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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mtthode. 1 2 3 i 2 3 : ;♦ ' 1 , 6 "^■ '}jUi*\ i f &■ 4 - 1,1V;S... I- T ■-* • Vt-i^fy —^-^ -— ' -,'' W^m^W&^M ^ \ ^-^-.y ^~~> ^^ ^"^^^/^^ & ^y 6 ^ J- * — <, — • V,. •>. r i k ii" << ■ 'itS^TiV S ''i GENERAL ORDERS X ^ HORSS GUARDS, l«lJSmtMwy, I8S6. His Majesty has been pleated to command that, with the view of doing the ftilleit justice to Regi- ments, as well as to Individuals who have dis- tmguished 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 Accoimt 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 pciformed, 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 11 GENERAL ORDERS. The Names of those OflScers who, in con- sideration of their Gallant Services and Meritorious Conduct in Engagements with the Enemy, have been distinguished with Titles, Medals, or other Marks of His Miajesty'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 permitted to bear, and the Causes on account of which such Badges or Devices, or any other Marks of Distinction, have been granted. By Command of the Right Honorable GENERAL LORD HILL, Crnnmanding-in* Chief. John Macdonald, Adjutant- General. /• ( iii ) PREFACE. 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 tha' 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 pnuis: the achievements of our armies are thus made known at the time of their occurrence, and receive the tribute a2 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 Commanders, and the Officers 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. y long a period, been undisturbed by the presence of war, 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, and endurance, have shone conspicuously 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 OflScial 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 y{ 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— aa 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. G reat 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 presimied that a record of achievements in war, — victories so complete and surprising, gained by our countrymen, our brothers^ 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 distiuct num- ber, so that when the whole shall be completed the Parts may be bound up in numerical succession. INTRODUCTION TO THE INFANTRY, The natives of Britain have, at all periods, been celebrated for innate courage and unshaken firmness^ and the national superiority of 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 ucts 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 CaBsar 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 C8Bsar*s favourite tenth legion. Their arms consisted of spears, short swords, and other weapons of rude construction. They had chariots, to the INTRODUCTION axles of which were fastened sharp pieces of iron resembling scythe-blades, and infantry in long chariots resembling waggons, who ahghted 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 C assarts 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 miUtary 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 earned 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 deg ce, they proved stout- hearted Britons of stanch fidelity. When stipen- diary troops were employed, infantry always con- stituted a considerable portion of the military force } y TO THE INFANTRY. XI a*j: ills arrm has since acquired, in every quarter^ of the globe, a celebrity 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 pikemen ; and the " shot " were twenty archers^ twenty musketeers, and twenty harquebusiers, and each man carried, besides his principal weapon, a sword and dagger. » Xll INTROPUCTION 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 1590 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 flre-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. : mtisketeerSf armed with matchlock muskets, * A company of 200 men would appear thus :— " 20 20 20 30 2i0 30 20 20 20 abuKi Arehen Musketi. FlkM. lUlbonli. rikes. Muaketo. Arehen. Huquebaaei, llie musket carried a ball which weighed -^th of a pound ; and the harquebus a ball which weighed ^th of a pound. TO THE INFANTRY. XUl swords, and daggers ; and pikemeiif armed with pikes from fourteen to eighteen feet long, and swords. 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 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 pikemen 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 * The 30th, 31st, and 32nd Regiments were formed as Marine corps in 1702, and were employed as such during the wars in the reign of Queen Anne. The Mauine corps were embarked in the Fleet under Admiral Sir George Rooke, and were at the taking of Gibraltar, and in its subsequent defence in 1704 ; they were aftenrards employed at the siege of Barcelona in 1705. • < .,>,_,,.. TU THB INFANTKY. the reign of George II. light companicf were added to infantry regiments; and in 1764 a Board of General Officers recommended that the grenadiers should lay aside their Bwordiy 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-like champions who have dared to confront a host of foes, and have proved themselves valiant with any arms. At Crecy, King Edward IIL, 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 j — 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 PoicHerSf 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 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 nobility 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 conunenced 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, .' 3 fame of the British army imder the great Mablbobouoh yras 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 * The brave Sir Roger WilliamB, in his Discourse on War, printed in 1590, obsen'es : — " I persuade myself ten thousand of our nation would beat thirty thousand of theirs (the Spaniards) out of the field, let them be chosen where they list." Yet at this time the Spanish infantry was allowed to be the best disciplined in Eiuope. 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. XVll 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 ciuld 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 sphit 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 h x ZVUl INTRODUCTION arms.* The fame of the deeds of the past and present generations in the various battle-fields where the robust sons of A Ibion 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 foimd to contain a detail of facts of an interesting character, 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 theic duty, whether in * " Under the blearing of Divine Frovidenoe, His Mi^esty ascribes the suooeases which have attended the exertions ci Us troops in Egypt to that determined brsveiy which is inherent in Britons; but His Migesty desires it may be most solemnly and formbly impressed on the oonside- ration of eveiy part of the anny, that it has been a strict observance of order, discipline, and military system, which has fpven the full energy to the native vtlovat of the troops, and has enabled them proudly tq assert the superiority of the national military character, in situations uncommonly arduous, and under droumstances of pecuUar difficulty." -^General Orders in 1801. In the General Orders issued by Iieut.-General Sir John Hope (afterwards Lord Hopetoun), congratulating the army upon the sue- oessful 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 drctunstances can appal,— and that will ensure victory, when it is to be obtained by the exertion of any human means." TO THE INFANTBY. 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 atme^ as at present practised, while they are adapted to every species 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 military 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. HISTORICAL RECORD THE THIRTY-NINTH, OK TMI DORSETSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT: COMTAIMmO lN account of the formation of the regiment In 1702, X AND OF ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES To 1853. COMPILED BY -^ RICHARD CANNON, ESQ., ADJUTANT OEWBBAL's OfTICB, UOBSE QVABDB. inuHtratrH tDi'tl^ ffiUttt. LONDON: INTED BY GEORGE E. EYRE AND WILLLA.M SPOTTI S WOODB, FBIMTEBS TO THE QDEEN's MOST EXCELLENT MAJE8TT, FOR HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE. PUBLISHED BY PARKER, FURNIVALL» AND PARKER, MILITARY LIBRARY, ' 30, OHABINO CB088. 1853. ':f0>:t^in c: f ■ 1 - ; n THE THIRTY-NINTH REGIMENT BEABS ON THE BBOXUEMTAL GOLOUB AND APPOINTMEMTS THE MOTTO "PRIMUS IN INDIS," TO DENOTE ITS BAVINO BEEN THE FIBST KING's BEODCBNT EMPLOYED IN INDIA; — — -..^»*, .. "rkv * nn-m^r M ERRATA. Rige 86, line 30,— /or "Thansi," read " Jhansi." Do. line 34,— /or ••Kuraool," read" Kumaul." , Page 94, line 24,-/or«« Captain Charles CampbeU (M^'or of Brimule)" read " Captain Marmaduke George Nixon (Major of Brigade). " IN TESTIMONY OF ITS DISTUSliUlBiustU v.v/xii»uv* j^« THAT BATTLE, ON THE 29th OF DECEMBER, 1843. »/ y /:'\f THE THIRTY-NINTH REGIMENT BEABS ON THE BBOIUENTAL COLOUB AND APPOmTlCENTS THE MOTTO "PRIMUS IN INDIS," TO DENOTE ITS HAYINO BEEN THE FIBST KING's BEGDIENT EHPLGTED IN INDIA; AND THE WORD "PLASSET," IN COMMEMORATION OF ITS GALLANTRY IN THAT BATTLE, ON THE 23bd OF JUNE, 1757; THE WORD, "GIBRALTAR," WITH THE DEVICE OP THE "CASTLE AND KEY," AND THE MOTTO, "MONTIS INSIGNIA CALP^, IN TESTIMONY OF ITS SERVICES DUBING THE DEFENCE OF GIBRALTAR, FROM 1779 TO 1783; THE WORDS "ALBUHERA," "VITTORIA," "PYRENEES," "NIVELLE," "NIVE," "ORTHES," AND "PENINSULA," IN COMMEMORATION OP ITS GALLANTRY IN THE SEVERAL ACTIONS FOUGHT DURING THE WAR IN PORTUGAL, SPAIN, AND THE SOUTH OF FRANCE, FROM 1809 TO 1814; AND THE WORD "MAHARAJPORE," IN TESTIMONY OF ITS DISTINGmSHED CONDUCT IN THAT BATTLE, ON THE 29xH OF DECEMBER, 1843. THJB THIRTY-NINTH, OB THE DORSETSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. CONTENTS or THE HISTORICAL RECORD. Year. 1702. n n n 1703. 1704. 1705. 1706. 1707. 1708. 1709. 1710. 1711. n 1712. 1713. »i 1714 to 1719. Intboduction • - • • " - Formation of the regiment ... Colonel Richard Coote appointed its Colonel War declared against France and Spain - . • Colonel Nicholas Sankey appointed Colonel of the regiment Siege of Gibraltar . - . . _ Capture of Barcelona - - - - • - Occupation of Madrid by the Allied Troops Battle of Altnama ..... The Thirty-ninth and other regime L.tki embarked for Spain - - - . . - . Operations of the campaign • Action at the passage of the Cat/a • • • - Storming of Xeres de los Cabaleros . . . Passage of the Guadiana at Jerumenha . . . The regiment engaged in the capture of several towns in Spain ...... Suspension of hostiUties proclaimed - - - . Treaty of Utrecht signed - - The regiment proceeded to Gibraltar, and afterwards to Minorca --..... Page 1 2 ib. ib. ib. ib. 3 ib. ib, ib. 4 5 6 7 ib. ib. 8 ib. 1 Stationed at Minorca Brigadier-General Thomas Ferrers appointed Colonel of the regiment --.-.. Embarked for Ireland .... ib. ib. ib. I i 1 1 ' ii m Vi CONTENTS. Year. 1720 1 and ['Stationed in Ireland ... . . 1721.J 1722. Colonel William Newton appointed Colonel of the regiment 1723 1 to iTheregiment remained in Ireland . ■ . 1725. J 1726. Oibraltar besieged bv the Spaniards - • • • „ The regiment embarked for that fortress . . ■ 1727. Sacceosfiil defence made by the garrison of Gibrdtar 1729. Peace concluded between Great Britain, France, and Spain „ The regiment proceeded from Gibraltar to Jamaica 1730. Colonel John Cope appointed Colonel of the regiment 1732. The regiment returned from Jamaica to Ireland „ Colonel Thomas Weutworth appointed Colonel of the regi- ment ..... 1733 1 to I The regiment stationed in Ireland ... 1736. J 1737. Colonel John Campbell, afterwards Duke of Argyle, ap- pointed Colonel of the regiment - - 1738. Colonel Bichard Onslow appointed Colonel of the regiment 1739. Lieut-Colonel Robert Dalway appointed Colonel of the regiment ...... „ War declared against Spain ... 1740. Lieut-Colonel Samuel Walter Whitshed appointed Colonel of the regiment ...... 1741. War of the Austrian Succession ... 1742. Support rendered bj the British to the Queen of Hungary . 1743. Colonel Edward Bichbell appointed Colonel of the regiment „ Battle of Dettingen ..... 1744. The regiment proceeded from Ireland to Great Britain ., War declared against France > • • • 1745. The regiment employed as Marines ... 1746. Arrival of Prince Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pre- tender, in Scotland ..... „ Battle of CuUoden .... „ Expedition against the coast of Brittany, of which the Thikty-ninth formed part .... „ Affairs near Port L'Orient .... „ Return of the expedition to England - - - The regiment again employed as Marines on board the fleet ....... 1747 and 1748 f» 1749 to 1751 1 .) Treaty (rf Aix-la-Chapelle concluded The regiment stationed in Ireland Royal Warrant respecting the clothing, standards, and colours of the army, and for regulating the number and rank of regiments - - ... 1752. Colonel John Adlercron appointed Colonel of the regiment 1754. The regiment proceeded from Ireland to the East Indies • Page 8 ib. ib. ib. 10 ib. 11 ib. ib. ib. ib. ib. ib. ib. ib. ib. 12 ib. ib. ib. ib. ib. ib. 13 ib. ib. ib. ib. ib. 14 ib. ib. ib. ib. CONTBKTI. VII Tear. 1765. 1756. 1757. 1758 1759, 1760 1 to \ 1763. J Stationed at Madru .... Aspect of affairs in India . . • . Fart of the regiment lelflcted to Nrr« in Bongal under Lieat-Colonel Robert fafterwardi Lord) Cllve • Defeat of Moniclccliund, the Oovwnor of Calcutta, near tlie Vott o{ Budge'Budge • ... Advance of the British toward! Cakulta Expedition against Hoogh ... Expedition against BaiuuU ... Action with the Nabob Suri^eo Dowlah n««r CakuHa Treaty of peace concluded with the Nabob ■ Renewal of hostilities .... Investment of Chandtrnagore by th« (roopi under Lieut Colonel Clive - . . • . Surrender of that place > . ■ . Capture of the fort of Cutwah ... Battle of PbM^ • .... The motto "iVimus in Indit," and th« word "Flambt conferred by Royal authority on th« refflfflent Support rendered to the Nabob by Mr. Law, th« French chief at Cossimbnzar .... Party despatched in pursuit of the 7r«neh troops Manner in which the remoindw of tbo regiment \eh at Madras had been employed • Expedition against Nemur* .... Relief of 7V>cAtnopo/y .... Fortress of WandewatK invested by the British March of the troops to Conjeverom Return of the regiment to freUnd • • . Detachment of the regiment employed in Qonnany The regiment stationed in belond Treaty of peace conclnaed at Faril Colonel Robert Boyd appointed Colonel of the regiment The regiment employed in Ireland ... 1766, 1767 and 1768, _ 1769. Embarked for Gibraltar .... 1770 1 to \ Formed part of the garrison of that fortrei i 1779.J „ War with Spain - . . . . ,„ Siege of Gibraltar .... 1780. Progress of the siege .... 1781. Successful sor^ of the garrison 1782. Renewed efforts of the enemy ... „ The combined forces of France and Spain defeated 1783. Termination of the siege . ... „ Corclusion of peace .... „ The word " GiBBALTAn," with the " Ca$tle and Key," and the motto "Montis Jntignia Calpi," conferred on the Thihtt-kinth regiment „ The Thibtt-nihth designated the Eait Middijesex regiment - . . „ The regiment returned to England Page 14 15 ib. 16 ib. ib. 17 18 19 I*. ib. ib. 20 21 23 ib. 24 ib. ib. ib. 25 ib. ib. ib. 26 ib. ib. ib. ib. ib. ib. 27 29 30 32 35 36 ib. 37 ib 38 l|ll:l'l »' !|':i., W- m VUl CONTENTS. Year. 1783 1 to I Stationed in South Britain ■ . • . • 1789. J „ Proceeded to Ireland .... 1790 f to < Stationed in Ireland ... . . 1792. 1 1793. War of the French Revolution . - - „ The regiment embarked for the West Indies . - - 1794. Expedition against J^arft'nt9u« ... „ Capture of Martinique, St. Lucia, and Guadaloupe - n Major-General Nisbett Balfour appointed Colonel of the regiment ..... „ Gallant but unsuccessful defence of Guadaloupe against the French ..-..-- „ Surrender of the garrison ... „ Escape of certain of the o;liccrs of the regiment, and iheir arrival in Ireland - • - - - - 1 795. The regiment recruited bj drafts from several corps „ Again embarked for Barbadoes > . - - 1796. Capture of l^emerara, ^Me^uido, and £er&ice 1796 1 to \ The regiment stationed at Demcrara . . . 1800. J „ Proceeded to Surinam .... 1802. Peace of Amiens ...... „ Evacuation of Surinam .... „ The regiment embarked for Barbadoes - • - „ Proceeded to Antigua - - . - 1803. Embarked for England ..... „ Benewal of the war with France ... „ A second battalion added to the regiment . . - 1804. The first battalion stationed on the coast of Sussex „ The second battalion embarked for Guernsey 1805. The first battalion selected for service in the Mediterranean „ The Dank companies detached to Naples •• - - 1806. The flank companies proceeded to Sicily - - „ The flank companies returned to Malta - - • „ The second battalion proceeded to Ireland 1807. Embarked for England - - - . . „ The County title of the regiment changed from East Mid- dlesex to Dorsetshire ... 1808. The flank companies of the flrst battalion proceeded from Malta to Sicily -....- „ The second battalion embarked for Guernsey 1809. The flank companies of the flrst battalion employed in the capture of the islands of Ischia and Procida „ Attempted reduction of the Castle of Scylla „ The second battalion joined the army in the Peninsula 1810. The battalion companies of the flrst battalion proceeded from Malta to Sicily - - - - „ The second battalion present at the battle of Busaco „ Pursuit of the French towards Santarem - - - „ Investment of Badajoz - - - - „ Battle of Albuhera -----. Page 38 ib. ib. 1 ib. 1 ib. '^f ib. ■ > 39 ib. 1 40 ib. .1; 41 \ ib. \ ib. ib. ^l 42 'I ib. ib. 43 ib. ib. ib. ib. ib. 44 ib. .'i ib. ■^1 45 ib. 46 ib. ■| ib. ib. % ib. ib. '■^i 47 ib. % 48 ■1 49 1 ib. ib. 60 ji ib. CONTENTS. IX rage a Year. i^B 1810. 38 9 ib. 4 B 1 ^H ib. ^ ^H ib. ^B ib. ib. S 1812. 39 ^jJh 'J^B ib. ^ >913- aj^B 40 ;S ib. '^H ^B 41 1 ib. ^B ib. '^B i^B ib. ^H 42 ^B ib. ■ 1814. ib. i ^B 43 1 ^H f*. ^ ^B ib. ^B H ib. IB ib. »' » ib. ;^f " 44 'WBj " ib. '^^^B ib. j^B 46 ^^B 1*. l^B ^H 46 ib. ^ S ^^^^' ib. aH ^H ib. iB Im 1816 ib. B ^ ib. S 1818. l^B 47 '^K 1819 ib. B to 48 B 1823. 1 ^B 4S) -5 H ib. 'i ■ 1824. ib. 1 ■ 1825. 50 1 ib. 1 ■ Page , Received the Royal Authority to bear the word " Albuhera " on the regimental coloar and appointments - - 51 . AfTuir of Arroyo doa Molinoa ... - ib. The first battalion joined the army in the Peninsula 52 The second battalion transferred all its effective men to the first battalion - - - - - - ib. Embarkation of the remainder of the second battalion for England - - - - - - 53 . Badajoz again invested - - - • - ib. Capture of the fortress - - - ... ib. Advance to Burgos - - - - - - ib. , Battle of Vittoria - - - - - - 64 Received the Royal authority to bear the word "Vittoria," on the regimental colour and appointments • - - 65 Actions in the Pyrenees - - - - - 56 Received the Royal authority to bear the word "Ptrenbbb" on the regimental colour and appointments - - 57 France entered by the Pass of Maya - - - ib. Passage of the Nivelle - - - - - 58 Received the Royal authority to bear the word " Nivblle" on the regimental colour and appointments - - ib. Passage of the Niver - - - - - ib. Received the royal authority to bear the word "Nive" on the regimental colour and appointments - •' " 59 Affair at Garris - - - - - • ib. Gallantry of the first battalion particularly noticed by the Marquis of Wellington - - - - - 60 Battle of Orthea - - - - --6I Received the Royal authority to bear the word " Obthes" on the regimental colour and appointments - - ib. Battle of Touhuae - - - - - - lA. Termination of the Peninsular War - - - - C2 Received the Royal authority to bear the word " Peninsu- la" on the regimental colour and appointments - ib. The first battalion proceeded to North America - - ib. Expedition against the state of New York - - - 63 Operations on Lake Champlain .... ib. Part of the first battalion employed as Marines • - 64 The battalion returned to Chambly • - - - ib. Embarked for England - • - ' - ib. Proceeded to Ostend - - - - • ib. Joined the British army at Paris • - - - ib. The second battalion disbanded . . . > (j,, }The regiment formed part of the " Army of Occupation " in France --.-_- Embarked for Ireland ..... ) Stationed in Ireland Lieut.- General Sir George Airey, K C. H., appointed Colonel of the regiment - - - - . . The regiment stationed in Ireland - Proceeded to Chatham for embarkation, by detachments, for New South Wales -«._.. 65 ib. ib. ib. 66 ib. I'i I< \ ill i i Year. 1826 to 1930. 1830. 1831. 1832. 1833, 1834. 1835. 1836. 1837. 1838. If 1839. »i t» fi »» 1840. 1841. 1842. 1843. 1844 1845 1840. Volunteering of the regiment to other corps in India 77 CONTENTS. Pago } Embarked as guard over convicts proceeding to New South Wales 67 Employed in the Bathurst district - • - - 68 Presentation of now colours to the regiment • - 60 Address of Lieut-General Sir Ralph Darling on that occa- casion - - -- - --70 Embarkation of the regiment for Madras - - - 72 Lieut.-Oeneral the Honorable Sir Robert William O'Cal- laghan, K.C.B., appointed Colonel of the regiment - - 73 The regiment engaged in active iield operations against the Rajah of Coorg .-...• ih. Submission of the Rajah - - - - - 75 The conduct of Brigadier-Qeneral Lindesay, C. B., command- ing the force employed in that ca npaign, honored by the Royal approval --•-.- The Royal authority granted for resuming the motto " Primus in India," and the word " FLASSsr ; " also the device of the " Casde and Key" in addition to tho word " Gibraltar." Testimonial presented to Colonel Lindesvy on his departure for England ..--.. A detachment of the regiment employed In Canara and Malabar - - - - - - - Return of the detachment to Bangalore ... Complimentary order on the regiment quitthig Bangalore - Arrived at Bellary .-..-- Ordered on field service - . . . - Advanced to Coodamoor - - - . - Operations against the Fort of Kurnool ... Affair at Zorapore, near KiTmool - - - - Return of the regiment U /^•ellary - - - - Arrival at Eamptee --...- Lieut.-Greneral Sir Frederick Fhilipse Robinson, G. C.B., appointed Colonel of the regiment ... Tho regiment ordered to march to Cawnpore - - - Destination changed to Agra .... Ordered to proceed to Ferozepore - - - - Returned to Agra ...... Presentation of new colours to the regiment . - - Address of Lord Ellenborough, the Governor General of India, on that occasion ..... The regiment formed part of the " Army of Exercise" as- sembled at Agra ..... Aspect of affairs in the Gwalior state - - - Battle of Maharajpore . . . - - Received the Royal authority to bear the word "Maharaj- pore " on the regimental colour and appointments - - Honors conferred on the officers and men - - - Return of the regiment to Agra - - - - Gallant conduct of certain volunteers from the Thirteenth to the TmRTT-NiNTH regiment, at the storming of the heights ofTruckee .--..- ib. 80 ib. 81 82 ib. 83 84 85 ib. 86 t*. ib. ib. 87 ib. ib. 90 91 92 94 ib. 36 97 99 f CONTENTS. Year. 1847. Kinbarked for Kngland . . . - - „ Compliincntavy orders by the Conimandcr-in-Chicf in India on the regiment quitting that country - - - • 1848. Removed from Portsmouth to Hull - . . . „ I'rocecdcd to Preston, in Laneashirc • - - - 1849. Stationed at Preston --.... 18.'}0. Removed to Ireland - - - - • - 1852. Lieut.-Geiieral George Burrell, C.B., appointed Colonel of the regiment -..-.- 1853. Maior-General Richard LlucUyn, C. B., appointed Colonel of the regiment - - - - • - „ Conclusion ------- Pafji 100 101 10*2 ib. ih. ib. 10.1 104 ib. SUCCESSION OF COLONELS or THE THIRTY-NINTH REGIMENT. Year. Page 1702. Richard Cootc - - - - - - 105 1703. Nicholas Sankey - - - - - - ib. 1719. Thomas Ferrers ...... 106 1722. William Newton . - - . - . i6. 1730. Sir John Cope, K.B. . - . . - ib. 1732. Thomas Wentworth - - . -..107 1737. John Campbell, afterwards Duke of Argyle - - ib. 1738. Richard Onslow . - . - . - 108 1739. Robert Dalway ...... ,4. 1 740. Samuel Walter Whitshcd - . - - - 109 1743. Edward Richbell - . - - . . ib, 1752. John Adlcrcron - - - - . . ib, 1766. Sir Robert Boyd - - - - - . 110 1794. Nisbett Balfour - . - - - - ib. 1823. Sir George Airey,Ii.C.H. . . - . .111 1833. The Honorable Su: Robert William O'Callaghan, G.C.B. - 1 14 1840. Sir Frederick Philipse Robinson, G.C.B. - - - 115 1852. George Burrell, C.B. - . . . - 117 1853. Richard Lluellyn.C.B. - - . . - ib. \hl I. I I APPENDIX. I'ngc Meiiiuir ut'ColoituI George Wiluon, foriucrly Lieut. 'Culuiiel of the regiment - . . ■ - --1I9 Memoir of Mujor-Geiieral, Sir Chiuicn Bruce, K.C.B., formerly Licut.-ColoncI of tlie regiment • - - - - 1 2U Memoir of Major Gonorftl, Sir Pntrick Limlesay, K.t;.B. luul K.CMi., formerly Lieut. -Colonel of the regiment • -121 PLATES. Colours of tlie regiment to face CO' P u i- V P Hi' 18 HISTOBICAL RECORD OP THE THIRTY-NINTH, 1757. the river about ten miles above Hoogly, and arrived before Calcutta o» the 3rd of February. In the af- ternoon of that day, a numerous body of the enemy commenced entrenching themselves in a large garden, withir a mile and a half of the British camp. Upon this Lieut.-Colonel Ciive immediately advanced with the greater portion of his troops, and six field-pieces. The attack of so numerous a force appeared extremely hazardous, and Lieut.-Colonel Clive restrained the ac- tion to a cannonade, which continued only for an hour, in order that the troops might be enabled to regain the camp before dark. Negotiations for peace had been proposed b / Lieut.