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Title: Historical Record of the Eighty-Sixth, or the Royal County Down Regiment of Foot: Containing an Account of the Formation of the Regiment in 1793, and of its subsequent services to 1842.
Author: Cannon, Richard
Language: English
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EIGHTY-SIXTH, OR THE ROYAL COUNTY DOWN REGIMENT OF FOOT ***
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 the book.
Some minor changes to the text are noted at the end of the book.
HISTORICAL RECORDS
OF
THE BRITISH ARMY.
GENERAL ORDERS.
_HORSE-GUARDS_,
_1st January, 1836_.
His Majesty has been pleased to command, that, with a view of doing
the fullest justice to Regiments, as well as to Individuals who have
distinguished themselves by their Bravery in Action with the Enemy,
an Account of the Services of every Regiment in the British Army
shall be published under the superintendence and direction of the
Adjutant-General; and that this Account shall contain the following
particulars, viz.,
---- The Period and Circumstances of the Original Formation of
the Regiment; The Stations at which it has been from time to time
employed; The Battles, Sieges, and other Military Operations, in
which it has been engaged, particularly specifying any Achievement
it may have performed, and the Colours, Trophies, &c., it may have
captured from the Enemy.
---- The Names of the Officers and the number of Non-Commissioned
Officers and Privates, Killed or Wounded by the Enemy, specifying the
Place and Date of the Action.
---- The Names of those Officers, who, in consideration of their
Gallant Services and Meritorious Conduct in Engagements with the
Enemy, have been distinguished with Titles, Medals, or other Marks of
His Majesty’s gracious favour.
---- The Names of all such Officers, Non-Commissioned Officers and
Privates as may have specially signalized themselves in Action.
And,
---- The Badges and Devices which the Regiment may have been
permitted to bear, and the Causes on account of which such Badges or
Devices, or any other Marks of Distinction, have been granted.
By Command of the Right Honourable
GENERAL LORD HILL,
_Commanding-in-Chief_.
JOHN MACDONALD,
_Adjutant-General_.
PREFACE.
The character and credit of the British Army must chiefly depend upon
the zeal and ardour, by which all who enter into its service are
animated, and consequently it is of the highest importance that any
measure calculated to excite the spirit of emulation, by which alone
great and gallant actions are achieved, should be adopted.
Nothing can more fully tend to the accomplishment of this desirable
object, than a full display of the noble deeds with which the
Military History of our country abounds. To hold forth these bright
examples to the imitation of the youthful soldier, and thus to incite
him to emulate the meritorious conduct of those who have preceded him
in their honourable career, are among the motives that have given
rise to the present publication.
The operations of the British Troops are, indeed, announced in the
“London Gazette,” from whence they are transferred into the public
prints: the achievements of our armies are thus made known at the
time of their occurrence, and receive the tribute of praise and
admiration to which they are entitled. On extraordinary occasions,
the Houses of Parliament have been in the habit of conferring on the
Commanders, and the Officers and Troops acting under their orders,
expressions of approbation and of thanks for their skill and bravery,
and these testimonials, confirmed by the high honour of their
Sovereign’s Approbation, constitute the reward which the soldier most
highly prizes.
It has not, however, until late years, been the practice (which
appears to have long prevailed in some of the Continental armies)
for British Regiments to keep regular records of their services
and achievements. Hence some difficulty has been experienced in
obtaining, particularly from the old Regiments, an authentic account
of their origin and subsequent services.
This defect will now be remedied, in consequence of His Majesty
having been pleased to command, that every Regiment shall in future
keep a full and ample record of its services at home and abroad.
From the materials thus collected, the country will henceforth
derive information as to the difficulties and privations which
chequer the career of those who embrace the military profession. In
Great Britain, where so large a number of persons are devoted to
the active concerns of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce, and
where these pursuits have, for so long a period, been undisturbed
by the _presence of war_, which few other countries have escaped,
comparatively little is known of the vicissitudes of active service,
and of the casualties of climate, to which, even during peace, the
British Troops are exposed in every part of the globe, with little or
no interval of repose.
In their tranquil enjoyment of the blessings which the country
derives from the industry and the enterprise of the agriculturist
and the trader, its happy inhabitants may be supposed not often to
reflect on the perilous duties of the soldier and the sailor,--on
their sufferings,--and on the sacrifice of valuable life, by which so
many national benefits are obtained and preserved.
The conduct of the British Troops, their valour, and endurance,
have shone conspicuously under great and trying difficulties; and
their character has been established in Continental warfare by the
irresistible spirit with which they have effected debarkations in
spite of the most formidable opposition, and by the gallantry and
steadiness with which they have maintained their advantages against
superior numbers.
In the official Reports made by the respective Commanders, ample
justice has generally been done to the gallant exertions of the
Corps employed; but the details of their services, and of acts of
individual bravery, can only be fully given in the Annals of the
various Regiments.
These Records are now preparing for publication, under His Majesty’s
special authority, by Mr. RICHARD CANNON, Principal Clerk of the
Adjutant-General’s Office; and while the perusal of them cannot fail
to be useful and interesting to military men of every rank, it is
considered that they will also afford entertainment and information
to the general reader, particularly to those who may have served in
the Army, or who have relatives in the Service.
There exists in the breasts of most of those who have served, or are
serving, in the Army, an _Esprit de Corps_--an attachment to every
thing belonging to their Regiment; to such persons a narrative of
the services of their own Corps cannot fail to prove interesting.
Authentic accounts of the actions of the great,--the valiant,--the
loyal, have always been of paramount interest with a brave and
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.
[Illustration: EIGHTY-SIXTH (THE ROYAL COUNTY DOWN) REGIMENT OF
FOOT.]
HISTORICAL RECORD
OF THE
EIGHTY-SIXTH,
OR
THE ROYAL COUNTY DOWN REGIMENT OF
FOOT:
CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF
THE FORMATION OF THE REGIMENT
IN 1793,
AND OF
ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES
TO
1842.
LONDON:
JOHN W. PARKER, WEST STRAND.
M.DCCC.XLII.
LONDON:
HARRISON AND CO., PRINTERS,
ST. MARTIN’S LANE.
[Illustration: (Harp and Crown. QUIS SEPARABIT?)]
THE EIGHTY-SIXTH,
OR
THE ROYAL COUNTY DOWN REGIMENT OF
FOOT,
BEARS ON ITS COLOURS AND APPOINTMENTS THE
“HARP AND CROWN”
WITH THE MOTTO
“QUIS SEPARABIT?”
ALSO THE
“SPHINX,” WITH THE WORDS “EGYPT,”
“INDIA,” “BOURBON;”
AND ON THE BUTTONS THE
“IRISH HARP AND CROWN.”
CONTENTS.
Year Page
1793 The Regiment raised, and styled _Cuyler’s
Shropshire Volunteers_ 9
1794 Names of the Officers 10
---- Embarks for Ireland 11
---- Styled the _Eighty-Sixth Regiment, or the
Shropshire Volunteers_ --
---- Returns to England --
1795 Serves on board the fleet as Marines 12
1796 Embarks for the Cape of Good Hope 13
1799 Proceeds to India --
1801 Six Companies proceed to Egypt 14
---- Passage of the Desert --
---- Capture of Cairo and Alexandria 18
1802 Four Companies in India,--Capture of Kareah
and Tarrapore 20
---- Six Companies return from Egypt to India 21
---- Capture of Barodara 22
1803 ---------- Kirrella,--skirmish near Copperbund 23
---- ---------- Keira 24
---- ---------- Baroach 25
---- ---------- Powanghur 28
---- Skirmish near Lunawarrah 29
---- Capture of Dhowd 30
1804 Advances to Indore 31
---- Disastrous Retreat to Ongein --
---- Capture of Inglehur 32
1805 Proceeds to Bhurtpore 32
---- Storms one of the out-works 33
---- Attacks a large bastion 34
---- Siege raised,--proceeds to Muttra 35
---- Pursues the forces of Holkar --
1806 Returns to Bombay 36
---- Stationed at Goa --
---- Obtains the title of the _Eighty-Sixth, or Leinster
Regiment of Foot_ 37
1809 Declaration of the Portuguese Viceroy, at Goa --
1810 Expedition against the Island of Bourbon 38
---- Services of a detachment on board the Africaine
frigate 44
1811 Removed to the Isle of France 45
1812 Returns to India --
---- Styled the _Eighty-Sixth, or the Royal County Down
Regiment_ 46
1814 A second battalion added to the regiment 47
---- Ditto disbanded --
1816 }
1817 } Serves against the Pindarees 48
1817 Insurrection at Hyderabad --
1818 Serves against the Pindarees 49
---- Marches for Madras, in order to embark for England --
---- Flank Companies proceed to the Island of Ceylon 50
---- Services against the Kandians --
1819 Returns to Madras 55
---- General Orders on leaving India 56
---- Arrives in England 57
1821 Embarks for Ireland --
1827 Service Companies embark for the West Indies 59
1837 ------ ------ return to England 62
1842 The Conclusion 63
SUCCESSION OF COLONELS.
Year Page
1793 Cornelius Cuyler 64
1794 Russell Manners 66
1795 William Grinfield 67
1804 Sir James Henry Craig, K.B. 68
1806 Sir Charles Ross, Baronet --
1810 The Honorable Francis Needham 69
1832 William George Lord Harris 71
1835 The Honorable Sir Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby,
K.C.B., G.C.M.G., K.C.H. --
1836 James Watson 72
1837 Sir Arthur Brooke, K.C.B. --
[Illustration: EIGHT-SIXTH (THE ROYAL COUNTY DOWN) REGIMENT OF FOOT.]
HISTORICAL RECORD
OF THE
EIGHTY-SIXTH,
OR
THE ROYAL COUNTY DOWN REGIMENT
OF
FOOT.
[Sidenote: 1793]
The last twelve years of the eighteenth century form a period,
remarkable in the annals of Europe, for the efforts made to overthrow
the governments of Christendom, and to establish the destructive
domination of atheism and democracy, upon the ruins of institutions
which had elevated the inhabitants of this quarter of the globe to
an height of knowledge, refinement, wealth, and power, unknown in
other parts of the earth. France was the great theatre of commotion:
there the war of hostile principles produced the most sanguinary
results;--the cry of “equality” was raised,--the blood of princes,
nobles, and citizens was shed, and democracy appeared to triumph over
the rights of society. In other countries, republican principles were
spreading to an alarming extent; the sovereigns of Europe were forced
to engage in war to oppose the progress of destruction, and to Great
Britain pertains the honour of having persevered in this contest,
for twenty years, when the overthrow of that tyrannical power which
sprung out of the French revolution, was accomplished.
On the commencement of hostilities in 1793, the British army was
augmented: upwards of fifty regiments of foot were raised, and one of
the first corps embodied, on this occasion, was the regiment which
now bears the title of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, OR THE ROYAL COUNTY DOWN
REGIMENT.
This corps was raised by Major-General Cornelius Cuyler, who had
served with reputation in North America, and also in the West Indies,
where he had performed the duties of commander-in-chief; its general
rendezvous was at Shrewsbury, and its designation was “GENERAL
CUYLER’S SHROPSHIRE VOLUNTEERS;” but its ranks were completed with
men, principally from Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Cheshire,--counties
which have furnished many excellent soldiers. Major-General Cuyler’s
appointment was dated the 30th of October, 1793, and the royal
warrants for raising recruits were issued on the following day[1].
[Sidenote: 1794]
In February, 1794, the following officers were holding commissions in
the regiment:--
_Colonel_, MAJOR-GENERAL C. CUYLER.
_Lieut.-Colonel_, GEORGE SLADDEN.
_Major_, R. M. DICKENS.
_Captains._
T. C. Hardy
W. H. Digby
Charles Byne
Edward Robinson
Alexander Campbell
Rowland Hill[2]
Robert Bell.
_Lieutenants._
Thomas Neilson
Hugh Houstown
W. S. Curry
Edward Barnes
Thos. Pickering
Charles Dod
Geo. Middlemore
Chas. E. Jolley
Daniel Gavey
Wm. Semple
J. C. Tuffnell.
_Ensigns._
Willm. Murray
Thos. Thornhill
Thomas Symes
W. C. Williams
James Burke
Danl. McNeill
Edward Fox
Wm. St. Clair.
_Captain-Lieutenant._
George Cuyler.
_Chaplain_, Chas. Austen; _Adjutant_, Daniel Coleman;
_Quarter-Master_, Richard Jackson; _Surgeon_, Hugh Dean.
From Shrewsbury, the regiment proceeded to Park-gate, where it
embarked, in April, for Ireland, and after landing at Cork, marched
to Kilkenny.
At this period the newly-raised corps were numbered, and this
regiment received the designation of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, or SHROPSHIRE
VOLUNTEERS.
On the 20th of June, 1794, Major-General Cuyler was appointed to
the Sixty-ninth Regiment, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the
EIGHTY-SIXTH, by Lieutenant-General Russell Manners.
After remaining in Ireland ten weeks, the regiment embarked at Cork,
and was held in readiness for active service; but it landed at
Frome, in Somersetshire, in September, and proceeded from thence to
the Isle of Wight.
[Sidenote: 1795]
The regiment having been brought into a state of discipline and
efficiency, was selected to serve on board the fleet as marines;
eight officers, and four hundred and fourteen non-commissioned
officers and soldiers, embarked in January, 1795, on board
the “Prince of Wales,” “Triumph,” “Brunswick,” and “Hector,”
line-of-battle ships, and in February, seven officers, and two
hundred and seventy-six non-commissioned officers and soldiers,
embarked on board the “Prince,” “Saturn,” and “Boyne.” The “Boyne”
caught fire at Spithead, and was destroyed, when the grenadier
company of the regiment lost its arms, accoutrements, and baggage.
Lieut.-General Russell Manners was removed to the Twenty-sixth Light
Dragoons, in March, 1795, and was succeeded by Major-General William
Grinfield, from Lieut.-Colonel in the Third Foot Guards.
The head-quarters of the regiment were at Newport, in the Isle of
Wight, where they were inspected by His Royal Highness the Duke of
York, who expressed his approbation of their appearance; and in
October the establishment was augmented to one hundred rank and file
per company, its numbers being completed by drafts from the 118th
and 121st Regiments; the men of the last-mentioned corps were then
recently liberated from French prison. In December, the regiment was
stationed at Portsmouth and Hilsea.
