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Sttk-f- ,J§ >*; *", ',$ % ■^ ■? •N V \ . X s ,. ", \ > V \- ( .•^\«.^ 'A 'Vtsr ^:: r-v >;- N ( - ^ ^ ' ^ ^ ^ ' \J GENERAL ORDERS. HORSE GUARDS, \st January ^ 1836. His Majesty has been pleased to command that, with the view of doing the fullest justice to Regi- ments, as well as to Individuals who have dis- tinguished themselves by their bravery in Action with the Enemy, an Account of the Services of every Regiment in the British Army shall be pub- lished under the superintendence and direction of the Adjutant-General ; and that this Account shall contain the following particulars, viz. : — The Period and Circumstances of the Original Formation of the Regiment ; The Stations at which it has been from time to time employed; The Bat- tles, Sieges, and other Military Operations in which it has been engaged, particularly specifying any Achievement it may have performed, and the Colours, Trophies, &c., it may have captured from the Enemy. The 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. a / u GENERAL ORDERS. The Names of those Officers who, m con- sideration of their Gallant Services and Meritorious Conduct in Engagements with the Enemy, have been distinguishei 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 Regi- ment may have been perraittedl 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 Right Honorable GENERAL LORD HILL, ;. Commanding'in-Chief, John Macdonald, Adjutant- General. ^ HI ) ?* v.r,5>',>' •i '' >(>'■>' . •(■ :I7'' PREFACE. f-MfV:^,- The character and credit of the British Army must chiefly depend upon the zeal and ardour by which all 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 accomplish- ment 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 ex- amples 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 honorable career, are among the motives that have given rise to the present publication. The operations of the British Troops are, indeed, announced in the " London Gazette," from whence they are transferred into the public prints: the achievements of our armies are thus made known at the time of their occurrence, and receive the tribute o2 iv PREFACE. of praise and admiration to which they are entitled. On extraordinary occasions, the Houses of Parlia- ment have been in the habit of conferring on the Conmaanders, and the OflScers and Troops acting under 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 prizes. It has not, however, until late years, been the prac- tice (which appears to have long prevailed in some of the Continental armies) for British Regiments to keep regular records of their services and achievements. Hence some difficulty has been experienced in obtain- ing, particularly from the old Regiments, an authen- tic 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 Regiment 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 PREFACE. V long a period, been undisturbed by the presence of warf which few other countries have escaped, com- paratively 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 country derives from the industry and the enter- prise 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 sufferings, — 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, andendurance, have shoneconspicuously under great and trying difficulties; and their character has been established in Continental 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 main- tained their advantages against superior numbers. In the Official Reports made by the respective Commanders, 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 n PREFACE. bravery can only be fully given 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 Office ; and while the perusal of them can- not 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 served in the Army, or who have relatives in the Service. There exists in the breasts of most of those who have served, or are serving, in the Army, an Esprit de Corps —an attachment to everything 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 moments of danger and terror, have stood ** firm as the rocks of their native shore :" and when half the world has been arrayed against them, they have fought the battles of their Country with un- shaken fortitude. It is presumed that a record of achievements in war, — victories so complete and surprising, gained by our countrymen, our brothers, iu_. PREFACE. vii 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 distinguished 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 Regiment, as testify- ing 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 num- ber, so that when the whole shall be completed the Parts may be bound up in numerical succession. I T;i. / / .i'.i Ma f '.K/a!- ivSr^v' ':■/■' .'■Ui ".'•"i- y 1-m' .■n\ .;■.•:.■:..)■.; ''^*^ INTRODUCTION TO '^'.' .■I-'., THE INFANTRY. „, ..^ '^ -;■■ !■ The natives of Britain have, at all periods, been celebrated for innate courage and unshaken firmness, and the national superiority c^ the British troops over those of other countries has been evinced in the midst of the most imminent perils. History con- tains so many proofs of extraordinary acts of bravery, that no doubts can be raised upon the facts which are recorded. It must therefore be admitted, that the distinguishing feature of the British soldier is Intrepidity. This quality was evinced by the inhabitants of England when their country was invaded by Julius Caesar with a Roman army, on which occasion the undaunted Britons rushed into the sea to attack the Roman soldiers as they de- scended from their ships ; and, although their dis- cipline and arms were inferior to those of their adversaries, yet their fierce and dauntless bearing intimidated the flower of the Roman troops, in- cluding Caesar's favourite tenth legion. Their arms consisted of spears, short swords, and other weapons of rude construction. They had chariots, to the I'll : ! 1 I Z INTRODUCTION axles of which were fastened sharp pieces of iron resembling scythe-blades, and infantry in long chariots resembling waggons, who alighted and fought on foot, and for change of ground, pursuit or retreat, sprang into the chariot and drove off with the speed of cavalry. These inventions were, however, unavailing against Caesar s legions : in the course of time a military system, with dis- cipline and subordination, was introduced, and British courage, being thus regulated, was exerted to the greatest advantage ; a full development of the national character followed, and it shone forth in all its native brilliancy. The military force of the Anglo-Saxons consisted principally of infantry : Thanes, and other men of property, however, fought on horseback The infantry were of two classes, heavy and light. The former carried large shields armed with spikes, long broad swords and spears ; and the latter were armed with swords or spears only. They had also men armed with clubs, others with battle-axes and javelins. The feudal troops established by William the Conqueror consisted ( as already stated in the Intro- duction to the Cavalry) almost entirely of horse : but when the warlike barons and knights, with their trains of tenants and vassals, took the field, a pro- portion of men appeared on foot, and, although these were of inferior degree, they proved stout- heartea Britons of stanch fidelity. When stipen- diary troops were employed, infantry always con- stituted a considerable portion of the military force ; TO THE INFANTRY. XI s of iron in long ted and , pursuit Irove off •ns were, ons : in dth dis- ed, and exerted iment of ne forth lonsisted men of i The light. 1 spikes, er were lad also xes and iam the e Intro- liorse : th their , a pro- though stout- stipen- 's con- force ; and this arme ha? .-' e acquired, in every quarter of the globe, a ce brity never exceeded by the armies of any nation at any period. The weapons carried by the infantry, during the several reigns succeeding the Conquest, were bows and arrows, half-pikes, lances, halberds, various kinds of battle-axes, swords, and daggers. Armour was worn on the head and body, and in course of time the practice became general for military men to be so completely cased in steel, that it was almost impossible to slay them. The introduction of the use of gunpowder in the destructive purposes of war, in the early part of the fourteenth century, produced a change in the arms and equipment of the infantry-soldier. Bows and arrows gave place to various kinds of fire-arms, but British archers continued formidable adversaries ; and, owing to the inconvenient construction and im- perfect bore of the fire-arms when first introduced, a body of men, well trained in the use of the bow from their youth, was considered a valuable acqui- sition to every army, even as late as the sixteenth century. During a great part of the reign of Queen Eliza- beth each company of infantry usually consisted of men armed five different ways ; in every hundred men forty were " men-at-arms" and sixty ^^shot ;** the " men-at-arms " were ten halberdiers, or battle- axe men, and thirty pikcmen ; and the " shot " were twenty archers, twenty musketeers, and twenty harquebusiers, and each man carried, besides his principal weapon, a sword and dagger. \M iiii m xu INTRODUCTION Companies of infantry varied at this period in numbers from 150 to 300 men ; each company had a colour or ensign, and the mode of formation re- commended by an English military writer ( Sir John Smithe) in 1690 was ; the colour in the centre of the company guarded by the halberdiers ; the pike- men in equal proportions, on each flank of the halberdiers ; half the musketeers on each flank of the pikes ; half the archers on each flank of the mus- keteers, and the harquebusiers (whose arms were much lighter than the muskets then in use) in equal proportions on each flank of the company for skir- mishing.* It was customary to unite a number of companies into one body, called a Regiment, which frequently amounted to three thousand men ; but each company continued to carry a colour. Nume- rous improvements were eventually introduced in the construction of fire-arms, and, it having been found impossible to make armour proof against the muskets then in use (which carried a very heavy ball) without its being too weighty for the soldier, armour was gradually laid aside by the infantry in the seven- teenth century : bows and arrows also fell into dis- use, and the infantry were reduced to two classes, viz. : musketeers^ armed with matchlock muskets, * A company of 200 men would appear thus : — 20 20 20 .SO 2 .SO 20 ■rquobuwi Aichcrt | Muikvti. Piko*. lUlbi'ila. rikoi, MuHkcti. 20 20 Arcliari. Ilnrquebuaat. The musket carried a ball which wci^^hed -,i^th of a pound ; and the harquebus a ball which weighed ^I'jth of a pound. TO THE INFANTRY. XUl period in ipany had lation re- ( Sir John centre of the pike- k of the I flank of the mus- rms were I in equal for skir- Limber of T, which len; but Nume- ed in the ;n found muskets without 3ur was e seven- nto dis- classes, mskets, 20 llurquebuaaa, ; uiid the swords, and daggers ; SLndpikemen^ armed with pikes from fourteen to eighteen feet long, and rwords. In the early part of the seventeenth century Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, reduced the strength of regiments to 1000 men. He caused the gunpowder, which had heretofore been carried in flasks, or in small wooden bandoliers, each contain- ing a charge, to be made up into cartridges, and carried in pouches ; and he formed each regiment into two wings of musketeers, and a centre division of Pikemen. He also adopted the practice of form- ing four regiments into a brigade ; and the number of colours was afterwards reduced to three in each regiment. He formed his columns so compactly that his infantry could resist the charge of the celebrated Polish horsemen and Austrian cuirassiers ; and his armies became the admiration of other nations. His mode of formation was copied by the English, French, and other European states ; but so great was the prejudice in favour of ancient customs, that all his improvements were not adopted until near a century afterwards. In 1664 King Charles II. raised a corps for sea- service, styled the Admiral's regiment. In 1678 each company of 100 men usually consisted of 30 pikemen, 60 musketeers, and 10 men armed with light firelocks. In this year the King added a com- pany of men armed with hand grenades to each of the old British regiments, which was designated the " grenadier company." Daggers were so contrived as to fit in the muzzles of the muskets, and bayonets, XIV INTRODUCTION ■I.: ir!l^' t ■ t m similar to those at present in use, were adopted about twenty years afterwards. An Ordnance regiment was raised in 1685, by order of King James II., to guard the artillery, and was designated the Royal Fusiliers (now 7th Foot). This corps, and the companies of grenadiers, did not carry pikes. King William III. incorporated the Admiral's regiment in the second Foot Guards, and raised two Marine regiments for sea-service. During the war in this reign, each company of infantry (ex- cepting the fusiliers and grenadiers) consisted of 14 pikemcn and 46 musketeers ; the captains carried pikes ; lieutenants, partisans ; ensigns, half-pikes ; and Serjeants, halberds. After the peace in 1697 the Marine regiments were disbanded, but were again formed on the breaking out of the war in 1 702.* During the reign of Queen Anne the pikes were laid aside, and every infantry soldier was armed with a musket, bayonet, and sword ; the grenadiers ceased, about the same period, to carry hand gre- nades ; and the regiments were directed to lay aside their third colour: the corps of Royal Artillery was first added to the Army in this reign. About the year 1745, the men of the battalion companies of infantry ceased to carry swords ; during *** 'Vhe 3(Hh, Slst, and 32nd Regiments were funned as Marine corps in 17^)2, bnd were employed as such during the wars in the reign of Queen Anne, 'llie Marine corps were embarked in the Fleet under Adiniml Bir ( icorge Rooke, and were at the taking of Gibraltar, and in itt lubiteiiiient defence in 1704 ; they were after^vards employed at the liege of lioroelona in 1706. TO THE INFANTRY. XV "ft?. the reign of George II. light companies were added to infantry regiments; and in 1764 a Board of General Officers recommended that the grenadiers should lay aside their swords, as that weapon had never been used during the Seven Years' War. Since that period the arms of the infantry soldier have been limited to the musket and bayonet. The arms and equipment of the British Troops have seldom differed materially, since the Conquest, from those of other European states ; and in some respects the arming has, at certain periods, been allowed to be inferior to that of the nations with whom they have had to contend ; yet, under this disadvantage, the bravery and superiority of the British infantry have been evinced on very many and most trying occasions, and splendid victories have been gained over very superior numbers. Great Britain has produced a rate of lion-hke champions who have dared to confront a host of foes, and have proved themselves valiant with any arms. At Crecy^ King Edward III., at the head of about 30,000 men, defeated, on the 26th of August, 1346, Philip King of France, whose army is said to have amounted to 100,000 men ; here British valour encountered veterans of renown : — the King of Bo- hemia, the King of Majorca, and many princes and nobles were slain, and the French army was routed and cut to pieces. Ten years afterwards, Edward Prince of Wales, who was designated the Black Prince, defeated at Poictiers^ with 14,000 men, a French army of 60,000 horse, besides infantry, and took John I., King of France, and his son, XVI INTRODUCTION I ! i Philip, prisoners. On the 25th of October, 1415, King Henry V., with an army of about 13,000 men, although greatly exhausted by marches, pri- vations, and sickness, defeated, at Agincourt, the Constable of France, at the head of the flower of the French nobihty and an army said to amount to '60,000 men, and gained a complete victory. During the seventy years' war between the United Provinces of the Netherlands and the Spanish mo- narchy, which commenced in 1578 and terminated in 1648, the British infantry in the service of the States-General were celebrated for their uncon- querable spirit and firmness;* and in the thirty years' war between the Protestant Princes and the Emperor of Germany, the British Troops in the ser- vice of Sweden and other states were celebrated for deeds of heroism.f In the wars of Queen Anne, the fame of the British army under the great Marlborough was spread throughout the world ' and if we glance at the achievements performed within the memory of persons now living, there is abundant proof that the Britons of the present age are not inferior to their ancestors in the qualities if * The brave Sir Roger Williams, in his Discourse on War, printed in 1690, obser^'es : — " I persuade myself ten thousand of our nation would beat thirty thousand of theirs (the Spaniards) out of the field, let them Ije chosen where they list." Yet at this time the Spanish infantry was allowed to be the best disciplined in Europe. For instances of valour displayed by the British Infantry during the seventy Years' War, see the Historical Record of the Third Foot, or Buffs. t Vide the Historical Record of the First, or Royal Regiment of Foot. TO THE INFANTRY. XVU which constitute good soldiers. Witness the deeds of the brave men, of whom there are many now surviving, who fought in Egypt in 1801, under the brave Abercromby , and compelled the French army, which had been vainly styled Invincible^ to eva- cuate that country ; also the services of the gallant Troops during the arduous campaigns in the Pen- insula, under the immortal Wellington ; and the determined stand made by the British Army at Waterloo, where Napoleon Bonaparte, who had long been the inveterate enemy of Great Britain, and had sought and planned her destruction by every means he could devise, was compelled to leave his vanquished legions to their fate, and to place himself at the disposal of the British Govern- ment. These achievements, with others of recent dates, in the distant climes of India, prove that the same valour and constancy which glowed in the breasts of the heroes of Crecy, Poictiers, Agincourt, Blenheim, and Ramilies, continue to animate the Britons of the nineteenth century. The British Soldier is distinguished for a robust and muscular frame, — intrepidity which no danger can appal, — unconquerable spirit and resolution, — patience in fatigue and privation, and cheerful obe- dience to his superiors. These qualities, united with an excellent system of order and discipline to regu- late and give a skilful direction to the energies and adventurous spirit of the hero, and a wise selection of officers of superior talent to command, whose presence inspires confidence, — have been the leading causes of the splendid victories gained by the British b il;i iii m ,1 i mi XVlll INTRODUCTION arms.* The fame of the deeds of the past and present generations in the various battle-fields where the robust sons of Albion have fought and conquered, surrounds the British arms with a halo of glory ; these achievements will live in the page of history to the end of time. The records of the several regiments will be found to contain a detail of facts of an interestingcharacter, connected with the hardships, sufferings, and gallant exploits of British soldiers in the various parts of the world where the calls of their Country and the com- mands of their Sovereign have required them to proceed in the execution of their duty, whether in Hi (( ■ ■ 1 l\'\V Under the blessing of Divine Providence, His Miyesty ascribes the successes which have attended the exertions of his troops in Egypt to that determined bravery which is inherent in Britons; but His Migesty desires it may be most solemnly and forcibly impressed on the conside- ration of every part of the army, that it has been a strict observance of order, discipline, and military system, which has fpyea the full energy to the native valour of the troops, and has enabled them proudly to assert the superiority of the national military character, in situations uncommonly arduous, and under circumstances of peculiar difficulty." — Gmeral Orders in 1801. In the General Orders issued by Lieut.-General Sir John Hope (afterwards Lord Hopetoun), congratulating the army upon the sue- cessful result of the Battle of Corunna, on the 16th of January 1809, it is stated : — " On no occasion has the undaunted valour of British troops ever been more manifest. At the termination of a severe and harassing march, rendered'necessary by the superiority which the enemy had acquired, and which had materially impaired the efficiency of the troops, many disadvantages 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 of numbers he may possess, there is inherent in the British officers and soldiers a bravery that knows not how to yield, — that no circumstances can appal,— and that will ensure victory, when it is to be obtained by the exertion of any human means." - • TO THE INFANTRY. XIX active continental operations, or in maintaining colo- nial territories in distant and unfavourable climes. The superiority of the British infantry has been pre-eminently set forth in the wars of six centuries, and admitted by the greatest commanders which Europe has produced. The formations and move- ments of this armef as at present practised, while they are adapted to every speeies of warfare, and to all probable situations and circumstances of service, are calculated to show forth the brilliancy of military tactics calculated upon mathematical and scientific principles. Although the movements and evolutions have been copied from the continental armies, yet various improvements have from time to time been introduced, to ensure that simplicity and celerity by which the superiority of the national mihtary cha- racter is maintained. The rank and influence which Great Britain has attained among the nations of the world, have in a great measure been purchased by the valour of the Army, and to persons who have the welfare of their country at heart, the records of the several regiments cannot fail to prove inte- resting. /' Xii^ Yt^t%ift^'i%ff ■t.yJ :\ftmf i (>.j'^>_>^ ■ !<• f-t ' ii y- - 1 » *-.* -r: » ■;i i frrr*?- ilif!^? '.if '?.i a ;/i ' 51 r,}f .?{■' ■:\ '?; , w ■) _, ■ I I t.' Kf •:i:<: tt' ,i'i lU-S U., / pJ'f '^J'i HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY: CONTAININO AN AC0OIJ]NT OF THE FORMATION OF THE REGIMENT In 1777, '■• '1 ■ AND OF ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES To 1852. COMPILED BY RICHARD CANNON, ESQ., ADJUTAXT general's OFFICE, HOBSE GUARDS. 3Enu)itrateti tott]^ piatetf. LONDON: PRINTED BY GEORGE E. EYRE AND WILLIAM SPOTTISWOODE, rBlNTEBS TO THE QUEEN's MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY. FOR HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE. rtBLISHED BY PARKER, FURNIVALL, AND PARKER, 30, CHARING CROSS. 1852 THE SEVENTY-FIRST REGIMENT BEARS ON THE REGIMENTAL COLOUR AND APPOINTMENTS THE WORD " IlINDOOSTAN," IN COMMEMORATION OF ITS DISTINGUISHED SERVICES WHILE EMPLOYED IN INDIA FROM 1780 TO 1797; THE WORDS "CAPE OF GOOD HOPE," FOR THE CAPTURE OF THAT COLONY IN JANUARY 1806; THE WORDS " ROLEIA," " VIMIERA," " CORUNNA," " FUENTES d'oNOR," *' ALMARAZ," *' VITTORIA," " PYRENEES," " NIVE," " 0RT1IE8," AND " PENINSULA," IN TESTIMONY OF ITS GALLANTRY IN THE SEVERAL ACTIONS FOUGHT DURING THE WAR IN PORTUGAL, SPAIN, AND THE SOUTH OF FRANCE, FROM 1808 TO 1814' ; AND THE WORD "WATERLOO," IN COMMEMORATION OF ITS DISTINGUISHED SKRVICES AT THAT BATTLE ON THE 18TH OF JUNK 1815. '¥ ■'tm ■ .^:3SS'f Sji; - r,jM. -.- :;- ).:.:; ^ THE ■•'*! . ' SEVENTY-FIRST REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. " : CONTENTS OF THB HISTORICAL RECORD. v« Year. 1777. » 1778. n >» »» n 1779. » » 1780. »» •I *> »> »» 1781. >» II •I II (I II ti II Page. Introdcction - - - • - xiii Formation of the Sbvbntt-thibd regiment, afterwards numbered the Seventy-first Regiment - -2 John Lord Macleod appointed colonel of the regiment • ib. War with France - - - - 3 Removal of the regiment fh>m North Britain to Qoemaey and Jersey - - - - • ib. Proceeded to Portsmouth - ... ib, A second battalion added to the regiment ... ib. Names of officers - > - • - 4 The first battalion embarked for India ... • 5 The second battalion removed from Scotland to Plymouth ib: Siege of Gibraltar by the Spaniards ... ib. The second battalion embarked for Gibraltar • - 6 The first battalion arrived at Madras - • 7 War with Hyder Ali - - • - ib. The first battalion formed part of Mi^o' *0®>>c>^ ^'i^ Hector Munro's army - • • - - 7 Siege of Arcot - • - -8 Action at Ferambaukum - - - • 9 The survivors of the British troops engaged in this unequal contest conveyed to Hydsr All - - - 1 1 Attempts of the Spaniards against Gibraltar • -12 Progress of the War with Hyder AH - - IS Battle of Porto Abtro - - - - U Presentation of silver pipes to the first battalion by Lieut- General Sir Eyre Coote for its gallantry on that occasion ib. TrijHtssdor retaken by the British - - - IS Second action at Perambaukuni, and defeat of the enemy - 16 Relief of Fe//or« - • - - -17 Battle of Sholingur • • • • • ib. Gallant defence of Gibraltar • • • -IS Sortie of the garrison • • • 20 a3 VI CONTENTS. Year. 1782. n f» n n n n 1783. »» 1784. 1785. 1786, 1787. 1788. i> 1789. 1790. i> <« II 1791. II »i II M •I •I H 11 1792. M •I II II 1793. Page. VeUore blockaded by Hyder Ali - - - 22 Advance of the British through the Sholingur Pass, and relief of Vellore ... - fft. Battle of .4rnce - - - - - 24 Decease of Hyder Ali - - - - 25 And succession of his son Tippoo Saib . . - ib. The combined attempts of France and Spain against Gibraltar ..... " ?6 Employment of red-hot shot by the garrison - - «i. The expedient successful - - - - 28 The garrison honored by His Majesty's approbation - 29 Termination of the siege of Gibraltar - - - 30 Peace concluded between Great Britain, France, and Spain ib. The second battalion sailed from Gibraltar for England - 31 Progress of the war with Tippoo Saib ... ib. Siege of Cuddalore - - - - - ib. Unsuccessful sortie by the enemy - - - 33 Intelligence of the general peace received in India - ib. The second battalion disbanded - - - ib. Peace concluded with Tippoo Saib - - - 34 Restoration of the officers and men who had been made prisoners at the action of Ferambaukum - - ib. The regiment stationed at Madras - - - ib. The numerical title changed from Seventy-third to Seventy- FiKST Regiment - - . - . i6. Stationed at Wallajohabad anrl Ghingleput - - - 35 Embarked for Bombay .... ib. Returned to Madras - - - - • ib, Mnjor-General the Honorable William Gordon pppointed colonel of the regiment ... . ib. Hostilities commenced by Tippoo Saib - - - 36 The regiment inarched towards Trichinopoly - - ib. Siege of Palghautcherrt/ ... - 37 Darraporam captured by the enemy - - -38 Reviewed by General the Earl Comwallis - • ^9 Action near Bangalore - • • - 40 Capture of J5«nj;rt/(»e by the British - - - 41 Advance towards SerinjiasatMm • - -42 Action with Tippoo's troops .... ib. Return of the army to Bangalore - - » 43 Capture of Niindydrmtg by the British - - . 45 of Savendrnog - - - - - 46 of OutrednxHj, Ram Gurry, and Sheria Ourry - 47 Second advance of the British towards Seringapatam - ib. Successful attack ui)on the enemy - - -48 Siege of Serhigapatam - - - - 49 Peace concludetl with Tippo Saib, and his two sons deli- vered u» liuttttgcs - - - • -50 Return of the regiment to Madras • • •SI The French revolution, and declaration of war by the National Convention against Great Britain and Holland ib. The flank companies engaged in the siege and capture of Pondkhtrry ...... 5S CONTENTS. Vii' Tear. 1794. 1795. n >i 1796. 1797. »> 1798. 1800. 1801. 1802. 1803. 1804. 1805. 1806. »» 1807. 1808. Contemplated expedition against the Mauritius The design relinquished, and march of the regiment to Tai^ore - - . . . Holland united to France, and styled the Batavian Bepublic The flank companies embarked for Ceylon Capture of the Island - . - . . The regiment marched to Walltgohahad The regiment inspected by Migor-General Clarke, and complimentary order on the occasion Embarked for England .... Disembarked at Woolwich . . - Proceeded to Scotland ... Authorized to bear the word " Hindoostan " on the regi- mental colour and appointments . . . Marched from Stirling, and embarked for Ireland - } Stationed in Ireland ftg«. SS ib. ib. ib. 53 ib. ib. 54 ib. ib. ib. 85 56 Major-General Sir John Francis Cradock, ICB., appointed colonel of the regiment .... ib^ A second battalion added to the regiment . - • ib. The first battalion embarked on a secret expedition under Major-General Sir David Baird - - - 57 Arrival at the Cape of Good Hope - - - ib. Action at Bleuberg - - - - - 58 Surrender of the colony to the British - - 59 Authorized to bear the words " Cape op Good Hope " on the regimental colour and appointments - - ib. Expedition to the liio de la Plata - - - 60 Surrender of Bucnoa ^yre» - - - - 61 The city retaken by the enemy - - - 62 The first battalion taken prisoners and removed into the interior of the country - - - - 68 Escape of Brigadier-General Beresford and Lieut.-Colonel Pack ... . . • ib. The second battalion removed ti-om Ireland to Scotland - ib. Convention entered into by Lieut.-General Whitelocke, and release of the first battalion - - - "64 The first battalion arrived at Cork - - • ib. The second battalion embarked for Scotland > ■ ib. Presentation of new colours - - - - 65 Address of Lieut-General John Floyd on that occasion • ib. The first battalion embarked for the Peninsula - - 67 Authorized to bear the title of Glasgow Regiment, in addi- tion to the appellation of Highland Regiment - • ib. Battle of Ihleia .... .68 Authorized to bear the word " RotBiA " on the regimental colour and appointments .... ib. Battle of Vimiera - ... -69 Authorized to bear the word " ViMiEnA " on the regimental colour and appointments • • . • •70 Convention of Cmtra .... tb, March of the troops into Spain • • • •71 Joined the army under Lieut.-General Sir John Moore • 72 u4i Tiii CONTENTS. y««r. 1808. B«tr«at on Conmna ■it! '■'l.'! \H 1800. M n » It » H n tt li n »» » 1810. t» »» »f »» »» It - ib. The flfHt battalion again ordered for foreign service - 80 Embarked for Portugal - - - - 81 Joined the army under Lieut-General Viscoimt Wellington ib. Action! at Sobral - - - - - 82 Occupied a position In the lines of Torres Yedras • - ib. Mamnal Mossena retired to Santarem • - -83 Advance of the first battalion - • • ib. Pursuit of Marshal Massena - - - 84 Dattle of Fufffitefd' Onor . ... ib. Authorised to bear the words " Fuentes d'Omor " on the regimental colour and appointments - - - 85 The second battalion removed fVom Leith to South Britain 86 The flrit battalion formed part of the army under Lieut.- Oeneral Rowland Hill ... . ib. Affair of Arroyo'del'Mdinos - - - - 87 The nnral approbation conferred on the troops engaged • 88 0|)eratrons consequent on the preparations made by Vis- count Wellington for the recapture of Ciudad Rodrigo - 89 Third siege of Jiadajoz - ... ib. ('apture of Uadajox .... ib. Destruction of the enemy's bridge of boats at Almaraz - 90 AuthorUcd to b< • the word " Almakaz " on the regi- mental colour I ,id appointments - - - 91 KulHtettuent operations - . . - 92 Rattle of Saliimuiica - • • • . 93 lU'treat fVom Durgos .... ib. Atti'inplcd surprise of Bejar by the French - - 94 March of th(< first battalion to Bejar - - - ib. Tint second battalion returned to North Britain - .94 Rattlt' of Viftiifla - - - - - ib. DeiHli of ('olonel the Honorable Henry Cadogan, Lieut.- (!(»loncl of the HKVKKTr-riitsT Regiment - -95 Aiithorixcd Jo Iwar the word " VixToniA " on the regi- mental colour and appointments - - - 96 Advanov on I'nnipelunu - - • - 97 Hkiruiish at Elitnndo - • . . • ib. Page. - 72 le • 73 I*. i- - 74 • ib. • 75 • 76 • /*. ib. 77 78 ib. 79 ib. ib. ib. 80 81 ib. 82 ib. 83 lb. 84 ib. 85 86 J*. 87 88 89 ib. Year. 1813. » n j» »» n 1814. »» 1815. 1815. ^ 1» '^ 1816 1817. MS 1818. w 1819. m 1820. H 1822. I 1824. m t» ^ 1825. ^-1 }$ 1829. ^s w CONTENTS. IX Phge. Occupied positions in the Pyrenees > • • 97 Action at Maya » . - - ' ib. near Eguaros - - - - iJ. at the Pass of Dona Maria • - - 99 Authorized to bear the word " Ftrenees " on the regi- mental colour and appointments • • - 100 Encamped on the heights of Boncesvalles ... loi Gallant repulse of tiie French by a small party of the Seventt-fimbt on the heights of Altobispo - - ib. Advance to the French territory - - • ib. Battle of the iVirefle - - - - - 102 Passage of the Nive .... | j. Authorized to bear the word " Nive " on the regimental colour and appointments .... 103 Skirmishes at St Hellette, heights of Garris, and St Palais .... . - 104 Action at Sauveterre - - - - - i6. Battle of OrfAes - - - - • ib. Authorized to bear the word " Obthes " on the regimental colour and appointments - . . H, Affairs at Aire and Tarbes - - - - ib. Battle of rTMfojMe ... . ,-fi. Termination of the Peninsular War, and general order by the Duke of Wellington - - - - 105 The lirst battalion embarked for England • - ib. Authorized to bear the word " Peninsula " on the regi- mental colour and appointments ... io6 The first battalion arrived at Cork - - - ib. The second battalion remained in North Britain - • ib. Return of Napoleon to Paris, and renewal of the war - 107 The first battalion embarked for Ostend - - • ib. Battle of Waterioo - - - - - 108 Honors conferred on the army for the victory - - 110 Authorized to bear the word " Waterloo " on the regi- mental colour and appointments - - - t6 The first battalion marched to Paris .... jft. The second battalion disbanded - - - 1 1 1 Presentation of the Waterloo medals to the regiment • ib. Address of Colonel Reynell on that occasion - - ib. Presentation of new colours by Major-General Sir Denis Pack, K.C.B., and his address to the regiment - - 113 The regiment returned to England • • -114 Inspected at Weedon by M^jor-General Sir John Byng - 115 Inspected by the Adjutant-General - - - ib. Embarked for Ireland ... . fj. Lieut.-General Sir Gordon Drummond, G.C.B., appointed colonel of the regiment - . • - 116 The regiment embarked for Canada - - - ib. Formed into six service and four ilepdt companies - > ib. The depot companies proceeded to Berwick-on-Tweed - 118 Mtijor-General Sir Colin Halkett, K.C.B., appointed colonel of the regiment .... - ib. Tear. 1831. 1834. » 1835. 1836. 1838. n 1839. 1841. 1842. 1843. 1846. 1847. 1848. »» 1849. 1852. CONTENTS. A \ The Benriee companies proceed from Quebec to Bermuda The Tartan Plaid Scarf restored to the Sbtemtt-vibst Regiment ..... The service companies arrived at Leith ... The regiment stationed at Edinburgh ... Embarked for Ireland .... Major-General Sir Samuel Ford Whittingham, KC.B., appointed colonel of the regiment . . . The service companies embarked for Canada The depot companies removed from Ireland to North Britain ..... Lieut-Qeneral Sir Thomas Beynell, Bart., K.C.B., ap- pointed colonel of the regiment - - - The re^ment formed into two battalions The Reserve battalion embarked for Canada The first battalion removed from Canada to the West Indies . - . . - The first battalion embarked at Barbadoes for England - Arrived at Portsmouth, and proceeded to Glasgow Lieut General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B., appointed colonel of the regiment .... The first battalion proceeded to Ireland Lieut-General Sir James Macdonell, K.C.B., appointed colonel of the regiment - - - - The reserve battalion employed at Montreal in aid of the civil power ... Conclusion ... ... Page. 118 119 ib. a. i a. s ib. ib. i ib. H 120 ' '*^ ib. ib. J ib ^i" 121 ib. ib. 122 ib. ib. 123 1 'y' .-i * '..vf, f ' *..'■ ': ,; »•? /. SUCCESSION OF COLONELS .„,«.-,i/' .u ,''• »x> < » ,1 «* .* .-.,1 „k,*r,,wi "■ **' or THE SEVENTY-FIRST REGIMENT. X . \ Year. -- - '- --^ ' ' 1777. John Lord Macleod 1789. The Honorable William Gordon 1803. Sir John Francis Cradock, G.C.B. 1809. Francis Dundas ... 1824. Sir Gordon Drummond, G.C.B. 1829. Sir Colin Halkett, K.C.B. 1838. Sir Samuel Ford Whittmgham 1841. Sir Thomas Beynell, Bart, K.C.B. 1848. Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B. 1849. Sir James Macdonell, K.C.B. and E.C.H. Page. - 125 - 126 - 127 . 129 - 131 - ib. - ib. • 133 - 140 - 141 y APPENDIX. Memoir of Captam Philip Melvill . . . . Memoir of General the Bight Honorable Sir David Basrd, Bart, G.C.B. - Memoir of M^)or*General Sir Denis Pack, K.C.B. General orders of the 18th of January and Ist of February 1809, relating to the battle of Corunna and the death of Lieut.- General Sir John Moore .... List of regiments which composed the army under Lieut-General Sir John Moore -..--. British and Hanoverian army at Waterloo on the 18th of June 1815 - - . . . . . Page. 143 144 151 - 161 - 165 166 PLATES. Page. Colours of the regiment - *• m to face 1 The two sons of Tippoo Saib delivered as hostages to General the Earl Comwallis m m w • • 60 Costume of the regiment - • • 124 ■>fm:i^:PJ^iJOIifW,i I ■--.'■. -V -^^ "'■ '- . '.' '.v%f ijtf :'*> t f .1 ^ ■ " 1 INTRODUCTION TO THK HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. During the last century several corps, at successive periods, have been borne on the establishment of the army, and numbered the seventy-first ; the following details are therefore prefixed to the historical record of the services of the regiment which now bears that number, in order to prevent its being connected with those corps which have been designated by the same numercial title, but whose services have been totally distinct. 1. In the spring of 1758 the second battalions of fifteen regiments of infantry, from the 3d to the 37th, were directed to be formed into distinct regiments, xiv INTRODUCTION. I f and to be numbered from the 6 1st to the 75th sue- cessively, as follows : — Second Battalions. 3d foot constituted the 61 st regiment. 4th 8th nth 12th 19th 20th 2dd 24th 81st 82d d3d d4th 36th 87th ft it tt It tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt t» tt tt tt tt tt tt It tt tt tt tt 62d 63d 64th 65th 66th 67th 68th 69th 70th 71st 72d 73d 74th 75th tt It » It It tt it it tt it 11 f> it a The 71st, 72d, 73d, 74th, and 75th regiments, thus formed, were disbanded in 1763, after the peace of Fontainebleau. 2. Several other corps were likewise disbanded in 1763, which occasioned a change in the numerical titles of the following regiments of Invalids, viz. : — The 8l8t reg* (Invalids) was numbered the 71st. 82d „ „ „ 72d. 116th „ ., „ 73d. 117th „ „ „ 74th. 118th „ „ „ 75th. The 71st, 72d, 73d, 74th, and 75th regiments, thus numbered, were formed into independent companies INTRODUCTION. «V thus ice of id in jrical • I • si. d. d. th. th. thus nies of Invalids in the year 1769, which increased the number of Invalid companies from eight to twenty ; they were appropriated to the following Gamsons, namely, four companies at Guernsey, four at Jersey, three at Hull, two at Chester, two at Tilbury Fort, two at Sheerness, one at Landguard Fort, one at Pendennis, and one in the Scilly Islands. 3. These numerical titles became thus extinct until October 1775, when another seventy-first regiment was raised for service in America by Major-General the Honorable Simon Fraser, which consisted of two battalions, and which performed eminent service during the war with the colonists. In December 1777j further augmentations were made to the army, and the regiments, which were directed to be raised, were numbered from the seventy-second to the eighty- third regiment. The army was subsequently increased to one hun- dred and five regular regiments of infantry, exclusive of eleven unnumbered regiments, and thirty-six inde- pendent companies of Invalids. The conclusion of the general peace in 1783 occasioned the disbandment of several regiments, commencing with the seventy-first regiment ; the second battalion of which was disbanded on the 5th April 1783, and the first battalion on the 4th June 1784. 