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The Royal North British Fusiliers: From , by Richard Cannon

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Title: Historical Record of the Twenty-First or The Royal North British Fusiliers: From Its Formation in 1678 to 1849

Author: Richard Cannon

Release Date: January 20, 2017 [EBook #54029]

Language: English

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[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 stout-hearted 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."

[xx]
[xxi]

HISTORICAL RECORD

OF

THE TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT,

OR

THE ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS.

CONTAINING

AN ACCOUNT OF THE FORMATION OF THE REGIMENT
IN 1678,

AND OF ITS SUBSEQUENT SERVICES
TO 1849.

COMPILED BY

RICHARD CANNON, Esq.,

ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, HORSE GUARDS.

ILLUSTRATED WITH PLATES.

LONDON:

PARKER, FURNIVALL, & PARKER,

30, CHARING-CROSS.

MDCCCXLIX.

[xxii]

London: Printed by William Clowes and Sons, Stamford Street,
For Her Majesty's Stationery Office.

[xxiii]

[xxiv]
[xxv]

THE TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT,

OR

THE ROYAL NORTH BRITISH REGIMENT,

CONTENTS

OF THE

HISTORICAL RECORD.

[xxxvi]

SUCCESSION OF COLONELS

OF

THE TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT,

OR

THE ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS.

[xxxvii]

APPENDIX.

PLATES.

HISTORICAL RECORD

OF

THE TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT OF FOOT,

OR

THE ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS.

TWENTY FIRST REGIMENT.

Madeley lith 3 Wellington Street Strand

THE ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS.

1742

For Cannon's Military Records

[Pg 1]

HISTORICAL RECORD

OF

THE TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT OF FOOT,

OR

THE ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS.

The Royal North British Regiment of Fusiliers derives its origin from the commotions in Scotland, during the reign of King Charles II., who attempted to establish Episcopacy in that country; but was opposed by the Presbyterians, who wished to adhere to their religious institutions, and prosecutions being used in Scotland by the Government, to enforce obedience, collisions occurred between the inhabitants and the military, which were sometimes attended with loss of life. Several Highland clans were called out, in 1678, and quartered upon the Presbyterians, and in the autumn of the same year a regiment of foot was added to the military establishment of Scotland, of which Charles, Earl of Mar, was appointed Colonel, by commission dated the 23rd of September, 1678: this corps, having been retained in the service, now bears the title of the TWENTY-FIRST Regiment of Foot, or the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS.

[2]

Regiments of infantry, at this period, were generally armed with pikes and muskets; but the practice was introduced of arming every man, of a few select corps, with a fusil, or a light musket, and these regiments were called FUSILIERS. The Earl of Mar's regiment was one of the first corps which obtained this distinction.

In the following year, Archbishop Sharp, who had become particularly obnoxious to the non-conformists, was murdered. This event was followed by severities against the Presbyterians, and a meeting for public worship, at Loudon-hill, having been attacked by a body of horse and dragoons, under Captain Robert Graham, of Claverhouse, afterwards Viscount Dundee, the countrymen, being numerous, and provided with arms, gained some advantage over the military. The persons, who had thus committed themselves, resolved to keep together in arms, and to seek by their valour, that redress to which they considered themselves entitled. They were soon augmented in numbers, and taking post behind the river Clyde, they barricaded Bothwell Bridge. The Earl of Mar's regiment was called upon to take the field against the insurgents, and it formed part of the army, commanded by James, Duke of Monmouth, which attacked the rebels on the 22nd of June, and gained a decisive victory. The rebels made a feeble resistance on this occasion; twelve hundred foot laid down their arms without striking a blow, and the other divisions of their army fled in dismay; about four hundred were killed by the King's troops in the pursuit, and the rebellion was suppressed. Several parties, however, kept together in arms for some time, and gave the military much trouble in that and the following year.

In the early part of 1685, King Charles II. died, and was succeeded by his brother, King James the Second[3] of England, and Seventh of Scotland. The King being a Roman Catholic, some disaffected persons supposed the people would not submit to his government; and the Earl of Argyle and the Duke of Monmouth, who were both in exile on the Continent, for their political conduct, agreed to raise the standard of rebellion,—the former in Scotland, and the latter in England. The Earl of Argyle landed in Argyleshire in May, and assembled a body of men; when the Earl of Mar's regiment was again called into the field. The King's troops were commanded by the Earl of Dumbarton; and on the night of the 19th of June, the two armies encamped in sight of each other. The rebels attempted to avoid an engagement, by a night march; but they were led into a bog in the dark; alarm and disorder followed; and the insurgents, proceeding some in one direction and some in another, left the Earl of Argyle without an army; he was captured and executed. The Duke of Monmouth met with a similar fate, and the rebellion in England was suppressed without the Earl of Mar's regiment being required to pass the border.

The Earl of Mar was succeeded in the colonelcy of the regiment, in 1686, by Colonel Thomas Buchan, from a regiment of horse.

When the attempts made by King James to establish papacy and arbitrary government had alarmed his subjects, and the Prince of Orange was preparing an armament for the invasion of England, the regiment was one of the corps which marched from Scotland to support the authority of the King; and in the early part of November, 1688, it arrived in the vicinity of London, when it was ordered to occupy quarters in Spitalfields and the Tower Hamlets. The Prince of Orange landed on the 5th of November; King James discovered that[4] he had alienated the affections of his subjects, both civil and military, and he fled to France. Colonel Buchan's regiment was ordered, by the Prince of Orange, to occupy quarters at Witney, in Oxfordshire.

The Prince and Princess of Orange were elevated to the Throne by the titles of King William and Queen Mary; and Colonel Buchan having adhered to the interests of King James, King William conferred the colonelcy of the regiment on Colonel Francis Fergus O'Farrell, by commission dated the 1st of March, 1689.

From Oxfordshire, the regiment marched to Gravesend, where it embarked for Holland, and joining the Dutch army commanded by Prince Waldeck, served the campaign of that year with the division under the Earl (afterwards Duke) of Marlborough. The regiment took part in a sharp action with the French troops, commanded by Marshal d'Humières, at Walcourt, in the province of Namur, on the 25th of August, on which occasion the French were repulsed in their attacks on the allied army, with considerable loss.

The regiment passed the winter in Flanders, and in the summer of 1690 again took the field; it was on its march for Brussels on the 21st of June, in order to join the allied army; but Prince Waldeck engaged the French at Fleurus, without waiting for the arrival of the British troops, and was defeated. This disaster occasioned the services of the army to be limited to defensive operations during the remainder of the campaign.

In March, 1691, the regiment was encamped at Halle, in South Brabant, and formed in brigade with the second battalion of the Royals; the French besieged Mons, and the allies were too few in numbers to prevent the capture of the place by the enemy. After the[5] surrender of Mons, the regiment was placed in quarters until May, when it encamped near Brussels, and was formed in brigade with the Royals, and the Scots regiments of Mackay, Ramsay, and Angus, under the orders of Brigadier-General Ramsay.

In a list of the army in Flanders, printed in July, 1691, the regiment is styled "O'Farrell's fusiliers;" and its uniform is stated to be red, faced and lined with the same colour.

At the termination of the campaign, the regiment was again placed in winter-quarters.

A numerous French army appeared in the Netherlands in the spring of 1692, and besieged Namur; when O'Farrell's fusiliers were called from their quarters, and advanced with the army, commanded by King William III., to the relief of the place; but the march having been delayed by heavy rains, the garrison surrendered on the 20th of June. A few days afterwards, a detachment of the regiment was employed in an attempt to surprise Mons; but the garrison was found prepared. On this occasion, Colonel Sir Robert Douglas and Colonel O'Farrell, having proceeded a short distance to consult with the Prince of Wirtemberg, who commanded the party, mistook their way in the dark, and were made prisoners by a detachment of French cavalry: they were released on paying the regulated ransom.

O'Farrell's fusiliers formed part of the advance-guard at the battle of Steenkirk on the 3rd of August; and were severely engaged with the superior numbers of the enemy under the Duke of Luxembourg. The regiment distinguished itself on this occasion, and sustained the loss of many brave officers and soldiers. D'Auvergne states, in his history of this campaign,—"Our[6] van-guard behaved in this engagement to such wonder and admiration, that though they received the charge of several battalions of the enemy, one after another, yet they made them retreat almost to their camp." The corps in advance were not supported in time to enable them to persevere in their career of victory; and King William commanded the army to retreat.

The regiment had Major Keith, Captains White, Cygnoe, Mackenzie, and Sharp, Lieutenants Charles King and Edward Griffith killed; and Lieutenant Newton wounded. The regiment was not engaged in any service of importance during the remainder of the campaign, and it passed the winter at Ghent.

Again taking the field in the summer of 1693, the NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS were formed in brigade with the regiments of Leven (twenty-fifth), Monro (twenty-sixth), Mackay, and Lander (afterwards disbanded), under the command of Brigadier-General Ramsay, and, after taking part in several manœuvres, were engaged at the battle of Landen on the 29th of July. At sunrise on the morning of that day, a French force of very superior numbers, commanded by the Duke of Luxembourg, appeared before the position occupied by the confederate army under King William III., when the NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS, and other regiments of their brigade, were ordered to occupy some hedges and narrow roads, beyond the village of Laer, on the right of the line. This village, and the ground occupied by General Ramsay's brigade, being attacked by a numerous body of the enemy, the NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS were engaged in a sharp musketry battle in the fields and open grounds. At length the Third foot, and other corps in the village of Laer, were forced to retire; but they[7] rallied, and, being joined by Brigadier-General Ramsay's brigade, the whole charged, and by a gallant effort recaptured the village; the NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS distinguished themselves on the occasion. The French afterwards carried the village of Neer-Winden, and forced the position; the regiments at Laer then became separated from the main body of the confederate army; they gallantly defended their post some time, and eventually retired, fighting, to the Gheet, forded that river, and joined several corps which had crossed the bridge of Neer-Hespen. The army was retreating, and the NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS accompanied King William to the vicinity of Tirlemont. The regiment had Captains Campbell and Strayton, Lieutenants Douglas and Dunbar, and Adjutant Walle wounded; Captain Paterson taken prisoner; also a number of soldiers killed, wounded, and prisoners.

At the end of the campaign, the regiment was placed in garrison at Bruges.

During the summer of 1694, the regiment performed many long marches in Brabant and Flanders; but was not engaged with the enemy, and in the autumn it marched to Deinse.

This year the King commanded a board of General Officers to assemble and decide upon the rank of the several corps of the army. This board gave precedence to the English regiments, and gave the Scots and Irish regiments rank in the English army from the date of their first arrival in England, or from the date when they were first placed on the English establishment. The NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS, not having entered England until the Revolution in 1688, received rank as TWENTY-FIRST regiment. Numerical titles were not generally used until the reign of King George II.

