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

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

HISTORICAL RECORD
OF
THE FIFTEENTH,
OR,
THE YORKSHIRE EAST RIDING,

REGIMENT OF FOOT,

CONTAINING

AN ACCOUNT OF THE FORMATION OF THE REGIMENT
IN 1685,

AND OF ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES
TO 1848.

COMPILED BY

RICHARD CANNON, Esq.

ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, HORSE GUARDS.

ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES.

LONDON:

PARKER, FURNIVALL, & PARKER,

30 CHARING CROSS.

M DCCC XLVIII.

LONDON: PRINTED BY W. CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET.
FOR HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE.

THE FIFTEENTH,

OR,

THE YORKSHIRE EAST RIDING,

REGIMENT OF FOOT,

BEARS ON THE REGIMENTAL COLOUR THE WORDS

"MARTINIQUE,"

AND

"GUADALOUPE,"

IN COMMEMORATION OF THE GALLANTRY
DISPLAYED IN THE CAPTURE OF
THOSE ISLANDS IN THE YEARS 1809 AND 1810.

[Pg xxv]

FIFTEENTH REGIMENT OF FOOT.

CONTENTS.

[xxxiii]

SUCCESSION OF COLONELS.

THE FIFTEENTH REGIMENT OF FOOT.

[Pg i]

GENERAL ORDERS.

HORSE-GUARDS,

1st January, 1836.

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

By Command of the Right Honorable

GENERAL LORD HILL,

Commanding-in-Chief.

John Macdonald,

Adjutant-General.

[iii]

PREFACE.

The character and credit of the British Army must chiefly depend upon the zeal and ardour by which all who enter into its service are animated, and consequently it is of the highest importance that any measure calculated to excite the spirit of emulation, by which alone great and gallant actions are achieved, should be adopted.

Nothing can more fully tend to the accomplishment of this desirable object than a full display of the noble deeds with which the Military History of our country abounds. To hold forth these bright examples to the imitation of the youthful soldier, and thus to incite him to emulate the meritorious conduct of those who have preceded him in their honorable career, are among the motives that have given rise to the present publication.

The operations of the British Troops are, indeed, announced in the "London Gazette," from whence they are transferred into the public prints: the achievements of our armies are thus made known at the time of their occurrence, and receive the tribute[iv] 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[v] long a period, being 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[vi] bravery can only be fully given in the Annals of the various Regiments.

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

There exists in the breasts of most of those who have served, or are serving, in the Army, an Esprit de Corps—an attachment to everything belonging to their Regiment; to such persons a narrative of the services of their own Corps cannot fail to prove interesting. Authentic accounts of the actions of the great, the valiant, the loyal, have always been of paramount interest with a brave and civilized people. Great Britain has produced a race of heroes who, in moments of danger and terror, have stood "firm as the rocks of their native shore:" and when half the world has been arrayed against them, they have fought the battles of their Country with unshaken fortitude. It is presumed that a record of achievements in war,—victories so complete and surprising, gained by our countrymen, our brothers,[vii] 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.

[viii]
[ix]

INTRODUCTION
TO
THE INFANTRY.

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

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

The feudal troops established by William the Conqueror consisted (as already stated in the Introduction to the Cavalry) almost entirely of horse; but when the warlike barons and knights, with their trains of tenants and vassals, took the field, a proportion of men appeared on foot, and, although these were of inferior degree, they proved stouthearted Britons of stanch fidelity. When stipendiary troops were employed, infantry always constituted a considerable portion of the military force;[xi] and this arme has since acquired, in every quarter of the globe, a celebrity never exceeded by the armies of any nation at any period.

The weapons carried by the infantry, during the several reigns succeeding the Conquest, were bows and arrows, half-pikes, lances, halberds, various kinds of battle-axes, swords, and daggers. Armour was worn on the head and body, and in course of time the practice became general for military men to be so completely cased in steel, that it was almost impossible to slay them.

The introduction of the use of gunpowder in the destructive purposes of war, in the early part of the fourteenth century, produced a change in the arms and equipment of the infantry-soldier. Bows and arrows gave place to various kinds of fire-arms, but British archers continued formidable adversaries; and owing to the inconvenient construction and imperfect bore of the fire-arms when first introduced, a body of men, well trained in the use of the bow from their youth, was considered a valuable acquisition to every army, even as late as the sixteenth century.

During a great part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth each company of infantry usually consisted of men armed five different ways; in every hundred men forty were "men-at-arms," and sixty "shot;" the "men-at-arms" were ten halberdiers, or battle-axe men, and thirty pikemen; and the "shot" were twenty archers, twenty musketeers, and twenty harquebusiers, and each man carried, besides his principal weapon, a sword and dagger.

[xii]

Companies of infantry varied at this period in numbers from 150 to 300 men; each company had a colour or ensign, and the mode of formation recommended by an English military writer (Sir John Smithe) in 1590 was:—the colour in the centre of the company guarded by the halberdiers; the pikemen in equal proportions, on each flank of the halberdiers: half the musketeers on each flank of the pikes; half the archers on each flank of the musketeers, and the harquebusiers (whose arms were much lighter than the muskets then in use) in equal proportions on each flank of the company for skirmishing.[1] It was customary to unite a number of companies into one body, called a Regiment, which frequently amounted to three thousand men: but each company continued to carry a colour. Numerous improvements were eventually introduced in the construction of fire-arms, and, it having been found impossible to make armour proof against the muskets then in use (which carried a very heavy ball) without its being too weighty for the soldier, armour was gradually laid aside by the infantry in the seventeenth century: bows and arrows also fell into disuse, and the infantry were reduced to two classes, viz.: musketeers, armed with matchlock muskets,[xiii] swords, and daggers; and pikemen, armed with pikes from fourteen to eighteen feet long, and swords.

In the early part of the seventeenth century Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, reduced the strength of regiments to 1000 men; he caused the gunpowder, which had heretofore been carried in flasks, or in small wooden bandoliers, each containing a charge, to be made up into cartridges, and carried in pouches; and he formed each regiment into two wings of musketeers, and a centre division of pikemen. He also adopted the practice of forming four regiments into a brigade; and the number of colours was afterwards reduced to three in each regiment. He formed his columns so compactly that his infantry could resist the charge of the celebrated Polish horsemen and Austrian cuirassiers; and his armies became the admiration of other nations. His mode of formation was copied by the English, French, and other European states; but so great was the prejudice in favour of ancient customs, that all his improvements were not adopted until near a century afterwards.

In 1664 King Charles II. raised a corps for sea-service, styled the Admiral's regiment. In 1678 each company of 100 men usually consisted of 30 pikemen, 60 musketeers, and 10 men armed with light firelocks. In this year the King added a company of men armed with hand-grenades to each of the old British regiments, which was designated the "grenadier company." Daggers were so contrived as to fit in the muzzles of the muskets, and bayonets[xiv] similar to those at present in use were adopted about twenty years afterwards.

An Ordnance regiment was raised in 1685, by order of King James II., to guard the artillery, and was designated the Royal Fusiliers (now 7th Foot). This corps, and the companies of grenadiers, did not carry pikes.

King William III. incorporated the Admiral's regiment in the second Foot Guards, and raised two Marine regiments for sea-service. During the war in this reign, each company of infantry (excepting the fusiliers and grenadiers) consisted of 14 pikemen and 46 musketeers; the captains carried pikes; lieutenants, partisans; ensigns, half-pikes; and serjeants, halberds. After the peace in 1697 the Marine regiments were disbanded, but were again formed on the breaking out of the war in 1702.[2]

During the reign of Queen Anne the pikes were laid aside, and every infantry soldier was armed with a musket, bayonet, and sword; the grenadiers ceased, about the same period, to carry hand grenades; and the regiments were directed to lay aside their third colour: the corps of Royal Artillery was first added to the Army in this reign.

About the year 1745, the men of the battalion companies of infantry ceased to carry swords; during[xv] the reign of George II. light companies were added to infantry regiments; and in 1764 a Board of General Officers recommended that the grenadiers should lay aside their swords, as that weapon had never been used during the seven years' war. Since that period the arms of the infantry soldier have been limited to the musket and bayonet.

The arms and equipment of the British troops have seldom differed materially, since the Conquest, from those of other European states; and in some respects the arming has, at certain periods, been allowed to be inferior to that of the nations with whom they have had to contend; yet, under this disadvantage, the bravery and superiority of the British infantry have been evinced on very many and most trying occasions, and splendid victories have been gained over very superior numbers.

Great Britain has produced a race of lion-like champions who have dared to confront a host of foes, and have proved themselves valiant with any arms. At Crecy King Edward III., at the head of about 30,000 men, defeated, on the 26th of August, 1346, Philip King of France, whose army is said to have amounted to 100,000 men; here British valour encountered veterans of renown:—the King of Bohemia, the King of Majorca, and many princes and nobles were slain, and the French army was routed and cut to pieces. Ten years afterwards, Edward Prince of Wales, who was designated the Black Prince, defeated, at Poictiers, with 14,000 men, a French army of 60,000 horse, besides infantry, and took John I., King of France, and his son[xvi] Philip, prisoners. On the 25th of October, 1415, King Henry V., with an army of about 13,000 men, although greatly exhausted by marches, privations, and sickness, defeated, at Agincourt, the Constable of France, at the head of the flower of the French nobility and an army said to amount to 60,000 men, and gained a complete victory.

During the seventy years' war between the United Provinces of the Netherlands and the Spanish monarchy, which commenced in 1578 and terminated in 1648, the British infantry in the service of the States-General were celebrated for their unconquerable spirit and firmness;[3] and in the thirty years' war between the Protestant Princes and the Emperor of Germany, the British troops in the service of Sweden and other states were celebrated for deeds of heroism.[4] In the wars of Queen Anne, the fame of the British army under the great Marlborough was spread throughout the world; and if we glance at the achievements performed within the memory of persons now living, there is abundant proof that the Britons of the present age are not inferior to their ancestors in the qualities [xvii]which constitute good soldiers. Witness the deeds of the brave men, of whom there are many now surviving, who fought in Egypt in 1801, under the brave Abercromby, and compelled the French army, which had been vainly styled Invincible, to evacuate that country; also the services of the gallant Troops during the arduous campaigns in the Peninsula, under the immortal Wellington; and the determined stand made by the British Army at Waterloo, where Napoleon Bonaparte, who had long been the inveterate enemy of Great Britain, and had sought and planned her destruction by every means he could devise, was compelled to leave his vanquished legions to their fate, and to place himself at the disposal of the British Government. These achievements, with others of recent dates in the distant climes of India, prove that the same valour and constancy which glowed in the breasts of the heroes of Crecy, Poictiers, Agincourt, Blenheim, and Ramilies, continue to animate the Britons of the nineteenth century.

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

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

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

FOOTNOTES:

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

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

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

[2] The 30th, 31st, and 32nd Regiments were formed as Marine corps in 1702, and were employed as such during the wars in the reign of Queen Anne. The Marine corps were embarked in the Fleet under Admiral Sir George Rooke, and were at the taking of Gibraltar, and in its subsequent defence in 1704; they were afterwards employed at the siege of Barcelona in 1705.

[3] The brave Sir Roger Williams, in his Discourse on War, printed in 1590, observes:—"I persuade myself ten thousand of our nation would beat thirty thousand of theirs (the Spaniards) out of the field, let them be chosen where they list." Yet at this time the Spanish infantry was allowed to be the best disciplined in Europe. For instances of valour displayed by the British Infantry during the Seventy Years' War, see the Historical Record of the Third Foot, or Buffs.

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

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

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

FIFTEENTH REGIMENT OF FOOT.

QUEEN'S COLOUR.

REGIMENTAL COLOUR.
FOR CANNONS MILITARY RECORDS

Madeley Litho: 3 Wellington St. Strand

[Pg 1]

HISTORICAL RECORD

OF THE

FIFTEENTH, OR YORKSHIRE EAST RIDING

REGIMENT OF FOOT.

Peace with foreign nations and tranquillity at home, accompanied by improvements in the domestic and commercial interests of the kingdom, followed the accession of King James II. to the throne, in February, 1685; but few months elapsed before James Duke of Monmouth appeared as a competitor to the throne, and raised an army in the west of England. The King immediately augmented his regular forces; and among the corps then raised was the regiment which now bears the title of the Fifteenth Regiment of Foot.

This corps was raised in Nottinghamshire and the adjoining counties, the general rendezvous being at Nottingham; and the several companies of which it was composed were raised by the following gentlemen:— Sir William Clifton, —— Cotter, —— Baker, William Barnes, William Dobyns, Thomas Fowke, [2]John Stanhope, —— Warren, William Stow, and Roger Kirkby. Sir William Clifton was appointed colonel by commission dated the 22nd of June, 1685; Captain Cotter was appointed to be lieut.-colonel, and Captain Baker to be major.

While many loyal men were arraying themselves under the King's banner, and the several companies of the regiment were making rapid progress towards being completed in numbers, the rebel army was overthrown at Sedgemoor, and the Duke of Monmouth was afterwards captured and beheaded.

In August, the regiment marched from Nottingham to Hounslow, and pitched its tents on the heath; where it was reviewed by the King, who thanked the officers and soldiers for the readiness they had evinced to support the Crown at the moment of danger: it afterwards marched to London, was quartered for a short period in Moorfields, and in September proceeded to Carlisle, North Shields, Landguard Fort, and Scarborough Castle, where it passed the winter.

The King, having resolved to retain the regiment in his service, fixed its establishment, by warrant under the sign-manual, bearing date the 1st of January, 1685–6, at the following numbers and rates of pay (see p. 3).

In the spring, the regiment proceeded into Yorkshire, and was quartered at York, Hull, &c.

Colonel Sir William Clifton retired from the service, and was succeeded by Colonel Arthur Herbert, afterwards Earl Torrington, by commission dated 12th of May, 1686.

The regiment passed this year in the north of England; in February, 1687, it marched to Kingston-upon-Thames, from which detachments proceeded to Windsor, to mount guard at the castle. At the same time a grenadier company was added to the establishment.

[3]

On the 12th of April, Colonel Herbert was succeeded in the command of the regiment by Colonel Sackville Tufton, brother to the Earl of Thanet.

At this period, the following officers were holding commissions in the regiment:—

[4]

In June, the regiment again pitched its tents on Hounslow Heath, where it took part in several military spectacles, exhibited in the presence of the royal family; and afterwards marched into quarters in Norfolk. It once more encamped on Hounslow Heath in the summer of 1688, and subsequently proceeded to Berwick, where it arrived in September. An officer of the regiment states in his memoirs, 'I sojourned two peaceable campaigns on Hounslow Heath; where I was an eye-witness of one mock siege of Buda; after which our regiment was ordered to Berwick.'[7]

At this period, England was in an agitated state; the proceedings of the King in favour of papacy and arbitrary government had occasioned many noblemen [5]and gentlemen to invite the Prince of Orange to come to England with an army, to enable them to oppose the Court. The Prince arrived in November; the King fled to France; and the Prince assumed the reins of government.

Colonel Tufton, not agreeing with the new order of things, was succeeded in the command of the regiment by Colonel Sir James Lesley, by commission dated the 31st of December, 1688.

The Prince and Princess of Orange having been elevated to the throne by the title of King William the Third and Queen Mary, their accession was opposed in Scotland, where the Duke of Gordon held the Castle of Edinburgh in the interest of King James, and Viscount Dundee aroused the Highland clans to arms. In consequence of these proceedings, the regiment was ordered to Scotland, in the spring of 1689; and it was stationed at Leith, as a reserve and support to the troops blockading Edinburgh Castle, until the beginning of June, when it was ordered up the country to join the forces under Major-General Mackay, who was retreating before the Highlanders under Viscount Dundee. The regiment joined Major-General Mackay about six o'clock on the evening of the 5th of June; other troops also arrived, and the major-general being thus reinforced, advanced against the clans, who instantly retired towards the mountain fastnesses. The Fifteenth foot followed the retreating Highlanders to the borders of the wilds of Lochaber, and afterwards proceeded to Inverness, where the regiment was stationed some time.