[Sidenote: 1796]
In the beginning of 1796, the establishment was augmented to twelve
companies,--the eleventh and twelfth being recruiting companies;
and as the ships of war came into port, the officers and soldiers
of the EIGHTY-SIXTH landed and joined the regiment; they had served
in several engagements in which the ships they were embarked in had
taken part, during that eventful period. In April, the regiment
proceeded to Guildford, and in June it returned to the Isle of Wight.
Meanwhile, Flanders and Holland had embraced the republican
principles of France, and the British government resolved to
deprive the Dutch of the settlement of the Cape of Good Hope; the
EIGHTY-SIXTH embarked for the Cape, where they landed on the 22nd
of September, six days after the Dutch governor had surrendered the
colony to the forces under General Sir Alured Clarke.
[Sidenote: 1797]
[Sidenote: 1798]
[Sidenote: 1799]
The regiment was stationed at the Cape of Good Hope during the years
1797 and 1798, and received drafts from the 95th, and other corps.
In February, 1799, it embarked for the East Indies, and landed, on
the 10th of May, at Madras, upwards of thirteen hundred strong,--a
splendid body of men, whose appearance excited much admiration.
The capture of Seringapatam had rendered the services of the regiment
at this station unnecessary, and after a month’s repose at Madras, it
embarked for Bombay, where it arrived on the 22nd of July, and sent
detachments by sea, under Major Bell, and Captain James Richardson,
to Tannah and Surat: these detachments returned to Bombay, in
December following.
[Sidenote: 1800]
[Sidenote: 1801]
From Bombay, three companies sailed, towards the end of 1800, for
Ceylon, in the expectation of taking part in the reduction of the
Isle of France[3]; but orders had, in the meantime, arrived for an
army from India, to co-operate with a body of troops from Europe,
in the expulsion of the French “ARMY OF THE EAST” from Egypt,
and the detachment returned, in January, 1801, to Bombay, where
Major-General Baird assumed the command, and the expedition sailed
for the Red Sea.
It was originally designed, that the army from India should land at
_Suez_, a city of Egypt, situate at the head of the Red Sea, on the
borders of Arabia; and a small squadron under Admiral Blanquett,
having on board three companies of the EIGHTY-SIXTH (the grenadier,
light, and colonel’s companies) under Lieut.-Colonel Lloyd, a
detachment of Bombay artillery, a battalion of sepoys, with other
detachments, sailed some time before the main body of the expedition,
to attack Suez, and interrupt the formation of any establishment
there by the French. This small force left Bombay in December 1800,
arrived at Mocha in the middle of January 1801, where the fleet
remained two days to procure provisions, when it sailed for Jedda,
where one of the ships was lost on a bank. The navigation of the Red
Sea, from Jedda to Suez, proved particularly difficult and tedious,
on account of the want of a sufficient depth of water, the fleet
having to anchor daily, and take advantage of the tides. On reaching
Suez, the French had evacuated the place in consequence of the
arrival of the army from Europe, under General Sir Ralph Abercromby,
on the Mediterranean shores of Egypt, and the success of the British
arms near Alexandria, where Sir Ralph Abercromby was killed.
The troops landed at Suez, and Lieut.-Colonel Lloyd, in reporting his
arrival, solicited permission to cross the Desert and share in the
dangers and honours of the army, which was advancing up the Nile, and
approaching Cairo, the modern capital of Egypt, which it was expected
the French would defend. Lieut.-General Hutchinson acquiesced in
Lieut.-Colonel Lloyd’s wishes, and preparations were accordingly made
to pass the Desert.
At six o’clock, on the evening of the 6th of June, the three
companies of the EIGHTY-SIXTH commenced their march, with only three
pints of water per man; the distance in a straight line, was only
fifty-eight miles; but the Arab Sheiks, furnished for guides by the
Vizier, and made responsible for the safe passage of the detachment,
represented that a detour of ten or twelve miles would be necessary
to prevent the French intercepting the detachment.
After marching two hours over a hard sandy country, Captain Cuyler,
Lieutenant Morse, and Lieutenant Goodfellow, were taken so ill as
to be unable to proceed. At eleven the troops halted for two hours,
then resumed the march until seven in the morning, when they again
halted, having performed twenty-six miles of the journey. The day
became so intolerably hot, that Lieut.-Colonel Lloyd ordered the
tents to be pitched to shelter the men from the sun; but at ten
o’clock the guides stated it was necessary to march, as the camels
would be so debilitated by the heat, if they rested on the sand,
as to require water before they could move again; but if kept in
motion they would not be affected in so fatal a degree; adding, if
the soldiers slept, the camel drivers might steal the water, which
they feared would be found scarcely sufficient. The guides being
responsible for the safety of the detachment, Lieut.-Colonel Lloyd
acceded to their wishes; the tents were struck at eleven, and the
march resumed; the thermometer being at 109. Captain Cuyler soon
fainted again, and fell from his horse, and a camel and two men were
left to attend him and bring him forward. The men beginning to drop
fast in the rear, Lieut.-Colonel Lloyd halted about one o’clock, cut
his own baggage from the camels, which example was followed by all
the officers, as many men as could be carried were then mounted on
the camels, and the whole proceeded. At two o’clock a camseen, or
south wind began to blow, the thermometer rose to 116, and afterwards
much higher; the officers and soldiers were seized with dreadful
sensations:--some were affected with giddiness and loss of sight, and
others fell down gasping for breath, and calling for drink. At four
o’clock, Lieut.-Colonel Lloyd was forced to halt. The skins had been
cracked by the sun, and the water had become of a thick consistence;
the men who drank it were seized with vomiting and violent pains.
The officers had brought with them some Madeira wine, which they
divided among the soldiers; a proportion of spirits were mixed with
the remaining water, which was issued to the men, accompanied with
the warning, that every drop was in their own possession, half
the journey had not been performed, and on their own prudence, in
reserving a portion in their canteens, must depend whether or not
they should be enabled to accomplish the remainder of the distance.
Between six and seven o’clock the wind ceased; as the sun declined,
the air became more temperate, and the detachment being a little
refreshed, though still a languor pervaded the whole, the order for
marching was given at seven o’clock. Seventeen men, unable to travel,
were left on the ground, and camels were left to bring them forward
as soon as they could be moved.
During the march several officers and soldiers experienced an
extraordinary sensation of seeing horses, camels, and all kinds
of animals, moving with rapid transition before them, which false
perception their judgment could not correct. At eleven the detachment
halted; the night was excessively dark, and the officers and soldiers
were so exhausted, that unconquerable sleep seized upon all.
At four o’clock the guides awoke Lieut.-Colonel Lloyd, and the
soldiers formed in order of march with difficulty, a heavy dew having
fallen upon them, and their limbs being benumbed with cold. The march
was, however, resumed; the south wind began to blow at the same hour
as on the preceding day, but the men were not affected in the same
severe degree; and by strenuous exertions the detachment arrived at
the springs of Elhanka, between four and five o’clock in the evening
of the same day, when the joy experienced by every one was very
great. By eight o’clock all the camels had come up, and the men, who,
from giddiness had fallen from their backs, joined during the night.
Eight of the seventeen men left behind, joined on the 9th of June,
and the other nine perished in the Desert.
No man had partaken of food after quitting Suez, as it would have
increased the thirst, and the rations of salt pork were thrown away
on the first morning. On arriving at the springs, the soldiers
partook of the water with caution; but two officers’ horses having
broke loose drank till they died on the spot. During the march of
seventy miles, no vegetation, bird, or beast, had been seen.
After halting at the springs of Elhanka until the evening of the 9th
of June, the detachment commenced its march in the dark, to prevent
being discovered by the enemy, and at eleven o’clock on the following
day, it joined the Turkish army, encamped at Chobra, under the Grand
Vizier; the British, under Lieut.-General Hutchinson, being encamped
on the other side of the river Nile. The EIGHTY-SIXTH pitched their
tents with Colonel Stuart’s division, which was with the Vizier’s
army; the soldiers had suffered the loss of their uniforms, which had
been burnt in consequence of the plague, and they had been forced
to abandon their knapsacks on the march; being very fine men, their
appearance excited great interest. On the 16th, the three officers
left behind on the march, joined; they had returned to Suez, and
afterwards passed the Desert with a caravan.
Advancing towards the metropolis of modern Egypt, the army made
preparations for investing that extensive fortress; but on the 22nd
of June a flag of truce arrived from the French Commandant, General
Belliard, who agreed to surrender _Cairo_, on condition of himself
and garrison being sent back to France.
On the surrender of Cairo, the three companies of the EIGHTY-SIXTH
marched into the citadel, which the French had evacuated a few hours
previously. On the same day they took possession of Fort Ibrahim.
In the mean time, the other three companies of the regiment which
had returned from Ceylon to join the expedition, had been delayed by
the difficult navigation of the Red Sea, and had landed at Cosseir,
from whence a march of above one hundred and twenty miles had to
be performed across the Desert to Kenna on the Nile. This distance
was divided into stages, stores were formed at several points,
relays of camels were placed to convey water, wells were found, and
others digged, and the march was performed by the army with much
less suffering than was experienced by the three companies under
Lieut.-Colonel Lloyd, in the passage of the Desert from Suez to the
springs of Elhanka. At the third stage, called Moilah, some soldiers
of the EIGHTY-SIXTH dug a well at the foot of a hill, under the
direction of Captain Middlemore, and found an excellent spring, for
which they received the thanks of the commander of the forces.
Arriving on the banks of the Nile, the troops embarked in boats
and proceeded down the river to the island of Rhonda, where they
encamped, while the forces from Europe were engaged in the siege of
_Alexandria_. At Rhonda the six companies of the EIGHTY-SIXTH were
united; four companies remaining in India.
In the beginning of September, Alexandria surrendered; Egypt was thus
delivered from the power of the French “ARMY OF THE EAST,” and Europe
saw the dawn of liberty in the horizon. The EIGHTY-SIXTH received,
in common with the other corps which served in this enterprise, the
approbation of their Sovereign, the thanks of Parliament, and the
royal authority to bear on their colours the SPHYNX, with the word
“EGYPT,” to commemorate the share taken by the regiment in this
splendid achievement.
To perpetuate the remembrance of the services rendered to the Ottoman
Empire, the Grand Seignor established an order of knighthood, which
he named the order of the CRESCENT, of which the superior officers
of the army and navy were constituted members. The officers of the
EIGHTY-SIXTH, and other corps, had gold medals presented to them by
the Grand Seignor, which they were permitted by King George III., to
accept and wear.
The object of the expedition having been accomplished, the
EIGHTY-SIXTH sailed up the Nile in boats, in order to return to
India; they arrived at El Hamed on the 14th of October, and on the
30th proceeded to Gheeza, where they remained several months.
In April of this year, one of the four companies left in India,
proceeded from Bombay to Surat, a town situate on the south bank of
the river Taptee, in the province of Guzerat; and in November, two
companies sailed for Dieu in the same province.
[Sidenote: 1802]
The two companies at Dieu returned to Bombay in February, 1802,
and in March they sailed to Cambay, under the command of Captain
Richardson, and joined the company from Surat, which had arrived
there a short time previously. They encamped at Cambay, with part of
the Seventy-fifth, five companies of the Eighty-fourth, a battalion
of native infantry, and some artillery, under Colonel Sir William
Clarke.
The jealousy of the native chiefs at the accession of territory
acquired by the British in India, often produced hostilities,
and circumstances occurred which occasioned a detachment of the
EIGHTY-SIXTH, under Lieutenant William Purcell Creagh, to take
part in an attempt to surprise the hostile fortress of _Kareah_,
one hundred and twenty miles from Cambay, on the night of the 17th
of March. The soldiers were advancing to storm the place with the
greatest gallantry, when their progress was arrested by a deep ditch,
cut through the rock a short time previously, and the Arabs in
garrison being numerous and prepared, opened a heavy fire. Lieutenant
Creagh was killed by a cannon ball, while in the act of leading the
soldiers to the attack; Lieutenant Lovell was also killed, and many
officers and soldiers were wounded; soon after day-break the troops
were obliged to retire.
In consequence of this repulse, the three companies of the
EIGHTY-SIXTH, with the other detachments encamped at Cambay, were
ordered to advance upon _Kareah_. The enemy having formed for battle
a short distance from the fort, with a numerous force, were routed by
the British on the 30th of April; and immediately afterwards the town
was captured, also some out-works, in one of which an explosion took
place, killing an officer and twenty-five soldiers.
The siege of the fort was commenced; but when the batteries opened
their fire, the garrison surrendered. The chief, Mulhar Rao, was
sent a prisoner to Bombay. After placing a garrison in the fort, the
troops marched for Surat, (170 miles,) where they arrived on the 12th
of June, having captured _Tarrapore_, and other small places, while
on the march.
The six companies of the regiment in Egypt remained at Gheeza until
May, when they traversed the Desert to Suez, and from thence to
“Moses’ Well,” or the “Font of Moses,” on the Arabian side of the
Gulf of Suez. While at Gheeza they received two hundred and seven
volunteers from the Twentieth, Thirty-fifth, Forty-eighth, and
Sixty-third Regiments; Major Henry Torrens joined at that station.
While at Moses’ Well, several soldiers died of the plague, when the
men’s clothing, bedding, and tents were burnt, and the six companies
embarked for India; no other cases of the plague occurring, the
companies landed at Bombay on the 4th of July. In November, the three
companies arrived from the province of Guzerat, and the regiment was
once more united at Bombay.
The EIGHTY-SIXTH were only permitted to enjoy a short repose
at Bombay: the hostile demonstrations of some of the predatory
states composing the Mahratta power, rendering it necessary for
the British forces to be held in readiness for active operations,
and assembled on the verge of the British territory. The Mahratta
states were united by a sentiment of interest founded upon their
common origin, civil and religious usages, and habits of conquest
and depredation; the chiefs acted as independent sovereigns, but
nominally acknowledged the supreme authority of the Peishwah. They,
however, viewed with jealousy the treaties between the British and
the Peishwah, as tending to restrain their predatory habits, and
prevent their acquisition of power; and this acknowledged head of
the Mahratta states found his independence controlled, and the
existence of his government menaced by the violence and ambition of
his feudatory chieftains; at the same time he was unable to fulfil
his engagements with the British, the safety of whose possessions
was endangered. In consequence of these events, connected with other
causes, the EIGHTY-SIXTH left Bombay in the middle of November, for
the province of Guzerat, and landed at Cambay, from whence they
marched towards the hostile fortress of _Baroda_, in the vicinity of
which place they encamped, with several other corps, on the 3rd of
December. An enemy’s force was assembled to protect the fortress,
and on the 18th of December the British advanced, leaving their
tents standing, and engaged their opponents. During the fight the
garrison made a sally; but the English proved victorious, routing
their adversaries with great slaughter, and capturing a pair of Arab
colours and many prisoners.
