BY COMMAND OF His late Majesty WILLIAM THE IV ^TH .
and under the Patronage of
Her Majesty the Queen.

HISTORICAL RECORDS,
OF THE
British Army
Comprising the
History of every Regiment
IN HER MAJESTY'S SERVICE .
By Richard Cannon Esq ^re .
Adjutant General's Office, Horse Guards.
London.
Printed by Authority.

GENERAL ORDERS.

HORSE-GUARDS ,

1st January, 1836 .

His Majesty has been pleased to command, that, with a view of doing the fullest justice to Regiments, as well as to Individuals who have distinguished themselves by their Bravery in Action with the Enemy, an Account of the Services of every Regiment in the British Army shall be published under the superintendence and direction of the Adjutant-General; and that this Account shall contain the following particulars: viz. ,

By Command of the Right Honourable

GENERAL LORD HILL,

Commanding-in-Chief .

John Macdonald ,

Adjutant-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 Commanders, and the Officers and Troops acting under their orders, expressions of approbation and of thanks for their skill and bravery, and these testimonials, confirmed by the high honour of their Sovereign's Approbation, constitute the reward which the soldier most highly prizes.

It has not, however, until late years, been the practice (which appears to have long prevailed in some of the Continental armies) for British Regiments to keep regular records of their services and achievements. Hence some difficulty has been experienced in obtaining, particularly from the old Regiments, an authentic account of their origin and subsequent services.

This defect will now be remedied, in consequence of His Majesty having been pleased to command, that every Regiment shall in future keep a full and ample record of its services at home and abroad.

From the materials thus collected, the country will henceforth derive information as to the difficulties and privations which chequer the career of those who embrace the military profession. In Great Britain, where so large a number of persons are devoted to the active concerns of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, and where these pursuits have, for so long a period, been undisturbed by the presence of war , which few other countries have escaped, comparatively little is known of the vicissitudes of active service, and of the casualties of climate, to which, even during peace, the British Troops are exposed in every part of the globe, with little or no interval of repose.

In their tranquil enjoyment of the blessings which the country derives from the industry and the enterprise of the agriculturist and the trader, its happy inhabitants may be supposed not often to reflect on the perilous duties of the soldier and the sailor,—on their sufferings,—and on the sacrifice of valuable life, by which so many national benefits are obtained and preserved.

The conduct of the British Troops, their valour, and endurance, have shone conspicuously under great and trying difficulties; and their character has been established in Continental warfare by the irresistible spirit with which they have effected debarkations in spite of the most formidable opposition, and by the gallantry and steadiness with which they have maintained their advantages against superior numbers.

In the official Reports made by the respective Commanders, ample justice has generally been done to the gallant exertions of the Corps employed; but the details of their services, and of acts of individual bravery, can only be fully given in the Annals of the various Regiments.

These Records are now preparing for publication, under His Majesty's special authority, by Mr. Richard Cannon , Principal Clerk of the Adjutant-General's Office; and while the perusal of them cannot fail to be useful and interesting to military men of every rank, it is considered that they will also afford entertainment and information to the general reader, particularly to those who may have served in the Army, or who have relatives in the Service.

There exists in the breasts of most of those who have served, or are serving, in the Army, an Esprit de Corps —an attachment to every thing belonging to their Regiment; to such persons a narrative of the services of their own Corps cannot fail to prove interesting. Authentic accounts of the actions of the great,—the valiant,—the loyal, have always been of paramount interest with a brave and civilised people. Great Britain has produced a race of heroes who, in moments of danger and terror, have stood, "firm as the rocks of their native shore;" and when half the World has been arrayed against them, they have fought the battles of their Country with unshaken fortitude. It is presumed that a record of achievements in war,—victories so complete and surprising, gained by our countrymen,—our brothers—our fellow-citizens in arms,—a record which revives the memory of the brave, and brings their gallant deeds before us, will certainly prove acceptable to the public.

Biographical memoirs of the Colonels and other distinguished Officers, will be introduced in the Records of their respective Regiments, and the Honorary Distinctions which have, from time to time, been conferred upon each Regiment, as testifying the value and importance of its services, will be faithfully set forth.

As a convenient mode of Publication, the Record of each Regiment will be printed in a distinct number, so that when the whole shall be completed, the Parts may be bound up in numerical succession.

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INTRODUCTION
TO
THE INFANTRY.

The natives of Britain have, at all periods, been celebrated for innate courage and unshaken firmness, and the national superiority of the British troops over those of other countries has been evinced in the midst of the most imminent perils. History contains so many proofs of extraordinary acts of bravery, that no doubts can be raised upon the facts which are recorded. It must therefore be admitted, that the distinguishing feature of the British soldier is Intrepidity . This quality was evinced by the inhabitants of England when their country was invaded by Julius Cæsar with a Roman army, on which occasion the undaunted Britons rushed into the sea to attack the Roman soldiers as they descended from their ships; and, although their discipline and arms were inferior to those of their adversaries, yet their fierce and dauntless bearing intimidated the flower of the Roman troops, including Cæsar's favourite tenth legion. Their arms consisted of spears, short swords, and other weapons of rude construction. They had chariots, to the axles of which were fastened sharp pieces of iron [2] resembling scythe-blades, and infantry in long chariots resembling waggons, who alighted and fought on foot, and for change of ground, pursuit, or retreat, sprang into the chariot and drove off with the speed of cavalry. These inventions were, however, unavailing against Cæsar's legions: in the course of time a military system, with discipline and subordination, was introduced, and British courage, being thus regulated, was exerted to the greatest advantage; a full development of the national character followed, and it shone forth in all its native brilliancy.

The military force of the Anglo-Saxons consisted principally of infantry: Thanes, and other men of property, however, fought on horseback. The infantry were of two classes, heavy and light. The former carried large shields armed with spikes, long broad swords and spears; and the latter were armed with swords or spears only. They had also men armed with clubs, others with battle-axes and javelins.

The feudal troops established by William the Conqueror, consisted (as already stated in the Introduction to the cavalry) almost entirely of horse; but when the warlike barons and knights, with their trains of tenants and vassals, took the field, a proportion of men appeared on foot, and, although [3] these were of inferior degree, they proved stout-hearted Britons of stanch fidelity. When stipendiary troops were employed, infantry always constituted 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 the bow from their youth, was considered a valuable acquisition to every army, even as late as the sixteenth century.

During a great part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth each company of infantry usually consisted of [4] 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 recommended by an English military writer (Sir John Smithe) in 1590, was:—the colour in the centre of the company guarded by the halberdiers; the pikemen, 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 musketeers; and the harquebusiers (whose arms were much lighter than the musket then in use) in equal proportions on each flank of the company for skirmishing. [1] It was customary to unite a number of companies into one body, called a Regiment , which frequently amounted to three thousand men; but [5] each company continued to carry a colour. Numerous 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 seventeenth century: bows and arrows also fell into disuse, and the infantry were reduced to two classes, viz.: musketeers , armed with matchlock muskets, swords, and daggers; and 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 containing 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 forming 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] 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 company 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 (excepting 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 [7] Marine regiments were disbanded, but were again formed on the breaking out of the war in 1702. [2]

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-grenades; 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 [8] 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 Crècy , 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 Bohemia, the King of Majorca, and many princes and nobles were slain, and the French army was routed and cut to pieces. Ten years afterwards, Edward Prince of Wales, who was designated the Black Prince, defeated at Poictiers , with 14,000 men, a French army of 60,000 horse, besides infantry, and took John I., King of France, and his son Philip, prisoners. On the 25th of October, 1415, King Henry V., with an army of about 13,000 men, although greatly exhausted by marches, privations, 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 [9] Provinces of the Netherlands and the Spanish monarch, which commenced in 1578 and terminated in 1648, the British infantry in the service of the States General were celebrated for their unconquerable spirit and firmness; [3] and in the thirty years' war between the Protestant Princes and the Emperor of Germany, the British troops in the service of Sweden and other states were celebrated for deeds of heroism. [4] In the wars of Queen Anne, the fame of the British army under the great Marlborough was spread throughout the world; and if we glance at the achievements performed within the memory of persons now living, there is abundant proof that the Britons of the present age are not inferior to their ancestors in the qualities 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 evacuate [10] that country; also the services of the gallant Troops during the arduous campaigns in the Peninsula, under the immortal Wellington ; and the determined stand made by the British Army at Waterloo, where Napoleon Bonaparte, who had long been the inveterate enemy of Great Britain, and had sought and planned her destruction by every means he could devise, was compelled to leave his vanquished legions to their fate, and to place himself at the disposal of the British government. These achievements, with others of recent dates in the distant climes of India, prove that the same valour and constancy which glowed in the breasts of the heroes of Crècy, Poictiers, Agincourt, Blenheim, and Ramilies, continue to animate the Britons of the nineteenth century.

The British soldier is distinguished for a robust and muscular frame,—intrepidity which no danger can appal,—unconquerable spirit and resolution,—patience in fatigue and privation, and cheerful obedience to his superiors. These qualities, united with an excellent system of order and discipline to regulate and give a skilful direction to the energies and adventurous spirit of the hero, and a wise selection of officers of superior talent to command, whose presence inspires confidence,—have been the leading causes of the splendid victories gained by the [11] British arms. [5] The fame of the deeds of the past and present generations in the various battle-fields where the robust sons of Albion have fought and conquered, surrounds the British arms with an halo of glory; these achievements will live in the page of history to the end of time.

The records of the several regiments will be found to contain a detail of facts of an interesting character, connected with the hardships, sufferings, and gallant exploits of British soldiers in the various parts of the world where the calls of their Country [12] and the commands of their Sovereign, have required them to proceed in the execution of their duty, whether in active continental operations, or in maintaining colonial territories in distant and unfavourable climes.

The superiority of the British infantry has been pre-eminently set forth in the wars of six centuries, and admitted by the greatest commanders which Europe has produced. The formations and movements of this arme , as at present practised, while they are adapted to every species of warfare, and to all probable situations and circumstances of service, are calculated to show forth the brilliancy of military tactics calculated upon mathematical and scientific principles. Although the movements and evolutions have been copied from the continental armies, yet various improvements have from time to time been introduced, to ensure that simplicity and celerity by which the superiority of the national military character is maintained. The rank and influence, which Great Britain has attained among the nations of the world, have in a great measure been purchased by the valour of the Army, and to persons, who have the welfare of their country at heart, the records of the several regiments cannot fail to prove interesting.

1838.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] A company of 200 men would appear thus:—

20	20	20	30	20	30	20	20	20
Harquebuses.		Muskets.		Halberds.		Muskets.		Harquebuses.
	Archers.		Pikes.		Pikes.		Archers.

The musket carried a ball which weighed ¹ / ₁₀ of a pound; and the harquebus a ball which weighed ¹ / ₂₅ of a pound.

[2] The 30th, 31st, and 32nd Regiments were formed as Marine corps in 1702, and were employed as such during the wars in the reign of Queen Anne. The 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 afterwards employed at the siege of Barcelona in 1705.

[3] 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 Spaniards) out of the field, let them be chosen where they list." Yet at this time the Spanish infantry was allowed to be the best disciplined in 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.

[4] Vide the Historical Record of the First, or Royal Regiment of Foot.

[5] "Under the blessing of Divine Providence, His Majesty ascribes the successes which have attended the exertions of his troops in Egypt, to that determined bravery which is inherent in Britons; but His Majesty desires it may be most solemnly and forcibly impressed on the consideration of every part of the army, that it has been a strict observance of order, discipline, and military system, which has given the full energy to the native valour of the troops, and has enabled them proudly to assert the superiority of the national military character, in situations uncommonly arduous, and under circumstances of peculiar difficulty."— General Orders in 1801.

In the General Orders issued by Lieut.-General Sir John Hope (afterwards Lord Hopetoun), congratulating the army upon the successful result of the Battle of Corunna, on the 16th of January, 1809, it is stated:—"On no occasion has the undaunted valour of British troops ever been more manifest. At the termination of a severe and harassing march, rendered necessary by the superiority which the enemy had acquired, and which had materially impaired the efficiency of the troops, many disadvantages were to be encountered. These have all been surmounted by the conduct of the troops themselves; and the enemy has been taught, that whatever advantages of position or of numbers he may possess, there is inherent in the British officers and soldiers a bravery that knows not how to yield—that no circumstances can appal—and that will ensure victory when it is to be obtained by the exertion of any human means."

HISTORICAL RECORD
OF
THE FOURTH,
OR THE
KING'S OWN, REGIMENT OF FOOT:

CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF

THE FORMATION OF THE REGIMENT IN 1680,

AND OF

ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES
TO 1839.

ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES.

PUBLISHED BY LONGMAN, ORME, AND CO.,

PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON;

AND BY W. CLOWES AND SONS,

14, Charing Cross ;

AND TO BE HAD OF ALL BOOKSELLERS.

1839.

HISTORICAL RECORDS

OF THE

BRITISH ARMY.

PREPARED FOR PUBLICATION UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE
ADJUTANT-GENERAL.

THE FOURTH,

OR

THE KING'S OWN, REGIMENT OF FOOT.

LONDON:
Printed by William Clowes and Sons ,
14, Charing Cross.

THE

FOURTH,

OR

THE KING'S OWN, REGIMENT OF FOOT,

BEARS ON ITS COLOURS, AS A REGIMENTAL BADGE,

THE LION OF ENGLAND ;

WITH THE FOLLOWING INSCRIPTIONS,

"CORUNNA," "BADAJOZ," "SALAMANCA,"
"VITTORIA," "ST. SEBASTIAN,"
"NIVE," "PENINSULA," "BLADENSBURG,"
"WATERLOO."

[Pg v]

CONTENTS.

[x]

Colours of the 4th Regiment of Foot.

[Pg 1]

HISTORICAL RECORD

OF

THE FOURTH,

OR

THE KING'S OWN, REGIMENT OF FOOT.

The city of Tangier on the coast of the kingdom of Fez, in Africa, having been ceded in 1661, by Portugal, to King Charles II., as part of the marriage portion of the Infanta, Donna Catherina, this fortress, with a portion of the adjoining territory, had constituted a part of the possessions of the British crown for a period of nearly twenty years, when circumstances occurred, which gave rise to the formation of the REGIMENT which is the subject of this memoir, for service in that part of His Majesty's dominions.

This ancient and renowned city had been successively in the power of the Phœnicians, Romans, Vandals, Saracens, Portuguese, and Spaniards, and it had been the scene of armed contentions and sanguinary wars, in remote ages as well as in modern times. It had formerly been celebrated as one of the most splendid cities in that quarter of the world, but had fallen from its ancient power and magnificence; and when it came into the possession of the British crown, fragments of ruins were all that remained to indicate its former grandeur. It had been much strengthened and improved by the English after their possession of it; detached forts had been constructed, and large sums of money had been granted by the parliament for improving the harbour and enlarging the defences. [2] Much opposition had, however, been met with from the native chiefs, who availed themselves of all the means within their power for exterminating the Christian occupants of this part of Africa. The garrison had already resisted many attempts of its daring and inveterate enemies, particularly in the time of Gaylan, the usurper of Fez; but in 1680 the city was besieged by an immense force, and the Moors had the advantage of having several European renegades in their army, by whom they had been taught the art of mining and of carrying on approaches under ground. Not only the national honour and the credit of His Majesty's arms were concerned in the preservation of this fortress, but, in the event of its capture by the Moors, the Levant trade was likely to suffer some interruption from its harbour becoming the resort of pirates.

King Charles II., therefore, sent thither a battalion of foot guards and sixteen companies of Dumbarton's regiment, (now first royals,) and issued, in July, 1680, warrants for raising six independent troops of horse and a regiment of foot, to augment the garrison, and to enable it to chase from under the walls the native forces by which it was menaced.

The first troop of horse was raised by Major-General the Earl of Ossory, who was nominated governor of His Majesty's possessions in Africa; and the others by Lieut.-Colonel Sir John Lanier, and Captains Robert Pulteney, John Coy, Charles Nedby, and Thomas Langston.

The regiment of foot was ordered to consist of sixteen companies of sixty-five private men each, besides officers and non-commissioned officers; and the colonelcy was conferred on Charles Fitz-Charles, Earl of Plymouth , a daring aspirant to military fame, who had already distinguished himself against the Moors in the [3] character of a volunteer, and was serving at Tangier at the time the regiment was raised.

The royal authority for raising this regiment was given on the 13th of July, 1680, and the sixteen companies of which it was composed, were raised by the following officers; Lieut.-Colonel Piercy Kirke, [6] Major Charles Trelawny, and Captains Zachariah Tiffin, Henry Trelawny, Edward Hastings, Charles Fox, Edward Griffin, John Strode, Edward Saville, Roger Pope, Walter Fitzgerard, John Grimes, Robert Ansley, Arthur Cheffors, and John Southcote, and the captain-lieutenant of the colonel's company. Eight companies were raised in London and in its vicinity under the immediate superintendence of Lieut.-Colonel Kirke, and had their general rendezvous in Clerkenwell; and the other eight companies were raised in the west of England, with their general rendezvous at Plymouth, under the superintendence of Major Trelawny.

The corps thus raised obtained the title of the Second Tangier Regiment , [7] and after serving the British crown in various parts of the world, through the eventful period of one hundred and fifty-eight years, it continues a distinguished corps, and bears the designation of the Fourth, or the King's Own, Regiment of Foot . Although the particulars of its origin and formation have been distinctly given, yet it was in some measure connected with another corps, of whose services a few words are introduced into this record.

On the breaking out of the war between England and [4] Holland in the early part of 1672, a regiment of foot was raised, of which James Duke of Monmouth was appointed colonel. This regiment was sent to France, and taken into the pay of Louis XIV.; it served during the campaigns of 1672 and 1673, under the Duke of Monmouth, in the Netherlands, and during the four succeeding years it served with the French army in Alsace and on the Rhine, together with Douglas's or Dumbarton's regiment, now first royals, Churchill's, and Hamilton's. In these campaigns Monmouth's regiment distinguished itself on several occasions under Marshals Turenne, De Crequi, and Luxemburg. In 1678 it was ordered to return to England, and after the peace of Nimeguen it was disbanded.

When the Earl of Plymouth's regiment was raised, many of the officers of Monmouth's late regiment were appointed to commissions in this new corps, through whose influence many of the non-commissioned officers and soldiers, who had served in the Netherlands, France, and Germany, were induced to enter the same regiment. By these means, and by the aid of a few men from the Holland regiment , now third foot, or the buff's, the Earl of Plymouth's , or Second Tangier Regiment , was completed in numbers, equipped, [8] instructed [5] in the simple exercises practised at the time, and ready to embark for foreign service in less than four months after the order for its being raised was issued.

The service for which these forces were raised being urgent, three of the troops of cavalry (Langston's, Nedby's, and Coy's) were provided with horses from the life guards and royal regiment of horse guards, and sailed as soon as possible; the Earl of Plymouth's regiment also embarked with all possible expedition, and sailed in November.

In the mean time the garrison of Tangier had overpowered the Moorish army in a sharp action under the walls, and a truce had been agreed upon for six months; and when information of this event arrived in England, the other three troops of horse (viz. Ossory's, Lanier's, and Pulteney's) were disbanded.

This truce was in operation when the Earl of Plymouth's regiment arrived at Tangier ; and the officers and men learned that their colonel had died a few weeks previously of dysentery. He was succeeded in the colonelcy by the lieut.-colonel, Piercy Kirke , who was also appointed commander-in-chief of the garrison.

Shortly afterwards an ambassador from the court of Fez arrived, and made his public entry into the city of Tangier on the 2nd of December; his reception is thus described in the London Gazette:—"Colonel Kirke, our commander-in-chief, went out to meet him between [6] eleven and twelve. Four troops of horse marched first;—after them fifty chosen grenadiers of the Earl of Dumbarton's regiment; then thirty gunners with their linstocks; followed by thirty negros in painted coats, with their brown-bills (a sort of battle-axe); and after these rid Colonel Kirke, surrounded with twenty gentlemen well mounted, and having six men of the tallest stature, with long fusils, on each side of his horse; in which order, having proceeded a good distance beyond Fountain Fort, the party of Moors, which was about two hundred horse with their lances, being now within musket shot of us, made a halt. The ambassador with about thirty persons advanced towards Colonel Kirke, who received him with those compliments which are customary. Colonel Kirke then went to make his salutations to the alcaid, Aley Benanbdala, vice roy of those countries, who remained at the head of the Moorish party; which being ended, the alcaid and the ambassador with each of their parties began a skirmish, it being their manner of rejoicing and expressing their satisfaction. Having shown their horsemanship and skill in managing their lances and fusils, they parted, the alcaid going off with his men, and the ambassador with his train proceeding with Colonel Kirke to the town; where all the regiments in garrison were formed up to augment the splendour of his public entry."

In the succeeding year Colonel Kirke proceeded on an embassy to the court of the vice-roy of Fez, and also to that of the Emperor of Morocco, and a treaty of peace between the English and Moors was concluded. A diary of Colonel Kirke's journey, with a description of his reception, and of the court of the African potentate, was published at the time, and appears more like an airy [7] vision of the imagination, or a few pages from an eastern romance, than a narrative of facts.

After the decease of Sir Palmes Fairborne (who was killed in an engagement with the Moors on the 24th of September, 1680), Colonel Kirke was removed to the colonelcy of the first Tangier (now the second or queen's royal) regiment, and was succeeded by the lieut.-colonel, Charles Trelawny, by commission dated the 23d of April 1682.

The improved military system of the Moors, introduced by the employment of European renegades, having rendered it necessary to maintain a much stronger garrison at Tangier than formerly, His Majesty brought the subject before parliament; but the people of England were more alarmed at the prospect of a popish successor to the throne than at the danger of losing this fortress, which they considered as an asylum for popish recusants, and consequently no further grant was voted.

A free intercourse had been established with the Moors, and a traffic by barter was carried on to the benefit of the town; but all the advantages expected to be derived from the possession of this fortress had not been realized, and King Charles II. was unwilling to bear, without any pecuniary aid from parliament, the expense of the fortifications and troops. He accordingly sent, towards the end of 1683, Admiral Lord Dartmouth with a fleet, to destroy the fortifications, and to bring away the British inhabitants and garrison.

The regiment arrived in England from Tangier in February, 1684, and was placed in garrison at Portsmouth, where it remained upwards of twelve months; and its establishment was reduced from sixteen to twelve companies.

In the autumn of this year His Majesty conferred upon the regiment the title of Her Royal Highness the [8] Duchess of York and Albany's Regiment . What its distinguishing colour, or livery (which is now called facing ), was on its formation, has not been ascertained; but in October of this year it was YELLOW . This appears to have been a favourite colour of the Duke of York, (afterwards James II.) as his troop of life guards had yellow horse furniture, belts covered with yellow velvet, yellow ribands on the horses' heads and tails, and also yellow ribands in the men's hats; and his marine regiment, called the Admiral's Regiment, was clothed in yellow.

The colours of the regiment were of yellow silk, with the red cross of St. George bordered with white; the rays of the sun issuing from each angle of the cross, or; and Her Royal Highness's cypher in the centre.

On the 6th of February, 1685, King Charles II. died, and was succeeded by his brother, James Duke of York; and the Duchess of York having become Queen of England, this regiment was styled the Queen's Regiment of Foot : the first Tangier regiment had previously been styled the Queen's , and was now designated the Queen Dowager's regiment.

The much dreaded event—the accession of a papist to the throne—had now occurred; but the minds of the people were partially set at ease by the King's declaration of his determination to maintain the protestant religion as by law established. This did not, however, prevent several rash adventurers from urging James Duke of Monmouth, to make an attempt to gain the throne. This nobleman was the illegitimate son of the late king,—was of prepossessing appearance and address,—a steady advocate for the protestant religion,—had gained a reputation for military virtues,—and had become a favourite with the people. Being urged to this enterprise by his desperate associates, he raised the standard of rebellion in [9] the west of England in June, 1685; and, having been joined by a number of miners and other persons, proclaimed himself king.

The Queen's Regiment of Foot was reposing in quarters at Portsmouth and performing the duties of the garrison, when the news of Monmouth's rebellion produced an electric sensation throughout the country. The regular army was augmented; the militia was called out; and this regiment was ordered to recruit its numbers to one hundred men per company. Soon afterwards five companies, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Charles Churchill, were ordered to march in charge of a train of artillery, consisting of seven field-pieces, to join the army under the command of Lieut.-General the Earl of Feversham, which was assembling to oppose the rebels.