Captain Carleton states in his memoirs: 'We marched to Inverness, a place of no great strength, where we lay two long winters, perpetually harassed[6] upon parties, and hunting of somewhat wilder than their wildest game,—the Highlanders, who were, if not as nimble-footed, yet fully as hard to be found.' While the regiment was at Inverness, the battle of Killicrankie was fought, in which the King's troops were defeated, and Viscount Dundee was killed. He was succeeded by Major-General Cannon.

In April, 1690, Brigadier-General Sir Thomas Livingstone, who commanded at Inverness, ascertained that a general rendezvous of the clans was appointed to take place at Strathspey, from whence they purposed descending in a body into the Lowlands; and that two thousand men, under Major-Generals Cannon and Buchan, would arrive at Cromdale on the 30th of April; he therefore advanced with the royal Scots dragoons (Greys), Fifteenth foot, and some detachments, to attack the Highlanders. At dusk, on the evening of the 30th of April, the troops arrived within two miles of Balloch Castle; they traversed the difficult defile in the dark, and arriving at the castle, had the camp-lights of the enemy, on a plain beyond the Spey, pointed out to them; when, notwithstanding the fatigue they had undergone, the soldiers expressed a wish to be led forward. After a halt of half an hour for refreshment, the troops crossed the Spey at a ford, and advanced towards the camp, when several small parties of Highlanders were seen attempting to escape towards the hills, and a squadron of the Greys galloped forward to intercept the fugitives. The soldiers rushed into the camp and commenced the work of destruction; at the same time a party of the Fifteenth attacked the enemy's guard at Cromdale-church. The Highlanders, suddenly aroused from sleep, endeavoured to escape without clothes, and through the misty dawn[7] numbers were seen running in every direction, some attempting to escape on any terms, and others defending themselves stoutly with sword and target, against the dragoons, and soldiers of the Fifteenth foot, who made great slaughter. Major-Generals Cannon and Buchan were taken by surprise as much as their men, and the one escaped with his shirt and night-cap only, and the other without coat, hat, or sword. 'We pursued them till they got up Cromdale-hill, where we lost them in a fog; and to me, at that instant of time, they seemed rather to be people received up into the clouds, than flying from an enemy.'[8]

The enemy had placed a small garrison in Lethindy Castle, which was summoned to surrender; but the Highlanders fired upon the party, and wounded three grenadiers of the Fifteenth foot. Lieut. Carleton, of the regiment, proceeded to an old house near the castle, from whence he threw two or three hand-grenades into the works, which so alarmed the enemy, that they instantly surrendered. About three hundred Highlanders were killed on this occasion, and one hundred taken prisoners: a standard, which had been unfurled a few days previously for King James, was captured. The loss of the King's troops was limited to a few horses killed and wounded and five men wounded.[9] 'This happened on May-day, in the morning; for which reason we returned to Inverness with our prisoners and boughs in our hats; and the Highlanders never held up their heads so high after this defeat.'

'General Mackay having received orders to build a fort at Inverlochy, our regiment was commanded to [8]that service. The two regiments appointed to the same duty, with some dragoons, having joined (in June), we marched together through Lochaber. This surely is the wildest country in the Highlands, if not in the world; I did not see one house in all our march; and the economy of the people, if I may call it such, is much the same with that of the Arabs or Tartars. In this march, or rather, if you please, most dismal peregrination, we could rarely go two abreast; so that our very little army had sometimes an extent of many miles; our enemy, the Highlanders, firing down upon us, from the summits of the mountains, all the way. Nor was it possible for our men, or very rarely at least, to return their favours with any prospect of success; for, as they popped upon us always on a sudden, they never staid long enough to allow any of our soldiers a mark, or even time enough to fire: and, for our men to march or climb up those mountains, which to them were natural champaign, would have been as dangerous as it appeared to us impracticable. Nevertheless, under all these disadvantages, we arrived at Inverlochy, and there performed the task appointed, building a fort on the same spot where Cromwell had raised one before: and, which was not a little remarkable, we had with us one Hill, a colonel, who had been governor in Oliver's time, and who was now again appointed governor by General Mackay. Thus the work on which we were sent being effected, we marched back again by the way of Killicrankie, where that memorable battle had been fought, under Dundee, the year before.'[10]

[9]

After its return from Inverlochy, the regiment was stationed some time at Inverness; where Lieutenant Carleton was rewarded with a commission of captain in Brigadier-General Tiffin's regiment (now twenty-seventh foot) for his distinguished conduct at the action at Cromdale. Defeated on every occasion, and overawed by numerous garrisons, the Highlanders lost all hope of success, and in 1691 they tendered their submission to King William. A proclamation was afterwards published, offering indemnity and pardon to all who should cease opposition to the government and take the oath of allegiance, before the 1st of January, 1692.

Tranquillity being thus restored in Scotland, the regiment became disposable for other service; it, however, remained in the northern districts of the kingdom during the year 1693.

In the meantime, the British Monarch was engaged in war to arrest the progress of the French aggressions on the continent. The King of France brought an army of superior numbers into the field, and gained several advantages.

The allies made strenuous exertions to raise new levies, augment the strength of their contingents, and to turn the balance of war in their favour; the Fifteenth foot was one of the corps selected to proceed on foreign service. The regiment embarked from Scotland in the spring of 1694, and landed at Ostend, marched from thence to Malines, where it was stationed until the army took the field.

In the beginning of June, the British train of artillery arrived at Malines, from whence it advanced under the escort of the twelfth, Fifteenth, and Buchan's (afterwards disbanded) regiments, and joined[10] the army under King William in person, at the camp at Hertogendale, on the 6th of June. The tenth, fourteenth, Fifteenth, seventeenth, Castleton's, and Lauder's (afterwards disbanded) regiments, were formed in brigade under Brigadier-General Stuart, in the division under Major-General Bellasis.

The regiment took part in the operations of this campaign, and the numbers of the confederate forces were so far augmented, that the progress of French conquest was arrested, the enemy was forced to act on the defensive, and in the autumn the allies besieged and captured the fortress of Huy. The Fifteenth formed part of the covering army during the siege; and afterwards marched to Dixmude, where they halted a few days, and subsequently went into cantonments in the villages along the canal of Nieuport, where they were stationed during the winter.

From these quarters, the regiment was called in May, 1695, to enter upon the active services of another campaign, and it pitched its tents near Dixmude, where a small force was assembled under Major-General Ellemberg; at the same time the main army took the field under King William. In June, the Duke of Wirtemburg took the command of the troops at Dixmude; reinforcements also arrived; and an attack was made on Fort Kenoque, situated at the junction of the Loo and Dixmude canals, with the view of drawing the French forces to the Flanders side of their fortified lines, to favour the design of besieging Namur. On the 9th of June, the grenadiers of the Fifteenth, and other corps employed on this enterprise, drove the enemy from the entrenchments and houses near the Loo canal; and the attempts made by the French to regain this post were repulsed. A redoubt[11] was afterwards taken, and a lodgment effected on the works at the bridge, in which service the regiment had several men killed and wounded. These attacks produced the desired effect; the fortress of Namur was invested, and the attack on Fort Kenoque was soon afterwards desisted from, when the Fifteenth regiment returned to Dixmude.

During the early part of the siege of Namur, the Fifteenth foot, commanded by their colonel, Sir James Lesley, were in garrison at Dixmude, a fortress of very little strength, under Major-General Ellemberg, a foreign officer. On the 15th of July, this place was invested by a strong division of the French army, under General de Montal, who commenced the siege with vigour. Major-General Ellemberg failed to make that spirited opposition to the enemy which the circumstances of the case called for: he appeared to view the progress of the besieging army with apathy; and eventually called a council of war, to which he advanced several reasons why the town could not be defended, and proposed to capitulate to save the garrison, which was agreed to by the majority of the council of war, although opposed by others. When the soldiers were informed they were to become prisoners of war, they became enraged at not being permitted to defend the place, many of them broke their arms to pieces, and some tore their regimental colours from the staves, that they might not be delivered to the enemy. D'Auvergne states, in his history of this campaign,—'The body of the garrison had the same heart and soul with their comrades which did such wonders before Namur;' but the soldiers were delivered into the power of the enemy against their will.

The soldiers of the Fifteenth were sent prisoners[12] to Ypres; the conditions of the cartel were afterwards violated by the enemy; the British were sent to Arras, Bethune, Bouchain, &c., the officers were placed in close confinement, and attempts were made to induce the men to enter the French service.

When the castle of Namur surrendered, the garrison was permitted to march out with the honors of war; but Marshal Boufflers was arrested, and detained until the British and other soldiers of the allied army, kept prisoners contrary to the cartel, were released. This produced the desired effect; the Fifteenth rejoined the army, and marched into quarters at the town of Damme, where they received new arms and equipment.

All the officers concerned in the surrender of Dixmude, were tried by a general court-martial: Major-General Ellemberg was sentenced to be beheaded, and executed at Ghent on the 20th of November. Colonel Sir James Lesley, and several other officers were cashiered.

King William conferred the colonelcy of the Fifteenth regiment on Colonel Emanuel Howe, from captain and lieut.-colonel in the first foot guards.

After passing several months at Damme, and receiving a detachment of recruits from England, the regiment marched, early in 1696, to Bruges, where it was left in garrison when the army took the field. On the 20th of May, it marched out of Bruges, and pitched its tents along the banks of the canal, where it was posted several weeks.

The regiment served the campaign of this year with the army of Flanders, under the Prince of Vaudemont; it was formed in brigade with a battalion of the royals, the twelfth, and Collingwood's (afterwards disbanded)[13] regiments, under Brigadier-General the Earl of Orkney; and was stationed, during the summer, along the banks of the Bruges canal, to cover Ghent, Bruges, and the maritime towns of West Flanders, which service was fully accomplished.

In the autumn, the regiment marched into garrison at Bruges, where five regiments of cavalry and eleven of infantry were stationed during the winter.

On the 13th of March, 1697, the regiment quitted Bruges, and proceeded to Brussels, from whence it advanced, through the forest of Soignies, and pitched its tents near the village of Waterloo. It served the campaign of this year with the army of Brabant, under King William; and brought into the field forty officers, thirty-four serjeants, twenty-five drummers, sixty-three grenadiers, one hundred and sixty pikemen, and five hundred and eighty musketeers (including men detached). The Fifteenth, seventeenth, twenty-seventh, Collingwood's, and Saunderson's (afterwards disbanded) regiments, were formed in brigade under Brigadier-General Tiffin, in the division commanded by Lieut.-General Sir Henry Bellasis.

The regiment took part in the operations of the campaign; and when the French commanders menaced Brussels with a siege, the Fifteenth marched with the army, from Waterloo through the forest, during the night of the 22nd of June, in dark and tempestuous weather, and taking post before that city, was instrumental in defeating the designs of the enemy.

After the regiment had been encamped before Brussels nearly three months, hostilities were terminated by the treaty of Ryswick; and the efforts of the British monarch, to arrest the progress of French conquests and preserve the liberties of Europe, were thus[14] attended with success. The restoration of peace being accomplished, the regiment proceeded in boats down the canal to Bruges, and during the winter it embarked for England.

The regiment was placed upon a peace establishment; and, in 1698, it proceeded to Ireland, where it was stationed during the two following years.

The respite from war, ceded to Europe by the treaty of Ryswick, was of short duration. The French monarch, continuing to pursue schemes of aggrandizement, by which he had long agitated Christendom, procured the accession of his grandson, Philip Duke of Anjou, to the throne of Spain,—seized on the Spanish provinces in the Netherlands,—and detained the Dutch troops which were in garrison in the barrier towns. These proceedings produced a violent sensation throughout Europe: the house of Austria claimed the Spanish monarchy, and declared war against France; the Dutch solicited British aid; and the Fifteenth Foot was one of the corps which proceeded to Holland on this occasion.

The regiment was augmented to eight hundred and thirty, officers and soldiers; and embarking from Cork on the 15th June, 1701, arrived at Helvoetsluys, on the island of Voorn, in South Holland, on the 8th of July. From this place the regiment proceeded up the Maese, in small vessels, to Gertruydenberg and Huesden, where it was stationed two months, and afterwards proceeded to the vicinity of Breda, and encamped on the heath. On the 21st of September, the regiment was reviewed, with the other British troops in Holland, by King William III., on Breda heath, and afterwards returned to its former quarters, where it was stationed during the winter.

[15]

On the 10th March, 1702, the regiment marched out of garrison, and proceeded to Rosendael, where the British infantry encamped under Brigadier-General Ingoldsby. At this place, the troops received information of the death of King William, on the 8th of March, and of the accession of Queen Anne, to whom they took the oath of fidelity.

The fortress of Kayserswerth, on the Lower Rhine, was occupied by the French, and this place was besieged by the Germans, under the Prince of Saarbruck, in the middle of April; the British marched across the country to the duchy of Cleves, joined a body of Dutch and Germans under the Earl of Athlone, and encamped at Cranenburg, on the Lower Rhine, to cover the siege.

A French force of superior numbers, commanded by the Duke of Burgundy and Marshal Boufflers, made a rapid advance through the forest of Cleves, and along the plains of Goch, to cut off the communication of the troops at Cranenburg, with Grave and Nimeguen; when the allied army struck its tents a little before sunset, and making a rapid march throughout the night, arrived within a few miles of Nimeguen about eight o'clock on the morning of the 11th of June; at the same time, the French appeared on both flanks and the rear, hurrying forward to surround the allies. Some sharp skirmishing occurred, and the British corps, forming the rear-guard, evinced great gallantry; they took possession of some hedges and buildings, and held the enemy in check while the army effected its retreat under the walls of Nimeguen.

The regiment remained at Nimeguen a short time. Queen Anne declared war against France and Spain; additional troops arrived from England; and the Earl of Marlborough assumed the command of the allied[16] army. The Fifteenth foot took part in the operations of this campaign: the French avoided a general engagement, and retired from the frontiers of Holland, and the British general commenced operations against the fortresses in possession of the enemy, on the banks of the Maese.

The Fifteenth foot formed part of the covering army during the siege of Venloo, which town surrendered on the 25th of September. The services of the regiment were afterwards connected with the siege and capture of Ruremonde, in the early part of October; and the Fifteenth foot was also one of the corps which advanced to the city of Liege, took possession of that place, and undertook the siege of the citadel. The grenadiers of the regiment took part in the storm of the citadel of Liege, on the 23rd of October, on which occasion the British soldiers highly distinguished themselves, and captured the place in gallant style. A detached fortress, called the Chartreuse, surrendered a few days afterwards: and these conquests terminated the campaign. The regiment quitted the pleasant valley of Liege on the 3rd of November, and marched back to Holland, where it passed the winter in garrison.

From their pleasant quarters among the Dutch peasantry, the soldiers of the Fifteenth foot were called, in the spring of 1703, to participate in the achievements of another campaign; and while the Duke of Marlborough was besieging Bonn, they directed their march towards the Maese; and they were in position before Maestricht, when the French army, under Marshals Villeroy and Boufflers, approached that place; but after some cannonading and skirmishing, the enemy withdrew, without hazarding a general engagement.

[17]

After the surrender of Bonn, the allied army assembled at Maestricht, and the Fifteenth were formed in brigade with a battalion of the foot guards, a battalion of the royals, and the ninth, twenty-third, and twenty-fourth regiments, under Brigadier-General Withers, in the division commanded by Lieut.-General Churchill. The French forces taking post behind their fortified lines, operations were continued against their fortified towns, and the services of the Fifteenth foot were connected with the siege and capture of Huy, a fortress in the valley of the Maese, which surrendered on the 25th of August. The regiment also participated in the services connected with the siege of Limburg, and this fortress surrendered on the 28th of September. After these conquests, the regiment marched to Dutch Brabant, and passed several months in garrison.

In the early part of 1704, a detachment of the regiment proceeded to Maestricht, to take part in the duties of that garrison, while the Dutch troops were working at the fortifications on the heights of Petersberg.

In the meantime, the progress of the war had assumed an unfavourable aspect in Germany; the Elector of Bavaria had embraced the French interest, and having been joined by a numerous body of the forces of Louis XIV., he had gained considerable advantage over the army of the empire. Under these circumstances, the Duke of Marlborough resolved to lead the British troops from the ocean to the Danube, and make a powerful effort to change the fortune of the war, in the heart of Germany.