-Colouel Clive, and failed; it was therefore determined to attack the iN^abob's camp in the morning. At midnight five hundred and sixty-nine sailors, armed with firelocks, were landed from the ships of war : the Europeans amounted to six hundred and fifty, the artillerymen to one hundred, and the Sepoys to eight hundred. Shortly before dawn on the 5th of February, the British line came upon the advance- guards of the enemy, who fled after discharging their matchlocks and some rockets : one of the latter struck the cartouch-box of a Sepoy, set fire to the charges, which exploded, and communicated the mischief to several others : the dread of catching this fire threw the division into confusion, but fortunately none of the enemy were at hand to take advantage of this acci- dental circumstance, and Captain Coote, of the Thirty- ninth, who marched at the head of the grenadiers, in the rear of the Sepoys, rallied them, and restored the line of march. A desperate contest ensued, during which Ensign Martin \ orke, of the Thirty-ninth, v^ith a platoon of the regiment, rescued one of the field- pieces which was on the point of being captured by the enemy. The British sustained a loss in killed of twenty- seven Europeans, twelve seamen, and eighteen Sepoys: seventy Europeans, twelve seamen, and thirty-five OB THE DORSETSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 19 Sepoys were wounded. The Nabob lost twenty-two 1757. officers of distinction, six hundred men, four elephants, five hundred horses, some camels, and several bullocks. A treaty of peace was concluded between the Nabob and the East India Company on the 9th of February, and hostilities terminated. It was, however, perceived that the Nabob was only temporising, and it was ascertained that he had sent a present of one hundred thousand rupees to the go- vernment of Ckanderrtagore, then in possession of the French ; and that Nuncomar, the governor of Hoogly, had received instructions to assist the French in case they should be attacked by the British. Lieut-Colonel Clive then resolved upon placing Meer Jaffier, one of the distinguished chieftains in Bengal, on the musnud, or &;overnmeut-seat, and of deposing the Nabob Surajee liowlah, the former having engaged, in the event of his being elevated to the viceroyship, to aid in expelling the French from Bengal. Accordingly, ChandernagorOf on the Hoogly, sixteen miles above Calcutta, was invested by Lieut.-Colonel Clive on the 14th of March, and, after a gallant defence, the place surrendered on the 24th of that month. A part of the garrison escaped, and joined the Nabob's army. Lieut.-Colonel Clive marched into Chandemagore with the King's troops, on the following day. Admiral Watson, in his despatch of the 31st of March, 1757, stated that " all the officers and men behaved with great " spirit and resolution on this occasion ; as did also the " Land Forces, who kept up a good and constant fire "the whole time from two batteries and two guns « which they had raised very near the fort." Meer Jaffier having signed the treaty with Admiral Watson, Lieut.-Colonel Clive, and the other counsellors, it was determined to commence operations. On the 12th of June, the troops which were at Calcutta, with b2 in- "11 'f i; w 20 HISTORICAL BECOBD OF THE THIRTY-NINTH, 1757. one hundred and fifty seamen from the squadron, pro- ceeded to join the army quartered at Chandernagore. The necessary preparations having been made, the army marched from Chandernagore on the following day, leaving a hundred seamen to garrif'on the fort, so that every soldier might serve in the field. The British army arrived and halted on the 16 th of June at Patlee, a town on the western shore of the Cossimbuzar river.. Twelve miles above Patlee was situated the Fort of Cutwah, which commanded the passage of the river. Captain Coote was detached on the 17th against Cutwah, which was taken two days afterwards. - . The main body of the army arrived at Cutwah in the evening, and encamped on the plain. The rainy season commenced on the following day with such violence that the troops were compelled to strike their tents, and shelter themselves in the houses of the town. The co-operation of Meer Jafiier appearing doubtful at this period, made Lieut.-Colonel Clive hesitate as to crossing into the island of Cossimbuzar, and at all risks attack the Nabob Surajee Dowlah. A council of war consisting of sixteen officers was summoned ; and con- trary to the usual practice of taking the voice of the youngest officer fiist, and ascending from this to that of the president, Lieut-Culonel Clive at once declared for remaining at Cutwah, and to continue there during the rainy season. Eight other officers were of the same opinion, and only seven voted for immediate action. Captain Eyre Coote, of the Thirty-ninth, was one of the latter, and argued, "that the soldiers were at " present confident of success, and that a stop so near "the enemy would naturally quell this ardour, which "it would be difficult to restore; that the arrival of " the French troops with Mr. Law would add strength *' to the Nabob's force and vigour to his councils ; that "they would surround the Eiiglish army, and cut off ;!6M OR THE DORSETHKIRH UROIMRNT OF FOOT. 21 (( <( its communication with Calcutta, when distresses, 1757. not yet foreseen, might ruin it ns effectually as the *Mos8 of a battle. He therefore advised that they " should either advance and at once decide the contest, "or immediately return to Calcutta." Lieut.-Colonel Clive'i anxiutioi were not alleviated by the sanction of the majority. He retired into the adjoining gvove, and remained for nearly an hour in deep meditation ; the result was that he determined to act on the opinion of Captain Coote and the minority, by giving orders for the passage of the river of Cossirobuzar, a branch of the Ganges< At sunrise on the 22nd of June, the British troops commenced to pass the river, and all were landed on the opposite shore by four in the afternoon. After a march of fifteen miles they arrived at one o'clock on the following morning at Plassei/, and immediately occupied the adjoining grove. The guards being sta- tioned, the remainder of the wearied soldiers were allowed a short interval of repose, which was broke at daybreak, when the Nabob's hosts issued from their entrenched camp, amounting to about fifteen thousand cavalry, thirty-five thousand infantry, and upwards of forty pieces of cannon,* This was a fearful disparity of numbers when contrasted with the small army under Lieut.-Colonel Clive, which consisted of two thousand one hundred Sepoys, one hundred Topassesf} one hun- dred Malabar Portuguese, six hundred and fifty Euro- pean infantry, and one hundred and fifty artillerymen. * The numbers of tho two wemkn lire taken from the Life of Robert Lord Clive, by Major-Qeneral Sir Juhn Mitleoltfl, G< C. B., in which is published a letter from Lieut,-Coloiiel Cllvo to the Secret Committee of the Court of Directors of the KMt India (Jomttmiy, containing an account of the battle of Fhusey, and of the loiM Nuotalnad in killed and wounded. f Topasses were black infantry, daM'antk'd from I'ortuguese who had married natives, and were 80 named hecftUM lltey wore hats. » 3 i I. 1 t: N It ft 22 HISTORICAL REGOBD OF THE THIRTT-NINTH, 1757. including fifty seamen, together with eight six-pounders and one howitzer. The Nabob commenced the attack by six o'clock, and his numerous artillery kept up a heavy cannonade for some hours, which was warmly responded to by the British. Lieut.-Colonel Clive sheltered his troops in the adjacent grove; and they were ordered to sit down, while the field-pieces alone answered the enemy's cannon from behind the bank. At eleven o'clock Lieut.-Colonel Clive consulted his officers at the drum- head, when it was resolved to maintain the cannonade during the day, and at midnight to attack the enemy. At noon a heavy shower of rain covered the plain, and damaged the enemy's powder to such an extent that his fire slackened, but the British ammunition re- mained serviceable. A crisis had arrived, and Lieut.-Colonel Clive, no longer acting on the defensive, became the assailant. Seizing the opportunity, he advanced, and obtained possession of a tank, and two other posts of con- sequence, which the enemy vainly attempted to recover. A successful attack was then made upon the eminence and angle of the Nabob's camp, defended by forty French soldiers (the men who had escaped from the garrison of Chandemagore), and their two pieces of cannon were captured. This was followed by a general rout, and the discomfited enemy was pursued for six miles: upwards of forty pieces of cannon, abandoned by the fugitives, fell into the hands of the victors. In this astonishing victory, which laid the foundation of the British dominion in Bengal, five hundred of the enemy were killed, while the army under Lieut.- Colonel Clive sustained a loss of only twenty-two killed and fifty wounded. It appears from a manuscript journal kept by Captain Eyre Coote, now in the library of the Honourable East India Company, that the following officers of the OB THE DOBBETSHIRE BEGIMENT OF FOOT. 23 Thibty-ninth were present in the battle of Plassey : 1757. namely, Captains Archibald Grant, and Eyre Coote ; Lieutenant John Comeille; and Ensigns Joseph Adnett, and Martin Yorke. The motto "Primus in Indisy^ and the word "Plasseyy^ borne by royal authority on the regimental colour and appointments of the Thibty-ninth, are proud me- morials of its having been the first King's regiment which served in India, and of the gallantry displayed in this battle.* ' ' Lieut.-Colonel Clive, accompanied by a guard of two hundred Europeans, and three hundred Sepoys, entered the city of Moorshedabad on the 29th of June, and saluted Meer Jaffier as Nabob, who received the usual homage from the people as Soubah of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa. Surajee was subsequently taken prisoner, and fell a victim to the dagger of the son of Meer Jaffier. Mr. Law, who was the French chief at Cossimbuzar, had collected nearly two hundred French European troops, and was proceeding to the assistance of the late Nabob ; — when within a few hours' march of him, he was taken prisoner, and Mr. Law, receiving that intelligence, advanced no further. Lieut.-Colonel Clive thereupon detached a party in pursuit under the com- * These distinctions having, in after years, been discontinued, His Majesty King William IV., on the 17th of November 1835, was graci- ously pleased to authorise their being resumed. A handsome silver- mounted drum-major's cane (now in possession of the regiment) was presented to the Thirty-ninth by the Nabob of Arcot, with the follow- ing device and inscription thereon : — Device : an Elepiiant, with motto "Primus in India" Flasset, 1757 : — Inscription: Nabob of Bengal overturned by the 39th Regiment and the Company's troops, bih February 1757. It will be observed that the date 5th February 1757, is not that of the battle of Plassey, but of the action fought near Calcutta, which ia narrated at page 18. The battle of Plassey took place on the 23rd of June 1757. B 4 M l! 'Nil' 24 HISTORICAL KECOIID OF THE TIIIHTY-NINTU, 1757. m»nJ of Captain Coote, of the Thikty-nintu re- giment, couBisting of two hundred Europeans and .five hundred Sepoys, who were to be joined by two thousand of Meer Jaffier's cavalry. After long and harassing marches, in which the troops suffered much fatigue. Captain Coote received orders to return, and arrived at Moorshedabad in September, when hU de- tachment was subsequently stationed in the factory at Coesimbuzar. The rest of the troops, which had served at Flassey, proceeded to Chandernagore, that station being considered more healthy tlian Calcutta. While the portion of the Tuirty-ninth had been tiius engaged in Bengal, the remainder of the regiment left at Madras had not been unemployed. An expedi- tion having been determined upon against Nelloure, Major Francis Forde, of the Thirty- ninth, was se- lected to command the force selected for that service, which consisted of one hundred Europeans, fifty-six Caffres, and three hundred Sepoys. He effected a junction with the army of the Nabob of Arcot, or of the Carnatic, at Serapely on the 25th of April 1757. Two days afterwards the troops encamped before Nelloure. A practicable breach having been made, at sunrise on the 5th of May the assault was commenced ; but in cou- quence of the Sepoys being seized with a panic, the at- tack was not successful. The troops subsequently re- turned towards Serapely, where Major Forde received express orders to return to Madras, in order to prevent the designs of the French on Trichinopoly. In consequence of the danger to which Trichinopoly was exposed. Colonel Adlercron marched from Madras on the 26th of May with three hundred Europeans, being the whole of the Thirty-ninth at that station, together with five hundred Sepoys, thirty of the King's artillery, and four field-pieces. Intelligence having been received of the relief of Trichinopoly by Captain Caillaud, who had been selected to command the expe- OB TUE UOUSETSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 25 ditiuu against Madura*, Colonel Adlercron was directed 1 757. to invest the fortrcBs of JVandetcash, and accordingly marched towards that place on the 6th of June. On the following day he entered the town ; but before the heavy cannon could arrive, the greater part of the French army from Trichinopoly reached Pondicherry, and marched to the relief of Wandewash, upon which Colonel Adlercron withdrew from the town, and en- camped a few miles off. Several inarches and counter- marches were afterwards made, but no general engage- ment took place, and it being seen that nothing but the certainty of advantage would bring the enemy from his entrenched camp to action, the troops marched for Con- jeveram on the 26th of July, at which place they ar- tived on the 28th of that month, where five hundred Europeans and fifteen hundred Sepoys remained in can- tonments under the command of Major Francis Forde, of the Thirty-ninth, and the rest of the troops returned to the garrisons and stations from whence they had been drawn. Shortly afterwards orders were received from Eng- land recalling the Thibtt-ninth regiment, when most of the men, and certain of the officers, entered the East India Company's service. The regiment remained in India until the end of the 1758. year 1758, when it returned to Ireland, on the western coast of which it was wrecked. After remaining in Ireland some time, and being re- 1759. cruited to its establishment, the regiment was greatly reduced by a large detachment sent to Germany to join the British troops serving under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick. No record has been preserved by the regiment of the services of this detachment, and the * Tho force under Ciiptiuu Caillaud, of the Company's service, con- sisted of one hundred nnd fifty Europeans, including artillery, five hun- dred Sepoys, and two field-pieces. 26 HISTORICAL BEOOBD OF THE THIRTT-NINTH, i m . I 1759. researoh made to supply the deficiency has not been at- tended with suocuss. 1763. The Seven Years' War, which had commenced in 1756, while the regiment was serving in India, was ter- minated by the peace concluded at Paris in February 1763. 1766. Colonel Robert Boyd was appointed from the First foot guards to the colonelcy of the Thirty-ninth regi- ment on the 6th of August 1766, in succession to Lieut.- General Adlercron, deceased. 1767. During the years 1766, 1767, and 1768, the regi- ment continued to be stationed in Ireland. 1 769. In the year 1769 the Thirty-ninth again proceeded to Gibraltar ; and while serving in that garrison, events transpired which enabled the regiment to acquire addi- tional honor. 1779. The possession of this fortress by the English had been regarded by the Spaniards with great jealousy, but every effort for its recovery had signally failed. The contest between the colonists in North America and Great Britain, seemed to offer the Spanish monarch a favourable opportunity for regaining possession of Gi- braltar. The French monarch, in the previous year, had concluded a treaty of defensive alliance with the Ameri- can colonies, which involved Great Britain in a war with France. The Court of Versailles subsequently engaged that of Madrid to take a part in the contest, and on the 16th of June 1779 the Spanish ambassador presented a manifesto at St. James's, equivalent to a declaration of war, and immediately departed from Lon- don ; and shortly afterwards the siege of Gibraltar was commenced by the Spaniards, the anticipated reduction of that important fortress being one of the principal objects which induced Spain to become a party in the contest. Gibraltar was accordingly beset, by sea and land, by the Spanish fleets and armies. The following return OR -THE DOKSETBHIKE RBOIMEMT OF FOOT. 27 shows the ttticLgth of the garrison at the commencement 1779. of the blockade on the 21 at of June 1779 : — British. Royal Artillery - Royal Engineers 1 2th foot - Officers. 25 8 29 Men. 460 114* 570 39th „ - - - na 5.-^7 66th „ - - - 27 J60 58th „ - - - 28 677 1 1 72nd „ (Royal Manchester Volunteers), disbanded in 1783 - - - . 33 1013 4030 Hanoverian. Hardenberg'a regiment Reden's „ - 29 27 423 417 De La Motte's „ - 33 423 1352 Total . . • - 5382 The Thirty-ninth regiment was commanded by Brevet Lieut.-Colonel William Kellett, major of the corps, and the garrison, mustering five thousand three hundred and eighty-two men, was under the orders of Ge- neral the Bight Hon. George Augustus Eliott, afterwards Lord Heathfield. Being thus blockaded by sea and be- sieged by land, the troops at Gibraltar became cut off from communication with other countries, and the gar- rison appeared a little world within itself.f The arrange- * These men belonged to " Tlie Soldier Artificer Ccmpany" and were commanded by the officers of Royn^ Engineers. t The proceedings of the Spanish Government were somewhat sad- den ; and it is stated by Colonel John Drinkwater, of the late Seventy- second regiment, or Royal Manchester Volunteers, in his popular History of the Siege of Gibraltar, that " those officers whoso curiosity " had led them into the interior parts of the country were positively " refused liberty to retura to the garrison ; they were therefore conducted " to Cadiz, and had passports granted them to leave the kingdom by " other routes. Brevet-Colonel Charles Ross and Captain John Vignolcs, 28 HISTORICAL RECORD OP TOE TniRTY-NINTH, m I 1^^' r' W-i, 1779. raents for the defence were devised with judgment, and executed with skill. The soldiers cheerfully conformed to the strict rules which their circumstances rendered necessary, and severe exercise and short diet became habitual to them ; at the same time the great import- ance of the place, and the determined character of General Eliott and his garrison, occasioned this siege to be regarded with universal interest by the several nations of Europe. The following officers of the Thirty-ninth regi- ment were appointed to the staff at Gibraltar: Captain James Horsburgh, from town-major, to be adjutant- general; Captain William Wilson and Lieutenant Richard Henry Buckeridge, to be aides-de-camp to Lieut.-General Robert Boyd, Colonel of the Thirty- ninth, and Lieut.-Governor of Gibraltar. On the 20th of August the marksmen of the garrison were embodied into a company of two non-commissioned officers and sixty-four men, and the command was given to Lieutenant Charles Burleigh of the Thirty-ninth regiment. As the enemy's works progressed, the pavement of the streets was taken up, the towers of conspicuous buildings were pulled down, the guard-houses unroofed, the stone sentry-boxes removed, traverses raised, a covered way commenced, and every measure adopted to lessen the effects of a bombardment. In Colonel Drinkwater's ^ork on the siege of Gi- braltar, from which the particulars relating to the Thirty-ninth, in connection with that event, have been chiefly collected, is given the following account of " of the Thikty-ninth, with Captain Henry Lefanue, of the Fifty-sixth " regiment, nevertheless contrived to join their corps, by assuming dis- " guis,;s, and risking the passage in a row-boat from Faro (a port in " Portugal) to Gibraltar : others tvlso attempted, but unfortunately were *' intercepted in their voyage." OB THE DORSETSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 20 an experiment recommended by Captain John Mercier 1771). of the regiment ; " namely, to fire out of guns 5^ inch " uhells, with short fuses, which were tried on the 25th " of September, and found to answer extremely well. " These small shells, according to Captain Mercier's *' method, were thrown with such precision, and the " fuses cut by calculation with such exactness, that the " shell often burst over their heads, and wounded them " before they could get under cover. This mode l? "annoyance was eligible on several other accounts: " less powder was used, and the enemy were more bc- " riously molested. The former was an advantage of " no small consequence, since it enabled the Governor "to reserve, at this period, what might be probably ** expended to the greater benefit of the service on a " future occasion. It will also account for the extra- ** ordinary number of shells which were discharged from " the garrison." Early in 1780 provisions became short, and the sol- 1780. diers willingly submitted to privation ; but soon after- wards the garrison was relieved by a fleet from England : the wants of the troops were, however, not supplied in many important articles. The Spaniards renewed the blockade by sea, and 1781. sent nine fire-ships into the harbour, but failed in their attempt to destroy the shipping. Provisions again be- came deficient : vegetables were cultivated on the rock with partial success: a precarious supply of several articles was obtained from the Moors, and in April 1781 the garrison was again relieved. The siege was continued, and a severe bombardment reduced a great portion of the town to a heap of ruins. The efforts of the enemy were deliberately watched by the Governor, General Eliott, who kept his garrison close within the fortress until a favourable opportunity occurred for a sally, and on the evening of the 26th of November the following garrison order was issued : — IT': It (( ft 30 HISTORICAL BECORD OF THE THIRTY-NINTH, 1781. " Countersign, Steady. — All the grenadiers and " light infantry in the garrison, and all the men of the ** Twelfth and Hardenberg's regiments, with the officerji " 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 hundred 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 his pocket ; the whole to be " commanded by Brigadier-General Boss, and to as- " semble on the red sands, 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 Brigadier-General Ficton, to sustain the *' sortie, if necessary." At midnight the soldier, i^^'sembled for this enterprise; the moon at first shining brightly on the sands, but between two and three o'clock darkness overspread the place, and the troops silently issued from the fortress. They were challenged and fired upon by the enemy's sentries, but the British soldiers rushed forward, over- powered the Spanish guards, and captured the batteries in gallant style: the defenders of the works fled in dismay, and communicated the panic to the troops in their rear. The wooden batteries were soon i)reparcd for ignition ; the flames spread with astonishing rapi- * The flank companies of the Thirty-ninth formed part of the centre column under Lieut. -Colonel Dachenhausen { tlin greniidlcr ctun- pany consisted of three officers, three Serjeants, and flfty-devtin rank and file ; the light infantry company was composed of a like number. m OB TUE DORSETSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 31 dity, and a column of fire and smoke arose from the 1781. works, illuminating the surrounding objects and casting a lurid glare upon this unparalleled scene, of which words fail to give an adequate description. In an hour the object of the sortie was effected: the Spaniards, being dismayed, did not venture to interrupt the work ; trains were laid to the enemy's magazines, and the soldiers withdrew. As they entered the fortress, tre- mendous explosions ishook the ground, and rising co- lumns of smoke, flame, and burning timber, proclaimed the destruction of the enemy's immense stores of gun- powder to be completed. General Eliott declared in orders: — "The bearing and conduct of the whole "detachment — officers, seamen, and soldiers — on this "glorious occasion, surpass my utmost acknowledg- " ments." For some days the Spaniards appeared confounded at thei^ disgrace : the smoke of the burning batteries con- tinued to rise, and no attempt was made to extinguish the flames ; but several executions took place in their camp, probably of persons who fled so precipitately from the batteries. In the beginning of December they began to arouse themselves, and a thousand workmen commenced labouring to restore the batteries, in which they were retarded by the fire of the garrison. The gallant defenders of the fortress were equally indefa- tigable: every serjeant, drummer, musician, officer's servant, and private soldier was required to use the musket, shovel, and pickaxe, as his services became necessary. The Spaniards, by their heavy fire on the fortress, had already spoiled three sets of guns ; but the Court of Madrid appeared determined to obtain possession of Gibraltar. An immense collection of ordnance of larger calibre was provided, several batteries were prepared, and the Duke of Crillon assumed the command of the besieging army. He was assisted by a celebrated •i . i'i htli ■ I \vi 't 1 1^- 1 !• , n ifl: ki? I* P r ll M *. * M' «; ^' 1: ^■1 s. 32 HISTORICAL RECORD OP THE THIRTY-NINTH, 1781. French engineer, Monsieur d'Arcon, and by Admiral Moreno : a French army likewise arrived to take part in the siege. At the same time stupendous preparations were made on a new principle, and floating batteries were constructed with great art and labour, which were reckoned the most perfect contrivance of the kind ever seeiJ. 