps-^ an attachment to every thing belonging to their Regiment ; to such persons a narrative of the services of their own Corps cannot fail to prove interesting. Authentic accounts of the actions of the great, — the valiant,^ — the loyal, have always been of paramount interest with a brave and civilized people. Great Britain has produced a race of heroes who, in mo- ments of danger and terror, have stood, " firm as the rocVs of their native shore ;" and when half the World has been arrayed against them, they have fought the battles of their Country with unshaken fortitude. It is presumed that a record of achievements in war, — victories so complete and surprising, gained by our countrymen, — our brothers, — our fellow-citizens in arms, — a record which revives the memory of the brave, and brings their gallant deeds before us, will certainly prove acceptable to the public. Biographical memoirs of the Colonels and other distin- guished Officers, will be introduced in the Records of their respective Regiments, and the Honorary Distinctions which have, from time to time, been conferred upon each Regi- ment, as testifying the value and importance of its services, will be faithfully set forth. As a convenient mode of Publication, the Record of each Regiment will be printed in a distinct number, so that when the whole shall be completed, the Parts may be bound up in numerical succession. •orps — iment j I Corps of the always people, in mo- le rocVs Las been of their i that a lete and srs,— our memory } us, will r distin- of their Ins which h Regi- I services, of each hat when lound up HISTORICAL RECORD 99 THE FORTY-SECOND, OR, THE ROYAL HIGHLAND REGIMENT Of FOOT: OONTAINIMO AN ACCOUNT OV THE FORMATION OF SIX COMPANIES OF HIGHLANDERS IN 1729, WHICH WERE TERMED "THE BLACK WATCH," AND WERE REGIMENTED IN 1739; AND OF THE SUBSEQUENT SERVICE'^ OF THE REGIMENT TO 1844. ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES OF THE COLOURS AND UNIFORM. LONDON: PARKER, FURNIVALL, AND PARKER, UILITARY LIBRARY, WHITEHALL. M.DCCC.XLT. LONDON ; HARRrWN AND CO., PMINTIM, ST. NAKTIN'S LAN*. |1 THE FORTY-SECOND, OB, THB ROYAL HIGHLAND REGIMENT OF FOOT, BEARS ON ITS BEOIHENTAL COLOUB. THE ROYAL CYPHER WITHIN THE GARTER, AND THB CROWN OVBR IT : THE FIGURE OF ST. ANDREW, WITH THB MOTTO NEMO ME IMPUNE LACE881T: / IN THK 8KCOND, THIRD, AND FOURTH CORNBRS THE ROYAL CYPHER AND CROWN: THE SPHYNX, WITH THB WORD "EGYPT," IN COMMBMORATION OP ITS OALLANTRY IN BOYPT IN 1801; ALSO THE WORDS "CORUNNA," "FUENTES DONOR," "PYRENEES," " NIVELLE," « NIVE," '« 0RTHE8," " TOULOUSE," AND "PENINSULA," roR ITS SERVICES IN PORTUGAL, SPAIN, AND PRANCE, FROM 1808 TO 1814; AND THB WORD "WATERLOO," IN HONOUR OF ITS OISTINOUISHED CONDITT ON THE 18th junk, 181/5. CONTENTS. Year Page Introductory Notice ix 1729 The Independent Companies' "Black Watch" .ormed ........ 26 1739 ^ .rmed into a Regiment .... 28 1743 Marches to England 31 —— Embarks for Flanders 32 1745 Battle of Fontenoy 34 Returns to England 39 - — Three Companies added .... Engaged at Preston-pans .... 40 1 746 Embarks for North America, but driven back by contrary winds Descent on the coast of France Proceeds to Ireland ...'.. 1747 Embarks for Flanders 1748 Returns to England .... 1749 Proceeds to Ireland ..... 1 751 The number of the Regiment fixed as Forty -second 1 756 Embarks for North America .... 1768 Attack on Ticonderoga . . • . . A Second Battalion added to the Regiment Authorised to bear the distinction of ** Royal High- land Regiment "m addition to its Numerical Title 1759 The Second Battalion embarks for the West Indies Attack on Martinique Capture of Guadaloupe The Second Battalion embarks for North America Second attack on Ticonderoga .... Expedition to the Lakes .... 1760 Surrender of Montreal 1761 Embarks for the West Indies 1762 Capture of Martinique Siege of the Moro Fort, and capture of the Havannah The Regiment reduced to one Battalion — <— Embarks for North America .... 41 42 44 45 46 48 49 50 51 54 55 56 57 59 y ▼i CONTENTS. !1 Year Page 1 7f5^ I 1 1M X^^y^^l^^ against the North American Indians . 59 1767 Embarks for Ireland 62 1771 An additional Company added to the Establishment 64 1775 Embarks for Scotland 65 1776 — — — ^ North America . . . — Battle of Brooklyn 67 Capture of Long Island 68 ■ — Siege of Fort Washington .... 69 1777 Affair at Pisquata .'70 Expedition to Pennsylvania .... 73 Battle of Brandywine — Germantown ..... 74 1779 Capture of the Forts of Stoney Point and Vere- planks ........ 77 A Second Battalion added to the Regiment . 79 1 780 Siege of Charlestown — 1781 The Second Battalion embarks for the East Indies — 1783 Removed to Nova Scotia .... 80 1785 New Colours presented to the Regiment . .81 1786 The Second Battalion constituted the Seventy- third Regiment ...... 85 1787 Two Companies added to the Establishment . — 1789 Returns to England . ..... — 1 790 Proceeds to Scotland .Q„( Returns to England, and embarks from Gosport I for Flanders — Returns to England Expedition in aid of the Vendeans 1 1794 Proceeds to Flanders 1795 Returns to England ' Forms part of an Expedition to the West Indies 1796 Five Companies are driven back into Portsmouth, and afterwards embark for Gibraltar Capture of the Islands of St. Lucia and St. Vincent 1797 The five Companies return from the West Indies to England, and embark for Gibraltar 1 798 Capture of Minorca 1799 Stationed at Minorca 1 800 Embarks for Gibraltar 86 87 88 89 90 92 93 94 95 d9 100 101 CONTENTS. VU Year 1800 Proceeds to Malta 1801 Forms part of the Expedition to Egypt Battle of Aboukir .... Alexandria Authorized to bear the Sphynx and the Egypt" 1802 Arrives in England .... Reviewed by King George III. . Proceeds to Edinburgh .... — — New Colours presented to the Regiment 1 803 A Second Battalion added to the Establishment 1 805 The First Battalion proceeds to Gibraltar embarks from Gibraltar to word Page 101 102 103 , 105 113 114 1808 join the Army in Portugal .... 1809 Battle of Corunna The First Battalion returns to England The Second Battalion embarks for Portugal . — — The First Battalion forms part of an Expedition against Holland .... . . 1810 The First Battalion proceeds to Scotland Second Battalion engaged at the battle of Busaco 1811 Fuentes d'Onor 1812 Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo Badajoz The First Battalion embarks for the Peninsula Battle of Salamanca Siege of Burgos Castle 1813 Battle of Vittoria Battles of the Pyrenees Battle of Nivelle Passage of the Nive 1814 Battle of Orthes . ■ Toulouse . — — Embarks for Ireland The Second Battalion disbanded 1815 Embarks for Flanders Engaged at Quatre Bras Battle of Waterloo Marches to Paris Returns to England 115 117 118 119 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 139 141 144 147 f ! 1 ', * ;. viu CONTENTS. Year 1816 Proceeds to Scotland 1817 Embarks for Ireland 1825 Formed into Service and Depdt Companies — ■ Service Companies proceed to Gibraltar 1832 to Malta 1834 to Corfu 1836 return to the United Eing- Pag« 147 149 ISO 151 dom ■ ■ Service and Depot Companies rejoin in Scotland 1838 The Regiment proceeds to Ireland 1841 Service Companies embark for the Ionian Islands — — Depdt Companies proceed to Scotland ■ . 1842 A Reserve Battalion added .... 1843 The Reserve Battalion embarks for Malta, and is joined by the First Battalion from the Ionian Islands ....... 1844 The Conclusion SUCCESSION OF COLONELS. 1739 John, Earl of Crawford 1741 Hugh Lord Sempill 1 745 Lord John Murray 1787 Sir Hector Munro, K.B 1806 George, Marquis of Huntly . . . . 1820 John, Earl of Hopetoun,G.C.B. . 1823 The Right Hon. Sir George Murray, G.C.B., 1844 Sir John Macdonald, K.C.B. Succession of Lieutenant-Colonels Succession of Majors 153 154 155 156 157 159 160 161 162 163 165 167 169 170 Appendix 173 PLATES. Colours and Uniform of the Regiment . . to face page 25 Description of the Battle of Alexandria . . 110 Uniforms of the Regiment in Dress and Marching Order. 158 II IISTRODUCTORY NOTICE. In a simple record of the services of the Forty- second Regiment, — the oldest of the far-famed Highland Corps, — the reader will not expect a laboured introduction to the history, the social and political condition of the Highlands and Isles of Scotland. Those who desire to enter into this interesting subject, will find ample gratification in the pages of the " History of the Highlands and of the Highlan»d Clans," by James Browne, Esq., LL.D.; — a work of singular learning and research. But, while the compiler rejects elaborate investi- gation, he thinks he is doing but justice to his sub- ject, in presenting to the reader the following notices of the Highland military character, from the pen of one, who, in the words of Sir John Moore, " possessed a soldier's mind," — of one who " has often been near the scene of service,"— of one who "has served in three British. wars;" — of a military philosopher, in short, of the rarest endowments, — of the most enlarged military observatiou and ex- perience, — of the most scrupulous honour and in- tegrity, whether we regard the author or the indi- vidual. . 42. A INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. / i From Dr. Robert Jackson's "View of the Formation, Discipline, and Economy of Armies," we derive the following illustrations of our subject. After a brief notice of the character of the Highland race, which Dr. Jackson conceives to be of mixed Celtic and Gothic stock, he passes on to the influence of the " Gaelic song" of old, when, " to obtain a name in war was the first object of the Gael, — an object, if credit be due to the song, sought in defence of friends rather than in the ag- gression of foes. There was a spirit of heroism in the times; and the warlike fame of the Highlander, whether aboriginal Celt or usurping Goth, was high in this age of chivalry." " The picture of life drawn in these poems is pri- mitive; the characters of the actors are simple and warlike; the sentiments are generous and noble, and they are not merely ideal. Characters, not unlike those which embellish the poems alluded to, oc- curred occasionally in the last century among native Highlanders. They were considered, and will con- tinue to be considered, by the sons of civilization, as characters of romance; they are, notwithstand- ing, real, and resemblances are not altogether un- known to the writer." x "The Highlander of all classes is noted for hospitality, generosity, and friendship where he is a friend. The submission of the common Highlander to the chief and chief- tains of the clan, was perfect in past time ; but it INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. XI OF THE A.RMIES," ' subject, p of the } to be of an to the hen, "to 5t of the he song, n the ag- 3roism in uis IS pri- mple and loble, and ot unlike to, oc- ng native will con- ^ilization, ithstand- ther un- er of all sity, and ibniission nd chief- e ; but it was not the servility of a slave in fear of the whip ; it vras the attachment of a son to a father, accom- panied with reverence for authority from pre-emi- nence of station. The clan was supposed to be of one blood ; and, as such, it was held together by one connexion. All the members of the clan owed submission to the chief, but to no power, in their own idea, superior to the chief. The meanest sub- ject of the clan considered the cause of the chief as the cause of himself, and his own cause as the cause of the chief: they were thus one*. The idea of this reciprocal action and reaction was fostered with pride; and, under this idea, the warlike onset of Highlanders, as stimulated by resentment and ce- mented by sympathy from blood, was impetuous as a torrent from the mountain, — not to be resisted by common means of defence. Besides the cause now alluded to, the tones of the bag-pipe, — a musical instrument peculiar to the Highlanders of Scotland, — were singularly powerful in rousing and in support- ing courage in the conflict of battle. There are tones in the bag-pipe which penetrate to the inmost fibres of the frame, and rivet, so to speak, the whole * ** Blessed be that spirit of nationality or clanship, or by whatever name the principle may be called, which opens the heart of man to his brother man ; and in spite of the trained selfishness to which he is educated in artificial life, bids the warm and glorious feeling of sympathy gush forth in cii-cumstances of son-ow and of trouble, to cheer the drooping heart of the unfortunate, and to prevent his swear- ing hatred to his own species." -" The Black Watch" by Andrew Picken. A2 I Ai I'i Xll INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. action of the soul to one point: it is thus that a charge to battle, sounded in pibroch^ absorbs all the distracting cares and selfish sensibilities deno- minated fears, inflames the courage to enthusiasm, and renders a common man a hero. The sound of the instrument transports the Highlander with joy in common circumstances; it renders him insensible to danger in the conflicts of war." Recent discussion gives additional interest to thb following description of the arming and mvAe of attack of the native Highlander: — "The arms, armour, and mode of warlike attack are peculiar. The arms and armour are well contrived for execu- tion or defence, the mode of applying them impres- sive — almost irresistible," x "Their conduct in the year 1745 proves very distinctly that they are neither a ferocious nor a cruel people. No troops ever, perhaps, traversed a country which might be deemed hostile, leaving so few traces of outrage behind them as were left by the Highlanders, in the year 1745. They are better known at the present time than they were then, and they are known to be eminent for honesty and fidelity, where confidence is given them. They pos- sess exalted notions of honour, warm friendships, and much national pride. ' ^ - Tlie germ of education is scattered every whe 'V c^a i8 Highlanders have strong minds, and a great desire to learn, they take lessons from what they accidentally hear and see. .1 i INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. X111 and they actually attain, in the course of their lives, to a hipfher scale in military sagacity than any other people in the kingdom, or perhaps than any other peasant peo])le in Europe." x "The senti- ment of the Highlander is strong; it is a prin- ciple as it were in the constitution of his nature. He may be said to have a patriarchal education, and he is attached to kingly power with a blind devotion. He is repugnant from republicanism; in short, he is a soldier who looks to a chief, not a philosopher who considers the sons of man as equal in condition to one another." x x "Born and bred among the mountains, where the spirit of war and heroism was ingrafted on the frame, the High- lander, not relishing or not possessing capacity for mechanic arts, became the lowest of labourers in luxurious cities, or, entering into the army, proved himself to be the best and bravest of soldiers." Of the disinclination from peaceful employment, and propensity for war here spoken of, Dr. Jackson else- where affords us a striking illustration. While passing through the Isle of Skye* in the autumn * " The Isle of Skye has, within the last forty years, furnished for the public service, twenty-one Lieutenant-Generals and Major-Gre- nerals; forty-five Lieutenant-Colonels; six hundred Maj )r8, Captains, Lieutenants and Subalterns ; ten thousand foot soldiers ; one hundred and twenty pipers; four Governors of British Colonies; one Grovemor- General; one Adjutant-General; one Chief-Baron of England; and one Judge of the Supreme Court of Scotland. The Generals may be classed thus :— eight Macdonalds, six Macleods, two Macallisters, two Macaskills, one Mackinnon, one Elder, and one Macqueen. The Isle XIV INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. of 1783, he met a man of great age whos* shoulder had, through a recent fall, been dislocated. This condition was speedily rectified by our traveller. "As there seemed to be something rather uncommon about the old man, I asked if he had lived all his life in the Highlands? No: — he said he made one of the Forty-second Regiment when they were first raised ; then had gone with them to Germany ; but when he had heard that his Prince was lauded in the North, he purchased, or had made such interest that he procured his discharge; came home, and enlisted under his banner. He fought at Culloden, and was wounded. After everything was settled, he returned to his old regiment, and served with it till he received another wound that rendered him unfit for service. He now, he said, lived the best way he could, on his pension." Such is the native character of the warlike race called into the ranks" of the British army, by the first Chatham. We have now to consider the conduct of this remarkable people since being subject to rule of modern military discipline ; and, in doing so, it is believed that no more just or authentic record can be referred to than the distinguished one already quoted. of Skye is forty-five miles long, and about fifteen in mean breadth. Truly the inhabitants are a wondcrous people. It may be mentioned that this island is the bii-th-place of Cuthullin, the celebrated hero mentioned in Osuian's PoeniB." — Invernesa Journal. INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. XV Dr. Jackson properly begins his description with thp physical character of the Highland soldier, such as he presents himself in the ranks : — " Some of the Highlanders are tall and erect, of great muscular power, of a dignified and majestic air, the elite, as it were, of the Gothic race; the greater number are of comparatively low stature, compact and firmly knit in their joints, hardy in bodily frame, without grace or elegance in manner and movement, but of great endurance of fatigue and hard living. The countenance of the higher class of Highlanders is, for the most part, strongly marked as a warlike countenance; the face is broad, the cheek bones high, the visage manly — stern rather than comely — the features are often harsh, and the skin is coarse, as much exposed to weather. But though the Highlander, gentleman or gilly, be not so smooth, plump, and polished as his southern neighbour, the ensemble of the figure commands attention, and indicates character. " The limbs of the Highlander are strong and sinewy, the frame hardy, and of great physical power, in proportion to size. He endures cold, hunger, and fatigue with patience; in other words, he has an elasticity or pride of mind which does not feel, or which refuses to complain of hardship. The air of the gentleman is ordinarily majestic; the air and gait of the gilly is not graceful. He walks with a bended knee, and does not walk with grace, '»':: I I'i XVi INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. but his movement has energy; and between walk- ing and trotting, and by an interchange of pace, he performs long joumies with facility, particularly on broken and irregular ground, such as he has been accustomed to traverse in his native country." With this sketch of the exterior, our author introduces us to the moral qualities; — the warm, and even ardent friendships, the strong enmities and resentments, the close union through circumstances of locality and community of blood; — the courage which, he says, " the Highlander poHsesses in a pre- eminent degree;" and hence — " the Highlanders of Scotland, born and reared under the circumstances stated, marshalled for action by clans, according to ancient usage, led into action by chiefs who possess confidence from an opinion of knowledge, and love from the influence of blood, may be calculated upon as returning victorious, or dying in the grasp of the enemy. "Scotch Highlanders have a courage devoted to honour ; but they have an impetuosity which, if not well understood, and skilfully directed, is liable to error. The Scotch fight individually as if the cause were their own, not as if it were the cause of a commander only, — and they fight impassioned. Whether training and discipline may bring them in time to the apathy of German soldiers, further ex- perience will determine; but the Highlanders are even now impetuous ; and, if they (ail to accomplish m INTRODUCTOIIY NOTICE. XVll m walk- pace, he ularly on has been r author e wann, lities and mstances courage in a pre- iiiders of mstances )rding to possess and love ted upon sp of the devoted which, if is liable as if the cause of assioned. them in ther ex- iders are complish their object, they cannot be withdrawn from it like those who fight a battle by the job. "The object stands in their own view; the eye is iBxed upon it ; they rush towards it, seize it, and proclaim victory with exultation. They are not, as now said, the instruments of a commander. The cause of action, which is prominent in their own minds, determines the course and whets the cou- rage. If the course be hidden from the view by contingence, or guarded from the grasp by un- surmountable obstacle, the movement stagnates; and, as it does not advance, it is disposed to recoil, and does not often recoil by the rule of tactic. The mind becomes blank ; the powers are paralyzed, the steps retrograde, and sometimes assume the retrograde flight. This character of ardour belongs to Highland troops. It is a quality in the High- lander's nature; and this being so, it is the duty of the officer who commands an army or a division of Highlanders, to study, so as to know and estimate effect, and not, through ignorance, misapply means, or misplace instruments, and thereby concert his own misfortune, and the ruin of others. " If ardour to close with the enemy be the cha- racteristic of Highlanders, it is evident that High- landers, as acting with armies, are not troops to be employed in masked manoeuvres, demonstrations, and encounters with a view to diversion. The suggestion is a rule of common sense; and it is XVlll INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. . i! ;■: i\ moreover a rule, well founded in the writer's opinion, never to bring Highlanders under fire in the field, where they are precluded by circum- stances from extinguishing it by the bayonet. The Highlander does not sustain a distant fire with coolness, or retire with temper from an enterprize to which his front has been turned. He may be trusted to cover a retreat — the most difficult and dangerous — if such duty be assigned to him as a duty of honour and distinction ; a retreat, in failure of an enterprize of his own, is likely, under his own management, to degenerate into a rout. "But though this is true, and sometimes ex- emplified in history, it may still be observed that, even under failure, a note of the pibroch, or a single word that strikes a spring of national feeling, not unfrequently arrests the retrograde, stimulates to forward movement, and infuses an energy into the arm which washes out; in the blood of the enemy, the stain of momentary forgetfulness. The High- lander upon the whole is a soldier of the first quality; but, as already said, he requires to see his object fully, and to come into contact with it in all its extent. He then feels the impression of his duty through a channel which he understands, and he acts consistently in consequence of the im- pression, that is, in consequence of the impulse of his own internal sentiment, rathei than the ex- ternal impulse of the command of another ; for it INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. XIX is often verified in experience that, where the enemy is before the Highlander and nearly in con- tact with him, the authority of the officer is in a measure null; the duty is notwithstanding done, and well done, by the impulses of natural instinct. " Different nations have different excellences, or different defects, in their warlike character. Some excel in the use of missile weapons; the excellence of the Highlander lies in close combat with the naked point. Close charge was his ancient mode of attack; and he still charges with more impetuosity, or sustains the charge with more firmness, that is, disputes the ground with more obstinacy, than almost any other man in Europe, — presumptively from impressions engrafted on or- ganism by national custom. Some nations, who sustain the distant combat with courage, turn with fear from the countenance of an enraged enemy. The Highlander advances towards his antagonist with ardour; and, if circumstances permit him to grasp him, as man grasps with man, his courage is assured*." Referring to the conduct of the Highland regi- ments in the first American war. Dr. Jackson observes that, "The Highland corps mustered * With such qualities for the melee as our author here exhibits, what results might we not anticipate from a torrent of Highland Cavalry— the frocblla EQUBbXKis— to quote the beautiful language of Scripture ? I I r XX INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. strong in the American revolutionary war. The issue of the contest was not such as could be called glorious to the British arms ; but the fight- ing character of the English soldier was not tar- nished, and that of the Highlander, as more known, was better appreciated and more highly valued." Before concluding our introduction, and pro- ceeding to the narration of events, the compiler is anxious to place before his readers the sentiments of so great an authority on a question of national importance, viz, — the formation and maintenance of National Regiments. Dr. Jackson emphatically urges the advantages of such corps, and the policy of permanently main- taining them. This he does in a manner that evinces, in common with all his other writings, a profound knowledge of human nature, and of the military character. He nrges the vast import- ance of preserving and improving the moral quali- ties; on the principle proved by the history of nations^ that "the moral virtue of the soldier has a greater share in the permanent success of arms than his physical prowess;" adding, " that no stronger cause for good conduct exists among soldiers than the hopes that the report of such good conduct will be conveyed to his native home, — to be known to the companions of his youth, whom he cherishes in idea as the friends of his old age." He urges the desirableness, on y INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. XXI various grounds, of classing men in the ranks ac- cording to moral and physical correspondence and similitude ; and comments on the influences of locality, on the community in domestic habit, thought, and custom, to be found amongst men congregated from the same districts and townships. All these influences, and the many others which he enumerates, he considers "of powerful operation in war." He states, moreover, that " the majority of soldiers are emulous to do well, that their parents may be honoured; they are fearful to do wrong, lest their parents should be disgraced. Such motive exists, and it operates so strongly on the Highlanders of Scotland, that the feeling connected with it may be considered as a main cause of the uniform good conduct of Highland soldiers in every service where they have been employed." The reasoning of our author, and the example of heroic devotion with which he illustrates his arguments, are so characteristic, that it is deemed a duty to the service to present them here : — " If military materials be thrown together promis- cuously — that is, arranged by no other rule except that of size or quantity of matter, as it is admitted that the individual parts possess different propen- sities and different powers of action, it is plain that the instrument composed of these different and in- dependent parts has a tendency to act differently; i i'' III ! I xxii INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. the parts are constrained to act on one object by stimulation or coercion only. In order to maintain the union contemplated by the tactician as the ob- ject of his training, one requires to be urged, another requires to be restrained; consequently the management is difficult, for, as the actual powers of exertion do not always correspond with the physical appearances, they are not always equally influenced to exert themselves by the impulse of the same internal motive. "A military instrument, composed of hetero- geneous parts, as here stated, cannot well be sup- posed to attain the highest point of excellence. " Military excellence consists, as often hinted, in every part of the instrument acting with full force — acting from one principle and for one pur- pose; and hence it is evident that in a mixed fabric, composed of parts of unequal power and Afferent temper, disunion is a consequence, if all act to the full extent of their power; or if disunion be not a consequence, the combined act must necessarily be shackled, and, as such, inferior, the strong being restrained from exertion for the sake of preserving union with the weak. " The imperfection now stated necessarily at- taches to regiments composed of different nations mixed promiscuously. It even attaches, in some degree, to regiments which are formed indis- criminately from the population of all the districts INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. xxm or counties of an extensive kingdom. This as- sumption, anticipated by reasoniiY is confirmed by experience in the military history of semibar- barous tribes, which are often observed, without the aid of tactic, as taught in modern schools, to stick together in danger, and to achieve acts of heroism beyond the comprehension of those who have no knowledge of man but as a part of a mechanical instrument of war. The fact has numerous proofs in the history of nations; but it has not a more de- cisive one than that which occurred in the late Seventy-first Regiment in the revolutionary war of America. In the summer of the vear 1779, a party of the Seventy-first Regiment, consisting of fifty-six men and five officers, was detached from a redoubt, at Stone-ferry, in South Carolina, for the purpose of reconnoitering the enemy, which was supposed to be advancing in force to attack the post. Tlie instruction given to the officer who commanded went no further than to reconnoitre and retire upon the redoubt. The troops were new troops, — ardent as Highlanders usually are. They fell in with a strong column of the enemy (upwards of two thousand) within a short distance of the post; and, instead of retiring according to instruc- tion, they thought proper to attack, with an in- stinctive view, it was supposed, to retard progress, and thereby to give time to those who were in the redoubt to make better preparation for defence. ill I, XXIV INTRODUCTORY NOTICE. This they did; but they were themselves nearly destroyed. All the officers and non-commissioned officers were killed or wounded, and seven of the privates only remained on their legs at the end of the combat. The commanding officer fell, and, in falling, desired the few who still resisted to make the best of their way to the redoubt. They did not obey. The national sympathies were warm. National honour did not permit them to leave their officers in the field; and they actually persisted in covering their fallen comrades until a reinforcement arriving from head quarters, which was it some distance, induced the enemy to retire. "Whether the attack made by this party was right or wrong, in a military point of view, does not concern the present question. The conduct in the act was heroic, and the authors of it had no skill in the tactic of military schools. The major part of them had been taken at sea on their passage to America, and had only been recently released from prison: the best part of them, in so far as regards manual and manoeuvre, would have been sent to the awkward squad of a regiment of militia at the pre- sent day. The artificial lock-step was