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Title: Historical Record of the Second, or the Queen's Royal Regiment of Foot
Author: Cannon, Richard
Language: English
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HISTORICAL RECORDS
OF THE
BRITISH ARMY.
PREPARED FOR PUBLICATION UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE
ADJUTANT-GENERAL.
THE SECOND REGIMENT OF FOOT;
OR,
QUEEN'S ROYAL.
LONDON:
Printed by WILLIAM CLOWES and SONS,
14, Charing Cross.
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._,
---- The Period and Circumstances of the Original Formation of
the Regiment; The Stations at which it has been from time to time
employed; The Battles, Sieges, and other Military Operations,
in which it has been engaged, particularly specifying any
Achievement it may have performed, and the Colours, Trophies,
&c., it may have captured from the Enemy.
---- The Names of the Officers and the number of Non-Commissioned
Officers and Privates, Killed or Wounded by the Enemy, specifying
the Place and Date of the Action.
---- The Names of those Officers, who, in consideration of their
Gallant Services and Meritorious Conduct in Engagements with the
Enemy, have been distinguished with Titles, Medals, or other
Marks of His Majesty's gracious favour.
---- The Names of all such Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers
and Privates as may have specially signalized themselves in
Action.
And,
---- The Badges and Devices which the Regiment may have been
permitted to bear, and the Causes on account of which such Badges
or Devices, or any other Marks of Distinction, have been granted.
By Command of the Right Honourable
GENERAL LORD HILL,
_Commanding-in-Chief_.
JOHN MACDONALD,
_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 du Corps_--an attachment
to every thing belonging to their Regiment; to such persons a
narrative of the services of their own Corps cannot fail to prove
interesting. Authentic accounts of the actions of the great,--the
valiant,--the loyal, have always been of paramount interest with
a brave and civilized people. Great Britain has produced a race
of heroes who, in 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.
HISTORICAL RECORD
OF THE
SECOND,
OR
QUEEN'S ROYAL REGIMENT
OF FOOT;
CONTAINING
AN ACCOUNT OF THE FORMATION OF THE REGIMENT
IN THE YEAR 1661, AND OF ITS SUBSEQUENT
SERVICES TO 1837.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY CLOWES AND SONS, 14, CHARING CROSS.
MDCCCXXXVIII.
[Illustration: SECOND (THE QUEEN'S ROYAL) REGIMENT OF FOOT.]
THE SECOND,
OR
QUEEN'S ROYAL REGIMENT OF FOOT,
BEARS IN THE CENTRE OF
EACH COLOUR
THE QUEEN'S CYPHER
ON A
RED GROUND WITHIN THE GARTER, AND CROWN OVER IT;
ALSO THE FOLLOWING DISTINCTIONS,
_Egypt, with the Sphynx_--_Vimiera_--_Corunna_--_Salamanca_--
_Vittoria_--_Pyrenees_--_Nivelle_--_Toulouse_--and _Peninsula_.
IN THE DEXTER CANTON OF THE SECOND COLOUR
THE UNION:
IN THE THREE OTHER CORNERS
THE PASCHAL LAMB;
WITH THE MOTTOES
_Pristinæ Virtutis Memor_, and _Vel Exuviæ Triumphant_,
AND THE DISTINCTIONS ABOVE SPECIFIED.
HISTORICAL RECORD
OF
THE SECOND,
OR
QUEEN'S ROYAL REGIMENT OF FOOT.
[Sidenote: 1661]
The Second Regiment of Foot was raised in 1661, for the purpose
of providing a garrison for _Tangier_, a fortress on the northern
coast of Africa, which was ceded to England as part of the marriage
portion of Donna Catherina, Infanta of Portugal, who, in the
following year, was married to King Charles II[1].
The command of this regiment was conferred by King Charles II. on
Henry (second) Earl of Peterborough, whose commission as Colonel
bears date the 30th of September, 1661.
King Charles II. having, soon after his restoration, disbanded the
army of the Commonwealth, the ranks of Lord Peterborough's regiment
were speedily completed with disciplined soldiers: it is reported
to have assembled on Putney heath on the 14th of October, 1661, and
to have numbered one thousand men.
The destination of Lord Peterborough's regiment to garrison so
valuable a portion of Her Majesty's dower was, no doubt, the
cause of its early advancement to royal favour: it was designated
'the _Queen's_,' and the _Paschal Lamb_, the distinguishing badge
of Portugal, was placed on its colours, and has ever since been
continued to be borne by the regiment[2].
[Sidenote: 1662]
In a few months after its formation, the _Earl of Peterborough_
embarked with his regiment and a troop of horse[3], and arrived at
_Tangier_ on the 29th of January, 1662, where he found a British
fleet, under the command of the _Earl of Sandwich_, lying in the
roads, and _Sir Richard Steyner_, with a detachment of officers
and seamen, occupying the town: a duty from which the _Queen's_
Regiment, relieved them on the following day[4].
The fortress was already surrounded by walls upwards of a mile and
a quarter in extent, but the English began constructing, at immense
cost both of money and labour, a series of external fortifications.
It was also determined to form a secure harbour by building a pier,
or mole, several hundred yards in length. A spirit of enterprise,
which has since become so conspicuous in British subjects, was, at
this early period, strongly evinced in these improvements, carried
on amidst barbarian tribes on the unpromising shores of Africa.
Tangier was announced after its occupation 'a place of such
concernment that all the world will envy the English the attainment
of it;' but this opinion was founded more on an expectation that
the new colony would open a mart for trade, and bring to our
influence, if not to our power, the adjoining states. It was,
however, an acquisition of consequence to a nation aiming at
commercial rivalry at a time when the voyage to India by the Cape
of Good Hope was of rare occurrence. Tangier was situated so as
to be a convenient resting-place for the Mediterranean trader,
similar to what Gibraltar affords at the present time. These
speculations gave the command a great importance, made evident by
the warrant from King Charles II. on the appointment of the _Earl
of Peterborough_ to his government. It designates him '_Captain
General, Chief Governor, and Vice-Admiral of our City of Tangier,
and of the ports and coasts adjacent, and any of our dominions
and territories, castles and forts, in or near the kingdom of
Tangier, Fez, and Morocco, in Africa, which are or shall be in our
possession, or reduced to our obedience, &c._'
On the arrival of Lord Peterborough at _Tangier_, he found Gaylan,
the sovereign chief of Fez, with a body of 10,000 men, encamped
within a league of the fortress. A treaty of peace was concluded
between these commanders, and limits were fixed, beyond which the
English were not to forage or cultivate. No great reliance was
placed by the British on their new ally, and accounts from the new
colony state, 'how the Moors will observe these articles we know
not; however, we are, and we still shall be, upon our guard.'
[Sidenote: 1663]
Three other battalions of infantry also proceeded to Tangier from
Dunkirk[5]. The friendly understanding which was established
with the natives was for some time interrupted only by trifling
skirmishes, in which the Moors satisfied themselves by beating
back, with sticks, those of the garrison who passed the stipulated
bounds. A jealousy was, however, very soon evinced; and upon
opposition being made to the English in prosecuting the works and
fortifications already alluded to, war burst out, in which the
number and ferocity of the Moors were defeated and overcome by
great discipline and courage on the part of the garrison. The use
of cannon by the Europeans at length diminished the courage of the
barbarians, but not before the garrison suffered severely. They had
already lost 250 men, and the Moors about 500, amongst whom was a
brother of Gaylan, when a peace was at length concluded in 1663,
and Lord Peterborough returned in the same year to England[6].
_The Earl of Peterborough_ was succeeded, both in the government
of Tangier and in the Colonelcy of the Queen's Regiment, by
Lieutenant-General ANDREW RUTHERFORD, _Earl of Teviot_
(late Governor of Dunkirk), whose commission was dated the 9th
of April, 1663. This second governor of Tangier consolidated all
the infantry in garrison, and added them to the Queen's Tangier
Regiment; he also so beautified and strengthened the town, that he
obtained the title of its 'Restorer.'
Gaylan, hearing of the progress of the works, assembled an army
of 4000 horse and 20,000 foot[7]; and at mid-day, on Sunday the
14th of June, 1663, when all the officers were at dinner, the
Moors surprised and carried the advance-posts and attacked the
great redoubt, where Major Ridgert of the Queen's Regiment, with
forty men, made a most gallant defence, until the garrison, led
by Colonel Norwood, sallied out, and charging the Moors with
signal bravery, retook all the posts which had been captured.
The garrison lost fourteen men killed and twenty wounded in this
encounter; and the enemy upwards of one hundred. In an account of
this action published at the time, it is stated, 'The Moors are men
of resolution, and have most excellent fire-arms. When the horse
charged us, he that did command them was clothed in crimson velvet,
who being killed, they all went off immediately; it is presumed,
therefore, that he was one of their chief men.'
A second attack was subsequently made with 10,000 men, 'but the
most vigilant governor had so warily supplied the defects of the
place, by planting great guns to annoy the assailants, that though
the assault was very sharp, the enemy was beaten off with the loss
of 900 men[8].'
In August a peace was concluded for six months, and a free trade
was opened with the Moors, 'they daily bringing their camels laden
with commodities, and in return they get money and other things.'
Further additions were also made to the works, which again gave
rise to acts of hostility, and in one encounter the garrison
captured a splendid scarlet standard. A correspondence was opened
with Gaylan--the Earl of Teviot insisted on making additional
works--Gaylan objected, when his Lordship replied, 'he must have
peace on those terms, or war without them.' The latter was the
result, and led to numerous losses, particularly of the natives, in
attempts to assault the fortress.
[Sidenote: 1664]
The chief losses sustained by the garrison of Tangier were in
the sallies they made into the adjacent country to obtain fresh
provisions. The Moors had a custom of driving two or three hundred
head of cattle within sight of the walls, and planting a body of
men in ambuscade, ready to fall on the detachment, which military
ardour, to say nothing of a natural wish for fresh beef, was
sure to bring beyond the cover of the fortress. These skirmishes
frequently brought on more serious engagements, and in a sally made
by the garrison on the 4th of May, 1664, the _Earl of Teviot_[9]
met his death.
The Earl of Teviot was succeeded in the command of the Queen's
Regiment by Colonel, afterwards Lieutenant-General _Henry Norwood_,
whose commission is dated the 10th of June, 1664. The government
of Tangier at this time was bestowed by His Majesty on _John
Lord Bellasyse_, a younger son of the _Earl of Fauconberg_, who
arrived at his government in April 1665, on board the Smyrna fleet,
consisting of 'seven lusty, brave ships.'
[Sidenote: 1665]
[Sidenote: 1666]
_Lord Bellasyse_ found the judicious arrangements of the late
Commander-in-Chief had rendered Tangier impregnable to its
enemies, who by this time were much disheartened, and inclined to
terminate hostilities. A peace was concluded in the following year,
and Lord Bellasyse was himself the bearer of it to England, where
he arrived in May, 1666. The London Gazette states his favourable
reception by His Majesty, and great expectations of future
prosperity to Tangier were raised from his report.
_General Norwood_, who has been mentioned as succeeding, on
the death of the Earl of Teviot, to the command of the Queen's
Regiment, was now appointed to succeed Lord Bellasyse in his
government. His administration was that of a judicious and vigilant
officer; he acquired the confidence of the Moors, and conciliated
Gaylan the sovereign chief of Fez. General Norwood's proceedings
among the natives were considered so honourable, and his character,
altogether, stood so high, that the Emperor _Muley Xeriff_ admitted
him to traffic at Tetuan free of imposts; a most beneficial offer,
which he failed not to accept, as it so much concerned the welfare
of Tangier, 'to whose advancement,' says Addison, 'he always
declared a singular propensity.'
[Sidenote: 1668]
The death of this valuable officer, which occurred in 1668, made
room for the appointment of _John Earl of Middleton_, whose
commission, as Governor of Tangier, and as Colonel of the Queen's
Regiment, is dated the 15th of May, 1668.
It was during the colonelcy of the Earl of Middleton, when war had
been resumed with the ferocious Moors, that this regiment had the
honour of numbering amongst its volunteers the man who afterwards
became the most successful and most celebrated general of his
age;--'the man who never fought a battle which he did not gain, or
besieged a town which he failed to reduce,--JOHN CHURCHILL,
DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH.' Mr. Churchill was at this time about
twenty years of age, and held an ensign's commission in the Foot
Guards, but made his first essays, in actual service, beneath the
walls of Tangier, where he eagerly engaged in the frequent sallies
and skirmishes of the garrison, giving, in this desultory warfare,
the first indication of his active and daring character.
[Sidenote: 1675]
After an administration of nearly seven years, the Earl of
Middleton died in the fortress, on the 25th of January, 1675[10].
He was succeeded in the command of _Tangier_, and also in the
colonelcy of the Queen's Regiment, on the 5th of March, 1675, by
_William O'Brien, Earl of Inchiquin_.
[Sidenote: 1678]
Tangier had by this time so increased in strength and importance,
that its occupation by the English was become an object of
jealousy, not only to the natives of the country, but to all
European powers. The fortifications had been rendered secure,
and the harbour had been improved, and now afforded a safe
anchorage. These important points had not been attained without
great opposition from the Moors, and much credit was given to the
garrison for their conduct and steady perseverance in the arduous
duties they had to perform. We find acknowledgment made of them by
the journals of the day in the following terms:--'Many and various
have been the warlike exploits of the heroic English against
the barbarians, during the possession of this famous garrison
of Tangier, so much renowned throughout the world, standing as
commandress of those seas, and a protection to shipping from the
Turkish pirates.' The Oxford Gazette of the same period also
contains a letter from Tangier, reporting a threatened attack from
a French fleet, and adds, 'the soldiers, far from being surprised
at the news, are infinitely rejoiced at it, expecting them with
much impatience.' Thus we find the Queen's Regiment was ever at its
post, and had for eighteen years, almost single-handed, maintained
this important fortress, in defiance of numerous assaults from the
equally destructive effects of war and climate.
[Sidenote: 1680]
Towards the termination of the Earl of Inchiquin's[11] command
Tangier became an object of still greater attention in England. The
Emperor of Morocco had joined with the forces of Fez, and a crusade
was carrying on against the Christian occupants of this part of
Africa; Europeans were found ready to direct the operations of the
savages, and the war assumed an importance hitherto not bestowed on
it. The following is an account given at the time:--
'The Moors being vexed, knowing it was impossible to make their
approaches against Tangier above ground, resolved to effect it by
drawing lines and working underneath the earth; which stratagem of
war, it is supposed, they learnt from several French and Spanish
mercenaries whom they keep in pay: this practice they were before
quite ignorant of.'--The public journals also speak indignantly of
some English who clandestinely imported 1500 barrels of gunpowder
to the enemy, and say, ''Tis too often the custom of our nation to
give away their swords, and fight with their teeth, and furnish
our foes with means to cut our own throats.' Numerous losses
sustained by the garrison, together with the increased force of the
assailants, rendered it requisite to send reinforcements to the
relief of the former. For this purpose a detachment left Ireland
in the spring of 1680, consisting of four companies of the Royal
Regiment of Foot; twelve other companies of the same regiment
followed in the same year; five companies of the Foot Guards also
sailed for the same destination under the Earl of Mulgrave.
In addition to the above reinforcements, a new regiment was raised
in 1680, of which _Charles Fitz Charles, Earl of Plymouth_, (a
natural son of King Charles II.) was appointed Colonel, and
embarked on this service. This latter corps was called 'the Second
Tangier Regiment,' and is now the 4th, or King's Own Regiment.
It has been stated that the Duke of Marlborough was initiated at
Tangier in the first rudiments of war. The same theatre for the
display of British valour and enterprise was at this time chosen by
several other volunteers, among whom were Charles Lord Mordaunt,
the afterwards celebrated Earl of Peterborough, and others of rank
and celebrity.
In the year 1680 the Earl of Inchiquin vacated his appointment on
being made Governor of Jamaica. Colonel Sir Palmes Fairborne[12],
of the Queen's Regiment, who succeeded to the command of the
fortress on the departure of the Earl of Inchiquin, was, in
consequence of his gallant and meritorious services, confirmed in
the appointment by his Majesty. The demise of this brave officer,
however, occurred before the commission for his appointment was
signed; he was wounded in an action with the Moors on the 24th of
October, 1680, and died three days after, leaving the charge of the
garrison to Lieutenant-Colonel Edward Sackville, of the Coldstream
Foot Guards[13]. On the 27th of October the garrison attacked the
enemy's lines with determined bravery, and the Queen's Regiment is
reported to have '_behaved to admiration_[14].' Considerable loss
was however sustained by the English; 'not above fifty men were
left in one of the battalions of Lord Inchiquin's Regiment (the
Queen's): the English and Scotch behaved as brave and gallant men,
and the Gentlemen Volunteers have alike proved themselves men of
courage.'
The Queen's Regiment had Ensign Watson, Ensign Trent, and
thirty-four men killed; and Captain Philpot, Lieutenants Guy and
Tate, Ensigns Roberts, Thomas, Fitzpatrick, Webster, Norwood,
Beckford, and Elliott, with 124 men wounded.
[Sidenote: 1681]
In a short period after the above engagement, his Majesty
was pleased to appoint Lieutenant-Colonel Sackville to be
Lieutenant-Colonel of the Queen's Regiment of Foot Guards, by which
he was removed from service at Tangier.
[Sidenote: 1682]
The Government of Tangier was next conferred upon Colonel Piercy
Kirke[15], who, on the death of the Earl of Plymouth, had been
promoted, on the 27th of November 1680, to the Colonelcy of the 2nd
Tangier Regiment, with which Regiment he had embarked for Africa as
Lieutenant-Colonel in September of that year. He was removed to the
Colonelcy of the Queen's Regiment on the 19th of April, 1682, in
succession to Colonel Sir Palmes Fairborne, deceased.
During Colonel Kirke's services at Tangier, he had been frequently
employed upon missions to the Emperor of Morocco. In Ockley's
'Account of South-west Barbary,' there is a letter from the Emperor
to him, dated the 27th of October, 1682, which shows that there
was a mutual interchange of civilities between them; it is written
to acknowledge the receipt of a present of three English horses,
which, however thankful he might be, the Emperor seems to think
might have been improved upon, for he remarks, 'everybody knows
that a carriage requires _four_ horses to travel.'
The support of the colony of Tangier appears to have been a matter
of serious dispute between the King and the Parliament: repeatedly
the King urged upon the House of Commons the importance of the
place, and the House as often acknowledged it; but still withheld
the supplies necessary for its defence.
The advantage derived from the Levant trade, the fact that two
millions of money had been expended on the works, and various
arguments in favour of maintaining Tangier, were at length fully
set forth in a speech from His Majesty on the 17th of November,
1680: a reply was made to it in eighteen articles, but the
following remarks will sufficiently explain the whole affair, and
account for the final sacrifice of the colony:--
'It was said by the Parliament that the money granted for works
had been misapplied;--that the same thing might happen again; and
although they were, indeed, afraid of Tangier, they were more
afraid of a popish successor.--It was a nursery, not only for
popish soldiers, but also for priests and religious persons too,
and that there had been sometimes a popish governor of the place,
so that to succour it was but to augment their present evils.'
In December, 1680, and again, in a Royal Declaration, dated the
8th of April, 1681, its great importance was urged. At length, in
1683, the King, finding the expense of maintaining the garrison
and fortifications greater than he was willing, or, unassisted by
Parliament, able to bear, came to the resolution of recalling the
one, and demolishing the other.
[Sidenote: 1683]
[Sidenote: 1684]
About the end of the year 1683, Admiral Lord Dartmouth was sent
to Tangier with twenty sail of the line, with orders to demolish
the fortress and mole, and to bring away the inhabitants and
garrison. Great sufferings had been endured for some time for want
of supplies from England, and much joy was evinced by the former
on the announcement being made. In six months all the arrangements
to abandon this once favourite colony being completed, the final
evacuation took place in April, 1684. The Portuguese government had
offered a remuneration to have Tangier restored to that nation,
but their power of defending it was questionable, and it was not
considered prudent to risk so important a fortress falling into the
hands of the Moors.
There are no means of ascertaining the number of officers and
men lost by the Queen's Regiment during the twenty-two years of
its service at Tangier; but to judge from the casualties amongst
officers of superior rank, it must have been immense. The regiment
had steadily persevered in performing the arduous duties required
of it, and now retired from its post when a final evacuation of the
fortress took place, by the King's command.
The Queen's Regiment left Tangier in April, 1684; and on its
arrival in England it mustered 560 men, who were portioned into 16
companies. This number was part of 2300 troops, which had comprised
the garrison of Tangier, and which, beside the Queen's Regiment,
included
4 Troops of horse, which were incorporated in the Royal Dragoons.
5 Companies of Foot Guards.
16 Companies of Earl of Dumbarton's (now 1st or Royal Regiment).
16 Companies Trelawny's 2nd Tangier Regiment (now 4th or King's
Own).