1782. A Cilsis was evidently approaching, au.re poured into the floating hatterie.. Soon after raid- night one ship was in flaaiCB, and by two o'clock it appeared one sheet of fire from head io stern ; fi sec :nd was soon in the samo coaditjoii, and the light of the conflagration enabled the Brifiah artillci'v to pohit their guns with precision, when aoon ar>er three o'clock aix morTi ships exhibited the effects of the red-hot shot. The burning ships exhibited one of the grandest spectacles of destruction ever beheld ; and amidst this exciting scene the British seamen pushed off in boats to rescue the Spaniards from tiie blazing vessels. They preserved between three and lour 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 after- wards, and the remainder burnt to the water's edge, their maga^nes having been inundated. Not one could be preserved as a trophy. During the hottest period of " the enemy's cannonade " (Colonel Drinkwater relates), the Governor was pre- sent on the King's bastion, whilst Lieut.<-General Boyd took his station upon the South bp^stion, animating the garrison by their presence, and en- ''couraging them to emulation. The exertions and "activity of the brave artillery in this well fought " contest deserve the higliest oDmrnendations. To their "skill, perseverance, and oourage, with the zealou? "assistance of the line (parti ••-<*rly the corps in town, "the Thirty-ninth, nnd ih? late Seventy-second « « OR THE DORSETSHIRE REOIMENT OF FOOT. 35 K (( *' regiment), was Gibraltnr indebtod for its safety against 1782. the combined powers, by sea and land, of France and Spain." The Colonel also adds the following singular cir- cumstance. When Liout.'Genornl Boyd laid the foundation stone of the King's bastion in 1773, upon fixing the stone in its place, he remarked that "this ** is the first stone of a work which I name the * King's "Bastion;' may it be as gallantly defended, as I know "it will be ably executed; and may I live to see it " resist the united efforti of Frame and Spain I^"^ This wish was fully accomplished. In this manner the mighty efforts of France and Spain ended in defeat and destruction, while the con- duct of the garrison of Gibraltar elicited the admiration of the nations of Europe. In England the most enthusiastic applause was universal; illuminations and ether modes of testifying the joy of the people followed the receipt of the news of the destruction of the sup- posed invincible battering ships, and every family which could boast a defender of Gibraltar belonging to it, was proud of the honor. The loss of the garrison on the 13th and 14th of September, was limited to one ofiScer, two Serjeants, and thirteen private soldiers killed; five officers and sixty-three rank and file wounded: that of the enemy exceeded two thousand ofiBcers and soldiers. 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 jTovisions; the combined fleet therefore remained in the bay, the besieging army continued in the lines, and li thousand shots wftre fired every day from the abcn! Spanish batteries. The garrison was encouraged to continue resolute in the defence of the fortress by assurances of their Sovereign's favour and high appro- 2 36 HISTOBIOAL BECORD OF THE THIBXr-NINTH, <«i (( < 1 782. 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 *'th8 King's authority to assure you, that every dis- " tinguished act of emulation and gallantry, which shall * ' be performed in the course of the siege by any, even " of the lowest rank, will meet with ample reward from « his gracious protection and favour." 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 regimen^ ■. . u„ Twenty-fifth and Fifty-ninth, landed to take pai < »/• the *t, "ance of the fortress. 1783. After ;he giirrisi n was thus relieved and reinforced a third time, the Court of Madrid relinquished the idea of recovering Gibraltar either by force or stratagem ; negotiations ensued, and in February 1783 the Spanish army withdrew, the preliminary articles for a treaty of peace having been signed in the preceding month. Thus terminated the siege of Gibraltar^ which is celebrated in the military annals of the eighteenth century ; and the successful defpice of that fortress ranks amongst the noblest efforts of the British arms : it exceeded in duration the famous siege of Ostend in the beginning of the seventeenth century; and it is a proud circumstance in the services of the Thirty- ninth, that the regiment had tvyice shared in the de- fence of Gibraltar, havi/jg (as stated at page 9) been present when the place was besieged by the Spaniards in the year 1727. The Thirty-ninth regiment was rev/arded, with the other corps which took part in this long and arduous service, with the thar, ' ^ of the Sovereign, and in 1' OR THE DORSETSHIRE UEOIMENT OF FOOT. 37 of the Houses of Parliament, and with the honor of 1783. bearing on the regimental colour and appointments the word " Gibraltar," with the " Castle and Key^ and the motto " Montis Insignia Calpe,'* in commemoration • of its services during the siege.* The loss of the regiment during the siege was — KUled - Died of wounds - Disabled by wounds Wounded, that recovered - Died of diseases - Total - Officer!. Serjeant!. Orummen. Rank and Flip. 1 I 3 3 1 5 1 16 6 10 44 37 5 10 2 113 During the period the Thirty-ninth were engaged in the defence of Gibraltar, county titles were given to the several regiments of infantry; and the commu- nication with England having become free, the Thirty- ninth received directions to assume, in addition to the numerical title, the designation of "The East " Middlesex" regiment, in order that a contf^xion be- tween the corps and that j-art of the county shoi'^d bo cultivated, which might be useful in promoting the success of the recruiting service. The letter conveying His Majesty's pleasure', that county titles should be conferred on the infantry, was dated the 31st of August 1782. ♦ Calpe, in the south of Spain, av ^ Abyia, on the opposite coajst of Africa (about eighteen miles dista it), were celebrated as the Pillars of Hercules ; and, according to heathen mythology, these two moimtains were united, until that hero separated them, and made a comtr" ication between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Calpe received the present Jcignation of Gibraltar from the Arabic " Gib-el-Tarif" or "Mountain oj Tarif" being the spot where that Moorish chieAain landed on his invasion of Spain in the year 711. The device of the " Casde and Key,' the present arms of Gibraltar, was given by Henry IV., King of Castile^ up ^is capturing the place from the King of Granada in 1462, in allusion tu its being considered as the key to the Medit«jr rpneau. c 3 ! u IW p. 'I Ir'' * 1 ' jiil ,'.!- '! 38 HISTOBICAL RECORD OF TUE TUIRT NlNTH^ 1783. In November 1783 the Thirty-ninth regiment, quitted Gibraltar, and on its arrival in England was for Bome time stationed in South Britain. 1 7g9. The regiment proceeded from Great Britain to Ireland in JVIay 1789. 1790 Pu/'Pi^ the years 1790, 1791, and 1792, the regi- to nient cou-inued to be stationed in Ireland. 1792. While the regiment was stationed in Ireland, the 1 1 93. National Convention of France declared war against Great Britain and Holland. This occurred on the Ist of February 179.^. J in September following, the Thirty-nintu regirocct, under the command of Lieut.- Colonel Stephen Fremantle, embarked from Ireland fo: Barbadoes, in order to take part in an attack on the French West India Islands, r<94. An armament was assembled at Barbadoes in the beginning of 1794, under Lieut,-General Sir Charles, afterwards Earl Grey, K.B., and Vice-Admiral Sir John Jervis, K.B., for the capture of Martinique^ and the Thirty-ninth had the honor to share in this en- terprise. This island had been captureJ. by the British in 1762, but was restored to France at the Peace of Fontainebleau of the following year. The expedition sailed from Carlisle Bay, Barbadoes, early in February, and landing at three different points on the island of Martini(iuey on the 5th, 6th, and 8th of that month, drove the enemy from several strong posts. Fort Boyal and Fort Bourbon were afterwards besieged; the former was captured on the 20th of March, and the latter surrendered two days afterwards. The loss of the regiment on this service was limited to a few soldiers killed and wounded. While the brigade of grenadiers under the command of His Ro^ il Hisrhness Prince Edward, afterwards Duke of Kt , til ; brigade of Light Infantry under Major-General Dundas, and the Sixth, Ninth, and Forty-third regiments under Colonel Sir Charles Gordon, proceeded to St, Lticiaj which island was 1« OR THE DORSETSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 39 captured on the i of April, the Tiiirtt-nintii 1794. remained to garrison Martinique. An expedition subsequently proceeded from Marti- nique against Guadahupc: a determined resistance was experienced at this place, but the inland was cap- tured by the 20th of April. Sir Charles Grey stated in his public despatch, that he " could not find words to *• convey an adequate idea, or to express the high sense " he entertained of the extraordinary merit evinced b} ** the officers and soldiers in this service." France did not view with indifference the loss of these valuable possessions, and in June a French arma- ment arrived at Guadaloiipe for the recovery of that island. In the night attack on the French camp at Point Gahhare on the 13th of June 1794, the Thirty- ninth regiment, under the command of Major Henry Magan *, greatly distinguished itself, and was thanked in general orders by Sii Charles Grey. In tins severe conflict the enemy precipitated themselves into the sea in order to swim across the harbour to Point- a-Pitre ; but few succeeded in the desperate attempt, many being drowned, and more shot by the British infantry, who followed them closely in their flight. One hundred and seventy-nine of the enemy were left dead on the field, while the loss of the British was limited to seven men killed and twelve wounded. The enemy's camp, colours, baggage, and ammunition, with one piece of artillery, fell into the hands of the victors. Major-General Nisbett Balfour was appointed colonel of the Thirty-ninth regiment on tho 2nd of July 1794, in succession to General Sir Robert Boyd, K. B., deceased. During the remainder of the operations the Thirty- * Major Henry Magan was promoted to the rank of Lieut.-Coloncl of the Thirtt-ninth regiment on the 17th of August 1794, in succession to Lieut. -Colonel Fremiintlc, deceased. c 4 • 1 1 » I I I ■i»J , * 1 1 p ' f p 40 HlttroUICAL UECOHD OF TUB THIHTT-NINTIf, 1704. NINTH rudiment renituned at Beroilh- Swiral i»kir- iiiiHheM tuok place nt various posts, but *.uc troops suf-. fered so severely from the climatu at Guudaloupe, and the arduous duties they had to perforin, that on tlio Ist of Hcpttiinber only three hundred and eighty-nine soldiers could bo mustered fit for duty.* Lieut. -Colonel Colin Graham, of the Twenty-first Koyal North British Fusiliers, was appointed to the coiuuiund of the troops in Basse Terre ; and he defended BerviUe cump with the utmost gallantry, until the 6th oj* October, when he was forced to surrender, hia force having become reduced by excessive exertion, and the unhealthiness of the climate, to one hundred and twenty- five rank and file fit fur duly. By the articles of capitulation the British troops were to march out with the honors of war, and it was agreed to send the garrison to England on board French ships, us soon as transports were ready. The latter part of the agreement was not, however, complied with, as they remained prisoners for more than a year afterwards, during which time many of them died. The garrison consisted of the flunk companies of the Seventeenth, Thirty-first, and Thirty-fourth regiments ; the Thirty- * lieturn of the troops at GuaJaloupe on the 1st of September 1794 : Corpi. IUi)k and File. Fit for Duty. Sick. Total. Grenadier battalion ... Light Infantry battalion 35th regiment ... 39th ditto .... 43rd ditto .... S6th ditto, three companies . 65th ditto .... General total 152 33 47 24 23 67 43 208 382 116 284 176 209 360 415 163 308 199 67 252 389 1,375 1,764 The Grenadier and Liyht Infantry battalions were composed of the fliuii< companies of the 8th 12th, 17th, 31st, 33rd, 34th, 38th, 40th, 44th, and 5.5th rci^imcnts. OU THE DOUHUTSKIRE K£OIMUNT OF FOOT. 41 ninth, Forty-tliird, Fifty-iiixth (three companies), uml 1794; Sixty-fifth rcgimentB. Their loss in the different actions between the 27th of September and the 6th of October amounted to two officers killed and five wounded ; twenty-five non-commissioned officers and privates killed, and fifty-one wounded. The whole island of Guadaloupe, with the exception of Fort Matilda, had been recaptured by the French under General Victor Hughes : this fort was defended by the troops under Lieut.-General Prescott until the 10th of December, when it was evacuated by the British. During this campaign the Thirty-ninth regiment lost several officers, who died of fever or other disorders, amongst whom was Lieut.-Colonel Stephen Freinantle. Captain George Bell and some few officers escaped with the colours of the regiment, and arrived in open boats at the Islands of the Saints; in the beginning of the forthcoming year, they proceeded to Ireland. The regiment, having speedily recruited its ranks by 17 95. large drafts from the One hundred and fourth and other . corps, was again destined to proceed to the West Indies, and it embarked for Baxbadoes towards the end of the year 1795. Great Britain now began to sec her former allies con- 1796, verted into enemies; and Holland, having become united to France in the early part of the previous year, was styled the Batavian Kepublic. In April 1796, a secret service having been ordered by Lieut.-General Sir Ralph Abercromby, then Commander-in-chief in the West Indies, the Thirty-ninth, and the late Ninety- third and Ninety-ninth regiments, with a detachment of the Royal Artillery, were embarked at Barbadoes on this expedition, which proved to be against the Dutch colonies of Demeraray Essequibo, and Berbice. The troops were under the orders of Major-General John. Whyte, and the Thiuty-ninth regiment was com- manded by Lieut. -Colonel Thomas Hislo]). The force , u 42 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE THIRTY-NINTH, 1796. sailed for its destination on the 15th of April, and arrived on the coast of Demerara on the 2l8t of that month : on the following day the Governor and Council were summoned to surrender the colony to His Bri- tannic Majesty, and the capitulation was signed on the 23rd of April. The British troops accordingly occupied the fort and colony, and Lieut.-CoIonel Hislop was left as Commandant of Demerara and Essequibo ; but Major-General Whyte proceeded to take possession of the neighbouring colony of Berbice, which accepted the terms offered to Demerara.* The Thirty-ninth remained at Demerara, upon the capitulation of that colony, and, in September, it received six hundred and ninety-one men, from the Ninety-third and Ninety-ninth having bjen directed to be drafted into the regiment. This raiseu the regiment to fifty-two Serjeants, twenty-two drummers, and one thousand and ninety-three rank and file. 1797 During the years 1797, 1798, and 1799, the Thirty- to NINTH regiment continued to be stationed at Demerara. 1799. On the 1st of November 1799, the regiment had been reducei! by deaths to twenty-five Serjeants, ten drummers, and four hundred and sixty-eight rank and file. 1800. In October 1800 the regiment proceeded from Deme- rara to Surinam. 1801. The regiment remained at Surinam during the year 1801. 1802. On the 27th of March 1802, a definitive treaty of peace was signed at Amiens between the French Re- public, Spain, and the Batavian Republic, on the one * \ * In 1781 the colonies on tlie rivers Essequibo and Demerara were placed under the protection of Great Britain, but the French took tam- porarj possession of the Dutch settlements in 1783, which in April 1796 surrendered to the British, as above narrated. By the Treaty of Amiens, in 1802, these settlemeutt were restored to the Dutch, but, upon the renewal of the war in the following year, were again taken J)y the British, since \\\i\x\\ period ihej have continued under tlie sway of Great Britain. OR THE DORSETSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 43 part, and Great Britain on the other. The principal 1802. features of the treaty were, that Great Britain reatored all her conquests during the war, excepting Trinidad and Ceylon, which were ceded to her, the former by Spain, and the latter by the Batavian Bepublic. Por- tugal was maintained in its integrity, excepting that some of its possessions in Guiana were ceded to France. The territories of the Ottoman Porte were likewise maintained in their integrity. The Ionian Bepublio was recognised, and Malta was to be restored to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. The French agreed to evacuate the Neapolitan and Roman States, and Great Britain all the ports that she held in the Adriatic and the Mediterranean. Surinam was evacuated in December 1802, and the Thirty-ninth regiment embarked for Barbadoes, and proceeded thence to Antigua. In the beginning of March 1803, the Thirty-ninth 1803. embarked for England ; and the regiment, consisting of thirty-three Serjeants, nineteen drummers, and three hundred and fifteen rank and file, under the command of Lieut. -Colonel George Bell, arrived at Spithead on board the " Thalia " transport, on the 22nd of April. During its service on the different stations in South America, upwards of two thousand men had fallen victims to the climate. The Peace of Amiens was of short duration, and on the 18th of May 1803 war was declared against France. Preparations were accordingly made by the British Government to meet the emergency, and the " Army of " Reserve Act " was passed in July following, for raising men for home service by ballot, by which a second battalion was added to the Thirty-ninth regiment.* The second battalion was placed on the establishment * A List of the Regiments which received men raised under the Arnw of Reserve, And Additional Force Acts, m the j'ctu'S 1803 und 1804, h inserted in the Appendix, pp. 125 k) 128. 44 HISTOBICAL BECORD OF THE THIRTY-NINTH, Ink 1803. from the 9th of July 1803, and was composed of men raised in Cheshire, Shropshire, "Warwickshire, and Wor- cestershire. The chief part of the men immediately afterwards volunteered for general service, whereby the first battalion of the regiment became available for foreign service. At this period, Napoleon Bonaparte, the Chief Consul of France, was making preparations for the invasion of England, for which purpose he collected an immense flotilla at Boulogne. The threat of invasion aroused the patriotism of the British people, and the most strenuous measures were adopted to defeat this design ; volunteer and yeomanry corps were formed in every part of the kingdom, and all parties united in one grand effort fur the preservation of their native land. 1804. I"^ May 1804 .Napoleon was invested with the dig- nity of Emperor of the French, and on the 26th of May of the following year he was crowned at Milan as King of Italy. sndBatt, Further measures of defence were adopted by Great Britain, and the " Additional Force Jet " was passed on the 29th of June 1804.* Under the provisions of this act, the second battalion was augmented with men raised in the county of Shropshire, and its establishm^.t was subsequently fixed at the same strength as the first battalion, namely, forty-four Serjeants, twenty-two drummers, and eight hundred rank and file. The second battalion, which, since its formation, had been quartered at Battle, in Sussex, embarked at Plymouth on the 27th of November 1804 for Guernsey, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel George Wibon. In the year 1804, during the threatened invasion, the first battalion was stationed on the coast of Sussex. The first battalion, under the command of Lieut- Colonel the Honorable Robert William O'CaHaghan, which was selected to proceed with the expedition under Ut Batt. ♦ See Appendix, pp. 125 to 128. OR THE DORSETSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 45 Lieut.-General Sir James Craig to the Mediterranean, 1805. embarked at Portsmouth on the 26th of March 1805, '"^'" and arrived at Malta on the 22nd of July following, where it formed part of the garrison. In the autumn of 1805, Napoleon led his army into Germany to crush the confederacy forming against his interests. From the commencement of the war with England, Naples was occupied by French troops ; but at this period a treaty of neutrality was concluded between France and Naples, the French troops were withdrawn, and the King of Naples was bound not to admit the fleets or armies of any power engaged in hostilities with France into his ports or territories. While the war in Germany was undecided, the flank companies of the first battalion of the Thirty-ninth regiment were, in November 1805, detached io Naples, and landed at that city on the 22nd of that month. A Russian arma- ment also arrived at Naples. The Emperor Napoleon being triumphant in Ger- many, seized the moment of victory to denounce ven- geance against the King of Naples for permitting a British and Russian armament to enter his ports aiid land on his shores; and on the morning after signing the Treaty of Presburg, Na[)oleon issued a proclamation declaring that "the Neapolita'> dynasty had ceased to "reign." This was followed by v .e march of a numerous French army, under Joseph Bonaparte, to take posses- sion of Naples : the Russians withdrew ; and the British, under Lieut. -General S?'^ .Tames Craig, were too few in numbers to think of defending that kingdom against the numerous forces sent to that devoted country. The flank companies of the first battalion embarked 1806. from Naples in January 1806, and proceeded to Sicily, to which iiiland the King and Queen of Naples had re- sorted, and which was preserved in their interest by the Br'tish. The Neapolitans abandoned their royal family to its fiite, and submitted to the dictates of Napoleon, who issued a decree conferring the crown of Naples on Ist Batt. 46 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE THIRTY-NINTH, 1 806. his brother Joseph. The city of Naples was illuminated, lit Batt. ^^j ^jjg nobles were eager to show their attachment to their new sovereign. Insurrections occurred in several places ; but the French arms were successful, and th^ provinces became tranquil. The flank companies returned to Malta in February 1806.* and Batt. The second battalion remained at Guernsey until the 26th of February 1806, when it proceeded to Ireland, and arrived at Cork on the 15th of March. Having '^n a short time stationed in the county of Cork, it proceeded to Dublin, and, after performing garrison duty for some months, received orders to transfer all its limited service men to a garrison battalion, and all its disposable men to the ^rst battalion at Malta. 1807. Being thus reduced to a skeleton, the officers and non-commissioned officers proceeded to England in January 1807, for the purpose of recruiting the ranks of the second battalion, and arrived at Liverpool on the 30th of that month. Having distributed recruiting parties to various stations, the head-quarters n arched to Edmonton and Enfield, near London. On the 29th of October 1807, His Majesty King George III. was pleased to direct that the county title of the Thirty-ninth regiment should be changed from East Middlesex to Dorsetshire. The flank companies of the first battalion proceeded from Malta to Sicily in May 1808. sndBat. "j-^g rccruiting continued from the militia and in the ordinary mode with such success that the second bat- talion was soon increased to five hundred strong ; and after being some time sta^^^ioned a t Berry-Head, em- barked from thence for Guernsey, where it arrived on the 24th of May 1808. Subsequently, a. general 1808 l8t Batt * Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Robert WJfiiam O'Callaghan, of the Thirty-ninth regiment, remained in Sicily, and was present, in command of a grenadier battalion, at the battle of Maida on toe 4th of July 1 806, foi' which victory he received a gold medal. OR THE DORSETSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 47 volunteering from the militia took place, when the 1808. battalion was augmented to about seven hundred rank and file, and being organised in the course of a short period, Lieut.-General Sir John Doyle, Bart., then Lieut-Governor of Guernsey, was so pleased with the general appearance of the corps as to express his entire satisfaction with it, and to report the battalion fit for immediate foreign service. In June 1809, Lieut.-General Sir Johr Stuart, com- 1809. manding in chief in the Mediterranean, resolved to menace the capital and kingdom of Naples, as a diver- sion in favour of the Austrians, who were contending against numerous difficulties in their war with France. The flank companies of the first battalion were employed on this service ; and after menacing a considerable ex- tent of coast, which produced much alarm, the romantic and fruitful island of Ischia, celebrated for the beauty of its scenery, and situated in the Bay of Naples, about six miles from the coast, was attacked. A landing was effected in the face of a formidable line of batteries, fiom which the enemy was speedily driver The siege of the castle was undertaken, and in a few days the garrison was forced to surrender. The island oi Procida surrendered on being summoned. Two valuable islands were thus rescued from the power of the Grand Duke of Berg, General Murat, upon whom the Empei r Napoleon had, in the preceding year, conferred the sovereignty of Naples, in cuccession to Joseph Bona- parte, who had been nominated by his brother to be King of Spain ; and one thousand five hundred regular troops, with one hundred pieces of ordnance, were cap- tured. An attempt was, at this period^ made to re- duce the castle oi Scylla; but the large force which the enemy possessed in Calabria, rendered this imprac- ticable. The assumption of the sovereignty of Spain by Joseph sndBatt Bonaparte, although the strongest places and most com- manding positions in the Peninsula were occupied by /MTT lit ill i :Mt i IP 48 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE THIRTY-NINTH, 1B09. French troops, had excited the indignation of the »»a Batt. gpjj^jgjj people, who solicited, and readily obtained, the aid of Great Britain; and the latter power had, in April 1809, sent Lieut.