not known to them; but heroism of mind and social sympathy locked them together as one man in the hour of danger. They were only peasants of the Scottish mountains, but they rank in history with the Spartans who fought at Thermopylae." i nearly issioned I of the end of and, in ;o make did not >I^ational officers !overing arriving listance, rty was loes not ; in the skill in part of sage to ed from regards t to the the pre- lown to mpathy liour of Scottish partans HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE FORTY-SECOND OR. THE ROYAL HIGHLAND REGIMENT OF FOOT. The inhabitants of various countries have acquired 1729 celebrity in different ways; some in the line arts, others in manufactures, commerce, agriculture, and maritime enterprise, and the Highlanders of Scotland have been conspicuous for the possession of every military virtue which adorns the character of the hero who has adopted the profession of arms Naturally patient and brave, and inured to hardship in their youth in the hilly districts of a northern climate, these warlike mountaineers have always proved themselves a race of lion-like champions, valiant in the field, faithful, constant, generous in the hour of victory, and endued with calm perseverance under trial and dis- aster. Led by a native ardour for military fame, they have sought renown in distant lands, where they have been celebrated for martial achievements, and their services have been eagerly sought after by foreign potentates, and by renowned generals, who have admired and commended their intrepid bearing in moments of terror and danger, calculated to appal the bravest troops. For many centuries a band of Scottish 42. B 26 HISTORICAL RECORD OF 1729 warriors formed the body-guard of the sovereigfns of France, who confided iu their valour and fidelity during periods of great danger. The famed " Scots Brigade," in the service of the United Provinces, is celebrated in the military annals of the sixteenth, seventeenth, and early part of the eighteenth centuries, for all the qualities of a valuable corps j and the prowess of the numerous Highland regiments which fought under Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, and in the wars of Louis XIII. and Louis XIV., of France, was proclaimed by the voice of fame through all the countries of Cliristendom. Among the liritish corps which have acquired distinction in the wars of the eighteenth and nine- teenth centuries, the Forty-Second, or the Royai. Highland Regiment, has 1)een eminently conspicuous for gallantry and orderly conduct, equal to the highest anticijjations which hjid been formied of this national Scots corps. Its formation commenced in 1729, under the following circumstances. At the revolution in 1688, the majority of the clans adhered to the Stuart dynasty; but after three years' resistance they submitted to the government of King William III. In 1715 they again took arms, under the Earl of Mar, but finding their eiforts unavailing, their leaders fled to the Continent, and the Highlanders returned to their homes. A fruitless attempt was made by the Spaniards to involve Scotland in civil war, in 1719, and from that period the country enjoyed a state of comparative tranquillity for twenty- five years, during which time roads were made in the Highlands, and various measures adopted to improve the condition of the clans. In 1725 several Highlanders were admitted into the service of the crown and armed, and in 1729 the govermnrnt considered it desirable that a number of /■ THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 27 )vmces, 18 loyal Highlanders should be embodied, and constituted 1729 part of the regular domestic military force of the country, for duty in the mountain districts, for which they appeared better qaalifted than the soldiers from the Lowlands. Six independent companies were accordingly formed soon afterwards; three of them consisted of one captain, two lieutenants, one ensign, and one hundred non-commissioned oflicers and soldiers each, and were commanded by Lord Lovat> Sir Duncan Campbell of LochncU, and Colonel Grant of Ballindalloch; the other three companies consisted of one captain -lieutenant, one lieutenant, one ensign, and seventy men each, and were commanded by Alex- ander Campbell of Finab, John Campbell of Canick, and George Munro of Culcairn. These six companies were employed in enforcing 1730 the disarming act, in overawing the disaffected, in preventing reprisals and plunder between rival clans, ana the depredations of the mountaineers on iheir more peaceable neighbours of the ])laius. The oflicers were taken from the clans of Campbell, Grant, Munroe, &c., &c., which had embraced the i)ri!K:iples of the revolution of 1 688, but many of the men were from the clan of Athole, and those of Perthshire, which adhered to the opposite interest. The men were generally the sons of landholders, and persons in good circumstances; they continued to wear the dreRs of the country, which consisted so much of black, blue, and green tartan, that they i)resented a very sombre appearance, which procured them the appel- lation of "Freicudan Du," or "Black Watch," in contradistinction to the regular troops, who wore scarlet coats, waistcoats, and breeches, and were called " Seidaran Dearag," or " Red Soldiers." The Black Watch occupied extensive quarters; Lord Lovat and the Frasers were stationed at Fort I) 2 28 HISTORICAL RECORD 0F> i' i I r ^ r t 1730 Augustus, and the neighbouring parts of Inverness- shire; Captain-Lieutenant Munro of Culcairh, and the Munroes, in Ross and Sutherland; Ballindalloch and the Grants, in Strathspey and Badenoch; Athole and Breadalbane being border counties of doubtful loyalty, the two companies of Lochnell and Carrick were stationed there; the company 'of Campbell of Finab, who was then abroad, was quartered in Loch- aber and the northern parts of Argyleshire, among the Camerons and Stewarts of Appin. Thus distri- buted over an extensive tract of country, the Black Watch performed the duties allotted them to the satisfaction of the government during a period of nine years, when a change took place in the consti- tution of the corps. 1739 The qualities of Highland soldiers, often proved in the battle-fields of Europe, were well known and appreciated, and on the breaking out of the war with Spain in 1739, King George II. resolved to incor- porate the six companies of the Black Watch into a regiment, to be augmented to ten companies, that he might possess the advantage of a Highland corps in the approaching contest: the following warrant, dated the 25th of October 1739, was accordingly issued, addressed to Colonel John Earl of Crawford and Lindsay:— : . ♦' GEORGE R. Whereas wo have thought fit that a *• regiment of foot bo forthwith formed under your command, *' and consist of ten companies, each to contain one captain, *' one lieutenant, one ensif^, three Serjeants, three corporals, •* two dmramurs, and one hundred effective private men ; " which said regiment sh'All be partly formed out of six inde- " pendent companies of foot in the Highlands of North " Britain, three of which are now commanded by captains, and " three by captain-lieutenants. Our will and pleasure therefore " is, that one serjoant, one corporal, and fifty private men, bo THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. m ire, among forthwith taken out of the three companies commanded by 1739 captains, and ten men from each of the three companies commanded by captain-lieutenants, making one hundred and eighty men, who are to be equally distributed into the four companies hereby ordered to be raised, and the three Serjeants and three corporals drafted as aforesaid, to be placed to such of the four companies as you shall judge proper, and the remainder of the non-commissioned officers and private men, wanting to complete them to the above number, to be raised in the Highlands with all possible speed; the men to be natives of that country, and none other to be taken. *' The regiment shall commence and take place according to the establishment thereof. And of these our orders and commands, you, and the said three captains and three cap- tain-lieutenants commanding at present f lie six independent Highland companies, and all others concerned, are to take notice, and yield obedience thereto accordingly. " Given, &c., (Signed) Wm. Yonob." The following officers received commissions in the regiment : — Colonel, JoHK Eaul or OEAWFoan. Lieul.-Colonel, Sir Robbbt Mumro or Fowlis, Bart. Major, Georok Gba vt (brother of the Laird of Grant). Captains. George Munro of Culcairn. Dougul Campbell of Craignish. John Campbell of Carrick. Colin Campbell, junior, of Monzie, Sir Jaa. Colquhoun of Luas, Bt. Colin Campbell of Ballimore. John Munro. t ' Captain-Lieutenant, Duncan Maofarlane. Lieutenants. Paul Maophenon. Jno. Maclean of Kingarloch. Alexander MacdomJd. George Ramsay. John MKon^> Lewis Grant of Aucter-Clair. John Mackenzie. Malcomb Fraser (son of Culduthil). Fras. Grant (son of the Laird of Grant). 30 HISTORICAL RECORD OF 1739 Ensigns. Dougal Stewart. Edward Carrick. Gordon Graham of Draines. Colin Campbell. James Campbell of Grenfallach. Dougal Campbell. John Menzies of Camrie. Gilbert Stewart of Eincraigie. Archibald Macnab (son of the Laird of Macnab). Dougal Stewart. Chaplain, Honorable Gidean Murray. Surgeon, George Munro. AdjtUanty Gilbert Steward. Quarter-masterf John Forbes. 1740 Some progress had been made in recruiting, and the several companies were assembled in May, 1740, in a field between Taybridge and Aberfeldy, in the county of Perth, and there constituted a regiment, under the title of the "Highland Regiment;" but the corps retained, for some years, the country name of the Black Watch. The uniform was a scarlet jacket and waistcoat^ with buff facings and white lace ; tartan plaid of twelve yards, plaited round the middle of the body, the upper part being fixed on the left shoulder, ready to be thrown loose, and wrapped over both shoulders and firelock in rainy weather; it served the purpose of a blanket in the night; it was worn on all occasions when the men appeared in full dress, and was kept tight to the body by a belt; when not on duty, a little kilty or philibeg, was worn; a Hue bonnet, with a border of white, red, and green, arranged in small squares, to resemble, as is said, the fess cheque in the arms of the Stuart family, and a tuft of feathers, or sometimes, from economy or necessity, a tuft of black bear skin was afterwards added; tartan hose, and shoes with buckles. The arms were a musket, bayonet, and large basket-hilted broad-sword; these were furnished by the government, and such. men as chose, were permitted to carry a dirk, pair of pistols, and a target, after the fashion of the country. The 'I THB FORTY-SBCOND FOOT. 31 sword-belt was black, and the cartouch-box was 1 740 carried in front, supported by a belt round the waist. The regiment remained on the banks of the Tay and Lyon about fifteen months; it assembled regularly for exercise at Taybridge, and the point of Lyon, about a mile below Taymouth Castle, under Lieut.- Colonel Sir Robert Munro, an officer of experience and judgment. On the 25th of December Colonel the Earl of Craw- ford was removed to the Second, or Scots, Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the regiment by Brigadier-General Lord Sempill. In the winter of 1741 the regiment resumed the 1741 duties formerly performed by the Black Watch in the Highlands, in which it was employed during the year 1742, when King George II. sent an army to 1742 Flanders, to support the house of Austria against the Elector of Bavaria and the King of France. The Highland Regiment having been selected to 1743 reinforce the army in Flanders, assembled at Perth in March 1743, and commenced its march for the south of England. The men expected they should not be required to quit their own country, and as their destination had not been officially communicated to them, a belief was entertained that they were only proceeding to London to be reviewed by the King*. Towards the end of April they arrived in the vicinity of the metropolis, and were reviewed on the 14th of May, on Finchley common, by General Wade, who had become well acquainted with many of the officers, and with the character of the corps, during the time he was commander-in-chief in Scotland, and while superintending the construction * Two soldiers of t)te regiment were taken to court, and they performed the broad-sword and Lochaber-axe exercise in the pr«- sence of King George II. at St. James's Palace. 1 ' 32 HISTORICAL RECORD OP 1743 of roads in the Highlands. Many thousands of spectators were present at the review, and the appear- ance and discipline of the corps were much admired. After the review the regiment was ordered to Gravesend to embark, when a report was circulated among the men, that they were designed for the West Indies, a country which was, at that time, accounted the grave of Europeans, and upwards of a hundred soldiers, who had enlisted in the expectation of not being required to quit their own country, commenced their journey back to Scotland. They were overtaken, on the 22no May, at Oundle, in Northamptonshire, by a squadron of Wade's Horse (now Third Dragoon Guards), which was joined by a squadron of Churchill's Dragoons (now Tenth Hussars). The Highlanders were disposed to submit on condition of receiving a free pardon ; at the same time they took possession of a strong post in Lady- wood, and having their aims and ammunition, they expressed their determination to resist, rather than submit on any other terms. The judicious conduct on the part of the Officer commanding the cavalry detachments, induced the Highlanders to re-consider the steps they had taken, and being convinced of their error, they sunendered. They were conducted back to the Tower of London, where three of their number were tried and shot, and the remainder were drafted to different Colonies abroad. This event, occasioned exclusively by misappre- hension on the part of certain of the Highlanders, did not, however, prevent the embarkation of the regiment for Flanders. It embarked from Gravesend, and landed at Ostend, from whence it marched to Brus- sels, where it arrived on the 1st of June, and halted at that city ten days. It afterwards advanced up the country by Tirlemont, Liege, and Maestricht, and joined the allied army commanded by the British THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 33 Monarch in person, at Hanau, a few days after the 1743 King had gained a victory over the French at Dettin- gen, where an engagement took place on the 16th June, on which day the regiment arrived at Tongres. The Highlanders remained encamped on the hanks of the Kinzig, near Hanau, until the 4th of August, when they advanced towards the Rhine, and having passed that river above Mentz on the 27th, were employed in operations with the army in West Germany until the middle of October, when they commenced their march back to Flanders. They arrived at Brussels on the 16th of November, and afterwards went into quarters among the Flemish peasantry, where they were conspicuous for their excellent conduct, which occasioned them to be highly esteemed among the inhabitants of the country. The Electoi'-Palatine desired his envoy in London to thank the King of Grpat, Britain for the excellent behaviour of the soldiers of the regiment while in his territories, " and for whose sake," he added, " I will always pay a " respect and regard to a Scotsman in future*." Quitting its winter quarters, the regiment again 1744 took the field in the spring of 1744, and served the campaign of that year under Field-Marshal Wade; the army was encamped near Brussels, and afterwards behind the Scheldt; but the enemy had so great a superiority of numbers, that no offensive movement was undertaken until a body of French troops was detached to oppose Prince Charles of Lorraine in Alsace, when the allies crossed the river. No engage- ment ensued, and after penetrating the French territory us far as Lisle, the allied army returned to Flanders for winter quarters. The conduct of the Highlanders in cantonments was again a subject of great admira- tion, and private letters from Flanders made repeated • Doddridoe's Lije (\f Colonel Gardiner. 34 HISTORICAL REeORD OF Ui' -t i 1 744 mention of the estimation in which they were held by the inhabitants for their quiet, kind, domestic, and orderly behaviour. 1745 On the 25th of April, 1745, Lord Sempill was removed to the Twenty-fifth Foot, and the colonelcy of the Highlanders was conferred on Lord John Murray, son of the Duke of A thole. Early in the spring of this year a powerful French army appeared in the Netherlands under Marshal Count de Saxe, and besieged the fortress of Touniay, which was defended by eight thousand Dutch troops under the veteran Baron Dorth. His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland assumed the command of the allied army, and on reviewing the Highland Regiment, he highly com- mended its appearance and discipline, and expressed his approbation of its conduct in quarters. His Royal Highness advanced to attack the French army before Toumay, and on the 29th April the enemy's outposts in front of Fonienoy were driven in. The High- landers formed part of the advance-guard on this occasion, and they were ordered to the village of Veson, from whence they advanced, and evinced great gallantry in action with the French sharp shooters on the plain, while the Duke of Cumberland and the Austrian and Dutch commanders reconnoitred the enemy's position*. The regiment was afterwards ^ " A galloping of aides-de-camp took place along the line of the " British, and soon the Black Watch was ordered to be in readi- " ness to aid in clearing the plain of the concealed infantry, and in " covering a reconnoitring party, which was to consist of the Duke of ''Cumberland, accompanied by the Chiefs of the army. By this "movement, it was intended that i\iQ Highland Regiment should have " its loyalty put to the test by being brought in contact with the " enemy immediately under his own eye. The Highlanders received "this order with joyful animation, and they were determined to " show what, as soldiers, they were able and willing to perform !"— Picken's Black Watch. THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 35 posted along the outward edge of the village, towards ^"^^^ the enemy, and one company, commanded by Captain Grant, advanced with a party of Austrian hussars and skirmished ■ ith the French light troops, in which service the Highlanders displayed their native ardour and intrepidity, and several advantages were gained over the French hussars*. While the regiment was stationed in Veson, a Highlander, posted in front, observed a French sharp- shooter firing at him, when he placed his bonnet on a stick and fixed it behind a bush; the sharp-shooter saw the bonnet, and, supposing the Highlander there, continued to fire; and the wily Scot approached his adversary cautiously to a spot which afforded a sure aim, and succeeded in bringing the Frenchman downf. The regiment continued at its post until the morn- ing of the 30th of April, when the army advanced to attack the enemy's position J. "The Guards and High- " landers began the battle, and attacked a body of " French near Veson, in the vicinity of which place " the Dauphin was posted. Though the enemy was " intrenched breast high, the Guards with bayonets, " and the Highlanders with sword, pistol, and dirk, " forced them out, killing a considerable number§." At a further distance in front of Veson was a fort mounted with cannon, and sufficiently large to contain six hundred men. Against this fort the Highlanders advanced, with other troops under Brigadier-General Ingoldsby; but * Bioo's Military History of Europe from 1738 to 1739. t Memoirs of John Earl of Crawford. t "With joy the Black Watch now got the word to 'fire,' *• which thoy did with a steadiness that had a sure effect; and having " smelt gunpowder for the first time, volley after volley passed be- " tween them and the enemy with a rapidity that seemed but to add *• to the eager excitement of the attack 1"—Picken's Blaok Watch. § History qf the War. 36 HISTORICAL RECORD OF •n 1745 the attack did not take place, in consequence of some misapprehension of orders on the part of the brigadier- general. Meanwhile the allied army had deployed in front of the enemy; the British infantry passed between Fontenoy and the wi>od of Barri, and made a gallant attack on the French lines; and the Dutch advanced against Fontenoy, but failed in their attempt to carry that village, when the Highlanders were re- moved from Brigadier-General Ingoldsby's com- mand, and ordered to support the Dutch in a second attempt to carry the village, in which service the regiment was conspicuous for its intrepid bearing. The regiment supported one of the Holland brigades in the attack of a post occupied by French guards: and the Highlanders became so impatient of the slow, irresolute conduct of the Dutch, that they rushed forward and carried the post sword in hand; sustaining comparatively no loss, to that experienced by the Dutch in their slow approaches. About mid-day a second attack was made on the enemy's positions, when the Dutch again failed, and Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Robert Munro was ordered, with the Highlanders, to sustain the British troops, who were severely engaged with superior numbers. The Lieutenant-colonel brought them into action in gallant style. "He had obtained leave of the Duke " of Cumberland to allow them to fight in their own " way. Sir Robert, according to the usage of his " countrymen, ordered the whole regiment to clap to " the ground, on receiving the French fire, and in- " stantly after its discharge, they sprang up, and " coming close to the enemy, poured in their shot " upon them to the certain destruction of multitudes, " and drove them precipitately through their own " lines ; then retreating drew up again, and attacked THE PORTY-SECOND FOOT. 37 *' them a second time after the same manner. These 1745 ** attacks they repeated several times on the same day, " to the surprise of the whole army. Sir Robert was " everywhere with his regiment, notwithstanding his " great corpulency, and when in the trenches, he was " hauled out by the legs and arms by his own men; ** and it is observed, that when he commanded the " whole regiment to clap to the ground, he, himself, " alone, stood upright, with the colours behind him, " receiving the fire of the enemy*." The Duke of Cumberland witnessed the gallant conduct of the regiment; and observed a Highlander, who had killed nine men, making a stroke with his broad-sword at the tenth, when his arm was shot off by a cannon ball; his Royal Highness applauded the Highlander's conduct, and promised him a reward of a value equal to the armf. While the regiment was thus evincing its prowess, the French commander made a determined attack with an immense body of fresh troops, and drove back the British line; and the Highlanders were borne down by the retreating body. The Duke of Cumber- land finding that, owing to the failure of the Dutch on Fontenoy, and the misapprehension of orders on the part of Brigadier-General Ingoldsby, the attack could not be renewed with any prospect of success, ordered a retreat; and the Highlanders took part in covering the retrograde movement, in which they evinced the same native intrepidity which they had displayed during the action, repeatedly facing about and checking the pursuit by their fire. When they approached Veson, they lined the hedges in front of that village, until the other troops had passed, and then continued the retreat. • DoDDRinoE's Life of Colonel Gardiner. + Pamphlet entitled Conduct of the Officers at Fontenoy considered. 38 HISTORICAL RECORD OF 1745 The Earl of Crawford thanked the troops which covered the retreat under his orders, telling them, " they had acquired as much honour in covering so " great a retreat, as if they had gained the battle*." The army continued its retrograde movement to Aeth, and the French had sustained too severe a loss to press the troops in the retreat. At the battle of Fontenoy the Highland Regi- ment was first brought into contact with the enemies of its country, and it gave presage of that heroic gallantry for which it has since been distinguished in every quarter of the globe. Doctor Doddridge states "the gallantry of Sir Robert Munro and " his regiment was the theme of admiration through " all Britainf." The conduct of the regiment was also commended in the London Gazette. Its loss was Captain John Campbell of Cavrick, Ensign Lachlane Carai)bell of Craignish, and thirty rank and tile killed; Captain Richard Campbell of Finab, Ensigns Ronald Campbell, and James Campbell of Glenfalloch, two Serjeants and eighty-six rank and file wounded; one Serjeant and twelve rank and file missing]:. The regiment was subsequently encamped on the plain of Lessines, from whence it removed to Gram- mont§, and towards the end of June it marched into position near Brussels; in the mean time the enemy was enabled, by his superior numbers, to capture several fortified towns. In September the regiment was detached, with other troops under Major-General * Bolt's Life of the Earl of Crawford, t Life of Colonel Gardiner. % London Gazette. § While the regiment was encamped at Grammont, its lieutenant- colonel, Sir Robert Munro, Bart., was promoted to the colonelcy of the Thirty-seventh regiment, in tim Record of which coi-ps a state- ment of his services will be given, tie was killed at the battle of Falkirk in January, 1746. THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 39 Hawley, to cover the march of a garrison of Austrians 1745 to Mons, and the return of a party from thence, also to enable a body of British troops in Aeth to rejoin the army; this service waa performed, and the detach- ment returned to the lines near Brussels: while en- gaged on this duty, the Highlanders were conspicuous for their ability to endure fatigue and privation; it was obseiTed, that in the last day's march of above thirty miles, on a deep sandy road, when the Dutch troops were overpowered with heat and fatigue, not one man of the Highlanders was left behind*. While the regiment was on service in Flanders, a rebellion broke out in Scotland, where Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, appeared, and aroused the clans to arras. This adventurer was guided by desperate and designing men, urged on by the politics of France, and being sanguine in his disposition, he readily listened to every representation flattering to his views, which were to overturn the constitution of a brave and free people. Scotland being nearly denuded of troops to augment the army in Flanders, the first movements of the young Pre- tender appeared to hold out a prospect of success, until il\e people aroused themselves and stood forward in deteuce of the fixed rights of their monarch, and of their own liberties. The Highlanders were ordered to return to England on this occasion. The strength of the regiment had, in the mean time, been augmented by three additional companies raised in the Highlands, under Captains the Laird of Mackintosh, Sir Patrick Murray of Octertyre, and C aupbell of Inveraw; the subalterns were James Farquharson the younger of Military History qf Europe. K' i' i 40 HISTORICAL RECORD OF 1745 Invercauld, John Campbell the younger of Glenlyon*, Dougal Campbell, Allan Grant, son of Glenmariston, John Campbell, son of Glenfalloch, and Allan Camp- bell, son of Barealdine. These companies were raised in different parts of the Highlands, and owing to the interest of Sir Patrick Murray in the Athole family, and that of the other gentlemen of Perthshire, Inver- cauld, Glenlyon, and Glenfalloch, a greater portion of the men were from the districts of Athole, Breadal- bane, and Braemar, than was found in the original composition of the regiment; but they were stout Highlanders, and of good character. The augmentation companies were employed in Scotland during the rebellion, and one of them was at the battle oi Preston-Pans, on the 21st of September, when the young Pretender gained a victory over a detachment of the King's troops, and all the officers of the company, — viz.. Captain Sir Patrick Murray, Lieutenant Farquharson, and Ensign Allan Campbell, with the whole of the men, were either killed or taken prisoners. On the fourth of NovemI)er the regiment arrived in the river Thames from Flanders, and was after- wards stationed on the coast of Kent, to repel a threatened invasion by the French. 1746 The rebellion having been suppressed by the decisive battle of Culloden on the 16th of April, 1746, and the French monarch not venturing to hazard an expedition against the British coast, the Highlanders became disposable for service, and they were selected * ilo was tho father of Julm Cninpbell, tlie soldior of the High- land Watch, wlio, witli Grcgor Mcdrcgor, was presented to King George II., at Ht. .Taincs's ; lliis soldier was promoted to an onsigncy for his conduct at the battle of Fontenoy, and was afterwards killed at Ticondi'rogn, on I^ke Chaniplain, in I7AR. THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 41 to fonn part of an expedition under Lieutenant- 174C General the Honorable James St. Clair, ag 1m !'1 1749 withdrawn f ^m the Netherlands; it arrived in Eng"- land in December, and it proceeded to Ireland in 1749, where it remained during the following stven years. 1751 By the Royal Warrant, dated 1st of July, 1751, for regulating the olours, clothing, &c., of the several Regiments, the dress of the Forty-second, or the Highland, Regiment was directed to he scarlet, lined and faced with buff; the national distinctions of bonnet, tartan-plaid, and hose, kilt or philiL.g, were not defined; the grenadiers to wear bear- skin fur caps, with the King's cypher and crown, on a red ground, in the turn-up, or flap. The first, or King- s, colour, was the great union : the second, or regimental, colour, was of buff silk, with the union in the upper canton, and in the centre the number of the regiment, in gold Roman characters, within a wreath of roses and thistles on the same stalk*. 