During the night the erection of batteries commenced; on the 21st
of December the fire of the artillery was opened, and the flank
companies of the EIGHTY-SIXTH stormed an outwork, defended by
Arabs, who refused quarter, and were nearly all destroyed, very few
escaping. In four days the breach was practicable, and the storming
parties were ready; but the garrison surrendered. The EIGHTY-SIXTH
had seven men killed, and twenty-three wounded in these services.
Captain John Grant distinguished himself during the siege, and at the
storming of the outwork.
Towards the end of this year, the usurpations of Jeswunt Rao Holkar,
one of the Mahratta chiefs, forced the Peishwah to abandon his
capital, and to seek British aid, when a treaty was concluded with
him; and the refractory chiefs persisting in aggression, hostilities
were commenced to reinstate the deposed chieftain.
[Sidenote: 1803]
On the third of February, 1803, three companies of the EIGHTY-SIXTH,
under Captain James Richardson, were detached, with other forces, the
whole commanded by Major Holmes, of the Bombay army, in pursuit of
the Mahratta chieftain, _Canojee Rao Guickwar_, who had taken the
field with a considerable force.
While in quest of the enemy, the advance-guard of the Seventy-fifth
Regiment was suddenly attacked, when emerging from a defile, on the
6th of February, and overpowered, with a loss of many men and a gun.
The three companies of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, being at the head of the
column of march, moved forward, encountered the enemy, and, by a
determined charge, routed the hostile forces, chasing them across the
bed of a river into the jungle, where they dispersed, leaving their
tents, baggage, camels, horses, and the captured gun behind. The
regiment lost very few men in this gallant exploit.
On the same day five companies of the regiment, under Captain Cuyler,
marched from Baroda to reinforce Major Holmes’ detachment, leaving
two companies behind under Captain Grant.
The Chief Canojee was at the head of a considerable force, but he
avoided an engagement, which occasioned many harassing marches in
endeavouring to come up with him. On the 25th of February, a party of
the EIGHTY-SIXTH was detached against the fort of _Kirrella_, which
was captured without experiencing serious opposition.
On the 1st of March, when near _Copperbund_, information was received
that Canojee’s force was not far distant; and by extraordinary
exertions, the detachment came up with the hostile bands, which
were in full retreat. The Mahratta horse, attached to the British
detachment, did not act with spirit; but the EIGHTY-SIXTH, though
nearly exhausted with the march, made a gallant effort, and
encountered the enemy, who was in the act of passing the bed of a
river. The adverse bands being nearly all cavalry, and the British
nearly all infantry, the enemy escaped with little loss. The
EIGHTY-SIXTH had two men killed; Lieutenant Alexander Grant, and a
few men wounded.
The forces of Canojee Rao Guickwar having been, in a great measure,
dispersed, the EIGHTY-SIXTH were allowed a short period of repose;
and these districts were annexed to the British possessions in India.
Operations having commenced for the restoration of the Peishwah,
the EIGHTY-SIXTH were stationed a short time in Guzerat, where a
force was detained to afford security to that valuable and important
province, and also a reserve disposable for active operations. The
regiment formed part of the disposable force stationed in front of
Brodera, the residence of the Guickwar, and to the northward of the
Nerbudda river.
In May, the regiment advanced and pitched its tents before the
fortress of _Keira_, belonging to one of Doulat Rao Scindia’s chiefs,
where some native infantry and battering guns also arrived; but the
garrison surrendered without waiting for a breach having been made in
the works.
From Keira the regiment marched to Nerriade, where it was joined
by two companies left at Baroda under Captain Grant; but the rains
setting in, the operations were suspended.
Information having been received that a body of the enemy was levying
contributions about thirty miles from the quarters of the regiment,
Captain Grant performed a forced march with four companies and some
sepoys, and making a night attack with great success, killed and took
prisoners many of the enemy, and captured some horses, &c. Lieutenant
Procter and a few men of the regiment were wounded on this occasion.
A body of Canojee’s troops threatening to cross the river about
fifteen miles above Baroach, and plunder the country, four hundred
rank and file of the regiment, with a battalion of sepoys, and
four guns, under Captain James Richardson, advanced, on the 14th
of July, during the heavy rains, in search of the enemy. The
gun-bullocks failed, and the country being inundated by the rains,
the soldiers had to drag the guns, up to their waists in water; but
by extraordinary efforts they arrived at the bank of the river on
the 16th of July, and attacking a number of Canojee’s troops which
had crossed the stream, routed them, and forced them into the water,
where many lost their lives, the river being full and rapid.
The river having fallen considerably during the night, the soldiers
passed the stream on the following day, under cover of the fire
of the guns, and assaulting the breast-works of the main body of
Canojee’s legions, carried them at the point of the bayonet, and
pursued the routed enemy two miles with great slaughter. A body of
Arabs disdaining to seek their safety in flight, fought with great
desperation until overpowered.
Captain Richardson and Lieutenant Lanphier distinguished themselves
on this occasion; and the enterprise being accomplished with the loss
of a few men killed and wounded, the troops returned to Baroda.
In pursuance of the plan suggested to the Governor-General by
Major-General Hon. Arthur Wellesley, five hundred men of the
EIGHTY-SIXTH, a small detachment of the Sixty-fifth, a proportion
of European artillery, and a battalion of Sepoys, advanced, under
Lieut.-Colonel Woodington, to besiege the strong fortress of
_Baroach_. On the 23rd of August, this small body of troops encamped
on the bank of the river within a few miles of the fortress,
expecting the arrival of the battering train in boats. The baggage of
the regiment was this day attacked by a numerous body of the enemy’s
horse, when nearly every soldier and follower was killed or wounded,
and the baggage captured and plundered.
A schooner and gun-boat having arrived with cannon and ammunition,
the troops advanced on the 25th of August, and arriving within two
miles of the fortress, discovered a numerous body of hostile cavalry,
infantry, and Arabs, in order of battle on the plain. These opponents
were speedily routed with the loss of their flag and a number of
killed and wounded; and the armament soon afterwards attacked,
and carried, the pettah with great gallantry; Ensign D’Aguilar
distinguished himself on this occasion.
The siege of the fort was commenced, and a breach was reported
practicable; at one o’clock on the 29th of August, the storming
parties assembled in the streets under the command of Major Cuyler;
the bayonets were firmly fixed by the introduction of a piece of
cotton cloth, to prevent the Arab swordsmen disengaging them, and the
soldiers proceeded quietly to their post behind the battery. At three
the signal to attack was fired, and the forlorn hope, consisting of
Serjeant John Moore and twelve soldiers of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, sprang
forward; a hundred soldiers of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, and a hundred Sepoy
grenadiers, under Captain Richardson, rushed towards the breach,
followed by three hundred men under Major Cuyler, and a reserve of
two hundred under Captain Bethune.
Passing the ditch knee-deep in mud, and climbing the long steep and
difficult ascent to the breach, the soldiers encountered the Arab and
Scindian defenders, who made a desperate resistance. Hand to hand
the combatants strove for mastery, and amidst the clash of steel
and turmoil of deadly contest, many feats of valour were performed.
Captain Maclaurin, who evinced great ardour, was wounded and made
prisoner, but he was rescued from the Arabs, by Private John Brierly.
Captain Richardson and Captain Grant signalized themselves, and
Serjeant Bills was conspicuous for the heroic courage with which he
fought. At length British valour proved triumphant, and the breach
was won, when the EIGHTY-SIXTH crowned the rampart, the Scindian
colours were pulled down, and the British standard planted in their
place, by Serjeant Moore.
Having overpowered all resistance at the breach, Captain Richardson’s
party swept the works to the Cuttoopore gate; Major Cuyler led his
detachment at a running pace to the Jaraseer gate, and firing upon
the Scindians and Arabs who were escaping by that avenue, wounded
one of the elephants in the passage. The Arabs threw down their
matchlocks, drew their creeses, and rushing upon their assailants
with deadly fury, refused to give or receive quarter. The contest
was of short duration; British discipline and prowess were again
victorious; two hundred Arab horsemen and foot lay on the ground, and
the EIGHTY-SIXTH stood triumphant on the scene of conflict. Among the
trophies of the day, were fifteen stand of Scindian and Arab colours,
which were sent to head-quarters, excepting two, retained by the
EIGHTY-SIXTH regiment, as trophies of the valour displayed by the
corps on this occasion.
Thus was captured a fortress of great importance to the commercial
interests of Britain, with a territory yielding a considerable
revenue, which were added to the British dominions. In his public
despatch, Lieut.-Colonel Woodington highly commended the conduct of
Major Cuyler and Captain Richardson, and added,--“The whole of the
officers and men employed on this service have conducted themselves
so much to my satisfaction, that I cannot express myself too strongly
in their commendation.”
The Governor-General in Council, also, signified in general
orders,--“his particular approbation of the valour and judgment
manifested by Major Cuyler, of His Majesty’s EIGHTY-SIXTH regiment,
throughout the service at Baroach, and in commanding the storm of
the fort, and by Captain Richardson of the same corps, leading the
assault. His Excellency in Council, also, observes with particular
satisfaction the conduct of Captain Cliffe, of the Engineers of
Bombay. To all the officers and troops, European and Native, employed
on this honorable occasion, His Excellency in Council signifies his
high commendation.”
Serjeant Bills was rewarded with the appointment of serjeant-major;
Serjeant Moore received a donation of five hundred rupees from the
Government for his gallantry, and Private Brierly was promoted
corporal, and afterwards serjeant.
The loss of the regiment was Captain William Semple, killed in the
breaching battery on the 25th of August--an excellent officer, whose
fall was much regretted; also two serjeants and ten rank and file
killed; Major Cuyler, Captain Richardson, Captain Maclaurin, and
twenty-three rank and file wounded.
From Baroach the regiment proceeded to Baroda, from whence five
hundred rank and file of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, a battalion of Sepoys,
some irregular horse, and a battering train, marched to attack the
fort of _Powanghur_, situated on a stupendous rock of extraordinary
height and of difficult ascent. Arriving before this place on the
14th of September, and the garrison refusing to surrender, the walls
were battered until the 17th, when orders were issued to prepare
to attack the lower fort by storm. The garrison was intimidated
by the knowledge of the fact, that if they defended the breach,
their communication with the fort on the top of the mountain would
be cut off, and their escape rendered impossible; they therefore
surrendered. Thus a fort of great strength by nature and art fell
into the hands of the British.
The district of Champaneer, the only territory remaining to Scindia,
in the province of Guzerat, had thus been reduced, and annexed to
the British dominions. Lieut.-Colonel Murray, of the Eighty-fourth
regiment, assumed the command of the troops at Baroda, and advanced
towards Scindia’s territories, in the province of Malwa, in quest
of Holkar’s forces, but it was found impossible to bring the armed
bands of that chieftain to action. On the 18th of October the city
and fortress of Godera was taken possession of, the enemy retiring as
the British approached. At this place information was received of the
victory of Assaye, gained by the troops under Major-General the Hon.
Arthur Wellesley, on the 23rd of September, which was followed by the
submission of two of the hostile chiefs, Scindia and the Rajah of
Berar, leaving Holkar, Canojee, and some minor chiefs in the field.
Leaving Godera, the troops took possession of Balinsanere in the
beginning of November; and advanced towards _Lunawarrah_. On the
march, the rearguard, consisting of five companies of Sepoys, and
some native cavalry, was suddenly attacked, while passing through an
extensive jungle, by a numerous body of the enemy in ambush.
The hostile bands did not venture to attack the Europeans of the
advance-guard, nor the column, but rushed with great fury upon the
native troops in the rear, occasioning the loss of many Sepoys and
camp followers, with some baggage, before assistance could arrive
from the column. The EIGHTY-SIXTH had several men killed and wounded
on this occasion.
Lunawarrah was evacuated by the enemy, and _Dhowd_ was taken, about
six weeks afterwards, with little opposition.
In this part of the country, the EIGHTY-SIXTH, and other corps,
with Lieut.-Colonel Murray, remained about two months[4], watching
Holkar, who had power to concentrate an overwhelming force, which
rendered vigilance particularly necessary.
[Sidenote: 1804]
On the death of Lieut.-General Grinfield, King George III. conferred
the colonelcy of the regiment on Lieut.-General Sir James Henry
Craig, K.B., from the Forty-sixth Foot, by commission dated the 5th
of January, 1804.
From Dhowd, the EIGHTY-SIXTH, and other corps under Lieut.-Colonel
Murray, retired to Godera, and from thence to Jerode, in order to
obtain supplies, and protect the province of Guzerat. At this period
a dreadful famine raged in the Deccan, and other parts of the country
hitherto the seat of war.
After three weeks’ repose at Jerode, the EIGHTY-SIXTH, Sixty-fifth,
Sepoys and native cavalry, advanced once more into the province of
Malwa, under Lieut.-Colonel Murray, and arrived at Dhowd on the 12th
of June, having lost many men from the excessive heat. On the march
Major Stuart, of the Sixty-fifth, died and was buried, (9th June,)
under the colours of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, on which day twenty-one men
of the Sixty-fifth, and eleven of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, died from the
effects of the hot winds.
From Dhowd, the troops advanced to Ongein, the capital of Scindia,
from whence the EIGHTY-SIXTH, three battalions of Sepoys, a train of
artillery, and a body of Scindia’s cavalry, were immediately pushed
on to Indore, the capital of Holkar’s dominions, where they arrived
on the 14th of August; the city having been evacuated on the previous
evening.
From Indore, the flank companies of the regiment, and a battalion
of Sepoys, advanced with scaling ladders, under Captain Richardson,
twenty miles, to surprise a fort, which was reported to be full of
troops and provisions; but when the soldiers scaled the walls, they
found the place empty; the enemy having fled a few hours previously.
Having penetrated so far beyond the boundaries of Guzerat, the
troops under Lieut.-Colonel Murray found their communication with
that country cut off, and Holkar threatening to enter and lay waste
the province; their supplies were nearly exhausted; they were in
a territory devastated by famine and disease; the rainy season
was approaching, and a small force, under Lieut.-Colonel Monson,
sent by General Lord Lake to effect a junction with Lieut.-Col.