The five companies of the Queen's Regiment having joined the other forces with the artillery, the army advanced to the village of Weston, and the infantry encamped on Sedgemoor , the two Tangier regiments taking the left of the line. The rebel army lay at Bridgewater, and during the night of the 5th of July the Duke of Monmouth advanced with the view of surprising the King's troops in their camp; but his approach was discovered, and the camp was alarmed by the cavalry out-guards. The rebels, however, rushed forward, and a fierce conflict of musketry ensued in the dark. The first attack was made against the royals on the right; and extending along the front to the left, the companies of the Queen's Regiment became sharply engaged, and "performed good service." Soon after day-break the King's cavalry charged the flanks of the rebel army and put it into confusion. An entire rout ensued, and the insurgents were pursued across the moor and adjoining fields with great slaughter; many were taken prisoners; and their leader, the Duke of Monmouth, [10] was captured two days afterwards near Ringwood, in Hampshire, and was removed to London, and beheaded.

After the suppression of the rebellion, the five companies of the Queen's Regiment returned to Portsmouth: their conduct was highly approved by his Majesty, and soon afterwards the regiment was presented with a set of new colours— one to each company ; and it continued to display TWELVE COLOURS for several years from that period. Two of the new colours were presented by the Queen, and the other ten by his Majesty: of the expense of the former no account has been met with; but some idea may be formed of the splendid appearance of these colours, from the fact that the ten presented by the King cost upwards of twenty pounds each. [9] A copy of the bill, amounting to £206 5 s. 6 d. , is preserved in the official records in the War Office. A copy of the royal warrant, dated 21st of August, 1686, for the payment of this sum, is inserted below. [10]

[11]

During the summer ten companies of the regiment were ordered to proceed from Portsmouth to Taunton in Somersetshire, to attend the Lord Chief Justice Jeffreys, who was appointed by King James II. to try the prisoners taken at the battle of Sedgemoor, and a number of other persons who were charged either with being concerned in the rebellion, or with countenancing or aiding the ill-fated duke and his adherents. The narrative of the proceedings of the Lord Chief Justice, and of the painful duties which the troops who attended on him had to perform, forms one of the black pages of the history of this country; and the remorseless and sanguinary character of the judge has occasioned him to be held up to deserved execration. Colonel Kirke and his regiment have also been charged with acts of cruelty, although the accounts may have been exaggerated; but the conduct of the ten companies of the Queen's Regiment escaped censure, as their services appear to have been limited to the guarding of prisoners, and the preserving of order at executions, which were so numerous that these were termed the BLOODY ASSIZES .

The Queen's Regiment remained in extensive cantonments in the western counties until the spring of 1686, when it was ordered to march to Plymouth, where it passed the succeeding twelve months. It was withdrawn from Devonshire in March, 1687, and was stationed a short time at Salisbury and Wilton, from whence it marched to Hounslow in June of the same year, and pitched its tents on the heath. After having been twice reviewed by King James II., the regiment struck its tents on the 5th of August, and marched to Bristol, Bath, and Keynsham.

In the spring of 1688, the regiment proceeded to Portsmouth, and passed the summer months in that garrison; but in September it was ordered to march to London.

[12]

The short period during which King James II. had occupied the throne, had been pregnant with events of a most alarming character to the nation, and every evil which the people had feared would follow the accession of a popish prince to sovereign power, appeared on the eve of transpiring. The rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth had furnished the King with a pretext for augmenting the regular army, which he continued on a high establishment, and increased, from time to time, without the consent of parliament. The troops were embodied by the authority of the crown only, and were paid, either from the civil list, or by diverting moneys, intended for other objects, to that purpose; and the King even appeared to have formed the design of governing without parliaments, of rendering himself absolute, and of subverting the reformed religion. His Majesty's principal dependence for the success of his unconstitutional projects was placed in the devotedness of his troops; but his conduct disgusted the military as well as his other subjects; and the cheers of the soldiers on Hounslow Heath at the acquittal of the bishops, whom the King had imprisoned and brought to trial for opposing his measures, proved that he had entirely lost their sympathy, and could no longer trust to them for support.

The King's proceedings having filled the nation with alarm and consternation, the Prince of Orange, who was the King's nephew and son-in-law, and a zealous advocate for the Protestant interest, was solicited to come to England with a body of troops to assist the nobility and gentry in opposing the proceedings of the court. At the same time, many of the superior officers of the English army, who were most zealous for the welfare of the kingdom and the preservation of the reformed religion, seeing the danger to which the constitution in church and state was exposed, formed themselves into a secret association, and [13] engaged not to fight in the cause of papacy and arbitrary power, but to further the objects of the Prince of Orange; and Brigadier-General Charles Trelawny, Colonel of the Queen's regiment of foot, was one of the members of this association.

When the Prince of Orange had landed at Torbay (5th of November) the regiment proceeded by forced marches to Salisbury, and afterwards to Warminster, which was the most advanced post of the King's army, and was occupied by the third troop of life guards, the Queen's, and Major-General Werden's regiments of horse, the Queen's regiment of dragoons, with two battalions of the royals, and the Queen Dowager's and Queen Consort's regiments of foot, [11] commanded by Major-General Kirke and Brigadier-Generals Trelawny and Maine.

The King arrived at Salisbury on the 20th of November, and on the 21st reviewed his forces stationed in and near that city; and a number of officers and soldiers having already deserted to the Prince of Orange, His Majesty addressed the troops on the subject, and gave liberty to all who were unwilling to serve him, to depart without molestation. This appeal to their loyalty was followed with such shouts and assurances of attachment, that the King's confidence, which had been much shaken, was in a great measure restored. On the following day His Majesty designed to have visited the advanced post at Warminster, but was prevented by a bleeding at the nose, [14] to which he was constitutionally subject. The Duke of Berwick states in his memoirs,—"The King intended to go from Salisbury in my coach to visit the quarter commanded by Major-General Kirke; but was prevented by a prodigious bleeding of the nose, which seized him on a sudden, and it is said, that a scheme was laid and measures taken by Churchill and Kirke, to deliver up the King to the Prince of Orange; but this accident frustrated the design." Brigadier-General Trelawny is also charged with participating in this design; but no direct proof on the subject has been adduced by any historian.

The number of desertions increasing, the King ordered the army to retire towards London, when the cavalry was withdrawn from Warminster by Brigadier-General Maine of the third troop of life guards; and orders were sent to Major-General Kirke to march with the infantry to Devizes, but he refused, and was placed in arrest and sent under a guard to London. Brigadier-General Trelawny, expecting a similar fate, withdrew, with his lieut.-colonel, Charles Churchill, and about thirty non-commissioned officers and soldiers, and joined the Prince of Orange. The King sent Lieut.-General the Earl of Dumbarton to Warminster with two squadrons of horse, and he brought off the remaining officers and men of the four battalions without interruption.

After Brigadier-General Trelawny had joined the Prince of Orange, the King gave the colonelcy of the Queen's regiment of foot to Sir Charles Orby from the commission of lieut.-colonel in the third troop of life guards. But His Majesty, finding the army, on which he had depended, would not be subservient to his designs, fled from London with the view of escaping to France; the Prince of Orange assumed the reins of government, [15] and ordered the regiment to march to Hertford and Ware; and His Highness restored Brigadier-General Trelawny to the colonelcy, and promoted Lieut.-Colonel Charles Churchill to the command of the Holland regiment, now the third foot.

The regiment continued to occupy quarters in the south of England after the accession of William and Mary, and passed the winter of 1689 at Exeter.

In the mean time Ireland had become the scene of conflict between the Roman Catholics and Protestants, and King James, having proceeded thither with a body of French troops, had reduced the greater part of that kingdom under his sway, and had maltreated the Protestants in various ways. In 1689 King William sent Duke Schomberg, with a body of troops, to aid the Protestants, and in 1690 His Majesty resolved to take the field in person. The Queen's regiment of foot was selected to form part of the army in Ireland, and having embarked from Barnstaple in the middle of April, put to sea, but was driven by severe weather to Pembroke. Here the regiment remained about a week, and having again put to sea on the 30th of April, landed at Belfast on the 2d of May. King William arrived in Ireland on the 14th of June, and placing himself at the head of the army, advanced to the banks of the Boyne , on the opposite side of which river King James's army was formed in order of battle.

At day-break on the morning of the 1st of July, the regiment was under arms, every man displaying a green branch in his hat, to distinguish him from the enemy, who wore pieces of white paper in their hats, and the cheerful countenances of the musketeers, pikemen, and grenadiers seemed to give presage of victory. About six o'clock the regiment, with the remainder of Brigadier-General [16] Trelawny's brigade, forming part of the force under Count Schomberg and Lieut.-General Douglas, filed to the right, and having marched about two miles up the river, forded the stream between the King's camp and Slane bridge. Sir Neal O'Neal's regiment of Irish dragoons, in the service of King James, offered some opposition; but was speedily routed and its commanding officer was mortally wounded. After passing the river, Trelawny's brigade halted a short time until additional forces arrived; then advancing through corn fields, over deep ditches, and across a difficult bog, drove the enemy's left wing from its ground in a spirited manner, and forced it to make a precipitate retreat towards Duleek. When the enemy's left flank was thus turned, King William passed the river with the other divisions of his army, and King James's forces were overpowered and chased from the field. Thus a decisive victory was gained, and the troops halted during the night near Duleek.

The regiment advanced with the army upon Dublin, and at the review at Finglass, on the 7th and 8th of July, it mustered (according to the official rolls) five hundred and fifty-three private men, besides officers and non-commissioned officers. The enemy having fled from Dublin, the regiment was stationed several weeks in garrison in that city, of which its colonel was appointed governor.

Meanwhile the combined English and Dutch fleets, commanded by Lord Torrington and Admiral Evertsen, had engaged (30th of June) the French fleet under the Count de Tourville, off the Beachy, and the Dutch, being in the van, suffered so severely, that the enemy not only claimed the victory, but actually gained the ascendancy at sea, and menaced England with an [17] invasion. A body of French landed on the western coast, and destroyed a village, and this event having produced considerable alarm, King William ordered this regiment and several other corps to return to England. [12]

After its arrival in England the regiment was encamped on Southsea common, near Portsmouth, and in the autumn, the danger of foreign invasion having passed away, it was selected to form part of an expedition to Ireland under the Earl of Marlborough, (afterwards the great Duke of Marlborough.) The troops employed on this service [13] embarked about the middle of September, and arrived in Cork roads on the 21st of that month. The fleet entered the harbour on the following day, and the co-operation of part of the army on shore having been secured, the troops landed on the 23d and besieged the city of Cork . A breach having been made, four English regiments, under Brigadier-General Churchill and a body [18] of Danes, passed the river on the 28th of September, wading up to the arm-pits to the east marsh, in order to storm the city wall on that side. The grenadiers under Lord Colchester led the attack, and, while advancing, the Duke of Grafton, who accompanied the storming party in the character of a volunteer, received a mortal wound. Before the storming party gained the breach, the enemy hung out a white flag, and agreed to surrender.

Kinsale was afterwards besieged, and the enemy immediately vacated the town and retired into the Old and New Forts. The Old Fort was taken by storm on the 2d of October; and a breach having been made in the New Fort, the garrison surrendered on the 15th of October.

After the capture of these fortresses the regiment was placed in garrison in Cork, where it remained during the winter.

In the spring of 1691, when the army took the field under General De Ginkell, (afterwards Earl of Athlone,) this regiment was left in reserve in the county of Cork, to secure the garrisons, and to keep in check the bands of armed Roman Catholic peasantry, who prowled about the country committing every description of depredation; and, while employed in this service, detachments of the regiment had occasional encounters with the enemy's parties. After the overthrow of the Irish and French forces at Aughrim, the regiment was ordered to march from the county of Cork, and it joined the main army in the wild and desolate part of the country called Shalley. Advancing from thence to Limerick , it was engaged in the siege of this place, which was terminated by the surrender of the garrison in September, on condition of being permitted to proceed to France. Indemnity was [19] also granted to the Roman Catholics who had engaged in this contest, and the power of King James was finally suppressed in Ireland.

After so many of the Irish regiments as were willing had proceeded to France, where they were taken into the service of Louis XIV., the other Irish corps which had fought in King James's cause were disbanded, and the regiment which forms the subject of this memoir returned to England, and immediately commenced recruiting its numbers.

On the 1st of January, 1692, the colonelcy was conferred on the lieut.-colonel, Henry Trelawny, vice Major-General Charles Trelawny, who was appointed Governor of Plymouth.

The regiment was allowed but a short period for the purpose of recruiting, before it was ordered to hold itself in readiness to proceed to the Netherlands, and having embarked at Portsmouth, sailed on the 31st of March, 1692; contrary winds, however, forced the transports to anchor in the Downs until the middle of April, when they sailed to Ostend. After landing, the regiment went into cantonments among the Belgic peasantry, and subsequently took the field with the army commanded by King William in person.

The regiment took part in the operations of the main army and in the advance to relieve the siege of Namur, which was frustrated by heavy rains. On the 29th of June, it was reviewed by King William and the Elector of Bavaria at the camp on the undulating grounds between Genappe and the forest of Soignies.

It was also present at the battle of Steenkirk , fought on the 24th of July, when the army of King William was repulsed in an attempt to force the position occupied by the French under Marshal Luxemburg. This [20] regiment formed part of the main body, and, owing to the narrow and difficult defiles which lay between the two armies, it was not brought into action, and consequently had no opportunity of distinguishing itself. A detachment of the regiment, sent forward on the preceding evening, joined the advance-guard, and was sharply engaged. The loss on both sides was nearly equal.

The Queen's regiment of foot formed part of a detachment of ten battalions sent from the main army on the 22d of August, under Lieut.-General Talmash, to join a body of troops which had arrived at Ostend from England, under the orders of the Duke of Leinster. These forces were afterwards joined by a body of cavalry, and, having summoned between two and three thousand of the country people with spades and shovels, took and repaired the fortifications of Furnes, a small town situated upon the canal, two leagues from Nieuport and five from Dunkirk. After placing this town in a condition to resist an assault, the troops proceeded to Dixmude, and fortified and garrisoned the town. The regiment subsequently marched to Bruges, and went into cantonments in the villages near the banks of the canal between that place and Ghent; but the French having advanced to Charleroi, the regiment quitted its village cantonments and joined the main army at Drongen. The French Marshal, Boufflers, bombarded the lower town of Charleroi, and afterwards retreated, when this regiment returned to its former quarters.

During the winter a detachment was ordered to advance to the relief of Furnes , which was besieged by a French force under Marshal Boufflers; but the roads were so bad from heavy rains that, according to D'Auvergne, "several soldiers sunk almost to the middle in mud, and several horses remained stuck in it." This [21] occasioned some delay, and the garrison surrendered on the 4th of January, 1693. The Dutch garrison at Dixmude, being alarmed at having the enemy so near them, withdrew from the place.

The detachment afterwards returned to its quarters, and in May the Queen's regiment took the field with the army, and was posted in the second line at the celebrated position of Parck camp, the possession of which enabled King William to defeat the enemy's designs on Brabant.

In the movements which preceded the battle of Landen , which was fought on the 19th of July, 1693, the regiment also took part; and on the night before the battle it was posted in the village of Neer-Landen, on the left of the position; but on the following morning, when the French columns were seen advancing to the attack, the Queen's and Prince George of Denmark's (now third) regiments were withdrawn from Neer-Landen, and ordered to take post in the village of Laér, to reinforce Brigadier-General Ramsay's brigade.

Scarcely had the regiment gained its post, when the glistening of bayonets and pikes, perceived at intervals above the undulations, gave indication of the approaching enemy; a cloud of light musketeers and grenadiers soon cleared the intervening space and attacked the village with great fury; and the defenders opened a most galling and destructive fire on their assailants. The enemy, by continually reinforcing the corps engaged, succeeded, after a severe struggle, in gaining some advantage; but the British troops renewed the conflict and regained their lost ground. Again the enemy brought forward his rallied forces, and a brigade of dragoons dismounting and joining in the attack, the village of Laér was carried. Brigadier-General Ramsay rallied his brigade, and after a [22] short address, led the regiments to the attack. The French were exulting in their success, when suddenly a loud British huzza burst like a clap of thunder on their astonished ears, and the next moment the charging Britons broke through all opposition, forced the village, and in a short time cleared it of opponents.

The enemy, by his great superiority of numbers, was enabled to bring forward fresh troops, and he eventually succeeded in forcing the position at the village of Neer-Winden. The village of Laér was then no longer tenable, and the regiments were forced to retire, fighting, across the river Gheet. The King ordered the army to make a retrograde movement, which was not effected without considerable confusion and loss. The Queen's regiment had Captain Crofts and Lieutenant Woodstock killed; Captain Wharton wounded; and Captain Carroll and Lieutenant Cole wounded and taken prisoners: of its loss in non-commissioned officers and private men, no account appears to have been preserved.

The enemy's loss in killed and wounded was so great that he derived little advantage from the victory.

The Queen's regiment continued with the main army until the autumn, when it marched into garrison at Malines.

The regiment marched out of Malines in May 1694, and pitched its tents near the cloister of Terbank, where three English and thirty-six Dutch battalions were encamped. During the campaign of this year two magnificent armies manœuvred on the plains of Flanders and Brabant, but no general engagement occurred. In September the Queen's regiment of foot formed part of the covering army during the siege of Huy , which place was taken by capitulation, and the regiment subsequently marched to its former station at Malines.

[23]

In 1695 the regiment again took the field, and was employed in the movements which preceded the siege of the important fortress of Namur . The attack of this city excited universal attention throughout Europe. The strength of the place both by nature and art,—the extent of the castle, situated on a rock, with the works by which it was surrounded,—the number of veteran troops in the town,—the character of their commander (Marshal Boufflers),—the fact that this was one of the most important of the French king's conquests, and consequently strenuous exertions would be used for its preservation,—with the immense armies employed in covering and carrying on the siege, or in attempting to relieve the garrison, gave an important character to this undertaking, which produced a lively feeling of interest throughout Christendom; and the Queen's was one of the regiments which had the honor of taking part in the enterprise.

When Namur was first invested, this regiment remained with the covering army under the veteran Prince of Vaudemont; but it formed part of the force detached on the 24th of June under Lord Cutts, and joined the besieging troops on the 1st of July. During the night of the 8th of that month a detachment from the grenadier company was engaged in storming the covered way which the enemy had constructed on the hill of Bouge, in which service Captain Selby was wounded, and several private men were killed and wounded.

The regiment was on duty in the trenches on the 9th, and also on the 13th of July; on the 17th the grenadiers were engaged in storming the counterscarp. The assaulting party of 500 grenadiers was commanded by Colonel Collingwood, with Major Carryle of the Queen's regiment second in command. The attack was made about five o'clock in the evening; the enemy defended [24] their post with great bravery; every inch of ground was disputed; but the counterscarp was eventually carried. The regiment lost many men on this occasion; Captain Carter (son of Rear-Admiral Carter who was killed at Barfleur) was killed in the covered-way, and Major Carryle was wounded.

On the night of the 23rd of July a detachment of the regiment was engaged in extending the lodgement on the right of the bastion of St. Roche, and had Ensign Nuby killed; also Captain Mitchell and Lieutenant Cole wounded. On the succeeding day the batteries kept up an incessant fire, and preparations were made for a general assault; but this was prevented by the enemy agreeing to surrender the town, which they vacated on the 25th, and retired into the castle.

This regiment having sustained considerable loss during the siege of the town, marched from the lines of circumvallation on the 27th of July towards Brussels, forming part of the division under Lieut.-General Count Nassau, sent to reinforce the covering army under the Prince of Vaudemont, to enable him to oppose the immense French army commanded by Marshal Villeroy. The enemy advanced to Brussels and bombarded the city, and subsequently marched towards Namur; when this regiment was withdrawn from its camp between Genappe and Waterloo, and advanced to oppose the enemy's design of relieving the castle of Namur. The position which the army took up before Namur frustrated the purposes of the French marshal; and on the 20th of August, a detachment of the regiment was engaged under Lord Cutts in storming the counterscarp and breach of Terra Nova, in which service it had Lieutenant D'Arneau and several men killed. Preparations were subsequently made for a second assault on the castle; when Marshal Boufflers [25] agreed to surrender on honourable terms, and thus this stupendous fortress was captured; the achievement reflected glory on the British arms and those of the several nations composing the army commanded by King William. The most brilliant feature in this enterprise, however, derived its lustre from the fact, that other monarchs had made conquests for themselves, to oppress their neighbours, or to raise a powerful monarchy out of the ruins of other states; but the King of England waged war for the good of Europe, and to establish liberty and peace upon a lasting foundation. After the damage done to the works of Namur had been repaired, the regiment returned to its former quarters at Malines.

The King of France finding that not only had an effectual stop been given to his arms, but that he was likely to lose many of his conquests, endeavoured to weaken the confederates by causing England to become the theatre of civil war. A party favourable to the Stuart dynasty still remained in England; the Duke of Berwick and several French officers were sent across the Channel to persuade the friends of King James to rise in arms; at the same time a plot for the assassination of King William was formed; and a French army marched to the coast to be in readiness to embark with King James for England.

Information of these events having been obtained, the Queen's regiment of foot was suddenly ordered from its cantonments in the city of Malines to embark for England. It marched to Sas Van Ghent, where it went on board of transports, and sailed to Flushing, from whence a convoy of Dutch men-of-war accompanied the fleet to England. In the mean time the conspirators had been discovered, a British fleet was sent to blockade the French ports, and the designs of Louis XIV. were frustrated. [26] The greater part of the forces which were ordered home on this occasion returned to Flanders without landing in England; but the Queen's was one of the corps which disembarked at Gravesend, and was selected to remain on home service that year.

In the summer of 1697 the regiment again embarked for the Netherlands; and having joined the army commanded by King William near Brussels on the 14th of July, was reviewed by His Majesty on the 16th. Soon afterwards the King had the satisfaction of seeing his exertions in behalf of the liberties of, and balance of power in, Europe, crowned with a treaty of peace, which was concluded at Ryswick in September; and in the succeeding month this regiment was ordered to return to England. It landed in the beginning of December at Woolwich; from whence it marched to Plymouth and Penryn, where its establishment was reduced from nine hundred and twenty-five to five hundred and seventy-two officers and soldiers.

The danger arising from the exercise of so unconstitutional a prerogative as the raising of troops and the maintaining of a large army on the authority of the Crown only, as practised in the reign of King James II., was provided against at the Revolution. In the Bill of Rights, the raising or keeping of a standing army within the kingdom, in time of peace, unless with the consent of parliament, was declared to be contrary to law, and from that period to the present time the army has been maintained under the authority of an Act, annually renewed, called an "Act for punishing mutiny and desertion, and for the better payment of the army and their quarters." This Act specifies the number of soldiers to be kept up; the conditions under which they are enlisted, paid, billeted, &c.; and lays down a system of [27] martial law for their government. Owing to the jealousy with which a standing army was regarded, and the cost of its maintenance, it was confined, after the peace of Ryswick, within very narrow limits; and in 1699 it was reduced, in opposition to the most obvious considerations of expediency, and in despite of the efforts of the King, to so few as seven thousand men. These troops were limited to "His Majesty's natural born subjects," and King William, who had been the instrument, under Divine Providence, of establishing a free government in these realms, and of fixing the balance of power in Europe, was obliged to submit to the mortification, which he felt most acutely, of dismissing his favourite regiments of Dutch guards and French refugees. When this reduction took place, the establishment of the Queen's regiment was decreased to ten companies of thirty-six private men each. It continued to occupy Plymouth and Penryn, with one company detached to the Isle of Scilly.

The success which had attended the exertions of King William to prevent the aggrandizement of France by conquest, and to establish the balance of power in Europe upon an apparently solid foundation, was suddenly countervailed by the accession of the Duke of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV., to the throne of Spain; and two years had scarcely elapsed, before the signs of approaching war appeared, and the short-sighted policy of placing the army upon so low an establishment proved a source of great inconvenience.

The strength of the Queen's regiment of foot was again increased to twelve companies, and in February, 1702, King William conferred the colonelcy on Brigadier-General William Seymour from the twenty-fourth regiment.

His Majesty having died in the following month, was [28] succeeded by Queen Anne, [14] who declared war against France; and the first service in which the Queen's regiment of foot was called upon to engage in this reign, was the expedition to the coast of Spain under the command of General the Duke of Ormond, a nobleman more remarkable for generosity and personal bravery, than for ability as commander-in-chief of an army.