1755 While the regiment was reposing in quarters in Ireland, the British colonies in America were extend- ing themselves. The Indian trade drew many persons into the interior, whei e they found well- watered plains, a delightful climate, and a fruitful soil, and a company of merchants and planters obtained a charter for a tract of land beyond the Allegany Mountains and near the river Ohic. The French laid claim to this part of the country, drove away the settlers, and built a fort called Du Quesne, to command the entrance into the * In the Royivl Warrant of the Ist July, 1751, Numerical Titles, according to the dates of formation, are given to the Fortieth Regiment, which con'' ted of Independent Companies raised for service in America in i , i7; to the Forty-first Regiment, which was formed from Invalids in I7I8; and to the Forty-second or High- land Regiment, whicli (as stated in the historical record) had been regimented in 1730. General Oglethorpe's Regiment, which had been raised for Colo- nial jcrvice in North America in 1737, wna disbanded in 1749. THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 45 country on the Ohio and Mississippi. This act of 1755 aggression, with some disputes respecting Nova Scotia, produced another war, which occasioned the services of the regiment to he transferred from Ireland to North America. Hostilities commenced in 1755, the cstahlishmeut of the regiment was immediately aug- mented, recruiting parties were sent to Scotland, and in the spring of 1756 it embarked for New Y^ork, 1756 where it arrived in June, under Lieutenant-Colonel Grant, with Major Duncan Campbell of Inveraw, as second in command. From New York the Forty-second Highlanders proceeded to the city of Albany, on the west bank of Hudson river, where they were held in readiness to repel any attempts of the French on the British ten*i- tory, from Lake Champlaiu ; they were, however, not called into active service, t^ie French limiting their efforts to the erection of the fort of Ticonderoga, on the banks of the lake. In the autumn upwards of six hundred recmits, all Highlanders, joined the regiment at Albany; — the high reputation of the corps occa- sioning many aspirants for the honour of serving under its colours, the recruiting parties had great success. During the winter, and in the spring of 1757, 1767 the regiment was taught the light infantry exercise, particularly in bush-fighting and the service of sharp-shooters, and the Highlanders proved excellent marksmen. In this year an expedition was fitted out against the French island of Cape Breton^ situate in the gulf of St. Lawrence, and the regiment was with- drawn from Albany to share in the enterprise. It embarked from New York with other troops under Colonel the Earl of Loudoun, and sailed to Halifax, where it arrived in the month of June; in July addi- 46 HISTORICAL RECORD OF CU '1 i 1 i ,1 1757 tional forces arrived from Great Britain and Ireland, and the Seventeenth, Forty-second, Forty-sixth, and second battalion of the Sixtieth, were formed in brigade under Major-General James Abercromby. The fleet sailed from Halifax in the beginning of August; but it was ascertained that the French had received a strong reinforcement, and that their fleet at Louisburg, the capital of Cape Breton, was much stronger than the British naval force with the exi- di- tion; the enterprise was in consequence deferred until the succeeding year. The Forty-si?ccnd Higii- landcrs returned to New York, from whence they afterwards proceeded up Hudson river to Albany. Three companies were added to the regiment, which was thus augmented to thirteen hundred men, all Highlanders, no others being recruited for the corps. The augmentation companies were commanded by Captains James Murray, son of Lord George Murray, James Stewart of Urrard, and Thomas Stirling, son of Sir Henry Stirling of Ardoch. 1758 In the spring of 1758 Lieutenant-General (after- wards Lord) Amherst proceeded with the expedition against Cape Breton, and the Forty-second High- landers were ordered to join a body of troops selected to attack the fort of Ticonderoga, under Major- General Abercromby. This force embarked on Lake George on the 5th of July, and landed on the follow- ing day near the extremity of the lake, from whence they marched, through a wild thickly-wooded country, in four columns, upon Ticonderoga, the guides mis- taking the route through the trackless woods, and causing great confusion. One of the columns met with a body of T':ench troops in the wood, when a skirmish ensued, in which the enemy was routed with the loss of three hundred killed, and one hundred and fifty prisoners. Brigadier-General Viscount Howe THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 47 (of the Fifty-fifth Regiment) was killed on this ocea- 1758 sion, and his fall was universally regretted. On the 8th of July the British appeared before the fort, which was built on an eminence on a tongue of land projecting into Lake Champlain. It could only be approached on one side, which was covered by a line of fortifications eight feet high, defended by cannon, and the advance was rendered difficult by felled trees with the branches pointed and turned outwards, and the works were defended by between four and five thousand men. Information was received of the approach of three thousand French to reinforce the garrison; some difficulty was experienced in bringing up the artillery, and the engineer reported that the works might be carried by storm; under these circumstances Major- General Abercromby resolved to hazard an attack without cannon. The assault was headed by the piquets, followed by the Grenadiers, and the High- landers were in the reserve; but the troops were unable to force their way through the branches of the felled trees, and they were exposed to a severe fire of musketry and artillery. The Highlanders rushed forward from the reserve, cut their way through the branches of the trees with their broad-swords, and made a gallant effort to carry the breastwork by storm, climbing up one another's shoulders, and placing their feet in holes made in the face of the works with their swords and bayonets, — ^no ladders having been provided. The defenders were, however, very numerous, and well prepared, and it was found to be impossible to carry the works; Captain John Campbell and a few men succeeded in getting up; but they were speedily overpowered by superior num- bers. After these gallant, but unavailing, efforts had been continued several hours, and a serious loss had 48 HISTORICAL RECORD OF •;l ?i r', i| ti 1758 been sustained in killed and wounded, Major-General Abercromby gave orders for a retreat, but the soldiers had become so exasperated by the repulse, and the loss of so many of their comrades, that they retired with reluctance, and the order was repeated three times before the Highlanders withdrew from so un- equal a contest. The British returned to their camp on the south of Lake George, and the French did not venture to pursue. The regiment sustained a very serious loss on this desperate enterprise; — viz.. Major Duncan Campbell, Captain John Campbell, Lieutenants George Farqu harson, HugL Mc Pherson, William Baillie, and John Sutherland, Ensigns Patrick Stewart of Banskied, and George Rattray, nine seijeants, and two hundred and ninety-seven rank and file killed; Captains Gordon Graham, Thomas Graham of Duchray, John Camp- bell of Stracher, James Stewart of Urrard, James Murray (afterwards General), Lieutenants James Grant, Robert Gray, John Campbell, William Grant, Johr Graham, brother of Duchray, Alexander Camp- bell, Alexander Mackintosh, Archibald Campbell, David Miller, and Patrick Balneaves, Ensigns John Smith and Peter Grant, ten Serjeants, and three hundred and six rank and file wounded; making a total of six hundred and forty -seven kiljed and wounded. The regiment remained encamped near the shores of Lake George for some time, and the army was joined by a division of the troops which had taken part in the capture of Louisburg. In the mean time the number of gallant young Highlanders, proud of the high reputation of their national corps, and anxious to enrol themselves under its banners, as proved by the facility with which the additional companies had been raised, induced His /■ THE FOBTY-SECOND FOOT. 49 Majesty to issue letters of service for adding a second 1758 battalion to the regiment. The King appreciated the meritorious conduct of the regiment on all occasions, and previously to the arrival of the news of its extraordinary gallantry at Ticon- deroga, His Majesty issued the following warrant conferring upon it the title of the " Royal Highland Regiment," which proved an additional inducement for young men to join its ranks. GEORGE R. " We being desirous to distinguish Our Forty- second Regiment of Foot, with some mark of Our Royal favour, Our Will and Pleasure therefore is, and we do hereby direct, that from henceforth Our said regiment be called, and distinguished by the title and name of Our * Forty-second, or Royal Highland Regiment of Foot,' in all commissions, orders, and writings, that shall hereafter be made out, or issued for and concerning the said regi- ment. " Given at Om- Court at Kensington this 22nd day of July 1758, in the thirty-second year of Our reign. By His Majesty's command, (Signed) Harrington." The second battalion was formed of the three additional companies raised in 1757, and of seven companies of one hundred and twenty men each, embodied in the summer of 1758. The first three companies embarked for North America to join the first battalion, as soon as its severe loss at Ticonderoga was known. The other seven companies were assem- bled at Perth in October, and formed a battalion of eight hundred and forty men, all Highlanders, with « 50 HISTORICAL RECORD OF ■)i n 1758 very few exceptions. These men were brought into a state of discipline and efficiency so speedily, that in four months from the date of the order to raise the second battalion, it was reported fit for active service, and ordered to proceed abroad. 1759 An attack on the French West India Islands having been resolved upon, an expedition was fitted out for thai purpose under Major-General Hopson, and sailed from England in the autumn. The second battalion of the Royal Highlanders was selected for this service, and two hundred men embarked at Greenock for the West Indies; but the remainder were detained for want of transport. This detach- ment joined the expedition at Carlisle Bay, Bar badoes, in the beginning of the following year. From Barbadoes the expedition sailed on the 1 3th of January, 1759, against the island of Martinique^ entered Port Royal harbour on the 15th, and a battery having been silenced by the men-of-war, a landing was eflFected without opposition, the troops taking post on the high ground above Fort Negro. On the l7th a forward movement was made, and the grenadiers engaged a body of the enemy on a rising-ground near a wood. The Royal Highlanders took part in a sharp skirmish on this occasion, and "behaved with the greatest bravery*;" they proved themselves expert in the use of their arms and good marksmen. The enemy had, however, ten thousand men under arms, and the British invading force did not exceed half that number; the expedition was therefore deemed of insufficient strength for the reduction of the island, and the troops re-embarked. The regiment had eight * Beatson's Naval ami Military Memoirs, m THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 51 rank and file killed; Lieutenant Leslie, two seijeants, 1759 and twenty-two rank and file wounded. An attack on Guadaloupe was next resolved upon ; the fleet arrived before Basse -Terre, the capital, on the 23rd of January, and the forts and batteries having been destroyed by the men-of-war, the troops landed on the 24th, and took possession of the town and citadel without opposition ; the goveni or retiring into the interior of the island, which he resolved to defend to the last extremity. The other companies of the Royal Highlanders arrived from Scotland, and joined the armament at this place. The governor, M. Dutriel, had induced the natives and planters to take arms and resist the English with all their power; and a French woman, Madame Ducharmey, armed her servants and negroes, and headed them in person in several rencounters. Her gamson was, however, attacked and overpowered by a detachment, but Madame Ducharmey escaped. The Royal Highlanders had Lieutenant Mc Lean and several men wounded in this service. A detachment of the Royal Highlanders and Marines embarked on the 13th of February, to attack Fort Louis, on the Grand-Terre side of the island. The place was bombarded and cannonaded by the shipping, and during the contest the Highlanders and Marines moved towards the shore in boats; their progress being arrested by obstructions under water, they leaped into the stream up to the middle, and drove the French from their works with fixed bayonets, capturing the fort, and hoisting the British colours. " No troops could behave with more courage than the " Highlanders and Marines did on this occasion*." The army sustained a serious loss from the effect Beat son's Naval and Military Memoirs. 52

'V THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 58 Highlanders advanced upon Petit Burg; the French 1759 retreating before them, and setting fire to the sugar- canes, obliged the two regiments occasionally to quit the road, to avoid accidents to their ammunition. On arriving at the river Lezard, the enemy was found intrenched behind the ford; but the British procured two canoes, and a few men having passed the river in the night, the enemy was put to flight on the follow- ing morning. Arriving at Petit Burg, the Highlanders en- countered fortified lines and a redoubt filled with cannon, but when the British diverged to the right and left in order to gain the heights round the lines, the enemy fled. The Forty- SECOND furnished a detach ment against Bay Mahauty which took part in the capture '' the town and batteries at that place. The reginx nt was also engaged in driving the French f) -n the strong post of St. Maries, where many guns wcro captured: and it subsequently penetrated the rich and beautiful district of Capesterre, and eight hundred and seventy negroes surrendered during the first day's march. The inhabitants had become convinced of the superior bravery and discipline of the British troops, and the governor was unable to induce them to make further resistance. The island was surrendered in May; and the conduct of the troops which had achieved this conquest, was appreciated by their sovereign and country. Trj-^ service proved a severe training to the Highlanders who, a few months before, had been herding cattle and sheep on their native hills: they had endured intolerable heat, continual fatigue, the air of an unaccustomed climate, and the toil of climbing lofty mountains and steep precipices^ and proved themselves valuable soldiers in action, Their loss was Ensign Mc Lean, killed ; Lieutenants 11 I;-', Q ' B i rj- ^ i |;| I I ^ 54 HISTORICAL RECORD OF 1769 Mc Lean, Leslie, St. Clair, and Robertson, wounded; Major Anstruther and Captain Arbutbnot died of fever, and one hundred and six soldiers killed, wounded, and died of disease. Soon after the capture of Guadaloupe, the second battalion embarked for North America. The first battalion had passed the winter in quarters on Long Island; early in the spring it pro- ceeded up the Hudson river to Albany, and in May it joined the army at Fort Edward, to take part in a second attack on Ticonderoga: while Major- General Wolfe proceeded against Quebec, and two divisions assailed Canada at Niagara and the shores of Lake Erie. The Royal Highlanders were detached in front, with the light infantry, under Colonel Grant of the Forty-second, and afterwards formed the advance-guard in the march to the banks of Lake George, where the array halted a mrnth to procure boats, &c. Meanwhile the second battalion had arrived at New York from Guadaloupe, and it was ordered up the country to Oswego, on the shores of Lake Ontario. On the 21st of July the army embarked in boats on Lake George, the soldiers using their blankets for sails, and on the following day a landing was effected at the second Narrows, from whence they advanced towards Ticonderoga^ driving the French out-post from the saw-mills. The siege was commenced ; and the French commander, M. Bourlemaque, despairing of being able to make effectual resistance, blew up the fort and withdrew to the fort at Crown Pointy which he afterwards abandoned and retired down the lake to Isle aux Noix. The British proceeded to Crown Point, and the second batUiliou of the Royal Hiaii- LVNDERS was ordered to join the army from Oswego; but the enemy liad a naval force on tlie lake, and ■I I THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. SB military operations were suspended until a brigantine 1759 mounting eighteen guns and two swivels, and a sloop mounting sixteen guns, were built, when the army again embarked, and continued its progress along the lake on the 11th of October. On the following morn- ing, the boats containing part of the Forty-second regiment fell in with a division of the French naval force, and one boat, containing an officer and twenty men, was captured by the enemy. The progress of the expedition was stopped by severe frosts, and the season proving too late for military operations, the army retumed to Crown Point and Ticonderoga. A different line of operations was resolved upon 1760 for the campaign of 1760, and both the battalions of the Royal Highlanders traversed the country of Oswego, where the army was assembled under Gene- ral Amherst. On the 7th of August the Grenadiers, first battalion of the Forty-second, and two companies of Rangers, embarked on Lnke Ontario, as the ad- vance-guard of the army, under Colonel Haldimand, and navigating that immense expanse of water, took post at the head of the river St. Lawrence : they were followed by the army three days afterwards, and the whole proceeded down the river, capturing Fort Levi after a short siege. After this was accomplished, the army continued its progress down the river, expe- riencing much difficulty in the dangerous navigation of the rapids: on the 1st of September a corporal and three men of the Forty-second were drowned, and or. the 4th sixty-four boats were sunk in the rapids, and eighty-four men of various corps lost their lives. The progress of the army was continued; the French were unable to make effectual opposition, and a land- ing was effected on the island of Montreal on the (>th of September. Other portions of the invading force co-operating, the city of Montreal was invested. The 56 HISTORICAL RECORD OF ■ ».' !; i' i l'\ 17d0 French Governor-Gener?.! of Canada, the Marquis of Vaudreuil, finiing himself surrounded by a superior force, without prospect of relief, surrendered Montreal, and with it all Canada, to the British arms; ten French battalions becoming prisoners of war. Thus was accomplished the conquest of Canada, the most important acquisition during the war, and the fine country thus acquired has since continued to form part of the possessions of the British crown. 1 7G1 After the capture of Canada the regiment remained a short time in that country, until the inhabitants had taken the necessary oaths, and the government of the colony was established; it afterwards crossed the country to Albany, and in the summer of 1761 orders arrived from England for a body of troops to proceed from North America to the West Indies; the Royal Highlanders were particularly named as one of the corps; — the sobriety, abstemious habits, great activity, and capability of bearing the vicissitudes of climate, of the Highland soldiers, rendering them well qualified for the service contemplated. The regiment was accordingly removed to *^t?iten Island in August; in October it embarked wjh other forces, under Major- Gcncral Honorable Robert Monckton, for Barbadocs, where they arrived in December. 17(52 On the 5th of January 1762 the Royal High- landers sailed from Carlisle Bay, Barbadoes, with the expedition against the French island of Martinique^ and in the middle of that month they landed in Cas des Navieres bay, from whence they advanced, and took an active part in the operations, which were of a trying and difficult nature, the whole island possessing the character of a fortification. Some severe fighting took place, and the Highlanders distinguished them- selves in the capture of Marne Tartossou. Three days afterwards the French descended from the difli- THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 5/ cuU height of Marne Garnier, and attacked the British 1762 advance-posts; they were repulsed with loss and pur- sued towards their own lines. " The Highlanders ** drew their swords, rushed forward like furies, and " being supported by the grenadiers under Colonel " Grant, and a party of Lord Rollo's brigade, the " hills were mounted, the batteries seized, and num- " hers of the enemy, unable to escape from the rapid- " ity of the attack, were taken*." The French troops of the line escaped into the town, and the militia fled and dispersed themselves over the island. The attack proved decisive, and the French Governor-General, M. Le Vassar de la Touche, surrendered the island early in February. The conduct of the troops en- gaged in this enterprise was commended in the strongest terms, in Major-General Honorable Robert Monckton's public despatch. The regiment had Captain William Cockburn, Lieutenant David Barclay, one serjeant, and twelve rank and file killed; Major John Reid, Captains James Murray, and Thomas Stirling, Lieutenants Alexander Macintosh, David Milne, Patrick Bal- neaves, Alexander Tumbull, John Robertson, Wil- liam Brown, and George Leslie, three Serjeants, one drummer, and seventy -two rank and file wounded. War having been declared against Spain, prepa- rations were made for an attack on the valuable Spanish settlement of the Havannah, the capital of the island of Cuba, a strong and important place, which was accounted the key of the Spanish empire in South America, and the depot in which the trade and navigation of the Spanish West Indies centered. The Royal Highlanders were selected to take part in this important enterprise under General the Earl of Wettminsler Journal. 42. m t I iiii 58 HISTORICAL RECORD OF If 1762 Albemarle, who arrived from England, with a body of troops, towards the end of May. Proceeding through the straits of Bahama in favourable weather, this dangerous navigation was completed without acci- dent, and on the 7th of June a landing was effected Oil the island of Cubaj on the 9th the troops took up ti position between Coximar and the Moro. The 'iej^e of the Moro fort, the key position of the exten- sive works which covered the town, was commenced, and in this service great hardship was endured. The soil was so thin, that it was barely sufficient to cover the troops 'in their approaches; a scarcity of water was experienced, and the artillery had to be dragged by the men several miles over a rocky country, under a burning sun; but these difficulties were over- come by the unanimity which existed between the land and sea forces. One battery was destroyed; but it was speedily replaced, and the sorties of the Spaniards were repulsed. For thirty-nine days the Moro fort held out against the besiegers, and on the fortieth it was captured by storm. A series of bat- teries was afterwards contructed against tht works covering the town, and their fire commenced on the 11th of August, with such effect, that the guns of the garrison were silenced on the same day, and flags of truce were hung out from every part of the town and from the ships in the harbour, which were fol- lowed by the surrender of this valuable city, which the Spanish government had iteemed impregnable. Nine Spanish men-of-war were delivered up to the British, two were found upon the stocks, and three sunk at the entrance of the harbour. The loss sustained by the Fortv-sixond Regiment was two drummers and six rank and file killed; four rank and file wounded : but the loss from the climate was more severe; it consisted of Major Mc Neil, THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 59 Captains Robert Menzies (brother of Sir John 1762 Menzies), and A. Mc Donald, Lieutenants Farquhar- son, Grant, Lapsley, Gunnison, Hill, and Blair, two drummers, and seventy-one rank and file. The loss sustained by the Spaniards, by the con- quest of the Havannah by the British, was estimated at three millions sterling. The prize-money received by the army amounted to— for the commander-in- chief, 122,697/.; second in command, 24,539/.; major- generals each, 6816/.; brigadier-generals, 1947/.; field- officers, 564/. lis. Id.; captains, 124/. 4.«. 7^d.; subal- terns, 116/. 3s. 0\d.i Serjeants, 8/. 18.9. Sd.; corporals, 6/. 16«. 6d.; soldiers, 4/. Is. Sjd. The capture of this valuable settlement was fol- lowed by a treaty of peace, when tl:^ strength of the army was reduced. The second battalion of the Royal Highlanders transferred its men fit for service to the first battalion, and w^as afterwards taken oflF the establishment. The regiment, reduced to one bat talion, proceeded from the Havannah to North Ame- rica, and arrived at New York towards the end of October. After the conclusion of the peace of Fontainbleau, 1763 the regiment was selected to form part of the force to be employed in the protection of the British North American colonies. It was stationed a short period at Albany; but the aggressions of the Indian tribes on the back settlements and traders, soon called it into active service. The warriors of several nations had unitjd. and they made a furious inroad upon the frontiers of Maryland, Philadelphia, Virginia, and other plac«!S, attacking the po^t8, and committing great ravages. The Fortv-second Highlanders were jilaced under the orders (f Colonel Bouquet, and detached, with other troops, to the relief of Fort Pitt, anf scarlet, (authorized by the royal warrant of 19th December, 1768,) and the badger skin purses were replaced by others of goat skin and buff leather. 1770 From Dublin the regiment was removed to Donaghadee and Belfast, in 1770; and was employed in aid of the civil power. Three companies were afterwards stationed in the Isle of Man. 1771 In 1771 an additional company was placed on the establishment, to which Captain Ji'mes Mc Pherson, Lieutenant Campbell, and Ensign John Grant were appointed. 1772 The regiment was employed in 1772 in suppressing tumults, occasioned by the conflicting sentiments and interests between the Roman Catholics and Pro- testakits, and landlords and tenants, in Antrim and other places, and in this delicate service the High- landers were found particularly usefid, from their knowledge of the language, and their conciliating conduct towards the Irish, — the descendants from the same parent siock ^ith themselves. 1773 In 1773 the royal authority was given for the officers t( continue wearing the sash across the left shoulder. 1774 WhiJ ?mi'oyed on Dublin duty, in 1774, the THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 65 regiment was supplied with new arms; the Serjeants 1774 receiving carbines instead of the Loehaber-axe, or halberd. During the period the regiment was in Ireland, 1775 a misunderstanding between Great Britain and her North American colonies had assumed a character which indicated an approaching conflict. At this time the regiment embarked at Donaghadee, for Scot- land, from which country it had been absent thirty- two years. During the eight years it had been in Ireland it had been conspicuous for the esprit de corpsj and excellent system of interior economy which had prevailed in the regiment. After landing at Port Patrick, it marched to Glasgow, and its establishment was augmented to upwards of eleven hundred officers and soldiers. Recruiting parties were sent into the districts where they had acquaintance and influence ; and in so high an estimation was the corps held, — old men regarding it as a representative of the achieve- ments of their forefathers, and young men being proud of serving in its ranks, — that the establishment was completed in a few weeks. The recruits were sup- plied with new arms, viz.: muskets and bayonets by the government, — ^broad-swords and pistols (iron- stocked) by the colonel. The regiment was reviewed on the 10th of April, 1776 1776, by Major-General Sir Adolphus Oughton, who reported it complete and fit for service; the private soldiers being 931 Highlanders, 74 Lowland Scots, 5 English (in the band), 1 Welrfli, and 2 Irish: its colonel. General Lord John Murray, published a regimental order, congratulating the corps on its efficiency and high reputation; and in a few days after the review it embarked for America, to fight against a people in whose interests it had fought a few years previously, and who were indebted to it for protec- tion and safety. 66 HISTORICAL RECORD O? ( • .1 1776 Four days after the regiment siiiled from Greenock, the fleet was separated by a gale of wind, and the " Oxford" transport, with one company on board, was captured by an American privateer. The military officers and ship's crew were removed on board the privateer, and an American crew put on board the transport, with directions to proceed to the nearest friendly port. A few days afterwards the Highland soldiers overpowered the Americans, and with the assistance of the carpenter, who had been left on board, navigated the vessel to the Chesapeak, and cast anchor at Jamestown. This place had, however, been evacuated by the British; the Americans seized on the vessel, and marched the Highlanders prisoners to Williamsburgh, in Virginia, where exertions were made to induce them to join the American cause. When the ofiers of military promotion were rejected, grants of fertile land to settle upon in freedom were tendered to the Highlanders if they would renounce their allegiance; these offers were, however, rejected by the loyal soldiers, who were sent in small parties to the back settlements. In 1778 they were exchanged, and re-joined the regiment. The other transports continued their voyage, and joined the armament under General Si/ William Howe, which landed on Staten Island on the 3rd of August. The flank companies of the Forty-second joined grenadier and light infantry battalions; and the battalion companies were formed into two tempo- rary battalions, the command of one being given to Major William Murray (Lintrose), and the other to Major William Grant (Rothiemurchus), the whole under Colonel Thomas Stirling. These small bat- talions were placed in the reserve under Major- General Earl Comwallis; and were trained by Colonel Stirling in bush-fighting, for which the High- THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 67 landers evinced great aptitude, and proved good 1776 marksmen ; but their natural impetuosity, which led them to disdain fighting in ambush, required re- straining. The first enterprise in which the Forty-second were engaged was the reduction of Long Islandy in which service they formed part of the van of the army, and landed in Gravesend Bay, covered by three frigates and two bomb ketches, on the 22nd of August: the other divisions following, and occupying a position in front of the villages of Gravesend and Utrecht. The American army was posted beyond a chain of woody mountains, with fortified lines at Brook'yn, On the night of the 26th of August the heights were passed, and the enemy's position attacked. The Royal Highlanders were detached, on this occasion, from the reserve, to support two brigades under Major-General Grant, which advanced by the sea- coast, to attack the enemy in that quarter. About midnight this force fell in with the enemy's advance- posts, and at day-break its march was opposed by a numerous body of Americans in a strong position defended with cannon. Some skirmishing and can- nonading ensued, which was continued until the Americans heard the firing at Brooklyn, and thus learnt that their left had been turned and forced, when they threw themselves into a morass to escape. They were attacked by the second battalion of grena- diers, and the Seventy- first regiment, and sustained severe loss, many men being suffocated in the morass. The Americans were forced at all points, and took shelter behind their fortified lines. The regiment had Lieutenant Crammond, and nine rank and file severely wounded, one serjeant and twelve men slightly wounded; three men died of their wounds. 