Murray, was pursued by Holkar’s numerous legions, and forced to
make a precipitate flight, abandoning its cannon and baggage. Under
these circumstances, a sudden advance was made, of two marches, to
deceive the enemy, and on the third march the troops faced about
and retreated. The rain set in with such violence as to destroy the
tents;--the artillery and baggage oxen and camels died in great
numbers;--much of the baggage was abandoned;--the soldiers had to
drag the guns through the cotton-grounds waist-deep in water;--no
cover or shelter for officers or soldiers;--the inhabitants dying in
great numbers from famine;--the European soldiers dying also from
excessive fatigue, the inclemency of the weather and privation;--the
native troops and followers also perishing in great numbers: such
were the distressing circumstances under which this retrograde
movement was executed, but, by the perseverance of the Europeans,
the guns were preserved, and the troops arrived at Ongein, where the
Sixty-fifth, EIGHTY-SIXTH, and artillery, were accommodated with a
building in the fort. This force had been reduced by its sufferings,
from six to three thousand men.
Exertions were made to re-equip this diminished force for the field,
and orders being received to advance, it was again in motion in the
middle of October, advancing in the direction of Kota and Rhampoorae,
and capturing, on the route, the hill fort of _Inglehur_ by escalade,
also several other small forts.
The army of Holkar was routed and dispersed by the troops under
General Lord Lake; but the war was protracted by the defection of the
Rajah of Bhurtpore, and the EIGHTY-SIXTH were destined to transfer
their services to the rajah’s dominions.
[Sidenote: 1805]
Reinforcements having arrived from Bombay, Major-General Jones
assumed the command, and marched towards the city of _Bhurtpore_,
the capital of the hostile rajah’s territory[5]. After a long and
harassing march, the troops approached that fortress on the 10th of
February, 1805, when a large body of hostile horsemen surrounded
the column and impeded its movements across a level country. Half
the force was employed in protecting the baggage, and the guns were
repeatedly unlimbered, to keep the adverse cavalry at a distance. On
the following day, Major-General Jones’s division joined the army
before Bhurtpore, and was inspected by Lord Lake, who expressed
his satisfaction at the bearing of the troops. The soldiers of the
Sixty-fifth and EIGHTY-SIXTH presented a motley appearance: their
worn-out uniforms were patched with various colours, or replaced by
red cotton jackets; many of the men wore sandals in the place of
shoes, and turbans instead of hats; but beneath this outward war-worn
appearance, the innate courage of Britons still glowed.
The siege of Bhurtpore had unfortunately been undertaken without a
battering train of sufficient weight, and necessary to insure the
reduction of so strong a fortress; the siege was, however, persevered
in. At three o’clock, on the 20th of February, two hundred and fifty
men of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, and two companies of Sepoys, commanded by
Captain Grant, of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, stormed an out-work, covering
one of the principal gates, with the bayonet, driving the Arabs,
who fought with their usual determination, into the city, and
capturing eleven brass guns; in which service Lieutenants Lanphier
and D’Aguilar distinguished themselves, the former receiving a
spear wound in the neck. As the Arabs fled to the gate, Captain
Grant followed, in the hope of being able to enter with them, but
he found it closed, and, after destroying the fugitives, who were
shut out, he retired to the Pettah, to await the result of the
other attacks, which did not succeed. While the soldiers of the
EIGHTY-SIXTH and Sepoys were dragging the captured guns to the camp,
they were attacked by a numerous body of the enemy, who issued from
the fortress to retake the guns, but were repulsed by the steady
valour of the soldiers. Captain Grant formed a square round the guns,
and under a heavy fire from the Fort, succeeded in bringing them to
camp; this was the only successful part of this attack. The enemy’s
numerous cavalry also attacked the British camp, but were defeated
by the troops not engaged in the trenches, or in the assault. Lord
Lake commended the determined bravery of the storming party of the
EIGHTY-SIXTH in orders, and directed the captured guns to be placed
in front of the camp of the regiment,--a mark of distinction highly
prized by the corps, and by the Bombay division of the army to which
they belonged.
At three o’clock on the following day, the flank companies of the
Sixty-fifth and EIGHTY-SIXTH, supported by the Seventy-fifth and
Seventy-sixth regiments, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Monson, stormed
a large and high bastion. After passing the ditch, the forlorn hope
was destroyed in attempting to ascend the breach, which was extremely
steep, and knee-deep in mud and loose stones. Every effort was
made, the men climbing over the dead bodies of their comrades, and
struggling to gain the rampart, but in vain. Some strove to climb
by the shot holes made by the British guns, and others drove their
bayonets into the mud walls to ascend by, while the enemy above
hurled large stones, logs of timber, packs of flaming oiled cotton,
and jars filled with combustibles, upon their heads, with a terrible
destruction; the killed and wounded lay by hundreds, crushed beneath
the falling timbers, or burning under the flaming oiled cloth, when
Lieut.-Colonel Monson, seeing the impossibility of succeeding,
ordered the survivors to return to the camp.
In the two attacks, the EIGHTY-SIXTH had two serjeants and
twenty-three rank and file killed; Captain Moreton, Lieutenants
Travers, Baird, Lanphier, D’Aguilar, one serjeant, one drummer, and
seventy-three rank and file wounded. A great number of the wounded
soldiers died. Lieutenant Baird received five wounds; Lieutenant
Lanphier was wounded on each day; this officer and Lieutenant
D’Aguilar distinguished themselves on both occasions. Serjeant
George Ibertson was commended in regimental orders for his conduct
at the breach, and Corporal Crawford was rewarded with the rank of
serjeant, for his behaviour on this occasion.
The capture of Bhurtpore without additional means, being found
impracticable, the British withdrew from before that fortress, and
proceeded to Dhoolpore; negotiations for peace having been concluded,
the army was broken up in May; the Bengal troops proceeding to
Muttra, and the Bombay division to Tonk, where they remained during
the monsoon in huts.
After the rainy season, the Bombay force commenced its march,
proceeding through the territories of the Rajah of Jeypore, in
pursuit of the forces of Holkar, who was still in the field. Having
been chased to the banks of the Hyphasis river, on the borders of the
great desert, the Mahratta chieftain was forced to submit, and the
war was terminated by a treaty of peace[6].
In orders dated Riapoora Ghaut, on the left bank of the Hyphasis,
13th December, 1805, General Lord Lake returned thanks to
Major-General Jones, the officers, and soldiers, of the division of
the army from Bombay, for the important services rendered by them
during the war; and, alluding to the period they had been under his
immediate command, added, “His Lordship has been proud to witness, on
every occasion on which they have been employed, the steady conduct
and gallantry in action of all the troops composing the division.”
[Sidenote: 1806]
From the banks of the Hyphasis, near the spot where Alexander
the Great crossed that river when he invaded India, the regiment
commenced its march for Bombay, where it arrived on the 29th of
March, 1806, and embarking for Goa, landed on the rock of Aguada on
the 3rd of April, after a most active and harassing service of more
than five years, during which period it had sailed up the Red Sea,
crossed the desert twice, served a campaign in Egypt, traversed the
north and western provinces of India from Bombay to Bhurtpore, and
received the thanks of Lord Lake on the banks of the Hyphasis; having
sustained a loss of Lieut.-Colonel Robinson, Captains Maclaurin and
Macquarrie, Lieutenants Harvey, Price, and Wilson, Ensigns Massey,
Ellison, McKay, Leovick, and upwards of a thousand non-commissioned
officers and soldiers.
In October of this year, Lieutenant-General Craig, K.B., was removed
to the Twenty-second Foot, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the
_Eighty-sixth_ by Lieut.-General Sir Charles Ross, Baronet, from the
Eighty-fifth regiment.
At Goa, the regiment was joined by a detachment, consisting of
Lieutenant Michael Creagh, Ensigns Blackall, Hillhouse, Paymaster
Cope, and thirty non-commissioned officers and soldiers. This
detachment was employed under Major-General Sir David Baird, at the
capture of the Cape of Good Hope, in January, 1806, when Lieutenant
Creagh was wounded. The strength of the regiment was also augmented
with two hundred and thirteen volunteers from the Seventy-seventh, on
that corps embarking from England.
In this year, His Majesty was pleased to change the designation of
the corps to the “EIGHTY-SIXTH, OR LEINSTER REGIMENT OF FOOT.”
Lieut.-Colonel Hastings Fraser, having arrived in India, overland
from Europe, assumed the command, and Major Cuyler embarked for
England.
[Sidenote: 1808]
In February, 1808, Captain John Grant obtained permission to return
to England, when it was stated in general orders,--“The Honourable
the Governor in Council cannot allow Captain Grant to depart, without
being accompanied by this testimonial to the credit which that
meritorious officer has done to the British arms, during his service
in India, at the siege of Baroda, the capture of the important
fortress of Baroach and Powanghur, and particularly in the arduous
and successful attack of the column which Captain Grant commanded
on the 20th of February, 1805, at the siege of Bhurtpore, on which
occasion, he most gallantly carried the enemy’s post, and captured
the whole of their guns, being eleven in number, &c., &c., &c.”
[Sidenote: 1809]
Orders having been received for the removal of the EIGHTY-SIXTH,
to form part of a field force to be assembled in the Presidency of
Madras, the following declaration was issued by the Viceroy and
Captain-General of the Portuguese possessions in Asia, dated Palace
of Panjam, 16th August, 1809.
“On the departure of His Britannic Majesty’s EIGHTY-SIXTH regiment
from Goa, His Excellency the Viceroy and Captain-General of the
Portuguese possessions in Asia avails himself of the opportunity to
express his sentiments of praise and admiration of the regular order
and conduct which Lieut.-Colonel Fraser, the officers and soldiers
of that corps, have so honourably observed during a period of three
years, which they have been employed in the territories subject to
his authority, so highly creditable to the discipline of that corps.
“His Excellency the Viceroy will never forget the invariable
harmony which has always subsisted between the subjects of His Royal
Highness the Prince Regent of Portugal and all ranks of His Britannic
Majesty’s EIGHTY-SIXTH regiment, whose remembrance will be always
grateful to him; and he doubts not they will continue to acquire, in
whatever part of the world their services may be called for, glorious
claims on the rewards of their Sovereign, and the admiration of their
country.”
Leaving Goa, the regiment proceeded in boats up the river to
Candiaparr, from whence it ascended the ghauts. The monsoon
having set in, the men suffered much from the incessant rains and
inundations, and after a long march through the Mahratta territories,
arrived at Bellary, on the 15th of September. The second battalion
of the First or the Royals, the EIGHTY-SIXTH, and two battalions of
Sepoys formed the first brigade, under Lieut.-Colonel Fraser, to
which Lieutenant Michael Creagh was appointed brigade-major. A large
force assembled under Colonel Conran, of the Royals, but the native
troops, against which it was prepared to act, returned to their duty;
when the EIGHTY-SIXTH garrisoned Bellary and Gooty. Captain James
Burke, and many non-commissioned officers and soldiers, died from
the effects of the fatigues they had undergone. Soon afterwards, the
regiment returned to Goa.
[Sidenote: 1810]
After a few weeks’ repose, the regiment was selected to form part of
an expedition against the French island of _Bourbon_; it embarked
on the 5th of March, 1810, and sailed on the following day. On
entering Cannonore harbour, one transport struck on a rock, and
was lost. After calling at Quillon and Point de Galle, for water
and provisions, the fleet sailed for Madras, where the regiment
landed on the 13th of April, and encamped at St. Thomas’ Mount.
From Madras, the expedition sailed under the command of Colonel
Fraser, consisting of the Sixty-ninth and EIGHTY-SIXTH Regiments,
Sixth and Twelfth Madras Native Infantry, &c., &c., &c., and on
arrival at the Island of Roderiguez, Lieut.-Colonel Keating, of
the Fifty-sixth Regiment, assumed the command, having with him a
detachment of the Fifty-sixth, and some Bombay Sepoys. The land force
was divided into three brigades; the first brigade was commanded
by Lieutenant-Colonel Hastings Fraser, of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, with
Lieutenant Michael Creagh, brigade-major; and the second brigade was
under Lieut.-Colonel Drummond, of the same corps, with Lieutenant
Richardson, brigade-major.
The van of the expedition, consisting of the EIGHTY-SIXTH Regiment,
one hundred and eighty rank and file of the Sixth Madras Native
Infantry, a small detachment of artillery, and fifty pioneers, under
Lieut.-Colonel Fraser, of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, with difficulty effected
a landing at Grand Chaloupe, about one o’clock on the 7th of July.
On gaining the shore, the light company of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, under
Lieutenant Archibald McLean, supported by the grenadiers under
Captain Lanphier, dashed forward to drive back parties of the enemy’s
riflemen, who kept up a harassing fire, and to secure possession of
the heights; which service was performed with great gallantry. The
other part of the regiment having landed, pressed forward to the
heights above _St. Denis_, and, as the sun was setting, approached
to within range of the enemy’s batteries. The violence of the surf
had become so great that the other divisions could not land, and the
EIGHTY-SIXTH, in consequence, fell back to the heights, where they
were joined during the night, by the Sepoys, pioneers, and artillery,
with one 4½ inch howitzer.
At four o’clock on the morning of the 8th of July, the EIGHTY-SIXTH
commenced descending the mountain, leaving the Sepoys on the summit
to defend the rear; their advance-guard was soon discovered by the
enemy’s post, and at day-light the regiment was assailed by a heavy
fire of cannon, mortars, and musketry; at the same time some of the
enemy’s riflemen attempted to gain the road on its right. The light
company, supported by the grenadiers, and followed by the regiment,
descended the mountain at a running pace. Two columns of the enemy,
having each a field-piece, and being supported by the heavy guns
of the redoubt, opened a sharp fire of grape and musketry; but,
as the EIGHTY-SIXTH arrived on the plain, they closed on their
adversaries with the bayonet. This spirited conduct decided the
contest; the opposing ranks, unable to withstand the shock of steel,
faced about and fled. Their commandant, M. de St. Luzanne, escaped
with difficulty, and their second in command was wounded and taken
prisoner by Captain Lanphier.
The enemy attempted to re-form behind the parapet of the redoubt, but
they were pressed so closely by the grenadiers, that they abandoned
it, leaving a brass six-pounder behind, which was immediately turned
against themselves. The haulyards of the flag-staff in the redoubt
were shot away, but Corporal William Hall, of the EIGHTY-SIXTH,
climbed the staff under an incessant fire of round-shot and musketry,
and fixed the King’s colour of the regiment to it. The French
soldiers viewed this daring feat with admiration, and as he descended
the staff unhurt, they raised a loud shout; at the same time, the
seamen of the fleet off the shore, who had witnessed the gallant
charge, hailed the well-known flag of the regiment which waved on
the redoubt by a loud huzza, which ran from ship to ship as they
passed; at the same time the grenadiers of the regiment stormed two
batteries, capturing nine twenty-four-pounders, a twelve-inch mortar,
and a furnace of red-hot shot.
