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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m*thode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ^wnuli'-. li. />(ltfltvV . ft^^ 7 H i 1 • > y^ ■o. ■/ -T^^* jr^ NU^ ■^C'*'' X r .\\Y\ \V\ Cf '^ ...,.-■ -^v)- .:--■ -.■ ^-r^r:^^ ■ ■'" V,- .,,:. -^ >. - .,_ v'-rv^^^^ ■^ N\ N C^\ ^\ \ A ^^'\^\ ''^% <%^v.* ^. „i'!^ ;::vYvsv^cv\\vv_ \^ - v^ \v,\v^;;-i 4- ( o. \ ^' — ^^€/f^u/a^^f.^>T^e^i^yl^^/j (yy^^e- <^yu^Kj^r luyfrtu/j . HISTORICAL RECORDS OP THR BRITISH ARMY. PREPARED FOR PUBLICATION UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THB ADJUTANT-GENERAL. THE SIXTH, OK ROYAL FIRST WARWICKSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT. a LONDON i Printed by Wit.LiAM Clowkb anil Sdk*. 14, Charing Ctois, 4 I i GENERAL ORDERS. HORSEOUARDS, Ut January, 183C. His Majesty has been pleased to command, that, with a view of doing the fullest justice to Regi- ments, as well as to Individuals who have distin- guished themselves by their Bravery in Action with the Enemy, an Account of the Services of every Regi- ment in the British Army shall be published under the superintendence and direction of the Adjutant- General ; and that this Account shall contain the following particulars : viz., The Period and Circumstances of the Ori- ginal Formation of the Regiment; The Stations at which it has been from time to time employed ; The Battles, Sieq;es, and other Military Operations, in which it ha^ been engaged, particularly specifying any Achievement it may have performed, and the Colours, Trophies, &c., it may have captured from the Enemy. The Names of the Officers and the number of Non-Commissioned Officers and Privates, Killed or Wounded by the Enemy, specifying the Place and Date of the Action. ' OKNtllAI- ORDERS. The Names of those Officers, who, in con- sideration of their Gallant Services and Meritorious Conduct in Engagements with the Enemy, have been distinguished with Titles, Medals, or other Marks of His Majesty's gracious favour. The Names of all such Officers, Non-Com- missioned Officers and Privates as may have specially signalized themselves in Action. And, , . The Badges and Devices which the Regiment may have been permitted to bear, and the Causes on account of which such Badges or Devices, or any other Marks of Distinction, have been granted. By Command of the Right Honourable GENERAL LORD HILL, Commanding-in- Chief. John Macdonald, jJdjutant' General. 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 accomplishment of this desirable object, than a full display of the noble deeds with which the Military History of our country abounds. To hold forth these bright examples to the imitation of the youthful soldier, and thus to incite him to emulate the meritorious conduct of those who have preceded him in their honourable career, are among the motives that have given rise to the present publication. The operations of the British Troops are, indeed, announced in the ' London Gazette,' from whence they are transferred into the public prints : the achievements of our armies are thus made known at the time of their occurrence, and receive the tribute of praise and admiration to which they are entitled. On extraordinary occasions, the Houses of Parliament have been in the habit of conferring on the Commanns were. ions : in ■1 vith dis- ed, and ; exerted ►ment of ne forth onsisted 1 men of . The i light. '^'■* I spikes. '1 e latter ley had tie-axes am the 'is e Intro- si horse ; ;h their '.V' a pro- though .1 stout- 1 hearted Britons of stanch fidelity. When stipen- diary troops were employed, infantry always con- stituted a considerable portion of the military force ; and this arme 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 imperfect bore of the fire-arms when first introduced, a body of men, well trained in the use of ths 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 b 2 I ! 1 I ■; U i; 4 INTRODUCTION TO 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. 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 musket then in use) in equal proportions on each flank of the company for skirmish- ing.* It was customary to unite a number of com- panies into one body, called a Regiment, which frequently amounted to three thousand men; but * A company of 2fl0 men would appear thus: — C 20 20 20 30 30 20 20 20 HaKiuebuMt. Archers. Muskets. Pikes. (lalberds. Pikes. Muskets. Archers. Harquebuses. The musket carried a ball which weighed I'n of a pound ; and the harquebus a ball which weighed is of a pound. THE INFANTRY. 5 each cpmpany continued to carry a colour. Numer- ous improvements were eventually introduced in the construction of fire-arms, and, it having been found impossible to make armour proof against the muskets then in use (which carried a very heavy ball) without its being too weighty for the soldier, armour was gradually laid aside by the infantry in the seven- teenth century : bows and arrows also fell into dis- use, and the infantry were reduced to two classes, viz. : musketeers, armed with matchlock muskets, swords, and daggers; 'dndi pikemen, 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 bandaliers, 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, 6 INTRODUCTION TO I If. 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 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 THE INFANTRY. 7 Marine regiments were disbanded, but were again formed on the breaking out of the war in 1702.* 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-gren- ades ; 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 reign of George II. light companies were added to infantry regiments ; and in 1764 a Board of General Officers recommended that the grenadiers should lay aside their swords, as that weapon had never been used during the seven years* war. Since that period the arms of the infantry soldier have been limited to the musket and bayonet. The arms and equipment of the British troops have seldom differed materially, since the Conquest, from those of other European states ; and in some respects the arming has, at certain periods, been allowed to be inferior to that of the nations with whom they * The 30th, 31 st, 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 Marine 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 after- wards employed at the siege of Barcelona in 1 705. 1 > ; ^1 ' ! I ! 8 INTRODUCTION TO 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 race of lion-like champions who have dared to confront a host of foes, and have proved themselves valiant with any arms. At Cr^cy, King Edward III., at the head of about 30,000 men, defeated, on the 26th of August, 1346, Philip King of France, whose army is said to have amounted to 100,000 men ; here British valour encountered veterans of renown : — the King of Bo- hemia, the King of Majorca, and many princes and nobles were slain, and the French army was routed and cut to pieces. Ten years afterwards, Edward Prince of Wales, who was designated the Black Prince, defeated at Poictiers, with 14,000 men, a French army of 60,000 horse, besides infan- try, and took John I., King of France, and his son 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 THE INFANTRY. of lion-like t a host of nt with any the head of of August, ly is said to itish valour ^ing of Bo- irinces and was routed s, Edward the Black ,000 men, des infan- nd his son )er, 1415, 13,000 •ches, pri- coart, the flower of imount to le United Provinces of the Netherlands and the Spanish mo- , narch, which commenced in 1578 and terminated in 1648, the British infantry in the service of the States General were celebrated for tlieir uncon- querable spirit and firmness;"^ and in tlie 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, tile fame of the British army under the great Marlborough was spread throughout the norld; 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 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 Abercrombie, and compelled the French army, which had been vainly styled Invincible, to eva- * The brave Sir Roger Williams, in his discourse on war, printed in 1590, observes: — " I persuade myself ten thousand of our nation would beat thirty thousand of theirs (the Spanittrd8)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 Europe. For instances of valour displayed by the British Infantry during the Seventy Years' War, see the Historical Record of the Third Foot, or Buffs. t Vide the Historical Record of the First, or Royal Regiment of Foot. 10 INTRODUCTION TO :i '':■.!:: 1 1 t 1 > 1 1 1 1 1 iljlii ^ !!■ ill lit; 1C76 turned to the charge breathing vengeance and slaugh- ter, by a powerful effort drove back their antagonists, and re-established themselves on the bastion, but with the loss of more than half their numbers killed and wounded. English valour shone conspicuously on this occasion, and the Dutch authorities acknowledged the superior gallantry of the brigade. In the Hague Ga- zette it was stated •' the English gained very great " honour ;" and in the Brussels Gazette it was stated, " the Prince of Orange having resolved to retake the " Dauphin Bastion, appointed two hundred English, *' and as many of his guards^ to make the attack, which " they did with great courage and resolution, and with " very great honour to the English, who first entered " the breach." Sir William Temple, Harris, Boyer, Carleton, Bernardi, and other authors, bore ample tes- timony to the native valour of the English soldiers. A Scots regiment, commanded by Sir Alexander Colyear, also distinguished itself at this siege. A desperate sally was made from the town, on the morning of the 6th of August, by three hundred Swiss infantry, who, owing to the neglect of a sentry, surprised and made prisoners the English guard on the bastion ; but a reinforcement coming forward, the Swiss were overpowered and destroyed, except about twenty men, who escaped into the town. The Prince of Orange com- plimented the English on their bravery : and being de- sirous of conferring on merit a special mark of his appro- bation, and of inciting other corps to emulate the Eng- lish brigade, he made each of the three regiments a pre- sent of a fat ox and six sheep, which, however, occa- sioned some murmuring among the Dutch. A strong horn-work was afterwards captured by the Dutch, and preparations were made for a general storm THE SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. of the main breach ; but Marshal de Schomberg advanc- 167G ing at the head of a powerful French army to relieve the town, the siege was raised, and the three English regi- ments, having sustained a severe loss, were sent into quarters in Holland. The French monarch commenced the campaign of 1677 1677 with grf?at vigour; and the advantage derived from an army being under the sole direction of, and con- ducted by immediate orders from one head, over a con- federate force, which meets with delays and obstructions from different interests, councils, negligences, and tem- pers, was very conspicuous, — the feeble preparations of the Dutch, and the apathy of the Spaniards, having left the Prince of Orange without a force capable of contend- ing with the immense army of the enemy. Colonel Ashley's regiment, after replacing its losses with recruits from England, quitted Holland, and advanced with the remainder of the brigade to West Flanders. It formed part of the army, under the Prince of Orange, employed in the attempt to relieve the town of St. Omer ; and was engaged on the 1 1th of April at the battle of Mont- Cassel, which was fought under great disadvantages in numbers and the nature of the ground. Two newly- raised regiments of Dutch marines, posted between the Prince's foot-guards and the English brigade, gave way at the first onset, and, confusion ensuing, the Prince re- treated with the loss of his baggage and artillery. At the close of the campaign, the ministers of the con- federate states pressed King Charles II. to recall his troops from the service of France, attributing many of the French monarch's successes to the bravery of the British regiments ; and in 1678 the king acceded. At 1678 the same time the gallant Earl of Ossory, eldest son of the Duke of Ormond, was appointed to the command of 8 HISTORICAL RECORD Of si 1678 the British brigade ; and Sir Henry Bellasis succeeded Colonel Ashley in the command of the regiment which is now the Sixth Foot. Ten thousand English troops were also embarked for Flanders, to take part in the war. During the early part of the campaign of 1678, the British brigade, under the Earl of Ossory, was employed on detached services in Brabant and Flanders ; and on the morning of Sunday, the 14th of August, it moved from its camp near the little river Senne, to attack the French army, commanded by Marshal Luxemburg, before Mons. The French commander imagined himself safe in inac- cessible entrenchments ; but he was surprised by a party of Dutch dragoons while at dinner in the Abbey of St. Denis, near the village of that name, and his army was unexpectedly attacked, with great fury, about three o'clock in the afternoon. The Dutch, under Count Waldeck, assaulted and carried the abbey ; the Spaniards, commanded by the Duke of Villa Hermosa, advanced by the village of Castehau ; and the Dutch foot-guards, with the Earl of Ossory's brigade, prolonged the attack on the heights of Castehau, where the action was maintained with particular obstinacy. The Earl of Ossory drew his sword, and, pointing to the dark masses of the enemy, whose polished arms gleamed on the dis- tant heiffhts, led his British bands to the attack with signal intrepidity : his gallant mien and lofty bearing in- fused a noble ardour into the breasts of his officers and men, who urged, with resolute tread, their way through every difficulty to encounter their adversaries. The grenadiers of Bellasis's regiment (now Sixth Foot) headed by Major William Babington, led the attack on a body of French troops, posted in a hop-garden, with a THE SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. spirit and resolution which were imitated by the mus- 1678 keteers and pikemen, and a vehement struggle ensued among the trees and umbrageous foliage which adorned the scene of conflict. Sir Henry Bellasis and Lieutenant- Colonel Monk were wounded. Major Babington was also wounded and taken prisoner, and the contest was fierce and sanguinary; but British valour prevailed, and the French were driven from among the hop-poles with great slaughter. Another stand was made by the enemy be- ^ yond the enclosure, and the storm of battle was renewed with additional fury. The Scots, under Major-General Kirkpatrick, Sir Alexander Colyear, and Colonel Mackay, vied with the English in their gallant efforts, and the Prince of Orange and Duke of Monmouth arriving at that part of the field, witnessed their heroic behaviour. Attack succeeded attack, and as the shades of evening gathered over the scene of conflict, the blaze of musketry and showers of hand-grenades indicated the fury of the opposing ranks of war. At length darkness put an end to the fight ; and the French forsook their entrenchments and retreated. The excellent conduct of the British troops was appreciated by the Prince of Orange and the States-General ; and in the narratives of the battle, pub- lished at the time, they received their meed of praise ; in one accoun*: it was stated, — " the Earl of Os.sory and his troops performed wonders ;" in another, — -' the English and Scots regiments did things to the admira- tion of those that beheld them;"" and in a third, — "they behaved themselves with that courage and bravery uhich are so natural to them^ The regiment which forms the subject of this memoir lost many non commissioned officers and private soldiers, and had the following officers killed and wounded : — Captains Richardson and Van- derstraet, Lieutenants Price, Paul, and Lepingault, and i: It i- ' 1 !l , q 1 I ! j;||t!i .1 II! liifi '4 I'Si W i 10 HISTORICAL RECORD OF 1678 Ensign Drury, killed : Colonel Sir Henry Bellasis, Lieu- tenant-Colonel Monk, Captain Fenford, Lieutenant Lun- nemon, and Ensign Nelson, wounded. Major Babington was wounded and taken prisoner : he was, in the first instance, included in the list of the slain *. Preliminary articles for a treaty of peace had, in the mean time, been agreed upon at Nimeguen ; and the as- pect of affairs was suddenly changed, the spot of ground where fury and bloodshed raged a few hours before was transformed, by the news of peace, to a scene of hilarity and jocund mirth, which was only alloyed by the remem- brance of the loss of so many companions in arms, whose blood had stained the grassy fields. 1679 When the States-General reduced the strength of their army to a peace establishment, the estimation in which the British troops were held occasioned their being re- tained in the service of the United Provinces j and in a treaty on this subject, the States agreed to send the six regiments to England, when the King should require their services. During the five years succeeding the treaty of Nime- guen, Sir Henry Bellasis's regiment was employed in 1680 garrison duty. In 1680, its Lieutenant-Colonel, Thomas Monk, was promoted to the colonelcy of the regiment, * Return of officers of the Earl of Ossory's brigade killed and wounded at the battle of St. Denis, 14th August, 1678. The Earl of Ossory's regiment Colonel Henry Wisely's ditto Sir Henry Bellasis's ditto Sir Alexander Colyear's ditto . Major-General Kirkpatrick's ditto Colonel Hugh Mackay's ditto (now 5th foot) . (6th) Total Killed. Wounded. 3 10 2 10 6 6 2 4 3 6 4 3 20 39 'i ■'I m THE SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. 11 which is now the fifth foot, in succession to Colonel 1680 Wisely, who was drowned on his passage to England ; and Major William Babington was appointed to the lieutenant-colonelcy. In 1684, when the French aggressions in the duchy 1684 of Luxemburg occasioned some alarm in the Nether- lands, the regiment marched to the vicinity of Brussels, where a body of troops was encamped a short time, and subsequently near Malines : no war taking place, the camp was broken up in November, and the regiment was again employed in garrison duty. In the summer of 1685, events transpired which occa- 1685 sioned the removal of the regiment from the Netherlands to England : the Earl of Argyle, and a number of other political exiles, who were zealous advocates for civil liberty and the reformed religion, proceeded in May from the Netherlands to Scotland, where they attempted to organize a rebellion against the government of King James II., who was a professed papist. His Majesty, in a letter to the Prince of Orange, dated Whitehall, the 22nd of May, stated ; — " I make no doubt, by God's " help, that the rebels will soon be mastered, yet there is " no harm in providing for the worst ; and, therefore, I " have charged Mr. Skelton to propose to you the lend- " ing me the three Scots regiments that are in your ser- " vice, to be sent over to Scotland ; and if this is a thing " you can do, the sooner it is done the more reason 1 shall " have to take it very kindly of you *." The States ac- ceded to this request : but before the Scots regiments embarked, the Duke of Monmouth had landed at Lyme, in Dorsetshire, and having erected his standard in the * Appendix to Dalrymple's Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland. !3-' 12 HISTORICAL RKCORI) OF lGy5 market-place, summoned the people to join him in an appeal to arms against the government : the destination of the three regiments was then changed to England. At the same time the King made the following applica- tion to the Prince of Orange, in a letter dated Whitehall, the 17th of June, 1685. " When I wrote to you yesterday, I thought the " militia would have kept the Duke of Monmouth shut " up in Lyme ; but by the fault of those of Devonshire, " or Somersetshire, he has opened his way towards Taun- " ton, which is a very factious town, and where he may " increase his numbers ; and though, with those troops I " have raised, and am raising, I make no doubt of mas- " tering him in some small time, yet, to make all sure, " I desire you to lend me the three English regiments " that are in your service, and they may be sent over " with all speed *." Some of the towns of Holland were, however, so jealous of King James's predilection to pa- pacy, and viewing the Duke of Monmouth in the light of a champion for the reformed religion, their secret wishe". for his grace's success were so strong, that the Prince of Orange found some difficulty in obtaining the consent of the States for the regiments to proceed to England f ; and when their consent had been procured, a new obstacle arose. The officers and soldiers of Sir Henry Bellasis's regiment (now Sixth Foot) were so devoted to the protestant interest, and so averse to be- coming instruments by which the ascendency of popish principles should be established, that they objected lO proceed to England J. Their scruples were, however. * Appendix to Dalrymple's Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland. t Bisliop Burnet. % Millan. THK SIXTH REGIMKNT OF FUOT. 13 overcome, and the King expressed the gratification which IC85 he experienced on hearing they were reaily for embarka- tion, in a letter to the Prince of Orange, in the following terms. " I received on Wednesday yours of the (nh, by " which I see the English regiments were to bo einb?rked " by the beginning of this week, and must again thank '• you for them, and if they be but as good as the Scots " regiments, which I saw this morning, 1 shall be doul)ly " pleased ; for, as to these I have seen, there cannot be, " I am sure, better men than they are, and they do truly " look like old regiments ; and one cannot be bettei " pleased with them than 1 am, and must again thank you " for them *." His Majesty, however, declined the Prince of Orange's proposal to accompany the brigade to England, fearing that His Highness might acquire too much influence in this country. The three English regiments arrived in the early part of July ; and the rebel army having been overthrown at Sedgemoor on the 6th of that month, they were not re- quired to draw their swords in the contest ; but the pre- sence of this celebrated body of men, at this critical juncture, could not fail to strengthen the interest of the court and overawe the disaffected. The brigade was en- camped at Blackheath, and subsequently on Ilounslow- heath, where the King reviewed it, and expressed his approbation of its warlike appearance, discipline, and good conduct ; but the known staunch protestant prin- ciples of many of the officers and men gave his Majesty some concern. The three regiments (two of them now the FIFTH and sixth foot) obtained rank in the English army from the date of their arrival in England, and took precedence of the regiments raised by King James * Appendix to Dalrymple's Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland. 14 HI^TOKICAL RECORD OF ■■■'i -4 »:? f ■■! 16S5 during the rebellion, in consequence of the latter not being completely organized when the brigade arrived. The rank of Sir Hknry Bkllasis's regiment (now Sixth Foot) was afterwards disputed in consequence of the refusal, in the first instance, to proceed to England "* ; but a bnard of general officers decided this question in its favour in 1 694. The rebellion having been suppressed, the English brigade returned to the Netherlands in August f ; and tlie Scots a short time ofterwards. The King was de- sirous of procuring the appointment of the Earl of Pembroke to the command of the six regiments, which was acceded to ; but soon afterwards his Majesty pressed the Prince of Orange and States of the United Pro- vinces to confer this important trust on the Earl of Carlingford, who was objected to (as the Earl of Dun- barton had been in the time of Charles II.), in conse- quence of his being a papist : his Majesty was particularly urgent on the subject ; but the States did not acquiesce. 