To engage in this splendid enterprise, which was replete with important results, the Fifteenth foot marched towards the Rhine in the early part of May,[18] and were joined at Bedburg by the detachment from Maestricht. The designs of the British commander were secret; the object, for which the movements were made, held Europe in perplexing anxiety, suspended the operations of the Elector of Bavaria, and confounded the French Generals; and the moment the advance assumed a specific direction, the enemy was no longer able to render the plan abortive. Arriving in the heart of Germany, the regiment was formed in brigade with a battalion of the royals, and the twenty-sixth and thirty-seventh regiments, and this brigade was posted in the second line.

At three o'clock on the morning of the 2nd of July, the army advanced in the direction of Donawerth, to attack a body of French and Bavarians under Count d'Arco, in an entrenched camp on the heights of Schellenberg, on the left bank of the Danube. Arriving in front of the enemy's position, the attack was commenced about six in the evening, by a detachment from each British corps, and the foot guards, royals, and twenty-third regiments. The difficulty of the ground,—the formidable preparations of the enemy,—and the steady bravery of the Bavarians, occasioned this to prove a particularly severe contest; but the determined assaults of the British soldiers shook the strength and weakened the resistance of the enemy; and eventually the soldiers of the allied army overpowered all resistance, captured the heights, and pursued the French and Bavarians across the Danube, capturing sixteen pieces of artillery, a number of standards and colours, with the enemy's tents, and the equipage and plate of the Bavarian commander.

The Fifteenth regiment shared in this splendid triumph of the British arms on the banks of the Danube.[19] Its loss was one serjeant and nine rank and file killed; Captains Bolton and Lesley, Lieutenant Morris, three serjeants, and nineteen rank and file wounded.

After this victory the army penetrated the country of Bavaria, and the Elector concentrated his forces at Augsburg, where he formed an entrenched camp. The Fifteenth regiment advanced to the vicinity of Augsburg; but the fortified camp was found too strong to be attacked with any prospect of success, and the troops retired a few stages; the Germans commencing the siege of Ingoldstadt, and the British troops forming part of the covering army.

The Elector of Bavaria quitted his entrenched camp, and joined the reinforcements sent him by the French monarch; the united armies encamping near the village of Blenheim, in the valley of the Danube.

Commanding soldiers whose chivalrous spirit panted for distinction in the shock of battle, the British general led his columns forward, on the morning of the memorable 13th of August, 1704, in full confidence in the firmness and prowess of his troops. About mid-day a column, of which the Fifteenth foot, under Lieut.-Colonel William Britton, formed part, developed its attack against the enemy's right, under Lieut.-General Lord Cutts and Major-General Wills. The tenth, Fifteenth, twenty-first, twenty-third, and twenty-fourth regiments, under Brigadier-General Row, led the attack in gallant style, followed by four battalions of Hessians, and supported by eleven battalions of infantry, and fifteen squadrons of horse and dragoons. This column proceeded to the banks of the little river Nebel, and took possession of two water-mills, which the enemy had evacuated and set on fire; then advancing through the enclosures, made a determined attack on[20] the French troops posted in the village of Blenheim; Brigadier-General Row striking his sword into the enemy's pallisades before he gave the word "fire." The assault was made with spirit and resolution, but the brigade was unable to force the entrenchments against the superior numbers of the enemy; and while retiring it was charged by the French troopers, who were repulsed by the Hessian brigade. After repeated attempts on the village had proved unavailing, a few corps blockaded the avenues; the army traversed the rivulet, and attacking the French position along the front, engaged in a sanguinary conflict. The combat of musketry, and the charges of the cavalry, were continued with varied success; and amidst this storm of war, the Fifteenth regiment had repeated opportunities of distinguishing itself. Eventually the legions of the enemy were overpowered, driven from the field with great slaughter, and the loss of many officers and men taken prisoners, among whom was the French commander, Marshal Tallard.

The main body of the French army being defeated with the loss of its artillery and baggage, the troops posted in Blenheim attempted to escape by the rear of the village; but were repulsed. They were environed on every side, and being unable to effect their escape, twenty-four battalions of infantry, and twelve squadrons of cavalry, surrendered prisoners of war. Thus ended the mighty struggle of this eventful day. Bavaria was subdued; the German empire was delivered from the menaced danger; the terrors of the British arms alarmed the states of Italy which supported the Bourbon cause; and the tide of war flowed prosperously in the interest of the allies.

Major Cornwallis, Captain Tankard, Lieutenants[21] Kerr and Simpson, and Ensign Jackson, of the Fifteenth regiment, were killed; Lieut.-Colonel Britton, Major Armstrong, Captains Villebonne and Gaston, Lieutenants Barton, Dickenson, and Harrison, Ensigns Lesley, Hargrave, Edwards, Dean, Patrick, and Dawson, wounded: the number of non-commissioned officers and soldiers of the regiment killed and wounded, has not been ascertained.

After this victory, the army traversed the country in triumph; the enemy abandoning several important cities and towns, which were taken possession of by the allies. The Fifteenth regiment proceeded through the circle of Suabia, and directed its march on Philipsburg, where it crossed the Rhine on the 7th of September, and was subsequently encamped at Croon-Weissemberg, forming part of the covering army during the siege of Landau by the Germans. At the termination of this splendid campaign, the regiment struck its tents, and embarking in boats on the Rhine, sailed down that river to the Netherlands, where it passed the winter.

In the spring of 1705, the losses of the preceding campaign were replaced by the arrival of one hundred and fifty recruits from England; and when the regiment took the field, its appearance and efficiency were commended by the Duke of Marlborough at the general review of the army. The regiment proceeded, in the first instance, to the vicinity of Maestricht,—afterwards marched to Juliers, from whence it traversed a mountainous country to the valley of the Moselle, and towards the end of May pitched its tents near the ancient city of Treves. In the early part of June, the army passed the Moselle and Saar rivers, and the English general was prepared to carry on the war in[22] Alsace. The co-operation of the imperialists under the Margrave of Baden was, however, so long delayed that the British commander was forced to return to the Netherlands, to arrest the progress of the French arms in that quarter. The regiment shared in the difficulties of the retrograde movement to the Maese; and on the return of the army, the French raised the siege of the citadel of Liege and retired. The French had captured Huy, during the absence of the army up the Moselle; but this fortress was retaken in a few days.

The services of the regiment were next connected with the forcing of the stupendous fortified lines constructed by the French to cover the territory they had seized upon in the Netherlands. These lines were menaced by a detachment on the south of the Mehaine, to draw the French army to that quarter; and were afterwards passed, by a forced march in another direction, during the night of the 17th of July, at Neer-Hespen and Helixem. The French guards at these places were surprised and overpowered early on the morning of the 18th of that month, and the lines were forced with little loss. The Marquis d'Allegre advanced with a large body of French, Spanish, and Bavarian infantry and cavalry, but he was repulsed with severe loss. The Fifteenth were in reserve on this occasion. They shared in the subsequent operations of the campaign: but the designs of the English commander being frustrated by the Dutch generals, the forcing of the lines was not followed by such splendid results as had been anticipated.

After passing the winter in garrison in Holland, the regiment again took the field in May, 1706, and had the honour to serve at the battle of Ramilies, where the forces of France, Spain, and Bavaria sustained a decisive[23] overthrow. This battle occurred on Whitsunday, the 23rd of May. On the morning of that day, the allied army was advancing in the direction of Mont St. André; when the forces of the enemy were discovered in position, with their centre at the village of Ramilies, which was occupied by a numerous body of troops. Having complete reliance on the valour of his soldiers, the English general commenced the action, and in three hours the numerous legions of the enemy were overthrown, and driven from the field with a terrible slaughter. Many prisoners, with cannon, standards, and colours, were captured on this occasion.

The wreck of the French army fled to Louvain, and immediately afterwards abandoned that city and also Brussels. The States of Brabant, and the magistrates of Brussels, renounced their allegiance to King Philip. The principal towns of Brabant, and several places in Flanders, were immediately delivered up, and others surrendered on being summoned, or in a few days afterwards. Ostend, Menin, Dendermond, and Aeth were captured. Towns which had resisted numerous armies for months and years, and provinces disputed for ages, were the conquest of a summer. After sharing in these splendid achievements, the regiment was placed in garrison in Flanders.

During the campaign of 1707, the services of the regiment were limited to marching, and occupying various encampments. No general engagement or siege occurred.

In the spring of 1708 the regiment was called from its winter quarters in Flanders, in consequence of the King of France having fitted out a fleet, and embarked troops at Dunkirk, for the purpose of making a descent on the British coast, in favour of the Pretender. The[24] Fifteenth, and several other regiments, marched from Ghent on the 8th of March, 1708, embarked at Ostend on the 15th, and arrived in England on the 21st; but the French fleet, with the Pretender on board, having been chased from the British shores by the English navy, the regiment returned to Flanders: it landed at Ostend on the 20th of April, and proceeded in boats, along the canal, to Ghent.

Leaving its quarters towards the end of May, the regiment joined the allied army, and was engaged in the active operations which followed. The French gained possession of Ghent and Bruges by treachery.

On the 11th of July, the regiment passed the Scheldt, on a pontoon bridge, between Oudenarde and the abbey of Eename, and engaged the French troops under the Duke of Burgundy and Marshal Vendome, in the fields and open grounds beyond the river. A fierce conflict of musketry ensued; and charge succeeded charge until the shades of evening gathered over the scene, and the progress of the conflict could only be discerned by the flashes of musketry, which pointed out the ground on which the battle raged. The French were forced from their position; part of their army was separated, and nearly destroyed; but it was preserved from complete annihilation by the darkness of the night.

This victory prepared the way for additional conquests; and the Fifteenth foot formed part of the covering army during the siege of the important fortress of Lisle, the capital of French Flanders, which was defended by fifteen thousand men under Marshal Boufflers. The regiment was in position when the united French forces advanced to raise the siege, but were frustrated by the superior tactics of the Duke of[25] Marlborough. The grenadier company of the regiment joined the besieging army, and took part in the attacks on the town.

When the Elector of Bavaria besieged Brussels, the regiment formed part of the force which marched to the relief of that city, passed the Scheldt, and carried the enemy's positions beyond that river on the 27th of November; which was followed by the retreat of the enemy from before Brussels.

The citadel of Lisle surrendered on the 9th of December; Ghent and Bruges were afterwards recaptured, and the regiment had its winter quarters at Ghent.

Having reposed a few months in quarters, and received a body of recruits from England, the regiment traversed the conquered territory to Lisle, in June, 1709, and afterwards took part in the manœuvres by which Marshal Villars was induced to reduce the strength of his garrisons in his fortified towns, to reinforce a line of entrenchments and forts, in which he expected to be attacked. This object gained, the siege of Tournay was immediately commenced; and the Fifteenth foot, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Andrew Armstrong, formed part of the covering army; but when the town surrendered, the regiment joined the besieging force, and took part in the attacks on the castle. This proved a desperate service. The citadel of Tournay was celebrated for the multiplicity of its under-ground works, and the approaches were carried on by sinking pits, and excavating subterraneous passages to the enemy's casemates and mines. The soldiers employed on these works were sometimes drowned with water, suffocated by smoke, and buried by explosions; and at other times parties of the besieging force and of the garrison met, and fought[26] with sword and pistol in these gloomy labyrinths. In these services the Fifteenth regiment had a number of men killed and wounded; it also lost several men from the explosion of a mine, which destroyed a battery.

On the 3rd of September, the citadel of Tournay surrendered; and the army traversed the country towards Mons, the capital of the province of Hainault, leaving the Fifteenth and several other corps at Tournay, to level the approaches and fill the excavations. Immediately after this work was performed, the regiment traversed the country towards Mons, and joined the army, on the morning of the 11th of September, at the moment the columns of attack were advancing to assault the enemy's fortified position at Malplaquet. This proved one of the most sanguinary and hard-contested battles of the war: the confident and fierce attacks of the allies were made against formidable works, defended with resolution, which occasioned a great sacrifice of life; but eventually the position was forced, and the French army retreated with the loss of many colours, standards, cannon, and officers and soldiers made prisoners. The Fifteenth were in reserve on this occasion, and its loss was limited to Brevet Major Leslie, killed, and three or four private soldiers killed and wounded.

This victory was followed by the siege of Mons, and the regiment formed part of the covering army. The garrison surrendered in October.

On the 23rd of October, Major-General Howe was succeeded in the colonelcy of the regiment by Algernon Earl of Hertford, afterwards Duke of Somerset, who had served with reputation at several battles and sieges on the continent.

[27]

The regiment quitted its winter quarters at Ghent, on the 14th of April, 1710, and marched to the rendezvous of the army near Tournay. The services of the Fifteenth foot were this year connected with the forcing of the French lines at Pont-à-Vendin, and with the siege and capture of Douay, which fortress surrendered on the 27th of June. They subsequently formed part of the covering army encamped at Villars-Brulin, during the siege of Bethune. This place having surrendered on the 29th of August, and the French army avoiding a general engagement, the fortresses of Aire and St. Venant were invested, and taken; and these conquests were the last important events of the campaign.

After taking part in these services, the regiment marched into quarters at Courtray, where it was stationed during the winter.

Towards the end of April, 1711, the regiment advanced from Courtray, and joining the army near Douay, was formed in brigade with the foot guards, a battalion of the royals, and the twentieth and twenty-third regiments. It was reviewed on the 8th of June, at the camp at Warde, by the Duke of Marlborough; and afterwards took part in the skilful operations by which the enemy's formidable and newly constructed lines were passed at Arleux, on the 5th of August; and this success was followed by the siege of Bouchain, a fortified town of Hainault, situate on both sides of the river Scheldt. The regiment formed part of a division of twenty battalions of infantry, commanded by Lieut.-General the Earl of Orkney, which took post on the north and north-west side of the town and river; and it shared in the duties of the trenches, and in carrying on the attacks, in which services it had several men[28] killed and wounded. The garrison agreed to surrender on the 13th of September.

Thus the French monarch found his armies defeated and dispirited; his fortresses wrested from him, and the victorious legions of the allies prepared to penetrate the interior of his kingdom; and he sued for peace.

In the spring of 1712 the Fifteenth regiment took the field with the army under the Duke of Ormond, who had been appointed to the command in succession to the Duke of Marlborough, and advanced to the frontiers of France. Negociations for peace having commenced, a suspension of hostilities took place between the British and French, and the regiment returned to Ghent; from whence it was afterwards removed to Dunkirk, the French monarch having agreed to deliver up that fortress until the treaty of peace was concluded.

The regiment was stationed at Dunkirk in 1713, and at Nieuport in the early part of 1714.

While the regiment was in Flanders, the decease of Queen Anne, and the accession of King George I., occurred, on the 1st of August, 1714, and soon afterwards the Fifteenth foot, and several other corps, were ordered to return to England.

On the 8th of February, 1715, the Earl of Hertford was promoted to the colonelcy of the second troop (now second regiment) of life guards, and was succeeded in the command of the Fifteenth foot by Colonel Harry Harrison.

The regiment was actively employed in South Britain during the troubles in 1715; but it was not called upon to take the field against the rebels under the Earl of Mar, who were dispersed, in the beginning of 1716, by the King's troops under the Duke of Argyle.

[29]

In 1719, the regiment was stationed in Scotland, when the King of Spain fitted out an armament for the invasion of Great Britain in favour of the Pretender. The Spanish fleet was dispersed by a storm; two ships, however, arrived on the coast of Scotland, and four hundred Spaniards and about a hundred Scots and English gentlemen, landed on the 27th of April, at Kintail, and were afterwards joined by about fifteen hundred Highlanders. Against this force, three troops of the Greys, and the eleventh, fourteenth, and Fifteenth regiments of foot, marched from Inverness on the 5th of June, under Major-General Wightman, and encountered the rebels on the 10th of that month, at the pass of Glenshiel; when the Spaniards and Highlanders withdrew a short distance, and formed for battle on the romantic mountain scenery in the pass of Strachell. About five o'clock in the afternoon, the grenadiers of the three regiments climbed the rocky crags, and commenced the action; they were followed by the eleventh, and a detachment of the Fifteenth under Colonel Harrison; at the same time, the Greys galloped forward along the road; and the Spaniards and Highlanders were forced from the lofty ground on which they had taken post. The rebels made a second stand on the top of the hill, but were speedily driven from thence. The Highlanders afterwards dispersed to their homes, and on the following day, the Spaniards surrendered prisoners of war.