4. In 1786 the numerical titles of certain regiments, retained on the reduced establishment of the army, were changed, viz. : — The seventy-thirdt which had been authoiised to be XVI INTRODUCTION. raised by John Lord Macleod in 1777, was directed to be numbered the seventy-first regiment. The seventy-eighth^ which had been authorised to be raised by the Earl of Seaforth in 1777, was directed to be numbered the seventy-second re- giment. The second battalion of \he forty-second, which had been authorised to be raised in 1779, was directed to be constituted the seventy-third regiment. These corps were denominated Highland regi- ments, and have since continued to form part of the regular army. The details of the services of the present seventy- first regiment are contained in the following pages ; the histories of the seventy-second and seventy-third regiments are given in distinct numbers. directed uthorised m^ was :!OND re- hich had rected to nd regi- rt of the SEVENTY- l pages ; niy -third li 'k:l rOR CAMNUN* MILIIAKV KtCOROS mif^M.im (A im ■*'.i*niMt if HISTORICAL RECORD ..V or THE n SEVENTY-FIRST REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY; ORIGINALLY NCMBEREn THE SEVENTY-THIRD REGIMENT. The war between Great Britain and her American 1777. Colonies had, towards the end of the year 1777, assumed an aspect which was beheld with great interest by the European powers. France, although abstaining at this period from entering into the contest, privately encou- raged the colonists, and several French officers proceeded to join the American standard. The influence of the British ministry then became em})loyed in encouraging voluntary efforts for the raising of troops. Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh, and Glasgow, at their own expense, each raised a regiment of a thousand men, and several independent companies were levied in Wales. The livery of London and corporation of Bristol did not follow tliis example, but the monicd interest in the metropolis showed its attachment to the administration by opening a subscription for procuring soldiers Fii't«'on thousand men were by those patriotic eflforts raised and presented to the htnto ; of this number up* wards of tuo thirds were obtained from Scutlandj and f'i; M . I i '■'ti m 2 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1777. principally from the Highland clans.* The hardy mountaineers of North Britain had been long cele- brated for their military prowess, and the annals of warfare of subsequent years have added to their former renown, by affording them opportunities for sustaining their character for intrepidity and valour. The present Seventy- first, Highland Light Infantry, was one of the regiments which owes its origin to the foregoing circumstances, and was raised under the following royal warrant, dated 19th Decem- ber 1777, addressed to John Mackenzie, Esquire, com- monly called John Lord Macleod, who was appointed its colonel. " George R. ** Whereas we have thought fit to order a High- " land regiment of foot to be forthwith raised under " your command, to consist of ten companies, of five " Serjeants, five corporals, two drummers, and one hun- ** dred private men in each, with two pipers to the " grenadier company, besides commissioned oflScers, " these are to authorise you, by beat of drum or other- " wise, to raise so many men in any county or part of our kingdom of Great Britain as shall be wanting to (( • Regiments raised in the sprint; of 1778 : — 72d regiment, or Royal Mancheiter Volunteers • disbanded in 1783. 73d Highland regiment - - numberedthe 7l8t regiment in 1786. 74th ^i^/i/and regiment - - • disbanded in 1784. 7.5th Prince of Wales's regiment - • disbanded in 1783. 7 Gth tfi^A/ant/ regiment ... - disbanded in 1784. mh ngiment, or AthM Highlander a- • - disbanded in 1783. 78th Hi(/A/(inr/ regiment - numbered the 7 2d regiment in 1786. 79th regiment, or Royal Liverpool volunteers - disbanded in 1784. 80th regiment, or Itoyal Edinburgh volunteers 81st //i,9A/(in(/ regiment - ... 82d regiment - - - - 83d regiment, or Royal Glwigow volunteers Two of thest- twelve regiments have been retained on the establish- ment of the Army, namely, the seventy- third and seventy-eighth, which are the present >bvkmtt-pirit and skvbkty-second regimenta. disbanded in 1784. disbanded in 1783. disbanded in 1784. disbanded in 1783. BEGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. (( it " complete the said regiment to the above-mentioned 1 77 7. " numbers ; and all magistrates, justices of the peace, " constables, .nd other our civil officers, whom it may " concern, are hereby required to be assisting unto " you, in providing quarters, impressing carriages, and " otherwise, aa there shall be occasion. " Given at our Court at St. James's, this 19th of December 1777, in the eighteenth year of our reign. " By His Majesties command, " Barrington." To our trusty and well-beloved John Mackenzie, " Esq., {commonly called John Lord Macleod), " Colonel of a Highland Regiment of Foot to be " forthwith raised, or to the Officer appointed by " him to raise Men for our said Regiment" In February 1778 the Court of France concluded 1778. a treaty of defensive alliance with the American colo- nies, and Great Britain became involved in a war with France. Lord Macleod's efforts in raising the regiment were so successful that in April 1778 it was embodied at Elgin, under the denomination of " Macleod's Highlanders," and was numbered the " Seventy-third Regiment." In May the regiment, eleven hundred strong, em- barked at Fort George, under the command of Colonel Lord Macleod, and proceeded to Guernsey and Jersey, in which islands it was stationed for six months. The regiment was subsequently removed to Portsmouth, and was cantoned during the remainder of the year in the neighbouring villages. On the 24th of September, 1778, Colonel Lord Macleod received orders to raise a second battalion to the regiment. Each battalion was to consist of fifty Serjeants, fifty coqiorals, twenty drummers and fifcra, two pi[>ers, and a tliousand privates. At this period the following officers had been ap- pointed to the Seventy-third Highland Regiment. A 2 |i i IM if !1 4 HISTOBIOAL BEGOBD OF THE SEYENTT-FIBST 1778, First Battalion. Colonel, John Lord Macleod. Lieut.- Colonel, Duncan MTherson. Majors. I James Mackenzie. Captains. Hugh Lamont. Hon. James Lindsay. David Baird. John Elphinston. George Mackenzie. Alexander Gilchrist. John Shnw. Cliarle* Dalrymple. Captain Lieutenant and Captain, David CampbelL Lieutenants. Simon Mackenzie. Philip Melvill. John Mackenzie. John Borthwick. William Gunn. William Charles Gorrie. Hugh Sibbald. David Rninnie. Charles Munro. George Sutherland. James Thrail. Hugh Dalrymple. A. Oeddcn Mackenzie. Hon. Joiin Lindsay. Abraham Mackenzie, 4djt Aloxand' .' Mackenzie. James Kobcrtson. John Hamilton. John Hamilton. Lewii Urqtihnrt. ' George Ogilvio. Innei Muiiro. • Ensigns. Jamoi Duncan 8!mon Mackenzie. Alexander Mackenzie. John Sinclair. Chaplain, Colin Mackenzie. At^utant, Abraham Mackenzie. Quartermaster, John Lytrott. ( Surgeon, Alexander MacDougall. Second Battalion. Colonel, John Lord Macleod. Lieut,' Colonel, The Hon. George Mackenzie. Majors. Hamilton Maxwell | Norman Macleod. Captains. Hon. Colin Lindsay. John MaelntOHh. Jamoi Fimlin. Bobtrt Sinclair. Mackny Hugh Baillie. Stair Park Dalrymple. David Ross. Adam Colt* REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTBT. Lieutenantf. 1778. Norman Maclean. John Irving. Bod. Mackenzie senior. Charles Douglas. Angus Macintosh. John Fraser. Robert Arbuthnot. David MacCullock. ^ Rod. Mackenzie 7«nior. Phineas Macintosh. John Mackenzie senior. Alexander Mackenzie. Fhipps Wharton. Laugh^an MacLaughlan. Kenneth Mackenzie. Murdoch Mackenzie. George Fraser. John Mackenzie junior, Martin Eccles Lindsay. John Dallas. , , , . David Rosa. I't William Erskine. . Ensigns. John Fraser. John MacDougal. Hugh Gray. John Mackenzie. John Forbes. ■,, .^ ^neas Fraser. William Rose. Simon Fraser, AdjK Chaplain, ^neas Macleod. Adjutant, Simon Fraser. Quartermaster, Charles Clark. Surgeon, Andrew Cairncross. In January 1779 the first battalion of the regiment, 1779. commanded by Colonel Lord John Macleod, embarked ist bat. for the East Indies. The second battalion, one thousand strong, embarked 2d bat. at Fort George in Scotland, in March 1779, under the command of Jjieut.-Colonel the Hon. George Mackenzie (brother of Lord Macleod), and proceeded to Ports- mouth, from thence it went on in transports to Ply- mouth, where the battalion landed, and was encamped upon Maker Heights until the 27th of November following. The Court of Versailles had now engaged that of Madrid to trke a part in the contest, and on the 16th of June 1779 the Spanii^h ambu^isador liad presented a manifesto at St. James'siJ, equivalent to a declaration of war, and immediately departed from Loudon. During the summer the siege of Gibraltar was coumienced by tho Spaniards, the reduction of that important fortress A 3 It ml it H ■ 4 6 u HISTOBICAIi B£GOBD. OF THE SEYENTY-FIB8T 1779. being one of the principal objects of Spain in becoming a party to the war. i?„, ,v-; ^ ^ ^'V . istbat. The vessels conveying the first battalion formed part of a fleet escorted by Rear- Admiral Sir Edward Hughes, which on the passage touched at Goree, upon the coast of Africa. Goree being evacuated by the French for the purpose of fortifying Senegal, which had been captured by them early in the year, was occupied by a British force, left for that purpose by Sir Edward Hughes. After quitting Goree, the fleet proceeeed to the Cape of Good Hope, at that time in possession of the Dutch, and there landed the sick. The fleet was detained for three months in Table Bay, for the pur- pose of refreshment and recovery of the sick, after which it sailed for India. 1780. After the breaking up of the camp on Maker 2d bat. Heights, the second battalion embarked for Gibraltar in transports, under convoy of Admiral Sir George - Rodney. When in the Bay of Biscay, the British encountered, on the 8th of January 1780, a valuable Spanish convoy belonging to the Caracca company, • consisting of fifteen merchantmen, with a ship of sixty- four guns, and two fi-igates, the whole of which \yere captured. Sir George Rodney being compelled to em- ploy many of the crews of the ships of war in manning the prizes, called upon Lieut. -Colonel the Hon. George Mackenzie for the services of the second battalion of the regiment as Marines. In a few days after the men were distributed for this purpose, the fleet de- feated, on the 16th of January, off Cape St. Vincent, a squadron of eleven sail of the line, commanded by Admiral Don Juan de Langara. One Spanish ship of seventy guns blew up in the beginning of the action. The Spanish admiral's ship of eighty guns, and three of seventy, were taken ; one of seventy guns ran on shore, and another was lost on the breakers. KEQIUEVT, HIOHLAND LIGHT INFAMTBT. 7' Nothing further transpired during the remainder of J 780. the voyage, and on the 18th of January 1780 the *''*'''5i' second battalion disembarked at Gibraltar, then closely blockaded by the Spaniards, who b'.d despatched Don Juan de Langara to intercept the British admiral. The first battalion had, in the meantime, continued on istbat. its voyage to India, and on the 20th of January 1780 anchored in Madras Koads, being twelve montlis from the time of leaving England. The battalion landed immediately at Fort St. George, and after remaining there about a month was removed to Poonamallee. The intricate politics of India gave rise to a war in that country. Hyder Ali, the son of a petty chief in the Mysore, had risen to the chief command of the army of that state, and when the rajah died, leaving his eldest son a minor, Hyder assumed the guardianship of the youthful prince, whom he placed under restraint, and seized on the reins of govern- ment. Having a considerable territory under his control, he maintained a formidable military establish- ment, which he endeavoured to bring into a high state of discipline and efficiency. Hyder, now Sultan of Mysore, formed a league with the French, and entered into a confederacy with the Nizam of the Decoan, the Mahrattas, and other of the native powers, for the purpose of expelling the British from India. In July 1780, Hyder Ali, having passed the Ghauts (as the passes in the mountains on both sides of the Indian peninsula are termed), burst like a torrent into the Carnatic, while his son, Tippoo Saib, advanced with a large body of cavalry against the northern Circars, and the villages in the vicinity of Madraii were attacked by parties of the enemy's horse. These events occasioned the first battalion of the regiment to be ordered to proceed to join the army which was being assembled at St. Thomas's Mount, under the command of Major-Genoral Sir Hector A 4 8 HISTOBICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1780. Munro, K.B., consisting entirely of the troops of the i«t bat. Honorable East India Company, with the exception of the Sevenly-third, then about 800 strong. Sir Hector Monro's anny amounted to upwards of 4,000 men, and was thus composed :— - 1,000 C Infantry Europeans Artillery t Dragoons r Infantry 1 Dragoons Native 300 30 3,250 30 Total - 4,610 V 14'.. m m Win w With the army were also thuty field-pieces and howitzers, together with four battering twenty-four pounders. The Anglo-Indian army marched to Conjeveram, sixty miles westward of Madras, where it was to be joined by a detachment from the northward, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Baillie. At this period the Sultan of Mysore was engaged in besieging Arcot, the capital of the Carnatic, wliich was invested by the enemy on the 2l8t of August. The movement of Sir Hector Munro's force caused Hyder Ali to raise the siege ; he then detached his son, Tippoo Saib, with a large body of horse and foot, amounting to 24,000 men and twelve guns, to inter- cept Lieut.-Colonel Baillie, whose junction with the main army had been ordered. In this manoeuvre Tippoo Saib succeeded, and Major- General Sir Hector Munro was compelled to detach Lieut.-Colonel Fletcher with a thousand men to rein- force Lieut.-Colonel Baillie. The flank companies of the first battalion of the Seventy-third formed part of this detachment ; the grenadier company was commanded by Lieutenant the Honorable John Lindsay, and the light BEOIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT IKFANTRT. 9 company by Captain, afterwards General the Right 1780/ Hon. Sir David Baird, Bart, and G.C.B.* istbat. On the 6th of September, Lieut-Colonel Baillie was attacked at Perambaukum by the division under Tippoo Saib, and on the 9th of that month was joined by the detachment under Lieut.-Colonel Fletcher. On the following day they were attacked by Hyder's whole army, and the officers and men of this ill-fated de- tachment were either killed, taken, or dispersed. The following graphic description of this unequal contest with Hyder's whole army, the division under Tippoo Saib acting in concert, is given by Captain Innes Munro, of the Seventy-third , who published a " Narrative of the Military Operations on the Coro- mandel Coast from 1780 to 1784 :"— ** Lieut-Colonel BaiUie could but make a feeble ** resistance against so superior a force ; but his little ** band yet gallantly supported a very unequal fire, until " their whc^e ammunition had either been blown up " or expended, which of course silenced the British " artillery. Hyder's guns upon this drew nearer and " nearer at every discharge, while each shot was at- " tended with certain and deadly eifect Lieut- " Colonel Baillie's detachment, seeing their artillery " silenced and remaining inactive Avhile exposed to " certain destruction, very naturally became dismayed ; " which the enemy no sooner perceived than they " made a movement for a general charge and advanced " on all quarters to a close attack. At this dangerous " and trying juncture, sufficient to damp the spirits of " the most intrepid, all the camp-followers rushed in " confusion through the ranks of every battalion, and " in an instant threw the whole into disorder. The " black troops, finding themselves in this calamitous * A memoir of General the Ilight Honorable Sir David Baird, Bart., G.C.B., is inserted in the Appendix, page 144. 'it' M W'' m !> ;^f i« m ^i i :■ Ml i I 10 RI8T0BI0AL BBOOKD OF THB SBYENTT-FIBST 1780." rituationi relinquished every hope of success; and, tit tat." notwithstanding the extraordinary exertions of their ** European officers, were no more to be rallied. But " 0uch of the Europeans as had fallen into disorder by ** this irregularity, quickly united again in compact ** ordori headed by their gallant commander, who was " at this time much wounded ; and, being joined by all *' t)he Sepoy officers, planted themselves upon a rising " bank of sand in then* vicinity, where they valiantly *' resolved to defend themselves to the last extremity. " History cannot produce an instance, for fortitude, ** cool intrepidity, and desperate resolution, to equal ♦* the exploits of this heroic band. In niunbers, now ** reduced to five hundred, they were opposed by no ** less than one hundred thousand enragerl barbarians, ** who seldom grant quarter. The mind, in the con- ** templation of such a scene, and such a situation as *' theirs was, is filled at once with admiration, with ** astonishment, with horror, and with awe. To behold ** fonmdable and impenetrable bodies of horse, of in- " fantry, and of artillery, advancing from all quarters, " flashing savage fury, levelling the numberless instru- " ments of slaughter, and darting destruction around, ** was a scene to appal even something more than the " strongest human resolution ; but it was beheld by " this little band with the most undaunted and im- *' movable firmness. Distinct bodies of horse came on ** successively to the charge, with strung parties of " infantry placed in the intervals, whose fire was dis- " diargcd in showers ; but the deliberate and well- " levelled platoons of the British musketry had such a " powerful effect as to repulse several diffei'ent attacks. ** Like the swelling waves of the ocean, however, when " agitated by a storm, fresh columns incessantly poured ** in upon them with redoubled fury, which at length " brought so many to the ground, and weakened their *' fire so considerably, that they were unable longer to BEOIMENT, HIOHLAND LiaHT INTAMTST. . H withstand the dreadM and tremendoua shock; and 1780. the field soon presented a picture of the most inhuman 1st bat cruelties and unexampled carnage. v./ y^, »« - . yn>. " The last and awful struggle was marked by the clashing of arms and shields, the snorting and kicking of horses, the snapping of spears, the glistening of bloody swords, oaths and imprecations ; concluding with the groans and cries of bruised and mutilated men, wounded horses tumbling to the ground upon expiring soldiers, and the hideous roaring of ele- phants, stalking to and fro, and wielding their dreadful chains alike amongst friends and foes, ^r . ;>.t. > (( (( " Lieut.-Colonel Fletcher and twenty-nine European " officers, with one hundred and fifty-five European *• rank and file, were killed ; Lieut.-Colonel Baillie, " with thirty-four officers, and almost all the European " privates, were miserably wounded ; sixteen officers *' and privates, from a Divine protection, and the ge- " nerous clemency of the French hussars, remained " unhurt, who, with the rest, were all made prisoners. The whole of the sepoys were either killed, taken, or dispersed." The flank companies wo aliuo^t annihilated. Captain Baird received seven wounds, and Lieutenant the Hon. John Lindsay nine ; both were made prisoners. Lieutenant Phili|) Melvill * was totally disabled by his wounds, and was conveyed to Hyder's camp, where many other wounded prisoners were crowded together in one tent, so as to prevent a moment's ease or rest. They were afterwards confined at Bangalore, where they endured the greatest suffering for three year.^ and a half, when, peace being concluded, the captives were released. Lieutenent William Gunn, of the grenadiers, and /•*• * See memoir of Captain Philip M«lvill in the Appendix, page 143. I 12 HISTORICAL BECORD OP THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1780. Lieutenant Geddes Mackenzie, of the light company, istbat. were killed. These were the whole of the officers serving with the two companies. Of the non-commissioned officers and privates only two men joined the battalion, and those were found in the jungle desperately wounded. The melancholy fate of these companies rendered it necessary for Colonel Lord Macleod to form two new flank companies from the battalion. After the defeat of Lieut.-Colonel Baillie, Major General Sir Hector Munro retired with the army to Chingleput, much pressed on the march by the enemy. The wounded and sick being left at Chingleput, the army went into cantonments on Choultry Plain for the rainy season, which had set in. The troops in the retreat had suffijred severely from fatigue and want of provisions. Captain Alexander Gilchrist, of the grenadiers, whose ill-health prevented him from being with his company when Lieut.-Colonel Baillie was attacked, died at this period*, and Lieutenant Alexander Mackenzie was wounded, together with several soldiers, in skirmishes with the enemy. 2d bat. After the British fleet had departed from Gibraltar the Spaniards renewed the blockade by sea, and * The following allusion to Captain Gilchrist is made by Captain Munro, in his Narrative : — " Here ouk regiment had the misfortune of burying Captain Gil- " Christ, a brave and experienced officer, whose loss the sevknty-tiiihd " had much cause to lament, he having always acted as a mentor to the " young and inexperienced gentlemen of his corps. This veteran hod '* the honor, when a subaltern, of witnessing the exploits of General " Wolfe upon the plains of Quebec, and was now at the head of our '• grenadier company ; but, having exerted himself too much upon the " march to Conj-vran, he was seized at that place with o fever, which " disabling liim frvim conducting the grenadiers upon the detachment " under Lieut-Colonel Fletcliur, affected his mind so deeply, particularly " when he heard of their dismal fute, that a delirium came on during " this march, of which he died, regretted and justly lamented by all." BEGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTBT. 13 attempted to destroy the vessels in the harbour by 1780. fire-ships, but failed. Towards the close of the year 2d bat provisions again became short. A Ihnited supply was occasionally obtained from the Moors. The effects of the scurvy were mitigated by cultivating vegetables on the rock; and the brave defenders of the fortress main- tained their attitude of defiance to the power of Spain. Mr. Laurens, late President of the American Con- gross, hxving been captured in his passage to Holland by the British, papers were found on him showing that a treaty of alliance was on the point of conclusion be- tween the Americans and the States General. Great Britain in consequence declared war against Holland on the 20th of December, and thus became engaged with a fourth enemy, exclusive of the hostile powers in India. Upon the 17th of January 1781, the army being re- 1781. assembled, took the field under the command of Lieut.- ist bat. General Sir Eyre Coote, K.B., Commander-in-Chief in India. At this period the strength of the first battalion did not exceed five hundred men. Hyder Ali was then in the Tanjore country, committing every species of outrage and devastation. On the 1st of June, 1781, Colonel Lord Maclcod received the local rank of Major-General in the East Indies. In June Sir Eyre Coote moved the army olong the coast southerly, towards Cuddalore, where his out- posts were attacked by Tippoo Saib, who was repulsed. The British connnander afterwards marched his whole force to Chillumborcm, upon the Coleroon, where the enemy liad a large magazine of grain. The pagoda was attacked by the ])iquets under the command of Captain John Shaw, of the first battalion, but the detachment was repulsed, and that officer wounded. Hyder \H, being apprehensive for the safety of Chillumborem, moved his army in the direction of thot place from Tanjoro and Trichinopoly, while Lieut- If l|r. m I* ^14 HI8T0BICAL RECOBD OF THE 8EVENTT-PIB8T 1781. General Sir Eyre Coote, with the view of obtaining IM bat supplies from the shipping, proceeded towards Cudda- lore. Hyder, by forced marches and raanceuvres, had nearly surrounded the British on the plains of Porto ' Novo, about two days' march to the southward of Cuddaiore. At four o'clock in the morning of the Ist of July, Sir Eyre Coote put his army of about 8,000 men in movement, while that of the enemy, computed at 100,000, was observed to range itself in order of battle. The army of Lieut;-General Sir Eyre Coote formed on the plain in two lines ; the first battalion was com- manded by Colonel James Craufurd* (Lord Macleod having returned to England), and had its station in the first line under the orders of Major General Sir Hector Munro. Major General James Stuart commanded the second line. The action commenced by an advanced movement of the English troops, and the contest was sustained with great spirit by both parties until night, when the firing ceased, and the British remained masters of the field. The veteran chief. Sir Eyre Coote, was so well pleased with the conduct of the battalion upon this occasion that he was heard to exclaim, addressing him- self in the heat of the battle to one of the pipers, " Well done, my brave fellow, you shall have silver pipes when the battle is overl" The general did not forget hirt promise, and in addition to a general order expressive t)f his sense of the gallantry and steadiness of the bat- talion in the battle of Porto Novo^ he presented a handsome pair of silver pipes (value one hundred pngo- diir't) to the corps, upon which was engraved a suitable inscription ; this he desired might be preserved us a * Jvlfut.-(Joloni'I James Crauftird, of the «kventt-thiri> regiment, was protnoti'd to the local rank of Colonel in the KuMt Indies on th« sad March 1780. t The value of a pagoda is seven Bbillings and sixpence. REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 15 lasting monument of his approbation of its conduct in 1781. that battle, the result of which enabled Sir Eyre Coote ittlwt. to reach Cuddalore, the point of destination, on the 4th of July. S'aortly afterwards the army was moved to St. Thomas's Mount. On the 3d of August the force from Bengal, under the orders of Colonel Pearse, arrived and formed a junction with Sir Eyre Coote's army at Pulicat, to which place the army had moved in order to facilitate that important object. The British force now amounted to twelve thousand men. The first brigade, composed entirely of Europeans, was commanded by Colonel Craufurd, of the present Seventy-first regiment, and had its station generally in the centre of the line. Major General Sir Hector Munro commanded the right >ving, and Colonel Pearse the left In / - 1, Major James Mackenzie of the battalion died, i.u.vorsally regretted. His exertions in the early part of the campaign had brought on illness, which ter- minated his career. On the ] 6th of August the preparations that had been carried on for the siege of Arcot, which had been taken by Hyder Ali in the previous year, and for the relief of Vellore being completed, the Anglo-Indian army waa put in movement. On the 20th of August Tripnssoor was retaken, by which capture a very largo supply of grain fell into the hands of the British. The camp of Ryder's main army was at Conjeveram, and every exertion was made by his detachments to inter- rupt the progress of the British troops. The British, on the 27th of August, came in sight of the enemy, drawn up in order of battle upon the very ground whore Lieut.-Coloncl Baillic had met his defeat, a position which the religious notions of llyder Ali induced him to consider fortunate. Thus encouraged or ■1 16 HISTORICAL BECOBD OF THE SEVENTT-FIBST 1781. inspired, he seemed determined to hazard a second 1 St bat general action, and accordingly commenced the attack by a smart cannonade, when f>n obstinate contest ensued, which lasted the whole day, and which terminated in his defeat, and his being forced to retire from all liis positions. There wa? u circumstance peculiar to this field of battle which -tamped it with aggravated horrors. It is ably and feelingly described by Captain Munro in hia Narrative, from which the following is extracted."* " Perhaps there come not within the wide range of " human imagination scenes more affecting, or circum- " stances more touching, than many of our army had " that day to witness and to be..'*. On the very s}X)t " where they stood lay strewed amongst their feet the " relics of their dearest fellow eoldiers and friends, who " near twelve months before had been slain by the hands of those very inhuman monsters that now ap- peared a second time eager to complete the work of blood. One poor soldier, with the tear of affection glistening in his eye, picked up the decaying spatter- diish of his valued brother, with the name yet entire upon it, which the tinge of blood and effects of werther had kindly spared. Another discovered the club or plaited hair of his bosom friend, which he himself had helped to form, and knew by the tie and still remain- ing colour. A third mournfully recognised tlie feather which had decorated the cap of his inseparable com- panion. The scattered clothes and wings of the flank companies of the Se*'cntj/-third were everywhere perceptible, as also their helmets and skulls, both of " which bore the marks of many furrowed cut^. These " horrid spectacles, too melancholy to dwell up i, while (( (( (( (( t( (( (( (( t( (( * A Narrative of the Military Operations on the Coromandel Coast, against the combined forces of the French, Dutch, and Hydcr Ali, from 1780 to 1784, hy Captain Innes Munro, of the Sevenljf'tkird or Lord Macleod's Uegiuent of IligUandern. REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 17 •' they melted the hardest hearts, inflamed our soldiers 1781. ** with an enthusiasm and thirst of revenge such as istbat. " render men invincible ; but their ardour was neces- " sarily checked by the involved situation of the army." Uliou this horrid spot the army halted two days, and it then retired to Tripassoor, to secure provisions. At this period the health of Major- General Sir Hector Munro compelled him to leave the army. On the 19th of September, Lieut.-General Sir Eyre Coote made a movement towards Vellore, the relief of which place Hyder Ali appeared determined to oppose, by occupying in order of battle the Pass of Sholinffur, at the same time making very spirited attacks against the fortress of Vellore. Upon the 27th of September, Colonel Craufurd, now second in command, received the orders of the Com- mander-in-Chief to move the B itish army to the front.* Hyder, confident of success, made a forward movement to meet his opponents, when a general action commenced. A detachment, commanded by Colonel Edmonstonc, (of which the flank companies of the first battalion formed part,) succeeded in turning the left flank of the enemy, and fell upon his camp and rear. The day closed by the total defeat of Hyder's troops, who were pursued by the cavalry until sunset. Under circumstances the most distressing and im- * The following is extracted ft'oni a letter, dated 28ih January 1782, firom Iiieut.-Qenerul Sir Eyre Cooto, K.B., then at Fort George, IVfadros, addressed to the Earl of Shelburne, one of His Miyesty's Principal Secretaries of State : — " Colonel Craufurd, of His Majesty's* SEVENTi-Tiiinn regiment, " having liad my leave to return to Europe, will have the honor of " delivering your lordship this letter. " I should do injustice to the high sense I entertain of Colonel " Crauftird's merit as an officer, did I omit on tliis occasion mentioning •' how much he has acquitted himself to my satisfaction, and with honor " and credit to himself, in the whole course of a most trying campaign. " lie was next in command to me at the battle of Sholingur, on which •• occasion his conduct was deserving of the highest applause." B n ►II' ; I ill 18 HISTORICAL BECOBD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1781.promii8ing, but with the hope of obtaining the supplies lrtbftt.of provisions of which the army was quite destitute, and for which no previous arrangement had been made by tho Government, Lieut. General Sir Eyre Coote, on tho l»t of October, boldly pushed through the Sholingur Paas, and after a march of two days en- camped at Altamancherry, in the Polygar country. Hero, by the friendly aid and kindness of Bum-Kaze, one of the Polygar princes, the troops were well sup- plied with every requisite. The British camp was moved on the 26th of October to Pollipet, and the sick and wounded were sent to Tripoisoor. Vcllore was also relieved. This desirable object being effected, and the army reinforced by Colonel Laing with a hundred Europeans from Vel- lore, it proceeded to the attack of Chittoor, which, after a gallant resistance, capitulated. With a view to get the British from a country 10 very inaccessible, Hyder Ali proceeded to the attack of Tripassoor, and on the 20th of November Sir Eyre Coote retired out of the Pollams, through the Nttggary Pass, which obliged the enemy to raise the siege of Tripassoor, and to retire to Arcot. The campaign closed by the recapture of Chittoor by the enemy. On the 2d of December, the monsoon having set in, the army broke up its camp on the Koilatoor Plain, an«l the different corps marched into cantonments in tlie neighbourhood of Madras. During the campaign of 1781, the battalion was conmianded by Captain John Shaw. 2*1 but. While the first battalion had been thus actively em- ployed in India, tlie second battalion was enfjaged in the galhint defence of Gibraltar, the garrison of which wan ligaiu relieved, in April 1781, by the arrival of a niiiiM'rouH fleet luider Vicc-Admiral Darby. The Spaniards, relinquishing all hope of reducing BEGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 19 the fortress by blockade, resolved to try the power 1781. of theu: numerous artillery. Scarcely had the fleet 2d bat cast anchor, when the enemy's batteries opened, and the fire of upwards of one hundred guns and mortars enveloped the fortress in a storm of war; a number of gun-boats augmented the iron tempest which beat against the rock, and the houses of the inhabitants were soon in ruins. On the 8th of May, Captain James Foulis, of the second battalion of the regiment, was wounded in the lines. On the night of the 17th of September the following incident relating to the battalion occurred in an attack of the enemy, the account of which is extracted from the " History of the Siege of Gibraltar," by Colonel John Drinkwater, of the late Seventy-second Regi- ment, or Royal Manchester Volunteers: — " A shell during the above attack fell in an embra- ** sure opposite the King's lines bomb-proof, killed one " of the Seventy-third, and wounded another of the " same corps. The case of the latter was singular, and ' " will serve to enforce the maxim, that, even in the " most dangerous ca&es, we should never despair of a recovery whilst life remains. This unfortunate man was knocked down by the wind of the shell, which, " instantly bursting, killed his companion, and mangled " him in a most dreadful manner. His head was " terribly fractured, his left arm broken in two places, " one of his legs shattered, the skin and muscles " torn off part of his right hand, the middle finger " broken to pieces, and his whole body most severely " bruised, and marked with gunpowder. He presented " so horrid an object to the surgeons, that they had not " the smallest hopes of saving his life, and were at a " loss what part to attend to first. He was that " evening trepanned, a few days afterwards his leg " was amputated, and other wounds and fractures " dre8sed« Being possessed of a most excellent coneti- B 2 (( « m i ?ii iii § ({ ts 20 HISTOBICAL RECORD OP THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1781.** tution, nature performed wonders in his favour, and 2d bat ** in eleven weeks the cure was completely effected. His name is Donald Ross, and he long continued to enjoy his sovereign's bounty in a pension of nine- ** pence a day for life." On the 4 th of November, Lieutenant John Fraser, of the second battalion, had his leg shot off on Mon- tague's Bastion, and two of the soldiers of the battalion were likewise wounded by the enemy's fire. General Eliott, afterwards Lord Heathfield, which title was conferred for the services performed by him when Governor of Gibraltar, in order to free himself from the contiguity of the besiegers, resolved to make a sortie. The favourable opportunity presented itself; and, on the evening of the 26th of November, the following garrison order was issued : — ** Countersign, Steady. — All the grenadiers and ** light infantry in the garrison, and all the men of the ** Twelfth and Hardenberg's regiments, with the officers ** and non-commissioned officers on duty, to be imme- " diately relieved and join their regiments ; to form a ** detachment, consisting of the Twelfth and Harden- *' berg's regiments complete ; the grenadiers and light '* infantry of all the other regiments ; one captain, three ** lieutenants, ten non-commissioned officers, and a hun- ** dred artillery ; three engineers, seven officers, ten ** non-commissioned officers, overseers, with a hundred ** and sixty workmen from the line, and forty workmen ** from the artificer corps ; each man to have thirty-six ** rounds of ammunition, with a good flint in his piece, ** and another in hia pocket ; the whole to be commanded ** by Brigadier-General Ross, and to assemble on the ** red sandu, at twelve o'clock this night, to make a ** sortie upon the enemy's batteries. The thirty-ninth ** and fifty-eighth regiments to parade at the same " hour, on the grand parade, under the command of ■11 BEGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTBY. 21 " Brigadier-General Picton, to sustain the sortie, ifl781. " necessary." 2d bat The flank companies of the second battalion, consist- ing of eight officers, ten Serjeants, and 202 rank and file, formed part of the centre column. The moon shone brightly as the soldiers assembled on the sands at mid- night. Between two and three o'clock darkness over- spread the coxmtry, and the troops issued silently from the fortress. They were challenged and fired upon by the enemy's scurries, but the British soldiers rushed forward with the'r native ardour, overpowered the Spanish guards, and captured the batteries in gallant style. The enemy's soldiers, instead of defending the works, fled in dismay, and communicated the panic to the troops in their rear. The wooden batteries were soon prepared for fire ; the flames spread with astonish- ing ra}>idity, and a column of fire and smoke arose from the works, illuminating the surrounding objects, and shedding a fiery lustre upon this unparalleled scene. In an hour the object of the sortie was effected; trains were laid to the enemy's magazines, and the soldiers withdrew. As they entered the fortress, tremendous explosions shook the ground, and rising columns of smoke, flame, and burning timber proclaimed the de- struction of the enemy's immense stores of gunpowder to be completed. General Eliott declared in orders, " The bearing and conduct of the whole detachment, " officers, seamen, and soldiers, on this glorious occa- " sion, surpass my utmost acknowledgments." For several days the Spaniards appeared confounded at their disgrace. The smoke of the burning batteries continued to rise, and no attempt was made to extin- guish the flames ; but several executions took place in their camj), probably of persons who fled so precipitately from the batteries. In the beginning of December they began to arouse themselves, and a thousand workmen d3 22 HISTORICAL REOORD OP THE SEVENTY-FIRST 5? 