1686 Soon afterwards events transpired which occasioned Sir Henry Bellasis to be removed from his regiment, which was commanded, ad interim, by the Lieut. -Colo- nel, William Babington. Although this officer was not appointed to the colonelcy, it was usually styled 1687 Babington*s regiment. The prevalence of French councils at the British court, and the advances made by the king towards the establishment of papacy and arbi- trary government, occasioned the nation to look to the Prince of Orange as the only source from whence de- liverance could be expected, and on the 27th of May, 1687, Sir Henry Bellasis wrote to the Prince as follows: * Millan. t The pay of the Regiment for sixty days, from the 5th June to the 3rd August, 1685, amounting to £1014. 8s., was charged in the Accounts of the Army in England. I ( I THE SIXTH REGIMENT OF I OOT. 15 -■\ •• I have presumed by this worthy bearer to give your 1687 " Highness the assurance of my devotion to your ser- " vice in particular. The testimony I have given to the ** world of my loyalty and sufferings for tlic crown, " obliges me in duty to pay the same to those who are " so nearly related to it as the Princess lloyal and your ** Highness. Though my hand be weak to express it, •♦ or enlarge myself upon the subject, my heart shall •' supply that defect, in the profession I make *." The King felt some distrust at so efficient a body of British troops being in the service of a protestant repub- lic at the time when he was meditating the subversion of the protestant religion and established laws of the kingdom : he was desirous of recalling them from Hol- land, and of transferring so many of them as would return, particularly the officers and men who were of the Roman Catholic religion, to the service of France. Louis XIV. had experienced the inconvenience of hav- ing the regiments in his service suddenly recalled, as the English and Sects corps were in 1(»78, and he de- clined the offer; but as the re-uniting of England in the communion of the church of Rome would further his projects of personal aggrandisement, he proposed to maintain a body of two thousand men in England, to be principally of the Roman Catholic church. This subject being arranged, King James wrote to the Prince of Orange on the 17th of January, 1688, as follows: 1688 " I have charged my envoy, Mons. d' Abbeville, who " will give you this letter, to give you an account that " I think it for my service to call home the six regi- •' ments of my subjects that are under your command " in the States' service ; and have written to the States * Appendix to Dalrymple's Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland. 10 IIISTOKICAL RKCORl) OF 1688 " to the same purpose, untl hope you will do your part •' to further their being embarked as soon as may be. •• What else I have to say on this subject I refer to my " envoy ; which is all I shall say now, but that you shall " find me as kind to you as you can desire *." The States well knowing the value of these favourite corps, and anticipating the speedy arrival of a period when they would have urgent occasion for the services of every regiment, refused to comply with the King's demand, alleging they were not bound by the treaty with the Earl of Ossory to send the six regiments to England, unless the King was engaged in a foreign war, or an insurrection at home, which was not the case. His Majesty was, however, determined, if possible, to deprive the States of the services of this select body of men ; and, after some further correspondence on the subject, the following proclamation appeared in the Lou don Gazette : — " James R. " Whereas we think it for our service to call home " all our natural-born subjects who are now in the service ** of the States General of the United Provinces of the '* Netherlands, being either mariners and seafaring men, " or officers and soldiers serving at land. We do, there- " fore, by this Our royal proclamation, by and with the " advice of Our privy council, streightly charge, require, " and command all and singular masters of ships, pilots, *• mariners, seamen, shipwrights, and other seafaring " men whatsoever, and wheresoever, and also all com- ** manders, officers, and soldiers serving at land, being our natural-born subjects, who have betaken them- i( * Appendix to Dalrymple's Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland. 1 THE SIXTH RKOIMENT OF FOOT. 17 'i " selves unto, and now arc in the pay or service of, tlie 1688 ** States General of the United Provinces of the Nethor- •' lands, or in the pay or service of any of their subjects, *• — That upon their known and bounden duty and " allegiance, they, and every of them, do quit the said " respective services by sea or land, and return home to " their native countries, within the times hereby prc- '• scribed, — that is to say, that all officers and com- " manders at land, whatsoever, who are now in the " service of the said States General, in any place or part " of the Netherlands or Low Countries, do quit the " said service and return home within the space of two " calendar months from the date hereof, and all other '• persons hereinbefore mentioned, wherever they are " or shall be hereafter, in as short a time, and with as " much speed, as they shall be able, wherein We do and " will expect all due obedience and conformity. And •• we do hereby further publish and declare, that all and " every the offenders to the contrary shall not only " incur our high displeasure, but be rigorously pro- " ceeded against for such their offence, by all ways and •• means, according to the utmost severities of the law. — " And we do hereby also authorize and command all •' and every Our captains, masters, and other officers " serving and employed in any of our ships or vessels at " sea, or elsewhere, and all and every other Our subjects '• whom it may concern, to seize, take, and bring away " all such officers, mariners, and soldiers, and other " persons aforesaid, as shall be found to be employed, *' or continue in the service aforesaid, in contempt of, " and contrary to, the true intent and meaning of this " Our proclamation. •• Given at Our Court at Whitehall, 14th March, " 1687-8, in the fourth year of Our reign." c 18 IIIHTORICAL KECOKI) OF 168H Notwithstanding this nrcjclamation, the States poii- tinueil Rtcdfast in tliiir determination not to send the hIx regiments home; but as sonic of the oiricers were members of the Homan Catholic church, and it being probable a rupture on the subject of religion would shortly take place, they gave permission for as many of the officers to return to England as chose. About forty availed themselves of this opportunity and quitted the Dutch service. The King sent a frigate to bring them home. A few soldiers also withdrew from Holland, and three regiments* were formed, of nearly all papists, and taken into the pay of the King of France, but they remained in Englanil. The six British regi- ments in the Dutch service were thus purged of Roman Catholics, the vacancies were filled with men of staunch protestant principles, and this distinguished body of men was considered stedfastly devoted to the protestant in- terest. The Prince of Orange having been induced to proceed to England with a powerful armament for the purpose of rescuing the kingdom from the power of papacy, the six regiments were selected to form part of the expe- dition, and they were considered the most formidable and efficient portion of his army. They mustered about four thousand officers and men, were commanded by Major-General Hugh Mackay, and sailed under a red • The first was an English regiment, commanded by Colonel John Hales, and contained ten officers and two hundred soldiers of the Roman Catholic religion ; the second was commanded by John Wachop, and contained twelve Roman Catholic officers and about three hundred soldiers, who were principally Scots ; and the third was commanded by Roger M'Eligott : it was an Irish corps, ai neatly every officer and man was of the Roman Ca- tholic reli on. ■■ii II.'. TIIR SIXTH RKOIMKNT OF FOOT. 19 flag. A (Icclarntion was published, .setting forth the l()8H reasons which induced the Prince of Orange to engage in this undertaking; and Captain LANoiiAMof Hahinc;- ton's regiment* (now Sixth Foot), arriving privately in England, was seized and imprisoned, and a nund)er of the declarations were found in his portmanteau, which were shown to the King. When the expressions im- porting tlmt the Prince of Orange was '♦ most earnestly •' invited to come to England by divers of the lords, " l)oth temporal and spiritual, and by many gentlemen " and others," were read, the King expressed great indignation, and sent for such noblemen and bishops as wore in London, but none of them would acknowledge that they had given such an invitation. The Dutch armament passed Dover and proceeded westward, while the English fleet, under the Karl of Dartmouth, lay wind-bound at the mouth of the Thames ; but a tender, on board of which were four companies of the regiment which forms the subject of this memoir, commanded by Major Ventris Columbine, was separated from the remainder of the Dutch fleet by a gale of wind, and captured by Captain Aylmer in His Majesty's ship the Swallow. The four companies were landed in De- vonshire; they were treated as prisoners, and measures were adopted to constrain them to enter King James's service. Meanwhile the other eight companies of the regiment continued their course, and landed on the r)th of November with the remainder of the Prince's army * In the list of the Prince of Orange's army published by au- thority, the regiment, which is now the Sixth Foot, is styled " The regiment which was formerly Bellasis's ;" but in the ephe- meral publications of that date it is slj led " Babington's regi- ment." c2 20 HISTORICAL RECORD OF :.! 1688 on the Devonshire coast, from whence they advanced to Exeter. The result may be told in a few words. The English army refused to fight against the best interests of the country. King James and his family fled to France, and the Prince and Princess of Orange were 1689 elevated to the throne. Thus the Sixth Regimknt had the honour of taking a conspicuous part in the enter- prise by which the established religion and laws of Great Britain were preserved. After his accession to the throne King William de- tained this regiment in the south of England, and kept it upon the Dutch establishment : consequently, in the lists of the army given by Story and other historians of this period, it is designated a Dutch regiment. Major Columbine, and the other officers and men who were captured by the Swallow, were restored with honour. In May, 1689, the regiment was quartered in Lon- don ; in August it was encamped on Hounslow heath ; it afterwards returned to London and was quartered in the Tower Hamlets. Sir Henry Bellasis having been appointed to succeed the Duke of Norfolk in the colonelcy of a newly-raised regiment (now twenty-second foot), the colonelcy of the Sixth was conferred on the lieutenant-colonel, Wil- liam Babington, by commission dated the 28th of September, 16S9 ; and Major Columbine was appointed lieutenant-colonel. 1690 Although England was delivered from the power of papacy and despotism, a great part of Ireland was sub- ject to King James and his adherents, whose cruel pro- ceedings towards the protestants awakened the sympa- thies of the English nation, and King William resolved to proceed to the rescue of the unoffendirg sufferers. Colonel Babington's regiment was one of the corps r I THE SIXTH ilEGIMKNT OF FOOT. 21 selected to proceed to Ireland : it embarked at Highlake 1690 on the 12th of April, 1690, and immediately on landing marched to the siege of Charlemont — a strong castle situate on the angle formed by the confluence of the river Canlin with the Blackwater, on the eastern side of the county of Armagh, and erected in 1602 by Lord Mountjoy, as a curb on the Earl of Tyrone, whose chief mansion-house, with a strong fort, was at Dungannon, about five miles north-west of it. Under the shelter of this fort a town was built, which in 1689 was a corpo- ration, sending members to parliament. It contained a good garrison under Teague O'Regan, an old soldier and a great humorist, who made a resolute defence. The garrison being in want of provision. King James sent a small supply, accompanied by a detachment of five hundred men under Colonel M'Mahon, who was permitted to enter the castle, but not to return. On the third night they attempted to force their way through the besieging force, but were repulsed with the loss of an officer and eight men ; a second attempt made on the following day was also unsuccessful ; and during the succeeding night they made another attempt, and were driven back with the loss of sixteen men. O'Regan was so incensed at their ill success, that he fastened the gates upon them, and refused to admit them into the castle; and they were forced to make huts in the dry ditch within the palisadoes and on the counterscarp. The place being closely invested, the garrison was forced to surrender in the middle of May for want of provision ; and four companies of the Sixth, commanded by the major, took possession of the castle, where they found seventeen pieces of cannon and a large mortar, also a good supply of ammunition : but the fortress was found m 22 HISTORICAL RECORD OF m 1690 in so filthy a condition, that the officers and men were forced to encamp until it was thoroughly cleansed. In the early part of June the regiment pitched its tents on the undulating grounds nerr Armagh ; and the regiments of Lloyd, Cutts, Hastings, and Fowkes, eleven regiments of Danish horse and foot, and a brigade of Dutch cavalry, afterwards joined the camp. King William arrived in Ireland, and, advancing to the banks of the Boyne, forced the passage of that river on the 1st of July, and overthrew the army of King James in a general engagement, in which the Sixth foot had the honour to take part. The regiment was in Sir Henry Bellasis's brigade, and shared in the glory of this memorable victory. The number of killed and wounded has not been ascertained ; but, as the regiment only mus- tered four hundred and eighteen men at the general review at Finglass on the 7th and 8tL - 1y, its loss may be supposed to have been greats After delivering Dublin from the power of the pa- pists, the regiment was detached against Athhne with the division commanded by Lieut.-General Douglas, who was a brave but rough soldier of fortune, and had served under King William in the Netherlands. On arriving before Athlone, a drummer was sent to summon the garrison to surrender. The governor. Colonel Richard Grace, of Moyelly castle, fired a pistol nt the messenger, and said, " These are my terms ; these only will I give " or receive ; and, after my provisions shall be consumed, " I will defend Athlone until I eat my boots." The siege was afterwards commenced ; and a battery opened its fire against the works : but the train of artillery proved too weak to make a practicable breach ; and, ammunition becoming scarce, Lieut.-General Douglas raised the THE SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. 23 siege and retired. He did not preserve strict discipline I6bj in the division committed to his charge, which was ac- cused of many outrages on the peasantry. On arriving at Ballymore, in the county of Westmeath, Babinoton's (now Sixth) regiment was removed from Lieut. -General Douglas's comniand, and ordered to proceed to Dublin to replace the regiments of Trelawny (now fourth) and Hastings (now thirteenth), which were ordered to em- bark for England. The regiment remained a short time in garrison at Dublin, from whence it was detached to occupy a line of posts along the frontiers; and in November Lieut.- Colonel Columbine, advancing from Roscrea, made an incursion into the enemy's quarters near the Shannon, and in the neighbourhood of Nenagh, where he destroyed a quantity of corn and captured two Cijstles. In April, 1691, Colonel Babington was succe.ded in 1691 the colonelcy of the regiment by Gkorge Prixce of Hesse d'Armstadt — an officer of distinguished merit, who was appointed to serve on the staff of the army in Ireland, with the rank of brigadier-general. The regiment took the field with the army in May. The first service of importance was the siege of Bally- more, which fortress surrendered in the middle of June. The troops subsequently advanced against Athlone, a large and well-fortified town, divided into two unequal portions, or towns, by the river Shannon. Here the regiment was formed in brigade with Lloyd's (now fifth), Cutts', Nassau's, and three Danish battalions^ commanded by Major- General the Count of Nassau and Brigadier-General the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt. It furnished a detachment to attack by storm that part of Athlone which stood on the side of the river next to the army, called the English Town, which was captured 24 HISTORICAL RECORD OF 1691 in gallant style on the 20th of June. Its grenadier com- pany, and a detachment of pikemen and musketeers, also formed part of the storming party selected to attack the opposite side of the town on the 30th of June. The tolling of the church-bell at six minutes after six o'clock in the evening gave the signal for the attack, when the forlorn hope, consisting of three officers and sixty grena- diers in armour, sprang out of the trenches and plunged into the river, which was wuist deep, and rendered dif- ficult by large stones. Three thousand men, under Major-General Mackay, seconded their efforts with signal intrepidity ; and the soldiers, scrambling up the breach in the face of a heavy fire, one helping another up, soon overpowered all opposition, and in less than half an hour were masters of the town. This gallant exploit was performed with the loss of twelve men killed, and five officers and thirty men wounded : among the latter was the colonel of this regiment — the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, and Lieut. -Colonel Columbine. The regiment remained at Athlone while the works were being put in repair ; and, during a severe thunder-storm on the 9th of July, it had two men killed andj three dangerously injured by lightning *. The Irish army, commanded by General St. Ruth, retired and took up a position near Aghrim, where it was attacked on the 12th of July, and the regiment had another opportunity of signalizing itself in action. The Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt headed his own corps, and his characteristic intrepidity was so conspicuous on this 01 sion, that he has been accused of rashness He was again wounded ; but had the gratification of witnessing the heroism of his men, who emulated his example, and Story's History of the War in Ireland. THE SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. 25 the overthrow of the Irish army, before he quitted the 1691 field. Night having put an end to the pursuit, the regiment halted on the scene of conflict ; its loss was ten men killed, and six oflficers and forty-five men wounded. General St. Ruth having been killed in action, the main body of the Irish army fled in terror and dismay towards Limerick, and King William's forces followed. On arriving at Galuay the garrison was summoned, and refused to surrender ; but the river having been passed in boats, and a fort captured by storm, the governor capitulated on the 2 1st of July. The next service in which the regiment was engaged was the second siege of Limerick : it was one of the corps which appeared before the town on the 1 5th of August, and on the 25th it was detached with the regiments of Tiffin (twenty-se- venth foot) and St. John, seven hundred horse and dra- goons, and five pieces of cannon, under its colonel, the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, against Castleconnell, a stronjT fortress on the river Shannon, four miles north of Limerick, which surrendered after a siege of two days. The siege of Limerick was afterwards prosecuted with vigour, and it was delivered up in the beginning of Oc- tober. This event terminated the war in Ireland. The regiment marched from Limerick to Dublin, where it embarked for England on the 20th of December, and after its arrival commenced recruiting its numbers. After reposing a short time in comfortable quarters 1692 in England, the regiment received orders to embark for the Netherlands, to take part in :he war with France ; and it served the campaign of 1692 with the army com- manded by King William in person, by whom it was reviewed at the camp at Genappe on the 29th of June, in presence of the Elector of Bavaria and other distin- 2G HISTORICAL RECORD OF 1692guished persons. It was engaged in the manoeuvres of the main army, and formed part of the division which attacked the French forces under Marshal Luxemburg, in their position near Steenkirkt on the 24th of July. It was one of the corps which supported the leading column under the Duke of Wirtemberg, and, having traversed some difficult grounds, formed with the cavalry of the left wing on the verge of a large wood. A nar- row valley appeared in front, beyond which were several thick hedges,, and the glittering arms and waving colours of the French infantry were seen through the thick foliage. After a sharp cannonade, the second battalion of the first foot guards, the first battalion of the Royals, the regiments of Fitzpatrick and O'Ffarrel, and two bat- talions of Danes, commenced the attack : they were sup- ported by the regiments of Hesse d'Armstadt (Sixth), Cutts, Mackay, Leven's (twenty-fifth foot), Angus (twenty-sixth foot), Graham, and Lawder. These corps behaved with an intrepidity and valour which re- dounded to their honour : they drove the enemy from hedge to hedge, and gained considerable advantage. They were, however, not promptly sustained by the main body of the army under Count Solms, who neglected the King's orders, and occasioned the loss of the battle. Harris, in his History of the Life of King William, states, " The King, enraged at the disappointment of the van- " guard, expressed his concern by often repeating, * Oh ! *' my poor English, how they are abandoned !' nor would " he admit Count Solms to his presence for many months " after." The Sixth nobly sustained their reputation, and fought manfuU}', resisting the superior numbers of the enemy with signal firmness : their commanding officer, Lieut.-Colonel Foxon, fell mortally wounded : the I 1 ■1 THE SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. 