[8]

When the army took the field to serve the campaign of 1695, the TWENTY-FIRST were left in garrison at Deinse, where some stores of provision were formed. King William undertook the siege of Namur, and the regiment was directed to join the covering army under the Prince of Vaudemont; but it subsequently returned to Deinse, of which place its colonel, Brigadier-General O'Farrell, was commandant.

The French commander, Marshal Villeroy, detached a strong body of troops, under the Marquis of Feuqueres, to reduce the town of Deinse where the NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS were stationed. This town was situate on the river Lys; it was only slightly fortified, and in many places there was only an entrenchment and some palisades as defensive works; eight pieces of cannon were the only ordnance in the town. Under these circumstances Brigadier-General O'Farrell considered it impossible to make a successful defence of the place, and he surrendered on the 21st of July without having fired a shot. The FUSILIERS became prisoners of war on this occasion.

Brigadier-General O'Farrell was afterwards tried by a general court-martial, and cashiered: and King William conferred the colonelcy of the regiment on Colonel Robert Mackay, from a Scots corps, which was afterwards disbanded.

After the surrender of Namur, the regiment rejoined the allied army, and was again stationed at Bruges.

From Bruges the regiment proceeded to the camp at Marykirk, and it served the campaign of 1696 with the army of Brabant: in the autumn it went into village cantonments.

In December, Colonel Robert Mackay died; and on the 1st of January, 1697, King William conferred the[9] colonelcy of the regiment on Lieut.-Colonel Archibald Row, from the Sixteenth foot.

Quitting its village quarters on the 13th of March, 1697, the regiment entered upon the operations of another campaign. While the troops were in the field, negotiations for a general peace commenced at Ryswick, and the treaty was signed in September. Thus the British monarch witnessed his efforts for the liberties of Europe, and for the preservation of the balance of power in Christendom, attended with success.

The regiment returned to Scotland during the winter, and was stationed there during the remainder of King William's reign.

Queen Anne succeeded to the throne on the 8th of March, 1702; and the French monarch, having violated the conditions of existing treaties, by procuring the accession of his grandson, Philip, Duke of Anjou, to the throne of Spain, war was declared against France soon afterwards. At the commencement of hostilities the NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS were selected to proceed on foreign service, and they embarked from Scotland for Holland, to serve with the allied army commanded by the Earl of Marlborough. The regiment did not join the army immediately on its arrival in Holland, but was stationed some time at Breda, and in September it marched towards Flanders.

Quitting its winter-quarters in April, 1703, the regiment marched towards Maestricht, where the allied army was assembled, and the second battalion of the Royals, with the Tenth, Sixteenth, TWENTY-FIRST, and Twenty-Sixth regiments, were formed in brigade, under Brigadier-General the Earl of Derby.

The regiment took part in the operations of the campaign, and its services were connected with the[10] reduction of Huy, a strong fortress on the Maese, above the city of Liege, which was besieged and captured in ten days. The regiment was afterwards detached from the main army, to take part in the capture of Limburg, a city of the Spanish Netherlands, situate on a pleasant eminence near the banks of the Wesdet. The siege of this place was commenced on the 10th of September, and the NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS were employed in carrying on the approaches, and in making the attacks; and in seventeen days the garrison surrendered at discretion.

In October the regiment marched back to Holland, where it was stationed during the winter.

From Holland the regiment marched, in the months of May and June, 1704, to the interior of Germany, to arrest the progress of the French and Bavarians, who had gained considerable advantage over the Imperialists. A junction was formed with the Germans under the Margrave of Baden; and on the 2nd of July the NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS took part in the attack of the enemy's position on the lofty heights of Schellenberg on the north bank of the Danube; when the entrenchments were carried, and the French and Bavarians, commanded by the Count d'Arco, were driven from their post with severe loss.

The regiment had a few private soldiers killed and wounded; also Captain Kygoe, Lieutenants Johnston and John Campbell, wounded.

After this victory the regiment penetrated the Electorate of Bavaria to the vicinity of the enemy's fortified camp at Augsburg, which was found too strong to be attacked with any prospect of success, and the army retired a few stages to undertake the siege of Ingoldstadt. At the same time a numerous reinforcement of French troops arrived at the theatre of war.

[11]

These events were followed by the battle of Blenheim, on the 13th of August, when the French and Bavarians, commanded by Marshal Tallard and the Elector of Bavaria, were overpowered by the allies under the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene of Savoy, and a victory was gained which reflected lustre on the British arms. The NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS were selected to lead the attack against the French troops in the village of Blenheim, and their colonel, Brigadier-General Row, placed himself at the head of his regiment, which was followed by four other corps. In the Annals of Queen Anne it is stated—"The five English battalions, led on by Brigadier-General Row, who charged on foot at the head of his own regiment with unparalleled intrepidity, assaulted the village of Blenheim, advancing to the very muzzles of the enemy's muskets, and some of the officers exchanged thrusts of swords through the palisades;"—but the avenues of the village were found strongly fortified, and defended by a force of superior numbers. Brigadier-General Row led the NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS up to the palisades before he gave the word "fire," and the next moment he fell mortally wounded; Lieut.-Colonel Dalyel and Major Campbell, being both on the spot, stepped forward to raise their colonel, and were both instantly pierced by musket-balls; the soldiers, exasperated at seeing the three field officers of the regiment fall, made a gallant effort to force their way into the village, but this was found impossible, and the regiment was ordered to retire. The moment the soldiers faced about, thirteen squadrons of French cavalry galloped forward to charge them, and one of the colours of the regiment was captured by the enemy; but the French horsemen were repulsed by the fire of a brigade of Hessians, and the colour was recovered.

[12]

Another attempt to capture the village of Blenheim having failed, the firing was continued against this post, and the army advanced against the enemy's line, which was driven from the field with great slaughter, and the loss of its cannon, and of many officers and soldiers made prisoners, among whom was the French commander, Marshal Tallard. Additional forces were then brought against the French troops in Blenheim, and they surrendered prisoners of war. The Germans, who attacked the enemy's right, were also victorious; and the gallant achievements of the allied army raised on the banks of the Danube a trophy which time cannot destroy.

The regiment had Lieut.-Colonel Dalyel, Captain Stratton, jun., Captain Stratton, senior, Lieutenants Vandergracht, Hill, Campbell, and Travallion killed; Brigadier-General Row and Major Campbell died of their wounds; Captains Craufurd and Fairlee, Lieutenants Dunbar, J. Douglas, Elliott, Ogilvy, Maxwell, Stuart, Primrose, and Gordon wounded.

The number of the enemy captured on this occasion was so great, that the NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS, and four other corps, were sent to Holland in charge of prisoners. These corps marched in charge of the captured French and Bavarians to Mentz, where they embarked in boats and sailed to Holland, under the orders of Brigadier-General Fergusson; and having delivered them into the charge of other regiments, went into quarters.

The colonelcy of the regiment was conferred on John, Viscount Mordaunt, who had distinguished himself at the head of the foot guards which commenced the attack on the heights of Schellenberg. A number of recruits from Scotland having replaced the losses of the preceding campaign, the regiment appeared complete[13] and in good order when it took the field to serve the campaign of 1705. It was employed in the expedition up the Moselle: and returning to the Netherlands, was afterwards engaged at the forcing of the French lines at Helixem and Neer Hespen, on the morning of the 18th of July, when the superior tactics of the British Commander, and the gallantry of his troops, were very conspicuous.

The regiment had also the honor to take part in gaining another splendid victory over the combined French, Spanish, and Bavarian forces, at Ramilies, on Whit-Sunday, the 23rd of May, 1706. During the early part of the action the NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS, the Third foot, and three regiments of cavalry, were stationed on the heights of Foulz, where they had a view of the field of battle. An important crisis in the battle arriving, these corps descended from the heights,—the FUSILIERS and Third Foot forced their way through a morass, crossed the Little Gheet, ascended the acclivity between that river and the Jauche, and charging the enemy's left flank, forced three French regiments into some low grounds, where the greater part of them were either killed or taken prisoners. The allies were successful at every part of the field, and the legions of the enemy were overpowered, and pursued from the plains of Ramilies with great slaughter until the following morning, by which time nearly all the enemy's cannon, with many standards, colours, and kettle-drums, had been captured.

This victory augmented the reputation of the British arms; and was followed by very important results. Spanish Brabant, and many of the principal towns of Flanders, were rescued from the power of the enemy. The services of the regiment are connected with the[14] capture of Ostend, Menin, and Aeth; and it passed the winter in garrison in Flanders.

In June of this year Viscount Mordaunt exchanged with Colonel Sampson de Lalo, a French gentleman of the Protestant religion, who had been forced to quit his native country by the Edict of Nantes; Colonel de Lalo had served as Lieut.-Colonel and Colonel of the Twenty-eighth regiment several years, and had the reputation of being an excellent officer.

During the campaign of 1707, the services of the regiment were limited to marches and occupying positions; and it passed the winter in West Flanders.

The Union of Scotland and England took place this year, which occasioned St. George's cross to be added to the colours of the Scots regiments, and St. Andrew's cross to the colours of the English regiments. The corps, previously designated Scots regiments, took the title of North British regiments.

In May, 1708, the regiment again took the field, and on the 11th of July it had an opportunity of acquiring fresh laurels at the battle of Oudenarde, which was fought in the broken grounds near the river Scheldt. On this occasion the regiment was engaged in a severe musketry action, and it succeeded in driving the French corps opposed to it from field to field, until the darkness of the night put an end to the conflict. Before the following morning the wreck of the French army had retreated in disorder towards Ghent.

After this victory, the siege of Lisle, the capital of French Flanders, was resolved upon. This fortress was deemed almost impregnable; it was garrisoned by fifteen thousand men, commanded by Marshal Boufflers, who resolved upon making a desperate defence. The NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS were selected to take part[15] in the attack of this important fortress, under the orders of Prince Eugene of Savoy; the covering army was commanded by the Duke of Marlborough. The regiment had several men killed and wounded in carrying on the approaches, and at the attack of the counterscarp it had thirteen men killed; three officers, four serjeants, and sixty-six rank and file wounded. The progress of this siege was a subject of peculiar interest throughout Europe; and the besieging army witnessed its extraordinary efforts for the capture of the place, attended by complete success, on the 9th of December, when the citadel surrendered.

Having reposed a few months in quarters, and received a body of fine recruits from Scotland, the regiment joined the army, and was employed in covering the siege of Tournay, in July and August, 1709. The citadel of Tournay surrendered in the beginning of September, and the army afterwards marched in the direction of Mons.