68 HISTORICAL RECORD OF I J)' M 'I fl 1776 Impressed with a sense of the superiority of the British troops, the Americans withdrew from their lines on the night of the 28th of August, and passed the river to New York. Having completed the capture of Long Island, the army crossed the river in the middle of September; the Royal Highlanders being with the leading division, landed above New York, and made a move- ment towards Bloomingdale, to intercept the retreat- ing Americans, when a corps of Virginians and New England men were captured. The Highlanders passed the night under arms, occasionally skirmish- ing with the enemy; and their commanding officer, Major William Murray, narrowly escaped being made prisoner. He was passing from the light infantry battalion, to the regiment, and was beset by an American officer and two soldiers, whom he kept at bay some time, but they eventually closed upon him and threw him down ; he was a stout man of great strength of arm, and he wrenched the sword out of the American officer's hand, and made so good use of it, that his antagonists fled, before several men of the regiment, who heard the noise, could come to his assistance. On the following day the regiment was ordered to support the light infantry engaged in a wood, and took part in driving a numerous body of Americans to their intrenchments. The enemy renewed the conflict with augmented numbers, and sustained an- other repulse, with a severe loss in killed and wounded. This being only an afl'air of out-posts, no detailed account of it was given; but it was a well-contested action. The Forty-second had one Serjeant and three rank and file killed; Captains Duncan McPherson, and John Mcintosh, Ensign Alexander Mc Kenzie (who died of his wounds). li 11 i THE FORTY- SECOND FOOT. 69 three Serjeants, one piper, two drummers, and forty- 1776 seven rank and file wounded. The British advanced up the country, and forced the Americans to retreat from their fortified position at White Plains, and afterwards undertook the siege of Fort Washington^ a strong post which interrupted the communication between New York and the continent, to the eastward and northward of Hud- son's river, and was garrisoned by three thousand men. When this fort was attacked by storm, the Forty- SECOND were selected to cross the lower part of Haerlem Creek in boats, and make a de- monstration on the left between the enemy's lines towards New York. On the morning of the 16th of November the regiment embarked, and as it crossed the creek, it was exposed to a heavy fire from the heights. Arriving at the shore, the Highlanders leaped out of the boats, and rushed up the woody promontory, climbing by the aid of brushwood and shrubs, and stormed the heights with so much rapi- dity, that they speedily overpowered the determined resistance of the enemy, and two hundred Americans, who had not time to effect their escape, laid down their arms. Pursuing their advantage, the High- landers speedily passed the table- land on the hill, and met the troops, under Major-General Earl Percy, mounting from the opposite side, thus succeeding in their gallant efforts beyond all expectation. Soon afterwards the enemy surrendered. The thanks of General Sir William Howe were communicated to laeutenant-Colonel Stirling and the Forty-second Highlanders, for their spirited conduct on this occasion. Their loss was one serjcant and ten rank and file killed; Lieutenants Patrick Graham (Inchebrackie), Norman Mc Leod, and Alex- ander Grant, four Serjeants anc' sixty-six rank and 70 HISTORICAL RECORD OP I 1776 file wounded; upwards of a hundred men received contusions and slight injuries. The Royal Highlanders were afterwards de- tached across the North River, under Lieutenant- General Earl Comwallis, against Fort Lee, but the enemy abandoned this post, leaving the guns, ammu- nition, and stores behind. The regiment wa^ after- wards employed in the pursuit of the Americans, through the Jerseys, towards ihe Delaware; but the troops employed in this service were ordered to halt at Brunswick, which gave the provincials time to recover their confidence. When the army went into winter quarters, the Royal Highlanders were stationed on the line of advance -posts. 1777 In January, 1777, General Washington surprised and made prisoners a body of Hessian troops in British pay, at Trenton; this rendered the position of the Royal Highlanders, forming the left of the line of defence at Mount Holly, extremely critical, and they were ordered to fall back to Prince Town. The regiment was afterwards employed, with other troops, under Earl Cornwallis, in driving t' e Ameri- cans from Trenton. Soon after this affair the regiment wus stationed at I'-ie village of Pinqunta, on the line of communica- tion between New York and Brunswick, by Amboy, — a post of great importance, covering the supplies of provisions, which the Americans were constantly attempting to cut off. This rendered the duties of the regiment particularly severe, in inclement weather, and the accommodations of the officers and soldiers, with a few exceptions, were limited to the use of barns usid sheds, during the snow-storms of a severe tvinler. On one occasion a detachment of the regi- ment, escorting provision waggons, was attacked by THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 71 a numerous body of the enemy, and as the resolute 1777 Highlanders contended manfully against superior numbers, another party came to their aid: the Ameri- cans were placed between two fires, and they fled in confusion, leaving between three and four hundred men dead upon the spot. Immediately on their arrival in quarters the soldiers received an extra ration of rum*. Numerous parties of the enemy approached the piquets and sentinels of the regiment from time to time, in the night, and fired their muskets, but they did not venture to attack the quarters of the Forty- second; an-^. in this manner many weeks passed away without any ' :;rious rencontre. At four o'clock on the afternoon of the 10th of May, the American Generals Maxwell and Stephens advanced, with two thousand men, with great secrecy, under the cover of trees, &c., and suddenly appeared on some open grounds in front of the piquets. The Highlanders on duty in front of the corps, seized their arms and made a spirited resistance ; the reserve came to their assistance, and they disputed the ground against overwhelming numbers, to give time for the regiment to turn out. As the piquets opposed the crouds of enemies which . ' ' ironed them on every side, the regiment formed ana came suddenly upon the enemy, whose superior numbers were unable to resist the rough shock of the attacking Highlanders. The second brigade got uu'u'r arms to suppoit the rcgi- • "Brunnmck, Ul March, 1777. " Kahi. Cohnwallis's Oiinv:RR. *• Tlio General Josiies tliin an oxlmordinnry day's rum may " imiiu'uiatoly bo given to tlio Fowty-sf.cono Uogiment, for its " ((iillant cuiidiict in repulsing and duftating upwards of tlirtHj " I'.'tusand of tlio «iuimy, with conaii'oraltlo iouH." i \> 72 HISTORICAL RECORD OP 1777 ment; but the Forty-second were victorious without aid, and the Highlanders pursued their opponents through the woody grounds until the approach of night induced them to desist. At the termination of the contest, an American soldier brought a wounded Highlander, — Serjeant Mc Gregor, — to the regiment on his back, and was thanked by Earl Cornwallis, who had just arrived, and by Colonel Stirling, for his kindness; but the American confessed he was about to plunder the serjeant of a pair of silver buckles and a watch, when the wounded man seized him by the throat with one hand, and having a dirk in the other, forced him to perform this act at the peril of his life. The regimer *■ had three seijeants and nine rank and file killed ; Captain Duncan Mc Pherson, Lieutenant William Stewart, three Serjeants, and thirty rank and file wounded. The Americans left upwards of two hundred men killed and wounded on the scene of conflict. Actions of this kind, being considerei^ as affairs of out-posts, are not related in general histo ies; but the gallant conduct of the Royal Highlanders on this occasion, was appreciated at the time; it was a subject of admiration to the whole army, and was commended by the commander-in-chief*. Soon afterwards one hundred and seventy recruits joined from Scotland. In June the regiment took the field with the army, and was employed in the operations by which the ]: • ♦' Brunswick, 14/A May, 1777. "Earl Cohnwalms's Ohders. " His lixct'Uency the coininaiider-in-chief has requested Earl " Curuwallis to communicate his thanks to iho Foiity-sbcond " Uegiment, for its spirited behaviour or the 10th instant, when it " defeated a body of ♦'se enemy much superior to itself in ni.,i!l>er»; *' and he is mucli pleiweil with the alcrtncHs with whicli tho s ond " bi'igudo gut ut;^.ler arms to support the FuHTY-SEcoNn llegiment." THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 73 English commander endeavoured to bring the American 1777 army to a general engagement; but the enemy kept in the uiouutaiu fastnesses, to avoid the hazard of a battle. An expedition (o Pennsylvania was afterwards resolved upon, and the Forty-second shared in this enterprise. They embarked at Sandy Hook in the early part of July, sailed to ChesapeaJi Bay, and pro- ceeding up the Elk river, landed on the 25th of August at Elk ferry, from whence they advanced on Philadelphia. General Washington took up a position at Bran- dyuine Creek to oppose the advance; but his out-posts were driven in, and his troops forced from th(dr ground with severe loss, on the J 1th of September. The Forty-second battalion companies were in reserve on this occasion, and were not engaged ; but the flank companies took a conspicuous part i\i the action, and had four private soldiers killed ; two scrjcanls, and fifteen rank and file wounded. Information having been received, that fifteen liundrcd Amei icai.s, commanded by General Waynej were concealed in the woods three miles from the British quarters, to carry on a warfare against de- tached parlies, Mujov-(ieneral Charles (afterwards Eavl) Grey, proceeded from camp, during the night of the 20th of September, with the first battalicn of Liglit Infantry, the Forty-wecond and Forty-fourth regiments, to surprise the enemy. 1 he march was conducted with great secrecy, and soon after midnight the British approached the enemy's left, and bayonetted tlie piquets and oul-guards in an instant. Guided by the light of the camp fires, they then rushed forward, and commenced the work of destruction with the bayonet. About thiee hundred Americans were killed and wounded, and oiglity made prisoners, inclu'ling 42. ^ 74 HISTORICAL RECORD OF 1. 1777 several officers; the remainder, being favoured by the darkness of the night, escaped, leaving their arms and eight waggons loaded with baggage and stores behind them. The loss of the British was limited to one officer, one serjeant, and one private soldier k'lled, and a few soldiers wounded. The army afterwards advanced . .antowriy andj the grenadiers took possession ^. '. hiladelphia. On the 29th of September the Tenth and Forty- second regiments were detached, under Lieutenant- Colonel Stirling, to attack a strong redoubt, at Billing»point, on the Jersey shore, erected by the Americans to obstruct the navigation of the Delaware. The two regiments crossed the river on the 1st of October, from Chester, and mr iching towards the redoubt, the Americans instantly fled, first setting fire to the barracks, and s^^iking the guns. The High- landers pursued for two miles, but were unable to overtake the enemy. The regiment afterwards re- turned to Chester, and took part in escorting a large convoy of provisions to the army. At day-break on the morning of the 4th of October, the Americans attacked the British position at Ger- tnantown; but were repulsed with loss. The flank companies of the regiment were engaged on this occasion, and had twelve rank and file killed, and a considerable number wounded. The regiment took part in the operations by which the British commander endeavoured to bring the enemy to a general engagement at White Marsh, and was afterwards quartered in the city of Philadelphia. 1778 Early in ihe spring of 1778 the regiment was detached on a foraging-party in the Jerseys, and had occasional skirmishes with the enemy. On one occa- sion an American sharpshooter and a Highlander met in a wood, and their muskets being unloaded, they tt by ina THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 75 each stepped behind a tree to load. The Highlander 1778 placed his bonnet on the point of his bayonet and leaned it forward a little beyond the tree, when the American fired and hit the bonnet; the wily Scot then sprang forward and made his opponent prisoner*. The King of France having engaged to aid the revolted British provinces, this circumstance changed the character of the war, and occasioned orders to be issued for the march of the army from Philadelphia to New York, which took place in June, 1778, when the Forty-second were actively employed in difficult services connected with this retrograde movement, through a wild and woody country, intersected by rivers, and abounding in narrow and rugged passes. On the 28th of June, when the last division of the army descended from the heights of Freehold, in New Jersey, the enemy appeared on both flanks and in the rear, and some sharp fighting took place, in which the grenadier company of the Royal Highlanders had an opportunity of distinguishing itself. The Ameri- cans having been driven back with loss, the army continued its march. The Forty-second had Lieu- tenant Gilchrist wounded on this occasion, also several private soldiers killed and wounded. The army afterwards proceeded to New York, where the Forty-second were stationed when a powerful French armament appeared off that port. The enemy had a great superiority of numbers; but the enthusiasm in the British navy and army was un- bounded, and the hour of contest was looked forward to with sanguine expectations. The enemy did not, u .'si' ' i { * Sketches of the character, mannera, ^c, of the Highlandart, by Major-General David Stewart ; from whose work many interest- ing particulars have been extracted respecting the Fokty-second Regiment. K 2 76 HISTORICAL RECORD OF 1 778 however, venture to hazard an attack ; but proceeded against Rhode Island, and a numerous body of Americans co-operated in the enterprise and besieged Newport. The British fleet put to sea, and the Forty-second Highlanders, with two flank battalions, the Thirty-third, Forty-sixth, and Sixty-fourth Foot, embarked under Major- General Grey, to join the fleet at the '^ast end of Long Island. When the transports were about to sail, information was received of the departure of the French fleet from Rhode Island, and when at sea news arrived of the Americans having raised the siege of Newport. The troops were then directed to proceed against Bedford^ on the Accushnet river, a noted place for American privateers. On the evening of the 5th of September the troops landed, — overcame all opposition, — destroyed seventy privateers and other ships, — demolished the fort and artillery, — blew u]) the magazine, — destroyed an immense quantity of naval stores, &c., and returned on board the trans- ports at noon on the following day. The troops after- wards proceeded against Martha^s Vineyardy — de- stroyed the defences, — took 388 stand of aims from the militia, — obliged the inhabitants to deliver up three hundred oxen, ten thousand sheep, and a thou- sand pounds sterling collected by the Congress. After this success the regiment returned to New York, and was commended by Major-General Grey for its con- duct in the enterprise. 1779 The regiment remained at New York and the vicinity of that place, until February 1779, when it was detached against the American post at Elizabeth- town, with the light infantry of the Foot Guards, under Colonel Stirling. The enemy retreated, and the place was taken possession of without opposition. The regiment was thanked in general orders for its services on this occasion. THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 77 A marine yard having been established by the 1779 Americans on the Elizabeth river, and a quantity of timber collected, the Royal Highlanders, flank com- panies of the Foot Ciiards, Royal Volunteers of Irelaiid, and the Hessian regiment of Prince Charles, sailed fio.a New York on the 5th of May, to accom- plish the destruction of the enemy's establishment • A landing was efiFected three miles below Portsmouth^ in Virginia, and preparations were made to storm Fort Nelson; but the Americans vacated the place, setting fire to their dock-yards, and destroying a number of shipping on the stocks. The British took possession of the town ; they also penetrated the country to Suffolk, where they took extensive maga- zines of provision and naval stores, and two pieces of ordnance; they also captured extensive stores at Norfolk, on the other side of the river. On the 17th of May a strong party of the Forty-second crossed the river under Colonel Stirling, and proceeded to Kemp's-landing, in Princess Anne's county, where the soldiers destroyed several vessels. Five days after- wards, a party of the regiment proceeded down the river in two fiat-bottomed boats, and destroyed six vessels on the stocks at Tanner's Creek. These services completed, the troops r;iumed to New York ; having taken and destroyed oi-'> hundred and thirty-seven vessels, and infiicted & loss of half a million sterling on the Americans. During the absence of the regiment on this ser- vice, preparations had been made to attack the two forts at Stoney Point and Vereplauks, situate sixty miles above New Yor'r, on the Hudson river, and the Forty-second were ordei'ed to proceed on this enterprise. After taking part in the capture of those places, which interrupted the communication between the eastern and v.^steni states, the regiment •;■. ;.,.■ 78 HISTORICAL RECORD OF 17*^9 returned to New York, the service having been ac- complished with little loss. On the night of the I5tl < f July, the Americans re-captured Stoney Point by huiprise, and cannonaded the fort at Vereplanks. The Forty-second High- landers were immediately embarked, with the Sixty- third and Sixty-fourth regiments, under Brigadier- General Stirling, and proceeded up the river; when the Americans withdrew, and possession was again taken of Stoney Point. Colonel Stirling, having been nominated aide-de- camp to the King, and brigadier-general, the command of the regiment devolved on Major Charles Graham, who was intrusted with the charge of the two forts of Stoney Point and Vereplanks, which were garri- soned by the Forty-second, and a detachment of Fraser's Highlanders under Major Ferguson. This duty was particularly severe; the soldiers had to labour to restore and complete the works, and the American army under General Washington being near, it was necessary to be in a state of constant preparation to resist an attack. These services were appreciated by General Sir Henry Clinton*, and in October the regiment was withdrawn, and proceeded to Greenwich, near New York, where much incou- • "Sir, "i/earf Quarters, New Ywk, 5th October, 1779. " The commander-in-chief requests you will signify to the *' FoHT V'SECOND Regiment his acknowledgments for the cheerful- '• ness with which they have persevered in their labours at your " posts ; he would wish to relieve them, but the arrangements, by " which the whole army have their proportion of employment, will " not permit it for the present. He therefore trusts that their wonted " zeal will inspire them with patience for a little time, relying on his " assurance that he will give them respite as soon as possible. "(Signed) John Andbe, A. A. G. '' To Major Graham.'" « "( (( THK FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 79 G. venience was experienced from the frost during the 1779 unusually severe winter which followed. In 1779 a second battalion of seven hundred men was raised, and added to the Forty-second Royal Highland Regiment, which hattalion embarked at Portsmouth for the East Indies, in January, 1781, under the command of Lt. -Colonel Norman Macleod. During the win •• ^ 1779 an expedition was fitted out against CI le *own^ in South Carolina; but the Royal HiGiiLy^ were left at New York, where they remain > rch 1780; when they 1780 received orders to j ny under General Sir Henry Clinton before Cxi^iii own, the siege of which place being likely to prove a more difficult undertaking than was at first expected. The regiment sailed from New York on the 31st of March, and joined the besidging army on the 18th of April, from which date it took an active part in the operations against Charlestown, until the surrender of that place in the middle of May, having had Lieutenant Mc Leod and nine private soldiers killed, and Lieutenant Alexander Grant, and fourteen rank and file wounded. The wound of Lieutenant Grant was from a cannon ball, which struck him in the back in a slanting direction, and was considered mortal; but he recovered, to the great surprise of the surgeons. The conduct of the regiment, on this service, was commended in orders*. • " Charlestown, 20/A May, 1780. *' Major-General Leslie's Orders. " Major-General Leslie begs Major Graham will make it known " to the Forty-second Re<>iment, how much he holds himself in- " debted to them for their good conduct at so critical a period as the " taking of Charlestown. He embraces this opportunity to return " Major Graham and the regiment his sincerest thanks, for that " regularity and soldierly boliaviour which has ever distinguished the " Royal Highlanders, and which has been so conspicuous on " this occasion." IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) k t< 4L 4" 1.0 I.I v lU 122 S lu ^" 2.0 IK lU u liO ^^ y Photographic Sdences Corporation 4^^^ '"^^f^'' 33 VVIST MAIN STMtt WIUTM.N.Y. MSSO (7U) 171.4503 '^ m HISTORICAL RECORD OF m k *' 1760 After the surrender of Charlestown the regiment advanced a short distance up the country to Monck's- comer, where it had a skirmish with a party of AmerioaiAs; but it returned to Charlestown in the early part of June, and embarked for New York. It was encamped for some time on Stalen Island, at Valentine's Hill, and other places near New York, and passed the winter in quarters at that city, where it was joined by a hundred recruits from Scotland. 1781 The regiment was stationed at New York in 1781, when that place was menaced by the enemy. In the autumn seven thousand men embarked under General Sir Henry (/Union, for the relief of the troops, under Lieutenant-General Earl Cornwallis, besieged at York Town; but on arriving at the Capes of Virginia, information was received of the surrender of York Town, and the armament returned to New York. 1782 During the year 1782 the regiment was stationed at New York. King George III. having been induced to concede the independence of the United States, hostilities ceased, and a treaty of peace was afterwards concluded. His Majesty promoted Colonel Stirling of the Forty-second, to the colonelcy of the Seventy-first Regiment, vice General Fraser, deceased, and the lieu- tenant-colonelcy of the Royal Highlanders was conferred on Major Charles Graham, by commission dated the 28th of April, 1782. 1783 At the conclusion of the peace in 1783, the regi- ment quitt«d the advanced-post it occupied in front of New York, and embarked for Halifax, in Nova Scotia. The establishment was reduced to eight companies of fifty men each; and many of the men were discharged at their own request: their places being supplied by volunteers from Fraser's and Mc Donald's Highland regiments, which were ordered THB FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 81 home to be disbanded, and some men were re- 1784 ceived from the Edinburgh and Duke of Hamilton's regiments. The pistols and swords carried by the private soldiers had been laid aside during the campaign of 1776; the former were considered of no advantage, and the latter, it was said, impeded the progi'ess of the men through the thick woods which abounded in North America, by becoming entangled among the branches. These weapons were not afterwards re- sumed, the musket and bayonet being considered superior to the sword. A great attachment to the broad-sword prevailed, however, among the Highland soldiers, and arguments have been advanced to prove the advantage which would result from infantry carry- ing swords. On the 1st January, 1785, new colouins were pre- 178( sented to the regiment by Major-General John Camp- bell, commanding the Forces in Nova Scotia, who made the following address on that occasion : — ** Forty-second, Royal Highlanders, " With particular pleasure I address you on this occasion, and congratulate you on the service you have done your country, and the honor you have procured yourselves, by protecting your old colours, and defend- ing them from your enemies in different engagements during the late unnatural rebellion. " From those ragged, but honorable, remains, you are now to transfer your allr^^iauce and fidelity to these new National and Regimental Standards of Honor, now consecrated and solemnly dedicated to the service of our King and Country. These Colours are committed to your immediate care and protection ; and I trust you will, on all occasions, defend them from your enemies, with honor to yourselves, and 82 HISTORICAL. RECORD OF ■ 1785 service to your country, — ^with that distinguished and noble bravery which have always characterized the Royal Highlanders in the field of battle. " With what pleasure, with what peculiar satisfac- tion, — nay, with what pride, would I enumerate the different memorable actions where the regiment dis- tinguished itself. To particularize the whole would exceed the bounds of this address : let me therefore beg your indulgence while I take notice only of a few of them. '' And, first, the conduct of the regiment at the battle of Fontenoy was great and glorious ! As long as the bravery of the fifteen battalions in that conflict shall grace the historic page, and fill the breast of every Highlander with pleasure and admiration, so long will the superior gallantry of the Forty-second Regiment bear a conspicuous part in the well-fought action of that day, and be recorded in the annals of Fame to the latest posterity ! " Their conduct at the attack of the French lines at Ticonderoga was so remarkably spirited and brave, as to merit from his late Majesty a distinguished mark of royal favour by honoring the corps with the name and title of Forty-second, or Royal Highland Regiment of Foot ! " No less noble and gloric ras their behaviour at the reduction of Martin^ , — the siege of the Havannahy — together with their uncommonly steady and determined fortitude against a multitude of savages at Bushy-Run ! " Whilst, Royal Highlanders, you reflect on the magnanimity of your ancestors and your countrymen, does not the fire of true heroism bum within you ? Will not the recollection of their bravery and good conduct, together with a proper sense of your own military achievements of a more recent date, in over- THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 83 coming the almost insurmountable difficulties and 1785 dangers at Fort Washington^ and your resolute and spirited behaviour in repulsing a superior number of the enemy in the affair of Pisquata^ stimulate and excite you to support the character you have so justly acquired ; so that when you may at any time be called upon to defend the sacred rights of your King and Country, you will be able to show to the world, and to convince your enemies, with your usual intre- pidity, that there is no enterprise, however daring, of which you are not still capable, in the rugged paths of martial gallantry? I know you will. Royal High- landers ; and I am convinced that it will always be a point of honor with the corpsj considered as a col- lective body, to support and maintain a national cha- racter! " For this purpose you should ever remember, that being a national and reputable corps, your actions as citizens and civil subjects, as well as your conduct as soldiers, will be much observed, — more than those of any other regiment in the service. Your good be- haviour will be handed down with honor to pos- terity, and your faults, if you commit any, will not only be reported but magnified, by other corps who are emulous of your civil as well as of your military character. Your decent, sober, and regular behaviour in the different quarters you have hitherto occupied, has rendered you the distinguished favourites of their respective inhabitants. For the sake, then, of your country, — for the sake of your own established cha- racter, which must be dearer to you than every other consideration, do not tarnish your fame by a subse- quent behaviour less manly ! " Do not, I beseech you, my fellow-soldierg, allow your morals to be corrupted by associating with low, mean, or bad company. A man is always known by 84 HISTORICAL RECORD OF 1^ 1 ,;,' 1 1^: f - 1, 1785 his companions ; and if any one among you should at any time be seen spending his money in base, worth- less company, he ought to be set up and exposed as an object of regimental contempt! " To conclude : As you have, as soldiers, displayed sufficient valour in the field by defeating the enemies of your country, suffer me to recommend to you, as Christians, to use your best endeavours, now in the time of peace, to overcome the enemies of your im- mortal souls ! Believe me, my fellow- soldiers, and be assured, that the faith and virtues of a Christian add much to the valour, firmness, and fidelity of a soldier! He, beyond comparison, has the best reason, and the strongest motive, for doing his duty in scenes of danger, who has nothing to fear, but everything to hope, in a future existence 1 " Ought you not, therefore, to be solicitous to adorn your minds with, at least, the principal and leading Christian virtues, so that if it should be your fate hereafter to fall in the field of battle, your acquaint- ances and friends will have the joyful consolation of hearing that you leave an unspotted name, and of being assured that you rose from a bed of honor to a crown of immortality! Halifax, \st January y 1785*." (( * In a memorial addressed to the Right Ilonorable the Secretary at V/ar by Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Graham, commanding the first battalion of the Fouty-secokd Boyal Highland Regiment, on the Gth June, 1785, when it was expected that the second battalion would be disbanded, and that many of the officers, who had served with great merit udring the American war, would be reduced to half-pay, the Lieutenant-Colonel, in advocating the claims of his officers, thiis expresses himself: — "The Fortt-becoko Regiment " was ordered, -n the spring of 1776, on Service to North America, "■ where, during the whole course of the War which followed, it may " with truth be averred, that no one Regiment was more constantly ved to his nent THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 85^ The regiment remained in Nova Scotia until 1786, 1786 when it embarked for the island of Cape Breton, in the gulph of St. Lawrence, detaching two companies to the island of St. John's. In April, 1786, the Second Battalion of the Forty- second Royal Highland Regiment, which was then in the East Indies, was directed to be constituted the Seventy-third Highland Regiment, and has, from that period, been retained on the establishment of the Army, the services of which regiment will be given in a distinct Record. In 1787, when the revolutionary proceedings in the 1787 Netherlands gave indication of an approaching war, two companies were added to the establishment of the regiment. The officers were Captains William John- stone and Robert Christie ; Lieutenants James Rose and Robert McDonald (Sanda) ; and Ensigns David Stewart (Garth), and James Stewart, nephew of the Earl of Moray. Active young Highlanders, to com- plete the two companies, were procured with facility, the reputation of the corps being an inducement to young men to enrol themselves in its ranks. After commanding the regiment forty-two years. General Lord John Murray died, and was succeeded by Major-General Sir Hector Munro, K.B., by com- mission, dated the 1st of June, 1787. The regiment embarked from Cape Breton in 1789 August, 1789, and arrived in Great Britain in October, after an absence of nearly fourteen years. It landed at Portsmouth, from whence it marched to Tyne- mouth, where it passed the winter, and was joined by two hundred and forty -five recruits. '* employed, serving chiefly with one or other of the Flank Corpe, and " that no Regiment was more exposed to danger, — underwent more •' fatigue,— or suflTered more from both." 86 HISTORICAL RECORD OF 'Pi- 1789 At this period the hlack leather helts for the bayonets were laid aside, and white belts were adopted : the size of the officers' epaulettes was also considerably ePAarged. 