27 French legions — dragoons, musketeers, pikemen, and 1692 grenadiers — crowded round this devoted corps in great numbers, and it sustained considerable loss. The King ordered a retreat, and the regiment withdrew from the field a mere skeleton. Its loss in killed and wounded was so great, that on the 8th of August it was ordered into quarters at Malincs, and in September it embarked for England. After landing at Gravesend, a number of officers and strjeants were sent to various parts of England to procure recruits. During the winter of 1693 the regiment again em- 1693 barked for the Netherlands. It was employed in garri- son duty in Flanders; and its colonel, the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, being a Roman catholic, transferred his services to the crown of Spain. He was succeeded, in February, 1694, by Henry Marquis de Kada, son of 1694 the Marquis de Montpouillan. During the winter of this year the regiment was in garrison at Bruges. On taking the field in May, 1695, the regiment left 1695 its colonel, the Marquis de Bada, dangerously ill of a fever in Bruges. It was encamped a short time on the canal between Ghent and Bruges, under the orders of Lieut. -General Sir Henry Bellasis; and subsequently with the main army, commanded by King William in person, near Arseele, where it was formed in brigade with a battalion of the iioyals, and the regiments of Sey- mour, Granville, Saunderson, and Colyear, commanded by Brigadier-General Sir David Colyear. The King was at the head of one hundred and twenty thousand men, and the French generals headed upwards of a hundred thousand men. These two powerful armies confronted each other ; and his Majesty, having by skil- ful movements drawn the enemy to the Flanders side of their line of entrenchments, invested Namiir. This 38 HISTORICAL RKCORD OF 1695 fortress was accounted one of the strongest and most important in the Netherlands, both by its situation and fortifications : it commanded two great rivers, the Sambre and the Maese ; and its castle, which stood on a hill in an angle formed by the confluence of these rivers, was deemed almost impregnable. Such stupen- dous fortifications, defended by a numerous garrison, supplied with every thing requisite for a protracted de- fence, and commanded by a governor who was esteemed by his king, and beloved by the soldiers, seemed to defy the most powerful and best-appointed army that could be brought against it ; and, when the veteran Marshal BoufHers had thrown himself with a large reinforcement into the town, this mass of fortifications was looked upon as a rock on which the grand confederacy of the allies would split. These difficulties stimulated the British monarch to greater exertions; and the Sixth, after remaining a short time with the covering army commanded by Charles Henry of Lorraine, Prince of Vaudemont, was ordered to join the forces employed in the siege, and to take part in the attack of this vast fortress. While on the march the Marquis de Rada died at Bruges, and King William conferred the colonelcy on an officer who had formerly served with distinction in the regiment, Ventris Co- lumbine, from captain and lieutenant-colonel in the foot guards. This officer was highly esteemed in the corps, and, assuming the command of it before Namur, he had additional opportunities of signalizing himself. The regiment was on duty in the trenches on the 6th, 10th, and 13th of July ; and on the 17th it los*, a num- ber of men while engaged in storming the counterscarp ; it had also Captain Young killed, and Lieut. Dorrington and Ensign Drobas wounded. On the 19th it was again on duty in the trenches, and lost several men ; and dur- ■ r";" i!'' 1 1 i THE SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. 29 ing the night of the 23rd it was engaged in extending 1695 the lodgment to the right. A practicable breach having been made, the enemy surrendered the town on the fol- lowing day, and retired to the castle, resolving to make a desperate defence. This was one of the rcgimentn engaged in the siege of the castle, and was encamped at a place called Maison Blanche ; but, having sustained considerable loss, it was relieved on the 1 1th of August, and joined the covering army under the Prince of Vau- demont, who had recently quitted liis position at Water- loo, and was encamped within seven miles of Namur. A detachment from the grenadier company was engaged in storming the breaches of the Terra Nova and Cohorne on the 20th of August, under Lord Cutts. This proved a most severe service ; a lodgment was made along the covered way and entrenchments, but with the loss of above a thousand English, besides Bavarians, Prussians, and Dutch. The grenadier company of this regiment lost several men, and had Captain Cummins killed, and Lieutenant Twinhoe wounded. The fire against the castle was continued, and prepa- rations made for another assault, when the garrinon beat a parley, and agreed to surrender. Thus the capture of this important fortress, which was accounted the bulwark of Brabant, was achieved, and the reputation of the Bri- tish monarch and his troops exalted. After the works were repaired, Colonel Columbink marched with his regiment into quarters at Bruges, where he expected to pass the winter ; but circumstances occurred which occasioned his return to England. The French monarch, finding his ambitious projects 1696 frustrated, attempted to excite a rebellion in England in favour of King James, who was residing at the French court, and prepared an armament to second the malcon- 30 HISTORICAL RFX'ORD OF 1696 tents. At the same time a plot was formed to assassin- ate King William when on his return from hunting. On the discovery of these designs, this, with a number of other regiments, was ordered home. The Sixth embarked at Oatend in the early part of March, 1696, landed at Gravesend in the middle of that month, and went into quarters. The plot was discovered, the de- signs of the enemy were frustrated, and the King pro- ceeded to the Netherlands to take the command of the army. In June, 1696, the regiment was on duty at Windsor; and in July it was encamped in Windsor forest. 1697 After passing twelve months in England, the regi- ment received orders to return to the Netherlands : it landed at Williamstadt in the beginning of July, 1697, and joined the confederate army before Brussels, where it was reviewed by his Majesty : it remained before Brussels until hostilities were terminated by the treaty of Ryswick, when it was ordered to return to England. It landed at Gravesend in November, 1697, and marched to Huntingdon. It subsequently proceeded to Ireland, 1698 where it arrived in August, 1698, and remained until, 1699 another war breaking out in Europe, its services were 1700 again required abroad in the defence of the crown and 1701 kingdom against the projects of the court of France. 1702 The hope of continued tranquillity, with the prospect that this country would be enabled to develop its re- sources and make rapid advances in arts, manufactures, and commerce, under the auspices and benign influence of peace at home and abroad, soon passed away : a Bourbon prince ascended the Spanish throne, when pre- parations for war were made, and Colonel Columbine received orders to recruit his regiment to seven hundred rank and file. The decease of King William, and the Hi THE SIXTH RKGIMKNT OF FOOT. 31 accession of Queen Anne, on the 8th March, 1702, pro- 1702 duced no alteration in the foreign jwlicy of the British court ; and in a few weeks after Her Majesty's accession the regiment proceeded to the Isle of Wight, where it pitched its tents preparatory to some expedition, the des- tination of which was kept secret. In the early part of June it was reviewed, with nine other battalions of in- fantry, and two hundred dragoons, by Prince George of Denmark, generalissimo of her Majesty's land and sea forces, and was complimented on its appearance and dis- cipline. The Duke of Ormond assumed the command of the expedition, and the regiment embarked on board the St. George, Jacob, and Gosport transports *, and put to sea. Arriving off the coast of Andalusia, in Spain, the troops ascertained they were destined to make an attempt on the strong fortress of Cadiz : a landing was effected in the middle of August, during a high wind, and about thirty boats, crowded with soldiers, were over- turned by the surge. The town of Rota, on the north side of Cadiz bay, the town of Port St. Marifs, at the mouth of the river Guadalete, and Fort St. Catherine, were captured. The wealthy and flourishing town of Port St. Mary's was found deserted by the inhabitants ; positive orders had been given against plundering ; but the officers neg- lecting to enforce strict obedience occasioned the most unfortunate results. The hungry and thirsty oldiers forced open the houses in search of refreshment ; finding abundance of excellent wine, they drank freely, and, under its influence, commenced plundering the town. An immense quantity of valuable merchandize and other property was removed on board the fleet, and some of '*' The original embarkation return of the regiment is preserved among the Harleian Manuscripts, No. 7025. 32 HISTORICAL RKCOHD OP I :• 1702 the officers were guilty of securing for tlicmselvcs ninny costly articles : thus, such of the inhabitants as were previously disposed to favour the allies became hostile, and the public cause suffered by the want of strict dis- cipline. Cadiz was found better prepared for resistance than had been expected, and the expedition proved of insufficient strength for the capture of this fortress. The troops were re-embarked, and they subsequently pro- ceeded to K/^rro, where a valuable Spanish fleet had ar- rived from the West Indies, in charge of a French convoy. The grenadiers and eight battalions of infantry landed on the south side of the river, seven miles from the town : this regiment formed part of the first brigade, which landed under the Duke of Ormond and Brigadier- General Hamilton ; a strong fort and a battery were carried by storm, the fleet forced an entrance, and the French and Spanish shipping were all taken and de- stroyed. Many Spanish seamen escaped on shore and took with them much valuable property : a soldier of Captain Brown's company of this regiment captured a Spanish mariner who was carrying off an immense silver dish of curious workmanship, which was delivered up to the proper authorities *. The expedition returned to England, where the regi- ment arrived in the early part of November, and was stationed at Canterbury ; it received £5G1. 10*. prize- money. Queen Anne went in triumphal cavalcade to St. Paul's cathedral to return thanks for this success ; and the troops received the thanks of parliament for their conduct In a few weeks after its return from Vigo the regi- ment was ordered to hold itself in readiness to proceed to * A note ockr.owledgina: the receipt of this dish is preserved in the British Museum.— Bibl. Harl., 7025. TIIK SIXTH KK«IMKNT OF FOOT. 33 ihe West Indies ; and in Jnniinry, \70'\, it innrchcd to 1703 PoitHniouth, where it enibuiked on lumrd the fleet luuler Viee-Adnjirul Gniydon. The object of the expedition was the capture of IMacentia and Newfoundland ; but the enemy's force was found too strong, and, after re- maining a short time in the West Indies, the regiment returned to England. It landed in October following at I\)rtsmoutli, from whence it was removed into quarters at Southampton and other towns in that neighbourhood . On the decease of Colonel Ventris Coliuubinc, Her Majesty co.iferred the colonelcy on the lieutenant-colonel, Jambs Rivkrs, by commission dated the 2nd of Novem- ber, 1703: r.l the ?ame time Major ^VlLLIAM Soum- WKLL was appointed lieutenu 'colonel. 1701 The quarters were extciitisd to Worcester in April, 1704, and a detacl . "nt was sent U tlie Isle of Wight : in August following lie' regiment proceeded to Ply- mouth, where it passed the succeeding winter. Meanwhile the war was raging in the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and other parts of the continent, and an attempt was being made to place Archduke Charles of Austria on the throne of Spain by force of arms. Gib- raltar had been captured by the combined English and Dutch fleets, and in connexion with these events the re- 1705 giment was embarked at Plymouth in May, 1705, under the Edii i'^ Peterborough, to take part in the war. The design oi this expedition was either to aid the Duke of Savoy in driving the French out of Italy, to make an atiempt on Naples and Sicily, or to further the progress of the Archduke in Spain. The fleet arrived at the capital of Portugal in June, and additional forces were embarked : at the same time Archduke Charles went on board the fleet to share in the toils and dangers of the enterprise. From Lisbon the expedition proceeded to n \l 34 HISTORICAL RECORD OF i m-. 1705 Gibraltar, where it was joined by the former colonel of the Sixth — the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, and a re- inforcement from the garrison. From Gibraltar the fleet proceeded to the bay of Altea, in Valencia; and while at this small port the officers and soldiers had opportunities of observing the attachment of the inhabitants of that part of Spain to the house of Austria. A thousand Catalonians and Valentians, who had thrown off" their allegiance to the house of Bourbon, and had acknowledged Archduke Charles as the sove- reign of Spain, seized on the town of Denia, while others made demonstrations of giving effectual aid to the expe- dition ; and such a spirit of enterprise was evinced by King Charles, the Earl of Peterborough, the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, and others, that every officer and man caught the ardent zeal of the superior officers, and re- solved to do something great and noble. Under these feelings the famous city of Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia, and one of the most ancient towns in Spain, was selected to be the scene of the first attempt. Its situation, on a plain near the sea, — with a mole capable of containing only galleys and small ships, — defended by ten bastions, several old towers and other works, — with a strong castle and citadel, called Montjuich, on a hill on the west side and commanding the town ; the garri- son consisting of between five and six thousand men, under the viceroy of Catalonia, Don Francis de Velasco ; — and the besieging army being u.jitcle to bring more than seven thousand men into the lines ; these circumstances, with the fact, that, in 1697, this fortress resisted a French army of thirty thousand men eight weeks with open trenches, and cost the French monarch twelve thousand men, gave an interesting and romantic character to this enterprise, in which the Sixth gained much honour, and which produced a great sensation throughout Europe. THK SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. 35 The troops landed near the river Bassoz, about three 1705 miles east of Barcelona^ on the 23r(l and 24di of August. On the 28th King Charles came on shore, when the in- habitants of the neighbouring towns and villages flocked to the camp with demonstrations of joy, and many took arms to act as guerilla bands and miquelets; but the progress of the siege was (^elayed by opposite opinions and views among the superior officers. " !i!ach were the " unhappy circumstances of the Earl of Peterborough in " the camp before Barcelona : impossibilities proposed ; " no expedients to be accepted ; a court reproaching ; " councils of war rejecting ; and the Dutch general re- " fusing the assistance of the troops under his com- " mand."* Yet all these difficulties were overcome ; and an attack by storm on the detached fortress of Monl- juich was resolved upon, in which the grenadiers of the Sixth, headed by their Lieutenant-Colonel, William Southwell, had the honour to take the lead. The storming party of four hundred grenadiers, with a sup- port of six hundred musketeers, commanded by the Earl of Peterborough and the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, commenced their march about ten o'clock on the night of Sunday the 13th of September, round the mountains, and were followed by another detachment and a party of dragoons. After traversing many miles of rugged moun- tain scenery by difficult tracts, the storming party ap- peared before the fortress, and received a discharge of small arms and artillery from the garrison. The Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt and Lord C'harlemont directed Lieut. -Colonel Souiuwell of the Sixth to commence the attack ; and instantly springing forward at the head of tlie grenadiers, this g ,nt officer led the storming party to the assault with signal intrepidity and rcaoliition. The native energy and contempt of danger of the British * Cailoton's Memoirs. D 'Z f' l«!f- M m 36 HISTORICAL RKCORl) OF n05 soldier was eminently displayed: SouxinvFXL and his grenadiers climbed the steep rock in the face of a storm of fire from the garrison, — entered the covered way and the ditch, sword in hand, — ascended to the top of a cur- tain which was not quite finished, one soldier helping another up, and, notwithstanding the vigorous resistance of the enemy, gained the bulwark of a new fortification. Here some sharp fighting took place : thrice Lieut.-Colo- nel Southwell was surrounded, but he overthrew his adversaries with matchless valour, and the enemy was driven from that post into the castle. The men, at the other pcints of attack, had also proved successful, — a consider- able portion of the outworks were carried, — a temporary breastwork and entrenchment were speedily constructed, — and three pieces of cannon, which had been captured, were made use of to defend it. The Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt afterwards advanced with a body of men along the curtain which led to the ditch of the inward fort, and fell mortally wounded ; two hundred and fifty of the men were made prisoners by the enemy ; at the same time a large reinforcement was seen advancing from the lown to aid the garrison in the castle, and the soldiers received orders to retire from some of the inferior officers. The Earl of Peterborough rushed to the spot, counter- manded the order, seized the half-pike out of Lord Char- lemont's hands, and rallied and led back the soldiers to the posts they had so nobly won : the Spaniards who were advancing from the town turned back, and the out- works of the fortress of Montjuich were thus gained. Bat- teries were constructed, and the inner works were assailed with cannon-balls, bombs, and grenades. On the I7th of September, Lieut. -Colonel Southwell of the Sixth, being on duty in the trenches with his regiment, observed that the bombs, thrown by a Cutch bombardier from a small mortar, fell to the left of the fort, and concluding THE SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. 37 there was a magazine in the place, he traversed the mortar 1705 a little to the right, himself", and fired it ; and the bomb falling into a little chapel where the garrison had stored a great quantity of powder, it blew up, and the governor, a Neapolitan named Don Charlete Caracholi, with a num- ber of other officers and men, we.c buried in the ruins. The intrepid Southwell called a few soldiers forward, and, advancing sword in hand to take advantage of the confusion, was met by the surviving officers and men of the garrison, who laid down their arms and surrendered the fortress ; Lieut.-Colonel Southwell took possession of the works ; and King Charles hastened to the spot and embraced the lieut. -colonel in a transport of joy. Thus the strong castle and citadel of Montjuich was captured ; and Lieut.-Colonel Southwell of the Sixth was re- warded with the appointment of governor.* The capture of Montjuich facilitated the siege of the city of Barcelona, which was persecuted with vigour: the miquelets and armed Catalonians blocked up the avenues of the town, and the soldiers were incessant in their exertions. *' The admirals forgot their element, and acted " as general officers at land ; they came every day from '' their ships with a body of men formed into companies, '* and commanded by captains and lieutenants of their *' own,"| Cannon and mortars were dragged up steep precipices by men ; and a practicable breach having been made, a body of soldiers prepared to attack the city by * It seems remarkable that the distingui»,hed conduct of Lieut.- Colonel Southwell of the Sixth has not been alluded to by many historians who have written accounts of the capture of Barcelona : his personal bravery and success were, however, re- corded in the " Annals of Queen Anne ;" in the " Present Slate of Europe ;"' and in a few other works published at the time. '♦• Carleton. I if 38 HISTORICAL RECORD OF \4U w n05 storm ; but the effusion of blood, which would have at- tended this enterprize, was spared by th i surrender of the garrison. A number of miquelets entered the city through the breach with the design of plundering the par- tisans of the Bourbon dynasty. The governor being very unpopular^ and suspected of a design to remove many of the prisoners, was surrounded by an enraged mob : but the Earl of Peterborough entered the town on the 14th of October with a troop of dragoons and the grenadiers of the army, put a stop to the plundering of the miquelets, and prevented the slaughter of the governor and his gar- rison ; at the same time such excellent order and disci- pline were preserved among the English soldiers, that their conduct has been lauded by historians. The capture of Barcelona gave additional reputation to the arms of the allies, and this splendid achievement was the theme of conversation and a subject of astonishment throughout Europe. It was accompanied by the submission of nearly all Catalonia, the largest and richest province of Spain ; and, as Boyer, the historian of these wars, observes, " all the generals, admirals, officers, private soldiers, and •' seamen, engaged in this memorable expedition, deserved " each their share of the honour." King Charles commenced forming a Spanish army for his service : he soon had five hundred dragoons for a guard, and six regiments of foot. He was joi^sed by Colo- nel Nebot, Avho forsook the service of King Philip with a regiment of horse ; and in a short time the province of Valencia submitted to the Austrian prince. no6 The regiment continued under the immediate directions of the Earl of Petv^borough , with whose achievements its services are connCwted ; and his raising the siege of St. Matthoo, the capture of Morviedro, his exploits in / Vi- lencia, and the relief of the capital of that province — suc- ■ r I THE SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT, 39 cesses gained with a small body of soldiers over a nume- 1706 rous army — carry with them the appearance of fiction and romance more than of sober truth ; but being supported by abundance of collateral and direct evidence, the truth of these achievements cannot be doubted. Unfortunately, no documents have been met with to prove what particu- lar corps his lordship left in garrison, and what corps he took with him in his daring enterprise in Valencia ; the part taken by the first royal and eighth dragoons, the thirteenth, thirtieth, and thirty-fourth foot, and a few other corps, can be clearly made out from history ; but whether the Sixth remained in garrison in Catalonia, or was employed in the enterprise in Valencia, has not been ascertained. While employed in this part of Spain, the colonel of the regiment, James Rivers, died, and Lieut. -Colonel William Southwell, having been sent to England with despatches, was promoted by Queen Anne to the colonelcy; he kissed her Majesty s hand on the appoint- ment on the 14th of March, 1706, and hastened back to Spain to join his regiment. King Charles and his counsellors, instead of exerting themselves to provide for the security of the towns which had come into their possession, and collecting the means for future conquests, spent their iime and money in balls and public diversions. The breaches in Barcelona and the detached fortress of Montjuich were left unrepaired, and the garrison unprovided for a siege. Meanwhile King Philip was obtaining reinforcements from the fron- tiers of Portugal, from Italy, Provence, Flanders, and the Rhine, and he soon appeared at the head of above twenty thousand men to re-capture the provinces he had lost. A powerful French ^nd Spanish force approached Barcelona by land ; a French fleet appeared before the lil fll 40 HISTORICAL RECORD OF In*. $■■ 1706 town; and, the garrison being weak in numbers, regiments were hurried from other places, one English regiment tra- velling one hundred and twenty miles on mules, in two days, to take part iii the defence of Barcelona. The siege was comnseHiied in tin beginning of April, 170G, when tht' sokiieis repaired liie breaches, and a des- perate and resolure defence vv. ;> '.nade. The Eiiri of Feterborou^l hastened from Valencia with a body of select troops, but found the town so closely beset that he was unable to force his way into it, when ho took to the mout iains, and harassed the enemy M'itli skirmishes and uigiu -alarms. The Sixth was one of the corps which 1 »,• the honour of sharing in the de- fence of this important city, and British valour was con- spicuously displayed. When the garrison was nearly exhausted, its numbers decreased from deaths, wounds, sickness, and other causes, to about a thousand effective men, and a practical breach was ready for the enemy to attack thv; place by storm, the English and Dutch fleet arrived with five regiments of foot, the French fleet hur- ried from before the town, and the reinforcements were landed. Barcelona being thus relieved, the enemy, having lost Hve thousand men before the town, made a precipitate retreat on the 12th of May, leaving two hun- dred brass cannon, thirty mortars, and vast quantities of ammunition and provision behind them, together with the sick and wounded of their army, whom Plavshal de /esse recommended to the humanit^^ of the British commander. During the siege, the roajs by which the enemy could return into the heart of Spain had been broken up, and other obstructions raised among the mountains and de- files, and the line of retreat so crowded wirh armed pea- santry, that *he French army was forced to return to France, ar.d v -enter Spain by the passes of the Pyrenean !i;.j THK SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. 