A numerous French army, commanded by Marshals Villars and Boufflers, took up a position at Malplaquet, and strengthened the post by entrenchments and other works of art. The Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene had confidence in the valour and perseverance of the troops under their orders, and they attacked the enemy's formidable position on the 11th of September, on which occasion the heroic valour of the troops was conspicuous; the enemy's entrenchments and abatis-de-bois were stormed with distinguished gallantry, the determined resistance of the French was overcome, and another trophy was acquired; but with the loss of many brave officers and soldiers, including the Colonel of the NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS, Brigadier-General de Lalo, who was killed at the head of a brigade, and his fall was much regretted.

[16]

In addition to the loss of its Colonel, the regiment had also Captains Monroe, Wemys, and Farley killed; Captains Montressor and Lowther wounded.

After the death of Brigadier-General de Lalo, Viscount Mordaunt was re-appointed on the 4th of September to the colonelcy of the NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS, from the Twenty-eighth regiment.

The regiment was afterwards employed in covering the siege of Mons, which was terminated by the surrender of the garrison on the 20th of October; when the regiment marched into quarters.

On the 14th of April, 1710, the regiment marched out of its winter-quarters towards the frontiers of France, and was engaged in the movements by which the French lines were passed at Pont-à-Vendin: it was afterwards selected to take part in the siege of Douay, where it performed much severe service. It was employed in carrying on the approaches, in storming the outworks, and other duties connected with the siege, and sustained considerable loss in killed and wounded. The garrison beat a parley on the 25th of June, and afterwards surrendered the fortress.

After the capture of Douay, the regiment was employed in covering the siege of Bethune, which place was surrendered in August. The regiment was also with the covering army during the sieges of St. Venant and Aire; the former place surrendered on the 30th of September, and the latter on the 9th of November.

Viscount Mordaunt died this year, and was succeeded in the colonelcy by Major-General Meredith, from the Thirty-seventh regiment. This officer was succeeded, in December, by Major-General the Earl of Orrery, from a newly-raised regiment, which was afterwards disbanded.

[17]

After passing the winter in quarters at Dendermond, the regiment joined the army in May, 1711, and it took part in the movements by which the boasted impregnable French lines were passed at Arleux on the 5th of August. The regiment was afterwards employed in the siege of Bouchain, in which service obstacles of the greatest magnitude had to be overcome, and the abilities of the commanders, with the valour of the troops, were put to a severe test. These qualities were found in the besieging army; on more than one occasion the soldiers fought up to their middle in water, and by a gallant perseverance, which reflected honor on all the corps engaged in the siege, every difficulty was overcome; and the garrison surrendered on the 13th of September.

The regiment joined the army commanded by the Duke of Ormond, in the campaign of 1712, and advanced to the frontiers of Picardy; but a suspension of hostilities was soon afterwards proclaimed, preparatory to a general peace, when the British army marched to Ghent, and afterwards went into quarters.

A treaty of peace was concluded at Utrecht, and the soldiers of the NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS could look back with exultation at the career of victory and honor which had attended their corps during these memorable campaigns. At this period the regiment is designated by historians, and in official documents, by the title of the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS; but the date when this honorary distinction of "ROYAL" was conferred upon it, has not been ascertained.

The ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS were stationed in Flanders until the decease of Queen Anne, on the 1st of August, 1714, and the accession of King George I., when they were ordered to embark for England. They[18] landed at Gravesend on the 23rd of August, and were afterwards directed to march to Scotland.

In 1715 the Earl of Mar[6] erected the standard of rebellion in Scotland, and summoned the Highland clans to aid him in establishing the Pretender on the throne. The ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS were encamped at Stirling, under the command of the Duke of Argyle, and advanced with the Royal army to Dumblain, to defeat the attempts of the enemy to march southward. On the morning of the 13th of November the two armies confronted each other on Sheriff-muir. On the approach of the clans, it was found necessary for the Royal forces to change position, and this movement was executed at a critical time with steadiness; but several corps were suddenly attacked by the clans while in the act of forming, and suffered severely. The left wing of the rebel army was overpowered, and driven from the field with great slaughter; and the left wing of the Royal army was also forced to retire; thus each commander had one wing victorious, and one wing defeated: the rebels were prevented [19]marching southward, and retired; and the King's troops returned to their camp at Stirling.

The regiment had one captain, two lieutenants, three serjeants, and eighty-five rank and file killed; one captain, one serjeant, and twenty-four rank and file wounded.

Reinforcements having arrived, the King's troops advanced, in January, 1716, to attack the insurgents, who made a precipitate retreat. The Pretender, and several leaders in the rebellion, escaped to the Continent, and the clans separated. The rebellion was thus suppressed.

In July of this year the Earl of Orrery was succeeded in the colonelcy of the regiment by Colonel George Macartney, whose regiment of foot had been disbanded at the peace of Utrecht.

The regiment was employed on home service many years; and in 1727 it was held in readiness to embark for Holland, to aid the Dutch in their approaching war with the Emperor of Germany; but the presence of British troops was not required.

In the same year Colonel Macartney was removed to the Seventh horse, now Sixth Dragoon Guards, and the colonelcy of the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS was conferred on Brigadier-General Sir James Wood, from the Dutch service.

The order for embarking for Holland having been countermanded, the regiment afterwards proceeded to Ireland, and was placed upon the establishment of that country.

Major-General Sir James Wood died in 1738, and King George II. nominated Colonel John Campbell, afterwards Duke of Argyle, to the colonelcy of the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS, from the Thirty-ninth regiment.

[20]

War having been declared against Spain, in the autumn of 1739, the regiment was withdrawn from Ireland, and landing at Liverpool, was stationed in South Britain during the year 1740; in the summer of 1741 it was encamped on Lexden Heath, where seven regiments of cavalry and seven of infantry were assembled, and held in readiness for foreign service.

In the summer of 1742 King George II. sent sixteen thousand men to Flanders, to support the interest of the House of Austria against the aggressions of France and Bavaria: the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS formed part of this force, and were stationed some time at Ghent.

Early in 1743 the regiment commenced its march for Germany, and after taking part in several movements in the field, had the honor to distinguish itself, under the eye of its Sovereign, at the battle of Dettingen, on the 27th of June, when the French troops, under Marshal Noailles, were driven from the field of battle with great slaughter, and the loss of a number of standards and colours.

The ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS had Lieutenant Yonge, one serjeant, and thirty-five rank and file killed; Lieutenant Levingstone, one serjeant, two drummers, and fifty-three rank and file wounded.

The regiment was afterwards encamped near Hanau; in August it crossed the Rhine, and was employed in West Germany; but in the autumn it returned to Flanders.

During the campaign of 1744 the regiment served with the army under Field-Marshal Wade; it was encamped between Asche and Alost, afterwards on the banks of the Scheldt, and subsequently penetrated the French territory to the vicinity of Lisle; but returned to Ghent for winter-quarters.

[21]

Quitting its cantonments in April, 1745, the regiment marched, with the army commanded by His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, to the relief of Tournay, which fortress was besieged by a numerous French army, which took up a position near the village of Fontenoy. The enemy had a great superiority of numbers; but the Duke of Cumberland, trusting to the innate bravery of his troops, resolved to hazard a general engagement on the 11th of May, when the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS had their valour and endurance put to a severe test, and they proved themselves not unworthy successors of the gallant officers and soldiers who triumphed at Blenheim and Ramilies under the great Duke of Marlborough.

Soon after nine o'clock the British infantry advanced in the face of a heavy fire of grape and musketry, and by a gallant charge broke through the French lines; but the Dutch failed to carry the village of Fontenoy, and a brigade under Brigadier-General Ingoldsby did not capture the battery it was appointed to attack; the troops, which had forced the enemy's centre, were thus exposed to so severe a cross fire, that they were ordered to retire. A second attack was made; British valour and intrepidity were again triumphant; but the failure of the Dutch a second time, produced disastrous results, and the British regiments, which had carried the enemy's entrenchments, and forced the centre, were nearly annihilated by a destructive cross fire. The ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS suffered severely on this occasion. The Duke of Cumberland afterwards ordered a retreat, and the army withdrew from the field of battle to Aeth.

Lieutenants Campbell, Houston, and Serjeant, of the regiment, were killed; Major Colville, Captains Latan, Olivant, and Knatchbull, Lieutenants Maxwell, Colville,[22] Ballenden, Macgaken, and Townsend, wounded; Captain Sandilands, Lieutenant Stuart, and Quarter-Master Stewart prisoners; eleven serjeants and two hundred and fifty-nine rank and file killed, wounded, and prisoners.

The severe loss which the regiment had experienced occasioned it to be placed in garrison at Ostend. This place was besieged by a numerous French force; and the garrison defended their post some time; but the works were not in repair, the stores were defective, and the garrison not sufficiently numerous: under these circumstances the governor surrendered, on condition that the garrison should join the allied army.

While the regiment was in Flanders, Charles Edward, eldest son of the Pretender, arrived in Scotland, and being joined by a number of Highland clans, he made a desperate attempt to overturn the existing government, and establish his father's authority in the kingdom. The ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS were ordered to return to England; they arrived in the river Thames on the 4th of November, and after landing, marched northward: the efficiency of the regiment was increased by a body of fine recruits enlisted in Scotland.

The regiment arrived at Edinburgh in January, 1746, and advanced with the army commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, towards Stirling, when the young Pretender raised the siege of Stirling castle and made a precipitate retreat. The pursuit was retarded by severe weather; but the army continued its advance when the season permitted, and on the 16th of April encountered the clans on Culloden moor. The regiment was in the front line on this occasion, and took part in repulsing the attacks of the Highlanders, and in driving them from the field of battle with great slaughter. This victory proved decisive, and the rebellion was suppressed.

[23]

The loss of the regiment was limited to seven private soldiers killed and wounded. It was encamped a short time at Inverness, and afterwards removed to Glasgow.

From Scotland, the regiment was again removed to the theatre of the war in the Netherlands, where it arrived in time to take part in the operations of the campaign of 1747; and it was engaged at the battle of Val, on the 2nd of July. On this occasion the allied army was very inferior in numbers to the enemy, and although the gallantry of the British infantry was very conspicuous throughout the action, the Duke of Cumberland was obliged to order a retreat to Maestricht.

Eight rank and file of the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS were killed; one serjeant and fifteen rank and file were wounded; and five men missing.

The regiment was again in the field in the summer of 1748. Hostilities were this year terminated by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, and during the winter the regiment returned to England.[7]

In the Royal Warrant, issued on the 1st of July, 1751, for ensuring uniformity in the clothing, standards, and colours of the army, the following directions are given for the TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT, OR THE ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS:—

"In the centre of their colours, the THISTLE within the CIRCLE OF ST. ANDREW, and the CROWN over it; and in the three corners of the second colour, the KING'S CIPHER AND CROWN.