-General Sir Arthur Wellesley with reinforcements to Portugal, to save that country from invasion, and also to assist the Spaniards in tl«elr struggle for independence. The second battalion was selected to pro '^ri^l ' join the army in the Peninsula under the cv».. .4id of Lieut-General the Honorable Sir Arthur Wellesley : it embarked on the 22nd of June 1809 for the Tagus, and arrived at Lisbon on the 2nd of July. The bat- talion shortly afterwards proceeJefl with a division, con- sisting of reinforcements, under the command of Bri- gadier-General Catlin Crawfurd, who endeavoured, by a forced march, to arrive in time for the battle of Tala- vera, which was fought on the 27th and 28th of July, and for which victory Lieut. General the Honorable Sir Arthur Wellesley was raised to the peerage by the title of Viscount Wellington. When the second bat- talion arrived at Sarza la Mayor, a despatch was re- ceived from Sir Arthur Wellesley, ordering the brigade and detachments to halt and bivouac at Niza until his arrival with the head-quarters at Badajoz, after which the battalion was stationed at the village of Torre Mayor: here it suffered severely from sickness, which at that season of the year is prevalent in Estremadura, and particularly on the banks of the Guadiana. On the 3rd of September the head-quarters arrived at Ba- dajoz, and the army was distributed about Elvas, Campo Mayor, and other places adjacent; but when Viscount Wellington broke up from the Guadiana In the month of December, and crossed the Tagus, he left Major-General Kowland Hill (afterwards Viscount Hill), with a force of 10,000 men, British and Portuguese, at Abrantes : among the former was the second battalion of the Thirty-ninth regiment. 1810 andBait^ I"^ the summer of 1810, Joachlni Murat, King of OR THE D0RSET8IIIRU UKOIMRNT OF FOOT. 49 Naples, assembled upwards of a hundreii lieuvy gun- 1810. boats, a muubcr of othori more lightly armed, and '" """" about four hundred transport boats, and brought thirty thousand troops to the eoant of Calabria for the purpose of invading Sicily. The battalion companies, under the command of Brevet-Lieut.-Colonel Cavendish Sturt, accordingly proceeded from Malta, in June 1810, to Sicily, where they were employed in the defence of the island against the threatened invnetion* The second battalion accompanied the force under 2nd Ratt. Major-General Rowland Hill in all its movements in Portugal and on the frontiers of Spain, and in August 1810 was one of the oorpn of the second division, when it formed, by forced raarchea, the memorable junction with Viscount Wellington on the heights of Busaco. Lieut.- Colonel George Wilson being appointed to the charge of a brigade. Major Patrick Lindcsay, afterwards Major- General Sir Patrick Lindcifty*, commanded the bat- talion, which formed part of the right of the army in the battle at Bu8aco, on the 27 th of September, but the battalion was not engaged in the action. When General Regnier attacked the position held by the third and fifth divisions, Major-Gcnoral Hill withdrew towards his left to support them : it was unnecessary, however, these divisions having repulsed the enemy, and he therefore continued in \m original position. After the battle of Busaco, the second battalion ac- companied the army in its retrograde movement to the Lines of Torres Vedras, where it remained until orders were given to advance in pursuit of the French troops towards Santarem, when it crossed the Tagus with the corps under Major-General Hill, and occupied can- tonments at Almeirera, immediately opposite the head- quarters of the enemy. * A Memoir of Major-Geneiiil Sir Pfttrlck Lindway, C.B. and K.C.H., i? inserted in the Appendix, page 131. %r 1 III HI 1811. and Batt. 50 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE TKIRTY-NINTII, In consequence of the French ormy retreating from Portugal into Spain, the second battalion of the Thirty- NiNTii regiment accompanied the second division in its movements towards the frontiers, and was present at the expulsion of the enemy from the fortress of Campo Mayor on the 25th of March 1811; subsequently the battalion crossed the Guadiana at Jerumenha, and was present with the second division in a variety of skir- mishes at Los Santos and Zafra, as well as at the investmen., .'f Badajoz on the 2nd of May, where the battalion was actively employed in making approaches and constructing batteries against that fortress until the 14th of May, when it marched with the corps under Marshal Sir William Carr (now Viscount) Bcresford to Albuhera, where the battalion arrived on the evening of the 15th of that month, and was attacked on the following day by the French army under Marshal 3oult. In the battle of Albuhera^ fought on the 16th of May, the second battalion of the Thirty-ninth re- giment, although only four hundred strong, bore a distinguished part. The brigade to which it belonged, having been brought up at a critical moment, mate- rially assisted in deciding the fate of the day, pre- venting by its fire the deployment of a heavy column of the enemy's reserve^ which was ultimately obliged to give way with considerable loss, and retreated in con- fusion across the river Albuhera. On this occasi n the second battalloL. had Lieutenant George Beard and fourteen rank and file killed ; Captain James Brine, Lieutenants John William Pollard, Francis H. Hart, Ensign Charles Cox, four Serjeants, and seventy-three rank and file wounded. For this action Major latrick Lindesay, being in command of the battalion, obtained the brevet rank of Lieut.-Colonel, and was presented with a medal. Captain Charles Carthew, who commanded the light company. OR THE BORSETSITIRF, RF.OTMENT OF FOOT. 51 wns publicly thankc ( ^y Major-Gcneral the Honor- 1811. able William Stewart, commanding the division, for tlie ^" gallant conduct of himself, the officers, and company, in their skirmishing with the enemy. The loyal authority \ as afterwards given for the Thirty-juvth to bear the word " Albuiiera" on the regimental colour and appointments, to comme- morate the distinguished conduct of the second battalion on that occasion. The French army having retreated on the road to Seville, the battalion m_''. cd forward with the corps, and on the march made many prisoners, the hospitals and wounded havinnr, in many instances, fallen into the hands of the British. The enemy having been com- pletely driven over th-- Sierra Morena, the battalion retired with the division, and was cantoned on the frontiers until the 22nd of October, when it marched with the troops under Lieut.- General Rowland Hill, and on the 28th of that month arrived close to the village of Arroyo dos Molinos, where a division of the French army was suriVxlsod, and about fourteen hundred prisoners, with all its artillery and baggage, were taken. Several officers of rank and consideration, including General Brun and Colonel the Prince d'Aremberg, were amongst the prisoners. The light companies of the brigade, acting in battail. n, were under the command of Major Roger Parke of the Thirty-ninth regi- ment. General Girard, who commanded the French divi- sion, escaped, with about five hundred men, by ascend- ing the Sierra de Montai^ohes, when the second battalion , of the Thirty-ninth v;as ordered to pursue them \^ but the French throwing away their knapsacks, and in many instances their appointments, they marched with such rapidity, that t'.e battalion could only come up with the rear-guard, v.Mch occasionally occupied most favorable positions to cover their retreat, After. i> 2 52 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE THIRTY-NINTH, t.1 1811. Bome skirmishing the French descended into the plain . andBatt. ^jjg battalion being excessively fatigued by a continue i an( harassing march, from two o'clock in the morning until six in the evening, Brevet-Lic' . Colonel Patrick Lindesay, then in command, findi-<,.; further pursuit unavailing, tried the success of a " ruse de guerrcy^ by riding up to the enemy with a flag of truce, and pro- posing to General Girard to surrender, as no doubt he would be intercepted by the British cavalry on the plain, and that a Spanish corps under General Morillo was at hand. A captain and twenty men left the column, and surrendered to the battalion, then rapidly advancing in pursuit. The French general, mortified by the surprise and loss of his division, declared he would rather die than surrender. Unfortunately only one troop of cavalry arrived, and Morillo's force was unable to come up, so that General Girard, and the remainder of bis division, escaped by the bridge of Medellin. In this affair the second battalion had Captain Har- (Iress Saunderson, one seijeant, and nine rank and file vvmnded. On the following morning the second battalion re- joined the division at Arroyo dos Molinos, and returned lit Batt. to Albuquerque. Meanwhile the first battalion, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Robert William O'Callaghan, had embarked from Sicily on the 20th of August 1811, to join the army in the Peninsula, and arrived at Lisbon in October following. The battalion moved towards the frontiers of Portugal, and on its arrival at Crato was joined by the second battalion on the 24th of December 1811, commanded by Brevet- Lieut.-Colonel Patrick Lindesay. ^ sndBatt. Ok the 25th of December 1811, the second battalion transferred all its effective men to the first battalion, after which the skeleton marched to Lisbon, where it Ott THE DORSETSHIRE UEOIMUNT OF FOOT. 53 In March Badajo and the first battall under Lieut.-Genoia ful siege of this impoi , eiubarked for England on the 27th of January fol-1811. lowing. »"'""'"■ The first battalion, thus completed to twelve hundred '»' »•«• rank and file, proceeded on the 26th of December to join the second division of the army under Lieut.-General Rowland Hill. The portion of the second battalion, which had pro- 1812. ceeded to England, disembarked at Weymouth on the'"'*^'"* 2nd of March 1812. invested for the third time, ut Bait. ' "art of the covering army id Hill* at the success- J38, which was taken by the British on the night ol the 6th of April. The battalion afterwards continued with the division in all its various movements from the frontiers of Portugal to the Spanish capital. The victory gained at Salamanca on the 22nd of July by the army under the immediate command of the Earl of Wellington, for which he was raised to the title of Marquis, was followed by the sur- render of Madrid to the allies, who entered that city on the 12th of August, and were joyfully received by the inhabitants. The situation of the British commander at Madrid was critical ; and it being deemed impracti- cable to remain there, the Marquis of Wellington on the 1st of September departed from that city, and ad- vanced to Burgos ; but the siege of the castle at that place was not successful, and a retrograde movement was made in order to unite with the troops under Lieut.* General Sir Rowland Hill, information having been received that Marshal Soult and King Joseph, with their combined forces, were advancing from Valencia, and that their advanced guard was in the neighbour- hood of Ocanna, and moving on Madrid. Lieut.- * Lieut. -General Rowland Hill was nominated a Knight of the Bath on the 22ad ol February 1812. D 3 <^, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) V >* ^'^ <^\^^ ^ 41^ 1.0 I.I 11.25 I^IM 125 m *J 13.6 Mb ^ ^ 1^'^ u ^1^ 6" ^ .^ "1 Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STRIIT WnSTIR.N.Y. 14510 (716) •72-4503 54 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE THIRTY-NINTH, 1812. General Hill, at the approach of Marshal Soult, aban- in Batt. jone^j that city, and retired slowly towards Salamanca. On the retreat from Madrid to the Tormes, the first battalion formed part of the rear-guard of the army ; here the battalion rejoined the second division, and continued the march by Salamanca until its arrival at Coria on the 1st of December 1812, where it remained for the winter. ziidBatt. The second battalion, upon its arrival in England in February 1812, was stationed at Weymouth until October following, when it proceeded to Exeter, but returned to Weymouth in December. 1813. Shortly after the arrival of the first battalion at ht ijatt. Coria, tho Thirty-ninth sustained the loss of a most gallant and distinguished officer in Colonel George Wilson, who died on the 6th of January 1813. This officer had served in the regiment upwards of twenty- nine years, and Wiis at the period of his decease aide- de- camp to His Majesty King George III., lieut.-colonel of the second battalion, colonel on the staff of the army, and commanding the brigade to which the first bat- talion was attached.* On the 15th of May the first battalion, still belonging to the second division, moved forward without '^inter- ruption until its arrival at Vittoria on the 21st of June: it bore a considerable share in the battle on that day, in taking, defending, and maintaining the village of Subijana de Alava, a post in front of the left of the «French line, which they considered of such importance as to induce them to make several vigorous attacks to repossess themselves of it, but which proved unavailing. In this glorious action the battalion lost, in killed and wounded, above one-third of its number. Captains Charles Carthew, Robert Walton, and William Hicks, * A memoir of the hcr vices of Colonel Geoigc Wilson ib inbcilcd in the Appendix, page 119. It I OB TUB D0B8ETSUIUB BEOIMENT OF FOOT. 55 were wounded. Captain Hioks died of his wounds on 1813. the 3rd of July; Lieutenant the Honorable Michael"* ^"• De Courcy Meade died of his wounds on the 9th of July. Lieutenants Francis C. Crotty, Coyne Rey- nolds, Thomas Baynos, and Alexander G. Speirs, were wounded. Two Serjeants and thirty-two rank and file were killed ; six Serjeants and one hundred and ninety-four rank and file were wounded. The French, being driven from all their defences, retreated with such precipitation towards Pampeluna as to abandon all their baggage, artillery, ammunition, military chests, and the court equipage of King Joseph, whose carriage being seized, he had barely time to escape on horseback. The defeat was the most complete that the French had experienced in Spain. The baton of* Marshal Jourdan was taken by the Eighty-seventh regiment, and the Prince Eegent, in the name and behalf of His Majesty, appointed the Marquis of Wellington a Field-Marshal. In a most flattering letter, the Prince Regent thus conferred the honor : — " You have sent me among the trophies of "your unrivalled fame, the staff of a French Marshal, " and I send you in return that of England." To commemorate this victory the Thibtt-ninth sub- sequently received the royal authority to bear the word » Yijjobia" on the regimental colour and appoint- ments. A medal was granted to Colonel the Honor- able Robert Williom 0'Cal!ttghan, of the Thibty- NiNTH regiment, in temporary command of the brigade, who was specially noticed in the Marquis of Welling- ton's despatch, "as having maintained the village of " Subijana de Alava against all the efforts of the enemy "to gain possession of it;" and also to Brevet-Lieut.- Colonel Charles Bruce, in immediate command of the first battalion. From Vittoriu the first battalion moved forward 1)4 56 HISTOUICAL RECORD OF THE THIRTY-NINTH, ;s|. ')Vm 1813. with the army on the evening g? the same day towards lit Batt. ^i^g Pyrenees. Some affairs of little importance occurred, and on the 7th of July the French occupied a position across the valley of Bastan; the second battalion of the Thirty-fourth and the first battalion of the Thirty- ninth regiments were moved through the mountains to tarn ttieir right; towards evening they fell in with a piquet of the enemy near the extremity of the valley, which was driven in, and found to be supported by a great portion of the French army, which kept up a heavy fire until night. From a thick fog, and the nature of the ground, the enemy did not perceive the comparatively small force opposed to him, nor did the battalion suffer much for the same reason. On the morning of the 8th the enemy retired within the French territory. Four days afterwards Marshal Soult, who had been sent to the seat of war by Napoleon, with the rank of "Lieutenant of the Emperor," as- sumed the command of the army of Spain, when all his energies were directed to retrieve its disasters, and to drive the Bvitish across the Ebro. Nothing particular occurred until the 25th of July, when Count D'Erlon attacked the pass of Maya with an overwhelming force, '^his pass was occupied by the piquets of the brigad whose support the bat- talion, with the brigade, moved forward ; but on their arrival found the pass in possession of the enemy: this circumstance, and his great superiority of numbers, obliged the tn^ops to retire, which they did in good order, but with great loss. In the subsequent action near Pampeluna the bat- talion occupied some strong ground on the left of the British line, and was but little engaged. It again moved forward on the retreat of the enemy, and on the 31st of July, two attempts having failed to carry the heights of Donna Marian the Thirty-ninth, being selected for a third, happily succeeded. The OR THE DOBSETSUIRB BEGIM£NT OF FOOT. 57 enemy after this made no further stand, but retreated 1813. beyond the Pyrenees. "* *^'' In the operations of the army from the 25th to the 31st of July, the loss of the Thibtt-nimth was as follows: — Lieutenants John Lord, and Trevor Williams, killed in action on the 25th of July. Lieutenant Connell Scanlan was wounded and taken prisoner, and died of hi& wounds. Captain Joseph A. Jones, Lieutenants Francis H. Hart, Charles Cox, and Furefoy Foe, Ensigns William Allan Courtenay and Robert Rhodes were wounded on the 25th of July. Lieutenant William Johnston Hughes was taken prisoner. Six seijeants and twenty-three rank and file were killed; five Serjeants and one hundred and four rank and file were wounded; two Serjeants, one drummer, and nineteen rank and file were missing. For the several actions in the Pyrenees from the 25th to the 31st of July, His Royal Highness the Frince Regent, in the name and behalf of His Majesty, was graciously pleased to grant medals to Colonel the Honorable Robert William O'Callaghan, commanding the brigade, Brevet-Lieut.-Colonel Charles Bruce, commanding the battalion; and to Captfun Duncan Campbell, of the Thibty-ninth, in command of the light companies of the brigade. The Thibty-ninth also received the royal authority to bear the word "Fybenees" on the regimental colour and appointments, to commemorate the services of the first battalion in these actions. The enemy having been driven over the Fyrenees, the British remained in possession of the several passes, the Thibty-ninth occupying those of Maya, Ronces- valles, and Alduides, alternately, until the 9th of November, when the battalion entered France by the pass of Maya without opposition, except driving in the enemy's advance-pouts, until itis ai'rival at the river 58 HISTORICAL BEOOBD OF THE TUIBTY-NINTII, fti! 1!.! m 'i. 1813. Nivelle, the passage of which WM contested by the 'French army. The battalion, howevofi succeeded in crossing with trifling loss on the 1 0th of November, and the enemy was afterwards driven from all his strong and fortified positions on tbo heights of Sarre, where the Thirty-ninth remained for the night. In commemoration of this service the THlftTT-NXNTH subsequently received the royal authority to bear the word "Nivelle" on the regimental colour and ap- pointments. Captain George D'Arcy, of the Thirty-ninth, was promoted to the brevet rank of Migor on the 22nd of November 1813, The battalion subsequently moved forward to the Nivcy the left bank of which it occupied until the 9th of December, when the army crossed that river, — the Thirty-ninth by a ford at Larosior, under great difficulties, as well from the depth of the river as the opposition made by the enemy. The passage having been effected, the enemy retired to the heights of St. Pierre, near Bayonne. In crossing the Nive the battalion had one man killed, and twelve rank and file wounded. On the morning of the 10th of December the divi- sion took possession of the high ground in the neigh- bourhood of BayonnCi the THIRTY* NINTH occupying Ville Franche on the left of the line, and on the right bank of the Nive. Early on the morning of the 13th of December, Marshal Soult made a most desperate attack on the second division with all his force; but the battalion being on the extreme left of the position was not materially engaged, having only one Ser- jeant kiUed, and Ensign John Durns and thirteen rank. and file wounded. The enemy, being defeated in his attack, retired to Bayonne that night ; the divi- sion still retained its position and continued therein OR TH£ DOBSETSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 59 until the 13th of February, the Thirty-nikth oo- 1813. cupying the village of Petite Moguerre. '•* °'^'' For the services connected with the passage of the river Nive, the Thirtt-ninth subsequently received the royal authority to bear the word "Nive" on the regimental colour and appointments. Medals were also granted to Colonel the Honorable Robert William O'Callaghan, commanding the battalion, and to Brevet- Lieut.-Colonel Charles Bruce, commanding the light companies of the brigade. During the year 1813 the second battalion continued 2ndBatt. to be stationed at Weymouth ; and having completed its ranks from the militia, and by means of recruiting parties, it sent several large drafts to the first battalion in the Peninsula. On the 13th of February 1814, the division moved 1814. forward, and on the evening of the 15th of that month •''*°'*"- fell in with the enemy posted on some strong heights near the town of Garris ; after halting a few minutes to observe him, an order was received from the Marquis of Wellington " to take the hill before dark" when the first battalions of the Twenty-eighth and Thirty-ninth regiments, composing Major-General William Henry Pringle's brigade, were instantly put in motion, and after crossing a deep ravine, steadily and briskly as- cended the hill in contiguous close columns. The Twenty-eighth meeting with some little delay in the ascent, Major-General Pringle left them, and put him- self at the head of the Thirty-ninth, who gained the summit under the continued fire of the enemy without returning a single shot. The French retired from the brow of the hill, and the battalion, wheeling to the right, continued to drive them along the ridge until it reached a si>ot where their principal force appeared to be con- centrated : here they made an obstinate resistance. The other brigades of the division not being so soon in mo- l? I-I(( 60 HISTOBIOAL B£COBD OF THE THIRTT-NIMTH, 1H14. tion, and having a greater distance to proceed to their i.t Hatu pQ|j,(g Qf attack, did not gain the heights for some time, and the Twenty-eighth having proceeded in a different direction, the Thibtt-ninth had to sustain, in this place, the whole efforts of the enemy for about twenty minutes. During this time the French made three at» tempts to drive the battalion from the position it had gained, and repeated instances occurred of personal con- flict, and bayonets crossing: the battalion, however, maintained its ground, and charging in its turn, the enemy was eventually forced to retire in confusion with the loss of several prisoners. On the following morning Lieut.-General the Ho- norable Sir William Stewart, K. B., who com- manded the division, assembled the officers in front of the battalion, and expressed to them his high satis- faction at the gallant conduct of the corps on the preceding evening ; and at the same time offered to re- commend to the notice of the Marquis of Wellington any officer or non-commissioned officer that Colonel the Honorable Robert William O'Callaghan might point out : upon which Captain Duncan Campbell was recom- mended for the brevet rank of Major, which he obtained on the 3rd of the following month. The battalion had also the proud satisfaction of being mentioned by the Marquis of Wellington, who was an eye-witness of its conduct, as having particularly dis- tinguished itself on this occasion. In his Lordship's de- spatch of the 20th of February, it was stated, « Much "of the day had elapsed before the attack could be " commenced, and the action lasted till after dark, the " enemy having made repeated attempts to regain the ** position, particularly in tico attacks^ which were most "gallantly received and repulsed by the Thirty-niNTH ** regiment under the command of the Honorable Colonel " O'Callaghany in Major General Pringle's brigade. '* The Major-General and Lieut.-Colonel Bruce, of the OR THIS POnSETSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 61 ** TniRTY-NlMTli, were unfortunately woun^'ed. " took ten officeri and about two hundred prisoners.** In addition to Brovot-Lieut.-Colonel Charles Bruce, who woi loverely wounded, the battalion had two Serjeants and eleven rank and file killed ; one serjeant and twenty-eight rank and file were wounded. The battalion moved forward without interruption until its arrival in the neighbourhood of Orthes on the 25th, and woi present at the battle there of the 27th of February; but the division being employed in turning the enemy's left, the Thirty-ninth did not suffer any loss. Brevet-Major Qoorge D'Arcy, who commanded the battalion on that day, was presented with a medal for the battle of Orthes. The royal authority was subsequently granted for the Thirty- VIMTH to bear the word^'OsTHEs" on the regimental colour and appointments. The battalion moved forward on the road to Toulouse, and on the 18 th of March fell in with the rear-guard of the enemy, near the village of Castilhn, which was driven in. On this occasion Lieutenant Charles Cox was wounded. The Thirty-ninth having arrived in the neighbour- hood of Toulouse, nothing particular occurred until the battle of Toulouie on the 10th of April, when the ope- rations of the division being ctnfined to the left bank of the Qaronne, the battalion was cik occupied in driving in the enemy's outposts, and takii g some field-works which had been thrown up to defend the entrance to the town. In accomplishing this. Captain Samuel Thorpe, one Serjeant, and a few men were wounded. During the night of the 11th of April the French troops evacuated Toulouse, and a white flag was hoisted. On the following day the Marquis of Wellington entered the city amidst the acclamations of the inhabitants. In the course of the afternoon of the 12th of April intelli- gence was received of the abdication of Kapoleon ; and We 1814. 