41 mountains. Thus Barcelona was preserved by British 170G skill, valour and perseverance ; that part of Spain was delivered from the presence ^f the enemy ; and the forces were at liberty to engage in new enterprises. An immediate advance upon Madrid was resolved upon, and the Marquis das Minas and Earl of Galway, who commanded a British, Portuguese, and Dutch force on the frontiers of Portugal, were requested to penetrate boldly t<} the capital of Spain. To engage in this enter- prise the Sixth embarked from Barcelona, and proceeded by sea to Valencia, where King Charles was expected to arrive with the cavalry by land. While in Valencia the i-egiment furnished a detachment of non-commissioned officers and soldiers, which, with similar detachments from other legiments of foot, were formed into a regi- ment of dragoons, called the Earl of Peterborough's regiment. From Valencia the regiment was detached, under the orders of Major-General Wyndham, to besiege liequena and Cuenza, which places lay on the line of march from Valencia to Madrid, and were both captured after a short resistance. Meanwhile the army from Portugal had penetrated to Madrid, and was anxiously awaiting the arrival of King Charles, who, following the pernicious advice of his Italian counsellors, delayed his journey, and eventually proceeded by way of Arragon. This gave time for the French and Spanish troops under King Philip to re-enter Spain ; and, uniting with the forces under the Duke of Berwick, the enemy had a great superiority of numbers. The allies were forced to re- tire from their forward position; and on the 13th of Sep- tember, the Sixth and othercorps under Major-General W^yndham joined the army at Veles. The troops con- tinued theii route towards the frontiers of Valencia and Murcia. where they remained during the winter. f 42 HISTORICAL RECORD OF ■Si- It 707 The Sixth now formed part of the allied army, which was composed of English, Spaniards, Portuguese, antl Dutch, commanded by the Marquis das Minas and the Earl of Galway, and took the field for offensive opera- tions in the early part of April, 1707. After destroying several of the enemy's magazines, the siege of the castle of Villena was undertaken ; and while this was in pro- gress, a French and Spanish force, of very superior numbers, commanded by the Duke of Berwick, advanced to the plains of Almanza. As the enemy expected the arrival of reinforcements under the Duke of Orleans, the allied generals, though much inferior in numbers to their opponent, resolved to attack him without delay *. * Effective strength of the British forces in Spain at the time of the battle of Almanza, from the weekly return dated 22nd of April, 1707. AT THE BATTLE. Men. Harvey's Horse, now 2nd Dragoon Guards 227 Carpenter's Dragoons, now 3rd Light Dragoons) Essex's ditto, now 4th Light Dragoons . i 292 Killegrew's ditto, now 8th Hussars 51 Pearce's ditto, disbanded 273 Peterborough's ditto, ditto 303 Guiscard's ditto, ditto . 228 Foot Guards 400 Portmore's, now 2nd Foot 462 Southwell's, 6th ditto 505 Stewart's, 9th ditto 467 Hill's, nth ditto . 472 Blood's, 17th ditto 461 Mordaunt's, iiSth ditto 532 Wades, 33rd ditto 458 Gore's, 35th ditto 616 Alnutts', 36th ditto 412 Montjoy's, disbanded . 508 l\^ackartney's, ditto 494 Bret ton's, ditto . 428 John Caulfield's, ditto . 470 Lord Mark Kerr's, ditto 419 Count Nassau's, ditto 422 Total THE SIXTH REGIMENT OP FOOT. 43 Advancing in four columns, on the 25tlj of April, over 1707 many miles of rugged ground, and exposed to a burning sun, the army entered a large plain, and about half-past two in the afternoon the advanced-guard arrived in front of the enemy's camp : at three, the soldiers, though faint, and their bodily strength exhausted with the march, ad- vanced boldly to the attack. The Sixth were formed in brigade with the seven- teenth, thirty-third, and Lord Montjoy's regiments, under Major-General Wade, and were posted between two brigades of cavalry, in the left wing of the front line. The Earl of Galway commenced the action by leading the left brigade through a hollow way to attack the enemy's right : the British dragoons, after gaining some advantage, and ascending a height on which a battery was placed, were overpowered by supeiior numbers and forced to retire. The Sixth and thirty-third advancetl to support the dragoons, and opening a sharp fire on the flank of the French horse and Spanish life-guards, put them in disorder ; at the same time the Engliih dragoons rallied and returned to the charge, and the enemy was driven back with great siuu^'Uer, The French and Spanish horsemen returned to the charge ; but 'vere again driven back by the fire of the Sixth and thirty- In Garrison and Quarters. Royal Dragoons, at Culera . C-'dl Royal Fusiliers, \ . r<- „» m ^-. .1 1- TIT • at Girone Two BattahonsMannes, J I'iOO Hotham's, If^^'-f' .atAlicant . Blossett s, ( 1'200 One Battalion Marines,' S'°5^ I at Gibraltar . Watkins, 1 800 Detachments at Denia •iOO il! Total 3702 44 HISTOIUCAL RKCORI) OF I' ■■■■ i ;': :• . .1 ■S'V 1707 third regiments. Meanwhile the battle was extending along the line ; the ground was contested witli varied success ; but the British and Dutch battalions, in the centre, obliged the enemy to give way. A few French squadrons advanced to charge the cavalry on the right ; the Portuguese squadrons faced about and fled from the field without waiting to be attacked ; and several bat- talions of Portuguese infantry followed the example- Nine battalions of French and Spanish infantry ad- vanced to that part of the field where the Sixth and thirty t'lird were engaged ; the two regiments con- fi-npted the overwhelming numbers of the enemy nobly, and being joined by the ninth, seventeenth, and Lord Monljoy's regiments, disputed the ground with sangui- nary obstinacy ; but while the contest was still raging, a body of fresh French and Spanish cavalry overpowered and drove back the allied squadrons on the left. The five regiments (Sixth, ninth, seventeenth, thirty-third, and Lord Montjoy's) were thus left unsupported : they were attacked by :r!ne battalions of tbe enemy, and, while bravely contending with the seven 'jattalions which as- sailed them in front, they were charged in flank by the other two, broken, and driven from tliri field with great loss : a few only of the officers and men of the Sixth escaped being killed or taken prisoners. The two French battalions which attacked them in flank, pursuing with eagerness, were cut to pieces by Harvey's horse, now second dragoon guards, who were in turn overpowered by the superior numbers of the enemy. The fight still raged in the centre ; but the flanks being defeated, the enemy surrounded the centre and made a great slaughter. jVl ajor- General Shrimpton, Brigadier- General Macartney, Colonels Britton and Hill, and several other officers, collected the broken remains of the THE SlVni RKOIRIKNT OF FOOT. 45 Knglisli regiments, which fought in the centre, into a 1707 body, ami united tliein with some of tiie Dutch and Por- tuguese, who liad been rallied by Count de Dlionu and Don Juan Knianuel, and formed a body of nearly four thousand men, who retreated twolea;;ue9; but were pur- sued by ihr enemy, whom they repeatedly repulsed. Arriving at the woody hills of Caudete, the men were so exhausted with fatigue that they were unable to proceed ; they passed the night in the wood, where they were sur- rounded by the enemy ; and on the following morning, being without ammunition, ignorant of the country, des- titute of provisions, and without the hope of a supply, they surrendered prisoners of war. Such was the result of this unfortunate battle, where the faint and wearied soldiers were hurried forward to fight superior numbers of fresh troops, commanded by a renowned general : but, notwithstanding these disadvantages, the author of the Annals of Queen Anne observes : — " Had the Portuguese " bravely seconded the English and Dutch, who, with " unparalleled resolution and undauntedness broke the " enemy's centre, it is the opinion of many that victory "would have inclined to the confederate side; or, at *' least, that the latter might have made an honourable '* retreat, and, considering the vast disproportion of the *' forces, have gained the glory of the day." The loss of the Sixth was very great : Lieutenant - Colonel M'Neal, Captains Columbine, Drake, Campbell, and Justiene, Lieutenants Harvey and Emmery, and En- signs Sarracen and Watts were killed ; Captains Bennett and Hussey vitn: luken prisoners; and I-ieutenants Beau- ford, Columbine, liabingcon, Magee, M'Neal, and Camp- bell, Ensigns Beckwith, Morgan, and Reynolds, Quar- ter-Master Begham, Surgeon Dilpach, and Surgeon 's- Mate Macdonald, were wounded and taken prisoners. 46 H/MTORICAL UECJOHI) OF 1707 I'he few olliciM- ard lufii ot the rcginicMit who escaped from the field of buttle proceeded to Alcira, a strong town on the river Xiicar, where tl*?y joined the cavalry with which the Earl of Galway had made good \m re- treat ; and ttiu approach to the town being by almost inaccessibL- mountains, they halted a few days to re- organise the army. On the advance of the French and Spanish forces commanded by the Duke of Orleans, the Earl of Galway placed a garrison in Alcira, and removed to Tortosa, and the Sixth were among the troops which encamped on the banks of the river Ebro. about two miles above the city. Meanwhile many of the men who had been taken prisoners, escaped and returned to their regiments; detachments were called in, and the troops took up a position beyond the Ebro. On the 22nd of May the French light cavalry appeared on the hills ; on the following day their army encamped against the town, and the Sixth were engaged in the defence of a small village and tele du pont to the bridge of bo.it.s, which last post was held for several days. The enemy having passed the Ebro, the regiment was removed to Tarragona, and subsequently to Las Borgues. The Duke of Orleans having besieged Lcrida, some arrangements were made to attempt to relieve the gar- rison, and the army encamped within a few miles of the town ; but a sufficient number of troops could not be assembled to enable the Earl of Galway to attack the besieging army with any hope of success. After the surrender of the castle, the regiment marched back to Tarragona for winter quarters, and its ranks were com- pleted by drafts from the second foot and other regi- ments which were ordered to return to England to recruit. 1708 During the winter the Earl of Galway proceeded to THE SIXTH REGIMENT OF P(X)T. 47 Portugal, where he remained in a diplomatu n|(-.city. 1708 The British troops in Spuin were eoninmnded [y Mujor- Gciiernl Carpenter, and in the hpring of 1 708 by Major- Cicneral Stonhopc — afterwards Earl Stanhope: the united English, Germans, Spaniards, Portuguese, and Dutch, comprising the army of King Charles in Spain, were commanded by Marshal Count Guido de Starem- berg, an officer who had commanded the imperial troops in Hungary. After quitting their quarters the Sixth were en- camped on the river Francoli, between Monblanco and Tarragona, to defend n defile leading to the plain near the town : they brought about eight hundred officers and men into the Held, and their weather-beaten, hardy, and warlike appearance excited admiration. In a letter from the army, dated iiSrd of April, 1708, and published at the time, it was stated : — " We cannot yet give any " certain account of the number of our forces but those " we have are the finest in the world : such are the re- " giments of Southwell (Sixth) commanded by Lieut. - " Colonel Hunt ; that of Blood (seventeenth), com- " manded by Lieut. -Colonel Bourguet ; and that of " Mordaunt (twenty-eighth), commanded by Colonel " Dalziel*." The regiment was subsequently stationed with the army at Constantino, from whence it proceeded to Cer- vera ; and while in the field, its colonel, William Southwell, was succeeded by Colonel Thomas Har- rison, who was performing the duty of adjutant-general to the British troops in Catalonia. Tortosa and Dcnia were besieged and taken by the enemy ; the allies captured the fertile island of Sardinia ' * State of Europe, for June, 1708. 48 HISTORICAL RECORD OF li . |» . ' I' .■ It ■ • i '■ :l S-i, 1708 in the Mediterranean; and the Sixth were withdrawn from the army in Catalonia to engage in an expedition, under Major-General Stanhope, against Minorcdj the second of the Ba^^iric islands, situate in the Mediter- ranean, near the r jast of Spain. This island had fallen successively under the Carthaginians, Romans, Vandals, Moors, Arragonese, and Castilians ; and the object of the expedition was to rescue it from King Philip, and place it under the dominion of King Charles. The regiment marched from the camp to Barcelona, where it embarked on board the fleet. The land forces consisted of the Sixth, and a few dismounted English dragoons, making 750 private men; 760 English ma- rines, 750 Portuguese, 700 Neapolitans, 300 Spaniards, c.'^d a train of English artillery, commanded by Major- General Stanhope and Brigadier-General Wade. A landing was effected on the island in the middle of September : Cuidadella, the capital, and fort Fornellia, were captured with little opposition, and the inhabitants declared in favour of King Charles; but a thousand French and Spaniards garrisoned Port Mahon, situ- ated on a rocky promontory, very difficiilt of access on the land side, and defended by Fort St. Philij/, erected at the entrance of the harbour, which has been stated to be one of the finest in the world. After dragging the artillery along rocky and difficult roads, the siege of Fort St. Philip was commenced ; the artillery destroyed two small towers, and made a practicable breach in the outer wall, which was built a quarter of a mile from Fort St. Philip, and, extending from sea to sea, covered the approach to the citadel. Major-General Stanhope in- tended that the breach should be stormed on the follow- ing day ; but the grenadiers of the Sixth, and another corps, being on duty near the spot, rushed forward wiili THE SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. 49 f f such ardour and intrepidity, that the garrison was ter- 1708 rified and dismayed. Ascending the breach sword in hand, they overpowered all opposition, captured a re- doubt, and, being supported by a detachment under Brigadier-General Wade, effected a lodgment at the foot of the glacis. A battery was constructed immediately, and the garrison was so confused and alarmed at the fury and resolution of their assailants, that they capitulated on the following day ('29th of September) ; but when, on marching out, they saw the small body of men to whom they had surrendered, they were ashamed of hav- ing given up so strong a fortress. Thus this valuable island was captured with the loss of about forty men ; and the Sixth foot and other troops were honoured with the thanks and approbation of King Charles, and of her Majesty Queen Anne. Minorca was garrisoned by English troops, and the Sixth was one of the corps selected to take charge of this important conquest. In the following year Lieut.-General Stanhope having 1709 formed a design against Cadiz, embarked two regiments of fjot from Minorca, and sailed for Gibraltar, where he expected to be joined by eight battalions of foot and a regiment of dragoons from England ; but these troops were so long delayed by contrary winds, that the enter- prise was abandoned. The Sixth proceeded to Bar- celona, where they landed, and reposed in quarters in Catalonia until the following spring. When the army took the field in the summer of 1710, 1710 the Sixth proceeded to the camp at Balaguer, where they were reviewed by King Charles on the 10th of June. The two claimants to the throne of Spain headed their respective armies, and King Philip had the advantage in point of numbers ; but after recoimoitring his adver- E p J ■ III! 50 HISTORICAL RECORD OF 1710 saries' fortified camp at Balaguer he retired. King diaries moved forward, and on the 27th of July a ca- valry action was fought on the grounds near Alnuinara, when upwards of forty squadrons of the enemy's hest cavalry, and a brigade of infantry, were overthrown with great slaughter. Harvey's horse (now second dragoon guards), the royal dragoons, and several other corps, gained great honour. The Sixth foot hastened to the scene of conflict ; but the enemy was routed before the infantry had an opportunity to deploy their ranks. Several corps, however, joined in the pursuit, and made great slaughter. This victory gave the allies an ascendancy over their opponents. King Philip called in his detachments and retired, and was followed by the forces under King Charles. In this advance the troops underwent great fatigue and privation with patient resolution and perse- verance which redounded to their honour. At the town of Candasraas the soldiers suffered from the scarcity of water and wine. " We were glad to march out of this " place" (observes an officer who was present) " on the " next morning ; but found ourselves in as great distress " from the want of water as the day before, till we came " to Bacarolos, where we encamped, the enemy still re- " tiring before us. At break of day our army mavched " on in four columns, in expectation of overtaking the " enemy, but wc were disappointed, and had to cncoun- " ter, on our march to Usera on the Ebro, violent thirst " and heat, without a drop of water ; and to incommode " us more, the enemy had set fire to a very long heath " we had to pass over. It cannot be conceived what we '* suffered upon such a march, smothered all the d^y " with clouds of ashes, especially the foot *." At night * Journal of the War in Spain, by a Chaplain of the army. THE SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. 51 the men reached the banks of the Ebro, and quenched 1710 tlieir thirst at the stream. Continuing the march, on the I9th of August they discovered the united French and Spanish forces in order of battle in front of the city of Sarago.s'sa, and preparations were made to attack tiie enemy on the following day. Several men, who were so pressed with hunger and thirst as to venture to gather grapes in a vineyard situated between the two armies, were shot by the enemy's out- posts. The enemy's lines extended from the banks of the Ebro to the brow of a steep hill on their right ; and the Sixth, being formed in Major- General Wade's brigade, were destined to attack the enemy's right. The sun had scarcely risen on the morning of the memorable 20th of August, 1710, when the guns of both armies opened a tremendous fire, and the deep tones of the artillery reverberated in the mountains and valleys. The allied army stood prepared for action, and King Charles rode along the ranks to stimulate the officeis and men to deeds of heroism. The Sixth and other war- worn veterans in Wade's brigade excited his Majesty's attention : fatigue and privation had not quenched the native v.ilour which glowed in their breasts and beamed in their sun-burnt countenances, and the King compli- mented the brigade as he passed. About raid-day, Licut.-General Stanhope, whose conduct on this occasion excr.ed applause *, led forward a brigade of cavalry, and commenced the action hy a gallant charge on the squad- rons on the eneniy''s right : but the opposing horsemen having a great superiority of numbers, gained some ad- vantage. Six squadrons of Portuguese dragoons in Mi ^vv Ml ill * See Licuf.'Geneial Carpenter's letter, published in the Daily Courantof the 10th of September, 1710. e2 52 HISTORICAL RECORD OF «f^-.A^ 1710 English pay, and clothed in scarlet uniforms, fled ^ oni the field ; the French and Spanish troopers pursued with eagerness, and imagining they had routed the British cavalry, they concluded that vi'jtory was certain ; but the British, Dutch, and Palatine foot, opposed to the enemy's right wing, were brought forward, and they soon gave a decisive turn to the fortune of the day. Advancing steadily 'jp the rising ground, the Sixth, and three other battalions under Major-General Wade, gained the crest of the enemy's position, and while the dragoons fought with deadly fury in the vale below, the four regiments raised a British shout, and rushing upon a brigade of the enemy's foot, broke its ranks with a fearful crash. A few battalions made a resolute resist- ance, but were overpowered and nearly annihilated. While the Sixth were fighting on the high grounds on the left, the battle became general along the line ; and eventually, King Charles gained a most decisive victory. The wreck of the op^iosing army fled from the field, leaving twenty-two pieces of cannon, a number of stand- ards and colours, all their baggage, and King Pliilip's equipage and plate in possession of the victorious allied army. The behaviour of the British troops was ap- plauded : they exhibited thirty standards and colours which they had captured from the enemy, as trophies of their valour ; and were thanlced by King Charles for the eminent service they had rendered to his cause. Colonel Thomas Harrison of the Sixth was sent to England with the news of this victory to Queen Anne*. * Tradition has connected the badge of the Antelope, borne on the colours of the regiment, with its services in Spain ; and as the Sixth captured several colours at Saragossa, which colours were taken to England by their Colonel, Thomas Har- THE SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. 53 King Philip fled in consternation and dismay, and 1710 the allied army advanced in triumph to the capital. A crisis had arrived, and the destiny of Spain appeared to depend on the speedy advance to Madrid of a body of British and Portuguese troops which were manoeuvring on the frontiers of Portugal ; but the Portuguese ge- nerals disappointed the hopes of the allies, and sent their troops into quarters. Meanwhile King Charles occupied Madrid with a small army ; the enemy called to his aid additional troops ; new armies and new generals appeared in Spain, and the forces of King Philip were soon so superior in numbers to the allies, that the latter were forced to retire from the capital towards Catalonia. King Charles consulted his own safety and proceeded to Bar- celona, accompanied by a detachment of the royal dra- goons. The army was pressed by the enemy in its retiring movements ; the country people withheld sup- plies of provisions and forage, and availed themselves of every opportunity to attack small parties and to plunder the baggage. Thus harassed on every side — worn out with the fatigues of a long campaign — in a country hos- tile to their cause — exposed to inclement weather, and without tents — the condition of the soldiers may be more easily conceived than expressed. On the 6th of Decem- ber, the Sixth and several other corps, forming the rear coliimn on the left, under Lieut.-General Stanhope, arrivcf^ at the village of Brihvega, consisting of about a thousand houses, and situate on the side of a hill near y I li! uisoN, and presented to Queen Anne, it is not improbable but that an Antelopb was on one of the captured colours, and that Colonel Harrison obtained her Majesty's peiniission for his regiment to bear the badge of an Antelope in commemoration of the event. No documentary evidence has, however, beew met with to substantiete the tradition. 