1781. commenced labouring to restore the batteries, in which Sd bat. they were retarded by the fire of the garrison. While the besiegers were thus employed, the gallant defenders of the fortress were equally indefatigable; every serjeant, drummer, musician, officer's servant, and private soldier, used the musket, shovel, and pick- axe, as his services were necessary, 1782. At the opening of the campaign in India, in the 1 St bat. beginning of 1782, the army did not muster a larger force than at the commencement of the former year. The first and most important object in view was the relief of Vellore, kept in strict blockade by the enemy. The safety of this fortress was of paramount conse- quence, being the only key the British possessed to the Passes of the Ghauts, through which an invasion of the enemy's country could be accomplished ; and the army being put in movement, pushed through the Sholingur Pass, and by the 11th of January the relief of VeUore, with a supply of rice for six months, Avas fully effected. After the accomplishment of this object the army retired, and on the 20th of January arrived at Poona- mallee, having lost upon this expedition six officers and about thirty Europeans, with one hundred sepoys, killed and wounded. The following anecdote is extracted from the narra- tive of Captain Munro, relating to the fall of John Mackay, a corporal of the battalion, in one of the skinnishes Avith the enemy, when the army was on the march to Vellore : — " For the satisfaction of my High- ** land friends, I take this opportunity of commemo- rating the fall of John Mackay, alias Donn, a corporal in the Seventy-third (now Seventy-first) regi- " ment, son of Robert Donn, the famous Highland bard, whose singular talent for the beautiful and extemporaneous composition of Gaelic poetry was " held in such esteem by the Highland Society. This tt St tt ft II ill BE6IMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 23 " son of the bard has frequently revived the drooping 1782. " spirits of his countrymen upon the march, by singing istbat. " in a pleasant manner the humorous and lively pro- " ductions of his father. He was killed by a cannon ** ball on the 13th of Januaiy, and on the same even- *• ing was interred by his disconsolate comrades with " all the honors of war." For the first three months of the year 1782, the army of Lieut.-General Sir Eyre Coote was kept in a state of inactivity at St. Thomas's Mount, where it would appear the Government of the presidency, apprehensive for its own safety, had detained this force, while a judicious movement to Porto Novo might have pre- vented the junction of the forces under Tippoo Saib with the strong reinforcement of French troops that had arrived from Europe on board the fleet of Admiral Suffrein, or at all events have prevented the loss of Permacoil and Cuddalore. At length Sir Eyre Coote, having been reinforced by the Seventy-eighth, afterwards the Seventy-second regiment, recently arrived from England, was permitted to put the army in movement. In the beginning of April he marched in a southerly direction by Carangooly and Wandewash towards the enemy, encamped upon the Red Hills of Pondicherry. The object, which the Commander-in-chief appeared to have in view, was to separate the French and Mysorean troops, and he manoeuvred accordingly between Chitaput and Amee, until Hyder Ali, apprehensive for the safety of the latter place, where he had established magazines, made a rapid movement on the 2d of June, so as to overtake and attack the rear-guard of the Britisii, commanded by Lieut. Colonel John Elphinston*,of the Seventy-third , who maintained his ground with great spirit and intre- * Major John Elphinston, of the Seventt-tihkd regiment, was pro- moted to the local rank of lieutenant-colonel in the East Indies on the 23d of May 1781. B 4 I! Mi 24 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 178'i.j)idity until the line had completed its formation. The litbAt, troops were ordered to advance immediately upon the enemy's gnne, the action became very warm, and the foe was Boon forced across the river ofArnee, and in the pur- suit several tumbrils were taken by the Honorable Cap- tain James Lindsay, of the battalion. This gallant and intelligent officer, perceiving an enemy's battalion en- deavouring to extricate the tumbrils in the bed of the river, liwhed forward at the head of his grenadier com- pany, supported by the remainder of the corps under Major George Mackenzie's command, and, quickly dis- persing all opposed to his progress, took possession of his prize. This movement of the Seventy-third was supported on the left by a battalion of Bengal Sepoys, who had captured one of the enemy's guns, and both corps, equally animated by success, pushed on, driving the enemy before them as long as pursuit was prudent. The conduct of Captain the Honorable James Lind- say, although he had acted without orders, received all the praise it merited from the commander-in-chief, Lieut.-Gcncral Sir Eyre Coote. At the battle o^Arnee the staff of the regimental colour was shattered by a cannon ball, ond the ensign severely wounded. The nrniy encamped for the night on the field of battle, and on the following morning took up a position before Amee ; but a scarcity of grain compelled the general to retrace his steps towards Madras, and on the 2()th of June he arrived at St. Thomas's Mount. In the months of July and August the army made two expeditions, one to Wandewash, in which it was foiled by the active and politic Hyder, the other for the relief of Velhre, in which it was more fortunate, having succeeded in throwing a large quantity of grain , into that fortress. The siege of Cuddalore having been determined on, the army moved on the 26th of August in a southerly direction, and on the 4th of September halted on the BEGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 25 Red Hills of Pondicherry. Deserters reported th : 782. garrison of Cuddalore to consist of 800 Europeans, SOO^stbat Africans, and 600 Sepoys, who, having expelled the inhabitants, and covered the walls with cannon, were resolved to defend the place to the last extremity. The failure of the supplies, which Sir Eyre Coote had been led to expect from Madras by the fleet, excited so much anxiety and disappointment in the veteran's mind, that a severe illness ensued, which obliged him to quit the amiy, and ultimately to proceed to Bengal for the benefit of his health. The command then devolved upon Major-General James Stuart, who commenced his retreat in the evening of the 10th of October. On the 15 th of October, the monsoon set in i/ith unusual severity, and the army went into canton- ments in the vicinity of Madras. Hyder Ali, at the same time, took up his old position near Arcot. Shortly after. Rear Admiral Sir Richard Bickertoii; with a large fleet from England, came to anchor in INIadras roads, having on board considerable reinforcements for the army, which was joined in the cantonments by the Twenty third Light Drr.goons, the 101st and 102d British regiments, and the Fifteenth regiment of Hano- verian Infantry. In the month of December occurred the decease of that extraordinary man, Hyder Ali, who was suc- ceeded, without any of the coimnotions usual in the East on such occasions, by his son, Tippoo Saib, to whom he left a kingdom of liis own acquisition, which made him one of the most powerful f 'i; -^es in India. All ordinary means of attack appearing to be una- 2d bat. vailing against the resolute garrison of Gibraltar (of wliich the second battalion of the regiment formed part), stupendous preparations Avcre made on a new principle, and floating batteries were constructed with great art and labour. These were accounted the most perfect li'': ':^: .^.:i!j Wi-. 26 HISTOBICAL RECORD OF THE SEYENTT-riRST 1782. contrivance of the kind ever seen. The combined 2d bat. power of France and Spain was directed against the fortress. The Duke of Crillon assumed the command of the besieging army, and was assisted by a celebrated French engineer. Monsieur d'Arcon, and by Admiral Moreno, and a French army arrived to take part in the siege. A crisis was evidently approaching, and in the spring and summer of 1782 the garrison of Gibraltar made preparations with cool determination for the hour of trial. The officers and soldiers appeared to be im- pressed with their peculiar situation ; an important fortress was confided to their protection ; they had defended it against the efforts of the Spanish army and navy upwards of two years ; and the eyes of all Europe were directed towards them. The damaged works were carefully repaired, new ones were constructed, extensive subterraneous works were prepared, and forges for heating red-hot shot were got ready. Every Serjeant, drummer, musician, and officer's servant, as well as the corporals and private soldiers, used a shovel, pickaxe, or musket, according as their services were required. The effect of the red-hot shot was proved on some of the enemy's Avooden batteries on the sands, which were speedily destroyed. The Duke of Crillon anticipated the most signal success from the extensive preparations he was making. His camp was visited by princes of the royal blood of France, by Spanish nobility, and other dignified cha- racters of Europe, who came to be spectators of the fall of the fortress, under the heavy fire of artillery which was about to be opened upon it. The new bat- teries on shore were unmasked, and fired a volley of sixty f^holls, which was followed by the thunder of one hundred and seventy guns of large calibre. Thus was Gibraltar assiiilcd by a stonn of iron, which threatened to reduce the fortress to a heap of ruins, and this was REGIMENT, HIGHLAND BIGHT INFANTRT. 27 le of only a prelude to the tremendous fire which was after^l782. wards opened upon the garrison. Lieutenant Phipps 2d. bat Wharton, of the second battalion, was dangerously wounded by the enemy's fire. On the 13th of September, the ten battering ships took their station before the fortress, in the presence of the combined fleets of France and Spain. The enemy's camp and neighbouring hills were crowded with spec- tators from various parts of Europe, to Avitness the effect of these stupendous vessels, and such a storm of war was opened upon the garrison as was probably never heard before since the invention of cannon. The bat- teries of the fortress answered this tremendous iire with vigour, and the deafening thunder of four hundred pieces of heavy artillery was heard for many miles. For some hours the attack and defence were so equally well supported as scarcely to admit any appearance of superiority in the cannonade on either side. The wonderful construction of the battering ships seemed to bid defiance to the heaviest ordnance ; shells re- bounded from their tops, and a thirty-two pound shot scarcely seemed to make any impression on them. The effect of the red-hot shot was doubted ; sometimes smoke came from the sliips, but the fire-engines within soon occasioned it to cease, and the result was uncer- tain. The fire was, however, persevered in, and incessant showers of red-hot bullets, shells, and carcases flew through the air. In the afternoon the effects of tho red-hot shot became apparent, and volumes of smoke issued from the flag-ship; tho Admiral's second ship was perceived to be in the same condition, and confu- sion prevailed. The Spaniards expected that the firing of red-hot bullets could not be persevered in beyond a few rounds ; but the fire was continued with the same precision and vivacity as cold shot. Tho ef 8 of the hot balls occasioned tho enemy's can- noc ^do to abate, and about eight o'clock it almost totally 28 HISTORICAL BECOBD OP THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1782. ceased. The battering ships made signals to inform the 2d bat. combined fleets of their extreme danger and distress, and several boats were sent to their aid. At this period the fire of the garrison produced great carnage, and the most pitiable cries and groans were heard, as the incessant showers of shot and shells were poured into the floating batteries. Soon after midnight one ship was in flames, and by two o'clock she appeared one sheet of fire from head to stem ; a second was soon in the same state ; the flames enabled the British artillery to point their guns with precision, and soon after three o'clock six more ships exhibited the effects of the red- hot shot. The burning ships exhibited one of the grandest sjicctacles of destruction ever beheld; and amidst this dreadful scene of conflagration, the British seamen in boats were seen endeavouring to rescue the Spaniards from the blazing ships. They preserved between three and four hundred ; and while they were thus engaged, one of the ships blew up with a dreadful explosion ; four others met the same fate before seven o'clock, and another shortly afterwards, and the re- mainder burnt to tlu; water's edge, their magazines having been inundated ; not one could be preserved ns a trophy. Thus did the mighty cff'orts of Franco and Spain end in defeat and destruction, and tlie gallant efforts of the brave soldiers who defended Gibraltar elicited the ad- miration of the nations in Europe. In England the most enthusiastic applause was universal ; illuminations and other modes of testifying the joy of the people followed tlie receipt of the news of the destruction of the boasted inviucibh luittcring ships, and every fiunily wiiich could claim a defender of Gibraltar l)c'h)nging to it was proud of the honor. The loss of the garrison, on the 13th and 14th of September, was limited to one officer, two Serjeants, and thirteen rank and file killed ; five officers and sixty-three rank and file wounded; REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 29 that of the enemy exceeded two thousand officers and 1782. soldiers. Captain Alexander Mackenzie, of the second 2d bat battalion, was one of the officers wounded. Although the enemy gave up all hopes of reducing Gibraltar by force of arms, yet some expectation was entertained, that, if the blockade was continued, the garrison might be forced to surrender from the want of provisions ; the combined fleet therefore remained in the bay, the besieging army continued in the lines, and about a thousand shots were fired every day from the Spanish batteries. The garrison was encoumged to continue resolute in the defence of the fortress by assurances of their Sovereign's favour and high appro- bation. The principal Secretary of State, writing to General Eliott, stated, — "I am honored with His " Majesty's commands to assure you, in the strongest " terms, that no encouragement shall be wanting to the " brave officers and soldiers under your command. His " royal approbation of the past will no doubt be a " powerful incentive to future exertions, and I have the " King's authority to assure you, that every distinguished " act of emulation and gallantry, which shall be per- " formed in the course of the siege by any, even of the " lowest rank, will meet with ample reward from liia " gracious protection and favour." On the 4th of October Lieutenant Kenneth Mackenzie, of the second battalion, was wounded in the communication from the King's to the Queen's lines. In October the combined fleet was much damaged by a storm, and soon afterwards a British naval force arrived, and the garrison was again relieved, when two regiments, the Twenty-fifth and Fifty-ninth, landed to take part in the defence of the fortress. On the 2.'id of November Lieutenant John Mac- kenzie, of the second battalion, was dangerously wounded by tho cromy's cannonade. 30 HISTORICAL BECOBD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST > i t 1783. At the opening of the campaign of 1783, Tippoo Saib istbat encamped his army upon the plains of Amee, where he was joined by a strong detachment of French auxiliaries from Cuddalore. Major-General Stuart put the British army in move- ment, haying first in view the demolition of the useless fortresses of Wandewash a: • Carangooly. He arrived at the latter place on the 6^h i>f February, and, leaving there all heavy baggage and oncumbrances, proceeded lightly equipped towards Wandewash, the workt of which were accordingly destroyed. The army then returned to Carangooly, which experienced the same fate as Wandewash, and on the 23d of February arrived at Poonamallee. 2d bat Meanwhile, the siege of Gibraltar had terminated, nostilities having ceased in February 1783, in conse- quence of the preliminaries of the treaties between Great Britain, France, and Spain having been signed at Versaillco on the 20th of the preceding month. The second battalion during the siege was commanded by Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable George Mackenzie. Istbat Notwithstanding private information having been received from respectable sources, overland, of a peace havin:^ been concluded between Great Britain and the other belligerent powers in Europe, still the Madras Government was determined to persevere in its original planH for the attack of Cuddalore. With this view, Major-General Stuart put the army in movement on the 2l8t of April, marching by bngados in a southerly direction. Major-General Stuart's army consisted of the present Seventy-first and Seventy-second regi- ments, the lOlst regiment, a considerable body of native troops, and a dctachniuct of Hanoverians under Colonel Wangcnheim. Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Elphin- ston, of the first battalion of the regiment, took the lead, with the fifth brigade, to the command of which ho had been appointed, in consideration of hii BEOIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 31 distinguiehed conduct and important services in the 1783. field istbAt. I ieut.-Colonel James Stuart, of the Seventy-eighth Highlanders (the present Seventy-second regiment), commanded the first or European brigade, of which the first battalion of the Seventy-third (now the Seventy- first) re^ment formed part, and which amounted to sixteen hundred men. Brevet Lieut-Colonel Elphinston, in his advance, possessed himself of Fermacoil ruins, from whence could be plainly distinguished the enemy's advanced parties upon the Red Hills of Pondicherry. The re- mainder of the army joined at Permacoil on the 2d of May. About this period accounts were received of the decease of Lieut.-General Sir Eyre Coote, which in- telligence threw a peculiar gloom over those officers and men who had had the honor to serve under his com- mand in India. Major-General Stuart succeeded to the command of the forces in India for the time being. After leaving Fermacoil, the army advanced to Killi- noor, and from thence directed its course towards the Red Hills of Pondicherry. In May 1783, the second battalion embarked in 3d bat transports, and sailed from Gibralta** for Portsmouth, where it lauded in July following. On t) . 4th of June, Major-General Stuart placed the istbat, British camp close to the Pannar River, about five miles west of Cuddalore. behind which the French army was dcsc ied in on oi ^renchcd camp. The British crossed the Pannar River on the Gtli of June, without being molested, passed the BandipoUa.a Hills, and took up a strong posit'': u not more than two miles from the south face of the fortress of Cm' hdorct haviog their right ilank covered by the sea, and the left by the BandipoUam Hills. The cnemyi commanded by 32 HISTORtCAL BECORD OP THE SEVENTY-FIRST ' it iSit 1783. General de Bueay, had in Dw meantime been occupied lit bat. in throwing up works along his front. '^ On the 12th of June, Major-General Stuart had de- termined upon attacking Monsieur de Bussy in his pre- sent position, and issued preparatoiy orders accordingly. At four o'clock in the moraiuf^ of the 13th of June, tho action commenced by a move wient from the British left upon the right flank of the enemy. A very ob tinate and sanguinary contest ensued, and continued wHhcut intermission until the evening, when botl» annies re- maijued tipon the field of battle, and conse.j^uently each claimed the victory. Tn this action the first battah't a of the regiment hijthly distingutf«hed itpfilf, having wrested fro^ii lie on«my, in tl »; course of the conflict, seven diffi^rcnt redoubts, Th.; lm» • ', faincd hy the battalion was very sevePfi. amountii!; i'^ k!llc<1 and wounded to 13 oflScers and 272 men, b( ing mo half o^ the gross number in tUe ii *ld. TIjc }»aH!ilit»n in this action was commanded by Captain Hugh Lnmont. The battalion had to regret the loBH of Captains the Honorable James Lindsay and Alexander Mackenzie, who were killed. The former officer comiimnded the Grenadier company. The following flattering compliment formed part of tho general orders issued by the Commander-in-Chief a; the conclusion of the battle: — "I am also grateful to Captain Lamont and the oflicers under his com- mnnH>mc availed themselves. On i,be 11th of Mareii 1784, a general peace was ra- 1784. tificd between the Honorable East India Comimny and I 34 HISTORICAL BECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1784.Tippoo Saib, and, shortly afterwards, the officers and • ' ■ *'' men, who had been made prisoners in the action fought by Lieut.-Colonel Baillie, on the 10th of September 1780, were restored to their friends, after having en- dured captivity in irons in an ungenial climate, and most of them suffering from 8e\ere wounds. The regiment had the gratification to receive Captains David Baird and the Honorable John Lindsay. The commission of the latter, as capta\n, had been antedated to the 12th of September 1780. Both of these officers had recovered from their wound i. ' '^ ■ During the remainder of the )'ear the regiment con- tinued at Arcot, and was only employed, beyond the usual routine of duty in quarters, for a short time in quelling a mutiny which hroka out in the native cavalry at Arnee. The regiment at this period was commanded by Lieut.-Colonel V iC'-'ra Dalrymple. 1785. In the course of the monlh a'' Js-nc the regiment was removed from Arcot to i'\>rt 8.'. Georse at Madras, where it was joined by certain officers of the late second battalion. Lieut.-Colonel Dalrymple having returned to Great Biitain, the regiment was commanded by Brevet Colonel the Honorable George Mackenzie. Tlie regiment continued in quarters during the re- mainder of the year at Fort St. George, and in the town ni Madras. 1786. In the year 1786 the numerical title of the regiment was changed from Seventy-third to SEYENTy-FiRsr ; and new colours were received from England, bearing the number Seventy-firrt, which designation it has ftince retained. The regiment changed its quartert", in March, to Walhyohttbfid and Chingleput, having nine contpamea cantoned at the Former station, and one at the latter under Brevet Ivieut.-ColoneJ Hamilton Maxwell. 1787. On the 4th of June 1787, the commanding officer, Colonel the Honorable George Mackenzie, died, after a REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 35 short illness. His body was sent to Madras, and there 1787. interred with the military honors due to his rank. The senior major, Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel John Elphinston, succeeded to the lieutenant^colonelcy and to the command of the regiment. Captain David Baird was at the same time promoted to the rank of major. The commissions of these officers were dated 5th of June 1787. During the year 1787 no change of quarters took place, and the regiment remained in cantonments at Wallajohabad and Chingleput. ' In February 1788, in consequence of some dis-1788. turbance or alarm at the Bombay Presidency, the Seventy-first marched to Madras, and immediately embarked on board the Company's ships for Bombay. The regiment was commanded by Lieut-Colonel Elphinston, and was about eight hundred strong. After a favorable passage, the ships arrived at Bombay in April, when the regiment immediately dis- embarked and went into barracks, where it remained for six iT'.onths. The Seventy-fifth and Seventy-seventh regiments having, in this interval, arrived at Bombay from England, the services of the Si/* enty-first became no longer necessary at that Presidency, and the regiment proceeded in October to J^Iadras, where it arrived in December. Five companies, under Lieut.-Coloael ElpaiuL'ton, occupied the barracks in Fort St. George, and tl o other five companies proceeded to Poonamallee. Major-General the Honorable William Cordon was 1789. appointed colonel of the Skventy-first regiment on the 9th of April 1789, in succespion to Major-General John Lord Macleod, deceased. In the course of the ye^" 1789, the five companies at Poonnma'^ee were removed to Tripassoor. On the 16th of March 1790, the companies at Madi-a8l790. and Tripae y i^r received ordr *^^o join a force which 3 36 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST I ill m 1790. was assembling at Wallajohabad, under the orders of Colonel Thomas Musgrave, of the Seventy-sixth, in consequence of the hostilities which Tippoo Saib had commenced against the Rajah of Travancore, a faithful British ally. The SEVENTy-riRST arrived at Walla- johabad on the 18th of iH 'cl and joined the other troops, consisting of the niii. eenth light dragoons, fifty-second, and Seventy-first regiments, the third and fourth native cavalry, the first battalion of coast artilltry, and the second, fourth, ninth, four- teenth, and tventy-fifth coast sepoys. This foruo was put in movement on the 29tir4 of March, and proceeded towards Trichinopoly, which it did no+ reach until the 29th of April, and found there ilic following corps, under the command of Colonel Ptrydges t — two King's regiments, the thirty- sixth and seventy-second ; the second and fifth native cavalry i the first, fifth, sixth, seventh, sixteenth, twciicieth, and tweiaty-third coast sepoys. At the same time Colonel Peare, with three companies of Bengal artillery, joined, the whole being under the orders of Major-Genovnl Musgrave, to which rank he had been promo*^d < 28th of April 1 790. The av.iiy was immediately divided into brigades and wingrt; Lieut.-Colonel Jamea Stuart, of the Seventy- second Hitjhlanders, was appointed to command the left wing, and Colonel Brydges, oi the East Indi i Com- pany's service, the right; the Seventy-first and seventy-second regiments, and first '^ast India Com- pany's European battalion, formed the second European brigade. Under Lieut.-Colonel Clarke, of the Company's service. The whole of the cavalry and the advance were com- manded by Lieut.-Colonel, aftcrwar Is General Sir John Floyd, of the nineteenth light dra<;>;( is, si nee disbanded. On the 94th of May, Major- lonei il (afterwards Sir William) Medows asaumed tho command, and re- REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 37 viewed the army, which on the 2' *^h of that month 1790. was put in movement towards the C nubatore country. The army reached Caroor, a fortified place, on the 15th of June, which the enemy abandoned on the approach of the British, who remained in this position, strengthening Caroor, and collecting grain, until the 2d of July, when they moved for Arrivacourchy, arriving there on the 5th, and continuing their route by Tooramboddy, arrived on the 10th of July at Dara- poram. At this latter place Avas found a large supply of grain and other necessaries, wliich had been left by the enemy. During the march to Coimbatore, where the British arrived on the 22d of July, Tippoo's irregular horse were very active in hovering around, for the purpose of picking up stragglers and baggage. The army halted at Coimbatore, and detachments were sent off to reduce Dindigul, Errode, and Pal- ghautcherry. The flank companies of the S event Y- PIRST regiment, commanded by Captains Fhineas M*=Intosh and James Robertson, were employed upon the latter service. In August the whole of the cavalry * nd the advance had been pushed lurward to the Iscovany, near to the Gudzellietty Pass. Tippoo Saib, profiting by the divided state of the British force, descended with liis whole army, and after a very severe conflict obliged Lieut.-Colonel Floyd to fall back. The troops from Coimbatore had marched to his support, and on the junction being effected, Tippoo retired. The British relumed to Coimbatore on the 23d of Sep- tember. Upon the march of the main body, the flank com- panies of the Seventy-first and Seventy-second were withdrawn from the siege oi Palghautchcrry, and ordered to take post in the fort of Coimbatore; and on the return of the army they rejoined th'i regiment. C 3 38 BI8TORI0AL BECOBI> OF THE 8EYENTT-FIBST ll 1790. The army was again put in motion on the 29th of September, proceeding towards the Boovany by Shawoor and Coopachitty-pollum, where the troops arrived a few hours after Tippoo had left it. Some elephants, bullocks, and camels loaded with rockets, fell into the hands of the Dritlsh. On the 4th of October the army arrived at Errode, ' the enemy kee2)ing a respectful distance during the march ; and on the 6th of that month it was ascertained that he had arrived with his whole force at Darraporanti against which he opened his batteries on the 8th. The fort hod no cannon mounted, and the garrison, consisting of a hundred Europeans and two hundred sepoys, capi- tulated on honorable terms, to which the enemy strictly adhered. The British army moved on the 5th of October, and on the 15th encamped in the neighbourhood of Coim- batorc, where Lieut-Colonel Stuart joined from Pal- ghautcherryt after having taken the place, and left it in a tolerable state of defence. On the 20th of October, all the heavy baggage having been deposited in the fort of Coimbatore, the army recommenced moving, directing its march towards Errode, by Avinochy and Perentore, where it arrived on the 2d of November. On the 8th the army proceeded in the direction of Bovaneore, and thence to a ford about three miles below Errode, the whole crossing the Cavery on the 9th and 10th, while Tippoo marched with his entire force to attack a divisionr under the orders of Lieut.-Colonel Hamilton Maxwell, of the Seventy-fourth Regiment, then in the Bharamahl country. On the 11th of November the army moved by Sankerrydroog for the Tappoor Pass, and ascended on the 14th, encamping at Adamancottah, in the Bharamahl country ; marched again on the 15th, and on the 17th effected a junction with Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell at Darrampoury. This BEGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTBT. 39 '- officer had under his orders the Seventy-fourth and 17 90. Seventy-sixth King's regiments, the fourth battalion of Madras Europeans, the third, seventh, thirteenth, four- teenth, twenty-first, twenty-sixth, and twenty-seventh Bengal sepoys. '^^^ '^'^ n i ; - * The Seventy-fourth joined the Seventy-first and Seventy-second Kegiments in the second brigade ; and Lieut. -Colonel Maxwell assumed the command of the left wing in the place of Colonel Brydges, who was appointed to command at Trichinopoly. On the 18th of November the army moved by Coveri- porum to the Tappoor Pass, when the advance fell in with the rear of Tippoo's force, but could make no impression. . , . - It was now ascertained that the enemy, whose move- ments were always sudden, varied, and perplexing, was directing his course to the Camatic by Namacul and Trichinopoly. The British in consequence pursued by Malusundrum, arriving on the 23d at Vavoor ; the 27tli at Jaloor; on the 6th of December at Munsa- rapett; and at Terany on the Slst of December. '* ''--^ On the Ist of January 1791 the army arrived at 1791. Terrimungulum, and on the 12th at Amee. Diu^ng this long and fatiguing march, the Anglo- Indian troops frequently encamped upon the ground from which the enemy had removed in the morning, but the efforts made to overtake hun were not suc- cessful. The sick and heavy guns having been placed in the fort of Amee, on the 14th of January the advance and right wing marched for Velhout, where they arrived on the 27th, followed by the left wing. On the 29th of January the army was reviewed by General Charles the Earl Cornwallis, K.G., who had arrived from Bengal to assume the command, and who expressed great satisfaction at the appearance of the troops. His lordship was at this period Governor- General and Commander-in-Chief in the East Indies, C 4 m ut the unexpected bad " weather, for some time experienced, lia ving n . JereVl " the attack '»f the enemy's capital impructicrvbh , until " the conclusion of the ensuing monpoon.-'. Lord Corn- " wallirt thought he should make an ill return for the zeal and alacrity exhibited by the soldiers, if he " desired thcn> <^o draw the guns and stores back to a " magazine, whcro there remains an ample suj)ply of " both, which w-s captured by their valour ; he did not, '* therefore, li^.-*iuite to order the guns and stores which " were not waui^d for field service +0 be destroyed." In the course of this retreat the British were joined by the Mahrattn army, under Hurry Punt and Purscraai (( 44 HISTORICAL EECORB OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST i f I'" ' 1791.Bhow, cotip.isting of about thirty-two thousand men, chiefly cavaary, and thirty pieces of cannon. Of the approach of this large force, the British had been Icept in total ignorance, by the active manner in which the commuiiications were interrupted by Tippoo's irregular troops. Captain Little, having under his orders two battalions of Bombay sepoys, joined with the Mahratta army, and the supplies were now abundant. On the 11th of July, after marching by Alcotta, Goodyanelly, Outredroog, and Sankerry-droog, the army arrived at Br" • ' ^re. The enem} .:Cv. uo ^itempt whatever to interrupt the march. By this time the Nizam's cavalry had b»icome unfit to keep the field, and were allowed to return to their own country. Purseram Bhow also, with a large detachment of the Malu-attas-^ proceeded into the Sera country; but Hurry Punt, with the remainder, continued attached to the British army. On the 15th of July the whole of the sick, and one half of the tumbrils belonging to the field-pieces, were sent into the fort of Bangalore, and the army moved towards Oussoor, where it arrived on the llth of the following month. The fort of Oussoor was abandoned by the enemy, after lie had olown up the angles. In this place were found the bodies of three Europeans who had been i)ut to death by Tippoo's orders. One of these unfortunate persons, named Hamilton, had been an officer in the British navy. On the 12th of August the army moved from Oussoor, and on the 23d arrived at Bayeur. About this period Major (iowdie, of the Honorable E«at India Comi)any's Service, was detached with some troops for the reduction of the strong hill fort of Nundf/- drooff, which it was foiuid required regular npproachea. The flank companies of the thirty-sixth and Si> V£N1Y-FIU9T reghuents, under thij command of Cuptaiu REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 45 Robertson, of the latter corpa, marched on the 17th of 1791. October to join the detachment under Major Gowdie, and, upon their arrival, were immediately placed in the last parallel. On the 18 th of October, General the Earl Cornwallis, with the whole army, made a movement towards Nundy- droog, and in the evening of that day the troops were told off for an assault ujion the two breaches, \*hich had been pronounced practicable. The attacks com- menced at eleven o'clock at night, the grenadiers assaulting the right breach, and the light rompanies the left. The forlorn hope of the right attack con- sisted of twenty grenadiers, volunteers from the thirty- sixth and Seventy-first, led by Lieutenant Hugh Mackenzie of the Seventy-first, formerly paymafeter of the regiment. The same number of light infantry, headed by Lieutenant Lewis Moore, of the Seventy- first, formed the left attack. The grenadier com- pany of the regiment, in support, was commanded by Lieutenant James Duncan ; the light company, by Lieutenant Kenneth Mackenzie ; the whole under Captain Robertson's orders, as before stated. Captain Robert Burne supporter, with the thirty- sixth grenadiers, the right attack, and Captiin William Hartley, with the light company of that regiment, the left attack ; Major-General Medinvs, as usual, anhnat- ing the whole with his presence. Both breaches were carried without much resistance fro)n the enemy, and the gateway of the in'ior wall being «oon secured the fort fell into the possession of the British. Many of the enemy were killiMl, and several, in attempting to escape, were dashed to pieces ovei he precipices. It was an additional source of gratification, that this important service hud been achieved without the loss t)f a Britisli soldier. In a few days subsequently to the fall of Nundy- droog, the army retraced it.^ route to Bangalore. 46 HISTORICAL BECOBD OP THE SEVENTY-PIEST |-f 11' .< « 1» . I'iii -I 1791. On the 4th of December the troops were again put in movement, directing their march towards Saven- droog, a fortress situated on the side of a mountain, environed by almost inaccessible rocks. The fort being reconnoitred, a detachment under Lieut.-Colonel Jamas Stuart, of the Seventy-second regiment, was selected, and ordered to reduce the place. On the 17th the British were enabled to open upon the fort a battery of «ix eighteen-pounders and three twelve-pounders, with considerable effect. The (lank companies of the Seventy-first and K;ain Sibbald and Lieutenant Daniel Bayne killed ; Ensign Duncan Mackenzie was wounded ; about one hundred rank and file were killed and wounded. The enemy's loss was very severe, being estimated at 20,000 Iiors-de-comhat, Eighty pieces 4 ri. ^i%&ifi«. I s ::-^€" 4 r'-i- v-' ' >' ■■•---^ii.'r'^ ■='*' :>% *v 0^^*^' IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // *'> 1.0 1.1 1^121 125 £f |i° 12.0 u IL25 III 1.4 mil ik 1.6 Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WIST MAIN STRUT WIISTH.N.V. MSM (7U)I73-4S03 > 4> 4^ \ ,' t BEGIMBNT, niOHLAin) LIGflT IKPAiraBT. ^1 «nd signed, was deliyered by the young Abdel Kalekl792. < to each of the confederates. On the 20th the counter- * part was Bent off to Tippoo Saib. ^ Thus tenninated a war in which the confedei'ates wrested from the enemy seventy fortresses, eight '' hundred pieces of cannon, and destroyed or dispersed at ••least fiflty thousand men. By the articles of the treaty, Tippoo was bound to pay a large sum of money, and to -cede one half of his dominions. The Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in ^ India granted from this money a sum equal to six months' batta for all ranks, add the Court of Directors afterwards made a similar grant. . i»v ^ ^^- On the 26th of March, the exchange of the defiiiitive ^^^ ' treaty being completed, the British commenced moving ■towards Bangalore, fVom whence they proceeded to the ' Pednaigdurgum Pass, whore the Bengal troops were ordered to their own presidency. Early in May the army descended the Ghauts, arriving soon after at Vellore, where the Commander-in- Chief arranged the cantonments of the troops, and proceeded to Madras. The Seventt-Hrbt received orders to march to the southward, and in the month of June arrived at Warriore, near Trichinopoly, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Baird, who during the campaign had been absent from the rerlirent in com- mand of a brigade. Eight companies were stationed at Warriore, and two were detached with Major Dalrymple to Dindigul. In this situation the regiment continued for the remainder of the year. •»> «»Ht - In March 1703, the eight companies under the com-1793. mand of Lieut.-Colonel Baird proceeded from Warriore to Secundermally, in the neighbourhood of Madura. Meanwhile the events of the French revolution had involved England in another contest, the National Con- vention of France having declared war against Great Britain and Holland, iu February 1793. The news of I 'I ' 52 HISTORICAL BECOBD OP THE SEVENTY-FIRST 17 93. this event arrived in India in May following, when the siege of the French settlement of Pondicherry, on the Coromandel coast, was determined upon. Lieut.