62 HISTORICAL RECORD OP THE TIIIRTY-NINTlf, 11 i 1814. 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 occasioned much unnecessary bloodshed at Bayonnct the garrison of which made a desperate sortie on the 14th of April, when Lieut.-General Sir John Hope (afterwards Earl of Hopetoun) was taken prisoner, Major-General Andrew Hay was killed, and Major-General Stopford was wounded. This was the last action of the Peninsular war. A treaty of peace was established between Great Britain and France ; Louis XVIII. was restored to the throne of France, and Napoleon Bonaparte was per- mitted to reside at Elba, the sovereignty of that island having been conceded to him by the Allied Powers. In addition to the other distinctions acquired during the war in Spain, Portugal, and the south of France, the Thirty- NINTH received the royal authority to bear the word "Peninsula" on the regimental colour and appointments. Shortly after the termination of the war in Europe, the first battalion of the Thirty-ninth was ordered to proceed to North America in consequence of the hos- tilities between Great Britain and the United States. The battalion accordingly marched to Bourdeaux under the command of Brevet-Lieut.-Colonel Charles Bruce, and embarked for Canada on the 8th of June. "While the battalion was on its voyage to North America, the Duke of Wellington, prior to the breaking up of the Peninsular army, issued the following General Order : — "Bourdeaux, lAth 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 array upon the recent OE THE DOBflETSniRE REOIMENT OF FOOT. 63 ((( tt, "events which have restored peace to their country and 1814. "to the world. '•'"'*" "The share which the British army have had in " producing those events, and the high character with " which the army wHl quit this country, must be equally *' satisfactory to every individual belonging to it, as they "are to the Commander of the Forces, and ho trusts "that the troops will continue the same good conduct ^**to the last. " The Commander of the Forces once more requests " the army to accept his thanks. "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 warmest interest in their welfare and " honor, and that he will be at all times happy to be of ' any service to those to whose conduct, discipline, and ' gallantry their country is so much indebted.'* The first battalion of the Thirty-ninth regiment arrived at Quebec on the 5th of August, and marched from thence to Chambly. After the arrival of the reinforcements from Europe, the Governor-General of Canada, Lieut.-General Sir George Prevost, Bart., assembled all the disposable forces in the lower province for an attack upon the state of New York. On the 2nd of September the first bat- talion of the Thirty-ninth, with the other corps em- ployed on this service, proceeded towards the United States to co-operate with the naval force on Lake Channplain. As the troops approached the line of sepa- ration, the Americans abandoned their entrenched camp on the river Chazy, and this post was occupied by the British on the 3rd of September. The first battalion remained at Chazy to keep up the communication, having sent forward the light company to, Plattsburg, a fortified' place on Lake Champlain ; two officers and sixty men of the Thirty-ninth were (14 niSTORICAL RECORD OF TOE THIRTY-NINTn, « ( 1814. dotachcd on board the fleet to act as marines. The lit Bait. Q^Qg]( ^Qg made on the morning of the 1 1th of Septem- ber; but the defeat of the British naval force on the lake rendered it necessary to abandon the enterprise, as the most complete success on shore wotild have proved un- availing after the loss of the shipping. The troops accordingly retired to Lower Canada. 1815. After the failure of these operations the first battalion '" "*"• returned to Chambly, where it remained until the 27th of May 1815, and then proceeded to embark at Quebec under the command of Brevet-Lieut.-Colonel Patrick Lindcsay, its services being again required in Europe in consequence of the return of Napoleon Bonaparte to France, who resumed his former title of Emperor of the French, but which assumption the Allied Powers refused to recognise. The first battalion sailed from the river St. Lawrence on the 12th of June, and arrived at Portsmouth on the 15th of July. Meanwhile the destiny of France had been decided on the field of Waterloo, and Louis XYIIL had been again restored to the throne. The battalion proceeded on the 18th of July for Ostend, disembarked on the 2l8t, and immediately marched to join the British army at Paris. On the 26th of August it was reinforced by a strong detachment from the second battalion under Lieut-Colonel Cavendish Sturt, who assumed the com- mand. Slid Bait. In April 1815 the second battalion was removed from Weymouth to Winchester Barracks, and, after having transferred all the effective men to the first battalion, was disbanded at the latter place on the 24th of Decem- ber following. The regiment remained near Paris until the Army of Occupation was formed, and on the 27th of December 1815 marched to take up the cantonments appointed for it in the Pos-de-Calais, between the towns of Arras and St. Pol, moving annually to the camps of St. Omer and OR THE DORSETSniRE RRQIMENT OF FOOT. 65 1819. 1820. 1821. Valonoiennen until the breaking up of the Army of 1815. Occupation in 1818. On the 30th of October 1818, the regiment ombaiked 1818. at Calais, disembarked at Dover on the Slst, and marched to Portsmouth, where it arrived on the 11th of Novem- ber. The Thirty-ninth regiment embarked for Ire- land on the 17th of December following, arrived at Cork on the 24th, and disembarked on the 26th of that month. The regiment proceeded on its route for Castlebar in the county of Mayo, where it arrived on the 7th of January 1819. The Thirtt-ninth marched from Castlebar to Dublin in August 1820, and arrived at its destination on the 17th of that month. In March 1821, the regiment was removed from Dublin to Cork. On the 24th of August 1821, the establishment of the regiment was reduced from ten to eight companies, of three seijeants and seventy-two rank and file each ; and on the 26th of November it marched from Cork to Tralee. In January 1822, some detachments of the regiment 1822. were employed in suppressing a partial insurrection of the Whiteboys. Brevet-Major George D*Arcy was attacked at Millstreet, in the county of Cork, and beat off considerable bodies of the insurgents. Brevet- Major Charles Carthew was also engaged with a large body of them near Bantry, when ouc private of the regiment was killed. The regiment marched, on the Ist of October 1823, 1823. from Tralee to Limerick. Lieut-General Sir George Airey, K.C.H., was appointed colonel of the Thirty-ninth regiment on the 28th of October 1823, in succession to General Nisbett Balfour, deceased. On the 12th of August 1824, Brevet Lieut.-Colonel 1824. Patrick Linde8ay,C. B., was appointed Lieut.-Colonel of £ 66 HTSTOBIOAL RECOBD OF THE THIBTY-NUfTH, f i 'll-^! 1824. the Thirtt-ninth regiment, in consequence of the retirement of Colonel Cavendish Sturt ; Brevet-Major Donald M^Pherson suoceeded to the vacant majority. The regiment marched to Buttevant, iu the county of Cork, in the beginning of October 1824, and in this place was at length brought together, having been con- tinually broken into small detachments during the whole of its service in Ireland, with the exception of a few months while stationed in Dublin. 1825. On the 25th of March 1825, the regiment, in com- mon with the rest of the infantry, received an augmen- tation of two companies, raising its establishment to forty-two Serjeants, fourteen drummers, and seven hun- dred and forty rank and file. These companies were given to the two senior subalterns. Lieutenants Simon Newport and Francis Henry Hart, whose commissions as captains were dated 7th and 8th of April 1825. At this period it was directed that each battalion of infantry in the United Kingdom, as well as those on foreign stations (the East Indies excepted), should consist of six service companies of eighty-six rank and file each, and four depot companies of fifty-six rank and file each, making seven hundred and forty in all. The depots of such regiments as were serving at home, continued united with their respective corps. An order was received on the 10th of July 1825, in- timating that the regimeni was destined to proceed to New South Wales, and ultimately to India. On the 19th of July, it marched to Cork to be embarked for Chatham, from whence it was ordered to proceed to New South Wales, as guards over convicts. The first division left Cork on the 19th, and the head-quarters on the 30th of September. A detachment, consisting of one captain, one subaltern, one Serjeant, and twenty rank and file, embarked in the "Woodman" convict ship on the 4th of November 1825, and proceeded toVanDiemen's Land and Sydney, OB THE DORSETSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 67 The last division of the regiment arrived at Chatham 1826. from Cork, on the 25th of November 1825. Several detachments of the regiment proceeded to 1826. New South Wales during the year 1826. In the latter part of 1826, Captain Joseph Wake* field proceeded to assist in establishing a settlement at King George^s Sound on the southern coast of New Holland ; and in the beginning of the following year, Captain Henry Smyth was despatched to effect a simi- lar purpose on the northern coast, and succeeded in form- ing a settlement named Furt Wellington, in Baffles' Bay. The head-quarters under the command of Colonel 1827. Lindesay, were embarked for New South Wales in the ship "Cambridge" on the 26th of April 1827, and arrived at their destination on the 17th of September following. ' From The 4th of November 1825, to the 5th of May 1827, the whole of the men of the service companies, together with two officers and fifty-nine men drawn from the depot, were embarked for New South Wales. In consequence of the breaking-up of the reserve or 1828 d6p6t companies of the regiment in the beginning of 1828, the officers and men composing those companies proceeded by detachments to the head-quarters in New South Wales, leaving a d^pot company in England, on the 24th of August 1830, of two captains, two lieu- tenants, one ensign, five Serjeants, six corporals, four drummers, and thirteen privates. The first detachment embarked for New South Wales on the 1 st of Febru- ary 1828, and the last sailed on the 30th of August 1830. During the period the regiment was employed in New South Wales, detachments were stationed at Van Diemen's Land, at King George's Sound, and on the northern coast, which were distant six hundred, fifteen hundred, and two thousand mUes from the head-quarters. E 2 f I 68 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE THIRTT-NINTH, 1828. The attention of Lieut-General Balph Darling, governor of the colony, having for some time been drawn to the importance and advantages which wonld result from a greater knowledge of the interior of the country, yielded to the entreaties of Captun Charles Start of the Thirtt-nintH, and permitted him to proceed for the purpose of prosecuting the discoveries already commenced by other travellers. This officer departed from Sydney on his first expedition, on the 6th of November 1828, proceeding in a westerly direction, 1829. and remained absent until the 2nd of April 1829, when •'^ he rejoined the regiment, having perfonred the task al- lotted to him in a manner highly satisfactory to the government ; so much so, that having again most par- ticularly requested permission to proceed once more for the purpose of exploring the country in another direction, his request was readily acceded to by the governor, and he accordingly departed from Sydney on the 3rd of No- vember 1829. Proceeding southerly, he had the good fortune to make the coast at Spencer's Gulf, having PS traced a large and important river through a vast tract of country, until it discharged its waters into the ocean, 1830. o" t^^ point of which he emerged. Captain Sturt rcr turned from this expedition on the 26th of May 1830, and was subsequently detached to Norfolk Island ; but his health having received a severe shock from the fatigue incident to his labours, he received permission to return to England in 1832. Serious disturbances having arisen amongst the convicts in the Bathurst district in August 1830, large detachments of the regiment were ordered to proceed thither, where Major Donald M^Pherson was stationed in command, and Captain Horatio Walpole was directed to pursue a body of those deluded men, who had fled from their employment, and furnishing themselves by pluiider with arms and horses, bade defiance to all la^y and authority. He succeeded in ascertaining the direc- OR THE DORSBTSniRIB ASOIMBNT OF FOOT. 69 ilon which they hftd taken, and following them fori 830. several doys over a large tract of country, finally suc- ceeded in capturing the whole gang without any loss on the part of his detachment. In the month of October of the «ame year, Lieut- General Ralph Darling addressed a letter to Colonel Lindesay, to ascertain if the immediate services of Cap- tain John Douglas Forbes could be dispensed with by the regiment, as it was his wish to place him in com- mand of the mounted police ; to which a reply was sent by Colonel Lindesay, stating his consent to Captain " Forbes being withdrawn from his regimental duties; '*for that, although he could ill be spared, yet he did ** not wbh to deprive the colonial government of the •* services of an officer who, he had every reason to be- ** lieve, would prove both valuable and efficient." The result fully realized his anticipations ; and on the 16th of October, Captain Forbes was by a general order placed in command of this corps ; a body of men drawn in equiil numbers from the regiments in garrison, and mounted by governro 3nt, for the more effectually assisting of the civil power, by dispersing them over the various settled parte of the colony. They had, at the time of Captain Forbes's appointment,norecognized commanding-officer, but were nominally under the superintendence of the Major of Brigade, whose various avocations rarely al- lowed him to examine into their interior economy ; con- sequently, their discipline had become relaxed, and their duties were but too often performed with carelessness. Soon after Captain Forbes assumed the command, a manifest change took place ; the mounted police rapidly became an efficient and highly disciplined body of men, and their utility and zeal in the discharge of their duty were universally acknowledged. New colours wore presented to the Thibty-ninth 1831. by Lieut.-Genoral Ralph Darling, in the Barrack Square of Sydney, on the I6th of May 1831, being the; E 9 «, *( 70 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE THIRTT-NINTH, 1831. anniversary of the battle of Albu/iera, in which engage- ment the second battalion of the regiment had twenty years before distinguished itself. On this occasion the following speech was delivered by the Lieut.-General, the ceremony of consecration having been first performed by the Venerable Archdeacon Broughton: — " Thirty-ninth 1 It is highly gratifying to me to "present you, on the part of your Colonel, with these " coloura, henceforth the proud record of your general " and distinguished services. t^' i "It is unnecessary for me. Thirty-ninth, to em- " blazon your achievements ; your friends will ever " remember, and your enemies can never forget, that *' during the Peninsular War, which in its results was as glorious to the British Arms as it was important to die general interests of Europe, you, led on by your "present gallant Commander, fought at Albuhera, of " which battle this is the twentieth anniversary ; that " you were also engaged with, and defeated, the enemy " at VittoriOf at the Pyrenees, the Nivelle, the Nive, and " at Orthes. You have indeed. Thirty-ninth, nobly " redeemed the pledge which your predecessors in arms " first gave at the battle of Almama *, now one hundred " and twenty-four years ago, which was as admirably " seconded in the glorious field of Plassey, as it was suc- "cessfully followed up at the memorable defence of "Gibraltar! ..>•;.,..;.-, -: i...j. -rr ,„«:-.,'.!... t ..r^ " Soldiers ! It b not necessary to the fame of your " corps, that you should augment the honors which it " has so gallantly acquired ; but I am sure, whenever "your King and country shall require your services, " you will add fresh laurels to the noble wreath which " now so proudly adorns your banners. " Gentlemen I In addressing you more particularly * It will be perceived, on reference to page 3. of the Historical Record, that the tradition of the Thirty-minth regiment having been engaged at Almanza in 1707, is not borne out by facts. 1q,. OB THE DOBBET8HIRE BEOIMENT OF FOOT. %l (t t( tt "to whom this eacred trust, the immediate ohai^e of 1831. *' these colours is especially confided, I need only point out, that they will be the olijects to which the eyee of your corps will be directed. You will protect them with your lives ; and may the Almighty, who alone " can shield you in the day of battle, guide and pre- <* serve you in the faithful discharge of this sacred « duty I " Colonel Lindesay having made a suitable reply to the foregoing address, the ceremony was concluded in the usual manner. The festivity consequent on the presentation of co- lours was damped by the melancholy intelligence of the death of Captain CoUett Barker, who was barbarously murdered on the 30th of April 1831, by the native tribes on the southern coast of New Hollaiid, near the spot at which Captain Sturt had made the coast on his second expedition. Captain Barker had served in the Thirty-ninth regiment for a period of twenty-five years, and was highly esteemed. At the time of his death he was returning from King George's Sound, where he had been for some time commtmdant, but which settlement he had been ordered to deliver over to the government of Western Australia, and had landed for scientific purposes near the spot where he was mur- dered. Captain Barker had also for a considerable period been commandant at the settlement of Fort Wellington, in Baffles' Bay, on the northern coast of New Holland, where his services were highly estimated , by ths Colonial Government. -a :# On the 30th of May 1831, a general order was issued, acqutdnting the regiment that it was destined to proceed to India, upon the arrival of the Fourth foot in New South Wales. Lieut.- General Darling embarked for England on the 22nd of October 1831, leaving the administration of the government of the colony in the hands of Colonel E 4 a f m I:, t Y2 HISTORICAL RKOORD OF THE TRIRTY-MIimi, 1831. Lindesay, who continued to ttot M governor until the arrival of Mi^or-General Biobard Bourkei C. B., on the i2nd of December. During tbii period the command of the regiment devolved upon Mi^or M*Fher«on, who was withdrawn from the Dathunt district for that purpose. 1832. - On the 5th of July 1882, a general order was issued, directing the head-quarters of the regiment to embark for Madras ; upon which occasion an address was una- nimously voted by the civil ofHcers of the colony to Colonel Lmdesay on his departure, as a mark of sincere esteem and respect ; and he, together with the officers of . the THiBTr-NiNTH, received an invitation to a dinner, immediately after which the address, most numerously signed, and highly complimentary to the Colonel and to the regiment, was read by Chief-Justice Forbes. Co- lonel Lindesay, in reply, expressed his thanks for the honor conferred upon him and upon the Thibty- T^iNTB regiment. Six companies of the regiment embarked at Sydney on the 21st of July 1833, in three divisions, and dis- embarked at Madras on the 22nd of September, 10th and 14th of October. The remaining four companies embarked at Sydney on the 3rd of December, and arrived at Madras on the 2Ut of February of the fol- lowing year. The regiment was for a short period stationed at Foonamallee, about thirteen miles from Madras. 1833. After receiving several contradictory orders as to its final destination, the regiment marched on the 22nd of January 1833, for Bangabre in the Mysore territory, where it arrived on the 14th of February. On the following day. Colonel Lindesay assumed the command of the cantonment of Bangalore, end that of the re- giment devolved on Lieut-Colonel M'Pherson. A week afterwards the remainder of the corps, with the exception of forty men left behind, liod disembarked at OB THE DORSETSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 73 Mtidras from New South Wales, under the command of 1833. Major Thomas Poole, and joined the head-quarters on the 15th of April; the strength of the corps had also heen increased by one hundred and fifteen vo- lunteers received from the Forty-uxth regiment. Lieutenant Charles Cox, who had been detached under the command of Captain Wakefield, to take charge of these volunteers, died of cholera while on the route to Hyderabad. Lieut-General the Honorable Sir Robert William O'Callaghan, K»C.B., was removed from the colonelcy of the Ninety-seventh to that of the Thirty-ninth . regiment, on the 4th of March 1833, in consequence of the decease of Lieut-General Sir George Airey, E. C. H. Cholera broke out among the European troops at Bangalore about the 22nd of March 1833 ; and in the course of five weeks the regiment lost Captain Thomas Meyrick, four seijeants, forty-two rank and file, two women, and eleven children. Captain Meyrick had served twenty -two years in the Thirty-ninth, fourteen of whicb~he had been adjutant of the regiment. In consequence of Lieut.-Colonel M°Fherson pro- ceeding to England on the 15th of December 1833, on two years' leave of absence. Major Poole became the commanding officer of the regiment. Early in 1834, the regiment was called upon to take 1834. part in active field operations against the Rajah of Coorg. This prince, a dependent ally of the British, had for some time excited the attention of the govern- ment by a series of cruelties and oppression towards his subjects, and had made open preparations to resist its authority. Confiding in the natural difficulties of his country, he presumed to defy the arm of British power, and encouraged proclaimed rebels to take refUge in his jungles and mountains; he finally reached the climax of misconduct, by the outrageous act of arrest- ing an accredited envoy from the government, who i w ■i 74 UI8T0BICAL BBOOBD OF THE THIRTT-NINTH, 1834. had been sent to endeavour to re-establish amicable relations. A field force, consisting of upwards of seven thousand men, was formed and divided into four columns ; the command of the whole was assigned to Colonel Patrick Lindesay, C. B., who received the temporary rank of Brigadier, and Captun John Douglas Forbes, of the . Thibtt-ninth, was appointed deputy assistant adju- tant-general of the force. The regiment was directed to fumbh four hundred rank and file to form the European force of the Eastern Column ; and on the 17th of March, the following de- tail, under the command of Major Thomas Poole, marched from Bangalore in light service order: — Field Offlr. Captni. Subi. staff. Serjti. Drmi. Rk. & File 1 6 la 1 25 6 400 »' The column rendezvoused at Periapatam, within a few miles of the hostile country, where final arrange- ments were made for the attack. It having been decided that the column should move ya. two points, it was divided into two divisions, and a part of the regiment attached to each. On the 1st of April, the head-quarters, consisting of four com- panies, with the part of the column under the personal direction of the Brigadier, marched for Bedalapoor; and Major Poole was nominated to the command of the Infantry Brigade, while Captain Horatio Walpole succeeded to the charge of that portion of the regiment. Captfun Smyth, .fith the other three companies of the regiment, remuned with the division under Lieut- Colonel Stewart, of the East India Company's service. On the 2nd of April, the Cavery was crossed, and the Coorg country entered by both divisions; the < opposition mode by the enemy was trifling, and the casualties in the regiment were very few. Captain Smyth and one serjeant were wounded. - OR THE D0MBT8HIRS BXOIMBMT OF FOOT. 76 On the folbwing day the troops advanced, and 1834. •uooeeded io oarrying all the barrien and positions opposed to them} one private was wounded at the stockade^ near Harringhairy. The diffiottltiss of the country, both natural and artificial, became excessive, and demanded, as they received, the very utmost exertions of the troops to bring forward the artillery. In one day's march of continued labour, for upwards of fourteen hours, a distance was gained of only five miles. On the evening of the 4th, a flag of truce arrived from the r^ah, proposing that the troops should halt until he could conclude a negotiation, into which he proposed entering. The Brigadier received the flag, and consented to a truce so far as regarded actual hostilities, provided the enemy refrained from them; but he signifiet* his determination to advance until the rajah surrendered himself an unconditional prisoner. No further opposition was experienced, and the in- creasing strength of the stockades and positions, ren- dered it evident that, if adequately defended, they could only have been carried at an enormous sacri- fice. The head-quarter division reached Mercara, the capital, on the 6tb ; and the British ensign displayed on the walls of its fort, speedily announced the addition wluoh the force had made to British powei^. The rajah, who had retreated to a country palace, surrendered his person on the 10th of April, and the war wan considered at an end. The conduct of the regiment had throughout this short campaign met with the unqualified praise and ap- provid of the Brigadier, who concluded one of his de- spatches by saying .