1790 Tn May, 1790, the regiment inarched by Berwick and Edinburgh to Glasgow ; its reception at the several towns in England and Scotland, through which it passed, was warm and cordial ; the gallant achieve- ments of the corps were known, and the hospitality of the people of Glasgow to the members of the corps was extraordinary. From Glasgow the regiment pro- ceeded to Edinburgh Castle. The revolutionary pro- ceedings in France, and a misunderstanding with Spain, occasioned a further augmentation to the regi- ment. Several independent companies were also raised in Scotland, and Captain the Marquis of Huntly ex- changing from an independent company to the Royal Highlanders, brought with him a fine band. While the regiment was stationed at Edinburgh, several alarming fires occurred, and the soldiers evinced great alacrity in rendering aid on these occasions. 1791 After being reviewed by Lieutenaut-Geueral Lord Adam Gordon in June, 1791, the regiment marched northward, the head-quarters being at Fort George ; 1792 in the spring of 1792 it proceeded to Stirling, where it was reviewed by Lieut.-General Leslie, and after- wards resumed its former quarters. At this period some disturbances occurred in Ross- shire, where many Highland families were ejected by the great landowners from the little farms they occu- pied, in order to convert large tracts of country into grazing districts, and the people were forced to seek . homes in other parts of the kingdom, or in distant colonies, which occasioned much suffering. A few months afterwards, the cottagers who remained rose in a body, and drove the flocks of sheep, which had THB VORTY-SECOND FOOT. 8? been introduced, beyond the borders of the county. 1792 The FoRTY-iECOMD Regiment was ordered to proceed by forced marches into the disturbed districts; but when it arrived there, all was tranquil, — the people having previously separated. The Highland soldiers were thus spared the painful duty of turning their arms against their countrymen and relatives. The regiment afterwards proceeded southwards, and gar- risoned the coast from Dundee to Fort George during the winter. In the mean time the revolutionary principles, which 1793 had been manifested in Flanders and Holland, had broken out in France with terrific violence, and the promoters of these doctrines, having gained the ascen- dancy, had enforced sanguinary decrees in the State, and shed the blood of the King. Against these out- rageous proceedings the British government pro- nounced direct hostility, and war was commenced, to arrest the progress of democracy, which menaced Europe with universal anarchy. Two independent companies of Scots Infantry, raised by Captains David Hunter, of Bumside, and Alexander Campbell, of Ardchattan, were ordered to join the regiment on this occasion, preparatory to its proceeding on foreign ser- vice. In May, it embarked from Musselburgh for Hull, and was stationed at that place two months. This was the first instance of a Hig' knd regiment appearing in that part of Yorkshire, an*', the conduct of the FoRTV-SECOND procured the respect and esteem of the inhabitantb"^. * During tb« wintn of 1798, tubtcriptions were raised in various porta of Engknd for making aome addition to the comforts of the ■oldiera on foreign servico, when the following letter was received by the commanding otHxmr of the regiment, dated Hull, 2lat No- vtmbtr, 170'^ :— " 8iR^— Tho committ«e appointed at this place for the purchasing 88 HISTORICAL RECORD OF '?t'i 1798 From Hull the regiment was removed to Gosport, and in tlie middle of September it embarked for Flanders to join the army commanded by his Royal Highness the Dnke of York: it landed at Osiend, and joined a body of troops encamped near Meuin; but was soon aflei-wards ordered to return to England to join an expedition preparing to proceed to the West Indies, under Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Grey, who had evinced attachment to the Royal Highlanders since the period they served under his orders in America. Previous to the sailing of the regiment from Ostend, the port of Nieuport was besieged by the French, and the Fortt-second Highlanders, with the flank companies of the Nineteenth, Twenty- seventh, and Fifty-seventh regiments were detached to reinforce the gaiTison. On the arrival of this addition to the garrison, and the approach of another body of troops, the French gave up all hopes of success: they kept up a brisk fire of shot and shells during the night, killing and wounding several of the garrison, and made a precipitate retreat on the following morning. The Forty-secono had one Serjeant and one private soldier killed; two soldiers wounded. After the departure of the enemy, the regiment ** of randty artiolet of clothing, for the use of the British troops on ** foreign service, have requested me to obtain information whether ** floanel drawers and strong shoes would be acceptable to the regi- " ment under your command. The general propriety of the conduct ** of the S' Idiers was highly approved of by the inhabitants of this " place, who wish to offer a testimony of their good opinion, by apply- ** ing A part of the money subscribed exclusively to their use. « I have, &c., "(Signed) Johh Wray." VI THE FORTT-8BC0ND FOOT. 89 returned to Ostend, from whence it sailed to Ports- 1 703 mouth. ' . Meanwhile the French royalists of La Vendie had taken arms against the regicide government, and solicited aid from England, expecting they should be able to gain possession of a sufficient length of coast for an English army to land. An expedition was accordingly fitted out for their aid, under Major- General the Earl of Moira, and the destination of the Forty-second was changed from the West Indies to his lordship's command. The fleet put to sea in December; but the French royalists had not pene- trated to the coast, and no debarkation could take place with any prospect of success. The Vend^ans, however, evinced extraordinary courage and deter- mination, fighting the armies of the republic, and frequently triumphing over an immense superiority of numbers possessed of many advantages. While this warfare was going on in the interior of France, the English expedition was held in suspense, and the fleet was driven about the channel in stormy weather. I794 The troops afterwards returned to Portsmouth, from whence the brigade under Major-General Lord Cathcart, of which the Forty-second under Major Dalrymple (Colonel Graham commanding a brigade) formed part, proceeded to Lymington in January, 1794. At length the resolute Vendeans penetrated to the sea; but the arrival of the British forces being de- hiyed, they became impatient and quitted the coast. Being afterwards informed of the resolution of the British government to give them powerful aid, they commenced their march for Cherbourg; but wero overpowered on the road by the republican armies, and destroyed. The inhuman barbarities exercised on the royalists on that occasion, give a picture of the character of democracy. 42. F 90 HISTORICAL RBCORD OP 1794 The Royal Highlanders were stationed at Ly- ming^on, under Lord Cathcart, until June, when an encampment was formed at Netley in Hampshire, where a body of troops was assembled under Major- General the Earl of Moira. During the campaign of this year the French brought so great a superiority of numbers into the field in Flanders, that they defeated the Austrians and obliged them to retreat, which rendered it neces- sary for the army under his Royal Highness the Duke of York to make retrograde movements. At this period the Forty-second and other corps under the Earl of Moira, were ordered to proceed to Flanders. This force landed at Ostend on the 26th of June, at which time the troops under the Duke of York were pressed by superior numbers, and were retiring upon Antwerp; and the Earl of Moira re- solved not to limit the services of his reinforcement to the defence of Ostend; but to endeavour to join his Royal Highness. After a tedious march, in the face of a superior and victorious enemy, whose troops were already overrunning the country in all directions, the forces under the Earl of Moira arrived at Alosty and on the 6th of July, while the British were at this place, a body of French cavalry rode into the town, but was speedily chased out again by the English Light Dragoons. The Forty- second had one man wounded on this occasion, — private Mc Donald. This man was carrying a quantity of rations through the market-place, when a French trooper rode up to him and inflicted a sabre-wound on his arm; McDonald instantly threw down his burden, and attacked the dragoon with his bayonet, and the Frenchman rode off at speed. After overcoming all difficulties, the Earl of Moira*s corps joined the army under the Duke of York, at THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. in Malines, on the 9th of July, and the Royal High- 1794 LANDERS were attached to the reserve under Lieu- tenant -General Abercromby; the Earl of Moira returning to England*. At this period the Fren ih had too great a supe- riority of numbers to leave the British any prospect of ultimate success; but several positions were held with tenacity to enable the Dutch to prepare their fortified towns for a protracted defence; this, however, they neglected to do, but yielded up their fortresses to the enemy. The Royal Highlanders shared in the operations of the army, which consisted of a series of retrograde movements ably executed, and some skirmishing. On the morning of the 15th of September they were detached, with the other regiments of their bripode, under Lieutenant-Colonel Honorable Arthur Wellesley (now Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington), who then commanded the Thirty-third Regiment, to re- cover possession of Boxtel; but the enemy was found in too great force. After several retrograde movements the army took 1795 post behind the Waal, and defended the passage of that river until the early part of January 1795, when the frosts of that unusually severe winter had con- verted the stream into a mass of ice, which rendered it necessary to continue the retreat, and the army withdrew through Holland to Germany. Previous to quitting the banks of the Waal, some sharp fighting * Extract from Regimental Orders dated the Slst of August, 1794;— " The Earl of Moira desires the commanding o£5cer to notify his "great regret at parting with his friends, the Botal Hiohlakders, " and to mention, that, should he ever go upon service, he hopes it " will be with them." f2 :^' 7. > 92 HISTORICAL RECORD OF 1795 occurred; the French ciossing the river on the ice, and attacking the British posts; on all of which occasions British valour was consj)ituous. The Forty-second shared in these services, and had several men killed and wounded; Lieutenant- Colonel Lamont heing among the wounded. The sufferings of the soldiers during this winter- campaign were particularly great from the unusual severity of the weather. Marching through regionr of snow and ice, exposed to privations of every kind, and followed hy an enemy of superior numbers, whom it was necessary frequently to engage, put to a severe test the capabilities of the men. In the performance of these arduous ser; ices, the soldiers of the Forty- second evinced astonishing powers of endurance, undergoing fatigue, hunger, and exposure to snow- storms and severe frost, without that loss of life which occurred in many other regiments. Under these ac- cumulated sufferings the soldiers received unkind treatment from the Dutch people ; but when the army arrived at Bremen in Germany, the inhabitants evinced great hospitality. In April the regiment embarked for England. Its total loss, from the period it landed at Ostend, was only twenty-five men killed and died of diseases, &c.j but several other regiments had lost above two hundred men from disease alone; which proves the capabilities of High- landers to endure the vicissitudes of war and climate. After landing at Harwich, the regiment proceeded to (Jhelmsford, and in June it was encamped near Danbury, under Lieutenant-Gencral Sir William Medows : in September its effective strength was in- creased to a thousand rank and file, 1)y drafts from several Highland corps raised in the preceding year and ordered to be disbanded. These recruits were cfhcicnt soldiers; but they produced a greater diversity 6' THE FORTT-SECONO FOOT. 93 of character than had formerly existed in the corps. 1795 Highland recruits obtained direct from their native glens, vrere always conspicuous for a strict attention to every moral and religious duty, and when the corps consisted of Highlanders only, this trait of character was preserved; hut when the Highlanders were mingled with men from every part of the United Kingdom, it was soon lost, as was the case with the men who joined on this occasion. The regiment joined the armament under Lieu- tcnant-General Sir Ralph Abcrcromby, designed to complete the deliverance of the French West India Islands from the power of the republican government, and to reduce to obedience the insurgents on the islands of St. Vincent and Grenada. The force assembled on {IAb occasion exceeded in numbers any British armament which had previously quitted the English coast ; and the departure of the fleet, consist- ing of several hundred vessels escorted by a division of the royal navy under Admiral Christian, was a scene calcidated to impress the mind with a just idea of British wealth and British power. The day was uncommonly fine, the wind favourable, and the who'e were clear of the Isle of Wight before sunset, except- ing the "Middlesex" East ludiaman, with five hundred men of the Forty-second on board. This ship had her bowsprit carried away by the "Undaunted" frigate, and was obliged to return to port for repairs, which probably saved her from more serious injury; the fleet having been dispersed and driven back by a severe storm, several ships wrecked, and many lives lost. The fleet put to sea a second time in December, and a serene sky and favourable breeze appeared to promise a prosperous voyage; but the winter proved unusually stormy, and the violence of the wind exceeded what is customary in these latitudes. After persevering against 94 HISTORICAL RECORD OF y 'i't' ^, N .~:!\' 1796 unfavourable weather for some time, a great part of the fleet returned to port in January 1796, but many vessels continued the voyage. The Forty-second were thus separated, five companies proceeding to the West Indies, and five returning to port. The excel- lent arrangements which had been made for the preservation of the health of the troops, prevented serious injury resulting from the men being detained so long on board ship. The government being thus unavoidably disappointed, for a time, in the object of the expedition, changed the destination of several corps, including the five companies of the Royal Highlanders which had returned to port. These companies landed and marched to Lymington, and in May they embarked for Gibraltar, under Lieutenant- Colonel Dickson. On the 9th of February the "Middlesex" East Indiaman arrived at Barbadoes,tvith five companies of the Royal Highlanders on board, in so excellent a state of health, that only two men were on the surgeon's list, and they were under treatment for slight bruises, which proves that great care and attention had been paid to preserve the efficiency of the troops. The soldiers were detained in a crowded state, on board the transports, exposed to the heat of a vertical sun, two months; but the attention which was paid to ventilation, exercise, cleanliness, diet, and mental occupation, so far averted the pernicious efi"ect8 which might have resulted from close confinement in such a climate, that not one man of the Forty-second died, and only four were unfit for duty when active opera- tions commenced: the sick of some corps were so numerous as to fill the hospitals. I» April the five companies proceeded with the expedition against the island of St. Lucia, and formed part of the brigade under Major-Gencral (afterwards 11 * I THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 95 r John) Moore. A landing was eflFected at several 1706 } 'iHts on the 26th of April, when the Royal High- landers gained the shore in a small bay near Pigeon Island, and they shared in the operations which fol- lowed; taking part in some sharp fighting which occurred, and evincing the same forward gallantry and contempt of danger for which the regiment had always been distinguished. The loss of the Royal High- landers in these services was limited to Lieutenant J. J. Fraser wounded, and a few private soldiers killed and wounded. In May the French garrison sur- rendered prisoners of war. It was remarked, that while active operations were in progress, which were particularly harassing from the mountainous nature of the island, the soldiers remained in health ; but after the French garrison had surrendered, disease became alarmingly prevalent, which proved the advantage of mental and bodily exercise in the preservation of health. The five companies of the Royal Highlanders were selected to form part of the expedition against the island of St. Vincent, where a landing was effected on the 8th of June, and arrangements were made to attack the post of New Vigie,— an eminence on which the enemy had constructed four redoubts, stronger by the natural difficulties of the approach, than by the art displayed in their formation. On the 10th of June this post was attacked, on which occasion the Royal Highlanders, and a party of rangers, advanced to the bottom of a woody steep, on the top of which stood the first redoubt in the range, to make a demon- stration in that direction ; but the heroic ardour of the Highlanders turned this demonstration into a real attack. Being supported by a detachment of the Buffs, a gallant assault was made on the position, and in half an hour the first three redoubts were captured. -..|ljf!' HISTORICAL RECORD OP .'it ■ '' !■■ '.'. i^ t 1796 Some of the Highlanders continued their victorious career, and took post close under the last and principal redouht, ready to storm it, as soon as they should he supported by an additional force; but the commander- in-chief, finding- that he bad the enemy completely in his power, was anxious to spare the lives of his men, and ordering them to withdraw, he summoned the enemy to surrender. As the soldiers retired from , their advanced station, they became exposed to the enemy's fire, and several men were killed and wounded. The fall of three soldiers of the Forty-second, named Farquharson, — two of them brothers and the other an uncle's son, who were killed by the same volley, was much regretted*. The Forty-second had one serjeant and twelve rank and file killed; Lieutenant Simon Fraser, two Serjeants, one drummer, and twenty-nine rank and file wounded. The enemy surrendered prisoners of war, but about six hundred men broke the capitulation and escaped ■m * Major-General David Stewart related the following particulare of the conduct of a soldier's wifb, on this occasion, in his narrative of the services of the Roval Hiohlahders:— "I directed her " husband, who was in my company, to remain behind in chai^ge of ** the men's knapsacks, which they liad thrown off to be light for the ** advance up the hill. He obeyed his orders ; but his wife, believing, ** 1 snppobe, that she was not included in these injunctions, pushed * forward in the assault. When the enemy had been driven from " the third redoubti I was standing, giving some directions to the *' men, and preparing to push on to the fourth and last redoubt, *< when I found myself tapped on the shoulder, and turning round, ** I saw my Amazonian friend standing with her clothes tucked up to ** the knees, and seizing my arm, ' Well done my Highland lads,* (< she exclaimed, ' see how the brigands scamper like so many deer| <' * come,' added she, * let us drive them from yonder hill.' On in- <' quiry I found she had been in the hottest fire, cheering and *' animating the men, and when the action was over, she was aa *> active as any of the surgeons in assisting the wounded," h" ''' » I THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 97 to the woods, to join their friends at the farther end 1796 of the island. These jaen were followed by several detachments from the army, including the Forty- second under Lieutenant- Colonel James Stewart, who proceeded to Colanaire. The service in which the Highlanders were employed on this occasion, against the French republicans and the native Caribbees in the woods, /vas of a trying and harassing character. On one r ^asion two parties of the Forty-second, and one of the Second West India Regiment, were ordered out, each taking a different direction. The parties of the Forty -second attacked two posts, and drove the enemy further into the woods; the soldiers of the Second West India Regiment, were also en- gaged, and had several men killed and wounded. Colonel Graham was severely wounded on this occasion*. The out-posts being frequently alarmed by parties of the enemy firing at the sentries in the night, a Serjeant and twelve Highlanders, under Lieutenant David Stewart, penetrated the woods at nine o'clock in the evening, with short swords, to cut their way through the underwood, to discover the post or camp from whence these nightly alarms came. After tra- versing the woods all night, an open spot, with a sentry, was discovered ; this man fired his musket at a dog which accompanied the soldiers, and then plunged into the wood, as the seijeant rushed forward to cut him down. The soldiers were on the edge of a per- pendicular precipice of great depth, at the bottom of which was seen a small valley crowded with huts, from whence issued swarms of people, on hearing the * The surgeons being all in the woods with diiferent detacliinents, Colonel Graham's wounds were attended to by the soldier's wife alluded to in the preceding note. 98 HISTORICAL RECORD OP ,'■" ? I m -A- 1796 report of their sentry's musket. Having made this discovery, the soldiers commenced their journey back ; but when about half way, they were assailed by a fire of musketry on both flanks, and in the rear. The Caribbees were expert climbers : every tree appeared to be manned in an instant ; the wood was in a Haze, but not a man could be seen, — the enemy being con- cealed by the thick and luxuriant foliage. As the Highlanders retreated, firing from time to time at the spot from whence tl.e enemy's fire proceeded, the Ca- ribbees followed with as much rapidity as if they had sprung from tree to tree like monkeys. In this manner the retreat was continued, until the men got clear of the woods. The Highlanders were met by a party of the Second West India Regiment, sent to their sup- port, under Lieutenant Towes, who was wounded. The loss on this occasion was six men killed, and eight wounded, belonging to both corps. This desultory warfare was continued until Sep- tember, when the Caribbees were forced to sub- mit, and they were afterwards removed from the island. The commander-in-chief proceeding to England, the temporary command of the troops devolved on Major-General Charles Graham, who was this year removed from the lieut.-colonelcy of the Royal High- landers to the colonelcy of the Fifth West India Regiment. Major James Stewart succeeded to the lieut.-colonelcy of the Forty-second, and Captain Stirling to the commission of major. 1797 Early in 1797, Sir Ralph Abercromby returned from England, and assembling a small force, captured the island of Trinidad. Encouraged by this success, and by intelligence of the state of Porto Rico, he resolved to make an attempt on that island, and the Royal Hiuhlanders were withdra^wn from St. Vin- ^ THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 99 irned tured pcess, 10, he the IVin- cent, to take part in the enterprise. A landing was 1797 effected, with slight opposition, in April ; but the town and castle were found so strongly fortified, and almost inaccessible, that the expedition was deemed too weak for the capture of the place, and the troops returned on board the fleet, — the five companies of the Fouty- SECOND proceeding to Martinique. Orders were soon afterwards received for the re- turn of the five companies to England in as complete a state as possible ; and the Serenty-ninth High- landers were permitted to volunteer to the Forty- second, when a greater number of transfers were re- ceived than the casualties of the two preceding years amounted to, and the five companies embarked com- plete in numbers and free of illness. On arriving at Portsmouth on the dOth of July, a return was sent on shore ; it was sent back, with directions to correct the error of omitting the number of sick, when an answer was sent, that the five companies had arrived from the West Indies with every man in health, and not one left behind. After landing at Portsmouth, the five companies proceeded to Hilsea, where they remained a few weeks, and then embarked for Gibraltar, to join the five companies which had proceeded thither in the beginning of 1796. The regiment was united at Gibraltar ; it mustered 1798 upwards of eleven hundred men, and presented a splendid appearance on parade. In the aut'imn of 1798, it was selected to form part of an expedition, under Lieutenant- General Hon. Sir Charles Stewart, i against Minorca^ the second of the Balearic islands, situate in the Mediterranean, near the coast of Spain. This island had fallen successively under the Cartha- ginians, Romans, Vandals, Moors, Arragonese, and Castilians; it was captured by the British in 1708, 100 HISTORICAL RBCdRD OF I t •>^: V •rr^ I > t',' 1798 and ceded to England by the treaty of Utrecht in 1713; it was again taken by the Spaniards in 1782, after an obstinate defence of seven months, and was retained by Spain under the Treaty of Peace in the year 1783. Spain had, however, become united with France in the war against the liberties of Europe, and the Forty-second embarked from Gib- raltar on the 24th of October, -to take part in depriv- ing the Spanish monarchy of this valuable island. A landing was effected in the early part of November: the first division, of eight hundred men, repulsed the attack of two thousand of the enemy, and the British advanced upon Ciudadella, the capital. After over- coming many difficulties from the state of the roads, and from the strong stone inclosures in a mountainous country, the troops arrived before Ciudadella, where the Spanish commander had concentrated his forces, and he possessed a great superiority of numbers over the four British regiments which had invaded the island. The English general placed his troops on the little eminences surrounding the place, leaving only a few light infantry in the valleys, and causing numerous fires to be kept burning during the night,— the fires in the valleys being more numerous than on the hills, where the troops were posted. By this stratagem the Spanish gaiTison was impressed with a belief that the place was invested by ten thousand men, and that re- sistance would be useless ; they therefore surrendered on the following day, when the prisoners were more numerous than the invading army. 1799 At the island of Minorca, which is diversified with elevated grounds and valleys, and in some places rich in vegetation, and abounding with the necessaries, and many of the luxuries of life, the Royal Highlanders were stationed during the year 1799. 1800 In the mean time the republican arms of France i THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 101 had triumphed over continental opposition in Europe, 1800 and General Bonaparte had led a chosen body of veteran troops, which he called the "Army of the East/* into Asia, and had established French domina- tion in Egypt. Great Britain, however, continued to brave the power of the enemy, and in the summer of 1800 an army was assembled at Minorca, under General Sir Ralph Abercromby, to carry on the war in Italy, or otherwise, as might appear most advan- tageous to the country. The Forty-second High- landers, were relieved from garrison duty*, and ordered to embark for the relief of Genoay then besieged by the French ; but this place surrendered, and no ad- vantage appearing to. be likely to result from landing in Italy, the troops returned to Minorca. In August, the regiment again embarked, and sailed to Gibraltar, from whence it proceeded with the expedition against CadiZf and was in the boats ready to land on the Spanish coast, when the debarkation was counter- manded, in consequence of a pestilential disease raging with great violence in the city at the time. The troops afterwards returned to Gibraltar, and orders were received to proceed to Egypt, to expel the French " Army of the East" from that country. From Gib- raltar the armament sailed to the island of Malta, where the men were landed to lefresh themselves, * Letter from lAeutenant-General Fox, Commanding at Minorca. ** Bir, " Port Mahon, 30th July, 1800. " Al lenior officer of the old garrison, I must beg of " you to toko wme opportunity of communicating to the Forty- " RECOVD Royal IIiohlamdebb the regret I feel at their de- " parturo, and how nenaible I am of their merit in every respect, by ** tlioir excellent diticlplino, orderly conduct, and the constant zeal •• they have »hown to forward every part of His Majesty's service, " while undor my command. " I am, &c., " To Brlt/adier-Gerural Stewart. « H. E. Fox." 102 HISTORICAL RECORD OF 1800 after having been many months at sea; and the abundance of the fresh provisions which the island afforded, with the comforts of the beautiful city of La Valette, soon restored and reanimated the troops. From Malta the armament proceeded to the bay of Marmorice, in Asiatic Turkey, where the fleet cast anchor in an immense basin of water, surrounded by lofty mountains covered to their summits with ma- jestic forest-trees clothed with luxuriant foliage. 