"On the grenadier caps, the THISTLE as on the colours; the WHITE HORSE, and motto over it, Nec aspera terrent, on the flap. On the drums and bells [24]of arms, the THISTLE and CROWN to be painted, as on the colours, with the rank of the regiment underneath."

During the period the regiment was stationed in England, where it remained until 1751, it received the commendations of His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland, on account of its good conduct in quarters, and of its former gallantry in the field.

The TWENTY-FIRST regiment embarked for Gibraltar towards the end of the year 1751, in order to relieve the Eighth, or King's Regiment.

Lieut.-General Campbell was removed to the Scots Greys, and King George II. nominated Colonel the Earl of Panmure, from the Twenty-fifth regiment, to the colonelcy of the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS, by commission dated the 29th of April, 1752.

The regiment remained at Gibraltar until 1760, when it was relieved from duty at that fortress, and returned to England.

Madeley lith 3 Wellington S^t. Strand.

XXI.
THE ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS.
1742
For Cannon's Military Records.

In the meantime another war had commenced between Great Britain and France, and in 1761 the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS, mustering eight hundred men, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Edward Maxwell, sailed with the expedition under Major-General Hodgson, for the attack of the French island in the Bay of Biscay, called Belle-Isle. The fleet appeared before the island on the 7th of April; but the coast was found like a vast fortress,—the little which nature had left undone by rocks and crags, having been supplied by art. A landing was, however, effected on the following day; the TWENTY-FIRST was one of the regiments which leaped on shore, and stormed the works of Port Andro, under a heavy fire of cannon and musketry; the works were found too steep to be ascended, and although the officers and soldiers made a gallant effort, one attempting [25]to lift another up, it was found impossible to succeed, and they were ordered to return on board of the fleet. The regiment had three serjeants, one drummer, and eight rank and file killed; eight rank and file wounded; Lieutenants Innis and Ramage, and thirty-five rank and file, prisoners;—many of the officers and soldiers taken prisoners were severely wounded, and were unable to return on board of the fleet when the order was given to retire.

A landing was effected on the 22nd of April at a rugged spot near Point Lomaria, where the difficult ascent had occasioned the enemy to be less attentive to that part of the coast; and the troops, under Brigadier-General Lambert, having landed, gained the summit of the rock, and repulsed the attempts of the enemy to dislodge them,—capturing three brass field-pieces. The cannon was afterwards landed from the ships, and dragged up the rocks; the lines which covered the town of Palais were captured, and the siege of the citadel commenced. The ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS took part in the siege of the Citadel of Belle-Isle, which was prosecuted with so much vigour, that the governor, the Chevalier de St. Croix, was forced to surrender on the 7th of June. The capture of the island was thus effected, with the loss of about eighteen hundred men killed and wounded.

After the surrender of the Castle of Belle-Isle, the regiment returned to England, where it was stationed in 1762; and in 1763 and 1764 it occupied quarters in Scotland.

On the 6th of May, 1765, the regiment embarked for America, and was quartered five years in West Florida; in 1770, it was removed to Canada, and was stationed some time at Quebec.

[26]

In November, 1770, Lieut.-General the Earl of Panmure was removed to the Scots Greys, and was succeeded in the colonelcy of the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS by Major-General the Honorable Alexander Mackay, from the Sixty-fifth regiment.

Having been relieved from duty at Quebec, in 1772, the regiment embarked for England, where it was stationed in 1773 and the two following years.

The American war commenced in 1775, and during the winter of that year Quebec was besieged by an American force.

In the spring of 1776, the regiment embarked for the relief of Quebec; on the arrival of the British reinforcement to the garrison, the Americans raised the siege, and made a precipitate retreat; they were pursued up the country, and driven from all the posts which they occupied in that province. After these services were performed, the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS were quartered at St. John's, where they were stationed during the winter.

The regiment was called into active operations in the spring of 1777, with the armament commanded by Lieut.-General Burgoyne; it embarked in boats on Lake Champlain, and sailed to Crown Point, where the troops halted three days, and afterwards proceeded against Ticonderago; but the Americans quitted the fort without hazarding the events of a siege. The regiment returned on board of the flotilla, and sailing along the lake, arrived, about three o'clock on the afternoon of the 6th of July, within three miles of Skenesborough, where the Americans had a stockaded fort. The Ninth, Twentieth, and TWENTY-FIRST regiments leaped on shore, and ascended the mountains, to get behind the fort and cut off the retreat of the[27] garrison; but the Americans made a precipitate retreat, and escaped with the loss of a few men made prisoners.

On the 8th of July, the regiment was detached towards Fort Anne, to support the Ninth, who were attacked by an American force of very superior numbers. The enemy was repulsed, and retreated towards Fort Edward.

To follow up these advantages proved a difficult undertaking; trees and other obstacles had to be removed; creeks and marshes had to be crossed; forty bridges had to be constructed; but by great exertion these difficulties were overcome, and on the 30th of July, the army arrived at the bank of the Hudson's River, which was crossed by a bridge of boats on the 13th and 14th of September, and on the 19th the army advanced against the Americans, in position on an island called Still-Water, when a severe action was fought. Lieut.-General Burgoyne stated in his public despatch,—"About three o'clock, the action began by a very vigorous attack on the British line, and was continued with great obstinacy until after sunset; the enemy being constantly supplied with fresh troops. The stress lay upon the Twentieth, TWENTY-FIRST, and Sixty-second regiments, most parts of which were engaged nearly four hours without intermission.... Just as night closed, the enemy gave ground on all sides, and left us completely masters of the field of battle."

Several other actions occurred, and the regiment sustained considerable loss in killed and wounded; among the former were Lieutenants Currie, Mackenzie, Robertson, and Turnbull; and among the latter Captain Ramsay, and Lieutenant Richardson.

The circumstances under which the troops commanded[28] by Lieut.-General Burgoyne eventually became placed, assumed a desperate character; their numbers were reduced to about three thousand five hundred men able to bear arms; they were environed by sixteen thousand Americans; their retreat cut off, and they were short of provisions. Under these accumulated difficulties, they agreed to lay down their arms on condition of being sent to England, and of not serving again in North America during the war. These conditions were, however, violated by the American Congress, and the troops were detained some time in the provinces.

The TWENTY-FIRST regiment having been liberated returned to Europe, and in 1781 it was stationed in Scotland, recruiting its numbers.

At the termination of the American war, in 1782, the regiment was placed on the peace establishment; and in 1783 it proceeded to Ireland.

The regiment remained in Ireland until the spring of 1789, when it embarked from Cork for Nova Scotia, and landing at Halifax, was stationed in the British provinces in North America nearly four years.

Lieut.-General the Honorable Alexander Mackay died in 1789, and the colonelcy of the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS was conferred on General the Honorable James Murray, from the Thirteenth regiment.

While the regiment was in North America a revolution took place in France, and republican principles were extended to the French West India islands, where the inhabitants of colour rose in arms against the European settlers, many of whom sought protection from Great Britain. Under these circumstances the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS were removed to the West Indies in the spring of 1793.

[29]

The French royalists of Martinique sent pressing applications for assistance, and Major-General Bruce, commanding the British troops in the West Indies, was induced to proceed with a small force to their aid. The TWENTY-FIRST were employed on this service; they landed at Caise de Navire on the 14th of June; the other corps landed on the 16th, and eleven hundred British, and eight hundred French loyalists, advanced to attack the town of St. Pierre: but the Royalists were undisciplined; they got into confusion, fired by mistake on one another, and so completely disconcerted the plan of attack, that the English General, not having a force sufficiently numerous for the purpose without them, ordered the British troops to return on board of the fleet.

General Sir Charles (afterwards Earl) Grey assembled a body of troops at Barbadoes, in January, 1794, for the attack of the French islands, and the flank companies of the TWENTY-FIRST were employed on this service. A landing was effected on the island of Martinique in the early part of February, and after some sharp fighting, in which the regiment had several men killed and wounded, this valuable possession was delivered from the power of the republicans.

From Martinique the grenadiers, under Prince Edward (afterwards Duke of Kent), the light infantry, under Major-General Dundas, and three other corps, embarked on the 30th of March for St. Lucia, where they arrived on the 1st of April, and the conquest of that fine island was completed in three days.

The flank companies of the TWENTY-FIRST were afterwards employed in the reduction of the island of Guadaloupe. A determined resistance was made by the enemy; but the island was captured before the end of[30] April. The regiment had several men killed and wounded; Captain Macdonald was also wounded on the 12th of April.

After the reduction of Guadaloupe, the flank companies of the regiment were removed to Antigua.

The loss of so many valuable colonial possessions was not regarded with indifference by the republican government of France, and in June a French armament arrived at Guadaloupe for the recovery of that island. The negroes and other men of colour flocked to the standard of republicanism; they were instantly armed and clad in uniforms; the doctrines of liberty and equality were disseminated among this motley crowd, which led to a frightful catalogue of crime and bloodshed. The flank companies of the TWENTY-FIRST were called from Antigua to aid in the defence of Guadaloupe; they arrived on the 10th of June in the Winchelsea ship of war, landed on the 19th, at Ance Canot, and were engaged in several arduous services, in which Lieutenants Harry Foley Price, Samuel Knollis, and J. S. Colepeper were wounded; also several private soldiers killed and wounded: but the British troops were not sufficiently numerous to contend with the republican forces.

Lieut.-Colonel Colin Graham of the TWENTY-FIRST was appointed to the command of the troops in Basse Terre, and he defended Beville camp until the 6th of October, when he was forced to surrender, his force having become reduced to one hundred and twenty-five rank and file fit for duty.

Three companies of the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS were engaged in the defence of Fort Matilda, under Lieut.-General Prescott, and the garrison made a resolute resistance, until the place became so much injured by the enemy's fire that it was not tenable, when[31] it was evacuated during the night of the 10th of December. One company of the TWENTY-FIRST occupied the rampart,—the light company, under Lieutenant William Paterson, was stationed on the right of the breach, and the third company, under Captain Mackay, was posted along the Gallion river; they thus covered the embarkation of the garrison and stores, and afterwards retired on board of the fleet. The three companies were reduced by casualties to one captain, three lieutenants, six serjeants, and ninety-two rank and file. Lieut.-General Prescott stated in his despatch,—"During the whole progress of this long and painful siege, the officers and men under my command have conducted themselves in such a manner as to deserve my warmest praise; bearing their hardships with the utmost patience, and performing their duty with alacrity."

General the Honorable James Murray died in this year, and King George III. nominated Major-General James Hamilton from the Fifteenth regiment, to the colonelcy of the TWENTY-FIRST FUSILIERS.

