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Title: Historical Record of the Thirty-sixth, or the Herefordshire Regiment of Foot: containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1701, and of its subsequent services to 1852
Author: Cannon, Richard
Language: English
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THIRTY-SIXTH, OR THE HEREFORDSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT: CONTAINING AN
ACCOUNT OF THE FORMATION OF THE REGIMENT IN 1701, AND OF ITS SUBSEQUENT
SERVICES TO 1852 ***
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
Footnote anchors are denoted by [number], and the footnotes have been
placed at the end of each major section.
The tables in this book are best viewed using a monospace font.
A superscript is denoted by ^x or ^{xx}, for example reg^t or 21^{st}.
Some minor changes to the text are noted at the end of the book.
[Illustration:
BY COMMAND OF His late Majesty WILLIAM THE IV^{TH}
_and under the Patronage of_
Her Majesty the Queen.
HISTORICAL RECORDS
_OF THE_
British Army
_Comprising the_
_History of every Regiment_
_IN HER MAJESTY’S SERVICE_.
_By Richard Cannon Esq^{re}._
_Adjutant General’s Office, Horse Guards._
London.
_Printed by Authority._
]
GENERAL ORDERS.
_HORSE-GUARDS_,
_1st January, 1836_.
His Majesty has been pleased to command that, with the 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 Honorable
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 honorable career, are among the motives that
have given rise to the present publication.
The operations of the British Troops are, indeed, announced in the
“London Gazette,” from whence they are transferred into the public
prints: the achievements of our armies are thus made known at the
time of their occurrence, and receive the tribute of praise and
admiration to which they are entitled. On extraordinary occasions,
the Houses of Parliament have been in the habit of conferring on
the Commanders, and the Officers and Troops acting under their
orders, expressions of approbation and of thanks for their skill
and bravery; and these testimonials, confirmed by the high honour
of their Sovereign’s approbation, constitute the reward which the
soldier most highly prizes.
It has not, however, until late years, been the practice (which
appears to have long prevailed in some of the Continental armies)
for British Regiments to keep regular records of their services
and achievements. Hence some difficulty has been experienced in
obtaining, particularly from the old Regiments, an authentic
account of their origin and subsequent services.
This defect will now be remedied, in consequence of His Majesty
having been pleased to command that every Regiment shall, in
future, keep a full and ample record of its services at home and
abroad.
From the materials thus collected, the country will henceforth
derive information as to the difficulties and privations which
chequer the career of those who embrace the military profession. In
Great Britain, where so large a number of persons are devoted to
the active concerns of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, and
where these pursuits have, for so long a period, been undisturbed
by the _presence of war_, which few other countries have escaped,
comparatively little is known of the vicissitudes of active service
and of the casualties of climate, to which, even during peace, the
British Troops are exposed in every part of the globe, with little
or no interval of repose.
In their tranquil enjoyment of the blessings which the country
derives from the industry and the enterprise of the agriculturist
and the trader, its happy inhabitants may be supposed not often to
reflect on the perilous duties of the soldier and the sailor,--on
their sufferings,--and on the sacrifice of valuable life, by which
so many national benefits are obtained and preserved.
The conduct of the British Troops, their valour, and endurance,
have shone conspicuously under great and trying difficulties; and
their character has been established in Continental warfare by the
irresistible spirit with which they have effected debarkations in
spite of the most formidable opposition, and by the gallantry and
steadiness with which they have maintained their advantages against
superior numbers.
In the Official Reports made by the respective Commanders, ample
justice has generally been done to the gallant exertions of the
Corps employed; but the details of their services and of acts of
individual bravery can only be fully given in the Annals of the
various Regiments.
These Records are now preparing for publication, under His
Majesty’s special authority, by Mr. RICHARD CANNON, Principal Clerk
of the Adjutant General’s Office; and while the perusal of them
cannot fail to be useful and interesting to military men of every
rank, it is considered that they will also afford entertainment and
information to the general reader, particularly to those who may
have served in the Army, or who have relatives in the Service.
There exists in the breasts of most of those who have served, or
are serving, in the Army, an _Esprit de Corps_--an attachment
to everything belonging to their Regiment; to such persons a
narrative of the services of their own Corps cannot fail to prove
interesting. Authentic accounts of the actions of the great, the
valiant, the loyal, have always been of paramount interest with
a brave and civilized people. Great Britain has produced a race
of heroes who, in moments of danger and terror, have stood “firm
as the rocks of their native shore:” and when half the world has
been arrayed against them, they have fought the battles of their
Country with 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.
INTRODUCTION
TO
THE INFANTRY.
The natives of Britain have, at all periods, been celebrated for
innate courage and unshaken firmness, and the national superiority
of the British troops over those of other countries has been
evinced in the midst of the most imminent perils. History contains
so many proofs of extraordinary acts of bravery, that no doubts can
be raised upon the facts which are recorded. It must therefore be
admitted, that the distinguishing feature of the British soldier is
INTREPIDITY. This quality was evinced by the inhabitants of England
when their country was invaded by Julius Cæsar with a Roman army,
on which occasion the undaunted Britons rushed into the sea to
attack the Roman soldiers as they descended from their ships; and,
although their discipline and arms were inferior to those of their
adversaries, yet their fierce and dauntless bearing intimidated
the flower of the Roman troops, including Cæsar’s favourite tenth
legion. Their arms consisted of spears, short swords, and other
weapons of rude construction. They had chariots, to the axles of
which were fastened sharp pieces of iron resembling scythe-blades,
and infantry in long chariots resembling waggons, who alighted
and fought on foot, and for change of ground, pursuit or retreat,
sprang into the chariot and drove off with the speed of cavalry.
These inventions were, however, unavailing against Cæsar’s
legions: in the course of time a military system, with discipline
and subordination, was introduced, and British courage, being
thus regulated, was exerted to the greatest advantage; a full
development of the national character followed, and it shone forth
in all its native brilliancy.
The military force of the Anglo-Saxons consisted principally of
infantry: Thanes, and other men of property, however, fought on
horseback. The infantry were of two classes, heavy and light. The
former carried large shields armed with spikes, long broad swords
and spears; and the latter were armed with swords or spears only.
They had also men armed with clubs, others with battle-axes and
javelins.
The feudal troops established by William the Conqueror consisted
(as already stated in the Introduction to the Cavalry) almost
entirely of horse; but when the warlike barons and knights, with
their trains of tenants and vassals, took the field, a proportion
of men appeared on foot, and, although these were of inferior
degree, they proved stout-hearted Britons of stanch fidelity. When
stipendiary troops were employed, infantry always constituted a
considerable portion of the military force; and this _arme_ has
since acquired, in every quarter of the globe, a celebrity never
exceeded by the armies of any nation at any period.
The weapons carried by the infantry, during the several reigns
succeeding the Conquest, were bows and arrows, half-pikes, lances,
halberds, various kinds of battle-axes, swords, and daggers. Armour
was worn on the head and body, and in course of time the practice
became general for military men to be so completely cased in steel,
that it was almost impossible to slay them.
The introduction of the use of gunpowder in the destructive purposes
of war, in the early part of the fourteenth century, produced a
change in the arms and equipment of the infantry-soldier. Bows and
arrows gave place to various kinds of fire-arms, but British archers
continued formidable adversaries; and, owing to the inconvenient
construction and imperfect bore of the fire-arms when first
introduced, a body of men, well trained in the use of the bow from
their youth, was considered a valuable acquisition to every army,
even as late as the sixteenth century.
During a great part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth each company
of infantry usually consisted of men armed five different ways; in
every hundred men forty were “_men-at-arms_,” and sixty “_shot_;”
the “men-at-arms” were ten halberdiers, or battle-axe men, and
thirty pikemen; and the “shot” were twenty archers, twenty
musketeers, and twenty harquebusiers, and each man carried, besides
his principal weapon, a sword and dagger.
Companies of infantry varied at this period in numbers from 150
to 300 men; each company had a colour or ensign, and the mode of
formation recommended by an English military writer (Sir John
Smithe) in 1590 was:--the colour in the centre of the company
guarded by the halberdiers; the pikemen in equal proportions, on
each flank of the halberdiers: half the musketeers on each flank
of the pikes; half the archers on each flank of the musketeers,
and the harquebusiers (whose arms were much lighter than the
muskets then in use) in equal proportions on each flank of the
company for skirmishing.[1] It was customary to unite a number
of companies into one body, called a REGIMENT, which frequently
amounted to three thousand men: but each company continued to carry
a colour. Numerous improvements were eventually introduced in the
construction of fire-arms, and, it having been found impossible to
make armour proof against the muskets then in use (which carried
a very heavy ball) without its being too weighty for the soldier,
armour was gradually laid aside by the infantry in the seventeenth
century: bows and arrows also fell into disuse, and the infantry
were reduced to two classes, viz.: _musketeers_, armed with
matchlock muskets, swords, and daggers; and _pikemen_, armed with
pikes from fourteen to eighteen feet long, and swords.
In the early part of the seventeenth century Gustavus Adolphus,
King of Sweden, reduced the strength of regiments to 1000 men. He
caused the gunpowder, which had heretofore been carried in flasks,
or in small wooden bandoliers, each containing a charge, to be
made up into cartridges, and carried in pouches; and he formed
each regiment into two wings of musketeers, and a centre division
of pikemen. He also adopted the practice of forming four regiments
into a brigade; and the number of colours was afterwards reduced to
three in each regiment. He formed his columns so compactly that his
infantry could resist the charge of the celebrated Polish horsemen
and Austrian cuirassiers; and his armies became the admiration of
other nations. His mode of formation was copied by the English,
French, and other European states; but so great was the prejudice
in favour of ancient customs, that all his improvements were not
adopted until near a century afterwards.
In 1664 King Charles II. raised a corps for sea-service, styled
the Admiral’s regiment. In 1678 each company of 100 men usually
consisted of 30 pikemen, 60 musketeers, and 10 men armed with light
firelocks. In this year the King added a company of men armed with
hand grenades to each of the old British regiments, which was
designated the “grenadier company.” Daggers were so contrived as to
fit in the muzzles of the muskets, and bayonets similar to those
at present in use were adopted about twenty years afterwards.
An Ordnance regiment was raised in 1685, by order of King James
II., to guard the artillery, and was designated the Royal Fusiliers
(now 7th Foot). This corps, and the companies of grenadiers, did
not carry pikes.
King William III. incorporated the Admiral’s regiment in the second
Foot Guards, and raised two Marine regiments for sea-service.
During the war in this reign, each company of infantry (excepting
the fusiliers and grenadiers) consisted of 14 pikemen and 46
musketeers; the captains carried pikes; lieutenants, partisans;
ensigns, half-pikes; and serjeants, halberds. After the peace in
1697 the Marine regiments were disbanded, but were again formed on
the breaking out of the war in 1702.[2]
During the reign of Queen Anne the pikes were laid aside, and every
infantry soldier was armed with a musket, bayonet, and sword; the
grenadiers ceased, about the same period, to carry hand grenades;
and the regiments were directed to lay aside their third colour:
the corps of Royal Artillery was first added to the Army in this
reign.
About the year 1745, the men of the battalion companies of infantry
ceased to carry swords; during the reign of George II. light
companies were added to infantry regiments; and in 1764 a Board of
General Officers recommended that the grenadiers should lay aside
their swords, as that weapon had never been used during the Seven
Years’ War. Since that period the arms of the infantry soldier have
been limited to the musket and bayonet.
The arms and equipment of the British Troops have seldom differed
materially, since the Conquest, from those of other European
states; and in some respects the arming has, at certain periods,
been allowed to be inferior to that of the nations with whom they
have had to contend; yet, under this disadvantage, the bravery and
superiority of the British infantry have been evinced on very many
and most trying occasions, and splendid victories have been gained
over very superior numbers.
Great Britain has produced a race of lion-like champions who have
dared to confront a host of foes, and have proved themselves
valiant with any arms. At _Crecy_, King Edward III., at the head
of about 30,000 men, defeated, on the 26th of August, 1346, Philip
King of France, whose army is said to have amounted to 100,000
men; here British valour encountered veterans of renown:--the
King of Bohemia, the King of Majorca, and many princes and nobles
were slain, and the French army was routed and cut to pieces. Ten
years afterwards, Edward Prince of Wales, who was designated the
Black Prince, defeated, at _Poictiers_, with 14,000 men, a French
army of 60,000 horse, besides infantry, and took John I., King of
France, and his son Philip, prisoners. On the 25th of October,
1415, King Henry V., with an army of about 13,000 men, although
greatly exhausted by marches, privations, and sickness, defeated,
at _Agincourt_, the Constable of France, at the head of the flower
of the French nobility and an army said to amount to 60,000 men,
and gained a complete victory.
During the seventy years’ war between the United Provinces of the
Netherlands and the Spanish monarchy, which commenced in 1578 and
terminated in 1648, the British infantry in the service of the
States General were celebrated for their unconquerable spirit and
firmness;[3] and in the thirty years’ war between the Protestant
Princes and the Emperor of Germany, the British Troops in the
service of Sweden and other states were celebrated for deeds of
heroism.[4] In the wars of Queen Anne, the fame of the British
army under the great MARLBOROUGH was spread throughout the world;
and if we glance at the achievements performed within the memory
of persons now living, there is abundant proof that the Britons
of the present age are not inferior to their ancestors in the
qualities which constitute good soldiers. Witness the deeds of
the brave men, of whom there are many now surviving, who fought in
Egypt in 1801, under the brave Abercromby, and compelled the French
army, which had been vainly styled _Invincible_, to evacuate that
country; also the services of the gallant Troops during the arduous
campaigns in the Peninsula, under the immortal WELLINGTON; and
the determined stand made by the British Army at Waterloo, where
Napoleon Bonaparte, who had long been the inveterate enemy of Great
Britain, and had sought and planned her destruction by every means
he could devise, was compelled to leave his vanquished legions to
their fate, and to place himself at the disposal of the British
Government. These achievements, with others of recent dates, in the
distant climes of India, prove that the same valour and constancy
which glowed in the breasts of the heroes of Crecy, Poictiers,
Agincourt, Blenheim, and Ramilies, continue to animate the Britons
of the nineteenth century.
The British Soldier is distinguished for a robust and muscular
frame,--intrepidity which no danger can appal,--unconquerable
spirit and resolution,--patience in fatigue and privation, and
cheerful obedience to his superiors. These qualities, united with
an excellent system of order and discipline to regulate and give
a skilful direction to the energies and adventurous spirit of
the hero, and a wise selection of officers of superior talent to
command, whose presence inspires confidence,--have been the leading
causes of the splendid victories gained by the British arms.[5]
The fame of the deeds of the past and present generations in the
various battle fields where the robust sons of Albion have fought
and conquered, surrounds the British arms with a halo of glory;
these achievements will live in the page of history to the end of
time.
The records of the several regiments will be found to contain a
detail of facts of an interesting character, connected with the
hardships, sufferings, and gallant exploits of British soldiers in
the various parts of the world, where the calls of their Country
and the commands of their Sovereign have required them to proceed
in the execution of their duty, whether in active continental
operations, or in maintaining colonial territories in distant and
unfavourable climes.
The superiority of the British infantry has been pre-eminently set
forth in the wars of six centuries, and admitted by the greatest
commanders which Europe has produced. The formations and movements
of this _arme_, as at present practised, while they are adapted
to every species of warfare, and to all probable situations
and circumstances of service, are calculated to show forth the
brilliancy of military tactics calculated upon mathematical and
scientific principles. Although the movements and evolutions have
been copied from the continental armies, yet various improvements
have from time to time been introduced, to ensure that simplicity
and celerity by which the superiority of the national military
character is maintained. The rank and influence which Great Britain
has attained among the nations of the world, have in a great
measure been purchased by the valour of the Army, and to persons
who have the welfare of their country at heart, the records of the
several regiments cannot fail to prove interesting.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] A company of 200 men would appear thus:--
__|
| |
|__|
|
20 20 20 30 2|0 30 20 20 20
|
Harquebuses. Muskets. Halberds. Muskets. Harquebuses.
Archers. Pikes. Pikes. Archers.
The musket carried a ball which weighed 1/10th of a pound; and the
harquebus a ball which weighed 1/25th of a pound.
[2] The 30th, 31st, and 32nd Regiments were formed as Marine corps
in 1702, and were employed as such during the wars in the reign
of Queen Anne. The Marine corps were embarked in the Fleet under
Admiral Sir George Rooke, and were at the taking of Gibraltar, and
in its subsequent defence in 1704; they were afterwards employed at
the siege of Barcelona in 1705.
[3] The brave Sir Roger Williams, in his Discourse on War, printed
in 1590, observes:--“I persuade myself ten thousand of our nation
would beat thirty thousand of theirs (the Spaniards) out of the
field, let them be chosen where they list.” Yet at this time the
Spanish infantry was allowed to be the best disciplined in Europe.
For instances of valour displayed by the British Infantry during
the Seventy Years’ War, see the Historical Record of the Third
Foot, or Buffs.
[4] _Vide_ the Historical Record of the First, or Royal Regiment of
Foot.
[5] “Under the blessing of Divine Providence, His Majesty ascribes
the successes which have attended the exertions of his troops in
Egypt to that determined bravery which is inherent in Britons; but
His Majesty desires it may be most solemnly and forcibly impressed
on the consideration of every part of the army, that it has been a
strict observance of order, discipline, and military system, which
has given the full energy to the native valour of the troops, and
has enabled them proudly to assert the superiority of the national
military character, in situations uncommonly arduous, and under
circumstances of peculiar difficulty.”--_General Orders in 1801._
In the General Orders issued by Lieut.-General Sir John Hope
(afterwards Lord Hopetoun), congratulating the army upon the
successful result of the Battle of Corunna, on the 16th of January,
1809, it is stated:--“On no occasion has the undaunted valour of
British troops ever been more manifest. At the termination of a
severe and harassing march, rendered necessary by the superiority
which the enemy had acquired, and which had materially impaired
the efficiency of the troops, many disadvantages were to be
encountered. These have all been surmounted by the conduct of the
troops themselves; and the enemy has been taught, that whatever
advantages of position or of numbers he may possess, there is
inherent in the British officers and soldiers a bravery that knows
not how to yield,--that no circumstances can appal,--and that will
ensure victory, when it is to be obtained by the exertion of any
human means.”
HISTORICAL RECORD
OF
THE THIRTY-SIXTH,
OR THE
HEREFORDSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT:
CONTAINING
AN ACCOUNT OF THE FORMATION OF THE REGIMENT
In 1701,
AND OF ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES
To 1852.
COMPILED BY
RICHARD CANNON, ESQ.,
ADJUTANT GENERAL’S OFFICE, HORSE GUARDS.
Illustrated with Plates.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY GEORGE E. EYRE AND WILLIAM SPOTTISWOODE,
PRINTERS TO THE QUEEN’S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY.
FOR HER MAJESTY’S STATIONARY OFFICE.
PUBLISHED BY PARKER, FURNIVALL, AND PARKER,
30, CHARING CROSS.
1853.
THE THIRTY-SIXTH REGIMENT
BEARS ON THE REGIMENTAL COLOUR AND
APPOINTMENTS
THE WORD “FIRM;”
ALSO THE WORD “HINDOOSTAN,”
IN COMMEMORATION OF ITS DISTINGUISHED SERVICES
IN THE SEVERAL ACTIONS IN WHICH IT
WAS ENGAGED IN INDIA FROM
1790 TO 1793;
AND
THE WORDS “ROLEIA,” “VIMIERA,”
“CORUNNA,” “SALAMANCA,” “PYRENEES,”
“NIVELLE,” “NIVE,” “ORTHES,”
“TOULOUSE,” AND “PENINSULA,”
IN TESTIMONY OF ITS GALLANTRY IN THE SEVERAL
ACTIONS FOUGHT DURING THE WAR IN PORTUGAL,
SPAIN, AND THE SOUTH OF FRANCE, FROM
1808 TO 1814.
THE
THIRTY-SIXTH,
OR
HEREFORDSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT.
CONTENTS
OF THE
HISTORICAL RECORD.
Year. Page.
1700. INTRODUCTION 1
1701. Formation of the regiment 2
” William Viscount Charlemont appointed Colonel of
the regiment _ib._
1702. War of the Spanish succession 3
” Expedition to _Cadiz_ 4
” The regiment embarked for _Cadiz_ 5
” Embarkation return of the regiment 6
” Detached to the West Indies 7
1704. Returned to Ireland _ib._
1705. Embarked for Spain 8
” Siege of _Barcelona_ 9
” Capture of _Montjuich_ 11
” Surrender of _Barcelona_ _ib._
1706. _Barcelona_ invested by the French and Spaniards 13
” Successful defence of the place by the Allies _ib._
” Withdrawal of the enemy from Barcelona 13
” Lieut.-Colonel Thomas Alnutt appointed Colonel of
the regiment _ib._
” The regiment embarked for Valencia 14
” Capture of _Requena_ and _Cuenza_ _ib._
1707. Battle of _Almanza_ 15
” Casualties of the regiment 16
1708. Recruiting of the regiment 17
1709. Colonel Archibald Earl of Ilay appointed Colonel of
the regiment 18
1710. Colonel Desney appointed Colonel of the regiment _ib._
1711. Expedition against _Quebec_ 19
” The regiment selected to form part thereof _ib._
” Returned to England 20
1712. Embarked for Dunkirk _ib._
1713. Treaty of Utrecht signed _ib._
1714. The regiment returned to England 21
” Proceeded to Ireland _ib._
1715. Colonel William Egerton appointed Colonel of the
regiment _ib._
” The regiment embarked for Scotland _ib._
” Battle of _Sheriffmuir_ _ib._
” Arrival of the Pretender in Scotland 22
1716. The Pretender returned to France _ib._
” Termination of the Rebellion _ib._
1718. The regiment proceeded to Ireland _ib._
1719. Embarked for Great Britain _ib._
” Brigadier-General Sir Charles Hotham, Bart.,
appointed Colonel of the regiment 23
1720. The regiment returned to Ireland _ib._
” Colonel John Pocock appointed Colonel of the
regiment _ib._
1721. Lieut.-Colonel Charles Lenoe appointed Colonel of
the regiment _ib._
1732. Brigadier-General John Moyle appointed Colonel of
the regiment _ib._
1737. Lieut.-Colonel Humphrey Bland appointed Colonel of
the regiment _ib._
1739. The regiment removed from Ireland to Great Britain 24
1740. Part of the regiment embarked for the West Indies _ib._
1741. Lieut.-Colonel James Fleming appointed Colonel of
the regiment _ib._
” Operations against _Carthagena_ 25
” Siege of Bocca-Chica and of the Castle of _Lazar_ _ib._
” Return of the expedition to Jamaica 26
” The portion of the regiment which had been employed
on this service returned to England _ib._
1743. The regiment stationed in Great Britain _ib._
1744. War of the Austrian Succession _ib._
” The regiment embarked for Flanders 27
1745. Rebellion in Scotland _ib._
” The regiment returned to England _ib._
1746. Battle of _Falkirk_ 28
” Battle of _Culloden_ 29
” Suppression of the Rebellion 30
1747. The regiment returned to Flanders _ib._
” Battle of _Laffeld_, or _Val_ _ib._
1748. Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle 31
” The regiment returned to England _ib._
1749. Embarked for Gibraltar _ib._
1751. Colonel Lord Robert Manners appointed Colonel of the
regiment 31
” Royal Warrant of the 1st of July 1751 for ensuring
uniformity in the clothing, standards, and colours
of the army, and regulating the number and rank
of regiments _ib._
1754. The regiment embarked at Gibraltar for England _ib._
” Stationed in North Britain 32
1755. The regiment removed to South Britain _ib._
1756. Augmented to two battalions _ib._
” Encamped at Chatham _ib._
1757. Encamped at Barham Downs _ib._
1758. The second battalion of the THIRTY-SIXTH formed into
a distinct corps, and numbered the _Seventy-fourth_
regiment 33
” The THIRTY-SIXTH regiment formed part of the
expedition against St. Maloes _ib._
” Returned to England 34
” Second expedition to the coast of France _ib._
” Capture of _Cherbourg_ _ib._
” Destruction of the batteries in the bay of St.
Lunaire _ib._
” Return of the regiment to England _ib._
1759. Encamped at Chatham _ib._
1760. Encamped at Sandheath _ib._
1761. Proceeded with the expedition against _Belle-Isle_ 35
” Capture of the island 36
” The regiment returned to England _ib._
1762. Encamped at Sandheath _ib._
1763. Treaty of Fontainebleau concluded _ib._
1764. The regiment embarked for Jamaica _ib._
1765. Major-General Richard Pierson appointed Colonel of
the regiment _ib._
1773. Return of the regiment to England from Jamaica 37
1774. The light company reviewed in Richmond-park by King
George III. _ib._
1775. Embarkation of the regiment for Ireland _ib._
1778. Colonel the Hon. Henry St. John appointed Colonel of
the regiment _ib._
1782. The THIRTY-SIXTH designated the HEREFORDSHIRE
regiment _ib._
” Removed from Ireland to England _ib._
1783. Embarked for the East Indies 38
” Employed against the forces of Tippoo Saib, the
Sultan of Mysore _ib._
” Proceeded to _Mangalore_ _ib._
” Capture of _Cannanore_ 39
1784. Peace concluded with Tippoo Saib _ib._
1785 }
to } The regiment stationed in the Madras presidency _ib._
1788. }
1789. Renewal of hostilities with Tippoo Saib 39
1790. The regiment selected to form part of the force
under Major-General Medows 40
” Advance of the troops towards the Coimbatore country _ib._
” The regiment detached to the relief of Colonel Floyd 41
” Battle of _Sattimungulum_ _ib._
” Battle of _Shawoor_ 46
” Subsequent operations against Tippoo Saib 49
1791. The army reviewed by General Charles Earl Cornwallis 50
” Siege of _Bangalore_ 51
” Capture of that fortress 53
” Advance of troops towards _Seringapatam_ 54
” Returned to Bangalore 55
” Capture of _Nundydroog_ 57
1792. March of the troops towards _Seringapatam_ 58
” Assault of the fortified camp of Tippoo Saib 61
” Siege of _Seringapatam_ 62
” Treaty of peace concluded with Tippoo Saib _ib._
1793. War with France 63
” The regiment ordered to the Coromandel coast _ib._
” Capture of the French settlement of _Pondicherry_ 64
” The regiment returned to Madras _ib._
1794. Stationed at Trichinopoly _ib._
1795. Proceeded to Negapatam _ib._
1796 }
and } Stationed at Warriore _ib._
1797. }
1798. Embarked at Madras for England _ib._
1799. Arrived at Greenhithe, and afterwards proceeded to
Winchester _ib._
” Authorized to bear the word “HINDOOSTAN” on the
regimental colour and appointments _ib._
1800. Embarked for Ireland 65
” Proceeded with an expedition against the coast of
France _ib._
” Landed at _Quiberon_ _ib._
” Embarked at _Minorca_ _ib._
1801. Stationed in that island _ib._
1802. Peace of Amiens _ib._
” The regiment returned to Ireland _ib._
1803. Renewal of the war with France _ib._
1804. A second battalion added to the regiment 66
1805. The first battalion embarked for Germany _ib._
1806. Returned to England 67
” The first battalion embarked for _Buenos Ayres_ _ib._
1807. Operations against _Buenos Ayres_ 68
” Return of the battalion to Europe 69
” Stationed in Ireland _ib._
1808. Embarked for Portugal with the troops under
Lieut.-General the Hon. Sir Arthur Wellesley _ib._
” Battle of _Roleia_ 70
” Authorized to bear the word “ROLEIA” on the regimental
colour and appointments _ib._
1808. Battle of _Vimiera_ 70
” Authorized to bear the word “VIMIERA” on the regimental
colour and appointments 71
” Advance into Spain 72
” Joined the army under Lieut.-General Sir John Moore _ib._
” Retreat on _Corunna_ 73
1809. Battle of _Corunna_ 74
” Authorized to bear the word “CORUNNA” on the regimental
colour and appointments 75
” Embarkation of the battalion for England _ib._
” Proceeded with the expedition to the _Scheldt_ 75
” Arrived at _Walcheren_ _ib._
” Siege and capture of _Flushing_ _ib._
” Casualties of the battalion _ib._
” Returned to England 77
1810. Stationed at Battle _ib._
1811. Embarked for the Peninsula _ib._
” Actions at _Fuentes d’Onor_ _ib._
” Affair of _Barba del Puerco_ _ib._
” Affairs of _Especha_ and _Ronda_ 78
1812. Siege and capture of _Ciudad Rodrigo_ 79
” Siege and capture of Badajoz _ib._
” Battle of _Salamanca_ 80
” Authorized to bear the word “SALAMANCA” on the
regimental colour and appointments 82
” Siege of _Burgos_ _ib._
” Retreat from _Burgos_ _ib._
1813. Battle of _Vittoria_ 83
” Crossing of the _Pyrenees_ _ib._
” Operations near _Pampeluna_ _ib._
” Action at _Sorauren_ _ib._
” Authorized to bear the word “PYRENEES” on the
regimental colour and appointments 84
” Affairs of _Urdax_ _ib._
” Battle of the _Nivelle_ 85
” Authorized to bear the word “NIVELLE” on the
regimental colour and appointments _ib._
” Passage of the _Nive_ 86
” Authorized to bear the word “NIVE” on the regimental
colour and appointments _ib._
” Blockade of _Bayonne_ _ib._
1814. Battle of _Orthes_ 87
” Authorized to bear the word “ORTHES” on the regimental
colour and appointments 88
” Affairs of _Vic Bigorre_ and _Tarbes_ _ib._
” Battle of _Toulouse_ 89
” Authorized to bear the words “TOULOUSE” and “PENINSULA”
on the regimental colour and appointments 91
” Sortie from _Bayonne_ 92
” Termination of the Peninsular war _ib._
” The second battalion disbanded _ib._
1815. Return of Napoleon to France _ib._
” Battle of _Waterloo_ 93
” The regiment embarked for Ostend _ib._
” Marched to Paris _ib._
1815. Returned to England 93
1816. Stationed at Portsmouth _ib._
” Permitted to resume the word “FIRM” on the regimental
colour and appointments 94
1817. Embarked for Malta _ib._
1818. General George Don appointed Colonel of the regiment _ib._
1820. Embarked for the Ionian Islands 95
1821. Casualties from sickness _ib._
1825. Augmentation of establishment 97
” Formed into _six service_ and _four depôt_ companies _ib._
” Returned from the Ionian Islands to England _ib._
1827. Embarked for Ireland _ib._
1829. Lieut.-General Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe, Bart.,
appointed Colonel of the regiment 98
1830. Formed into _six service_ and _four depôt_ companies _ib._
” _Service_ companies, embarked for the West Indies _ib._
1833. Removed from Barbadoes to Antigua _ib._
1835. Proceeded to St. Lucia 99
” _Depôt_ companies removed from Ireland to England _ib._
1837. _Service_ companies returned to Barbadoes _ib._
1838. _Depôt_ companies returned to Ireland _ib._
” _Service_ companies embarked for Nova Scotia _ib._
” Complimentary Order prior to embarkation 100
1839. _Service_ companies stationed at Fredericton,
New Brunswick _ib._
1841. Removed to St. John’s, New Brunswick 101
1842. Embarked for Ireland _ib._
1845. Removed from Ireland to Great Britain _ib._
1846. Formed into two battalions _ib._
” Presentation of new colours 102
1847. The first and reserve battalion embarked for the
Ionian Islands _ib._
1848. The reserve battalion employed in suppressing an
insurrection in Cephalonia 103
1849. Part of the first battalion employed on a similar
service 104
” The reserve battalion again employed in operations
connected with the outbreak 105
1850. The establishment of the regiment reduced _ib._
” The reserve consolidated with the first battalion _ib._
1851. The four _depôt_ companies embarked at Cephalonia for
England _ib._
” The _service_ companies proceeded from Corfu to
Barbadoes _ib._
” Major-General the Lord Frederick FitzClarence, G.C.H.,
appointed Colonel of the regiment _ib._
1852. The _service_ companies removed from Barbadoes to
Trinidad _ib._
” The _depôt_ companies proceeded from Parkhurst to
Fort Pembroke Dock _ib._
” CONCLUSION _ib._
SUCCESSION OF COLONELS
OF
THE THIRTY-SIXTH REGIMENT.