1801 In this bay the armament remained a short time to procure Turkish horses for the cavalry, and to insure the co-operation of a force under the Captain Pacha, and in February, 1801, it again put to sea. As the fleet issued from the bay, and directed its course towards the shores of Egypt, it presented a magnificent spectacle : the greatness of the armament, containing the disposable force of England, and its destiny affecting the dearest interests of the country, was a scene calculated to excite impressive reflections. On the I St of March it appeared off Alexandria, the ancient capital of Egypt, and bore down at sunset into the bay of Aboukir. The Fortv-second Royal Highlanders formed part of the reserve, under Major- General (afterwards Sir John) Moore ; they were com- manded by Lieutenant-Colonel William Dickson, and selected to form part of the force to effect a landing on the shore, in the face of the formidable opposition prepared by the French to resist the debarkation. On the morning of the 8th of March, 1801, a rocket gave the signal for one hundred and fifty boats, laden with five thousand men, to approach the shore, and the next moment the deep murmur of a thousand oars was heard urging forward the flower of a brave army, to engage in an enterprise of a most arduous character. As they approached the shore, the French assailed them with a tempest of bullets, THB FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 103 which cut the surface of the water into deep furrows, 1801 and sank several of the boats. Yet pressing onward with redoubled ardour, the undaunted Britons gained the shore, and instantly leaping out of the boats, rushed forward to combat their numerous antagonists. The Forty-second, and other regiments on the right, soon got under the elevated positions of the batteries, so as to be sheltered from their fire. The Royal Highlanders leaped on shore, formed on the beach, and rushing up the steep ascent rendered difficult by loose sand, in the face of the fire of a battalion of infantry and two guns, speedily gained the summit, and instantly closing on their numerous opponents with the bayonet, drove them from their position before they had time to fire a second volley. Scarcely had the Royal Highlanders driven back the French infantry, when a squadron of cavalry galloped forward to charge them ; but it was immediately repulsed with the loss of its commanding officer. The French, who had fled from their guns, rallied and formed in the rear of a second line of sand-hills, from whence they maintained a scattered fire, until they were driven from thence, and the British stood triumphant on the field of battle, having achieved a victory almost without parallel in the annals of war, and fully proved the great value of firm resolution and strict discipline. The Forty-second Regiment had thirty-one rank and file killed: Lieutenant- Colonel James Stewart, Captain Charles Mc Quarrie, Lieutenants Alexander Campbell, John Dick, Frederick Campbell, Stewart Campbell, and Charles Campbell, Ensign Wilson, seven Serjeants, four drummers, and one hundred and forty rank and file wounded. This loss was sustained while in the boats, and ascending the heights; when once the Highlanders could close on their antagonists 104 HISTORICAL RECORD OF M 1801 with the bayonet, no further loss worth mentioning was sustained*. Having, by tliis victory, proudly asserted the supe- riority of the national military character of Britons, in situations uncommonly arduous and under circum- stances of peculiar difficulty, the victorious troops advanced three miles towards Alexandria, and pre- parations were made to accomplish the object of the expedition with lively anticipations of success. The necessary stores being landed, the army advanced through deep sand, which retarded the progress so much, that the men with difficulty marched a mile in an hour: their courage was, however, not '.'bated by difficulty. On the 12th of March they advanced to Mandora Towers and on the 13th marched through a wood of palm and date trees, to attack the French troops occupying a formidable position on a range of heights in front. Some sharp fighting occuri'ed, in which the Ninetieth, or Perthshire Regiment, highly distinguished itself, and the French were forced to retreat to their fortified lines in front of Alexandria. The British advanced within range of the Hues, and evinced great firmness under a heavy " cannonade, while Sir Ralph Abercromby reconnoitred the position, and afterwards encamped a short distance in the rear. The Royal Highlanders were not engaged on this occasion; but they were exposed to a distant cannonade, and had three rank and file killed; Lieu- tenant-Colonel Dickson, Captain Archibald Argyle Campbell, Lieutenant Simoii Ft aser, three Serjeants, * As the soldiers were buryiug a Highlander, who was sup- posed to be dead, Captain David Stewart of Garth requested them to take him out of the grave, and carry him to the surgeon ; he soon recovered of a swoon, his wound was cured, and he resumed his duty shortly afterwards. /• THE PORTY-8BOOND FOOT. 105 one drummer, and twenty-three rank and file 1801 wounded. Having gained a second victory on the shores of Egypt, the aimy took up a position about four miles from Alexandria, having a sandy plain in front, the sea on the right, and the canal of Alexandria and the lake of Aboukir on the left. The Forty-second were posted, with the other regiments of the reserve under Major-General Moore, on very high ground project- ing a quarter of a mile on the right, and extending to the large and magnificent ruins of a palace, built in the time of the Romans, within fifty yards of the sea. This high ground of sand-hills and old ruins, was about three hundred yards broad; it sloped gradually down into a valley, which lay between it and the other parts of the position. The Fifty-eighth Regiment occupied the ruins, and the Twenty-eighth a redoubt near them; the Twenty-third and Forty-second, with the flank companies of the Fortieth, and the Corsican Rangers, were placed a short distance behind the ruins and the redoubt : the other corps of the army extend- ing to the canal. The French occupied a parallel position on a high and almost perpendicular ridge of hills ; in the centre of their line rose, with deceitful grandeur. Fort Cretin — in the left of its rear appeared Fort CaflFarelli,— Pompey's Pillar on its right, — Cleopatra's Needle on the left, and the city of Alex- andria extending to the sea, with the masts of the shipping in the harbour seen at the back of the town. The whole presented a most interesting appearance ; objects celebrated in history, even some of the wonders of the world, could be distinctly seen, and the ruins under the soldiers' feet were of interesting antiquity. For seven days the army occupied this position without interruption; the soldiers being under arms every morning at three o'clock, and working parties 42. Q 106 HISTORICAL RECORD OF 1801 being afterwards employed in strengthening the post. During this period the French troops at Alexandria had been reinforced from Cairo, and General Menou prepared to attack the British line. At three o'clock on the morning of the memorable 2l8t of March, the army was under arms in the dark, when all was quiet along the front; half an hour afterwards the fire of musketry and artillery on the left announced the approach of adverse forces, and every eye was directed in anxious expectation towards the gloomy atmosphere which concealed the approach of the enemy. Suddenly loud shouts were heard in front of the right, the piquets were rapidly driven in, followed by the sound of a trampling multitude rush- ing to battle. At this moment the Twenty-eighth Regiment was ordered into the redoubt on the left of the ruins of the palace of the Ptolemies, — the left wing of the Royal Highlanders advanced, undci Major Stirling, and took post on the open ground quitted by the Twenty-eighth, and the right wing of the regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel Stewart, formed two hundred yards in the rear of the left wing. In an instant the ruins, redoubt, and left wing of the Royal Highlanders, were attacked by the enemy with great impetuosity; but the steady and well- directed fire of the British regiments forced their assailants to retire. While the front was thus engaged, a column of Bonaparte's *' Invincible Legion" advanced, preceded by a six-pounder gun, silently along the interval between the left of the Forty-second and the right of the Foot Guards, from which the cavalry piquet had retired, and calculating its distance correctly, although in the dark, it wheeled to its left, and [)ene- trated unobserved bck.veen the wings of the Fohty- sKcoNi) Regiment drawn up in parallel linos. The ri m / THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 107 instant this column was seen, the right wing of the 1801 Royal Highlanders attacked its front with great gallantry, and captured the gun, — the rear rank of the left wing faced about and attacked too its rear, and the French being thus placed between two fires, rushed towards the ruins of the ancient palace,*^ receiving the fire of the Twenty-eighth as they passed the redoubt, of the grenadiers and light infantry of the Fortieth as they passed the ground occupied by these companies, and being pursued in full career by the Royal Highlanders. As the French entered the ruins, two companies of the Fifty-eighth wheeled back, and after firing a few rounds of musketry, charged with the bayonet. Being thus attacked in front and on the flanks, and pursued by the Royal Highlanders, who closed with bayonets on the rear, the " Invincible Legion" resisted until six hundred and fifty of their number Imd fallen, when the survivors, about two ^ hundred and fifty in number, threw down their arms and surrendered, delivering up their standard to Major Stirling of the Forty-second, who gave it in charge of a Serjeant, with directions to remain close to the gun which the regiment had taken from the enemy. This column of the enemy being thus disposed of, the Forty-second instantly issued from among the ruins, and formed line in battalion on the - fiat, with their right supported by the redoubt; but at that moment the French infantry pressed forward so rapidly, that Major- General Moore ordered the regiment forward before its formation was completed, when Sir Ralph Abkrcuomijy, who was on the spot, encouraging the troops, called out ** My brave Highlanders, remem- ** ber your country, remember your forefathers !" and the regiment rushed forward with heroic ardour, drove back the French, and pursued them along the sandy plain. Major-Gcncral Moore, who luid the 108 HISTORICAL RECORD OP i -• f i 1801 advantage of a keen penetrating eye, saw through the increasing clearness of the atmosphere, fresh columns of the enemy, with three squadrons of cavalry pre- pared to charge through the intervals of the retreating infantry, and instantly calling to the Forty-second to cease pursuing, directed them to resume their former ground to resist the charge of cavalry. This order to fall back to the redoubt, was repeated by Lieutenant- Colonel Stirling, but it was only partially heard by the regiment, owing to the noise from the firing ; the companies which heard it fell back, and the others remained in advance. While in this broken state, the regiment was charged by the French horsemen, who dashed forward with great audacity, as to an assured victory ; but the gallant Highlanders stood firm, and their fire thinned the enemy's ranks in the advance. All the companies which were formed repulsed the dragoons with loss; the other companies were broken, yet the Highlanders individually, or in small groups, maintained a fierce contest with the dragoons, and a number of single combats took place, in which the soldiers of the Forty-second displayed great courage and activity*. The French dragoons who had penetrated the broken companies, or passed through the intervals, turned to their left towards the ruins of the old Roman palace, as the column of infantry had done early in the morning, and were nearly annihilated by the fire of the Twenty-eighth Regiment. In this charge, the serjeant of the Forty- • In Lieutenant'Oonoral Sir Robert Wilsom's History qf the Expedition to Egypt, it is stated, " The French cavalry charged en •* moMie, and overwhelmed the Forty-second; yet, thougli broken, " this gallant corps was not defeated ; individually it resisted, and •' the conduct of cacli man exalted still more the high character of " the regiment." Vol i., pago fto. THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 109 or 111 tory qf the jharged en gli broken, ssisted, and harocter of SECOND who had the captured French colour in his 1801 care, was rode over and stunned by the dragoons: when he recovered, the standard was gone, and he could give no further account of it*. General Sir Ralph Abercromby had despatched his aides-de-camp with orders to the different brigades, and was alone near the ruins, when the French cavalry penetrated to the rear of the redoubt ; he was attacked by two dragoons, when a corporal of the Royal Highlanders ran to his assistance and shot one of the assailants; the other dragoon rode off, but was encountered and bayoneted by a soldier of the Forty- second Regiment. Scarcely had the Forty-second time to recover their formation, after the destruction of the first body of French dragoons, when they were required to oppose the attack of another column of infantry sup- ported by cavalry; they met their advancing opponents with firmness, repulsed them with great gallantry, and drove them to the rear. While the ranks of the regiment were in some disorder from this fight, it was charged by another body of French cavalry, when the steady aim of the Highlanders again emptied a num- ber of saddles, and, although the ranks were afterwards penetrated by the dragoons, yet the Highland soldiers fought manfully, and the enemy gained little advantage. Astonished and confounded at this determined resist- ance, some of the dragoons galloped forward, and were destroyed by the fire of the Twenty-eighth Regi- ment; others continued to fight with the Forty- second: it was a severe trial of personal firmness and * The standard of the "Invincible Legion" was afterwards recovered from the French by Private Anthony Lutz, of the Minorca regiment in the Britisli service; it was sent to England, and placed in the Royal Military Chapel, Whitoliall, London. no HISTORICAL RECORD OP I'Uii '•'■xm^ 1801 individual courage to the Highlanders, each man fighting on his own ground, and fronting his antagonist whichever way he presented himself, and maintaining his post so long as strength or life remained. From these reiterated attacks the regiment had suffered severely, and it was evident, that, if not supported, it must soon be annihilated; but at a critical period Brigadier-General Stuart brought forward the foreign brigade from the second line; the enemy was driven back with severe loss ; and another attack was speedily repulsed. This occurred about eight o'clock in the morning. • .' -. ; ; v The British troops which had been so fiercely engaged, had expended their ammunition, and while a supply was being procured from the ordnance stores at a distance, their fire ceased; while that of the enemy was continued with great execution, which put to a severe test the patient endurance of the Forty-second, who suffered severely. When a supply of ammunition arrived, the enemy retreated, and the action terminated. This narrative only refers to the fighting on the right, where the Forty-second had been engaged. The enemy's attacks had been repulsed at every part of the field, with a constancy and valour which redounded to the honor of the British troops; but the splendour of the victory was clouded by the loss of General Sir Ralph Aber- CROMBY, who was wounded early in the action, and died a few days afterwards, universally regretted by the officers and soldiers of the aimy. The Royal Highlanders had Brevet-Major Robert Bisset, Lieutenants Colin Campbell, Robert Anderson, Alexander Stewart, Alexander Donaldson, and Archibald Mc Nicol, forty-eight rank and file killed; Major James Stirling, Captain David Stewart, Lieutenants Hamilton Rose, J. Milford, J. Sutherland, ill ~*^' nan nist ling rom ered )d, it jriod •eign liven edily i the jrcely while stores ^ .f the nrhich )f the len a eated, refers ECOND I been stancy of the ry was Aber- n, and ted by Major Robert laldson, nd file ttewart, lerland, ■%.: I'' 1; '.%^':-' 1 ' ,■ • If ■ :>'.■ ■ i ■1.' II ■ ?" • ■ THB FORTY-SECOND POOT. Ill A. M. Cunningham, Frederick Campbell, and 1801 Maxwell Grant, Ensign William Mc Kenzie, six Serjeants, and two hundred and forty-seven rank and file wounded. The ground on which the regiment had been so fiercely engaged, was covered with men and horses, giving incontestable proof of the prowess evinced by the Highlanders in this arena. The conduct of the regiment on this occasion, has been highly com- mended by historians. In the general orders of Major-General (afterwards Lord) Hutchinson, who succeeded Sir Ralph Abei'cromby in the command of the army, it was stated — " The Twenty-eighth and " Forty- SECOND Begiments made the noblest stand ** against a superior force:" and in the public des- patch of the same officer, — " The Twenty-eighth and " Forty-second Regiments acted in the most distin- " guished and brilliant manner.'* The prowess and military energy which won the battle of the 21st of March, prepared the way for additional triumphs. A body of troops traversed the country to the city of Rosetta, situate near the mouth of one of the great channels of the Nile, and captured that place, and the fort of St. Julian. Additional forces followed, a body of Turks co-operated, and the troops advanced up the banks of the Nile, drove the French from the post at El Aft, and obliged them to quit the fortified position of Rahmanie, and to retire through the desert to the city of Cairo, the metropolis of mo- dem Egypt: towards which place the British and Turks directed their march. In the mean time the Royal Highlanders had formed part of the blockading force before the city of Alexandria, where they remained until the beginning of June, when they received orders to proceed, with the Twenty -eighth Foot, up the country; and after 1 112 HISTORICAL RECORD OF ^1 m Si 'if 1801 a march of fourteen days along the banks of the Nile, the two regiments joined the army before CairOf on the 16th of June, under the orders of Major-General Hope and Brigadier-General Oakes. After the arri- val of this reinforcement, the fortress was invested, and preparations made to commence the siege; but on the morning of the 22nd of June, the French General, Belliard, sent out a flag of truce, and agreed to surrender the place, on condition of himself and garrison being sent to France. The capture of the capital of Egypt added lustre to the British arms, and the troops were encouraged and stimulated to perse- vere in their gallant eflForts, by receiving the approba- tion of their Sovereign and the thanks of Parliament* From Cairo the army retired down the Nile, and proceeded to the vicinity of Alexandriay and arrange- ments were made to commence the siege of this city^ which was occupied by General Menou and a for- midable garrison. Considerable progress had been made, and the capture of the place by force of arms would speedily have taken place; but this was pre- vented by the surrender of the garrison in the begin- ning of September. Thus was accomplished the deliveremce of Egypt from the power of France, and the valour and perse- verance of the troops which had achieved this impor- tant success, were admired and applauded by the nations of Europe, who had witnessed with anxiety the progress of this important struggle, and when the boasted " Invincible" veterans of France were overpowered, prospects of liberty were opened to other countries in bondage. The Royal High- landers, and other corps which had forced the French " Army of the East" to evacuate Egypt, and had exalted the military fame of their country, were rewarded by King George III. with the honor of THB FORTY-SECOND FOOT. lis bearing the " Sphynx," with the wore ' Egypt," 1801 on their colours, " as a lasting memorial ol the glory " acquired by His Majesty's arms, by the zeal, dis- ** cipline, and intrepidity of the troops engaged in ** that arduous and important campaign." To perpetuate the services rendered to the Otto- man empire, the Grand Seignior established an order of Knighthood, which he conferred on the general officers. He also presented large gold medals to the field officers, and others of a smaller size to the captains and subalterns, which King George III. authorized them to accept; the Grand Seignior also built a palace at Constantinople for the future re- sidence of the Dritish ambassadors. List of the officers of the Royal Highlanders who received medals for the campaign in Egypt. 'Wmiam DIclcMD *JamM Stirling *Davld Stowftrt John Farquhanon *Charle» Mc Quarrio. Lieut.-ColoneU. *Janies Stewart. Majors. Alexander Stewart. Captatnt. Charles Munro Colin Lamont James Muter *Arcb. A. Campbell ^Hamilton Rose *James Sutherland *Jolm Mc Dermid *Alex. Cunningham James Walker. Lieutenanti. Alex. Donaldson *John Diclc *Maxwell Orant •Fred. Campbell 'Charles Campbell EntiffTU. *Mungo Mc Pherson *WiIliam Mc Kenzie *Adam Wilson. Adjutant f Simon Fraser; Surgeon, John Erly. After the deliverance of Egypt, the Forty-second 1802 were directed to embark for England, where they Robert Campbell *Simon FriMer Arch. Mc Nicol *Alex. Campbell *8tewart Campbell Robert Menzie* Thoma« Ililke * The officoni whose names are marked thus * were wounded. w^ 114 HISTORIOAIi RECORD OP 1802 arrived in the beginning of 1802; they landed at Southampton, and marched to Winchester*, expe- riencing an enthusiastic reception and applause for their gallantry in Egypt. At Winchester Captain Lamont and several men died of a fever supposed to be caught on duty over French prisoners. In May the regiment was reviewed at Ashford, by His Majesty, accompanied by their Royal High- nesses the Prince of Wales and Duke of York. The King expressed his royal approbation of the appear- ance of the corps. Soon after this review the re- giment marched to Edinburgh, and its reception at 1*1 * Soon after the arrival of the regiment &i Winchester, the following document was received by the commanding officer: — " At a general meeting of the Highland Society of Scotland, ** on the 12th January, J 802, when upwards of one hundred noblemen " and gentlemen were present, the Eakl of Eolinton, Vice-Pre- " sidotit, in the chair, " tlESOLVEu unanimously, .ind with the greatest applause, to " vote the thanks of this Society <:o the British army in Egypt, for ** their gallant achievements, in which our countrymen, the Highland " UegimentH, maintained, in so conspicuous a manner, the warlike ** character of their ancestors, and more especially to that old and " long-diHtingniahed corps, the Forty-secono, or Royal Hioh- ** LAND Ilcgiment, and recommended to the Secretary to transmit " thid resolution to the commanding officer, in order to be commu- " nicated to the regiment, in such manner as to him shall seem •* proper." Lieutenant-Colonel Dickson inserted this vote in regimental order*, with directions for it to be read to each company, and added, " ho felt himself highly flattered by the distinguished mark of " approbation bestowed upon the officers and soldiers of the Royal " llioiiLANiiEHB, by their countrymen, for their brave and gallant " behaviour in Egypt, which they so justly have merited, and is con- '• fident, whenever an opportunity may again occur, they will be " equally conspicuous in maintaining that national character of " bravery, hitherto experienced by their enemies, and which they " flO gloriously evinced in their late campaign in Egypt." THE FORTY-SKCOND FOOT. 115 the several towns, through which it passed, was of a 180 J flattering and gratifying character. , - In the mean time, the triumphs of the British arms in Egypt had been followed by a treaty of peace, concluded at Amiens, and the regiment was placed upon a peace establishment. New colours having been prepared, bearing the distinctions granted to the regiment for its services in Egypt, they were presented to the corps, on parade, at Edinburgh, on the 1st of December, when the following address was delivered by Lieutenant- General Vyse. " Colonel Dickson, and gentlemen of the Forty- " SECOND Regiment; Having the honor of command- " ing His Ma-jesty's forces in North Britain, it would " ill become my situation for me to be a silent spectator " of this interesting ceremony. , " Brother soldiers of the Forty-second Regiment, " let me earnestly exhort you, most sincerely to reflect " on the invaluable deposit which is now committed " to your protection, and which is rendered doubly '* sacred by the solemn benediction of this reverend " minister. Principal Baird, of our holy faith. "Remember that the standards which you have " this day received, are not only revered by an admir- " ing world, as the honorable monuments and trophies " of your former heroism, but are likewise regarded " by a grateful country, as the sacred pledges of that " security, which, under the protection of Heaven, it " may expect from your future services. '' May you long, very long, live to enjoy that repu- " tation, and those honors, which you have so highly " and so justly merited ; may you long participate and " share in all the blessings of that tranquillity and peace which your labours, and your arms, have restored to your native country ; but should << (( 116 HISTORICAL RECORD OF •■ i. 1 802 " the restless ambition of an envious and daring " enemy, again call you to the field, think then that •* you behold the spirit of those brave comrades who " so nobly, in their country's cause, fell upon the " plains of Egypt, hovering round these standards ; — " think that you see the venerable shade of the " immortal Abercromby leading you again to action, '' and pointing to that presumptuous band whose " arrogance has been humbled, and whose vanity has " been compelled, by your intrepidity and courage, " to confess, that no human force has been * invin- " cihle ' against British valour, when directed by " wisdom, conducted by discipline, and inspired by " virtue." 1803 The treaty of Amiens proved like the calm which precedes a storm; and the short respite from war ceded by its stipulations, was followed by a mighty struggle which convulsed every state in Christendom. The British people appeared as a barrier to the schemes of aggrandizement entertained by Napoleon Bonaparte, first consul of France, and one of his first objects was to crush a nation which was ever ready to oppose his progress of usurpation. War was resumed in the spring of 1803, and a French army was assembled at Boulogne for the invasion of England. The establish- ment of the Royal Highla.nd£RS was immediately augmented, and the regiment was ordered to proceed to the south of England, to be in readiness to oppose the threatened invasion. It embarked from Leith on the 31st of May*, and lauding at Harwich, marched to the camp at Weely, in Essex. * ** Edinburgh, 29th May, 1803. <' General Oader. " The Forty-second Regiment will embark at Leith, for South " Britain, on Tuesday morning the Slat instant. To his sincerest THE FORTY-SECOND fOOT. 117 At this period a second battalion was added to the 1803 regiment, and was composed of men raised, under the "Anny of Reserve Act," in the counties of Perth, Elgin, Nairn, Cromarty, Ross, Sutherland, Caithness, Argyle, and Bute : it was placed on the establishment from the 9th July, 1803. In November, 1804, the second battalion embarked i804 at Fort George, to join the first battalion at Weely Bairacks, in Essex ; and the two battalions remained at that place, in readiness to oppose the French army, had it ventured to land on the British coast: but Bonaparte was deterred from carrying his threat into execution by the noble attitude assumed by the British nation, and the strength and energy it evinced, while breathing defiance to the gigantic military power by which it was menaced. After having been advanced to the dignity of 1805 Emperor, crowned King of Italy, and having added Genoa to his dominions, Bonaparte reviewed his army at Boulogne in 1805, and immediately afterwards marched for Germany, to crush the coali m forming against his interests. In September of this year the first battalion marched from Weely Barracks to Portsmouth, where it embarked for Gibraltar, to relieve one of the regiments in garrison at that fortress. On the decease of General Sir Hector Munro, the 1806 colonelcy of the Royal Highlanders was conferred on Major-General the Marquis of Huntly, from the Ninety-second Regiment, by commission dated the 3rd of January, 1806. The first battalion continued to form part of the 1807 " wishes for its happiness and glory, Lieutenant-General Yyse hopes, '* that it will soon return to its native country, with an addition to " those laurels by which it is now so honorably distiuguished." 