1 Company of Miners.
4 Independent Companies.
[Sidenote: 1685]
The want of confidence alluded to, as existing at this epoch
between the Court and Parliament of England, did not terminate
with the death of King Charles II., which event occurred on the
6th of February, 1685. His successor King James II. had scarcely
ascended his throne, when the army was called upon to protect him
from the designs of disaffected subjects, headed by the Duke of
Monmouth, who had landed from Holland, and raised the standard of
rebellion in the west of England. On this occasion the Queen's
Regiment formed part of the forces assembled under the Earl of
Feversham, and it is reported, that at the decisive battle of
_Sedgemoor_, where Monmouth and his party were defeated, and his
cause irretrievably ruined, 'the two Tangier regiments, Kirke's
and Trelawny's, did good service[16].' Colonel Kirke was promoted
to the rank of Brigadier-General on the 11th of May, 1685, and
afterwards appointed to command at Bridgewater.
Here we would willingly close the detail of this unfortunate
affair; but there have been too frequent allusions to Kirke,
and also to his regiment, by various historians, as connected
with subsequent proceedings in Monmouth's rebellion to justify
such a course. Lord Chief Justice Jeffreys was appointed by King
James to conduct a special commission, and to pass judgment on
the misguided people who had aided the ill-fated Duke and his
adherents: Kirke with his regiment was ordered to escort the
judges in their circuit; numerous are the acts of barbarity which
history has handed down as perpetrated by Jeffreys and Kirke in
what were termed the 'bloody assizes,' and we are told that no
less than 261 persons were executed. The remorseless character
said to have been evinced by Kirke on the occasion was supposed to
be the result of the long and sanguinary wars he had been engaged
in with the barbarians in Africa; but _Savage_, in his history
of Taunton, states, that 'on Kirke being afterwards upbraided
for his conduct by General Foulks, he excused himself, and said
he had an express order from the King and his General, and that
his commission went further.' Kirke is represented as 'a loose
and bold soldier of fortune;' and there cannot be a doubt but
he made himself a willing agent to his ermined and sanguinary
coadjutor; but we are inclined to believe his vices have been
greatly exaggerated. The most outrageous acts attributed to Kirke
were said to have been perpetrated in the neighbourhood of Taunton;
and a piece of ground, west of the castle, where he and his force
were cantoned, was called '_Tangier_,' in allusion to the services
of his regiment. Had the conduct of Colonel Kirke approached the
violence attributed to him, it is not very probable that in the
short space of four years it would have been so lost sight of as to
admit a demonstration of joy similar to the following, noticed by
the historian of Taunton already quoted: 'The people of Taunton,
in commemoration of his (Kirke's) relieving Derry, when besieged
by James II. in 1689, devoted an evening to the drinking of his
health in public, the expenses of which may be now seen in an old
church book.' Zeal for party, or misstatement, are at all times
liable to disfigure the pages of history; and if the case of Kirke
is not admitted as exemplifying this fact, a very short statement
will show that the character of _his regiment_ has been unjustly
implicated in these outrages. Dr. Toulmin and other writers remark,
that the name of '_lambs_' was given by Colonel Kirke to his
soldiers, who were most ready to execute his cruel orders; but the
truth is, that the regiment, as already shown, had the device of a
_Lamb_ on its colours and appointments from its first formation,
and continues to bear it to this day. From this circumstance they
were called 'The Lambs' long before the period alluded to, and
without any connexion with its services in the West of England at
this unhappy period.
[Sidenote: 1686]
After the decease of King Charles II. this regiment was styled
'_The Queen Dowager's Regiment of Foot_.' During the two years
which followed Monmouth's rebellion, the Queen Dowager's Regiment
formed part of a body of 12,000 troops assembled in camps for
exercise on Hounslow Heath. King James made great efforts to
ingratiate himself with this army: his success, as well as his
object, on the occasion, will be inferred from the following
remark given by Bishop Burnet--'That which abated the King's joy
in seeing so brave an army about him, was, that it was visible,
and on so many occasions, that his soldiers had as great an
aversion to his religion as his other subjects had expressed.' An
anecdote related of Colonel Kirke is further illustrative of the
times:--when asked respecting a change of religion, he is stated
briefly to have replied, 'he was pre-engaged; for he had promised
the Emperor of Morocco, if ever he changed his religion, he would
turn _Mahomedan_.'
[Illustration: FIRST TANGIER REGIMENT OF FOOT, MDCLXXXVII.; NOW
SECOND (THE QUEEN'S ROYAL) REGIMENT OF FOOT. [_To face page 18._]
[Sidenote: 1688]
An attempt to displace Protestants from various situations, civil
and military, and to substitute Catholics, as well as to force
popish recruits into the army, and other causes, at length brought
on the _Revolution_; and at this important crisis we find the
Queen Dowager's Regiment faithful to the best interests of its
country. The Prince of Orange (afterwards William III.) made
good his landing at Torbay early in November, 1688, and marched
to Exeter. The advanced position of King James's army was at
Warminster, and comprised two battalions of Dumbarton's Regiment
(the Royals) and Kirke's (the Queen's), a troop of Life Guards,
and the Queen Consort's Regiment of Horse, now the First Dragoon
Guards. The whole was commanded by Brigadier-General Kirke, who,
on some frivolous pretence, refused to march to Devizes, for
which he was placed in arrest, and ordered to London. The King,
deserted by many of his followers, and even by a portion of his own
family, adopted the resolution of retreating towards London, and
caused his forces to retire behind the Thames to Staines and its
neighbourhood; and ultimately, his Majesty vacating his throne,
without any government being nominated, left the troops at liberty
to use their own discretion. Little opposition was made to the
advance of the Prince of Orange, who was soon joined by Kirke,
and the latter was received by his new monarch with particular
distinction.
[Sidenote: 1689]
King James II., with a view of maintaining his authority in
Ireland, and assisted by Louis XIV., embarked from France,
and landed at Dublin in March, 1689. The Protestants in that
country were determined to resist his dominion, particularly at
Londonderry, where, under the gallant direction of the Rev. George
Walker, rector of Donoghmore, they nobly defended that city for
several months, notwithstanding the Governor, Colonel Lundy,
Colonel Thomas Cunningham, 9th Foot, and Colonel Solomon Richards,
17th Foot, had resolved, in a council of war, that the place was
not tenable, and that it would be imprudent to land those two
regiments which had been sent to their assistance: these officers
were in consequence cashiered, and the most active measures were
taken for sending a further number of troops from England to the
assistance of the Protestants, and to the relief of Londonderry.
Major-General Kirke was appointed to the command of the troops
embarked on this service, on which the Queen Dowager's Regiment
was employed, and, with Sir John Hanmer's (the 11th) Regiment,
sailed from Liverpool on the 21st of May. Great difficulties were
encountered in gaining access to Londonderry on account of the
batteries which had been erected on each side of the river by the
besieging army. At length the ship Mountjoy, under convoy of the
Dartmouth frigate, forced a boom or barrier which had been placed
across the river to obstruct the entrance, and General Kirke
succeeded in landing men and provisions. The troops of King James
were so dispirited by the success of this enterprize, that they
abandoned the siege in the night, and retired with precipitation,
after having lost some thousands of men before the place.
[Sidenote: 1690]
The Queen Dowager's Regiment continued in Ireland, and served
with distinction in the army of King William at the battle of the
_Boyne_ on the 1st of July, 1690. It was also employed in the siege
of _Limerick_; in the relief of _Birr_; and in December drove a
division of the enemy out of _Lanesborough_.
[Sidenote: 1691]
In 1691 four men per company were mounted, and performed dragoon's
duty[17]: the grenadier company was also mounted. In February the
mounted part of the regiment distinguished itself in an action
at the _Moat of Grenogue_; and the remainder of the regiment took
_Cairn Castle_ and _Conway Castle_. In May the regiment defeated a
body of Rapparees near _Wyands-Town_. It was afterwards employed
at the siege of _Athlone_, which was carried by storm on the 30th
of June, 1691. It is recorded that 'never was a more desperate
service, nor was ever exploit performed with more valour and
intrepidity.' Lieut.-General De Ginkell, to whom King William had
entrusted the command of his army, was created Earl of Athlone
for his conduct and success on this occasion. On the 4th of July
ten mounted grenadiers of the Queen's Regiment and twenty horse,
engaged 400 of the enemy's cavalry in the woods of _Clanoult_, and
displayed astonishing bravery. Our men defended a bridge until half
their numbers were killed, and then retired.
The Queen Dowager's Regiment was engaged at the decisive battle
of _Aghrim_, in the county of Galway, on the 12th of July, 1691,
when the French General St. Ruth was killed, and about 4000 of his
troops. It was also engaged in the second siege of Limerick; and on
the 22nd of September distinguished itself in an attack upon the
works which covered Thoumond Bridge. So great was the loss of the
enemy, that the place surrendered a few days afterwards.
The ambition and power of Louis XIV. caused England to unite with
other nations to check the designs of France, and in 1689 the Earl
of Marlborough proceeded to Flanders with several English regiments
to join the army of the confederacy. In 1691 King William assumed
the command of the allied forces in Flanders.
The war in Ireland having ended with the capitulation of Limerick,
King William was thereby enabled to withdraw some regiments from
that country, and to re-inforce his army in Flanders: the Queen
Dowager's Regiment was one of those selected for foreign service,
on which it immediately proceeded.
Lieutenant-General Kirke, who was promoted to that rank on the
24th of December, 1690, joined the army in Flanders, and died at
Breda on the 31st of October, 1691. The Colonelcy of the Queen
Dowager's Regiment was conferred on Colonel William Selwyn, from
the Coldstream Foot Guards, on the 18th of December, 1691.
[Sidenote: 1692]
In the spring of 1692, the preparations making by Louis XIV. of
France, and the late King James II., for the invasion of England,
caused King William to send back some of the regiments, which had
been sent from Ireland to join the army in the Low Countries;
amongst others the Queen Dowager's returned, and was encamped
at Portsmouth. The glorious victory off La Hogue, obtained at
this critical period by the gallant exertions of the fleet under
Admiral Russell, dispelled all fear of invasion, and distracted
the councils of the enemy. Seven thousand of the force assembled
at Portsmouth, including the _Queen Dowager's_ Regiment, were
embarked under the Duke of Leinster with the intention of returning
the compliment by making a descent on the coast of France; but
this expedition being postponed, and ultimately abandoned, in
consequence of the lateness of the season, the troops were ordered
to proceed to Flanders. They landed at Ostend on the 22nd of
August, and took and fortified the neighbouring towns of Furnes and
Dixmude.
[Sidenote: 1693]
The Queen Dowager's Regiment continued to form part of the army
on the continent, serving with distinction in various operations
there, and more particularly at the battle of _Landen_ on the 29th
of July, 1693, where it was posted in the left wing of the allied
army, and in conjunction with the regiment of _Hamilton_ (the
Royals) defeated a superior force of the enemy, and retarded, for a
time, the disasters of the day. Nothing could surpass the courage
and perseverance of King William, whose presence with this portion
of his troops urged them on to deeds of the greatest heroism. At
length, weakened by repeated attacks from a far more numerous army,
and having their ammunition expended, they retired, leaving their
enemy little more than the name of a victory, for the Duke of
Luxembourg gained no advantages, and his army had a greater number
of officers and men killed and wounded than the allies. The Queen
Dowager's Regiment lost in this battle Captain Collins, Captain
Sandys, Lieutenant Campbell, Ensign Burt, and about 100 men.
[Sidenote: 1695]
The Queen Dowager's had also the glory of being in the line of
circumvallation at the siege of _Namur_, and at the reduction of
that fortress in August, 1695, which event was looked upon as one
of the greatest in King William's military life. _Namur_ was so
well furnished and prepared for this attack, and so well situated,
that the attempt to reduce it was considered one of the utmost
temerity. It was defended by 15,000 chosen men, and commanded by a
Marshal of France (Boufflers) who 'made the point one of the King's
glory.' He was, however, forced to capitulate, after losing nearly
two-thirds of his garrison, and the place was occupied by King
William within two months from his investing it. On this occasion
Colonel Selwyn, commanding the Queen's, was promoted to the rank of
Brigadier-General.
[Sidenote: 1696]
In the winter of 1695-6, the king of France assembled an army near
Calais, for a descent upon England in favour of King James, who
had privately concerted measures for a rebellion in this country,
and had sent the Duke of Berwick with a number of officers in
disguise, through whose persuasions 2000 men were prepared to
rise, at a moment's notice, under the directions of Sir John
Fenwick[18]; at the same time a conspiracy was formed in London
for the assassination of King William, and fifty men were engaged
and prepared with arms to commit the diabolical act. The Queen
Dowager's and several other regiments were immediately ordered to
England to resist the threatened invasion. The plot was, however,
discovered; many of the conspirators were apprehended and executed;
and the designs of the enemy frustrated.
[Sidenote: 1697]
The regiment remained in England until the summer of 1697, when
it again proceeded to the Netherlands, joined the army encamped
before Brussels on the 14th of July, and on the 16th was reviewed
by his Majesty. This war was terminated in September by the Peace
of Ryswick; and the regiment returned to England the same year. The
establishment of the regiment after the peace was 44 officers, and
884 non-commissioned officers and men.
[Sidenote: 1701]
On the 28th of June, 1701, General Selwyn exchanged from the
Queen's to the 22nd Regiment of Foot, with Sir Henry Bellasis, Kt.
The throne of Spain having become vacant by the death of King
Charles II., which took place in 1701, the Duke of Anjou was
crowned king, under the title of Philip V., and was supported by
his grandfather Louis XIV. of France.
The conduct of France alarmed the other Powers of Europe, and the
death of the late King of England, James II., having taken place
at St. Germains on the 16th of September, 1701, the resentment of
England against France was further called forth by Louis XIV.
having proclaimed his son, (the pretended Prince of Wales) King of
England, Scotland, and Ireland, and having also influenced Spain to
concur in the same affront and indignity.
[Sidenote: 1702]
War was determined, and whilst active preparations were making for
prosecuting it, King William III. received a fall from his horse,
and his death took place on the 8th of March, 1702. His policy was
adopted by his successor, Queen Anne, who entered into treaties of
alliance with the Emperor of Germany, the States General of the
United Provinces, and other princes and potentates, for preserving
the liberty and balance of Europe, and for reducing the exorbitant
power of France.
Declaration of war was accordingly proclaimed against France and
Spain on the 4th of May, 1702. The importance of rescuing Spain
from foreign oppression, and of checking the ambitious views of
France, was also acknowledged by the English Parliament, and
liberal provision was made for increasing the means of prosecuting
the war with activity and vigour, both by sea and land.
The Earl of Marlborough was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the
English troops in Holland, whither he had proceeded as Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, immediately after her Majesty's
accession to the throne.
In the beginning of June, 1702, it was arranged that a naval force,
consisting of fifty sail of the line, besides frigates, under
Admiral Sir George Rooke, and a land force, consisting of nearly
fourteen thousand men, under the command of the Duke of Ormond,
should proceed to the coast of Spain. The following corps were
employed on this service; namely,--
Corps. Present title. Officers and
men.
Lloyd's Dragoons 3rd Light Dragoons (Detachment) 275
*Foot Guards 1st and Coldstream 755
*Sir H. Bellasis' 2nd Foot 834
*Churchill's 3rd " 834
*Seymour's 4th " 834
*Columbine's 6th " 724
*Royal Fusileers 7th " (3 Companies) 313
Erle's 19th " 724
Gustavus Hamilton's 20th " 724
Villiers's (Marines) 31st Foot (5 Companies) 520
*Fox's (Marines) 32nd " 834
Donegal's 35th " 724
Charlemont's 36th " 724
*Shannon's (Marines) 834
------
{ Commanded by Baron } 9653
Dutch Regiments { Sparr and Brigadier} 3924
{ Pallandt. } ------
13,577
_The Regiments marked thus * landed at Vigo._
The armament appeared off Cadiz on the 12th of August, and the Duke
summoned the place; but his terms being refused, he landed on the
15th, between Rota and Fort St. Catherine, where he encountered and
repulsed some Spanish cavalry. The next operation of the army was
the attack and capture of Fort St. Catherine and of Port St. Mary;
but the attempt on Cadiz failed.
Bishop Burnet, in alluding to this expedition, remarks--'It is
certain our court had false accounts of the state the place was
in, both with relation to the garrison and the fortifications; the
garrison was much stronger, and the fortifications were in a better
state than was represented.' As a set-off to the miscarriage at
Cadiz, the expedition did good service and made a valuable conquest
at Vigo Bay, where the galleons from the West Indies, convoyed by
a French squadron, happened at this time to arrive[19]. A passage
of three quarters of a mile, which led into the harbour of Vigo,
was defended by forts on shore, and secured by a boom extending
across the channel; the latter was also protected within by five
line-of-battle ships, and flanked by two others. To facilitate
the attack on this formidable barrier, the Duke of Ormond landed
a portion of his army six miles from Vigo, and took by assault a
battery of forty pieces of cannon, situated at the entrance of
the bay. A British ensign, hoisted on this fort, was the signal
for a general attack; the fleet in full sail approached, broke
the boom at the first shock, and became closely engaged with the
enemy's ships, whilst the British troops that had landed stormed
and captured the batteries. After a vigorous defence, the French,
finding they could not escape, destroyed a part of their fleet;
but ten ships of war and eleven galleons were, notwithstanding,
captured. This glorious exploit was tarnished by some abuses
practised during the expedition; and so great was the plunder at
Port St. Mary, and at Vigo, that a proclamation was issued for its
recovery. Amongst others implicated in those disgraceful acts was
_Sir Henry Bellasis_, who was second in command of the land forces,
and was tried by a court-martial on his return to England, and
dismissed the service. After this expedition the Queen Dowager's
Regiment was landed and stationed at Portsmouth[20].
[Sidenote: 1703]
The Colonelcy of the Queen Dowager's Regiment was next conferred
on Lieutenant-General _David Colyear, Earl of Portmore_, whose
commission was dated the 27th of February, 1703.
In the early part of the year 1703 Queen Anne augmented her forces
in the Netherlands. The Queen Dowager's was one of the corps that
proceeded from England on the occasion, and joined the Duke of
Marlborough, who was in command of the allied army, and began
operations in the month of April. On the 10th of May following,
the Queen Dowager's Regiment had an opportunity of distinguishing
itself by a service, which evinced the utmost intrepidity and
discipline, and, in fact, saved part of the allied army from being
surprised by the enemy, and probably from severe defeat. The _Duke
of Marlborough_, being engaged in the siege of _Bonn_, and the
forces under _Marshal D'Auverquerque_ dispersed in quarters, the
French Marshals _Villeroy_ and _Boufflers_ determined to attempt
the surprise of the latter: by a night march they arrived with a
force of 40,000 men in the neighbourhood of _Tongres_, which was
occupied by two battalions of foot,--one of _Elst_, (afterwards
disbanded,) and the other of _Portmore_ (the Queen Dowager's).
The speedy reduction of _Tongres_ was necessary to the success
of the French Marshals, and it was accordingly attacked with
great vigour; but the two regiments defended themselves, with
extraordinary bravery, _for twenty-eight hours_; and when at
length reduced to surrender, they had secured time for _Marshal
D'Auverquerque_ to collect his forces in a position under the
cannon of Maestricht, so strong, that the enemy declined a general
engagement.
For its conduct at Tongres the Queen Dowager's Regiment was made
_Royal_, and obtained the motto, '_Pristinæ Virtutis Memor_.'
Shortly after the above gallant affair, the capture of the fortress
of _Huy_ by the confederates enabled the Commander-in-Chief
to obtain the release of the brave corps which had been made
prisoners at _Tongres_, and the following provision was made
for that purpose; _viz._:-- 'The Governor, 900 men, and two
Brigadier-Generals to remain prisoners of war, till the two
regiments taken by the French at Tongres are released.' These terms
were speedily complied with.
[Sidenote: 1704]
Archduke Charles of Austria having been acknowledged as sovereign
of Spain by a great part of Europe, was seconded in his efforts
to establish his claim by a combined English and Dutch force,
commanded by the Duke of Schomberg; and he was further encouraged
in his undertaking by having Portugal for his ally. His object, was
to enter Spain by the Portuguese frontiers, and the auxiliary force
accordingly proceeded to Lisbon. The Queen Dowager's was one of
the regiments selected for this service, and having embarked from
Holland, the regiment landed at Lisbon on the 16th of March, 1704.
The Duke of Schomberg was succeeded in his command by the Earl
of Galway, who advanced with the army to the vicinity of Ciudad
Rodrigo, but returned to Portugal for winter quarters.
[Sidenote: 1705]
In the summer of 1705 the Queen Dowager's Regiment was engaged in
the siege of _Valencia de Alcantara_, which place was taken by
storm on the 8th of May. The regiment was also employed in the
siege and capture of _Albuquerque_; and in the unsuccessful attack
on _Badajoz_, in which the Earl of Galway lost his right hand by a
cannon ball.
On the 31st of December, Catherine, Queen Dowager of England, with
whose history the early services of this regiment were connected,
and from whom its original title and distinctions (as already
remarked) were derived, died at Lisbon. Her Majesty was Regent of
Portugal during the summer, (the king her brother being with the
army) and had proved herself firmly attached to the interests of
Great Britain[21].