1 54 HISTORICAL RECORD OF i § -k'' 1710 the river. Here the troops halted on the following day, and at the moment when the officers and men were ex- pecting orders to march, the village was surrounded by the French and Spanish forces under the Duke of Ven- dosme. The English, finding their retreat thus cut off, prepared for a vigorous dei'ence ; but unfortunately they had no artillery, a ^ little ammunition, and the ruinous old wall v. urrounded the village was but a feeble bulwark to ojj^/ose to a powerful train of artillery. The enemy forced one of the gates with their cannon, made a practicable breach in the wall, and attacked the place by storm. But British courage did not quail before lue host of foes by which the village was sur- rounded ; and the enemy was driven back with great slaughter. A .«• cond attack was made: eight hundred French infantry gained access to the village^ and a sharp confli ,L was maintained in the houses and streets; and when the English had expended all their ammunition, they hurled bricks, stones, and other missiles from the tops of the houses upon their opponents. But being pent up in a small village by a numerous army, and M'ithout ammunition, they were forced to surrender prisoners of war. Such was the fate of two thousand brave men, whose achievements are immortalized in history ; and the veterans of the Sixth, who had so often signalized themselves, were consigned to surveil- lance and to prison : but their honour was preserved untarnished. 1711 Lieut.-Colonel John Ramsay and about three hundred officers and men of the regiment were thus made prison- ers at the little walled town of Brihuega, in the moun- tains of Castile; but the officers and men on command and on detachment in the towns through which the army advanced escaped this disaster. The enemy used every TIIK SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. 55 means to induce the English, German, and Palatine 1711 soldiers, taken prisoners, to enlist into their service, ajid withheld provision from such as refused : this, however, proved advantageous to the allies ; the soldiers availed themselves of every opportunity to desert the enemy's service, and returned in parties of thirty and forty to their own army.* Recruits also arrived from England ; the officers and men who remained in captivity were ex- changed, and several of the corps were re-organized ; but the Sixth do not appear to have been engaged in any important service in the years 1711 and 171'2. On the 1712 decease of the Emperor of Germany, King Charles was elevated to the imperial throne ; one of the competitors for the crown of Spain was thus removed ; a cessation of hostilities took place between the English and French in the campaign of 1712, which was followed by a treaty 1713 of peace, called the peace of Utrecht; and the Sixth 1714 proceeded to Ireland. After the decease of Queen Anne, and the accession of 1715 King George I., several alterations were made in the army, and Colonel Harrison was succeeded in the com- mand of the Sixth by Colonel Rouert Dohmer, from 1716 the lieut.- colonelcy of the first troop (now first regiment) of life-guards, by commission dated the 7th of March> 1716. During the rebellion of the Earl of Mar, and the alarm occasioned by the proceedings of the courts of Spain and 1717 Sweden in favour of the Pretender, the Sixth remained jijig in Ireland ; but when the rash and unjust proceedings of the Spanish minister, Cardinal Alberoni, involved Great Britain and France in a war with Spain, the regiment '{ r, nn |: n * The Complete History of Europe, vol. 22, pages 1 1 1 and 152. ,,:1. y^ :)(j HISTORICAL RECORD OF I: il^ 17 ly was selected lo form part of an expedition against the coast of Spain. The capture of Sardinia and the inva- sion of Sicily by the Spaniards was followed by a naval Avar in the Mediterranean ; and the British government j)rojected the capture of Corunna in Biscay, and of Peru in South America. The attack on Corunna was first determined on ; and the Sixth formed part of a i.^nd- force of four thousand men, placed luuler the orders of General Viscount Cobham for this service. The troops embarked in the beginning of September, 1719 ; but, on arriving off' the coast of Gallicia, circumstances occurred which occasioned the attack on Corunna to be laid aside, and an attempt on J igo determined on. The fleet en- tered the harbour of Vigo on the 29th of Septt.nber, and seized on seven ships, three of which were fitt »)g up aw privateers ; on the following day the grenadie 's landed on the south side of the river, three miles above :he town ; a sharp fire of musketry was opened upon them from the mountains, but at too great a distance to produce effect, and the battalion companies having gained the shore, the troops passed the night under arms. On the 1st of Octo- ber the army approached the town, and encamped with its left to the sea near the village of Boas, and its right extending towards the mountains; abundance of wine being found in the houses, which were left without inha- bitants, the soldiers drank freely, and it was found neces- sary to enforce strict discipline to prevent irregularities. The town of Vigo, and fort St. Sebastian, were aban- doned by the enemy and taken possession of by Briga- dier-General Honevwood, with eight hundred men. A thousand Spaniards retired to the citadel, and held out ; but after a heavy battery had opened its fire, and the garrison had lost nearly three hundred men, the lieut. -go- vernor surrendered. Two thousand barrels of powder, r THK SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. 57 ei^ht thousand muskets, and fifteen fine brass guns, mo which had been prepared for the invasion of Dritnin in favour of the Pretender, were foi'nd in the castle: the trrops in garrison were also part of the force which had been selected to serve in the expedition under the Duke ofOrmond. While the siege of the castle of Vigo was in progress, five hundred men were detached against Roiidondrl/a, and they captured and burnt the town. A thousand men embarked under Major-Gcneral Wnde, on the 12th of October, and, proceeding to the upper end of Vigo bay, landed and marched thirty nnics io Pout- ft' Vadra ; thirteen companies of Spaniards in garrison fled in a panic; the country was thrown into confusion, and the principal inhabitants hurried from their homes. '^I'hetown of Pont-a-Vedra, the arsenal, barracks for two thousand men, thirteen pieces of brass, and eighty- six of iron ordnance, five thousand small arms, three hundred barrels of powder, and abundance of other stores, were captured. The arsenal, barracks, and Fort Marine, fi'ur miles from Pont-a-Vedra, with the iron ordnance, were destroyed ; the niv;re valuable stores were removed on board the transports, and the detachment returned to Vigo. Th'.^ king of Spain, being oppressed on every side, his so. rces exhausted, and his projects defeated, dismissed his turbulent minister and made pacific overtures. A treaty of peace was concluded before the projected expe- dition against Peru was undertaken, and the .Sixth were again stationed in Ireland. On the 5)th of April, 1720, Colonel Kobert Dormer ^20 was succeeded in the command of the regiment by his brother. Colonel jAMt^s Dormkr, from the fourteenth dragoons, who was promoted in February, 17'38, to the nss fioc troop of horse grenadier guards: the colonelcy ap- n 1' I ■4 \l ilJ ■ il 58 HISTORICAL HKCOHI) OF 1733 pcara to have remained vacn! until November following, when it was conferred on L.eut.-Cobnel John Giisk. 1139 The regiment was withdrawn from Ireland in the autumn o''"!739, and, after its arrival in I'^ngland, ano- ther war ).• •• veen Great IJritain and Spain having become 1740 inevitable, its establishment was augmented, and it was ordered to hold itself in readiness to proceed on foreign service. A formidable armament was prepared for the attack of the Spanish colonics in the West Indies, and the land forces were placed under the orders of General Lord Cathcart, a nouienian of approved courage and expe- rience in war. The troops having cnibarked in October, 1 740, sailed under the convoy of a naval force commanded by Sir C'luloner Ogle; and the colonel of the Sixth, John Guisi"., was appointed to serve as brigadier-general in the expedition. This regiment did not form part of the first embarkation, but it was subsequently ordered to proceed to the West Indies to reinforce the troops em- ployed in this enterprise. A tempest dispersed the fleet, consisting of about one hundred and seventy sail, in the bay of Biscay ; but the greater part of the vessels were re-collected and proceeded on the voyage. Arriving at the neutral island of Domi- nica, to provide wood and water, the troops sustained the loss of their gallant leader, Lord Cathcart, who died of dysentery ; and the command devolved on Brigadier- General Thomas Wentworth. 1741 On ai'riving at Jamaica in January, 1741, the expedi- tion was joined by Vice-Admiral Vernon ; but the season of the year for active service in the West Indies was fast passing away, and several circumstances concurred to create further delay. At length an attempt on Cartha- gena, the capital of an extensive and wealthy province in TIIK SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. 59 the country of Torra Firma in South America, was re- nil solved upon ; nnd, ultliougli this place was found strongly ftMtificd, and the garrison reinforced by the crews of a scpiadron of large ships, commanded by Don lilas de Leso ; yet, the fleet having hilcnced several small forts, eight regiments landed on the 10th of March, on the island of Tierra Bomba, near the mouth of the harbour, ad commenced the siege of the principal fort. . ?a8tle, ffV d Bocca-chicn. On the evening of t' c i'Jr;. of ♦he grenadiers mounted the breach ■ > bt^oi the •> hen the Spanish garrison fled, and the place w.. aj ured without loss. Two channels bavin"; been made through the sunk vessels with which the Spaniards had blocked up the entrance of the harbour, the troops and artillery were re- embarked, and commenced landii)g, on the 5th of April, near the city. 1'he country round Cartliagcna v/as found covered with trees and herbage of the most luxuriant growth, and the interwoven branches formed a shelter impenetrable both to heat and light ; as the troops, led by Brigadier-General Blakeney, advanced along a nar- )ow defde, several men were wounded by shots from the tracts and openings into the wood ; and, on diverging from the defile, six hundred Spaniards were seen advan- tageously posted to dispute the passage : but they were speedily driven from their ground, and the British bi- vouacked within a mile of the castle of St. Lazar, which commanded the town. The men passed three nights in the open air, for want of tents and tools, which could not be landed sooner, and the health of the soldiers was ill consequence seriously injured. As the men were fast diminishing in numbers from hard duty and the effects of climate, Brigadier- General Wentworth resolved to attack »S7. Lazar by escalade ; If t ' 1*|1 ^ ^f^^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // 1.0 I.I 125 lA£i2.a m "^ ■^ i2i& |Z2 u 114 ■■■ Z l£& 12.0 IL25 ini 1.4 I 1.6 '^J:/ % Photographic Sdences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STRUT WEiSTM.N.Y. 14SM (716)173-4503 ^\ -a^ V •N? 4^y. '^^^ ^. s> «^ 6^ ^.>^ '4» 6^ !^ CO HISTORICAL RECORD OF J.v, ^!::l *■;>• ill! ? iP 1741 to which dangerous experiment he was urged by Vice- Admiral Vernon^ who accused him of want of resolution. Twelve hundred men, commanded by Brigadier-General Guise, stormed the enemy's intrenchments under the walls of the fort, and though assailed by a heavy fire of mus- ketry, the grenadiers, led by Colonel Grant, rushed for- ward with astonishing bravery, and leaping into the lines among the thickest of their adversaries, carried the works in gallant style. The Spaniards fled over a drawbridge into the fort ; the British pursued under a heavy Are, and called for the ladders to storm the works ; but so hot was the fire, that the Americans who carried the lad- ders threw them down and fled back to the camp. Mean- while the soldiers were exposed to a most destructive fire, and were unable to cover themselves : at length three lad- ders were brought forward, and a serjeant and ten gre- nadiers mounted the walls, but were instantly cut to pieces, excepting the serjeant, who saved himself by leap- ing do.vn again. Several of the ladders were found too short ; it was ascertained that, owing to a guide having been killed, the attack was made on the strongest part of the works; Colonel Grant fell mortally wounded; and after sustaining a most destructive fire for several hours with intrepidity and perseverance, the troops were or- dered to retreat, having lost six hundred men in killed and wounded. This repulse was followed by the violent periodical rains, the country was deluged with water, and the change of atmosphere (which is always attended with epidemical distempers and the climate becomes extremely unhealthy) produced the most fatal effects. The soldiers were so drenched with rain, and their health so seriously ini- paired, that they re-embarked, and all hope of further success immediately vanished The admiral was blamed THE SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. 61 for not stationing four or five of his large ships within 174] pistol-shot of the town, when the troops advanced to at- tack fort St. Lazar ; and if this had been done (Smollett observes), " in all probability the town would have sur- rendered." After re-embarking, the distempers peculiar to the climate produced great havoc among the soldiers. Smol- lett states, — *' Nothing was heard but complaints and " execrations : the groans of the dying, and the service " for the dead : nothing was seen but objects of woe and " images of dejection," Such are the sufferings often en- dured by the British soldier in the various countries to which he is called upon to proceed, and are generally borne with exemplary fortitude. The forts and castles of the harbour of Carthagena having been demolished, the fleet sailed to Jamaica ; and subsequently to the south-east part of the island of Cuba, where the soldiers landed, and a camp was formed twenty miles up one of the large rivers of this island. At this camp the Sixth were stationed some time, and it was in contemplation to form a British settlement on this part of Cuba; the country was reconnoitred, detachments were sent out, and the Spanish villages were found de- serted. For a short time a plentiful supply of fresh provisions was procured ; but the men were afterwards rationed with salt and damaged meat and biscuit, and their numbers were so reduced by sickness, that in No- vember they were put on board again, and re-conveyed to Jamaica. The Sixth, having suffered severely from the effects I74k of climate, returned to England in December, 1742, and commenced recruiting their numbers. They sub- sequently proceeded to Scotland, where they were sta- tioned in the summer of 1745, when Charles-Edward, 1745 ^ r -♦I! &2 HISTORICAL RECORD OF J '' ■' I. . »■•;■ 1745 eldest son of the Pretender, raised his standard in the Highlands, and asserted his father's pretensions to the throne. The head-quarters of the Sixth were at Aberdeen ; two companies were at Inverness, which has been termed the capital of the Highlands, being the only town of im* [K>rtance north of Aberdeen; three companies were at Fort Augustus^ situated on a plain at the head of Loch Ness, between the rivers TarfFand Oich, and built at the spot where they discharge themselves into the lake ; ^, strong party, commanded by Captain Millar, occupied Fort William, which was built in the reign of King Wil- liam III., in a plain on a navigable arm of the sea, called Loch Eil, near the influx of the Lochy and Nevis, in the county of Inverness ; a Serjeant's party occupied a re- doubt at Ruthven; and a working party was employed on the newly-constructed roads in the Highlands. While in these quarters information was received of the arrival ot the Pretender's eldest son with a few Scottish and Irish adventurers on the coast of Lochabar, and of their being joined by a number of Highlanders, under their respective chiefs. The news of this bold and hazardous undertaking was at first disbelieved, but Captain Sweet- man of the regiment, walking out from Fort Augustus to gain information, entered an inn in the Highlands, where he was surrounded by eight rebels and conveyed a priwjner to the young Pretender's camp. There he was civilly treated, and suffered to go away on his parole ; one of the Pretender's manifestos was given him, with a passport directed to all sheriffs, sheriff-deputies, and con- stables in Scotland, and signed Charles Fr. Custos Reg, After his release Captain Sweetman proceeded by post to London, where he was examined by the Privy Council, and the tidings of the rebellion were no longer doubted. THK SIXTH RKOIMKNT OP FOOT. 63 The working parties of tho Sixth and other corps were 1745 then ordered to rejoin their regiments. The young adventurer having asflembled about fifteen hundred men, encamped in the neighbourhood of Fort William : two newly-raised companies, of the regiments of St. Clair and Murray, proceeding to Fort William, were attacked by a body of motmtaineers, and after a re- solute resistance, the soldiers, having expended all their ammunition, were forced to surrender. Lieutenant- General Sir John Cope, the commander-in-chief in Scot- land, assembled the disposable force under his orders at Stirling, and advanced towards the road leading through the Highlands to Inverlochy, taking with him a thousand arms, in the expectation of being joined at Crieff by a body of well-affected Highlanders. A detachment of the Sixth accompanied Sir John Cope in this advance through a wild country, where the soldiers were obliged to take their provision with them, and being disappointed of the Highlanders, the spare arms were sent back for want of carriage. On arriving at Dalwhinnie, — the place where the Fort Augustus and Inverness roads meet, in- formation was received that the rebels were in force in a position in the winding of the road up the mountain, of such difficult approach and natural strength, that it was thought impossible to force it, and the soldiers, having only two days' provision with them, retired by Ruthven to Inverness. A veteran Serjeant of the regiment, named Molloy, and twelve men were left in charge of the little fort at Ruthven, which they defended against the rebel host with such distinguiHhed bravery, that the following letter from this brave man to Sir John Cope deserves a place in this memoir. f s 04 HISTORICAL RECORD OF ■ 'w''-t." p, . .A ft," ■■■ ■: ' t'Y 1 1 ' iiiifi ;• ' 'I If 1 i 1 1745 " Ruthven Redoubt, 30M August^ 1745. " Hon. Gkneral, " This goes to acquaint you, that yesterday there appeared in the little town of Ruthven about three hundred of the enemy, and sent proposals to me to sur- rt^nder this redoubt upon condition that I should have liberty to carry off bag and baggage. My answer was, ' / Wft/t too old a soldier to surrender a garrison of such strength without bloody noses' They threatened hanging me and my men for refusal. I told them I would take my chance. This morning they attacked me about twelve o'clock (by my information) with about a hundred and fifty men : they attacked fore- gate and sally-port ; and attempted to set sally-port on fire with some old barrels and other combustibles, which took place immediately, but the attempter lost his life by it. They drew off about half an hour after three. About two hours after they sent word to me that two of their chiefs wanted to talk to me ; I admitted and spoke to them from the parapet : they offered condi- tions ; I refused ; they desired liberty to carry off their dead men ; I granted. There are two men since dead of their wounds in the town, and three more they took with them, as I am informed. They went off westward about eight o'clock this morning ; they did the like march yesterday in the afternoon, but came back at night-fall. They took all the provisions the pour inhabitants had in the town, and Mrs. M'Pher- 8on| the barrack-wife, and a merchant of the town, who spoke to me this moment, and who advised me to write to your honour, and told me there were above three thousand men, all lodged in the corn-fields west of the town, last night, and their grand camp is at Dalwhin- nie. They have Cluny M'Pherson with them prisoner. ti 14 l< II U II << II II It 14 II II II << tl 44 14 l< 44 (« II 41 tl 14 14 tt 44 44 14 TIIK SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. 65 " as I have it by the same information. I lost one man, 1745 " shot through the head hy foolishly holding his head " too high over the parapet. I expect another visit " this night, I am informed, with their pateraroes; but " I shall give them the warmest reception my weak party " can afford. I shall hold out as long as possible. I " conclude, honourable general, with great respect, " Your most humble servant, " J. MoLLOY, Serjt. 6tii. * " »/ From Inverness Lieut.-General Sir John Co|)e marched to Aberdeen^ where he embarked the troops in trans- ports, in order to proceed by sea to Leith, to oppose the progress of the rebels southwards ; and two companies of the Sixth, commanded by Captains Pointz and Holwell, were employed in this service. Arriving at Dunbar, on the 16th of September, they landed on the south side of the Firth, and, to their great mortification and disap- pointment, learnt that the rebel highlanders and their adventurous chief had gained possession of Edinburgh, towards which city Sir John Cope commenced his march on the 19th of September. Information having been received of the approach of a rebel force of very superior numbers, the King''s troops took up a position a short distance to the east of the vil- lage of Preston-'pans, near the sea, and seven miles from Edinburgh. Several changes of ground were made as the rebels menaced various parts of the line ; but the attack was delayed, and the soldiers passed the night under arms : the two companies of the Sixth., and eight companies of Lascelles' (forty-seventh) regiment, formed * Martial Recorder. 66 HISTORICAL RECORD OF if'/ ,"> m m 1745 one battalion, and were posted in the right centre of the front line *. About three o'clock on the morning of the 2l8t of September, large bodies of rebel Highlanders were seen in motion, and before day-break a chosen band of these hardy mountaineers was discovered through the thick atmosphere, moving like a dusky phantom swiftly along the undulating grounds to attack the right. As they drew near they raised a dismal yell, fired a volley, threw down their muskets, and rushed sword in hand upon the troops which guarded the artillery. The sudden advance of the Highlanders in the dark, their superior numbers, and peculiar mode of fighting, struck with dismay the two hundred soldiers appointed to guard the artillery on the right, who saw themselves assaulted by more than three times their own numbers, and as they caught the gleam of steel flashing in their faces, they gave way and fled. The two hundred and fifty dragoons on the right, seeing the artillery lost, became disheartened ; they advanced to charge a large mass of Highlanders ; but observing the dis- parity of numbers, they were seized with a panic and gal- loped out of the field. Theirconduct damped the courage of the infantry, and the panic spread from rank to rank ; but several companies made resistance, and feats of valour were nobly displayed by individuals and small parties : \ 'li • ■Ay' !:1 ''> '■■5; -! [I;. * The ToUowing return of the strength of the King's forces at Preston-pans was published in Douglas' History of the Rebellion : Gardiner's ( 1 3th) and Hamilton's ( 1 4th) dragoons . 