Information had been received in England that the garrison of the city of Cadiz was weak in numbers, the fortifications out of repair, and that the inhabitants of that part of Spain were favourable to the house of Austria. This fortress had been captured by a British armament in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, [15] and, in the anticipation of a similar result, an expedition was fitted out, and the Queen's (now fourth) regiment of foot embarked [16] from Plymouth (mustering upwards of eight hundred men) to join in the enterprise.

When the fleet arrived on the Spanish coast, some delay was occasioned by the Admiral, Sir George Rooke, on pretence of seeking for information; but the troops landed in the middle of August, and dispersed a body of Spanish cavalry which was drawn up to oppose them, on which occasion the grenadier company of this regiment was engaged.

After landing, the Queen's regiment took part in the operations by which the capture of the towns of Rota and [29] Port St. Mary's , and also Fort St. Catherine , was effected; it also took part in the siege of the fort of Matagorda ; but the delay in landing had given the Spaniards time to recover from their first surprise, and Cadiz was found better prepared for resistance than was expected. The expedition proving too weak for the capture of this fortress, the troops retired to Rota, where they re-embarked, and afterwards sailed for England.

Nothing gives rise to more painful feelings in the breasts of British soldiers than the failure of an attempt of this nature. Though their honour and fame were untarnished, and their personal bravery had been conspicuous throughout, yet their fondly cherished hopes and sanguine expectations were blighted; the palm of victory and glory of conquest, which had appeared almost within their grasp, had vanished, and they were returning to England (where the anticipations of the people had been incautiously heightened by paragraphs in the Gazette expressive of the certainty of success) without having achieved anything to answer the expectations of their sovereign and country. The remembrance of their disappointment, however, suddenly vanished on the receipt of information of the arrival of a Spanish fleet from the West Indies, under a French convoy, at the harbour of Vigo in Gallicia. The prospect of capturing this prize gave new life to the seamen and troops, and the squadron immediately bent its course thither.

The French Admiral, M. Chateaurenaud, had placed his shipping and the galleons within a narrow passage, the entrance to which was defended by a castle on one side, and by platforms mounted with cannon on both sides of the river; and a strong boom was laid across the entrance. These obstructions, instead of [30] daunting the British and Dutch, raised their energies and gave new vigour to their movements. The fleet passed Vigo under a heavy cannonade from the works, and anchored within four miles of Rondendella. The Duke of Ormond landed with two brigades, in one of which was the Queen's regiment of foot, in a sandy bay on the south side of the river, two leagues from Vigo; and captured the platforms and castle by storm in a most intrepid and gallant manner; while the fleet forced the boom, and bore down upon the enemy's men-of-war and galleons, which were all captured or destroyed. In this brilliant enterprise the troops had only two officers and forty men killed, and four officers and thirty men wounded; among the latter was Colonel Seymour of the Queen's regiment.

The Duke of Ormond took possession of the town of Rondendella, and being inspired with confidence from this success, he was desirous of capturing Vigo, and of passing the winter with the troops in Spain, in order to follow up the advantage he had acquired in the spring; but the admiral could only supply the troops with two months' provision, and could not leave more than six frigates on the coast; the design was consequently laid aside and the expedition returned to England with its booty. Queen Anne went in state to St. Paul's cathedral to return thanks for this success, and each of the regiments of infantry received £561 10 s. prize money.

After its return to England, the regiment was again stationed at Plymouth with four detached companies in village cantonments; a thirteenth company was added to its establishment, and in the summer of 1703 the nature of its services was changed, and it became a corps of Marines .

A corps was raised for SEA service by King Charles II., [31] in 1664, and designated the admiral's regiment; and during this reign battalions for sea service were formed as the occasions of the state required, of drafts from the land forces, and embarked on board the fleet. In 1689 King William III. incorporated the admiral's regiment in the second foot guards, and two marine regiments were established for service on board the fleet. These regiments were disbanded in 1698; but on the breaking out of the war of the Spanish succession, six regiments of marines were raised, and six regular regiments of foot were placed on the establishment of the navy for sea service. [17] In May, 1703, the Queen's regiment, commanded by Colonel Seymour, was constituted a corps of Marines ; and its colonel was appointed to the care and command of Her Majesty's marine forces.

The uniform of the regiment underwent some alteration on this occasion, and the three-cornered cocked hats, worn by the officers and men, were replaced by high-crowned leather caps, covered with cloth of the same colour as the facing of the regiment, and ornamented with devices, the same as the caps worn at this period by the grenadiers. [18]

[32]

The first service in which the Queen's (now fourth) regiment was called upon to engage after it was constituted a corps of Marines , was embarking on board the fleet commanded by Admiral Sir George Rooke, for the purpose of conducting to Portugal the Archduke Charles of Austria, who had been acknowledged by the British, Dutch, Imperial, and Portuguese governments as sovereign of Spain by the title of Charles III., an event which excited a lively interest at the time, and from which most important results were anticipated.

His Catholic Majesty arrived at Portsmouth on the 26th of December, and was received by the fleet and town with the honours paid to crowned heads; after visiting Queen Anne at Windsor, he went on board, and put to sea, but was driven back by a storm.

The fleet again set sail on the 12th of February, 1704, arrived at Lisbon on the 25th of that month, and was followed by transports having a British and Dutch force on board under the command of Duke Schomberg, which force was designed to assist King Charles in his attempt to gain the throne of Spain.

It was customary at this period to employ marines occasionally in the field; but this regiment did not land. It remained on board the fleet, which, having put to sea, proceeded to the city of Barcelona , and expecting the Catalonians would declare in favour of King Charles III. as soon as they should be assured of protection and support, the governor was required to surrender; but he refused to receive the summons. Although the fleet was not prepared to capture the place, yet a body of [33] Marines was landed, and the town was bombarded. This producing no alteration in the governor's resolution, and the people exhibiting no marks of attachment to the house of Austria, the Marines were re-embarked. The British and Dutch squadron subsequently proceeded in quest of the French fleet under the Count of Thoulouse, and, although the latter had the advantage in point of numbers and other particulars, yet the French admiral avoided an engagement.

Being unable to force the enemy to fight, the British and Dutch admirals resolved to make a sudden attempt on Gibraltar , and the Queen's Regiment of Marines , now the Fourth or King's Own Regiment of Foot , had the proud distinction of taking part in the capture of this stupendous fortress, a conquest from which the kingdom has probably derived as much advantage as from any previous achievement of the British arms, and which remains a monument of the national glory. The combined fleet arrived in the bay of Gibraltar on the 21st of July; a body of English and Dutch Marines were landed on the neck of land northward of the town under the orders of the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, to cut off the communication of the garrison with the country, and the governor was summoned to surrender the fortress for His Catholic Majesty King Charles III. This being refused, a heavy cannonade was opened on the 23d, by which the Spaniards were driven from their guns at the head of the south mole. The boats were manned, a body of men from the fleet, climbing up the difficult acclivity, with signal gallantry captured the fortifications on the mole, but had two lieutenants and forty men killed, and sixty wounded, by the explosion of a mine. Another body of men landed, and, urged forward by their innate valour and thirst for glory, captured a detached [34] bastion between the mole and the town; and the governor, having been again summoned, agreed to surrender on condition of being permitted to march out with all the honours of war. On taking possession of the fortress, the seamen and Marines were astonished at their own success; and they viewed, with a mixed feeling of wonder and delight, fortifications which a comparatively small number of men might have defended against a numerous army. The capture of Gibraltar gave rise to new hopes and expectations to the friends of the house of Austria, and it derived additional interest from the fact that it preceded, but a very few days, the glorious victory gained by the Duke of Marlborough at Blenheim.

The loss of Gibraltar disconcerted the measures of Philip II., and his grandfather Louis XIV. Eight thousand men, under the Marquis de Villadarias, were immediately detached from the Spanish army to retake the fortress; and the French admiral received orders to engage the British and Dutch fleet, and to co-operate in the re-capture of Gibraltar.

At this period the French monarch possessed a naval force of considerable magnitude, and his fleet under the Count of Thoulouse exceeded in numbers and power the combined British and Dutch squadron. The hostile fleets engaged on the 24th of August, about eleven leagues south of Malaga , and, after both sides had suffered severely, they were separated in the night.

Landing of the British and Dutch troops at Gibraltar on the 21st July, 1704.

[To face page 34, in 4th Foot.

The Marquis de Villadarias, having been joined by four thousand French from the fleet, commenced the siege of Gibraltar on the 22d of October; and part of the Queen's Regiment of Marines , being in garrison, had now the honour of defending that magnificent fortress which they had so nobly assisted to capture. The garrison was weak in numbers; but Sir John Leake and [35] Rear-admiral Vander Dussen arrived in the bay from Lisbon, with thirteen English and six Dutch men-of-war, and, thus securing the besieged from an attack from the sea, gave them an opportunity to direct all their energies to the repulsing of the attacks from the land side.

During the night of the 11th of November, five hundred of the enemy contrived, by means of rope-ladders and other inventions, to ascend the mountain by a way which was deemed impracticable, and were supported by another body of three thousand men. The men engaged in this daring enterprise were, however, soon discovered, and were charged by five hundred of the Marines in garrison with such resolution, that two hundred of the enemy were killed on the spot, upwards of two hundred were taken prisoners, and the remainder, endeavouring to escape, fell down the rock and were dashed to pieces.

The fire of the enemy's batteries having damaged the works, a body of men was landed from the fleet to assist in the defence, and Brigadier-General Fox with several other officers and a number of men having been killed, (5th of December, 1704,) aid was solicited from the army in Portugal. Meanwhile the enemy had made several breaches, and the garrison was held in constant readiness to resist an attack on the works by storm. British courage and endurance were now sternly proved. The governor, the Prince of Hesse d'Armstadt, spent his days in the works, and the greatest part of every night in the covered way, and his example produced so good an effect, that the conduct of the troops exceeded all expectation, and " The English Marines gained immortal honour ." [19] New works were constructed [36] within those already damaged, mines were prepared, and every means used to give the French and Spaniards a warm reception if they attempted to assault the fortress. In the midst of these preparations the garrison was reinforced by a battalion of foot guards, part of the English regiments of Barrymore (thirteenth foot) and Donegal (thirty-fifth foot), and of the Dutch regiment of Waes; and during the night of the 22d of December, a body of men issued from the fortress in the dark, forced the Spanish lines, routed a body of cavalry, levelled part of the works, burnt the fascines and gabions, and retired with little loss. The success which attended this display of British intrepidity, with the discovery of a conspiracy which several residents in the garrison had entered into with the enemy, disconcerted the measures of the besiegers and retarded their operations.

The siege was, however, prosecuted with vigour, and the Marquis of Villadarias, having received a considerable reinforcement, attacked the round tower in the beginning of February, 1705. On this occasion a chosen band of French grenadiers climbed the rock with hooks in one hand and their swords in the other, but were repulsed with loss.

A second attempt was made about four days afterwards. Six hundred select French and Walloon grenadiers, supported by a large body of Spaniards, ascended the hill with great silence during the night, and concealed themselves in the cliffs and hollow grounds until day-break. When the night-guard had been withdrawn from the breach near the round tower, they made a sudden rush at the wall, and with a shower of hand-grenades drove the ordinary guard from its post. At the same time two hundred French grenadiers attacked the round tower by storm. The troops in garrison were soon [37] alarmed. Captain Fisher of the Queen's Regiment of Marines , an officer of a most daring and heroic spirit, charged the enemy at the head of seventeen men; but his small party was soon overpowered and himself taken prisoner. Major Moncall, of Lord Barrymore's regiment, rushed to the scene of the conflict at the head of four hundred men, and being seconded by Colonel Rivett of the foot guards, who had climbed the rock on the right of the covered way with twenty grenadiers, he charged the enemy sword in hand, retook the round tower, and liberated Captain Fisher of the Queen's Marines . Additional troops were brought forward, and the French and Walloon grenadiers were chased from the works with the loss of more than half their numbers; but the gallant Captain Fisher , being foremost in the pursuit, was again made prisoner.

The French and Spaniards continued their attempts against this fortress with unavailing assiduity, until their formidable army was half ruined, and towards the end of March, 1705, they raised the siege, and retired. "And thus," observes the author of the Annals of Queen Anne, "the siege of that important place, after six months' toil and fruitless attempts, was at last raised, by the obstinate and valiant defence of our brave Englishmen ;" and the Queen's Marines had their share in the glory of this brilliant success. The importance of Gibraltar occasioned the siege to become a subject of great interest throughout Christendom, but especially in England; the result gave rise to the most lively feelings of joy and exultation; and the conduct of the British troops was the subject of merited commendation.

In the subsequent actions during this war, the regiments of Marines gained additional honour. They had [38] their share of the glory acquired in the capture of Barcelona in the autumn of 1705, and in the gallant defence of that city in 1706; they fought at the unfortunate battle of Almanza in 1707; took part in the capture and defence of several fortified towns in Spain, and in the capture of the island of Minorca in 1708. In some of these services, detachments of the Queen's Marines were probably engaged; but, after the defence of Gibraltar, the regiment appears to have been employed, generally, on board the fleet.

Six companies of the regiment, having landed from on board the fleet, were stationed, during the winter of 1709, in Devonshire, and after reposing a few months in quarters, were removed, in March, 1710, to garrison duty at Plymouth. In July of the same year, the other seven companies, having arrived at Spithead, landed on the Isle of Wight, where they encamped until September, and afterwards proceeded to Portsmouth.

About this period the regiment was removed from the establishment of the navy, its title of Marines was discontinued, and it resumed its station among the regular regiments of infantry; it was, however, included in the estimate for 1711, in the list of regiments for sea-service; but this did not prevent its being employed on other duties.

In January, 1711, the six companies at Plymouth having been relieved by Colonel Andrew Windsor's (now twenty-eighth) regiment, marched to Portsmouth; and on the 23d of that month the regiment received orders to hold itself in readiness to proceed to Portugal; but its destination was soon afterwards changed.

During the nine years which this war had been raging in Europe, British blood and treasure had been expended in making conquests for the house of Austria. The only [39] advantage which had accrued to Great Britain was, that the power of the house of Bourbon had been diminished and that of Austria augmented: even Gibraltar and Minorca, though subsequently ceded to Great Britain, had been captured for the house of Austria. The new ministry chosen by Queen Anne in 1710 resolved to act upon a different principle. Colonel Nicholson having made a successful attack on Port Royal in Nova Scotia, on his return to England he submitted to the government a plan for the reduction of Placentia and Quebec , as a preparatory measure in order to secure Canada to the British Crown, to drive the French out of Newfoundland, and regain the fishery.

Canada is stated to have been discovered by the famous Italian adventurer, Sebastian Cabot, who sailed under a commission from Henry VII., and as the English monarch did not make any use of the discovery, the French soon attempted to derive advantage from it. Several small settlements were established, and in the early part of the seventeenth century the city of Quebec was founded for the capital of the French possessions in this part of the world. Although the colony continued in a very depressed state for some time, and the settlers were often in danger of being exterminated by the Indians, yet, in the beginning of the eighteenth century, it had become of such importance, that its capture was considered one of the best means of weakening the power of the ambitious Louis XIV. An expedition was placed under the orders of Brigadier-General Hill, with a naval force under Commodore Sir Hovenden Walker; and the Queen's regiment was selected to take part in this enterprise. On arriving at North America the fleet called at Boston for a supply of provisions, and the troops landed and encamped a short time on Rhode Island; [40] but on the 20th of July they re-embarked, and, having been joined by two regiments of provincial troops, sailed on the intended expedition.

While the brave men who adopt the profession of arms are engaged in the service of their sovereign and country, they are exposed to numerous dangers; their hopes of conquest and prospects of fame are often suddenly terminated by adverse fortune, and such was the case in the expedition to Quebec. As the fleet was proceeding up the river St. Lawrence, it became enveloped in a thick fog, and encountered a severe gale of wind; and the veterans who had fought the battles of their country found themselves in the dangerous navigation of this immense river, in a dark and stormy night, with inexperienced men collected on a sudden to act as pilots. Eight transports crowded with men were dashed upon the rocks, and a number of officers and soldiers, who but a few hours before had meditated scenes of conquest, victory, and glory, were entombed in the deep. At the head of the list of officers and men lost by the regiment which forms the subject of this memoir, is Major Fisher , [20] who is probably the same officer who displayed such heroism in the defence of Gibraltar. The other officers lost by the Queen's regiment were,—Brevet Major Walker; Captains Stringer and Bush; Captain-Lieutenant L'Hulle; Ensigns Hyde, Hawker, Richardson, and Loggan; Quartermaster Redix; and Surgeon Jones; with ten serjeants, eighteen corporals, thirteen drummers, one hundred and sixty-seven private soldiers, and twenty women. This lamentable disaster occasioned all thoughts of prosecuting [41] the enterprise to be laid aside. The fleet returned to England, and the Queen's regiment, having landed at Portsmouth on the 10th of October, marched into dispersed quarters in Hampshire, and commenced recruiting its diminished numbers. [21]

In the autumn of 1712 the regiment was removed from country quarters to garrison duty at Portsmouth and Plymouth, where it passed the succeeding year.

From Portsmouth the regiment proceeded in September, 1713, to the islands of Jersey, Guernsey, and Scilly, with two companies at the town of Pendennis. A treaty of peace having been concluded at Utrecht, its establishment was reduced to ten companies of three officers, two serjeants, two corporals, one drummer, and thirty-six private men, each; but after several of the newly-raised corps had been disbanded, its numbers were augmented to forty private men per company.

While the regiment occupied these stations Her Majesty Queen Anne died, and was succeeded by King George I., on the 1st of August, 1714.

In the autumn of 1715 the regiment was withdrawn from the islands of Jersey, Guernsey, and Scilly, and proceeded to the town of Windsor, and the adjacent [42] villages; and for several months it furnished the guard at Windsor Castle. While on this duty His Majesty was graciously pleased to confer upon it the title of The King's Own , an honorary distinction which it has continued to bear to the present time. The regiment occupied these quarters during the rebellion of the Earl of Mar, and in July, 1716, marched into garrison at Portsmouth.

The regiment remained at Portsmouth until May, 1717, when it proceeded to Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Wight; with two companies detached, one to Windsor, and one to Hampton Court. These companies were, however, relieved from duty at the residence of their Sovereign in November, by the foot guards, and joined the head-quarters at Jersey in the same month.

Lieut.-General William Seymour, after commanding the regiment nearly sixteen years, was succeeded by Colonel the Hon. Henry Berkeley, third son of Charles second Earl of Berkeley, by a commission dated the 25th of December, 1717.

The King's Own remained at the islands of Jersey, Guernsey, and the Isle of Wight during the succeeding year, and in the spring of 1719 they were removed to Plymouth. While at this station, their Colonel, the Hon. Henry Berkeley, was removed to the second, or Scots, troop of horse grenadier guards; and was succeeded by the Hon. Charles Cadogan, afterwards Lord Cadogan, Baron of Oakley, by commission dated the 21st of April, 1719.

In June of the same year the regiment was removed from garrison duty at Plymouth, and marched to Exeter; and it occupied various stations in the south and west of England until the summer of 1722, when, the government having received information that the friends of the [43] Stuart dynasty were conspiring to effect the elevation of the Pretender to the throne, it formed part of a body of troops encamped on Salisbury Plain, to be in readiness to act on any emergency. It was reviewed with the other forces encamped on the plain, by King George I. and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales (afterwards George II.) on the 30th of August, and in September struck its tents and marched into quarters at Exeter.

In the following summer the King's Own were encamped near Newbury; and in 1724 they occupied quarters at Newbury and Reading; from whence they occasionally furnished detachments for duty at Windsor Castle and Hampton Court Palace. In the summer of 1725 they marched to Berwick, and from thence proceeded to Perth, and were placed under the orders of the commander-in-chief in North Britain.

Returning to England in 1731, the regiment was stationed that year at Bristol: from whence it marched in July, 1732, to Exeter. In 1733, and the two succeeding years, it furnished detachments on coast duty in Sussex, and also in Cornwall.

In the summer of 1734 Lord Cadogan was removed from the King's Own to the sixth or Inniskilling regiment of dragoons, and was succeeded by Brigadier-General William Barrell from the twenty-second regiment of foot, by commission dated the 8th of August, 1734.

Having called in its detachments, the regiment marched to the north of England in May, 1736; and after halting two months at Newcastle and Durham, proceeded to Edinburgh; but returned to England in July, 1737, and was stationed at York.

The regiment continued to be employed on home service: its establishment in this year was seven hundred and five officers and men; and in 1739 it was augmented [44] to eight hundred and fifteen officers and men; at which number it continued until after the decease of Charles VI., Emperor of Germany, in 1740, when a war broke out between the Archduchess Maria Theresa and the Elector of Bavaria, respecting the kingdoms of Bohemia and Hungaria, and England became involved in the contest. During the summer of that year the regiment was encamped near Newbury, and in the autumn marched into quarters in Lancashire and Cheshire.

France took part with the Elector of Bavaria, and Great Britain with the house of Austria, and in 1742 a British army proceeded to Flanders; but the King's Own were employed on home service until June, 1744, when they embarked for Flanders, and joined the allied army at its camp near the banks of the Scheldt. The regiment served the campaign of this year under Field-Marshal Wade, and was employed in several operations; but no general engagement occurred, and it had no opportunity of distinguishing itself.

In the following year, when the French besieged Tournay, and the allied army commanded by His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland advanced to the relief of the town, the King's Own were left in garrison at Ghent, and were consequently not at the battle of Fontenoy. The Duke of Cumberland, having failed in his attempt to relieve Tournay, retreated; and the King's Own were relieved by one of the regiments which suffered severely at Fontenoy, and joined the army at its camp on the plains of Lessines on the 21st of May.

The King's Own remained in Flanders until the rebellion broke out in Scotland, and Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, advanced at the head of several highland clans and captured Edinburgh. The regiment was then ordered to return to England, and it [45] formed part of the army under the veteran Field-Marshal Wade, which was assembled in Yorkshire.

When the young Pretender and his adherents penetrated into England, this regiment was employed in covering Yorkshire, and, after the retreat of the rebel army from Derby, the regiment marched in pursuit of the enemy towards Scotland, and arrived at Newcastle-on-Tyne on the 26th of December.

The King's Own were afterwards ordered to march to Edinburgh, where they arrived on the 10th of January, 1746, and the appearance of the royal forces at that city was hailed with illuminations and public rejoicings.

The rebels undertook the siege of Stirling Castle, and a detached party of Highlanders under Lord George Murray advanced to Linlithgow, from whence they were driven on the 13th of January by a body of troops under Major-General Huske. On the following day the Buffs, King's Own , and Pulteney's (now thirteenth) regiment, advanced to Barrowstownness; and on the 16th, these troops having pitched their tents near Falkirk , were joined by the remainder of the army under Lieut.-General Hawley.

On the 17th of January, as the King's troops were at dinner in the camp, the advance of the enemy was discovered; the royal forces seized their arms, and proceeded along some rugged and difficult grounds to a large moor, where the rebel army appeared in order of battle.

Success or failure in the hour of battle has sometimes been found to depend upon accidental circumstances over which the commanders of armies have no control. Such was the case at the battle of Falkirk , where a tempest of wind and rain beat so violently in the faces [46] of the royal forces at the moment when they engaged their adversaries, that the ammunition was spoiled in the act of loading; the soldiers could not see their opponents, and several regiments gave way. The King's Own , however, evinced the same valour and intrepidity which were so successfully displayed at the fortress of Gibraltar; they were formed in brigade with Price's (now fourteenth) regiment under the orders of Brigadier-General Cholmondeley, and these two corps withstood the fury of the charging Highland host with a firmness which redounded to their honour. [22] Having been joined by the Royals, Buffs, and Ligonier's (now forty-eighth), these five regiments repulsed one wing of the rebel army, and continued on the field of battle until night, when they returned to the camp, and subsequently proceeded to Edinburgh.

The King's Own formed part of the army under His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland which advanced from Edinburgh, on the 31st of January, towards Stirling, when the Highlanders made a precipitate retreat. The royal forces followed in pursuit, but were delayed in their advance by severe weather. The King's Own formed part of the advance-guard under Major-General Bland which proceeded to Inverary on the 12th of March, and on the 17th advanced towards Strathsbogie to attack a thousand rebel foot and sixty hussars, posted at that place under Roy Stewart; but the enemy fled on the approach of the King's troops, and were pursued for [47] several miles: the Marquis of Granby, Colonel Conway, Captain Holden, and several other officers, displayed their zeal for the royal cause by the spirited manner in which they pursued the Highlanders.