[Sidenote: 1706]
In April, 1706, the regiment was engaged in the siege of
_Alcantara_, in Spanish Estramadura, and on the 10th of that month
distinguished itself in an attack on the enemy's post at the
Convent of St. Francis; it was afterwards engaged in the siege and
capture of _Ciudad Rodrigo_; and subsequently advanced with the
army to Madrid.
This advance was in connexion with the operations of Charles, Earl
of Peterborough, and of the combined English and Dutch fleets,
the reduction of Barcelona, and the conquest of Catalonia and
Valencia,--features important in history, which reflect the highest
honour on the British arms.
Success seemed secured to the allies, when the cause of _King
Charles III._, who had been proclaimed at the head of his
victorious army at Madrid, was destroyed in consequence of intrigue
and want of unanimity; and the army was obliged to retire from the
provinces it had conquered.
[Sidenote: 1707]
In the spring of 1707 the army, commanded by the Earl of Galway,
under the orders of the Marquis das Minas, invested Villena; at the
same time the opposing army, under the Duke of Berwick, advanced
to _Almanza_, where he was attacked by the allies on the 25th
of April. The enemy was considerably superior in numbers to the
confederates. Smollet remarks of this action, 'The English and
Dutch squadrons on the left, sustained by the Portuguese horse
of the second line, were overpowered after a gallant resistance.
The centre, consisting chiefly of battalions from Great Britain
and Holland, obliged the enemy to give way, and move their first
upon the second line; but the Portuguese cavalry on the right
being broken at their first charge, their foot betook themselves
to flight, so that the English and Dutch troops being exposed on
the flanks, were surrounded and attacked on every side. In this
dreadful emergency they formed themselves into a square, and
retired from the field of battle. By this time the men were quite
spent with fatigue, and their ammunition exhausted; they were
ignorant of the country, abandoned by their horse, destitute of
provisions, and out of all hope of supply. Moved by these dismal
considerations they capitulated, and surrendered themselves
prisoners of war, to the amount of thirteen battalions.' In this
disastrous battle the allies lost 5000 men killed on the spot.
The following Return contains the number of officers killed,
wounded, and prisoners of war, in this most unfortunate battle.
RETURN of the Number of the BRITISH OFFICERS
killed, wounded, and taken prisoners, at the battle of _Almanza_,
on the 25th of April, 1707.
KEY:
A = Colonels and Lieut.-Colonels.
B = Majors.
C = Captains.
D = Subalterns.
E = Staff and Quarter-Masters.
Dn. Gds. = Dragoon Guards
Dns. = Dragoons
===============================+===================++===================
| KILLED. || PRISONERS.
REGIMENTS. +---+---+---+---+---++---+---+---+---+---
| A | B | C | D | E || A | B | C | D | E
+---+---+---+---+---++---+---+---+---+---
Harvey's Horse 2nd Dn. Gds.| 1| ..| 1| 1| ..|| ..| ..| ..| 2| 1
Carpenter's Dns. 3rd Dns. | 1| ..| 1| 1| || | | | |
Lord Essex's 4th " | 1| ..| ..| 1| || | | | |
Killigrew's 8th " | 1| ..| ..| 1| || | | | |
Lord Peterborough's Dns. | 1| ..| 2| 1| 2|| | | | |
Edward Pearce's Dns. | 1| ..| ..| 2| 1|| ..| ..| 6| 2|
Foot Guards (1st and 2nd) | 1| ..| 2| ..| ..|| 2| ..| 3| 3| 2
Lord Portmore's 2nd Foot | ..| ..| ..| 1| ..|| 1| 1| 6| 12| 1
Southwell's 6th " | 1| ..| 4| 4| ..|| ..| ..| 2| 9| 3
Stewart's 9th " | ..| ..| 5| 3| ..|| ..| ..| 4| 12|
Hill's 11th " | ..| 1| 3| 2| ..|| 1| 1| 5| 13|
Blood's 17th " | 2| 1| ..| ..| ..|| ..| ..| 4| 13| 1
Lord Mordaunt's 28th " | ..| ..| 1| 1| ..|| 1| 1| 3| 12|
Wills's Marines 30th " | ..| ..| ..| ..| ..|| ..| ..| ..| 1|
Borr's Marines 32nd " | ..| ..| ..| ..| ..|| ..| ..| 1| ..|
Wade's 33rd " | ..| ..| 2| 3| ..|| ..| ..| 6| 11|
Gorge's 35th " | ..| ..| 3| ..| ..|| 1| ..| 5| 11|
Allnutt's 36th " | ..| ..| 2| 3| ..|| 3| ..| ..| 10|
Lord Montjoy's, disbanded | | | | | || | | | |
in 1713 | ..| ..| ..| 1| ..|| 2| 1| 1| 13|
Bowles's ditto | ..| ..| ..| ..| ..|| 1| ..| 8| 13|
Bretton's ditto | ..| ..| ..| 3| ..|| 3| ..| 7| 12|
Mackartney's ditto | 1| ..| ..| 4| ..|| 2| 1| 6| 11| 1
Lord Mark Kerr's ditto | 2| ..| 3| 3| ..|| ..| 1| 2| 11|
Nassau's ditto | ..| ..| 1| 4| ..|| 1| 1| 6| 10|
+---+---+---+---+---++---+---+---+---+---
Total | 13| 2| 30| 39| 3|| 18| 7| 69|181| 9
Number of wounded | | | | | || | | | |
included as prisoners | ..| ..| ..| ..| ..|| 3| 1| 16| 67| 5
===============================+===+===+===+===+===++===+===+===+===+===
Of the Queen's Royal, Lieutenant Brady was killed;
Lieutenant-Colonel Kirke, Major Cullyford, Captains Laton, Arnott,
Hart, Gossin, Giles, and Phillips; Lieutenants Jackson, Slack,
May, Sawyers, Bracelay, Frazier, and Arthlony; Ensigns Nichols,
Brown, Graham, Johnson, and Downs, and Surgeon Dalrimple, were made
prisoners of war.
The severe losses sustained on this occasion, and on other services
in Spain, induced the Earl of Galway to order the Queen's Royal and
the 9th Regiments of Foot, after transferring their serviceable men
to other regiments in Spain, to return to England, for the purpose
of recruiting their ranks.
[Sidenote: 1708]
The regiment accordingly arrived in England in 1708, and, by active
exertions, its casualties were soon replaced, and the men rendered
fit to enter upon active service.
[Sidenote: 1710]
_Lieutenant-Colonel Piercy Kirke_ was promoted Colonel by purchase,
on the 19th of September, 1710, _vice_ General the Earl of
Portmore[22]. He was the son of its old Colonel, Lieutenant-General
Kirke, and had served in the corps from the rank of Ensign, in 1686.
[Sidenote: 1711]
In 1711 the regiment formed part of a force of 5000 men ordered
to proceed to America under General Hill, and to make an attempt
on Quebec, with the object of effecting the conquest of Canada. A
large fleet of men-of-war formed part of the armament, which was
to be further strengthened by troops from the American colonies.
The expedition did not reach the river St. Lawrence until the
21st of August, when it encountered storms, and being furnished
with bad pilots, eight transports, a store ship, and a sloop were
lost by shipwreck, and 29 officers, 676 soldiers, and 35 women of
the 4th, 37th, Colonel Kane's, and Colonel Clayton's regiments,
perished. There was also a scarcity of provisions. It was therefore
determined, in a council of war, that further operations should
be abandoned. Some of the regiments engaged in the expedition
proceeded to Annapolis Royal, in Nova Scotia, but the Queen's
returned to England, and arrived at Portsmouth on the 9th of
October.
[Sidenote: 1712]
[Sidenote: 1713]
In consequence of the sudden death of the Emperor Joseph of
Austria, and the election of Charles III. of Spain to the dignity
of Emperor of the Romans, negociations were entered into by
England and France, and hostilities were terminated by the peace
of Utrecht, which was concluded on the 31st of March, 1713.
The Queen's Royal were now permitted to remain for a period on
home-duty.
Queen Anne was not unmindful of the arduous and faithful services
which had been rendered by her troops in time of need, and
recommended them to the consideration of parliament, as 'brave men
who had exposed their lives in the service of their country, and
could not be employed in time of peace.'
[Sidenote: 1714]
[Sidenote: 1727]
After the demise of her Majesty Queen Anne, on the 1st of August,
1714, King George I. not having a Queen Consort, this regiment was
styled '_Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales's own Regiment of
Foot_;' and when the death of King George I. on the 11th of June,
1727, brought the Princess of Wales to share the throne of England,
its appellation was again changed to '_The Queen's own Regiment of
Foot_.'
[Sidenote: 1728]
The Queen's own Regiment was reviewed on Blackheath, in June, 1728,
by his Majesty King George II., and furnished a guard of honour to
her Royal Highness the princess Amelia, during her residence at
Tunbridge Wells, in June and July, 1728.
[Sidenote: 1730]
In June, 1730, the regiment embarked for Gibraltar, and was
employed in that fortress in 1740, when it was blockaded by
the Spaniards, with whom war had been declared in 1739; but no
serious impression was made on the place at that time, nor at any
subsequent period of the war, which was terminated in 1748 by the
treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.
[Sidenote: 1741]
Lieutenant-General Kirke, after commanding the regiment upwards of
thirty years, died on the 1st of January, 1741; and was succeeded
on the 12th of August following by Colonel Thomas Fowke, from the
Forty-third Regiment.
[Sidenote: 1749]
In 1749, the year following the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, the
regiment embarked from Gibraltar, and proceeded to Ireland.
[Sidenote: 1751]
Prior to 1751, the several regiments, both of cavalry and infantry,
had been called after the names of their respective colonels: on
the 1st of July of this year, a royal warrant was issued, for
regulating the clothing, standards, guidons, colours, &c., of
regiments, in which _numerical_ titles were given to the regiments
of horse, dragoons, and foot. In this warrant the _Royal Regiment
of Foot_, from its antiquity, was numbered '_The First Regiment of
Foot_;' and the QUEEN'S ROYAL being the next in seniority,
was numbered '_The Second Regiment of Foot_.'
[Sidenote: 1755]
General Fowke was removed to the 14th Foot, and was succeeded in
the Colonelcy of the Second, or Queen's Royal, on the 12th of
November, 1755, by the Honourable John Fitzwilliam.
[Sidenote: 1756]
From the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, arts and sciences, trade and
manufactures, had greatly flourished in England, and a rivalry
existed with continental Europe for pre-eminence in advancing
refinements and civilization. This prosperous state of things was
interrupted in 1756 by war with France, and hostilities continued
during the remainder of the reign of George II., and for three
years in the reign of his successor George III. Peace was restored
in 1763 by the treaty of Paris. This war had been pursued with
vigour by Great Britain, whose fleets and armies triumphed in all
quarters of the world. The Queen's Regiment was kept on duty in
Ireland, which country was threatened by France with invasion.
That nation, however, found sufficient occupation for her troops
elsewhere, and the threat of invasion, as on other occasions,
terminated on the part of France in wasteful preparations and
presumptuous boast.
[Sidenote: 1760]
Major-General the Honourable John Fitzwilliam was removed to the
2nd Irish Horse, (now the 5th Dragoon Guards) and was succeeded by
Sir Charles Montague, K.B., on the 27th of November, 1760.
[Sidenote: 1765]
The Queen's Royal Regiment continued in Ireland until June, 1765,
when it was removed to the Isle of Man, where it remained until
1768.
[Sidenote: 1768]
In February, 1768, it was removed from the Isle of Man to Cork,
whence it embarked for Gibraltar to relieve the 54th Regiment.
[Sidenote: 1775]
It remained at Gibraltar until 1775, when it returned to England
and landed at Portsmouth on the 26th of December of that year.
Lieutenant-Colonel Oswald, who was then in command of the regiment,
issued, previous to its landing, some orders, expressing, among
other things, his hope that the corps would insure its welcome
to England, _after an absence of half a century_, by the closest
attention to its duties, both civil and military.
[Sidenote: 1776]
The first quarters occupied by the Queen's Royal on its return
to England were at Alton and Farnham, from whence the regiment
marched, on the 9th of May, 1776, on a route for the north. Passing
through London, the regiment was reviewed by its Colonel, Sir
Charles Montague, on the 14th, and by his Majesty King George III.
on the 17th of the same month, and arrived on the 26th of July at
Tynemouth barracks, where it continued three years.
[Sidenote: 1777]
Sir Charles Montague[23] dying in 1777, Lieutenant-General Daniel
Jones was promoted from the Third Foot Guards to the Colonelcy of
the Queen's Royal on the 7th of August of that year.
[Sidenote: 1779]
In the summer of 1779 the Queen's Royal was one of the regiments of
the line and militia assembled in the camp of exercise on Warley
Common, after which it was quartered in Rumford, Ongar, and Epping.
[Sidenote: 1780]
On the breaking out of the riots in London in 1780, the Queen's
Regiment was among the troops ordered to the metropolis, and
encamped in Hyde Park on the 7th of June, under the command of
Lieutenant-Colonel William Dalrymple, on which occasion it received
the thanks of Major-General Rainsford for its regularity and good
conduct. On the breaking up of the camp in Hyde Park in August
following, the Queen's Regiment, with a large portion of the troops
proceeded to Finchley Common.
[Sidenote: 1783]
[Sidenote: 1790]
The regiment remained in England until the autumn of 1783, when it
again embarked for Gibraltar; and during the time of its service
in that garrison, his Royal Highness Prince Edward (afterwards
Duke of Kent) having arrived, was appointed to the command of the
Queen's, as appears from the following order, dated the 26th of
February, 1790:--'His Royal Highness Prince Edward is posted to
the Queen's Royal Regiment, of which he is to take command until
further orders.' In the ensuing August the command of the regiment
was resumed by Lieutenant-Colonel Woollicombe.
[Sidenote: 1792]
The regiment embarked from Gibraltar on the 25th of March, 1792,
and landed at Portsmouth on the 24th of April following, where
it went into barracks. On the 22nd of July it was encamped at
Wickham Bushes, near Bagshot, under the Duke of Richmond, with two
battalions of Royal Artillery, the 3rd, 14th, and 29th regiments,
where it was reviewed by his Majesty; after the breaking up of the
camp it returned to Portsmouth.
The repose granted to England by the peace of 1763 was, a few
years after that period, interrupted by legislative differences
with the North American Colonies, and at length by measures, which
led to a desperate and sanguinary war. Hostilities were commenced
in 1775, and terminated in 1783, with the loss to Great Britain of
that large portion of territory, _the United States of America_.
During this important struggle, France had afforded active
assistance in promoting the disunion of England and her American
subjects. A spirit of republicanism soon afterwards began to spread
in France. Anarchy, revolution, and bloodshed, and the execution of
their king, followed in rapid succession. The latter act took place
in 1793, and was the immediate cause of a war on the part of Great
Britain and of Europe, against France.
[Sidenote: 1793]
[Sidenote: 1794]
In February, 1793, the Queen's Regiment was ordered to Dover and
Folkstone to do duty over French prisoners of war. While on this
duty, two of the newly-raised independent companies were added to
the regiment, and a brigade of six-pounders attached to it. In
August following it was embarked, with the exception of the staff,
to serve as marines in the fleet under Admiral Earl Howe, and
shared in the glorious victory over the French fleet on the 1st
of June, 1794, which Earl Howe completely defeated, and seven of
the enemy's ships were captured. Lieutenant John Neville, of the
Queen's Royals, was killed on board the _Charlotte_, and Ensign
Boycott was wounded on board the _Defence_. The gallant Admiral,
in his public dispatch of the 2nd of June, expressed his thanks to
the crews and military corps for the highly distinguished examples
of resolution, perseverance, and spirit testified by them in the
actions of the 28th and 29th of May, and the 1st of June.
Lieutenant-General Jones[24] died on the 20th of November, 1793,
and was succeeded in the Colonelcy of the regiment by Major-General
Alexander Stewart.
The regiment continued to serve on board the fleet until the 24th
of November, 1794, when, _with the exception of two companies_,
it was re-landed, and, by the incorporation of some independent
companies, augmented to twelve companies, of four serjeants,
two drummers, and 100 rank and file each. Of these, the _ten
companies_ on shore were formed into a _Second Battalion_, as
appears by the Adjutant-General's letter of the 29th of November.
Some time, however, elapsed before the regiment had either two
pair of colours, or the staff of two battalions; but the corps,
thus formed, was designated the _Second Battalion_, while the
_two companies_, which remained doing marine duty on board the
fleet, continued the nucleus of the _First Battalion_, waiting an
opportunity, when their services should be no longer required as
marines, to be filled up, which took place in the following year.
On the 20th of December, 1794, Major-General James Coates
was appointed Colonel, vice Major-General Alexander Stewart,
deceased[25].
On the 25th of December the _Second Battalion_ embarked, under
the command of Lieutenant-Colonel the Earl of Dalhousie, for the
West Indies, and arrived in Carlisle Bay, Barbadoes, on the 29th of
March, 1795.
[Sidenote: 1795]
The year in which the regiment arrived in the West Indies was
rendered remarkable by a series of brilliant achievements performed
by the British forces serving in that part of his Majesty's
dominions; and the valuable French possessions of Martinique and
Guadaloupe were but a part of the captures made by the army and
fleet under their respective commanders, General Sir Charles Grey
and Admiral Sir John Jervis.
The National Convention, which at this period governed France,
although busily and successfully employed in extending
revolutionary power in Europe, was not indifferent to the events
above alluded to; and an expedition to the West Indies was
despatched from Brest, commanded by the famous Victor Hughes,
a republican commissioner, for the purpose of recovering the
conquered islands. A force of 2000 French troops arrived at
Guadaloupe, and were quickly reinforced by a multitude of Mulattoes
and Blacks, who were speedily clad in uniforms. Among this motley
group, comprising slave and freeman, the doctrines of liberty and
equality were disseminated, and led to a rapid overthrow of regular
government, and to a frightful catalogue of outrages and disasters.
The same spirit of disorganization that devastated Guadaloupe was
soon spread, through the instrumentality of agents, to the other
conquered islands, and thus tended to weaken the power of the
English forces at the principal point of attack:--added to this
circumstance, the ranks of the British battalions had been thinned
by an epidemic, most malignant in its nature, and it was found
impossible to oppose an effectual resistance to the accumulated
force which now assailed them. The island of Martinique was the
only settlement that could be preserved, and this was not done
without great exertions of the British troops, ably supported by
the colonists.
The QUEEN'S ROYAL had proceeded to Martinique shortly
after its arrival in the West Indies; and so great had been its
sufferings, that, at the termination of 1795, the total strength
of the battalion in that country was reduced to 162 men, and of
those, two serjeants and four privates were afterwards killed in an
engagement with the French brigands at Vaughlin, and in the same
affair we find Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Dalhousie numbered with the
wounded.
In the month of July, 1795, the two flank companies of the
regiment, already mentioned as being left on board the Fleet, were
disembarked at Guernsey, and proceeded in the month following to
Southampton: they had been augmented, and now formed the _First
Battalion_ of the regiment, which was already in a state of
readiness for foreign service. In October, eight companies of the
First Battalion, under Lieutenant-Colonel Harris, embarked, and
formed part of the memorable expedition destined for the West
Indies, under Major-General Sir Ralph Abercrombie and Admiral
Christian.
[Sidenote: 1796]
On this occasion about 16,000 troops were collected at Portsmouth,
and on the 18th of November the fleet containing them stood down
the Channel, but in a few hours it was overtaken by a dreadful
hurricane, which caused many ships laden with men to be wrecked,
and the coast about Weymouth to be strewed with dead bodies.
Amongst the transports lost, was that having on board the flank
companies of the _First Battalion_ of the QUEEN'S, who
were afterwards collected at Plymouth, and commanded by Major
Eyre. No further attempt was made to forward this portion of the
regiment to its previous destination; but the six companies, under
Lieutenant-Colonel Harris, proceeded onwards with the fleet, and
in February, 1796, were landed at Martinique, where they formed a
junction with the _Second Battalion_, serving in that island.
In addition to this timely reinforcement, the _Second Battalion_,
during its service in the West Indies, was augmented by drafts
from the Forty-sixth and Sixty-first regiments, and also by men of
different regiments who had been prisoners at Guadaloupe, and who
had been exchanged.
By Returns of the battalion in the West Indies, made at the above
period, its casualties for a half year, ending
Officers. Serjeants. Corporals. Drummers. Privates.
In December, 1795, were 2 19 9 5 115
And for a half-year
ending June, 1796 4 12 10 1 139
---------------------------------------------
The Deaths for Twelve
Months amounted to 6 31 19 6 254
---------------------------------------------
[Sidenote: 1797]
In 1797 the Second Battalion of the QUEEN'S formed part
of the expedition when Sir Ralph Abercrombie captured the Spanish
island of Trinidad; and in the course of the same year, the
serviceable men were transferred to the Fifty-seventh regiment,
and the battalion, comprising altogether seventy persons, was
embarked, and returned to Europe.
The flank companies, which had been wrecked and left in England,
were made the basis of another _First Battalion_, which was formed
accordingly, and removed from Plymouth to Lyndhurst and Lymington.
In March, 1797, Lord Dalhousie, who had a short time previously
returned from the West Indies, assumed the command of the _First
Battalion_, which was marched to Tiverton, where it was brigaded
with the Twenty-ninth and Fifty-eighth Regiments.