* — " It remains, therefore, for me only to bring to the no- " tice of His Excellency the excellent conduct of that part ** of the Eastern Column which has been acting under my " orders. To Major Poole of His Majesty's Thirty- 76 UIBTORIOAL RECORD OF THE THIRTT-WINTH, 1834. " NINTH regiment, whom I placed in immediate command " of the Infantry Brigade, I have been indebted for the ** most zealous and able assistance ; and I do but justice *' in reporting that the officers and soldiers, of every ** rank and degree, have under all circumstances, and in "all respects, merited my most perfect approbation.** The following is an extract from the despatch of Lieut.-Colonel Stewart, commanding the second divi- sion of the Eastern Column : — << The detachment of His Majesty's Thirty-ninth , / " regiment surmounted all difficulties with the charao- " teristio behaviour of British soldiers." On the 1 1th of April, the three companies with Cap- tain Smyth, who had been latterly employed in opening the communications, rejoined, and the regiment remained in camp at Mercara until the 11th of May, when, in consequence of an order for the reduction of the force, it marched for Bangalore, and arrived there on the 28th of May. ' •■^■'" .■--''''-' ,ii:: }:■■ ' ' The casualties by war have already been shown to be trifling ; those by sickness, notwithstanding the fatigue and exposure, were also singularly few. The regiment returned to Bangalore but six men weaker than it left that place. Upon the Forty-eighth regiment being ordered to embark for England, thirty men of that corps volun- teered to the Thirty-ninth, and joined the head- quarters on the 14th of November. 1835. Early in the year 1835, the following general order was received at the regiment, marking His Majesty's extreme approbation of the conduct of Brigadier- General Lindesay, C. B., whilst commanding the force employed in the expedition against the Bajah of Coorg. (( « ti tt OB THB DOB8BT8HTRB BB01MBVT OB FOOT. 77 "Head Quartert, **Madrai, 17M April 1835. "General O^der. " His Excellency Lieut-General The Honorable 1835. Sir Robert William O'Callaghan, commanding His Majesty's Forces in India, has much satisfaction in " publishing the following extract of a letter from the '* Kight Honorable the General Commanding-inHjhief, " expressive of His Majesty's approval of the conduct ** of Brigadier-General Lindesay, and the troops em- " ployed under his orders, during the late operations in Coorg, and of His Majesty having been graciously pleased in consequence to nominate that officer to be a ' " Knight Commander of the Royal Hanoverian Guel- "phic Order." -' Extract of a letter from General the Right Honor- able Lord Hill, Commanding-in-chief, dated Horse Guards, 22nd October, 1834, to the Right Honorable Lord William Bentinck, G. C. B., Commander-in-chief in India.* " I have had the honor to receive your Lordship's letter on the 22nd of May, transmitting a copy of your General Order, on the termination of the war against " the Rajah of Coorg ; and I beg leave to offer to your " Lordship my best congratulations on the success of " that operation. " Having felt it my duty to lay your communication *' before the King, and to solicit His Majesty's attention '* to the terms in which you speak of the conduct of " Colonel Lindesay, of His Majesty's Thirty-ninth " Regiment, to whom you confided the command of the '* Field Force, I have the honor to acquaint you, that " the King has remarked with much satisfaction, that * General the Bight HonDrable Lord William Bentinck, G.C.B. relinqnished the appointment of Commander-in-Chief in India on the 20th of March 1835, prior to the receipt of this letter in Bengal. « (( .1 i ^ •M. 78 niSTORIOAL BVOORD OF TBS THIRTT-inlfTH, 1835. " tho ability and judgment of Colonel Lindeiay in the " performance of his important service, have been emi- " nently conspicuous ; and in testimony of His Royal " approbation His Mt^esty has been pleased to nominate him a Knight Commander of the Koyal Ouelphic Order, the decoration of which will be duly transmitted to him by the Hanoverian minister at this court. « By order of Hi$ Excellency Lieut- General the Hon. "Sir RoBEBT William O'Callaohan, Com- ** manding Hit Majesty* t Forcee in India. (Signed) " R. Torrens, " Colonel, Adjutant-General H. M.*t Forces in Indlu" u n ti -I' ( Colonel Lindesay had, previously to the ^ecel^C of this communication, been removed froCi the « • mmand of the cantonment of Bangalore, and appuiuteU on thu 3rd of January to that of the southern division of tho Madras army, with the temporary rank of Brigadier- General. He accordingly proceeded to Trichinopoly, the head-quarters of that division. From t\m place he made application that the Thirtt-ninth might be permitted to resume the following distinctions, which had been borne on the regimental colour and appoint- mentn for many years, but which hod been discon- tinued about the yeor 1807, namely the motto ** Primus in Indis" and the word " Plasset ; " also the device of the " Castle and Key,^ in addition to the word Gibraltar and the mottp " Montis Insignia Calpe.^'' His Majesty King William the Fourth was graciously pleased to approve of these distinctions being re- sumed by the Thirtt-ninth, and the result was communicated by the A<|i'^ta.vt-General on the 24th of November 1835, to L mut.-Oolonel ^m- Robcit William O'Callaghan, €'-..' ' oi iie regiment. On the 14th of December 1835, the regiment was reviewed at Bangalore by Major-General Hawker, commanding the Mysore division of the army, who OB TUB DORtKTSniRB BXOIMBNT Of FOOT. 79 afler a minute inipeotlon ezproMed to Mi^or Poole jg^^j his perfect approbation of ita appearance, movements, and diaoipline. In February 1836, Colonel Lindesaj embarked for Europe, l.iving been relieved in the oommand of the southern division of the Madras army by Major- General .Sir John i^urster Fitzgerald, K.C.B., in ihe preceding October. Colonel Lindt^y, on his departure, was presented by the officers with a gold snuff-box, value nine hun- dred rupees, bearing the distinctions of the regiment, in which he had served for upwards of ibrty years. A gold snuff-box, value five hundred rupees, was aleo . „„^ presented, in January 1837, to Arthur Hamilton, Esq., surgeon of the regiment, on his return to Europe. A detachment, consisting of two captains, seven sub- alterns, nine Serjeants, four drummt^rs, and two hun- dred rank and file, marched from Bangalore on the 10th of April 1837, under the com aand of Captain Walpole, to assist in quelling an insun eotion which had token place in Canara and Malabar. I 4w j Directions were given to Captain Walpole to pro- ceed with all expedition to the French Rocks, there to place himself under the orders of Lieut-Colonel William Williamson, commanding the force moving towards Bisley Ghaut. On arriving at the former place. Captain Walpole received instructions to continue his marcli in the direction of Mercara ; and came up with Colonel Williamson's force, consisting of a brigade of horse artillery, one squadron of native cavalry, and the Twenty-seventh Native Infantry, five miles to the west of Seringapatam, after a march >f twenty- five miles. This force then marched to Frazerpet, and from thence (its movement to Mercara having been countermanded) along the Cavery river to Bisley, where it arrived on the 23rd of April, after thirteen days of very harassing marching from Bangalore, upon "%. i.i i ir I ?^ v. i >ir r- % ^f 'i' 80 niSTORICAL RECORD OP THE THIRTY-NINTH, 1837. ^^ average of nineteen miles a day, and with only, one halting-day. The Pass of the Bisley Ghaut was clea. ed after some slight resistance offered by the insurgents at the barriers which they had erected, and the force descended upon the Canara country and encamped at Cuddal, until tranquillity was restored. Captain Walpole's detachment was then ordered back to Bangalore, where it arrived on the 20th of May without any casualties, and only sixteen sick, although the men had been exposed in small tents in the jungle to the heat of the sun, and had performed a succession of forced marches, besides the laborious duty of assisting in drawing the artillery guns up the difficult ascent of the Ghaut. Lieut.-Colonel Williamson, of the East India Company's army, who commanded the force, was in the following year nominated a Companion of the Order of the Bath. On the 6th of January 1838, the regiment received a very handsome piece of plate from their late Lieut.- Colonel, Major-General Sir Patrick Tandesay, C.B. and K.C.H. The right wing marched to Bellary on the 20th of October 1838, to replace the Forty-first regiment, and was followed by the left wing and head-quarters on the 16th of January 1839. Upon the head-quarters leaving Bangalore, the fol- lowing order was issued by Major-General Sir Hugh Gough K.C.B. (now Viscount Gough), then command- ing the Mysore division of the army :- >- " Division Orders. "Bangalore, \5th January 1839. " Major-General Sir Hugh Gough on parting with ** Her Majesty's Thirty-ninth Regiment feels great <* satisfaction in being able to record his unqualified ap- 1838. OR THE DORSETSHIRE REGIMENT OP FOOT. 81 probation of the soldierlike, creditable, and uniformly 1 839. correct conduct of the corps during the sixteen months it has been under his immediate command at the head-quarters of the Mysore division ; and he re- quests Lieut-Colonel Poole will, himself, accept the Major-General's best thanks for his judicious arrange- ments and unceasing attention to the various duties attendant on his situation as commanding-officer, and that he will also convey to the officers, non-commis- sioned officers, and privates of Her Majesty's Thirty- ninth regiment his best thanks and good wishes, with the assurance that the Major-General will con- sider it a most gratifying event again to have this distinguished corps under his orders, the more parti- cularly should his services be required in the field. " The Major-General cannot avoid at the present moment noticing the circumstance so confirmatory of the good feeling and high state of discipline of Her Majesty's Thirty-ninth regiment ; namely, that for the six years it has been quartered at Bangalore, not one solitary instance of complaint has been preferred against an officer, or a soldier, by an Inhabitant for insult or injury of any kind. « By Order, ( Signed) « G. C. Whitelock, " Deputy Assistant Adjutant- General, " Mysore Division of the Army.^* The head-quarters arrived at Bellary on the 5th of February, and the regiment was stationed there at the end of March when the cholera broke out in the regi- ment} and raged for some time with considerable vio- lence. One of the last victims to the disease was the Senior LIeut.-Colonel Thomas Poole, who died on the 23rd of April, and was succeeded in the command of the regiment by LIeut.-Colonel Joseph Wakefield. Lieut.-Colonel Poole entered the service on the 4th of « « « (( (I « « (( (( (( (« <( (( (( (C (( t< (( ( ■ . i I; I i 82 HIStOKICAL RECORD OP THE THIRTY-NINTH, 1839. September 1803, as Ensign in the Twenty-second regi- ment, and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on the 20th of June 1805, and served for some time as Adju- tant ; he was appointed Captain in the same regiment on the 26th of December 1811, and was advanced to the rank of Major on the 14th of February 1828 ; he exchanged from the Twenty -second to the Thirty- ninth regiment on the 2l8t of February 1828, and was promoted Lieut.- Colonel in the latter corps on the 10th of January 1837. Major Thomas "Wright was promoted to the vacant Lieut-Colonelcy on the 24th of April 1839. On the 30th of August 1839, the regiment left Bellary for field service under Major-General Wilson, C.B. The intended destination of the force was at that time unknown to the Major-General himself. The troops reached Adoni, which had formerly been a favourite stronghold of one of the minor branches of the Mogul dynasty, and the ruins of which attest its former strength and magnificence, on the 3rd of September. The regiment was halted there until the 2l3t, during the greater part of which time it rained heavily, but. the men were very healthy. On the 27th it reached Coodamoor, where the whole force was assembled, con- sisting, in addition to the Thirty-ninth, of two squadrons of the Thirteenth light dragoons, the Seventh regiment of Native cavalry, the Third, Six- teenth, Thirty-fourth, Thirty-ninth, and Fifty-first regiments of Native infantry. The head-quarters of the Sappers and Miners, a troop of horse and two companies of foot artillery, with four eighteen-pounders, four twelve-pounders, several mcrtars, howitzers, and a large and well equipped park. A formidable resist- ance was, therefore, expected by the Government; and subsequent inquiries proved that the intended antagonist was supplied with most numerous and well constructed implements of destruction, and that a part of his force consisted of brave and determined soldiers. OR THE DORSRTflHIRR RRGIMENT OF FOOT. 83 At Coodamoor the regiment remained halted for 1839. many days ; and on the Ist of October the cholera un- fortunately broke out, and lasted with considerable violence for about ten days, during which time Lieut. Samuel Philips, Assistant Surgeon Robert Martin Davis, M. D., of the Thirty-ninth regiment (a most valuable and excellent medical officer), and six men died therefrom. On the 3rd of October, an order was received from the Commissioners for the affairs of Kurnool to detach a portion of the force in advance ; two companies of the Thirty-ninth, under the command of Captain Henry Clarence Scarman (who died of cholera in the Fort of Kurnool on the 1 2 th of the i«iame month), with a de- tachment of the artillery, i:nd the Fifty-first Native infantry, marched on the 4th of October. This force was led into the Fort oi Kurnool by the Nuwaub's head minister, Numder Cawn, who subsequently was proved to have been a traitor to both parties. The Nuwaub and his party vacated the fort by an opposite gate. This apparent surrender turned out to be a ruse de guerre, as the Nuwaub, it is believed, fully expected to re-occupy the fort ; for there were no visible symptoms of preparations, all munitions of war being buried or built up, and the whole wore a peaceful aspect; subsequent discoveries proved that peace was not his object, but that he contemplated lulling the Company into security,, until ho was prepared for active opera- tions. On the 9th of October, the Commissioners applied for a reinforcement ; and two companies of the Thirty-ninth, the whole of the Thirty-fourth Native infantry, with a detachment of cavalry and artillery, were despatched under the orders of Lieut.-Colonel Thomas Edward Wright. These two companies were encamped outside the Fort of Kurnool for some days ; but on the morning of the 18th, Lieut.-Colonel Wright was privately informed that his two companies would r 2 I t;> I i\ lii*, ',■•' I 84 HISTORICAL RECORD OF THE THIRTY-MINTH, I839.be required to assist in endeavouring to force the Nuwaub to surrender, and to make his followers, prin- ' ' cipally composed of Arabs, Bohillahs, and Patans, lay down their arms. It is well known that Arabs particu- larly have a great objection to do this, and will rather fight under very adverse circumstances than comply ; resistance was, therefore, expected. Negotiations were soon seen to be unavailing, as some of the Bohillah chiefs (a brave people, whose sole and only occupa- tion is mercenary fighting) accrsed their opponents of cowardice. " A fire of artillery and musketry of twenty minutes' duration was opened upon, and returned by the Nu- waub's party, when an order was given to the Thirty- ninth to charge, which they did, and after a well con- tested struggle obtained possession of the person of the Nuwaub, and made prisoners a great number of his followers. Several escaped, and were pursued by a party of the Thirteenth light dragoons, which guarded the ford of the river; about three hundred are sup- posed to have fallen on the side of the enemy. The two companies of the Thirtt-ninth were about eighty strong in rank and file. Lieut. Thomas White, one colour-scrjeant, and one private were killed; and Lieut.- Colonel Wright was most dangerously wounded. Four privates were dangerously wounded, two of whom died, and one had his arm amputated; five privates were slightly wounded. The conduct of Lieut.-Colonel Wright, and that of the officers and men of his detachment, was highly commended in the public despatch on the occasion. Captain William Wood, Lieut. Edward Croker, and Ensign Owen W^ynne Gray, were the officers present, together with Lieut. Thomas White, who was killed. In the despatch of Lieut.-Colonel Dyce, commanding the detachment of the Kurnool field force, giving an account of the affiiir at Zorapore, near Kurnool, on the 18th of October, it was stated "that the conduct of the OR THE DORSETSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 85 '* detachment of the Thirty-ninth was such as always 1 839. ** characterises British soldiers ; ^ and he added, ** I beg particularly to bring to the notice of superior " authority the conspicuously gallant conduct of Lieut.- ** Colonel Wright, of Her Majesty's Thirty-ninth " regiment, who has been dangerously wounded." The loss of the enemy was severe ; several chiefs were among the slain, and a number of elephants, horses, and treasure were captured. The Governor of Madras in Council stated in general orders, dated Fort George, 25th October 1839, in publishing Lieut.-Colonel Dyce's despatch, that " while ** he laments the humane efforts of that officer to pre- **vent bloodshed have been defeated by the infa- **tuation of the Nuwaub of Kurnool's followers, he *' cannot refrain from expressing the high sense he en- ** tertains of the gallantry and soldier-like conduct dis- " played by Lieut.-Colonel Dyce, and the officers and ** men of the detachment in the attack upon the durgah ** at Zorapore." The regiment returned to Bellary on the 8th of November 1839, leaving two companies to garrison the Fort at Kurnool. Shortly afterwards intimation was received that it was to march for Kamptee, and accordingly on the 24th of December the regiment quitted Bellary. The two companies whicl: had been left at Kur- 1840. nool, rejoined the head-quarters at Nagumpilly, near Secunderabad, on the 12th of January J 840, and the regiment arrived at Kamptee by the route of Secun- derabad and Hingolee, a distance of six hundred and forty miles, without a single casualty. Previously to quitting Bellary the regiment received from Major- General Francis W. "Wilson, C. B., in orders, the ex- pression of his entire approbation of its "excellent " discipline, efficiency, and exemplary behaviour both in " garrison and the field." / F o I F. -J m ! i ■■ ■ 'vi ^H i: 86 H18TOBICAL KECOIID OF TUB THIttTT-MINTH, 1840. Lieut.-Colonel Wakefield died of fever on the 17th of May 1840, and Lieuf.-Colonol Wright assumed the command of the regimentt Mcuor Horatio Walpole was promoted to the vacant Lieut-Colonelcy. Lieut.-General Sir Frederick Philipse Robinson, G.C.B., was removed from the colonelcy of the Fifty- ninth to that of the THinTY-NlMTU regiment on the 15th of June 1840, in guccession to Lieut.-General the Honorable Sir Robert William O'Callaghan, G.C.B., deceased. From the unsettled state of India, rumours were con- stantly stirring that the regiment would be ordered to march in the direction of Bombay; it remained 1841. ~ vernment. The delivery of the Dada being peremptuniy insisted upon as a necessary preliminary to the re- establishment of the customary relations with the Gwalior state, the Maharanee at length complied with the request. The Governor-General, in order to give friendly support to the youthful Maharajah, directed the immediate advance of forces sufficient for the pur- pose. The Anglo-Indian troops entered the dominions uf Scindia, and a strong government having been established at Gwalior, they received orders to with- draw; but were not destined to return to their own ^ territory without a severe conflict. They had quitted Agra in the early part of December, immediately after the arrival there of the Governor-General of India, The Bight Honorable Lord EUenborough. His Lordship accompanied the troops, and on the 23rd of December they crossed the Chumbul river, and halted at Hingona, about twenty miles from Gwalior, where the army |fl|f rested for five days. ^^ During this interval the Mahratta vakeels, or agents for the Gwalior durbar, had an interview with the Governor- General, and the negotiations appeared pro- ceeding to an amicable issue. The design of the enemy was, however, merely to gain time to concentrate his forces, and this at last became so evident that his Lordship determined upon active measures of hostility. While the main body of the army, of which the Thiety-ninth formed part, moved on from Agra under General Sir Hugh (now Viscount) Gough, Bart., G.C.B., Commander-in-Chief in India, another division under Major-General John Grey, C.B., advanced on Gwalior from Bundlekaud. The Thirty-jsinth, with the main division, crossed I »!' . ill III 92 HI8T0UICAL UUCOHD 0¥ THE THIKTY-NINTll, 1843. the Kuharee river early in the morning of the 20th uf December, and found the Mahratta forces drawn up in front of the village of Maharajpore, in a very strong position, which they had occupied during the previous night, and which they had carefully entrenched. The British were about fourteen thousand strong, with forty \necQA of artillery, while the enemy mustered eighteen thousand men, including three thousand cavalry with u hundred guns. Notwithstanding the extreme dif- ficulty of the country, intersected by deep and almost impassable ravines, the whole of the Anglo-Indian troops were in their appointed positions by eight o'clock in the morning of the 29th of December. The action commenced by the advance of Major-Gcneral Littler's column, which was exactly in front of Maharajpore; and although the Mahratta troops fought with desperate bravery, uotliing could withstand the rush of British soldiers. Tlie part taken by the Thirty-ninth in the victory which ensued, is shown in the accompanying extracts from the despatch of General Sir Hugh Gough, Bart., G.C.B. " Her Majesty's Thirty-ninth foot, " with their accustomed dash, ably supported by the 4m ** Fifty-sixth Native infantry, drove the enemy from " their guns into the village, bayonetting the gunners *t of the corps, and " were ably brought out of action by Major Strou- " bcnzee. This gallant corps on this occasion captured " two regimental standards. " A smnll work of four guns on the left of this " position was long and obstinately defended, but sub- " scqucntly carried, and the guns captured by the " grenadiers of the Tiiihty-ninth, under Captain " Campbell, admirably supported by a wing of the " Fifty-sixth Native infantry under Major Phillips." Major-General Grey, who had been directed to push on with the left wing as rapidly as practicable to Punniur, twelve miles south-west of Gwalior, gained also a complete victory on the same day as the battle of Maharajpore was fought, namely, 29th of December. The Mahratta army were thus placed between two corps capable of supporting each other, should it remain in the vicinity of its capital ; or of subdividing that army to repel, or attack, these two columns ; the latter alternative was adopted by the enemy, and the con- sequence was most decisive and honorable to the British arms, and the mutinous troops which had overawed and controlled the government of His Highness the Maharajah Jyajee Rao Scindia, were signally defeated. These victories were not gained without severe loss, owing to the enemy's force considerably outnumbering the British, particularly in artillery, and to the command- ing position of his guns, which were well served and de- termin(;dly defended both by the gunners and infantry ; I> ^- a 94 HISTORTCAL RECORD OP THE THIRTY-NINTH, 1843. ^he peculiar difficulties of the country gave also addi- tional advantages to the gallantry of the Mahratta troops, whose loss was exceedingly great ; — in the battle of Maharajpore fifty-six guns were captured, together with the whole of the enemy's ammunition waggons. The Thirty-ninth had Ensign Theodore David Bray, two seijeants, one drummer, and twenty-six rank and file killed. The following officers were wounded : — Major Edward William Bray (severely), Captains Robert Newport Tinley (severely), and Charles Campbell; Lieutenant and Adjutant William Munro (severely) ; Lieutenants James S. Atkinson (severely), 0^- Humphrey Gray (very severely), Robert Hamilton Currie, and Hugh George Colvill (very severely); Ensigns Simon George Newport, and Thomas Scarman (severely); seventeen Serjeants, and one hundred and fifty-seven rank and file were wounded. Lieut.-Colonel Thomas Wright, of the Thirty- ninth, who served as a Brigadier-General, and com- manded the brigade of which his regiment formed part, was particularly noticed in the official despatch. Major Bray, who commanded the regiment. Major Charles T. Van Straubenzee, Captains Marmaduke George Nixon, Charles Campbell (Major of Brigade), and Lieutenant Edward Croker, Assistant Quarter-Master General, fifth brigade of infantry, were all honorably mentioned. Lieut.