567 2 Companies of Guise's (6th) and 8 of Lagcelles'(47th) foot 570 5 Companies of Lee's (44th) 291 Murray's (46th) regiment 380 Highlanders 183 Total 2191 ' THE SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. VI all sembliince of order was, however, soon lost, and a 1745 confused rout ensued. The two companies * of the Sixth were among the troops who resisted the Highlanders ; . Captain HoUweli was killed ; Captain Pointz was sur- rounded, dangerously wounded, and taken prisoner; Lieutenants Cumming and Paton, and Ensigns Wake- man and Irwine, were also made prisoners ; and the two companies had nearly every man either killed, wounded, or taken prisoner: such were the disastrous results of this battle, that of the King''s forces, not more than one- half escaped from the field. The prisoners were re- moved to Edinburgh, and afterwards to the Highlands. Wiih the advance of the rebels into Derbyshire, their precipitate retreat back to Scotland, and the battle of Falkirk, the services of the Sixth are not immediately connected ; but in the early part of 1746, after the Duke 1746 of Cumberland had forced the young Pretender to raise the siege of Stirling castle, and to retreat to the High- lands, the three companies of the regiment stationed in Fort Augustus were besieged by the rebel army. As the young Pretender had obtained a train of artillery, and the services of a few French officers and engineers, the reduction of the fort was not a difficult operation, . and the three companies were made prisoners : the works were afterwards blown up and abandoned by the enemy. A lieutenant and about fifty men of the regiment had, in the mean time, assembled at Edinburgh : some of these men had escaped from captivity, others were the remains of the two companies which had fought at Preston-pans, and they were directed to proceed, by forced marches, to Inverlochy, and throw themselves into Fort William: ih '\ * In the account of this battle, published by the rebels, it is stated that four companies of the regiment were present. f2 08 HISTORICAL HKCORl) ()V l> 1716 a drummer and three men of the regiment, who were made prisoners at Fort Augustus, also escaped from cus- tody ond took refuge in Fort William. In March, 1740, the enemy besieged the fort, and the garrison made a most resolute defence. By a well-directed fire from the works, by sallies and other devices, with the co-operation of a small naval force, the enemy was forced to raise the siege and retire. This success was followed by the over- throw of the rebel army at Culloden, which extinguished the hopes of the Pretender, and the insurrection was thus finally suppressed. The officers and men of the Sixth 1747 were liberated from captivity, the companies in garrison were relieved, and the regiment proceeded to England to recruit its numbers^ where it remained for six years. 1751 In the warrant of King George II., bearing date the 1st of July, 1751, for regulating the uniform, colours, and distinctions of regiments, the facing of the Sixth was directed to be of defp yellow. " The first colour " to be the great Union ; and the second to be of deep " yellow, with the union in the upper canton ; in the " centre of the colours the Antelope, being the ancient " badge of the regiment, and in the three corners of the " second colour the rose and croun. The front of the " grenadier caps to be of deep yellow, with the antelope, " as in the colours ; the little flap to be red, with the " white horse, and motto, A^ec aspera terrent, over it ; " the back part of the cap to be red, and the turn-up " deep yellow. The same badge oi' the antelope to be '* painted on the drums and bells of arms, with the rank " of the regiment underneath." 1753 The Sixth were employed on home duty until the winter of 1753, when they embarked for Gibraltar to relieve the thirty-second regiment ; and they were em- ployed on garrison-duty at that important fortress dur- ■sm& TIIK SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. 09 ing the whole of the Seven years' war. Hostilities 1755 commenced in America in i7r)5, and in 175C a French 1756 armament, commanded by Marshal Duke of Richelieu, invaded the island of Minorca, in the capture of which the Sixth took so distinguished a part in 1708 ; and a detachment of the regiment was held in readiness to l^roceed to Port Mahon to reinforce the garrison. This service was, however, delayed ; and Lieut. -General Fowke, who commanded the forces at Gibraltar, was dismissed the service for neglecting to strengthen the troops in Minorca by a battalion from his garrison. After the peace of Fontaineblcau the Sixth were re- 1763 lieved from duty at Gibraltar, and returned to England, where they arrived in the summer of 1763. Two years afterwards they proceeded to Scotland. On the 14th of June, 1765, the colonelcy was con- 1755 furred by King George III. on Major-Gcneral William liufane, from the half-pay of the seventy-sixth foot (a corps raised in 1756, and disbanded after the peace in 1703), in succession to General Guise, deceased. The regiment left Scotland in 1769, and was stationed 1769 in England during the three succeeding years : in Octo- ber, 1772, it embarked for the West Indies, to assist in 1772 reducing to submission to the British government the refractory Charibbees in St. Vincent. This island was ceded to Great Britain by the treaty of 1763^ and was found to contain two tribes of natives, called the red and black Charibbees ; the former being the aborigines, and the latter having sprung from a cargo of African slaves who escaped from a vessel wi.ich was wrecked on the island. The Charibbees were found devoted to the French interest, and were dangerous and troublesome neighbours to the English planters. A resolution was taken to restrain their ambulations to a smaller range in ^ i 10 HIHTOKICAL RECORD 0¥ r [ I, ■I':,) 1772 the island, and to enforce obedience to several necessary regulations ; and if this was found impracticable, to remove them to some other island, or to the continent of Africa. The Charibbees were, however, of a reso- lute spirit : they possessed many thickly- wooded fast- nesses, and they resisted the attempt to restrict the indulgence of their roving propensities and mode of lifu so powerfully, that it was found necessary to augment the military force on the island. 1773 Soon after arriving at St. Vincent the Sixth lost their colonel, Lieut. -General Rufank, who died on the 14th of February, 1773, and was succeeded by Licut.- General John Gore from the sixty-iirst regiment: this officer died in November following, when his Majesty conferred the colonelcy of the Sixth on Lieut.-General Sir William Boothbv, Baronet, from the fiftieth f(X)t. The regiment was employed in operations against the Charibbees of St. Vincent ; several skirmishes occurred among the thickly -wooded parts of the country, and a few men were killed and wounded in the bush-fighting which took place daily. At length the natives were reduced to submission, and an agreement was concluded 1774 with their chiefs in February, 1774, by which further hostilities were prevented. Having reduced the two refractory tribes to submis- sion, the Sixth and forty-eighth regiments were sta- tioned at the Charibbee islands until after the breaking out of the war of independence in North America. 1775 Hostilities commenced in 1775, when the establish- ment of the Sixth was augmented from ten companies of thirty-eight private men each, to twelve companies of 1776 fifty-six private men each. In the following year they were withdrawn from the West Indies, and joined the army commanded by Lieut.-General Sir William Howe m THK SIXTH RKOIMKNT OF FOOT. 71 ot New York. Tliv health of the soldierH had, however, 177U been impaired by their nsidence in a tropical climate, and after transferring a few men to otiier corps, they returned to England, where they arrived in March, 1777. 1777 During the summer of 1778, the regiment was en- 1778 camped, with the twenty-fifth, sixty-ninth, seventy ninth, and ten militia corps, at Warley, under the orders of Lieut. -General Pierson. In the following yeur the re- i'j7g giment was encamped at Coxheath, with the fourteenth, fiftieth, sixty-fifth, sixty-ninth, and sixteen corps of militia; and in 1780 it was encamped at Rye, under 1780 Major-General Sloper. In 1782 county titles were given to regiments, in order 17H2 to facilitate the procuring of recruits ; and the Sixth were designated the First Warwickshire regiment : at the same time the officers were directed to cultivate a connection with that division of the county, so as to create a mutual attachment between the inhabitants of Warwickshire and the regiment. The Sixth had previously proceeded to the islands of 1783 Jersey and Guernsey, from whence they were removed to Ireland in the autumn of 1783. On the 5th of May, 1786, the regiment embarked 1786 from Ireland for North America, to relieve the seven- teenth at Nova Scotia, and was stationed in that island for several years. General Sir William Boothby, Baronet, died at Bath 1 7S7 on the 15lh of April, 1787, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the Sixth by Lieut.-General Lancelot Bauoh, from the fifty-eighth regiment ; after whose decease in 1792, Sir Ralph Abercromby was appointed 1792 colonel of the Sixth, from the sixty-ninth regiment. While the regiment was stationed in Nova Scotia a 7i HISTORICAL RECORD OF ■3 ;■' l>.., 1793 revolution took place in France, and in 1793 the King and Queen were beheaded. The dangerous doctrines of liberty and equality extended to the French West India islands, and the Sixth were withdrawn from Nova Scotia and employed in delivering these valuable possessions from the power of the republican government. 1794 The forces engaged in this enterprise rendezvoused at Barbadoes in January, 1794, under the orders of General Sir Charles Grey, K.B. (afterwards Earl Grey), and the battalion companies of the Sixth constituted part of the third brigade, the flank companies being formed in gre- nadier and light infantry battalions. A landing was cflected at three different points on the island of Mar- tinico in the early part of February, and after some sharp fighting, in which the Sixth had about half a dozen men killed and wounded, this valuabL possession was delivered from the power of republicanism. Sir diaries Grey observed in his public despatch : — •' The spirit, " unanimity, and perseverance of the navy and army " never were more conspicuous; nor has more cordial " co-operation ever been manifested between his Ma- *' jestys naval and land forces. In a word, the general, " and field-officers, and the commanding officers of " corps, have set such an example of zeal, activity, " and animation in this service, which has been so laud- " ably imitated by all the officers and soldiers of this " little army, that they merit the greatest praise." From Martinico the grenadiers under Prince Edward (afterwards Duke of Kent), the light infantry under Major-General Thomas Dundas, with the Sixth, ninth, and forty -third regiments, commanded by Colonel Sir Charles Gordon, re-embarked on the 30th of March, and arriving at »S7. Lucia on the 1st of April, completed the conquest of that fine island in three days. A detachment ! I,. ' THE SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. 73 of the regiment was next employed in the reduction of the 1794 island of Guadalovpe : a determined resistance was made by the enemy, but the island was captured before the end of April, and Sir Charles Grey declared in his public des- patch, that he " could not find words to convey an ade- " quate idea, or to express the high sense he entertained, " of the extraordinary merit evinced by the officers and " soldiers in this service." Although the extension of revolutionary power in Europe engaged the attention of the regicide government of France, yet the loss of these valuable colonial pos- sessions was not regarded with indifference, and an ex- pedition was fitted out at Brest for the recovery of the conquered islands. In June a body of French troops arrived at Guadaloupe, and the doctrines of liberty and equality were so successfully disseminated among the mulattoes and blacks, that they quickly flocked to the republican standard. The posts occupied by the British were attacked, and in October the whole island, except Fort Matilda, was re-captured by the French. This fort was defended by the troops under Major-General Prescott until December, when it was evacuated. The Sixth had several men killed and wounded in the de- fen'^e of Guadaloupe, and had also Lieutenant Ekins wounded. The regiment having sustained considerable loss from 1795 the efil'cts of climate, transferred its service- men to the ninth foot, and embarked for England, where it arrived in July, 1795, and landed at Portsmouth, from whence it proceeded into Warwickshire to recruit. In this service it was not, however, very successful, in consequence of having transferred a number of Warwickshire men to the ninth regiment in the West Indies, The regiment marched to Southampton in September, li' ti i< 74 HISTORICAL RECORD OF H III ^i 1795 for the purpose of emba' ing for Gibraltar; but the order was subsequently c< 'termanded, and it returned to Warwickshire to re-comuience recruiting. In November of the same year Sir Ralph Abercromby was removed to the seventh dragoon guards, and the colonelcy of the Sixth was conferred on Prince William Frederick, afterwards Duke of Gloucester. 1796 Ireland being, at this period, in a state bordering on rebellion, the Sixth, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Colin Campbell, were ordered to proceed to that country. They embarked at Bristol in February, 1 796, landed at Waterford, and in May proceeded to Kilkenny. The French directory cherished a decided antipathy to the British government, and sent a body of troops to Ireland to aid the malcontents in an appeal to arms. In Decem- ber, when the French armament appeared in Bantry Bay, the Sixth marched to oppose the enemy, who re- turned to France without effecting a landing. 1797 The regiment returned to Kilkenny in January, 1797, from whence it marched in April to Loughlinstown, near Dublin, where a considerable force was assembled in huts : it was subsequently encamped in Phoenix Park, Dublin, and being very weak in numbers, it was united to the first light infantry battalion : in October it returned to its huts at Loughlinstown ; and in the early part of 1798 1798, marched to Nenagh, and subsequently to Galway. The long- suppressed rebellion broke out in May, 1798, and Ireland became the scene of conflagration, rapine, and bloodshed, the conduct of the insurgents being of the most cruel and inhuman character. The Sixth, and light battalion attached to them, commanded by Lieut.- Colonel Colin Campbell, were employed in suppressing this unnatural warfare. Scarcely was this accomplished, when the French directory endeavoured to revive the THE SIXTH REGIMBNT OF FOOT. 75 contest by sending General Humbert with about a thou- 1798 sand men to Ireland ; and Major Macbean, with eighty men of the Sixth (who were not attached to the light battalion) formed part of the force sent against the French. In the action at Castlebar, on the 27th of August, the eighty men of the Sixth were the last that quitted their ground ; their commanding officer, Major Macbean, was taken prisoner by the French and very cruelly treated ; but he escaped a few days afterwards and joined the regiment at Tuam. The French having been surrounded and made prisoners, the rebellion was finally suppressed, and the regiment passed the winter at Moate and Athlone, under the command of Lieut. - Colonel Bowes. Tranquillity having been restored in Ireland, the re- 1799 giment embarked at Cork in June, 1799, for Canada, and landed on the 14th of October at Quebec, where its ranks were completed by a draft from the third bat- talion of the sixtieth regiment. The Sixth remained at Quebec until 1803, when they 1803 proceeded, under the command of Lieut. -Colonel Bowes, up the country to Montreal, Kingston, and St. John's. In 1804 a second battahon was added to the regiment, igo4 and was embodied at Liverpool, under the superintend- ence of the colonel. His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester. It was formed of men raised in the county of Lancaster for limited service, under the additional force act, passed on the 29th of June, 1804; and was placed on the establishment of the army from the 25th of December, 1804. In the same year the first battalion returned to Quebec, from whence it embarked, in 1806, 1806 for England : it landed at Portsmouth on the 7th of September, and marched to Deal barracks, where it was joined by the second battalion. 1 70 HISTORICAL RECORD OF m 1 |; •III 4^ ir 1807 IhUO His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester was re- moved in May, 1806, to the third foot-guards; and the colonelcy of the Sixth was conferred on Major-General •Sir George Nugent, Baronet, from the sixty-second regiment. The first battalion having been completed to the war- CHtablishmcnt by drafts from the second, marched, in October, to Dover Castle ; and in January, 1807, re- turned to Deal. In April following it embarked for Gibraltar, where it arrived on the 2nd of June, in a very complete and efficient state, and it passed the succeeding twelve months at that important fortress. While the Sixth were in garrison at Gibraltar, the ty- rannical proceedings of Bonaparte in Portugal and Spain, and the resistance which he met with in those coun- tries, induced the British Government to aid the patriots in their endeavours to shake off the French yoke ; and in IHOB Junc,180S, this regiment, mustering upwards of eleven hundred men, was placed under the orders of Major-Ge- iicral Brent Spencer, with the view of being employed in 1 hi» service. For some time, however, the point at which u landing should take place was not decided, and the troops appeared first off Ceuta, then proceeded to Cadiz, subsequently to Lisbon, and back to Cadiz. At length circumstances occurred which induced Major-General Spencer once more to proceed to the vicinity of Lisbon, where he learnt that Lieut. -General Sir Arthur Welles- ley had arrived, with eight thousand men from Ireland, in t he Mondego river, and immediately proceeded thither to join him. Having landed on the shores of Portugal, the Sixth were formed in brigade with the thirty-second regiment, under Brigadier-General Bowes ; the advanced guard (piitted the banks of the Mondego river, on the 9th of THK HlXTII RKOIMKNT OF FOOT. 77 August, and on the 17lh nttucked the French under Ge- 1808 neral Labordc in their position at lioleia. On tlie morning of this day, which is memorable for being tlie first of a Bcries of victories gained by tiie Bri- tish troops in the Peninsula, the Sixth issued from Obidos, a town with a Moorish castle, built on a gentle eminence in the middle of a valley, and, directing their march to the left, gained the ridge of heights on the enemy's right, They formed part of the left column of attack under Major-Gcneral Ferguson, destined to turn all the enemy's posts on the left of the valley, and the right of his post at Holeia ; also to oppose the efforts of a body of French troops under General Loison, should they arrive from Rio Major during the action. The heights were cleared, the column descended from the higher grounds in the rear of the centre, and joining Bri- gadier-General Fane's brigade, were directed through the mountains to outflank the French right. Meanwhile the troops which attacked the enemy's centre were triumphant ; the Sixth and other corps in the left column turned his right flank, and he fell back fighting to the Quinta de Bugaliera, and soon after four o'clock the action had ceased. The Sixth were not seriously en- gaged : their only loss was Captain John Currey and two men wounded, and one man missing ; but their gallant bearing, and eagerness to engage their adversaries were conspicuous, and they were rewarded with the honour of bearing the word " Roleia*' inscribed on their colours. On the I9th of August the Sixth marched into posi- tion at Vimicrci, a village near the sea-coast, and situate in a valley through which runs the little river Maceira ; and the regiment was one of the corps posted on a large mountain which commenced at the coast. At seven o'clock on the morning of the 21st of August a cloud of 1 i I ^1 7H HISTORICAL RECORD OF j ■ i), i: B- i|; '!:> h: \[-i .(■''' :' i id: (V*f: \l [•j^; 1 ■; ■■'s i;i, 'ii'-f' ■ M. 1 m IbUB <, the officers, and men." -^atch, the Marquis of Wellington f eneral Barnes's brigade was formed advanced before the fourth and ** light divisions ct i co-operate, with a regularity and " gallantry which I uve seldom seen equalled, and ac- " tually drove the tw > divisions of the enemy, notwith- " standing the resistauvV opposed to them, from those " formidable heights. \i is impossible that I can extol " too highly the conduct of Major-Gcneral Barnes and " these brave troops, which was the admiration of all who " were witnesses of it."* * Tradition affirms that the Sixth formerly bore the Motto of " Vi et ARMis," and on no occasion did the re'.'iment more vigor- ously support its claim to bear it than at the Heights of Echa- lar. A pack, bearing that Motto under the Antelope, was pre- served by the regiment so late as the year 182$. «' the Comman( " the highest " Major-General In his public observed : — "Maj " for the attack , 86 HISTORICAL RECORD OF V;. I il't :.i{? 181J On this memorable occasion, of which every officer and soldier of the Sixth may be justly proud, the regi- ment had Captain William Brownlow, two Serjeants, and thirteen rank and Hie killed ; Major Guy Campbell, Lieutenants Everest, Tarleton, and Addison, four Ser- jeants, and one hundred and thirty-six rank and file wounded. Majors Guy Campbell, Hugh Maurice Scott, and Henry Gomm were promoted to the rank of lieu- tenant-colonel, and the regiment was rewarded with the honour of bearing the word " Pyrenees " inscribed on its colours. The Sixth were stationed several weeks in the lofty Pyrenean mountains : the corps at Boncesvalles and Maya stood in a most commanding situation, and the Marquis of Wellington resolved to place his left in an equally menacing position, by dispossessing the enemy of some strong ground on the right of the Bidassoa, the key of which was a steep mountain, called La Rhune. The attack was commenced on the 7th of October, and completely succeeded. A detachment of the Sixth, sent forward through the Puerto de Echalar, was partially engaged, and had Captain Shawe and one man killed ; Captain Rogers, one serjeant, and five rank and file wounded. In the attack of the enemy's position on the Nivelle, on the 10th of November, the Sixth were in the column under Marshal Sir William Beresford, which carried the redoubts on the left of the enemy's centre ; advanced on the left of the river upon St. V€ ; crossed the stream at that place, and drove a body of French from the heights beyond the village : in which service the regiment had one man killed and six wounded ; and its gallant bearing was rewarded with the privilege of displaying the word " NiVKLLE " on its colours. THE SIXTH KKOIMRNT OY FOOT. 87 In the passage of the Nive, and the actions of the 9th, 1813 10th, llth, 12th, and 13th of December, the regiment co-operuted, but was not brought into contact with the enemy ; and the army afterwards went into quarters until the severity of the weather was abated. Operations were, however, recommenced in February, 1814 1814, and the regiment formed part of fhe corps under Sir William Beresford, who attacked, on the 22nd of that month, the fortified posts at ltn»tivfTues and Oyer- gave, and obliged the enemy Vi retire within the tete-de- pont at Peyrehorade, The enemy being in position at Orlhen, the Sixth, and other corps under Sir William Beresford, crossed the Gave de Pau on the morning of the 26th of February, and moved along the high road from Peyrehorade towards Orthes. On the following day they advanced to attack the enemy's right, on the heights on the high road to Dax, and at the village of St. Boes. The village was carried by the fourth division; and the Sixth advanced in column to turn the head of a ravine between them- selves and the enemy ; but on emerging from the village they were ordered to form line. Colonel Ross's brigade of horse artillery came up at fidl speed and unlimbered in the rear of the regiment, when sections were thrown back to permit the fire of the artillery to pass through the line. The ground was, however, so low that the troops could not deploy to attack the heights. The Sixth moved forward, and in the after descent of the back of the ravine the French fire told heavily on the regiment. Several officers and many men fell ; Lieut.