In addition to the casualties in action, the regiment also sustained, during its services in the West Indies, severe loss from the yellow fever, and in 1796 it returned to England much reduced in numbers; it landed at Portsmouth, and proceeded from thence to Scotland, where it commenced active measures for completing its ranks with recruits.

The regiment occupied various stations in Scotland until June, 1800, when it embarked from Portpatrick for Ireland, where its numbers were increased to eight hundred rank and file by volunteers from the Scots fencible regiments then in that country.

In October of the same year, the regiment marched to Enniskillen, where it was quartered nearly two years,[32] during which time its numbers were increased to a thousand men by recruits. The good conduct of the regiment, during its stay at this place, occasioned it to stand very high in the estimation of the inhabitants; and on its removal, in 1802, a hundred gentlemen and respectable persons sent a memorial to the Commander-in-chief, requesting that it might be again quartered at Enniskillen, and offered to defray the expense of removal.

On the 15th of July, 1802, the regiment arrived at Londonderry, where its establishment was reduced in consequence of the peace of Amiens having been concluded with France.

From Londonderry the regiment was removed to Dublin, in February, 1803; its establishment was again augmented in the summer of this year after the renewal of hostilities with France.

An alarming insurrectionary spirit was manifested at Dublin in the summer of this year; and on the evening of the 23rd of July an immense number of persons assembled with fire-arms and pikes, dragged the Lord Chief-Justice, Viscount Kilwarden, out of his carriage, and murdered him; also wounded his nephew, the Rev. Richard Wolfe, and committed numerous other acts of outrage and violence. At this period the regiment was quartered in Cork Street, Thomas Street, and Coombe Barracks, and it quickly assembled to suppress the riots. Lieut.-Colonel Brown was murdered by the insurgents as he was proceeding from his quarters to head the regiment. The command devolved on Major Robertson, under whose orders the regiment was actively employed in restoring tranquillity, in which service it had twelve men killed and wounded. The regiment received the thanks and approbation of the Commander-in-chief in Ireland, Lieut.-General the Honorable H. E. Fox, for[33] its conduct on this occasion. Also the thanks of the city of Dublin. Lieutenant Douglas, who commanded the light company, and Adjutant Brady, particularly distinguished themselves, and were each presented with a piece of plate by the city of Dublin, accompanied with the expression of the gratitude and admiration of the citizens, for their gallant exertions.

On the decease of General Hamilton, in this year, he was succeeded in the colonelcy by General the Honorable William Gordon, from the Seventy-first regiment.

Leaving Dublin in July, 1804, the regiment proceeded to Loughrea.

Napoleon Bonaparte, whom the French had elevated to the dignity of Emperor, having made preparations for the invasion of England, his menace was met by a meritorious display of loyalty and patriotism by the British people, who armed to repel the threatened invasion. Among the precautionary measures adopted at this period, an "Additional Force Act" received the Royal Assent in July, 1804. The men raised for limited service, under the provisions of this Act, in the counties of Ayr and Renfrew, were added to the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS, and were formed into a second battalion, which was embodied at Ayr, and placed on the establishment of the army on the 25th of December, 1804.

On the 30th of April, 1805, the first battalion embarked from Monkstown for England; it landed at Portsmouth, and was subsequently encamped at Weymouth, where several corps were assembled, and were repeatedly reviewed by the King, and other members of the Royal Family, who expressed their high approbation of the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS on every occasion on which the corps appeared before them. In the autumn the battalion marched to Lewes.

[34]

From Lewes the first battalion marched to London, in January, 1806, to attend the funeral of Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson, who was killed at the battle of Trafalgar, where the British navy gained a decisive victory over the combined fleets of France and Spain. The remains of this highly distinguished naval commander were honored with a public funeral, which was conducted with great state. The interment took place on the 9th of January, in St. Paul's Cathedral: the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS afterwards marched to Colchester.

At this period the French arms were triumphant in Germany; and the Court of Naples having displeased the Emperor Napoleon, the Neapolitan territory was seized by the armies of France, and Joseph Bonaparte was proclaimed King of Naples. The British preserved the island of Sicily in the interest of the dethroned family: and in April the first battalion of the TWENTY-FIRST embarked from Tilbury for Sicily, and landed at Messina on the 26th of July.

On the 15th of August the second battalion embarked from Portpatrick for Ireland, where it was stationed during the following five years.

The Court of the Grand Seignior having become involved in hostilities with Great Britain, the first battalion embarked from Sicily on the 17th of May, 1807, and joined the expedition to Egypt under Major-General Alexander Mackenzie Fraser. The battalion landed at Alexandria, and marched to the camp at Aboukir. Peace having been concluded with the Turks, the battalion returned to Sicily, where it arrived in October.

The first battalion occupied quarters in Sicily during the year 1808.

In June, 1809, Lieut.-General Sir John Stuart, com[35]manding in chief in the Mediterranean, resolved to menace the capital and kingdom of Naples, as a diversion in favour of the Austrians, who were contending against numerous difficulties in their war with France. The flank companies of the TWENTY-FIRST were employed on this service; and after menacing a considerable extent of coast, which produced much alarm, the romantic and fruitful island of Ischia, celebrated for the beauty of its scenery, and situate in the Bay of Naples, about six miles from the coast, was attacked. A landing was effected in the face of a formidable line of batteries, from which the enemy was speedily driven; Lieut. Cameron of the TWENTY-FIRST, who was attached to the British flotilla, attacked the enemy's gun-boats with great gallantry, and captured twenty-four of their number; but was mortally wounded at the moment of victory. The siege of the castle was undertaken, and in a few days the garrison was forced to surrender. The island of Procida surrendered on being summoned. Two valuable islands were thus rescued from the power of General Murat, whom the Emperor Napoleon had nominated King of Naples, in succession to Joseph Bonaparte, upon whom the Emperor had conferred the crown of Spain; and one thousand five hundred regular troops, with one hundred pieces of ordnance, were captured.

An attempt was, at this period, made to reduce the castle of Scylla; but the large force, which the enemy possessed in Calabria, rendered this impracticable. The battalion companies of the regiment were employed in this service, and had Captain Hunter killed, eight rank and file killed and wounded.

A detachment of the regiment was sent, at the request[36] of the inhabitants, to the town of Valmi, for the protection of the place; but was intercepted by the enemy, and Captains Mackay and Conran, Lieutenants M'Nab and Mackay, four serjeants, two drummers, and seventy-six rank and file, were made prisoners.

In the summer of 1810, General Murat assembled upwards of one hundred heavy gun-boats, a number of others more lightly armed, and about four hundred transport-boats, and brought thirty thousand troops to the coast of Calabria for the purpose of invading Sicily. The ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS were employed on the coast watching the approach of the enemy, and were at the alarm-post, under arms, every morning, two hours before daylight, for several months. During a dark night between the 17th and 18th of September, four thousand men, under General Cavaignac, made good their passage, and commenced landing about seven miles to the southward of Messina. The alarm being given, the TWENTY-FIRST regiment, commanded by Lieut.-Colonel Adam (now General the Right Honorable Sir Frederick Adam, G.C.B., Colonel of the TWENTY-FIRST ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS), hurried to the spot, accompanied by two field-pieces which were attached to the regiment, and prevented several of the boats from reaching the shore: as the boats were retiring, a few of them were sunk by the fire of the field-pieces. The regiment next turned towards that portion of the enemy which had landed, and had taken post on two hills. The flankers were thrown out, and a fire of musketry was kept up until daylight, when the enemy, being cut off from the boats and surrounded, surrendered prisoners of war, delivering up one stand of colours. The prisoners, amounting to about one thousand officers and soldiers,[37] were marched to Messina. This repulse, with the destruction of many of the enemy's gun-boats, by the British and Sicilian flotillas, disconcerted the plans of Murat, and no further attempts were made against Sicily.

In September, 1811, the second battalion embarked from Belfast for Scotland; and in this year it sent a strong detachment, with a number of volunteers from the militia, to Sicily, which increased the strength of the first battalion to twelve hundred rank and file.

Meanwhile the British army, commanded by Lord Wellington, now Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington, was fighting the battle of Spanish and Portuguese independence in the Peninsula; and in November, 1812, the grenadier company of the TWENTY-FIRST FUSILIERS proceeded, with the grenadier battalion, to the eastern coast of Spain, to take part in the war. It arrived at Alicant, on the 2nd of December; but circumstances occurred soon afterwards, which occasioned its return to Sicily, where it arrived in the spring of 1813.

Two companies proceeded, in 1813, to the island of Ponza; and in the same year, a strong detachment, commanded by Captain Renny, joined from the second battalion.

The brilliant success of the British troops in the Peninsula, and of the armies of the Allied Sovereigns on the Continent of Europe, was followed by the embarkation of a body of troops for Italy, under Lieut.-General Lord William Bentinck and Major-General H. T. Montresor. The TWENTY-FIRST regiment embarked for this service, in February, 1814, under Major Whitaker (Colonel Paterson commanding a brigade), and landed at Leghorn on the 13th of March; on the 23rd it marched to Pisa, and on the 25th to Lucca. In April, the battalion advanced upon Genoa; on the 12th of that month, the[38] enemy was driven from Mount Facia and Nervi, and the British took post at Sturla. On the 17th of April, at daybreak, the French position in front of Genoa was attacked, the enemy was driven from the strong position he occupied, and afterwards evacuated the town, which was taken possession of on the 19th of April, by the TWENTY-FIRST, and other corps. The regiment had Lieutenant Sabine wounded; one serjeant and fourteen rank and file killed and wounded.

In the meantime the second battalion had been withdrawn from Scotland, to take part in the war on the Continent; it embarked from Fort George, on the 30th of December, 1813, landed in Holland on the 10th of January, 1814, and was employed in the attack of Bergen-op-Zoom, on the night of the 8th of March. One portion of the battalion formed part of the third column, under the command of Lieut.-Colonel Robert Henry, of the TWENTY-FIRST, who was directed to draw the enemy's attention by an attack near Steenbergen gate; the flank companies were attached to the fourth column, under Brigadier-General Gore. Some severe fighting took place, and advantages were gained in the first instance; but the attack failed, and a number of officers and men, who had penetrated the works, were forced to surrender prisoners of war. The battalion had a number of men killed and wounded on this occasion; Lieutenant John Bulteel died of his wounds; Lieut.-Colonel Henry, Captains Durrah and Donald Mackenzie, Lieutenants the Honorable F. Morris, H. Pigou, D. Moody, D. Rankin, and Sir William Crosby, were wounded. Hostilities were soon afterwards terminated; Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated the throne of France; and in September the second battalion embarked from Ostend for England; it landed at Deal,[39] and in October embarked from Gravesend for Scotland, where it arrived in the beginning of November, and landed at Leith.