On the 12th of April the army crossed the river Spey, and on the 16th of that month the King's Own were engaged in the action with the rebels on Culloden Moor . The regiment was posted on the left of the front line of the royal army. After a sharp cannonade several select clans of mountaineers sprang forward, and with shouts and dismal yells attacked the King's forces sword in hand. This regiment had to bear the brunt of the furious onset of the clans: for a moment it was disordered by the weight of the attacking column, and the men staggered; but only for a moment: two battalions advanced to sustain them, and recovering, they rushed upon their kilted adversaries with a resolution and valour which proved they were not unworthy of their distinguished title of the King's Own . A furious conflict ensued; the Highlanders with their swords and targets were unable to withstand the ruthless charge of the royal forces; the carnage was dreadful, and the ground was literally covered with slaughtered rebels. [23] A decisive victory [48] was gained; and the rebellion was effectually suppressed. When the news of this event reached England, the nation was transported with joy; both houses of parliament addressed His Majesty on the subject, and passed a vote of thanks to the Duke of Cumberland and the brave troops who had fought under his orders.

The regiment lost in this action Captain Lord Robert Kerr and seventeen men killed; and had Lieut.-Colonel Rich, Captain Romer, Lieutenant Edmonds, Ensigns Campbell and Brown, and one hundred and eight non-commissioned officers and private men, wounded.

After halting a short time at Inverness, the army advanced into the highlands, and encamped in the gloomy valley surrounded by rugged precipices near Fort Augustus, from whence detachments were sent out to search for arms, and for persons who had been engaged in the rebellion, and also to execute summary punishment on the guilty clans. This regiment afterwards marched back to Stirling; and it was employed in home duties for a period of eight years.

Lieut.-General Barrell died on the 9th of August, 1749; and King George II. conferred the colonelcy of the regiment on the lieut.-colonel, Robert Rich, who highly distinguished himself at the battle of Culloden, where he was wounded.

In 1751 a warrant was issued regulating the clothing and colours of the regiments of the line. In this warrant the regiment is styled the " Fourth, or the King's Own Royal Regiment ;" and the facing is directed to be blue; the King's Own are also authorized to bear—

[49]

"In the centre of their colours the King's cipher on a red ground within the garter, and crown over it; in the three corners of their second colour the Lion of England , [24] being their ancient badge.

"On the grenadier caps the King's cypher, as on the colours, and crown over it; white horse and motto on the flap.

"The drums and bells of arms to have the King's cypher painted on them, in the same manner, and the rank of the regiment underneath."

The regiment remained in Great Britain until the year 1754, when it proceeded to the island of Minorca to relieve the thirty-third regiment, which returned to England.

The island of Minorca , at which the King's Own were stationed, and where they were eventually called upon to perform most arduous and trying services, is the second of the Balearic islands, situated in the Mediterranean near the coast of Spain. This island had fallen successively under the dominion of the Carthaginians, the Romans, the Vandals, the Moors, the Arragonese, and the Castilians, and in 1708 it was captured by the British for the house of Austria; but at the peace of Utrecht, [50] when the Austrian family was excluded from the throne of Spain, it was ceded to Great Britain; it had remained a part of the possessions of the British crown, and was garrisoned by a company of artillery and four regiments of foot. In this small island, which is diversified with hills and valleys, and in some parts rich in vegetation and abounding with the necessaries and many of the luxuries of life, the King's Own passed two years, during which time a dispute between the governments of France and England, respecting the extent of their possessions in North America, had occasioned a war between the two kingdoms, and in the early part of 1756 the French made preparations at Toulon and Marseilles for the capture of Minorca.

At this period the King's Own occupied extensive quarters in the several towns on the island, and their regimental head-quarters were at Ciudadella, the capital. The other corps were at Port-Mahon , which is stated to be one of the finest harbours in the world, and at Fort St. Philip ; and the brave Lieut.-General Blakeney was lieut.-governor and commander-in-chief on the island. The regiments on the island were not discouraged at the preparations making in France; on the contrary, an officer, in a letter published at the time, observed,—"Our spirits are so good, our garrison so hearty, and our supplies so ample, that if our works do not defend us, and we defend our works until we can be relieved by a strong hand, we deserve to be buried in their ruins."

The French armament, commanded by Marshal Duke de Richelieu, arrived at Minorca in the middle of April, and effected a landing at Ciudadella on the 18th of that month; and as no part of the island was fortified to resist so powerful a force, excepting Fort St. Philip , situate on a rocky promontory at the entrance to the harbour of Port Mahon, the King's Own were withdrawn from the [51] interior, and effected their retreat to the fort with the loss of one corporal taken prisoner by the enemy.

Preparations were made for a vigorous defence of the fort, and the French commander encountered so gallant and determined a resistance, that he was obliged to send for additional forces. The perseverance and endurance of the garrison became the subject of much admiration, and the vigilance and bravery of the officers inspired the troops with confidence. On the 19th of May the British fleet was descried bearing towards the island, and the men having become much exhausted by hard duty, looked forward for the expected relief with anxiety; but were disappointed: Admiral Byng, after skirmishing with the French squadron, retired, and was afterwards brought to trial for his conduct and shot. Lieut.-General Thomas Fowke, then commanding at Gibraltar, was also brought to trial for not sending a reinforcement from that garrison to Minorca, and was sentenced to be suspended from his appointment for one year. King George II. confirmed the sentence, but directed Lieut.-General Fowke to be dismissed from the service.

Although abandoned to their fate, Lieut.-General Blakeney and the four regiments under his orders defended their post with great gallantry; the men were nearly worn out with incessant duty and watching, so that they frequently fell asleep under a heavy cannonade; yet they persevered with astonishing resolution. About midnight on the 27th of June, a general assault was made at several different points; the garrison met the assailants with great courage, and repulsed them several times with much slaughter; many of the sick and wounded men came out of the hospital to join in the defence. Though repulsed at several points, the enemy, after much hard fighting, gained three of the out-works. Upon this subject a military historian observes,—"So [52] many attacks made at one time against so small a body of men, who had such a variety of works to defend, it is rather a matter of surprise that the enemy were repulsed at so many, and succeeded at so few places." [25]

On the following day conditions of capitulation were tendered. "Thus did four regiments, and one company of artillery, maintain the fort against such numbers of the enemy by sea and land for such a length of time as can, perhaps, scarcely be paralleled in history. The terms on which the fort was at last surrendered by a handful of men, so distressed, so shattered, and so neglected, remain a lasting monument to their honour." [26]

[53]

The following is an extract from the articles of capitulation.

"The noble and vigorous defence which the English have made, having deserved all the marks of esteem and veneration which every military man ought to show to such actions, and Marshal Richelieu, being desirous also to show to General Blakeney the regard due to the defence he has made, grants to the garrison all the honours of war they can enjoy under the circumstances of going out for an embarkation; to wit, firelock on their shoulders, drums beating, colours flying, twenty cartridges each man, and also lighted match. He consents also that General Blakeney and his garrison carry away all the effects that belong to them."

During the period the King's Own were engaged in the defence of Fort St. Philip, the colonelcy of the regiment was conferred on Alexander Duroure from the thirty-eighth regiment, by commission dated the 12th of May, 1756.

The regiment embarked from Minorca immediately after the surrender of Fort St. Philip, and proceeded to Gibraltar, where it remained a few weeks, and subsequently embarked for England. It landed at Torbay in November, and immediately on its arrival it was augmented to two battalions.

On the 21st of April, 1758, the SECOND BATTALION of the King's Own was constituted the Sixty-second Regiment , under the command of Colonel William Strode.

The war with France being continued, an armament was fitted out in the autumn of 1758 for the attack of the French settlements in the West Indies; the King's Own were selected to take part in this service, and embarked nine hundred strong under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Crump, an officer of distinguished merit, [54] whose services proved of great value to his king and country: the land forces were under the orders of Major-General Hopson, and the navy under Captain Hughes.

This expedition sailed from England in November, and arrived at Carlisle bay in the island of Barbadoes in the beginning of the following year.

In the middle of January, 1759, the fleet arrived off the French island of Martinico , and a landing was effected between the bay of Cas des Navieres and Point Negro; but numerous difficulties were experienced; the enemy had ten thousand men, including the militia, to oppose an invading army of about four thousand five hundred men, and the nature of the ground facilitated the defence.

On the 17th of January, the grenadiers, under the command of Colonel Crump of the King's Own , attacked a large body of the enemy, who retired into a thick wood, from whence the colonel could not force them. The sixty-first regiment (late second battalion of the third foot) advanced to support the grenadiers; but the trees and bushes afforded such excellent cover, that after repeated attempts, it was found impracticable to dislodge the enemy.

The numerous obstructions occasioned the King's Own and other corps to be re-embarked; and the fleet subsequently bent its course to Guadaloupe , one of the Caribbee or Leeward islands, settled by the French in 1635. Basse Terre, the capital of the island, with the batteries near the shore, having been destroyed by the fleet, the King's Own and other troops landed on the 24th of January: the French governor, M. Nadan D'Etreil, abandoned the citadel, and trusting to the natural strength of the country and the unwholesomeness of the climate, retired to the mountains, and summoned the militia of the island, with all the settlers [55] and their armed negroes, to join him. An irregular warfare of detachments followed, in which the British troops were usually victorious; but they purchased every advantage at an immense sacrifice of life. At length Major-General Hopson died, and the command devolved on Major-General Barrington, who embarked the troops on board of transports, (excepting the sixty-third regiment, late second battalion of the eighth foot, and a detachment of artillery left in garrison,) to attack other parts of the island.

Colonel Crump of the King's Own landed, and took St. Anne and St. François , and reduced both towns to ashes; and the strong post of Gosier was carried by another part of the army.

The King's Own having afterwards re-embarked, were detached, with other forces, under the command of Brigadier-Generals Clavering and Crump, to a bay near Arnonville , where they landed without opposition; the enemy retiring to a very strong position behind the river Le Corn . This post covered the whole country to Bay Mahaut, where provisions were landed for the inhabitants from St. Eustatia, and it was strengthened by every means the enemy could devise, though its situation was such as to require little assistance from art. The river, on account of a morass covered with mangroves, was only accessible at two narrow passes, and those places were occupied with a redoubt, and well-pallisaded entrenchments, defended with cannon, and all the militia of that part of the island.

The King's Own , and a battalion of Highlanders, advanced to attack this difficult post with coolness and resolution, and the intrepid bearing of the two corps intimidated the enemy, who abandoned the first entrenchment after a few vollies; the Highlanders and part of the King's Own rushed forward and chased their adversaries [56] into the redoubt, and the post was eventually carried.

The King's Own , and Highlanders, afterwards advanced against another fortified post at Petit Bourg ; the enemy kept about two hundred yards in front, and setting fire to the sugar canes, obliged the troops occasionally to leave the road to avoid accidents to their ammunition. Arriving at the river Lezard , the enemy was found strongly entrenched behind the ford; but the troops having procured two canoes, a body of men passed the river in the night, and advanced at daybreak to attack the enemy in flank, while the remainder prepared to attack the front, and the enemy instantly fled in dismay.

Pursuing their adversaries to Petit Bourg , the King's Own there encountered fortified lines, and a redoubt filled with cannon; but the regiment diverging to the right and left to gain the heights round the lines, the enemy fled from the post.

Two days afterwards the lieut.-colonel of the King's Own was detached with seven hundred men against Bay Mahaut , and he took the batteries and town, which he reduced to ashes, and rejoined the division on the following day.

From Petit Bourg the King's Own advanced with their division against St. Maries , where the enemy had collected their whole force, and had thrown up entrenchments and constructed barricades on the road; but from these works the British troops forced their opponents to retire, and also from the town; and the army entered a part of the island said to be the most rich and beautiful of any part of the West Indies.

The inhabitants, being convinced of the superior bravery and discipline of the British troops, and seeing the best part of their country on the point of being given up to fire and sword, capitulated, and their possessions, [57] with their civil and religious privileges, were granted them.

Thus this valuable island came into the possession of the British crown in May, 1759; and throughout these arduous and trying services the King's Own and other corps forming the expedition, evinced all the qualities of good soldiers. The commanding officer of the King's Own signalized himself on various occasions, and was appointed governor of the island; his conduct, which reflected honour on his corps, is thus spoken of by Major-General Barrymore in his public despatch.

"I have appointed Colonel Crump to the government, who, since governor Haldane left us, I have made act as a brigadier; his merit is very great, both as a soldier and a man of judgment; he is of this part of the world; understands the trade, customs, and genius of the people; and as he thinks nobly and disinterestedly, he would not have accepted of the government, but in hopes of advancing himself in the army by that means. I cannot express how very useful he has proved, and how much our successes are owing to his good conduct and great zeal."

After the reduction of Guadaloupe the regiment was stationed at that island; and in 1761 a detachment was employed under Colonel Lord Rollo in the capture of Dominico . The troops landed on the 6th of June on the beach near Roseau, under cover of the guns of the fleet, and while part of the army took possession of the town, the grenadier companies of the King's Own and twenty-second regiments seized a flanking battery and part of an adjoining entrenchment. During the night the grenadiers, supported by the battalion companies, stormed and carried with the bayonet the entrenchments on the heights above the town, and took the governor and several of the principal inhabitants prisoners. The [58] whole island immediately submitted; and Captain Robert Douglas of the King's Own was the bearer of the news of this conquest to England. The detachment of this regiment afterwards returned to Guadaloupe.

The British government having resolved to make a powerful attack upon such of the West India islands as still remained subject to the French monarch, four companies of the King's Own were selected to take part in the enterprise, and proceeded for this purpose from Guadaloupe to the general rendezvous of the expedition at Barbadoes; where the several corps were assembled under the orders of Major-General Monckton. The armament sailed from Carlisle bay on the 5th of January, 1762, and another attack was made on Martinico , which place was settled by the French about the year 1635. This island is extremely mountainous in the centre, from whence issue numerous streams of water, which, in the hurricane months, are swelled to violent torrents; these have, in their way to the sea, worn deep channels, so that the country is intersected with a great number of deep ravines, with steep rocky sides, having water running at the bottom; and these ravines are rendered difficult to pass from the number of stones which the torrents have rolled from the sides of the mountains. Thus, in attacking the island, difficulties almost insurmountable are met with in transporting cannon, ammunition, and stores across the country. With these obstructions the army had to contend; but they were overcome by British skill, discipline and valour.

After several attempts on other parts of the island, a landing was effected on the 16th of January in Cas des Navieres bay, and the troops pitched their tents on the heights above the landing place. Advancing from thence through a country fortified by nature, an attack was made on the heights of Morne Tortenson on the 24th of [59] January, and the four companies of the King's Own had the glory of taking part in the capture of these formidable works; also in the capture of Morne Garnier on the 27th of that month; and in the reduction of the citadel of Fort Royal , which surrendered on the 4th of February: these captures were followed by the surrender of the opulent city of St. Pierre, and the submission of the whole island to the British crown.

The capture of Martinico was succeeded by that of Grenada , St. Lucie , and St. Vincent ; and the acquisition of these islands gave additional honour to the expedition of which the four companies of the King's Own formed part.

These achievements were followed by another enterprize of a most important character, in which a detachment of the King's Own had the honour to share; namely, the reduction of the Havannah , a wealthy and important city in the island of Cuba.

The island of Cuba was first discovered by the celebrated Columbus, but was not conquered by the Spaniards until the early part of the sixteenth century, from which period it had continued rising in wealth and importance. St. Jago was the capital; but the city of Havannah held the first place in point of wealth and commerce. During the early part of this war, Spain had continued neutral; but in 1762 His Catholic Majesty united his interests with France, and war was declared between Great Britain and Spain. This was immediately followed by a resolution of the British government to attack the important city of Havannah, and an expedition was prepared for this purpose under the orders of General the Earl of Albemarle.

On this occasion the King's Own were left in garrison at Guadaloupe, excepting a detachment of two hundred and twenty-five men under the command of Captain Kennedy, [60] which joined the expedition at Martinico, and formed part of Brigadier-General Grant's brigade. In the landing five leagues eastward of the Havannah on the 6th of June, in the advance upon the city, in the siege and capture of the Moro Fort, and in the other operations by which the final reduction of this wealthy settlement was accomplished, and twelve men-of-war captured in the harbour, the detachment of the King's Own had the honour to take part. The loss of the detachment on this service, including the killed and those who died from fatigue and the effects of climate, was two officers and twenty-four men.

After the completion of this conquest, the detachment returned to Guadaloupe, and the regiment remained in the Leeward Islands until the peace of Fontainbleau, when these acquisitions were restored to the French and Spanish monarchs.

In the spring of 1764 the regiment quitted the West Indies, arrived in England in July of that year, and commenced recruiting its diminished numbers.

After the decease of Lieut.-General Duroure, King George III. conferred, on the 23d of January, 1765, the colonelcy of the regiment on the Hon. Robert Brudenell, from the sixteenth foot; who was succeeded, on the 7th of November, 1768, by Lieut.-General Studholme Hodgson, from the fifth foot.

In 1768, the King's Own proceeded to Scotland, where they were stationed during the four succeeding years, but returned to England in the spring of 1773, and remained on home service until the following year, when they were again ordered to hold themselves in readiness to proceed abroad.

The war in which the regiment was about to engage was of a most important character, involving the destinies of millions, and was followed by the construction [61] of a new and powerful state in the world. As the population of the British North American colonies increased, and the inhabitants beheld their own rising power and importance, the idea of their country eventually becoming a great and independent empire would doubtless frequently occur; and while contemplating such an event, men would naturally become impatient of their condition: hence the delight produced by the anticipation of future greatness would prepare the minds of men for a change. That these states should become independent so early as the eighteenth century could, however, scarcely have been expected; but this event was hastened by the system of policy pursued towards the colonies by the British government, which alienated the affections of the inhabitants from the mother country. The disputes which resulted from these proceedings, and the spirit which the colonists evinced to resist the acts of the British parliament for raising a revenue in their country, took a most serious turn in the years 1773 and 1774; a body of troops was in consequence sent to Boston, the place which had been the scene of the greatest outrages, and the King's Own , being one of the corps selected to proceed to North America, embarked for that service on the 17th of April, 1774.

After landing at Boston the King's Own were encamped for some time near the town; and the violent revolutionary spirit which many of the colonists displayed, occasioned a detachment of the regiment to be sent during the winter to Marshfield, for the protection of a number of the friends of the government in that town and neighbourhood.

The hostile feelings to the British government previously evinced by the Americans appeared to increase during the winter and succeeding spring; and the preparations [62] which they made for open resistance indicated a design to make a speedy appeal to arms. General Gage, who commanded the troops at Boston, sent the flank companies of the King's Own , and other regiments under his orders, up the country to Concord , to destroy a quantity of military stores which the inhabitants were collecting at that place. This circumstance occasioned the first blood to be shed in the contest.

The flank companies were placed under the orders of Lieut.-Colonel Francis Smith, of the tenth foot, and having embarked on the night of the 18th of April, in the boats of the men-of-war in the harbour, proceeded to the entrance of the Cambridge River, where they landed, and afterwards advanced up the country. While on the march, the troops heard the ringing of bells, firing of guns, and other sounds of alarm spreading over the country; and when the light companies, which were in advance, arrived at the village of Lexington , they descried a body of provincials formed upon the green. These men fired several shots at the soldiers, who immediately retaliated, and the Americans were dispersed with the loss of about ten men killed, and several wounded.

The troops continued their march to Concord , and while the search for military stores was taking place, the light companies of the King's Own and tenth regiment were posted on some heights in the vicinity of a bridge beyond the town. Meanwhile armed countrymen were assembling in crowds on the high grounds near the town, and a large body proceeding towards the bridge, the light companies of the King's Own and tenth regiment descended from the heights and joined the troops posted at the bridge. The provincials advanced in great numbers, and firing on the troops, killed three men, and wounded several others; the fire was returned, and [63] the detached companies joined the main body in the town.

After destroying three pieces of ordnance, burning a number of carriage-wheels, and throwing a quantity of gunpowder and musket-balls into the river, the troops commenced their march back to Boston. On emerging from the town, the soldiers were fired upon from the walls, fences, trees, barns, &c., on both sides of the road; the country appeared swarming with armed men, and the troops were engaged fighting and retreating until they were exhausted, and had expended nearly all their ammunition; at the same time the numbers of their antagonists were constantly increasing. Fortunately, they were met at Lexington by the battalion companies of the King's Own , twenty-third and forty-ninth regiments, with a party of marines and two field-pieces, under the command of Colonel Earl Percy of the fifth foot. The fire of the field-pieces checked the Americans; Earl Percy formed his brigade into a square, with the exhausted flank companies in the centre, and after the men had rested a short time, commenced his march for Boston. The Americans hung upon his rear in crowds, and kept up a constant fire; but the troops continued their march in excellent order to Charlestown, from whence they crossed the river in boats to Boston, under the cover of the guns of a man-of-war stationed near the ferry. The loss of the King's Own on this occasion was Lieutenant Knight and seven private men killed; Lieutenant Gould wounded and taken prisoner; three serjeants, one drummer, and twenty-one private men wounded; and eight men missing.

This was the commencement of open hostilities; the whole country round Boston was in the utmost agitation, [64] and multitudes of countrymen equipped for battle repaired to Cambridge and Roxburg, and there threw up entrenchments. All intercourse between the garrison of Boston and the adjacent country was cut off, and the town was completely blocked up on the land side.

Soon after this event the party of the King's Own stationed at Marshfield was withdrawn, and rejoined the regiment at Boston.

The rapid and judicious movements of the Americans appeared to be the result of a preconcerted plan, and having a very great superiority of numbers, they meditated driving the King's troops out of Boston. During the night of the 16th of June an immense body of provincials proceeded to the heights on the peninsula of Charlestown called Bunker's Hill , and commenced throwing up entrenchments with great diligence. General Gage resolved to dislodge the enemy from this post immediately, and a body of troops, of which the grenadier and light companies of the King's Own formed part, was embarked in boats for this purpose about mid-day on the 17th of June.

About three o'clock in the afternoon the attack commenced, and in this contest British valour and discipline were eminently displayed. The Americans were in great force, strongly posted, and entrenched up to the teeth. The King's troops had to advance in a hot summer's day, in the face of a sharp and well-directed fire, and to ascend a steep hill covered with grass reaching to their knees, and intersected with walls and fences of various enclosures: twice they were stopped, and twice they returned to the charge, and by their undaunted resolution and steady perseverance they eventually triumphed over thrice their own numbers, and carried the heights at the point of the bayonet. This proved one of [65] the most sanguinary battles on record, and the superiority of the British troops was pre-eminently displayed. The two flank companies of the King's Own had one serjeant and thirteen rank and file killed; Captains Balfour and West, Lieutenants Baron and Brown, one serjeant, one drummer, and twenty-nine rank and file wounded.

Although the valour and discipline of the small British force in North America were so conspicuous as to excite the admiration and applause of their country, yet the circumstances in which the army at Boston was eventually placed rendered it impossible for these excellent qualities to be exercised with the prospect of ultimate success. The immense superiority of numbers of the enemy, the great strength of the works thrown up on Phipp's farm, Dorchester heights, and other places, with the want of provisions, induced the commander of the troops, Lieut.-General Sir William Howe, to vacate the town, and proceed with the army to Halifax, in Nova Scotia. This resolution was carried into effect in the middle of March, 1776; and on their arrival at Halifax several regiments were landed.

A reinforcement being expected from England, and the general being anxious to commence operations against the revolted Americans as early as possible, the fleet sailed from Halifax on the 12th of June, arrived at Sandy Hook on the 29th of that month, and on the 3d of July landed on Staten Island, near New York. Here the troops were disposed in cantonments for refreshment, and the head-quarters were established at Richmond.

Additional troops having arrived, a landing was effected at Utrecht, on Long Island , on the 22d of August; and after dusk on the evening of the 26th, the King's [66] Own , commanded by Major James Ogilvie , forming part of the first brigade under Major-General Pigot, moved across the country to seize a pass in the heights extending from east to west along the middle of the island, to turn the enemy's left flank at Flat Bush . This pass was taken possession of on the following morning; the main body of the army advanced, and the Americans were driven from their position with considerable loss. In this day's skirmish the battalion companies of the regiment did not sustain any loss; but the flank companies, being formed in grenadier and light infantry battalions, had several men killed and wounded.