On the appearance of a continental war, in 1727, the regiment was augmented, and held in readiness to proceed to Holland, but no embarkation took place.

King George II. reviewed the second and Fifteenth regiments in brigade on Blackheath, on the 29th of[30] June, 1728, and expressed his high approbation of their appearance and movements. The signs of war disappearing, the establishment was afterwards reduced.

When hostilities commenced between Great Britain and Spain, in 1739, the establishment was again augmented.

In the middle of June, 1740, the Fifteenth, twenty-fourth, twenty-seventh regiments, and the six battalions of marines, were encamped on the Isle of Wight, under the orders of General Lord Cathcart. Towards the end of July, the camp broke up, and the Fifteenth, and twenty-fourth regiments, and the six regiments of marines, embarked on board the fleet for the West Indies. Some delay occurred, and after putting to sea, the fleet was twice driven back by contrary winds; on the 26th of October it sailed a third time, and was dispersed by a tempest in the Bay of Biscay; but the greater part of the vessels were recollected and proceeded on the voyage. Arriving at Dominica to provide wood and water, the troops lost their gallant leader, General Lord Cathcart (then colonel of the sixth dragoon guards or Carabineers), who died of dysentery; and the command devolved on Brigadier-General Thomas Wentworth.

The expedition arrived at Jamaica in January, 1741, and the appearance of this force dispelled the apprehension of an attack on that island by the combined fleets of France and Spain, and also enabled the British commanders to act offensively. The expedition put to sea, and after some delay, an attack on Carthagena, the capital of a wealthy province in the country of Terra Firma, in South America, was resolved upon. This place was found strongly fortified,[31] and the garrison reinforced by the crews of a squadron of large ships; at the same time the season for active service in that part of the world was fast passing away; but the design was persevered in, and the fleet having silenced several small forts, the Fifteenth mustering one thousand officers and soldiers, and several other corps, landed on an island near the mouth of the harbour, on the 10th of March, and commenced the siege of the principal fort, or castle, called Bocca-chica. On the evening of the 25th of March, the grenadiers of the Fifteenth, and other regiments, mounted the breach in gallant style, to storm the fortress, when the Spanish garrison fled, and the place was captured without loss.

Channels having been made through the sunk vessels with which the Spaniards had blocked up the entrance to the harbour, the Fifteenth and twenty-fourth re-embarked, and commenced landing near the city of Carthagena. From the place of landing, the two regiments advanced along a defile, preceded by the grenadiers, through a country covered with trees and herbage of luxuriant growth, the interwoven branches forming a shelter impenetrable both to heat and light, and several men were wounded by shots fired from the tracks and openings into the wood. Diverging from the defile, the two regiments encountered a body of Spaniards advantageously posted to dispute the passage, but as the grenadiers sprang forward to commence the attack, the enemy fled. The two regiments proceeded to the vicinity of the castle of St. Lazar, which commands the town, and were followed by the six battalions of marines. The soldiers passed three nights in the open air, for want of tents and tools, and their health was seriously injured.

The siege of the castle was commenced; and as the[32] men were fast decreasing in numbers from the effects of hard duty and climate, Brigadier-General Wentworth was induced to attack the place by escalade, to which dangerous enterprise he was urged by Vice-Admiral Vernon. Twelve hundred men stormed the enemy's entrenchments under the walls of the fort, exposed to a heavy fire of musketry. The grenadiers, led by Colonel Grant, rushed forward with astonishing bravery, and leaping into the lines, carried the works in gallant style. The Spaniards fled over a drawbridge into the fort. The British pursued, and called for ladders to storm the fort; but the fire was so hot, that the Americans who carried the ladders threw them down and fled. Meanwhile the storming party was exposed to a destructive fire. At length three ladders were brought forward, and a serjeant and ten grenadiers mounted the walls, but were instantly cut to pieces, excepting the serjeant, who saved himself by leaping down again. Several of the ladders were found too short: it was ascertained that, owing to a guide having been killed, the attack had been made on the strongest part of the works; Colonel Grant fell mortally wounded; and after sustaining a most destructive fire for several hours with intrepidity and perseverance, the troops were ordered to retire, having sustained a severe loss in killed and wounded.

Violent periodical rains commenced; the country was deluged with water, and the change of atmosphere produced fatal effects on the health of the men, who were drenched with rain. All hope of further success immediately vanished, and the troops returned on board the fleet, where numbers died from the distempers peculiar to the climate.

The forts of the harbour of Carthagena having been[33] demolished, the fleet sailed to Jamaica. The Fifteenth, and several other corps, afterwards sailed to the island of Cuba, where they landed, and a camp was formed twenty miles up one of the large rivers of the island. At this camp, the regiment was stationed some time; and the country was reconnoitred in various directions by detachments. The design of forming a British settlement on that part of the island of Cuba, was, however, abandoned; in November the troops returned on board ship, and were re-conveyed to Jamaica.

Having sustained a severe loss in killed and wounded at Carthagena, and also from the effects of climate, the regiment returned to England in 1742, and commenced recruiting its numbers.

During the years 1743 and 1744, the regiment was stationed in Great Britain.

In the meantime, a British army was supporting the interest of the house of Austria on the Continent; but the French monarch brought so great a superiority of numbers into the field, that the allied army, under His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, was unable to prevent the enemy gaining possession of several fortified towns in the Austrian Netherlands, during the summer of 1745. Under these circumstances the regiment was sent from England to Ostend, with the view of contributing to the preservation of that place, where it arrived on the 27th of July. The French besieged Ostend, which was defended by a garrison of British and Austrian troops under Lieut.-General Count Chanclos, of the Austrian service, who capitulated after a siege of thirteen days, the garrison being permitted to march out with the honors of war, and proceed to the Austrian territories. The Fifteenth joined the army.

[34]

At this period, Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, had aroused the Highland clans to arms, and asserted his father's pretensions to the British throne. This rebellion occasioned the regiment to be recalled from Flanders: it arrived in the river Thames, and landed at Gravesend, on the 25th of October; but it was not ordered to march against the insurgent clans—it was destined to remain in the south of England, to oppose the threatened invasion of the French.

When the hopes of the Pretender had been annihilated by the battle of Culloden, on the 16th of April, 1746, part of the military force of the kingdom became disposable for other services, and the Fifteenth regiment was selected to form part of an expedition against the French possessions in Canada. Various circumstances occasioned the fleet to be detained so long, that this enterprise was deferred, and an attempt on the port of L'Orient, the principal station for the French East India Company's shipping and stores, was resolved upon. The expedition sailed from Plymouth on the 14th of September; on the 20th a landing was effected on the coast of France, and the troops assembled to oppose the debarkation were driven from the shore. On the following day, the British advanced in two columns towards L'Orient; the Fifteenth forming part of the second column. The French militia fired upon the troops from the woods, and put the men of one or two corps into some confusion, when Captain Honorable James Murray led the grenadier company of the Fifteenth forward with great gallantry, and dispersed the enemy. When the leading companies arrived at the village of Plemur, they were fired upon from the houses; but this resistance was speedily overcome, and the people[35] were punished for their temerity. On arriving before L'Orient, the governor proposed to surrender; but the conditions demanded were not acceded to, in consequence of a report of the engineers stating the practicability of reducing the town. The siege was immediately commenced; but the artillery and stores with the expedition proved unequal to the undertaking, and the troops retreated to the coast, and re-embarked without molestation.

Another descent was made on the French coast in October: the troops landing on the peninsula of Quiberon, capturing a fort with eighteen guns, and afterwards destroying the guns and forts in the peninsula, with those in the isles of Houat and Hedic. These services performed, the regiment returned on board the fleet and sailed for England.

Negociations for a treaty of peace were commenced in 1748, at Aix-la-Chapelle. In 1749, the strength of the army was reduced, and the regiment proceeded to Ireland.

After commanding the regiment thirty-four years, Lieut.-General Harrison died, in March of this year, and was succeeded by Colonel John Jordan, from the lieut.-colonelcy of the tenth dragoons, by commission, dated 15th of April, 1749.

In the clothing warrant, dated the 1st of July, 1751, the facing of the regiment is directed to be yellow. The first, or King's colour, to be the great union; the second, or regimental colour, to be of yellow silk, with the union in the upper canton; in the centre the number of the regiment in gold Roman characters, within a wreath of roses and thistles on the same stalk. The uniform at this period was cocked hats bound with white lace; scarlet coats faced and turned up with[36] yellow, and ornamented with white lace; scarlet waistcoat and breeches; white gaiters; white cravats; and buff belts.

The regiment remained in Ireland until the undetermined boundary of the British and French settlements in North America occasioned a rupture between the two kingdoms. The aggressions of the French led to the sending of a body of British troops to North America in 1755; at which period the establishment of the Fifteenth was augmented, and the regiment embarked for England.

Colonel Jordan was removed to the ninth dragoons, in April, 1756, and King George II. conferred the colonelcy of the Fifteenth foot on Colonel Jeffery (afterwards Lord) Amherst, from captain and lieut.-colonel in the first foot guards.

In July of this year the regiment pitched its tents near Blandford, where an encampment was formed of six regiments of foot and two of dragoons under Lieut.-General Sir Charles Howard.

Numerous encampments were formed also in the following year, and the troops held in readiness to repel a threatened invasion of the French. The Fifteenth foot, and four other corps, pitched their tents on Barham-downs, under Charles Duke of Marlborough.

From Barham-downs the regiment proceeded to the Isle of Wight, in order to form part of an expedition against the French naval station of Rochfort, on the river Charente. The Fifteenth, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Honorable Sir James Murray, was formed in brigade with the fifth, twenty-fourth, thirtieth, and fifty-first regiments; the land forces were under Lieut.-General Sir John Mordaunt, and the navy under Admiral Sir Edward Hawke. The fleet[37] sailed in the early part of September; on the 23rd of that month the Isle of Aix was captured, and the forts were afterwards destroyed. Owing to unfavourable weather, a landing could not be effected near Rochfort before the enemy was alarmed and prepared for a vigorous resistance. The troops were repeatedly in readiness to land, and on one occasion the first division was in the boats; but the weather, and other causes, prevented a debarkation taking place. The expedition afterwards returned to England.

Early in the following year, the Fifteenth regiment, mustering eight hundred and fifty officers and soldiers, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Honorable James Murray, embarked for North America, to take part in the attack of the French possessions in that part of the world. It proceeded to Halifax, in Nova Scotia, where the expedition was prepared against Louisburg, the capital of the island of Cape Breton,[11] in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, under the orders of its colonel, Lieut.-General Sir Jeffery Amherst, K.B., the naval force being under Admiral Boscawen. The expedition sailed from Halifax on the 28th of May, and approached Louisburg, on the 2nd of June; but the weather was so unfavourable that a landing could not be effected before the 8th of June. On that occasion, the grenadier company of the Fifteenth formed part of the centre division under the gallant Brigadier-General James Wolfe, designed to force a landing; and the regiment formed part of the left division, under Brigadier-General[38] Lawrence, designed to make a show of landing at Fresh-water Cove, to divert the enemy's attention from the main attack. The division under Brigadier-General Wolfe approached the shore under a heavy fire, and the surf being high, several boats were overset. One boat, containing part of the grenadier company of the Fifteenth, was overset, when Lieutenant Kennedy, two serjeants, and thirteen rank and file, were drowned. The regiment had also Lieutenant Nicholson and eight men killed by the enemy's fire. The survivors, however, jumped into the water with great gallantry, formed on the beach, and being animated by their chivalrous leader, the heroic Wolfe, they rushed upon their opponents with fixed bayonets, and carried the enemy's works in a manner which excited great admiration. The other divisions followed, and before night the army was on shore.

The siege of Louisburg was afterwards commenced; and the Fifteenth regiment took part in this service. In carrying on the approaches, and in making the attacks, the troops underwent great fatigues with a cheerful alacrity, which redounded to their honor. The enemy's sallies were repulsed: the fire of the British artillery destroyed their shipping, silenced their batteries, and damaged their works to so great an extent, that, on the 26th of July, the garrison surrendered prisoners of war; the whole island was also delivered up; and two other small islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence surrendered. Eleven stand of colours were captured on this occasion, and sent to England.

Besides the officers and soldiers killed in effecting a landing, the regiment had also Lieutenant Campbell killed; Lieutenant Hamilton, Lieutenant and Adjutant Mukens, and Ensign Moneypenny, wounded during[39] the siege of Louisburg. The regiment had also a considerable number of private soldiers killed and wounded.

The arrival of the news of this gallant exploit produced great sensation in England; the captured colours were presented to the King, and conducted by a splendid cavalcade from Kensington Palace to St. Paul's Cathedral. The meritorious conduct of the officers and soldiers of the expedition was rewarded with the approbation of their Sovereign and the thanks of Parliament.

The Fifteenth were stationed at Louisburg during the remainder of the year.

From Louisburg the regiment sailed in the beginning of June, 1759, with the expedition against Quebec, under Major-General James Wolfe; and was formed in brigade with the forty-third, forty-eighth, and seventy-eighth foot, under Brigadier-General Monckton. Towards the end of June, the army landed at Orleans,—a large, fertile, and well-cultivated island in the river St. Lawrence, below Quebec,—and commenced preparations for carrying on the object of the expedition.

The French General, the Marquis of Montcalm, possessed a superiority of numbers over the invading force, and he had made excellent dispositions for the defence of the country: but the English Commander had complete reliance on the valour of his troops, whose confidence he possessed to an extraordinary degree. The Fifteenth foot, and three other regiments, were detached under Brigadier-General Monckton, against Point Levi, on the east shore of the river, from whence a body of the enemy was driven; at the same time a body of troops, under Colonel Carleton, took possession of the western point of the island of[40] Orleans, and both these posts were fortified. Sixteen hundred of the enemy attempted to retake Point Levi, but were repulsed; and a mortar battery, constructed at that post, fired on Quebec, destroying the lower town, and damaging the upper town. Having finished the works on the island of Orleans, the army crossed the north channel of the river in boats, and landed below the splendid waterfalls of Montmorenci; and arrangements were made for attacking the enemy's position beyond the river Montmorenci, in which the Fifteenth regiment was ordered to co-operate.

As the regiment was crossing the river in boats from Point Levi, the grenadiers effected a landing, and commenced the action prematurely, before their formation was completed and before the troops designed to sustain them had arrived; and they were repulsed. They reformed behind the corps from Point Levi, the Fifteenth and seventy-eighth; but the excess of ardour, without sufficient attention to discipline, occasioned the loss of five hundred officers and men, and the failure of the operation.[12]

Difficulties, calculated to perplex and discourage the most resolute and intelligent commander, presented themselves; but the English general evinced talent and perseverance. No prospect of final success, by advancing across the river Montmorenci, presenting itself, the troops re-embarked and proceeded to Point Levi; they afterwards sailed a considerable distance up the river; but it was found impossible to annoy[41] the enemy above the town. A desperate resolution was subsequently formed, to retire a little down the river, land in the night within a league of Cape Diamond, ascend the heights of Abraham, and gain possession of the ground at the back of the city.

At midnight on the 12th of September, the troops went on board the boats, and at one o'clock the first division moved down the river; an officer who spoke the French language, answering the challenges of the enemy's sentries on the shore. A landing was effected: the officers and men climbed the steep woody precipice, pulling themselves up by roots and branches of trees with admirable courage and activity, dislodged a captain's guard, and gained the heights. The Fifteenth and other corps followed.

When the French general was informed that the English had gained the heights of Abraham, he instantly collected his forces and advanced to give battle; and Major-General Wolfe, observing the approach of the hostile troops, formed line, the Fifteenth being posted in reserve. The enemy manifesting a design against the British left, the Fifteenth were removed to that flank by Brigadier-General Townshend, and were formed en potence, presenting two fronts to the enemy.