The war in Europe having terminated, the first battalion of the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS was selected to proceed to America, in consequence of Great Britain having become involved in war with the United States; it embarked from Genoa on the 12th of May, and arrived at Gibraltar on the 7th of June; and on the 11th, sailed with the Twenty-ninth and Sixty-second regiments, for the West Indies, where it joined the corps under Major-General Robert Ross. The fleet, with the troops on board, sailed from Bermuda on the 3rd of August, and proceeded to the Bay of Chesapeake, when the American flotilla fled for refuge up the Patuxent river. To ensure the capture or destruction of this flotilla, the troops landed at the village of St. Benedict, from whence they advanced to the delightful village of Upper Marlborough, when the Americans destroyed their flotilla to prevent its falling into the hands of the British. The object of the expedition had thus been accomplished; but the army had advanced within sixteen miles of Washington, and the enemy's force was ascertained to be such as would authorise an attempt to carry the capital. The troops accordingly advanced on the 23rd of August; routed some detachments on the road, and encountering the American army under General Winder, at the village of Bladensburg, gained a decisive victory over a force more than twice their own numbers, and occupying a position deliberately chosen. The light company of the regiment distinguished itself on this occasion; it had two men killed; Captain Robert Rennie, Lieutenant James Grace, and eleven rank and file wounded.

[40]

Advancing from the field of battle, the regiment moved towards Washington, and was the first corps which entered that city; it was fired upon by the Americans, and had sixty-eight men killed and wounded; but all resistance was soon overcome: the arsenal, docks, and other public property were set on fire, and the conflagration of burning buildings illuminated the sky during the night, while the exploding magazines shook the city, and threw down houses in their vicinity. Having completed this service, the British troops marched back to St. Benedict, and re-embarked on board of the fleet.

Early on the morning of the 12th of September, the troops landed at North Point, and advancing towards Baltimore, a division of Americans fled from an entrenched position which they were preparing across a neck of land. Continuing to advance, the troops entered a closely wooded country, where they encountered a party of Americans, and Major-General Robert Ross, mixing among the skirmishers, was mortally wounded,[8] when the command of the army devolved on Colonel Brooke.

Six thousand Americans, with six pieces of artillery and a corps of cavalry, were discovered in position in Godly wood. The light brigade extended and drove in the American skirmishers; the Forty-fourth, a party of Marines, and a body of seamen from the fleet, formed line behind the light infantry; the TWENTY-FIRST, commanded by Major Whitaker, (Colonel Paterson commanding a brigade,) and the second battalion of Marines, formed column in reserve, and the Fourth regiment made a flank movement to turn the enemy's [41]left. The signal was given, the British troops rushed to the attack, and in fifteen minutes the American army was driven from the field with severe loss.

The regiment had Lieutenant James Gracie and fifteen rank and file killed; Major Robert Kenny, Lieutenant John Leavock, two serjeants, and seventy-seven rank and file wounded.

Colonel Paterson was commended in the public despatch, for the steady manner in which he brought the brigade into action.

At two o'clock on the following morning the march was resumed, and in the evening the troops arrived at the foot of the range of hills in front of Baltimore, where fifteen thousand Americans occupied a chain of palisaded redoubts, connected by breastworks, and defended by a numerous artillery. Trusting to the innate valour of his little army, which did not amount to one-third of the numbers of the enemy, Colonel Brooke made preparations for storming the hills after dark; but having received intimation from the fleet, that the entrance of the harbour was closed up by vessels sunk for that purpose, and that a naval co-operation against the town and camp was impracticable, the enterprise was abandoned. The troops retreated three miles on the following day, and then halted to see if the Americans would venture to descend from the hills; but, though so superior in numbers, they had no disposition to quit their works; and the British returned on board the fleet.

The season for active operations having passed, the fleet quitted the American coast, and the TWENTY-FIRST proceeded to Jamaica, where they were joined by a strong detachment from the second battalion, commanded by Major Alexander James Ross.

An attempt on New Orleans was afterwards resolved[42] upon. The fleet again put to sea, and on the 10th of December anchored off the coast of Louisiana, opposite the Chandeleur Islands, from whence the troops were removed in boats to Pine Island, in Lake Borgne, where they were stationed, exposed to heavy rain by day and frosts by night, until the 22nd of December, when the first division proceeded in open boats to a desert spot about eight miles from New Orleans, where the regiments landed, and marched to a field on the banks of the Mississippi. The TWENTY-FIRST followed, and arrived in time to take part in repulsing a night attack of a very superior force of Americans, when the regiment had Captain William Conran and two rank and file killed; one serjeant, two drummers, and eight rank and file wounded; two men missing.

The army afterwards moved forward, but encountered many local difficulties. The Americans assembled a numerous force, in extensive fortified lines and batteries, with armed vessels on the river: the advance was checked, and some loss sustained. The ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS had Lieutenant John Leavock wounded; also several men killed and wounded.

Arrangements were made for attacking the enemy's fortified lines on the 8th of January, 1815, and the TWENTY-FIRST were appointed to take part in this service: several circumstances occurred to delay the attack, which was made under numerous disadvantages. The troops, however, rushed forward with great gallantry, and a detachment of the Fourth, TWENTY-FIRST, and Ninety-fifth (now Rifle-Brigade), captured a battery; but the troops were exposed to a dreadful fire, which brought them down by hundreds. Major-General the Honorable Sir Edward Pakenham was killed; Major-Generals Gibbs and Keane were dangerously wounded;[43] and success being found impracticable, the surviving officers and men withdrew from the unequal contest. Many officers and soldiers, who had been foremost in the attack, were made prisoners.

Major J. A. Whitaker, Captain Robert Renny (Lieut.-Colonel), Lieutenant Donald M^cDonald, two serjeants, and sixty-five rank and file of the TWENTY-FIRST, were killed; Colonel William Paterson, Major Alexander James Ross, Lieutenants John Waters and Alexander Geddes, six serjeants, and one hundred and forty-four rank and file wounded; Lieutenants James Brady, Ralph Carr, and Peter Quin wounded and taken prisoners; Major James M^cHaffie, Captain Archibald Kidd, Lieutenants James Stewart, Alexander Armstrong, John Leavock, and J. S. M. Fonblanque, eight serjeants, two drummers, and two hundred and seventeen rank and file, prisoners: total loss, 451 officers and soldiers.

The capture of New Orleans appearing to be impracticable, the troops returned on board of the fleet. Fort Bowyer was afterwards captured, but hostilities were terminated by a treaty of peace, and the regiment returned to the West Indies, from whence Major Pringle sailed for England, on leave of absence, and the command devolved on Major Quin.

After a short stay at Bermuda, the regiment sailed for Europe; it arrived at Portsmouth in May, and afterwards sailed to Cork, where it landed in June.

In the spring of this year Bonaparte had returned to France and gained temporary possession of that kingdom: but his numerous veteran legions were overpowered by British valour at Waterloo on the 18th of June. The British army had, however, sustained severe loss, and the first battalion was selected to proceed to the Con[44]tinent. It embarked from Monkstown on the 5th of July, landed at Ostend on the 17th, and proceeding up the country under Lieut.-Colonel Maxwell, joined the army, commanded by Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington, at Paris.

Having been appointed to remain on the Continent, and to form part of the Army of Occupation in France, the regiment marched to Compiègne, and occupied several villages in the neighbourhood of that place, where it was joined, on the 9th of January, 1816, by a detachment from the second battalion.

On the 13th of January, 1816, the second battalion was disbanded at Stirling; transferring the men fit for duty to the first battalion.

Towards the end of January, the regiment was removed to Valenciennes, and in October was reviewed, with the Army of Occupation, by Field-Marshal the Duke of Wellington.

On the death of General the Honorable William Gordon, Lieut.-General James Lord Forbes was appointed Colonel of the regiment, from the Fifty-fourth foot, by commission dated the 1st of June, 1816.

A considerable reduction being made in the British contingent of the Army of Occupation, the regiment proceeded to Calais, where it embarked for England, and landed at Harwich on the 2nd of April, 1817.

In May, 1818, the regiment marched to Portsmouth.

In June, the officers were authorised to wear a long coat, of a pattern approved of by His Royal Highness the Duke of York.

The regiment embarked from Portsmouth, in March, 1819, for the West Indies, when Lieut.-Colonel Nooth, C.B., received the following communication from Major-General Lord Howard of Effingham, then commanding[45] at Portsmouth, and Lieutenant-Governor of that fortress: "I am not in the habit of giving out orders of thanks to regiments on quitting my district, because these things are apt to degenerate so much into words of course, that they lose any value they might otherwise possess; my orders likewise to corps on their half-yearly inspections enable me to convey to them my opinion on their state of discipline, &c.; but I cannot, however, allow the TWENTY-FIRST regiment, under your command, to embark without expressing the sense I have of the good conduct of the regiment since it has been under my orders, and that its interior discipline, mode of doing duty, and external appearance, have been such as to merit my perfect approbation, and amply testify the strict attention paid by you to those under your command,—that you are properly supported by the officers and non-commissioned officers, in their respective stations, in carrying into effect the regulations of the service." His Lordship was also pleased to express his admiration of the conduct of the corps on the day of embarkation, adding,—"The regiment is more like one parading for inspection or review, than for embarkation for the West Indies."

The regiment landed at Barbadoes in April, without a single casualty, and was inspected by Lieut.-General Lord Combermere, who requested Major Meyrick to return the officers his lordship's thanks, for the very great attention they must have paid to those under their orders, to have brought them to the very high state of discipline in which his lordship found them.

In September, 1820, a detachment of one hundred rank and file proceeded to Tobago, where it remained until January, 1821, during which period it lost four officers and thirty-seven men by an epidemic disease.

[46]

The regiment left Barbadoes in March, 1821, when seven companies proceeded to Demerara, under Major Leahy, and three to Berbice, under Major Champion. Previous to its quitting Barbadoes, Major-General Mainwaring expressed in orders, "the high sense he entertained of the zeal and ability of Major Leahy, of the steady conduct of the officers and non-commissioned officers, and of the good and orderly behaviour of the men."

In August, the regiment sustained a severe loss in the death of Lieut.-Colonel John M. Nooth, C.B.: he was succeeded in the command by Lieut.-Colonel John Thomas Leahy.

Insurrectionary movements having been made by the negroes in the district of Mahaica, in the island of Demerara, in August, 1823, the TWENTY-FIRST FUSILIERS, under Lieut.-Colonel Leahy, were employed in reducing the revolted slaves to obedience, in which they succeeded. For their excellent conduct on this occasion, the TWENTY-FIRST received the thanks of Lieut.-General Sir Henry Ward, K.C.B., commanding in the Windward and Leeward Islands; of the Court of Policy of the Colony; of His Royal Highness the Duke of York, the Commander-in-chief; and of His Majesty King George IV.