The quarters of the QUEEN'S ROYAL, during the year 1797,
continued in the western district, and in June the regiment moved
to Plymouth Lines.
When the mutiny broke out in the fleets at Spithead and the Nore,
and attempts were made to disseminate seditious publications
among the soldiery, Lieutenant-Colonel Lord Dalhousie, and the
Captains of the QUEEN'S ROYAL, addressed a letter to the
General Commanding the district, expressive of their firm reliance
on the unshaken loyalty of the corps; at the same time, the
non-commissioned officers and privates subscribed the sum of one
hundred guineas to be applied towards the detection and punishment
of any persons who should attempt to distribute unlawful papers,
or offer, by bribes or any other means, to seduce the soldiers
from their allegiance. The letter from the Lieutenant-Colonel
and Captains, as also the resolution of the men, signed by the
Serjeant-Major, Michael Eager, were entered, by order of the
Colonel, in the Orderly Book of the regiment.
The latter document is transcribed into this record, as
characteristic of British soldiers, who, in periods of political
excitement, do not permit themselves to be withdrawn from the
fidelity and allegiance which they owe to their Sovereign, whom
they have sworn to defend against all enemies.
_Head Quarters, Plymouth Lines,
10th June, 1797._
REGIMENTAL ORDERS.
_The following is the declaration of the 2nd or Queen's Royal
Regiment of Foot, dated Barnstaple, 7th June, 1797_:--
'We, the Non-commissioned Officers, Drummers, and Privates of
the above regiment, do most willingly subscribe _One Hundred
Guineas_, in order to detect any Author, Printer, or Distributor
of papers, or hand-bills, criminal to the Military Establishment
and the Laws of the country, or for information against any
person or persons found guilty of bribing with money, or holding
out other false allurements against His Most Sacred Majesty King
George the Third, or against this country.
'We unanimously agree to give a reward of Ten Guineas out of the
above subscription (to be paid on conviction) to the person or
persons who will inform against, secure, or deliver over, to any
man of the above regiment, the Author, Printer, or Distributor of
papers or hand-bills, or any person or persons found guilty of
bribing with money, or of holding out other false allurements to
any soldier in this district. GOD SAVE THE KING!'
_Signed at the particular request of the Non-Commissioned
Officers, Drummers, and Privates of the regiment_,
MICHAEL EAGER, _Serjeant-Major_.
On the 7th of October, the remainder of the _Second Battalion_,
under Lieutenant-Colonel Harris, arrived from the West Indies,
joined the corps at Penzance, and the whole were incorporated
into one battalion. In December the regiment was again marched to
Plymouth, to do duty in Mill Prison; and on the 25th of the same
month twelve lieutenants and two companies were reduced.
[Sidenote: 1798]
In February, 1798, the Queen's received orders to hold itself
in readiness for embarkation. It was brigaded at Plymouth with
the Twenty-fifth and Twenty-ninth, under the command of Lord
Dalhousie, in March; and on the 12th of June following embarked
at Barnstaple, under Lieutenant-Colonel Eyre, for Ireland, where
republican principles had gained ground, and being encouraged by
promised aid from France, the malcontents broke into acts of open
rebellion. The regiment landed in Ireland on the 20th of February,
and arrived at Fowke's Mill in the middle of the action between
Major-General Sir John Moore and the rebels. On the next day, the
army moved on to Wexford, which Lord Dalhousie entered with the
flank companies of the QUEEN'S ROYAL, and liberated Lord
Kingsborough, and several other Protestant gentlemen, who were
to have been put to death. Lieutenant Charles Turner[26], of the
QUEEN'S ROYAL, was one of the officers who, a few days
after, surprised and took prisoner the celebrated _Bagenal Harvey_,
who had concealed himself in a cave in Saltee Island, and whose
character for courage and desperation was such that few people
would have ventured to approach his hiding-place.
When the French expedition under General Humbert landed in Ireland
in July, 1798, the QUEEN'S ROYAL marched to Tuam, where
the army assembled. After the surrender of General Humbert, the
regiment returned to Phillipstown, and wintered in Kilkenny,
where they were brigaded with the Twenty-ninth regiment, under
Major-General Peter Hunter.
[Sidenote: 1799]
In the early part of the following year, the brigade, with some
guns, marched to Tullamore and to Phillipstown, to be ready in
case of a rising in that part of the country: this, although
apprehended, did not take place, and in six weeks the brigade
returned to Kilkenny, and in June the QUEEN'S moved from
thence to Cork, and encamped at Monkstown.
In the month of July, the regiment embarked for England, landed
at Southampton, and marched to the camp on Barham Downs, near
Canterbury, where it was recruited by volunteers from the militia;
and with the Twenty-seventh, Twenty-ninth, and Eighty-fifth
regiments, it formed the third brigade of the army commanded by
Major-General Coote. With this brigade, to which the Sixty-ninth
regiment was afterwards added, it served during the expedition to
Holland, and was engaged with the enemy at the Helder, on the 27th
of August, 1799, when the army commanded by Sir Ralph Abercrombie
made good its landing, in defiance of great natural obstacles at
the point of debarkation, and also made an advanced movement, in
opposition to every exertion on the part of an active enemy, to
prevent it.
A detail of this gallant exploit states, 'the first success of
this day was principally owing to General Coote's brigade, and
the advance, consisting of the 23rd and 55th regiments, commanded
by Colonel Macdonald, who, instead of waiting the attacks of the
enemy, advanced on every occasion to meet them.' These brave
efforts cost the British forces a loss of about 500 men.
In subsequent operations, during this arduous expedition, the
QUEEN'S ROYAL had the honour of contributing a full
portion of its services, and was present when his Royal Highness
the Duke of York, in Command of the Anglo-Russian forces, on the
2nd of October, 1799, gained a decided victory at Egmont-op-Zee,
over a numerous army opposed to him on that occasion. Alluding to
this action, his Royal Highness observes, 'Under Divine Providence,
this signal victory, obtained over the enemy, is to be ascribed
to the animated and persevering exertions which have been at all
times the characteristics of the British soldier, and which,
on no occasion, were ever more eminently displayed; nor has it
often fallen to the lot of any general to have such just cause of
acknowledgment for distinguished support.'
On the 6th of October the French and Dutch armies again contested
the field with their opponents, and were once more forced by
British valour to retire. In his report of this victory, the Duke
of York remarks, that 'the gallantry the troops displayed, and
the perseverance with which they supported the fatigues of the
day, rival their former exertions.' The loss of the QUEEN'S
ROYAL in this action proves they were honourable competitors
for glory.
Notwithstanding the successes of the British forces, they were
precluded from a further advance, and from profiting by the just
reward of their labours, in consequence of the lateness of the
season, and the difficulty of obtaining supplies during the winter;
besides which, the French army was receiving large reinforcements.
These and other causes induced his Royal Highness to desist from
further offensive operations, and finally led to the withdrawing
of the Anglo-Russian army from Holland, and to the termination
of an expedition which, although unattended with full success,
evinced distinguished merit and bravery on the part of the British
commander and his army.
Nor must it be omitted, in alluding to this expedition, that at
this period the old regiments had been considerably reduced by the
arduous services against St. Domingo and the French West India
islands, and were now chiefly made up from volunteers from the
militia, hastily got together, and employed in active offensive
operations before they could be properly organised and rendered fit
for such duty.
Notwithstanding these disadvantages, the British troops employed in
Holland upheld, by their gallantry and discipline, the honour of
their country, and by the skill and attention of their officers,
this short but active campaign prepared this little army to
advance the glory of England in succeeding years, against the best
organised troops in Europe.
Major-General Coote expressed, in orders, his approbation of the
conduct of the QUEEN'S ROYAL; and after the evacuation of
Holland, the regiment landed at Yarmouth, from whence it proceeded
to Ashford, in Kent, for the winter.
[Sidenote: 1800]
In May, 1800, the QUEEN'S ROYAL marched to Plymouth, and
embarked on board the Europa and Thisbe, on a flying expedition,
under the command of General Sir Thomas Maitland and Admiral Sir
Edward Pellew, which was employed in making descents upon the coast
of France, and destroying batteries and small crafts. In this
service, Major Ramsay, of the QUEEN'S, led some successful
attacks, and on one occasion (as recorded in 'Baine's History of
the Wars') 'he seized several sloops and gun-vessels, and burned a
national corvette of eighteen guns, by means of a detachment from
the QUEEN'S Regiment, assisted by the gun-launches under
Lieutenant Pinfold.'
On the 15th of June, the regiment was encamped in the island of
Houat, preparatory to an intended attack upon Belle Isle; but the
plan was abandoned; the regiment re-embarked, and, with other
corps, to the number of 5000 men, sailed, under the command of the
Earl of Dalhousie, to reinforce Sir Ralph Abercrombie at Minorca,
where it arrived on the 19th of July.
On the 29th of August, 1800, it was again on ship-board, forming
part of the expedition against Cadiz, on the abandonment of which
it became necessary to dispose of this force, which, although
small, was considered the corps d'élite of England, and included
almost the entire disposable force of the country.
The attention of Sir Ralph Abercrombie was directed towards the
Mediterranean, and the reduction of Malta encouraged an expedition
to that quarter. At this time Egypt was occupied by 30,000 French
veterans, emboldened by conquest, and inured to the climate of the
country. They had been taken from that army which, under Napoleon
Bonaparte, had astonished Europe by its successes in Italy and in
Germany, and they were now awaiting a favourable opportunity to
forward the ambitious projects that had been planned for them by
their great leader, who had exultingly named them '_The army of the
East_.'
The attention of all Europe was directed to the struggle about to
take place, in which the ambition of Bonaparte was supposed to have
attained a crisis, and the _fate of Asia_ was to be decided _on the
shores of Africa_, by the two most powerful European nations.
A British army, amounting to about 15,000 men, assembled under
Sir Ralph Abercrombie, at Marmorice Bay, on the coast of Asiatic
Turkey, towards the end of December, 1800.
[Sidenote: 1801]
The QUEEN'S ROYAL Regiment had proceeded from Cadiz to
Gibraltar and Minorca, from whence it sailed to Malta, and now
formed part of the above force. Some weeks were lost at Marmorice,
in expectation of receiving reinforcements of Greeks and Turks;
and the expedition did not proceed to its final destination until
the 23rd of February, 1801. On the 1st of March it anchored in the
bay of Aboukir, eastward of Alexandria; but notwithstanding all
the exertions of the navy under Admiral Lord Keith's orders, the
necessary arrangements could not be made for landing the troops,
chiefly in consequence of unfavourable weather, until the 8th of
March. On the morning of that day a signal rocket caused 150 boats,
laden with 5000 men, to approach the shore. The clear silence of
the morning broken by the deep murmur of thousands of oars urging
forward the flower of a brave army, whose polished arms glittered
in the rays of the morning sun, produced an interesting scene:--the
floating battalions drew near the shore, which was crowded with
French troops; a combat ensued; and the bay of Aboukir resounded to
the roar of cannon.
A body of French troops, supported by several batteries, awaited
the arrival of their enemies, but were forced to give way in
defiance of every exertion, and after severe loss. The loss of the
British amounted to 576 rank and file, in killed, wounded, and
missing.
The QUEEN'S ROYAL Regiment was first employed under the
command of Sir Sydney Smith, at the siege of Fort Aboukir; but on
the 12th of March, seven companies, under Lieutenant-Colonel Jones,
were ordered to join the army, and arrived in time to take a share
in the victory of the 13th of March. The other three companies of
the regiment remained with the Twelfth Light Dragoons (dismounted)
before Aboukir, until the surrender of that fort on the 19th of
March. The regiment was afterwards attached to the fourth brigade,
under Major-General Sir John Doyle's command, and was present at
the glorious Battle of ALEXANDRIA, on the 21st of March;
when a protracted and well-contested fight terminated in victory to
the British troops after a loss of between 1400 and 1500 men.
After the battle of the 21st of March, the QUEEN'S ROYAL
was detached, with the flank companies of the Fortieth regiment,
under Colonel Spencer, to _Rosetta_, and was employed in the
reduction of that town, and of the fortress of _St. Julien_,
which commanded the navigation of the Nile, on which occasion one
of the '_French Invincible Standards_' was taken. The Regiment
then proceeded with the army towards Cairo, and was engaged in
the affair at _Rahmanie_,--the capture of the French convoy in
the Desert,--at the surrender of _Cairo_--and in the escort of
the French garrison from that city to its place of embarkation.
Subsequently, the regiment joined that part of the army which was
engaged in the blockade of _Alexandria_, and was attached to the
reserve brigade commanded by Major-General (afterwards Sir John)
Moore. Alexandria surrendered on the 2nd of September, 1801, and
the QUEEN'S ROYAL was ordered to Fort Pharos, at the
entrance of the harbour, where it continued until the following
December.
In this campaign, the severe loss sustained by the British army in
their active operations against the enemy was greatly augmented
by deaths caused by fatigue, as well as by the climate of Egypt.
The casualties in the QUEEN'S were 36 killed and 70
wounded[27].
In the action of the 21st of March, Lieut.-General Sir Ralph
Abercrombie, the commander-in-chief of the army, received a mortal
wound, and died on the 28th of the same month. His merits are
attested in General Orders issued to the army on the 16th of May,
1801[28], and in the dispatch of his successor, General Hutchinson,
in the following terms: 'His memory will be recorded in the annals
of his country, will be sacred to every British soldier, and
embalmed in the recollection of a grateful posterity.' The same
officer adds, 'It is impossible for me to do justice to the zeal of
the officers, and to the gallantry of the soldiers, of this army.'
By the conquest of Egypt, Great Britain effected a revolution,
which, in a great degree, influenced the politics of nations
throughout the world. The vaunting ambition of France received a
timely check, by the defeat of the boldest project which the mind
of her greatest General had ever conceived; and the '_Army of the
East_' returned to their country, relieved, in a short campaign, of
the fruits of four years' toil and glory.
The successful efforts of the British fleet and army were followed
by a treaty of peace with France, which was concluded at Amiens
on the 1st of October, 1801, by which Egypt was again restored to
the Ottoman empire. The troops, as opportunities offered, were
withdrawn from the scene of their brilliant achievements, and
about the end of the year 1801 the Queen's Regiment embarked for
Gibraltar.
The peace concluded at the above period was, however, of short
duration, and did not tend to check the hostile spirit of
Bonaparte, whose perfidious conduct and insatiable ambition
rendered an appeal to arms again necessary, and Great Britain was
obliged to declare war against France in May, 1803.
[Sidenote: 1802]
[Sidenote: 1804]
From the spring of 1802 until the end of 1805, the QUEEN'S
ROYAL formed part of the garrison of Gibraltar, and was
highly complimented by his Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, for
its loyalty, steadiness, and good conduct throughout the mutiny
which occurred there. By the malignant fever which raged with
great violence in that garrison in 1804, it lost in a few weeks
one captain, six subalterns, and about 90 men, besides women and
children.
While the regiment was at Gibraltar, the officers received
permission to wear the medals which had been presented to them by
the Grand Signior, for their services in the Egyptian campaign.
[Sidenote: 1805]
In November, 1805, the regiment embarked for England. One of the
transports, having on board the two flank companies, and one
battalion company under the command of Captain Wilson, was taken
on the 15th of December by the squadron of the French Admiral,
Guillaumet, consisting of six sail of the line (one commanded by
Jerome Buonaparte) and several frigates. The captured companies
were put on board La Voluntaire frigate, where they remained
prisoners about three months: they were subsequently restored to
liberty in consequence of that vessel putting into the Cape of
Good Hope, which she expected to find a friendly port, but which
had surrendered a short time before to the British forces under
Lieut.-General Sir David Baird and Admiral Sir Home Popham. At
the Cape these companies remained about seven months, when they
embarked once more for England, and rejoined the regiment in April,
1807.
In the mean time the head-quarters and the remainder of the
regiment had landed, in December, 1805, at Portsmouth, its strength
amounting to 20 officers, 31 serjeants, 12 drummers, and 289 rank
and file.
[Sidenote: 1806]
In January, 1806, the regiment received new colours, on which, in
addition to former devices, were the SPHYNX, and the word
EGYPT, granted to it by his Majesty, in consideration
of its distinguished conduct in that country in 1801, as already
detailed.
[Sidenote: 1807]
In 1807 the establishment of the regiment was 696. In the month
of June of that year it embarked for Guernsey, and remained there
till June of the following year, receiving, during its stay in
that island, 330 general-service men from the depôt in the Isle of
Wight, and above 150 militia volunteers.
[Sidenote: 1808]
In June, 1808, the regiment returned to England, 860 rank and file
strong, and was quartered at Ipswich, until the 18th of July, when
it was brigaded with the Twentieth Foot and a battalion of the
Ninety-fifth Rifles, under the command of Major-General Acland, and
embarked at Harwich for Portugal, to join the forces about to be
assembled in that country.
The peace of Tilsit, which was concluded at this period between
France and other continental powers, gave a more determined
character to the war pursuing between England and France.
Napoleon, who by this time had become sensible of his inability
successfully to invade Great Britain, sought the humiliation of
his rival in excluding, by the above treaty, the manufactures of
England from the markets of Europe. As a part of his scheme for
universal empire, he gained the royal family of Spain into his
power by treachery, placed his brother Joseph on the throne of
that kingdom by force, and effected the conquest of Portugal.
Such acts of tyrannical ambition failed not to rouse the just
resentment of England, and led to the bold determination of
rescuing the Peninsula from the rapacious conqueror. Portugal was
destined to receive the advance-guard of a British army, which,
as in Egypt, was to encounter the victorious legions of Napoleon,
and, as in Egypt, also to triumph. On the 1st of August, 1808,
a body of British troops, commanded by Major-General Sir Arthur
Wellesley, landed near Lisbon, and on the 17th of the same month
they defeated a French force at _Roleia_. At this first meeting of
the great rival powers, a severe struggle terminated in favour of
English valour, and was a faithful precursor of the ability of the
commander, and of the successes which were to accompany the gallant
army on their future career.
After a tedious passage from England, Major-General Acland's
brigade arrived in a small bay near Peniché, where it landed in
the night of the 20th of August, and in a few hours joined the
army under Sir Arthur Wellesley, in time to share the honours
and triumphs of the memorable battle of _Vimiera_. The brigade
underwent much fatigue, and suffered some loss; and the General's
dispatches bear evidence that it did its duty. After the convention
of Cintra, by which Portugal was delivered from the power of
France, the QUEEN'S ROYAL crossed to Old Lisbon, and
marched to escort prisoners of war from Fort La Lippe. His Majesty
has graciously permitted the regiment to bear the word _Vimiera_ on
its colours and appointments, in commemoration of its gallantry in
that battle.
In the autumn, when the army under Lieutenant-General Sir John
Moore advanced from Lisbon into Spain, the QUEEN'S formed
part of Sir John Hope's division, which protected the march of the
artillery by the south bank of the Tagus to Talavera de la Reyna,
and from thence by the pass of the Guadarrama mountains, to form a
junction at Salamanca with the Commander-in-Chief, the same being
the only route considered passable for heavy guns.
[Sidenote: 1809]
Before the British troops were concentrated at Salamanca, the
Spanish force which was to have co-operated with them had ceased to
exist; it had been attacked, defeated, and dispersed by the French,
who had 300,000 men in Spain. Sir John Moore, however, advanced
with his army of about 23,000 men, until Bonaparte directed 80,000
veterans with 200 cannon against him: a retreat was immediately
commenced. In all the fatigues, distresses, and privations of this
memorable winter campaign, the QUEEN'S regiment had its
full share, and was brigaded with the 5th, 14th, and 32nd regiments
under command of Major-General (now Lord) Hill. This brigade was
posted in line on the left of Sir John Moore's position, when that
officer fought and defeated the French forces in front of _Corunna_
on the 16th of January, 1809. The glory of the day was clouded by
the loss of many brave soldiers, among whom the British army had to
lament the death of its gallant commander[29].
The withdrawing of the British troops from Spain after the battle
of _Corunna_ was the consequent operation of Sir John Moore's
retreat to the coast: arrangements for this purpose were therefore
hastily concerted, and as speedily acted upon. A great portion of
the army was enabled to embark in the harbour of Corunna during the
night after the battle; at the same time General Hill's brigade
retired to a position near the ramparts of the town, leaving the
piquets of the brigade, under Lieutenant-Colonel Kingsbury, of the
Queen's Regiment, employed as a rear-guard to cover the retreat
of the army, and to keep the enemy in check by fires and other
stratagems, until the embarkation was completed, almost without
molestation; and General Hill's brigade followed from the citadel
on the succeeding day. The troops embarked in such vessels as they
could reach; the ships made the best of their way to England, and,
in consequence of the stormy season, landed the troops at the first
port they could gain. The Queen's Regiment arrived in parties, and
was subsequently re-united at Ipswich.
In consequence of the gallant conduct of the QUEEN'S ROYAL
in the action at Corunna, the regiment has received his Majesty's
permission for the word _Corunna_ being borne on its colours and
appointments[30].