- Colonel Baird, of the Seventy-first, was appointed to command a brigade on this service. < In July the flank companies of the regiment were ordered to join the force about to besiege Pondicherryf and marched for that purpose, being followed soon afterwards by the battalion companies. The place sur- rendered on the 2 2d of August, and the Seventy- first returned to Secundermally and Dindigul, where the regiment continued during the remainder of the year. 1794. An attack upon the Mauritius was in contemplation at the commencement of the year 1794, and troops for that service were assembled at Wallajohabad. The Seventy-first, having received orders to join this force, marched to Wallajohabad, where the regiment remained only a short time, having been ordered to return to the southward, in consequence of the pro- jected expedition being relinquished. The regiment marched accordingly, and arrived at Tanjore in June, where it was stai i for the re- mainder of the year, having two coiu^,..nies detached, under Major Dalrymple, at Vellum. 1795. Holland became united to France in the early part of 1795, and was styled the Latavian republic. Upon the arrival of this information in India, an expedition was fitted out against the island of Ceylon, where the Dutch had several settlements. Major Dalrymple, with the flank companies, marched to the coast, and embarked at Ncgapatam, for the purpose of co-operating with the troops destined for Ceylon, under the command of Colonel James Stuart, of the seventy-second, who was promoted to the rank of Major-General at this period. The fleet arrived on the coast of Ceylon on the 1st of August, and two days afterwards the troops landed four BEGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 53 miles north of the fort of Trincomalee . The siege of 1795. the fort was commenced as soon as the artillery and stores could be landed, and removed sufficiently near to the place. On the 26th of August a practicable breach was effected, and the garrison surrendered. The fort of Batticahe surrendered on the 18 th of September, and the fort and island of Manaar capitulated on the 5th of October. After these services were performed, the flank companies returned to Tanjore in the month of Octo- ber, having lost eleven men in killed and wounded. Captain William Charles Gorrie, of the grenadier com- pany, was desperately wounded in this expedition. In May 1796, the regiment marched to Wallajo-1796. habad, where it was stationed during the remainder of the year. On the 2d of January 1797, the regiment was in- 17 97. spected by Major-General Clarke, who issued the following general order: — " Major-General Clarke has experienced infinite sa- ** tisfaction, this morning, at the review of His Majesty's " SEVENTY-riRST regiment. " He cannot say that on any occasion of field " exercise he ever was present at a more perfect " performance. " When a corps is so striking in appearance, and so " complete in every branch of its discipline, little can " occur to the Commander-in-chief to particularize. " He cannot but notice, however, that the Seventy- " first regiment has excited his admiration for its " expertne»s in those parts of its exercise which aro " most essential, and most difficult to execute. He " alludes to its order and regularity when moving in " line ; its extreme accuracy in preserving distances, " and the neatness and promptitude that are so evident " in all its formations. So much perfection in a corps, " whose services in India will long be held in rcmem- d3 54 i* HISTOBIOAL BECOBD OF THE SEVENTT-FIEST 1797."brance does the greatest honor to Lieut-Colonel '^ Baird and all his officers, to whom, and the corps at **'large,the Commander-in-chief desires to offer his best "thanks." wy^mn ' ^y^---'-ir "m. ifh5^ .v*?i y»' ? • m The raiment remained in the cantonment of Walla- johabad until the month of October, when orders were issued for its return to Europe, It was accordingly drafted, giving five hundred men to the seventy-third and seventy-fourth regiments, and then marched from Wallajohabad, under the command of Colonel Baird, with the non-commissioned officers, drummers, and invalids, to Madras, and immediately embarked on board of Indiamen for Great Britain. The fleet sailed from Madras Roads on the 17th of October, and was at sea during the remainder of the year.* 1798. Early in January 1798, the fleet arrived at the Cape of Good Hope, where the commanding officer of the regiment. Colonel Baird, was detained upon the staff, having been appointed brigadier-general. After re- maining a few days in Table Bay, the fleet sailed, and reached St. Helena in February, where it was detained three months waiting for a convoy. * The fleet sailed on the 1st of May from St. Helena, without a convoy, and in July, in consequence of contrary winds, was compelled to put into Cork Har- bour. It sailed from thence for the Thames, and on the I2th of August the regiment disembarked at Wool- wich, where it remained for a few days, and then re- embarked in smacks for Leith. After landing, the regiment proceeded to Stirling. As a mark of indul- gence, a general leave for two months was granted to • On the S3d of May 1831, His Majesty King George the Fourth wu graciously pleased to authorise the Skvekty-first to bear on the regi- mental colour and appointments the word " Hindoostax," in commemo- ration of its distinguished services in the several actions in which it had been engaged, while in India, between the years 1780 and 1797. ■a .1 "i RBOmSNT, HIGHLAND LIGHT IVFAV^^^. 55 the officers and men of the Seventt-fibst, to enable 1798;^ them to visit their friends and famiUes, after a long absence from their native country. At the expiration of this period, the whole assembled at Stirling, with the addition of several recruits. Immediately afterwards, the whole of the officers and non-commissioned officers, with the exception of the staif, and a few at head- •'*'4 quarters, were sent out to recruit the regiment. ^ During the year 1799, the head-quarters remained 1799. at Stirling, and the recruiting went on but slowly. *'i - In May 1800, the strength of the regiment amountedlSOO. to about two hundred rank and file, when a route arrived changing the quarters to Paisley, but soon after the march an order arrived for its proceeding to Ireland. In June the regiment reached Portpatrick, and crossed immediately to Donaghadee, from whence it marched, under the command of Colonel Dalrymple, to Newry, and in a few days afterwards was removed -^ to Dundalk. ■:•'' i'^..';.--iA&i,U'J .rl'.^vi,.^ .... i- vi.r-v....o -.li- In July the regiment received six hundred volim- teers from the Scotch Fencible corps serving in Ireland, and remained at Dundalk until the close of the year, when a route for Dublin was received. At this period, Colonel Dalrymple was appointed brigadier-general, and the command of the regiment devolved on Brevet Lieut.-Colonel John French. On the 6th of December Major Denis Pack was pro- moted from the fourth Boyal Irish dragoon guards to be Lieutenant-Colonel in the Seventy-first regiment, in succession to Lieut.-Coloncl the Honorable John Lindsay, who retired from the service. The regiment, early in the year 1801, marched from 1801. Dundalk to Dublin, and occupied the barracks in the Palatine Square. On the 24th of April, Lieut.- Colonel Pack joined, and assumed the command of the regiment. • d4 I i 56 HISTORICAL RECORD OP THE SEVENTT-FIE8T 1802. In March 1802, in which month the Peace of Amiens was concluded, the regiment proceeded from Dublin, and was cantoned in the county of Wicklow. The corps was so divided, that at Arklow, the head* quarters, there were only two companies. In this situation it continued for the remainder of the year. 1803. The regiment proceeded, in March 1803, in three divisions, to Ballinasloe, where it remained for a few » days, and afterwards marched to Loughrea. <" Major-General Sir John Francis Cradock, K.B., was appointed colonel of the Seventy-firbt regiment on the 6th of August 1803, in succession to General the Honorable William Gordon, who was removed to the twenty-first Royal North British Fusiliers. The regiment continued at Loughrea, but the light company was detached to Limerick, to join a light battalion which was being formed at that place. 1804. In May the regiment proceeded from Loughrea to the county of Limerick, the head-quarters being sta- tioned at Bathkeale; one detachment at Newcastle, another at Tarbert, and a third at Askeaton. While the regiment was stationed in Ireland, war had recommenced with France, and Bonaparte having made preparations for invading Great Britain, additional measures of defence to those of the former year were adopted by the Government;* and under the "Additional Force Act,** passed on the 10th of July 1804, a second battalion was added to the Seventy-first regiment, which was to consist of men to be raised for limited * In consequence of the renewal of the -war with France, in May 1803, the British Government introduced the "Army of Reserve Act," which was passed in July following, for raising men for home service by ballot, and thus caused certain regiments to be augmented to two battalions. Volunteer and yeomanry corps were also formed in every part of the kingdom, in order to preserve Great Britain from the threatened invasion. n ,ii«' I ■■^- -r REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 57 service in certain counties of North Britfun. The 1804 second battalion was formed at Dumbarton in October, ^^^t. to the command of which Lieut.-Colonel Lord George Beresford was appointed. Its establishment was fix6d at 23 seijeants, 22 drummers, 20 corporals, and 380 privates. ' ' - ' In March 1805 the first battalion, under the com- 1805. mand of Lieut.-Colonel Pack, proceeded to Bandon inistbat. the county of Cork, and was stationed at that place until July, when it marched to Cork, and immediately afterwards to Monkstown, where it embarked in trans- ports, having been selected to form part of a secret expedition under its former commander, Major-General Sir David Baird. In the beginning of August the embarkation was completed, and on the 5th of that month the fleet sailed, convoyed by three 64-gun ships, two frigat'3s and gun-brigs, under the orders of Commodore Sir Home Popham ; and on the 28th of September the fleet, after a very boisterous passage, arrived at Madeira. On the 3d of October the fleet left Madeira, and on the 12th of November arrived at St. Salvador, in the Brazils, where an opportunity was afforded of refreshing the men, landing the sick, and procuring some horses for the cavaliy. The fleet again put to sea on the 28th oi November, and directed its course towards the Dutch colony of the Cape of Good Hope, then in possession of the Batavian Government, which was united with France in hostility to Great Britain. The fleet arrived at the high table-land of the Cape 1806. of Good Hope on the 4th of January 1806, and shortly afterwards came to anchor. The whole of the following day the surf upon the shore of the bay was too violent to admit of any attempt to land. Brigadier-General William Carr, afterwards General Viscount, Beresford, was de- itA 58 HISTOBICAI, BEOOBD OF THE SBTBNTT-FIBST 1^06.taohed, with such of the cavaby aa had hones, and the i«tbat.thu*ty-eighth regiment, to Saldanha Bay»* In the morning of the 6th of January a landing was effected by the Highland brigade, under the command of Brigadier-General Honald Craufurd Ferguson, in the performance of which service Lieut. -Colonel Pack, ,v the commanding officer of the Seventy-first re^ment, was wounded. The following day was devoted to land- ing the supplies and the remainder of the army. •> .iii Early in the morning of the 8th of January Major- General Sir David Baird formed his troops in two columns, and moved up to the heights of Bleuherg (Blue Mountain), from whence the enemy was seen, drawn up in order of battle, in two lines, with twenty- three pieces of cannon, his numbers being calculated at 5,000, of which a large proportion was cavalry. The British lines were formed with promptitude and correctness, and the enemy was attacked with the utmost spirit. He maintained his ground with some firmness, until a charge of the Highland brigade disr lodged and completely routed him, with the loss of three guns and 700 men. * Number of men which arriyed at the Cape of Good Hope in January 1806, under Major General Sir David Baird. Number landed, BaiQADXt. Beoimknts. including Recruits for India, attached. 1st. Commanded by [ Twenty-fourth 600 Brigadier-General • Thirty-eighth 900 Beresford. Eighty-third 800 2d. Under Briga- " S^iVENTT FIRST, Ist battalion 800 dier General Fer-- Serenty-second 600 guson. Ninety-third ... 800 Fifty-ninth 900 Company's recruits 200 '.;...*■•,! Seamen and marines 1,100 • ' 1 ' . . ■ Artillery - - - 200 - ' Twentieth light dragoons - Total • 300 7,200 BBOIMEHT, HIOHIiAKD LIOHX< INFAITTBT. 50* In tliig afi&ir the Setentt-fibst had Brevet Lieut.- 1806 Colonel Bobert Campbell wounded. Five men were 1st tet killed, and two seijeants and sixty-four rank and file were wounded. .i«f,;iteiii atava The troops halted for the night at the Reit Valley, and on the 9th of January the army moved towards the Salt River, where it was intended to take up a position previously to the attack of Cape Town, when a flag of truce appeared from the town, which produced some negotiations, that terminated in its surrender to His Majesty's arms. Lieut.-General Janssens, the Governor of the colony, after his defeat at Bleuberg on the 8th, had retired towards the interior of the country by the Hottentot Holland Kloof, or Pass, from whence, on the 19th of January, he signed and ratified the treaty that placed the whole of the Cape of Good Hope and its dependencies in the possession of Great Britain, under whose sway it has since continued. The Royal authority was subsequently granted for the Seventy-fikst to bear the words " Cape op Good Hope " on the regimental colour and appointments, to commemorate its distinguished gallantry at the capture of that important colony.* *. - * The lofty promontory of Southern Africa received the name of " Cabo de bonne Esperanza" (Cape of Good Hope), from King John II. of Portugal, upon its discovery, in 1487, by Bartholomew Diaz, in consequence of a f>oinl hope being entertained of discovering the long- wished for passage to India, which ten years afterwards was realised by Yasco de Gama, who doubled the Cape, and continued the voyage to the Malabar coast For more than a century the Cape continued as a tem- porary rendezvous for European mariners. In July 1620, Humphrey Fitaherbert and Andrew Shillinge, two of the East India Company's commanders, took formal possession of the place, in the name of King James L, but no settlement was formed. In 1650 the government of the Netherlands resolved to colonlie tUe Cape, which remained in pos- session of the Dutch until July 1795, when it was taken by the British for the Prince of Orange, but was restored to its former possessors by the Peace of Amiens, concluded in 1802. It was agam captured by the British in 1806, in whose possession it has since remained. 60 HISTOBICAL BECOBD OF THE SEYENTY-FIBST 1806. As the following letter from Brigadier General ist tot. Ferguson to Major-General Sir David Baird is very creditable to the regiment and to its commander, it is here inserted. iC Sib, '* Cape Towrit 19tk January 1806. " As in the affair of Bleuberg, on the 8th instant, " chance placed two of the enemy's guns in possession of " the Highland brigade, I hope you will be pleased to " order the allowance usually granted on such occasions " to be issued, and shared amongst the 71st, 72d, and " 93d regiments. " Although the guns fell into our hands in front of " the 7 1st regiment, Lieut.-Colonel Pack (desirous that " the three regiments should be considered as one " family) has most handsomely withdrawn the prior " claim His Majesty's 71st regiment might have made, " and to which the situation of the guns, when taken, *' would have entitled that most excellent corps. " I have, &c. " (Signed) E. C. Ferguson, " Brigadier General. " Major-General Sir David Baird." The Seventy-pibst went into quarters at the can- tonment of Wynberg, about seven miles from Cape Town, on the road to Simon's Bay, where the battalion re- mained until the 1 2th of April, when, most unexpectedly, an order arrived for its immediate embarkation on an expedition to the Bio de la Plata in South America, which had been planned by the British commanders, naval and military, at the Cape. The Seventy-fiest was the only corps of the Cape garrison destined for this service, with the addition of a few dragoons and some artillery. At this period the strength of the bat- talion amounted to eight hundred rank and file, having received some recruits from foreign corps at the Cape. The troops were to be commanded by Brigadier-General BEOIMENT^ HIGHLAND LIGHT lyPAKTRT. 61 < William Carr Beresford, afterwards General Viscount 1806. Beresford. r . "i r. > i; .x-\l,. -u]' istbat. The battalion was embarked in line-of-battle ships and in transports, and on the 14th of April the fleet sailed from Table Bay, directing its course to the west- ward until the 20th, when, inconsequence of unfavour- able weather, and having parted company with one of the transports, in which were three companies of the Seventy-first, the signal was made to rendezvous at St. Helena, at which island the fleet arrived on the 30th of April, with the exception of the missing transport. Here the force under Brigadier-General Beresford re- ceived an augmentation of two hundred men from the St. Helena regiment, making a total of a thousand and eighty-seven rank and file. On the 2d of May the fleet sailed from St. Helena, and after a tedious voyage arrived at Cape St. Mary's, at the entrance of the Rio de la Plata, on the 8th of June, where it met with the missing transport. The troops that had sailed in the line-of-battle ships were transferred on the 16th of June to the transports, which proceeded up the river, and on the 24th of that month came to anchor opposite the city of Buenos Ayres. On the 25th, at night, the Seventy-first, with the other troops, effected a landing without any opposition. The following morning they pushed forward, and met the enemy at the village of Reduction, who made a trifling stand, and then retired towards the city. On this occasion Captain Henry Le Blanc of the Seventy-first lost his leg, and a serjeant and five rank and file were wounded. The British troops continued to advance in pursuit of the enemy, and on the morning of the 27th of June forced their passage across the Chualo. Some skirmish- ing followed this movement, but the city of Buenos Ayres almost immediately surrendered. In the evening the town and fort were taken possession of by the first 62 HISTORICAL BEGORD Or THB S£V£NTT*FIRST ). 1806.battalion of the Sbtbntt-first and detachments of icttet. Marines and St. Helena Regiment. h^.-^ix-x't^.j tt> The Setentt-virst occupied barracks in Buenos Ayres, and remained undisturbed until the beginning of August, by which time the enemy had collected a force of about 1,500 men, under a leader named Pueridon, at five leagues from the city. Brigadier-General Beresford, in consequence, moved out with three hundred of the Seventy-first, fifty from the St Helena Regiment, and six field pieces ; attacked and dispersed the enemy, taking all his artillery, namely, ten pieces of \'arious calibre. The battalion had only five men woimded in this operation. iKfci. i 0',\ i' 0s>i •■ a*.:{>;i • .. ..^ iv,vt«,?') About this period, a body of the enemy, headed by Colonel Liniers, a French officer in the service of Sptun, crossed from Colonna to Concher, evidently with hostile intentions. Forming a junction with the force under Pueridon, the whole marched upon Buenos Ayres. On the 10th of August the enemy commenced opera- tions, by the massacre of a Serjeant and his guard of the Seventy-first Regiment, who were posted at a place in the suburbs where the bull-fights were usually exhibited. On the following day much skirmishing ensued in the outskirts of the city, the enemy taking possession of the tops of houses, from which he kept up a galling and destructive fire. During this time the miun body of the British force took up a position in the Grand Square, but afterwards retired into the fort of Buenos Ayres. Being now bereft of all resources, and without hopes of reinforce- ment, there appeared no alternative but to capitulate, and about one o'clock on the 12th of August hostilities ccaHcd, and the fort was surrendered. The troops marched out with the honors of war, and laid down their arms in the Square. The Seventy-first were now prisoners ; the offi- cers were allowed their parole, and quartered upon the '^BEOIMENT, HIGHLAND LIQHT IMFAMTKT. 63 force kards troops down inhabitants ; the men were confined in the prisons of the 1806. city. ittlMt In these melancholy proceedings fell Lieutenant William Mitchell and Ensign Thomas Lucas. Both had much distinguished themselves. The battalion lost in • killed and wounded ninety-one men. mi 'Jc ra^^'sm* b.'"..In August 1806 the second battalion embarked atzdUt. Glasgow for Ireland, and arrived at Belfast on the let of September. About the middle of September, the Seventt-fibst istbat were removed from Buenos Ayres into the interior. Bri- gadier-General Beresford, with his staff, and Lieut.- Colonel Pack, were placed at Luxon, from whence they subsequently effected their escape, upon learning that the removal of tk^ prisoners still further up the country had been ordered. v i i'*! qi . : ic Lieut.-Colonel Pack was thus enabled to join the 1807. troops which had landed near Monte Video in January 1807, under the command of Brigadier-General Sir Samuel Auchmuty, and to afford assistlmce in the im- portant operations then being carried on. Sir Samuel Auchmuty, at Lieut.-Colonel Pack's request, directed a board of naval and military officers to inquire into the particulars of his escape, by whom it was unanimously approved, and he was declared free to serve.* The second battalion was removed from Ireland to 2d bat. Scotland in January 1807, but returned to Ireland in June following. In May 1807, a further removal to the interior of the utbat prisoners took place. The officers were collected at a college belonging to the Jesuits, about forty leagues to the northward of Cordova, and entirely separated from their men. In this situation they remained until August following, when, just as they were ordered to prepare for a transfer to a station still more remote, the accounts * Lieut-Colonel Pack's narrative of hia escape is inserted in the Appandiz, page 158. . ^ » . .i. , l:,l * i! ill I " ■ 'U 64 HISTORICAL BECOBD Or THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1807. of the convention entered into by Lieut. -General John istbaf^Yhitelocke were received, by which it was stipulated that the prisoners should be restored to liberty, on condition that all the British forces should be with- drawn. It is scarcely necessary to remark, that the prospect of being restored to liberty and friends was greatly damped by the military events which produced it, and which completely extinguished the ardent hopes of success that had been entertained from the arrival of the last British force in South America, ''-'-' ' -" A In September the whole of the officers and men were re-conducted to Buenos Ayres, from whence they were conveyed in boats to Monte Video, and there embarked in transports, with a view of returning to Europe. It is a circumstance highly creditable to the charac- ter of the soldiers of the Seventy-first, that although so many and powerful allurements were held out to induce them to remain in South America, still not more than thirty-six individuals were found to swerve from their duty and allegiance to their king and country. The fleet sailed immediately, and after a tedious and rough voyage of three months the transports having the Seventy-first on board put into Cork Harbour in December, and on the 27th of that month the whole were landed, without uniform, clothing, arms, or accou- trements, and marched to Middleton, under the com- mand of Major Henry ToUey, Lieut.-Colonel Pack having previously returned to England from South America, 1808. In March 1808, the regiment proceeded from Mid- dleton to Cork, where its equipment in every respect was completed. ad bat. The second battalion embarked at Londonderry for Scotland on the 9th of April 1808, after transferring 200 men to the first battalion, which raised the strength of the latter to nearly 900 rank and file. TlEaiMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTBY. 65 i the 26th of April, whilst in garrison at Cork, 1808. ne,v colours, to replace those left in South America, i"t bat. were presented to the Seventy-first by Lieut.- Gencral John Floyd, who had commanded the cavalry and advance in the campaign of 1790 in the East Indies. The following animating and soldierlike address was made by the gallant general on the occasion : " Seventy-first ! 1 " I am directed' to perform the honorable duty of presenting your colours. " Brave Skventy-fir8T, the world is well acquainted with your gallant conduct at the capture of Buenos Ayres, in South America, under one of His Majesty's " bravest generals. " It is well known that you defended your conquest with the utmost courage, good conduct, and discipline to the lust extremity. "When diminished to a handful, hopeless of succour, and destitutip of provisions, you were overwhelmed by multitudes, and reduced by the *' fortune of war to lose your liberty, and your well- " defended colours, but not your honor. Your honor, " Seventy-fiust regiment, remains unsullied. Your " last act in the field covered you with glory. Your " generous despair, calling upon your general to suffer " you to die with arms in your hands, proceeded from " the genuine spirit of British soldiers. Your beha- " viour in prosperity,— your sufferings in captivity, — " and your faithful discharge of your duty to your " King and country, are appreciated by all. " You who now stand on this pnrnde, in defiance of " tho alhu'cnionts held out to base desertion, are cn- •* dcared to tho army and to tho country, and your " conduci, will ensure you tho esteem of all true soldiers, " —of all worthy men,— and fill every one of you with " honest martial pride. it t( it n «( (( I 66 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST l! J V' ' I \ 1808. " It has been my good fortune to have witnessed, in ist bat." a remote part of the world, the early glories and " gallant conduct of the Seventy-first regiment in " the field ; and it is with great satisfaction I meet you " again, with replenished ranks, with good arms in your " hands, and with stout hearts in your bosoms. " Look forward, officers and soldiers, to the achieve- " ment of new honors and the acquirement of fresh "fame!! " Officers 1 be the friends and guardians of these " brave fellows committed to your charge ! ! " Soldiers! give your confidence to your officers. " They have shared with you the chances of war ; they " have bravely bled along with you ; — they will always " do honor to themselves and you. Preserve your " regiment's reputation for valour in the field and re- " gularity in quarters. " I have now the honor to present the " Royal colour. « This is the King's colour ! ! " I have now the honor to present your Regi- " MENTAL colour. " This is the colour of the Seventy-first regiment. " May victory for ever crown these colours ! ! 1" The Peninsula was at this period the centre of poli- tical interest. Portugal, deserted by her government, and Spain betrayed, the people of each rose in arms to recover the national independence. Dissensions had arisen in the royal family of Spain, occasioned by the Bway of Emanuel Godoy, who bore the title of Prince of Peace. This minister was dismissed, but the court was unable to restore tranquillity. In this emergency, the French emperor was solicited to be umpire, and Napoleon ultimately placed the crown of Spain on his brother Joseph, who was transferred from the throne of Naples. The Spaniards flew to arms in conse- quence. The British government resolved to aid the H REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 67 Spanish and Fortugueee patriots, and a British army 1808. was ordered to proceed to the Peninsula, under the com- i«tbat. mand of Lieut.-General Sir Arthur Wellesley. The first battalion of the Seventy-first regiment formed part of the force selected on this occasion. The first battalion of the Seventy-first regiment embarked at the Cove of Cork on the 17 th of June 1808. Its strength consisted of fifty- two seijeants, twenty-two drummers, and eight hundred ancl seventy- four rank and file. "• -> S' -• — In June 1808 His Majesty King George III. was pleased to approve of the Seventy-first bearing the * title of Glasgow regiment, in addition to the appellation of Highland regiment. In the first instance, the Seventy-first were brigaded with the fifth, thirty-eighth, and fifth battalion of the sixtieth regiment, under Brigadier-General Henry Fane, and sailed for Portugal, in conjunction with the forces destined to aid the Spaniards and Portuguese, on the 12th of July. After a favourable passage, the troops anchored in Mondego Bay in the beginning of August, and a landing was effected in the vicinity of the village of Frejus. Early in the morning of the 4th of August a small piquet of the enemy stationed in the neighbourhood fell back, and the operation of disembarking the troops was carried into effect without opposition. The army then moved on to a position across a deep sandy country, where it halted, and encamped for the night. At this period a change took place in the arrange- ment of the brigades, and the first battalion of the Seventy-first was placed, with the thirty-sixth and fortieth regiments, in that commanded by Major- Gcncral Ronald Craufurd Fergusou. The division under Major-General Sir Brent Spencer, K.B., from Cadiz, consisting of about four thousand men, joined on the 8th of August ; and, after a short B 8 68 HISTOBICAL BECOBD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1808. halt, the army was again put in motion to occupy a ist bat more fonvard position, where it remained for some days. On the 17th of August the enemy, com- manded by General Laborde, was encountered near Roleia. The position was attacked, and carried with great loss to the French, who retreated on Torres Vedras. The light company of the Seventy-first was the only part of the regiment engaged, the remainder being employed in manoeuvring on the right flank of the French. The light company suffered a trifling loss, having but one man killed and a few wounded. The Seventy-first subsequently received the royal authority to bear the word " Roleia " on the regi- mental colour and appointments, in commemoration of this victory. Lieut.-General Sir Arthur Wellesley, after the battle of Roleia, did not pursue the enemy by the high roads, but keeping to the right near the sea, marched to Vimiera, to cover the landing of a brigade commanded by Major-General Anatruther, which was effected on the 20th of August. The morning of the 21st of August was given up to the troops, in order to prepare and repose themselves. The men were engaged in washing and cleaning their equipments, when the approach of the enemy, moving to the left, was discovered at eight o'clock in the morning, and the brigades commanded by Major- General Ferguson, Brigadier-Generals Nightingall, Acland, and Bowes, were consequently moved across a valley from the heights on the west to those on the east of Vimiera. Marshal Jiuiot, Duke of Abrnntes, moved on his army to the attack of the position, and commenced it on the British centre, where the fiftieth regiment was posted, moving along the front gradually to the left, until the whole lino became engaged. M the left, BEGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTBT. 69 A short time previously to this, the soldiers of the 1808, brigade were ordered to sit down, with their arms iniatbot their hands, keeping their formation. The enemy in the meantime cannonaded the whole line, and pushed on his sharpshooters and infantry. To oppose the former, Major-General Ferguson ordered the left sec- tions of companies to move forward and skirmish. Upon the retreat of the enemy's sharpshooters, the action became general along the front of this brigade, and the whole moved forward to the attack. Nothing could surpass the steadiness of the troops on this occasion, and the general and commanding officer set a noble example, which was followed by all. The grenadier company of the Seventy-first greatly distinguished itself, in conjunction with a sub- division of the light company of the tliirty-sixth regi- ment. Captain Alexander Forbes, who commanded the grenadier company, was ordered to the support of some British artillery, and, seizing a favorable opportunity, made a dash at a battery of the enemy's artillery immediately in his front. He succeeded in capturing five guns and a howitzer, with horses, caissons, and equipment complete. In this affair alone the grenadier company had Lieutenants John Pratt and Ralph Dudgeon and thirteen rank and file wounded, together with two men killed.* -, The French made a daring effort to retake their artillery, both with cavalry and infantry; but the gallant conduct of the grenadier company, and the ad- vance of Major-General Ferguson's brigade, finally left the gtms in the possession of those who had so gallantly captured them. ♦ Lieut. -General Sir Harry Burrard landed during the action, but did not assume the comntand. Lieut-General Sir Hew Dalrymple landed on the following day, and took command of the army. The force under Lieut.-General Sir John Moore was also disembarked during the nego* tiution, which subsequently took place, making the British army to amount to thirty-two thousand men. E 3 I 70 HISTOKICAL BECORD OP THE SEVENTT-riRST 1808. George Clark, one of the pipers of the re^ment, ut bat and afterwards piper to the Highland Society of London, was wounded in this action, and being unable to accompany his corps in the advance against the enemy, put his pipes in order, and struck up a favourite regimental air, to the great delight of his comrades. This is the second instance in which the pipers of the Seventy-first have behaved with particular gallantry, and evinced high feeling for the credit and honor of the corps.* During the advance of the battalion, several prisoners were taken, among whom was the French general, Brennier. Corporal John M'^Kay, of the Seventy- first, who took him, was afterwards promoted to an ensigncy in the Fourth West India Regiment. ' The result of this battle was the total defeat of the enemy, who subsequently retreated on Lisbon, with the loss of twenty-one pieces of cannon, twenty-three ammunition waggons, with powder, shells, stores of all descriptions, and 20,000 rounds of musket ammunition, together with a great many officers and soldiers killed, wounded, and taken prisoners. The conduct of the battalion, and of its commanding officer, Lieut.-Colonel Pack, was noticed in the public despatches, and the thanks of both Houses of Parlia- ment were conferred on the troops. . The following officers of the Seventy-piIIst were wounded in the battle of Vimiera: Captains Arthur Jones and Maxwell Mackenzie; Lieutenants John Pratt, William Hartley, Augustus M^Intyre, and Ralph Dudgeon ; Ensign James Campbell, and Acting Adju- tant R. M'^Alpin. The Seventy-first subsequently received the royal authority to bear the word " Vimiera " on the regimental colour and appointments, in commemoration of this battle. The " Convention of Cintra" was the result of this * Vide page 14. M REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTBY. 71 victory, and it was signed on the 30th of August. By 1808. its provisions the French army evacuated Portugal, lit bat which country became freed from its oppressors. The British army was ordered to move forward to Lisbon, some of the reinforcements for it having pre- ceded it by water, and occupied the forts at the mouth of the Tagus. The French army having by this con- vention fallen back on Lisbon, the British proceeded to the vicinity of Fort St. Julien, and encamped. All the objects of the expedition being carried into effect, and the French troops embarked for France, the British army remained for some time at Lisbon and ita > vicinity. At this period (September) Lieut.-General Sir John Moore, having assumed the command, made dispositions for entering Spain, iwjini-j./ ; : ai ot/r^.yi The first battalion of the Seventy-first was now brigaded with the thirty-sixth and ninety-second regi- ments under Brigadier-General Catlin Craufurd, and placed in the division under the command of Lieut- General the Honorable John Hope, afterwards the Earl of Hopetoun. On the 27th of October the division was put in motion, and after a short stay at Badajoz resumed the march, proceeding by Merida, Truxillo, Jaraicejo, Puerto-dc-Merivette, and crossing the Tagus at the bridge of Almaraz, directed its route upon Talavera- de-la-Keyna. From this town the column proceeded to the Escurial, seven leagues to the north-west of Madrid. Intelligence was here received of the enemy's ap- proach towards Madrid, and two companies of the Seventy-first, under Major Archibald Campbell, were pushed forward to occupy the important pass in the Guadarnma Mountains, which separate Old from New Castile. After a halt of a few days, the division was put in motion over the Guadarama Pass to Villa Castin, at which place Lieut.-General the Honorable John Hope, in consequence of the intelligence which he re- E 4 1. y '1, i 72 HISTOBICAL BECOBD OF THE SEVENTT-FIRBT 1808.ceived of the enemy's movements, made a night march to i8t bat the left, by Avila and Peneranda, and finally proceeded to Alba-do-Tormes. At the latter place a junction was formed with a detachment from the army under Lieut.- General Sir John Moore, then at Salamanca. The army under Sir John Moore was shortly afterwards put in motion towards Valladolid, and subsequently to the left, to form a junction with Lieut.-General Sir David Baird's division, which had landed at Corunna. ' • -^ "> ^ Previously to this period, the Spanish armies under General Blake, near Bilboa on the left. General Castanos in the centre, and General Palafox lower down the Ebro on the right, had been completely de- feated; and Lieut.-General Sir John Moore conse- quently made arrangements for a retreat on Portugal by Ciudad Rodrigo ; but it having been represented to him that Madrid held out against the French, he was induced to effect a junction with Lieut.-General Sir David Baird, in order to make a diversion in favour of Madrid, by attacking Marshal Soult on the river Carion. r; . ; i: The British force, twenty-nine thousand strong, joined at Toro on the 21st of December, and on the 23d of that month Sir John Moore advanced with the whole army. The cavalry had already met with that of the enemy, and the infantry were within two hours' march of him, when an intercepted letter informed the British commander that Napoleon, who had entered Madrid on the 4th of December, was then in full march for Sala- manca and Benevente. A retreat on Corunna, through Gallicia, was immediately decided on, that through Portugal being then impracticable. Accordingly the several divisions marched towards the Esla, the greater part crossing by the bridge of Benevente on the 26th of December, when, after a day's halt, the cavalry under Lieut.