From Demerara the head-quarters were removed to St. Vincent, in January, 1824, and received the thanks of Major-General Murray, previous to embarking. At the same time the Court of Policy voted, as a special and permanent mark of the high estimation in which the inhabitants of the Colony held the services of Lieut.-Colonel Leahy, the officers and soldiers, "FIVE HUNDRED GUINEAS TO BE LAID OUT IN THE PURCHASE OF PLATE FOR THE REGIMENTAL MESS," and TWO HUNDRED GUINEAS[47] FOR THE PURCHASE OF A SWORD FOR LIEUT.-COLONEL LEAHY; also FIFTY GUINEAS FOR THE PURCHASE OF A SWORD FOR LIEUTENANT BRADY, who commanded a detachment at Mahaica, and whose cool, steady, and intrepid conduct, aided by the courage and discipline of his men, gave an early and effectual check to the progress of revolt in that quarter.

In May, two companies were removed to Grenada.

In December, 1826, and January, 1827, the regiment embarked from St. Vincent and Grenada, for England, after eight years' service in the West Indies, during which period it had lost, by disease, fourteen officers and four hundred men. Previous to quitting those colonies, it received the expression of the approbation and thanks of Admiral Sir Charles Brisbane, G.C.B., Governor of St. Vincent; of the Council of that island; and of the Commander of the forces in the Windward and Leeward Islands. It landed at Cowes, in the Isle of Wight, in January, February, and March, and was removed to Windsor, where it had the honor of doing duty during His Majesty's residence at that place.

From Windsor the regiment was removed to Winchester, in the spring of 1828, and afterwards to Portsmouth; it was subsequently stationed at Bath, and in October embarked from Bristol for Ireland: it landed at Waterford, from whence it proceeded to Fermoy.

The regiment was removed to Mullingar, in June, 1829; and in May, 1830, the head-quarters proceeded to Kilkenny, with parties at Carlow, Athy, Maryborough, and Wexford.

In September, 1831, the regiment marched for Dublin, where it embarked for England in October, and landing at Liverpool, afterwards proceeded to Weedon. In 1832 it was removed to Chatham.

[48]

During the years 1832 and 1833, the regiment embarked, by detachments, in charge of convicts, for New South Wales, and it was stationed in Australia and Van Diemen's Land until the year 1839.

Five companies and head-quarters embarked from Hobart Town, in February, 1839, for the East Indies, and arriving at Calcutta in May, afterwards proceeded to Chinsurah. They were followed by two companies from Hobart Town in March, 1840; and two from the Swan River settlement in July.

In April, 1840, the head-quarters were removed to Calcutta; and in August, the regiment embarked for Dinapore, where it arrived in September.

The regiment was stationed at Dinapore during the year 1841.

Leaving Dinapore in November, 1842, the regiment commenced its march for Agra: but on arriving at Mirzapoor, its destination was changed to Kamptee, at which place it arrived on the 6th of February, 1843.

During the year 1844, the regiment remained at Kamptee.

The regiment commenced its march from Kamptee en route to the north-western provinces of Bengal on the 6th of December, 1845, and arrived at Jubbulpore on the 30th of that month.

The regiment resumed its march on the 1st of January, 1846, and arrived at Agra on the 7th of February, where it was stationed during the remainder of the year.

Leaving Agra on the 15th of January, 1847, the regiment arrived at Cawnpore on the 1st of February. From Cawnpore the regiment proceeded, in November, to Calcutta, at which place it arrived on the 30th of December.

[49]

Orders were at this period given for the return to England of the TWENTY-FIRST, ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS, and three hundred and ninety-three soldiers transferred their services to other regiments remaining in India.

In January, 1848, the regiment, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel John Thomas Hill, embarked at Calcutta, and arrived at Gravesend on the 11th of May.

The regiment was, in the first instance, stationed at Canterbury, from which city it proceeded to Edinburgh in July, 1848.

On the 1st of June, 1849, the period to which this Record has been continued, the regiment continued to be stationed at Edinburgh Castle, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Gore Browne.

1849.

[50]

CONCLUSION.

The foregoing pages contain numerous instances of the valuable qualities of the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS. The campaigns of King William III., and the victories obtained by the Duke of Marlborough, afforded many opportunities for the TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT to evince its bravery. In subsequent years the battles of Dettingen, Fontenoy, Culloden, and Val, enhanced its former renown;—at the capture of Belle-Isle in 1761 the regiment sustained its previous character;—and the several actions during the American war increased its fame. Its services in Naples and Sicily in 1809 and 1810;—and the arduous duties on which it was employed in America in 1814, gave additional proofs of its capabilities.

The Regimental Record contains also many instances of the expression of commendation by the General Officers, under whose command the Regiment has served, for its activity, discipline, and good conduct, when employed on home or colonial duties, and when occasions have occurred where military force has been required in aid of the Civil Power, and where judgment, temper, and firmness have been the means of subduing the most violent commotions.

These qualities, which have been evinced for the long period of one hundred and seventy years, have rendered the TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT, or THE ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS, an ornament in the British Army, and have acquired the Approbation of the Sovereign and the Confidence of the Country.

TWENTY FIRST,
THE ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS.

Madeley lith 3 Wellington S^t. Strand.
For Cannon's Military Records.

[51]

SUCCESSION OF COLONELS

OF

THE TWENTY-FIRST REGIMENT OF FOOT,

OR

THE ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS.

Charles, (Fifth) Earl of Mar.

Appointed 23rd September, 1678.

Charles, Lord Erskine, succeeded to the title of Earl of Mar, in 1668, on the decease of his father, John, fourth Earl of Mar; and in September, 1678, he raised a regiment of foot, now the Twenty-first, or the Royal North British Fusiliers. He was a member of the Privy Council of Scotland, in the reign of King Charles II., and also of King James II. In 1686, he was succeeded in the command of his regiment by Colonel Buchan.

The Earl of Mar disapproved of the measures of King James II., and was about to embark for the Continent, in November, 1688, when the Prince of Orange landed in England. He appeared at the Convention of the Estates assembled by the Prince of Orange; but joining the disaffected party, he was arrested. He died on the 23rd of April, 1689, and was succeeded in the title by his son John, sixth Earl of Mar, whose estates were forfeited in consequence of his having erected the Standard of Rebellion in Scotland, in 1715, in favor of the Pretender, as narrated at page 18 of the Historical Record of the Twenty-first, Royal North British Fusiliers.

[52]

Thomas Buchan.

Appointed 29th July, 1686.

Thomas Buchan was an officer in the Scots army, in the time of King Charles II., and rose to the rank of lieut.-colonel in the Royal Regiment of Scots Horse, which was disbanded in 1689. King James II. promoted him to the colonelcy of the Twenty-first regiment; and he adhered to the interests of the Stuart family at the Revolution in 1688. He served in Ireland under King James, and was detached with a few men to Scotland, to support the Highland clans in their resistance to the government of King William III. The clans were, however, not successful in their enterprises, and they submitted to the authority of King William; when he retired to France.

Francis Fergus O'Farrell.

Appointed 1st March, 1689.

This officer was a decided advocate for the principles of the Revolution of 1688, and King William nominated him to the colonelcy of the Scots Fusiliers, which corps he commanded in the Netherlands, under Prince Waldeck, and afterwards under the British monarch, who promoted him to the rank of brigadier-general. He served at the head of a brigade of infantry during the campaign of 1694; and was appointed governor of Deinse. He commanded the garrison of Deinse when that place was besieged, in July, 1695; and was dismissed the service, by sentence of a general court-martial, for surrendering without firing a shot.

Robert Mackay.

Appointed 13th November, 1695.

Robert Mackay, third son of John, Lord Reay, was an officer in the Scots Brigade in the Dutch service, and accompanied the Prince of Orange to England in 1688. He was promoted captain of the grenadier company in Major-General Hugh Mackay's regiment, and served in Scotland in[53] 1689. He distinguished himself at the battle of Killicrankie, where he received several wounds, and was left for dead on the field of battle. He, however, showed some signs of life and was removed to a cottage by the enemy, and eventually recovered. He was soon afterwards promoted to the rank of lieut.-colonel, and King William gave him the colonelcy of a newly raised Scots regiment (afterwards disbanded), from which he was removed, in 1695, to the Twenty-first Fusiliers. His constitution had become debilitated by severe service and numerous wounds, and he died at Tongue, the seat of his family, in December, 1696.

Archibald Row.

Appointed 1st January, 1697.

This officer entered the army in the reign of King James II., and at the Revolution in 1688 he joined the Prince of Orange, who promoted him to the lieut.-colonelcy of the Sixteenth regiment, with which corps he served in the Netherlands, and acquired the reputation of a brave and skilful officer. He served at the battles of Steenkirk and Landen, and at the siege of Namur; and was rewarded, in 1697, with the colonelcy of the Twenty-first Fusiliers. He served under the great Duke of Marlborough in 1703, and in 1704 he commanded a brigade at the battles of Schellenberg and Blenheim; on the last-mentioned occasion his brigade led the attack on the village of Blenheim, and he headed his own regiment with distinguished gallantry, advancing up to the enemy's palisades before he gave the word "fire." In a moment afterwards he was shot, and thus closed a life of honor with a death of glory. His valour has rendered his name immortal in the history of his country.

John, Viscount Mordaunt.

Appointed 25th August, 1704.

John, Viscount Mordaunt, son of Charles, Earl of Peterborough, was an officer in the first regiment of Foot Guards, in which corps he rose to the rank of captain and lieut.-colonel.[54] He evinced great gallantry at the battle of Schellenberg, where he headed fifty grenadiers, at the storm of the enemy's works, and of that number, only himself and ten grenadiers escaped. At the memorable battle of Blenheim, he lost his left arm. His services were rewarded with the colonelcy of the Twenty-first Fusiliers, from which he exchanged to the Twenty-eighth regiment; but on the death of Major-General de Lalo, who was killed at the battle of Malplaquet, in 1709, Viscount Mordaunt was re-appointed to the TWENTY-FIRST regiment. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general on the 1st of January, 1710; and died of the small-pox in April following.

Sampson de Lalo.

Appointed 26th June, 1706.

Sampson de Lalo was a French gentleman of the Protestant religion, whom the Edict of Nantes forced to quit his native country. He found an asylum from persecution in England, and entering the British army, proved an efficient and meritorious officer. After a distinguished career of service in the subordinate commissions, he was appointed lieut.-colonel of the Twenty-eighth regiment, and was promoted to the colonelcy of the same corps, in February, 1704; in June, 1706, he exchanged to the Twenty-first Fusiliers. He commanded a brigade under the great Duke of Marlborough, served at several battles and sieges, and was promoted to the rank of major-general in January, 1709. During the siege of the castle of Tournay, he was nominated by the Duke of Marlborough to negotiate the terms of capitulation with the governor. He evinced great gallantry at the battle of Malplaquet, where he was mortally wounded. In the Annals of Queen Anne it is stated, that "he was in great favor and esteem in the British army."