A detachment of the QUEEN'S ROYAL had been left in
Portugal, when the corps advanced from Lisbon to Salamanca, and was
assembled at Elvas under the command of Captain Gordon, who, with
his detachment, joined the army of Sir Arthur Wellesley previous
to its entering Spain. Captain Gordon's party was attached to the
Second Battalion of Detachments, and had the honour of sharing in
the victory at _Talavera de la Reyna_ on the 28th of July, 1809[31].
When the militia regiments were allowed, in 1809, to volunteer
into the line, the QUEEN'S ROYAL was very successful in
recruiting, and its establishment was increased to 1000.
In July of the same year, the regiment formed part of the
expedition under the Earl of Chatham to the Scheldt; was employed
at the siege of Flushing, and, after the surrender of that
fortress, it remained in quarters at Middleburgh, where it suffered
severely from the Walcheren fever. On the evacuation of the island
in December, the regiment embarked at Flushing, and returned to its
old quarters at Ipswich.
[Sidenote: 1810]
During the year 1810, the regiment remained in England, where it
was joined in August by the detachment which had been left in
Portugal; and its numbers were thus increased to 1126 rank and file.
[Sidenote: 1811]
On the 25th of January, 1811, the QUEEN'S ROYAL embarked
at Portsmouth, with the Thirty-sixth, Second Battalion of the
Forty-third, Fifty-first, and Eighty-fifth regiments, to reinforce
the British army in Portugal. The fleet, commanded by Sir Joseph
Yorke, encountered contrary gales, which so prolonged the voyage,
that the convoy did not reach its destination until the 2nd of
March, when the regiment disembarked at Lisbon, and went into
barracks in the castle. It was afterwards attached to the Sixth
Division of the army, and engaged with it in the pursuit of the
French army under Marshal Massena, who evacuated his position at
Santarem, and commenced his retreat into Spain a few days after the
arrival of the above re-inforcements. Many brilliant exploits were
performed by the adverse armies during this retreat, and also in
the subsequent operations on the eastern frontier of Portugal. The
_Sixth_ Division was subsequently employed in the south, under Sir
Thomas Graham, covering the siege of Badajoz, which was menaced by
the French Marshal, but surrendered to the bold and superior tact
of Lord Wellington in April, 1812.
[Sidenote: 1812]
When Lord Wellington advanced into Spain in 1812, and occupied
_Salamanca_, the Sixth Division was quartered in that city, and
charged with the siege of the three fortified convents, in which
the enemy had left garrisons. In the unsuccessful attempt to carry
one of these forts, (that called St. Vincente) by escalade, on
the night of the 23rd of June, in which Major-General Bowes fell,
the light company of the QUEEN'S lost Captain Sir George
Colquhoun, Lieutenant Mathews, one serjeant, and six men killed,
and was otherwise so reduced, that it was found necessary next day
to draft ten men from each battalion company to complete it. After
the reduction of these forts, the _St. Caetano_ and _La Mercea_
by storm, and _St. Vincente_ by capitulation, the Sixth Division
joined the army in the advance to Toro, and took part in the
several movements which preceded and led to the battle of Salamanca.
On this glorious day, the 22nd of July, 1812, the Sixth Division
was originally posted in reserve, to support the Fourth and Fifth
in the intended attack upon the enemy's centre and the heights
of Arapiles. After the crest of the height had been carried by
the Fourth Division, one division of the French made a determined
stand, and after a sharp contest, obliged the British to give way.
Marshal Beresford, who was on the spot, directed General Spry's
brigade of the Fifth Division to change its front, and attack
the flank of the enemy; and Lord Wellington ordered up the Sixth
Division under Sir Henry Clinton, to relieve the Fourth, and the
battle was soon restored to its former success. The French had
now but one hill left, on which they had concentrated all their
remaining forces. The Sixth Division was ordered to advance in line
upon the enemy's position, which it did in a most gallant manner,
under a heavy fire of 21 pieces of cannon and of musketry; and
after a severe contest, the enemy fled through the woods towards
the Tormes, protected by the approaching darkness of the night, by
which many were enabled to escape: the defeat of the French army
was now completed.
The loss of the QUEEN'S on this day amounted to nearly
one-half its number present, the light company being detached.
One lieutenant (Denwoody) and 20 men were killed; its two majors,
Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel Kingsbury and Major Graham, (both of whom
afterwards received honorary medals from his Majesty,) severely
wounded; one captain (Scott) and three lieutenants (Gordon,
Williams, and Hudson), and 100 men wounded. In fact, towards the
close of the action, a subaltern officer, Lieutenant Borlase, had
the honour of commanding the regiment. In honour of its gallant
services in this action his Majesty has been graciously pleased to
permit that _Salamanca_ should be added to other distinctions on
the colours of the regiment.
After the above defeat, Marshal Marmont withdrew the army of
Portugal in the direction of Burgos, and Lord Wellington crossed
the Douro and entered Madrid. The allied army made a further
advance to Burgos, the siege of which was undertaken and pushed
with vigour, but was abandoned in October, in consequence of a
junction of the disposable French force in Spain, amounting to
between 80,000 and 90,000 men, and the determination of the British
commander to retire on the Douro, and subsequently to Salamanca
and to Ciudad Rodrigo. When the army halted, the Queen's Regiment
was quartered at Fulgoza de Salvador; and being much reduced
in numbers, the head-quarters, with six skeleton companies,
were sent to England, and the remaining four companies formed
the right wing of the Second Provisional Battalion, commanded
by Lieutenant-Colonel Bingham of the Fifty-third regiment. The
companies of the QUEEN'S were about one hundred effective
rank and file each, and the battalion was posted to the Fourth
Division, under Major-General the Honourable Sir G. Lowry Cole.
[Sidenote: 1813]
In the campaign of 1813, the four companies of the QUEEN'S
were frequently engaged, and showed the same spirit of valour
and discipline for which the regiment had been distinguished on
former occasions. In consideration of the services rendered by this
portion of the regiment at the battle of _Vittoria_ on the 21st of
June of this year, and of its uniform good conduct in the series
of actions which took place in the Pyrenees between the 26th of
July and the 2nd of August following, his Majesty has graciously
approved of the words _Vittoria_ and _Pyrenees_, being borne by the
regiment, in addition to its other honourable badges of merit and
royal favour.
In reporting the above brilliant affairs, in which the army of
the allies, commanded by the Duke of Wellington, was eminently
successful in driving the French force under Marshal Soult from
their strong holds, his Grace observes, 'In the course of this
contest (28th July) the Fourth Division, which has so frequently
been distinguished in this army, surpassed its former good
conduct.' In the action fought two days subsequently, when Marshal
Soult's army was posted in a position so formidable, that the
Duke of Wellington, in his dispatches, characterises it as one of
the strongest, and most difficult of access, he had ever yet seen
occupied by troops, the steep hill, crowned with French soldiers,
was boldly ascended, and the front of the enemy's main position
was fearlessly attacked by a part of Sir Lowry Cole's Division;
on which occasion the Battalion, comprising the Queen's and
Fifty-third Regiments, is mentioned as having been led by Colonel
Bingham.
In conjunction with this operation, the Third Division, under Sir
Thomas Picton, having advanced on the enemy's left, the French fled
in great confusion, leaving 4000 of their infantry unsupported
in the valley, one half of whom were obliged to surrender at
discretion. Thus were the attempts of the French Marshal to relieve
Pampeluna frustrated, and his army doomed to suffer defeat and
severe loss in defiance of extraordinary exertions, which gave them
sanguine expectation of success. In these affairs several men of
the QUEEN'S were killed, and Lieutenant Hutton and a great
number wounded.
On the 2nd of August, the Fourth Division advanced to the
Puerto de Echalar, and afterwards moved to Lezaca to cover the
head-quarters. At the latter place the Duke of Wellington remained
stationary with his army in position to cover the siege of _St.
Sebastian_, at this time pushed with great vigour by a portion of
the allied army under Sir Thomas Graham.
No movement of consequence was made until the 31st of August, when
the French crossed the Bidassoa in considerable force. With great
fury they made repeated attacks on the Spanish position on the
heights of San Marcial. The First and Fourth Divisions were, in
consequence, moved forward to protect the flanks of the Spaniards,
but the latter repulsed the enemy with such spirit, that they
sought protection under their cannon; and giving up all hope of the
relief of St. Sebastian, they re-crossed the Bidassoa, and during
the night retreated from their position on the left bank of that
river. In this operation the Second Provisional Battalion was left
at the pass of the Crown Mountain, to keep up the communication
with the Seventh Division.
On the 31st of August also the fortress of St. Sebastian was
attacked and carried by assault. The British army had the proud
satisfaction of victoriously entering the territory of France,
and was led by its able commander to a position in front of
the Bidassoa, considered one of the strongest in the Pyrenees,
extending from Zugano Mardie by La Rhona to the sea.
In the storming of Marshal Soult's intrenched position on the
river _Nivelle_, on the 10th of November, the attack of the centre
columns was led by the four companies of the QUEEN'S,
supported by their comrades of the Fifty-third. The men carried
bags of fern to fill up the ditch, and small scaling-ladders to
mount the rampart of a redoubt which they were ordered to take.
In this service they were completely successful. The battalion
advanced with a British huzza, and the enemy abandoned the redoubt
and fled. A deep ravine, immediately in the rear of the work,
prevented the further advance of the QUEEN'S, who from the
crest of the hill had opened a sharp fire upon the fugitives. For
the gallant and successful services on this occasion, his Majesty
has graciously sanctioned the addition of the word _Nivelle_ to its
other badges of distinction.
Soon after this action the army went into quarters for a short
time, while preparations were making for crossing the Adour, and
forming the blockade of Bayonne. The QUEEN'S was sent to
St. Jean de Luz for new clothing, and rejoined the division at St.
Severe. The Fourth Division proceeded towards Bourdeaux, to support
the Seventh under Lieutenant-General Lord Dalhousie, and after the
surrender of that city returned to the Plains of Toulouse.
[Sidenote: 1814]
In the night of the 8th of April, 1814, the Fourth Division struck
its tents, and proceeding by forced marches crossed the Garonne
over a pontoon bridge; on the next day the army closed upon
_Toulouse_. On the 10th the Division proceeded along the front
of the enemy's strongly fortified position, exposed to a galling
fire of grape, until it reached the right of their line, when it
advanced up the heights; while the rest of the troops formed in two
lines in its rear. A strong column of French now issued from the
works, and threatened the flank and rear of the Fourth Division;
but the Second Provisional Battalion, being thrown back _en
potence_, opened a heavy fire and charged the enemy, who thereupon
retreated to their trenches; the brigade then pushed up the hill,
and carried the point to which its efforts had been directed. The
city of _Toulouse_ was now enclosed on all sides except that of
the canal of Languedoc, along which a road was left open by the
Duke of Wellington, in order to save the town from the destruction
which must have followed its being taken by storm. Of this road
the French availed themselves, and, retreating during the night,
encamped about three leagues off. Both armies being now apprised
of the abdication of Napoleon, the battle of _Toulouse_ closed at
once the campaign and the war. In addition to the other marks of
distinction granted to the regiment for meritorious services, it
has been authorised by his Majesty to assume the word _Toulouse_.
In commemoration of the meritorious services performed during the
Peninsula war, his Majesty was also graciously pleased to authorise
the word _Peninsula_, to be borne upon the colours and appointments
of the QUEEN'S ROYAL.
The division of the QUEEN'S ROYAL serving on the continent
embarked at Barsac in June, and landing at Cork marched to Fermoy,
where it stayed about a month, after which it proceeded to
Plymouth, and subsequently joined the head-quarters at Chichester.
[Sidenote: 1815]
During the whole of the year 1815 the regiment was stationed at
Gosport; and in January 1816 it was moved to Chatham, and from
thence, on the 11th of April, to Portsmouth, where it embarked
for the West Indies on the 24th of April, 1816, having previously
received 300 general service men from the depôt in the Isle of
Wight. It landed at Barbadoes on the 5th of June, where it was
quartered in barracks at St. Anne's.
Some time before the QUEEN'S arrived in Barbadoes,
martial law had been proclaimed in consequence of an insurrection
among the negroes, which, however, was soon quelled. The sickly
season, which usually sets in about the month of September, was
this year one of the most fatal remembered for a long period,
and the QUEEN'S ROYAL felt all its severity. In October
the yellow fever broke out and raged with unabated fury until
Christmas, during which short space it carried off 11 officers,
upwards of 200 men, and more than half the women and children
of the regiment. The officers who fell victims to its fury were
Major Conolly, Captain Gordon, Lieutenants Clutterbuck, M'Dougall,
Grey, Norman, and Grant; Lieutenant and Adjutant Spencer,
Assistant-Surgeon Pendergrast, and Ensigns Massie and Richmond, to
whose memory their surviving brother-officers erected a handsome
marble monument in the Cathedral Church of Bridgetown.
[Sidenote: 1817]
In 1817, the right wing of the regiment embarked for St. Vincent,
and the left for Grenada; the men continued to suffer from
dysentery, and other complaints which followed the ravages of the
fever, and many were carried off. Amongst the number was Lieutenant
Adams, who died of fever in Grenada.
[Sidenote: 1819]
[Sidenote: 1820]
In April, 1819, the regiment embarked for Demerara and Berbice,
the head-quarters with seven companies being stationed at the
first, and the three other companies at the latter place. The men
were very healthy at the time of their arrival, but the climate
of these colonies (originally settled by the Dutch), the soil of
which lies below the level of the sea, soon, and severely, affected
both officers and privates. They suffered first under intermittent
fever, but the yellow fever afterwards made its appearance, and
carried off great numbers. The detachment stationed at Berbice,
which remained perfectly healthy until the month of November 1820,
was, in a few subsequent weeks, nearly annihilated by that baneful
malady, amongst whose victims were Major Thistlethwaite, the
commandant, and Lieutenant Glasson.
About this time the regiment received a new pair of colours, which
were consecrated, in due form, on the parade ground near Eve Leary
barracks, on the 10th of November, 1820, and presented by Mrs.
Jordan, wife of Lieutenant-Colonel John Jordan, then commanding the
regiment. After the ceremony a splendid entertainment was given by
the officers.
[Sidenote: 1821]
The regiment having completed five years' service on the West
Indian station, was relieved, in 1821, by the Twenty-first
Fusiliers, and ordered home; it embarked on the 10th, sailed on
the 13th of April, and landed at Gosport on the 13th of June.
From Gosport it proceeded to Winchester, and after a short stay
there, to Brighton, where it was reviewed by the Duke of York, when
his Royal Highness was pleased to express his approbation of the
appearance of the corps. On the 24th of August, 1821, the regiment,
still at Brighton, was reduced to eight companies on the following
establishment:--1 colonel, 1 lieutenant-colonel, 2 majors, 8
captains, 10 lieutenants, 6 ensigns, 5 staff, 29 serjeants, 24
corporals, 12 drummers, and 552 privates.
[Sidenote: 1822]
In April, 1822, the regiment received a route to march to Hull in
Yorkshire, where it remained in garrison a few weeks: in June it
was ordered to proceed to Dublin, and arrived there on the 13th of
July following.
General Coates[32], after commanding the regiment nearly
twenty-eight years, died on the 22nd of July, 1822, and was
succeeded in the Colonelcy by Major-General Sir Henry Torrens,
K.C.B., Adjutant-General to the Forces.
[Sidenote: 1824]
The regiment remained at Dublin until May, 1824, when it embarked
for England, and proceeded to Gosport, and in the month of August
following it was moved to Chatham.
[Sidenote: 1825]
[Sidenote: 1826]
[Sidenote: 1827]
In the early part of February, 1825, the regiment, consisting of
thirty-two serjeants, twenty drummers, and seven hundred and forty
rank and file, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel J. Williams[33],
marched from Chatham, and embarked at Gravesend for Bombay, where
it arrived in the beginning of June, 1825. An augmentation of two
companies, with a recruiting company, was made to the regiment
on its embarkation for India service. This reinforcement sailed
shortly after, and the whole corps, after assembling at Bombay,
marched to Poonah, the capital of the Deccan, in which cantonment
it arrived early in 1826. From Poonah four companies of the
QUEEN'S ROYAL were detached in September, 1827, on an
expedition against the Rajah of Koolapore, in the Mahratta country,
south of Bombay. The light company of the QUEEN'S, with
the light companies of the 20th and other regiments, were formed
into a light battalion, under Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Place[34],
of the Queen's, and proceeded for the above destination. The
service terminated the same year by the surrender of the territory
and the capitulation of the Rajah.
[Sidenote: 1828]
Major-General Sir Henry Torrens, K.C.B.[35] (Adjutant-General of
the Forces), died on the 22nd of August, 1828, and was succeeded,
as Colonel of the QUEEN'S ROYAL, by General the Right
Honourable Sir William Keppel, G.C.B., from the Sixty-seventh
Regiment.
[Sidenote: 1831]
In the beginning of 1831, the regiment marched to Bombay, to
take a tour of duty at the Presidency, and occupied its former
cantonments at Calaba. The monsoon of 1831 passed off without any
of the destructive effects which marked that of 1825, when the
regiment lost many valuable men. The casualties in the regiment,
from climate, were little beyond what might be expected in
European countries; and during its service in India, the same
result has attended the good order and regularity maintained in
the QUEEN'S. It is due to the corps to observe, that
drunkenness has so far been kept within bounds as to be considered
an unusual crime, and to be unknown in a company for a month
together. To this happy cause may be attributed the healthy state
of the regiment, and the circumstance of the hospital having at
times been without a single soldier in it. If greater proof of the
efficiency of the regiment were required, such would be perceived
by reference to the reports of the inspecting generals.
[Sidenote: 1834]
In 1834 the QUEEN'S was relieved by the 40th Regiment, and
returned to its former cantonments in the Deccan.
General the Right Honourable Sir William Keppel[36], G.C.B., died
on the 11th of December, 1834, and the Colonelcy of the QUEEN'S
ROYAL was by his Majesty given to Lieutenant-General the
Right Honourable Sir James Kempt, G.C.B. and G.C.H., from the 40th
Regiment.
[Sidenote: 1837]
The Queen's Royal Regiment has continued to be employed in the
Presidency of Bombay to the end of the year 1837, the period of
the termination of this Record. It remains an efficient corps, and
the laurels which it acquired in every quarter of the globe are
preserved untarnished in the distant shores of India.
* * * * *
NOTE.--_The Compiler of this Record feels it his duty to
acknowledge the most effective assistance which he has derived from
Major Charles Head, late of the Queen's Royal Regiment, and from
the devotedness which that gentleman has evinced in searching for
the detail of all occurrences in which the honour of his late corps
was concerned._
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The marriage portion of Queen Catherine included the city of
Tangier, the Island of Bombay, and a sum equal to 300,000_l._
sterling. Tangier is a place of great antiquity, and was formerly
one of the most splendid cities in Africa. It is stated by
Procopius Cæsariensis to have been founded by the Phœnicians; it
was known by the name of _Tingis_, or _Tinja_, and was taken by the
Romans under Sertorius. It was afterwards captured by the Vandals,
and was retaken by the celebrated Belisarius, who restored it to
Justinian. On the invasion of the Saracens it was surrendered to
them by Count Julian. In the fifteenth century it was the scene of
several desperate engagements between the Moors and Portuguese; and
in 1437 Prince Ferdinand was defeated before the city, and his army
subjected to an ignominious capitulation. In 1471 it was taken by
Alfonso V., king of Portugal. After the death of Sebastian, it fell
into the hands of Spain; but upon the restoration of the Braganza
family to the throne of Portugal, in 1640, it was once more annexed
to that monarchy.
[2] A memorandum on the subject of Regimental Colours is given in
the Appendix, and marked E.
[3] Copy of a letter addressed by King Charles II.:--
'To the Earl of Peterborough.
'Dated Whitehall, y_{e} 21^{st} of 10^{ber} 1661.
'My Lord Peterborough:--I am very well satisfied of your care
and dilligence in the employment your are in, for which I thank
you very heartily. And assure yourself I have soe just a sense
of this and all your other services, as you shall find upon all
occasions how much I esteem and value all those who serve me
faithfully. I have noe more to adde at present only to desire
you to lett those honest men knowe who are along with you, y^t
they shall allwayes be in my particular care and protection, as
persons y^t venture themselves in my service. And so wishing you
a good voyage I remain
'Y^r very aff^{nate} friend
'CHARLES R.'
'_Bibl. Harl._, 6844.'
[4] Mercurius Publicus.
[5] These battalions were part of the royal force which fought
for Charles I. during the civil war in England. In 1657 they
entered the service of Spain; and in 1660 were placed in garrison
at Dunkirk; in 1663 they were incorporated in the Queen's Tangier
Regiment.
Dunkirk had been taken from the Spaniards by the combined armies of
England and France in 1658, and was ceded in 1659 to England. It
was sold by King Charles II. to the French, for 500,000_l._
[6] HENRY, LORD MORDAUNT, _second_ EARL _of_
PETERBOROUGH, was the son and heir of _John, first Earl
of Peterborough_, who died in 1642. He raised a regiment, at his
own expense, in behalf of King Charles I.; was wounded at the
_battle of Newbury_ on the 27th of October, 1644, and in 1648 was
concerned, with the _Earl of Holland_, in an attempt to rescue the
King from his imprisonment:--the _Earl of Holland_ was taken, and
was beheaded in February, 1649; the _Earl of Peterborough_, and
his brother _John_, (who was created _Lord Mordaunt_ and _Viscount
Avelon_ on the 10th of July, 1659,) escaped, and were voted
traitors to the Commonwealth, and their estates were sequestered.