The Americans retreated to their lines at Brooklyn ; but, fearing the consequences of an attack, they quitted their post during the night of the 28th of August, and crossed the East River in boats to New York; thus the reduction of Long Island was effected in a few days with trifling loss.

After this success the army was embarked in flat-bottomed boats, and crossed the East River to York Island, and the King's Own were engaged in the movements by which General Washington was forced to abandon New York; which city was immediately taken possession of by the British.

General Washington having taken up a position in another part of the country, the British troops were again embarked in flat-bottomed boats and landed near West-Chester; thence re-embarking on the 18th of October, passed Frogs-neck and landed at Pell's-point , at the mouth of Hutchinson's river. Advancing from thence, the troops encountered a detachment of provincials; a sharp skirmish ensued, in which several men were killed and wounded; and the King's Own lost a [67] most valuable and gallant officer, Captain W. Granville Evelyn, who was mortally wounded, and whose fall was much regretted.

In the subsequent operations of the army, by which the Americans were forced to evacuate their lines on White Plains , the King's Own took part, but did not sustain any loss; they were also present at the siege and capture of Fort Washington , in which service they lost only one man: and they passed the succeeding winter in quarters in the city of New York.

During the winter the Americans were engaged in collecting stores and forming magazines for the ensuing campaign, which they were careful to place as far as possible out of the reach of His Majesty's land and sea forces. Extensive depôts had been established at the town of Danbury , and other places on the borders of Connecticut, contiguous to Courland Manor; and the King's Own were withdrawn from the city of New York to form part of a detachment under the command of Major-General Tyron, for the destruction of these stores.

The detachment sailed from New York in transports, passed through the Sound, and on the evening of the 25th of April, 1777, arrived off Norwalk, a town in the province of Connecticut, about twenty miles south of Danbury. As the troops were quite unexpected, they landed without opposition, and by ten o'clock that night began their march for Danbury, where they arrived about two in the afternoon of the following day; on their approach the American troops fled, and gave the alarm to the country people, who took arms, and made preparations to cut off the retreat of the British detachment.

As no carriages could be procured to bring off any [68] part of the magazines, Major-General Tyron was under the necessity of setting them on fire, and in the progress of the flames the town was unavoidably burnt. The magazines having been all destroyed, the detachment commenced its march back early on the morning of the 27th of April; a body of Americans under General Wooster hung upon its rear, and at every eminence a corps of militia was found ready to oppose its march; but the British troops attacked and routed their adversaries, and in one of these skirmishes General Wooster was killed.

Arriving at Ridgefield , a strong force under General Arnold was found posted at that place, and busily employed in throwing up entrenchments; these were instantly attacked by the artillery, and the British troops rushing forward to the charge with their native valour and intrepidity, the Americans were driven from their ground.

The British halted at Ridgefield during the night, and resumed their march on the following day. The enemy having collected additional forces and some field-pieces, harassed the detachment exceedingly during its march, which brought on several skirmishes. Arriving at the Hill of Compo , contiguous to the place of embarkation, the Americans renewed their attack with greater determination and spirit than ever; the British troops, facing about, fired a volley, and then charged with the bayonet with such impetuosity and courage, that the enemy, unable to withstand the shock, retreated. The detachment afterwards embarked without molestation, and returned to New York.

The King's Own lost two men in this enterprise; and had Captain Thorne, one serjeant, and fifteen rank and file wounded.

[69]

The regiment afterwards formed part of the army assembled in the Jerseys, and was engaged in the movements designed to bring on a general engagement; but the enemy keeping close in his strong position in the mountains, an expedition against the populous and wealthy city of Philadelphia was resolved upon. The King's Own were employed in this enterprise, and formed, with the twenty-third, twenty-eighth, and forty-ninth regiments, the first brigade of the army.

Having embarked from Sandy Hook, the troops sailed to Chesapeake Bay, and landed on the 25th of August on the northern shore of the Elk River; from whence they advanced on the 28th, in two columns, to Elk Head. The enemy having taken up a position at Brandywine, the royal army advanced on the 11th of September to give their opponents battle, and the King's Own formed part of the force selected to attack the American troops posted at Chad's Ford . After a sharp cannonade the troops advanced to the charge; the King's Own commanded by Lieut.-Colonel James Ogilvie , and supported by the fifth foot, led the attack in gallant style, and rushing through the stream with fixed bayonets, overpowered all opposition and captured three brass field-pieces, and a five and a half inch howitzer. [27] The regiment pressed upon the retiring enemy, but darkness coming on before the troops could reach the heights, the action ceased. The loss of the regiment on this occasion was two rank and file killed; and Captain Rawdon and twenty rank and file wounded.

[70]

The victory at Brandywine was followed by the flight of the American troops from Philadelphia, which city was taken possession of by a British force of which the grenadier company of the King's Own formed part. The remainder of the army took up a position at Germantown , and the King's Own were encamped on the right flank. The Americans attacked this post on the morning of the 4th of October, and drove in the piquets of the right wing. The Fourth were moved forward to support the light infantry, and the assault was sustained with such determined bravery, that the enemy could make no impression at this point of attack. After the Americans had been repulsed at other parts of the field, Major-General Grant moved the forty-ninth regiment, and four pieces of cannon, to the left of the King's Own , and then advancing with the right wing, forced the enemy's left to give way. The Americans were afterwards pursued four or five miles through a woody country of difficult access. The light company of the regiment, forming part of the first light infantry battalion, highly distinguished itself on this occasion, and had Lieutenant Champaigne wounded; also several private men killed and wounded. The battalion companies also acquired new laurels; and had one serjeant and eight rank and file killed; Captain Thorne, Lieutenants Arbuthnot and Kemble, Ensigns Dickson, Shoen, Hadden, and Blemen, with Adjutant Hunt, two serjeants, and forty-six rank and file wounded; also three rank and file missing. When the action commenced, the grenadier company marched, with the remainder of its battalion, out of Philadelphia with all possible expedition, and arrived at the scene of contest at the moment when the enemy was giving way, and consequently was not engaged. [71] Lieut.-General Sir William Howe, speaking of these actions in his public despatch, observes,—"In the several engagements, the successes attending them are far better vouchers than any words can convey, of the good conduct of the general officers, and the bravery of the other officers and soldiers. The fatigues of a march exceeding one hundred miles, supported with the utmost cheerfulness by all ranks, without tents, and with very little baggage, will, I hope, be esteemed as convincing proofs of the noble spirit and emulation prevailing in the army to promote His Majesty's service." [28]

While the army commanded by Sir William Howe was victorious in Pennsylvania, another British force under the orders of Lieut.-General Burgoyne penetrated the United States from the frontiers of Canada; but the difficulties encountered by this army were so great, that its commander concluded a convention with the American General Gates, who was thus enabled to detach a body of troops to reinforce General Washington. On the arrival of these forces the American army advanced nearer Philadelphia, and encamped at White Marsh . The British general moved forward, and took post on the morning of the 5th of December on Chestnut Hill, with the view of inducing the enemy to offer battle, or of finding a vulnerable part in their fortified camp. A sharp skirmish occurred on the same day, between two British battalions and a thousand Americans, who were routed in a short time. On the 7th of December another action occurred on Edgehill, a mile from the enemy's left, on which occasion the native intrepidity and firmness of the British were conspicuous. Several other skirmishes [72] also took place; and in every instance the Americans were defeated; but their position was found so strong with entrenchments, abbatis de bois , and other defences, that the army returned to Philadelphia on the 8th of December, without venturing to attack it. The King's Own lost in these skirmishes, two men killed; and Lieutenant West, three serjeants, and nine rank and file wounded.

The regiment passed the winter in comfortable quarters in the city of Philadelphia, while the Americans lay in huts in the woods near Valley Forge. Immediately on the return of spring a succession of detachments ranged the country for many miles round Philadelphia and the province of Jersey, and opened communications for bringing in supplies of provision and forage.

Meanwhile the French monarch had acknowledged the independence of the revolted provinces, and had concluded a treaty with them; thus the nature of the contest was so completely changed, that Lieut.-General Sir Henry Clinton, who had succeeded to the command of the troops at Philadelphia, was ordered to vacate that city and retire to New York. The King's Own underwent with the remainder of the army the fatigues of this long and toilsome journey, crossing rivers, traversing a wild and woody country, overcoming numerous difficulties, and repulsing the enemy's attempts to interrupt the progress of the march, with signal gallantry, particularly on the 28th of June; and arrived at New York in the beginning of July.

The French monarch having sent a powerful armament to sea, some danger was apprehended to the West Indian colonies; a body of troops, of which the King's Own formed part, was sent from North America to the island of Barbadoes, under the command of Major-General [73] Grant; and the land and sea commanders at that station being in a condition to act offensively, resolved to attack the French island of St. Lucie . The grenadiers of the King's Own , under the orders of Captain West, formed part of the grenadier battalion under the command of Major Harris of the fifth; and the light company under Captain Thorne was in the light infantry battalion commanded by Major Sir James Murray of the Fourth , and these battalions formed part of the reserve commanded by Brigadier-General Medows, which landed on the 13th of December, forced some heights with signal intrepidity, and captured a field-piece and a four-gun battery. The remainder of the troops having landed, the strong post of Morne Fortunè, with the governor's house, the hospital, barracks, stores and magazines were captured, and although the passes were remarkably strong and difficult of access, yet with such impetuosity did the troops advance, that the French governor was obliged to retire from post to post, after doing all in his power to defend them. Scarcely were the enemy's colours struck, and the British head-quarters established at the governor's house, when the approach of a powerful French fleet was descried. The soldiers, already fatigued with a hard day's service, immediately commenced strengthening the posts they had won, with cheerful alacrity; and the naval force was disposed in line of battle across the entrance of the Cul de Sac. The island of St. Lucie presents no regular face, but a succession of confused steep and abrupt hills scattered among greater mountains, everywhere intersected by narrow winding valleys, long defiles, and deep ravines; and by unremitting labour during one night the troops and shipping were placed in such admirable order as to be [74] enabled to withstand the repeated attacks of a very superior force.

In a naval action fought on the 15th of December, which has been regarded as one of the most brilliant displays of British skill and valour on record, the enemy was twice repulsed with serious loss; and being unable to force the line of battle, nine thousand French troops, commanded by M. de Bouillé and Lavendahl, landed and attacked the post of La Vigie, where the grenadier and light companies of the King's Own were stationed. The attack was made with that impetuosity for which the French are distinguished; the British reserved their fire until their adversaries were mounting the trenches, when they threw in a volley, and instantly charging with the bayonet, the enemy was broken and driven back with a fearful slaughter. Three furious attacks having been repulsed, the enemy re-embarked and quitted the island, and the governor surrendered immediately afterwards.

Soon after the surrender of St. Lucie, the King's Own proceeded to the island of Antigua, where they remained during the succeeding year; and having become much reduced in numbers by their service in North America and the West Indies, they returned to England in 1780, and shortly afterwards proceeded to Ireland.

General Hodgson having been removed in the summer of 1782 to the command of the fourth Irish horse, now seventh dragoon guards, the colonelcy of the King's Own was conferred on Lieut.-General John Burgoyne, his commission bearing date the 7th of June, 1782.

The regiment remained in Ireland seven years, and on the 24th of May, 1787, embarked for Nova Scotia and Newfoundland; and served in various parts of these islands until the breaking out of the French revolutionary war.

[75]

In 1792 General Burgoyne died, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the regiment on the 8th of August, 1792, by Lieut.-General Morrison.

The violent spirit of republicanism which was exhibited in France at this period, having led to confusion, anarchy, and a dreadful catalogue of crimes of the most cruel and inhuman character, including the murder of the King, which was followed by that of the queen, war was declared against the regicide government of that country; and the capture of Miquelon and St. Pierre , two islands in the Atlantic Ocean near the south coast of Newfoundland, used by the French as stations for curing and drying fish, was resolved upon. A detachment of the royal artillery and three hundred and ten rank and file of the Fourth and sixty-fifth regiments, commanded by Brigadier-General Ogilvie, sailed on this enterprise on the 7th of May, 1793, from Newfoundland, and having landed on the 14th of that month in the Ance-à-Savoyard, advanced upon the principal town, when the governor immediately surrendered at discretion. Although no opportunity occurred for the troops to distinguish themselves in action, their conduct elicited the commendations of the commander of the expedition in his public despatch, and to their great credit not one act of depredation was committed on the inhabitants. Major Peregrine Francis Thorne of the King's Own was appointed commandant of the two islands, but the detachment of the regiment returned to its former stations.

From Nova Scotia and Newfoundland the regiment was removed in 1794 to Canada, and was stationed in garrison at Quebec; in the early part of 1796 it proceeded up the country and occupied St. John's, Chambly, and Isle-aux-Noix, and in November it was ordered to Montreal, in which garrison it passed the succeeding [76] winter: in June, 1797, it proceeded down the river to Quebec. The regiments in Canada being very weak in numbers, the Fourth , fifth, and first battalion of the sixtieth, were ordered to transfer their serviceable men to the twenty-fourth, twenty-sixth, and second battalion of the sixtieth regiments. The men of the King's Own were transferred to the twenty-sixth; and the officers, serjeants, and drummers, embarked at Quebec on the 24th of September, and sailed on the following day for England. When near the land's end the transport having on board twelve officers, including the commanding officer, (Lieut.-Colonel Hodgson,) the staff, colours, serjeants, and drummers, was chased by a French privateer (La Vengeance); several officers and men were wounded in endeavouring to defend the ship, and when from the superior metal and power of the enemy, no hope of escape remained, the regimental colours were sunk in the sea, and the transport surrendered. This portion of the regiment was afterwards conveyed to France, and detained in that country above a year before it was exchanged.

In May, 1798, such of the officers of the regiment as had arrived safe in England, received at Chatham barracks a draft of between three and four hundred Irish youths, and in July following proceeded to Botley; where they were joined in the beginning of the succeeding year by the officers, serjeants, and drummers from France.

Leaving Botley in April, 1799, the regiment proceeded to Worcester, and from thence to Horsham barracks in July; in the following month it marched to the camp on Barham downs.

The militia being permitted this year to transfer their services to the regular regiments, two thousand seven hundred men volunteered to the King's Own , in consequence of which the regiment was formed into three [77] battalions; Major-General the Earl of Chatham was appointed colonel commandant of the second battalion, and Major-General Lord Charles Somerset colonel commandant of the third battalion.

On the 3d of September the Prince of Wales was pleased to present a pair of new colours to the first battalion on Barham downs; the regiment was formed in a square, and His Royal Highness addressed the officers and men as follows:—

"It affords me the highest satisfaction to have the honour of presenting this gallant and distinguished corps with their colours. Nothing but a blameless accident could have deprived you of those you possessed before, and I now replace them, under the firmest conviction that there is not a regiment in His Majesty's service that will ever support and defend its colours with more valour and gallantry than the Fourth , or the King's Own . It considerably enhances the pleasure I feel on this occasion that the ceremony has happened on a day when every British heart must be filled with gladness at the tidings which have just been received of the heroic actions our brave countrymen have achieved in endeavouring to rescue Holland from the detestable tyranny of France, and I perceive with true pride that every countenance I now behold partakes of this noble ardour, and that every heart is panting to share in their laurels and glory."

In a few days after the presentation of the new colours the regiment was ordered to proceed on foreign service: it embarked at Deal, and after landing in Holland joined the Anglo-Russian army commanded by His Royal Highness the Duke of York: when the three battalions of the King's Own , and the thirty-first regiment, were [78] formed in brigade under the orders of Major-General the Earl of Chatham.

This brigade formed part of the column under Lieut.-General Dundas, in the attack of the enemy's position near Bergen and Egmont-op-zee , on the 2d of October. The King's Own were engaged among the sand-hills, and evinced the same intrepidity and firmness for which the regiment had been distinguished on former occasions; the enemy was driven from his positions, and the troops received the thanks and approbation of the commander-in-chief. The regiment had three men killed; Ensign Carruthers, one serjeant, and eight private men wounded; one serjeant and six men missing.

In the attack of the enemy's position between Beverwyck , and Wyck-op-zee, on the 6th of October, the three battalions of the King's Own were sharply engaged; the action was most severe, and was continued with sanguinary obstinacy until night, when the enemy retreated leaving the allies masters of the field. The King's Own had Lieut.-Colonel Dickson, Lieutenant Forster, and twenty-five men killed; Major-General the Earl of Chatham, Lieut.-Colonel Hodgson, Captain Palmer, Ensigns Johnston, Carruthers, Nichols, Highmore, and Archibald, with four serjeants, and one hundred and eight rank and file wounded; Majors Wynch and Horndon, Captain Gillmour, Lieutenants Deare and Wilson, wounded and taken prisoners; Lieut.-Colonel Cholmondeley, Major Pringle, Captains Archdall, Brodie, and Chaplain, Lieutenants Gazeley and Wilbraham, Ensigns Browne, Ellis, Hill, Anderson, M'Pherson, and Tyron, with twelve serjeants, one drummer, and five hundred and two rank and file prisoners of war and missing.

[79]

Several circumstances having occurred to render further operations in Holland unadvisable, the army re-embarked and returned to England. The three battalions of the King's Own landed at Yarmouth and marched to Ipswich, where they passed the winter.

After the decease of General Morrison, the colonelcy of the regiment was conferred on Major-General the Earl of Chatham, by commission dated the 5th of December, 1799.

In the summer of 1800 the King's Own were encamped on Swinley downs, near Windsor, where they were reviewed by King George III. They passed the succeeding winter and summer at Winchester; in September, 1801, the first and second battalions proceeded to Horsham barracks, and the third battalion to Lewes. This year the cocked hats were replaced by caps.

In the mean time great alterations had taken place in the affairs of Europe; while several states which in former periods had nobly fought for their civil and religious liberties, were seen crouching beneath the iron rule of republican despotism, the British troops had triumphed in Egypt and the West Indies, and the conditions of a treaty of peace were taken into consideration. The men of the King's Own having been engaged to serve only during the war, they were offered a farther bounty to enlist for unlimited service, and upwards of nine hundred volunteered an extension of their services, and were constituted the first battalion.

In April, 1802, the second and third battalions proceeded to Portsmouth, and in May the first was removed to Chatham. The treaty of Amiens having been concluded, the third battalion was disbanded at Portsmouth on the 24th of May, and the second at Winchester in October [80] of that year. In November the regiment marched to Dover Castle.

The short respite from the horrors of war ceded to Europe by the treaty of Amiens proved, like the calm which precedes a storm, the harbinger of a mighty struggle which shook the basis of the constitution of the states of Christendom. The ambitious designs of Bonaparte, first consul of France, were ripening for execution, and hostile preparations were secretly made under the deceptive cloak of pacific designs. The conditions of the peace were evaded, and, while Britain was reducing the numbers of her land and sea forces, and cultivating amicable relations, Bonaparte was preparing, under the pretence of colonial purposes, a gigantic naval and military power with which he designed to crush, by one mighty effort, the British people, who appeared as a barrier to his schemes of aggrandizement, and were ever ready to oppose his progress.

The formidable preparations carried on in the ports of France and Holland, pending the discussion of an important negociation, occasioned the British government to adopt means of preservation, and King George III., actuated by a concern for the security and welfare of his subjects, exercised the power vested in him by act of parliament, and issued on the 11th of March, 1803, warrants for calling out and embodying the MILITIA . The establishment of the regiments of the regular army was also augmented, the amount of levy money for recruits was increased, and vigorous measures were adopted for completing the numbers of the several corps. In May the negociations with France terminated, the King's ambassador was recalled from Paris, hostilities recommenced, and Bonaparte made public declaration of his intention [81] to invade this kingdom, and assembled an army near Boulogne which was insultingly termed, L'armée d'Angleterre .

This proceeding was met by the British government with suitable measures; the SUPPLEMENTARY MILITIA was embodied; an Act was passed to enable his Majesty to assemble an additional military force, called the Army of Reserve ; also an act for indemnifying persons who might suffer in their property from the measures it might be found necessary to adopt; and an Act to enable his Majesty more effectually and speedily to exercise his ancient and undoubted prerogative in requiring the military aid of his liege subjects in case of invasion of the realm, called the Levy-en-masse Act . The captain-general of the army, Field-Marshal His Royal Highness the Duke of York, was also active in making the necessary preparations. The country was divided into military districts; general and staff officers were appointed to each district, and arrangements were made, and regulations issued, for the conduct of all ranks in the event of an invasion taking place.

The moment the enemy landed, all the regulations of civil government and restraint of forms were to cease in that part of the country, and everything was to give way to the supplying and strengthening of the army; the troops were directed to move in the lightest manner, and without baggage; the enemy was to be attacked at the moment of landing, and when his numbers became too great for any chance of success, the troops were to withdraw a short distance to give time for the forces of the country to assemble; correct intelligence was to be circulated; the inhabitants were to withdraw with their cattle, horses, and provision; and all provision tardy in its removal was to be destroyed; the roads were to be [82] broken up, and the country driven and abandoned on the line of the enemy's route.

As soon as the invading army quitted the coast, the troops were to hover on its front, flanks, and rear; it was to be obliged to fight for every article of sustenance; advantage was to be taken of the intricate and enclosed nature of the country; every inch of ground, every field, was to be to a degree disputed even by inferior numbers; should the enemy enter the strong woodland countries, trees were to be felled on the roads for miles around to impede his progress; incessant attacks were to be kept up by night with corps of various description and strength; the men were never to fire but when they had a good mark and a decided aim, and to use the national weapon, the bayonet, as much as possible, while every individual with a pike or pitchfork in his hand was required to unite his efforts to overwhelm and extirpate the unprincipled invaders, who, spurning at those generous modes of warfare established between civilized and rival countries, openly avowed their design to be the utter destruction of Great Britain as a nation. Against such an enemy the people were called upon to become more ferocious than himself, and their indignation being raised to the highest pitch would hurl back upon him that terror which he had struck into weak and degraded nations which had not the same liberty, renown, and constitution to contend for as Great Britain.

The measures of the government were nobly seconded by the people; the British spirit was roused; a sudden burst of patriotic enthusiasm pervaded the country; it animated the nobility, gentry, yeomanry,—all orders and conditions of men,—all felt alike on this momentous occasion; the danger was great, and it was met with corresponding resolution and exertions; the whole country, [83] from the throne to the cottage, was animated with a determination to crush the French army, if it should dare to invade the British territory;—the Act for the LEVY-EN-MASSE was rendered unnecessary by their spontaneous zeal; the designs of the government were anticipated; voluntary associations were formed; loyal meetings took place in the metropolis and in the principal towns throughout the country; and large subscriptions were raised to bear the expenses of the volunteer corps. The unanimity and harmony which pervaded all ranks were astonishing; every city, town, and village, from the Lands-end to the Orkney Islands, poured forth its volunteer legions in defence of their country, and of their king; it was difficult to say, whether the people were more liberal in offering their persons, or their property, in defence of a country and constitution so dear to their affections; and the British monarch stood in a situation glorious and unexampled on the surface of the earth: he was not defended by mercenaries always sparing of their blood, not supported by tributary states impatient of their yoke, not assisted by allies envious of his prosperity, (Europe stood aloof leaving Britain to her own resources at the time of her utmost need); but in the moment of danger, his Majesty saw himself protected by the united efforts of all his people, by the persons of those who were able to wield a weapon, by the prayers of the aged and of the sick, by the purses of the rich, and by the hearts of all: the people knew for whom, and for what, they were preparing to fight; they knew they were not conscripts driven in chains to be sacrificed on the altar of an ambitious leader, but loyal subjects voluntarily engaging to encounter danger for a beloved sovereign, for the preservation of that limited monarchy which they viewed as [84] the primary source of all the blessings they enjoyed as members of civil society. They were not preparing to fight from the base motive of desire to plunder other men's property, but to defend their own; not to fight ingloriously to subvert the liberties of others, but to prevent the yoke of slavery being fastened round their own necks; not in contempt of national character, in despite of the civil order of the world, in derision of religion, or in mockery of heaven; but to preserve their happy land from atheism, despotism, and anarchy, from that moral contamination of principle and practice which outrages the very nature of mankind. Actuated by such sentiments the aged, who had become indifferent to professional emolument and to professional ambition, appeared with renewed vigour ready for active service; and the youth stood forward in crowds ready to shed their blood for the good of their country. Thus exertions unknown in the history of this country, and unprecedented in the most illustrious nations of antiquity, were made, and Britain exhibited to the world the glorious spectacle of a nation rising simultaneously to assert its freedom and independence.