About nine o'clock the action commenced, and was particularly severe on the right, at which point the British regiments behaved with extraordinary gallantry, charging with bayonets, and overthrowing all opposition. In the midst of the action, Major-General Wolfe was shot in the breast, and he expired at the moment of victory. Brigadier-General Monckton was also wounded, and the command devolved on Brigadier-General Townshend, who had scarcely formed the troops after the pursuit, when a fresh body of the enemy[42] appeared in his rear: he detached two regiments against them, and the enemy fled to the woods. The French commander, the Marquis of Montcalm, was mortally wounded; and his second in command, Brigadier-General de Senezergue, was wounded and taken prisoner, and he died on board an English ship on the following day.

This victory was gained with the loss of about fifty men killed, and five hundred wounded; but the fall of Major-General James Wolfe was a national loss. He possessed an animating fervour of sentiment,—an intuitive perception,—extensive capacity,—personal bravery beyond all estimation,—and an unbounded thirst for glory; these bright qualities were combined with every species of military knowledge that study could comprehend, and actual service illustrate; and, while the sublimity of his genius soared above ordinary minds, his generous disposition, and complacent deportment, procured him universal esteem. The soldiers admired and loved him.

After this victory, preparations were made for prosecuting the siege of Quebec; but further loss of life was prevented by the surrender of the garrison.

This conquest produced great joy in England; a day of thanksgiving was set apart by proclamation; and the thanks of Parliament, with the approbation of their Sovereign, were conveyed to the troops: also an abundant supply of warm clothing, purchased by public subscription, for the use of the men in the cold climate of Quebec.

The loss of the regiment in the several actions near Quebec, was one surgeon's mate, two serjeants, and eleven rank and file killed; Major Paulus Armil Irving, Captain Arthur Loftus, Lieutenants Samuel[43] Rutherford, John Maxwell, senior, John Maxwell, junior, William Skeane, Robert Ross, James Leslie, Lieut. and Adjutant Francis Mekins, Ensigns Edmund Wroth, Samuel Baker, nine serjeants, one drummer, and ninety-seven rank and file, wounded.

The Lieut.-Colonel of the Fifteenth foot, Colonel Honorable James Murray, was rewarded with the appointment of Colonel-commandant of a battalion of the sixtieth regiment, and Governor of Quebec, in which fortress the Fifteenth were stationed during the winter, and they suffered severely from scurvy, occasioned by living constantly on salt provisions.

Resolving, if possible, to regain possession of Quebec, a French force, commanded by the Chevalier de Louis, advanced from Montreal towards the end of April, 1760; the enemy attempted to cut off the British out-posts, but was frustrated by the advance of the piquets, the grenadiers, and the Fifteenth regiment.

Brigadier-General Murray led the garrison of Quebec forward to meet the enemy, whom he engaged on the 28th of April, near the village of Sillery, and gained some advantage; but the superior numbers of the enemy rendered a retreat necessary, which was executed in good order.

The enemy besieged Quebec, and the Fifteenth regiment had the honour of taking part in a successful defence of that important fortress. The governor stated in his despatch,—'I flatter myself the extraordinary performances of the handful of brave men I had left, will please His Majesty as much as they surprised us, who were eye-witnesses of them.' While the garrison was making a resolute defence, a British naval force arrived in the river, destroyed the enemy's vessels near the town, and cannonaded their lines. On the morning[44] of the 17th of May, the Fifteenth were under arms, to make a sally on the besieging force; but the French camp was found empty, and the tents standing. A pursuit was ordered, and some prisoners and baggage were captured.

In June a detachment of the regiment advanced up the river, in vessels, to co-operate with the troops under General Sir Jeffery Amherst, in an attack on the French army at Montreal. The British advanced upon Montreal from three different points, and by a well-arranged combination the whole were united before that place in the early part of September. The French governor, the Marquis of Vaudreuil, being unable to withstand the British arms, surrendered; and the conquest of Canada was thus accomplished.

After this success, the regiment was assembled at Montreal, and it was one of the corps which occupied that place for several months.

In the spring of 1761, the regiment proceeded up Lake Champlain in boats, marched from the shore of the lake to Albany, and afterwards sailed down the Hudson river to New York. In June it was encamped on Staten Island, and in October sailed for Barbadoes, where an expedition was assembled under Major-General Monckton, for an attack on the French island of Martinique, and the Fifteenth was one of the corps selected for this service.

The expedition sailed from Carlisle-bay on the 5th of January, 1762, and a landing was effected on the island of Martinique in the middle of that month. The Fifteenth were actively employed in the operations necessary to bring the enemy to submission, and some severe fighting took place, in which the regiment had several men killed and wounded; Captain Prescott and[45] Lieutenant Leslie, being among the latter. The governor, M. Le Vassor de la Touche, surrendered the island in February.

War having been declared against Spain, the regiment was attached to the armament under General the Earl of Albemarle, destined to attack the valuable settlement of the Havannah, on the island of Cuba. Passing through the straits of Bahama, the expedition arrived within six leagues of the Havannah on the 6th of June; a landing was effected on the following day; and on the 9th, the troops took up a position between Coximar and the Moro, a fort which it was deemed necessary to besiege and capture before an attack was made on the town. In this service, great hardships had to be endured; a thin soil, hardly sufficient to cover the troops in their approaches, a scarcity of water, and the labour of dragging the artillery several miles over a rocky country, and under a burning sun, called forth the efforts of the army and navy. The works were carried on, the sallies of the enemy were repulsed, and the Moro fort was captured by storm on the 30th of July. A series of batteries were erected against the town; and on the 11th of August they opened so well-directed a fire, that the guns of the garrison were silenced, and flags of truce were hung out from the town, and ships in the harbour. The terms of capitulation were agreed upon, and the British took possession of this valuable settlement, with nine men of war in the harbour, and two upon the stocks.

The regiment lost a number of men on this important service; Lieutenant Skene was among the killed; Captain Tyrwhitt and Lieutenant Winter died from the effects of climate.

After the capture of the Havannah, the regiment was stationed at that place eleven months.

[46]

In the meantime a treaty of peace had been concluded, and in 1763 the Havannah was restored to Spain; the regiment was relieved by the Spanish troops which arrived to take possession of the colony, and embarked for New York, from whence it proceeded, by Albany and Lake Champlain, to Canada, where it was stationed several years.

After occupying quarters successively at Montreal, Quebec, and on the upper lakes, until the summer of 1768, the regiment embarked for England, and landed at Portsmouth in July.

Occurrences of a political character having induced Sir Jeffery Amherst to resign the colonelcy of the regiment, he was succeeded, on the 21st of September, 1768, by Colonel Charles Hotham (afterwards Sir Charles Thompson, Baronet) from the sixty-third regiment.

The regiment occupied various quarters in the southern and midland counties of England, until the summer of 1770, when it was reviewed at Chatham by King George III. and in the spring of 1771 marched into Yorkshire.

In 1772 the regiment marched to Scotland, where it was stationed during the following year, and in the spring of 1774 it embarked at Port Patrick for Ireland.

Major-General Sir Charles Thompson was succeeded in the colonelcy of the regiment, in September, 1775, by Major-General Richard Earl of Cavan, from the fifty-fifth regiment of foot.

In the meantime, the determined spirit evinced by the British colonists in North America to resist the acts of parliament passed in England for raising a revenue in their country, had been followed by hostilities, and the Fifteenth regiment was one of the corps selected to[47] proceed across the Atlantic, to aid in the attempt to reduce the refractory provincials to submission. The regiment embarked from Ireland early in 1776, and proceeded to Cape Fear, in North Carolina, with four other corps, under Major-General the Earl Cornwallis. These troops arrived on the coast of North Carolina early in April, and Lieut.-General Clinton assumed the command. The men landed at Cape Fear to refresh themselves after the voyage, and returning on board the transports, sailed, on the 1st of June, with the expedition against Charleston. After passing Charleston bar, the troops landed on one of the islands, but the armament proved of insufficient strength for the capture of the capital of South Carolina, and the five regiments re-embarked and proceeded to Staten Island, where the main body of the British forces was assembled under General Sir William Howe. The Fifteenth, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel John Bird, were formed in brigade with the fourth, twenty-seventh, and forty-fifth regiments, under Major-General Pigot.

A landing was effected on Long Island on the 22nd of August, and the Fifteenth regiment formed part of the force under Lieut.-General Clinton, which advanced after dusk on the evening of the 26th to seize on a pass in the heights, and turn the enemy's left flank at Flat-bush. This pass was taken possession of on the following morning; the army advanced, and the Americans were driven from their position with considerable loss, and forced to retreat to their fortified lines at Brooklyn. The loss of the regiment on this occasion was limited to a few men wounded.

The Americans quitted their fortified lines during the night of the 28th of August, and retired across the East River, in boats, to New York; and the reduction[48] of Long Island was thus accomplished in a few days, with little loss.

From Long Island the regiment proceeded with the army across the East River, when General Washington was forced to abandon New York, which city was taken possession of by the British.

Proceeding up the river, the regiment took part in the operations of the army by which the Americans were forced to evacuate their lines on White Plains; but it did not sustain any loss.

The regiment took part in the attack and capture of the enemy's lines and redoubts near Fort Washington, on the 16th of November, when it had a few private soldiers killed and wounded.

After taking part in these services, the regiment proceeded into winter quarters at the city of New York.

Information being received that the Americans were forming magazines at Peek's-hill, about fifty miles up the North River, Lieut.-Colonel Bird, of the Fifteenth, was detached from New York against that post, with a body of troops, of which a division of the regiment formed part. The troops sailed from New York on the 22nd of March, 1777, and as they approached Peek's-hill, the Americans set fire to the stores and retreated. The British landed, completed the destruction of the magazines, barracks, &c., and afterwards returned to New York.

Extensive depôts were also prepared by the Americans at Danbury, and other places on the borders of Connecticut, and the Fifteenth regiment formed part of a body of troops which embarked from New York, under Major-General Tyron, for the destruction of these magazines. The British arrived off Norwalk[49] on the evening of the 25th of April, landed without opposition, and commenced their march for Danbury, from whence the American troops fled, as the English approached that place on the afternoon of the following day. As no carriages could be procured to bring off any part of the immense collection of stores at this place, the magazines were set on fire, and in the progress of the flames the town was unavoidably burnt. This service accomplished, the British commenced their march back to the coast, early on the morning of the 27th of April, when a body of Americans hung upon their rear, and at every eminence a corps of militia was found ready to oppose their march; but they attacked and routed their opponents; and in one of the skirmishes the American General Wooster was killed.

Arriving at Ridgefield, the British were opposed by a strong force under General Arnold, protected by intrenchments, which the Americans were preparing; but a few rounds from the English artillery, and a gallant charge with bayonets, routed the American force, and the King's troops halted at Ridgefield during the night.

Resuming the march on the following morning, the British were harassed by the enemy, in their retrograde movement, and numerous skirmishes occurred. Arriving at the Hill of Compo, contiguous to the place of embarkation, the Americans appeared in force, and commenced an attack with greater spirit and determination than before; the British troops confronted their numerous assailants, fired a volley, and charged with bayonets with so much impetuosity and valour, that the Americans were unable to withstand the shock, and they retreated. The King's troops afterwards embarked without molestation for New York.

[50]

Eight rank and file of the Fifteenth regiment were killed on this expedition; Captain Harry Ditmas, one serjeant, and fifteen rank and file wounded; two men missing. Lieutenant Charles Hastings, of the twelfth foot, serving as a volunteer with the regiment, was also wounded.

Afterwards taking the field with the army in the Jerseys, the regiment was engaged in the operations designed to bring the enemy to a general engagement, but the Americans kept close in their fortified lines in the mountains; and an expedition against the populous and wealthy city of Philadelphia was resolved upon. The Fifteenth, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel John Bird, were employed in this enterprise, and were formed in brigade with the seventeenth, forty-second, and forty-fourth regiments, under Major-General (afterwards Earl) Grey.

Embarking from Sandy Hook, the army sailed to the Chesapeake, and proceeding up Elk River, landed on the northern shore on the 25th of August. The American army took up a position at Brandywine to oppose the advance, and on the 11th of September the royal forces moved forward to engage their opponents. The Fifteenth formed part of the column under Major-General the Earl Cornwallis, which made a circuit of some miles to turn the right and gain the rear of the American army. The action proved decisive; the enemy was driven from his position, and forced to make a precipitate retreat. The battalion companies of the regiment did not sustain any loss on this occasion; but the flank companies, being formed in grenadier and light infantry battalions, had Lieutenant Faulkener killed; Captain Cathcart, Captain Douglas, and Lieutenant Leigh wounded; also several men killed and wounded.

[51]

After this victory, the army continued its advance; Philadelphia was taken possession of, and the British troops took up a position at Germantown, the Fifteenth being posted on the left of the village.

Making a forced march during the night of the 3rd of October, the American army appeared suddenly in front of Germantown before daylight on the following morning, and attacked the British outposts, thinking to surprise the troops in an unprepared state. The first assault was opposed by the second battalion of light infantry, and the fortieth regiment, under Lieut.-Colonel Musgrave, posted at the head of the village; these corps were forced to fall back, and Lieut.-Colonel Musgrave threw himself, with six companies of the fortieth, into a large store-house, where he was attacked by an American brigade, aided by four pieces of cannon. During the contest, while the soldiers of the fortieth were defending their post manfully, Major-General Grey brought forward the Fifteenth, and two other corps; and making a determined attack on the American regiments, drove them back with great slaughter. The enemy was also repulsed at every part of the field, and forced to make a precipitate retreat.

Lieut.-Colonel John Bird, Ensign Anthony Frederick, and five rank and file of the regiment were killed; Captains George Goldfrap and Harry Ditmas, Lieutenant George Thomas, Ensign Henry Ball, two serjeants, and forty-two rank and file wounded. In alluding to the death of Lieut.-Colonel Bird, General Sir William Howe spoke of it as an event 'much to be lamented, he being an officer of experience and approved merit.' General Washington formed a fortified camp at Whitemarsh; and early in December the British army advanced with the view of inducing the[52] Americans to quit their lines and offer battle, or of finding a vulnerable part in their fortified camp. Several skirmishes occurred, in which the British troops evinced their native intrepidity and firmness, and were victorious in every instance; but the defences of the American camp were found too strong to be attacked, and the army marched into winter quarters at Philadelphia.

After passing the winter at the capital of Pennsylvania, the regiment furnished several parties, in the spring of 1778, to range the country, and open communications for bringing in supplies.

The regiment also shared in the fatigues and difficulties of the march of the army from Philadelphia to New York, under Lieut.-General Sir Henry Clinton, rendered necessary by the French monarch having united with the revolted British provinces, and thus changed the character of the war. As the army pursued its journey, crossing rivers, and traversing a wild and woody country, the enemy menaced the flanks and rear with an attack in force; and on the 28th of June, some sharp fighting took place, near Freehold in New Jersey, when the grenadier company of the Fifteenth distinguished itself, and the enemy was repulsed. Captain Cathcart, of the regiment, was wounded; and also Captain Ditmas, who was attached to the second grenadier battalion.

The army afterwards continued its route, and arrived at New York in July.

A powerful French armament menacing the British possessions in the West Indies, the Fifteenth, and several other corps, sailed from North America, early in November, for Barbadoes, under Major-General Grant.

[53]

While the regiment was at sea, its colonel, Major-General the Earl of Cavan, died at Dublin, and was succeeded by Major-General William Fawcett, deputy adjutant-general to the forces.

On the arrival of the reinforcements at Barbadoes, the British naval and military commanders resolved to act offensively, and attack the French island of St. Lucia. On this occasion the regiment was formed in brigade with the twenty-eighth, forty-sixth, and fifty-fifth, under Major-General Prescott. The expedition sailed from Carlisle-bay on the 12th of December, a landing was effected at St. Lucia on the following day, and on the 14th, the French troops were driven from several important posts. In the meantime a French armament of very superior numbers approached the island, and the British took up positions to repel the enemy. The French fleet made a desperate attack on the British naval force, but was repulsed. A numerous body of the enemy landed, and stormed the post of La Vigie, which was occupied by the grenadiers, light infantry, and fifth regiment, under Brigadier-General Medows; when the determined bravery of the British proved triumphant over very superior numbers, and the French were repulsed and forced to re-embark, leaving the ground covered with killed and wounded. The flank companies of the Fifteenth had an opportunity of distinguishing themselves on this occasion. The governor surrendered the island to the British arms immediately after the departure of the French armament.