-General Lord Paget and Brigadier-General the Honorable Charles Stewart REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTBT. 73 had an engagement with some of the Imperial Guards 1808. that had forded the river Esla under General Le Fevre, i»tl>at who was made prisoner, with several of his men. At this period the situation of the British army was dispiriting in the extreme. In the midst of winter, in a dreary and desolate country, the soldiers, chilled and drenched with the heavy rains, and wearied by long and rapid marches, were almost destitute of fuel to cook their victuals, and it was with extreme diiBiculty that they could procure shelter. Provisions were scarce, irregularly issued, and difficult of attainment. The waggons, in which were their magazines, baggage, and stores, were often deserted in the night by the Spanish drivers, who were terrified by the approach of the French. Thus baggage, ammunition, stores, and even money were destroyed to prevent them falling into the hands of the enemy ; and the weak, the sick, and the wounded were necessarily left behind. The Seventy- first suffered in proportion with the rest, and by weakness, sickness, and fatigue lost about ninety-three men. ' " ■' ':":;' ''' '■ ^- ■'■ ■" ^ ■ On the 5th of January 1809, a position was taken up 1809. at Lugo, where some skirmishing occurred, in which three companies of the Seventy-first were engaged, and repulsed the enemy. Lieut.-General Francis Dundas was appointed from the ninety-fourth regiment to be Colonel of the Seventy-first on the 7th of January 1809, in suc- cession to Lieut.-General Sir John Francis Cradock, K.6., removed to the forty-third regiment. The retreat was again commenced on the 9th of January; and on the 11th the army, still nearly fifteen thousand strong, reached Corunna. The British army, having accomplished one of the most celebrated retreats recorded in modern history, repulsing the pur- suing enemy in all his attacks, and having traversed two himdred and fifty miles of mountainous country under 74 HISTOBICAL RECOBD OF THE SEYENTT-FIBST 1809. very disheartening circumstances^ accompanied by se- istbatvere privation, was not destined to embark for England without a battle. « v*^ s i;^ vi^i»' ^ ^»i ^i(^;w ^» * ii*j« The transports not haying arrived, a position was oc- cupied in advance of Corunnoy and some sharp skirmish- ing ensued, in which four companies of the Seventy- FIBST were warmly engaged, and lost several men in killed and wounded. Lieutenant William Lockwood was severely wounded. On this ground the battle of Corunna was fought, on the 16th of January ; but the Seventy-fibst, being placed on the extreme left of the British line, had little to do therein. The result of the action was glorious to the British army, but was darkened by the .loss of Lieut.-General Sir John Moore, who received a severe wound during the battle, and died at ten o'clock on the same night. His remains were wrapped in a military cloak, and interred in the Citadel of Corunna, over which Marshal Soult, with the true feeling of a soldier, erected a monument, i? - Lieut.-General Sir David Baird, who succeeded to the command upon Sir John Moore being wounded, was also wounded, ind the command devolved upon Lieut.-General the Honorable John Hope. At eight o'clock on the night of the 16th of January the troops quitted their position, leaving the piquets posted, and a few men to keep up the fires, and then marched into Corunna, where they embarked for Eng- land on the following day. , c< ,. ' . *^^ ./'J-);. ..,, > In commemoration of this battle, and of the conduct of the battalion during the expedition, the Seventy- first, in common with the army eiu^k^e'? under Lieut.-General Sir John Moore, rer i o-^i '.i , royal authority to bear the word " Corunna ' on the regi- mental colour and appointments.* * Vide general orders of the 18th of January and Ist of February J 909 ; also a list of regiments employed under Lieut-General Sir John tiv^re r> Corunna, Inserted in pages 161, &c. of the Appendix. 1 M 1 f BEOIMEXT, HIGHLAND LIOHT IPANNTBY. 75 The thanks of both Houses of Parliament were con- 1809. ferred on the troops, and were communicated to Lieut.- istbat. Colonel Pack by Lieut. -General Sir David Baird in the following letter : — * ' "- „ o._ ■ ' ' "Portsmouth, 30/A January 1809. " I liave great pleasure in transmitting to you " copies of letters from the Lord Chancellor and the ** Speaker of the House of Commons, enclosing the " Resolutions of both Houses of Parliament, dated " 25th of January 1809, which contain the thanks of " those Houses to the army lately engaged before " Corunna. . . . , ,,,; ,, , ,, ,, ,,^{ " In communicating to you. Sir, this most signal " mark of the approbation of the Parliament of the " United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, allow ** me to add my warmest congratulation? upon a dis- tinction which you, and the corps under your com- mand on that day, had a share in obtaining for His Majesty's service. ^^ ,. " I have, &c. , "(Signed) David Baird, . " Lieut- General. Officer commanding First Battalion " Seventy-fibst regmient." After the battalion had landed at Bamsgate, it was inarched to Ashford in Kent, where it continued for some time, collecting the men, who from contrary winds were driven into different ports. While at Ashford the battalion was brigaded with the Warwick militia and the ninety-first regii lent, under Brigadier-General the Baron de Rottenburg Great sickness prevailed at this station, and Surgeon James Evans and several of the soldiers died of typhus fever. On the 20th of March 1809 the Royal authority was granted for the Seventy-first to be formed into a (( (( (f tt II m mn u 76 HISTORICAL REGOBD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1809.%/*^ infantry regiment, when it was directed that the i8t bat. clothing, arming, and discipline should be the same in all respects as the forty-third, fifty-second, sixty-eighth, and eighty-fifth regiments. The first battalion marched, on the 27th of April 1809, for Brabom-ne-Lecs barracks, and was brigaded with the sixty-eighth and eighty-fifth light infimtry regiments. Every exertion was here made to increase the strength and improve the discipline of the corps. In June the first battalion was increased by a large reinforcement, consisting of several officers and 311 non-commissioned officers and privates from the second battalion, wliich continued to be stationed in North Britain. Several volunteers from the militia were also received at this period. Immense preparations had been made by the British Government to fit out the most formidable armament that had for a long time proceeded from England. The troops amounted to 40,000 men, commanded by Lieut.-General the Earl of Chatham ; the naval portion consisted of thirty-nine ships of the line, thirty-six frigates, and numerous gun-boats and bomb- vessels, and other small craft, under Admiral Sir Richard Strachan. The object of the expedition was to obtain pofscssion of the islands at the mouth of the Scheldt, and to destroy the French sliips in that river, with the docks and arsenals at Antwerp. The first battalion of the Skventy-fiust, towards the end of June, received orders to prepare for the above Borvicc, and marched, on the 28th and 29th of that month, in two divisions, encamping near Gosport. On the IGthof July the battalion, consisting of three field officers, six captains, twenty-seven subalterns, five staff, forty-eight scrjcauts, and 974 dnnnmers and rank and file, embarked at Portsmoiilh on board His Majesty's sln])s Udlcisic and LnpMeuse, and towards the end of the month sailed for the Downs. Ill I II 'M BEGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHi INFANTRY. 77 •CO ve dd The battalion was brigaded, under Brigadier-General 1809. the Baron de Kottenburg, with the sixty-eighth and ist bat. eighty-fifth light infantry, in the di^ ision commanded by Lieut.-General Alexander Mackenzie Eraser, and in the corps of Lieut.-General Sir Eyre Coote, K.B. The expedition sailed from the Downs on tlie 28th of July, and having arrived oft* the Roompct Channel, preparations were made for landing ; small craft to cover the landin^'' If :|| m I 1809.Avithin the place, opened a tremendous fire from his 1st bat. works with artillery and musketry. Some guns pointing down the road by which the battalion advanced did great execution, and the Seventy-first had Surgeon Charles Henry Quin killed, and about eighteen men killed and wounded. The column, after some firing, retired, and the place was the next day regularly in- vested by sea and land. It took three days to reduce it, when it capitulated, with its stores, and a garrison of 800 men. Flushing having been invested on the Ist of August, the Seventy-first, after the surrender of Ter Veer, were ordered into the line of circumvallation, and placed on the extreme left, resting on the Scheldt. The pre- parations for the attack on the town having been com- pleted, on the 13th a dreadful fire was opened from the batteries and bomb-vessels, and congreve rockets having been tlurown into the town, it was on fire in many l)laces. The ships having joined in the attack, the enemy's fire gradually slackened, and at length ceased. A summons being sent in, a delay was demanded, but being rejected, the firing recommenced. On the 14th of August one of the outworks was carried at the point of the bayonet by a party of detach- ments and two companies of the Seventy-first under Lieut.-Colonel Pack. In this aflfiiir, Ensign Donald Sinclair, of the Seventy- first, was killed; Captain George Spottiswoode and a few men were wounded. Flushing, with its garrison of 6,000 men, ca[)itulated on tlic 15tli of August, and the right gate was occupied by a detachment of 300 men of the first or Royal Scotr^, and the left gate by a detachment of similar strength of the Seventy-first under Mnjor Arthur iFonos. The naval arsenal, and some vessels of war which wore on the stocks, foil into the hands of the British. BEOIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 79 The Sj3VENTY-rni8T shortly after proceeded to Mid- 1809. dleburg, where the battalion remained for a few days, 1st bat. Avhen it was ordered to occupy Ter Veer, of which place Lieut.-Colonel Puck wna appointed commandant, and Lieutenant Henry Clements, of the Seventy-first, town major. The battalion remained doing duty in the garrison until thin island, after destroying the works, &c., was finally evacuated on the 22d of December. On the 23d of December the battalion embarked in transports, and sailed for England, after a service of five months in a very unhealthy climate, which cost the battalion the loss of the following officers and men. Officers. Died on service - 1 57 Killed - - - 2 19 Died after return homo 2 9 Serjeants, Drummers, and Rank and File. Total - - 5 85 In passing Cadsand, that fort opened a fire on the transports, one of which, having part of the Seventy- first on board, was struck by a round shot, which carried off Serjeant Steel's legs above the knees. On the 25th of December the first battalion of the Seventy-firht disembarked at Deal, and marched to Brabourne-Lecs l)arrackrt, in Kent, where it was again brigaded with the sixty-eighth and eighty-fifth light infantry, and was o('cn[ticd in putting itself in an efficient state for active service. Upon the Seventy-i-'IUHT being made light infantry, 1810. they were permitted to retain such parts of the national dress as might not be inconsistent with their duties as a light corps. A correspondence on the subject took place between Lieut.-Colonel Pack and the Adjutant- General in April 1810, and the following reply was received from hood-quartors. 80 HISTORICAL BECORD OP THE SEVENTY-PIBST 1^1 ■ IP i r { " Horse Guards, I2th April 1810. <( u 1810. 1st bat." Sir, " Having submitted to the Commander-in-Chief your " letter of the 4th instant, I am directed to state, that there is no objection to the Seventy-first being denominated Highland Light Infantry Regiment, or " to their retaining their pipes, and the Highland garb " for the pipers ; and that they will, of course, be per- " mitted to wear caps according to the pattern which ** was lately approved and sealed by authority.* " I have, &c. " (Signed) William Wyntard, " Deputy Adjutant-General. " Lieut-Colonel Pack, "71st Regiment:' On the 8 th of May 1810 the first battalion marched to Deal barracks, where every exertion was continued to render it fit for active service. Here the battalion was deprived of the services of Lieut.-Colonel Pack, who was appointed a brigadier in the Portuguese army under Marshal "William Carr Beresford, afterwards General the Viscount Beresford. Nothing of moment occurred until the early part of September, when the battalion received orders to hold six companies in readiness for foreign service. They were prepared accordingly by drafting into them, from the companies which were to remain at home, the most • The bonnt't cocked is the pattern cap to which aUiision is made in the above letter. This was in accordance with Lieut. Colonel I'uck's application ; and with respect to retaining the pipes, and dressing the pipers in the Highland ^rarl), he added, "It cannot be forgotten how these " pipes were obtained, and how constantly the regiment has upheld its " title to till in. These are the honorable characteristics which must " preserve to future times the precious remains of the old corps, aud of " which I foi'I confident His Miyesfy will never have reason to deprive ** the Sevenxv-first regimeut," REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 81 effective oflScers and men, several not having recovered 1810. from the Walcheren fever. istbat. The following were the companies selected and com- pleted for foreign service, namely : — 1st, orCapt.M'^Intyre's, 2d, or „ Hall's, 3d, or „ Adamson's, 4th, or Capt. Walker's, 6th, or „ Spottiswoode's, 10th, or „ Lewis Grant's. They consisted of two field officers, six captains, fifteen lieutenants, seven ensigns, four staff, thirty-eight Ser- jeants, twelve drummers, and six hundred and three rank and file. On the 14th of September the above compa: les embarked in the Downs on board the Melpomene and St. Fiorenzo frigates ; three companies, with the staff, and Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Xathaniel Levett Peacocke, on board the former ; the remaining three companies, under Brevet Lieut.-Coloncl Thomas Reynell, after- wards colonel of the regiment, on board the latter. They sailed on the following day for Lisbon, and entered the Tagus on the 25th of September, after a short and pleasant passage. The companies were dis- embarked on the following day, and quartered in the San Benito and Espirito Santo convents. The greatest exertions were made to complete the companies in field equipment, bat-mules, &c., which being effected, the detachment marched from Lisbon on the 2d of October to Mafra, where it was shortly after- wards joined by Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Henry Cadogan, who assumed the command, and Lieut.- Colonel Peacocke returned to the second battalion in North Britain. TIic detachment being ordered to join the army under Lieut.-Generai Vif*count AVcUington, then re- treating before INIarfhal IVIassenu, Prince of Esf^ling, marched from IVlafni on the 8th of October, and on the lOtii of that month effected the junction at Sobral, where it was brigaded with the firtieth and ninety- i 5; V J I i it' Ml 1 82 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-'FIRST 18 10. second regiments under Major-General Sir William istbatErskine, in the first division imder Lieut.-General Sir Brent Spencer, K.B. The army having retired into a position in the rear of Sobral, that place was occupied by the Seventy-first, having for its support the fiftieth and ninety-second regiments and Major-General Alan Cameron's brigade. On the 12 th of October the piquets were violently attacked by the enemy's advance, and retired skirmish- ing. In the meantime the place was ordered to be evacuated, and the piquets having joined, the Seventy- first took up a position on the outside, within musket- shot of the town. In this affair the detachment had eight men killed, and thirty-four wounded. In this position the Seventy-first continued, when on the 14th of October they were again attacked with the greatest impetuosity, and charged with the bayonet. The enemy was completely repulsed, with very considerable loss in killed and wounded, being chased to the spot from which he made the attack. Both parties resumed their original position. In Viscount "Wellington's despatch reporting this affair, the names of Lieut. -Colonel the Honorable Henry Cadogan, commanding the Seventy-first, and that of Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Thomas Reynell, were particularly mentioned. A soldier of the sixth company, named John Rca, behaved on this occasion in the most gallant manner, and particularly distinguished himself, for which he received a silver medal, with the following inscription : " To John Rca, for liis exemplary courage and good " conduct as a soldier at Sobral, 14th October 1810." On the 15th of October the Seventy-first were ordered to withdraw into the position at Zibriera, which was a continuation of the lines of Torres Vedras. In this celebrated position, which bid defiance to the French army, the troops were constantly on the alert, REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 83 and occupied in rendering it as strong as circumstances 1810. would admit, and in observing the motions of theistbat. enemy. Marshal Massena did not tliink proper to attack the British army in this stronghold, and occupied his time in reconnoissances and demonstrations, imtil compelled, through want of provisions, and consequent sickness of his troops, to abandon his designs, and retire to a position in his rear. This object he finally eftected in a masterly manner in the night between the 14th and 15th of November, followed by the allied forces. Both armies thus evacuated positions on wliich the attention of Europe had been fixed, and which they had occupied for a month in the presence of each other. The division in which the six companies of the Seventy-first were placed advanced by the route of Alemquer, Cartaxo, Atelaya, and Ahnoster, and halted in and about the latter place from the 20th to the 26th of November inclusive. The enemy in the meantime retired to an extremely strong position at and in the vicinity of Santarem, where Marshal Massena halted, although threatened by Viscount Wellington, who, after some manoeuvring, took up a position immediately in the enemy's front, having his head-quarters at Car- taxo, and the different corps of the army cantoned in the villages. The brigade to which the Seventy- first belonged occupied Alquintrinha. At this place the Seventy-first remained iuquar-1811. tcrs until March 1811, at wliich period the army, having been reinforced*, was about to resume the offensive, Avhcn the enemy retired during the night of the 5th of March, taking the same road, through Estremadura, by which he entered Portugal. * The remaining four companies of the first battalion of the Si;ventv- riRST regiment arrived in the Peninsula in the course of the year 1811, namely, two companies in March, and two in July 1811. F 2 84 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST W- ifSi ) V'^ ■H 1811. The British army accordingly advanced in pursuit of 1st bat. Marshal Massena, and the brigade in wliich was the Seventy-first accompanied it, moving by Redinha, Miranda de Corvo, .and Saryedes, passing the Coa, a little above Sabugal, upon the 5th of April, and on the 9th arrived at Albergaria, a small town on the frontiers of Spain. The Seventy-first remained in Alber- garia until the 2d of May, when the enemy, having been strongly reinforced, moved from Salamanca, and on that day crossed the frontier with a large convoy of provisions for Almeida, then closely invested by the Portuguese forces under Brigadier-General Pack. In consequence of this movement, the allied army broke up its cantonments on the Azava, and fomied in order of battle upon the high ground behind the Duaa Casas, the left extending to the high road to Almeida which crossed the river by a ford near Fort Conception, and the right keeping up a communication with the bridge at Sabugal ; opposite the centre, the village of Fuentes cfOnor was strongly occupied by light infantry. Upon the 3d of May the French took post on the opposite side of the valley of the Duas Casas, their left fronting Fuentes d'Onor, and their right extending about two miles and a half to Alameda. In the after- noon of the 3d of May they attacked Fuentes d'Onor with much vigour. That post was defended with the greatest bravery until the light companies, being worn out and harassed by repeated attacks, were obliged to retire, and the enemy possessed himself of the lower part of the village. The Sevexty-fiust were now ordered up to sup- port, and, conmianded by Lieut.-Colonel the Honor- able Ilcnry Cadogan, charged the enemy through the village and across the Duas Casas, taking ten officers and al)out a hundred men prisoners. The corps retained its conquest that night and the whole of the next day, REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 86 but upon Sunday the 5th of May, the Frenrl^ having 1812. succeeded in turning some troops to the i^ lediate istbat. right, were obliged to give way ; having been imme- diately supported by the seventy-fourth and eighty- eighth regiments, they again advanced, took possession of and retained the village until the conclusion of the action, A struggle of such duration could not be carried on without great loss, and the Seventy-first suffered severely. They went into action about 320 strong, and lost nearly one half of their number in killed and wounded. The Seventy-first had Lieutenants John Consell, William Houston, and John Graham, and Ensign Donald John Kearns, together with four Serjeants and twentv-two rank and file, killed. Captains Peter Adamson and James M'^Intyre, Lieutenants William M*^Craw, Humphrey Fox, and Robert Law (Adjutant), Ensigns Charles Cox, Jolm Vandeleur, and Carique Lewin, six Serjeants, three buglers, and one hundred rank and file, were wounded. Two officers, with several men, were taken prisoners. In commemoration of the gallantry displayed in this prolonged action, the Seventy-first subsequently received the Royal authority to bear the words " Fuentes d'Onor " on the regimental colour and appointments. Viscount Wellington particularly mentioned the name of Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Henry Cadogan in his despatch, and being highly gratified with the con- duct of the Seventy-first on this occasion, directed that a non-commissioned officer should be selected for a commission. According to his Lordship's recommenda tion, Quartermaster-Serjeant William Gavin was shortly afterwards promoted to an cnsigncy in the regiment. The Seventy-first, upon the 14th, returned to their old quarters at Albcrgaria, and remained there F 3 ll t +ii; I li ^ m if f F I 86 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 18 11. until the 26th of May, when the brigade was ordered 1st bat to the Alemtejo frontier, as a reinforcement to Marshal Sir William Beresford's* army, at this time besieging Badajoz, and threatened by the advance of Marshal Soult from the south of Spain. 2d bat. On the 15th of May 1811, the second battalion embarked at Leith for South Britain, arrived at Rams- gate on the 23d of that month, and remained stationed in England for nearly two years. istbat. The first battalion, upon its route southward, crossed the Tagus on the 31st of May, and arrived near Albuhera on the 14th of June, having passed through Portalegre, Aronches, Campo Mayor, and Talavera Real. The sanguinary battle of Albuhera, fought en the 16th of May, had obliged Marshal Soult to retire pre- viously to the arrival of the reinforcement, which being considered no longer necessary, the battalion retired to Elvas, where it remained two days ; the bat- talion again moved to Toro de Moro on the 19th of June, where it remained for a mortb, At this encamp- ment a detachment of 350 men, with a proportion of officers, joined from the second battalion then stationed at Deal. About this period the first battalion became a part of the army under Lieut.-General Rowland (afterwards Viscount) Hill. The junction of the armies of Marshals Marmont and Soult having obliged Viscount Wellington to raise the siege of Badajoz, which had been resumed after the battle of Albuhera, the battalion, in co-operation with his Lordship's retrograde movement, retired to Borba on the 20th of July. Here it remained until the 1st of September, when it moved to Portalegre, and thence marched to Castello de Vido on the 4th of October. * Major General William Carr Beresford, marshal in the Portuguese service, was appointed a Knight of the Bath on the 16th of October 1810. BEGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INF N'TRT. ? A detachment from Marshal Soult's army under 1811. General Girard having been collecting contributions 1st hat, in Spanish Estremadura, Lieut.-General Rowland Hill, with a view of putting a stop to his movements, broke up his cantonments at Portalegre upon the 22d of October, proceeding by Albuquerque and Malpartida. On the 27th, when within a moderate march of the enemy at Arroyo-del- Molinos, Lieut.-General Hill halted his troops, and, at night, breaking up his bivouac, made a flank movement close to the road by which the French intended to march on the following morning. In that position he awaited the approach of day, when, on the 28th of October, the British marched directly on the rear of the town with such celerity that the cavalry piquets were rushed upon before they had time to mount. The French main body, though in the act of filing out, had so little intimation of danger that the officers and men were surrounded before their formation was effected, and to seek safety they individually dis- persed. Many of them were killed, and about 1,400 were taken prisoners. All the enemy's artillery and baggage were captured. General Brun and Colonel the Prince of Aremberg, together with several other officers, were among the prisoners. In this brilliant affair the Seventy-first was one of the three corps that advanced through the centre of the town, and were, therefore, principally engaged ; but the enemy, from his complete surprise, being unable to make a combined resistance, the British sustained but trifling loss. The battalion subsequently returned to Portalegre, where it arrived early in November. Lieut-General Hill, on the 7th of November, issued the following General Order: — " Portalegre, 1th Nooember 1811. " Lieut.-General Hill has great satisftiction in con- gratulating the troops on the success which has F 4 tt 88 HISTORICAL RECORD OP THE SEVENTY-FIRST ii mi B \h'- '. 1811." attended their recent operations in Estremadura, and 1st bat" in so doing he cannot but endeavour to do justice to " the merits of those through whose exertions it has " been obtained. A patient willing endurance of forced " and night marches, during the worst of weather and " over bad roads, of bivouacs in wet weather, often- " times without cover and without fire, and a strict " observance of discipline, are qualities, however com- " mon in British soldiers, which the Lieut.-General " cannot pass unnoticed. Having on this occasion " witnessed the exertion of them in no ordinary degree, " he feels that nothing but the most zealous attention " of commanding officers, the goodwill and zealous " spirit of the non-commissioned officers and soldiers, " could produce such an effect, and he requests they ** will, generally and individually, accept his warmest " thanks, particularly those corps which were engaged " in the action of Arroyo-del-Molinos, whose silent " attention to orders, when preparing to attack, and " when manoeuvring before the enemy, could not but " excite his notice, and give them an additional claim « on him." Letters from the Secretary of State, dated the 2d, and from His Royal Highness the Duke of York, Commander-in-Chief, dated the 6th December, were promulgated, expressive of His Royal Highness the Prince Regent's approbation and thanks to Lieut.- General Hill, and the troops under his command, for their brilliant operations on the recent expedition in Spanish Estremadura, in having totally surprised and defeated the enemy under General Girard. Viscount Wellington having made preparations for the recapture of Ciudad Rodrigo, concentrated the main body of the army in that neighbourhood, and the troops under Lieut.-General Hill were therefore ordered to divert the enemy's attention in the south. The first battalion of the Seventt-first remained BEGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 89 at Portalegre until the 25th of December, when the 1811. brigade moved into Estremadura for the purpose of^stbat expelling the French, who were ravaging the country. After the performance of this duty, the battalion returned to its former quarters at Portalegre in February 1812. Upon the 19th of March 1812, the battalion moved 1812. northward to Castello Branco, where it remained for about a week, and afterwards returned for the last time to Portalegre. The Earl of Wellington having made arrangements for the third siege of Badajoz, Lieutenant-General Sir Howland Hill's* corps was destined to cover liis move- ments, and with that view proceeded on the 21st of March towards Merida, and afterwards to Don Benito, where the troops remained for a few days ; but upon the approach of Marshal Soult with a large army, with the intention of raising the siege, Lieut.-General Hill retired upon Albuhera, through Arroyo de San Servan and Talavera Keal. Badajoz having been assaulted and carried by the troops under the Earl of Wellington on the Ight of the 6th of April, after a sanguinary conflict, the move- ment of Marshal Soult was rendered nugatory, and the troops under his orders retired into Andalusia. Marshal Marmont having, during the progress of the siege, penetrated into the province of Beira, and threatened Ciudad Rodrigo and Almeida, the Earl of Wellington, after the fall of Badajoz, crossed the Tagus, leaving: Sir Rowland Hill's force to watch Marshal Soult, wliich took post at Almendralejos for that pur- pose. The battalion was stationed at this town from the 13th of April until the 11th of May. It having then * Lieut-General Rowland Hill was appointed a Knight of the Order of the Bath on the 22d of February lb 12. 90 HISTORICAL BECORD OF THE SEVENTT-FIRST ■ 1 :.-• m 1812. become expedient to render the communications between 1st bat. the French armies on the north and south of the Tagus as precarious as possible, by the destruction of the bridge of boats at Almaraz, the corps under Lieut.- General Sir Eowland Hill, being the most disposable and convenient force, was accordingly ordered on this .J . f- important service. The French, feeling the importance of this bridge to their mutual strength and security, liad surrounded it on both sides of the river with formidable enclosed works, having in the interior of them casemated and loop-holed towers. The troops appointed for these strong works, consequently, anticipated an arduous struggle. Upon the 12th of May the corps broke up from Almendralejos, and marching by Truxillo and Jaraicejo, reached on the 18 th of that month the sierra, five miles from Almaraz, on which stands the Cnatle of Mirabete. This post was so strongly fortified that it blocked up the only road to Almaraz for the passage of artillery, which was considered by the enemy absolutely necessary for the destruction of the works. Sir Rowland Hill thought otherwise ; and ascertaining that infantry could cross the sierra by a track through Roman Gordo, he left his artillery, and descended at night with a column of 2,000 men. The lending company arrived at dawn of day close to the principal fort, built on a height a few hundred yards in front of the tSte-de-pont ; but such were the difficulties of the road that a considerable time elapsed before the rear closed, during which the troops were fortunately sheltered by a ravine, unseen by the enemy. On the 19th of May the fiftieth regiment and the left wing of the Seventy-first, having been provided with ladders, were appointed to escalade the works of Fort Napoleon, supported by the right wing of the Sevunty-firsTi and the ninety-second regiment. BEGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 91 From a feint made upon Mirabete, the French were 1812. aware that an enemy was in the neighbourhood. The 1st bat garrison was on the alert ; immediately opened a heavy fire, and vigorously resisted the eiForts made to push up the scarp ; but the moment the first men gained a footing on the parapet the enemy took to flight. The whole of this brilliant affair was completed in the short space of fifteen minutes, and with little loss. The Seventy-first had Captain Lewis Grant, with one Serjeant and seven rank and file, killed ; Lieutenants William Lockwood and Donald lloss, three Serjeants, and twenty-nine rank and file were wounded. The names of thirty-six non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the Seventy-first were inserted in regimental orders for conspicuous bravery upon this occasion, and the Royal authority was subsequently granted for the word " Almaraz " to be borne on the regimental colour and appointments.* The following orders were issued upon this occasion : — " Bivouac^ near Fort Napoleon^ " Brigade Oeder. " 19th May 1812. ' *' Major-General Howard cannot delay expressing his warmest acknowledgments to Lieut.-Colonel Stewart and Major Harrison, of the fiftieth regiment, and Major Cother of the Seventy-first regiment, who commanded the three columns of attack this morning on Fort Napoleon and the works on the Tagus, for the gallant and distinguished manner in which they led the columns intrusted to them, as well as to all the other officers, non-commisfioncd officers and pri- vates, for their bravery and good conduct, which pro- * When Liuut.-Oencral Sir Rowland Hill wan created a Pet-r in May 1814, bis title was connecli'd with the gallant aflFair above recorded, as he was styled Haron Hill of Alniaraas, and of Hawkstone, in the county of Salop, n p. (t it il* ^1 92 HISTORICAL SECOSD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1812." duced the brilliant result of the capture of the works Istbat. " in question." *' Truxillo, May 22nd, 1812. " General Order. " Lieut.-General Sir Rowland Hill congratulates " the troops on the success which has attended their " exertions in the present expedition. Every object ** for which it was undertaken has been attained, and in " the manner most desirable and effectual. It is highly " gratifying to the Lieut.-General to report on this " occasion his admiration of the discipline and the valour of the troops under his command. The chance of war gave to the fiftieth and Seventy-first regiments the ** most conspicuous share in these events, who nobly " profited by the opportunity ; but the Lieut.-General " is satisfied that the same zeal and the same spirit " would have been found in every corps if there had " been occasion for bringing them into play. " The Lieut.-General has not failed to report to his " Excellency the Commander of the Forces the parti- " culars of this brilliant service, and the good conduct *• of all those concerned in it. He will therefore not " say more at present than to express his warmest " thanks for the assistance which he has received from " all ranks ; and he is confident, when it shall again be " his good fortune to lead them against the enemy, he " shall have to report conduct equally honorable to " them, and equally advantageous to their country." The bridge and works in the neighbourhood of Almaraz having been completely destroyed, the Seventy-first returned to Truxillo, where they remained a few days, then moved to Mcrida, and after- wards to Ahiicndralejos. Lieut.-General Sir llowland Hill's force having received orders to make a diversion in the south, while the main army was moving north- ward on Salamancot the battalion again moved from BEOIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 93 Alraendralejos to the borders of Andalusia, through 1812. Llerena. On this march tho advanced parties of 1st bat. cavalry were constantly skirmishing with the enemy, but the SuvENTY-FiRST were not engaged. From Llercim the battalion returned to Zafra, where, after a whort halt, it proceeded to Villa Franca, and finally to Don Benito. In these marches through Estrcniadiu'ii tho weather was oppressively hot, and, joined to tho clouds of dust raised by the troops, was so fatiguing that it was considered expedient at one time to move by night, and thus these inconveniences were alleviated. While the force under Lieut. -General Sir Rowland Hill had ))een thus employed, the allied army under the Earl of Wellington had gained a victory on the 22d of July over tho French at Salamanca, for which he was advanced to the dignity of marquis. From Don Benito tho battalion moved upon the 13th of September, and passing through Truxillo, Talavcrn, and Toledo, arrived at Aranjuez upon the 1st of October, from which place, after a halt of three weeks, it moved to Ponte Duenna, further up the Tagus. The sudden approach of the united armies of Marshals Soult and Suohot rendered a speedy retreat necessary, and the division accordingly retired from Ponte Duenna in the night of tho 28th of October, moving to form a junction with the army of the Marquis of Wellington, who had now relinquinhed tlic siege of Burgos. Near Madrid t!io division halted for a short period, when, being joined by tho garrison of that city, the troops retired leiHurely by the Guadarama Pass on Alba do Tormes. This town tho Seventy-fiust occupied from the 7tli to tlic 1.3th of November, and durinar that period sustained a loss in action with the enemy of one Serjeant and nix rank and file killed; one bugler and five rank aud file wounded. 94 HISTORICAL BECOBD OF THE SEVENTY-PIKST 1812. The army having received orders to retire on For- est bat tugul, the battalion abandoned this post, arriving at Coria upon the 1st of December, where the retreat terminated. In this quarter the Seventy-first con- tinued until the 13th of December, at which time they were pushed forward to Puerto de Bannos, where they were joined by a draft of 150 men from the second battalion. 1813, While stationed at this post, an attempt was made, in February 1813, by the French, to surprise Bejar, then occupied by the fiftieth regiment. The Seventy- first were ordered forward to support, but previously to their arrival that brave regiment had driven back the enemy, and completely foiled his efforts. 2d bat. On the 18th of March 1813, the second battalion of the Seventy-first embarked at Gravesend for North Britain, and arrived at Leith on the 23d of that month. 1st bat. Upon the 5th of April the Seventy-first changed quarters with the fiftieth regiment, and continued to occupy Bejar until the 2l8t of May, at which period the army broke up from its winter cantonments for active operations. The battalion on its advance moved by Salamanca and Toro, and encamped at La Puebla on the 20th of June, the evening before the memorable battle of Vittoria, Upon the morning of the 2l8t of June, the two armies being in position, the Seventy-first were ordered to ascend the heights of La Puebla, to support the Spanish forces under General Morillo. They ac- cordingly advanced in open column, and liaving formed line, v/erc immediately hotly engaged with the enemy, and upon this occasion suffered an irreparable loss in the fall of their Conmianding Officer the Honorable Colonel Henry Cadogan, who fell mortally wounded while leading his men to the charge, and being unable to accompany the battalion, requested to be carried to a neighbouring eminence, from which he might take a ■ :■' !■ : REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY, 96 last farewell of them and the field. In his dying 18 13. moments he earnestly inquired if the French were ist bat. beaten ; and on being told by an oflficer of the regiment, who stood by supporting him, that they had given way at all points, he ejaculated, " God bless my brave countrymen " and immediately expired.* While recording the deep sense of sorrow wliich the SEVENTr-FiRST experienced in the demise of a com- manding officer who had so often fought at then* head, and whose devoted gallantry had so frequently called forth their admiration, it is but a meet tribute to the memory of that brave spirit to extract from the des- patch of the Marquis of Wellington the following expressions of his lordship's regret at liis loss : " And I am concerned to report that the Honorable " Lieut.