Year. Page.
1701. William Viscount Charlemont 107
1706. Thomas Alnutt 110
1709. Archibald Earl of Ilay 110
1710. Henry Desney 112
1715. William Egerton _ib._
1719. Sir Charles Hotham, Bart. 113
1720. John Pocock _ib._
1721. Charles Lenoe 114
1732. John Moyle _ib._
1737. Humphrey Bland 115
1741. James Fleming _ib._
1751. Lord Robert Manners 116
1765. Sir Richard Pierson, K.B. _ib._
1778. The Honorable Henry St. John _ib._
1818. Sir George Don, G.C.B. 117
1829. Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe, Bart. 118
1851. Lord Frederick FitzClarence, G.C.H. 119
APPENDIX.
Page.
Copy of the General Orders issued by the Commander-in-chief
of Madras, upon the regiment being ordered to return to
Great Britain 121
Copy of an Order issued by the Governor in Council upon the
regiment quitting Madras _ib._
Copy of a Letter from Lieut.-General the Honorable Sir Arthur
Wellesley, K.B., to Viscount Castlereagh, Secretary of State,
respecting the exemplary conduct of the regiment at the
battle of Vimiera 122
General orders of the 18th of January and 1st of February
1809, relating to the battle of _Corunna_ and the death of
Lieut.-General Sir John Moore 124
List of regiments which composed the army under
Lieut.-General Sir John Moore 128
Documents relating to the word “FIRM” borne by the regiment 129
Memoir of Lieut.-General Robert Burne, formerly
Lieut.-Colonel of the regiment 133
PLATES.
Page.
Colours of the regiment _to face_ 1
Battle of Vimiera 71
Costume of the regiment 106
[Illustration: THIRTY SIXTH REGIMENT
QUEEN’S COLOUR.
REGIMENTAL COLOUR.
For Cannon’s Military Records
_Madeley Lith., 3 Wellington S^t., Strand_]
HISTORICAL RECORD
OF
THE THIRTY-SIXTH,
OR THE
HEREFORDSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT.
[Sidenote: 1700.]
Charles II., King of Spain, being affected with a dangerous
indisposition, the European powers, in order to prevent the
contention which was expected to arise on the decease of that
monarch, determined to divide the Spanish territories among the
several competitors. The first “_Partition Treaty_” was concluded
between France, England, and Holland, on the 29th of August 1698;
but a second Treaty was rendered necessary, in consequence of the
death of the Electoral Prince of Bavaria, who had been declared
heir to the Spanish Crown; accordingly, on the 15th of March 1700,
a second Treaty was entered into between the same contracting
powers, by which it was arranged that Charles Archduke of Austria,
the second son of Leopold Emperor of Germany, should succeed to
the throne of Spain, a certain portion of the territories of that
Kingdom being, as before, allotted to the Dauphin of France; and
the Duke of Lorrain was to receive Milan in exchange for his own
country, which was to be given to the French nation.
The long expected demise of the King of Spain occurred on the 1st
of November 1700; and that Sovereign, incensed at the dismemberment
of his dominions, bequeathed the Spanish monarchy to Philip Duke
of Anjou, second son of the Dauphin of France; and Louis XIV.,
disregarding the treaties to which he had been a party, determined
to support his grandson’s accession to the throne of Spain.
The French at this period overran the Spanish Netherlands and
seized several strong towns, partly garrisoned by the Dutch, which
compelled the States of Holland to acknowledge the Duke of Anjou’s
title, with a view of obtaining their soldiers, who were not
permitted to return, without difficulty.
[Sidenote: 1701.]
It is a singular circumstance of the time, that King William,
seeing the unwillingness of the nation to engage in a fresh war,
actually acknowledged the Duke of Anjou as King of Spain, and sent
him a letter of congratulation. In May 1701, however, the House
of Commons unanimously resolved to assist the Dutch, and provide
succours for the States General, in order to maintain the liberties
of Europe. Several regiments were in the following month embarked
for Holland; and additions were also made to the army and navy.
On the 28th of June 1701 a Royal Warrant was issued authorizing
William Viscount Charlemont to raise a regiment in Ireland, which
was afterwards numbered the THIRTY-SIXTH.
England might have abstained from open hostilities with France had
it not been for the following circumstance:--In the midst of these
preparations the decease of James II. occurred at St. Germains on
the 16th of September 1701, and his son, the titular Prince of
Wales, was immediately proclaimed, by order of Louis XIV., as King
of England, Scotland, and Ireland, by the title of King James III.
This indignity to the British Sovereign and Nation, added to the
contemplated union of the crowns of France and Spain, made war
inevitable; and King William, with the Emperor of Austria and the
States General, concluded “_the Grand Alliance_,” the principal
objects of which were to procure the Spanish Netherlands as a
barrier for the Dutch, and to prevent France and Spain becoming
eventually under the sway of the same Prince.
[Sidenote: 1702.]
War was thus on the eve of being proclaimed, when King William
met with the accident which terminated in his decease on the 8th
of March 1702; the accession of Queen Anne, however, caused no
alteration in the policy of her predecessor; and war was declared
against France and Spain on the 4th of May following; additional
forces were sent to Flanders, and the Earl of Marlborough was
appointed to command the British, Dutch, and auxiliary troops, with
the rank of Captain-General. The contest which ensued is known as
“_the war of the Spanish succession_.”
Six regiments had been added to the regular army in the year 1702
as _marine_ corps, and six other of the regular regiments of
infantry (the THIRTY-SIXTH being among the number) were appointed
for _sea service_; as shown in the following list:--
The six regiments of marines were,--
Colonel Thomas Saunderson’s, now Thirtieth foot.
Colonel George Villiers’s, now Thirty-first foot.
Colonel Edward Fox’s, now Thirty-second foot.
Colonel Harry Mordaunt’s, disbanded in 1713.
Colonel Henry Holl’s, disbanded in 1713.
Colonel Viscount Shannon’s, disbanded in 1713.
The six regiments of foot for _sea service_ were,--
Colonel Ventris Columbine’s, now Sixth foot.
Colonel Thomas Erle’s, now Nineteenth foot.
Colonel Gustavus Hamilton’s, now Twentieth foot.
Colonel Lord Lucas’s, now Thirty-fourth foot.
Colonel Earl of Donegal’s, now Thirty-fifth foot.
Colonel Viscount Charlemont’s, now THIRTY-SIXTH foot.
The following is a copy of the Royal Warrant for levying this body
of men, which was dated the 1st of June 1702.
“ANNE R.
“Our pleasure is, that this establishment of _six regiments of
marines_ and six other regiments for _sea service_ do commence
and take place from the respective times of _raising_.
“And our further pleasure is, that the order given by our dearest
brother, the late King deceased, and such orders as are, or shall
be, given by us, touching the pay or entertainment of our said
forces, or any of them, or any charges thereunto belonging, shall
be duly complied with; and that no new charge be added to this
establishment without being communicated to our High Treasurer or
Commissioners of our Treasury for the time being.
“_Given at our Court at St. James’s, on the first day
“of June, in the first year of our reign.
“By Her Majesty’s command,_
“GODOLPHIN.”
Prior to the decease of King William the reduction of Cadiz had
been contemplated, after which it was resolved to embark an
expedition against the possessions of Spain in the West Indies.
Queen Anne following out this policy, it was arranged that a
combined fleet of English and Dutch ships, consisting of fifty sail
of the line, besides frigates, under Admiral Sir George Rooke,
and a land force, amounting to nearly fourteen thousand men, under
the command of the Duke of Ormond, should proceed to the coast of
Spain. The following corps were selected for this service, namely,--
Officers
and Men.
Lloyd’s dragoons, now Third light dragoons (detachment) 275
Foot guards, the Grenadier and Coldstream 755
Sir H. Bellasis, now Second foot 834
Churchill’s, now Third foot 834
Seymour’s, now Fourth foot 834
Columbine’s, now Sixth foot 724
O’Hara’s, three companies, now Seventh Royal fusiliers 313
Erle’s, now Nineteenth foot 724
Gustavus Hamilton’s, now Twentieth foot 724
Villiere’s marines, five companies, now Thirty-first foot 520
Fox’s marines, now Thirty-second foot 834
Donegal’s, now Thirty-fifth foot 724
Charlemont’s, now Thirty-sixth foot 724
Shannon’s marines 834
-----
9,653
Dutch regiments commanded by Major-General }
Baron Sparre and Brigadier Pallandt } 3,924
------
13,577
======
The THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, having been selected as part of the
force to share in this enterprise, was withdrawn from Ireland, and
proceeded to the Isle of Wight in June 1702, and embarked for Cadiz
in July.
In the Harleian Manuscripts at the British Museum, the embarkation
return of the regiment is preserved, of which the following is a
copy:--
_The Right Hon^{ble} ye Lord Viscount Charlemont’s Reg^t._
_Captains._ _Lieutenants._
{ W^m Lord Charlemont, James Crofton
{ _Colonel._
On board { Charles Wills, W^m Whitaker
the { _Lieut.-Colonel_.
Grey. { Arthur Moore, _Major_ Jas. Bamber
{ Thos. Alnutt Alex. Foster
{ Henry Frankland James Brough
_Ensigns._ _Serjts._ _Corpls._ _Drs._ _Centinels._
Tho^s Caulfeild 2 3 2 43
Mich^l Merritt 2 3 2 42
Rog^r Mosten 2 3 2 44
W^m King 2 3 2 43
---- 2 3 2 40
On board { Hen. Fulvile Hen. Fitzhugh
the { Jno. Hutchinson And^w Dunbar
Ruth. { Medburn Smith Rob^t Ennis
{ Jno. Dentilly Anth. Callion
Wm. Cuffe 2 3 2 43
Wm. Musgrave 2 3 2 42
Wm. Airs 2 3 2 42
---- 2 3 2 44
On board { James Brathwait Alex. Crage
the { Josias Campbell ----
Friendship. { Wm. Edwards Jno. Mabbott
Wm. Levinston 2 3 2 43
Jno. Lloyd 2 3 2 44
Wm. Hargrave 2 3 2 44
12 11
10 24 36 24 514
On board { Tobias Caulfeild, _Chaplain_.
the Grey. { Robt. Wilson, _Adjt. & Quarter Master_.
On board { Laur. Bondelt, _Surgeon_.
the Ruth. { Jno. Robins, _Surgeon’s Mate_.
_Detached of ye Regt., and put on board ye Vulture Fireshipp,
one Lieutenant, one Sergt, one Corpll., and twenty-six men._
(_Signed_) AR. MOORE.
The difference in the number embarked, as shown in the foregoing
document, and that specified against the THIRTY-SIXTH in the
list of regiments ordered to proceed to Cadiz, arises from the
establishment being given in the first instance, while the
embarkation return has reference only to effectives.
The armament appeared off Cadiz on the 12th of August, and the Duke
of Ormond summoned the place; his terms being refused, a landing
was effected between Rota and Fort St. Catherine on the 15th of
that month, where the troops encountered and repulsed some Spanish
cavalry. St. Catherine’s fort was compelled to surrender, and Port
St. Mary’s was occupied by the British troops; the expedition,
however, proved not of sufficient force to capture Cadiz, which
was found much stronger and better garrisoned than was expected
from the information which had been received in England prior to
the fitting out of the armament, and the soldiers returned on
board the fleet. The THIRTY-SIXTH regiment was afterwards detached
from Cadiz to the West Indies with a division of the royal navy
under Commodore Walker, and sailed on this service on the 24th of
September.
[Sidenote: 1703.]
A powerful armament was prepared for the attack of the French and
Spanish settlements in the West Indies in 1703, but this enterprise
was subsequently abandoned.
[Sidenote: 1704.]
After losing several men from the effects of the climate, the
regiment was withdrawn from the West Indies, and was stationed in
Ireland in the year 1704.
[Sidenote: 1705.]
The successes obtained by the Duke of Marlborough in Flanders
and Germany led to an attempt to place the Archduke Charles of
Austria on the throne of Spain by force of arms. In the former
year Gibraltar had been captured by the combined English and
Dutch fleets, and in connexion with these events the THIRTY-SIXTH
regiment was embarked from Ireland in April 1705, in order to
proceed with the force under the Earl of Peterborough.
The design of this expedition was either to aid the Duke of Savoy
in driving the French out of Italy, to make an attempt on Naples
and Sicily, or to further the progress of the Archduke in Spain.
The fleet arrived at Lisbon in June, and additional forces were
embarked; at the same time the Archduke Charles went on board
the fleet to share in the toils and dangers inseparable from the
enterprise. From Lisbon the expedition proceeded to Gibraltar,
where it was joined by the Prince of Hesse Darmstadt and a
reinforcement from the garrison.
The fleet next proceeded to the bay of Altea, in Valencia, and
there the officers and soldiers had opportunities of observing the
attachment of the inhabitants of that part of Spain to the Austrian
Prince. A thousand Catalonians and Valentians who had thrown off
their allegiance to the house of Bourbon, and had acknowledged the
Archduke Charles as the Sovereign of Spain, seized on the town of
Denia, while others made demonstrations of giving effectual aid to
the expedition; such a spirit of enterprise was evinced by King
Charles, the Earl of Peterborough, the Prince of Hesse Darmstadt,
and others, that both officers and men became imbued with the
ardent zeal of their superiors, and resolved to effect something
great and remarkable.
Under these feelings, the celebrated city of _Barcelona_, the
capital of Catalonia, and one of the most ancient towns in Spain,
was selected as the scene of the first attempt. Its situation on a
plain near the sea, with a mole capable of containing only galleys
and small ships, defended by ten bastions, several old towers, and
other works, with a strong castle and citadel named _Montjuich_,
on a hill on the west side, and commanding the town; the garrison
consisting of between five and six thousand men under the Viceroy
of Catalonia, Don Francisco de Velasco, while the besieging army
was unable to bring more than seven thousand men into the lines;
these circumstances, with the fact that in 1697 this fortress
resisted the Duke of Vendôme, with a French army of thirty thousand
men, eight weeks with open trenches, and cost the French monarch
twelve thousand men, gave an interesting and romantic character
to the enterprise, in which the THIRTY-SIXTH, and other regiments
employed, gained much honour. It is also to be noticed, that it was
the same Prince of Hesse Darmstadt who was now engaged in capturing
what he had before so nobly defended; for it was a question whether
the Duke of Vendôme gained more glory by the taking, than the
Prince of Darmstadt by defending Barcelona, when employed in the
Spanish service.
The Earl of Peterborough landed his troops on the 23d and 24th
of August near the river Bassoz, about three miles east of
_Barcelona_. On the 28th of that month, King Charles came on
shore, and several of the inhabitants of the neighbouring towns
and villages greeted his landing with great acclamations. The
progress of the siege was, however, retarded by opposite opinions
and views entertained by the superior officers. It was at length
determined to surprise the detached fortress of _Montjuich_, as
proposed by the Prince of Hesse Darmstadt. The storming party of
four hundred grenadiers, selected from the various corps employed
in the siege, with a support of six hundred musketeers, commenced
its march in the night of Sunday the 13th of September, round the
mountains, and were followed by another detachment and a party of
dragoons. The greater part of the way not being passable for above
one man abreast, and the night very dark, the first detachment was
nearly twelve hours on the march, and did not arrive at the foot
of the mountain until break of day of the 14th of September; some
Miquelets, in the service of the enemy, gave the alarm to the
troops in the castle and in the town, so that the Prince of Hesse,
on his arrival, found the garrison in arms, with guards in the
outworks, who received the Confederates with a general discharge of
artillery and small arms. Upon this the Prince of Hesse, and the
Viscount Charlemont, Colonel of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, (who
commanded on the 14th of September as Brigadier, in consequence
of the indisposition of the Dutch Brigadier Schonenberg,) ordered
Lieut.-Colonel Southwell, of the Sixth foot, to commence the
attack with the grenadiers; this service was performed with signal
intrepidity and resolution. Upon this success the Prince of Hesse
Darmstadt advanced to possess himself of a post which would prevent
the enemy’s communication with the town, and in the attempt was
mortally wounded. The loss of this officer damped the spirits of
the soldiers;--the enemy, perceiving some disorder amongst the
Confederates, called out, “Long live King Charles!” and invited the
assailants to come to them; upon Colonel Allen’s advance to the
fort, with about two hundred and fifty men, the Spaniards opened
the gate the better to conceal their stratagem, but immediately
fired upon the men, and compelled this detachment to surrender; at
the same time, a large reinforcement was seen advancing from the
town to aid the garrison in the castle, whereupon the troops were
seized with a panic, and Lord Charlemont, with other officers,
endeavoured to counteract the disorder which ensued.
Upon the Earl of Peterborough receiving this intelligence, his
lordship placed himself at the head of the detachments that were
retreating,--rallied them, and ultimately regained the posts they
had before so nobly acquired; the Spaniards who were advancing from
the town retired, and the outworks of _Montjuich_ were gained.
Batteries were then constructed, and the inner works were assailed
with cannon balls, bombs, and grenades. After the action was
over, the Earl of Peterborough introduced Lord Charlemont and
Lieut.-Colonel Southwell to the King of Spain, as officers that had
done His Majesty signal service on this occasion; for which they
both received the thanks of that Prince.[6]
On the 17th of September, Lieut.-Colonel Southwell, of the Sixth
regiment of foot, being on duty in the trenches, observed that
the bombs thrown by a Dutch bombardier from a small mortar fell
to the left of the fort, and concluding that there was a magazine
in the place, he traversed the mortar himself more to the right,
and fired it; the bomb fell into a small chapel where the garrison
had stored their powder, which exploded, and buried a number of
officers and men in the ruins. Lieut.-Colonel Southwell advanced
at the head of his men, and was met by the surviving officers and
men of the garrison, who immediately surrendered the fortress. The
Lieut.-Colonel was made Governor of the place, in consideration of
his services.
The capture of _Montjuich_ facilitated the siege of the city of
_Barcelona_, which was prosecuted with vigour; and on the 4th of
October the garrison agreed to capitulate. The Viceroy made several
extravagant demands, which occupied some days in debating, so that
the capitulation was not signed until the evening of the 9th of
October; it was agreed that the Angel-gate and bastion should be
immediately delivered up to the Allies, and the whole city four
days after, when the garrison should march out with all the honours
of war. The capture of Barcelona was accompanied by the submission
to King Charles of all Catalonia, with the exception of Roses.
King Charles commenced forming a Spanish army for his service; he
soon had five hundred dragoons for a guard, and six regiments of
infantry. He was joined by Colonel Nebot, who forsook the service
of King Philip with a regiment of horse, and in a short time the
province of Valencia submitted to the Austrian Prince.
[Sidenote: 1706.]
The regiment continued under the immediate directions of the
Earl of Peterborough, with whose achievements its services are
connected; his raising the siege of _San Matteo_, the capture of
_Monviedro_, his exploits in _Valencia_, and the relief of the
capital of that province,--successes gained with a small body of
soldiers over a numerous army,--carry with them the appearance of
fiction and romance more than of sober reality; but being supported
by abundance of collateral and direct evidence, the truth of these
achievements is unquestionable. Unfortunately, no documents have
been discovered to prove what particular corps his lordship left
in garrison, and what he took with him in his daring enterprise
in Valencia; the part taken by the First and Eighth dragoons, the
Thirteenth, Thirtieth, and Thirty-fourth foot, and a few other
corps, can be clearly made out from history; but whether the
THIRTY-SIXTH remained in garrison in Catalonia, or was employed in
the enterprise in Valencia, has not been ascertained.
King Charles and his counsellors, instead of exerting themselves
to provide for the security of the towns which had been acquired,
and collecting the means for future conquests, wasted their time
and money in balls and public diversions. The breaches in Barcelona
and the detached fortress of Montjuich were left unrepaired, and
the garrison unprovided for a siege. Meanwhile King Philip was
obtaining reinforcements from the frontiers of Portugal, from
Italy, Provence, Flanders, and the Rhine; and he soon appeared at
the head of above twenty thousand men to recapture the provinces
he had lost. A powerful French and Spanish force approached
_Barcelona_ by land, a French fleet appeared before the place, and
the enemy encamped before the north side of the city on the 2nd of
April 1706.
The Earl of Peterborough hastened from Valencia with a body of
select troops, but found the town so closely beset that he was
unable to force his way into it, when he took to the mountains,
and harassed the enemy with skirmishes and night alarms. When the
garrison was nearly exhausted, its numbers decreased from deaths,
wounds, sickness, and other causes to about a thousand effective
men, and a practicable breach was ready for the enemy to attack
the place by storm, the English and Dutch fleet arrived with five
regiments of foot; the French fleet withdrew from before the town,
and the reinforcements were landed. Barcelona being thus relieved,
the enemy, having lost six thousand men before the town, made a
precipitate retreat on the 12th of May, leaving two hundred brass
cannon, thirty mortars, and vast quantities of ammunition and
provision behind him, together with the sick and wounded of his
army, whom Marshal de Tessé recommended to the humanity of the
British commander.
Barcelona was thus preserved by British skill and valour; and the
THIRTY-SIXTH, with the other regiments in garrison, received the
thanks of King Charles for this important service.
On the 10th of May 1706, Lieut.-Colonel Thomas Alnutt was promoted
to the colonelcy of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, in succession
to the Viscount Charlemont, who had been removed by the Earl
of Peterborough. A complaint on this subject was subsequently
preferred by Lord Charlemont; and the reports made by the council
of general officers, after a patient investigation, are inserted
in the memoir of that nobleman, as Colonel of the THIRTY-SIXTH
regiment, at page 109. These documents are highly flattering to
Viscount Charlemont, and bear ample testimony to his gallant
conduct at Barcelona.
An immediate advance upon Madrid having been resolved upon, the
Marquis das Minas and the Earl of Galway, who commanded a British,
Portuguese, and Dutch force on the frontiers of Portugal, were
requested to penetrate boldly to the capital of Spain. To engage
in this service the THIRTY-SIXTH embarked from Barcelona, and
proceeded by sea to Valencia, where King Charles was expected to
arrive with the cavalry by land. While in Valencia the regiment
furnished a detachment of non-commissioned officers and soldiers,
which, with similar detachments from other corps of infantry,
were formed into a regiment of dragoons, named the Earl of
Peterborough’s regiment.
_Requena_ and _Cuenza_, which places lie on the line of march from
Valencia to Madrid, were captured after a short resistance by the
troops detached under Major-General Wyndham. Meanwhile the army
from Portugal had penetrated to Madrid, and was anxiously awaiting
the arrival of King Charles, who, following the pernicious advice
of his Italian counsellors, delayed his journey, and eventually
proceeded by way of Arragon. This afforded time for the French and
Spanish troops under King Philip to re-enter Spain; and uniting
with the forces under the Duke of Berwick, the enemy had a great
superiority of numbers. The allies were forced to retire from their
forward position, and being joined on the 17th of September at
Veles, by the troops which had been detached under Major-General
Wyndham, they continued their route towards the frontiers of
Valencia and Murcia, where they remained during the winter.
[Sidenote: 1707.]
The THIRTY-SIXTH, in the year 1707, joined part of the Allied
army, which was composed of English, Spaniards, Portuguese, and
Dutch, commanded by the Marquis das Minas and the Earl of Galway,
and took the field for offensive operations in the early part
of April. After destroying several of the enemy’s magazines, the
siege of the castle of _Villena_ was undertaken, and while this
was in progress, a French and Spanish force, of very superior
numbers, commanded by the Duke of Berwick, advanced to the plains
of _Almanza_. As the enemy expected the arrival of reinforcements
under the Duke of Orleans, the allied generals, though much
inferior in numbers, resolved to attack their adversaries without
delay.
The following regiments were present at the battle of Almanza, and
their effective strength is taken from the weekly return dated 22nd
of April, three days prior to the battle:--
Men.
Harvey’s horse, now Second dragoon guards 227
Carpenter’s dragoons, now Third light dragoons } 292
Essex’s dragoons, now Fourth light dragoons }
Killegrew’s dragoons, now Eighth hussars 51
Pearce’s dragoons, disbanded 273
Peterborough’s dragoons, disbanded 303
Guiscard’s dragoons, disbanded 228
Foot guards 400
Portmore’s, now Second foot 462
Southwell’s, now Sixth foot 505
Stewart’s, now Ninth foot 467
Hill’s, now Eleventh foot 472
Blood’s, now Seventeenth foot 461
Mordaunt’s, now Twenty-eighth foot 532
Wade’s, now Thirty-third foot 458
Gorges’s, now Thirty-fifth foot 616
Alnutt’s, now THIRTY-SIXTH foot 412
Montjoy’s, disbanded 508
Mackartney’s, disbanded 494
Bretton’s, disbanded 428
John Caulfeild’s, disbanded 470
Lord Mark Kerr’s, disbanded 429
Count Nassau’s, disbanded 422
------
Total 8,910
======
After a march of several hours along the rugged tracts of Murcia
under a burning sun, the soldiers arrived in the presence of the
enemy, at _Almanza_, about noon on the 25th of April. It was
nearly three o’clock in the afternoon when the battle commenced.
The THIRTY-SIXTH were formed in brigade with the Ninth, Eleventh,
and Lord Mark Kerr’s regiments under Colonel Hill, and Mino’s
Portuguese dragoons were posted in the centre of the brigade,
which was stationed in the second line; but nine of the enemy’s
battalions having attacked Major-General Wade’s brigade, consisting
of the Sixth, Seventeenth, Thirty-third, and Lord Montjoy’s
regiments, the Ninth moved forward to their support. Great valour
was displayed, but in vain, for the flight of the Portuguese
squadrons had left the British and Dutch exposed to the weight
and power of the enemy’s superior numbers, and no hope of victory
remained. The Earl of Galway effected his retreat with the
dragoons; several general officers collected the broken remains of
the English infantry, which fought in the centre, into a body, and
uniting them with some Dutch and Portuguese, formed a column of
nearly four thousand men, which retreated two leagues, repulsing
the pursuing enemy from time to time. On arriving at the woody
hills of Caudete, the men were so exhausted with fatigue that they
were unable to proceed further: they passed the night in the wood
without food, and on the following morning they were surrounded by
the enemy. Being without ammunition, ignorant of the country, and
having no prospect of obtaining food, they surrendered prisoners of
war.
Thus ended a battle in which the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment behaved with
great gallantry, but was nearly annihilated. Captains Musgrave
and Parsons, Lieutenants Ayriss and Ballance, and Ensign Wells
were killed; the following officers of the regiment were taken
prisoners:--
Colonel Alnutt (_wounded_).
Lieut.-Colonel Frankland.
Lieut.-Colonel Barry (_wounded_).
Lieutenant Hicks.
Lieutenant Duckinfeild (_wounded_).
Lieutenant Wants.
Lieutenant Dancer (_wounded_).
Lieutenant Bishop.
Ensign Bennet (_wounded_).
Ensign Erwine.
Ensign Sheen (_wounded_).
Ensign Pascal.
Ensign Money.
The number of non-commissioned officers and soldiers killed,
wounded, and taken prisoners at the battle of Almanza has not been
ascertained; those who escaped, and were found serviceable, were
afterwards transferred to other corps in Spain, and certain of the
officers returned to England to recruit the regiment.
On the 15th of September 1707, orders were addressed to Colonel
Alnutt to recruit and fill up the respective companies of the
regiment; and the recruits were to assemble at Chester and
Namptwich, which places were appointed for the rendezvous of the
corps.
[Sidenote: 1708.]
In the Annals of Queen Anne for the year 1708, it is stated, “Some
time before, orders and commissions were delivered for new raising
the regiments of--
Mordaunt’s, afterwards Twenty-eighth regiment,
Wade’s, afterwards Thirty-third regiment,
Gorges’s, afterwards Thirty-fifth regiment,
Alnutt’s, afterwards Thirty-sixth regiment,
Montjoy’s, afterwards disbanded,
Mackartney’s, afterwards disbanded,
Lord Mark Kerr’s, afterwards disbanded,
which suffered most at the battle of Almanza, and the officers
whereof, who were prisoners in France, were supplied by others.”
[Sidenote: 1709.]
Colonel Archibald Earl of Ilay, afterwards Duke of Argyle, was
appointed to the colonelcy of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment on the 23d
of March 1709, in succession to Colonel Thomas Alnutt, deceased.
[Sidenote: 1710.]
On the 23d of October 1710, Colonel Henry Desaulnais (afterwards
spelt Desney) from the Coldstream foot guards, was appointed to the
colonelcy of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, in succession to Colonel
the Earl of Ilay, resigned.
During the nine years which this war had been raging in Europe,
British blood and treasure had been expended in making conquests
for the house of Austria. The only advantage which had accrued to
Great Britain was, that the power of the House of Bourbon had been
diminished, and that of Austria augmented; the new Ministry chosen
by Queen Anne, in 1710, resolved to act upon a different principle.
Colonel Nicholson having made a successful attack on Port Royal,
in Nova Scotia, on his return to England he submitted to the
Government a plan for the reduction of Placentia and Quebec, as a
preparatory measure for acquiring Canada for the British crown, and
for expelling the French from Newfoundland, in order to regain the
fishery.