The Fifteenth remained at St. Lucia several months. In the meantime, the French possessed a great superiority of numbers, both of naval and land force, in the West Indies; and in June, 1779, they[54] attacked the island of St. Vincent, and in July Grenada; the regiment embarked from St. Lucia, for the relief of these islands; but they were captured before any force could arrive to their assistance. While the regiment was at sea, some sharp fighting occurred between the hostile fleets, without decisive results, and the regiment was afterwards landed at the island of St. Christopher's, where it was stationed during the year 1780.

Holland having adopted a line of politics hostile to the British, and favourable to the American interest, war took place between Great Britain and the United Provinces; and in February, 1781, the Dutch island of St. Eustatius was captured. The Fifteenth regiment was afterwards removed from St. Christopher's to St. Eustatius, and the flank companies were subsequently detached to the former island.

The British commandant at St. Eustatius neglected to adopt the necessary precautions for the security of the island, and during the night of the 26th of November, a French force, under the Marquis of Bouillé, effected a landing, captured the commandant as he was taking a morning ride, overpowered the posts, and forced the garrison, consisting of the battalion companies of the thirteenth and Fifteenth regiments, to surrender prisoners of war. The commandant, Lieut.-Colonel Cockburn, was afterwards tried by a general court-martial, and cashiered.

After being detained a short period, the regiment was exchanged, and resumed its duties.

The flank companies were stationed at St. Christopher's, with the first battalion of the royals and a detachment of artillery, which constituted the military force of the island, under Brigadier-General Fraser, when a powerful French armament appeared off that[55] place in the beginning of January, 1782. Eight thousand French troops landed, with a powerful train of artillery, under the Marquis of Bouillé; and the English troops, being unable to oppose so numerous a host on open ground, took possession of Brimstone-hill, a formidable post, but the fortifications were old and in a ruinous state, and the soldiers had no intrenching tools; a desperate defence was however determined on, in hopes of being relieved.

Against this post the French batteries opened their fire, on the 19th of January, and from that day a storm of balls and bombs rattled round the hill with increasing fury, until the houses on the heights were battered to pieces, and the old works were nearly destroyed. During this period a British naval force approached the island, and a body of troops landed; but the enemy had so great a superiority of numbers, that no reasonable expectation could be entertained of being able to save the island, and the troops returned on board the fleet. In the meantime, the works on Brimstone-hill had been breached in several places, and the garrison was reduced to the last extremity; yet the troops continued to evince that valour and firmness for which British soldiers have been distinguished; and their conduct excited the admiration of their enemies. When all prospect of being able to resist many hours longer was gone, the garrison capitulated, and was permitted to march through the breach with the honours of war, and return to England, on condition of being considered as prisoners of war until exchanged. The conduct of the officers and soldiers who defended Brimstone-hill was highly commended in Brigadier-General Fraser's despatch; and has been held up as an example of British courage and resolution, by historians.

[56]

The regiment returned to England, and many of the officers and men, who had been made prisoners, were lost on the voyage, in the Ville de Paris, a French ship, which had been captured by Admiral Rodney.

This year the Fifteenth received the title of the East Riding Yorkshire regiment, and was directed to cultivate a connexion with that part of the county, to facilitate the procuring of recruits.

During the year 1783, the regiment was stationed in Yorkshire, and rapidly increased in numbers; in the following year it proceeded to Ireland, and was employed on Dublin duty in 1785.

After remaining in Ireland six years, the regiment embarked at Cork, in the summer of 1790, mustering seven hundred men, and proceeded to Barbadoes. In 1791, its establishment was reduced, and upwards of two hundred men were transferred to other corps.

Lieut.-General Fawcett was removed to the third dragoon guards, in August, 1792; and King George III. conferred the colonelcy of the Fifteenth foot on Major-General James Hamilton, from the lieut.-colonelcy of the twenty-first, or royal North British fusiliers.

In 1793 the regiment was removed from Barbadoes to Dominica, where it was stationed several months.

Resistance to the authority of the crown, in France, had, in the meantime, led to a violent and sanguinary revolution, and the French West India Islands had become the scene of democratic outrage. Great Britain engaged in war to arrest the progress of anarchy; and the Fifteenth regiment was selected to join an expedition under General Sir Charles Grey, prepared to rescue the French West India Islands from republican outrage.

The expedition sailed from Carlisle-bay, Barbadoes,[57] early in February, 1794; landed at three different points on the island of Martinique, on the 5th, 6th, and 8th of that month, and drove the enemy from numerous strong posts. Two companies of the Fifteenth distinguished themselves in storming Mount Mathurine, where a battery was erected, which compelled the garrison of Pigeon Island to surrender at discretion. 'The Fifteenth regiment, led by Major Lyon and commanded by Captain Panmier, surprised several hundreds of the enemy, very strongly posted, on the heights of Le Grand Bouclain, on the 12th of February, killing several and taking all their arms, ammunition, cattle, &c.'[13] The enemy's out-posts being driven in, Fort Royal and Fort Bourbon were besieged; the former was captured on the 20th of March, and the latter surrendered two days afterwards. The loss of the regiment on this service was limited to a few soldiers killed and wounded.

The regiment remained at Martinique, while a detachment proceeded to St. Lucia, and captured that island.

From Martinique the expedition proceeded against Guadaloupe. A determined resistance was experienced at this place, but the island was captured before the end of April; and Sir Charles Grey stated in his despatch, that he 'could not find words to convey an adequate idea, or to express the high sense he entertained of the extraordinary merit evinced by the officers and soldiers in this service.' The regiment had Captain Comb and Ensign Croker killed, and several private soldiers killed and wounded.

The regiment remained a short time at Martinique, and afterwards proceeded to Dominica; but returned to[58] Martinique in January, 1795, and was stationed at that island twelve months, under Lieut.-Colonel Madden.

In 1796 the regiment transferred two hundred and fifty men to the forty-fifth foot, and embarked for England, its numbers being reduced to fifty-three men. It landed in November at Portsmouth, marched to Derby, and active measures were adopted to recruit its ranks to the augmented establishment of a thousand men.

Marching northward from Derby, in April, 1797, the regiment proceeded across the border, and was stationed two years in Scotland. It afterwards returned to England, and was quartered at Sunderland barracks.

The militia regiments being permitted to volunteer into the regular army, fifteen hundred and thirty-eight men volunteered to the Fifteenth, and the regiment was augmented to two battalions.

Both battalions proceeded to Ireland in 1800, the first under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Madden, and the second under Major Lord Sinclair; Lieut.-Colonel Barry afterwards succeeded to the command of the first battalion.

In 1802, the war was terminated by the treaty of Amiens; when the British army was reduced, and the second battalion was disbanded,—the establishment of the regiment being fixed at seven hundred and fifty rank and file.

The conduct of Napoleon Buonaparte, then First Consul of France, occasioned hostilities to be resumed in 1803, when the British army was augmented, and preparations made to repel a threatened invasion of the French. The Fifteenth regiment remained in Ireland.

Preparations to repel the menaced French invasion were continued in 1804, and a second battalion was[59] added to the regiment. It was formed of men raised for limited service under the Additional Force Act passed on the 29th of June, 1804, and was quartered at Scarborough, in Yorkshire.

During the winter, the first battalion again embarked for the West Indies, and landed at Barbadoes on the 12th of March, 1805. In May, Surgeon Shaw died at Barbadoes.

This year is celebrated in the naval annals of Great Britain for the splendid achievements of the marine forces of the kingdom. Rear-Admiral Viscount Nelson having proceeded to the West Indies in quest of the French fleet, the Fifteenth regiment received orders to embark and serve as marines. It went on board on the 4th of June, Lieut.-Colonel Barry and the staff being appointed to the "Conqueror" of seventy-four guns; but after a cruise of fourteen days, the fleet returned to port, and the regiment landed: it therefore missed sharing in the glorious victory of Trafalgar, on the 21st of October, 1805. During the months of July, August, and September, the regiment lost nine officers and two hundred and twelve men by fever.

In May, 1806, a draft of one hundred and twenty-four men joined from the second battalion, and a few volunteers from the eleventh regiment.

On the 24th of January, 1807, the regiment was suddenly embarked on board the fleet; but after a short cruise returned to Barbadoes, from whence it was removed to Grenada in April.

The court of Denmark having united with France, in hostilities against Great Britain, an expedition was prepared against the Danish islands of St. Thomas and Santa Croix, and the Fifteenth embarked from[60] Grenada to take part in this service. These colonies surrendered on being summoned, and loss of life was thus prevented.

In July, 1808, a draft of six serjeants and two hundred and ninety-three rank and file joined from the second battalion.

In November and the early part of December, the regiment lost about one hundred and fifty men from the effects of the climate of the West Indies.

The regiment joined the expedition under Lieut.-General Beckwith, which sailed from Carlisle-bay, Barbadoes, on the 28th of January, 1809, against the island of Martinique. The first division landed in Bay Robert, and the second near St. Luce and Point Solomon. The enemy's force was numerous, and some sharp fighting occurred, in which the regiment had the honor to distinguish itself, and had several men killed and wounded. The conquest of the island was achieved in a few weeks, and Lieut.-General Beckwith stated in his public despatch,—'The having commanded such an army will constitute the pride of my future life. To these brave troops, conducted by Generals of experience, their king and country owe the sovereignty of this important colony; and I trust, that by a comparison of the force which defended it, and the time in which it has fallen, the present reduction of Martinique will not be deemed eclipsed by any former expedition.'

The royal authority was afterwards given for the regiment to bear the word "Martinique" on its colours, to commemorate its distinguished gallantry on this occasion. Lieut.-Colonel Riall received a medal for commanding a brigade, and Major Andrew Davidson for commanding the regiment.

[61]

Three French sail of the line and two frigates, from L'Orient, having taken shelter in the Saints, in the vicinity of Guadaloupe, they were blockaded by Rear-Admiral Sir Alexander Cochrane; and three thousand men, of which force the Fifteenth formed part, were detached, under Major-General Maitland, for the reduction of the islands. This expedition sailed from Port Royal on the 12th of April; a landing was effected in Ance Bois Joly, and the difficult heights of Mount Russel, eight hundred feet high, were stormed and captured, and a battery soon forced the French shipping to put to sea. The reduction of the islands was accomplished in a few days, and the enemy's garrison was made prisoners of war. During the action on the 15th of April, Lieut.-Colonel Phineas Riall volunteered to storm Fort Morelli, with the Fifteenth regiment; but Major-General Maitland would not allow the corps to engage in so dangerous an enterprise.

Towards the end of April, the regiment returned to Grenada, where it was stationed about nine months.

Three hundred men of the regiment, including the flank companies, embarked from Grenada, early in January, 1810, under Lieut.-Colonel Riall, for Barbadoes, to join the expedition against Guadaloupe, under Lieut.-General Sir George Beckwith, and were formed in brigade with a battalion of light infantry, and the third West India regiment, under Brigadier-General Harcourt; this officer being afterwards appointed to the command of a division, the brigade was commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Riall, of the Fifteenth.

The expedition rendezvoused at Prince Rupert's, Dominica, and the Fifteenth accompanied the second division, which sailed on the 26th of January, and anchored[62] at the Saints until the 29th, when it proceeded towards Guadaloupe, and menaced the enemy's defences at the Three Rivers. During the night the regiment landed in the bay near the village of Les Vieux Habitans without opposition, and afterwards advanced, the enemy's posts falling back skirmishing. The French appearing in force on some high open ground, the Fifteenth turned their right flank, the Royal West India Rangers the left, and the thirteenth light infantry advanced against the front, when the enemy was speedily forced from his ground.

The regiment afterwards took part in completing the conquest of the island, an achievement which reflected credit on the troops employed in the enterprise. The conduct of Lieut.-Colonel Riall was commended in the public despatch of the Commander of the Forces.

The following statement appeared in general orders, dated 6th February:—'The Commander of the Forces returns his thanks to the officers of all ranks, for their meritorious exertions, and to the non-commissioned officers and soldiers, for the cheerfulness with which they have undergone the fatigues of a march, difficult in its nature, through the strongest country in the world, and the spirit they have manifested on all occasions to close with the enemy.'

The loss of the regiment was limited to a few private soldiers killed and wounded, and Captain William Grierson wounded.

To commemorate the distinguished gallantry of the regiment on this occasion, the royal authority was afterwards given for the word "Guadaloupe" to be displayed on its colours. Lieut.-Colonel Riall received a medal for commanding a brigade.

[63]

In March, that portion of the regiment which had been left at Grenada, joined at Guadaloupe; also a draft of ninety men from the second battalion. Another draft of one hundred men joined from the second battalion in July, under Lieut.-Colonel Barry, who assumed the command of the regiment,—Lieut.-Colonel Riall proceeding to Europe on leave of absence.

The health of the men soon afterwards suffered severely from the effects of the climate of Guadaloupe, and two hundred and seventy-six non-commissioned officers and soldiers died. The survivors were moved to the Champ de Mars, and afterwards occupied the convalescent posts of Matuba, Dolce, Vermont, and Vieux Fort.

The regiment remained at Guadaloupe during the year 1811; in May, 1812, it was removed to St. Christopher's and stationed on Brimstone-hill, under Lieut.-Colonel Davidson.

On the 21st of September, Lieut.-Colonel Renny joined with a detachment of two serjeants, and one hundred and forty-six rank and file, from the second battalion.

Several detachments also joined from the second battalion in 1813.

After commanding the regiment twenty years, General Powell died in the summer of 1814, and was succeeded in the colonelcy by Lieut.-General Moore Disney, from major in the first foot guards.

The victories of the British troops, in the Peninsula and the south of France, having accomplished the reduction of the power of Napoleon Buonaparte, and the restoration of the house of Bourbon to the throne of France, a general peace was proclaimed, the army was reduced, and the second battalion of the Fifteenth[64] was disbanded in October, 1814, on the island of Jersey, whither it had proceeded in June, 1811: its services had been limited to Great Britain and Jersey.

Early in 1815, the men of the late second battalion embarked to join the regiment at the island of St. Christopher; but the transports encountered much severe weather, and were forced into Falmouth harbour, and the soldiers landed. At this period, Buonaparte had violated the treaty of 1814, and regained the throne of France. War immediately followed; and His Royal Highness the Prince Regent directed the second battalion of the Fifteenth regiment to be re-formed; this took place accordingly, and the men who had landed at Falmouth proceeded to Guernsey, where they were joined by the depôt.

The French troops on the islands of Martinique and Guadaloupe evinced a disposition to renounce their allegiance to Louis XVIII., and proclaim Buonaparte, and the former island was taken possession of by British troops in June; at Guadaloupe, the Emperor Napoleon was proclaimed on the 18th of June, a day fatal to his power on the field of Waterloo; and the first battalion of the Fifteenth regiment proceeded from St. Christopher to Barbadoes, from whence it sailed with the expedition against Guadaloupe, under Lieut.-General Sir James Leith. A landing was effected on the island on the 8th of August, and the French troops were speedily forced to surrender prisoners of war.

The regiment proceeded to the Champ de Mars, where it was stationed until the end of September, when it embarked for Barbadoes.

Peace having been restored, and Buonaparte sent in[65] exile to St. Helena, the second battalion of the regiment was disbanded in the island of Guernsey, on the 25th of January, 1816; the men fit for service embarking to join the first battalion at Barbadoes.

On the 15th of April, the regiment marched from garrison at St. Anne's, to quell an insurrection among the negroes in the interior of the island of Barbadoes, where strong detachments remained until June, when the regiment was removed to Martinique.

In August, the French eighty-eighth regiment, or Martinique Legion, arrived to garrison the island, and the Fifteenth, being relieved, proceeded to Grenada, where they landed on the 5th of September, and marched into garrison at Richmond-hill.

From Grenada the regiment embarked, in the spring of 1817, in two divisions, under Lieut.-Colonel Davidson and Major Maxwell, for Halifax in Nova Scotia, where it was stationed two years.

The right wing, under Major Maxwell, embarked for Bermuda in June, 1819, and relieved the left wing of the sixty-second regiment at Fort George barracks, where the Fifteenth lost between sixty and seventy men of the yellow fever, in August and September.