-Colonel Wright and Major Bray were sub- sequently nominated Companions of the Order of the Bath: the latter officer with Major Straubenzee, re- ceived the brevet rank of Lieut.-Colonel ; Captains Nixon and Campbell were promoted to the rank of Major in the army. The Thirty-ninth also received the Royal authority to bear the word Maharajpore on the regimental colour and appointments, in commemoration of this victory. The Governor-General in his proclamation thus alluded to the Thirty- ninth regiment : — II , OR THE DORSETSHIRE REGIMENT OP FOOT. 95 ' " The Grovemor-Gcneral's especial thanks are due 1843. " to Her Majesty's Thirty-ninth and Fortieth re- " giments, to the Second and Sixteenth regiments of " Native Grrenadiers, and to the Fifty-sixth Native In- " fantry, which took with the bayonet the batteries in ** front of Maharajpore. " Her Majesty's Thirty-ninth regiment had tiiS ** peculiar fortune of adding to the honor of having ** won at Plassey the first great battle which laid the " foundation of the British empire in India, the further " honor of thus nobly contributing to this, as it may be ** hoped, the last and crowning victory by which that " empire has been secured. " Her Majesty's Fortieth regiment, and the Second " and the Sixteenth regiments of Native Grenadiers, " again serving together, again displayed their pre-emi- " nent qualities as soldiers, and well supported the *' character of the ever victorious army of Candahar. Colonel Wright, returned to Agra, where it arrived on the 10th of that month. In addition to the star manufactured from the ordnance captured at Maharajpore, a donation of six months' batta was granted by the Governor-General in Council to the army employed during the campaign in Gwalior. The regiment remained at Agra until the 20th of October, when it marched for Dinapore, and arrived at that station on the 13th of December following. 1 845. On the embarkation of the Thirteenth light infantry at Kurrachee for England, two hundred of the men volunteered to the Thirty-ninth regiment. These formed a portion of Major-General Sir Charles Napier's force in his expedition against the mountain desert rob- bers of Beloochistan in the spring of 1845. In storming the nearly inaccessible heights of Truckee a Serjeant's party of fifteen men pre-eminently distin- guished themselves by their undaunted gallantry, in forcing their way, after a lengthened and sanguinary struggle, to the summit of a hill, which was defended by about a hundred and eighty of the enemy. This exploit called forth the following letters from His Excellency Sir Charles Napier, and His Grace the Duke of Wellington. t( tt « Sir, " Sukkur, 30th March, 1845. " It will gratify you, and be just to some brave men, who volunteered from the Thirteenth for your regiment, to send to you a copy of my letter to the " Commander-in-Chief, relative to a gallant action per- " fornied by them on the 8 th instant. " The whole of the volunteers for your regiment ** have behaved admirably during the five months they OR THE DORSETSniRE REGIMENT OP FOOT. 97 *' have been serving under mjr own immediate observa- 1845. " tion ; they have shown themselves worthy of the re- ** giment they have left> and of that which is under your " command. I have, &o., (Signed) " C. J. Napier, Major-General, ** Governor of Scinde, " ** Officer commanding H, M, Z^th regiment,^ « « « <( (( (( (( t( (( tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt Sir, " Camp Sukhur, 25th March 1845. " It is with regret I have to say that, misled by the report of Captain Beatson, I stated that the six soldiers, who, on the 8th instant, fell on the heights of Truokee, were killed in consequence of their own imprudence. This wan incorrect and unjust. They acted in obedience to their orders, and died in the fulness of glory, worthy of the brightest names in our military annals. The enclosed return, received from the orderly room, is more eloquent than any thing I can say. I am convinced that one who has so often witnessed the gallantry of soldiers, will not read unmoved this proud but distressing record of heroism and death. ** The survivors of those who reached the top, merit the honor to have their names laid before His Grace the Duke of Wellington, and it would be very grate- ful to their feelings if your Excellency would do this. They are men of excellent character ; most of them had two, and some three medals. The bold Sepoy of the camel corps is highly praised by them for his courageous conduct." <* Hoping that some mark of approbation may be bestowed on these admirable soldiers, I have, &c. (Signed) " C. J. Napier, Major-General, "His Excellency, " Governor of ScindeJ* General Sir Hugh Gough, Bart, G. C.B., " Commander-in' Chief in India, "^c. ^c. "s-c." a 98 HISTORICAL RECORD OP THE THIRTY-NINTH, 18^5. Nominal roll of the seijeant's party of a detachment of Her Majesty's Thirty-ninth, volunteers, vrhioh stormed the hill at Truckee on the 8th of March 1845 :— m. 'I I?'' f ' y t Bank. Names. Remarks. Seijeant John Power Beached the summit of the hill, and was slightly wounded. Corporal Thomas Waters • Did not quite reach the summit of the hill.— Three medals. M John Kenny Did not quite reach the summit of the hill.— Three medals. Private John Action Beached the top, killed three of the enemy, and was then killed himself. — Two medals. » Robert Adair Beached the top, killed two of the enemy, and was then killed himself. — Two medals. II Hugh Dunlap Beached the top, killed two of the enemy, and was then killed himself. II Patrick Fullon Beached the summit of the hill, and was killed. — Two medals. II Samuel Lowric Beached the top, killed the Com- mander of the enemy and an- other man, and was then killed himself. — Two medals. fi William Lovelace - Reached the top, and was killed. II Anthony Burke Beached the top, killed three of the enemy (shot one,bayonetted another), broke his musket on the head of the third.— Two medals. II John Malony Beached the top, bayonetted two of the enemy, saved Burke and Rohan's lives, and was severely wounded. — Three medals. II Bartholomew Bohan Beached the top, bayonetted one of the enemy, and was very se- verely wounded. — Two medals. II George Campbell - Beached the top, and killed two of the enemy. II Phillip Fay Did not quite reach the summit. —Two medals. 11 Mark Davis Did not quite reach the summit. —Two medals. II Charles Hawthorn - Did not quite reach the summit. — Two medals. Camel Corps Bninzan Aheer Did not quite reach the summit. OR THE DORSETSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. 99 tt €f tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt ft tt tt tt tt Sir, «« Horse Guards^ 1845. «« I2th June 1845. ** I have had the honor to receive your letter ou the 15th of April, with a letter and its accompanying return from Major-General Sir Charlee Napier, set- ting forth the conspicuous gallantry of a party of Volunteers from the Thirteenth Light Infantry to the Thirty-ninth regiment, in storming the almost in- accessible hill position of Truckee, occupied by a strong force of the Mountain Desert Bobbers ; and having laid these papers before the Commander-in- Chief, I am instructed to request that you will cause the expression of his highest approbation to be con<- veyed to such of these brave men as have survived the attack ; and that you will further be pleased to recommend them specially to the notice and protec-<> tion of the commanding officer of the Thirty-ninth regiment, and ascertain and report for His Grrace's information whether the serjeant is qualified to hold a commission in Her Majesty's service. ** The Duke of Wellington deeply laments the loss of those who fell on this memorable occasion. " I have, &c. (Signed) " Fitzroy Somerset." " General Sir Hugh Gough, Bart, G. C.B., " Commander-in-Chief in India, tt 8fc. Sfc. §-c." In the month of October 1 845, four companies, under the command of Captain Wood, were detached to garrison Fort William. In the beginning of 1846, in consequence of the 1846. gfeat demand for fighting men on the north-west fron- tier, the regiment was directed to volunteer to the extent of five hundred men: the detached wing re- joined the head-quarters at Dinapore in March. In G 2 If'i} .•'■is f m 1'-' Ft- m v. 100 HISTORICAL RECORD OF TIIR TIllRTT-KINTH, 1846. October 1846, the Thirtt-ninth again volunteered, preparatory to embarkation for England, when two hundred and seventeen men were traniferred to other corps. On the 30th of December following the remainder of the corps, consisting of about three hundred men, embarked in boats for Calcutta. 1847. The regiment arrived at Calcutta on the 27th of January 1847 ; and on the 7th of February, the head- quarters, under the command of Lseut.-Colonel Wright, consisting of seven ofHcers, seven seijeants, five cor- porals, six di'ummers, and one hundred and eleven privates, embarked in the " Tudor," and landed at Gravesend on the 9tb of Juno following, losing one Serjeant, one corporal, and three privates, during the passage. The remainder of the regiment, consisting of ten aeijeants, nine corporals, eight drummers, and one hundred and forty-five privates, with six officers, under the command of Captain Wilbraham, embarked in the "Pekin" on the 23rd of February, and arrived in England on the 13tb of July 1847, losing only one man during the voyage. On the departure of the Thibty-ninth, with other corps, from India, the Bight Honorable Lord Gough, Commander-in-Chief in that country, issued the fol- lowing complimentary orderi* } — " Head- Quarters, " Camp Seharunpore, » 9th February 1847. " GENERAL ORDER. "The Right Honorable the Commander-in-Chief " in India avails himself of the opportunity which the " approaching departure from India of those distin- ** guished regiments, the Ninth, Thirty-ninth, and on THE DORSETSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. lOl €t <( t( it €t tt tt t( tt t( tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt tt Sixty-second foot affords, of recording the high sense 1847. he entertains of their respective merits, and the ad- miration with which he has witnessed their uniform good conduct in quarters, and their gallantry in the field. ** Each regiment bears on its colours the names of many hard-fought battles in the "Peninsula," and each regiment will carry home the record of victories achieved in the wars of this country, nobly gained by their indomitable bravery under his Lordship's im- mediate command. " The Ninth regiment has completed a service abroad of upwards of fourteen years. In 1842 it formed part of the force under Major-General Sir George Pollock in the second campaign of 'Affghanistan,' and subse- quently had the good fortune to partake in the memor- able battles of the Sutlej. The despatches of the former period have testified to its gallantry, its noble bear- ing, and high spirit under extreme sickness and pri- vation ; and upon the latter. Lord Gough has recently in orders and by his despatches, expressed his sense of its valuable services. " The Thirty-ninth regiment, * Primus in Indis,' having obtained imperishable renown in the earlier wars in India, bearing upon its colours the record of its gallantry at * Plassey,' quitted this country in 1758 ; and after a lapse of seventy-four years, during which it reaped a rich harvest of glory in the * Penin- sula,' again returned to India, and has again profited by the opportunities, which a long service in this country has afforded, of adding fresh lustre to its fame. The victory of * Maharajpore ' is already re- corded on its colours, and nobly did it earn that badge. The distinguished conduct of the Thirty- ninth regiment on the 29th of December 1843, could not be surpassed for bravery and determination. " The Sixty-second regiment gallantly aided in the o 3 102 HI8T0KICAL BECOBD OP THE THIRTY-NINTH, 1847. " defence of Ferdzepore, when that station was in- <* vested by an overwhelming force ; and when called " into action in the late brilliant campaign, it evinced < the rank of Brigadier-General ; in 1737 he was removed to the Ninth Dragoons ; and on the 2nd of July 1739 he was advanced to the rank of Major-GeneraL Major-General Cope served for several years on the staff of the army in Ireland, and after having been appointed SUCCESSION OF COLONELS. 107 Colonel of the Seventh Dragoons in 1741, he proceeded in the summer of 1742 to Flanders with the army commanded by Field Marshal the Earl of Stair. In the beginning of the following year he was promoted to the rank of Lieut- General ; and having signalised himself at the battle of Dettingen, on the 27th of June 1743, under the eye of his Sovereign, he was constituted a Knight of the Bath. In 1745 Lieut.-General Sir John Cope was Commander- in-Chief in Scotland, and a small body of troops under his immediate command sustained a defeat from the High- landers under the Young Pretender at Preston Pans, on the 21st of September, which unfortunate circumstance enabled the rebels to penetrate into England, and advance as far as Derby. The rebellion was suppressed in 1746, the victory obtained at Culloden on the 16th of April of that year having completely destroyed the hopes of the Pretender. Lieut.-General Sir John Cope retained the Colonelcy of the Seventh Dragoons until his decease in 1760. Thomas Wentworth. Appointed 15th December 1732. Tuis officer was appointed to a commission in the army on the 10th of March 1704, and served several campaigns in the wars of Queen Anne. In December 1722 he was pro- moted to the rank of Colonel in the army, and on the 15th of December 1732 was appointed Colonel of the Thirtt- MiNTH regiment, from which he was removed, in June 1737, to the Twenty-fourth regiment. Two years afterwards he was appointed Brigadier-General ; in 1741 he was promoted to the rank of Major- General ; and in June 1745 he was removed to the Colonelcy of the Sixth Horse, which corps became the Second Irish Horse in the following year, and in 1788 was constituted the Fiflh Dragoon Guards. Major- General Wentworth served the Crown in a diplomatic as well as military capacity, and died at the court of Turin in November 1747. John Campbell (afterwards Duke of Argyle). Appointed 2*1 th June 1737. John Campbell, of Mamore, was an officer in the army in the reign of Queen Anne, and attained the rank of Lieut.- 108 THIRtfT-NINtH REGIMENT OF FOOT. ^ I Colonel. During the rebellion in 1715 and 1716, he served as Aide-de-camp to the Duke of Argyle ; he was appointed Colonel of the Thirtt-ninth regiment on the 27th of June J 737 ; and in the following year was removed to the Twent7- first or Rojal Xortir British Fusiliers. He commanded a brigade at the battle of Dettingen on the 27th of June 1743 ; was promoted to the rank of Major-General in the following year; and during the rebellion in 1745 and 1746, he held a command in Scotland. He was advanced to the rank of Lieut.-Greneral in 1747, and was removed to the Second Dragoons or Scots Greys in 1752. In April 1761 Lieut- General Campbell was appointed Governor of Limerick, and also succeeded in that year to the title of Duke of Argyle, upon the decease of his cousin Archibald, third Duke of Argyle. The Order of the Thistle was conferred upon His Grace in 1765. His decease occurred in 1770. Richard Onslow. Appointed 1st November 1738. This ofScer entered the army in 1716; and in 1733 he was promoted to the rank of Colonel. On the 1st of No- vember 1738 King George II. appointed Colonel Onslow to the Colonelcy of the Thirtt-ninth regiment ; and in June 1739 he was removed to the Eighth regiment of Foot. He Was promoted to the rank of Major-General in 1743, and was removed to the first troop of Horse Grenadier Guards in 1745. He was advanced tu the rank of Lieut.-General in 1747. Lieut.-General Onslow continued at the head of the first troop of Horse Grenadier Guards until his decease in the year 1760. Robert Dalway. Appointed 6th June 1739. This officer commenced his military career as a Cornet in a regiment of cavalry on the 8th of March 1704. He served several campaigns under the celebrated John Duke of Marl- borough, and was distinguished for gallantry in action, and a strict attention to duty. On the 1st of February 1713 he was promoted to the Lieut.-Colonelcy of Harwich's Horse, now Seventh Dragoon Guards, and on the 6th of June 1739 King George II. promoted him to the Colonelcy ,of the >^ SUOOBSBION OF COLONELS. 109 Thibtt-nintr regiment, from which he was removed to the Thirteenth Dragoons on the 12th of May 1740. His decease occurred in November following. Samuel Walter Whitshed. Appointed 28th December 1740. Samuel Walter Whitshed entered the army in Augubt 1704, and served in Spain and Portugal during the war of the Spanish Succession, under the Earl of Galway and Arch- duke Charles of Austria. On the 28th of December 1740 King Georgo IL promoted Lieut.-Colonel Whitshed from the Eighth Dragoons to the Colonelcy of the Thirty-ninth regiment of Foot( and on the 14th of June 1743 he was removed to the Twelfth Dragoons. Colonel Whitshed was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-General on the 28th of May 1745, and retained the command of the Twelfth Dra- goons until his decease in 1746. Edward Biobbell. Appointed I4th June 1743. This officer entered the army in the reign of Queen Anne, and served with reputation under the celebrated John Duke of Marlborough. He evinced a constant attention to the duties of his profession, and was promoted, on the 18th of May 1722, to the Lieut.*Colonelcy of the Thirty-seventh regiment, and was advanced to the rank of Colonel in the army on the 27th of March 1742. He was appointed Colonel of the Thirtt-nintk regiment on the 14th of June 1743, and distinguished himself during the war of the Austrian Succession. On the 19th of April 1746 he was appointed Brigadier-General, in which year he commanded a brigade, under Lieut.-General St. Clair, in the expedition against Port I'Orient. In 1752, Brigadier-General Rich- bell was removed to the Seventeenth regiment, and on the 25th of March 1754 was promoted to the rank of Major- General. His decease occurred in 1757. John Adlercron. Appointed I4th March 1752. Colonel John Adlercron was appointed by Hi^ Majesty King George H. to the Colonelcy of the Thirty- ninth no THIRTY-NINTH REGIMENT OF TOOT. I regiment on the 14th of March 1752, upon Brigadier- General Edward Richbell being removed to the Seventeenth Foot. In the beginning of 1754, Colonel .Adlercron em- barked with his regiment for Madras; in October 1756, a portion of the ''^hirtt-ninth proceeded to Bengal with other troops under Lieut.-CoIonel Cli\3. Of this force Colonel Adlercron claimed the command, but it was deter- mined that he should remain at Madras with the remainder of the regiment. In May 1757 Colonel Adlercron marched from Madras in command of the force destined for the relief of Trichinopoly, then threatened by the French, and was afterwards engaged in operations against Wandewash, and in the vicinity of that place. On the 16th of May 1758 Colon»ji Adlercron was advanced to the rank of Major- General, and to that of Lieut. -General on the 18th of De- cember 1760. His decease occurred on the 3l8t of tTuly 1766. Sir Robert Boyd, K. B. Appointed 6th August 1766. Colonel Robert Boyd was appointed from the First Foot Guards to the Colonelcy of the Thirty-ninth regiment on the 6th of August 1766. In 1768 he was appointed Lieut- Governor of Gibraltar, where his regiment was at that period stationed. On the 25th of May 1772, Colonel Boyd was promoted to the rank of Mtgor-General, and on the 29th of August 1777, was advanced to that of Lieut.Ge- neral. He was constituted a Knight of the Order of the Bath in 1784, in consideration of his services during the cele- brated siege of Gibraltar. It was, according to his suggestion, that red-hot shot were used, as stated at page 32. of the Histo- rical Record of the Thirty-ninth regiment. In 1790 Lieut.- General Sir Robert Boyd, K. B., was appointed Governor of that fortress, in succession to General Lord Heathfield, deceased. Sir Rob* Boyd was appointed to the rank of General on the 12th of October 1793, and died in May of the following year, while holding the Governorship of Gibraltar. NiPBETT Balfour. Appointed 2nd July 1794. This officer entered the army on the 27th of January 1761, as an ensign in the Fourth Foot, was promoted Lieutenant SUCCESSION OP COLONELS* 111 on the 15th of November 1765, and advanced to the rank of Captain in the regiment on the 26th of January 1770. He was at the battle of Bunker's Hill on the 17th of June I77f5, where he was wounded. Captain Balfour was present in the action on landing at Long Island and taking of Brooklyn, in August 1776. The capture of New York occurred shortly afterwards, on which occasion he was sent home by the Commander of the Forces in North America, Maja*'-General the Honorable Sir William Howe, with the public des- patches, and in consequence received the brevet rank of Major. In the spring of 1777 Major Balfour was in the action near Elizabeth Town, in the Jerseys. He was promoted Major in the Fourth Foot on the 4th of June 1777 ; and was present in the actions of Brandywine and Germantown on the 1 1th of September and 4th of October of that year. On the 31st of January 1778 he was promoted Lieut.-Colonel of the Twenty-third Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and was present at the siege of Charlestown ; and after the surrender of that place in May 1780 he served under Lieut. -General Earl Comwallis, part of the campaign in South Carolina. On the 20th of November 1782 he was appointed Aide-de-camp to His Majesty King George HI., with the rank of Colonel in the army. Colonel Balfour served part of the campaign of 1794 in Flanders and Holland under His Royal Highness the Duke of York. On the 12th of October 1793 Colonel Balfour was advanced to the ra^ of Mtyor-General, and was appointed Colonel of the TmRw-NiNTH regiment on the 2nd of July 1794. He was promotm to the rank cf Lieut- General on the Ist of January 1798, and to that of General on the 25th of September 1803. October 1823. He" died on the 16th of Sir George Airey, K.C.H. Appointed 28th October 1823. This officer commenced his military career as Ensign in the late Ninety-first regiment, to which he was appointed on the 6th of December 1779, and in January following proceeded with it to the West Indies. After serving for a year at St. Lucia, Ensign Airey returned home, on account of ill- health, a short time previously to the regiment being drafted, 112 THIRTY-NINTH RROIMKNT OF FOOT. ff- in which, however, he WM promot«d to the rank of Lieu- tenant on the 6th of July 1781. Lieut :'.ant Airey ex- changed from the Ninety-firit to the Forty-eighth regiment on the 2nd of January 1782, and in January 1788 proceeded with the latter corps to the Wcit Indiei. On the 19th of November following he wai promoted to a company in the Forty-eighth, and returned to England on leave of absence, but rejoined the regiment in 1702. Prior to the expedition against the French West India Islands under General Sir Charles (afterwards Earl) Grey in the beginning of 1794, the Forty-eighth regiment was drafted, when Captain Airey vo- lunteered his services, and wof employed in the succeeding campaign, during which he commanded the light company of the Sixty-fifth regiment, in the third battalion of Light Infantry. On the conclusion of the campaign he rejoined his regiment at Plymouth in October 1794. In December Captain Airey re-embarked with the regiment for the West Indies, but, from sickness, it was with several others re- landed. He was subsequently appointed Aide-de-camp to Lieut.-General Patrick Tonyn, with whom he remained until the Forty-eighth regiment was ordered on foreign service, and with which, in the winter of 1795, he sailed to the West Indies, serving there as Assistant Adjutant-Ge- neral. He was promoted to ft majority in the Sixty-eighth regiment on the 1st of May 1796, and returned to England, and on the 4th of May 1708 was advanced to the rank of Lieut.-Colonel of the Eighth Foot. In May 1799, Lieut.- Colonel Airey proceeded with the Eighth regiment to Mi- norca, which had been captured in the previous year from the Spaniards, and in August 1800 he embarked with bin corps, which composed part of the expedition under General Sir Ralph Abercromby, against Cadiz. Upon arrival at that place the enterprise was abandoned, in consequence of a contagious disease carrying ofT great numbers of tlie inha- bitants, and the fip'^t, to avoid infection, sailed to Gibraltar, and subsequently to Malta, whin Lieut.-Colonel Airey re- turned to Minorca as Deputy Quartermaster-General, under Lieut.-General the Honorable Henry Edward Fox, and after- wards proceeded to Elba, as Commandant of the British troops serving in Porto Ferrajo, while that place was besieged by the French, and retained posseision of that island until the SUCCESSION OF COLONELS. 113 Peace of Amiens in 1802. For his services in Porto Fer- rajo he was created a Knight of the Tuscan Order of St. Joseph. Lieut.-Colonel Airey then rejoined Lieut.-Ge- neral Fox as Deputy Quartermaster General, and remained with that officer until his return to England, Minorca being restored to Spain by the treaty of peace. Lieut-Colonel Airey served as Assistant Quartermaster-General in Ireland from the 1st of August 1803 to the 24th of September 1804, when he accompanied General the Honorable Henry Edward Fox io Gibraltar as Military Secretary. He proceeded with the General to Sicily in 1806, where (with the exception of going to Egypt with the expedition under Major-Genei'al Alexander Eraser in 1807) he served until the year 1813 as Deputy Adjutant-General. On the 25th of April 1808, he was promoted to the brevet rank of Colonel. In the year 1810 he commanded a brigade in Sicily, in addition to his duties as Deputy Adjutant-General, and was employed with the troops, of which the first battalion of tha Thirty-ninth formed part, in the defence of the coast during the threatened invasion of General Joachim Murat, King of Naples. On the I2th of February 1811, Colonel Airey was appointed Brigadier-General in Sicily, when he vacated the duties of Deputy Adjutant-General. On the 4th of June 1811, he was promoted to the rank of Major-General, and was from that date appointed Major-General on the staff of Sicily, and in December following was ordered to proceed to Zante to take the command of the Ionian Islands, where he remained until succeeded by Lieut.