- Colonel Gardiner, of the Sixth *, who commanded the brigade on this occasion, had his horse killed under him i * Now Major-General Sir John OtirJiner, K.C.B., Deputy Adjutant-General of the Forces. 88 HISTORICAL RECORD OF 1814 while leading the regiment forward, and as a serjeant and a private were extricating him from under the animal, the private was shot through the chest and died instantly, and the Serjeant's hands were both pierced by musket- balls: one of the colour-staves was also damaged by a ball. At this moment the Marquis of Wellington came galloping past the regiment, and cried, ** Sixth, incline to your right ;" which was obeyed ; but the ground was so rugged, and the enemy's fire so heavy, that some con- fusion took place : the road was, however, boldly gained ; and from a ditch and earthen bank the regiment opened a destructive fire on the enemy, who were in line on each flank, and, some kneeling and others lying on the ground, kept up a heavy cross fire. Meanwhile the left of the height on which the enemy's right stood had been carried ; Sir Rowland Hill had also forced the passage of the Gave above Orthes ; and the troops opposed to the Sixth eventually gave way, when the regiment moved forward in pursuit. The regiment lost, on this occasion. Lieutenants Patullo and Scott, five Serjeants, and nineteen rank and file killed ; Captains Rogers, Thompson, Smith, and Fitz- gerald, Lieutenants Jones, Craufurd, and Gilder, with Ensigns St. Clair and Blood, sixteen Serjeants, one drum- mer, and a hundred and four rank and file wounded. Colonel Gardiner, who commanded the brigade, and Lieut.-Colonel Scott, who commanded the regiment, were presented with gold medals; and the word "Orthes" was inscribed on the regimental colours as a testimony of its gallantry. On the 8th of March thv3 regiment was detached, with other forces under Sir William Beresford, towards Bour- deaux : the French troops in garrison withdrew to the right of the Garonne, and on the 12th of that month, as M h THE SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. 89 the British approached the town, they were met by the 1814 civil authorities and population of the place, and were received into the city with acclamations; the magistrates and city-guards removing the tri-coloured and display- ing the white cockade. The Sixth were subsequently employed against the French troops on the Garonne and Dordogne ; and on the 5th of April two companies attacked the rear of a column of the enemy and took many prisoners. The regiment was afterwards employed in investing the fort of Blaye, which commanded the navigation of the Garonne ; in which service it was engaged when Buonaparte abdicated the throne of France, and the Bourbon dynasty was re- stored, which gave peace to Europe. The distinguished part which the Sixth had taken in the splendid achievements by which the kingdoms of Portugal, Spain, and France had been delivered from the despotic rule of Buonaparte was rewarded with the honour of bearing the word "Peninsula" on their colours. Soon after the termination of the contest in Europe they were destined to transfer their services across the Atlantic, to take part in the war between Britain and the United States of America, which com- menced in 1812, in consequence of the resistance of the Americans to the British orders in council respecting the trade of neutral nations, and to the impressing of British seamen on board of American ships. The regiment embarked from Bourdeaux on the 5th of May, arrived in Canada in the beginning of July, and proceeded to Mon- \ treal, from whence it was removed to the Niagara fron- ] tier to reinforce the division commanded by Lieut. - General Gordon Drummond, who was engaged in the siege of Fort Erie. Having joined this division of the \ army, the Sixth formed part of the reserve brigade; • 90 HISTORICAL RECORD OF W 1814 and on the 6th of September the eighth company, commanded by Captain Pattison, cut off a strong piquet of Americans close under the walls of the fort, in tt manner very creditable to the discipline, spirit, and enterprise of the officers and men. On the 17th of the same month the regiment was engaged in repelling a very bold sortie made by a numerous body of Americans, with the view of carrying by assault, and afterwards destroying, the British works and batteries ; on which occasion the following order was issued : — m m " Camp before Fort Erie, \%th September, 1814. " District General Order. — Lieut.- General Drum- " niond, having received the report of the general officer " in the immediate direction of the troops engaged yes- " terduy, begs to offer his best acknowledgments for " their very gallant conduct in repulsing the attack " made by the enemy on our batteries with his whole " force, represented as consisting of not less than five " thousand men, including the militia. " The brilliant style in which the battery No. 2 was " recovered, and the enemy driven beyond our entrench- " mcnts by seven companies of the Eighty-second, under " the command of Major Proctor, and three companies " of the Sixth regiment, detached under Major Taylor, *' excited Lieut.-General Drummond's admiration, and *' entitle those troops to his particular thanks." Thus the Sixth were triumphant in the interior of France and on the frontiers of Canada in the same year, und their gallantry on the last occasion procured for them the royal permission to bear the word " Niagara" inscribed on their colours. This honour was, however, purchased with the loss of many lives : Captain Pattison /■ TIIK SIXTH RKOIMENT OF FOOT. 91 was numbered among the slain ; Captain Smith and 1814 Lieutenant Andrewtt were wounded, and the last-men- tioned offieer died of liis wounds. A treaty of peace liaving been eoncluded with the Americans, hostilities ceased, and thu Sixth reposed a short period in quarters. In the summer of 1815, the return of Buonaparte to 1815 France having rekindled the flame of war in Europe, the Sixth were directed to embark from America, in order to engage once more in actual warfare. They left Canada in the beginning of July, landed at Ostend on the 10th of August, and proceeded to Ghent, from whence they continued their march to Paris, and joined the army commanded by Field Marshal His Grace the Duke of Wellington, encamped near that city. The Sixth, sixteenth, fifty-eighth, and eighty-second regi- ments formed the fifteenth brigade, and were posted in the seventh division, commanded by Major-General Thomas Brisbane. When the definitive treaties between France and the allied powers were settled, the Sixth were selected to form part of llie urmy of occupation in France, and constituted, with the twenty-ninih and seventy-first rcgimenis, the sixth brigade of infantry, under Major- General Sir Thomas Bradford, in the second division, coaiujantled by Lieut.- General Sir Henry Clinton. The Sixth were (|uartered at Versailles, from whence they marched, in December, to Ecouen, a village on the road from Paris to Luzarches. On the 24th of December, 1815, the second battalion was disbanded at Winchester. The Sixth remained in the neighbourhood of Ecouen until the '23rd of January, 1816, when they 1816 marched for St. Pol in the Van de Calais, and in Febru- 02 HISTORICAL RECORD OF H iHloacy three companies occupied Lillers, and seven the adjacent villages. In August, 1816, the regiment proceeded to the vicinity of St. Omer, and encamped, with the remainder of the second division of the British contingent of the army of occupation, on Helfant Heath. In October it proceeded to the plains of Denain, near Valenciennes, where the British contingent was reviewed by Field- Marshal His Grace the Duke of Wellington on the 22d of that month. After the review the regiment returned to its former cantonments at Lillers and the neighbour- ing villages. J 817 The Sixth were again encamped on Hdfant Heath in July, 1817; in September they pitched their tents on the glacis of Valenciennes, near the Quesnoy gate ; and on the 6th of that month were reviewed, with the remainder of the British infantry, by the King of Prus- sia. They removed in October to the plains of Denain, where the British contingent was reviewed by the Duke of Wellington on the 15th of October ; on the 20th the Sixth returned to their former quarters at Liilers, &c. 1818 In these quarters they remained until June, 1818, when they once more pitched their tents on Helfant Heath, where they were reviewed by Lieut. -General Lord Hill on the 24th of June, and by the Duke of Wellington on the 31st of July. In August they again pitched their tents on the glacis at Valenciennes. On the 10th of September the British, Saxon, Danish, and Hanoverian armies, commanded by the Duke of Wellington, were reviewed by His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent ; and on the 23rd of October, the same troops, and also the Russian contingent, were reviewed by the Emperor of Russia, King of Prussia, Sic. After the review, the army of occupation was withdrawn from France. The THE SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. 98 Sixth embarked at Calais on the 29th of October, landed 1818 on the morning of the 30th at Dover, and marched to Romford in Essex, where the establishment was reduced to ten companies, of thirty -nine officers, thirty-five Ser- jeants, thirty corporals, twenty-two drummers, and six hundred and twenty private men. From Romford the Sixth marched in November to Sunderland and Carlisle, and in June, 1819, to Edin- IS\9 burgh Castle, with one company detached to Stirling, another to Aberdeen, and in the autumn a company was detached to Berwick, In consequence of the disturbed state of the northern counties of England, seven com- panies were ordered into Yorkshire — four companies proceeding to Leeds, and three to Halifax : the company left at Berwick arrived at Halifax, and the two com- panies left at Edinburgh at Leeds, in January, 1820. 1820 At an inspection on the 27th of April following, Lieut.- General Sir John Byng expressed his approbation of the appearance, discipline, and interior economy of the regi- ment ; and also at the inspection on the 22nd of May, 1821. 1821 The Sixth remained at Leeds and Halifax until June, 1821, when they proceeded to Hull, and embarked for the island of St. Helena. Two companies had sailed for their destination when information arrived of the death of Napoleon Buonaparte in exile at St. Helena. The remainder of the regiment then proceeded to the Do^vns, where its destination was changed to the Cape of Good Hope, and after a tedious voyage arrived on the 3rd of November at Table Bay, where it was joined by the two companies from St. Helena. Having landed, the regi- ment was inspected by Lieut. -General Sir Rufane Don- kin, K.C.B., at Cape Town, and was commended for its appearance, conduct, and efficient state — its effectives 1 ! 94 HISTORICAL RECORD OF II' t^;. 1821 being only one man less tliF.i on its embarkation from England. After remaining a few days on shore, five companies, under Brevet- Major Rogers, re-embarked and sailed to Algoa Bay, from whence they proceeded to Graham's Town, and marched from thence to several posts and forts along the frontier line. The establish- ment had, in the mean time, been reduced to eight com- panies of thirty-three officers and six hundred and eighteen non-commissioned officers and private soldiers. 1832 In January, 1822, the bead -a uarters, under Brevet Lieut-Colonel Scott, embarked from Cape Town, and arrived at Graham's Town towards the end of the same month ; at the same time Lieut.-Colonel Scott took the command of the troops on the frontier line of Caffreland. The regiment was stationed along the frontiers, and was much employed in patrolling and other duties to prevent the aggressions of the natives. When not thus occupied, the men were engaged as labourer.s and artificers at the government works. 1823 In October, 1823, the flank companies proceeded to Cape Town, and were followed by the head-quarters in November. Colonel Mark Napier, having arrived at the Cape, assumed the command of the regiment ; Lieut.- Colonel Scott was nominated commandant at Simons- town, and the command of the six companies left on the frontiers of Caffreland devolved on Captain Cox. 1824 In August and September, 1824, four companies were withdrawn from the frontiers and joined the 1825 head-quarters : in January, 1825, the regiment was in- spected at Cape Town by Lieut.-General Lord Charles Henry Somerset, who was pleased to express himself much gratified at witnessing its good appearance after being so long detached, and the men employed in work- ing parties. Wi 8- ifcii THE SIXTH KEGIMKNT OF FOOT. 95 The regiment had in the mean time been placed on 1825 the India establishment ; and the usual augmentation of officers arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in March, 1825. On the 22nd of March it embarked at Table Bay on board the Windsor and Vansittart, Indiamen, and landed on the 31st of May at Bombay. It occu- pied the barracks at Fort George, and, Colonel Napier having been appointed commandant of the fort and gar- rison, it was commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Scott. It was inspected on the 9th of June by Major-General Samuel Wilson, of the ilon. East India Company's ser- vice, who expressed himself much, pleased with the steady and veteran appearance of the men, and particularly commended its interior economy. In June, 1825, the establishment was augmented to a thousand and eight rank and file. During that and the following months the regiment suffered severely from the cholera morbus, which carried off many of the finest and strongest men : the mortality was particularly great among the women and children. At the close of the rainy season, in September, the re- giment was suddenly ordered from Bombay to form part of a field-force assembling at Cutch, with a view to the invasion of Scinde, between the umeers of which country and the Bombay gvi < Midition On theHtli of that month six officers and one huiuircd nnd eighty men joined from England. The decease of Lient. -Colonel Scott occurred in October following, and Mojor Algeo of the Six. m assumed the command of the fort and garrison of Bombay, until the arrival of Colonel Henry Sullivan in November, when Major Algeo resumed the command of the regiment. Colonel Sullivan inspected the regiment on the 15th of December, and every department met with his approval. During the year 1827 the regiment lost two officers and forty men; anctinvalided twenty-three men. Seven officers and two hundred and eleven men joined 1828 from England in May, 1828, During the heavy rains many men were carried off l)y the cholera morbus ; in the month of July alone the Sixth lost fifty-eight men from this disease. This was a year of general sickness all over India; but at no station did any regiment suffer so much as the Sixth on Colaba island ; their loss being two officers and one hundred and twenty one men, and they sent sixty-two invalids to England. The very sickly state of the regiment, from its having 1829 been stationed during four monsoons at Bombay, occa- sioned it to be removed to the more healthy station of Poona in the Deccan : it embarked from Colaba on the 6th of February, 1829, landed at Panwell on the oppo- site coast in the evening, and marched for Poona, where it arrived on the 17th, and was stationed in the lines then recently occupied by the twentieth regiment. The health of the men began to improve rapidly, and in a few months the Sixth were one of the most healthy and efficient corps in India. In May one hundred and thirty-five vo- lunteers from the forty-seventh regiment joined the Sixth in camp at Poona; and at the inspection, on the 10th of H Il f ■ ' i 98 niSTORJC \L RFCORI) OF 1829 June, Mojor-Genoral Sir Liont'l Smitli, K.C.B., cx- proHMid himself niucii gratiHcd vvitii the appcurunce ami lisvasc efficiency of the corps. The loss from di this yvar wa» thirty-two men. uri "« 1830 The condition of tli d« :h regiment wtiH also much com- mended hy Sir Lionel Smith nt the inspections in Ja- nuary and June, 18IJ0. In July the flank companies were ordered to he completed to one hundred rank and file each, under the command of Captain Murphy, with the second or Queen's royal, and flank companies of the eleventh and thirteenth native infantry, the whole to he commanded by Colonel Willshire, to march against Ukkulcote ; but this fort having surrendered to the troops under the President of Sattara (Lieut -Colonel A, Ro- bertson, the Resident at the court), the march was coun- termanded. In December the strength of the regiment waer increased by the arrival at the camp at Poena of fourteen volunteers from the first, or the royals, and ninety-two from the eighty-ninth regiment. Its loss from disease this year was three officers and twenty-four men. 1831 At the inspections in January and June, 1831, Colo- nel Henry Sullivan, commanding the Poona division, ex- pressed his unqualified approbation of the condition of the regiment. This year it was particularly healthy, its loss being only one officer and eight men ; and when inspected in Novemuer, hy Major-Gencral Sir James Stevenson Barns, K.C.B., commanding the forces in the Bombay presidency, its appearance, discipline, efficiency, and general good conduct in quarters, were commended. 1832 The regiment remained at Poona during the year 1832, and on the 24th of May, 1832, His Majesty King William IV. was graciously pleased to confer upon it the title of Sixth, ok Royal Fikst Wakvvicksuire Hkgi- TIIK SIXTH HKGIMKNT OF FOOT. W MFNT or Foot* ; nt whith time itn fRcitigfl wcro changctl 1832 from yellow to blue. In Jniuiar}', \KV,i, i\w regiment was at Ponwell, in 1833 I'Vbiiiary it was encamped near Diin^ah, and in March i83l at Diesa, where it remained during that and the two hiic- |k;J5 eeedin/f years, when it priKcedtd to ColaUa. It was ih36 stationed at Clolaba during the years I HMO and lHI}7t; 1937 and in the beginning of I WM8 returned to cantonments at 1838 Poona, where it has remained until the end of the year ; which brings this record to a conclusion. The formation of the Sixtm, ou Uoyal First Wau- wicKsiiiRE Ri.(;iMi,NT, in 1()74, to support the cause of civil and religious liberty in Holland against the power of the ambitious Louis XIV. of France, gives an interesting character to its origin, and olso to its early services in support of the Protestant interests. At the Revolution, in 1688, it had the honour to compose part of the army which appeared in l*]ngland to rescue the country from the dangers by which it was menaced. It aided in deli- vering Ireland from the power of papacy, and afterwards fought under King William III. in the Netherlands. In the war of the Spanish succession it performed much sharp fighting and arduous duty in Spain. Its services at home, and in the West Indies, have been of an important cha- racter. It had the honour to gain laurels under Lieut. - General Sir John Moore, and also under the Duke of * The Sixth foot, previous to their being styled " Royal," bore on their colours and appointments many " Royal" marks of favour, viz. " The Rose and Crown"—" The King's Crest"— '• Neeuspera terrent" — "The Antelope within the Garter," and motto '• Honi soil qui mal y pense." See pase 68. t On the 1 5th of June, 1837, authority was given for the badge of the " Antklope" being resumed on the coats of the drummers of the Sixth or Royal First Warwickshire Rkoi- MENT. h2 J 00 HISTORICAL RECORD, &c. '^ 1838 Wellington, in Portugal, Spain, and France, and ac- quired distinction on the distant shores of Lake Erie in North America. During the last eighteen years it has been employed in protecting the British colonial posses- sions in Africa and Asia, a service from which important commercial advantages are derived by the country. \k'V, n id ae- rie in it has )osses- ortant SIXTH (THE ROYAL FIEST WAHWlCKSniBR) UgOJMES'f OP POOT, MDCCC XXXIX. SUCCESSION OF COLONELS OF THE SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. SIR WALTER VANE, Appointed \2th December, 1673. Sir Walter Vane, fifth son of the celebrated Sir Henry Vane, secretary to King Charles I., served in the royal cause during the rebellion. He afterwards distinguished himself on the continent, and having acquired the character of a brave and meritorious officer, was advanced to the rank of marshal of the field in the Spanish service. On the decease of Colonel Robert Sidney, in 1668, King Charles II. conferred the colonelcy of the Holland regiment (now third foot, or the buffs) on Sir Walter Vane; who, in the winter of 1673-4, was pro- moted to the rank of major-general in the English army, and appointed commandant of the British troops in the pay of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and colonel of one of the English regiments (now Sixth foot) ordered to be raised for the service of the States-General. He joined the army in the field, commanded by the Prince of Orange, and signalized himself on the l^t of August, 1674, at the battle of Seneffe, where he was mortally wounded. He was interred in the great church at the Hague, and a mural monument was erected in the cloister of the said church, with the following inscription : — Hie juxta reponuntur exuviae WALTERI VANE, militis, filii quinti ; Henrici Vane militis. 