-Colonel Cadogan has died of a wound which " he received. In him His Majesty has lost an officer " of great zeal and tried gallantry, who had already " acquired the respect and regard of the whole profes- " sion, and of whom it might be expected, that if he " hud lived he would have rendered the most important " services to his country." After the fall of the Lieut.-Colonel, the Sj:venty- FIR8T continued advancing, and driving the enemy from the heights, until the force which was opposed to them became so unequal, and the loss of the battalion 80 severe, that it was obliged to retire upon the remainder of the brigade. In the performance of this arduous duty the battalion suffered very severely, having had one field officer, one captain, two lieu- tenants, six Serjeants, one bugler, and seventy-eight rank and file killed ; one field officer, three captains, seven lieutenants, thirteen Serjeants, two buglers, and two hundred and fifty-five rank and file were wounded. ♦ The officers of the Sevknty-fiust regiment, to mark their admira- tion and esteem for this distinguished officer, had a monument erected tn his memory. 96 HISTORICAL BECOBD OP THE SEVENTY-FIK8T 1813. The officers killed were Colonel the Honorable Henry i8t bat Cadogan, Captain Henry Hall, Lieutenants Humphrey Fox and Colin Mackenzie. Those wounded were Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Charles Cother, Captains Samuel Reed, Joseph Thomas Pidgeon, William Alexander Grant, Lieutenants Alexander Duff, Loftus Richards, John M*'Intyre, Charles Cox, William Torriano, Noiman Campbell, and Thomas Commeline. On this occasion the French suffered a great loss of men, together with all their artillery, baggage, and stores. King Joseph, whose carriage and court equi- page was seized, had barely time to escape on horse- back. The defeat was the most complete that the French had sustained in the Peninsula. It was tliis victory which gained a b^ton for the Marquis of Wellington, who was appointed a Field Marshal. In a most flattering letter, the Prince Regent, in the name and behalf of His Majesty, thus conferred the honor : " You have sent me among the trophies of your un- " rivalled fame the staff of a French Marshal, and I " send you in return that of England." This was in allusion to the baton of Marshal Jourdan, which was taken by the eighty-seventh regiment at Vittoria. The Seventy-first subsequently received the Royal authority to bear the word " Vittoria " on the regimental colour and appointments, in commemoration of this signal victory. When the Seventy-first paraded on the morning of the 22d of June, the dreadful havoc made by the tiction of the preceding day became painfully manifest, and an universal gloom was thrown over all, at missing from their ranks nearly four hundred brave comrades who had been either killed or wounded on the heights of La Puebla. The enemy, having been completely beaten at all points, was forced to retreat in confusion on Pampeluna, and the British army immediately followed in pursuit. REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 97 The battalion in thia advance arrived at Pampeluna on 1813. the 29th of June, and shortly afterwards followed, asistbat. part of Sir Rowland Hill's army, a large force of the enemy, who were retreating into France by the valley of Bastan. During this forward movement the Seventy-first had some skirmishing in the valley of Eh'zondo, but without loss. Upon the 8th of July the Seventy-first arrived at the heights of Maya, from whence, for the first time, they had the cheering prospect of beholding the empire of France extended before them in all its fertile beauty. Joy was diffused through every heart ; every trial and danger were for- gotten while viewing this splendid and gratifying sight. Upon these heights the battalion was encamped until the 25th of July. Marshal Soult having been selected by Napoleon for the command of the French army in Spain, with the rank of " Lieutenant of the Emperor," that officer used the most active exertions for its re-organization, and made immediate arrangements for forcing the British position in the Pyrenees. With this view he advanced in person with a large force against the right, stationed at Roncesvalles, and detached Count D'Erlon with about thirteen thousand men to attack the position of Maya. The Count D'Erlon, upon the 25th of July, advanced against the right of the Maya heights, where the ridges of the mountains branched off towards his camp. Tac force at this point was not sufficient to resist such formidable numbers, and the reserve being posted at some distance to watch passes of importance, which could not bo left wholly unguarded, was brought up by battalions as the pressure increased. The intrepidity with which these attacks were met, and the obstinate bravery with which every inch of ground was disputed, were obliged at last to yield to overwhelming numbers ; but although the troops were o 98 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST M 1813.forced to retrograde, yet in their retreat they took • l8t bat advantage of every rising ground, and disputed it with the utmost tenacity. At the commencement of this attack a part of the first battalion of the Seventy- first regiment was detached to a neighbouring high peak, under the command of Major William Fitzgerald of the eighty-second regiment, and was strengthened by a company of that gallant corps. Lieut. -General the Honorable Sir William Stewart, in his report to Lieut.- General Sir Rowland Hill, thus expressed himself respecting these men : — " I cannot too warmly praise " the conduct of that field officer (Major Fitzgerald) " and that of his brave detachment. They maintained " the position to the last ; and were compelled, from " the want of ammunition, to impede the enemy's " occupation of the rock by hurling stones at them." In another part of this communication, the Lieut.- General thus alluded to the eighty-second regiment and to the first brigade, which was composed of the fiftieth, Seventy-first, and ninety-second regiments : ** I feel it my duty to recommend to your attention, " and favourable report to the Commander of the " Forces, the conduct and spirit of Colonel Grant, " and of his brave corps, the eighty-second regiment ; " also the whole of the first brigade, than which His " Majesty's army possesses not men of more proved " discipline and courage. The wounds of him, and " every commanding officer in that brigade, were at- " tended with circumstances of peculiar honor to each " of them, and to those under their orders." The following is a list of the killed and wounded in the action of the 25th of July, as nearly as could be ascertained : — Three Serjeants and fifty-four rank and file killed ; six Serjeants, one bugler, and seventy -six rank and file wounded. The Seventy-first continued retiring until the 30th, when Lieut.-Genera) Sir Rowland Hill took up ^ BEGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 99 a strong position beyond Lizasso. In this post they 1813. were attacked with much spirit by the enemy, who, at 1st bat. the same time, by manoeuvring on the left flank, ren- dered neces ..-/ a change of position to a range of heights near Eguaros, which all the efforts of the French failed to carry. Upon this occasion the Seventy-first were seriously engaged, and had one Serjeant and twenty-three rank and file killed; two Serjeants, one bugler, and thirty-three rank and file were wounded. • The enemy having been foiled in all the objects of his attacks, found it necessary, in his turn, to retreat, moving on the 3 1st of July by the pass of Dona Marian where he left a strong corps in an excellent position. This force was immediately attacked by the columns of Lieut.-Generals Sir Rowland Hill and the Earl of Dalhousie, and dislodged, after a gaHant resistance. In the action of this day the first brigade, consisting of the fiftieth. Seventy-first, and ninety-second regiments, had the honor of bearing its share, and of distinguishing itself. The Seventy-first had one Serjeant and twenty-nine rank and file killed; two Serjeants and forty-five rank and file were wounded, i The battalion now returned to the heights of Maya, from whence, after a halt of a few days, it moved to Roncesvalles. Previously to this change of quarters, an order was issued by Lieut.-General Sir Rowland Hill, relative to • the conduct of the troops in the actions of the Pyrenees, of which the following is a copy : — - ^ ,'i>j " Arrizi, August '6rd, 1813. " General Order. " Lieut.-General Sir Rowland Hill requests that the " officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates of the " corps of the army under liis command will accept liis best thanks for the gallant conduct they have o 2 (( 100 HISTORICAL BECOBD OF THE SEVENTY-FIRST 1 1' 1 1 : v.. 1 H' 1 1 1813." displayed during the late active and interesting Istbat.** operations. *' The chance of service has placed the troops under " his command in situations where they were exposed " to an immense superiority of forces, a circumstance " unavoidahle in operations so extensive as those in " which this army has been engaged ; and it has at all " times been necessary to cede ground to the enemy. " The Lieut.-General, however, has the satisfaction of " knowing that the troops have on every occasion *' maintained their high character ; that they have ** only withdrawn from their positions by superior " orders, and then it has been invariably attended with " circumstances highly creditable to them. The Lieut.- " General has not failed to report to the Commander " of the Forces the details of the several affairs in *' which the corps have been engaged, and he knows " that their services are duly appreciated by his " Excellency." The royal authority was subsequently granted to the Seventy-first to bear the word " Pyrenees " on the regimental colour and appointments, in com- memoration of the services of the first battalion in the actions of the 25ta, 30th, and 3l8t of July, which have been designated the " Battles of the Pyrenees^ In these actions the Seventy-first had Lieutenant Alexander Duff killed; Major Maxwell Mackenzie, Captains Leslie Walker and Alexander Grant, Lieu- tenants Thomas Park, John Roberts, William Wool- combe, William Peacocke, and Anthony Pack wounded. The following " Morning Reports " of the 14th of June and 7 th of August, the former being prior to the battle of Vittoria, and the latter a few days subsequent to the actions in the Pyrenees, will show how the ranks of the Seventy-first were thinned within a period of less than two months. REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 101 Sergts. Buglers. ^"^a,1813. 14th June 1813, present and ^ -. „. o^g ^'*^*- fit for duty - - - J 7th August 1813 Ditto 21 15 356 Decrease 33 553 For nearly three months the battalion was encamped on the heights of Roncesvalles, during which period St. Sebastian and Pampeluna were captured. The men were principally employed during this interval in the construction of block-houses and batteries, and the formation of roads for the artillery. In the early part of the season the neighbouring heights of Altobispo were occupied weekly by the bri- gades of the division ; but as the cold increased with the high Avinds, the piquets alone were appointed for this duty. Such was the inclemency of the weather, and natural advantages of this position, that it was scarcely thought that the enemy would attempt an attack. This opinion, however, was ill founded, as upon the night of the 11th of October an attempt was made by a strong party upon the advance, composed of fifteen men of the Seventy-first, under Serjeant James Ross. Instead of flinching from an unequal contest, this small band, relying upon the strength of the position, and being, moreover, favored by the darkness, which concealed its strength, maintained its ground, and forced the enemy to retire. The bravery of this party called forth high encomiums from Lieut.- General the Honorable Sir William Stewart, com- manding the division, and at his request the soldiers composing it were all presented with medals. On the 8th of November the division was again in motion, for the purpose of entering the French terri- tory; and on the 9th of that month it bivouacked near the heights of Maya, where orders were received to G 3 102 HISTORICAL BECOBD OF THE SEYENTT-FIBST iv js- 18 13. march as light as possible. The heights were passed l«t bat. that night by moonlight, for the purpose of joining the grand army ; but the march over bad roads was so fatiguing that when the brigade arrived in position on the Nivelle it was not called upon to take an active part in the gloi'ious proceedings of the rest of the army on the 10th of November, in forcing the French from their fortified position on that river. After the battle of the Nivelle, the battalion marched in the direction of Cambo, on the Nive, where some smart skirmishing occurred, in which two men were killed, and four Serjeants, one bugler, and forty-one rank and file wounded. When the French crossed to the right bank, the Seventy-first occupied part of the town of Cambo. . ^ i The battalion remained in Cambo for nearly a month, and was here joined by a detachment of four Serjeants and eighty-two rank and file, under the command of Lieutenant Charles Henderson, from the second bat- talion, at this period stationed at Glasgow. ^ •• On the 9th of December the first battalion was en- gaged in the passage of the Nive. The left wing of the Seventy-first entered the river, supported by the fire of the right, and reached the opposite bank without experiencing any loss. The enemy noAv retired within Bayonne, and ^e corps of Lieut.-General Sir RoAvland Hill was esta- blished with its right on the Adour, the left above the Nive, and the centre at St. Ptfrre, across the high road to St. Jean Pied-de-Port. '^ ''-'•* - ' '• In this disposition the second division, of which the Seventy-first formed part, was placed at St, Pierre. Marshal Soult having completely failed in an attempt which he made against the left of tl army, moved with his whole force against Sir RowL i Hill's corps, with the expectation of overwhelming him before he could be supported. REGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 103 • The enemy came on with great boldness upon the 1813. 13th of December, and made vigorous efforts against ist bat. the centre, which he repeatedly attacked ; but at last, finding his most earnest endeavours fruitless, he drew off. In the action of this day the loss of the first bat- talion of the Seventy-first regiment was veiy severe, having been placed close to the main road, against which the French made such formidable and repeated attacks. ■ Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell Mackenzie, and Lieutenants William Campbell and Charles Henderson, together with two Serjeants, one bugler, and twenty- three rank and file were killed. Captains Robert Barclay and William Alexander Grant, and Lieu- tenants John M'^Intyre and William Torriano, with thirty-seven rank and file, were wounded. The following short but highly expressive Division Order was issued by Lieutenant General the Honor- able Sh- William Stewart, KB. : ■,-.j ''..,. I \ , ,;■ v.iJ ; . . " Head- Quarters, near Petite Mogtierre, « Decemhfr l^th, 1813. " The second division has greatly distinguished itself, " and its gallantry in yesterday's action is avowed "by * ^ Commander of the Forces and the allied (( anuy. In commemoration of these services, the Seventy- first subsequently received the Royal authority to bear the word " Nive " on the regimental colour and appointments. ,<; The battalion marched on the 19tli of December to Urcuit, and to Urt upon the 28th of that month. A small piquet of the Seventy first, under the com- mand of Corporal Dogherty, here distinguished itself, by beating off an enemy's party of nearly treble its strength. While stationed in this quarter, the companies were 1814. frequently engaged in skirmishes with the enemy, G 4 M \v ^ 104 HISTOBICAL BECORD OF THE SEVENTY-FIBST 18 14. particularly at St. Hellette, lieights of Garris, and iBtbat St. Palais, in the month of January 1814. In the beginning of February the battalion marched from Urt, and during its advance had frequent skir- mishes with the enemy's rear-guard. On the 26th of February the battalion was in action at Sauveterre, and upon the 27th had the honor of par- ticipating in the battle of Ortlies. In commemoration of this victory the Seventy- first afterwards received the Royal authority to bear the word " Orthes " on the regimental colour and appointments. Two divisions of the French army having retired to Aire, after the action of the 27th of February, Lieut.- General Sir Rowland Hill moved upon that town to dislodge them. Upon the 2d of March the French were found strongly posted upon a ridge of hills, ex- tending across the great road in front of the town, having their right on the Adour. The second division attacked them along the road, seconded by a Portuguese br'gade, and drove them from their position, in gallant style. Lieutenant James Anderson and seventeen rank and file were killed ; Lieutenant Henry Frede- rick Lockyer, one serjeant, and nineteen rank and file, were wounded. A detachment from the second battalion, consisting of one captain, four subalterns, and a hundred and thirty- four rank and file, under the conuuand of Major Arthur Jones, joined at Aire. On the 25th of March part of the battalion was engnged in an affair at Tarhes, in which Lieutenant Robert Law was wounded, and upon the 10th of April was in position at Toulouse, where some of the companies were employed skirmishing, and sustained a loss of one Serjeant and throe rank and file killed ; six rank and file were wounded. During the night of the Uth of April the French RCQIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRT. 105 troops evacuated Toulouse, and a white flag was hoisted. 1814. On the following day the Marquis of Wellington entered istbat. the city, amidst the acclamations of the inhabitants. In the course of the afternoon of the 12th of April intelligence was received of the abdication of Napoleon, and had not the express been delayed on the journey by the French police the sacrifice of many valuable lives would have been prevented. A disbelief in the truth of this intelligence occa- sioned much unnecessary bloodshed at Bayonne, the garrison of which made a desperate sortie on the 14th of April, and Lieutenant Sir John Hope (afterwards Earl of Hopetoun) was taken prisoner. Major-General Andrew Hay was killed, and Major-Gcneral Stopford was wounded. A treaty of peace was established between Great Britain and France ; Louis XVIII. was restored to the throne of France ; and Napoleon Bonupartc was per- mitted to reside at Elba, the ^sovereignty of that island having been conceded to him by the allied powers. Tlic war being ended, the first battalion of the Seventy-first regiment marched from Toulouse to Blanchfort, where it was encomped for sixteen days, and afterwards proceeded to Pouillac, where it em- barked on the 15th of July for England, on board of His Majesty's ship " Sultan," ot seventy-four guns. Prior to the breaking up of the Peninsular army, the Duke of Vrellington issued the following General Order : — €t n....^^., r\^^^^ " Dordeauxy \Atk June 1814. " General Order. ' " The Commander of the Forces, being upon the " point of returning to England, again takes this oppor- " tunity of congratulating the army upon the recent " events which Imve restored peace to their country " and to the world. " The share which the British ormy have had in " producing those events, and the high character with i 1 106 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE SEVENTT-FIRST fl- 5' \n ■ ■■ * ' ■"•I 1814." which the army will quit this countiy, must be i^tbat" equally satisfactory to every individual belonging " to it, as they are to the Commander of the Forces, and " he trusts that the troops will continue the same good ** conduct to the last. * • .• 5 ? " The Commander of the Forces once more requests " the army to accept his thanks. ? i " Although circumstances may alter the relations *' in which he has stood towards them for some years " so much to his satisfaction, he assures them he will " never cease to feel the Avaimest interest in their " welfare and honor, and that he will be at all times " happy to be of any service to *^ose to whose " conduct, discipline, and gallantry their country is so " much indebted." In addition to the other distinctions acquired during the war in Spain, Portugal, and the south of France, the Seventy-fiust subsequently received the Royal authority to bear the word " Peninsula " on the regimental colour and appointments. The first battalion arrived at Cork on the 28th of July, and marched to Mallow, where it remained for a few days. On the 4th of August the battalion marched to Limerick, where Colonel Rcynell assumed the command of it in December, and in which city it continued to be quartered during the remainder of the year, id bat. The second battalion remained stationed in North Britain. 1815. In January 1815, the first battalion of the Seventy- iBtbnt. FIU8T regiment marched from Limerick to Cork, and embarked as part of rn expedition under orders for North America. Peace having been concluded with the United States, and contrary winds having prevented the sailing of the vessels, the destination of the battalion Wtt8 changed, and subsequent events occasioned its being em- ployed against its former opponents. The tranquillity which Europe appeared to have gained by the Bplen- BEGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 107 did successes over the French in the Peninsula was 1815. again to be disturbed. Napoleon, who had been ac- tbat. customed to imperial sway, was naturally discontented with his small sovereignty of Elba. Besides, the cor- respondence kej)t up by him with his adherents in France gave him hopes of regaining his former power, which were, for a short time, fully realized. Napoleon Bonaparte lauded at C'annes, in Provence, on the 1st of March 1815, with a small body of men, and on the 20th of that month entered Paris at the head of an army which hud joined him on the road. This could not be matter of wonder, for the officers and soldiers had won their fame under his command^ and gladly wel- comed their fonner loader, under Avhom they probably expected t.> acquire fresh honors, Avhich might cancel the memory of the defeats sustained in the Peninsula. Louis XVIII., unable to stem the torrent, withdrew from Piu'is to Ghent, and Napoleon resumed his former dignity of EmiJcror of the French. This assumption the allied powers determined not to acknowledge, and resolved to deprive him of his sovereignty, smd again restore the ancient dynasty. The first battalion of the Seventy-fiust, in con- sequence of these occurrences, proceeded to the Downs, and was there trnnshipped into small craft, which con- veyed it to Ostcnd, where it disembarked on the 22d of April. The battalion next proceeded to Ghent, and, after remaining there a week, marched to Leuze, between Ath and Tom*nay, and was subsequently placed in the light ))rigade with the first battalion of the fifty-second, six companies of the second and two companies of the third battalion of the ninety-fifth regiment (Rifics), un- der the conunimd of Mnjor-Generid Frederick Adimi, in the division of Liout.-Gonorid Sir ITonry Clinton.* ♦ A lilt of till' llrlti»th nnd Ilnnovorian omiy nt Waterloo, us formed In diviiioni and brigftdci, U Inncrti-d in the Appendix, puge 16C. 1 1 '» i 108 HISTORICAL BECOBD OF THE SEVENTT-FIBST 1815. The strength of the origade was as follows :— istbat it: 11 t ^ iiti ! Rank and File. 52d regt. 1st bat. - 99: 71st d'.. do. - 788 95th do. 2d bat. Kiflcs - - 571 95th do. 3d do. do. - Total - 185 2,541 Brevet Colonel Ileynell,afterward3 Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Heynell, commanded the battalion at this period. Napoleon resolved on attacking the Allies before their forces ha^i been fully collected, and by well- masked and admirably combined movements, a portion of his army was concentrated on the 14th of June between the Samtre and the Meuse. On the morning of the 16th of June, as the battalion was proceeding to the usual exercising ground of the brigade at Leuze, it received orders for an immediate advance upon Nivelleis, where it arrived late that night. On the same day Prince Blucber had been attacked at Ligny, and was forced to retreat vO Wavre. The Duke of Wellington and a portion of his army had been also attacked at Quatre Bras by Marshal Ney, who, however, made no impression upon the British position. In the course of the morning of the 17th of June, the Duke of Wellington made a retrogrode movement upon Waterloo, in order to keep up his communication with the Prussians. At day-break on the same morn- ing, the first battalion of the Seventy-firft retired, and broko up its position, "th the rest of the allied army, on the plains in the neighbourhood of Waterloo, being situated to the left and rear of Hougomont. The Seveny-fiust, with the rest of the army, bi- vouacked in position during the night of the 17th of June, drenched by tlie rain, which fell heavily. Upon the morning of the memorable 18th of June, the bat- talion stood in open colimm, and in this situation was /• BEOIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTBT. 109 exposed for some time to a heavy fire of artillery, but 1815. a judicious movement to a short distance alleviated in a ist bat great measure this annoyance. Line was next formed, and about two o'clock the battalion, with the rest of the brigade, advanced, met their opponents in position, charged, and instantly overthrew them. A heavy fire now commenced upon the retreating enemy, but the alignement having been completely de- ranged by the impetuosity of the advance. Colonel Reynell, with his usual coolness, proceeded to restore order, and had just completed the dressing of the line when the French cavalry were seen advancing. Square was instantly formed, and the Seventy- first, with the rest of the brigade, sustained a charge from three regiments of French cavalry, namely, one of cuirassiersj one of (/rrnadiers-a~cheval, and one of lancers. The charge was made with the most obstinate bravery, but nothing could overcome the steadiness of the British infantry, and after a destructive loss, the French were forced to retire. Previously to this advance, the square of the Seventy-first was struck by a round-shot, which killed or wounded an officer and eighteen men of the eighth company. About seven o'clock in the evening the left wing of the bpitalion was formed in rear of the right, and, while thus placed, was, with the rest of the division, attacked by a column of the Imperial Guard. These troops were fresh, having been kept in reserve during the day. They were allowed to approach close without molestation, and the regiments tiirovving in a close and well-directed fire, they could not deploy, but broke, and retired in confusion. The enemy having now exhausted all his cff()rt8, the British, in their turn, advanced. The Seventy-first, in the first instance, suffered much from the fire of ! II 1 110 HISTORICAL BEGOBD OF THE SEYENTY-FIBST < m 1815. some guns that raked their front; these were soon l8t bat. silenced, and the battalion was afterwards left unmo- lested. In this advance the light brigade captured several guns. Night closed in fast, and the corps rested after this lengthened and sanguinary encounter, the pursuit of the discomfited enemy being committed to the Prussians, under Marshal Bb.sher, who had arrived on the field of battle. The Seventy-first had Brevet Major Edmund L'Estrange ( Aide-de-Camp to Major-General Sir Denis Pack, K.C.B.), and Ensign John Todd, killed. The fol- lowing officers were wounded: the Lieut.-Colonel commanding the battalion, Colonel Thomas Reynell; Brevet Lieut. -Colonel Arthur Jones ; Captains Samuel Reed, Donald Campbell, William Alexander Grant, James Henderson, and Brevet-Major Charles John- stone; Lieutenants Joseph Barrallier, Robert Lind, John Roberts, James Coates, Robert Law, Carique Lewin, and Lieutenant and Adjutant William Anderson. Tlie number of Serjeants, buglers, and rank and file killed amounted to twenty-nine ; one hundred and sixty- six were wounded, and thirty-six died of their wounds. Both Houses of Parliament, with the greatest enthu- siasm, voted their thanks to the army " for its distin- guished valour at Waterloo." - For the share which the battalion had in this glorious victory, the Seventy-first were permitted to bear, in common with the rest of the army engaged upon the 18th of June, the word " Waterloo" on the regi- mental colour and appointments. The officers and men engaged were presented with silver medals by His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, and were allowed to reckon two years additional service. The battalion, with the rest of the anny, afterwards marched towards Paris, and entered that city on the 7th of July. The brigade encamped that day in the Champa £li/a6es, near the Place Louis Quinzo, being BE&lMENTj HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. Ill the only British troops quartered within the barriers, 1815. and continued there until the beginning of November, istbat. when it proceeded to Versailles, and to Viarmes in December. Meanwhile Louis XVIII. had entered Paris, and was again reinstated on the throne of his ancestors. Napoleon Bonaparte had surrendered to Captain Mait- land, commanding the "Bellerophon" British ship of war, and the island of St. Helena having been fixed for his residence, he was conveyed thither with a few of his devoted followers. On the 24th of December 1815, the second battalion 2d bat of the Seventy-first was disbanded at Glasgow, the effective officers and men being transferred to the first battalion. j • « '.48, in succession to Lieut.-Gers 3ral Sir Thomas Eeynell, Bart, and K.C.B., deceased. Three companies of the first battalion proceeded from Edinburgh to Dublin on the 27th of April 1848; and the head-quarters, with the three remaining com- panies, were removed to Dublin on the 1st of May. In June, the head-quarters were removed to Naas. During the year 1848, the head-quarters of the re- serve battalion remained at St. John's, in Canada East. 1849. Lieut.-General Sir James Macdonell, K.C.B. and K.C.H., was appointed from the seventy-ninth to be colonel of the Seventy-first or Highland regiment, on the 8th of February 1849, upon the decease of Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B. In compliance with instructions received upon the occasion of Her Majesty's visit to Dublin, the head- quarters of the first battalion, with the effectives of three companies, proceeded from Naas to that garrison on the 28th of July, and were encamped in the Phoenix Park. The three detached companies also joined at the encampment on the same day. On the 13th of August the head-quarters and three companies returned to Naaa. The head-quarters and two companies of the reserve battalion, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Sir Hew Dairy tnple, Bart., proceeded from St. John's to Montreal, in aid of the civil power, on the 28th of April 1849. The hoad-ciuarters and three companies quitted Montreal and encamped on the Island of St. Helen's on the 3()th of June, but returned to St. John's on the IGth of July. On the 17th of August 1849, the head- BEGIMENT, HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. 123 quarters and two companies proceeded from St. John's 1849. to Montreal, in aid of the civil power, and returned to St John's on the 6th of September. In April 1850, the first battalion proceeded from 1850. Naas to Dublin. The head-quarters and two companies of the reserve battalion quitted St. John's and Chambly on the 21st of May 1850, and arrived at Toronto on the 23d of that month, where the battalion was joined by the other companies, and it continued there during the remainder of the year. In April 1851, the first battalion proceeded from 1851. Dublin to Mullingar, and in July following was removed to Newry. During the year 1851 the reserve battalion continued to be stationed at Toronto. In May 1852, the reserve battalion proceeded from 1852. Toronto to Kingston. On the 8th of June following. Lieut.-Colonel Sir Hew Dalrymple, Bart., retired from the service by the sale of his commission, and was suc- ceeded by Lieut.-Coionel Nathaniel Massey Stack. On the Ist of July 1852, the date to which this Becord has been brought, the first battalion of the Sevfnty-fikst regiment was stationed at Newry, ^nder the command of Lieut.-Colonel William Denny : the reserve battalion continued at Kingston, in Canada. t 1862. ^r- t» •a*' li/'- ^ "•VH 'I .< I III :ff'' fe "i" ll'^' li^' {!■. , '- i I !■ '.-k *>'. :1 •£■ IS l^- .^., "5»w« 1 'ji»»,^ LIOHT INFANTRV. " ■^ -^ — — — H A 1 Af_ I ^■'' 1 li il .^ '^« /■ li.i i 'J.i '-''J ": y-j 'Iil John Lord Macleod, Appointed ]9th December 1777. Lord John Macleod was the eldest son of the Earl of Cromartie, and, with his father, was engaged in the attempt made in 1745 by Prince Charles Edward, the young pre- tender, to recover the throne of his ancestors. After the battle of CuUoden, in '716, the Earl of Croniirtie was brought to trial, and plea led guilty ; but his life was . i' rci on consideration of the v-^morse expressed by him for I 'viiig been seduced in an unguarded moment from that loyalty which he had always, ^^r^jviously to the breaking out of the rebellion, evinced to the exisl'ng establishment, both in Church and State. Lord Made od also received the royal mercy on account of his youth, and his regard for his parent, which had been the cause ^,? his being concerned in the rebellion. The young loiJ also promised, that, should the royal clemency be extended to him, that his futv^re life and fortune should bv. entirely devoted to His Maj<:3'^_,'. service, wliich promise was amply fulfilled in after years. Lord Macleod o-bsequently entered into the Swedish army, where he served for several yeurs with great reputation, and was made a Commandant of the Order of the Sword in the king- dom of Swet* Wlile the American war of independence was being canlefl on, his Lordship returned to Great Britain, and inLeceiab(.v 1777 received authority to raise a regi- ■4ii»»*V !«'- 126 SEVENTY-FIRST HIGHLAND LIGHT INPANTBY. ment of Highlanders, which was, on its formation, numbered the seventy-third, and subsequently the SEVENXY-Fresx regiment, under the circumstances detailed in the Historical Record. His Lordship was appointed colonel of the newly raise i rt^iii. 'li, to which a second battalion was added in Sep/ ember l7vS, and embarked with the first battalion for India in January 1779, arriving at Madras in January 1780. The war with Hyder Ali, the powerful Sultan of the Mysore territory, commenced in that year, and his Lord- ship served under Major-^ai''*^'?ral Sir Hector Munro in the first instance, and afterwards under Lieut. General Sir Eyre Coote. On the 1st of June 1781, Colonel Lord Macleod was promoted to the local rank of major-general in the East Indies, in which year he returned to England, some mis- understanding having arisen between his Lordship and Major-General Stuart concerning priority of rank. His Lordship was promoted to the rank of major-general on the 20th of November 1782. On the forfeited estates being restored, in 1784, Major-General Lord Macleod obtained the family estate of Cromartie. His decease occurred on the 2d of April 1789, at Edinburgh. The Honorable William Gordon, Appointed 9th April 1789. The Honorable William Gordon was appointed cap- tain in the Sixteenth Light Dragoons, when that corps was raised in the year 1759. In October 1762, he was appointed Lieut.-Colonel of the 105th regiment, and in 1777, he was promoted to the colonelcy of the eighty-first regiment, which was afterwards disbaiided. In 1781 he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and in April 1789 was nomi- nated colonel of he Seventy-first Highlanders. He was advanced to the anl- of lieut. -general in 1793, to that of general in 179? and was removed to the Twenty-first Royal North British Fusiliers in 1803. He died in 1816. SL 0E88ION or C0L0NEL8. 127 Sir John Fuancis Cradock, G.C.B. and K.C., afterwards Lord HowDEN, ., l Appointed Gth August 1803. This officer entered the army on the 15th of December 1777, as a cornet in the fourth regiment of horse, now the seventh dragoon guards ; and on the 9th of July 1779, he exchanged to an cnsigncy in the Coldstream guards, in which he was promoted to a lieutenancy, with the rank of captain, on the 12th of December 1781. On the 25th of June 1785, he was advanced to the rank of major of the twelfth dragoons, and on the 16th of September 1786, ex- changed into the thirteenth foot, of which regiment he was appointed licut.-colonel on the 16th of June 1789. Lieut.- Colonel Cradock commanded the thirteenth regiment in the "West Indies, and on his return, in 1792, was appointed quartermaster-general in Ireland, where he was specially employed by Government in many of the disturbed counties. He went a second time to the West Indies, in the command of the second battalion of grenadiers, under the orders of General Sir Charles (afterwards Earl) Grey, and was pre- sent at the reduction of Martinique (where he was wounded), St. Lucia, Guadalonpc, and at the siege of Fort Bourbon. Before the reduction of the second battalion of grenadiers in the West Indies he was appointed by Sir Charles Grey to be his aide de-camp, and on his return to England ho received the thanks of Parliament for his services. On the 26th of February 1795, Lieut. -Colonel Cradock received the brevet rank of colonel, and on the 16th of April following was appointed colonel of the one hundred and twenty-seventh regiment, which was disbanded in 1798, when he was placed on half pay. On the 1st of January 1798, Colone) Cradock was advanced to the rank of major-grneral, and served as quartermaster-general in Ireland during the rebellion of that year ; was under the command of Lieut. -General Gerard (afterwards Viscount) Lake at the affair with the rebels at Vinegar Hill, and in the subsequent movements in the county of Wexford. Major-General Cradock accompanied Earl Cornwall is as quartermaster-general in his lordship's march against the French forces that landed in Killala H . I Pf ; 128 SEVENTY-FIRST HIGHLAND LIGHT IIv ;; a NTr.Y. Iv: m ] p'.' ,♦.? under General Humbert, and was severely wounded in the action at Balljnahinch, when the French and rebel force were defeated, and laid down their arms. Major-General Cradock was afterwards appointed to the staff of the Mediterranean, under General Sir Balph Aber- cromby, and proceeded on the expedition to Egypt, and was in the actions of the 8th, }3th, and 21st of March 1801. In that of the 13th, near Alexandria, he commanded the brigades which formed the advance against the enemy, and received the thanks of Sir Ralph Abercromby. He was second in command of the division of the army that pro- ceeded to Cairo under the command of Lieut.-General Hutchinson (afterwards the Earl of Donoughmoro), and was at the action of Rhamanie on the 9th of May 1801, and at the surrender of Cairo and Alexandria. Tlic surrender of the latter place on the 2d of September following, ter- minated the campaign, after which he was appointed to the command of a force of 4,000 men, to proceed to Corfu ; but the preliminaries of peace being signed on the 1st of October between Great Britain and France, put an end to the expe- dition, and he returned to England, when he was again honored with the thanks of Parliament. The Grand Seignior had also established the order of knighthood of the Crescent, of which the general officers who served in Egypt were made members. On the 8th of May 1801, Major-General Cradock had been appointed colonel commandant of the fifty-fourth regi- ment, and upon the reduction of the army, in 1802, he was placed on half-pay. On the 6th of August 1803, he was appointed colonel of the Seventy-first regiment. On the 1st of January 1805, Major-General Sir John Cradock, KB., was advanced to the rank of lieut.