The services of the Earl of Peterborough, in support of the royal
cause, during the civil wars, entitled him to the favour of King
Charles II. at the Restoration; and the Colonelcy of the Queen's
regiment of foot, and the governorship of Tangier, were deservedly
conferred upon a nobleman who, under the severest trials of his
fortitude and consistency, had shown himself a constant and zealous
supporter of monarchical government. He was employed in several
important situations of trust in the service of King James II.,
and on the 20th of June, 1685, he was appointed colonel of the 3rd
Regiment of Horse, (now the 2nd Dragoon Guards,) from which he was
removed at the Revolution in 1688. His lordship died on the 19th
of June, 1697, and was succeeded in his titles, &c. by his nephew,
CHARLES, _third Earl of Peterborough_, so celebrated in
the wars in Spain in the reign of Queen Anne.
[7] History of Tangier, published by authority in 1664.
[8] History of Tangier, London, 1664.
[9] Andrew Rutherford, Earl of Teviot, was of a Scotch family, and
he commanded a battalion of Scots Guards in the French service
for several years. He attained the rank of Lieutenant-General,
in France, and enjoyed considerable reputation for his military
talents. At the Restoration he accompanied King Charles II. to
England, and having been especially recommended to the notice of
his sovereign by Louis XIV., was created, in 1661, Lord Rutherford.
He was appointed, on the 22nd of May, 1661, to succeed Sir Edward
Harley as Governor of Dunkirk, which he held until the place
was sold and delivered up to the French in 1662: on the 2nd of
February, 1663, he was advanced to the dignity of _Earl of Teviot_.
He was killed in an engagement with the Moors on the 4th of May,
1664, as above stated; and dying without issue, his title became
extinct.
[10] The Earl of Middleton who was appointed Governor of Tangier,
was _John, first Earl_, so celebrated in the History of Scotland
during the civil wars, and in the early years of King Charles's
Restoration. He had been deprived, in 1663, of all his offices, and
received the governorship of Tangier as a kind of honourable exile.
Charles, second Earl of Middleton, his son, followed the fortunes
of the House of Stuart, and his estate was forfeited by Act of
Parliament, 1695.
[11] _William O'Brien_, second _Earl of Inchiquin_, served under
his father in Catalonia, and in other foreign wars, during which,
being ordered to command the troops sent to assist the Portuguese
in their revolt from Spain, he and his father, with all the family,
were taken by an Algerine corsair. In this engagement he lost his
eye by a shot. In 1675 he was appointed Captain General of His
Majesty's Forces in Africa, and Governor and Vice-Admiral of the
Royal Citadel of Tangier, and of the adjacent parts, in which
government he continued six years. In 1688 he was attainted by
King James's Parliament, and had his estate sequestered; during
which troubles he headed a considerable body of Protestants in
Munster, who, being surprised by Major-General M'Carthy, were all
disarmed. After the Revolution, he was made Governor of Jamaica and
Vice-Admiral of the seas thereof; in which island he lived sixteen
months only after his arrival. He died in January, 1691, at St.
Jago de la Vega.
[12] Sir Palmes Fairborne was son of Colonel Stafford Fairborne,
of Nottinghamshire. He served as a soldier of fortune at the siege
of Candia. There is a monument to his memory in Westminster Abbey,
with a long and elegant inscription, in verse, from the pen of
Dryden. His son, Sir Stafford Fairborne, was an Admiral in the
reigns of King William and Queen Anne.
[13] Lieutenant-Colonel Sackville was promoted to the rank of
Colonel on the 12th of June, 1685; of Brigadier-General on the
3rd of July, 1685; and of Major-General on the 7th of November,
1688. He gave up his commissions to King James II. on the 19th of
December, 1688.
[14] Narrative of the great engagement at Tangier, 1680.
[15] Colonel Piercy Kirke had served under the Duke of Monmouth in
the army of the King of France, by the special permission of his
Majesty King Charles II., granted on the 23rd of February, 1673:
he was Captain Lieutenant of the Earl of Oxford's own troop of the
Royal Regiment of Horse Guards in 1675, and was promoted from that
regiment to be Lieutenant-Colonel of the Earl of Plymouth's, or
the 2nd Tangier Regiment, (now the 4th Foot) on its being raised
in 1680, and he embarked with it for Tangier in September of that
year. Having distinguished himself in several actions with the
Moors, on the death of the Earl of Plymouth at Tangier, he was
promoted to the Colonelcy of the 2nd Tangier Regiment on the 27th
of November, 1680, and was transferred to the Queen's Regiment on
the 19th of April, 1682.
[16] The following rewards were paid to four soldiers of the Queen
Dowager's Regiment of Foot, who were wounded at the battle of
Sedgemoor: viz., James Barnes, John Rosse, James Resin, and John
Pawling; ten marks, amounting to £6 13_s._ 4_d._ to each man.--_War
Office Records._
[17] Story's Wars in Ireland.
[18] Memoirs of the Duke of Berwick.
[19] A quantity of dollars was taken by the QUEEN DOWAGER'S
REGIMENT at Vigo, and a number of them was distributed amongst
the soldiers as a reward for their gallantry. After its return to
England the regiment received 561_l._ 10_s._ prize-money. _Bibl.
Harl._ 7025.
[20] The following was the disposition of the forces under the
command of the _Duke of Ormond_, upon their arrival in England from
Spain, in November, 1702, _viz._--
Lloyd's 3rd Dragoons (detachment) _Portsmouth_.
Foot Guards, 1st, and Coldstream _Gravesend_ and
_Chatham_.
Sir H. Bellasis' 2nd Foot _Portsmouth_.
Churchill's 3rd " _Chatham_.
Seymour's 4th " _Plymouth_.
Columbine's 6th " _Portsmouth_.
Royal Fusileers 7th " _Tilbury_.
Villiers's (Marines) 31st " _Plymouth_.
Fox's (Marines) 32nd " _Portsmouth_.
Lord Shannon's _Chatham_.
[21] The Queen Dowager Catherine was born at Villa Vicosa on the
14th of November, 1638, being daughter of Don Juan XVII., then
Duke of Braganza, (afterwards King of Portugal,) and only sister
of Don Alphonso XVII., and Don Pedro, afterwards King of Portugal.
Her marriage with Charles II., King of England, was solemnised in
Portugal, the Earl of Sandwich being proxy for King Charles on
the 23rd of April, 1662. She embarked for England, and arrived at
Portsmouth on the 14th of May (O.S.), and was married to the King
by Doctor Gilbert Sheldon, the Bishop of London, on the 21st of the
same month.
[22] _David_, first _Earl of Portmore_, K.T., was son and heir
of _Sir Alexander Robertson_, Bart., of Strowan, in the county
of Perth, who assumed the name of _Colyear_, and who was Colonel
of one of the regiments of the Scots' Brigade in the service of
Holland.
_David Colyear_ engaged as a volunteer with the Dutch forces
under the Prince of Orange, in 1674, and came to England with
his Highness at the Revolution in 1688. He served, with great
reputation, in Ireland and in Flanders, and was created Baron
Portmore and Blackness in 1699. In 1703 he was created Baron
Colyear, Viscount Milsington, and Earl of Portmore. He was promoted
to the rank of General in 1710; in the same year he was appointed
Commander of the Forces in Scotland, and was allowed to sell his
colonelcy of the Queen's Regiment. He was appointed Governor of
Gibraltar in 1713, and in 1714 he succeeded the Earl of Stair as
Colonel of the Second, or Royal North British Dragoons. He died at
Gibraltar, on the 2nd of January, 1730.
[23] Sir Charles Montague was the son of Brigadier-General Edward
Montague, Colonel of the Eleventh Foot, and Governor of Hull,
nephew of George, second Earl of Halifax, and great nephew to the
celebrated minister Halifax. He had an elder brother, Edward,
killed at the battle of Fontenoy, being then Lieutenant-Colonel of
the Thirty-first Foot. Sir Charles attained the rank of Colonel in
the army on the 30th of November, 1755; Major-General on the 25th
of June, 1759; and Lieutenant-General on the 19th of January, 1761.
He died on the 1st of August, 1777.
[24] Lieut.-General Daniel Jones was promoted to the Colonelcy of
the QUEEN'S ROYAL from the Third Foot Guards, in which
regiment he had attained the rank of Captain and Lieutenant-Colonel
on the 7th of November, 1759, and Major on the 18th of April, 1770.
His commissions as a general officer were, Major-General on the
28th of August, 1777, and Lieutenant-General on the 19th of July,
1779.
[25] Major-General Alexander Stewart attained the rank of Captain
in the Thirty-seventh Foot in 1761; and was promoted to be Major
of the same regiment on the 9th of August, 1771. He was appointed
Lieutenant-Colonel of the Third Foot on the 7th of July, 1775;
Colonel in the army on the 16th of May, 1780; and Major-General on
the 28th of April, 1790. In the campaigns of 1794, in Flanders,
he commanded the First Brigade of British infantry, from which he
retired in consequence of ill health, brought on by severe fatigue
about a month previous to his death. General Stewart was of Afton,
in Wigtonshire, and Member of Parliament for Kirkcudbright.
[26] Lieutenant Charles Turner was promoted to a company in
the African Colonial Corps, on the 8th of June, 1803; to a
Majority of the same corps on the 18th of April, 1804; and to
the Lieutenant-Colonelcy of the West Indian Rangers, on the 28th
of May, 1807. He joined the army in Portugal, under Marshal Sir
William Carr Beresford, K.B., and lost his left arm in the repulse
of a sortie of the French from Badajoz, on the 10th of May, 1811,
while in command of the 17th Portuguese Infantry. He was promoted
to the rank of Major-General on the 19th of July, 1821; and was
appointed Captain General and Commander-in-Chief in Africa, on the
24th of June, 1824; he died at Sierra Leone on the 7th of March,
1826.
[27] Lieutenant Derisley was killed while on piquet before the Fort
St. Julien, Rosetta; and Ensign Allman was wounded in the action
of the 21st of March. Besides those who died whilst the regiment
was in Egypt, there were 56 left sick in that country on its
embarkation, 29 of whom fell a sacrifice to disease.
[28] See General Orders in Appendix B.
[29] See General Orders of the 18th of January and the 1st of
February, 1809, inserted in Appendix C.
[30] At the battle of Corunna, Samuel Evans, a private in the
Grenadier company of the QUEEN'S ROYAL, was carried off
among the wounded. He was landed in England, and died in the
Military Hospital at Plymouth, on the 30th of January. A _post
mortem_ examination showed that he had been _shot through the
heart_, yet had survived _sixteen days_. His heart is preserved in
the museum of the above Hospital.
[31] See General Orders of the 18th of August, 1809, in Appendix D.
[32] General James Coates was eighty-two years of age, and at
the time of his death, the fourth in seniority on the list of
Generals. He was appointed Major of the Sixty-sixth Foot, the 3rd
of October, 1766, and Lieutenant-Colonel of the Nineteenth Foot on
the 11th of September, 1775; of which regiment he continued to be
Lieutenant-Colonel, till the 20th of December, 1794, when he was
promoted to the Colonelcy of the SECOND. His commissions
as general officer bear date, Major-General, the 28th of April,
1790; Lieutenant-General, the 26th of January, 1797; and General,
the 29th of April, 1802.
[33] Lieutenant-Colonel Williams had been with the regiment in the
West Indies. It was probably in consequence of his previous sojourn
in an enervating climate that he felt, shortly after arriving in
India, symptoms of chronic disease, so alarming when encountered
in the heated regions of the tropics. A return to Europe was the
course recommended, but Colonel Williams said, that having been
honoured by his King with the command of an old distinguished
corps, which he had conducted to the shores of India, he thought
it was not for a soldier in the prime of life to abandon his post
on the first summons, and preferred making trial of an elevated
climate on the Neilgherry-hills, in hopes of rejoining his friends
and comrades, with whose fortunes he wished to identify his own.
The change of abode was found to prolong his life, but did not
remove the complaint; and when a reluctant consent was given
to depart for England, it was too late: the hand of death was
approaching him, and he died at Cannanore, on the Malabar coast,
whither he had been conveyed for embarkation.
[34] When Lieutenant-Colonel Place was ordered to Koolapore,
he was so far gone in constitution, that his medical advisers
suggested the propriety of relinquishing the attempt to proceed
on active service. "I go--if I die on the road," was the reply of
this respected officer. On this occasion, as above stated, he was
charged with the command of a light battalion, and although no
fighting took place, he gained the confidence and esteem of all
who came in contact with him. Whilst employed on this expedition,
he was appointed, by the Commander-in-Chief in India, (Lord
Combermere,) to take command of the 41st Regiment, which was also
at Koolapore. Like the former appeal, this was also one of duty
and honour; and private considerations were again disregarded.
Colonel Place had a perfect sense of his danger which at this time
was but too apparent to every observer. He assumed the command of
the 41st; and by his death, which followed in a few weeks after,
his profession was deprived of a brave soldier, and his associates
of a valuable friend. Colonel Place had seen much hard service
in command of the light company of the 77th Regiment, whilst
employed in the Peninsula war, and he had been quartered in Jamaica
as major of the same corps shortly before his appointment as
Lieutenant-Colonel to the QUEEN'S.
[35] See Memoir in Appendix marked F.
[36] The Right Honourable the late General Sir William Keppel,
G.C.B., died at Paris on the 11th of December, 1834: he served
fifty-six years in the army, having entered the service in the
year 1778. He served in North America and the West Indies, and
was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General in 1803; Colonel
Commandant of the 60th Foot, 24th of April, 1806; Colonel of the
67th Foot, 1811; Colonel of the 2nd or Queen's, 1828; General in
the army, 1813. Sir William Keppel was for many years Groom of the
Bedchamber and Equerry to his Majesty King George IV., who bestowed
on him the appointment of Governor of Guernsey, when it became
vacant by the death of the Earl of Pembroke, in 1827.
APPENDIX.
A. Chronological Table of the Services of the Second, or Queen's
Royal Regiment.
B. General Orders relative to the Campaign in Egypt in 1801.
C. General Orders relative to the Battle of Corunna in January, 1809.
D. General Orders relative to the Battle of Talavera in July, 1809.
E. Memorandum on the subject of Regimental Colours, 1835.
F. Memoir of Major-General Sir Henry Torrens, K.C.B., late
Adjutant-General of the Forces, and Colonel of the Queen's Royal.
A.
Chronological Table
OF
THE SERVICES OF THE SECOND, OR QUEEN'S ROYAL REGIMENT OF FOOT; THE
SUCCESSION OF ITS COLONELS; &c.
FROM THE PERIOD OF ITS FORMATION IN 1661 TO 1833.
------------+---------------------+-----------------------+---------------
| STATIONS, | COLONELS, |
Year. | Battles, Sieges, | and | Dates of
| &c. &c. on which | Dates of Appointment. | Removal, &c.
| employed. | |
------------+---------------------+-----------------------+---------------
| | |
1661 |Raised for service |{Henry Mordaunt, }|
| at Tangier, on the |{ _second_ Earl of }|Resigned in
| northern coast of |{ Peterborough. }| April, 1663.
| Africa. |{ 30th Sept., 1661. }|
| | |
1662--Jan. |Embarked for Tangier | |
| | |
| |{Andrew Rutherford, }|Killed at
1663 |At Tangier |{ Earl of Teviot. }| Tangier, 4th
| |{ 9th April, 1663. }| May, 1664.
| | |
1664 |At Tangier |{Henry Norwood. }|Died at
| |{ 10th June, 1664. }| Tangier, 1668.
to | | |
| |{John, Earl of }|Died at
1668 |At Tangier |{ Middleton. }| Tangier,
| |{ 15th May, 1668. }| 25th Jan.1675.
to | | |
| |{William O'Brien, }|
1675 |At Tangier |{ Earl of Inchiquin. }|Resigned, 1680.
| |{ 5th March, 1675. }|
| | |
to | | {|Died of wounds
| | {| at Tangier,
| |{Sir Palmes {| 27th Oct.
1680 |At Tangier |{ Fairborne, Kt. {| 1680, 14 days
| |{ 10th Nov., 1680. {| before the
| | {| date of his
| | {| appointment.
| | |
1681 } | | |
1682 } |At Tangier | |
1683 } | | |
| | |
1684--April |Evacuated Tangier, |} |
| and arrived in |} |
| England |} |
| |} |
| |} |
1685--July 5|England; in the |} |
| battle of Sedgmoor,|} |
| and assisted in |} |
| suppressing the |} |
| rebellion of the |} |
| Duke of Monmouth |} |
| |} |
| |} |
1686 } |England |} |
1687 } | |} |
| |} |
1688--Dec. |England; was marched |} |
| to Wallingford, |} |
| Berks, on the |} |
| arrival of King |} |
| William III. in |} |
| London; and on the |} |
| abdication of King |} |
| James II. it |} |
| adhered to the |} |
| Protestant |} |
| King William |} |
| |} |
1689 |Embarked for Ireland,|}Piercy Kirke, removed}|
| with 9th & 11th |} from the 2nd }|Died at Breda,
| regiments, and |} Tangier Regiment, }| Oct. 1691.
| assisted at the |} now the 4th Foot. }|
| raising of the |} 19th April, 1682. }|
| siege of London- |} |
| derry |} |
| |} |
| |} |
1690 | Ireland |} |
| |} |
-- July 1 |Battle of the Boyne; |} |
| Siege of Limerick; |} |
| Relief of Birr; |} |
| Skirmish of |} |
| Lanesborough |} |
| |} |
1691--Feb. |At the Action of the |} |
| Moat of Grenogue; |} |
| Capture of Cairn |} |
| Castle; Capture of |} |
| Conway Castle; |} |
| Skirmish at Wyand's|} |
-- May | Town |} |
| |} |
-- June |At the Siege of |} |
| Athlone |} |
| |} |
-- July 12 |At the battle of |} |
| Aghrim |} |
| |} |
-- Aug. |At the siege of |} |
| Limerick |} |
| | |
1692 |Embarked for |} |
| Flanders |} |
| |} |
-- |Returned to England |} |
| |} |
-- Aug. |Re-embarked for |} |
| Flanders |} |
| |} |
1693--July29|Battle of Landen |} |
| |} |
1694 |In Flanders |} |
| |} |
1695--July |Siege of Namur; |}William Selwyn, {|Removed to the
| returned to England|} promoted from the {| 22nd Regiment,
| |} Coldstream Foot {| 29th June,
| |} Guards. {| 1701, in exch-
1696 |In England |} 18th Dec., 1691 {| ange with Sir
| |} {| Hen. Bellasis.
1697 |Proceeded to |} |
| Flanders; Arrived in|} |
| England after the |} |
| Peace of Ryswick |} |
1698 } | |} |
1699 } |England |} |
1700 } | |} |
| | |
| | {|Dismissed in
1701 |In England |}Sir Henry Bellasis, {| Feb. 1702, by
| |} exchanged from the {| sentence of a
1702 |Embarked for Cadiz |} 22nd Foot. {| Court-Martial,
| |} 28th June, 1701. {| for embezzle-
-- Oct. |Returned to England |} {| ment of money,
| | {| &c. at Port
| | {| Saint Mary's.
| | |
1703 |Embarked for Holland |} |
| |} |
-- May |Distinguished at the |} |
| defence of Tongres |} |
| |} |
1704 |Embarked from Holland|} |
| for Portugal |} |
| |} |
1705 |Siege of Valentia de |} |
| Alcantara |} |
|------ Albuquerque |}David Colyear, Earl }|Allowed to
|------ Badajoz |} of Portmore. }| sell in 1710.
1706 |------ Alcantara |} 27th Feb., 1703. }|
|------ Ciudad Rodrigo|} |
|Advanced to Madrid |} |
| |} |
1707--Apr.25|At the battle of |} |
| Almanza |} |
1708 } | |} |
1709 } |In England |} |
1710 } | |} |
| | |
1711 |Embarked on an |} |
| expedition for |} |
| Canada |} |
| |} |
|Returned to England |} |
| |}Lieut.-Col. Piercy }|
1712 } | |} Kirke, _promoted by}|Died Jan. 1,
to } |In England |} purchase_. }| 1741.
1729 } | |} 19th Sept., 1710. }|
| |} |
1730--June |Embarked for |} |
| Gibraltar |} |
| |} |
1731 } | |} |
to } |Gibraltar |} |
1740 } | |} |
| | |
1741 } | |} |
to } |At Gibraltar |}Thomas Fowke, from {|Removed to the
1748 } | |} the 43rd (formerly {| 14th Regiment
| |} the 54th) Regiment.{| of Foot, on
1749 |Embarked for Ireland |} 12th August, 1741. {| the 11th Nov.
| |} {| 1755.