During the year 1820, the regiment was stationed at Bermuda and Nova Scotia. In the summer of 1821, it was relieved at the former station by a wing of the second battalion of the sixtieth, and at the latter by the eighty-first regiment; and embarking for England, landed at Portsmouth in July and August, and was stationed at Fort Cumberland until November, when it embarked for Plymouth.

In the summer of 1822, the regiment was removed to Hull; in October it embarked at Liverpool for Ireland,[66] and landing at Dublin, occupied Richmond barracks a few weeks, and afterwards proceeded to Naas.

The regiment was removed in the summer of 1823 to Waterford, and in the autumn to Cork, with a detachment at Spike Island; and it occupied this station during the year 1824.

Leaving Cork in July, 1825, the regiment proceeded to Buttevant, with detachments to the towns in the neighbourhood.

A division of the regiment marched to Templemore in February, 1826, and sent out numerous detachments. One party stationed at Thurles, under Captain Temple, evinced great patience and forbearance, united with a proper degree of firmness, in suppressing a riot at that place, when several persons had been killed by the police. Captain Temple received an address of thanks and approbation from the magistrates and principal inhabitants of the town, for his cool and judicious conduct on this occasion. In the autumn the regiment marched to Galway, sending out eleven detachments.

In April, 1827, the regiment was divided into six service and four reserve companies, and marched to Fermoy, where it was inspected by Major-General Sir George Bingham, who expressed his unqualified approbation of its appearance, discipline, and interior economy. In May, the service companies embarked from the Cove of Cork, under Lieut.-Colonel Macintosh, for Canada, and arrived at Quebec on the 29th of June and 6th of July; they immediately proceeded up the river St. Lawrence, to Kingston in Upper Canada, where they remained ten months.

Retiring down the River St. Lawrence, in boats, in May and June, 1828, the service companies proceeded to Montreal, from whence the first division continued[67] its journey, in a steam vessel, to Quebec, and was followed by the second division in August.

The regiment was stationed at Quebec during the years 1829 and 1830; in October of the latter year, a strong detachment proceeded to the Isle aux Noix, on Lake Champlain.

The regiment continued in garrison at Quebec, detaching 100 rank and file to the Isle aux Noix and St. John's, with a proportion of officers and non-commissioned officers.

The regiment moved to Montreal on the 3rd of May of this year, continuing its detachments.

On the 21st of May, 1832, Lieut.-Colonel Macintosh, commanding the regiment, and Commandant of the Garrison of Montreal, was called upon by the magistrates of that place to be prepared to assist the civil power in the event of a riot occurring at a contested election for the west ward of the city, which was to terminate on that day. Captain Temple was the captain of the piquet on the occasion, but when it was turned out, Lieut.-Colonel Macintosh took command of it in person. At the close of the poll, several acts of violence were perpetrated both on persons and property, when it became necessary to require the co-operation of the piquet in restoring order. The Riot Act having been read, the Lieut.-Colonel was authorised by the Magistrates to take such steps as might appear to him necessary. The piquet was immediately marched in the direction of the rioters, who assailed the party with stones and other missiles, when the order to "fire" was given, not, however, until every effort had been exerted to cause them to disperse. The front rank alone, consisting of about sixteen men, discharged their pieces in quick succession, the consequences[68] of which proved fatal on the spot to three of the rioters; several others were severely wounded, but the disturbance was effectually checked. The regiment remained under arms in different parts of the town during the night.

A company of the Royal Artillery stationed at the Island of St. Helen's, under the command of Captain W. C. Anderson, brought over two nine-pounders in the short space of twelve minutes from the time the signal was given for their services, and remained on duty with the regiment until the next day. This was remarkable, as the river is nearly a mile broad, with a very rapid current, and the guns had to be shipped in bateaux after the signal was made, and re-limbered on landing at the Montreal side.

The conduct of the troops, particularly that portion under the immediate orders of Lieut.-Colonel Macintosh, was marked by great steadiness and forbearance, notwithstanding that they had been harassed by continual alarms for some days previous to the riot. On the day of the 21st the rain fell in torrents, whilst the men were exposed to it for hours before the riot commenced.

The following documents are deemed worthy of a place in these Records; the conduct and discipline of the corps, on the occasion referred to, being highly estimated by the civil and military authorities.

An address was likewise presented to Lieut.-Colonel Macintosh and Captain Temple, by the citizens of Montreal, from which the following extracts are made:—

The following letter from the Military Secretary of the General Commanding in Chief, addressed to Lieut.-General Lord Aylmer, K.C.B., Commander of the Forces in Canada, was published in the General Orders of the Colony:—

In the month of June of this year, the colony was visited by that afflicting scourge, the Asiatic cholera. One of the very first individuals attacked was a sentry on the regimental guard; he was relieved from his post, complaining of the usual symptoms, and despite the most prompt attention, he expired in a few hours. From this time the utmost consternation prevailed in the city, the disease making rapid progress: the deaths were one in ten of the whole population, without distinction of age or rank. Several men were hourly admitted into hospital, where death very shortly ended their sufferings. The hospital serjeant and all the orderlies (several of whom had volunteered to assist their unfortunate comrades) fell sacrifices to their zeal, when the disease was on the decline. One man only, who was in the worst stage of the disease, finally survived. It is worthy of remark that none of the officers were in the least affected, although their duties exposed them constantly, by day and night, to an infected atmosphere.

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In order to give increased ventilation in the barracks, as well as to relieve the attention of the soldiers, a large detachment, chiefly of married men, was sent to La Prairie to occupy an old cavalry barrack there; but this step proved fatal to many of them. It was shortly after determined to remove the whole regiment to the Island of St. Helen's, opposite to the city, where the men were encamped. Thirty-seven men died of this scourge between the 12th and 24th of June, 1832, but not a single case occurred after the regiment was placed under canvass. Lieut.-Colonel Macintosh proceeded to England, and did not again rejoin the regiment, having exchanged to half-pay with Lieut.-Colonel G. W. Horton.

The regiment was moved to Kingston, Upper Canada, in the spring of this year, where it had been stationed on first arriving in the colony, detaching one company to Brockville in aid of the civil power, and a company to Cornwall, where some public works were in course of construction.

The Fifteenth moved this year to Toronto, the seat of Government in Upper Canada, detaching one company to Fort George and another to Amherstburg, frontier posts; and a subaltern's party proceeded to Penetanquishene, the most advanced military post on Lake Huron. The Canadas were again visited this year by the Asiatic cholera; the regiment, however, did not suffer in the least.

Lieut.-Colonel G. W. Horton, from the half-pay, vice Macintosh, assumed the command of the regiment.

During the year 1836 the detachments at Fort George and Amherstburg, were relieved by companies from head quarters.

In the year 1837 all the detachments were withdrawn, and the regiment moved to Quebec, in expectation of[75] returning to England: the unsettled state of the Canadas, however, called for an increased force, and the regiment remained in that garrison during the autumn and winter of 1837.

The importance of the citadel at a time when a rebellion had actually broken out, and the population of the place hostile to the government, caused the duty of the garrison to bear heavily upon the regiment, which, with two companies of the sixty-sixth regiment, two companies of artillery, and a battalion of volunteer militia, raised on the emergency, formed the whole force for the protection of this important place.

On the 9th May, several ships of war were announced by telegraph; and they shortly after anchored opposite the citadel, having on board the Governor-General, the Earl of Durham, and suite, and a brigade of guards, consisting of upwards of 1600 men, under Major-General Sir James Macdonnell.

The regiment immediately vacated its quarters and proceeded to Chambly, on the river Richelieu, an important post, as being situated in the centre of a populous and disaffected country.

Two drafts consisting of 226 men joined from the depôt companies, nearly 100 of them volunteers from the nineteenth regiment. New accoutrements were supplied, and all unserviceable arms were likewise replaced.

Lieut.-Colonel Horton resigned the command of the regiment, and proceeded to England in the month of June, at which time two troops of the seventh hussars were added to the garrison of Chambly.

Lieut.-Colonel Lord Charles Wellesley, who exchanged from half-pay with Lieut.-Colonel Horton, arrived in Canada, and assumed the command of the regiment in October, 1838.

[76]

On the 18th of October the head-quarter division of the first (or King's) dragoon guards, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel the Honorable George Cathcart, replaced the squadron of the seventh hussars. About midnight, a fire was discovered in the centre of the officers' quarters, which consisted of a long range of buildings of one story only, but being very old, and entirely of wood, they were consumed in less than half an hour. The regiment had to deplore the loss of the two senior Ensigns (Walter Carey and William Dering Adair Roe), the fire having originated in the particular porch in which their quarters were situated. Ensign Carey had got clear of all danger, but incautiously attempted to secure a favourite object of value, when he sank in the midst of the burning mass. Ensign Roe was rescued from the flames, apparently not much burnt; he walked nearly half a mile to the hospital without assistance, but died in the course of the day, mortification having rapidly taken place: the unfortunate sufferers were committed to the same tomb, and a tablet was erected to their memory in the parish church, by their brother officers, as a mark of their regard, and of deep regret at their untimely fate. The cause of the fire could not be ascertained.

Although the revolt of 1837 had been put down, another attempt to wrest the colony from the control of the Supreme Government was known to be in agitation; and, as the line of the Richelieu was the most disaffected, several parties of the military forces were employed in searching for arms, and apprehending suspected persons. About mid-day of the 8th November, an unexpected order was received to move the chief part of the regiment to St. John's, (where a detachment of 100 men had been stationed for some[77] time,) and although the weather was most inclement, the regiment reached its destination shortly after dark.

His Excellency Lieut.-General Sir John Colborne, now Lord Seaton, Commander of the Forces and Governor-in-Chief, was there in person, with the whole of his staff. The seventy-third regiment had also been brought from Montreal.

A large body of insurgents having taken possession of a village near the frontier, their sympathizing friends in the United States endeavoured to open a communication with them and join them; that, being united, they might act with more effect against the isolated positions occupied by the troops: in this object they were, however, frustrated by the timely approach of the Commander of the Forces in person.

As the troops advanced, the country was deserted by the misguided inhabitants, who did not anticipate the immediate consequences of their disaffection, and on arriving near the village of Napierville, where the rebels were said to be in force, it was discovered that they had dispersed; nor could they afterwards be brought to face the troops in any single instance. A small party, however, of volunteers, signalized themselves by attacking a superior force of the disaffected, who in their turn became the aggressors, but they were repulsed, and dispersed with great loss.

The troops were cantoned for a few days in the immediate neighbourhood of Napierville, during which the misguided habitans sheltered themselves in the woods, submitting their property to the pillage of the soldiery, who were living at free quarters during the time.

An irruption being threatened by the sympathizers, at a place called Hemingford, a short distance from the frontier, but on the opposite side of the Richelieu,[78] the Commander of the Forces moved there, accompanied by a division of the Fifteenth and seventy-third regiments, some artillery, and two troops of the first (or King's) dragoon guards.

The loyal portion of the inhabitants were speedily formed, and prepared to assist the troops in acting as circumstances might require. But the activity of the Commander of the Forces checked the ardour of the marauders, who never fairly made their appearance.

During the remainder of the month of November, the regiment was employed in searching for arms, throughout the counties bordering on the Richelieu, and succeeded in securing large quantities of them, after which service the corps returned to Chambly.

The head-quarters were again moved in December to St. John's, and from thence to the Isle aux Noix, sending two companies to take post at Napierville, thus occupying the frontier line. But one occasion offered for proving the alacrity and discipline of the regiment. An order was received about eleven o'clock, A.M., on the 5th January, to move two hundred and fifty to Henryville, a small hamlet to the east of the Richelieu, with all possible despatch; and the division, in complete marching order, arrived at its destination before sunset; although the distance was only seven miles, the march had to be performed through uncleared woods, and over roads in many places breast-deep in snow, where the men were obliged to file in single rank. The sixty-sixth regiment, and some companies of the grenadier guards, together with a half battery of artillery, were already concentrated there, under the command of Major-General Sir James Macdonnell. The promptness of this forward movement, however, deterred the marauders from effecting their nefarious[79] designs; and the troops shortly returned to their several stations.

The regiment moved to Montreal, and took up quarters at the island of St. Helen's, withdrawing the companies at Napierville, but detaching two companies to William Henry, and one to Three Rivers.

During the summer, the regiment suffered severely from ophthalmia, and although situated most favourably (the rapid and clear stream of the St. Lawrence perpetually flowing round the island), and unremittingly watched by the staff and regimental surgeons, the disease was not eradicated.

The service companies returned to England on the 25th June of this year, on board the "Athol" troopship, and disembarked at Portsmouth, where the depôt companies awaited their arrival.

The regiment was quartered at the Haslar and Fort Monckton barracks, until January, 1841, when it marched to Winchester. From thence it was moved to Woolwich in June, detaching three companies to Deptford.

The Fifteenth moved to Windsor early in the month of April, where the regiment remained until November. On being relieved by a battalion of the grenadier guards, the regiment proceeded to Manchester, the head-quarters moving shortly after to Chester Castle.

Whilst stationed at Windsor, the regiment was highly honored by the personal inspection of Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen, and her August Consort, the Prince Albert.

Her Majesty, on another occasion, reviewed the regiment in the Home Park, attended by H.R.H. the Prince Albert, and the Hereditary Grand Duke of Saxe Coburg Gotha.

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Her Majesty was, on both occasions, most graciously pleased to express her approbation of the appearance of the men, and the precision of their movements.

The half-yearly inspection of the regiment, by Lieut.-General Sir John Macdonald, G.C.B., Adjutant-General to the Forces, took place in the Home Park at Windsor, on the 22nd of July. He was pleased to approve highly of the interior discipline and appearance of the regiment.

At this period, upwards of five hundred men had been recruited for the regiment since its return from Canada, and fifty-eight volunteers were furnished to the following corps this year, namely, to the forty-second royal Highland regiment, the ninety-seventh regiment, and the St. Helena regiment.

On the 31st October and 1st November, the Fifteenth proceeded from Windsor to the northern district, and were stationed at Chester, where the regiment remained until June 1843, when it marched to Manchester, and in the following month embarked for Ireland, and was stationed at Templemore.

In March, 1844, the regiment proceeded from Templemore to Limerick; and in July, 1845, it was formed into six service and four depôt companies. The former marched to Cork, and embarked on the 8th and 17th September, in the "Maria Somes" and "Mariner" transports, for Ceylon; the head-quarter division under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Thomas A. Drought, and the second division under Major R. A. Cuthbert. The depôt companies proceeded from Limerick to Waterford in August, 1845, and were quartered there during the following year.

The service companies arrived at Ceylon on the 15th[81] and 26th January, 1846, and were stationed at Colombo until the 26th November, when the head-quarters were removed to Kandy, remaining there during the year 1847. The depôt companies marched from Waterford to Clonmel, in July, 1847; and on the 21st October embarked at Dublin for Liverpool, and proceeded to Chester.

In June, 1848, the period of the conclusion of this Record, the service companies of the Fifteenth regiment remained at Kandy; the depôt companies removed in the month of May, from Chester Castle to South Wales, the head-quarters being stationed at Brecon, with detachments at Dowlais and Swansea.

1848.

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FIFTEENTH REGIMENT OF FOOT

FOR CANNONS MILITARY RECORDS.

SUCCESSION OF COLONELS

OF THE

FIFTEENTH, OR YORKSHIRE EAST RIDING
REGIMENT OF FOOT.

Sir William Clifton, Bart.

Appointed 22nd June, 1685.

William Clifton succeeded, on the decease of his uncle, in January, 1675, to the dignity of Baronet, of Clifton in Nottinghamshire. On the breaking out of the rebellion of James Duke of Monmouth, he evinced loyalty to King James II., and interested himself in raising a regiment for His Majesty's service, now the Fifteenth foot, of which he was appointed colonel, by commission dated the 22nd of June, 1685. When tranquillity was restored, he retired from the service, and was not afterwards employed in a military capacity.

Arthur Herbert.

Appointed 12th May, 1686.