The position seized was held by the regiment, the guns of the
captured redoubt answering the incessant fire of the enemy, until
the arrival of additional troops. At four o’clock the enemy
attempted to retake the redoubt, but were repulsed with the loss of
their commanding officer, who was taken prisoner. About this time
Lieut.-Colonel Drummond’s brigade arrived, and the enemy sent out a
flag of truce; Lieut.-Colonel Keating having joined, the surrender of
the island of Bourbon to the British arms was concluded by him.
Colonel Fraser stated in his despatch, “I cannot conclude without
requesting permission to offer my humble tribute of praise to the
noble spirit which animated every individual of my detachment; from
Major Edwards,[7] who commanded the regiment, I received the greatest
assistance; Captain Lanphier, Lieutenant Archibald McLean, and
every officer and soldier of the corps, displayed the most ardent
valour, which must have been conspicuous to the whole force off
the coast, who witnessed their conduct.” “To Lieutenant Creagh, my
brigade-major, I was highly indebted for his unremitted exertions and
attention to the duties of his station, from the beginning of the
service I was sent on, to the moment when he was struck by a cannon
ball, while he was in the act of encouraging our artillerymen in the
redoubt, which, I fear, will deprive his Sovereign and his country of
the services of a most promising officer.”
The loss of the regiment on this occasion was Lieutenant John Graham
Munro[8], of the grenadier company, killed during the charge; Major
Edwards, (commanding the regiment,) Captain Lanphier, Lieutenants
Michael Creagh, (brigade-major,) Archibald McLean, Blackhall,
Webb, and White, wounded; also three serjeants, two drummers, and
seventy-five rank and file killed and wounded.
The following statement appeared in regimental orders on the 9th of
July:--“It affords Major Edwards great pleasure, in having received
Lieut.-Colonel Fraser’s directions, to confirm the appointment of
Captain Lanphier[9] to the grenadier company, a distinction to which
that officer is well entitled for the gallant manner in which he led
the brave grenadiers to the assault of the redoubt and batteries.
“The conduct of the light infantry under Lieutenant Archibald McLean,
has on all occasions been equally distinguished, and Major Edwards
sincerely laments the severe wound that gallant officer has received,
but trusts he will soon be restored to the service.
“Major Edwards has great pleasure in confirming Lieutenant
Blackhall’s appointment to the grenadiers; he regrets the wound
received by that officer, but hopes it will not prevent his joining
that company which he animated by his zeal and example.
“The conduct of the officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers
of the EIGHTY-SIXTH Regiment, is above all praise; they have fought
the enemy with every species of disadvantage and deprivation; they
have borne the latter without a murmur, and their determined valour
has achieved victory. In spite of every obstacle, they have nobly
sustained the character of their country, and it will be gratifying
to their feelings to know that their gallant exertions have been
witnessed and applauded by the whole of the British force off the
shore.
“Major Edwards cannot conclude without expressing his regret for
the loss of Lieutenant Munro, of the grenadiers, and the brave men
who have fallen on this occasion; their memory, however, will long
survive, and be held dear in the recollection of the regiment. Most
sincerely does he regret the severe wound received by Lieutenant
Michael Creagh; but which, he hopes, will not deprive the service of
that valuable and gallant officer; and he trusts the wounds received
by Lieutenant White, will not long prevent him joining the corps.
“Corporal William Hall, who hoisted the King’s colour on the redoubt,
is appointed serjeant for his gallant conduct, in the room of
Serjeant Millan, killed.
“Private John Moore, of the light infantry, is appointed corporal,
for his gallant behaviour on the 8th instant.”
The conduct of the regiment was highly commended in detachment orders
by Lieut.-Colonel Keating.
On the morning of the 9th of July, the flank companies of the
regiment marched into St. Denis, and entering the principal battery,
struck the tricoloured flag of France, and hoisted the King’s colour
of the EIGHTY-SIXTH; they were followed by the regiment, when the
French garrison grounded their arms and embarked for the Cape of Good
Hope.
Representation having been made of the gallant behaviour of the
EIGHTY-SIXTH at the reduction of this island, the royal authority
was given for their bearing the word “BOURBON” on their colours and
appointments, as a mark of their Sovereign’s approbation, and to
commemorate their gallantry on this occasion.
Bourbon and the Isle of France had been blockaded some time; the
capture of the former emboldening the British navy, a small fleet
ventured within the Isle de Passe, on the south-west side of the
Isle of France, where one British ship was burnt and sunk, and
several disabled, which gave the enemy a superiority at sea, when
their frigates menaced the batteries of Bourbon. The “Africaine”
frigate arriving from England short of hands, Lieutenant W. Home,
a serjeant, and twenty-five men of the EIGHTY-SIXTH went on board,
and this frigate, and the “Boadicea,” having put to sea under
Commodore Rowley, came up with, and engaged, two French frigates.
The “Boadicea” was becalmed astern, the “Africaine” fought the two
French ships until Captain Corbett and one hundred and sixty of
his crew were killed and wounded, when the frigate being a complete
wreck, she struck her colours, but Commodore Rowley coming up with
the “Boadicea,” the enemy made sail, and the shattered frigate was
towed into St. Paul’s. Only three of the soldiers of the EIGHTY-SIXTH
escaped; six having been killed, and Lieutenant Home and seventeen
wounded.
In September, the “Ceylon” frigate, having Major-General Abercromby
and staff, also Lieutenant Clarke and twenty-five men of the
EIGHTY-SIXTH, on board, was captured by the “La Venus” French
frigate, after a severe action, in which both ships were dismasted;
but Commodore Rowley appeared in the “Boadicea,” re-captured the
“Ceylon,” and took the “La Venus.”
General Sir Charles Ross having been removed to the Thirty-seventh
Foot, was succeeded in the colonelcy of the EIGHTY-SIXTH by
Major-General the Honourable Francis Needham, from the Fifth Royal
Veteran Battalion.
Lieut.-Colonel Hastings Fraser was rewarded for his conduct before
St. Denis on the 8th of July, with the dignity of Companion of the
Bath, the officers of the EIGHTY-SIXTH regiment presented him with
a sword, and those of his brigade, in the Company’s service, with a
valuable piece of plate.
[Sidenote: 1811]
The EIGHTY-SIXTH were removed to the Isle of France in March, 1811,
that island having also been captured, and were there joined by
Ensigns J. Creagh and J. Grant, Assistant-Surgeon Bell, and a few
recruits from Europe, being part of a detachment which had been sent
to India.
[Sidenote: 1812]
Orders having been received for the return of the regiment to India,
it sailed from Port Louis on the 9th of January, 1812, and landing
at Madras on the 21st of February, encamped on the South Beach until
the departure of the Thirty-third regiment for England, when it
occupied Fort St. George where Captain Impey and sixty-eight recruits
were awaiting its arrival.
The gallant behaviour of the regiment during the Mahratta war, and
at the reduction of the island of Bourbon, had been represented to
their Royal Highnesses the Prince Regent, and the Duke of York, then
Commander-in-Chief, who never failed to reward merit in individuals
or corps, was brought to their notice, and in May, 1812, the royal
authority was given for this corps being styled the “EIGHTY-SIXTH, OR
ROYAL COUNTY DOWN REGIMENT OF FOOT;” at the same time the facing was
changed from yellow to blue, the lace from silver to gold; the Irish
“HARP AND CROWN” was placed on the buttons, and the “HARP” was added
to the distinctions displayed on the regimental colours.
[Sidenote: 1813]
In January, 1813, the regiment commenced its march from Madras for
Goa, but when ascending the Pada-naig-droog Ghauts, it received
orders to proceed to Vellore, where Lieutenants Jacob and Kirkland,
Ensigns Munro, McLean, McQuarrie, Kennedy, and McLoughlin, with two
hundred and seventeen soldiers, joined from England.
Captain Impey, (brevet-major,) and Lieutenant White, died, in May,
much regretted.
At the end of August the regiment left Vellore, and marched through
the Calistry country, a distance of four hundred miles, to the fort
of Masulipatam. It was overtaken by the monsoon when on the march,
near the Kistna river, and for several days the soldiers had to wade
through the cotton-grounds, which occasioned much illness in the
regiment, and the loss of several men after arriving in garrison at
Masulipatam in October.
[Sidenote: 1814]
In the mean time the war with France was being prosecuted in Europe
with the utmost vigour, and the strength of the EIGHTY-SIXTH being
considerably above the establishment, in consequence of receiving
volunteers from the militia, His Royal Highness the Prince Regent was
pleased to order a _second battalion_ to be added to the regiment, in
February, 1814, and to bear date from the 25th of December, 1813.
The second battalion was formed at Hythe, under the superintendence
of Major Baird; it consisted of four companies of fine soldiers,
and in March they proceeded to Colchester, under orders to embark
for Holland; but the abdication of Bonaparte, and the restoration
of peace, precluded the necessity of their quitting England. The
battalion returned to Hythe in October, and afterwards proceeded to
Deal, where it was disbanded, two hundred and sixty officers and
soldiers embarking for India to join the first battalion.
Previous to this date, a detachment consisting of Captain Michael
Creagh, Lieutenants Home and Perry, Ensigns Goold, Bradford, Caddell,
Henry, and Moreton, had joined at Masulipatam, bringing the new
regimental colours.
[Sidenote: 1815]
In January, 1815, the left wing marched, under the command of Captain
Williams, for Hyderabad, to join the force subsidized by His Highness
the Nizam, and arrived on the 2nd of February at the cantonment of
Secunderabad.
On the 11th of September, Major Baird, Captain Edwards, Lieutenants
McLaurin, Webb, Leche, and Hodson, Ensigns Stuart, Law, Russell,
Holland and Home, with sixteen serjeants and two hundred and thirty
rank and file, (the effectives of the late second battalion,) arrived
at Masulipatam.
[Sidenote: 1816]
In January, 1816, the head-quarters were removed to Hyderabad, where
they remained nine mouths, and afterwards returned to Masulipatam,
where Captain Chadwick had arrived, with forty-six recruits, from
England, in the preceding August.
[Sidenote: 1817]
During the period the regiment was stationed at Masulipatam and
Hyderabad, it performed much severe duty in consequence of the
numerous incursions into the British territories of the barbarous
hordes of predatory horsemen, called _Pindarees_, whose plundering
enterprises, executed on swift horses, were conducted so as to baffle
the efforts of the troops sent to intercept them. In 1817, the
right wing at Masulipatam furnished detachments in the field under
Captains Williams, Morrice, and Creagh, in the Ganjam district, on
the banks of the Kistna, and towards Vizagapatam; the left wing was
also frequently called out; but the movements of the _Pindarees_ were
performed with so much celerity, that few of these plunderers were
captured.
Two of the Nizam’s sons rebelled, put several of his adherents to
death, and threatened to depose their father; when the left wing
of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, a battalion of sepoys, and two guns, were
ordered to enter the city of Hyderabad, preceded by two battalions
of the Nizam’s regular infantry under European officers, with two
six-pounders. The Nizam’s battalions were attacked by the insurgents
in a narrow street, and overpowered, with the loss of fifty officers
and soldiers and one gun. The light company of the EIGHTY-SIXTH,
with sixty pioneers under Lieutenant James Creagh, being in advance
recovered the gun, and covered the removal of the killed and wounded
to a square, where the two native battalions had retreated and taken
post. On the appearance of Europeans, the insurgents dispersed; the
rebel Princes surrendered and were sent prisoners to the fort of
Golconda, when order was restored.
The left wing marched for Masulipatam during the hot season, which
occasioned several deaths. On one occasion, Lieutenant Taylor and
two soldiers were interred with difficulty, from the decomposed
state of their bodies, although they had been dead only a few hours.
On another occasion the guides led the column by a wrong road,
occasioning a long and harassing march, which proved fatal to several
men.
[Sidenote: 1818]
The flank companies marched from Masulipatam in January, 1818, under
Captain Michael Creagh, and with two troops of native cavalry and
a company of sepoy grenadiers, proceeded to Datchapilly, on the
borders of the Nizam’s dominions, to protect the frontiers from the
depredations of the Pindarees.
Orders for the return of the regiment to England were issued in
1816, but countermanded in consequence of the hostile conduct of
the Pindarees: they were repeated in April, 1818, when the regiment
commenced its march for Madras, and when within one stage of that
place, the route was changed to Wallaghabad. Previous to embarking
the regiment was inspected by Major-General Brown, commanding the
centre division, who expressed in orders,--“To Colonel Hastings
Fraser, his greatest approbation of the good conduct and discipline
of the regiment since it had been under his command in the centre
division, in the attainment of which he had been so ably supported by
the officers of the corps.”
While the regiment was waiting to embark, the “Orlando” frigate
arrived at Madras, from _Ceylon_, with an application from the
governor, General Sir Robert Brownrigg, for immediate aid to suppress
the hostile aggressions of the Kandians inhabiting the interior of
the island; the mortality among the European troops, employed in the
interior, being so great, as to render further aid indispensable. The
flank companies of the EIGHTY-SIXTH were completed to one hundred
rank and file each, and embarked on board the frigate to proceed
on this service[10]; they landed at Trincomalee on the 12th of
September, and made preparations for penetrating the interior, during
which time Major Marston was taken ill.
From Trincomalee the flank companies of the EIGHTY-SIXTH sailed, on
the 18th of September, under Captain M. Creagh, and landing on the
21st, encamped near the fort of Batticoloe, where the sick men of
the Nineteenth and Seventy-third Regiments, sent from the interior,
were dying fast; a hundred had been buried close to the tents of the
EIGHTY-SIXTH, and several deaths occurred daily.
On the 25th of September, the flank companies of the regiment again
embarked in open boats, and proceeding during the night up the lake,
landed on the following day at Mandoor, from whence they marched
through thick jungle, thirteen miles up a gradual ascent, exposed to
heavy rain, to the Mangalar river. On the 29th they traversed twelve
miles of uncultivated ground, fording several streams, to the post
of Chinna Kandy, commanded by Lieutenant Robinson, of the Nineteenth
Regiment, whose detachment was suffering severely from ague and fever.