While the din of hostile preparation resounded throughout the country, the regiment which forms the subject of this memoir had the honour of forming part of an advanced-corps to the forces selected to cover the coast opposite Boulogne where Bonaparte was expected to land; for this purpose it was encamped at Shorncliffe, and was brigaded with the fifty-second, fifty-ninth, and seventieth regiments and five companies of the rifle corps, under the command of that distinguished officer, Major-General (afterwards Sir John) Moore. This corps was conspicuous for a high state of discipline; and the officers [85] and men felt a degree of honest pride at being selected to commence the attack of the invaders whenever they appeared.

The noble attitude which the nation assumed, the strength [29] and energy it evinced while breathing defiance to the gigantic military power by which it was menaced, caused the spirit even of Napoleon to quail, and his legions did not venture to cross the British channel.

Thus the daring project of subjugating Britain, a project suited to that spirit of enterprise and ambition which characterized the martial leader of the French nation, was defeated by the vigour and promptitude of the government, and of the people, at the only period when it was likely to prove successful. If Bonaparte could have assembled in the ports of France and Holland a naval armament for the transport of one hundred thousand men across the channel, before the British fleets had been manned, the militia called out, and the [86] people arranged in military array, the mischief he might have effected is incalculable. The immense preparations which were made on the opposite side of the Channel, particularly at Boulogne, the assembling of a large army in that quarter, the construction of vessels calculated to cross the Channel and approach near the shore, and his utter disregard of the loss of men, so that he accomplished his designs, prove beyond doubt Bonaparte's determination of invading the British territory; but the unanimous and glorious resolution evinced by the people to preserve their country, their freedom, and their privileges from the contamination of republicanism, and to shed their blood in the defence of what they valued above life, deterred him from carrying the threats he had so often repeated into execution.

The King's Own remained encamped at Shorncliffe; Martello towers were constructed along the shore, and batteries were raised to command the important points; and the soldiers, imbibing the spirit of their distinguished commander, calmly awaited the arrival of their vaunting adversaries. The Right Honourable William Pitt, who was at this period warden of the Cinque Ports, raised two regiments of a thousand men each; he frequently rode over to Shorncliffe, and Major-General Moore explained to this great statesman all his plans. On one occasion Mr. Pitt observed,—"Well, Moore, but as on the very first alarm of the enemy's coming I shall join you with my Cinque Porte regiments, you have not told me where you will place us?" "Do you see," said Moore, "that hill? you and yours shall be drawn up on it, where you will make a most formidable appearance to the enemy, while I with the soldiers shall be fighting on the beach." Mr. Pitt was exceedingly amused with this reply. On the 28th of November, the King's [87] Own proceeded into the newly-built barracks at Hythe.

In 1804 the preparations for invasion were augmented; the King's Own were again encamped at Shorncliffe, and were brigaded with the forty-third, fifty-second, fifty-ninth, and five companies of the rifle corps, commanded by Major-General Moore. The nation preserved the attitude of defence and defiance to the power of Bonaparte; the several corps were regularly exercised, and inspected, and kept ready for active service; and the King's Own , commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Brinley, attained so high a state of discipline and efficiency as to excite the special notice and approbation of his Royal Highness the Duke of York, who reviewed the regiment, with the remainder of its brigade, on the 24th of August. [30] Bonaparte's [88] army remained inactive at Boulogne, consuming his resources; but he obtained from the French nation the dignity of Emperor . Another season passed away without an invasion; and on the 2d of November, the Fourth proceeded to the barracks at Hythe; a second battalion was added to its establishment, and the officers who had eminently distinguished themselves by their zeal and attention to the good of the service, were rewarded with promotion.

The regiment left Hythe on the 9th of March, 1805, for Canterbury, and while stationed at this place Colonel Brinley was appointed quartermaster-general in the West Indies. On his leaving the regiment, the officers evinced their esteem for him by inviting him to an entertainment prepared for the occasion, and by presenting him with a sword valued at fifty guineas. [31]

[89]

During the summer of this year both battalions were encamped on Beachy Head, where they were reviewed in brigade, with the twenty-third regiment, commanded by Major-General the Honourable Edward Paget, by their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and Duke of York.

Bonaparte, after having been crowned King of Italy, and having added Genoa to his empire, proceeded to Boulogne and reviewed his army; and immediately afterwards marched against the forces of Russia and Austria, to crush at once the coalition forming against his interests, in which the British cabinet was taking a decided part. At the same time the French troops were withdrawn from Hanover, which country they had seized on soon after the resuming of hostilities in 1803. On the 21st of October the glorious victory at Trafalgar was won by the fleet, which gave Great Britain the uncontrolled sovereignty of the sea: and on the 27th of that month the first battalion of the King's Own embarked at Ramsgate for Hanover. Having landed at Cuxhaven on the 19th of November, it marched up the country and was cantoned at Blumenthal, where it was formed in brigade [90] with the twenty-third and twenty-eighth regiments under Major-General Honourable E. Paget; the British troops in Hanover designed to co-operate with the continental powers being under the orders of Lieut.-General Lord Cathcart. Meanwhile the Austrians had been overpowered by Bonaparte, who had taken possession of Vienna; and the united Austrian and Russian armies were defeated in the beginning of December at Austerlitz, which established the preponderance of French power. In a subsequent treaty concluded at Vienna, it was stipulated, that Hanover should be occupied by the Prussians, and the British troops under Lord Cathcart retreated to Bremen and embarked for England.

The first battalion of the King's Own landed at Yarmouth in February, 1806, and marched to Woodbridge barracks; from whence it proceeded in May to Colchester: the second battalion was quartered at Chelmsford.

The influence of French councils at the court of Denmark, with the expectation that its navy would be employed by Bonaparte against Great Britain, occasioned the British court to resolve to obtain possession of the Danish fleet either by treaty or force, and to retain it until the conclusion of the war. An armament was fitted out for this service, and the first battalion of the King's Own embarked at Harwich on the 25th of July, to form part of the land force under the orders of Lieut.-General Lord Cathcart. The Danish government not acceding to the proposed conditions, the army landed on the island of Zealand, and took up a position before Copenhagen , the King's Own being formed in brigade with the twenty-third regiment, under the orders of Major-General Grosvenor. After a bombardment of three days the city surrendered, and the fleet was given up. The [91] King's Own , commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Wynch, occupied the citadel, where Lord Cathcart fixed his head-quarters. On the evacuation of Copenhagen, the King's Own re-embarked, and after landing at Deal on the 6th and 7th of November, marched to Colchester. The second battalion had, in the mean time, proceeded to Jersey. [32]

Although the forces of Russia and Prussia had been defeated, and a most humiliating peace concluded at Tilsit, yet Sweden still resisted the power of Bonaparte; and the first battalion of the Fourth , or King's Own , after receiving the thanks of parliament for its conduct at Copenhagen, was selected to form part of a body of troops placed under the command of Lieut.-General Sir John Moore, to support the Swedish monarch. The King's Own , having embarked at Harwich on the 28th of April, 1808, arrived at Gottenburg; but, to the surprise of the troops, they were interdicted landing by the decree of the King of Sweden, who, though desirous of obtaining British aid (like his predecessor, the Great Gustavus Adolphus, who in 1632 had eighteen British regiments in his army), yet he proved so imbecile of mind, and purposed to employ his British auxiliaries in so absurd a manner, that the expedition returned to England.

Meanwhile important events had transpired in the Peninsula. Bonaparte, after reducing to submission to his inexorable will all Germany, and forcing Russia to accede to his decrees, was prompted by his restless ambition to attempt the subjugation of Spain and Portugal. Having resolved to commence with the latter, he compelled [92] Spain to join in the enterprise; and when Portugal was subdued, he seized on the Spanish monarchy. The inhabitants revolted against his authority. A British force, commanded by Lieut.-General Sir Arthur Wellesley, proceeded to their aid: and on the return of the King's Own from Gottenburg, they were immediately ordered to proceed to the Peninsula. Having landed in Maceira Bay, in Portugal, on the 25th of August, they advanced on Lisbon, and after the French army capitulated and vacated Portugal, they encamped within two leagues of Lisbon.

When Lieut.-General Sir John Moore was appointed to the command of the British troops in Portugal, and directed to advance to the assistance of the Spaniards, the King's Own , commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Wynch, were formed in brigade with the twenty-eighth and forty-second regiments, under the orders of Major-General Lord William Bentinck; the Fourth led the right column in the march through Portugal into Spain, and arrived at Salamanca on the 14th of November. Although the Spanish forces, which were to have co-operated with Sir John Moore, were defeated and dispersed, and Bonaparte had three hundred thousand men in Spain, yet the British general, with that intrepidity which marked his character, advanced with his army into the heart of Spain, braved the numerous legions of the enemy, and produced a diversion favourable to the Spanish cause. When Napoleon directed eighty thousand men and two hundred cannon against Sir John Moore, he marched towards the coast; and by superior skill escaped from the overwhelming numbers by which he was menaced. Great privation and suffering were endured by the troops during this retreat of two hundred and fifty miles, in the depth of [93] winter, over mountains and rivers, exposed to snow-storms and heavy rains, and pursued by an enemy of superior numbers. During the retreat the King's Own preserved their efficiency, and their grenadier company, commanded by Captain Faunce, did not lose a man.

At length the army arrived at Corunna , and the war-worn British soldiers obtained shelter, warm food, and a short repose, at the town and neighbouring villages, where their wasted strength was recruited, and their damaged arms were exchanged for new, while they awaited the arrival of shipping to transport them to England.

The shipping arrived, and while arrangements were making for the embarkation, the British troops, amounting to fourteen thousand five hundred men, were in position on an inferior range of heights in front of Corunna ; and the Fourth were on the right of Lieut.-General Sir David Baird's division, behind the village of Elvina.

On the 16th of January, 1809, twenty thousand French troops assembled on the opposite hills; about two in the afternoon a heavy battery opened its fire; and three columns of the enemy, covered by clouds of skirmishers, descended the mountains, and drove in the British piquets. The first column carried the village of Elvina; then dividing, attempted to turn the right of Lieut.-General Sir David Baird's division by the valley, and to break its front; at the same time the second column advanced against the British centre; and the third attacked the left at the village of Palavia Abaxo. The brunt of the battle on the right was sustained by the Fourth , forty-second, and fiftieth regiments, commanded by Major-General Lord William Bentinck, and this brigade resisted the furious onset of the enemy with a firmness which proved the unconquerable spirit and excellent discipline [94] of the troops. The enemy's attempt to turn the right flank by the valley occasioned the right wing of the Fourth to be thrown back, and the regiment opening a heavy flanking fire with terrible effect, it forced its opponents back in confusion; while the forty-second and fiftieth attacked those breaking through the village of Elvina. Sir John Moore watching this manœuvre with care, saw the noble exhibition of valour made by the King's Own , and the repulse of the enemy by the flanking fire, with feelings of exultation, and called out, " That is exactly what I wanted to be done. I am glad to see a regiment there in which I have so much confidence :" but in a short time afterwards this distinguished commander was mortally wounded by a cannon-ball, and died regretted by the army. Eventually the French were defeated on all sides, and they sought refuge on the high ridge of hills from which they had descended. Thus ended a conflict which was glorious to the British arms; the army having repulsed its adversaries, embarked during the night and succeeding day, and returned to England.

The King's Own had their commanding officer, Lieut.-Colonel Wynch, with Captain John Williamson, Lieutenant Vere Hunt, Ensigns J. P. Jameson and Reardon, wounded; Ensign Reardon died of his wounds. Lieut.-Colonel Wynch was rewarded with a medal; and the distinguished conduct of the regiment procured for it the honourable privilege of bearing the word Corunna on its colours.

Having landed at Portsmouth on the 31st of January, the King's Own marched to Colchester Barracks, where the second battalion, which had returned from Jersey, was also stationed. The militia being again allowed to extend their services to the line, upwards of seven [95] hundred volunteered for the Fourth , and the establishment of the first battalion was raised to twelve hundred, and the second to a thousand men.

An attack on Holland by a body of troops commanded by General the Earl of Chatham having been resolved upon, both battalions of the King's Own ,—the first commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Wynch, and the second by Lieut.-Colonel Espinasse, marched for Deal and embarked on the 16th of July; they were formed in brigade with the twenty-eighth regiment, under Major-General the Earl of Dalhousie. This brigade formed part of the reserve under Lieut.-General Sir John Hope, and landed on the 1st of August on the island of South Beveland, where it was stationed during the attack and capture of Flushing, on the island of Walcheren. Some delay taking place in the naval arrangements, the enemy had time to make preparations for a powerful resistance; at the same time a severe epidemic fever broke out among the English troops, and the attack on Antwerp was relinquished.

In September the regiment was withdrawn from South Beveland, and having landed at Harwich on the 16th of that month, returned to Colchester Barracks much reduced in numbers by the Walcheren fever.

The second battalion left Colchester in January, 1810, embarked at Portsmouth for Gibraltar, and was subsequently stationed in garrison at Ceuta.

In the autumn the first battalion was again called upon to transfer its services to the Peninsula, where the war continued to rage, and Marshal Massena was advancing with a powerful army to complete the conquest of Portugal. Having embarked at Harwich on the 24th of October on board the Agincourt, of 64 guns, and Brune frigate, the King's Own , commanded by Lieut.-Colonel [96] Wynch, sailed for Portugal; they landed at Lisbon on the 4th of November, and advancing up the country to join the army commanded by Lord Wellington, then in the lines of Torres Vedras , were brigaded with the second battalions of the thirtieth and forty-fourth regiments, commanded by Major-General Dunlop, in the fifth division, under the orders of Major-General James Leith, and were stationed at Alcoentra, from whence they proceeded in December to Torres Vedras.

Colonel Wynch was appointed to command a brigade in the light division; but, unfortunately for the service, and to the deep regret of all who knew him, this excellent and distinguished officer died at Lisbon on the 6th of January following, of a fever, caught in the discharge of his duty at the advanced-posts of the army. Lieut.-Colonel Bevan succeeded to the command of the first battalion, and Major Brooke was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and appointed to the second battalion.

The King's Own remained at Torres Vedras until the French army, having been reduced by sickness and other causes, retreated towards Spain;—the regiment then moved forward in pursuit, and the enemy's rear was harassed and attacked with varied success.

On the 2d of April the Fourth marched through Guarda; on the following day they passed the Coa with their division by the bridge of Sabugal ; and the enemy, having been previously attacked by the light division, was forced to make a precipitate retreat, and he fell back upon Alfayates.

The French having retreated on Ciudad Rodrigo, the allied army stood triumphant on the confines of Portugal, from whence the King's Own advanced into Spain, and were cantoned at Aldea de Bispo from the 9th of April to the beginning of May.

[97]

When Marshal Massena advanced to the relief of Almeida, the allied army went into position to oppose his progress, and the fifth division taking post near Fort Conception, on the left of the line, was not attacked; the Fourth regiment was consequently not engaged in the action at Fuentes d'Onor.

After the repulse of the French army, the garrison of Almeida lost all hope of assistance, and the commandant made preparations for destroying the works, and for vacating the place. At midnight, on the 10th of May, he exploded the mines, and sallying forth in a compact column, broke through the blockading force; but was followed by a few men collected on the instant, and by the thirty-sixth regiment. Early on the following morning, as the King's Own were on the march to Barba del Puerco , they heard the firing of musketry at a distance, and hastened towards the scene of conflict. The enemy was on the march; but the British soldiers, throwing off their knapsacks, followed at such a pace, that they overtook the rear of the column in the act of descending the deep chasm of Barba del Puerco. Many were killed and wounded, and three hundred were taken; but the remainder escaped. The King's Own had two rank and file killed, and one lieutenant and ten rank and file wounded.

On the 15th of June the regiment was stationed at Nava de Aver, in Portugal, where it remained three weeks, forming part of the four divisions of infantry left behind the Agueda to observe the movements of the French army under Marshal Marmont during the time the second siege of Badajoz was undertaken. When the enemy moved southwards, the regiment directed its march by Castello Branco for the Alentejo; and went into position on the Caya, being hutted near the wood and town [98] of Aronches until the 2d of July, when it proceeded to Portalegre.

While at this station the Fourth had the misfortune to lose their commanding officer, Lieut.-Colonel Bevan, who died on the 8th of July, and was buried with military honours in the castle-yard, all the officers of the division attending. He was succeeded by Lieut.-Colonel Brooke, and brevet Lieut.-Colonel Faunce was appointed lieutenant-colonel in the regiment and placed at the head of the second battalion.

The regiment left its quarters in Portalegre on the 21st of July, and was hutted near that town seven days, when it proceeded into cantonments at Castel de Vide. When Lord Wellington moved towards the Agueda with the view of rescuing Ciudad Rodrigo from the power of the enemy, the Fourth crossed the Tagus by the bridge of boats, and proceeding by Castello Branco, entered Spain on the 11th of August at Navas Frias. After passing seven days in huts near St. Payo, they proceeded into cantonments at Pena Parda; but returned to their huts on the 26th of August, and back to quarters on the 2d of September, where they remained until the 26th of that month: meanwhile Ciudad Rodrigo was blockaded, and Lord Wellington's head-quarters were at Fuentes Guinaldo. When Marshal Marmont advanced to relieve this fortress, the Fourth remained with their division at St. Payo, watching the passes from Estremadura. In the subsequent manœuvres they were not brought into action with the enemy; and after the retreat of the French army, they were stationed at Guarda, in Portugal.

The enemy being deceived by the seemingly careless winter attitude of the allied army, left Ciudad Rodrigo to the protection of its garrison; and the British commander, profiting by this omission, commenced the siege [99] of this important fortress in the early part of January, 1812 with four divisions; the King's Own remained in quarters at Bobadela, where they had proceeded on the 7th of December. On the receipt of intelligence that Marshal Marmont was collecting his forces to succour the place, the whole army was brought forward and posted in the villages on the Coa, ready to cross the Agueda and give battle. Ciudad Rodrigo was captured by storm during the night of the 19th of January; and the Fourth were cantoned in the suburbs of that fortress from the 20th of January to the 23d of February.

In consequence of the great difficulty experienced in procuring land carriage for the supplies of the army, many of the regiments had to proceed a considerable distance for their clothing, and the King's Own marched for that purpose from Ciudad Rodrigo to Penacova, where the clothing arrived by water from Coimbra; that in use having been in wear during two years of hard service.

Meanwhile the fifth division was proceeding towards the Alentejo to engage in the siege of Badajoz , and the regiment joined its brigade at Campo Mayor on the 24th of March. On the 30th of that month it proceeded to Elvas; on the 4th of April it bivouacked near the city of Badajoz, and three breaches, which were deemed practicable, having been made, the regiment was formed on the evening of the 6th ready to take part in the storming of this strong fortress. On this occasion the fifth division was directed to make a false attack on the Pardaleras, and a real assault on the bastion of San Vincente; the King's Own , headed by Lieut.-Colonel Brooke, led the assault of the bastion.

The division advanced in silence from its bivouac-ground towards the remote side of the town; the sky was clouded and the air thick with watery exhalations, and as [100] the troops approached the lofty fortress, a low murmur was heard in the trenches, lights were seen passing to and fro along the ramparts, and the loud voices of the French sentinels proclaimed that all was well in Badajoz. The garrison watching from its lofty station the approach of its adversaries, stood prepared with every means of destruction which art could devise, and each soldier had three loaded muskets beside him, that the first fire might be quick and fatal. As the British soldiers approached the fortress with ladders and weapons, the sight of the formidable works and towering walls awakened in their resolute hearts an eagerness for the assault, and they advanced with audacity to meet that fiery destruction which their adversaries were prepared to pour down upon them. Major-General Walker's brigade, led by the King's Own , having gained the bank of the Guadiana, advanced along the margin of the river, and the sound of their footsteps being rendered inaudible by the rippling of the waters, they reached the French guard-house at the barrier-gate of the Olivença road undiscovered; but at that moment an explosion took place at the breach, and the moon emerging from behind the clouds, the French discovered the column and gave the alarm. The glacis was mined, the ditch deep, the scarp thirty feet high, and the parapet lined with bold troops; yet the British soldiers springing forward under a sharp fire commenced hewing down the wooden barrier at the covered way. The Portuguese, being panic-stricken, threw down the scaling-ladders, but others snatched them up again, and having forced the barrier, jumped into the ditch. The guiding engineer was killed, and the ladders were found too short, for the walls were generally above thirty feet high; at the same time a mine was sprung beneath the soldiers' feet, beams of wood and live shells were rolled [101] over on their heads, showers of grape swept the ditch, and man after man dropped dead from the ladders. At length three ladders were reared against a corner of the bastion, where the scarp was only twenty feet high, and one man climbing an embrasure which had no gun, and was only stopped by a gabion, was pushed to the top by his comrades; he drew others after him until many had gained the summit; and although the French opened a sharp fire against them from both flanks, and from a house in front, yet their numbers increased and they could not be driven back. Half the King's Own regiment entered the town to dislodge the enemy from the houses, while the others pushed along the ramparts, and, by hard fighting, won three bastions. Major-General Walker, leading the attack of the last bastion, fell covered with wounds; and several of the soldiers observing a lighted match on the ground, cried out, "A mine." The troops retiring hastily for fear of an explosion, were at that moment attacked by a French reserve, and driven back with great loss as far as the San Vincente, where the pursuing enemy was destroyed by the fire of a battalion of the thirty-eighth, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Nugent, posted in reserve. The storming party rallied, and, returning to the attack, once more charged along the breaches, and were engaged with the enemy.

In the meantime, the men of the King's Own who had entered the town, finding the streets empty, the houses illuminated with lamps, and no appearance of opposition, excepting a few shots fired by the Spaniards from underneath the doors, they advanced with bugles sounding towards the great square of the town, capturing in their progress several mules laden with ammunition proceeding towards the breaches. Arriving at the square, it was [102] found empty as the streets, the houses decorated with lamps; a low whispering was heard, and the lattices were occasionally opened and shut, but no troops appeared to be in the buildings. The castle had been won by the British troops; but at the breaches the fight was still raging, and dreadful sounds like the deep tones of distant thunder echoed through the town; the King's Own rushed to the scene of conflict to attack the garrison in reverse, but were assailed by a heavy fire of musketry and forced back by superior numbers. At length the garrison was forced from the breaches, partial actions afterwards took place in various quarters, and eventually the governor, finding all lost, escaped with part of his garrison to the fort of St. Christoval, on the opposite side of the river, where he surrendered.

In the storming of Badajoz the Fourth had Captain H. T. Bellingham and Lieutenant Francis Staveley killed; Lieutenants William Sheppard and Martin Dane died of their wounds; Major Alured W. Faunce, Captains John Williamson, G. W. Wilson, Robert Anwyl, and Thomas Burke, with Lieutenants W. S. L. Alley, J. Salvin, Patrick Conroy, John Browne, John Craster, Hygat Boyd, and Ensigns Robert Arnold and Edward Rawlings, wounded: the regiment also sustained a loss of two hundred and thirteen serjeants, drummers, and rank and file, killed and wounded.

The excellent conduct of the brigade was mentioned in Lord Wellington's despatch; and Lieut.-Colonel Brooke, who commanded the regiment, was also spoken of in terms of commendation.

During the assault, Private George Hatton, of the light company of the King's Own , bayonetted the officer who carried the colours of the regiment of Hesse d'Armstadt, [103] in the French service, and captured the colours, which he had the honour of presenting on the following day to Lord Wellington, who rewarded him with a present of money, and desired that he might be promoted.

The King's Own acquired by its gallantry on this occasion the honour of the royal permission to bear the word Badajoz on its colours.

Shortly after the capture of Badajoz the Fourth marched with the army towards the Agueda; on the 14th of May, the second battalion joined from Ceuta; and the brigade, consisting of the two battalions of the King's Own , and second battalions of the thirtieth and forty-fourth regiments, was commanded by Major-General Pringle; Major-General Walker having returned to England in consequence of his wounds received at the storming of Badajoz.

The Fourth advanced with the army to Salamanca, and this city being rescued from the power of the enemy, exhibited a scene of tumultuous joy and rejoicing; the houses were illuminated, and the people, shouting and singing, welcomed their deliverers; while the army took up a position on the mountain of St. Christoval a few miles in advance; but the Fourth remained behind the Tormes, and the forts which the enemy occupied at Salamanca were besieged. Marshal Marmont advancing on the 20th of June, to succour the forts, the regiment crossed the Tormes and was formed with the army in order of battle on the top of the mountain. After the capture of the forts, the enemy retired towards the Douro, and the regiment descended the heights and followed the French army, which took up a new position near Tordesillas.