Canada is stated to have been discovered by the famous Italian
adventurer, Sebastian Cabot, who sailed under a commission from
Henry VII.; and as the English monarch did not make any use of
the discovery, the French soon attempted to derive advantage from
it. Several small settlements were established, and in the early
part of the seventeenth century the city of _Quebec_ was founded
for the capital of the French possessions in this part of the
world. Although the colony continued in a very depressed state
for some time, and the settlers were frequently in danger of
being exterminated by the Indians, yet, in the beginning of the
eighteenth century, it had become of such importance that its
capture was considered one of the best means of weakening the power
of Louis XIV.
[Sidenote: 1711.]
An expedition, consisting of about five thousand men, was accordingly
ordered to proceed to North America under Brigadier-General Hill, for
the purpose of making an attempt on Quebec. A large fleet formed part
of the armament under Commodore Sir Hovenden Walker, and the force
was to be further strengthened by troops from the North American
colonies. The following regiments were employed on the expedition:--
Kirke’s regiment, now Second foot.
The Queen’s, now Fourth foot.
Hill’s, now Eleventh foot.
Desney’s, now THIRTY-SIXTH foot.
Windress’s, now Thirty-seventh foot.
Clayton’s, disbanded in 1712.
Kane’s, disbanded in 1713.
Churchill’s Marines, disbanded in 1713.
Walton’s and Vetch’s, North American Militia, joined the expedition
at Boston.
On arriving at North America the fleet called at Boston for a
supply of provisions, and the troops landed and encamped a short
time on Rhode Island; but on the 20th of July they re-embarked, and
having been joined by two regiments of provincial troops commanded
by Colonels Walton and Vetch, sailed on the 30th of July from
Boston for the river St. Lawrence. 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 twenty-nine
officers, six hundred and seventy-six soldiers, and thirty-five
women of the Fourth, Thirty-seventh, 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 THIRTY-SIXTH returned to England, and arrived at
Portsmouth on the 9th of October.
On the 12th of October 1711, Charles III., the claimant to the
throne of Spain, was elected Emperor of Germany by the title of
Charles VI., his brother Joseph having died at Vienna in the
preceding April. This circumstance materially affected the war, and
inclined Great Britain to agree to peace; for the consolidation of
Spain with the Empire of Germany would have perilled the balance
of power in Europe as much as the anticipated union of the crowns
of France and Spain. The course of events had also shown, that a
French and not an Austrian Prince was the choice of the Spanish
nation.
Louis XIV. finding his armies defeated and dispirited, by the
victorious troops under the celebrated Duke of Marlborough,
at length sued for peace, negociations for which were shortly
afterwards commenced.
[Sidenote: 1712.]
The conditions of a Treaty of Peace having been agreed upon between
Queen Anne and the French monarch, Dunkirk was delivered up to
the British by Louis XIV., as a security for the performance of
the stipulations, and the THIRTY-SIXTH formed part of the force
embarked under Brigadier-General Hill, to occupy that fortress. The
regiment sailed from the Downs on the 7th of July 1712, with the
fleet under Admiral Sir John Leake; on the following day the troops
landed at Dunkirk, relieving the French guards at the citadel.
[Sidenote: 1713.]
While the regiment was stationed at Dunkirk the Treaty of Utrecht
was signed on the 11th of April 1713, which terminated the “War of
the Spanish Succession.”
[Sidenote: 1714.]
In the spring of 1714, the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment returned to
England; on the 1st of August of that year Queen Anne died, and was
succeeded by King George I. The new sovereign having been quietly
seated on the throne, the regiment proceeded to Ireland, and was
placed on the establishment of that country.
[Sidenote: 1715.]
On the 11th of July 1715, Colonel William Egerton was appointed
by His Majesty King George I. to be Colonel of the THIRTY-SIXTH
regiment, in succession to Colonel H. Desney, upon whom was
subsequently conferred the colonelcy of the Twenty-ninth regiment.
While the regiment was in Ireland, an insurrection was organized in
England, by the partizans of the house of Stuart; at the same time
the Earl of Mar summoned the Highland clans to arms, and proclaimed
the Pretender King of Great Britain. On the breaking out of the
rebellion, the regiment was withdrawn from Ireland, in the autumn
of 1715; and it joined the troops encamped near Stirling under the
Duke of Argyle.
In the early part of November, the rebel army advanced towards the
Forth, with the view of penetrating to England, and the Duke of
Argyle marched from Stirling to _Dumblaine_, near _Sheriffmuir_,
for the purpose of opposing the progress of the insurgents. On the
morning of Sunday, the 13th of November, the enemy, ten thousand
strong, was seen advancing in order of battle; and the King’s
troops, not mustering four thousand men, moved forward to engage
their opponents. The THIRTY-SIXTH regiment was in the left wing
of the royal army. At a critical moment it was ordered to make a
change of position, and, while in the act of re-forming, it was
attacked by an immense body of Highlanders, the _élite_ of the
insurgent host. The soldiers were unable to withstand the very
superior numbers of their opponents, and the left wing became
separated from the main body of the army, and retired beyond
_Dumblaine_, to gain possession of the passes leading to Stirling.
In the meantime, the right wing of the royal army had overpowered
the left wing of the rebels, and chased it from the field. Thus
both generals had one wing victorious, and one wing defeated: both
in consequence claimed the victory. The insurgents were, however,
prevented penetrating southward, and were defeated in their object.
The THIRTY-SIXTH had one serjeant and twenty-one rank and file
killed; Captain Danoer, and fourteen rank and file, were wounded.
From the field of battle the troops proceeded to Stirling, where
they again encamped.
[Sidenote: 1716.]
Towards the end of December the Pretender arrived in Scotland, and
assumed all the ensigns of royalty. He held his court at Scone,
and his head-quarters were at Perth: but the Highland chieftains
finding it impossible to resist the royal forces, resolved to
abandon the enterprize. They, however, burnt several villages, to
distress the Duke of Argyle in his march, who, in January 1716,
obliged them to abandon Perth, whence they retired to Montrose,
where the Pretender escaped on board a French ship, together
with the Earl of Mar and other adherents. After this the rebels
dispersed to the Highlands.
The THIRTY-SIXTH regiment was subsequently stationed at Dumbarton.
[Sidenote: 1718.]
In the year 1718 the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment proceeded to Ireland.
In July 1718, the King of Spain having taken Sardinia and invaded
Sicily, the “_Quadruple Alliance_” was formed between Great
Britain, France, Germany, and Holland. War was declared against
Spain in December by England and France.
[Sidenote: 1719.]
The King of Spain afterwards made preparations in favour of the
Pretender, and the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment embarked, in March 1719,
at Cork for Great Britain.
Brigadier-General Sir Charles Hotham, Bart., was appointed Colonel
of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment on the 7th of July 1719, in succession
to Colonel Egerton, removed to the Twentieth regiment.
[Sidenote: 1720.]
In January 1720 the King of Spain accepted the conditions of peace,
and acceded to the “_Quadruple Alliance_,” which had been formed
two years previously between Great Britain, France, Germany, and
Holland; in consequence of which the regiment returned to Ireland,
where it remained for several years.
On the 2d of December 1720 Colonel John Pocock was appointed to
the colonelcy of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, in succession to
Brigadier-General Sir Charles Hotham, Bart., removed to the Eighth,
or the King’s regiment of foot.
[Sidenote: 1721.]
Lieut.-Colonel Charles Lenoe was promoted from the Coldstream
guards to be colonel of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, on the 21st of
April 1721, in succession to Colonel John Pocock, removed to the
Eighth, or the King’s regiment of foot.
[Sidenote: 1732.]
On the 14th of May 1732, Brigadier-General John Moyle was appointed
Colonel of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, upon the removal to the
Eighth, or the King’s regiment of foot, of Colonel Charles Lenoe.
[Sidenote: 1737.]
Lieut.-Colonel Humphrey Bland, from the Second horse, now the
First dragoon guards, was promoted to the rank of Colonel of the
THIRTY-SIXTH regiment on the 27th of June 1737, in succession to
Major-General John Moyle, removed to the Twenty-second regiment.
[Sidenote: 1739.]
The claim of the Spanish Government to the right of search, and
the aggressions committed by that power on the commerce of Great
Britain, in the West Indies, by the _guarda-costas_ and other
ships acting by authority of the King of Spain, contrary to the
existing treaties, led to a Convention between the two Crowns,
which was concluded on the 14th of January 1739. This Convention
stipulated, that compensation should be made by Spain to the
English Government, in reparation for the hostilities committed on
the British subjects in the American seas. The Court of Madrid,
however, violated the Convention, and hostilities being on the
eve of commencing, the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment was removed from
Ireland to Great Britain in September 1739. On the 23d of October
following, war was proclaimed by Great Britain against Spain.
[Sidenote: 1740.]
A formidable armament was prepared for the attack of the Spanish
colonies in the West Indies, and the land forces were placed under
the command of General Lord Cathcart. On the 12th of June 1740
the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment was ordered to proceed to Portsmouth
for embarkation, but only a portion of the corps subsequently
proceeded on this service. Some delay occurred by the fleet being
twice driven back by contrary winds. On the 26th of October it
sailed a third time, and was dispersed by a tempest in the Bay of
Biscay; but the greater part of the vessels were re-collected,
and proceeded on the voyage. Arriving at the neutral island of
Dominica, to provide wood and water, the troops sustained the
loss of their commander, Lord Cathcart, (then Colonel of the
Sixth dragoon guards, or Carabineers,) who died of dysentery; the
command, in consequence, devolved on Brigadier-General Thomas
Wentworth, Colonel of the Twenty-fourth regiment.
[Sidenote: 1741.]
Lieut.-Colonel James Fleming was promoted from the Seventh Royal
fusiliers to the colonelcy of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment on the 9th
of January 1741, in succession to Colonel Humphrey Bland, removed
to the Thirteenth dragoons.
Upon arriving at Jamaica, in January 1741, the expedition was
joined by Vice-Admiral Vernon; but the season of the year for
active service in the West Indies was fast passing away, and
several circumstances concurred to create further delay. At length
an attempt on _Carthagena_, the capital of a wealthy province in
the country of Terra Firma, in South America, was resolved upon.
This place was found strongly fortified, and the garrison was
reinforced by the crews of a squadron of large ships. A landing
was effected on the island of Terra Bomba, near the mouth of the
harbour, on the 10th of March, and the siege of the principal fort
or castle, named _Bocca-chica_, was commenced. On the evening
of the 25th of March the grenadiers mounted the breach to storm
the fortress, when the Spanish garrison fled, and the place was
captured without loss.
Two channels having been made through the sunk vessels with which
the Spaniards had blocked up the entrance of the harbour, the
troops and artillery were re-embarked, and commenced landing on
the 5th of April near the city. The country round Carthagena was
found covered with trees and herbage of the most luxuriant growth,
and the interwoven branches formed a shelter impenetrable both to
heat and light; as the troops, led by Brigadier-General Blakeney,
advanced along a narrow defile, several men were wounded by shots
from the openings into the wood; on diverging from the defile six
hundred Spaniards were seen advantageously posted to dispute the
passage; but they were speedily driven from their ground, and the
British bivouacked within a mile of the castle of _Lazar_, which
commanded the town. The men passed three nights in the open air
for want of tents and tools, which could not be landed sooner,
and the health of the soldiers was in consequence seriously
injured. The siege of the castle was commenced, but as the men
were fast diminishing in numbers from hard duty and the effects
of climate, Brigadier-General Wentworth resolved to attack _St.
Lazar_ by escalade. The attempt was made on the 9th of April before
day-break, but without success, although the assailants evinced
distinguished gallantry. After sustaining a most destructive fire
for several hours with intrepidity and perseverance, the troops
were ordered to retire, having sustained a severe loss in killed
and wounded.
Violent periodical rains commenced, the country was deluged with
water, and the change of atmosphere produced fatal effects on the
health of the men, who were drenched with rain. All hope of further
success immediately vanished, and the troops returned on board the
fleet, where numbers died from the distempers incidental to the
climate.
The forts of the harbour of Carthagena having been demolished,
the fleet sailed for Jamaica, and the portion of the THIRTY-SIXTH
regiment which had formed part of the expedition subsequently
returned to Great Britain.
[Sidenote: 1743.]
During the year 1743 the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment was stationed in
Great Britain.
[Sidenote: 1744.]
In the year 1744 France and Great Britain, from being auxiliaries
in the “_War of the Austrian Succession_,”[7] became principals in
the contest. On the 20th of March 1744 France declared war against
England, and on the 29th of that month a counter-declaration was
made by Great Britain, in which the French Monarch was accused of
violating the “_Pragmatic Sanction_,”[8] and of assisting the son
of the Pretender in his designs on the British throne.
In the spring of 1744 the THIRTY-SIXTH and other regiments were
embarked to join the troops in Flanders; but the operations of the
British army during that year were confined to the defensive, and
no general engagement occurred.
[Sidenote: 1745.]
In the spring of 1745 a French army, commanded by Marshal Saxe,
invested Tournay, and the Duke of Cumberland, who had assumed
the command of the allied army of British, Dutch, and Austrians,
advanced to the relief of the town. The THIRTY-SIXTH regiment
was left in garrison at Ghent, and was consequently not at the
battle of Fontenoy, which was fought on the 11th of May. The Duke
of Cumberland having failed in the attempt to relieve Tournay,
retreated and encamped his army at Lessines. In the meantime events
were transpiring in Scotland which occasioned the THIRTY-SIXTH and
other regiments to be embarked for England.
Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, having arrived at a
remote part of Scotland, was joined by many of the Highland clans,
when he proceeded to assert his father’s pretentions to the throne.
The young adventurer and his hardy mountaineers made considerable
progress, and advanced as far as Derby, but subsequently retreated
towards Scotland. Upon the arrival of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment
in England, it formed part of the army assembled at Newcastle
under Field-Marshal Wade, and upon the young Pretender’s advance
into England, was employed in several movements designed to cover
Yorkshire. On the retreat of the insurgent clans from England,
the regiment returned to Newcastle, and was afterwards ordered to
proceed to Edinburgh.
[Sidenote: 1746.]
The regiment arrived at Edinburgh in January 1746, and was placed
under the orders of Lieut.-General Hawley, the commander of the
forces in North Britain. Meanwhile the young Pretender being joined
by new levies, and having procured artillery and ammunition,
obtained possession of the town of Stirling and commenced the
siege of the castle. In order to raise the siege Lieut.-General
Hawley advanced from Edinburgh, and an encampment was formed near
the village of _Falkirk_. On the 17th of January, as the King’s
troops were at dinner in the camp, the advance of the enemy was
discovered; the royal forces seized their arms and proceeded along
some rugged and difficult grounds to a large moor, where the rebel
army appeared in order of battle.
Success or failure in the hour of battle has sometimes been found
to depend upon accidental circumstances over which the commanders
of armies have no control. Such was the case at the battle of
_Falkirk_,[9] at which a tempest of wind and rain beat so violently
in the faces of the royal forces at the moment when they engaged
their adversaries, that their ammunition was spoiled in the act of
loading; the soldiers could not see their opponents, and several
regiments gave way, while others maintained their ground. At night
both parties withdrew from the field of battle, and the King’s
troops proceeded to Edinburgh.
His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland arrived in Scotland to
command the army, and on the 31st of January the troops were again
in motion towards the enemy, who instantly raised the siege of
Stirling Castle, and made a precipitate retreat to Inverness. The
royal forces followed in pursuit, but were delayed in their advance
by severe weather. The THIRTY-SIXTH regiment was engaged in the
operations of the army until the battle of _Culloden_ on the 16th
of April, on which occasion it composed part of the second line
under Major-General Huske. The following return shows the number of
officers and men in each regiment of infantry on the morning of the
battle:--
Serjeants,
drummers,
Officers. and rank
and file.
Royal Scots, now First foot 26 455
Lieut.-General Howard’s, now Third foot 16 448
Lieut.-General Barrell’s, now Fourth foot 20 353
Major-General Edw^d Wolfe’s, now Eighth foot 22 352
Major-General Pulteney’s, now Thirteenth foot 22 352
Brigadier-General Price’s, now Fourteenth foot 23 336
Brigadier-General Bligh’s, now Twentieth foot 20 447
Major-General Campbell’s, now Twenty-first foot 19 393
Brigadier-General Lord Semple’s, now Twenty-fifth
foot 23 392
Major-General Blakeney’s, now Twenty-seventh foot 20 336
Brigadier-General Cholmondeley’s, now
Thirty-fourth foot 24 435
Brigadier-General Fleming’s, now THIRTY-SIXTH foot 26 389
Colonel Battereau’s, since disbanded 27 396
Colonel Dejean’s, now Thirty-seventh regiment 23 468
Colonel Conway’s, now Forty-eighth regiment 24 362
--------------
Total 335 5,914
==============
After a sharp cannonade several select clans of mountaineers sprang
forward, and with shouts and dismal yells attacked the King’s
forces sword in hand. In less than an hour after the commencement
of the action the enemy’s forces were overthrown and a decisive
victory was obtained, which effectually suppressed the rebellion.
The THIRTY-SIXTH regiment sustained but small loss, having only six
men wounded on this occasion.
After halting a short time at Inverness the army advanced into the
highlands, and encamped in the gloomy valley, surrounded by rugged
precipices, near Fort Augustus, from whence detachments were sent
out to search for arms, and for persons who had been engaged in the
rebellion. Prince Charles, after enduring many hardships, succeeded
in escaping to France in September.
[Sidenote: 1747.]
Meanwhile hostilities had been continued on the Continent, and in
the beginning of 1747, the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment re-embarked at
Gravesend for Flanders. After having joined the army commanded by
His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, the regiment was engaged
in several operations near the frontiers of Holland, which led to
the battle of _Laffeld_, or _Val_, fought on the 2d of July 1747,
in the villages in the vicinity of Maestricht. On this occasion the
allied army was very inferior in numbers to the enemy, and although
the British infantry were conspicuous throughout the action for
the gallantry with which they fought, the Duke of Cumberland was
obliged to order a retreat. His Royal Highness passed the highest
encomiums on the British troops for their conduct in this battle;
and according to the “London Gazette,” there was not a squadron or
battalion which did not charge and beat the enemy more than once.
The loss of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment in this battle was Major
Petrie, Lieutenant Brodie, two serjeants, and twenty-two rank
and file, killed; with Lieut.-Colonel Jackson, Captains Morgan,
Pechell, Dod, and Gore, Lieutenant Ackland, Ensigns Vaughan,
Duncan, Elrington, Strong, and Porter, three serjeants, two
drummers, and seventy-four rank and file, wounded; and eighty-two
men missing.
After withdrawing from the field of battle, the army continued its
retreat to Maestricht, where it arrived on the same evening. The
THIRTY-SIXTH regiment was subsequently employed in various parts of
the provinces of Limburg and North Brabant.
[Sidenote: 1748.]
The regiment again took the field in the spring of 1748, and was
employed in several operations, but no general engagement occurred.
Hostilities were at length terminated by a treaty of peace, which
was signed at Aix-la-Chapelle on the 7th of October 1748. During
the winter the THIRTY-SIXTH returned to England.
[Sidenote: 1749.]
On its arrival from Holland, the establishment of the regiment
was reduced, and it was ordered to proceed to Gibraltar, in which
fortress it was stationed during the five following years.
[Sidenote: 1751.]
Colonel Lord Robert Manners was appointed by His Majesty King
George II. to the colonelcy of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment on the
13th of March 1751, in succession to Major-General James Fleming,
deceased.
In the Royal Warrant, dated the 1st of July 1751, for ensuring
uniformity in the clothing, standards, and colours of the army,
and regulating the numerical title and rank of regiments, the
facings of the THIRTY-SIXTH were directed to be _green_. The first,
or King’s colour, was the great union; the second, or regimental
colour, was of green silk, with the union in the upper canton; in
the centre of the colour the number of the rank of the regiment, in
gold Roman characters, within a wreath of roses and thistles on the
same stalk.
[Sidenote: 1754.]
In 1754 the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment returned to England from
Gibraltar, and was subsequently stationed in North Britain.
[Sidenote: 1755.]
Towards the end of the year 1755 the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment was
removed from Scotland to South Britain.
[Sidenote: 1756.]
The peace of Aix-la-Chapelle was at length interrupted by the
aggressions of the French on the British territory in North
America; and early in 1756 the King of France prepared a powerful
armament for the capture of the island of Minorca. In consequence
of this attack on Minorca, hostilities became inevitable on the
part of Great Britain, and on the 18th of May war was declared
against France. At this period the army and navy were increased;
and, among other augmentations, fifteen of the regiments of
infantry, including the THIRTY-SIXTH, were authorized to raise
second battalions from the 25th of August 1756.
From the 17th of June to the 12th of October 1756, the THIRTY-SIXTH
and other regiments were encamped at Chatham under Major-General
Lord George Sackville.
[Sidenote: 1757.]
In the year 1757 the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, consisting of two
battalions, and other corps were encamped under General Charles
Duke of Marlborough at Barham Downs.
[Sidenote: 1758.]
The second battalions, which had been added two years previously
to fifteen of the regiments of infantry, were, in 1758, formed
into distinct corps, and numbered from the Sixty-first to the
Seventy-fifth regiment. By this arrangement the second battalion
of the THIRTY-SIXTH was constituted the Seventy-fourth regiment,
which was disbanded after the peace of Fontainebleau.[10]
The Government resolved upon making a descent on the French coast,
by which it was expected to create such a diversion in favour of
the British allies in Germany as would obviate the necessity of
sending them a reinforcement of troops. The THIRTY-SIXTH formed
a part of the army selected for this service, which amounted to
fourteen thousand men, and was commanded by General Charles Duke
of Marlborough. The THIRTY-SIXTH proceeded to the Isle of Wight,
where it was formed in brigade with the Fifth, Twenty-fifth, and
Seventy-fourth regiments (the latter corps since disbanded),
under Major-General John Mostyn. The embarkation commenced on
the 24th of May; the expedition sailed on the 1st of June, and
on the 5th of that month a landing was effected, without loss,
about two leagues to the eastward of _St. Maloes_, towards which
place the army advanced in two columns on the 7th of June, and
encamped within a mile from the town: here the Commander-in-Chief
reconnoitred, and having observed several houses filled with naval
and military stores, which were not protected by the guns of
the town, the THIRTY-SIXTH, in common with the other regiments,
furnished a detachment, which was sent after dark to set fire to
them, a service which was most effectually performed, thirteen
vessels of war, besides several merchantmen, and vast quantities
of stores being destroyed. _St. Maloes_, though incapable of making
an effectual resistance against a regular siege, was considered
too strong to be attempted by a _coup-de-main_; the troops were
accordingly re-embarked, and preparations were afterwards made for
a descent at Granville, on the coast of Normandy, and afterwards
at Cherbourg; but, the weather being severe, the fleet returned to
England.
In August of the same year the THIRTY-SIXTH was engaged in a second
expedition to the coast of France, when _Cherbourg_ was captured,
and the harbour, forts, magazines, and ordnance, consisting of 173
pieces of iron cannon and three mortars were destroyed; at the same
time, 22 pieces of fine brass cannon and two brass mortars were
brought off as trophies, and sent to England, when, after being
viewed by King George II. in Hyde Park, they were conducted in
procession through the City to the Tower of London.
Another descent was made on the coast of Brittany on the 4th of
September, when the batteries in the bay of St. Lunaire were
destroyed, and the troops marched into the interior, while the
fleet proceeded to the bay of St. Cass, thus alarming the country
with the view of producing the return of the French army from
Germany. Upon the troops being re-embarked at St. Cass, the enemy
attacked the rear-guard and occasioned considerable loss. Towards
the end of September the regiment landed at Cowes, and, having
encamped a short period near Newport, went into winter quarters.
[Sidenote: 1759.]
During the summer of 1759 the regiment was encamped at Chatham
under Lieut.-General John Campbell, afterwards Duke of Argyle.
[Sidenote: 1760.]
In the course of the year 1760 the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment was
encamped at Sandheath under Lieut.-General the Earl of Ancram.
[Sidenote: 1761.]
In the spring of 1761 a force proceeded under the command of
Major-General Studholme Hodgson against _Belle-Isle_, a French
island in the Bay of Biscay, off the coast of Brittany. The
expedition appeared before _Belle-Isle_ on the 7th of April,
and a landing was attempted on the following day, but without
success;--other endeavours to secure a landing on different points
of the island proving also unsuccessful, orders were given to
desist from the attempt, and the men returned to the boats, and
proceeded back to their several ships. Many of the boats were
destroyed or damaged in these efforts, and about five hundred men
were lost in killed, wounded, and missing.
Major-General Hodgson subsequently received the following
reinforcements, of which the THIRTY-SIXTH formed part:--
Regiments. Commanding Officers. Men.
Third foot, Major J. Biddulph 800
Thirty-sixth foot, Lieut.-Colonel W. Preston 800
Seventy-fifth foot (afterwards } Lieut.-Colonel C. Parry 800
disbanded) }
Eighty-fifth foot, Second }
battalion, (afterwards } Major Sir Hugh Williams 600
disbanded), }
-----
3,000
=====
A landing was effected by Brigadier-General Hamilton Lambert on the
22d of April, on the rocks near Point Lomaria, where the difficulty
of ascending the precipice had made the enemy least attentive to
that part. Beauclerk’s grenadiers (Nineteenth foot), with Captain
Patterson, of that regiment, gained the summit before the enemy saw
what was intended, who immediately marched a body of three hundred
men to attack them; the grenadiers, however, maintained their
ground till the remainder of Brigadier Lambert’s troops arrived.
The success thus gained was promptly followed up; the French were
eventually repulsed, and three brass field-pieces, with a few
prisoners, were captured.
The cannon was afterwards landed from the ships and dragged up the
rocks; the lines which covered the town of Palais were carried by
assault, and the siege of the citadel was prosecuted with vigour.
The garrison, under their governor, the Chevalier de St. Croix,
made a gallant defence; but on the 7th of June were forced to
surrender, and were permitted to march through the breach with the
honours of war, in consideration of their bravery. The capture
of the island was thus achieved, with the loss of about eighteen
hundred men killed and wounded.
This conquest was regarded with great pride by the British
nation; but the island was restored to France, at the peace of
Fontainebleau in 1763, in exchange for Minorca, which had been
taken by the French at the commencement of the war.
During the remainder of the year 1761 the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment was
stationed in South Britain.
[Sidenote: 1762.]
The THIRTY-SIXTH regiment during 1762 continued to be quartered
in South Britain. In January war was declared against Spain, and
in the summer of that year the regiment was encamped at Sandheath
under Lieut.-General Edward Carr. Negociations for peace were
shortly afterwards commenced, and the preliminary articles were
signed at Fontainebleau by the Duke of Bedford on the 3d of
November 1762.
[Sidenote: 1763.]
On the 10th of February 1763 the treaty of Fontainebleau was
concluded at Paris, the ratifications were exchanged on the 10th of
March, and peace was proclaimed in London on the 22d of that month.
[Sidenote: 1764.]
The THIRTY-SIXTH regiment embarked on the 17th of March 1764 for
Jamaica, in which island it was stationed for some years.
[Sidenote: 1765.]
Major-General Richard Pierson was removed from the Sixty-third
to the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment on the 11th of September 1765, in
succession to Lieut.-General Lord Robert Manners, appointed to the
Third dragoon guards.
[Sidenote: 1773.]
In 1773 the THIRTY-SIXTH returned home from Jamaica, and the
regiment arrived in England in June of that year.
[Sidenote: 1774.]
On the 6th of August 1774, the light infantry companies of the
Third, Eleventh, Twenty-first, Twenty-ninth, Thirty-second,
THIRTY-SIXTH, and Seventieth regiments assembled at Salisbury,
where they were formed into a brigade, and disciplined under the
command of Major-General the Honourable Sir William Howe until the
4th of October following, when they were reviewed by His Majesty
King George III. in Richmond Park, and were afterwards ordered to
rejoin their respective regiments.
[Sidenote: 1775.]
The war with the American colonies commenced in April 1775, but the
THIRTY-SIXTH regiment did not proceed to that country; on the 10th
of September following it embarked at Portsmouth for Ireland, where
it was stationed for the seven following years.
[Sidenote: 1778.]
Colonel the Honourable Henry St. John, Lieutenant-Colonel of the
Sixty-seventh regiment, was appointed Colonel of the THIRTY-SIXTH
on the 27th of November 1778, in succession to Lieut.-General
Richard Pierson, removed to the Thirteenth dragoons.
[Sidenote: 1782.]
A letter, dated the 31st of August 1782, conveyed to the regiment
His Majesty’s pleasure that county titles should be conferred
on the infantry, and the THIRTY-SIXTH was directed to assume
the designation of the HEREFORDSHIRE regiment, in order that a
connexion between the corps and that county should be cultivated,
which might be useful in promoting the success of the recruiting
service.
On the 6th of September 1782, the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment was brought
from Ireland, and placed on the British establishment, and occupied
Hilsea barracks, near Portsmouth.
The contest with the American colonists had involved Great Britain
in war with France, Spain, and Holland; but on the 30th of November
1782, the preliminary articles of peace were signed at Paris
between Great Britain and the United States of America, and the
treaty was concluded in the ensuing February.
[Sidenote: 1783.]
In the year 1783, peace was concluded between England, France,
Spain, and Holland. A new field of service was about to open for
the THIRTY-SIXTH, that regiment having been selected to proceed to
the East Indies, for which country it embarked at Portsmouth on
the 10th of March 1783, and arrived at Madras in July following,
while the British were engaged in hostilities against the powerful
Sultan of the Mysore, Tippoo Saib, who, on the death of his father,
Hyder Ali, in December of the preceding year, had succeeded to the
dominions of that soldier of fortune.
The regiment, being thirteen hundred strong, was immediately
transferred from the Indiamen into King’s ships, and proceeded,
under the command of Brevet-Colonel Allan Campbell, to the relief
of _Mangalore_, on the Malabar coast, which had been invested by
Tippoo Saib on the 18th of May 1783, and was gallantly defended
by the second battalion of the Forty-second regiment (afterwards
numbered the Seventy-third regiment) and some native corps.
Meanwhile the general peace, which had been entered into with the
European Powers, deprived Tippoo of his French allies, and the
Sultan entered into negotiations for terminating the war between
Mysore and the British. The troops under Brigadier-General Macleod
appeared in sight of Mangalore on the 24th of November 1783, but on
the 1st of December, in consequence of the following circumstances,
the ships sailed to the southward.
Some boats with Sepoys having at this period been wrecked near
_Cannanore_, upon the Malabar coast, about two hundred of them
were seized and detained by Ali Rajah Biby, the Queen of that
country; repeated applications were made for their release, but
without success, and Brigadier-General Norman Macleod determined to
take satisfaction for these injuries, immediately after the relief
of Mangalore. Tippoo Saib desired him to desist, and claimed the
ruler of the Cannanore country as his ally.
The THIRTY-SIXTH regiment proceeded under the command of Major the
Honourable John Knox to _Cannanore_, which was captured by the
troops under Brigadier-General Macleod in December 1783.