Fifteen miles of rugged country, covered with underwood destitute of
roads, and infested with wild elephants, were traversed on the 1st of
October, to the post of Kataboa, commanded by Captain Ritchie, of the
Seventy-third Regiment, who had buried nearly a hundred men of his
detachment at this place, and of the seventy Europeans left alive,
the captain and assistant surgeon were the only persons free from
fever. At this place the EIGHTY-SIXTH were joined by seventy rank and
file of the Ceylon corps, under Lieutenant Noonan, who was to act as
interpreter and guide.
The march was resumed on the 3rd of October, through a wild region,
where elephants, buffaloes, hogs, and deer were seen in abundance,
also pea and jungle fowl, but no human beings, and on the 6th the two
companies arrived at Palwatee, together with Lieutenant Stuart, of
the Ceylon corps, and a chieftain and his followers, who had joined
on the preceding day.
Having arrived in the districts infested by the insurgent Kandians,
parties of the EIGHTY-SIXTH, and Ceylon corps, were out day and
night scouring the hills, and for three weeks the soldiers were
actively employed in the mountains searching for the haunts of the
rebel chiefs, and their followers,--pursuing them from place to
place,--taking many prisoners,--also making seizures of muskets,
bows, arrows, and other military stores. Private Stanton, of the
light company, was seized by an elephant, which broke his musket,
tore off his belts, and threw him some distance into the jungle,
causing his death. During the absence of the parties, the camp was
attacked, by a body of Kandians, in the night, but the skilful
arrangements of the officers in charge preserved the soldiers from
injury, and the fire of a cohorn put the insurgents to flight.
Captain A. McLean died from fever, much regretted.
The health of the soldiers suffered from excessive fatigue, bad
provisions, constant exposure to the sun, rain, and heavy dews, and
their legs and feet were ulcerated with leech-bites,--every pool,
stream, bush, and blade of grass being infested with leeches, which
obliged the officers and soldiers to march barefoot, with their
trousers cut off at the knee, that they might detect the leeches.
Sickness increasing rapidly, and all the Coolies,--natives of
India who accompanied the troops to carry provision, ammunition,
&c.,--being attacked, Captain Creagh marched his men from the low
country, to the hilly districts, taking post at Hotpeira, where
Lieutenant Goold, with a small detachment, had erected a shed, and
collected a supply of grain and cattle.
Lieutenant Goold proceeded with as many sick as means of conveyance
could be procured for, to Badula, where the camp was frequently
attacked in the night by the wild elephants, the tents, huts, and
sheds destroyed, and several natives and followers killed; but the
soldiers all escaped unhurt.
Detachments were constantly employed day and night searching out the
haunts of the insurgent chiefs, and making many captures, including
the crown, jewels, horse, and favourite elephant of the Kandian king.
Overthrown in every rencounter, and chased from place to place with
diminished numbers, the Kandians lost all hope of success; the
leaders in the insurrection tendered their submission, the lower
orders followed their example, and tranquillity was at last restored.
In the mean time the eight battalion companies of the regiment
had arrived at the island of Ceylon, but their services not being
required, they returned to Madras, leaving one company at Trincomalee.
The services of the flank companies of the EIGHTY-SIXTH being no
longer required, they were relieved by the Ceylon corps, and marched
to Badula, where, in garrison orders, dated the 19th of November, the
following order appeared:--“Colonel McDonell performs a pleasing duty
in bearing his public testimony of his entire approbation of the good
conduct and patience, which, (under so many trying difficulties,)
have distinguished the detachment of the EIGHTY-SIXTH Regiment. He
requests Captain Creagh will be pleased to convey to the officers and
men, his unqualified thanks for their services, &c., &c.”
From Badula the two flank companies, reduced to five officers, two
serjeants, two drummers, and sixty-six rank and file, commenced
their march on the 20th of November; the periodical rains had set
in, and the rivers were so full and rapid, that much difficulty was
experienced. On arriving at Kataboa, Captain Ritchie’s detachment was
found nearly annihilated. At this place an elephant was procured,
to convey the stores and men across the rivers; and the march was
continued to Chinna Kandy, where the military establishment was found
in a state of ruin. Lieutenant Robinson had left the post sick,--the
three serjeants had died,--the defences were destroyed by the wild
elephants,--the building containing the provisions was washed away by
the rains, and the few surviving men were unable to move: with much
difficulty a small supply was recovered from the wreck, for the use
of the detachment.
From these statements, some idea may be formed of the vicissitudes
of actual service, the casualties of climate, the privations and
sufferings which chequer the career of those who embrace the military
profession, and the sacrifice of valuable life by which colonial
possessions are acquired and retained, and many national benefits
obtained and preserved[11].
After a march of ten days, exposed to almost incessant rain, the
flank companies arrived at Mandoor, where they halted forty-eight
hours to recover, and afterwards sailed down the lake to Batticoloe,
from whence they were directed to march, through a low flat country
almost covered with water, to Trincomalee, instead of proceeding
thither by sea, as had been expected.
Two canoes and the elephant were sent forward; the men proceeded
forty miles in boats along the coast, then landed and marched ten
days, through a country almost covered with water, with scarcely
sufficient ground to rest upon. The tents were destroyed by the wet,
and abandoned; the elephant proceeded in advance, feeling for the
rivers; the canoes, conveying the sick, were dragged by Coolies and
soldiers wading in the water, and in this state the two companies
reached Cottiar bay, on the 18th of December. Boats being in
readiness, they embarked for Trincomalee, and with difficulty crossed
the bar; soon afterwards the wind changed, the sea became rough, and
it was found impracticable either to prosecute the voyage, or to
return across the bar with leaky open boats. With much danger and
difficulty they gained a rock in the bay, where the soldiers passed
the night, huddled together, menaced with being swept off when the
tide arose, and destitute of provisions and fresh water. The wind
and rain abating, they again embarked on the following morning, and
on arriving at the inner harbour, were met by the boats of the ships
of war, which had been cruizing for them, but were unable, from
the roughness of the weather, to rescue them from their perilous
situation, on the preceding night. On passing the “Orlando” frigate,
the seamen cheered, but the soldiers gave a feeble response. On
landing, twelve men were sent to the hospital, four lieutenants, one
serjeant, two drummers, and forty-seven rank and file, under Captain
Creagh, in rags, their feet and legs bare, and ulcerated, emaciated
and tottering from exhaustion and hunger, entered the fort; the
pitiable remains of two hundred picked men, who marched out only
three months before, forming two fine flank companies equal to any
service.
On landing, Lieutenant William Home, found his brother, Ensign Home,
dead in the hospital. Ensign Home belonged to a battalion company
of the regiment, part of which was detached at Minnery,--a most
unhealthy post, where nearly all the non-commissioned officers and
soldiers had died.
Two days after the arrival of the flank companies of the
EIGHTY-SIXTH, from the interior, a General Order was issued, in which
the Commander of the Forces in Ceylon expressed his “acknowledgments
to Major Marston, Captain Creagh, and to all the officers and
soldiers of that distinguished corps, for the gallant and important
services rendered by them in suppressing the Kandian rebellion, at
the same time, he cannot conceal the deep regret he feels at the
severe loss which has fallen on the detachment, and the death of a
gallant officer, Captain Archibald McLean, and many brave soldiers.”
General Sir Robert Brownrigg also states, “Captain Creagh’s gallant
and most useful services in the command of the flank companies
of the EIGHTY-SIXTH Regiment, during the Kandian war, under very
trying circumstances, was such, as to entitle him to the favourable
notice of His Royal Highness the Commander-in-Chief, and to the best
commendation I can bestow on him.”
[Sidenote: 1819]
On the 15th of January, 1819, the detachment embarked, and, after
putting to sea, was driven back by contrary winds, but landed
at Madras, on the 5th of February, and joined the regiment at
Poonamalee, on the same evening. The health of the party was not
re-established, and Lieutenant Caddell, Assistant-Surgeon Bell, and
several soldiers, died after their arrival at Madras.
The period for the return of the regiment to Europe, having arrived,
the following statement appeared in General Orders, dated Madras, 6th
March, 1819,--“The Lieut.-General has traced with gratification, the
well-earned tributes of applause, bestowed by successive governments,
and commanders, in commendation of the numerous instances of
gallantry and efficiency displayed during the active and varied
service in which His Majesty’s EIGHTY-SIXTH, or ROYAL COUNTY DOWN
Regiment of Foot, has been engaged since its arrival in the East
Indies; and Colonel Fraser, the officers, and men, are requested to
accept His Excellency’s thanks for the correct and orderly conduct of
the corps.”
In general orders by government, dated the 20th of March, 1819, it
was stated,--
“The meritorious conduct of His Majesty’s Twenty-fifth Light
Dragoons, and EIGHTY-SIXTH Regiment of Foot, in every situation
where they have been employed during the long period of their
services in India, has been brought under the notice of government,
in a particular manner, by His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief,
as establishing for them strong claims to its consideration; and
the honourable mention which has been made by his Excellency the
Commander-in-Chief, has been coupled with the expression of his
Excellency’s wish, that their services may meet with the same
acknowledgment, on their approaching departure, as, in general
orders, dated 27th August, 1805, and 11th October, 1806, marked the
close of the distinguished career of His Majesty’s Seventy-fourth
Regiment, and Nineteenth Light Dragoons, then returning to England;
concurring entirely in the commendations which His Majesty’s
Twenty-fifth Light Dragoons, and EIGHTY-SIXTH Foot, have received
from the Commander-in-Chief, and entertaining the same high sense
of their merits and services, the Governor in Council is pleased to
extend, to the officers of those corps, the indulgence recommended
by his Excellency, and, accordingly, directs that a donation of
three months’ full batta be passed to them on the occasion of their
embarkation for Europe.”
Five hundred and sixty non-commissioned officers and soldiers having
volunteered to remain in India, transferring their services to other
corps, the remainder of the regiment sailed for England in April, and
in October anchored off the Nore, where the ship was placed under
quarantine, Lieutenant John Campbell and several soldiers having died
during the voyage.
On the 23rd of October, the regiment landed at Gravesend, after
an _absence from England of twenty-three years and four months_,
bringing back only _two individuals_, MAJOR D. MARSTON and
QUARTER-MASTER R. GILL, who embarked with it in June, 1796, the
latter as a private.
The regiment joined the depôt companies at Canterbury, where
Lieut.-Colonel John Johnson succeeded to the lieut.-colonelcy, on the
promotion of Colonel Fraser, C.B., to the rank of major-general.
[Sidenote: 1820]
During the winter, the regiment marched to Chichester, sending two
companies to Brighton, and in April, 1820, it was removed to Weedon
and Northampton, where two hundred and fifty recruits joined from
Ireland.
[Sidenote: 1821]
[Sidenote: 1822]
In February, 1821, the regiment proceeded to Chatham; in October it
embarked at Bristol, for Ireland, and, after landing at Waterford,
occupied quarters at that place, having nine detached parties, until
April, 1822, when the head-quarters were removed to Naas, and in
July, the regiment occupied Richmond barracks, Dublin.
[Sidenote: 1823]
From Dublin, the regiment proceeded, in May, 1823, to Athlone, and
in October to Armagh, where the authority of His Majesty, King George
IV., was received for bearing the word “INDIA” on the colours and
appointments, “in consideration of the distinguished conduct of the
regiment during the period of its service in India, from the year
1799, to the year 1819.”
[Sidenote: 1824]
[Sidenote: 1825]
[Sidenote: 1826]
In March, 1824, the head-quarters were removed to Newry; in
January, 1825, the regiment proceeded to Naas; in June it was
removed to Clonmel[12], and in the spring of 1826, it marched to
Buttevant,--furnishing numerous detached parties. On quitting the
south-west district, Major-General Sir Charles Doyle expressed, in a
letter to the commanding officer, his “entire satisfaction” at the
conduct of the regiment, while under his orders.
Lieut.-Colonel Johnson retired on half-pay, and was succeeded as
commanding officer, by Lieut.-Colonel Mallett, C.B., from the
Eighty-ninth regiment.
In the autumn, the regiment was formed into six _service_, and four
_depôt_ companies, preparatory to its embarkation for the West
Indies[13]. In October, the service companies proceeded to Cork,
leaving the depôt under Captain Stuart, at Buttevant, and embarking
on board the “Princess Royal,” “Waterloo,” and “Thetis,” transports,
sailed for Barbadoes, from whence they were ordered to Trinidad and
Tobago, to relieve the Ninth Regiment, which was about to return
home. The retirement of Major Baird occasioned Major Michael Creagh
to return from the West Indies, to take command of the depôt.
[Sidenote: 1827]
At Trinidad, the regiment occupied the Orange-Grove Barracks, until
the completion of the new barracks at St. James’s. During the year
1827, Ensign Selway died at Tobago, and the loss by deaths, at the
two islands of Trinidad and Tobago, amounted to three serjeants,
forty rank and file, and eleven soldiers’ wives.
[Sidenote: 1828]
In January, 1828, the regiment was relieved by the first battalion of
the Royal Regiment, and proceeded to the island of Barbadoes, where
Adjutant Dolman, three serjeants, and fifty-six rank and file, died
of fevers contracted at Trinidad and Tobago.
[Sidenote: 1829]
[Sidenote: 1830]
The regiment remained at Barbadoes during the year 1829; in January,
1830, it was removed to Antigua, St. Kitts, and Montserrat.
On the 2nd of December, Major W. Richardson died at Antigua,
universally regretted by the officers and soldiers of the regiment,
who testified their regard for his merits, by erecting a monument to
his memory in the church of Newry, County Down. He was the last of
the three brothers who served with distinction in the corps.
[Sidenote: 1831]
In March, 1831, the slaves of Antigua, being opposed to the abolition
of the Sunday market, set fire to several plantations, when a strong
detachment was sent to protect the town of St. John’s, where it
remained until tranquillity was restored.
[Sidenote: 1832]
Colonel Mallet, C.B., after having assumed charge of the civil
government at St. Lucia, died at that island, very much regretted by
the regiment; and was succeeded, in February, 1832, by Lieut.-Colonel
MICHAEL CREAGH, from the half-pay, whose services are recorded in the
preceding pages.
In the spring of this year, His Majesty, King William IV., was
graciously pleased to approve of the regiment bearing on its colours
and appointments the Irish “HARP AND CROWN” and the motto “QUIS
SEPARABIT?”. The harp and crown only was assumed when the corps
obtained the title of ROYAL COUNTY DOWN REGIMENT.