John, Viscount Mordaunt.

Re-appointed 4th September, 1709.

Died in 1710.

[55]

Thomas Meredith.

Appointed 1st May, 1710.

This officer served in the wars of King William III., who promoted him to the commission of captain in the Third Horse, now Second Dragoon Guards. On the augmentation of the army in 1702, he was nominated colonel of the Thirty-seventh regiment, then newly raised, and he accompanied that corps to Holland in 1703. In 1704, he served at the battles of Schellenberg and Blenheim, and was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general on the 25th of August, 1704. In 1705 he commanded a brigade at the forcing of the French lines at Helixem and Neer-Hespen. He was advanced to the rank of major-general in 1706, and to that of lieut.-general in 1707; in 1710 he was removed to the Twenty-first regiment, and in 1714 to the Twentieth. He died in 1719.

Charles, Earl of Orrery, K.T.

Appointed 8th December, 1710.

The Earl of Orrery took an active part in raising a regiment of foot (afterwards disbanded), of which he was appointed colonel, on the 1st of May, 1703; in 1705 he was nominated Knight of the Thistle, and in 1706 he was removed to another regiment, afterwards disbanded. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier-general in 1709, and served at the battle of Malplaquet, at the head of a brigade of infantry, and evinced great gallantry. In 1710 he was advanced to the rank of major-general,—nominated Envoy extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the States of Brabant and Flanders,—and removed to the Twenty-first Fusiliers; in 1711 he was created a peer of Great Britain, by the title of Baron Boyle, of Marston, in Somersetshire; and in 1712 he served under the Duke of Ormond. He was sworn a member of the Privy Council in 1713. On the arrival of King George I. in England, in the autumn of 1714, the Earl of Orrery was appointed one of the Lords of the Bedchamber; he was afterwards sworn a member of the Privy Council. In 1722, he was committed a prisoner to the Tower of London, on a charge of high treason; but no crime was proved against him. He died on the 28th of August, 1731.

[56]

George Macartney.

Appointed 12th July, 1716.

This officer entered the army in the reign of King William III., and was promoted, in April, 1703, to the colonelcy of a newly raised regiment of foot (afterwards disbanded), with which he served three campaigns on the Continent, under the great Duke of Marlborough. He afterwards proceeded to Spain, and commanded a brigade of infantry at the battle of Almanza, where he distinguished himself, and was taken prisoner. In 1709 he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and in 1710 to that of lieut.-general. His regiment having been disbanded at the peace of Utrecht, he was appointed to the colonelcy of the Royal North British Fusiliers in 1716, and removed in 1727 to the Seventh Horse, now Sixth Dragoon Guards. He died in July, 1730.

Sir James Wood.

Appointed 9th March, 1727.

Sir James Wood served many years in the army of the States-General of the United Provinces of the Netherlands. His first commission was dated the 31st of December, 1688, and he rose to the rank of brigadier-general in 1704, in which rank he was admitted into the British service, in consequence of his reputation; and in 1727, he was appointed colonel of the TWENTY-FIRST regiment. In 1735 he was promoted to the rank of major-general. His decease occurred on the 18th of May, 1738.

John Campbell.

Appointed 1st November, 1738.

John Campbell, of Mamore, was an officer in the army in the reign of Queen Anne, and attained the rank of lieut.-colonel. During the rebellion in 1715 and 1716, he was aide-de-camp[57] to the Duke of Argyle: and in June, 1737, he obtained the colonelcy of the Thirty-ninth regiment, from which he was removed in the following year to the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS. He commanded a brigade at the battle of Dettingen, in 1743;—was appointed major-general in the following year; and during the rebellion in 1745 and 1746, he held a command in Scotland. He was advanced to the rank of lieut.-general in 1747; removed from the Fusiliers to the Scots Greys in 1752; and in 1761 he was appointed governor of Limerick; and also succeeded to the title of Duke of Argyle. The Order of the Thistle was conferred upon his Grace in 1765. He died in 1770.

William, Earl of Panmure.

Appointed 29th April, 1752.

William Maule, who had been several years an officer in the Scots Foot Guards, and a Member of Parliament, was created a peer of Ireland on the 6th of April, 1743, by the title of Earl of Panmure. He served at the battle of Dettingen in the same year; also at the battle of Fontenoy in 1745; and on the 1st of December, 1747, was promoted to the colonelcy of the Twenty-fifth foot; from which he was removed, in 1752, to the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS. The rank of major-general was conferred upon his Lordship in 1755. In the following year he was second in command at Gibraltar; and in 1758 he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general. He was further advanced to the rank of general in 1770; and obtained the colonelcy of the Scots Greys in November of the same year. He died on the 4th of January, 1782.

The Honorable Alexander Mackay.

Appointed 10th May, 1770.

The Honorable Alexander Mackay, son of George, third Lord Reay, was appointed ensign in the Twenty-fifth regiment, in 1737, and in 1745 he obtained the commission of captain, in the Earl of Loudoun's newly raised regiment[58] of Highlanders, afterwards disbanded. He served against the rebels in the same year, and was taken prisoner at the battle of Preston-pans. In 1750 he was nominated major in the Third foot, and on the 21st of December, 1755, he was promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy of the Fifty-second regiment, then newly raised, from which he exchanged, in March, 1760, to the Thirty-ninth: in 1761, he was elected a Member of Parliament for Sunderland. In August, 1762, he was promoted to the colonelcy of the 122nd regiment, which was disbanded at the peace of Fontainebleau; and in March, 1764, he obtained the colonelcy of the sixty-fifth. He served in America, in which country he obtained the local rank of major-general in 1768; in 1770 he received the same rank in the army, and was removed to the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS in the same year. In 1772 he received the appointment of Governor of Tynemouth, and Clifford's Fort; in 1777 he was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general, and in the following year appointed Governor of Landguard Fort,—from which he was afterwards removed to the government of Stirling Castle. In 1780 he was nominated Commander-in-chief in Scotland. He died in May, 1789.

The Honorable James Murray.

Appointed 5th June, 1789.

The Honorable James Murray served in the Fifteenth regiment, in which corps he attained the rank of major, and was promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy on the 5th of January, 1751. He commanded the Fifteenth in the expedition against Rochefort, under Lieut.-General Sir John Mordaunt, in 1757, and at the capture of Louisbourg, in 1758; in 1759 he commanded a brigade at the battle and capture of Quebec, under the renowned Major-General James Wolfe; in 1760 he led a division up the river St. Lawrence, and contributed to the reduction of Montreal, which completed the conquest of Canada from the French. He was promoted to colonel-commandant of a battalion of the Sixtieth regiment in 1759, and to the local rank of major-general in America in 1760. In 1762 he was advanced to the rank of major-general; and[59] in 1767 he was removed to the colonelcy of the Thirteenth regiment. He was promoted to the rank of lieut.-general in 1772, and to that of general in 1783; in 1789 he was removed to the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS. He died in 1794.

James Hamilton.

Appointed 20th June, 1794.

After a progressive service in the subordinate commissions, this officer was promoted to the lieut.-colonelcy of the TWENTY-FIRST FUSILIERS, on the 11th of March, 1774. He served in North America during two campaigns of the war of independence,—was promoted to the rank of major-general in 1787, and was appointed colonel of the Fifteenth foot in 1792, from which he was removed to the TWENTY-FIRST FUSILIERS in 1794. He obtained the rank of lieut.-general in 1797, and that of general in 1802. His decease occurred in 1803.

The Honorable William Gordon.

Appointed 6th August, 1803.

The Honorable William Gordon was appointed captain in the Sixteenth Light Dragoons, when that corps was raised in the year 1759; in October, 1762, he was appointed lieut.-colonel of the 105th regiment, and in 1777 he was promoted to the colonelcy of the Eighty-first regiment, which was afterwards disbanded. In 1781 he was promoted to the rank of major-general, and in 1789 was nominated colonel of the Seventy-first Highlanders. He was advanced to the rank of lieut.-general in 1793, to that of general in 1798, and was removed to the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS in 1803. He died in 1816.

James, Lord Forbes.

Appointed 1st June, 1816.

James, Lord Forbes, was appointed ensign in the Second Foot Guards, in 1781. In 1793 he served in Flanders, under His Royal Highness the Duke of York, and commanded[60] a company at the battle of Famars. He served at the siege of Valenciennes, and led a portion of his regiment at the storm of the outworks. He was engaged at the re-capture of the post of Lincelles, where the Foot Guards distinguished themselves; also served at the siege of Dunkirk. In 1794 he served at the actions of Vaux, Cateau, Tournay, and Mouvaux,—at the defence of Nimeguen and Fort St. André, and in the retreat through Holland to Germany. After the action of Lincelles, in 1793, he was promoted to the rank of captain and lieut.-colonel, in succession to Lieut.-Colonel Bosville, who was killed on that occasion. In 1796, he obtained the rank of colonel; and in 1799 he served in the expedition to the Helder, and was present at every action of that short campaign in Holland, excepting one. In 1802 Lord Forbes was promoted to the rank of major-general, and nominated to the command of the troops stationed at Ashford, in Kent, and subsequently of the garrison at Dover, and he occasionally commanded the Kent District in the absence of Lieut.-General Sir David Dundas and of Lord Ludlow. He was appointed second in command of the troops stationed on the island of Sicily, in 1808, and promoted to the rank of lieut.-general. On his return to England in 1811, he was placed on the Staff of Ireland.

Lord Forbes was elected one of the representative peers of Scotland, in 1806, and held that distinguished situation many years. The colonelcy of the Third Garrison Battalion was conferred upon his Lordship in 1806; he was removed to the Ninety-fourth regiment in 1808, to the Fifty-fourth in 1809, and to the ROYAL NORTH BRITISH FUSILIERS in 1816: in 1819 he was promoted to the rank of general. He died in 1843.

The Right Honorable Sir Frederick Adam, G.C.B., G.C.M.G.

Appointed 31st May, 1843.

[61]

APPENDIX.

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

[62]

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

[63]

Battles, Sieges, &c., which occurred in Germany and in the Netherlands from 1743 to 1748, during the "War of the Austrian Succession."

[64]

List of the British Regiments which served in Flanders and Germany between 1742 and 1748, during the "War of the Austrian Succession."

London:—Printed by William Clowes and Sons, Stamford Street,
For Her Majesty's Stationery Office.

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