[Sidenote: 1784.]
On the 11th of March 1784 peace was concluded with Tippoo Saib, the
Sultan of Mysore; one of the articles of the treaty stipulated,
that the fort and district of _Cannanore_ should be evacuated and
restored to Ali Rajah Biby, the Queen of that country.
[Sidenote: 1785 to 1788.]
During the years 1785, 1786, 1787, and 1788, the THIRTY-SIXTH
regiment occupied cantonments at Poonamallee, Arcot, Vellore, and
Wallahabad.
[Sidenote: 1789.]
The insatiable ambition of Tippoo Saib, the Sultan of the Mysore
territory, soon involved the British Government of India in another
war; he appeared near the confines of the country of Travancore,
at the head of a powerful army, made unreasonable demands on the
Rajah, a British ally, and commenced hostilities towards the end of
December 1789.
[Sidenote: 1790.]
A force was consequently directed to be assembled, in March 1790,
at Wallahabad, under the orders of Colonel Thomas Musgrave of the
Seventy-sixth regiment; it was put in movement on the 29th of that
month, and proceeded towards Trichinopoly, at which place the
troops arrived on the 29th of April, where the following corps had
been collected under the command of Colonel Bridges:--Two King’s
regiments, the THIRTY-SIXTH and Seventy-second; the Second and
Fifth Native cavalry; the First, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Sixteenth,
Twentieth, and Twenty-third Coast sepoys. At the same time Colonel
Deare, with three companies of Bengal artillery, joined, the whole
being under the orders of Major-General Musgrave, to which rank he
had been promoted on the 28th of April 1790.
On the 24th of May Major-General (afterwards Sir William) Medows
assumed the command, and reviewed the army, which was directed to
proceed towards the Coimbatore country.
Advancing from Trichinopoly on the 26th of May, and penetrating the
enemy’s country, the army arrived, after a march of about fifty
miles, on the 15th of June, at the fort of Caroor, where the troops
encamped eighteen days, while provisions were being collected and
a magazine formed. Leaving this place on the 3d of July, the army
marched to Daraporam, which was abandoned by the enemy; a garrison
was left at this place, and the army marched through a beautiful
country to the city of Coimbatore, where the British arrived on
the 22nd July; here the army halted, and detachments were sent
off to reduce Dindigul, Errode, and Palghautcherry. About the
end of July, Colonel, afterwards General Sir John Floyd, of the
Nineteenth light dragoons (since disbanded), with the Cavalry of
the army and a brigade of Native infantry, was ordered to take
possession of the small and weak fort of _Sattimungulum_, in which,
after its capture, he placed a battalion of sepoys. At this period
the army was separated in three divisions, one at Coimbatore,
one at Sattimungulum, sixty miles in advance, and one besieging
Palghautcherry. Tippoo resolved to attack, and if possible destroy,
the division in advance before the main body could arrive to its
support. The troops from Coimbatore were accordingly ordered to
march, to reinforce Colonel Floyd.
In the beginning of September a detachment of troops under Colonel
Oldham, of which the THIRTY-SIXTH formed part, marched from
Errode to join Colonel Floyd at _Sattimungulum_, which place was
reached in three days. Colonel Floyd’s entire force now consisted
of His Majesty’s Nineteenth light dragoons and sixteen troops
of Native cavalry, His Majesty’s THIRTY-SIXTH regiment and five
battalions of Native infantry, eleven guns, and a due proportion of
artillerymen and officers. Detachments of cavalry were sent almost
every day to scour the country towards the Gudzelhetty Pass, and
they generally brought in a few of the enemy’s horse, belonging to
Syde Saib’s party, stationed at the foot of the Ghauts, who were
much distressed for provisions and forage, his people having been
constantly obliged to cross the Boovany, in order to procure grain
in the different villages, in which places they were generally
taken prisoners; their horses were very small and bad. A deposit of
grain and provisions was in the meantime formed in this frontier
station for the use of the army under Major-General Medows, which
was destined to ascend to Mysore by the Gudzelhetty Pass early
in October. On the 11th and 12th of September it was reported in
camp that Tippoo, in person, had descended the Gudzelhetty Pass
with a large army of cavalry and infantry, with several pieces
of artillery. On the morning of the 12th of September Tippoo’s
army, estimated at about thirty thousand cavalry, infantry, and
artillery, descended the Gudzelhetty Pass, and crossed the Boovany
river at daybreak of the following morning. A reconnoitring party
of British cavalry, under Major Child, encountered the enemy’s
advance guard of cavalry on the 13th, and compelled it to recross
the river. On the 12th at night orders had been given to Major
Darley to march with his regiment of Native cavalry towards the
Pass early in the morning, to support Major Child, and he had not
proceeded three miles, when he perceived a large body of cavalry
advancing, and was immediately charged by them; being so much
pressed on all sides, he was obliged to take post and keep off
the enemy while his ammunition lasted, which was nearly expended,
when Colonel Floyd, with the remainder of the cavalry, came to his
support, to whom he had sent information on first perceiving the
enemy; this reinforcement fortunately arrived just in time, as
Major Darley’s regiment was in a very dangerous situation.
Colonel Floyd, unperceived by Tippoo’s forces, charged them in
flank with three troops of the Nineteenth light dragoons, supported
by the remainder of the regiment, entirely routed them, and pursued
them to the river; it was supposed that the enemy had nearly
five hundred killed on the ground, and a great number drowned in
endeavouring to recross the river, which was fordable in very few
places, while those were deep and dangerous.
The infantry moved about two miles from the camp in order to give
support if necessary. The encampment being confined, and change of
situation requisite, orders had been already issued for a change
of ground, which was situated about a mile from the position then
occupied, near to Damicotta; the tents were accordingly struck
early on the 13th of September.
Colonel Floyd, having dispersed the body of cavalry, the troops
were ordered to return to camp, which they had not reached a
quarter of an hour, when some guns were opened from the opposite
side of the river, whose shot came direct into the lines: the lines
immediately turned out, and the tents, which were scarcely pitched,
were ordered to be struck. The enemy was perceived in great force
on both sides of the river; and three columns, two of infantry and
one of cavalry, on the same side of the river with the British
detachment, could be distinguished marching with rapidity round the
left flank, which the foe seemed endeavouring to penetrate; the
opening of the guns on the opposite side, and showing force there,
being intended to withdraw attention from his intended attack,
Colonel Floyd moved out the infantry to a commanding ground, with
the British right towards the river, and the left extended so as to
cover _Sattimungulum_, and prevent the enemy getting on his flank.
The first line consisted of the First Native battalion on the
right; the THIRTY-SIXTH King’s regiment, the Fifth and Twenty-fifth
Native battalions on the left; the cannon consisted of one
eighteen-brass-pounder, two twelve-pounders, and eight sixes.
The ground between the British and that occupied by the forces of
Tippoo Saib was low and intersected with thick hedges; the British
left was covered by stony rugged ground, difficult of approach; the
enemy formed his line nearly parallel to the British, having his
left extended to the river at about twelve hundred yards distance.
Before the troops had well taken up their position, the enemy
opened some guns; the ground was exceedingly stony, as was most
of the county adjacent, which in a great manner prevented Tippoo
making use of his cavalry during the day. The British cavalry
formed a second line, about half a mile in the rear; the baggage
was moved under the cover of some hills about the same distance
in the rear and on the right flank of the cavalry; the enemy kept
firing from three or four guns from the opposite side of the river
during the whole of the day, the British right being within shot
of them, to which one battalion was fronted to hinder him from
crossing the river, as it was fordable in that part. One native
battalion (the sixteenth) remained in the fort, where it had been
stationed some time.
When the cannonade first commenced it was about eleven o’clock,
A.M. Soon after the British had taken up their ground the enemy
opened about sixteen guns, and in a short time had the range of the
line very exactly. Colonel Deare, of the Bengal Artillery, who was
on the right giving some necessary directions, was shot through
the body shortly after the commencement of the action. At about
one o’clock the axletrees of the two twelve-pounders broke, and
rendered those two guns useless; these were the best the British
had for the purpose.
Finding that the men were beginning to suffer very much, as
nearly every ball struck the line, Colonel Floyd, not wishing to
give up his advantageous position, ordered the men to lie down,
which preserved the lives of several. The troops obeyed these
directions, and sustained with the greatest coolness and fortitude
the galling fire of the enemy. The cannonade continued without the
least intermission until it was quite dark, about eight at night.
Tippoo’s forces, supposing from the inactivity of the British
during the day that a night attack was meditated, withdrew about
six miles back on the road by which they had advanced that morning.
The British were not able to do the enemy much injury, for the
six-pounders scarcely reached his line; the slaughter among the
draught cattle was very great, nearly two-thirds of them being
killed. The THIRTY-SIXTH had Lieutenant Dennis Kelly Armstrong and
twenty-five men killed; Lieutenant John Vallancy and about forty
men were wounded.
When the cannonade ceased, every assistance was given to the
wounded; from the situation of the baggage and stores no
refreshment could be procured for the men except a dram of arrack,
the cattle carrying water for the men having been mostly killed,
and the drivers fearing to come to the lines, water was much
wanted. A council of war was held during the night, in which
it was agreed to force a way through the enemy’s lines about
three o’clock in the morning of the 14th of September, and join
Major-General (afterwards Sir William) Medows, to whom information
had been sent on the night of the 12th or morning of the 13th.
Every endeavour was made to repair the two twelve-pounders, and
settle the other guns so as to move; the want of cattle was so
great that it was impossible to draw all the guns; the baggage
was searched, and all the private draught bullocks that could be
obtained were brought to the lines, but on trial would not move the
guns. The necessary instructions were given for the march, which
was to take place, from the left, in the following manner:--The
grenadiers of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment to lead, provided with
instruments for spiking the enemy’s guns; the Twenty-fifth Native
battalion next, then the Fifth battalion; the battalion companies
of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment; the Sixteenth and First Native
battalions; the light company of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment in the
rear. The cavalry were to march in a separate column on the left.
The sixteenth battalion of sepoys was ordered to be withdrawn from
the fort about twelve at night, but did not arrive until five, to
which may be attributed the engagement on the 14th, as the troops
would otherwise have been two hours’ march in advance of the enemy.
It was only found possible to repair one of the twelve-pounders,
and that with much exertion; upon collecting all the bullocks that
could be obtained, the eighteen-pounder, two six-pounders, and
two tumbrils were obliged to be left on the ground, besides the
broken down twelve-pounder; one wheel of the eighteen-pounder had
been much damaged, as was the timber, and one of the six-pounders;
unfortunately the followers, the people with the baggage, and the
wounded, who were moved behind one of the hills in the rear, being
out of danger, were not properly informed of the intended march,
and were left almost to the mercy of the enemy’s horse. The first
they knew of the movement was seeing the line in motion, and every
one then endeavoured to make the best of his way to it; some of
the dooly-men ran off, as did most of the followers, leaving the
sick and a great portion of the baggage on the ground; when it was
sufficiently light, it was perceived that the enemy had left the
position occupied by him during the night. The British line moved
off about five o’clock, and was obliged to lift the guns on by
hand, which caused the troops to get on very slowly. Before the
ground had been well quitted, it was covered by the enemy’s troops,
who could be seen cutting down every straggler they met; they came
close on the rear, annoying it as much as they could; all the
wounded and sick as were able to make their way to the line were
placed on the guns, and such officers’ horses as could be found;
in a short time the guns were laden with them as much as could by
any method be placed on them, which much increased the difficulty
of moving, the soldiers being chiefly obliged to drag the guns. The
march was continued unmolested except by small parties of horse,
until the troops arrived within about four miles of _Shawoor_, five
miles from _Sattimungulum_. The country was very close, and there
being but one road between two rugged hills, the British formed one
column, the cavalry leading; these moving faster than the infantry
had reached Shawoor, and were most of them dismounted collecting
forage, when Tippoo’s forces were perceived on some rising ground
on the right flank, gaining on the British with great rapidity. The
centre of the line had just reached some rising ground, when the
enemy opened two guns; the second shot killed and wounded four men
of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment. The line kept still moving forward,
the enemy closing on it in all directions, his cavalry making
several charges in front, and particularly on the rear; some of his
infantry had by this time got very close without being perceived,
as the country was much intersected with hedges, and annoyed the
line greatly with musketry and rockets, particularly the centre
and rear. The line halted, and fronted the enemy. When the British
musketry commenced, the enemy’s horse had formed completely round
the troops, and were making constant charges at the line in all
directions, several times coming close to the ranks; the most
numerous attacks were on the rear flank; the light company of the
THIRTY-SIXTH was much pressed, and several were killed and wounded;
this company continued the arduous conflict until the ammunition
was expended, when charging with the bayonet Captain William
Hartley of the THIRTY-SIXTH was killed.
The light company was immediately relieved by a battalion company
of the THIRTY-SIXTH, which was again relieved by another company on
the ammunition being expended.
In this cool and spirited manner the engagement was carried on
for about two hours and a half with the same regularity as on a
common field day, when the enemy’s cavalry, consisting of about
two thousand, in two dense columns, made a circuit and charged
the grenadier company, commanded by Captain Robert Burne, of
the THIRTY-SIXTH, but were effectually checked by a steady and
well-directed fire from the company, which caused them to wheel off
to the south. During the engagement, and immediately after this
event, an officer of the British artillery, seeing a chief of the
enemy’s army mounted on an elephant encouraging his troops on to
the attack, directed his fire against him, and killed him with the
third shot. This chief proved to be Bunham-ud-deen, the commander
of the army, and a near relative of the Sultan Tippoo Saib.
This event, in addition to the discouraging circumstance of having
been repulsed with considerable loss in every attempt to break
the British line, decided the fate of the day; the enemy retired
from the contest, and by four o’clock in the afternoon left his
opponents complete masters of the field of battle.
Colonel Floyd, with the cavalry, being a few miles in advance, on
the sudden appearance of the enemy’s cavalry, and hearing from
Colonel Oldham the situation of the infantry, immediately formed
line, and charged the foe, who, dreading to come in contact with
the troops that had, in the early skirmish on the previous day,
given him such a severe specimen of their prowess, moved off at too
rapid a rate to be overtaken; a pursuit was, however, kept up for
some time, and, after scouring the country for a distance round,
the troops were enabled to rest quietly during the night at the
village of Shawoor, where they arrived about seven o’clock in the
evening.
Colonel Floyd having during the action received intelligence of the
arrival of Major-General Medows at Vellady that day, a distance of
about twenty miles from Shawoor, the march of the entire detachment
was in consequence directed to that village; and, moving off at
three o’clock in the morning of the 15th of September, arrived
there at sunset in the evening, quite overcome by fatigue, thirst,
and hunger.
The THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, which had borne the brunt of the
contest, had no refreshment from the evening of the 13th until late
on that of the 15th of September, excepting a supply of tobacco
procured by Lieutenant William Chambers, of the THIRTY-SIXTH,
immediately after the action, from a cabin in the neighbourhood
of the line. The good qualities of this plant are well known to
soldiers and sailors, and under these circumstances this timely
supply proved a matter of great importance to the men. It allayed
their hunger and thirst, revived their spirits, and afforded
infinite relief during the remainder of their long and fatiguing
march.
It is to be observed that Tippoo’s regular troops, called the
“Tiger Infantry,” were the attacking force on this occasion, and
were so named from their jackets having the emblem stripe of
the royal tiger woven in the cloth. A report was also current,
that after the battle Tippoo asked the officers why they had not
destroyed the Feringhee battalion; to which they replied, that
“they had done their best, but the battalion wearing the colour
of their prophet (the facings of the THIRTY-SIXTH being _green_),
could not be vanquished by any troops in the world.”
The army returned to Coimbatore on the 23d of September. The
Sultan, disappointed in his object of destroying the divisions
of the British army in detail, resolved to attack the chain of
depôts; he gained possession of Errode and the stores at that
place, and afterwards marched southwards. The British troops
advanced from Coimbatore on the 29th of September, and, arriving
at Errode on the 4th of October, found the place abandoned, and
Tippoo’s army gone. He had marched in the direction of Coimbatore;
but, hearing that the garrison was augmented, he advanced rapidly
upon Darraporam, against which the Sultan opened his batteries
on the 8th of October. The fort had no cannon mounted, and the
garrison, consisting of a hundred Europeans and two hundred sepoys,
capitulated on honourable terms, to which the enemy strictly
adhered.
The British army moved on the 5th of October, and on the 15th of
that month encamped in the neighbourhood of Coimbatore, where
Lieut.-Colonel Stuart joined from Palghautcherry, after having
taken the place, and left it in a tolerable state of defence.
The pursuit of the Sultan was continued, the troops traversing
extensive tracts of country, and undergoing much fatigue under
an Indian sun. In the middle of November the army traversed the
difficult pass of Tappoor, winding through deep valleys, and
dragging the guns over precipices. Here the advance fell in with
the rear of Tippoo’s force, but could make no impression. The
Sultan resolved to leave the British troops in his own country,
and to invade the Carnatic, which would bring the English back for
the defence of Trichinopoly. Major-General Medows was about to
carry offensive plans into execution, when the movements of Tippoo
rendered it necessary to return to the Carnatic, and the army
arrived at the vicinity of Trichinopoly in the middle of December.
[Sidenote: 1791.]
On the 1st of January 1791, the army arrived at Terrimungulum,
and on the 12th at Arnee. During this long and fatiguing march
the Anglo-Indian troops frequently encamped upon the ground from
which the enemy had removed in the morning; but the efforts made to
overtake him were not successful. The sick and heavy guns having
been placed in the fort of Arnee, on the 14th of January the
advance and right wing marched for Velhout, where they arrived on
the 27th, followed by the left wing.
On the 29th of January the army was reviewed by General Charles
Earl Cornwallis, K. G., who had arrived from Bengal to assume the
command, and who expressed great satisfaction at the appearance of
the troops. His Lordship was at this period Governor-General and
Commander-in-Chief in the East Indies, and had quitted Bengal on
the 6th of December of the previous year, and landed at Fort St.
George, Madras, on the 30th of the same month.
The army arrived in the vicinity of Vellore on the 11th of February
1791, and the troops were ordered into the fort. Tippoo was
prepared to oppose any attempt to penetrate into the country under
his dominion by the easiest passes; but Earl Cornwallis contrived
the appearance of a march towards Amboor, which completely deceived
the Sultan; and then turning suddenly to the north, traversed the
difficult pass of Muglee, without the enemy having power to offer
the least obstruction, and arrived on the 20th of February on the
table-land of the Mysore country. Two days afterwards the troops
commenced their march towards the strong fortress of _Bangalore_.
The following graphic description of the Fort of Bangalore is
extracted from Colonel Mark Wilks’s History of the South of India:--
“The Fort of Bangalore, entirely rebuilt of strong masonry by
Hyder and his son Tippoo, is nearly of an oval form, with round
towers at proper intervals, and five powerful cavaliers, a
_fausse-braye_, a good ditch and covered way without palisades,
and some well-furnished places of arms; but the _glacis_ is
imperfect in several places; no part was entirely destitute
of the support of reciprocal fire, but in no part was there a
perfect flanking defence. There were two gateways, one named the
Mysore, the other the Delhi gate; the latter opposite the pettah,
overbuilt by the projection of traverses, common to Indian forts.
The pettah, or town, of great extent, to the north of the fort,
was surrounded by an indifferent rampart, and excellent ditch,
with an intermediate berm, if such it may be called, of nearly
a hundred yards wide, planted with impenetrable and well-grown
thorns; and this defence was only intermitted exactly opposite
the fort, where there was a slight barrier, and an esplanade of
insufficient extent. The pettah had several gates, protected by a
sort of _flêche_ at the end of each _sortie_ outside the ditch.
Neither the fort or pettah had drawbridges.”
An attack on the Delhi gate of the pettah was made early in the
morning of the 7th of March 1791 by the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment,
commanded by Captain Andrew Wight, supported by the Third brigade
of sepoys, under Lieut.-Colonel Cockerell, and a few six-pounders
under Colonel Moorehouse. The zigzag approach to the gate was
scarcely twenty feet wide; two field-pieces were opened on the
gate, but that being supported behind by a piece of masonry-work,
three feet high and three feet thick, the shot, penetrating through
the gate above, had no effect in bringing it down.
All this time the troops were exposed to a destructive shower of
musketry from the turrets, on which a heavy fire was kept up by the
assailants, when two pieces of ordnance were advanced, and their
fire being directed at the lower part of the gate and masonry work,
shattered it so much that, with the assistance of the troops, a
sufficient opening was made to admit one person to enter, which
happened to be Lieutenant John Eyre of the light company of the
THIRTY-SIXTH regiment. The soldiers continuing their exertions,
at length pulled down the gate, and immediately entered, when the
enemy fled with precipitation to the fort.
Lieutenant Eyre had received a sabre blow from a cavalry soldier,
which cut through his cap, wounded his forehead, and knocked him
down, but recovering his feet immediately, he joined his company
in pursuit of the enemy. Shortly afterwards the enemy made a great
effort to retake the pettah, but being immediately charged with the
bayonet from street to street, were driven back with considerable
loss, and the British were left in undisturbed possession of the
town. In this attack, Captain Jeremiah Delany, of the THIRTY-SIXTH,
was killed.
The efforts of the troops were now directed to the reduction of the
fort,--and every preparation for the approaching siege was carried
on with diligence and activity. On the 15th of March, the batteries
being completed, opened a fire upon _Bangalore_, and on the 17th
the lines were cannonaded by the enemy, while at night the camp was
much disturbed by his rockets.
Forage became very scarce, and none could be procured beyond the
advanced piquets. The siege, however, proceeded, and the enemy
continued to harass the British until the 21st of March, when the
breach being considered practicable, an attack was ordered.
The storming party consisted of the grenadiers of the THIRTY-SIXTH,
Fifty-second, Seventy-first, Seventy-second, Seventy-fourth,
and Seventy-sixth regiments, followed by their respective light
companies, and led by Lieutenant James Duncan of the Seventy-first,
and Lieutenant John Evans of the Fifty-second, with a forlorn
hope of thirty chosen men; the whole supported by the battalion
companies of the THIRTY-SIXTH, Seventy-second, and Seventy-sixth,
with some battalions of Bengal sepoys. The corps of attack were
commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell of the Seventy-fourth, the
flankers immediately by Major Skelly; Major-General Medows was
present on the occasion.
The troops proceeded on this enterprise at eleven o’clock on a fine
moonlight night on the 21st of March, and after a sharp conflict,
by one o’clock in the morning they became masters of the important
fortress of _Bangalore_.
In the Orders issued on the following day, it was stated:--
“LORD CORNWALLIS feels the most sensible gratification in
congratulating the officers and soldiers of the army on the
honourable issue of the fatigues and dangers they have undergone
during the late arduous siege. Their alacrity and _firmness_[11]
in the execution of their various duties, has, perhaps, never
been exceeded, and he shall not only think it incumbent on him to
represent their meritorious conduct in the strongest colours;
but he shall ever remember it with the sincerest esteem and
admiration.
“The conduct of all the regiments which happened, in their
tour, to be on duty that evening, did credit in every respect
to their spirit and discipline; but _his Lordship desires to
offer the tribute of his particular and warmest praise to the
European grenadiers and light infantry of the army, and to the_
THIRTY-SIXTH, _Seventy-second, and Seventy-sixth regiments,
who led the attack and carried the fortress, and who, by their
behavior on that occasion, furnished a conspicuous proof, that
discipline and valour in soldiers, when directed by zeal and
capacity in officers, are irresistible_.”
On the 28th of March the army quitted Bangalore to join the forces
of the Nizam, amounting to about fifteen thousand cavalry, sent
to co-operate with the English in this war, and the junction
was effected on the 13th of April. The army afterwards returned
to Bangalore, where preparations were made for the siege of
Seringapatam; the troops advanced upon the capital of the Mysore
on the 4th of May, and on the 13th of that month arrived at
Arakerry, on the Cavery, about eight miles below Seringapatam,
which derived its name from the god _Serung_, to whom one of the
pagodas was dedicated. The enemy was discernible in front, with his
right resting on the river, and his left on a high hill named the
Carighaut.
During the night of the 14th of May, the troops marched with a view
to surprise the enemy; but owing to the badness of the weather and
roads, together with the jaded state of the gun-bullocks, little
or no progress was made during the night; but on the following
day, after having undergone great fatigue, they were brought into
action, when the enemy was driven from his strong position, and
forced across the river into the island upon which the capital,
Seringapatam, is situated, where he was protected by his batteries.
In this affair Lieutenant John Turner was severely wounded, which
caused his death.
The army rested upon the field of battle, and was again in movement
on the 18th of May, and arrived on the 20th at Canambaddy,
situated on the Cavery, some miles above Seringapatam. It was now
ascertained that the season was too far advanced for undertaking
immediately the siege of Tippoo’s capital, and it was determined
accordingly to withdraw. The battering train was destroyed; all the
ammunition and stores were buried which could not be removed, and
on the 26th of May the army marched in the direction of Bangalore.
Before commencing their retreat the soldiers were thanked in orders
for their conduct throughout these services, and it was added:--
“So long as there were any hopes of reducing _Seringapatam_
before the commencement of the heavy rains, the
Commander-in-Chief thought himself happy in availing himself
of their willing services; but the unexpected bad weather for
some time experienced having rendered the attack of the enemy’s
capital impracticable until the conclusion of the ensuing
monsoons, Lord Cornwallis thought he should make an ill return
for the zeal and alacrity exhibited by the soldiers, if he
desired them to draw the guns and stores back to a magazine,
where there remains an ample supply of both, which was captured
by their valour; he did not, therefore, hesitate to order the
guns, and stores which were not wanted for field service, to be
destroyed.”
In the course of this retreat the British were joined by the
Mahratta army, under Hurry Punt and Purseram Bhow, consisting of
about thirty-two thousand men, chiefly cavalry, and thirty pieces
of cannon. Of the approach of this large force the British had
been kept in total ignorance by the active manner in which the
communications were interrupted by Tippoo’s irregular troops.
Captain Little, having under his orders two battalions of Bombay
sepoys, joined with the Mahratta army, and the supplies were now
abundant.
The army arrived at Bangalore on the 11th of July, and the enemy
made no attempt whatever to interrupt the march. By this time
the Nizam’s cavalry had become unfit to keep the field, and were
allowed to return to their own country. Purseram Bhow also, with
a large detachment of the Mahrattas, proceeded into the Sera
country; but Hurry Punt, with the remainder, continued attached to
the British army. On the 15th of July the whole of the sick and
one-half of the tumbrils belonging to the field-pieces were sent
into the fort of Bangalore, and the army moved towards Oussoor,
where it arrived on the 11th of the following month--the fort at
that place being abandoned by the enemy after he had blown up the
angles thereof.
On the 12th of August the army moved from Oussoor and on the 23d
arrived at Bayeur. About this period Major Gowdie, of the Honorable
East India Company’s service, was detached with some troops for the
reduction of the strong hill fort of _Nundydroog_, which it was
found required regular approaches. Major Gowdie arrived before the
place on the 22d of September.
_Nundydroog_, the capital of a large and valuable district, was
built on the summit of a mountain about one thousand seven hundred
feet in height; three-fourths of its circumference were absolutely
inaccessible, and the only face on which it could be ascended was
protected by two excellent walls and an outwork which covered the
gateway, and afforded a formidable flank fire. The foundation for a
third wall had been dug, but the Sultan had not been able to have
the plan completed.
The flank companies of the THIRTY-SIXTH and Seventy-first
regiments, under the command of Captain James Robertson of
the latter corps, marched on the 17th of October to join the
detachment under Major Gowdie, and, upon their arrival, were
immediately placed in the last parallel.
General the Earl Cornwallis, with a view to intimidate the
garrison, encamped with the army within four miles of _Nundydroog_,
on the 18th of October, and in the evening of that day the troops
were told off for an assault upon the two breaches, which had been
pronounced practicable. The attacks commenced at eleven o’clock
at night, the grenadiers assaulting the right breach and the
light companies the left. The forlorn hope of the right attack
consisted of twenty grenadiers, volunteers from the THIRTY-SIXTH
and Seventy-first regiments. Captain Robert Burne supported, with
the THIRTY-SIXTH grenadiers, the right attack, and Captain William
Hartley, with the light company of that regiment, the left attack;
Major-General Medows animated the whole with his presence.
The assailants were soon discovered; blue lights immediately
illuminated the fort, and a heavy fire opened from the works; this
fire was fortunately ill-directed, but the large stones hurled
down the hill, and acquiring great velocity as they bounded from
the rock in their descent, were extremely formidable. The storming
party, however, soon mounted the breaches, and pursuing the enemy
closely prevented his barricading the gate of the inner wall. This
was forced open, and the troops entered. Captain Robertson, seeing
that the place was carried, used every endeavour to prevent the
unnecessary effusion of blood. The flank companies which formed the
storming party had two men killed and twenty-eight wounded, the
latter principally from bruises by the stones thrown from the rock.
The loss during the siege amounted to forty Europeans and eighty
sepoys and pioneers, killed and wounded. At this place Lieutenant
John Eyre, of the regiment, died of his wounds.
In this manner _Nundydroog_, in the course of three weeks, was
taken, a place defended by seventeen pieces of cannon, principally
iron guns of large calibre; this fort was not captured by Hyder Ali
from the Mahrattas until after a defence which lasted three years.
After the fall of Nundydroog, the other hill fort of _Cumeldroog_,
adjacent and dependent thereon, although a place of great strength,
surrendered on being summoned.
Lord Cornwallis, in General Orders of the 19th of October, stated,
that “having been witness of the extraordinary obstacles, both
of nature and art, which were opposed to the detachment of the
army that attacked _Nundydroog_, he cannot too highly applaud
the firmness and exertions which were manifested by all ranks
in carrying on the operations of the siege, or the valour and
discipline which were displayed by the flank companies of His
Majesty’s THIRTY-SIXTH and Seventy-first regiments.”
In a few days afterwards the army retraced its route to Bangalore.
Savendroog and several hill forts were captured by detachments in
December, but the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment remained with the main body
of the army.
[Sidenote: 1792.]
On the 31st of January 1792 the army under General the Earl
Cornwallis was reviewed by the Poonah and Hyderabad chiefs, and
on the following day commenced its march towards _Seringapatam_,
passing by Hooleadroog, Tajilly, and Carrycode. The troops came in
sight of Tippoo’s capital on the 5th of February, and encamped at
the French rocks. The enemy’s horse showed itself on the 4th and
5th, but attempted nothing hostile. The Sultan took up a formidable
position to cover his capital, and was attacked during the night of
the 6th of February.