During this year, detachments were employed in controlling the
disposition to violence evinced by the slave-population at Tortola,
Barbuda, and other places.
On the decease of General the Earl of Kilmorey, the colonelcy of the
regiment was conferred on Major-General William George Lord Harris,
K.C.B. by commission, dated 3rd December, 1832.
[Sidenote: 1833]
In February, 1833, the regiment was removed to Demerara and Berbice,
with detached companies at Fort Wellington, Mahaica, and Fort D’Urban.
Lieut.-Colonel Sir Michael Creagh, K.H., arrived from England, on
the 1st of March, bringing with him the new colours, presented to
the regiment by the late Earl of Kilmorey, bearing the “HARP AND
CROWN” with the motto “_Quis Separabit?_” also the “SPHINX,” and the
words “EGYPT,” “BOURBON,” “INDIA;”--distinctions reflecting honour on
the corps, and calculated to stimulate the youthful soldiers of the
regiment to emulate the noble example of their predecessors.
[Sidenote: 1834]
The regiment remained at Demerara and Berbice during the years 1834
and 1835.
[Sidenote: 1835]
[Sidenote: 1836]
In December, 1835, Major-General Lord Harris was appointed to the
Seventy-third Regiment, and Major-General the Honourable Sir
Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby, K.C.B., was appointed to the colonelcy
of the EIGHTY-SIXTH Regiment. This officer was removed to the Royal
Dragoons, in March, 1836, and was succeeded by Major-General James
Watson, C.B.
From Demerara and Berbice, the regiment was removed in May, 1836, to
Barbadoes.
[Sidenote: 1837]
On the 20th of February, 1837, the regiment was inspected,
preparatory to its return to England, by Lieut.-General Sir Samford
Whittingham, who stated in a letter to Lieut.-Colonel Sir Michael
Creagh, that he had “reported the EIGHTY-SIXTH, as about to embark
for England, after ten years’ service in the West Indies, in a
state of hardy, soldier-like efficiency, fit, if necessary, for
immediate service in the field: a circumstance alike creditable to
the commanding officer and to the corps.” On the embarkation of the
regiment, on the 21st of March, the following appeared in general
orders:--“The Lieutenant-General Commanding the Forces, having in
person witnessed the embarkation of the EIGHTY-SIXTH Regiment this
morning, it gives him sincere satisfaction to express in general
orders his acknowledgements of the soldier-like and orderly manner in
which it was conducted. The arrangements were perfect, and the whole
proceeding reflects the highest credit on Lieut.-Colonel Sir Michael
Creagh, the officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers, of the
Royal County Down Regiment. They carry with them the Lieut.-General’s
best wishes for their future honour and welfare.”
In May the service companies arrived at Chatham, having sustained
a loss of five officers, and two hundred and ninety-nine soldiers,
during the period they had been absent from Great Britain, and
bringing back four hundred and twenty-four effective men. The depôt
companies arrived at Chatham from Ireland, on the following day[14].
On the 24th of May, Lieut.-General Watson was removed to the
Fourteenth Foot, and was succeeded by Lieut.-General Sir Arthur
Brooke, K.C.B.
In June the regiment marched to Weedon, where it was inspected on
the 8th of August by General Lord Hill, Commanding-in-Chief, who
expressed to Lieut.-Colonel Sir Michael Creagh, in front of the
regiment, his approbation of the highly efficient state of the corps,
after so long a service in the West Indies.
After the inspection, the regiment marched into Lancashire, and
occupied Salford-barracks, Manchester, detaching one company to the
Isle of Man. During the Chartist disturbances, the EIGHTY-SIXTH were
much employed, and frequently received the thanks of Major-General
Sir Charles Napier, and Colonel Wemyss.
[Sidenote: 1838]
[Sidenote: 1839]
[Sidenote: 1840]
In April, 1838, the head-quarters and flank companies were removed to
Stockport, in Cheshire; but returned to Manchester, in June, 1839;
and in June, 1840, the regiment embarked at Liverpool for Ireland,
and landed at Belfast; in September it was removed to Dublin.
[Sidenote: 1841]
The regiment was employed in the summer of 1841, at Templemore,
Clonmel, Cork, and other places, aiding the civil power in the
preservation of the public peace, during the election of members
of parliament, and were particularly thanked for their conduct and
forbearance.
The regiment received orders to form their depôt companies
preparatory to proceeding on service.
[Sidenote: 1842]
The Gazette of January 7, 1842, announced the exchange of
Lieut.-Colonel Sir Michael Creagh, K.H., with Lieut.-Colonel Derinzy,
K.H., of the Eleventh regiment.
At the period of the conclusion of this record, the EIGHTY-SIXTH,
or the ROYAL COUNTY DOWN REGIMENT, is under orders again to proceed
to India. Although comparatively a young corps, it has performed much
valuable service to the country in all quarters of the globe; it had
not the good fortune to serve in the Peninsular War, in which so many
corps acquired honorary inscriptions; but it has earned distinctions
for its colours, which furnish a powerful incentive to perseverance
in the path of duty and honor to all who may have their names
recorded in the books of this distinguished regiment.
1842.
SUCCESSION OF COLONELS
OF
THE EIGHTY-SIXTH,
OR
THE ROYAL COUNTY DOWN REGIMENT OF
FOOT.
CORNELIUS CUYLER.
_Appointed 30th October, 1793._
CORNELIUS CUYLER was appointed ensign in the fifty-fifth foot,
on the 31st of May, 1759, and, immediately proceeding to North
America, joined his regiment before the fort of Ticonderoga, on the
west shore of Lake Champlain, in July of the same year, in time to
take part in the reduction of that post. In 1760 he served at the
reduction of Isle-aux-Noix and at the capture of Montreal, which
completed the conquest of Canada. In 1764 he was appointed captain
in the forty-sixth foot, with which corps he served two years on
the frontiers of North America, one year at New York, and eight in
Ireland. On the breaking out of the American war in 1775, he was
appointed first aide-de-camp to Lieutenant-General Sir William Howe,
who proceeded to Boston with reinforcements. In 1776, he was promoted
to major in the fifty-fifth, but continued to perform the duty of
first aide-de-camp to Sir William Howe, then commanding-in-chief
in North America, and served at the reduction of Long Island,
the capture of New York, and the battle of White Plains. He also
accompanied the expedition to Pennsylvania in 1777, and served at
the battles of Brandywine, and Germantown, and in November of that
year he succeeded Colonel Meadows, who was removed to the fifth
foot, in the lieutenant-colonelcy of the fifty-fifth, which corps he
commanded in the retreat from Philadelphia to New York in 1778, and
was at the battle of Freehold, under Lieutenant-General Sir Henry
Clinton. In November of that year he proceeded with his regiment
to the West Indies, and was engaged in the capture of St. Lucie.
He performed the duties of adjutant-general to the troops in the
West Indies, under Major-General Christie, in 1781; he afterwards
performed the duties of quarter-master-general in the West Indies
until 1784 when he returned to England, and took the command of his
regiment, then in Ireland. In 1787 he was appointed to the situation
of quarter-master-general in the West Indies, which he held until
1792, when he succeeded to the command of the forces in the Windward
and Leeward Islands. He commanded an expedition against Tobago,
and, having captured the principal fort by storm, on the morning of
the 15th of April, 1793, the island submitted. Returning to England
soon afterwards, he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and
appointed colonel of the EIGHTY-SIXTH Regiment, then first raised,
and styled “Cuyler’s Shropshire Volunteers.” He was also placed
on the staff of Great Britain, and in April, 1794, he obtained
the appointment of lieutenant-governor of Portsmouth: in June of
that year he was removed from the EIGHTY-SIXTH to the sixty-ninth
regiment. In June, 1796, he was appointed commander-in-chief in the
West Indies, with the local rank of lieutenant-general; in January,
1798, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general in the army,
and returned to England in May following. In June he was appointed
to the command of the Sussex district; and in January, 1799, he was
nominated commander-in-chief in Portugal,--the government of that
country having refused to ratify a treaty of peace with France,
and agreed to receive British troops into the ports: he returned
to England in November, the greater part of the troops being sent
to the Mediterranean. The rank of general was conferred on this
distinguished officer in 1803; he was also appointed governor of
Kinsale, and, in July, 1814, he was further rewarded with the dignity
of BARONET.
General Sir Cornelius Cuyler, Baronet, died at St. John’s Lodge,
Herts, on the 8th of March, 1819, after an honourable service of
sixty years.
RUSSELL MANNERS.
_Appointed 20th June, 1794._
This officer was appointed cornet in the royal regiment of
horse-guards, in May, 1755; captain in the seventh dragoons,
in February, 1758, and in April, 1760, he was promoted to the
lieutenant-colonelcy of the twenty-first dragoons, or royal
foresters. He served in Germany under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick,
and, at the peace in 1763, when the royal foresters were disbanded,
he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the second dragoon guards.
On the breaking out of the American war, in 1775, he was appointed
colonel of the nineteenth light dragoons,--then newly raised;
in 1777, he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and, in
1782, to that of lieutenant-general; in 1783 his regiment was
disbanded. The colonelcy of the EIGHTY-SIXTH foot was conferred on
Lieutenant-General Manners in 1794; in 1795 he was removed to the
twenty-sixth light dragoons, and in 1799 he was promoted to the rank
of general.
On the 23rd of May, 1800, as General Manners was riding, accompanied
by two other gentlemen, in a post-chaise, to Cambridge, he was
stopped by two highwaymen, who demanded his money, when he shot one
dead on the spot, and the other rode off. In September of the same
year, he was residing at Southend, for the benefit of his health,
and, having a presentiment of his approaching death, he set off for
London, alone, to obtain medical advice, but he was taken ill on
the road, and died at an inn, at Billericay, in Essex, on the 11th
September, 1800.
WILLIAM GRINFIELD.
_Appointed 25th March, 1795._
WILLIAM GRINFIELD was appointed ensign in the third foot guards, in
1760; he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and captain in 1767,
to that of captain and lieutenant-colonel in 1776, and in 1782 he was
promoted to the rank of colonel in the army. In 1786 he obtained the
commission of second major in his regiment. He commanded the first
battalion of the third foot guards, under His Royal Highness the Duke
of York, in Flanders, and evinced great personal bravery and ability
on several occasions, particularly at the siege of Valenciennes, and
at the re-capture of the post of Lincelles on the 18th of August,
1793, for which he received the thanks of the Duke of York in general
orders. He had been appointed lieutenant-colonel of the third foot
guards a few days before this action occurred, and in October of the
same year he was promoted to the rank of major-general. In 1795 he
was rewarded with the colonelcy of the EIGHTY-SIXTH foot; in 1798 he
was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general, and at that eventful
period he was called upon to transfer his services to the West
Indies, with the important appointment of commander of the forces
in the Windward and Leeward islands. On the renewal of hostilities
with France in 1803, he commanded an expedition against St. Lucie,
and, having captured the fort of Morne Fortuné by storm on the 22nd
of June, the island submitted. He landed on the island of Tobago on
the 30th of June, and, by a spirited advance upon Scarborough, forced
the French General, Berthier, to surrender. He captured the islands
of Demerara and Essequibo, from the Dutch, on the 19th of September,
and Berbice, in a few days afterwards. On the 25th of September he
was promoted to the rank of general. He died at Barbadoes on the 19th
of October, 1803, of the yellow fever, surviving his lady only three
days. It is recorded, that a short time before he left England for
the West Indies, Mrs. Grinfield’s brother died, leaving them £20,000;
the general, finding two cousins of the deceased were left unprovided
for, observed to his lady, that, as themselves possessed an ample
fortune, he purposed making provision for the unfortunate relatives;
she readily assenting, he sent for them, and divided the whole legacy
between them.
SIR JAMES HENRY CRAIG, KB.
_Appointed 5th January, 1804._
JAMES HENRY CRAIG obtained a commission of ensign in the thirtieth
foot on the 1st of June, 1763, and he served with his regiment
several years at the fortress of Gibraltar. In March, 1771, he was
promoted captain in the forty-seventh foot, with which corps he
served in the American war. The forty-seventh were at Boston when
hostilities commenced; they took part in the actions at Concord
and Bunker’s Hill in 1775, and in 1776 they served in Canada. In
December, 1777, Captain Craig was promoted major in the eighty-second
regiment, then serving in America, and in 1781 he obtained the
lieutenant-colonelcy of that corps, from which he was removed, in
1783, to the sixteenth foot. In 1790 he was promoted to the rank of
colonel, in 1794 to that of major-general, and in 1795 his services
were rewarded with the colonelcy of the forty-sixth foot. In 1801 he
was advanced to the rank of lieutenant-general, and was removed to
the EIGHTY-SIXTH regiment in 1804. On the 25th of March, 1805, he was
appointed commander-in-chief in the Mediterranean, with the local
rank of general; he was also honoured with the dignity of a Knight
of the Bath, and nominated governor of Blackness Castle; in 1806 he
was removed to the twenty-second regiment. The services of General
Sir James Craig were afterwards transferred to British North America,
of which country he was appointed governor, with the local rank of
general in Upper and Lower Canada, dated the 21st of August, 1807. In
1809 he was removed to the colonelcy of the seventy-eighth highland
regiment, or Ross-shire buffs. On the 1st of January, 1812, he was
promoted to the rank of general in the army, which he only held a few
days, his decease occurring on the 12th of the same month.
SIR CHARLES ROSS, BART.
_Appointed 30th October, 1806._
CHARLES ROSS, son of Admiral Sir Lockhart Ross, of Balnagown, Bart.,
who signalized himself during the seven years’ war, obtained a
commission of cornet in the seventh dragoons, in January, 1780, and
in May, 1784, he was promoted captain in the third Irish horse, now
sixth dragoon guards, in which corps he remained three years, when he
was advanced to the commission of major in the thirty-seventh foot.
On the 16th of March, 1791, he was promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy
of his regiment, and he performed the duty of commanding officer
several years with reputation to himself and advantage to the
service. He afterwards took an active part in raising the hundred
and sixteenth regiment, but this corps was disbanded in 1796. On the
18th of June, 1798, he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and
to that of lieut.-general, in October, 1805. In December of the same
year, he was appointed colonel of the eighty-fifth foot, from which
he was removed, in October, 1806, to the EIGHTY-SIXTH, and in June,
1810, he was appointed to the thirty-seventh regiment. He was endowed
with many amiable qualities, which rendered him an ornament to his
country; he was eminently useful in every relation which connected
him with society, particularly courteous in public life, and
affectionate and valuable as a friend. He died at Balnagown Castle,
in the county of Ross, on the 8th of February, 1814.