118 HISTORICAL RECORD OF % >- ,» 1808 garrison of Gibraltar until the bummer of 1808. During this period Napoleon had reduced Germany to submission to his inexorable will, — forced Russia to accede to his decrees, — placed his brother Joseph on the throne of Spain, supported by a numerous French army, — and had obliged the royal family of Portugal to take refuge in the Brazils, while a French army seized on the country. Great Britain continued to wage determined hostility to the immense power which thus established a military despotism over so many of the states of Europe, and sent an army to aid the Spanish and Portuguese patriots who rose in arms against the usurper: the Royal Highlanders were also withdrawn from Gibraltar to take part in the contest. On the 14th of August, 1808, the first battalion embarked from Gibraltar, to join the troops which had landed in Portugal, under Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Wellesley ; while the regiment was at sea the French forces were attacked at Roleia, with complete success, on the 17th of August, and defeated at Vimiera, on the 21st, which was followed by the enemy evacuating all the towns, forts, and arsenals of Portugal, on condition of being conveyed to France. About the period or the conclusion of the convention of Cintra, the Royal Highlanders arrived in Portu- gal, and after the departure of the French, the regiment remained in that country, under General Sir John Moore. Portugal being thus delivered by British skill and valour, Sir John Moore received orders to advance into Si)ain, and ii body of troops was sent from the United Kingdom to join him in that eounlry. The Royal Highlandeks were selected to take part in this enterprise; tlu wore formed in brigade with the Fourth and Twenty-eighth Regiments, under Major- Ill THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 119 General Lord William Bentinck, and advanced into 1808 Spain with the division under Lieutenant-General Hope. Before the British could arrive at the scene of operations, the Spanish force, which was to have co-operated with them, had heen defeated and dis- persed, and Sir John Moore found himself in the heart of Spain, with between twenty and thirty thousand British troops, to confront Napoleon, who had three hundred thousand men in that country. With that intrepidity which marked his character, the British general advanced against the numerous legions of the enemy, and produced a diversion favourable to the Spanish cause; and when Napoleon directed an over- whelming force against him. Sir John Moore made a skilful and rapid retreat towards the coast. The Royal Highlanders shared in the privations conse- quent upon a retrograde movement continued for a dist'^nce of two hundred and fifty miles, along roads covered with snow, over mountains and rivers, and through narrow defiles, with a numerous enemy follow- ing in full career, and frequently skirmishing with the rear-guard. The native energy and resolution of the troops were conspicuous, and on the II th of January, 1809, the war-worn soldiers anived at Corntmn^yrhere 1809 they obtained shelter and a short repose, while they awaited the arrival of shipping to transport them to England. A French army under Marshal Soult approaching, the British took up a position on an inferior range of heights in front of Corunna, and the Forty- SECOND were in Lieutenant-General Sir David Baird's division, and were posted near the village of Elvina: the army mustering fourteen thousand five hundred men. Twenty thousand French troops assembled on the opposite hills, and soon after mitl-day on the 10th of January, they were seen preparing for battle. Al)out 120 HISTORICAL RECORD OF I M' ^n 1809 two in the afternoon a heavy battery opened its fire ; three columns of attack covered by skirmishers de- scended the mountains; the first column carried the village of Elvina, then dividing, attempted to turn the right of Sir David Baird's division, and to break its front ; at the same time the second column advanced against the centre; and the third attacked the left. The brunt of the battle on the right was sustained by the Fourth, Forty- second, and Fiftieth regiments, under Major-General Lord William Bentinck ; and this brigade resisted the furious onset of the enemy with a resolution and energy which proved the un- conquerable spirit and excellent discipline of the three regiments. The Fourth met that part of the French column which attempted to turn the right flank by the valley; and the Forty-second and Fiftieth encountered the battalions breaking through Elvina. The ground round the village was intersected by stone walls and hollow roads, and a severe combat ensued. Sir John Moore was on the spot, and as the Forty- second advanced to meet the enemy, he called out, " Highlanders, remember Egypt!" The sound of the voice of the general officer, under whose command they had conquered at Alexandria, animated the soldiers, and they rushed forward, overpowering all opposition; the Fiftieth Regiment, entering Elvina with the retreating enemy, re-captured the village. The general applauded this brilliant success, and ordered up a battalion of Foot Guards, to fill the void in the line occasioned by the advance of the two regiments, when the light infantry, and two or three other companies, of the Forty-second, who had expended their ammunition, mistook his intention and retired, thinking they were to be relieved by the Foot Guards. At that moment the enemy, being reinforced, renewed the fight beyond the village, the THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 121 commanding officer of the Fiftieth was wounded and 1809 taken prisoner, and Elvina became the scene of another struggle. General Sir John Moore, observing this, turned to the companies of the regiment which had retired, and said, " My brave Forty-second, join *' your comrades, ammunition is coming, and you ** have your bayonets." At the well-known voice of their general, the Highlanders instantly sprang forward, and closed upon the enemy with bayonets. About this period Sir David Baird was wounded, and forced to quit the field, and soon afterwards Sir John Moore was struck to the ground by a cannon ball: he was raised up, his eyes were steadily fixed on the Highlanders, who were contending manfully with their numerous antagonists, and when he was assured that the Forty-second were victorious, his counte- nance brightened up, he expressed his satisfaction, and was removed to the rear, where he expired, to the great regret of the officers and soldiers, who admired and esteemed their excellent commander. The French were repulsed at every point, and they with- drew from the contest with a considemble diminution of their superior numbers. The British were trium- phant, and they had proved, that, although incessant toil, loss of repose and food, and exposure to inclement weather, might diminish their physical powers, yet their innate bravery remained in its full vigour. After the battle the army embarked and sailed for England. In general orders issued on the 18th of January, Lieutenant-General Hope congratulated the army on the victory, and added, — " On no occasion has the " undaunted valour of British troops been more mani- " fest. At the termination of a severe and harassing " march, rendered necessary by the superiority which " the enemy had acquired, and which had materially 4U. H m 122 HISTORICAL RECORD OF 1 ■■. (( u II t( « 1809 " impaired the efficiency of the troops, many disadvan- tages were to be encountered. " These have all been surmounted by the conduct of the troops themselves; and the enemy has been taught, that whatever advantages of position or " numbers he may employ, there is inherent, in " British officers and soldiers, a bravery that knows " not how to yield, — that no circumstances can appal, " — and that will insure victory when it is to be " obtained by the exertion of any human means. " The lieutenant-general has the greatest satisfac- " tion in distinguishing such meritorious services as came within his observation, or have been brought to his knowledge. " His acknowledgements are in a peculiar manner " due to Lieutenant-General Lord William Bcntinck, " and the brigade under his command, consisting of " the Fourth, Forty-second, and Fiftieth Regiments, " which sustained the weight of the attack.''^ In an interesting account of the battle, addressed by Lieutenant-General Hope, to Sir David Baird, it is stated, — " The first effort of the enemy was met " by the commander of the forces, and by yourself, at " the head of the Forty-second Regiment," &cC The regiment had three Serjeants, two drummers, and thirty-three rank and file killed at the battle of Corunna; Captain Duncan Campbell died of his wounds; Captains John Fraser and Maxwell Grant; Lieutenants Alexander Anderson, William Middle- ton, and Duncan Mc Innes, five Serjeants, and one hundred and sixty rank and file wounded. A severe loss was also sustained from the toils and privations of the retreat from the interior of Spain. To commemorate the gallantry displayed by the regiment on this occasion, the royal authority was afterwards given for the word " Corunna" to be THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 123 111 ({ (t it c< (( borne on its colours: and its commanding officer, 1809 Lieutenant-Colonel James Stirling, received a medal. The regiment landed at Plymouth in February, and Major Campbell died in a few days afterwards of disease produced by fatigue and exposure to incle- ment weather during the retreat to Corunna. From Plymouth the regiment marched to Shorn- cliffe, where it was brigaded with a battalion of the Rifle corps, under Major-General Sir Thomas Graham, who expressed, in a brigade order dated the 13th of May, — *' It is most particularly gratifying to Major-General Graham, to have seen, that the great attention of the officers of the first battalion " of the Royal Highlanders has been rewarded by the rapid recovery of the men, after the fatigues of a severe campaign, in which they gloriously sup- ported their distinguished character." In the mean time the second battalion, which had been stationed some time in Ireland, had received orders to hold itself in readiness for foreign service; it was joined by one hundred and fifty volunteers from the militia, and embarking from Cork, on the 20th of June, sailed for the capital of Portugal, where it landed on the 4th of July, under the orders of Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Lord Blantyre. It advanced up the country, joined the army commanded by Lord Wellington, and was some time in position on the Guadiana, where it lost many men from the Guadiana fever, contracted during the stay of the troops on the banks of that river. Diiring the summer the first battalion was ordered to join an expedition under General the Earl of Chatham, against Holland, the principal object of which was, the destruction of the French arsenals and fleet at Antwerp. The regiment embarked on H 2 I B ■. , I' 124 HISTORICAL RECORD OF ".t I 1809 this service from Ramsgate, in July, and formed part of the brigade under Brigadier-General Montresor, in the division commanded by Lieutenant-General the Marquis of Huntly. It landed on the island of South Beveland on the 9th of August, and was after- wards stationed there during the siege of Flushing on the island of Walcheren. Some delay occurring in the naval arrangements, the enemy had time to augment the preparations for resistance j at the same time a severe iever broke out among the British troops, and the attack on Antwerp was relinquished. I'he Royal Highlanders returned to England, and landed at Deal in September. 1810 In the summer of 1810 the first battalion embarked at Ramsgate, for Scotland, and landing at Leith, was afterwards stationed at Musselburgh, many of the men still suflFering under the effects of the Walcheren fever. The second battalion continued with the allied army in Portugal, and w&? engaged in the operations by which the English commander endeavoured to retard the advance of the superior numbers of the enemy, under Marshal Massena, who boasted he would drive the British into the sea, and plant the eagles of France on the towers of Lisbon. As the French army advanced in full confidence of success, suddenly the rocks of Busaco were seen bristling with bayonets and streaming with British colours. The Royal Highlanders were in position on the moun- tains when that formidable post was attacked by the enemy on the 27th of September, and when the valour of the British troops repulsed the furious onsets of the French veterans, who were driven back with severe loss. The loss of the Forty-second was limited to two seijeants, one drummer, and three rank and file wounded Major Robert Henry Dick received a medal for this battle. i THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 125 Being unable to force the position, the French 1810 commander turned it by a flank movement ; and the allied army feil back to the lines of Torres Vedrasy where a series of works of vast extent, connected with ranges of rocks and mountains, covered the approach to Lisbon, and formed a barrier to the progress of the enemy, which could not be overcome. The Forty- second were posted in the lines. The French commander, despairing to accom- plish his threat against the English, fell back to Santarem. For three months the opposing armies confronted 1811 each other a few stages from Lisbon; the enemy's numbers became seriously reduced by sickness, and other causes, his resources were exhausted, and during the night of the 5th of March, 1811, he commenced his retreat towards the frontiers. The British moved forward in pursuit, and in numerous encounters with the enemy's rear-guard gained signal advantages. The French army crossed the confines of Por- tugal; the British took up a position near the fron- tiers, and blockaded Almeida. The French advanced to relieve the blockaded fortress; and on the 3rd of May they attacked the post of Fuentes d'Onor. The Royal Highlanders had two soldiers killed on this occasion; Captain Mc Donald, one Serjeant, and five rank and file wounded. On the 5th of May the ei'emy made another attack on the British position, but was repulsed. On this occasion the Forty- second, commanded by Lieutenant- Colonel Lord Blantyre, were charged by a body of French cavalry, which they defeated with signal gallantry. Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Blantyre received a gold medal : and the word " Fuentes d'Onor," displayed, by royal authority, on the regimental colour. f4 126 HISTORICAL RECORD OF 1811 commemorates the steady valour of the second bat- talion on this occasion. Its loss was one serjeant and one private soldier killed; one serjeant and twenty-two rank and file wounded. Major R. H. Dick received a medal for the battle of Fuentes d'Onor, where he commanded a flank battalion. In the subsequent operations of this campaign, the second battalion took an active part; but was not brought into close contact with the enemy. During the summer the first battalion was with- drawn from Scotland; it embarked at Leith on the 23rd of August, landed at Gravesend before the end of the month, and proceeded from thence to the barracks at Lewes. Igj2 The French commander having left Ciudad Rodrigo exposed to an attack, Lord Wellington called his divisions from their winter quarters, and commenced the siege of that fortress early in Jan- uary, 1812. The second battalion of the Royal Highlanders took part in the siege, and had several men killed and wounded on the 14th of January, in repulsing a sortie of the garrison ; it also sustained some loss on the 18th of that month. During the night of the 19th of January that fortress was cap- tured by storm. After this gallant exploit, the Royal High- landers traversed the country to Spanish Estrema- dura, and formed part of the covering army during the siege of the strong fortress of Badajoz, which place was captured by storm during the night of the 6th of April. In the mean time the first battalion had marched from Lewes Barracks, and embarked from Ports- mouth for the Peninsula; it landed at Lisbon on the 20th of April, and, on joining the army, received the soldiers of the second battalion who were fit for THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 127 / duty, which augmented its numbers to eleven bun- 1812 dred and rixty rank and file: the officers, staff, &c., of the second battalion, returning to England to recruit. The Forty-second joined Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Graham's division, and advanced with the army upon Salamanca, from which city the French were forced to retire in the middle of June, and the British army took up a position on the heights of St. Christovaly during the siege of the forts in which the enemy had left garrisons. On the reduction of the forts, the French army under Marshal Marmont retired behind the Douro^ and the British advanced to the bank of that river. The enemy suddenly passed the stream in the middle of July, and a series of manoeuvres followed, in which both commanders displayed great skill and military talent, and on the 22nd of July the opposing armies confronted each other in the vicinity of Salamanca, As the French commander was making a display of military tactics, and endeavouring to turn the right of the allied army, his left became separated too far from his centre, when the English general instantly detected the false movement, ordered his divisions for- ward, and commenced the battle. The French army was speedily broken, overpowered, and chased from the field, with the loss of many oiticers and soldiers, two eagles, and a number of guns. The loss of the Royal Highlanders was limited to a few men wounded. Their commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel James Stirling, and also Lieutenant-Colonel R. H. Dick, who commanded a flank battalion, received each a gold medal for this battle. The pursuit of the broken remains of the French army to Valladolid, the advance to Madrid, and the return to Valladolid, are important features in the his- tory of this campaign; and after sharing in these ser- i il 128 HISTORICAL RECORD OF 1812 vices the Royal Highlanders took part in driving the French army, under General Clauzel, up the beauti- ful valleys of the Pisuerga and Arlanzan rivers to Burgos, where a strong castle and its works, inclosing a rugged hill, stood as a bulwark to oppose the progress of the British army in that direction. On the 19th of Sep- tember the first division crossed the river above the town, and the light infantry battalion of Colonel Stir- ling's brigade, under Major Somers Cocks, supported by the Portuguese under Brigadier-General Pack, drove the French out-posts from the Hill of San Michael, situate three hundred yards from the castle. This hill was defended by a large horn-work, with a hard sloping ,scarp of twenty-five feet, and a counterscarp ten feet high, but not quite finished. The Forty-second were ordered to take part in storming this horn-work on the same night. The attack was made soon after dark, the ladders were placed against the work, and the soldiers ascended with great gallantry; but the French were numerous, and prepared; a severe fire v/as opened on the attacking troops ; every man who reached the top of a ladder was instantly bayoneted, and in his fall he knocked down several others; the attack was, there- fore, attended with great loss. Major Somers Cocks, however, forced an entrance at the gorge; the Forty- second rushed into the works, which were immediately capturei' The conduct of Major Dick, of the Royal Highlanders, was commended in the Marquis of Wellington's public despatch. Tlie regiment had Lieutenants D. Gregorson and P. Milne, one serjeant, thirty-two rank and file, killed; Captain Donald Williamson died of his wounds; Cap- tains Archibald Menzies and George Davidson; Lieu- tenants Hugh A. Fraser, and James Stewart; Volunteer John Lane, ten Serjeants, one drummer, and one hun- dred and fifty-three rank and file, wounded. ,*-/.■ .r THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 129 The siege of the castle was commenced, and the 1812 regiment took part in this service, in which it had Ensign David Cullen killed; Lieutenant Robert Mc Kinnon wounded; and several private soldiers killed and wounded. The concentration of the enemy^s forces and the advance of very superior numbers, obliged the British commander to raise the siege and retire to Salamanca, and afterwards to Ciudad Rodrigo. The Forty-second shared in the fatigues and privations of this retrograde movement, and afterwards took post on the frontiers of Portugal. Augmented in numbers, improved in organization, 1813 and confident in the superior abilities of its noble leader, the allied army again took the field in May, 1813, and advancing into Spain, commenced an enter- prising and brilliant campaign, in which the talents of the British commander had ample scope for exertion. The Royal Highlanders took part in the move- ments by which the enemy's positions on the Douro, and southward of that river, were turned; when the French fell back upon Valladohd. Following up these advantages, the British divisions pressed forward; the French evacuated Madrid, and retired upon Burgos, but finding themselves unable to stem the torrent of war which poured down upon them with overwhelming violence, they destroyed Burgos castle, and withdrew behind the Ebro, the passage of which river they were prepared to defend. The English commander, however, moved his army through the wild, romantic, mountain scenery towards the sources of the Ebro, crossed that stream beyond the limits of the enemy's hues, and forced the French army to fall back on Vittoria. On the morning of the 21st of June, the allied army penetrated the valley of Vittoria, attacked the positions of the French forces, under Joseph Bonaparte, in front of that city, and gained a decisive victory, capturing the 130 HISTORICAL RECORD OF E^'- ' ■ ■ II li 1:1 1813 enemy's artillery and baggage, and afterwards forcing the discomfited legions of Napoleon through the Pyre- nean mountains. The Royal Highlanders shared in these brilliant exploits; but did not sustain any loss. The fortress of St. Sebastian was besieged, Pampe- luna was blockaded, and the allied army occupied a position in the Pyrenees. Marshal Soult having succeeded Joseph Bonaparte in the command of the French army, which was re-or- ganized and reinforced under his directions, advanced on the 25th of July, and attacked the British positions in the Pyrenees j with the view of relieving the blockade of Pampeluna. A series of actions in the mountains followed, which were continued for several days; the French obtaining some advantage at the beginning, but ultimately British prowess prevailed, and the enemy was driven back to the confines of France, with severe loss. In this mountain warfare the contending forces evinced firmness and intrepidity, and the valour and constancy of the British troops were eminently conspi- cuous. On this occasion the Royal Highlanders had an opportunity of earning another honorary inscrip- tion for their regimental colours, on which the word " Pyrenees" is displayed, by royal authority, to com- memorate their gallantry. Lieutenant-Colonel Stir- ling received the addition of a clasp to the medal previously acquired: Lieutenant - Colonel Robert Macara also received a medal. St. Sebastian was captured in the early part of September; the passage of the Bidassoa was eiFected on the 7th of October, when the British troops entered France; and on the 31st of October, Pampeluna surren- dered, after a blockade of four months. The Forty- second had one seijeant, oi drummer, and twelve rank and file wounded duriri , the period they were before this fortress. THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 131 From the lofty Pyrenees, the British looked down 1813 on the well-guarded territories of the great enemy of their country ; before tliera appeared a line of fortifica- tions, on the river Nivelle, and stretching from the mountain behind Ainhoe to the sea, which presented a formidable barrier to their advance; but the soldiers who had chased the famed legions of Napoleon from the gates of Lisbon to the boundary of the Spanish domi- nions, were ready to assault these stupendous works of art, and carry their conquering arms into the interior of France. Conscious of their own prowess, and confi- dent in their great leader, they descended the moun- tains in the night, forded the river at daylight on the 10th of November, and carried the fortifications by storm, capturing fifty guns and many prisoners. The gallant bearing of the Royal Highlanders, on this occasion, is commemorated by the word "Nivelle," on their regimental colour. Their loss was five private soldiers killed; Captain Mungo McPherson, Lieute- nant Kenneth McDougall, one serjeant, and twenty rank and file, wounded. Their commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel R. Macara, received the addition of a clasp to his medal; Major William Cowell also eived a medal for commanding a light infantry battalion. Following up this career of victory, the allied army crossed the Nive on the 9th of December, and attacked the enemy^s positions beyond that river with success. The French quitted their intrenched camp at Bayonne, and attacked the British divisions on the following four days, but were repulsed. Bv their conduct on this occasion, the Forty-second acquired the honor of bearing the word "Nive" on their colour; and their commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel R. Macara, was rewarded with an additional honorary distinction. Their loss was, Captain George Stewart, Lieutenant ill 132 HISTORICAL RECORD OF IL-''' U: ' 1813 James Stewart, and ten rank and fib killed; one Serjeant and fifteen rank and file wounded, 1814 After this success, the severity of the weather detained the British troops a few weeks in quarters; but in the middle of February, 1814, active operations were resumed. The Forty-second shared in the movements of the army, and they were sharply en- gaged, on the 27th of February, at Orthes^ where they maintained their high reputation. On this occasion the enemy successfully resisted the repeated eflforts of the allies to gain the heights; but the British com- mander changed the plan of attack, and the result was a brilliant, rapid, and total defeat of the French army. The Royal Highlanders were afterwards rewarded with the royal authority to bear the word **Orthes" on their regimental colour, to commemorate their gal- lantry on this occasion; and the usual honorary dis- tinction was conferred on their commanding officer, Lieutenant-Colonel R. Macara. Major William CowELL received a clasp, in addition to his medal for Nivelle, for his conduct at the head of a battalion of light infantry. Their loss was Lieutenant and Adjutant Innes, one serjeant, one drummer, and five rank and file killed ; Major William Cowell, Captain James Walker, Lieutenants Duncan Stewart and James Bran- der, two serjeants, one drummer, and one hundred and forty-three rank and file wounded. Following the rear of the retreating enemy, the allied army approached the city of Toulouse, where the French army occupied a line of formidable intrench- ments in the suburbs, and beyond the river Garonne, which Marshal Soult appeared determined to defend. The allies crossed the river on a pontoon bridge, and attacked the enemy's positions on the 10th of April. On this occasion, the Forty-second, Seventy-ninth, and Ninety-first regiments, commanded by Major- THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 13S ." General Pack, supported by the Thirty-sixth, Thirty- 1814 seventh, and Sixty-first Regiments, under Major- General Lambert, attacked and carried a portion of the enemy^s lines, and a redoubt, and they established themselves on the heights on which the works were constructed ; the French retreating to a redoubt and a fortified farm-house at a short distance. The Forty- second, and other regiments of their brigade, after- wards advanced along the summit of the heights to attack the works at the farm-house, and two centre re- doubts; and as the Royal Highlanders moved for- ward across the fields, exposed to the destructive fire of the enemy's lines, redoubts, and intrenchments, without firing a shot, the steady and determined bearing of the regiment excited universal admiration: when the sol- diers reached the redoubts, they leaped into the trenches with the rnost heroic bravery, capturing the works at the point of the bayonet. The Forty-second occu- pied two redoubts on the left, the Seventy-ninth one on the right, and the Ninety-first were stationed in the rear of the farm-house. In order to regain, if possible, these posts, a strong column of the enemy advanced along a deep road with high banks, which concealed its approach, and made so furious an attack, and with such superior numbers, that the Forty-second were forced to retire to the farm-house, where they were promptly supported by the Ninety-first ; and after a determined effort, the French were driven down the hill with severe loss: many gallant Highlanders also fel. in the conflict. The Forty- second took post in the outward redoubts, the Seventy-ninth in the centre one, and the Ninety-first formed in the farm-yard. Scarcely had the defeated French column arrived in the plain below, when a fresh body of the enemy came rushing up the heights with an impetuosity which threatened to overpower all oppo- sition ; but the steady valour of the British regiments \% 134 HISTORICAL RECORD OF ii 1814 prevailed, and the enemy gave up the attempt, his retreat being hastened by the advance of other portions of the allied army. Being unable to resist the attacks of their opponents, the French withdrew within the town. The Royal Highlanders gained great honor on this occasion. The British commander stated in his public despatch — "The Thirty-sixth, Forty-second, '^Seventy-ninth, and Sixty-first Regiments lost con- "siderable numbers, and were highly distinguished " throughout the day." The royal authority was afterwards given for the regiment to bear the word *' Toulouse'* on its colours, to commemorate its distinguished gallantry on this occasion; and its commanding officer, Lieutenant- Colonel R. Macara, received a cross and clasp for commanding the regiment in five general engagements; he was also honored with the dignity of Knight Com- mander of the Order of the Bath. The loss of the regiment was, — Captain John Swanson, Lieutenant William Gordon, Ensigns John Latta and Donald Mc Cremmen, five Serjeants, and seventy-five rank and file killed: Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Robert Macara, K.C.B., Captains James Walker, John Henderson, and Alexander Mc Kenzie, Lieu- tenants Donald Mc Kenzie, Thomas Munro, Hugh A. Fraser, James Robertson, R. A. Mc Kinnon, Roger Stewart, Robert Gordon, Charles Mc Laren, Alexander Stewart, Alexander Strange, Alexander Innes, Donald Farquharson, James Watson, and William Urquhart, Ensigns Thomas Mc Niven, Colin Walker, James Gcddes, Mungo Mc Pherson, and John Malcolm, twelve Serjeants, four drummers, and three hundred and ten rank and file wounded. Captain Henderson and Lieutenant Farquharson died of their wounds. The following extracts from Reminiscences of a Campaign in 1814, by John Malcolm, Esq., late of -^ y TJIE PORTY-SECOND FOOT. l$$ t( it the Forty-second Highlanders, who shared in the 1814 gallant exploits of the regiment, contain so ably written an account of the Attack on the Heights of Toulouse, that, in justice to the writer, and to his corps, they are inserted in the Regimental Records. "The City of Toulouse is defended with an ancient " wall flanked with towers, and is surrounded on three " sides by the great canal of Languedoc, and the River " Garonne. Marshal Soult had fortified the suburb " of St. Cipriani, on the left side of the canal, and had " established such works in front of the walls, (by " which they were also covered,) as to make it a very " strong tSte-de-pont. All the bridges over the canal ** were likewise strengthened by tttes-de-pont, covered " by musketry and artillery from the ancient wall. Beyond the canal, and eastwards as far as the River Ers, extends a range of hills, over which pass all the ** roads to the canal and town. On this ridge Marshal ** Soult had erected a chain of five redoubts, connected " by lines of intrenchment, all mounted with artillery ; " and as the bridges over the River Ers had been ** broken down, and the roads rendered impracticable " by the continued rains, it was impossible to move " upon the enemy's flank on the west side; and no " alternative remained but to attack him in this formi- " dable position. " Early on Sunday morning, the 10th of April, our " tents were struck, and we moved with the other regi- " ments of the sixth division towards the neighbour- " hood of Toulouse, until ordered to halt on a level " ground, from whence we had a distinct view of the " enemy's position on the ridge of hills already men- " tioned. "At the same time we saw Lord Wellington, " accompanied by his staff, riding back from the front " at a hard trot. Some of the men called out, ' There I mWI^ i ^ ' ii ll;'^ ':i 'i 136 HTSTORICAL RECORD OF u tt 1814 " 'goes Wellingt n, my lads; we shall have some hot " ' work presently/ " At that moment Major-General Pack, \vho com- ** m ;nded our briga^le, came up, and calling its officers " and non-commissioned officers round him, addressed " them to the following eflfect: — *We are this day to * attack the enemy; your business will be to take ' possession of those fortified heights, which you see " * towards the front. I have only to warn you »,j be " 'prepared to form close column in case of a charge ** 'of cavalry; to restrain the impetuosity of the men; " * and t^ prevent them from wasting their ammuni- " ' tion.' The drums then beat to arms, and we " received orders to move towards the enemy's posi- « tion. "Our division (the sixth) approached the foot of the ridge of heights on the enemy's right, and moved in a direction parallel to them, until we reached the point of attack. We advanced under a heavy can- nonade, and arrived in front of a redoubt, which protected the right of the enemy's position, where we were formed in two lines, — the first, consisting of some Portuguese regiments, — and the reserve, of the Highland brigade. "Darkening the whole hill, flanked by clouds of cavalry, and covered by the fire of their redoubt, the enemy came down upon us like a torrent ! Their " generals and field-officers riding in front, and waving • their hats amidst shouts of the multitude, resembling " the roar of an ocean ! ! Our Highlanders, as if " actuated by one i' tinctive impulse, took off their " bonnets, and waving them in the air^ returned their " greeting with three cheers ! ! ! "A deathlike silence ensued for some moments, " and we could observe a visible pause in the advance " of tne enemy ! At that moment the light company t( Si it i( tt a n !r:| - Si iliii! TftE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 137 « « « u « it « «( (f t( u s< t( C( ti <( t( (( (( (t (( « tt tt ft i< of the Forty-second Regiment, by a well-directed 1814 fire, brought down some of the French officers of distinction, as they rode in front of their respective corps ! The enemy immediately fired a volley into our lines, and advanced upon us amidst a deafening roar of musketry and artillery ! Our troops answered their fire only once, and unappalled by their furious onset, advanced up the hill, and met them at the charge! Upon reaching the summit of the ridge of heights, the redoubt, which had covered their advance, fell into our possession; but they still retained four others, with their connecting lines of intrenchments, upon the level of the same heights on which we were now established, and into which they had retired. *^* Meantime, our troops were drawn up along a road, which pa8«ied over the hill, and which, having a high bank at each side, protected us in some measure from the general fire of their last line of redoubts. Here our brigade remained until Marshal Beresford^s Artillery, which, in consequence of the badness of the roads, had been left in the village of Mont Blanc> could be brought up, and until the Spaniards under General Don Manuel Freyre, which, in proceeding along the left of the Ers, had been repulsed, could be reformed, and brought back to the attack. " Marshal Beresford's Artillery having arrived, and the Spanish troops being once more brought forward, Major-General Pack rode up in front of our brigade, and made the following announcement: — *I have *ju8t now been with General Clinton, and he has * been pleased to grant my request, that in tlie cliarge 'which we are now to make upon the enemy's 'redoubts, the Forty-second Regiment shall have 'the honour of leading on the attack; the Forty- * second will advance.' " We immediately began to form for the charge 42. 