-General James Campbell in 1813, who was appointed Commander and Civil Commissioner. Major-General Airey was appointed Quartermaster-Ge- neral to the forces in Ireland on the 2nd of September 1813, which he held until the 24th of June 1822. On the 19th of July 1821, he had been advanced to the rank of Lieut.- General. He had also received the honor of knighthood, and had been constituted a Knight Commander of the Royal Hanoverian Guelpliic Order. On the 28th of October 1823, Lieut.-General Sir George Airey, K. C. H., was appointed by His Majesty King George IV. to be Colonel of the Thirtt-ninth regiment, which he retained until his decease at Paris on the 18th of February 1833. H I II 114 THIRTY-NINTH KEGIMENT OF FOOT. The Honorable Sir Robert William O'Cal- laohan, g. c. b. Appointed 4th March 1833. The above-nauied officer was appointed Ensign in the One hundred and twenty-eighth regiment (since disbanded), on the 29th of November 1794 ; and on the 6th of Decem- ber following, was promoted Lieutenant in the Thirtieth light dragoons, in which regiment he rose to the rank of Captain on the 31st of January 1795, and was removed to the Twenty-second light dragoons on the 19th of April 1796 : these corps were afterwards disbanded. On the 17th of February 1803, he was promoted to the rank of Major in the Fortieth regiment, and to that of Lieut.-Colonel in the Thirty-ninth on the 16th of July 1803. Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Robert William O'Callaghan embarked, in March 1805, in command of the first battalion of the Thirty-ninth regiment, which was selected to form part of the expedition destined for the Mediterranean under Lieut- General Sir James Craig, and subsequently proceeded from Malta to Naples with the flank companies. When those com- panies returned to Malta in February 1806, Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Robert William O'Callaghan remained in Sicily, and at the battle of Maida, on the 4th of July follow- ing, commanded a grenadier battalion : be received a gold medal for this victory. On the 20th of August 1811, Lieut-Colonel O'Callaghan proceeded with the first battalion of the Thirty- ninth regi- ment from Sicily to join the army in the Feninsuid, and on the 1st of January 1812, was advanced to the brevet rank of Colonel. At the battle of Yittoria, on the 21st of June 1813, he was placed in temporary command of the brigade, and his conduct was specially noticed in the Marquis of Wellington's despatch. Colonel O'Callaghan also com- manded the bi'igade during the actions in the Pyrenees in July following, and was present at the passage of the Nivelle and Nive. His conduct while in command of the first battalion of the Thirty-ninth at Garris, on the 15th of February 18 if, was particularly adverted to by the Marquis of Wellington, in his Lordship's despatch. Colonel O'Cal- •UOOE88ION OF COLONELS. 115 lagban »l«o ihared In the victory gained at Orthea on the 27th of the Mme month. He received a cross and two clasps for . Maidiy Vittoria, Pyrenees, Nivelle, Nive, and Orthes. Colonel O'Callaghan was promoted to the rank of Major- General on the 4th of June 1814, and was nominated a Knight Commander of the Bath on the 2nd of January IS15. Mivjor-Oeneral the Honorable Sir Robert William O'Cal- laghan, K.C.B., was placed upon the staff of the army in Flanders on the 2fith of June 1815, and was appointed to the staff in France on the 22nd of April 1818. He was nominated to the command of the troops in North Britain on the Idth of June 1825 ; and on the 7th of September 1829 he received the colonelcy of the Ninety-seventh regiment. He was advanced to the rank of Lieut.-General on the 22nd of July 1830, which removed him from the command of the troops in North Britain. Lieut-Qenerol the Honorable Sir Robert William O'Cal- laghan was oppointed to the command of the army at Madras on the 4th of October 1830 ; and on the 4th of March 1633, was removed from f;he colonelcy of the Ninety-seventh to the THiRTY'NmTH regiment. He continued in command at Madras until October 1836, and on the departure for Eng- land of General the Right Honorable Lord William Ben- tinck, G. C.B., in the spring of 1835, he held for some months the command of the troops in India. On the I9th of July 1838, he was nominated a Knight Grand Cross of tki Order of the Bath. Lieut.-General the Honorable Sir Robert William O'Callaghan, G.C.B., who was brother to Lord Viscount Lismore, died in London on the 9th of June 1840. Sib Fskpkrick Philifse Robinson, G.C.B. Appointed 15tk of June 1840. In February 1777, this officer was appointed Ensign in the Loyal American regiment, with which he served in North America j on the 11th of September 1778, he was removed to the Seventeenth regiment of infantry ; and on the Ist of September 1779, Ensign Robinson was promoted Lieutenant In the fourth battalion of the Sixtieth regiment, and was H 2 116 THIRTY-NINTH REGIMENT OP FOOT. ^ removed to the Thirty-eighth regiment on the 4th of No- vember 1780. He was a prisoner of war in America several months during the period of his belonging to the Sixtieth, and afterwards was in several engagements in that country. Lieutenant Robinson was promoted to the rank of Captain in the Thirty-eighth regiment on the 24th of March 1794, and served at the capture of the West India Islands, under General Sir Charles (afterwards Earl) Grey, in that year, including the siege of Fort Bourbon in the island oi Martinique. On the 1st of September 1794, Captain Robinson was promoted to a Majority in the One hundred and twenty-seventh regiment (since disbanded), and was removed to tlie Thirty-second regiment on the 1st of September 1795, when he returned home from the West Indies. He was removed to the One hundred and thirty- fourth regiment (since disbanded) on the 29th of July 1796. In May of this year he had been appointed Inspecting Field Officer of the Recruiting service at Bedford, and some years after filled the same situation in the London district. While thus employed he suggested several improvements in regard to carrying on the Recruiting service. On the 1st of Janu- ary 1800, he received the brevet rank of Lieut.-Colonel, and was placed on half-pay of the Ninety- first regiment oo the 30th of April 1807. Lieut.-Colonel Robinson was pro- moted to the brevet rank of Colonel on the 25th of July 1810. He served as Brigadier-General on the staff in the Peninsula, from the 8th of August 1812 to the 3rd of June 1813. He was promoted to the rank of Major-General on the 4th of June 1813, and continued, from that date, on the staff in Spain in that capacity until the 24th of May 1814. He commanded a brigade at the battle of Vittoria on the 21st of June 1813, siege of Sebastian in August and Sep- tember following, where he was wounded, and at the actions connected with the passage of the Nive, for which he re- ceived a medal and two clasps. After the termination of the war in the Peninsula, he proceeded to North America, and was employed on the staff in Canada from the 25th of May 1814 to the 24th of March 1816, when he was removed to the staff in the West Indies. On the 2nd of January 1815, Major-General Robinson was nominated a Knight Com- SUCCESSION OF COLON£LI. 117 mander of the Order of the Bath. M^jor-General Sir Frederick Robinson continued in command of tlie troops in the Windward and Leeward Islands until the 24th of July 1821. He was advanced to the rank of Lieut.-General on the 27th of May 1825 ; was appointed Colonel of the Fifty- ninth regiment on the 1st of December 1827 ; and was nomi- nated a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on the 20th of April 1838. Lieut.-General Sir Frederick Philipse Robinson, G.C.B., was removed from the colonelcy of the Fifty-ninth to that of the Thirty-ninth regiment on the 15th of June 1840, and was promoted to the rank of General on the 23rd of Novem- ber 1841. His decease occurred at Brighton, on the 1st of January 1852. Georoe Burrell, C.B. Appointed llth February/ 1852. This ofl^er was appointed Ensign in the Fifteenth regiment of infantry, on the 4th of February 1797 ; was promoted Lieutenant on the 3rd of May following ; and rose to the rank of Captain, in the same corps, on the 15th of August 1805. Captain Burrell was promoted to a Majority in the Ninetieth regiment on the 30th of April 1807, and served at the capture of Guadaloupe, in February 1810, with the ex- pedition under Lieut.-General Sir George Beckwith, K.B., which island had been restored to the French at the Peace of Amiens. He received the brevet rank of Lieut.-Colonel on the 4th of June 1813, and served during the campaign of 1814 in Upper Canada. He was appointed from the Nine- tieth to be Lieut.-Colonel of the Eighteenth Royal Irish regiment, on the 22nd of July 1830, from which date he was promoted to the brevet rank of Colonel. Colonel George Burrell embarked, in command of the service companies of the Eighteenth regiment, destined for Ceylon, on'the 10th of January 1837; in 1840 they proceeded to China, hostilities having arisen between that country and Great Britain. At the first capture of Chusan in July 1840, he commanded the troops with the rank of Brigadier- General, and also a brigade at the attack upon Canton in May 1841. He was nominated a Companion of the Order of the Bath on the 14th of October 1841, and on the 23rd H 3 118 THIKTY-NINTU R£UiM£JNT OP FOOT. of November following was advanced to the rank of Hajor-General, and to that of Lieut.*General on the 11th of November 1851. Lieut.-Ghneral Burrell was appointed Colonel of the Thirtt-minth regiment on the 11th of February 1852, which he held only a short period, as he died at Alnwick on the 4th of January 1858. RiOHABD LlUELLTN, C. B. Appointed Mth January 1853. no '^.x-* APPENDIX. Memoir of the Services of Colonel George WiUou, furintrly Lieut- Colonel of the Thirty-ninth regiment. The services of Colonel George Wilson are particularly con- nected with the TiiiHTY-NiNTH, as all his regimental appoint- ments occurred in that corpp His commissioti as Ensign in the Thirty-nintu regiment was dated iSth of February 1784, and he rose to the rank of Lieutenant on the Ist of February 1786, and to that of Cap'.nn on the 3bt of October 1792. In September 1793 tlie Turn" -ninth re- giment was embarked from Ireland for the '.Vi vi, Indies, in order to share in the attack on the French posaessions in that part of the globe. The details of tl.;3<:> operations arc :"on- tained in the Historical Record of the Regiment (pages 38. to 40.); and on the 6th of October 1794, the garrison at Berville Camp, in Guadaloupe, of which the Thirty-ninth formed part, was, after a gallant resistance, compelled to surrender, in consequence of the havoc made airongst the troops by the unhealthy climate of that island. Captain "Wilson was pro- moted to the rank of Major of the Thirty-ninth regiment on the 1st of September 1795, and in April of the following year the regiment formed part of an expedition against the Dutch colonies of Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice. These colonies surrendpi t:>i upon being summoned, and were occupied by the British troops. By official documents it appears that during the greater part of the year 1799, Major Wilson was iu command at Fort William Frederick in Demerara. On the 1st of January 1801, he received the brevet rank of Lieut.-Colonel. The Thirty-ninth re- turned to England from the West Indies in the spring of 1803, and on the 9th of July of that year Brevet Lieut.- Colonel Wilson was appointed Lieut.-Colonel of the Ninth Battalion of Reserve, and on the l.'Jth of October following II 4 120 APPENDIX. was removed to the Thirty-ninth, to which a second bat- talion had been added. In November 1804 Lieut.-Colonel Wilson embarked at Plymouth in command of the second battalion, which proceeded to Guernsey. The second battalion of the Thirtv-ninth regiment pro- ceeded to the Peninsula in June 1809, to join the army under Lieut.-General the Honorable Sir Arthur Wellesley. On the 25th of July 1810, Lieut.-Colonel Wilson was ap- pointed Aide-de-Camp to His Majesty King George III., with the rank of Colonel in the army ; and he commanded a brigade at the battle of Busaco on the 27th of September following. Colonel Wilson subsequently commanded the brigade to which the first battalion of the Thirty-ninth regiment was attached, and added to the deserved reputation he had already acquired. His career was now drawing to a close, for shortly after the arrival of the Thirtv-ninth at Coria, the corps sustained a severe loss in the decease of Colonel Wilson, which occurred on the 6th of January 1813, after a service of upwards of twenty-nine years in the regi- ment. Memoir of the Services of Major- General Sir Charles Bruce, K.C.B., formerly Lieut- Colonel of the Thirty-ninth regiment. This officer was appointed Ensign in the Fifty-second regi- ment on the 4th of February 1793, was promoted to a lieu- tenancy in the Ninety-ninth regiment on the 6th of August following, and was advanced to the rank of Captain in the One hundred and fifth regiment on the 23rd of April 1794, which two latter corps have been since disbanded. Captain Bruce was removed to the Thirty-ninth regiment on the 1st of October 1795, and was present at the capture of Deraerara, Essequibo, and Berbice in 1796. He served seven years with his regiment in the West Indies, and on the staff as Assistant Quartermaster-General and Barrack- Master at Surinam and Antigua. On the 2otli of September 1803 lie received the brevet rank of Major, and was pro- moted to that rank in the Thirty-ninth regiment on the 2ist of March 180>j. lie next served in Spain and Portugal ; and on the 25th of July 1810 was advanced to the brevet ArPUNDlX. 121 rank of Lieut. •Colonel. Brevet Lieut-Colonel Bruce com- manded the first battalion of the Thirtt-ninth at the battle of Yittoria on the 2l8t of June 1813, in consequence of Colonel the Honorable Robert William ,0'Callaghan being in temporary command of a brigade, and also during the actions in the Pyrenees from the 25th to the 31st of July following. At the passage of the Nive in December of the same year Lieut. -Colonel Bruce commanded the light com- panies of the brigade, and distinguished hims'^lf at the affair of Garris on the 15th of February 1814, wL'^re he was severely wounded. He was also present at the battle of Orthes on the 27th of that month. For the battles of Vittoria, Pyrenees, Niv ?., and Orthes, he had the honor of wearing a cross, and on the 4th of June 1815 was nominated a Companion of the Order of the Bath. On the 29th of June 1815 he was appointed Lieut-Colonel of the Thikty- NiNTH regiment, and was placed on the half-pay of that corps on the 25th of February 1816. Lieut.-Colonel Bruce was promoted to the brevet rank of Colonel on the 12th of August 1819, was appointed to the Sixty-ninth regiment on the 29th of March 1821, and was placed on the half-pay of that corps on the 25th of April 1826, from which he ex- changed to the Sixth foot on the 10th of January 1828, and to the Sixty-fourth regiment on the 1st of May following. Colonel Bruce was advanced to the rank of Major-General on the 22nd of July 1830, and was nominated a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on the 13th of Sep- tember 1831. His decease occurred in London on the 7th of August 1832. Memoir of the Services of Major- General Sir Patrick Lin- desay, K. C. B. and K. C. H., formerly Lieut.- Colonel of the Thirth-ninth regiment. Major-General Sir Patrick Lindesay was the only son of Lieut.- Colonel John Lindesay of the Fifty-third regiment, and was born at Musselburgh, in the county of Edinburgh, on the 24th of February 1778. He received his education at the university of St. Andrew's, and was appointed Ensign in the Thirty-second regiment on the 7th of November 1793, and was gazetted Lieutenant in the Seventy-eighth regiment 122 APPENDIX. on the day following. Lieutenant Lindesay was wounded while serving with his regiment in Holland in 1794, in the expedition under the command of His Royal Highness the Duke of York, and was promoted to the rank of Captain on the 1st of September 1795. Captain Lindesay was removed from the Seventy-eighth to the Thirty-ninth regiment on the 20th of October 1796, and served with the latter corps in the colonies of Demerara, Berbice, and Surinam, from 1797 until December 1802, when the regiment embarked for Barbadoes, proceeding thence to Antigua, and, in March 1803, returned to England, where it arrived in April follow- ing. After serving for a short period on the staff as Aide- de-camp to Brigadier-General Brent Spencer in the Sussex district, he accompanied the first battalion of the Thirty- ninth regiment to the Mediterranean in March 1805. On the Ist of October 1807 he was advanced to the rank of Major in the Thirty-ninth ; and this promotion removed him to the second battalion of the regiment, which he sub- sequently joined at Guernsey, and proceeded with it in June 1809 to Portugal, the battalion having been selected to form part of the force employed in that country under the command of Lieut.-General the Honorable Sir Arthur Wellesley. Major Lindesay was present at the battle of Busaco on the 27th of September 1810, in command of the second battalion of the Thirty-ninth regimen' Lieut.-Colonel Wilson having been appointed to the charge '?t a brigade. At the battle of Albuhera on the 16th of May 1811, Major Lindesay also commanded the second battalion, and received a medal for that action, and on the 20th of June following was promoted to the brevet rank of Lieut.-Colonel. Shortly afterwards he again distinguished himself at Arroyo dos Molinos, on the 28th of October 1811, in an expedition, under the immediate orders of Lieut-General Rowland Hill, against a division of thp French army commanded by General Girard. On this occasion Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Lindesay was detached with the second battalion of the Thirty-ninth in pursuit of the discomfited enemy; and at considerable hazard, although with- out success, personally summoned the French commander to surrender. In 1812 Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Lindesay was employed in England recruiting the second battalion under his command, which had returned from the Peninsula for that purpose. API'EMDIX. 123 In October 1818 Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Lindesay joined the flrat battalion in the Peninsula, and was present at the conflicts with the enemy on the Nivelle, Nive, and at Bayonne, on the invasion of tlie French territory, as well as in all the subsequent engagements, until June 1814, when he embarked at Bourdeaux with the first battalion for North America, upon the termination of the campaign in the Peninsi'^i, in consequence of Great Britain being engaged in hostilities with the United States. In May 1815 the battalion pro- ceeded to embark at Quebec under the command of Brevet Lieut.- Colonel Lindesay, who was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Batli on the 4th of June following. The services of the corps were necessary in Europe, in conse- quence of the return of Napoleon Bonaparte to France ; but before its arrival at Ostend the victory of Waterloo had been gained by the allied troops under the Duke of Wel- lington. The battalion subsequently proceeded to Paris, and Lieut.-Colonel Lindenay continued in France until the breaking up of the Army of Occupation in 1818, when he returned to England with the Thirty-ninth regiment, which embarked at Calais on the 80th of October of that year, and shortly after its arrival at Dover proceeded to Ireland. Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Lindesay was appointed Lieut.- Colonel of the Thirty-ninth on the 12th of August 1824 ; and having been employed with the regiment in Ireland until the following year, he proceeded to England in com- mand of the corps preparatory to its embarking, by detach- ments, for New Bouth Wales, for which colony Brevet- Colonel Lindesay, to which rank he had been promoted on the 27th of May 1825, embarked with the head quarters of the regiment on the 26th of April 1827. While commanding the Thihty-ninth in New So"t,h Wales, the government of the colony for a short time devolved upon Colonel Lindesay, namely, from the 22nd of October to the 2nd of December 1881. In July 1832 six companies of the regiment proceeded from Sydney to Madras, and were followed in December by the remaining four compai:ies. Upon joining the Madras army he was appointed a Colonel on the stai!', and Commandant of Bangalore on the 15th of February 1833. In April 1834 he commanded the expe- dition against the Rajuh of Coorg, witli tliu runk of Brigadier- 124 APPENDIX. General in India, which was conducted with a skill, ability, and success, that added greatly to his military reputation. Appointed on the 3rd of January 1835 to the southerr division of the Madras army, with the temporary rank of Brigadier-General, he commanded the troops stationed at Trichinopoly, when he was made a Knight Commander of the Boyal Hanoverian Guelphic Order. His health, for the first time during his iong and active service, began to fail, and in the beginning of 1836 Colonel Lindesay returned to England ; on the 10th of January 1837 he was advanced to the rank of Major-General, and on the 19th of July 1838 was nominated a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath. Major-General Sir Patrick Lindesay for a time appeared to derive benefit from his native air, and the society of friends and relatives, but the seeds of disease had taken too deep a hold of his constitution to enable it to rally. After a linger- ing illness, he died at Portobello, near Edinburgh, on the 14th of March 1839, in the sixty-second year of his age, having completed a course of more than forty-four years' active service. APPENDIX. 125 List of Fifty-six Battalions formed from Men raised under the Army of Reserve and Additional Force Acts, in the Years 1803 and 1804. Under the Army of Reserve Acts in 1 803. The following Nineteen Regiments were appointed to re- ceive men raised for limited service in Great Britain and Ireland, under the Army of Reserve Acts, passed in the year 1803, and were augmented by second battalions, viz. : In England. Under the Act passed on theSthof July 1803. In Scotland. Under the Act passe , the 6th of July 1803. In Ireland. Under the Act passed on thellthof July 1803. 3rd Reg. 53rd Reg. 28th „ 57th „ 30th „ 61st „ 39th „ 66th „ 47th „ 69th „ 48th „ 81st „ 26th Regiment 42nd „ 92nd „ 18th Regiment 44th „ 58th „ 67th „ In addition to the above corps, Sixteen Reserve Battalions were also formed from the men raised in the several coun- ties of Great Britain and Ireland, under i\\Q Army of Reserve Acts, as under specified, viz. : In England. In Scotland. 1 1 St Reserve Battalion. 9th Reserve Battalion. 3rd „ 10th „ 4th „ nth „ 6th „ 12th „ • 7th „ 15th 8th 5th Reserve Battalion. 14th In Ireland. '-' 2nd Resr:"e Battalion. 13th 16th „ 126 API'KMUIX. Under the Additional Force Acts in 1804. Id the year 1804, Thirtif-uven other Regiments (as shown in the following list) wero biigiiioate^l by second battalions, in consequence of havlnft^ «<«tn nppoiiitt'd t > receive men raised for limited service In . th. '2j)\ of June, and 10th and i4th of July ^^04, vi/. j Under t!K< Ad psff >i cm ths SOih U' Jttici 1^04. 5th Foot 25th fooi 1 5Clh Foot 6th „ 3l«t „ 59th „ 7th „ S3nd „ flSud „ 8th „ 36tb „ 63rd „ 9th „ Oi^th „ 82nd „ 10th „ tiXh „ 83rd „ 14th „ 43i*.l „ 90th „ 15th „ 45tl) „ 96th „ late 2nd 23rd „ 24th „ 0Ot}< „ 63nd „ Battalion of 52nd Regi- ment. In Scotland, Under the Act paiied on the lOtb of July liUH. |1n Ireland. UndSf the Act pa««ed on 14th of July 1804. 1st Royal Regiment a7th Tle^iment 2lst „ S7th „ 71st S8th o 72nd „ flOth „ 9l8t ^ -».WiMI 1 '> APPENDIX. 1)7 List of the Fifty-six regimenta which were appointed to receive men, raised for limited service in England, Scotland, and Ireland, under the Additional Force Acts, passed in the year 1804, including the Nineteen regiments (marked thus *) which had been augmented by Second Battalions from the men raised under the Army of Reserve Acts passed in the previous year (1803), and specifying the counties allotted to the several regiments. Adjutant- General s Office, Horse- iruards, 1804. In England. Under the Act, passed on the 29th of June 18M. Regi- ments. Counties. Regi- ments. Counties. *3rd London City, 31st Chester. 5th Sussex. 32nd Cornwall. 6th Lancaster. 36th Durham. 7th York (West Riding). 38th Stafford. 8th York (North Riding). *39th Salop. 9th Dorset and Somerset. 40th f Dorset & Somerset, late ■ Second Battalion of 52nd 1, Regiment. 10th Essex. 43rd Worcester. 14th f Bedford, Buckingham, |_ Northampton. 45th Nottingham & Rutland. 15th York (East Riding). •47th Norfolk. 23rd f Anglesey,Camarvon,Den- \_bigh, Flmt, & Merioneth. "48th TAncaster. 24th Warwick. 50th Gloucester. 25th Cumberland, Westmoreland. 52nd Hertford, Oxford, & Bucks *28th Devon. •53rd York (West Riding). *30th f Huntingdon, Leicester, \ Cambridge. 56th] Surrey. 128 APPENDIX. Kegl- mentf. •57th fi9th •6i?t 62nd 63rd •66th Counties. Kent, & the Cinque Ports. Derby, Northumberland. Wilts. Suffolk. Hants, & the Isle of Wight.' Regl- menta. ♦69th *8l8t 82nd 83rd 90th 96th Counties. Lincoln. {Hereford, Montgomery, 8t Radnor. Tower Hamlets. Middlesex. f Monmouth, Glamorgan, \_ & Brecknock. r Cardigan, Carmarthen, & l^ Pembroke. FORTY KEOIMKNT8. In Scotland. Undo- . Act passed on the 10th of July 1804. Heg:- ments. 1st Hoyal 2l8t '26th '42nd 71»t 72nd 91st '*92nd Jountics. (Lannrk,Wigton,Dumfries, Kirkcudbright, Selkirk, & Roxburgh, Renfrew & Ayr. (Edinburgh City & County, Linlithgow, Peebles, Ber- wick, & Haddiugt