THE HONORABLE FRANCIS NEEDHAM.
_Appointed 25th June, 1810._
THE HONORABLE FRANCIS JACK NEEDHAM, third son of John, tenth Viscount
of Kilmorey, choosing the profession of arms, procured a commission
of cornet in the eighteenth dragoons, on the 17th of December, 1762;
in February, 1765, he was removed to the first dragoons, in which
corps he obtained a lieutenancy in 1771, and in May, 1774, he was
promoted captain in the seventeenth dragoons. He accompanied his
regiment to North America, in the spring of 1775, and served at
Boston under Lieut.-General Gage; he also served at the capture of
Long Island under General Sir William Howe, and received, with his
regiment, the thanks of the Commander-in-Chief, for his conduct at
the battle of Brooklyn. He also served in the actions at White
Plains, and in the Jerseys; afterwards proceeded to Philadelphia,
took part in several skirmishes in Pennsylvania, and in covering
the retreat to New York, in the performance of which service he was
engaged at Freehold. He was subsequently stationed in the lines in
front of New York, where he was taken prisoner by the Americans. In
August, 1780, he was promoted major in the seventy-sixth Highland
regiment, then serving in America, with which corps he shared in the
contest until the peace. In February, 1783, he was promoted to the
lieut.-colonelcy of the hundred and fourth regiment, and six weeks
afterwards he was appointed captain and lieut.-colonel in the first
foot guards; he was nominated aide-de-camp to the King in 1793,
with the rank of colonel. In 1794 he was appointed adjutant-general
of the expedition to the coast of France, under Lieut.-General the
Earl of Moira; and in 1795 he was appointed third major in the first
foot guards, promoted to the rank of major-general, and placed on
the home staff. He was subsequently detached, second in command to
Major-General Doyle, with Monsieur Compte D’ Artois and his suite,
to take possession of Isle Dieu, which place the troops maintained
so long as the navy could afford them protection. An appointment on
the staff of Ireland was next conferred on him, and he commanded a
body of troops during the rebellion in 1798; he was at the battle
of Arklow, on the 9th of June, and commanded a division at Vinegar
Hill, on the 21st of June. He continued on the staff of Ireland until
April, 1802, when he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general.
He had previously been appointed lieut.-colonel in the first foot
guards (21st of August, 1801,) and in April, 1804, he obtained the
colonelcy of the fifth veteran battalion. In 1806, he was elected
member of parliament for Newry, and he sat for that borough in four
parliaments. He was appointed colonel of the EIGHTY-SIXTH Regiment
in 1810, and took great interest in the reputation and welfare of
his corps: in 1812 he was promoted to the rank of general. On the
decease of his brother Robert, in 1818, he succeeded to the dignity
of VISCOUNT KILMOREY. Large and influential estates in Ireland were
bequeathed to him by a distant relation; and in January, 1822, he
was advanced to the dignity of EARL OF KILMOREY and Viscount Newry
and Morne, in the County Down, Ireland. This excellent and patriotic
nobleman died at his seat of Shavington, in Shropshire, on the 21st
of November, 1832, much regretted, particularly by his numerous
tenants in Ireland, to whom he had evinced great kindness.
WILLIAM GEORGE LORD HARRIS.
_Appointed 3rd December, 1832._
Removed to the seventy-third regiment of foot, 4th December, 1835.
THE HONORABLE SIR FREDERICK CAVENDISH PONSONBY, KCB., GCMG., KCH.
_Appointed 4th December, 1835._
HONORABLE FREDERICK CAVENDISH PONSONBY, third son of Frederick, third
Earl of Besborough, was appointed cornet in the tenth dragoons,
in 1800, and rose, in 1803, to the commission of captain in the
same corps, from which he exchanged to the sixtieth regiment, in
1806. In 1807, he was appointed major in the twenty-third light
dragoons, at the head of which corps he distinguished himself at
the battle of Talavera, in 1809, and was promoted, in 1810, to
the lieutenant-colonelcy of the regiment. In 1811 he served under
Lieut.-General Graham, at Cadiz: and at the battle of Barossa,
in March of that year, he attacked, with a squadron of German
dragoons, the French cavalry covering the retreat, overthrew
them, took two guns, and even attempted, though vainly, to sabre
Rousseau’s battalions. On the 11th of June, 1811, he was appointed
lieut.-colonel of the twelfth light dragoons; at the head of which
corps he served under Lord Wellington, and distinguished himself,
in April, 1812, at Llerena, in one of the most brilliant cavalry
actions during the war. At the battle of Salamanca he charged the
French infantry, broke his sword in the fight, and his horse received
several bayonet wounds. He repeatedly evinced great judgment,
penetration, and resolution in the out-post duty, and was wounded
in the retreat from Burgos, on the 13th of October, 1812. At the
battle of Vittoria he again distinguished himself: his services at
Tolosa, St. Sebastian, and Nive were also conspicuous; and, on the
king’s birth-day, in 1814, he was promoted to the rank of colonel
in the army. He commanded the twelfth light dragoons at the battle
of Waterloo, where he led his regiment to the charge with signal
intrepidity,--received sabre cuts on both arms,--was brought to
the ground by a blow on the head,--pierced through the back by a
lancer,--plundered by a tirailleur,--ridden over by two squadrons
of cavalry,--and plundered a second time by a Prussian soldier;
but afterwards recovered of his wounds. His services were rewarded
with the following marks of royal favour:--Knight Companion of the
order of the Bath,--Knight Grand Cross of the order of St. Michael
and St. George,--Knight Commander of the Hanoverian Guelphic
order,--a cross,--a Waterloo medal,--Knight of the Tower and Sword of
Portugal,--and Knight of Maria Theresa of Austria. In January, 1824,
he was nominated inspecting field officer in the Ionian Islands;
he was promoted brigadier-general on the staff of those islands,
in March, 1824; and in June, 1825, he was advanced to the rank of
major-general. He was removed to the staff of Malta, and retained the
command of the troops in that island until May, 1835. In December,
1835, he obtained the colonelcy of the EIGHTY-SIXTH Regiment, from
which he was removed to the royal dragoons in the following year.
He was an ornament to his profession. In him, military talent was
united with the most chivalrous bravery,--calm judgment,--cool
decision,--resolute action, and modest deportment. He died on the
10th of January, 1837.
JAMES WATSON.
_Appointed 31st March, 1836._
Removed to the fourteenth foot, 24th May, 1837.
SIR ARTHUR BROOKE, KCB.
_Appointed 24th May, 1837._
LONDON: HARRISON AND CO., PRINTERS, ST. MARTIN’S LANE.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] “GEORGE R.,
“Whereas we have thought fit to order a regiment of foot to
be forthwith raised, under your command, which is to consist
of ten companies, with three serjeants, three corporals, two
drummers, and fifty-seven private men in each company, with
two fifers to the grenadier company, besides a serjeant-major
and quarter-master-serjeant, together with the usual number of
commissioned officers; these are to authorise you, by beat of drum,
or otherwise, to raise so many men in any county or part of our
kingdom of Great Britain, as shall be wanted to complete the said
regiment to the above-mentioned numbers.
“And all magistrates, justices of the peace, constables, and other
our civil officers, whom it may concern, are hereby required to be
assisting unto you, in providing quarters, impressing carriages, and
otherwise, as there shall be occasion.
“GIVEN at Our Court, at St. James’s, this 1st day of November, 1793,
in the thirty-fourth year of Our reign.
“By His Majesty’s command,
“(Signed) GEORGE YONGE.”
“_To Our trusty and well-beloved C. Cuyler, Esq., Major-General in
our Army, and Colonel of a Regiment of Foot to be forthwith raised,
&c., &c., &c._”
[2] Now General Commanding-in-Chief.
[3] The troops designed for this service consisted of the tenth,
eightieth, and eighty-eighth regiments, seven companies of the
nineteenth, three of eighty-sixth, a battalion of native infantry,
and a proportion of artillery, under Colonel the Honourable Arthur
Wellesley.
[4] OFFICERS PRESENT,--_Majors_ Henry Torrens, (commanding,) George
Cuyler; _Captains_ James Richardson, John Grant, ---- Maclaurin;
_Lieutenants_ W. Martin, J. H. Wilson, Peter Drummond, John Harvey,
Alexander Grant, R. Travers, William Bourd, S. G. McKay, Thomas
Lanphier, J. Wilson, David Morrice, Edmund Carter, G. D’Aigular;
_Ensign_ Neill Maclaurin; _Adjutant_ W. Moreton; _Quarter-Master_ J.
Coor; _Surgeon_ P. W. Deane; _Assistant-Surgeons_ Bellars and Liddle:
53 serjeants, 22 drummers, 668 rank and file.
[5] OFFICERS PRESENT, 1st January, 1805:--_Major_ George Cuyler,
(commanding); _Captains_ James Grant, William Moreton; _Lieutenants_
R. Travers, W. Baird, Thomas Lanphier, J. Wilson, D. Morrice,
George D’Aguilar, N. Maclaurin, H. Steele; _Surgeon_ P. W. Deane;
_Assistant-Surgeons_ Bellars and Liddle:--51 serjeants, 22 drummers,
511 rank and file.
[6] OFFICERS PRESENT, 1st December, 1805. _Major_ George Cuyler
(commanding a brigade); _Captains_ John Grant, (commanding the
regiment), William Baird; _Lieutenants_ D. Morrice, N. Maclaurin,
H. Steele, Thomas Lanphier, George D’Aguilar, (brigade-major);
_Quarter-Master_ J. Smith; _Surgeon_, P. Deane; _Assistant-Surgeon_
R. Bellars: 48 serjeants, 19 drummers, 354 rank and file.
[7] Major Edwards was killed at the storming of Bhurtpore, under Lord
Cumbermere, while in command of the Fourteenth Foot.
[8] The Regiment erected a handsome Monument where this officer fell,
with the following inscription:--
“Lieut. John Graham Munro fell near this spot on the 8th of July,
1810, while charging the enemy, at the head of His Britannic
Majesty’s 86th Grenadiers. The Officers of the Regiment have
erected this Monument as a mark of their respect for his memory.”
This monument having, some years back, suffered by a hurricane, the
French officers stationed on the island, (to their honour be it
known,) had it put in a thorough state of repair at their own expense.
[9] A division of the regiment on marching through Tipperary,
in 1823, halted at the village of Middleton: in the evening the
commanding officer observed the soldiers assembled round a tomb in
the burial ground, with their caps off; on enquiring the cause, a
soldier of the grenadiers replied, “Your honour, we are come up to
see our old captain.” On joining the group, he observed the tomb
of his old and respected comrade, Lieut.-Colonel Lanphier, and the
following words, which had been scratched by the soldiers beneath
the inscription on the tomb-stone, “A BRAVE SOLDIER!” “Please your
honour,” (the soldier continued) “the Boys of the company would like
to fire three rounds over the grave, and would be glad to pay for the
powder if your honour will let them fire.” On the following morning
the grenadier company, which the deceased had gallantly commanded
for a number of years, paid the last tribute of respect to their
late captain’s remains which was duly appreciated by his surviving
relatives, and also by the villagers. Lieut.-Colonel Lanphier entered
the army as Ensign in the 10th Foot, in 1798, and was promoted to be
Lieutenant in the 86th Regiment in 1800, to be Captain in 1806, to
the rank of Brevet-Major in 1810, and of Brevet Lieut.-Colonel in
1819; he retired from the service by the sale of his Commission on
the 30th of January, 1823, being then the Senior Captain of the 86th
Regiment.
[10] List of officers who served against the Kandians.
Major Marston commanding.
_Grenadier Company_, Captain, Michael Creagh; Lieutenants, William
Home, David Bradford, Andrew Russell.
_Light Company_, Captain, Archibald McLean; Lieutenants, James
Creagh, P. P. Goold, and Edward Caddell; Assistant-Surgeon, R. H.
Bell.
[11] See Preface.
[12] At Clonmel, the regiment lost a fine young officer, Lieutenant
Frederick Close, whose body was found in the river Suir, together
with the body of a young lady named Grubb. The cause of their
melancholy fate was never ascertained.
[13] NAMES OF THE OFFICERS who proceeded to the West Indies, in
1826:--
In the “Princess Royal,”--_Lieut.-Colonel_ J. W. Mallet; _Captains_
Robert Crawford, James Creagh; _Lieutenants_ Francis Kearney,
Lewis Halliday; _Ensign_ Robert Mayne; _Adjutant_ John Dolman; and
_Surgeon_ A. Cunningham.
In the “Waterloo,”--_Captain_ R. B. Usher; _Lieutenants_ P. North,
F. H. Dalgety, Lewis Grant; _Ensigns_ James Galwey, J. B. Selway, E.
Davis, and W. Johnson.
In the “Thetis,”--_Major_ Michael Creagh: _Captains_ Alexander
McLean, R. B. Wolseley; _Lieutenants_ J. Grant, J. McIntyre; and
_Quarter-Master_ J. Jerome.
[14] STATE OF LOSS:--
Trinidad and Tobago 42
Barbadoes 71
Antigua, St. Kitts, Montserrat, and Tortola 72
British Guiana 114
----
299
TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been
corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within
the text and consultation of external sources.
Some hyphens in words have been silently removed, some added,
when a predominant preference was found in the original book.
Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text,
and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained.
Pg 16: ‘a langour pervaded’ replaced by ‘a languor pervaded’.
Pg 22: ‘Rao Holkur, one’ replaced by ‘Rao Holkar, one’.
Pg 24: ‘above Bareach’ replaced by ‘above Baroach’.
Pg 38: ‘The moonson having set’ replaced by ‘The monsoon having set’.
Pg 46: ‘Sidenote: 1814’ replaced by ‘Sidenote: 1813’.
Pg 60: ‘SEPARABIT?” the harp’ replaced by ‘SEPARABIT?”. The harp’.
Pg 60: ‘removed to Demarara’ replaced by ‘removed to Demerara’.
Pg 61: ‘Frederic Cavendish’ replaced by ‘Frederick Cavendish’.
Pg 61: ‘his acknowlgements’ replaced by ‘his acknowledgements’.
Pg 64: ‘fort of Ticonderago’ replaced by ‘fort of Ticonderoga’.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Historical Record of the Eighty-Sixth, or the Royal County Down Regiment of Foot: Containing an Account of the Formation of the Regiment in 1793, and of its subsequent services to 1842." ***
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