The entrenched camp of Tippoo was reconnoitred on the 6th of
February, and at dark the army was formed in three columns of
attack. The right, under Major-General Medows, consisting of the
THIRTY-SIXTH and Seventy-sixth King’s regiments. The centre under
the Commander-in-Chief, General the Earl Cornwallis, consisting
of the Fifty-second, Seventy-first, and Seventy-fourth King’s
regiments. The left, under Lieutenant-Colonel Maxwell, of the
Seventy-fourth, was composed of the Seventy-second regiment. The
native troops were divided among the three columns.
The right column, to which the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment was attached,
under the command of Major-General Medows, was directed to
penetrate the left of Tippoo’s line, and turning to the left,
overthrow the troops of the enemy there posted, and proceed on
until it joined Lord Cornwallis in the centre column, and receive
further orders; but the officer charged to guide the column led it
wrong, bringing it to the advanced redoubt on the left of Tippoo’s
lines, known by the name of the _Ead-gah_ redoubt,--which was
mounted by eight pieces of cannon, and was defended with great
bravery. The grenadiers of the THIRTY-SIXTH rushed steadily forward
to escalade the work, with the officer of engineers in charge of
the scaling ladders, but a heavy fire of grape shot and musketry
killed most of the men in charge of the ladders, which, being
consequently lost, it appeared impossible to enter the redoubt.
The work near the gorge had not been quite finished; the troops
again rushed forward, but the enemy’s fire was so destructive
as to sweep all opposed to it; a momentary pause ensued, and at
this crisis Captain Andrew Wight, who commanded the THIRTY-SIXTH
regiment, Brevet Lieut.-Colonel the Honourable John Knox having
charge of a brigade, observing a narrow pathway leading to the
rampart, ordered his corps to follow him, when the soldiers resumed
the attack with increased animation, and advancing with the bayonet
carried the work; only a few of the defenders escaped instant
death, and that by leaping from the embrasure into the ditch,
which, from its height, must have proved equally fatal to them. The
loss of the enemy at the Ead-gah redoubt was more considerable than
at any other post of his lines.
The loss in private men fell chiefly on the THIRTY-SIXTH, that
regiment and the flank companies of the Seventy-sixth being
the troops which formed the front division of the column. The
grenadiers of the THIRTY-SIXTH, who led, in advancing to the
redoubt, had twenty men killed and wounded.[12]
After leaving a sufficient force in this strongwork, including
four companies of the THIRTY-SIXTH, under Captain John Austin, who
had commanded the leading company of the column, the troops under
Major-General Medows moved to the left, intending to fall on the
enemy’s left wing, instead of which they came in view of another
redoubt of equal strength and magnitude with the former, which
it was deemed imprudent to attack. The column then recrossed the
bound-hedge, moved to the left of the British army, which it did
not find until daybreak, when the action was over.
Lord Cornwallis, on joining Major-General Medows at the Pagoda
hill, on the morning of the 7th of February, detached the remaining
six companies of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment and the third battalion
of Bengal sepoys towards the Sultan’s redoubt; but they were
afterwards ordered to proceed to the island, where the enemy had
commenced an attack on the troops, which was gallantly repulsed.
The foregoing details show what an active part the THIRTY-SIXTH
sustained in these operations, and testify the share which the
regiment deserved of the following general commendation bestowed by
the Earl Cornwallis in his orders issued on the evening of the 7th
of February.
“The conduct and valour of the officers and soldiers of this army
have often merited Lord Cornwallis’s encomiums; but the zeal and
gallantry which were so successfully displayed last night in the
attack of the enemy’s whole army, in a position that had cost him
so much time and labour to fortify, can never be sufficiently
praised; and his satisfaction on an occasion, which promises
to be attended with the most substantial advantages, has been
greatly heightened by learning from the commanding officers of
divisions, that this meritorious behaviour was universal through
all ranks, to a degree that has rarely been equalled.
“Lord Cornwallis, therefore, requests that the army in general
will accept of his most cordial thanks for the noble and gallant
manner in which they have executed the plan of the attack. It
covers themselves with honour, and will ever command his warmest
sentiments of admiration.”
In the assault of Tippoo Sultan’s fortified camp and island of
Seringapatam on the 6th and 7th of February 1792, the total loss
of the right division, under Major-General Medows, including
officers, amounted to twenty-seven killed and sixty-five wounded.
Lieutenant Alexander David Robertson, of the Seventy-third, doing
duty with the THIRTY-SIXTH, from which he had been promoted, and
Ensign Pooley Smith, of the THIRTY-SIXTH, were killed. Lieutenants
Thomas Brownrigg, Robert Campbell, and John Campbell,[13] of the
THIRTY-SIXTH, were wounded.
The enemy’s loss was very severe, being estimated at 20,000 _hors
de combat_. Eighty pieces of cannon were taken by the British.
On the 9th of February the army took up its final position for
the siege of _Seringapatam_, and on the 15th Major-General Robert
Abercromby joined with the Bombay force, consisting of the
Seventy-third, Seventy-fifth, and Seventy-seventh regiments, beside
native troops, making a total of about six thousand men.
Preparations were now made for the siege of Seringapatam, and
the approaches were carried on with the greatest activity until
the 24th of February, when the general orders announced that the
preliminary articles of peace had been signed, and in consequence
all hostile measures immediately ceased.
On the 26th of February the two sons of Tippoo Saib, Abdel Kalek
and Mooza-ud-Deen, the former ten years of age, and the latter
eight, were brought to the British camp, as hostages for the due
performance of the preliminary articles.[14]
In consequence of some obstacles which had been opposed by Tippoo
to the arrangement of the definitive Treaty, working parties were
ordered, and the guns replaced in the batteries on the 10th of
March. This state of suspicion and preparation lasted until the
15th of March, when it was discontinued, and on the 18th of that
month, the definitive Treaty being duly executed and signed, was
delivered by the young Abdel Kalek to each of the confederates. On
the 20th the counterpart was sent off to Tippoo Saib.
Thus terminated a war in which the confederates wrested from the
enemy seventy fortresses, eight hundred pieces of cannon, and
destroyed or dispersed at least fifty thousand men. By the articles
of the Treaty Tippoo was bound to pay a large sum of money and to
cede one half of his dominions.
The Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in India granted from
this money a sum equal to six months’ batta for all ranks, and the
Court of Directors afterwards made a similar grant.
On the 26th of March the exchange of the definitive treaty being
completed, the British commenced moving towards Bangalore, from
whence they proceeded to the Pednaigdurgum Pass, where the Bengal
troops were ordered to their own Presidency.
[Sidenote: 1793.]
The French revolution, which had commenced a few years previously,
had at this period assumed a character which called forth
the efforts of other countries to arrest the progress of its
destructive principles; and, on the 1st of February 1793, shortly
after the decapitation of Louis XVI., war was declared by the
National Convention of France against Great Britain and Holland.
News of this event arrived in India in May 1793; in June the
THIRTY-SIXTH regiment was ordered to prepare to take the field;
it marched soon afterwards against the French settlement of
_Pondicherry_, on the Coromandel coast; the troops employed on this
service were commanded by Colonel John Brathwaite.
The siege of _Pondicherry_ was commenced in the early part of
August, the army encamping in a thick wood where tigers were
so numerous that the natives durst not travel in the night. On
the 22d of August a white flag was displayed by the garrison,
with a request to be allowed to surrender. The French soldiers
in the fortress had embraced democratical principles, and were
particularly insubordinate; they insisted that the Governor should
surrender; but after the white flag was displayed, they fired two
shells, which killed several men. During the night they were guilty
of every species of outrage: breaking into houses, and becoming
intoxicated. On the following morning a number of them environed
the house of the Governor-General Charmont, and threatened to hang
him before the door, when application was made to the British for
protection. The English soldiers rushed into the town, overpowered
the insurgents, rescued the Governor, and preserved the inhabitants
from further violence. After this service the regiment returned to
Madras.[15]
[Sidenote: 1794.]
During the year 1794 the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment was stationed at
Trichinopoly.
[Sidenote: 1795.]
In 1795 the regiment proceeded to Negapatam.
[Sidenote: 1796.]
During the years 1796 and 1797 the regiment was stationed at
Warriore, near Trichinopoly.
[Sidenote: 1798.]
[Sidenote: 1799.]
In the beginning of 1798 the regiment was stationed at Pondicherry,
and subsequently at Wallahabad. The men fit for service were
afterwards drafted into the Seventy-fourth and Seventy-sixth
regiments, and the remainder of the THIRTY-SIXTH embarked at
Madras for Europe on the 15th of October 1798. Previously to the
regiment returning to England, orders were issued by the Governor
in Council, and by the Commander-in-Chief of Madras, dated 24th of
September and 14th of October 1798, which are highly complimentary
of the regiment, and are inserted at page 121 of the Appendix. The
want of convoy caused the fleet of Indiamen to be detained three
months at St. Helena, and the regiment did not arrive in England
until the 26th of July 1799, when it landed at Greenhithe;--it
subsequently proceeded to Cirencester, and thence to Winchester,
where the corps was completed to its establishment by volunteers
from the militia.
[Sidenote: 1800.]
The THIRTY-SIXTH regiment embarked at Portsmouth, in January 1800,
for Ireland, and disembarked at Tarbert and Cork; it afterwards
proceeded to Fermoy, Clonmel, and thence to Cork, where the
regiment embarked with an expedition under Brigadier-General the
Honorable Sir Thomas Maitland, and landed in the beginning of
June at the Isle de Houat, on the coast of France; on the 4th
of June the light company of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment landed
at _Quiberon_, and destroyed some batteries, after which it
re-embarked for the Mediterranean, and the regiment arrived at
Minorca in July, which island had surrendered to Great Britain in
November 1798.
[Sidenote: 1801.]
During the year 1801 the regiment was stationed at Minorca.
[Sidenote: 1802.]
On the 27th of March 1802 a treaty of peace was signed at Amiens
between the French Republic, Spain, and the Batavian Republic on
the one part, and Great Britain on the other; by this treaty the
Island of Minorca was restored to Spain.
In August 1802 the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment returned to Cork from
Minorca, marched to Galway, and occupied the barracks at that place.
[Sidenote: 1803.]
The conduct of Napoleon Bonaparte had occasioned hostilities to
be renewed in May 1803, when the British army was augmented, and
preparations were made to repel a threatened invasion by the
French. The “_Army of Reserve Act_” was passed in June 1803 for
raising men for home service by ballot; and numerous volunteer and
yeomanry corps were formed in every part of the Kingdom.
The regiment was suddenly ordered to proceed by forced marches from
Galway to Dublin in July 1803, where a serious riot had occurred on
the 23d of that month, when Lord Chief Justice Kilwarden, and his
nephew the Rev. Richard Wolfe, were attacked in his carriage, and
murdered by the rioters.
[Sidenote: 1804.]
On the 18th of May 1804 Napoleon was invested with the dignity of
Emperor of the French; and on the 26th of May of the following year
he was crowned King of Italy, at Milan.
Further measures of defence were adopted by Great Britain, and the
“_Additional Force Act_” was passed on the 29th of June 1804, by
which a second battalion was added to the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment,
to be formed of men raised in the county of Durham for limited
service; the second battalion was placed on the establishment of
the army from the 25th of December following.
On the 12th of December 1804 the Court of Spain issued a
declaration of war against England, in consequence of the capture
of some frigates off Cadiz, which had been intercepted on their way
to France with cargoes of treasure for the use of Napoleon, Spain
having agreed to furnish a powerful aid to that ruler.
During the year 1804 the first battalion of the regiment continued
in garrison at Dublin.
[Sidenote: 1805.]
On the 3d of August 1805 the first battalion of the regiment
marched from Dublin, having been selected to form part of the army
under Lieut.-General Lord Cathcart; it encamped on the Curragh
of Kildare until the 20th of September, marched from thence to
Bandon, and occupied the barracks there; on the 29th of October the
battalion embarked at Cork for Germany.
The second battalion remained in Great Britain during 1805, and
three following years.
[Sidenote: 1806.]
The first battalion of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment arrived in Germany
on the 1st of January 1806, and occupied cantonments in Bramstead
and Bokell until February, when it again marched and embarked for
Great Britain, the British troops having been recalled to England
in consequence of the events which followed Napoleon’s victory
over the Russians and Austrians at Austerlitz in December of the
preceding year;--the battalion landed at Ramsgate early in March.
In the autumn of 1806 the first battalion was directed to proceed
to Portsmouth for the purpose of joining the expedition under
Brigadier-General Robert Craufurd, about to be employed on secret
service; and the battalion embarked at Portsmouth on the 22d of
September.
[Sidenote: 1807.]
The expedition, which consisted of the first battalions of the
Fifth, THIRTY-SIXTH, Forty-fifth, and Eighty-eighth regiments, five
companies of the Rifle corps, two squadrons of the Sixth dragoon
guards, and two companies of Royal Artillery, did not sail from
Falmouth until the 12th of November 1806; and after remaining at
St. Jago, in the Cape de Verde Islands, from the 14th of December
1806 to the 11th of January 1807, arrived in Table Bay, Cape of
Good Hope, on the 22d of March following. Here the troops were
landed for refreshment and exercise under Brigadier-General
Craufurd. From the Cape the expedition sailed again on the 6th
of April; reached St. Helena on the 21st of April, where the
stock of water and provisions was completed; and, quitting
that island on the 26th, arrived on the 14th of June at _Monte
Video_, then occupied by the British troops under Lieut.-General
John Whitelocke, who had arrived there in the preceding May,
and had assumed the command of the whole British force in South
America.[16]
Great preparations were made to effect a landing of the troops,
which took place on the 28th of June at _Ensenada da Baragon_,
about thirty-two miles distant from Buenos Ayres, without
firing a shot. The first battalions of the THIRTY-SIXTH and
Eighty-eighth regiments were brigaded together under the orders
of Brigadier-General the Honourable William Lumley. On the 29th
the troops moved forward; the light brigade, composed of the Rifle
corps and nine light infantry companies, formed the advance, which
was supported by Brigadier-General Lumley’s brigade, and followed
by the other corps in succession. On the 1st of July the army was
concentrated near the village of Reduction, about seven miles from
Buenos Ayres, from whence it again advanced on the following day,
crossed the Chuelo, a rivulet, by a ford called the Chico, and
traversed the low ground on the opposite bank, at the extremity of
which is situated the City of Buenos Ayres.
The light company was at the attack and carrying of the enemy’s
advance field-work on the 2d of July; on the 5th of that month
the right wing of the THIRTY-SIXTH, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel
Robert Burne, and the left wing by Captain William Cross, stormed
and established themselves in Buenos Ayres. Upon this severe
service Captains Alexander, Williamson, and Henry Cole Johnson,
with Lieutenant Robert Whittell, two serjeants, one drummer, and
forty-one rank and file, were killed; Captains William Wright Swain
and Henry Vernon, Lieutenants William Wingfield, William Cotton,
John Chaloner, and John White, seven serjeants, and thirty-six rank
and file, were wounded.
Notwithstanding the intrepidity displayed by the advancing troops,
upon whom a destructive fire was poured from the tops of houses
and every other advantageous position, the enterprise failed. On
the following morning the Governor-General Liniers sent a letter
to Lieut.-General Whitelocke, offering to restore the prisoners
taken in this action, and also those made with Brigadier-General
Beresford, on condition that the whole of the British forces should
be withdrawn from South America, which proposals were accepted. The
Lieut.-General’s conduct subsequently became the subject of inquiry
by a Court-martial, and he was cashiered.
The first battalion of the regiment re-embarked at Buenos Ayres,
and descended the River Plate to _Monte-Video_, whence it embarked
on the 9th of September for Europe, and arrived at Cork on the 17th
of December following.
[Sidenote: 1808.]
The battalion occupied the barracks at Cork until February 1808,
when it proceeded to Fermoy, where it remained until the 5th of
July, when it marched to Cork for embarkation, having been selected
to form part of a force, under the command of Lieut.-General
the Honorable Sir Arthur Wellesley, destined to proceed to the
Peninsula to aid the Spanish and Portuguese patriots in their
efforts against Napoleon, who had placed his brother Joseph on the
throne of Spain, and was endeavouring to reduce the Peninsula under
his domination.
In May 1808 the second battalion proceeded to Jersey, but returned
to England in July following.
On the 9th of July the first battalion embarked at Cork, and landed
at Figuiera, in Portugal, on the 1st of August. The battalion
under the command of Brevet Colonel Robert Burne, advanced with
the troops under Lieut.-General the Honorable Sir Arthur Wellesley
towards Lisbon. The division, consisting of about four thousand
men, under Major-General Sir Brent Spencer, K.B., having joined
the army from Cadiz, a change was made in the arrangement of the
brigades, and the first battalions of the THIRTY-SIXTH, Fortieth,
and Seventy-first regiments were placed in that commanded by
Major-General Ronald Craufurd Ferguson. After a short halt the
army was again put in motion to occupy a more forward position,
where it remained for some days. On the 17th of August the enemy,
commanded by General Laborde, was encountered near _Roleia_. The
first battalion under the command of Colonel Robert Burne shared
in this action, Captain William Cross being detached in charge of
three companies. The position was attacked and carried, with great
loss to the French, who retreated on Torres Vedras.
The THIRTY-SIXTH subsequently received the Royal Authority to bear
the word “ROLEIA” on the regimental colour and appointments, in
commemoration of this victory.
Lieut.-General the Honorable Sir Arthur Wellesley, after this
battle, did not pursue the enemy by the high roads, but keeping to
the right near the sea marched to _Vimiera_, to cover the landing
of a brigade commanded by Major-General Anstruther, which was
effected on the 20th of August.
The morning of the 21st of August was given up to the troops in
order to prepare and repose themselves. The men were engaged
in washing and cleaning their equipments when the approach of
the enemy, moving to the left, was discovered at eight o’clock
in the morning; and the brigades commanded by Major-General
Ferguson, Brigadier-Generals Nightingall, Acland, and Bowes, were
consequently moved across a valley from the heights on the west to
those on the east of Vimiera.
Marshal Junot, Duke of Abrantes, moved his army to the attack of
the position, and commenced it on the British centre, where the
Fiftieth regiment was posted, moving along the front gradually to
the left, until the whole line became engaged.
[Illustration: THIRTY-SIXTH REGIMENT.
BATTLE OF VIMIERA, Aug^t 21^{st} 1808.]
The THIRTY-SIXTH had the good fortune to take a distinguished share
in the battle of _Vimiera_ on the 21st of August; and the gallantry
of the battalion was particularly noticed by Lieut.-General the
Honorable Sir Arthur Wellesley in the General Orders of that day.
The battalion had nine rank and file killed; Captain Paul Minchin
Hobart; Lieutenants H. S. Hart, Thomas Wright, and Walter Ewart;
Ensign Peter Joseph Bone; Lieutenant and Adjutant John Povah, and
twenty-three rank and file, were wounded.
The conduct of the battalion and of its commanding officer, Colonel
Burne, was thus specially noticed by Lieut.-General the Honorable
Sir Arthur Wellesley in his despatch of the 21st of August;--
“In mentioning Colonel Burne, and the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, to
you upon this occasion, I cannot avoid to add that the regular
and orderly conduct of this corps throughout this service, and
their gallantry and discipline in action have been conspicuous.”
In a letter dated 22d of August 1808 (inserted in the Appendix,
page 122), addressed to Viscount Castlereagh, Secretary of State,
Lieut.-General the Honorable Sir Arthur Wellesley bore further
testimony to the merits of Colonel Burne, and stated, that “_the_
THIRTY-SIXTH _regiment is an example to the army_.”
The thanks of both Houses of Parliament were conferred on the
troops, and the THIRTY-SIXTH subsequently received the Royal
Authority to bear the word “VIMIERA” on the regimental colour and
appointments in commemoration of this battle.[17]
The “_Convention of Cintra_” was the result of this victory, and
it was signed on the 30th of August; by its provisions the French
army evacuated Portugal, which country became freed from its
oppressors.
The British army was ordered to move forward to Lisbon, some of the
reinforcements for it having proceeded by water, and occupied the
forts at the mouth of the Tagus. The French army having by this
convention fallen back on Lisbon, the British proceeded to the
vicinity of Fort St. Julien, and encamped.
All the objects of the expedition being carried into effect,
and the French troops embarked for France, the British army
remained for some time at Lisbon and its vicinity. At this period
(September) Lieut.-General Sir John Moore, having assumed the
command, made dispositions for entering Spain.
The first battalions of the THIRTY-SIXTH, Seventy-first, and
Ninety-second regiments were brigaded under Brigadier-General
Catlin Craufurd, and placed in the division under the command
of Lieut.-General the Honorable John Hope, afterwards the Earl
of Hopetoun. On the 27th of October the division was put in
motion, and after a short stay at Badajoz resumed the march to
Talavera-de-la-Reyna. From this town the column proceeded to the
Escurial, seven leagues to the north-west of Madrid, where it
arrived and halted on the 22d of November.
Intelligence was here received of the enemy’s approach towards
Madrid; the division was in consequence put in motion across
the Guadarama mountains on the 27th of November towards Villa
Castin, at which place Lieut.-General the Honorable John Hope,
in consequence of the information he received of the enemy’s
movements, made a night march to the left, by Avila and Peneranda,
and finally proceeded to Alba-de-Tormes, where a junction was
formed with a detachment from the army under Lieut.-General Sir
John Moore, then at Salamanca. The army under Sir John Moore
was shortly afterwards put in motion towards Valladolid, and
subsequently to the left, to effect a junction with Lieut.-General
Sir David Baird’s division, which had landed at Corunna.
Previously to this period, the Spanish armies under General
Blake, near Bilboa on the left, General Castanos in the centre,
and General Palafox lower down the Ebro on the right, had been
completely defeated; Lieut.-General Sir John Moore consequently
made arrangements for a retreat on Portugal by Ciudad Rodrigo, but
it having been represented to him that Madrid held out against the
French, he was induced to form a junction with Lieut.-General Sir
David Baird, in order to make a diversion in favour of Madrid, by
attacking Marshal Soult on the river Carion.
The British force, twenty-nine thousand strong, joined at Toro on
the 21st of December, and on the 23d of that month Sir John Moore
advanced with the whole army. The cavalry had already met with that
of the enemy, and the infantry were within two hours march of him,
when an intercepted letter informed the British commander that
Napoleon, who had entered Madrid on the 4th of December, was then
in full march for Salamanca and Benevente. A retreat on Corunna,
through Gallicia, was immediately decided on, that through Portugal
being then impracticable.
Accordingly the several divisions marched towards the Esla,
the greater part crossing by the bridge of Benevente on the
26th of December, when, after a day’s halt, the cavalry, under
Lieut.-General Lord Paget and Brigadier-General the Honorable
Charles Stewart, had an engagement with some of the Imperial guards
that had forded the river Esla under General LeFevre, who was made
prisoner with several of his men.
At this period the situation of the British army was dispiriting
in the extreme. In the midst of winter, in a dreary and desolate
country, the soldiers chilled and drenched with the heavy rains,
and wearied by long and rapid marches, were almost destitute of
fuel to cook their victuals, and it was with extreme difficulty
that they could procure shelter. Provisions were scarce,
irregularly issued, and difficult of attainment. The waggons,
in which were their magazines, baggage, and stores, were often
deserted in the night by the Spanish drivers, who were terrified by
the approach of the French. Thus baggage, ammunition, stores, and
even money were destroyed to prevent them falling into the hands of
the enemy; and the weak, the sick, and the wounded were necessarily
left behind.
[Sidenote: 1809.]
On the 5th of January 1809, the troops took up a position at
Lugo, where they remained bivouacked in order of battle until the
9th of that month, when they marched in the night, and arrived
at _Corunna_ on the 11th of January. The British army, having
accomplished one of the most celebrated retreats recorded in modern
history, repulsing the pursuing enemy in all his attacks, and
having traversed two hundred and fifty miles of mountainous country
under very disheartening circumstances, accompanied by severe
privation, was not destined to embark for England without a battle.
Marshal Soult, Duke of Dalmatia, having taken up a position above
the town of _Corunna_, made arrangements for attacking the British
army as soon as the troops should commence their embarkation. The
sick men, the women, and baggage having been conveyed on board
ship, preparations were made for embarking the troops on the 16th
of January 1809. The French instantly descended from the heights,
and advanced, about two o’clock, to attack the British position in
front of _Corunna_; a sanguinary action ensued, and before dark the
French were defeated in all their attacks. Lieut.-General Sir John
Moore was killed, and the battle was scarcely ended, when, wrapped
in a military cloak, his remains were interred in the citadel of
Corunna, over which Marshal Soult, with the chivalrous feeling of
a true soldier, erected a monument.
This victory enabled the British troops to be embarked without
further molestation. In this battle the first battalion of the
THIRTY-SIXTH was posted on the left of the British line.
During the retreat to _Corunna_, and its services there, the
battalion had Lieutenant John White wounded, and one serjeant and
two rank and file killed; one serjeant, three drummers, and one
hundred and fifty-three rank and file, were taken prisoners.
In commemoration of this battle, and of the conduct of the
battalion during the expedition, the THIRTY-SIXTH, in common with
the army employed under Lieut.-General Sir John Moore, received the
Royal authority to bear the word “CORUNNA” on the regimental colour
and appointments.[18]
The army also received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament “for
its distinguished discipline, firmness, and valour in the battle of
CORUNNA.”
On the 17th of January the battalion embarked at Corunna for
England; portions landed at Plymouth, Portsmouth, and Deal, but the
several divisions were assembled at Battle, in Sussex, during the
month of February.
Immense preparations had been made by the British Government to fit
out the most formidable armament that had for a long time proceeded
from England. The troops amounted to forty thousand men, commanded
by Lieut.-General the Earl of Chatham; the naval portion consisted
of thirty-nine ships of the line, thirty-six frigates, and numerous
gun-boats and bomb-vessels, and other small craft, under Admiral
Sir Richard Strachan. The object of the expedition was to obtain
possession of the islands at the mouth of the _Scheldt_, and to
destroy the French ships in that river, with the docks and arsenals
at Antwerp. The first battalion of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment
received orders to prepare itself for this service, and on the
16th of July embarked at Portsmouth for _Walcheren_, under the
command of Colonel Burne. The expedition sailed from the Downs
on the 28th of July, and on the morning of the 1st of August the
THIRTY-SIXTH and other corps were landed, and on the same day the
troops advanced to the investment of _Flushing_, which operation
was warmly contested by the enemy.
By the 13th of August, the preparations for the attack on the town
were completed, and on the night of the 14th one of the enemy’s
batteries, advanced upon the sea dyke in front of Lieut.-General
Alexander Mackenzie Fraser’s position, was most gallantly carried
at the point of the bayonet by detachments from the THIRTY-SIXTH,
Seventy-first, and the light battalions of the King’s German
legion, under Lieut.-Colonel Denis Pack, of the Seventy-first,
although opposed to great superiority of numbers; the troops took
forty prisoners, and killed and wounded a great many of the enemy.
_Flushing_ capitulated on the 15th of August; the garrison becoming
prisoners of war.
From the 8th to the 15th of August the THIRTY-SIXTH had three rank
and file killed; Major Alexander Mackenzie was dangerously wounded;
two serjeants and seven rank and file were wounded.
An epidemic disease of a fatal character broke out among the
troops, and the following officers and men of the THIRTY-SIXTH
regiment died of fever:--Captains Waddle, C. Douglas, and Alexander
Barbor, Lieutenant McDermott, Assistant-Surgeon James McFarlane,
fourteen serjeants, two drummers, and two hundred rank and file.
On the 10th of December 1809 the first battalion embarked for
England, and arrived at Woolwich on the 22d of that month; it
subsequently returned to Battle in Sussex.
[Sidenote: 1810.]
During the year 1810 the first battalion was stationed at Battle.
The second battalion was moved from Worcester to Kidderminster in
the spring, and in the summer to Cirencester, and subsequently to
Horsham.
[Sidenote: 1811.]
The first battalion occupied the barracks at Battle until January
1811, on the 28th of which month it embarked at Portsmouth under
the command of Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Basil Cochrane on board
His Majesty’s ship “Victory,” and landed at Lisbon on the 5th of
March. The battalion immediately joined in the pursuit of Marshal
Massena from Santarem, and was in position at the expulsion of the
enemy from Guarda on the 29th of March.
The battalion was next employed in the blockade of _Almeida_, and
Marshal Massena, having concentrated his forces, crossed the Agueda
on the 2d of May for the purpose of relieving the place. This
movement led to the actions at _Fuentes d’Onor_ on the 3d and 5th
of May. In the battle of the 5th the battalion was in position,
but was not actively engaged. The French were defeated, after a
prolonged contest, and Marshal Massena left _Almeida_ to its fate.
The place was evacuated by General Brennier at midnight of the 10th
of May, when the enemy blew up the works, and the greater part of
the garrison succeeded in effecting its escape during the night.
On the 11th of May, when the garrison of _Almeida_ effected its
escape through the corps on duty, Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable
Basil Cochrane, with about half of the first battalion of the
THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, had the good fortune to come up with the
French at the bridge of _Barba del Puerco_; and, in conjunction
with the Grenadier company of the Fourth foot under Captain Thomas
Burke, caused them considerable loss. Many were killed and wounded,
and three hundred were taken prisoners, but the rest escaped.
The remainder of the battalion took another road in the pursuit,
under the orders of Brigadier-General Robert Burne, Lieut.-Colonel
of the THIRTY-SIXTH, and intercepted many stragglers, whom they
made prisoners.
The casualties under Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Basil Cochrane
were two killed;--Lieutenant Charles Moody and eight rank and file
were taken prisoners.
Early in June 1811 the battalion commenced its march for the
south of Portugal, and continued at the camp of Arronches until
the 18th of July, when it again returned to the north, and was in
cantonments at Barquilla, in Spain, during August and September;
on the 25th of September it was in position at the affair of
_Especha_, when the enemy advanced to relieve _Ciudad Rodrigo_,
which was blockaded by the Allied army. The battalion was likewise
in position at the subsequent affair near _Ronda_ on the 27th of
September.
On the 30th of September the British army went into cantonments,
the THIRTY-SIXTH occupying the village of Pinziu. There
Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable Basil Cochrane found his health so
much on the decline that he was compelled to apply for leave to
return to England; and on the 13th of October he quitted the corps
for that purpose, the command of which then devolved on Major
William Cross.
On the 24th of November the battalion marched to Gallegos, in
Spain, with the view of intercepting a convoy of provisions
intended for the garrison of Ciudad Rodrigo, but the incessant rain
had so flooded the rivers that it was found impossible to cross at
the points intended, which circumstance enabled the convoy to reach
its destination.
The battalion commenced its march to new cantonments at Mongualda
on the 27th of November, which it reached on the 3d of December.
[Sidenote: 1812.]