1750 } | |} |
to } |Ireland |} |
1755 } | |} |
| | |
| | {|Removed to 2nd
to | |{Hon. John Fitz- {| Irish Horse,
1760 |Ireland |{ William. {| now 5th Drag.
| |{ 12th Nov., 1755. {| Guards, 27th
| | {| Nov. 1760.
| | |
1764 |Ireland |} |
| |} |
1765 } | |} |
to } |Isle of Man |} |
1768 } | |} |
| |} |
1769 |Returned to Ireland, |}Sir Charles Montague,}|
| and embarked |} K.B. from the 59th }|Died 1st
| for Gibraltar |} Regiment. }| August, 1777.
| |} 27th Nov., 1760. }|
1770 } | |} |
to } |Gibraltar |} |
1774 } | |} |
| |} |
1775--Dec. |Returned to England |} |
| |} |
1776 |England |} |
| | |
1777 } | |} |
to } |England |} |
1783 } | |} |
| |} |
-- Oct. |Embarked for |} |
| Gibraltar |} |
| |} |
1784 } | |}Daniel Jones, }|
to } |Gibraltar |} promoted from the }|Died 20th
1791 } | |} 3rd Foot Guards. }| Nov. 1793.
| |} 7th August, 1777. }|
1792--April |Arrived in England |} |
| |} |
1793--Aug. |England; embarked as |} |
| marines in the |} |
| fleet under Admiral|} |
| Earl Howe |} |
| | |
1794--June 1|Engaged as marines in| |
| the victory over |{Alexander Stewart, }|
| the French fleet |{ promoted from the }|Died Dec.
| |{ 3rd Foot. }| 1794.
-- Nov. |Relanded from the |{ 20th Nov., 1793. }|
| fleet | |
| | |
-- Dec. 25 |Embarked for the |} |
| West Indies |} |
| |} |
1795 |In the West Indies |} |
| |} |
|Two companies at |} |
| Guernsey |} |
| |} |
1796 |In the West Indies |} |
| |} |
1797--March |Returned to England |} |
| |} |
1798--June |Embarked for Ireland |} |
| |} |
1799--July |Embarked for England |} |
| |} |
-- Aug. |Embarked for Holland,|} |
| and engaged at the |} |
| Helder |} |
| |} |
-- Oct. 2 |Engaged at the battle|} |
| of Egmont-op-Zee |} |
| |} |
-- Oct. 6 |Engaged at Alkmaar |}James Coates. }|[_See next
| |} 20th Dec., 1794. }| page._]
-- Oct. |Returned to England |} |
| |} |
1800--May |Embarked on an |} |
| expedition to the |} |
| coast of France |} |
| |} |
-- June |Proceeded to Minorca,|} |
| Gibraltar, and |} |
| Malta |} |
| |} |
1801--March |Proceeded to Egypt, |} |
| and landed at |} |
| Aboukir Bay |} |
| |} |
-- Mar. 21 |At the battle of |} |
| Alexandria |} |
| |} |
-- Dec. |Embarked for |} |
| Gibraltar |} |
| |} |
1802 } | |} |
1803 } |At Gibraltar |} |
1804 } | |} |
| | |
| | |
1805--Nov. |Embarked for England |} |
| |} |
1806 |In England |} |
| |} |
1807--June |Embarked for Guernsey|} |
| |} |
1808--June |Returned to England |} |
| |} |
-- July |Embarked for Portugal|} |
| |} |
-- Aug. 21 |At the battle of |} |
| Vimiera |} |
| |} |
1809--Jan.16|At the battle of |} |
| Corunna, and |} |
| returned to England|} |
| |} |
| |} |
-- July |Embarked in the |} |
| expedition to |} |
| Walcheren |} |
| |} |
-- Dec. |Returned to England |} |
| |} |
1810 |In England |} |
| |} |
1811--Jan. |Embarked for Portugal|} |
| |} |
1812 |Advanced into Spain |} |
| |}James Coates. }|Died 22nd
| |} [_Continued from }| July, 1822.
-- July 22 |At the battle of |} preceding page._] }|
| Salamanca |} |
| |} |
1813--May 21|At the battle of |} |
| Vittoria |} |
| |} |
-- July |Engaged in the |} |
| Pyrenees |} |
| |} |
-- Nov. 10 |At the battle on the |} |
| Nivelle |} |
| |} |
1814--April |At the battle of |} |
8 | Toulouse |} |
| |} |
-- June |Embarked at Barsac, |} |
| and landed in |} |
| Ireland |} |
| |} |
-- July |Embarked for England |} |
| |} |
1815 |In England |} |
| |} |
1816--April |Embarked for the |} |
| West Indies. |} |
| |} |
1817 } | |} |
to } |West Indies |} |
1820 } | |} |
| |} |
1821--Aug. |Returned to England |} |
| |} |
1822--June |Embarked for Ireland |} |
| | |
1823 |In Ireland |} |
| |} |
1824--May |Embarked for England |}Maj.-Gen. Sir H. }|
| |} Torrens, K.C.B. }|Died 22d Aug.
1825--Feb. |Embarked for Bombay |} _Adjutant-General }| 1828.
| |} to the Forces._ }|
1826 } |Bombay |} 26th July, 1822. }|
1827 } |Poonah |} |
| | |
1828 } | |}Gen. _Right Hon._ Sir}|
to } |Bombay Presidency |} W. Keppel, G.C.B. }|Died 11th Dec.
1834 } | |} from the 67th }| 1834.
| |} Regiment. }|
| |} 25th August, 1828. }|
| | |
| |}Lt.-Gen. _Rt. Hon._ }|
| |} Sir James Kempt, }|
1835 |Bombay ditto |} G.C.B. from the }|
| |} 40th Regiment. }|
| |} 23rd Dec., 1834. }|
| | |
1836 |Bombay ditto | |
| | |
1837 |Bombay do. | |
------------+---------------------+-----------------------+---------------
B.
GENERAL ORDERS.
Horse-Guards, 16th May, 1801.
The recent events which have occurred in EGYPT have
induced His Majesty to lay his most gracious commands on His Royal
Highness the Commander-in-Chief, to convey to the troops employed
in that country His Majesty's highest approbation of their conduct;
and at the same time His Majesty has deemed it expedient, that
these his gracious sentiments should be communicated to every part
of His Army, not doubting that all ranks will thereby be inspired
with an honourable spirit of emulation, and an eager desire of
distinguishing themselves in their country's service.
Under the blessing of Divine Providence, His Majesty ascribes the
successes that 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 most 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 its 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.
The illustrious example of their Commander cannot fail to have
made an indelible impression on the gallant troops, at whose head,
crowned with victory and glory, he terminated his honourable
career; and His Majesty trusts that a due contemplation of the
talents and virtues, which he uniformly displayed in the course of
his valuable life, will for ever endear the memory of Sir RALPH
ABERCROMBIE to the British Army.
His Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief having thus obeyed
His Majesty's commands, cannot forbear to avail himself of this
opportunity of recapitulating the leading features of a series of
operations so honourable to the British Arms.
The boldness of the approach to the coast of Aboukir, in defiance
of a powerful and well-directed artillery,--the orderly formation
upon the beach, under the heaviest fire of grape and musketry,--the
reception and repulse of the enemy's cavalry and infantry,--the
subsequent charge of our troops, which decided the victory, and
established a footing on the shores of Egypt, are circumstances of
glory never surpassed in the military annals of the world!
The advance of the army, on the 13th of March, towards Alexandria,
presents the spectacle of a movement of infantry through an open
country, who, being attacked upon their march, _formed_, and
_repulsed_ the enemy; then advanced in line for three miles,
engaged along their whole front, until they drove the enemy to seek
his safety under the protection of his entrenched position. Such
had been the order and regularity of the advance!
Upon the 21st of March, the united force of the French in Egypt
attacked the position of the British Army.
An attack, begun an hour before daylight, could derive no advantage
over the vigilance of an army ever ready to receive it. The enemy's
most vigorous and repeated efforts were directed against the right
and centre. Our infantry fought in the plain, greatly inferior in
the number of their artillery, and unaided by cavalry.
They relied upon their discipline and their courage. The desperate
attacks of a veteran cavalry, joined to those of a numerous
infantry, which had vainly styled itself _Invincible_, were
everywhere repulsed: and a conflict the most severe terminated in
one of the most signal victories which ever adorned the annals of
the British nation!
In bringing forward these details, the Commander-in-Chief does
not call upon the Army merely _to admire_ but _to emulate_ such
conduct. Every soldier who feels for the honour of his country,
while he exults in events so splendid and important in themselves,
will henceforth have fresh motives for cherishing and enforcing the
practice of discipline, and by uniting, in the greatest perfection,
order and precision with activity and courage, will seek to uphold,
and transmit undiminished to posterity, the _Glory_ and _Honour_ of
the _British Arms_.
Nor is a less useful example to be derived from the conduct of the
distinguished Commander who fell in the field.
His steady observance of discipline,--his ever watchful attention
to the health and wants of his troops,--the persevering and
unconquerable spirit which marked his military career,--the
splendour of his actions in the field, and the heroism of his
death,--are worthy the imitation of all who desire, like him, a
life of honour and a death of glory.
By Order of His Royal Highness
The Commander-in-Chief,
HARRY CALVERT,
Colonel and Adjutant-General.
* * * * *
The following regiments were employed in Egypt, in 1801, and
were permitted by His Majesty King George the Third to bear on
their Colours the _Sphynx_, with the word "EGYPT," as
a distinguished mark of His Majesty's Royal approbation, and as
a lasting memorial of the glory acquired to His Majesty's Arms
by the zeal, discipline, and intrepidity of his troops in that
arduous and important campaign, _viz._:--
11th Light Dragoons, 1 Troop, Captain Money.
12th Light Dragoons, Col. Archdall.
26th, afterwards 23rd Light Dragoons, Lieut.-Col. R. Gordon.
Hompesch's Hussars, Major Sir Robert T. Wilson.
Coldstream Guards, 1st battalion.
3rd Guards, 1st battalion.
Royals, 2nd battalion, Lieut.-Col. D. Campbell.
2nd, or Queen's Royal, Colonel Lord Dalhousie.
8th Foot, or King's, Col. Drummond.
*10th, Lieut.-Col. Quarrell.
13th, Lieut.-Col. Hon. C. Colville.
18th, or Royal Irish, Lieut.-Col. H. T. Montresor.
20th, Lieut.-Col. G. Smith.
23rd, or Royal Welsh Fusiliers, Lieut.-Col. J. Hall.
24th Foot, Lieut.-Col. J. R. Forster.
25th, Colonel W. Dyott.
26th, Col. Lord Elphinstone.
27th, or Inniskilling, Lieut.-Col. S. Graham.
28th, Colonel Hon. E. Paget.
30th, Lieut.-Col. W. Wilkinson.
40th, (Flank Companies) Col. B. Spencer.
42nd, or Royal Highlanders, Lieut.-Col. W. Dickson.
44th Foot, Lieut.-Col. C. Tilson.
50th, Col. P. Wauchope.
54th, Lieut.-Col. J. T. Layard.
58th, Lieut.-Col. W. Houstoun.
61st, Lieut.-Col. F. Carruthers.
79th, Col. Alan Cameron.
*80th, Lieut.-Col. J. Montresor.
*86th, Lieut.-Col. Y. P. Lloyd.
*88th, Lieut.-Col. A. Duff.
89th, Col. W. Stewart.
90th, Col. Rowland Hill.
92nd, Lieut.-Col. C. Erskine.
Ancient Irish Fencibles.
Queen's German Regiment.
De Roll's Regiment.
Dillon's Regiment.
Corsican Rangers, Major H. Lowe.
NOTE.--The 10th, 80th, 86th, and 88th Regiments proceeded
from the East Indies, overland, under the orders of Major-General
David Baird, to join the Army in Egypt.
C.
GENERAL ORDERS.
His Majesty's Ship Audacious,
18th January, 1809.
The irreparable loss that has been sustained by the fall of
the Commander of the Forces, _Lieutenant-General_ SIR
JOHN MOORE, and the severe wound which has removed
_Lieutenant-General_ SIR DAVID BAIRD from his station,
render it the duty of _Lieutenant-General Hope_ to congratulate the
Army upon the successful result of the action of the 16th instant.
On no occasion has the undaunted valour of British troops ever been
more manifest. At the termination of a severe and harassing march,
rendered necessary by the superiority which the enemy had acquired,
and which had materially impaired the efficiency of the troops,
many disadvantages 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 employ, there is inherent in the
British officers and soldiers a bravery that knows not how to
yield,--that no circumstances can appal,--and that will ensure
victory when it is to be obtained by the exertion of any human
means.
The Lieutenant-General has the greatest satisfaction in
distinguishing such meritorious services as came within his
observation, or have been brought to his knowledge.
His acknowledgments are in a peculiar manner due to
_Lieutenant-General Lord William Bentinck_, and the brigade under
his command, consisting of the 4th, 42nd, and 50th regiments, which
sustained the weight of the attack.
_Major-General Manningham_, with his brigade, consisting of the
Royals, the 26th and 81st regiments, and _Major-General Warde_,
with the brigade of Guards, will also be pleased to accept his best
thanks for their steady and gallant conduct during the action.
To _Major-General Paget_, who, by a judicious movement of the
reserve, effectually contributed to check the progress of the
enemy on the right, and to the 1st battalion of the 52nd and 95th
regiments, which were thereby engaged, the greatest praise is
justly due.
That part of _Major-General Leith's_ brigade which was engaged,
consisting of the 59th regiment under the conduct of the
Major-General, also claims marked approbation.
The enemy not having rendered the attack on the left a serious
one, did not afford to the troops stationed in that quarter an
opportunity of displaying that gallantry which must have made him
repent the attempt.
The piquets and advanced posts, however, of the brigades under the
command of _Major-Generals Hill_ and _Leith_, and _Colonel Catlin
Craufurd_, conducted themselves with determined resolution, and
were ably supported by the officers commanding these brigades, and
by the troops of which they were composed.
It is peculiarly incumbent upon the Lieutenant-General to notice
the vigorous attack made by the 2nd battalion of the 14th regiment
under _Lieutenant-Colonel Nicolls_, which drove the enemy out of
the village, of the left of which he had possessed himself.
The exertions of _Lieutenant-Colonel Murray_, Quarter-Master
General, and of the other officers of the General Staff, during the
action, were unremitted, and deserve every degree of approbation.
The illness of _Brigadier-General Clinton_, Adjutant-General,
unfortunately deprived the army of the benefit of his services.
The Lieutenant-General hopes the loss in point of numbers is not
so considerable as might have been expected: he laments, however,
the fall of the gallant soldiers and valuable officers who have
suffered.
The Lieutenant-General knows that it is impossible in any language
he can use to enhance the esteem, or diminish the regret, that the
Army feels with him for its late Commander. His career has been
unfortunately too limited for his country, but has been sufficient
for his own fame. Beloved by the Army, honoured by his Sovereign,
and respected by his country, he has terminated a life devoted to
her service by a glorious death, leaving his name as a memorial,
an example, and an excitement to those who shall follow him in the
path of honour, and it is from his country alone that his memory
can receive the tribute which is its due.
(Signed) JOHN HOPE,
Lieutenant-General.
GENERAL ORDERS.
Horse-Guards, 1st February, 1809.
The benefits derived to an army from the example of a distinguished
commander do not terminate at his death: his virtues live in the
recollection of his associates, and his fame remains the strongest
incentive to great and glorious actions.
In this view, the Commander-in-Chief, amidst the deep and universal
regret which the death of _Lieutenant-General_ SIR JOHN
MOORE has occasioned, recalls to the troops the military
career of that illustrious officer for their instruction and
imitation.
SIR JOHN MOORE from his youth embraced the profession
with the feelings and sentiments of a soldier;--he felt that a
perfect knowledge and an exact performance of the humble but
important duties of a subaltern officer are the best foundations
for subsequent military fame; and his ardent mind, while it looked
forward to those brilliant achievements for which it was formed,
applied itself, with energy and exemplary assiduity, to the duties
of that station.
In the school of regimental duty he obtained that correct knowledge
of his profession so essential to the proper direction of the
gallant spirit of the soldier; and he was enabled to establish a
characteristic order and regularity of conduct, because the troops
found in their leader a striking example of the discipline which he
enforced on others.
Having risen to command, he signalised his name in the West Indies,
in Holland, and in Egypt. The unremitting attention with which he
devoted himself to the duties of every branch of his profession
obtained him the confidence of _Sir Ralph Abercrombie_, and he
became the companion in arms of that illustrious officer, who fell
at the head of his victorious troops in an action which maintained
our national superiority over the arms of France.
Thus SIR JOHN MOORE at an early period obtained, with
general approbation, that conspicuous station in which he
gloriously terminated his useful and honourable life.
In a military character obtained amidst the dangers of climate,
the privations incident to service, and the sufferings of
repeated wounds, it is difficult to select any one point as a
preferable subject for praise: it exhibits, however, one feature
so particularly characteristic of the man, and so important to
the best interests of the service, that the Commander-in-Chief is
pleased to mark it with his peculiar approbation--
THE LIFE OF SIR JOHN MOORE WAS SPENT AMONG THE TROOPS.
During the season of repose, his time was devoted to the care
and instruction of the officer and soldier; in war he courted
service in every quarter of the globe. Regardless of personal
considerations, he esteemed that to which his country called him,
_the post of honour_, and by his undaunted spirit and unconquerable
perseverance, he pointed the way to victory.
His country, the object of his latest solicitude, will rear a
monument to his lamented memory, and the Commander-in-Chief feels
he is paying the best tribute to his fame by thus holding him forth
as an EXAMPLE to the ARMY.
By Order of His Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief.
HARRY CALVERT,
Adjutant-General.
* * * * *
The following Regiments composed the Army under
Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore, at Corunna, on the 16th
January, 1809.
_Corps._ _Commanding Officers._
7th Light Dragoons Lieut.-Col. Vivian
10th ---- ---- Lieut.-Col. Leigh
15th ---- ---- Lieut.-Col. Grant
18th ---- ---- Lieut.-Col. Jones
3rd ---- ----, K. G. L. Major Burgwesel
Artillery Col. Harding
Engineers Major Fletcher
Waggon Train Detachment Lieut.-Colonel Langley
1st Foot Guards, 1st battalion Lieut.-Col. Cocks
---- ---- ---- 3rd " Lieut.-Col. Wheatley
1st Foot, 3rd battalion Major Muller
2nd ---- 1st ditto Lieut.-Col. Iremonger
4th ---- 1st ditto Lieut.-Col. Wynch
5th ---- 1st ditto Lieut.-Col. Mackenzie
6th ---- 1st ditto Major Gordon
9th ---- 1st ditto Lieut.-Col. Cameron
14th ---- 2nd ditto Lieut.-Col. Nicolls
20th ---- Lieut.-Col. Ross
23rd ---- 2nd battalion Lieut.-Col. Wyatt
26th ---- 1st ditto Lieut.-Col. Maxwell
28th ---- 1st ditto Lieut.-Col. Belson
32nd ---- 1st ditto Lieut.-Col. Hinde
36th ---- 1st ditto Lieut.-Col. Burn
38th ---- 1st ditto { Lieut.-Col. Hon. Charles
{ Greville
42nd ---- 1st ditto Lieut.-Col. Stirling
43rd ---- 1st ditto Lieut.-Col. Gifford
2nd ditto Lieut.-Col. Hull
50th ---- 1st ditto Major Napier
51st ---- Lieut.-Col. Darling
52nd ---- 1st ditto Lieut.-Col. Barclay
---- 2nd ditto Lieut.-Col. John Ross
59th ---- 2nd ditto Lieut.-Col. Fane
60th ---- 2nd ditto Lieut.-Col. Codd
5th ditto Major Davy
71st ---- 1st ditto Lieut.-Col. Pack
76th ---- 1st ditto Lieut.-Col. Symes
79th ---- 1st ditto Lieut.-Col. Cameron
81st ---- 2nd ditto Major Williams
82nd ---- Major M'Donald
91st ---- 1st ditto Major Douglas
92nd ---- 1st ditto Lieut.-Col. Napier
95th Rifle Regt., 1st ditto Lieut.-Col. Beckwith
2nd ditto Lieut.-Col. Wade
Staff Corps Detachments Lieut.-Col. Nicolay
1st Light Battalion, K. G. L. Lieut.-Col. Leonhard
2nd ---- ditto ditto Lieut.-Col. Halkett
D.
GENERAL ORDERS.
Horse Guards, 18th August, 1809.
The Commander-in-Chief has received the King's commands to notify
to the Army the splendid victory obtained by His Troops in Spain,
under the command of _Lieutenant-General the Right Honourable_
SIR ARTHUR WELLESLEY, on the 27th and 28th of last month,
at the _Battle_ of TALAVERA DE LA REYNA.
His Majesty is confident that His Army will learn with becoming
exultation that the enemy, after escaping by a precipitate
retreat from the well-concerted attack with which SIR ARTHUR
WELLESLEY, in conjunction with the Spanish Army, had
threatened him on the 24th of July, concentrated his force, by
calling to his aid the corps under the French General Sebastiani
and the garrison of Madrid, and thus reinforced, again approached
the Allied Army on the 27th of July; and on this occasion, owing
to the local circumstances of its position, and to the deliberate
purpose of the enemy to direct his whole efforts against the
Troops of His Majesty, the British Army sustained nearly the whole
weight of this great contest, and has acquired the glory of having
vanquished a French army double their numbers, not in a short and
partial struggle, but in a battle obstinately contested on two
successive days, (not wholly discontinued even throughout the
intervening night,) and fought under circumstances which brought
both armies into close and repeated combat.