-general, and appointed to the con^mand of the forces at Madras. Upon the departure from India of General Lord Lake, in 1806, Lieut.-General Sir John Cradock remained for nearly a year in the command of the forces in that country. In 1808 he was appointed to command the forces in Portugal, during the critical period preceding the arrival of Lieut.- General Sir Arthur Wellealey, and was afterwards appointed Governor of Gibraltar, which in a short time he resigned. On the 6th of January 1809, he was removed from the /- SUCCESSION OF COLONELS. 129 Seventy-first to the colonelcy of the forty-third regiment. In 1811 he was appointed governor of the Cape of Good Hope, and commander of the forcoa on that station, which he held until 1814, on the 4th of June of which year ho was promoted to the rank of general. General Sir John Cradock was nominated a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on the 2d of January 1815, and in 1819 was created a p'ser of Ireland, by the title of Baron Howden. At the coronation of His Majesty King William IV. he was advjvnced to the dignity of a Peer of the United Kingdom. By royal licence he afterwards altered his name to Caradoc, deeming that to be the ancient and veritable orthography. The decease of General the Right Honorable John Francis Caradoc, Baron Howden of Howden and Grimstone in the county of York, and of Cradocks- town, county of Kildarc, occurred on the 26th of July 1839, at the advanced age of eighty years. 'm\ ■I' i Francis Dundas. Appointed 7th January 1809. The first commission of this officer was an ensigncy in the first foot guards, dated 4th of April 1775, and in May 1777 he joined the army in North Americn, was present at the battle of Brandy wine on the 11th of September of that year, and in that of Germantown on the 4th of October following, also at the siege of ten forts on the river Dela« ware, and after their reduction in December the detach- ment of guards employed on that service rejoined the army, and went into winter quarters at Philadelphia. On the 23d of January 1778 he received a lieutenancy, with the rank of captain, in the first foot guards. Captain Dundas served the campaign of that year, and was present in the action of Monmouth Court-House on the 28th of June 1778, fought during the march of the British army from Phila- delphia to New York, in which the second battalion of the first foot guards was principally engaged. Having soon after been appointed to the light company of that corps, he was employed on various detached services in 1778 and 1779, in the course of which the company to which ho belonged sustained considerable losses. it i If m w ,;.e. ;i'* I 130 SEVENTY-FIRST HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. The corps of guards being detached into South Carolina, joined the army under Lieut.-General the Earl Comwallia, in 1780, and the light company forming his lordship's advanced guard, it was almost every day engaged. Captain Dundas commanded it at the battle of Guildford and at York Town. .i Captain Dundas was promoted to a company in the first foot guards, with tlie rank of lieutenaut-colonol, on the 11th of April 1783, and on the 6th of June following exchanged into the forty-fifth regiment, from which he was transferred to the first foot on the Slst of March 1787. With the first battalion of the latter regiment Lient.-Colonel Dundas embarked for Jamaica in January 1790, and re- turned to England in July 1791. In October 1793 he was appointed aide-de-camp to King George III., and received the brevet rank of colonel. Colonel Dundas was employed in that rank in the West Indies as adjutant-general to the army under General Sir Charles (afterwards Earl) Grey, and was present at the siogc of Martinique and the other adjacent islands in 1794. Upon his return to England, being appointed on the 9th of October 1794, colonel of the Scots brigade, afterwards num- bered the ninety-fourth regiment, he joined it in Scotland, aiv! raised a new battalion. MajorGeneral Dundas, to wliich rank he was advanced on the 26th of February 1795, was employed on the staff in North Britain until ordered to join the array preparing for foreign service under Lieut-General Sir Ralph Abcr- cromby, at Southampton. Having returned to Portsmouth Avith the expedition, he was soon afterwards appointed to thf command at the Capo of Good Hope, and in August 1796 he embarked for that colony. Being appointed lieut.- govcrnor, with the command of the troops under the governor, he continued to hold that appointment until Lord Macartney returned to England in November 1798, leaving him to act as civil governor. Upon the arrival of Lord Macartney's successor, in December 1799, Miyor- Gencral Dundax resumed his former situation ; but that officer being recalled in '801, the civil with the military authority again devolved on Miyor-General Dundas, and he held both until the Cape was restored to the Dutch by tho SUCCESSION OF COLONELS. 131 treaty of peace conclu'led in 1803. Upon his return to England in June 1803, Lieut.-General Dundas, to which rank he had been promoted on the 29th of April of the pre- vious year, was placed on the staff in the southern district of Great Britain, under General Sir David Dundas, K.B. Towards the end of 1805 Lieut.-General Dundas Avas appointed to the command of a division ordered to join the army assembling in Hanover under Licut.-Gencral Lord Cathcart, and on his return, in 1806, he was again appointed to the staff in the southern district. On the 7th of January 1809, Lieut.-General Dundas was appointed by His M^esty to be colonel of the Seventy-first regiment, and on the 1st of January 1812 was advanced to the rank of general. He had been appointed governor of Carrickfergus in Lreland in 1787, and was transferred in January 1817 to the governorship of Dumbarton Castle in Scotland. The decease of General Dundas occurred at Edinburgh on the 16th of January 1824. Sir Gordon Drummond, G.C.B. Appoint€(H6tii January 1824. Removed to the forty-ninth regiment on the 2l8t of Sep- tember 1829, and to the eighth foot on the 24th of April 1846. W !l ; >fi 4i Sin Colin Halkett, K.C.B. Appointed 2\ St September 1829. Removed to the thirty-first ronjimcnt on the 28th of March 1838, and to the forty-fifth regiment on the 12tl» of July 1847. Sir Samuel Ford Wiiittingiiam. Appointed 2Sth March 1838. This officer was a, (pointed ensign in the sixty-sixth regiment on the 20tli of January 1803, licutenr.nt in the ninth foot on the 25th of February, and was removed to the lirHt life guards on the 10th of March of the same year. Oi^ tlic 14th of February 1805 he was promoted to the rank of captain in the twenty-eighth regiment, and wos removed to ti o thir- teenth light dragoons on the 13tli of June followinjr, and I 2 :fi 132 SEVENTY-FIRST HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. Ir' it II I! r :'.V I -, in 1809 was appointed deputy assistant quartermaster- general in the army in the Peninsula under Lieut.-General Sir Arthur Wellesley. In March 1810, Captain Whittingham was promoted to the rank of major, serving with the Por- tuguesc^army. He Avas subsequently employed in America i but the chief scene of his services was with the army in Spain, for which he was peculiarly qualified by his perfect knowledge of the Spanish language. He was first pernutted to join that service as aide-de-camp to General Castanos, and in that capacity shared in the battle and victory of Baylen. Major Whittingham afterwards served under the Duke of Albuquerque, and was severely wounded at Talavera. Soon afterwards he obtained the command of the Spanish cavalry, and was present at the battle of Barrosa, fought on tlie 5th of March 181 1. On the 30th of May following he was pro- moted lieut.-colonel in the Portuguese army. He was next intrusted to raise and command a large corps of Spanish troops clothed and paid by the British Government. In 1812, as major-general in command of this well-disciplined corps, he was, in junction with the British army at Alicant, successfully opi.oscd to Marshal^ Suchet, and was again wounded at the battle of Castalla ; after winch he served with distinction in command of a division of infantry under Lieut.-General Sir John Murray, and subseciuently under Lieut.-Goneral Lord William Bentinck on the eastern coasi of Spain, At the restoration of peace in 1814, Lieut.-Colonel Whit- tingham returnf d to England, his conduct in Spain being reported in very flattering terms by the Brilisii ambassador in Spain and by the Duke of Wellington. On the 4th of June 1814, he was appointed aide-de-camp to Ills IJoyal Highness the Prince Regent, with the rank of colonel in the army ; and was appointed a Compiinion of the l)rdor of tlio Bath, with the honor of knighthood, on the 4th of June 1815. Upon the return of Napoleon from Klba in March 1815, Colonel Sir Samuel Ford Wliittingham ret\irned to the Peninsula, at the particular reipicBt of the King of Spain, and on his arrival at Madrid, lie was invested with the Grand Cross of the[|Order of San Fernando. In the year 1819 he was appointed governor of Dominica, and in 1822 kia services were 'ransforrod to India as qiiartermastcr- SUCCESSION OF COLONELS. 133 general of the king's troops ; he subsequently held the com- mand AH major-genernl, to which rank he was promoted on tlie 27tli of May 1825, successively in the Cawnpoor and Mcorut divisions. Major-Gencral Sir Samuel Ford Whittingha^n Iferved at tlie siege of Hhurtpore, which was captured in January 1826; and received the thanks of Parliament for his conduct on tliat occasion. He was also nominated a Knight Commander of tlio Order of tlio Bath on the 26th of December following. Having returned from India in 1835, Major-General Sir Samuel Ford Wliiitingliara was appointed to the command of tlio forces in the Windward and Leeward Islands in 1836. On the 28lli of March 1838, he was appointed colonel of the SKViCNTV-riUHT Regiment, and on the 28th of June following WHH advanced to tiie rank of lieut.-general. IIo was per- mitted to roHign tlie Windward and Leeward command in 1839, in order to undcr'akctlie oommand-in-ehief at Madras, receiving at the name time from General Lord Hill, then cominanding-in-cliief, a flattering testimonial of Ids services while in the West Indies. Lieut.-General Sir Snmuel Ford Whittingham arrived at Madras on the 1st of August 1840, where lie continued until the lyth of January 1841, the date of his decease. ■'i Sin TiioMA« Ri:v\ELL, Baut., K.C.B. Appointed \ 'i March 1841. Tins distinguished olfieor commenced his military career as un ensign in thclhiriy-eighth regnnent, his commission being (late(l the 3()th of Scpteni'ter 1793. He joined the regiment in •January 1794 at IKilast, and in A])ril proceeded with it to Flandtu's, where it formed piirt of the arniy conunandcd by His lloyal Higiincss the Duke of Vork. On arrwal at the seat of wa/, the Ihirty-eighth regiment was orden'd to join the corps under the Austrian (Uneral Count Clerfait, who e.'tninianded liie troops in West Klaned with the first battalion of the fortietli regiment, au'J arrived in England in November 1799. In April IhiK) Captain Reynell embarked with his regi- nu)nt for the Mediterrunean, and went in the first instance to Minorot, afterwards lo Legliorn; returned to Minorca, and proceed'd with a large force under Licut.'Genernl Sir SUCCESSION OF COLONELS. 135 Ralph Abercrombj for the attack of Cadiz. Signals for disembarking wore made; but although the boats had actuallj- put off from the ships, a recall was ordered, in cunseciuence. of the plague raging at Cadiz. After this ho proceeded up. the Mediterranean again, and in November landed aUMalta. . The flank companies of the fortieth regiment having been allowed to volunteer their services in the expedition to Egypt, Captain Reynell proceeded thither in command of the light company (one v^f the four flank companies de- tached under Colonel Breit Spe;icer), and was present in the action at the landing on the 8th of March 1801. On this occasion the flank companies of the fortieth were on the right of the line, and were particularly noticed for the gallant style in which they mounted the 8and-hills imme- diately where tbey landed. Captain Reynell was present in the battle of the 13th of March, and commanded the right out-piquet of the army, in the morning of the 21st of that month, when the French attacked the British near Alcx- anuria, on which occasion (ieneral Sir Ralph Abercromby was jiiOrtally wounded. Soon after Captain Reynell pro* ceeded with a small British corps and some Turkish batta- lions to Rosetta, of which easy pos.sessioa was taken. He was present in \ii ac'ion at Rhamanic, and followed the French to Grand Cairo, where that part of their army capitulated; ovid returned as escort in charge of the French troops to Rosetta ; and after they had embarked he joined the forc" under Mujor-General Sir Eyre Coote bofore Alexandria, The surrender ol' Alexandria, on the 2d of Sept* mber 1801, terminated the campaign, for his services in whicli lie received the guM medal coulerrcd by the Grand Seignior on the several ollico's employed. Captain Reyncil wa8 afterwards >ppointcd aide-decvmp to Major-General Ciadock, who was ordered to proceed from Egypt with a Ibrco of four thousand m.'u to Corfu ; but while at sf«a counter-orders were received, and lie proceeded to Malta, and subsequently to England. In July 1HU4 he embarked aa aidc-dc-eamp to Lieut.«General Sir Joon Cradook, K.B,, who had been appointed to the eonmiand of the tro«>[)s at Madras, and wliilc on the passage, namely, the 3d of August 1804, ho wa.s pronjoti'd to tiie rank of uuynr in the fortieth regiment. l4 •I I 1 136 SEVENTY-FIRST HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. ■Ik On the 10th of March 1805 Major Reynell received the brevet rank of lieut. -colonel, upon being appointed deputy quarter master-general to the King's troops in the East Indies. In July following he was appointed aide-de-camp to the Marqui» Cornwallis, governor-general of India, and accom- panied his lordship from Madras to Bengal, Avith whop ' ■• remained until his lordship's decease, at Ghazcpore, in ■ t - ber 1805, Licut.-Colonel Reynell returned to Madi ,' mediately afterwards, and was ippointed military secrt.ary to the Lieut. -General Sir John Cradock, the commander-in- chief at that presidency. lie officiated during several months of the year 1806 as deputy adjutant -general in India, in which country he remained until October 1807, when lie returned with Lieut.-Gemral Sir John Cradock to Europe, and arrived in England in April ISO**. Lieut.-Colonel Keynell resigned tlie appointmcii* uf deputy quartermaster-general in India, and was bri^ught on full pay as mnjor of the ninety-sixth regincnt on the oth May 1808, and on the 22d of September ibliowing was appointed major in the Skventy-fiust regiment. In October 1808, Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Reynell embarked as military secretary to Lieut.-Cieneral Sir John Cradock, who had been appointed to command the forces in Portugal, and landed in November at Lisbon, lie remained in Purtugal until April 1809, when Sir Jolni Cradock was superceded in the command of the forces in Portugal by Lieut. -General Sir Arthur Wellesley. Lieut.-Colonel Reynell afterwards accom- panied Lieut.-General Sir John Cradock to Cadiz, Seville, and Gibraltar, of which latter place Sir John Cradock was appointed governor, and Lieut.-Colonel Reynell remained there as military secretary until September, when ho I'c- turned to England. Lieut. -Coh)nel Heynell joined tlie Skventv-first regi- ment at Brabourne-Lces Bari.teks in December 180<), im- mediately after its return from Waleheren. In September 1810 he embarked at Deal with six eonipaniea of the Skvknty-fihst regiment for Portugal, landed at Lisbon towards the end of that month, marched soon after to Mafra, and thence to Sobra', where the si.x eomj)auies joined the army under Lieut. -CJcnenil Viscount Wollingtou. in Octo- ber Lieut.-Colonel Reynell had the iionor ol' being parti* SUCCESSION OF COLONELS. isr culaily mentioned by Viscount Wellington in his despatch, containing an account of the repulse of the attack of tho Fi-cnch at Sobral on the 14th of that month. The British army shortly afterwards retired to the lines of Torres Vcdras, and Brevet Lieut. -Colonel Reynell was appointed assistant adjutant-general to the fourth division under MtAJor-General the Honorable George Lowry Cole. Early in March 1811, the army of Marshal Masscna broke up from its entrenched position at Santarem, and retreated to the northward. Brevet Lieut.-Coloncl Reynell entered Santarem with the fourth division the day after jMarshal Masscna had left it, and continued in the pursuit of the French am y to the Mondego. In the affair of Redinha h(! had a horse killed under him. From Esiiinhal the fourth division was ordei'ed to retrograde, and reeross the Tagus, for the purpose of reinforcing Marshal Sir William Carr Beresford. In 1811 he joined the Marshal at Portalegre, and being the senior British assistant adjutant-general, was directed to join Marshal Beresford's head quarters, and pro- ceeded with him to Campo Mayor, from which the enemy retired; was also present at the capture of 01iven(;a, and Hubseciuently accompanied the marshal to Zafra, between which place and Llerena a smart skirmish occurred with the enemy's hussars. In May 1811, Lieut.-Colonel Reynell returned to England from Lisbon with despatches from Viscount Wellington. In July 1811, Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Reynell embarked as military secretary to Lieut.-General Sir Jolin Cradock, K.B., who had been appointed governor and commander of the forces at the Cape of Good Hope, where he arrived by the end o\' September. On the 4th of June IHI'J, he re- ceived the brevet rank of colonel; and on the 5th of August 1813, he was promoted lieut. -colonel of the Skvkntv-first regiment, in succession to Lieut.-Colonel tlie HonorabK? Henry Cadogan, who was mortally wounded in the battUj of Vittoria ; in February following, being d(>siri)us of join- ing the corps. Colonel Reynell resigned his staff situation at the Cape, and proceeded to England, where hi- arrived in May 1814. In July of that year lie was appolnli-d adjutant- general to the force then preparing for service in America m M' Ml 138 SEVENTY-FIBST HIGHLAND LIGHT INPANTBT. 7i-j ;i under Lieut^-General Lord Hill ; but, other operations being then in view, that appointment was cancelled. Colonel Rejnell took the command of the first battalion of the Seventy-first regiment at Limerick in December 1814, and embarked with it from Cork in January of the following year, as part of an expedition for North America ; but peace having been concluded with the United States, and contrary winds having prevented the sailing of the vessels, the destinutit.n of the battalion was changed. In March Colonel Reynell received orders to proceed with his battalion to the Downs, where, in the middle of April, it was transhipped into small vessels, and sere immediately to Ostend, to join the army forming in Flanders, in consequence of Napoleon Bonaparte having returned from Elba to France. In the memorable battle of Waterloo, fought on the 18tli of June 1815, Colonel Reynell commanded the first bat- talion of the Seventy-first regiment, and was wounded in the foot on that occasion. He afterwards succeeded to the command of Major-Greneral Adam's brigade, consisting of the first battalions of the fifty-second and Seventy-first, with six companies of the second, and two companies of the third battalion of the ninety-fifth regiment, in consequence of that officer being wounded. Colonel Reynell commanded the light brigade in the several operations that took place on the route to Paris, and entered that capital at the head of the brigade on the 7th of July 1815 and encamped with it in the Champs Elysees, being the only British troops quai'tered within the barriers. In this year he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath, and received the Cross of a Knight of the Austrian Military Order of Maria Theresa, also a Cross of the fourth class of the Russian Military Order of St. George. Colonel Reynell remained with tlio ^'^ Army of Occupa- tion^ in France until October 1818, when, after a grand review oi" the united British, Danish, and Russian contingents at Valenciennes, the Seventy-first marched to Calais, and (mibarked for England. Colonel Reynell continued in com- mand of the regiment until the 12th of August 1819, the date of lii.x promotion to the rank of msjor-general. SUC0E3i:TON OF COLOKBLSi 189 ]ji April 1820 Majos^General Reynell was suddenly ordered to proceed to Glasgow, having been appointed to the r -jff of North Brit? in as a major-general, in which cour-^r he remained uutil March 1821, when, in conse- quencf* f the tranquillity of Scotland, the extra general officer was discontinued. Immediately afterwards he was appointed to the staff of the East Indies, and directed to proceed to Bombay, for which presidency he embarked in September following, and where he arrived in March 1822. After remaining there a ivonth, Major-General Reynell was removed to the staff of the Bengal Presidency, by order of the Marquis of Hastings. In August Major-General Reynell procef^ded "p the Ganges, and took the command of the Meerut division on the 3d of December 1 822. Tlienext operation cf importance in which Major-General Reynell was engaged was the siege of Bhurtpore. Early in December 1825 a large force had been assembled for this pur- pose, to the command of which he had been appointed, when, just as the troops were about to move into the Bhurtpore states, General Lord Combermere, the new commander-in- chief in India, arrived from England, and Major-General Reynell was then appointed to command the first division of' infantry. He commanded that division during the siege, and directed the movements of the column of assault at the north-east angle on the 18th of January 1826, when the place was carried, an( ilu^ citadel surrendered a few hours after. For this servi ' he was appointed a Knight Com- mander of the Bath, i, well as honored with the thanks of both Houses of Parliament. M^or-General Sir Thomas Reynell succeeded to the baro- netcy upon the decease of liis brother Sir Richard Littleton Reynell in September 1829 ; and on the 30th of January 1832 was appointed by His Miycsty King William IV. to be colonel of the ninety-ninth rej,! aent, from which he was removed to the eighty-seventh Royal Irish fusiliers on the 15th of August 1834. On the 10th of January 1837, he was pro- moted to the rank of Meut. -general, and on the 14th of June 1839 was appointed a member of tlie consolidated board of general officers for the i ispection and regulation of the clothing of the army. On the 15th of March 1841, he was til fi 140 SEVENTY-FIRST HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY. appoint^ 1 by Her Majesty to the colonelcy of the Seventy- first regiment. The decease of Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Reynell, Bart., K.C.B., occurred at Avisfoi i, "oar Arundel, on the 10th of Februai-y 1848. Sir Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B. Appointed lSt?i February 1848. This officer entered the army as ensign in the twenty-nintli regiment on the 23d of November 1794, and was promoted lieutenant in the fortieth regiment on the 1st of May 1796. He was advanced to the rank of captain in the eighth West India regiment on the 25th of June 1 798, and on the 26th of May 1803 was appointed captain in the royal staff corps, and on the 7th of April 1808 was promoted major in the fifth "West India regiment, in which year he joined the staff of the army in the Peninsula, first as assistant adjutant-general, and afterwards as assistant quartermaster-general. Major Arbuthnot was present at the battles of Roleia, Vimiera, and Corunna. On the 24th of May, 1810 he received the rank of lieuit-rtant-colonel in the army, and was appointed deputy nu U'l'fmastcr-general at the Cape of Good Hope, where he iiriiv; d on the 25th March 1811. Lieut. -Colonel Arbuthnot Wiis appointed aide-de-camp to His Royal Highness the Piince Regent on the 7th of February 1812, and in May 1813 proceeded from the Cape to the Peninsula, and was present at the battles of the Pyrenees, Nivelle, and Orthes. For these services in the Peninsula and south of Franco he was decorated Avith a cross and one clasp. On the 24th of March 1814, Brevet Lieut. -Colonel Arbuthnot was ap- pointed lieutenant-eolonel of the fifty-seventh regiment, and on the4lhof June following received the brevet rank of colonel in the army. In January 1815 he Avas nominated a Knight Commander of the Bath, and on the 12th of August 1819 was appointed lieutoaant.- colonel of the Skventv-fikst regiment. On the f:!7th of May 1825 he attained the rank of major-general, and on the 15th of August 1836 was appointed colonel of the ninety-ninth regiment. Sir Thomas Arbuthnot was advanced to the rank of lieutenant-general t*' /• SUCCESSION OF COLONELS. 141 on the 28th of June 1838, and was removed to the fifty- second regiment on the 23d of December 1839. In August 1842 he was appointed to the command of the northern and midland districts of Great Britain, which he retained until liis decease. On the 7th of December 1844 Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Arbuthnot was removed from the fifty second to the ninth foot, and on the 18th of February 1848 was appointed colonel of the Skventy-first regiment. Lieut.- General Sir Thomas Ari Jthnot, K.C.B., died at Salford, near Manchester, o lo 26th of January 1849. ^iikf Sir James. K.CB. and K.C.H. Appointed from titi .rtv y-ninth regiment on the ^th Fehnuiry 1849. m u • m Jl IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 1.0 I.I lA^lli 12.5 2.0 lit 140 M ll^lJi^Ui^ If II^^^B^^^^^E IIIIIHHHI^BB IHH^HI^^^^B ^ 6" ► Photographic Sciences Corporation 41^ ^ >>. » WHI MAIN SIHIT WIU1H,N.V. )4SM (rU)in-4S03 '^ Ui .>itri,^€Xi..?ir/l-W' CO«'!iiiif.T«KI^: / 148 t A ^i ' I t . ■ VmI'* .•h..<^^r^Z'-''-A APPENDIX. Memoir of Captain Fhilu> Melvill of the SeyemtT'FIBST Regiment. I*- Captain Philip Melvill was the fourth and youngest son of John Melvill, Esq., of Dunbar, and was bom on the 7th of April 1 762. At the age of sixteen he obtained a commisiiion, on the 31 St December 1777, as a lieutenant in the seventy- third now the Seventy-first regiment, commanded by Colonel John Lord Macleod, on condition of raising a, certain number of men, which, by the influence of his relatives in the north of Scotland, he effected. Lieutenant Melvill joined the regiment at Elgin, and was appointed to the light company. In 1779 he embarked for India with his regiment, and arrived at Madras in January 1780. His services now became identical with those of Captain Baird, under whose command lie proceeded as part of a reinforcement to Liout.-Colonel Baillie, as detailed in the foregoing pages. In the action on the 10th of September 1780, at Perambaukum, Lieutenant Melvill was severely wounded in both arms; his left being broken, and, after surrendering, the muscles of his right arm wore cut in two by a sabre. He was dashed unmercifully to the ground, and as he lay exhausted, a horseman wounded him in the back witH his spear. In this miserable situation he continued for two days and two nights, exposed to the intense heat of a burning sun, and to the danger of being vom to pieces by beasts of prey. He was afterwards conveyed to Hyder's camp, and was confined at Bangalore with the other pri- soners. After three years and a half of confinement, they obtained their release in March 1784. Lieutenant Melvill had been advanced to the rank of captain on the 22d of June 1783 ; and being disabled from military duty by the condition of his wounds, was, on being released from captivity, enabled to visit his brother at Bcngpl, where he remained until the beginning of the year 144 APPENDIX. 1786. Captain Mclvill then returned to England, when he was appointed, on the 8d of Jonuary 1787, to the command of an invalid company fttationcd in Guernsey, where he remained for flvo year». He subsequently ex- changed into a company at Portsmouth, and was afterwards placed on the retired li»t, in consequence of ill-health. After remaining a year in retirement at Topsham, in Devonshire, Captain Molvill, on the 29th of September 1796, exchanged his full pay as a retired captain for the command of an invalid company stationed at Pendennis Castle in Cornwall. In the year 1797, when preparations were made by France for invading Great Britain, Captain Melvill, who had been appointed lieut.-govcrnor of Pendennis Castle, was mainly instrumental in forming a corps of volunteers, which was subsequently retained, first as the Pendennis Volunteer Artillery, and afterwards as fli body of local militin. Lieut.-Governor Molvill died on the 27th October 1811, aged forty-nine, and was interred in Falmouth Churoli. Memoir of the aervicea of Omeral the Bight Honorable Sir David Baird, Bart., G.C.B. Sf K.C.y formerly Lieut.'Calonel of the Seventy •first Begiment. Tins celebrated commander commenced his mili: areer as an ensign in the second foot, Itis commission being dated the 14th of December 1772. He joined the regiment at Gibraltar in April 1773, and in 1773 returned with it to England. In February 1778 ho wan promoted lieutenant in tlie second foot, and on the 16th of December 1777 was promoted to a company in the Heventy third regiment, then being raised by Colonel Lord Mac'leod, which was afterwards numbered the SKVKNTV.nniiT regiment. This corps Captain Baird joined at Elgin, from wlience he marched to Fort George, and embarked for Guernsey. In January 1779 ho embarked with his regiment for India, and arrived at Madras in January 1780. Tlie regiment, shortly after its arrival in India, was called upon to take part in the war against APPENDIX. 145 Hyder Ali, the powerful sovereign of the Mysore, whose army exceeded eighty thousand, besides a strong body under a general of the name of Meer Saib, who had entered the Company's territories on the north. This force was ren- dered still more formidable and effective by the aid of Monsieur Lally's troops, and a great number of French offi- cers who served his artillery, and even directed all his marches and operations. The British army ready to oppose this invasion did not consist of five thousand men. These were commanded by Major-Gencral Sir Hector Munro, K.B., and were stationed at St. Thomas's Mount, in the immediate neighbourhood of Madras, in order to cover that city. Here they were joined by Colonel Lord Macleod and the seventy- third regiment. Hyder Ali, after a march across the country, which he marked by fire and sword, suddenly turned upon Arcot, and on the 21st of August 1780 sat down before that city, as the first operation of the war. Arcot was the capital town of the territory of the nabob of that name, the only prince in India who was friendly and in alliance with the Company. It contained immense stores of provisions, and, what was equally wanted, a vast treasure of money. There was another important reason, which required on the part of the British an immediate attention to this movement. Lieut.-Colonel Baillie, wit' a body of troops, was in the Northern Circars ; and Hyder Ali, by besieging Arcot, had interposed himself between this detachment and the main army under Major- General Sir Hector Munro. Orders were immediately sent to Lieut. Colonel Baillie to hasten to the Mount, to join the main army ; and Sir Hector Munro, at once to meet Lieut.- Colonel Baillie and to raise the siege of Arcot, marched on the 25th of August with his army for Conjevcram, a place forty miles distant from Madras, in the Arcot road. The British troops were foUoAvod during the whole way by the enemy's liorse. They wore four days on their march to Conjevcram, and when they arrived, they found the whole country under water, and no provisions of any kind to bo procured. So relax were the commissaries appointed by the Madras government, that the army had but four days' provisions ; in the midst of the most fertile region of India, and in the very onset and commencement of a war, the 146 APPENDIX. troops were in danger of being famished. The army had no other resource than to spread itself individually over the fields, and, at the risk of being destroyed in detail by the enemy's horse, collect the growing rice, up to thieir knees in water. Hyder Ali, as the British general foresaw, raised the siege of Arcot upon this movement towards Conjeveram ; but) what he had not foreseen, his politic enemy threw his army in such a manner across the only possible road of Lieut. -Colonel Baillie's detachment, as to prevent the desired junction, which had been expected to have taken place on tho 30th of August, the day after the arrival of the army at Con- jeveram. Lieut.-Colonel Baillie, before this last movement of the enemy to cut him off, had been stopped for some days, at no great distance, by the sudden rising of a small river. Hyder made use of this time to throw his army between them. On tho 5th of September Lieut.-Colonel Baillie effected his passage over the river, but Hyder, being informed of it, made a second movement, Avhich completely intercepted him. In order in some degree, however, to defeat this movement, but with slight hopes of success, Sir Hector Munro changed his position likewise, and advanced about two miles, to a high ground on the Tripassoor road, which was tho way that the expected detachment was to come. By these movements the hostile camps were brought within two miles of each other, the enemy lying about that dis- tance to the left of the British. Lieut. -Colonel Baillie had passed the river in his way on the afternoon of the 5th of September, and encamped for the night. Hyder, on receiving this information, made the movement before related, and other arrangements on the following morning, tho 6th of September, and Sir Hector Munro changed his own position at tho same time. This change was scarcely effected when tho evident bustle in the enemy's army explained its purpose. Jn fact the purport of Hyder's movement was to cover and support a great attack at that moment making on Lieut.-Coloncl Baillie's detachment. He had already pent his brother-in-law, IMcer Saib, with eight thousand horse upon that service, and immediately afterwards detached his son, Tippoo Saib, with six thousand infantry, eighteen thousand cavalry, and twelve pieces oi cannon, to join in a united and decisive attack. APPENDIX. 147 They encountered Lieut.-Colonel Baillie at a place called Perambaukum, where he made the most masterly dispositions to withstand this vast superiority of force. After an ex- ceedingly severe and well-fought action, of several hours' continuance, the enemy was routed, and Lieut.-Colonol Baillie gained as complete a victory as a total want of cavalry and the smallness of his numbers could possibly admit. Through these circumstances he lost his baggage. His whole force did not exceed two thousand sepoys, and from one to two companies of European artillery. This success, however, by diminishing Lieut. -Colonel Baillie's force, only added to his distress. The British camp was within a few miles, but Hyder's army lay full in his way, and he was, moreover, in the greatest want of provi- sions. Under these circumstances, Lieut.-Colonel Baillie despatched a messenger toMajor-General Sir Hector Munro, with an account of his situation, stating that he had sus- tained a loss which rendered him incapable of advancing, while his total want of provisions rendered it equally im- possible for him to remain in his present position. A council of war being held, at which Colonel Lord Macleod assisted, it was resolved to send a reinforcement to Lieut.- Colonel Baillie, to enable him to p ish forward in despite of the enemy. Lieut.-Colonel Fletcher, Captain Baird, and other officers were sent off with a strong detachment to the relief of Liout.-Colonel Baillie. The main force of this detachment consisted of the flank companies of the first battalion of the Seventy-third, afterwards numbered the Seventy-first regiment, the light company being com- manded by Captain Baird. There were two other companies of European grenadiers, one company of sepoy marksmen, and ten companies of sepoy grenadiers. In all about a thou- sand men. The junction was effected with some difficulty on the 9th of September, and the following day was appointed for the march of the united detachment. Accordingly, day- light had scarcely broken when it commenced its march. By seven o'clock in the morning of liho 10th of September the enemy poured down upon them in. thousands. The British fought with the greatest heroism, and at one time victory seemed to be in their favour. But the tumbrils containing the ammunition accidentally blew up with two K 2 148 APFENDIX. dreadful explosions in the centre of their lines. The destruction of men was great, but the total loss of their ammunition was still more fatal to the survivors. This turned the fortune of the day, and after successive prodigies of valour the brave sf'poys were almost to a man cut to pieces. Lieut.-Colonels Baillie and Fletcher, assisted by Captain Baird, made one more deoperate effort. They rallied the Europeans, and, under the fire of the whole of the immense artillery of the enemy, gained a little eminence, and formed themselves into a fresh square. Tn this form did this invin- cible band, though totally without ammunition, the officers fighting with their swords and the soldiers with their bayonets, resist and repulse the myriads of the enemy in thirteen difierent attacks, until at length, incapable of with- standing the successive torrents of fresh troops which were continually pouring upon them, they were fairly borne down and trampled on, many of them still continuing to fight under the legs of the horses and elephants. The loss of the British in the action at Ferambaukum was of course great ; and it is a reasonable subject of surprise that any escaped. Lieut.-Coloncl Fletcher was amongst the slain. Lieut.-Colonel Baillie, Captain Baird, after being severely wounded in four places, together with Captain the Honorable John Lindsay, Lieutenant Philip Melvill, and other officers, with two hundred Europeans, were made prisoners. They were carried into the presence of Hyder, who, with a true Asiatic barbarism, received them with the most insolent triumph and ferocious pride. The British officers, with a spirit worthy of their country, retorted his pride by an indignant coolness and contempt. " Your son will inform you," said Lieut.-Colonel Baillie, appealing to Tippoo, who was present, " that you owe the victory to our disaster rather than to our defeat." Hyder angrily ordered them from his presence, and commanded them instantly to prison, whera they remained for three years and a half, enduring great hardships. Captain Baird being chained by the leg to another prisoner. In March 1784 Captain Baird was released, and in July joined his regiment at Arcot. In 1786 the Seventy-third was directed to be numbered the SBVENTY-FmsT regiment. /■ APPENDIX. 149 Captain Baird was promoted to the rank of major in the Seventy-first regiment on the 5th of June 1787, and in October obtained leave of absence, when he returned to Great Britain. He was advanced to the lieut.