On the 14th of January 1812 the battalion was moved from Mongualda,
by forced marches, to assist in the siege of _Ciudad Rodrigo_,
which, however, was taken on the night of the 19th of January by
the troops under Viscount Wellington, just as the THIRTY-SIXTH were
on the point of leaving Nava d’Aver, within ten miles of the scene
of operations; the battalion remained at Nava d’Aver until Ciudad
Rodrigo was secured against a _coup de main_, and then marched into
cantonments at Meda, which it reached on the 3d of February.
Major-General Henry Clinton arrived and assumed the command of the
sixth division on the 11th of February. On the 20th of that month
the battalion marched for the south of Portugal, reached Estremos
on the 6th of March, and remained there until the 14th, on which
day it proceeded to Borba, and on the 15th to the camp at Elvas,
where the army was assembled. On the following day it marched to
aid in investing _Badajoz_, and from thence proceeded with the
covering army, under Lieut.-General Sir Thomas Graham (afterwards
Lord Lynedoch), which, after the affairs of Usagré, Llerena,
Berlonga, and Asuaga, effected the expulsion of the enemy from
Spanish Estremadura, and then returned to support the attack on
_Badajoz_. The battalion reached Albuhera on the 6th of April, on
the night of which Badajoz was stormed and carried.
The enemy being thus thwarted in all his views against the south,
in which the principal part of the British troops was assembled,
made a sudden invasion of the north of Portugal, and advanced as
far as Castello Branco. The sixth division was in consequence moved
with the utmost rapidity in that direction, but on its approach the
enemy retired, and the division again returned to the south, the
THIRTY-SIXTH taking up cantonments at Castello de Vide on the 30th
of April.
On the 5th May 1812, Lieut.-Colonel Lewis Davies arrived, and
assumed the command of the THIRTY-SIXTH; towards the end of the
month Major William Cross, who had been in very bad health for
several weeks, proceeded to join the second battalion in England.
The battalion marched to Azumar on the 8th of May, and on the 13th
to Arronches, from which it moved towards the end of the month
to Puebla, in Spain, then to Badajoz, where it halted five days,
thence to Castello de Vide for two days, from which it marched
through Castello Branco in the direction of Salamanca, which it
reached on the 17th of June, and operations were then immediately
commenced against the Forts at Salamanca by the light companies
of the division under Colonel Samuel Venables Hinde, of the
Thirty-second regiment. They were attacked without success on the
23d, and carried on the 27th of June by a party under the command
of Lieut.-Colonel Davies, of the THIRTY-SIXTH, with a loss to the
battalion of Lieutenant George Mackenzie and eleven rank and file
killed, and Captain Paul Minchin Hobart and twenty-five rank and
file wounded. Captain Hobart, who was promoted to the brevet rank
of Major on the 23d of July 1812, died of his wounds.
The battalion then occupied different villages in the
neighbourhood, and on the 22d of July it took a considerable share
in the battle of Salamanca. The change of the allied position and
various manœuvres occupied the day without any close engagement,
excepting on the left for the possession of the Arapiles; the
battle of _Salamanca_ did not commence in earnest until after three
o’clock, when the French left, having been very much extended
by the advance of the division of General Thomières, with the
light cavalry and fifty pieces of artillery, along a range of
heights parallel with the British line, to cut off the right of
the allies from the Ciudad Rodrigo road, the third division was
ordered to advance in four columns, supported by cavalry to turn
the French left. The evolutions of this great battle are too varied
to be clearly described with brevity. The sixth division under
Major-General Clinton, of which the THIRTY-SIXTH formed part, was
placed at first in reserve, but at a critical period in the action
it was ordered up to relieve the fourth division, and the battle
was soon restored to its former success.
The enemy’s right, reinforced by the troops which had fled from
his left, and by those which had by this time retired from the
Arapiles, still continued to resist; and while other corps were
directed to turn the right, the sixth division, supported by the
third and fifth, attacked the front. It was dark before this point
was carried by the sixth division, and the enemy then fled through
the woods towards the Tormes.
Lieut.-General Sir William Napier, in his History of the Peninsular
War, thus sums up the account of this victory:--
“The battle of Salamanca, remarkable in many points of view,
was not least so in this, that it was the first decided victory
gained by the allies in the Peninsula. In former actions the
French had been repulsed, here they were driven headlong, as it
were, before a mighty wind, without help or stay, and the results
were proportionate.”
The THIRTY-SIXTH had Captains William Tulloh and Alexander
Middleton, Lieutenants Arthur Parker and Richard Barton, one
serjeant, and fifteen rank and file killed. Brevet-Major John Fox,
Lieutenants Walter Ewart, and David Price, Ensigns Richard James
Bourchier, William Wainwright, with four serjeants and seventy rank
and file, were wounded. Lieutenant Ewart subsequently died of his
wounds.
Lieut.-Colonel Davies obtained the medal issued for the victory
gained at Salamanca; and the THIRTY-SIXTH subsequently received
the Royal Authority to bear the word “SALAMANCA” on the regimental
colour and appointments, in commemoration of the gallantry
displayed in that battle.
On the 23d of July the battalion was employed in pursuit of
the enemy by the route of Alba de Tormes, and in August went
into cantonments at Cuellar; towards the end of that month it
marched again, and encamped before _Burgos_, which the Marquis of
Wellington (that title having been conferred upon him after the
victory at Salamanca) ordered should be forthwith invested.
Major Molyneux Smith, of the THIRTY-SIXTH, died on the 21st of
August 1812, and Brevet-Major John Fox was appointed his successor
on the 1st of October following. The battalion took an active share
in all the operations against Burgos, from which the British army
retired on the 21st of October. The THIRTY-SIXTH, during the siege,
had seven rank and file killed and eleven wounded.
After this most harassing retreat, rendered so by the severity
of the weather and the dreadful state of the roads, as well as
by a numerous and active-pursuing enemy, the battalion, early in
December, reached Falgosa de Medelina, in Portugal, where it halted
for some weeks.
[Sidenote: 1813.]
In February 1813 the battalion marched from Falgosa de Medelina to
Toraish, where it remained until May. There Lieut.-Colonel Davies,
in consequence of ill-health, left the corps for England, when the
command devolved on Brevet Lieut.-Colonel John Ward.
On the 14th of May the allied army again advanced, crossed the
Douro on the 19th, and halted on the 20th at Toro de Monte Corva;
on the 24th reached Malhadus, and halted until the 27th, and on
the 29th entered Spain by crossing the Corsa, near Murga, where the
troops, of which the THIRTY-SIXTH formed part, halted until the
31st. On the 1st of June they crossed the Esla by a pontoon bridge,
and continued the march until the 19th, when they halted at Madina
to observe General Clausel’s corps, and cover the British stores
and ammunition.
The battalion reached _Vittoria_ on the 22d of June, the day
following the victory gained there by the Marquis of Wellington,
and halted at that place during the 23d and 24th, still observing
General Clausel. On the 26th the battalion marched to Mondragoa,
and afterwards retrograded to Montinca, whence Clausel was pursued
to the bridge of Lagosa, where the battalion arrived on the 30th
of June; and, marching again on the 1st of July, it encamped near
_Pampeluna_ on the 5th of that month.
There the battalion halted until the 13th of July, and on the
following day it marched to Lanz, where it remained until the
22d; and on the 23d it crossed the Low Pyrenees to the valley of
San Estevan; on the 27th the battalion re-crossed the Pyrenees to
Torrossa.
On the 28th of July the battalion was in position near _Pampeluna_,
and was warmly engaged, the light company under Captain William
Campbell being detached in smart skirmishing. On the following day
both armies remained quiet; but on the 30th of July the battalion
was again engaged early in the morning, the light company being, as
before, detached, under Captain Campbell, to expel the enemy from
the village of _Sorauren_. About eight o’clock Major Martin Leggatt
arrived, and assumed the command, when Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Ward
immediately proceeded to join the light company in Sorauren.
Marshal Soult was however foiled, and about two o’clock in the
afternoon the enemy was in general retreat, being pursued by the
whole army.
In approbation of the conduct of Major Leggatt, Brevet
Lieut.-Colonel Ward and Captain Campbell on the three
last-mentioned days, His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, in the
name and behalf of His Majesty, was graciously pleased to present
each of them with a medal for the battles of the Pyrenees, and to
promote Captain Campbell to the brevet rank of Major.
The THIRTY-SIXTH subsequently received the Royal Authority to bear
on the regimental colour and appointments the word “PYRENEES,” in
commemoration of the services of the first battalion in the actions
which occurred there, and which have been designated the “_Battles
of the Pyrenees_.”
On the 1st of August the battalion reached Bargetta, and halted
there until the 3d; on the following day it pursued the enemy to
the valley of Alduides; and on the 5th and 6th the battalion was in
position;--on the 7th it marched and encamped in the valley near
Maya, and on the 8th moved to the camp at the Pass of Maya, where
the battalion remained until the 9th of September.
Major William Cross arrived at the camp of Maya on the 10th of
September, and resumed the command of the battalion.
The battalion was present in the affair of _Urdax_ on the 7th of
October, and had forty-six rank and file killed and wounded.
The British army was put in motion at an early hour in the morning
of the 10th of November, and advanced to attack the enemy in his
fortified position on the _Nivelle_. In the battle which ensued, it
was the proud lot of the sixth division, of which the THIRTY-SIXTH
formed part, to charge and carry the enemy’s breastwork and
principal redoubt on the heights of _Ainhoa_, with the loss of one
drummer and five rank and file killed.
The Marquis of Wellington, in his despatch of the 13th of November,
thus alluded to the conduct of the THIRTY-SIXTH on this occasion:--
“I had the pleasure of seeing the sixth division under
Lieut.-General Sir Henry Clinton, after having crossed the
Nivelle, and having driven in the enemy’s piquets on both banks,
and having covered the passage of the Portuguese division under
Lieut.-Colonel Sir John Hamilton, on its right, _make a most
handsome attack upon the right of the enemy’s position behind
Ainhoa, and on the right of the Nivelle, and carry all the
entrenchments, and the redoubt on that flank_. Lieut.-General Sir
John Hamilton, supported with the Portuguese division, the sixth
division on its right, and both co-operated in the attack of the
second redoubt, which was immediately carried.”
In this battle the THIRTY-SIXTH had Captains Robert Blakeney and
William Gillam, Lieutenants Thomas L’Estrange and William Tunstall,
Ensigns James McCabe and John Skerry, one serjeant and fifty-eight
rank and file, wounded.
Major Cross, for his services on this day, was promoted to the
brevet rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, and was with Brevet-Major
Campbell honoured with the medal for the battle of the Nivelle.
The THIRTY-SIXTH subsequently received the Royal Authority to bear
the word “NIVELLE” on the regimental colour and appointments, in
commemoration of the gallantry of the first battalion in that
battle.
After this victory the battalion was in cantonments at Usteritz,
on the river _Nive_, observing the enemy,--who was in force on the
opposite side,--until the 9th of December, when the passage of the
river was forced, and the battle of the _Nive_ ensued. In the
passage of the Nive the THIRTY-SIXTH had only three rank and file
wounded.
The enemy having failed in all his attacks, with his whole force,
on the British left, withdrew into his entrenchments on the night
of the 12th of December, and passed a large force through Bayonne,
with which, on the morning of the 13th, he made a most desperate
attack on the troops under Lieut.-General Sir Rowland Hill; the
Marquis of Wellington, in expectation of this attack, had given
orders that the Lieut.-General should be reinforced with the sixth
division, which crossed the Nive at daylight on that morning.
The THIRTY-SIXTH were accordingly in position at _Bidart_, but
Lieut.-General Sir Rowland Hill defeated the enemy with the troops
under his own immediate command on the 13th of December, with
immense loss, before the arrival of the reinforcement, although the
march of the sixth division afforded him great facility in making
his movements.
In commemoration of the operations connected with the passage of
the river _Nive_, the THIRTY-SIXTH subsequently received the Royal
Authority to bear the word “NIVE” on the regimental colour and
appointments.
On the 14th of December the THIRTY-SIXTH occupied cantonments at
Ville Franque, and commenced the severe duty of the blockade of
_Bayonne_.
[Sidenote: 1814.]
The battalion was employed on this duty until the 21st of February
1814, on which day the army advanced, the THIRTY-SIXTH being
selected by Lieut.-General Sir Henry Clinton, K.B., for the
important duty of protecting the artillery of the division from an
apprehended attack upon it by the enemy’s garrison of St. Jean Pied
de Port, which the dreadful state of the roads obliged it nearly to
pass. This obstacle fortunately surmounted, by forced marches the
THIRTY-SIXTH rejoined the army on the 26th of February, and shared
in the battle of _Orthes_ on the following day.
On the day previous to the battle the third division forded the
river Gave de Pau, and a pontoon bridge was afterwards laid at
Bereaux, by which the fourth and sixth divisions crossed on the
morning of the 27th, at which time the third division was already
posted with skirmishers thrown out close upon the left centre of
the French position. The sixth division, of which the THIRTY-SIXTH
formed part, was placed on the right between the third division and
the river, and the light division on its left in rear as a reserve.
During the whole morning there had been occasional skirmishing by
the third division, but the real attack commenced at nine o’clock
by the third and sixth divisions on the French left centre, and
the fourth and seventh divisions on their right, which last was
intended to be the principal point of attack; but it having been
found, after three hours’ hard fighting, that the enemy was there
too strongly posted, the Marquis of Wellington ordered an advance
of the third and sixth divisions, with the Fifty-second regiment,
from the centre upon the left centre of the French position, which
they carried, and thus secured the victory; while Lieut.-General
Sir Rowland Hill, with the second division, had crossed the river
above _Orthes_, and nearly cut off the only line of retreat open to
the enemy, who then retired from the field, but without confusion,
and constantly resisting the advance. The allies followed, keeping
up an incessant fire and cannonade, but lost many men, particularly
of the third division, which was the most strongly opposed; this
continued until the French nearly reached the Luy de Bearn river,
when their retreat became a flight, and they effected their escape
by the fords and one bridge, which they destroyed, having lost four
thousand men and six guns.
In commemoration of this victory, the THIRTY-SIXTH subsequently
received the Royal Authority to bear the word “ORTHES” on the
regimental colour and appointments.
The battalion shared in the affairs of _Vic Bigorre_ and _Tarbes_
on the 19th and 20th of March. The movement of the sixth division
under Lieut.-General Sir Henry Clinton is stated by the Marquis of
Wellington, in his despatch, to have been very ably made, and it
was completely successful.
During the night Marshal Soult retreated towards _Toulouse_,
followed on the 21st of March by the allies, who continued their
advance, until on the 26th they arrived in presence of the French
army. The town of _Toulouse_ is surrounded on three sides by the
Canal of Languedoc and the Garonne; on the left of that river, the
suburb, which the enemy had fortified with strong field-works in
front of the ancient wall, formed a good _tête-de-pont_. The city
itself was only accessible from the south, and its strong though
old-fashioned walls had been rendered more defensible by redoubts,
and by an exterior line of entrenchments on a strong and rugged
range of heights, about two miles in length beyond the canal. On
the 28th the enemy’s troops were driven within the suburb of St.
Cyprien, and several attempts were made to attack them by crossing
the Garonne above Toulouse. Operations were, however, impeded by
the floods and rapidity of the river, until the 3d of April, when
the third, fourth, and sixth divisions, with three brigades of
cavalry, under Marshal Beresford, passed over by a pontoon bridge
fifteen miles below Toulouse; but the crossing of the remainder
of the army was again impeded by the rising of the river, which
caused the removal of the bridges, until the 8th, when the Marquis
of Wellington crossed, and advanced within five miles of Toulouse;
Lieut.-General Sir Rowland Hill, with two divisions, remaining on
the left bank.
In the battle of _Toulouse_, which began about six o’clock in
the morning of the 10th of April, it was the good fortune of
the THIRTY-SIXTH to commence the attack of the sixth division.
The Marquis of Wellington’s plan of attack was for Marshal Sir
William Beresford, who was on the right of the Ers with the fourth
and sixth divisions, to cross that river at the bridge of Croix
d’Orade, to gain possession of Montblanc, and to march up to the
left of the Ers to turn the enemy’s right, while Lieut.-General Don
Manuel Freyre, with the Spanish corps under his command, supported
by the British cavalry, attacked the front.
Marshal Sir William Beresford crossed the Ers, formed his corps
in three columns of lines in the village of Croix d’Orade, and
immediately carried Montblanc. He then moved up the Ers in the
same order, over most difficult ground, in a direction parallel
to the enemy’s fortified position, and as soon as he reached the
point at which he turned it, he formed his lines, and moved to the
attack. The gallant efforts of Lieut.-General Don Manuel Freyre
did not meet with success, but they were highly applauded by the
Marquis of Wellington. Meanwhile Marshal Sir William Beresford,
with the fourth division under the command of Lieut.-General Sir
Lowry Cole, and the sixth division under Lieut.-General Sir Henry
Clinton, attacked and carried the heights on the enemy’s right, and
the redoubt which covered and protected that flank; and he lodged
those troops on the same heights with the enemy, who were, however,
still in possession of four redoubts, and of the entrenchments and
fortified houses.
The badness of the roads had induced the Marshal to leave his
artillery in the village of Montblanc; some time elapsed before it
could be brought up, and before Lieut.-General Don Manuel Freyre’s
corps could be re-formed and led again to the attack. As soon as
this was effected, the Marshal continued his movement along the
ridge, and earned, with Major-General Denis Pack’s brigade of the
sixth division, the two principal redoubts and fortified houses
in the enemy’s centre. The enemy made a desperate effort from
the canal to regain these redoubts, but they were repulsed with
considerable loss; and the sixth division continuing its movement
along the ridge of the height, and the Spanish troops continuing a
corresponding movement upon the front, the French were driven from
the two redoubts and entrenchments on the left, and the whole range
of heights were gained by the British.
The Marquis of Wellington, in his despatch, added--
“We did not gain this advantage, however, without severe loss,
particularly in the _brave sixth division_.
“The THIRTY-SIXTH, Forty-second, Sixty-first, and Seventy-ninth
regiments lost considerable numbers, and were highly
distinguished throughout the day.
“I cannot sufficiently applaud the ability and conduct of Marshal
Sir William Beresford throughout the operations of the day, nor
that of Lieutenant-Generals Sir Lowry Cole, Sir Henry Clinton,
Major-Generals Pack and Lambert, and the troops under their
command.
“The fourth division, although exposed on their march along the
enemy’s front in a galling fire, were not so much engaged as the
sixth division, and did not suffer so much; but they conducted
themselves with their usual gallantry.”
By this last paragraph it is shown, that the sixth division, of
which the first battalion of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment had for some
time formed a part, bore the brunt of this hard-fought, but, as it
proved unnecessary, battle.
The killed and wounded of the THIRTY-SIXTH were one hundred and
fifty-three, of all ranks, out of two hundred and fifty; namely,
Ensign James Cromie, three serjeants and thirty-five rank and
file killed, Brevet Lieut.-Colonel William Cross, Brevet Major
William Campbell, Lieutenants James Prendergast, Thomas L’Estrange,
Peter Joseph Bone, William Henry Robertson, and Edward Lewis,
Ensigns Thomas M. Taylor, and James McCabe, eight serjeants, and
ninety-seven rank and file wounded.
Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Cross was so severely wounded as to oblige
him to be carried off the field, and the command of the battalion
devolved upon Major Martin Leggatt.
In approbation of the services of Lieut.-Colonel Cross at the
battles of the Nivelle, Nive, Orthes, and Toulouse, His Royal
Highness the Prince Regent, in the name and behalf of His Majesty,
was graciously pleased to confer upon that officer a cross, and
to nominate him a Companion of the Most Honourable Military Order
of the Bath; His Royal Highness was likewise pleased to bestow on
Major Leggatt a medal for the battle of Toulouse.
The THIRTY-SIXTH subsequently received the Royal Authority to bear
the word “TOULOUSE” on the regimental colour and appointments, in
commemoration of the distinguished gallantry of the first battalion
in that battle; also the word “PENINSULA” in testimony of its
services in Spain and Portugal.
During the night of the 11th of April the French troops evacuated
_Toulouse_, and a white flag was hoisted. On the following day the
Marquis of Wellington entered the city, amidst the acclamations
of the inhabitants. In the course of the afternoon of the 12th of
April intelligence was received of the abdication of Napoleon,
and had not the express been delayed on the journey by the French
police, the sacrifice of many valuable lives would have been
prevented.
A disbelief in the truth of this intelligence occasioned much
unnecessary bloodshed at _Bayonne_, the garrison of which made
a desperate _sortie_ on the 14th of April, and Lieut.-General
Sir John Hope (afterwards Earl of Hopetoun) was taken prisoner,
Major-General Andrew Hay was killed, and Major-General Stopford was
wounded. This was the last action of the Peninsular war.
A Treaty of Peace was established between Great Britain and France;
Louis XVIII. was restored to the throne of his ancestors; and
Napoleon Bonaparte was permitted to reside at Elba, the sovereignty
of that island having been conceded to him by the allied powers.
The first battalion of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment embarked at
Pouillac on the 22d of June 1814, and arrived at the Cove of Cork
on the 11th of the following month, and subsequently proceeded to
Kilkenny.
The second battalion of the THIRTY-SIXTH, which had been employed
on home duty during the Peninsular War, was disbanded at Plymouth
on the 24th of October 1814, and the men fit for service were
transferred to the first battalion:--the detachment accordingly
embarked for Ireland on the 30th of October.
[Sidenote: 1815.]
The tranquillity which Europe appeared to have gained by the
splendid successes over the French in the Peninsula, was again to
be disturbed. Napoleon, who had been accustomed to imperial sway,
was naturally discontented with his small sovereignty of Elba.
Besides, the correspondence kept up by him with his adherents in
France gave him hopes of regaining his former power, which were,
for a short time, fully realized. Napoleon Bonaparte landed at
Cannes, in Provence, on the 1st of March 1815, with a small body of
men, and on the 20th of that month entered Paris at the head of an
army, which had joined him on the road. This could not be matter
of wonder, for the officers and soldiers had won their fame under
his command, and gladly welcomed their former leader, under whom
they probably expected to acquire fresh honours, which might cancel
the memory of the defeats sustained in the Peninsula and south of
France.
Louis XVIII., unable to stem the torrent, withdrew from Paris
to Ghent, and Napoleon resumed his former dignity of Emperor of
the French. This assumption the allied powers determined not to
acknowledge, and resolved to deprive him of his sovereignty, by
again restoring the ancient dynasty.
Napoleon was finally defeated on the plains of Waterloo on the 18th
of June 1815, and the allies advanced on Paris. The first battalion
of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment embarked at Cork on the 3d of July,
and landed at Ostend on the 11th of that month. The battalion
marched from thence to Paris.
The THIRTY-SIXTH regiment remained in the neighbourhood of Paris
until December 1815, on the 22d of which month it embarked at
Calais for England; and, landing at Dover and Ramsgate, it
subsequently proceeded to Portsmouth.
[Sidenote: 1816.]
During the year 1816 the regiment was stationed at Portsmouth.
Colonel the Honourable Basil Cochrane, who had been serving
as Assistant-Quartermaster-General in Ireland, died on his
passage from Newry to Liverpool on the 14th of May 1816. Brevet
Lieut.-Colonel William Cross was appointed to succeed him as
Lieut.-Colonel of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment on the 23d of May,
and Brevet Major William Wright Swain was promoted to the vacant
majority.
The word “FIRM” being an old regimental acquirement, it was deemed
necessary to apply to Sir George Nayler, York Herald, Inspector of
Regimental Colours, for its insertion on the new colours which had
been prepared, when the following reply was received:--
“_College of Arms, 6th Jan. 1817._
“SIR,
“From the papers and documents in my possession,[19] relating
to the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, it is clear that the word ‘FIRM’
should be inserted on the colours of that regiment. I would,
therefore, recommend your directing the person who made the new
colours to cause the above word to be inscribed on them.
“I have, &c.
(Signed) “GEORGE NAYLER,
_“York Herald,
Inspector of Regimental Colours._”
“To Lieut.-Colonel Cross,
Commanding 36th Regiment.”
[Sidenote: 1817.]
The regiment embarked at Portsmouth for the Mediterranean on the
29th of July 1817, and landed at Malta on the 27th of September
following.
[Sidenote: 1818.]
On the 4th of April 1818 General George Don was removed from the
Ninety-fifth (afterwards disbanded) to the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment,
in succession to General the Honourable Henry St. John, deceased.
[Sidenote: 1820.]
The head-quarters of the regiment, with six companies, embarked
at Malta on the 5th of December 1820, and landed in the island
of Zante on the 11th of the same month, under the command of
Lieut.-Colonel Cross, having left four companies at Malta under the
command of Major Swain.
[Sidenote: 1821.]
On the 18th of June 1821 the four companies which had remained at
Malta embarked for the island of Cephalonia, where they arrived on
the 22d of the same month. The head-quarters and four companies
embarked at Zante on the 8th of July, and arrived at Cephalonia
on the 10th of that month, when Lieut.-Colonel Cross assumed the
command; two companies were left detached at Zante under the
command of Brevet Major Henry Vernon.
On the 1st of November 1821 a detachment of the regiment,
consisting of one captain, three subalterns, four serjeants, two
drummers, and one hundred rank and file, was ordered to proceed to
the island of Cerigo, under the command of Brevet Major William
Campbell, on a particular service.
During the five latter months of the regiment being stationed at
Cephalonia, the numbers of sick were very great; so much so, that
it was deemed indispensably necessary to establish a convalescent
hospital, as also forming a detachment of two subalterns, two
serjeants, and eighty rank and file, principally consisting of the
most weakly soldiers that could be selected, which proceeded to
Fort St. George, a healthy eminence situated about five miles from
Argostoli, where the head-quarters were stationed; another hospital
was also established there for the reception of the sick of that
detachment, under the superintendence of a medical staff officer.
The increase of disease in this island was principally attributed
to the unconcentrated position of the barracks, which were small,
crowded, and temporary, situated on a marsh in a valley close
to the beach, together with the insalubrious atmosphere, which
prevailed exceedingly during the time the regiment was stationed
there. The loss of the THIRTY-SIXTH by sickness here was sixteen in
two months, which consisted principally of the stoutest young men
in the regiment.
His Excellency the Commander of the Forces in the Mediterranean,
Lieut.-General the Right Honorable Sir Thomas Maitland, G.C.B.,
having arrived at this island early in November, and perceiving
the debilitated state of the corps, was pleased to direct its
removal; six days previously to which the two companies under the
command of Brevet Major Vernon arrived from Zante and joined the
head-quarters. On the 30th of November the regiment, with the
exception of the detachment at Cerigo, embarked for Corfu, where it
arrived on the 4th of December, and occupied part of the barracks
in the citadel, and the whole of the barracks and quarters in Fort
Neuf; the head-quarters and three companies in the latter, and the
remaining companies in the citadel; soon after which Lieut.-Colonel
Cross, having been a considerable time in a bad state of health,
obtained leave of absence; and Major Swain, through domestic
calamities, being absent, the command devolved on Brevet Major
Joshua Crosse. Here Lieutenant Henry O’Bré died on the 13th of
December, about which time Brevet Major Vernon was appointed
Commandant of Paxo, where he died.
[Sidenote: 1822.]
Brevet Major Crosse was succeeded in the command by Brevet Major
Campbell, on his arrival from Cerigo in the month of February 1822.
In March following Major Edmond Browne arrived from England and
took the command of the regiment, he having succeeded to the
majority by exchange from the half-pay with Brevet Lieut.-Colonel
Leggatt in May 1821.
On the 2d June 1822 Major-General Sir Frederick Adam, K.C.B.,
commanding, was pleased to order the head-quarters and three
companies stationed at Fort Neuf to join the remaining companies at
the citadel, as well as the regimental hospital to be established
there, which was productive of much comfort to the corps, together
with the unremitting and unwearied attention of the medical
department, as well as at their solicitation to send a portion of
the men that had not quite recovered from the diseases contracted
at Cephalonia, to the sick depôt formed at Malta, which was acceded
to, and they accordingly embarked for that station on the 8th of
August, where they arrived on the 13th of the same month. This
arrangement was attended with the fortunate result of restoration
to their former good health; and, upon the 27th of October
following, two serjeants and forty-two rank and file arrived from
Malta in His Majesty’s ship “Cambrian;” and at subsequent dates
others arrived, leaving only a very few bad cases at Malta; so that
afterwards it generally had the fewest sick of any regiment in the
Ionian Islands, or in the Mediterranean.
[Sidenote: 1823.]
On the 1st of February 1823, the detachment which was stationed
at Cerigo arrived at Corfu, and joined the head-quarters of the
regiment.
[Sidenote: 1825.]
In the year 1825, the establishment of the regiment was augmented
from eight to ten companies, and formed into six _service_ and four
_depôt_ companies, consisting of forty-two serjeants, fourteen
drummers, and seven hundred and forty rank and file.
The regiment remained in the Ionian Islands until the 2d of
December 1825, when it embarked at Santa Maura for England.
[Sidenote: 1826.]
On the 18th of February 1826, the regiment disembarked at
Chatham; in the spring it proceeded to Colchester, afterwards to
Macclesfield, Stockport, Manchester, and Bolton.
[Sidenote: 1827.]
During the early part of the year 1827, the regiment remained at
Bolton, in Lancashire, and in April it proceeded to Liverpool, from
which place it embarked for Ireland on the 14th of that month. The
regiment arrived at Dublin on the following day, proceeded from
thence to Mullingar, and returned to Dublin in August following,
where it was stationed during the remainder of the year.
[Sidenote: 1828.]
In May 1828, the regiment proceeded from Dublin to Naas, and in
October it was removed to Limerick.
[Sidenote: 1829.]
The regiment remained at Limerick until August 1829, when it
proceeded to Birr, and continued during the rest of the year at
that station.
Lieut.-General Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe, Bart., was appointed Colonel
of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment on the 21st of December 1829, in
succession to General Sir George Don, G.C.B. and G.C.H., removed to
the Third foot, or the Buffs.
[Sidenote: 1830.]
In June 1830, the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment proceeded from Birr
to Fermoy, and was formed into six _service_ and four _depôt_
companies. The service companies embarked at Cork on the 11th,
13th, and 14th of October for the West Indies. The depôt companies
remained at Fermoy for a short time, and were afterwards stationed
at Spike Island.
The service companies disembarked at Barbadoes on the 20th, 21st,
and 28th of November.
[Sidenote: 1831.]
The service companies suffered severely during the great hurricane
in Barbadoes in 1831, having eleven men killed, and several
severely injured.
The depôt companies were removed from Spike Island to Charles Fort,
Kinsale, in October 1831, and continued there during 1832.
[Sidenote: 1833.]
The service companies which had, since their arrival in the
West Indies, remained at Barbadoes, were removed to Antigua in
February 1833. The depôt companies proceeded from Charles Fort to
Ballincollig in January 1833; to Cork in February; to Templemore in
August, and to Nenagh in October following.