The King's Own bivouacked in front of Tordesillas [104] from the 2d to the 9th of July, and at Nava del Rey until the 16th; the weather being fine, the country rich, rations regularly supplied, and wine abundant, the soldiers fared luxuriously; but the enemy having passed the Douro and the Trabancos, turned the left of the allies, and marched on the 18th of July towards the Guarena, when the British retired. The two armies directing their march towards the Guarena as to one common goal, and important results depending on which should first pass the stream, a strife of speed arose. Several of the hostile columns, proceeding in parallel lines a distance of ten miles, within musket-shot of each other, marched impetuously towards the stream in perfect order, while clouds of dust arose, and a most interesting spectacle presented itself; for the officers on each side, being strangers alike to malice and to fear, were seen pointing with their swords, touching their caps, or waving their hands in courtesy as they urged their course towards the river. The British gained the stream first; the soldiers being tormented with thirst, many of them drank as they marched, and others halting in the river a few moments, were saluted with a shower of bullets; but they passed on, and the French marshal's designs were frustrated. He, however, passed the river on the 20th of July higher up, turned the right flank of the allied army, and gained a new range of hills; when Lord Wellington made a corresponding movement, and an evolution similar to that on the 18th was repeated, and it ended in the British resuming their position on the heights of St. Christoval. The King's Own forded the Tormes on the following day, and were posted in position with the army near Salamanca .

These bold manœuvres of the enemy were watched by [105] the British commander, who waited patiently for an opportunity to strike a decisive blow, and this occurring on the 22d of July, a sanguinary battle was fought. In the early part of the day the King's Own were posted on the slope of one of the heights, called the Arapiles, where they remained until the afternoon, when they moved to the rear of the village of Arapiles; Lord Wellington having detected a fault in his adversaries' movements, ordered his divisions forward, and the battle commenced. In this action the fifth division, commanded by Major-General Sir James Leith, attacking the enemy in front, distinguished itself; and the King's Own ,—the first battalion being commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Brooke, and the second by Major David Williamson—had their share in the glories of the day. During the action the first battalion made a brilliant charge on a considerable body of the enemy, and nobly sustained its reputation. The skill of the British commander was bravely seconded by the resolute valour and discipline of the troops; the action lasted until dark, a decisive victory was gained over the enemy, and eleven pieces of cannon, two eagles, and six colours were captured. The gallantry evinced by the King's Own was afterwards rewarded by the privilege of bearing the word Salamanca on their colours; the commanding officers of both battalions were rewarded with medals; Major David Williamson was also promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel on the occasion. Major Piper, who succeeded to the command of the first battalion during the action in consequence of Lieut.-Colonel Brooke [33] being called upon to take the command of the [106] brigade, was likewise rewarded with a medal and the rank of lieutenant-colonel; and Major Alured Faunce, who commanded the light infantry companies of the brigade, also received a medal. The regiment had Major O'Halloran wounded, and forty-eight serjeants and rank and file killed and wounded.

The troops pursued the flying enemy on the following day, and after numerous marches and evolutions, the first battalion of the King's Own proceeded with the army to Madrid, where the British were received with acclamations of joy. Meanwhile the second battalion was in cantonments at Cuellar, with the sixth division under Lieut.-General Sir Henry Clinton; but in September the two battalions were united in front of Burgos during the siege of the castle.

When the concentration of the enemy's forces and the failure of the attack on Burgos rendered a retrograde movement necessary, the army withdrew in the night, and the French following in full career, several skirmishes occurred. On the 24th of October the army was in position behind the Carion , and the King's Own were bivouacked near Villa Muriel. The position was attacked on the following day, and a French column having passed the river, took some prisoners at the village and lined the bed of a canal; the brigade under Major-General Pringle's orders was directed to clear the canal, and the Fourth advanced against their adversaries. The French troops were driven back, the village was re-occupied in force, and the canal was lined by the allied troops; but the army withdrew before day-break on the 26th and the retreat was resumed.

The army took up positions from time to time to retard the advance of the enemy; and having crossed [107] the Douro and the Tormes, it was posted behind the latter river until the middle of November; when a further retreat to Ciudad Rodrigo took place. The King's Own having entered Portugal went into winter quarters at the villages of Valdigeen and Saude, in the vicinity of Lamego.

Both battalions having sustained considerable loss during this campaign, the second transferred its private men fit for duty to the first battalion on the 24th of December, and, proceeding to England, was stationed in Colchester barracks, where it was shortly afterwards recruited in numbers by volunteers from the militia.

The second battalions of the thirtieth and forty-fourth regiments being also reduced in numbers were sent to England, and the first battalion of the King's Own remaining in cantonments on the northern frontiers of Portugal, was united in brigade with the second battalions of the forty-seventh and fifty-ninth regiments, under the orders of Major-General F. P. Robinson.

The campaign of 1813 was opened in May, when the army, entering Spain, advanced against the enemy; the Fourth formed part of the force which traversed the mountainous country of Tras-os-Montes, turned the enemy's position on the Douro, and forced him to retreat; the rear of the retiring army was closely followed in its retrograde movement; and the enemy, having blown up the castle of Burgos, took a position on the Ebro, from which he was forced by a flank movement.

The King's Own , commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Brooke, shared in the privations and fatigues consequent upon a march of several hundred miles, sometimes traversing romantic mountain scenery, ascending rugged [108] precipices, or crossing rivers; on the 20th of June, they were bivouacked at Margina, from whence they advanced on the following day to attack the French army commanded by Joseph Bonaparte in its position in front of Vittoria .

The regiment formed part of the force under Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Graham, which advanced against the right of the French army by the Bilboa road, and having taken possession of Gamara Minor, the Fourth , forty-seventh, and fifty-ninth regiments were sent forward in columns of battalions, with the heroic Major-General Robinson at their head, to storm the village of Gamara Major , which was occupied as a tête-de-pont to the bridge across the Zadora. Supported by two guns of Major Lawson's brigade of artillery, the three regiments advanced with a determined countenance; the French artillery opened a destructive fire, and volleys of musquetry assailed the brigade in front; yet, undismayed by the storm of bullets which rent chasms in the ranks, the British regiments bore down upon their adversaries with fixed bayonets, drove the enemy from the village with great slaughter, and captured three guns.

This success was followed by an attack on the village of Abechuco, by the first division. Meanwhile the French made great efforts to repossess themselves of Gamara Major; but were repulsed, and Abechuco was carried.

The possession of these villages enabled the troops to attack the bridges across the Zadora; but these bridges were commanded by a division of the enemy posted on the heights beyond the river. Here the King's Own , led by the gallant Lieut.-Colonel Brooke, had another opportunity of displaying their native valour; they [109] charged three times across the bridge of Gamara Major; and when the centre columns of the British army had penetrated to the vicinity of Vittoria, the enemy vacated the heights, the river was passed, and the retreat of the French army by the high road to France was intercepted. Finally the French army was thrown into confusion, and driven from the field with the loss of its artillery, ammunition-waggons, and all its baggage and equipages.

The Fourth had Lieutenant George Thorne, and Lieutenant and Adjutant Thomas Barker killed; with Captains John Williamson, John E. Kipping, James Ward, Charles James Edgell, and Ensign John M'Crohon, wounded; also seventy-five non-commissioned officers and soldiers killed and wounded. Their gallant conduct was afterwards rewarded with the honour of bearing the word Vittoria inscribed on their colours.

After this victory the King's Own were detached, with the remainder of the left column, towards Bilboa, with the view of intercepting a body of French under General Foy, who retreated on Bayonne. After the enemy was driven beyond the frontiers of Spain, the regiment was engaged in the siege of the strong and important fortress of St. Sebastian , and supported the unsuccessful assault of the works on the 25th of July: it also had the honour of taking a conspicuous and important part in storming the breach on the 31st of August.

When the assaulting party, led by the King's Own , filed out of the trenches, it was saluted with a tempest of shells and grape-shot which blazed in the air, tore up the ground, and menaced the brigade with instant destruction; yet, urged forward by their native ardour and [110] thirst for glory, the soldiers rushed through this dreadful storm of bullets towards the breach, where they encountered difficulties almost insuperable. Many of the King's Own , evincing their inborn valour and contempt of danger, rushed up the breach and perished; others following, shared the same fate. Every exertion and device which the most determined bravery could inspire were repeatedly tried in vain, no man outliving the attempt to gain the ridge. Lieutenant Le Blanc of the Fourth , who led the light infantry company of the regiment immediately after the forlorn hope, particularly distinguished himself, and was the only surviving officer of the advance. At length the British heavy guns were turned against the curtain, and the bullets, which passed a few feet only above the heads of the soldiers at the breach, having produced some effect, another strenuous effort was made to gain the high ridge. The officers and soldiers rushing forward with enthusiastic gallantry, were favoured by the explosion of a mine, and the breach was forced. The town was immediately captured, and the citadel surrendered a few days afterwards.

The gallant behaviour of the King's Own on this occasion is set forth in the following copy of a letter from Major-General Robinson to the colonel of the regiment.

This brilliant display of British valour and heroism by the second brigade, was attended with the loss of two majors, eight captains, twenty-six lieutenants, twelve ensigns, forty-seven serjeants, six drummers, and five hundred and eighty-nine rank and file killed and wounded; among whom were the following officers of the King's Own :—Lieutenants Francis Maguire, Jonas Fawson, W. S. A. Carrol, J. P. Jameson, and Ensign Charles Montford killed; with Brevet Lieut.-Colonel John Piper, Captains John Williamson, John Wynne Fletcher, Lieutenants Francis Le Blanc, George Heywood, William Clarke, and Frederick Hyde, wounded.

By their gallantry on this occasion the King's Own acquired the honour of bearing the word St. Sebastian inscribed on their colours.

The regiment advanced from St. Sebastian to the frontiers of France; and on the 7th of October forded the Bidassoa at low water for the purpose of driving the enemy from the mountain of La Rhune. A body of Spaniards and Portuguese co-operated on this occasion with the first and fifth divisions; and the French had scarcely formed in line before they were driven from their works, with the loss of several guns.

Thus, after chasing the boasted invincible legions of Bonaparte from the gates of Lisbon to the utmost limits of the Spanish boundary; after rescuing millions from the grasp of the oppressor, and after restoring the [113] affrighted inhabitants of the Peninsula to their homes in peace and safety, the British soldiers had burst the barriers of the Pyrenees and planted their triumphant ensigns in France; where additional laurels awaited them.

On the 10th of November the battle of the Nivelle was fought; the fifth division being on the left, was not seriously engaged, and the King's Own had no opportunity of signalizing themselves in action: they had Lieutenant Salvin and several men wounded.

After its retreat from Nivelle, the French army occupied an entrenched position in front of Bayonne; the allies passed the Nive on the 9th of December, and the enemy having been dislodged from a post at Ville Franque, withdrew his out-posts to Bayonne. But issuing from thence on the following day, he attacked a Portuguese brigade stationed on the high road from Bayonne to St. Jean de Luz. The King's Own , and other regiments of the second brigade of the fifth division, advancing to the assistance of the Portuguese, were sharply engaged, and evinced great bravery and steadiness in action. Major-General Robinson was wounded, and the French gained some advantage; but they were eventually driven back and suffered severely. The attempt was renewed, but the attacking columns were repulsed, and night closed on the combatants.

The enemy again attacked the division on the 11th of December, but was repulsed; in the afternoon of the 12th there was also some sharp skirmishing; and the King's Own acquired, by their intrepid bearing and gallantry in action, the honour of bearing the word Nive on their colours.

At the passage of the Nive, on the 9th of December, the regiment had one man killed; Brevet Major Robert Anwyl, Lieutenant Fraser, and nine rank and file [114] wounded: Lieutenant Fraser died of his wounds. On the 10th of December one serjeant and five rank and file were killed; Brevet Major Timothy Jones, Lieutenants Edward Guichard and Frederick Hyde, with five serjeants, one drummer, and thirty-nine rank and file wounded; and twenty-two rank and file missing. On the 11th of December the King's Own had six rank and file killed; Brevet Lieut.-Colonel John Piper, Lieutenants John Staveley, C. H. Farrington, William Clarke, Edward Rawlins, John Sutherland, James Marshal, and Ensign James Gardner, with eight serjeants, and ninety rank and file wounded.

During the winter additional honours were conferred on the officers who had commanded regiments in the late actions; and Lieut.-Colonel Brooke , of the King's Own , obtained a cross inscribed Badajoz , Salamanca , Vittoria , and St. Sebastian . Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Piper , two clasps inscribed St. Sebastian and Nive . Captain Kepping , who succeeded to the command of the regiment after Lieut.-Colonel Piper was wounded, on the 11th of December, received the brevet rank of MAJOR , and a medal inscribed Nive .

Severe weather obliged the allied army to keep in its cantonments during the month of January and part of February, 1814; and operations having recommenced in the middle of February, after several movements the King's Own were employed in the blockade of Bayonne , in which service they were engaged upwards of six weeks.

Meanwhile important events had taken place in other parts of Europe, and the officers and soldiers of the British army, who had received the blessings of the unoffending nations whom they had delivered from the power of their enemies, and had transferred to France the calamities of domestic war, had the delight of witnessing the [115] conflicts, toils, and sufferings they had endured for the good of Europe, followed by the enjoyments of peace.

The King's Own were afterwards rewarded with the word Peninsula , as an additional honorary inscription for their colours; but, although tranquillity was restored to Europe, they were allowed only a few days of repose before they were called upon to transfer their services to another scene of conflict, and were destined to fight the battles of their country beyond the Atlantic ocean.

During the Peninsular War, the decrees of Bonaparte to destroy the commerce of Great Britain were followed by regulations designed to counteract the enemy's plans. These regulations, with the pressing of British seamen on board of American ships, brought on a war between Great Britain and the United States. When the King's Own were separated from the second brigade of the fifth division, in order to embark for America, Major-General Robinson addressed the following letter to Major Faunce, who then commanded the regiment:—

Marching through Bayonne on the 15th of May, the regiment proceeded to Bourdeaux, embarked on the 29th at Pauillac on the river Garonne, under the command of Major Alured D. Faunce, and quitted the coast of France in the early part of June. The expedition consisted of the fourth and forty-fourth, about eight hundred bayonets each; the eighty-fifth, about six hundred bayonets; with a brigade of artillery and a detachment of sappers and miners: the whole under the command of that very gallant and experienced leader, Major-General Patrick Ross: the navy, consisting of one seventy-four, two sixty-fours, five frigates, and two bomb-vessels, was under the orders of Rear-Admiral Malcomb.

After twenty days' sailing, the fleet approached the Azores, and the high land of St. Michael's appeared like a blue cloud rising out of the water: as the shipping drew near, the troops were delighted with the view of the numerous villages, seats, and convents which ornamented the beach, and the lofty mountains adorned with groves of orange trees and green pasturage rising behind. After remaining a short time at this pleasant island to take in provisions, the fleet again put to sea, and anchored on the evening of the 24th of July opposite the tanks in the island of Bermuda in the West Indies, where the expedition was joined by the twenty-first fusiliers, mustering nine hundred bayonets.

[117]

The fleet remained at Bermuda, taking in stores, and establishing a magazine for the future supply of the expedition, until the 3d of August, when it once more put to sea, and directing its course towards North America, entered the bay of Chesapeake, where reinforcements joined, and Rear-Admiral Cockburn took charge of the navy. On the arrival of this squadron, a powerful American flotilla fled for refuge up the Patuxent river, and was followed by the British fleet. In order to insure the destruction of the enemy's vessels, the troops were directed to land: on the 19th of August the stream was suddenly covered with boats crowded with soldiers, and by three o'clock in the afternoon the army was in position about two miles above the village of St. Benedict, on the right bank of the Patuxent. The troops were divided into three brigades; the first, consisting of the eighty-fifth regiment, with the light companies of the Fourth , twenty-first, and forty-fourth, a company of marines, and a party of disciplined negroes, was commanded by Colonel Thornton; the second, consisting of the Fourth and forty-fourth regiments, was commanded by Colonel Brooke; and the third, consisting of the twenty-first fusiliers, and a battalion of marines, was commanded by Colonel Patterson; for want of horses only one six-pounder, and two small three-pounders were brought on shore.

The army remained in position near St. Benedict until four o'clock on the afternoon of the following day, when the bugles sounded, the regiments turned out in marching order, and proceeded in the direction of Nottingham, a town on the banks of the Patuxent, which was found deserted, while the appearance of the furniture, and in some places the bread left in the ovens, showed it had been abandoned in haste. On the 22d the army proceeded [118] to the delightful village of Upper Marlborough, situate in a well-cultivated valley about two miles broad; and during the march loud explosions were heard, which proved to be the enemy destroying his flotilla to prevent its falling into the hands of British seamen.

The object of the expedition had thus been accomplished; but, as the army had advanced within sixteen miles of Washington, and the enemy's force was ascertained to be such as would authorize an attempt to carry the capital, the troops moved forward on the 23d of August. They had scarcely proceeded three miles when the advance-guard encountered a party of American riflemen, who maintained a sharp contest before they gave way; and arriving at a point where two roads meet, the one leading to Washington and the other to Alexandria, twelve hundred Americans and some artillery appeared on the slope of a height opposite. The army turned along the road leading towards Alexandria, and the Americans fled before the detachment sent against them. Having deceived the enemy respecting the real design of the expedition, the route was changed, and the troops proceeded in the direction of Washington.

About noon on the 24th a heavy cloud of dust was seen to arise at a distance, and the British troops turning a sudden angle in the road and passing a small cluster of trees, discovered above eight thousand American infantry, with a numerous artillery and three hundred dragoons, commanded by General Winder, occupying a formidable position beyond the village of Bladensburg , where they were awaiting the advance of their opponents.

The British, though not half so numerous as their adversaries, advanced boldly to the attack; on entering the village the enemy's artillery opened a tremendous fire, and as the light brigade traversed the bridge across the [119] eastern branch of the Potomac river, from whence a strait road ran through the enemy's position to the capital, numbers fell before a heavy fire of musketry and artillery. The survivors having gained the opposite side of the stream, carried a fortified house which commanded the bridge, then dashed into the thickets on the right and left of the road, and drove back the American riflemen, who fled with such precipitation that they threw their first line into disorder, and it fell back in confusion, leaving two guns on the road. The British light infantry, throwing off their knapsacks, pushed forward in extended order to attack the enemy's second line; but a heavy fire of musketry and artillery checked the assailants, and the Americans advancing in force to recover the lost ground, drove the first brigade back to the thickets on the brink of the river, where an obstinate fight was maintained. Meanwhile the second brigade passed the river; the forty-fourth moving to the right, turned the enemy's left flank; and the Fourth , emulating their gallant companions, advanced in firm array, preceded by a flight of rockets, to charge the enemy's right, which was broken and driven from the field: many of the American sailors who acted as gunners were bayoneted, and eight guns were captured. The American infantry fled in dismay, and diving into the recesses of the forests, were quickly beyond the reach of their pursuers; and their cavalry turned their horses' heads and galloped off: thus in one hour the battle was won, and the third brigade, which had formed the reserve, pushed forward at a rapid rate for Washington .

The three British regiments which had thus defeated about nine thousand adversaries (three times their own number) halted a short time on the field of battle to reform their ranks. The loss of the King's Own was [120] Lieutenant Thomas Woodward, killed; Lieutenants E. P. Hopkins, J. K. Mackenzie, John Staveley, Peter Bowlby, and Frederick Field, with Ensigns J. A. Buchanan, and William Reddock, wounded; also seventy-nine serjeants and rank and file killed and wounded.

After a short halt, the King's Own , with the remainder of the first and second brigades, moved towards Washington, where the third brigade had already arrived and had commenced destroying the arsenal, docks, magazines, and other public property. The sun had set, and as the two brigades approached the American capital, the conflagration of buildings, ships, and stores illuminated the sky, while the exploding of magazines shook the city, and threw down houses in their vicinity, and the scene exhibited the awful reality of the horrors of war, from which Great Britain has happily been preserved by the enterprise and gallantry of her army and navy.

As it was not the intention of the British government to attempt permanent conquests in this part of America, and as it was impossible for this small body of troops to establish themselves in the enemy's capital, the destruction of the public property, which by the customs of war is the just spoil of the conqueror, was completed; and the army marched back to St. Benedict, where it re-embarked without molestation. The conduct of the King's Own was commended by Major-General Ross in his public despatches, and they were rewarded with the honour of displaying the word Bladensburg on their colours.

After remaining a few days in the Patuxent river, the fleet weighed anchor; the coast was menaced at several points, and the shipping approached so near the shore at Annapolis, that the inhabitants were discovered flying [121] from their houses, waggons loaded with furniture were seen hurrying along the roads, alarm guns were fired, beacons were blazing, and the people were apparently oppressed with all the horrors of doubt and apprehension. Baltimore was, however, selected as the point of attack, and towards the river upon which that town is built the fleet hastened under a heavy press of sail. During the night of the 11th of September the troops cooked three days' provision, and each man received eighty rounds of ammunition; at three o'clock on the following morning the boats were lowered; a landing was effected at North Point, thirteen miles from Baltimore, and the army moving forward, a division of Americans fled from an entrenched position they were preparing across a neck of land towards which the troops were advancing. About two miles beyond this post the country was closely wooded, and the enemy's riflemen opening a sharp fire from behind the trees, Major-General Ross rode forward to ascertain the disposition and numbers of the opposing force, and mingling with the skirmishers, he was mortally wounded. "Thus fell at an early age one of the brightest ornaments of his profession; one who, whether at the head of a regiment, a brigade, or a corps, had alike displayed the talents of command; who was not less beloved in his private, than enthusiastically admired in his public character; and whose only fault, if it may be so deemed, was an excess of gallantry, enterprise, and devotion to the service."

The command devolved on Colonel Brooke; and the army moving forward, found itself in a few moments in front of a strong position, near Nip Church in Godly wood , occupied by six thousand adversaries, with six pieces of artillery and a corps of cavalry. The light brigade immediately extended, and driving in the American skirmishers, [122] menaced the whole front of their army; the forty-fourth, a party of seamen, and the marines of the fleet formed line behind the light infantry; the twenty-first, and the second battalion of marines formed column in reserve; and the soldiers rested themselves on the ground, while the King's Own , led by Major Faunce, moved to the right along some hollow ways and woodlands, and gained, unperceived, a thicket on the enemy's left flank. Meanwhile the deep tones of the artillery echoed in the woods; and the instant the Fourth gained the thicket, the charge was sounded and repeated by every bugle in the army; the soldiers started from the ground, and moving forward with a firm and resolute tread, in the face of a shower of grape and canister shot, approached their adversaries, who raised a loud shout, and afterwards opened a heavy fire of musketry. This was answered with a British huzza,—a volley of small arms, and a rush forward at double-quick time with the bayonet; and when the Americans saw the ranks of gleaming steel draw near, they faced about and fled in dismay into the thick woods, leaving two pieces of cannon behind them. Fifteen minutes had sufficed to decide the fortune of the day; several hundreds of killed and wounded adversaries lay scattered over the field, a number of fugitives was intercepted and made prisoners, and many of the American riflemen being discovered in the trees, which they had climbed, to be enabled to take sure aim and escape danger, the British soldiers called this unfair , and shot them on their perches. The King's Own had twenty-one men killed and wounded in this action.

Halting on the field of battle, the bivouac fires were lighted, and the victorious army reposed a short time under the canopy of heaven. Two hours after midnight the soldiers were again under arms; as the first glimmering [123] of dawn appeared, they resumed their march, and arrived in the evening at the foot of the range of hills in front of Baltimore, where the grand American army of upwards of fifteen thousand men appeared occupying a chain of pallisaded redoubts connected by a breast-work, and defended by a numerous train of artillery. Trusting to the innate valour and excellent discipline of his little army, which did not amount to one-third of the number of the opposing host, Colonel Brooke made arrangements for storming the hills after dark; but having received intimation from the commander of the naval forces that the entrance of the harbour was closed up by vessels sunk for that purpose, and that a naval co-operation against the town and camp was impracticable, the enterprise was abandoned. The troops retreated three miles on the 14th of September, and then halted to see if the Americans would venture to descend from the hills; but though so superior in numbers, they had no disposition to quit their entrenchments, and the British forces retired leisurely to their shipping and re-embarked.