-colonelcy of the regiment on the 8th of December 1790, and in 1791 proceeded to India, and joined the army under General the Earl Cornwallis. Lieut. -Colonel Baird commanded a bri- gade of sepoys, and was present at the attack of a number of droogs or hill forts ; also at the siege of Seringapatam in 1791 and 1792 ; likewise at the storming of Tippoo's lines and camps on the island of Seringapatam. In 1793 the Lieut. -Colonel commanded a brigade of Europeans, and was present at the siege of Pondicherry. On the 21st of August 1795, he was promoted to the brevet rank of colonel, and in October 1797 embarked at Madras with the Seventy-first for Europe, but on arrival at the Cape of Good Hope, in January following, he was appointed brigadier-general, and placed on that staff in command of a brigade. He was pro- moted to the rank of major-general on the 18th of June 1798, and was removed to the staff in India. Major-General Baird sailed from the Cape of Good Hope for Madras in command of two regiments of infantry and the drafts of the twenty-eighth dragoons, and arrived at his destination in January 1799. On the 1st of February he joined the army forming at VcUore for the attack of Seringapatam, and commanded a brigade of Europeans. On the 4th of May Major-General Baird commanded the storming party Avith success, and, in consequence, was presented by the army, through Lieut. -General, afterwards Lord Harris, Commander-in-Chief, with Tippoo Sultan's sta. \ ;.word, and a dress sword from the field officers serving undei his imme- diate command. In 1800 he was removed to the Bengal staff, and on the 9th of May of that year was appointed colonel-commandant of the fifty-fourth, and colonel of that regiment on the 8th of May 180], in which year he waa appointed to command the forces which were sent from India to Egypt, and arrived at Cosseir in June, afterwards crossed the desert, and embarked on the Nile, arriving in the following month at Grand Cairo. He joined the army under Lieut.-General Sir John Hutchinson, afterwards the Earl of Donoughmore, a few days before the surrender of K 3 mo APPENDIX Alexandria, which capitulated on the 2d of September, and terminated the campaign in Egypt. ■ • ...... " . ^ In 1802 Major-General Baird returned across the desert to India, and was removed to the Madras staff in 1803, and commanded a large division of the army forming against the Mahrattas. He marched into the Mysore country, where the Commander-in-Chief, Lieut.-General James Stuart, joined him, and afterwards arrived on the banks of the river Jambudra, in command of the line. Major-General Wellesley, the present Duke of Wellington, being appointed to the command of the greater part of the army, Major- General Baird proceeded into the Mahratta country, and subsequently obtained permission to return to Great Britain. Ho sailed in March with his staff from Madras, and wa» taken prisoner by a French privateer. In October he was re-taken as the ship was entering Corunna. He arrived in England on the 3d of November, having given his parole that he should consider himself as a prisoner of war ; but shortly after Major-General Baird and staff were exchanged for the French General Morgan and his staff. Major-General Sir David Baird, who had received the honour of knighthood, was promoted to the rank of lieut.- general on the 30th of October 1805, and commanded an expedition against the Cape of Good Hope, where he arrived on the Sth of January 1806, and effected a landing on the following day. On the 8th, the Dutch army was defeated ; on the 10th, the castle and town of Cape Town surrendered ; and on the 18th, General Janssens surrendered the colony. In 1807 Lieut.-General Sir David Baird returned to England, and on the 19th of July of that year was removed from the colonelcy of the fifty-fourth to that of the twenty-fourth regiment. His next service was in the expedition to Copen- hagen under Lieut.-General Lord Cathcart, at the siege of which he commanded a division, and was twice slightly wounded. In 1808 Lieut.-GU neral Sir David Baird was placed on the staff in Ireland, and commanded the camp on the Curragh of Kildarc. In September of that year he embarked at the Cove of Cork, in the command of a division, consisting of about five thousand infantry, for Falmouth, where he received reinforcements, and sailed in command of about ten thousand men for Corunna, where he arrived in the APPENDIX. 151 beginning of November, and formed a junction with the army under Lieut.-General Sir John Moore. Lieut.-Greneral Sir David Baird commanded the first division of that army, and in the battle of Gorunna, on the 16th of January 1809, he lost his left arm. Sir David Baird received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament for his services at Corunna ; " an honor of which," he remarked in his reply to the House of Peers, " no one can be more fully sensible than " myself, having had the good fortune to be deemed worthy " of this eminent distinction on four several occasions ;" alluding to his name having been included in the votes of thanks for the operations of the army in India in 1799, for those of Egypt in 1801, and in the Danish expedition in 1807. In testimony of the Royal approbation, Lieut.-General Sir David Baird was created a baronet, by patent dated 13th April 1809, and was promoted to the rank of general on the 4th of June 1814 ; on the 2d of January 1815 he was nominated a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Batb, and was appointed governor of Kinsale on the 1 1th of March 1819, and of Fort George, North Britain, on the 4th of December 1827. He was also a privy councillor for Ireland. His decease occurred at his seat, Femtower, in Perthshire, on the 18th of August 1829. Memoir of the services of Major- General Sir Denis Packf K-C.B. and C.T.S.^ formerly Lieut.- Colonel of the Seventy-first regiment. This distinguished officer entered the army as a cornet in the fourteenth li^ht dragoons, his commission being dated 30th November 1791, and joined that regiment in Dublin in January 1792. He served in Ireland, and was engaged in quelling some disturbances, between that period and 1794, when he embarked at Cork for the Continent, and landed with the forces under Lieut.-Gencral the Earl of Moira at Ostcnd. After his lordship's march from thence to form a junction with the army under His Royal Highness the Duke of York, Cornet Pack oflFered his services and was em- ployed to carry an important despatch to Nieuport, in which K 4 M , i 152 ▲PFEKDIX. attempt he fortunately succeeded, and was thanked for it by M%jor-General Richard Yyse. His commanding officer's squadron of the fourteenth light dragoons was destined^ after the embarkation at Ostcnd, to retreat to Nieuporti which it effected by the advance of a corps from that place to its suppoii;. Nieuport being almost immediately invcstedf farther retreat from thence became extremely hazardous and difficult. Cornet Pack was in a boat with about two hundred emigrants, and did not gain the sea without a sharp action and a severe loss. It conveyed the last of those who escaped the horrors which befel that ill-fated garrison. He joined the Duke of York's army near Antwerp, and was in the action at Boxtel, and some partial affairs. Ho served that severe winter campaign, and in 1795 returned to England, and was promoted to a lieutenancy in the fourteenth light dragoons on the 12th of March of that year. Lieutenant Pack subsequently embarked at (Southampton in command of a detachment of eighty dragoons destined for Quiberon Bay. After the failure of the emigrants there, he proceeded under the orders of Major-General Welbore Ellis Doyle to the Isle de Dieu, where he landed, and did duty for some months as field officer. In 1796, Lieu- tenant Pack returned to England, and on the 27th February of that year was promoted to the rank of captain in the fifth dragoon guards, which regiment he accompanied to Ireland, and was frequently engaged during the rebellion in that country, and Avas noticed in a despatch dated 21 st of June 1798, from General the Marquis Cornwallis, K.G., on the occasion of Captain Pack's detachment defeating a party of rebels, on the 19th of that month, between Bathangan and Prosperous. When the French landed a force in that country, Captain Pack was specially employed by General the Marquis Corn- wallis, with a detached squadron, and after the surrender of General Humbert he 'vj.s appointed to command the escort which was despatched In charge of him and the other French generals to Dublin. On the 25th of August 1798 Captain Pack was advanced to the rank of major in the fourth royal Irish dragoon guards, and embarked Avith his regiment in the expedition to Holland, but was countermanded, and stationed in /■ APPENDIX. 153 England and Scotland until 1800, Avhen he was promoted, on the 6th of December of that year, to the rank of lieu- tenant-colonel in the Seventy-first regiment, and on the 24th of April 1801 joined that corps in Ireland, in which country he served until August 1805, when he embarked at Cork with the first battalion of the Seventy-first regiment in the expedition to the Cape of Good Hope under Major- General Sir David Baird, and was engaged and severely wounded in effecting the landing at the Cape en the 6th of January 1806, but continued in the field, and was, on the 8th of January, in the action at Bleubcrg. These operations led to a treaty, which was signed on the 19th of the same month, by which the Cape of Good Hope was surrendered to Great Britain. In April 1806 Lieut.-Colonel Pack proceeded, with the first battalion of the Seventy-first, in the expedition to South America under the command of Brigadier-General William Carr Beresford, afterwards General Viscount Beresford, and was present in six actions with the enemy in that country, and was wounded, and detained a prisoner, contrary to the capitulation which restored the town of Buenos Ayres to the Spaniards. Lieut.-Colonel Pack subsequently effected his escape with Brigadier-General Beresford, and joined the army at Monte Video, under Brigadier- General Sir Samuel Auchmuty, who, at the request of Lieut.-Colonel Pack, directed a board of naval and military officers to inquire into the particulars of his escape, by whom it was unani- mously approved, and he was declared free to serve.* Lieut.-Colonel Pack was then detached with a small force to Colonia, where he commanded successfully in two actions ; namely, in an attack on the enemy on his post, and in one made on his, at St. Pedro, when, after a forced night march, the troops under his orders, amounting to 1,013 rank and file, routed the enemy, on the 7th of June 1807, and captured a standard, together with 105 prisoners, including one lieut.-colonel and five other officers ; all his artillery, baggage, &c. were likewise taken. Lieut.-Colonel Pack was shortly afterwards appointed by ii * Lieut-Colonel Pack's narrative of his escape is highly interesting, and is inserted at page 158. 154 ▲FPSNDIX. m Lieut.-General John Wliitelocko to the command of all the light companies in his army, and joined the force then in the River PHte destined to act against Buenos Ayres. He was engaged in two successful actions with the enemy prior to the unfoi tunate attack on the town, in which he was three times wounded. Towards the end of 1807 he returned to Europe, and early in 1808 had the Seventt- riRST completely re-equipped; and, proceeding with the first battalion of the regiment from Cork to Portugal, on the 17th of June following, in the expedition under Lieut.-General Sir Arthur Wellesley, was present in the battles of Roleia and Vimiera, on the 17th and 2l8t of August 1808, which rescued Portugal from the French. The conduct of the battalion and of Lieut.-Colonel Pack was noticed in the public despatches, and the troops re- ceived the thanks of both Houses of Parliament. Lieut.-Colonel Pack afterwards marched into Spain, under Lieut.-General Sir John Moore, and was at the affair of Lugo on the 6th of January 1809, and at the battle of Corunna on the 16th of that month, after which he returned to England, and embarked in July folloAving for Holland, under Lieut.-General the Earl of Chatham. On landing at Walcheren, Lieut.-Colonel Pack was appointed to command a small corps of cavalry and light infantry ; was employed in the siege of Flushing, and particularly named by Lieut.- General Sir Eyre Coote for the command of a detachment to storm an advanced work on the right of the enemy's line. These orders were successfully executed, the detachment taking forty-nine prisoners, and spiking the guns, though defended by five times the number of men under Lieut.- Colonel Pack. After the surrender of Flushing he was appointed commandant of Ter Veer, where he was danger- ously ill for a short period, but remained until the island was evacuated, on which occasion, in conjunction with Commodore Owen, he commanded the rear-guard of the army. Soon after tlic return of the Sbvkntv-first to England, in December 1809, the battalion was prepared again for active j^ervico ; but the government did not consider the men had sufflcicntly recovered the effects of the Walcheren fever. APPENDIX. 155 Lieut.-Colonel Pack, being extremely anxious to bear a part in the momentous campaign about to commence in the Peninsula, obtained His Majesty's permission to proceed to Portugal, and offer his services to Viscount Wellington and Marshal Bercsford. Both generals having decided that he could not be more usefully employed than with the Portuguese troops, ho accepted an infantry brigade in that service, and took the command of it just before the siege of Ciudad Bodrigo by Marshal Massena, previously to his invasion of Portugal. On the 25th of July 1810 Lieut.-Colonel Pack was appointed aide-de-camp to the king, with the rank of colonel in the army. After the surrender of Ciudad Rod- rigo, of Almeida, and Marshal Massena's passage of the Coa, Colonel Pack's brigade (an independent one) was directed to take a separate route with a regiment of cavalry attached to it, and remained in presence of the enemy's army at St. CombaUi!', retiring slowly before it, on his advance to the position at Busaco. The conduct of the brigade was noticed in that battle, which was fought on the 27th of September 1810. In the admirable retreat afterwards to the lines of Lisbon, it formed, with the light division and cavalry, the rear-guard of the allied army. The first battalion of the Seventy-first having at that period joined Viscount Wellington, Colonel Pack's wish was to have returned to the battalion, but by the desire of both commanders-in-chief, lie continued to serve in the Portuguese army. In 1811 the brigade was in the advance guard in follow- ing the enemy up to his position at Santareni ; was at the out-posts there, and again in the advance on the further retreat of the French from Portugal. It was employed in the investment of Almeida, and in the operations against Marshal Marmont, on his advance to the relief of Ciudad Rodrigo in January 1812. At the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo it bore a distinguished part. It marched to the siege of Badajos, and was in active operations against the enemy on his advance to the Tagus, and subsequent retreat from Portugal. It moved in the advanced guard on the march of the allies to Salamanca and the Douru. It suffered severely in tho battle of Salamanca on the 22d of July 1812. 156 APPENDIX. The brigade was in the march to and capture of Madrid ; in the march to Burgos, and subsequent siege of that place. Previously to the siege of Burgos, detachments under Colonel Pack's command carried by assault the horn-work of that castle, after a desperate and gallant action, for Avhich the special thanks of His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, and the Commander-in-Chief, were given to the troops, through the Marquis of Wellington. In the retreat from Burgos, which commenced in October 1812, the brigade under Colonel Pack formed the rear-guard, and from thence to the frontier of Portugal was very frequently in presence of tho enemy. In the memorable advance of the Marquis of Wellington into Spain, in May 1813, and the passage of the Ebro, the brigade was in the advanced guard of the left column of the army under Lieut-General Sir Thomas Graham, after- wards Lord Lynedoch. It was in tiie battle of Vittoria, fought on the 21st of June 1813, and again in the advance of Lieut.-Gcncral Sir Thomas Graham's coi-ps, in tho pursuit of the French to the Bidassoa. Shortly afterwards, Major-Gcneral Pack, to which rank ho was advanced on the 4th of June 1813, was appointed to tho Highland brigade in tho sixth division; tho division at this timo for a short period was also under his command, and after a forced march ho arrived in time to share in the victory gained by tlio Marquis of Wellington over the French under Marshal Soult near Pampeluna, on the 30th of July 1813, in which action Major-General Pack was severely wounded in the head. He commanded the Highland brigade in the passage of the Bidassoa, and advance of tho British into France ; in the overthrow of the enemy in his fortified lines before Bayonne ; the advance to and passage of tho Nive ; tho repulse of the enemy's attf'k on tho British position before St. Jean de Luz; and, though not actually engaged, he was present at the signal defeat of tho enemy's desperate attack on Lieut. -General Sir Rowland Hill's corps on the 13th of December 1813. Major-General Pack was also in tho passage of the Bidassoa, the Gavo D'Oleron, and the Pan; at tlu! battle of Orthes on the 27th of February 1814 ; in the passnge of the j> dour at St. Seur, and at thu battle of Toulouse on the lOth of April following, ^ APPENDIX. 157 in which his brigade had nearly t-vvo-thirds of the officers and I ; ds of half the privates killed and wounded. Louis Is . ill. was shortly afterwards restored to the throne of France, Napoleon retired to the island of Elba, and the Peninsular war terminated. In 1813 Major-General Pack had been appointed a Knight Commander of the Portuguese Order of tlic Tower and Sword, and on the 2d of January 1815 was nominated a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. He received a cross and seven clasps for the following actions, at all of which he commanded troops, and was personally engaged : Boleia, Vimiera, Corunna, Busaco, siege of CiudadRodrigo, Salamanca, Vittoria, Pyi'ences, Nivelle, Nive, Orthes, and Toulouse. Sir Denis Pack had received eight wounds, six of them rather severe ones; had been frequently struck by shot, and had several horses killed and wounded under him. In March 1815 Europe was astounded by the return of Napoleon to Paris. The allied powers, however, refused to recognize his sovereignty, and determined on his dethrone- ment. A large army proceeded to Flanders under Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington, and Major-General Sir Denis Pack was placed in command of a brigade. The campaign Avas as brief as it was glorious. On the 16th of June, Napoleon, after having made one of his rapid move- ments, attacked the Anglo-Belgian troops at Quatre Bras, in which the fifth division under Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Picton, of which Major-General Sir Denis Pack's brigade formed part, was engaged. Then followed the movement on the 17th to Waterloo, where, on the 18th of June, was fought that memorable battle in which the sun of Napoleon set for ever, and the result of which gave to Europe a lengthened period of tranquillity. These arduous conflicts aflForded Major-General Sir Denis Pack several opportunities for distinguishing himself, and adding to his former honors. Sir Denis Pack had the honor to receive the thanks of both Houses of Parliament on six different occasions ; namely, for his conduct in the battles of Roleia and Viniicra ; for the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo ; and for the battles of Salamanca, Vittoria, Orthes, and Waterloo. On the 8th of January 1816 Major-General Sir Denis Pack was appointed colonel of the York chasseurs, which I 158 APPENDIX. corps was Bubeequontly disbanded. On the 12th of August 1819 he was appointed lieut.-govc-rnor of Plymouth, and to the command of the troops in the western district, and on the 9th of September 1822 lio was appointed colonel of the eighty- fourth regiment. Tlio drceaso of Mtyor-General Sir Denis Pack occurred on tlio 24th of July 1823, at which period he held the command of tho troops in the western district of Great Britain, and tho liout.-govomorship of Plymouth. The following letter to Brigadier-General Sir Samuel Auchmuty contains a full and natisfactory explanation of the motives by which Licut.-Coloncl Pack was actuated in effecting his escape, as olhidod to in tho foregoing memoir. << j^,j^ " Monto Video, 27th February 1807. '^ Anxious to be immediately employed in the service of " my country, I take tho liberty of stating the circumstances " which led mo to make my oioapo from the enemy, trusting *' my conduct on tlio occaMion will meet with your sanction, " and that you will be pUmiicd to take my wishes into con- " sideration. " Tho following, I beliovo, will bo found a correct state- " ment of the transaction. " Immediotcly after tho surrender of the fort of Buenos " Ayres, on tlio 12th of August last, I understood from " Brigadier-General Boresford that tho conditions verbally " agreed to between hlni and Colonel Liniers were, that the " British troops were to be considered as prisoners of war, " but to be immediately embarked for England or tho Capo " and to bo exchanged for those Spanish prisoners made on " the British possessing themselves of Buenos Ayres. On " tho 13th, in tlio morning, Colonel Liniers despatched a " Spanish oiBcor to Sir Homo Popham, with a letter from " General Beresford, to send tho British transports back for " the purpose of immodiatidy carrying tho treaty into oxecu- " tion, and a few days aft(Twards I was present when " Colonel Liniers imequlvocally afHxod his namo to the " oapitulntiun containing thu above condition. " After tho return of tho transports, various delays took " place ; and, I Iwlievc, it was on tho 26th that Colonel *' Liniers informed Genorftl Berosford, in presence of Major APPENDIX. 15& Tolly of the Seventy-first regiment and Captain Ar- buthnot, the general's aide-de-camp, (from all of whom I learned it,) that he regretted to inform him of its having been resolved, in spite of his efforts, not to embark the British troops, and at the same time, declaring his ( Colonel Linier's) abhorrence of such a breach of faith, and offering to second General Beresford's remonstrance on the occa- sion. On the 27th, in the evening, I heard that Colonel Linier's aide-de-camp had waited on General Beresford, stating it to be the colonel's intention to carry the treaty into execution by privately embarking the men, and re- questing the general would, for that purpose, order the British transports to a particular place. " However, on the 31st of August or the Istof September, it was finally announced to General Beresford, in a letter printed and made public, that our surrender was at dis- cretion, and that it was the determination of the then government of Buenos Ayres that the British troops should be sent to the interior, and the officers, on their parole, to Europe. " General Beresford, for obvious reasons, at first declined our passing a parole ; but being given to understand that without it our persons were insecure, and it being deter- mined to separate the officers from the men, he (with the concurrence of the majority of the seniors) finally acceded to it. *' Notwithstanding this, on the appearance of a British force in the river, they were suddenly compelled to march, under an armed escort, several miles into the interior, and about two months afterwards orders were given to separate and remove them still farther, and which, (notwithstanding the remonstrances of the brigadier-general) were carried into effect. In his communication at that time with Colonel Liniers, ho fully explained that wo did not con- sider ourselves on parole, nor did we think it binding, after our removal in the first instance, and their refusing to fulfil the conditions under which wo had been prevailed upon to give it. " About this time the unfortunate murder of Captain Ogilvie of the Royal Artillery and a private soldier of the Sbvbntt-first regiment took place, when guards were 160 APPENDIX. placed at some of the quarters of the officers, professedly for the pui-pose of protection, but positively with strict injunc- tions most narrowly to watch us, and to take care (as the government said in their instructions to the alcalde on the same siibject) that we did not desert. I mention this circumstance to prove there could be no misunderstanding on the subject ; for though such language must be considered unhandsome and illiberal under any circumstances, it surely never could have been held to officers on their parole. On the arrival of the news of the capture of Monte Video by our forces, the chief magistrate of Buenos Ayres repaired to General Beresford's quarters, accompanied by Lieut.-Col. Garcias, acquainting him Avith the necessity there was of possessing himself with the papers of the several British officers, prisoners, which he proceeded to do, placing sentry over them individually until he effected his purpose ; and in a conversation which General Beresford had with Lieut.-Colonel Garcias, he expressly told him that we were not on our parole, recapitulating the explanation made to Colonel Liniers upon the subject. " Shortly after this the necessity of moving nine hundred miles farther into the interior was communicated to us, and we were on our journey with an armed escort, when an opportunity offered, of which I most gladly availed myself, to make my escape. I will not further trespass on your time by commenting on the many circumstances I conceive so evidently conclusive, but submit the bare facts to your better judgment. However, I cannot debar myself the satisfaction of acknoAvledging here the obliga- tion I am under to many individuals, and the kind and generous treatment which I myself, as well as the British officers in general, received from the inhabitants of the town and country of Buenos Ayres. •' I have the honor to be, " Sir, " &c. &c. &c. « (Signed) D. Pack, " Lt.-Col. 7lst Regiment. To Brigadier- General Sir Samuel Attchnmty, Commanding His Britannic Majesty's Forces, « Monte Video." APPENDIX. 161 " General Orders. His Majestj/s Ship, " Audacious,^ 18th January 1809. " The irreparable loss that has been sustained by the fall " of the Commander of the Forces (Lieut.-General Sir " John Moore), and the severe wound which has removed " Lieut -General Sir David Baird from his station, render " it the duty of Lieut.-General Hope to congratulate the " army upon the successful result of the action of the 16th ** instant. " On no occasion has the undaunted valour of British " troops ever been more manifest. At the termination of a " severe and harassing march, rendered necessary by the " superiority which the enemy had acquired, and which had " materially impaired the efficiency of the troops, many " disadvantages wore 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 of numbers ho may " employ, there is inherent in the British officers and " soldiers a bravery that knows not how to yield, that no " circumstances can appal, and that will ensure victory " when it is to be obtained by the exertion of any human " means. " The Lieut.-General has the greatest satisfaction in dia- " tinguishing such^ meritorious services as came within his " observation, or have been brought to his knowledge. " His acknowledgments arc, in a peculiar manner, duo to " Lieut.-General Lord William Bentinck, and the brigade " under his command, consisting of the fourth, forty-second, " and fiftieth regiments, nnd which sustained the weight of *• the attack. " Mnjor-Gencral Manningham, with his brigade, consist- " ing of the Royals, the twenty-sixth and eighty-first regi* " ments, and Major-Gencral Warde, with the brigade of " Guards, will also be pleased to accept his best thanks for " their steady and gallant conduct during the action. " To Major-General Paget, who, by a judicious movement " of the reserve, effijctually contributed to check the progress " of the enemy on the right ; and to the first battalion of L 162 APPENDIX. " the fifty-second and ninety>fifth regiments, which were " thereby engaged, the greatest praise is justly due. " That part of Major- General Leith's brigade which was " engaged, consisting of the fifty-ninth regiment, under the " conduct of the Major-General, also claims marked appro- " bation. " The enemy not having rendered the attack on the left ** a serious one, did not afford to the troops stationed in that " quarter an opportunity of displaying that gallantry which " must have made him repent the attempt. ** The piquets and advanced posts, however, of the bri- " gades under the command of Major-Generals Hill and " Leith, and Colonel Catlin Craufurd, conducted themselves *' with determined resolution, and were ably supported by " the ofiicers commanding these brigades, and by the troops *• of which they were composed. ** It is peculiarly incumbent upon the Lieut.-Gcneral " to notice the vigorous attack made by the second battalion ** of the fourteenth regiment under Lieut. -Colonel NicoUs, ** which drove the enemy out of the village, of the left of ** which he had possessed himself. " The exertions of Lieut.-Colonel Murray, Quartermaster- *' General, and of the other ofiicers of the General Stafi*, " during the action, were unremitted, and deserve every " degree of approbation. " The illness of Brigadier-General Clinton, Adjutant- ** General, unfortunately deprived the army of the benefit " of his services. " The Lieut. -General hopes the loss in point of num- " bers is not so considerable as might have been expected ; " he laments, however, the fall of the gallant soldiers and " valuable ofiicers who have suffered. " The Lieut.-General knows that it is impossible, in any « language he can use, to enhance the esteem, or diminish " the regret, that the army feels with him for its late Com- '* mander. His career lias been unfortunately too limited " for his country, but has been sufiScicnt for his own fame. " Beloved by the army, honored by his Sovereign, and '* respected by his country, he has terminated a life devoted " to her service by a glorious death,— 'leaving his name as a " memorial, an example, and an incitement to those who APPENDIX. 163 " shall follow him in the path of honor, and it is from his " country alone that his memory can receive the tribute " which is its due. (Signed) " John Hope, Lieut.-General." " General Okders. " Horse Guards, 1st February 1809. *' The benefits derived to an army from the example of a distinguished Commander do not terminate at his death ; his virtues live in the recollection of his associates, and his fame remains the strongest incentive to great and glorious actions. " In this view the Commander-in-Chief, amidst the deep and universal regret which the death of Lieut. -General Sir John Moore has occasioned, recals to the troops the military career of that illustrious officer for their instruc- tion and imitation. " Sir John Moore from his youth embraced the profes- sion with the feelings and sentiments of a soldier ; he felt that a perfect knowledge and an exact performance of the humble but important duties of a subaltern officer are the best foundations for subsequent military fame, and his ardent mind, while it looked forward to those brilliant achievements for which it was formed, applied itself with energy and exemplary assiduity to the duties of that station. " In the school of regimental duty he obtained that correct knowledge of his profession so essential to the proper direction of the gallant spirit of the soldier, and he was enabled to establish a characteristic order and regularity of conduct, because the troops found in their leader a striking example of the discipline which he en- forced on others. " Having risen to command, he signalised his name in the West Indies, in Holland, and in Egypt. The unre- mitting attention with which he devoted himself to he duties of every branch of his px'ofession obtained liim the confidence of Sir Ralph Abercromby, and he became the companion in arms of that illustrious officer, who fell at the head of his victorious troops in an action L 2 164 APPENDIX. which maintained our national superiority over the arms of France. " Thus Sir John Moore at an early period obtained, with {)fencral approbation, that conspicuous station in which he gloriously terminated liis useful and honorable life. *' In a military character obtained amidst the dangers of climate, the privations incident to service, and the suffer- ings of repeated wounds, it is difficult to select any one point as a preferable subject for praise; it exhibits, how- ever, one feature so particularly characteristic of the man, and so important to the best interests of the service, that the Commander-in-Chief is pleased to mark it with his peculiar approbation— " The life of SIR JOHN MOORE was spent among THE TROOPS. " During the season of repose his time was devoted to the care and instruction of the officer and soldier ; in war he courted service in every quarter of the globe. Regard- less of personal consideration, he esteemed that to which his country called him the post of honor, and by his undaunted spirit and unconquerable perseverance he pointed the way to victory. " His country, the object of his latest solicitude, will rear a monument to his lamented memory, and the Com- mander-in-Chief feels he is paying the best tribute to his fame by thus holding him forth as an example to the ARMY. " By order of His Royal Highness the Commander-in- Chief, " Habry Calvert, Adjutant- GeneraV^ APPENDIX. 165 The following regiments composed the army under I^ieut.- General Sir John Moore at Corunna on the 16th of January 1809: — Corps. Commanding Officers. Lieut.-Colonel Vivian. „ Leigh. „ Grant. „ Jones. Mf^or Burgwesel. Colonel Harding. Major Fletcher. * Lieut.-Colonel Langley. „ Cocks. „ Wheatley. Migor MuUer. Lieut.-Colonel Iremonger. „ Wynch. „ Mackenzie. Mfgor Gordon. Lieut.-Colonel Cameron. „ Nicolls. „ Ross. „ Wyatt. „ Maxwell. „ Belson „ Hinde. „ Bum. „ Hon. Charles Greville. „ Stirling. „ GifFord. Hull. Mfyor Charles Napier. Lieut.-Colonel Darling. „ Barcli^. „ John Ross. „ Fane. Codd. Major Davy. Lieut.-Colonel Pack. „ Symes. „ Cameron. Migor Williams. „ McDonald. „ Douglas. Lieut.-Colonel Alexander Napier. „ Beckwith. Wade. „ Nicolay. „ Leonhart. ,, Halkett. 7th Light Dragoons • . 10th „ . 16th . 18th . 3d „ (King's Germ. Leg.) Ai-tillery - - Engineers - Waggon Train Detachment 1st Foot Guards, Ist Battfdion - 3d » 1st Foot - 3d ** * 2d „ - 1st >» 4th „ - 1st »» 5th „ - Ist » * 6th „ . 1st M ■ £Hh „ - 1st >» " 14th „ . 2d l> " 20th „ 23d „ - 2d M " 26th „ - 1st »» * 28th „ - 1st t> ■ 32d „ - Ist l» * 36th „ - 1st >» * 38th „ - 1st »» " 42d „ - 1st >» * 43d „ - 1st » " 43d „ - 2d »» * 50th „ - Ist »» " 6l8t „ - m m 62d „ - 1st »> " 52d „ - 2d »» 59th „ - 2d »» * 60th „ - 2d ft " 60th „ - 5th » * 71st „ - 1st »l * 76th „ - Ist >» " 79th „ - 1st II * 81st „ - 2d II " 82d „ . 9l8t „ . 1st II * 92d „ - 1st II " 95th (Rifle Reg.) 1st II " 2d f* ■ Staff Corps Detachment 1st Light Batt. King's German Legion. 2d „ „ - <* 166 APPENDIX. BRITISH AND HANOVERIAN ARMY AT WATERLOO asfomudin Divisioiu and Brigades on the \8th of JwM 1815. CAVALRY. Commanded by Lieut.-General the Earl of Uxbridob, O.C.B. If^ £rt$'(ufe.--Commanded by Miyor-General Lord Edward 1st life Guards 2d» „ Royal Horse Guards, Blue. Ist Dragoon Guards. Somerset, K.C.B. Lieut.-Colonel Ferrior. „ the Hon.E.P.Lygon. n Sir Robert Hill. Fuller (Colonel). 2(2 firt$ra(2e.— Miyor-General Sir William Ponronby, K.C.D. Ist or Royal Dragoons. 2d or Royal North British Dra- goons. 6tn or Inniskilling Dragoons. Lieut.-Colonel A. B. Clifton. „ J. J. Hamilton. „ J. Muter (Colonel). M J3r^(u2e.— Migor-General W. B. Domdrbo. Lt.-Colonel the Earl of Portar- lington (Colonel). „ J. Bulow. 23d Light Dragoons. 1st „ 2d King's Ger- manLegion. C. de Jonquiera. A(k Brt^atfe.— Migor-General Sir John O. Vandblbvr, K.C.B. Lieut.-Colonel J.W. Sleigh. „ the Hon. F. C. Pon- sonby (Colonel). nth Light Dragoons. 12th 16th J. Hay. hih Bn^tufe.— Migor-General Sir CoLauHOUN Grant, K.C.B. Colonel Sir Edward Kerrison. Lieut.-Colonel L. C. Dalrymple. „ Linsingen. 7th Hussars. 16th „ 2d „ King's German Le gion. 6/A Bn^acie.— M^or-General Sir Hussey Vivian, K.C.B. ^Oth Royal Hussars. y 8th Hussars. Ist „ King's German Le gion. Lt.-Colonel Quentin (Colonel). Hon. H. Murray. A. Wiisell. 1th Brif/atfe.— Colonel Sir Fredebtok Abenbchildt, k.C.n. 13th Light Dragoons. 3d Hussars, King's German Legion. Colonel Estorff Lieut.-Colonel Dohcrty „ Meyer, Piiiicc Regent's Hussars. BrexDv'u and Verden Hussars. Lieut.-Colonel KielmanMgge. Colonel Buscbe. APPENDIX. INFANTRY. First Division. — Mtgor-GenenJ G. Cooke. !»/ Brigade. -Major-Gcneral P. Maitland. 167 Ist Foot Guards, 2d Battalion. t> 3d ,, Mi^or H. Askew (Colonel). „ theHon.W.Stewart(Col.) 2d Brigade. — Major-General J. Pyng. Coldstream Guard, 2d Battalion. 3d Foot Guards. M^or A. G. Woodford (Colonel). „ F. Hepburn (Colonel). Second Division. — Lieut.-General Sir H. Clinton, G.C.B. 3d Brigade. — Major-General Frederick Adam. 52d Foot, 1st Battalion. 71st 96th „ 2d „ six companies. 95th „ 3d „ two companies. 1 Rifles. Lieut.-Colonel Sir Jno. Colbome, K.C.B. (Colonel). T. Reynell (Col.) Major J. Ross (Lieut.-Colonel). MjyorA.G.Norcott (lieut.-Col.) 1st Brigade. — King's German LeyioB.— Colonel Du P^at. 1st Line Battalion, King's Ger- man Legion. 2d 3d 4th » It » M M *« Mjyor W. Robertson. „ G. Muller. Lieut.-Colonel F. de Wissell. M^jor F. Reh. 3d Hanoverian Brigade. — Colonel Hugh Halkett. MiUtia Battalion, Bremervorde. Duke of York's 2d BattaUon. » 3d „ Militia Battalion, Salzgitter. Lieut.-Colonel Schulenberg. Migor Count Munster. Baron Hunefeld. Hammerstein. Third Division. — Lieut.-General Baron Alten. Bth Brigade. — Major-General Sur Colin Halkett, K.C.B. 30th Foot, 2d Battalion. 33d „ 69th „ 2d Battalion. 73d „ 2d Battalion. Major W. Bailey (Lieut.-Col.) Lieut.-Col. W. K. Elphinstone » » C. Morice (Col.) W. G. Harris (Col.) 2d Brigade. — King's German Legion. — Colonel Baron Ompteda. Ist Light BattaUon, K.G.L. 2d 5th Line „ 8th „ „ n Lieut.-Colonel L. Bussche. Mtgor G. Baring. Lieut.-Colonel W. B. Linsengen. Mi^or Schroeder (Lieut.-Col.) 168 APPENDIX. \st Hanoverian Brigade. — Major-General Count Kielmanseoob. Major Bulow. Lieut.-Colonel Wurmb. „ Langrehr. „ Kleucke. Mi^or De Senkopp. Duke of York's 1st Battalion. Field Battalion, Grubenhagen. Bremen. Lunebivg. Verden. » » » Fourth Division. -Ldeut.-General Sir Charles Colville, K.C.B. 4th firt^aeJe.— Colonel Mitchell. 14th Foot, 3d Battalion. 23d „ 1st ., 5l8t Miyor F. S. Tidy (Lieut.-Col.) Lieut.-Colonel Sir Henry W. EUis, K.C.B. „ H.Mitchell (Colonel). &th Brtjratfc.— Mtgor-General Johnstone. d5th Foot, 2d Battalion. 54th „ 69th „ 2d Battalion. 9l8t „ 1st „ Major C. M'Alister. Lt.-Col. J. Earl of Waldegrave. H. Austin. SirW. Douglas, K.C.B. (Colonel). 6M Hanoverian finyac^e.— Mi^or-General Lyon. Field Battalion, Calenberg. „ Lanenberg. Militia Battalion, Hoya. Nieubcrg. Benthcim. n Lieut.-Col. Benort. „ Grote. Major Croupp. Fifth Division. — Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Picton, K.C.B. 5th Brigade, — Mtyor-General Sir James Kempt, K.C.B. Mfyor R. Nixon (Lieut.-Col.). „ J. Hicks (Lieut.-Col.). Lieut.-Col. Neil Douglas. „ Sir A. F. Barnard, K.C.B. (Colonel). 28th Foot, 1st Battalion. 32d „ 79th „ „ 95th Rifles dth Br/i/arfe.— Mtyor-Genetal Sib Denis Pack, K.C.B. 1st Foot, 3d Battalion. 42d „ Ist „ 44th 92d »i 2d Ist II II Magor C. Campbell. Lieut.-Col. Sir Robert Maoara, K.C. B. „ J. M. Hamerton. Major Donald M° Donald. bth Hanoverian Brigade.— Colonel Vincke. Militia Battalion, M M Ilamcln. Hildcshcim. Pcina. Giifhorn. Lieut.-Colonel Kleucke. Mt^or Rheden. M(\tor Wcutphalen. Mi^or Hammcrstein. APPENDIX. 196 Sixth Division.— 10/A Brigade.— Maior-GtnetaH J. Lambert. Laeut.-Colonel F. Brooke. 4th Foot, 1st Battalion 27th „ ^„ 40th „ „ 81st „ 2d .. Captain Sir J. Reade (Mig'or). Mfyor F. Browne. „ P. Waterhouse. 4th Hanoverian Brigade.— Colonel Best. Militia Battalion, n M Luneburg. Verden. Osterode. Minden. Lieut.-Colonel De Ramdohr. Mtyor Decken. „ Baron Reden. „ De Schmidt. 7th Btigade.—MhioT-Genenl M'Kenzie. 2Sth Foot, 2d BattaUon. 37th „ 78th „ Lieut.-Colonel A. W. Light. S.Hart. M. Lindsay. M M Cavalry Infantry Artillery Total 8,883 29,622 5,434 4.3,939 "\t