[Sidenote: 1834.]
During the year 1834, the service companies remained at Antigua.
The depôt companies were removed in October from Nenagh to
Limerick.
[Sidenote: 1835.]
In November 1835 the service companies proceeded from Antigua to
St. Lucia. The depôt companies quitted Limerick for Galway in May
1835, and marched for Cork in June following, where they embarked
for Plymouth on the 14th of September; during the remainder of the
year they were stationed at Devonport.
[Sidenote: 1836.]
During the year 1836, the service companies remained at St. Lucia,
and the depôt at Devonport.
[Sidenote: 1837.]
In February 1837 the service companies proceeded from St. Lucia to
Barbadoes.
[Sidenote: 1838.]
The depôt companies were removed from Devonport to Kinsale in June
1838.
On the 10th of November 1838, the service companies embarked at
Barbadoes for Nova Scotia, and arrived at Halifax on the 8th of
December.
The following extract of a letter to the Adjutant-General from
Lieut.-General Sir Samford Whittingham, K.C.B., Commanding in
the Windward and Leeward Islands, is highly creditable to the
THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, and is, therefore, here inserted.
_“Head-Quarters, Barbadoes,_
_“14th November 1838._
“The THIRTY-SIXTH regiment was prepared to embark in four and
twenty hours after the arrival of the ‘Hercules,’ but the
embarkation was delayed, in consequence of the captain reporting
that he could not be ready to receive the troops on board till
the 10th.
“I feel much pleasure in stating that the embarkation, the whole
of which I witnessed, was conducted in the most orderly and
soldier-like manner, and I did not perceive a single case of
drunkenness.
“I have the honour to enclose copy of the farewell Order I issued
on the departure of this old and distinguished corps, as also an
embarkation return of it, and a disembarkation return of the
Fifty-second regiment.”
“_Head-Quarters, Barbadoes,
“9th November 1838._
“GENERAL ORDER.
“The THIRTY-SIXTH regiment being about to embark for Halifax,
in obedience to the orders of the General Commanding-in-Chief,
Sir Samford Whittingham takes this opportunity of congratulating
Lieutenant-Colonel Maxwell, and the officers and non-commissioned
officers of that veteran regiment, on the high state of
efficiency in which it will proceed to America, after a period of
eight years’ service in the West Indies.
“The Lieutenant-General had great pleasure in witnessing, at his
late inspection, the healthy appearance of the men, and their
steadiness under arms.
“It is now upwards of thirty years since the Lieutenant-General
had first the honour of serving with the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment,
then commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Burne; and he has great
pleasure in being able to state, that every succeeding campaign
has crowned with fresh laurels this truly gallant corps.
“The Lieutenant-General begs Lieutenant-Colonel Maxwell will
accept, and communicate to the officers, non-commissioned
officers, and men of the regiment he so ably commands, the
expression of his best wishes for their health and happiness; and
his conviction that the oftener they are tried in the field of
battle, the greater will be their accession of glory and honour.
“By Command,
(Signed) “E. R. KING, _Capt._,
“D. A. A. G.”
[Sidenote: 1839.]
In January 1839, the service companies proceeded to New Brunswick,
and were stationed during the rest of the year at Fredericton.
The depôt companies were removed from Kinsale to Tralee in April
1839; in November they proceeded to Limerick, and in December to
Nenagh.
[Sidenote: 1840.]
During the year 1840 the service companies were stationed at
Fredericton in New Brunswick.
In May 1840, the depôt companies proceeded from Nenagh to Clare
Castle.
[Sidenote: 1841.]
The service companies were removed on the 7th of July 1841, from
Fredericton to St. John’s, New Brunswick. The depôt companies
continued at Clare Castle.
[Sidenote: 1842.]
On the 29th of April 1842, the service companies embarked at St.
John’s for Ireland, and arrived at Cork on the 28th of May, where
they were consolidated with the depôt companies.
In August the regiment proceeded from Cork to Limerick.
[Sidenote: 1843.]
The regiment was removed, in July 1843, from Limerick to Dublin.
[Sidenote: 1844.]
In July 1844, the regiment proceeded from Dublin to Newry.
[Sidenote: 1845.]
The regiment embarked at Newry for Great Britain on the 24th of
April 1845; arrived at Whitehaven on the 28th of that month; and
proceeded to Newcastle-on-Tyne.
Colonel Archibald Montgomery Maxwell, K.H., died at
Newcastle-on-Tyne on the 21st of May 1845, and Major Charles
Ashmore was promoted Lieut.-Colonel of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment
from the 22d of May. Captain Edward R. King was promoted to the
vacant majority.
[Sidenote: 1846.]
In 1846 the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment was augmented to sixty-seven
serjeants, twenty-five drummers, and twelve hundred rank and
file. It was also ordered to be formed into two battalions
of six companies each. In May the regiment proceeded from
Newcastle-on-Tyne to Manchester, and in August it was removed to
Weedon, where on the 28th of November the regiment was divided
into two battalions. While quartered at Weedon the regiment
received new colours, which were presented by Lieut.-General Sir
Thomas Arbuthnot, K.C.B., commanding the northern and midland
districts of South Britain.
[Sidenote: 1847.]
The first battalion of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, under the command
of Lieut.-Colonel Charles Ashmore, embarked at Gosport in Her
Majesty’s troop ship “Resistance” for the Ionian Islands, on the
6th of January 1847; the reserve battalion, under the command of
Lieut.-Colonel Charles Trollope, who had been promoted to that rank
on the augmentation of the regiment, also embarked at Gosport for
the Mediterranean, on the 2d of that month, in the “Vengeance” ship
of war.
The head-quarters and three companies of the first battalion
disembarked at Argostoli, in the island of Cephalonia, on the 8th
of February. Two companies were detached to the island of Zante,
and one to Ithaca.
The reserve battalion disembarked at Corfu on the 31st of January.
The depôt of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment formed part of the depôt
battalion at the Isle of Wight, on the embarkation of the two
battalions for foreign service.
[Sidenote: 1848.]
The detachment of the first battalion at Zante proceeded from
thence on the 6th of May 1848, leaving one field officer, one
captain, two subalterns, four serjeants, and ninety-six rank and
file with the head-quarters at Cephalonia, the remainder proceeding
to Corfu. The detachment at Cerigo was moved from thence to Corfu
on the 13th of May 1848. The head-quarters and five companies of
the first battalion proceeded from Cephalonia to Corfu on the 3d of
August.
One company of the reserve battalion was detached at Vido from the
24th of March to the 19th of July 1848, and one company at Ithaca
from the 15th of July to the 5th of October 1848. The reserve
battalion proceeded from Corfu to Cephalonia on the 2d of August
1848. On the 26th of September an attack was made on the town of
Argostoli by several hundred armed Villani, which was repelled by
Serjeant Luke Dunn and twelve men of the battalion, the resident’s
guard on that morning, with the loss of two killed and two wounded.
Privates Daniel McNamara and William Elsom killed; privates Thomas
Fox and James Lidwell wounded; several others received shots
through their caps, clothing, &c.
On the same day a detachment of fifty men, under Major Lorenzo
Rothe, Captain James Nugent, and Lieutenant Rickard Lloyd,
succeeded in saving the public records at Lixuri, as they were on
the point of being destroyed by a party of insurgents, who fired
on, and slightly wounded, two soldiers; the detachment returned the
fire, wounded some of the insurgents, and drove them from the town.
The reserve battalion was engaged for ten or twelve days and nights
in guarding the towns of Argostoli and Lixuri, during which period
the sentries and guards were repeatedly fired upon and otherwise
annoyed by the insurgents. A party under Ensign Bernard Robert Shaw
succeeded in capturing Cappoletto, one of the principal rebels, for
whose arrest a reward of fifteen hundred dollars had been offered.
Detachments of fifty men, each under Captain Alexander McGeachy
Alleyne and Ensign George Massy Robins, and Lieutenant Cecil Rivers
and Ensign John Edmund Harvey, were sent to the southern part of
the island to scour the district of Scala.
[Sidenote: 1849.]
Two companies of the first battalion, consisting of one captain,
four subalterns, six serjeants, two drummers, and one hundred and
fifty rank and file, under the command of Major Edward R. King,
proceeded to Cephalonia on the 30th of August 1849, for the purpose
of suppressing an insurrection in that island, and returned to
Corfu on the 17th of November following.
Two companies of the reserve battalion, under Captain Charles
Wilson Carden, were, in February, employed in aid of the civil
power at St. Gerasimo for the purpose of enforcing payment of the
fines inflicted on the villages concerned in the insurrection of
the 26th of September of the previous year; this party returned
to head-quarters on the 26th of February. A company under Captain
James Nugent likewise proceeded to St. Gerasimo in May 1849 in
aid of the civil power, and to assist in pursuit of banditti; it
rejoined the head-quarters in August. A company under Captain John
Pratt proceeded in May to Scala in aid of the civil power, and to
assist in enforcing the embargo, and rejoined the head-quarters on
the 22d of June.
A company of the reserve battalion under Captain Henry J. Coote
was detached to Sissi on the 29th of August in aid of the civil
power, and was subsequently employed in very arduous services
under the proclamation of martial law, which lasted from the
31st of August, to the 27th of October 1849, and in suppressing
the outbreak in Cephalonia. Privates Taylor and Green of this
company were wounded in a skirmish with the insurgents. A company
under Lieutenant Rickard Lloyd proceeded in September to Sissi to
reinforce the detachment under Captain Coote, and after serving in
conjunction therewith, returned to head-quarters with it on the
15th of October. One company under Captain Nugent proceeded to
Faraclata on the 16th of September, and assisted in the pursuit of
the outlawed rebels; a portion of this detachment, under Ensign
Alfred Macdonald, was employed as a flying column, and scoured
the country in chase of the three outlawed rebel chiefs for
twenty-three days, during the whole of which time it was subjected
to the most fatiguing marches and labour. The reserve battalion
during the period of martial law from the 31st of August to the
27th of October 1849, which was administered by Lieut.-Colonel
Trollope, was frequently employed in pursuit of rebels (parties,
varying from forty to a hundred, being despatched into the country
for this purpose) in disarming turbulent and refractory villages,
and in guarding the town of Argostoli, the men having very seldom
more than one night in bed.
[Sidenote: 1850.]
In April 1850 it was directed that the regiment should be reduced
to a thousand rank and file; the reserve battalion at Cephalonia
was in consequence broken up, and consolidated with the first
battalion at Corfu, where the regiment was stationed during this
year.
[Sidenote: 1851.]
In March 1851, four companies embarked at Cephalonia for England
for the purpose of forming the depôt, which was afterwards
stationed at the Isle of Wight, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel
Trollope.
The service companies, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Ashmore,
embarked at Corfu for the West Indies on the 21st of March 1851 in
the freight ship “Java,” and arrived at Barbadoes on the 16th of
May following, where they were stationed during the remainder of
the year.
Major-General the Lord Frederick FitzClarence, G.C.H., was
appointed Colonel of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment on the 23d of July
1851, in succession to General Sir Roger Hale Sheaffe, Bart.,
deceased.
[Sidenote: 1852.]
In May 1852 the service companies were removed from Barbadoes to
Trinidad.
The depôt companies proceeded in April 1852 from Parkhurst to Fort
Pembroke Dock.
On the 31st of December 1852, the date to which this record has
been brought, the service companies continued to be stationed at
Trinidad, and the depôt companies at Fort Pembroke Dock.
1852.
NOTE.--_The Compiler of the Regimental Records feels it his duty to
acknowledge the assistance which he has received in the completion
of the History of the_ THIRTY-SIXTH, _and certain other Regiments,
from Mr. Thomas Carter, of the Adjutant-General’s Office, who,
by much labour and research, has endeavoured to supply the
deficiencies in the manuscript narratives transmitted by Regiments,
particularly in the details of their earlier services_.
[Illustration: THIRTY SIXTH REGIMENT.
For Cannon’s Military Records.]
FOOTNOTES:
[6] This account is different from the version given by some
historians; but there can be no doubt as to its accuracy, for it
is founded on the Report of the Council of General Officers that
was subsequently assembled to investigate the complaint preferred
by Lord Charlemont, upon his being afterwards removed by the Earl
of Peterborough. This document is inserted in the memoir of Lord
Charlemont, at page 109.
[7] While the war was being carried on between Great Britain
and Spain, Charles VI., Emperor of Germany, died on the 20th of
October 1740, and a contest arose in consequence of the succession
of the Archduchess Maria Theresa to his hereditary dominions
being disputed by the Electors of Bavaria and Saxony, and also by
the Kings of Prussia and Spain. The King of France, Louis XV.,
supported the Elector of Bavaria, while King George II. supported
the claims of the Archduchess Maria Theresa. On the 27th of June
1743, King George II. gained a victory over the French army at
_Dettingen_, and in the following year, Great Britain and France,
no longer acting as auxiliaries, became principals in the contest,
which is designated the “_War of the Austrian Succession_.”
[8] The “_Pragmatic Sanction_” was published by the Emperor of
Germany, Charles VI., on the 17th of April 1713, whereby in case
of his having no male issue, his daughters were to succeed to
his hereditary dominions, in preference to the sons of his late
brother, Joseph I.
[9] List of regiments at the battle of
Falkirk:--_Dragoons_,--Tenth, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth regiments.
_Infantry_,--First Royals (one battalion), Third, Fourth,
Eighth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Twenty-seventh, Thirty-fourth,
THIRTY-SIXTH, Thirty-seventh, Forty-eighth, and Battereau’s,
since disbanded. The Glasgow and Paisley Militia with the Argyle
Highlanders, were in reserve.
[10]
2nd Batt. Constituted.
3d Foot, the 61st regiment.
4th ” the 62d regiment.
8th ” the 63d regiment.
11th ” the 64th regiment.
12th ” the 65th regiment.
19th ” the 66th regiment.
20th ” the 67th regiment.
23d ” the 68th regiment.
24th ” the 69th regiment.
31st ” the 70th regiment.
32d ” the 71st regiment.
33d ” the 72d regiment.
34th ” the 73d regiment.
36th ” the 74th regiment.
37th ” the 75th regiment.
The 71st, 72d, 73d, 74th, and 75th regiments were disbanded after
the peace of Fontainebleau in 1763.
[11] In allusion to the above expression “_firmness_,” it has
been supposed that the word “FIRM” was adopted by the regiment;
this supposition, however, does not agree with the statement of
Lieut.-Colonel Burne (see pages 129, &c.), by which it would
appear, that the THIRTY-SIXTH had borne this distinction for many
years prior to the capture of Bangalore. In 1817, the regiment was
permitted to revive the word “FIRM,” under the authority contained
in the letter inserted at page 94, from Sir George Nayler, the
inspector of regimental colours.
[12] Narrative of the Campaign in India in 1792, by Major Dirom,
Deputy Adjutant-General of His Majesty’s forces in India.
[13] While the attack was being carried on in the redoubt on the
6th of February, one of the enemy’s corps advanced with drums
beating and colours flying, the commanding officer of which
supposed the British to be their own Europeans, whose uniform was
also red; upon discovering his mistake, he soon made off, and
Lieutenant John Campbell, of the THIRTY-SIXTH grenadiers, who had
come out of the redoubt wounded, on seeing the corps break, rushed
forward and seized the standards.--_Major Dirom’s Narrative of the
Campaign._
[14] In 1794, Tippoo received back his sons, and immediately
commenced secret negociations with the French, who were then at
war with Great Britain, in order to renew measures for “utterly
destroying the English in India.” This animosity ended only with
the death of the Sultan, which took place on the 4th of May 1799,
while defending Seringapatam against his former opponents. His body
was found amidst heaps of slain, and was interred in the mausoleum
which he had erected over the tomb of his father, Hyder Ali, a
portion of the victorious troops attending the ceremony.
[15] On the 16th of October 1835, His Majesty King William IV.
was graciously pleased to authorize the THIRTY-SIXTH to bear on
the regimental colour and appointments the word “HINDOOSTAN,” in
commemoration of its distinguished services in the several actions
in which it had been engaged in India from September 1790 to
September 1793.
[16] In June 1806, _Buenos Ayres_ had been captured by the British
under Brigadier-General William Carr Beresford, afterwards General
Viscount Beresford; the place was, however, recovered by the
Spaniards in August following, and the troops became prisoners; in
consequence of these events Lieut.-General Whitelocke proceeded in
command of an expedition for the purpose of re-capturing _Buenos
Ayres_, and the THIRTY-SIXTH became part of his force, as above
stated.
[17] Lieut.-General Sir Harry Burrard landed during the action, but
did not assume the command. Lieut-General Sir Hew Dalrymple landed
on the following day, and took command of the army. The force under
Lieut.-General Sir John Moore was also disembarked during the
negotiation which subsequently took place, making the British army
to amount to thirty-two thousand men.
[18] Vide General Orders of the 18th of January, and 1st
of February, 1809; also a list of regiments employed under
Lieut.-General Sir John Moore at Corunna, inserted in pages 124 &c.
of the _Appendix_.
[19] The origin of the word “FIRM” being borne by the THIRTY-SIXTH
has not been ascertained with certainty; but it has been supposed
that it was adopted in consequence of the expression _firmness_
used in the orders of General the Earl Cornwallis the day after
the capture of the important fortress of Bangalore, the details of
which are given at page 53; the documents alluded to by Sir George
Nayler in the above letter, and on which the regiment was permitted
to revive the word “FIRM,” are inserted in the Appendix, pages 129,
&c.; by these it will be perceived that the word “FIRM” must have
been adopted by the regiment several years before the capture of
_Bangalore_, which was effected in March 1791.
SUCCESSION OF COLONELS
OF
THE THIRTY-SIXTH,
OR THE
HEREFORDSHIRE REGIMENT OF FOOT.
WILLIAM VISCOUNT CHARLEMONT.
_Appointed 28th June 1701._
WILLIAM CAULFEILD, the second Viscount Charlemont, for his services
in the cause of King William III., was rewarded by a regiment of
infantry. His Majesty also made him Governor and Custos Rotulorum
of the counties of Tyrone and Armagh, and Governor of the fort
of Charlemont. Several regiments of infantry being ordered to be
disbanded in 1697, and his Lordship’s regiment being one of them,
His Majesty, in consideration of his faithful services, directed
the sum of eight shillings per day to be paid him as half-pay, and
on the 28th of June 1701, His Majesty again appointed him to the
command of a newly raised corps, which is now the THIRTY-SIXTH
regiment. On the 25th of August 1704, his Lordship was promoted to
the rank of Brigadier-General, and in the following year was called
upon to serve in Spain under Charles, Earl of Peterborough. Lord
Charlemont rendered important services at the siege of Barcelona;
and at the attack of Fort Montjuich on the 14th of September 1705,
his Lordship marched into the works, at the head of his men, and
was near the Prince of Hesse Darmstadt when he received the wound
which terminated mortally. After the action Lord Charlemont, and
Lieut.-Colonel Southwell of the Sixth foot, were presented to the
King of Spain as officers that had performed signal service on that
occasion, for which they received the thanks of that Sovereign.
The taking of this fort paved the way for reducing Barcelona,
which surrendered on the 9th of October 1705. His Lordship was
subsequently removed from the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, by the Earl
of Peterborough, and, in justice to his character and feelings,
preferred a complaint to Her Majesty Queen Anne against his former
Commander; this was referred to a Council of General Officers,
who, after several meetings, at which witnesses were heard on both
sides, made two satisfactory reports to Her Majesty, copies of
which are inserted at the end of this memoir. On the 1st of January
1707 Queen Anne advanced him to the rank of Major-General, and he
was honoured with the confidence of Her Majesty, as had been the
case with King William III., both as a Peer, and in his military
capacity. In May 1709, his Lordship was one of the committee
appointed to draw up an address of condolence to Her Majesty on the
decease of Her Royal Consort Prince George of Denmark, and also to
congratulate the Queen on the success of her arms.
In May 1726, his Lordship was sworn of the Privy Council to
King George I., and after having enjoyed the peerage upwards of
fifty-five years, and being reputed the oldest nobleman in the
Kingdom, he died on the 21st of July 1726, and was buried at Armagh.
The following are copies of the Reports of the General Officers
concerning the difference between the Earl of Peterborough and
Viscount Charlemont, alluded to in the foregoing Memoir.
“May it please your Majesty,
“We, the General Officers of the Army, in obedience to your
Majesty’s commands, have examined into the Memorial of the Lord
Viscount Charlemont, complaining of hardships received from the
Earl of Peterborough, in Spain, in relation to his regiment, from
which he alleged he had been removed upon a pretended order from
your Majesty; and having fully heard what their Lordships had
severally to offer therewith with witnesses, and other testimony,
as were produced on both sides, on due debate and consideration
of the whole, we are humbly of opinion,--
“That it appears to this Board, that a pretended Order from the
Queen was made use of, to induce the Lord Charlemont to part
with his regiment; and that there have been indirect means used
for the doing it.
“That it likewise appears to the Board, that the Earl of
Peterborough has not done anything irregular to compel the Lord
Charlemont to part with his regiment. All which is most humbly
submitted to your Majesty this 12th day of February 1707-8.
“(Signed) SCHOMBERG, President.
William Stewart.
Portmore.
Richard Ingoldsby.
Charles Ross.
William Seymour.
Argyle.
Shannon.
Francis Palmes.
Mohun.
Stairs.
Richard Temple.
Thomas Pulteney.
Barthol. Ogilvy.
Thom. Crowther.
Kellum.
Tatton.”
“May it please your Majesty,
“In obedience to your Majesty’s command, referring to the General
Officers of the Army a Petition of the Lord Viscount Charlemont,
praying his conduct at the Fort of _Montjuich_ may be examined
into, as to which he lay under some reflections; the General
Officers have met, and heard several witnesses produced on that
occasion; and do thereupon humbly report to your Majesty, that
they find as followeth:--
“That the Lord Charlemont was at the attack of the Fort of
_Montjuich_, and marched into the works at the head of his
men, and was near the Prince of Hesse when he was killed; and
continued doing his duty during the heat of the action.
“That toward the end of the said action, a panic fear took the
troops, to which the Lord Charlemont no way contributed; but the
contrary, his Lordship having endeavoured, both by himself and
other Officers, to put a stop to the disorder.
“That when the action was over, after the Lord Charlemont had
been first relieved by Brigadier Gorges, the Earl of Peterborough
took his Lordship and Colonel Southwell, and presented them
to the King of Spain, as Officers that had done His Majesty
signal service in that action; for which they both received His
Majesty’s thanks.
“That by the disposition of the attack of the breach of the
town of _Barcelona_, as the same is attested by the Earl of
Peterborough’s secretary, the Lord Charlemont was commanded, with
the First brigade, for that attack.
“The General Officers do also take leave to observe to your
Majesty, that it does not appear to them, that any General
Officer refused rolling with the Lord Charlemont; but that they
did their duty with him as before. Which is most humbly submitted
to your Majesty, this 24th of March 1707-8.
“(Signed) TYRAWLEY, President.
Richard Ingoldsby.
Thomas Farrington.
Robert Ecklin.
Stairs.
Richard Temple.
Sherrington Davenport.
Bartholomew Ogilvy.”
THOMAS ALNUTT.
_Appointed 10th May 1706._
Upon Viscount Charlemont’s raising the corps which is now numbered
the THIRTY-SIXTH, this officer was appointed to a company in the
regiment; and he embarked with it in the expedition against Cadiz
in 1702. Captain Alnutt subsequently proceeded with the regiment
to the West Indies; and in 1704 returned with it to Ireland. His
services are also connected with the expedition to Spain under the
Earl of Peterborough in 1705, the siege of Barcelona in the same
year, and its gallant and successful defence against King Philip in
1706. Lieut.-Colonel Alnutt, to which rank he had been advanced at
this period, was appointed Colonel of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment on
the 10th of May 1706, in succession to the Viscount Charlemont. At
the Battle of Almanza on the 25th of April 1707, Colonel Alnutt was
wounded and taken prisoner. His decease occurred on the 7th of May
1708.
ARCHIBALD, EARL OF ILAY, afterwards DUKE OF ARGYLE.
_Appointed 23d March 1709._
ARCHIBALD, third Duke of Argyle, was born at Ham, in Surrey, in
June 1682, and resided in England until he was about seventeen
years of age, when he was sent to the University of Glasgow. From
thence he went to Utrecht, and made considerable advancement in the
study of civil law, intending to practise in that profession. Upon
his father’s advancement to the Dukedom of Argyle on the 23d of
June 1701, his son Archibald embraced a military life, and served
under the Duke of Marlborough.
In 1705 he was constituted Lord High Treasurer of Scotland, and
in the Parliament of that year, in which his brother John, who
had succeeded his father as Duke of Argyle two years previously,
presided as Lord High Commissioner, he sat and voted as such upon
the Queen’s letter; he was nominated one of the Commissioners for
the Treaty of Union in 1706, and on the 19th of October of that
year was created by patent, dated at Kensington, Earl and Viscount
of Ilay, Lord Oransay, Dunoon, and Arrase. This nobleman was one
of the sixteen representatives of the Scottish peerage, chosen by
Parliament on the 13th of February 1707, and was re-chosen at every
general election until his decease, with the single exception of
the last Parliament of Queen Anne’s reign.
The Earl of Ilay, upon his brother’s resignation, was, on the 1st
of June 1708, sworn and admitted one of the extraordinary Lords of
Session, being, says Fountainhall, “the best school of law for the
nobility to learn that is in Europe.” On the 23d of March 1709 Her
Majesty Queen Anne appointed the Earl of Ilay to be Colonel of the
THIRTY-SIXTH regiment. The governorship of Dumbarton Castle was
also conferred upon his Lordship.
Finding that a statesman’s career was more congenial to his taste
than the military profession, he quitted the army and resigned the
colonelcy of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment in 1710. With his accustomed
assiduity his Lordship employed himself in the acquisition of
political knowledge. In 1710 he was appointed Lord Justice General
of Scotland, and was sworn a Privy Councillor in the following
year. Upon the accession of George I. the Earl of Ilay was
constituted Lord Clerk Register; and on the breaking out of the
rebellion in 1715 he again betook himself to arms in defence of the
reigning family. By his prudent conduct in the Western Highlands
he prevented General Gordon at the head of three thousand men,
from penetrating into the country and raising levies. He joined his
brother the Duke of Argyle on the 13th of November 1715, half an
hour before the battle of Sheriffmuir, where he was wounded.
In 1725 this nobleman received the office of Keeper of the Privy
Seal, and in December 1733 his Lordship was appointed Keeper of
the Great Seal. Upon the decease of his brother, in 1743, the Earl
of Ilay became third Duke of Argyle, and Hereditary Justiciary
of Argyleshire and the Western Islands. After the suppression of
the rebellion in 1746, he carried into effect the judicious plan
of employing the Highlanders in the Royal army, which had been
suggested by the Right Honourable William Pitt, afterwards the Earl
of Chatham.
The Duke of Argyle continued at the head of affairs in Scotland,
in full possession of his mental faculties, until his death,
which happened in London, without a moment’s pain, as he was
sitting in his chair at dinner, on the 15th of April 1761, in the
seventy-ninth year of his age. On this nobleman’s decease the title
of Earl of Ilay became extinct; his other titles and estates in
Scotland descended to his cousin, Lieut.-General John Campbell of
Mamore, Colonel of the Second dragoons, or Scots Greys.
HENRY DESAULNAIS.
_Appointed 23d October 1710._
Upon the resignation of Colonel the Earl of Ilay, Lieut.-Colonel
Henry Desaulnais (afterwards spelt Desney) was promoted from the
Coldstream guards to the Colonelcy of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment
on the 23d of October 1710. In the following year he served
with his regiment in the expedition against Quebec, and on the
25th of December 1725 this officer was appointed Colonel of the
Twenty-ninth regiment. He died on the 21st of November 1731.
WILLIAM EGERTON.
_Appointed 11th July 1715._
This officer served with reputation in the wars of King William
III. and of Queen Anne. He was promoted to the rank of Colonel in
November 1711, appointed Colonel of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment on
the 11th of July 1715, and on the 6th of July 1719 was removed to
the Twentieth regiment, which corps he commanded until his decease
on the 15th of July 1732.
SIR CHARLES HOTHAM, BART.
_Appointed 7th July 1719._
CHARLES HOTHAM, eldest son of the Reverend Charles Hotham, rector
of Wigan, succeeded to the baronetcy on the decease of his uncle in
1691. He served with distinction in the wars of King William III.,
and also under the great Duke of Marlborough in the reign of Queen
Anne. In 1705 he obtained the colonelcy of a regiment of infantry,
with which he proceeded to Spain in 1706, and was in garrison at
Alicant when the unfortunate battle of Almanza was fought. Sir
Charles Hotham served with reputation during the remainder of the
war; but his regiment, having suffered severely in the defence of
several fortified towns, was disbanded in Catalonia in 1708. He
was appointed Brigadier-General on the 1st of January 1710, and
shortly after the accession of King George I. he was commissioned
to raise a regiment of infantry, which, after the suppression of
the rebellion of the Earl of Mar in 1716, was sent to Ireland, and
disbanded in the following year. Sir Charles Hotham was afterwards
appointed Colonel of a newly raised regiment of dragoons, which was
disbanded in November 1718.
On the 7th of July 1719, the colonelcy of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment
was conferred on Sir Charles Hotham; he was removed to the Eighth
or King’s regiment of foot in December 1720, and in April following
to the Royal dragoons. His decease occurred on the 8th of January
1723.
JOHN POCOCK.
_Appointed 2d December 1720._
This officer obtained a commission in a regiment of infantry in
June 1695; and having signalized himself in the wars of Queen
Anne, he was promoted to the rank of Colonel in the army in 1707.
In 1710, he succeeded William Lord Strathnaver in the colonelcy
of a regiment of infantry, with which he served in Flanders under
the celebrated Duke of Marlborough, and afterwards under the Duke
of Ormond. At the peace of Utrecht his regiment was disbanded; and
in 1715 he was commissioned to raise a regiment of foot for the
service of King George I. After the suppression of the rebellion
of the Earl of Mar, this regiment was sent to Ireland, where it
was disbanded in 1718; and on the 2d of December 1720, he was
appointed to the colonelcy of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, from which
he was removed in April 1721 to the Eighth or King’s regiment.
On the expectation that Great Britain would become involved
in a continental war, in 1727, he was promoted to the rank of
Brigadier-General. He died in April 1732, at his house in Leicester
Fields, London.
CHARLES LENOE.
_Appointed 21st April 1721._
CHARLES LENOE entered the army in the reign of Queen Anne, his
first commission bearing date the 4th of December 1704; he served
under the Duke of Marlborough, and on the 21st of April 1721,
Lieut.-Colonel Lenoe was promoted from the Coldstream guards to be
Colonel of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, from which he was removed to
the Eighth or King’s regiment on the 8th of May 1732, the colonelcy
of which he retained until his decease in December 1738.