Arthur Herbert (son of Sir Edward Herbert, attorney-general to King Charles I., and afterwards keeper of the great seal) was educated for the naval service, and after serving in subordinate commissions, he had the command of a squadron before Tangier; he afterwards was at the head of a fleet sent against Algiers, and obtained the reputation of an able naval commander. King James II. gave him the colonelcy of a corps of musketeers and pikemen, now the Fifteenth[84] foot; but afterwards deprived him of his commission for opposition to the measures of the court. He proceeded to Holland, and was well received by the Prince of Orange, who nominated him Admiral of the Dutch fleet which accompanied His Highness to England in the autumn of 1688, when the revolution was accomplished. When the Prince and Princess of Orange were elevated to the throne, Admiral Herbert was raised to the peerage by the title of Baron Torbay and Earl of Torrington, his creation bearing date the 29th of May, 1689. He was also constituted first commissioner of the Admiralty, commander-in-chief of the fleet, and colonel of a regiment of marines, which was afterwards disbanded. He commanded the British shipping in a sharp engagement with the French, in Bantry-bay, in the summer of 1689; he also commanded the British fleet in the disastrous naval action off Beachy-head, in the summer of 1690; and was afterwards committed to the Tower on suspicion of treachery, in consequence of his not having brought the British fleet gallantly into action, which occasioned the Dutch shipping to sustain severe loss in contest with superior numbers. He was brought to trial before a court-martial, and acquitted; but he was removed from his appointments, and was not afterwards employed in the service of his sovereign. He died in April, 1716.

Sackville Tufton.

Appointed 12th March, 1687.

Sackville Tufton, brother of the Earl of Thanet, was several years an officer of the first foot guards, in which corps King Charles II. promoted him to the commission of captain of His Majesty's own company. He also served in the foot guards in the early part of the reign of King James II., who promoted him to the colonelcy of a corps of infantry, now the Fifteenth foot. At the revolution in 1688, he adhered to the interest of the Stuart dynasty, and refusing to take the oath to the Prince of Orange, he was superseded in the command of his regiment. He died in 1741.

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Sir James Lesley.

Appointed 31st December, 1688.

This officer served with reputation in the Queen's regiment, now second foot, or the Queen's Royal, at Tangier in Africa, where he had opportunities of distinguishing himself against the Moors, and King Charles II. promoted him to the majority of his regiment. He served against the rebels under the Duke of Monmouth, in the summer of 1685; was at the battle of Sedgemoor; and was rewarded by King James II. with the lieut.-colonelcy of the Queen Dowager's regiment. Joining the interests of the Prince of Orange, at the Revolution, he was nominated colonel of the Fifteenth foot, with which corps he served against the insurgent clans in Scotland, and also under King William III., in Flanders. He commanded a brigade at the attack of Fort Kenoque in 1695; and was afterwards engaged in the defence of Dixmude, where he yielded to the suggestions of the governor, and voted, in a council of war, for the surrender of the town, for which he was cashiered, by sentence of a general court-martial. The governor, the Dutch General Ellemberg, was beheaded at Ghent.

Emanuel Howe.

Appointed 1st November, 1695.

Emanuel Howe, brother of Viscount Howe, of Ireland, served under King William III., in the Netherlands, in the first foot guards, in which corps he was advanced to captain and lieut.-colonel. In the autumn of 1695, His Majesty nominated Lieut.-Colonel Howe, to the colonelcy of the Fifteenth foot, with which corps he served during the remainder of the war. In the reign of Queen Anne he was employed in a diplomatic capacity, and was several years envoy extraordinary at the court of Hanover. He was promoted to the rank of major-general in 1707, and to that of lieut.-general in the beginning of 1709. He died on the 26th of September, 1709.

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Algernon Earl of Hertford.

Appointed 23rd October, 1709.

Algernon Seymour, Earl of Hertford, eldest son of the Duke of Somerset, served with reputation under the celebrated John Duke of Marlborough, in Flanders, and was at the battle of Oudenarde, and covering the siege of Lisle, in 1708. In 1709 he served at the siege of Tournay, the battle of Malplaquet, and the siege of Mons; and on the death of Lieut.-Gen. Howe, he was nominated to the colonelcy of the Fifteenth foot, at the head of which regiment he served in Flanders during the campaigns of 1710, 1711, and 1712; and he was appointed governor of Tynemouth castle, and Clifford-fort. On the accession of King George I., the Earl of Hertford was appointed to the second troop, now second regiment, of life guards; in 1737 he was nominated governor of Minorca and was removed in 1740 to the royal regiment of horse guards (blue); in 1742 he resigned the government of Minorca, and was appointed governor of Guernsey. In 1748 he succeeded to the dignity of Duke of Somerset. His decease occurred in February, 1750.

Harry Harrison.

Appointed 8th February, 1715.

This officer entered the army as ensign in a regiment of foot, on the 22nd of February, 1695, and served two campaigns in Flanders under King William III. He also served with reputation in the wars of Queen Anne, and was promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy of the thirty-ninth foot, with which corps he embarked for Portugal in 1707. He served the campaign of 1708, on the frontiers of Portugal, under the Marquis of Fronteira; and in 1709, evinced signal gallantry at the battle of the Caya. He served in Portugal during the remainder of the war; was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1711; and at the peace of Utrecht, accompanied his regiment to Minorca. In 1715, King George I. rewarded his services with the colonelcy of the Fifteenth foot, with which regiment he[87] served in the action at Glensheil in 1719. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general in 1735, to that of major-general in 1739, and lieut.-general in 1748. He died in March, 1749.

John Jordan.

Appointed 15th April, 1749.

John Jordan procured a commission in the army in December, 1704, and served in the war of the Spanish succession. In 1739 he was appointed major, and in 1741 lieut.-colonel of the tenth dragoons; and his constant attention to all the duties of his station was rewarded, in 1749, with the colonelcy of the Fifteenth foot. In April, 1756, he was removed to the ninth dragoons. He died in the following month.

Jeffery Amherst.

Appointed 22nd May, 1756.

Jeffery Amherst attached himself in early life to the profession of arms, and in 1745 he was appointed captain and lieut.-colonel in the first foot guards. In 1756 he was promoted to the colonelcy of the Fifteenth foot; and in 1758 he was nominated commander-in-chief in North America (with the local rank of lieut.-general), and colonel-in-chief of the sixtieth regiment: in the following year he was promoted to the rank of major-general.

The achievements of the British forces in North America, during the period he was commander-in-chief in that country, are inscribed on an obelisk in the grounds of his seat at Montreal, viz:—

Louisbourg surrendered, and six battalions made prisoners of war, July the 26th, 1758.

Fort du Quesne taken possession of, 24th November, 1758.

Niagara surrendered, 25th July, 1759.

Ticonderago taken possession of, 26th July, 1759.

Crown Point taken possession of, 4th August, 1759.

Quebec capitulated, 18th September, 1759.

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Fort Levi surrendered, 25th August, 1760.

Isle aux Noix abandoned, 28th August, 1760.

Montreal surrendered, and with it all Canada, and ten French battalions laid down their arms, 8th September, 1760.

St. John's, Newfoundland, re-taken, the 18th of September, 1762.

In 1768 Sir Jeffery Amherst resigned his commissions; but was soon afterwards appointed colonel of the third regiment of foot, and also re-appointed colonel-in-chief of the sixtieth, or royal American regiment of foot. He was advanced to the peerage by the title of Baron Amherst of Holmesdale, in the county of Kent, in 1776; and three years afterwards the colonelcy of the second troop of horse grenadier guards was given to his lordship. On the decease of Lord Robert Bertie, in 1782, Lord Amherst was appointed colonel of the second troop of life guards, which, in 1788, was formed into the second regiment of life guards. His Lordship retained the commission of colonel of the second life guards, and performed the court duty of Gold Stick until his decease in 1797.

Charles Hotham.

Appointed 21st September, 1768.

Charles Hotham, son of Sir Beaumont Hotham, Baronet, was many years an officer in the first foot guards, in which corps he was promoted to the rank of captain and lieutenant-colonel in May, 1758, and in 1762 he obtained the rank of colonel in the army: he also held the court appointment of groom of the bedchamber to King George III., who nominated him to the colonelcy of the sixty-third regiment in 1765, and removed him to the Fifteenth foot in 1768. On the decease of his father, in 1771, he succeeded to the dignity of Baronet; and his relation, Mr. Thompson, a wealthy merchant, having left him a valuable legacy, he obtained His Majesty's permission to assume the surname of Thompson. He was promoted to the rank of major-general in 1772; to[89] that of lieut.-general in 1777; and general in 1793; he was also honored with the dignity of Knight of the Order of the Bath. He resigned the colonelcy of his regiment in 1775; he also relinquished his court appointment of groom of the bedchamber to His Majesty, but the King kept the situation vacant until his decease in 1794.

Richard Earl of Cavan.

Appointed 7th September, 1775.

Richard Lambart, son of the Honorable Henry Lambart, third son of Charles third Earl of Cavan, served in the army in the war of the Austrian succession, and in June, 1756, he was promoted to captain and lieut.-colonel in the first foot guards. He was advanced to the rank of colonel in 1762, and to that of major-general in 1772; he succeeded to the dignity of Earl of Cavan in the same year. In 1774 he was appointed colonel of the fifty-fifth regiment; and was removed to the Fifteenth in the following year: in 1777 he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general. He died in November, 1778.

Sir William Fawcett, K.B.

Appointed 12th November, 1778.

William Fawcett, descended from the ancient family of Fawcetts, of Shipden Hall, near Halifax, having, from his early youth, a strong predilection for a military life, his friends procured him an ensign's commission in General Oglethorp's regiment, which was stationed in Georgia; but a British force having been sent to Flanders in 1742, he resigned his commission, proceeded to the continent, and, serving as a volunteer, was at the battles of Dettingen and Fontenoy, where his gallantry attracted admiration; and he was appointed ensign in a regiment raised by Colonel Johnstone, with which he served until the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748, when it was disbanded.

Being now unemployed, he engaged in the service of a mercantile establishment in the city of London; but finding[90] his propensity to a military life invincible, he subsequently purchased an ensign's commission in the foot guards, and, by a strict attention to his duties, procured the favour of his Royal Highness William Duke of Cumberland, who gave him the adjutancy of the second battalion of the third foot guards, which he held together with a lieutenantcy, which gave him the rank of captain. Neglecting no opportunity of qualifying himself for the highest posts in his profession, he studied the German and French languages, acquired a knowledge of Prussian and French tactics; and in 1757 published a translation of the 'Memoirs upon the Art of War, by Marshal Count de Saxe,' and 'The Regulations for Prussian Cavalry;' and, in 1759, 'Regulations for the Prussian Infantry,' and 'The Prussian Tactics.' These works met with great attention, and a new edition in 1760 was also well received.

In the early part of the Seven Years' War, Captain Fawcett served in Germany as aide-de-camp to Lieutenant-General Grenville Elliott, where he acquired increased knowledge of the military art; and his ardour, intrepidity, and attention to the duties of his situation, were such, that on the decease of Lieutenant-General Grenville Elliott, Captain Fawcett was recommended for the appointment of aide-de-camp to Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, and he had also the offer of the same appointment to the Marquis of Granby; he chose the latter, and was sent to England with the despatches which gave the account of the victory at Warbourg; on which occasion, King George II. was highly gratified at having the particulars of this engagement related to him in the German language by Captain Fawcett. He was advanced to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in the army on the 25th of November, 1760; and, continuing to serve in Germany, was appointed military secretary to the Marquis of Granby. It is recorded that, in Lieutenant-Colonel Fawcett's character, strength and softness were happily blended together, and to coolness, intrepidity, and extensive military knowledge, he added all the requisite talents of a man of business, and the most persevering assiduity. He was highly esteemed by every officer on the staff of the army, and was the intimate and confidential friend of the Marquis of Granby. He remained on service until the[91] peace in 1763, when he returned to England; and his knowledge of the German language, with the information he possessed from his late office, was the occasion of his being employed by King George III. as commissary to settle the claims made by the Allies against Great Britain for the expenses of the war.

In November, 1767, he obtained a company in the third foot guards; and in 1772 he was promoted to the rank of colonel in the army, and nominated deputy adjutant-general of the forces.

At the commencement of the American war, Colonel Fawcett was sent to Germany, to negotiate with the states of Hesse, Hanover, and Brunswick, for a body of troops to serve in British pay. In 1776 he was appointed governor of Gravesend and Tilbury-fort; was promoted to major-general in 1777, and nominated colonel of the Fifteenth foot in 1778: in 1781 he was constituted adjutant-general of the forces. The rank of lieut.-general was conferred upon this valuable servant of the crown in 1782; in 1786 His Majesty honored him with the riband of the Order of the Bath, and in 1792, gave him the colonelcy of the third, or Prince of Wales's, dragoon guards.

In May, 1796, Sir William Fawcett received the rank of general, and was appointed governor of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea, in July following. The duties of adjutant-general requiring greater exertions than his health would admit of, he obtained the King's permission to resign, and on retiring from office His Majesty honored him with distinguished marks of his royal favour and approbation. In 1799 Sir William Fawcett was appointed general on the staff, and performed the duties of commander-in-chief during the absence of the Duke of York on the continent.

He died in March, 1804, and his funeral was honored with the presence of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, their Royal Highnesses the Dukes of York, Clarence, Kent, and Cambridge, and of many noblemen and general officers.

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James Hamilton.

Appointed 22nd August, 1792.

This officer served with reputation in the reign of King George II., and in 1761 he took an active part in raising the 113th regiment, or Royal Highlanders, of which corps he was appointed major-commandant. At the peace in 1763 his corps was disbanded, and he was placed on half-pay; he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-colonel in May, 1772, and appointed to the twenty-first regiment, or Royal North British Fusiliers, in March, 1774. He served with reputation in the American war; was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1780; to that of major-general in 1787; appointed colonel of the Fifteenth regiment in 1792, and removed to the twenty-first in 1794. He obtained the rank of lieut.-general in 1797, and that of general in 1802. His decease occurred in 1803.

Henry Watson Powell.

Appointed 20th June, 1794.

At the augmentation of the army in 1756, this officer was appointed captain of a company in the second battalion of the eleventh foot, which battalion was numbered the sixty-fourth regiment in 1758. In 1770 he obtained the majority of the thirty-eighth, and in 1771 the lieut.-colonelcy of the fifty-third, at the head of which corps he served in the American war. He was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1779, and to that of major-general in 1782; in 1792 he obtained the colonelcy of the sixty-ninth regiment, from which he was removed in 1794 to the Fifteenth foot. In 1796 he obtained the rank of lieut.-general, and that of general in 1801. He died in 1814.

Sir Moore Disney, K.C.B.

Appointed 23rd July, 1814.

This officer commenced his career in the army, as an ensign in the grenadier guards, on the 17th April, 1783, and served with them to the close of the American war. He was promoted[93] lieutenant and captain on the 3rd June, 1791, and from the end of 1793 till the return of the army in May, 1795, he served under his Royal Highness the Duke of York in Flanders, being present at the different actions between those periods. On the 12th June, 1795, he succeeded to a company, with the rank of lieut.-colonel; on the 29th April, 1802, was appointed colonel by brevet; and brigadier-general on the Home Staff in December, 1805. In July, 1806, he commanded a battalion of the foot guards in Sicily; in August, 1807, was appointed brigadier-general in Sicily; and in 1808 joined the army in Spain under Lieut.-General Sir John Moore, where he commanded a brigade in the reserve, and was present at the battle of Corunna, for which he obtained a medal. He commanded the first brigade of foot guards on the Walcheren expedition in July, 1809, and on the 25th October following was promoted to the rank of major-general. In 1810 he was ordered to Cadiz as second in command, and in the succeeding year was appointed to the command there. On the 4th June, 1814, he was advanced to the rank of lieutenant-general, and on the 23rd July of that year His Majesty King George III. conferred on him the colonelcy of the Fifteenth regiment; and on the 7th April, 1815, he was nominated a Knight Commander of the Most Honorable Military Order of the Bath. He was promoted to the rank of general on the 10th January, 1837, and died on the 19th April, 1846.

General Sir Phineas Riall, K.C.H.

Appointed 24th April, 1846.

(From the seventy-fourth, Highland regiment.)

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APPENDIX.

Battle, Sieges, &c., in the Netherlands, during the reign of King William III., from 1689 to the Peace of Ryswick, in 1697.

[96]

List of Sieges, Battles, &c. in the Netherlands and Germany, during the Campaigns under the Duke of Marlborough, from 1702 to 1711.

London: Printed by William Clowes and Sons, Stamford Street.