102 SUCCESSION OF COLONELS OF V : Carolo Prime Magnae Britanniae Regi A sHcris conciliis et secretarii Principal. Qui a serenissimo principe Auriaco Campo praefectus, media inter agmina, forti roanu, sed fortiori animo in Preelio Seneffensi Hostium impetum et rabiem repellens, CtDco sed inexpug;nabi)i marte percussus, Montii oppido quod est Hannoniee, Anne Dom. CIo-IoCLXXIIII iEtatis SU8B LV. Ill Nonas Augusti Invictam ver vulnera reddidit Animam Deo "'. TRANSLATION. (Jlose to this spot are deposited the remains of WALTER VANE, a soldier, Fifth son of Henry Vane soldier, Privy Councillor and chief secretary to Charles the first. King of Great Britain. He was made marshal of the field, by his serene highness Auriacus. And while repelling, in the midst of his troops, with a brave hand, but with a braver soul, a furious attack of the enemy, at tht! battle of Seneife, was struck with a blind, but inevitable blow, and in the town of Montium, which is a town of Hannonia, In the year of our Lord 1674 In the 55th year of his own age On the 3rd day of August, He gave up his soul, unconquered by his wounds, To God. m * (/'o|iif(l i'foin the moniimeutal taolets in the cloister and great church ill (hv Hague, by the Rev. William Stevens, 183S. TIIK MIXTH RKOIMENT OF FOOV. 103 LUKE LILLINGSTON, Appointed in 1674. This uflficer C( rnmundeil a company in one of the re£>'imeiits raised by King C'harleN II, in 1672; after the peace of Lon- don hJH regiment wim diabanded, when he proceeded to Holland with a numt)er of men of his company, and entered the Dntch «ervice. He served at the siege of Grave, and (luring the following winter he was appointed colonel of one of the Englinh regiments raided on that occasion, now the Sixth foot; but Win decease occurred before he attained any higher rank, THOMAS ASHLEY. Appointed I3th September, 1675. Thomas Ahhlry held a commission in the English army previous to the treaty of London in 1674; when his regiment Mas disbanded, uiul he entered the Dutch service. He served under the Prince of Orange (afterwards William III.), and towards the end of the campaign of 1675 he was promoted to the colonelcy of a regiment, now the Sixth foot. He dis- tinguished hinihclf at the siege of Maestricht in 1676, and was at the diHUHtrous battle of Mont-Cassel in the following year. SIR HENllY BFXLASIS, KNIGHT*, Appointed 3rd April, 1618. Sir Henry BRLiiAsis was educated in strict principles of loyalty and attachment to monarchical government, and though but a youth at the lime, he suffered in the royal cause during tlie usurpatiouH of Cromwell. Soon after the restora- tion he was appointed captain of an independent company of one hundred men, in garrison at Hull, of which fortress the Lord Bellasis (or JJelasyse) was appointed governor; who ThiN uflici'r'x name itt frequuntly Kpelt Bei.asy8b. 104 SUCCESSION OF COLONELS OF m runlgnm], in 1673, in consequence ut' the Test-act, lie bein^' u Itotnan Catliolic. In the summer of 1674 Sir Henry Hcl- luNiH raised a company of musketeers and pikemen for the ser- vice of the United Provinces of the Netherlands, and was en- gaged at the siege of Grave in the autumn of that year. lie also served at the siege of Maestricht in 1676; at the battle of Mont-Cassel in 1677 ; and in the following spring he suc- ceeded Colonel Ashley in the command of the regiiiient which is now the Sixth fooi. At the battle of St. Denis, in 1678, he evinced signal valour and ability, vying in feats of gallantry with his commanders the Prince of Orange and the celebrated Karl of Ossory, and was wounded. During the rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth, in 1685, he accompanied his regiment to ii^nglund ; and in 1687 circumstances occurred which occa- xioiu'd him to withdraw from the Dutch service ; but he pre- served his attachment to the protestant interest and to the Prince of Orange. In 1689 he succeeded the Duke of Nor- folk in the colonelcy of a newly-raised regiment (now twenty- Mi'cond foot), with which corps he served in Ireland under the veteran Duke Schomberg. He served as brigadier-general under King William in 1690 ; was at the battle of the Boyne ; and at the siege of Limerick, where he again distinguished himself. In 1691 he acquired new honours at the siege of Athlone; he also displayed bravery and judgment at the l)altle of Aghrim ; and on the reduction of Galway he was appointed governor of that fortress, and took possession of the town on the 26th of July, with his own and two other regi- ments of foot. The rank of major-general was conferred on this distinguished officer in April, 1693, and he commanded (I brigade under King William in Flanders, in the autumn of that year. He acquired additional reputation at the battle of Landen, in 1693 ; also in the command of a brigade under King William during the following campaign ; and in October, 1694, his Majesty rewarded him with the rank of lieutenant- general. His meritorious conduct procured him the favour and confidence of his sovereign, l)y whom he was employed THE SIXTH REGIMENT OF FOOT. 10') on important services. lie communded the carnp on the Bruges canal in May, 1695 ; and a division of tlie cover- in"- army was placed under l)is orders during the siege of Namur. At the close of the campaign he was appointed president of the general court-martial which tried the officers who surrendered Dixmude and Deinse to the enemy, and sen- tenced Major-General Ellemberg to be shot. He continued to serve in the Netherlands until the peace of Ryswick. In 1701 he obtained the colonelcy oi the Queen Dowager's regi- ment (now second foot) in 'xchange with Colonel Selwyn. In 1702 he was second in command of the British troops in the expedition to Cadiz; and having been charged with par- ticipating in the plunder of Port St. Miry, he was tried by a court-martial and dismissed the service. His reputation was thus unfortunately tarnished ; but his crime does not appear to have been considered of a heinous nature, as he was sub- sequently elected a member of parliament for the city of Dur- ham; was appointed by Queen Anne, in 1711, one of the commissioners to inquire into several particulars respecting the accounts of the army in Spain; and in June, 1713, he was appointed governor of Berwick. He died on the 14th of December, 1717. WILLIAM BABINGTON, Appointed 2Sth September, 1689. This officer served with distinction under the Prince of Orange in the Netherlands; he was rewarded with the lieut.- colonelcy of Sir Henry Bellasis' regiment (now Sixth foot), and in September, 1689, he was promoted to the colonelcy. He commanded the regiment in Ireland; but retired in 1691, and his decease appears to have occurred before he attained any higher rank than that of colonel. GEORGE PRINCE OF HESSE D'ARMSTADT, Appointed Ibth April, 1691. George Prince of Hesse D'Armstadt descended from an ancient and illustrious family in Germany, and was brother lOf) SUCCESSION OF COLONELS OF fU^i; of the reigning landgrave of that name. Having entered the service of the emperor of Germany, he gave early proof's of innate valour in 1685, in the war with th*^ Turks; he also signulized himself in the three succeeding campaigns, — par ticulurly at the famous siege of Negropont; and in 1689 he served against the French with the army on the Rhine, and was wounded at the siege of Bonn, and also at the siege of Mentz. In the following year he visited England, and at- tending King William during the campaign in Ireland, he was wounded on the evening preceding the battle of the Boyne, by the cannon-ball which grazed his Majesty's shoulder. In April, 1691, the King rewarded him with the colonelcy of the Sixth foot, and the appointment of brigudier-geiieral on the staif of the army in Ireland, where he highly distinguished himself at the head of the grenadiers at the storming of Athlone; and led his regiment to the charge with surprising intrepidity at the battle of Aghrim, and was wounded. He also added to his rising reputation by his conduct during the siege of Limerick. King William was anxious to reward such distinguished merit, but the Prince, being a Roman Catholic, was not eligible for promotion in the British army : his Majesty, therefore, procured him an appointment in the Spanish service; and having signalized his valour, zeal for the confederate cause, and ability to command, during the siege of Barcelona, in 1697, the King of Spain constituted him viceroy of Catalonia. The Prince quitted Spain on the accession of the Duke of Anjou, in 1701, to the throne of that kingdom, and proceed- ing to England, was consulted by King William respecting the best mode of recovering that monarchy from the ])ower of the house of Bourbon. He accompanied the expedition com- manded by the Duke of Ormond, to Cadiz, in 1702, in the capacity of plenipotentiary from the emperor of Germany ; and he was subsequently employed on a mission to the court oi^ Portugal. He had the honour of taking a distinguished part in the capture of Gibraltar in 1704 ; and the valour, skill. THE SIXTH RKQIMENT OF F(30T. 107 indefatigable industry, and unHhakeu resolution, with which he afterwards defended that fortress, were commended by the historians of that period. He accompanied the Archduke Charles of Austria in the expedition against Barcelona in 1705, and was killed at the head of the storming party at the capture of Fort Montjuich on the 13th August, 1705. HENRY MARQUIS DE RADA, Appointed 1st February, 1694. This nobleman was the son of the Marquis de Montpouillan ; he served at the head of the Sixth foot, under King William, in the Netherlands, and died of a fever at Bruges, in the be- ginning of the campaign of 1695. VENTRIS COLUMBINE, Appointed 23rd June, 1695. Ventris Columbine served with reputation under the Prince of Orange in the Netherlands, and was promoted to the com- mission of major in the regiment which is now the Sixth foot. He accompanied the Prince in the expedition to England in 1688, but the transport in which he was embarked was cap- tured by the British ship, the Swallow. He was rewarded with the lieut.-colonelcy of the regiment in 1689; served under King William in Ireland, in 1690; and, in 1691, was wounded at the Btocjning of Athlone. He subsequently ex- changed to the foot guards ; served under King William in the Netherlands, and while engaged in the memorable siege of the strong fortress of Namur he was promoted to the colonelcy of the regiment in which he had formerly served with honour to himself and advantage to his Majesty's interest. He served at the head of his regiment in 1102, in the expedition to Cadiz, and was engaged in storming the forts at Vigo ; but his de- cease occurred before he was promoted to a higher command. JAMES RIVERS, Appointed 2nd November, IIOS. James Rivers had the honour of serving under King William I OS SUCCESSION OF COLONKLS OF m w. in Ircliind aiul the Nctherltinib, and his mcriturious coiuluct was rewarded with the licut.-colonclcy of the regiment which now ranks as Sixth foot, with which corps he served in the expedition to Cadiz, and at the storming of the forts at Vigo. In 1703 Queen Anne promoted him to the colonelcy of the re- giment ; but he only enjoyed that honourable command two years, and died in the winter of 1705 — 6. WILLIAM SOUTHWELL, Appointed 6lh February, 1106. This officer entered the army previous to the Revolution in 1688, and rose to the rank of major in the regiment which is now the Sixth foot. He served in the expedition to Cadiz and at the storming of the forts at Vigo, in 1 102 : and was pro- moted to the lieut.-colonelcy in 1103, He commanded the re- giment in the expedition under the Earl of Peterborough, in 1705 ; and hi;; distinguished conduct at the siege of Barcelona (as narrated in the record of the Sixth foot) was rewarded with the colonelcy of the regiment. He afterwards served in Catalonia and Valencia ; but retired in 1708. In 1714 he was appointed commandant of the company of foot-guards armed with battle-axes, and instituted for the guard of the lord-lieutenant of Ireland. THOMAS HARRISON, Appointed \\th June, 1708. Thomas Harrison served under King William in the Nether- lands, and, during the war of the Spanish succession, he was adjutant-general to the British forces in Spain. He was pro- moted to the rank of colonel in the army on the 6th of February, 1706, and was rewarded with the colonelcy of the Sixth foot in June, 1708. He was sent to England with the news of the victory at Saragossa in 1710; and after the peace of Utrecht he was employed on the staff of the army in South Britain. ROBERT DORMER, Appointed 71 h March, 1716. After serving many years in the life-guards, and rising to tiic TIIK SIXTH RK(HMKNT OF FOOT. 100 rank of lieut.-colonel of the first troop (now first regiment), Robert Dormer was promoted by King George I. to the colo- nelcy of the Sixth regiment of foot, which he retained four years. JAMES DORMER, Appointed 9th Aprils 1720. James Dormer entered the army in 1701, and while serving under the celebrated John Duke of Marlborough was jiro- moted to the rank of colonel in the army in 1707, and to that of brigadier-general in 1711. After the decease of Lord Mo- hun,who was killed in a duel with the Duke of Hamilton, Bri- gadier-General Dormer was appointed colonel of his Lordship's regiment of foot. This corps was, however, disbanded at the peace of Utrecht; and in 1715 he was commissioned by King George L to raise, form, and discipline a regiment of dragoons (now the fourteenth light dragoons) ; from which he was re- moved, in 1720, to the Sixth foot. In 1727 he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and in 1735 to that of lieut. -gene- ral. In 1738 he was removed to the first troop of horse grena- dier guards, the command of which troop he retained until his decease in 1742. JOHN GUISE, Appointed 1st November, 1138. John Guise obtained a practical knowledge of the profession of arms in the wars of Queen Anne ; he served many years in the first foot guards, and was promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy of that regiment in 1736. In 1738 King George II. rewarded him with the colonelcy of the Sixth foot. In 1739 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general, in 1 742 to that of major-general, in 1 745 to that of lieut.-general, and in 1 762 to that of general. He held the appointment of governor of Ber- wick several years ; and died in June, 1765. WILLIAM RUFANE, Appointed \Uh June, 1765. William Rufank entered the army in 1721, and served many IK) SUCCESSION OF COKONELH OF U'"' years in the twenty-fourth rogimont of foot, of which corps he wiiB tippoiiitcd nuijor in 1741, mid licut. -colonel in 1151. Oil the 16th of January, HOI, iu^ \\m appointed colonel of the Bcvcnty-sixth foot, then newly raised ; and he served under Lieut. -General Hodgson, at the capture of Uclle Isle, and highly distinguished himself. He also served in the West Indies, and was promoted to the rank of major-general on the 10th of July, n(>2. In 1703 his regiment was disbanded; and in 17^)5 King George III. gave him the colonelcy of the iSixTii foot. He WU8 promoted to the rank of lieut.-general in Muy, 1772, and died in February following. JOHN GORE, Appointed Wth Fchruarj/, 1773. The early services of this officer wen; in tiic third regiment of Foot Guards, in which corps he was appointed captain and licut. -colonel in 1750, first major in 1760, and lieut. -colonel in 1761. In 1762 he was promoted to the rank of major- general ; in 1768 he obtained the colonelcy of the sixty-first regiment; in 1772 he was advanced to the rank of lieut.- general, and in February of the following year he was removed to the colonelcy of the Sixth Foot. Tlo died in November, 1773. SIR WILLIAM BOOTHBY, BARONET, Appointed \Sth November, 1773. Having entered the army in the reign of King George II., Sir William Boothby served with reputation several years, and was promoted on the 19th of March, 1750, to the lieutenant- colonelcy of the thirtieth foot. In 1760 he succeeded General Watson in the colonelcy of the sixty-third regiment, was pro- moted to the rank of major-general in 1762, was removed lo the fiftieth regiment in 1764, and to the Sixth Foot in 1773 ; the command of which corps he retained until his decease on the 15th of April, 1787. TIIK .SIXTH KKCilMKNT Dl FUtJT. Ill LANCELOT BAUGII, Ai'inmtcd l8//t April, 1787. Turs officer j-crvcd many yours in the first foot mmrdi*, in winch regiment ho whh appoinlcd licntenant and capiain in 1747, and captain and licnt.- colonel in I7r>H. In 1771 he waB promoted to the rank of colonel, in 1777 to that of mnjni- gcncral, and in 1779 to that of lient.-ucnerul. The colonelcy of the Sixth Foot was conferred by King George III. on Lieut. -General Baugh in 1787 ; and he retained thiu ap])oint- nicnt until hia decease in Aprd, 1792. SIR RALPH ABERCROMBY, K.B., Appointed 26th April, 1792. This distinguished officer commenced his military career as cornet in the third dragoov. guards in 1756; in 1702 he was appointed captain in the third horse (now sixth dragoon guards), and was promoted to the lieut. -colonelcy of the regi- ment in 1773. Under his vigilant care and attention to all the duties of commanding officer, his regiment bccumc distin- guished as an efficient cavalry corps ; and he was rewarded with the lank of colonel in the army in 1780; in the follow- ing year he was appointed colonel of the 10.3d regiment, or King's Irish infantry, which corps was diubanded at the peace in 1783. In 1787 he was promoted to the rank of major- general; and in September, 1790, he was appointed colonel of the sixty-ninth regiment, from which he was removed in 1792 to the Sixth foot. On the breaking out of the war with France in '793. he was promoted to the local rank of lieut. -general on Lhe continent, and he held a command under the Duke of York, in Flanders. In this service he highly signalized himself, and his conduct was spoken of in the warmest terms of commendation m his Royal Highness's despatches ; particularly his gallantry at the battle of Cateau on the 26th of April, 1794, and in the general attack made on the French posts on the 17th of May follow- 112 SUCCESSION OF COLONELS OF ing. i*r He also took an active and distinguiuhed part in con- ducting the unfortunate retreat through Holland, and was wounded before Nimeguen on the 27th of October, 1794. Shortly after his return to England he was sent with an expedition to the West Indies, to complete the deliverance of the French West India islands from the power of the repub- lican government, and to reduce to obedience the insurgents in the islands of St. Vincent and Grenada. In this service he had distinguished success : he took Grenada — obtained possession of the settlements of Demarara and Essequibo — completed the capture of St. Lucia and St. Vincent — and afterwards reduced the Spanish colony in the island of Tri- nidad, and placed it under the dominion of the British crown. In the mean time he had been appointed to the colonelcy of the Princess Royal's dragoon guards, and created a Knight of the Bath ; and in November, 1796, he was removed to the command of the Scots Greys. His distinguished merit was also rewarded with the appointment of lieut.-governor of the Isle of Wight, and the government of Forts George and Au- gustus. In 1799 he was selected to command the first division of the Anglo-Russian arniy destined to attempt the deliverance of Holland from the power of France ; and in effecting a land- ing on the 27th of August, — in repulsing the troops assembled to oppose him, — and in gaining possession of the forts of the Helder, which was followed by the surrender of the Dutch fleet, he evinced the abilities of a consummate general and the valour of a hero. He was also successful in the action of the Zyp on the 10th of September. After the arrival of the Duke of York he commanded a division under His Royal Highness with reputation ; and in the accounts of the engagements which followed, his conduct was mentioned in terms of the highest praise. After his retvn from Holland he was appointed to the command of an expedition sent into the Mediterranean. He captured Malta, and appeared before Cadiz ; but an epidemic disease raging in the city at the time, the attempt on this THE SIXTH RK(iIMENT OF FOOT. 113 fortress was desisted in for feur uf infection. He subsequently directed his course towards l''gyptt with the view of driving the French army from that country ; and while the fleet anchored in the bay of Mnrmoricc, in Asiatic Turkey, he arranged a plan of co -operation with t]»e Turks. In February, 1801, he again put to sea, and on the 8th of March he effectpd a landing in the bay of Aboukir, and defeated a body of French troops. On the 13th he drove the French from their position beyond Mandora Tower, on which occasion he had a horse shot under him ; and on the 19th Fort Aboukir capitulated. On the 21st of the same month he repulsed a furious attack of the enemy on the position which he occupied near Alex- andria, and during the action he received a mortal wound which deprived his king and country of his most valuable services. He appears to have been wounded in the early part of the day, but continued in the field giving his orders with that coolness and perspicuity which had ever marked his character, till after the action wan over, when he fainted through weakness and loig of blood, ond died on the 28lh of March, 1801. Thus fell one of the mo»t honourable military men whose lives have been commemorated in hiitory. His character was held up to the admiration of the firmy in general orders, in which it was observed, — " The illustrious example of their " commander cannot fail to have made an indelible impression " on the gallant troops, at whose hejid, crowned with victory " and glory, he terminated bin honourable career; and His " Majesty trusts that a due contemplation of the talents and " virtues, which he uniformly diiiplayed in the course of his " valuable ;ife, will for ever endear the memory of Sir Ralph " Aberckomby to the British army. His steady observance " of discipline, — his ever-watchful attention to the health and " wants of his troops, — the persevering and unconquerable " spirit which marked his military career, — the splendour of " his actions in the field, — and the heroism of his death,— are " worthy the imitation of all who desire, like him, a life of " honour and a death of glory," I 114 SUCCESSION or COLONELS OF i m PRINCE WILLIAM FREDERICK OF GLOUCESTER. Appointed Ath November, 1795. Prince William Frkderick, only son of William Henry Duke of Gloucester, third son of Frederick Prince of Wales, was born at Rome in 1176. His first commission was that of captain and lieut.-colonel in the first foot guards, and was dated the 11th of March, 1789. He held also the rank of colonel in the army. In March, 1794, he proceeded to Flan- ders to join his company in the first battalion first foot guards, and having a letter of service as colonel on the staff, and to do duty with the army as a general oflScer, he was ap- pointed to the command of a brigade of infantry of the line, under his Royal Highness the Duke of York. In the general attack of the French positions preparatory to the siege of Lan- drecies, he wr .; ployed in the column under Sir William Erskine, and -i. .ivid and carried the village of Premont and the wood on its left, for which he was thanked on the field. In the following month he was appointed colonel of the hundred and fifteenth regiment, then first raised; but he continued to serve with the army commanded by the Duke of York during the remainder of that campaign. In February, 1795, his Highness was promoted to the rank of major-general, and in November following he obtained the colonelcy of the Sixth regiment of foot. When the attempt was made in 1799 to rescue Holland from the power of France, Prince William Frederick was appointed to the command of a brigade in the Anglo-Russian army commanded by his Royal Highness the Duke of York. In the action of the 19lh of September he supported the Russians. Having re-captured the village of Schorel and the wood skirting the village, he pursued the enemy up the sand-hills, and drove them back upon Bergen ; and when the army fell back he made good his retreat, bringing off his guns, ammunition, and wounded men in the face of the enemy. On the 24th of September he relieved the reserve, occupying the advanced posts on the left ; II \ ^- THE SIXTH RKGP'ENT OF FOOT. 115 and on the 4th of October he made a rapid advance to Scher- merhorn, and obtained possession of three of the enemy's guns. On the 6th he fell back to his former position, and sustained for some time the attack of a body of the enemy of very superior numbers. When ordered to withdraw, he effected his retreat without loss. His Highness's brigade was also engaged on the 10th of October, and remained in front of the enemy until the army withdrew from Holland. His gallant conduct was rewarded with the rank of lieut. -general on the 13th of November, 1799. He was employed as lieut.- general upon the staff of Great Britain, and had the command of the north-west district from July, 1803, to May, 1807. On the decease of his father in 1805 he succeeded to the title of Duke of Gloxjcester. In May, 1806, he was re- moved to the colonelcy of the third foot guards, and was promoted to the rank of general on the 25th of April, 1808. His Royal Highness was further advanced to the rank of field- marshal on the 24th of May, 1816. He was governor of Portsmouth, Knight of the most noble Order of the Garter, Knight Grand Cross of the Military Order of the Bath, and Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Hanoverian Guelphic Order. He was a munificent patron of many public charities ; and his universal benevolence wi.s the subject of great praise. He died in December, 1834. SIR GEORGE NUGENT, BARONET, G.C.B. Appointed 26th May, 1806. London : Printed In W. Ci-crES and Sons, Stamford .Streot.