JOHN MOYLE.
_Appointed 14th May 1732._
This officer entered the army in the reign of Queen Anne,
and served with reputation under the celebrated John Duke of
Marlborough; he rose to the lieut.-colonelcy of a newly raised
regiment of infantry, and in 1708 was promoted to the rank
of Colonel in the army. At the peace of Utrecht in 1713, his
regiment was disbanded. Colonel Moyle was advanced to the rank of
Brigadier-General on the 13th of March 1727. On the 14th of May
1732, King George II. conferred the colonelcy of the THIRTY-SIXTH
regiment on Brigadier-General Moyle, who was promoted to the rank
of Major-General on the 5th of November 1735. In June 1737, he was
removed to the Twenty-second regiment. Major-General Moyle died on
the 3d of November 1738.
HUMPHREY BLAND.
_Appointed 27th June 1737._
HUMPHREY BLAND served in several campaigns on the continent under
the famous John Duke of Marlborough, as a Lieutenant and Captain
of horse. He afterwards served as Lieut.-Colonel in Spain, and
on the 27th of July 1710 was wounded at the battle of Almanara.
In 1715, when a number of new corps were raised, King George I.
appointed him Lieut.-Colonel of the Eleventh dragoons, and he
was instrumental with his regiment in suppressing the rebellion
which broke out in Scotland towards the end of that year; he was
afterwards appointed Lieut.-Colonel of the Second horse, now First
Dragoon guards, and having distinguished himself as an efficient
and loyal officer, he was on the 27th of June 1737, promoted to the
colonelcy of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, from which he was removed,
in 1741, to the Thirteenth dragoons, and two years afterwards to
the Third or King’s Own dragoons. He had his horse shot under him
at the battle of Dettingen on the 27th of June 1743; on the 30th
of March 1745, he was promoted to the rank of Major-General; he
displayed great gallantry at the battle of Fontenoy on the 11th of
May following, and highly distinguished himself in the battle of
Culloden on the 16th of April 1746; he was advanced to the rank
of Lieut.-General on the 12th of September 1747. In July 1752 he
was removed to the First Dragoon guards, the colonelcy of which
regiment he retained until his decease in 1763.
JAMES FLEMING.
_Appointed 9th January 1741._
LIEUT.-COLONEL JAMES FLEMING was promoted from the Seventh Royal
fusiliers to the colonelcy of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment on the 9th
of January 1741. He was advanced to the rank of Brigadier-General
in June 1745, and was present in the action at Falkirk on the 17th
of January 1746, and also at the battle of Culloden on the 16th of
April following. He was promoted to the rank of Major-General on
the 2d of September 1747. He died in March 1751.
LORD ROBERT MANNERS.
_Appointed 13th March 1751._
LORD ROBERT MANNERS, son of John, second Duke of Rutland, choosing
a military life, purchased an ensigncy in the Coldstream guards,
on the 26th of July 1735; was appointed Lieutenant in May 1740,
and Captain and Lieut.-Colonel in the First Foot guards on the
22nd of April 1742. In December 1747, he was promoted to the rank
of Colonel and appointed Aide-de-camp to King George II.; on the
13th of March 1751 his Lordship was appointed by His Majesty to the
colonelcy of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment. The rank of Major-General
was conferred upon Lord Robert Manners on the 7th of February 1757,
and his Lordship was advanced to the rank of Lieutenant-General on
the 7th of April 1759; in 1765 he was removed to the Third Dragoon
guards, and was promoted to the rank of General on the 25th of May
1772. His decease occurred on the 31st of May 1782.
SIR RICHARD PIERSON, K.B.
_Appointed 11th September 1765._
RICHARD PIERSON was for many years an officer in the First Foot
guards, in which regiment he was appointed Major, with the rank
of Colonel in the army, on the 21st of July 1760. On the 10th of
July 1762, he was promoted to the rank of Major-General, and on the
5th of September 1764 he was appointed Colonel of the Sixty-third
regiment, from which he was removed on the 11th of September 1765
to the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment. In 1772 he was promoted to the rank
of Lieut.-General, and was also honoured with the dignity of a
Knight of the Bath; and on the 27th of November 1778, Sir Richard
Pierson was removed to the Thirteenth dragoons. He was taken
suddenly ill on his return from the theatre on the night of the
12th of February 1781, and died before the following morning.
THE HONOURABLE HENRY ST. JOHN.
_Appointed 27th November 1778._
THE HONOURABLE HENRY ST. JOHN, brother of Viscount Bolingbroke,
entered the army as Ensign in the Coldstream regiment of Foot
guards, his commission being dated 31st of December 1754, from
which he was promoted on the 12th of January 1758 to the rank of
Captain in the Eighteenth, Royal Irish regiment, then stationed
in Ireland. Captain the Honourable Henry St. John was advanced
to the rank of Major in the Ninety-first regiment on the 12th of
January 1760, in which he was promoted Lieut.-Colonel on the 13th
of February 1762, and on the corps being disbanded at the Peace
of 1763 he was placed on half pay. On the 9th of November 1767,
Lieut.-Colonel the Honourable Henry St. John was appointed to the
Sixty-seventh regiment then in garrison at Minorca. He received
the brevet rank of Colonel on the 11th of January 1776, and was
appointed by His Majesty King George III. to be Colonel of the
THIRTY-SIXTH regiment on the 27th of November 1778.
Colonel the Honourable Henry St. John was advanced to the rank
of Major-General on the 19th of February 1779, to that of
Lieut.-General on the 28th of September 1787, and to that of
General on the 16th of January 1797. His decease occurred in April
1818, at which period he retained the colonelcy of the THIRTY-SIXTH
regiment, which he had held for upwards of thirty-nine years.
SIR GEORGE DON, G.C.B. AND G.C.H.
_Appointed 4th April 1818._
This officer entered the army in 1770, as Ensign in the Fifty-first
foot; in 1784 he was promoted Major of the Fifty-ninth regiment,
and in April 1789 was appointed Lieut.-Colonel of the same corps.
He was advanced to the rank of Colonel in 1795, and was appointed
Aide-de-camp to His Majesty King George III. in 1797.
In 1798 Colonel Don was promoted to the rank of Major-General; in
the succeeding year he was appointed Colonel of the Seventh West
India regiment (afterwards disbanded), and was removed to the
Ninety-sixth regiment in 1805. He was also promoted to the rank
of Lieut.-General, and proceeded with the expedition to Hanover
in the same year. In 1814 he was promoted to the rank of General,
and appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Gibraltar. On the 24th of
January 1819, the Ninety-fifth (formerly Ninety-sixth) regiment was
disbanded, previously to which he was, on the 4th of April 1818,
removed therefrom to the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment. General Don was
nominated a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on the
20th of May 1820, and on the 21st of December 1829 was appointed
Colonel of the Third foot or the Buffs. He was appointed Governor
of Scarborough Castle in 1831, and died at Gibraltar on the 1st of
January 1832.
SIR ROGER HALE SHEAFFE, BART.
_Appointed 21st December 1829._
This officer commenced his military career as ensign in the Fifth
fusiliers, his commission being dated 1st of May 1778, in which
regiment he rose to the rank of lieutenant on the 27th of December
1780. Lieutenant Sheaffe served in Ireland from January 1781 to
May 1787, and in Canada from July following to September 1797.
In 1794 he was employed under the orders of Lord Dorchester, and
with instructions from Lieut.-Governor Simcoe, on a public mission
to protest against certain settlements made by the Americans on
the south shore of Lake Ontario. On the 5th of May 1795, he was
promoted to the rank of Captain in the Fifth fusiliers, and on
the 13th of December 1797 was promoted Major in the Eighty-first
regiment, and was advanced to the rank of Lieut.-Colonel of the
Forty-ninth regiment on the 22d of March 1798.
Lieut.-Colonel Sheaffe served in Holland from August to November
1799; in the Baltic from March to July 1801; and in Canada from
September 1802 to October 1811. On the 25th of April 1808, he
received the brevet rank of Colonel, and on the 4th of June 1811
was advanced to the rank of Major-General. He again served in
Canada from the 29th of July 1812 to November 1813. The Americans
having invaded Upper Canada at Queenstown on the 13th of October
1812, and General Brock, commanding in the province, having fallen
in a gallant effort with an independent force to oppose them,
Major-General Sheaffe, on whom the command devolved, assembled
some regular troops and militia, with a few Indians, and the same
day attacked them in a woody height, which they occupied above the
town, and completely defeated them, though far exceeding his own
followers in number, their Commander delivering his sword, and
surrendering his surviving troops on the field of battle.
In acknowledgment of this important service, Major-General Sheaffe
was created a Baronet by patent, dated 16th January 1813. Sir Roger
Sheaffe defended the town of York (now called Toronto), in Upper
Canada, on the 27th of April 1813, when it was attacked by the
Americans, whose loss exceeded the number of those opposed to them.
He continued to command in the Upper Province, and to administer
its government, until June 1813; on quitting it he received,
from the resident members of the Executive Council, an address
expressing their sense of “that display of candour, justice,
and impartiality which had marked his administration, and the
urbanity and confidence of his official intercourse.” They further
acknowledged their conviction that they owed the salvation of the
whole province to his military talents on the memorable day when he
succeeded to the command. He was appointed to the Staff of Great
Britain on the 25th of March 1814; but the appointment was recalled
and deferred, in consequence of the change of affairs in Europe.
Major-General Sir Roger Sheaffe was promoted to the rank of
Lieut.-General on the 19th of July 1821, and on the 21st of
December 1829 was appointed by His Majesty King George IV. to
be Colonel of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment. He was advanced to the
rank of General on the 28th of June 1838. General Sir Roger Hale
Sheaffe, Bart., died at Edinburgh, aged eighty-eight years, on the
17th of July 1851.
LORD FREDERICK FITZCLARENCE, G.C.H.
_Appointed 23d July 1851._
APPENDIX.
_Copy of the General Orders issued by the Commander-in-Chief of
Madras upon the_ THIRTY-SIXTH _regiment being ordered to return
to Great Britain_.
“GENERAL ORDERS.
_“Head-Quarters,
“Choultry Plain, 24th September 1798._
“In taking leave of Lieut.-Colonel Burne, the officers, and men
of His Majesty’s THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, the Commander-in-Chief
cannot refrain from expressing his sincere regret at losing
from under his command a corps so eminently distinguished for
important services in the field, and for discipline, order, and
regularity, in every situation. Of a regiment whose merits are
so well known, it is unnecessary to say much: their gallant
exertions will receive their best reward in the applause and
gratitude of their country.
“The Commander-in-Chief cannot more strongly evince his high
opinion of this corps than by exhorting the men, wherever their
King and Country may hereafter require their services, to make it
their first care to preserve unblemished the name and reputation
they have acquired in the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment.
(Signed) “KEITH YOUNG,
“_Acting Deputy Adjutant General_.”
_Copy of an Order issued by the Governor in Council upon the_
THIRTY-SIXTH _regiment quitting Madras for Great Britain_.
“_Madras, 14th October 1798._
“The remainder of His Majesty’s THIRTY-SIXTH regiment is to
embark from the North Glacis at six o’clock to-morrow morning
for Europe, in the ships under despatch, according to the
distribution they have received from the Deputy Adjutant General.
“The occasion cannot fail to recall the memory of those glorious
and important services which have been rendered by this gallant
corps to the British Empire in India; services for which the
Right Honorable the President in Council offers the warmest
thanks of this Government to Lieut.-Colonel Burne, the officers,
and men of the regiment.
“The Governor in Council, impressed with a just sense of the
discipline and hardiness of the men, of the experience and
gallantry of the officers, cannot but feel sincere regret at the
loss which the army under this Government is about to sustain in
the departure of this efficient corps.”
_Copy of a Letter from Lieut.-General the Honorable Sir Arthur
Wellesley, K.B. to Viscount Castlereagh, Secretary of State._
Contained in Vol. iv., page 100, “of the Despatches of
Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington.” Compiled by Colonel
Gurwood.
“_Vimiera, 22d August 1808._
“MY DEAR LORD,
“After I wrote to you yesterday morning we were attacked by the
whole of the French army, Sir Harry Burrard being still on board
ship, and I gained a complete victory. It was impossible for
troops to behave better than our’s did: we only wanted a few
hundred more cavalry to annihilate the French army.
“I have sent my Report upon this action to Sir Harry Burrard,
who will send it home. You will see in it that I have mentioned
Colonel Burne of the 36th regiment in a very particular manner,
and I assure you that there is nothing that will give me so much
satisfaction as to learn that something has been done for this
old and meritorious soldier.
“_The_ THIRTY-SIXTH _regiment is an example to the army._
“Sir Harry did not land till late in the day in the midst of
the attack, and he desired me to continue my own operations;
and, as far as I am personally concerned in the action, I was
amply rewarded for any disappointment I might have felt in not
having had an opportunity of bringing the service to a close, by
the satisfaction expressed by the army that the second and more
important victory had been gained by their old General.
“I have also the pleasure to add, that it has more effect than
all the argument I could use to induce the General to move on,
and I believe he will march to-morrow. Indeed, if he does not, we
shall be poisoned here by the stench of the dead and wounded, or
we shall starve, everything in the neighbourhood being already
eaten up.
“From the number of dead Frenchmen about the ground, and the
number of prisoners and wounded, I should think their loss could
not be far short of 3,000 men. The force which attacked us was
very respectable, and probably not short of 14,000 men, including
1,300 dragoons and artillery, and 300 chasseurs à cheval.
“Sir Hew Dalrymple arrived last night, and will land this morning.
“Believe me, &c.
(Signed) “ARTHUR WELLESLEY.”
“The Viscount Castlereagh,
&c. &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 (Lieut.-General Sir John Moore), and the
severe wound which has removed Lieut.-General Sir David Baird
from his station, render it the duty of Lieut.-General Hope to
congratulate the army upon the successful result of the action of
the 16th instant.
“On no occasion has the undaunted valour of British troops ever
been more manifest. At the termination of a severe and harassing
march, rendered necessary by the superiority which the enemy had
acquired, and which had materially impaired the efficiency of the
troops, many disadvantages 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 Lieut.-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
Lieut.-General Lord William Bentinck, and the brigade under his
command, consisting of the fourth, forty-second, and fiftieth
regiments, and which sustained the weight of the attack.
“Major-General Manningham, with his brigade, consisting of
the Royals, the twenty-sixth and eighty-first 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 first battalion of the
fifty-second and ninety-fifth regiments, which were thereby
engaged, the greatest praise is justly due.
“That part of Major-General Leith’s brigade which was engaged,
consisting of the fifty-ninth regiment, under the conduct of the
Major-General, also claims marked 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 Lieut.-General to notice the
vigorous attack made by the second battalion of the fourteenth
regiment under Lieut.-Colonel Nicolls, which drove the enemy out
of the village, of the left of which he had possessed himself.
“The exertions of Lieut.-Colonel Murray, Quartermaster-General,
and of the other 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 Lieut.-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 Lieut-General knows that it is impossible, in any language
he can use, to enhance the esteem, or diminish the regret, that
the army feels with him for its late Commander. His career has
been unfortunately too limited for his country, but has been
sufficient for his own fame. Beloved by the army, honored by his
Sovereign, and respected by his country, he has terminated a life
devoted to her service by a glorious death,--leaving his name
as a memorial, an example, and an incitement to those who shall
follow him in the path of honor, and it is from his country alone
that his memory can receive the tribute which is its due.
(Signed) “JOHN HOPE, Lieut.-General.”
“GENERAL 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 Lieut.-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 Abercromby,
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 honorable 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
consideration, he esteemed that to which his country called
him _the post of honor_, and by his undaunted spirit and
unconquerable perseverance he pointed the way to victory.
“His country, the object of his latest solicitude, will rear a
monument to his lamented memory, and the 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 Lieut.-General Sir
John Moore at Corunna on the 16th of January 1809:--
_Corps._ _Commanding Officers._
7th Light Dragoons Lieut.-Colonel Vivian.
10th ” ” Leigh.
15th ” ” Grant.
18th ” ” Jones.
3d ” (King’s Germ. Leg.) Major Burgwesel.
Artillery Colonel Harding.
Engineers Major Fletcher.
Waggon Train Detachment Lieut.-Colonel Langley.
1st Foot Guards, 1st Battalion ” Cocks.
” 3d ” ” Wheatley.
1st Foot 3d ” Major Muller.
2d ” 1st ” Lieut.-Colonel Iremonger.
4th ” 1st ” ” Wynch.
5th ” 1st ” ” Mackenzie.
6th ” 1st ” Major Gordon.
9th ” 1st ” Lieut.-Colonel Cameron.
14th ” 2d ” ” Nicolls.
20th ” ” Ross.
23d ” 2d ” ” Wyatt.
26th ” 1st ” ” Maxwell.
28th ” 1st ” ” Belson.
32d ” 1st ” ” Hinde.
36th Foot 1st ” ” Burne.
38th ” 1st ” ” Hon. Charles Grenville
42d ” 1st ” ” Stirling.
43d ” 1st ” ” Gifford.
43d ” 2d ” ” Hull.
50th ” 1st ” Major Charles Napier.
51st ” Lieut.-Colonel Darling.
52d ” 1st ” ” Barclay.
52d ” 2d ” ” John Ross.
59th ” 2d ” ” Fane.
60th ” 2d ” ” Codd.
60th ” 5th ” Major Davy.
71st ” 1st ” Lieut.-Colonel Pack.
76th ” 1st ” ” Symes.
79th ” 1st ” ” Cameron.
81st ” 2d ” Major Williams.
82d ” ” M‘Donald.
91st ” 1st ” ” Douglas.
92d ” 1st ” Lieut.-Colonel Alexander Napier.
95th (Rifle Reg.) 1st ” ” Beckwith.
” 2d ” ” Wade.
Staff Corps Detachment ” Nicolay.
1st Light Batt. King’s German ” Leonhart.
Legion.
2d ” ” ” Halkett.
_Documents relating to the word_ “FIRM,” _borne by the_
THIRTY-SIXTH _regiment, alluded to in Sir George Nayler’s letter,
dated 6th of January 1817, inserted at page 94_.
“_Monte Video, 30th July 1807._
“SIR,
“I do myself the honour of acknowledging the receipt of your
letter dated the 9th of May last, and now transmit a sketch of
the regimental colours of the first battalion of the THIRTY-SIXTH
regiment, as represented in the accompanying paper, marked D
and E.; at present there are no camp colours with the 36th,
they having been destroyed by fire when the regimental store
was burned at Battle barracks, a few days before the regiment
embarked for foreign service.
“I likewise do myself the honour of sending a sketch from the
regimental seal, and beg to be informed by you if we have
not a right to the word ‘Firm’ embroidered on the colours as
represented in that sketch. How long the seal has been in the
regiment I cannot pretend to say, only it is the same seal that
has been made use of since I came into the THIRTY-SIXTH, which
will be _thirty-four years_ the month after next. Should there be
any office where the devices of different regiments are recorded,
I should imagine it would be a matter easily ascertained.
“I have, &c.
(Signed) “ROBERT BURNE,
_“Lieut.-Colonel, Commanding 1st Battalion,_
_“36th Regiment.”_
_George Nayler, Esq., York Herald,_
_&c._ _&c._ _&c._
“_Treasury Chambers_,
“_24th April 1809_.
“DEAR SIR,
“I am desired by my brother of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment to
make application to you for a drawing (furnished you some time
past by Colonel Burne) of a regimental seal, for the purpose of
registering the bearings on the colours, and having the word
‘FIRM’ inserted.
“The drawing is now wanted by the regiment, and I have to beg
that you will send me the same to give to my brother, who will be
in town in the course of the present week.
“I am, &c.
(Signed) “JOSEPH VERNON.”
“Mr. Vernon presents his compliments to Mr. Nayler, and requests
to be informed if the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment of foot is not
entitled to have the word ‘FIRM’ emblazoned in the regimental
colours, that word appearing on the regimental seal, a drawing
of which Colonel Burne furnished the Heralds’ Office, and which,
to his knowledge, had been in the regiment thirty-six years, and
most probably many years previous thereto. The return of the
regiment, about the year 1772, from the West Indies, with their
colours in a very shattered state, and the almost entire change
of officers, most probably occasioned the omission, and which
from that time has been continued. Colonel Burne is very anxious
to ascertain the point of being at liberty to have it inscribed
in the colours, fully confident that, unless the regiment had
previously obtained it, and by authority held it, it never could
have been engraved upon their seal.”
“_Treasury Chambers,
3rd July 1809._”
“Captain Vernon presents his compliments to Mr. Nayler, and
will be much obliged by his enclosing him the certificate for
Colonel Burne’s signature, in order that he may forward it to the
regiment before he leaves town. Captain Vernon begs to return Mr.
Nayler his best thanks for the very early attention he gave to
the object of the Colonel’s wishes in the insertion of the motto
which Captain V. had the pleasure of seeing on calling at Mr.
Nayler’s office on Wednesday last.”
“_52, Charlotte Street, Portland Place,
17th March 1810._”
“_52, Charlotte Street, Portland Place_,
“_21st March 1810_.
“DEAR SIR,
“I was favoured with your note and the enclosure last night,
but in one part, as it does not exactly meet the facts, I have
taken the liberty of enclosing you a certificate, which, from the
conversation I have had with the Colonel, I think will. It is not
in the power of the Colonel to certify that they positively have
borne the word ‘FIRM’ on the colours; but he has every reason
to believe so, as the bearings of the colours are usually on
the regimental seals of regiments. The Colonel has been in the
regiment thirty-seven years, and the oldest officer by very many
years now remaining in it. During his time the regiment must
have had three pairs of regimental colours;--the pair when the
regiment returned from the West Indies, I presume, now entirely
worn out and destroyed; the pair on the regiment’s return from
the East Indies was, from the same cause, burned at Winchester;
and the present pair of colours consists of as many rags as
might form the size of a silk handkerchief, but not a piece that
is whole six inches square. These rags are tied together round
the staff. Therefore, concluding that the former colours were
before disposed of, at least in as bad a state as those, it would
become impossible to say what bearings or mottoes might have
been upon the pair when Colonel Burne joined, which was on their
return from the West Indies, to which is to be added the great
mortality and change among officers who served at that time in
those climates. I should have had the pleasure of waiting upon
you this day upon the subject, but as I leave town to-morrow I am
compelled to confine my business to writing. May I, therefore,
beg the additional favour (should the certificate meet your
approbation, or any other form that may accord with the fact
stated) that you will enclose it to my brother, who will forward
it to me? I feel extremely anxious to get the business completed
as soon as possible, the regiment being again down for service,
&c., which I trust, in your goodness, will plead as my apology
for intruding so much upon your time.
“I am, &c.
(Signed) “HENRY VERNON.”
“_G. Nayler, Esq._”
“Captain Vernon presents his compliments to Mr. Nayler, and with
many thanks encloses him the certificate signed by Colonel Burne.
Should there be any expenses incidental to Mr. Nayler’s office
in this business, he requests to be favoured with them, as the
Colonel, as well as himself, are unacquainted with these matters.”
“_Battle, Sussex, 5th April 1810._”
“I Robert Burne, Lieut.-Colonel of the first battalion of the
THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, a Colonel in the army, and Governor of His
Majesty’s garrison of Carlisle, do hereby certify and declare,
that during the space of _thirty-seven years_ to my own positive
knowledge, and how long previous thereto I cannot set forth, the
said regiment has used on its regimental seal the word ‘FIRM;’
and that I verily believe, by reason thereof, the said regiment
to be entitled to bear the same upon its colours, and that the
said word may have lapsed and been forgotten by the frequent
change of officers and the mutilated or almost destroyed state
in which the colours of the regiment have been on their return
from service, and that I am, therefore, extremely anxious that
the said word ‘FIRM’ should be inscribed in the painting of the
colours of the aforesaid THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, now preparing,
by His Majesty’s command, under the inspection of George Nayler,
Esquire, York Herald, and Inspector of Regimental Colours. In
witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name, and affixed
the seal of the said regiment, at Battle, Sussex, this fifth day
of April one thousand eight hundred and ten.
(Signed) ROBT. BURNE,
_Lieut.-Col. Commanding 1st Battn.
36th Regt., and Colonel_.
“Signed and sealed in the presence of
“A. MACKENZIE,
_Major 36th Regt._,
“HY. VERNON, Capt.,
_1st Battn. 36th Regt._”
“_36th Regiment of Foot_
“Permitted to bear the word ‘FIRM’ having so done for upwards of
thirty years, as appears by Lieut.-Colonel Robert Burne’s letter
to Sir George Nayler, dated Monte Video, 30th July 1807.”
_Memoir of the services of Lieut.-General Robert Burne, formerly
Lieut.-Colonel of the_ THIRTY-SIXTH _regiment_.
ROBERT BURNE entered the army as Ensign in the THIRTY-SIXTH, his
commission being dated 28th of September 1773; and it is remarkable
that he obtained all his regimental promotions in that corps. On
the 13th of January 1777 he was advanced to the rank of Lieutenant.
On the 10th of March 1783 Lieutenant Burne embarked with the
THIRTY-SIXTH regiment for Madras, and arrived in that Presidency in
July following. In 1784 he succeeded to the Captain-Lieutenancy,
and on the 7th of May of that year was appointed Captain of a
company in the regiment. Upon the army taking the field against
Tippoo Saib he was Captain of the Grenadier company. Captain Burne
was in the battles of Sattimungulum and Shawoor on the 13th and
14th of September 1790, and was afterwards at the storming of the
pettah and fort of Bangalore in March 1791. Captain Burne served at
the attack of Nundydroog in October 1791; he was also present in
the operations before Seringapatam during the night of the 6th of
February 1792, under General the Earl Cornwallis, which compelled
Tippoo to enter into a treaty of peace with the British. He was at
the siege and capture of Pondicherry in August 1793; and on the
1st of March 1794 he was promoted to the brevet rank of Major,
which rank he attained in the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment on the 15th of
April 1796. On the 1st of January 1798 Major Burne was appointed
Lieutenant-Colonel by brevet, and he embarked at Madras in command
of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment on the 15th of October, but did not
arrive in England until July 1799, the want of convoy having caused
the Indiamen to be detained three months at St. Helena.
On the 13th of November 1799 Brevet Lieut.-Colonel Burne was
appointed Lieut.-Colonel of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, with which
he embarked, in the year 1800, for the coast of France, with
the expedition under Brigadier-General the Honorable Sir Thomas
Maitland; he afterwards proceeded with his regiment to Minorca,
from which island, in 1801, he was compelled, by severe illness, to
return to England for the recovery of his health, being the first
time he was ever absent from the regiment. Upon the conclusion of
the peace of Amiens in 1802 Minorca was restored to the Spaniards,
and the THIRTY-SIXTH returned to Ireland, when Lieut.-Colonel Burne
resumed the command of the regiment.
Lieut.-Colonel Burne embarked with the first battalion of the
regiment for Germany in October 1805, and returned with it to
England in March following. In November 1806 he proceeded with the
first battalion of the regiment on the expedition to South America
under Brigadier-General Robert Craufurd; and in June 1807 landed in
that country; was with the advance of the army at the operations
in the suburbs of Buenos Ayres on the 2d, 3d, and 4th of July; and
also shared in the attack on the town of Buenos Ayres on the 5th of
July.
The first battalion of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment embarked at Buenos
Ayres in September, and arrived at Cork in December 1807. On the
25th of April 1808 Lieut.-Colonel Burne was promoted by brevet
to the rank of Colonel, and in July following embarked with the
first battalion for the Peninsula. Colonel Burne was present at
the battles of Roleia and Vimiera on the 17th and 21st of August
1808. Lieut.-General the Honourable Sir Arthur Wellesley in his
despatch particularly noticed the conduct of Colonel Burne and that
of the battalion. On the 8th of September following Colonel Burne
was appointed Governor of Carlisle by His Majesty King George III.
After these services Colonel Burne proceeded in command of the
battalion with the troops destined to join Lieut.-General Sir John
Moore at Salamanca, and was present at the battle of Corunna on the
16th of January 1809; after which he embarked with the army for
England. Colonel Burne, for his services at Roleia, Vimiera, and
Corunna, received the honorary distinction of a medal and clasp.
On the 16th of July 1809 Colonel Burne embarked in command of the
first battalion of the THIRTY-SIXTH regiment, with the expedition
to the Scheldt, and served in August at the siege and capture of
Flushing, in the island of Walcheren. He was afterwards appointed
Colonel on the staff at that place, where he continued until the
evacuation of the island.
Colonel Burne was appointed a Brigadier-General on the staff in
Portugal on the 21st of January 1811, and landed in the Peninsula
prior to the retreat of the French army from Santarem, and was
present at the battle of Fuentes d’Onor on the 3d and 5th of May,
together with the other operations in which the sixth division
of the army was engaged. On the 4th of June 1811 he was advanced
to the rank of Major-General, and continued on the staff in the
Peninsula until the 24th of April 1812, when he returned to
England; and, on the 25th of June following, was appointed to the
staff of Great Britain, and was ordered to take the command of
the camp near Lichfield; upon the breaking up of that encampment
Major-General Burne was ordered to the command of the Nottingham
district, where he remained on the staff until the 24th of
September 1814.
On the 19th of July 1821 Major-General Burne was advanced to the
rank of Lieutenant-General. His decease occurred in June 1825.
LONDON:
Printed by GEORGE E. EYRE and WILLIAM SPOTTISWOODE,
Printers to the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty.
For Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
The roman page numbering at the front of the book goes from i to xix,
then from v to xii; this has not been changed.
The table on page 6 in the original book was very wide. It has been
modified by splitting it into two parts, for each of the three ships.
Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been
corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within
the text and consultation of external sources.
Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text,
and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained.
Pg v: ‘707. Battle’ replaced by ‘1707. Battle’.
Pg viii: ‘against of Tippoo’ replaced by ‘against Tippoo’.
Pg 14: ‘corps of infanty’ replaced by ‘corps of infantry’.
Pg 27: ‘in garison at’ replaced by ‘in garrison at’.
Pg 38: ‘the Europeau Powers’ replaced by ‘the European Powers’.
Pg 40: ‘In the begining’ replaced by ‘In the beginning’.
Pg 52: ‘were opposed to’ replaced by ‘were exposed to’.
Pg 58: ‘Seringpatam’ replaced by ‘Seringapatam’.
Pg 78: ‘marched ot Gallegos’ replaced by ‘marched to Gallegos’.
Pg 126: ‘recals to the troops’ replaced by ‘recalls to the troops’.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Historical Record of the Thirty-sixth, or the Herefordshire Regiment of Foot: containing an account of the formation of the regiment in 1701, and of its subsequent services to 1852" ***
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