The King, in contemplating so glorious a display of the valour and
prowess of His Troops, has been graciously pleased to command that
his Royal approbation of the conduct of the Army serving under the
command of _Lieutenant-General_ SIR ARTHUR WELLESLEY shall
be thus publicly declared in General Orders.
The Commander-in-Chief has received the King's commands to signify
in the most marked and special manner the sense His Majesty
entertains of _Lieutenant-General_ SIR ARTHUR WELLESLEY'S
personal services on this memorable occasion, not less displayed
in the result of the battle itself than in the consummate ability,
valour, and military resource with which the many difficulties of
this arduous and protracted contest were met and provided for by
his experience and judgment.
The conduct of _Lieutenant-General Sherbrooke_, second in command,
has entitled him to the King's marked approbation. His Majesty has
observed with satisfaction the manner in which he led on the Troops
to the charge with the bayonet--a species of combat which, on all
occasions, so well accords with the dauntless character of British
soldiers.
His Majesty has noticed with the same gracious approbation the
conduct of the several General and other Officers--all have
done their duty; most of them have had occasions of eminently
distinguishing themselves, the instances of which have not escaped
His Majesty's attention.
It is His Majesty's command that His Royal approbation and thanks
shall be given in the most distinct and most particular manner
to the Non-Commissioned Officers and Private Men. In no instance
have they displayed with greater lustre their native valour and
characteristic energy; nor have they on any former occasion more
decidedly proved their superiority over the inveterate enemy of
their country.
Brilliant, however, as is the victory obtained at Talavera, it
is not solely on that occasion that _Lieutenant-General_ SIR
ARTHUR WELLESLEY and the Troops under his command, are
entitled to His Majesty's applause. The important service effected
in an early part of the campaign by the same Army, under the
command of the same distinguished General, by the rapid march on
the Douro, the passage of that river, the total discomfiture of the
enemy, and his expulsion from the territory of one of His Majesty's
ancient and most faithful Allies, are circumstances which have
made a lasting impression on His Majesty's mind; and have induced
His Majesty to direct, that the operations of this arduous and
eventful campaign shall be thus recorded, as furnishing splendid
examples of military skill, fortitude, perseverance, and of a
spirit of enterprise calculated to produce emulation in every part
of His Army, and largely to add to the renown and to the military
character of the British nation.
By Order of the Right Honourable GENERAL SIR DAVID DUNDAS,
Commander-in-Chief.
HARRY CALVERT,
Adjutant-General.
* * * * *
The following Regiments were engaged at the Battle of
TALAVERA DE LA REYNA, on the 27th and 28th July, 1809:
viz.
_Corps._ _Commanding Officers._
3d Dragoon Guards Lieut.-Col. Sir G. Calcraft
4th Dragoons Lieut.-Col. Lord E. Somerset
14th Light Dragoons Lieut.-Col. Hawker
16th ---- ---- Major Hon. L. Stanhope
23rd ---- ---- Lieut.-Col. Seymour
1st ---- ----, K. G. L. Lieut.-Col. Arentschild
Royal British Artillery Lieut.-Col. Framingham } Brig.-Gen.
" German ---- Major Hartineau } Howorth
" Engineers Lieut.-Col. Fletcher
" Staff Corps Major Dundas
Coldstream Guards, 1st battalion Lieut.-Col. Hulse
3d Guards, 1st battalion Colonel Stopford
3rd Foot Lieut.-Col. Muter
7th ---- 2nd battalion Lieut.-Col. Sir W. Myers
24th ---- 2nd ditto Lieut.-Col. Drummond
29th ---- 1st ditto Lieut.-Col. White
31st ---- 2nd ditto Major Watson
40th ---- 1st ditto Major Thornton
45th ---- 1st ditto Lieut.-Col. Guard
48th ---- 1st ditto Lieut.-Col. Donellan
2nd ditto Lieut.-Col. Duckworth
53rd ---- 2nd ditto Lieut.-Col. Bingham
60th ---- 5th ditto Major Davy
61st ---- 1st ditto Colonel Saunders
66th ---- 2nd ditto Captain Kelly
83rd ---- 2nd ditto Lieut.-Col. Gordon
87th ---- 2nd ditto Major Gough
88th ---- 1st ditto Major Vandeleur
97th ---- 1st ditto Lieut.-Col. Lyon
1st Batt. of Detachments* Lieut.-Col. Bunbury, 3rd Foot
2nd ---- ---- --------* Lieut.-Col. Copson, 3rd Foot
1st and 2nd Light Batt. K. G. L.} Major Bodecker
1st Line Batt. }
2nd ---- ---- Lieut.-Col. Brauns
5th ---- ---- Captain Hummelberg
7th ---- ---- Major Burger
*_These two Battalions were formed on the 1st of February, 1809, and
consisted of detachments which had been left in Portugal, belonging
to the Regiments composing the division of the army, which had
marched into Spain under the orders of Lieutenant-General Sir John
Moore._
E.
ON REGIMENTAL COLOURS.
The English Regiments of Foot had formerly a Colour to every
Company[37]. They were afterwards formed into _Three Divisions_
on the same principle as the Continental Armies, viz., _Two wings
of Musketeers, and a Centre Division of Pikemen_. Each Division
had a Stand of Colours, that it might act separately. The Swedish
Infantry were formed in this manner, by _Gustavus Adolphus_, and
were copied by Marshals de Turenne and Montecuculi.
This mode of formation was, however, changed during the reign of
Queen Anne, when the general adoption of Bayonets took place, and,
the Division of Pikemen being discontinued, the _Third Colour_
became unnecessary, and was consequently laid aside.
The Queen's Royal Regiment had originally a Colour to every
Company, and after the year 1688 it had Three Stand of Colours, in
common with other Regiments: it happened, however, that the Third
Colour was retained in possession by the Queen's Royal until 1750,
probably from the long absence of the Regiment on Foreign Service,
it having embarked in 1730 for Gibraltar, where it remained until
1749.
A belief had thus been induced that the Queen's Royal Regiment had
been permitted, AS A DISTINCTION, to carry Three Colours,
as appears by a Letter from General Robert Donkin, who entered the
Regiment as an Ensign in 1747, and served in it until 1759. He
states,--"On our marching over Island Bridge into Dublin duty in
1750, the Third Colour was, by order of General Fowke (then Colonel
of the Regiment), taken out of my hand, furled, and never flew
since. The men grumbled exceedingly. I felt myself hurt at being
deprived of an honour no other Corps then enjoyed."
With a view of establishing Uniformity throughout the Army in the
Colours, Clothing, and Appointments of the several Regiments,--a
Warrant, dated 1st July, 1751, was issued by King George II., for
regulating the Clothing, Standards, Colours, &c., of Regiments of
Cavalry and Infantry. By this Warrant it is directed that--
"The King's or FIRST Colour of every Regiment is to be the
Great Union throughout;"--and that, "The SECOND Colour is
to be the Colour of the Facing of the Regiment, with the Union in
the Upper Canton."
At this period the Facing of the Queen's Royal Regiment was
_Sea-Green_, which was the original Facing of the Corps.
It is further directed, in the same Warrant, under the head of
"Devices and Badges of the Royal Regiments, and of the six old
Corps," as follows:--
"SECOND REGIMENT, or, THE QUEEN'S ROYAL REGIMENT."
"In the Centre of each Colour, the QUEEN'S CYPHER on a
red ground, within the Garter, and CROWN over it: in the
Three Corners of the _Second_ Colour, the LAMB, being the
ancient badge of the Regiment."
A subsequent Warrant was issued on the _19th December, 1768_, by
Command of His Majesty King George III., prescribing "_Regulations
for the Colours, Clothing, &c., of the Marching Regiments of
Foot_." This Warrant contains the same directions as that of 1751
regarding "the _First_ and _Second_ Colours of Regiments," and
"the Devices and Badges of the Royal Regiments and of the Six Old
Corps." The Facing of the Queen's Royal Regiment was, at this
period, changed from Green to _Blue_.
Neither of the Royal Warrants above mentioned contains any
Authority for the Queen's Royal Regiment bearing a _Third_ Colour.
The foregoing Statement shows, therefore, that, although the
_Third_ Colour so long remained in possession of the Queen's
Royal Regiment, after other Regiments had laid it aside, it had
been erroneously considered that this Regiment had a _peculiar
privilege_ of carrying _Three_ Stand of Colours.
To correct this error, and to maintain uniformity throughout the
Army, His Majesty has recently directed "that no Regiment shall,
under any circumstances whatever, display a Third Colour;" and the
following Letter, dated 14th August, 1835, has been addressed, by
His Majesty's Special Command, to Lieutenant-General the Right
Honourable Sir James Kempt, G.C.B., as Colonel of the Second, or
Queen's Royal Regiment, by the Adjutant-General of the Forces, dated
_Horse Guards, 14th August, 1835._
SIR,
By desire of the General Commanding in Chief, I have the honour to
make the following Communication to you, for your information and
guidance; viz.:
The 5th Foot having, at Malta, preferred a Claim to the distinction
of bearing a Third Stand of Colours, Major-General Sir Frederick
Ponsonby referred the Case for Lord Hill's consideration, and his
Lordship immediately submitted it to the King.
His Majesty at once disallowed this claim, and, at the same time,
inquired whether a similar claim had been made and admitted in the
case of any other Regiment.
Lord Hill mentioned the case of the Queen's Royal, and fully
explained the grounds upon which the distinction of a Third Stand
of Colours had, so recently, been conferred upon that Corps;
when His Majesty was pleased to decide, that no Regiment in His
Majesty's Service should be permitted to display a Third Colour,
under any circumstances whatsoever,--and to command that His
Majesty's said decision should be notified to you.
The King, however, expressed to Lord Hill His Majesty's earnest
hope that you, and the Queen's Royal collectively, would regard
this decision, not as a mark of His Majesty's forgetfulness of the
uniformly high character of the Regiment, but solely as a proof of
His Majesty's determination to establish uniformity in this (as in
every other) respect throughout the Army.
His Majesty was graciously pleased to observe, that it was
impossible for him to render more manifest the high estimation
in which he held the character of the Queen's Royal, than by
transferring an Officer of your reputation to the Colonelcy of it,
from that of one of the most gallant and distinguished Regiments in
the Service; viz., the 40th.
The King was further pleased to observe, that if it were wished
upon your part, and upon the part of the Queen's Royal, that the
Third Colour should be retained and preserved, His Majesty would
not insist upon its being actually withdrawn; but, in making that
observation, His Majesty expressly ordered, that on no account
should the Third Colour ever be displayed in the Ranks of the
Regiment.
Lastly, His Majesty was pleased to Command, that this Letter should
be entered in the Regimental Record, as well as in the Standing
Orders of the Queen's Royal.
I have, &c.,
JOHN MACDONALD, A. G.
* * * * *
_South-Street, 19th August, 1835._
SIR,
I have had the honour to receive your Letter of the 14th Instant,
signifying to me, by desire of the General Commanding in Chief,
that His Majesty has been pleased to decide, that no Regiment in
His Majesty's Service shall be permitted to display a Third Colour
under any circumstances whatsoever; and that, consequently, the
Third Colour now in possession of the Queen's Royal shall not, from
henceforth, be displayed in the Ranks of the Regiment.
I will, without delay, transmit a Copy of your Communication to the
Officer Commanding the Queen's Royal in India, for his information
and guidance, with Orders to enter the same in the Regimental
Record, as well as in the Standing Orders of the Corps, in
obedience to His Majesty's Commands; and I am persuaded, that the
Officers and Men of the Queen's Royal, although thereby deprived of
a distinction which the Regiment has for some time enjoyed, will,
nevertheless, feel as I do, highly gratified by the very gracious
terms in which His Majesty has been pleased to direct his decision
upon the subject to be communicated to me.
I have, &c.,
(Signed) JAMES KEMPT.
_To the Adjutant-General._
* * * * *
N. B. In a printed description of the Colours of every Regiment,
published in 1684, no mention is made of the Queen's Regiment
having the privilege of carrying an additional Colour.
The following is an extract from D'Auvergne's History of the
Campaign in Flanders in 1693, relating to the Battle of Landen:--
"'Tis certain that we have taken from them (the French) _Nineteen
Colours_ and _Thirty-seven Standards_, which, considering
the proportion of Forces, is more than they gained from us,
particularly as to the _Number_ of _Colours_; for besides that
the French had double our number of Foot, their Battalions never
have but _Three_ Colours at the most in each;--our Brandenburg and
Hanover Foot have as many _Colours_ as there are _Companies_ in
every Battalion, insomuch that some Battalions have a dozen;--and,
therefore, it is more for us in proportion to have taken _Nineteen_
Colours from them, than if they had taken _Fifty_ from us."
F.
MEMOIR OF SIR HENRY TORRENS.
The following Memoir of the services of Major-General Sir Henry
Torrens is inserted, not only with the view of recording his
merits as an officer, but of showing to the army and to the public
one of the many instances in which the talents of an active and
enterprising officer were duly noticed and rewarded by the King,
and by His late Royal Highness the Duke of York, as well as by
other illustrious commanders of the army:--
Sir Henry Torrens was born at Londonderry in 1779, and having
been educated at the military academy in Dublin, he was appointed
to an Ensigncy in the Fifty-second Regiment on the 2nd of
November, 1793, at the age of fourteen years; he was promoted
to a Lieutenancy in the Ninety-second Regiment on the 14th of
June, 1794; and on the 11th of December, 1795, was removed to the
Sixty-third Regiment, then under orders for the West Indies. At
the attack of Morne Fortuné in the island of St. Lucie, on the
1st of May, 1796, while serving with the army under Major-General
Sir Ralph Abercrombie, he was severely wounded in the right
thigh: after taking a prominent part in storming three French
redoubts, he was employed for the space of seven months at an
outpost in the woods against the Charibs: on the conquest of
those people he was promoted to a company in the Sixth West
India Regiment on the 28th of March, 1797. In 1798 he returned
to England, and was appointed Aide-de-camp to Lieutenant-General
Whitelocke, then acting as second in command under Earl Moira at
Portsmouth; in November of the same year he went to Portugal as
Aide-de-camp to General Cuyler, who commanded a body of auxiliary
troops, sent thither by the British government, to repel the
threatened invasion of that country by the Spaniards. While on
service at Lisbon, he was removed to the Twentieth Regiment,
on the 8th of August, 1799, and immediately relinquished the
advantages of his Staff situation in order to join his Regiment,
which was a part of the force then destined for the liberation
of the United Provinces from the yoke of France. Throughout the
short but arduous campaign in Holland, the Twentieth Regiment
distinguished itself on every occasion, particularly at the
battle of Alcmaar on the 2nd of October, 1799: on the retreat of
the British and Russian troops upon the two villages of Egmont,
and after a most severe conflict with the enemy from morning till
night of the 6th of October, Captain Torrens received a severe
wound from a musket-ball, which, passing through the right
thigh, entered the left, where it lodged so deeply as to baffle
all surgical efforts to extract it.
On the return of the troops from the Helder, in November, 1799,
Captain Torrens was promoted to a Majority in the Surrey Rangers,
which he joined and commanded in Nova Scotia. In 1801 he came
back to England, and exchanged, on the 4th of February, 1802,
to the Eighty-sixth Regiment, then serving in Egypt, to which
country it had come from India with a division of troops, under
the command of Major-General Sir David Baird. Major Torrens
lost no time in embarking for the Mediterranean: on his arrival
at Alexandria, he found that the object of the expedition had
completely succeeded, although attended with the melancholy
loss of his revered commander and steady friend, Sir Ralph
Abercrombie, who had been mortally wounded at the battle of
Alexandria. As the expulsion of the French rendered the presence
of a large force no longer necessary in Egypt, the auxiliary
troops from India returned across the desert, and embarking at
Cosseir, proceeded to Bombay. Soon after the arrival of the
troops from Egypt, hostilities broke out between the English
and the Mahrattas: in this contest Major Torrens again evinced
his natural courage and talents, and obtained the approbation
of the officers under whom he served: his health giving way
to the active exertions he had made in the execution of his
duty, and suffering under the effects of a _coup de soleil_,
he was compelled to have recourse to a change of climate, and
accordingly obtained leave to return to England. On arrival at
St. Helena, he found his state of health so far improved as
to induce him to forego his return to England, and to go back
to his regiment. While at St. Helena, he formed an attachment
to the daughter of Governor Patton, and was married. On his
return to India, he served under General Lord Lake, until the
conquest of Scindiah, the most formidable of the Mahratta Chiefs.
On the 1st of January, 1805, he was promoted to the brevet
rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and in the same year he returned
to Europe: after his arrival in England, he was employed as
Assistant Adjutant-General in the Kent District. He exchanged
from the Eighty-sixth to the Eighty-ninth Regiment on the 19th
of February, 1807, and in the same year he proceeded as Military
Secretary to Lieutenant-General Whitelocke, with the expedition
against the Spanish colonies on the Rio de la Plata, and was
present at the disastrous attack upon Buenos Ayres on the 5th of
July, 1807.
After his return to England, he was re-appointed an Assistant
Adjutant-General on the Staff of Great Britain, and subsequently
to be Assistant Military Secretary to His Royal Highness the
Duke of York, as Commander-in-Chief. In the month of July, 1808,
he embarked with the expedition for Portugal, under the orders
of Lieutenant-General Sir Arthur Wellesley, and was present at
the battles of _Roleia_ on the 17th of August, and of _Vimiera_
on the 21st of August, 1808, for which he received a medal
struck for the purpose of commemorating those victories, and of
distinguishing the officers engaged in them: he received also
from the Portuguese Regency the Chivalric Order of the Tower and
Sword. These victories led to the Convention of Cintra, and to
the consequent evacuation of Portugal by the French army under
Marshal Junot, Duke of Abrantes.
Lieutenant-Colonel Torrens returned to England with Sir Arthur
Wellesley about the end of the year 1808, and resumed his
former situation as Assistant Military Secretary to His Royal
Highness the Duke of York; he was promoted to be his Military
Secretary on the 2d of October, 1809. He was appointed from the
Eighty-ninth Regiment to a company in the Third Foot Guards on
the 13th of June, 1811, and Aide-de-camp to the Prince Regent,
with the rank of Colonel, on the 20th of February, 1812. He was
promoted to the rank of Major-General on the 4th of June, 1814,
and in the new arrangement and extension of the Military Order
of the Bath in 1815, he was enrolled in the honourable list of
Knights Commanders: he was appointed to the Colonelcy of the
Second Garrison Battalion on the 5th of April, 1815; removed
to the Royal African Colonial corps on the 27th of November,
1815, removed to the Second West India Regiment on the 21st of
September, 1818, and on the 26th of July, 1822, he was promoted
to the SECOND, or QUEEN'S ROYAL; on the 25th
of March, 1820, he was appointed from the situation of Military
Secretary to that of _Adjutant-General to the Forces_.
During the period of his employment as Military Secretary, in
which the most active operations of the late war took place,
the labours of his office were excessive, and his health became
affected; yet his exertions were never lessened, and after his
appointment as Adjutant-General, he undertook, with considerable
labour and zeal, the revision of the '_Regulations for the
Exercise and Field Movements of the Infantry of the Army_,' and,
with the authority of His Majesty King George IV., engrafted in
them the alterations and improvements which had been introduced
and practised by different Commanders during the late war.
The death of Sir Henry Torrens took place suddenly, on the 22d of
August, 1828, while on a visit to his friend Mr. Johnes Knight,
at Welwyn, Herts., where his remains were consigned privately to
a grave in the church of that parish.
FOOTNOTE:
[37] A warrant of King James II., dated 21st August, 1686,
authorised the payment of £206 5_s._ 6_d._ for ten colours for the
Queen's Regiment of Foot.--_War Office Records._
LONDON:
Printed by WILLIAM CLOWES and SONS,
14, Charing Cross.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE
Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been
corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within
the text and consultation of external sources.
The Table on page 32 for the year '1707' had vertical column
headings which have been replaced by A, B, etc and a Key list added
at the top. A few words have been abbreviated to conserve space and
also noted in the list.
The Table on pages 74 to 77, Appendix A, has had some names of
months abbreviated (January => Jan. etc) to conserve space.
The acronym 'K. G. L.' in Appendices C and D stands for 'King's
German Legion'.
Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text,
and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained. For example,
re-inforce, reinforce; Horse-Guards, Horse Guards; connexion;
engrafted; intrenched; devotedness.
Pg 28, Sidenote '1703' appeared twice on this page; the second one
(at the paragraph 'For its conduct...') has been deleted.
Pg 67, 'reigment embarked' replaced by 'regiment embarked'.
Pg 83, 'recals to the' replaced by 'recalls to the'.
Pg 93, 'Aid-de-camp' replaced by 'Aide-de-camp' (twice).
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Historical Record of the Second, or the Queen's Royal Regiment of Foot" ***
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