1 \^ III i.. ir. J ■■■ f".". SI, ii 138 HISTORICAL RECORD OF 1814 " upon the redoubts, which were about two or three " hundred yards distant, and to which we I .*d to pass " over some ploughed fields. The grenadiers of the " Forty-second Regiment, followed by the other " companies, led the way, and began to ascend from the " road; but no sooner were the feathers of their bonnets " seen rising over the embankment, than such a " tremendous fire was opened from the redoubts and " intrenchments, as in a very short time would ha^ e " annihilated them. The right wing, therefore, hastily " formed into line, and without waiting for the left, " which was ascending by companies from the road, *•' rushed upon the batteries, which vomited forth a " most furious and terrific storm of fire, grape-shot, and " musketry ! "The redoubts were erected along the side of a " road, and defended by broad ditches filled with water. " Just before our troops reached the obstruction, how- " ever, the enemy deserted them, and fled in all direc- " tions, leaving their last line of strong-holds in our possession; but they still possessed two fortified <( tt houses close by, from which they kept up a galling " and destructive fire ! Out of about five hundred " men, which the Forty-secomd brought into action, " scarcely ninety reached the fatal redoubt from which " the enemy had fled ! " As soon as the smoke began to clear away, the " enemy made a last attempt to retake their redoubts, " and for this purpose advanced in great force: they " were a second time repulsed with great loss, and ** their whole army was driven into Toulouse, which " they evacuated on the 12th of April." In a few days after this victory, the object of twenty years' war was accomplished: France was humbled. Napoleon was removed from the imperial throne, and the Bourbon dynasty was restored. (( I (t j THE FORTY SECOND FOOT. 139 iree pass the ither I the inets ch a t and ha^e astily 5 left, road, jrth a )t, and 3 of a 1 water. 1, how- l direc- in our brtified galling lundred action, n which ivay, the edoubts, e: they oss, and , which )bject of ince was imperial The Royal Highlanders had fought and con- 1814 quered for the good of mankind; and the voice of fame proclaimed their heroic deeds. The blessings of rescued millions, delivered from the grasp of oppression, had followed the British army in its victorious career; and the consummation of the object of these toils and combats, was hailed as the jubilee of Europe. The word " Peni.:, a richly-chased silver tripod, with fluted bowl, wtlj^' ing nearly eight Imndred ounces, ornamented with thistle foliage, and supported on a triangular phntli, on one of the fates of which was the obverse of a medal, struck to commemorate the battle of Alexandria, and representing the head of Sir Ralpli Abercromby, with the inscription, — " Abercrum- *' biuM lh(x in Egypto cecidit victor, 21 Mar. iHOl." On another face was the reverse of the same medal, which represented the taking of the Invincible Standard, with the inscription, — " Na Tir a chaisin Buardh sun ''Eipharl, 21 Mary 1801." The third face bore the in- scription, — " (yChummitn Gaid/icufach d'an Threieadan " Dubh na i2 nd livgimcnt." The three subjects were THE FORTY-SECOND FOOT. 149 severally encircled with laurel, and supported by an 1817 ancient and modern Highlander, with appropriate em- blems from designs by Mr. West, president of the Royal iVrademy. The plinth rested on the backs of three recumbent Egyptian sphinxes, on a triangular base. Leaving Glasgow in April, the regiment proceeded to Port Patrick, where it embarked for Ireland, and land- ing at Donaghadee, marched from thence to Armagh, detaching parties to all the adjacent towns. In these quarters the regiment received the approbation of Major- General Burnet, who stated in orders, dated the 28th of June, — " The orderly and soldierlike conduct of the men " in quarters, their martial appearance under arms, in "short, everything connected with this gallant and " highly-distingTiished corps, show its superior efficiency *' and discipline." These expressions were repeated at the inspection in October ; and similar sentiments were announced by Major-General Sir S. Beckwith, in May of the following year. In June, 1818, the regiment marched to Dundalk; 1818 and in May, 1819, to Dublin, where it remained up- 1819 wards of twelve months, receiving highly commendatory notices in orders, from Major-General White, Major- General Bulwer, and Major-General Sir Colquhoun Grant. On the 29th of January, 1820, the colonelcy of the 1820 regiment was conferred on Lieutenant-General J<^hn Earl of Hopetoun, G.C.B., from the Ninety-second Highlanders, in succession to General the Marquis of Huntly. From Dublin the regiment marched, in August, to Kilkenny and Clonmel, and wliile ut these stations its appearance and discipline were commended in orders liy Major-General Sir Thomas Brisbane, and Major-Genera' Egerton. The regiment marched, in October, 1821, to Rath- 1821 150 HISTORICAL RECORD OF iif.' .'I h' Colonel Middleton, Officers, Non-Commimcned Officers, " and Soldiers of the Royal Highla/idcrs, " y have come hither to assvn: yc ij^liat the conduct of the Forty-second has givtn mt? the liight st de- gree of satisfaction during the ti.ne it has ;;3en i\r « er my orders, and T wish to express to you the dtiep regret I feel at the departure of this gallant and dis- tinguished Corps from the Station under my com- mand. "The highest professi«. Hi 1 fP SUCCESSION OF COLONELS OF THE FORTY-SECOND, OB THE ROYAL HIGHLAND REGIMENT ov FOOT. John, Earl of Crawford. Appointed 25th October ^ 1 739. Lord John Lindsay was of Lowland extraction, but he was initiated into all the habits of the Highlanders from his youth, — having been educated under the eye of his kins- man, John, Duke of Argyle, at whose castle of Ii'^erary he passed his early years, acquiring the language of be High- landers, and becoming attached to the people, their manners, and their dress. In 1713, in the twelfl:h year of his age, he succeeded to the title of Earl of Crawford. He soon became celebrated for skill in horsemanship, dexterity in fencing, and the accomplishments of a courtier and a gentle- man, and appeared formed by nature for the profession of arms. He was captain of a troop in the Soots Gre/s in 1726, end in the Seventh Dragoons in 1732: he was elected one of the sixteen representative peers of Scotland in the same year. In 1734 he was appointed captain-lieutenant in the First Foot Guards, and in October of the same year, captain and lieutenant-colonel in the Third Foot Guards. Being desirous of acquiring a practical knowledge of his profession, he served as a volunteer in the imperial army on the Rhine in 1735, and wai at the battle of Claussen. In 1 I'lm 100 SUCCESSION OF COLONELS. m I'- ii w 1738 he proceeded to Russia, and served under Marshal Munich against the Turks, and signalized himself on several occasions. He afterwards joined the Imperialists near Bel- grade ; and at the battle of Kratzka, on the 22nd of July, 1739, he fought at the head of Palfi's cuirassiers, had his horse killed under him, and received a wound in the thigh, from the effects of which he was never afterwards free. In the same year King George II. selected the Earl op Craw- ford for the colonelcy of the regiment formed of independent companies in the Highlands of Scotland, now the Forty- second, or the Royal Highlanders. In 1740 his Majesty removed him to the Second, or Scots Troop of Horse Grena- dier Guards, and in 1743, to the Fourth, or Scots Troop of life Guards, which gave him the privilege of taking the court duty of Gold Stick. The Earl op Crawford com- manded the brigade of Life Guards and Horse Grenadier Guards at the battle of Dettingen in 1743, and at the battle ofFontenoy in 1745, on both of which occasions he dis- played great judgment and courage. In the early part of 1746 his lordship served in Scotland, and secured Stirling, Perth, and other passes into the Highlands, while the Duke of Cumberland pursued the insurgent clans towards Inver- ness. In December, when King George II. had resolved to incorporate the Third and Fourth Troops of Hors Guards into the First and Second Troops, the Earl op Cuawford was appointed colonel of the Twenty-fifth Regiment, and was s'^on afterwards removed to the Scots Greys. lie com- manded a brigade of cavalry at the I)att1e of Roucoux on the 11th of October, 1740, when ho evinced great gulhintry: he also served in the Netherlands in 1747 and 1748. lie died at Loudon on the 25th of December, 1 749. Huan Lord Skmpill. Apitoi'fted 14/A January, 1741. The Honorable Hugh Semimll, fifth son of Anne, Baroness of Sfmpill, and consort of Loid Glaspford, choosing .1 SUCCESSION Of COLONELS. m tue profession of arms, obtained the commission of ensign in a regimeiit of foot, in July, 1709, and he served with re- putation in Spain, and also in Flanders, under the cele- brated John Duke of Marlborough, and the Duke of Ormond. In I7I6 he succeeded, on the decease of his brother, to the dignity of Lord Sempill. Two years after- wards, he was promoted major of the Twenty-sixth, or Camerouian Regiment of Foot; with which corps he served in Ireland, and also at Gibraltar; and on the 12th of July, 1731, he was promoted to the lieutenant-colonelcy of the Nineteenth Foot; which regiment he commanded with repu- tation several years. His constant attention to all the duties of commanding officer was rewarded, in 1741, with the colonelcy of the Forty-seconi> Highlanders; which corps he accompanied to Flanders in 1743. Lord Sempill was removed to the Twenty-fifth Foot in April, 1745, and was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general in June follow- ing : he distinguished himself in the defence of Aeth in the same year. In the beginning of 1746 he served under the Duke of Cumberland in Scotland, and commanded a brigade at the decisive battle of CuUoden, where the hopes of the Pretender were annihilated. In August following, he pro- ceeded to Aberdeen, and assumed the command of the troops in that quarter; where he died on the 25th of No- vember, 1746; his decease being occasioned by the tendon of his arm being punctured " the operation of phlebotomy. ym id.' Lord John Murray. Apiol fed 25th April, 17 4n. Loud .Tghn Muruav, seventh son of Joan, first r>uke of Atholc, was appointed ensign in a regiment of foot, on the 7th of October, 1727; in 17'^3 he was promoted to lieutenant and ciiptaiu in the Third Foot Ouard?; in 1737 he obtain-l the commission of captain-licutenimt, and was advanced to that of captain and liei'tonant -colonel, in the same corps, in 1738. In 1745 King George II. promoted him to the ^1 it I ! I 163 SUCOBaBION OF COIiONBLS. 1^^ ,: 1 i ''.I. m colonelcy of the Foktt-second Highlanders. He served with his regiment in the Netherlands in 1747> at the relief of Hulst, and the defence of Fort-Sandberg, and commanded the troops in the retreat to Welshorden. He subsequently served as a volunteer in the defence of the lines of Bergen- op-zoom. The rank of major-general was conferred on his lordship in 17^5, that of lieutenant-general in 1758, and of general in 1770. Lord John Murray took great interest in eyeiything connected with his regiment, — of which he was particularly proud, — and his attention was directed to the preservation of the national character of the corps. He was, in a peculiar manner, the friend of every deserving officer and soldier. He appeared in* uniform before the Board at Chelsea Hos- pital, to plead the '' use of the Highlanders disabled at Ticonderago; the men also experienced his generoi^ity at the time, with the offer of the free use of a cottage and garden to all who chose to settle on his estate. He was many years a member of parliament for Perth. He died on the 18th of May, 1787? in his seventy -seventh year; being senior officer in the army at the time. m Sir Hector Munro, K.B. Appointed \st June^ 1787. Hector Mdnro, descended from an ancient family of Ross-shire, was first appointed to a commission in the Thirty- first Regiment, in 1748, during the war of the Austrian succession: — in August, 1756, he was promoted to the rank of captain of a company in the second battalion of the Thirty-first, which, in ^758, was formed intc a distinct Regiment, and numbered the Seventieth Foot. In October, 1759, he was promoted major in the Eighty-ninth Regi- ment, and was placed on half-pay et the peace of Fontaine- bleau, in 1763. He was promoted to the rank of lieutunent- coloncl in October, 1765, and In August, 1767, to that v colonel. He was subsequently appointed commundcr-in-chief SUCCESSION OF COLOMBUI. 163 at Madras, and in 1779 bis distinguished services fbr many years in the East Indies were rewarded with tiie dignity of Knight Companion of the Most Honorable Military Order of the Bath. In 1787 King George III. conferred upon him the colonelcy of the FoRTT-sEoom Rotal Hiohlanobrs. He was promoted lieutenant-general in 1793, and on 1st January, 1 798, he attained the rank of general. He died at Novar, in Boss-shire, on the 26th D^cembei.-, 1805. George, Marquis op Huntly. Appointed 3rd January, 1 806. Georqe, Marquis of Huntly, son of Alexander, fourth Duke of Gordon, choosing the profession of arms, was ap- pointed to a commission in the Thirty-fifth Regiment isk 1790. In the same year he raised an independent company of Highlanders; and exchanging, in January, 1791, to the Forty-second Regiment, he brought with him a fine band of young Highlanders. On the 11th cf July, 1792, he was promoted to captain-lieutenant and lieutenant-colonel in the Third Foot Guards. He accompanied the detachment of Foot Guards to Jiandors in the spring of 1793, was at the action of St. Amand on the 8th of May, and was engaged in driving the French from the position at the village of Famars on the 23rd of May. He was subsequently employed at the siege of Valenciennes, which fortress suiTendered 10 the Duka of York in July. On the 18th of August he was en- gaged at Lincellcs; and he afterwards served at the siege of Dunkirk. When the army went into winter quarters, the Marquis of Huntly returned to England, and in the fol- lowing year he raised a corps of Highlanders, which was num- hpred the Hundredth Regiment, now the Ninety-second, of which he was appointed lieutenant-colonel commandant ort t!\c 10th of February, 1794. He accompanied hib regiment to Gibraltar; and ^ • bis return to England, he was captured by a French privateer. He aftei wards rejoined his regiment at the island of Corsica, where he served upwards of a year; i I|:«»^< r: T ^<- ! im SUCCESSION OP COLONELS. a v*l and on the 3rd of May, 1796, he was promoted to the rant of colonel. On the breaking out of the rebellion in Ireland in 1798, he joined his regiment in that country, where he served as brigadier-general, and was actively employed against the rebels, particularly in "Wexford. He accom- panied the expedition to Holland in 1799, was at th^ land- ing at the Helder, and continued actively until the 2nd of October, when he was woundec ' . battle of Bergen. On the 1st January, 1801, he was p^ ,moted to the rank of major-general; and in 1803 he was appointed to the staflF of North Britain, where he served three years. In Januarj', 1806, he was appointed to the colonelcy of tbe Forty-second, or the Royal I'tghlanders; and in April, 1808, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general. He commanded a division in the exposition to Holland in 1809; and in August, 1819, he was ad', anced to the rank of general. In 1820 he was removed to the First, — the Royal Regiment of Foot, — and in v tew months afterwards he was nominated a Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honorable Military Order of the Bath. In 1827 he succeeded, on the decease of his father, to the dignity of Duke op Gordon; he was also appointed Governor of Edinburgh Castle, and Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland. In 1834 he Avas re- moved to the Scots Fusilier Guards. He was distinguished as a kind-hearted and gallant nobleman and soldier, — con- tributing largely to many charitable institutions. His social, private, and public virtues, endeared him to his family and friends ; and a succession of uninterrupted acts of philan- thropy procured him universal esteem. He died on the 28th of May, 1836; and his remains, by especial command of his Majesty King William IV., were escorted by the First Battalion of the Scots Fusilier Guards from London to Greenwich, where they were placed on board a steam-vessel, for the purpose of being conveyed to Scotland for internw^nt in a mausoleum erected on the paternal estate. By iia« Grace's decease the dukedom became extinct. f SUCCESSION OF COLONELS. 166 John, Earl op Hopetodn, G.C.B. Appointed 29lh January^ 1820. The Honorable John Hope, sou of John, second Earl of Hopetoun, evin'jed a predilection for the profession of arms from his youth, and served a*" a volunteer in his fifteenth year. On the 28th of May, 1784, he was appointed cornet in the Tenth Light Dragoons; two years afterwards, he was nominated lieutenant in the Twenty-seventh Foot, and in 1789, captain in the Seventeenth Light Dragoons; in 1792 he wns promoted major in the First Foot, and in the following year, lieutenant-colonel in the Twenty-fifth Regiment, with which corps he served In the West Indies, where he was appointed adjutant-general, and served the cam- paigns of 1794, 1795, 1796, and 1797* with great distinction, being particularly noticed in the orders and public despatches of Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, and other com- manders. In 1796 he was elected a member of parliament for the county of Linlithgow. He was nominated deputy adjutant-general to the expedition to Holland in 1799, and was severely wounded at the landing in North Holland on the 27th of August. In 1800 he was appointed adjutant- general to the army in the Mediterranean, under Lieutenant" General Sir Ralph Abercromby, and served in the expedition to Egypt: he was at the actions of the 8th and 13th of March, 1801, and was wounded befoie Alexandria on the 21st of March, when Sir Ralph Abercromby received a wound, of which he died on the 28th of March, 1801. Brigadier-General Hope recovered, and requesting to have a brigade, was succeeded as adjutant-general by Colonel Aber- cromby. On the 16th of June, he joined the array before Cairo, with the Twenty-eighth and Fobtv-second Regiments, and ho afterwards evinced ability in conducting the negotia- tions for tlie surrender of the capital of Egypt by the French troops, under General BcUiard. He continued in the com- mand of a brigade until the deliverance of Egypt was nc- I 166 StrCOESSION OF OOLOMRLS. 1i'^ \:: -v. ft complished, and received the second class of the Order of the Crescent established by the Grand Seignior. In 1802 his seryices were rewarded by the colonelcy of the North Lowland Fencible Infantry, and the rank of major-general ; to which was added, in June, 1805, the appointment of deputy-governor of Portsmouth ; but he resigned this ap- pointment soon afterwards, to accompany the troops sent to Hanover under Lieutenant-General' Lord Cathcart. In October, I^>05, he was appointed colonel-commandant of a battalion of the Sixtieth Regiment; and in 1806 he suc- ceeded the Marquis of Huntly in the colonelcy of the Ninety-second Regiment. On the 25th of April, 1808, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general. He was nominated second in command of the expedition to the Baltic, under Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore, and after- wards accompanied the troops to Portugal. He commanded a division of the army which advanced into Spain, under Sir John Moore, and shared in that campaign, and in the battle of Corunna, where he succeeded to the command of the army, — Sir John Moore being killed, and Sir David Baird wounded ; and he succeeded in repulsing the attack of the French under Marshal Soult. On the embarkation of the army, he took particular care to prevent any soldier being left behind, and was the last man who went on board the fleet. His despatch contains an interesting account of the battle. He was thanked for his distinguished services by parliament, was honored with the approbation of his Sove- reign, and the admiration and applause of his country ; and was nominated a Knight of the Most Honorable Military Order of the Bath. After his return from Spain, he served with the Walcheren expedition, under General the Earl of Chatham, and was subsequently commander-in-chief in Ire- land ; from which he was removed, in 1813, to the appoint- ment of second in command in the Peninsula. Lieutenant- General Sir John Hope commanded the left wing of the army at the battle of the Nivelle on the 10th of November, and signalised himself at the battle of the Nive, in December; on which occasion the British commander stated in his tUCCBSSION OP COLONELS. 167 public deipatcb'^" I cannot sufficiently applaud the ability, " ooolneii, and judgment, of Lieutenant-General Sir John " Hope." He passed the Adour with the left wing of the ar. :/ in February, ^314, and blockaded the important fr^L^^M of Bayonno,— in which serrice he evinced great abMi y Mid perseverance; and he remained in the command of the blockading force until the termination of the war. After Napoleon had abdicated, the French commandant at Bayonne, not believing the news, made a sortie on the night of the 14th of April, and gained some advantage. Lieut.- Gencral Sin Jobn H<)x £: coming up with some troops in the dark, encountered the enemy, when his horse was shot, and fell upon him, and he was wounded and taken prisoner. The French were, hovrever, repulsed. At the restoration of peace, he rotumod to Engi<:nd with a high reputation. He received the thanks of parliament; a medal and a clasp for the battles of Corunna and the Nive; was elevated to the peerage of the United Kingdom by the title of Baron Niddry, of Niddry in the county of Linlithgow, and was nominated a Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honorable Military Order of the Bath. He afterwards succeeded to the dignity of Earl of HoPRTOUN. Iv. Itilfi he was promoted to the rank of general, and was appointed colonel of the Forty-second, or the ItoYAL Hiohlandbrs, in 1820. He died at Paris on the 27tb of August, 1823. The Riant Hon. Stii George Murray, G.C.B., G.C.H. Appointed 6lh September, 1823. Rrmovbd to the First, or the Royal Regiment of Foot, on the 2l)th Dccerab ir, 1843. m Sir John Macdonald, K.C.B. Appointed from the Sixty-seventh Regiment on the 15'/i Jamiary, 1844. his m s 1 K 1 1 169 SUCCESSION OF LIEUTENANT-COLONELS OF TUU FORTY-SECOND ROYAL HIGHLAND REGIMENT. Names. Sir Robert Monro Jolm Monroe John Campbell . Francis Grant . Gordon Graham Thomas Graeme . Thomas Stirling . Norman Maclcod Charles Graham William Dickson James Stewart . James Stirling . Robert Lord Blantyre John Farquharson Robert Macara . Sir George Leith, Bt. Robert Henry Dick . Hon. Sir Charles l Gordon . . / William Middletou George Johnstone Henry Earl of Uxbridge Duncan Alex. Cameron 42. I'utes of \i .intment. May 39 ;45 24, 1749 Dec. 17, 1755 July Dec. 9, 1762 12, 1770 Sep. 7, 1771 March 21, 1780 April 28, 1782 Sep. Dec. Sep. 1, 1795 14, 1796 7, 1804 Sep. 19, 1804 3, 1808 16, 1812 March April May June Nov. Oct. Aug. Sep. Sep. 6, 1813 18, 1815 25, 182a 23, 1835 23, 1839 5, 1843 6, 1843 Datea of Removal, flto. I Promoted to Colonely of Pon- ( sonby's Regt., June 17, 1745. Died in 1749. ( Promoted to Colonelcy of Fifty- t sixth Foot, December 23, 1755. I Promoted to be Colonel-Cora- < mandant of Ninetieth Regi- I ment, February 19, 1762. Retired December 12, 1770. Retired September 7, 1771. j Promoted to Seventy-first Regi* I ment, February 1.% 1782. j Removed to Seventy-tliird in ' 1786, which regiment was I formed from second battalion '• of the Forty-second Regiment. I Promoted to a regiment serving < in the West Indies, Novem- I ber 30, 1796. Retu-ed March 3, 1808. Retired September 19, 1804. ( Promoted to rank of Major- I General, June 4, 1814. r Exchanged to half-pay, late < Eighth Garrison Battalion, I May 6, 1813. Retired April 16, 1812. Killed in action, June 16, 1815. ( Placed on half-pay, December 25, 1814. t ( Exchanged to half-pay, Novem- ) ber 26, 1828. j Died at Geneva, September 30, \ 1830. Retired August 23, 1839. I Exchanged to half-pay, Septem- I ber 5, 1843. Retired September 5, 1843. Now commanding the regiment. .^^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^j^ 4^ 1.0 I.I Z Ufi |2.0 m • 1^ 11^ Ui^ V W AM^BBMHIMMI^B VIITfiH^H^B^^^iB^ lllll^^^^^^^l^lt M 6" » Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WIST MAIN STtUT WIMTH.N.Y. USM (7U)I73-4S03 170 SUCCESSION OF MAJORS or THE FORTY-SECOND ROYAL HIGHLAND RE6IBIENT. NamMk Dates of Appointment. Dates of RemoTal, fte. George Grant James Colquhoua Franeia Grant . Dnncan Campbell Gordon Graham John Reid John Mo Neil . Allan Campbell . John Mnrray Thomaa Grame . Thomas Stirling William Murray William Grant . Charles Graham Patrick Graham Walter Home . John Campbell . Hay Maodowall . George Dalrymple William Dickson Robert Pigot Christie William Monro . James Stewart . Al^izander Stewart James Stirling . . John Farquhaiwm Arohd. A. Campbell . Charles Maoquaria . Jamea Grant Robert Macara . Oct June Oct. Deo. July Aug. July 26, 1739 24, 1742 1, 1745 17, 1765 17, 1768 1, 1769 9,1762 Aug. 16, 1762 Feb. March Dee. Sep. Oct Aug. March A^pril Oct 10, 1770 31, 1770 12, 1770 7, 1771 8, 1777 26, 1778 21, 1780 28, 1782 23, 1781 March 24, 1784 March 16, 1791 Jan. Sep. Sep. Oct June Dee. July July Sep. Sep. Nor. 14, 1796 1, 1706 2, 1796 31, 1796 24, 1796 14, 1796 9, 180S 9, 1803 7,1804 7, 1804 14, 1806 Died in 1742. Retired m 1745. Promoted December 17, 1766. Killed at Ticonderago. Promoted July 9, 1762. /Exchanged to half-pay, Febru- \ arylO, 1770. Died in 1762. {Placed on half-pay on the reduc- tion of the regiment, Mardi 18, 1763. Retired March 31, 1770. Pmnoted December 12, 1770. Promoted September 7, 1771. ( Promotci to Twenty-aerenth \ Regiment, October 6, 1777 Retired August 26, 1778. Promoted April 28, 1782. Died October 22, 1781. Retired March 16, 1791. Died March 23, 1784. (Removed in 1786 to Seventy- third, which corps was formed from second battalion Forty- seo(Hid Regiment Promoted to Nineteenth Foot, t December 31, 1794. Promoted September 1, 1796. Died June 23, 1796. (Promoted to Caithneen Legion I Fenciblev, October 21, 1796. Promoted December 14, 1796. Retired September 7, 1804. Promoted September 7, 1804. Promoted March 3, 1808. Died hi February, 1809. Retired May 2, 1811. Retired November 1 i. 1600. Promoted April 16, 1418. SUCCESSION OF MAJORS. 171 )5. Ni JHtMOt ▲ppointacBt. DatMof II«in«Tal, Ice. Thomu J«ihiiatoD Robert Henry Diek Hamilton Rose . WilliMD Monro . WUIiam CoweU . Mkxwell Grant . Robert Anstruther Archd. Menzies James Braoder . William Middleton . John Malcolm . Hngh Andrew Fraaer Ctoorge Johnatonn James Maedounll Duncan Alex. Cameron Charles Dunsmnre March 3,1808 July Feb. May May Oct. April June April Aug. Dec. Dec. May Oct. Aug. Sep. 14, 1808 9i 1809 2, 1811 30, 1311 10, 1811 16, 1812 18, 1815 8, 1826 15, 1826 25, 1828 3, 1829 4, 1832 23, 1835 23, 1839 5, 1843 Exchanged to half-pay, Brad- I Shaw's Levy, July 14, 1808. Promoted June 18, 1815. Died in October, 1811. {Exchanged to half-pay. Royal Regiment of Malta, May 30, 1811. Retired April 8, 1826. Placed on half-pay, December 25, 1814. Placed on half-pay, December 25, 1814. Retired December 25, 1828. [Promoted to an unattached { Lieut-Colonelcy, August 15^ I 1826. Promoted October 23, 1835. Died at Cork, November 14, 1829. t Exchanged to half-pay, un- attached, May 4, 1832. Promoted August 23, 1839. Now serving with the regiment. Promoted September 5, 1843. Now serving with the regiment. / L 2 v.:^^ ■■of»*-i' ■t^.t^--i Xo*-"' H .:j^'^^ .:,■' ^1. ■. ';: y''- f- J '-.-f ,{,«•;-'■■--•> ' I' • -* yJil ■^-=:.'-. '^- '^>ur-:- -^^ 'A-' r.. ,;,-',»^,... ■,■•.',. ■** f .- T * ■ ■'•< :' -^ APPENDIX ;• :-, r-. TO • *■ - THE HISTORICAL RECORD OP THE SERV ICES OF THE ^- ..4f FORTY-SECOND, ROYAL HIGHLAND REGIMENT. The Regiment of Highlanders, as stated in the Regimental 1743 Record, embarked from Gravesend for Flanders in the month of May, 1743. Arriving at Brussels about the end of May, they were not in sufficient time to share in the Battle of Ddtingen, which took place on the 16th of June of that year. They were encamped near Hanau until August, when they ad- vanced towards the Rhine, and were employed in West Ger- many until October, after which they returned to Flanders. The Highlanders continued in quarters at Brussels until the i^/^^ spring of 1744, when the Allied Army under the command of Generals Wade, Count Maurice of Nassau, and the Duke d'Aremberg, passed the Scheld in July, in order to bring Mar- shal Saxe, commanding a division of the French army, to an engagement. The French aimy in Flanders had been considerably weak- ened by a detachment of 30,000 men having been sent for the defence of Alsace, where Prince Charles of Lorraine, command- ing the Austrian army, had been successful. Marshal Saxe, finding his corps inferior in numbers to the Confederates, threw up strong entrenchments behind the Lys, between Ghent and Courtray, and remained on the defensive until he received a reinforcrraent under the Duke de Clermont. The Allied generals advanced towards Helchin, where they formed an encampment in two lines ; but the enemy being so 174 APPENDIX. adyanta^onsly posted that they could not attack bim with any prospect of advantage, they filed on in sight of Toumay, and on the 8th of Augast encamped in the plains of Lisle, in hope of drawing Marshal Saxe from the situation in which he was strongly fortified : here they foraged for several days, and laid the country under contributions, but they made no attempt on the place itself, which, being provided only with a weak gar- rison, would, in all probability, have fallen into their hands, had they invested it on their first approach ; but the Allied generals had not artillery sufiicient for such an undertaking, and were dilatory and indecisive. Marshal Saxe seized an opportu- nity of throwing a considerable re-inforcement into the garrison, and the Allies, after remaining until the end of September in sight of Lisle, and making a general forage with little molesta- tion, c