The King's Own were commended in the public despatches for their excellent conduct and discipline; and their commanding officer. Major Faunce, was included among the officers who distinguished themselves.

The armament remained a short time on the American coast, and information having been received of the formation of an American camp a few miles from the Potomac river, the King's Own , with the remainder of the second and third brigades, landed on the night of the 4th of October, and pushed forward to attack the enemy, who, however, had notice of the movement and fled. The regiment returned on the 5th, and the season having arrived when active operations could no longer be continued in the Chesapeake, the fleet sailed for the West [124] Indies, and anchored in Port Royal harbour, Jamaica, on the 31st of October, the troops remaining on board, while the vessels took in a supply of provisions, &c.

While in the West Indies, reinforcements arrived; Major-General John Keane joined and took the command of the expedition; and Lieut.-Colonel Brooke of the King's Own arrived from England, where he had been absent on account of ill health.

The next enterprise undertaken was of a most difficult character, namely, an attempt on New Orleans , a town of some note, standing on the eastern bank of the great river Mississippi, one hundred and ten miles from the gulph of Mexico, and so situated that the approach of an hostile force was almost impossible. The fleet having put to sea, anchored on the 10th of December off the coast of Louisiana, opposite the Chandeleur Islands, where the troops were removed into light vessels, and entering Lake Borgne on the 13th, five of the enemy's large cutters, mounting eleven guns each, were captured by a flotilla of launches and ships' barges. Having proceeded a short distance along the lake, all the vessels ran aground; the soldiers were then conveyed twenty miles in open boats, during a heavy rain, to a barren spot called Pine Island, which consisted of a swamp with a piece of firm ground at one end. Here the regiments remained without tents or huts, exposed to heavy rains by day, and to frost by night, until the 22d of December, when the King's Own , eighty-fifth, and five companies of the ninety-fifth, embarked in open boats, and proceeding up the lake a distance of more than fifty miles, were so cramped up in the boats, drenched with a heavy rain during the day, and exposed to a sharp frost in the night, that the men were almost deprived of the use of their limbs. On the following morning they landed, unobserved [125] by the enemy, on a desert spot on the verge of a large morass about eight miles from New Orleans, and when the men had regained the use of their benumbed limbs, they advanced along an indistinct path on the bank of a ditch or canal, their movements being concealed by the tall reeds of the morass. After passing several streams by bridges constructed at the moment, the troops entered a cultivated region where the fields were found covered with the stubble of the sugar-cane, and groves of orange trees were numerous. About noon the regiments entered a green field on the banks of the Mississippi, where they halted to await the arrival of the remainder of the army.

Late in the evening, while many of the men were cooking, and others were asleep, a large vessel was seen stealing quietly up the river until she arrived opposite the bivouac fires, and before it was ascertained whether she was British or American a broadside of grape-shot swept down many soldiers in the camp. Having no means of attacking this formidable adversary, the soldiers took shelter behind a bank: the night was dark, and the only light to be seen was the flashes of the enemy's guns, as he continued to pour showers of shot into the camp. At length a firing was heard from the advance posts, and before the import of this was known a loud shout, followed by a semicircular blaze of musketry, proved that the piquets were surrounded by a very superior enemy. The King's Own were instantly ordered to form in column behind the camp, while the eighty-fifth, and five companies of the ninety-fifth, flew to the support of the piquets. The enemy had brought forward about five thousand men, thinking to overwhelm this solitary brigade in the dark; but the British, regardless of the superior numbers of their antagonists, rushed upon the opposing [126] legions and fought, bayonet to bayonet, and sword to sword, with a degree of energy and resolution impossible to describe. Some of the soldiers having lost their bayonets in the strife, laid about them with the butt-ends of their firelocks; numerous feats of individual gallantry were performed, and the Americans eventually gave way before this furious and desperate charge, and fled with the loss of many men killed, wounded, and prisoners. The King's Own had Captain Francis Johnston and Lieutenant John Sutherland killed; also Lieutenant Thomas Moody severely wounded; and a number of private men killed and wounded.

Notwithstanding this victory, the troops were unable to return to their camp, as it was completely commanded by the fire of the American schooner, and no provision could be procured. Meanwhile the other brigades arrived from Pine Island, and the whole were in position before dark on the 24th of December. Major-General the Hon. Sir Edward Pakenham also joined to take the command, and he was accompanied by Major-General Gibbs.

During the night a battery was constructed, and opening a fire of red-hot shot, it destroyed the American schooner; but when the troops proceeded towards the town, they encountered so many local difficulties, were opposed by such immense bodies of Americans, with extensive fortified lines and batteries, and armed vessels on the river, that the advance was checked and considerable loss sustained. Attempts were made to overcome these difficulties; the canal from Bayo de Catiline was cleared out, widened, and opened to the river, to admit the boats from the lake; and while the soldiers were labouring at this work Major-General Lambert joined with two additional regiments. Arrangements were [127] made for attacking the enemy's fortified lines at day-break on the morning of the 8th of January, 1815. The boats were to be brought along the canal in the night, part of the army was to embark, and proceeding up the river with muffled oars, to gain the flank and rear of the works unperceived; and simultaneous attacks were to be made on different parts of the enemy's fortified position. This plan was, however, partly disconcerted by the tardy arrival of the boats; and at the moment of attack the scaling ladders and fascines had to be sent for. Day-light arriving, the troops were visible to the enemy, who opened a tremendous fire, with dreadful execution. Under these disadvantages, the British rushed forward to storm the position in front. A detachment of the King's Own , twenty-first, and ninety-fifth, captured a three-gun battery, and advanced to attack a body of Americans who were forming for its recovery; but having to pass a deep ditch by a single plank, they were repulsed; and the enemy forcing his way into the battery, re-captured it with immense slaughter. Meanwhile the remainder of the King's Own were exposed to a dreadful fire, and the regiment was nearly annihilated by the tempest of bullets by which it was assailed. Major-General Pakenham having galloped to the front to encourage the men, was shot on the top of the glacis. Major-Generals Gibbs and Keane were borne from the field dangerously wounded; and success being found impracticable, the troops withdrew from the unequal contest. The King's Own had upwards of four hundred men killed and wounded in this desperate service: also, Lieutenant Edward Field, and Ensign William Crowe, killed; and Lieutenant-Colonel Francis Brooke, Brevet Lieutenant-Colonels Alured D. Faunce, and Timothy Jones, Brevet Major John Williamson, Captains John [128] Wynne Fletcher, Robert Erskine, and David S. Craig, Lieutenants J. P. Hopkins, Jeffrey Salvin, W. H. Brooke, Benjamin Martin, George Richardson, Peter Bowlby, George H. Hearne, William Squires, C. H. Farrington, James Marshall, Henry Andrews, and Adjutant William Richardson, with Ensigns Arthur Gerard, Thomas Benwell, J. L. Fernandez, and Edward Newton, wounded.

The capture of New Orleans appearing impracticable, a temporary road was constructed through the morass, and the regiments having reached the lake by a night march, embarked in boats and returned to the fleet.

An attack on Mobile was afterwards resolved on, and the King's Own were engaged in the siege of Fort Bowyer , which commanded the entrance to the harbour; this place surrendered on the 12th of February, and the second American regiment of the line having marched out with the honours of war, delivered its arms and colours to the King's Own .

Further hostilities against the Americans were, however, prevented by a treaty of peace, and the Fourth being ordered to return to England, arrived on the 16th of May at Portsmouth, from whence they sailed to the Downs; and having landed on the 18th, were stationed in Deal barracks.

On the extension of the Order of the Bath, in the beginning of this year, Lieut.-Colonel Francis Brooke and Brevet Lieut.-Colonels John Piper and Alured Dodsworth Faunce , of the King's Own , were nominated Companions of that Order.

On the arrival in England of the surviving officers and men of the King's Own from these difficult enterprises in America, they found Europe involved in another war. Bonaparte had violated the treaty of 1814; he had [129] quitted Elba; had invaded France with a few guards; had been received with acclamations by the French army; and while Louis XVIII. fled to Flanders, Napoleon had re-ascended the throne of France. The nations of Europe declared war against the usurper; and the King's Own were immediately ordered to proceed to Flanders to engage in the approaching contest. The effective men of the second battalion were added to the first battalion, which again embarked for foreign service on the 10th of June, and having landed at Ostend on the 12th, proceeded up the country. Bonaparte attacked the advanced-posts of the army commanded by Field-Marshal His Grace the Duke of Wellington in the middle of June; and the King's Own , by forced marches, arrived at the position in front of the village of Waterloo on the morning of the 18th of June, about an hour before the battle commenced.

The regiment was commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Brooke, and being formed in brigade with the twenty-seventh and fortieth regiments, under the orders of Major-General Lambert, took part in the gigantic contest which followed. On this occasion the stern valour and undaunted character of the British troops were pre-eminently displayed; whether assailed by the thunder of artillery, volleys of musketry, the bayonets of infantry, or the furious charges of the French cavalry, the British regiments stood firm, and repulsed with sanguinary perseverance the legions of Bonaparte, and drove them back in confusion. After resisting the attacks of the superior numbers of the enemy for many hours, the Prussians arrived to co-operate; when the allied army assumed the offensive, and by a general charge of the whole line, overthrew the French host, and drove it from the field [130] with dreadful slaughter, and the loss of its artillery, ammunition waggons, &c.

The King's Own had one hundred and thirty-four men killed and wounded in this hard-contested and glorious battle; also the following officers wounded,—Brevet Major G. D. Willson, Captain James Charles Edgell, Lieutenants John Brown, B. M. Collins, Hygat Boyd, George Richardson, William Squire, Arthur Gerard, Adjutant William Richardson, and Ensign W. M. Matthews.

The honour of bearing the word Waterloo on the colours was conferred on the regiment; every officer and man present received a silver medal; and Major Willson, being second in command, was promoted to the rank of lieut.-colonel, and nominated a companion of the Order of the Bath.

The Fourth advanced with the army in pursuit of the enemy, and were present at the surrender of Paris on the 7th of July. They were afterwards encamped at Neuilly; on the 27th of October they went into quarters at St. Germain-en-Laye; and being selected to form part of the British contingent of the army of occupation appointed to remain in France, they were formed in brigade with the fifty-second and seventy-ninth regiments, under Major-General Sir Denis Pack. On this occasion the Duke of Wellington observed in general orders:—

"Upon breaking up the army which the field marshal has had the honour of commanding, he begs leave again to return thanks to the general officers, and the officers and troops, for their uniform good conduct. In the late short but memorable campaign they have given proofs to the world that they possess in an eminent degree all the good qualities of soldiers; and the field [131] marshal is happy to be able to applaud their regular good conduct in their camps and cantonments, not less than when engaged with the enemy in the field. Whatever may be the future destination of those brave troops of which the field marshal now takes his leave, he trusts that every individual will believe that he will ever feel the deepest interest in their honour and welfare, and will be happy to promote either."

Major-General Lambert, also, in taking leave of the Fourth , expressed his approbation of their conduct, particularly at the "ever memorable battle of Waterloo , which afforded him an opportunity of personally observing that the high character the King's Own always bore in the field has been most justly merited."

In consequence of a reduction in the army, the second battalion transferred its private men to the first, and was disbanded at Deal on the 25th of December, 1815.

In January, 1816, the regiment was quartered at Franquemberg and adjacent villages in the Pas de Calais, where it was presented with a new pair of colours. In August it encamped near St. Omer, and was reviewed on the 7th of September by the Duke of Wellington, who expressed his approbation of its appearance and discipline.

On the 15th of October, the Fourth quitted the vicinity of St. Omer, and encamping near Mastaing, was reviewed on the 22d with the remainder of the British, Danish, and Saxon forces, on the plain of St. Denain, by their Royal Highnesses the Dukes of Kent and Cambridge; the regiment afterwards returned to Franquemberg, &c.; and its establishment was reduced to forty officers, forty-five serjeants, twenty-two drummers, and eight hundred rank and file.

The regiment again pitched its tents in July, 1817, [132] near St. Omer, where it was reviewed on the 5th of August by Lieut.-General Lord Hill; on the 3d of September it encamped on the glacis of Valenciennes, and on the 6th it was reviewed with the remainder of the army commanded by the Duke of Wellington, by the King of Prussia.

Having been again reviewed by Lord Hill on the 20th of September, and having received the expressions of his lordship's approbation, the regiment went into barracks at Valenciennes; but it was again encamped in October, near St. Denain, and reviewed, with the remainder of the British, Saxon, Danish, and Hanoverian troops in France, by his grace the Duke of Wellington, on which occasion all the evolutions of an engagement were performed in presence of a number of distinguished personages. The King's Own subsequently returned to their former winter quarters at Franquemberg, &c.

On the 4th of June, 1818 the Fourth were again encamped near St. Omer, and received the thanks of Lord Hill for their appearance and correct discipline at the review on the 24th of June; also the expression of the Duke of Wellington's approbation at the review on the 31st of July: they were subsequently encamped on the horn-work of Valenciennes; they formed a guard for the Duke of Kent during his residence at that city, and were reviewed on the 10th of September, with the remainder of the army commanded by his grace the Duke of Wellington, in presence of their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Kent; when a number of evolutions were gone through, and during the manœuvres the army crossed the Scheldt by pontoon bridges.

The King's Own having returned to Valenciennes on the 21st of October, furnished guards of honour for the Emperor of Russia, King of Prussia, Prince of [133] Orange, and Grand Dukes Constantine and Michael, who reviewed the Russian, British, Danish, Saxon, and Hanoverian contingents of the army of occupation, on the 23d of October. This force amounted to between fifty and sixty thousand men; the evolutions of a mock engagement were gone through, and two rivers were passed by pontoon bridges.

The Emperor of Russia was so well pleased with the conduct of the King's Own , that on quitting Valenciennes he presented one hundred and nineteen Napoleons (pieces of twenty francs each) to be divided among the men of the grenadier company composing his guard; also ten Napoleons each to the two serjeants who were his orderlies; and directed the aide-de-camp to give them his feather to keep in remembrance of the Emperor's regard for the corps. The King of Prussia also gave money to the men of the light company of the King's Own forming his guard.

On the breaking up of the army of occupation in France, the King's Own received, with the other corps, the expressions of the approbation of the Duke of Wellington, in general orders; also of Lieut.-General Lord Hill in general orders to the two divisions under his command; of Lieut.-General Sir Charles Colville in division orders; and of Major-General Sir Denis Pack in brigade orders.

The regiment embarked at Calais on the 29th of October, landed at Dover on the following morning, and proceeding from thence to Winchester barracks, was immediately afterwards ordered to hold itself in readiness to embark for the West Indies; at the same time the establishment was reduced to seven hundred and forty-six officers and men.

In the early part of January, 1819, the regiment marched to Cumberland fort; on the 1st of February it embarked at Portsmouth, and having landed at Barbadoes [134] on the 5th of April, was reviewed by Lieut.-General Lord Combermere on the same day, and afterwards returned on board the transports. His lordship expressed in general orders his approbation of the appearance and discipline of the regiment.

On the following day six companies sailed for Grenada (head-quarters) under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Piper; two companies to Trinidad under Lieut.-Colonel Faunce; and two to Tobago under Captain Fletcher.

At the half-yearly inspection in July, Major-General Sir Frederick Robinson expressed in brigade orders "the very high satisfaction he had enjoyed in the military appearance and the report of the good conduct of the King's Own regiment, which he perceives has not lost any of its former character,—hitherto a subject for praise and admiration with officers of the highest rank and military reputation."

The two companies at Tobago suffered very severely from fever, and having lost four officers and eighty-four serjeants and rank and file, the remaining one officer, four serjeants, two drummers, and thirty-five rank and file were relieved in September 1820 by the twenty-first regiment, and sent to Barbadoes, from whence they were removed to Grenada.

A general change of quarters took place among the troops stationed in the Windward and Leeward Islands in March 1821, when the King's Own proceeded to Barbadoes. On leaving Grenada Major-General Riall expressed in brigade orders his approbation of the conduct of the King's Own , and the satisfaction he experienced at hearing from the magistrates and principal inhabitants of the island their esteem for the corps, and their regret at its departure.

The loss from disease during the short period the regiment had been in the West Indies was great. [135] Quarter-Master Thomas Richards and fifty-four men had died at Grenada; Lieutenant William Blagrave, Ensign Robert Gamble, and seven men at Trinidad, which had proved a comparatively healthy station, the two companies having occupied the barracks at St. Joseph's and the hospital had frequently been without a patient; at Tobago, Lieutenants John Westby, Frederick P. Robinson, and Isaac Beer, with Ensign Frederick Clarke, and eighty-four men, had fallen victims to the climate; Captain Charles James Edgell died on the passage, near Barbadoes: the total loss of life in one year and eleven months was eight officers and one hundred and forty-five soldiers.

The regiment was, however, still in an efficient state, and having been inspected by Lieut.-General Sir Henry Warde on the 27th of August, an order was issued on the same day, expressing "the great satisfaction felt by the lieut.-general at the appearance of that old and respectable corps under arms, as well as the steadiness of the regiment, the correct advance in line, and the close firing, which evince that great attention has been paid to its discipline, and is highly creditable to Lieut.-Colonel Piper and to the officers generally."

In October the establishment was reduced to eight companies, making a total of thirty-three officers and six hundred and seventeen men.

Lieut.-Colonel Piper died at Barbadoes soon afterwards, and was succeeded in January, 1822, by Brevet Lieut.-Colonel A. D. Faunce. In the following year this officer obtained permission to return to England for the benefit of his health, on which occasion Lieut.-General Sir Henry Warde observed in general orders—"He was aware that no encomium of his could add lustre to the already well-established and high military [136] character of Lieut.-Colonel Faunce, yet the particularly exemplary state of discipline, in every respect, which the Fourth or King's Own regiment has attained since he assumed the command, calls loudly on the lieut.-general, as an imperious duty to the service, to express his warmest praise and thanks to Lieut.-Colonel Faunce, for the truly able and unremitted attention which he has daily and hourly paid to his regiment, the effect of which confers on him the highest credit and honour as its commander, and at the same time reflects them strongly on every individual, both officer and private, composing the corps under his command."

In December the regiment was withdrawn from Barbadoes, and proceeded,—four companies and head-quarters to the Ridge at Antigua, three to Brimstone-hill, St. Kitt's, and one to Montserrat and Nevis. Previous to its embarkation Lieut.-General Sir Henry Warde expressed in general orders his "high approbation of the conduct of the corps." During the two years and nine months it was stationed at Barbadoes, it was in a healthy state, excepting towards the end of 1821, when a fever carried off Lieut.-Colonel John Piper, Ensigns H. N. Shipton, and H. J. Loraine, with Quarter-Master Doran, and Assistant-Surgeon Morrow; its total loss in serjeants and rank and file was fifty-eight.

The detachment at Nevis suffered from the unhealthy situation of the barracks, and lost seventeen men out of thirty; it was subsequently withdrawn. In October, 1824, the regiment lost Brevet Major John Wynne Fletcher. [34]

[137]

In April, 1825, the regiment was augmented to ten companies, and the total establishment to eight hundred and thirty-six officers and men.

The regiment was relieved from duty at Antigua, St. Kitt's, and Montserrat, in February, 1826, by the ninety-third, and sailed for England. The first division landed at Gosport on the 16th of March, the second on the 1st of April, and the last on the 6th of April.

During the seven years the regiment was in the West Indies its total loss was sixteen officers, twenty-one serjeants, one drummer, and two hundred and forty-five rank and file. It brought home four hundred and twenty rank and file, (without leaving a sick man behind;) and on the 25th of April sent out thirteen recruiting parties, twelve to different parts of England, and one to Ireland.

On the 8th of August the Adjutant-General of the Forces, Major-General Sir Henry Torrens, inspected the regiment, and expressed his approbation of its appearance and discipline, adding that he should make a [138] most favourable report to His Royal Highness the Duke of York. In the autumn it quitted Winchester, and proceeding to Portsmouth, was employed in the duty of that garrison. At the half-yearly inspection, Major-General Sir James Lyon expressed his perfect approbation of its appearance and discipline.

The regiment was soon afterwards called upon to transfer its services to the Peninsula, the scene of many of its toils and triumphs. After Spain and Portugal had been delivered by British skill and valour from the power of Bonaparte, these kingdoms became convulsed by opposing interests, one party striving for the liberties possessed by other nations, and another for a return to ancient usages; and the granting of a constitution to Portugal, which conferred on the people privileges previously unknown in that country, was followed by internal commotions; at the same time the kingdom was menaced with an invasion from Spain. The Portuguese government applied for the aid of a body of British troops; six companies of the King's Own formed part of a force of five thousand men, commanded by Lieut.-Gen. Sir William H. Clinton, ordered for this service, and embarking from Portsmouth on the 15th of December, arrived at Lisbon towards the end of that month.

Having landed on the 1st of January, 1827, the King's Own occupied the barracks of Valle de Pereiro, and were formed in brigade with the tenth, twenty-third, and first battalion of the sixtieth rifles, under the command of Major-General Sir Edward Blakeney. The brigade having been inspected by Sir William Clinton on the 14th of January, advanced up the country nine stages to Coimbra, and was quartered in convents, the King's Own occupying the convent of St. Bernard. On the advance of the British, the Spaniards withdrew from [139] the frontiers, and declared a friendly disposition towards the Portuguese government; a mutiny in the Portuguese army was also suppressed; and there being no further occasion for the British troops, they marched back to Lisbon, where the King's Own arrived on the 12th of July, and occupied the barracks of La Lippe at Belem. Three companies of the regiment were subsequently stationed at Oeiras, a small town on the right bank of the Tagus, two leagues from Lisbon, and the other three at Feitovia barracks, near Fort St. Julian.

In these quarters the King's Own remained until the spring of 1828, when the British troops were withdrawn from Portugal; the six companies having received the expressions of the approbation of Major-General Sir Edward Blakeney in brigade orders, for their exemplary conduct, embarked from Belem stairs on the 31st of March, and on their arrival at Portsmouth, they were ordered to proceed to Scotland: they landed at Leith on the 26th and 29th of April, and proceeded to Edinburgh Castle, where the remainder of the regiment had previously arrived.

The regiment marched in July to Glasgow, where it received a new pair of splendid regimental colours, which cost £150, with belts which cost £21, and a richly-mounted staff, &c., for the drum-major; which were presented by the colonel, General the Earl of Chatham.

From Glasgow, the regiment embarked, in July, 1829, in steam-vessels for Ireland, and after landing at Belfast in the early part of August, marched to Newry, with detached companies at Cavan and Clones.

In June, 1830, the regiment marched to Dublin, and occupied Richmond-barracks; in September it embarked [140] from Dublin, and having landed at Liverpool, the two flank companies remained there a short time to attend on the occasion of the opening of the railroad from that town to Manchester, while the battalion companies proceeded to Stockport, Bolton, and Oldham; the flank companies arrived at Stockport on the 18th of September.

In January, 1831, the head-quarters were at Ashton-under-Lyne; in March at Northampton; and in April at Chatham.

Part of the regiment embarked in this year for New South Wales, in detachments, as guards to convict-ships.

The head-quarters, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel M'Kenzie, embarked for the same destination at Deptford, on board the Clyde, on the 14th of April, 1832, and arrived on the 30th of August.

The regiment remained at New South Wales five years; its head-quarters being established at Paramatta until June, 1833, when they were removed to Sydney; but returned to Paramatta in June, 1834; where they remained upwards of twenty months.

On the decease of General the Earl of Chatham the colonelcy of the King's Own was conferred on Lieut.-General John Hodgson, by commission dated the 30th of September, 1835.

In March, 1836, the head-quarters were again removed to Sydney; and in August of the following year two divisions embarked for the East Indies. One division landed at Madras on the 30th of September, 1837; the head-quarters arrived on the 7th of October, and were stationed at Fort St. George.

The third and last division embarked from New South Wales on the 26th of December, 1837, and arrived at Madras on the 9th of April, 1838.

[141]

Thus, after serving a period of nearly one hundred and sixty years, in every quarter of the globe, this celebrated corps, which has so often triumphed over foreign enemies in fields of conflict, has been appointed to guard the colonial possessions of its country in the distant clime of India, where it has remained to the beginning of 1839, which brings this record to a conclusion.

1839

Fourth (or King's Own) Regiment of Foot.

[To face page 141.

[142]

SUCCESSION OF COLONELS

OF

THE FOURTH,

OR THE

KING'S OWN REGIMENT OF FOOT.